Chapter 9: Two For One
"You...you've gotta be kiddin' me!"
"Does this look like my kidding face, Applejack?!"
Twilight and Applejack stood in disbelief after the latter had just abruptly shown up at the library. They had just realized that their little magical experiment from the night before was successful...a little too successful.
"You mean to tell me the spell worked on us both?!" Applejack reiterated.
"That's what I just said!" replied Twilight. "This means we're having two kids!"
"...Um, is that really such a bad thing?"
Twilight thought for a moment as the mood settled down. "Well, I guess not."
"Sure it ain't!" smiled Applejack rather quickly. "We're havin' two kids, Twi! Twins! It's better than we could've hoped for!"
"I know but..." Twilight looked uneasy. "It's just, I don't know...weird."
"Weird?! What's weird about it? It's a miracle!"
"But, what will everypony say? The couple that's both pregnant with a child? I don't know what that's going to be like. It's just unnatural!"
Applejack looked at her wife with a firm face. "Twilight, come on, yer startin' to sound like one of those nuns."
With that, Twilight realized exactly what she was saying. She suddenly felt guilty about her doubtful words. "Oh Applejack, you're right, I'm so sorry. Maybe I'm just getting a little crazy from this whole experience. I guess having a baby changes you. I can't imagine what it's going to be like nine months from now."
"Heck, you think you're nervous?" smirked Applejack. "I have no idea how to me a mom; much less to two kids!"
"I agree; I'm sure raising a foal isn't exactly like raising a dragon." Twilight paused to think. "You know, there might just be somepony who can help give us some parenting advice."
"Well, whoever ya got in mind, we should go see them now; this kid's already slowin' me down. Hey by the way, when exactly are ya gonna break the news to Spike?"
"I...already heard everything." Spike stood in the doorway to his room staring at the couple with a perplexed and slightly traumatized expression.
"Oh, morning Spike!" greeted Twilight sheepishly. "Uh, so yeah, we're both pregnant...with two kids...it was a spell...see you in a bit!"
...
"Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you two!" beamed Fluttershy after greeting her married friends to her cottage. "What other can say they're both pregnant with their first children?!"
"It's certainly taken us by surprise." Twilight replied, sitting next to her pregnant other on the sofa. "But as it turns out, we really have no idea how to raise foals."
"So, we were wonderin' if you could give us some pointers, bein' a caretaker n' all." Applejack added.
"Oh...really?" asked Fluttershy in bewilderment. "Um, well, I hate to sound negative, but I don't know anymore about foals than you two. I'm a vet, not a nanny."
"Well, how much different could it be?" shrugged Applejack. "Raisin' a kid shouldn't be too different from raisin', I don't know, a puppy. Besides, you're the best caretaker of anythin' we know."
"Gosh, Applejack, thanks. I suppose I can give you some advice." Fluttershy looked off to the side to ponder for a moment. "Hmm...well, one of the most important things to remember is feeding your child."
"Obviously." Twilight nodded.
"Now, you have to remember to feed them dry food twice a day, and add wet food every other day. And also-"
"Um, Fluttershy, we're talkin' about foals, not puppies." Applejack glowered instantly regretting coming to the pegasus for advice.
"Oh, gosh, sorry! Um..." Fluttershy took a second to gather herself. "Oh, I got it, potty training."
"Potty trainin'?" winced Applejack at the thought.
"Yes, make sure to lay out some newspaper or train them to go in a litter box. But if they go on the carpet, then you have to rub their nose in-"
"Uh heh heh, Fluttershy, you're doing it again." Twilight said, trying to keep her cool.
"Oh jeez, I'm sorry Twilight." Fluttershy then repeated to herself. "Think! Foals! Foals!" Then, she suddenly remembered the night she spend foalsitting the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She also remembered the searing migraine that followed. "Well, now that I think about it, Applejack, how do you treat Apple Bloom and her friends?"
"Why, I pretty much treat Apple Bloom as if she were my own." Applejack answered. "She does look up to me after all."
"Yeah, that's kind of how I treat Spike as well." Twilight added.
"Well maybe that's it." Fluttershy smiled. "Twilight, you've known Spike ever since he hatched, and you've been taking care of him from then on. And Applejack, you may be Apple Bloom's sister, but you're more parent to her than anypony. Don't you see? You two shouldn't come to me for parenting advice. If you could raise Apple Bloom and Spike just right, then I don't see how you couldn't do the same with your very own children."
