I smiled as I rubbed Twilight's back.
"Won't be long now, Sunshine," I murmured into her ear.
My wife was reclining as best she could on the bed. Being just over nine months pregnant, she had been doing what she could to relax. It couldn't have been easy, having a child kicking around, doing... how had she put it? Cartwheels with more enthusiasm than Pinkie?
She sighed as she leaned forward so I could reach her lower back easier.
"I know," she said. "It's just... I'm always tired lately. I thought fatigue would only be the first few weeks. It seems like I'm always sleepy and short of breath lately. Not to mention that putting on shoes is an Herculean effort now."
I pressed into her tense muscles a little firmer to try and get them to loosen even a little.
"Well, you are holding a tiny person just under your diaphragm. Makes sense why breathing is tough sometimes." I rested my chin on the crown of her head. "And I'll always help you with your labors. Even hydras."
She started to giggle, when suddenly a sharp sensation of pain flooded the bond. She gasped and double over, arms reflexively going over her belly.
"Twilight?" I asked, worry spiking. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, face blank. "I think so. I just felt a... Ah!" She flinched and bent forward again. As I reached out to hold her she chuckled a little. "Hey, Sunny?"
"Yeah?"
"My water just broke. We'll have to clean the mattress."
I smiled and sent love and reassurance through the bond.
"We'll worry about that later. Alright then," I said. "Let's get on up and start making our way to the door." I smiled, slipping a hand under one arm as she slowly stood, swaying a little as she got her feet under her. "One step at a time."
We had gotten her shoes on and partway across the condo before the next contraction hit, and with it came a flare of her magic. As several of the light bulbs above burst, she shifted into her Midnight Sparkle form and stumbled forward. The television flared to life for a brief moment as her hand touched it before exploding.
"Twilight!" I shouted, rushing forward and looking into her eyes. She was close to hyperventilating. "Breathe, love. Remember what Cadence told us? Breathe. In, and out."
It took several minutes for Twilight to collect herself, breathing calming and her panic starting to ease. She held the powered up state, though.
"I'm ok," she said, then wincing. "Though I'm not sure why the contractions are happening so close together already."
"Nothing about this pregnancy follows normal laws, Sunshine." I grabbed her coat from the rack. Spike was already holding our purses in his mouth. "Remember how it started?"
I couldn't help but smile as her face pinked and I caught a glimpse of memory of the night in question.
The drive to the hospital was mostly uneventful, though one particularly strong contraction caused the radio in the car to burst into static no matter the station. Once there, we were shown into a birthing room where only certain staff was permitted.
Once such staff happened to be Fluttershy, who was on the books as the assistant midwife. It had been Twilight's idea, since Fluttershy was every bit aware of the strange circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and the existence of the mirror.
"Breathe, Twilight," she echoed my earlier words. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a gown. "Let's start by getting you into this and into the chair comfortably. Then we'll see how far along you are."
"See?" Twilight squeaked.
"Sunset, dear," Fluttershy turned to me. "While I help her get comfortable, could you check in with the others? I'm afraid I left my phone at home after you called me."
"What's taking so long?" Rainbow asked.
"She's having a baby, Dash," AJ replied. "Not gettin' a haircut. Sometimes there's no rushing things."
A piercing scream cut the air, causing all gathered to look at the delivery room.
Aria blinked. "Was... was that Sunset that just screamed?"
Pinkie nodded, her eyes wide for a moment. "Freaky deaky..."
It took everything I had not to activate my Daydream form. Twilight's hand was wrapped around mine tight enough that I could feel the grinding of the bone that had broken, but I'd deal with that later. I kept wiping her forehead with the towel Fluttershy had given me, seeing the tired look in her eyes as the contraction ended, panting somewhat.
"Good, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "You're fully dilated now. Are you sure you don't want anything for the pain?"
Twilight shook her head. "I changed my mind."
Fluttershy nodded and went to a phone on the wall, dialing a number and speaking softly into it.
