Putting Her Dreams Aside

Chapters

*The Night It All Began
Breaking the News: Part I
Breaking the News: Part II (edited)
Breaking the News: Part III
Two Surprises
A Party & Some Planning
A Couple of Important Questions
*A Little More Celebrating
Wedding Day: Part I
Wedding Day: Part II
*A Castle to Themselves
Just When They Thought Things Were Perfect...
A Day at the Spa
Rainbow's Journal
Scooting Around Town
A Long-Anticipated Party
**Finally a Family: Part I
**Finally a Family: Part II
Coming Home
Resurfacing Doubts
A Mother and Her Young
*Distractions
Finally a Family: Part III

*The Night It All Began

"And so it is my great pleasure to introduce our newest Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire said aloud to the others in the room. The audience was comprised mostly of Wonderbolts, along with several friends of the newest recruit. Rainbow Dash had been in the Wonderbolt's Reserves for quite some time now, but after showing off her full potential time and time again whenever she was needed, Captain Spitfire decided that a pegasus with that level of flying skills should not be confined to the group that only needed her at certain times. And so, it was her honor to fulfill the cyan mare's lifelong dream.

The doors at the back of the room were pulled open by Soarin and Fleetfoot. In walked Rainbow Dash, dressed in her brand new Wonderbolt's uniform. Her head was uncovered, her slightly nervous look clearly visible to every pony she passed. The whole time, Rainbow's eyes were fixed on the slightly raised stage in front of her. Once she made it there, she climbed up the one step and stood in front of Spitfire, next to her podium. It was there that the captain took out an official Wonderbolt's badge and pinned it to Rainbow's uniform, officially swearing the cyan mare in. With that, Rainbow turned around to her audience, who immediately began cheering and applauding.

Rainbow Dash then moved over to stand behind the podium, ready to give her short speech to her friends and fellow Wonderbolts. She took a deep breath and said, "Throughout my life, only one thing has been on my mind, and that has been becoming a Wonderbolt. There were times that I felt that I may not be good enough for them, but that never stopped me. It wasn't until recently that I went to the Wonderbolt's Academy to start training, but it was there that I had my greatest setback. I realized that the Wonderbolts were not what I expected, so I nearly gave it all up right then and there. But if it wasn't for the kindness and sensitivity of Captain Spitfire soon after, I probably wouldn't have continued to where I am now. Then, I finally got an opportunity to join the Wonderbolt's Reserves. Though I was extremely nervous, I was able to pass the exam with a little help from my friends." She paused to glance over at Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who each gave her a smile in return, Pinkie's being the biggest and most expressive. "Once I got accepted into the Reserves," she continued, looking back to the majority of the crowd, "I felt that I was going to be there for a long time. I even felt that that was the closest I would ever get to achieving my dream, and there were times that I would get very sad, not knowing if I would be able to get any further. That was until I got called into Captain Spitfire's office earlier this week. It was there that she told me that I was performing so well that she felt it was a crime for me to be in the Reserves. And so, a few more things led to another, and here I am today. This is all I've ever wanted, and right now, I feel like I'm on top of the world. I'd like to thank my family, friends, and fellow Wonderbolts for this amazing honor. Thank you." Her last words were followed by more applause and cheering.

At the afterparty, Rainbow Dash received multiple congratulatory remarks from everypony there. She adored the attention, but for once, it seemed like a bit much for the cyan pegasus. She had refrained from hovering above everypony else and resorted to staying on the ground to better hold conversations.

Many things were going through Rainbow's mind. Never in her life had she felt such elation. All her years of flying, new tricks, and sheer practice had finally paid off. From the moment she entered Junior Flight Camp, Rainbow Dash new that this was where she belonged. Aside from her friends, family, and love for flying as fast as she could, which was how she had gotten her cutie mark, this was her everything. Though she never wore clothes, she couldn't have been happier to be almost completely covered in her full-body Wonderbolt's uniform.

After chatting with several ponies, Rainbow walked over to where her friends were and began talking with them. "Thanks again for helping with this party, Pinkie Pie," she began, "This is really awesome!"

"Well, isn't that how you like it, Dashie?" the party pony asked in response, "As awesome as it could be?"

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'm so proud of you, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy began.

"We all are, aren't we girls?" Twilight asked the rest of her friends.

"Yeah!" the rest of them, except Rainbow Dash, replied in unison.

"Nopony could come even close to how great of a flyer you are, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said in excitement.

"Hehe..." Rainbow giggled lightly in response, her cheeks going pink ever so slightly, "Thanks, kid. Actually, thank you all. If it weren't for all your support, I'd probably still be in the Reserves."

"Well, if it wasn't for my detective expertise, you wouldn't even be in the Reserves anymore!" Rarity said, proudly.

"Really, Rarity?" Applejack responded, annoyed, "Why do 'ya gotta be so rude sometimes?"

"What??" Rarity replied, "It's true!"

"Hey, guys, don't worry about it. She's right," Rainbow responded, "Thanks again, Rarity. You really saved my flank."

"Oh, it was nothing, really," the white unicorn finished.

"Does this mean you're gonna be out'a town more often?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle added, "You always bring a great vibe to the party."

"Don't worry, you guys," Rainbow replied, "My schedule isn't that time-consuming."

All of a sudden, the group heard a voice from behind Rainbow. "There she is!" It was Firefly, Rainbow's mother. Before Rainbow could fully react, she found herself being nearly strangled form her overexcited mother. After a few seconds, Firefly relaxed the hug, but only slightly. "Oh, my baby's a Wonderbolt!" she said, sounding like she was about to cry.

Rainbow giggled slightly. "Okay, mom," she began, "That's enough."

Not even a second after she finished speaking did she feel another embrace. This time, it was from her father, Rainbow Blaze. She turned around and met his gaze. "We're so proud of you, Rainbow Dash," the pegasus stallion began, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, dad," Dash replied, blushing slightly, "Hey, look, why don't you two chat with my friends for a little bit? There's somepony else I gotta go see." Blaze and Firefly nodded as their daughter turned around and went in a different direction.

Soarin was just finishing a conversation up with Spitfire when he turned around and found Dash standing in front of him, a huge smile on her face. "Hey, Soarin!" Dash said.

"Hey, Dashie!" Soarin replied before hugging his marefriend, "Congratulations!"

"Thanks! How's everything going?"

"Alright, but I should be asking you that question. How do you feel now that you're officially a Wonderbolt?"

"Honestly, I can't describe it. There's too much happening up here," she said while gesturing to her head with a forehoof.

"I understand. That's pretty much what happened to me when I myself became a Wonderbolt. It took a while for it sink in."

"You know, that's a pretty accurate description of how I'm feeling. I think it'll all settle in by the end of the night."

Before continuing, Soarin took a good look at his marefriend in her new uniform, and he definitely liked what he saw. It hugged her body so well that her rear seemed to be accentuated a little bit. His mind then began to tell him to do one and only one thing. "Hello, earth to Soarin," Dash said, waving a hoof in her coltfriend's face.

"Oh, sorry," Soarin finally continued, a deep red blush on his face, "I just didn't think you'd look this good in a flying suit."

"Well, I've been in one before, you know..."

"Nah, you wore something that all the cadets at the academy wear. Only full-time Wonderbolts get the outfit you're wearing." Only now did Soarin' realize the way Dash was looking at him. She knew that he had been staring at her, and she loved it, which was evident by her coy smile.

"Do I really look that good to you, Soarin?" Dash continued.

"Yeah, you do," Soarin replied, his tone shifting to a slightly more seductive one, "In fact, you're the hottest Wonderbolt I know."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow asked seductively, her hips swaying ever so slightly.

"Yeah. I mean, there was a time when I had my eyes solely on Spitfire, but she's nowhere as amazing as you, Dashie. Not only do you have awesome looks, but I just love your attitude about everything in general. You're funny, cute, and you always know how to cheer me up whenever I'm down."

All Dash could do was blush furiously at Soarin. "Awww...really?"

"Absolutely."

There was only one thing Dash wanted at that moment. "C'mere, you..." She slowly moved forward and locked her lips with Soarin's, both ponies' eyes closing as they each wrapped a foreleg around each other's necks. Rainbow was about to press her tongue into Soarin's mouth when she heard a whistle coming from her right, and it was quite a familiar one. She broke the kiss and looked over to where her friends were and saw Applejack just starting to lower her hoof from her mouth. Rainbow only blushed as she realized that she and Soarin were making out in public.

The couple took once more glance at each other before they heard the clinking of a glass. "Could I have everypony's attention?" Spitfire announced, hovering above everypony with a glass of cider in hoof, "I'd like to propose a toast to our newest member, Rainbow Dash. She's worked quite a bit to reach this status. Here!"

"Here!" said all the other ponies in unison before taking a drink.

Soarin reached over to a nearby table and grabbed two already-poured glasses of cider, handing one to Rainbow Dash. "To the best Wonderbolt of them all," he said, looking his marefriend in the eyes before clinking their glasses.

"Thanks," Rainbow replied before taking a sip of cider, which was immediately followed by the cyan mare downing the whole glass in one gulp.

The celebration had lasted into the night, and most of the guests were starting to get very tired. Some were heading home, while others decided to stay for a little while longer. Rainbow, on the other hoof, had drunk seven glasses of cider and was only now starting to get the slightest bit weary. As she reached for an eighth glass, Soarin pulled her backwards, much to her dismay. "I think you've had enough, Dashie," he said.

Most of Rainbow's brain was telling her that she hadn't had enough, but the rest of it was still sober enough to convince her otherwise. She had gotten drunk before, and things really didn't go well when she was like that. Right now, she was one glass away from making that happen all over again. "You're probably right, Soarin," Rainbow replied, showing a slight hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Looks like everypony's starting to leave, Dashie. How about I take you home?"

Dash leaned into Soarin, the side of her head pressing against his strong side. "MMM...that's sounds good," she replied in a half whisper.

Soarin then turned over to Rainbow's friends. "I'm gonna take our new Wonderbolt here back home," he said to them, "Thanks again for this party!"

"Are you kidding??" Pinkie Pie asked, "This thing needs to happen more often! Do you realize how much of a blast we had??" Pinkie was silenced by AJ's hoof.

"It was our pleasure, Soarin," the farm mare said to the stallion.

"Bye!" Twilight said.

"See ya!" Soarin replied before resting his slightly inebriated marefriend on his back. He then walked outside and prepared for the flight ahead. "Hold on, Dashie," he said, quickly getting a response from Rainbow as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Soarin then spread his wings and took off into the night sky.

It wasn't long before Soarin touched down on Dash's front walkway. He nudged her with a wing to get off, to which she complied, though a bit lazily.

The couple walked through the front door, but as they did, Soarin couldn't help but stare at his marefriend's rear. He had seen her from this angle with her flight suit on earlier, but he didn't have this long of a close-up. Her uniform hugged her backside so perfectly, the sight making the stallion blush as whatever blood that wasn't running to his face ran elsewhere.

Rainbow turned around to find Soarin motionless, his eyes fixed on her rump. Hoping to shake him out of his trance, she wiggled her rear seductively, somehow causing Soarin to shake his head and look her in the eyes. "Looks like somepony likes what he sees..." she said, sultrily. Soarin's blush only deepened as Rainbow turned around and walked toward him. "You know what would really complete this already awesome night?" she asked in a slight whisper.

Soarin's face suddenly mirrored hers, his smile turning seductive. "I think the real question is, 'Where's it gonna happen?'"

Rainbow walked up to Soarin's side and whispered in his ear, "Bedroom?"

"Yeah..." Soarin whispered back. As Dash walked in front of him, he reached out a hoof and smacked her ass, her butt cheeks jiggling ever so slightly.

Rainbow stopped and turned around, her face still sporting a sultry gaze. "Looks like somepony's in a rush..."

"Race 'ya," Soarin replied before darting forward. Dash did the same, the two of them making it into Dash's bedroom and landing on her bed at about the same time. Soarin immediately took the zipper of Rainbow's flight suit in his teeth and pulled down, her chest and belly slowly becoming uncovered. At the same time, Dash undid the buttons on Soarin's blue jacket, and then she untied his black tie before undoing the buttons on his white shirt. Soarin immediately took his clothes completely off, then he lowered his head to slowly pull his marefriend out of her uniform. He knew that she loved the buildup, so he tried to make it all last. However, he was interrupted by Dashie's hind leg stroking his erection, which had been at full mast ever since they had gotten home.

"Uhhh..." Soarin moaned, not expecting the sensation.

"Hurry up," Dash said, seductively, "My flight suit's already wet."

Soarin looked down and saw a wet spot down where the uniform was covering his marefriend's crotch, and the sight only caused his member to twitch with anticipation. He eventually pulled Dash's legs out of the suit, and soon, they were both naked and raring to go. Soarin looked Rainbow romantically in the eyes and said, "Hey, have I told you that you're the most awesome Wonderbolt there is?"

Dash giggled. "Yeah, you kinda did," she said, booping him on his snout.

"Hehe..." Soaring chuckled in response. "I love you, Dashie."

"I love you, too, Soarin," Dash replied before pulling her stallion down for another kiss. While their tongues played with one another, Soarin lowered himself and touched his tip to Rainbow's entrance, earning a slight grunt from his mare. He soon pushed himself inside, both lovers moaning into each other's mouths. Inch by agonizing inch, Soarin slowly inserted himself into Dash's tight cunt, Dash herself moaning in absolute bliss as she was taken by the sexy Wonderbolt above her. She wanted the perfect end to the perfect night, and she was definitely getting it.

Soon, Soarin hilted himself inside Rainbow Dash, leaving his cock there so they could both relish in their union. Their eyes were looking into each other's, their noses were touching, and their lower halves were giving them sensations beyond belief. There wasn't anywhere else that the two lovers wanted to be.

Soarin pulled out halfway, then thrust back into Rainbow's soaking wet pussy. He was content to keep his medial ring inside his lover, as she seemed to receive more pleasure that way. Plus, it was giving him his own sensations, the ring being one of the more sensitive areas of his cock.

Every burst of pleasure was like a sonic rainboom for Rainbow Dash. Every thrust from the stallion above her seemed to make all the energy given off by the rare feat course through her body like there was no tomorrow. As for Soarin, his penis was constantly tingling with sensations that only Rainbow's tight, slick inner walls could give him. There were times that he wished that Dash had a cock of her own so she could experience that level of pleasure, but he was sure that she was perfectly fine with the pleasure he was giving her right at this moment.

"Ahhh...Soarin!" Rainbow cried out.

"Uhhh...Are you close?" Soarin asked.

"Yeah!...AHHHHH!!!!...Please don't stop!...AHHHH!...I want us to cross the finish line together!"

Soarin couldn't help but giggle at his lover's comparison. "Ugh...Will do, Dashie...AHHHHHHH!!!!!" Soarin screamed as he felt his orgasm approaching. Dashie had already come this far, both in pleasure and becoming a Wonderbolt, so Soarin felt she deserved a reward for all her hard work. He continued pounding her pussy with all his might as he heard cry after cry of euphoria coming from his lover. He knew it was only a matter of time before they would be thrown for their ultimate ride.

Eventually, the inevitable arrived as Rainbow's walls clenched around the dick in her pussy as she squirted all over her coltfriend's member and scrotum, all while Soarin hilted himself inside her again and let his body take over as multiple ropes of thick, warm cum coated his lover's insides. Both mare and stallion moaned loudly as they held onto each other, their orgasms lasting a bit longer expected. Unfortunately, they knew that all great things must come to an end, and Soarin found his cock softening inside Rainbow, so he pulled out and laid by her side, holding her in an embrace.

Both lovers were panting for air as Soarin broke the hazy silence. "hhhh...Enjoy yourself?" he asked.

Dash sighed blissfully before asking, "What do you think?" She then leaned up and kissed her lover again, but only softly. She was beyond tired at this point, but she was completely satisfied. So much had happened in one day. She officially became a Wonderbolt, she had an amazing party with all her friends, and she finished the night off by making love to her coltfriend. She couldn't have asked for anything better. As she closed her eyes and drifted into slumber, Rainbow could only think of what was to come of her new career. She couldn't wait for all the performances and times she'd get to spend with the ponies she idolized. Needless to say, she felt totally awesome.

Author's Note

Yeah...I think we all know where this is going...

Next chapter will be out soon, and trust me, things are about to get real...

Breaking the News: Part I

Fluttershy carefully put together an arrangement of fresh lettuce, grape tomatoes, and cucumber slices in a white bowl, trying to replicate the picture as best she could. The dish was for Angel Bunny, and although she had already convinced him to eat his food whether it met his standards or not, the yellow pegasus always tried to make her favorite companion happy.

Once she was finished, Fluttershy laid the bowl down on the floor. Angel had already gotten himself a pair of silverware and was ready to chow down. Unfortunately, he took one look at his food and wasn't immediately satisfied. He gave Fluttershy his trademark look of disappointment, but Fluttershy was quick to respond with her own displeased look, giving him the stare. Angel immediately obliged and started eating his breakfast, to which Fluttershy smiled happily.

All of a sudden, the yellow mare heard a knock at her front door. This caused some of her other animal friends to make some noise, but she was quick to silence them. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," she said to her critters, calmly. This put a stop to their loud chatter, and they continued eating along with Angel.

Fluttershy opened her front door and noticed Soarin standing in front of her. He had a worried look on his face, which made Fluttershy grow concerned. "Hello, Soarin," she said, "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," the stallion replied, "Have you seen Rainbow Dash? She hasn't shown up for practice."

"Oh dear! I would never expect Dash to miss something she loved so much. Anyway, no. I haven't seen her at all today. Sorry."

"Great..."

"Did you check her house?"

"Yeah, but there was no response after I knocked on the door. I figured she was out."

"Why don't you check with all my other friends? I'll go and see if Dash is actually at her house. Okay?"

"Sounds good," Soarin finished, sounding a bit relieved, "Thanks, Fluttershy."

"Anytime, Soarin," Fluttershy finished, smiling. She then closed and locked her door as she and Soarin took off in opposite directions.

Fluttershy landed on Rainbow Dash's doorstep a few minutes later. Initially, she heard nothing, so she knocked on the door like Soarin had done earlier. She got nothing in return, so she remained quiet, hoping to hear something. Luckily, her patience paid off, as she heard a faint, but audible, moan of displeasure coming from inside. The yellow mare quickly opened the door and went inside, closing it behind her. She had no idea why Dash would leave her door unlocked, but she brushed it off as the sound she had heard earlier flowed through her ear canals. This time, it definitely sounded like something was wrong.

Fluttershy quickly went upstairs and toward Rainbow's bedroom, but she was stopped in her tracks by that sound again. It was coming from the bathroom, and by the way it sounded, it wasn't something that the pegasus liked to hear.

She slowly eased the door to the bathroom open, only to find Dash hunched over the toilet bowl, crying. "Dash?" Fluttershy finally asked.

Rainbow turned around and saw her friend standing behind her. "Oh," she began, "Hey, Flu...BLEEEAAAGH!" Rainbow blurted out as she turned back to the toilet, more of the sickly green liquid forcing itself out of her mouth. The sight and sound of her friend vomiting made Fluttershy cringe. "Ugh..." Rainbow continued, "H-Help..."

"Oh, Dash! How long has this been happening? Have you taken your temperature yet?" Fluttershy asked as she searched for a thermometer.

"Since about 7, and no, I haven't," Rainbow replied, drained of happiness and energy. She kept her head over the toilet, waiting for the inevitable whenever it decided to come again, which, unfortunately, happened to be right now. "BLEEEEAAAAGGHHH!!"

"Here, Dash. Lie down on these towels," Fluttershy said, having just laid a towel on the floor while a folded one served as a makeshift pillow. "Let's take your temperature."

Rainbow did as she was told, lying on her back as she groaned in discomfort. As she lay her head on the folded towel, she opened her mouth and raised her tongue so Fluttershy could insert the thermometer. Once it was in, the yellow pegasus flushed the toilet, and then she grabbed another towel and laid it over Dash's body. "Do you feel sick at all Dash?" she asked, "Well, other than to your stomach?"

"Mm-Mm," Dash mumbled, shaking her head slightly.

Fluttershy laid her hoof on Dash's forehead. "Hmmm...You don't feel warm. Does your throat hurt?"

Rainbow shook her head again.

"Do you have a headache?"

...And again.

"Do you have any allergies that I don't know about?"

...And again.

"Does your tummy hurt?"

This time, Dash nodded and held her forehooves a short distance apart.

"Only a little?"

Dash nodded again, but her face cringed up immediately afterward.

"Is it hurting now?"

Dash shook her head and made a motion with her hoof that something was coming out of her mouth. Fluttershy then knew that her friend was about to throw up again.

"Oh, Dash, hold on! We're almost there!" Fluttershy said, frantically. Dash started taking deep breaths through her nose in order to prevent another episode, but it was quickly becoming more and more difficult to hold back.

Eventually, Fluttershy pulled the thermometer out of her friend's mouth, and Rainbow dove forward, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet once again. Once she was done, she started sobbing. "I don't know what's happening, Fluttershy!...HHHH...This has been going on all morning!"

"Well, you don't have a fever," Fluttershy continued, glancing at the thermometer, "I don't know what's happening, either. Come on, Dash. We need to get you to the hospital right now."

"I don't know if I have the energy to fly."

Fluttershy responded by sweeping Dash up in her forelegs and carrying her out of the bathroom. "Don't worry, Dashie," Fluttershy said, comfortingly, "Everything's going to be fine." She then flew out of the house, her ailing friend in tow.

"You haven't seen Rainbow Dash either?!? Aw, Celestia!" Soarin said loudly in front of Twilight, Starlight, and Spike. The stallion had already checked with Fluttershy's other friends, and he hadn't found his marefriend anywhere, nor did anypony know where she was.

"This isn't like Rainbow Dash," Twilight said.

"You're right," Starlight replied, "She's never late for anything."

"Maybe she partied too hard at the afterparty," Spike added.

"No, that was two weeks ago, Spike," Soarin said, "She's been perfectly fine ever since then. I'm mainly worried for two reasons. One, I have no idea what's happening to her, and two, I'm worried that Spitfire may demote her back to the Reserves or even kick her out of the Wonderbolts if she ditches practice without an advance notice! She's worked far too hard to have her dream ruined now!"

"I know," Twilight replied, "I can only imagine what she'd be like if she WERE to get demoted or kicked out."

"There you are, Soarin!" Fluttershy called out behind the stallion. He turned around and saw the yellow mare flying toward him, a worried look on her face.

"Fluttershy!" Soarin began, "Did you find her?"

"Yes. She's been at her house this whole time, and she's been vomiting all morning!" The other four gasped. "I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I just dropped her off at the hospital and came to find you!"

"Is she still there?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Fluttershy continued, "Soarin, I need you to come with me. I think having you around would make Dash feel better."

"I think you're right, Fluttershy," Soarin finished. He and the yellow pegasus then started their short flight to Ponyville General Hospital, turning around temporarily to wave goodbye to the two other mares and the dragon before the trio went back inside the castle.

It wasn't long before the two pegasi landed in front of the hospital. They went inside, and Fluttershy led Soarin to where Dash's room was. Once there, they walked into the room, only to find Rainbow Dash looking very sad. "Dash?" Fluttershy said, "Soarin and I are here."

Rainbow looked up, blushing furiously upon seeing her coltfriend. "What's wrong, Dash?" Soarin asked, "Why weren't you at practice this morning?"

Rainbow was silent. The look on her face seemed to grow more and more ashamed with each passing second. Finally, the cyan mare lifted her head and said, "Fluttershy, could you give us a minute or two?"

"Sure, Dash," Fluttershy replied, turning around and walking out of the room.

Once the door had closed, Soarin walked up next Dash at her bedside. "What's going on?" he asked, "Are you sick?"

Rainbow shook her head. "S-Soarin..." she said, softly.

"What? What is it, Dash?"

"I...I..." It took her a while to muster the courage to tell her coltfriend what was happening. "I'm pregnant..."

Breaking the News: Part II (edited)

Soarin just stood there. His eyes were wide, his mouth was slightly agape, and the only sounds coming from him were inhales and exhales. He was also beginning to sweat a little. "W-What?" he asked, silently.

"Yeah..." Dash replied, still looking sad.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh. I gave them a urine sample, and a little while later, they came back and said I was pregnant."

Soarin couldn't find the words to respond. He didn't even know how to feel. From what Fluttershy had told him, he had thought that Rainbow Dash was critically ill, but now she was telling him she was expecting, and it most certainly was his foal. It was almost too much for a stallion like Soarin to take in all at once. "Dash, I...I...I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"No, it's not," Rainbow replied, reaching out to lay a hoof on her coltfriend's shoulder, "I shouldn't have been so persistent about wanting to do...you know, that. I shouldn't have gotten carried away like I did."

"Why are you blaming yourself? I'm the one who got you pregnant. At least, I think I am..."

"Don't worry. Ever since we've been together, you're the only stallion I've slept with."

Soarin breathed a sigh of relief. "So, how are we gonna deal with this? You won't be able to fly with the Wonderbolts if you're pregnant."

Rainbow Dash began to cry as Soarin climbed into the bed next to her. "That's what I'm so upset about...HHHH...I've waited my whole life to become a Wonderbolt, and two weeks after I get in, I have to stop because I'm gonna have a foal." The forlorn mare buried her face in her forehooves while continuing to cry, her coltfriend wrapping his foreleg around her neck.

"Dash, I'm sorry. Truly, I am."

"HHHH...I'm not ready for a foal, Soarin. I don't even think I'd make a good mother."

"Now, come on, Dashie. I think you'd make an awesome mother. You're a great leader and you know so many things. Heck, I'd be honored if you were my mother."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah."

"Th-Thanks. Anyway, aside from that, I don't know if I can even support a foal. Sure, I make quite a bit from being on Weather Patrol, but for now, that's it. I won't make any money from being a Wonderbolt if I can't fly with them."

"Dash, I'll support you and the foal any way I can. I don't want you to tackle parenthood alone."

Rainbow sighed. "Can I have some time to think about this, Soarin? You can let Fluttershy back in if you want."

"Sure, Dash," Soarin finished as he kissed his marefriend on the cheek, "I'll see you later." He then got down from the bed and walked out the door. "You can go back in now," he said to Fluttershy, who was still waiting outside the door.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I think so," the stallion replied, "We just need time to, well...think things through."

"Okay," Fluttershy finished as she and Soarin once again went in opposite directions.

"Oh, poor Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said, "Who knows what could be wrong with her?" She, Twilight, Starlight, Spike, Pinkie, and Applejack were all in the throne room of Twilight's castle, discussing their thoughts on what may be going on with Rainbow, given what Twilight had already said.

"I ain't never seen her in a state like that," AJ said, "She usually does a great job of keepin' her health in check."

"Look on the bright side, girls!" Pinkie began, "Once Dashie's all better, we can have a big 'Dashie's All Better' party!"

"Come on, Pinkie," said a now slightly annoyed Starlight, "This isn't the time to be thinking about parties."

Pinkie lowered her head. "Sorry," she finished.

All of a sudden, everyone heard the door to the throne room open, and they all looked toward it. There was Soarin, his face sporting a distressed expression. "Soarin!" Twilight exclaimed as she and her friends ran toward him, "Is everything alright?"

"Is Rainbow Dash okay?" Spike asked.

"Well, she's not sick, if that's what you were thinking," he began. Everyone else heaved a sigh of relief. "But, something is happening..."

"What?" AJ asked.

"Ummm..." Soarin couldn't bring himself to tell them immediately. He was afraid he would get all negative reactions from everyone in front of him. Still, they were going to find out as time went by, so he figured he should tell them now. "I...I...kinda..." Soarin was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck at this point. "...got Dash pregnant..."

The other five stared at him, all looking quite surprised. "Seriously?!?" Rarity asked.

"Yay!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Now we can throw Dashie a foal shower!"

"PINKIE!!" everyone else, except Soarin, interjected. The party pony only blushed apologetically.

"Is she okay?" Twilight asked Soarin.

"Yeah," he continued, "But she's pretty upset, and I can't help but feel ashamed of myself. She has to put aside being a Wonderbolt in order to carry this foal, and all because of me. I think we both should have been more observant of our actions after the afterparty." At this point, the light blue Wonderbolt stallion began to shed a few tears. "Why did I do this?" he asked no one in particular.

"Don't worry, darling," Rarity said, comfortingly, "You two have options, you know."

"Yeah, you're right," Soarin replied.

"Soarin!" Fluttershy screamed after bursting through the doorway to the throne room.

"Whoa, Fluttershy!" the stallion replied in surprise, "What's going on?" Everyone else looked on curiously.

"You need to come back to the hospital! Rainbow's...ummm..."

"What? What's happening?"

Fluttershy was panting in both exhaustion and anxiety. "She's...hhh...about to...hhh...terminate the pregnancy!"

Everyone else gasped. "SHE'S HAVING AN ABORTION?!?!?!?" Soarin screamed.

“Yes! Don’t you think you should talk to her about it?”

Soarin wanted to reply, but he immediately began thinking about the circumstances. He did want to talk to her, but at the same time, he knew there wasn’t really anything he could do. He and Dash weren’t married, so he had no say in what the foal’s future would be like. It was all up to the mother.

With a sigh, Soarin said, “No. This is entirely her choice, and I don’t have any right to intervene.” After that, Soarin began flapping his wings and flew out of the throne room, leaving behind several sad-looking mares and a dragon with a similar expression.

Soarin lay on his living room couch, going on a guilt trip of the recent events. He knew he should have gone back to work, but he was too distressed about the whole situation. He had accidentally gotten his marefriend pregnant, and now she was off to end it once and for all. He knew that it would very likely be a traumatic experience for the mare, but there was nothing he could do about it. Even though he may have already thought about the positives to being a father, it seemed that Dash had already made up her mind. “Dash is never gonna look at me the same way again…” Soarin thought to himself, “She may wanna break up with me after this is all done…”

Just then, there was a knock on Soarin’s front door. The stallion was a bit reluctant to get up, given how sad he was, but he eventually made his way to the door and opened it. His eyes went a bit wide upon noticing Rainbow Dash on his front step. The two pegasi stood there in silence for several seconds before Soarin said, “Hey…”

“Hey…” Dash replied, “Can I come in? I need to tell you something.”

Soarin sighed. “Sure,” he replied, “C’mon in.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow replied, silently.

The two ponies were soon sitting on Soarin’s couch, and the stallion was the first to speak. “Dash, I’m so sorry I put you through this. I never meant to cause you this much pain. At least you don’t have to worry about the foal anymore…”

“A-Actually, Soarin,” Dash stammered, “I…well, I didn’t go through with it.”

Soarin’s eyes widened slightly. “You didn’t?” he asked.

“No,” Dash replied.

“Why? I thought you weren’t ready for a foal.”

“You’re right, but…something in my head told me to not do it. At least…not immediately.”

“So you were just following your instincts?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Dash remained silent for a few more seconds before continuing. “Anyway, now that I’m here, I wanna hear what you think about this.”

Soarin didn’t speak immediately, but he soon gathered his thoughts and replied, “Dash, at this point, I don’t know if it’s a good idea if I tell you how I feel. I don’t wanna, like, try to convince you to do anything just because I said it. I really think it’d be best if you just do whatever you feel is right.”

Rainbow was a bit surprised by her coltfriend’s statement. “Why don’t you wanna tell me?”

“Because some ponies may think I’m trying to control you, which I’m not. I may be the Wonderbolts’ co-captain, but deep down, I’m not really that kind of pony. I’d rather encourage others to do what they feel is right than get them to do what I want them to do.”

For the first time that day, Rainbow Dash smiled. “That was really sweet, Soarin,” she said, “I didn’t know that’s how you felt.”

“Hey, you’re friends with the element of honesty. Applejack would probably give me a swift kick in the flank if I ever lied to you.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, probably.”

The two pegasi then remained silent for the next few minutes, allowing them to really think about the scenario they had gotten themselves into. Rainbow was the first to speak. “Hey, Soarin?”

“Yeah?” the stallion replied.

“The more I think about it, the more I think that we could make somepony else happy by giving them this foal.”

“But…but that means you’ll be out for nearly a year.”

“I know, but knowing that we fulfilled someone else’s dream of having their own foal really makes up for that. It’s like taking time out of your life to do something for someone else. I’ve gone on a whole bunch of adventures with my friends, and we’ve done just that.”

Soarin took a few moments to process what he’d just heard. “Wow, Dash,” he replied, “I never thought I’d see that side of you. If that’s what you wanna do, then I’ll be there for you every step of the way.”

Rainbow smiled again. "Really?"

"Absolutely. I'll be with you through every phase of your pregnancy. I'll get you whatever you want, do whatever you need me to do, whatever I can do to make you feel loved. Plus, I'll even throw a portion of my Wonderbolt income your way, since you're not gonna be working while you're pregnant."

"Y-You'd do that...for me?" Rainbow asked.

"Of course. It's what a responsible stallion would do, especially for the greatest mare in all of Equestria."

Rainbow was silent. Her smile grew bigger, and tears began flowing from her eyes. Without warning, she leaned forward and kissed Soarin full on the lips, putting a little more pressure on him than she'd intended to. Soarin gladly leaned back into her, embracing her with both his lips and his forelegs. After what seemed like forever, Dash pulled away and looked Soarin in the eyes. "Thank you," she said, still crying slightly, "I love you so much, Soarin."

"I love you, too, Dashie," Soarin replied as he leaned forward and kissed her again.

Author's Note

Bit of a shocker, huh?

Anyway, I'm gonna post another short chapter today, and then I'll get into more serious matters starting tomorrow. Stay tuned!

*Update: This chapter has been significantly altered due to some negative feedback. I hope that what you have just read is better (given you already know what happened originally). The next two chapters have been edited as well (slightly) in order to fit in with this one.

Breaking the News: Part III

Spitfire stared at the multitude of papers on her desk in her office. She and the others were on their afternoon break, and she wanted to use this time to get everything organized.

The Wonderbolts' captain was annoyed with one thing. Her newest recruit hadn't shown up for practice, and she had no idea why. Soarin had offered to go and look for her, but he had not returned, and although she was annoyed with that, as well, the yellow-orange pegasus was getting quite worried.

Right as she got up from her chair to put a few manila folders in a nearby file cabinet, the door to her office opened. Standing there was the light blue stallion she knew all too well. "Well, look who's back," she said, maintaining a bit of authority in her tone while putting away her files, "Did you find her?"

"Yeah," Soarin said, a small frown on his face.

"What's up?" Spitfire asked, noticing that her teammate was not looking well.

"Well, Dash isn't sick or anything like that, but..."

"Yeeeeeaaaaaah?"

"I...seem to have...gotten her pregnant."

Spitfire looked Soarin in the eyes, a surprised look on her face. "Oh?"

"Yeah..."

"And...what else is happening?"

"I thought she was getting an abortion, but she came to me and said she didn't do it. She needed some time to think. She and I talked about it, and she eventually decided to carry the foal and give it up for adoption in the end."

"Soarin, do you realize that this means she won't be able to fly with us anytime soon?"

"Yes, I do," Soarin continued, his expression and tone changing to those of a mature businesspony, "That's why I told her that I was going to stick by her every step of the way throughout the pregnancy. I said I would always be there in her time of need, and that I would even throw in a bit of my Wonderbolt salary since she wouldn't be here or on weather patrol. I'm taking full responsibility for this, and I intend to make Rainbow Dash happy until she can fly with us again."

Never did Spitfire think she would hear words like that come out of Soarin's mouth. After several seconds of silence, Spitfire smiled at the stallion in front of her. "I'm proud of you, Soarin," she said, raising a hoof for a hoofshake. Soarin immediately took the initiative. "I'm really glad that things turned out well. I'm also glad that you're being loyal to her, just like she's loyal to all her friends and commitments. I really hope things continue to go well for the two of you."

"Thank you so much," Soarin replied.

"Just try not to miss too much practice. The reserves we have aren't nearly as great as you or Dash."

"Yeah, I know," Soarin said while giggling. He then turned around and began to walk away, but he turned back upon remembering something he had just said. "Just to be clear, Spitfire, me saying that I would give Rainbow Dash a bit of my pay as compensation was not a request for a raise, right?"

Spitfire grinned coyly at Soarin. "Not unless you're staying for longer shifts, big guy..."

Soarin chuckled. "Hehe...I figured."

Author's Note

Don't worry folks, that's it for "Breaking the News". Like I said earlier, new chapter tomorrow. It'll be longer, and it's gonna throw you a curveball (or two...).

Two Surprises

The bell above the door at Sugar Cube Corner rang as Soarin walked through the entrance. He was immediately hit with the tantalizing smell of freshly baked cakes, cupcakes, muffins, and whatever sweets that had just come out of the oven. He took a few seconds to allow the luscious scents to fill his mind and senses before a voice from behind the counter brought him back to reality. "Hello, there, Soarin!" Mrs. Cake said, excitedly.

"Hey, Mrs. Cake," the stallion replied, "Are there any left?"

"Right here, my friend!" Mr. Cake said, seeming to pop out of nowhere. He was holding the last lemon-vanilla layer cake with butter-cream icing that was left in the shop. "Just how she likes it!"

"Great! Thanks!" Soarin replied before reaching into his saddlebags and pulling out eight bits, which he promptly gave to Mrs. Cake. The cake he had just bought was one of the many cravings that Rainbow Dash had been getting recently.

"Now, how's our friend Rainbow Dash doing?" Mrs. Cake asked as she placed the bits in the register.

"She seems alright," Soarin replied, "I mean, she still gets mourning sickness from time to time, plus mood swings, but right now, all she wants is that cake."

"Oh my, I can remember all the cravings I had when I was pregnant!" Mrs. Cake continued, "After it was all over, it took me a while to lose all the extra weight, aside from the foals."

"Yeah, Dash has been craving everything from pickles to pretzels, but that right there," he said, gesturing to the cake he had just purchased, "Is her favorite."

"Well, we're glad to help you keep her satisfied, Soarin," Mr. Cake said.

"Thanks, you two," Soarin responded, "Anyway, Dash's first ultrasound is tomorrow."

"Oh, is it now?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"Yeah. I mean," Soarin continued as he lowered his head slightly, "I should be excited about it, but since Dash doesn't really want this foal, it's more of just a plain, ordinary checkup rather than an exciting experience."

"I'm sorry you're going through all this, Soarin," Mr. Cake said, "I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now."

"Thanks. I mean, in all honesty, I'd love to be a dad, but since Dash and I aren't married, I really can't make that decision for her. Anyway, I'd better get this back to her. Thanks again!" Soarin finished as he loaded the cake, which was now in a white package, into his saddlebags.

"Bye, Soarin!" the Cakes said in unison as their customer exited their shop and flew away.

Soarin landed in front of Dash's door, opening it quickly. "Dash," he said, loudly, "I'm back!"

"What took you so long???" Rainbow asked, not sounding too happy. She was laying on her couch, the many wrappers and empty cups around her signaling that she had eaten quite a bit since her coltfriend had left.

"Oh, come on..." Soarin said, equally as bemused, "I was only gone ten minutes. Anyway, here's your cake."

"Next time, make it five," Rainbow responded, blankly. Soarin was used to this at this point, but anytime Dash's mood swings caused her to get upset, he hated it. He didn't want to deal with it, but he had to, as he had promised Dash to stick by her.

Soarin went into Dash's kitchen to get himself a glass of virgin cider. He was trying to maintain his protein-centered diet as much he could while Dash was on a drastically different one. After downing the glass in about five gulps, he placed the now empty glass in the sink before turning back to Rainbow. To his surprise, the cake was nowhere to be found.

"BUUURRRPPP!" Rainbow belched. She then let out a content sigh, rubbing her slightly rounded belly, a result of both the foal inside her and the amount of food she had just eaten. "HHHAAA...That hit the spot," she said.

"I'm glad it did," Soarin replied.

"Hey, I'm sorry I got mad at you," Rainbow apologized, her mood quickly changing to a calmer one, "I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, Dashie," Soarin replied, walking over to give his marefriend a kiss on her forehead. He then sat on the couch next to her. The two of them remained silent for almost a minute. "So..." Soarin continued, "The first ultrasound is tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Dash replied.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm not sure. I feel like I'm gonna see a picture of a foal that isn't mine."

"That's...kinda what's gonna happen, Dash."

Rainbow sighed again. "Soarin, have you ever felt as if, well...you think you've made a decision that's best for you, but as you get closer and closer to fulfilling that decision, you start to second-guess yourself?"

Soarin listened intently. "Uhhh...Other than thinking about changing my answer on a test when I was in school, not really. Why?"

"It's just that..." She sighed again. "You know what, never mind. I'll tell you at the ultrasound tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think it'll be better for both of us."

"If that's what you want, I'm okay with it."

"Well, I'm glad you are, 'cause I'm pretty tired right now," Rainbow said while yawning.

"Want me to take you to your bedroom?" Rainbow's response was her reaching her forelegs out as if she were about to hug Soarin. He took the initiative, carefully scooping his mare up in his own forelegs and slowly flying her down the hallway and to her bedroom. Once there, Soarin laid his marefriend down on her bed, hearing another content sigh from her as he did. "See you tomorrow?" Soarin asked.

Rainbow smiled. "Yeah. See you tomorrow," she finished. The cyan mare then pulled the blankets over herself and turned onto her side. Soarin was about to leave, but not before leaning down and giving his marefriend one last kiss for the night. Once finished, the stallion turned around and exited the bedroom, eventually exiting the cloud home altogether and flying into the nighttime sky toward his own.

Nurse Redheart began rubbing the ultrasound wand over Dash's slightly rounded belly, which had already been lubricated with clear gel. Both Rainbow Dash and Soarin were watching the ultrasound screen. Though they knew that the foal would be put up for adoption, they still wanted to get a good look at it. Nurse Redheart stopped when she noticed the head. "Well, it appears the foal is developing properly. Here you can see the head, and here's it's forelegs and back."

"Wow," Dash said, silently, "This is actually kinda cool, don't you think. Soarin?"

"Yeah," Soarin responded, "It is."

Nurse Redheart continued showing the couple the unborn foal through the images. "And here you can see its hind legs are developing normally, and...wait a minute..." Redheart paused as she noticed something odd on the monitor.

"What is it?" Dash asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

Redheart moved the wand until it was over the unusual object she had just noticed. "Hmmm..." she hummed to herself, examining the image closely. Her face then grew very excited. "Well, isn't this a surprise!?" she said, happily.

"What's going on?" Soarin asked, also a bit concerned, but not as much, given that he had just seen Redheart grow very cheerful.

"It appears you two are expecting twins!"

"TWINS?!?" Rainbow and Soarin exclaimed in unison.

"Yes! Twins!" Redheart said before moving the wand back to what she had just confirmed to be the second foal's head. "If you look here, you can clearly see that one foal is right-side-up, and the other one is upside-down. Right here, which is where I initially stopped, is the other foal's head. And if we look over here," she continued, moving the wand, "We can see the rest of the other foal's body, which appears to be developing just as healthily as the other one. Don't worry, by the time you're ready for delivery, they'll both be facing the same direction. If they're not, we have ways to fix it so we can avoid a C-Section." She then used a different component to listen to the foals' heartbeats, both of which sounded normal.

