Unborn

"Now do ya understand?"

Rainbow nodded, her eyes wide and her jaw slack. She couldn't believe the story Applejack had just told her, but there wasn't a shred of dishonesty in her words or on her face. Applejack wasn't lying, but she couldn't possibly be telling the truth.

Applejack sighed. "So that's why Ah needed Big Mac ta come up here with me."

"And you were going to..." Rainbow cleared her throat.

"That's right. And now we can't because you had to step in."

"I didn't know!" Rainbow shook her head and sighed. "Look, thanks for telling me. I'll come by when I can to help Big Mac with the chores, and run interference for you back in town. I'll even try to sneak him up here today. Just don't involve me anymore than that, okay?"

Applejack smiled as she untied Rainbow. "Ah wasn't gonna involve you in anything but the chores. You're the one who insisted on pryin'."

"Yeah, but come on, I wasn't gonna leave you hangin'. You know me way better than that, AJ."

"Ah s'pose so."

"Wait right here." Rainbow bolted out of the room and out of the house. Applejack moved to the window as she sped over to where Big Mac was hauling a wagon loaded up with a massive hay bale. She dropped a quick word with him, then undid his straps, securing them to her own shoulders and pulling the cart. Big Mac turned to the house, saw Applejack in the window, and rushed back to the house.

"I don't think I've had stew that good in a long time," burped Rainbow. "I'd say I earned it, though."

There was no more tension in the group. Granny wasn't angry at Rainbow anymore, and Rainbow was recovered from her episode.

Big Mac was especially happy. Not only was pumpkin stew his favourite, but Rainbow had helped him recover from being unable to feed Apple Bloom lunch. Even better, Fluttershy was staying over tonight, and Applejack had told him that she would be joining them in bed. Of course, he still had to make sure he finished in Applejack, but he could still cuddle with Fluttershy. To top it all off, he had plenty of energy, as Rainbow had done a lot to help him.

They nearly ran out of stew, having so many ponies over. Pumpkin stew didn't usually last in the Apple home, but it didn't often disappear in a single night. In most cases it would be breakfast the next morning, but there was not enough for all of them. Two bowls were left, at most.

"Anyway, I should be heading out," huffed Rainbow, standing up. "I'll be back tomorrow to help out some more."

"Might as well," shrugged Granny. "Ya already know about Applejack. Just don't go spreadin' it around, ya hear?"

Rainbow laughed. "What kind of friend would I be if I did that?"

Aj turned to Big Mac. "Off to your shower?"

"Eeyup."

Applejack turned to Granny. "Fluttershy's gonna help me out with a skin cream she's brought over. Ah told her she can stick around until tomorrow mornin', and then she's gonna go check in with Twilight's research."

"That's fine," nodded Granny. "Ah'm gonna turn in, then. No use stickin' around."

The whole group separated, with Granny and Big Mac heading to their rooms, and Fluttershy going to Applejack's. Applejack herself stayed in the kitchen, washing what few dishes needed it. Mostly bowls and spoons, as the stew was cooked and served inside of the pumpkin.

Once the remains were stored in the icebox, Applejack went up to her bedroom to find that Fluttershy had already laid out a quilt on the floor for herself, along with a pillow. "Ya know you're allowed ta sleep in the bed with me, right?"

Fluttershy looked at the ground. "I didn't want to crowd you. You did tell me that you both slept in the same bed the last two nights. I thought it would be more comfortable for you if I gave you some space."

"If it were a problem, Ah'd not have asked ya ta stay over." Applejack sat down in the bed and patted next to her for Fluttershy to hop up.

Fluttershy accepted the offer. "Okay, but I'm going to leave them there, just in case you change your mind. If it ends up being too many ponies in one bed, I'll drop down to the floor. I don't mind, really."

Applejack nodded. "Thank ya kindly. Now, let's talk about this condition a' yours."

Fluttershy blushed deeply. "I was hoping you forgot..."

Applejack shook her head, but said nothing, letting Fluttershy do the talking.

"So, it all started when I went to borrow a book from Twilight. I picked one about these bioluminescent spiders who mimic the worms they eat inside of these big cave systems. I found the book, checked it out, and brought it home. Then when I opened it, it had nothing to do with the spiders at all."

"This doesn't really explain anything."

"Turns out, it wasn't the right book," Fluttershy continued. "It was the Pony Sutra, Expanded Edition, Volume Seven, wrapped in the dust jacket for the book I wanted."

"So why didn't ya bring it back?" asked Applejack. "Tell Twilight what happened?"

"I did," answered Fluttershy. There was a brief pause before she added onto the end of that, "eventually."

"Whaddaya mean, eventually?"

"Well, at first, I closed the book. The images were very lewd. But then, I kept seeing the picture in my head, and the ponies looked incredibly happy. I kind of wanted to be that happy, too, but due to its raunchy nature, I was always too embarrassed to bring it up. I've been waiting almost two years for it to come up in normal conversation. The closest so far has been Rarity at the spa, but there were too many other ponies there at the time to push any further."

Applejack nodded. "And then ya heard about me needin' it."

Fluttershy nodded. "I admit, I heard from Discord about it, and it had me all hot and bothered, and I had to find out for myself. And then, when you were telling me, I just couldn't help myself. I'm really sorry for prying, but I lost control. I just wanted it so much."

Applejack reached up and rubbed her back. "Do ya have the book, still?"

"No, I gave it back to Twilight, and told her about the mix-up. Apparently, somepony else had checked out the other book. I can't imagine what they must have thought."

Applejack could imagine. She considered that a horny stallion had worked himself up while preparing to look at the pictures, then flipped open the book to be face to face with a swarm of spiders. She started to wonder who would pull such a prank, but then she remembered that Discord had taken over Ponyville just over two years ago, meaning it could have sat there for a month or two before being noticed.