MLP: Six Surprises
The Mane Six met in the cool and secluded shadow of Applejack's family's main barn, quite deliberately where they were far enough away from the main town to talk about the problem in private. Each of the ponies with bumps felt self-conscious. Ponies in the town looked at those of them with... well, with a whole variety of expressions. Shock, delight, judgement, worry, suspicion. It just felt a whole lot better to walk out of Ponyville and find somewhere private to talk about the problem - and perhaps find a solution for protecting Rainbow Dash."Uh-uh. No way."The rest of the Mane Six looked at each other, partly at a loss for how to convince the weather pony to go with their plan, partly in the hope that another of their number would try to talk her around. Their hormones weren't making this any easier.It was Applejack who picked up the slack. "Honey, we need to do all we can to protect ourselves," she said to Rainbow Dash, who'd turned her back to the rest of the group and sat resolutely with her muzzle in the air. "We're just trying to stop the same happening to you as happened to us.""Ain't gonna happen anyway.""How do you know that?" Applejack asked, her jaw clenched a little. She hadn't known until she got her bump, so how was her friend any different? Her flank shuddered involuntarily as she thought back to that morning when she'd faced her family with her bump and tried to explain that she genuinely didn't know how it had got there. Big Mac was suspicious, Apple Bloom was delighted and dying to tell the rest of her class, and Granny Smith was... not pleased. Very, very not pleased.Dash glanced over her shoulder and gave the group a trademark smirk. "There ain't a stallion in all of Ponyville who can outfly me. I ain't gonna get caught."Applejack tossed her head in sudden fury, and felt relieved when Twilight took over."I don't think it's about that. I haven't been anywhere near a stallion. Not that way." She looked a little bashful as she explained it but said it anyway and kept eye contact with Dash with surprising determination.Dash looked irritated and turned to face the purple unicorn. "Okay Smartyhooves! You're so clever, how else does a pony get pregnant, huh? I don't remember hearing it could happen any other way.""I didn't mate!""I think you did!""Girls, girls-" Applejack interrupted, breaking in between them. "This ain't helpin' us. We don't know how it's happenin' but if we keep you under lock an' key, maybe we can stop it."Rainbow Dash gave some retort but at the same time Fluttershy said something and Applejack missed both."What was that, honey?" She asked Fluttershy.The pegasus ducked her head to hide behind her locks before she summoned up the courage to answer. Applejack privately lamented the way Fluttershy's pregnancy had robbed her of the courage she'd worked so hard
to develop in the past year. The judgement of the townsponies probably hadn't helped. "It's just, I know I'm not an expert on anything, but I think that one of two things might be happening. Either it's... I don't know, a force of nature or something. I mean, not being done deliberately by anypony." She lost her tongue then and looked to her friends for support - or, Applejack realized sadly, condemnation.Rarity answered just before Applejack opened her mouth. "Or, sweetie?""Or..." Fluttershy looked around as if haunted. "Somepony's doing this to separate us. I just noticed that it's making us argue a lot and I wonder if somepony's making that happen on purpose. That's all." She looked away and scuffed her hoof against the ground as if to distance herself from what she'd just said. But the look of worry - for the idea that they were being separated, if Applejack was reading it right - never left her.Rarity and Twilight exchanged worried glances and the purple unicorn looked around. "If it is somepony doing it deliberately, I wonder if they're listening to us right now."Rainbow Dash was looking hard at Fluttershy, her face set with suspicion. Then she relented - just about. "Sure. Whatever. I'll be a prisoner if it makes everypony else happy. But I wanna know how long for."Twilight answered: "I'm going to do my best to find out what's happening. As soon as we know what's causing this we can figure out what to do next. Hopefully we'll be able to let you go, Rainbow Dash.""But you're not sure!" "It might turn out that you do need protection.""So what if you can't figure anything out?" Dash asked pointedly. "Do I stay a prisoner all my life? I'm a flyer, I need to fly! And I've got work to do."Applejack growled with frustration. "I'm sure your colleagues will pick up the slack for-" Then she stopped. "Has anyone seen any ponies who aren't us getting pregnant?"They looked around at each other. "I don't think so," said Rarity. "Pinkie Pie?""Nope," said the curly-haired earth pony, looking up from the spot of ground she'd been pawing at. She'd made a decent-sized hole in the time they'd been here.Applejack shook herself from her thoughts of Pinkie Pie's anxiety and looked at Twilight. "But you've looked in every book you've got, haven't ya? And we asked Zecora. What else can you do?"Twilight looked determined. "I'm going to ask Princess Celestia."
