My Little Pony: Motherhood is Magic (Revised!)

Chapters

Surprise
What Now?
Element of Honesty
A Flare in the Night
Loyalty, Laughter, and a little Magic
Party for Two
Epilogue

Surprise

Surprise!

It was a crisp, midsummer morning in Ponyville. Most ponies were setting up shop or walking around, whether it’s to enjoy the cool breeze and rising sun or to buy groceries before the crowds start forming. But there was one particular pony that wasn’t having such a good morning..

“Sweetie Belle, hurry up before you’re late!” said Rarity, a white unicorn with a deep blue mane and tail and sapphire eyes, in as a sweet a voice as she could keep.

“Coming sis!” responded an even sweeter, yet childish, voice.

All of a sudden there was a knock at the front door of Rarity’s dress shop, the Carousel Boutique.

“Ohhh who could that be?” whined Rarity in a slightly agitated voice. “I hope it’s not more customers coming to place an order, I already have enough on my plate...” she mumbled as Rarity walked to the door. Putting on a bright, smiling face she opened it with her magic and started to say “Welcome to the Carousel Bouti..” Rarity started, trailing off. She noticed it was Sweetie Belle’s friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

“Hey Miss Rarity, is Sweetie Belle ready?” asked the little yellow filly, Apple Bloom, with her family’s trademark southern accent.

“Hold on just a minute girls. SWEETIE BELLE!!!” shouted Rarity with a volume that made the earth and pegasus pony jump with fear and surprise.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Jeez,” responded a small white unicorn filly with a pink and magenta colored mane and tail.

Noticing her friends, she got excited. “Hey Scootaloo! Hey Apple Bloom!”

They both gave her a huge smile, then Apple Bloom asked “Y’all ready fer school today?”

“Yea, I got a bunch of plans for our crusading afterwards!” added Scootaloo with excitement.

“You bet! See ya later Rarity!” said the excited white filly, giving her sister a hug before running to catch up with her friends.

“Be safe, Girls!” shouted Rarity, knowing full well the kind of trouble that trio of fillies can cause.

After closing her door and sighing, Rarity decided to head into the kitchen for a cup of tea before starting on her new clothing lines for the upcoming Fall and Winter seasons. After taking a few steps toward her kitchen, Rarity started feeling slightly dizzy, and she could feel the onset of a headache. Thinking the tea will help, she continued to walk towards the kitchen, using her magic to levitate all the things she’d need to make her drink. While waiting for the water to boil, she started to think of designs and colors that would look fabulous and “in.”

“Well, for Fall, I could use rustic colors like brown and red. Or, maybe something a little brighter like yellow and red-orange?” As Rarity was deep in thought, her kettle started to whistle and steam, snapping her out of her thoughts. She finished making her tea then levitated the cup with her upstairs so she could grab her notebook in which she usually kept her ideas and drawings before she decided they were perfect enough to become tangible.

When she reached her room she started looking for the notebook, forgetting what she did last with it. Taking a few sips of her tea, she started looking in drawers and underneath piles of leftover cloth that she seemed to never have time to dispose of properly.

“Aha! There it is,” Rarity happily said to herself as she found her notebook on the floor by her bed. “Hmm, must’ve fallen asleep while writing in it again last night.”

As she enclosed the book in her blue aura of magic and lifted it, she took a few more sips of her tea; that’s when it hit full force. She could feel her stomach rumbling and bile starting to creep its way up her throat, so she rushed to her bathroom and started vomiting in her toilet. After about a minute or two, she washed her mouth out with water to wash away the taste and looked at herself in the mirror.

“I don’t understand what’s wrong,” the unicorn said to her reflection, “I look perfectly normal. Ohh I do hope I’m not getting sick... I know, I’ll go to the doctor’s, just to be on the safe side.” So, after taking a few more gulps of water and cleaning up her spilt tea, Rarity closed and locked up her shop and headed towards the hospital.

*************************************************************************************************

As she entered the hospital, Rarity couldn’t help but shudder like she usually does whenever she enters hospitals. For some reason, the white walls and overpowering smell of sanitized floors always made the fashionista feel uncomfortable. She trotted up to the desk and smiled at the white Earth Pony who wore her pale red hair in its usual bun.

“Hello Nurse Redheart,” Rarity greeted. “I was wondering if I could get a quick checkup; I haven’t been feeling well this morning and just wanted to make sure that it was nothing more than a cold.”

The nurse smiled at Rarity and replied, “of course dear, just take a seat and I’ll come get you when a room is open”.

*************************************************************************************************

After waiting for an hour in those “horrendous and tacky chairs,” as Rarity would describe them, Nurse Redheart came out and led the unicorn to a room where she promptly starting doing a basic checkup: her pulse, temperature and all the usual stuff nurses and doctors do.

“All right,” began nurse Redheart, “looks like everything’s fine Miss Rarity. All we need is a blood sample to check for any viruses present in your bloodstream and you should be good to go.”

“Oh, thank you so much Nurse Redheart!” thanked Rarity with a relieved sigh. “Well,” she thought, “maybe it was just something I ate this morning.”

After what seemed like ages (but was only an hour and a half), Nurse Redheart appeared beaming at Rarity. “Well, I’ve got good news and even better news! Which would you like to hear first?” she asked the dress maker.

“Umm, the good news?” Rarity half asked, half said, slightly confused.

“Well, the good news is you’re not sick nor have any signs of any illness.”

“And the better news?”

Nurse Redheart couldn’t stop herself from giving Rarity the biggest smile her mouth would allow as she said to her, “Congratulations! You’re going to be a mother in about 10 months!”

Rarity’s eyes became as wide as physically possible, her sapphire irises becoming so small one would think they didn’t even exist, and her jaw became somewhat slack. “I...I’m..I, uh...WHAT!?!?!” shrieked the shocked and confused unicorn before blacking out.

What Now?

”You’re going to be a mother in about 10 months...” These words kept repeating themselves in Rarity’s head.

“Oh, dear sweet Celestia, how did this happen? WHEN did this happen?” the white unicorn asked herself as she lay down in the hospital bed Nurse Redheart had put her in when she fainted. Turning her head, the dress maker saw a clock mounted over the doorway that read 3:38 P.M.. “Wow, has it only been 8 hours; it’s felt like a day or two since I’ve entered the hospital.”

Out of nowhere, there was the sound of doors being thrown open and the rushing of hooves clacking on tile. The sound stopped just outside of Rarity’s room, where she started to hear muffled voices. Straining her ears, the unicorn could hear what was being said, but barely.

“We’re her friends! We should have every right to be here!” demanded a brash voice that could only be associated with Rainbow Dash.

“I’m sorry, and I understand your ladies’ concern,” Nurse Redheart replied, “but she might still be asleep and shouldn’t be disturbed.”

Then, Applejack could be heard pleading. “Please Nurse, can’t we go in an see her? We promise ta be real quiet and try not to wake her up. We just wanna make sure our friend’s alright.”

“Yes, please Nurse Redheart,” Twilight added, “we even got Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, out of school early so she could come and make sure that she’s alright.”

There was silence for a few seconds then the nurse could be heard giving in and giving the okay, but ONLY if they don’t disturb Rarity if she’s asleep.

The brass door knob could be seen turning and the door was slowly swung open, allowing a small group of colorful mares to enter and fill the room around the bed. All of a sudden there was a small and worried squeal.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle ran up and tried to jump onto her older sister’s bed, sadly not being tall enough and therefore not able to make it. But, with the help of a butterscotch colored pegasus named Fluttershy, the little filly made it up and sat in front of where Rarity was sitting in her bed, a look of fear and worry clouding the little unicorn’s eyes.

“Are you okay, Big Sister?” Sweetie asked cautiously.

“I am now that you’re here,” the older unicorn replied while sweeping up Sweetie Belle and holding her a tight hug. Rarity then turned to her 5 waiting friends and smiled at them. “And, thank you all for coming to check up on me, and thinking of bringing Sweetie with you.”

“No problem, Sugarcube,” said Applejack, “why, when Ah heard you was in the hospital, I high-tailed it outta the farm to get the others and come here.”

Fluttershy then spoke, half of her face covered by her long, pink mane. “Oh yes, when Applejack came and told me, I went straight for the school to get Sweetie Belle, then went and got Pinkie Pie on my way here.”