"How are you doing, Sunshine?" I asked, pulling a little bit of mana to heal my hand.
"I feel like if I have another contraction, the kid is going to pull my eyes from their sockets to stay in place." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Sorry about your hand."
"It's fine," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. "I can heal small things like that. I'm glad that your magic isn't lashing out anymore."
"I can keep a small grip on that now," she said. "But it's getting tough."
Fluttershy came back over, pressing her hands gently against Twilight's tummy.
"It feels like she's turned," the quiet woman said. "It won't be long now."
"How long?" Twilight asked.
"That all depends on her," she replied. A knock on the door soon had a nurse stepping in with a small rolling tray.
"How's Mom doing?" the nurse asked, picking up a small vial and slowly shaking it.
"I'm ready to be done with this part," Twilight said.
"I'm certain," the nurse said. "Now, could we get you rolled up onto your side, please?"
As Fluttershy and I helped Twilight roll onto her side, the nurse pulled a dosage into a syringe and unwrapped a small tray with a pair or small sponge brushes that she used to sterilize the site on her lower back.
"Ok, little sting," the nurse murmured as she began inserting the needle. Twilight hissed for a moment before sighing. "Good job. It might take a moment to kick in, but that should make it easier on you."
"Thank you, Redheart," Fluttershy said. "I'll let you know when we're near to being done."
Nurse Redheart nodded and stepped out. Twilight swallowed and closed her eyes.
"Are you ok?" I asked.
Twilight nodded, not opening her eyes. "I could use something to drink, though."
I glanced at Fluttershy, who nodded.
"There's an ice machine down the hall," she said. "That would be safer right now."
I looked down at Twilight, squeezing her hand again before kissing her forehead. "I'll be right back, ok?"
She nodded before she hunched a little and began groaning as Fluttershy urged her to push.
I ducked out quickly and saw the ice machine down the hall, just past the waiting room. As I headed towards it, Rarity stepped forward.
"How is she doing, darling?" she asked, and I saw my closest friends all watching.
"She's doing well, I suppose," I said, walking to the ice machine and pulling a cup from the dispenser attached before filling it with small ice chips. "It's been a long handful of hours though, and I'm sure there's a few more to go."
I felt a sudden pang of fear and pain through the bond and spun, giving a quick glance at my friends before rushing back to the birthing room. As I entered, I saw Fluttershy rubbing Twilight's back as she leaned over one side.
"Twilight?" I asked, coming over to check on her.
"She's ok," Fluttershy said. "Just a sharp bout of nausea. It can happen sometimes during labor."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said, knowing why I was so concerned. "It just startled me."
I smiled and brushed her hair off her face. "It's ok," I said. I pulled an ice chip out and fed it to her.
"OK, now, Twilight?" Fluttershy spoke up. "Any contractions you have from now on, I need you to bear down and push, ok?"
My wife started to nod before she grabbed the rails of the bed and groaned, her face screwing up in a look of effort. I rubbed her back and whispered comforting words into her ear. After a few moments, she collapsed backwards into the bed.
"Good, good," Fluttershy said, peering under the blanket from her perch on a stool. "The baby's crowning now. Push hard every contraction, ok? Don't worry about anything else."
I'm not sure how long we had been in that room, but the moment I hear the crying of a small child, I felt a warm rush that echoed off Twilight's own sense of relief. Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart busied themselves with the small bundle of arms and legs, cleaning her off and taking various measurements before wrapping the child in a blanket and handing her to us. Twilight cradled the girl and gave a few exhausted sobs as she brushed her fingers against the child's cheek.
I wrapped one arm around Twilight's shoulders and reached down and brushed some of the wispy hairs off our daughter's forehead, marveling at how small she was. I knew there was a few steps left for delivery, and there would be a while before we could take her home, but at that moment, I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy.
And I couldn't wait to see what the future brought.
A pacing figure suddenly stopped and turned towards me.
“What is taking so long?”
