Everypony’s eyes were wide with surprise as Rainbow Dash wrapped up her tale and slumped back against Luna’s bedsheets, nearly blending in with the cyan fabric. Shrugging, she looked from one of her friends to the next, all resting on the blankets on either side of her.
“So, yeah… long story short, I got Applejack pregnant. We just found out about a week ago. So we were in town today shopping around for stuff…”
Luna’s subtle smile from nearby as she sipped her tea was a warm contrast to the disbelieving stares her own friends were giving her.
“Wait… it was Applejack who was pregnant? Shoot! I must be losing my touch…” Pinkie huffed.
“And… that’s what this whole thing was about?”
“You were shopping for... umm... baby furniture?”
Twilight shook her head. “And what possible reason could you girls possibly have for not telling us about all this?”
Rainbow looked to her left at Applejack. Her wife sat on her rump, and shuffled in her spot, rubbing her stomach in idle thought.
“Well… part of us was scared to…”
Her wife looked up suddenly at her and blinked. “’Us’?”
Rainbow pouted. “Okay. I was a little freaked out about it, alright?!”
“But why, darling?” Rarity asked. “This is splendid news! …A tad hard to wrap my head around, admittedly, but—”
“But you two are having your own baby!” A cream-colored blur swirled around Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy zipped back and forth, wings beating like a hummingbird's. “Oh! I’m so excited for you two! I just can’t wait!”
“Heh… yeah,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Knew you’d be on board, Fluttershy…”
“And you didn’t think we would be?”
“Just the opposite, darlin’,” Applejack addressed Rarity. “We figured y’all were gonna be head over hooves over the news. And… that’s kinda what made us a-scared to tell ya…” Applejack looked Rainbow in the eyes.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked, furrowing her brow.
“Look, you guys are all awesome, okay?” Rainbow stepped into the middle of the group, ducking Fluttershy's beating wings. “But we didn’t exactly wanna make a big deal out of all this. As far as we’re concerned, it’s just AJ having a foal – nothing special, nothing world-breaking.” She paused, noting Luna's knowing glimpse from the corner of her eye.
“I’m just disappointed that I found out this way,” Rarity said with a pout. “I thought we were friends, girls. Why hide something like this from us?”
“It wasn’t gonna be forever, honest! We were gonna tell y'all eventually… just…”
“We needed to figure out how, first,” Rainbow finished.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “And saying, ‘Oh hey, by the way, Applejack’s pregnant, we’re looking for cribs and stuff, wanna come with?’ never occurred to you?”
Applejack looked her way. “Ummm…”
“Come on, Twilight,” she said, interrupting her wife again, “you guys are the best friends anypony could ever ask for, but AJ and I are kinda gonna have a family now. We don’t exactly want Rarity coming over all the time and playing dress-up doll with our foal—”
Rarity blinked and blushed.
“—or Fluttershy blabbing about it to the first pony who corners her about where we’ve been—”
Fluttershy smiled timidly, playing with her hooves.
Rainbow turned pointedly. “—or Twilight sticking a bunch of sciencey probey-stuff all over her head when she’s born.”
Twilight’s jaw hung.
“OH! OH! What about me?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
The pegasus chuckled nervously. “Ohhohohoho, you!” A pause. Rainbow cleared her throat and turned back to the rest of the group. “Look, guys, the point is, we don’t wanna sweat it. It’s our first foal, y’know?”
“Why…” Twilight stuttered, “w-why would you think I would ever want to experiment on your foal?”
“You experimented on me.” Pinkie said cheerfully.
Twilight blinked and grinned sheepishly, shifting in-place. “Th-that was different…”
Luna arose from her spot on her bed. With stealthy steps, the Night Princess glided across the mattress and laid down between the couple, taking Rainbow Dash beneath her wing and embracing her.
Her long-lived silence shattered with her soft words. “I am grateful that you returned from your journey safely, Rainbow Dash. I am more delighted still to learn that you were met with success.”
Twilight and the others – even Applejack – blinked amongst one another.
“Umm… princess?” Applejack asked, green eyes wide, “You… knew about all this?”
Luna turned to the farmgirl and nodded. “Indeed, fair Applejack. I daresay, I was instrumental in Rainbow Dash’s noble quest.”
Rainbow couldn’t help her chuckle and bit her lower lip. “Heh… ‘noble quest’, huh…? I like that.” She turned to Applejack and waggled her eyebrows. “I hope you heard that, AJ – I went on a ‘noble quest’. Pretty sexy, huh?”
Her wife bit her lip and rolled her eyes, the hint of a smirk giving her away. “You’re gonna be insufferable now, ain’t ya?”
The rest of the girls couldn’t help their laughter.
Luna brought Applejack closer with her left hoof and hugged the earth pony in turn. “Regardless, this is a time of much jubilation. If it should come to pass that I cannot be there to offer the child my blessing personally upon the date of birth, I would like to take the opportunity now to do so…”
Her wife looked up at the princess with widened eyes. “A… a royal blessin’?” The farmgirl swept her hoof back through her mane, a blush highlighting her freckled cheeks. “G-gosh I… I don’t think an Apple’s gotten a royal blessin’ since great-grandpappy settled Ponyville...”