That was the cue for the pink party pony of Ponyville to speak. “Ohmygoshrarityareyouokaywhenfluttershycameandtoldmewhathappened
ibecamesuperduperworriedsoimadethisgetwellbasketcauseiwasntsurewhatwaswrong
thenthatgotmethinkingwhatcouldbewrongcauseyouwere-“

A violet hoof was shoved into Pinkie Pie’s mouth, muffling her rambling.

“I think what Pinkie is trying to say is that we are all worried and wondering what happened, if you don’t mind telling us,” Twilight Sparkle, owner of said hoof, asked.

“Well, the nurse told me that I’m..well I’m, uhh..” Rarity honestly wasn’t sure how she would tell her friends.

“Oh just spit it out already,” Rainbow ordered, hovering over the rest of the group like she usually does.

Rarity looked down at her sister, then laid her head against the little filly’s and softly said with her eyes closed, “I’m pregnant…”

”WHAT!?!?!” the entire grouped exclaimed, not with misunderstanding, but with shock. Even Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity with a hint of confusion.

“How did this happen, if you don’t, um, mind me asking,” Fluttershy softly asked while looking into Rarity’s sapphire eyes with her one visible, aquamarine one.

Then, all of a sudden, a calm, cool voice spoke from nowhere that made all the ponies jump, except for Fluttershy, who bounded over Rarity’s bed and hid behind it, shivering. “I believe I can answer that. From looking at you lot, I’m pretty sure you’re all old enough to know how foals are conceived and born,” a pale blue Unicorn Stallion in a lab coat, with a stethoscope draped around his neck, said with a small smile.

Upon seeing Fluttershy hiding, his smile turned into a frown as he apologized, “oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten anypony.”

Fluttershy then got up, blushing slightly. “Oh, no; it’s quite alright. I get frightened easily.” She then walked around the bed to join the others.

The doctor started smiling again. “Alright then,” he began, “just to get the boring introductions out of the way, my name is Doctor Feelgood.”

“Hello there, Doctor. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Howdy partner, Ah’m Applejack!”

“M-my name’s Fluttershy.”

“I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“And I’m,” wait for it... “PINKIE PIE!!!” A cloud of confetti seemed to blow from out of nowhere behind the pink pony after she announced her name.

Leaning in close to Twilight, the doctor whispered, “how did she do that?”

“It’s Pinkie, you just learn to accept everything she does and not question it,” Twilight replied while smiling sheepishly, remembering the hell she went through to try and prove the ‘Pinkie Sense’ didn’t exist.

“Well, then” the doctor said, walking up and sitting next to Rarity’s bed while levitating a clipboard next to him, “I’m sure you have lots of questions, and I’ll answer any and all the best I can.”

Rarity thought for a moment while brushing Sweetie Belle’s mane with her hoof, and then looked at Dr. Feelgood and asked the big question that’s been on her mind: “How long have I been pregnant?”

Looking through his clipboard, he replied, “from what your results say, only about 3 weeks. Hence only the sickness, aching joints and occasional headaches. Have you felt anything else other than what you told Nurse Redheart?”

Rarity simply shook her head and thought to herself, “I was afraid you’d say that.” She then continued asking her questions, to which the doctor respectfully and kindly gave answers and information to.

*************************************************************************************************

On her way out, Rarity glanced at the clock on one of the walls of the waiting room. It glowed, “9:18.”

“Well then, today has been eventful and unexpected,” thought Rarity to herself on her way home. She was glad that the doctor had answered all her questions and given some information booklets to help with her first few months of pregnancy; it somehow relieved some of the fear she’s been holding up inside. “I hope Sweetie Belle didn’t give Twilight too much trouble.”

After about an hour’s walk, Rarity arrived at her home and dress shop. She opened the door and smiled at the scene before her. Sweetie Belle was curled up asleep against Twilight’s side while the latter was reading a book to herself. Twilight looked up and smiled at the fashion pony.

“Hey Rarity, how are you feeling?” Twilight whispered, not wanting to wake up the napping filly.

“I’m doing alright, thank you. Just a little worn out from all the news and excitement,” Rarity replied, giving a half-hearted chuckle at the end.

“Well, if you need anything, just get me or the other girls,” Twilight said while Rarity lifted her little sister up with her magic.

“I will, Twilight. Again, thank you for everything, and good night.”

“Good night Rarity.”

After setting Sweetie Belle in her bed and locking up the building, Rarity wearily trudged back to her room where she laid down and mulled over today, before finally falling asleep in Luna’s peaceful darkness.

Element of Honesty

The Element of Honesty

”I can’t wait for this morning sickness to go away,” Rarity said to herself, flushing her vomit down the toilet, which has been part of her morning routine for the past 8 weeks: every morning, she wakes up and rushes to the bathroom to vomit, then brushes and washes her mouth out while checking herself in her mirror. Although it’s only near the end of her first trimester, her stomach was already showing signs of her pregnancy.

After cleaning herself up in the shower and brushing her mane and tail, Rarity went down stairs to grab a little breakfast and ready herself for her doctor’s appointment. It’s quiet in the boutique, seeing as how Sweetie Belle is spending the weekend with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knocking on the front door.

“Now who could that be? It is Saturday, after all; most ponies would either be spending time with their families or sleeping in,” Rarity thought to herself as she opened the door with her magic. The white unicorn was greeted by the site of Applejack and Fluttershy.

Rarity smiled at them and said, “Why, hello, girls! What a wonderful surprise!”

“Hello, Rarity. Is it okay that we stopped by?” the pegasus said in her usual soft voice, “I didn’t know if you were still asleep or something, and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Oh no, it’s quite alright, darlings; I was just headed to the hospital for my usual checkup,” replied Rarity sweetly, “I know, why don’t you two come along? If you aren’t busy, that is.”

“Oh, I’d love to Rarity,” Fluttershy replied simply.

“Well, Ah ain’t doin’ nothin’ till later, so why not?” Applejack said while adjusting her Stetson hat a little bit.

“Oh, how wonderful. Just let me lock up and we’ll be on our way!” Rarity said happily, not showing how truly glad she was to not be going the hospital alone for once.

*************************************************************************************************

This checkup was one of the few short ones Rarity had: Dr. Feelgood simply wanted to make sure the baby was developing alright, and that both the baby and Rarity were healthy and fine.

Then the unicorn had an idea. “Applejack, Fluttershy, what would you ladies say to having lunch together? My treat,” Rarity asked, hoping to have an excuse to be out of her shop. Usually, she didn’t mind staying in; it gave her the chance to finish any dresses or projects. But lately, she’s been feeling lonely and hasn’t really had the energy to work on anything.

Fluttershy responded somewhat hesitantly. “Oh, umm, I would love to Rarity, but I have to go check on my animals, a-and I promised Rainbow I’d go watch her practice. I-I’m really sorry.”

The fashionista’s mood dropped a little bit. Slightly depressed, she told Fluttershy that it was alright while waving to the departing mare. She then turned to Applejack and asked, half-hopeful, “What about you, darling?”

“Well, I do have work to do on the farm,” the farmpony began to say, but then, noticing the look on her friend’s face, she added, “but what they hay; I’d love to, Rare.”

“Oh, how wonderful! And where would you like to go?” Rarity asked, trying not to prance about with joy that she finally gets to spend time with one of her friends.

“Well I don’t know.” Applejack took a look around them. She noticed a small café a little ways away and pointed at it. “How ‘bout over there?”

“Very well then, let’s go!” Rarity said while starting to trot towards it.

*************************************************************************************************

Near the end of their meal, Applejack noticed Rarity was starting to become slightly depressed and wasn’t as talkative as she was earlier. Concerned, she asked, “what’s wrong there, sugarcube?”

Rarity snapped out of her slight trance. “What? Oh, nothing’s wrong,” she stammered, “why would anything be wrong, darling?”

“Because usually ya can’t go five minutes without talking about fashion or styles or other fancy-shmancy stuff,” Applejack replied bluntly, “fer the past 20 minutes, y’all’ve just been sittin’ there and starin’ off ta space. So, Ah’ll ask again, what’s on yer mind?”

“Well,” the unicorn sighed a little and placed a hoof gently on her belly as she continued, “I was just thinking about all that’s been happening for the past 3 months, and... I’m kind of.. scared.” She said the last part kind of quietly, but Applejack still heard it.

“About what?”

“About a lot of things, but mainly about the baby’s father and if I’d be a good enough mother for it.” Rarity saddened a little bit and looked back down at her empty plate.

