Rainbow Dash flew through the sky, the wind whipping through her mane. As directed, she’d gone along the path Twilight had given her asking everypony if they’d seen their missing friend. Applejack hadn’t been seen or heard from by anyone since last night, and with the sun almost setting, it’d been almost twenty-four hours.

“Damn it…” Rainbow put on a fresh burst of speed. She was now on her way back to Sweet Apple Acres. She hoped one of the other girls had better news.

As she got closer, Rainbow noticed one of her friends was on the property already—Fluttershy by the looks of it. Coloration aside, she was the only one who wore halter top sweaters. Rainbow adjusted her angle and came to land a few feet behind her, landing softly despite her speed. She fixed her windswept mane as she closed the distance to her friend.

“Hey Fluttershy, you find anything?” she asked.

Fluttershy didn't answer. She was staring over at the Apple family house while twiddling her thumbs.

Rainbow poked her friend on the shoulder. “Fluttershy? Hellooooooo?”

Fluttershy shrieked. She whirled around in a yellow blur and SLAPPED Rainbow across the face.

“OW!” Rainbow staggered backwards. “Fluttershy! Jeez, hold your fire, girl!”

Fluttershy’s hands flew up over her mouth. “Rainbow! Ohmygosh, I didn’t—”

“Eh, it’s alright.” Rainbow rubbed her sore cheek. “You hit like a girl, anyways.”

“Oh… um, r-right.” Fluttershy stopped as she registered Rainbow’s question. “No, I haven’t found anything yet. My animals haven’t, either.”

Rainbow sighed. “Great...”

The two of them cast glances back towards the house. They’d known Applejack was going to be alone working on harvesting the fields by herself, and so they'd all planned to surprise her by helping out. But when they’d all arrived early that morning, the homestead was like a ghost town.

Rainbow sucked on her teeth. It wasn’t like they were was any real reason to think Applejack was missing, but in all the years they’d known Applejack, she’d never once failed to tend to her fields during a harvest, not even when adventure came calling. Rainbow had never even seen her go anywhere without her hat! They’d found it still hanging on a hook by the door this morning.

“Why IS the front door open?” Rainbow asked. “Was it like that when you got here?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I was just trying to remember who was the last one out.”

Rainbow knew the answer to that, at least. “I was, but I made sure the door was closed because I know the latch is sticky.”

Fluttershy tapped her chin. “But then why would it be open now?”

Rainbow squinted at the darkened entrance. She was sure she’d made a point to close it! It shouldn’t be open now—

Applejack’s hat was gone.

“Stay here!” Rainbow rushed into the house. All was quiet and still, not a sight or sound at all. Nothing was disturbed that she could tell, but that didn’t mean…

Rainbow decided to take the risk. “YO, AJ! YOU HERE?!”

Creeeeak! A floorboard above her squeaked.

Rainbow zipped to the stairs in a flash. She flew up them in less than a second, and caught sight of movement rounding the corner at the end of the hall. She took off in hot pursuit, rounding the corner to see...

Rainbow skidded to a halt. A beautifully toned ass greeted her, partially hidden by a silky blonde tail. Wide, foalbearing hips and thighs branched off from them, thickly muscled in the best way. The pony spun around to face Rainbow, but all that did was show off her glorious front. The pony’s hand covered the plump lips of her marehood, but that did nothing to conceal her flat, smooth stomach, her steely abs just visible. Her other arm was wrapped around her fantastic, perky breasts, so large and full, they might give Fluttershy a run for her money! Her face had a teardrop-shape, her bright, emerald eyes deep and alluring. Her smooth, supple skin had a healthy sheen to it, and her whole body gave off a noticeable warmth that washed over Rainbow like a wave.

Rainbow stared. The heat alone coming off the mare made Rainbow’s heart pound, her hormones not so much stirring as roaring. She dimly registered a voice shouting at her from a great distance, but she only had eyes for those magnificently huge tits. The voice may have been starting to get angry or impatient, but Rainbow wasn’t sure. She barely even registered when the fist landed against her jaw—all she knew was that she was falling, the world growing dark...

Twilight Sparkle kneeled beside the fallen Rainbow. She was still out cold, but this healing spell would undo any minor damage she may have suffered. It’d already mended the bruise on the side of her face.

“—I followed after when I heard Rainbow call out Applejack’s name,” said Fluttershy. “There was a thump and a door slam upstairs, and when I came up here, Rainbow was slumped against the wall like this…”

Twilight was only half-listening. Even in the throes of her dirt nap, Rainbow still wore a goofy smile like she’d just seen the promised land. It was true Applejack and Rainbow didn’t get along the best at times, but they hadn’t come to blows for years! Twilight wasn’t sure what baffled her more—what Rainbow did to push Applejack over the edge, or her own personal lack of foresight to have someone stay back at the farm.

Twilight looked to the end of the hall. Pinkie and Rarity were speaking to the now-found Applejack through her bedroom door... well, not really speaking, more like yelling. They’d all arrived only a few minutes ago, and of all the things Twilight had expected to find upon returning, this definitely wasn’t one of them.

“No, she’s busy right now,” Rarity snapped. “...What do you mean, 'what’s she doing?!' She’s making sure you didn’t give Rainbow a concussion, you oaf! What in the world’s gotten into you?!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said. “Why’re you being a big meanie-jerk all of a sudden?! Come out and tell Twilight yourself if you’ve got something to say!”

Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose. It’d already been a stressful day, and now it was promising be a stressful night. Times like this made her wish she was still a loner.

Twilight made sure Fluttershy saw to Rainbow, then got up and went over to the door.

“I’m here, Applejack.”

A pause.

“...Rainbow alright?” came Applejack’s muffled voice.

Twilight sighed. “She’ll probably have a headache when she wakes up, but yes. You’re lucky you didn’t break her jaw.”

“Why’d you hit her in the first place?!” said Rarity. “I know that she can be crass, but that’s no excuse—”

They all jumped from the WHAM of the floorboards rattling.

“It’s complicated, alright?!” There was a sound of things being shuffled about inside. “Just… ergh, Twilight, I need ya to come in here, okay?! ONLY you! Nopony else!”

