Twilight rushed out of the library, almost tripping over a certain baby dragon who was just outside the door. He barely noticed the unicorn coming to a screeching halt as he paced, anxiously. After a second he stopped, and rubbed his hands together in a nervous fashion. His big green eyes looked up at her full of uncertainty, before going back to staring down at the ground. A small, constant, almost inaudible mumble came from the little dragon; it sounded more like a grumble than words. It didn’t take Twilight too long to surmise what was worrying her little companion.

“Spike, where did Rarity run off to?” There was a small sense of urgency in her voice as she questioned the young dragon, though her query only seemed to upset him more. He glanced back and forth, debating whether or not to tell her something. There was a pause in his constant stream of mumbles, and then he paced back and forth a bit more. Finally he took a sharp breath to steady his nerves.

“S-She ran off, Twilight! She said something about you breaking a...t-ta-taboo?” The young dragon struggled on the last word. He wasn’t too sure of the meaning, nor if he was saying it right. “She seemed upset,” he added with tears forming in his eyes.

Seeing her little dragon in such a distraught state stopped Twilight’s urgent pursuit for a moment. She couldn’t very well leave him there like that. He was confused, and most of all worried. With a soft smile, she sat down and pulled him in close. As she pulled him in, he wrapped his little arms around her torso, squeezing her tightly.

“W-What’s going on Twilight? She sounded mad at you, but why?” His voice was shaky, and tears fell from his eyes. Spike buried his face deep into her lavender fur, sobbing softly. Twilight stroked his spiky head with a motherly affection, trying to calm him.

“It’s a long story Spike, but Rarity isn’t quite thinking straight at the moment. So, how about we go talk to her, and get this whole mess set right, alright?” She placed her hoof to his chin, pulling it up so he would look her in the eyes. With a small nod, the dragon wiped his tears. The unicorn stood up, giving the dragon some space so he could regain his composure. After a second, his tears stopped, and his breathing became steady again. With a small smile, she lowered herself enough so the little dragon could climb onto her back.

“Let’s go see Rarity, okay?” She tried to sound as upbeat as possible, though she knew this was going to be anything but a cheery visit. She told her friends that she would take care of this, but she really didn’t have the slightest clue on how she was going to do it.

“Why is she so mad at you, Twilight?” he asked again.

“Because, Spike, I’m having Rainbow Dash’s foal. I haven’t really told you, but two mares don’t usually have a foal together, that’s between a mare and a stallion.”

“I know that, but don’t understand why she’s so upset. You didn’t do anything bad did you, Twilight?”

“No...well, a little bit...” she said nervously. Twilight knew what she did was wrong, even taboo, but that was a reason to rush out of the library without talking things over. Rarity was freaking out, just like she knew she would, but Twilight had to talk to her before she did something drastic. Hopefully she could talk some sense into the unicorn.

“I’ll explain when we get to Rarity’s,” she said to her companion.

He replied with a simple nod. He wasn’t really sure what was going on, so there wasn’t a reason for him to refuse Twilight. Besides, he was worried about Rarity, and also Rarity and Twilight’s friendship.

-----------------------------

As the two approached Rarity’s shop, they came across a rather confused Sweetie Belle leaving the building. She still had her eyes, firmly focused on the door she just walked out of, as if she wasn’t sure what had just happened to her. After a few blind steps forward, she came to a stop, and plopped down on the ground. Almost like she was telling the world ‘time out’ until she figured out what happened. The sudden approach of Twilight, caught the filly’s attention, snapping the puzzled pony back to reality.

“Hello, Sweetie Belle.” The elder unicorn tried to force a normal sounding greeting, which forcing it only made it sound strange. The confused filly slowly made eye contact with her, at a complete loss for words. Her mouth hung slightly agape as she still tried to wrap her head around what was happening inside the dress maker’s shop.

Twilight knew right away what had caused the young filly to be so confused. With a slight nod to Spike, he hopped down from Twilight’s back. Twilight sat down across from Sweetie Belle, giving her a moment to get a grip on what had happened.

“T-Twilight, I’m not sure if you want to go in there.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I was minding my own business when she threw open the door, and yelled at me to get out. She told me she had work to do, and I was in her way,” Sweetie Belle paused for a moment, still in disbelief, “which is weird because I was in the guest room coloring, so I really wasn’t in her way or anything. I know I wasn’t drawing on anything important, or using her stuff, so she shouldn’t have been mad at me...” Twilight let out a small sigh, placing a hoof on the young pony’s shoulder.

“I’m getting a little tired of saying this today,” Twilight muttered to herself, “ it’s complicated, Sweetie Belle...” she said to the little filly.

“What is?” the innocent unicorn asked, looking up at the librarian with big, naive eyes.

“Well, it’s partially...well really entirely my fault that your sister is acting this way. I just need to talk to her so she will calm down.” Sweetie Belle stared at the older pony for a minute, before shrugging her shoulders. She really didn’t need an explanation past ‘her sister’s a nutcase’. It still wasn’t any less weird though, Rarity was usually acting nuts for a reason, usually a trivial one, but still a reason, and this time there didn’t seem to be one.

“Why don’t you go find Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, so you three can go play,” she playfully suggested to the young unicorn. Still with a confused look, Sweetie Belle sat up.

“I guess...I’m supposed to meet them today anyway,” the little unicorn said walking off.

“Well, this is it...” Twilight turned her head to spike. “Wait out here until things calm down a bit. It might get a little...crazy.” With a small nod, Spike agreed. Twilight let out an audible gulp as she walked to the door. Her mind couldn’t have prepared her for what she was about to see.

