“Daring Do could sense danger emanating from the ancient Mongrol walls all around her. The eyes of the beast statues lining the hall seemed to follow her every move, gemstone eyes flickering in the light of her torch.”
A blue wing rustled in the dark bedroom, causing the nearby candle to flicker and dance for dramatic effect.
Rainbow Dash lay on her belly on the bed, her nose buried in the latest Daring Do novel. The pages practically still smelled of the printing press, and the hard cover spine popped under her excited hooves.
She wasn’t reading to herself, however. Though her eyes and muzzle were fixated on the pages, periodically she inclined her head to the other pony lying perpendicular across the bed in front of her.
“Suddenly, the wall beside her gives way! Reacting on instinct, Daring Do leaps away just in time to avoid raking claws that surely would have ended her in an instant!”
Rainbow jumped to her hooves, book held out in front of her. From the bed, her listener stifled a chuckle. Rainbow really got into reading these stories.
“It was – Dun-dun Duuuun! – Cobalt Khan himself!” Rainbow cried out. The stifled gasp from the bed served only to bolster her bravado. “‘Daring Do!’ he bellowed, his voice shaking dust from the walls. ‘Did you think you could get away from me so easily?!’”
Rainbow shifted to the other side of the bed, striking a valiant pose. “Daring Do smirked back and said, ‘you haven’t exactly made it hard, Cobalt Khan.’”
Rainbow shifted again, and swelled up to as big a stature as she could manage while adding an extra level of baritone to her voice. “‘You will pay for your arrogance, little pony! Even now, my Golden Army rouses from its slumber! This place shall be your tomb now!”
An appropriate ‘oooo’ broadened Rainbow’s grin.
“Daring Do wasn’t impressed. ‘I’ve had worse odds,’ she proclaimed, before quickly making her escape further down the tunnel! Only to find it blocked by two towering golden statues wielding razor sharp swords. Behind them, rank after rank of innumerable Golden Army golems awaited. Cobalt Khan had spoken true; the terrible scourge of Mongrolia had reawakened from the power of the scepter, and they moved to march once again!”
Rainbow took a deep breath, her audience on the edge of her seat… until Rainbow plopped down on her haunches and said, “Aaaaand that’s it for that chapter.”
A disappointed sigh caused her to smirk. “And just when it was gettin’ good…”
Rainbow stretched out on the bed and kicked her hooves off to one side. “Well, we could start the next chapter, buuuut it’d probably be dawn before we finish. And somepony needs her rest.”
A disgruntled huff. “Restin’s about all Ah do these days…”
Rainbow smiled, and gingerly leaned up against her captive audience. Even in the dead of night, her orange fur felt like it’d been warmed under the sun all day long. The salty smell of sweat, the sweet notes of cinnamon and the crisp trace of apples filled her nose as Rainbow nuzzled her neck, eliciting an appreciative sound from her.
Green eyes – as green and sparkly as emeralds – flashed in the candlelight, twinkling in that way that always got Rainbow feeling flustered and fidgety.
Applejack laid in a nest of pillows, heavy comforters and more pillows. She rested on her side like some big, lazy cat after a huge meal. But her head was up, and she answered Rainbow’s affections with some nuzzles of her own.
“It won’t be much longer,” Rainbow said back. “The doctor said, like, a few more days, right? Pfft, We’re in the home stretch!”
Applejack smiled warmly, and her eyes drifted down. She followed Rainbow’s hoof as she gently stroked Applejack’s uncomfortably huge belly.
A part of Applejack still couldn’t believe it, even after all these months of dealing with the hardships and trials of actually being pregnant. Before that, she had concluded – and had fully accepted – that she would never be a mother. Rainbow was great, the best thing to ever happen to her, but she was another mare. Applejack had accepted certain sacrifices with her choice in partner, and had long since come to terms with it.
Never in a million years would she have expected Rainbow of all ponies to be the first to work up the courage to start the conversation. To ask her if she wanted foals. From Rainbow’s perspective, however, she’d assumed that children would always be in Applejack’s future. It was simply a given; Family was such an important part of Applejack’s life, and what family didn’t have a little munchkin running around?
But what to do? They talked about adopting, but eventually set it aside as a backup plan. Rainbow wanted a child of their own, as did Applejack. But how to go about doing it? A surrogate father? Neither liked the thought of the other lying with some stallion.
For several months, they tossed ideas around in private. No need to get the outside world all worked up. Rainbow could see the headlines already; ‘Retired Wonderbolts Captain Expecting Foals!’ really wasn’t the kind of drama she needed right now.
Then, they approached the one pony they thought might help; Twilight. It turned out that she had a solution, if not a rather… peculiar one. Simply turn one of them into a stallion and do things quote-unquote ‘naturally’. She made it sound that simple, too. It made Rainbow question what kind of research that alicorn did in her spare time, however. It took them a whole afternoon just to be comfortable enough to ‘get the job done’, and it still stands, in Rainbow’s mind, as one of the strangest things she’s ever done in her life.
In the end, Applejack volunteered to be the mother, and the rest was history. It’d been serious work, first with the cravings, then the mood swings, but to Applejack’s delight, Rainbow had stepped up on all occasions. Not just anypony would run to the store at three in the morning for pickles and ketchup.
That was why, for every night since they’d known Applejack was pregnant, Rainbow had taken up reading one chapter of a Daring Do book, or until Applejack fell asleep, whichever happened first. It wasn’t so much for her benefit as it was their unborn baby, and while reading to Applejack’s stomach had been awkward at first, it’d eventually become just another part of their routine.
Every day, when she got off work from the local Flight Camp, the first thing Rainbow did after getting home was rub Applejack’s hooves and give her a nice back massage. They went to classes together, regular checkups every month… And now, they were reaching the end of a long and arduous road.
Applejack had become so massive that she had to wear a special cradling harness to support the strain on her back. She could barely hobble around the house, which was making her stir-crazy. For a hard working pony like her to just stop everything… That was the single hardest part about her situation. The cravings, the soreness, the hormones, even the borderline humiliation of having to wear a diaper these past few days in case her water broke, all of that was nothing compared to feeling completely useless.
But, well, Rainbow made her feel better, at least.
