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Enceinte

by dmwcool1

Chapters

Chapter 1

Any mare could sense it. She had been in denial, of course, but had to be struck with the truth of reality eventually. Her body swayed with the frequent waving of the locomotive as her eyes gawked into her own reflection of the window to the side. It was one of her worst habits. Procrastinating. Was it that she was truly lazy? It didn't seem so in this situation; fear and confusion arrested her. Hearing muffled laughter from outside the door Rainbow pushed herself from the bed and stumbled to open the doorknob. The giggles grew louder as she steered down the hallway and spotted Big Macintosh in the corner looking in the other direction as he chuckled to himself. After making eye contact as a greeting, she followed his gaze to the adjacent walkway. Applebloom squealed merrily as her older sister pinned her fore hooves down to the ground.

"Now yer gonna get it!" she exclaimed, rubbing her head against the young filly's stomach. She pleaded for Applejack to stop due to her ticklish behavior. "Not 'til ya tell me where ya hid mah hat!"

"I've never seen them like this," Rainbow mustered, leaning closer to the robust stallion.

"A big brother couldn't ask for more," he replied casually, grinning slightly.

"It's…it's in… t-the…kitchen," Applebloom panted, gasping for air, "Underneath the table!"

"So I got it outta ya, huh?" the blonde teased, bringing her younger sibling to her hooves, "Alright, that's enough horseplay. Time fer ya tah get tah sleep!" Applebloom began to embark on her rebellious attitude on curfews but she glanced over to Big Macintosh and back to Applejack. Her ribbon bow tying her mane together drooped as she headed over to her room before she was ceased by a kiss on the cheek from the orange horse. "G'night sugarcube."

"Nighty night," she yawned, strolling over to her brother.

"Sweet dreams," he said, wrapping a leg around her.

"See ya, RD." Rainbow wished her a good night's sleep as she advanced toward Applejack who was now heading in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hey, I need to talk to you," she alerted quietly, catching up to her friend.

"Sure thing," the country filly replied, "What's up?"

"I've found something out this afternoon and I-I want to talk to you, alone. I-it's pretty heavy stuff." She took a second to recollect her thoughts and recall the events earlier in the day while she took a deep breath.

……………………………….....

Annoying little brat.

The winged pony listened to the screams of a young colt in irritation as she impatiently waited for her physician. The mother's attempts to console her offspring failed as his pitch grew louder and higher whenever the doctor presented a new syringe. Even offering the yelling patient lollipops didn't seem to quiet him down.

How many vaccines does that little guy even need? Rainbow Dash thought to herself, leaning over slightly to spy on the doorway across the hall. Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to the door swinging open which revealed her doctor. The auburn pony looked through her folder as she sat down at her desk. She blew her graying strands from her eyes while glancing at the cyan Pegasus.

"Hello, Ms. Dash," she greeted, smiling, "How are you today?" Faint wrinkles formed by her eyes and around her mouth. They gave a warm, almost motherly appearance which made it effortless for Rainbow to draw near her and open up.

"Better than the colt down there," she joked half-heartedly, flinching at another one of his shrieks.

"So you were here last week for your check up," the doctor announced, flipping through her papers, "And you told me that you had experienced some irregular symptoms last time. Would you mind repeating those for me again, just for the record?"

"Well," Rainbow began, clearing her throat, "I'm a very active pony, as you know. I've been in the Wonderbolts for quite a while now and as being a major athlete and star, I have a very extensive workout routine." Humility was unknown to her. "But lately, I've been having heart problems. Not like heart problems like I'm gonna die or anything, but just out-of-the-ordinary things."

"Uh huh," she murmured, taking notes, "And what do you mean by that?"

"It was kinda beating funny. Like, all weird and stuff…"

"Heart palpitations," she clarified, writing her words down, "Anything else?"

"I've felt sick."

"Sick?"

"Yeah," Rainbow replied, glaring at the ceiling to figure out what to say. The colt was really getting under her skin but it was now the mother's obnoxious singing that frustrated Rainbow. Those lullabies were anything but soothing. "Like the usual stuff."

"Headaches, soreness, congestion, indigestion, nausea…?"

"All of that," Rainbow agreed, watching her scribble on her paper. "And they haven't gotten any better, doc."

"Alright, well, I have your results, dear," she responded, setting down her pen to look at her patient. Rainbow slanted foreword slightly, straining to pick up her words. She saw the doctor's mouth form words that were drained out by the fussing colt, the melodic screeches of the mother, and now the animated voices that came out of his doctor's sock puppets that only scared the young pony. Finally, Rainbow flew up and slammed the door harder than she intended to.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly, lowering back onto her bench. "C-could you repeat that again?"

"I said the test came back positive. You're in-foal." The senior pony was unaware of Rainbow's distressed reaction. "Looking at my data, your progesterone levels increased drastically which explains the heart palpitations. The nausea and indigestion are usual signs of pregnancy. After the doctors in the labs noticed your levels, they ran your urine and blood tests and came back as positive. The nurse who check your heartbeat earlier this appointment verified with me that she did in fact hear another pulse in you. Tell me, sweetie, how far along do you think you are?"

"I-I'm not sure." That was a lie. About four months and seventeen days. Exactly.

In-foal. With the word ringing in her ears, the Wonderbolt could only blink as she watched the doctor hand her pamphlets. "Here are some booklets for starters to inform you what to expect during your pregnancy. This one includes the growth of your foal and how you might feel during certain stages. And this one is about recommended exercises that you should do in order to make the birthing process easier for you and your foal. Now this one here is the first months of parenthood and what you should expect as a new mother…" She opened them to reveal the information and pictures inside for Rainbow to see. Her words weren't registering with the cyan Pegasus and her voice grew muffled with Rainbow's own disbelief.

"This isn't happening," she muttered, her eyes shifting from the doctor to the pile of papers, "Can't be. Not now." She reburied her face into her hooves and drew them to her hairline, pushing back her bangs. The older mare furrowed her eyebrows as she observed the apprehensive pony. A small 'oh' escaped the medical pony's mouth. Pulling out something from her drawer, she held it out from Rainbow to grab. A picture of two pegasi were on the cover page, one of each gender. The couple held a baby unicorn whose eyes seemed to bore into Rainbow's magenta ones. Over their heads read yellow text that spelled out "Adoption". The physician's cool, quiet voice caused her to jerk her head up.

"If you have any further questions about agencies or the process…"

"What are you getting at?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm not getting at anything. I've dealt with many young mare's in your position before, Ms. Dash. If you aren't ready for the foal, I'm sure there's somepony who is. It's always an option." Hesitating to say something, Rainbow blew her mane out of her eyes.

"I needa get outta here," she stammered, grabbing all the pamphlets and tucking them under her foreleg absently.

"R-rainbow," she called out, "Where are you going? This appointment isn't finished yet." The panicking pony struggled with the doorknob until she finally twisted it and sped out. "Ms. Dash!" the doctor called out, galloping towards the hallway, "Ms. Dash!" Her rainbow winds traveled from the room through the hallways and out the door, causing the drowsy secretary to awaken. Outside the building, Rainbow paused quickly to survey her surroundings. Nobody she knew was nearby and come to think of it, not many pegasi were out in the usually busy Cloudsdale. Beginning to hover, she held her arms even tighter to her sides to prevent the brochures from slipping.

How could she have let this happen? There were stories that she had always heard about young mares in the same position as her. She knew what her friends and society would think of her. Celestia knows that she had made the same judgments. However, she was now in the hot seat. But she wasn't careless or naïve or irresponsible…

Or was she?

She remembered looking into his emerald orbs as the warmth of the sun seeped through her fur. A smile brushed across her face as he spoke to her, his words drenched charmingly with his drawl. There were green fields everywhere that were dappled by small groups of flowers. Even when living in Cloudsdale, their air couldn't compare to the freshness of the meadows in his hometown. She couldn't exactly remember what they were talking about or whether she even conversed. He led her to his barn, she remembered, to get…something. The large amounts of hay excited her. She never saw so many stacks of hay in her life! Rolling in the fodder, the young stallion joined her, challenging her to a race to the top. What sounded like a simple enough challenge turned into a series of slipping with failed clutches to pull themselves to the peak. Eventually with extra motivation, resulted in the female pony to touch the crest of the haystack. As she glided down the pile, she pulled on her counterpart's blonde tail with him rolling down with her. Their guffaws continued after she landed on her back with his hooves by each side of her neck. After a long glimpse, he leaned down to peck her on the lips and slowly drew back. It seemed as if they were the only two ponies on that land.

No matter how many times she played the scene in her head, there seemed to be a new element added to the story that she must've forgotten. Whether it was something in the setting or a certain emotion she felt or-

"Ow!" she cursed, rubbing her forehead that she smacked against the front door of her home. She had forgotten how close her house was from the doctor's office. Grabbing the pamphlets from her arms while landing, she placed them under her wing and squeezed it tightly to her side. Breathing a sigh, she opened the door anticipating for a good rest. To her shock four familiar ponies greeted her at the threshold.

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted. Her wings flickered out slightly in fright and pulled themselves back in to prevent the leaflets from falling out.

"Happy second year anniversary of joining THE WONDERBOLTS!" the pink mare squealed, throwing confetti in her face. "Did we surprise ya? Huhuhhuh?"

"Wait, how, what, uh," Rainbow spat out, her thoughts clouding her mind.

"I told you guys she would be surprised! I knew that today, this day, was your second anniversary of joining the Wonderbolts by this," Pinkie Pie explained, digging though her bag to pull out a book, "The day that you joined the Wonderbolts, I wrote it down because I knew that I would have to celebrate the anniversary parties and I wanted to know when to celebrate them. I mean, who ever heard of somebody celebrating something when it's not the right day?"

"Pinkie that…actually makes a lot of sense," Rainbow admitted, not even thinking about how they got into her place or truthfully even caring how they got into her place.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't make it last year," Twilight began, bringing her friend into her own home, "but I've finally come up with the perfect walking-on-clouds spell that will last for the rest of the day!" She turned to the sports pony and lowered her voice. "We know how busy you are in Cloudsdale, so we understand why it may not be the most lenient of times for you to come all the way down Ponyville."

"Wow, that's very sweet of you guys," she cooed, snapping back into her previous alarmed state, "But I-I can't have you guys over. Not right now, maybe we can-"

"I can't wait for you to open my present, darling,” Rarity declared obliviously, "I think you'll just love it." The pallid unicorn slinked to Rainbow and whispered, "There are two spa tickets in this envelope. One for you and one for a dear friend, if you get my idea."

"Guys, really, I'd love for you to stay but-" Hold up. One, two, three, four ponies. "Where's Applejack?"

"She has a family reunion that she's packing up for," Fluttershy updated while playing with Tank, "The train will be leaving this afternoon, b-but she wishes you a happy anniversary and wishes that she could be here. She also left you this." Fluttershy handed her a small box with apple-printed wrapping paper.

"Oh another family reunion?" Rarity interjected, drinking from the punch bowl that she carefully inspected (with no Gummy in sight), "Didn't she have one of those a few weeks back?"

"Yes, but t-this is for her other side of the family," Fluttershy clarified ducking her head somewhat.

"Back on topic," Twilight cut in, holding up a cup of juice, "Here's to Rainbow Dash! For two great years and many more to cherish!"

"Heh heh, yeah…" The lavender unicorn dropped her face lightly but returned to a smirk.

"Hey, where's that classic Rainbow confidence?"

"Oh it's here, somewhere," she nervously assured, compressing her wings firmer against her sides.

"Alright, enough chit-chat!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping out of the couch cushions, "Lets PAAAAAAR-TAY!" As the girls grouped around the record player and swayed to the music, Rainbow awkwardly stood in the middle. "C'mon, you call that dancing? Geesh my own grandmother can go better than that!"

"Actually, I'm kinda hungry," she blurted, racing to the party table. Anything to avoid moving too much. Although, the pastries looked very appetizing. Extremely appetizing. Boy, the Cakes have certainly outdone themselves this time.

"But Dashie, you always have the best moves!" complained Pinkie.

"You certainly aren't acting like yourself today," Twilight pointed out with concern.

"I'm fine, really!"

"I got it!" Pinkie proclaimed, holding up a scarf, "Pin the tail on the pony! You love that game, doncha Rainbow?" Covering her eyes and ignoring her protests, Pinkie began to tie the scarf as she reminisced. "You're the best at this game. Hey, remember when Twilight pinned the tail on the wrong wall? Or when Spike gave it a try and actually fell down the stairs? Poor little guy!" She broke into giggles as she braced her arms on Rainbow's shoulders. "Alright! Now that your blindfold is nice and secure, time to do my super-duper-trooper-loopty-doopty-Pinkie-style-spinner-winner!"

"Wait, Pinkie, n-" Wind filled her ears as she whirled. She heard the other ponies chant her name as she caught balance from the self-tornado she had trapped herself in. Stumbling over her legs from the lack of balance, she let out a yelp as she tripped on a piece of furniture. Her back crashed against the wall as she felt her wings pop open in alertness. There was an unmistakable sound of papers plummeting to the ground.

Chapter 2

Rainbow's stomach grew hollow as her wings touched the wall behind her that she crashed into. Untying her blindfold, she let it descend to the ground with the group of papers. She watched Twilight pick up a pamphlet titled 'The Progression of Foal Growth'.

"Rainbow Dash, what's the meaning of this?" Rarity questioned while leaning over Twilight's shoulder, "Why were you hiding these from us?"

"'At three months, the foal now has detectable facial features'," Twilight read out loud, "Where were you before you got here?"

"Are you collecting pamphlets now?" Pinkie chirped, spitting cupcake crumbs towards the stunned Pegasus, "I love collecting things! Like rocks and bottle caps and Gummy's old scales-"

"Pinkie, why would she collect foal information pamphlets?" Rarity inquired, "Or pamphlets in general?"

"Are you planning to adopt?" Fluttershy asked, looking at a packet with a list of adoption agencies.

"Are you planning on getting pregnant?" Rarity spat out, snatching the pamphlet from Twilight, "Oh honey, that's not how you do it. I highly suggest that you should get to know a stallion first, and I may have the perfect colt for you…"

"Wait you're planning to what now or what now?" Twilight exclaimed. The chatter of the four ponies grew higher in volume and more rapid causing Rainbow to squeeze her eyes shut in frustration. Without realizing it, the blue Pegasus shot up as she flapped her wings till her back hit the ceiling. From the top of her lungs, she yelled the command for them to quiet down which did little to ease her frustration.

"I'm not adopting or planning to get pregnant," she announced, still hovering over them. They all blew out sighs of relief and let out nervous chuckles. "I am pregnant." The equestrians all gasped as their sight followed the lowering winged pony. Opening her eyes, she inspected each one of her friend's expressions. Their visages varied from confusions, disappointment, shock, and what appeared to be pity. Even Pinkie, who Rainbow wasn't convinced she knew the seriousness of the situation, had a look of concern for her distressed companion.

"I'm pregnant, OK?" she repeated heatedly, storming down the hallways, "Sorry I ruined the party."

………………………..

Burying her face into the pillow, Rainbow stretched her limbs to the edges of the bed. She figured the house guests were still in the other room since she didn't hear the front door close shut and cursed herself as a hostess. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like faint whispering and lifted her head up for a better listen. It sounded far away, the end of the hallway she guessed, and it and they seemed to belong to Fluttershy. There was nobody at the doorway of her bedroom but she could still make out the commentary from the others.

"C'mon Tank, it's OK," Fluttershy cooed.

"This is going to take forever," Rarity whined, "Twilight, why are we doing this?"

"In ancient times, ponies tied notes to the feet of pigeons as messengers. I thought it would cheer Rainbow up if we did the same thing with Tank."

"Do you think she's going to eat the sweets in the other room?" Pinkie interrupted, "Too late, I'm on it!"

"He's trying his hardest. Please, be patient with him. I-if you don't mind."

"Oh this is ridiculous. There's at least ten feet ahead of him. Twilight, sweetie, he walks slowly. He's a turtle."

Tortoise, Rainbow corrected mentally.

"Oh for Pete's sake, Rarity." Rainbow peered at the doorway as Tank levitated till he reached the threshold. Waiting for the fuchsia aurora to vanish, she rolled out of her bed and reached for the paper attached to his back. It read only four words: 'May we come in?'.

"Are you OK, Rainbow?" Twilight probed after they were motioned to come in, "That was a big bomb you dropped on us back there."

"I've had better days," she sighed, shrugging her shoulders and dropping her head.

"Have you told anypony else yet?" Rarity asked, "When did you find out?"

"I found out, like, literally twenty minutes ago. I saw the doctor last week because I haven't been feeling myself for a while now and my follow-up appointment was today. You guys are the first to know." The mares guardedly exchanged glances and turned back to her.

"Well, don't ever feel like you're alone," Twilight informed, wrapping a hoof around her, "We're your friends and we'll always be here. Whether it's to lend an ear to listen-"

"Or spend time at the spa and masseuse parlors to tend to those dreadful pregnancy pains and relax-"

"Or baby-sit your foal and play peek-a-boo Pinkie Pie style-"

"And watch it grow, we'll be there throughout all your steps of motherhood," Fluttershy concluded. Rainbow thanked them and bit her lip hard. Perhaps with was the hormones, but their words had touched her almost to the point of tears.

"I love kids!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Are you wondering what'll be like? D'ya think it'll be a fast flyer like you? Or timid? Or confident? Or funny? Or smart? Or-"

"It's up for the other family that's going to adopt it to found out," Rainbow cut in, snapping her head up. Before the ponies began to question her, she began to explain herself. "I can't have this foal and raise it. You guys should know, these past two years since joining the Wonderbolts, my life has been busier than ever. My priorities have changed. I barely have time for you all and I feel bad enough about that." Her voice cracked and she blinked vigorously. "No, I'm just taking the maternal break, work out and go back to the Wonderbolts as if nothing happened. I'm not meant to be a mother. I'm an athlete. I've worked too hard for this just to give it up." A silence swelled in the room. The air grew heavy which made her throat go dry.

"Rainbow?" Twilight finally spoke, "If you feel comfortable answering this: who's the father?"

"The father," she absently repeated, her eyes then growing large, "Applejack!" She flew out of the room and stopped in front of a hall closet.

"Applejack's the father? Silly filly, mares can't be fathers," Pinkie declared, turning to Twilight, "Can they?"

"Her train hasn't left yet, right?" Rainbow shouted from the opposite side of the house for them to hear. She entered into her room again while tying a scarf around her neck, "Right?"

"You might be able to catch her," Twilight notified, her eyes tracing the darting horse.

"Good, I might make it." The winged pony tugged on her scarf then unwrapped it, "Boy, it's hot today!"

"Rainbow, why do you-" Rarity's question was cut short by the resonance of the front door being shut. "Well, I guess she's gone off to the train station."

"We better get out of here," Twilight spoke, snapping out of her thoughts, "Pinkie, where did you tie down the hot air balloon?"

"I was supposed to tie down the hot air balloon?"

……………………………

It was ironic how the Wonderbolt initially refused to go on the last train ride months ago that Applejack invited her to. The country pony guaranteed that it would be a 'grand ol' time' and a 'life changing experience'. Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic 'yeah right', ensuring that it would be another dull moment in her life that she didn't need. What would she do with herself while the Apple family observed the different types of apples at the fruit convention nearby Appleloosa? But, with the help of the persuasion from her group of friends, she reluctantly gave in. Twilight engrossed herself in books about the caring of apples. Rarity thought of elaborate plans to avoid getting dust on her coat. Fluttershy entertained herself with the nearby wildlife while Pinkie and Spike ran their own contest on who could eat the most throughout the day by stopping at every bakery visible. If only Rainbow had a stronger figurative spine and never stepped hoof on the train that day. If only she had more self-control and used her mind, her common sense. If only-

Oh crabapples.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked, falling into a pile of hay. Rainbow Crash was at it again. Shooting her head up for oxygen, she shook the hay out of her hair and searched for the orange horse. She spotted a familiar pink-mane filly and hurried over to her. Tapping her on the shoulder, she got a bright smile from the young pony.

"Hey Rainbow Dash, I wasn't 'spectin' ya here!" Applebloom proclaimed. As if it was on cue, Applejack poked herself out from the back of the train and waved.

"Howdy RD!" she shrieked over the starting engine, "Hey, congrats on the two year anniversary with the Wonderbolts! I hope ya can understand why Ah couldn't make it. These family reunions are uh big deal here in the Apple family."

"Yeah, yeah I can," she replied, "Listen, can I…" Glancing from Applebloom to Applejack and the train behind her, she took a deep breath and blew the mane from her eyes, "I just wanted to, uh…invite myself, I guess, to your train ride." Applejack drew back slightly and tilted her head. Rainbow stiffened as she watched her western counterpart squint her eyes.

"Uh, sure," Applejack reacted uneasily. "Ya know that it's a family reunion, right?"

"I heard. I promise I won't be a bother. I…I just want to spend time with my friend. Because I know I haven't been there for you lately and we haven't spent much time together."

"I'd really appreciate that," Applejack answered after a heartbeat, giving a warm grin.

"Thanks, AJ," Rainbow gratefully added, crouching closer to Applebloom, "You don't mind, d'ya kiddo?"

"Are ya kiddin'?" she peeped, "This trip just got forty percent cooler!"

"You're not gonna get trainsick on us, are ya?" Applejack teased.

Shoot.

"Nope," Rainbow spat out through a tight lipped smile.

………………………………......

"Rainbow!"

"Huh, what?" The cyan pony unraveled herself from her thoughts and landed back into the present time. Glaring around the room, she was reminded that she was followed Applejack into the kitchen. She was mentioned to her that she wanted to speak to her about something she learned earlier today. To talk about what again? Oh… right.

"My goodness, sugarcube, your mind certainly has been someplace else today. Are ya OK?"

"I'm fine," she lied, waving her hoof in front of her face.

"Really, RD, you're mah best friend. What's wrong?" When she told the four friends back at her home, she felt cornered and forced to come clean. But here was the perfect opportunity for her to make up a false story and escape the nerves that overwhelmed her body. Of course, Applejack would eventually find out, but why know now? She didn't look any bigger or was acting too unusual. However, she knew that she couldn't fib to her friend. But she couldn't find herself to say the word.

It was a funny sounding word now that she replayed it over and over again in her mind. Pregnant. Puh-regnant. Puh-ray-gah-net.

"RAINBOW!

"Pregnant!" Rainbow spurted out, "I'm pregnant!" Quickly, she covered her mouth with her hooves as her eyes bored into Applejack's skull. It was as if she wanted to burn a hole into her head to see what she was thinking.

"W-what?"

"I can't…I don't…I, uh, I…I'm pregnant. That's what I w-wanted to tell you. That's the news I got this afternoon. I'm having a… f-foal." Am I really saying this? Applejack blinked as she took off her hat slowly to place it on the table ahead of them.

"My word. Ah…don't even know what to say or how to react." Rainbow gave an apprehensive laugh.

"That's not all," she commented, tapping her hoof on the counter. She stared at the yellow flower in the clear vase ahead of her and wondered how it could survive with only a little bit of water and no dirt. "Braeburn's the father."

Chapter 3

Living with her all her life, Big Macintosh has seen the array of emotions his sister has expressed. Her main reaction was the initial response of frustration if she had felt wronged. There were many times where her irritation caused emotional explosions, but there were three that were the most prominent in his memory.

The earliest one was when they went to a harvest festival. They were only foals, but Granny Smith figured they had reached the right age to appreciate the culture and celebration of it all. Applejack's bangs covered her eyes at the time, so she sensibly came to the conclusion to cut them. Big Macintosh volunteered to trim them so that they were sure to be even. Given the fact that hooves don't necessarily have the best of grips, his promise didn't hold up to the guaranteed result. To this day, he still cannot comprehend how such a young filly could injure his leg to where he had to wear a splint temporarily. The second time involved less physical fighting and more of running the mouth. Second explosion happened when they were slightly older as they got Winona as a puppy. It wasn't truly his fault; Big Macintosh couldn't help that the Sheppard took a better liking to him than to Applejack originally. Luckily, as they grew up, Winona warmed up to Applejack and are now inseparable. The most recent time she had an outburst was comment that Big Macintosh had made about her figure. He joked she should be cautious what she should be eating after observing her balance a pie in one hoof, a slice of carrot cake on her back, and a cookie in her mouth at the last convention. Before he could assure he was just jesting with her, he found himself wiping the pie crusts off his face. They both laugh about it now, thankfully. However, he still makes sure to tell his sister how beautiful she looks every day. Mainly because he loves to see her happy but also due to the tedious amount of time that had been burned into his mind it took to wash out the jam in his fur.

Most of her flare-ups had been towards him so he had become accustomed to it. However, heading over to his room, he heard her voice ring throughout the locomotive and quickly galloped to the kitchen without hesitation. Stopping in front of the doorway, he saw the blonde mare standing up with her chair knocked over behind her as Rainbow Dash glared at her.

"Mah cousin? And you?" Shifting her eyes around the room, the cyan Pegasus dropped her head. "Ah don't believe it. How? How did this happen? How?"

"I think you know how this happened, AJ," Rainbow muttered, slowing raising her head up. "Didn't ya learn about the birds and the bees?" Whenever an awkward situation would present itself to Rainbow, she couldn't help but make flat teases to help levitate the problem.

"D'ya think this is some kinda joke?" Applejack boomed. "It's bad enough that ya screwed up in this but now mah family has tah be dragged in this? And all y'all can do is make fun and avoid mah eyes?"

"Now now, Applejack," Big Macintosh interrupted, joining her side, "Ya don't want tah say anythin' you'll regret."

"Try to put yourself in my position, will ya?" Rainbow shot back, bringing herself to her hooves, "I'm worse off than you so what are you complaining about?"

"Ah'm not complainin', Ah'm just in shock, that's all."

"I'm in shock, too! I just found out about this earlier in the afternoon. I wish you would stop being so overprotective and judgmental about this! I thought you'd be the most understanding and most supportive. I can't believe what kind of friend you are now!"

"Oh you mean like you have these past years?" Applejack responded, seeing the bewilderment form in Rainbow's visage, "What happen to us? We use tah tell each other everythin'. We use tah be close, remember that? You were mah best friend and Ah was yours. It was that way ever since we were little fillies. Ever since ya joined the Wonderbolts and began this fancy celebrity life, Ah became nothin' to ya. No letters, you barely visit, you became too busy for me. I'm happy that ya achieved your dreams and goals, I know how hard and long you've been working for this, but it seemed as if ya cared less and less about my things I cared about. And now ya finally see me tah tell me that you're having my cousin's foal." Rainbow snorted her breaths hard.