With a knock, Twilight entered into the boutique. A frazzled Rarity stood across the room levitating fabric, needles, thread, and designs frantically across her workspace. Her usually well-taken-care-of mane was, by Twilight’s standards, a slight mess, though by Rarity‘s it would be an utter disaster. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and an almost insane smile sat on her face. The white unicorn was trying to hard to bury herself in work, to forget about the story she had heard today.

“R-Rarity?” Twilight asked, taking another step into the designer’s workspace. Suddenly everything that was flying around the room came to a halt, as Rarity’s red, slightly tear soaked eyes snapped to Twilight.

“Twilight! Darling, what brings you here?” she asked in an almost maniacal tone. The unsettling smile still sitting on her face.

“Rarity really had lost it...” was about to slip past Twilight’s lips as she looked around the workshop, but she stopped herself.

“A-About earlier...”

“Whatever do you mean, Twilight? What “earlier” would you be referring to?” Slowly the objects held in place by the faint blue magical aura, began to fall. “Would it be the “earlier” when you hid the fact that you were pregnant?” The pace at which the tools, and materials fell increased as the designer’s voice grew louder, and more agitated.

“Or the “earlier” when you tried to hide who the father was?” As the final object fell, Rarity’s voice reached its peak of agitation, and volume.

“Or the “earlier” when you were hiding the fact that you used a forbidden spell!” Her eyebrows furled in anger from her friend’s deceit. After a moment, she took a deep breath, to regain her composure. As she exhaled, her normal, dignified look returned, and slowly a needle, thread, and a piece of fabric levitated into the air from where the fell onto the floor. The designer returned to her work as silence fell over the room.

Twilight suddenly didn’t feel like talking, but she realized she couldn’t just stand there silent. As much as she didn’t want to talk, she had to talk her friend down. “A-All of those I suppose...Rarity, I wanted to apologize—”

“Apologize? Twilight Sparkle, you broke an unspoken rule amongst unicorns to never use that spell!” Rarity screamed at the librarian, throwing her materials off to the side. Her lady like demeanor evaporated in an instant. Twilight had accidentally pushed her friend over the edge.

“I-I know that! Don’t you think I realize how stupid that was!” Twilight took a step forward, yelling back at the designer. “I was drunk—I wasn’t thinking...” After she realized she was yelling, she shrunk down a bit, lowering her head. She didn’t come to argue. She came to try and clear the air between them.

“Drunk? Do you really think it can be written off so easily?” Rarity walked towards her friend, anger still in her voice. Her horn sparked, emitting a bright blue aura. The same blue aura appeared around dress designs tacked to the wall, which began to fall to the ground, mannequins wobbled, the whole shop shook, and the usual order of the boutique fell into chaos.

“Rarity, please calm down!” Twilight pleaded with her friend, taking a defensive stance in anticipation for what might come. Rarity continued to walk towards her. The designer’s eyes filled with tears up as they narrowed at Twilight.

“Calm down? One of my most trusted friends tried to hide the dirtiest of deeds from me, and you expect me to calm down?” Her voice cracked under the strain.

Twilight could understand that Rarity felt utterly betrayed. Twilight was upstanding unicorn, one that she was proud to call her friend; a sweet, smart filly, who would help anyone in need, and certainly wouldn‘t do anything wrong—at least not on purpose. Yet here she stood, having broken a fundamental unicorn taboo. Her friend had officially committed social suicide, and could drag down her other friend with her.

Rarity couldn’t understand what would possess Twilight to do such a thing. Just what in Equestria could make her use that spell. The shame that would befall Twilight would be unfathomable. Her whole life would be subject to scrutiny. No unicorn would dare talk to her, and the sheer strangeness of her foal having two biological mothers would surely be off putting to any earth pony or pegasus. The gossip that would come, and rejection to follow would be unbearable. Rarity couldn’t stand the thought of Twilight going through that.

Twilight closed her eyes tightly, waiting for Rarity to hit her with something. She had made a decision when she walked in not to use magic. Twilight was by far better at magic, but the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Rarity. Her body tensed, as she could feel the distraught pony get closer. Just when she thought the blow was coming, instead, she felt her body being gently squeezed in a hug.

“Twilight, why, oh why didn’t you just come talk to me about this? I don’t want to see you shunned for some silly mistake! You’re one of my closest friends...” Rarity was in tears. The shaking, and rumbling from her magic stopped, the moment she embraced her friend.

“Rarity...” Twilight wrapped a foreleg around her friend.

“This has to have been hard on you...” the designer added.

“Well, you running off didn’t really help things,” Twilight chuckled a bit.

“Well, dear, that was just my initial reaction. It was quite a shock. I couldn’t really find words to express my feelings...” She paused for a moment. “But, society be damned, I cannot treat you like some sort of monster for what you did. You’re not some stranger, I know you. I couldn‘t bring myself to shun you, darling.” Tears continued to roll down the designer’s cheek.

After a moment Rarity pulled away from Twilight, wiping her eyes with her hoof as she did so. She felt a little embarrassed, and ashamed that she directed her anger towards her friend.

“I don’t know how could let myself get so upset...” Rarity continued.

“It’s just what you’re expected to do...”

“It’s not excusable,” Rarity replied. “Rainbow Dash and yourself are two consenting adults, so...I...suppose if you two wish to have a filly then...I shouldn’t object...” Rarity forced a small smile. “Although, it is...you two do know there are other options right?” she asked.

“W-We talked about it, and we’re against it...” Twilight replied looking down at the ground.

“I-I see, well...if this is what you two want...I shall support you.”

“Thank you, Rarity.” Twilight wrapped a foreleg around Rarity.