“T’would be appropriate in this situation, however, Applejack.”
Rainbow blinked at her wife and looked up at Luna.
The princess turned and looked at the pegasus, their eyes meeting in a mutual understanding.
Rainbow looked back nervously as everypony's gaze turned to face her again.
"I-I... uhh..." she stammered.
Luna smiled and continued. "After all, your mate spent much time and traveled quite far just for a chance to glimpse a falling star... for the slimmest hope of giving you the family that she never could give you on her own. If ever there were a more powerful demonstration of one’s devotion, I know not of it.”
Applejack paused. She blinked. She looked from Luna, then over to her friends, then finally back to mate, green and worldly eyes inquisitive.
Rainbow fidgeted and averted her gaze.
“T'was an arduous process, Applejack, but ultimately, a challenge worth undertaking.” Luna retracted her wings. “Rainbow Dash came to me, seeking the means and the magic to grant your heart's deepest desire. Falling stars, as many know, are quite rare and are only predictable by the most determined astronomers.” The princess straightened with pride. "This is why she approached me for help. Being a good friend of Twilight Sparkle, how could I deny her such a request?"
Everypony else murmured amongst themselves.
“A falling star?”
“They really do grant wishes?”
Luna stood and stepped down to the floor and turned to face her friends. “So you see there truly is reason for celebration, my little ponies. T'was Rainbow Dash's own determination, will, and devotion that made this miraculous foaling possible. And such a joy is deserving of the observation of a Royal Blessing Rite. Truly, even my old and hardened heart weeps for this occasion.”
Rainbow felt her cheeks turn red as everypony turned to look at her and she lowered her head to try and hide her embarrassment. “So I’ve got a little bit of sappiness in there somewhere… sue me.”
Twilight turned her violet eyes to her, brow creased.
She felt her wife move to look at her and she winced. Instead of the tongue-lashing she thought she might get for her secrecy though, she felt her soft pelt brush against her coat. Applejack’s orange muzzle hooked under her jawline, her tear-soaked cheek pressing against her throat, and her powerful forehooves wrapping around her neck.
Applejack sniffled and smiled up at her. “If… if Rainbow’s okay with havin’ our baby blessed… then I’d like that too…”
Rainbow Dash blinked and looked down at her wife, her weeping eyes in defiance of the anger she thought she would have felt.
“You’re… not mad at me for not telling you?”
Applejack rubbed her muzzle on the back of her leg. “No, sugarcube… never. That's the rule with fallin' stars, ain't it?” She sniffed and switched over to an unconvincing glare, poking her in the chest with every other syllable she spoke. “But if you ever do somethin’ that sweet again, I’ll beat ya.” She squeezed, momentarily strangling the pegasus in her tight embrace. "I was worried about you being gone so long, ya crazy mare..."
Rainbow bit her lip, trying to stop herself from grinning, and enveloped her mate in her wings. “Y-yeah... sorry 'bout that...”
Looking up, she saw Luna staring back and smiling neutrally at her.
The pegasus cleared her throat. “Soooo… how ‘bout that blessing? I mean, we are kind of having the most awesome baby in the universe…”
The alicorn smirked. “Indeed.”
“Ummm… how do we do this? Do we need to spin around and click our hooves three times or something?”
“Applejack shall be facing me, held by the hooves of those who love her,” Luna said.
The farmgirl nodded and stood. The pair descended to the floor, and Applejack leaned back into Rainbow's embrace.
A series of hoofsteps reached her ears, and Pinkie bounced into view – “WHEE!” – throwing her legs around Applejack’s neck. She was quickly joined by Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight embracing them all in her wings. All leaned in to share their nuzzles and affection with the mother-to-be.
Rainbow squirmed.
“Guys?”
“Y-yeah, Pinks?”
Pinkie sniffled and nuzzled Applejack’s mane. “This is a Kodiak moment.”
The group shared a laugh.
Luna stepped forward and raised her hoof. Her horn gained a soft, silvery luster. “Now may the witnesses place their hooves upon the child.”
Rainbow slid her hoof down Applejack’s chest, crossing legs with her. They were joined by the soft touches of their friend’s hooves. The farmpony chuckled at the sensation.
“May the Sun brightly guide you through all your days,” she said, lowering her hoof to Applejack’s belly. “May the Moon watch over you and keep safe your dreams. May the stars whisper their wisdom unto you. May your skies be clear, peaceful and free. May your loved ones be ever-near, and may happiness, grace and good fortune follow you through all the days of your life. So speaketh Princess Luna de Estrella.”
Luna’s horn pulsed.
“May the world and all things in it bless you, my child.”
Silence.
The Princess stepped back and nodded with a thin smile. “It is done.”
Pinkie tackled the pair into another enthusiastic hug, and was quickly followed by their remaining friends.
"Sooooo..." came the pink mare's first words, "do I get to be you guys' foalsitter?"
Rainbow's eyes widened and she looked at her wife with a pale expression. "Uhhhhh..."
Twilight gazed on with inquisitive eyes.