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."