“Just try to understand, I was more upset for you than anything, dear...” Rarity couldn’t look Twilight in the eyes after what she did. Her friend placed a hoof on her shoulder, and that small gesture is all it took to bring a smile to Rarity’s face. With a small sniffle, she laughed slightly, still in disbelief over her own actions.

It was strange for Twilight to see her friend—who was usually so well kept—in such a mess. Her mane in disarray, her eyes had a tinge of red, and were slightly puffy from the tears, but most surprising was that her appearance was the furthest thing from Rarity’s mind. She was so engrossed in the moment, she didn’t even care. Her tantrum had just been a default response, so Twilight could really blame her. In fact, Rarity had been more upset for Twilight rather than at her. A smile grew on Twilight’s face when she realized this.

“I-Is it clear?” The two unicorns looked towards the door to see Spike poking his head in. The little dragon glanced around the shop to see if it was safe. He looked a little shaken up from the tremors, and commotion that were coming from the boutique until a moment ago. Rarity forced a smile on her face to cover up that she had been crying, once she saw the frightened dragon. Twilight motioned for him to join them.

“Rarity, I wanted to say I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. I mean, I should have told you girls after I found out. You especially, since you know what kind of trouble I could be in—” Rarity cut Twilight off with a hoof.

“I will hear no more of that. It’s all water under the bridge.” She gave a soft smile to her friend. “I just hope that you are willing to forgive me for how I acted.” Twilight gave her a nod without a second thought.

“About Rainbow Dash, and I as well...”

“Again, no more of that. As long as the two of you are happy, it’s fine with me. I’ll even keep it a secret if I must.”

Twilight couldn’t help but feel a heartfelt tear come to her eye. Without missing a beat, she wrapped her forelegs around her friend once more, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you so much Rarity.”

“Of course dear, what are friends for.” Rarity broke the hug, looking down at Spike. “And I’m sorry for scaring you so much, Spike.” She said placing a small kiss on his forehead. The little dragon felt like he was floating for a moment when those lips touched his forehead. Hearts replaced the iris of his eyes for a moment, as a dopy smile slid across his face.

“I do have to ask you though, Twilight. Where did you even learn that spell? I mean any book it could be found in these days, has the...um...sterilization...written into it.”

“The Canterlot Library,” she said with a small blush, “it was in an old section, buried in the back. I found a really dusty old book called Sensual Magic of the Unicorn Tribe: First Edition, if I recall it was printed roughly 2500 years ago... ”

“Well, that explains it...” she said with a small cough. “In any case, how is Rainbow Dash handling this matter?” the designer tried to get the conversation to a little less awkward place.

“She’s handling it I suppose—”

“Hold on a second, why were you even freaking out, Rarity?” Spike suddenly snapped back to reality from his dazed state, interrupting Twilight. The two mares looked at each other, then back at the dragon.

“I-It’s complicated...” Twilight said lowering her head. She was really starting to feel bad that she had to keep saying that today, but there was so much going on, it was too hectic to explain everything.

“Now, now, Twilight. You really should explain it to him, though do try and keep it...err...PG,” Rarity said with a small, awkward smile.

Twilight sighed a bit, dreading the day she would have to have this conversation with the little dragon. The birds and the bees are an awkward subject for anyone to cover, and here she was, giving it to him about two mares, and a spell. She was just hoping he wouldn’t have too many in depth questions.

“Well, you see, Spike. Many years ago, before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ruled Equestria, there were the three tribes of ponies—”

“I heard this story at Hearth’s Warming Eve,” the dragon said with an unenthusiastic tone.

“Well then, I’ll skip ahead a bit...There was a point when the unicorn tribe was having a bit of a population crisis. So, with their magic, they created a spell that...um...” Twilight paused for a moment, carefully picking the appropriate phrasing for the young dragon, “let two mares make a foal without the help of a stallion.” Spike nodded his head, following her story so far. “The problem with this spell was there was no chance for the foal to be a colt, so only little fillies were born.”

“Wait, how does a mare and a stallion make a foal?” The dragon asked. That was the question Twilight had been dreading.

“Umm...You see, Spike. When a mare and a stallion love each other very much...they, umm...”

“Let’s just save that for when you’re a little older, okay?” Rarity jumped in, “It’s not too important to the story.” Spike didn’t look too pleased with her misdirection, but he reluctantly nodded.

“So, the spell would have been needed for the unicorn tribe to survive,” Rarity continued, helping the explanation along, “it very well could have doomed the whole unicorn race. That’s why they forbid ponies from using it.” She gave Twilight a small glare. The librarian could only respond with an embarrassed smile.

“Hold on, so that’s what this is about? Well, unicorns are doing fine now, why does it matter if Twilight used the spell?” he asked the two.

“Spike, unicorns may be doing fine now, but there is still a deep social stigma carried by that spell. If word gets out that Twilight got pregnant with it, then her life could very well be over.”

“S-Sti-Stigma?”

“It means ponies wouldn’t like me anymore, Spike...”

“She would be shunned by every unicorn in Equestria,“ Rarity added.

Twilight felt terrible suddenly having the severity of her situation laid bare before her. It did weigh heavy on her at first, but with the stress of her pregnancy, then her telling Rainbow Dash, and the two of them started dating, the taboo of the situation was pushed to the back of her mind. She tried her best to not think about it, hoping it would never come up, but that was futile. Twilight knew that from the start, but she still hoped. Now, after telling her friends, it was really starting to sink in. She would have to tell her parents, and her brother. Word will get out eventually, especially if she gives birth to a little pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane.

