unexpectedly expecting

Many months later, Rainbow Dash woke feeling strange. Almost empty, although this was untrue - she’d never been so fat.
Feeling restless and very uncomfortable, she walked to the bathroom and waited for the feeling to subside. It wasn’t unusual, when she’d first stopped working she’d always felt this way. But she hadn’t felt this way in a long, long time. In fact, she was filled with dread at the prospect of working again after being pampered at home so.

For the next hour, she sat on the toilet seat, trying to remain calm. Pinkie had had many false contractions over the past month, and Flash had rushed Twilight to the Hospital many times before her real labour. It was three weeks before Night Star’s real birth occurred. Rainbow hadn’t experienced these before, but assumed that these were what was happening.

A while later, though, she wasn’t as sure. She’d put her hooves up and drank plenty of water, and Pinkie always did, and nothing seemed to take any effect. Out of curiosity, she’d timed how far apart this was. They were four minutes apart. She tried to stay calm. This was normal. This was totally normal.

“Dashie?” Rainbow Dash whirled round. Pinkie was standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. Her groaning and sighing must have woken her up.

“What’s wrong?” her voice is croaky, as it is when she’d breathed through her mouth during the night. Usually Dash finds it sexy but tonight she feels too worked up.

“It’s nothing, Pinks. False alarm.” Pinkie Pie frowns.

“But I’m the one with all that. Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Rainbow goes to get up, but as she slowly rises, rubbing her protruding belly, she feels something wet trickle down her blue legs. Looking down in surprise, she is blocked by her midriff, but it didn’t matter. She could see the puddle forming on the tiled floor. Her water had broken.

Lights were being flicked on in the sounds of Rainbow’s yells. The moon traced its edges on the fabric of the black night, and a unicorn’s silhouette glowed in the light of the stars. Then wings unfolded from her back. It was Twilight, and she was holding Night Star. The blue-black colt was wrapped in blankets, his stubby horn sticking out.

“Who’s there?” she called.

“It’s… it’s only us!” Pinkie panted back. Twilight came a little closer, and gasped.

“Rainbow Dash! Oh sweet Celestia, is she-”

“Twilight? Can we discuss this later? I need to get Dashie to the Hospital - now!” Twilight nodded, and thrust her baby as Flash, who had just emerged from the castle. She planted a desperate kiss on the foal’s forehead. His wails began to echo into the night as the three of them moved towards the Hospital.

Half carried, half flown, Rainbow Dash finally made it. When no one emerged, Pinkie Pie grabbed the bell on the reception and rang it furiously. Someone walked in from the back, looking irritated, but when she saw the pegasus, she immediately called for help.

In a few short moments, Rainbow was escorted into a hospital gown and was lying on a bed, squeezing Pinkie’s hoof in hers. Her eyes were glassy with fear.

“Pink, if I don’t-” she began to croak.

“Shh, Dashie, you’ll be fine. Anyway, soon you’ll be able to have her… or him out, like you wanted.”

“I did want that,” she breathed shallowly. “But now I think it can just stay in.”

But Pinkie Pie knew that Rainbow Dash was tough. She’d be able to handle the pain thrown her way. Pinkie just wasn’t so sure she would.

“Would you be having an epidural, ma’am?” the small, pale nurse asked. Rainbow grunted and shook her head. Pinkie knew how important it was to Dash.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Rainbow screamed loud enough to wake Equestria. Pinkie Pie was sure that Cerberus, the three headed dog had heard her and felt nauseous.

Although she was worried for her Girlfriend, she was relieved when her friends showed up. They weren’t allowed in the room, so she excused herself, and thanked her stars that Dash didn’t notice.

“Pinkie! Is she alright?” Rarity asked, leaping off her fainting sofa. She could only guess how many times she’d said that Rainbow was doomed and dissolved into hysterics.

“I guess,” she replied monosyllabically.

“Pinkie, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked worriedly, and the pink pony bit back the scathing reply on her lips and forced a smile.

“Yes, I’m alright, just tired,” there seemed no point in dragging out her worries onto Fluttershy, who was nervous at best. She could only imagine Fluttershy going into labour a few months later with her friends' horrors ringing in her head.

For a few moments, no one said anything. Pinkie Pie was aware of everyone’s eyes burning a hole in her back, but she didn’t look up from the curtain she’d made in her long, flat hair. Squeezing her eyes shut, she excused herself to the bathroom and stumbled inside, shutting the doors with a grateful sigh. She hadn’t wanted to be with Rainbow, she hadn’t wanted to be with her friends, what was wrong with her? What did she want?

Her hooves pressed against her hot forehead, every sinew aching with fatigue, the usually cheery mascot of the village was reduced to a weak, tearful pony. She strangled a sob.

“Pinkie?” somepony whispered.

Slowly, she unlocked the stall door and went outside. Twilight was there, looking with concern. She must have gone back to her castle, since Night Star was lying in her arms.