Both Wonderbolts were in complete shock. This whole time, Rainbow thought she would be giving one foal away, but now two? It caused her to suddenly grow nervous, the same being said for Soarin. "C-Could you give us a little bit of time alone?" Rainbow asked Redheart.

"Absolutely," the nurse replied, "Would you like me to print out some pictures of the foals for you?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks," Rainbow replied. Redheart smiled, then turned around and turned on the special printer that was connected to the ultrasound machine, and after pressing a few buttons, the pictures started coming out.

After a couple of minutes of printing, Redheart handed the pictures over to the couple. "Thanks," Rainbow said.

"You're welcome," Redheart replied, "And congratulations!" The nurse smiled before exiting the examination room, leaving the couple to themselves.

Soarin took a few looks at the pictures, then looked over to his marefriend, who was lying on her side away from him. She was beginning to cry a little. "Dash, are you okay?" the stallion asked in a whisper.

"T-Twins..." Rainbow said to herself, her voice barely audible to Soarin, "Th-There's...t-two of them..."

"Dash, what's wrong?" Soarin asked again, a little louder this time.

Rainbow didn't immediately respond. It took her a good thirty seconds to come up with the right words. She sat up and said, "Soarin, I-I need to tell you something."

"Tell me anything, Dashie. Just let it out."

"Okay. Well, I know I sounded pretty insistent that I was giving the foal up for adoption, but...now that I'm giving away two, it...it just doesn't feel right. And the worst part is that I don't know why."

"Mother's instinct, perhaps?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it." She sighed. "Soarin, remember what I said to you last night about second-guessing yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Well," she continued, looking at the ultrasound pictures, "I think I'm starting to do that right now." She began picturing the heads of two of her best friends in place of the foals'. "The more I think about it at this point," Dash continued, "The more I wonder what the foals' lives would be without their birth parents. I can't help but picture Pinkie and Fluttershy in these pictures. For one, Pinkie's life was drastically different than her current one, and Fluttershy...well, she's been shy and sad her whole life. Can you imagine what they'd be like today if they were adopted into different families?"

"Dash, what are you saying?" Soarin asked, a faint glimmer of hope flowing through his mind.

"I'm saying that, well...I don't think giving the twins up for adoption is a good idea."

"Y-You don't?"

"No...and if I do decide to keep them, would you mind being there for them as much as I would be?"

"Yes, Dash. Absolutely," Soarin said, "Actually, hold on."

Rainbow watched curiously as Soarin brought his saddlebags over next to her bed. "Why did you bring those, exactly?"

"Well, I brought them to carry the pictures, if we were to get any, which we did, but there was another reason."

"What for?"

"Well, I was kinda hoping there'd be a day during your pregnancy that'd you'd think twice about adoption. I mean, I wasn't going to force you to not do it. That's your decision, after all."

Rainbow smiled warmly at her coltfriend. "Thanks, Soarin. I gotta tell 'ya, though, I'm glad those voices in my head stopped me from getting that abortion. If I had gone through and realized that I had aborted two foals, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

"I can see why. Anyway, there was another reason why I brought my saddlebags today. Wanna hear why?"

"Tell me, Soarin."

"Okay. Well, since you've decided that you'll most likely not give the foals away, I feel now is the best time for me to ask you an important question," he said, taking his marefriend's forehoof in his.

"S-Soarin, what's this about?"

Soarin sighed, then looked Rainbow straight in the eyes. "Dash, you and I have been together for quite some time, and aside from being in the Wonderbolts, it's been the best time of my life." Rainbow smiled. "I think you're the greatest mare in all of Equestria, and I feel that we were meant to be together. And now that you and I are gonna be having two foals, I need to ask you something."

Rainbow's eyes widened as Soarin reached for something in his saddlebags. "S-Soarin...what are you..."

Her silent speech was stopped by Soarin's forehoof coming out of his bags, holding a small, black box. Soarin then sat on his rump. "Rainbow Dash," he said, opening the small box to reveal a sparkling, diamond-encrusted silver ring with a thin, cyan string tied to each side of the diamond, "Will you marry me?"

Dash gasped as she put a forehoof to her muzzle. A few more tears began welling up in her eyes as she began to shiver. "S-Soarin!" she silently exclaimed. The two of them were silent for another ten seconds before Rainbow took her hoof away from her mouth and said, "Yes! Yes, I will! Yes!" She immediately leaned forward, prompting Soarin to lunge into his new fiancée gently and draw her into a hug. "I love you so much, Soarin!"

"I love you, too, Dashie! I wouldn't want to spend my life with any other pony!"

"Same here!" Dash pulled her head back and kissed Soarin on the lips, immediately forcing her tongue into his mouth. Soarin took the initiative and allowed his tongue to dance with hers.

After a full minute, the newly engaged couple broke the kiss, staring romantically into each other's eyes. Soarin then reached into the black box and removed the ring, using both his forehooves to slide Dash's head through the string and have it hang on her neck. Dash looked at the shiny ring and held it in her hoof. "It's beautiful, Soarin!" she said, "Thank you!"

"Only the best for you, Dashie," Soarin replied before kissing her again. "I'm so happy right now!" Soarin exclaimed, softly.

"Me, too!" Dash replied in an identical tone, "I can't believe the four of us," she continued, rubbing her belly, "...are gonna be a family!"

"Me neither..." Soarin finished as he hugged his fiancée again, "And I wouldn't want it any other way..." Both of them stayed silent, relishing the euphoria that was the next step in their relationship. They remained in that blissful state for the rest of the day as they went back to Dash's house for some quality alone time, each pegasus eager to see how everypony else would react once they broke the news later on.

A Party & Some Planning

Twilight was sitting in her throne room along with her friends, except for Rainbow Dash. They were scheduled to have a meeting this morning regarding a recent trip they went on because of the map. However, they couldn't start until all six of them were there.

The silence was broken as Rarity asked the purple princess a random question. "Twilight," she said, "I've always wondered, do Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have a third sister that nopony in Equestria knows about except them?"

"Why do you ask?" Twilight asked in return.

"Well, since Prince Blueblood is Princess Celestia's nephew, and given that he's...well, I assuming he's not over 1,000 years old, right?"

"You're right."

"Then there's no way he's Princess Luna's son. There has to be some explanation for his existence."

"Maybe his mother lives somewhere else," Fluttershy said.

"Or maybe," Pinkie Pie began, "Princess Celestia secretly banished his mother to the moon, told nopony about it, and decided that she would leave her there indefinitely."

"Or maybe...she's dead," Applejack brought up, a slightly sad look on her face as she briefly thought about her parents.

"Okay," Twilight continued, "Fluttershy, there's no proof of that, Pinkie Pie, that's absurd, and Applejack, there's no proof of that, either. Maybe he was just 'given' the title of "Prince" after something he did, just like with me when I became a princess."

"Do you think we'll ever find out?" Starlight asked.

"I don't know, Starlight," Twilight finished, "I just don't know."

Not even a second after the alicorn had finished speaking, the door to the throne room opened, and Rainbow Dash walked in alongside Soarin. "There you are!" Twilight exclaimed, "Where have you been, Rainbow?"

"Sorry, guys," Rainbow replied, rubbing the back of her head, "I think I'm slowly entering that phase where it gets harder and harder for a pregnant pegasus to fly without assistance, up until the point where she can't fly until the foal is born."

"But isn't it a little early for that?" asked Fluttershy, knowing more about this situation that her other friends, "Aren't you only two months along?"

"Yeah, but there's a reason."

"What is it?" AJ asked.

Rainbow turned to face Soarin. "You wanna tell them?" she asked with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Why me?" Soarin replied, chuckling, "Why can't you tell them?" The others were intently looking on at the couple talking with each other.

"Alright, alright..." Rainbow replied, blushing slightly from the anticipated swarm of excited mares coming after her, "We had the ultrasound yesterday, and it turns out I'm having twins!"

Everyone else's eyes went wide. "SERIOUSLY?!?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, an enormous smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Rainbow finished. Not a second later, her six friends practically jumped her, hugging her from all sides. The unexpected force caused the string around Rainbow's neck to shift, her silver engagement ring falling out from her mane, where she'd hid it, and dangling off her neck.

The others quickly noticed this and backed away, not believing that they had another surprise awaiting them. "Rainbow!" Rarity exclaimed, "Is...Is that...?"

"Shoot..." Rainbow thought to herself while smiling. "Yeah...something else happened, too."

Soarin wrapped his right foreleg around Dash's neck. "We got engaged yesterday!" he said, both him and Dash smiling.

Instantly, the other six mares squealed in delight and cheered for their friend and her fiancée, hugging both of them excitedly. After several mini-congratulatory comments, Rarity took a closer look at Rainbow's ring, taking it in her hoof. "Rainbow, darling, it's gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

"I'll say!" Applejack said, admiring Rainbow's ring, "You sure know how to make a mare happy, Soarin!"

"Hehe..." Soarin chuckled, "I guess I do, don't I?"

"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie exclaimed rather quickly while bouncing up and down, "There's so much I have to do!" Then, in a flash, she was gone as a small trail of dust was left behind from her speedy getaway. No one said anything, but three seconds later, Pinkie zoomed back into the room, whispered something into Fluttershy's ear, then took off again at lightning speed without saying a word.

Fluttershy soon began flapping her wings, hovering in the air while she said, "Um, if you'll excuse me, Pinkie Pie wants me to go take care some...'business'. I'll be back soon!" The yellow pegasus then flew out of the room and down the hall, her friends not knowing where she was headed.

All of sudden, Pinkie reentered the room again, this time whispering something in Twilight's ear before disappearing almost instantly down the hall.

"What'd she say?" Rainbow asked the princess.

Twilight smirked. "You'll find out later," she said.

"Oh. Anyway, weren't we supposed to have a meeting today?"

"Yes, but seeing that something else is happening, we'll just have to reschedule it. In the meantime, you can just enjoy the rest of the morning at your house. That goes for all of you, as well," Twilight finished, gesturing to her other friends.

"Splendid!" Rarity said as she began her exit, "See you all soon!" AJ, Rainbow, and Soarin soon followed.

"Hey, Dashie," Soarin said, just walking into the living room of his fiancée's cloud home, "You want me to go pick up another cake?"

"Nah," Rainbow Dash replied, "I'm not that hungry right now, but thanks."

"Not to be rude, but how many of those have you eaten already?" Soarin asked while chuckling.

"I've lost count. I'm just glad I haven't gained too much weight, otherwise I'd be earthbound already."

"Yeah. And I know how much you love being in the air."

"Yeah..." Dash finished.

Right at that moment, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Soarin said. He soon opened the door, only to find nopony standing there. He did, however, find an envelope on the doormat. He took it in his teeth before going back inside and closing the door. He opened the envelope, skimming the note that was inside. "Hmmm..." he continued, "We're wanted at Sugar Cube Corner right now."

"Oh?" Dash said, raising an eyebrow, "I wonder what this is about?"

"Same here."

"Well, I'm ready whenever you are, Soarin."

"I'm ready. Let's go!" The couple then left Dash's house, making the short flight down to Ponyville, eventually arriving at the front entrance to the bakery.

The building was dark, and there didn't seem to be any ponies on the streets around them. Soarin slowly pushed the door open, taking a few steps inside along with Rainbow. All of a sudden, the lights came on and numerous ponies, and one small dragon, came into view. "SURPRISE!!!!!" they all yelled, followed by the release of hundreds of pieces of multi-colored confetti.

Both Rainbow and Soarin were stunned. Their eyes were wide and their jaws were hanging slack. "What is this?!?" Rainbow asked, loudly.

Immediately, Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of the pregnant mare. "It's your engagement party, silly!" she said, booping Dash on the snout with her hoof, "What else could it be?"

Soarin chuckled. "I could think of a few other..." He was silenced by Pinkie's forehoof.

"Don't spoil anything!" the party pony exclaimed in a whisper.

"Sorry," Soarin apologized, blushing.

Pinkie smiled. "Don't worry about it," she said.

"Hey, there they are!" Spitfire said, walking up to the left side of Soarin along with Fleetfoot.

"Huh?!?" Soarin interjected.

"How'd you guys get here?!?" Rainbow asked, her mind in disbelief that two other Wonderbolts had made it.

"Just ask Fluttershy!" Pinkie said, grabbing the yellow pegasus from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh, that's right," Fluttershy began, "Pinkie sent me to Cloudsdale to tell the Wonderbolts and all of your parents that you had gotten engaged and that there was a party in less than one hour. I also told a few others up there, too," she finished, pointing to Thunderlane, who was over in a corner, talking with Flitter and Cloudchaser.

"Aw, sweet!" Soarin said, happy to see one of his long-time friends.

Rainbow then turned back to the pink party pony. "Pinkie," she began, "You threw all of this together, guests and everything, in less than an hour?"

"I sure did!" Pinkie replied.

"Don't you think it could have waited? You know, to give everypony some time to prepare?" Pinkie's immediate response was her giving Dash a pair of puppy-dog eyes while sticking out her bottom lip. Realizing her passion for celebration, Dash decided to brush the whole thing off. "Ehhh...never mind, Pinkie. Thanks for doing this." Pinkie's face instantly brightened up, her smile returning as she hugged the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"Rainbow Dash!" came a female voice from the right of the newly engaged couple.

"Soarin!" came another female voice from the same area.

The couple each turned their heads to the right and noticed their parents walking towards them, each looking as happy as ever. Rainbow's mom and dad immediately hugged their daughter, while Wind Glider and Grey Nimbus, Soarin's parents, did the same to their son.

"How do you two feel?" Rainbow Blaze asked.

"Better than I've ever felt in my life!" Soarin said, happily.

"Me, too!" Rainbow responded.

"That's great!" Wind Glider said.

"Have you picked a date yet?" asked Firefly.

"What date?" Rainbow replied.

"You know, the wedding?" said Grey Nimbus.

"Oh..." Soarin replied, "Well, this all kinda happened yesterday, so not yet."

"I'm sure it'll be soon," Rainbow continued.

"Let me know when you've decided!" Pinkie chirped.

"Will do, Pinks!" Rainbow replied.

"Great! Now, come on! Don't just stand there! This party's just getting started!" With that, Rainbow and Soarin went to different areas of the café, eating cake and sweets and chatting with all their friends, all while enjoying the surprise engagement party that Pinkie Pie had thrown for them.

After more than three hours of partying, Soarin and Rainbow Dash returned to Dash's home, pretty much crashing onto the couch due to their slight exhaustion. Rainbow had had a craving attack while there, and she ate nearly half of all the goods provided. Needless to say, she was ready for a nap. However, she didn't realize that she wouldn't be getting one anytime soon.

"Wow..." Soarin said, almost breathless, "That was some party, huh, Dashie?"

"Yeah," Rainbow replied while exhaling, "That was totally awesome. I just hope Pinkie doesn't overextend herself to throw us as many parties as she can regarding our wedding and my pregnancy all at once."

"Well, she can't throw them all, Dashie. The bachelor and bachelorette parties, if we each get one, are thrown by the best stallion and maid of honor, respectively."

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me!"

"About what?"

"I gotta go ask one of my friends something!"

"Right now?"

"Well...not right now. I'm still a bit tired."

"Me, too." The couple remained silent for a few minutes as they lay on the couch, slowly moving themselves so that Rainbow's back was pressed up against Soarin's chest. After another few minutes of snuggling, Soarin asked, "Hey, Dashie, you know, I think we should pick a wedding date sooner rather than later. That way we won't have to worry about it for very long."

Rainbow thought about what her fiancée said for a few seconds. "You're probably right," she replied, "I do wanna get married and moved in together before I'm confined to the ground until the foals arrive."

"Speaking of that, if it's alright with you, I just listed my cloud house so I could move in with you and we could be together as newlyweds."

"Awww...Soarin, you did that already?"

"Yeah. By the time we're married, I just want us to live happy and worry-free until we become parents," Soarin said before leaning down to kiss his fiancée on the cheek.

Rainbow blushed slightly. "So...when do you think we should get married?"

"Well, Hearts and Hooves Day is in about two months. If Pinkie Pie and the others aren't too busy, wanna do it then?"

"Awww...really?" Rainbow asked while looking sweetly up at Soarin and reaching her right forehoof up to touch his right cheek.

"Yeah. Why not?" He kissed her again.

Rainbow remained silent for a few more seconds. "Think we should ask Pinkie Pie?" she asked.

"We probably should. Let's go!" Soarin replied. He and his fiancée then leapt up from the couch and left the house.

"Really?!?" Pinkie Pie asked Twilight. "That's great! They'll be so happy to hear that!" The two of them had just finished cleaning up the last leftover bits of the engagement party.

"I know, right?" Twilight responded excitedly.

A few seconds later, the door to Sugar Cube Corner opened, and Soarin and Rainbow Dash walked inside, immediately seeing Twilight and Pinkie standing on either side of the counter. "Oh! There they are!" Pinkie chirped.

"Hey, guys!" Rainbow said.

"Rainbow! Soarin!" said Twilight, "I have some wonderful news!"

"What is it?" Soarin asked, he and his fiancée eagerly looking the princess in the eyes.

"Well, shortly after the party, I had Spike send a letter to Princess Celestia saying that you two were getting married. Just before you got here, I got a letter back from her. Here's the thing; since you're both Wonderbolts, and given that Princess Celestia was the pony who founded the Wonderbolts, she's agreed to preside over your ceremony!"

"Really?!?" the couple asked in unison.

"Yep!" Twilight responded.

"AWESOME!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"You guys just need to tell me when you're getting married, so I can tell her."

"Actually," Soarin said, "That's why we're here."

"Oh!" Pinkie suddenly shouted, "Did you guys pick a date yet?"

"Well," Rainbow continued, "We were thinking about getting married on Hearts and Hooves Day."

"Awww..." the princess and the party pony went in unison.

"We just came by to see if Pinkie wasn't too busy on that day."

"Hmmm..." Pinkie hummed while she grabbed a schedule from behind the counter and started flipping through the pages, "Ah! Hearts and Hooves Day." She then skimmed over the page quickly. "Nope! Nopony's made any requests for that day yet!"

Both Soarin and Rainbow's faces lit up immensely. "Wow! We sure lucked out!" Soarin said, happily.

Rainbow immediately wrapped a foreleg around Soarin's neck. "Looks like we've got our wedding date!" she said, her voice nearly cracking as she finished her sentence. She hugged Soarin tightly, and he quickly returned the embrace.

Pinkie then spoke again. "I'll make sure everyone in town has a great time at..."

"Hold on, Pinkie," Rainbow interrupted, "Since we're both from Cloudsdale, we wanna get married there."

"Yeah," Soarin added.

Pinkie froze. "Oh...that's gonna be a challenge."

"Are you sure you're still willing to handle it?" Rainbow asked.

"Don't worry!" Pinkie continued, crossing her chest with a forehoof and grabbing a cupcake out of nowhere, sticking it onto her closed right eye, "I Pinkie Promise that this'll be the greatest night of your lives!" She then looked over to Twilight. Though she was usually content with throwing parties on her own, she knew that she couldn't handle this one by herself. "I'm just gonna need some help from you, Twilight...and possibly Fluttershy."

"You've got it, Pinkie!" Twilight replied before turning to the two pegasi in the room. "Congratulations, you two! I can't wait for the wedding!"

"Neither can we!" Soarin said.

"Yeah! What he said!" Rainbow responded.

"Why don't you stay here with Pinkie while I go talk to Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

"Great idea, Twilight!" Rainbow finished, "See 'ya!"

"Bye!" the alicorn finished as she exited the café. For the remainder of the early afternoon, Rainbow and Soarin discussed further wedding details with Pinkie Pie, everything from the cake to the multitude of decorations. They all knew this was going to be one hay of a Hearts and Hooves Day.

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took a little longer to write. I guess I really didn't know how to structure it correctly until I actually wrote it. Thank you for your patience.

A Couple of Important Questions

Rainbow Dash stood outside the door to Carousel Boutique and knocked on it three times. She had just received a note from Rarity that she had something to show her as soon as possible. The cyan mare had an inkling about what it was, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions that quickly.

It had been a little over a month since her and Soarin's engagement party. At this point, Rainbow's pregnant belly had grown a little bit more, and flying was slowly becoming more difficult. She knew that she would have to cease flying after some time, as it would put too much stress on her back and wings, undoubtedly causing more discomfort than she was feeling now.

The door to the boutique opened about five seconds after Rainbow had knocked on it. There was Rarity, her red glasses over her eyes and a measuring tape hanging lazily over her neck. "Rainbow, darling!" she said, happily, "You've made it! Please, come inside. I'm sure you'll absolutely love what Fluttershy and I have to show you!"

"Wait, Fluttershy's here, too?" Rainbow asked.

"Hi, Rainbow!" the yellow pegasus greeted from across the room, waving a hoof at her friend.

"Oh, hey, Fluttershy!" Rainbow responded, noticing her friend.

"Please come with us over here, Rainbow," Rarity continued, her and Fluttershy leading Dash over to a closed feature curtain, "I have a hunch that you already know what this is, no?"

"Well, I had a couple of ideas, but I didn't really wanna guess too quickly," Rainbow replied.

"Very well, then," Rarity continued, "Fluttershy, please show our friend what we've got for her."

"With pleasure, Rarity," Fluttershy responded. She then pulled the long rope anchored to the curtain, pulling the magenta curtain apart from the center. Once it was opened, Rainbow's eyes grew very wide. In front of her was a gorgeous, white gown. It had a few bits of lace on it in the upper chest/lower neck area, and there were six small gems on each side near the base, each one representing one of the six colors of Rainbow's mane. Overall, it wasn't too frilly and looked to be just the right amount of formalness to suit the bride-to-be.

Rainbow was almost speechless as she realized to whom the dress belonged to. "I-Is this...mine??" Rainbow asked, stuttering slightly.

"Of course it is, darling!" Rarity replied, smiling, "This is your wedding, after all."

"It...It looks so awesome!! Thank you!"

"Oh, don't thank me yet, Rainbow. Just have a look and see what's next to those gems down there."

Immediately, Rainbow focused on the spread-out gems at the bottom of her dress, the part that started just in front of where her wings would be and flowed diagonally down until it curved and leveled off with the ground. Upon closer inspection, Rainbow could see what she thought were cotton accents meant to imitate clouds, but when she touched them with her hoof, she knew it wasn't what she thought it was. "Is this...real cloud??" Rainbow asked, continually amazed at her friends' work.

"Yes, indeed, darling!" Rarity replied.

"But how did you do this? I thought you couldn't sew clouds to anything!"

"Yes, well," the fashionista continued, starting to walk around the dress, "You see, clouds are very delicate to work with, but I knew I had to include them in the design somehow. Luckily, our friend, Fluttershy, here knows a little bit about sewing herself, and she just so happens to know how to sew little bits of cloud onto a dress!"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy stated, "It is rather difficult, but if you're really careful, you can easily weave string through and around clouds and attach them to fabric."

Rainbow was stunned at the realization that she had actual clouds on her dress. True, she was around clouds most of the time, but seeing them in this fashion was something she never imagined could be possible. Turning around, Rainbow lifted her forelegs and hugged Rarity and Fluttershy at the same time. "Thank you guys so much!" she exclaimed, "I love it! This is so cool!"

"Well, isn't that how you like it, darling? Cool?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah!"

"Well, I think it's safe to assume that Fluttershy and I were able to provide that extra 20%, were we not?"

"More than that! This is twenty MILLION percent more cool than I could have imagined!" She then let go of her two friends and began to turn back to face her new wedding dress. "All I wanna do right now is...wait," she paused as she noticed the absence of fabric on the underside of her dress, "Something's missing," she continued, pointing at her gown.

Rarity immediately knew what she was getting at. "Oh, yes, that," she said, "I didn't construct that portion yet because I needed to get a measurement of your entire barrel. That's another reason why I called you here."

"But the wedding's not for another month," Rainbow brought up, "Won't these measurements be too small once that day comes? I mean, my belly's probably gonna grow a bit more, considering there's two foals in there."

"Not to worry, Rainbow," Rarity said, reassuringly, "I have everything under control." She then levitated the measuring tape off of her neck and wrapped it around Rainbow's back and belly, squinting through her glasses as she determined the current measurement. "Perfect. Thank you, Rainbow," the unicorn continued, "I'll just add a few centimeters to this measurement to compensate for the possibility of your belly growing. We'll do one final measurement just before the wedding so we can get everything straightened out. Sound good?"

"Don't worry, Rarity. I trust you."

"Why, thank you, darling. Now, if you'll just give me one minute, I can have this dress looking complete." She immediately floated the mannequin over to one of her workstations to complete the initial assembly of the dress.

As Rarity began her work, Rainbow turned to her yellow pegasus friend and said, "Hey, Fluttershy, while Rarity's working on my dress, do you think we could step outside for a little bit?"

"Oh...um, if you want us to, Rainbow. Sure," Fluttershy replied. The two pegasi then stepped outside the boutique, turning to their right so they couldn't see Rarity through the window.

"Fluttershy," Rainbow continued, "I need to ask you something."

"Oh. What is it, Rainbow?" the yellow mare asked.

"Well..." Rainbow sighed. "Fluttershy, you and I have known each other pretty much our whole lives. Out of all the friends I have here in Ponyville and back in Cloudsdale, you're my best friend of them all." Fluttershy's eyes widened ever so slightly upon hearing what her friend had to say. "You've been with me through times of both good and bad, you've expressed kindness to me like no other, and you're just wonderful to have around. So...would you do me the pleasure of being my maid of honor at my wedding?"

Fluttershy gasped. "R-Really??" she asked, almost breathless.

"Yeah. Really. I can't think of any other pony who could fulfill this role."

Fluttershy was silent for the next few seconds. "Oh, Rainbow, yes! I'd love to be your maid of honor! Thank you!" she finished while throwing herself forward and hugging her lifelong friend.

"No, thank you, Fluttershy. Not only for this, but for being the most awesome friend a pony could ask for."

Fluttershy began to shed a few tears upon realizing just how much she meant to Rainbow Dash. She withdrew her embrace and looked Rainbow in the eyes. "You're welcome," she said, sweetly.

They remained silent for several seconds before Rainbow said, "Think Rarity's done by now?"

"I don't know," Fluttershy responded, "Let's go see!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow finished as she and her maid of honor walked back to the door and reentered the boutique.

Once inside, they saw Rarity putting Rainbow's dress back on the mannequin. The fashionista then saw her two friends walking back inside and smiled. "Wonderful!" she said, "You're back! Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just took Fluttershy outside so I could ask her something," Rainbow responded.

Rarity looked away slightly. "You know, I'm tempted to asked what you two discussed, but I know that would be highly unladylike."

"You know, Rarity, you're gonna find out sooner or later."

"What am I going to find out about?"

Rainbow turned and smiled at Fluttershy, subtly letting her know that she could deliver the news. "Well," the yellow pegasus said, wrapping a foreleg around Rainbow's neck, "Rainbow just asked me to be her maid of honor, and I wholeheartedly accepted."

"Oh, how fantastic!" Rarity exclaimed, sitting on her rump and clapping her forehooves together, "Congratulations!"

"Wait, you're not jealous, Rarity?" Rainbow asked.

"Why, of course not, darling! You've known Fluttershy longer than you've known me and our friends, so it only makes sense that you've picked your most long-time friend to do this for you."

"Phew..." Rainbow sighed, wiping her brow, "I was afraid this was gonna be getting Twilight's second Grand Galloping Gala ticket all over again."

"Nonsense, darling. Now, do you have time for an initial fitting before you leave?"

"Yeah, of course!" the cyan pegasus replied, walking over to where Rarity was. Rarity then levitated the gown off the mannequin and led Rainbow behind another curtain. Giving the pegasus some privacy, she stepped back and stood next to Fluttershy, both ponies anticipating what their friend would look like in her wedding dress. After about thirty seconds, the curtain opened, and Rarity and Fluttershy stared in awe at Rainbow Dash, her dress looking amazing on her. It fit her form perfectly, except for her belly, which was the slightest bit loose to accommodate the anticipated further development of the foals inside her. Other than that, the gems and clouds accented Rainbow's body perfectly, her wings fully extended as she modeled off what she would be wearing in less than four weeks.

"Oh, Rainbow!" Rarity exclaimed, "You look absolutely fabulous!"

"I agree!" Fluttershy responded, "You look more beautiful than I can ever remember!"

"Thanks!" Rainbow replied, happy with her friends' work, "This thing looks so awesome on me! This is just one more reason for why I can't wait to get married!" Rainbow then walked forward and hugged her friends once again, both Rarity and Fluttershy returning her embrace, albeit carefully, not wanting to mess any of their work up. "You guys rock, you know that?" Rainbow asked. Fluttershy and Rarity only smiled, happy that their friend was satisfied with her new wedding dress.

The door to the Wonderbots' main building opened as the team went inside for their 90-minute midday break. Though they were the most skilled and in-shape fliers in all of Equestria, a few of the team members were slightly exhausted. This included Soarin, as something had been on his mind all day, something that prevented him from having his attention devoted solely to his flying. Right before he went into the stallions' locker room, the light blue pegasus stopped when he noticed his captain walking toward him. "Hey, Spitfire," he greeted.

"Hey, Soarin," Spitfire replied, "Nice job out there."

"Thanks, but I could have done better. Anyway, I'm glad I ran into you. I'm meeting a friend for lunch, okay? I'll try my best to not return late."

Spitfire smiled at her teammate. "Alright, Soarin. Have a good time!" she said, turning to go down the hall toward her office.

"Thanks!" Soarin responded, watching his captain as she rounded the corner. He then went into the locker room, taking a brief shower and making himself look presentable before exiting the Wonderbolts' headquarters and beginning his flight to downtown Cloudsdale. It wasn't a long flight - no more than three minutes.

Soon, Soarin touched down at the front entrance to Cloudsdale Café, one of the most popular social spots in town. As he made his way through the front door, he immediately spotted his friend, Thunderlane, waving at him from a table near the front window. Soarin quickly trotted over to the table, climbing into the tall chair while saying, "Hey, Thunderlane! Glad you could make it!"

"Glad I could, too!" the black pegasus replied. He remained silent for several seconds before continuing. "How's your day been so far?"

"Pretty nice, although a bit tiring. How about you?"

"I haven't really done anything today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I did what I could to amuse myself before coming here to meet you." Soarin didn't really want to think about what his friend could have done to keep himself occupied...

Just then, a familiar, light sky blue pegasus flew up to the stallions' table, a pen and pad of paper in hoof. "Hey, there, you two!" she said.

"Flitter?" Soarin asked, not expecting to see the young mare working at the café, "You didn't tell me you worked here! When did you start?"

"About a week ago," Flitter replied, "And I'm really enjoying it so far! Everypony I see here is really nice!"

"That's great!" Thunderlane said.

"So, what can I get you guys today?"

"I'll have an egg salad on toasted whole wheat with a side of hayfries, please," Soarin said.

"Same for me, please," said Thunderlane.

"Anything to drink?" Flitter asked as she began writing down the stallions' orders.

"I'll keep it simple and have some orange juice," said Soarin.

"Do you guys have virgin cider?" asked Thunderlane.

"We sure do!" Flitter replied with a smile.

"Great! I'll have a glass of that, please."

"Will do!" the young mare responded, "I'll have your drinks out very shortly, okay?"

"Thanks!" the two stallions replied in unison as Flitter turned and flew away to get their orders in.

Meanwhile, Soarin decided that now was a good time to ask Thunderlane a question he'd been meaning to ask him for the past month. "Hey, Thunderlane," Soarin started, "Can I ask you something?"

Thunderlane gave one giggle before replying. "Well, you just did, but go ahead."

Soarin chuckled. "Hehe...good one. Anyway...listen, throughout my life, I didn't have a whole lot of male friends. However, whenever I wanna hang out with another stallion, you're the first one that comes to mind. You and I may not have hung out as much as we wanted to over the years, but you're always a great guy to be with. Having said that...would you do me the honor of being my best stallion?"

Thunderlane's face lit up immensely, simply shocked that Soarin would choose him for such an important role. "Seriously?? Of course! I'd love to!"

"Really?? Great!" Soarin replied, cheerfully. He and Thunderlane quickly got down from their chairs and gave each other a quick, one-second hug.

They got back into their chairs as they heard a female voice coming from somewhere out of their line of sight. "I'm guessing something great just happened, didn't it?" Flitter asked, setting the glasses of cider and orange juice down on the table.

"Yep," Soarin replied, "I now officially have my best stallion for the wedding!" Thunderlane raised his hoof slightly while Soarin spoke.

"Hey, that's great!" Flitter replied, "Congrats, Thunderlane! I can't wait to tell my sister about this!"

Thunderlane faintly blushed at the thought of the amount of affection he'd be getting from his marefriend, Cloudchaser, over this whole thing. "Thanks, Flitter," he replied. Flitter smiled as she flew over to a different table, helping another pair of customers while leaving Soarin and Thunderlane alone to themselves. "Wow," Thunderlane continued, "I never thought I'd be doing something like this, Soarin. Thank you."

"No problem, Thunderlane," Soarin replied, "It's the best I could do to show how much I value you as a friend." Thunderlane only smiled. "I wonder who Dashie's gonna pick to be her maid of honor?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Soarin."

"Yeah, you're right." Soon, the two stallions had their lunch in front of them, and they slowly ate away as they continued discussing the big event that was to come very soon.

*A Little More Celebrating

Rainbow Dash's eyes opened slowly upon hearing the sound of her front door opening. She had just taken a nice, long, afternoon nap on her couch, and she definitely needed it. She looked up to see her fiancée walking through the door, smiling once he locked eyes with her. Rainbow yawned and stretched, then got onto all fours as she walked toward Soarin. "Hey, there," she said with a smile.

"Hey," Soarin replied before he and his bride-to-be shared a quick kiss on the lips.

"How was practice? How's everypony doing?"

"Practice was...well, the usual. A few of them can't wait to have you come back. But even then, you'll still be on maternity leave for some time after the foals are born."

"Yeah, I'm eager to get back as well, but, you know, I gotta do what I gotta do."

Soarin smiled and hugged Dash. "I know. I just hope you can stop by at least one more time before you have to stop flying."

"Me, too."

Just then, the couple heard a knock on the door. They both walked toward it and Soarin turned the knob and opened the door. Both pegasi peeked outside, but there was nopony to be seen. "Hmmm...that's weird," Soarin said. He then looked down at the doormat. "Oh, wait," he continued, noticing an envelope that had his name on it. The stallion picked up the envelope, biting the edge to slowly tear the top open, and then he proceeded to take out the note inside and read it to himself. "Whoa, really?" Soarin said, looking somewhat happy.

"What is it?" Dash asked.

"Looks like Applejack wants me to taste test a new pie recipe!"

"Awesome! That's sounds like fun! Want me to go with you?"

"Sorry, Dash, but I think you should stay home and rest. I don't want you to wear out your wings. In fact, we really need to start thinking about where we're going to stay while you can't fly."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Rainbow replied, "Have a good time at AJ's."

"Thanks," Soarin finished, giving Rainbow another peck on the lips before turning around and leaving the cloud home.

After watching her fiancée fly off, Dash closed the door and walked back over to her couch. She laid back down on it, hoping to get a little more rest, but her hopes were shattered upon hearing another knock at the door. "Oh, for the love of Celestia..." she said to herself. She then did everything all over again, walking to the door, opening it, and seeing who was there. Again, nopony was there, but this time, she found another envelope, this one with her name on it. She took it inside and opened it just like Soarin, and then read the note inside to herself. Her eyes widened in excitement upon seeing what the note said. "Twilight has Daring Do spoilers?!?" she said, aloud, "Awesome!" Without hesitation, she immediately took off, albeit slowly, from her house and made her way down to the north end of Ponyville.

Soarin arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, only to find the place deserted. He went up to the farmhouse and knocked on the door, but after thirty seconds, there was no answer. Still, he was eager to try another one of Applejack's amazing pies, so he walked around the property, wondering where she was. He eventually ended up in front of the big, red barn. He knocked on it, but got no reply once again. He then contemplated whether he should open the door or not, worrying that he may be intruding on something.

Taking a deep breath, Soarin slowly opened the door, immediately seeing that it was pitch black inside the normally well-lit barn. "Hello?" he asked out loud, "Anypony..."

"SURPRISE!" Thunderlane, Big Mac, Braeburn, and Caramel exclaimed in unison as the lights came on in the barn.

"Whoa! What the...?!?" Soarin replied in surprise. There were quite a few decorations in the barn, along with a table set for dining in the middle, a table full of amazing looking food over on the side, and a mysterious pole over in a corner. After observing his surroundings and his friends' joyful attitudes, he knew exactly what this was. "Aww..." he began, blushing slightly, "You guys didn't have to do this."

"Why not?" Thunderlane asked, giving a small chuckle while walking toward his fellow pegasus, "You're not gonna be single much longer!"

"Yeah!" Braeburn began, "'Ya gotta enjoy yourself while 'ya can!"

"We couldn't let a friend get married without havin' one last outing with all his pals!" Caramel said.

"Eeyup!" Big Mac responded.

"Wow. Thanks everypony," Soarin replied, "I'm lucky to have friends and groomstallions like you." Soarin had known Thunderlane most of his life, but not the three earth ponies that were also in the barn. It wasn't until after the Grand Galloping Gala that Soarin stopped by Sweet Apple Acres in hopes of trying another one of Applejack's delicious apple pies, and it was then that the orange farm mare introduced the Wonderbolt to her brother. Once Soarin had gotten to know Big Mac a little more, the red earth stallion introduced him to his cousin and good friend, both of whom Soarin took quick likings to. After that, if he ever needed to socialize with another stallion, Soarin knew exactly who to turn to.

"Well, don't just stand there!" an overly enthusiastic Braeburn said, "We got the whole evenin' to ourselves!"

"Great!" Soarin replied, "Let's do this!"

Rainbow Dash landed at the front entrance to Twilight's castle not too long after she had left her own home. It was normally a short flight, but she obviously had to fly slower due to her current situation. Still, she wanted to get there as fast as her expecting body could get her there, excited at the prospect of finding out a few bits of information on the next Daring Do book.

Rainbow walked straight through the front door. Though this was her friend's house, she and her other friends were welcome to enter the castle without knocking, given that they each had their own respective chairs in the throne room. "Twilight!" the pegasus called out, "Where are you?" There was no response. "Twiliiiiiiiight!" Rainbow sounded out a few seconds later. Even though this was quite a large castle, Dash was getting impatient that her friend hadn't responded. She so desperately wanted to know what A.K. Yearling had in store for her.

Dash peeked into Twilight's front living room, but it was dark. She then took several steps down the hall, not hearing anything as she went. She soon reached the dining room, but upon first glance, it was as dark as the living room. "Twilight?" Rainbow asked again.

All of a sudden, the lights came on. "SURPRISE!!!" yelled a whole bunch of mares at once.

"HUH?!?" Rainbow exclaimed, startled by the unexpected encounter. As a result, she panted heavily while she clutched her upper chest with a forehoof. At the same time, many familiar female faces cheered, while others applauded and some blew on noisemakers.

"There's the lucky bachelorette!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing over to her cyan friend and hugging her. Most of the others converged on her, as well, but only Rainbow's closest friends stood directly in front of her.

By now, Rainbow had stopped panting and was now smiling. "Wow!" Rainbow said out loud, "Look at this place!" Twilight's massive dining room had been reconfigured to accommodate a much larger group of ponies. Instead of a large dining room table, there were multiple smaller, circular tables, plus a few more on various sides to house the refreshments. There were countless balloons and streamers all over the walls and ceiling, and there was an additional table that had to have at least 25 gifts on it. "You guys, this is awesome!" Dash continued, "Thank you!"

"Thank Fluttershy!" Twilight said, "She's the one who threw this party, after all."

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow said in realization, "That's right!"

"Oh...well," Fluttershy began, blushing slightly, "I wanted to do it all on my own, but I'm not really the greatest at throwing parties. That's why I asked Pinkie Pie to help me out."

"Hey, at least you did what you could, Shy, and from the looks of it, I think this is gonna be a really awesome night. Thank you," she finished while hugging her maid of honor.

"Anything for a friend like you, Rainbow," Fluttershy finished. The cyan pegasus smiled back at her friend.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Pinkie asked, "Let's party!"

After the five stallions shared a hearty meal, Thunderlane turned on a small stereo that he had borrowed from Vinyl Scratch, and the party started to get really intense. Big Mac had brought in several kegs of cider, and a few of the stallions soon had more than enough at once, making them the slightest bit inebriated. Even though this was a rather small bachelor party, everypony wanted to make the most of it.

After about an hour, Braeburn was the first stallion to become officially drunk, and he nearly re-injured his left foreleg multiple times from being so tipsy. Caramel was close, but not quite at the drunken stage yet. Thunderlane, who was still fully aware of what was happening, soon caught everyone's attention for the main event of the night. "Okay, guys," he began, "I think it's time."

"For what?" asked Soarin.

"For this." Thunderlane then made a whistle with his forehoof and the door to the barn opened. While the groomstallions whistled and cheered, Soarin was completely stunned at who walked into the room. It was Cloudchaser, wearing four black, latex stockings, plus a saddle of the same color, along with a pair of white lace panties. Her long, white mane flowed freely down her shoulders, and her eyes and lips were sparkling with red eye shadow and lipstick.

Cloudchaser walked seductively up to Soarin, grinning at him slyly. "Well, well, well..." she began in a sultry tone, slowly swaying her hips as she walked forward, "I take it you're the lucky bachelor, Soarin?"

Soarin was visibly blushing, and his forehead soon had a thin layer of sweat on it. "Uhhh...yeah. I am," he began, nervously.

"Well, then," Cloudchaser continued, turning around to brush her tail across the front of the Wonderbolt's neck, "Why don't we go over to the corner and have some fun?"

Soarin shivered slightly as the soft hair of Cloudchaser's tail caressed him. Rainbow Dash had never done that to him before.

"Well, Soarin?" Caramel asked in an eager tone, slowly becoming more inebriated as the seconds went by, "'Ya gonna just stand there or are we gon' have us a show!?"

"Uhhh..." Soarin replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "S-Sure...I guess..."

"Yee-haw! 'Atta boy, Soarin!" a very drunk Braeburn responded, giving his friend a playful slap on his rump.

The other stallions cheered as Cloudchaser led them over to the stripper pole in the corner of the barn. Upon closer inspection, there was only one small bale of hay in the corner, and Soarin had a good idea who it was for. Thoughts of what may happen after he sat down immediately clicked in his mind. "Don't get aroused...Don't get aroused..." he thought to himself, knowing how embarrassing it would be to have his fully erect stallionhood visible to all his groomstallions. Unfortunately, the more he looked at the scantily clad mare in front of him, that task was becoming more and more difficult, especially due to the fact that he already had a wingboner.

