Six unique friends come together the celebrate their shared transition into motherhood, but are their simultaneous pregnancies really just a coincidence?

First part of a long series of Pony commissions for  Nikaro !

I normally don't want to put much fan-fiction on this page, but these were fun to write and I'm proud of how they turned out. If MLP stuff isn't your thing, I totally get it, no hard feelings if you wanna skip these stories. But if you take the time to read, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!
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As the sun began to set, before it inevitably sank below the mountains, it was angled between the peaks in the precise spot to cast a bright, aggressive glare through the windows and directly into Joe’s eyes. After shoving the latest dough into the oven, he squinted in irritation as he trotted to the window, his hooves clopping loudly on the tile floor.
“Yeah yeah yeah, we get it,” Joe grumbled under his breath while pulling down the blinds. “You can stop showing off now, Celestia…”

The cup of coffee behind the counter glowed with a subtle light as Joe used his meager magical abilities to shakily lift it into the air and to his mouth. It was finally cold enough for him to drink in earnest, so he tipped his head back and poured the cup’s entire contents into his mouth at once. Dropping the plastic cup to the ground, Joe swallowed the mouthful of light-roast coffee with two shots of espresso, then shuddered and stomped his back hoof on the floor. His special ‘Pony Joe Red-Eye’ was like an electric shock of caffeine to his brain that made his entire body, nose to tail, shudder with a sudden rush of energy that would keep him awake and alert for another six hours, guaranteed. Of course, it tasted like mud and cough syrup at even the best of times, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

While the first oven was busy baking, the timer on the second began to chime loudly throughout the empty diner. With new-found energy, Joe pranced across the room and pulled down the oven door before carefully levitating the tray of hot, fresh donuts and pastries to a nearby table to cool. He bit his lip in concentration while setting it down, sighing in relief that the subtle rocking of the tray hadn’t knocked any of them to the floor. He was usually more precise and steady with his magic, especially with the donuts involved, but it had been a long day and not even the coffee could ease him of the fatigue. Still, there was a lot of preparation to be done and he only had another hour or so to do it.
After setting the tray down and spreading apart the cooling donuts, he cantered backwards along the counter to the large, two-spout coffee maker. He dumped the used grounds from both and checked to make sure they were full. The decaf was full to the brim and steaming fresh, which was crucial for his incoming customers. They couldn’t have much caffeine in their conditions, which left the other container exclusively for Joe himself to make sure he wouldn’t fall asleep on them.
One of Joe’s ears swiveled on his head to the sound of the bell above the door chiming. It was small and relatively quiet, but he’d trained himself to listen for it above any kind of crowd packed into his diner. While setting a filter in the pot and pouring fresh coffee grounds inside, he glanced to the clock near the ceiling.

“Sorry, we’re closed for the evenin’,” Joe said over his shoulder without looking. “We’re rented out for a private function.”
“Is that any way to treat royalty, Donut Joe?” giggled the voice of a familiar mare. Joe paused and blinked in surprise, then smirked to himself.
“Well, even if you are royal now,” Joe said as he finished with the coffee pot and turned to face his customer, “I’d still never say no to an old friend.”

Standing at the counter with her front legs resting on it was the smiling face of Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle (a mouthful that Joe himself preferred to shorted to ‘Twi’). Her rich, purple hair seemed to glow in the setting sun and her curious, inquisitive eyes scanned every surface of the diner, as if taking it all in for the very first time. She shuffled the small wings on her back, which she didn’t have when Joe had first known her. He wondered idly if she’d flown there, but assumed not, given her state.
“I’d never really do that, though,” Twilight quickly explained. “The whole ‘royalty’ thing. If you really need me to leave, I can go and wait in town, I’m sure you have plenty to get ready for and it’s already nice enough of you to rent out the entire diner for-”
“Twi, relax,” Joe chuckled as he leaned against the counter himself. “It’s your party, you can come whenever you want to. I probably should’ve expected you’d be here early, anyway.”
“Well…as long as I’m not getting in the way,” Twilight said, tapping her hoof anxiously on the counter. “I’ve been in the way a lot lately…”

“I said relax, you’re fine,” Joe smiled. “Getting anxious isn’t good for you. Not for the princess or the heir.”
“That’s true,” Twilight nodded. “I’ve been doing exercises to lower my heart rate and keep up a steady rate of oxygen. Also, I sleep like this.” Her horn glowed purple before a pair of small rubber tubes popped into existence and she shoved them both into her nose, widening them apart. “Dey increthe air flowb ad prebent snoring,” she explained before poofing them away again.
“You’re the expert, I guess,” Joe shrugged as he picked up a rag and wiped a speck of dirt from the counter. “You’re the expert on everything.”

