February 5th, 994 Domina Solaria

“I think you’re going for a record,” Doug remarks to Rainbow Dash as she lands next to him. They are at one of their favorite spots on the north end of Sweet Apple Acres. Only a single well-trod hoofpath marrs the otherwise pristine landscape, a picturesque panorama of snowy wooded foothills that lead to stately mountains topped by a clear blue sky and receding sun. He gamely raises a jacketed arm while setting aside his book, welcoming the pegasus to his side.

“With this?” Rainbow Dash quips with a wry motion to her belly. It protrudes past her flanks and sways with every step she takes toward him. Proportionally, she gained the most weight of all the mares and it shows in her languid pace and lethargic movements. She huffs as she draws next to him, collapsing in an undignified heap. “Sadly, more weight does not mean I can wrangle clouds any better. And it completely kills my climb rate.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘Least Maternity Leave Used’,” Doug retorts, his glove not nearly as intimate a petting implement as he would like. He strips it off as she cuddles against him, her poorly disguised movements inching her closer to that coveted spot in his lap. He helps her along, cherishing how her pregnant belly rubs against his leg.

“Pff,” Rainbow Dash objects with a sharp gust, her snort tickling his leg hairs even through the fabric. “You just want me around more.” While she doesn’t mind the cold she still appreciates his warmth, and it sometimes surprises her how hot he gets despite his lack of coat. “Maybe I’ll take a day off to foal. If I have to. Plus, we need the bits.” She rolls over, her unpreened wings tucking against her side, and peers into his eyes. Her heart soars as his gaze drifts lower. She knows he loves how she looks, but it can be hard to convince herself.

Doug can’t help himself. His fingertips brush against her belly, lightly traveling down to her bulging teats. He traces the once slight swell, now engorged and practically begging to be squeezed. A simple caress is all it takes for his breath to catch, gently cupping the far side. He only wishes Rainbow mirrored the stupored smile he must be sporting.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash whispers, her muzzle more of a smirk. “I bet she’ll like ‘em, too.”

“I bet she’ll love them,” Doug returns wryly. His thumb rubs at her taut belly, eliciting a soft coo.

“You keep that up,” Rainbow pants, her smirk dissolving to a salacious grin, “and I’ll make you apologize to Applejack for going out of turn again.”

“Mm,” Doug grunts out as he presses harder, his circle steadily growing larger. He pauses at the slight wetness. “Man you’re sweaty.”

“You’re the one getting me hot and bothered, stud,” Rainbow Dash moans, shuddering as she tries to line her body up in their favorite position. She jams her rump against his crotch and hooks her legs around his torso, squeezing him against her.

“No, I mean, we haven’t even started yet.” Doug runs his hand along her side. She’s damp, far more than the snow or their minor foreplay would suggest. He pats her belly with a knowing smile. “I think you’ve started.”

“I’ve…” Rainbow Dash says, blinking a few times. Her whole face brightens as she exclaims, “I've started!” She rolls to her hooves, torn between as fast a flight to the hospital as she can manage and hanging around her stallion. She lets out a long, drawn out sigh as she exclaims, skipping circles around him and kicking up the snow, “You would not believe how long I’ve waited for this!”

“Pretty sure,” Doug says as he pokes her in the side, “I’ve been there the whole time. I thought one Rarity would be a lot to listen to.”

Rainbow Dash merely rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, let’s go!” She trots along the well-trod path to Ponyville, Doug in trail. “You think we’re the first one?”

Ponyville General looms as they approach. The squared off building looks almost out of place among the rustic and extempore buildings that make up the rest of Ponyville, though the conformity to the rest of Equestria’s hospitals might be part of the appeal. At first glance it might seem larger than necessary for such a small town. But, the proximity of the nearby Everfree means the upkeep of extra rooms is offset by the potential for a good portion of the population to require hospitalization. And, when it’s time for mares to foal, a good number of the weather team supplement the overworked nurses.

The two step through the green doors into the front lobby. The clinical white and green walls, sterile atmosphere, and overhead lights serve as a stark reminder that modern amenities are not far from becoming widespread. A few ponies mill about the blue cushioned seats; despite how much she might have wanted to be it turns out Rainbow Dash is not the first, even among their herd, to arrive at the hospital.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity greets chipperly from inside the hospital waiting room, flicking her head up at Doug. She looks more than happy to be there, practically ecstatic to get her bloated body back to curvaceous contours. Not that she would ever impugn the extra girth of a pregnant mare, but she wouldn’t exactly design a fashion line with them in mind. Perhaps if they were in Canterlot or Manehattan and ‘showing’ was a bit less ‘encouraged’ as it is in Ponyville.

She raises an eyebrow curiously. “What are you doing here?”

“I think I started,” Rainbow Dash states. She matches Rarity’s raised eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”

“My foaling started,” Rarity returns, her excitement growing and words quickening. She gives a small, tittering dance against the blue carpet. “I thought you were here to see me!”

“Nope!” Rainbow replies with a cheery smile. The other mares waiting pace back and forth, their foaling not yet progressed far enough to warrant a stirruped bed. “Well, sort of.” She nuzzles Doug while watching Rarity. “You got a room yet?”

“I’ll need to let them know to set up a double,” Rarity says as she turns to Nurse Redheart at the reception desk. The nurse is busy watching - staring at, if she is being unkind - Doug with a forced smile. “Excuse me?”

