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!