xXxDear Princess Celestia,I'm sorry for not visiting lately. We have a serious problem and urgently need your help.Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and I are pregnant but we don't know how it happened. I know all about the facts of life, but that hasn't happened for most of us. Certainly not for me.I'm going to check with the nurse but I'm almost certain nopony else in the town has fallen pregnant. It looks like it's
just happening to us. Rainbow Dash isn't pregnant - at least, not yet - and we're keeping her under a close watch until we can find out what's happening. Hopefully we can protect her from getting pregnant.Please help me find out what's happening, I need your wisdom.Your devoted student,Twilight SparklexXxCelestia felt the approach of one of Twilight Sparkle's missives before it appeared. She felt the usual spread of warm pleasure in the pit of her belly: reading about Twilight's adventures in the discovery of friendship was always such a nice distraction from the po-faced and sometimes deadly-serious reality of palace life - and she received it eagerly.She didn't read it immediately - she always liked to take the time to read Twilight's letters properly, to make a pleasure out of it. Instead she used her unicorn power to levitate it beside her and opted to arrange for herself a lunch break. "Saffron," she spoke to her current filly-in-waiting."Yes, princess?" the golden-yellow mare replied, her jade-green eyes wide and awaiting instruction, her curly golden hair bouncing with even her smallest movements. Celestia had asked Saffron to use her real name when they had no company, but the guards were within hearing range and Celestia had to keep up appearances, however much she preferred informality from her domestic staff."Prepare me some barley tea please, and serve it to me in my chamber.""Very good, princess." Saffron Elegance bowed and left to carry out her instructions.Celestia crossed the rose gardens and went up the stairs to her chamber, walking deliberately slowly to counter the stressful business of the morning and to give Saffron time to prepare her tea. Soon enough she arrived and settled down on a cushion plumped not very long ago by Saffron herself, placed comfortably close to the roaring fireplace.Saffron was there, laying out her tea and a selection of exquisite hay and daisy cakes. "There you are Celestia," she said more warmly now that they had no other company. "Let me know if you need anything," And with a wink and a smile worthy of an indulgent mother she left the tall white alicorn to her relaxation.Celestia sighed happily as she stretched her wings. "Now what do you have to say, Twilight?"She smiled as she started to read. She even managed to keep smiling as Twilight told her she had a 'serious problem' and needed her 'urgent help'. Celestia had known Twilight to take things too seriously in the past and she was sure it... wouldn't be... too... bad...Celestia made a point of reading slowly to take in everything Twilight was telling her. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack were pregnant. Most of them were genuinely unsure of how that had happened even though they understood how pregnancies occurred. They - they, as a team - had decided to guard Rainbow Dash to
stop the same from happening, so it seemed as if every one of the Mane Six believed that something strange was afoot. Twilight, a dedicated researcher, had been able to come up with no explanation. Reading between the lines, Celestia suspected that Twilight didn't really expect Rainbow Dash's incarceration to work.This was worrying. This was indeed worrying. Celestia shifted position so she could rest on her elbows, place her forehooves together and rest her snout on them. She needed to think.She took a sip of her barley tea and absently ate a whole grass fancy in one less-than-dainty go. She was beginning to suspect she might need to take off into Ponyville very soon. Can I afford to go in without understanding what is happening? she thought, and gave it a moment's consideration.Her first thoughts were of remote inpregnation. It had happened in most royal families at various points in history, efforts by rogue stallions to spread their genes into the royal family, by rejected royal suitors, even by ponies who wanted to stir discord in the royal family of the day. The more careful royal mares - including Celestia, Luna and Cadence - regularly cast contraceptive spells on themselves to prevent this and only tried for a foal in secret - only the royal mare and her consort were to know that pregnancy was eagerly anticipated until the happy event actually occurred.Could that be what is happening? Celestia wondered. If so, who might be the culprit? She closed her eyes to think.The alicorn had several ideas, but in truth she would need to talk this over with the Mane Six - they might have suspected culprits that she herself didn't. They would need to work together to make a list of suspects.They would need support - the pregnant mares would no doubt be terrified of what was happening to them. Celestia found herself itching to be with them, but it would be madness to go to Ponyville and deliberately be among a remote impregnator. She also felt that Rainbow Dash needed protection, but rather than being kept under guard in Ponyville...Celestia pushed the plate of cakes away - she wouldn't need to go into Ponyville after all. Instead she finished her tea in one large sip and walked through into the next room - her study.Saffron glanced at her from where she had been changing the flower display. She did not speak but Celestia answered her subtly enquiring glance anyway. "I've finished. You can clear my things away, now."Saffron gave an economical bow and moved into the next room.With the room empty of distractions Celestia wrote a reply:Dear ponies,This is indeed a problem. I think Rainbow Dash will be safer at the palace. I would like to invite you all to the palace to talk this over and so that I can offer all possible help. Princess Celestia.
TO BE CONTINUED...