Chapter 9: Livin' Large

Applejack was slowly trotting towards Ponyville with her growing belly weighing her down. Looking around she saw the apple trees starting to turn brown, preparing themselves for the Running of the Leaves that was in a few weeks. It's been four months since Soarin ran out on her, and since then she's been supported by her family. Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny, and even some members from out of town were making sure she was okay everyday, except today. When Applejack announced she wasn't going to run in the Running of the Leaves, Doctor Stable asked her to set up an appointment in his office because he was worried for her health.

"Good morning Applejack!" Miss Cheerillee said as she trotted up next to Applejack, having just come from her own house on her way to work that morning.

"Mornin' Cheerilee, how are you doing?" Applejack asked nicely, even though she really didn't care about her day, and wanted to keep conversations with other ponies to a minimum. It wasn't that she had become a social recluse or anything, it was more that she didn't want anypony to find out she was pregnant. Even though Twilight helped modernize Ponyville, there were still many stallions who would find an unmarried pregnant mare to be disgusting.

"My day is going well so far, but I still have to get to work," Cheerilee said as she gave Applejack a half hearted smile, "I'm sure after I get there things will change though" Applejack nodded and smiled, not wanting to seem inconsiderate or mean even though she didn't put too much thought into how Cheerilee's day actually was.

"How is your morning going Applejack?" Cheerilee asked, smiling sweetly just as Applebloom went running past, yesterday's homework sticking out of her saddlebags.

"Well, it involved that filly," Applejack said, remembering how she had to fight to get Applebloom to wake up that morning, "and I hope the rest of my day goes well" Cheerilee smiled and nodded before noticing that Applebloom had wiped out further down the path, her teacherly instincts making her run up ahead, leaving Applejack in the dust. Applejack let out a sigh or relief as Cheerilee picked Applebloom up and brought her to the school house, now she wouldn't have to worry about Cheerilee questioning her on her larger than normal stomach.

Applejack had met a few ponies that asked about her stomach, but she had been able to say that she was just putting on some weight because winter was coming. These ponies dropped it there, but a few tried to push it a bit further, except no matter what they said Applejack never said anything else. One pony seemed to think that something else was up, but they never managed to get Applejack to talk, so they eventually dropped it. As Applejack made her way towards the town she felt a cool breeze shoot past her, and as she looked up she saw Rainbow go flying past.

"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted, catching the Pegasus' attention. Rainbow stopped where she was and turned around, flying down to Applejack's side with a smile.

"What's up Applejack?" Rainbow asked, her own stomach seeming a bit bigger than it should have been. Applejack looked down, but her view was interrupted when Rainbow moved her wings over her stomach.

"Nothing, just wanted to see how you were doing," Applejack said, wanting to bring up her observation of Rainbow's stomach, "Are you putting on weight?"

"Are you?" Rainbow snapped back, making Applejack lean back in surprise. It was unusual for Rainbow to be snippy when somepony asked her a question, especially about her weight. Normally she'd pass it off as her coat being a bit fluffier, or that it was sticking up because of how she slept, something like that, but she would never snapped back.

"What bit your ass this morning?" Applejack asked, feeling a bit hurt that Rainbow was being so snippy.

"Nothing, I'm just..." Rainbow said slowly, not wanting to admit to her feelings, "Nervous" Applejack's jaw dropped open, and it would have hit the ground if it wasn't attached. THE Rainbow Dash, was nervous about something, enough to make her snippy? That was new and, quite frankly, confusing as all sweet hell.

"What's bothering you Rainbow?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow as she put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. Rainbow seemed to shy away for a moment before she remembered that Applejack was pregnant with Soarin's foal, or foals as they all learned a few days later thanks to Granny. How she knew that there would be three foals still confused all of them, even Twilight couldn't see how she managed to find it out, but none of that mattered. Applejack was pregnant, which meant that Rainbow could confide one of her deepest held secrets to Applejack.

"Applejack, I think I'm, uh..." Rainbow said, licking her lips because they had suddenly gotten very dry, "...Pregnant..." Applejack could have sworn that her entire world had stopped right then. Hell, her heart probably skipped a beat too, but she didn't notice it as much as Rainbow's bright red cheeks. If she was flying right now Applejack was pretty sure ponies on the ground would be afraid that a dragon was about to attack because of how red her cheeks were.

"Now how in Equestria would you get pregnant?" Applejack asked, finding it extremely hard to believe. Rainbow almost flew away right then and there, but her loyalty made her stay right where she was until she could tell Applejack the truth. With a few deep breaths Rainbow calmed down, and prepared to tell Applejack an even deeper secret.

"Me and Big Mac are..." Rainbow said, trailing off as her ego started to get the better of her, but it was enough for Applejack. Big Mac and Rainbow are together, and she was pregnant with his foal. It seemed almost impossible, but then again, Rainbow was known for making the impossible possible. Although Applejack was hurt that her best friend and only brother would hide a relationship from her, she was still extremely overjoyed that she might not be pregnant alone anymore, and in a sense, had a sister in law now.

"So you're nervous about something like that?" Applejack asked, pulling Rainbow close to give her a warm hug, "Don't be nervous Rainbow, I'm here for you, and I'm sure Mac is too" Rainbow started to fidget at the mention of Big Mac, which made Applejack curious. Did she not tell Big Mac yet, or has he said something that would make her nervous about the possibility that she's pregnant? It didn't seem like something Big Mac would do, but then again, she didn't think he'd keep a relationship secret from her, yet here's Rainbow, saying he did just that.