Twilight exchanged a look with the girls. Predictably they were cross, but they turned and walked off down the hall, going over by Fluttershy.

“Go ahead then, darling,” Rarity's voice was like acid. “Have your little chit-chat with Twilight! I’ll just be back here, figuring how the best way to tell your family about this. I’m sure they’ll LOVE to hear about how you socked out one of your friends after they discovered you skipped your chores to play hooky.”

“I’ll say!” Pinkie put her hands on her hips. “What the heck, Applejack? You go off somewhere and don’t invite us?! We could’ve had a party!”

Silence. Not a sound from beyond the door, not a retort, not a rustle, nothing. They all knew Applejack tended to have a hot head, but apparently, she wasn’t rising to the bait this time.

Twilight sighed. She cleared her throat and put her hand on the knob. “Okay Applejack. I’m coming in.”

There was the sound of a latch being undone. Twilight looked back to her assembled friends a moment, then slipped in and closed the door behind her.

Clothes were strewn everywhere. The floor, the dresser, the hat rack, the nightstand, the bedposts, all over the place. Mostly it was undergarments, but Twilight supposed her own room got in a similar state from time to time, so she dismissed it. Applejack was sitting on her bed in one of her usual outfits, as normal as Twilight had ever seen her.

Twilight studied Applejack. “You okay?”

Applejack stared out the window. “More or less.”

Silence again. Applejack was still as a statue, barely even blinking. Twilight shuffled back and forth on her hooves, but her discomfort did nothing to prompt a further response.

“Applejack.” Twilight crossed her arms. “I’ve spent all day running and teleporting around the Canterhorn Valley looking for you, half worried you were kidnapped, injured, or worse. I’m tired, dirty, frustrated, and the only thing I wanna do right now is go home, shower, and finish reading Daring Doo and the Magical Monster Menagerie. Please tell me why you wanted to talk alone.”

“Because the others ain’t genius students of Princess Celestia with more cleverness than a den of foxes.” Applejack met Twilight's eyes. “No offense to the others, but this is a little over their heads. I figure the best one to hear all of this first is you.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to be silent. She blinked several times, the gears in her head turning. Thoughts of her Applejack's past tendencies, her personality under stress, her reactions to significant events. All of that and more, Twilight processed in just a few scant seconds.

“...You were kidnapped, weren’t you?”

Applejack shrugged. “They did bring me somewhere, but I was free to leave any time I liked. Was my own dang fault for goin’ out there, anyways...”

“‘They’? Wait, wait, wait.” Twilight held up a hand. “Let's start from the beginning. Did they take you last night, or early this morning?”

Something seemed to click for Applejack. “Ya’ll have been sayin’ all day… Was I really only gone just a single day?”

Twilight frowned. “Not even twenty-four hours. Why? Did it seem like longer to you?”

Applejack’s eyes unfocused. “Coulda swore it was a few months...”

Twilight was starting to see why Applejack had insisted on this. Questions hung between them, igniting Twilight’s familiar, insatiable desire to know. Her curiosity was drawn like a moth to a flame, and with it, her attention and focus resurged.

“Context, please.” Twilight snapped her fingers, a parchment and quill appearing in her magic. She brought over the desk chair to sit face to face with Applejack. “Tell me everything you remember, best as you can. The more details, the better.”

Applejack smirked. “Told ya you’d be best for this.”

And so Applejack told her. She told her about the dreams she’d been having, the light in the fields late last night, and how she’d gone chasing after it like a damn fool. She told Twilight about the starry grove, the otherworldly feeling of the place, and the meeting with the stars themselves. She tried to be as thorough as she could with her explanations, but predictably, Twilight stopped her several times, picking Applejack’s brain for every possible detail.

“Applejack...” Twilight said after she'd finished. She looked up from her notes, her eyes wide. “I think I know what this is! I’ve heard of it before!”

Applejack laughed. “Forgive me if I’m not surprised.”

Twilight stood up to start pacing back and forth. “So THIS is why you came to the library last night asking about dreams! You trying to figure out what the recurring one meant!”

Applejack nodded. “I didn’t wanna make a big hullabaloo about it. The book you gave me is on my nightstand, if you want it.”

Twilight snatched the book and began flying through the pages. “I remember you said something about stars... In dreams stars represent destiny, but a pony’s destiny is unique to them, so that doesn’t really say much. Pfft, yeah, even in here, it’s just a single word entry. Not exactly helpful.”

Applejack snorted. “Nope.”

Twilight checked a few more entries before setting it down. “Ugh... I wish you'd told me more about what you were researching! I did tell you this book wasn’t the best one to reference, but you left in such a hurry I didn’t get the chance to suggest anything else! If you had just—”

Applejack cut her off with a flat look. “I didn’t want to spend all night lookin’ through volume after volume of hokey-pokey hooplah, Twilight. I wanted a quick somethin’ to glance through, nothing more. You came back with a three foot stack.”

Twilight threw up her hands. “Because you were vague! You asked me for ‘some books on dreams’, and when I tried to get you to clarify, you clammed up on me! If I came to your food stand and asked you for ‘some apples to cook something’, you’d want me to be more specific, wouldn’t you? What kind of dish I’m making? What I’m serving with it? How many ponies I’m serving? My experience cooking said dish? You wouldn't just toss a bunch of random apples at me and wish me luck! You'd grill me for more info!”

Applejack… hadn’t really thought of it like that. “I-I—”

"Oh, look at Twilight Sparkle, getting all nerdy and obsessed about books again! I'd better make up some excuse to leave before this awkward cringe-fest gets any worse! Twilight glared at her. "You gave me vague parameters, so I tried to cover my bases. You shouldn’t have withheld information if you wanted narrower search results, and if you keep pigeonholing me like this, I may not be inclined to help you at all!"

Applejack's ears drooped. "I'm... I'm sorry, Twilight."

