Pinkie rocked in place as she stared at the kitchen timer on top of the oven in Sugarcube Corner. She was convinced that it wouldn’t work correctly if someone wasn’t looking at it, so she always kept a determined glare on it as it ticked quietly along. She leaned forward, squinting her eyes as the dial drew closer and closer to zero, her tail quivering behind her, pulled taut as piano wire. Despite being an inanimate object, this made the kitchen timer nervous.
The instant the arrow hit zero, Pinkie shrieked “DONE!” and knocked it aside as she opened the oven door. On the center rack was a muffin tray, but what it held was something very, very far away from muffins. Pinkie Pie didn’t have a name for what she’d just finished baking; the closest she could come to describing it was a kind of crunchy fudge-taffy, but that was assuming they were even edible.
“Oooooooooooh,” she said, sniffing the warm air spilling out of the oven. “It smells... really bad!” With a giggle, she carefully removed the tray and waited for her experiment to cool before transferring them to a plate, which they stuck to like rubber cement. Pinkie flipped the plate upside-down, watching how the six little lumps of something clung to the ceramic, then shrugged.
“Okie-dokie, Dashy!” she cried out as she bounced from the kitchen to the dining room. “Your whatchamacallits are done!”
Rainbow Dash was leaning against the front counter, tapping her hooves excitedly and fanning her wings as Pinkie brought out the snack.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah!” Her mouth was watering as Pinkie slid the plate in front of her. “Oh man, these smell awesome!”
“If you say so!” chirped Pinkie Pie. “Need sprinkles and frosting? Like...a lot of sprinkles and frosting?”
“Nope! I think I’m all good with-” Dash suddenly froze, smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she gazed off into space. “Hey! Got any cinnamon? No, wait, something sour. Or salty. Or both. You guys have pickles?”
“Dashie, this is a bakery.” Pinkie paused. “Of course we have pickles!”
Outside, just a few blocks away, Applejack was pulling a cart heavy with half a dozen baskets of fresh apples from the farm. If the weight was bothering her, she didn’t show it. Beside her, Twilight was taking turns between trotting on the ground and keeping pace from the air. Even after growing used to her new wings, she could never seem to decide where she wanted to be.
“Are you sure you don’t need any more help?” Twilight asked, grimacing at the way the wooden cart creaked under the full baskets.
“You already did more than your share, sugarcube, don’t wear yourself out,” Applejack said with a smile. “I made this trip more times than you can count.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t make it easier.” Twilight beat her wings and hovered over the cart, tapping a hoof to her chin. “The right teleportation spell and we can drop these off at the back door!”
“Magic ain’t no trade-off for good work ethic, Twi. ‘Sides, I already feel bad about askin’ a dang princess to help pick apples.”
“Why? It was fun! I could use some fresh air, anyway.”
Twilight descended and landed next to Applejack, mid-trot. She noticed that all her winged friends took to the air differently. Dash tended to flit from side-to-side like a hummingbird while Fluttershy -- true to her name -- had an airy kind of lightness not unlike a butterfly. The way Twilight flew was unique, with an ethereal grace that seemed more like she was floating through water than air.
“It ain’t good to knock down ripe apples from the high branches. We end up losin’ more than we can handle,” Applejack explained. “Always good to have somebody with wings to lend a hoof. I usually ask Rainbow Dash to help out but she…” She trailed off and ended with a frustrated huff. “Well, you know.”
“You’re still angry with her?”
“And I’m gonna stay angry so long as she keeps bein’ stubborn,” Applejack said, stomping a hoof into the dirt.
They were nearing the front door to Sugarcube Corner, so Applejack was forced to shake off the bad mood she’d put herself in. After parking the cart next to the door, she ducked inside. “Howdy!” she called out. “Mr. Cake? Got your order in!”
“Hey Applejack!” shouted Pinkie from behind the counter. “The Cakes took the twins to the doctor, they’ll be back later.”
“Hey AJ! Hey Twilight!” said Dash through a full mouth, turning and giving her friend a wave.
Applejack felt a tension in her chest at the sight of Rainbow Dash, but forced a smile and returned her greeting. When Dash turned back to whatever she was eating, Applejack’s eyes traveled down to the obvious, rounded bulge to her underside. Anyone with eyes could tell she was midway through her pregnancy, but as the weeks passed and it became impossible to deny, deny was all Dash did. She maintained a different excuse for every change that came over her and was better than ever at dodging direct questions. The only thing she couldn't hide with a lie was the baby bump she was carrying.
