The World Beneath Her Wings

by Void Chicken

A Vital Plan

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in front of the door, trying to come up with what to say once she walked through it. For the time being, the only sounds she made were her hooves on the carpeting.

"Flatfoot, if this is about that cat again," a voice called from inside the office, "I don't care how much he wants to roam. He needs to stay on his leash!"

A moment later, the door opened to reveal Captain Spitfire. "Crash. I wasn't expecting you." She took a few steps backwards. "Come in." Rainbow followed her into the room.

Spitfire took a seat at her desk. "What's on your mind?"

Taking a breath through her nose, Rainbow mentally chastised herself. She was acting like some nervous school-filly, not a Wonderbolt or a parent-to-be. "Captain, my wife and I are planning on having a foal."

"I hope it goes well, then." There was a brief silence as Spitfire watched Rainbow's face. "However?"

"When I said that we were going to have a foal, I meant that I was going to have the foal." Rainbow tried her best not to look as nervous as she felt.

Spitfire's eyebrows went up. "You're the last mare I ever expected to hear that from. And you want to know how that'll affect your place in the team." It wasn't a question.

Rainbow nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Standing up, Spitfire walked over to a filing cabinet in the corner of the room. "You wouldn't be the first mother the Wonderbolts have had." She retrieved some papers and returned them to her desk.

"You'll be able to perform as normal during your first trimester, but on your second, you'll be limited to low-intensity maneuvers only, and benched completely for your third." She looked Rainbow in the eyes. "After your foal is born, six months mandatory maternity leave." Her eyes narrowed. "Or longer if I feel it's for your or the child's benefit. Such as if you put more effort into returning to the Wonderbolts than you do caring for your son or daughter."

Rainbow forced a grin. "Yup, a hundred percent into the foal, got it." She cleared her throat. "Is that all, ma'am?"

"Yes, you're dismissed."

Rainbow turned to leave.

"One more thing, Crash. As a new aunt: good luck. You'll need it." A smile appeared on Spitfire's lips.

Rainbow's smile was more genuine this time. "Oh, don't worry about that. Rarity's got the hard part."

A chuckle followed Rainbow out of the room.

---

The tips of Rainbow's feathers vibrated in the airstream as she glided towards Ponyville. She couldn't understand what Spitfire found so amusing. Rarity was the one working her flank off every day for the past week and a half learning some super-complex unicorn spell. All Rainbow had to do was take some dumb survey every day about her body temperature and how much sex she wanted to have and gross body fluid stuff.

If anything, having to take all that time off from the Wonderbolts was going to be the worst part. She didn't understand that either. Rainbow had seen pregnant ponies flying in Cloudsdale. She wondered if it would be the different weight distribution that would throw her maneuvering off, but assumed it would happen slowly enough to get used to.

She flapped her wings a few times to build some speed back up. Maybe Spitfire meant the challenges of parenthood in general. Rainbow knew it would be hard, but she would have Rarity there to help her. Rarity was going to be a great mom.

Rainbow smiled at the thought as Twilight's castle loomed in the late afternoon sun. She let her speed bleed off over it, then dropped into a dive. A flick of her wings pulled up just in time to go through an open window and into one of the back rooms.

Within were Rarity, Twilight, and Starlight, as well as enough scrolls and pages to papercut a yak to death. The centerpiece of the room was the same it had been the past few weeks: a remarkably accurate model of a mare's backside. Or one of a mare who really liked embedding magic sensors into her flank or whatever Starlight had said those crystal things were. Something about making sure Rarity was doing it right.

Rainbow's hooves hit a patch of empty floor, and she flicked her mane with its usual flourish. Rarity always liked it when she did that. "Hey, girls," Rainbow said to the room, but mostly to Rarity, "how are things going?"

"I think I have it figured out," Rarity answered. "This is easily the most complicated spell I've ever had to cast, but Twilight and Starlight have been excellent teachers."

"And just in time!" Twilight rushed over, a stack of papers in her magical grip. "I'm certain that you ovulated sometime this morning! Your egg can only survive about a day in your fallopian tube, so Rarity needs to fertilize it immediately if you want to conceive this month."

A stare answered Twilight's enthusiasm. "Only you can make sex sound boring." Rainbow blinked. "Wait, it needs to happen now?"

"As soon as possible." Starlight stepped forward.

Rainbow's tail lowered a little. "Can... can I get a snack first? Y-you don't have to watch, do you?"

"I would certainly hope not!" Rarity answered, her cheeks taking on a slight tinge.

Redness appeared for a second on Twilight's cheeks before she shook her head. "O-of course you can cast the spell in the privacy of your home, as long as you do it soon."

Rarity walked to Rainbow's side. "Let's get something to eat, dearie. It'll be an early dinner."

