“GAME NIGHT!”
Pinkie Pie’s voice echoed through the halls of the stone castle, creating a chorus composed of only a single voice. Instead of trotting, she hopped forward every three feet, the loud clack of all four hooves hitting the floor as loud as a clap of thunder.
“GAME NIGHT!”
Clack.
“GAME NIGHT!”
Clack.
“GAME NIGHT!”
Clack.
After navigating the labyrinth of Twilight’s castle, she landed in front of a simple wooden door that seemed strangely out-of-place compared to the grand architecture that surrounded it. Pinkie pulled on the rope tied around her back to make sure the stack of board games was secure, then knocked on the door. Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and bucked the door open with a hard kick, slamming it inward.
“GAME NIGHT!”
“GAAAHHH!” screamed Twilight as the door hit the back wall with a bang.
“Pinkie, dear, there are better ways to announce your presence,” Rarity said. She’d been applying eyeliner when Pinkie kicked the door open and had accidently drawn a long, black line across the side of her face she hadn’t yet noticed.
“Oop! Sorry!” Pinkie cleared her throat before trotting to the table in the middle of the room and calmly setting the stack of board games in the center. “Game night,” she whispered.
She, Twilight, and Rarity were gathered in the Ponyville library, a good five miles away from the castle Pinkie had just emerged from.
“Can you close the door?” Twilight asked, pointing to the doorway that currently led somewhere different than the windows next to it. “The others won’t be able to get in while it’s still connected to the castle.”
Pinkie Pie hooked her tail around the door and lassoed the door closed. The instant it shut, a faint knock came from the other side before Fluttershy poked her nose and one eye through the gap.
“Am I early?” she asked. “I can come back later if you need me to.”
“Nonsense, darling! Come inside!”
Fluttershy slipped through the doorway as if she was trying to avoid bothering the wood by opening it too far. She blinked around the room, her ears swiveling on top of her head. “Are the others coming tonight?”
“Applejack’s train should be coming into town soon,” Twilight said, swiveling around to check the clock. “But I don’t know where Rainbow Dash is. She never misses game night.”
“She’s been a bit under the weather lately,” Rarity said, casting Twilight a knowing look. “She’s been moving a bit... slower than usual.”
Twilight met her eye and sighed, returning Rarity’s comment with a shrug.
“I’m sure she’ll get here when she gets here... “
“Oh, were we supposed to bring something?” Fluttershy asked, glancing at the pile of games on the table. “I left the house so fast, I didn’t have time to get ready.”
“No, this is just Pinkie Pie’s personal collection.” Twilight blinked and cocked her head at Pinkie. “But why did you leave them at the castle?”
“I keep stuff like this stashed everywhere!” Pinkie ducked under the table, which bucked and wobbled as she crawled under it. She emerged between Twilight and Rarity, spitting out a deck of playing cards that had been duct-taped to the underside.
“Well, at least she’s prepared,” Rarity said with a snicker.
“But... prepared for what?” asked Twilight.
“You never know where game night’s gonna happen next!” Pinkie giggled and returned to her spot on the other side of the table by crawling back underneath it.
She poked her head out just in time to watch the door to the library swing open and a set of orange hooves trot inside. Applejack stopped, paused, then tilted her head upside-down to make eye contact with Pinkie under the table.
“Pinkie Pie,” she said with a polite, formal nod.
“Applejack,” Pinkie replied with the same inflection.
“Glad to see nothin’s changed since I’ve been gone.”
“Weeell, not nothing has changed…” Pinkie said with a sly wink. AJ frowned, trying to parse out what she meant, but realized what she was trying to do and simply gave up.
“Howdy, y’all,” Applejack said, sighing as she shrugged off her heavy saddlebags next to the library door, next to the rolling suitcase standing by her side. “Hope ya didn’t start without me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it!” Rarity said, smiling. Applejack glanced at the smear of eyeliner across her face, but decided not to mention it. For all she knew, it was there for a good reason.
“Did you come straight from the train station?” Twilight asked. “I thought you might want to go home first.”
“Naw, I missed two month’s worth of game night already. Don’t plan on skipping out on this one.” Applejack turned to the rolling suitcase and gently laid it on its side before opening it, revealing its only contents: her hat. She dusted it off, then put it on her head with a quiet sigh of relief.
“How are your cousins doing?” Fluttershy asked.
“Bout the same as last year, though most of the little ones ain’t quite so little anymore,” said Applejack as she took one of the cushions at the table. “The orchard’s twice the size of Sweet Apple Acres, it's why they need so much help with the harvest. Course, we got quality over quantity, here.”
“Always the competitive one, aren’t we?” Rarity smirked.
“Only when I know I can win,” Applejack said confidently, tipping her hat. “And I’m pretty dang sure of it whenever I play…” She paused, glancing up toward the ceiling, then around the room. “Wait, where’n the hay is Rainbow Dash?”
“She’s supposed to be on her way,” Twilight said. “She’s just late.”
“Late and Rainbow Dash ain’t even in the same language. She’s usually the one here first.”
“Well... she’s been a little... uh... “ Twilight bit her lip and shuffled her wings, glancing toward Rarity.