“Is that Pinkie?” Twilight asked as she walked backwards through the door, carefully levitating one of the baskets of apples inside. “Oh, and Rainbow Dash! I didn’t know you were here!”
“Just stopped by for a snack,” Dash said. “The diet lets me have one cheat day every week.”
“The diet,” Applejack repeated with a sigh. That seemed to be Dash’s go-to.
“Well! You’re…Well, it’s...doing good! You’re looking really uh…” Twilight’s eyes flicked to Dash’s belly for a fraction of a second. “...Healthy!”
“You feelin’ okay, Dash?” Applejack said with a flat tone. “Ain’t gettin’ sick no more?”
“Why are you still asking me that?” Dash snorted. “I got over that stomach thing months ago!”
“Well. Y’know.” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “Just. Makin’ sure.”
“What are you, my mom? Don’t worry about me so much!” Dash gave her curved belly an absentminded scratch with a hoof before turning to Pinkie. “Hey! You got any lemonade?”
Applejack followed Twilight outside and helped her unload the baskets from the cart.
“This is what I’m talkin’ about,” she said once they were out of earshot. “It’s been months, Twi, and she ain’t said a dang word. Look at her! If she don’t got a bun in the oven, I’ll eat my daggum hat.”
“It is getting a little… worrying,” Twilight muttered, shuffling in place. “I expected her to admit it once she started to show. Then I suppose my first question is why?”
“Pride. Plain and simple. She’s probably got it in her head we’ll think less of her or some nonsense like that.” Applejack hefted out one of the baskets and let it fall to the ground with a heavy whump. “Pride and fear. The only thing that makes sense to her is just keep denyin’ it.”
“So what do we do?” Twilight asked, lifting another basket out with magic. “Confront her? Or just keep pretending it isn’t happening?”
“You come at her too hard, she’ll just double-down on the lie. And I ain’t about to go eleven months with her pissin’ down my neck and tellin’ me it’s raining.”
Applejack unloaded the last basket, where it kicked up a cloud of dust as it hit the ground. Frowning, she took off her hat and spun it on the end of her hoof, staring at the ground as the gears in her head turned.
“I think what we gotta do is tease it out of her,” she said after a long silence. “Force ain’t gonna work, so we gotta be smart about it. Put some pressure on her ‘til she decides to tell us the truth on her own.”
“That could work!” Twilight said, her expression brightening. “Sort of letting her know her friends are here for her without making her feel threatened. Especially if all of us work together.”
“Well... that might be the nice way of doin’ it,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “But I figure Rainbow Dash needs tough love every once in a while to knock some sense into her head.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Twilight asked, frowning. “You said it yourself, she’s stubborn.”
“I know.” Applejack put her hat back on and headed for the door of Sugarcube Corner. “So am I.”
Trotting confidently up to the bar, she settled next to Dash and tapped a hoof on the counter to get Pinkie Pie’s attention. “How’s about you pour me one of them lemonades, too?” Applejack glanced at Dash with a sly look that evaporated one she caught a glance of the remaining sticky balls on the plate. “Dash, what in the hay are you eatin’?”
“Oh uh... I dunno!” Dash shrugged and held one of them up to the light. “It’s something Pinkie made for me! I don’t think there’s a name for it.”
“I just put everything Rainbow Dash asked for in a pan, then baked it!” said Pinkie as she slid Applejack a glass of lemonade. “There’s dark chocolate and caramel and gummy worms and taffy and coffee and a teeny tiny bit of cayenne pepper.”
Applejack grimaced as she glanced to the lone pickle in the center of Dash’s plate.
“And a pickle.”
“And a pickle!” Pinkie giggled.
“Your new diet’s got you eatin’ some weird stuff,” Applejack said, looking Dash in the eye as she spoke. “Givin’ you some cravings?”
Dash froze, only for a fraction of a second, but recovered quickly with a nonchalant shrug as she took a bite of the pickle.
“That’s just what it does, y’know? When your body gets used to foods ya don’t normally eat, it makes other stuff taste better!”
“I hope you don’t mind me sayin’ so, but it don’t really look like that diet of yours is workin’ too good.” Applejack leaned back and cast a long, deliberate glance at Dash’s protruding belly. “Seems like you’re gaining more weight than losing it. Wonder why that is?”
“Well, y’know, it’s like, y’know, lots of carbs and stuff,” Dash answered quickly, scratching the back of her head. “It’s all about bulking up during the winter so that you can turn it all into muscle later on!”