“How am I going to tell my parents...” Twilight voiced her inner thoughts. Her other friends didn’t understand the ridicule she may suffer if anyone found out she used this spell, and she doubted they could. Earth ponies and pegasi didn’t have this kind of stigma. It was something uniquely unicorn. She could very well be shunned by everyone in Canterlot, and quite possibly everyone in Equestria. Twilight wasn’t exactly a nobody. She was well known, and not just in Ponyville, but everywhere. Princess Celestia’s protégé and bearer of the Element of Magic, pregnant with another mare’s foal by way of a forbidden spell. She could hear the gossip now.

“Come now, Twilight. I’m sure your parents will be understanding.” Rarity tried to cheer her up, but Twilight knew it wouldn’t be so easy.

Twilight’s parents, while supportive and loving, held her on too high of a pedestal. There was no way they would just accept this without question. They took so much pride in their daughter, and their son for that matter. Any small blemish on either one of their children might just shatter their perfect image of them. Twilight could see her mother crying now, and that solemn disappointed look her father would give her on rare occasions. Not to mention the terrible shame that would befall them from her little mistake. Ponies might start harassing, or shunning them by association. She didn’t want her mom and dad to go through that. Then there was Shining Armor. He was married to Princess Cadence. They could be targeted too. Each thought that ran through Twilight’s head was worse than the last, and started to make her panic.

“I don’t know how they’ll handle this...they might disown me, or worse...and I don’t even want to think about what Shining Armor will say...”

“You don’t give your parents enough credit, Twilight,” Spike chimed in. “They love you, and I doubt they’ll disown you over this.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “You do tend to overreact when it comes to these sort of things.”

Twilight sighed a bit, but realized they were right. Her parents loved her, and no matter what they wouldn’t reject her for this. Besides they’re getting that granddaughter they had always wanted. Twilight perked up a bit believing things would turn out fine—at least until she had to tell Shining Armor.

“I still want to keep this a secret, so aside from you two, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, nopony else is supposed to know about this, alright?” Twilight spoke in a hushed voice, stressing the secrecy of the matter.

“W-We’re not supposed to tell anypony else?” Spike said with an audible gulp.

“Nopony else,” Twilight said stressing the finality of her words.

“T-That might be a problem...” Spike said, putting his hands behind his back, and looking down at the floor. The little dragon fidgeted for a moment, before looking back at the Twilight.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I may have...told Sweetie Belle when she came back to get something after you went inside...” Twilight froze after what the dragon said for a few moments. Her heart felt like it had stopped mid beat.

“You...what?” she screamed finally after being frozen for a few moments. Her whole world just crumbled around her into tiny pieces. The more ponies that knew, the harder it would be to keep them quiet. “I-It’s okay, I just have to go talk to Sweetie Belle outside...” Twilight mumbled as she frantically walked to the door.

“That might be a problem too, s-she ran off to go play with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.” Spike sunk down after delivering more bad news to the librarian.

“Spike, what did you tell her exactly?” Twilight came to a stop, turning her head back towards her companion. She had an unusually calm tone, with a small smile on her face.

“T-That you were pregnant,” he paused for a moment, “and that it was Rainbow Dash’s...” The little dragon shrunk down a bit more, squeezing his eyes closed in anticipation for Twilight to snap.

“Well then, I will just have to find Sweetie Belle, and tell her not to tell anypony.” Twilight trotted off towards the door, with a rather cheery tone.

“Twilight, dear, Sweetie Belle has probably already told her friends.” Rarity took a few steps after her.

“Then, I will tell those fillies not to tell anypony.” She didn’t miss a beat. Her voice still rang with an eerie cheeriness that frightened the other two.

“Twilight, if those three know, then half of Ponyville most likely knows by now,” Rarity said, trying to catch up to her friend. “They don’t exactly keep secrets that well...” she continued.

“Then I will tell half of Ponyville not to tell anypony!” Twilight turned around, her pupils had shrunk down to the size of a pea. Her whole head twitched occasionally, with an half blink she didn‘t seem to be able to control. Her chest heaved from the heavy breathing, and there was a slight whistle as the air rushed past her clenched teeth. Twilight’s face had a rather unsettling smile stretching across, which made Spike shake.

“T-Twilight...” Rarity said putting a hoof on the broken pony.

“I-I’m sorry, when you told everypony in the library, I thought it was okay to tell ponies now...” the dragon blurted out.

“Spike, would you be a dear, and go tell my sister and her friends to not tell anypony.” the designer said as she wrapped a foreleg around Twilight. Spike stood there for a moment, in shock, before he agreed, and quickly ran out the door after Sweetie Belle.

“N-Nopony else can know, Rarity...nopony else...” Twilight repeated, in the midst of the biggest panic attack of her entire life. She breathed quick, and deeply, trying to catch her breath. Slowly her clenched jaw relaxed, and Twilight fell forward, gasping for air.

“Come now, just relax...” Rarity said, trying to calm her down. “The ponies of Ponyville are very understanding,” she said rubbing her hoof along Twilight’s back.

“Nopony else, Rarity!” Twilight finally yelled, burying her face into the designer’s chest, with deep, long, drawn out sobs quickly following.

-----------------------------

As Spike ran out the door he bumped into a familiar group of four ponies. Rainbow Dash looked down at him, lending him a hoof to help him up. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, gathered around the little dragon, voicing their concern for him. After a second, he rubbed his head, and graciously took the extended hoof.

“What’s the rush, Spike?” Pinkie asked after he got on his feet.

“Don’t tell me Twilight an’ Rarity are still fightin’...” Applejack seemed worried.

“No, they’re fine...well, kind of fine...” Spike looked back at the door, his mind still dwelling on Twilight.