Soon, Soarin sat down on the small bale of hay, his friends standing to either of his sides as Cloudchaser began her show. She began by standing on her hind legs and lazily wrapping her forehooves around the pole, and then she gave the black pole a seductive lick, all while keeping her half-lidded eyes fixed on Soarin's. The blue Wonderbolt swallowed a lump in his throat upon seeing the mare in such a position. Cloudchaser immediately started spinning herself around on the pole, her hind hooves leaving the ground and wrapping around the pole as her right forehoof stayed in that same fashion. As she let her left foreleg stretch outward, she swung around slowly in a clockwise motion with her back at a 45-degree angle with the ground, her seductive eyes continuing to meet Soarin's every time she faced him.

After about 10 seconds of this, Cloudchaser stopped when the pole was between her and the five stallions. She then swung her hind legs back, only to bring them forward again as she performed a mid-air split, splaying her hind legs outward until her crotch was up against the pole. This earned may whistles and cheers from each of the stallions, except Soarin. He was still trying his best not to get aroused in front of his friends. Even while Cloudchaser did the same thing again, following it up by wrapping her hind legs around the pole like her forelegs and keeping herself off the ground with her wings, Soarin did his best to mentally visualize the moment when his apple pie started falling to ground at the Gala, before Rainbow Dash had caught it for him.

Cloudchaser finished her pole routine by swinging around until her back was facing the stallions, and then she relinquished her forelegs' grip on the pole and bent backwards. She stretched her forelegs out invitingly, her eyes meeting Soarin's once again, albeit upside-down. After that, she grabbed the pole again, turned 45 degrees counterclockwise, and slowly slid down it as she used her wings to keep her from descending too quickly. Her seductive gaze continued to be fixed on Soarin as her rump finally reached the floor of the barn. Four of the five stallions applauded and continued whistling and cheering, while Soarin tried giving himself a mental break. That attempt was immediately rendered futile as Cloudchaser stood up and slowly trotted toward the Wonderbolt, maintaining her gaze. "Now the real fun begins," she said, seductively, as she brushed a hoof against one of Soarin's hind legs.

"Oh, Celestia..." Soarin thought to himself as Cloudchaser picked her front end up by placing her hooves on his hips. The pegasus mare then shook her head a couple of times, allowing her already free-flowing white mane to sway in the air and brush against Soarin's muzzle. She then started flapping her wings, rising up slightly as she placed her forehooves behind her head, and then she started spinning again. It was as if she was doing a slow, seductive ballet routine right in front of Soarin, who, at this point, could barely keep himself from becoming aroused. Seeing one of his oldest friends dressed in such lewd attire was diverting his mind from thinking about other, not-so-lewd thoughts. The way the stockings hugged her legs, the way the saddle was secured so tightly to her midsection, and how the panties were just barely enough to cover her marehood soon became all too much for the groom-to-be.

Just as Cloudchaser flew backwards to him and started moving her rump in front of his lower form, Soarin's last bit of mental revolt dwindled away as his stallionhood started to unsheathe itself. The slightly-darker-than-his-coat blue appendage quickly rose to near full arousal as Cloudchaser continued her lap dance. "There it is!" Braeburn exclaimed, his cider-laden brain telling him that his friend was finally starting to enjoy himself.

"Aw, great..." Soarin thought to himself, blushing furiously as his now fully erect stallionhood was on display for everypony to see.

Thunderlane leaned down and whispered in Soarin's ear, "Let the fun begin..."

Immediately following that, Cloudchaser remained in mid-air with her back turned to Soarin, her smooth rump pushed toward him slightly. She then slowly started backing up, nearing his erection. As she got closer, something else crossed Soarin's mind. He immediately thought of what would happen if Rainbow found out about this.

Gritting his teeth and sweating profusely, he looked up again and noticed that Cloudchaser, who was still staring at him seductively, had her rear a mere twelve inches from his member. Then, it was just eight inches away, then five, then four, three, two, one...

"STOP!!" Soarin yelled all of a sudden.

Everypony else either gasped or said, "Huh?" in unison. Cloudchaser immediately drew herself away from Soarin and landed on all fours, her expression turning to one of surprise.

"I-I'm sorry," Soarin said, apologetically, "I just...I...I can't do this."

"Aw, come on!" Braeburn exclaimed, trying to cheer his friend up.

"You were just gettin' to the good part!" Caramel said.

Thunderlane laid a hoof on Soarin's shoulder and said, "What's wrong, Soarin?"

The Wonderbolt sighed. "Look," he continued, standing up to face the others, "It's not that I don't like what you guys have done for me tonight. Believe me, spending the evening with all of you was something I really needed. But, as what just happened progressed, I couldn't help but think that I was being unfaithful to Rainbow Dash." He then turned to face the one mare in the barn. "Cloudchaser, I gotta admit, you did a fantastic job, and I don't want you to feel like you did anything wrong. But, after seeing how sad Dash was at the beginning of her pregnancy, who knows how sad she'll be if she found out I did...well, 'things' with another mare?"

"Who says Dash has to know about this?" Braeburn asked.

Soarin sighed again. "It's not that, Braeburn," he continued, "It's the fact that I myself would know that I practically cheated on Rainbow, and that I'd be keeping a secret from her for the rest of my life...or, at least until she found out. I think it has to do with my own personal health. Well, not physical, but, you know what I mean."

Following his statement, Big Mac, the stallion who had drunk the least amount of cider tonight, walked up next to Soarin and patted him on the shoulder. "You're a really good guy, Soarin," he said, giving his friend a smile, "Rainbow's gon' be lucky to have a husband like you."

"Thanks," the Wonderbolt responded.

Thunderlane came up to his friend and said, "Soarin, my friend, those were beautiful words, but do you wanna know the irony of this whole thing?"

"What irony?" Soarin asked.

Thunderlane turned his head and gave a nod to Cloudchaser, who was in the middle of taking off her lingerie. The mare then said, "I ran into Rainbow a few days ago, and she actually wanted me to do this for you."

Soarin's eyes went extremely wide. "What?!?" he asked. Caramel and Braeburn began laughing hysterically.

"Yeah!"

"And you were okay with it?!?"

"Of course! I mean, I've known you for a while and you're a pretty cool stallion, so I was okay with putting on a show for you. I guess Rainbow either wanted you to have one last night like this or actually trusted that you would do what you felt was right, and I guess you went ahead with the latter."

Too much was going on in Soarin's mind, but he couldn't help but feel a ton relief wash over him. It was truly a surprise that Rainbow Dash had more to do with this than he'd thought. "Huh...I guess I did," he replied.

"Are you guys gonna keep talkin', or are we gonna keep this party rollin'!?" a very drunk Braeburn asked out loud.

Everypony else laughed. "Ha! I say we keep going!" Thunderlane said.

"Yeah!" Caramel and Soarin replied in unison.

"You guys have a good rest of your night!" Cloudchaser said, completely free of her outfit as she walked toward the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Soarin asked, "No one said you had to leave!"

"Really? You'll let me stay?"

"Of course! This night may be about me no longer being single very soon, but it's also about spending time with amazing friends like you all."

All the others smiled. "Cider drinkin' contest!" Braeburn shouted before running over to a full keg of cider. Everypony else laughed as the night continued to roll on for all of them.

Rainbow Dash slumped slightly in her chair. Like Soarin's party, hers had begun with dinner, and only now had Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie returned with fresh lemon-meringue pie for dessert. Though she was three and a half months along, she was still getting minor craving attacks from time to time, and one of them was certainly occurring tonight.

After all was said and done, Rainbow had eaten an entire pie, plus two helpings of twice-baked potatoes and garlic bread. Needless to say, she was stuffed. "Wow..." Rainbow said, her forelegs drooping backwards over the top of her chair, "That...was...awesome..."

"I can tell!" Applejack responded, "I think you ate more than us combined!"

"No, it wasn't that much," Twilight mentioned to the earth pony.

"Who cares?" Rainbow asked silently, "All I wanna do right now is crash onto my bed and sleep for, like, the next 15 hours."

"Silly Dash, you can't do that right now!" Pinkie said with a cheerful smile, "You still haven't opened your presents!"

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow replied as her face brightened up, "I almost forgot!" The pegasus then slowly got up and walked over to the table.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy grabbed her water glass and a fork before hovering up above the rest of the ponies in the room. Clinking the glass a few times, she announced, "Um, if everypony could come over to the gift table at this time, we'd like to start having our bride-to-be open her presents!" Heeding her request, the party guests soon gathered around the large table of gifts against the wall of the dining room.

It didn't take more than 35 minutes for Rainbow Dash to open all her gifts. She had gotten mostly basic gifts that mares would give other mares, including makeup and hairbands of many colors, plus an oversized basket of muffins from Derpy. She had also gotten quite a variety of gifts from her closest friends, including a book from Twilight that had to do with maintaining a healthy marriage, a fashionable, yet small, new dress/ensemble from Rarity, but her favorite gift of the night came form her maid of honor, Fluttershy. It was a small, yet much-larger-than-pocket-size diary that had her rainbow and cloud cutie mark imprinted on the front cover. The yellow pegasus felt that her friend would like a journal of her own to write about all the adventures she would be having throughout her new life. This, plus all the gifts she had received, resulted in multiple hugs to all her guests.

At the end of the night, all the party guests had left the castle, except for Rainbow and her bridesmaids, which included Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spitfire. As they stayed behind to clean up, Rainbow felt amazing at all the appreciation she had received. It may not have been as much as her last birthiversary celebration, but given that it involved some of her best friends from both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, she couldn't have been happier. "Hey, guys," Rainbow began, breaking the silence, "Thanks so much for this party, especially you two," she finished while glancing over to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, it was nothing, Rainbow," Fluttershy replied.

"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped, "Why wouldn't we throw you a bachelorette party? Every lucky bride deserves one!"

"Now all we gotta do is wait for Hearts and Hooves Day to arrive," Spitfire mentioned.

"I sure can't wait for that!" Applejack said.

"Neither can I...we!" Twilight and Rarity said in unison before giggling at each other.

Rainbow giggled as well, then said, "I just hope Soarin's not doing anything stupid over at his party..."

The only ones awake were Soarin and Cloudchaser. Everypony else had gone along with Braeburn's idea of a cider-drinking contest, but by now, those four stallions were passed out drunk.

The two pegasi glanced at the sleeping/unconscious stallions before giggling with each other. "You can go home," Soarin said to Cloudchaser, "I'll handle these guys."

"Thanks!" Cloudchaser replied as she turned and headed for the door, "See you at the wedding!"

"You, too!" Soarin replied before turning back to his groomstallions. Though he'd have to haul the three earth ponies into the farmhouse and then carry Thunderlane back to his house, Soarin couldn't have been happier with the outcome of his party. It had been one heck of a night.

Author's Note

I apologize that I didn't depict as much from Rainbow Dash's party as I did from Soarin's. Being a guy, I don't know too much about bachelorette parties, other than them being a dinner party.

Stay tuned for the wedding!

Wedding Day: Part I

The sun rose on another beautiful Hearts and Hooves Day in Equestria. The weather was mostly clear in the majority of the country, and the only clouds in the sky were heart-shaped, something that the cloud factory in Cloudsdale did only once per year. Couples everywhere, whether together forever or having just met recently for the first time, were gearing up for a magical day of love, friendship, and whatever else they could think of. However, a large number of ponies were gearing up for an event in Cloudsdale that they had been anticipating for quite some time.

Soarin woke up upon sensing daylight in his bedroom. He and Rainbow Dash had opted to stay at their parents' respective houses last night, as they had agreed that they didn't want to see each other until the big moment arrived. As Soarin sat up and rubbed his eyes, a small amount of adrenaline rushed through his body as one certain thought came to the front of his brain. "Wow...Today's the day..." he thought to himself. He was right. Today was the day, the day he would cease being a single stallion for as long as he and his fiancée both shall live. True, they already lived together, as the stallion had just recently sold his cloud home, but actually living together while married was an entirely different story, but he was as eager as ever to get a start on chapter one as soon as he could.

Getting out of bed, Soarin went over to his closet and noticed his formal Wonderbolts suit, including his shirt, tie, and blue jacket. He knew that later that day, he would be wearing that exact outfit while standing next to Princess Celestia as he and Rainbow Dash exchanged their vows. The mere thought of doing so sent a small chill through his body. This was going to be the biggest day of both his and Rainbow's lives.

Rarity hung the seven dresses in a large portable wardrobe and closed it up, making sure there weren't any exposed spots that could potentially ruin their pristine beauty. Aside from Rainbow Dash's wedding dress, there were six bridesmaid dresses for her, her friends, and Spitfire. Instead of having her and the others wear matching sky blue dresses, she got a little creative and made each dress a different color, one for each color in Rainbow Dash's mane. Rarity herself would be wearing blue, Pinkie Pie would be wearing red, Applejack would be wearing orange, Spitfire would be wearing yellow, Twilight would be wearing purple, and Fluttershy would be wearing green, as green was definitely her color in certain forms. Each of the bridesmaid dresses were adorned with fabric accessories of various colors that were sewn on completely instead of hanging loose.

Rainbow had been a bit worried about telling Starlight that she wouldn't be a part of the bridal party, but the unicorn didn't mind one bit, much to the pegasus' relief. Starlight said that she would be just as happy sitting next to Sunburst amongst the others in the crowd.

Rarity was about to go upstairs and get a head start on her hair and makeup when she heard a knock on her front door. She quickly ran over to it and opened it, her smile widening upon seeing her soon-to-be-married pegasus friend. "Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, "You're here! Come!" she continued, pulling Rainbow inside and attempting to drag her over to the stairs, "We have so much to take care of before the wedding!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses, Rarity," Rainbow said, pulling herself away from her friend's grasp, "We said we'd all take care of that once we got to Cloudsdale, remember?"

Rarity finally paused. "Oh, you're right," she said, her tone dying down, "I suppose I forgot about that because of how excited I am!" she finished in a higher tone with an excited bounce.

"Haha...I can tell. You got everything you guys need?"

"Oh, absolutely! Our six dresses came out perfectly! Here, take a look!" she said, opening the portable wardrobe with her magic. Rainbow gave a wide grin upon seeing what her bridesmaids would be wearing.

"Wow! Awesome!" the pegasus exclaimed. She then walked forward to get a closer look. "Looks like you kept it pretty simple this time," she continued, "But I like how you made them to match my mane! They look great!"

"Well, I couldn't just make six plain, old, matching dresses," Rarity replied, walking up beside Rainbow, "I simply had to get a little creative, so I decided to take advantage of the fact that you chose six bridesmaids and create something amazing!"

"Well, you've blown me away yet again, Rarity, just like you always do. Thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing, darling. It's always a pleasure to do what I can to make my friends look as beautiful as they can possibly be."

"I thought so. Anyway, I think we ought'a make our way to Cloudsdale. Whaddaya think?"

"Absolutely. I just have to make a quick stop at Twilight's castle so she can cast that cloud-walking spell on Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Starlight, and I."

"Alright! See 'ya there!" Rainbow finished as she turned around and began to leave the boutique.

"Ta-taaa!" Rarity responded as she reclosed the wardrobe and prepared to leave, as well.

The amount of activity at Cloudsdale Gardens was very high. Multiple pegasi, plus a few alicorns, were making last-minute checks to ensure that the decorations were exactly how Rainbow and Soarin wanted them. Twilight, having already cast the cloud-walking spell on at least twenty ponies, put herself in charge of making sure everypony was doing everything correctly. She was already wearing her purple bridesmaid dress, along with a circular crown of white daisies that had a golden lightning bolt, identical to the one on Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, on both the left and right sides. All the bridesmaids would be wearing an identical headpiece, and Rainbow Dash would be wearing one, as well.

While Twilight was busy with the business in the main garden, the rest of Rainbow's bridesmaids, along with Rainbow herself, were getting ready in one of the female dressing rooms. They had each agreed to style their hair the exact same way it was for the royal wedding, as they couldn't think of any other style that was more formal. Spitfire, on the other hoof, kept hers the way it was, for the most part. Rarity frequently checked to see if they were all doing theirs right, making absolutely sure that there wasn't a single split end or area of asymmetry to be seen.

"Uhh...Rarity?" Applejack said, looking a bit concerned, "Are 'ya sure you're okay with me wearin' orange? I mean, doesn't this look like it blends in with my fur too much?"

"Nonsense, darling," Rarity replied, "I think you look fabulous in that dress! Plus, you have red accents that match your cutie mark and hair bands!"

"But I ain't wearin' my hairbands."

"Well, that's true, but you have no reason to be concerned, Applejack," Rarity continued, pulling a mirror out from the corner and holding it in front of AJ, "I don't think Rainbow will have any objection to how you look right now." AJ looked at herself in the mirror and decided that Rarity was right. Everything from her dress to her mane seemed to work out.

As for Spitfire, she seemed unsure of her looks, something that Rarity took into account as she glanced over to the Wonderbolt captain and saw her frowning. "Spitfire," the fashionista said, walking over to the pegasus, "Is something wrong? You don't look happy."

"Oh, it's nothing, Rarity," Spitfire replied, her smile returning, "I'm just not used to wearing dresses. They don't usually agree with me, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I definitely know what you mean, darling, but I think you look wonderful! That vibrant yellow dress and bright orange accents go with your fur and mane perfectly!"

Spitfire looked at herself in the mirror again, then back at Rarity. "I guess you're right, but still..."

"I understand, Spitfire," Rarity finished, laying a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder.

"Hey, Rarity?" Rainbow Dash said, standing behind the unicorn. Rarity turned around and found Rainbow Dash with her mane in it's usual style, albeit wrapped in two golden hairbands. "I think I'm ready."

"Splendid!" Rarity exclaimed, "Oh, I can't wait to see your complete look! Ahh!!!" she squealed while clapping her hooves together, "Let's head into the changing room, shall we?"

"Sure," Rainbow finished.

Soarin and his groomstallions were just finishing up getting dressed for the ceremony in the male dressing room. While Soarin was wearing his formal Wonderbolts suit, the others were wearing tuxedos with jackets that were the same shade of blue as Soarin's. Braeburn had foregone his hat and Big Mac had done the same with the plow attachment from his neck. They didn't need to do as much 'getting ready' as Rainbow and her bridesmaids, and most of them had already finished getting ready, aside from the earth ponies grooming their manes.

"So, Soarin," Thunderlane began, "Today's the big day. How do you feel?"

"Well, as you can probably tell, I'm really nervous," Soarin replied, "But I'm trying to keep myself happy as best I can."

"What's wrong, dude? Seriously, you can tell me what's on you're mind."

Soarin sighed. "Well, I've had my eyes on Dashie for a long time, and I always dreamed of this day, and I'm thrilled that it's finally here. However, I wish it could have happened under different circumstances. All I wanted to do was date her for a while and then pop the question when I felt the time was right, but I couldn't do that. I got her pregnant right after she achieved her lifelong dream, and at that point, I felt like I was obligated to ask her to marry me. I couldn't just be her coltfriend for a while and then knock her up and never see her again."

"I hear 'ya, Soarin," Thunderlane replied, "And I don't think you're the first stallion to go through this exact same scenario."

The Wonderbolt smiled. "I just hope this isn't happening to you when you finally pop the question on Cloudchaser," Soarin said, giving his best stallion a friendly nudge.

Thunderlane blushed as Soarin gave him a chuckle. "Yeah...we'll see about that..." the black pegasus said. He then noticed how the sleeves on Soarin's jacket were rolled up like they usually were while his and the others' were fully extended. "Here," Thunderlane continued, reaching a hoof over to Soarin's forelegs and unrolling his sleeves for him.

Once Thunderlane was finished, Soarin looked at his forelegs, then around to the others, who were officially ready to go at any time. He then looked back at Thunderlane and said, "Thanks." Only at that moment did Soarin feel fully ready for his wedding.

"Perfect!" Rarity exclaimed, making one last stitch on Rainbow's dress as she finished modifying the chest and belly to accommodate her pregnancy. Rainbow then looked at herself in the mirror. She was amazed at how she looked, but after several seconds, her smile slowly faded, and she lowered her head slightly. "Rainbow, are you okay?" Rarity asked.

"Rarity, I..." Rainbow replied, not sure of what to say, "...I don't know."

"What's wrong, darling? I'm really worried about you. You seemed the slightest bit nervous all day."

"Well, I was fine earlier, but now that I'm seeing myself fully dressed for my wedding, I feel like everything's happening too quickly. I mean, like, four months ago, I became a Wonderbolt, and then I got pregnant, and now this. I just...well...I'm not sure if I'm ready for this..."

"Rainbow, is that true?"

The pegasus sighed. "N-Not really. Now that I think about it, I think I'm either having minor mood swings because of me being pregnant or because it's my wedding day and I know that I'm going to be spending the rest of my life with Soarin."

"I know it's hard, darling, but you should look on the bright side. Think about how much fun you're going to have with Soarin throughout your marriage. Think about how you'll be able to fly with the Wonderbolts once again after your foals are born. Doesn't any of that make you happy?"

Rainbow looked in the mirror one more time, all while picturing what Rarity just said in her mind. After a while, she smiled again. "Yeah, Rarity, it does."

"I'm glad it does, Rainbow, and might I say I don't think you've ever looked this magnificent in your life."

Rainbow turned and gave her friend a hug. "Thanks, Rarity," the pegasus said, "I'm really lucky to have you as a friend."

"And I feel the same way about you, Rainbow Dash," Rarity replied, breaking the hug and bringing over Rainbow's crown of daisies with her magic and putting it on the pegasus' head, "So, ready for your big reveal?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, then. On my cue." Rarity then opened the door only wide enough for her to step out, and then she left the changing room. She closed the door and tapped the wall to get the other bridesmaids' attention. "Fillies and...well, fillies, may I present our stunning bride-to-be, Rainbow Dash!" She then opened the door with her magic, and then Rainbow walked forward, only to be met by wide-eyed and cheering mares.

"Rainbow, you look amazing!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I never thought I'd see you this beautiful!" Fluttershy said.

"YOU...LOOK...INCREDIBLE!!!!" Pinkie Pie shouted in-between short, energetic bounces.

"Hoo-wee!" Applejack began, "Rainbow, I think you look more beautiful than Rarity for once!"

"I beg your pardon!?" Rarity replied in a slightly displeased tone, her eyes narrowing slightly while her face sported a smile. Everypony else laughed. Rarity knew that her friend was only being playful, but she had to admit, Rainbow was gorgeous.

"Rainbow Dash, I gotta admit, you look better in this than you do in a flight suit," said Spitfire.

Rainbow was a bit surprised to hear her captain say that. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," Spitfire replied, "I mean, even though we're pretty athletic, we're still mares. We gotta look beautiful sometimes."

"Yeah, you're right," Rainbow finished.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door to the dressing room. Twilight went over to the door and opened it about an inch and a half. She quickly noticed it was her dragon assistant. "What is it, Spike?" she whispered.

"We're ready in the main garden. Are you?" the dragon replied.

Twilight turned her head around, seeing the rest of the bridal party looking at her and smiling. She then turned back to Spike and said, "Yes. We're ready, Spike. We'll be out in a minute, okay?"

"Okay!" Spike finished as the alicorn closed the door.

"Well," Twilight continued, turning around and looking directly at Rainbow, "This is it."

A small blush appeared on Rainbow's smiling face. It was time.

Wedding Day: Part II

Princess Celestia stood alone on the edge of the gazebo in the middle of Cloudsdale Gardens. Sitting in front of her was a large group of ponies, mostly pegasi, here to witness the wedding of two long-time friends. On Celestia's left were the friends and family of Soarin, his parents sitting in the front row. On her right were the friends and family of Rainbow Dash, consisting of Firefly, Fleetfoot, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadance, Flurry Heart, Starlight, Sunburst, and many residents of Ponyville and Cloudsdale who knew Rainbow Dash all too well. Discord was there, as well; he was seated in the furthest left chair in the front row so as not to obstruct anyone else's view of the ceremony.

The Weather Patrol had made sure to keep the weather as perfect as possible for the soon-to-be-married couple and their guests. The sky above the crowd was completely clear, except for two heart-shaped clouds that were directly above the gazebo, about 100 feet in the air. Other than that, Celestia's sun was shining as brightly as it always was.

Celestia looked to her left and noticed Soarin walking around the crowd and toward her, eventually standing in front of her, bowing, and then moving off to the side to welcome the rest of the wedding party. He was looking as handsome as he'd ever been in his Wonderbolts business attire, the sleeves of his blue jacket extended all the way to keep with the formal looks that everypony else was presenting.

Soon, a pegasus pianist started playing, and the procession officially began. Everypony that was sitting down was now standing up and facing the aisle, eagerly waiting for everypony to pass through. The Cutie Mark Crusaders led the way, swinging their baskets of flower petals from side to side, much like they did at the royal wedding, except this time, they wouldn't have to do it twice. Up next was Spike, clad in his black tuxedo and top hat, carrying a red pillow with two gold rings, each one including a fabric string that would allow them to hang over the bride and groom's necks.

Up next were the ponies of the actual wedding party. Since Rainbow Dash had two more bridesmaids than Soarin did groomstallions, adjustments were made to keep everything looking even. Twilight and Spitfire entered side by side, turning to their lefts after bowing to Celestia. Once they were in position, the next pair entered the gardens, this one being Braeburn and Pinkie Pie. The party pony was doing her best to contain her excitement, trying not to run down the aisle in front of Braeburn and scream at the top of her lungs about how ecstatic she was. Up next were Caramel and Rarity, and they were followed by Big Mac and Applejack. After they were in position, Thunderlane and Fluttershy, best stallion and maid of honor, made their way down the aisle. After bowing to Celestia like the others had done, they parted ways and went to their respective positions.

Finally, the big moment arrived. The pianist began playing an all-too-familiar tune that was customary with weddings throughout Equestria. Everypony in the crowd turned to the archway at the back of the aisle, delighted by the beautiful sight before them. There was Rainbow Dash, beautifully clad in her extravagant wedding gown and crown of daisies. Almost immediately, she, along with her father, made their way down the aisle and toward Princess Celestia. As they walked, multiple OOOO's and AHHH's could be heard, most likely because of how Rainbow looked.

As Dash and her father neared the edge of the gazebo, Soarin's heart began beating faster and faster. He was blown away at how his soon-to-be-wife looked. True, she looked amazing in her flight suit, but her in her wedding dress was a different story. "This is it..." he thought to himself. Right in front of him was the mare he would be spending the rest of his life with, flying with her in the Wonderbolts, raising two foals together, everything. All he could do was smile and try not to look as nervous as he was.

At last, Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Blaze stood in front of Celestia and bowed, and then the pianist ceased playing. After the audience sat back down, there was a brief silence before Celestia greeted the crowd. "Dearly beloved," she began, "We are gathered here today to join these two ponies, Rainbow Dash and Soarin, in matrimony. Today is the day that one chapter in each of their lives will end, and another one will begin, one that they will have the honor of enjoying together." She then glanced down at Rainbow Blaze. "Who here gives this mare to be wed?"

"I do, your highness," Blaze responded. It was at this moment that he faced his daughter, gave her a hug and a kiss, and then looked her in the eyes one more time before he let her join Soarin up on the edge of the gazebo. Blaze then went and sat in his reserved seat, next to his wife.

Celestia then glanced down at Rainbow and Soarin and asked, "I understand that you each have prepared your own vows to read to each other, correct?"

"I've got mine right here, princess," Soarin replied.

"So do I," Rainbow responded.

"Perfect," Celestia continued, "Soarin, you may read your vows to Rainbow Dash first."

"Thank you," the stallion replied. He then reached into his left breast pocket, pulled out a small piece of parchment, and unfolded it. On it contained his true feelings for the pegasus mare in front of him.

Soarin took a deep breath and said, "Rainbow Dash, when I first laid my eyes on you, I instantly saw a picture of heavenly beauty. Your rainbow mane caught my eye immediately, and that, to me, made you unique, and you seemed to be the one mare I had been searching for all my life. It wasn't until later that we first became acquainted in a very unusual way, with you saving Spitfire, Fleetfoot, Rarity, and I, but when I finally got to spend time with you after the Best Young Flyers' Competition, I knew that you and I would become something someday. And now, my wish has come true. Right now, I'm standing in front of the greatest, most amazing, most awesome pony Equestria. You've filled my life with indescribable joy throughout the time we've been together. Now, the day has arrived where will finally start our life together." Soarin's smile faded slightly as he started reading what was next on the parchment. "I know that we're here because of circumstances we never saw coming, but to me, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you and me are here right now, and that I am expressing my deepest and most honest feelings for you. Plus, with two foals on the way and Wonderbolts careers in hoof, I know that our marriage will be the best that has ever existed in the history of time." Soarin then looked Dash straight in the eye as he gave her a heartfelt smile. "Rainbow Dash, I love you with all my heart, and I wouldn't trade this day for anything in the world. I know deep down that you are the mare I'm meant to be with until I die. I promise that I will be the most faithful and supportive husband a pony could ask for, and I will continue being that husband until death do us part." At that moment, Soarin folded his parchment back up and put it back in his pocket.

Very few eyes were dry as Soarin finished reading his heartfelt vows to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow herself hadn't shed any tears yet, but she very close to doing so. Rarity was noticeably sobbing, but she was trying her best not to cry hysterically in front of everypony. Luckily, Spike was standing nearby, so, with one claw still holding the red pillow, he reached into his tuxedo pocket and pulled out a small handkerchief, holding it in front of the white unicorn. Rarity smiled at the young dragon, taking the white cloth in her magic and gently wiping her tears away.

"And now, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said, "You may read your vows to Soarin."

"Thanks," the cyan mare replied. She had hidden her vows in her left wing, so she unfurled it and brought the note to her awaiting left hoof. Once the parchment was unfolded, she breathed deeply and said, "Soarin, there was a time in my life when I felt that I was so busy with flying and trying to get into the Wonderbolts that I felt I wouldn't have time to be in a relationship. It seemed like I would live my life alone, just me and my other friends, until I achieved my dream. That's when you came along. You and I shared a deep passion for flying and being Wonderbolts, and that's what I believe drew us together." At this point, Rainbow was starting to sniffle as expressing her true feelings to Soarin tugged at her heartstrings. "You...hnnnf...have such an awesome attitude and personality that...hnnnf...from the moment I first experienced it...hnnnf...I knew that we were...hnnnf...that we were...hnnnf...sorry..." she finished in a whisper while closing her eyes, sniffling a few more times as a lone tear ran down her right cheek. Soarin noticed this and pulled a tissue out of his other pocket and handed it over to Rainbow, the mare smiling as she took it from him and wiped her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered to her stallion. Soarin only nodded as he was handed the tissue back, putting it back into his pocket. "Anyway," Rainbow continued, "I knew that we were perfect for each other. We each seemed to have the same outlook on life, the same love for the open air, and eventually, the same feelings for each other, and I feel honored to express those exact feelings to you right now on this special day, in front of all our friends and family. I never dreamed that Hearts and Hooves Day would be this important to both you and me, but now it is, and it'll stay that way for the rest of our lives. Soarin, I wholeheartedly promise from this day forth that I will be the greatest wife you could ask for, supporting you however I can and not have eyes for any other stallion in existence. I love you, Soarin, and I'll keep loving you until the end of time, even after we die." With that, Rainbow folded her parchment and stored it in her left wing once again.

By now, every single being in the crowd had at least one tear in their eye. Both the bride's and groom's words were some of the most heartfelt they had ever heard in their lives. They were happy that Celestia didn't have to read from and old book and have them repeat pre-written vows from ancient times. These words were straight from the heart, and they were better than any words that came out of a book.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash," Celestia continued, "And now, it is time for me to ask each of you a very important question." She turned her head to face Soarin, and the stallion glanced at her briefly as she asked, "Soarin, do you take Rainbow Dash to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poor, through good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?"

Soarin closed his eyes, lowered his head for one second, then looked Rainbow in the eyes and said, "I do."

"And Rainbow Dash, do you take Soarin to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poor, through good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?"

Rainbow faced Soarin and, almost in a whisper, said, "I do."

"Spike?" Celestia said as she turned to the baby dragon near the bridesmaids. Immediately, he walked over to where she and the couple were standing, pillow in hand as he held it in front of Rainbow and Soarin. At that moment, Celestia whispered instructions into both pegasus' ears.

Next, Soarin took one of the strings and, balancing himself with both wings, used both his forehooves to hang the golden ring over Rainbow's neck, and then he said, "Rainbow Dash, with this ring, I thee wed."

After looking at the ring around her neck, Rainbow did exactly what Soarin did, taking his ring by the strings that it was attached to and placing it over his neck. She then said, "Soarin, with this ring, I thee wed." She then reached out her left forehoof, which Soarin took eagerly in his right, both pegasi bracing themselves for what Celestia was about to say.

With her loud and proud voice, Celestia announced, "I now pronounce you mare and colt! You may kiss the bride!" Not wasting any time, both pegasi dove forward and locked their lips together while everyone in the crowd cheered and clapped for the newly married couple. Over on the side, Pinkie Pie shot off a party cannon that she'd brought with her, sending confetti of all colors, primarily the ones on Rainbow and Soarin, into the air. Also, above everyone, the two heart-shaped clouds were pushed together by two flying pegasi to form one large, white heart.

Rainbow and Soarin eventually broke the kiss, giving each other a warm hug before turning to face their audience. Soarin took Rainbow's hoof in his once again and raised them both up, signifying his excitement of finally having Rainbow Dash all to himself. Soon, the now-husband-and-wife pair eagerly walked down the aisle past their family and friends, more colorful bits of confetti continuing to rain down as they were cheered on by everyone there. The rest of the wedding party followed them out, and soon, the crowd slowly exited the ceremony and went over to another area of the gardens, where the reception would take place.

As Rainbow and Soarin led the pack, Soarin looked over to his new wife, giving her a genuine smile as he whispered, "I love you."

Rainbow copied his look and replied, "I love you, too," before the two of them shared another loving kiss.

Author's Note

Well, there you have it. The moment (or at least one moment) you've all been waiting for. I apologize if the wedding ceremony itself seemed a bit short, but I've only been to three weddings before in my life, and the rest I've either seen on TV or on some stage production. Needless to say, I don't think I know too much about proper wedding ceremonies.

I'm letting you know in advance that I'll be skipping any "after-wedding activities" that Rainbow Dash and Soarin may partake in, because I'm saving the sweet stuff for the next chapter.

Also, since this story has been taking a while to write, I've decided I'm going to skip the majority of the wedding reception, though a few important bits will be included in the next chapter.

*A Castle to Themselves

Author's Note

At long last, here is the next clop chapter. I apologize for the long wait, and I hope this will make up for it.

*A Castle to Themselves

"And so, here's to two of the greatest friends in all of Equestria!" Thunderlane announced, he and Fluttershy standing next to each other after deciding to make a combined toast at the reception.

"To Rainbow Dash and Soarin!" Fluttershy said, loudly.

"Here!" the two pegasi announced in unison, raising their glasses of cider.

"Here!" the rest of the attendees replied, mimicking the actions of the best stallion and the maid of honor. They clinked their glasses with the ponies around them, then took a sip of cider before returning to their meals, which had been wonderfully prepared by the Royal Sisters' personal chefs, at Twilight's and Pinkie Pie's requests.

By the end of the celebration, none of the guests wanted the night to end. They had gotten too far into the mood and wanted to party until morning.

Keeping her promise from two months earlier, Pinkie Pie had made this reception, or, for that matter, the entire day's events, the best night of Rainbow's and Soarin's lives. Everything had gone according to plan so far. When all the guests had arrived in the reception hall, they talked for a while, then sat down for dinner, while multiple toasts were made by various members of the wedding party and the bride's and groom's parents. After that was over, Rainbow Dash and Soarin cut the cake, which was a five-level chocolate and vanilla cake, alternating with each level, all decoratively covered with vanilla butter-cream icing. It had been prepared by none other than Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and they were happy to see how much everypony enjoyed it.

Once everyone had finished eating, they gathered around the dance floor as the new husband and wife had their first dance as a married couple. The pegasus pianist from earlier, along with Octavia and a couple of other string musicians, played a slow, classic tune that expressed love and desire, two things that Rainbow and Soarin portrayed throughout their first dance. It was a special moment that was made even better by all the friends and family of couple around them.

After that, Vinyl Scratch - who, for once in her life, had decided to wear a bit of decent clothing, which was only a simple, short, white dress with blue lightning graphics - really got the party going as she went behind her turntables and cranked up the volume, playing some of the most popular techno dance music in the country, some of it being her very own. Stallions danced with mares, and mares danced with stallions. Some were in a group, some were on their own. Regardless, the room remained lively for many, many hours.

In the end, everypony stepped outside, where one of the royal carriages, also brought at the request of Twilight, was waiting for the new husband and wife. It had the usual 'Just Married' sign in the back, and instead of tin cans strung onto the rear, there were little bells that would ring easily in the air as the carriage soared through the sky.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash soon walked out past their guests, kissing each other on the lips one more time - which earned a few whistles from various ponies - before stepping into their awaiting chariot. Then, Rainbow faced away from the crowd, hovered slightly as best she could, then threw her bouquet of various colored flowers, which matched her mane and tail, into the crowd. Thankfully, Rarity avoided charging through everypony this time around and instead decided to go for it the old-fashioned way. The bouquet bounced over and between raised hooves, skipping somewhat freely until it landed unexpectedly in the claws of Spike, surprising the young dragon. He looked upward at the ponies around them and noticed no one looking in his direction. He then looked to his right, only to find Sweetie Belle standing next to him, smiling. He looked back at the arrangement of gorgeous flowers in his claws, then back at the white filly. He then graciously held the bouquet out to her, causing Sweetie Belle to bring a forehoof up to the side of her mouth, turn her head away slightly, and blush cutely. She then gracefully accepted the flowers, giving Spike a light kiss on the cheek as she did, causing the drake to blush, himself.

Soon, the bells at the back of the carriage began ringing as the two pegasi in front took to the skies, prompting the wedding party and guests to cheer one last time for Rainbow Dash and Soarin, who eventually disappeared into the night sky to begin their new life together.

Rainbow Dash slowly awoke from one of the best night's sleeps she'd had in a while. Last night had definitely been a blast both for her and Soarin, and was even better now since this was going to be their first full day as a married couple.

Rainbow climbed out of her and Soarin's bed, but once her hooves touched the cloud floor, they began to sink rapidly. In a slight state of panic, Rainbow leapt in the air and back onto the bed, the movement jolting Soarin awake as he turned over to his wife. "Ugh..." he grunted, "What's wrong, Dashie?"

Rainbow turned her head to face her husband and replied, "I...I don't think I can stay in this house much longer. I'm starting to sink into the clouds."

This got Soarin's attention immediately, causing him to sit up, his eyes widening. "Uh-oh," he replied, "Guess we should have done something about that earlier."

"It's okay, Soarin," Dash said, reassuringly, "I'm actually glad we came back to this house, our house, last night when the circumstances were perfect. I think me sinking into the clouds like this the next morning was just a freak coincidence. Still, I need to get to solid ground real quick," she finished. "Wow, I never thought I'd hear myself say that..." Dash thought to herself.

"I agree," Soarin responded, quickly getting out of bed.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash walked through the streets of Ponyville, most of the townsfolk congratulating them on their marriage. They eventually reached Sugar Cube Corner, where they were able to formally thank Pinkie Pie and the Cakes for all they had done for the ceremony. Soon, they were walking near Twilight's castle when the Princess of Friendship herself, along with Spike, ran into them. "Hey, guys!" Twilight said, happily.

"Hey, Twilight!" the two pegasi responded in unison.

"Boy, last night was amazing!" Spike said, putting his claws in the air.

"It sure was!" Rainbow replied.

"Totally a blast!" Soarin exclaimed.

"But..." Rainbow continued, "Now we have a problem."

"What's that?" Twilight asked.

"Well, just this morning, as I was getting out of bed, I started sinking into the cloud floor of our house pretty fast, and I knew at that point that I had reached the point in my pregnancy where I have to stand on solid ground until the foals arrive. The problem is, we never made arrangements to stay anywhere."

"Oh! Well, you're welcome to stay at my castle if you want!"

"Really?" Soarin asked.

"Of course!" Twilight replied, "In fact, you can have the whole place to yourselves!"

Both Rainbow's and Soarin's eyes widened, surprised that their friend would offer such a proposition. "Y-You're joking, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Of course not! Since you two are newlyweds, it only makes sense that you have some time to yourselves as you settle into married life. Of course, Spike, Starlight, and I may drop in from time to time during the day, but the castle will be all yours at night."

"But, where will you three be?" Soarin asked.

"Well," Twilight continued, spreading her wings, "Since I can fly now, I can handle being in a cloud home. Why don't we just swap houses until your foals are born?"

Soarin and Dash looked at each other, unsure if they should accept such a generous offer. "You're really sure about this, Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

"Absolutely," the princess responded.

"Does that mean you're gonna have to keep recasting that cloud-walking spell on Starlight and I for the next - what is it - seven months?" Spike asked, looking up at Twilight.

"Starlight, yes," the alicorn replied, "But as for you, Spike, I think Rarity would love to have you stay with her. She could probably use the extra help."

Looking at nopony in particular, Spike just stood there, wide-eyed. He immediately thought about how wonderful it would be to spend the next several months living with the mare of his dreams. He sighed as he pictured the ever-beautiful Rarity walking toward him, planting a kiss on his cheek, and saying in her most loving tone, "Oh Spike, you're the most amazing dragon in all of Equestria. I'd simply be honored to have you to stay with me for the rest of my life."

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, breaking the dragon of his trance.

"Oh, uhhh..." Spike replied, "Yeah, Twilight! I guess I could stay with Rarity for a little while."

"Great! I'll just go see if she's okay with doing this. In the meantime," Twilight continued, looking back at Rainbow and Soarin, "Why don't you two go and make yourselves at home? I can arrange to have some of your things brought down here, if you'd like. The three of us will be completely out of your hair by 8:00 tonight."

The two pegasi looked each other in the eyes one more time, smiling to each other before turning back to face the alicorn. "Thanks so much, Twilight!" Rainbow said, eager to have her friend's house all to her and her husband.

"Yeah, thanks!" Soarin followed up, "We definitely owe you one!"

"Really, it's nothing!" Twilight replied, "You guys are my friends, and I'd do anything to help you whenever you need it! Anyway, Come on, Spike," Twilight said as she faced the dragon once again, "We have to go see if Rarity's willing to have you stay with her."

Spike had already drifted off into another Rarity-related daydream when Twilight spoke to him, and he shook his head before replying, "Oh, yeah! That! Uhhh...see you guys later!" he said before running in the direction of the Carousel Boutique.

As Twilight followed her dragon assistant, Rainbow and Soarin looked at how fast Spike was running away, then they both giggled at each other. "He just never stops going all gaga over Rarity, doesn't he?" Rainbow asked, chuckling.

Soarin giggled back in response. "I guess not."

Soarin sighed contently as the last picture frame was put in the right place on the dresser. He and Rainbow Dash had already chosen which one of Twilight's guest rooms they would be staying in, and they had spent some time decorating it to make it feel like their own room at home. The bedroom overlooked most of Ponyville, primarily the east side. As for the room itself, it twice the size of their current bedroom, complete with its own en-suite bathroom.

"Perfect," Soarin said, looking at the work he and his wife had done to their temporary bedroom, "Home sweet home."