“It’s... a bit of a delicate subject, but we-”
“Hey! Hey hey hey hey hey! I’m here! I’m here!”
The five ponies looked up toward one of the second floor windows, where Rainbow Dash was hovering outside and knocking on the glass. Twilight opened it with magic and let the pegasus flutter inside, the beat of her wings billowing her friend’s manes. When she landed, Applejack couldn’t help notice how out of breath she was.
“Was wonderin’ when you’d finally show up!” Applejack said, forgetting Rarity’s interrupted comment. “Thought you were scared to get your tail kicked again.”
“Yeah, right. I’m the only actual competition you’ve got, AJ.”
“Didn’t you win last time?” Rarity asked Fluttershy under her breath.
“By a lot,” she responded.
“Good, can’t wait to make you eat them words,” Applejack said. She smiled, but as she looked over Dash, she couldn’t ignore there was something different about her. Maybe their time apart made it more obvious, but Rainbow Dash seemed tired and had faint bags under her eyes. Her voice was lightly raspy and she clearly didn’t have the energy she used to. Even when she playfully jabbed Applejack in the shoulder, it wasn’t with the same strength. Stranger, she didn’t seem sick. Rather than losing, she seemed to have gained weight, with a very slight paunch in her middle that hadn’t been there when Applejack left.
“So what are we playin’ tonight?” she asked, changing the subject. “I been itching for some Appleoosa Hold ‘Em.”
“I’m not much for poker, I’m afraid,” Rarity said with a shrug.
“Only cuz you don’t know how to bluff,” Dash told her. “Every time you get a good hand, you start wiggling in your seat and bet everything you have.”
“And I take it you’re the expert?” Rarity said, leaning over the table and raising an eyebrow. “At bluffing?”
“Y-yeah, totally. You’ll never know what I got, I’m like a statue.”
“I changed my mind,” Rarity said, tapping her hoof on the table. “Appleoosa Hold Them. I want to play.”
“Well, it was AJ’s turn to pick anyway,” Twilight said. She stood from the table, tapping her chin. “I know I’ve got a rulebook for poker variations somewhere around here…”
“Aw, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Applejack said, reaching for the deck of cards that had been in Pinkie Pie’s mouth ten minutes before. “My family practically invented the dang game. I know it by heart.” She opened the pack and dumped the cards on the table, then spread them around in an attempt to shuffle.
“Hold on a minute. Spike!” Twilight called out.
A muffled voice came from the loft of Twilight’s bedroom. Spike emerged from the dark, his eyes half-closed and a blanket trailing behind him. He trudged down the stairs with heavy steps, grumbling under his breath as he approached the table. Taking the cards, he divided them into two piles and shuffled them together with his dexterous fingers.
“Thanks, Spike!” Twilight chirped.
“Muh,” was all he said as he scratched the inside of his nose and went back upstairs.
“Hey, Rainbow,” Applejack said under her breath while Spike was shuffling. “Listen, my uncle makes the best apple moonshine in Equestria and sent me home with six jars worth of it. Clear as mountain water and goes down smooth as silk. Let’s you and me get rid of it after the game’s over.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up for just a moment, but her face quickly fell as she shuffled her wings and rubbed the back of her head.
“That sounds awesome but I… I uhh... I just started this new diet for the Wonderbolts. Can’t do any alcohol for a while, sorry.”
“C’mon, you can do a cheat day every once in a while, can’t ya? I ain’t gettin’ trashed all by myself.”
“Sorry AJ, Spitfire’s orders. I don’t wanna get in trouble.”
“Oh... Alright. Sure thing, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled, but furrowed her brow once Dash looked away. She’d never been one to turn down free booze. Usually it was Applejack herself that was the moderating force. She didn’t want to fault her friend for being healthy, but there was something fishy about it.
The game started with Twilight as the dealer. With their first hand, Applejack tried not to smirk when she realized just how right Dash was about Rarity’s poker face; she could read her like a book. Applejack turned to snicker about it with Dash, but found her seat empty.
“Be right back!” shouted the blue smear darting into the nearby bathroom. The door slammed and locked behind her.
“That was quick,” Rarity sighed, absentmindedly stacking her chips.
“She’ll be back in a second,” Fluttershy said to Applejack.
Dash was back a few minutes later, looking slightly woozy.
“Sorry guys, my bad. Too much water at practice I guess.”
They played through, with all the players making their bets. When Pinkie slid all her chips to the center of the table, the other five stared at her once they realized she hadn’t even looked at her cards.
“I like to live a little…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “...Dangerously.”
“Fold,” Applejack said.
“Fold,” Rarity sighed.
“I think I might fold, too,” Fluttershy muttered.
“All in,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing her chips into the center and eyeing Pinkie suspiciously.
“Aw yeah…” Pinkie smirked, rubbing her hooves together. “It’s all coming together…”
With the only two players betting all their chips on the first hand, Twilight simply flipped the center cards. The ten of diamonds, the Jack of Clubs, and the King of Diamonds.”
