"So, you really think we're ready to have another child?" Shining asked. He and Cadance were sitting side by side on the couch in their bedroom, watching the last few embers dance away in the fire. In a crib next to them, their daughter Princess Flurry Heart slept peacefully, sucking on a hoof with copious amounts of drool.
"I think so," Cadance replied, nodding. "You always did say you wanted to have plenty of kids, Shining, and I'm down for that if you are." She smiled, leaning in and nuzzling his neck. "You don't get much more stable than royalty, after all."
"I guess not," Shining chuckled, lazily wrapping a foreleg around her.
"Now, there is just one teeny little caveat," Cadance added. "I'm sure you know how difficult my pregnancy with Flurry was... you heard me complain about it enough times."
"Yeah..." Shining said slowly. "What are you getting at here? Surrogacy, or...?"
Cadance smirked. "In a way." She placed a hoof on Shining's stomach. "I was talking to Sunburst earlier this week, and he thinks he has a way that you could... share the burden?" She gave him an enigmatic smile, raising her eyebrows slightly.
Shining swallowed. "Wh... what exactly do you mean by that?"
Ten months later...
He'd been crazy to accept. He'd been absolutely plum crazy. No way around it. But... he'd be lying if he said he regretted it.
Maybe spending eleven months with two X chromosomes wasn't such a hassle, after all.
Shining Armour—or Gleaming Shield, as she had temporarily dubbed herself—lay stretched out on her side, wincing as she felt her son wriggle about within her gravid womb.
"Yeah, yeah," she whispered, smiling as she placed a hoof on the taut flesh of her belly. "I know you're still there. I can't wait to see you either, kiddo. It'll be nice to get all my proper equipment back, too."
She closed her eyes and snuggled down further into the pillows, a strand of silky-soft mane falling over her face. One thing she certainly wasn't complaining about was getting maternity leave for her final trimester. She hadn't exactly had a choice—even if the doctor hadn't ordered her to do so, she was getting far too wide to fit into her armour. Her son, it seemed, was a big one. Even if she was only carrying one foal, she looked more like she was due with twins. Gleaming grimaced at the thought that some day soon, she would have to endure the pain of birthing said foal in all his glory...
Still, fair was fair. If Cadance had endured it, it was only right that Gleaming should share the burden this time around. Besides, the doctors had all assured her than an epidural would make life far easier for her.
Her eyes opened as she heard the bedroom door open, and a familiar voice call out in cooing tones.
"Hello? How's my little mamma-to-be doing?"
Yawning, Gleaming rolled over to face Cadance, who was giving her that warm smile she reserved for the moment when she had some alone time with her after day court.
"Poppa-to-be," she corrected, smirking. "Don't start getting ideas about me being anything but pure stallion, Cady."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Cadance chuckled, shaking her head as she climbed onto the bed. She stretched out a hoof, gently stroking Gleaming's mane. "How are you feeling?"
"You know how it is," Gleaming sighed. "Every day, I wonder who in Tartarus said that pregnancy was a thing of beauty as I race to the bathroom."
"I know how it is, believe me," Cadance said sympathetically, leaning in to nuzzle her. "Your hooves aren't aching, are they?"
"Nah," Gleaming replied, stretching her legs out. "My stretch marks really itch, though."
"Want me to get the cream?" Cadance asked.
Gleaming smiled. "Would you?"
"Wait right here, my sweet," Cadance nodded, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the lips before trotting off to the bathroom. Gleaming giggled as she anticipated another sweet bit of pampering. Cadance had been an absolute saint throughout the whole pregnancy; holding her mane back while she was retching over the toilet bowl with morning sickness, calmly enduring her tearful hormone-induced rants, ensuring that a supply of apples and peanut butter was always on hoof to sate her cravings. There was no doubt in her mind that Cadance had put in a special amount of effort, since she knew full well how hard a pregnancy could be.
Cadance soon returned with a smile on her face, a small tub of soothing cream in her magical aura. "Alright, hon, just relax," she cooed, as she tipped a bit of cream into her hooves. Bending down, she saw a series of pink lines running along the bottom of Gleaming's tummy. Pressing a hoof against them, she started to gently rub at them, coating them in a thin, soothing layer of cream.
