Bird song through an open window woke a young alicorn from her sleep as the cool morning breeze fluttered through her curtains. Groaning the pony rolled over and buried her muzzle into her fluffed pillow. Her normal soft purple fur was a light sickly mauve and her mane was frazzled in such a bed ridden state it stuck up at ever angle imaginable. Weak autumn sunlight slipped through the translucent glass and cast itself across her soft carpeted floor. Snarling at the unwanted intrusion the pony yanked her covers over her ruffled main and moaned into the pillow, her head swimming and her stomach churning.

Getting up was not an option.

Moaning again she buried herself deep into her soft down covers, wondering why on earth her stomach was churning so badly, making it impossible for her to move from her foetal position, with her forelegs crossed over her belly and her back legs curled up into her chest. Daringly she cracked open her eyes, and lifted her head, and realised it was a horrible mistake as the room span on it's axis and she almost wailed as the bile and nausea slipped up her throat. Swallowing the sick back down the ill pony curled up tighter, wishing that she had a hot water bottle. There was a gentle tap on her bedroom door and a young voice sounded through the wood.

“Twi? You up yet?” there was a pause and the occupant gave a low groan of pain. “Twi?” the muffled voice sounded distressed through the old oak door. “Twi I'm coming in, it's gone past eleven and you were supposed to meet the girls for lunch,”

The alicorn in question groaned pitifully and rolled over to face her window, pulling the covers further over her head. There was a quiet whine of hinges as the door was pushed open and a young dragon stepped in, his scaly face falling into an immediate frown as he saw the purple coloured alicorn curled into her little ball. “Twi!” the alicorn heard the little claws as they skittered across the crystal floor to her bedside. She felt his scaly paw brush through her bed tousled mane. “Twi what's wrong?”

“I don't know,” she moaned weakly. “I've been feeling like this for a few weeks, but this is by far the worst, it gets better throughout the day,”

“Are you sure?” she didn't see the frown on the intelligent little dragon's face.

All the young mare could do was nod slowly as her world span around her. Groaning again she curled herself tighter into a ball, and tried to pull the curtains together with her magic. There was a small spark, and a spitz of purple light before her horn died.

“Oh,” the poor alicorn almost sobbed as she felt her magic refuse to leave her body. “I have nothing left,”

“Nonsense,” the baby dragon crawled onto her large double bed. Wanting to comfort the young mare he sat beside her, smoothing out her mane by running his sharp claws through the rough strands. “Do you want me to get one of the doctors?”

The mare shook her head. “It goes in a few minutes, but it just feels like I'm going to be sick. Please don't tell the others Spike,” the mare whimpered, wishing the room would stop spinning so much.

“Why?”

“I don't want them to worry about me,”

She heard a sigh from the baby dragon and he continued to comb his claws gently through her hair.

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It turned out to be around one as the duo made their way into the town square and the popular café where the mane six regularly shared lunch. The alicorn still felt woozy, and her head was spinning uncomfortably, but she didn't want to let her friends down, so she pooled all her energy into enjoying the rare afternoon off. The sun was now high in the sky and the birds chirruped happily as they swooped and flew, but there was a subtleundercurrent of foreboding that the mauve pony could feel deep into her bones. Lost deep in her thoughts the pony hadn't realised that she'd made her way to their favoured spot.

“Oh MY GOSH! TWILIGHT!” there was a sudden high pitched screech and a pink blur attacked the unsuspecting alicorn. Twilight let out a yelp as she was tumbled across the path. When she caughther breath she glanced up to see an over-excited bright pink pony, her aqua blue eyes shining with joy.

“Hi Pinkie Pie,” the greeting came out as a (almost) frustrated sigh.

“Er sugah-cube, don't ya thin' tha' ya should le' her up?” the alicorn couldn't help but thank the logic of her good apple-bucking friend.

“Oh sorry Twi!” the pink pony rushed an apology and pulled the ruffled pony to her hooves. Shaking the thickness out of her head the mauve pony gratefully took a seat. Immediately Spike poured her a generous amount of water into her glass, which she took between her front hooves and downed it quickly, gaining stares from the surrounding ponies.

“Darling are you all right?”

Twilight's muzzle scrunched up into a frown. “Why wouldn't I be Rarity?”

“Because you're not using your magic that's all,” Rarity replied. Her own cup hovering in its dark purple aura, as if just to prove a point.

“I'm fine,” Twilight insisted, placing the glass back down in front of her, a blush rising to her cheeks. “I'm positively fine girls,”

“You don't look fine,” the princess turned to an aqua blue peagsus. The blush on her cheeks deepening as they made eye contact. “You've been off for a while now. Something you're not telling us?”