With a grunt, Applejack shifted herself and rolled onto her other side, all so that she could lean against Rainbow’s supportive shoulder. The sound of her raspy voice chuckling brought peace to Applejack’s heart, and she allowed her eyes to slowly drift closed. She was only slightly disturbed when Rainbow rolled over just enough to wrap her hooves around her head and hold her close.
“We’re gonna be parents, Rainbow,” Applejack mumbled, smiling to herself.
“Yep, we sure are,” Rainbow said back, grinning as well. “It’s just gonna be me, you, and a rug rat.”
“Do ya… think she’ll be a hoof-full?”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “She? How do you know it’ll be a filly?”
“Jus’ a feelin’,” Applejack mumbled sleepily.
“Yeah, well, I bet it’ll be a colt, and to answer your question, oh hay yes he’ll be. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but his parents are, like, the most difficult ponies ever. But I’ll totally blame you for that, so it’s cool.”
Applejack huffed, a sound that came very close to laughter.
For a while, the room was quiet. A clock in the corner ticked rhythmically. A gust of wind jostled their house, causing it to pop and creak noisily. A few years ago, that sound had been the most unnerving sound to Applejack. Now it was just… home.
She was just on the cusp of blessed sleep when Rainbow’s voice roused her again. “So… about that name…”
Applejack’s smile soured a little. “Not this again, sugarcube… just lemme sleep…”
“Just… hear me out,” Rainbow protested.
“Fer the last time, Dash, we ain’t namin’ her Super Rainbow, or Rainbow-Two, or Rainbow the Second, or anythin’ like that. That’s jus’ silly.”
“To you, maybe,” Rainbow countered.
“An’ who’s growin our baby inside her?”
“Er…”
“That’s what Ah thought.”
“It’s just…,” Rainbow muttered, resting her head on top of Applejack’s. “We’re about to be parents, and we don’t even have a name for him or her yet. Doesn’t that bother you?”
Applejack didn’t say anything. She opened her eyes and looked down at Rainbow’s hoof – her pillow.
They’d been having this conversation/argument for weeks. The problem was very simple; neither really knew what kind of pony they were about to become the parents of. That was intentional, but it did open up an unexpected can of worms.
Every pony tribe had their own way to naming. The long and short of it was that a pegasus with an earth pony name would be rather strange. But that pony, whoever he or she might be, was going to be an Apple, whether they had wings or not. And so they’d gone back and forth.
Applejack wanted a traditional Apple family name. Their baby would be an Apple, after all. Rainbow, however, seemed determined to pick out the most ludicrous pegasus name possible, like ‘Hurricane Flash’ or ‘Thunder Speed’. Her reasoning? There couldn’t be any cool Apple names left. Nevermind that her choices usually pigeonholed their offspring into being fast and daring, or ironic. Not to mention that they were all pegasus names, when chances were just as good that it would be an earth pony.
“I mean come on! Your family is ridiculously huge, and has been around forever! We can’t just name it something with the word ‘Apple’ tacked on to the end!”
To which, Applejack had retorted by pulling out the family’s complete Apple Compendium; a lexicon containing every known breed of apple, apple cultivar, and apple relative known to pony kind. It was a very, very big book, and made a very satisfying thud when she dropped in one the dining room table.
“Y’all were sayin’?” had been her counter.
Yet still their wheels had spun, and though Applejack didn’t want to admit it, Rainbow did have a point. It was bothering her that they hadn’t found a name that just clicked. They weren’t naming some pet; this was their kid, for Celestia’s sakes!
But with all this downtime she’d had recently, she’d had plenty of time to think, and think hard. And an idea had occurred to her, one that had escaped her until that very moment.
“How about this, sugarcube,” Applejack started. She felt Rainbow perk up. “If it’s a filly, Ah’m namin’ her what Ah want. But if it’s a colt, y’all can name him what you want. Sound fair?”
Rainbow stopped to consider that. It took her only a matter of seconds, then she inclined her head and kissed Applejack on the cheek, eliciting a smile. “You’re on, cowgirl.”
Applejack chuckled softly, then unexpectedly jolted. “Oh!”
Rainbow looked down the length of her towards her belly. “He kicking again?”
Applejack laughed again. “Like a mule. Ah reckon she’s good and ready to be out here with us.”
“Well, that makes three of us,” Rainbow chortled. She pulled her wife and unborn foal close with a wing, and while stroking Applejack’s mane, both gently drifted off to sleep, with dreams of bouncy babies awaiting them.
As was usual for Applejack, her day started way earlier than she would have liked. The jolt of a tiny hoof bucking her womb saw to that.
She was normally a morning pony, but these past few weeks had been pushing it. She was routinely up before the sun, and the exhaustion was starting to get to her.
Still, she dutifully extricated herself from Rainbow’s grip – who, in the night, had come to hoard all of the blankets in a great big wad against her chest – and trudged from the room to the bathroom.
The weight of her unborn child brought all the familiar aches and pains rushing back, but she powered through it, took care of her morning routine, and made a beeline for the living room.
The house she lived in with Rainbow was more of a log cabin, actually; all hoof built by the Apple family during one of their reunions. And for the first couple of weeks she’d lived in it, it had been one of the scariest places Applejack had ever been. Not because it was only the second time she’d stayed somewhere long term that wasn’t the Apple family farmhouse. It was because, strictly speaking, it wasn’t on the ground.
The house had been a compromise. Rainbow could endure living on the ground if she had to, but Applejack knew ‘endure’ wasn’t what either of them wanted. And, well, the cost of making an earth-pony-friendly cloud home was astronomical on their incomes. True, Rainbow had quite the penchant saved up from her two-year tour of duty with the Wonderbolts, but even that wouldn’t be enough to afford the specialty compact cumulus, not to mention the annual upkeep cost.
So the solution? They built a treehouse. Four of the biggest veteran apple trees on the farm were sacrificed as de facto foundations, with a fifth running straight up through the center of the house itself. It’d been hard work, but when you put the whole Apple family to a task, nothing is impossible, especially when it was a wedding present.
Of course, trees liked to sway. Houses didn’t. So, for the first few weeks of living in their new home, Applejack was constantly on edge every time a gust of wind hit the home and caused it to shift a minuscule amount.