“Winter? I thought it was April!” Pinkie Pie called from the kitchen. “Did they move the seasons again?”
“I... I mean, you can do it in spring, too. Bulking up in spring is... is actually better cause then you can work all the weight off later in the winter when it’s cold.”
“So that’s when you’re plannin’ to lose all that weight?” Applejack asked, smirking. “Right around... November, you think?”
“I uhhhh... I guess? M-maybe sometime around... around then.” Dash cleared her throat, then stalled by draining her glass of lemonade. “But that’s the thing about the diet, you bulk up a lot, but then you lose the weight super fast and it all turns into muscle.”
“Oh I’m sure, I’m sure,” Applejack nodded. “I’ll bet you could lose about...ten or twelve pounds, all at once.”
“Uh... p-probably not... that much weight,” Rainbow Dash said, subtly touching a hoof to her stomach. “Maybe more like six or...maybe seven.”
“I hate exercise,” Pinkie said, sticking her tongue out. “Not unless it includes a trampoline.”
“Hey, uh, wasn’t Twilight with you?” Dash asked, clearly changing the subject. She dropped down from the bar, her belly bouncing slightly from the impact, and headed for the door. Applejack turned and found that Twilight hadn’t followed her inside.
“This is gonna be harder than I thought,” Applejack sighed, tapping a hoof on the counter. She drank the rest of her lemonade and tossed a couple bits on the counter. “Dash didn’t say nothing to you, did she?” she asked Pinkie.
“Nope! But I gave her one of these, just in case.” Pinkie ducked under the counter, then pulled out a large stack of flyers drawn in crayon. They read ‘Pinkie Pie’s Babysitting Service’ above an elaborate image of Pinkie juggling a trio of foals. Beneath it, in ink and different handwriting, was another line that read ‘Disclaimer: Pinkie Pie will not juggle your children.’
Applejack found Dash outside next to the cart with four of the six baskets of apples missing. Twilight was also nowhere to be seen.
“Did she try to move those things all by herself?” Applejack groaned. “I told her they’re heavier than they look, even with magic.”
“There she is,” Dash said, pointing. Twilight rounded the corner of the building, dragging her hooves and panting. Her mane was disheveled and she was covered in dirt and dust.
“Just... just two more!” Twilight said with a weary smile. She clenched her teeth and stared at one of the remaining baskets, her horn glowing with a purple haze. It floated a few inches off the ground, wobbled in the air for a moment, then fell back in place.
“Ugh, forget it,” Twilight grumbled. She took a deep breath and grabbed the edge of the basket with her teeth, dragging it back where she came.
“Geeze, that looks heavy,” Dash said, gliding over to Twilight’s side. “I’ll get the other side if you-”
“NO!” Twilight shouted, letting go of the basket and knocking a few apples to the ground. She paused, glancing between Dash and Applejack, then forced herself to smile. “I mean... I can do this with Applejack’s help! You don’t need to do any heavy lifting.”
“You sure?” Dash raised an eyebrow. “It probably wouldn’t be so hard with both... of…” She trailed off, touching a wing to her belly as if remembering it was there. “...Well, I guess Applejack is better at, y’know, big heavy stuff, so this is probably her specialty. My body’s built more for speed.”
“You sure ‘bout that?” said Applejack. “Because you ain’t lookin’ too aerodynamic right now.”
“It’s just a little extra winter weight! You can hardly tell!” Twilight quickly added. She hesitated, then continued with, “But even if it wasn’t, that doesn’t mean we won’t still love you as you are! Friendship is about... about loving your friends even when they change or... things change for them and sticking with them no matter what happens in their lives!”
Dash glanced between Twilight and Applejack, shuffling in place uncomfortably.
“I guess?” She cleared her throat and took to the air, her wings beating harder than usual to carry the extra weight of her middle. “Hey, I’ll see you guys later. I got... weather team stuff to do. See ya around.” With that, she took off, wobbling uneasily in the air before a gust of wind carried her up and over the buildings.
“Real smooth, Twi,” Applejack frowned.
“I panicked! I’m not good at coming up with stuff on the spot!” Twilight grumbled and kicked the basket. “We just need to be more subtle.”
“Let’s tell the others to give it a shot. We’ll get the truth out of her one way or another.” Applejack picked up the basket of apples and hefted it onto her back like it weighed next to nothing, then added, “Though if we don’t, I think the foal will end up doin’ that for us, anyway.”