The fathers of two important pegasi tell their story.
Two special pegasi have helped save Equestria on several occasions. But they were almost never born. They only were because two stallions believed they may have the chance to do something great for the world.
Lightning Bright brushed the pink hair away from his wife's eyes. Stitch in Time was nine months pregnant and was definitely not feeling her best.
"Did you talk to Olympic Dash?" His wife asked, her expression changing from kind to stern.
"What's to talk about? I'm waiting for an apology."
"For what?" Stitch stood up.
"Cheating. He pushed me to the ground when we raced. He's a dirty cheat and needs to apologize."
"Bright, you crashed into each other. I don't think it was his fault."
"Was, too."
"Please talk to him. I don't want this silly disagreement to ruin your friendship." She hugged him. "You've been friends since you were colts. I don't think I could handle it if you stopped being pals."
"All right, I'll talk to him." Lightning sighed. "But he's stubborn as a mule."
"Which is almost as stubborn as you are."
Lightning spread his wings and was about to leave when he stopped and looked at his wife.
"I really hope it's a colt," he said. "I've always wanted a little stallion."
Lightning leapt up and soared out the front door of his home in Cloudsdale. The wind flew through his soft yellow cost and turquoise mane as he flew through the cloud city and towards Olympic Dash's house.
Olympic lived alone with his wife, Rainbow Mosaic, who was nine months pregnant just like Lightning's wife. The four ponies had been friend's ever since they all met in Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. While Mosaic and Stitch were exchanging recipes and gossiping about celebrities. Olympic and Lightning were always competing against each other, whether it was who had the strongest wings, the fastest legs, or the prettiest girlfriend.
"Jerk," Lightning muttered. Olympic Dash always had the tendency to cheat when he was about to lose. But pushing him to the ground while they were racing was crossing the line. He didn't have tolerance for cheating liars, not today.
###
Olympic Dash and Rainbow Mosaic were eating dinner at their home, a few blocks away from Stitch and Lightning's. Olympic put down his hay bacon sandwich and states off into space. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, fully aware that something was wrong if her husband put down a sandwich if he was in the middle of eating it.
"What's wrong, hun?"
He looked at her and sighed, choosing not to speak about his disagreement with Lightning Bright. "I'm just hoping that it's a colt."
Rainbow Mosaic looked down at her belly. "I think we have a little athlete in their. It seems like he, or she, can't stop moving."
He played with his red and white striped mane. "I can't wait to be a dad. I'm going to show him how to fly and play football and-"
"Or she."
The blue stallion picked up his sandwich, took a bite, and started chewing slowly. He wasn't thinking about the foal, no, the only thing on his mind now was that dirty liar Lightning Bright. Who did he think he was, accusing him of cheating?
As Rainbow Mosaic stood up to get another glass of lemonade, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it, you rest," Olympic said, flying over to the door. He opened it, and standing in front of him was a very irritated Lightning Bright.
"Hi, Lightning! We were just sitting down for lunch. Would you care to join us?" Mosaic called from the table.
He shook his head. "No thanks, I already ate. I was just here to talk to Olympic." Lightning glared at his ex-friend.
"All right, I'll leave you two alone." Mosaic was very familiar with the arguments they would break into when they were alone. She picked up her plate and flew slowly into the living room, closing the door behind herself.
"I want an apology," Lightning said after Mosaic had left.
"For what, exactly?" Olympic replied curtly.
"You cheated yesterday during our race. I just pulled ahead and you slammed into me, sending us both to the ground. I'm sure you remember."
"I remember you not paying attention and crashing into me! I did not cheat. I don't cheat."
"Olympic, I've known you for twenty years. I know what you do when you don't get your way. You just don't play fair."
"And you jump to conclusions! I can't believe you're accusing me of this! You really need to get your facts straight, Bright. That's all you do, make up stories and fake explanations when you have no evidence!"
"All the evidence I need is here! You were angry that I was flying faster, so you hit me! What other proof do you need?"
"I need to know why you think your best friend cheats during some stupid races! They don't matter! I don't even care if I win them!"
"Isn't that all you care about? Not your friend, not your wife, just winning!"
"Don't you dare question my love for Mosaic!" Olympic screamed. "She doesn't point out my faults or judges me like you do! She has been faithful to me for years, while you're switching from my friend to my enemy all the time!"
"I'm not the one cheating and lying! And maybe I'm not pointing out your flaws like you say, maybe I'm trying to help you stop being such a hot-headed jerk!"
