Twenty feet above the tree canopy of the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy hovered in place before turning around and saying something she never thought she would hear in her entire life.
“Rainbow Dash? Do you need me to...slow down?”
Far behind her and about ten feet lower to the ground, Rainbow Dash was struggling with all the strength in her wings to stay in the air. Really, it was a testament to how strong a flyer she was that she was able to lift her heavily pregnant body off the ground in the first place. Unfortunately, keeping herself in the air was about the best she could do. She wobbled uneasily and beat her wings as fast as a hummingbird, kicking her legs impotently as if to push the ground farther away from her. More than once, she dipped low enough for her hooves to skim the treetops, but she always managed to avoid falling through them completely.
“I’m fine!” Dash shouted, veering to the right before correcting her trajectory.
“Not much farther now,” said Fluttershy, watching Dash very gradually close the distance between them. “I-if you want, I can go on ahead while you catch-”
“I got it!” She was only capable of grunting a few short words at a time. As she passed, Fluttershy could hear her labored, wheezing breath. On any other day, she would have suggested they continue by hoof, but time was of the essence. Dash’s slow, ponderous flying speed was still faster than walking.
“It’s right in that valley ahead, underneath the big spruce tree!”
“Which...one...is that?”
“The conifer in the middle of a clearing.”
“The what?”
“The uhmmm…” Fluttershy cleared her throat and overtook Dash with a single beat of her wings. “Nevermind. Follow me.”
She led them to the base of a thick, towering spruce that kept the surrounding underbrush at bay and made a clearing. Fluttershy landed first and immediately turned to make sure Dash didn’t hurt herself. The expectant pegasus descended quickly, dropping out of the sky like a stone, but her quick reflexes caught her and she managed to slow her descent. Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh of relief once all four of Dash’s hooves were on the ground.
“I’m sorry, the trip was longer than I expected,” she said as Dash panted, her wings drooped at her sides. “Maybe we should...catch our breath.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dash wheezed. “I can...go all day.”
“Oh, I know, but uhh… I think I’m feeling a little winded.” Fluttershy mimed wiping sweat from her brow with a wing. “You wouldn’t mind if I rested, would you?”
“No…” Dash coughed. “No problem.”
Fluttershy drank from the canteen she’d brought with her, taking the opportunity to cast a sidelong glance at Dash’s belly. She was very clearly near the end of term, her middle hanging low and heavy between her legs. Every so often, she could spot a twitch she was unsure came from the foal or Dash herself. It wasn’t uncommon for a pegasus mother to keep out of the sky this close to the birth. Though she was young, Fluttershy had faint memories of her mother being confined to the ground a few months before Zephyr Breeze’s birth. She worried that Dash’s stubborn determination to keep her ‘secret’ could hurt the foal.
“You got any water left?” Dash said with a hoarse whisper as she gestured to the canteen. Fluttershy passed it over and watched as Dash tipped it over her open mouth and drained it, soaking her face just as much as her parched throat. “Oops. Sorry, ‘Shy. It’s hot out here.”
“It sure is,” Fluttershy agreed as a gust of chilly wind made her shiver.
“So where are we headed? What’s the big animal emergency?”
“There’s a den under the tree here that I think belongs to the bobcat we’re looking for,” Fluttershy said. “I’ve never seen her there, but I’ve tracked her to this area before.”
“Whoa, a bobcat?” Dash’s eyes lit up. “That’s awesome, I’ve never seen one of those before!”
“They’re sneaky, not very social. It took a while for this one to trust me.” Fluttershy paused, then ducked behind her mane and kicked at the ground anxiously. “...I named her Bluebell.”
“What’s the deal? Is she hurt? Should we get a doctor?”
“She’s not hurt, but she needs help. A doctor from town would just scare her off.”
“If she’s not hurt, what does she need-” Dash froze, her eyes staring past Fluttershy’s head. “Whoa.”
Turning with slow, deliberate movements, Fluttershy followed Dash’s gaze and spotted a tawny, gray shape on the edge of the clearing. Bluebell stared at them, frozen mid-step like time had stopped, her eyes wide and piercing even from that distance.
“Don’t be afraid,” Fluttershy said, calmly. “If you look nervous, it makes her nervous.”
“I-I’m not nervous,” Dash stammered. “Is...is that the right one?”
“That’s Bluebell,” Fluttershy nodded. She stared right into the bobcat’s eyes and slowly, deliberately blinked her eyes before looking away.
“How can you tell?”
“She has a notch in her right ear and her eyes are slightly different colors.” Fluttershy paused and added, “Well, and she’s-”
“There she goes!” Dash interrupted. Bluebell turned her attention away from the two ponies and strode across the clearing to the other side of the tree. “Man, she’s bigger than I thought.”
