//------------------------------// // In Which a Spell Is Cast // Story: Foal's Luck // by bookplayer //------------------------------// Twilight paced around the library. She knew she had the spell memorized, looking at the notes again wasn’t going to help. The visions running through her head weren’t helping either; headlines stating “Princess Twilight Sparkle Murders Element of Harmony and Foal in Spell Gone Wrong,” or the looks on the faces of her friends if something awful happened. She considered telling her friends she couldn’t do it, but that wasn’t much better. Applejack and Rainbow Dash knew that she could perform the spell, and if she wouldn’t they’d know it was because she was too scared to help her best friends with one of the most important things in their lives. The knock on her door didn’t distract her from her thoughts. It made her want to dart under her desk and hide. That became impractical when she heard Spike answer the door. “Hi, guys! Today’s the big day, huh?” “It sure is. I ain’t been this excited since I set hoof in the ring for my first rodeo.” Applejack replied. She sounded nervous, but so happy. Twilight glanced over, just as Rainbow Dash came darting into her face, and said in an urgent, hushed voice, “Twilight, I gotta ask you something.” “Um, sure. Ask me anything, Dash.” Dash’s voice got even lower, and she wrapped a leg around Twilight in a huddle. “Well, uh, see. . . you know how sometimes couples have a hard time having foals, cause the stallion’s stuff just isn’t good enough? Uh, that can’t be a problem here, right? ‘Cause, I mean, whatever you’re using from me is gonna be awesome, of course, but with all the magic, and AJ being a mare, it could get kinda confused and I wanted to make sure you’re gonna help whatever it is out, just ‘cause of that.” Twilight blinked. “It’s fine, Dash. It’s magic. If this doesn’t work, it would be because the spell didn’t take hold correctly. Nothing to do with you or AJ.” A grin spread across Dash’s face, and she sighed with relief as she let go of Twilight and flew to land next to Applejack. “Great! Let’s do this!” Applejack chuckled. “You gotta give Twilight a chance to get herself straight, Dash. She’s the one doin’ all the work here, give her some time to warm up.” Twilight took a deep breath, and did her best to clear the doubts from her mind. “Right. I need to run some quick tests on you guys, just the normal ones, so I know everything is okay before we start. Then, I’ll do the spell, and check you both again. Once we know the spell worked, and you guys are okay, we’ll go to Sugarcube Corner for Pinkie’s party.” “Got it! Just tell us what to do!” “Okay, well since you’re so eager, Dash, come on. Applejack, you can come too, I’ll need you next.” Twilight said, and she lead her friends down to the basement. Hooking Dash into the large machine she kept there actually did help to calm Twilight’s nerves a little. It was something she could do without thinking, something relatively simple. Reading the measurements that came out, and recording them in her ledger felt like just another experiment. Everything looked normal for Rainbow Dash. Her baseline heart rate and magic levels were always slightly high, but after running a few tests about a year ago, Twilight considered it a normal variation. She unhooked Dash, and AJ sat down without needing to be asked. Twilight had been monitoring them fairly regularly since she started looking into this, so that she would have a full chart to look at and make sure nothing was wrong. None of the three of them considered this anything other than routine. Applejack’s heart rate was slightly high today, but about the same as it had been the first few times Twilight hooked her up to the machine. Applejack used to get a bad case of nerves around the testing machines, and even though she had gotten used to Twilight taking measurements it made sense that she would be a little nervous again today. All in all, the numbers looked normal. Her friends looked excited. And Twilight was out of ways to stall. She swallowed, and tried to smile. “Um, so, let’s. . . go upstairs! Where my notes are. To do this spell.” Dash flew straight for the stairs, but AJ held back, and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Are ya’ sure you’re ready, sugarcube?” Twilight bit her lip. “I can honestly say, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Applejack smiled. “You and me both.” Once they had all gathered upstairs, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood awkwardly, awaiting Twilight’s instructions. “Okay, you guys, stand over there.” They moved to the spot in the middle of the room that she indicated. “Perfect.” Twilight said, moving behind her lectern to make sure her notes were there and perfectly legible. They were, of course, and she glanced up at her friends. They were stealing looks at each other with small, nervous smiles. It was almost strange to see her two bravest friends so anxious, but right now Twilight couldn’t blame them. “Hey, Twilight?” “Yes, Dash?” “Can I put my wing around her?” “Oh! Of course!” Twilight smiled. “You two can be as close as you want to be.” Dash opened her mouth with