Sunburst was running out of ideas on how to make his wife happy this particular evening, and his wallet had suffered enough.
All along the fair, he had tried to indulge in what he thought would be her every pleasure, from ridiculous games with giant teddy bears, to foods that would make a nutritionist weep. While a smile would be on her face after such a gift, it wouldn't stay long enough, and she would revert back to her quiet contemplation. She didn't look unhappy per se... worried, perhaps? Guilty? Hesitant? He found it difficult to pinpoint what, exactly, since she was so reluctant to tell him what was on her mind. He couldn't stand to see her this way, whatever way it was, but the fair they walked now offered little to his imagination.
The night had fallen and Luna's moon was high in the sky, and the couple walked closely, their shoulders brushing, silent. They were the only quiet beings, as all around them games were played, music was made, and in the shadows of the neon lights were the whispered giggling of teenagers. Sunburst thought and thought and thought some more, until he felt a tug on his cloak, realizing that Starlight had stopped walking.
Turning to face her, he noticed that by the way she was fidgeting on her hooves, clicking her heels, and chewing on her lip that she was, finally, going to tell him what was going on. Or whatever it was that had been bothering her all day. She lifted her head to meet his eyes, and she sighed.
“Sunburst…I’m sorry for having been so…quiet, all day.”
Taking solace that at least she admitted there was a problem, he placed a foreleg over her withers and drew her close. “What’s the matter, Star?”
Her eyes went down, and it took a few swallows for her to work up the nerve to explain her situation. “Well…remember yesterday, when I went to the doctor, and I told you I was just getting a checkup?”
The panic began gripping at his throat, but he put on a brave smile and held her even more tightly, despite his shaking hooves. “Oh, are you sick? If you’re not feeling well, we can leave right now, and I’ll—”
“No, no, no!” Starlight interrupted, shaking her head hard, loving Sunburst for his automatic concern and sweetness, and annoyed at him for his inability to be more patient. “I’m not sick. I’m…huh, well, I’m…” She closed her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath and gathering all her courage, and then opened them again, meeting him head-on. “I’m pregnant.”
Somehow the words didn’t register right away in Sunburst’s head. Sure, he knew them well enough… ‘I’m’, a shortening of ‘I am’, indicating that she, Starlight Glimmer, was talking about herself, that she’s referring to something concerning her. He also understood the word ‘pregnant’, an adjective, used when a mare or a female creature is having a foal or young developing in the uterus. However, the combination of ‘I’m’ and ‘pregnant’, in the same sentence, with nothing in between, that was something he believed to be impossible. The words echoed inside of his head, trying to form some kind of logic.
“Huh,” he finally said. “Huh,” he repeated, the gears having slowed down to a screeching halt. “Huh.”
Starlight almost shrunk into herself, having dreaded this reaction all day. After all, she remembered back when they had just started dating, and during a nice walk through the park; she had nonchalantly mentioned she would love to have foals one day. The next thing she knew, Sunburst had tripped on a pebble and crashed into a tree. She had spent hours reassuring him that it was just a thought, nothing more, and he was certainly under no pressure to be a father so soon. Still, that little dream of hers never went away. She loved each and every one of her students in the Friendship School, but she had a deep and powerful desire to care for one of her own, a special being made out of the love she had for Sunburst. Son, daughter, a pony, unicorn or pegasi, a little princess or a little prince, neither gender nor quantity matter, for she knew she would give it all the care it deserved.
“Huh.”
She had firmly believed that Sunburst would be a wonderful father. The way he doted on Twilight’s niece when she was a baby, the care and discipline he had instilled on the young princess as she grew, there was a great potential inside him, yet he himself never saw it. So, she had planned to wait until he was confident enough with himself to bring this topic up once more, but it appeared her body was impatient, and here she was, pregnant. She was terrified of what was to become of their relationship, and yet…
“Huh.”
…Yet, she noted, the Sunburst before her wasn’t the same one who had driven his horn into an oak. That Sunburst had been a mess of nerves, frightened beyond comprehension, the ideal mascot for heart disease awareness. But the Sunburst before her looked more…confused than scared. In fact, now that she was looking at him properly, he didn't look frightened at all. Or worried, or sad, or angry, he was just confused. It was a step-up, she supposed. Then, to her relief, the next best thing happened. He smiled.
“Huuuuuuuuh.”
He didn't even appear to be aware he was smiling, yet it was all over his face, from one yellow ear to the other. Something was trembling and tickling his throat, ready to burst out, and then, it did. "Huuuuuuuuuu-ha-ha-ha-ha!" That laughter was the tidal wave to wash away all of Starlight's doubts, for that sort of loud, rambunctious, delighted laughter was not that of a stallion who didn't want its foal. He laughed long, hard, wildly, and hugged her tightly, his entire body shaking with sheer mirth, speaking rapidly.
"Are you serious? I, ah, gosh, Star, really? You're really...Ha! Really! Right in there! Why didn't you just said so!?"
She was about to remind him about the entire park incident, but he had already run off, jumping around like a colt, shouting at the top of his lungs to any and all nearby ponies on the fair.
"Hey! She's pregnant!" and while some stared and others congratulated, he was already done with them, jumping to surprise more ponies. "My wife is pregnant!" he ran along the dining tables outside of the food stands, "I'm going to be a father!", trying to get the attention of the game owners and players, "We're having a kid!" and then lifting the bushes and pushing the branches aside, scaring the living daylights out of the teenagers hiding there, "We're a family!"
Starlight was slightly embarrassed by all the attention he was getting, but couldn't help but smile at her husband's eccentricity. Now she felt rather silly for worrying, but who would have guessed he would have been so excited? She did her best to be patient as he continued to harass the other fairgoers with his news, until he suddenly and abruptly halted in his tracks, having realized something. "Hold on, what are we doing here? Starlight, we got to take you home!"
Her smile faltered, not understanding his panic. "What for?"
"For the baby! You can't just walk around dangerous places like this in your condition!" Now he was at her side, drawing her close, dragging her along.
"Dangerous?" She repeated to emphasize the ridiculousness, though allowed herself to be dragged to slightly humor him. "It's a fair, what's so dangerous about it?"
"Why, everything! There could be nails on the grass! And the food isn't healthy! There just so many hazards and...!" On he rambled, suddenly spotting a world of dangers now that his wife was carrying an additional load.
"Sunburst," she tried to reason with him, her embarrassment now doubled. "You do realize I'm not going to have the baby right this second?"
Alas, her pleas fell on deaf yellow ears. "And we gotta fix up a room for him! Or her! And we got to tell everypony! And we need to buy some toys and a crib, oh and books, lots and lots of books, and then..." It seemed Sunburst was continuously coming up with new ideas on how to make his foal happy this particular evening.