“She’s a little bigger than most females typically are.”
“So what’s wrong with her?” Dash asked, glancing at Fluttershy once Bluebell was out of sight. “Just a checkup? We gotta fight off some bears or something?”
“No fighting,” Fluttershy smiled. “She’s in labor. She’ll probably have her kittens today.”
Dash’s enthusiastic expression dropped instantly into one of fear. Swallowing, she touched a hoof to her own belly without realizing it.
“In...labor? We’re gonna…help her give birth?” She shuffled her wings. “D-do we have to watch?”
Fluttershy was already on her way across the clearing, occupied with double-checking the supplies she’d brought in her saddlebag. With heavy panting and the shuffle of grass underhoof, Dash caught up to her with a hurried waddle.
“Y’know, she seems pretty tough, right? She’s been takin’ care of herself this whole time, maybe she, like, doesn’t even want our help. We know where she is, so we can...give her some time and come back later?”
“No,” Fluttershy said.
“How do you know it’s today? Maybe she’s just...uhh...coming back to take a nap or something?”
“Oh, it’s today. I’ve been tracking her for a while, she’s at the end of her gestation period.”
“Hey, I got an idea!” Dash grunted and hobbled in front of Fluttershy, stopping to catch her breath. “How about you stay here with Bluebell so I can get everyone else to come help out, too!”
“If we crowd her, all it would do is put her under stress.” Fluttershy kept walking and turned a gentle loop past Rainbow Dash. “Two will be plenty.”
On the other side of the tree, where the shade of its branches cast cool shadows across the clearing, the two ponies stopped.
Dash frowned, her ears swiveling back on her head. “Where’d she go?”
“Shhhh,” said Fluttershy, putting a hoof to her lips. She continued, in a low whisper, “Remember to keep your voice down and don’t make any quick movements….um, please.”
“Okay, okay, got it,” Dash said under her breath, swallowing.
“She won’t hurt you, but we don’t want to cause her any more stress.” Fluttershy paused, her mouth open, then cleared her throat and added, “I’ll need your help, okay?”
“Yeah, r-right,” Dash said, shuffling in place before forcing a smile. “I’m here for ya, ‘Shy. We got this.”
“Thanks, Rainbow,” Fluttershy smiled.
“By the way, I’m probably gonna throw up.”
“...Oh. Well...that’s okay, I guess.”
“Right on!”
Fluttershy cleared her throat and headed for the tree. She hadn’t been entirely truthful with Dash: she could have easily handled Bluebell by herself, but wanted her friend there as a spectator. Dash was still refusing to admit to her very obvious pregnancy, even as her due date closed in. Fluttershy wasn’t as duplicitous as Rarity or as determined as Applejack, but she still wanted to help in some way. When Bluebell started showing signs that her labor was approaching, Fluttershy had the idea of bringing Dash along to watch as a sort of indirect birthing class. Maybe seeing the miracle herself would make Dash less afraid of the day her own child decided to come.
Bluebell’s den was a hollowed-out burrow underneath the tree, concealed from the sun by thick roots. Fluttershy quietly pushed aside the branches blocking the opening and waited for her vision to adjust before spotting the pair of vibrant, feline eyes staring at her from the darkness.
“He-llo, Bluebell!” Fluttershy cooed, her voice high and gentle. The bobcat didn’t move, only keeping her eyes locked suspiciously on the pegasus. She usually didn’t let Fluttershy get this close, but she wasn’t in any condition to run. She lay on her side on a bundle of dried leaves, her breathing heavy and rapid. Her sides noticeably bulged -- not entirely unlike Rainbow Dash’s.
Dash herself crept up behind Fluttershy and peeked over her shoulder. At the sight of a strange pony, Bluebell’s eyes widened and she hissed, shuffling farther back into her den.
“It’s alright, it’s alright…” said Fluttershy. “This is my friend. We’re going to help you, okay? We’re only here to help.”
“Whoa,” Dash muttered. “She’s huge.”
“Bobcats usually have litters of three, but I think she might be carrying four.”
“Geeze, poor girl. Good thing ponies only have one at a time.”
“Dash, could you please look through my bag for me and get the little plastic box with a green lid?”
“Sure, sure.” Rainbow Dash went back to where Fluttershy had left her bag and dug through it until she found the container and returned with it in her mouth. “Thith it?”
“Perfect!” Fluttershy slowly opened the lid and removed a small cut of fresh salmon she’d bought that morning. Bluebell shuffled back a little as Fluttershy put the fish on the ground near her head, then gave her space. The bobcat sniffed the offering suspiciously, then quickly snatched it up, her mouth making faint smeck sounds as she chewed.