"For now," Rainbow replied, leaning her head affectionately against Soarin's neck.

The clock on the wall read 8:05 PM as the two pegasi exited their room and went downstairs, just as Twilight, Starlight, and Spike were about to leave after helping them get moved in. The princess and the unicorn were just walking out the front door as Spike exited the living room. Rainbow Dash looked into said room and noticed that more of their pictures had been placed throughout, plus a fire had been started in the fireplace. Dash then asked, "Did you light that fire for us, Spike?"

Spike froze, worried that he might be criticized for doing something to 'help', so to say, somepony else's relationship. "Uhhh...yeah," the dragon replied, nervously, "I just, you know...wanted to...make the room feel a little more...romantic? Like...since you guys are newlyweds and...all that stuff. Oh, geez, look at the time!" he exclaimed while looking at an imaginary watch around his wrist, "I gotta go! See ya!" Spike began to run toward the front door, but he stopped when he heard Rainbow's voice once again.

"Thanks, Spike," Dash said, giving him a warm smile. Spike said nothing in return. He only gave a weak smile before turning to exit the castle, leaving the newlyweds to themselves, free to enjoy their massive temporary home on their own.

Dash then looked at the fire that Spike had left for them, and then she looked at Soarin. "That fire sure does look nice," she said.

Soarin took a glance of his own at the fireplace. "It sure does," he replied, extending a wing over his wife's back and walking forward. Dash followed alongside him, and soon, they arrived in front of the elegant fireplace, complete with a red chaise lounger, much like the many that Rarity owned, directly in front of it.

Dash sat on her rump in front of the fireplace, rubbing her forehooves together and then turning them toward the flickering fire, attempting to feel its warmth. She didn't have to wait long, though, as the wonderful heat graced her hooves, belly, and cheeks all at the same time. She sighed contently as she began to relax, but her ears perked up slightly upon hearing a voice. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, huh, Dashie?" Soarin asked, somewhat playfully. He had already laid down on the lounger on his left side, the front of his muscular body facing the fire.

Rainbow giggled. "Yeah," she replied in a slightly seductive tone, "This feels pretty good, but I know what can make it better." She then got up onto the lounger and pressed her still slightly cold back to Soarin's chest, all while the stallion wrapped his forelegs around his wife. His right hoof lay over her distended belly, while his left held onto her chest, Rainbow's own forelegs curling up and drooping over her husband's front leg. Soarin then nestled his snout into his wife's mane for a brief second before sighing, happy with the position they were in. Rainbow sighed as well as she felt the rest of her body become enveloped in warmth of all kinds.

For the next twenty minutes, the couple just lay there silently, enjoying each other's body heat, as well as the heat from the fire. They listened to every pop, every crack, every little sound, along with the gentle roar of the fire itself, all putting their minds at ease.

Rainbow and Soarin already enjoyed many nights in bed together, where they would be in a similar position, feeling each other's warmth. This, however, was different. This wasn't just a normal coltfriend and marefriend get-together for the night. They were married now, and they were relaxing together somewhere other than a bed. Being together in this scenario felt amazing for both of them. Every little surge of heat from either the fire or their own bodies was basically more of their love circulating between each other. Every content sigh signaled that they were that much more happy to finally be together forever. Every little caress of a hoof was showing how much they wanted to make each other feel wonderful. This was a moment they would remember for the rest of their lives. It was perfect. They were alone, in front of a warm fire, together, with nopony there to bother them. Neither Rainbow nor Soarin wanted this moment to end.

"Hey, Dash?" Soarin whispered, causing Rainbow's ear to flick a little bit.

"Yeah, Soarin?" she replied, also in a silent tone.

"I'm so glad we're finally husband and wife."

Rainbow smiled. "Me, too," she replied, sweetly, "I'm glad it's finally just the two of us. I've been waiting for this for so long."

"I just hope I can be the best husband there is..."

"Well, you're doing a pretty good job so far. You're kind, supportive," she then snuggled closer to her husband, "...and a really good snuggle buddy."

Soarin giggled. "Hehe...I love you, Dashie,"

Rainbow turned her head upward and looked Soarin in the eyes. "I love you, too, Soarin," she replied before moving in for a kiss. Ever since getting married, kissing felt much, much different. There was now more love, passion, and desire in each one, and they loved it.

The two pegasi soon broke the kiss, and Rainbow kept her head tilted upward and snuggled further into Soarin, trying to feel some of his chest fur on her cheek. "Hehe..." Soarin giggled again, "You look really cute, Dashie."

"What? Me? Cute?" Rainbow responded in a soft tone, still smiling while blushing slightly, "How am I cute? I mean, look at me! I'm huge!"

"Of course you look cute," Soarin continued, rubbing Dash's pregnant belly, "That smile, that blush, the way you cuddled up next to me, it's just really...well, cute."

Rainbow's blush deepened as she looked away slightly, still sporting the little smile that Soarin found so adorable. The stallion then leaned in closer to his wife's ear and whispered, "You know, I may just have to punish you for being so cute..."

Rainbow turned her head back up and gave Soarin a coy grin. "And just how do you think you're gonna do that?" she whispered in response.

Still positioned at her ear, Soarin replied, "You'll see..." He then blew gently into Dash's ear, then started affectionately nibbling on its tip. The ear flickered upon instinct, and Rainbow gave a soft, high-pitched moan at the sensation.

"Ooooooh...Soarin..."

The stallion then slowly lowered his hoof down Rainbow's stomach, but as he grazed the edge of one of her teats, he heard a sharp, "Ugh!..." come out of his wife's mouth.

He immediately jerked his hoof away and said, "Sorry. You okay?"

Rainbow let out a slow breath as the slight bout of pain slowly faded away. "Yeah," she replied, "I'm okay. You don't have to be sorry. They've just...well, gotten a bit bigger lately. It's my fault for not warning you."

"Hey, it's nopony's fault," Soarin responded, leaning down to give his wife a peck on the cheek, "It's just nature doing its job."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Soarin then remained silent for several seconds, thinking about something. "Stay here, Dash," he said, "I wanna try something." After receiving a nod from his wife, Soarin got up from his position, allowing Rainbow to lie on her back with her head against the lone pillow as Soarin stood between her hind legs. He laid down, his upper chest lying on top of Rainbow's pregnant belly as he lowered his head. He then started planting slow, affectionate kisses on the top of Rainbow's stomach, going a bit lower with every few kisses.

"Ahhh..." Rainbow sighed and moaned at the same time, closing her eyes as she reached her forehooves out to meet Soarin's, which were on the sides of her form.

Soarin left a small trail of kisses down Rainbow's belly until he got to her belly button. Normally, it was a slight inny, but because of the foals growing inside of her, it had turned into an outie, and a rather prominent one, too. It wasn't more than a centimeter in diameter and it was only about thirteen millimeters high, but it was still noticeable, and Soarin didn't want to leave it unattended.

Soarin began tracing a circle around Rainbow's belly button with his tongue, the alien sensation making Rainbow moan quietly in delight. As Rainbow's forehooves continued to rub gently against his, Soarin wrapped his lips around her little mound and began suckling, as if it was one of her nipples. "Oooohhhh..." Rainbow cooed. Never in her life did she think she would be a fan of belly worship, especially in her pregnant state, but the way Soarin was treating her felt absolutely amazing. She moved her right forehoof up and began to caress the back of Soarin's head, running it through his soft, dark blue mane.

Soarin took his wife's actions as an initiative and continued sucking her belly button for several more minutes before pulling back, giving it a loving kiss before continuing his trail down south. He soon sensed his chin getting dangerously close to her slightly swollen teats, so he picked his head up and lowered it, eyeing Rainbow's slightly aroused pussy. His snout neared his prize, but right when he was about to start licking it, his wife's voice stopped him. "S-Soarin, wait," Rainbow said, breaking the silence.

Soarin pulled his head up and asked, "Huh? What is it, Dash?"

"I...well, I didn't mean to stop you all of a sudden, but...let's not do that here."

Soarin's smile then returned. "You wanna take this to our bedroom?"

"Actually," Rainbow continued, her tone shifting to a seductive one while her face began to sport a devilish grin, "I know something better we could do..."

"What's that?" Soarin asked, bringing his head a little closer to his wife's.

Rainbow pulled herself up to Soarin's ear and whispered, "I want you to screw me in Twilight's bed."

Soarin jerked his head away, slightly taken aback by such a request. He wanted to object, but he was far too in the mood at this point, which was made evident by his slowly growing erection. He gave Dash a seductive glare and said, "Ooooo...You're a naughty little filly, aren't you, Dashie?"

"Yeah..." Dash whispered in reply, bringing her lips to Soarin's. Both pegasi closed their eyes as they leaned into the kiss, and then Soarin picked his wife up with his forelegs and began flapping his wings. As they continued making out, Soarin flew the two of the up the massive staircase in the center of the castle. As he did, he moved one of his forehooves down to Rainbow's rump, rubbing it in circles before giving it a few light, gentle spanks. Rainbow moaned into the kiss as he did, getting more aroused as he punished her, so to speak.

Soon, the couple was on the upper level, and Rainbow broke the kiss as she pointed to where Twilight's bedroom door was with a hoof. Soarin flew over to the door and opened it, his lips returning to his wife's as they arrived at Twilight's large, perfectly made bed. Soarin laid Dash down on the comforter as he lay on top of her, continuing their kiss for several minutes before breaking away for oxygen. The two ponies locked eyes briefly, and then Soarin took another glance at his wife's marehood, which, at this point, was completely soaked. As for Soarin's member, it was at full mast, eagerly waiting to be engulfed by Rainbow's pussy.

Soarin lay on his left side to the right of his wife, and Rainbow moved onto her own left side once she realized what Soarin was planning to do. The stallion began licking Rainbow's right ear, taking it into his mouth as he lined himself up. Soon, Soarin's tip was inside Rainbow's lower lips, and the two pegasi moaned blissfully as their long sexual hiatus finally came to an end.

Soarin slowly eased himself further in, but just as his medial ring entered Rainbow's lips, he found that he could go no further. He knew immediately that he was right at the edge of his wife's outstretched womb, and it worried him. In no way did he want to hurt the unborn foals, and he knew that the only way to not do that was to pull out of her. He did just that, much to the disappointment of his wife. "Ooooohh..." Rainbow moaned as she yearned for her stallion's cock to re-enter her. She then gasped as she felt his tip press up against her again, only in a slightly higher spot. "Why, you naughty little colt!" she said, sultrily.

Soarin leaned forward and kissed Dash on the cheek before replying, "Hey, I still need to punish you for being such a cute filly, don't I?"

Rainbow blushed at the comment, remembering how cute she was to him earlier. She then put on a mischievous smile, turning her head back to face him a she replied, "Yeah."

"Besides," Soarin continued in a more normal tone, rubbing his wife's belly, "I think this might be better for both us and the foals. I don't wanna risk poking too hard, which could disrupt them."

Rainbow pondered what her husband said, and then replied, "Okay."

Soarin then moved his hips into position before saying, "You ready?"

Rainbow grinned devilishly before responding, "Gimme all you got, you hunky stallion."

"With pleasure," Soarin whispered. He then pressed his hips forward, trying to push his tip, which was still well-lubricated with Rainbow's juices, into her butthole. Rainbow moaned slightly, clenching her buttocks on reflex. "Shhh..." Soarin cooed into her ear, "Just relax." Rainbow did as she was told, letting loose the sudden tension and allowing Soarin to move forward.

When his head finally popped inside, both ponies went, "Ahhh!..." at the sensation. Never had Rainbow felt so tight to him, and never before did Rainbow have anything put up her rear. All that changed in this one moment, as the new sensation racked both their bodies.

Rainbow had clenched herself around Soarin's cock, but she soon relaxed and allowed him to push a couple of more inches into her. Rainbow clenched again, but only did so for one second before relaxing. Slowly but surely, Soarin was able to fit his entire length inside Rainbow's ass, and when his balls finally touched her vaginal lips, he sighed in complete and utter contentment. Rainbow did as well, clenching her inner walls one more time as the feeling of something long and hard up her butt made her feel pleasure like she'd never felt before. "Oooohhh...Soarin," she spoke, "This feels so awesome..."

"Yeah...It does..." Soarin cooed in response. Holding his wife tightly against him, Soarin left his cock inside Rainbow's butthole, allowing both of them to bask in the sensations it was giving them. Now, there were three beings who had a temporary home: Rainbow, Soarin, and the lone stallionhood in the room.

After about three minutes, Soarin slowly moved backwards, drawing nearly half of his member out of Rainbow's rear before he met resistance. He then slowly pushed himself back in, lovingly massaging his wife's inner walls. Both mare and stallion moaned at their own leisure as Soarin repeated this motion for several more minutes, slowly and affectionately making love to his beautiful Rainbow.

Soon, Soarin began moving a little bit faster, and as he did, he reached his right forehoof down between Rainbow's hind legs, careful not to brush up against her sensitive teats. Thankfully, he avoided them, and his hoof soon met warm, wet flesh, making Rainbow gasp. As he gradually quickened his thrusts, he began to rub her lower lips, coaxing even more liquid out. Soarin continued this for another few minutes before Rainbow's moans reached a higher volume, all while his cock started to heat up further, signaling the inevitable.

"Ahhh...Dash," Soarin moaned, panting for air as he did, "You getting close?"

Rainbow gently started to buck her hips against her husband's hoof, which only served to move his cock in more pleasurable ways inside her ass. "Y-Yeah...Ahhh..." she responded, "You?"

"Yeah...ughhh...Get ready..."

The pressure began to build rapidly in both ponies, and not a minute later, their moans were replaced by screams of euphoria. Rainbow's lower lips spasmed, clenching around a nonexistent cock as her cum poured out of her and soaked Soarin's hoof. At the same time, her rectal muscles clenched tightly around Soarin's stallionhood as it began twitching violently. With a loud grunt, Soarin found release inside his wife, pumping his pent-up passion into her plothole.

Rainbow cried out in ecstasy as her deepest recesses were flooded with Soarin's warm, gooey cum, the heat and pressure sending her into a second climax. She moaned loudly as a second round of thick fluids flowed out of her vagina, soaking Soarin's hoof, balls, and the comforter below.

Both ponies lay there panting, enjoying each other's warmth in their afterglow. Soarin slightly released his grip on Rainbow, his forelegs still holding her perfectly close as his hooves gently stroked her fur. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek and the side of her neck, prompting Rainbow to turn her head and allow her lips to make contact with his, the couple sharing more of their love as they lay there. As they kissed, Soarin's erection died down and popped out of Rainbow's back door, a few stray shots of cum leaking from his tip as they landed on both her and the sheets. As for Rainbow's butthole, several streams of seed gently flowed out of it, the mare basking in their warmth as they ran down the side of her flank and onto the comforter.

After several long minutes of heavy breathing, Soarin broke the silence. "hhhh...Wow, Dashie. You were incredible."

"hhhh...So were you..." Rainbow replied, silently, "Maybe I should act cute more often."

"Why?" Soarin asked, giving a small chuckle.

Rainbow smiled at him coyly. "So you can punish me back there again, if you know what I mean..."

Soarin gently caressed Rainbow's belly with his wet hoof, letting out a small giggle. "Hehe...I love you, Dashie."

"I love you, too, Soarin," Rainbow finished, kissing him on the lips one more time. After separating, Rainbow looked down behind her. "What are we gonna do about these sheets?" she asked.

Soarin nuzzled her neck before replying, "We can worry about that later."

"Sounds like a good idea..." Rainbow replied, yawning as she finished her sentence. Soon, the warmth from the night's activites took over her body, and she fell asleep in her husband's embrace. Soarin gave Rainbow one more kiss on the cheek before laying his head back down and closing his eyes, letting sleep overtake him soon after.

Just When They Thought Things Were Perfect...

Fleetfoot flew high above the clouds that were the Wonderbolts' training grounds. She and the rest of the group had a show coming up in Los Pegasus, and she was going to be performing an aerial acrobatic move she had never done before - a corkscrewing, quadruple loop-de-loop.

As Soarin watched from below, he saw his teammate flare her wings outward and begin to fly upwards, resulting in the beginning of the first loop. At the same time, he saw her twist her body to the left, beginning the long corkscrew. She did this for about five seconds before the stunt was complete, and she soon landed next to Soarin. "Nice job, Fleetfoot!" Soarin said, "Not bad for your first time! Just make sure you're beginning the corkscrew before you make the first ascent."

"Got it. Thanks," Fleetfoot replied. She turned away to begin flying again, but before she took to the skies, she turned back to Soarin and asked, "Hey, I never got to ask you, how's married life treating you?"

"Not too badly," Soarin replied, "I mean, Rainbow and I have been married for only a month, but it's been an amazing experience. I'm just glad that we're together and happy."

"Soarin, please report to my office immediately," came Spitfire's voice over the intercom on the side of the building.

"I wonder what that's about," Fleetfoot said, looking slightly concerned.

"Ahhh, it's probably just a note from Dash saying that she wants me to pick up another layer cake on the way home."

"Is she still eating a whole lot of them?" Fleetfoot asked with a slightly sarcastic grin.

"Not as much as before, but they've been her favorite 'craving condenser', as she calls it, since the beginning of the pregnancy. Anyway, hopefully this won't take too long. See 'ya!" Soarin finished, waving to Fleetfoot as he went inside the building.

When Soarin reached Spitfire's office, he opened the door, only to find both her and his mother waiting for him. "Mom?" Soarin said, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Soarin, there you are," Wind Glider replied in a sad tone, reaching out a foreleg and hugging her son.

"What's wrong?" Soarin asked.

"It's...It's your father," she continued, beginning to shed a few tears, "He...hnnnf...He was in a construction accident at the cloud factory, and...hhhh...he's at the hospital right now."

Soarin's eyes went wide, as anypony would have suspected. "What?!?" he replied, "Is he okay?"

"He's...well...hhhh...He was unconscious when I left, and...hnnnf...both his wings are broken..." she finished in a quiet tone.

"Oh no!..." Soarin exclaimed silently, his volume decreasing while he put a hoof to his mouth. His eyes narrowed in sadness, and he was very close to shedding tears of his own.

The room remained silent for several seconds before Spitfire spoke up. "Soarin, you can have the rest of the day off so you can go see your dad. I won't dock your pay."

Soarin turned to face the yellow mare and replied, "Thanks." He then turned to his mom and said, "One of us should go get...oh, wait, is he at Cloudsdale General?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Shoot...Dash can't be on clouds right now. But...I really want her here."

"Please," Wind Glider responded, "Let me go talk to her. I want you to go and see your father."

"Okay," Soarin replied, his tone remaining a sad one. "See 'ya, Spitfire," he said to his boss.

"Bye, Soarin," she replied, "Hope things get better soon."

"Me, too," the stallion replied as he and his mother left the office and eventually flew away in different directions.

Soarin walked through the entrance to the Emergency Room at Cloudsdale General Hospital and immediately trotted up to the front desk. "Excuse me," he said to the pegasus mare behind the counter.

"Yes, how can I help you?" the mare responded.

"Is my dad in this part of the hospital? His name is Grey Nimbus."

"Oh, him. No, they just moved him up to Intensive Care."

"Oh no..." Soarin said to himself, silently.

"Don't worry," the receptionist said, reassuringly, "The doctor said his vitals were okay, so he's not in any immediate danger."

"Is he still unconscious?"

"Last I heard, yes, but who knows? Maybe he's woken up by now."

"Where can I find him?"

"Just head down that hallway," the mare continued, pointing to her right, "And make a right at the fork. There'll be a staircase to your left that will lead you to the ICU. Your father's in room 209. Here," she finished, holding out a plastic hoofband with the number 209 in her writing, "I just need you to put this on."

"Sure," Soarin replied, holding his left forehoof up. The receptionist then fastened the plastic band onto his wrist. "Thanks," Soarin replied.

"No problem. See you soon!" the mare finished.

"Bye," Soarin replied, turning to his left to follow the directions he had been given.

After navigating the hallways, Soarin finally reached the Intensive Care Unit, and he went up to the reception desk. "Is there a stallion named Grey Nimbus here?" Soarin asked, "He's my father."

"I'm sorry, he's up in Radiology getting an MRI," the mare behind the counter said.

"But...the mare from the ER said he was up here."

"She probably meant that he would be here soon. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here shortly," she replied, trying not to sound worried, "Right now, you can just wait in the waiting area over there, if you'd like."

"Okay. Thanks," Soarin replied.

"And your name is...?"

"Soarin."

"Okay, Soarin. I just need you to sign in right here, okay?"

"Will do," the stallion finished, taking a pen in his mouth and signing his name on the sign-in sheet. After putting the pen down, he made his way to the sitting area, sitting down in a green chair. A few seats away, there was a pegasus mare silently crying while a stallion comforted her. Soarin had no way of knowing if he was her brother, father, son, or just a friend, but he knew that the way the mare was acting could have been just how his own mother was acting when she'd heard the news.

Pretty soon, a nurse called Soarin's name and guided him to room 209. The stallion gulped, not looking forward to seeing what was on the other side. Slowly, he opened the door, growing increasingly nervous as he did. Once it was opened, Soarin saw his father and another female nurse. To his relief, his father's eyes were open, and the nurse was checking his vital signs, all while slowly rubbing his cheek as he regained consciousness. However, the top of his head, plus both of his wings, were encased in long, white bandages. The were also several bumps and bruises that were visible either on his face or his forelegs.

"Dad!" Soarin exclaimed, his voice not being too loud.

"Oh, hello!" the nurse said, "Are you this stallion's son?"

"Yeah. I'm Soarin. How is he?" Soarin asked, getting closer to his dad's bed.

"Well, he regained consciousness a few minutes after arriving in Radiology. We've already taken x-rays of his wings and we're awaiting the results of the MRI of his head."

"How bad is it?"

"Well, we don't know yet. We'll just have to wait and see. Other than that, his heart rate and blood pressure are fine, so as far as his internal organs are concerned, he's alright for now, unless we find a bleed somewhere in the brain."

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

"From what the paramedics told us, there was a crane near him holding a steel beam. The crane somehow malfunctioned, and while your father was hovering by a wall and hammering a few nails into place, the beam struck him across the head, which we believe knocked him unconscious instantly, and then he somehow turned in mid-air and slammed his back against another wall, crushing his wings.

Soarin shivered slightly, realizing that his father may never be the same after this. "C-Could I have some time with him alone?" he asked.

The nurse checked the vital sign monitor one more time before replying, "Sure. Let me know when you're done, okay? We need to keep a close eye on him."

"That's fine. Thanks," Soarin finished as the nurse began to exit the room.

Soarin then focused his attention on his injured father. It was hard for Soarin to look at him in this state. He had always pictured his father being very active and sometimes being the center of attention. Now, he was lying on a hospital bed, barely conscious, his wings shattered, and his head partially wrapped in bandages. It was a sight that Soarin hoped he would never see happen to somepony in his family.

"Dad?" Soarin asked, silently.

Grey Nimbus' eyes were already open, and he turned them to his right and noticed Soarin standing over him. "Uhhh...'Dad'?" he asked in confusion.

It was then that Soarin's body began heating up with adrenaline. "What? D-Do you know who I am??" he asked, frantically.

Grey Nimbus squinted his eyes for a second, and then replied, "You don't look familiar to me."

Soarin began hyperventilating as he made a beeline for the door. Once it was open, he turned his head to the right and screamed, "NURSE!!"

Within a few seconds, the same pegasus mare who was treating his father earlier came rushing down the hallway and asked, "What's the problem?"

"My dad lost his memory!"

"Oh, I'm not surprised," she replied, "He had quite a blow to the head."

"No, I mean, he doesn't know who I am! I'm his son, for crying out loud!"

"Oh, that's what you mean..." the nurse responded, a concerned look on her face, "For now, we'll have to wait until the MRI results are in. That way we can determine how long he'll be like this. Let me go check and see him for myself."

"Okay," The stallion replied.

"Soarin!" came a voice that Soarin didn't expect to hear. He lifted his head, only to find his wife, along with his mother, trotting quickly toward him.

"Dash?!?" Soarin asked in surprise, "How did you get here?"

"Twilight was at the castle and I had her cast a cloud-walking spell on me after your mom told me about your dad, but that doesn't matter right now. How is he?" she asked.

Soarin lowered his head. He wasn't at all eager to tell them the news, but he knew he had to. With a deep breath, Soarin said, "He's conscious and his vitals are okay, even though we're still awaiting the MRI results, but...he's...he's got amnesia. TOTAL amnesia. He doesn't remember who I am."

Both mares gasped silently. "G-Grey..." Wind Glider said, tears forming in her eyes.

Soarin took a few steps forward and drew his mother into a hug as she started sobbing, Rainbow joining the embrace soon after. None of the pegasi spoke a word. The only sound they heard was that of Wind Glider's sadness leaving her body through her mouth and eyes. After about a minute, they broke the embrace, and while Wind Glider continued sobbing, Rainbow asked, "Can I go see him?"

"I...don't know if you want to see him like this," Soarin replied, "It was hard for me to see him the way he is now."

"I think I can handle it," Dash replied, walking past Soarin and poking her head through the door. She took one look at her father-in-law, and her face cringed slightly upon seeing his injuries. It briefly reminded her of the time she spent in Ponyville's hospital, waiting for her own wing to recover. This, however, was much worse.

Rainbow pulled her head away and faced Soarin and his mom. "Wow..." she replied, "I'm really sorry, you guys."

Finally ceasing her sobbing, Wind Glider replied, "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." She then drew her daughter-in-law into another hug, but only a brief one.

Once they were apart, Rainbow turned to Soarin and asked, "You wanna go home?"

Soarin sighed, a depressed look on his face. "Yeah..." he replied, "I doubt my dad will remember who you are, anyway." He then gave his mother one more hug and said, "Bye, mom. See you soon."

"Bye, honey," Wind Glider replied in a slight whisper. She separated from her son, and then went back into her husband's room as Soarin and Rainbow made their way toward the hospital's exit.

Soarin and Rainbow Dash were soon back inside Twilight's castle. Throughout their flight back to Ponyville, which Rainbow was happy to be able to do for once during this stage of the pregnancy, Soarin had been holding back a large amount of tears. Never in his life had he feared for one of his parents, and now that it was actually happening, his mind was flooded with emotions, despite being a rather authoritative stallion at times.

Soarin and his wife lay on a couch in the front living room. By now, Soarin was well into emptying his tear ducts, but he wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Rainbow was sitting up, her husband's head on the top of her distended belly. She held Soarin's head with both her forelegs, gently caressing his mane as he let his emotions out. All she could do right now was comfort her husband, and she was more than willing to do so.

Eventually, Soarin ceased sobbing, and he took a few deep breaths before he heard a voice. "Soarin?" Rainbow asked, slightly whispering, "How do you feel now?"

Soarin sniffled. "hnnnf...I feel awful, Dash. Just...totally awful," he replied.

"I'm sorry," Dash responded, gently caressing the back of his neck, "I feel bad, too. I may not have really known your dad for long, but he's a really great guy, and I understand why you're so sad."

"It's...It's not just my dad, Dash."

"Huh? What else is wrong?"

"It's...hnnnf...It's the fact that this is happening so early in our marriage. Remember how I said I wanted us to be happy and worry-free until the foals arrived once we got married?"

"Yeah."

"Well, now look what's happening. This. My dad almost died on the job." At this point, Soarin's tone shifted to one of both frustration and sadness. "You know, for all I know, they could be going crazy over a brain hemorrhage that they found on the MRI, and maybe he's dead by now."

"Soarin, no! Don't jump to conclusions like that."

Soarin grunted out of slight guilt, realizing how much his tone had changed. "Sorry, Dash," he replied, "I just can't believe that were only a month into our marriage and already something's going wrong. This isn't what I wanted to happen..."

"Soarin, that's why we're here for each other," Rainbow continued in a warm, motherly tone, "At our wedding, we promised that we'd be here for each other through bad times. In fact, we started doing that even before we got engaged. You were there to comfort me after I found out I was pregnant, and again when I realized that I would be giving away two foals for adoption. Now, I feel like I'm returning the favor, just like any kind, loyal wife would do for their husband. I guess what I'm saying is, I won't let you go through this alone. We're family now, and family always sticks by each other in times like this." She then took one of Soarin's forehooves in hers before continuing. "Soarin, if we stick by each other during this ordeal, we can make it through. All we need to do is remain optimistic that your dad's gonna pull through."

"But...what about his amnesia?"

"Well, we can tell ourselves that it's only going to be temporary, and that'll keep our hopes up, especially yours, for sure." She then moved their hooves to the front of her belly. "Your dad's a tough guy, Soarin, and I'm positive that he's gonna pull through and be able to meet his grandkids."

Soarin glanced at where his hoof was. Having it against his wife's belly, against his own children, slowly made his thoughts change. From what Rainbow had said, he concluded that he shouldn't be losing any confidence throughout this ordeal. He had to remain strong for his wife, his unborn foals, and especially his mother and father. If he was even the slightest bit sad, mainly in front of his mother, one or both of them could lose hope completely. On the other hoof, if he remained confident and strong, he could help his mother through this situation much easier. It all made sense to him now, and he was happy that Rainbow had been the kind, supporting wife she'd promised to be. At the same time, he couldn't believe how a pair of unborn ponies could give him so much confidence. Now, unless the medical result suggested otherwise, Soarin was not going to lose any hope.

Soarin looked his wife in the eyes and kissed her on the lips. He pulled away shortly after and said, "Thank you, Dash. I'm so happy to have you in my life. Not just you, but the foals as well. You three have really changed my life, and even though my dad's in rough shape, I know now that it's best for me to stay positive and hope for the best for him."

Dash smiled, "You're welcome, but he is your dad, so it's okay if you're not feeling happy."

"I know, but I don't want my mom to have to suffer emotionally like this. I want her to be just as hopeful as I am, and now I know just how to do that."

"I'm glad," Dash finished before pecking her husband on the lips.

Soarin remained silent for several seconds, looking his wife in the eyes before saying, "I know I already said this, Dash, but thank you. I really needed this."

Dash leaned in closer. "You're welcome, Soarin. Any time you feel sad about anything, let me know as soon as you can so I can help you through it. It's what I'm here to do." With that, Soarin's smile fully returned, and he brought his wife in for a loving kiss as a generous amount of his sadness melted away into happiness, giving him the hope that he needed to carry on while his father remained in the hospital. He didn't know for sure whether or not Grey Nimbus would be the same stallion in the end, but either way, thanks to the loving support of Rainbow Dash, Soarin wasn't going to give up any of his newfound hope.

Author's Note

We'll find out in a later chapter how Grey Nimbus is doing. I didn't want everything to begin and end in one single chapter.

As for the next chapter, let's just say it's gonna be reeeeeeeaaaaaalllly relaxing.

A Day at the Spa

"There you go, Tank," Rainbow Dash said to her pet tortoise as she placed a bowl of lettuce in front of him. The pegasus had already had a simple bowl of oats for breakfast, and now it was time for her pet to receive his morning meal, too. It was 9:45 in the morning, and Soarin had left for Cloudsdale little after seven, leaving his wife to sleep in, something she greatly enjoyed.

As Tank slowly began munching on his leafy greens, Rainbow walked out of Twilight's kitchen and headed for the library, wanting to have her Daring Do fix for the morning. Upon entering, the pegasus admired the tall, almost fully stocked bookshelves, knowing that Twilight had more than enough space for storing the items of one of her most favorite hobbies. Dash soon found the shelf with the book series she was looking for, and immediately tried to decide which one to read, even though she had already read each book multiple times. "Let's see," Dash said to herself, aloud, "Sapphire Statue or Ring of Destiny?"

After several seconds of pondering her options, Dash made her decision. "Ring of Destiny it is," she said, aloud. She took the hardcover book off the shelf and held it under her right wing before turning and exiting the large room.

Dash was soon in the hallway once again, headed for the living room near the front of the castle. As she walked, she realized just how much harder it was to do so with each week that went by. She was a little over six months along in her pregnancy, and the unfamiliar weight was taking a slight toll on her normally athletic body. Her belly had distended quite a bit, about halfway down her forelegs. She had been told by Nurse Redheart that her belly would be a little more than two-thirds the length of her forelegs by the time she was expected to deliver the foals. There was a small part of Rainbow Dash that just wanted this over with, but at the same time, she knew that she was tough, and wanted to hold out for her unborn children.

As Dash continued down the hall and rounded a corner, she couldn't help but think about what was happening with Soarin's father. A couple of days after she had seen him, he was placed in a medically induced coma, as it was determined that part of his brain had swollen, which explained his sudden amnesia. Right now, he was doing better. His wings had almost fully healed, but as for his memory, it was going to take some time before he would remember everything again, but Dash was still sure that Grey Nimbus' memory would be fully functional again by the time his grandchildren were born.

At last, Rainbow reached the living room, where she and Soarin spent the majority of their first night at the castle. She climbed onto the same red lounger, except it wasn't perched right in front of the fireplace this time. After laying down and getting comfortable, Dash released the book from her wing and prepared to open it, but as she did, she heard a voice from down the hall. "Hello?" came a voice that Dash knew was coming from a glamorous white unicorn she knew all too well, "Anypony here?"

"Rarity?" Dash replied, her voice a little louder than normal. Immediately, she heard running hoofbeats coming in her direction, so she climbed down from the lounger and walked slowly toward the entryway, eager to greet her friend.

Eventually, Rarity came into view, and the unicorn seemed very happy to see her pegasus friend. "Rainbow!" Rarity said, excitedly, "There you are!"

"Hey, Rares!" Dash replied, "What's up?"

"Well, as you probably know, Fluttershy left town yesterday to go and visit Tree Hugger, but today is the day where she and I usually go to the spa together. The thing is, I know you've gone through quite a bit of stress lately, I mean, besides the wedding. That was simply marvelous."

"Yeah, it was," Dash replied, smiling.

"Anyway, you've been seeming rather exhausted because of...well, that," Rarity continued, pointing to Rainbow's belly, "Plus I know the situation with your father-in-law is still going on, and I can only imagine how devastated you and Soarin must be feeling."

"He's taken more of a hit than I have, but his dad's a good guy. I feel bad that this is happening to him."

"Same here, darling. Anyway, I'm really not one for going to the spa on my own, especially knowing that a friend has been going through so much lately. So, would you like to join me on my excursion this morning?"

Rainbow was a bit surprised at the offer. It had been quite some time since she had last been to the Ponyville Day Spa, and she couldn't forget the embarrassing events that followed her first visit there. If she weren't pregnant or didn't have an ailing father-in-law, she would have immediately said, 'no', but given that both of those were happening, plus the fact that, at the moment, her back was more uncomfortable that it had ever been, the pegasus figured a little R&R with one of her best friends was starting to sound like a good idea.

"Sure, Rarity," Rainbow finally responded, "I'll go with you."

"Wonderful!" Rarity replied, clapping her front hooves together, "Come! We should be getting over there as soon as we can!" The two mares then walked back down the hallway and eventually exited the castle. At the same time, a certain tortoise was helping himself to a mid-morning nap next to an empty bowl of greens.

The air in the lobby of the Ponyville Day Spa was as fragrant as it always was, full of the scents of lavender and roses. Aloe was busy lighting a few scented candles with said scents, plus preparing some incense and air fresheners to go along with them. The pink mare looked over at the clock on the wall, noticing that it was two minutes to ten. Knowing that her first appointment of the day would be for Rarity and Fluttershy, she wanted to make sure that two of her and her sister's most valued customers felt welcome as they walked in. However, Aloe was unaware that today was going to be a bit different.

Soon, the clock struck ten, and, as if on cue, the bell above the front door rang, and in walked Rarity along with her pegasus friend, albeit not the one she usually came with. "Good morning, Aloe," Rarity said, noticing the mare behind the counter.

"Ah, hello, Rarity!" Aloe replied as she turned around, happy to see that the unicorn was right on time. She then noticed that a different pegasus was standing next to her, but she was one whom she had met sometime ago.

Almost immediately, the three mares in the room heard another voice, this one coming from Lotus Blossom, who was returning from one of the back rooms. "Hello, Rarity!" she said, equally as happy as her sister to see the white unicorn.

"Hello, Lotus," Rarity replied.

"And, Rainbow Dash, right?" Lotus continued, reaching a forehoof toward the pegasus for a hoofshake.

"Yeah, that's me," Rainbow responded, shaking Lotus' hoof.

"Well then, long time no see! Where is Fluttershy, might I ask?"

"Oh, she's out of town visiting a friend," Rarity replied, "I brought Rainbow with me today because one, I didn't want to come on my own, and two, I think this is something Rainbow could definitely use."

"Ah, yes," Lotus replied, noticing Rainbow's pregnant state, "Rarity told me that you were expecting. Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Rainbow replied, "But, are you sure it's okay for pregnant mares to get a spa treatment?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Aloe responded, coming out from behind the counter, "We have a special treatment for expectant mothers. I'm sure you'll find it quite soothing. Come. Let us lead you inside."

"Thank you, ladies," Rarity replied for her and her friend. She then levitated a small bag of bits out of her saddlebags and placed it on the counter, to which Aloe moved back behind it and put the bits in the register. Aloe then rejoined the group as they headed for the back.

"Ahhhhhhhh........." Rainbow moaned contently as Aloe's hooves roamed her back, slowly easing the tension that had built up throughout the pregnancy. She was lying on her stomach, but her hips and upper chest were being supported by a pair of special pillows, part of a set that Aloe and Lotus used for pregnant mares, depending on how far along they were. Because of the slight increase in height, Aloe was standing on a wide stool next to Rainbow's massage table, perfectly positioned for her to work her magic on the pegasus. "Why didn't I come here sooner...?" Rainbow asked out loud to nopony in particular.

"Well, darling," Rarity replied as she received a back massage from Lotus, "I assumed you...ahh...didn't like coming here because you thought it would be embarrassing."

"Forget that...aaaahhhh...I gotta come here more often..."

"Well, we'd certainly love to have you return, Rainbow Dash," Aloe said, "It's always a pleasure to have such a satisfied customer."

"Absolutely," said Lotus, "Even though my sister and I don't have any children, we know all too well how much a pregnancy can wear out a mare, and we feel that it's important to keep your body in check because you shouldn't have too much stress, whether you're pregnant or not."

"That makes sense...aaahhh..." Rainbow replied as Aloe began massaging one of her hind hooves, "I'll definitely take that into consideration."

"Has she ever had a massage before?" Lotus whispered to Rarity.

"Not to my knowledge," Rarity whispered back. Her statement made perfect sense, as Rainbow was practically melting at Aloe's touch. Never in her life had she built up so much physical stress, and never in her life had she ever had such a mind-blowing stress release. Rainbow could feel the heat releasing itself from all of her tense muscles, mainly from her back, and flowing throughout her body. She hadn't been in such a state of bliss in quite some time, and now that she was, she was loving it.

Soon, the mares' massages were over and the Spa Sisters led them to the changing area, where Rarity put on her signature robe, the one with the glamorous letter 'R'. As for Rainbow Dash, she was given a slightly bigger robe, one that would fit around her belly and hug her entire form at the same time. Aloe and Lotus only had a few of these special robes around, but they weren't made for pegasi, so they allowed Rarity to create two holes in the back for Rainbow's wings.

After all that was done, Aloe and Lotus led the unicorn and the pegasus to the sauna. Normally, Rarity would stay in the heated room for upwards of thirty minutes, but because of Rainbow's current state, she could stay in there for no more than seven minutes, as the pegasus needed to keep her body temperature in check, plus the fact that Rarity didn't want to be in there all by herself.

Before the two friends were left alone, Lotus gave Rainbow a normal, white, feather pillow, as the pegasus would be lying on her side in the sauna, instead of on her stomach, like Rarity usually did. After that, Rarity and Rainbow began to relax once again as the coals filled the room with soothing heat. It was a shame, though, that they wouldn't be able to experience it as long as they both desired. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant heat, and it made Rainbow sweat a little, but she didn't mind, as spending most of her life flying really fast had always made her sweat when she stopped.

"So, Rainbow," Rarity began, "Tell me, how is your father-in-law doing at the moment?"

"He's gotten better over the last couple of weeks," the pegasus replied, "But he's still trying to remember who everypony is."

"Oh my, did he really have that big of a blow to the head?"

"It was hard enough to cause his brain to swell and for him to lose his memory, so, yeah. I mean, he's made progress, but he's still got a ways to go. As for his wings, they should be fully healed by next week."

"Wonderful! I'm glad he's making progress!"

"Yeah, me, too." The two ponies then remained silent for about a minute before Rarity spoke up again.

"Rainbow, I must say, I'm really glad Pinkie Pie isn't spying on us. If she was, she'd probably start planning for a "Dashie's Father-in-law Is All Better" Party."

Rainbow chuckled. "I know, right?"

All of a sudden, a pink head rose out of the coals, not seeming to be affected by the searing heat. "What was that about me?" Pinkie Pie asked, quizzically.

Both Rainbow and Rarity gasped. "Oh, uhhh..." Rainbow mumbled.

"Did you say you needed me to throw your daddy-in-law a party for when he's all better?" Pinkie continued in rapid succession, "Absotuta-lootley!"

"Wait, Pinkie, we..." Rarity tried to say.

"I'll make sure he has the time of his life! Bye!" With that, Pinkie's head disappeared back into the coal stove, and, despite her skin being in direct contact with the coals, no scream could be heard.

Rainbow and Rarity stared at each other for a good ten seconds. "Don't worry," the pegasus said, "I'll talk to her later."

"Sounds good," Rarity replied.

After a couple of minutes more, Rarity and Rainbow exited the sauna, as their seven-minute restricted time had passed. They then walked back into the main room, where they were greeted by Aloe and Lotus. Both the unicorn and the pegasus sat down on another set of tables as the two earth ponies got prepared. Rarity lay down on her stomach before having her face coated in a familiar cream, while Rainbow lay on her back, not wanting to make Aloe and Lotus have to fetch those special pillows again. The table was comfortable, as it was angled slightly, so not too much of her pregnancy weight was bearing down on her. Her robe was still covering her body quite well, which she liked, as she wasn't interested in having too many ponies see her underside.

As Aloe laid two cucumber slices over Rarity's eyes and began filing her white horn, Lotus got to work on preening Rainbow's wings. The pegasus was a bit surprised at the initial approach, and she jerked her wing back out of reflex. "Whoa, do you know what you're doing?" Rainbow asked Lotus.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lotus replied, looking a tad concerned, "I won't preen your wings if you're not comfortable with it."

"It's not that. It's just...do you know what you're doing?"

"Of course. My sister and I have plenty of customers who are pegasi, so we decided to get a few lessons in preening wings."

"Oh, Rainbow, you should see Fluttershy's face when she gets preened here," Rarity said, "I swear, it's as if she's drunk!"

"Hahaha!" Rainbow laughed. She took a few seconds to catch her breath before turning back to Lotus. "Alright, Lotus. Go ahead." The earth pony nodded as the pegasus stuck her right wing back out. Lotus' hoof then made contact with one of her feathers, and Rainbow gasped as a tingling sensation spread through her body. She soon relaxed, and Lotus continued to massage and groom her feathers. It didn't take her long to finish, however, as it had been some time since Rainbow had actually flown anywhere. It hadn't even been five minutes before Lotus had finished preening both of Rainbow's wings.