She’d been living in this house for over a year now, and considering it was still in the same shape as when it was built, Applejack had relaxed. She’d even grown accustomed to its movement, even fond of it to a certain degree.
In the wee hours of the morning, when there was nothing to do but brew a cup of coffee – then dump it out and chug a bottle of cranberry juice instead – she took a seat on the couch and just listened to the house. It felt like a living thing, and in some ways it was; the trees supporting it were still very much alive.
Were she in better shape, she’d go outside, down the flight of stairs, and feed the chickens and two piglets. She’d check the small garden growing nearby, maybe harvest some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. Maybe she’d even snack on one while eying the nearby apple trees expectantly. It’d be harvest time soon.
Mmm… Cucumbers…
But no. Here she was, in that house, now munching on a fat, juicy, homegrown cucumber for breakfast. And here she would stay. By noon she’d feed the animals and perhaps poke around the garden, but her friends had taken to watching her like a hawk to make sure she didn’t exert herself at all. But they couldn't begrudge her a little exercise, right?
She was still, more or less, under house arrest. All day. Doing nothing. It was enough to drive some ponies mad.
She watched the sun come up, listening to the rousing chickens bugle to the day. She heard when Rainbow stumbled from their bed and trudged to the bathroom. Then, a few minutes later, she came back into view, yawning to herself.
“Morning,” she said through a yawn. “Been up long?”
Applejack shrugged, and took another bite of her breakfast. The sound gave Rainbow pause. She threw over a confused glance, momentarily gave Applejack a perplexed look, then her brain awoke enough to remind her what a craving was and she dropped it.
“Oh yeah,” Rainbow grunted, “don’t forget we’ve got a doctor’s appointment later today. I’ll swing by to give you a lift.”
Applejack grumbled. “Ah don’t see why Ah gotta keep goin’ to the doctors. Ah’m perfectly fine every time and Ah will be this time, too.”
Rainbow patiently said, “You know why, AJ. Like it or not, I knocked you up with a spell, even if indirectly. Happens more than you'd think, apparently. The doc just wants to make sure everything’s still going great. Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Ah guess…,” Applejack mumbled, sullenly eating her breakfast.
She knew all about the… side effects… of magically facilitated conception, as they doctors called it. While not really ‘defects’, they could cause some very bizarre conditions. Some of them were hardly bad, like impossible super strength, but some could be very… hazardous. to foal and mother.
But Applejack was feeling too petulant to let Rainbow have a point. She didn’t want to argue, either, but she was just irritable enough to quite the fight in poor grace.
A flutter of wings heralded Rainbow’s arrival as she set herself down on the couch next to her. Applejack wasn’t in the mood for snuggles, but she accepted Rainbow’s affectionate nuzzle all the same.
“Sorry, but I’ll have to just drop you off today. Kinda promised Silver Speed I’d cover for her today. Fluttershy’ll pick you up when you’re done.”
“Ah doubt it,” Applejack grumbled, eying her fat, heavy girth with some disdain. “Only thing ‘pickin’ me up’ is a fork lift.”
Rainbow snorted before she could stop herself. “Come on, you look great! You know what they say; more cushion for the—”
“Okay, that’s enough outta you,” Applejack stated, swatting a hoof at her nose. Rainbow cackled as she dodged, and the sound of her laughter eased Applejack’s mood. “And… thanks. Fer puttin’ up with me. Ah know Ah ain’t the most… helpful of ponies right now.”
“Yeah, well,” Rainbow dismissed, “you better believe I’ll be making you make up for it. I figure, oh, ten, eleven months of diaper changing outta make us even.”
Applejack snorted. “Oh no. Y’all ain’t gettin’ outta diaper duty that easy.”
“Just ten months, jeez.”
Applejack laughed again.
“So… you need anything today?” Rainbow asked.
Applejack nuzzled her cheek. “Can’t think of nothin’ Ah don’t have right here.”
Rainbow laughed again. “Aaand now we’re on this part of the mood swings, huh?”
“Eeyup.”
“And you’re not gonna let me out of it, huh?”
“Nope.”
“Ah well… the things I do for love.”
“You poor thing.”
All in all, Rainbow’s day had started off on a really good foot. The whole flight in to camp, she had the biggest smile on her face.
It was another sunny day in Ponyville, with only a few wisps of clouds perched way up in the sky, perfect for lounging and the occasional power nap. Ponies were out and about already, some heading to work, others getting an early morning jog in.
Rainbow couldn’t help but notice the foals most of all. She heard them even from way up in the sky, and watched as they scampered off to school, bidding parents farewell and rushing to join friends.
It was hard to believe, but someday, that would be part of her routine, too. Oh, just the idea got her so worked up she did an excited loop through the air. Before she’d started dating Applejack, children were the furthest thing from her mind, as was a serious, committed relationship. Even after that, it didn’t really occur to her.
It wasn’t until she’d heard somepony make an offhand comment that that had changed.
It was during an autograph signing, one of her favorite events during her stint as a Wonderbolt. The line seemed to go on and on forever, but while the other members of her team slowly wore out and lost enthusiasm, Rainbow soaked it all up. She was made for this sort of attention!
What she hadn’t noticed, however, was the age of the vast majority of ponies coming up to her, specifically. It just didn’t occur to her that they were all kindergarten to elementary school ages; it was just the usual crowd for her, and she was having fun, like she always did.
Then, Soarin, the only old hand still left on the team by then, made the comment that would change her life. “Man, you sure are good with foals, huh? I bet you’d make an awesome mom someday.”
It’d stuck with her, from then to now. And even now, flying through the sky, as good as a parent already, she couldn’t help but wonder. What would it be like? An even scarier thought; was she ready for this? Or had she jumped head first into something way out of her depth? She didn’t know… but she was committed. She wouldn’t back out now.
And hay, the thought of having a little one to teach how to fly? How could anypony resist that? Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face.
She let herself reminisce as she drift over Ponyville and towards a large assembly of clouds hanging stationary in the sky, brimming with cascades of rain water and foggy vapor. The Ponyville Division Flight Camp, Rainbow’s own brainchild.
