Foal's Luck

Chapters

In Which a Decision Is Made
In Which a Spell Is Cast
In Which There are Highs and Lows
In Which A Mistake Is Discovered

In Which a Decision Is Made

The cozy little red house sat on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, right next to the road. It was built straight and strong, by ponies more used to building barns than homes, but only because they knew that what made the house a home wasn't going to come from building plans. The only real style the little square house had was in the large dormer window on the front of the second story, and even that was entirely practical. Rainbow Dash considered it her private entrance, even though Applejack joked that it made her feel like she lived in a birdhouse.

The house had been built a year ago, when Applejack and Rainbow Dash had started talking seriously. Or rather, after Dash had finally started talking as seriously as AJ. It nestled in the edge of the orchard; as few trees as possible had been sacrificed to make room for it, so the rest crowded around the back and sides of the building.

In the small kitchen, Applejack was making breakfast. She was used to every meal being a large, healthy affair, but she was especially careful these days. Omelets with cheese and vegetables, two slices of toast with apple butter, and a glass of milk for each of them. They both needed their vitamins.

Rainbow Dash came downstairs, still bleary eyed. “Morning.”

“Mornin', sugarcube. Breakfast is served.” Applejack smiled as she easily flipped the omelets onto each plate, and slid the two plates onto the table next to the glasses of milk.

“Too cheerful,” Dash muttered, sitting in front of a plate.

“What're you gonna do 'bout it?”

“Can I answer that when my brain starts working?”

“I dunno, Dash. I’ve been waitin' for years for your brain to start workin.”

“Yeah, well you're, um. . .” Dash squinted in effort, trying to think of a comeback. “Orange.”

Applejack laughed and sat down to eat. Even Dash had to smile a little.

“Dumb morning ponies.”

“Your dumb mornin' pony made ya' that good breakfast. Now you better eat up.”

“Thanks. No muffins again?”

“We're eatin' healthy. I talked to Twilight yesterday.”

“Mmm?” Dash asked, her mouth full. Applejack knew the pegasus barely paused for breath once she got started on a good country breakfast.

“Yeah, she wants to have a word with the two'a us this afternoon.”

“Mmph?”

“About the foal. She thinks she's ready.”

Dash's eyes went wide, and her food was forgotten. “Really? Like, ready ready?”

“Like she wants to talk to us and explain what she can do, so you and I can decide what we wanna do.” Applejack smiled, trying to seem casual. But hope, excitement, and nervousness played on her face. She and Dash had talked about it, they'd even gone to Twilight themselves, but making an actual decision had always been a someday thing, and now someday seemed to be coming up fast.

Dash didn't seem to have that problem. “There's stuff to talk about? If there's a way we can have a foal together, who needs to talk about stuff?”

“I dunno, sugarcube, but she wants to talk to us.”

“Cool! So, that's why you're eating healthy. Why am I eating healthy?”

“Cause I ain't makin' two different breakfasts, and 'cause I never heard of a chubby Wonderbolt,” Applejack said with a grin.

“Hey, weather patrol has me all over the sky! I burn off everything!”

“Just how many pounds did ya' gain when ya' moved in with me?”

“A few. But I lost it all!” Dash smirked. “And I never came near what you weigh.”

“Yeah, well that's all muscle.”

“Uh-huh. Nice, snuggly muscle,” Dash giggled.

Applejack smirked. “You wanna see how snuggly I am when I buck ya' across the room?”

“Okay, you might have some muscle under there.”

“Better believe it. And I ain't tryin' to fly. You wanna stay in the air, you'd better keep trim.”

Dash grinned and finished her breakfast, then got up and walked over to AJ.

“Thanks. You always keep me on top of my game,” Dash said, kissing her on the cheek.

“That's what I'm here for, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a nuzzle.

“I'll see ya this afternoon at the library. Love ya'!”

“I love ya', too!” Applejack called as Dash flew out the door.

***

Twilight looked nervously down at her notes. It had seemed like such a good idea a year ago. It was an interesting research problem, and a fitting spell for a princess to design, with the potential to help couples all over Equestria. And it offered the chance to give two of her best friends a dream come true. Twilight would never forget how much she owed her friends for helping her achieve her current status, and finally she could try to give two of them something truly special; a foal born from themselves.

She was prepared for the possibility that it might not be something anypony could do, but she wasn't prepared for this discussion. She didn't think she could ever be prepared for this discussion.

“The extraction and implant methods are painless, and the randomization element seems to work, at least on the test subjects.” Twilight gestured with her wing to the three kittens on the table. “With the exception of gender of course. Two females will always produce female offspring, so I could say for certain that you'd be having a filly.”

Rainbow Dash grinned and her wing gave Applejack a slight squeeze. Applejack eyed the kittens suspiciously. “And the, er, test subjects are normal?”

“Fluttershy says they're perfectly normal kittens,” Twilight answered. “The spell seems to. . . well. . . work?”

“Great! Then let's-”

“Hold up, Dash. You don't seem too sure there, sugarcube,” Applejack said gently.

Twilight sighed, and levitated the kittens to a box on the floor. “I am sure. If I was doing it on cats again, I wouldn't hesitate. I can make two female cats produce a perfectly normal litter of kittens. But I've never done it on ponies, and you guys are two of my best friends. I'm taking your lives, and the life of your foal, in my hooves. There may be side effects, things I can't-”

“What kind of side effects?” Dash interrupted.

“That's what I was about to say, I don't know. This is magic we're talking about. Both the spell, and the foal. I've made a list of things that could go wrong, but these are just the ones I've thought of.”

Applejack just nodded. “Let's hear it.”

Twilight unrolled a scroll that hung to the floor. Applejack's eyes went wide and even Rainbow Dash started to look nervous.

“Well, the biggest thing is that I don't know how the spell will work with pony magic. You two are perfect test subjects, I traced your families and neither of you will be surprised to know that you're pure examples of your types, as far as I could go back. There are no recessive genes, your chances of having an earth pony or a pegasus are fifty/fifty.”

“Side effects?” AJ prompted.

“Yes. I don't know how the randomization element of this spell affects pony magic. There's a possibility you might end up with a pegasus foal with earth pony magic, who would never be able to fly or land on clouds. Or an earth pony foal who could walk on clouds, but wouldn't have access to earth pony magic. Now this is part of what makes you guys perfect. Those things would be strange, but not as dangerous as somepony with unicorn magic and no horn. That could be bad.”

“So far, so good. . .” Dash said uncertainly. “I mean, it would stink to have wings and not be able to fly, but she could live like a normal earth pony, right?”

“In theory. But I still had to make sure you know about it. You also need to know that with magically formed DNA, the foal might be more susceptible to magical diseases and effects. It could be that something like a cloud walking spell might last for weeks or months, but the downside is that being in the same room as somepony with cutie pox might be really dangerous. I'll need to study the foal after it's born, maybe for its whole life, to find out exactly how it might work.

“Then we come to the biggest danger. . . If you keep that last part in mind, remember that we're talking about Applejack carrying the foal. Earth ponies have a certain amount of fertility magic. If the foal is sensitive to that, it could grow too quickly, or too big. That might be a danger to the foal. . . or to AJ.”

Dash's eyes went wide. “How much danger are we talking?”

“I have no idea, Dash. I really wish I could tell you.”

“Worst case?” Applejack asked calmly.

“If it got too big, too quickly, you might have to have surgery to have it removed, and depending on how far along you were, the foal might not survive. If you didn't get that surgery in time, it might get too big and strong, it could rupture internal organs. . . and you could die,” Twilight said softly. She looked Applejack in the eye, but she had to bite her lip for courage. At that moment she hoped that Applejack would tell her to forget the whole thing.

Dash shook her head. “We're not doing this, AJ. We can't.”

Applejack just nuzzled Dash. “I want Twilight to finish.”

“No way. There's no point if it would be risking your life. I won't do it,” Dash insisted.

“Mares sometimes die givin' birth,” Applejack said softly. “And sometimes they lose their foal, and sometimes the foal ain't healthy. Havin' a foal is a risk, however ya' do it. Twilight worked hard to come up with this for us, so I think we oughta hear all the risks and talk about it.”

“Applejack, I know I worked hard on this, but that's because you're my friends. I would do anything for you. But I don't want you to do this unless you're both completely sure. What I've done already is enough to write a book about,” Twilight pointed out.

Applejack nodded to the box on the floor. “Those kittens look healthy.”

“They are. Like I said, kittens I can do. It's ponies I've never tried before.” Twilight took a deep breath. “But if you wanted to do this, you'd be watched very carefully, by me and the doctors. I'd want to see you every single day to make sure everything is okay.”

Applejack smiled a little. “Well, you'd always know where to find me, sugarcube.”

“That's another thing,” Twilight said nervously. “You would need to take it easy, AJ. You'd need to be really careful, so that we would know that anything that went wrong was due to the spell, and not something else.”

“By take it easy, ya' mean. . .?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“No apple bucking, no strenuous lifting or pulling, and limited time in front of a hot stove or oven. If there were problems you would need to be on bed rest, but even if everything was going normally you couldn't do most of your work.”