“Hey, Pinkie, are you okay?” she said, then chided herself.

“Sorry. When I was about to give birth, I hated everypony asking if I was alright. I bet you feel the same,” Pinkie Pie smiled wanly.

“You could say that,” Twilight put Night Star on the changing table and pulled off the safety pins attaching his nappy. Night Star giggled and reached for the strands of Twilight’s mane. How nice it must have been to not understand sorrow or fear or death. To be in blissful oblivion to all the sour in the world.

“Pass the baby powder, would you?” Twilight asked. Glad for something to do, she rummaged in the stroller Twilight had walked in with, until she found the baby powder. Straightening, she extended her arm to pass it to her but suddenly doubled up. The bottle slipped out of her hand and coated the floor with white ash.

“What’s wrong?! Is the baby coming?!” Twilight put her arm around Pinkie to hold her steady. She was still groaning. Gradually, it began to subside, and she stood.

“What just happened?” Twilight said, stunned.

“I dunno,” Pinkie rubbed her nose.

“I’ve had false contractions before, but-” she broke off, keening softly. Twilight put Night Star back in his stroller and pulled her up.

“Don’t freak out, but I don’t think they’re false. Come on, let’s find someone to help,”

Pinkie Pie had planned a C-section, much to Rainbow’s disgust, and had a date for the next few weeks, but that was all cancelled for now since she was giving birth early and would need a C-section anyway.

“Pinkie, are you oka-”

“Shhh!!” Pinkie hissed to Fluttershy. Her facial expression was almost comical.

She couldn’t help but sigh with relief when the pain subsided and she began to feel drowsy. She didn’t notice the others leaving the room, and she didn’t care when the surgeons began. The only thing she wished, the little thought in the back of her groggy mind, was her longing for her partner to be sitting beside her. Her heart filled with longing to see the soft colours in her mane and the cocky, overly-confident smile. Rainbow Dash could still be in labour, or she might have had it. Was the baby crowning? Or still making its way out of the womb. Maybe it had been born and when Rainbow Dash heard that Pinkie was in labour, she would come out and see her, too. For a moment, Pinkie’s heart swelled with hope, but like a balloon deflating she diminished it. Rainbow would be weak and exhausted. She’d barely have the strength to stand, let alone run to her. She was on her own this time.

The epidural could numb all pain, so why was her heart still breaking?

It might have been minutes or hours when the muffled voices entered her brain. They began growing sharper, cutting through her brain fog. Her head began to pound.

“Cut it out,” she tried to mumble but her tongue was thick and swollen and she couldn’t seem to get the words past her lips.

“Pinks?” a voice murmured. Pinkie sat up a little straighter. That voice, it was familiar. Soft, but hard around the edges. Brittle. Raspy.

“-DDash?” she tried to say. She blinked once, twice, until her vision lost its blur and somepony swam into its way. A pegasus. Tall. Rainbow.

“Dash!” Pinkie was so emotional, so frail and so very, very tired tears began to stain her pink fur. Rainbow pulled her into a hug. She smelt of vanilla and antiseptic. Pinkie Pie sighed, and relaxed, so Rainbow was holding her.

“Is… is the foal?” she began to ask.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. We’re okay,” Pinkie tried to say something else, but was drowned out by a bout of dizziness. Black spots danced in her vision and she felt Rainbow’s grip loosening, and she was falling, falling...

~One month later~

Dash looked at her worriedly.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes.

“I’m over it now, Rainbow, I promise,” the pegasus smiled.

Pinkie Pie had been ill for a while after her labour, causing a few problems, but now she was rolling back as Ponyville’s top comedic, this time with her foal strapped to her back.

Slipping off the hard, coarse hospital gown for the last time, Pinkie Pie took her little pegasus in her arms, seeing his sleepy face gazing at her and feeling a fierce swell of pride. She’d given birth to a dark little boy, with indigo coloured coat and a flashy purple-blue mane and tail. After debating long and hard on what to call him, with a lot of refusals of Rainbow’s part, they’d finally decided: Sunday Star. What Rainbow Dash didn’t know, however, was that Pinkie Pie was spelling it Sundae.

As they left the hospital, ponies came out to greet them, to pet the foals, to ask if Pinkie was okay. She grinned and nodded until her cheeks ached, pressed firmly against Rainbow’s side.

As they neared their home, Pinkie felt such a burst of joy that she was sure that she could take off flying. They clattered through the doors and Rainbow flew to get Rose Shade. She’d picked the name while Pinkie was still ill, but it suited the little mare so much, Pinkie had immediately agreed. She had a rose - Pinkie coloured - coat and soft rosy hair, sporting a stripe a different colour- more of a magenta, Rainbow thought as she picked her up.

Both mares smiled as nine months gazed up at them, pain and fear, but happiness and joy. At that moment, nothing could have been better.
At that moment, everything was perfect.

The End