“How can they be kind of fine?” Pinkie posed with a quizzical look.

“Well, Rarity and Twilight made up, but I told Sweetie Belle that Rainbow Dash was the father and, and I wasn‘t supposed to tell anypony, now she‘s off playing with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and they‘re gonna tell everypony they see...and...and what am I going to do?” The panicked dragon took a deep breath after he finished. Spike explained the situation in a rather chaotic order, leaving some of the details rushed over, so the group of four struggled to keep up with what he was trying to tell them. Somehow though, they managed to get the gist of it.

“So, we just have to tell Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scoots not to tell anypony, right?” Rainbow Dash summarized. Spike gave her an exhausted nod, as he breathed heavily.

“Well then, what are we waiting for!” Pinkie said with a small jump.

“We don’t know where they are...” Fluttershy spoke up.

“I recall my sister sayin’ somethin’ about them havin’ a meetin’ ta get their cutie marks today. They’re probably at the tree house.” The farmer pondered aloud for a moment. After a second of remembering the conversation with her sister, she gave a reaffirming nod. Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie took the hint, and turned to walk to Sweet Apple Acres, but Rainbow Dash only stared at the door to Rarity’s shop.

“You guys go on ahead, I need to see how Twilight‘s handling this,” Rainbow Dash said, taking a step towards the boutique. It was obvious the Dash was worried about her marefiend, and her friends knew that Twilight probably needed her now more than anything. Her friends gave an understanding nod, and let the pegasus go see her lover without question.

The pegasus knocked on the door, which after a moment lit up with a light blue magical aura, and slowly opened. Rainbow Dash was greeted with the sight of Twilight crying into Rarity’s chest, as the other unicorn reassured her.

“Rainbow Dash, it’s you!” Rarity said, surprised, “Come in, come in!” She motioned with her free hoof, telling the pegasus to enter.

At the mention of her marefriend’s name Twilight pulled herself out from Rarity’s bosom. Her eyes were bloodshot, puffy, and streams of fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. She was a mess if Rainbow Dash had ever seen on, but the pegasus didn’t care about that. Her winged lover gave her a small smile, which calmed her heart for a moment.

“Dashie!” Twilight said galloping into the pegasus’s awaiting forelegs. She hit her lover’s chest, and began sobbing deeply once more. She squeezed the pegasus tightly, as she rubbed her tears into Dash’s fur. The librarian’s long deep sobs seemed to echo through Rainbow Dash’s chest.

She could only smile down at Twilight. She didn’t mind being soaked in her tears, or the strange tickle from the vibrations going through her chest, she only wanted to see Twilight. She stroked her lover’s mane gently, trying to calm the distraught librarian down.

“Are you okay?” she asked after a moment. The unicorn shook her head, without taking it out from the sanctuary of her marefriend’s chest. Dash gave a soft, empty smile, but her eyes betrayed the pain of seeing Twilight like this. She wanted to do something for her, anything. However, she knew that all she could do was support Twilight.

“So, Spike kinda told us what’s up, but he didn’t really explain it too well,” she said, looking to Rarity to fill in the gaps.

The other unicorn nodded. “What parts would you like to know?”

“Why you freaked out for one, and why can’t anypony know that it’s my foal?”

“Well, they’re both kind of the same question...” she paused for a moment. “It was quite a lot to handle, that‘s why I rushed out of the library...” Rarity said, looking a little ashamed of herself.

“Obviously, how do you think I took it when she told me,” Rainbow Dash said callously. “But seriously, even Applejack’s okay with us being together, what‘s your problem.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against the two of you being together. I was upset because of some social norms, and...well, conditioning that we unicorns are taught when we are younger...”

“Uh-huh...” Rainbow Dash looked at her, expecting more explanation.

“You see, the spell Twilight used has a bit of a notorious reputation. A long time ago unicorn population was dwindling, and that uncouth spell was...created to combat that issue, if you will.” The unicorn’s cheeks flushed red as she danced around the more colorful explanation. “However, only fillies can be conceived with that spell, and that could have doomed the unicorn race to extinction. So we decided to strongly discouraged its use by...excommunicating anypony who used it.”

“So, what’s that mean for Twilight?”

“It means she will be shunned if word gets out. Unicorns can be very finicky, Rainbow Dash; we tend not to associate with ponies that go against the grain.”

“So, are you’re going to shun her too?” The pegasus’s eyes narrowed as her voice showed a small tinge of anger. “That’s not fair!”

“I don’t plan on shunning Twilight, Rainbow Dash. Please, she is my friend after all. However, after hearing that she used that spell, it was hard to bear. I was just so distraught, so I ran...”

“Ever the drama queen, huh?” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes.

“Dashie...nopony can know...” Twilight looked up into her marefriend’s eyes, her own still filled with tears. The pegasus continued to stroke her mane, giving her lover a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I won’t let anypony hurt you, okay?” Twilight buried her face back into Rainbow Dash’s chest, her sobs becoming less frequent. It was hard for the pegasus to just sit back and watch Twilight cry, but what else could she do. She had to leave the rest to Spike, and her friends to take care of.

-----------------------------

Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo were in the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse, talking about the activities that they were planning. Scootaloo had just arrived a few minutes before, and was packing some bags. Apple Bloom was gathering some excavation equipment. Just as the two were about to finish up, Sweetie Belle burst in the clubhouse door. The sudden noise from the door swing open, startled the two fillies, causing them to drop their bags they were packing, spilling everything onto the floor. The other two crusaders looked at one another, then back to the excited unicorn with some mild irritation. She seemed oblivious to their stares as she boasted a smile ear to ear; she looked positively ecstatic.