“Nooooo, that’s not true,” Twilight said, shuffling her wings and blushing. “I’m just a bookworm, that’s all.”
“All I know is you’re one smart cookie, Twi. Always have been.” Joe nodded. He cocked his head to the side and tried to look below the counter. “Hey, back up a little, huh? I wanna see how you’re coming along.”
Twilight blushed again, but smiled and dropped down from the counter before backing away far enough for Joe to see her entire body. Below her wings and between her legs hung a heavy, round, bulging pregnant belly, far into term with likely only a few weeks left. Twilight looked down at herself with pride and joy, stroking her gravid middle with a hoof, then glanced up to Joe as if for approval.
“Wow,” Joe whistled, subconsciously puffing his chest out with pride. “Getting big in there, aren’t they?”

“The royal doctors say she’s as healthy as she can be. No problems at all.” Twilight beamed. Her purple coat was sleek and glowed healthily from the pregnancy, making her look angelic in the setting sunlight.
“Good to hear, but I’m not so surprised,” Joe said. “We both knew the heir was gonna be a big one.”
“You know, you don’t have to keep calling her ‘the heir,’” Twilight said, shifting in place as the foal in her belly kicked. “He’s your son too, Joe.”
“I know,” Joe said, smiling to himself as he rubbed the back of his head. “But he’s not just that. He’s gonna be a prince one day. My little guy’s gonna be up on that throne one day.” Joe paused, then glanced nervously around the diner, making sure he and Twilight were still alone.

“It doesn’t have to be a secret, you know,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. She trotted back to the counter, her heavy belly swaying slightly beneath her. “You’re his father, after all. The public will accept you.”
“Nah, I don’t want that kind of attention, Twi,” Joe shrugged while keeping his voice low. “I’m fine enough livin’ my life in peace and quiet without everybody knowing I fathered the heir of the kingdom.” He snorted and glanced around the diner. “Can you imagine how busy this place would get if people knew that?”
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? More business?” Twilight cocked her head to the side.
“Sure, but not for the right reasons,” Joe said, shaking his head. “I get good business already and I know it’s because I make good food, not because I’m famous. I wanna keep it that way.”

“You have integrity,” Twilight smiled. “It’s how I know you’ll be a good father.”
“I’ll do my best,” Joe answered quietly, and it was his turn to blush. There was a comfortable silence between the two soon-to-be parents before Joe said, “Hey Twi…why me?”
“Why you?” Twilight repeated, puzzled. “Why not?”
“’Cause there’s about a hundred other stallions up there in Canterlot with the right manners and pedigree and…and...and whatever they got that makes ‘em high-born.”
“Joe, please,” Twilight scoffed, rolling her eyes. “’High-born’ and ‘low-born’ are outdated social constructs and remnants of an outdated aristocracy that hasn’t been in power for centuries.”
“Doesn’t mean ponies don’t still believe in it,” Joe said, darkly. “My point is that I ain’t like them. I’m just a stallion with a donut shop. Why’d you pick me to give you an heir?”

“Because it’s just like you said,” Twilight smiled. “There’s a hundred other stallions up in Canterlot…but only one Pony Joe. Only one stallion that’s known me for so many years, helped pick me up when I was so low I couldn’t keep going on, and has been my friend through everything. Why wouldn’t I want to have your foal?” She paused, then added quickly, “Also having an heir from a working-class father would help endear her to a population that’s increasingly growing disillusioned with the distance between the rulers and the subjects.”
“There we go,” Joe chuckled. “That’s the Twilight I know.”
“There’s more than one reason for it!” Twilight shouted defensively, slamming her hoof on the counter. “I also did it because I think you’d make a good father, okay?”

“I dunno what a baker is gonna teach a prince,” Joe said, “but he’s my little boy. I’ll do my best.”
“Good,” Twilight nodded. “Obviously, you’re welcome to the castle at any time.”
“If I can get the time off,” Joe said as he glanced to the packed display case of donuts and pastries. “Lots to do around here.”
“I’ll say,” Twilight agreed. “I think you’re a little overstocked, actually.”
“For a party of six pregnant mares?” Joe chuckled. “I’m not even close.”

