//------------------------------//
// Simple Complications 
// Story: The World Beneath Her Wings 
// by Void Chicken 
//------------------------------//

"You're nervous."

"What?" Rainbow Dash's voice echoed slightly through the hall of Ponyville's castle.

Rarity looked back as the two walked. "It's written all over your face. If you're not comfortable, we should go home."

"Babe, do you have any idea how long it took for me to decide? I'm not backing down from this now."

Rarity answered, "You left me wondering for several weeks, if I recall. I didn't think you had such a delay in you." She paused to smile. "As a matter of fact, I was starting to suspect that my dear wife had been replaced by a changeling."

"Uh-huh," her dear wife said. "And how long did it take for you to believe that I was serious after I said yes?"

Rarity's smile and footsteps both faltered for a moment before she resumed her confident walk. "That's not important now."

It was Rainbow's turn to smile. "If you say so, Rarity. But you're here, so I hope you're convinced, and we're going to ask Twilight." She swallowed. "And I'm not nervous. I just—I just need to think about what I'm gonna say."

Rarity stopped at the large door. "I'll ask her then, if you'd like."

"Thanks, babe."

With a flash of her horn, Rarity opened the door to the big map room. Inside, Twilight was busy doodling on some map or organizing her books or whatever it was she did in her spare time.

Twilight looked up at them. "Good morning," she said. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"There is, Twilight," Rarity answered, moving inside. "Rainbow and I have something of a magical conundrum, which I believe your expertise—"

"I wanna put a foal in Rarity," Rainbow blurted out.

Silence filled the room. Seconds later it was broken by the sound of several books hitting the floor. Rainbow looked over to see Spike halfway up a ladder, staring at her.

Twilight glanced over. "Oh, don't worry about him; Spike already knows the reproductive cycles of every intelligent species in the world."

Climbing down, Spike replied, "That doesn't mean I want to hear about it again." He walked out of the room.

Twilight turned back to the couple. "He'll be fine. But I didn't expect you two to want a child."

"Well," Rarity started, "you see, it had been on my mind for quite a while before I decided to ask Rainbow. But I believe that we are ready to start a family."

"And for the record," Rainbow added, "I said yes right away. I'm totally down with a foal."

Tilting her head, Twilight looked at Rainbow. "It's just you've never struck me as the kind of pony who'd want to settle down. Are you sure you're ready to be a parent?"

"Not this again," Rainbow muttered under her breath. "Twilight, I've seen you playing with Flurry Heart. You love being around her. And, like, my foal is going to be half me. And—" She motioned to Rarity. "—it's going to be half her. The two of us mixed together is going to make the most awesome, pretty, all-around incredible pony ever. If you think about it, us having a kid is doing a service to Equestria. You should be grateful."

She noticed that eye roll that Rarity gave.

"Rainbow," Twilight answered, "being Flurry's aunt isn't the same as being her mother. I enjoy Flurry's company, but I'm never having a foal of my own. Ever. I know what's involved in raising a child, and I don't want to. I'm not going to call anypony wrong for wanting a foal, but you need to be aware of the responsibilities."

Rainbow scowled. "I know! I know it's going to be a ton of work! I know Rarity and I are going to be run ragged! I. Don't. Care. I want a foal."

"It doesn't sound like you've put enough thought into this," Twilight replied.

Rainbow took off and hoved just in front of Twilight's face. "I have put more thought into this than anything else in my life. I am having a foal, and you are helping me."

A blue aura wrapped itself around Rainbow and she found herself moving backwards.

"What Rainbow Dash means to say," Rarity said, "is that we would like your help in conceiving it, as the, ah, standard method is obviously not available to us. We are well aware of the challenges we face, and are willing to tackle them. Please, Twilight." She set Rainbow down next to her.

Twilight looked at Rainbow. "I'm just not sure—"

Rainbow opened her mouth. Without looking, Rarity magically closed it again.

Stepping forward, Rarity said, "Rest assured that if we were capable of doing this ourselves, we would not be having this conversation right now. We have discussed this at length, and I believe her when she says she is ready. And so I am asking you as a friend to help us start our family."

After a pause, Twilight finally said, "Of course. You know each other better than anypony else. I'm sorry."

Rainbow finally let herself relax.

"Unfortunately," Twilight continued, "there's one major issue."

Rarity's head tilted. "What kind of issue?"

"It's not typically covered in sex education. In animal breeding, it's common to magically combine the genetic material of two creatures into an egg to produce offspring. But a pony works differently. The pony is the most magical biological creature known. As a result, an embryonic pony is extremely sensitive to magical interference. Any magic at all other than its own would likely kill it."

Twilight motioned to Rarity's hips. "As a mare, your uterus is the most powerful anti-magical shield known to ponykind. Any spell powerful enough to penetrate it would undoubtedly kill you in the process."