Twilight crossed her arms. "Princess Celestia has a saying: 'Good info in, good info out'. The better and more clearly you communicate your intentions, the better others can help you. Assumptions about me aside, you need to stop being so afraid of making mistakes. I get you were embarrassed, but that embarrassment prevented you from telling me more about your situation."

Applejack bowed her head. "I reckon that caused more problems than it solved, didn't it?"

"I'll say." Twilight's voice gradually lost its edge. "Now, tell me more about this grove. What did it feel like while you were there?”

Applejack felt her face grow hot. “It was… special. Really dream-like and hazy, if that makes sense. It was magic, definitely, and while I was there…” She stroked a hand across her stomach. “Everything felt right.”

Twilight noticed the subtle movement. “Were you pregnant while you were there?”

Applejack jolted like she’d been shocked. “Yes! Man… you really do know what this is, don’t you?”

Twilight scratched her chin. “I’ll need to run a few tests to be sure, do some supplementary research, but if the new star I saw last night is any indication… But either way, if my hypothesis is correct, then you have nothing to worry about... For the most part, anyways.”

Applejack hesitated. “The most part?”

Twilight looked Applejack over—properly looked her over. Her tall friend was fairer, her mane full and shiny. Her skin was smooth and supple, her hips wide and strong, and her breasts were larger and perkier. Even her muscular legs were now like a model’s, and to put it plainly, it was like every feminine aspect of her had been dialed up to eleven!

“You hit Rainbow because she was ogling you.” Twilight gestured to Applejack’s body, particularly her chest. “Should've figured, I've caught her doing that sometimes—well, not to me, but…”

Applejack snorted. “Called her name over and over, but she just kept on starin’. Didn’t help none that I was stressed from waking up naked out in the middle of the east field, so I wasn’t exactly in the mood... Still though, I shouldn’t have let my temper get the better of me.”

Twilight cocked her head. “They brought you back naked? Why?”

Applejack shrugged. “I outgrew my clothes.”

Twilight repeated those words to herself. “Outgrew your clothes how, exactly?”

Applejack chuckled as she remembered how big she had gotten, how grand she had become. “How do you think?”

Twilight stared at her a few seconds.

“...We might need to limit your contact with others for a while,” she said at last. “At least until we’ve confirmed my suspicions.”

Applejack picked a speck of lint off her shirt. “Eeyup.”

“Oh, come on, that's impossible,” Rainbow said. “You’re saying the stars took AJ? Just so they could knock her up somehow?!”

“Look, I know how far-fetched it sounds, but there’s been reports of this in the past,” Twilight said. “Applejack’s recount matches up to a T.”

Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy had assembled around the Apple family's dining room table. Applejack and Pinkie were in the kitchen, preparing a 'welcome back' cake that Pinkie insisted on. They knew better than to argue with her.

“What did you mean by, ‘special seeds’?” Rarity asked. “Were these baby stars that took her?”

Twilight adjusted herself in her chair. “According to the entries I’ve read, they’re more like souls. Souls of future stars, waiting to be brought into the world.”

“Oh, my…” said Fluttershy.

Twilight looked to the kitchen. “That sound right, Applejack?”

Applejack poked her head out. “They, uh… weren’t real clear on that part. They just said they’d been searchin’ a long time for somepony like me.”

Rarity needed a moment to get her head around that. “...I’ll admit I’m not well-versed in the life cycles of stars, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard of something like this! Are you sure these things were actually stars? What if they were something else altogether?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “I’m the Element of Honesty, Rares. You think I can't tell when someone’s tryin’ to pull a fast one on me?”

Rarity had to give her that one. “Okay, so they were stars. Did they say why they chose you?”

Applejack shook her head. “It was hard for 'em to use words. They kept using ideas and emotions to talk, and even then, there were some things they just couldn’t get across. Was hard enough for them to say what they wanted.”

Twilight nodded. “Souls tend to have trouble with constructed speech. They just don’t quite grasp the idea of communicating like that.”

“TELL me about it!” Pinkie called. “You try to ask them a simple thing like, ‘where’s the sugar’, and they act like you want them to explain differential calculus! Jeez!”

Silence.

“Pinkie’s talked to souls before?” Fluttershy whispered.

“She knows what differential calculus is?!” said Twilight.

But Rainbow wasn’t interested in any of that. “Stars, star-souls, whatever! it doesn’t change how nuts this is! Heck, the only thing more nuts is that if it’s true, Applejack AGREED to all of it! Why in the world would you want to bog yourself down with getting pregnant?! Being pregnant sucks!”

Applejack’s laugh floated out from the kitchen. “I wouldn’t say that...”

Twilight felt her frustration mounting. “Rainbow, you barely even know what she agreed to in the first place! If you’d just let me finish instead of interrupting me every five seconds...”

Rainbow leaned back in her chair. “I only stopped you when you started to use big words nopony understands. Not everyone here’s a magical unicorn prodigy, ya know.”

“Actually Twilight, could you please start over?” Fluttershy asked. “I didn’t quite understand the part where the stars made Applejack a stallion.”

Twilight groaned. “That's not what 'transcendent' means—ugh, nevermind. From the beginning it is, then...”

She snapped her fingers, and a large open tome appeared on the table. The pages had occasional pictures of stars and mares, as well as a few illustrations of pregnancy.

“According to legend, every once in a while, the stars need to pick a female—a surrogate—to carry special kinds of stars inside her,” said Twilight. “The reason for this isn’t fully understood, but apparently, a new generation of stars can’t be created otherwise. Once chosen, the surrogate is blessed with powers and gifts, some lasting only the extent of the pregnancy, others lasting for the rest of the mare’s life. The powers and gifts are meant to allow the star to grow, but in the event of an emergency, the surrogate can also use them to make others ‘like’ she is. Examples of these gifts and powers include: Youthful appearance, increased health, vigor, and stamina, drastically increased fertility, and most notably, the ability to use Life magic.”

Applejack’s voice was smug. “Still think I got a raw deal, Rainbow?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m still not convinced you didn’t just dream all this up! Why don’t you prove to me that any of this other stuff is true, huh? Come out and cast some Life magic or whatever!”

Twilight quickly looked up from the book. “You don’t want her to do that.”