Applejack got a small grin and walked up next Rarity and sat down. Putting a comforting arm around her friend, Applejack looked at her and said, “look here, Sugarcube, I may not completely know or understand how yer feeling, but what I do know is that ya shouldn’t be worryin’ ‘bout what kind’a mother ya’ll be.”

The white unicorn sighed. “But, what if the baby doesn’t like me, or I’m too tough on it, or not tough enough. What if I don’t spend enough time with it and it becomes unruly and resentful, or worse..”

The blonde Earth Pony nuzzled her friend and hugged her. “Ya can’t be worryin’ bout the ‘what ifs.’ Right now ya’ll should be worryin’ ‘bout just makin’ sure you and your baby stay healthy an’ strong. But, if you every have any doubts, ya just need ta remember one thing.”

“What is that?” Rarity asked, looking at her friend.

“You’re the Element of Generosity; it’s in your nature. And ya also got us, yer friends. We’d all love ta help ya if ya asked fer it.”

Rarity’s eyes started sparkling from the buildup of tears. “Thank you Applejack.” she simply said, giving her friend a hug.

“Anytime Sugarcube,” Applejack assured in return. She then noticed what time it was and said, “shoot, Ah gotta get back ta the farm now. Take care, Rare!”

“I will; you do the same. And again, thanks.”

The two ponies gave each other another hug, and then went their separate ways. On the way to her boutique, Rarity couldn’t get past the feeling like she was being watched. She kept looking around her, but all she saw were ponies walking around, talking with each other or trying to buy things. What she didn’t know was how right her gut was; she was simply looking in the wrong direction, for up in the clouds, a pair of bloodshot, crimson eyes watched her. And the look they contained was a mixture of lust for the beautiful white pony, and despise for how the same pony treated him the last time they met.

A Flare in the Night

It was another beautiful night as Luna’s moon slowly made its way across the night sky, illuminating all of Ponyville. If one was to walk around, they wouldn’t notice anything strange or out of place; everything was peaceful as usual and most ponies were asleep, with the exception of those that go clubbing or stay up late, reading.

Of course because of the peace, nopony noticed the large shadow that descended into the street and landed in front of the Carousel Boutique. When the shadow reached the door, it started trying to pick the lock drunkenly. After a few minutes and a satisfying click, the dark form quickly and silently slipped into the boutique and closed the door again.

After adjusting its eyes to the new darkness and taking a quick swig from its bottle, it threw the bottle away, noticing it was empty. The large form sloppily made its way up the stairs to Rarity’s room. When it reached the door, it slowly opened it and peered inside, where it saw the shape of Rarity’s body under her covers, fast asleep. Grinning to itself, the shadow slipped in and slunk up to the sleeping unicorn’s bed where it eyed her once again. Feeling ecstasy running through its body, the shadow unfolded what appeared to be wings and slowly flapped them, allowing itself to hover over Rarity. Then it slowly laid down and furled its wings again, careful not to wake up the sleeping unicorn.

“Mmm,” Rarity sighed, and then mumbled something to herself before shifting in her sleep.

The shadow couldn’t hold it in any longer and decided to have some fun now. Leaning close to her ear, the shadow opened its mouth and quietly said with a voice similar to Rainbow Dash’s, but slightly deeper, “You look just as beautiful than when I last saw you 4 months ago.”

At the sound of this voice, Rarity’s eyes sprung wide open and let out a blood-curdling scream that was cut short as she toppled off the bed. Getting up quickly and using her magic to turn on the lights, her eyes narrowed with fear and disgust as she saw who was laying on her bed. “HIM!!!” Rarity thought with anger.

On her bed, with a drunk but smug look on his face, was a pegasus stallion about the size of Big Macintosh. His crimson red fur was ruffled and stained in places, his orange mane was a mess, and his deep red eyes were foggy and bloodshot.

“What.. what.. what are you doing here, Solar Flare?” Rarity demanded, wishing that this was just a nightmare and she would wake up any moment.

Solar just kept smiling at her while saying, “What’s the matter, Baby; didn’t you miss me?”

Rarity gritted her teeth, wishing she could just kill this stallion, but knew she can’t overexert herself due to risk of hurting her baby. “Not. At. All.”

“Aww, well that’s a shame. After all, I missed you,” the pegasus got off the bed and tried to playfully nuzzle Rarity. When all she did was take a step back, he instead just stood there. While looking over her, he noticed her belly. “What happened; let yourself go?”

Again Rarity’s eyes snapped wide open, offended, then suddenly became even angrier. “For your information, Solar Flare, I’m pregnant.”

“Oh really?” the pegasus was starting to enjoy himself, “who was the poor sap that knocked ya up, Sweet Cheeks?”

It was Rarity’s turn to smile smugly at him, for she knew that the news would make his head spin a little bit. “You are,” she simply replied.

Solar’s face became one of confusion and bewilderment. After his intoxicated brain slowly processed the information, he became upset. “Y-Y-You’re lying,” he said, not enjoying the thought of having a little brat.

Rarity still smiled smugly at him. “Does this belly look like I’m lying you drunk featherbrain?” The next thing she knew, Solar whipped his hoof into the side of her face, sending her sprawling on the floor.

At this Rarity lost all self control. She got up and, using as much magic as she could muster, lifted Solar off the ground and flung him across the room, slamming him in to her vanity dresser. The impact caused the dresser to crack and shatter, leaving chunks of wood and glass scattered about, some of which dug into Solar Flare’s hide.

Getting up quickly and glaring at the pony that just tossed him, he went into a drunken rage.

“Why you little bitch!” the stallion screamed. Flaring his wings, the pegasus shot towards Rarity, intending to slam the unicorn into the wall. But she simply side-stepped him, making him hit the wall headfirst.

Looking around widely with his vision blurred, Solar tried to find Rarity again. All he could see was blurred purples, pinks, and blues. He perked his ears for any sounds, that is when he heard a floorboard creak. Smiling to himself, the pegasus ran towards the door. When he reached the bottom floor, he saw the end of Rarity’s blue tail quickly disappear into the kitchen.

“Come out, come out. Don’t be a tease now you little prissy…” WHAM! A metal skillet was telekinetically thrown right into Solar’s face. The impact knocked a couple teeth out and gave the stallion a bloody nose.

Rarity’s mocking voice could be heard from the kitchen, “I’m sorry, did you say something darling. I couldn’t hear you over the sound of clattering pots and pans.” The dress maker walked into the room. When she saw Solar passed out on her floor, she smiled at the fact that she had beaten him, but was also upset that his blood was staining the carpet. So she used her magic to open her door, then levitated the unconscious pony outside and flung him into a trash pile. Just as Rarity closed the door and was about to clean up, it was busted open again, this time by a cyan pegasus and a purple unicorn.

“Rarity! Are you alright? Dash told me she heard screaming and fighting coming from your house.” Twilight asked with concern.

The fashionista smiled at her friends. “Oh yes I’m quite alright, thank you. But how did you know about the screaming and fighting?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Well I was asleep on a cloud and I guess it was floating over your shop because I was woken up by screaming. So I flew down to your bedroom window where I saw a pony charging at you. I didn’t know what to do so I went and got Twilight, then we rushed here.”

“Well, again, thank you two for your concern, but as you can see everything is fi-ahhh!”

Rarity’s sentence was interrupted as her body became weak and somewhat limp. Before she hit the floor, Twilight caught her in her magic. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital just in case.” the purple unicorn said. Twilight carefully levitated Rarity onto Rainbow’s back, then the two ponies turned and walked towards the hospital with their friend mumbling unconsciously.

Loyalty, Laughter, and a little Magic

Loyalty, Laughter and a little Magic

Rarity slightly came to from the darkness of unconsciousness. She felt weak and couldn’t open her eyes, but she could vaguely hear voices. She tried to figure out what was going on and where she was.

“Oh my! What happened?”

“We don’t know, she just passed out. Please help her.”

“Right, of course. I’ll get a doctor and we’ll rush her into a room. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you two to stay here please.”

“We understand. Rainbow, could you go and get Sweetie Belle?”

“On it!”

After feeling a breeze and hearing the sound of doors being slammed open and closed, Rarity felt her conscious slipping and she once again fell into darkness.

*************************************************************************************************

Once again, the unicorn started to regain some consciousness. This time, she automatically opened her eyes, but then quickly shut them, for there was a bright light aimed right at her head. Again, she could hear muffled voices, but this time they sounded different.

“From what we could find, she just overexerted herself. Though the exertion caused a small stroke, nothing serious happened. If you hadn’t been there it would’ve been a lot worse.”