Headed by a former Wonderbolts captain (Rainbow) and sponsored by a Princess of Equestria (Twilight), it was the premier place to send one’s children to learn how to fly, if Cloudsdale was out of the question. Or, in some cases, if it was in the question but lacked a certain hooves-on approach due to its sheer size.
It’d been such a runaway success that what’d once been a small class of a hoof-full of foals and just Rainbow now had multiple instructors, structured classes, actual facilities, actual funding, everything!
As Rainbow came in for a landing, she could already see airborne carriage-buses shepherding herds of colts and fillies for another day of practice. Some of them even waved as she passed over the bus, bringing a grin to her face. Someday, her own son or daughter would be on those buses. The thought was all the juice she needed to get amped for the day.
As she always did, she came swooping into the assembly area as the campers gathered, much to their glee. They cheered and squealed as she set herself down, wings flared open, chest puffed out and eyes flashing.
“Alright, everypony! You guys ready to fly?!”
A cheer rang out.
“I can’t hear you! Are. You. Ready. To. FLY?!”
The explosion of enthusiasm only filled her sails ever more. Today, she just knew, was going to be an awesome day.
Applejack snorted as she was jolted awake. For a moment, she looked around blearily, expecting to find the culprit skulking ashamedly somewhere nearby. But there was nothing.
Then it happened again; a kick inside her belly. Applejack sighed and settled down. Her baby certainly was a feisty one. She was undoubtedly going to be a great apple bucker, Applejack just knew it.
Now that she was awake, the old pangs of restlessness came back to her. She heaved herself from the bed, strapped on her cradle brace around her barrel, and trudged down the hall. She paused to throw a look into an unused room, previously a guest room. Now it was filled by a crib, a toy box, a mountain of stuffed animals, and a small pyramid of two kinds of paint; one blue, one pink. So they’d been a little eager when they’d gone baby shopping. Or, more accurately, got dragged along by Rarity. How they’d convinced her not to purchase the whole baby aisle defied belief in itself, but getting away with only two shades of paint? That had been a small miracle. It helped that she’d been banned from the room for fear of what she and a strike of inspiration might do to it.
Applejack smiled at the room. Everything was in place, except the guest of honor. It was like a promise, just waiting to be fulfilled.
As she looked around the room, she noted the open window on the far side. Judging by the direction of the sun, it was already noon. Time sure flew these days…
Wearily, she headed for the kitchen. She hoped – nay, dreamed – of having just a normal meal without some craving sneaking up on her for once. So, naturally, she settled down with a nice mustard-egg-celery sandwich abomination. It really wasn’t as bad as it sounded.
She was halfway through her lunch when a polite knock sounded at the door. Rather than get up, she simply shouted, “Come on in!”
The door cracked open, and in came a familiar shy pegasus who, despite dropping in unannounced on many occasions already to check up on Applejack, still held the air of one who was intruding.
“Um… sorry if I’m interrupting…”, Fluttershy mumbled.
“Not at all,” Applejack said back easily. “Just finishin’ up lunch. What can Ah do ya for?”
Fluttershy shuffled into the house while trying not to eye Applejack’s questionable meal too much. For once, she didn’t have any of her fuzzy friends with her, so right away Applejack had an inkling that she wasn’t here to check up on her.
“Well, Rainbow Dash asked me to, um, take you in for your checkup. One of the instructors called in sick, so she has to cover for him. Oh, and the chickens said they were hungry, so… I fed them. Sorry…”
Applejack nodded in understanding. As dutiful as Rainbow had been these long months, she couldn’t begrudge her missing one appointment that ultimately didn’t involve her too much. Of course, that did mean she was probably going to have to walk there. She didn’t really fancy trying her luck with Fluttershy’s ability to carry her.
“Alrighty then, let’s go,” Applejack said with some resignation and set down her sandwich. The smell of it was starting to turn her stomach.
“Oh, uh, you don’t have to stop eating if you don’t want to,” Fluttershy said quickly, but Applejack shook her head.
“Lost my appetite. Now then, help me into this dang – oof!”
Fluttershy jumped in surprise when Applejack clutched at her side. “Oh my! Are you alright?” Her concerned morphed into confusion when Applejack started chuckling slightly.
“Who me? Ah’m fine. Little guy’s been kickin’ all mornin’. Hooo boy, that was a good one!”
Applejack shook her head, and laughed off the episode. So, she didn’t notice how still, and how big-eyed Fluttershy was.
“Um, Applejack?”
She turned and gave her friend a perplexed look. Why was she sounding so odd all of a sudden? “Hmm?”
“Would you, maybe, um, want to come with me to the hospital, um, right now?”
“Well that’s where we’re goin’ sugar—”
The words died in Applejack’s throat. Her eyes grew huge, as big as dinner plates as, somewhere in her head, alarm bells started going off. All of them.
Something else had just hit her insides. And it wasn’t a little baby hoof.
“Fluttershy.”
“Y-yes?”
“Ah think Ah need ta get to the hospital. Right now.”
Rainbow fell heavily into her office chair, feeling like so much dead weight. All morning, she’d been doing demonstrations, lessons, supervised practice, more demonstrations… She’d been running flat out for hours nonstop. It was just the way she liked it. It kept her in shape.
She let her eyes drift around her office, a rarely used place where she occasionally did paperwork – whatever her assistant couldn’t file himself, really, which wasn’t much – and to meet with parents and any other important ponies that wanted a moment of her time. As such, the walls were papered with awards, medals, pictures of her many achievements as one of the shortest-lived Wonderbolts captains in history, and of course, generous group shots of her friends. Those were more for her than anypony else, though having pictures of her with a hoof around Princess Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder left an impression once in a while.
For a minute, her eyes rested on a black and white photo she kept in a picture frame on her desk – a finish-line snapshot of her streaking passed, miles ahead of the nearest competition. Oh how she missed those days.
She smiled at herself, the dashing mare who’d given up the limelight to be a devoted wife instead. And she wouldn’t trade it for the world. Well, maybe most of the world. Nothing beat the roar of the crowd.
She was so lost in nostalgia that the door banging open full force caused her to jump and let out a very uncharacteristic shriek of surprise. “Hey!” she shot, “what’s the big idea, huh?! Ever hear of knocking?”