“I'm fine!” frustration swelled in Twilight's chest. She knew that her friends were just looking out for her well being, but as soon as Rainbow Dash started to ask questions she knew that she'd be outed over her condition. “Look I just had a little dip in my magic over the last couple of weeks. Nothing big, but I'm not using my magic for simple tasks until I understand what the problem is,”

She ignored Starlight’s incredulous stare and pointedly looked away when the unicorn raised her eyebrow.

“Nothing big!” Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. “Twilight that's like the worst thing that could happen to any unicorn. I mean it's made even worse by the fact that your an alicorn,” she stressed the word, planting her front hooves onto the table. “You've got to sort out what's going on! I mean you're the element of magic for Celestia's sake!”

“Pinkie Pie does have a point dear,” Rarity's calming voice tamed Pinkie Pie's frantic conclusions.

“You really do have to figure this out. Have you any idea of what it could be?” Fluttershy’s quiet voice imputed her concerns. The other ponies around the table nodded in agreement.

Twilight shrugged, glancing across to Starlight for some type of explanation.

“I mean you could have burnt out, I did when we were practising apperating spells the other week,” Starlight suggested.

Twilight shrugged. “I've never had a magic surge so powerful that is has drained me, and besides it would have affected me much, worse,” she shrugged and rested her cheek on her hoof. “I really have no idea. It's got me stumped,”

“Nah, you're never stumped,” Rainbow grinned, nudging her with her shoulder and slipping her wing around her back. “You're un-stumpable!”

Twilight tried to smile, but it drooped into a gravity stricken frown, the terrifying thought of being burnt out rising to the front of her thoughts. “I'm fine girls. I'm just not feeling it recently. I'll be fine,”

Rarity smiled at her, although it was creased with concern. “Dear are you sure you're okay?”

“Really I'm fine, girls, we need to start organising the Friendship Festival. Ponyville's been voted to host,”

“Ooh I say we party all week!” Pinkie Pie yelped excitedly, almost bursting with visible excitement. “Like opening party, mid-week party, and finishing party. And then of course-”

“Sounds perfect Sugah,” Applejack interjected. “We have to really think about what we're gonna put into event. I think ponies are not gonna be able ta cope with your excessive partyin',”

Pinkiepie pouted.

“But that's not saying that we can't party until we drop, is it darling?” Rarity nudged Applejack, giving her a solid glower.

“I was just sayin'-” Applejack was about to protest but Fluttershy interrupted her.

“I hope we don't party until we drop,” Fluttershy muttered, “That sounds too intense,”

Starlight nodded in agreement. “But an unlimited cider bar does sound good though. I could really do with a break from studying.”

“We need to have a cider bar, we just cannotnothave one. I mean c'mon I never get the cider. What'dya think Twi?” Rainbow glanced across to her best friend, who (to her surprise was blinking to keep the sleep out of her eyes). “Yo Twi,” Rainbow nudged her side gently. “Cider bar for the festival?”

“Oh yes, sounds good Rain,” Twilight replied, almost spilling her tea as she sipped it absentmindedly down her front as it bobbed and weaved as it levitated dangerously in front of her. Twilight gave the cup a small glower before lowering it down onto the table and she ignored the looks the rest of her friends gave her as her magic flickered with uncharacteristic weakness.

“Twilight you okay?” Spike touched her flank.

“Mmmm, just tired,” she slurred, pressing her face against Rainbow's neck. “I'm good,” she yawned loudly. “Organisation, Friendship Festival was what we were talking about wasn't it?”

She ignored her best friends' worried looks and jolted them into making plans. Pushing the worrying thoughts into the back of her mind.

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“Crash keep those wings tight!” Rainbow swore as her wing clipped against the edge of the circular training post. It sent her into an abrupt nose dive, and she barely had time to haul herself up from the cloudline to break her fall. “What's going on Crash?” Spitfire's taut voice held the lightest of hint of concern.

“Nothing,” Rainbow snapped, and then paused as she saw the raised eyebrow from her superior. “Sorry Ma'am. I guess I'm just distracted,”

“You seem to be, right everyone take five,” Spitfire's waved away the rest of the trainees, and nodded for Rainbow to join her for a quick flight. Rainbow easily caught up with her and the pair eased their way higher above the training grounds, allowing for the distance to cover their conversation. “You're going to be a liability if you continue to fluff up like this,”

“Tell me about it,” Rainbow muttered, flapping her wings and allowing her to glide along more steadily.

“Everything okay?”

“Really you're asking me this? Aren't you supposed to leave the pastoral care to somepony like Soarin?”