"I don't know why you even try! You've already made it obvious that you don't care about me! All you want is to be right!"
"I don't know why I go through do much trouble for you! Why would anypony try to help such an inconsiderate idiot! I hope I'm lucky enough to never see you again in my life!"
"So we finally agree on something!"
Mosaic's head popped into the room. "What the hay are you doing?"
Lightning gave a growl and flew out of the room, knocking over a lamp on his way out.
"What happened?" Mosaic asked.
Olympic didn't say anything. He watch his former friend fly away and gritted his teeth. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and he couldn't even think straight.
Lightning returned to his house cursing and mumbling to himself. "That self-centered, no-good, son of a-" He opened the door to his home and yelled, "Stitch, I'm home."
He stomped through the house, still seething with anger from the argument he had with his friend. No, not friend. His enemy. "That jerk."
"Stitch, what's for dinner?" he called.
No answer. Lightning realized that he hadn't heard a sound from her since he got home.
She wasn't in their bedroom. She wasn't in the kitchen. Nor was she in the backyard or living room.
Okay, do she wasn't at home. Slightly odd, but there were millions of other places a pregnant mare could be without telling her husband, who she knew got nervous when he was alone.
He picked up his phone and dialed Rainbow Mosaic's number. She would know where her best friend would be. Sometimes Lightning suspected that she knew more about his wife than he did.
He got her voicemail, and nopony picked up.
Something was wrong. Mosaic always had her phone with her.
Lightning began to break into a panic attack. His heart thumped, sweat dripped down his brow, and he had the strangest sense of impending doom.
He picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"Hello? Yes, my wife has gone missing... About twenty minutes? No, no, I'm sure she would have told me. Stitch in Time. She's a coral-colored pegasus with a pink mane, a needle and thread cutie mark... Oh, you know where she is?" Waves of joy rushed over him. "Thank Celestia! Where is she?"
His eyes grew to be the size of frisbees. "What do you mean, room 41 in the emergency room?"
###
Olympic Dash screamed in anger. Lightning Bright was just about the most idiotic stallion ever to fly in Cloudsdale. "If his brains were dynamite, he wouldn't have enough to blow his nose." Oh, if only he had remembered to say that during their fight.
His phone rang. He picked it up and yelled into it, "Yeah, what do you want?" He knew who it was. Who else would dare call him now?
"Olympic, have you seen Mosaic lately?"
Olympic swore. "Why the hay are you calling me?"
"Listen to me, Jerk. I think our wives are in serious trouble. At least, Stitch is."
"I would be too if I was married to such a retarded, idiotic-"
"Would you shut up? Stitch is in the emergency room and I don't know why. Now where is Mosaic?"
Olympic paused. "I don't know, I haven't seen her for hours. I think she went to visit Stitch."
"I'm going to call the emergency room again to see if Mosaic is there." Lightning hung up.
The idiot was probably planning some stupid joke he hoped Olympic would be stupid enough to fall for. Well, it wasn't going to work! He threw the phone on the desk and stomped off.
Where was Mosaic? It wasn't like her to run off without telling him. And where would she go? She worked as an artist at home, and if she was going to go somewhere with her friends she would have told her husband, or at least leave a note.
The phone rang again. Olympic, despite himself, picked it up.
"Yeah?"
"Mosaic's at the hospital with Stitch."
"Why?" Olympic's jaw dropped.
"I don't know, they didn't say. But I have an idea..."
"What? Why is she there?"
"I think at least one of them is in labor."
Olympic hung up immediately, spread his wings, and dashed as fast as his wings could carry him to the hospital.
Waiting outside was Lightning Bright, looking as nervous as a snowman in July.
The two silently walked inside and asked the receptionist if they could see their wives. She lead them to two doors right next to each other.
"Do you know what happened?" Olympic asked the receptionist.
"They seem to have a rare disease that the doctors have hardly heard about. Apparently they have no way to cure it and it could be fatal. That's all."
"I'm dreaming," Olympic muttered. This was all a stupid prank Lightning and their wives planned.
Olympic opened the door on the right and found Mosaic lying in a bed, looking pale and weak.
"Rainbow!" He ran to her and took her hoof. "What happened?"
She managed a weak laugh. "Funny story. I went to visit Stitch, and we started working in her garden for a little bit. And I found these mushrooms-"
"You ate some fungus that you couldn't even identify?!"