“There you go. Good girl, Bluebell. Good girl.” Fluttershy moved forward once Bluebell had stopped eating and risked extending her hoof into the den. This time, the bobcat didn’t move away and only flinched a little as Fluttershy began gently stroking her side. “That’s it, that’s it. Good girl.”
“That was easy,” Dash said.
“Because I’ve been getting to know her for a while. It took a long time before she let me touch her.” Fluttershy crouched on her haunches and shuffled a few inches farther into Bluebell’s den. “It looks like she’s pretty far into labor. The kittens could come at any time.”
“You must be pretty good at figuring out due dates like that,” said Dash, scratching the back of her head.
“It’s all about paying attention,” said Fluttershy, feeding Bluebell another slice of fish. “And being patient.”
“Can you...do that with ponies?”
Fluttershy turned and looked up at Rainbow Dash, eyes momentarily glancing at her late-term belly. “...Sometimes.”
“H-hey, is she supposed to be panting like that?” Dash asked, shuffling in place. Bluebell had dropped her fish to the ground and was taking heavy, rapid breaths, her tongue hanging out like a dog’s. Her wide paws flexed, white claws visible just for a moment as she dug them through the dirt.
“She’s getting closer,” Fluttershy said. “Dash, I need the blue towel from my bag and the disinfectant cream.”
“Is it hurting her?” Dash said, wincing. Fluttershy’s order had gone in one ear and out the other. “She looks like she’s dying.”
“Dash.” Fluttershy snapped. “Get the blue towel and the disinfectant cream.” She paused, blinking. “Um...please.”
“R-right. Yeah, got it.” Dash hesitated a moment more, her wings instinctively wrapped around her belly, before hurrying back to the bag.
“Be strong, Bluebell,” Fluttershy cooed softly. “Not just for yourself, okay?”
The bobcat made a faint sound somewhere between a chirp and a squeak.
“Got it,” Dash said as she returned, her hooves making heavy thump sounds in the grass as she waddled back and dropped the towel on Fluttershy’s head. “You want the cream? Whatcha want with the cream? You want it now? I got the cream.”
Fluttershy shook off the towel and gently tucked it underneath Bluebell, who only slightly squirmed in protest. After wiping her hooves in the cream, she shuffled to the side to give herself room to peek underneath the bobcat’s tail.
“It’s almost time,” she said, glancing back at Dash. “The first kitten is almost on its way!”
“How can you tell?” Dash crouched as best she could, her belly grazing the dirt, and looked past Fluttershy. At the sight, she scrambled away and made a dry heave, flapping her wings impotently like an angry parrot. “Huuuhhh, no no no no oh my God noooo…”
“There you go...There you go…” Fluttershy whispered to Bluebell, stroking her side. She touched her hoof to the furry mound and could feel the slight shifting of the kittens inside. “Whenever you’re ready, don’t worry.”
When Dash had calmed down enough to listen, Fluttershy had her retrieve a bottle of water and a washcloth from the bag. She soaked the cloth in water before holding it for Bluebell to drink from in little sips. After a few more minutes, she turned and lay flat on her side, taking rapid breaths. Fluttershy looked beneath her tail again and said, “Oh!”
“Are they coming? Is it happening?” Dash gagged again and had her tail pinned flat between her back legs. “D-do I have to watch?”
“Yes, the kittens are coming,” answered Fluttershy. “No, you don’t have to watch.”
“O-okay.” Rainbow Dash hesitated, then shuffled closely beside Fluttershy to watch.
“She’s listening to her body,” Fluttershy explained. “Telling her when the right time to push is.”
“I-is it hurting her?”
“Animals don’t show pain like we do, especially cats. It can be hard to tell.”
Suddenly, Bluebell’s heavy breathing came to a halt and the muscles in her sides suddenly clenched. Fluttershy could hear Dash groan in sympathetic pain, her wings shuffling.
“Okay, the first kitten is starting to crown.” Her voice was calm and easy, drowning out the stress noises coming out of Dash. “There we go, you’re doing great. Good girl, Bluebell. Good girl.”
“Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God…” Dash mumbled under her breath, her teeth clenched so hard Fluttershy could hear them click. “Hhhhhnnnnnggghhh.”
“That’s it, that’s it, take a breath,” Fluttershy said to Bluebell as she stopped pushing. “You’re doing so good.”
“I think I’m gonna throw up.” Dash made a gulping sound and gasped. “Okay, no I’m not.”
“Alright, here comes the next contraction,” said Fluttershy as Bluebell’s body tensed up again.
“Are they supposed to be so close together?”
“They are during active birth.”