As if on cue, the bell near the ceiling chimed as the door beneath it was pushed open. An orange mare in an ever-present hat cantered leisurely inside, glancing around curiously. Applejack stepped to the side and held the door open with a hoof, then waved to the two at the counter.
“Evenin’, Twi!” she shouted her her strong accent. “Evenin’, Joe!”
“You made it!” Twilight cried happily to see her friend. “Hey, where’s-”
“Give her a second,” Applejack interrupted, tapping her free hoof on the floor. A few seconds later, a light-blue shape descended from the sky and wobbled awkwardly to the ground before stumbling inside from the inertia.
“You don’t always hafta hold the door for me, yknow,” Rainbow Dash protested to Applejack as the latter leisurely pushed the door shut.

“It’s called bein’ polite, Dash,” AJ responded with a raise eyebrow.
“I can still do it myself,” the pegasus huffed. As the neared each other, the two mares pecked one another affectionately on the cheek. The two of them seemed to fight and argue even more after becoming a couple, but it was more of a hobby and way to pass the time than anything serious. They both loved a challenge, after all.
“Yo!” Dash shouted as she and AJ maneuvered around the tables and approached the counter. As they stepped up to the counter, their shared, pregnant middles became obvious. Dash and AJ were nearly identically pregnant, just as far along as Twilight, though not quite as large.

“Sorry we didn’t get here sooner,” Dash panted as she stood next to Twilight at the counter. “Wind was fightin’ against me. You know how it is.” She grinned and moved to bump the side of her gravid belly against Twi’s affectionately. “How’s the little prince you got cookin’ up?”
“Careful, Rainbow!” Applejack scolded her as she sauntered up to the counter. “Don’t go shakin’ up your foal before they’re even born.”
“Aw c’mon, he’s fine,” Dash snorted, rolling her eyes and tapping a hoof against her belly. “If yours can handle you bucking apple trees all day long, I think mine can survive a bumpy ride sometimes.”
“But I don’t got a choice, do I?” AJ huffed, shifting her weight on her hooves. “I ain’t got the luxury of having no kinda maternity leave when there’s so much work to be done.”

“That’s always her excuse,” Dash smirked to Twilight. She backed away from the bar and trotted to Applejack, then bent and nuzzled her face against the orange mare’s round belly. “She’s gonna put you to work the minute you come outta there, kiddo. Rest while ya can, and make sure to give her a few kicks while you’re in there.” Dash jumped as the foal in AJ’s belly kicked out right next to her face, then glanced back as her own foal began to kick and move.
“I like ta think they’re just practicin’,” AJ smiled. “They’re Apple family, after all. We got a job to do.”

“Hey, I’m Apple family now too, aren’t I?” Dash said, stepping up to Applejack’s face and nuzzling her neck while their equally pregnant bellies pressed together, the two siblings kicking and prodding one another. “That’s what the priest said, at least…”
Twilight smiled at the two of them, happy that they’d finally become more than just friends. She was evidently clueless to their years of flirting and just thought it was, well, fighting. But now that they were together, Twilight couldn’t imagine a more strangely perfect couple.
“Evenin’, ladies,” Joe smiled as he sauntered up to the counter, carrying a steaming tray of crullers with magic.

“’Sup, PJ,” Dash chirped, hopping up to the counter with her boundless energy. “How’s the donut business treatin’ ya?”
“Can’t complain,” Joe chuckled as he spread out the donuts on the counter to better let them cool. “Well…I could complain, but I won’t.”
“I feel ya,” Dash nodded. She smirked and glanced down at Twilight’s bulging sides, then asked Joe, “Excited to be a dad yet?”

Joe paused, glanced curiously at Dash, then at Twilight with a frown.
“I thought it was supposed to be a secret.”
“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight groaned as she buried her face against the counter.
“What?” Dash blinked, glancing around at her friend’s faces. “What? Joe’s the dad, right?”
“Yes…” Twilight muttered. “But you weren’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“I didn’t! I just figured everybody here already knew already.”

“They did, but you…uugh…” Twilight sat up from the bar and caught Joe’s disapproving gaze. She blinked, then gave him a guilty smile. “Hehe…I uhh…I had to tell my friends, right?”
“Why’d you want it to be a secret anyway, dude?” Dash asked, fluttering her wings as she shrugged. “I thought you might wanna put a sign out front that says ‘Pony Joe’s, Home of the Stallion That Boned The Pri-’”
Before she could finish, Applejack shouldered her way between Dash and Twilight, then covered her wife’s mouth with a hoof.
“Rainbow. Sugarcube. Listen.” AJ picked up one of the crullers from the counter and delicately pushed it into Dash’s mouth. “Chew on this donut b’fore you say somethin’ rude.” Dash wanted to complain, but found herself inadvertently munching on the cruller in her mouth and became distracted by the taste as she wandered off.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” AJ said to Joe. “Dash has a bit of ‘baby brain’ goin’ on right now. Makes her say stuff before she thinks about it.”
“No offense taken,” Joe nodded before glancing at Twilight again and raising an eyebrow. “I know how some people can do that.” Twilight folded her ears back and glanced away.
“Now hold on, Joe. That ain’t fair,” Applejack interjected. “You got a right to keep your secrets, but it’s Twi’s foal she’s carryin’, too. She’s happy to be havin’ your baby and was too excited to keep it to herself. You can’t expect her to keep such a big secret from her friends, can you?”