“Thank you doctor. But what could’ve caused the overexertion? I mean yes we did see her throw a full grown stallion, but that shouldn’t have caused her to faint, should it?"

“Well normally no, a mature unicorn that uses their magic a lot of the time shouldn’t have an issue with lifting or moving large objects such as other ponies. But with her being pregnant, the baby takes some of that energy for itself, leaving her with less magic than she’s used to.”

“So she’s pregnant with a unicorn?”

“Not necessarily. This ‘feeding’ happens with all unicorn mares, regardless of the child. It’s part of the reason pegasi can touch clouds and earth ponies can move larger or heavier objects than other ponies.”

“I see. So are Rarity and the baby going to be okay?”

“Yes they should be fine. Though your friend needs her rest and should avoid anything that could stress her out or increase her heart rate for a few days.”
*************************************************************************************************

“MY BABY!!!” Rarity woke up screaming at the top of her lungs, sweat running down her face from remembering what happened the night before. What she didn’t notice were the three ponies asleep in her room, whom her screaming promptly awoke in a panic. Along with the three ponies, two guard ponies came bursting in with Dr. Feelgood and Nurse Redheart following behind.

“Rarity! It’s alright. You’re in the hospital; you’re safe,” Twilight assured her friend, putting a comforting hoof on the white mare’s shoulder.

The white unicorn looked around her room and noticed that she was in the hospital. In her room were Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Dr. Feelgood, Nurse Redheart, and two royal guard ponies, one a unicorn the other a pegasus, as well as...

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity exclaimed, scooping up her little sister and holding her close, tears streaming down both their faces.

“I.. I th-thought you were g-g-gone, S-s-sis,” the white filly said, crying even harder into her sister’s coat.

Rarity started nuzzling and brushing her younger sister, trying to comfort her. “Shh, it’s alright, Sweetie,” assured she, “I’m here, and I’m never leaving.”

“P-p-promise?”

“I promise.” Rarity gave her sister a comforting smile. She then looked at the retreating guards, and asked one of them, “Umm, excuse me, Sir, but would you please watch my sister for me while I talk to my friends?”

The unicorn guard responded, speaking in monotone, “Yes, Ma’am.”

Sweetie Belle jumped off of the bed and trotted after the guards. When they left the room, each guard took their post on each side of the door, with Sweetie Belle sitting on a chair next to the unicorn.

Dr. Feelgood then walked up to Rarity’s bedside and informed, “I understand that you would like to talk to your friends, but since you’re up, I’d like to do a small checkup on you.”

“Alright doctor.” Rarity replied. Even though she heard what her friends and the doctor were saying earlier about her and her child being okay, the unicorn still worried.

The Dr. gently smiled. “Don’t worry. You just overused your magic, causing stress and a small stroke. Luckily your friends were there so it didn’t become something too serious.”

After the nurse looked at the machines hooked to Rarity to check up on her vitals, she left after the doctor. When the door was closed, the unicorn let out a small sigh of relief.

Twilight was the first to speak up after several minutes of silence. “What happened last night, Rarity? Who was that pony?”

At Twilight’s question, tears started to well up in Rarity’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if she wanted anypony to know, but after a few moments of thinking, she decided it was for the best. “He.. he was a stallion I met a few months back after the Grand Galloping Gala, but we got together at one of Pinkie’s parties. I wish I knew who he truly was back then; I should’ve known he was too good to be true.” Then, Rarity started to cry.

Rainbow and Twilight flanked Rarity’s bed: The cyan pegasus nuzzled her distressed friend while the violet unicorn put a comforting hoof on her. “It’s alright, Rarity; take your time. After seeing what he tried to do to you, it couldn’t possibly be easy,” Twilight said while gently smiling.

“Thank you, Girls,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Like I said, I met Solar Flare after the Grand Galloping Gala, when we were leaving Pony Joe’s doughnut shop. My, he was so charming and romantic. He was smothering me in compliments and would listen to everything I said. A few months later I saw him at the party Pinkie was throwing for Ditzy’s birthday, apparently he was visiting a ‘sick family member’. We got to talking and then went back to my place. The talking turned into flirting, which turned into…” Rarity started blushing, remembering the moment and the ponies that were in the room. She cleared her throat, continuing her story. “Well, after a few months he showed his true colors. He barged into my shop, drunk out of his mind and tried to f…f-force himself on me.” The dress maker started rubbing Sweetie Belle’s mane to comfort try and comfort herself. “It was then that I realized that he was nothing but a poor drunkard that thinks of females as nothing more than objects and thinks he can do whatever he wants. So before he could get too far, I shoved him out the door with my magic and hid up in my room terrified.”

“Oh my, that sounds awful. I am so sorry to hear that, Rarity.” Twilight’s eyes started watering themselves.

Rainbow Dash, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke up. “Well, you don’t have to worry anymore, Rare; we’ll protect you.” She gave a small smile to the unicorn lying in bed.

“And I thank you both; deeply, I do.” Rarity smiled at her friends and kissed her sister’s forehead. Out of nowhere there was the sound of two ponies arguing.

“She’s our daughter, and we have every right to see her!”

“I understand sir, but there are already three ponies in the room and she needs her rest.”

“I don’t care! She gets attacked while pregnant with our grandchild and we can’t even be there to comfort her? Horsefeathers!”

Then a regal voice could be heard speaking over the other two ponies. “Sir, while I understand that you and your wife are worried, you must still respect the hospital staff and their rules.”

“I’m sorry Princess, it’s just that we’re worried and want to see our daughters.”

“Well…if you’re quite and promise not to stress out your daughter, I suppose you ponies may enter.”

“Thank you nurse.”

The door opened up, allowing a white unicorn stallion, a rose unicorn mare, and Princesses Celestia and Luna.

“Mom, Dad!” the unicorn sisters said at the same time. Twilight and Rainbow Dash went and stood by the Princesses while the family held one another. A few moments the family broke apart, but Rarity’s parents sat by her bedside. Then Rarity’s dad spoke up, “Sorry about the yelling and cursing. But we understand you two are to thank for helping our daughter?”

Twilight smiled at them. “Yes, sir.” she answered.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, what are you two doing here?” the fashionista asked the alicorn sisters.

The Sun Princess spoke up first, “We came to make sure you are alright. And also to tell you all that we sent our guards out to search for this Solar Flare.”

“Yes.” Luna agreed, “We will not stop until he is brought to justice!” She stamped her hoof for emphasis. The action making the ponies in the room chuckle a little bit.

“Thank you Princesses. I am grateful for your help.” Rarity said.

Celestia and Luna smiled at her. “It is no problem. Well, we must get back to Canterlot. I’ll have two guards take care of you for as long as you want, and I promise Luna and I will be back for your birth.” There was a bright flash of light as the sisters teleported back the their castle.

*************************************************************************************************

It was about dusk and Rarity was sitting up in her bed, her sister Sweetie Belle sitting in her lap and her parents sitting on one side of the bed, talking with all the ponies that came to check on her. There was Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Apple Bloom, Big Macintosh, and Scootaloo. Even Ditzy Doo, and Mrs. Cake stopped by to see how Rarity was doing. Mrs. Cake informed them that Mr. Cake was watching their two foals.

“Oh, thank you all so much for stopping by. I feel much better now that all of you are here. And I wanted to personally thank Ditzy for the mail and muffins, and the Cakes for their sweets.”

Ditzy, Ponyville’s wall-eyed mail pegasus, responded with a beaming smile, “Your welcome Miss Rarity! I’d love to stay and chat, but I need to get home to Dinky. See you all later!” With that, the grey mailmare walked out while waving to the group. Then, Mrs. Cake spoke.

“Oh, you’re welcome, Deary. When Pinkie told us what happened, we were terrified; I couldn’t imagine any pony ever getting so violent,” Mrs. Cake said with what looked a pained smile, still slightly disturbed by the news. She then looked at the clock and gasped, “Oh my, I should probably get back to the shop and help the husband. Take care, everypony! And, if you ever need anything, Rarity, just ask me or my husband and we’ll be happy help. Get better soon!”

The white unicorn gently nodded her head, thanking the blue earth pony again for the sweets and wishing her and her husband well.

“Well, we should probably get goin’ too, seein’ as how these little fillies here need ta get to bed,” the orange farmpony said, rubbing her little sister’s head.

“Aww, Sis, can’t Ah stay a little longer with Sweetie Belle?” the little yellow earth filly asked.