The earth pony then brought out a hoof filer, and Rainbow immediately grew worried upon seeing it. It made her think of when the Cutie Mark Crusaders made her visit to the spa one of their headlines, which embarrassed her to no end. That, however, had happened quite some time ago, and she, along with the rest of the townsfolk, had long since forgiven the three fillies.

Right now, seeing how Rarity was enjoying herself so much, combined with the fact that Rainbow herself thought this day had been going really well, the pegasus thought to herself, "Screw the tabloids. I need this."

After a pleasant hooficure and facial, followed by a short, three-minute dip in the hot tub, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had completed their visit to the Ponyville Day Spa. Rarity felt refreshed, as usual, but as for Rainbow, it was a completely different, yet very much similar, story. "Thank you for everything, ladies," Rarity said to Aloe and Lotus as they walked to the front door of the lobby.

"No, no, no, thank you for being such a wonderful customer, Rarity!" Lotus replied, "We always look forward to the day when you come to visit!"

"We sure do!" Aloe responded before turning to face the cyan pegasus who was next to her, "Rainbow Dash, how was your day at our spa?"

Rainbow was still in a slightly relaxed state as she did a few small stretches. "Wow..." she soon replied, "I, like, haven't felt like this in years! I feel more rejuvenated than I've ever been! I wanna just take off and fly somewhere right now!" Out of instinct, Rainbow spread her wings and bent her legs, as if she was about to take flight, but before she leapt upward, she remembered something. "Oh, right..." she said, blushing slightly. The other three mares chuckled.

"Oh, wait!" Lotus began again, running behind the counter and reemerging a few seconds later with two bottles of water, "You don't want to forget these!" She then handed each of her customers one of the bottles.

"Thank you, Lotus," Rarity said.

"Thanks," Rainbow followed up, "But, how much is this gonna cost me?"

"Oh, nothing at all, Rainbow Dash!" Lotus replied.

"We always give our customers a complimentary bottle of water when they leave," Aloe said, "It's important to drink plenty of fluids after a massage, and we want to make sure that you get some in your system before you go."

"Sweet!" Rainbow replied. She then unscrewed the bottle cap and brought the mouth of the bottle to her lips, chugging the entire bottle in about six seconds. "Ahhh..." she sighed in contentment before... "Uuurrrppp!" She then blushed furiously and looked guiltily at the other three mares. "Excuse me..." she said. The other mares only chuckled, and Rainbow did the same a few seconds later before she and Rarity left the spa, ready to take on the rest of the day with freshly rejuvenated bodies.

Rainbow's Journal

Rainbow Dash turned the shower nozzle to the off position, stopping the flow of hot water that had cascaded over her body for the last ten minutes. Little beads of moisture were slowly dripping off of her blue coat and multi-colored mane, eventually finding their way to the floor of the bathtub and flowing down the drain with all the others.

The pegasus stepped out of the bathtub and reached for a nearby towel with her wing. She used it to wipe the rest of the water off of her body, and once she was done, she hung it back up and turned to the mirror over the sink. She then grabbed her toothbrush, squirted some toothpaste over the top of it, and then proceeded to brush her teeth. Knowing that she had eaten quite a few sweets throughout her pregnancy, Dash wanted to make sure that she brushed her teeth every single day, as she feared what would happen if she got a cavity. Despite the fact that she was sometimes lazy and skipped brushing her teeth in the morning or before bed, she had never gotten a cavity in her life, and all the stories she'd heard about drills and fillings secretly frightened her. That, of course, was something she hoped that her friends would never find out, as she wanted them to think that she wasn't afraid of anything.

Dash finished brushing her teeth less than a minute later and proceeded to rinse her mouth out. Once that was finished, she exited the en-suite bathroom and stepped straight into the room she and Soarin were staying in during their time at the castle. However, Rainbow wouldn't be sharing the bedroom on this night.

It had been two full months since Grey Nimbus' accident, and only today had he finally gotten released from the hospital. Because of this, Soarin had volunteered to stay with his parents for one night, in case his mother needed any initial help in taking care of his father. Grey's wings, at this point, had fully healed, and he was gradually getting more and more of his memory back. It hadn't returned fully at this point, but Soarin and his family were grateful for how much progress his father had made.

Because of all this, Rainbow would be spending the night alone, something she hadn't done since the night before her wedding. She was definitely disappointed that she wouldn't have her cuddly hunk of a husband in bed with her, but at the same time, she knew that he was doing the right thing, and she almost wished she could be up there helping out.

As the pegasus gradually climbed onto her bed, she watched as Tank slowly got comfortable in his tiny bed, the tortoise closing his eyes and retracting his limbs and head into his shell as he quickly fell asleep. Watching her pet do such a thing made Rainbow want to just plop down and get some shut-eye, so she swiftly, albeit carefully, lifted the covers over her now slightly larger body. She was eight months along in her pregnancy, and, as she expected, her belly had distended down toward the projected two-thirds of the length down her legs, though it wasn't quite there yet.

Dash lay on her right side as she relaxed into the bed. She tried to get comfortable, but for some reason, she wasn't getting to sleep as quickly as she thought she would. In fact, she wasn't getting to sleep at all. Growing a little bit frustrated, Dash turned over onto her left side, wondering if a different position would do the trick. However, after ten minutes, it proved to be unsuccessful.

Dash turned back over to her right side and continued laying there, her brain trying to comprehend why she couldn't get to sleep. Though she had come up with a few reasons, her mind was constantly thinking of all that had happened since the wedding, but it soon extended to everything that had happened since she became a Wonderbolt.

Even though Dash was really happy with the way things were turning out, she was still a bit appalled that she wasn't flying with the group of ponies she'd idolized her entire life. Also, she couldn't help but immediately think of all the bad things that had happened since this all started. Just thinking about all this made her want to do something about it, but she wasn't sure what she could do.

For what seemed like no apparent reason, Dash sat up and faced the nightstand next to her and opened its sole drawer. When she opened it, she found something that she didn't expect to find. "Huh..." Rainbow said to herself, "I forgot I put this here." It was the small journal that Fluttershy had given to her as a present at her bachelorette party. There were times since then that Rainbow would tell herself she would write something, but she never got around to it, and at one point, decided that she may as well leave it to be a blank book for the rest of its life.

Rainbow took her journal out of the drawer and looked at it. As she did, the slightly painful memories of what had happened after she'd gotten pregnant continued to swirl around in her head. After about three minutes, Dash finally decided that this would be the night where her journal would cease being an empty soul.

Looking back in the drawer, Dash noticed a pen that was right next to where her journal had been sitting. She took it out of the drawer and took it in her mouth, but she spit it out once she realized a small predicament. Given her current state, she knew she'd have to be in some awkward position in order to write anything. She quickly came up with a solution, however, laying one of the pillows flat on the bed as she climbed over it halfway, her upper chest and forelegs half-resting on it and half-dangling over it. She then brought her journal in front of her and grabbed the pen once again, sticking the far end into her mouth. She then opened the front cover of the journal for the first time, only to find a note from Fluttershy written on the underside of the cover that she hadn't seen before. It read:

Dear Rainbow Dash,

You are the greatest friend a pony could ask for, and I know there's a lot coming your way. I hope that this journal will be of great use to you throughout your future adventures as a wife, mother, and Wonderbolt. Have fun!

Love,
Fluttershy

Dash couldn't help but feel greatly moved by what she'd just read. Hearing such a kind and heartfelt message from her friend was something she really needed right now, and this certainly did the trick.

The cyan pegasus then turned the page to find the first of many blank pages that were conveniently lined. With a deep breath, she leaned her head down slightly until the tip of the pen touched the paper, and she began to write.

Dear Journal,

You don't know how happy I am right now to have you. I was beginning to think that I would be able to get a hold of my feelings and not have to express them this way, but so much has happened, and since my husband is away tonight, I need someone to talk to. Thankfully, I found you, so I hope you're ready, because I have a lot to say.

First of all, I'm eight months pregnant right now, which means I'm about three months away from delivery. I'm having twins, so it gonna be a bit hectic once they arrive. Though I'm really happy that they're on the way, I can't help but feel really sad, because I'm a Wonderbolt now and I can't fly with those guys until the foals are born. In the beginning, I was devastated and furious that this had happened, only because I know I conceived them the night I was sworn in. My coltfriend at the time, Soarin, who is now my husband, and I felt a little too excited about this whole thing, so we went back to my place and had a little fun, which ended up being a little too much, as a short time later, I felt like I was becoming violently ill, when in all reality, I was pregnant.

I should be mad at Soarin right now, but I'm not. Early on in my pregnancy, I went through a few twists and turns. I had to decide whether or not to terminate the pregnancy, which was followed by me wondering if I should give up the foal for adoption. Once I realized I was having twins, my thoughts changed completely, and it was at that point that I ultimately decided to keep the foals for myself, and right after I did that, Soarin proposed to me. I obviously said yes, and now, here we are, happily married and awaiting the arrival of our twins.

At this point, Rainbow Dash had gotten quite comfortable with writing in her own personal journal, rather than the journal she shared with her friends. She felt like she was having a conversation with an inanimate object, but it seemed to be helping her.

So far, married life has been treating me pretty well. Living with Soarin full-time has been more awesome than I could've ever imagined. Unfortunately, about a month after we got married, his dad was in a construction accident in Cloudsdale and nearly died. He broke both his wings and had such a severe concussion that his brain was swelling. This ended up causing him to have amnesia, and when Soarin and his mom told me everything, I was crushed. Wait, let me rephrase that. I was as crushed as my father-in-law's wings.

Even though Grey Nimbus (that's his name) isn't my real father, he's definitely like one, and I felt like I was gonna lose one of my closest friends. Thankfully, that didn't happen. He's been in the hospital for about two months, and he got released today, which is why I'm alone right now. I can't fly at the moment, and Soarin's staying with his parents tonight, just in case either of them need help with anything.

As for me, I don't have much else to say. I've had several ultrasounds and tests lately, and the foals seem to be healthy and developing normally. I don't know yet if I'm having two colts, two fillies, or one of each. You know, now that I think about it, it might be fun to have a little contest with my friends. I could have them guess what I'm having, and whoever's right in the end could win something. I'm sure Pinkie Pie would love to do something like that.

Speaking of Pinkie Pie, it took me nearly an hour to convince her that throwing a party for when my father-in-law got out of the hospital was unnecessary. She was noticeably upset, but I eventually got her to realize that not every single happy event deserves a party. I know she's trying to be thoughtful and do what she's meant to do, but still...

I guess that's gonna be it for now. I'll talk to you again when I get the chance. Bye!

With that, Rainbow Dash wrote down today's date, placed the attached silk bookmark in-between the appropriate pages, and closed her journal. She then just lay there, thinking about what she had just done. "Wow..." she thought to herself, "That was actually kinda fun. I was able to talk about stuff I wanted to talk about, yet I never physically spoke a word. Why didn't I start doing this sooner?"

Rainbow soon placed her journal and pen back in the drawer and closed it. The pegasus then put the pillow back in its appropriate place and got back under the covers, lying on her right side once again. This time, she felt much more content as the silky-smooth blanket graced the left side of her body. She lay there with her eyes closed for a mere two minutes before sleep took over, sending her to a distant land where she could relax and enjoy herself as her body reenergized itself.

Scooting Around Town

Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes as she lay in the living room. She wasn't lying on the red chaise lounger, but rather on a bed that she had requested Twilight to move down there about a week ago. The pegasus was now nine months along in her pregnancy, and within the past two weeks, she had been finding it more and more difficult to walk up and down the castle's stairs. Not only that, but Rainbow's overall energy was slowly declining as the foal weight put more and more stress on her body. She had recently been told by Nurse Redheart that she should refrain from using stairs and go on bedrest sometime soon. As expected, Rainbow wasn't all too thrilled about that, but as she had told Soarin sometime ago, she had to do what she had to do.

Having completed her nap, the pegasus gradually climbed out of the bed and got on all fours on the floor. She stretched lightly, and then decided that a little bit of fresh afternoon air would wake her up further. With that in mind, she made her way to the front door and opened it, instantly being hit with the slight coolness and fresh quality of the air outside. Rainbow closed her eyes and lifted her nose slightly before inhaling a deep breath. As the air entered her, it eradicated any remaining bits of sleepiness from her body as her blood vessels extracted the oxygen from the air inside her lungs.

"Rainbow Dash!" The cyan mare was caught off guard, causing her lungs to release the air she had inhaled as she was startled by the pony in front of her. She opened her eyes and looked down slightly, noticing Scootaloo standing right in front of her on her blue scooter, her red wagon in tow as her blue and white helmet sat fastened on her head.

Rainbow smiled excitedly upon seeing her young friend. "Oh, hey, kid!" she replied.

"You busy right now?" the orange filly asked.

"Nah, I'm just takin' it easy. The doctor said I should be going on bedrest in the next couple of weeks, and I wanna practice by not doing too much."

Scootaloo's smile suddenly turned upside-down. "Oh..." she said, sadly.

"What's wrong, Scoots?" Rainbow asked.

"Well," the pegasus filly continued as she stepped off her scooter, "I kinda just wanted to spend some time with you today. I figured that maybe we could go do a few things around town, but if you're staying here and trying to not do anything, then I guess we can't do that." Scootaloo then looked down, a sad look still on her face.

Rainbow reached her hoof out and brought the filly's chin upwards to meet her gaze. "Hey, I didn't say I had to do nothing, did I? I'm totally up for heading out with you!"

Scootaloo's face brightened up instantly. "Really??" she asked, excitedly, her tiny wings buzzing erratically.

"Well, as long as it's not too far away. It's been hard for me to walk a lot lately," she explained as she shifted on her hooves a couple of times.

"Don't worry," Scootaloo continued, "That's why I brought my wagon with me!"

"Uhhhh...Are you sure you'll be able to pull me?"

"Totally! I mean, aren't pegasi lighter than other ponies?"

"Yeah, but...I'm pregnant. That adds quite a bit of weight, especially since I'm having twins."

"Piece of cake," Scootaloo said, flicking her forehoof forward as she closed her eyes, "I've pulled Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at the same time plenty of times. I'm not too worried about you."

Though Rainbow was still a bit doubtful, she couldn't help but feel happy that Scootaloo was being as confident as she was. "Alright, Squirt," the cyan pegasus continued, "Let's do this."

"Great!" Scootaloo exclaimed, leaping in the air as her wings buzzed. She stayed aloft for two seconds before returning to the ground, climbing back on her scooter soon after. Meanwhile, Rainbow climbed into the red wagon attached to the blue scooter and sat down, putting on the helmet that Scootaloo had left in there for her. Once they were both set, Scootaloo placed her forehooves on the handlebars. She then began buzzing her wings like she normally did, but the scooter didn't move. She ceased her erratic buzzing for a brief moment before starting up again, making her scooter and wagon jolt forward ever so slightly. "Ugh!" the filly grunted as she struggled to make her and her friend move faster.

Rainbow quickly grew concerned over how much Scootaloo was exerting herself. She was about to tell her to stop when an idea flew into her head. Leaning forward slightly, Dash began flapping her own wings, but not too quickly. This took Scootaloo by surprise, as her friend's actions caused the two of them to move forward a little faster on the combined mechanism. The filly looked behind her and noticed the mare helping her. She smiled, then immediately turned her attention to the road ahead, she and her friend eventually reaching a smooth, desirable speed as their combined wingpower propelled them towards town.

Right as Princess Celestia lowered the sun for the day, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash arrived back at Twilight's castle, both pegasi slightly exhausted from their afternoon together. After leaving the castle initially, the two friends had gone to Hayburger King for a late lunch, as Rainbow had slept from about 11:00 in the morning to about 1:30. This was followed by a trip to Sugar Cube Corner for dessert, and then they returned to the castle, where Rainbow got Scootaloo caught up in the Daring Do series. The orange filly was paying attention to the cyan mare for the most-part, but there were times where she got distracted by Tank's slow, yet somewhat entertaining, antics.

Later on, the two pegasi went to the park, and Rainbow decided to give Scootaloo a few tips and pointers to help her continue to learn to fly. The advice didn't really seem to do much for the filly, as many attempts to keep herself aloft longer than the previous time failed. Nevertheless, Rainbow was proud of her for putting forth some effort in hopes that one day, the two of them would share the skies and fly side by side.

The last event on Rainbow and Scootaloo's agenda came to them as a surprise, as, by complete chance, they ran into Twilight and Spike just outside Ponyville's movie theater. The princess and the dragon were about to see the new Power Ponies motion picture, and since the two pegasi didn't think they had anything else to do, they decided to join them on their outing. The four of them enjoyed the movie very much, but Rainbow was more focused on downing as much popcorn as she could, as an unexpected craving attack - which, according to Nurse Redheart, was very unusual for mares at this stage of their pregnancy - hit her hard while inside the theater. By the time it was over, Rainbow and Scootaloo decided to call it quits for the day, so they hopped onto their respective sections of their transportation contraption and headed for the castle.

"I'm really glad we got to do all that, Scoot," Rainbow said to the orange filly as she got out of the wagon and took her helmet off, laying it in the red transportation device soon after, "It was awesome. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Rainbow," Scootaloo replied, "It feels like we haven't done anything in ages!"

"That's probably 'cause we haven't," Rainbow replied, putting her right forehoof over her belly.

Scootaloo immediately knew what her friend was getting at. "Oh, you're right," the filly replied with a guilty smile and a slight blush. Her facial expression returned to normal before continuing. "Anyway, I know you gotta get some rest, so I should probably get going now," Scootaloo said as she stepped back onto her scooter.

"Actually, kid," Rainbow said, "Could you stay for a bit? There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Scootaloo paused, not expecting such a request from her idol. However, she quickly beamed and hopped off her scooter as she replied, "Sure!"

"Good," Rainbow finished as she and Scootaloo headed inside the castle.

Rainbow brought her young friend into the living room and over to the chaise lounger. As they approached it, Scootaloo couldn't help but notice the bed that was on the other side of the room. "Hey, Dash?" she began to ask, "Is this, like, your bedroom or something?"

"Kinda," Rainbow replied, "I had Twilight move that thing down here so I wouldn't have to go up and down stairs. My body's already stressed out as is."

"Oh, okay," Scootaloo responded, "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

"C'mon up here," Rainbow replied, patting the spot next to her on the lounger. Scootaloo obliged, hopping up onto the red piece of furniture and sitting next to the other pegasus. "Scootaloo," Rainbow continued, "I've been wondering. How have you been feeling about all this?"

Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "About what?" she asked.

"You know...me, Soarin, getting married, about to have two kids...that stuff."

"Oh, that..." Scootaloo replied, her face sporting a slightly saddened expression.

"Is something wrong, Scoot?"

"Oh, nonononono..." Scootaloo replied in rapid succession, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that you're about to have a pair of foals, but...I feel like...once they're here, you and I won't have as much time to spend together. You're like a big sister to me, and I love it when you and I do things together, but pretty soon, you'll have to focus more on your family and your career. It's just that...well...I feel like you and I are gonna start drifting apart because you're gonna be so busy, and...I don't want that to happen." Upon finishing her statement, the orange filly lowered her head and closed her eyes, her sad expression still clearly visible.

The two ponies remained silent for several seconds before Rainbow smiled and said, "Scoot, you're right, but you're also not right."

Scootaloo immediately looked up at Rainbow. "Wait...huh?" she asked.

"Look, kid, you're right in the sense that we won't have as much time together as we'd like, but you're wrong in the sense that we're gonna drift apart. What I mean by that is, even though you and I aren't technically sisters..." Rainbow's words sent a small hint of sadness through the young filly. "...that doesn't mean that you and I are gonna stop being friends." Scootaloo's smile returned, albeit reluctantly. "There's absolutely zero chance of us drifting apart."

"Y-You mean that?" Scootaloo asked, quietly.

"Definitely," Rainbow replied, "I don't want you to feel sad, kid. True, some things are gonna change, but whenever I have any free time, I'll try my best to include you in it."

Scootaloo felt so wonderful that she felt like she was about to cry. After remaining silent for a few seconds, she whispered, "Thank you." Rainbow's reply came in the form of a nuzzle to the filly's forehead.

All of a sudden, Rainbow felt movement in her abdomen. Smiling, she said, "Hey, kid! Gimme your hoof!"

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked as Rainbow grabbed her left forehoof with her right one. She brought it over to her belly, and the orange filly's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. "It's...I mean...One of them's kicking!"

"Actually, they both are!" Rainbow replied, swiftly moving Scootaloo's hoof over to the other side of her belly. The filly immediately felt the other foal kicking, and it made her feel giddy on the inside.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Scootaloo said in excitement, "I've always wanted to feel a foal kicking inside it's mother!"

"Same here!" Rainbow replied, "You know, I never thought I'd actually have to get pregnant in order to feel it for myself!" Both pegasi shared a chuckle at that statement.

Almost as soon as it began, the foals' kicking ceased, and Scootaloo drew her hoof away. Her gaze remained on Rainbow's belly, and now she was curious as to how a pregnant mare's belly felt when the foal wasn't kicking. Scootaloo hesitantly raised a hoof back up to Dash's belly, holding it about an inch away. She then looked up at the cyan pegasus and timidly asked, "C-Can I...?"

"Go right ahead," Dash replied. With that, Scootaloo gently placed her left forehoof on the top of Dash's belly, instantly sensing solidity. She moved her hoof around a bit, getting a good feel of something she had always wanted to feel for herself. Dash's belly, though soft on the outside, was like a big rock that was stuck in place. It felt so weird, yet so interesting. Knowing there were two lives developing inside her friend made Scootaloo wonder what it would feel like to get married and have her own foal in the future. Even though that would be at least ten years away, she knew she could wait.

Scootaloo moved her hoof downward a little bit until it was about an inch above Dash's belly button. She ceased her motions, then moved her snout in closer to her friend's belly. Dash was curious as to why her friend was doing this, but her question was answered when she heard Scootaloo whisper into her belly, "I hope you two get here soon! I can't wait to meet you!"

Rainbow giggled lightly as her friend finished speaking, then brought her right forehoof to the back of the filly's head, gently rubbing her neck and mane. This contact prompted Scootaloo to lift her head up slightly and rest her left cheek on the top of Rainbow's belly, sighing as she did. She closed her eyes as she continued brushing her hoof over the top left side of her friend's belly, Rainbow herself continuing her own gentle actions on her young friend.

Looking down at Scootaloo, Rainbow could somehow sense that Scootaloo was in one of the best moods she had ever been in. She had just had some of her fears disproven, and now they were both enjoying some much needed company as they each felt the warmth emanating from her pregnant belly. It somehow drew them closer together, and Rainbow couldn't exactly figure out why.

Rainbow then thought of one thing she could do to make this one of the best days of Scootaloo's life. "Hey, Scoot?" Dash asked, whispering slightly.

The orange filly opened her eyes and looked up at her friend. "Yeah?" she responded.

"You're gonna make an awesome aunt."

Scootaloo's eyes shot wide open as she lifted her head. She smiled as she asked, "Y-You actually mean that?"

"Hey, I don't say things if I don't mean 'em, kid," the cyan mare replied warmly, continuing to stroke Scootaloo's mane and neck.

Butterflies flew freely inside the orange filly's body. At that moment, she was in a state of euphoria that she had never been in before. She knew right then and there that Rainbow Dash accepted her as a sister, something she had wanted to hear for the longest time.

Tears began to slowly stream out of Scootaloo's eyes as she closed them, lifting her head up further and pressing the left side of her face into Rainbow's chest. She was somehow able to wrap both of her forelegs around her friend as Rainbow returned the embrace. Rainbow then leaned down and kissed Scootaloo lightly on the forehead, then closed her eyes as she continued to sit there, lovingly hugging the filly that she could proudly call her sister and friend.

Author's Note

I apologize if this chapter seemed really quick and/or fast-paced with regards to the events of the outing, but I was eager to get to Rainbow and Scootaloo's discussion in the end.

A Long-Anticipated Party

Rainbow sipped slowly through the straw of her vanilla milkshake as she sat at one of the tables in the corner of Sugar Cube Corner. The shop was empty, except for the two earth pony owners and a pair of rambunctious foals. The cyan pegasus had been given an anonymous note to leave the castle and come to the café at 10:00 AM sharp to meet someone. Right now, it was 9:59, and the pegasus had already been waiting for about 10 minutes for her mystery guest. She had gotten there early, not because she was excited, but because she wanted to have enough time to spare because she didn't know how long it would take to walk the short distance from the castle to the café. Rainbow was now ten months and one week into her pregnancy, and she was on bedrest most of the time, but allowed herself one day per week to leave the castle and go do something, just so she wouldn't get too bored.

Rainbow looked out the window and noticed that nopony seemed to be around. When she'd left the castle, there were plenty of ponies on the streets, but now they were all gone. "Something weird's going on..." Dash thought to herself as she turned back to face her milkshake. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, and her eyes widened as a familiar, green and white creature walked through the entrance. "Gilda?!?" Dash exclaimed, completely caught off guard upon seeing her old griffon friend.

"Oh, hey, Dash!" Gilda replied as she began to walk over to Dash's table, "There you are!"

"What are you doing here?" Dash asked again as she stood up and hugged her friend.

"Just thought I'd drop by and see how my ol' flight camp buddy's doing!" Gilda replied as she playfully roughed up the top of Dash's head with the knuckles of her right front talons.

The action made the pegasus chuckle in excitement. "Haha! Awesome!" Dash replied as she and Gilda sat down.

Gilda's smile slowly faded as she started to speak again. "Hey, Dash, I wish I could have said this to you at the wedding reception, but I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your bachelorette party. Even though Pinkie Pie sent me an invitation, I was busy trying to fix a whole bunch of issues in Griffonstone, primarily the friendship issues that you and Pinkie helped me with, but now that situation's over with, and I figured I owed you one last visit before you become a mom!"

"Awww...thanks!"

"No problem!"

"Hey, when you were walking through the streets, did you see anypony out there? They all seem to have gone for some reason."

Gilda knew the answer to Dash's question, but she wasn't intending on telling her friend the truth just yet. With a confused look on her face, the griffon replied, "Uhhh...nope. I'm just as puzzled as you are."

This made Dash slightly worried. Why would the entire population of Ponyville suddenly disappear? Could Trixie have mastered some spell that was so powerful that she could have transported all of the townsfolk as far as Manehattan? Could Nightmare Moon have returned and banished everypony in town, plus Princess Celestia, to the moon? The mere thoughts of such made Rainbow want to fly away as fast as she could and look for everypony, but she knew that was impossible, given her current state.

The pegasus' mind snapped back to reality as she heard her friend speak once again. "So, Dash," Gilda continued, "How's married life been treating you so far?"

"It's been a pretty interesting ride," the pegasus replied, "I only get to see Soarin when he gets home from Cloudsdale, cause I've been sleeping in a lot lately and he has to leave pretty early. However, when we're together in the evening, it always seems perfect. The only downside is that he's been spending a lot of time with his parents because his dad was seriously injured in a construction accident at the cloud factory. We were really worried 'cause he had such a bad blow to the head that his brain swelled and he got amnesia."

"Ouch..."

"I know, right? I mean, he's made a lot of progress since then. Actually, come to think of it, his mind's back to where it used to be! I figured it would take him a lot longer to get his memory back!"

"Great!"

"Other than that, everything's been pretty uneventful."

"Cool."

"How have things been in Griffonstone?"

"Well, like I said, all the friendship problems we had have long since past thanks to you and Pinkie. We've rebuilt the town and it's a much happier place now."

"Awesome!"

The two friends continued talking with each other for the next hour. They spoke of old times together at flight camp, other events that have occurred in their respective lives, plus Gilda asked quite a few questions on how Dash was feeling regarding her foals' arrival. Their conversation was stopped suddenly by Mr. Cake as he, his wife, and the twins seemed to be headed out with quite a few bakery items in tow. "Excuse me, Dash, Gilda," he said, prompting the pegasus and the griffon to look over at him, "We have to head out to cater an event, so we're closing up shop at the moment."

"Could we trust you dearies to lock the door behind us?" asked Mrs. Cake in her usual sweet tone, "Don't worry about the deadbolt. You can just engage the lock on the door handle and close it and everything with be fine."

Dash and Gilda looked back at each other before the pegasus replied, "Uhhh...sure. Do you need us to leave right now?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Dash," Mrs. Cake replied, "I think Mr. Cake and I know you well enough to trust you, don't we honey?"

"Absolutely, dear," Mr. Cake responded.

All of a sudden, Pound Cake blurted out, "We'w going to the ca-...!"

"Shhh!!!" Mrs. Cake quickly responded, pressing a hoof to her son's muzzle, "Don't say anything now, Pound," she continued in her sweet-sounding tone. She and Mr. Cake glanced nervously at Dash and Gilda. The pegasus and the griffon only looked back at them, Dash being the only one not knowing what the Cakes were getting at.

"Oh my goodness, look at the time!" Mr. Cake said in slightly rapid succession, "We should get going, dear."

"Oh, you're right, honey," Mrs. Cake replied, "Bye, you two!"

"See 'ya!" Gilda responded. Dash said nothing, as it seemed to her that the Cakes were just disappearing along with everyone else in town.

Once the Cakes were completely out of sight, Dash spoke to her griffon friend. "Gilda, I'm starting to get worried," she said, a nervous expression on her face.

"Why?" Gilda replied, still hiding what was on her mind.

"Isn't it obvious? Look outside! There's nopony around! Wouldn't it worry you if everyone in Griffonstone suddenly vanished without reason?"

"Actually, that happened pretty often before you and Pinkie came and fixed everything. Everyone would just stay in their houses, making it seem like no one was in town."

"Oh...Well, I kinda wanna go and see if I can find somepony."

Gilda turned her head and looked nervously at the clock. It was 11:10, but she had intended to keep Dash occupied until at least 11:30. She looked back at the pegasus and said, "Uhhh...Couldn't we just stay here for a little bit longer? I kinda like being in a café when no on else is here. Don't you?"

Dash surely thought that Gilda would have been more than happy to go and look with her, and took her a bit by surprise. "Uhhh...Kinda. But, like..." Rainbow sighed. "Fine. I guess we can stay her for a bit longer." This brought a smile to the griffon's face.

The next twenty minutes were mainly filled with conversation regarding Rainbow and Soarin living in a castle for the past six months. Gilda herself had never been inside a real castle before, and she desperately wanted to know what it was like for her friend to actually live there, rather than drop in from time to time and hang out with her friends.

After what seemed like no time at all, the clock struck 11:30 and the griffon said, "Hey, wanna get outta here now?"

"Sure," Dash replied, "But where will we go to find everypony?"

Gilda grew slightly concerned that her friend might not be up for going where she intended to take her. "Uhhh...I don't know," the griffon responded.

"Twilight usually comes by the castle during the day, and since it's almost lunch, maybe she's there already. I think she'd be the best pony to ask."

Gilda immediately smiled internally, but maintained a slightly monotone expression on her face. "Sure," she replied, "Let's go." With that, the pegasus and the griffon got up from the table and walked to the front door. After Gilda opened it and engaged the lock on the door handle, she went outside, along with Dash, and closed the door.

Dash looked in the direction of the castle, and, for some reason, it looked much further away than it usually was. "Gilda," Dash said, "I'm suddenly not sure if I can walk that far. The castle looks...Woah!" The pegasus was startled as her griffon friend scooped her up in her arms as flew in the direction of the castle. She was grateful that griffons had such large wings. Otherwise, Gilda may not have been able to carry her and fly at the same time, given the amount of weight she had gained over the past several months.

It wasn't even a mere minute before Dash and Gilda arrived at the castle's front door. The griffon set the pegasus down, and Dash opened the door, letting herself and her friend inside. Once the door was closed, Dash faced down the front hallway and called out, "Twiliiiiiiiight!!" There was no response. "Shoot!" Dash said to Gilda, "I thought she'd be here!"

"Shouldn't we check the rest of the castle?" Gilda asked, a sly, and at the same time, excited, expression forming on her face.

"I guess you're right," Dash replied. The two of them then walked further down the hallway. They eventually reached the entrance to the dining room, but from what the pegasus could barely see through the cracks, it was dark. She contemplated whether or not to look for Twilight in there, but she convinced herself that it wouldn't hurt to try. Slowly pushing the door open, Dash asked, "Twilight? Are you in..."

"SURPRISE!!!!!" yelled a large amount of ponies as the lights came on. Gilda did the same, even though she was behind the pegasus.

"Woah!" Dash yelped in surprise. She surveyed the dining room, and aside from all the cheering and screaming ponies, dragon, and draconequus, there was a plethora of decorations high and low, many tables filled with a wide array of refreshments, and a pile of gifts that was bigger than the one at her bachelorette party. She made a rough estimation of how many guests there were in the dining room, and it became clear that this was where the entire town had been the whole time. They were all here for her foal shower.

"There's my baby!" an ecstatic Firefly said, running up to her daughter and hugging her.

"Hey there, Dash!" Rainbow Blaze said, also hugging his daughter.

"Hey, you two," Dash said, warmly, "Glad you could make it."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss my little Dashie's foal shower for the world!" Firefly said as she rubbed her daughter's chin affectionately with a hoof. The action made Dash blush furiously.

"Okay, mom," Dash said, "That's enough..." Firefly only smiled, but stopped almost immediately.

"Dash!" Soarin exclaimed, running up to his wife, "You made it!" He hugged her, but his mere appearance caught the mare a bit by surprise.

"Soarin!" Dash replied, hugging her husband back, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Cloudsdale?"

Dash then heard a voice that she didn't expect to hear. "Oh, I told him he could have the day off," Spitfire said, walking up to Rainbow with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Spitfire?!?" Dash exclaimed, "You're here, too??"

"Actually, we're all here!" came the voice of Fleetfoot. Dash looked behind the white-maned Wonderbolt and noticed all the other Wonderbolts standing there, even the Reserves.

Rainbow then looked to her left and noticed all her friends walking up to her. As they got closer, Dash began to stammer. "So...y-you guys...were...like...here the whole time??"

"We sure were!" Pinkie Pie replied.

"But...how did you...wait a second..." Dash continued, looking back at Gilda, "Were you in on this, Gilda?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the griffon replied, "How else could the entire town have ended up here without you knowing?"

"I had Gilda keep you busy so we could set up this party!" Pinkie explained.

Dash then took another look at how Twilight's massive dining room looked. "And...you did all this in 90 minutes?"

"Pretty much," replied Applejack.

"Actually, it took us about 75 minutes, give or take," Rarity said, "But you know Pinkie. She always likes to include extra time."

"So, as a result, we sat here in the dark for nearly 20 minutes," said Twilight.

"Really?" Dash asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Fluttershy said, a slightly pained look on her face, "Plus, sitting in the dark for that long can really make me nervous, and I was starting to worry that you wouldn't show up. I thought I was going to be in the dark forever."

"Aw, come on, Fluttershy!" Pinkie chirped, wrapping a foreleg around the yellow pegasus' neck, "We were right next to you the whole time! How could you have been scared?"

"It...It depends on the circumstances, Pinkie."

The party pony remained silent for three seconds before replying, "Okie dokie lokie!"

"Well, look who it is!" came another voice that Dash was surprised to hear.

Dash looked to her right. "Grey!" she exclaimed, walking over to hug her father-in-law, "You made it!"

"Hey, now, why would I wanna miss my daughter-in-law's foal shower, especially if she's having my first grandkids?"

Dash only chuckled in reply. She then noticed Wind Glider standing next to the once terribly injured stallion. "Nice to see you, too, Wind Glider," Dash said, hugging her mother-in-law.

"It's nice to see you, too, Rainbow Dash," Soarin's mother replied, returning the hug.

Dash then looked around at her guests again, but she felt there were a few ponies missing. "Hey, where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" she asked.

"They're still in school, Rainbow," Applejack explained.

"Oh yeah..." Dash replied, "Today's Thursday..."

"Thaaaaaaaaaaaaat's RIGHT!" Pinkie chirped playfully while smiling at her blue friend.

Dash then turned her head slightly and noticed the Cakes standing in a corner. "Wait, you're here, too??" Dash asked, walking in their direction.

"Absolutely!" Mr. Cake replied.

"Pinkie Pie made absolutely sure that we cater your foal shower!" Mrs. Cake explained.

"So..." Dash continued, "Those boxes you had when you left..."

"...Were the refreshments for your shower!" Mr. Cake said.

"We'w going to the castle!" Pound Cake babbled.

"That's right, Pound!" Mrs. Cake said to her son.

"So that's what the little guy was trying to tell us!" Gilda remarked, looking over at Rainbow Dash as the cyan mare looked back at her.

"Come on, everypony!" Pinkie Pie suddenly exclaimed, "Let's have ourselves a foal shower!" This led to a multitude of cheers.

Rainbow Dash sat on the floor, a large pile of used wrapping paper sitting next to her. She was busy opening up her multitude of gifts from her friends and family, and she wasn't even halfway through. It was only 1:30, and all she and her guests had done was eat cake and refreshments, play a few party games, and now it was time for her to open her presents.

Dash currently had a present from Spitfire in her hooves. She pulled the yellow wrapping paper apart, which revealed a small, white box that she knew contained some sort of clothing. She lifted the lid, only to be overcome by cuteness as she saw two pairs of foal-sized pajamas that looked like Wonderbolt flight suits. Everypony around the pegasus went, "Awww..." as Dash turned to her captain.

"Aw, thanks, Spitfire!" she said, "These look so awesome!"

"Not a problem, Dash," Spitfire replied, "Now, I'm not a real big expert on cute stuff, but I figured these might do the trick."

Dash smiled warmly at her captain in reply. She then moved on to her next gift, which was a decently sized cube with multi-colored wrapping paper. She quickly tore it away and opened the box, only to find a large plushie that looked exactly...like... "Discord?" Dash asked, looking up at the draconequus.

"Oh, come on!" Discord replied with a smile and nervous-looking eyes, "I thought it would be...you know...cute? Besides, it's a big squeaky toy!" Discord then proceeded to wrap his claws around the stuffed version of himself and give it a squeeze, the large figure giving off a cute and familiar noise that Dash only heard when she saw Pinkie Pie smile. "Don't foals just love these types of toys?" he asked, his eyes closing as he hugged the toy to himself.

Dash looked back and forth at her friends and family, each of them smiling back at her. Fluttershy was giggling at Discord's antics, and that made Dash smile. As the draconequus set the large squeaky toy back down, Dash looked him in the eye and said, "Thanks, Discord. I'm sure they'll love it."

"Oh, it was nothing, Rainbow," Discord replied.

Dash then looked at her remaining gifts and made a quick decision. "You know, I'll save these for later in the party. Everypony okay with that?"

Everyone in the room looked at each other for a quick second before looking back at the pregnant pegasus. "I'm okay with that, Rainbow," Fluttershy said.

"That's fine, darling," Rarity said.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie chirped.

All of a sudden, two loud cries could be heard. "Uhhh..." Dash continued, "Is somepony not okay with that?"

"No, I just think some ponies need a diaper change right about now," Mr. Cake said, holding a wailing Pumpkin Cake.

"Spike!" Twilight called out. The young dragon was quickly by the alicorn's side, so she continued. "Could you show Mr. and Mrs. Cake the way to the bathroom, please?"

"Will do, Twilight!" the young dragon replied, giving the princess a salute. He then faced the two bakery owners and the two foals and said, "Follow me!"

With that, Spike led the Cakes out of the room and down a couple of hallways. Rainbow then broke the silence that followed. "Guys," she began, "This has been, like, so amazing. I'm so grateful that you would put together such a big foal shower for me. It makes me happy to know that I have friends, family, and other townsfolk who care about me. I just wanna say..." At that precise moment, one of Dash's eyes began to twitch, making everyone else go wide-eyed.

"Dash?" Fluttershy asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

Dash didn't reply. She instead bit her bottom lip and clenched her eyes shut, lowering her head slightly in the process.

"Aw, don't cry, Dashie!" Pinkie said, "This is a happy occasion, remember?" All of a sudden, everyone heard an odd noise that strongly resembled a flowing river. Pinkie looked down, but she was quickly mortified to see a rather large puddle of liquid under Rainbow's rear end. "Ewwww!!" she wailed.

Right then and there, Dash fell to her side, clenched her belly with her forelegs, and screamed in pain. "AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Everyone else gasped. "I think she's in labor!" Applejack yelled, a nervous look on her face.

"I think you're right!" Starlight frantically replied, her face sporting the same expression.

Soarin immediately tried to pick up his wailing wife on his own, but was unsuccessful. "Fluttershy! Twilight! Somepony! Help!" he exclaimed. Twilight and Fluttershy immediately stepped in, helping Soarin pick up his wailing wife. The three of them then flew out of the dining room as fast as they could, Rainbow Dash in tow.

When it was all over, everyone stood there completely still. Nopony said a word. They couldn't believe what had just happened.

Thirty seconds later, a young dragon walked through the entrance to the dining room. He stopped himself when he saw all the ponies - and the draconequus - standing there with wide eyes and open mouths. With a confused look on his face, Spike asked, "Uhhh...What'd I miss?"

Author's Note

Well, that escalated quickly, now, didn't it?

Make your wagers everyone. Are Dash and Soarin having two colts, two fillies, or one of each? Stay tuned!

**Finally a Family: Part I

Rapid beeps from the heart rate monitor were one of the many noises coming from the delivery room. Out of all of them, the most notable was Rainbow Dash, who was screaming her lungs out as a massive contraction blindsided her. Her eyes were clenched shut and her forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Soarin was at her side, clutching her right forehoof in both of his, doing his best to help his wife calm down and work through the pain. Even though Twilight had given the pregnant pegasus a few pointers from a book she had about breathing techniques for mares in labor, Rainbow had forgotten everything the princess had told her, and was now improvising her own tactics for relieving herself of the monumental pain coursing through her body. However, it wasn't working too well, which was why Soarin had to step in to help.

Underneath her hospital gown, Rainbow had two sets of electrodes on her belly. They were hooked up to a machine that showed the foals' heart rates. At the moment, they were very quick, which was normal, but Rainbow's nurse, midwife, and doctor were keeping a close eye on the machine, as there was always the chance of something going wrong during labor.

Rainbow groaned softly as her contraction ended. Right now, they were about two to three minutes apart, and whenever they struck, they struck hard, which was made obvious when the first one hit at the foal shower. Even at that point, Dash was unable to stand due to the immense pain, and everypony around her was certain that it was time.

Soarin gently rubbed Dash's foreleg with his right forehoof while he held onto the top of it with his left. "That's it, Dashie," he cooed to his wife, "Good job."

Dash did little more that moan softly in response. She wasn't breathing all that heavily at the moment, but she was breathing harder than normal. Even though the contraction had ended, she was still in extreme discomfort, and she knew the next one was coming soon. The cyan mare began to rub her belly softly with her left forehoof, hoping to generate a bit of warmth around her midsection to suppress a bit of the pain that she knew was about to come. What made it worse was that Dash had underestimated how intense the pain would be. She thought she'd be able to handle it without any trouble, but she was anything but correct at this point. Mrs. Cake had even warned her about what would inevitably come when labor struck, but Dash was feeling rather naïve on that particular day, and now she was feeling guilty about it.