“Well, I suppose I'll have to be careful of all that anyhow. Now, you got more to that list, and I wanna hear it all before me and Dash decide anythin'.”

Twilight nodded, and went into some of the less dramatic side effects, explaining each one carefully. She knew this had to be AJ and Dash's decision. She couldn't deny them the chance to have a foal together, if there was a way she could help them, but she had to make sure they understood all of the risks. Twilight hoped that would make her feel better about the possibility of messing up a spell that her friend's hopes and dreams and safety depended on.

As Rainbow Dash and Applejack left, ready to have a long conversation, Twilight sighed and reviewed all of her notes for the hundredth time, not feeling the tiniest bit better.

***

Dash was nervous as she and AJ walked back to their little house. She knew they were going to talk when they got home, and she didn't know what to say. While asking Twilight about a spell had been AJ's idea, Dash knew it was because of the regret AJ saw in her eyes when they started talking about finding a surrogate father. Dash had said, honestly, that she would love any foal AJ had like it was her own, but the idea of a pony that was part her and part AJ seemed like an impossible dream.

Now, it was possible, but the cost might be losing Applejack. And that could never ever happen.

They were quiet the whole walk home, but as soon as they walked through the door, AJ started.

“So. . . what do ya' think?”

“I can't lose you, AJ. This sounds way too dangerous,” Dash said sadly, flying over and landing on the couch.

Applejack walked over and sat next to her. “Ya' don't trust Twilight?”

“Of course I do, she’s a princess, she knows all about magic. And she's the one who said it was dangerous! Did you miss the part where she said you might die?”

“I caught that part. I also got the part where she said she'd do it for us. You really think Twilight would offer that if she thought it'd hurt me?”

“Well, no. . . but there's a chance, or she wouldn't have said it.”

“There's a chance I could die if I have a foal the ol' fashioned way, too. There's a chance I could die if I don't have a foal at all.”

“Stop talking like that!” Dash demanded, her eyes wide. Those were words AJ was not allowed to say.

“Dash, you gotta face it,” Applejack said calmly. “We can't make a decision lookin' for the way that I'm gonna be all the way safe.”

“I know, but- but-”

“But nothin'. Sugarcube, I love you, and I'll be here for ya' as long as I can be here. But life's full of risks, and the question is if it's worth it. Bein' that somethin' bad could happen, whatever we decide, are you willin' to take a little extra risk for a foal that's a part of you?”

Dash thought for a long time, just looking at AJ. Thinking of losing her made Dash have to fight back tears, so she looked away, around the cozy living room. The wood walls of the room had been whitewashed, because AJ wanted Dash to feel more at home. Over the fireplace hung a framed painting of a Zap apple that Apple Bloom had made for them, and a trophy case stood in the corner with Applejack's rodeo medals, her own Best Young Flyer crown, and the medals they'd received from Princess Celestia. She leaned against AJ's strong body, her thoughts drifting to the unstoppable team they made when they worked together.

Finally, she said quietly, “You. . . you've gotta understand how much I need you, AJ. Losing you is the worst thing I can think of. I know you're right. I know that Twilight was talking about if a lot of things went wrong, and I know something could happen to you anyway. And I really do want a foal that's ours. I just wish we could skip the scary part.”

“I know,” Applejack nuzzled her. “But ya' gotta go through the scary part to get to the good parts.”

“Okay.” Dash took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Just a minute there. That's one problem down, we ain't made a decision yet. What about the foal? How would she feel if she came out strange, knowin' we knew it could happen but went on anyway?”

Dash shrugged. “She'd be happy, knowing she has two moms who love her and who'd teach her to be a strong mare no matter what.”

AJ raised an eyebrow. “Is that how you'd feel if ya' had wings and couldn't fly?”

“If I woke up tomorrow and couldn't fly? Hay no, I'd be ticked off. But you know I'd never let my daughter feel like that. I don't care if she has wings or not, she's never gonna feel bad for what she can and can't do.”

“We'd never make her feel bad, I know. But I can't help thinkin' that it'd be awful hard to have an earth pony body and pegasus magic. Earth pony magic is what ties us to the ground, Dash. Makes us feel really at home here. Not havin' wings, and feelin' like you belong in the sky. . . knowin' ya' could live on those clouds if ya' could just get to 'em. . . I couldn't stand if she blamed me for that, Dash.”

“AJ, it might not even be a problem. And if it is, well. . . it's not the worst thing that's ever happened to anypony. If there are two ponies who can make sure she's proud of exactly who she is, it's us.”

“You ain't worried it'd be hard for her, not bein' a normal pony?”

“I'm not a normal pony. You're not a normal pony. Nopony is a normal pony. She'll just learn to be awesome at the things she's awesome at,” Dash said with a grin.

Applejack smiled at Dash, not saying anything for a while. Finally, she nodded.

“Dash, I wanna have our foal, if you'll let me.”

“Our foal. . .” Dash repeated, awestruck. “Wow, that sounds totally awesome. I'm so in.”

“Our little filly.” Applejack leaned against Dash, her smile growing to a grin. “Think she'll come out a pegasus or an earth pony?”

“I want a pegasus.”

“You're kiddin',” Applejack said dryly, with a small smirk.

“Hey, I won't mind an earth pony,” Dash protested. “But having my own little girl, and teaching her to fly. . .”

“Could be she-” Applejack hesitated, “wouldn't like flyin', Dash.”

Dash grinned. “No way, I'll show her how awesome it is!”

“What was that 'bout her learnin' to be awesome at the things she's awesome at?” AJ hinted.

“I know. AJ, you know I'll love our foal, no matter what kind of pony she is, or what she's good at. I love her already, and she's not even conceived yet. But, I can have dreams, right? Like a little filly I can teach to fly, who has your eyes, and your strength, and my awesome style.”

“You can dream, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled. “Just, we might get one with your eyes and strength, and my awesome style.”

Dash smirked. “We'll apologize to her when she's older. I guess anytime you have a kid, there's a chance she might start wearing cowpony hats someday.”

Applejack raised her eyebrows. “Come 'ere, you.”

She pushed against Dash, knocking the pegasus onto her side. AJ's hooves quickly went to the totally unfair spot under Dash's wing.

“Hey! No tickling! Heheh! Watch the wings!” Dash struggled to free herself, but AJ was holding her down. Applejack's hooves stopped the light rubbing and moved to a deeper massage around Dash's wings. Dash closed her eyes. “Mmmm. . . that's better.”

“Our foal,” Applejack said, softly.

“I know! Our daughter. . . .” Saying it, imagining holding a little filly that was her very own, Dash found herself fighting back tears. “Sheesh, don't make me get sappy. . .”

“I'm gonna love watchin' you get sappy,” Applejack whispered.

“Only for her. And. . . maybe a little for you,” Dash said, giving Applejack a nuzzle.

Applejack returned the nuzzle. “I won't tell nopony.”

In Which a Spell Is Cast

Twilight paced around the library. She knew she had the spell memorized, looking at the notes again wasn’t going to help. The visions running through her head weren’t helping either; headlines stating “Princess Twilight Sparkle Murders Element of Harmony and Foal in Spell Gone Wrong,” or the looks on the faces of her friends if something awful happened. She considered telling her friends she couldn’t do it, but that wasn’t much better. Applejack and Rainbow Dash knew that she could perform the spell, and if she wouldn’t they’d know it was because she was too scared to help her best friends with one of the most important things in their lives.

The knock on her door didn’t distract her from her thoughts. It made her want to dart under her desk and hide. That became impractical when she heard Spike answer the door.

“Hi, guys! Today’s the big day, huh?”

“It sure is. I ain’t been this excited since I set hoof in the ring for my first rodeo.” Applejack replied. She sounded nervous, but so happy.

Twilight glanced over, just as Rainbow Dash came darting into her face, and said in an urgent, hushed voice, “Twilight, I gotta ask you something.”

“Um, sure. Ask me anything, Dash.”

Dash’s voice got even lower, and she wrapped a leg around Twilight in a huddle. “Well, uh, see. . . you know how sometimes couples have a hard time having foals, cause the stallion’s stuff just isn’t good enough? Uh, that can’t be a problem here, right? ‘Cause, I mean, whatever you’re using from me is gonna be awesome, of course, but with all the magic, and AJ being a mare, it could get kinda confused and I wanted to make sure you’re gonna help whatever it is out, just ‘cause of that.”

Twilight blinked. “It’s fine, Dash. It’s magic. If this doesn’t work, it would be because the spell didn’t take hold correctly. Nothing to do with you or AJ.”

A grin spread across Dash’s face, and she sighed with relief as she let go of Twilight and flew to land next to Applejack. “Great! Let’s do this!”

Applejack chuckled. “You gotta give Twilight a chance to get herself straight, Dash. She’s the one doin’ all the work here, give her some time to warm up.”

Twilight took a deep breath, and did her best to clear the doubts from her mind. “Right. I need to run some quick tests on you guys, just the normal ones, so I know everything is okay before we start. Then, I’ll do the spell, and check you both again. Once we know the spell worked, and you guys are okay, we’ll go to Sugarcube Corner for Pinkie’s party.”

“Got it! Just tell us what to do!”