"You're saying I'm the one who changed, but listen to yourself. If I was your so-called friend, you wouldn't treat me like dirt like you are now." She began to turn to the entry way before the country mare ran in front of her after a long silence.

"Rainbow-"

"Forget it," she cut in, walking out the room, "I'm going to bed."

"Rainbow! Don't walk away, we're not gonna solve anythin' if you-" The sound of the door shut evaporated the small amount of patience Rainbow had for her friend. Applejack faced her brother with her eyes welling up. "A-Ah didn't mean tah hurt her feelings."

"I know," he comforted, wrapping his leg around her as she buried her head into his chest.

"Ah couldn't help mahself. A-Ah was just sayin' what came tuh mah mind. Why do Ah have such a big mouth?"

"What happened sugarcube?" She hesitated slightly then blew out a lengthy sigh.

"She's havin' Brae's foal." There was no reply from him. For several moments, the two horses stood in the middle of the floor. He rubbed her neck after she whimpered slightly.

"Listen, nopony did anythin' wrong," he began, "Nopony don't want tah be in these situations. She's in her room blowin' steam off and gettin' ready for a new day and fresh start. Ah reckon you should do the same."

"You're right," she admitted stepping back, "Thanks. Good night, Big Mac." As she walked to her room, she halted as she heard her brother say her name. "Yes?"

"You look beautiful tonight," he complimented, giving a small grin.

………………………………........

Feeling the sunlight against her fur, Rainbow leisurely revealed her magenta orbs to the scenery outside the window. As she stretched her wings upward, she closed her eyes again when the sound of her door opening occurred.

"Rainbow?" Applejack whispered, tiptoeing towards her bed. "Are ya awake?" She settled herself next to her pseudo-slumbering friend. Comparing her legs to the Wonderbolt, she noticed the dramatic changes in size and shape. From years of apple bucking, Applejack's muscles were strongly defined making her legs shapelier that Rainbow's. Overall, Rainbow's body was much thinner, yet toned, due to her build as a Pegasus and professional athlete while Applejack's had more bulk. However, the light from outside slightly washed the colors from Rainbow’s body, making her look almost fragile. She frowned at the thought of the delicate appearance of the winged pony had to carry another life in her. Now, she could grasp the fear that Rainbow was feeling which only made her cringe at her behavior the night before.

"I'm awake," she answered, startling Applejack.

"Ah just wanted tah apologize for how Ah acted yesterday. It was outta line fer me to judge ya like that." Rainbow turned over onto her back to face her.

"It was a lot that I put on you," she admitted, "I wasn't expecting you to be exactly happy about it. Celestia knows I'm not."

"Well, this is an unfortunate incident, but we're gonna get through it. Ah'll be there every step of the way fer ya."

"Applejack? I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping touch with you. It's just-" A hoof rested on her mouth.

"That's fer another time, sugarcube." The duo grinned at each other as a quiet agreement. "So are ya plannin' on seein' Brae and tellin' him?"

"That's the plan."

"Just the thought of you and mah cousin…havin' a foal…is just…"

"Distressing? Scary? Disappointing? Careless?"

"Weird." Unexpectedly, Rainbow started to giggle then shrieked in laughter. "What's the matter?

"Out of all the words I felt these past two days--heck even further than that-- I would've never thought of that one. But, I mean, it's perfect. Weird." She laughed more with Applejack joining her. "This whole thing is just so…strange," she declared, causing their guffaws to grow louder.

"Mah word, RD," Applejack said, stifling her chuckles as the train stopped, "You're such a weirdo. C'mon, we've a reunion to get to."

…………………………….

Settling in the cabin by the station, the Apple family rested inside while Rainbow sat on the porch by herself.

"Rainbow, can ya help me with this?" Applebloom asked.

"Sure thing, ki--gah!" she exclaimed, staring at the clay-covered filly, "What did you do to yourself?"

"Ah'm still tryin' tah get mah cutie mark," she exclaimed, handing her the hose in her hoof, "Ah'm scared, Rainbow. What if Ah never get it? I mean, even Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark months ago of a microphone and Scootaloo got hers way before us of a skateboard! When am Ah gonna get mine?"

"Well wasn't your sister, like, the last one to get hers in her class?" Rainbow questioned, turning on the water. She watched some of the gray slop off the yellow pony. "Maybe you'll be a late bloomer, too, or something. What were you even trying to do?"

"Ah was makin' ceramic pieces for the dinner. Ah don't know what tah do. Got any advice?"

"Well, let's see," Rainbow thought out loud, running her hoof through her pink strands to get rid of the excess, "Your sister Applejack has a cutie mark of three apples. Your brother Big Macintosh has a cutie mark of a big green apple. Granny Smith has apple pie, Apple Fritter has an apple fritter, Braeburn has a red apple, Apple Tart has a pink apple. You live on an apple farm. Got the picture, Applebloom?"

"Huh," she murmured, furrowing her eyebrows, "Yeah, yeah I think so. I got it!"

"What are ya thinking, kiddo?"

"Water-rafting! Gee, thanks fer the idea!"

"That's not what I-" she watched Applebloom gallop back into the cabin and shrugged, "I hope she has insurance."

………………………………................

Rainbow had never been to a family reunion before. Honestly, these sorts of events intimidated her, especially as an outsider. She had never been fortunate and blessed like Applejack had been with the amount of relatives she had. Not only just the large number of family members, but the closeness that Applejack seemed to share with them--even the distant ones. Sitting in her chair, Rainbow smiled to herself as she watched her country counterpart interact with the others at the dinner table. It had been a long time since she had seen her and realized how much she terribly missed her. A high pitched giggle escaped from her mouth as she recalled a memory with a great aunt. She tried to figure out whether the new colt was her third or fourth cousin with their parents. Finally, she gave up and decided to call him a cousin, claiming she was never good at 'fancy mathematics' anyway. Applejack had also tried to coax a timid young filly from behind from her father's leg to play loopty hoop with Applebloom.

Rainbow Dash had also gotten attention as well.

"Oh, sweetheart you're so tiny! Have some mash potaters!"

"Please, try the cranberry sauce!"

"Don't be shy! Try the salad!"

"Where did you say you were from again?"

"Is your mane naturally those colors?"

"Are ya one of them Pegasus ponies?"

"D'ya wanna dance?"

"Huh?" she retorted, her cheeks filled with food. Pulling her head upward to gulp, she let the food uncomfortably slide down her throat.

"I said, would ya care tah dance with me?" Apple Strudel offered, holding out his wrinkled hoof, "Promise tah try tah keep up with me!"

"Sure thing," she accepted, pushing herself off the seat to join him with the rest of the ponies on the dance floor. The live band surrounded around the grooving ponies as they all screamed in delight. For an elderly pony, Rainbow noted, Apple Strudel was moving just fine. Suddenly, the leader of the music group stepped up towards the microphone.

"Swing yer parner 'round and 'round, stomps yer hooves into the ground!"

"This is fun!" she shouted over the music.

"Heh?"

"I said this is…never mind!"

"Now go faster as you dosey-doe, but be careful not to let go!" As Apple Strudel hooked his foreleg around hers, Rainbow found herself struggling to keep up with him.

"You're kinda fast!" she panted, speeding up with him. The atmosphere turned into colorful blurs and she begged him to slow down. Unable to hear her, he galloped hastier, catching up with the music. They lost their grip and she stumbled the opposite direction from him, baring a large smile from the excitement. Yet again, living up to her nickname, she crashed into another body and quickly stepped back to apologize. A familiar face turned to look at her with a subsequent gleam in his emerald eyes. Her body stiffened as he readjusted his hat and blew away his light-colored curls.

"Well howdy, Miss Dash!"

Chapter 4

At that moment in time, nothing had any significance. The music phased out and the other ponies were nonexistent. This was it, the instant that she had been preparing vigorously mentally for the past two days. For some reason, without meaning to, she found herself almost crouching in his presence. Licking her lips, she dropped her mouth open in slight intimidation. But she knew him, he had a familiar face. So why did she need to be so nervous? Then she remembered he had said hello.

"H-hey Braeburn," she squeaked, straightening up a little. "S-sorry I bumped into y-you."

"Ah wasn't spectin' ya tah be here!" he exclaimed, tipping his hat, "AJ didn't tell me that you were comin'! How're ya? What have ya been up to?"

"Umm," she murmured, turning to view the dance floor. Apple Strudel didn't even notice Rainbow's absence and continued to gyrate his body to the sound of the band. "I-I've been good."

"What's the matter?" he questioned, zooming closer to her until their snouts touched. "What have ya been doin' lately? Takin' shy lessons from yer friend Fluttershy?"

"No, don't be silly," she replied, swatting the air, "It's j-just the music. It's very loud, you know." Observing him, Rainbow was amazed by his behavior. His nonchalance of their reunion was baffling to her. It was as if nothing happen last time they met up. Did he forget about their walk in the fields that afternoon? The teasing and pranks they pulled on each other that day? The hay? The breeze? The intimacy? "I'm happy to be here again. Last time I was here a few months ago, I really felt like I could appreciate the country life. A-and I enjoyed t-the time we spent t-together." She had to resist the urge to smack her face with her hoof. He paused as his face tightened.

"Y-yeah, I did too," he retorted, scratching the back of his neck, "Well, uh, am I, uh, holdin' you up from dancin'?"

"No, you're not. Actually, I was wondering if maybe we could talk." With a nod of approval Braeburn led the way from the congested room. Jarred by the bustling bodies, the winged pony found herself stumbling and losing the stallion from her sight. As a Wonderbolt, she had become accustomed to scenes such as the ones she was experiencing presently. Whenever she would be walking with a teammate at one of the busy parties her management would throw, she would be out of luck finding them if they were swallowed by the bodies. Luckily, if they saw each other later that evening, they would say that they expected Rainbow to find them again or vice versa. Braeburn, however, periodically checked behind himself for the Pegasus. Noticing she was lagging behind, he extended a hoof and pulled her closer to him.

"Wouldn't want tah loose ya now," he told her, his warm breath brushing against her mane. Normally she wouldn't give herself in to a chaperone but her thoughts bounced alongside the walls of her mind and distracted her.

Finally, reaching for the door, Braeburn pushed it open in the back of the building.

"After you."

Rainbow checked her surroundings. There were a few stranded ponies from the party chatting and laughing loudly.

"Maybe we can find a place where it can be just the two of us," Rainbow requested.

………………………………

"…So the sheriff presented me the Young Stallion's Award for mah charity work by the water tower. Apploosa has certainly grown fast since we first established it. Of course, ya already knew that since you were near there recently. Anyways--"

Rainbow couldn't help but smirk. This was standard Braeburn: talkative and entertaining. Normally, she liked to be center of attention and talk about her most interesting events in her life but there was a quality in his voice that made her listen to his words. Unlike the rest of her friends who have met him recently, Rainbow had known the blonde pony since adolescence. He used to live in Ponyville for a short period of time with Applejack. His family has traveled many times in his lifetime, finally establishing Apploosa. The three ponies loved to play together whenever he visited and stayed in Ponyville. Since then, they have developed a form of trust between each other.

"Ah hope Ah'm not braggin' too much about myself," he spat out, "Ah would hate to bore ya. Ah remember ya had some interestin' things ya talked about last visit. And didn't ya say ya needed tah tell me somethin'?" Bringing themselves to a halt, their hooves dug into the dirt of the grass. The building structure they left was still in sight but decreased in size due to the lengthy distance. Rainbow took a deep breath and peered down.

"I don't know how to tell you this. I've been saying it in my head, how I'll say this to you and all, but it never sounded natural. And usually when things are said out loud they just come out even more awkward." She faced him again, noticing the concern in his eyes. "So I'm just going to say it. Right now. Right…now." Her mouth gaped but no sound came out. She let out an apprehensive giggle and Braeburn followed suit.

"If it helps, Rainbow, maybe you should close yer eyes."

"No, I need to face you," she stated, planting her hooves into the grass, "I've always had a problem facing my fears and right now… you are my biggest fear." Staring at his hat, she blew out another sigh, her voice becoming shaky. "I'm pregnant. A-and it's yours."

Braeburn teetered faintly as he furrowed his eyebrows. Glaring at her, he tilted his head downwards as his breaths increased in acceleration. He blew out a hard sigh almost as if he was punched in the stomach. As he wiped off the perspiration with his foreleg, he took off his hat and peered inside of it then back to Rainbow.

"What?"

"Yes, you heard me right," Rainbow interjected, squeezing her eyes shut, "I'm having a foal and you're the father. I haven't fooled around with any other colts after we were together and, as embarrassing it is for me to say this, I went through a little bit of a dry spell before you. That is how I know for sure, for sure, you're the father." Not one word stumbled or stammered over. To Rainbow's surprise, the phrases flowed out from her mouth smoothly. Perhaps the initial shock had worn off, causing her to be more at ease when she confessed to Braeburn. Him, not so much. She opened her eyes and bit her lip at the sight of the colt placing his hat back on his head with a shaky hoof.

"Ah'm sorry," he whispered. Rainbow's face dropped in slight bewilderment. She would have expected denial, rage, even name-calling or accusations in the situation and position she put him in. "Ah'm so, so sorry." She returned an apology as well while he stepped closer to nuzzle her.

"W-why are you…." Her voice became mute from emotion when she placed her chin onto the back of his neck.

"It's all mah fault," he finally admitted, "This is all mah fault." He stepped back to look at her again. "Here Ah am, tellin' you about the sheriff awardin' me for mah responsibility in mah actions and then this." Turning to face the trail they followed, he paused for a moment. "My word, what did Ah did do?" He steered himself to gaze at the Pegasus again, his eyes wide. "What did Ah get you into? Miss Rainbow, Ah can't even begin to tell ya how much regret and remorse Ah have."

A small squeak was her response. Her trembles caused her to sit down, still staring at him. She saw the pain and shame he had in his eyes and felt her body grow weak. But her heart throbbed faster and she soon realized that anger was igniting it. Her mind logically told her to contain herself and her words but she knew that in reality she hated him. With her face tensing up, she tightened her lips once more to control her frustration. For less than a week now, he had caused her to be confused, scared, and apprehensive. He caused her physical, emotional, and mental pain in the matter of an instant. The worse she has ever had. She wasn't sure that she could handle any more of this torture for the next several months. And she couldn't stand the thought that the cause of her future torment was in her company, standing with the spring breeze weaving through his blonde mane as her rainbow one stuck to her moist forehead. Yet again, he wished out loud that this had never happen to either of them. Her bitter response stuck in her throat.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she eventually proclaimed, her voice hoarse.

"Well, w-what now?" Giving a sigh, she examined the family reunion spot again and back to the anxious colt.

"Now…we have the longest walk in the history of Equestria."

……………………………….............

The following morning, the southern pony accompanied her athletic counterpart to the earliest train they could catch.

"Oh, sugarcube, Ah wish ya didn't have tah leave so soon!"

"I know, AJ, but I have to. I have a Wonderbolts game this evening that I completely forgot about."

"Listen, Ah hope that Ah don't come off as too strong--of course, you were rather strong yourself, that's how ya got here--but Ah want to come with ya. A-Ah told mah family that Ah was leavin' with ya anyway to support the Wonderbolts. They were understandin'." The flyer smiled in reaction.

"I'm actually relieved you suggested that," Rainbow confessed, accepting her friend's offer, "I need a friend right now." The two mares switched their attention to a galloping silhouette.

"Hey Brae," Applejack greeted, her voice quiet as she checked on Rainbow from the corner of her eye. "What're ya doin' here?" He panted, stalling his answer until he caught his breath.

"I'm…comin'…with ya guys," he replied, his eyesight switching between the two friends.

"But what about the family reunion?" Applejack questioned, "It's not over till the end of the week."

"Ah talked to mah folks about going with mah favorite cousin Applejack to visit mah old hometown. Ah told them Ah was goin' tah survey the townspeople and offer them tours at Apploosa." The fillies exchanged looks of skepticism. "Besides, Ah've been hosting the reunion before you two gals came along."

"Rainbow?"

"AJ, get him a ticket," Rainbow insisted, heading over to the entrance of the locomotive.

………………………………..

Sitting in the bench next to her, Braeburn gave a shy wave. The expecting mare stretched out in her seat, propping her head with her hoof.

"What's on your mind, cowboy?" she probed, blowing her strands from her snout. She figured the casual approach would calm her nerves from their earlier confrontation.

"Ah was just thinkin' about what's gonna happen. Ah admit, Ah'm scared. But…Ah don't know. Have ya thought of the good things that're gonna happen?" Rainbow asked what the hay he was talking about. "We're gonna be parents. Ah'm gonna be a father. Mah fondest memories were times Ah spent with mah father." He chuckled to himself. "Ah wonder if our baby will be a little rebel. Ah bet it'll be spunky like its momma. D'ya think it'll have an accent like me?" Rainbow responded that she didn't know. "Whatever it'll be like, Ah'll love it. It’s exciting tah expand the family."

"I hate being the bad guy," Rainbow's voice declared, muffled in the seat that she buried her head in. He asked what was the matter. "I'm giving it up for adoption."

"A-and ya decided this without me?"

"Excuse me?" Rainbow interjected, straightening up.

"Ah just wish Ah had a say in this, that's all." Stillness stifled the caboose as the two horses glimpsed through the windows.

"It's my body."

"And it's our foal; we should make a decision together."

"I am an athlete," Rainbow began, turning to him, "A star athlete. Not only do I have an extensive schedule for games and workout sessions, but I also have a persona and image to keep up with. Now before you start calling me selfish, I want you to use your brain and think for a second. Will it be fair for the foal to be brought into my world? My career is my baby. This foal will be neglected by its mother and that's not right. I can't help who I am and what my priorities are." She drew closer to him, her voice quivering with infuriation. "I am not meant to be a mom."

"I-if you can't be its mom, well, maybe Ah can be its dad." Braeburn retorted, shrinking back slightly. "Ah have plenty o' family members that can take care of it with me."

"And wonder where its mom is?"

"Ah'd be sure to tell it everythin' about ya," he blurted out, "'The sports star'. Ah'm sure it'll be proud to have a momma who's a sports star." Rainbow dug her face into her hooves.

“You just don't get it, do you? Then it'll think I deserted it. I don't want the little guy to think I left him and his father behind like I'm some kind of jerk."

"And how is that any different than givin' it away to two new parents? What if it tries to look for us when it's old enough?" He reached for her hoof and grasped it. "Ah don't mean tah make ya feel bad. But Ah already love this thing. It's just hard for me to get use to the idea of bein' a family man and havin' that dream taken away from me. And Ah wouldn't want ya tah make a mistake and regret it." She tugged her hoof away.

"Well I don't know who you think you are, but you are nobody to tell me how to live my life!" They heard a groan and saw a shadow approaching them.

"Guys, it's late," Appleack complained rubbing her eye, "C'mon, it's been a long day. Time fer ya tah hit the sack." Observing the two equestrians head toward the bedrooms, the orange mare turned off the lights. "Now Ah want y'all tah sleep in separate beds, ya hear!" she teased, unaware of their tension.

……………………………….

Thank Celestia, Rainbow thought to herself as she approached Sweet Apple Acres. It had been an incredibly long time when she last saw it. Everything remained the same and yet she viewed the structure through new figurative lenses. Applejack offered to help her cousin with his bags as he tried to balance them on his back. He thanked her when she attained the top luggage.

"Ah'll be inside," Applejack informed, noting the two visitors moving closer to each other.

"Ah'm not tryin' to control your life," Braeburn explained after her heard the front door shut close, "Ah still want tah stick around, though. Ah got ya into this mess. The least Ah can do is help ya out whenever ya need me."

"Fine," she uttered.

"If ya need me tah carry ya somewhere or get something fer ya or get ya pickles at three in the mornin'…"

"I hate pickles," Rainbow declared, grimacing.

"We'll see if ya'll say the same thing in a few months," he joked with a wink, heading back to the farm. An unintended giggle escaped through her lips. She knew that he wasn't a bad colt.

"It's just a sucky situation," she told herself as she took off from the ground. "I mean he does have a point about the adopting thing, but I know what I'm talking about. I don't have time for children. Or to be a wife." Ceasing shortly, she levitated in the middle of the cloud and began to fly again. "Wife? Where did that come from? Is that what this about? Is this some kind of sick role-play that he's trying to do?" She gasped, accidentally sucking in cloud vapors and coughed noisily. "That's how those southern ponies think, Rainbow. They want families. Not careers. What if he tries to propose to me? And we have a shotgun wedding? A baby, then marriage, then…we fall in love?" She shook her head. "We have it all backwards. And I can't get married!"

Her irrational fear was cut short by the sight of some of her teammates in front of her house.

"Oh there she is!" Spitfire shouted, extending out her arms. "So she didn't forget about us."

"Hey guys. Sorry for keeping you waiting," Rainbow apologized unlocking the door and letting them in.

"No, waiting is twenty minutes," Fleetfoot started, stretching on the couch, "Two and a half hours is driving us to insanity."

"Alright," Spitfire stated, digging though the hall closet and tossing her suit, "Enough chit chat. Get dressed and we're outta here." The blushing pony hurried to the bathroom to slip into the uniform. Unfortunately, the zipper had a dilemma rising over her midsection.

"Hey Spits," she called out, swinging the door open.

"Aw, did our wittle Dashie gain a wittle weight?" Fleetfloot jested, squishing her cheeks together with her legs at the sight down the hall.

"Shut up, Fleet," Spitfire defended, strolling over to her, "Boy, has it always been this snug?"

"Uh."

"Why were you late anyways?"

"I was at a party," Rainbow expressed, suddenly coming to realization, "Hey, yeah! I was at a party! For a couple of days. A family reunion. For my southern friend, Applejack? Boy did I eat a lot."

"You gotta be careful, especially when were in season," Spitfire warned, managing to close off the zipper.

"Applejack?" Soarin yelled, "Hey, didja bring back any of her delicious apple pies?"

"C'mon," the orange-mane filly ordered, handing her the goggles, "Put these on and let’s get a-moving."

Chapter 5

The four Pegasi found themselves temporarily blinded by white bursts but immediately readjusted their eyes and continued to fly forward.

"Is it really necessary to have the flash on during daylight?" Spitfire bitterly questioned softly. The Wonderbolts had grown use to the frequent paparazzi, especially when they were near the Flight Bowl Sports Stadium for home games. Today they were racing against the Shadowbolts, a longtime rival team of theirs. This made the media go on frenzy, hammering teammates on both sides with questions. These questions varied from their flying techniques to products they were endorsing to what they had for breakfast.

"Spitfire! Spitfire!" one called out, "Is it true that you sleep in satin sheets?"

"Yup, and nothin' else baby! Wanna join?" she teased, causing the males to howl in laughter. The sports ponies had become accustomed to thinking on their hooves and reply with snappy answers.

"Fleetfoot," another one interviewed, shoving a microphone to her face, "did you do something new to your hair?"

"Sure did," she responded, running her hoof through her mane, "Magic Mane Hair Gel, the best kind around!"

"Soarin, is it true you’re dating Sapphire Shoes?"

"If I am, I don't think her husband will be too happy about that!"

"Rainbow, how does it feel to be named Pony Magazine's 'Most Promising Rookie' this year?"

"It really feels amazing," she retorted, feeling Soarin's arm around her, "It's a great honor!" Landing on the clouds, Spitfire waved the reporters good-bye as Fleetfoot typed in a code to unlock the back door. As they entered the back way, they were addressed by their coach, Hard Ball.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon," he spat out, pulling them all in with his beige hoof, "You guys take forever!"

"Hey don't blame us," Fleetfoot pointed out, "Blame Miss Awesome over here."

"I don't care!" Hard Ball shot back, "Thank Luna you're all dressed and ready. Let's go to the entry hallway." They ventured through the dim hallways with the instructor yelling out demands to the assistant ponies. "Carter, check to see if everypony is in uniform. Violet, get the first aid ponies by the track. May, get the water ponies outta the locker rooms." Rainbow remembered being intimidated by the hefty horse when she was first signed onto the Wonderbolts. Her views, however, was altered when she found him in his office crying while reading a book from his adolescence. She realized that he was just a big softie.

"What is it, coach?" Rapidfire pronounced, strolling down the hallway with the rest of his athletic counterparts.

"Alright, huddle around," he demanded, his voice low, "This is the big one. The big game. Now, we've been on a winning streak--"

"Except we bombed the last game," a pony whispered.

"--But, we can do this. We're prepared mentally and physically for this. Now let’s go out there and make everypony proud."

"Let's kick some flank out there!" Spitfire announced, clapping her hooves in adrenaline. The rest of the equestrians cheered with her and headed over to the track. A voice echoed throughout the stadiums, words that truthfully the athletes couldn't understand or truthfully care to decipher, and the audience screamed with glee. The teammates separated and flew to their places for the relay race, meeting up with the established Shadowbolts. Rainbow raised her eyebrows and gave an uneasy grin as her greeting then turned her attention to the spot ahead of her. Rapidfire was before her and the distance made him look miniscule.

Focus, she told herself. Be calm.

The applause died out and she closed her eyes. Moving her feet slightly, she felt the cloud vapors sink into her legs. It was an eerie feeling, the atmosphere before a race. Her hearing became boxed in as her thoughts grew louder. She steadied herself, extending out her wings. Inhaling, she relaxed her muscles. Time was no element. This seemed to be a slow process that always was cut short. A pop was perceived far off along with a blow horn which shot her eyes open.

"Looks like the Wonderbolts are starting off slow," a voice next to her stated. She twisted her head to make contact with the Shadow Bolt next to her who was smirking.

"Don't you worry, we'll catch up," Rainbow fought back, growing apprehensive at the sight of Fleetfoot's sluggish start. The blue Wonderbolt sped up to its opposite, reaching barely past him to pass the baton to Spitfire. The yellow mare struggled quickly to grab the racing object. "Oh no."

"Fumble?" The Shadowbolt sardonically probed, staring at the screen. The announcers were shouting into the megaphones in excitement as they replayed the grasp on the giant monitor. Rainbow could read the profanity Spitfire was mouthing as she zoomed to draw near her competitor.

"Hey, I don't need your commentary!" Rainbow snapped. Don't let her get to you, she reminded herself.

Her nerves caused her to tremble as she watched Spitfire hand the baton to Rapidfire. As she let go of the baton, Rainbow surveyed Spitfire hold her forearms on top of her head, blowing out harshly.

"Go go go!" Rapidfire shouted to Rainbow as he approached her. As she clutched the baton, she felt her opponent zip by and she hustled to meet up with her. The air soared past her creating a cool environment surrounding her. She followed the black haze of the Shadowbolt costume, barely making it to the challenger's purple tail before she passed the baton to her teammate. Covering her eyes, she could only listen to the announcer. She knew she could go faster and she cursed herself.