"S-Soarin..." Dash whispered, a few tears forming in her eyes, "I...I can't take much more of this...It hurts so bad..."

Soarin leaned in and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Don't worry, Dash," he replied, comfortingly, "Dr. Crowning will be back soon and they can get the epidural started."

"He'd better be here within the next..." Dash paused as her uterus seized up and contracted once again. "Oooooooo.......OOOOOOOOO......AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" She screamed as the contraction progressed. Soarin couldn't help but feel horrible that his wife was going through such pain, but he wasn't the one experiencing it, and there wasn't anything more he could do but let her know he was there and that everything was going to be fine.

After what seemed like forever, which, in all reality, was only sixty seconds, Dash breathed a sigh of relief as her contraction ended. Then, as if on cue, Dr. Crowning, her delivery doctor, along with her midwife and Nurse Redheart, walked into the room, and she was more than happy to see them. "Well, Dash, how are you feeling?" the earth pony stallion asked, "Has anything changed?"

"I don't think so," Dash replied, "Other than a bit more pressure down near my...you know..." she finished, gesturing to her lower area.

"Well, let's get you checked before we discuss drugs. Sound good?"

"Sure."

"Alright, then," the stallion finished. Right after Dash had gotten situated at the hospital, Dr. Crowning checked to see how far along she was, and she was already four centimeters dilated. Normally, he would have talked about an epidural right then and there, but there was still a bit of paperwork that Soarin had to fill out at the time, and by the time he was done, the doctor had to go visit another patient.

Dr. Crowning took hold of the device he used to check how much expecting mares were dilated. He lifted the blanket covering Dash's hind legs and aimed the device at her opening, then moved it inside. "Oh! Interesting!" he said, his eyes widening slightly.

"What?" Dash asked.

"You're already at six centimeters! You're progressing faster than I thought!"

Soarin immediately leaned down and said to his wife, "You hear that, Dash? You're almost there." He really hoped his words would give her a confidence boost and help her avoid worrying about the pain.

"Doc," Dash continued, "Can I still get the epidural?"

"Well, that's why I wanted to get you checked first," Dr. Crowning replied, "You see, like I said, you're progressing more quickly than we'd anticipated, and now the window for an epidural is almost closed."

"However," Nurse Redheart said, "Though an epidural will give you some pain relief, it also slows down the labor process, which means you'll be here a bit longer."

This caught Dash by surprise. She had no idea why she hadn't asked anypony about this before, because if she had, she most definitely would have gotten the medicine by now. It was at this moment that she had to make a crucial decision: Get the epidural and wait longer with less pain, or forego the epidural and deliver the foals quicker. While she thought about it, her mouth opened wide as another contraction hit her, prompting Soarin to resume rubbing her foreleg in a gentle manner.

Dash breathed in and out quite audibly, moaning as she exhaled. "That's it," Dash's midwife said, "Just keep breathing. You're doing great." The light green earth pony mare continued to encourage Dash in that manner throughout the contraction, until it finally subsided.

This contraction was just as painful as the others, and it made Dash lean more toward wanting the epidural. However, she didn't want to be cooped up in a hospital bed for too long, as waiting for her wing to heal was bad enough. With a nervous look on her face, Dash turned to her husband and asked, "Soarin, what should I do?"

"Dash, I can't really give you much in terms of advice," Soarin replied, "I'm not the one feeling your pain...well, physical, at least. To answer your question, I think you should do whatever you feel is best for you."

Once again, Rainbow was left to her own devices. Too much was going through her head. "More pain or less pain? Stay longer or get out quicker?" she thought to herself.

"Rainbow Dash," Dr. Crowning said, "I hate to have to rush you, but I need a decision sooner rather than later."

"Okay," Dash replied. She closed her eyes and went into deep thought, trying her best to make a decision. After another several seconds, she opened her eyes, looked right at her doctor, smiled, and said, "Doc, you can go ahead and give that epidural to another mare, 'cause..." As she spoke, she turned her head to face Soarin, reaching up and touching his cheek. "...I really wanna see my foals." This caused Soarin to rub his wife's left cheek affectionately and kiss her on the lips.

"Very well, then," Dr. Crowning finished with a smile.

Several anxious and excited ponies sat in the waiting room, eagerly awaiting any form of news on their friend. Even though both Rainbow's and Soarin's parents were there with big smiles on their faces, Pinkie Pie was noticeably more excited about this, given how energetically she was bouncing up and down. These actions were bringing a slight amount of displeasure to a certain young alicorn.

"Pinkie," Twilight began, "Will you please stop bouncing off the walls?? The hospital isn't a place for that!"

"I CAN'T HELP IT!!!" Pinkie exclaimed, joyfully.

"SHHHHHH!!!!!!" Twilight went.

Still continuing to bounce, Pinkie's tone shifted to a whisper, though it was clear she was still trying to speak as loud as she possibly could. "I mean, I can't help it! Dashie's about to have two foals!"

Twilight groaned before turning to face Fluttershy. "She wasn't this energetic when the Cake twins were born, was she?"

"I don't think she was," Fluttershy replied.

"I must say," Rarity spoke silently to Twilight, "Pinkie's lucky that Applejack hasn't come back and hogtied her by now!"

"I agree!" Twilight replied in an equally-as-quiet tone, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that Dash is finally having her foals, but seriously! Who gets this energetic inside a hospital?"

"Actually, Twilight, I...I...pffft..." Rarity began to chuckle, "I'm sorry. I can't hold it back anymore!" The white unicorn then began clapping her forehooves together as she lifted her head slightly and closed her eyes. "Rainbow Dash is going to be a mother! Aaahhh!!" she exclaimed with glee.

All of a sudden, Fluttershy began to giggle as well. "I'm sorry, Twilight," she began, enthusiastically, her wings beginning to flap out of excitement, "I can't hold it back either! I'm so excited for Rainbow and Soarin!" she said as she began rising into the air.

"So am I!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing up to Fluttershy's now stationary flight level and looking her in the eyes.

"I know! I can't believe it's finally happening!"

"Neither can I!"

While Pinkie and Fluttershy continued talking excitedly with each other, Rarity stood up and began to bounce lightly herself.

In the meantime, Starlight was trying to keep her energy and excitement contained by repeatedly tapping her forehooves on her chair, but her actions proved to be futile. Turning to Twilight, the unicorn said in an excited whisper, "Sorry..." before giddily getting onto her hooves and bouncing lightly along with Rarity.

Seeing all her friends acting in all these ways initially annoyed Twilight, as she wanted to respect anypony else that may have been nearby. However, her own excitement was getting the best of her, and soon, she loudly said, "Aw, what the hay? Woo-hoo!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Twilight!" Firefly said.

The two ponies shared a laugh before Twilight continued. "I still can't believe that today is the day!"

"Neither can we!" Rainbow Blaze replied.

"I'm just grateful that thing that happened in Cloudsdale didn't kill me," Grey Nimbus spoke, "Then this day probably wouldn't have been as exciting."

"You may be right, Grey," Twilight replied, "But I think right now we should just be glad that you're here to witness the arrival of your grandfoals!"

"Yep! And I'm glad to be here, too."

Twilight and the two couples remained silent for a few seconds before she continued. "Wow, I really hope that Rainbow and Soarin like the little surprise my friends and I left for them back at their home!"

"Now, what was that surprise again, Twilight?" Wind Glider asked. Twilight then moved over and whispered what was waiting for the soon-to-be parents into her ear. "Oh, that! Right!" Wind Glider finished, "I'm sure they'll love it!"

"I'm sure they will, too!" Twilight replied.

Again, the group went silent for several seconds. "I wonder how my little filly's doing back there?" Firefly asked.

Twilight was the first to respond. "I'm sure she's doing just fine."

"Uh-oh," Nurse Redheart said, looking at the machine monitoring the foals.

"What?" Dash asked, noticeably concerned.

"Well, from what I see here, it looks like the heart rate of one of the foals has gone down."

"Is that bad?" Soarin asked, equally as worried as his wife.

"It has the potential to be, Soarin. There are a couple of things we can do, but if they don't seem to help, we'll have to do an emergency C-section."

Dash grew even more nervous at the thought of having her belly sliced open. "Well, what can you do?" the pregnant pegasus asked.

"Just give me thirty seconds," Nurse Redheart finished before trotting quickly out of the room. Rainbow and Soarin then looked nervously at each other before Dash cringed in pain as another massive contraction came over her. By now, they were less than two minutes apart, and they were becoming more intense.

Almost as soon as she had left, Nurse Redheart returned with a bucket of ice and a cup. She waited until the contraction was over before speaking. "Dash, one easy way to get the foal's heart rate back up is for you to eat some ice cubes."

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, still panting heavily from the contraction.

"Sometimes, if a foal's heart rate decreases, that means it's, well, sort of, fallen asleep in the womb. It doesn't literally fall asleep, but its activity inside the womb has decreased in such a way that the heart rate drops."

Dash had to think about what Nurse Redheart had said for a few seconds before she agreed to eat the ice cubes. One by one, she was fed the little pieces of ice, chewing on them before swallowing. She shivered as each one entered her mouth and went down her esophagus, but she pulled through, and eventually, the foal's heart was once again beating at a healthy rhythm.

"Wonderful!" Nurse Redheart said, relieved that a crisis had been averted, "Let me just do a quick ultrasound to see how things are in there, okay?"

"Go ahead," Dash replied, weakly. Much of her energy had been drained at this point due to the multitude of contractions. It took the pegasus her utmost to get through them without an epidural, and she was starting to worry that she wouldn't have enough energy to deliver the foals.

Soarin sensed his wife's discomfort and continued to stroke her foreleg, which, at this point, was becoming rather routine for the stallion, and Rainbow didn't seem to mind in the slightest. "Don't worry, Dash," he said, calmly, "You're almost there. Everything's gonna be fine."

"I hope so..." Dash replied, her tone suggesting that she had had enough of this already and just wanted her foals out.

As the husband and wife spoke, Redheart performed an ultrasound, determining that, just like she had told the couple at their very first ultrasound, both of the foals' heads were aimed toward the birth canal; however, one was significantly lower than the other.

Just then, Dr. Crowning happened to walk back into the room. "So," he began, "How are you feeling, Dash?"

Dash panted for a few seconds before replying, "These contractions are just getting worse and worse. And lately they've been..." At that moment, Dash cringed again, her body tensing up as another contraction hit her. This time, however, Dash felt significant pressure down below, and she felt like she had to push. "AAAAHHHH!!!!" she exclaimed in agony, "I think one of them's coming!"

Dr. Crowning immediately lifted the covers and looked down at Rainbow's canal, only to find a small mass of cyan and white hair that hadn't quite made it out into the open yet. "Dash," the stallion said, "The head's right there. Looks like we need to get ready right about now."

Dr. Crowning and Nurse Redheart immediately sprang into action, washing their hooves and covering them in protective latex, followed by dressing in blue attire that was normally saved for surgeons. At the same time, Dash's midwife took Rainbow's left foreleg in her hooves, while Soarin's grip on her other leg never ceased.

"Dash, this is it!" Soarin exclaimed in a whisper. Rainbow's only response was a pained groan as her contraction ended.

"Okay, Rainbow," Dr. Crowning continued as he lifted the blanket again and pushed it back, exposing Dash's hind legs completely, "We're ready. Are you ready?"

Never in her life had Dash's mind gone on the fritz quite like this. Her entire pregnancy began to flash before her eyes. All the ups and downs came back to her, but in the end, all she wanted was to meet the two ponies that had been growing inside of her this whole time. While she continued to pant, Dash mustered a proud smile and replied, "I'm ready."

"Great!" Dr. Crowning responded, "Now, when the next contraction hits, I want you to start pushing, okay?"

"Got it," Dash replied. Dr. Crowning then placed both of his latex-covered forehooves on each side of Rainbow's vagina, putting light pressure on her lower lips to prevent the foal from being delivered too quickly.

All Rainbow could do was lay there and wait for the next contraction. She was nervous, but at the same time, determined to get those two foals out of her. She took one more look at everypony in the room with her before...

"AAAAHHHH!!!!" Rainbow bellowed.

Dr. Crowning immediately exclaimed, "Push!"

Author's Note

We'll be back with "Dash Wears Her Vocal Chords Out" right after this!

I know...I'm terrible, aren't I? :trollestia:

**Finally a Family: Part II

"Push!"

Rainbow did as she was told, centering all of her strength on her midsection. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and used every muscle in her body to begin pushing the first foal out. She could feel it slowly easing through the birth canal, but Rainbow felt like it wasn't moving fast enough. She just wanted this pain to be over with.

Dr. Crowning was still in his position at Rainbow's lower half, preventing the foal from being born too fast. As he held light pressure on Rainbow's vaginal lips, he counted her through her first push. "...Eight, nine, ten!" he said, "That's it, Rainbow. Stop and take a few deep breaths."

As Rainbow inhaled deeply, Soarin leaned in and whispered, "Great job, Dashie! You can do this!"

Rainbow wanted to reply, but right as her husband ceased speaking, she heard the inevitable command from her doctor. "Ready, Rainbow?" Dr. Crowning asked. The pregnant mare nodded. "Okay...Push!" Again, she did as she was told, using every ounce of strength she possessed to deliver the foal.

Even though she was already fully dilated, Rainbow felt that the foal was stretching her beyond her limits. Now she realized why Mrs. Cake had told her that the actual birthing process was the most painful part of labor and delivery. Part of Rainbow felt like she couldn't handle the pain any longer, but another part of her knew that once the foals were out, the pain would subside. With that in mind, Rainbow kept her efforts focused solely on giving birth to the two foals that were inside of her.

Once another ten seconds had passed, Rainbow ceased pushing, but only had time for a few more breaths before she was told to begin pushing again, as she needed to make as much progress as possible before the contraction was over.

"That's it, Rainbow! Keep going!" Dash's midwife said in an encouraging tone.

"...Seven, eight, nine, and ten! There we go!" Dr. Crowning said as Rainbow exhaled, "Just relax for a bit, Rainbow, then we'll keep going when the next contraction hits. Okay?"

"Uuuggghhh..." Rainbow groaned, her body searching for any kind of energy she could use to continue, "Okay..."

As Soarin reached up with a rag to wipe the layer of sweat on his wife's forehead away, he said, "You're doing great, Dashie. I know you can do this."

"Soarin..." Rainbow weakly said, "It hurts so bad..."

"I know it does, Dash," Soarin replied, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek, "But just think; pretty soon, when it's all over, you're gonna be holding two brand new foals all your own!"

"D-Don't you mean our own?" Rainbow asked between breaths.

"Exactly," Soarin replied, kissing the base of his wife's right forehoof.

The act of love brought a small smile to Rainbow's face, but it only lasted for about four seconds before...

"AAAHHHH!!!!!" Rainbow bellowed.

"Okay, Rainbow," Dr. Crowning commanded as he got back into position, "Deep breath in...aaaaaannd...push!"

Rainbow began to push once again, her muscles straining to move the foal further along through the birth canal. While she pushed, she could feel something just barely poking out of her opening, and it remained that way when the ten seconds had passed. After a few more deep breaths, she resumed pushing, screaming as she felt the head of the first foal spread her lower lips open wide. Even with that pain surging through her, Rainbow held on, knowing she'd have immense relief in the next several minutes.

The bell at the Ponyville Schoolhouse rang out audibly, and a large group of fillies and colts scurried out of the small, red structure, eager to get home and enjoy the rest of the day. A certain trio of fillies, however, didn't run off immediately. They just casually walked out of the schoolhouse while having a conversation.

"Hey, guys?" Scootaloo asked, "Have you, like, been noticing Diamond Tiara lately? I'll bet 'ya a month's allowance she's got eyes for Pip!"

"I've been noticing that, too!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Seems like those two have really gotten along ever since the election!" Apple Bloom added, "Well, at least after we helped her realize who she wanted to be."

"Exactly!" said Scootaloo.

"When do you think Pip's gonna ask her out?" Sweetie Belle asked in a mischievous tone with half-lidded eyes.

"Heck if I know," said Apple Bloom, "I doubt that's gon' happen, anyway."

"Heh...You never know, Apple Bloom..." Scootaloo finished. As she did, the three fillies heard running hoof beats headed toward them, so they turned their heads to the pathway that lead to the school's entrance, only to see Applejack headed their way, an excited smile on her face.

"Hey, you three!" the farm fare said as she stopped in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Hi, Applejack!" the trio said in unison.

"Hey, listen," Applejack continued, "I don't know if y'all got anythin' planned for right now, but if 'ya do, that's all gon' have to wait."

"What's goin' on?" Apple Bloom asked, a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Well..." AJ continued, pausing for dramatic effect, "One of you three's about to become an aunt!"

Scootaloo's eyes instantly went wide. "Wait, what?!?" she asked.

"That's right, Scootaloo!" AJ continued, "Rainbow Dash went into labor less than a couple hours ago! Now, I don't know how long it'll be before the foals are born, but I figured I may as well come get 'ya and bring 'ya to the hospital!"

"Oh my gosh! No way! It's actually happening!" Scootaloo exclaimed in excitement, hovering a couple of inches off the ground.

Apple Bloom's face soon sported a slightly disappointed expression. "Aw, come on, sis..." she said to AJ, "I wanna see Rainbow's foals, too..."

"So do I..." Sweetie Belle said, sadly. Both the unicorn and earth pony fillies assumed AJ was here only to get Scootaloo.

"Hey, did I say y'all had to go home?" the orange farm mare asked.

Both Apple Bloom's and Sweetie Belle's faces lit up as they looked each other in the eyes. They soon started bouncing up and down, exclaiming random excitable interjections as they did.

"Wow!" Scootaloo continued, "I can't believe this! Rainbow Dash must feel so wonderful right now!"

"UUUGGGHHH!!! IT HURTS!!!" Rainbow bellowed, her voice nearly cracking.

"Just relax, Rainbow," Dr. Crowning said, "The head's out now. You can take a little break."

As the earth pony stallion suctioned out the foal's nose and mouth, Soarin once again wiped the sweat off his wife's brow. "Dash, I'm so proud of you!" he whispered, "You're doing amazing!" Rainbow, like many times in the past several minutes, only groaned in response.

As his wife relaxed, the pegasus stallion became curious as to what a foal being born actually looked like. He had pictured it many times during and after health class during his school days, and he figured it was quite the miracle to behold. However, when he looked down between his wife's legs, the sight nearly made him vomit. It was significantly more disgusting than he had once thought. He decided to watch the rest of the show further back, where Rainbow's belly would block some of the action.

Even though she was in immense pain, Rainbow couldn't help but giggle internally at the sight of Soarin nearly becoming sick to his stomach. She mustered a weak smile and asked, "Get a good view, Soarin?"

Maintaining a smile, Soarin rolled his eyes and replied, "Oh, stop it..." Rainbow chuckled lightly, but almost instantly felt the next contraction bear down on her, and she moaned in agony once again.

Dr. Crowning, thankfully, had already finished clearing the amniotic fluid out from the foal's mouth and nose. He quickly got back into position once he heard his patient's screams and said, "Ready, Rainbow?" The cyan mare nodded. "Alright. Deep breath, and...push!" As Rainbow resumed pushing, the stallion turned the foal ninety degrees to the right to allow the shoulder area to come out. Right after he did, he could slowly see the rest of the foal's neck emerging, and he continued to count to ten as the foal continued to exit the birth canal.

Rainbow exhaled once she heard Dr. Crowning mention the number ten. However, it was routine for her at this point to only breathe as much as she could for five seconds before she started pushing again. She had already felt the stallion turning the foal inside her canal, and now, as she resumed her efforts, she felt him turn the foal back to the position it was originally in.

At this point, Rainbow knew she was closer than ever to delivering the foal, but the pain was so intense that she felt she could go no further. However, some random thought came to her mind at what seemed like the oddest of times, but once she thought about it for a few seconds, it made perfect sense. Part of her brain was telling her that she was using so much strength and energy that she may as well have been accelerating in the air to do a sonic rainboom. At last, Rainbow had a plan to distract herself from the pain, albeit temporarily.

"Alright, Rainbow, this is it!" Dr. Crowning said as his patient stopped pushing.

"Come on, Dashie!" Soarin whispered into his wife's ear, "You're so close!"

Rainbow said nothing. Before her doctor could tell her to push again, she took one last deep breath in and continued moving the foal through her birth canal. At the same time, since her eyes were already closed, she imagined herself using every ounce of strength in her body to flap her wings as hard as she could, hoping to achieve the rare feat that she had already done more than once. In all reality, her wings remained pinned to her sides as she pushed, but in her head, she was flying at an impressive speed, something she had enjoyed doing all her life.

Even though most of her mind was focused on achieving a sonic rainboom, Rainbow could still feel all the real-life sensations her body was experiencing. She felt more of the foal exit her as she went along, and at the same time, she visualized a cone-shaped cloud forming in front of her, signifying that she was close to breaking the sound barrier. With a valiant effort, she used every muscle in her body to move forward, and she could feel the end approaching with every second that passed. She sensed herself getting closer...and closer...and closer...until finally...

"Dash! Look!" Soarin whispered excitedly into his wife's ear.

The first thing Dash saw when she opened her eyes was Dr. Crowning holding a crying, squirming foal in his forelegs. Rainbow felt a small towel being laid across her chest as the earth pony stallion set the foal down on it. Instinctively, Dash held the newborn foal in her own forelegs, watching it continue to cry and move in place.

Dash didn't say anything. Her face sported a shocked expression as she looked at the foal she was holding. Her mouth was slightly agape and her eyes were wide, but not completely so. She lay there panting, trying to comprehend what was going on. Did she really just deliver a foal? Was the foal in her forelegs really hers? So much was happening in Dash's brain that she couldn't do anything more than sit there and look at the crying newborn.

Eager to determine the foal's gender, Soarin lifted one of its hind legs and looked between them, leaning in close to Dash's ear once he had solved the mystery. "Dash!" he whispered, "It's a filly! We have a daughter!" He then wrapped his left foreleg around his wife's neck.

By now, Dash's mind was slowly coming back to reality, and after thinking about the entirety of her pregnancy one more time, her mind told her that the foal in her arms was what she had been waiting for all this time. When it finally hit her that she was a mother, the corners of Dash's mouth slowly turned upward, and her facial expression turned to one of complete and utter elation. Still panting slightly, Dash whispered, "...A...A daughter?"

"Yes, Dash," Soarin whispered back, relieved to hear his wife speak, "We have a daughter, and it's all thanks to you. You did wonderfully. I'm so proud of you." He finished by kissing her on the cheek.

Both Rainbow and Soarin then took a good look at their newborn daughter. Her coat was the exact same color as her father's, and her mane was cyan, just like her mother's fur, with a thin line of white straight down the middle. Her tiny wings remained folded to her sides as her crying gradually slowed, the warmth of her mother's body starting to comfort her.

Soarin looked to his right as Dr. Crowning neared him with a pair of surgical scissors. "Soarin," he began, "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Absolutely," the new father replied. Sitting on his rump, Soarin took the scissors in his forehooves and opened them, aiming them in-between the two sets of clamps where the doctor had already cut off the blood supply from the umbilical cord. Soarin moved the scissors forward, and with a few quick snips, the newborn filly was separated from her mother.

As Dr. Crowning took care of business down at the other end, Soarin stood back up, turning to face his wife and daughter. As he stared lovingly at the filly in Dash's forelegs, he heard his wife whisper, "Bright Skies..."

Soarin instinctively looked out the nearby window, seeing a cloudless sky outside with Celestia's sun shining majestically. "Yeah, Dash," Soarin replied, "It's a beautiful day out there."

"No, I...I wanna name her Bright Skies," Dash replied, looking her husband in the eye.

After meeting his wife's gaze, Soarin looked back at his daughter, realizing that the colors of her coat and mane truly represented a bright, sunny day with minimal clouds in the sky. After several seconds of thought, Soarin looked his wife in the eyes once again and said, "I love it, Dash." He then turned his head to the right, leaning in to get closer to his daughter's ears. "Happy birthday, Bright Skies," he whispered, "We're really happy you're here."

A few tears were already flowing down Dash's cheeks as she closed her eyes and hugged her daughter closer, sobbing happily as she did. At the same time, Bright Skies got several good whiffs of her mother's natural scent, locking them away in the recesses of her brain.

After several more seconds, Dash pulled away as Nurse Redheart said, "Alright, Rainbow. We need to get your daughter weighed and cleaned up now, okay? You can just have Soarin bring her over to the scale."

This made Dash worried. In the past minute, she had already formed such an unexplainable connection with her new daughter that she didn't want to let her go. At the same time, however, her common sense told her to trust the experts, so she reluctantly handed Bright Skies and the towel over to Soarin, who took the white, fluffy material in his teeth, picked his daughter up, and set her down on the scale, which had already been adjusted to account for the weight of the towel.

Bright Skies immediately started to get a little fussy, as she had grown accustomed to the warmth of the outside of her mother's body, which had suddenly vanished. However, she calmed down as she sensed another source of warmth very close to her. Soarin was leaning over the scale as his daughter was weighed, and Bright Skies began taking in her father's natural scent, storing it in the same place she stored her mother's.

Meanwhile, Dr. Crowning had instructed Rainbow to push a couple of more times, and Bright Skies' placenta was soon out of her. However, these small pushes triggered another contraction, and Dash could feel the second foal rapidly entering the birth canal. The pegasus screamed again, and, right as Nurse Redheart documented Bright Skies' measurements, Soarin covered his daughter's ears, not wanting her to have such a loud noise on her mind.

"Rainbow Dash," Nurse Redheart spoke, "I'm going to take your daughter to the newborn nursery. I'll bring her back after you deliver the second foal, okay?"

"Whatever!" Dash said, pain overtaking her body, "Just get the other foal out of me!"

"Don't worry, Dash," Dr. Crowning said, "We're just about to do that." As Nurse Redheart placed Bright Skies on a cart made for newborn foals and exited the room with the foal in tow, Dr. Crowning got back into position at Rainbow's vaginal opening, applying the same amount of pressure to her lower lips. "Ready?" he asked. Dash nodded, and as she did, her midwife and Soarin each grabbed one of her forelegs, allowing her something to put pressure on as she delivered the second foal. "Alright, then. Deep breath, aaaaaannd...push!"

The door to the waiting room opened, and three energetic and excited fillies trotted in, along with a slightly annoyed, albeit excited on the inside, Applejack. "Hey! Look who's here!" Twilight said, smiling at the sight of four more of her friends.

"Hey, Twilight!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders replied in unison.

The purple alicorn then looked over to Applejack and noticed that her mane was slightly frazzled. "Uhhh...you okay, Applejack?" she asked.

"Who, me?" AJ replied, "I'm perfectly fine, Twilight. It's just that these three right here..." She gestured to her younger sister and her two friends. "...Wouldn't stop bouncin' off'a every single wall they could find."

"I can't help it!" Scootaloo immediately said, beginning to bounce up and down.

"Me, neither!" Apple Bloom said, starting to mimic her friend's actions.

"Neither can I!" Sweetie Belle followed up, also beginning to do what Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and, for that matter, Pinkie Pie, were all doing.

Twilight immediately empathized with her orange earth pony friend. It hadn't been too long since she'd had to try and keep not just three, but four, overly excited and energetic mares under control, but in the end, it seemed that both she and AJ let it slide, as their cyan friend's inevitable delivery date had finally arrived.

The alicorn smiled at the orange earth pony, and AJ smiled back. Why should she be upset, anyway? This was a happy occasion.

After a few more seconds, AJ walked over to the bench and sat next to Twilight. She then asked, "Where in the hay is Spike? I figured he'd be here by now."

Right then and there, the waiting room door opened again, albeit louder than last time. This caused not only the entire group to look at it, but it also prompted Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to stop bouncing. Standing in the doorway was a not-too-happy-looking baby dragon who was panting slightly.

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, happily, "There you are!" She then quickly trotted over to her dragon assistant. "Thank you so much for staying behind a bit longer. I hope it wasn't too much trouble for you to clean up everything."

Spike stared up at Twilight with a blank expression. He was silent for a good ten seconds before replying, "Wasn't too much trouble...? Wasn't too much trouble!? Geez, Twilight! Couldn't you have at least come back after bringing Rainbow by and used a spell to clean everything up!? Not even the Cakes could stay and help! They said they had another gig after the shower!"

Everypony was silent. Twilight then thought about how much there was to clean up in the dining room and realized why Spike was feeling the way he was. The alicorn squee'd guiltily at her friends, then turned back to face the dragon, her face sporting an apologetic expression as she replied, "I'm sorry, Spike. I think I may have underestimated how much we had done over there. I guess I was too worried about how Rainbow was doing that I didn't even consider the fact that I had left you there alone to take care of everything. Can you forgive me?"

Spike stayed silent for several seconds before his response came. "Well, let's just put it this way. Even though it looks like I'm furious at you, Twilight, I'm not. I have no reason to be, anyway." His facial expression then changed to an excited one. "I mean, Rainbow's about to have twins, for crying out loud!"

"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie Pie cheered, resuming her energetic bouncing.

Twilight smiled at her pink friend, then faced Spike once again, hugging him as she replied, "Thanks, Spike."

"Hey, no problem, Twilight!" the baby dragon replied. After a few more seconds, he asked, "So, any idea how Rainbow Dash is doing?"

The alicorn closed her eyes as she replied, "Oh, I'm sure she's doing just fine."

Rainbow couldn't help but scream bloody murder as the second foal's head made its way out of her after what seemed like forever. She had been told this delivery would be easier than the first, but the amount of pain she was enduring told her otherwise.

As the foal's head emerged completely, Dr. Crowning told his patient to relax and take another break, but right as he began to suction out any unwanted amniotic fluid, he made a startling discovery. "Uh-oh," he said, not sounding too happy, "We've got a problem here."

Large amounts of adrenaline instantly flowed into the veins of both Rainbow and Soarin. "What's wrong?" Soarin asked, sweat beginning to form on his brow as a result of his sudden anxiety.

"Looks like the cord is wrapped around the foal's neck," Dr. Crowning replied.

"What!?" Rainbow exclaimed, "How is that possible!?"

"It happens from time to time, Rainbow," the doctor continued, "It's still pretty serious, though, as we don't want the oxygen supply to the foal's head to be cut off completely. Just give me a few seconds to try and unravel it." As Rainbow kept breathing, Dr. Crowning tried to move the umbilical cord to a different spot, one where it wouldn't cut off the foal's oxygen supply. Unfortunately, it was wrapped around the foal's neck rather tightly, and Dr. Crowning could do little to resolve the issue with his hooves alone. The earth pony stallion lifted his head to face Nurse Redheart and said, "Scissors, please."

"Here you are," Redheart replied, handing over a pair of surgical scissors.

Dr. Crowning immediately took them and brought them down to the foal's head. "Sorry, Soarin," he said, "Looks like you're gonna have to miss out on cutting this one."

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Soarin replied, "Just do what you gotta do." Even though the pegasus stallion was very worried about the current situation, he knew the unborn foal was in good hooves.

With careful precision, Dr. Crowning slowly cut the umbilical cord, and once it was loose, he was able to unravel it away from the foal's neck, but not without clamping both ends first. He then finished suctioning out the foal's nose and mouth, then put all his utensils to the side and got back into position. "Ready, Rainbow?" he asked.

"Is the foal okay?" Rainbow asked in return.

"Looks like everything's going to be fine, Rainbow," Dr. Crowning replied in reassurance. Rainbow smiled at her doctor, but began wailing in agony a mere two seconds later. The doctor then knew he no longer needed a vocal response to his question. "Okay, Rainbow. Deep breath in, and...push!"

Rainbow did as she was told. Once again, she used every ounce of strength in her body to push the foal out of her. Just like the first time, she felt her doctor turn the foal ninety degrees, allowing the shoulder area to exit her tunnel. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of pain that was coursing through her body made her feel the slightest bit helpless and/or alone, and her newfound mother's instinct made her begin to worry about her daughter. As she finished pushing, Rainbow cried out, "WHERE'S BRIGHT SKIES?!?!?!?"

Soarin immediately moved as close to his wife as he could and replied, "She's fine, Dash. She's perfectly fine." He then gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "You'll see her again in a few minutes. Don't worry."

Hearing her husband's words made Rainbow relax a little, and her mind came back to reality in time for her to convince herself that he was right. With that, she took another deep breath and, without waiting for Dr. Crowning to tell her, started pushing again. At this point, she could feel the foal moving through her a little bit faster than Bright Skies, so she told herself not to take too long in-between ten-second intervals, as the more pushing she did, the quicker the foal would arrive.

As Rainbow felt the foal's forelegs come out of her, which was followed by Dr. Crowning turning the unborn infant back to its original position, she decided that she didn't need to envision herself doing a sonic rainboom this time around. She had already delivered one foal, and now she knew that this one would supposedly be out quicker, so she decided to just have her mind focused solely on getting the second foal out. However, there was one thing that was troubling her. The foal had begun to emerge with its cord wrapped around its neck, and she was unsure if it would cry upon its birth. She didn't want it to be whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit without her getting the chance to hold it. Still, even with that uncertainty on her mind, Rainbow new she was very close to delivering her second foal, so she forced her mind to focus on delivering it.

"...Nine, ten!" Dr. Crowning said as Rainbow began breathing deeply again, "Alright, Rainbow. One more push and you'll have yourself another foal!"

Rainbow smiled and replied between breaths, "Let's...hhhh...do this..."

"There we go. That's what I like to hear. Ready?" Rainbow nodded. "Okay, then. Deep breath, aaaannd...push!" Once again, Dash pushed with all her might. It was painful, but her mind slowly brightened up as she felt something she had been longing to feel.

As the foal's hind legs and tail began to leave her canal, Rainbow opened her eyes and watched in amazement as her second foal was born. Dr. Crowning lifted up the foal, which, to everypony's surprise and relief, was crying rather loudly, even louder than Bright Skies had initially cried. As the doctor handed the foal over to its mother, Rainbow welcomed her second child with open arms, and she quickly brought it close and began sobbing happily once again. "Oh my gosh..." she whispered, her voice laden with short, euphoria-laden bursts of laughter that were a result of her tears of joy. Her close proximity allowed the foal easy access to the embers of its mother's natural scent, and it swiftly locked them away in its brain, just like its sister.

Rainbow pulled away slightly after about fifteen seconds, and, out of curiosity, lifted one of the foal's hind legs, and both she and Soarin were able to determine its gender at the same time. Looking happily into each other's eyes, they whispered, "It's a colt!" in unison.

Rainbow faced her newborn son once again and kissed him on the forehead, then leaned back so she and her husband could look at him. He had a beautiful cyan coat, just like his mother, and his mane was the same color as his father's, except he had one feature that he shared with his sister, which was the thin line of white down the center.

Soarin's concentration on his new son was broken as he heard Dr. Crowning say, "Hey, Soarin, maybe you don't have to miss out on cutting the cord after all!"

"Huh?" Soarin replied, confused as to why his wife's doctor would say that, given that he had already cut the cord himself.

"Here," Dr. Crowning replied. As he handed Soarin another pair of scissors, he fastened a clamp on another part of the cord, one that was about an inch away from the foal's belly. Soarin immediately knew what the other stallion was getting at, so he aimed the scissors forward and snipped the rest of the cord away. Once that was finished, the excess cord was properly discarded, and Dr. Crowning continued his residual work at Rainbow's lower end.

Unlike with Bright Skies, Rainbow was less reluctant to hand her son over to Soarin this time around, as she knew that the quicker the foal's measurements were taken, the sooner she'd get him back. As Rainbow delivered the placenta and had the electrodes removed from her abdomen, Soarin brought the infant over to the scale, where Nurse Redheart documented his weight and length. Soarin kept his snout close to his son's, allowing the newborn to take in his father's scent and put it in his brain. Once all that was finished, the foal was wrapped in a blanket and brought back to Rainbow, who already had her lower half covered by the bed's blanket once again, where she happily reaccepted him into her cradling embrace.

As Rainbow gently stroked her son's mane with her right forehoof, she asked, "Hey, Soarin?"

"Yeah, Dashie?" Soarin replied.

"What should we name him?"

Soarin immediately wished he had thought about names before all this happened. "Uhhh..." he began to reply, scratching his head, "You know, I'm sorry. I'm drawing a complete blank here."

Before Rainbow could reply, a loud scream could be heard from a mare next door, who was most likely in the final throes of labor. "Hmmm...that's odd," Rainbow's midwife said, "These walls are usually soundproof."

"Guess she's having as hard of a time as I did," Rainbow remarked, giggling lightly.

Soarin let out a small chuckle. "Heh...Who knows?" he said, "For all we know, she could've been heard all the way up in the stratosphere!"

Rainbow's midwife and Soarin both giggled at the stallion's remark. However, Rainbow said nothing. Instead, her eyes widened in thought as she looked down at her son, and then she got a brilliant idea. Looking back at her husband, Rainbow said, "You know, Soarin, that doesn't sound all too bad!"

"Wait, what?" Soarin replied, "Hearing another mare scream while we're high in the sky?"

"No. I mean..." she paused, gesturing her son upwards slightly, "Stratosphere!"

And then it all hit Soarin. He realized that he may have just named his son without even thinking. "Stratosphere..." he thought to himself. It then occurred to him that he and Rainbow both loved flying, and doing so always took them into the stratosphere. Looking back at Rainbow, the stallion replied, "That's sound perfect, Rainbow. Bright Skies and Stratosphere." He sighed. "Wow, just saying them together like that nearly made me shiver."

"I know," Rainbow replied, "Me, too." She then sported a concerned look that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Wait, hang on. Speaking of..."

"Bright Skies?" Nurse Redheart asked, happily. She had just returned to the room, Bright Skies in tow on the cart. Both mother and father looked on in awe as their daughter was returned to them, and then Rainbow realized that she needed to reposition her son. She was soon holding him with just her left foreleg, allowing Nurse Redheart to hand over Bright Skies, whom the pegasus mare took in her right foreleg.

And now, for the very first time, Rainbow Dash was holding her two newborns. She looked at one, and then the other, and repeated the process multiple times. By now, the majority of her labor pains had vanished, and they were replaced by feelings of pure joy. "To think these two were inside of me this whole time..." Rainbow thought to herself. Being able to finally meet her two little ones after nearly eleven months made Rainbow feel elation like she'd never felt before, and the same could easily be said for Soarin.

"Aw...Now isn't that beautiful?" Nurse Redheart asked, looking at the two foals sleeping in their mother's embrace.

"It sure is..." Soarin whispered.

"Hey, Soarin?" Rainbow asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah?" the stallion replied.

"I just realized something. We don't have anything ready for the foals when we get home."

Soarin's eyes widened slightly, but went back to their normal state rather quickly. "Don't worry, Dash," he replied, "We can worry about that later. Looking at you and the foals right now, I don't think a few missing things at home is worth worrying about."

Rainbow looked back at the foals she was holding, and after a few seconds, she smiled and replied, "You're right, Soarin."

"Anyway," Redheart said, "Rainbow, I think now would be the perfect time to have the foals begin nursing."

Rainbow's head jerked upward when she realized exactly what Nurse Redheart was talking about. "Oh...that?" she asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Redheart replied, apologetically, "I didn't know if..."

"It's fine," Rainbow interrupted, "I know what you're saying, but...I don't know if that's really my thing. I mean, I know there's, like, one or two benefits to doing so, but..."

"Oh, there's more than that, Rainbow!"

"There is?" Rainbow asked in reply, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course! Aside from basic nutrition, nursing will reduce your foals' risk of developing allergies and/or other medical problems later in life."

"It will?"

"Absolutely! Also, throughout the first few stages of a foal's life outside the womb, it's important that they have a strong emotional connection with their mother, and nursing is the best way to ensure that happens. Basically, it will prevent your foals from developing any emotional difficulties later on."

"Really?" Rainbow asked, her facial expression becoming more surprised than concerned.

"Yes! Definitely!" Redheart continued, "Plus, nursing has benefits for you, as well!"

"Huh? How?"

"Well, not only with you feel closer than ever to your foals, which is just as healthy for the mother as it is for the foals, nursing will help shrink your uterus back down to its original size faster, thus returning your body to its normal figure!"

"Wait, seriously?? You mean I can fit back into my Wonderbolt's flight suit quicker?"

"Well, if you'd like to put it that way, then yes! Also, nursing will save you the cost of foal formula, which I think we can all agree has gotten really expensive these days." Rainbow and Soarin nodded. "Now, Rainbow, I'm sure you have plenty of milk already waiting for your two little ones."

"I think you're right, nurse," Dash replied, cringing lightly at a slightly uncomfortable sensation she was about to bring up, "I think I'm feeling a couple of wet spots on my hospital gown."

Wanting to see if her theory was correct, Nurse Redheart lifted Dash's blanket up and looked toward her lower area, instantly eyeing two areas of slightly darkened fabric right where the mare's nipples were. "Well, then!" Redheart continued, "I was right! Looks like your body's ready whenever your are, Rainbow!"

Rainbow was shocked at all these revelations. Despite being physically ready to feed her foals outside the womb for the first time, she couldn't make the decision to do so immediately, as she had just learned about its many benefits mere seconds ago. What was something she thought would make her look 'uncool' was now something she knew would be immensely wonderful for her two new children.

After a while, Soarin leaned in and said, "Come on, Dashie. Don't you wanna give these future Wonderbolts a healthy start to their lives?"

Rainbow couldn't help but giggle at what her husband had just said. With names like Bright Skies and Stratosphere, Rainbow could sense that her two foals would have destinies related to the wide, open sky that she and Soarin loved so much. Looking once more at each of her babies, Rainbow said, "Alright. I'll give it a shot."

"Wonderful!" Redheart replied, reaching a forehoof up to move Rainbow's blanket off of the mare completely.

After Rainbow handed Bright Skies over to Soarin, she gestured to her hospital gown and asked, "Hey, could I take this thing off first?"

"Absolutely," Redheart replied.

"Thanks," Rainbow finished. Setting Stratosphere down next to her, Rainbow reached behind her back and untied her hospital gown, and then proceeded to take it off completely. By now, her swollen cyan teats were visible, and each nipple eagerly awaited the arrival of the foals' mouths, clearly shown by the tiny beads of milk on the tips of each one.

Soon, Bright Skies and Stratosphere were free of the blankets they had been wrapped in, and they were set down near their mother's teats. Rainbow was still sitting up, albeit at a slight angle, as she waited for her foals to begin. She thought that maybe her foals had to be guided to her nipples, but that thought was put to rest as Redheart said, "Let them find their way to your teats, Rainbow. Foals instinctively want to nurse right after they're born, so trust me. They know what to look for."

"Got it," Rainbow replied. Pretty soon, she could see her foals pushing themselves up next to her teats with their tiny forelegs, and before she knew it, they lowered their heads slightly, mouths agape as they each took a nipple into their mouths. Bright Skies latched on first, and Stratosphere followed his sister's actions a few seconds later. "Ugh..." Rainbow grunted as her foals began to suckle. She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth slightly at the sudden discomfort.