“Hold up, y’all,” Applejack yells as she steps inside the green doors.

“Hey, Applejack!” Rainbow Dash exclaims, waving a hoof. She pauses, glancing at Doug. “Hey, wait a minute.”

“Better make it a triple,” Applejack says with a grin. She trots over to Doug, nuzzling him before heading to the receptionist. Of the three she shows her pregnancy the least, her thick muscular sides compressing the foal better than the others. She still gained quite a bit of weight, the most of all of them. It’s enough to make it uncomfortable for Doug to bodily pick her up, not that he lets that stop him.

“A triple?” Nurse Redheart checks her books while keeping an eye on Doug, muzzle pursing. “We’ll have a quad opening shortly you can have to yourself.”

“That ain’t necessary,” Applejack says with a shake of her head. “We don’t mind sharin’.”

“Yes, well,” Nurse Redheart says with a glance to the others in the waiting area. “I thought they told you?”

“Told us what?” Applejack says crossly. “Ah haven’t heard nothin’ since our last check-up said everythin’ was still hunky-dory.”

“Mm.” Nurse Redheart pulls out a note. It’s on fancy stationery, closer to what might be used in the castle than a rural hospital. “We are supposed to keep you under-” her eyes flick to Doug “-observation for a few days. Make sure everypony is healthy.”

“It’s quite alright, Applejack,” Rarity reassures. “It’s why I was waiting here; they needed to get a room ready for our stay.”

“We’re not being confined for this observation, our we?” Doug asks warily, half expecting a cohort of spear-wielding guards to block the exit.

“Celestia no,” Nurse Redheart says, her eyes going wide. “It’s for the foals!”

“Oh, of course,” Doug sarcastically retorts, crossing his arms. “Who could object to that?”

“If you don’t want it, you are free to leave at any time,” Nurse Redheart snaps, briefly losing her professional demeanor to glare at Doug. She takes a deep breath, her hoof slowly lowering to the ground, unstamped. “But with no previous incidents to draw from, perhaps it would be best for your foals, and you if you so desire, to stay at the most capable place should an emergency arise?”

“Ah can see that,” Applejack says with a nod of her head, a mollifying look at her stallion begging him to drop it. “Shoot, Ah’d be havin’ her in one o’ the barns, just like Ma had me, if’n there wasn’t a reasonable chance of somethin’ goin’ wrong.”

“And we can still stretch our wings,” Rainbow Dash says, smiling broadly.

“Not inside the hospital,” Nurse Redheart warns immediately, an intense glare at the unruly pegasus.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow Dash flippantly waves a wing. “How long ‘till it’s ready?”

“Any minute now.” Nurse Redheart cocks her head at Doug. “Well?”

Doug slowly uncrosses his arms. “Fine.” The only seating available are pony style seats too low for his comfort, but at least they're padded. He takes one as Rainbow Dash happily bounds over to him. He half expects her to continue their earlier session but she merely lies ponyloaf next to him, head in his lap.

“You okay?” Rainbow Dash asks, her own tone a little worried.

“Yeah, I’m doing fine.” Doug takes a deep breath as he rubs at her mane. It works well to calm him down. “I just get… I don’t know, worried about something happening to you. Or us, or the foals. Like we’re some kind of experiment.”

“Dude, this is Equestria, not Abyssinia.” Rainbow Dash playfully nudges him in the side. Her voice carries a bit of bravado. “Nopony’s gonna steal our foals away, or put them in the circus just ‘cause they’re different.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Doug smiles to himself. Aside from the constant wary glances from a number of the ponies he hasn’t been treated poorly, and it would be unlikely for something like that to happen. It’s just been a lot of hard work, both in the orchards and at the desk, to get this far. And now, doing all that with three foals pinging off the walls? He scratches at her head. “How are you holding up?” His hand travels down her sides. “Still worried?”

“Um,” Rainbow Dash says, covertly glancing around the lobby. Applejack and Rarity are still talking to Nurse Redheart, and nopony else is paying her much attention. It’s hard for her to force out the words, but she knows her stallion wants to hear the truth, not a flimsy cover. “A… a little. I still can’t feel her. Magically, that is.” She wiggles back and forth, smiling. “Physically? It feels like she doesn’t want to leave.”

“If only that was an option,” Doug quips, lightly patting her bulging side.

“Hey, don’t even joke about that,” Rainbow Dash says with a mock glare. She’s only able to hold the expression for a few seconds before she breaks out into a grin. “Hay, she’ll probably follow me around for the next two years while I work. I’ll have a nice little cloud she can push around, and we can nap on it together.” She sighs wistfully. “It’ll be sad when I have to leave.”

“Yup,” Doug says, picturing a miniature Rainbow Dash struggling to push a cloud around while the elder one naps.

“Hey, y’all,” Applejack yells over. “They got the room ready!”

Rainbow Dash hops up quickly. “Bet’cha I get my foal out first!”

“Ya think you can challenge these puppies?” Applejack whistles with a shake of her flanks. “You’re on!”

“Girls, girls,” Rarity chides. “This isn’t a competition!”

“You’re right,” Rainbow Dash agrees solemnly. Then her muzzle breaks out into a wide grin. “Because I’m gonna blow you both out of the sky!”

Next Chapter: Ch. 112 - Brute Force Solution Estimated time remaining: 39 Minutes