"The relay races go to the Shadowbolts!" the sportscaster shrieked into the microphone. "There you have it mares and gentle colts! Up next are the aerial stunts and agility courses so hang on tight as our lovely crew set-up for the creative flyers!"

…………………………..

"What's the matter with you, huh?" Spitfire exploded raising her leg, "This is my hoof. You were supposed to put the baton right here!"

"Hey, don't talk down to me, butter hooves!" Fleetfoot shot back.

"If it weren't for your little trip up, maybe we would have won the relay races!"

"Oh right, this is all my fault!" Fleetfoot sarcastically added, slamming her locker.

"Would both of you guys shut you mouths!" Soarin ordered, leaning on the door, "There's a reporter knocking outside and I don't want to have her see you two screaming at the top of your lungs!" The mares glared at each other once more and nodded to have him open the door.

"And here I am, John, backstage with the one and only Wonderbolts!" the female chirped, stepping backwards to face the camera, "Now here are some of the players who finished the relay races. Spitfire," she turned to the yellow Pegasus, "What are you feeling right now? That sure was a close game!"

"Yeah it was," she agreed, patting her cheeks with the towel wrapped around her neck, "But I'm extremely proud of my teammates right now. These guys are an amazing, hard-working group of ponies and I look forward to the rest of the game." There was a muffled applause so they figured this was being broadcasted on the display screen in the stadium.

"That's wonderful. Now Fleetfoot, are you anxious for the rest of races?"

"I'm always a little bit anxious before and during games, but always put in best effort. Win or lose, I'm just thankful I'm doing what I love."

"Rainbow Dash, anything to add? Any surprises to expect from you?"

Shrugging, she meekly inserted, "I'm chock full of surprises."

"And there you have it, some commentary from our very own Wonderbolts! John back to you." Soarin closed the door and turned to the fighting mares.

"Alright, I'm going out there for the aerial tricks," he informed, raising an eyebrow, "I hope that you two have the self-control to not kill each other."

………………………………

"Great job, buddy," Hard Ball congratulated, pounding his hoof on Soarin's back. The cyan Pegasus sat on the bench next to Rainbow. Taking off his goggles, he tossed them in his gym bag ahead of him. A small 'yes' escaped his mouth when they fell into the open zipper compartment. The scores were ricocheting throughout the stadiums. Hard Ball was heard mumbling some words that the rest of the Wonderbolts figured they weren't intended to hear so they ignored him. The last set of numbers were publicized, causing the left side of the crowd to cry out in joy.

"Yes! Victorious!" Hard Ball shrilled, throwing his legs up as the team followed suit.

"Al-right!" Rainbow celebrated, wrapping her arms around the athletic colt. "Congrats buddy! Nice scores!"

"Radical! Thanks, RD," Soarin exclaimed, dropping his voice, "Hey, how's Spitfire and Fleetfoot?"

"I dunno. I figured I should distance myself from them. Last time I checked they weren't on speaking terms." An exaggerated sound of disgust was made by him.

"Girls and your drama!" he teased, receiving a punch from Rainbow.

"Hey, not all fillies have drama."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow bit her lip and caught something in the corner of her eye. One of the pony assistants was gathering the ponies to come out to the track for the flight laps.

"Uh-huh. Now if you'll excuse me," she blurted out hopping off the bench, "I've got a race to fly to." The rainbow-maned horse made her way through the sports officials and backstage employees. Yet again, she advanced to the track, waving at the fans in the stands. She giggled to herself when she saw a sign that read 'Rainbows are 20% more Awesome'. Settling herself in front of the starting line, she noticed a familiar pony and rolled her eyes.

"Together again, eh?" the Shadowbolt that raced her in the relay races jested, "Don't worry, I won't fly too fast. I wouldn't want to humiliate you."

"Don't start with me," she warned, stretching out her torso. The contestants heard the cue from the referees to prepare at the start line and to wait for the horn. Rainbow distinguished her teammates in line with her and gave an apprehensive grin. Lowering her forelegs, she felt the cool clouds brush against her chin. The bullhorn blasted which sent all the athletes in a blaze of their mane and tail colors.

"And they're off!"

The rush of the wind pushed Rainbow to strive harder. Once when she finished the first lap, the subsequent laps became easier to obtain. Almost out of her view, she spotted the flag waved for the primary lap. The ponies overall were still aligned, some losing speed and some reaching forward. Again and again, Rainbow zipped by the line as the ponies began to vary in distances. Living up to her title, the fastest Pegasus was ahead of the group until a purple and black beam whooshed past her, baring a mischievous smile.

Oh no you don't Rainbow angrily thought to herself. Quickly glancing at the screen, she read there were three more laps until the next round. The flag showed itself again and she mentally started to count down. Two more. Her body moved with the curves of the track. The cheers of the audience became distorted. Gaining momentum, Rainbow came up to the Shadowbolt with the finishing flag nearby. Suddenly, she felt a whip on her snout and found out that it was from her competitor's tail. Fortunately her determination kept her in focus, managing to tie with the Shadowbolt.

"And it's a tie for first place between the Wonderbolt's Rainbow Dash and Shadowbolt's Amethyst Breeze!" the sportscaster shouted, "Uh oh, what's this? There may be a penalty on the Shadowbolt's part. It looks lie there may be a foul on the last lap with Amethyst's Tail and Rainbow's snout! The referees are discussing it now."

"Rainbow, are you OK?" Fleetfoot questioned, holding up Rainbow's head. There was a small wound on her nostril. "Geesh, man, how sharp is her tail?"

"The speed makes up for the impact of the cut," Hard Ball explained, allowing a first aid pony to brush by him, "It's a small cut. You should be fine."

"That cheater!" Rainbow shrieked, cringing at the burn of the alcohol swab, "She did that on purpose!" Recognizing the strip shirts and the lavender tail, Rainbow hopped from the bench she was sitting on. "She did this on purpose!" she repeated, turning to the Shadowbolt, "You did this on purpose!"

"Ma'am, ma'am!" one of the referees halted, stepping in front of her, "Calm down."

"No! I won't! That's a foul!"

"I can't help where my tail flies," Amethyst defended, tilting her head.

"Hey come back here!" she yelled, watching Amethyst saunter away, "Why you little-"

"Easy, RD," Spitfire warned, coming behind her, "Let the refs do their thing." The cyan Pegasus began to object but gave in and followed her to the bench.

"She planned this, I'm telling you. She's always had a grudge against me ever since that game at the Vapor Stadium," Rainbow explained, pressing down on her bandage. A cramp developed on her side, causing her to dig her hoof into her ribcage.

"Take it easy champ," Spitfire advised, "They're talking it out." They scrutinized the display screen that had the huddled arbitrators. One stepped out and spoke with his face clear on the screen as the corner was showing the replay of the tail whip.

"No foul," were the two words that cause the crowd to break into the peculiar sound of clapping and booing.

"What?" Rainbow interjected, rising to a stance. "What's the matter with these guys? Don't they have eyes?"

"Listen, Dash," coach Hard Ball murmured, bringing his forehead to hers, "I want you to go out there with your teammates and fly the best series of laps you can, you hear me?"

"But coach, how can they--ah!" She clutched her side again, grimacing.

"Listen to me, go out there and make me proud. Got that?" She looked down temporarily to catch her breath and made eye contact with him again.

"Got it."

………………………………

"Great game, Dashie, great game!" a short pony proclaimed backstage. Rainbow thanked him while fiddling with her metal. "I mean the way you zoomed by that Breeze pony. I'll tell ya, I've never seen anything like it. Call me crazy, but I almost doubted all of ya. But the Wonderbolts proved themselves that they're the best! The best I tell ya!"

"We sure are, Top!"

Top Boss had a small built, but the manager never seemed to fizzle out of energy. He was known for his loud voice, characteristic pot belly, tiny sunglasses that never cover his eyes completely, and his comb over. Because it the Wonderbolts had faced a longtime enemy and was a huge event, his hair had extra gel in it.

"Dashie, baby, I'd like you to meet two very special pals of mine," he introduced, leading the duo over to the young flyer, "Here's Mr. and Miss…uh,uh…" The male pony rolled his eyes.

"I'm Pinstripe and this is my partner Savvy Sarah."

"Right, right of course!" Top Boss countered.

"You must be very proud of yourself Rainbow," Savvy Sarah continued, ignoring the anxious horse, "You're the hottest thing right now in Cloudsale. Everybody's talking about you!"

"Oh shucks," Rainbow reacted, playfully swatting her words away. No kidding, her mind boasted.

"That's why we, as the co-founders of Roca-Pony, want you to be our spokesperson for our new athletic clothing line." The expecting mare dropped her mouth in surprise.

"No way!" she squealed, "Yes! Yes I would love to! OmigoshOmigoshOmigoshOmigoshOmigoshOmigosh-"

"Methinks somepony is excited about our little offer," Pinstripe joked with his partner. "We've talked to your manager already and we agreed to have the papers signed tomorrow morning in his office. Fair deal?"

"Yes! Yes! Totally!"

"Then we'll see you tomorrow morning," Savvy Sarah concluded, excusing herself and her colleague from the conversation.

"And we will have the sample clothes with us for a fitting tomorrow," Pinstripe updated.

"Yesyesyesyes--wait," Rainbow stopped, her irises shrinking, "A f-fitting?"

Horsefeathers.

Chapter 6

One more time Rainbow told herself as she inhaled deeply. Feeling pressure on her back, she flinched each time the zipper emitted an unusual sound from its journey to the neckline of the jumpsuit. Finally, the assistant announced that she had completed her task and stepped back with the other CEOs along with the Wonderbolt's manager, Top Boss.

"It's a little snug," Savvy Sarah commented raising her eyebrow and turning to Top Boss, "Did we receive the right measurements?"

"I checked with my secretary and he said yes," he answered, patting down his moist forehead with a handkerchief.

"Hm, well I guess then it's a mistake on our part," Pinstripe interjected, "After all, these are the trial suits. We'll have to talk to our tailors about that."

"Boy, is it me or is it getting hot?" Rainbow exclaimed, tugging at the turtleneck. She said her statement partially to get the suit off so that she can breathe normally again but also because she really did feel warm. And nauseous.

"Turn towards us, Miss Dash," Pinstripe ordered, twiddling his hoof. "Now stand still for another photo." The camera barged into her view and the lens reflected her exhausted face. The assistant pony commanded her to smile in a sing-song tone with little result from the Wonderbolt. Top Boss noticed her change in behavior. Normally, the young Pegasus would be enthusiastic in front of the photo device but this morning she almost seemed impatient. A bright flash burned into her retinas and caused her to blink several times and twitch her ears from the ringing. As her irises returned to normal size, stumbled slightly over her hooves from lack of balance.

"Whoa there, be careful now," Savvy Sarah warned, "Have the suit taken off of her please." The two business ponies huddled with Top Boss.

"I like what I see, I think this could be a great campaign for us," Pinstripe observed.

"Oh yes, the girl has great charisma," Savvy Sarah concurred, "The sales could go through the roof with her as our model."

"Alright, stay still," the helper told Rainbow. She struggled with the zipper and rested her torso on the athlete's back to get a closer view of it. Suddenly, Rainbow's heart pounded against her chest and filled up in her head. Her peripheral vision became engrossed with small spots that circled in the air. Hurry up, hurry up, Rainbow thought. She heard the sound of the zipper sliding down.

"That's not fast enough," she blurted, desperately fiddling with the neckline. "Get it off. Get it off!" Grasping the front of the suit, she pulled off the outfit, breaking the zipper and collapsed onto the ground. The three horses turned to face her with concern expressions.

"Are you OK?" Pinstripe asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, I, uh, took it off too soon," she explained between breaths. She faced the assistant who had a slight view of annoyance on her visage. "Anyway, it's off!" Giving an apprehensive giggle, she watched the ponies turn back around with confusion.

"Alright, Mr. Boss," the male pony continued, holding out a paper, "do we have ourselves a deal?" The tiny stallion dashed to his desk, rummaging through the drawers. He quickly jotted his name and ferociously shook Savvy Sarah's hoof.

"Of course we do! Of course we do!" he proclaimed, beaming ear to ear.

"Ahem, Rainbow," Savvy called out, slipping her hoof from Top Boss's to fix the flying strands from her bun, "If you could just sign the dotted line here and here, please."

"R-right," she agreed, reaching for the pen to sign the contract. Helping herself up, she sauntered over to Pinstripe.

"Excellent, looks like we have a new spokepony!"

"We'll just see ourselves out," Pinstripe informed, nodding to his assistant to open the door.

"Yes yes, it was an honor to meet you two!" Top Boss pronounced, wringing his hooves together, "We should have lunch sometime! Get to know each other better, huh?"

"Sure," Pinstripe responded nonchalantly, shutting the door behind him. After the doorknob clicked closed, the manager ran his hoof through his comb over excitedly as he sprinted to his desk chair.

"I'm tellin' ya, Dashie baby, you're the biggest thing in town! You're earnin' me millions, dollface!"

"Yes I can tell by your wings, Boss," she murmured, slightly turning her head.

"You OK, Dashie? You've been quiet all morning and that little incident you had back there didn't look so good." She told him she was fine and that there was nothing to worry about. Staring at her, he jutted his jaw forward and squinted suspiciously. There was a stifling stillness that made her squirm in her seat. "Have you gained weight?" Letting her guard down, she admitted maybe she did, probably since she had a big breakfast. "But I thought you told me you skipped breakfast today." She gulped, her eyes fidgeting.

"I-I meant the day before," she corrected.

"I know what's going on," he determined, his voice low, "Dashie, you don't have to be ashamed of it. I've seen it happen several times before."

"Y-you have?" she probed, quivering. Covering her mid-section, she blew a deep breath.

"It's a hard thing. Mares in the past have dealt with it here, even my best ones. It's terrible how much the media can affect this process."

"Really?"

"It especially shows in the tummy, you know, for biology reasons or one another."

"But how did you know?"

"I told ya, kid, I've seen it before. It happened to some of the best mares and colts I know."

"Yeah, I guess…wait, colts?" Top Boss raised his eyebrows as a response. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Stress," he clarified, unaware of Rainbow's anxious behavior. "I'm surprised you lasted this long. Stress of being a professional athlete and celebrity can take a toll on a pegasus's weight. None to worry about, I've got just the solution for you." Clapping his hooves four times, the door swung open with a large silhouette in the doorway. "Have you ever had a personal trainer before?"

"N-no."

"Then Dashie, baby, meet Cardio Carl." The robust figure stomped up to the cyan mare, hovering over her. His shadow engrossed her, causing her to shrink back slightly. Looking into his mirror glasses, she saw her reflection and her face dropped a little. Boy do I look like a mess, she thought. "You've never had any professional training so this plan should whip you back in shape in no time."

"When you say whip, do you mean figuratively or literally?" she quipped.

"How you doin'?" he greeted, "My name is Cardio Carl. I've worked with the best of the best of the best in this business. We're gonna do squats, stretches, lunges, weight trainin', boxin', and aerial trainin' and that's just for this week. You're gonna wake up sore every mornin' and you're gonna love it. You're gonna be ripped cause that's how we do it New Jockey style. You promise me you won't give up and act like a wimp and I promise Imma let you live. Kapeesh?"

In the words of Fluttershy, she could only muster, "Oh my."

……………………….

"Oh I wish I could've been there," Rarity gushed, splashing the water in the hottub, "A fitting! With the Roca-pony founders!" The two unicorns had listened in awe while Rainbow described her morning. Normally, Rainbow wasn't one for pampering but she couldn't resist the offer of a free massage.

"I didn't know you liked sportswear," she replied, sinking down a little further into the water to reach a jet.

"Oh I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one of those atrocities but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate their company that they came from. Roca-pony is one of the most acclaimed labels in the world of fashion!" Rainbow ignored the designer's diversion.

"It doesn't stop there. I got really dizzy when I was trying on the last suit. I don't know what happened there, but I almost got a panic attack and tore it off. I broke the zipper doing so!" Her friends gasped at her news.

"Are you feeling better now?" Twilight questioned, leaning closer to her.

"Yeah, I am now. But I'm showing already! I could barely fit any of the samples they brought in! It's not fair!" She slapped the surface of the water, getting some of Rarity's mane wet.

"Watch it! I just had my hair done!"

"Why is this all happening? I'm at the height of my career and this stupid foal comes along! I hate this! I hate all of this! And now I have a personal trainer coming in the morning-"

"Wait, hold up," Twilight interrupted. "A personal trainer?"

"Yeah, a personal trainer," Rainbow snapped, sighing, "My genius manager assigned one to me after the fitting. He thinks that stress is causing my weight gain so he's having some big macho dude from New Jockey come by my house in the morning to work out at the gym. This guy is, like, the real deal, too. Crew cut, hard accent, muscled-up, death threats and everything."

"You cannot allow a personal trainer into your life right now," Rarity cautioned, "You're in a delicate stage right now. Your foal is growing and you can't risk its life."

"Rarity's right, you need to tell your manager you can't do this. Think of the foal and its health."

"You already risked it with that race you have two days ago. Who knows how much more it can take!"

"Would you two stop it with the foal?" Rainbow barked, "What about me? I'm your friend and your friend is going through some deep stuff right now! At this point, I don't even care about the foal! I'm my own priority right now." Twilight and Rarity exchanged worried glances and faced Rainbow again.

"We do care about you," Twilight said, ducking her head a little.

"Maybe you should talk to Braeburn," Pinkie Pie suggested, popping out of Twilight's head towel which made the lavender unicorn scream in shock. "Twilight, you should be more calm around an expecting mare, duh!"

"I haven't seen him since the day we left Apploosa," she remembered, "Although it's not his reaction I'm worried about."

………………..

"HOW COULDJA HAVE RACED IN YOUR CONDITION!" Applejack yelled in front of her barn with her cousin standing next to her. Taking off her hat, she swatted Rainbow with each word. "You. Said. You. Were. Visitin'."

"I was! I was!" Rainbow shrieked, dodging.

"Ah thought ya meant ya were makin' an appearance! Not actually racin'! Ah thought this was common sense! With the way ya zoom around, ya coulda hurt yourself!"

"And what are you doing exactly?" she spat back irritably, moving once more to the side to avoid another swipe of her hat. The country mare pushed the hat back on her head and snorted.

"Ah don't want to come off as bossy, but ya should know better!" She turned to Braeburn, her emerald eyes glaring. "Talk to her. This should be between the parents of that unborn foal. Ah'll be in the back." Waiting for her gallops to simmer down, he stepped closer to the winged pony with a warm grin.

"That's our Applejack," he jested much to Rainbow's chagrin, "So ya wanted to tell me somethin'?"

"It's nothing major but my boss wanted to assign me a personal trainer," she retorted, "I haven't been feeling too hot lately so I'm going to turn him down and tell him that I'm pregnant."

"Ya haven't been feelin' well?"

"Um," Rainbow whispered. With the look of distress in his expression, she wanted to spare him the alarm and decided not to go into detail of the past two days. "Just, y-you know, the usual stuff. Nothing bad." She giggled in hopes to bring up the mood. "And the personal trainer is crazy ripped. He's like from New Jockey or something."

"New Jockey? Did he say anythin' to ya?" Braeburn asked. Rainbow had to step back from the sudden change of tone in his voice. It went from consoling to protective, almost angry-like.

"N-no, he was totally appropriate. I mean, it was in a professional environment after all."

"Ah just know how those hoof-pumpin' New Jockey acts are like," Braeburn continued, "If he says anythin' to ya that makes ya feel uncomfortable, Ah'll settle him straight."

"That'll be a show for me to see," Rainbow joked, dropping her head, "Anyway, I'm probably going to look into some of the adoption agencies and parents this week."

"It's weird to hear that. Considering that it already has two parents." She exhaled heavily in frustration.

"But it needs real parents, Brae. Two parents who love each other and a stable home. We couldn't do that."

"Fair enough," he reacted, furrowing his eyebrows. "I suppose your right." His eyes shone sadness and she refused to believe his words. But she figured she was unable to cure his grief and kept silent.

"So, um, I'm going to take off now," she brought forth, "Tell AJ I'll see her around." As she lifted off, she peered down to the blonde stallion. He nudged an apple with his foreleg and headed to the barn slowly. They caught eye contact again and he forced a smile. She returned the favor. Turning back around, she flapped her wings into the clouds. The air became cooler so her body adjusted to the heat. There's still no air like the country air she told herself. The freshness always seemed to make her at ease and carefree. Spotting her house from a distance, she landed on the clouds ahead of her and shook off the vapors in her coat.

"I'm home Tank!" she yelled out, searching for her pet as she let herself into her home. She found him by the plant near the sink in her kitchen. "You hungry buddy? What's in the fridge, huh? Let's look." Opening the refrigerator, she examined the shelves and reached for the vegetable rack. As she tossed the head of lettuce onto the counter for the tortoise something caught her eye. It was the cake from the welcome back party her friends had threw the days prior. "Huh, they must've left some for me." Suddenly an idea came to her and she slammed the refrigerator closed after clutching the leftover pastry. Tank leisurely raised his head, his look bewildered. "C'mon Tank, we're gonna say hello to an old friend."

……………………………..

"I wasn't expecting you, Rainbow," Fluttershy noted, passing a plate to her companion, "No t-that I'm complaining or a-anything."

"I know," Rainbow added, cutting a slice, "I just have a lot on my mind right now that I want to talk about."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh." The sound of the clock ticking filled the room for several heartbeats.

"I've already told the others, but Braeburn's the father. That's why I had to go to Applejack with Apploosa." Fluttershy eyes grew larger then returned to normal size as she tilted her head downwards. Rainbow took noted of the negligible response of her timid counterpart and resumed her conversation. "Applejack is, like, on our backs about it. I mean, on the ride back, she wanted us to not stay up too late and was making sure we were in different rooms and all that junk. Weird huh?" Fluttershy nodded her head, her lips curving upward minutely. "And I'm not even interested in him or anything. And he's not into me either. Sure, I'm having his foal, but we're not emotionally attached to it or anything. Well, he is, but I think it's just the idea of being a father for him that excites him or something. You know, rather than the foal itself."

"Maybe she's just being protective," she proposed meekly.

"Was she like this with you and Big Mac?" The pair of quiet ponies had been seeing each other for a little over a year now. Rainbow never understood how they could be together for such a lengthy time when they were so introverted. But perhaps, she concluded, that was one of life's many mysteries.

"A little. But I think she wasn't so much because he's her older brother and I'm the same age as her. Plus our lives are more stable. B-but you're younger and more rowdy and so is Braeburn." Again, silence filled the atmosphere. Fluttershy hadn't even touched her cake. Rainbow traced her plate to the yellow pegasus's glassy eyes.

"You've been awfully quiet lately. And not like Fluttershy quiet, but like death quiet."

"S-sorry."

"Don't apologize. Why are you apologizing?"

"I don't know. I-it's a bad habit."

"Well, cut it out! We've been friends since flight school. You don't need to be quiet around me." Shoveling another bite, she clicked her fork on the glass a couple of times and set it down. Applejack's words chimed in her ears from the fight they had in the kitchen on the caboose. "In fact, I should be saying sorry. For not keeping in contact with you all this time. So…sorry." It may not have sounded as heartfelt as she intended it to be, but Fluttershy smiled larger at her friend's efforts.

"I'm not upset about that at all," she admitted, pushing her plate back. Rainbow knew it would be impossible to get any more information from her so she let the subject go. But she swore that she saw a little more life in her cohort.

Abruptly, the reminder of the personal trainer came back into her mind.

"Hey, Fluttershy? Do you know what I miss?" She asked her what she missed. "The sleepovers we had."

…………………………

The mares held their torsos as they guffawed loudly. Tank joined them under the blanket that covered them.

"And then…and…then," Rainbow continued, catching her breath, "His toupee flew off! Just whoosh!"

"Oh poor guy!"

"That's my manager for ya!" Their snickers died down and Rainbow's face turned grave. "I'm gonna miss it. The Wonderbolts."

"Aren't you taking a maternal leave? That means you'll be back, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. This is just an annoying obstacle that I have to deal with I guess. I just don't want to tell Top that I'm knocked-up." Fluttershy said a muffled word. "What?"

"I said 'enceinte'. It's much nicer than the term 'knocked-up'. I-I don't like that term."

"Enceinte? What's that?"

"It's means pregnant. It's in another language."

"Must be that fancy talk Applejack talks about."

"It's a beautiful word. I like using it because there's something very…delicate about it."

"Hmmph. Sure doesn't fit me. I stand by using knocked-up for myself. It's crude, brass, and unexpected. Perfect for me."

"Oh, but you can't look at it like that, Rainbow. A pregnancy is a wonderful experience. Even if you don't want the foal like you've been saying, you're still giving life to another pony. Another pony can live in this world and can do what it wants to do. Maybe it'll be the next great pioneer. Or an adventurer. Or a famous innovator. Or even a Wonderbolt. This is a blessing. You may not think so, so but it's a blessing for somepony."

"Yeah…" she trailed off. Feigning a yawn, she stretched out her arms over her head. "I'm beat! Think I could sleep on your couch tonight?"

"What about my bed? You can take it and I'll sleep in the couch. You need a comfortable place for your condition."

"That sounds awesome," she thanked, giving a genuine yawn this time. Getting up, she held out Tank to her friend. "Say goodnight, Tank." Fluttershy chuckled as she planted a kiss on his shell.

"Have a good night, 'Mommy'," Fluttershy called out, climbing onto the couch.

"Oh please," Rainbow teased, rolling her eyes. Entering Fluttershy's room, she set Tank on the bed as she sprawled across it. Enceinte. "And 'mommy'." She looked at the reptile. "If you could talk, would you call me mommy?"

Chapter 7

Entangling her limbs in the sheets, the winged pony blew out another impatient breath. For years she had battled insomnia and it crept up again in her current slumbering hours. As she glanced at Tank's shell next to her side, she grimaced and peered at her midsection. The swollenness of it persuaded her to flip onto her stomach and bury her head into the pillow. Kicking her legs again in the linens, she huffed and rolled over onto her back again to face the ceiling. It was the worse thought possible happening. Gaining weight and not able to do a gosh-darned thing about it.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind. There had been a trick that she used to do when she was a young filly whenever she had trouble going to sleep. She took a deep breath as her legs stretched out. Arching her back, she felt the tips of her forehooves touch the headboard and contracted her body to its initial position. Normally, this would aid her in her sleep but tonight was an exception. Deciding to give the routine another try, she began to extend herself again, this time glancing back at the head rest. Her hooves hovered by the wood until-

"Ah!" she yelped, recoiling herself into fetal position. Taking a moment for the sharp pain to subside, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and searched the room. She experienced the twinge again and clutched her torso while opening her mouth to emit a noiseless scream. Her knees rose towards to her lowering head for support until she was balled up. She whispered Fluttershy's name for help while rotating onto her side with no success. Crawling out of bed, she sunk onto the floor by the edge of the bed. Tank checked over the edge of the bed at his distressing owner who was now gnashing her teeth and groaning. "Fluttershy!" she said again with improved results. The Pegasus entered the room groggily.