“Okay, well since you’re so eager, Dash, come on. Applejack, you can come too, I’ll need you next.” Twilight said, and she lead her friends down to the basement.

Hooking Dash into the large machine she kept there actually did help to calm Twilight’s nerves a little. It was something she could do without thinking, something relatively simple. Reading the measurements that came out, and recording them in her ledger felt like just another experiment.

Everything looked normal for Rainbow Dash. Her baseline heart rate and magic levels were always slightly high, but after running a few tests about a year ago, Twilight considered it a normal variation.

She unhooked Dash, and AJ sat down without needing to be asked. Twilight had been monitoring them fairly regularly since she started looking into this, so that she would have a full chart to look at and make sure nothing was wrong. None of the three of them considered this anything other than routine.

Applejack’s heart rate was slightly high today, but about the same as it had been the first few times Twilight hooked her up to the machine. Applejack used to get a bad case of nerves around the testing machines, and even though she had gotten used to Twilight taking measurements it made sense that she would be a little nervous again today.

All in all, the numbers looked normal. Her friends looked excited. And Twilight was out of ways to stall. She swallowed, and tried to smile. “Um, so, let’s. . . go upstairs! Where my notes are. To do this spell.”

Dash flew straight for the stairs, but AJ held back, and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Are ya’ sure you’re ready, sugarcube?”

Twilight bit her lip. “I can honestly say, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Applejack smiled. “You and me both.”

Once they had all gathered upstairs, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood awkwardly, awaiting Twilight’s instructions.

“Okay, you guys, stand over there.”

They moved to the spot in the middle of the room that she indicated.

“Perfect.” Twilight said, moving behind her lectern to make sure her notes were there and perfectly legible. They were, of course, and she glanced up at her friends. They were stealing looks at each other with small, nervous smiles. It was almost strange to see her two bravest friends so anxious, but right now Twilight couldn’t blame them.

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Yes, Dash?”

“Can I put my wing around her?”

“Oh! Of course!” Twilight smiled. “You two can be as close as you want to be.”

Dash opened her mouth with a smirk, but Applejack clapped a hoof over it.

“How 'bout if ya' just cuddle me?”

“I can do that.”

Rainbow Dash’s wing wrapped around Applejack, and AJ leaned in to nuzzle her and whisper something. Dash grinned and planted a kiss on AJ’s forehead, and whispered something back that made Applejack chuckle. Twilight watched them with a smile on her face, her own reservations pushed by the side. Her friends were in love, and wanted a foal of their own, and she could give it to them. She would make this work.

“Ready?” She said softly, hating to interrupt the moment, but wanting to get started before her doubts returned.

AJ and Dash both looked at her, their eyes wide.

“Uh, yup. Ready.”

Dash swallowed. “Go for it.”

Twilight concentrated, channeling the magic out of her body and towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both were encased in the magenta glow, as Twilight’s mind sought out pieces of each of them, so small that it had to be encased in a bubble of light for Twilight’s mind to manipulate it. But the magic caught a piece from both the pegasus and the earth pony, and Twilight brought them together over Applejack. The tiny globes of light joined, and Twilight mentally knit them into one.

Everything was going as expected, until she knit the last piece. She started to feel something through her magic, a vibration, or a hum. Whatever it was sent a tingle through her horn, but she was too far into the spell to stop now. Using her magic to force the vibration still, she gently lowered the light through Applejack’s body, resting it inside Applejack’s womb.

After a few more seconds to make sure everything was in order, Twilight dropped her magic. The glow faded from around her friends, and they blinked and shook their heads before looking to her expectantly.

“Did it work?” Dash asked.

Twilight nodded slowly. “It did. So far, at least. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, congratulations. You’re going to be mothers.” As the words left her mouth, her face broke into a grin.

“Yes! Oh my gosh, AJ, we're gonna have a foal!” Dash said, a huge smile on her face. She turned and planted a deep, long kiss on Applejack lips, which Applejack returned in kind.

When the kiss broke, AJ just blinked with a dazed smile. Her hoof reached back to her belly. “Wow. I'm. . . thank ya', Twilight. Thanks so much.”

“Yeah, Twilight. You're the best friend ever!”

“It's nothing.” Twilight said, blushing.

“This ain’t nothin’, sugarcube. Me and Dash owe ya’, bigger than I can count. This means everythin’ to us, and we’d never have had it without ya’.”

“Please, AJ. You still have a whole pregnancy to get through, you can save the thanks for when you’re holding your healthy daughter.”

Saying that didn’t have the intended effect. Instead Dash let out a squeal and flew at Twilight, knocking her over with a hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is so awesome!”

“Rainbow Dash! We need Twi in one piece for the rest of this, too.”

“Uh, sorry.” Dash blushed and righted Twilight. “Just. . . holding my daughter, ya’ know? The idea kinda gets to me.”

Twilight had to smile at that. “Well, okay, you’re both welcome. Now can we go downstairs and make sure everything is stable?”

Both mothers-to-be followed her downstairs and took their turns hooked up to the machines. Rainbow Dash’s levels were raised slightly across the board; she seemed more excited than she’d ever been in her life, so that made sense. Twilight had to hope she wouldn’t have a heart attack, but she wasn’t that concerned about the always-tightly-wound pegasus.

Applejack was another story. Twilight ran the tests again, to be sure they were correct, but both tests showed the same thing. Her quickened heart rate was to be expected because of the excitement, but the spike in her magic levels was troubling. Twilight bit her lip and stared at the chart.

“Everythin’ okay, Twilight?” Applejack asked, concerned. Rainbow Dash had been flying around the room, almost bouncing off the walls, but she froze and turned her attention to Twilight.

“Uh, yeah. Just, your magic levels are raised, AJ.”

“Is it ‘cause ya’ just pumped me fulla magic?” Applejack suggested.

Twilight frowned. Nothing like this had happened in the kittens. But, at the same time, pony magic was the unknown here. The vibration she felt when finishing the spell, and the increased magic levels might both just be because of that. These levels were higher than usual for an earth pony or a pegasus, but they certainly weren’t dangerous, even for a non-unicorn.

She glanced up at AJ, who was staring at her, worried. Dash looked close to panicking.

“You’ll be fine, AJ. It’s probably just the new pony magic settling in. We’ll keep an eye on it, and I’ll check you over the next few days.” Twilight tried to smile. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both relaxed, grins replacing their worried looks.

“I know you’ll take care‘a me, Twilight. Well, of us, I guess.” Applejack chuckled.

Twilight just smiled back nervously. “I’ll do my best.”

***

Applejack glanced at Twilight several times on the way to Sugarcube Corner, and every time she found the princess looking at her like someone drew a crossword puzzle on the back of AJ’s hat. It was making her more than a little concerned, but she knew that if Twilight figured out the answers, Applejack would be the first pony she’d tell. For the moment, it seemed that Twilight figured everything was okay, and this ought to be a time for celebration.

Not that there was any other option. As soon as they walked into the bakery, Applejack found her face full of Pinkie Pie’s grin. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Did it work did it work did it work?” Pinkie gasped as she noticed the smile on Applejack’s face. “IT WORKED! OhmigoshApplejack! You’re gonna have a baby!”

“I sure am!” Applejack confirmed.

“And it’s Dashie’s baby!” Pinkie went on as Applejack found herself in a tight embrace. “The first baby of any of my friends and it’s of two of my friends and because of an awesome amazing magic spell by another of my friends and we’re all gonna love it and take care of it and THERE’S GONNA BE A BABY!”

“Pinkie, chill. They take a while to bake,” Dash said, peeling Pinkie off AJ, but Dash was grinning ear to ear.

“That should give me time to design a wardrobe for the dear,” Rarity said, coming forward and nuzzling Dash and Applejack gently. “You said it’s going to be a filly?”

“I did.” Applejack nodded. “And I also said ya’ could forget ‘bout those frou-frou dresses with so many ruffles ya’ can’t see the foal.”

Rarity pouted. “But Applejack, darling, you must have at least one ruffled dress. It’s traditional, everypony’s parents have one of those pictures. I would bet there’s one of you, somewhere.”

“All the more reason I ain’t puttin’ my filly though that,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.

“I get a say too, right?” Dash wrapped a wing around AJ. “What if I want a picture like that of my little girl?”

“Dash!” Applejack stared at her marefriend in absolute shock. “Why in Equestria would ya’ wanna do somethin’ like that to her?”

“Future blackmail,” Dash answered with a wicked smirk. “We need some cute ones of her in the bath too. And if she ever breaks curfew, those all go straight to the school paper.”

Rarity smiled. “Whatever your plans, if it will get Applejack to allow me to make a darling little frock, I support you entirely.”

Applejack chuckled. “I guess I’m outnumbered. Okay, one. One, Rarity, ya’ got that?”

“Of course!” Rarity’s eyes lit up. “One for the photograph. . . but we’ll have to have several options, of course. Oh, I wish I knew what colors she will be! The two of you have quite a range to choose from.”

“But whatever color she is, I know she’ll be beautiful.” Fluttershy said softly, joining the parents-to-be. “Congratulations, both of you. This is very exciting.”

