I smiled as I rubbed Twilight's back.
"Won't be long now, Sunshine," I murmured into her ear.
My wife was reclining as best she could on the bed. Being just over nine months pregnant, she had been doing what she could to relax. It couldn't have been easy, having a child kicking around, doing... how had she put it? Cartwheels with more enthusiasm than Pinkie?
She sighed as she leaned forward so I could reach her lower back easier.
"I know," she said. "It's just... I'm always tired lately. I thought fatigue would only be the first few weeks. It seems like I'm always sleepy and short of breath lately. Not to mention that putting on shoes is an Herculean effort now."
I pressed into her tense muscles a little firmer to try and get them to loosen even a little.
"Well, you are holding a tiny person just under your diaphragm. Makes sense why breathing is tough sometimes." I rested my chin on the crown of her head. "And I'll always help you with your labors. Even hydras."
She started to giggle, when suddenly a sharp sensation of pain flooded the bond. She gasped and double over, arms reflexively going over her belly.
"Twilight?" I asked, worry spiking. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, face blank. "I think so. I just felt a... Ah!" She flinched and bent forward again. As I reached out to hold her she chuckled a little. "Hey, Sunny?"
"Yeah?"
"My water just broke. We'll have to clean the mattress."
I smiled and sent love and reassurance through the bond.
"We'll worry about that later. Alright then," I said. "Let's get on up and start making our way to the door." I smiled, slipping a hand under one arm as she slowly stood, swaying a little as she got her feet under her. "One step at a time."
We had gotten her shoes on and partway across the condo before the next contraction hit, and with it came a flare of her magic. As several of the light bulbs above burst, she shifted into her Midnight Sparkle form and stumbled forward. The television flared to life for a brief moment as her hand touched it before exploding.
"Twilight!" I shouted, rushing forward and looking into her eyes. She was close to hyperventilating. "Breathe, love. Remember what Cadence told us? Breathe. In, and out."
It took several minutes for Twilight to collect herself, breathing calming and her panic starting to ease. She held the powered up state, though.
"I'm ok," she said, then wincing. "Though I'm not sure why the contractions are happening so close together already."
"Nothing about this pregnancy follows normal laws, Sunshine." I grabbed her coat from the rack. Spike was already holding our purses in his mouth. "Remember how it started?"
I couldn't help but smile as her face pinked and I caught a glimpse of memory of the night in question.
The drive to the hospital was mostly uneventful, though one particularly strong contraction caused the radio in the car to burst into static no matter the station. Once there, we were shown into a birthing room where only certain staff was permitted.
Once such staff happened to be Fluttershy, who was on the books as the assistant midwife. It had been Twilight's idea, since Fluttershy was every bit aware of the strange circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and the existence of the mirror.
"Breathe, Twilight," she echoed my earlier words. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a gown. "Let's start by getting you into this and into the chair comfortably. Then we'll see how far along you are."
"See?" Twilight squeaked.
"Sunset, dear," Fluttershy turned to me. "While I help her get comfortable, could you check in with the others? I'm afraid I left my phone at home after you called me."
"What's taking so long?" Rainbow asked.
"She's having a baby, Dash," AJ replied. "Not gettin' a haircut. Sometimes there's no rushing things."
A piercing scream cut the air, causing all gathered to look at the delivery room.
Aria blinked. "Was... was that Sunset that just screamed?"
Pinkie nodded, her eyes wide for a moment. "Freaky deaky..."
It took everything I had not to activate my Daydream form. Twilight's hand was wrapped around mine tight enough that I could feel the grinding of the bone that had broken, but I'd deal with that later. I kept wiping her forehead with the towel Fluttershy had given me, seeing the tired look in her eyes as the contraction ended, panting somewhat.
"Good, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "You're fully dilated now. Are you sure you don't want anything for the pain?"
Twilight shook her head. "I changed my mind."
Fluttershy nodded and went to a phone on the wall, dialing a number and speaking softly into it.