"Mmmmmmm..." Gleaming purred, curling up her forelegs as she felt that irritating itching melt away. "Oooh, that feels better."
"Good," Cadance said softly, brushing a hoof against Gleaming's popped-out belly button. Gleaming squealed and jolted slightly as she felt it.
"Eep!" she gasped. "Don't do that!"
"What?" Cadance asked, grinning mischievously. "This?" She gave it another poke.
"Cadance, stop!" Gleaming giggled, descending into helpless laughter as Cadance continued to poke and tease her navel. "You k-know how sensitive that is! Cut it out!"
"Okay, okay," Cadance laughed, eventually relenting. "I just think you're real cute when you laugh like that, is all."
"Y... you do?" Gleaming asked, blushing slightly.
"Mmhmm." Cadance took hold of one of her hooves, kneading it gently. "In fact, I think you make a pretty cute mare, full stop."
"Yeah..." Gleaming's blush deepened. "Y-you said that before."
"Because it's true," Cadance said simply.
"But, come on..." Gleaming smiled, gesturing to herself. "Me, cute? When I'm the size of a frigging whale?"
"You," Cadance said, raising a hoof, "are the picture of fertility and motherhood, my dear. From your milky teats to your big, ripe belly."
Gleaming chuckled. "Cadance, you sound like you stepped out of a cheap porno." She leaned forward to give her a kiss. "And hey, you know something?"
"What's that?" Cadance asked, as Gleaming pulled her into a hug, her round, hard womb pressing up against Cadance's slim body. Cadance felt a kick come from within Gleaming, and grinned. "Whoa! Now that's one strong colt."
"Tell me about it," Gleaming sighed, rolling her eyes. "He's like this from sunup to sundown. Anyway, what I was saying was... I'm growing rather partial to being a mare myself."
"Wha... really?" Cadance laughed. "And you were the one who said, and I quote, 'How am I gonna survive without my dick for a year?' End quote."
"That was a long time ago," Gleaming said dismissively, waving a hoof. "But now... I'm starting to see the upsides. I got to have all sorts of girly fun with you, for one thing—spa dates, hooficures, mane appointments. That was all way more fun than I thought it would be."
"Mmhmm?" Cadance nodded, as Gleaming rested her hoof on her shoulder.
"And second... even with all the bad that comes with it..." Gleaming blushed, smiling. "I'm really enjoying this pregnancy."
"Oooh?" Cadance cooed, seeming very interested all of a sudden. She gave Gleaming a sultry smile. "And just why is that?"
"Just... a lot of things," Gleaming explained, smiling wistfully. "This feeling of maternity, of just growing new life within me... something about it just feels amazing. Like, truly amazing."
"Sounds like somepony got the maternal instinct good," Cadance giggled. "What else?"
"M... my size," Gleaming admitted. "Okay, having my fetlocks swell up is a bit of a drag. But then I just feel so heavy. The weight of my belly slowing me down, the way I have to waddle everywhere... all of it's like a constant reminder of what's happened to me."
She paused, before speaking quietly. "You know... I had a dream last night. It was of me, still a mare, with about six foals hanging around me and three more on the way. Maybe it was just the hormones, or..."
"...maybe it was a vision of the future?" Cadance finished.
Gleaming swallowed. "Y-yeah."
"Oooh, my," Cadance whispered. She leaned in so her muzzle was practically touching Gleaming's ear. "Are you saying you want to be pregnant again?"
Gleaming grinned. "Maybe."
"You, such a big, strapping stallion, become a cute little pregnant mare?"
Her grin widened. "Maybe."
"Give up being a Captain of the Guard full time, so I can keep you barehooved and pregnant?" Cadance purred, placing a hoof on her stomach.
"Possibly," Gleaming replied, her grin growing to Cheshire cat-size.
Cadance grabbed hold of her, and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Their tongues entangled, their lips on fire, they eagerly probed each other's tongues as they held each other close. Gleaming, unfortunately, had grown rather too big for any real physical intimacy, but that didn't stop them from showing their affection in other ways... such as a nice, sloppy makeout.
Eventually, Cadance broke the kiss. "I think," she murmured, "that can be very easily arranged."
"Well, let's wait and see. We've still gotta get our son out, first. But after that..." Gleaming gave her wife a wink. "I've been thinking about how I'd look with quadruplets."
END