“Have you thought of names?” Pinkie asked. “Are they going to be yummy Apple names or awesome Dashie names or yummy awesome names like Candy Apple Explosion!”

“Candy Apple Explosion. . .” Dash considered it and said to AJ, “That does sound kinda awesome.”

“Rainbow Dash.” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “You really wanna see what kinda cutie mark ‘Candy Apple Explosion’ is gonna get, someday?”

“Okay, probably not,” Dash agreed, then turned back to Pinkie. “It’ll depend on if she’s an earth pony or a pegasus, and what her colors are and stuff.”

“We decided she oughta have an Apple name if she’s an earth pony, or a good pegasus name if she’s got wings,” Applejack explained to their friends. “Unless she gets Dash’s mane; then we decided we’ll name her Zap Apple.”

“Awww,” Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy chorused, smiling.

“I do hope she gets Rainbow’s mane. Not that yours isn’t lovely, Applejack, but it would be amazing to see that striking combination on somepony who appreciated it,” Rarity said.

Dash rolled her eyes. “Hey, who says my daughter’s gonna care about her mane?”

“I am taking it upon myself to make sure she’s instructed in the arts of styling and beauty. Since it’s obvious nopony else will.”

“No way! We’re gonna have a totally awesome little filly. . .” Dash and Rarity went on, but Applejack wasn’t paying attention. Normally she would have been setting Rarity straight, but right now she was staring at Twilight, who’d been nearly silent since they came in.

The princess was rubbing the base of her horn with her hoof, looking at the floor, deep in thought. Applejack trotted over to her and gave her a nuzzle. Twilight looked up, startled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, AJ. I’m missing all the fun, aren’t I?”

“I suppose so, but it sure looks like you’re missin’ it for a reason. Twilight, you’ll tell me if there’s somethin’ wrong, right?” Applejack looked Twilight square in the eye. “I wanna know, every step of the way.”

“Just the magic levels. And, there was a vibration in the magic, as I was performing the spell.” Twilight sighed. “But I don’t know what those things mean, AJ. They might be bad, or good, or perfectly normal for ponies. I’m just lost in trying to guess which.”

Applejack nodded. “I can see where that’s tough. I guess this is the hard part of bein’ first, right?”

“Yeah. . .” Twilight agreed, looking down. “But I promise, I did every single calculation, a hundred times. I’ve done everything I can to make you safe.”

“Now don’t you start.” Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Twilight. “You can’t make me all the way safe, anymore than Dash can. I knew what I was gettin’ into, Twilight. So far, you done just what I asked ya’ to do.”

“I know, Applejack, I just love you and Dash. And. . . heh, I guess I love your little zygote too!” Twilight smiled.

Applejack blinked. “My what now?”

“Zygote,” Twilight explained, “That’s what’s inside of you now, and it’ll grow into an embryo, and then a fetus, then-”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Well now, that all sounds quite facinatin’ and science-y, Twilight, but-”

“You’re right!” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “I should tell all the girls about this! This is the perfect time for everypony to learn about pony prenatal development.”

“Great,” Applejack said dryly, but she was smiling to see Twilight fluttering over to Pinkie, trying to arrange for a chalkboard. If there was time for a science lesson, Twilight really must not be that worried. Knowing that was worth a lecture, as long as there wasn’t a test at the end.

***

That evening, after they’d gone to bed, Rainbow Dash snuggled against Applejack’s back. It felt so comfortable and familiar, it was strange to think that everything was different now. She was going to be a mother, and Applejack was carrying her baby. A real baby, not just the imaginary, someday-baby they’d been talking about forever. A little foal that was going to cry and throw up and poop and keep them up all night. A little foal that they were going to be responsible for keeping alive and healthy and raising into some kind of sane, normal pony.

This was too weird for Dash. For one thing, she was the last pony she would trust to raise another pony. Well, second to last; there was always Pinkie. But even Pinkie knew more about babies than she did. For the other thing, there was a baby growing in her marefriend. What would one day be a grown up pony, like their friends, was now floating in AJ’s belly.

“AJ?” Dash said softly to the back of Applejack’s head.

“Yeah?” Applejack responded, not sounding sleepy in the least.

“Don’t freak out, but there’s a pony growing inside you.”

“I reckon I know that, Dash.” Applejack chuckled, sounding totally normal, which made Dash smile and relax.

“Is it weird?”

“Well, it don’t feel like nothin’, right now. But. . . I guess it is a bit strange to think ‘bout.”

“No kidding!” Dash giggled. “It’s like you’re some freaky pod for a baby pony.”

“Could ya’ not put it like that?” Dash could practically hear AJ rolling her eyes. “This is how ponies get born, sugarcube.”

“Yeah, like some kind of weird pod pony that forces itself out your-”

“We are really not talkin’ ‘bout that part!” Applejack cut in forcefully. Dash felt AJ’s body tense up. It surprised her for a second, but considering it she gently ran a hoof up and down AJ’s side.

“Are you scared?”

“No,” AJ said quickly, almost on reflex.

“Come on, AJ. Really.” Dash kept stroking AJ’s side.

“Would you be scared?” Applejack asked softly.

“No,” Dash said, just as quickly as AJ had. Then she hesitated, actually thinking about being in AJ’s position, with a pony growing inside of her. “Maybe. Kinda. I mean, it totally doesn’t seem like it should fit.”

“Well, I guess I’m maybe-kinda scared,” Applejack admitted. “But that’s what it’s there for, right? Darn near everypony in the world had’ta fit outta their ma.”

“Yeah. I’m just glad it’s not me. You’re really brave, AJ.”

“In that case, I reckon every ma is,” she said, but Dash felt her relaxing.

“Yup. Anypony that’s willing to let another pony live in them for all that time, then push it out someplace a foal should not be fitting, is pretty brave in my book.”

“They oughta have you at the hospital givin’ pep talks.” Applejack smiled and rolled over to face Dash. “You’re gonna be there, right?”

“Unless I get Wonderbolts tickets for that day,” Dash teased.

Applejack gave her a playful shove.

Dash giggled. “Okay, watching you pop out my foal might be one of the few things cooler than the Wonderbolts.”

“Glad I’m somewhere in your priorities.”

Dash looked in Applejack’s eyes, and her smirk faded to a smile. “AJ, you have my baby inside of you. I know you can take care of yourself, that’s why I love you, but right now being there for you and my baby is the only priority. Nothing else comes close.” Dash ran a hoof gently over AJ’s flat stomach. “However you guys need me, I’m all yours.”

Applejack leaned over and kissed Dash softly. “That means a lot to me. And I know it’ll mean a lot to her.”

“Hey, it’s nothing,” Dash said, then she smirked. “You two are the ones that have to grow a pony in an Applepod.”

Applejack chuckled and shook her head. “I’m gonna kill ya’ before I have this foal.”

“You’ll still have to deal with my daughter!” Dash giggled. “Ha, you’re stuck now!”

“I reckon I am.” Applejack said, but she seemed pretty happy with that as she pulled up the blankets and tucked herself in.

Dash just smiled and watched her peacefully drift off to sleep. When she was sure the earth pony was out, she leaned over and kissed Applejack’s forehead, whispering, “I love you. . . both of you.” Then she snuggled down in the blankets and closed her eyes.

In Which There are Highs and Lows

Two months later, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were finishing up breakfast in their kitchen. Applejack was feeling well, despite her condition, the latest in a long line of sturdy Apple mares who had never lost their appetite when they were with foal. While it was too soon for the pregnancy to affect her appearance, the time she was taking off her work was starting to show; she’d added a little padding over her muscle. Of course, after the first few comments, she taught Dash that it was a good idea to ignore this. She hadn’t heard a peep since Dash figured out that she couldn’t fight back against a pregnant mare.

After they finished eating, Dash flew the dishes to the sink as Applejack rose to her hooves to start washing up.

“I was gonna go get some practice in before work,” Dash mentioned.

“Don’t forget, we're eatin' dinner up at the farmhouse.” Applejack said, as she wiped down the skillet. Dash made a face, causing AJ to raise an eyebrow. “I thought ya' liked Granny Smith's cookin'?”

“I love Granny Smith's cooking! I just hate how she keeps calling me the foal's dad.” Dash rolled her eyes.

Applejack chuckled. “It's just her way of understandin' it, sugarcube. She don't mean no harm.”

“I know, but I'm a mare!” Dash pouted as she landed next to AJ and deposited the last couple of dishes.

“Ya' know, I thought I noticed somethin' like that last night.” Applejack smirked and nuzzled Dash, who couldn’t keep the pout on her face.

“You sure did. Wanna check again?” Dash smirked, and licked Applejack’s ear. “Just to be sure.”

Applejack grinned and wrapped a leg around her marefriend, pulling her into a deep kiss as Dash’s hooves ran down AJ’s side.

The kitchen door opened, and Apple Bloom’s voice chirped, “Heya, you guys.”

Applejack quickly broke the kiss, blushing.

“Awesome timing, kid,” Dash muttered, rolling her eyes.

Applejack chuckled. “Best get used to it,” she said to Dash, then she turned to Apple Bloom. “Off to school?”

“Yup. Just hadta finish a million chores.” Apple Bloom sighed. “You got no idea how much farm work you did!”