“What’s up Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked.

“Did ya bring the shovel?” Apple Bloom added.

“Forget the shovel, I’ve got some big news!” The two fillies stopped repacking their bags, waiting for their friend to tell them the big news. Sweetie Belle couldn’t stop bouncing in place, still worked up about what she heard. Her eyes beamed with excitement, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

“Well? Spit it out!” Scootaloo demanded.

“I just heard that Twilight is having a foal!” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at one another with uninterested eyes, before shrugging their shoulders.

“So?” the young pegasus said, her voice told how apathetic she was.

“So, you’ll never guess who the daddy is!” the unicorn filly said with another small jump of excitement.

“Umm, Dr. Hooves?” Apple Bloom guessed. Suddenly the orange filly next to her fell on the floor, laughing at her friend’s guess. She squeezed her sides as she rolled around for a moment, utterly absorbed in her laughter. When she finally calmed down enough to stand back up, she looked at Apple Bloom with condescending eyes.

“Please, he's a time traveler. Do you really think he’d have a foal with just any old pony?” the young pegasus scoffed at her friend’s answer, still trying to suppress a small laugh.

“That’s just a rumor Snips and Snails started, Scoots! He ain’t a time traveler!” the earth pony defended.

“I’ve seen him duck into his time machine and everythi—”

“It’s not Dr. Hooves!” Sweetie Belle interrupted with a stomp of her hoof. The little unicorn filly was getting frustrated with her friends going off topic.

“I dunno, just tell us.” Neither of the two filles seemed to care about Sweetie Belle’s story to begin with, as they went back to gathering some of the materials for today’s adventure.

“It’s Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie Belle said with another bounce. Her two friends dropped what they were doing, staring at each other, then at the unicorn in utter disbelief.

“T-Twilight an' Rainbow Dash?” the earth pony asked her friend as she raised an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle responded with a nod. “T-That don’t even make any sense Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom remained skeptical.

“Yeah, didn’t your mom and dad ever tell you that two mares can’t make a foal!” Scootaloo said walking over to her friend. “Besides, Rainbow Dash is too cool for a bookworm like Twilight!” she added, placing a hoof on the unicorn’s back, patting her in a condescending manner.

“It’s true, I heard it from Spike!” Scootaloo‘s hoof stopped moving, as she stared off, blankly.

“Spike woundn’t lie about somethin’ like that...” Apple Bloom said, with Scootaloo nodding in agreement. “Still don’t make any sense though,” the earth pony added.

“Sure it does! I heard my mom say once that there’s a spell unicorns can use that lets them make a foal with another mare!” the little unicorn said, excitedly. “Though she didn’t make it sound like such a good thing...” Her mood dipped a little with the last bit.

The other two fillies looked at her, not quite sure what to think. The more the idea sat though, the more excited the two felt. Apple Bloom looked forward to a new filly to play with, and Scootaloo was excited that Dash was having a kid. After a second of pondering, Apple Bloom perked up.

“Let’s go tell my sister!” Apple Bloom suddenly shouted, utterly ecstatic at the prospect of telling her sister, “She’s Twilight’s friend, she’ll wanna hear this!” the young filly said, rushing over to her two friends. With a nod the other two agreed, eager smiles stretching across their faces.

“Come on girls, let’s go ta the farm!” Apple Bloom ran out the clubhouse door, followed closely by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. As the three crusaders left view of their tree house, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Spike could be seen walking up to the fort.

“Apple Bloom?” the orange mare called up at the empty clubhouse. After she didn’t hear a reply, she climbed the ladder up the tree, calling her younger sister’s name once more as she did so. When she looked inside the clubhouse, and didn’t see any of the three fillies, she let out a small sigh. The mare tipped up her hat, and scratched her head with her hoof.

“Where the hay did those three get off to?” she pondered aloud to herself.

“Maybe they went to the farm?” Fluttershy said, floating behind the farmer.

“Couldn’t hurt ta go an’ have a gander...” the earth pony said, climbing down the ladder.

“I’m so dead if we don’t find those two,” Spike said, slumping over.

“Come on, now. Cheer up, sugarcube. It ain’t all that bad.” Applejack placed a hoof on the dragon’s shoulder. “I bet they just headed ta the farm for some refreshments.”

-----------------------------

At the farm, the three fillies, ran around looking for Applejack, to tell her the big news, but the farmer was nowhere to be found. They checked the apple orchard, the barn, behind the house, but they couldn’t find Applejack. Finally, as the three, wandered around the front of the house, they saw Big McIntosh talking to Cheerilee by the front gate. The three glanced at each other, deciding they might as well tell someone. With a cheerful nod from all three fillies, they eagerly ran up to the stallion and mare.

“Big Mac, Big Mac!” Apple Bloom called as she ran to her big brother. The frantic little fillies caught the two’s attention, putting an end to their conversation.

“Hello, girls,” their teacher said with a chipper smile, “I was just talking to Big Mac here about the weather. He says it’s been perfect for apple bucking.” She had a small laugh, thinking back on how pointless their conversation had been.

“Hello, Ms. Cheerilee!” the three fillies greeted their teacher, before turning to Big Mac.

“Big Mac, did ya hear Twilight’s having a foal?” Apple Bloom had an unusual excitement in her voice. Her brother didn’t share in that excitement however, as his eyes remained half closed. The towering stallion shook his head, giving her a ‘nope’ as he did so. Their teacher on the other hoof, flushed red with embarrassment, having heard the rumor.

“Well, she is! An’ did ya hear who the dad is?” she asked rhetorically, giving the stallion a sly smile.