“Sorry, but nope. We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and ya’ll need yer rest. Big Mac, think ya could take Apple Bloom to the house while I take Scootaloo ta hers?”

The large, cherry red stallion, who was usually calm and serene, didn’t say a word.

“Umm, Big Mac?” his sister asked somewhat hesitantly.

“Ah heard ya A.J.,” Big Mac barked with a sharp tone, “and yea, Ah’ll take the filly home. Let’s go, Apple Bloom.”

As the Apple family turned to leave with Scootaloo in tow, Rainbow Dash asked if she could go with and help to escort Scootaloo. Part of the reason was to have an excuse to leave, but also to keep an eye out for that red pegasus. Of course, she’d have to beat Big Mac to getting him if the earth stallion saw him. After they all said their goodbyes, the only ponies remaining in the room were Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, with Spike sitting on Twilight’s back with a pissed off look.

“I’m sorry, Ladies, but I have to go and check on my animals. I’ll come visit you, Rarity, as soon as I can. Good night, everypony. And again, sorry, hope you feel better,” Fluttershy said before leaving.

Twilight looked at Pinkie and said, “We should probably go too, Pinkie; so Rarity can get her rest.”

At this, the unicorn quickly got the attention of both mares. “Wait, Girls,” she said, “I was wondering if I could ask you each a favor, please.”

Pinkie Pie perked up a little bit, curious as to what the usually elegant pony wanted. “Sure, Rarity. Whatcha need?” the pink pony asked with her usual happy tone.

Rarity looked down at her sleeping sister, thought for a moment, and then looked at Pinkie Pie and asked, “It has been awfully boring these past 6 months, and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind throwing a small party for all of us?”

With the uttering of the word, “party,” Pinkie became extremely hyper and bounced in place. “OhmygoshiwouldlovetothrowA PARTY!! Whenwouldyoulikeitwhatdoyouwantthethemetobeshouldweinviteallofponyvilleoronlyus!?!?!”

“Pinkie, Darling, calm down; I figure I’d leave everything to you. Seeing as how well you throw them, I have confidence. The only thing I would ask of you is that you wait for a little bit, so we all have time to settle down again.”

The energetic pony started bouncing out the door. “Okie-dokie-lokie” she said, using her sort of catch-phrase.

Then, the white unicorn turned to her violet companion and said, “Twilight, I was wondering if Sweetie Belle and I could stay with you for the rest of my pregnancy; if it’s not too much to ask, that is.”

Twilight smiled at her friend warmly as she replied, “Sure, Rarity. I’ll have Spike here ready our spare room for you two.”

“Yea, whatever,” the purple dragon mumbled angrily.

“Spike, Darling, what’s wrong?” Rarity gave Spike a concerned look.

“What’s wrong? WHAT’S WRONG!?!” Spike snapped, letting his anger out. “Aside from the part that I’m just NOW finding out that my friend is pregnant, along with finding out that the guy who got her pregnant is a drunk AND tried to kill her, I’d say I’m doing perfectly FINE!!!” He suddenly regretted his outburst after seeing the pain in Rarity’s eyes. “Oh, Rarity, I’m so sorry,” he quickly said, “I didn’t mean it. It’s just that… it’s a lot to take in, and I don’t quite know what to say or how to react…”

Rarity gave the dragon a reassuring smile. “It’s quite alright, dear; I understand, and I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

“Alright,” Spike replied, looking upset again, this time at himself for yelling at his crush.

Twilight then spoke up, “Spike and I’ll be back tomorrow to pick you up when they release you. Would you like me to take Sweetie Belle home with me?”

Rarity thought for a moment. “No thank you, Twilight,” she declined, “I think we both need each other right now. Could you please send her in?”

Again, Twilight smiled. “Alright. Sleep well Rarity.”

After everypony left, Rarity’s parents kissed both their daughters good night and left, promising to stay in Ponyville until the child’s birth.

With that, they turned off the lights and closed the door. Rarity laid there in the dark for a few minutes, listening to her sister’s breathing before finally falling asleep, feeling somewhat at peace again.

Party for Two

It has been 2 months and a week since Rarity began living with Twilight and Spike. It has been just like she expected, relatively peaceful; the exception being when Twilight would get upset at Spike for forgetting something, or not doing his chores fast enough. At first, Rarity sympathized with the little purple dragon; but, after awhile, she learned to ignore it.

Today wasn’t particularly different than any other day had been the past 9 months, although she’s thankful the morning sickness went away and her aches were less severe. But, in their place were mood swings, weird cravings, and a rather large belly, larger than the unicorn expected. At first she was rather disgusted with the size it had become, until Twilight assured her that it was only because of her baby, and that it’ll go away after her birth with some exercise.

Rarity’s normal routine was to wake up, clean herself in the bathroom, and go downstairs to make breakfast for everypony. But today, she came downstairs to see a little surprise. Twilight Sparkle was already up and at the table reading the newspaper with Sweetie Belle drawing next to her and Spike making breakfast himself.

The little white unicorn filly saw her older sister come down the stairs, and greeted her by running up to her and giving a big hug. “Morning Rarity!” she said in a cheery voice.

“Why, good morning, Darling. You’re up early aren’t you? And on a weekend no less!” Rarity asked her energetic little sister, surprised that she was in fact up so early on a Saturday.

“Mmhmm! I wanted to make sure your surprise was ready before you got up!”

“Surprise?” Rarity inquired, “what for Sweetie Belle?”

The little pony gave her sister a devious smile as she replied, “if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise! You’ll just have to wait until the party today!”

The older unicorn gave her sister a chuckle. “Oh, alright. Let’s go sit down and enjoy breakfast, then.”

Sweetie Belle ran back and sat down to finish her drawing. Rarity took a seat next to her, across from Twilight, who was smiling at her friend as she sat down.

“Good morning Twilight.”

“Hello Rarity, how are you this morning?” the violet unicorn asked her roommate.

Rarity sighed a little bit. “Same old, same old,” she said, “although, today my stomach hurts a little more than usual.”

Twilight’s eyes shifted to a look of concern at this. “Maybe we should go to the hospital,” she said. Suddenly, the librarian’s eyes lit up like stars. “Maybe you’re about to go into labor!” She started squealing with excitement at the idea, her swishing tail almost knocking Spike and his food over.

“Woah! Hey, watch it, Twi.” the baby dragon said.

The unicorn smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Spike.”

“Well, it’s alright; no harm done. Oh, and breakfast is ready!” The little purple dragon carefully set the table with plates, glasses, flatware, pancakes, apple fritters, apple juice, eggs, toast, and other breakfast items, as well as a small plate of gems for himself, a way of saying ‘thank you and sorry’ from Rarity.

“Oh my, Spike this looks delicious,” Twilight said, impressed at her companion’s cooking skill.

“Why, yes I had no idea you could be such a wonderful cook!” Rarity said, delicately levitating and putting food on her and Sweetie Belle’s plates. “What do you say, Sweetie?”

“Mmmph. Phank Doo!” the filly said through a mouthful of pancakes and eggs.

“Table manners. Darling,” Rarity reminded her sister.

After swallowing her food, Sweetie Belle blushed a little bit. “Sorry,” she said lightly.

Twilight simply smiled at her. “That’s alright,” she said, “I think today is a day we can all relax and forget about some manners for a bit.” At this, the 3 ponies and dragon laughed, enjoying the rest of their meal.

*************************************************************************************************

“Come along, Sweetie Belle, Rarity called up the stairs to her sister while Twilight and Spike waited by the door, “we don’t want to be late!”

“Coming Rarity!” After a few minutes, the small white filly came skipping down the stairs and trotted out the door with her elders and friends, all four heading towards Sugarcube Corner in the crisp spring afternoon for the party Pinkie and Rarity have been planning.

Normally, walking from the library to the sweet shop takes only ten to twenty minutes, but today it took the four friends nearly 45 minutes, because Rarity was getting pain spasms, mainly from the baby’s kicking.

“Rarity, I really think we should go to the hospital,” Twilight told her friend, concern filling her voice, ‘this seems serious.”

Rarity stood firm and continued walking towards the door of Sugarcube Corner, now only a few feet away. “Nonsense, Twilight,” Rarity retorted. ‘Remember a few weeks ago when the same thing happened? The doctor told us it was only a false alarm and that it is perfectly natural near the birthing time.”

“But that’s just it, Rarity,” the purple unicorn insisted, “maybe this time is the moment.”