Rainbow regarded her. “And why not?!”

“Because Life magic is some of the strongest magic in existence! If Applejack doesn't know how to control it...” Twilight thought how best to explain it. “Imagine that you’ve never sneezed before in your life. Suddenly, your nose gets itchy, but you have no idea what it means, and by the you realize what’s happening, you've now gotten germs everywhere because you didn't know to cover your mouth or cough into your sleeve.”

There was a long, heavy pause.

“And what would getting Life magic everywhere do?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight twiddled her thumbs. “Well, the book does say she can make others ‘like’ her…”

Rarity perked up. “She could make all of us youthful and healthy?”

Twilight winced. “I thiiiiiiiiink it means more she can turn others into fellow surrogates. Become pregnant with stars, and all that. Everything else is a side-effect.”

The potential power that Applejack now wielded now started to sink in with the group. Well, most of the group, anyways; a certain skeptical somepony was still obstinately shaking her head.

“Hey!” Applejack called. “Ya’ll hungry for somethin’ beside cake? I got some eggs here in the fridge from last night’s dinner!”

“NothankyouIhaveplenty!” Fluttershy yelled out in a burst.

Everypony stared.

Fluttershy meeped and shrank down in her seat, hiding behind her pink bangs. “I-I mean… I’m not very hungry, thanks…”

Rarity leaned in to whisper to Twilight. “It almost sounds like you’re saying we’re running a risk being around her right now. But we can’t just quarantine and abandon her out on the farm—we have to help her somehow! What can we do?”

Twilight ran a hand down her face. “She needs to learn to control her powers, but I’ve no idea how to help her do that. I’m only operating off what I remember reading in this book here during my research on Nightmare Moon, but I don't know how accurate these entries are... they make it sound like a star surrogate was some kind of demigoddess! About the only other thing in here is that the last known account of a surrogate was before Princess Luna’s banishment.”

Rarity chewed on her lip. “I imagine there’s a bit of a backlog now, depending on how frequently a star surrogate was chosen...”

Twilight hadn’t thought of that. “Oh, jeez… Okay, I’ll write a letter to the Princesses tonight. Princess Luna’s gonna know the most about this, but I’ll send word to both of them, just in case. We’ll just have to play it safe until then.”

“Twilight...” Fluttershy scooted closer. “Didn’t you say that the six of us have a magical connection to each other because of the Elements? If the connection really IS magical, does that mean what affects one of us magically could…”

Twilight’s eyes shifted back and forth. “It might mean we’re more vulnerable to her, yes. But there’s not really anything we can do about that. The best we can do is limit our interactions with Applejack until we know more.”

Rainbow could only roll her eyes. "This is stupid." She pulled back her chair and walked out of the dining room, the outside door slamming a moment later.

The remaining girls exchanged a dark look. “Oh, for the love of…” Rarity scoffed and slumped in her chair. “Damn it all, Rainbow Dash… She wasn’t really serious about not believing all this, was she?”

Fluttershy stared out the window. She watched as a prismatic streak took off at near supersonic speed, zooming up towards the puffy clouds. “...No, she believes. She was just mad about something.”

Twilight looked to Fluttershy. Out of all the six of them, she knew Rainbow best. “Any idea what?”

Fluttershy sighed. “Yes, but I promised I wouldn't say. I think she’ll tell you if you ask, though. You should talk with her about it the next time you see her. Both of you.”

Rarity’s face was sullen. “I can hardly wait.”

Applejack sat on her bed, still thinking about what the day had brought. The girls had stayed for the dinner despite the potential danger, expressing their support as she worked her way through this. Applejack appreciated all of it, really, she had, but her thoughts had kept drifting to the absent member of their group. Rainbow had gone off without so much as a peep or a goodbye, and the others hadn’t said much about it save for that she wanted to be alone.

Applejack stared at the mess of undergarments strewn around. None of her underwear fit her anymore, simply unable to contain her foalbearing hips and thick rear. Same went for her bras—she guessed she’d gone up at least three sizes! The only bra and panties that even came close was a frilly red number that went with some pajamas Rarity made her years back, and that was only because they were made of a stretchy fabric. Applejack had resigned to going commando until she could get refitted, but she had a feeling she should hold off on that, as her measurements may very well yet, uh… fluctuate.

She was starting to miss the simplicity of the grove. All her needs had been catered to there—she hadn’t a worry or care. All she’d had to do was be, and her body had taken care of the rest, becoming so much more than she’d ever thought. She couldn’t wait to experience it again, but when exactly that would be...

Applejack began stripping off her clothes. There wasn’t much point in dwelling on things like that now, and a good night’s sleep in her bed would do her good. Her thoughts wandered while she changed, glancing out the window out into the yard—

A blue blur zipped behind the barn.

Applejack grit her teeth. She went to the window and threw it open. “RAINBOW DASH! QUIT YER DAMN PEEPIN’!”

A pause, but then…

“Who is dis Dosh you speak of?” said a stilted voice on the wind. “I am—”

“That accent is terrible and you should feel terrible!” Applejack scrambled to get her shirt back on. “Enough! Enough already, okay?! Just… get your skinny blue ass up here and TALK to me, or I’m gonna come out there and knock you out cold again!”

A few seconds later, Rainbow showed herself. She fluttered up to Applejack’s window, and with a quick gesture Applejack motioned her to come in.

Rainbow was the first to speak. “Hey.”

Applejack glared daggers at her. “‘Hey’? That's all you’ve got to say for yourself?”

Rainbow swished her tail. “Fine. I'm sorry for staring at your rack.”

But Applejack still wasn’t satisfied. “And?”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “If you think you’re getting more after punching me, you can go fuck yourself.”

Applejack relented. “I... didn’t mean to do that. I just meant to get your attention, is all.”

Rainbow snorted. “Little tip for next time? A tap on the shoulder works just as well.”

An awkward silence fell between them, neither one knowing what to say. Applejack played with a stray thread on her bedspread, Rainbow trying not to stare at the underwear all over.