"Don't worry, Rainbow," Nurse Redheart said, "This is normal. It'll hurt less and less once your teats get used to being suckled like this."

Rainbow only nodded before looking back down at her nursing children. Redheart was keeping a close eye on them as well, checking to see if they had latched themselves on properly. By the way they were suckling, she was sure they had done just that.

Rainbow sat there in silence as she watched her two newborns feed themselves. At first, the discomfort prevented her from thinking about what she was really doing, but as it slowly faded away, Rainbow's mind was slowly being filled with emotion. It finally hit her that she was actually feeding her foals from her own body. It was a feeling that nothing in the entire world could explain. As her smile slowly returned, her newfound connection with her foals seemed to strengthen out of nowhere, and now, even though she had originally wanted to wait, she was as happy as ever to be a mother.

Rainbow turned to face her husband. "Soarin..." she whispered, "This is...amazing..."

"It sure is, Dashie," Soarin replied, also whispering, "I'm so proud of you. You did such a wonderful job. Everyone's gonna be so happy when they see our foals."

"Yeah, but...can that wait a while? This moment feels too perfect..."

Soarin took once more glance at his foals nursing from their mother before replying, "Sure, Dash." He then kissed her on the lips. After that, Nurse Redheart left the new parents alone with their foals. Dr. Crowning and Rainbow's midwife had left long ago, so now, it was just Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Bright Skies, and Stratosphere, altogether in the same, quiet, blissful room, finally a family.

Author's Note

Well, at long last, Rainbow Dash and Soarin are the proud parents of two healthy, happy foals. I'm sure all of us, including myself, are happy that this event has finally transpired. I'd like to thank you all for your patience and willingness to stand by me as I wrote this story.

Oh, and if you think this story is over, it's not. I have plenty more chapters planned for this story. I know some of you may think I should turn the rest of those chapters into a sequel, but the whole point of the title Putting Her Dreams Aside was to have Rainbow transition into motherhood before returning to her lifelong dream of being a Wonderbolt. Hopefully, these others chapters won't take too long.

This chapter was posted today in honor of a dear friend of mine, an elderly lady from northeastern Ohio whom I had met several years ago. She passed away on February 16th of this year, aged 111. Today, which is December 12th, she would have turned 112.

Coming Home

Pure excitement and joy were flowing through the veins of both Rainbow Dash and Soarin. They each had a pen in their mouths, and they were officially signing the birth certificates of Bright Skies and Stratosphere. Already adorned with the name, weight, length, hoof prints, and date and time of birth of each foal, all that was needed were the signatures of their parents.

With their signatures clearly visible in bright, black ink, Rainbow and Soarin each set their pens down and looked each other excitedly in the eyes. As they shared a hug, Nurse Redheart took both certificates and put them with the rest of the couple's paperwork they had accumulated during the visit, which wasn't really that much to begin with. The nurse sealed all of the paper into a large envelope and handed it over to Soarin, and then she said, "There we go! Everything's all taken care of! You're ready to be discharged, Rainbow!"

The cyan mare was as eager as ever to leave Ponyville General at this point. Even though the service was decent, she didn't like being cooped up for too long, despite already being used to being bedridden due to the final stages of her pregnancy. "Thank you so much!" Rainbow replied.

"Yeah! Thanks!" Soarin followed up, "This place is amazing!"

"Well, then, how come you don't get injured more often?" Redheart asked with a half-lidded gaze.

"Uhhh..." Soarin replied, blushing slightly. This earned a laugh from his wife and Redheart.

"Anyway, congratulations, you two! Will I be seeing you again for the foals' 6-week checkup?" Redheart continued.

"Absolutely!" Rainbow replied, "See you then!"

"Great! Now, you just relax here while I get you a wheelchair, okay?"

"Sure!" Rainbow finished. With that, Redheart smiled and turned around, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

Rainbow and Soarin then looked behind them at their two foals, who were once again sleeping in their makeshift plastic cribs. Rainbow slowly trotted up to them, simply watching them nap. After several seconds, she turned back to Soarin and asked, "You got the carriers?"

"Sure do!" Soarin replied. As their visitors were leaving last night, Soarin had asked Twilight to swing by her castle and fetch the two foal carriers that Dash had gotten as a present for the shower. They were harness-like carriers that carried one foal each and fastened around a pony's upper back, chest, and shoulders, going around the tops of their forelegs in the process. Pegasi needed these special carriers to carry foals because a normal carrier that earth ponies and unicorns would use would make it impossible for them to fly, as their flapping wings would get dangerously close to the foals' heads - given that they would be carrying two infants - which had the potential for injury.

The princess happily heeded the stallion's request, and was back in less than a minute, thanks to her amazing teleportation skills.

Right as Soarin was reaching for the carriers, he paused and asked, "Wait, can you fly now?"

Rainbow hadn't exactly thought about whether or not she would be able to fly immediately after delivering the foals. Even though her belly was still distended to an extent, she had gotten the foals out of her, which took a great deal of weight away from her body. "Uhhh..." Rainbow began replying, "I don't know. Let's see." With that, the cyan mare spread her wings and took a deep breath in. She began flapping her feathery appendages at a normal rate, but that wasn't really working. She then put a little more effort into flapping her wings, until finally, Rainbow Dash took to the skies for the first time in over six months. Even though she had only risen a mere six inches off the hospital floor, it was still a thrilling feeling for the pegasus.

Landing back on all fours, Rainbow asked her husband, "That answer your question, Soarin?"

The light blue stallion had a concerned look on his face. "Yeah, but...you didn't get into the air all that easily. Don't you think we should stay at Twilight's castle until you...you know...lose a little more weight?"

Rainbow understood her husband's concern, but she was quick to respond. Walking up to him, Rainbow placed a forehoof on her husband's shoulder and said, "Soarin, I think I'll be fine. I think the more I get used to flying again, the less effort I'll need to put in to get myself airborne. Besides, the more I fly, the more exercise I get. The more exercise I get, the sooner I lose weight. The sooner I lose weight, the sooner I can return to the Wonderbolts!"

"Yeah, I know, but I'm worried about you putting too much stress on your body by doing this all at once. If that happens, you'll have to wait a little longer before you can return to the team."

Again, Rainbow understood why Soarin felt this way. However, she was sure that she would be fine, so she smiled and said to her husband, "Soarin, I don't want you to worry. If I don't think something's right, I'll let you know, okay?"

Soarin returned his wife's smile and replied, "Alright, Dash." He then kissed her on the lips.

As the two pegasi pulled away from each other, Nurse Redheart came back into the room, pushing a wheelchair as she did. "You guys ready?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm ready!" Soarin replied, "How 'bout you, Dash?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Dash responded. She then trotted over to the wheelchair and sat in it, getting comfortable as Soarin picked up the foals from their respective cribs. They were still asleep, so the stallion flew slowly over to his wife, gently lowering them into her awaiting forelegs. After that, Soarin took one of the foal carriers and fastened it to his upper body, his forelegs slipping through the bottom holes with ease as he tightened it around his upper barrel, the carrier not interfering with his wings in any way.

Soarin then turned to Redheart and Dash and said, "Let's go!" He then took the other carrier in his teeth, holding it for his wife as they exited the room. Soarin simply walked alongside Nurse Redheart, who was pushing Dash in the wheelchair, all while the cyan mare was cradling her sleeping son and daughter.

After a few minutes, all five ponies were outside the hospital building. Dash then handed Stratosphere over to Nurse Redheart, who un-swaddled the infant before gently lowering him into the carrier his father was wearing. This caused the newborn colt to wake up, and he began to get fussy as the outside air was unfamiliar to him. However, he sensed his father right behind him, and he also saw his mother directly in front of him. This calmed the colt down quickly, and he ceased his light sobs and grunts as he got a look at his new surroundings.

Meanwhile, Dash unwrapped the blankets from around Bright Skies before handing her daughter over to Redheart. Next, Dash got out of the wheelchair and took the other carrier from her husband's mouth, quickly pulling her head and forelegs through the openings and fastening the carrier down. After that, Redheart repeated her earlier actions, gently placing the filly into the carrier, her tiny hind legs slipping through the small openings at the bottom while her forelegs poked out of the slightly higher holes, securing her against her mother, albeit at a slight downward angle, much like her twin brother.

Once the foals were secure, Redheart handed the large envelope containing the paperwork and birth certificates over to Soarin, who immediately took it in a forehoof as he began hovering above the ground. "Alright, now," the earth pony said, "You folks have a wonderful day! And once again, congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Rainbow and Soarin replied in unison as Rainbow began flapping her wings. Within a few seconds, she was floating alongside her husband, and the two of them flew higher and higher until they reached a comfortable height.

Both Rainbow and Soarin had something on their minds as the kept climbing. They were worried their foals would be frightened by such an immediate introduction to heights. The twins were already wide awake, which only made the two elder pegasi that much more worried. However, as they got higher and higher, nothing happened. In fact, their foals actually seemed to be enjoying being so high up. Rainbow and Soarin looked at each other once again, this time in confusion.

Their glance at each other was brief, and Rainbow's face quickly sported a smile as she said, "That was easier than I thought."

"What?" Soarin asked in response, "You thought the foals wouldn't like heights?"

"Not really. You think its some natural instinct that pegasi are born with? You know, like being accustomed to heights immediately after birth?"

"Who knows? We can ask Twilight about that later. Right now, I just wanna get home."

"Same here," Rainbow finished with a smile. Never in her life had she looked forward to going home as much as she did right now.

Rainbow and Soarin slowly touched down on the fluffy, white clouds that made up the walkway of their cloud house. It took Rainbow a few seconds to get readjusted to walking on clouds, and she had been the slightest bit worried that she wouldn't be able to stand on them for a little while longer, but those worries were put to shame as her body refrained from sinking into the cloud below her.

Rainbow sighed contently as she felt cloud beneath her hooves for the first time since she'd visited Grey Nimbus in the hospital. Having her hooves on solid ground for so long had been quite uncomfortable for the pegasus who spent most of her time in the air, and she was glad to have all of that over with.

Soarin unlocked the front door and opened it, allowing Rainbow to enter before he did. As Soarin closed the door, Rainbow took a deep breath, exhaling and sighing at the same time shortly after as the familiar scent of home swept through her lungs. She then looked over to her husband and said, "It's so nice to be home, Soarin."

"It sure is, Dash," Soarin replied, walking over to give his wife a brief hug, one that didn't press the foals' heads against one another, "It sure is..."

After breaking the hug, Rainbow walked over to the couch and took Bright Skies out of her carrier, setting her on the cushion. She then took the carrier off of herself, stretching her forelegs a few times to relieve the bit of stress that had built up during the flight back home. Soarin soon did the same with Stratosphere, setting the colt next to the filly and undoing the carrier, setting it aside as he took one more look at his wife, and then back at his kids.

Bright Skies and Stratosphere curiously poked and prodded at the couch they were on, testing their new surroundings. Their parents found it rather amusing, the two elder pegasi giggling lightly as the twins explored the piece of furniture.

After about a minute, the silence was broken. "Hey, Soarin?" Rainbow began, looking toward her husband.

"Yeah?" Soarin asked in return.

"Like I said at the hospital, we don't have anything ready for the foals here."

Soarin immediately facehoofed. "You're right..." he replied, "And I said we shouldn't worry about it. That was silly of me. Come on, we gotta go back to town and..." he paused upon noticing something over in the kitchen that he hadn't noticed when they had walked in. "Hang on, Dash," Soarin continued, walking over to the kitchen and leaving his wife to watch the foals.

As Soarin arrived in the kitchen, he saw a small basket with various flowers and a small note inside. He picked up the note and opened it, only to find some familiar writing on it. It read:

Dear Rainbow Dash & Soarin,

First of all, congratulations on the birth of your foals! Second of all, welcome home! I can tell you enjoyed staying at my castle, but don't think I wasn't doing anything while I was alone at your place.

My friends and I have left a surprise for you in your spare room. We knew that you either couldn't be here or were busy with work and/or other things over the past several months, and we wanted to prepare something special for not only you, but for the foals as well.

See you soon!

-Twilight Sparkle

"Hey, Dash," Soarin continued after reading the note to himself, his mouth turned upward in a smile, "Looks like we've got something waiting for us in the spare room next to our bedroom."

"Really?" Dash asked, "What is it?"

"I don't know. Let's go find out!"

"Alright!" Dash finished. She then stood on all fours on the cloud floor, and then picked up Bright Skies with one of her forelegs and held her. "Hey, can you get Stratosphere for me?" Dash asked her husband.

"Sure," the stallion replied, walking past his wife and scooping his son up with a foreleg.

Hovering slightly above the ground, Dash and Soarin floated upstairs and made a right, stopping at the first door on their left, which was their spare room. It had been used mainly for storage and/or guest accommodations throughout the time Dash had lived there. Others may have considered it to be a bedroom, which, in that case, would be one of three in the spacious house. There was a bathroom right across the hall from the spare room, as well as a powder room downstairs, and that was pretty much it in terms of rooms for the house, apart from the kitchen, living room, and dining room, which was right next to the kitchen.

Soarin twisted the knob on the door to the spare room and pushed it open, but neither he nor his wife were prepared for what they saw. In one corner of the room, there was a white, slightly-larger-than-normal crib and a wooden changing table. In another corner, there was a beautiful, white rocking chair, which sat right in front of a large, circular rug that was mainly laying in the center of the room. There were a few shelves with foal toys in another corner, a few larger cushions and pillows in another, and all the walls had various decorations hanging on them, ranging from brightly colored rainbows to small pictures and/or posters of the Wonderbolts.

The jawbones of both elder pegasi hung slack as they looked at the new nursery before them. They had no idea that their friends had been up to this. Rainbow and Soarin took a quick glance at each other as a huge wave of relief washed over them both. They both had been worried about this ever since Rainbow had brought it up at the hospital, but now, they didn't have to worry about a thing.

"Dash..." Soarin began in a hushed whisper, "It's...It's..."

"Awesome!..." Dash exclaimed in a whisper. She hadn't really been inside a nursery since she herself was a foal, and now that she was in a brand new one for her own foals, it made her feel very warm on the inside.

Rainbow and Soarin took a few more looks around the nursery before they heard a tiny yawn. Rainbow looked down and saw Bright Skies getting nice and comfy in her foreleg, the filly resting her head against her mother's chest and closing her eyes. This made the mare smile. She knew now that it was time to test out the new crib.

Rainbow brought her daughter over to the white crib, which had an interesting mobile attached to it up top. There were four objects hanging from the slowly spinning device, including a sun, a moon, and copies of both Rainbow Dash's and Soarin's cutie marks, which would give the foals some familiarity. There was also a foal monitor sitting in its own little spot on the side of the crib, which would alert the elder pegasi if one or both of the foals were in need of something.

Rainbow pulled the side of the crib down and lay her daughter on the soft, white sheets. Though Bright Skies preferred to sleep close to her mother, she found her new crib rather comfortable, and she lay her head back on the pillow and fell asleep almost immediately. This brought another smile to Rainbow's face, and to Soarin's as well, as he lowered Stratosphere next to his sleeping sister. Once the twins were side by side, Rainbow smiled at Soarin, and he smiled back. They then both looked back at their children, taking in the pure beauty of two new souls resting comfortably together.

Rainbow's concentration on the foals was broken as she caught a whiff of something rather unpleasant in the air. Given some of the food that she and Soarin had received while at the hospital, Rainbow turned to her husband with a slight look of disgust. "Ugh...Soarin, really?" she said in a slightly annoyed tone, holding a hoof over her nose.

"It wasn't me, Dash," Soarin replied.

At that moment, it clicked in both ponies' heads. They looked down at the foals and noticed that Stratosphere had not fallen asleep like his sister. The colt's face was beginning to sport a look of discomfort, and it was at that moment that Rainbow and Soarin knew what was happening, and they were in no way looking forward to it.

"Uhhh..." Soarin began, a look of anxiety visible on his face, "Looks like we gotta...you know..."

"It...sure appears that way...doesn't it...?" Rainbow replied in a nervous tone. She carefully picked her son up and moved him over to the changing table, but instead of getting right to work, both she and Soarin just stood there with anxious looks, neither pony really wanting to take on the filthy task of changing a foal's diaper.

After thirty seconds of doing absolutely nothing but staring at Stratosphere, Soarin said, "Well...I guess we should...take it off?"

"Yeah...That's a...good start..." Rainbow replied, still sounding nervous. The stallion then slowly reached a forehoof up to his son's side and, slowly but surely, undid the adhesive straps securing the diaper to his waist. With an audible gulp and a nervous glance at his wife, Soarin slowly opened up the diaper, but nearly gagged when he took a quick look inside.

"Uuuggghhh..." Rainbow groaned, nearly wanting to vomit upon seeing such a sight.

Both ponies cringed as they saw what Stratosphere had done. After several seconds, despite his massive hesitation toward the situation at hoof, Soarin finally convinced himself to move forward. "Come on, Soarin..." he thought to himself, "You're a freakin' Wonderbolt! You shouldn't be afraid of anything!" "Dash?" Soarin said to his wife, "If were gonna change Stratosphere's diaper, we may as well get it over with."

After letting loose a hesitant sigh, Rainbow gave Soarin an authoritative look and replied, "You're right."

With that, both pegasi turned back to their son. Soarin carefully removed the diaper from Stratosphere's rump and disposed of it in the nearby odor-blocking trashcan that had been given to them along with the nursery. As he was doing so, Rainbow looked in the storage area underneath the table itself, opening the cabinet-style doors to find that it had been fully stocked with diapers, wipes, and foal powder. If there was any time where Rainbow felt she owed her friends one, it was now.

Grabbing the plastic box of wipes, Rainbow popped the lid open and took the first one out, putting it in her forehoof. She then lifted Stratosphere's hind legs and brought her hoof forward, albeit slightly hesitantly, eventually rubbing her son clean.

Soarin was already standing by with the foal powder from underneath the table as Rainbow finished wiping the colt's rear. As she stepped aside to dispose of the used wipes, Soarin created a small, white cloud as he applied the powder to his son's rear. Once that was finished, Rainbow grabbed a fresh diaper from underneath the table and put it on her son, fastening the straps until it was fitting snuggly around the colt's waist.

Once they were finished, Soarin and Rainbow took a small step back to admire their work. For the first time, they had successfully changed a foal's diaper. While some new parents did so while at the hospital, the staff there took care of diaper duty until Rainbow and Soarin went home.

"Wow," Soarin began, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I...guess not," Rainbow replied. Though she was thrilled that she and her husband had changed a diaper with seemingly no trouble at all, she wasn't looking forward to changing very many more.

After several seconds, Rainbow hovered above the floor and began cradling her son in her forelegs. Even though she was proud of both herself and Soarin for making it through the sudden ordeal, she couldn't help but feel proud of her son for holding on and being patient. She hated to have to make him wait, but that was all over. "Who's a good boy?" Dash playfully whispered to her son, tickling his cheek. The colt giggled at his mother's actions, squirming slightly as he felt the cyan hoof tickling him. Rainbow couldn't help but find her son's actions downright adorable.

Soon, after coming down from his giggling fit, Stratosphere yawned and closed his eyes, leaning his head against his mother's chest as he slowly drifted off for a nap. Rainbow smiled warmly down at her son, happy that he was finally able to relax.

"Awww..." Soarin said, noticing what his wife and son were up to.

"Hey!" Rainbow replied, silently, "Don't 'awww' me!" Even though she herself thought the sight was cute, there was the occasional time where she still wanted to think of herself as...'cool'.

"Heh...Sorry, Dash," Soarin responded, resting a forehoof on his hovering wife's shoulder, "I can't help it. You holding Stratosphere like that is just way too cute."

After a few more seconds, Rainbow replied, "Yeah, you're kinda right." She then leaned slightly down and kissed Soarin on the lips. After that, Rainbow gently lay her snoozing son next to his sister, both foals looking as peaceful as ever as Soarin gently pulled the white blanket over them.

As the happy parents watched their foals sleep soundly, Soarin wrapped a foreleg around his wife's neck, pulling her close. For some inexplicable reason, watching his children sleep was better that watching the Wonderbolts go through a formation. The same could be said for Rainbow, as she couldn't take her eyes off the foals, either.

After a while, Rainbow's and Soarin's respective minds soon came back to reality. They looked at each other lovingly one more time, kissing briefly before Rainbow brought the side of the crib back up to its original position. She and Soarin then turned to walk out of the nursery, but as they neared the door, they were stopped by the sound of a crying foal. They turned back to find Bright Skies wailing, and they were quick to return to the side of the crib. Soarin pulled down the side, wanting to get a closer look to see what was bothering his daughter. However, he wouldn't be using his sense of sight to detect the problem, but rather his sense of smell, instead.

After taking a couple of sniffs, Soarin turn to his wife and nervously said, "Uhhh...Dash?"

Upon hearing her husband speak, Rainbow took a few sniffs of her own, and as she did, it was clear what was happening to the filly in the crib. "Aw, great..." Rainbow said to herself as she facehoofed.

It was going to be a long day...

Author's Note

So...yeah. I guess this would be a good time to warn you that you may come across random diaper-changing scenes throughout the next several chapters. I won't be giving any advance warning about them at the beginning of chapters, so be prepared.

Other than that, Merry Christmas!

Resurfacing Doubts

The past week had definitely been one of the most hectic for the new parents. Spitfire had allowed Soarin to go on paternity leave, so he and his wife had been busy taking care of their new foals. However, Soarin was going back to work in the next few days, and Rainbow was getting worried about having to handle two foals on her own.

So far, there weren't a large number of issues. Feeding and naptime were rather routine at this point, so Rainbow had gotten used to it. Playtime with Bright Skies and Stratosphere was short, and both Rainbow and Soarin still had the slightest bit of hesitation when it came to diaper duty.

However, there was one issue that the foals were having, and it was starting to annoy Rainbow. There were times where Bright Skies and Stratosphere didn't seem to want to go to sleep at night. By then, Rainbow seemed to have done everything she needed to do for them. She fed them, got them changed (if necessary), and placed them in their crib. It worked whenever it was naptime, but at night, it wasn't always successful. Rainbow and Soarin couldn't quite figure out why this was going on, and they wanted that problem solved as soon as possible.

While Soarin was out, Rainbow stayed behind with the foals. It was late in the afternoon, which meant it was almost bedtime for Bright and Strato - nicknames that Rainbow and Soarin had chosen for their daughter and son, respectively.

Fluttershy was visiting at the moment. In preparation for her upcoming return to the Wonderbolts, Rainbow wanted to get the foals used to some other familiar faces, mainly Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, as she would be most likely leaving them with one or the other until she and Soarin got home for the day.

Right now, Rainbow was playing with Bright, while Strato was having a fun time with the yellow pegasus a few feet away. Rainbow was trying to test her daughter's strength by having her stack blocks, while Fluttershy was trying to get Strato to play Patty Cake with her. The colt didn't quite understand what his mom's best friend was up to, but he eventually decided to copy her actions and play along.

"There we go!" Fluttershy said in a baby-talk-like tone - as if she was talking to a baby animal at her cottage, "Good job, Stratosphere!"

"Smart kid," Dash remarked, impressed that her son had gotten into the swing of things.

"How's it going over there with Bright Skies, Dash?" the yellow mare asked her friend.

"She's doing pretty well, Shy," Rainbow responded as Bright attempted to stack a fourth block on top of a vertical tower of three more, "Looks like she's about to..." she paused when the little filly miscalculated her actions, sending the block in her forehooves and the two below it tumbling to the ground. "Whoops...Never mind," Dash said, blushing a little, which made Fluttershy giggle.

"Don't worry, Dash. I'm sure she'll get it eventually."

"Yeah, I guess."

Just then, both foals seemed to yawn in unison. Rainbow then looked over at a nearby clock, noticing that it read 7 in the evening. "Aw, shoot..." Dash said, not sounding very happy.

"What's wrong, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked, concerned.

"Well, it's time for the foals to go to bed, but lately they really haven't been wanting to. I mean, I make sure to feed them and change them immediately beforehoof, and I make sure they're nice and warm in their crib so they can drift off peacefully. I'm just...Soarin and I are just exhausted from trying again and again to get them to go to sleep when we want them to. I mean, Pinkie was able to get the Cake twins to go to sleep on demand, right?"

"Well, I think they were actually faking it so they could play some more, from what I've heard."

"Alright, but that was a while ago. I just...I feel like something's missing. Is there something I'm not doing right?"

"Well, I think this is the first time I'll be seeing you put the foals to bed, so I can't really answer that until I see what you're doing."

Rainbow sighed. "Alright," she replied, reluctantly. She then picked up Bright Skies before scooting over a little to fetch her son. "Come on, Strato," she said in a calming tone, "Time for bed." The colt eventually complied, allowing his mother to scoop him up and fly him and his sister to their room.

Since Dash had fed and changed the foals about ten minutes ago, all she really needed to do was lay them in their crib, turn out the lights, and leave them be. She wished it could be as simple as that, but unfortunately, it wasn't.

While Dash held the foals in her forelegs, Fluttershy lowered the side of the crib, allowing Dash more room to lay them down. She did just that, and she subsequently brought the little white blanket over the foals, leaving their heads exposed.

"There," Dash said, "That's it. I figured they'd just go to sleep right after that, but they just won't." She was right. Even though they had just shown obvious signs of tiredness, Bright and Strato weren't going to sleep like their mother had wanted them to.

"They need time to wind down, Dash," Fluttershy said, "In fact, everyone needs to wind down before they go to sleep."

"Oh, that's right..." Dash remembered, "I think Soarin and I have just gotten so irritated on not being able to get them to sleep that we weren't really focusing on what really needed to be done. I guess we kinda figured putting them to bed at night would be just as easy as putting them down for a nap. I'm glad you know so much about this, Shy, even if it has more to do with baby animals than regular foals."

The yellow pegasus smiled. "It's nothing, Dash," she replied, "Here, how about I show you an easy way to get the foals to sleep?"

The cyan mare was more than relieved at the prospect of getting rid of her early troubles. "Thanks, Shy," she said to her friend, "What do I have to do?"

"Why don't you try singing them a lullaby? It works almost every time with the babies at my cottage."

Dash cringed slightly. "Yyyyyyeahhhhh...I don't know if I can picture myself singing a lullaby. It seems kinda silly."

"It's not silly, Dash. Here, I'll show you how easy it is." Fluttershy then picked up Stratosphere in her forelegs and sat on her rump next to the crib.

Part of Dash felt like she didn't need a demonstration. She knew how to sing a lullaby, but she just didn't think it was her kind of thing, much like her opinion of nursing before Nurse Redheart and Soarin convinced her to do so.

Dash looked at her yellow friend holding her son. Then, Fluttershy took a breath and began to sing in her softest voice:

"Hush now, quiet now. It's time to lay your sleepy head.
Hush now, quiet now. It's time to go to bed..."

As Dash heard Fluttershy continue singing to her kids, she wasn't sure if it would work, but she was immediately proven wrong as a second seemingly simultaneous yawn came from the foals' mouths, followed by them closing their eyes and drifting off to sleep, just like the lullaby's lyrics suggested.

Once Fluttershy finished singing, she placed the now sleeping Strato next to his slumbering sister and pulled the blanket back over them. She smiled at the adorable sight of the week-old foals sleeping so soundly.

When the yellow mare turned around, she was met with a dumbfounded Dash. Rainbow's jaw was hanging low, her eyes were wide, and a feeling of complete and utter disbelief was thrashing wildly inside her head.

Fluttershy grew concerned when Dash hadn't said a single word since the foals went to sleep. In a whisper, she asked, "Dash? Are you feeling okay?"

Rainbow didn't respond. Too much was happening inside her brain. She couldn't believe after a seemingly endless week with barely any sleep and a harrowing, albeit manageable, routine with the foals, all she needed to do was sing them a simple lullaby to get them to sleep at night.

Dash began to close her mouth, but not all the way. At the same time, she lowered her head, her eyes gradually narrowing as a saddening thought came over her.

Right in front of her was not only her best friend, but somepony who seemed to know so much more than she did about parenting, and yet, she didn't even have any kids. At the same time, Dash couldn't help but think of a not-too-distant memory that happened on a day that changed her life forever.

"I'm not ready for a foal, Soarin. I don't even think I'd make a good mother."

At this very moment, the doubts Dash had from the very beginning were creeping back up on her, and seeing how Fluttershy seemed to be handling the situation much better than she was, she began to wonder...

Was she good enough for Bright Skies and Stratosphere?

Finally closing her eyes and mouth, Dash turned to her left and exited the nursery. This increased Fluttershy's worry for her friend, so, after lifting the bars of the crib as quietly as she could, she left the sleeping foals alone and went to look for her friend.

It didn't take long before Fluttershy found Rainbow laying belly-down on her living room couch, sobbing softly into her folded forelegs. The yellow pegasus couldn't quite figure out why Dash had gotten sad all of a sudden. She figured her friend would be happy to have finally found a way to get her foals to go to sleep when she wanted them to, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Walking up to her crying friend, Fluttershy placed her right forehoof on Dash's shoulder and asked, "Rainbow, what's wrong?"

Dash ceased her sobbing long enough to turn her head to the left and look at Fluttershy. However, the silence was short-lived, as Dash quickly tucked her head back into her forelegs and resumed her crying.

Fluttershy then climbed up onto the couch and turned around. Now facing her friend, Fluttershy lifted Dash's head with a forehoof so that her gaze met hers. She then said, "Dash, please tell me what's bothering you. You know how sad I get when I see you so upset."

Taking a long sniffle and wiping some of the tears from under her eyes, Dash finally said, "hhh...Okay, fine. I...hhh...I just...well...When I found out I was pregnant, I was doubting that I'd be a good mother. I thought I had been doing all I could the past week, but now here you are...hhh...showing me how much more you know about parenting than I do. I mean, you have so much experience that...I'm wondering if...if...hhh..."

"Come on, Dash," Fluttershy replied in a comforting tone, "You can tell me."

"I'm wondering if...well...m-my foals would be...b-better off...with you..." Dash trailed off, her voice getting quieter and quieter with each word that she spoke.

"Dash! Don't say that!" Fluttershy replied, nearly flabbergasted, "I could never be as great of a mother to those foals as you!"

"hhh...Why not?" Dash asked, still crying, "How can you say that when you take care of baby animals all the time? I mean...hhh...how different are they from actual foals?"

"Dash, that doesn't matter in the slightest."

"Why not? How am I the better mother in this case?"

"Dash, you're the first pony your foals ever came into contact with after they were born."

"So?"

"So...right after a foal is born - or, for that matter, any baby animal - the first thing they want to do is sniff their mother and father."

This caught Dash's attention, and she ceased crying. Confused, she asked, "Wait, what?"

"I know that sounds a bit odd, but I need you to hear me out on this one. Right from the beginning, they want to know who their parents both are. Once they smell you for the first time, they'll know who you are for the rest of their lives. They'll know that whenever that special scent is nearby, you're nearby as well, and that really makes them feel safe and comfortable."

Dash couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, she knew Fluttershy knew a lot about parenting, but this much?

"Is that really what's happening?" Dash asked amidst her revelation.

"Mmhmm," Fluttershy replied, "Also, the reason I suggested you sing a lullaby to them is because your voice is the most calming to them, because you're their mother. Your voice is probably the first they heard amidst their crying, and it's the one that's most familiar to them, so it, like your natural scent, makes them feel at ease."

"Wow..." Dash said, finally sitting up straight like the pegasus opposite her, "I didn't realize I was that important to them. I mean, I learned about a few early connections when Nurse Redheart convinced me to nurse them - which is actually kinda nice, by the way - but that was it. I didn't know about any of those other connections until just now." The cyan pegasus then paused for a few seconds before saying, "Thank you."

Fluttershy smiled and brought her friend in close for a hug. "You're more than welcome, Dash," she said, her kind, loving embrace putting the other pegasus at ease.

After what seemed like forever, Dash heard the faintest of sounds coming from the nearby hallway. She broke away from Fluttershy's embrace and looked down the hallway, not seeing anything out of the ordinary right off the bat.

"Do you hear that?" Rainbow asked.

"I think so," Fluttershy replied.

"I think I should go check on the foals."

"Good idea."

With that, the two pegasi hopped off the couch and went upstairs to the nursery. Once they arrived, the sound that was once faint was now very noticeable. Dash slowly opened the door and looked toward the crib. She turned on a nearby lamp and soon realized that Bright Skies had yet to fall asleep, and she was starting to get fussy. Instinctively, Dash floated over to the crib and picked her daughter up out of it. Cradling the newborn filly in her forelegs, Dash quietly said, "Shhhh...Don't worry, Bright. I'm here." Those words seemed to stop Bright from crying temporarily, but even while basking in her mother's comforting hold, the filly was still slightly distressed, so she began crying again, but not as loudly as a few seconds ago.

Rainbow hesitantly sniffed her daughter's rear, wanting to see if a diaper change was necessary. Thankfully, nothing had happened since the recent changing session, and that made Dash feel very relieved. She had also fed her and Strato right after changing them, so she didn't think they were hungry at all.

"Dash," Fluttershy whispered, "I think now might be your chance. Why don't you try singing to Bright Skies?"

Dash thought about what her friend said for a few seconds, and when she realized that nothing else was wrong with her daughter, she figured now might be the time to test out her lullaby-singing skills. However, since she wasn't all too interested in doing it before, she was still slightly hesitant to do it in front of one of her friends. At the same time, though, as a new mother, Dash didn't want to hear either of her kids crying.

Carefully floating over to the rocking chair, Dash sat herself down, Bright Skies still laying in her mother's forelegs. Dash began to slowly and gently rock the chair back and forth, all while keeping her eyes on her daughter. The motions from the chair seemed to calm the filly slightly, but Dash was sure that her daughter wouldn't be fully relaxed until a lullaby flew into her ears.

After taking one last look at Fluttershy, who was sitting on her rump in the middle of the nursery, Dash took a deep, but silent, breath and softly sang:

"Hush now, quiet now. It's time to lay your sleepy head,"

As she began singing, she realized that maybe the gentler side of her singing voice didn't sound that bad after all.

"Hush now, quiet now. It's time to go to bed..."

Fluttershy looked on as Dash continued singing the next few lines of the popular lullaby to the filly in her forelegs. She thought the two of them looked absolutely beautiful together, sitting on a rocking chair while the elder pegasus sang the younger one to sleep...and sing her to sleep she did.

Right as Dash finished, Bright Skies let out the cutest of yawns, and then she turned her head a little bit to her right and comfortably nestled herself into the fur on her mother's chest. After several more seconds, the aquamarine filly was asleep.

While Fluttershy gave a more-than-happy smile, Dash just sat there in moderate disbelief. It had actually worked. Fluttershy's advice had led her to successfully sing her daughter to sleep.

Soon, Dash gave Fluttershy an eager smile, and then she carefully hovered back over to the crib and placed Bright next to a still-sleeping Stratosphere. After tucking both foals in one more time with the sole blanket in the crib, Dash kissed each of them on the forehead before turning around and exiting the nursery along with Fluttershy.

As the yellow pegasus carefully closed the door, Dash - still whispering - said, "Wow, Shy! I can't believe I actually did it!"

"You did wonderful, Dash!" Fluttershy replied, also in a whisper, "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks! Now Soarin and I won't have a whole lot of trouble at bedtime anymore! Well...at least until we move on to something else, and who knows when that's gonna happen?"

Fluttershy giggled. "Let's not worry about that right now, Dash."

Dash giggled in return. "Good idea, Shy."

After that, Dash and Fluttershy began to descend the staircase into the living room, and as they got there, the front door opened, and a certain aquamarine pegasus stallion waked in. Not immediately seeing the two mares upon entering, Soarin said, "Dash, I'm..."

"SHHHHH!!" Dash and Fluttershy said in unison.

"Oh. Uhhh..." Soarin responded in a quieter tone, "What's going on?" In reply, Dash nodded her head backwards twice, gesturing toward the door to the nursery upstairs. "Wait..." Soarin began again, "Did you get them to sleep already?"

"Yep!" Dash replied in a moderate tone, "And it's all thanks to Fluttershy!" As she finished, the cyan mare wrapped her right foreleg around the yellow mare's neck.

"Oh, it wasn't me, Dash," Fluttershy said in reply, "You were the one who eventually sang them to sleep."

"Well, I sang Bright to sleep. Strato wasn't the one who woke up after you sang to them initially."

"Oh, right..." Fluttershy replied, blushing slightly at her slight forgetfulness.

"So...You two sang them a lullaby?" Soarin asked, "Is that what we needed to do all this time?"

"We sure did!" Dash replied, "Fluttershy taught me that your voice and mine are the most comforting to the foals, and therefore most likely to get them to go to sleep. I guess now we have an answer to one of our problems!"

"Awesome!" Soarin replied, emulating his wife's catchphrase before turning to the yellow pegasus, "Thanks, Fluttershy. You don't know how much this means to us."

"Anytime, Soarin," Fluttershy replied with a smile, "Anyway, I should be getting home. Bye!"

"Bye, Fluttershy!" Dash and Soarin replied in unison as the yellow pegasus exited their home and flew off into the night. After that, thanks to a well-known lullaby, the new parents were able to enjoy the rest of the night without any worries, eventually going to bed when they wanted to. They knew that there would most certainly be times during the night where the foals would need something, but they were just happy that the one thing that annoyed them the most had finally been resolved, as they knew that getting the foals to go to sleep at night wouldn't be a problem anytime soon.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone. I guess I have a little bit of explaining to do.

I pretty much hit a wall while writing this chapter, meaning I got to a point where I didn't quite know how to write a certain part of the chapter, and after that, I nearly lost my drive to write completely. I have no idea why this happened to me, and I really wish I could have pitched this chapter out sooner. I already know that it probably wasn't worth the wait, and I'm sorry. I wanted to at least include a short chapter about early parenthood struggles before moving on to the other stuff I had planned from the very beginning.

I was going to post this chapter last night, but I burned my hand while making dinner and had to let it rest.

Hopefully getting this chapter out will give me the strive I need to continue this story in a timely manner. I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out, but I promise it'll be sooner rather than later.

A Mother and Her Young

Rainbow hummed happily as she felt her foals nursing from her teats. The cyan mare was laying on the floor on her left side, her head resting against a pillow as she kept her eyes closed. She had learned that this position was much more comfortable than the one she had used in the hospital bed, both for her and her kids.

Down below, Bright Skies had opted to sit on her rump and suckle from her mother's right breast, all while giving her brother enough room to nurse from the left as he lay on his side. Both foals were feeling wonderfully content as they drank their mother's milk. Like always, they would suckle for a time, then pause, and then continue. Each foal each gave tiny little sucks until they felt that their mouth couldn't hold any more milk. At that point, they would gulp it down, and not a second later would go back to suckling. It was a rather redundant routine, but it was one that they, plus their mother, had gotten used to, and it was one they were all happy with.

As Dash opened her eyes to see if everything was alright with her son and daughter, she extended her right wing and draped it over the nursing foals, giving them a bit of privacy. It wasn't really needed, though, as they were the only three ponies in the room, but Dash didn't care. She wanted her foals to know that she was protecting them whilst giving them a wholesome, healthy meal.

Since the foals had been born a couple of weeks ago, Rainbow had come to enjoy nursing more and more. She knew why she initially thought it wasn't her kind of thing to do, but now, it was something she looked forward to every single day. It partially had to do with the fact that nursing her foals would help her shed excess pregnancy weight, but at the same time, it was a special bonding experience between her and her kids, one that helped her to relax at any random time throughout the day. All she had to do was simply lie down and let Bright and Strato do all the work.

Ever since Fluttershy had made her realize just how important she was to her foals, Rainbow Dash wanted to spend as much one-on-one - or, in this case, one-on-two - time with the two of them. Dash tried her best to do just that, whether it was playing with them or reading to them from one of her Daring Do books, but feeding them from her breasts was the best way to accomplish that desire, in her opinion. Whenever she nursed Bright and Strato, the atmosphere around the three of them became absolutely tranquil, their setting becoming one of the most intimate for both mother and foals. Each little infant got their fill of one of the most natural foods in existence, all while the mother simply relaxed, taking the occasional time to keep an eye on her precious ponies and making sure everything was alright.

Rainbow had eventually lost track of how long she had been nursing before she felt one pair of lips detach from one of her nipples. As she lifted her outstretched wing, she looked down and saw Bright Skies pulling her head back, the filly having finished emptying her mother's teat.

Trying her best not to interrupt Stratosphere, who was still happily drinking his mother's milk, Rainbow reached her right foreleg out and carefully brought her daughter closer to her face. She then draped Bright's head over her shoulder and began using her left forehoof to burp the infant filly, all while continuing to lie on her side.

After about 10 soft, yet firm, pats on the back, Bright Skies let out a cute little burp, making Dash smile. Rainbow then brought her daughter in front of her and held her with her left foreleg. The cyan mare then whispered, "Who's a good little filly?" to her daughter, following it up by blowing a few playful, yet quiet, raspberries on the filly's little tummy. This caused Bright to giggle rather audibly, but Dash was quick to bring a hoof to her mouth and shush her, worried that the excess noise would deter Stratosphere from feeding any longer.

Dash's technique seemed to work, but as Stratosphere continued suckling his mother's nipple, he realized that less and less of his mother's sweet, warm milk was coming out, until finally, the flow stopped completely. After giving a few more test sucks, he unlatched himself from his mother's breast and turned his head to look the mare that it belonged to in the eyes.

Setting Bright Skies to the side, Dash sat up and picked up her son, draping him over her right shoulder like she did with her daughter. It took her around 15 pats on the back this time around to make the little colt burp, and once he did, she brought him back down and cradled him in her forelegs.

Dash then looked down at Bright, but was surprised to see that her daughter had already curled up next to her and fallen asleep, the filly's little head resting against her mother's cutie mark while she unconsciously grabbed her mother's tail with her forehooves. This made Dash smile in a way that one would think she just saw the most precious thing in existence.

Keeping Strato in her right foreleg, Dash slowly picked up Bright with her left so as not to pull on her own tail. It didn't take long for her multi-colored tail to become untangled from the filly's forehooves. Though she thought it was cute, she knew that her daughter couldn't cling to her tail forever.

Dash carefully hovered into the air, both foals in tow as she floated over to the crib. She knew that Bright Skies was ready for a nap, so she carefully lowered her into the crib, as she didn't have a free hoof to lower the side of it. Once she did, Rainbow tucked her daughter in before looking back at her son. Surprisingly - but at the same time, not so surprisingly - Stratosphere had fallen asleep as well, presumably from the warmth from his mother's milk that emanated gracefully from his midsection. Dash then gave her son a kiss on the forehead before using her now free hoof to quietly lower the side of the crib and place him next to his sister.

As Dash pulled the blanket back, she leaned past Strato and gave Bright a kiss on the forehead. She then tucked both foals in at the same time, each infant squirming slightly in their sleep as they got more comfortable under the white sheet while they went through the early stages of their nap.