“Eenope,” he replied, his eyes still half closed.

“I heard from a very reliable source that the daddy is Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie Belle continued the excitement of her friend. The two older ponies looked at each other, and couldn’t help but give a small laugh.

“Girls, I don’t know how to tell you this, but two mares can’t have a foal together.” The teacher chuckled in a slightly condescending manor at her students’ innocent view of the world. Even Big Mac had a small smirk on his face.

“We know that, but a unicorn can make it happen!” Sweetie Belle stomped her hoof at the two older ponies’ dismissive attitude.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle. Unicorn magic doesn’t work that way,” her teacher continued dismissing the little filly.

“It does so, I heard my mom talking about it!” Her remark stopped Cheerilee for a moment, as she thought about it. The teacher didn’t recall hearing about unicorn’s having that kind of spell before. After a moment she glanced at Big Mac.

“Have you heard of that before Big Mac?” she asked the stallion.

“Eenope,” he replied shaking his head slightly.

As soon as the stallion said that, a grey pegasus mare made a crash landing next to the two elder ponies. Cheerilee jumped back slightly, spooked by the accident, while Big Mac had no reaction at all.

“I just don’t know why that keeps happening...” she said, looking up at Big Mac with a walleyed gaze. Suddenly she snapped up, handing the stallion some mail.

“Big Mac, just the pony I was looking for!” the pegasus said happily.

“Are you alright, Ditzy?” the school teacher asked, glancing over the mare’s body to see if she was injured.

“Yeah, I’m used to it.”

“Hey Ditzy!” The young pegasus ran next to the mailmare, giving her a sly smile. “Did you hear, Twilight Sparkle is having a foal?” The bubbly mare gave her a nod.

“Of course, pretty much all of Ponyville knows that already,” she replied, with a bubbly laugh.

“Well, do ya know who the dad is?” Scootaloo could tell she piqued the grey mare’s interest. Ditzy leaned down to the younger pegasus’s level, lending her an ear.

“Let’s hear it,” she said eagerly awaiting the juicy gossip.

“We heard from a reliable source that the dad is Rainbow Dash!” The young filly said jumping up into the air, her wings buzzing as she did so.

“No way!” the mail pony said taking a step back in disbelief.

“Now, girls. It’s not good to start rumors!” Cheerilee scolded.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac agreed, his usually apathetic eyes narrowed, hinting his disapproval.

“It’s not a rumor, it’s true! Spike told me!” the young unicorn protested.

“Spike did?” The teacher was shocked to hear that Spike would say something like that. He wasn’t the kind to spread rumors, let alone one about his closest friend. Maybe what the three fillies were saying was the truth.

“So, did Twilight use that one spell?” Ditzy Doo asked.

“You know about the spell, Ditzy?” the small unicorn asked.

“I get around a lot, so I’ve heard about it.” The older pegasus raised her hoof to her chest in pride. She would have looked cool, if she didn’t lose her balance in the process. Ditzy tumbled over, landing on her side. The mare again question rhetorically why that kept happening to her as she did so.

“Well, I had best get going, I’ve got more mail to deliver,” she stated as she got back on all fours. With a small wave of her hoof, causing her to wobble a bit more, she slowly took off into the air. As she faded into the distance, the remaining ponies voiced their concerns for the clumsy mare.

“There ya are, Apple Bloom!” Applejack’s familiar voice called out from behind her. Her elder sister, and her three friends came walking up to the three fillies, and Big Mac.

“Howdy, Ms. Cheerilee,” Applejack said with a tip of her hat.

“Hello, Applejack,” the teacher returned the greeting with a warm smile. “I was just about to leave actually, I’ll see you around, Big Mac,” she said turning to walk away. Her eyes looked down at the small dragon next to the three mares, eliciting a small flash of red in her cheeks.

“A-And I will see you girls at school tomorrow,” she added before leaving the farm. As the group of ponies watched the teacher walk away, Spike tugged on Applejack’s tail slightly, reminding the farmer why they came.

“Oh, yeah!” Apple Bloom suddenly spoke up before her sister could say anything. “Applejack, you’ll never guess what I heard!” the little filly said with glee. Her elder sister shook her head, dampening her spirit.

“About what you heard today, Apple Bloom. An’ this goes fer all of ya,” the farmer said turning her attention to the other two fillies as well. “Don’t go tellin’ nopony about Twilight, alright?” The crusaders looked at Applejack with a puzzled look.

“Why not?” Scootaloo was the first to ask.

“Yeah, a foal’s a good thing isn’t it?” Sweetie Belle added.

“A foal’s a good thing, that’s true, but Twilight doesn’t want anypony knowin’ about who the father is, okay?”

“Why?” Pinkie suddenly asked, eliciting a glare from Applejack.

“Don’t matter, just don’t go tellin’ anypony,” she said, returning her attention back to the fillies.

“Please, Apple Bloom don’t tell anypony!” Spike pleased with her.

“That might be a tiny bit of a problem.” The stallion took a step toward’s the elder of the two sisters. “They already told Cheerilee, an’ Ditzy Doo, along with myself.” There was a long pause from everyone.

“Uh-oh...”

-----------------------------

The sun was setting in the sky, casting a deep red glow over Ponyville. The door to the Golden Oaks Library opened slowly, revealing an exhausted Twilight Sparkle being guided in by a crestfallen Rainbow Dash. The unicorn’s head hung low, her cheeks still soaked from tears.