“You, uh...” Rainbow finally met her eyes. “You look good.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Is that why you keep tryin’ to sneak peaks on me? I hadn’t gathered that!”

"Come on, Applejack!” Rainbow voice went soft. “Are you seriously going to pretend what did three days ago didn't happen?”

Applejack's face felt hot. “I... I don't know what you're talking about.”

Rainbow snarled, SLAMMING her fist against the wall. “Element of Honesty, my ass! Now I know why you really don’t bother to lie—you suck at it!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack felt her face growing hot. “Things got out of hand! I know I said some things, but I—”

She was cut off by Rainbow pouncing on her. Their lips met like magnets, Rainbow wrapping her arms around Applejack’s waist. Applejack moaned and ran a hand up Rainbow’s back, making her wings pop open and free, Applejack leaning full into the kiss. They began grinding on each other, Rainbow snaking her hands up Applejack’s shirt to fondle her immense tits, all the while Applejack mashing her stomach against Rainbow’s feeling the warmth of their bodies together—

“Nnnnngh!” Applejack tore herself away. “NO! No, no, no… I’m sorry… I can’t… n-no…”

Rainbow stared into Applejack’s eyes, her own watery and lost.

“Rainbow Dash.” Applejack loudly cleared her throat. “I-I know I said some things... DID some things... but the bottom line is that I’m an Apple mare, and Apple mares grow up to become Apple moms. The ones that don’t are no better than dirt, so while you’re a good friend, I…”

Rainbow barely heard anything else. The world faded to grey around her, washed out and faded. A knife twisted its way into her chest, stabbing deeper with every mention of the word ‘friend’.

“...just wouldn’t work.” Applejack let go and stepped away. “You understand, don’t you?”

The walls were closing in around Rainbow. The ceiling was too low, and there was too much brown where there should’ve been blue. This whole room reeked of Applejack, and it was threatening to make her sick. Gravity taunted Rainbow as it weighed her down, it's laughter echoing in her ears.

“You should go,” Applejack said. “Twilight’s worried I may infect the rest of ya somehow. I know said you don’t wanna ever have foals—”

ZOOM!

The force of Rainbow’s departure pulled Applejack forward. She had to catch herself from bashing her head against the wall, a small tornado of undergarments flying around her room.

Applejack looked out the window in time to see Rainbow’s multicolored streak vanish into the horizon.

“I shoulda let her punch me back…”

That Night-

Rainbow squirmed in bed. She’d been trying to go to sleep for a while now, but her mind and feelings were a whirlwind. Stabbing pain of heartbreak aside, something else was amiss that she couldn’t place. She tossed and turned in her sheets, trying to bury the angst, but it just left her muddled and lost.

She finally threw off the covers and got up, chucking a pillow across the room.

“Bitch…” Rainbow slammed a fist on the bed. “BITCH!”

Three days ago, Applejack was supposed to meet Rainbow so they could have a day together to hang out. Applejack hadn’t shown. Rainbow had gone looking for her, eventually finding her in a grove of apple and pear trees.

Neither of them had remembered what day it was when scheduling.

It’d taken some time for Applejack to open up, but she had. Things had been said, emotions had been laid bare. The heat of the moment ignited a flame long hidden, and the night had been one of passion. Rainbow had thought it was going to be the start of something amazing, something that potentially would last for a long time…

Three days later, it was over.

The world could burn for all Rainbow cared. She would watch it burn. She’d dared open her heart only to be led along like a kite on a string. Fuck everything and everyone. Fuck it all straight to Tartarus.

A loud stomach growl snapped Rainbow out of brooding. Cursing, she put on some fresh clothes from a basket she hadn’t gotten around to folding—a plain pair of panties, some old jeans with holes in them, an oversized shirt from her parents. She didn’t have the assets to merit a bra. She only owned one or two anyways, and about the only time she bothered was on cold days when she might… draw attention to herself.

Rainbow went to her kitchen and opened the fridge. She’d just gotten paid and gone grocery shopping, so there was plenty to choose from. Normally she’d just grab a granola bar and wash it down with milk, But she felt rather picky right now…

Rainbow started grabbing select things that looked appealing. She placed it all on the table in a small pile, but the goodies before her didn’t quite feel like enough. So she next turned to her cupboards, also filled with many kinds of treats, emptying them as she saw fit. When she finally finished pillaging her stockpiles, she had more in her grasp than she did when she'd raided the fridge! With no small feat of balance she managed to make her way back to the table without dropping a thing, dumping it all out in an impressive-sized feast.

Rainbow hesitated upon seeing the spread. Was she crazy?! How in the world was she going to eat all this? This was more than she typically had in a week! She was about to start putting things back when a sharp hunger pang lanced through her gut, so strong that she nearly doubled over. She didn't feel hungry, she didn’t even feel starving—it was like a bottomless pit had formed where her stomach was!

Rainbow started stuffing her face without another word, obeying the voracious need. Bags of snacks were ripped open, their contents poured down her throat. Leftovers from nights previous were sucked down, their tastes barely even registering. An assortment of heavily-laden sandwiches were hastily made and devoured. Cartons of juices and milk were swigged from in rapid succession until they were empty. It wasn’t long before Rainbow felt the weight of it all building up, pushing her gut out more and more, the food sloshing within her ravenous stomach.

The full feeling she sought finally did approach... after plowing through half the food she’d laid out. It had to have been enough to feed a family of five for a whole day! Rainbow fell back into a waiting chair, a sloppy belch signaling her satisfaction.

“Holy cow… Can’t even remember the last time I binged this hard! Think the last time I even came close was at Twilight’s brother’s wedding!”

Rainbow lifted her shirt and felt her overstuffed stomach, the contents shifting around with barely any room left inside. The combined weight of five different sandwiches, tons of assorted snacks, four separate cartons of fast food leftovers, and three different jugs of drink were packed in there.

“Jeez…” She let her shirt fall back over her gut, idly scratching herself. “Gonna have to work hard tomorrow to—”

She stopped when she noticed something odd. There were two small wet spots around her nipples, and while it was possible they were from spilling something, their exact positions hinted at something else. Gingerly, Rainbow pressed her fingers to one, then shuddered as a sensation fired through her, the spot suddenly feeling damper...