“Now Twilight, no need to fret; today’s a great day, now let’s go in there and have fun!” the white unicorn used her magic to open up the door. She then pushed her friend through, and then waited until her sister and Spike walked in before going in herself.

What the four friends saw stunned them. It was as though the interior was transformed completely: there were balloons and streamers everywhere, the walls were rimmed with tables filled with treats and drinks, and the room itself was filled with most, if not all, of the colorful residents of Ponyville. At that moment, both Rarity and Twilight’s eyes went wide, for in the back of the room sat both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, in all their regal glory, talking to any and all ponies that talked to them.

“You girls made it! YAY!!” shouted a pink Earth Mare with a mane resembling pink cotton candy, who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Twilight recovered from her shock before Rarity. “Of course we did, Pinkie,” the unicorn assured, smiling. “I don’t think anypony would miss any of your parties for the world!”

The white unicorn was the next to speak, remarking, “my my. It seems you’ve invited almost all of Equestria, Darling.”

Pinkie smiled at the thought. “Oh my gosh, no! Sugarcube Corner is nowhere near big enough to hold all of Equestria.” All of a sudden, the hyperactive pony gasped, “but that would be AMAZING!! Oooh! I’m going to start planning for that right now!” Before anypony could say anything, there was a blur of pink, and the pony matching the color was nowhere to be found.

“Well then, that was.. unexpected,” Twilight said, slightly dazed from Pinkie’s rather abrupt departure.

“Hmm, yes, quite,” Rarity agreed. She then looked down to her sister. “Why don’t you go find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, Darling?”

Sweetie Belle smiled at her sister, gave her a hug, then ran off into the crowd to look for her fellow Crusaders.

“Well then, I think I’m going to fetch something to drink,” said Rarity to her friends. “Would either of you like something?”

Spike shook his and declined, “No thanks,” then ran off toward one of the many tables containing food. Twilight chuckled at her little friend and then looked at Rarity.

“No thank you, Rarity,” declined the purple mare as well, “I’m going to see if I can manage to talk to the Princesses.”

The fashionable pony smiled at her friend and walked towards to refreshment table.

*************************************************************************************************

A few hours have passed since Rarity got to the party, and she wasn’t feeling as up to it as she thought she would have: for starters, her weird cravings have been in full kick all day, and nothing here seemed to satisfy her. Then, she got a massive headache halfway through that just came from nowhere. And now, she was sitting down, talking with the spa sisters, when her stomach started feeling queasy. “Umm, excuse me, Darlings while I got to the Ladies’ Room,” the white unicorn excused herself from the conversation and trotted over to the bathroom.

The first thing she did was rush over to the toilet, afraid that she was going to have another vomiting episode like she had at the beginning of her pregnancy. But, after a few minutes and no bile, she shakily stood up and took a few gulps of water from the sink, thinking it would calm her down a little bit, but to no avail. All of a sudden, the feeling came back in her stomach and she rushed back to the toilet. While she was bent over with her muzzle hovering over the bowl, she started feeling a wetness running down her legs and back hooves. Looking back her eyes dilated as she realized what happened: her water broke. “It’s happening!” the unicorn thought, feelings of excitement and fear setting in quickly.

Rarity rushed out of the bathroom and found Twilight next to Princess Celestia, talking to her. She ran up to her unicorn friend and whispered with urgency into her ear, “it’s happening!” Twilight’s eyes held confusion at first, but upon seeing Rarity’s eyes, it dawned on her.

“OH MY GOSH! YOU’RE GOING INTO LABOR!?!?!?” the purple unicorn shouted in excitement, causing all the ponies in the room to quiet down and look at her. Instead of becoming embarrassed, she ignored them all and went into a mindset similar to a general in battle. “Girls! We need to get Rarity to the hospital, FAST!” she commanded, putting emphasis on the last part, as well as pardoning herself from the princesses.

At this, every single pony in the room could be heard moving about, each with the intent of helping their dress making friend get to the hospital; some were making sure the way was clear, others were yelling words of encouragement while Rarity was rushed out the building, and others were hanging back and simply watching. Supported by Rainbow Dash, as well as Twilight’s magic, Rarity and her friends made their way to the hospital.

The six friends soon made it to the hospital and rushed up to the desk, causing Nurse Redheart to jump and scream in surprise at the sudden shouting of, “we need a doctor!”

The next thing Rarity knew, she was loaded up into a gurney and towed into the maternity ward, while nurses and doctors were preparing for her and giving her instructions on what to do. The last thing Rarity remembered before the intense pain that hit her like a wagon were her five friends, her sister and her friends, and the two Princesses watching her go.

*************************************************************************************************

“Alright, Miss Rarity, you’re doing good; just one more push now,” Dr. Feelgood was telling the exhausted and hurting unicorn. Rarity felt relieved that it was him doing the birth and not some stranger. She felt even more relieved knowing that Nurse Redheart was there to comfort and help her anyway she could.

“I can’t! I just can’t anymore,” Rarity said, tears streaming down her face from pain and stress. She was tired of pushing, breathing, and flexing her muscles; she’s been doing it for the past four hours and she’s had it. She wanted this damn thing out!

“I know, Rarity, I know, but you have to. One more time and I promise you’re done,” the pale blue doctor gave the white unicorn a pleading look. So, Rarity closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could with all her energy. Suddenly, the sounds in the room were accompanied by another sound: the sound of a crying, newborn foal.

“Congratulations, Rarity,” Nurse Redheart said with a smile, “it's a beautiful baby colt.” Rarity looked down and saw Dr. Feelgood holding a crying baby pegasus. Rarity took it from the doctor and held it close, amazed at what she accomplished. She started brushing the thin, sky blue hairs on her baby’s head.

Dr. Feelgood walked up with a clipboard and pen levitating in his magic. “So,” he said, “have you figured out a name?”

Rarity kissed her new son’s forehead and softly said, “I have. I shall call him Frostfyre.”

The doctor scrawled the name down and gave the clipboard to another nurse. “So, this is what we do now: we need to take the foal down the hallway and have our pediatrician examine it. In the mean time, we shall take and transfer you to a more comfortable bed where you can wait.”

The unicorn kissed her child’s forehead once again before giving it to yet another nurse. She then looked at the blue and white ponies next to her, both of whom bore a warm smile. “Thank you, both of you, for all you’ve done.”

“It was our pleasure,” Nurse Redheart simply said before helping the other ponies clean up and move Rarity to a room down the hall.

*************************************************************************************************

“Shh, please be quiet, as they might both be asleep.” Nurse Redheart allowed Rarity’s sister and friends--including the princesses--to enter the room and spend time with their unicorn friend. The inside of the room was dark except for the light from the setting sun, as well as Celestia’s mane, which shone a similar light.

Rarity was holding her baby close to her, humming to him, grooming his short mane, and smiling at the small face that looked and smiled back. When the ponies saw the colt, they all gasped; not only were they surprised about the fact that their friend gave birth and was now a mother, but at how the baby pegasus looked. He had a bright, fire-red coat and his mane and tail were sky blue. But, most remarkable were his eyes and wings. His eyes were a deep Sapphire blue like his mother’s, and his wings held a pattern of red and blue.

“Oh my goodness, Rarity”, Fluttershy said, partly because she was the first one to think of what to say, but also because she’s the only who naturally talks in a low voice, “he looks gorgeous.”

All the ponies walked up to their friend’s bed. Rainbow Dash looked at the little colt and smiled. "Ya know,” she remarked, “even though I’m not really into mushy stuff, I gotta admit that this little guy is pretty cute.”

“Pretty cute!?!” Pinkie Pie gasped, “He’s amazingly adorable!!!”

“Shucks, Ah can’t wait to see what he’ll look like when he gets older,” Applejack added, still mesmerized by the baby’s wings and eyes.

Twilight agreed with her friends, “I bet he’ll grow up to be an amazing stallion.”

Rarity blushed at all the compliments. “Thank you girls,” she said, “even though it may not seem like it, I couldn't have done it without all of you.” She then nuzzled her baby, making him giggle.

Then, Rarity looked down and saw Sweetie Belle looking back up at them. Rarity lifted her sister up with her magic and set her on the bed. She then placed the colt in front of her sister, saying to her, “Sweetie, meet your new nephew: Frostfyre.”

Frostfyre tried to walk up to explore this new pony, who looked strangely like his mother, but ended up stumbling into Sweetie Belle. When she caught her nephew, “d’aaaaaws” could be heard all about the room. Rarity then lifted them both up and hugged them; after months of pain and vomiting and sweat, she finally got her reward and would never give him up, no matter what.