Her embarrassed anger subsided, however, when she realized it was one of her instructors standing in the doorway, looking flushed and out of breath. “Ma’am… just heard… Wanted to tell you… wife… hospital… baby… On its way!”
Dead silence filled the small office as the panting and wheezing stallion’s words hit Rainbow’s ears like an atomic blast wave. Then, without changing facial expression at all, Rainbow rose from her seat, turned around, opened the large window behind her desk, and took off at full speed with a sound like a cannon going off.
If anypony in Ponyville had been paying attention, they might have seen the blue flash whizz across the sky at phenomenal speeds. Everypony did notice the sonic boom that chased her a moment later, however. More than a few dove for cover when the explosive crack of sound hit them. Windows rattled, babies wailed, and a few elderly ponies had to be convinced many times that the griffons weren’t invading again. And that they’d never invaded in the first place, but try explaining that to a senile old codger.
Rainbow Dash held many speed records, some of which she’d re-broken herself. But that day? Nothing put out speed like an expectant parent. As it was, what should have been a five minute and thirty-one second flight from the camp to the hospital (something she’d run several times just for this event) took just under two, if that.
She burst into the emergency room, still dressed in her camp instructor uniform, huffing and puffing and trying to articulate who she was looking for and earning a lot of very concerned looks in the process.
“Where… Apple… baby… wife…”
Suffice to say, she wasn’t doing a very good job.
Nervously, a nurse approached her and gave her an uncertain look. “Um, miss, can I help you?”
Rainbow held up a hoof, took a couple deep breaths, then tried again. “I’m… looking for… for Applejack. I’m… I’m her… oh boy… I’m her wife.”
The nurse’s troubled look only grew deeper. “Um, Miss Dash, I think there’s been some sort of mistake.”
Rainbow eyed her, shooting her a questioning look. She recognized the mare; she was one of only a select few staff that made up the humbly sized Ponyville hospital. The nurse recognized her, as well, judging by the look she was giving her.
“I don’t think anypony’s been admitted here by that name,” the nurse explained. “Miss Applejack isn’t due for her exam for another twenty minutes, if I recall.”
Rainbow blinked at her. “Uh…”
And that was precisely the moment when the doors burst open, and in came a wheelchair-bound Applejack, Fluttershy at the helm. All three paused in the doorway and stared at each other.
Rainbow slowly turned back around, a forced smile on her face and regarded the motionless nurse. “Nevermind. Hey, um, I’d like to have somepony admitted.”
In short order, Applejack was wheeled off towards a private room, all the while complaining that she could walk herself there. Nopony listened to a word she said, less so whenever she was interrupted by another contraction.
“Hoo boy, that was a big one,” Applejack panted. She was already breaking out in a sweat. The doctors were exchanging quick bursts of info between them, but Rainbow didn’t pay attention. She was too busy hanging onto Applejack’s hoof for dear life.
“How you doing cowgirl?” she asked, and she hoped she didn’t sound as much a nervous wreck as she felt.
“Oh, ya know, just… just havin’ a baby,” Applejack panted, flashing a forced grin. “How about yer… yerself? Hoo…”
“Oh yeah, totally fine,” Rainbow said back, a few octaves too high. “Never better!”
“Then would ya mind not stranglin’ my hoof, sugarcube?”
“Oh! Yeah, yeah, of course! No prob!”
“And breathe.”
“Yeah, yeah! So totally breathing! I’m breathing the hay out of this air right now!”
Applejack tried to laugh. It lasted only a few moments before she groaned through clenched teeth.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, just hang on, AJ. You’re doing fine! No, great, no, awesome!”
“Sugarcube?”
“Yeah?”
“Breathe.”
“Right, right…”
Finally they reached a secluded room on what felt like the complete opposite end of the hospital, for how long it took them to get there. Rainbow hefted an agonized Applejack up in her hooves and carried her to the bed, placing her down before she was swarmed by nurses. Rainbow had no idea what they were doing; all she heard was the steadily rising voice of her wife.
Fluttershy wasn’t normally one for pacing. Instead, she was a fidgeter; she tended to sit down somewhere and fidget and fidget until she couldn’t stand it anymore. So she’d been doing for the past several minutes, until the emergency room doors swished open, and three familiar faces came charging in.
Rarity was still dressed in her Sunday best; a white and pale blue dress and wide brimmed hat, which was now somewhat askew after her sprint from the park.
Pinkie Pie was covered from head to tail in confetti, presumably from some sort of party she’d just been attending. Now she had the wildest, most excited glint in her eyes and, most alarmingly, was visibly vibrating with pent up energy. She wasn’t bouncing or trotting; she moved across the ER floor by power of vibration alone. It was very alarming to watch.
Between them both came Twilight Sparkle, reading glasses lopsided on her face, loose mane bun partially fallen apart. She looked tired, in the way only a parent of a young child could; more or less like a soldier who’d been in the trenches too long. On her back, a diaper-clad foal hung on for dear life, looking both bewildered and a little excited after the sudden and exhilarating sprint through the city. When Twilight slowed down, the infant started patting her neck and cheering “Agai, Agai!”
“I’m so sorry we’re late, darling,” Rarity gasped. “Of all the days Applejack could have her foal, she had to pick the one where I was meeting with Fancy Pants! Of all the rotten luck…”
“I was changing Sunlight when Pinkie gave me the news,” Twilight said. “Is Applejack alright? Did we miss it?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, not yet. They just took her back a few minutes ago.”
“Oh good,” Rarity sighed, letting out a breath of relief. “I’d never hear the end of it if I missed Applejack’s foalbirth, too.”
“I said it was fine, Rarity,” Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes.
“No no. Friends should always be there for each other, even if it was a very important client. But enough about that; how is she doing?”
Fluttershy fidgeted. “Oh, um… good?”
Rarity paused, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t sound so confident, darling.”
Fluttershy winced. “Well, she didn’t even realize she was going into labor.”
At that, Rarity sighed. “Well, that certainly sounds like our Applejack. And how is the, um… ‘father’?”
“She, uh, beat us here.”
“… And that certainly sounds like our Rainbow.”