“How is she supposed to breathe?”
“She does it in between contractions.”
“Is it okay that she’s on her side like that? Doesn’t she need to be standing up?”
“Only ponies do that. She’s just fine as long as she’s comfortable.”
“Okay, but what happens if the foal- I mean, the kitten-” Dash’s eyes flicked to the baby emerging from Bluebell and shuddered again, her train of thought grinding to a halt. “Oooooohhhhhhhh no, no no no no. How- Oh my God, how is she stretching that much?”
“It’s alright, her body knows what to do,” said Fluttershy, holding the washcloth up to the bobcat’s face so she could drink.
“But what if it tears?”
“...It might, but she’ll be alright as long as it doesn’t get infected. It’s why we’re here.”
“If she tears, I think I’m gonna pass out.” Dash hissed through her teeth. “How is something that big supposed to come outta me?”
Fluttershy’s ears twitched and, for the first time in minutes, she turned to look at Rainbow Dash. She stared at her with wide eyes before Dash cleared her throat and said, “I mean...her?”
“Of course,” Fluttershy smiled patiently before turning back to Bluebell. “The baby seems big, but her body’s been preparing for this the whole pregnancy. She’s ready for her kittens to come into the world to meet us.” When the contraction passed and the bobcat stopped pushing to catch her breath, she scratched the back of her head affectionately. “It really is beautiful, isn’t it?.”
“Yeah. It’s…” Dash gagged again and swallowed. “Pretty...great.”
“I think this is it,” said Flutttershy as she spread the towel out with room to catch the newborn kitten. “You’re almost there, girl. You can do it.”
Bluebell raised her head just long enough to look Fluttershy in the eye, then laid it back down to push. All of the cat’s powerful muscles clenched at once, finally enough to push the little lump of wet fur free of her birth canal. The newborn kitten struggled on the towel before taking their first breath of air and crying out with a loud, high-pitched squeak as they wobbled to their paws.
“There you are!” Fluttershy cooed, giving the kitten room to move. “Welcome to the world, little one!” Its eyes were squinted closed and its fur was still wet and matted flat, but it fought to stand with encouraging strength and called out for its mother.
At the sound of her newborn, Bluebell began calling back with the same chirping sound as before, moving her paws and trying to stand.
“Not yet, not yet,” Fluttershy said before gently moving the kitten from the towel to Bluebell’s side, where the mother could see them and the baby could start to nurse. “There they are! Healthy and safe. Everything’s okay.” As she talked to the two bobcats, the kitten crawled forward into its mother's fluffy mass of fur and found a nipple to nurse from.
Rainbow Dash had fallen suspiciously quiet after the first kitten was born, but Fluttershy didn’t have the time to worry about her. Her estimation was correct -- three kittens followed quickly after the first, each around the same size save for the last, the biggest by two inches. After waiting to make sure there wasn’t a surprise fifth kitten, Fluttershy let out a deep sigh. Once all the kittens were nursing, she wiggled out of the den. “There, all done.”
She turned to Rainbow Dash, ready to apologize for bringing her along, but found the pegasus staring at the newborn kittens with wide-eyed wonder while silently weeping.
“Dash? Are you...okay?”
She turned to Fluttershy, as if suddenly remembering she was there, and wiped her nose on her leg. “Th-they’re ssss-so...small.”
“It’s okay! It’s okay, they’ll get bigger soon-”
“I love them,” Dash whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears. “I love them so much.”
Fluttershy had never seen Dash cry like this and was at a complete loss for words. Her wings softly cradled her belly and she rocked in place, pointing at the kittens and babbling almost incoherently.
“They got little ears and their noses are pink and their little tiny paws I love them so much.”
“I know, I know,” Fluttershy said, stroking Dash’s mane with a wing. “Let’s give them some space, okay?”
Dash nodded, sniffing again as she stood and waddled away, her wings gripping her belly tightly. When she’d calmed down enough to speak, she said in a hoarse voice, “C-can you gimme a minute?”
“Of course. No rush.”
As Fluttershy packed up her bag, leaving the towel behind in Bluebell’s den, Rainbow Dash found a secluded, comfortable spot against the tree and sat with her back against it, her hooves roaming the taut surface of her belly as she gazed up at the sky, lost in thought. Every so often, she sniffed again and wiped her nose, but was otherwise quiet. When Fluttershy finished packing up, she caught a faint smile on Dash’s face.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked. Rainbow Dash let out a deep, contented sigh and nodded.
However, as she moved to stand, she instead leaned over a thick root and threw up out of sight.
“O-oh!” Fluttershy winced, stepping back and shuffling her wings. “O-okay, maybe we should...walk back to town…”