Then suddenly, Celestia spoke up, “Rarity, would mind if I performed a quick spell on Frostfyre?”

Rarity gave the Princess a look that made most of the ponies in the room flinch. Although she loved and respected her rulers, she didn’t want to risk anypony touching her child with spells just yet. But, she sighed and said that it was alright.

Celestia walked up and touched her glowing horn to the forehead of the baby pegasus, now playing with his mom’s bouncing, curled hair. Afterwards, she smiled at the unicorn, telling her, “don’t worry; all I did was put a tracking spell on him. Until the day he earns his Cutie Mark, You, Luna, Twilight and I will be able to track him with this spell should he become lost or kidnapped.”

Rarity smiled gratefully. Then, Nurse Redheart poked her head through the door. “Sorry to interrupt,” she began, “but the baby and his mother need their rest; so I’m going to have to ask all non-family to leave.”

At this, all the ponies but Sweetie Belle started heading for the door, the princesses having to teleport to Canterlot for pressing matters. Frostfyre immediately fell asleep, with Sweetie Belle starting to doze off, as well, but Rarity stayed awake for a few more minutes, just to enjoy feeling her son’s new heartbeat, and to think about some of the trials she might have to face in the future. Just as the white unicorn was about to fall asleep, she heard her younger sister’s voice.

“Rarity?”

“Yes, Darling?”

“I almost forgot; I wanted to give this to you at the party.” The filly quietly got down and ran to her backpack, running back a moment later with a polished silver locket inset with a large Sapphire. When Rarity opened it, she gasped in wonder; the locket opened up to show three slots, two of which were already occupied with a picture of the pair and another picture of them with their parents. Rarity noticed that the middle slot was blank.

“Sweetie Belle, why is this spot blank?” Rarity asked.

“Well,” the filly began to answer, “at first, I was going to fill it with a picture of all our friends, but then I remembered the baby and thought that wouldn’t be fair. So, I left the last spot open for you to put in any picture you wanted.”

Rarity smiled lovingly at her sister, and held her close along with the sleeping Frostfyre. “Thank you, Sweetie; this means a lot to me.” She kissed her sister on the forehead, levitated the locket to a nightstand near her bed, and passed out along with the children.

Epilogue

Epilogue: 4 years later

“Oh my, this cloth is simply marvelous! Wouldn’t you agree, Darling?” a white unicorn seemed to be asking somepony, somepony who was nowhere to be found. Going into panic, Rarity dropped the sample of cloth and started frantically searching the cloth and sewing shop she was in. The mare looked to the store clerk, an auburn-colored Earth Mare with dark yellow eyes that didn’t seem to care or worry about much.

The unicorn cleared her throat, “Excuse me, Miss, have you seen a small red pegasus with a light blue mane?”

“Nope,” the mare said with an uncaring attitude.

Extremely worried, Rarity ran about the store, searching everywhere her eyes, hooves and magic could reach. After about 15 minutes of searching, she sat in a corner, terrified and breathing heavily. All of a sudden, unbeknownst to her, a small form came creeping up to her just out of the dress maker’s line of sight. When it was a hoof-length away, the little form crouched low, narrowed its deep sapphire eyes, took in a lung full of air, and pounced on its prey.

“SURPRISE MOMMY!” shouted a small Pegasus Colt, landing in front of the panic-stricken unicorn, oblivious to her worry, as most offspring are with their parents.

Rarity’s eyes grew big with shock. “Frostfyre!” she said with a hot tone, becoming slightly upset with her foal. “Don’t ever do that again! You scared Mommy!”

At this, the young pony, lowered his head and wings with sadness at what he has done, looked at his mother’s sapphire eyes with his own and apologized. “I’m sorry mommy, I didn’t mean to, honest. I was just trying to have some fun.”

The unicorn’s expression softened, becoming slightly saddened by her son’s attitude. “Oh, it’s alright, Sweetheart; it’s just that Mommy worries when you’re not where she expects you to be. Promise you won’t go running off again before telling me, okay?”

“Okay!” the filly replied, all the sadness seemingly forgotten. “By the way, when can we go home? I wanna play with Auntie Sweetie Belle!”

“We just need to buy a few things here,” the colt’s mother informed, “then, stop by Sugarcube Corner for something I ordered, and then we can head home; promise. And, if you’re a good little colt, mommy might buy you a treat, alright?”

“Yay! I promise I’ll be good!” Frostfyre ran up and wrapped his small hooves around Rarity’s neck. Rarity leaned down and wrapped one of her forelegs around him in a hug. Then, quickly gave him a peck on the forehead before they both rose and headed towards the bored looking mare and finally headed out.

*************************************************************************************************

It was a bright and beautiful spring afternoon in Ponyville: there were no clouds in the sky, the birds were singing, and it seemed like all of the residents were out and about.

“All except for a few,” Rarity thought to herself with a small grin on her face. She glanced down towards her son, who was happily trotting next to her. “I hope he enjoys his surprise party today.”

Alas, yes; it was Frostfyre’s birthday. It had been 4 years to that point that Rarity had gone through the painful experience of childbirth for this little pony. “MY little pony,” she thought, remembering who half of the colt’s genes came from, very thankful that she hasn’t seen Solar Flare’s face anywhere since that night so long ago. She remembered the feelings she had when Frostfyre was first born: mostly fear. Rarity was afraid that Solar would try and take him away from her, or worse; she was afraid that some of the stallion’s attitude and personality would be with her son. But, luck was on her side on both accounts. Rarity was glad to be rid of the horrendous pony and was grateful that her son had no sign of his father other than his coat and wings. Actually, Frostfyre’s personality seemed to be a mixture of all of Rarity’s friends: he had Rainbow’s stubbornness and confidence, Pinkie’s endless energy and happiness, Applejack’s trustworthiness and good work ethic, Fluttershy’s kindness and understanding, and Twilight’s intelligence and helpfulness. Yes, as of right now everything seemed to be perfect.

“Mommy, mommy we’re here!” Frostfyre’s excited voice snapped Rarity from her thoughts, which was a good thing seeing as how she almost ran into the door. Chuckling to herself, the unicorn opened the door with her magic and allowed herself and her son entrance to the shop. As soon as they entered, the fire-red pegasus ran up and put his hooves on the glass, staring at all the pastries and treats on display. At the sound of a ringing bell, a blue Earth Mare came from the kitchen.

“Hello dears. What can I get you today?” Mrs. Cake said, smiling at the two ponies.

“Yes, I ordered something a few days ago and was wondering if it was ready to be picked up?” Rarity was hoping Mrs. Cake knew what she was talking about. Thankfully, the mare did.

“Oh of course! I’ll be right back.” She walked back into the kitchen and emerged a few moments later with a white box. “Will that be all dear?”

The unicorn turned to her son, who was now practically drooling over the display case. “Why yes; Frostfyre would like something.”

The red pegasus looked up at his mother with a questioning look. Rarity, knowing exactly what the question was, winked at her son, as to say “anything you like.” The colt wagged his tail back and forth, looking for what he thought would be the perfect snack. After eyeing a somewhat large Chocolate Fudge Cookie, he asked for it. After Rarity paid for everything, they started heading home.

“Didn’t you want anything mommy?” Frostfyre asked.

“Oh no, Dear; Mommy’s not hungry. Besides, the treat was for you.” Rarity smiled lovingly at her son.

The small filly bit the edge of his cookie, then, using his hooves, he broke off roughly half of it. “Would you like some?” he offered to his mom.

“Well, if you’re offering, I suppose so.” She levitated her half next to her head. Then suddenly, her horn flared with more magic as she lifted her now surprised son off the ground and onto her back, right between the box and her mane. After making sure everything was settled and not moving, Rarity started walking towards her boutique, happily sharing the cookie with her son.

*************************************************************************************************

When they reached the boutique, Rarity used her magic to open the door and set her son down. Immediately, he rushed in, finally home and able to play with his toys. His fast steps could be heard stopping all of a sudden as he realized how dark the room was.

“Mommy, why is it dark in here?” the pegasus asked. Frostfyre wasn’t a fearful child; in fact, he’s picked a few fights with ponies two to three times his size to protect other ponies. But, if there was thing the young pony hated, it was not knowing his surroundings. So immediately, he became defensive, ready to attack anything that sounded unnatural.

At that moment, the lights flicked on and a large group of ponies popped up from nowhere yelling, “SURPRISE!!!!”