"What's the matter?" she asked, rubbing her eye, "Did you have a bad dream?" Pausing for a moment, she diverted her attention from the bed onto the floor where her friend was gulping for air. "Rainbow!"

"I can't get up!" she mustered, wiping her tears on the rug near her. Fluttershy dropped near her the mare, wrapping her arms around her center as assistance. Rainbow cursed as a response and her counterpart retracted back, afraid to hurt her.

"W-what happened? What happened?"

"Get…help," Rainbow demanded, panting.

"I-I-I don't w-want to leave you h-here by yourself!"

"Get…help!" she ordered, her voice cracking, "I'm dying!"

"Oh dear, oh dear!" Fluttershy panicked, covering her mouth, "OK, don't worry I-I'll g-get you to the doctor. I-I'll be r-right back." Pulling down the blanket from the bed, she covered Rainbow before she got up to leave. She halted by the doorframe to check on her again. The sheets lifted and descended with a broken, uneasy rhythm. "J-just stay calm." Opening the closet in the entry way, Fluttershy grasped her sweater and let herself outside her house. The cool air made her shiver and she ducked her head to avoid the winds as much as possible. Leaves flew everywhere on the trail and got trapped in her mane. Shaking her head to get the twigs out from her hair, she heard the sound of voices along with stomping growing louder and she glared forward to find that she was in town. As she timidly took a step closer to the street, a pony cart zoomed across her, causing her to shrink back in fear.

"E-excuse me, um," she stammered, examining the bustling ponies, "I-I'm s-sorry but…would y-you be so k-kind…or m-maybe you…o-or you…." After a few failed trials of getting a pony's attention, she planted her hooves down in the dirt and inhaled intensely, a tactic she had learned from Rainbow herself.

"TAXI!"

The active citizens had now ceased in the road, shocked and awestruck. The pink-maned pony trotted up to the nearest cabpony. "P-please, I need you to follow me back home. My friend is in dire need to go to the hospital!"

………………………………..

Biting on the edge of the paper cup, Rainbow tilted her head back to let the liquid stream down her throat. She dropped it after the cup was dry and surveyed it sway off the counter. A trickle of water spilled down her chin which she wiped away absently with the back of her foreleg. Gently, she rested her head on the wall as she cringed at the noise of the paper underneath her. The exhaustion caught up with her so she then readjusted and laid her body horizontally, supporting her head with her legs. She asked Fluttershy what was the purpose of drinking the numerous amount of water.

"Because that's what the nurse said to do," she explained, leading the wheeled tray towards her head, "It's to help them see what's going on in you for the ultrasound. Why don't you have another cup?" Closing her lips on the straw, Rainbow took several swigs and plopped her head on the counter again impatiently.

"I'm sick of water," she complained. "I may just drown in this place." She shot up after hearing a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"C'mon, she's 'n this 'ere room!"

Applejack swung the door open with Braeburn behind her. The pair of country ponies spotted her and immediately rushed to the suffering mare. "How're ya doin'?" she asked, nuzzling her and then taking a step back, "How're ya feelin'?"

"Better," Rainbow croaked, straightening up.

"What happened?" Braeburn asked, settling himself next to her, "We came as soon as we heard from Fluttershy. Are ya in pain?"

"I was. In my stomach area," she retorted, looking down at her hooves, "To tell you the truth, I'm scared."

"Why? That ya were in pain?"

"No," she peered at him, her eyes glistening, "As weird as it sounds, I'm scared that the pain stopped." A click from the door handle was released, causing all the visitors to turn their attention to the pallid hospital employee.

"Hello, Miss Dash," she greeted with a smile, holding out her clipboard, "Are you feeling better?"

"Hey, Nurse Redheart. I'm feeling fi-"An unexpected, poignant gasp occurred from Rainbow which caused her to inhale to calm her nerves. She placed her hooves by her sides and took a moment to begin speaking again. "I'm feeling fine." The nurse examined the room and twisted back to Rainbow, questioning who the other ponies were. Fluttershy began to respond.

"We're her-"

"We're her friends, ma'am," Applejack interrupted, wringing her hat, "I-is she gonna be OK? What's gonna happen? Is there anythin' we can do? We care very deeply for her." Nurse Redheart tapped her hoof on her snout, thinking.

"Actually, maybe it's best that all of you should wait in the lobby. I wish to ask Rainbow some questions," she clarified, facing the patient, "Is that alright with you, Rainbow?" The blue Pegasus nodded to the group as an affirmation. The equestrians left the room while the Nurse took the pen from her bun.

"OK, Miss Dash," she started after hearing the door close, "So tell me, how far along are you in your pregnancy?"

"About four months," Rainbow figured, "Four and a half…months."

"And have you been experiencing any pains before?"

"No," Rainbow murmured, then shaking her head quickly, "Well, let me take that back. At the race I was flying at yesterday, I got a cramp on my side. But I mean I usually get that anyways so it's probably a normal thing. But, well, yeah this was my first time I had any pain this bad." She paused for a moment. "Yeah, this was the only time. It was so bad, I thought I was dying."

"You felt like you were dying?" she restated, raising her eyebrows, "Was there any blood or bleeding present?"

"N-none that I know of."

"Have you ever had an ultrasound before?"

"This is my first time," she answered, swinging her hind legs. They came to a stop and her posture drooped slightly. "To tell you the truth, I-I don't even want this thing. I mean, I don't want to sound like a bad pony, but I have a life ahead of me, you know? I haven't been taking the best care of myself since I found out about being in-foal b-but, truthfully, that's because I don't want to. I-I don't feel the need to. This thing is in the way, I guess." Nurse Redheart gave her a sympathetic smile as she opened the door. "I hope I don't sound like the devil or something."

"It's perfectly alright for you to feel this way. We can take a look of what's happening on the ultrasound and we can discuss a plan for you. Does that sound OK?" Rainbow replied with an approval and hopped down the counter to draw nearer to the nurse. "I'll be in room 411. If you want your friends to come with you, go to the lobby and you guys can meet me over there." Walking down the hallway after her and Nurse Redheart parted ways, she located her counterparts. She made eye contact with Braeburn which instantly made him catch up with her.

"It'll be OK," he whispered, walking side by side with her. At the end of the hallway, Nurse Redheart was found holding the door open for them. Their sight adapted to the dim atmosphere of the room.

"Miss Dash, if you would please lie here," she directed by the cushioned table, pulling up a chair, "And, sir, you can sit here next to her." They followed her requests and waited patiently. Digging through the drawers while turning on the screen ahead of them, she revealed a tube and a contraption of some sorts. "Now this will be cool at first but it'll warm up with your body temperature." The liquid spilling out of the tube caused Rainbow to shiver. Then, Nurse Redheart put pressure onto her midsection with the electronic appliance which showed images on the display monitor. "This ultrasound wand will show you the foal on here." She typed on the keyboard and moved the wand around for several moments. "Oh dear."

"What?" Braeburn probed, leaning forward, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm," she droned, typing some more, "I'm sorry, but I don't seem to find it." The nurse inspected the two ponies and turned back to the screen, moving the wand around more frequently. "I-I can't find the foal." The air became stifling for Rainbow.

"Oh," was all she could muster. Suddenly, much to her surprise, grief flooded into her chest. All of the words her friend's had told her occupied her thoughts. For the first time these past days, she had seen her friend's—and the foal's—point of views. Would it have been funny? Or shy? Or silly or loud? Maybe it would be athletic. What if it was a boy? Or a girl? Would it be a Pegasus or earth horse or even a unicorn? Would she be a good mother? She highly doubted that she had the skills but she knew that she was capable to love and protect. In fact, that was all she could think about now: protecting it and how she screwed that chance up. Braeburn slipped his hoof to hers and clutched it. Her eyes bored into the screen and then switched her attention to the country stallion. He showed her an aggrieved grin and remorse overwhelmed her.

Oh Luna. It was happening. Tears had surfaced in her fuchsia orbs which made her gawk at the monitor again. She blinked ferociously, grateful that the nurse was concentrating on the machine. Never one to show her emotions, Rainbow convinced herself to save the sobbing for another time. Preferably never.

Abruptly, their ears twitched at an unusual sound that filled the area.

"Found a heartbeat," the nurse announced.

"M-my heartbeat?" Rainbow questioned, "Why does it sound so fast?"

"No, no. Not your heartbeat. The foal's," she simplified, moving the wand once more, "And here's your baby. See?" She pointed to the screen after Rainbow sat up. "There are the legs, here and here. And the snout, the eyes. And if I see it correctly, those are the wings. Right now they are by its sides so it's hard to determine." Nurse Redheart let out a small chuckle and turned to them. "Congratulations." As the nurse excused herself from the room, Braeburn rested his chin on Rainbow's mane and sat in stillness. Although the screen was now blank, the new parents still stared into their reflections.

"It's weird," Rainbow finally spoke, looking upward to the colt, "I didn't really believe before that I was pregnant. I-I couldn't feel it kick or anything, so it was as if it wasn't there. But now-"She cut off her statement and bit her lip. "That little guy was moving a lot, wasn't it?" They broke into laughter and he brought his cheek next to hers.

"Didja hear her? It's a Pegasus, just like ya," he pointed out, "A-Ah hope it'll be just as strong and amazin' as ya."

"You know, I learned a word last night." She waited shortly, trying to remember the conversation between her and Fluttershy few hours prior. "Enceinte."

"What's that?"

"It means pregnant," she explained, giggling when he raised his eyebrow, "I thought it was silly at first, but now…it's not so bad."

Chapter 8

Shouting and rowdiness had always filled up the locker rooms for various amounts of reasons. Perhaps there could be an argument from a fumble that a player made in the game. Or maybe it could be more jubilant screams for an athlete's birthday. The Wonderbolts liked to tease their players on their birthday, especially if they protest during the singing of the 'Happy Birthday' song. It could even be simply that they teammates are talking loudly from the excitement of the most recent race. Today, however, the enthusiasm was for the rainbow-maned mare that was making her way through the athletic bodies. Struggling to carry her dress, she flung it over her shoulder and scurried down the locker aisle.

"Looks like Dashie is gonna be an old ball and chain!" a pony joked. She stuck her tongue out at him and searched behind her. Something had been forgotten she told herself but she could not figure out what exactly. A voice caused her to snap her head forward to see that it was her coach, Hard Ball.

"Congrats, kid," he said, ruffling her mane, "You have our best wishes." A honk was heard that sent the expecting mare hurrying to the exit.

"Sorry you guys, I gotta go!" she called out. Applause exploded along with jesting whistles. She waited until it died down to say, "Thank you, all of you." Nerves took over her body and she found her teeth almost chattering in anxiety. Pulling the door open on the cab, she threw her dress in and slid into her seat. When the driver turned around to check on her, she saw the cabpony's eyes flicker with interest.

"Big day for you today?" he interviewed, adjusting his hat.

"Kinda," she retorted, "To Apploosa. I just need you to take me there; I can walk to the building once where I'm there." As the stallion started to trot, Rainbow stared out of the windows of the cart. Reaching into the bag that held her dress, she reached for the headpiece and placed it only her head. The material fell over her eyes which made her take it off. Bright reflections sparkled on her face as she examined the diamonds of the tiara. Even for a tomcolt like her she had to admit that it was an appealing headpiece. The cart suddenly came to a halt that jarred her body forward. Announcing that they had reached Apploosa, the driver opened the door for her and escorted her out from the cab.

"Do you wish for me to help you with your things?" he requested, peering at the dress in the back.

"Nah, I got it," she confirmed, reaching for it. A group of ponies then ran up to her and assisted her to the church nearby. Surprisingly, there were a great amount of guests, mostly standing of the stairs chatting. But strangely, she had no recognition of any of them. Some seemed to not have any relation to Braeburn or anypony else in the Apple family. Shaking her thoughts from her head, she realized that the rushing mares were none other than her friends.

"Isn't this exciting, Rainbow?" Twilight asked, getting closer to her cyan counterpart, "You're gonna be a wife today! I can't believe you said you said yes to Braeburn!"

"Oh how romantic!" Rarity gushed, leading her to the dressing room, "Now let's hope you hadn't grown too much since the last fitting."

"Where's Fluttershy and Pinkie?" she questioned, pulling her gown down.

"They're putting on their bridesmaids' dresses," Twilight answered. Awareness developed in Twilight's face causing her to tug Rarity towards the door, "We need to get dressed!"

"But what about her make-up?" Rarity complained, holding up mascara, "Rainbow can't walk down the aisle looking like this!"

"We're behind the schedule by three minutes! Let's go!" The door began to slam until it was ceased by Applejack's leg. Fussing with her sleeves, she entered the room while kicking the door behind her.

"Dang frilly dresses," she cursed, then smirking at the sight in front of her, "Well looky who's a blushin' bride!"

"Oh cut it out," Rainbow ordered, fixing her veil.

"Why so grumpy, sugarcube?" Rainbow glared at her reflection and watched Applejack walk up to the table next to her. "This is your weddin' day, ya should be happy."

"It's not my wedding day," Rainbow clarified, crossing her forelegs, "This is Rarity's dress. The decorations are Pinkie's. The bird choir is Fluttershy's. The management is Twilight's. And Braeburn was the one who came up with the idea to marry. This is not my wedding. I didn't even want a wedding. And I still don't. I've feel as if I've lost my identity. I mean, Applejack, who am I?"

"Who are ya?" she repeated, "Well, you're Rainbow Dash. And you are not here right now to pick up your phone. So please leave a message and you'll get back to somepony as soon as you can." Rainbow furrowed her eyebrows as she gazed in bewilderment at her friend.

"C-come again?" A sharp tone was emitted from a bird that flew into the room and Applejack resumed speaking again.

"This is Rainbow Dash. And you are not here to right now pick up your phone. So please leave a message—"

………………..

-And I'll get back to you as soon as I can.-

Bolting up from the bed, Rainbow searched the surroundings. Back in her home, she surveyed her answering machine that blasted her own voice. Everything from the hospital last night completely evaporated from her memory. On her dresser was a paper that was folded in half. Reaching for it, a couple pieces of paper slid from the stationary onto her lap in bed. She blinked viciously to get her sight in focus to read the handwriting.

"'Dear Rainbow'," she read out loud, scratching her head, "'After the ultrasound, you fell asleep in the lobby. The nurse left her business card with all of her contact information if you even need to talk to her about the foal.'" She picked up the business card that fell on her lap and continued scanning the paper. "'We called in a taxi from Cloudsdale to make sure you got home OK. The charges are on us so there are no worries. Take care and we'll see you again soon. Love Fluttershy, AJ and Brae.'" There was another piece of paper on her comforter which she attained for. The words 'Just a reminder' sprawled across it and she flipped it to its other side. It was a dark picture with tinges of gray and white smudges and she soon figured out that it was her ultrasound picture. Unexpectedly, a laugh escaped her lips and she immediately covered her mouth from waking up Tank. Although she was not completely sure what she had to look for, her face beamed at the reminiscence of the event. Gently, she set the image aside against her bed lamp and gazed. Her answering machine went off after the series of phone rings and Spitfire's voice accompanied it afterwards.

-Dash, where are you? We have been calling you all morning!-

Rainbow reacted speedily and clutched the phone to bring it to her ear.

"Hello? Hello?" she sputtered out shakily, breaking out of her previous calm demeanor, "Hey Spitfire, is that you?"

-Yeah it's me! Where have you been?-

"I've been sleeping, why what's up?"

-Oh, she's been sleeping she says.- Her sardonic tone instantly brought fear to Rainbow. She had a hunch where this conversation was heading to.

"Spits, what's wrong?"

-Well let’s see, we send the trainer to your house yesterday morning and we find out you're gone. You're just missing! We try calling you over here and get no response. Later that afternoon, Roca-pony call trying to get you an appointment to try on the new samples but we have to tell them that you're unavailable. Then we are the ones getting the calls that you had to be rushed to the E.R.!-

"W-where did you hear that?" she stammered, bringing her hoof to her mouth.

-Everybody who's anybody in the media is calling our publicists and employees and even the athletes about it! We're worried sick about you! We've been calling and we don't know if you're OK or not. This isn't like you Rainbow! What's going on?-

"I-I-I can explain it to you when I get over there, I promise!"

-Yeah, well, you better get over here fast 'cause we'd like to hear it!-

"Ok, Ok, and Spits?"

-What?-

"I'm s-sorry." A heavy sigh was heard on the other side of the line.

-Don't worry about it, OK? At least you're safe. Just get over here.-

After hearing the click, Rainbow tossed her phone onto the edge of her bed and turned to the photo of the unborn horse.

"D'ya see how much trouble ya costin' me?" she murmured, swinging her legs over to get out of bed.

Letting herself out of the house, she shrunk back at the unanticipated bursts of light from the cameras while feeling the microphones bump into her snout. Panicking as she held her newly injured nose, Rainbow tried to push the reporters out of her way with little luck. She had become accustomed to paparazzi over the years but this had the first time where their behavior was aggressive towards her. The questions were hard to make out for her due to the fact that there were numerous amounts of journalists yelling at once. She beseeched them to give her space but grew irritated when they refused to follow her orders.

"Rainbow Rainbow!" the loudest colt called out, shoving his tape recorder near her face, "There are rumors that you and the Wonderbolts are having it out. Have a couple words as a response?"

"Yeah, screw you!" Finding an open space within the crowd, the Pegasus reminded them why she was a world-class racer as she zoomed away.

……………………………

"They called us saying that you were rushed to the E.R. while holding your stomach as if you were in pain. Some sources are saying that you had to go because of food poisoning, some say appendix burst, and others say pregnancy," Spitfire explained, pushing against the entrance door while the reporters tried to burst in. "But I want to hear it in your own words. Why were you rushed to the emergency room?"

"Well, it was one of those reasons you listed," she pointed out, fixing her mane. It was fascinating to Rainbow how the co-captain did not even balk at the invading ponies.

"A guessing game, huh? I'm always good at these. Let's see…didja get food poisoning from that southern friend of yours a couple days back?" Spitfire asked, locking the door, "Although I don't think the reporters would be going this ballistic over it." At one the windows behind her, Rainbow spotted a paparazzo holding a tabloid to the glass. The headline read the word pregnant followed by a question mark with a picture of Rainbow sporting a sizable abdomen. When did they take that and how did they print it so fast? Rainbow thought to herself, galloping to pull down the blinds.

"It, uh, was really bright in here," Rainbow lied when she saw a bewildered look on her teammate's face.

"Hmm, if it was an appendix burst, wouldn't ya had surgery and needed to rest now?  I guess that's ruled out." A loud guffaw seeped from her causing Rainbow to flinch slightly. "Of course, you couldn't fit your costume the other day. Don't tell me you're pregnant." She laughed more, doubling over in amusement and turned grave when she made eye contact with the athlete. "Oh no."

Rainbow ducked her head in humiliation.

"Oh please, please, tell me it was food poisoning."

………………………….

"I don't believe it, you're gone for thirty-six hours and you're pregnant," coach Hard Ball mumbled, wiping his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry," Rainbow blurted out, "It wasn't planned at all. I-I didn't mean for this to happen. I can't believe that it happened. I wish this didn't happen, I-"

"Alright, kid, we get it," Top Boss cut in. "You made a mistake. Everypony does." The two stallions exchanged looks. "I just don't know how this'll work out. You just signed a contract as a spokespony, for Luna's sake."

"And you're my star player, you're a valuable asset." Rainbow's eyes traced the plant that rested on the desk ahead of her.

"What are you planning on doing with it?" Spitfire asked quietly, leaning against the office door. She shrugged stiffly, unable to make a sound. "Have you thought about it? Did you talk to your doctor about it when you found out?"

"Barely," she retorted, "It seems like every doctor or nurse I've seen, they'll say that they will talk about them with me. And, well, they never got around to talking about it." Top Boss called Spitfire over to him and whispered in her ear. She grimaced at the stout pony, and glanced over to Rainbow. She was busy tugging on the brown leaves of the shrub to notice their assessment.

"Listen, Dashie," Top Boss said, causing Rainbow's posture to spring up, "I'm gonna have you see a doctor. Somepony that will sit you down and clear all the questions in your head, OK? And Spitfire will take you." Wordlessly, Spitfire tapped her on the shoulder to escort her out of the office. Trailing behind her, Rainbow asked the yellow mare what the manager had whispered to her. Spitfire twisted her body around and walked backwards to progress with Rainbow towards the elevator.

………………………..

Almost a deja-vu feeling from the hospital experiences and the fitting, the winged pony pulled on her neckline of the hospital gown. She had been in the middle of a conversation with the doctor, his hooves handing her information sheets. His. It seemed wrong to Rainbow that a male horse was informing an inexperienced mare on a topic with such femininity. The words he verbalized rung in her head, making it difficult for her to concentrate. He had told her about the three options she could decide on. The first was the most 'orthodox', as he put it, and that was to carry through the pregnancy full term and keep the baby. The other had been her preferred way, giving up the foal once it was born. The third, however, was a choice she had not even considered. The doctor's words had trouble registering with her. Not just in the context but also the medical and professional terms he spat out.

"So wait," Rainbow interjected, trying to get her thoughts in order, "is it safe?"

"It is one hundred percent safe," he affirmed, "Just like the previous two plans, abortions will be done in a careful, sterile environment such as this hospital if you choose to do so. Most young mares will go through an abortion because they are at a busy time in their lives and won't have time to support and raise the foal."

"W-what's the procedure?"

"First we give you pills to take for a few days to remove the placenta from the uterine walls. Then you would come back to us and we'd remove the fetus. In my years of doing this, most of the mares had been athletes just like you. With adoption, many young mothers grow attached to their children and go through emotional distress once when they're given up. Even if they decide to have an open-adoption. Some feel that with abortion, it provides them instant relief from their worries and stress."

"So what you're saying is all my problems would go away, just like that?" Her mind wandered into the memory of the last race she had won. She would miss the rush that she became enamored with. How would the public perceive her if she gave up the foal in an adoption? Would they see her as a pony who gives up? Who's irresponsible and hands over her problems to other ponies to take care?

A nurse came in and called the doctor over to check on another patient in the adjacent room. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Dash. Have a look at the pamphlets and ask me any of your questions when I return." The equestrian glared at the door shutting closed and glanced at the pamphlet next to her.

"What would you think of me if I did this?" she questioned, glimpsing at Spitfire who was sitting in the furthest corner.

"If you went through the pregnancy?" she replied, squinting at the split-ends of her mane that she pulled down to her sight. Facing her counterpart, Spitfire noticed that Rainbow was displaying a brochure for her to see. "Oh," she mumbled, watching her associate unfold the pages. "Listen, RD, lots of mares have an abortion. There's nothing wrong with it."

"I don't even want to flip through this…" her voice trailed off, covering her magenta orbs. "I don't know, Spits, this does seem to be the easiest way out now that I think about it. Would I be a bad pony if I did this?"

"No, you won't be. You'd be a pony who had to make a hard decision to accommodate to your lifestyle. I'm not going to view you as a bad pony. Nopony is going to see you as a bad pony. At least nopony that matters. It's your body and your choice and they need to respect that." She sat in stillness as she surveyed her friend staring at the pamphlet. "Listen, before you make a final decision and get ahead of yourself, why don't you wait till the doctor can talk to you. That's what you're here for, right? To get the full details on your options, right?" There was no response. "Right?" Silence. Spitfire got up to bring the other leaflets to her that touched the expecting mare's thigh. "Here, here, look at these."

"If I just get an abortion, all this mess would be over with," Rainbow thought out loud, "No swollen hooves or weight gain or slandering from everypony." Shaking her head, she regained her focus and recalled the night before. "Thinking about it, what kind of life would it have it I decided to carry through term? I mean, I-I'm going to give it to complete strangers! What if they beat it or abandon it or never love it?"

"Rainbow, are these the hormones talking or something?" Spitfire worried, placing a hoof on her shoulder, noticing her breath acceleration increasing.

"You just never know how they'll be behind closed doors." Rainbow let out a heavy sigh. "Ever since I found out about the foal, I've regretted my actions and been wanting my life to go back to normal, but if I never see the foal in the first place, then I'd never go through all that emotional pain like the doc was saying…." The yellow pony clapped her hooves after she became partially unresponsive.

"Hey, hey!" she exclaimed, "What's going on, Rainbow? You're turning pale!" The blue horse jumped from the seat and galloped to the door.

"I-I can't do this anymore! I can't, I just can't!"

"OK, OK, no need to get antsy, alright?" she consoled, rubbing her back, "At least wait till the doctor gets back."

"No, I need to get outta here!" she demanded, flinging it open. Her body bolted out until she stopped herself from crashing into the hallway wall before her. Smacking her back against it, she buried her face into her hooves, her body pulsating with each sob.

"Rainbow! D-don't worry, just relax! You're scaring me!" Spitfire rushed to her and wrapped her arms around her as they slid lower on the wall. "If you feel like you have to do this, then do it. Just…don't even think about it and go with your gut."

"I-I'm not even thinking straight anymore, I don't know what to do!" she cried, trying to hold back her hiccups.

"Oh Rainbow please stop crying," Spitfire begged, cradling her weeping friend.

"I can't help it," she admitted, "Just so much has happened these past few days. A-and I've been holding in these particular feelings about it, you know? I-I guess it's all coming out at once. I'm just so confused, c-caught off guard about everything."

"Nopony is forcing you to do anything," she informed, aiding her up, "What I said back there was not a lie. It's your body, your foal, your decision."

"O *hic* OK."

"So what do you want to do?" Rainbow pondered for a moment.

"I want to take a maternal leave. Don't know what's going to happen after that, b-but I'll *hic*, I'll risk it. I can't get rid of the foal. I-" Her shoulders suddenly felt weightless and her tears started to dry. "I can't get rid of it," she repeated quietly. "That ultrasound, that stupid ultrasound, made me realize that you know what? There's something living in me. And it was moving so much. A-and its little heartbeat! It was so fast!" She laughed as she wiped her moist cheeks. "I can tell it's gonna be the fastest little guy in the world! And I can't ruin that. I can't ruin its life. 'Cause then it's gone and I have nopony else b…but m-myself to blame. " Spitfire embraced her quietly, choosing her words carefully.