Fluttershy grimaced in response, and then the doors on the far end of the hall flapped open, and out came Rainbow herself.
She looked… well, out of sorts. Like a mare who’d just gotten into a car crash and was now staggering about, punch-drunk. She had a far-away look in her eye and a totally blank expression on her face. She barely reacted when all three of her friends came rushing over, and it took her a moment to snap back to reality.
“Oh, hey everypony!” she said, voice a little too high. “I’m – I’m gonna be a mom. Isn’t that neat?!”
Twilight blinked at her, hesitating. “Uh, Rainbow? Are you feeling –”
“Freaking out? Yeah, totally got that covered! why’d you ask?!”
Rarity looked her up and down. “And… why are you out here?”
“Oh, it’s no big deal! Applejack just told me to go walk around or something silly like that. Seemed to think I was going to pass out or some— Oh there I go…”
And with that, she dropped in a dead faint.
Everypony stared at the overloaded mare lying in a heap on the floor for a moment before Fluttershy broke the stunned silence with a quiet, “Oh… my…”
It took Rainbow a couple minutes and a few glasses of cold water to recover. The nurses treated the whole incident in the waiting room with a rather blasé attitude; it was hardly the first time they’d encountered an overly excited parent-to-be.
“Feeling better?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah… yeah, lots better,” Rainbow said, chuckling in embarrassment. “Geez, glad to see I’m handling this well.”
Twilight gave her an understanding smile. “Well, compared to how Flash handled it when I had Sunlight Glitter? I think you’re holding yourself together real well.”
From her back, a cooing rang out as if in protest.
“To be fair,” Rarity quipped from over her shoulder, “he did set the bar really low. Where is Flash, anyway?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, then glanced over her shoulder. “Training exercise. I sent him a message, but he probably won’t be here for another hour or so. So, um… is Pinkie still…?”
“Vibrating? Why yes. Yes she is. Whining a little, too, in case you were wondering,” Rarity informed her. “Poor dear. I know we asked her not to go as overboard as she did when you had Sunlight, but this is taking it to a… disturbing level.”
Twilight sighed. “Well, she does like foalbirths. I’ll go talk to her. Maybe she can look after Sunlight for me; heaven knows only she has the energy for it.” With that, she stepped away, looking exhausted.
Rainbow righted herself with a grunt and shook her head. “Ugh… I told myself I’d hold it together,” she complained to herself. “I just… I’m going to be a mom! How cool is that?”
Rarity smiled kindly at her. “I’m so happy for you, darling. You’ve taken care of Applejack so much from start to finish. Speaking of whom, how is she?”
“Settling in,” Rainbow said, and glanced over her shoulder at the door to the rest of the hospital. “Doctor doesn’t think it’ll be long, but she’s got a ways to go still. Hay, she seems more annoyed than anything right now.”
Rarity laughed slightly in response.
Rainbow ruffled her wings, standing up. She turned to face the door, a look of edginess starting to work her way back into her features. “I should probably get back, actually. You know, just in case. And, uh, thanks for being here.”
“Of course, darling,” Rarity said kindly. “If there is anything you need, just say the word, but don’t you worry about us. Oh, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith should be here soon, so be prepared for the ‘home birth argument’ to come back up.”
Both of them winced. That had been a long and hard-fought battle in itself.
“Thanks, Rares. So, uh… hopefully we’ll see you guys soon. Plus one, this time.”
Rarity smiled brightly. “I can’t wait.”
As Rainbow worked her way back to Applejack’s room, she couldn’t help but feel just how out of sorts things felt. It wasn’t like she was trapped in a dream, but rather like she’d woken up from one, and come head-first into reality.
Everything felt so vivid, so sharp. She’d been to the hospital many times over the past few months for checkups and exams, but somehow, this felt like the very first time she’d ever walked these halls. Like everything before it had been… well, a dream.
This was happening. It was actually happening! It felt so sudden, almost unexpected, and despite having months to prepare herself, she just didn’t know what to do with herself!
Rainbow stumbled back to Applejack’s room, more or less in a daze, to find it almost entirely unoccupied. The beep of hospital equipment provided the only sound for a lonely occupant, who laid apprehensively in her bed.
Applejack was staring at the nearby window, looking distant. Once in a while, she’d wince and stifle a grunt, but all in all she seemed surprisingly peaceful. When she heard the doors bump open, she glanced around, and gave Rainbow a smile.
“Hey there, sugarcube,” she greeted. “Feelin’ better?”
Rainbow mumbled something indecipherable, then stepped up to Applejack’s bed. “Don’t worry about me. What about you? Where is everypony?”
Applejack sighed a little. “The doc seems ta think it’ll be a while, so they’re comin’ ta check on me in a few.”
“Oh. Uh, is that… bad?”
Applejack chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t seem that way. Shoot, yer more wound up than Ah am.”
Rainbow let out a sound that was neither breath nor laugh. “Well, I’m feeling kind of useless right now, so…”
Applejack just smiled at her. She didn’t say anything else, but she extended a hoof away from her side. Rainbow took it, wrapping her own around Applejack’s.
She was not expecting how hard Applejack squeezed it. It was then that Rainbow realized that she was not the only one freaking out. Applejack was just better at masking it.
Rainbow held her hoof tight, tight enough to mask her trembling fits, and smiled. “But I’m here for you, cowgirl. So you just leave the freak-outs to me. I so got that covered.”
Applejack chuckled, then pulled Rainbow closer. One sitting, one lying down, they snuggled together as best they could, two expectant ponies too scared, and too eager, for the future to get off its rump and make its way to them, already.
The next few hours were agonizing. The contractions intensified, to the point that not even Applejack could power through them flawlessly. The nurses started coming to check up on her more and more frequently, but all they ever said was “it won’t be long now”.
As foretold, Applejack’s family did indeed show up, and like Rarity had warned, Granny Smith raised a few pointed comments about her views of hospital births. Luckily, she kept herself in check, in light of the pained sounds Applejack was making.
One by one, their friends came to visit as well. One of the perks of having a Princess of Equestria as a friend meant very few doors stayed shut to them. The only auspiciously absent pony was Pinkie Pie. Nopony was letting her near Applejack, for fear of whether her self-control could take it or not.