Leading the way out the door, Rainbow asked, "How about we hit the Hayburger before making some magic happen?"

Catching up to her side, Rarity said, "Are we really going to have our meal before conceiving our foal be at the Hayburger?"

Rainbow laid her wing across her wife's back. "I won't tell if you don't."

Rarity giggled. "That's why I love you, Rainbow."

---

Rainbow prodded at her half-eaten burger with her hoof. Next to it, a few straggling fries remained on the bright red tray.

"Dearie," Rarity said, "are you feeling okay? You've usually finished that and your seconds by now."

Returning her hoof to the floor, Rainbow answered, "I'm just really nervous, you know. There's an egg in my tube and after this we're going to go home and you're going to put your horn in my—"

Rarity cleared her throat and gestured to the next table. A few feet away, a few young foals were busy enjoying their meal.

"Oh. Right." Rainbow glanced between the children before looking back to her wife. "Once we're done here, you're uh, going to cast uh, a very special spell on me."

Rarity nibbled on a fry. "If I maim you, I promise I will feel much worse about it than you will."

After taking another bite of the burger, Rainbow said, "Thanks, babe. Appreciate it." She swallowed. "You haven't eaten much, either."

"I know." Rarity sighed. "I'm sitting across a table from the pony I love more than anything in the world trying to convince myself that she's going to be okay when I cast that very special and very powerful spell on her. I can't help but imagine all the horrible ways things might go wrong."

"You have a real knack for reassuring me, babe." Rainbow took a bite. Rarity flashed a smile in response.

Rarity thought for a moment, then looked Rainbow in the eyes. "There's no use fretting over it. We've both decided, haven't we? In fact—" Rarity's eyes became half-lidded and she leaned forward. Rainbow felt a tail brush up against the inside of her hind leg. "—once we finish our meal, I can give you your favorite performance."

Rainbow shoved the rest of the burger in her mouth.

---

The next morning, Rainbow hovered alongside Rarity as she walked through the halls of the castle.

Looking up, Rarity asked, "Dearie, are you still upset about yesterday?"

"Yes," came the reply with a snort.

"It couldn't have been that bad."

"You heard it too. I know you heard it too." Rainbow's cheek twitched.

"And I know it wasn't as bad as you're making it out to be." Reaching the door, Rarity's magic pulled it open.

Inside, Twilight looked up from the scrolls next to the mare-rump model. "How did it go?" With a snap, she teleported across the room, appearing just in front of the couple. "Did you cast the spell?"

Rarity took a step backwards. "I would describe it, but I believe Rainbow is dying to tell you instead."

Twilight looked up at her. "Oh, of course. How was it, Rainbow?"

After a second to collect her thoughts, Rainbow started, "Well, it was real nice at first. Rarity started by doing that thing I really like where she runs her tongue down that little groove between my leg and my—"

Rarity cleared her throat. From the volume, Rainbow suspected that she'd cleared her entire body. "Twilight does not need to know the details of our foreplay! She means the spell!"

"Oh, right." Rainbow rubbed one hind leg against the other. "Well, Rarity, uh..." She glanced at her wife, trying to gauge the amount of detail she was allowed to go into. "First she put this big pointy crystal on the end of her horn. I asked what it was for and she said her horn had to be made longer to reach which I didn't quite get. And then she used the crystal thing and cast the spell and it hurt. Really bad."

"It hurt?" Twilight tilted her head.

"Yes! It felt like she set my womb on fire!" Rainbow waved her forelegs for added effect. "I'm pretty sure I felt my egg explode!"

Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Now I'm not saying I will give birth to a dragon, but—"

"Twilight." Rarity turned to Twilight with heavier hoofsteps than she needed. "I cast the spell just as I practiced. Do you think there's a chance I made a mistake?"

Twilight scratched her chin. "It was a very powerful spell cast directly into Rainbow's internal organs. Some discomfort is to be expected."

"Discomfort?" Rainbow tried to interject. "There's a reason I'm not walking."

A glow on Rarity's horn accompanied a sharp downward tug on Rainbow's hooves and a return to solid ground. Rarity continued talking to Twilight, "I'll show you what I did." She walked towards the model, past an ominous black crystal.

"Do it to Twilight," Rainbow suggested. "Show her how it feels."

Levitating the crystal to her horn, Rarity approached the dummy. She then did to it what she had done to Rainbow the night before. When she cast the spell, there was a bright flash of light and a very loud pop. The magic sensor things all lit up.

"Ugh, it's even worse from this angle." Rainbow's tail dropped another inch.

Twilight inspected the results. "It looks like you cast it properly, so assuming that she indeed ovulated yesterday, then she should be pregnant now."

"I'd better be after that," Rainbow grumbled.