"Alright, you've had a rough week. I'll tell the boys in charge and you can rest at home. I'll tell them that you weren't feeling too good. Deal?"

"D-deal."

"Awesome, now let’s get outta here."

……………………………….

"I don't know what came over me," Rainbow said, pulling the covers up to her chin, "It was pretty intense. I, like, couldn't stop crying and I didn't know why I was crying so much."

-You were upset.- Braeburn's voice from the phone machine answered, -You have a lot of emotions in ya and especially when they're escalated like yours in your condition, you're probably goin' tah have some emotional responses like the one ya had earlier.-

"Believe it was more than just hormones making me go crazy. I think," Rainbow responded, turning towards her phone, "I kinda wanted this thing the whole time. Not like wanting like as in I need to be a mother and be all nurturing and caring sorta thing but, I don't know. I kinda feel sorry for it. I think subconsciously, I've felt sorry for it, but I held in my thoughts about it and tried to convince myself to do anything but keep it and that's when everything just all came up." Rainbow reminded herself to stay away from the psychology section of Twilight's library; she was really starting to sound like a hardcore egghead now.

-Why d'ya feel sorry for it?-

"Not sure. I felt the same for Tank when I first got him. And now I'm really attached to him. It was really unexpected." Passing him a piece of lettuce from her dresser, she grinned as she observed him munching on it. "If the foal was still there after the whole racing scenario, maybe I'm meant to have it. Yesterday night, when we saw it for the first time-" She cut off to clear her throat. "I realized that no moment like that could compare to that." The other line stayed quiet. "Brae? What are you doing?"

-Nothin'.-

"Well, don't get too excited," she chuckled, "we still have a lot to figure out. Like where it’s gonna live and all that stuff. Both of us will have to go out of our ways to make sure that this kid will live the most normal life it possibly can."

-Sounds like a plan tah me. Are ya gonna hear back from Spitfire 'bout your coach and manager's reactions in regards to keepin' it?-

"Yeah, most likely tomorrow. Hope they aren't too peeved about it."

-To tell ya the truth, Rainbow, I ain't too happy about them tellin' ya tah get an abortion.-

"They didn't technically tell me to get an abortion, they told me to review my options," Rainbow explained, moaning to think for a moment, "I don't know, it's hard to word it, but they just want what they think is best for me, my future, and my career. I think they're just use to celebrity ponies having that done all the time that they thought I would think the same way. They'll understand my stance on my decision. And if they don't, well, they can't afford to lose me permanently because I'm the favorite."

-And oh so humble.- he jested receiving a playful snort on the other line.

"It's true! I didn't make that up!" Rainbow mocked back, "Anyways, I better get some rest, it's getting late. And Braeburn?"

-Mmm-hmm?-

"Thank you for being so supportive and such an awesome friend. And as cheesy as this'll sound, I know you'll be a great father." He let out an easy laugh.

-And Ah know that'll you'll be a wonderful mother.-

Rolling her eyes, she good-humoredly added "I highly doubt that. I bet you're just saying that to make me feel better."

-Eeyup.-

Chapter 9

Groggily, Rainbow Dash rose to a sitting position in her bed, woken by the sound of her alarm clock buzzing off. As of lately, she had gone through a routine of cursing the morning while measuring out the distance between the bathroom and her bedroom. Hauling herself over to the edge, she landed on her hooves and began sauntering over to the hallway. She entered the bathroom and squeezed a small amount of toothpaste onto her tooth brush and grunted. Luckily, she had become accustomed to her irregular headaches and closed her eyes until the lightheadedness simmered away. Putting the toothbrush in her mouth, she ran the bristles across her teeth quickly. To nopony in particular, she made a comment out loud.

"Shomepony told meh that preg-na-shee wash the mosht beautiful thing in Equeshtria," she murmured as her reflection in the mirror started to become covered in her saliva. Grabbing the cup next to her full of water, she gargled and rinsed her mouth only to look at herself again. "What a load of sh-" She heard a croak and turned to see that it was from Tank who stood by her ankles. "Stuff," she corrected. Heading over to the kitchen, she tossed an apple towards his direction which he had caught in his mouth.

"Nice catch buddy," she congratulated, closing the refrigerator to rest her body against. "Eight months down, three more to go." A rapid knock was heard at the door. She waddled over to open it to find a familiar orange filly standing on her porch with a beaming smile across her face.

"Are ya ready yet?" she spat out, flapping her wings.

"I didn't have breakfast yet," Rainbow informed, looking back at the food counter. She saw the young horse's face start to drop slightly causing Rainbow to blow out an impatient sigh. "But I suppose I can hold off till we get there. Hopefully this thing won't punish me by eating me alive."

"YAY!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down as she grabbed Rainbow's hoof, "C'mon, c'mon! We're gonna be late!"

"Woah, Scoots, easy now," Rainbow warned, giggling. Her hooves seemed to dig even deeper into the clouds than the prior months due to her weight gain. "We can take our sweet time. The game doesn't start for another half an hour or so."

"Yeah, but I want the best possible view!"

"Puh-lease! We're gonna be in the VIP's. We have the best views. And I have another surprise for you." Scootaloo's eyes grew big as she let out a high pitched scream.

"What is it? What is it? I'm just dying to know!"

"Since you're making me wait for my breakfast, I'm gonna make you wait for the surprise," she teased, nudging her counterpart after she stomped impatiently.

……………………………

Cheering in the stands, Rainbow waved her arms excitedly after watching one of her teammates do an impressive aerial performance. Scootaloo's head persistently jarred over to the timer. As the horn sounded, the small horse tapped Rainbow's shoulder to grab her attention.

"It's half-time!" she announced, transitioning from tapping to shaking. "You said if I wait till half-time, you'll show me the surprise!"

"OK, OK! Easy!" Rainbow spat out, steadying herself after Scootaloo pulled back, "Alright you didn't bother me once during the game so I guess you get your reward. C'mon." Nodding to the security guard a few feet away, Rainbow waited for his assistance as Scootaloo squirmed in anticipation. "Well," she began, starting to get up, "are you gonna follow me follow me to the backstage?" she asked, departing from her seat. The filly let out a loud gasp in excitement as she brushed past the expecting mare. A laugh slipped out as she trailed behind the sprinting equestrian into the hallway. Voices echoed throughout the atmosphere causing Rainbow's stomach to flutter slightly in expectation. Scootaloo turned back to her and raised her eyebrows while tapping her hoof.

"You're such a slowpoke!" she complained with a smirk.

"I missed the days when you thought I can do no wrong," Rainbow retorted when she approached her.

"You can never do anything wrong," Scootaloo guaranteed, "Especially when you do things like this!" Rainbow led her into the athlete's lounge and shook her gently as she stood by the doorway, stunned.

"OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH!" she squealed, jumping up and down, "The Wonderbolts! Here! In front of me! Now!" All the teammates energetically greeted Rainbow and trotted up to her, most of them reaching for her abdomen.

"You're a big one aren't ya?" a voice quipped. After responding gleefully to her colleagues, Rainbow twisted to find Spitfire beaming from ear to ear.

"Hey!" she shouted enthusiastically over the chattering ponies, "Oh, hey, I want you to meet the filly I've been telling you about." Reaching for Scootaloo, she averted the guest's attention to Spitfire. Her eyes were already wide open from the exhilaration of her surroundings and dropped her mouth when she was escorted by Rainbow to the team's captain.

"Y-y-you're S-Spit…Spitfire!" she stammered, trembling faintly.

"The one and only," she replied, tilting her head higher in pride, "Rainbow told me about you before. Scootaloo, right?"

"Y-you said my name!"

"Yeah, Rainbow said you're pretty rad at skateboarding and you're getting really good at flying." Scootaloo faced Rainbow and grinned.

"Really?" she asked, gaining eye contact with Spitfire again.

"Oh yeah," Spitfire answered.

"T-that's so awesome!" Rainbow placed her hoof on her shoulder to grab her interest and pointed to the crowd of athletes again.

"Guys, this is my good friend, Scootaloo," Rainbow began only to watch the orange horse to quickly blend herself into the group. "Well, it looks like she's made herself comfortable."

"She's a cutie," Spitfire commented, "So how's the pregnancy treating you?" Rainbow stuck out her tongue in faux disgust and Spitfire returned a guffaw. Suddenly, a voice boomed from the hallways as Rainbow realized that it was Top Boss.

"Dashie, baby!" he yelled, strutting over to her, "It's great to see ya! It's really great to see ya!"

"Hey Top! I-"

"You havin' this baby was the best thing you coulda done for us! We're bigger than ever now! Everypony is tryin' to get the scoop on you, dollface!" He paused to fix his hairpiece. "You shoulda thought of this earlier. Brilliant! You should be your own manager!"

"Oh, but then I wouldn't have you," she commented lightly.

"Dashie, you always know how to flatter a pony," he gushed, heading to his teammates, "I'll call ya later! It was great seein' ya!"

"Too tell you the truth, I kinda missed him for a while there," Rainbow admitted.

"He's right you know. You're the biggest thing," Spitfire explained, "Everypony's talking about you. Just as we thought that you couldn't get any bigger, you explode everywhere. Heck, you're even knocking off the politicians and appearing on the front cover of the newspaper as world news." Sharing a laugh, Spitfire quieted down and peered downward. "Enjoy your time in the limelight, kid." There was a certain tone of melancholy in her voice which caused her to clear her throat ad change the subject. "Anyway, since you're here, maybe you should give a little shout out to the audience. You know, make a cameo."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" she agreed.

"Radical!" she called out as she exited the room with her associates, "Meet ya at the field!" A flashback appeared in her mind. It was the afternoon of the Young Flyer's Competition and Rainbow had just completed her now world famous sonic rainboom. Her nerves overwhelmed her as she stood in front of her idols in their Wonderbolt costumes. Her words had difficultly flowing out of her mouth as her eyes flickered from each team member. Abruptly, her face tightened as the most notable affiliate stepped out to reveal herself to the young contest winner. Magazines had always raved about the colors of her coat, mane and eyes, saying that even the most colorblind ponies would be held in captivation of her brilliant shades. Rainbow felt the word 'brilliant' was an understatement. The setting sun of Cloudsdale that day after the competition celebration brought out the exquisiteness of the mare. She really was beautiful. Her splendor was astonishing and to Rainbow, more so than even Princess Celestia's.

"Hey, I'm Spitfire," she announced with her amber eyes sparkling. The blue pegasus could only squeak as a reaction. "You OK, kid?"

"You are, like, perfection!" she screamed, "I can't believe that you're here. Right here! In front of me! ME!"

"You're-"

"You are, like, the most famous Pegasus in all of Equestria!"

"You're funny," she said, smiling, "What's your name?"

"Rainbow Dash and I hope to be part of your team someday I've always dreamed of becoming a Wonderbolt and I'm so happy that I won this competition and I'm so psyched that I'm meeting you guys and you're like my idol andIcan'tbelievethisisallhappeningrightI'mSOEXCITEDICANBARELYEVENSTANDSTILLRIGHTNOW!"

Spitfire halted for a moment. "Wow."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited."

"I can tell," Spitfire jested, "Rainbow Dash. That's quite a name. I can see that being in the press." Rainbow gasped loudly and bit her lip from shrieking in delight. "That some amazing stuff you did out there today. I never saw anything like it, you really have potential. Work hard and who knows, maybe you'll be flying with us sooner than you think."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Rainbow found her leg being jerked by Scootaloo.

"Jeez Scoots," she griped, "All you've been doing today is pull me."

"I overheard you guys after the team left. So are you going do a shout out?"

"You heard that, huh?" she questioned, turning to the security guard by the door that stalled for her, "Yeah, I guess I am. I better go now since half-time is almost ending. Maybe you should stay here and wait for me to come back so that we can go to our seats." Quickly, Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around her neck. The two ponies held their embraced position with Rainbow eventually rubbing her back tenderly.

"No matter what, you're always my favorite," she whispered into the Wonderbolt's ear. Rainbow blinked away the stinging in her eyes rapidly before retracting back.

"I taught you well," she quipped, drawing away, "See ya in a bit." As she was escorted to the field, she heard the applause growing louder which made her blood rush faster. Audiences brought a form of energy that Rainbow could never explain to the other ponies. Her eyelids rose up while her posture straightened due to the shooting adrenaline shooting down her back. After her name was broadcasted, she was handed a microphone and watched the sports fans cheer for a moment.

"What's up Cloudsdale?" she hailed, waving her arm, "It feels good to be back. I hope all of you are having an awesome time!" She stopped for the crowd to quiet down. "Are you guys ready to see our Wonderbolts again?" She motioned for them to join her as the audience screamed again in approval. With Spitfire standing next to her, Rainbow remembered what she had told her back at the lounge.

"Give it up for them," she pronounced, bringing the microphone to her lips, "And give it up for our team captain, Spitfire." She twisted to face her. "She's the reason why I'm a part of this amazing team, she's my ultimate inspiration. So let's give her-- all of these ponies—some love." The audience roared optimistically as she turned off the microphone.

"You're too much, RD," Spitfire joked, holding out her hoof, "Thanks."

"It's the least I can do," Rainbow admitted, shaking it, "Now let's not make this too mushy-gushy. You gotta kick some flank out there."

…………………………..

Because Ponyville was known for having a great amount of fertility in their soil, the busiest part of the village happened to be the market place. At the market, not only was food up for purchase but so were knick knacks along with souvenirs and even clothing stores had been built to attract more citizens. Now, parks and landmarks occupied the town which made Ponyville alluring for both tourists and its civilians. Currently, especially on the weekends like today, the large masses collected together at the market to socialize.

"We tried to experiment with different flavors as well," Braeburn narrated, glancing around the stands, "We tried cherry, blueberry, boysenberry, peach, almond, pecan, and mud and anything ya can think of. But mah family decided that it would be best to just make apple pies. Makes sense if ya think about it. We were known for our apple trees. And that's what our cuties marks are, right? A buncha apples. Funny how cutie marks work, huh? I mean have ya really thought about it?" A chuckle escaped his mouth. "Ah mean, what if ya change yer mind on what ya wanted tah do or be? Now don't get me wrong, Ah love apples, but it's interesting tah think about. Am I borin' ya?"

"Kinda," Rainbow droned, pushing up her sunglasses as she shifted her trench coat.

"Oh did AJ tell ya?" he cut in, "Applebloom got her cutie mark last mornin'! She's so excited about it. But don't tell her I told you. I want her to show it to ya. She was showerin' and scrubbin' to make sure that it was legitimate and not some prank that was pulled by her friends. She also saw her zebra friend from some reason tah see if she ran through some joke plant or if it was a spell or somethin'. Anyways, she can't believe it that it's real. Ah'm so happy for my baby cousin. Well she's not a baby anymore. She's growin' up so fast. Well, she's still young but pretty soon she's gonna be a full grown mare."

"Yeah yeah," she replied emptily.

"Don't forget that we have parentin' classes tomorrow night," he reminded, ignoring her groans, "We've both been sayin' how we aren't ready to be parents and well, we should do somethin' about that." He grimaced at the dirty look he was receiving from her. "Hey, it was Applejack's idea."

"Mmm-hmm," she answered sardonically, "Sure it was. Hey why don't you get some lettuce from that stand, huh? I'm starving."

"Can do," he assured, "Are ya gonna come with me?"

"Nah, I'll be over here. I wanna lay low and avoid being recognized."

"No problem," he declared, giving an understanding nod. Watching him approach the cashier, she noticed a mare catching glimpses of him. The stranger blushed and turned away quickly to finish her task at her own stand. Rainbow felt the corner of her mouth turn upward as he moved towards the rainbow-maned pegasus with a head of lettuce.

"Hey, see that yellow filly over there? By the deli stand?" she quietly probed, yanking him slightly behind the bushes, "She has her back turned right now. She was checking you out when you were buying this."

"Really?" he countered doubtfully, "It doesn't seem as if Ah would be her type."

"Well I guess you stand corrected 'cause she totally digs you. She's kinda cute, too. You should go talk to her."

"Nah," he denied, stopping for a moment, "If I did, what would I say?"

"Uh, 'howdy'?" she advised as she handed him a bit, "And while you're at it, maybe you can buy me a pickle?" She headed over to a bench to observe the scene ahead of her. Smiling to herself, she tried to listen to their conversation which, much to her displeasure, was drowned out by the other talking ponies. What she did notice, nevertheless, was the mutual playfulness between the two. Of course, it helped that he had an outgoing personality. Fixating her attention to the booth next to her, she saw the amount of newspapers on its shelves and focused on reading on the headline. Moaning, she saw the bold letters across the front page and rolled her eyes.

Uproar over Athlete Rainbow Dash's Pregnancy

Chapter 10

The Derby has many factors that uphold its superior reputation such as its exquisite culinary dishes and breath-taking atmosphere. But the most publicized reason for its popularity was the famous guests that attended it. Every celebrity pony one could name had gone to the highly acclaimed restaurant and filled the walls with autographed pictures as proof. It had lovely views from the French-style windows which provided beautiful scenery of Los Pegasus and yet the seating gave the renowned ponies just enough privacy from passing civilians. The cyan customer placed her fork onto her place and rested her elbow on the table while propping up her head to glimpse at her company.

"That's awful what they are saying in the papers," the lavender unicorn commented, scooping up her soup, "What are you going to do?"

"Top Boss says to just lay low for a while and roll with the punches," Rainbow replied, "These things always happen. I just wish that they'd mind their own business."

"Well, you are a public figure, darling, you're bound to be the receiving end of such harsh judgments," Rarity retorted, shrinking back after receiving an irritated expression for her friend, "B-but that does not mean they have the right to say your lifestyle is immoral. They don't even know you!"

"That's what I'm saying!" she spat out, motioning over a waiter, "More bread please. How can I be a bad role model for their kids or whatever if I don't even know them?"

"If you ask me I think you are making a very smart decision for not getting into a marriage impulsively,” Rarity told her, causing Rainbow to lift an eyebrow in surprise, “You wouldn't want to rush into something you're not sure of. I as a business mare understand your point of view when it comes to your life and your career," Rarity added, bringing her water to her lips cautious, "By the way, how are you and Braeburn doing? Getting along fine?"

"Things have been smooth sailing so far," she informed, refolding her cloth napkin mindlessly, "We had our first parenting class."

"How exciting!" Twilight quipped.

"That turned out to be a dud," Rainbow quickly finished. She blew her bangs from her eyes and tapped her hoof apprehensively. "Also, a couple of days ago there was a mare at the market that I kinda set up with him." The equestrians exchanged looks and returned their attention back to the Pegasus. "I know, I know, it sounds weird. But she kept on staring at him while we were shopping so I told him that it looked like she liked him and that he should go talk to her."

"And you don't mind him talking to other fillies?" Twilight inquired suspiciously.

"Not really," she shrugged, "Listen, I don't want to be a stick in the mud. I don't want to hold him back from enjoying his life just because of some pregnant horse. And I'm sure he'd want the same for me. We are just the parents, we aren't exclusive or anything."

"So have they courted?" Rarity asked.

"What?"

"Has he accompanied her anywhere?"

"Huh?"

Rarity gave an exasperated sigh. "Have they dated?"

"Why didn't you say that in plain English? Not that I know of, no. He said that he's not interested in her. I stayed behind at the time so that I wouldn't be recognized but it seemed like they hit it off. They were smiling and everything."

"Well, Braeburn is a social colt," Twilight pointed out, "I think he would talk to a picture if it seemed nice enough."

"Yeah. But I didn't see too much because that's when I saw that stupid headline and focused on reading the newspaper." Rainbow grabbed a breadstick from the basket in front of her and gnawed on it. Setting it down, her eyes darted from one edge of the table to another. "Although there was something that happened that kinda made me think for a while."

"What was it?"

"It was after parenting class when we were walking to Sweet Apple Acres…"

………………………..

Their hooves crunched into the pile of leaves as they trotted to the farm. Rainbow wrapped her wings around her sides to fight off the chills from the breezy weather as she tried to keep up with the colt. Slightly ahead of her, he turned back to face her and slowed down his pace. With their eyes meeting, they busted into laughter once more.

"I can't believe you spilled the baby powder all over the table!" she exclaimed between her breaths.

"It's not mah fault that those bottles make cheap caps," Braeburn insisted, "Besides, Ah wasn't the one who was checkin' tah see if those foal dolls were atomically correct in front of the teacher."

"I can't believe she kicked us out! What a prude!"

"You said it!" he agreed, shaking off his vest, "Ya look cold. Take this." Rainbow raised her eyebrows and tilted her chin upward.

"I refuse your offer. I'm not made of glass, you know."

"You're right, you're made outta muscles and tissues and junk that requires warmth." He held out his vest and halted in his tracks. "Stop bein' so proud all the time."

"Fine," she allowed, sliding her arms through the holes and letting the fabric touch her fur. The body heat from him immediately heated the section of her back that it rested on. "Feels nice."

"I told ya-" He cut himself off to find that the mare was not moving. Concern grew in him as he retraced his steps back to her. "What's wrong?"

"Shh," she murmured, grasping his hoof and bringing it to her torso, "It's kicking."

Braeburn glanced at her and lowered himself to a comfortable position without straining his arm. "Is this the first time it's kicked?"

"Nah, it's done it a million times before. But this is the first time with you." He let out a small chuckle and rubbed his hoof on the surface of her belly gently. A contented stillness came between them.

"It's moving a lot, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," she replied, beginning to walk down the path again, "Don't get too carried away; I want to be home before sundown." The two ponies continued their trail with the sounds of trees bustling filling their ears. Figuring that she would not bring up the issue made in the newspaper yet, Rainbow decided to keep to herself to avoid pointing out the seemingly polarizing opinions of their situation and marriage.

"Oh funny thing, Miss Rainbow," he started, causing her to knit her eyebrows. Miss Rainbow? How many times has she been over this with him? "Y'know that filly ya pointed out to me in the market yesterday?"

"Oh yeah, how did it go?"

"Well, Ah knew she looked familiar and instantly recognized her when Ah approached her. She had been one of mah neighbors back in Apploosa. Apparently, she's visitin' family members here in Ponyville. Ah sort remembered her mentionin' that now that Ah think about it."

"Small world."

"Ah told Applejack and she said it'd be a great idea tah invite her for dinner tonight. D'ya want tah come and meet her?"

"Wouldn't that be a little weird?"

"Ah reckon you're family now, RD, Ah insist ya stay! If it weren't for ya, Ah wouldn't have seen Sally Sunshine."

"Sally Sunshine?"

"Yup, Sally Sunshine. That's her name. What d'ya say?

"I don't-" Suddenly, a cheerful scream was emitted which caused Rainbow to freeze, zooming to a bush to gaze over. Squinting her eyes, her peripheral vision showed Applejack enfolding her arms around the same pony that she noticed at the market. Her brown curls bounced against her cheeks as she hopped in delight after pulling back from the Southern horse. Hastily, Rainbow headed over to the two fillies with Braeburn following behind.

"It's very nice tah meet ya, Rainbow Dash," she greeted after Applejack introduced her.

"She's a sports athlete who flies for the Wonderbolts," Applejack explained, "She's big in Ponyville, and even bigger in Cloudsdale. And, of course, one of mah best friends since we were little foals."

"Oh how nice. Now, what're the Wonderbolts again?" she asked, noting their expressions, "Ya'll have to excuse mah ignorance on the subject; my folk don't usually keep up on these types of things." Rainbow cocked her head to the side and straightened her posture.

"It's, like, only the top of all flying sports teams around. They've won the most flying competitions and awards than any flying team in all of sports history. They are icons and living legends! Pegasi would give their hind legs to be part of such an awesome team."

"That's really somethin'. Ah becha you're darn good at it, too," she chirped.

"Only got Rookie of the Year," she boasted, sticking her chest out.

"And Ah take it you're expectin'?" she asked, gesturing to Rainbow's midsection, "How many months?"

"Eight."

"You are adorable! You're gonna love motherhood, Ah can already tell. Ah think bein' a mother is the greatest feelin' in the world."

"Do you have kids?"

"No but Ah'd love to someday," she concluded, turning her attention to the blonde stallion, "Howdy Brae! How're ya!"

"Great! C'mon, let’s go inside," he directed, noting a missing body, "Rainbow, are ya comin' with us?"

"Uh, no, I can't actually," she clarified, "I, uh, need to check on Tank. My turtle. Who needs to be fed. And checked on. Because he's a turtle."

"Are ya sure, sugarcube?" Applejack questioned, "D'ya have tah go now?"

"Mmm-hmm. But, hey, you guys enjoy yourselves. I should start heading back before it gets too dark."

"Will ya be alright?" Braeburn interjected, "D'ya need me tah walk ya somewhere?"

"I'll be fine, really. Cloudsdale is literally just above our heads," she reminded, flapping her wings to the nearest cloud, "See ya." As she moved her wings to her push body forward with the cloud, she heard a perky drawl call out.

"Nice meetin' ya, Rainbow Dash," Sally Sunshine announced, waving her bonnet in her hoof.

……………………..

"The whole thing just replayed in my mind over and over," Rainbow continued, tapping her breadstick emptily on the edge of her plate, "It didn't bother me at first but I got to thinking about it. They both live in the same neighborhood in a completely different city and they seem close. What if he just… leaves?" Rarity and Twilight simultaneously choked on their drinks and wiped their mouths. Observing their bewildered expressions, Rainbow began to explain herself. "You guys know exactly what I'm talking about. They always do this, colts always do this. They say that they'll be there for whatever mess that they made and then one day they just get up and go. Just disappear. I'm surprised he hasn't left already."

"It sounds as though you are expecting it, Rainbow Dash," Rarity half-heartedly jested, "I don't know why you play these silly mind games on yourself. Braeburn's not going to leave you for Celestia's sake."

"Rarity's right," Twilight agreed, "I don't think he's interested in dating right now anyway. He doesn't strike me the type to go after every mare he sees, especially an old neighbor." Twilight gave a small giggle. "In fact, you're acting as if he ran after her. I mean, you were the one who pointed her out, right?"

"Yes, and I have nopony to blame but myself," Rainbow whined as she smacked her head onto the table. Rarity glanced over to Twilight impatiently as the student shrugged.

"For some reason, I thought that was going to make her feel better," Twilight clarified.

"Darling, so you really think that he would do such a thing?" Rarity spoke, pushing the pegasus's bangs from her eyes. "Running away with another mare? Do you think you would allow that? Or Applejack? Does she even know that you two are having a foal together?"

"Not that I know of. But I'm sure he'll tell her eventually. I'm just trying to decide before or after they move away." Rarity gave a loud huff.

