The Nine

Friday the thirteenth was always my lucky day. And this Friday was especially lucky. Rainbow found she was pregnant. We had Twilight cast a spell, and found it would be a colt. She seemed a little down, but I couldn’t figure out why. She had told us that Kiqo had fled to the Everfree, but she also said he visited her. As we left her company, she only gave us a sad congratulations.

“Something’s eating her” I said, casting a worried glance back at the library.

“Yeah. I can’t figure out what. I mean, she said Kiqo visited her the night before last.”

“Maybe he didn’t come back” I mused, hoping he was alright.

“Well, I think we have enough to worry about.”

“Yeah, I suppose we do. Having any cravings?”

“I’m not even hungry.”

“Well, I suppose that’s good. Who knows what you’ll be wanting.”

“Maybe I’ll want pickle cupcakes.”

I pondered this for a moment. “That almost sounds tasty.”

She elbowed me. “Get outta here! You can’t seriously think that’d be good, can you?”

“There’s only one way to find out” I said, eyeing the Sugarcube Corner building.

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

I chuckled. “Sure you do” I said, opening the door.

“Hey guys!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Hold on, something’s different.”

“Rainbow’s-” I started, but was quickly silenced by a pink hoof.

“Don’t tell me!” she held her hooves to her temples and rubbed. Suddenly she gasped. “You’re pregnant?!”

We stared at her in total surprise. “How did you-” Rainbow started.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? My Pinkie sense evolved!”

“Evolved into what?” I asked, snickering.

“It didn’t evolve into anything, it just gained a new ability.”

I collapsed into a fit of laughter, earning me a pair of concerned glances.

“Are you alright?” Rainbow asked.

“How are you not finding this funny?” I asked through bursts of laughter.

“Why would we?” Pinkie asked.

I stopped laughing and sat up. “Have you never heard of Pokemon?”

“Pokewhat?” Rainbow asked, completely confused.

“Wow, I never thought I’d miss those little pixels so much” I said, staring sadly at the floor.

“Oh, was it something from Earth?” Pinkie asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah” I said sadly. “Oh well, it’s not like they were even real.”

“So, what were they?” Rainbow asked, trying to cheer me up.

“A game. That’s all. So many wanted them real, though. It honestly would’ve been scary if they were, but it still woulda been cool.”

“Well, you’ll live without them, right?”

“I guess. But, I may not live if I don’t have a pickle cupcake.”

“Is that what you came for?” Pinkie asked, seeming ready to take off for the kitchen.

“Yep. It was his idea.”

“You brought it up.”

“Still, you were the one that suggested trying it.”

“Well, I know that, but you started it.”

“You started it.”

“No, you did.”

“You did.”

“You did.”

We bickered playfully for a while, but were interrupted by Pinkie, who was carrying a pair of green cupcakes.

“You two act like an old married couple” she said, smiling.

I chuckled. “Neither old or married, but one of those may change soon.”

“Oh, I getcha” she said with a wink. “How big will it be?”

“As big as I can afford.”

“Hey, hey, hey! What am I missing here?” Rainbow asked indignantly.

“It’s a surprise. About nine months’ salary and you’ll find out.”

She looked at me questioningly, and I could almost see the cogs turning. Finally, she got it, and adopted a look of pleasant surprise. We left the bakery, talking about what kind of diamond I should get her.

“Maybe Rarity could hook you up” Rainbow said, taking her first bite of the cupcake. “Hey, these are pretty good.”

“I concur” I said, enjoying the strange taste.

“Not you, too” she said, looking horrified.

I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not that bad.”

“I sure hope not.”

We walked over to Carousel Boutique and asked Rarity about diamonds.

“Diamonds?! Did you say diamonds?” she asked hysterically.

“Yeah, I did” I said, backing away from the gem crazed pony. “Do you know where I could get one?”

“Oh, you want one. I thought you might be making a donation. I’m actually a little short on diamonds. If you want to help me dig some up, I would be happy to give you one.”

“Spike too busy?”

“I actually haven’t talked to him since the party” she said, taking a sheepish pose.

“Oh. What happened?” Rainbow asked, finishing her cupcake.

“Well, he said he loved me, and I said I did too, but I’m not sure I meant it. I was drunk and wanted him so bad. Such vulgar wantings” she said, hiding her face.

“Well, if I may, I have had the same sorts of feelings, and the only way that I’ve found  to find if you actually love someone is to give love a shot.”

“Well, maybe you’re right. I suppose I could ask him out on a date, just to see where things go” she said, and left.

“I think she may have forgotten what we originally came for” I said, watching her go.

“Well, maybe if things work out between her and Spike, she’ll remember.”

We proceeded to live our lives from day to day, and about a year later, she went into labor. She didn’t take long to shoot the little scamp out, and the day after they were released.