Rainbow got up and left the kitchen, absently grabbing a powdered doughnut along the way. She went to the bathroom and flipped on the light, shucking off her shirt and staring at herself in the mirror. Her reflection stared back, her distended food belly giving her an impressive muffin top.

She turned from side to side to examine her profile. Her breasts (if they could even be called that) were the same as always, flat and unassuming. She’d been mistaken for an effeminate stallion on more than one occasion, and she’d long accepted that she’d never look like a real mare. Yet for some reason now, as she turned from side to side, her breasts somehow seemed a little bigger? Maybe? Possibly? It was likely just wishful thinking on her part, but yet she couldn’t shake the thought. She’d always had fantasies, and in her younger days she’d even drawn doodles of herself, sketching out what she thought she’d look like with nice, fat tits...

Without thinking she ran her fingers along both nipples this time, and her legs nearly buckled from the titillating feeling within.

Rainbow gasped. She’d never known herself to be so sensitive, but she wasn’t about to question it! Slowly, she cupped her hands around her flat chest, rubbing her nipples with care. A quiet moan escaped her as imagined all kinds of scenarios, and her body could only shudder in response, a strange heat flowing through her. Pressure built in her chest as she groped herself, and slowly but surely she started pinching her nipples, actually feeling them leak.

Rainbow lost herself to it. She started massaging her breasts outright, playing with them as the pressure pushed them tighter against her palms. With every leak they felt a little firmer... a little greater… but her mind was such a mess that she barely noticed, her eyes falling closed as she chased the high.

Without warning, her nipples squirted, and her breasts filled out into her palms a second later. Rainbow’s eyes shot open to witness her boobs squish into her hands proper, slowly forcing her fists wider as they grew. Rainbow moaned louder and kept rubbing herself more, barely able to hold herself in check as her nipples caught up to her new size, and every throb expanded her chest larger, her whole body shaking as the new weight registered. Suddenly, the pressure surged, and she grunted as her breasts lurched a whole cup size, two ample streams of breastmilk coating her mirror in a sheen of healthy nutrients.

Rainbow leaned upon her sink, panting hard. She allowed her new perky friends to fall where they may, a fog lifting from her eyes. She looked back at the mirror, the milk already draining away.

“Well, hel-lo!” Rainbow stood up straight again, ignoring the rumble in her gut. She took up her tits in each hand to examine them, feeling their softness and warmth. Confused as she may be, she wasn’t about to question the good fortune of going boobless to boobtastic! She had to at least be rocking a double D! In fact, they were almost a little too big for her proportion-wise, but even still, she couldn't stop herself from imagining the sexy things she could do with any potential suitors...

And that was to say nothing of her nipples. They were smooth and sensual to the touch, complete with a lovely hard nub at the center that still dripped with fresh dairy. Rainbow bit her lip as she tested them, and was delighted to find they were still fully capable of making her body surrender at the slightest touch.

“God, I hope this is permanent…”

Another rumble shook Rainbow’s gut.

“Eh?” She snapped out of her reverie. She let go to let her girls bounce (a rather welcome sensation) and placed her hands over her food belly. What in the world was making her stomach so noisy? Had some of those leftovers gone bad, or something?

As if on queue, the tension and pressure in her chest now travelled down to her abdomen, a tantalizing heat washing over her. Rainbow staggered as her insides fluttered, like a bag of snakes slithering in a writhing, coiling mass. Her gut churned and gurgled, making her feel heavy and bloated... until it finally started growing right before her eyes!

“A-Ah…” Dizziness struck Rainbow in a wave. She sank onto the toilet and just breathed, her hands roving over her middle. She watched her hands slowly push outward, her abs vanishing as her toned, smooth belly filled out her lap. Something inside her was wiggling, every movement caused her whole body to flutter, and she could only look on fascinated as each exhale ended farther out from her body.

She was coaxing it on before long. Each new moment left her skin more sensitive, and she started rubbing and massaging her paunch, finding one spot in particular that she liked—a line that ran across the widest point of her belly. It was becoming more prominent as her womb swelled, and running her finger along it left a tingle across her girth, one that ran into a single point she couldn't quite place.

At least, not until she followed the line to its conclusion. Curious, she ‘accidentally’ let her finger fall into the growing cavern at her belly's crest, grazing the insiders of her navel…

“OH!” The feeling of her finger entering alone was enough to steal her breath away. She went farther and hit her bellybutton’s deepest depths to tickle the soft mass inside, and she almost came right then and there. She cooed as the pressure in her womb spiked to a higher degree, continuing to press her finger into her navel’s soft flesh. She didn’t notice that her was growing faster, her only interest was in twisting and touching that wonderful spot. Strangely, it was beginning to push back, trying to force itself past her finger...

Rainbow kept at it, inserting more of her finger, trying to drive the mass deeper, keep the pressure building. The sensation sent butterflies across her stomach, the warmth spreading more through her body with each touch. She jammed her navel back down, but it just welled back up with more pressure, seeking sweet, blessed release. The mass started pulsating, her womb bulging out farther than it ever had before, making her look six months pregnant. Then Rainbow’s gut caught her off guard with an immense throb, and she groaned as the soft, flabby flesh of her bellybutton wiggled, releasing sensations into her growing girth.

Her womb was disturbed by another shake as it swelled even larger. and this time, Rainbow couldn't hold it back. Her finger popped out of place as, the nub just on the verge of escape. It tickled her endlessly on its way up and out, and she couldn't stop herself from placing both hands on her gut, pulling against her movements and thrusting herself forward. The pressure punched through her womb with each thrust, and she grunted as she tried to force the nub out, her skin hot and flushed from her pounding heart. With every rise of her hips her stomach swelled just a bit more, again and again without stopping, until without warning, her womb was rocked by the largest shake yet. Rainbow bent her whole body into a final thrust, holding her breath as the throbs arced across her… but yet her navel still refused to advance, remaining shallow and stuck.

