Chapter One: A Single Pink Cross

I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!, nor do I claim ownership for it's characters, ideas or merchandise. The thoughts displayed in this story do not represent the company (Hasbro's) views and should be not thought as such.

Dedicated to my maternal grandparents, some of the first people to encourage me to follow my dreams.

My Unexpected Gift - Chapter One

A Single Pink Cross

Rainbow Dash looked down at the little white stick in utter disbelief. At the end of the piece of plastic was the worst thing she could imagine at the moment, a single pink cross. She was pregnant.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be a mom. She couldn't be a mom, or at least not right now. She was a Wonderbolt, a celebrity. If there was one thing Rarity was right about when it came to celebrities, it was that they had to keep up their image.

But that wasn't her main concern. No it was that she didn't want to bring a kid into the world so the paparazzi could hound the foal the moment after he/she took their first breath. Nopony deserved that. Nopony.

'Well, I guess it's too late for that now.' Rainbow silently sighed, self-hatred boiling inside of her.

How could she be so stupid? She hadn't had a colt friend in over ten months and, until about a moment ago, she was sure she was a virgin. The only reason she even bought the damn test was to put her fears at rest, to prove to herself that she didn't do it. That it was something else that made sure she had her head deep in the toilet whenever she got a whiff of something and miss the red by as much as she was. Though, looking back on it, it should have been no question. She'd never heard of any ailment that made it's host stick his or her head in the great porcelain throne just by smelling something, and that wouldn't explain Aunt Flow's absense.

Still, this tandem of thought didn't answer who her baby daddy was or how they ended up in bed together.

Think. Think. Think.

Rainbow thought back the weeks prior, trying to remember anything that might lead her in thr right direction.

Practice. Practice. Paperwork. Practice. Hanging out with the girls. Practice.

Nope, no time for date nights in her busy schedule unless... oh no she couldn't have!

What would happen when word of this got out to the media? What would happen to her career? The Wonderbolts would be greatly troubled if their star performer couldn't perform for a year, even under the circumstances of a maternity leave. Would she be forced to resign? She pushed those questions to the back of her mind in favor of a much more pressing one: how would her friends react? What about her brother? How would he react?

'There's only one way to find out.' Rainbow tried to reassure herself, though failing miserably.

The flight down to the Ponyville library was the longest one she ever took. Not by distance, of course, as she could see Books & Branches Library from her bedroom window. No, rather emotional exhaustion and brain numbing anxiety over the conversation she was just about to have with her egg head friend.

With her mind preoccupied, she didn't notice where she was going. That is until her head collided with the library tree, the surprise temporarily stunning her and causing her to plummet to base of the tree.

"Ow..." Rainbow moaned as she rubbed the place where the bark met her face, a bump already forming.

"Rainbow, are you ok?" Twilight asked as she ran over to her pegasus friend and helped Rainbow up, immediately taking note of the most recent crash wound, "Let's get some ice for that bump."

"So, any particular reason you crashed into my library today?" Twilight asked, trying to make some light conversation.

The two mares were sitting across from each other in the library's foyer. Rainbow Dash was holding an ice pack to her head while Twilight drank her tea.

"Yeah but it's about hay fries." Rainbow started, using the code word for "keep the foals out of earshot".

"Don't worry, Spike is at Sweet Apple Acres to play with the crusaders." Twilight assured her friend.

"Okay, that's good. I don't want this out yet." Rainbow replied, a little bit more relaxed.

"Does it have anything to do with those nausea spells you were telling me about the other day?" the librarian inquired, recalling a conversation they had a few days prior.

"Y-yeah" the cyan mare stuttered, her anxiety returning in an instant.

"What's wrong?" the studious mare questioned, her concern for her rainbow-maned friend growing by the second.

Tears were beginning to prick at the edges of Rainbow Dash's eyes. What if Twilight never wanted to speak to her again? No, she couldn't do it.

"Rainbow..." Twilight asked, caution and concern palliating in her voice.

"I'm pregnant." Rainbow said at a voice barely above a whisper but just loud enough to reach the princess' ear.

If it weren't for her mouth being open, Twilight's jaw would have hit the floor. She stared her friend in the eye, looking for any sign of doubt, none of which she could find. Instead, they were full of fear and something else, though she wasn't quite sure what it was.

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Twilight asked the inevitable: "Who's the dad?"

Rainbow looked down at her hooves trying to hide herself as to not look her friend in the eye. That other something was now definite in Twilight's mind. It was shame.

"Rainbow," the former element of magic asked a little sterner than before, "Who's the dad?"

"I don't know. I had too many and brought a stallion back to my hotel room." the small pegasus admitted fearfully.

Tears had at this point began to openly flow down the athlete's face. The alicorn was stunned. Her loyal friend crying was as rare as her successfully performing a sonic rainboom, a feat she had managed only a hoof full of times before. She had to do something, anything, to comfort her.

"Rainbow..." Twilight sighed, stroking  her friend's rainbow mane sympathetically, "You're a strong, independent mare. I'm positive you'll be a great mom, whether or not your foal has a dad."

"That's just it, Twi," the pregnant mare cried softly, finally beginning to calm down, "I don't think I can mother a child. I feel crummy just because I barely get to see you guys anymore. You guys can make do without me for a few months, though. A foal... it needs... I don't know... but being a mother is a full time job in itself! Oh Twilight, what should I do?"

Twi thought for a second before responding.

"You could put it up for adoption," the pink highlighted mare suggested, "But if that's the only reason, you do realize you could always leave your foal with us while you're on tour or even take it with you?"

The colorful pegasus wanted to point out the other reasons but the bump was starting to make her head truly pound so she opted to giving a nod, This, unfortunately, made her head even throb more than anticipated and caused a painful wince to follow.

"Well, it's not like the baby's coming tomorrow." Twilight reminded her, "You have time to think over your options."

"Yeah, I guess I do." the sky blue pegasus calmed.

"Have you told the others yet?" the purple mage asked casually as she got up to pour another cup of tea for herself and replace Rainbow's now watery ice pack.

"No, you were the first one I came to." the rainbow maned pony admitted.

"Well, I would prefer if you would stay for a few more minutes." the purple pony expressed her concerns as she magically switched the old not-so-cold pack with a fresh one, "That was quite the blow you took to the head."

Rainbow didn't respond with more than a mere nod as she began to ponder her options. What was she going to do?