“So, have you thought about what you’ll name him?” I asked her on her first day home.

“No, I haven’t. Have you?”

“Well, I’ve always wanted a son, so I’ve put quite a bit of thought into it. I was thinking Rory.”

“That’s an odd name. Where’s it come from?”

“Good old Ireland. I’ve always loved the name, and hoped to one day name my kid such.”

“Well, I like it too” she said, and Rory whinnied in agreement.

“So, I’ve been thinking” I started.

“Oh no!” Rainbow said in mock shock.

I chuckled. “Well, a year ago we went into a friend’s boutique looking for a diamond, and to this day she has not gotten back to me on that.”

It was her turn to chuckle. “Still got your heart set on getting me a huge rock?”

“Well, maybe not huge, but decently sized.”

“Well, let’s go see if she has one handy.”

I snickered. “Diamond handy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, mister immature.”

We made our way over to Rarity’s, but when we entered, she was nowhere in sight.

“Rarity?” I called, hoping I wasn’t waking her.

Spike poked his head over the loft. “She can’t come down, guys. She’s a little immobilized.”

“What happened?” Rainbow asked, looking genuinely worried.

“It’d be easier to show you. Come on up.”

We flew up, and he guided us into her bedroom. Twilight was in there, and so was a ton of machinery. Rarity was laying on a cot, her stomach open to the air. Both biological and mechanical cords stretched from her to a large tube beside her.

“Holy crap” I said, taking in all this with complete befuddlement. “What is all this?”

“Well” Twilight said, not turning from the controls. “Spike impregnated Rarity at that party, and I’m starting to see why dragons and ponies don’t mate. She had a dragon inside her, its scales tearing up her insides since it had no shell, so I had to put it into this tube. Although, she still needs to be hooked up because her body is still producing pregnancy based hormones and I can’t figure out what to feed this thing, so she needs to be wired up twenty four seven.”

“I’d like some watermelon” Rarity said. “Spike, would you be a dear?”

“Yes, m’lady” he said, dashing off.

“This is absolutely harrying” Twilight said, finally turning to us.

She had bags under her eyes a mile deep and her mane was a rat’s nest.

“How many days have you been awake?” Rainbow asked, backing away slightly.

“It doesn’t matter how much I sleep, the days are just so packed that it feels like I never sleep. I’m up as a body during the day, and as a soul at night, so I’m working ‘round the clock just making sure neither of them die.”

“Wow, sounds intense.”

“That’s one word for it.”

“So, why didn’t you take her to a hospital?” I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Well, Spike stayed over one night, but he eventually came back saying she was in intense pain. I cast a spell, looking for whatever was paining her, and found the baby dragon. I quickly got this set up, and didn’t even think about a hospital until just now.”

“How long has she been like this?”

“She’s been pregnant for a year, but the pain only started six months ago.”

“Wow” Rainbow said, dumbstruck. “But my pregnancy only lasted a year, so when is she expected to deliver?”

“Well, dragon eggs take up to five years to hatch usually, so I don’t know. Of course, if it was an egg, I could have already hatched it, but I don’t know what will happen if I try that.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” I asked.

“They could both die” she said flatly.

“Well, no reason to risk it” Rainbow said, followed by an ominous thump on the roof.

“What was that?” I asked, staring at where the sound had come from.

Suddenly the machine started beeping. “Crap, I have to get back to work. Could you go see what that was?”

We flew up to the roof, and found a griffin.

“Oh goody, the first to die” she said, lunging at us.

We dodged her attack, and knocked her out quickly. Then, a royal crier flew down in the town square.

“I am here to warn you that the griffins have broken through our ranks at the border. If you see a griffin, kill it. They must not live, for your safety and for the safety of others” he said, and took off.

I looked down at the unconscious featherball, and then gave Rainbow a questioning look. She shrugged, and I proceeded to snap its feathered neck.

“Well, it seems that the fight has come to us” said a familiar voice from behind us.

We turned to see Kiqo, using his tail to hover there.

“I’m not sure it’s a good thing to see you” I said cautiously.

He cackled maniacally. “That is for me to know, and for you to ponder” he said, taking off.

“Poor guy. I can’t remember the last time he was this out” I said, watching him sadly.

“What do you mean by ‘out’?” Rainbow asked.

“Insane. He’s never been too awfully stable, but he seems to keep it under control most of the time. I can’t even begin to imagine what drove him over the edge” I said, turning back to her sadly.

“I just hope he doesn’t turn his insanity against us.”

“Well, you remember what Twilight said he did at that military demonstration.”

“Yeah” she said hesitantly.

“Well, I imagine he won’t exactly be prejudiced. If I know him, he won’t hesitate to kill whoever stands in his way.”

“Well, she did say that he wanted to stop the killing. Will he kill in order to do that?”

“Time can only tell.”