Getting over the initial shock, Frostfyre just stood there with a dumbstruck look on his face before he realized what was happening. Then, he bore a huge smile and looked back at his mom, who was sitting in front of the door with his Auntie Sweetie Belle and their friends.

“Oh my gosh! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!” Frostfyre bolted towards his family with speed that would make Rainbow Dash take a second look, which she did with wide eyes when a blur of red and blue zoomed past her. The next thing Rarity knew, she had a ball of excitement, fur and feathers wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Happy Birthday sweetheart. I love you so much,” the unicorn said, laying down so she could hug her son back and smother him in kisses, much to his complaints, and Spike’s slight jealousy.

Sweetie Belle then lay down next to them and nuzzled her nephew affectionately. “Happy Birthday, Frostfyre!” Suddenly, she too was attacked by the same ball that tackled her sister, causing her dainty frame to be knocked over unexpectedly.

“Oops,” Frostfyre said apologetically, helping his aunt up.

Sweetie Belle merely smiled and said, “it’s alright; it happens.”

Then, from nowhere a pink mare emerged with an ear-to-ear smile on her face and eyes that beamed with energy. “I don’t know what everypony’s waiting for; let’s party!!!” From out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie produced what appeared to be a cannon. When she pressed the switch to fire it, what came out was confetti, streamers and candy.

The next thing Frostfyre knew, he was swept up with the rest of the crowd, dancing with friends and family. Though, for a moment, his excitement went away when he noticed that two of the ponies with whom he was dancing were the Sun and Moon Princesses themselves. however, his excitement returned quickly when one playfully winked at him with her purple eyes, while the other started dazzling Frostfyre with her starry mane and tail. As far as anypony was concerned, this was the best day in Ponyville.

After a few hours of ponies dancing and chatting, Rarity walked out from her kitchen levitating a red and blue cake to a table set up on her posing stadium. “It’s time for somepony to blow out their candles!”

“Oh my gosh I LOVE THAT PART!!”

“Not you Pinkie!” Rarity shouted at her energetic friend.

As if from nowhere, Frostfyre appeared next to his mom as she set down the cake. He couldn’t help but drool on the table, wishing he didn’t have to wait to shove his face in the massive pastry. After everypony sang him “Happy Birthday,” Frostfyre took in as much air as his lungs could muster, and blew out his candles. All that was left now was for everypony to get a piece and enjoy themselves until the party ended.

*************************************************************************************************

“That was rather delightful, and it turned out much better than I could’ve hoped for.” Rarity was talking to her friends to help pass the time as they cleaned the remnants of the day’s party. “And, thank you all again; I really appreciate the help with throwing Frostfyre a party.”

“No problem, Rare. Ah’m always happy ta help,” Applejack said after setting down a garbage bag to pick up more cups and plates.

“Yea. Besides, Pinkie was throwing it AND it was for Frostfyre; why would any of us miss it?” Rainbow Dash asked as she helped Fluttershy clear away confetti and streamers with their wings.

“Oh my yes, I even OVER-filled the animal’s dishes so I could come.” the butterscotch colored pegasus said quite proudly. “Although, I hope Angel isn’t mad at me. I know! I’ll make him a big breakfast tomorrow!”

Then, Twilight turned from cleaning a table of crumbs and added, “hey, speaking of Pinkie, where is she?”

“Oh, she’s upstairs with Frostfyre, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Spike, making sure they got to bed. She probably fell asleep with them.” Rarity chuckled at the idea of four young ponies, a dragon and a grown mare sharing a small room.

Then, there was a knock at the door. Each pony looked at the door, than at one another with confused looks.

“I wonder who that could be,” Rarity said, perplexed. She opened the door, expecting to see a pony patiently waiting there. Instead, what she saw made her gasp in terror. Standing in the door way was a pissed off looking Solar Flare.
As the white unicorn slowly backed away, Solar started taking a few threatening steps forward. “Where you going sweetheart?” he asked in a mocking tone full of malice. “I never got to thank you for hitting me with a pan and throwing me in some trash.”

Just as the pegasus was about to attack, his way was blocked by three ponies. The stallion was a little confused at first, but then continued on his threat. “Hah! You three think you can stop me? Just get out of my way or you’ll regret it.”

Seeing the opportunity, Rarity looked at Fluttershy. Getting the hint, both ponies ran up the stairs to where Pinkie and the children were sleeping. Solar was starting to get impatient, so he headed towards the stairs until a cyan and rainbow blur shot in front of him. He looked at Rainbow Dash in the eye and smirked.

“Don’t try and stop me. I don’t think a little mare like you could take me on.”

Big mistake. The next thing he knew, Solar was on the ground with a hoof print on his cheek. Rainbow smirked at him. “Don’t underestimate us. We’re tougher than we look.” Solar spat out some blood and looked at Rainbow in the eyes. He tried to flare his wings, but found that he couldn’t move them. Looking at his sides, Solar noticed that a rope made its way around him.

“What the…” he looked confusingly at his wings, “how did this happen?”

All of a sudden a southern voice spoke up. “That there is courtesy of us. Was figurin’ you’d try to fly so Ah gave Twi’ here mah rope and she magic’d it around your wings.” The purple unicorn next Applejack gave a small chuckle.

“Crap. What now?” the crimson stallion thought to himself while looking at the three mares.
*********************************************************************************
Slam!

“Huh, what? What’s going on girls?” a bleary eyed Pinkie Pie asked Rarity and Fluttershy as they barricaded the door.

At the sound of the door slamming, the children woke up scared. Spike and the Crusaders held each other while Frostfyre ran up to his mother. Rarity picked him up, answering Pinkie’s question.

“What? Oh it’s nothing. Just some, umm, complications downstairs that Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight offered to take care of. Hopefully it isn’t too serious and will be dealt with quickly.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked over the small group to comfort them. Rarity started brushing her son’s hair. They could feel each other’s fear and wanted to comfort one another. There was a knock at the door, making all the ponies jump. Rarity put Frostfyre behind her, using her magic to open the door, she readied another spell incase. But instead of Solar, there was a smiling Twilight, a worn out looking Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and a smiling Luna.

“Girls! How’d it go?” the white unicorn asked, concern filling her voice at seeing the bruises on Applejack and Rainbow.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Ah tell ya, he’s a tough pony. If it weren’t fer Twilight usin’ her magic to catch us and Rainbow and I bein’ athletic, who knows what would’ve happened.”

“Actually, for a moment there it looked like he was going to win. That was until Luna popped in and teleported him.” Rainbow said, sitting down while Fluttershy tended to her friends wounds.

It was Luna’s turn to talk. “Think nothing of it. When I saw him walking around Ponyville, I had a feeling he was up to no good. I would’ve stopped him sooner, but you all seem to handle yourself very well.”

Princess!” Twilight gasped, “Your grammar!”

The Princess of the Night chuckled. “Yes Twilight Sparkle, I have been getting lessons from Tia and reading scrolls.” Luna ruffled Frostfyre’s hair before standing up and heading out the door. “I’m sorry, I’d love to stay with you all, but I must go and move the moon. Have a pleasant night my little ponies.”

Twilight shouted after Luna. “Princess, wait! I was curious to where you teleported Solar Flare?”

The dark alicorn chuckled at the small group. She spread her wings, preparing to fly off. Before she did so, she gave the ponies a small little reassurance, “Let’s just say he’s really hot now.”

When Luna left, all the ponies let out a sigh of relief. “Well, that was eventful. How about we all get some sleep?” Rarity asked. The Crusaders headed towards Sweetie Belle’s room, Spike grabbed his and Twilight’s sleeping bags while the other mares grabbed their own. All the ponies set up their beds in the show room of the boutique, most fell asleep almost instantly, with the exception of Pinkie and Rainbow talking about Celestia knows what. Rarity went to lay down when she noticed her son curled up in a ball in his own little blanket. The fashionista walked up and gently woke up Frostfyre.

“What are you doing laying here?” she whispered, “Come with mommy.”

The small pegasus looked up, his eyes showing confusion and tiredness. He groggily got up, and slowly followed Rarity to her sleeping bag. She nudged him under the blanket and tucked him in. She then carefully slide herself in, when she got comfortable, the white pony wrapped her forelegs around the child and held him close. Just when Rarity was about to fall asleep, she heard Frostfyre mumble in his sleep.

“Good night mommy.”

“Good night sweetheart. I love you so much.” she said, kissing him one last time before falling into a peaceful sleep.