“Aw dang,” Pinkie pouted. “I don’t have any of those cards.” She flipped over her own hand, revealing the Ace of Diamonds and the Queen of Hearts. When she caught the others staring at her, she scratched her head. “Wait, how do you play this game again?”
“Hang on, I wanna do over!” Dash said, pointing at Pinkie. “She didn’t even look at her cards, how is-”
She suddenly stopped, clamping her lips shut as her eyes widened. She backed away from the table and darted back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut again.
“Y’all, should we call a doctor?” Applejack asked. “I’m pretty sure she’s sick.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Fluttershy said, softly.
Before she could press for an answer, Dash appeared again, stumbling across the floor and smiling like nothing was wrong. When she collapsed beside Applejack, she could smell toothpaste on her breath.
The game continued as best it could with Rainbow Dash stopping every few minutes to run for the toilet. Applejack, every time, was shocked at the inaction of her friends, but couldn’t get an explanation out of them before Dash herself returned. She could hardly pay attention to the game (though she still won a couple rounds), but as she put the pieces together in her head, a clearer idea began to take form.
Lack of energy, frequent trips to the bathroom, mysteriously gaining weight.
Applejack’s eyes widened as she turned to stare at Rainbow Dash. She had just called Rarity’s bluff -- the way she chewed on her hair made it obvious -- and met Applejack’s stare.
“You uh... you doing okay, AJ?” Dash asked, swallowing.
“Rainbow Dash are… are you-”
Dash opened her mouth to respond, but made an ugly retching noise instead of any words. With one hoof clamped over her mouth, she threw herself into the air before disappearing into the bathroom yet again.
“We really need to get more bleach…” Twilight sighed.
“Listen,” Rarity said, wiggling her ear. In the quiet, they could hear the groaning of pipes before the muffled hiss of water came from beneath the door. “She turned the shower on. She’ll be a while.”
“Y’all, am I going crazy?” Applejack hissed, leaning forward. “Or is she…”
“We are... reasonably sure Rainbow Dash is pregnant,” Rarity said, her voice hushed.
“Reasonably? She ain’t told you?”
“No, she hasn’t,” Fluttershy said. “Not yet, anyway.”
“We discussed it while you were gone,” said Twilight. “There’s got to be a reason she hasn’t told us, so we aren’t going to force it out of her until she’s ready.”
“This ain’t a secret you can keep for long,” said Applejack.
“Maybe she doesn’t know yet,” Fluttershy suggested. “Maybe she just thinks she’s sick.”
“She knows,” Applejack frowned. “Who’s the daddy?”
“No idea,” Twilight shrugged. “That might be the reason it’s a secret.”
“That’s daggum ridiculous. There ain’t no reason in the world for her to keep this from us. We’re her friends, right?” Applejack huffed and threw her hat down in frustration, tapping one of her hooves on the floor.
“It’s something she’s going through, Applejack,” said Fluttershy, gently. “I know you’re hurt, but you can’t force it out of her.”
“You’re dang right I’m hurt!” With a grumble, Applejack picked up her hat and dusted it off before placing it back on her head. “Just puts a sour taste in my mouth, is all. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but this ain’t the kinda thing you lie to your friends about.”
“But you know what she’s like,” said Rarity. “She’s embarrassed! She can’t stand for any of us to think she’s weak and hates being coddled.”
“Well this ain’t about just her anymore! She’s got a foal to think about, now.” Applejack sighed and slumped against the table. “I ain’t happy ‘bout being lied to but… if y'all think she needs some space, then fine. Not like she can keep it a secret for much longer.”
“I’m just looking forward to seeing Dash with a big baby belly!” Pinkie giggled. She’d spent the conversation stacking all of the chips she’d won in a huge tower that rose four feet above their heads. “I wonder if she’ll let me babysit? I’m the best babysitter in town! Except for all the other ones. You think she’ll still be able to fly? She’ll look like a bumblebee! Maybe she-”
Twilight, who was sitting nearest to Pinkie Pie, jammed a hoof in her mouth and shushed her as the bathroom door creaked open. Rainbow Dash staggered out, her wings drooping at her sides and trailing on the floor. The bags under her eyes had deepened, but she gave her friends a weary smile.
“H-hey guys! I just remembered, I had a... training session with Spit...Soarin.”
“Spitsoarin,” Applejack said, flatly.
“I mean Soarin! And Spitfire. They’re both there. Yeah. Got a... got a thing to... do. Sorry! Gotta-” She paused and gulped, forcing down another wave of morning sickness. “Gotta split! Bye!”
She beat her wings and took to the air, gliding with all the grace of a badly-made paper airplane. On her way out, Applejack frowned as she caught another look at the slight curve to Dash’s stomach, which seemed more obvious than ever.
“She better let the cat outta the bag soon,” she said, taking Dash’s leftover chips and cards. “Before I start gettin’ mad.”
“She will, just be patient,” Rarity said, waving a dismissive hoof.
“You sure about that?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow. “You remember who we’re talkin’ about?”
Rarity, who was about to respond, suddenly paused and scratched her chin.
“Well it’s... certainly not a secret she can keep forever... is it?”