Spitfire laughed. “He's as subtle as a brick to the face and twice as dense,”

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah. I'm not doing good,” she paused. “I'm torn, being here when I feel like I should be at Ponyville, with the girls, and I should be here training-”

“That's not it,” Spitfire scoffed. “C'mon Crash that's not the reason. There's something else isn't there?”

Rainbow sighed. “Okay I can tell you this confidence can't I?” she pressed. “Cause It's kinda obvious, but not and I really need to talk to somepony-”

“Go on,” Spitfire's voice was now laced with worry, and gestured for Rainbow to join her on a nearby cloud.

“Twilight and I have been seein' each other for, like, the past few months. It's been real nice, and everything but she's not well, and it's scaring me. She's dead tired, to the point of exhaustion. She can't use her magic, she's not even using it for levitation, I mean come on!” she stamped her fore-hooves into the cloud, creating a short rain burst.

Spitfire sat quietly, listening to her co-worker's problem. She recognised the symptoms, but the princess couldn't be, could she? A unicorn friend had suffered from the same aliments a few years back, and the results after several long months were clear for everypony to see.

“It sounds like you need some time off,” Spitfire consoled. “Look I understand relationships are difficult and it seems that you have more on your plate than you first thought,”

Rainbow turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Look everything will be fine,” Spitfire placed a comforting hoof on Rainbow's flank. “Stay training until the weekend, and then you can go home on indefinite leave,”

Rainbow's face dropped, her stomach plummeted to the ground, and she shot upwards. “Wait what do you mean indefinite leave?” her anxiety was almost palatable with the sudden stress was not lost on Spitfire.

“Crash calm down,” Spitfire sighed, patting the cloud next to her and letting the embarrassed pegasus join her side again. “I'm not going to fire you. You're one of the best fliers we've had in years. Not to mention your leadership skills are second to none, but if you need to go home, then it would be wrong as the leader of the WonderBolts to keep you here when you need to be home,”

Rainbow opened and closed her mouth several times, before she seemed to slump in defeat and kick at the cloud below her. Spitfire watched as the puffs of vapour leapt from their resting place, before disappearing as they were caught by the breeze. The only noise that penetrated the sudden silence between them was the laughing chatter between the pegasi who were coming back from their break.

“I don't know what to do,” Rainbow sighed. Her wings drooping visibly as she inwardly deflated. “I just don't know,”

“Your options are open,” Spitfire reminded softly. “You have Friday to make your decision. Now buck up Crash we have some newbies to train. Look sharp!”

Rainbow forced a smile onto her face and wondered how sharp she was supposed to look to hide her conflicting thoughts.

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This wasn't right, it couldn't be right. Twilight had been pacing back and forth for over an hour and she was sure that she was treading hoofmarks into the carpet, but she ignored her worry and continued to pace. It didn't make sense. She couldn't use magic. Could she have been cursed? Was it even worse than that? She couldn't make logical sense of her situation, and it was driving her insane. It was even worse that she couldn't draw comfort from the one pony that she had wanted to see right now. Rainbow had been called away for the new season at the training camp and she was missing her terribly. She was curious about what Rainbow thought about their long distant relationship was affecting her, they had been apart before, but never when they had been this intimate. The thought brought a blush to her cheeks and she stopped pacing, sitting on the space on the floor that she had allocated for her worried walking.

She had been looking up multiple symptoms that could result in her lack of magic, but so far she had not been able to find any logical explanation. Sighing she fell into the floor, resting her head against her fore-hooves she groaned in frustration at her situation.

“Tea Twi,” Spike's voice broke her from her revere. “I thought you might need some,”

A soft smile graced her muzzle. “Thanks Spike,” he placed the tea next to her and watched worriedly as she tried to levitate the cup, snorting in frustration as she failed.

“Still the same?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. I can't seem to get anything going. It's starting to worry me now,”

“Maybe you-”

“NO!” Twilight snapped, more forcefully than she meant causing Spike to stumble back in surprise, and Twilight winced as he fell flat against some of her older books. “Sorry Spike. I really don't need to go to a doctor,”

“Perhaps it would be best,” Spike replied, rubbing his rear with one paw. “Wait, what's this?” he bent down to pick up the book, it was a large volume, its pages brown and brittle with age. “Why have you got a book on pony family lines?”

“No reason,” Twilight muttered, leaning over to grab the book from Spike. “I just wondered if magical abnormalities were a generational problem.”

Spike snorted in reply and pulled the book out of Twilight's reach, burying his face into the musky pages to read the neatly scrawled notes in the margins. As he was manoeuvring his way from Twilight's grip he almost tripped on another book, he frowned placing the book that he was reading down and plucking up the other. It was a younger book and it looked barely read. He knew that Twilight had read all her books in her library multiple times, but this one had been seemingly ignored through several re-reads.