Rarity looked down, confusion crossing her face. "That doesn't sound right."

"Yeah!" Rainbow added. "I know two mares can make a foal. Like Roseluck." Rainbow turned to Rarity. "Roseluck's a magic baby, isn't she?"

"I don't know," Rarity replied. "I don't ask ponies about the circumstances of their conception." She looked at Rainbow. "Really, what would you say if somepony asked how you were made?"

"I'd point them to Mom and Dad." She looked away and scowled. "They took pictures."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Rarity's right. There is one known method. By surgically removing some eggs from each of you, they can be magically combined into one to be implanted into Rarity's uterus. But surgery always has its risks, and there's a slight chance it might render one or both of you infertile."

Rainbow thought for a moment. "But you said you can't magic it like that."

Looking down, Twilight said, "That's true. The procedure does expose the zygote to a substantial amount of magic, no matter how much care is taken. The odds of success are... low."

Low success. Rainbow suspected that was a euphemism for something more unpleasant. Her eyes went to the floor, looking left and right to whatever books and paperwork had been scattered there as if the answer would be among them. Endless conversations with Rarity replayed in her mind.

Other ponies had been brave enough to go through with it. Rainbow could not imagine how many low-success foals they had tried to have. She could not imagine being that brave.

She looked to Rarity, who also seemed lost in thought. Her eyes were closed and her ears were low. Creases were drawn on her face and her jaw was ever so slightly clenched. A sharp intake of breath accompanied Rarity's eyes opening.

She turned to Rainbow. "I think... perhaps... I do not want a foal after all."

Rainbow did not want a foal, either.

She moved to Rarity's side and put her wing across her back. "I'm sorry, Rarity. We can talk about it at home, all right?"

They had made it several steps before Rainbow heard the shuffling of scrolls behind her.

"Wait!" Twilight called.

The couple turned around.

A dozen scrolls floated in Twilight's magic. "There's another way. It's highly experimental, and I'm not sure it'll work. I've only read about it in journals from Canterlot."

Rainbow let her wing slide off of Rarity and walked back to Twilight. "How experimental are we talking here?"

Glancing from scroll to scroll, Twilight answered, "You'd be the third attempt."

Rarity joined them. "How did the first two go?"

Still busy reading, Twilight said, "I'm not sure... here it is! The first couple gave birth to a healthy filly about two months ago. "There was a second one..." She dropped one scroll and picked up another. "Here. There have been multiple attempts, but they haven't been able to conceive, and they're still trying to figure out why."

Thinking, Rainbow said, "So our odds are fifty-fifty."

Twilight looked up. "Two is not a statistically significant sample. The odds of success and potential side effects are all unknown. You'd be another part of the experiment."

Rainbow looked at the mess of scrolls. "And what exactly is involved in this 'experiment'?"

"Well." Twilight levitated a scroll in front of her. "One mare would cast a spell to project her genes into the egg of the other, through the same path into her fallopian tube that, uh, that a stallion would use."

"Oh." Rarity blinked. "That doesn't sound too bad," she said.

"Uh, newsflash?" Rainbow pointed at her own head. "I can't cast spells."

Rarity and Twilight looked between Rainbow and each other in silence.

"What?" Rainbow asked.

Her gaze slowly shifted to Rarity. Specifically, to her forehead.

"...It would work," Rarity said, turning to Twilight. "Wouldn't it?"

Rainbow stood still in shock. She'd nearly forgotten that she had a womb in the first place.

Twilight kept talking to Rarity. "I could research the spell, teach it to you, you would use it, and Rainbow would carry the foal."

"I... suppose we could, if the choice is between Rainbow carrying the foal or nopony at all."

"We'd have to time Rainbow's ovulation cycle, of course, but we can work that out while you practice."

"Of course, that makes sense."

"I understand that it's a very complicated spell, so it'll take a lot of work to perfect."

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes."

"Then in that case, I'll write to the researchers in Canterlot and—"

Rainbow leapt into the air. "Wait!" she shouted. Hovering in front of the two, she looked between them. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Rarity looked up. "Oh, I'm sorry, dearie. I assumed you would be okay with carrying the foal since I... cannot, it seems. Do you need more time to decide?"

Landing, Rainbow started, "I think—" She glanced at Twilight, then turned around and pulled Rarity aside. "It's just... everything we've talked about. You were going to carry it, and let's face it, it wouldn't slow you down one bit. You'd still be your graceful, creative self, making those nice dresses just the same no matter how big the foal got in you.

"But now I'm going to be the one to do it? Either I have our kid or it'll never exist? I can't even imagine my body being pregnant like that. I think..."

Rarity waited patiently. Rainbow closed her eyes. The decision would take several seconds or it would take several weeks. There was no in between. There would be a foal or there would not be a foal.

She opened her eyes.

"I'll do it."