Two hours passed.
Twilight excused herself when a nurse came to inform her that her husband was looking for her. The rest of their friends left, as well, leaving Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Granny Smith and Big Mac alone in the room.
Three hours passed.
The doctor started coming in every few minutes, looking expectant each time. Applejack’s teeth were constantly grinding, and her grip on Rainbow’s hoof was so tight it’d gone numb.
Three hours and twenty-one minutes after first arriving at the hospital, it finally started. Rainbow had gone to all of those classes with Applejack, to be there with her when it was time. She thought she was prepared. She wasn’t.
When the doctor told her to push, Applejack screamed. Not the pretend sounds she’d made before, where her heart wasn’t really in it, but a genuine shriek of pain and effort. When she heard that sound come out of her own mouth, Applejack clamped her jaws shut as best she could and did everything possible to keep her voice down. It was only a partially successful venture.
She was a tough mare, everypony knew that, able to go up against monsters of all sorts and come out unscathed. She’d had every drop of magic drained out of her, had her cutie mark ripped from her, worked herself near to death just to prove a point. But child birth was a whole other monster.
If it wasn’t for Rainbow shouting encouragements in her ear and the feel of her presence at her side, Applejack might have given up. The pain of it all…
Time quickly started to melt together. Applejack’s world consisted only of pain, of intense periods of squeezing and flexing and pushing, and pain, over and over in an endless cycle that just kept going on and on…
“You’re doing great! Come on, AJ, you’re almost there!”
She grit her teeth, snarling like a wounded lion, and pushed again. She would not let this beat her! She didn’t care how bad it hurt anymore, or had exhausted she was. She was not going to stop, not until—!
A grating, high-pitched wailing filled the room. It was such a distraught sound – the sound of unused lungs shrieking their displeasure to this cold, bright, immense world.
Applejack felt… numb. Disoriented. The pain, while still present, was pushed unceremoniously aside. She looked down, down her no-longer swollen middle. Down passed Rainbow’s head, which was turned in the same direction. Down passed the nurses and doctor, all focusing on something just out of sight, something she had to see.
“Can Ah… Can Ah see…?” she breathed, her voice dry, throat raw. She wanted to reach out, to take the thing calling out for her and hold it safe and sound away from anything bad or dangerous.
The doctors were taking their time, rummaging around seemingly in slow motion. Too slow. Applejack wanted to reach out, but she was so worn out. Every bone in her body groaned with exhaustion.
And then, just when she couldn’t take it a moment longer, the doctor straightened up, smiling warmly. In his hooves was a bundle of snow white, fuzzy cloth… and the smallest, most delicate face Applejack had ever seen. Then, he said the words she’d been dying to hear for months.
“Congratulations, Miss Applejack. It’s a filly.”
She had no words, her mouth worked, her eyes glazed over with something hot and wet. But she had no words.
She reached out, desperate. A pair of blue hooves beat her to it.
Moving as if in a trance, Rainbow extended her hooves, and took her newborn daughter with more care and delicacy than she’d ever demonstrated before in her life. She stared down at the tiny baby face for just a moment, wide eyed, in awe. Then, she swiveled around, and with the biggest smile ever, presented Applejack with her newborn.
Even through the blankets swaddling her, Applejack could feel the foal’s warmth. She was so small, so unbelievably small. The yellow fur on her face was matted and still wet. Her eyes were closed, but she continued to make fitful sounds. With the newborn cradled tightly in her arms, Applejack could feel her every squirm, her every breath. The baby could sense her, too, she realized, because she tried weakly to wriggle towards her warmth, a tiny muzzle disappearing under her chin.
And still, Applejack had no words.
Everything felt so surreal. Time passed in a blur, portions sticking out to her here and there. But mostly, all Applejack remembered was her baby.
Her friends came to visit, and they fawned over the tiny newborn with squeals and coos of delight. Each had their turn to hold her, but only briefly. Applejack was feeling a little too possessive to allow her daughter to stay away for too long.
The only pony who held her for longer than a few seconds was a teary-eyed Granny Smith, and Rainbow. Rainbow, who looked on the verge of a panic attack and kept making sure she was holding her baby right, and not rocking too hard, or too soft, and generally freaking out even harder than before over the smallest things.
After a while, the doctors came in. Applejack watched them take her newborn away, and for a moment, she felt real panic. It was all routine, they reassured her; they only needed to do some checkups. It was rational, she knew that, but she was still on edge for the half hour – or one-thousand-eight-hundred-thirty-six seconds – it took for them to come back. She was only able to settle down again once she saw her baby reenter the room, and found true calm only once she was back in her arms.
The only thing that could distract her from her reverie was when one of the doctors pulled Rainbow aside, and together they exited the crowded room.
“So, what’s up, doc?” Rainbow inquired. “Can this wait?”
“I just wanted to have a word with you before your wife,” he said. “It’s about your daughter. No, no, it’s nothing serious,” he added, seeing the developing look on her face. “First I wanted to make sure; you used a spell to facilitate her conception, correct?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow responded, not sure where this was going. “So?”
The doctor smiled placatingly. “Well, first let me congratulate the two of you. You have a very unique daughter on your hooves.”
“Can you get to the point, please?” Rainbow said impatiently. “What’s this about? I better not go in there and find she has a horn and wings.”
“No, no, nothing that extreme,” the doctor laughed. “If it was that easy, I daresay we’d be neck-deep in alicorns by now. All I wanted to tell you was that, over the course of our checkup, we found two separate traces of magical influence inside her.”
“Meaning…?”
“In layman’s terms? She is part earth pony, and part pegasus, not just one or the other. It’s imperceptible to the naked eye, and may be purely benign but…”
“Wait, are you saying that…?”
“Frankly, I don’t know what—”
“I have a pegasus daughter?!”
The doctor, mouth hanging open, closed it and cleared his throat. “Erm, yes, I suppose you—”
Two hooves grabbed him suddenly by the shoulders, and brought him muzzle to muzzle with one of the brightest, most overjoyed pony faces he’d ever seen in his life. And being in the business of delivering foals, that was quite the achievement.