"No, silly, I'm not that dumb. It just touched my skin, and I broke out in a weird rash." She raised her right wing, which was covered in tiny red welts. "Then Stitch touched my rash, and she broke out, too. I called 911 after a while."
"So this is just a little allergic reaction?" Olympic asked hopefully.
"Well...no. Apparently it's more than that. Because I'm pregnant, the chemicals on the plant I touched could affect my foal. And the doctor says..."
"What? What did he say?"
"Remember honey, I'm young and strong, and I'm sure I can live through-"
"Live?! WHAT!?"
"....the doctor said this is life threatening."
Olympic did the only thing he could think of: he punched a wall.
"Please stay calm, I can do this." Mosaic's voice weakened. "Oh, no."
"What now?" Olympic almost screamed.
"The foal. It's coming. I'm in labor."
Olympic slapped the button in the wall that was used to call the doctor. "Don't worry, honey, I'll be right here!"
"No, Dash. Let the doctor take care of me. I don't want you getting worried." She kissed him.
He walked out the room, his wings sagging.
Lightning was sitting in a chair against the wall, looking as if he had been...crying.
"How's Stitch?" Olympic asked.
"She's in labor, and the doctor said-" Lightning looked like he would burst into tears.
"I know. Mosaic is, too." he sat next to his friend.
They said nothing for over an hour, thinking over the situation and wishing with all their hearts that there was something, anything, they could do.
The stallions around up immediately, anxious to hear what the doctor had to tell them.
"Your wives are...in trouble. I haven't exactly seen much of this virus in question, and the fact that they are about to give birth just makes it more complicated. Whatever was on the plant they touched was covered in an oil that seeped through their skin and entered their immune system, and may very well affect the foals. And I'm afraid your wives only have a few hours left."
"There has to be something we can do to help," Olympic Dash insisted.
"I don't know. I really don't." The doctor scratched his head. "There may be a type of antibiotic that might help, but-"
"But what?" Lightning asked softly, keeping back tears. He hated to appear as such a sissy in front of Olympic, but he honestly couldn't stop himself. Stitch was dying.
"It's only offered in some pharmacies in Canterlot. It's also extremely expensive. Like I said, this virus is very unknown."
Olympic turned to his friend. "We need to get it. Right now."
Lightning considered the options. Canterlot was miles away, and flying there, finding a pharmacy, waiting for the medicine, and flying back with it could take the entire night. Mosaic and Stitch could very well be dead before then.
But they had to try. Lightning would rather die than watch his wife suffer while he did nothing to help her.
"Let's go. Now."
Lightning and Olympic spread their wings and prepared to soar away.
"It's called the Firswithian Treatment, offered at the Celestian Pharmacy." The doctor said to them with fear in his eyes. "This is a valiant act, sirs. Even if you don't succeed, your efforts are heroic. I'm sure your wives would be proud."
Lightning nodded and, with Olympic at his side, they ran out the door to the hospital and off the edge of Cloudsdale, soaring down towards the rest of Equestria, diving and swooping like a fighter plane.
They soared for what seemed like hours without saying a word. Occasionally one would glance at the other and their eyes would meet, but nothing was said. The troubles they had the night before, their arguments and harsh word, now seemed silly and childish compared to the agony of their dying wives. And their foals! Oh, who cared if they we're colts or fillies as long as they just freaking lived!
Olympic squinted into the setting sun. He could see Canterlot, and the palace, too, off in the distance.
"There it is," he said, flying a bit closer to Lightning.
The two swooped down into Canterlot, dodging other pegasi who complained briskly about the speed limit. The stallions ignored them and continued flying as fast as they could towards a building in the distance that could hardly be seen: The Celestian Pharmacy.
They landed and walked the half-block to the pharmacy. When they finally reached it, Olympuc glanced at his watch. It had taken them an hour and forty-five minutes to fly from Cloudsdale to Canterlot. That had to be some sort of record.
They entered the building and ran to the counter.
"Excuse me sir, but do you carry the Firswithian Treatment?" Lightning asked the pharmacist before Olympic could demand it impatiently.
"Yes, I do believe so," the pharmacist pushed his glasses up his nose.
"We'd like to place an order for two doses, please."
"All right, that would be four thousand bits."
"Four...THOUSAND?" Olympic's jaw dropped open.
Lightning searched his saddle bags and wallet, but only counted twenty-seven bits. His heart pounded frantically and sweat dropped down his brow. Would this be how Stitch died? Because he was three thousand and seventy-three bits short?
