Twilight Sparkle's Big Surprise
Twilight Sparkle sat in her cavernous library glaring up at the towering walls that were littered with books. Her horn glowed with magic as she lifted a particularly heavy book from a shelf high above, and set it on the desk at the back of the room.
It wasn't fair, she thought. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack and the other ponies were outside, playing in the soft glow of the morning sun, and she, Twilight Sparkle, was stuck indoors studying, by order of her mentor, Princess Celestia. Normally, she loved studying, but today she felt especially playful, and wanted nothing more than to dance and to play in the soft autumn breeze that rustled the leaves of the many trees that littered the landscape of Ponyville
A light knock sounded on the heavy oak door to the library in which she was holed up in, and without even looking in that direction, she called, "Come in!"
The door swung open slowly, and a pony sporting a shining alabaster coat and a flowing purple mane peeked out from behind it.
Twilight's eyes lit up. "Rarity!" she squealed and raced forwards to embrace her friend tightly. "Where are Pinkie Pie and the others?"
"Wee-ll," she started. "Pinkie Pie is running her shift at Sugarcube Corner, Applejack is harvesting her apples over at the farm, Rainbow Dash is still practicing for the Wonderbolts tryouts and Fluttershy is… well, you can guess where she is."
Twilight nodded.
"Why don't you come and play with us, Twi?"
The alicorn sucked in breath between her teeth. "Sorry Rarity, but I can't. Princess Celestia ordered me to keep studying."
Rarity pouted defiantly. "Aww, that's no fun."
Suddenly, Twilight's baby dragon, Spike, rushed in, jade smoke streaming from his maw. "Princess Twilight," he gushed, "a message from Princess Celestia!"
"Well, read it then!"
Closing his claws around the scroll, the little dragon broke the seal and began to read:
"Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I couldn't help but notice how nice it is outside today, and I thought you might like a break. So I, Princess Celestia, am relieving you of your studies and you can return to them whenever you feel like it. Although, don't wait too long!
-Princess Celestia"
Rarity's eyes sparkled with excitement as Spike finished reading the letter. "Oh, Twilight, isn't that wonderful? Now you can come and play with the rest of us!"
Twilight's horn glowed a soft magenta as she used her magic to levitate the book that rested on the table into the air and place it back in its respective spot in the bookshelf. Once this was done, Rarity grabbed her friend's hoof and dragged her from the room, laughing in delight.
Bursting through Twilight's front door, the snow white pony flicked her purple mane from her face and turned to face the rest of her friends; Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, all of whom had left their respective activities to meet outside Twilight's house and play with their friend.
"Hey guys!" squealed Twilight, and rushed to embrace them all in turn.
"Hey Twi!" the group responded in unison.
"Well?" Rarity tapped her hoof impatiently. "What are we waiting for? Let's play!"
The ponies cheered.
Their laughter rang clear and true through the trees of Applejack's orchard as they played together in the mess of golden and red leaves that littered the ground. Rainbow Dash kicked a flurry of autumn leaves into Rarity's face, and the snow white pony responded by rearing up on her hind legs and pushing Rainbow Dash into the sea of red and gold that covered the floor.
Twilight laughed and nuzzled Fluttershy's nose, making her sneeze, and sending a whirlwind of colour swirling into the clear blue sky. Rainbow Dash was back on her hooves and chasing after Rarity, yelling, "Come back!" at the top of her voice.
Applejack slammed her hooves into one of the trees that still had leaves covering its branches and giggled as she dumped a treeload of gold and orange and red onto Pinkie Pie's head. The glittering pink mare scowled and laughed as she poked her head out from the piled of leaves that had been dumped on top of her, earning roars of laughter from all her friends.
Twilight flew to the top of one of the trees that had already been emptied of leaves and yelled, "Hey!"
Everypony turned to look at her.
"I have some very exciting news for you all."
Their eyes widened in expectation.
"I have reason to believe, for some time now, that…" she trailed off
"What is it Twilight?" asked Rarity.
The alicorn coughed, and continued, "Yes, I have reason to believe that I may be… pregnant."
Mouths dropped open.
"Congratulations Twilight!" squealed Pinkie Pie.
"Yeah, congratulations Twilight!" chimed in Rainbow Dash.
"I'm happy for you Twilight," murmured Fluttershy.
Applejack remained silent, too stunned to say anything.
"Who's the father Twi?" asked Rarity.
Twilight cringed at her words. "Well… I have reason to believe, Rarity, that the 'father' so to speak, of my baby, is… you, Rarity."
Tears sprang to the young pony's eyes. "B-but, h-how can this be?" she stammered.
Twilight smiled gently. "Remember 'that night', Rarity?"
The alabaster unicorn nodded in recognition. "But we're both girls."
"I'm not quite sure how it happened, but it did. And I intend to birth and raise this child no matter who the other parent may be."
Rarity began to cry, hot, salty tears splashing onto the leaves beneath her hooves, and nuzzled her indigo mane into the ebony mane of Twilight, staring up into her deep purple eyes. "Then I'll raise her with you."