I turned to look at Rainbow Dash, her recently short-shorn hair still damp from the pelting rain. I lifted an eyebrow and sighed.
“It’s labor, Dash,” I said as a bit of lightning flashed. “It doesn’t always hit hard and fast. Sometimes it takes time.”
“But it has been almost a day, Sunny,” Twilight said from next to me, thunder rolling softly in the background. “Middy was born only a few hours after my water broke.”
“But you are not me, my sunshine,” I replied, wincing slightly as another small contraction hit. “Everyone is different, some of us more than others.”
I had been in the hospital following my water breaking the previous night. While the contractions were definitely happening, they were spaced so far apart that I really could have finished the chores I had been working on.
Not that I was complaining, mind you. This pregnancy had been so easy that I sometimes forgot I was in the early months. It wasn’t until I started really showing that it had struck me that I really was carrying a tiny life inside me.
I glanced to the side, where AJ was napping with a tiny Midnight Sky in her lap. I was allowed visitors until my contractions grew to less than five minutes apart, but Middy was in a phase where she didn’t like being separated from either myself or Twilight for too long.
“Besides,” I sighed. “If nothing else, this is likely the last bit of restful peace we’ll have for a while. Middy is precious, but she also got into anything we didn’t nail down.”
“Sunset!” Twilight cried, swatting my arm gently.
“You know it’s true, Twi,” I smiled. “She always wanted to be in something, especially if it involved magic.”
The scientist hummed as she looked warmly over at the sleeping tyke.
“I suppose she was a little precocious,” she allowed.
Fluttershy stepped in, Redheart at her side.
“How’s the mother doing?” Redheart asked.
“I’m pretty ready to have this over with. I miss seeing my feet.” I quipped, giving a weary smile before groaning as another contraction hit. They were coming faster, now.
“How long between them now, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked, coming over to my side.
I shook my head, not entirely sure of the time. Twilight stroked a few strands of my hair out of my face.
“About seven minutes between them, Fluttershy,” Twilight checked her watch before nodding in confirmation.
“Alright then, we might be in the final stretch.” Redheart made a few notes in the chart. “Once they start hitting hard, we’ll have to ask the extended family to leave for the actual delivery.”
I sighed as Redheart pulled the curtain around my bed, taking a seat at the foot of the delivery bed. As she began to bundle the blankets up around my hips, I couldn’t help but feel a momentary flash of embarrassment. Twilight stroked my forehead as I felt a cold tool press against me, soothing me.
“It looks as though you’re fully dilated, Sunset,” Redheart said with a frown. “No change from an hour ago. I don’t understand why the contractions aren’t more frequent or forceful.”
“Maybe they just don’t want to come out,” I joked,
My laughter was cut off by a sudden, shooting pain through my body. I felt Twilight tense up beside me and Fluttershy looked over at AJ and Dash.
“Sorry, girls,” she said. “But could you two take Middy outside?”
As the two bundled up the tiny girl and left, I felt another strong pain and in the aftermath I recognized it as a contraction - a real one as opposed to the gentle ones I had been getting.
“Ok, Sunset,” Fluttershy whispered as I gasped in a lungful of air. “Not too long and we’re going to ask you to start pushing with each contraction. Remember to breathe deep, even breaths.”
I nodded, looking over at my wife only to see her doubled over slightly. After a moment of confusion, I realized that the sudden intensity of the last contraction had bled through the bond and she had felt it too. I smiled sheepishly and clamped down harder on our mental connection.
“Sorry, Twi, I… ung!” The strongest contraction yet rippled through me and I bore down, pushing as instructed. I felt something shift inside me, and my hips started going numb.
“Ok, the baby is crowning,” Redheart said. “It won’t be long now.”
Famous last words. It took another thirty minutes for Aurora to finally decide to join us in the birthing room, the storm outside breaking for a moment.
Listening to the slacking rain as I looked down into her tiny, squishy face, and at the face of Middy sleeping in Twilight’s lap, I thought that some things were worth waiting for.