"There seems to be more to this than what you're telling us. Look, I'll play along and live in this world in your head. Let’s suppose they do get together, hmm? Perhaps she'd be of assistance. Maybe she could play the role of stepmum. How about that? Less work and stress for a busy pony like you." Her head rapidly shot up as her eyes flickered between the unicorns.

"You're right, maybe she'd become, like, some kind of third parent." Furrowing her eyebrows, Rainbow straightened her posture. "That little hussy will try to take my spot!"

"C-come again?"

"What if she tries to mother it and take care of it until that thing barely knows who I am anymore?"

"I must say, Rainbow, I'm taken back by your protective behavior on your unborn horse."

"Oh I don't care about that," she snapped, "I care about all my hard work diminishing. All these months of being sick and tired just to have somepony else getting the credit. I can see it now: first it just starts out as a few short visits. Then, they become babysitting sessions. Before you know it, it's calling her momma without a clue of who the really mother is." Her companions stared at her with their jaws dangling open.

"I think you made it worse," Twilight mumbled to Rarity.

"Hush," Rarity hissed, "Honey, nothing is-"

"You shoulda seen the way she was eying my stomach and all," Rainbow continued, "Cooing about how much she wanted to be a mother and have children and all that stuff. Well no way that's going to happen with my baby! I'm not sharing that spotlight!" A waiter sauntered to their table covering the receiver of the phone he was carrying with his hoof.

"Phone call for Miss Rainbow Dash." She reached for it, slumping in her booth slightly.

"Hello?"

-Rainbow? Ya need to come over here or do somethin'! It's Applejack!-

Rainbow ducked her head a little and lowered her voice.

"Applejack? What's wrong?"

-Ah'll tell ya what's wrong…Big Mac, close those curtains! What's wrong is that there are photographers everywhere!-

"W-what?" Rainbow exclaimed.

-Braeburn an' Ah were in Ponyville an' Ah guess some pony recognized him in a magazine. Before we know it, we're bein' chased by a mob of fans or paparazzi or whatever back at home. They're poundin' at the door and yellin' your name and if we know ya and if we know where ya are. Ya gotta do somethin'!-

"Alright, alright, don't panic," she assured, resting the phone on the table. "Twilight, how are your teleportation skills?"

…………………

Much to her shock, Applejack found a burst of magenta powder and pulled Big Macintosh back from the rug he was standing on. Waiting for the rupture to vanish, the country pony made out a familiar silhouette. She breathed a sigh of relief when the realization hit her that it was her friend.

"My goodness, Rainbow, don't scare me like that!" she demanded, letting go of her brother.

"Hey," she greeted, opening her eyes that she had closed before the magic spell was set on her, "So where's that magazine you were talking about?" After receiving the tabloid, Rainbow glared at the title page and gasped. It showed a picture of low quality with her and Braeburn. She instantly recognized the moment that was captured; it was the moment after parenting class when they were walking home. There lay Braeburn's hoof on her midsection followed by the bold letters 'Who's the colt with Rainbow?'. "'The mysterious eye-candy was picture holding the athlete's baby bump. Could this be the father?'" she read out loud.

"One o' the girls asked me tah autograph it," Braeburn pointed out as he entered the entry way.

"How did they find out where we were when they took this picture?" she questioned in a frustrated tone.

"Ah don't know but Ah'm willing to bet one o' them mothers or fathers musta alerted the media at them parentin' classes." He paused and grimaced. "We oughta say somethin'. They can't just get away with that!"

"Mmm-hmm," she replied, "Or perhaps it was you little friend of yours I met earlier this week. What was her name again?"

"S-Sally Sunshine?" he correct her, raising an eyebrow, "Ah can't imagine her doin' such a thing. Besides, she met ya after the classes an' Ah haven't told her prior that Ah knew ya."

"Yeah right, I wouldn't trust her if I were you. It's always the quiet ones that rat us out." Braeburn was taken aback by her harsh voice.

"Rainbow, she's one o' my good neighbors. And she doesn't know how this famous pony business thing works out anyhow."

"Either way, how many times have I told you to be careful?" The male horse asked what on earth was she talking about. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You haven't exactly been discreet like I've told you to be. Every time we go out to the market or somewhere you always have to wave at somepony and say hello."

"Ah'm just tryin' tah be nice, that's all!" he defended, "Ah've gotten to meet some nice acquaintances."

"And you're bringing attention to us! Also, it was your stupid idea to go to those parenting classes. I knew I shouldn't have gone but I was basically forced to."

"Ya were forced to, huh?" he shot back, stepping closer to her, "Ah wasn't exactly holdin' a gun to your head!"

"Well, we went and now look what happened! All of Equestria is trying to knock down the door!"

"Rainbow, why don't ya try to-"

"What? Try to what? Calm down? Do me a favor and just for once try to not tell me what to do, OK? Maybe you should listen to me for a change!"

"Since when do Ah try tah control ya?" he retorted, "Ah'm just tryin' to get ya tah calm down so that ya don't go on a frenzy like ya usually do!"

"It's a little too late for that!" she yelled, bringing her to face close to his until their noses touched, "Ever since this whole thing started eight months ago, you've made my life a living hell. I'm stuck in a situation that I am dreading and you don't seem to care how I feel at all! You are stuck in your own little world in your mind that everything is going to be OK, that it's going to be fine. Well newsflash, it's not! Not only does everypony know who I hang out with now, but they know about my personal life and the places where I go! Thanks to your careless attitude!" A pained sense grew in his emerald orbs that quickly changed into disgust.

"You're right," he murmured sarcastically, "It's just all my fault. Will ya feel better if Ah get outta here?" The mare's eyes dropped slightly as she opened her mouth. Before she could say anything, he brushed against her to head over to the furthest side of the house. "Hope this'll make ya happy."

"Braeburn!" Applejack called out, galloping after him. She stopped and glowered at her rainbow-maned guest with her eyes that seemed to drill a hole into her skull. As she left the room, Rainbow blew out a breath and peered down. The air became thick that filled in her ears, causing her to have a faint headache. Slowly, she looked over to Big Macintosh whose stance appeared livid. No matter how hard she tried, she could not form words from her mouth.

"No pony talks tah my family members that way," he grumbled, stepping closer towards the filly that made her cower.

"I-I'll see myself out," she informed, reaching for the door handle. A red hoof slammed on it and guided her to the living room.

"Ah not too happy 'bout your behavior just now, but Ah can't allow ya tah leave," he explained, "Not like this, anyway, with them leeches everywhere. Ya can stay the night, y'hear?" She blinked in amazement.

"B-but what will Applejack say?"

"Don't matter what she says or thinks. Same goes fer me. This is an issue between you and Braeburn. But ya gotta promise yer gonna apologize tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess," she whispered, dipping her head.

"It's gettin' late; it's already in the evenin'. Y'all can sleep on one o' the couches."

"OK," she concurred, meekly nodding her head, "A-and I'll call my manager in the morning to get rid of these guys." After the stallion left the room, Rainbow sunk onto one of the cushions and frowned at the ceiling. "This is the reason why Mom always told me to never hold in my emotions," she told herself miserably.

Chapter 11

Yawning as she entered the kitchen, Rainbow smacked her lips a few times to moisten her mouth from her sleep the night before. Her hooves dragged as the dusk sunlight shone through the windows, causing her to squint a little. Some of her bones cracked during this routine which only made her recoil. A young filly trotted up to her and greeted her in a boisterous voice. Much to her annoyance, Rainbow reminded herself that this household's residents were at their most energetic in the morning.

"Didja sleep well?" Applebloom asked as she led her to a table to sit in a chair, "Ah was over at Sweetie Belle's showing mah new cutiemark when Ah got a phone call from mah big sister tellin' me tah stay the night. She told me that there were uh buncha photography ponies or somethin'. What happened? Was it madness? Is everythin' OK?"

"Uh-huh," Rainbow murmured, giving her best effort to keep her eyelids up.

"Oh, and did Ah mention? Ah finally got mah cutiemark!" Thrusting her hip towards the Pegasus, she inspected the design which was an apple with various shades of pink and orange that rested on a flower which appeared to be a lily. "D'ya like it? Huh? Huh?"

"Yeah, it's real nice," Rainbow assured, trying to bring more flocculation in her voice. She knew how important her cutiemark was to Applebloom and did not want to be responsible for bringing down her mood over the fight she had last night. "Congrats."

"Who knew it'd be an apple of all things," she exclaimed as she exited the kitchen.

"Who knew?" Rainbow told herself quietly with a smirk. From the corner of her eye, she caught Applejack in her peripheral vision leaning on her countertop.

"Good mornin'," she called out, "Ah already made the coffee half an hour ago so y'all can pour yourself a cup if ya want."

"Thanks," Rainbow yawned, watching Applejack join her at the table from a seat opposite to her.

"Sorry ya had tah sleep on the couch. If Ah'd knew you were stayin' over Ah'd let ya share the bed with me." Rainbow grimaced slightly at the idea of sharing a bed with Applejack. At every sleepover they had since they were fillies, the country mare always had the tendency to kick in her sleep.

"It’s fine, I'm not too sore."

"And Ah take it you're gonna apologize to Braeburn?"

Rainbow snorted. "You can't make me say I'm sorry. I'm a grown mare and I can make decisions on my own."

"RD, ya really hurt his feelings. And with him bein' on the cover of tabloids now, he's under a lot of stress. You aren't the only one in this relationship."

"We aren't dating," Rainbow hissed as she crossed her arms.

"Ah'm not saying it's a datin' relationship but y'all still got one. Let’s face, y'all got some pretty strong ties that can only hinder your relationship if y'all have bad blood between ya." Applejack set her cup down with a loud clank. "Ah'm not sayin' this is gonna be easy, but you're gonna make it right. And Ah mean it." Rainbow twiddled with the edge of the tablecloth.

"Whatever. I'll do it, OK?" For Applejack, that answer was good enough.

"So how did ya get rid of the paparazzi so quickly anyhow?" she questioned.

"I had my manager send off a decoy. It's amazing how fast they will follow a pony with an oversized hoodie and rainbow wig." A honk was heard from outside, causing them to both turn around to see a large Pegasus with a wagon behind him.

"Who's that?"

"My driver that Top sent me," Rainbow enlightened, heading towards the back door, "I have an interview with Soarin for some show that I need to get to." Applejack raised an eyebrow as she trailed behind her friend.

"How convenient," she said.

"I forgot to tell you so sue me. In fact, I wasn't even planning to stay the night, so you can't blame me for anything." Rainbow felt a hoof on her shoulder as she reached for the doorknob.

"You're gonna come back, right?" She saw Rainbow turning the door handle to mumble something. "Right?"

"I said yes, OK?" Rainbow snapped as she let herself out, "Geesh!"

……………………………….

The show 'Happy Talk' had been a program that Rainbow grew up with. Filled with news of celebrities along with its silly skits and light-hearted tone, it had become one of Equestia's beloved television programs. Even the most grave ponies cannot help but crack a smile due to the hosts and the warm environment they bring with the cameras present to catch it. The four ponies shared their guffaws as they teased one another at the Wonderbolt Headquarters.

"OK, OK, I have to bring this up," one of the interviewers them alerted, reaching from behind her chair, "I think I fell in love with you all over again, Soarin, for this."

"Oh no!" he shouted, turning to a deeper shade of red. She held up a magazine with a picture of him on the cover. Due to the dark atmosphere of the photograph, the lighting picked up all the details of his athletic body. "I was hoping you guys would forget about that.”

"Forget about this?" she teased, "I don't think anypony will be forgetting about this sizzling shoot. What camera do I point this to?" One of the cameraponies waved his arm to get her attention. "Didja get it, Jon?" She faced Soarin again. "We rarely get to see you without your Wonderbolts costume on along with your hair down like in this photo, so it's a nice little treat I may say."

"They airbrushed some parts," he added light-heartedly.

"Yeah right. Listen to me, Cold Copy," Rainbow cut in, addressing the reporter by her name, "He's acting coy. We've been sharing the same locker room for years now and that's the real deal."

"Ooo," she cooed, "Answer it for your female base, are ya single?" He gave a meek nod, suppressing his smirk. "There you have it, fillies!"

"Speaking of significant others," Cold Copy's partner interjected, "Rainbow, who's the mysterious colt with you in these pictures that's all over the news?"

"A friend," she stated defiantly, noting the two reporters exchanging suspicious looks, "What, doncha trust me?"

"No no, we trust you. It's just the words out of your mouth that we don't trust," he joked, receiving an elbow nudge from his co-worker.

"Don't worry, Outcue, the truth will come out eventually," Cold Copy noted with a wink, "You must be excited for the foal, I bet."

"You're pregnancy is causing quite the scandal," Outcue pointed out, "How does that feel?"

"Oh, you mean the Anti-Rainbow Dash club?" Rainbow jested, "Yeah I know about that. It's weird because it's not like I'm the only pregnant mare in the world, you know."

"But you're certainly the biggest," Outcue responded, taking a moment to pause, "Figuratively speaking, that is. You've maintained your figure quite well." Rainbow rolled her eyes with a playful swat.

"Well, duh!"

"So there's a lot of pressure on you to marry the foal's father. Any comments?"

"Look, I understand it's a moral thing and it's morally right and blah blah blah. But I'm letting things play out and my critics should let me live my own life. I am a grown mare after all! They should just mind their own business and leave my baby outta it. I mean, it can't even defend itself yet!"

"So are you ready to be a mother?" She shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Rainbow commented.

"I have a feeling you're gonna be a great mom!" Cold Copy reassured.

"An awesome mom!" Outcue joined in.

"Awww we're one big mushy, happy family," Rainbow announced, feeling a gentle supportive rub on the shoulder from Soarin. She returned the favor by giving him a warm grin. Suddenly, she saw the interviewers' eyes rise above her head at their faces lit up slightly.

"I see a familiar Wonderbolt we all know and love," Outcue rejoiced, "Come over here Spitfire!"

"I don't want to interrupt your thing," she replied, staying behind the camera. Soarin extended his arms out after slapping them on his lap a few times.

"C'mon!" he called out, "You can use me as a seat." Unintentionally, the yellow mare galloped over to the group and landed on top of Soarin.

"There's the beautiful Spitfire!" Outcue presented.

"Oh please, I'm nothing much!"

"Yeah right, I'm no fillyfooler, but I won't deny that I have a rather strong attration for you," Cold Copy joked, turning to one of the cameramen, "Am I allowed to say that on camera?"

"Hey you guys!" she greeted, "What's up? What's the latest scoop?"

"We were just here talking about Rainbow becoming a mother and Soarin's magazine shoot and what's coming up next for the Wonderbolts," Cold Copy filled in, "Hey, why don't you greet our viewers for us?"

"Sure thing!" she agreed, "Hello fellow fans, it's your mare Spitfire!"

"Radical! I'm Cold Copy-"

"And I'm Outcue and remember-"

"'It's all smiles here on Happy Talk'!" they concluded simultaneously.

"And clear!" one of the staff members pronounced causing all the cameras to turn off. After exchanging their gratitude the sports ponies and hosts part ways to continue their work schedules. As the three Wonderbolts sauntered down the hallways, Soarin told the two female pesasi that he had to meet up with coach Hard Ball to perfect his triple topsy turvy flip for the next game. Rainbow followed Spitfire into the locker room where she helped her unload all of her items out of the locker.

"To tell you the truth, I'm sorta stalling myself from going back to my friend's barn," Rainbow blurted out.

"Why?" Spitfire probed, reaching for one of her bags to set on the bench.

"'Cause I kinda had a huge argument with my foal's father." She grimaced at her own words. Other than 'Braeburn', she had no idea what else to call him.

"Uh oh, that's not good," Spitfire commented, "What's up?"

"Well, we fought for many reasons, the main one being that his picture is now all over the news."

"Oh I knew he looked familiar," she murmured, setting her goggles on top of her bag. "I remember you pointing him out to me a few months back."

"I hate confrontations so I'm just gonna stick here for a while. And promise me you're telling nopony about this. That you know who the father is and all of that."

"Cross my hear hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Where did you learn…how did-" Rainbow cut herself off, "Nevermind. Make should you don't break that promise. Trust me, a certain pony will be upset if you do."

"You have my word, kid."

"And what's with all of this stuff anyway? Why are you clearing out your locker?" Spitfire halted for a moment with her jacket in her arms. Her eyes trace the inside of the compartment and she slowly set it down. Much to Rainbow's surprise, Spitfire's face dropped when she met Rainbow's.

"Now it's your turn to keep a promise," she whispered, coming closer to her, "I haven't told anypony yet except for Top Boss and the coach, but I'm retiring soon." Rainbow's eyes grew wide as her mouth drooped open.

"You're what?" she exclaimed, placing her flank onto the bench that touched her thighs.

"I haven't built up the guts to announce it to everypony yet, but after this season I'm done. This is my last season." The blue horse searched her teammate's expression.

"You're joking right? What about the team? What about you?"

"Face it, I've been here way before you. I'm been here way before Soarin. Heck I even remember when Hard Ball was a new coach," Spitfire said, placing a hoof on her associates shoulder, "I've had a good, long run here. Wonderbolts have been my passion, and it still is, but I need to experience the rest of my life. I'm going home with more soreness and scratches and bruises than ever before. My prime is running out and I've fought that idea for a long time. But you know what? I'm OK with it now. I'm not going to look back at pictures of my past and wish I can go back to that time. I'm going to appreciate my accomplishments and seek for new opportunities to live my life to the fullest." Noticing her counterpart's eyes began to brim, she wrapped her arms around her in an embrace.

"Sorry," Rainbow apologized, "It's just…I've looked up to you all my life. A-and everything is just happening so…so fast…."

"Listen to me," Spitfire requested, pulling back, "This is just the beginning for you. I have to say I've been in this industry since a young age, even a little younger before you got in, so believe me when I tell you this: I've never seen an athlete like you before. Your skills, determination, charisma…you say you look up to me all the time, but whenever I see you, I know I'm in a presence of an icon. You're gonna work your hardest through this whole entire thing. The pregnancy and working out and championships and everything and you're gonna make me proud. Got it?"

"Yeah," Rainbow murmured, blowing her bangs from her eyes. "Got it."

……………………….

Inside the barn, the blonde stallion wiped the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his arm. Making wood figurines had become a hobby of his from growing up with mostly fillies during his adolescence. In total, he had five sisters, four of them being younger than him which made him the third youngest if he included two brothers in the mix as well. The statuette he had currently been working on was a sparrow bird. Everypony had always applauded him on his special touch with the crafts and art activities. It was just something he had always had a knack for he would humbly explain. Rubbing the side of it against the sandpaper on the table, he took a second to sneeze and continue his work. After sniffing a few times, he saw a shadow engross his work space that was swallowed by the golden sunlight only moments ago. He turned around to find a familiar silhouette by the barn doors.

"Gesundheit," the expecting horse proclaimed, walking in. To her dismay, he twisted back around and proceeded to smooth out the splinters from his piece. "Listen, I'm sorry that we argued yesterday." He stopped for a moment and maintained his work focus. "Did you hear me? I said I was sorry."

"Yeah Ah heard ya," he confirmed quietly.

"Well, do you accept my apology or what?" Putting down the wooden bird, he completed faced forward to glare at her.

"No, Ah don't."

"Why?" she whined, stomping closer to him, "I came over here like everybody wanted me to. I'm really, really, really sorry, OK? I don't want any hard feelings between us, so just accept my apology."

"Ya really don't get it, do ya?" he asked, his glaze becoming harder. "This has been goin' on for a while, Rainbow, and Ah have held mah tongue for far too long."

"Wha do you mean? You mean the magazine thing? That'll blow over and if you really need them, I can request some of the best bodyguards for you if you're nervous about the paparazzi."

"Not that!" he snapped. He took a slow breath and shook his head. "It's you blamin' me for everythin'. Look, Ah understand that you're 'fraid of the foal comin' and fer your career at the Wonderbolts. But have ya ever thought about how Ah feel?"

"I…I thought you were excited," she whimpered, sitting on a pile of hay next to him.

"Ah am," he reassured, giving a faint grin that faded rapidly, "But Ah got nerves about it, too. Ah mean, Ah'm gonna be a father. And Ah got a life back in Apploosa that Ah now have tah reconsider and rearrange for it. Ah never wanted to mention it to ya 'cause Ah was afraid you'd get even more stressed out. But Ah got feelings too, RD, and everypony's got a breakin' point and sometimes Ah think you don't realize that the same rule applies fer me." Stillness filled the air causing Rainbow to struggle to inhale.

"You're scared about being a father?"

"A little."

"I'm sorry," she stated, reaching for Braeburn's shoulder with her hoof that he shrugged off, "Really, I am. You're right, I need to acknowledge that you do have feelings and thoughts and that you are your own pony. Sometimes, I think to myself that I have the most amazing support and you are a large reason why I have pushed myself through this. It's you that gives me the inspiration and drive to have this thing and try to move forward to motherhood. You care for me immensely and… I need to do the same for you. I'm sorry for doubting you and questioning you and…just acting like a jerk. In the back of my mind, I'm always afraid that one day, you'll just leave or something. I don't know why but I am." From the corner of his eye, he saw her now peering through the barn door, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Why do ya think Ah'm such a bad pony?" he asked, his tone soft, "Why d'ya think Ah'll betray ya like that?"

"'Cause they usually do." Braeburn wanted to probe her more, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. "When I'm scared, I tend to lash out. And when I'm frightened…I hide." She let out an uneasy laugh and threw her head back. "I haven't contacted my parents since the pregnancy. Did you know that? Not one call."

"Why?"

"I've always had a strained relationship between my parents and I. See, you're use to this big family business whereas I have no idea how it works."

"Why are y'all strained? Do they not love ya?"

"Of course they loved me! Like all parents." She sighed and looked down. "I snuck out a lot when I was a kid. I was rebellious and talked back to them a lot. We did have our sweet moments like any family; in fact we had a lot of them. They were proud of my flying records at school and supported me at all of my flying tournaments. But I neglected school a lot and they saw it in my academic grades. I put a lot of worry on them and of course the separations and fighting didn't make matters any more helpful. I told them I wanted to join the Wonderbolts and always said screw school. They wanted me to get my studies in order but I was too busy fantasizing about being in that beautiful Wonderbolts costume. I see now that they meant well but at the time I thought that they were against me and my wishes. Finally, when I was the appropriate age, I moved out. I've been too scared to call my parents since I found out I'm having a foal and they only know through news sources. I-I want to call them, but I don't know how or what to say. I haven't really told anypony that, but I'm starting to think that I can really open up to you now."

"Ah'm glad we can open up to each other like this. And Ah think ya should call them. Ya got it in ya tah repair relationships."

"I don't know," she doubted, "Braeburn? Why do you like me?"

"How d'ya mean?"

"I don't know. As a pony, I guess. My critics are right. I'm careless, crass, arrogant, and childish." She gave a snort. "Some element of loyalty. The only pony I'm loyal to is myself and my selfishness."

"Now, that ain't true, Miss Dash. This is a mighty noble thing ya did and Ah'm proud of ya for that." He turned towards her and leaned in closer. "Remember way back in Apploosa when we were in the fields? Before we went into the barn and, well, ya know."

"Yes, Brae," she grunted sheepishly.

"Ah remember ya were in bad mood. And Ah mean worse than usual. Ah knew somethin' was up and that's when we went on our walk. Ah remember ya tellin' about some Thunderwing fellah or one another that ya were seein' and that ya saw him with another mare. Two-timin' ya." Rainbow cringed at the memory.

"Who cares? I sure didn't," she lied, "I didn't like him much anyway."

"Ah never saw ya so sad in mah life. We've know each other since we were little horses due to mah cousin Applejack and your friendship and Ah never seen ya so heart broken. Ah wanted tah cheer ya up by doin' a hay climbin' contest like we use tah when we were younger. And, well, ya know where that ended up. Anyway, Ah'd like tah believe that for that moment, Ah truly made ya happy." A small giggle escaped through her lips.

"Suuure, that's the reason why we mated," she sarcastically remarked. She gave him a tiny shove, causing him to break out in a smile.

"Mah point is Ah'm not exactly sure why Ah care fer ya so much. Maybe it's 'cause we've know each other for a while now, especially over these past few months. But ya put up a front like yer some tough pony. And don't get me wrong, you're a very strong filly. But Ah know that's not like ya. Ya also have certain vulnerability that Ah find endearin'. Ah know that underneath some o' yer crazy antics and traits, there's a kind, sweet, lovin' pony. And when Ah see it and experience it, Ah know that it's the true you."

"Really?" she replied, blinking her eyes. "You mean that?"

"Yeah, Ah do," he confirmed drawing closer to her until their snouts hovered near each other, "You just gotta learn to let down yer guard." Her eyelids began to lower until she heard a miniscule voice shriek from the back of her head.

"I-I can't…" she trailed off, watching his eyes flicker open, "My driver's outside. I stayed here longer than expected. I gotta go."

"Oh," he mustered, reaching for his hat on the table to place on his head.

"B-but, uh, I'm really glad we had this talk. Thank you for this," she retorted, heading for the barn door. She had sworn she heard Braeburn say good-bye but her thoughts hammered against the walls of her mind. Circles spun in her vision as she galloped to the cab. The Pegasus tied to the cart set down his newspaper and glowered at her.

"Finally!" he shouted, "About time! Where to? Home?"

"Yeah, sure," she concurred, hopping into the wagon. As they took off, the breezes from his wings ahead of her fanned off the sweat from her face. Swallowing hard, she shut her eyes and hoped that it was the winds that caused them to sting so much.

"Darn it," she cursed.

Chapter 12

"Oh Braeburn, darling, look at this one!" The mare waved the tiny jacket in front of her face eagerly for the stallion to evaluate. Giving an approving nod, he walked to the other side of the store to get a better view of it.

"Ah can't believe how tiny it is!" he exclaimed, grabbing one of the sleeves, "And soft!" Rainbow gave an irritated snort at the spectacle in front of her. The two ponies practically dragged her at this store, she felt, and decided this shopping spree was a waste of her time. Many times she begged them to forget this plan and to go home. All she yearned for was the warmth of her bed and her usual adventurous read of the popular book series 'Daring Do'. Although she never quite thought about being a mother during her pregnancy, she promised herself that the foal would be exposed to the heroine at an early age. She believed that her baby should grow up with a sense and feel of venture. To her, boredom was the worst possible emotion in all of Equestria and hoped that her offspring would never have to be subject to such torture. Especially the type of torture she had been experiencing at the moment.

"Why are we shopping for clothes?" she complained, throwing her head back, "We rarely even wear clothes anyway!"

"Rainbow Dash, it needs to be protected from harsh and cold weather," Rarity explained, searching through the racks, "Besides, it shall be the most fabulous foal in Ponyville!"

