Alternate Beginnings: Year One

by Doug Graves

14 Recognition

April 3rd, 993

Applejack wakes up, sweating into the sheets. She’s been feeling off the last couple of days: getting tired more quickly when working, feeling sore in her legs and flanks, and feeling a little queasy in her stomach. She thinks back to the last couple of days; Doug has picked up quite a bit more of the cooking around the house, leaving Granny Smith to concentrate on cooking the goods they sold at market and continuing the apple sorting with her keen eye.

Doug’s attempts at innovating new meals, or at least trying out meals that he remembers, are… generally unsuccessful. She shudders at the thought of his explanations; apparently a lot, and she means a lot, of the meals he remembers include meat. It makes substituting plants or spices difficult, especially to his untrained taste buds.

She feels Doug stir next to her and almost facehooves; her stirring has woken him up. He likes to go back to sleep after training with Rainbow if there isn’t anything to do in the morning. She feels him turn over and put an arm around her, gently scratching her belly as he wakes up. She nuzzles into the pillow, but shudders again as she feels his hand go a little lower. While normally she would be in the mood, this morning she doesn’t feel up for it. She puts her hoof onto his hand, stopping his movement, and leans back to give him a kiss.

After the kiss ends, Doug looks at Applejack, concern in his eyes, “Still feeling off?”

“Yeah. Ah don’t know what it is. Stomach still bothering me.”

“Well, I hope you feel better soon, you haven’t been feeling well a couple days now. I didn’t think I cooked anything too exotic last night, or before that.”

“Ah know, Ah don’t think it’s that, at least not again. It’s almost like,” Applejack trails off, a horrified look coming over her face.

Doug looks at her in concern, asking, “What is it, Applejack? Is everything all right?”

“Ah… Ah'm not sure. Ah… Ah need to check something.” Applejack slowly pushes her way out of the bed and moves to the bathroom. She rummages around under the counter until she finds a certain box.

It was originally a gag gift from Rainbow Dash, at the time marking the anniversary of her last attempt at getting a date. The stallion had balked when he learned that Applejack expected him to work on the farm nearly as much as she did, especially while she brings along a little grove of Apples. She thinks, with a hint of gloating in her mind, ‘serves her right, look at me now’. She pulls one of the tests out of the box and notices Doug standing in the doorway, a worried look in his eyes. She hoofs the box over to him and says, “Uh… It might be this,” as she closes the door in front of him.

Doug takes the box back to the bed, sitting down and looking at it. It is a box of pregnancy tests, previously unopened. Doug sits there, stunned, until Applejack puts a hoof on his leg and nuzzles his chin. “Y’all right there, Sugarcube?”

“Well… I have no idea. I mean it, I have no idea what I’m going to do. I-”

Applejack shushes him, hopping onto the bed. “Don’t worry, hun. We’ll be able to handle this. Celestia knows thousands of other mares have been in this same position.”

“Well, that’s just it. I wake up here, don’t even have clothes on my back. How am I going to raise a kid here? Or a foal? I mean, I can barely get your terminology down sometimes, how am I going to teach him? Or her?”

Applejack kisses him on the lips, silencing Doug’s rambling. He initially resists, pushing against her. Eventually he relents, falling back onto the bed and dragging Applejack along with him. He lets out his breath in a loud ‘whoof’ as her weight collapses on him, but quickly recovers and continues kissing her, rubbing his hands over her back. Applejack pulls back slightly, looking over to the pregnancy test. Doug tries turning his head as well, but is unable to see the test. Applejack turns back, kissing him on the lips again, “Congratulations, Dad!”

Doug kisses Applejack again, though his smile fades, “You still think I’ll be able to handle this?”

Applejack smiles at him, kissing him again while nodding. “Of course Ah think so. You’ll make a great sire, even if the foals have to walk into town on their own. You know they are all still scared of ya?”

“I know, I can barely walk over to Rarity’s or Sugarcube Corner without getting stares, glares, or mares running away.”

“You still doing odd jobs with Rarity? Wait, Rarity… you don’t think?”

“Think what?”

“Well, how should Ah say this… if you got me pregnant…”

“That… I might have… Oh.”

“Oh yes. Well, Ah suppose Ah’ll have to go break the news to them. You think they figured it out yet?

“Rarity might have. Rainbow, absolutely not. She hasn’t said anything at our practices, but she was looking a tiny bit off. I thought that was just nerves about her upcoming interview. She’ll probably panic when you tell her and try to bolt or something.”

“Heh, Ah’ll watch out for that. By the way, Ah think the others are getting up and might get hungry soon.”

“Alright, I’ll start breakfast while you break the news to them. Oh, and can you go to the library for me? They didn’t care for me last time I tried to go there. I’ll make a list of the kinds of books to look for, not sure of the specific titles or anything.”

“Sure thing, hun. Ah should be able to do that before Ah get my stand set up, though Ah suppose Ah might be a little late getting home.”

“Thanks, love, you’re the best.”

Applejack gets up, moving downstairs while Doug puts his hands on his head, staring at the ceiling.

Comments

[LightnDarkGodofSalvation]

I have a feeling of who are the soon to be newborn fillies.

[lainverse]

9172042
Like it ain't obvious. XD

[Blackholelord]

You know , long before I even got to this chapter. An idea of where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were actually the daughters at least in this story of the girls instead of being their sisters, where your OC was their father.

[EnderHooves]

Wait. . . . Wait a minute. . . . . OH NO!!!! Father of 3, will they know? Oh god oh god. Will they be little centaur fillies? Or reverse centaurs with a baby human body and a horse head! Will they never actually be able to get their marks because of human genes? I guess that could explain the wing issue.
Father to three. The three will be half sisters. Oh my god.
Its gonna take me a bit to get over this and his. . . Ahem, Potency.
Oh god, great grand pear. Oh my god!
Sorry, I'll move along now. (stupid magic horses with their stupid magic fertility)

[Doug Graves]

9690867
Quite possibly the exact thoughts going through Doug's head at the end. Including that last line

[MonkeyManiac]

9690867
GASP THE CRUSADERS are his kids!