By Donnys Boy
"Foals"
Applejack chews on her lower lip as she watches Pinkie Pie work her very particular brand of magic. The two young foals beside her are chaos incarnate, jumping and shouting and spilling flour all over the counters of Sugarcube Corner. But Pinkie never loses her smile or the sparkle in her eyes, as she gently takes small hooves between her own, guiding them, helping them, nor as she calmly gives instructions in between giggles.
Perhaps most miraculous of all is how Pound and Pumpkin actually listen. They frown hard in concentration when Pinkie talks to them, and they struggle with the bowls and spoons with as much seriousness and dedication as Applejack might use to wrestle a timberwolf. By the end of the afternoon, Pinkie and the twins are covered head to hoof in batter, but there’s a plate of steaming fresh muffins to show for their efforts. Fresh muffins and two proudly beaming little foals.
As the Cake twins scamper off, their baking lessons done for the day, Pinkie begins whistling cheerfully and completely off-key as she goes about cleaning up the kitchen. Applejack silently step up beside her marefriend and starts wiping down the counters.
“Sugarcube?”
Pinkie stops whistling. She turns toward Applejack with a broad smile, her head tilted inquisitively.
Applejack finds herself smiling back, even though her stomach’s churning something awful. “You ever think …” She pauses. Takes a long swallow, even though her mouth’s suddenly dry. “You ever think about havin’ foals someday? You and me havin’ foals, I mean?”
A split second later, Applejack’s on the floor, with a batter-dripping mare pinning her down and peppering her face with a thousand little kisses. Applejack laughs. She supposes that’s a yes.