Smiling warmly at her sleeping children, Dash pulled the side of the crib back up and left them alone as they drifted off to dreamland. Rainbow then left the nursery feeling quite soothed and content, knowing that she had once again gone through her favorite routine of all with her two newborns, laying down with her foals and relaxing while giving them the natural nutrition they needed to grow big and strong, something that every loving mother wanted for her little ones.

Author's Note

I had not originally planned for this event to be its own chapter, but once I started writing it, I figured it was worth a shot, as I had been meaning to write something solely dedicated to Dash's new perspective on nursing.

I realize this is a much shorter chapter, but I can assure you that what I have planned for the next chapter will make up for the lack of words in this one.

*Distractions

Dear Journal,

It's been three weeks since Bright and Strato have been born, and boy, has my life changed. Normally, I'm used to flying to random places, hanging out with my friends, and waiting until when the next Wonderbolts show is, but now, it's just been foals, foals, foals. Every single day has been full of the same old things over and over again, and I have no idea of knowing when I'll have to feed them, change their diapers, or put them down for a nap. Every day is a mystery, and I just have no idea what to expect.

And yet, I couldn't be happier.

Becoming a mom has changed me in more ways that I initially thought. I always thought little foals were cute, but I didn't realize how precious and meaningful they were until I had my own.

Wait, did I actually just use those words?? Ah...never mind.

Anyway, my outlook on life has become something I never expected it to be. I thought becoming a Wonderbolt, or at least flying with them, would be the highlight of my life, but after having Bright and Strato, those thoughts have changed. As annoyed that I may get on some days over not getting to do everything that I want to do, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know that doesn't really sound like something I would say, but it's true. I'm perfectly content with where I am now.

Also, the pregnancy weight has been dropping faster than Soarin, my doctor, or I had thought. With the rate at which I'm losing this weight, I'll probably be able to return to the Wonderbolts in just a few weeks! I'm hoping that the twins become familiar enough with my friends Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, as they'll be spending a lot of time with them once I go back to work.

I guess that'll be it for now. See 'ya!

Rainbow Dash once again slid the attached silk bookmark in-between the pages her journal was open to and closed the small book, placing it in the drawer of her bedside table. After placing her pen right beside the gift from her friend, Dash slid the drawer closed.

The pegasus then leaned back in her bed, reminiscing about what she had just written. She truly didn't have any idea why she felt the way she did toward her little twins, but she had recently spoken about it with Twilight and Pinkie Pie, and Dash had soon realized that this surge of indescribable feelings of love and admiration was perfectly normal, even if one couldn't find the reason behind them. Twilight had told Dash that both Shining Armor and Princess Cadance had had the same exact feelings come out of nowhere right after they had Flurry Heart, and Pinkie had said the same about Mr. and Mrs. Cake when Pound and Pumpkin were born.

In the beginning, Dash had trouble picturing a pony like her having all these feelings. Maintaining a highly athletic and energetic image was something she cared about, so she had always wanted to hide the softer sides of her personality, but in the three weeks that had passed after Bright and Strato had been born, she had slowly begun to feel comfortable diverting away from her competitive spirit now and then and showing everypony how much she loved her son and daughter. Of course, actions like that would come eventually to every mother, but for Dash, it was a gradual, but successful, process.

Rainbow was rattled from her thoughts as her bedroom door opened. In walked Soarin, his face cringing slightly.

"Dash," the stallion began, waving a hoof in front of his snout, "What have you been eating lately?"

The cyan mare was confused. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Huh? Why do you..." she paused as she realized what Soarin was getting at. She had temporarily forgotten that part of whatever she ate went straight down to her teats and went into her milk. "Uhhh..." Dash continued, not entirely remembering what she had eaten lately, "A few things here and there. Was it bad this time?"

"Let's just say you might wanna lay off the asparagus for a while. Strato didn't leave anything all too pleasant for me a few minutes ago."

Dash blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry..." she said, briefly glancing away from her husband.

"Ah...Don't worry about it," Soarin lazily replied, walking to his side of the bed. He then flopped down onto the mattress next to his wife, his legs sprawling out around him as he lay on his back.

"You tired, too?" Dash asked her husband as she turned her head to the left to face him.

"Ugh...Yeah. I didn't realize juggling parenthood and Wonderbolts practice would be so exhausting."

"Well, I'm kinda to blame for that," Dash replied as she turned her head back to face the ceiling, "Maybe I turn the foals over to you a little too often once you get home."

"Don't blame yourself, Dashie. I know the kids have tired you out multiple times, and I really don't mind taking over for you. In fact, that's what I should be doing. You've done plenty of work already, from carrying the twins to delivering them and taking care of them for most of the day. You deserve more break time."

Dash smiled at her husband's courteous thoughts. "Thanks," she replied, looking back at the stallion while placing her left forehoof in his right.

"No problem," Soarin replied, squeezing his wife's hoof lightly.

A sliver of pale moonlight shone through the nearby curtain, making the four eyes in the room gleam slightly. After staring into her husband's green orbs for several more seconds, Dash scooted closer to Soarin, wrapping both of her forelegs around his barrel and resting her forehead close to his chest. Soarin responded by tenderly cocooning his wife in his forelimbs and lightly pressing his snout to her forehead. He then slowly stroked the middle of her back, carefully avoiding her wings.

Even with the little space she had, Dash was able to lift her head and look her husband in the eyes once again. She lovingly pecked Soarin on his snout and playfully asked, "I love you, Soarin, 'ya know that?"

Soarin kissed his wife's forehead. "Oh?" he asked in reply, a coy smile on his face, "Well, did you know that I love you even more?"

A competitive, but still genuinely content, grin graced Dash's face. "So it's gonna be like that, huh?" she asked in reply.

Soarin smirked back at his wife and whispered, "I guess it is..." before bringing his lips to hers.

Both ponies melted into the kiss almost immediately. It had been a long day - or for that matter, a long few weeks - for both husband and wife, and coming together at the end of the day and sharing their love for each other made both mare and stallion feel wonderful on the inside.

Soarin and Rainbow wasted no time in slithering their tongues into each others' mouths. The feeling alone sent a shiver of excitement down Dash's spine, and that caused something in the back of her mind to come to the front in an instant, something that she knew both she and her husband would thoroughly enjoy.

After holding the kiss for about 20 seconds, Dash and Soarin pulled away. After taking a few much-needed breaths, Dash slowly began tracing her right forehoof down Soarin's chest as she seductively said, "You know, I think you and I have built up a whole lotta stress over the past few weeks. Maybe it's time for us to, you know..." she continued on, her hoof making a U-turn and moving up the stallion's chest, "Get some relief?"

Soarin was more than ready to do just that with his wife. They hadn't made love in nearly five months, mainly due to the possibility of Dash's heart rate getting too high during the final stages of her pregnancy, plus the fact that Bright and Strato had been occupying most, if not all, of their free time, completely exhausting them in the process.

Feeling a bit creative, Soarin placed his left hind leg atop Dash's right before pulling her just a bit closer and kissing her forehead again. "That one was for your awesome brain," he lovingly said, making Dash giggle, "But this one's for you," he finished, lowering his lips toward his wife's.

All of a sudden, right as the couple's lips were about to touch, an audible crying noise could be heard over the foal monitor. Dash and Soarin pulled away from each other, the sudden noise making their eyes go wide.

After glancing toward the little speaker box, Dash, clearly annoyed, said, "Aw, come on! Seriously?"

Not wanting his wife to get worked up in all the wrong ways, Soarin put his hoof on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Dash. I'll go check on them."

"Nah," Dash immediately replied, brushing her husband's hoof away, "It's my turn to do that. I last fed them about 90 minutes ago, so this shouldn't take too long." With that, Dash climbed out of her bed and exited the room, quickly making her way to the source of the crying she had begun, and still was, hearing.

Rainbow opened the door to the nursery. All the lights were off, as the foals had already been put to bed. Even though they had gone to sleep when their parents wanted them to, this was the third time tonight that at least one of the foals had caused either Dash or Soarin to tend to their needs.

After turning a nearby lamp on, Rainbow quickly made her way over to the crib, and she swiftly found out who was making all the noise. Bright Skies was squirming in such a way that signaled she was uncomfortable somewhere. Since the filly had been fed recently, she had already been burped, making Dash realize that...well, it had to be done again, especially when an unnerving smell worked its merry way into her nostrils.

Groaning internally, Dash lowered the side of the crib and picked her daughter up, bringing her to the changing table soon after. Hoping to find nothing too extreme, Dash undid the straps of Bright's diaper and pulled the front half forward. Fortunately, after a careful examination, there was no evidence of waste from the rear - only from the front. Knowing that a potential mini-crisis had been averted, Dash quickly disposed of the wearable port-a-potty and, not needing to wipe anything, powdered her daughter's lower area before snuggly wrapping her in a fresh diaper. Once the straps were in place, Dash reached under her daughter's small chin and began tickling her, making Bright giggle cutely while Dash herself laughed internally.

Once Bright was laying next to her sleeping brother, Dash raised the side of the crib once again and turned the lamp off before exiting the nursery for the Nth time today - she had lost count somewhere around 50...

Rainbow eventually returned to her bedroom door, hoping to see her husband ready and waiting to enjoy a night of passion with her. However, when she opened it, she was shocked to see Soarin facing away from her, sitting on his haunches as he furiously jacked off his stallionhood. His eyes were clenched shut, and he was obviously enjoying himself. It seemed that he couldn't wait any longer to have a moment of bliss, whether he was with his wife or not.

Grinning slyly, Dash walked inside her bedroom, slowly closing the door so as not to let Soarin hear it - not that he would, as he was grunting rather audibly. "Well, well, well..." Dash began, her tone strong enough to penetrate the lusty haze Soarin had immersed himself in. Soarin immediately stopped stroking himself and turned around, a heavy blush on his face as he realized that he had been caught. "You simply couldn't wait for your awesome wife to come back so you could screw her senseless, now, could you?" Dash continued, swaying her hips as she slowly walked toward the bed.

Soarin smiled guiltily. "Hehe..." he nervously chuckled, "I guess not. I think the thought of you and I...well, doing it after all this time got me so worked up that I couldn't help myself."

Rainbow couldn't help but let out a few giggles. "You naughty, naughty stallion..." Rainbow continued as she chuckled, climbing back onto her bed as Soarin turned to face her. Dash was now practically face to face with her husband's throbbing member, and she knew there were plenty of things she could do with it before moving on to the main event, but given how sexually deprived she had been over the past five months, she couldn't help but just lay on her back and alluringly invite her husband to get things started.

As Soarin got up on all fours, his eyes roamed over his wife's stunning body. He hadn't seen her quite like this in almost a year, and although a small amount of the baby weight was still evident, the sheer beauty of her underside made up for it. The images his eyes were sending to his brain caused his already painfully hard erection to throb once again, his body aching for release like there was no tomorrow.

Soarin soon stepped in front his wife, moving forward until he was almost completely over her. In a completely random gesture, he looked to his left and noticed the foal monitor on his wife's bedside table. He couldn't be more grateful that it was just a one-way monitor, ensuring that a certain pair of sleeping pegasi wouldn't be awoken by the last thing their parents wanted them to be awoken by.

Returning his gaze to Rainbow's, Soarin looked romantically down at his wife. He was thrilled that after a seemingly endless drought, love would be raining down on them in their bedroom once again. Technically, it already was, as Rainbow's nether lips were already soaked beyond belief, her juices leaking down onto the sheets. The sight alone sense another pulse of arousal through Soarin's body, ending at the tip of his penis.

That was it. Soarin couldn't wait any longer, and neither could Dash. Closing his eyes, Soarin leaned his head down and brought his lips to his wife's, both ponies inserting their tongues into each other's mouths without even thinking.

As Soarin moved his tongue over his wife's, he slowly lowered his hips until the crown of his aching stallionhood was pointed directly at his wife's soaked love tunnel. Barely two inches away from the impending connection, Soarin slowly moved his hips forward, his throbbing cock gradually moving closer and closer to its intended target, until...

Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Soarin jumped, landing on his haunches as he was startled by the noise coming over the speaker next to him and his wife. Both he and Rainbow had slightly wide eyes, the female pegasus quickly growing annoyed as her special time with her husband was once again being interrupted.

"Auuughhhh!!!!" Rainbow groaned in frustration, "Why????" As much as she loved her foals, Rainbow was not in the mood to go and check on them at a time like this.

"Don't worry, Dash," Soarin said after hearing his wife's uninterested moans, "Stay here. I'll go see what's up."

"Thanks," Rainbow replied in a dejected tone, still upset that she wasn't getting what she had so desperately wanted for the past five months.

Before Soarin left the room, he knew he needed to become unaroused rather quickly. As he got off the bed, he thought back to the time where he had received the nickname, 'Clipper' in the Wonderbolts. Though he had gotten over the embarrassment of that situation rather quickly, a small amount of it still lingered with him today, and it was enough to reduce his erection to the point where it didn't hesitate in the slightest to hide away in its sheath. "Phew..." the stallion thought to himself as he began to open the door to the hallway.

As Soarin made his way to the nursery, Rainbow lay on her back in the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to suppress the anger she felt over her current situation. Even before she had become a mother, she already knew that it would be difficult for new parents to have any time for themselves, especially at night, but never knew that it would be so excruciating in moments like these until she experienced it for herself. She was so close to being intimate with her husband after what seemed like the longest time, but now she felt that the mood had been ruined, given the amount of interruptions they'd had. As she continued laying alone in her bedroom, she wondered if she was ever going to be able to share this wonderful time with her husband again, a possibility that made her angry and scared at the same time.

Not wanting her potential pleasure to go to waste, Rainbow reached a hoof down to her still slightly soaked vulva, stroking it slowly. After a few seconds, she tried using her foreleg as a makeshift dildo, jamming it as best she could into her opening. Unfortunately, she couldn't fit the end of it inside, so she just left as much as she could in there, moving her hoof up and down as best as she could as she continued masturbating.

All of a sudden, Dash ceased her self-ministrations as she heard the turning of a doorknob. Not wanting to be caught pleasuring herself like she had caught her husband, Rainbow rolled onto her right side and closed her legs, all while she moved her soaked hoof under the sheets and began drying it off.

"That was quick," Dash said, her face desperately trying to hide the fact that she had pretty much copied her husband's earlier actions.

"Ahhh...It wasn't anything serious," Soarin said as he rejoined his wife on the bed, not paying any attention to the expression on her face, "Stratosphere was just a little fussy. That's all. I was able to get him back to sleep pretty quickly."

"Good," Dash replied, giving off a genuine smile, "How?"

Dash's question went unanswered as Soarin climbed back over her and pressed his chest against hers, a seductive grin washing over his face. "Does that really matter right now?" the stallion asked in a sultry whisper before mashing his lips against his wife's.

Dash hadn't expected her husband to get back in the mood so quickly, so the kiss caught her off guard, but she basically began melting into it on contact as she closed her eyes, wrapping her forelegs around her husband's neck as she felt Soarin nibble at her bottom lip, making her squeak cutely.

As he made out with his wife once again, Soarin brought his right forehoof down to his wife's left buttcheek, stroking it sensually. Dash moaned in delight as she felt her husband feeling her up, something he hadn't done in ages. The sensations she felt caused the cyan mare's nether lips to become soaked once again, prompting her to lift her hips and grind herself against her husband's crotch a few times.

The warm, wet sensation on his sheath caused Soarin's stallionhood to grow to its full length in less than ten seconds, and it began throbbing madly.

Knowing that his wife, or for that matter, he himself, didn't want to wait any longer, Soarin lined himself up with Rainbow's pussy. However, right as he began moving forward to make the contact that they both desperately craved, Soarin felt a hoof on his chest pushing him back slightly. He opened his eyes, looking his wife in the eyes and wondering why she had stopped him.

"Wait, Soarin," Rainbow said in a slightly concerned tone, pointing to her husband's bedside table, "I think you're forgetting something."

Looking at the table his wife was gesturing to, Soarin immediately remembered what he had forgotten. Scooting off his wife and moving toward the other side of the bed, Soarin opened his drawer and pulled out a box of condoms. A short time before the foals had been born, Nurse Redheart told Rainbow and Soarin that if they were to have sexual intercourse soon after Rainbow's delivery, they would need to be careful not to get her pregnant too soon after she had given birth, as it was dangerous to conceive before the uterus had fully contracted back to its original form after its previous pregnancy.

Taking a condom out of the small box, Soarin undid the wrapping and tossed it to the side before centering it over the head of his still erect member. Once he felt the rubber make contact with his flesh, he gently rolled the sides of it down until the majority of his pole was covered in the elastic material.

Satisfied with his work, Soarin looked back at his wife, his lust-addled gaze telling the mare that the heat pulsing through him hadn't cooled down even a tenth of a degree. "Now..." Soarin began as he climbed back over his mare and leaned downward, "Where were we?" With that, he kissed his wife again and eagerly lined himself up for the third, and hopefully final, time that night.

With nothing standing in his way, Soarin pressed his hips forward until the head of his cock finally pressed against his wife's lower lips. Both ponies shivered at the contact, each one wanting to rut the other to oblivion due to how sexually deprived they were. However, Soarin - being the one in control - wanted to make this as pleasurable as possible for both him and Rainbow. Slowly, he inched his way deeper and deeper into his wife, grunting all the while as he heard Rainbow moaning euphorically. He knew that she had wanted to be spread wide by his member for a very long time, and he was happy knowing that he was able to fulfill her desire.

Finally, after a long, five-month hiatus, Soarin's cock was fully hilted inside Rainbow's vagina. As his balls met her puffy flesh, Soarin drew out a long moan as his wife just lay there, beginning to bask in the feeling that she missed so much.

Soarin lowered himself onto Rainbow's chest again, bringing his mouth to her ear as he whispered, "Daddy's home..."

In reply, Rainbow clenched her inner walls down on her husband's cock, giving it a rather unique hug as she said, "Mommy's happy to have you back..."

After hearing his wife's loving words, Soarin took several seconds to relish the feeling of being buried inside his wife. He hadn't been able to experience this feeling in so long, and as he realized just how much he'd missed that feeling, his desire to take things slow and keep everything sensual vaporized in an instant, and he pulled half his member out of his wife, only to thrust back in and gather a decent rhythm rather quickly.

Rainbow cried out in ecstasy as her husband thrust in and out of her. After one of the most agonizing waits she had ever gone through, she was so happy to once again experience the greatest thing that a couple could do while they were alone. Each time Soarin bottomed out inside of her love tunnel, a pulse of electricity surged through her body, making her moan in absolute delight. Plus, as Rainbow stared into her husband's eyes while he made love to her, it only made her love him that much more as he continued connecting with her in the most intimate way possible. No longer was she feeling distressed over being continuously distracted while trying to share a sensual moment with her husband. She now felt like she was on cloud nine - no. She felt like she was on cloud nine thousand, and possibly more than that.

Meanwhile, nearly the same could be said for Soarin. He was the one doing all the work, which wore him out slightly, but other than that, he felt exactly the same as his wife. He had longed for this connection for far too long, and here it was once again, filling him with sensations that couldn't be matched by anything else in the world. In his lust-filled state, Soarin wanted nothing more than to keep bucking into his wife with all his might, pleasuring both her and himself for an eternity.

Desperation soon got the best of both ponies, as Soarin's reckless thrusting got more and more out of rhythm as each second went by, causing the heat of their impending orgasms to rise within their bodies. Despite not feeling the bare skin of Soarin's member against her inner walls, Rainbow felt his medial ring pleasuring all her innermost pleasure points, causing her to get close to release faster than she thought. She didn't care, though. She needed this more than anything right now.

"Ah...Soarin!" Rainbow cried out, "I'm...Ahhh!!!...I'm almost there!"

Soarin grunted before replying, "Me, too...AHHHH!!!!!" That one scream signaled the stallion's orgasm, his hot seed blasting out of his cock and filling the head of his condom as he gradually slowed his thrusting.

Right as her husband reached climax, Rainbow moaned in euphoric bliss as her marehood squeezed around Soarin's cock, her cum pouring out around his rod and drenching his crotch in the process.

As both ponies relished the sweet feeling of orgasmic release, not only did their cum leave their bodies, but so did all the stress they had built up over not being intimate over the past five months. That, combined with the intense tingling in their private areas, made both husband and wife feel like they were freefalling through an endless sky as they held onto each other for dear life, despite the fact that they didn't appear to be afraid of the fact that they weren't stopping as they fell.

Unfortunately, the amazing feelings that Rainbow and Soarin were feeling could not last forever. As Soarin's thrusting eventually came to a halt, both he and his wife entered their blissful afterglow. After pulling out of his wife, Soarin fell to his right, bringing Rainbow with him as he held her close. Once they were still, both ponies sighed contentedly as they began to relax.

Rainbow couldn't remember a time when she felt this great after sex, especially with the stallion she loved. While the actual love-making was such an amazing sensation, the afterglow was the other half of the fun. She was able to just lay there in Soarin's embrace and let a relaxing heat wash over her, melting all her stress away. She loved how they seemed to go on for eternity, where nothing - absolutely nothing - could shake her from...

Waaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!

The eyes of both Rainbow and Soarin went wide upon hearing the foal monitor going off. After several seconds, Rainbow shut her eyes and dejectedly whispered, "Oh, for the love of Celestia..."

Soarin lay alone in his bed, his bedside lamp and the moon being the only forms of light in the room. It had been about 35 minutes since he and Rainbow had heard cries from the foal monitor, and Rainbow had taken the liberty of checking on them; however, she had to run to the bathroom first and freshen herself up. She had ended up using a washcloth to wash the entire inner area below her teats with soap and water before feeling satisfied enough to even think about entering the nursery down the hall.

Soarin had long since discarded his used condom into the trashcan in the en-suite bathroom. He had been able to enjoy more of his afterglow after Rainbow left the room, but it wasn't the same without her. He may as well have been masturbating for all he cared. This was something he wanted to spend with Rainbow, but at the same time, they did have two foals to tend to, and they never knew when their parental assistance would be required. He realized that if he and Rainbow were to do this again, things like this were bound to occur.

When Soarin had realized that Rainbow had been gone as long as she had been, he became slightly worried. She wasn't usually gone for more than 30 minutes, and Soarin wondered why she hadn't returned to the bedroom.

Wanting to solve his mystery, Soarin got off the bed and exited the bedroom, closing the door behind him. It took him about seven seconds to reach the door to the nursery, which was the slightest bit ajar. Opening it a little, Soarin whispered, "Dash?" as he took a look inside. He couldn't see anything happening near the crib, so he opened the door further, but when he looked down, he couldn't help but give off a genuine, fatherly smile.

Lying on the ground on her left side was Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be fast asleep. At the same time, Bright Skies was laying on her own left side, the filly still latched onto her mother's left teat. Stratosphere, however, seemed to have already finished nursing, as he was laying near his mother's forelegs, but the colt hadn't quite fallen asleep yet.

Realizing that his son most likely had not been burped, Soarin carefully picked him up and slouched him over his right shoulder, patting his back several times before hearing a tiny belch release itself from the colt's stomach. With the uncomfortable sensation now gone from his belly, Strato let out a yawn as his father cradled him, the colt snuggling himself against Soarin's chest fur and slowly falling asleep.

Soarin's heart warmed as his cyan son began slumbering in his forelegs. Giving him a light peck on the forehead, Soarin gently flapped his wings and brought Strato over to the crib, laying him down and tucking him in gingerly.

Soarin then returned to his wife and daughter. He looked down to where Bright was, but after several moments, he raised an eyebrow upon not seeing the filly who shared his fur color suckling Rainbow's nipple. It then occurred to him that the filly must have fallen asleep at her mother's breast, which made Soarin smile again.

Lying on his stomach, Soarin carefully reached a forehoof to where Bright's mouth was, pulling her lips back slightly so as to release the suction that had been created from her latching on. After a few seconds, Rainbow's nipple was free from the filly's mouth, and the movement caused Bright to open her eyes. The filly looked around to see what had happened, but right as she eyed her father, Soarin had already picked her up and repeated what he had done to Stratosphere. Once Bright had let out a burp, Soarin brought her over to the crib and laid her down next to her brother. Once he was confident that both his foals were asleep, Soarin leaned in and kissed his daughter's forehead.

After quietly raising the crib's bars back up, Soarin turned around to look at his wife. Rainbow was still sound asleep, a content smile on her face. As Soarin walked over to the sleeping mare, he noticed just how wide the pillow she was using was. He then looked over to the nearby rocking chair and noticed a neatly folded quilt hanging over its back.

It was then that Soarin got an idea. He thought Rainbow looked absolutely peaceful in the state she was in, and he was in no hurry to disturb the beautiful sight in front of him. Taking the quilt from the rocking chair, Soarin unfolded it in mid-air and let it gently fall onto his wife. Laying down, Soarin got under the quilt and cuddled up to Rainbow, gently wrapping a foreleg around her. Despite her slumbering state, Dash nuzzled herself into Soarin's neck while somehow not waking up. This made Soarin smile once again as he gave his wife a kiss on her forehead.

Resting his head on the pillow, Soarin closed his eyes, simply content to lay there with his wife. He knew that they both may have a sore wing or two in the morning, but that didn't matter to him right now. It had been a long night so far for all four of the ponies in the house, but now, Soarin was sure that the entire family would be able to get a good night's sleep after everything that had happened.

Pretty soon, sleep got the better of the stallion, and he drifted off to Princess Luna's dreamscape, joining his wife and kids for even more adventures as the night continued on.

Finally a Family: Part III

Fluttershy and Scootaloo looked eagerly through the glass window at the many newborn fillies and colts. Some were sleeping, some were crying, and some were simply awake and content. The two pegasi had been sent to the room outside the newborn nursery to see if they could find any indication that at least one of Rainbow and Soarin's twins had already been born. So far, they had only seen about ten newborns. Half of them were earth ponies, three were unicorns, and only two appeared to be pegasi.

When Fluttershy and Scootaloo had arrived outside the nursery, they noticed an earth pony mare, who appeared to be Nurse Redheart, leaving the room while pushing a small cart. They only caught a short glimpse of the foal that was on it. They couldn't tell if it was a filly or a colt, nor could they tell if it had wings, a horn, or neither. All they remembered seeing was a faint hint of sky blue and white on its mane. When Scootaloo noticed those colors, and how the shade of blue looked like Rainbow Dash's fur, she asked Fluttershy if maybe that foal was one of the twins, but Fluttershy told her that she was unsure if a foal's mane color could be reminiscent of the fur coat of at least one of their parents. This made the orange filly slightly disappointed, as she was as eager as ever to meet the twins.

The younger pegasus sat atop the back of the elder pegasus, both of them concentrating on figuring out if any of the visible newborns were those of their blue friends. They focused solely on the two baby pegasi that were in the room, but neither seemed to resemble Rainbow or Soarin in any way. One had a dark green coat with a brown mane, and the other had a white coat with a pink and light purple mane. Out of the two, the latter had the bigger advantage of possibly being one of Rainbow and Soarin's foals, but Fluttershy and Scootaloo couldn't know for sure, as the nametag on the padded plastic bin the foal was in was not entirely legible to them.

Fluttershy and Scootaloo stayed in the room for about fifteen minutes, not getting any further with their search as no new pegasus foals came into the nursery. Since neither pegasus knew of any earth ponies or unicorns in Rainbow's or Soarin's family trees, they came to a conclusion that they weren't going to find the foals they were looking for anytime soon.

"Think we should head back to the waiting room?" Scootaloo asked, a sad look on her face as the yellow mare she was sitting on turned her head around to face her.

"I guess so..." Fluttershy replied, her tone suggesting she was equally as disappointed as the filly.

With that, Scootaloo hopped off of Fluttershy's back, and the two of them made their way back to the waiting room. Once they arrived, they were greeted with twelve eager faces. All of their friends, plus Rainbow's and Soarin's parents, wanted to know if they had found anything in the nursery. However, their happy looks began to fade, as Fluttershy and Scootaloo didn't look too excited.

"We couldn't find them," Fluttershy said, "Sorry."

"We only found two pegasi, and only one of them seemed to be a distant contender, but we couldn't know for sure if it belonged to Rainbow Dash and Soarin," Scootaloo said.

"Well, that's a shame..." Applejack said.

"Too bad," said Twilight.

"Do you suppose something may have gone wrong?" asked Rarity.

"I don't think there's any way we can know at the moment, Rarity," Fluttershy replied.

The large group then heard a loud sigh. It came from Grey Nimbus, and it was clear that he was the most disappointed out of all of them. At some point after his accident, he vaguely remembered Rainbow Dash telling him that she was sure he would have fully recovered by the time his grandfoals were born. However, seeing that there wasn't a sign of any news, he was growing rather distressed. He had already pulled through the troubles he had faced since the incident, and he didn't want to come all this way and find out something was wrong.

Wind Glider noticed her husband's distress, and she was quick to comfort him. "Don't worry, honey," she said while wrapping her left foreleg around his neck and rubbing his forelegs with her right, "Everything's going to be fine. Things may be taking longer than we initially thought."

The grey pegasus stallion smiled at his wife's words, but he still felt that until he received some news, he wouldn't be able to feel well.

"Hey, come on!" Firefly said to Grey, nudging him playfully with a hoof, "You're a tough guy, aren't 'ya?" Her tone was very similar to her own daughter's competitive, thrill-seeking one, though she had a completely different voice altogether.

Several ponies giggled at the mare's actions, and Grey couldn't help but smirk at his son's mother-in-law. "Hey," he replied, "I nearly got my head knocked off at the cloud factory. How tough do 'ya think I am?"

Everyone in the group, except Firefly, who was blushing slightly, laughed quite audibly at the stallion's comeback. It wasn't long before the little conversation boosted his spirits, and he stopped worrying about how long everything was taking.

All of a sudden, the doors to the waiting room opened, but not the ones that AJ, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had entered through earlier. These were the double doors on the other side of the room, and they led to the adjacent hallway of hospital rooms.

Everyone's full attention was instantly focused on the doors, as they saw Soarin standing there. After the doors closed, the stallion stood in place for about ten seconds in silence, wanting to build some suspense. He had a rather ordinary expression on his face that didn't seem to show any emotion, and this made the others slightly worried. Fortunately, their worries were put to shame as Soarin's face brightened up immensely. He then proudly said, "We've got one of each!"

Instantly, all of the females in the group squealed in delight and made a beeline for the stallion, giving him several small mini-congratulatory remarks as they hugged him. Meanwhile, Spike, Rainbow Blaze, and Grey Nimbus simply exclaimed, "Woo-hoo!" at random points. The three of them shared a quick bro-hug before walking over to where the rest of the group was. Once there, Grey Nimbus hugged his son, and all his worries were permanently washed away.

As Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders began bouncing in excitement again, Soarin said, "Don't worry, you're all gonna get to meet them. Family first." With that, most of the group backed away, and Wind Glider, Grey Nimbus, Firefly, and Rainbow Blaze began to follow Soarin back through the doors. Scootaloo decided to stay behind, as she knew that she wasn't a sister by blood to Rainbow Dash, even though the cyan mare accepted her as one. The orange filly had already stopped bouncing and had a slightly disappointed look on her face, but she remained hopeful that she would be meeting the foals very soon.

"Hey, aren't you coming, Scootaloo?" Rainbow Blaze asked as he turned around to face the filly.

"Wait...Huh?" Scootaloo asked in response.

"Well, don't you think Rainbow Dash has told Firefly and I by now that you're her new little sister?"

Blaze's words shocked Scootaloo. She had no idea that Rainbow's parents were already aware of their newfound sisterhood, let alone accepting of it.

"Go on, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle said, giving her friend's rump a gentle push forward, "I thought you were excited about this!"

The orange filly instantly beamed. "Totally!" she replied in excitement, "See you guys later!" With that, Scootaloo joined the crowd, and they were off to see two of Equestria's newest ponies.

Rainbow lay back on her hospital bed, sighing contently. Bright Skies and Stratosphere had already fallen asleep, and Nurse Redheart had re-swaddled them and put them each in their own crib, which were essentially the padded plastic bins that every foal ended up laying in at some point after they were born. Rainbow was very tired and wanted a nap herself, but she knew that Soarin had left to announce the good news to everyone, and she wanted to be awake when he got back. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait very long.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Soarin was the first to walk in. The other five pegasi eagerly followed him inside, and they were delighted to see Rainbow looking rather decent. "Rainbow Dash!" Firefly eagerly said, hugging her daughter gently. Despite her excitement, she knew that her daughter may very well have been in some residual pain; however, the eagerness in which Rainbow returned the hug with proved her otherwise.

Dash next received a hug from her father, and then one from each of her in-laws. Finally, it was Scootaloo's turn, and as Soarin directed the other adults elsewhere, the filly leapt onto the bed. "Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, hugging her new big sister.

"Hey there, kid!" Dash replied, returning the hug.

After separating slightly, Scootaloo asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Eh...I've been better..." Dash replied. Both she and her new little sister giggled at that. "Well, physically, at least. Other than that, I'm just so happy that this is all over and that they're finally here." Dash and Scootaloo then looked over at where Soarin was.

Soarin led his and Dash's parents over to the two makeshift cribs, where two tiny heads could be seen, each containing light smiles and closed eyes. Rainbow Blaze and Grey Nimbus smiled warmly upon seeing their grandchildren for the first time, and Firefly and Wind Glider had two of the most awestruck looks Soarin had ever seen.

"Oh, they're precious!" Wind Glider said, bringing a forehoof up to the side of her mouth.

"Wow...I'm so happy for you guys, Soarin!" Firefly said, looking her son-in-law in the eye.

"Thanks," Soarin replied. Back on the bed, Scootaloo couldn't quite see what was happening, due to the others blocking her view of the foals completely. She didn't complain, however, as she was content with being by Dash's side until it was her turn to meet her new niece and nephew.

"Anyway, this is our daughter, Bright Skies," Soarin continued, gesturing to the crib on his left before pointing to the other, "And our son, Stratosphere."

Wind Glider gave a genuine, "Awww..." upon hearing the names of her grandfoals. "Soarin, honey, may I hold one of them?" the light blue mare asked.

"Absolutely, mom," Soarin replied. He then handed his son over to his mother, and both she and Grey Nimbus stared lovingly at their new grandson. At the same time, Soarin allowed Firefly to hold Bright Skies for a while, whom she eventually handed over to Rainbow Blaze. They were elated as they each held her for the first time.

As they were held, the foals were slightly jarred awake, and they each became a little fussy at the unfamiliar ponies holding them. This was quickly resolved, however, by Soarin leaning in and comforting them both, allowing them to see a much more familiar face. It worked, and the older pegasi were able to hold their grandchildren without any trouble.

Once Grey Nimbus held Stratosphere for a little bit, he handed him over to Firefly, while Rainbow Blaze gave Bright Skies to Wind Glider. Eventually, each grandparent got the chance to hold each grandchild at least once. At about the same time they were finished, Rainbow Dash said, "Hey, bring 'em over here!" With that, Blaze and Grey floated over to the bed, and Dash was handed one of her foals, whom she held in her forelegs.

Scootaloo looked on in amazement as Rainbow Dash held one of the foals. She figured it would be forever before her favorite pegasus in all of Equestria would become a mother, but the fact that she already was made her heart flutter with pure joy. "Who's this?" Scootaloo asked, moving in a little closer to Dash.

"This is Stratosphere," Dash replied, moving her son a little to her right to give Scootaloo a better view. The small movement caused the colt to open his eyes, and Scootaloo smiled at their resemblance to Rainbow's.

"Wow...He's got your eyes," Scootaloo whispered.

"I know, right?" Dash replied, "Isn't that awesome?"

"It sure is," the orange filly finished.

"Hey, Scootaloo," Grey Nimbus said, still holding Bright Skies in his forelegs, "Wanna hold your niece?"

"R-Really?" Scootaloo asked, a small hint of timidity evident in her voice. Despite her excitement, Scootaloo had never held a foal before, and she was worried something might go wrong.

"Sure!" Grey replied.

It took a while for Scootaloo to reply, but she eventually said, "Yes."

With that, Grey hovered over to the other side of the bed and held his granddaughter out for Scootaloo to take. The orange filly shakily held out her forelegs, and the dark grey stallion gently lowered Bright Skies into Scootaloo's embrace. Scootaloo's forelegs weren't big enough to cradle the foal, so she improvised the best way she could by keeping her forelegs generally pointed outward, Bright Skies' head resting on her left foreleg while her rump rested on her right. The ends of Scootaloo's forelegs were curled upward, gripping the foal as best she could.

Right as Scootaloo held her niece on her own, Bright Skies opened her eyes, and it was clear to Scootaloo that the newborn filly had the same eyes as her father. She mentioned this to Dash, to which she confirmed the filly's theory.

Bright Skies was a little taken aback by Scootaloo's presence, but right as she started to cry, a familiar smell calmed her. Rainbow Dash gently stroked her daughter's mane, and Bright Skies sensed her mother nearby, and the fact that she was being held by somepony other than her parents no longer concerned her. Closing her eyes, Bright Skies leaned her head slightly to her right, resting it against Scootaloo's upper foreleg and chest as she fell back asleep.

The sight of her newborn niece falling asleep in her embrace nearly brought Scootaloo to tears. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, even more beautiful than getting her cutie mark at the same time as her friends. The orange filly looked up at Dash, who was already giving her a warm smile. Dash then held Stratosphere with just her left foreleg, reaching around Scootaloo's neck with her right and pulling her close.

The other five pegasi looked on as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo sat next to each other in an embrace with the twins. "Now, isn't that just adorable?" Wind Glider asked nopony in particular. The only immediate response was her husband wrapping one of his forelegs around her neck and leaning the side of his head in until it touched the side of hers.

After a while, Scootaloo took another look at Stratosphere, then back at Bright Skies, and it was then that she noticed something. "Hey," she began, "I just noticed that both the foals have a white stripe in their manes!"

"Yeah!" Soarin replied, "I was just about to bring that up!" The stallion then turned to his father and asked, "Hey, dad, didn't your grandpa have a white stripe down the middle of his mane, too?"

Grey took his foreleg out from around his wife's neck and placed his respective hoof on his chin. "Well, let's see, now..." he said, going into a somewhat deep thought. To Soarin, it seemed like his father was taking longer than normal to remember something as simple as a question about his own family. It made the Wonderbolt grow worried, as he started to wonder if he had underestimated any decrease his father's recalling capabilities since the accident. Fortunately, after about ten seconds, Grey slowly said, "I...believe so, Soarin. His name was Cirrus, after all, and a thin line of white like that on his mane would make anypony instantly think of a bright, white, cirrus cloud fresh from the factory."

"Well, looks like these two picked up their great-great-grandpa's genes!" Rainbow Dash said.

"So it appears, Dash," Grey Nimbus replied, warmly, "So it appears."

After the stallion finished speaking, everypony in the room remained quiet for a short while, then Scootaloo broke the silence as she asked, "You guys think it's time for the others to come and meet these little guys?"

"Absolutely!" Rainbow Dash immediately replied, "You wanna go get them?"

"Sure!" Scootaloo replied. She then carefully handed Bright Skies over to Dash, whom the cyan mare took in her right foreleg. After that, Scootaloo darted out of the room, eager to get everyone else and have them meet the foals.

"Boy, she's an energetic one, isn't she?" Grey Nimbus asked.

"Usually," Dash replied, "There's times where she tries doing what I do, and most of it's usually being active and...well...I guess, awesome!" This earned Dash a chuckle from her father-in-law. Right after that, Dash set her foals down to the left of her, scooting over to her right to allow them room to rest.

It hadn't even been fifteen seconds since Scootaloo left when she came back with everyone else from the waiting room. The door opened, and Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack all exclaimed, "Rainbow Dash!" at their leisure. As they shared hugs with the cyan pegasus, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carefully hopped onto the foot of the bed, keeping their distance from Rainbow and the foals. Spike tried to do the same, but he ended up needing a little help from Sweetie Belle and her magic to get himself onto the bed.

Once Rainbow's friends had finished hugging and congratulating her, they looked to her other side and noticed two tiny bodies wrapped snuggly in blankets. When Rainbow noticed her friends looking at her foals, she picked them back up, bringing them into full view for her friends to see. Bright Skies was in Dash's left foreleg and Stratosphere was in her right as she introduced them to her friends. They had mixed reactions, but they were all wonderful in their own respects.

"Awww!" Starlight said, breaking the brief silence.

"Oh, Dash!" Fluttershy began in a slight whisper, "They're so cute!"

"They're simply darling, Rainbow!" Rarity followed up, thinking about the day Sweetie Belle was born.

"Dash, I'm so happy for you and Soarin!" Twilight said.

"Aw..." AJ began, reaching up to pull her younger sister into a hug, "This reminds me of the day Apple Bloom was born," she said in a loving tone, hugging her sister tightly and giving her a light peck on the cheek.

"Applejack..." Apple Bloom whispered in a bemused tone, her face still sporting a happy look.

"Sorry, sugar cube. I can't help it. I just remember you bein' the cutest little filly I ever saw..." AJ finished as she closed her eyes.

"Wow, Rainbow!" Spike began, "Congratulations!"

"Yeah! Congrats!" Sweetie Belle said.

Pinkie Pie had yet to comment on the foals, but she had a good reason for staying silent. The party pony thought the foals were so cute that she was close to literally bursting with excitement, her body nearly blowing into a million pieces of confetti and reassembling itself without any scientific reasoning whatsoever. Twilight noticed this and soon lit her horn, forming a translucent, pink bubble around the pink mare. "Okay, Pinkie," the princess said, "Go ahead and let it out!" With that, Pinkie immediately began bouncing off of every inner surface of the bubble, her mouth moving at a seemingly unimaginable pace. However, neither her bounces nor her voice could be heard. Also, the bubble itself was not moving.

Rainbow Dash, along with Soarin and all their parents, grew quite confused as to what the purple alicorn had done. "Uhhh...Twilight," Dash began, "What did you...?"

"Oh, I had a feeling Pinkie would go helplessly berserk upon seeing the foals," Twilight replied, "So I told her that once she saw them for the first time, I'd encase her in a soundproof bubble where she'd be able to do whatever she wanted and make no noise whatsoever. That way the foals wouldn't get scared by such hyperactive, reckless behavior."

Though she had to admit it was a good idea, Rainbow didn't quite know how to respond to such a spell being put on her friend, but when she saw Pinkie going absolutely bonkers inside the bubble, she couldn't help but laugh. "Ha! Good one, Twilight! Thanks!" Rainbow finished.

Twilight smiled. "Noooooooo problem..."

For the remainder of the afternoon, everyone stayed in the hospital room, each pony, and dragon, getting to hold both of the foals once each. Pinkie Pie was the last to do so, as it took her nearly two hours to release her energy inside the bubble before Twilight set her free. At around 7:30, Princess Celestia lowered the sun for the day, and Rainbow told her friends that she desperately needed some rest. They were all too happy to oblige, and so everyone left until Rainbow and Soarin were once again alone with their two new children. They ultimately decided to spend the night at the hospital, just in case they needed any last minute help from Nurse Redheart before going home.

This day had been one of the most hectic in both Rainbow Dash's and Soarin's lives, but in the end, they couldn't be happier, as their daughter and son had finally made it into the world, forever changing their lives.