a smirk, but Applejack clapped a hoof over it. “How 'bout if ya' just cuddle me?” “I can do that.” Rainbow Dash’s wing wrapped around Applejack, and AJ leaned in to nuzzle her and whisper something. Dash grinned and planted a kiss on AJ’s forehead, and whispered something back that made Applejack chuckle. Twilight watched them with a smile on her face, her own reservations pushed by the side. Her friends were in love, and wanted a foal of their own, and she could give it to them. She would make this work. “Ready?” She said softly, hating to interrupt the moment, but wanting to get started before her doubts returned. AJ and Dash both looked at her, their eyes wide. “Uh, yup. Ready.” Dash swallowed. “Go for it.” Twilight concentrated, channeling the magic out of her body and towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Both were encased in the magenta glow, as Twilight’s mind sought out pieces of each of them, so small that it had to be encased in a bubble of light for Twilight’s mind to manipulate it. But the magic caught a piece from both the pegasus and the earth pony, and Twilight brought them together over Applejack. The tiny globes of light joined, and Twilight mentally knit them into one. Everything was going as expected, until she knit the last piece. She started to feel something through her magic, a vibration, or a hum. Whatever it was sent a tingle through her horn, but she was too far into the spell to stop now. Using her magic to force the vibration still, she gently lowered the light through Applejack’s body, resting it inside Applejack’s womb. After a few more seconds to make sure everything was in order, Twilight dropped her magic. The glow faded from around her friends, and they blinked and shook their heads before looking to her expectantly. “Did it work?” Dash asked. Twilight nodded slowly. “It did. So far, at least. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, congratulations. You’re going to be mothers.” As the words left her mouth, her face broke into a grin. “Yes! Oh my gosh, AJ, we're gonna have a foal!” Dash said, a huge smile on her face. She turned and planted a deep, long kiss on Applejack lips, which Applejack returned in kind. When the kiss broke, AJ just blinked with a dazed smile. Her hoof reached back to her belly. “Wow. I'm. . . thank ya', Twilight. Thanks so much.” “Yeah, Twilight. You're the best friend ever!” “It's nothing.” Twilight said, blushing.   “This ain’t nothin’, sugarcube. Me and Dash owe ya’, bigger than I can count. This means everythin’ to us, and we’d never have had it without ya’.” “Please, AJ. You still have a whole pregnancy to get through, you can save the thanks for when you’re holding your healthy daughter.” Saying that didn’t have the intended effect. Instead Dash let out a squeal and flew at Twilight, knocking her over with a hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is so awesome!” “Rainbow Dash! We need Twi in one piece for the rest of this, too.” “Uh, sorry.” Dash blushed and righted Twilight. “Just. . . holding my daughter, ya’ know? The idea kinda gets to me.” Twilight had to smile at that. “Well, okay, you’re both welcome. Now can we go downstairs and make sure everything is stable?” Both mothers-to-be followed her downstairs and took their turns hooked up to the machines. Rainbow Dash’s levels were raised slightly across the board; she seemed more excited than she’d ever been in her life, so that made sense. Twilight had to hope she wouldn’t have a heart attack, but she wasn’t that concerned about the always-tightly-wound pegasus. Applejack was another story. Twilight ran the tests again, to be sure they were correct, but both tests showed the same thing. Her quickened heart rate was to be expected because of the excitement, but the spike in her magic levels was troubling. Twilight bit her lip and stared at the chart. “Everythin’ okay, Twilight?” Applejack asked, concerned. Rainbow Dash had been flying around the room, almost bouncing off the walls, but she froze and turned her attention to Twilight. “Uh, yeah. Just, your magic levels are raised, AJ.” “Is it ‘cause ya’ just pumped me fulla magic?” Applejack suggested. Twilight frowned. Nothing like this had happened in the kittens. But, at the same time, pony magic was the unknown here. The vibration she felt when finishing the spell, and the increased magic levels might both just be because of that. These levels were higher than usual for an earth pony or a pegasus, but they certainly weren’t dangerous, even for a non-unicorn. She glanced up at AJ, who was staring at her, worried. Dash looked close to panicking. “You’ll be fine, AJ. It’s probably just the new pony magic settling in. We’ll keep an eye on it, and I’ll check you over the next few days.” Twilight tried to smile. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both relaxed, grins replacing their worried looks.   “I know you’ll take care‘a me, Twilight. Well, of us, I guess.” Applejack chuckled. Twilight just smiled back nervously. “I’ll do my best.” *** Applejack glanced at Twilight several times on the way to Sugarcube Corner, and every time she found the princess looking at her like someone drew a crossword puzzle on the back of AJ’s hat. It was making her more than a little concerned, but she knew that if Twilight figured out the answers, Applejack would be the first pony she’d tell. For the moment, it seemed that Twilight figured everything was okay, and this ought to be a time for celebration. Not that there was any other option. As soon as they walked into the bakery, Applejack found her face full of Pinkie Pie’s grin. She couldn’t help but smile. “Did it work did it work did it work?” Pinkie gasped as she noticed the smile on Applejack’s face. “IT WORKED! OhmigoshApplejack! You’re gonna have a baby!” “I sure am!” Applejack confirmed. “And it’s Dashie’s baby!” Pinkie went on as Applejack found herself in a tight embrace. “The first baby of any of my friends and it’s of two of my friends and because of an awesome amazing magic spell by another of my friends and we’re all gonna love it and take care of it and THERE’S GONNA BE A BABY!” “Pinkie, chill. They take a while to bake,” Dash said, peeling Pinkie off AJ, but Dash was grinning ear to ear. “That should give me time to design a wardrobe for the dear,” Rarity said, coming forward and nuzzling Dash and Applejack gently. “You said it’s going to be a filly?” “I did.” Applejack nodded. “And I also said ya’ could forget ‘bout those frou-frou dresses with so many ruffles ya’ can’t see the foal.” Rarity pouted. “But Applejack, darling, you must have at least one ruffled dress. It’s traditional, everypony’s parents have one of those pictures. I would bet there’s one of you, somewhere.” “All the more reason I ain’t puttin’ my filly though that,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. “I get a say too, right?” Dash wrapped a wing around AJ. “What if I want a picture like that of my little girl?” “Dash!” Applejack stared at her marefriend in absolute shock. “Why in Equestria would ya’ wanna do somethin’ like that to her?” “Future blackmail,” Dash answered with a wicked smirk. “We need some cute ones of her in the bath too. And if she ever breaks curfew, those all go straight to the school paper.” Rarity smiled. “Whatever your plans, if it will get Applejack to allow me to make a darling little frock, I support you entirely.” Applejack chuckled. “I guess I’m outnumbered. Okay, one. One, Rarity, ya’ got that?” “Of course!” Rarity’s eyes lit up. “One for the photograph. . . but we’ll have to have several options, of course. Oh, I wish I knew what colors she will be! The two of you have quite a range to choose from.” “But whatever color she is, I know she’ll be beautiful.” Fluttershy said softly, joining the parents-to-be. “Congratulations, both of you. This is very exciting.” “Have you thought of names?” Pinkie asked. “Are they going to be yummy Apple names or awesome Dashie names or yummy awesome names like Candy Apple Explosion!” “Candy Apple Explosion. . .” Dash considered it and said to AJ, “That does sound kinda awesome.” “Rainbow Dash.” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “You really wanna see what kinda cutie mark ‘Candy Apple Explosion’ is gonna get, someday?” “Okay, probably not,” Dash agreed, then turned back to Pinkie. “It’ll depend on if she’s an earth pony or a pegasus, and what her colors are and stuff.” “We decided she oughta have an Apple name if she’s an earth pony, or a good pegasus name if she’s got wings,” Applejack explained to their friends. “Unless she gets Dash’s mane; then we decided we’ll name her Zap Apple.” “Awww,” Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy chorused, smiling. “I do hope she gets Rainbow’s mane. Not that yours isn’t lovely, Applejack, but it would be amazing to see that striking combination on somepony who appreciated it,” Rarity said. Dash rolled her eyes. “Hey, who says my daughter’s gonna care about her mane?” “I am taking it upon myself to make sure she’s instructed in the arts of styling and beauty. Since it’s obvious nopony else will.” “No way! We’re gonna have a totally awesome little filly. . .” Dash and Rarity went on, but Applejack wasn’t paying attention. Normally she would have been setting Rarity straight, but right now she was staring at Twilight, who’d been nearly silent since they came in. The princess was rubbing the base of her horn with her hoof, looking at the floor, deep in thought. Applejack trotted over to her and gave her a nuzzle. Twilight looked up, startled. “Oh, I’m sorry, AJ. I’m missing all the fun, aren’t I?” “I suppose so, but it sure looks like you’re missin’ it for a reason. Twilight, you’ll tell me if there’s somethin’ wrong, right?” Applejack looked Twilight square in the eye. “I wanna know, every step of the way.” “Just the magic levels. And, there was a vibration in the magic, as I was performing the spell.” Twilight sighed. “But I don’t know what those things mean, AJ. They might be bad, or good, or perfectly normal for ponies. I’m just lost in trying to guess which.” Applejack nodded. “I can see where that’s tough. I guess this is the hard part of bein’ first, right?” “Yeah. . .” Twilight agreed, looking down. “But I promise, I did every single calculation, a hundred times. I’ve done everything I can to make you safe.” “Now don’t you start.” Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Twilight. “You can’t make me all the way safe, anymore than Dash can. I knew what I was gettin’ into, Twilight. So far, you done just what I asked ya’ to do.” “I know, Applejack, I just love you and Dash. And. . . heh, I guess I love your little zygote too!” Twilight smiled. Applejack blinked. “My what now?” “Zygote,” Twilight explained, “That’s what’s inside of you now, and it’ll grow into an embryo, and then a fetus, then-” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Well now, that all sounds quite facinatin’ and science-y, Twilight, but-” “You’re right!” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “I should tell all the girls about this! This is the perfect time for everypony to learn about pony prenatal development.” “Great,” Applejack said dryly, but she was smiling to see Twilight fluttering over to Pinkie, trying to arrange for a chalkboard. If there was time for a science lesson, Twilight really must not be that worried. Knowing that was worth a lecture, as long as there wasn’t a test at the end. *** That evening, after they’d gone to bed, Rainbow Dash snuggled against Applejack’s back. It felt so comfortable and familiar, it was strange to think that everything was different now. She was going to be a mother, and Applejack was carrying her baby. A real baby, not just the imaginary, someday-baby they’d been talking about forever. A little foal that was going to cry and throw up and poop and keep them up all night. A little foal that they were going to be responsible for keeping alive and healthy and raising into some kind of sane, normal pony. This was too weird for Dash. For one thing, she was the last pony she would trust to raise another pony. Well, second to last; there was always Pinkie. But even Pinkie knew more about babies than she did. For the other thing, there was a baby growing in her marefriend. What would one day be a grown up pony, like their friends, was now floating in AJ’s belly. “AJ?” Dash said softly to the back of Applejack’s head. “Yeah?” Applejack responded, not sounding sleepy in the least. “Don’t freak out, but there’s a pony growing inside you.” “I reckon I know that, Dash.” Applejack chuckled, sounding totally normal, which made Dash smile and relax. “Is it weird?” “Well, it don’t feel like nothin’, right now. But. . . I guess it is a bit strange to think ‘bout.” “No kidding!” Dash giggled. “It’s like you’re some freaky pod for a baby pony.” “Could ya’ not put it like that?” Dash could practically hear AJ rolling her eyes. “This is how ponies get born, sugarcube.” “Yeah, like some kind of weird pod pony that forces itself out your-” “We are really not talkin’ ‘bout that part!” Applejack cut in forcefully. Dash felt AJ’s body tense up. It surprised her for a second, but considering it she gently ran a hoof up and down AJ’s side. “Are you scared?” “No,” AJ said quickly, almost on reflex. “Come on, AJ. Really.” Dash kept stroking AJ’s side. “Would you be scared?” Applejack asked softly. “No,” Dash said, just as quickly as AJ had. Then she hesitated, actually thinking about being in AJ’s position, with a pony growing inside of her. “Maybe. Kinda. I mean, it totally doesn’t seem like it should fit.” “Well, I guess I’m maybe-kinda scared,” Applejack admitted. “But that’s what it’s there for, right? Darn near everypony in the world had’ta fit outta their ma.” “Yeah. I’m just glad it’s not me. You’re really brave, AJ.” “In that case, I reckon every ma is,” she said, but Dash felt her relaxing. “Yup. Anypony that’s willing to let another pony live in them for all that time, then push it out someplace a foal should not be fitting, is pretty brave in my book.” “They oughta have you at the hospital givin’ pep talks.” Applejack smiled and rolled over to face Dash. “You’re gonna be there, right?” “Unless I get Wonderbolts tickets for that day,” Dash teased. Applejack gave her a playful shove. Dash giggled. “Okay, watching you pop out my foal might be one of the few things cooler than the Wonderbolts.” “Glad I’m somewhere in your priorities.” Dash looked in Applejack’s eyes, and her smirk faded to a smile. “AJ, you have my baby inside of you. I know you can take care of yourself, that’s why I love you, but right now being there for you and my baby is the only priority. Nothing else comes close.” Dash ran a hoof gently over AJ’s flat stomach. “However you guys need me, I’m all yours.” Applejack leaned over and kissed Dash softly. “That means a lot to me. And I know it’ll mean a lot to her.” “Hey, it’s nothing,” Dash said, then she smirked. “You two are the ones that have to grow a pony in an Applepod.” Applejack chuckled and shook her head. “I’m gonna kill ya’ before I have this foal.” “You’ll still have to deal with my daughter!” Dash giggled. “Ha, you’re stuck now!” “I reckon I am.” Applejack said, but she seemed pretty happy with that as she pulled up the blankets and tucked herself in. Dash just smiled and watched her peacefully drift off to sleep. When she was sure the earth pony was out, she leaned over and kissed Applejack’s forehead, whispering, “I love you. . . both of you.” Then she snuggled down in the blankets and closed her eyes.