The pegasus next to her had a deep sadness in her eyes after walking her marefriend home. It hurt Dash to see Twilight like this, but what hurt her more was her inability to do anything about it. She was the kind of mare who couldn’t just sit around and let Twilight feel better on her own, she wanted to do something for her. When she had asked Twilight at Rarity’s if there was anything she could do, Twilight only shook her head. She looked over at the depressed unicorn, seeing her tumble over into a bookshelf. Unable to even pick herself up, she just lay there.

“Twilight, let’s get you something to eat,” the pegasus said, trying to brighten the mood a bit as she walked to the kitchen, “I feel kinda bad since we missed our lunch date today.”

“I’m fine, I just want to go to bed,” the librarian muttered, slowly sliding along the bookcases. Sluggishly she made her way towards the stairway, fighting the urge to just fall down right there. Her day had taken its toll, and all Twilight could think to do to remedy the situation was go to sleep.

“Come on, Twilight you have to eat something...” Dash protested, as she watched her marefriend struggle to the stairs. The sight made her feel even worse than when she walked her home.

Twilight remained silent, refusing to answer Rainbow Dash. As she took her first step onto the stairs, she weakly fell into the wall again. With a sigh, her pegasus lover went to her side, helping her up the stairs.

“I just want to go to sleep, maybe when I wake up, today will have just been a dream...” Twilight’s eyes weighed heavy, her voice told of a broken spirit. Rainbow Dash stayed close to her, knowing that life hit the unicorn hard today, and all the stress she was under couldn’t have been good for the foal either.

“Don’t worry Twilight, I’m sure Spike and the others got to Sweetie Belle before she told anypony.” She was still trying to remain positive for Twilight’s sake. Her lover turned her head away, too absorbed in her pessimism to cheer up.

“After today, I just want to go to sleep...” she replied, rubbing the cheek on Rainbow Dash’s. The pegasus returned her lover’s affection, silently agreeing with her, as she walked her to her bed. This defeatist attitude of her’s was pulling on Dash’s heart strings hard.

Twilight plopped down into the mattress, burying herself under the sheets. With out even thinking about it, she turned her back to Rainbow Dash, which seemed like a hint to the pegasus to leave. With a heavy heart and a sigh, the athlete turned to leave, but was stopped by a tug on her tail. When she turned her head, she saw a magenta aura around her tail. She followed the line of magic from her tail to Twilight, who’s horn was glowing the same color.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Twilight asked, her voice was shaking slightly.

Rainbow Dash stared at the librarian, who was peaking over her shoulder as she lay on the bed. She couldn’t help but be a little confused at the conflicting signals the unicorn was sending her way. Did she want her to stay or not?

“Didn’t you want to be alone?” she asked to be sure.

“No, I want you right here...don’t think you can leave me alone tonight...” She took her eyes off Dash, burying them deep in the corner of the room as her cheeks glowed with a tinge of red. She realized it had to be hard to understand where she was coming from, but Twilight wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted either. She just knew that the thought of being alone was too much, and the only thing that made her feel better was being next to Rainbow Dash.

What she said didn’t sound fair to the pegasus. Rainbow Dash had always been there for Twilight, even before they started dating, and now Twilight made it sound like she was abandoning her. With a small shake of her head, she pushed those kind of thoughts out of her mind. She knew that Twilight had a rough day, and probably didn’t mean it that way.

“Well, when you put it like that...” She walked back to the bed, crawling under the sheets with Twilight.

A small content smile spread across the unicorn’s face as she curled up next to Rainbow Dash. Her body heat was just the remedy she needed right now. She didn’t notice it when she was confronted by her friends, or when she was crying her eyes out at Rarity’s, or even on the way home. But it was when Dash was about to leave that it really hit her, Twilight felt her heart sink with a sense of complete loneliness. It was Rainbow Dash being there, next to her that made things seem like they would be alright. It didn’t matter who found out, or how ponies treated her, things would be just fine as long as she had her marefriend there by her side. Seeing that smile grow on Twilight’s face put the pegasus’s heart at ease.

“Don’t think I wanted to have sex tonight, or anything like that. I just really needed you here with me.” Twilight’s eyes drifted shut to the symphony of her lover’s heartbeat.

“That’s fine, I just really wanted to be here with you,” Rainbow Dash replied contently.

She had been stressing over what she could do; it felt like she was watching Twilight from a distance, unable to help at all. When the librarian tried to handle things on her own, they only seemed to get worse, quickly snowballing out of control. In the end, she just buried herself in her tears, expecting Dash to be there for her. It was an unfair expectation, but she didn’t mind that. What hurt the pegasus more, was her own inability to do anything to fix this whole mess.

Even when Rainbow Dash tried to be supportive at Rarity’s, it was too passive for the head-strong pony. Rainbow Dash felt down right useless. She didn’t want to just be there for Twilight, she wanted to take care of her problems. But just now when she saw that content smile on Twilight’s face as the lavender beauty was drifting off to sleep, she knew that’s what she had to do. She just needed to be there for her, to be that pillar of support. She had to be the strong foundation that Twilight built herself upon, at least until Twilight finished dealing with this. Though she wasn’t happy about it, she knew she had to accept it.

She wrapped a foreleg around her marefriend. The two were tired from their emotional roller coaster of a day, and they found a sense of peace in each other’s embrace. As the sun set in the sky, both ponies surrendered to sleep’s sweet embrace, unaware what the future would hold.

Author's Notes:

This chapter's done, though I'm not too sure about it. I'm personally in a good place with the chapter, but my hang up is I feel like I might be imposing on the characters too much, especially towards the end. I also considered splitting this into two chapters, but decided against it, since I have plans for the next chapter.

Also things are getting serious now too.

If you have not read the previous chapters after 1/18/2014, there have been extensive rewrites. I would recommend rereading.