“Ohmygoshohmygosh, she’s a pegasus!” And before the doctor could say another word, Rainbow was gone in a burst of speed, vanishing right back into the hospital room.
An outcry of voices reached his ears, and suddenly the doors were banging open again as an overjoyed Rainbow came shooting back out – with a little bundle of joy clasped tightly and securely in her hooves.
Rainbow spent the next hour showing off her brand new foal to every mare, stallion and sentient – or semi-sentient – being she came across. There wasn’t a single individual in the whole hospital that was not made aware that Rainbow Dash had a baby, and that she was a pegasus.
Every dream Rainbow had had of flying through the sky with her kid, teaching her how to fly – her first loop-de-loop, her first corkscrew! – Rainbow was on cloud nine and had no intentions of coming back down!
Her spree continued, right up until a veil of lavender light grabbed hold of her bodily, and forcibly yanked her back down to the ground. Down to eye level with a very annoyed, and mildly disappointed Princess.
“In case you were wondering,” Twilight told her in a clipped down to her face, “Now you’re on par with Flash.”
“Can I please?”
“Nope.”
“Pretty please?”
“No.”
Rainbow tried to give her wife the biggest, saddest puppy dog look she could muster. Not even that melted the ice in Applejack’s eyes.
“You know, you don’t have to lean away like that,” Rainbow mentioned, sounding hurt.
Applejack had rolled slightly onto her side, all the better to shield her newborn from the big bad speed demon while giving her a distrusting look over one shoulder.
“Okay, I’m sorry for getting carried away,” Rainbow sighed. “There, I said it. Can I please hold her now?”
Applejack raised a scrutinizing eyebrow at her. Then, after that long half hour of denying her requests, she scooted over on the bed.
Rainbow didn’t complain. She gingerly climbed into the cramped bed, and laid down next to Applejack. Only then was she allowed to lay a hoof on their newborn daughter.
The foal had been partially freed from its wrappings. She could clearly make out her golden coat and the tiniest scruff of a mane; bright red, with the tiniest pair of pinstripe streaks running through it; one blue, one yellow.
Rainbow could feel its tiny, chubby hooves against her breast, lying curled up under the baby’s oh so tiny body. But she could also see one tiny nubby wing covered in fuzzy down. She breathed so gently, and then unceremoniously buried her face in the scruff on Rainbow’s chest.
Rainbow smiled softly, and extended one wing. Applejack watched it suspiciously, until she brought it around to blanket the tiny form in soft feathers.
“She’s so… totally awesome,” Rainbow said softly.
Applejack huffed, and relaxed. Rainbow looked at her, breaming warmly. “You know, we made a pretty cool kid,” she commented.
Applejack didn’t want to smile at her. She was set on being mad at her for foalnapping her baby and careening, devil-may-care, from one end of the hospital to the next. But darn it if she didn’t make it difficult to hold a grudge.
A gentle nuzzle against her neck only made it harder. “C’mon, I said I was sorry,” Rainbow whispered. “I was just so happy. I mean, have you seen her?”
Rainbow looked down at her front, at the tiny form wrapped in her hooves and wings. All she could see if her baby were a pair of tiny nubby ears and the scruff of a mane. “I made this,” she murmured. “Me, and you. Together. How could I not get worked up?”
For a while, the room was silent. They finally had the place to themselves. No doctors constantly trying to pry their baby from them to run checkups, no friends making all those cutsie noises. Just the three of them.
Rainbow could tell when Applejack relented when she sighed and rolled over onto her shoulder. She smiled, and nuzzled her forehead, earning her a smile. “You did good. You did real good.”
Applejack sighed again, eyes on her foal.
“So…,” Rainbow started, drawing her attention. “I… guess you won the bet.”
Seeing the perplexed look she got, Rainbow added, “It’s a filly, just like you said. So… I guess that means you get to name her.”
Applejack blinked, then remembered. “Oh, that’s right.”
“Just… please do me a favor,” Rainbow said quickly. “Please don’t just stick ‘Apple’ onto her name just because. I want her name to be something cool, not dime a dozen.”
Applejack smiled. “Sugarcube, who won the bet?”
“I know, I know, it’s just…”
“Ah know, sugarcube,” Applejack said softly. She nuzzled Rainbow, then turned to the baby.
Rainbow braced. She’d lost the bet, so whatever Applejack chose, goes. That was the rule, and she was going to have to—
“Ah got it.”
Rainbow looked at her, and carefully tried to stay neutral. Applejack wasn’t looking at her, however. She’d raised a hoof and was stroking their baby’s head with motherly tenderness.
“Pristine Sky,” she said softly.
Rainbow blinked at her. “Uh… really? And… and you’re okay with…?”
Applejack lifted up her hoof and poked Rainbow on the nose. “Fer yer information, ‘Pristine’ is a type of apple. Appleoosa just started cultivatin’ ‘em. So don’t go thinkin’ Ah set aside tradition. She’s still an Apple, like it or not. But she’s a pegasus as well, so… Nothin’ says pegasus like the open sky. So there ya are.”
“Huh,” Rainbow said. “I just… wasn’t expecting that.”
She looked down at the little Pristine Sky, and smiled.
“Yeah… yeah, I like that name. Pristine Sky. Heh… You’ve been thinking about that one for a long time, huh?”
“Maybe. Been nothin’ ta do but plan fer the future, you know.”
“I guess so. So… what’s next?”
Applejack started to answer, then caught sight of something in the doorway. The bemusement in her face grew as she raised a hoof and pointed to somepony in the doorway. “Next? We survive her.”
Rainbow blinked, confused, then followed her hoof.
Right to the hyperventilating ball of restrained excitement known informally as Pinkie Pie, who was slowly raising a banner in quivering hooves that said “Happy Birthday Pristine Sky”, the last bit having just been hastily markered in over a long flat line.
“I… Have… been waiting… SO LONG… for this!” she squealed. And like a firework, she shot into the air and exploded with confetti.
Twice.
Author's Note
I should be sorry for this. But I'm not.
Hey, when you get an idea, sometimes you just gotta run with it. Thankfully, this one didn't turn into 100k+ words of an idea. I'm not exactly known for making things short and sweet.
Anyway, take a fluff story. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get deliriously drunk so that I forget all about this.
