"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."