"Hey AJ?" Rainbow asked slowly, looking at Applejack like a sad puppy, "Do you think I'm pregnant?" Applejack was completely caught off guard by that question, as if somepony had jumped down in front of her an kicked her in the face. Why would Rainbow ask her that important of a question? That's something you ask a doctor, not your best friend, even if her Granny somehow knew that she was going to have triplets. Thinking about Granny's odd sixth sense again made Applejack's brain stall for a few seconds, but it quickly came back to Rainbow with a highly intelligent response.

"Huh?" Applejack said, her brain immediately chastising her for messing up it's informational response. Rainbow seemed annoyed that Applejack had nothing else to say, but then again, she had randomly thrown a serious question at her without any forewarning.

"So where are you headed?" Rainbow asked, wanting to get that topic out of the way so things would be close to normal again. Applejack took a second to realize what Rainbow had asked, but when her brain kicked in she was reminded of Granny's sense for some reason. She had a strange desire to name it something like Granny Sense or Foal Telling Magic. Rainbow meanwhile was getting tired of waiting for her response, so she decided to get Applejack's attention in the most basic of ways.

*Boop*

"Huhwa?" Applejack asked as the tingling sensation from her nose slowly went away, her reaction making Rainbow fall to the ground in laughter. It took her a few minutes to calm down, but when she did Applejack was very unhappy.

"Did you really have to do that?" Applejack asked, somewhat angry, but she was really only a little annoyed. Booping somepony on the nose was something five year old's do, not full grown mares. Obviously Applejack's slight angry tone made Rainbow get serious, but it didn't stop a grin from sticking to her face.

"Yup, you were staring at that tree like you were going to start dry humping it!" Rainbow said, her laughter coming back in full force, "I wonder if it's bark is worse than Soarin's bite" Applejack sighed and started walking again, making Rainbow immediately stop laughing so she didn't get left behind.

"What's with the stick up your flank?" Rainbow asked as she caught up, flying low so she was still beside Applejack at speaking distance. Applejack grunted and picked up the pace, her angry demeanor telling Rainbow that she had said something that crossed the line. With an amazing speed Rainbow's brain let her in on why Applejack was pissed, and immediately ordered her to apologize at the speed of light. In words could do Sonic Rainbooms, her apologies would be doing three of them.

"Applejack I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that, it was just a joke!" Rainbow said quickly her rushed apology making Applejack want to break out in laughter, but she managed to hold it in long enough for Rainbow to throw out a few more apologies, "I'm so so so sorry, I promise I'll never say any of that ever again, if I do you can drop me off the top of Canterlot Mountain and I won't try to save myself by flying!" Finally Applejack's resolve was broken and she burst out laughing, making Rainbow let out a very confused noise.

"I'm not mad at you, I was just giving you the silent treatment because you mentioned Soarin," Aplejack explained, still laughing a little bit, "Anyways, we're just about at the hospital and I'm five minutes late for my appointment, so I'll have to run on ahead. See you later!" Applejack quickly ran away from Rainbow, but in reality she just wanted to avoid another awkward situation with Rainbow because she mentions Soarin. After running into the hospital Applejack was quickly led to Doctor Stable's office, where he was waiting patiently for her.

"Pleasure to see you Miss. Apple, can you please take a seat?" Doctor Stable asked as he pointed towards an empty chair, "Now, this check up will only take a few moments, as it is just a medical spell that I can perform on the spot. Once I use it we'll be able to see how the foal, or foals, are doing"

"Okay, but one thing first," Applejack said, sounding a little nervous, "Can you keep this pregnancy a secret?"

"Of course I can, but once you get to six or seven months it will be to obvious to hide it anymore," Doctor Stable warned before he got up from his chair, taking a position next to Applejack's chair. He looked at Applejack to see if she was ready, and when she nodded his horn began to glow brightly, a tingling feeling running all the way up Applejack's body. Once the sensation had reached the tops of her ears Doctor Stable's horn stopped glowing, meaning the test was over. After a few seconds he went back to his chair and began scribbling his notes down before he turned to the empty white wall to the left of his desk. With a grunt his horn began to light up, and a projection appeared on the wall, originating from the tip of his horn.

"This is a picture of your foals, and from what we can tell, even though it is still early on, is that you will definitely be having triplets. Specifically, two fillies and one colt," Doctor Stable explained, pointing towards what appeared to be the foal's reproductive organs on the picture, "And we can also assume, even though it is hard to see now, that the two fillies will be Pegasi"

"All this from one test that only took five minutes?" Applejack asked, skeptical of the whole thing, "How do you can tell that this is accurate?"

"I've done this test hundreds of times," Doctor Stable said, reassuring Applejack as his phone began to beep at him, "...and it looks like I'll be doing it again for a friend of yours"

"Rainbow?" Applejack asked, not sure who else would be there at this time.

"I can't say, but the answer is, probably," Doctor Stable said, giving Applejack a wink meaning it was Rainbow, who probably asked for an appointment so she would find out if she really was pregnant or not. With a quick hoofshake Applejack left, smiling at Rainbow as they passed each other in the hallway. Instead of waiting to find out Rainbow's results Applejack left, making her way back home so she could have an afternoon snack and a nap. About thirty or so minutes later a Rainbow blur went shooting past her, a quiet echo following after it.

"NOT PREGNANT!"