Rainbow could feel the strain everywhere. Unable to advance, the pressure leaked out to other places, her pants feeling tight against her hips. Her breasts ached with the promise of more size, but then Rainbow cried out as her womb experienced a sudden and final spurt of growth, filling out to the sides and surging forward, her navel poppingout into the world.

Rainbow was breathless. Her breasts had leaked a bit from that release, and she swore she’d heard a pants seam break. But she didn’t care all that much—she was more focused on the precious thing inside her, full-grown and wiggling about. Shivers raced down her spine as she felt her freshly grown womb, and against her hand, her belly distended briefly in the shape of a limb.

The daze and heat eventually left Rainbow, and she was able to regain her faculties, the world returning as though from a dream.

“Whoa!” Rainbow about jumped out her skin. “Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! What is this?! What the hell happened?!”

She could feel it well enough, of course. A foal was kicking inside her, and she looked like a full term momma-to-be! Her hips felt wider than she’d ever known, her rear felt cushier and softer, and her breasts… well…

“Okay, the tits are cool, but the rest?” Rainbow had been serious when she’d said she’d never wanted to be pregnant; both her mother AND grandmother had told her the horror stories of what it’d been like. Pregnancies varied from mare to mare, but a pattern spanning two generations wasn’t something Rainbow wanted to test.

But yet as she slowly stroked her womb, feeling its pervasive warmth, she was having trouble holding on to that mindset. The sensation of the newly grown foal tickling her insides almost made her laugh, and occasionally, it’d kick just hard enough to rock her belly. She pressed a hand against her forehead as she tried to think, think past everything that just happened. She was not dwelling on the odd feelings of satisfaction cropping up, nor was she focusing on any of the bizarrely pleasant sensations! This wasn’t a good thing, damn it!

“Life magic…” Rainbow groaned. “Oh, for fuck’s sake! Damn it all, Applejack! First you jerk me around, then you go and get me knocked up?! Can I SERIOUSLY not catch a break?!”

She realized it had to have happened when they kissed. Twilight had said Applejack didn’t know how to control her new powers, and the contact and emotions had likely triggered something. Rainbow kicked herself for not taking Twilight’s warning seriously, but there wasn’t much she could do about it now. There was a real live kid inside her, and she couldn’t very well just zap it away. May as well deal with it best as she could.

“Of course Twilight didn't say what to do if we DID get pregnant.” Rainbow blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Terrific. Guess I’ll just have to figure this out—”

Another grumble sounded from her gut.

Rainbow could only sigh. “Whatever. I can't think when I'm hungry, anyways.”

She idly wondered if the correct phrasing was 'when we're hungry', but she dismissed that as redundant. She put her shirt back on and exited the bathroom, her steps awkward from her loose hips and off-kilter balance. Her pants were tight to the point of pain, but at least her shirt covered the entirety of her bulging belly, albeit barely. Her boobs hadn't stopped leaking, soaked through the soft fabric and then some, but Rainbow kinda enjoyed that. The way they now swayed back and forth, their weight heavy on her chest...

The hunger only got worse as Rainbow walked back to the kitchen. The gurgles grew into immense growls that once more became that want... that need… that bottomless pit that demanded to be filled! Walking faster, Rainbow crossed the threshold and spied the remains of the food on the table, the sight making her mouth water.

“Mine.”

She wasted little time in starting round two. Store-bought treats, homemade pastries by Pinkie Pie, bags of salad, cans of soup, jars of pickles, jars of peanut butter, and jars of jelly, she ate them all. She shoved every edible bit of calorie-laden food into her maw, barely even stopping to chew. Each new mouthful reduced the demand of her stomach by a tiny fraction, but it was a fraction better than nothing, so she kept right on stuffing her face. Her stomach bulged further with every bite, and her womb wiggled and shuddered all the while, as if gleeful for the newfound fuel.

SNAP!

Rainbow’s jeans gave up the ghost. The button careening off, the zipper flying open as her growing paunch lurched lower to once again rest on her lap. Rainbow kept right on eating, heedless, mashing foods together so as to go faster, her gut bloating wider and wider. The tastes mixed wonderfully over her tongue, dancing on her taste buds before sliding down her throat. She punctuated every few bites with glugs of heavy cream, a wonderfully thick compliment that tasted closer to frosting than a drink. But before long her gluttony got the better of her and she chugged the whole carton in one go, her stomach sagging even lower and heavier with each gulp.

It wasn’t long until Rainbow polished off the rest of the food. The entire stockpile she’d just laid out for herself, all swallowed down her gullet. All that was left was wrappers, empty containers, and the satisfaction of how full Rainbow felt was.

“Ahhh…” Rainbow got up from her chair, letting loose a loud belch. Her gut was now twice the size it’d been before her second course, but she felt too good right now to care. “Guess there’s more upsides to being pregnant than I thought, heh. But I think I’m gonna go back to bed now, sleep off this food coma…”

Slowly but surely she sauntered to her bedroom, her stomach’s contents threatening to tire her out halfway. She couldn’t even begin to guess how many pounds of food she’d just consumed. She got back to her bed and sat down, then rested against the headboard with her pillows around her. She spread her legs and let her belly fall to the bed, holding it in her hands with a gentle touch. She was so large now that her formerly-roomy shirt only covered three-quarters of her paunch, and she could already feel it churning away, working away at the food as her body prepared to do… whatever it was going to do.

“I’ll just go see Twilight in the morning,” Rainbow said with a yawn. “She’s probably figured this all out already, knowing her… Heh, I’ll even bet she still awake reading about it!”

More than anything else, Rainbow hoped Twilight would have a clue on how to control Applejack’s powers. True, this had all felt pretty good so far, and the breasts were definitely appreciated, but the bottom line was that Rainbow only had so much room in her womb. It sounded silly, but considering everything else, she couldn’t dismiss the possibility that Applejack could get her MORE pregnant somehow—

There was a flutter in her gut.

Rainbow gasped. Warmth swept over her like an invisible blanket, and her belly glinted, now swelling even larger! She bit back a moan as her outie grazed her retreating shirt, breaking free to properly kiss the air. Somehow, Rainbow knew a new life had formed within her, the food she’d provided fueling her blossoming form to new heights.