"That...actually makes a lot of sense." Applejack blinked. She had never thought of her relationship with her little sister that way before.
"Gosh, you're right, Fluttershy." Twilight said. "I bet we will make great mothers. Wow, thanks anyway for the help, Fluttershy; sometimes I think you're smarter than me."
"Teehee." Fluttershy blushed. "I'm happy to help, Twilight. Um, if you both will excuse me, I have to take care of my kids."
"Say what now?" queried Applejack.
"The baby goats." Fluttershy answered grabbing a hefty bag of herbs. "I have to feed them or else they'll get cranky."
With that, Twilight and Applejack showed themselves out with new-found anticipation. "Well then, I guess we really have nothing to worry about." Twilight said.
"I knew it all along." Applejack boasted. "I knew you would make a good mother. If Spike turned out okay, then that baby yer carryin' is gonna be just fine!"
"I should say the same about you." Twilight smiled. "But I'm just happy that we'll really be experiencing this together."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, sugarcube. I really wouldn't."
...
One Month Later...
"Applejack, I'm home!" called Twilight as she returned to the library levitating groceries. After a full moth of pregnancy, she had already begun to show her signs of maternity. Her belly began to take on its round shape ensuring that her baby was growing healthily. She also knew the same went for her loving partner.
"I couldn't find your favorite brand of oats, so I hope you don't mind the store bought kind." Twilight set aside the groceries to join her wife for cuddling; but there was some uneasiness in the room.
She spotted Applejack sitting on the couch slumped over with a dower expression that was truly unusual. She was definitely sad, but not entirely depressed; more confused than anything. Twilight sensed her lover's disdain and approached her.
"AJ? What's wrong?" she asked, but received no response. "Come on, sweetheart, you can tell me."
After a few long seconds of cold silence, Applejack finally answered while continuing to stare at the floor blankly. "Twilight...it's gone."
"Huh? What's gone? What are you..." Twilight then realized what she meant and gasped. "You can't be serious."
Applejack peered up at her soberly. "I am serious, Twi. The baby's not there. It's just...gone!"
"But...how could that happen?"
"I have no idea! I'm not crazy, Twilight. I've been feelin' that little critter growin' inside me for the past month. But while you were out, I felt my stomach at one point and..." she took a moment to shake off the depressing shock. "There was nothin' there! No bump, no heartbeat, no nothin'! And I swear, I had nothin' to do with it! I've even been eatin' healthy just like ya said."
"Applejack, I...I don't know what to say." Twilight thought hard as to what may have caused this mystery. She shuddered at the possibility of the M word. "Maybe it was just a side effect of the spell. I guess that's what happens when two mares try it." Twilight reached a hoof over her saddened partner. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I don't know, Twi, I just don't know." She only looked downward again. "It's scary; one moment there was a livin' thing inside me, then the next moment, it's just not there anymore. I've never felt so...empty." After lingering for a minute, Applejack finally slumped over and rested her head in Twilight's lap.
Twilight stroked her blonde mane as she spoke. "Applejack, I'm so sorry for you. After all that you had to put up with, you shouldn't have to have something like that taken away from you. I feel like such a weight right now. Won't you let me take care of you instead?"
That's when Applejack turned her eyes upward. She raised her head, strangely seeming to perk up, stared back at Twilight. To her wife's complete surprised, she smirked. "Are you kiddin'? I've been takin' care of you this long; that doesn't mean I can't keep goin'." Applejack gently laid her hoof on Twilight's stomach. "We still got one baby on the way, Twi, and yer gonna be its proud mother. And I think that's just the way it was meant to be."
Twilight stared at her flabbergasted. "AJ, are you sure you're alright?"
"Don't you worry about me, Twilight," she replied warmly. "Yer the pregnant one now, and I'm gonna stick by you all the way."
In that moment, Twilight could not even look at her caring wife, as she was moved by her sacrifice. But eventually, she managed to wrap her hooves around Applejack and cry tears of joy into her shoulder. "You're too good to me, Applejack. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Twilight." Applejack grasped her. "You're too good for me." She then rubbed her hoof over the unicorn's bump. "Wow, I can feel the little critter kickin' in there."
"Yeah," replied Twilight, still nuzzling her. "I think it's just as happy as I am."