Applejack smirked. “Well now, I reckon I do. And I figured it out when I was ‘bout your age.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes went wide. “Am I gonna have to do all this forever now?”

“‘Just ‘til the baby’s born,” Applejack said. “But it’s ‘bout time ya’ started takin’ responsibility, Apple Bloom. This is part of growin’ up.”

“Do ya’ think when ya’ have the baby, I’ll be grown up enough to foal-sit?”

“I think we can work somethin’ out.”

“Oh! I almost forgot! A letter came for you, Rainbow Dash.” Apple Bloom said, retrieving an envelope from her saddlebag and offering it to Dash. She turned right back to her sister and went on, “Applejack, Scoot says you can tell if the foal’s a pegasus if you been feelin’ real sick, cause that’s the baby flappin’ round. Does that mean you’re havin’ an earth pony?”

“I still don’t know, sugar. None of the mares in our family ever got sick ‘cause of a foal, but of course they all had earth ponies. But I reckon that’s an old mare’s tale.” Applejack explained, then she raised an eyebrow at Apple Bloom. “Now don’t you haveta be gettin’ to school, missy?”

“AJ,” Dash gasped.

Applejack looked over at Dash. Dash seemed frozen, staring at the paper in her hooves.

“I- this- unh!” Dash opened and closed her mouth a few more times, but no more words came out. Finally she just waved the letter at Applejack, who took it from her hooves and read,

Dear Ms. Rainbow Dash,

This letter is in regards to your interest in a position on the Wonderbolts. A position has become available, and you have been scheduled for an audition and interview on-

Applejack stopped reading and looked up, eyes wide. “Dash? This is it?”

Rainbow Dash squeaked and nodded.

“This is it!” Applejack shouted, a grin spreading across her face.

“What? What is what?” Apple Bloom asked, confused.

“Oh my! Oh sugarcube, come’ere!” Applejack pulled Dash into a tight hug, which Dash returned with all her strength.

“Aaah! AJ! I’m gonna try out for the Wonderbolts!”

Apple Bloom gasped and hopped in the air. “Really? Really really? I gotta go tell Scoot!” And with that she raced out the door.

“Dash, you gotta practice! We gotta tell the girls!” Applejack said, trying to let go of her pegasus, to get started on their new and exciting plans for the day.

Dash didn’t release her, only hugging tighter. “Hold on. In a minute.”

Applejack felt something wet on her coat. Dash was crying, though AJ knew better than to point that out. Instead she whispered, “Is everythin' okay?”

“You're carrying my foal, AJ. And I'm trying out for the Wonderbolts. I've never been this happy.” Dash nuzzled Applejack, wiping her tears, then looked at AJ with an amazed smile. “It's like everything in my life is getting awesome, all at once! I'll get my dream, I'll be able to support you and the baby, I'll have a great kid to come and see me fly. I can't believe it. This can’t be real, it’s way too cool.”

“It's real, sugarcube. And you deserve it all.” Applejack said with a smile, but a hint of doubt played at her eyes as she went on. “But you're still gonna have'ta work to make the Wonderbolts.”

Dash nodded, her own face growing concerned. “Then I’m gonna have to work to stay on the Wonderbolts, and I’ll have to be away a lot... AJ, are you sure you can take care of our foal while I do this?”

“Well, right now I don’t got much choice.” Applejack chuckled a little. “But after she’s born, I’ll have plenty help. I dunno if you noticed, but this foal’s gonna be an Apple, and we got a habit of steppin’ up to help each other. Then there’s the girls; I wouldn’t be surprised if Pinkie started livin’ on our sofa to be closer to the baby, and ya’ know we got Twilight for anythin’ serious. With all that help, I’m more likely to be kickin’ ponies out than worryin’ ‘bout not havin’ enough hooves around.”

Rainbow Dash relaxed, the grin returning to her face. “Everything is perfect!” Dash leaned in and kissed Applejack deeply. When the kiss broke, Dash grinned again. “Come on, let’s tell the girls!”

***

Twilight was as thrilled as everypony else with the news. On top of that, it was impossible to be around Dash that day without feeling some part of the happiness and excitement that she projected in every word and action. Twilight knew that Dash liked things to be happening, and it did seem like some wonderful things were happening for her. Of course, Twilight couldn’t forget her part in that, so while their friends celebrated with Dash in the library above, Twilight and Applejack slipped down to the basement to run their daily tests.

Twilight could see that Applejack was doing her best to relax as she sat hooked up to the machines. As the paper with the results fed out, she noted that even that hadn’t managed to get AJ’s vital signs back to normal.

“Magic levels still up?” Applejack asked as Twilight noted the results in her records.

“Yes.” Twilight nodded. Applejack’s magic levels hadn’t gone down since the day of the spell. But Applejack seemed healthy otherwise, so it had become just a vague worry in the back of Twilight’s mind. “Your heart rate is up today, too. That makes sense, of course. It’s very exciting.”

Applejack gave a nervous smile. “Yup. It sure is. . . yup.”

“Something else is wrong, isn’t it?” Twilight said, frowning. More than anypony but Dash, Applejack should have been thrilled today.

“Well. . .” Applejack hesitated.

“Is it something with the baby?”

“No!” Applejack said quickly. “Ya’ know I’d tell ya’ right away if somethin’ happened there. I’d probably be here before it even stopped happenin. . . as a matter of fact, maybe me and Dash oughta stay here.”

“Stay here?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“So if somethin’ happened, I’d be right here.” Applejack explained.

“Um, you know I’m happy to let my friends stay, AJ. But I only have one bedroom. That might put a cramp in your lovelife.” Twilight smiled a little, hoping to cheer up her friend as her magic unhooked AJ from the machine.

“Heh. Yeah. That’s true.” Applejack got up, but didn’t head to the stairs. Twilight watched while she shifted nervously.

“Why are you worried, if nothing’s wrong?” Twilight asked gently. “These readings aren’t anything to worry about, you know.”

“I know. I just. . . Twi, if I tell ya’ somethin’, promise ya’ won’t tell Dash?” Applejack bit her lip as she finished.

“If you really want me to, I can keep it between us.” Twilight said slowly, unsure of what she was getting herself into. It wasn’t like Applejack to keep things from Dash, but if it was bothering AJ this much, she needed to talk to somepony about it.

Applejack nodded, and took a breath. “I feel like, well, like I gotta have this foal. I mean, I wanna have her, with all my heart, Twi. But now. . . this has’ta work. I mean, what does Dash want, really want with all her heart?”

Twilight answered almost automatically, “Well, she wants to be a Wonderbolt.

“And?” Applejack prompted.

Twilight considered the question. “Um. . . she wants to have this baby with you.”

“Anythin’ else?” Applejack raised her eyebrows.

After several moments of thought, Twilight shook her head. “No. Not really.”

“Right.” Applejack nodded. “She’s got an audition, Twilight. But, if that don’t work, and then somethin’ happened to this baby. . .” Applejack trailed off, looking almost haunted. “Dash thinks everythin’s perfect right now, but it ain’t perfect yet. I can’t really help with with gettin’ on the Wonderbolts, but I can- no, I gotta have this foal. That way, if she don’t make the Wonderbolts at least she’s got somethin’, right?”

“AJ, you’re already doing all you can.” Twilight pointed out. They both were, she reminded herself.

“I know. I just wish there was more I could do.” Applejack stomped the floor in frustration, then looked almost pleadingly at Twilight. “I gotta be careful. And I need ya’ to make sure I’m bein’ careful, any way you can think. Like, should I miss the Summer Sun Celebration? I know Princess Celestia invited us special and all, but she’d understand if I hadn’t oughta travel all the way to Canterlot.”

“As long as we make you comfortable, you should be fine,” Twilight said with a small smile. She knew that it must be driving Applejack crazy to not have any way to effect this, but she went on honestly, “Really, at this point anything that isn’t strenuous should be safe. The only thing I’d even think about is the magic from being there when Princess Celestia raises the sun, but your magic levels haven’t been that high. I’m beginning to think that you’re just carrying a pegasus. Normally the pony magic wouldn’t show up this early, but if it was a side effect of a spell that the magic infused from the beginning, that would make sense.”

Applejack’s face lit up. “A pegasus? Really? Oh Twi, that’d be perfect! If Dash didn’t make the Wonderbolts, havin’ a little girl she could fly with would make her so happy.” She laid a hoof on her belly, smiling. She seemed to relax a little, and Twilight relaxed right along with her.

“If she does make the Wonderbolts, you’re going to have an interesting time trying to take care of a little pegasus- especially if she has Dash’s talent.” Twilight giggled.

Applejack grinned. “Good thing I got a lasso. I’ll have to get Dash to let me work on my pegasus wrangelin’.”

Twilight raised her eyebrows with a smirk. “And that is exactly why you don’t want to stay with me.”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Applejack said, chuckling. “You’re gettin’ as bad as Dash.”

“Just trying to help you guys!” Twilight giggled. “Come on, let’s get back to the party.”

Applejack seemed more relaxed as they went back up to the library where Pinkie had set up the party. The decorations were in the Wonderbolt's blue and gold, and Dash was showing off by flying under and over streamers, until she caught sight of AJ and flew into a bookcase.