"Well you guys are taking  forever!" Rainbow whined, rubbing her eyes.

"Aw c'mon, RD," Braeburn coaxed, "Ah really wish you'd participate with us in this. Rarity's been a great help, Ah don' think Ah'd catch all of these good finds!"

"Miss Pay-Attention-To-Every-Little-Detail scrutinizing each clothing piece," Rainbow retorted sardonically, "What a surprise. And we've only got half of the store done!"

"Forget it Braeburn, you've been trying all morning to convince her to shop and that is something that I have been trying for years and still fail," Rarity commented, holding out a scarf, "I would love this in my size. It's absolutely adorable."

"Ah can see that on our baby girl," Braeburn admired, "At least, if I imagined it was a baby girl or not." He turned to face Rainbow and lifted an eyebrow.

"You know that I'm not going to look at the sex of the foal," Rainbow reminded, "The foal itself was a surprise so the gender should be as well."

"Maybe we should just purchase the stroller and crib and leave the store since the mother will just sit around and mope all day," Rarity suggested after some elongated moments of silence occurred when the equines continued their search. Approaching the register, the pale unicorn started to dig through her purse to grab her credit card. "Would you be a lamb and charge it, please?" she requested to the young cashier.

"Rarity, you don't have to pay it for me," Rainbow cut in.

"Nonsense!" she retorted, "This'll be my little gift to you. Besides, it's the least I can do for you since you took me out to lunch last week. That and for letting me give you a hooficure." Rainbow's eyes grew wide.

"You gave me a what?" A small giggle surpasses Rarity's lips.

"Oh yes I meant to tell you, darling. Before we left the barn you were taking a nap do I took it upon myself to give you a little hooficure."

"I can't believe-" Rainbow gave her best effort to peer at her hind legs with unfortunate luck. Her belly was too large so she decided to bring her foreleg up to her eyesight to inspect. "Never do that again, got it?" She reached for her sunglasses that rested on her bangs and pulled them over her eyes.

"Send them to this address please," Rarity pointed out, giving them a card with an address to Sweet Apple Acres. After Braeburn met up with the mares, the security guards escorted them out the doors into the frenzy of fans and photographers. It was one of the busier days she noted; therefore, she stood close to the large guard pony. Strange enough there were not as many ponies following them into the mall when they initially drove there. Of course, she remembered, word spreads around which results in many eager horses to see a celebrity in real life. The screams of fillies rang in their ears and the flashes distorted their views in front of them.

"Boy, sure know how to pick 'em, Rainbow!" a reporter called out, "Hey wouldja mind tellin' us your name, sir?"

"Um…no," Braeburn quickly rejected, keeping up with his group, "Ah mean…yes, Ah would mind."

"He has an accent!" a young filly shrieked while her friends laughed as they turned red.

"Ow!" Rainbow cried after feeling a slight shove, "Somepony pushed me!" She turned to see a gathering of colts waving a Wonderbolts flag.

"WE LOVE YOU RAINBOW DASH!" Forcing a smile, she drove herself through the crowd even deeper.

"Watch the mane!" Rarity shouted, raising a hoof to protect her hairstyle. A male horse complimented her beauty which made the designer blush slightly. "Oh you are too kind! But still, watch the mane."

"Rainbow, who designed that gorgeous coat you're wearing?" a female paparazzo questioned.

"Rarity," Rainbow answered, climbing inside her wagon just outside the mall. No matter what the cases were, Rainbow was always willing to help out a friend, especially in publicity and marketing. That and, truthfully, she realized that the fashionista would probably have a few choice words with her if she had not mentioned her name.

"That's Rarity, the designer!" the white horse broadcasted as she clutched onto the cart door, "R-A-R-I-T-Y!" As Braeburn joined them in the wagon, he shut the door and cowered at the citizens knocking on the windows.

"You already rub elbows with the likes of Photo Finish and Hoity Toity and have some of the biggest clients in the business," Rainbow pointed out to Rarity, "Why do you need to throw your name out like that?"

"I want my fellow costumers to see a preview of my maternity clothing line," she explained as the cart took off, "And you're the perfect model for it."

"That's true, you got a point there," Rainbow agreed, suppressing a toothy grin, "Hey Brae, that wasn't so bad back there, right?"

"That was madness!" Braeburn proclaimed, "Some mare tried to rip this vest right off mah back!"

"Yeah, well, it's not normally this busy or hectic," Rainbow clarified, "The mall is a very public place so that's why we attracted a lot of stand-bys. Trust me, I know all the tricks and tips to avoid messes like this." Braeburn took off his hat to fan himself and glazed over to Rainbow again.

"How does it feel tah be the most famous pony in the world right now?" he asked with a smirk.

"I've been called worse before," she teased back with a shrug.

"Oh this scenery is absolutely glorious," Rarity cooed, gleaming from the window of the levitating wagon, "What an inspiration. Remind me to take more cab drives with pegasi drivers."

"There's Sweet Apple Acres," Rainbow mentioned, reaching for her manager, "Hey tell them to stop here."

………………………..

"Alright, who's next?" Applejack asked loudly, arranging the fruits in front of her. "Howdy ma'am, how many zap apples will ya be purchasin' today?" After the costumer told her the amount, the country mare soon found herself smiling at the sight of her friends and cousin trotting towards her. The sportspony waved to the citizens in the lengthy line and posed for some pictures as Rarity and Braeburn gave her impatient glares.

"I gotta give the ponies what they want!" Rainbow justified then finally giving in, "Fine."

"Here ya are ma'am and have a fantastic day! Y'all been out fer a long time," Applejack noted when they brushed passed her stand. "Ah hope ya got a good amount of stuff."

"Yes, well, at least we got the stroller and crib out of it," Rarity commented, making faces at the dirt on the ground. "I think I'm going to head over inside where it's safe; I just had my coat cleaned."

"Ah'll help the family out," Braeburn suggested, "Rainbow, maybe ya should go with Rarity. It looks like her baby sister and Applebloom are still on their play date so she'll be here for a while." Meeting up with the unicorn, Rarity probed where Rainbow's room was in the house. Rainbow led her to the guest room in the back and petted Tank who rested on her bed.

"So how does it feel to live here?"

"It's alright," Rainbow answered, "Applejack insisted that I move here. She was nervous about me constantly going back and forth from my house in Cloudsdale to Ponyvile and back. Obviously everything in my house can't fit in this little room-"

"I think it's a nice size."

"But what can you do?" Rainbow droned on, "At least it's comfortable."

"That's good." Quickly, Rainbow glanced from the window to see that all the family members were in the front lawn selling their zap apples.

"Rarity, something happened last week." The feminine equestrian bolted upward and squirmed in her seat.

"Ooo some gossip I see. Is it juicy?"

"I…guess. So I went to go apologize to Braeburn after our little fight…I told you about that right?"

"Yes yes yes, go on go on!"

"And we were talking it out and we really, I don't know, connected in a way. He told me that it felt like I didn't care about his feelings which I do so I apologized for not seeming to care. I even told him about my parents and how I haven't talk to them recently. And, well, we almost…kissed." Rarity's mouth dropped.

"Kissed? Almost?"

"Yeah, he started to lean in and I did a little too. And for some reason I just choked and got outta there."

"Have you and Braeburn talked about it since?"

"Not since then, no, but I mean things haven't been too awkward, you know?"

"He seemed fine just now but you have no clue what he could be thinking."

"I don't know," Rainbow countered, taking a moment to collect her thoughts, "I don't want this to turn into a relationship, that's all."

"But why? He's a great colt! After all of this drama and publicity nonsense he still wants to be with you when you have your foal."

"That's just it! What if the only thing we have in common is the foal? What if all we do is fight? I don't want us to separate or reconcile all the time or whatever when the kid is born. It'll mess it up, you know? I know it certainly did for me." Giving a sympathetic smile, Rarity could not help but notice the dramatic change in maturity in her friend. Only months ago the pegasus thought nothing but herself and now she was considering both the foal's and Braeburn's emotions. She wanted to point out the pride she had in her friend but she decided to keep to herself for now.

"But Rainbow, would you not think that the foal is going to ask why mommy and daddy are not holding hooves or hugging or kissing. How do you think it would feel if it only saw its parents treating each like co-workers instead of two, loving ponies? You cannot change your childhood and your view on marriage and relationships at the time, but maybe you can help repair the holes that you have within yourself by trying to provide a better outlook of parental love with you and Braeburn for your baby. You and Braeburn will love this baby just as your parents love you, but I can also see you two having a long, lasting love for each other. You guys obviously adore and admire each other. Trust me; I think it can work out."

"Yeah…" Rainbow trailed off, embracing Tank absently. "It's weird because, I've been thinking about it for a while now. The kiss. O-or rather soon-to-be kiss. I mean, I'm just wondering what would've happened if we went through it. And I don't mean just the kiss, but an actual relationship. But I don't want to ruin our friendship at the same time."

"You know, Rainbow, it is possible to be in-love with a pony and be their friend at the same time."

"Gross," Rainbow retorted, grimacing, "'In-love'. That sounds so cheesy and I am not a cheesy pony."

"That is not cheesy, by the by, that is an experience that everypony will feel at least once in their life. When you're in love, you love that pony till it hurts. You cannot live without them and you are eager to see their face again. You smile at the sound of their name and you will do anything to make them happy, you completely lose yourself."

"But I'm a loyal pony. I've literally been knighted by Princess Celestia herself with that so of course I'm going to support my friends and love them and be there for them. What makes being 'in-love' so different from that?"

"Let me as you a question, do you love Braeburn as a friend like you do with me and Applejack and your other friends?"

"Yes," Rainbow replied after hesitation, "But I don't know what's the difference between loving a friend and being in-love, necessarily."

"Well, sweetie, that's up to you to find out."

………………………………….

"Our next house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a pretty sizeable backyard that even comes with a pool."

"D'ya hear that?" Braeburn inquired, nudging Rainbow with his elbow, "A swimmin' pool! Ah really like this one."

"Hmph," she snorted, looking upward as she stood in the entry way, "The ceilings are too high." The real estate agent fought the urge to show her defeat by straightening her posture and taking a deep breath.

"Ceilings are very desirable when they are this tall," the salespony explained, "They usually make the residents feel less claustrophobic. Besides, you cannot get a better deal than this house considering the price."

"I don't care about the price, lady, the ceilings are too high," Rainbow hissed, "At this point I'm wasting my time. I can afford any house I want and if I don't like this house. I could tell the moment that we pulled up that I wouldn't like it and I was right."

"And why don't you like the high ceilings, Miss Dash?"

"Have you ever raised or even dealt with a baby Pegasus? Those things will zoom all over the place as soon as it gets its flight and a recovering athlete along with an earth horse can't handle that much physical stress."

"Alright, well I'll be waiting outside while you two talk it out," the mare spat out, speeding towards the door.

"Geesh what's her deal?" Rainbow probed after the door shut closed.

"RD, listen," Braeburn began, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "We need tah find a home for us to live in. We've been house searching for months now and ya still haven't found one ya like. You're nit-pickin' everythin'. Now think, what's the one house ya hate the least?"

"Not sure."

"You're ten and half months along now and you're due in a couple of weeks. Ah'd rather know where we're gonna live now." The winged pony gave a groan.

"I liked the one we looked at on Wednesday," she finally responded, "You know, the one with the patio and picket fence?"

"Ah really liked that one, too," he concurred, leading her to the door, "It has a nice structure and Ah really liked the bedrooms. One fer you, me and as a nursery. And the kitchen was nice, too."

"I'm sure you could put a lot of apples in there," she teased.

"Oh and one more thing," he said, stopping in front of her, "After some rearrangin' and talks, mah parents and siblings have agreed to come over tomorrah night. They're all so excited to meet ya! Just imagine, the mother of mah first baby meetin' mah folks! It's like you're part of the family already!" Suddenly, it felt as if an anvil was dropped in her stomach as ringing grew in her ears. "Isn't this great?"

"Wonderful."

Chapter 13

The winged pony paced the library until she made a slight groove in the wooden floor. Her friends exchanged looks of bewilderment and a small amount of concern as she continued to circle around herself. Stopping periodically to rest, she absent-mindedly scanned the titles of the books on the shelves and persisted forward again. Finally coming to a complete halt, she faced her watchers and raised her eyebrows for a response. They already shared their opinions with her but for an odd reason she could not bring herself to agree with them.

"Tonight should be fun for you, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, "I mean, who doesn't like a party? This is like a party, right?"

"Kinda," Rainbow murmured, sitting down on one of Twilight's beanbag chairs. "Except I'm not exactly sure how to act."

"Why are you so nervous anyway?" asked Spike who reclined in the bean bag chair, "It's just the parents, right? It's just two old ponies."

"Spike!" Twilight snapped, "You don't talk about ponies that way!"

"It's not just the parents," Rainbow explained, "It's his brothers and sisters. And he has seven total." She brought herself closer to the ponies, wide-eyed. "Seven," she whispered then returning to her normal tone of voice, "Do you know how many names I have to remember? And how much small talk I have to make? I have to prove to these ponies that I am not some screw up."

"Rainbow, that's nonsense," Rarity cut in, "They'll all love you. Just as long as your keep the crude language to a minimum, they'll surely approve of you."

"Oh manure, I don't use crude language!"

"I-if you really want to make a good impression," Fluttershy joined, "M-maybe you could…dress up a little?" Suddenly, she saw the instant gleam in Rarity's eyes and tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Rainbow struggled getting up from the loveseat and found herself face to face with the fashionista.

"Why did you say that, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, causing the pale unicorn to zoom up to her face to face, "And what d'you want?"

"To take advantage at the opportunity of using this sacred muse," Rarity cooed, grabbing strands of Rainbow's hair.

"Say what?"

"To give you a make-over!" Ignoring her pleads to leave her alone Rarity placed her hooves on her friend's shoulders. "You cannot leave, Rainbow Dash, I won't allow it. Hmm, now what style can work for you…?”

"H-how about a nice couture cut?" Fluttershy suggested approaching them.

"Who's side are you on anyway?" Rainbow angrily snapped.

"I can get the make-up kit that you got me for my birthday, Rarity!" Twilight called out, running upstairs.

"Tough luck, RD," Spike murmured in her ear, "That thing is the size of a suitcase. These ponies mean serious business."

…………………….

Letting herself in, Rainbow gave an exasperated sigh as she shut the door behind her. The country mare struggled to stifle her giggles in front of her friend miserably. As she impatiently tapped her hoof, the expecting horse tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. What had initially been a sign to control her laughter only made Applejack break out into louder guffaws until she silenced them. Rainbow sardonically commented that she was pleased her despair humored her counterpart.

"Ah'm sorry, Ah'm sorry," Applejack spat out, readjusting her hat, "Ah just got the funniest mental image of them gangin' up on ya to douse ya up in girly stuff."

"Well, you can stop laughing because that's exactly what happened. The worst part was I was too fat to escape it, it was like a little trap down there at Twi's place."

"Y'know how they are," Applejack replied, "They like their frilly things and sparkles. At least they didn't go full out with the dollin' up like last time for the gala." She stepped closer to inspect the blue Pegasus and gave a small smirk. "Ah like yer hair up like that. It's kinda elegant lookin'."

"Oh please," Rainbow groaned as she grimaced, "Don't give me that. I can practically feel the mascara gooping my eyelashes together every time I blink."

"No, no this is actually a nice look fer ya." Applejack smiled at her friend's disgusted reaction. "Ya look good with yer hair up. It really shows off the frame of yer face well."

"You wouldn't believe the amount of hairspray they had to spray on," Rainbow pointed out making eye contact with Braeburn who entered the room. He set down the vase of flowers on the center of the table and sauntered over to the two fillies.

"Wow Rainbow, ya look beautiful," he complimented, tipping his hat slightly.

"Don't mention it," she replied, "Really, don't mention it. It was the girl's ideas to clean me up for your family coming over."

"Well, ya look mighty pretty, Miss Dash." She lowered her voice after Applejack swore she smelt the apple pie burning in the stove and ran into the kitchen.

"I gotta be honest, I'm nervous," Rainbow muttered, "A-and not like before-a-game-pumped-up nervous. I mean like a I-need-to-lay-down-because-I'm-gonna-mess-this-up nervous."

"Rainbow, yer gonna be fine. There's no need to be intimidated, alright?" He took a moment to think out his words. "Yer around country ponies all the time now. Just imagine me, times ten."

"Now I just gone from being nervous about tonight to dreading tonight," she joked, giving him a light punch in the arm.

……………………….

"Ah got it! Ah got it!" Applebloom announced after hearing knocks on the door. Braeburn escorted his cousin and Rainbow from the living room to the entry way to await the family members.

"Nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about," Braeburn repeated himself in a sing-song tone. Much to Rainbow's surprise, when she looked up at him she noticed that he was not directly talking to her but rather to himself.

"Braeburn!" exclaimed a portly mare as she hugged him when the door opened for her, "It's so great tah see ya!" An older stallion followed in and kept to himself as the cheerful guest squeezed the young colt until he let out an uncomfortable moan. Abruptly, a large mass of ponies stormed in gleefully hugging family residents of Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow awkwardly stepped out of the way to let him reunite with their family members. Finally, gasping for air, Braeburn finished embracing and giving each one of them a kiss and moved closer to Rainbow.

"Guys, this here is Rainbow Dash," he pronounced.

"Of course!" the chubby mare called out, "Ah remember ya use tah play with Applejack and Braeburn back in our Ponyville days!"

"Mother has an excellent memory," Braeburn clarified to Rainbow, watching her hug the athlete, "Obviously you're well acquainted with Mother Apple now."

"Oh call me Mother, sweetie," her drawl insisted.

"And this is my pa Alderman Pippin," he pointed out. The father nodded his head with a grunt. I guess all the males in this family either never talk or never shut up, Rainbow thought to herself. "'N' this is my eldest sister, Santana Apple with her husband who is also the Apploosian sheriff's son, Bronc Buster."

"Nice tah finally meet ya," the pale horse commented, pulling on the blanket in her arms, "And this is my new daughter, Apple Sauce."

"And these are the twins," Braeburn introduced, showing her two young fillies, "Red Delicious 'n' Golden Delicious. And my oldest brother Adam Apple. My younger sister by one year, Winesap. My other brother Aceymac along with my youngest sister and youngest of the family, Bailey Sweet." Rainbow's eye twitched at the herd of ponies and gave an uneasy laugh.

"It's a full house tonight," she commented light-heartedly which resulted the family members to draw closer into her. A few minutes of chattering passed before Granny Smith made the announcement to join her at the dinner table.

"Come 'n geddit!" she yelled, ringing a giant bell. Rainbow headed towards the nearest bathroom after excusing herself from the rushing ponies that trotted towards the kitchen. Examining herself in the mirror, the blue Pegasus heard voice coming for the ajar door and peeked to see that it was Braeburn and his father. She could only see a portion of his father's face along with a full view of Braeburn. The stallion's posture had stiffness throughout his body.

"Ya know how Ah feel about those type o' ponies," his father's deep voice trembled. Rainbow ducked her head slightly to be sure that the two family members did not catch her eavesdropping. "Especially some Pegasus from Cloudsdale. Not only that, but Ah can't believe that you'd go for the athletic type, one that's in the business. Show business. Ya can't trust 'em." Anger welled up in her chest but she held herself back.

"Pa, ya can't assume that every pony like her is the same. She's a carin', kind, loyal pony and she means a lot tah me." Braeburn's breathing grew heavier.

"And it makes me sick how ya just got a pony pregnant like that. Ah shouldn't know ya would've gotten yourself into trouble. Ya always do. But Ah didn't expect ya tah be so stupid!"

"Ah'm talkin' responsibility fer my mistakes," he hissed, stepping closer to him, "Darned if Ah stay with her and darned if Ah don't. What d'ya want me tah do?"

"Ah want ya to be a son that Ah can be proud of." Rainbow saw the pain glimmer in Braeburn's eye and felt a hole spreading in her chest.

"Ya do this every time, Pa. Why? Why can't we just put our differences aside fer once at these things?" The father brushed past his son into the dining room. Defeated, Braeburn began walking to the kitchen to get the entrée dishes with Rainbow following him quietly. She saw him mess with something in the cabinets from the hallway but decided to join the rest of the family members in the dining room.

"Alright, here's Mother's famous spaghetti dish," Braeburn announced as he entered the room balancing the large plate. "Big Mac's comin' out with the salad as we speak."

"And Ah got the pie!" Applebloom shouted, happily walking into the room with the pastry on her snout. The family members helped themselves to the dishes placed on the table joyously.

"And Ah have the cider," Applejack pointed out, raising a bottle in the air as she exited the kitchen.

"Ah want some!" Red Delicious called out.

"Me first!" Golden Delicious cut in, shoving her sister as she brought up a glass.

"Oh this one ain't fer the kiddies," Applejack informed passing the bottle towards the adults, "Or in this case, Rainbow." She received a glare from her friend. "Ah'll get the other cider in a moment."

"And here's to a beautiful evening with the family," Alderman Pippin broadcasted, holding up with drink, "It's good to have the Apples back together again."

"And tah Rainbow!" Mother Apple chirped, taking a quick swig of her drink as she winked at the expecting mare. Rainbow glanced over and made eye contact with Braeburn. He gave a solemn smile before pouring out the cider into his cup.

……………………………..

Eventually the relatives broke off into groups once their meal had finished. The young ponies played outside while the orange sunlight still spread through the sky as the young stallions wandered into another room festively. Eyeing Granny Smith talking to Alderman Pippin, Rainbow soon found herself face to face with Mother Apple who had shown here an array of teeth with Applejack peeking behind. Her eldest daughter, Santana Apple, led her to the back of the home while cradling her foal.

"Ah know that this is a little bit early, but Ah just couldn't wait," Mother Apple commented in a perky tone. As they walked into one of the bedrooms, Santana Apple and Applejack rested on the bed, waiting for Mother to pull out the object in her purse.

"W-what is it?" Rainbow probed.

"Ah remember when ya were a little thing who Ah saw every so often playing with my niece Applejack," she explained, pulling out what seemed to be fabric, "Ah always thought ya were an interestin' one. Ya were spunky and a lil' rowdy, but Ah liked ya from the start. You were different; ya always had that gleam in your eye." She held out a tiara with sheer mesh running down. "It was my own. Ah wore it when Ah married Pa, Santana wore it when she married Bronc, and now it's your turn to be part of the family." For a moment, Rainbow had to remind herself to breath.

"R-really, it's fine," Rainbow excused, shaking her head. Disregarding her beseeches, Mother still place the veil on her head and turn her to the nearest mirror. She hated to admitted, but Rainbow could not help but look at herself for a moment. Surprisingly, she had not grimaced and actually found herself fascinated with the role-play. She did not necessarily accepted the idea of marriage or being a bride but she did note the vast difference in her graceful appearance with her hair up and a flourishing accessory compared to her usual tomboy looks.

Then again, it only lasted a moment.

"Could we take this off?" she suggested, "Please?"

"Ah need to run to the lil' filly's room," Santana Apple notified after her mother took off the veil, "Could somepony hold Apple Sauce fer me?"

"Rainbow'll do it," Applejack interjected with a smirk.

"I don't know how-" Before she could complete her statement, the blue horse found herself cradling the foal as the young mother galloped away. It was quiet momentarily until the foal began to tear up.

"Rock it," Applejack advised, motioning her arms, "Sing it a lullaby."

"Why is this thing crying?" she asked in a panicky tone.

"It misses its momma," its grandmother told Rainbow, "Hold it close to ya, sweetie, like this." The elderly mare gentle pushed it closer to Rainbow's chest, causing it to settle down slightly.

"I can't do this. I cannot do this."

"It's workin', RD, just let it get use to ya," Applejack directed, "You're gonna have to be used to this, anyhow." Awkwardly, Rainbow began bouncing with the small creature.

"Well, this seems to be working," she grumbled.

"Ya look good with a baby," Mother Apple complimented, "Besides, there's nothing like your own."

…………………………….

"G'nite, Momma," Braeburn chuckled after she said her good-byes to his cousins in the living room.

"Oh, ya always gave the best hugs," she replied when he embraced her.

"Thanks," he responded, giving another giggle. His demeanor abruptly turned stoic as he father passed him. "Nice seein' ya again, Pa."

"Have a good night's rest," he stated, shutting the door after him. The blonde stallion leaned against the door with a grave expression that quickly broke out into a grin.

"A-Ah hope Ah have…have a good night's rest. Haven't had one of those in a while huh?"

"Mmm-hmm," Rainbow hummed as he brushed against her. She watched him stumble through the back door towards the barn. "Something tells me you’re gonna need it." She strolled over to Big Macintosh who was in the kitchen washing dishes while looking through the window.

"Didja enjoy yerself?" he probed as she approached him.

"Yeah, your family's a nice one. Hey, do you know what's gotten into Braeburn?"

"Ya mean other than two shots of salt we dared him tah drink durin' a friendly competition between him and the boys?"

"That's what I figured." A rare snicker escaped from the red colt's lips.

"Poor fellah could never hold his liquor. Always tryin' tah prove himself."

"I don't think he's trying to prove himself," she whispered, watching Big Macintosh set down another bowl. She looked out of the window to find him missing. "Uh oh, we lost him." The two ponies hurried outside, unsuccessful in finding him. Finally, they saw a tail swish back and forth follow by some dry heaves.

"Found him," Rainbow declared, sauntering over to him.

"Eeyup."

"C'mon Brae," she told him, helping him up from the bushes. His eyes were glossy as he beamed. "Let’s go inside."

"H-howdy Rainbow," he slurred, stumbling over his steps, "Hey Ah always wondered: what is yer eye color? A-Ah mean, this afternoon they…they looked a different color then th-they do now. It's…they're…it's like lavender i-in the moon now. But usually they're like…what? M-magenta? Fuchsia? P-purple?"

"C'mon Brae," she repeated, pulling his arm, "You're lucky your parents didn't see you like this."

……………….

"So what's the deal with your cousin and uncle?"

"Pardon?" Rainbow soon realized her blunt sound in her voice and spoke again as she leaned on the sink.

"I heard Braeburn and his father talk before dinner and, well, it sounds like they don't see eye to eye on certain things," she murmured to Big Macintosh, "And it seems like their tension have been going on for a while."

"Ah don't get it," Braeburn mentioned, oblivious to their conversation as he stared at the toothbrush on the counter, "W-what am Ah suppose tah do with this again?" Rainbow unscrewed the top of the toothpaste that was next to the toothbrush. She brought the tooth brush up to the nozzle and squeezed out a small drop of toothpaste and gave it back to Braeburn.

"Now run it through the water and brush your teeth," she commanded, holding back her laughter.