"How are you doing, Sunshine?" I asked, pulling a little bit of mana to heal my hand.
"I feel like if I have another contraction, the kid is going to pull my eyes from their sockets to stay in place." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Sorry about your hand."
"It's fine," I said, giving her hand a squeeze. "I can heal small things like that. I'm glad that your magic isn't lashing out anymore."
"I can keep a small grip on that now," she said. "But it's getting tough."
Fluttershy came back over, pressing her hands gently against Twilight's tummy.
"It feels like she's turned," the quiet woman said. "It won't be long now."
"How long?" Twilight asked.
"That all depends on her," she replied. A knock on the door soon had a nurse stepping in with a small rolling tray.
"How's Mom doing?" the nurse asked, picking up a small vial and slowly shaking it.
"I'm ready to be done with this part," Twilight said.
"I'm certain," the nurse said. "Now, could we get you rolled up onto your side, please?"
As Fluttershy and I helped Twilight roll onto her side, the nurse pulled a dosage into a syringe and unwrapped a small tray with a pair or small sponge brushes that she used to sterilize the site on her lower back.
"Ok, little sting," the nurse murmured as she began inserting the needle. Twilight hissed for a moment before sighing. "Good job. It might take a moment to kick in, but that should make it easier on you."
"Thank you, Redheart," Fluttershy said. "I'll let you know when we're near to being done."
Nurse Redheart nodded and stepped out. Twilight swallowed and closed her eyes.
"Are you ok?" I asked.
Twilight nodded, not opening her eyes. "I could use something to drink, though."
I glanced at Fluttershy, who nodded.
"There's an ice machine down the hall," she said. "That would be safer right now."
I looked down at Twilight, squeezing her hand again before kissing her forehead. "I'll be right back, ok?"
She nodded before she hunched a little and began groaning as Fluttershy urged her to push.
I ducked out quickly and saw the ice machine down the hall, just past the waiting room. As I headed towards it, Rarity stepped forward.
"How is she doing, darling?" she asked, and I saw my closest friends all watching.
"She's doing well, I suppose," I said, walking to the ice machine and pulling a cup from the dispenser attached before filling it with small ice chips. "It's been a long handful of hours though, and I'm sure there's a few more to go."
I felt a sudden pang of fear and pain through the bond and spun, giving a quick glance at my friends before rushing back to the birthing room. As I entered, I saw Fluttershy rubbing Twilight's back as she leaned over one side.
"Twilight?" I asked, coming over to check on her.
"She's ok," Fluttershy said. "Just a sharp bout of nausea. It can happen sometimes during labor."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said, knowing why I was so concerned. "It just startled me."
I smiled and brushed her hair off her face. "It's ok," I said. I pulled an ice chip out and fed it to her.
"OK, now, Twilight?" Fluttershy spoke up. "Any contractions you have from now on, I need you to bear down and push, ok?"
My wife started to nod before she grabbed the rails of the bed and groaned, her face screwing up in a look of effort. I rubbed her back and whispered comforting words into her ear. After a few moments, she collapsed backwards into the bed.
"Good, good," Fluttershy said, peering under the blanket from her perch on a stool. "The baby's crowning now. Push hard every contraction, ok? Don't worry about anything else."
I'm not sure how long we had been in that room, but the moment I hear the crying of a small child, I felt a warm rush that echoed off Twilight's own sense of relief. Fluttershy and Nurse Redheart busied themselves with the small bundle of arms and legs, cleaning her off and taking various measurements before wrapping the child in a blanket and handing her to us. Twilight cradled the girl and gave a few exhausted sobs as she brushed her fingers against the child's cheek.
I wrapped one arm around Twilight's shoulders and reached down and brushed some of the wispy hairs off our daughter's forehead, marveling at how small she was. I knew there was a few steps left for delivery, and there would be a while before we could take her home, but at that moment, I knew there was nothing I wouldn't do to make her happy.
And I couldn't wait to see what the future brought.