Twilight tried to hold back a giggle, but Applejack just grinned and shook her head. “That’s some Wonderbolt’s flyin’ right there.”

Dash shook her head and flew over to them. “Good thing you’re not coming to my audition. I don’t need distractions. Anyway, is everything cool?”

“Yup, sugarcube, everythin’s cool.” Applejack gave Dash a nuzzle.

“Of course it is!” Dash grinned. “So, tomorrow everypony needs to come and watch me do a run-through of my audition. It absolutely has to be the coolest thing any of you have ever seen... Really, I mean it, if you’ve ever seen anything more cool, you have to let me know.”

“Of course, darling,” Rarity agreed, smiling.

“Does that include ice cream? Does it have to be cooler than ice cream?” Pinkie asked, earning a confused look from Dash that Pinkie didn’t seem to notice.

“You know we’ll do everything we can to help,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Then there’s no way I can mess up!” Dash grinned and landed between AJ and Twilight with a wing over each of them. “With friends like you guys, how can things not turn out awesome?”

Behind Dash’s head, Twilight and AJ exchanged worried glances.

***

Rainbow Dash was up early the next day, out of bed at the same time as Applejack and ready to go. She’d been up late the night before, as well, planning her routine half a dozen different ways, trying to find the moves that would perfectly show off every asset she could offer the Wonderbolts. She knew she was going to change her mind over and over before her audition, the only thing she was sure of was that she’d finish with a sonic rainboom.

She took her notes to the breakfast table with her, trying to decide if she needed something that showed more control, and where she could fit that in, while Applejack made their breakfast.

“AJ, I’ve got a griffon dive into an upward barrel roll, do you think adding a loop in between there is gonna look sloppy?”

“A griffon dive is the one where ya’ pull up just before ya’ hit the dirt, and give your marefriend a heart attack, right?” Applejack said. Then she tossed the half-done pancakes into the air, catching them on the griddle.

“Yup.”

“It’ll look better if ya’ shoot up outta that. The Wonderbolts don’t like things as showy as you do, sugarcube. Keep it sharp and clean.”

“You’re right.” Dash smiled and made a note on her paper. She set down the pencil and grinned at AJ. “I knew I took you to all those shows for a reason.”

“And here I thought ya’ just liked the company.” Applejack smiled over her shoulder at Dash.

“Nope. All part of my plan to make the team.” Dash smirked. “Step twenty seven: find a hot cowpony and drag her around to Wonderbolts shows.”

Applejack chuckled. “What step are we on now, on this plan of yours?”

“Step one hundred.” Dash flew over to Applejack and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Win everything.”

“I think you’re skippin’ step ninety nine, which is eatin’ your breakfast before it gets cold,” Applejack said with a grin as she carefully moved the last pancakes onto the stack.

“No way am I skipping step ninety nine. You made pancakes.” Dash picked up the plate and flew it over to the table. She set it in the middle, and took a healthy portion for herself.

“Not too many.” Applejack admonished, sitting down at the table and eying Dash’s plate. “You’re gonna be flyin’ all over today.”

“But, I need fuel!” Dash protested.

“Have an extra apple.” Applejack used her tail to take one from a nearby bushel and toss it to Dash. “It’s lighter than a belly full of pancakes.”

Dash caught the apple, then put back a few of her pancakes with a smile. “Got it, boss. What would I do without you?”

“You’d be stuck back on step twenty six.” Applejack said with a grin, then she dug into her breakfast.

Later that afternoon, Dash hovered as she scanned the sky over the park. She had cleared every cloud to give herself a perfectly clear practice space, but she needed to be certain she hadn’t missed anything. She turned back to her friends who were gathered to watch, grinning and enthusiastic. Dash grinned back at them.

“You girls ready?”

“Yes!” a chorus of voices replied. Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly.

“Are you pumped?” Dash darted across the sky and struck a pose.

“Yes!” they called, though Dash could see Twilight and AJ snickering.

“How pumped are you?!” Dash demanded.

“Yes!” Pinkie shouted automatically.

Twilight considered the question. “Um, three quarters of the way?”

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged confused looks.

“Just get up there and fly, Dash.” Applejack chuckled.

“Right.” Dash nodded and flew down to kiss her marefriend’s cheek. “Let me know everything, AJ. How it looks, anything I’m off on. You need to be my eyes on the ground.”

Applejack gave her a nuzzle. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

“Let’s do this!” Dash nodded, and flew up above the tree line. She gave herself time for a few deep breaths, then took off, running through the routine she’d mapped out.

The early tricks went easily, she’d designed the routine to give her some time to calm her nerves. She knew she’d be a wreck the day of the auditions, and she couldn’t mess this up like her Young Flyers competition.

As she moved into the harder tricks, she focused on the sky. She could hear the cheers of her friends, Pinkie was always dependable for that, but they blended into the rushing of the air in her ears. There was nothing but Rainbow Dash and sky as she looped, dove, twisted, and maneuvered. She made the tiny adjustments of her wings required to keep each trick clean, certain she was looking forward to a positive report from AJ and her friends when she landed.

Nearly finished, she climbed the sky, beating her wings like mad to pick up speed. After not too long she felt the force cone forming in front of her, and her strong wings fought against it as victory approached. Sure enough, high in the sky she felt it burst, reminding her of everything wonderful that was happening in her life right now. It was awesome, she was awesome, life was awesome. As the boom faded, she listened for the cheers of her friends, the celebration of just how cool everything was.

What she heard wasn’t cheers but a high pitched scream of terror. Rarity.

Dash glanced down and saw her friends gathered around something. Well, most of her friends.

Pinkie and Rarity raced toward Ponyville, revealing Applejack lying on the ground, motionless.

And in that instant, Rainbow Dash felt everything inside of her die.

In Which A Mistake Is Discovered

“APPLEJACK!” Rainbow Dash screamed, diving for the ground, where her whole life seemed to be hanging in the balance. She felt like it took years to reach the grass where Applejack lay, even though she knew it was a matter of seconds. Twilight was still cautiously looking in AJ’s eyes while Fluttershy held a limp orange hoof in her own.

“What happened?! Somepony do something!” Dash yelled as soon as her hooves hit the ground. She raced to AJ, and pressed an ear to her chest. Dash thought she heard a heartbeat, but it was impossible to be sure over the thumping of her own heart.

“I don’t know what happened,” Twilight said as her horn started to glow and the magic traveled to AJ’s body. “Just- AH!” The glow stopped with Twilight’s yell, and her eyes went wide.

Dash’s head shot up, “What’s wrong?!”

Twilight didn’t answer, instead she quickly touched her horn to AJ’s forehead and closed her eyes. The horn started to glow again, but this time the magenta was streaked with green as it pulsed. Dash watched with her mouth hanging open as Twilight just sat there for almost a minute before she looked up, out of breath.

“It was magic.” Twilight stared at Dash. “She was completely overloaded with magic.”

“She doesn’t have that much magic! She’s an earth pony!” Dash said wildly.

“I know that! It must have been because of your sonic rainboom.” Twilight immediately clapped a hoof over her mouth, but it was too late.

“My. . .” Dash’s heart twisted, and she threw herself across Applejack’s body, close to tears. “I’m sorry, AJ. I’m so sorry, you two. Just be okay, please be okay.”

“She’s alive, and she’ll be okay.” Twilight said softly, walking over to Dash and laying a hoof on her shoulder. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have. This doesn’t even make sense.”

“If she’s okay, why isn’t she awake?” Dash snapped.

“She doesn’t have a horn. All that magic inside of her didn’t have anyplace to go, so it just built up. It probably- wasn’t very comfortable. She passed out.”

Dash stared at Twilight, but it only took a few seconds of thought for her to narrow her eyes at her friend. “Twilight. You don’t pass out when something isn’t very comfortable. You pass out when something hurts. A lot. And AJ is no wimp.”

“I know, Dash,” Twilight whispered.

Dash did her best to not fly into Twilight’s face as she yelled, “If it hurt AJ that much, what happened to the-”

“Rainbow, she’s waking up.” Fluttershy said softly.

Dash forgot about Twilight instantly, crouching beside her marefriend as AJ blearily opened her eyes. “Applejack? AJ, are you okay?”

“Hurts.” Applejack drew a shaky breath, focusing on Dash. “‘S the foal okay?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight supplied. “If I check now, it’s going to hurt you more, and that won’t be good for the baby.”

Dash glanced down at AJ’s body, at her belly where their foal was. Where she should be. Nothing had changed, AJ looked the same, she wasn’t bleeding, but the foal might just be... not there. Her foal. Dash’s daughter. Gone.

She couldn’t look at Applejack’s face, so Dash looked up at the sky, where a fading rainbow still hung, a reminder of how she got here. She knew she had to tell AJ, and she knew she could never make it right, so Dash just rambled, “I’m sorry, AJ. This is all my fault. My stupid rainboom did this, but I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to... I didn’t-”

“Hush,” AJ said. “Just hold me.”