Then a third life sparked within her.

“Wh-What…” The third was followed by a fourth… then a fifth… and a sixth! Rainbow’s eyes rolled back as her womb filled out in steady spurts, more and more little ones coming into be inside her. She lost count and instead just caressed her gravid form, her doubts fading out as she revelled in it all.

“Ohhhhh, yesssss…” Her belly pressed harder into the bed, slowly inching forward and sending lovely tingles across her skin. Rainbow grit her teeth as her pants protested more than ever, the stitches popping off one by one, the world catching glimpses of her cutie mark upon her growing flanks. Her popped-out navel grew as well, and while she wanted to stroke and caress it like she had before, she was getting too large to do it now. Her shirt was swiftly becoming a makeshift bra for her rapidly-expanding bosom, her productive milk glands going into overdrive behind increasingly-sensitive nipples. And said nipples were pressing harder and harder into her shirt as more healthy blue flesh peeked out the sides, the smell of sweet dairy soaking the air.

Yet Rainbow couldn’t stop thinking about her navel. She wanted someone to stroke it, to rub it… maybe even lick it. She could just imagine somepony’s hand on it, the soft nub squishing between their fingers as it throbbed. Every touch would be the best kind of tease, playing with Rainbow’s womb as it grew faster. The attention would make everything inside her feel a little tighter, but tighter in the best way. She now only cared about the fingers that danced around her crest, pushing and poking it, intensifying the blissful sensations swimming through her.

The world faded out around Rainbow. A dim part of her questioned what was happening, but that part was quickly dismissed. She cooed as the flutters within renewed, making her belly surge forward across the soft grass. Her breasts were constantly leaking now, stretching her tight shirt further. Her plot was nearly free of its constraints, her pants giving way to Rainbow’s fertile body. A real hand now played with her navel, and it just spurred Rainbow onward, goading her to thrust herself into the touch. The warmth of her womb bathed everything around her as a red sheen formed around her whole body, intensifying as the power within her kept gathering.

A tightness built up within Rainbow, one fueled by her despite her desire for release. She clutched her huge womb and kept thrusting into those immense throbs, rocking her belly as new lives wiggled and grew with each pulse. The ghostly hand began kneading, forcing pressure into her through her navel, and it made the tension build until Rainbow could hardly stand it. Her breasts surged to the size of pumpkins, her nipples tearing the shirt open, and she couldn't stop herself from stroking their needy surfaces without pause. She were working up to a point of no return, but she didn't care—every inch of her ached with need, the tightness inside her womb threatening to tear her apart!

Suddenly, a mouth pressed itself onto her navel, licking and sucking with fervor.

Rainbow screamed. Her womb surpassed all limits to expand mightily, becoming like a massive, pregnant hill! Her breasts burst out her shirt shortly after, spurting healthy streams of rich cream like fountains. Her foal-bearing hips burst out of her ruined pants, and all the while her navel pulsed and swelled, thick layers of soft flesh overlapping as it pushed the prominent bounds of her womb’s crest. Rainbow moaned loud as the warm throbs kept pushing her larger, far past the point of reason, so large that, had she still been sitting on it, she likely would’ve broken her bed.

Wait...

Rainbow saw clearly for the first time in minutes. Beyond her titanic womb and tits was a forest of some sort, yet ‘forest’ wasn’t quite the right word. The trees were too sparsely spaced, there was too much of this strange soft grass, and that calm pond to her left was kinda weird for some reason...

“What the hay?” Rainbow looked up, only to have words fail her. The sky was covered in bright stars, twinkling and singing in a chorus of faint voices. She was leaning against a tree larger than any she’d ever seen…

...and leaning next to her was a mare, her arm casually draped around her shoulders.

“Hey.” Applejack scooched a bit closer, giving Rainbow’s shoulder a squeeze. “Guess neither of us is too good at listenin’ to Twilight.”

It took Rainbow a few seconds to find her voice. She was naked, she was pregnant, she was in a strange place that she’d never seen before…

...Yet as Applejack nuzzled her, her soft, perfect lips along Rainbow's collarbone, she didn’t have a care in the world.

Rainbow leaned into Applejack’s touch, all the tension leaving her at once. “Where are we?”

Applejack gestured all around them. “I call it The Grove. Not really sure where it is exactly, but it’s where I went when I vanished on ya’ll.” She bent closer and whispered into Rainbow’s ear. “I’m pretty sure time’s different here. Felt I was here for MONTHS, just me and this wonderful place, growing and growing just letting myself go again and again. Now, it’s all gonna happen to you...”

Rainbow shivered. She couldn’t help but get a little excited, especially with Applejack so close to her...

“Applejack.” Rainbow swallowed hard. “About earlier... about us—”

“Shhh.” Applejack put a finger to Rainbow’s lips. “I didn’t mean to hurt ya like that. I turned you down because I was thinkin’ about what my family wants, not what I want. That was wrong of me.”

Rainbow winced. The memory still stung something fierce, but the context helped to soothe some of the pain. She didn’t like it, but she did understand the position Applejack was in.

“But then I started to realize.” Applejack ran her fingers through Rainbow’s hair, straightening it out like a comb. “What happened a few days ago… what’s happening here, and now… maybe it’s all for a reason. If something’s pushin’ us together, and we both WANT to be together, then I don’t see a reason to fight. To Tartarus with expectations! If my family don’t like it, they can go soak their heads! Forget what I said earlier, Dashie! Let’s give this a—”

Rainbow kissed her. She kissed her long and hard, and Applejack immediately joined right in.
A wonderful feeling spread through Rainbow as she let herself go, and her breath was stolen as she felt Applejack's hand on one of her nipples. Applejack squeezed, and thick cream spurted out, running down Rainbow’s chest in a generous milky stream.

Rainbow never wanted this to end—she just wanted to be here, forever, letting Applejack do whatever she wanted to her. It’d be just them in this peaceful place, the stars watching over them for all eternity.

Yes, just them, the stars... and their brood of healthy foals.