Joe blinked at AJ, then turned to Twilight after thinking for a moment.
“They won’t tell anyone else, will they?”
“I promise,” Twilight shook her head. “I trust my friends more than anyone.”
“She practically begged us not to say nothin’,” Applejack nodded.
“Well…alright, then.” Joe sighed with a smile. “As long as it’s just them.”
“Of course, Joe.”

“Though yknow…” Applejack said in a low voice as she tapped a hoof on the counter. “My friend Twilight here’s a princess now, so I reckon when it comes down to it, she don’t have to do anything for ya.”
“AJ, no,” Twilight said, trying to pull Applejack away from the counter with magic.
“Fact of the matter is that she’s daggum royalty and you don’t get to tell her what ta do.”
“Applejack, you’re being aggressive again,” Twilight said. AJ effortlessly broke out of the princess’ magic, and leaned as far across the counter as her belly would allow.
“And I reckon if she don’t like your tone, she could have you shut down faster than a chicken coop in a thunderstorm.”
Pony Joe swallowed, finding himself more afraid of a small, pregnant mare than he ever thought he could be.
“I would never!” Twilight cried out. With her magic, she poofed a rope into the air and lassoed Applejack around her collarbone before it magically dragged her back across the floor.

“Sorry Joe. Applejack’s hormones can make her feel a little…um…protective.”
Joe blinked before nodding wordlessly to Twilight.
“We’ll uh…we’ll just be over here…heheheh…” Twilight swallowed before turning on her hoof and trotting back to the table Dash and Applejack were settled in.
“Did I go too far again?” AJ asked, tapping her chin.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Twilight smiled.
“Did Applejack get mad again?” Dash chuckled. It used to be that Rainbow Dash was the hothead with AJ being the calm and reasonable one, but their shared pregnancies had seemed to flip their personalities somewhat.
“I got a temper sometimes…I just hope it don’t come out against the babies…” AJ sighed as she gazed thoughtfully at her pregnant middle.

“Aw c’mon, you know that’s not gonna happen,” Dash said, leaning over and pecking Applejack on the cheek while rubbing her foal-heavy middle. “You’re gonna be the best mom. Everybody else already knows that.”
“I don’t know about that…” AJ smiled bashfully, giggling against Dash’s kisses and the attention to her belly. “I’ll do my best, I reckon.”
The door to the shop dinged open, drawing the attention of every pony in the room, but the doorway remained empty. Twilight and her friends glanced at one another in confusion before looking back. A layer of mist (possibly from a bucket of dry ice) began to billow inside and across the floor. Dash stared at it warily before flapping her wings and hovering a few feet above the ground as it approached.

Through the doorway stepped what looked like a mismatched griffon covered in feathers of every color and a velvet cape over its back. It stood in the doorway for a moment before casting off the cape and revealing a garment of thin, partially see-through fabric that shimmered like a sunset over the ocean. It strutted inside with the click of polished hooves and pushed the door shut behind it before posing elegantly in the middle of the shop, wearing a wide-brimmed hat that covered its face.

“Hey there, Rarity!” Applejack shouted, waving excitedly.
Rarity paused, then sighed as her shoulders drooped in disappointment.
“Honestly, if I’m making an entrance, the least one could do is let me finish it.”
“Oh, sorry!” AJ paused, then added. “You wanna do it again?”
“No no, it’s fine. The moment has passed.” Rarity’s curly tail fanned away the mist and she tossed her hat to a nearby table before going back to pick up her discarded cape and carrying it over her. Beneath the rich fabric of the dress she wore were the white, rounded sides of her own pregnant middle.