Dash carefully moved a hoof behind AJ’s head, and cradled it in her lap. Applejack’s eyes closed, but Dash could see the pain in AJ’s face. As she heard the sound of galloping hooves and a wagon coming from town, Dash whispered, “It’s gonna be okay, AJ.”

***

Several hours later, Applejack lay in Twilight’s guest bed, which had been carried down to the basement next to Twilight’s devices. Due to the experimental nature of the magic involved, the hospital quickly released her into Twilight’s care. Now wires ran from AJ’s forelegs and head to the big machine, and she was trying to keep herself from staring at the steady feed of paper with markings she didn’t understand. Since she knew that those markings were somehow connected to her health and the health of her foal, it was hard to look away.

The only other pony in the room right now was Rainbow Dash. Her friends and family wanted to sit with them, but Applejack insisted that they stay back. She didn’t want to be around other ponies, it hurt too much. Physically, the pain was down to a dull throbbing feeling all over her body that reminded her of the time she tried to buck the entire orchard by herself, except this time she seemed to have been bucking with every organ in her body. But even when she first woke up, at it’s worst, the physical pain was nothing compared to the torture of not knowing if her foal was alive. Only Dash could understand that, so she was the only pony Applejack wanted right now.

Dash, for her part, was staring at the information from the machines with a mask of grim determination. Applejack knew that her marefriend was looking for some way to defend her and their baby, but there was nothing to fight right now. So Dash seemed to be trying to intimidate the lines being scribbled on the paper into giving them good news. Applejack was seriously worried about Twilight’s equipment if it didn’t give Dash what she wanted.

“Dash?” Applejack said gently.

“Yeah?” Dash replied, never taking her eyes off the feed.

“You don’t even know what those mean, sugarcube.”

“One of the lines is your magic levels, right? I think it’s the jumpy fast one. I wanna go and get Twilight soon as it does something.”

“It hasn’t done nothin’ different yet, and ya’ don’t even know if it’s the right line,” Applejack pointed out. “Twilight’s gonna be back to check in a few minutes. Come’ere and lay with me.”

Dash pulled herself away from the measurements, and flew over to AJ, landing softly on the bed next to her. “Feeling any better?”

“Hurtin’ less, at least.” Applejack snuggled against Dash as much as she could without pulling the wires off.

“I’m sorry, AJ. I didn’t mean to hurt you, and I didn’t mean to-”

“Shh. It’s gonna be okay. You didn’t know, sugarcube. It’s more my fault, me and Twilight were talkin’ about my magic levels bein’ high, and about not bein’ ‘round too much magic. We thought it’d be okay, that the extra magic was just ‘cause...” Applejack swallowed. If they’d been right, and the baby was a pegasus, the idea that it might not be alive would just hurt Dash more. She went on in a different direction. “Anyhow, I shoulda been more careful. I just didn’t even think ‘bout all the magic in your rainboom.”

“Neither did I. I’m such an idiot! I was so busy thinking about the Wonderbolts and flying routines that I didn’t even think that a big, magic explosion right in front of my pregnant marefriend might be a bad idea.“ After a pause, Dash went on in a small, pleading voice, “Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think the foal is okay?”

Applejack sighed. “I dunno.”

“I know you don’t,” Dash said. “But what do you think? Like, inside you, your gut instinct. What’s it say?”

“I think she’s okay,” Applejack whispered. Knowing it was wishful thinking, she added, “But don’t- don’t go gettin’ your hopes up on that.”

“I think she’s okay too,” Dash agreed, which made Applejack relax as Dash went on, “I mean, whatever happens, AJ, I love you. And I’m here for you. But, I think she’s in there, and I love her too.”

As much as Applejack knew that it was nothing more than a guess, both of them saying it made her feel better. Pretending they knew the baby was there calmed the terror, even if it was just for a little while longer. “You can tell her you love her. I know ya’ tell her at night.”

Dash smiled sadly, not even bothering to blush that AJ knew her mushy secret. She leaned towards AJ’s belly. “I love you, little pod pony. No matter what, I love you, so much.”

Hearing a soft knock at the door, AJ looked up to the top of the open staircase as Dash sat up quickly. The door opened and Twilight came down the stairs, “Hey guys. How are you feeling, Applejack?”

“Better,” Applejack said, then she held her breath as Twilight walked over and read the feeds from the machines.

“Your magic levels are coming down. Just another hour or so, and I’ll know it’s safe.”

Applejack let out the breath, resigning herself to more waiting. “Okay.”

Twilight smiled sadly. “I wish I could give you something to relax you, but most non-magical ways of doing that aren’t good for a foal. So, just please try to relax, okay? It would be the best thing for everypony if you could take a nap.”

Applejack shook her head. “I don’t think I can sleep.”

“You’ve gotta try, AJ.” Dash flew out of the bed. “You want some warm milk or something?”

Applejack looked to Dash. She knew Dash understood. “I ain’t hungry. And I ain’t tired, neither. I just keep thinkin’...”

“AJ, it’s for our foal. It’s better for the foal if you get some sleep.” Dash met AJ’s eyes, and Applejack knew there was no argument she could make that didn’t involve admitting defeat. She couldn’t admit defeat, not to herself and especially not to Dash, so she just swallowed and nodded.

“I’ll try.”

Dash flew over her and kissed her on the forehead. “Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”

“Okay.” Applejack nodded. “I love ya’.”

“I love you too. Both of you,” Dash said softly.

“Come on, Dash. We can wait upstairs.” Twilight motioned to the stairs, and both she and Dash left Applejack alone in the basement with the sound of the machine scribbling its results.

Applejack closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep. It didn’t work. Without Dash, she was so much less sure that her foal was with her; every thought was easily dismissed as a lie she was telling herself. She almost wished she just knew, one way or the other, but she had a guess that finding out for sure that they lost the foal would bring a world of pain she couldn’t imagine.

She thought of Dash talking to the foal; both at night, and a few minutes ago, when AJ almost believed that they must be right, that the foal was still with them. She needed that, she needed to feel that again, so she closed her eyes and whispered to herself:

Sugarcube...

Please be there. Please, sugercube, stay with me.

I want ya’ so bad, I want ya’ to be strong and healthy, me and your mama are gonna take such good care’a you, my darlin’ filly. Just stay with me, I’ll keep ya’ safe.

It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna make it, I know ya’ will. You got the two strongest ponies in Equestria for mamas, I know you’re one tough little filly. I just wanna meet you, darlin’. Your mamas just wanna meet ya’ and hold ya’, so don’t ya’ go leavin’ us. Twilight’s gonna fix this. She’ll find out what’s gone wrong. You just gotta be there so she can set it right. Please be there.

***

Upstairs, it was quickly becoming apparent to Twilight that she and Dash didn’t make the best team in a stressful situation. Twilight was going over all of her notes repeatedly, trying to make sense of a magic surge with no apparent source. Dash, despite a whole library of books to keep her busy, was hovering over her shoulder. This would have been distracting enough, but Dash wasn’t exactly subtle about her eagerness for an answer.

“How about now?”

“I’m trying! I need to concentrate...” Twilight sighed, her probably useless train of thought broken. “We should relax a little, Dash.”

Dash shot her an incredulous look. “Relax? When Applejack almost died? When we don’t know what happened to my foal?”

Twilight cringed. “Okay. Yeah. No relaxing.”

Looking back to the scrolls, Twilight once again scanned a year’s worth of notes for anything out of the ordinary. A graph of Applejack’s magic levels had been a gentle wave before the pregnancy, up and down with the seasons and planting. There were a few small spikes, when they’d attended the Summer Sun celebration, or Zap Apple harvest, but there was nothing to indicate that she was capable of producing magic herself, even if the sonic rainboom had amplified it. At worst, there should have been a jump that would have worn off in a few days. Applejack might have felt a tingle, a magical vibration almost like the one when-

“Got it yet?”

“Stop it!” Twilight snapped. She saw Dash flap back a few feet, and Twilight shook her head. “I can’t do this, Dash. I can’t concentrate with you interrupting every few seconds.”

Dash sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, I just can’t take all this not knowing stuff.”

“I know. It’s driving me crazy too. I mean, I should know, everything about Applejack’s health is here in my notes.” Twilight glanced down at her papers again. “This shouldn’t have happened. Not like this.”

“Okay. So explain it to me.” Dash said, landing next to her and looking at the notes. “Go ahead and tell me everything, and tell me what doesn’t make sense. Then I’ll know something... I’ll know what you don’t know, at least.”

“Alright. Well, her magic levels have been high, I knew that.” Twilight motioned to the charts. “And... a sonic rainboom can amplify magic, it did that to me when I got my cutie mark. But I already had strong unicorn magic. With how high AJ’s magic levels were when I tried to check her after she passed out, the only way this makes any sense is if the baby has stronger magic than I do.”

Dash blinked. “The baby is a unicorn? You said it couldn’t be a unicorn!”

“It can’t!” Twilight insisted. “I mean, that doesn’t make any sense. Even if it was a unicorn, her magic levels shouldn’t have been elevated yet. It was something with the spell. It must have been. Somehow, some residual magic was attached to the foal...”

“But you said it must have been stronger magic than yours.” Dash sat back on her haunches. “How could you attach stronger magic than you have?”