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity spun around towards Rainbow, who backed up a step. "You have done nothing but complain all morning! I understand that it wasn't pleasant for you, but if this is your attitude towards bringing a new life into the world, then you need to adjust it!"

Rainbow's eyes went wide. "Yup. Got it. Good job last night, Rarity. Awesome spell you did. Not even sore anymore. Looking forward to having our kid."

With a smile, Rarity replied, "Better. Come to think of it, Twilight, is there anything else we should do?"

"Please don't say try it again," Rainbow whimpered.

"Oh no, dearie," Rarity said. "Twilight and Starlight were very adamant that it can only be attempted once per ovulation. Casting it on a fertilized egg would surely kill it."

"Yeah, don't want to do that." Rainbow glanced at Rarity, then looked to Twilight. "So like she said: what do we do now?"

With a smile, Twilight answered, "We wait. In about three months, a pregnancy test will tell if it worked."

"Three months?" Rainbow's foreleg reached her face. "I'm not going to last three months!"

"You're going to have to last eleven, dearie," Rarity told her before bending down towards her belly. "Just imagine, there might be a little filly or colt growing inside you right now!"

"It'll be a filly," Twilight said, "since you're both mares."

Both Rainbow and Rarity stared at Twilight. "Way to ruin it," Rainbow said.

"We were hoping to keep it a surprise," Rarity added. "At least do us the favor of not telling us its—I mean, her race."

Twilight turned red. "Sorry, I mean, there's no way of knowing for certain what race she'll be, though I have worked out the chances of each."

"What are the odds it's an alicorn?" Rainbow grinned.

"Don't hold your breath."

Rainbow returned a hmph, then turned to her wife. "Wanna get something to eat? I haven't had breakfast and I think I can sit down again now."

---

The setting sun illuminated the view over Ponyville for the couple sitting atop the hill. Rainbow's wing held Rarity close to her side while Rarity leaned her head in.

"Sorry about this morning," Rainbow said. "I know this whole thing is really important."

"No, I should apologize instead. I was so wrapped up in learning the spell in time, that I didn't even consider what it would do to you." Rarity laid her head down and closed her eyes. "Besides what it was meant to."

Rainbow swallowed. "My throat's still a bit sore from last night."

"You did scream quite loudly after I cast it."

Looking down at Rarity's horn, Rainbow said, "I still think you should have cast it on Twilight."

Rarity's chest moved as she laughed. "I'd rather not find out three months from now that she's carrying my foal, too. Don't tell her that I was tempted to. She has some responsibility in not telling me I'd hurt you. Even if you were overly dramatic about it."

With a scoff, Rainbow said, "Hey, it did hurt. Breaking my wing that one time didn't hurt like that. 'Hey Rainbow, how's it feel to conceive a foal?' 'Searing pain across the stomach, raging inferno of a womb, you know, the usual.' Oh geez I'm doing it again. Sorry."

Rarity wiggled her body. "You're easy to forgive when I'm under your wing."

"In that case,"—Rainbow held her head up—"I ate the last donut this afternoon."

Jerking her head upright, Rarity replied, "What? I thought Sweetie Belle ate it! I yelled at her for lying, then again for accusing you! How did you even get in and out of the kitchen without me noticing?"

Rainbow flapped her free wing. "Fastest pony in Equestria. You turned your back."

Rarity lowered her head and groaned. "I'm going to have to make it up to her tomorrow."

With a squeeze of her wing to test Rarity's theory, Rainbow said, "Sorry." She only got a sigh in response.

Smiling, Rainbow added, "I took a donut and let a filly take the fall. We are going to be the best parents ever."

"I can only hope that I can save her from your mothering." Rarity laid a hoof across Rainbow's.

"I was planning on being the dad. Playing catch and stuff. Teaching it to fly if it's a pegasus. Or doing magic stuff with you if it's a unicorn. Planting things if it's an earth pony?" She looked down at Rarity. "Do you think it'll be an earth pony? I mean, I'm all pegasus, but don't you have some earth in your family?"

Rarity's hoof squeezed Rainbow's. "I think we're going to love her no matter what she is." Rainbow felt a hind leg brush against her belly. "And she's in your womb. You're going to be Mom."

The sun dipped below the horizon.

Rainbow's sides twitched at the thought of what was between them. "I'm going to tell her to call me Dad and you're going to tell her to call me Mom. Best parents ever."

Comments

[Super Trampoline]

I just want to say that’s a really good title

[Void Chicken]

9992831
Credit where it's due: R5h and I spent quite a bit of time brainstorming titles until he came up with "Beneath Her Wings She Carries the World", which I shortened into this.

[Bobathan]

9993205
Sounds like the sluggterra quote “the world beneath your feet” lol