"You are…Ah reckon yer the smartest pony Ah know. Ah hope our foal h-has your side of the…brains."

"Ah don't know much about their relationship," Big Macintosh answered after the faucet ran, "Ah don't usually pay attention to certain things like that. Ah don't like doing that. But his father plays favorites, Ah always noticed, and Brae never did get the full amount of love from Uncle Alderman like his other kids did."

"I wonder why," she wondered out loud, viewing him spitting out the water when he rinsed his mouth.

"Ah *hic* Ah hope cousin AJ doesn't find out about me right now," Braeburn droned, heading out of the bathroom, "She can be an…an intimidatin' little filly."

"I'll get him to bed," Rainbow promised Big Macintosh. Wishing each other good night, the robust equestrian made his way down the hallway while Rainbow wrapped on of Braeburn's arm around her neck to guide him to his bedroom.

"Alright, just lay here and go to sleep," she demanded as she groggily dropped the colt onto his bed. She rolled in the covers next to him and faced him.

"W-what are ya doin' in my bed?" he questioned, letting out another snicker.

"Realizing how uncomfortable mine is," she blankly retorted, "I never knew you were much of a drinker."

"Wh-when you say 'drinker'…d'ya…d'ya mean…" He trailed off to intently think for a moment. "Nope, not really."

"I saw you take a little more than a few sips of the cider at the table. Around the time when your dad made that little speech and sat down next to you." She found him staring at his ceiling. "Anything you wanna talk about?"

"We all have our parental problems," he noted, stretching all his limbs. That statement sounded the most sober which made Rainbow furrow her eyebrows.

"Tell me about it. Listen, Brae, if something is bothering you then just talk to me about it. We promised that we wouldn't hold back our feelings anymore, right?" He slowly nodded his head with a smirk starting to appear. "I want you to be happy and not stressed, a-and if there's anything I can do to make things more comfortable between you and me and your family, parents especially…"

"This sit…situation is certainly more stickier that Ah would have…thought…of."

"Yeah, well I think your mom likes me. She's already having me try on the veil." They looked at each other in silence and broke out in laughter.

"Ah shoulda warned ya about that."

"It's fine, I saw it coming. But perhaps you should get to sleeping. It going to be a rough morning for you."

"Yes ma'am," he mumbled as he buried his cheek into the pillow.

"Let me help you with your hat," she suggested, pulling it off of his head to place onto the night stand. She looked at his slumbering face for a moment before she started to reach of the oil lamp next to her.

"Love ya." Rainbow hesitated for a moment and continued placing the hat on the stand.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered, leaning down to give him a small peck on the forehead. A small chortle escaped his lips again.

"Ah am so drunk."

Chapter 14

Braeburn slowly opened his eyes to find the morning sunlight burning into his skull. Ringing occupied his head, causing him to roll over onto his stomach and guard the back of his head with his pillow. Hearing what sounded to be quiet snoring, he lifted up the edge to see that Rainbow was resting next to him. Confusion overwhelmed him as he sought out to recollect some form of a memory from the night before. He did not know how to handle himself and sluggishly pushed himself up to observe his room.

"Did we…?" he began, still slightly out of consciousness. Suddenly, his eyes grew big as he made eye contact with Rainbow who was waking up, "Oh Luna, what did we do last night? A-ah mean, how would it be possible to bring you up-"

"No, Braeburn," she moaned, "We only slept together. And I mean actual sleeping. You were so wasted that I plopped you onto bed and you immediately fell asleep. I was too lazy to go back to my room."

"Ah was about to say…" He then had an epiphany. "Would it be possible for you to get pregnant again during this one if we would've-"

"Sometimes I don't even know why you decide to talk," she grumbled, digging her head into her pillow.

"My head is killin' me," he complained, lying back down in bed. The two ponies both cringed at the sound of his door slamming open.

"Braeburn!" Applejack shouted, "Can't ya control yerself fer once?"

"Is this the best time t'be yellin', cuz?"

"Ah'd have a little bit more sympathy fer yer lil' hangover over there if ya didn't hurl all over my petunias last night! Ah just planted those last week!"

"Ah think Ah'm gonna lose mah hearin'."

"Oh, and Twilight says that she has somethin' fer y'all so y'all better git yourselves together quick and easy!" she concluded, shutting the door again.

………………………………....

"Wow, a letter from Princess Celestia herself?" Braeburn croaked. Rainbow could not decide which situation was more humorous: Braeburn being forced to shade his bloodshot eyes with glasses or Twilight completely oblivious to his condition. "That's really somethin'."

"Of course, I'm one of her favorite subjects," Rainbow boasted, clearing her throat to read the letter, "'Rainbow Dash. I have watched you grown from the filly you once were to a young mare. The public and personal obstacles you have dealt in your life with were colossal but nevertheless, you had always held your ground in the end. I have awarded you with the Element of Loyalty but based on my years of observance, you carry a numerous amount of other commendable traits. Not only are you strong and determinative, but you are also sweet and caring, a pony that has beauty inside and out. I wish nothing but my best of blessings for you and Braeburn with the new foal. Hopefully someday your baby will too see the incredible mare you are.'"

"'Love Princess Celestia,'" Braeburn finished, "How 'bout that? From the princess herself. This is goin' straight into the baby's scrapbook."

"Scrapbook?" Rainbow finally replied, "You started a scrapbook already?"

"Well, yeah. Normally, the parents would start a scrapbook durin' the pregnancy and fill it up with sentimental stuff. Y'know, like ultrasound pictures and letters of wishes like this one and the baby shower invitations-"

"Baby shower?" Rainbow repeated again, "We're having a baby shower? When are we going to plan that?"

"I can help with that!" Pinkie shouted, popping out of the envelope in Twilight's hoof.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Rainbow murmured to the traumatized stallion then reverting her attention to Pinkie, "Do you even know how to throw a baby shower?"

"Oh course, silly filly!" she exclaimed, climbing out of the envelope and landing on the ground, "A party is still a par-tay! Am I right?" Rainbow began to answer but was cut off by the energetic horse. "Maybe we can do it at your new place! Like a house warming party!"

"But none of my stuff is moved--"

"We can call movers to get your things in your new house! C'mon Rainbow, wouldja let me do it? Pleeeeeeeeeeease? Pretty pretty please? I've be your best friend forever and ever and ever and-"

"I kinda like the idea," Braeburn added. Grunting, the expecting equine agreed to follow through Pinkie's plan.

"Yes!" she celebrated, "Now I have an occasion to use the welcome wagon and the party cannon at the same time! Respectively!"

……………………………….....

Hating to admit it to herself, Rainbow had to give Pinkie Pie credit for staying true to the athlete's tastes in decorations. The lining of all the table cloths were hemmed with rainbow colored satin while revolving light tints from the overhead lamps engrossed the room. She made her way throughout the atmosphere, looking at pictures on each table. Of course, the primary photos she viewed were the ones she was the most prideful in: her Wonderbolts photos. In costume, the blue Pegasus beamed at the camera. Rainbow continued on to find more pictures, most of them pictures from her childhood. Guarding her eyes in prevention of blushing, she turned her gaze to avoid the embarrassment of reliving her diaper days. Then, she caught in her eyesight pictures of a young Braeburn. The chubby-cheeked pony was showing to the camera a large apple, one she assumed that won a contest by the blue ribbon attached to it. Funny how we all start out so small, Rainbow thought to herself.

"Two weeks!" Pinkie sighed, setting down her checklist, "Sorry that it took so long to set up this party!"

"It's fine Pinkie, really," she assured, "Beside, I think you did a fantastic job. Better than I could ever do in two weeks!" Quickly, her new home filled with her friends and family members along with Braeburn's. Frequently, she had received the same procedure by every pony of rubbing her protruding belly and complimenting her pregnancy 'glow'. Stopping herself from taking pieces from the ice sculpture and jamming them into her ears, Rainbow continued to greet every guest that entered into the house. Braeburn caught eye contact with her as he hugged some of the residents and winked at her, resulting in Rainbow doing the same.

"Looking good, you guys," she announced to the Wonderbolts, "Nice to see you too, Top Boss! You're foals are growing up fast, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Long time no see, Derpy! I'm lovin' the song, DJ! Awesome you guys could make it, Lyra and Bon Bon!" Although it was tiring for her, the Pegasus had not been as gleeful as she was now seeing all the ponies she loved in one place.

"RD," Braeburn whispered into her ear, "When ya have the time…" After making short conversations with her friends, she followed the colt into the back room until she felt him cover her eyes.

"What's going-"

"It's a surprise," he informed in a lowered tone of voice, "Keep yer eyes closed till Ah tell ya when."

"Fine." Listening to the sound of what seemed to be hooves tapping the ground, the winged pony impatiently huffed and asked if she could open her eyes.

"Now ya can," he allowed.

"About time," she said, exposing her magenta orbs. Suddenly, her mouth dropped in shock as she felt her body grow weak. The two ponies both gave her a warm smile while her heart fluttered in her chest. Gaining her composure, she galloped towards the couple to embrace them.

"Rainbow," the mare murmured, kissing her cheek, "You look beautiful."

"Oh my gosh," she uttered, pulling back, "Mom, Dad…" Biting her tongue, she tried to prevent her eyes from welling up.

"I see you made a few lifestyle changes," her father joked. Finally, tears ran down her face.

"I'm so, so sorry," she began, her voice shaky, "I-I should've called more. I should've included you guys more in my life, in these last eleven months. I should've-" Her mother's hoof stroking her chin interrupted her. "A-are you mad?"

"We are here for our first grandchild," her mother explained, "And to see the daughter who we have and always will love." Rainbow turned to the stallion behind her.

"H-how…?"

"Ah got the number of yer old childhood home from AJ," Braeburn pointed out, "Luckily, Ah reached in contact with them. They were more than happy to see ya again."

"I don't…." As she caught her breath again, she quickly closed her mouth and nodded quickly. "Thank you."

"There's no need tah thank me. Now Ah reckon there's still a baby shower to attend to." The parents made their way to the main entry room with the mother slowing down by Rainbow.

"He's a keeper," she commented with a smirk.

"Yeah," she agreed, trailing behind the three horses.

………………………..

What seemed to have lasted all day ended just as the sun was setting. The two residents said their good-byes to each of their friends and family members and collapsed onto the living room couch.

"Should we clean up?" Braeburn suggested, inspecting the lack of organization around them.

"Tomorrow," the exhausted mare replied, adjusting herself until her head rested on Braeburn's chest. "Hey, thanks for everything."

"Ya thanked me all evenin'," he teased. Rainbow gazed up at him and let out a giggle.

"I don't think you realize how amazing you are. Celestia knows it's taken me long enough figure it out." Braeburn closed his eyes and set his head back.

"Ah think ya got a little crush on me."

"So what, you told me you loved me a while back."

"Wait what?" Rainbow started to play with the edges of his vest playfully. "Yeah right, ya always say the craziest things."

"Hey, uh, want to hear another crazy thing? I think I just gone into labor."

Chapter 15

"OK, Ah just finished callin' cousin AJ and she said that she can drive us to the hospital," Braeburn informed as he ran back into the living room. "She can't believe that we're havin' a baby. Ah can't believe we're havin' the baby! Can ya believe we're having the baby?" The colt was now snout to snout with Rainbow.

"No, I can't," she sardonically answered.

"She should be here soon. That's what she said on the-" A holler from outside interrupted his statement and his stance grew taller. "That's her that's her! C'mon, we gotta go!"

"Relax, Brae," Rainbow pleaded as she rose from the couch, "Thousands of foals are delivered a day so don't worry."

"Yer right, yer right," he concurred, placing his hoof on her shoulder, "Can ya believe it? We're gonna have our lil' zapp apple!"

………………………………...

Pushing the door open, the orange mare let the couple into her home at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow blew out an impatient sigh as Braeburn took off his hat to fan himself.

"Granny Smith, we're back from the hospital!" Applejack announced. The elderly mare crept from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes. She asked what happened and the country filly began to explain. "Turned out to be a false alarm."

"False alarm?" Granny Smith questioned, "That's funny, thought Ah changed the batteries or somethin' for the fire alarms around here a while ago…"

"No, she means that I didn't have the baby yet," Rainbow clarified disappointedly. Then, she felt an arm wrapped around her from behind.

"Don't worry sugarcube, when the time comes, the time comes," Applejack consoled.

"Did, er, the doctor say what caused this 'false alarm' exactly?" Granny asked. Rainbow meekly looked at the relatives and put her head down.

"He said it was gas."

…………………………..

Smacking down the plastic cup, Rainbow let out a loud belch and groaned. Pinkie Pie challenged her to a burping contest while balancing dirty plates with no reaction. The winged mare continued to grumble and put her head down on the table. For the past few hours since she had woken up, she felt twinges in her tummy that she generally ignored. No point of getting my hopes up she figured.

"I'll have another slice of cake," Rainbow demanded, sitting up, "Maybe if I eat enough, the baby will have no space left and will be forced to come out."

"Aww, don't be so upset Dashie," Pinkie responded, patting her mane, "What flavor do you want? Chocolate? Vanilla? Red velvet? Carrot? Spice? Pumpkin? Strawberry?"

"When is this kid gonna come out?"

"Psh, you're asking me? I don't know, I'm not the foal! What did the doctor say? How will you know if you're truly going to have the baby next time?" Rainbow got up to throw the cup in the trash in Pinkie's kitchen.

"Well, he said that I will feel a lot of pressure in my pelvic area and I may feel nauseous due to contractions-" Abruptly, a strong pain in her lower stomach region emerged, causing her to lower slightly from the throbbing. Her mouth gaped open and she gnashed her teeth when she shut her purple orbs closed. Finally, when the tenderness dissolved, she gasped for air and found herself leaning against the counter. "Geesh, was that a contraction? How many of those will I have?" A strange sensation snapped inside of her and she soon found herself standing in a puddle of liquid. Pinkie stood in front of her with her mouth open and the expecting filly frantically viewed her surroundings. "Wh-wha…Omigosh, Pinkie, do you know what this means?"

"I sure do," she answered, giving an animated sigh "It means that I have to mop again, you messy mare."

"Not that! My water just broke!" Pinkie raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "It means I'm going in labor! Right now!"

"You're going to have the baby? Congratulations!"

"Oh no, no, no, no. Not now," Rainbow rambled, pacing the floor.

"Should I sing you a song?"

"I need to get to the hospital."

"Ooo! Ooo! Follow me!" she directed, pulling her friend with her. They both galloped to the side of the partyer's house, stopping in front of a cart. Pinkie beamed a large smile as Rainbow gave her a bewildered look. The pink pony explained that she would give her a ride to the nearest hospital. Rainbow's eyes shifted from her counterpart to her vehicle and back to her again.

"No you're not," Rainbow told her in a grave tone of voice.

"C'mon, Dashie, we gotta get you to the doctors! Quick!"

"While you're driving? No way, Jose!"

"Who's Jose?" Yet again, Rainbow doubled over and felt her friend tug her towards the cart.

"Do you not understand that I am responsible for not just one life, but two?" she snapped, "Have you ever driven with yourself? Just call a cab!"

"As your friend, I promise to drive as carefully as I can. Pinkie Pie swear." Hesitantly, Rainbow eventually agreed to the trip.

"Fine," she allowed, hopping into the back seat as Pinkie put on the harness, "But remember, be careful."

……………………….

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Pinkie yelled at the traveling citizens, "I GOT A PREGNANT HORSE IN LABOR BEHIND ME!" The blue pony clutched onto her seat and sealed her eyes while emitting a harsh scream. Wind blew in her hair as she heard startled voices from the strolling civilians. Rainbow had begged Pinkie to slow down many times but it was no use. At last, she felt the cart come to a halt with her still shrieking. Opening one eye, she read the sign on the building that read 'Ponyville Hospital' and relaxed her shoulders. Still realizing that she was shouting, she placed her hooves over her mouth and started to climb out of the wagon, her legs limp with weakness.

"Th-thanks," she retorted, brushing past her companion.

"No problemo!" Pinkie replied, guiding her to the doors, "See? I told you I'd be careful! Now let’s get you inside." Approaching the front desk, Rainbow made her way to a seat in the waiting room while she allowed Pinkie to fill out the information sheet. Rainbow immediately regretted her decision.

"It's Rainbow Dash. Rainbow. Dash." The secretary gave her a look of annoyance. "You know, the most famous Wonderbolt in the history of Wonderbolts!" Pinkie twisted to the panting patient, gave her a shrug, and turned back to the worker.

"Ma'am, can you just fill out the paperwork?"

"Why ask for her name when she's the most recognizable pony in all of Equestria! That doesn't make any sense!" The employee gave an exasperated sigh and took the clipboard from her. "Can you believe this filly?" Pinkie asked her friend quietly.

"Where does the patient live ma'am?" the worker interviewed, writing out Rainbow's name.

"Why? So that you can follow her? Too many times my bestest pal Rainbow had to deal with intrusive reporters. Well I'm going to prevent that!" Pinkie turned around to wink at Rainbow, resulting in the winged pony to slap her forehead with her hoof.

"I'll fill it out," Rainbow breathed, watching a nurse bring out a wheelchair. "For Pete's sake."

"Jose? Pete? Who are these ponies?" Pinkie asked as Rainbow climbed into the wheelchair.

……………………

"RD, why didja go into labor without me?" Braeburn teased as he held out a stuffed stork. The soon-to-be mother glared at him as she snatched the toy from him to toss it into a chair across the room. "Nice tah see ya too, cinnamon stick."

"This is all your fault," she hissed, pulling up the white linens.

"Ah was expectin' that."

"Oh Rainbow Dash, sit up straighter," her mother commanded, fluffing up the pillows behind her.

"Mom, posture is the last thing on my mind right now."

"Oh nonsense, a good posture is necessary at all times. Of course, if you had taken those years of finishing school over those summer breaks like I had told you…"

"Hey, you know what'd be funny?" her father cut in, "If this all was another false alarm."

"In what universe would that be funny?" Rainbow snapped.

"I like the irony of it."

"It's not funny, Dad." Rainbow turned to the violet unicorn. "Hey, Egghead, I've had my contractions for the past couple of hours and my water broke ten minutes ago. Now what?"

"Well," Twilight began, "the reference book that I read stated that once when you are past the contractions and water breakage stages, you should be ready to deliver. Generally it can be anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours after your water breaks."

"Aren't you excited?" Fluttershy quipped, "You're gonna to finally see the foal in less than two hours!"

"You're probably nervous too I imagine," Rarity added in.

"Me? Nervous? Ha! I can totally do this! I am fast, strong, and in-control. This'll be easy peezy lemon squeezy!" A harsh kick came from the foal which made Rainbow panic. "I feel it moving! Oh Celestia, I can't do this!"

"Relax Rainbow," Applejack coaxed, "Remember, you can totally do this. Yer fast, strong, and in-control. This'll be easy peezy lemon squeezy!" Rainbow gave her a dirty look.

"And what pony told you that horse manure?" she asked impatiently.

……………………………….............

"You know that Top will be calling all the magazines for photoshoots with you and the baby, right?" Spitfire questioned, leaning over Rainbow's bed.

"Yeah, that's expected," she replied with a smirk.

"I can't believe you’re doing this, kid."

"Well, to be honest, I really have no other option at this point."

"Promise you'll let me play with it?" Soarin asked, "I can be its favorite uncle!" Rainbow nodded her head and turned her attention to the country mare that entered the room. The rest of the ponies had already left temporarily to get their lunches. Applejack placed the cup of water on the counter in front of Rainbow and pushed it towards her.

"Oh yeah, I'm not really thirsty anymore," Rainbow notified.

"Are ya kiddin' me? Ya were just complain' about how this hospital air was dryin' your throat! Whatever that means…" Spitfire excused herself into the hallway to take a phone call. "Ah hope you're not in too much pain," she sincerely hoped, watching the mare blowing out strenuous breaths.

"Where are those drugs when you need them?" she hissed.

"It's been what? An hour and a half?" Soarin probed, "Give it thirty minutes and it's out of there."

"Hey, Ah remember ya!" Applejack exclaimed, turning to the Wonderbolt, "We've met personally before! At the Grand Galloping Gala and ya bought mah pie! You were one of the few ponies that weren't so frilly-frally."

"Best pie I've ever had!" he gleefully pronounced, stepping closer to her, "I, uh, also saw you at the Royal Canterlot wedding. I remember you were playing the fiddle with your family."

"Huh, I don't remember us talking that night."

"Oh, uh, we didn't actually. I never got the chance to get around to you. Well, not like get around like you were last of my priorities. B-but not like you weren't important because you were. I wanted to t-talk to you but-"

"We can talk in the cafeteria," she suggested, tipping her hat. Rainbow observed the conversing ponies strolling out of the room and closed the door behind them.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine by myself," she sardonically retorted, trying to reach for her cup and failing, "Darn it."

……………………………

Laying in fetal position, tears descended down her cheeks as she absently stared at Braeburn's hoof that was holding her own. The doctor explained the procedure that was to be done with little response from Rainbow. Everything was too overwhelming for her. Braeburn felt the responsibility on his shoulders to keep Rainbow calm. He could not show her the insecurities and doubts that ran through his mind.

"Because the foal is not in the standard birthing position and it has been over two hours, we will have to perform an emergency surgery," the doctor explained, "We will put you under anesthesia, take out the foal, and perform our usual duties of a typical foal birth such as cleaning it and caring for it. We will also run tests to make sure it is OK. It has been two and half hours, so we must check to see if it is completely healthy. Any questions?" Rainbow quickly shook her head and wait for him to return to his helpers.

"Brae," she whispered, "What if I don't wake up?"

"You're gonna wake up," he promised, stroking her mane, "Trust me."

"Tragedies happen all the time, what if I'm one of them?"

"Ah won't allow it, y'hear?"

"I hear ya," she answered after a long silence. Receiving a mask from the nurse, Braeburn pressed his lips onto her forehead after she stalled to put it on.

"We'll see ya in a bit," he guaranteed, placing his hoof on her belly.

"Ok Miss Dash," the surgeon instructed, "I'm turning on the gas right now. What I need you to do for me is to count backwards from ten. Slowly."

"Ten, nine, eight-"

"Slower."

"Seven…six." She let out a large yawn and reclined a little. "Five…f-four…" The mare suddenly slipped into a deep slumber.

………………………..

Tingling overtook her body leaving her numb to her atmosphere. Only whiteness engrossed her vision as she opened her eyes which caused her to fluster. The peripheral fuzziness soon dissipated and she started to see clear again. It took her a while to remember where she was residing and thanks to the beeping of the monitor next to her, she recalled her current location. Noticing her abdomen, she ran her hoof over the surgical staples that held her flesh together. Dry blood crusted around her large incision and she struggled to sit up resulting in her to use her arms as an assistance to straighten her spine against her pillow. From the furthest corner of the bed, Braeburn's back faced her and he rocked back and forth.

"Brae?" she croaked. She heard him mumbling and called out his name once more. Not turning around, Braeburn continued to sway. "Brae? Why aren't you answering me?" Her voice was weaker than expected. Fear filled her chest. "What's going on? What happened to the baby?" The stallion turned his head to face her.

"Look who’s up," he announced quietly.

"Where's the-" Finding herself with no words to say, she looked down at the blanket in Braeburn's arms and froze. As she furrowed her eyebrows, she stared at the small creature in fascination. Braeburn smiled at her while she gapped her mouth ajar.

"There's Mommy. D'ya want to hold him?" Rainbow nodded her head, still unable to speak. It was amazing to her that the foal formed into her body as she wrapped her arms around it. The vivid green coat of it made the pale blue blanket it was wrapped in appear washed out. The offspring gleamed at her with golden eyes, causing a chill to go throughout her. "Isn't he adorable?"

"This is my baby," she at last spoke. Letting out a giggle, she turned to look at Braeburn who mirrored her actions. Instinctively, she leaned in and planted her lips against his. Her whole body relaxed and she closed her eyes for a moment. Then and there, she had forgotten all her uncertainties and worries. Content rose in her heart and for the first time, her mind had quieted itself. Pulling away, she glimpsed down at her son again. "This is our baby."

………………………….

"Hard Ball called again," Braeburn proclaimed as he set the phone down on a near-by desk, "And yer mom called, too."

"Geesh, since when did you become my secretary?" Rainbow joked as she cradled the newborn colt and gentle placed it in his bed.

"Ah guess when you became a mother," he playfully retorted, "How's Summerfree?"

"Sleeping," she pointed out, tilting her head towards the crib.

"Y'know, he's the first Pegasus in the Apple family. Can't wait tah see him fly."

"Yeah, then you'll wish he'd never begin to fly in the first place once when he figures out his agility." Braeburn let out a chuckle and told her that he was off to help at Sweet Apple Acres. Saying their farewells, Rainbow pulled out a pen and paper to on the table next to her.

'Dear Princess Celestia-

I'm not sure whether to call this a friendship report necessarily or just an open letter. Either way, I have learned a lot over all this time, believe me. At first, I thought my most important lesson was to be responsible for myself. I mean, it still is an important lesson. But unlike these previous months, I've also learned to make the best of my mistakes. I've kicked myself and scolded since the first day of me finding out I was pregnant. But now, especially after the baby was born, I've found a new type of love that I never thought I could experience. In fact, I'm learning all sorts of new types of love.

I never really knew the difference between a friendship and romantic relationship and to tell you the truth, I still kinda don't. I always thought a romantic relationship only involved kissing and mushy gushy talk. Maybe that's why all my past relationships have been so screwed up; I was only expecting the physical. I've learned now that your significant other is not only for that, but is your best friend as well. Friendship and romance can go hoof-in-hoof and actually should do so. You can't build a foundation of trust just on flirting and the physical alone.

Maybe that's why it was so hard for me to figure out if I was in-love with Braeburn or not. I'm still on the fence about it, but I know for a fact that besides the obvious (the baby), this is actually the most serious relationship I've ever been in. And you know what? It's the slowest, too. He just doesn't give kisses will-nilly. I actually feel the sentiment behind them, you know? And although we live in the same house, I guess he's still trying to be a gentlestallion by living in separate bedrooms. At first, he acting this way annoyed the heck outta me but I'm starting to find it charming.

And even if this relationship thing doesn't work out, I know that I will still have an amazing friend and father of my child. I know that there would be no bad blood. But, I decide to live in the now. And right now, after two weeks since Summerfree's birth, things are going amazing.

My gut is still touching my thighs when I sit which drives Cardio Carl crazy. The entire Apple family (and extended family) are constantly calling to try to arrange a wedding date. I have reporters always asking what's next for my life and my parents are driving me crazy while I drive my friends crazy. And you know what?

I'm the happiest mare around.

Yours truly,

Rainbow Dash'

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