“I can’t.” Twilight sighed. “This is completely illogical. I can’t control magic stronger than-” her eyes went wide. “Oops.”

Dash’s eye matched Twilight’s. “Oops? Twilight, what oops?”

Twilight smacked a hoof to her face. “You have magic stronger than mine! I forgot- I can’t believe I didn’t- ARGH!”

“Twilight, don’t go crazy on me now.” Dash flew up and laid a hoof on Twilight shoulder. “I'm a pegasus, she's an earth pony. We just have regular pony magic!”

“That's just it, you do have magic! You're both bearers of elements of harmony! That's what I forgot to calculate!” Twilight shook off Dash’s hoof, turning to her notes. “I mean, we don't know how the elements work genetically, I don't think we pass them to our kids... usually.” Twilight started furiously making notes and calculating magic levels, talking as much to herself as to Rainbow Dash, who just looked on in worried confusion.

“Unless somepony is magically bonding two of our essences together, and accidentally bonds two extremely powerful pieces of ancient magic using even more magic. Of course, that wouldn’t be stable...” She cringed at her results. Princess Celestia herself wouldn’t be able to convince her to go through with a spell that risky, but Twilight had already done it.

“Then if that was exposed to a large scale magical event, one that amplifies magic. . . Yes. That could cause a massive surge of magic. Which an earth pony has no outlet for.” She nodded, momentarily proud of herself for figuring out exactly what had happened, before the facts of the situation sunk in. Her face fell, her ears drooped, and she hung her head in shame. One single, simple fact- the entire reason she even knew Applejack and Rainbow Dash- and she’d forgotten, and put her friend in danger.

Dash’s voice drew Twilight out of her self pity. “Is AJ okay? Is the foal okay?”

“I won’t know if the foal is okay until her magic levels come down.” Twilight shook her head sadly. “If she miscarried, once her magic levels are down she should be back to normal. If she didn’t miscarry. . . she basically has a magical bomb inside of her until the baby is born.”

Rainbow Dash froze. Her mouth moved a few times before sounds came out, but even those were less than helpful, “Uh- wha- how-”

“This could happen again. It could be even worse, and I don’t know what might set it off. It’s not like my magic, I have some control over that. AJ doesn’t have any way to control or direct this force.” Twilight took a deep breath. “I’d have to keep her away from anything really magical, like the Summer Sun Celebration. And she shouldn’t have any spells cast on her, unless I absolutely have to check on the pregnancy. The safest thing would be to keep her on Sweet Apple Acres, and Rarity and I just won’t use magic while we’re there.”

“But- if something happened...?” Dash’s voice seemed small and helpless, and it caught Twilight off guard.

Twilight leaned over and nuzzled Dash, and answered gently. “There’s no way to tell. It would depend on the scale of the magic, and if it triggered the magic inside her. It’s unstable, I can’t say how it would react without knowing the specific event. It also depends on if I’m there to drain the magic right away, and how much magical pressure she can take.”

“Could she die from that?” Dash whispered.

Twilight stared at Dash. She could think of a dozen different ways that AJ could die from that, just off the top of her head, and all of them were extremely unpleasant. But she decided that at least one of them should be able to sleep that night.

“It’s possible,” Twilight said slowly.

Some of Dash’s determination returned to her face, and she sounded more herself as she demanded, “How possible?”

“I just don’t know.” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t even know if the foal is alive right now.”

Dash looked Twilight in the eye, “I have to be with AJ. Now.”

“Let her rest, Dash. Remember what she’s been through today. Do you really want her to have to think about this, when we still don’t know if it’s an issue?”

Dash considered that, then walked over to a pillow and sat on it, looking at Twilight expectantly. “So what do I do?”

Twilight sighed. “Wait. And try to relax.”

A little while later, Twilight and Dash made their way quietly down to the basement. Applejack was asleep, her forelegs wrapped around a pillow, holding it tightly to her. Dash landed on the bed and gave AJ a gentle nuzzle while Twilight checked the feed from the machine.

Applejack’s magic levels were still much higher than normal, but they were in the safe zone. Twilight knew that at this point, checking would probably be safer and healthier for both AJ and the baby than waiting any longer. She glanced over at the bed, where Applejack had released the pillow and replaced it with Rainbow Dash, holding the pegasus tightly while she watched Twilight.

“It’s safe now. I can check,” Twilight said nervously.

Dash turned to give Twilight a deadly serious stare. “You’re sure it’s safe? A hundred percent sure?”

Twilight took a step back on instinct before collecting herself and nodding. “I- I’m sure. I can do this safely, Dash.”

“Go on then,” Applejack said.

Twilight focused on Applejack, and with the lightest magic she could manage she searched AJ’s body for signs of the life growing within her. It took longer than usual without the full force of her magic, but after a few minutes Twilight found it. She quickly dropped the spell and looked at the worried faces of her friends.

“You’re still pregnant, Applejack.”

Applejack’s face lit up with joy and relief, “Oh Twilight... thank you. Dash, ya’ hear that? She’s still-” it only took a glance to reveal that Dash’s emotions were much more confused, her face fighting between happiness and fear. Applejack’s face fell quickly. “What’s wrong?”

“We figured out what caused the accident.” Twilight spoke up, trying not to meet Applejack’s eyes. “I made a mistake. I accidentally bonded your Elements of Harmony, and the short version is that the foal is magically unstable.”

“What’s that mean?” Applejack looked between Twilight and Dash.

“It means this could happen again,” Dash started levelly, but then her voice cracked, “And it could kill you, AJ.”

“Huh.” Applejack looked surprised, and not exactly comfortable with the idea, but she just swallowed and asked Twilight cautiously, “Is there a way we can make that not happen?”

“If we keep you away from magic, you should be fairly safe,” Twilight said. “Of course, that depends on nopony doing anything too magical near you, and nothing unexpected happening around you, and... well, let’s hope we don’t have to use the Elements of Harmony before the foal is born.”

Applejack thought about that for a moment. “Twilight? Just how far do I have to be from a sonic rainboom to be safe?”

Twilight saw the worry in Applejack’s eyes, and understood immediately: Dash’s Wonderbolt auditions. “Well, it does have a huge magical radius... we were all over Equestria when we saw Dash’s first one. I’m not sure, but I can do some calculations.”

“Don’t worry about it, Twilight,” Dash said calmly. “I’m not doing one while AJ is pregnant.”

“But sugarcube, your auditions are in a few months,” Applejack reminded Dash.

Dash shook her head with a grim expression. “Doesn’t matter. No way am I doing that anywhere in the world while it could hurt you and my foal like that.”

“This is the Wonderbolts, Dash. Maybe I’d be safe in Appleloosa... let Twilight check at least.”

“AJ, right now there are zero Wonderbolts who have ever done a sonic rainboom. I can audition without it.” Dash pointed out.

“Yeah, but what if it’s the push ya’ need? You can’t miss out on your dream just ‘cause of me.” It was obvious that if Applejack hadn’t been laying in a bed, she would have put her hoof down.

“It’s not just because of you, AJ. It’s you and my foal, the two most important ponies in the world. I told you, you guys come first.” Dash said, crossing her hooves in front of her.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “If Twilight says there’s someplace we can be safe-”

“Twilight forgot to mention all of this when I did one right in front of you and almost killed you!” Dash shouted, then with a grimace she shook her head. “I’m not taking chances, AJ.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack snapped. “Twilight’s also the one that gave you this foal! How can ya’ not-”

“Guys! Stop it!” Twilight shouted, her face beet red. “Dash, it’ll take no time at all to do the calculations. I can do them tomorrow. Then you guys can talk about it, after you’ve both had a chance to rest.”

Dash just sighed and rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to-”

“AJ doesn’t need to be fighting with you right now,” Twilight pointed out. “Please talk about it tomorrow.”

Dash opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it. She turned and gave an apologetic look to Applejack. “Okay. This is just because I love you, AJ.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if Dash meant that was the only reason she was protesting or the only reason she was willing to drop the argument, but either way Applejack relaxed.

“I love you too, sugarcube.” Applejack hugged Dash, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Dash caught AJ’s lips and turned it into a harder and longer kiss, at which point Twilight politely looked away.

She was glad AJ and Dash were holding together under the circumstances, very well, it seemed. But she couldn’t forget that this was all her fault. Dash was right, they had no reason to trust her anymore. She had no reason to trust herself. What else had she forgotten? She wanted to look for something, anything, but there was no way to look for something she couldn’t remember and might not even be there in the first place. At this point, she knew she wasn’t going to find a mistake unless it manifested.

She glanced up, AJ and Dash were still locked in their embrace. As comforting as that was, Twilight cleared her throat.

Her friends looked up, and Applejack blushed a little, “Uh, sorry, forgot you were there. It’s been a long day.”

“I know.” Twilight said with a small smile. “I’ll go get Big Macintosh, and he can take you home in the cart. Sweet Apple Acres is probably the safest place in Equestria for you, right now.”

“Well, that’s lucky, ain’t it Dash?” Applejack said, smiling. “We’re goin’ home, sugarcube. The three of us are goin’ home, and we’ll get some sleep. This’ll all seem better in the mornin’.”