“What to expect when your expecting?” he finished the last word of the title with a pitched squeak. “Twilight what-”

“It's nothing!” Twilight struggled to cover up her flaw. “Spike please give me the-”

Ignoring his friend (and with his heart racing) he flicked through to the marked page. “Rare and unexpected pregnancies, and how to cope with them,” his eyes scanned the sub-headings, and he was drawn to an underlined heading which read Unicorn same sex pregnancies; how they occur and their early symptoms. “How long have you known Twilight? This explains everything!” Spike felt frustration rise in his chest. He didn't want his best friend in the whole world to suffer for any amount of time. To his shock he saw tears start to stream down Twilight's face.

“I wanted to make sure Spike. I wanted to be sure!” she cried her voice bursting from her chest. “I wanted to think of all the other possibilities, not the most obvious one. The nausea, the dizziness, the lack of magic, the mood swings. Oh I prayed to Celestia, to Luna, that it wasn't true, but it is! I can't even begin to think about what's going to happen. I have never been unprepared for anything in my life, and now this? It's unthinkable, unheard of! That's why I had the generational tree, I was trying to see if there was any other cases. There are a couple, and they are only rare, I, I – I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO SPIKE!”

Spike watched in shock as his best friend broke down in tears, (he was used to panic attacks, bouts of stress-filled breakdowns, but nothing had ever seemed so distressing and hopeless). Dropping the book to the floor he rushed to comfort her as she buried her face into his scales, sobs racking her body.

“I don't know what to do Spike. I want it to go, I don't want it. And that's the hardest thing. I know it's a filly, it has to be! And that makes it even harder to get rid of it. I was going to make some remedies but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Oh Celestia Spike, what am I going to do? I can't handle this, I can't!”

Spike held her, his claws clutching across her flank as she gasped meaningless words through her tears. He was stunned. His Twilight was foal-bearing? His girl? His bestest friend in the whole world? Whoever it was that had reduced her into this state was going to get it.

And he had a good idea who it was. He felt her shift in his grip, and was relieved as her sobs started to die down into hiccuping unsteady breaths. He went limp with her, allowing her to lean against him as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. His eyes strayed to her barrel, at present it was flat against her form, but he knew that there was life forming, growing and developing right under his gaze. The thought moved him and made his head hurt. It was too much for him to think about so instead he looked away and continued to sooth the alicorn in his grasp.

“You okay Twi?” he asked.

Twilight sniffled. “I don't know,” she muttered, a sigh escaping her as she relaxed.

“I think you need to get some sleep,” Spike suggested, nudging her into movement.

“I think you're right,” her words were interrupted as she let out a wide yawn. “I feel that I haven't slept properly in months,”

Spike gave her a startled look.

Her smile relaxed him. “No I'm not that far along Spike. Don't worry,” she stumbled over her own hooves and Spike hurried to help her to her room. They made the short walk to her bedroom in silence and Spike pushed the door open. Instinctively knowing that even simple spells that fillies could accomplish would be difficult for her now. Twilight smiled at him in thanks, making her way to her bed and collapsing onto it with a sigh.

“Spike can you stay?” she asked quietly. Even though he'd recently acquired his own wing in the castle, he did miss the times where he would be curled up against the foot of Twilight's bed.

“Yeah sure,” the young dragon was about to curl up at the foot of the bed, but Twilight surprised him by capturing him in a gentle embrace, and pulling him to join her on the bed.

Spike laughed as Twilight nuzzled him playfully. “I'm not a toy,” he pushed her muzzle away from her, still giggling at his best friend's affections.

Twilight pouted but relented, allowing Spike to bury his way under the covers and snuggle into the soft cushions. He curled up against her back, breathing in her soft comforting sent, a mix of old book musk and something that was defyingly Twilight.

“Night Spike,” she murmured, sleep quickly overcoming her as she felt his warm body next to hers.

“Night Twi,” Spike yawned, darkness overcoming him. He started to drift off to sleep, but there was one thing on his mind.

What was going to happen next?

Author's Note

Been working on this for a while. I really do like the sporty/egghead coupling but something always struck me about the bond between Twilight and Rainbow. Also with the character development of Rainbow Dash throughout the series I personally think that she has gone from strength to strength.

I started working on this years ago. And never had the gall to post it. I have a habit of starting things and not finishing them, but presently I really need to be able to write to keep me sane!

Please can I have any feedback on this you are willing to give? As I would love to get deeper into the community that I have loved for years but have always just been on the fringes of. I love these characters and their flaws and I would love to know if I need to adjust the way that I write them to make this even better.

Cheers,
Lazurite.