"How much do you have?" He asked Olympic.
"Forty bits."
"So we have sixty-three. That's still not even close." Lightning's shoulders sank.
"I have an idea." Olympic races over to a pair of teenage fillies sitting in the waiting area, giggling to each other.
"Excuse me, young mares, but my wife is currently in the hospital dying of a rare disease. She could die in the next hour along with her unborn foal if she doesn't get a dose of this medicine, which is thousands if bits over the amount I have. Would you two be so kind as to donate as much as you can so my love my have a chance to live?"
One filly turned to the other and blushed. "All right, for true love," she said, smiling. She handed Olympic a couple dozen bits.
The other turned over some as well, and Olympic came back with a grin on his face. "We need to start asking ponies."
They raced around the pharmacy, asking customers for donations and explaining their situation. Mostly everypony was kind and gave them several bits.
They had asked everypony in the building when the clock struck nine PM. They counted the money carefully and came to a total:
"562 bits?" Olympic gasped.
"Good Celestia, I never expected that we would get so much."
"B-but we're still three thousand and four hundred short," Olympic swallowed slowly, using all of his strength making sure that he didn't cry in front of Lightning.
Lightning took the money and counted it again. How could it end like this? How could Stitch and Mosaic die because they simply didn't have enough money for some medicine?
Lightning walked back to the counter and leaned on it. "I'm so, so sorry, Stitch," he whispered.
"Now what did you want this medicine for?" the pharmacist asked him.
"Our wives are in the hospital, dying," Lightning sniffed.
The clerk looked around as if making sure nopony was watching. Then he leaned over to face Lightning.
"Take it. I might lose my job, but I would rather be unemployed than be the cause of your wives' death." He handed Lightning a small bottle of pills. "Good luck, sir."
Lightning couldn't believe his ears. "Olympic! Come quick!"
###
The journey back to Cloudsdale must have taken no more than half as long as the journey into Canterlot. The two stallions flew as fast as they could, up into Cloudsdale with the pills safely in Lightning's saddlebag.
They reached the hospital in only forty-five minutes and ran to the rooms where their wives were.
"We...have...the pills..." Lightning gasped to the doctor.
"Thank Celestia," he murmured, taking the medicine and rushing back into the room.
Olympic and Lightning sat down in the waiting area and gulped.
Half an hour passed. They could hear something happening in the two rooms, but they couldn't tell what. Were Stitch and Mosaic okay?
The door opened and a nurse came out. "Mr. Lightning Bright and Olympic Dash? Your wives would like to see you."
She turned , about to go back inside, and then stopped. She glanced back at them and smiled weakly. "Congratulations, you are both fathers."
Lightning and Olympic jumped up and followed the nurse into the room.
Three bassinets lined the wall. Olympic peered in.
"Congratulations, Mr. Dash, your wife has given birth to twins. "
"Twins!" Two of the foals had rainbow manes like his wife, and one had a blue coat like him. But they were both wrapped in pink blankets.
"Fillies. Both of them," Olympic sighed. Then one of them, the blue coated filly, opened her eyes, which were big and pink. She stared up at her father, and he stated back. The two's eyes never left the other's for a long time.
"I don't freaking care," Olympic smiled hugged his daughters. "Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Shine, I love you."
Lightning told himself repeatedly that he would not cry as he walked up to the other bassinet. Inside was a soft yellow foal, dressed in pink as well, with a pink mane and bright blue eyes.
"She's..." What was the word? Precious, adorable, flawless. He felt so many emotions, mainly...love. He loved this filly. He would do anything for her.
"Fluttershy." He said, stroking the filly's pink mane.
"There you are!"
The stallions turned around and saw, sitting in wheelchairs, their wives.
"Mosaic!" Olympic almost made a sonic rainboom dashing to his wife's side. "You're all right!"
"Thanks to you, I am. Oh, Dash, I'm so proud of you," Mosaic pulled her husband closer and kissed him on the lips. "You saved my life."
Stitch hugged Lightning and squeezed him, caressing his name and planting kisses on his neck. "Oh, honey, that was so amazing of you. Did you see your daughter?"
"Fluttershy," he whispered, hugging his wife once more. "Thank you. I love her."
And so the four friends became seven, and through the years, despite the tragedies in the future, they would only grow closer than they ever believed. Lightning and Olympic especially. Even though they did fight from time to time, they always made up and reminded themselves of how much they had done to bring the three fillies into the world.