“I thought it was pretty neat,” Twilight said as Rarity sat on her right.
“It should be more than neat. It should take your breath away!” Rarity tossed her hair back elegantly, then sighed. “Though perhaps being with child has dulled my coordination, somewhat. I’ll need to work on that.”
“I mean, it was real fancy, but I don’t know what you were goin’ for,” Applejack said as she scratched her head below her hat.
“It’s couture, darling. Spontaneous performances of art are very stylish this season. They add a sense of beauty to scenes of the mundane. Bringing art into every-day spaces, you see.”
“Is this like that guy that covers himself in paint and rolls around on the ground?” Dash asked. “’Cause I saw him on the way over here.”
“Ohhh, that’s Nouveau Riche. Up and coming new artist. Some of his pieces have sold for around 100,000 bits at some auctions.”
“That much money?” Dash grimaced. “For rolling around on a piece of canvas?”

“It’s a conceptual representation of how much of themselves the artist puts into their work!” Rarity paused, glancing around the room suspiciously to make sure they were alone. “Frankly, I can’t stand his work. It looks like something my little sister made in her ‘Painter’ phase, once. But I like the spirit of the work. Bringing art into the public, embracing the spectacle. It seems a perfect marriage with fashion. Imagine you go out for brunch, with little expectation of anything exciting, and suddenly, a runway appears in the middle of the street, and- Oof!”
Rarity’s train of thought was derailed by a kick from her foal. She glanced down at her belly beneath her dress and patted just above where the baby had kicked.

“Easy in there, you could tear the fabric…” she cooed to her unborn baby.
“I think that stuff’s a little over our heads, Rarity,” Twilight said.
“Well, modern art isn’t for everyone, I suppose,” Rarity sighed, gently stroking a hoof against her belly.
“What have been up to? Seems like it’s been ages since we last saw ya,”Applejack added. “At least, we was a few pounds lighter back then,” she chuckled while resting a leg on her belly.
“Oh you know, this and that,” Rarity said, tossing her head elegantly to shake a lock of hair out of her face. “Getting ready for the baby, of course. Expanding my wardrobe.”

“I think your clothes aren’t the only thing that’s expanding,” Dash chuckled.
“You aren’t exactly carrying very light either, Rainbow,” Rarity snapped.
“Got me there!” Dash snickered. “Little guy’s gettin’ so big I can’t get off the ground sometimes.”
The other three ponies hesitated, glancing at one another quietly. It wasn’t the kind of response they expected to hear from Dash of all ponies.

“I love your dress!” Twilight said to Rarity, changing the subject. “Is this one of yours? Did you make this?”
“Of course, darling! I wouldn’t be caught dead in what passes for maternity wear these days,” Rarity said proudly. She stood and backed away from the table, turning in place to show off her clothing. She then struck a number of poses that seemed to show off both the rich fabric and the healthy swell of her pregnant body.
“You can see through it,” Dash remarked, cocking her head to the side as she tried to wrap her head around the appeal of the dress.
“That’s by design, of course,” Rarity said, smoothing the fabric against her belly. “Maternity designs are usually so bland and stale that I thought it striking to add a bit of sensuality back to the style. It reminds the viewer ‘This foal didn’t get there by themselves, did they?’” She flashed a sultry wink and a practiced grin before turning as if on a catwalk. She then stumbled slightly and bumped into a nearby table.

“Rarity?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“I’m alright, darling,” Rarity said, wincing as she rubbed her shoulder. “I suppose I’m not as coordinated as I once was.”
“Well, you got about eight-pounds worth of baby in yer belly throwin’ you off, sugarcube,” AJ chuckled.
“Even if I don’t feel very elegant,” Rarity sighed as she settled down at the table again, “I can at least look the part.”
“I like that,” Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe we’ll get some designs from you before our foals our born.”
“Better hurry,” Dash teased. “From the looks of us, we don’t have much time left.”
“Oh I’m sure I could whip something up,” Rarity said. “I already know what all of you like, after all. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“I don’t need nothin’,” AJ shrugged. “Ain’t like I’m gonna wear nothin’ fancy out on the farm, am I?”

“Applejack! Don’t tell me you’re still working!” Rarity gasped. “As far along as you are?”
“That’s what I’m telling her!” Dash said as she rolled her eyes.
“Ain’t got no reason to stop,” AJ shrugged. “There’s still work ta be done.”
“Then call your brother to cover for you! He’s not doing anything!”
“I can’t pull him away from his wife! She’s ‘bout to have her own foal any day now.”
“Dude! So are we!” Dash shouted, flapping her wings indignantly.

“No we ain’t, we still got a few months,” AJ responded. “’Sides, I’m an Earth Pony. We’re made for hard work, no matter if we got a bun in the oven.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible,” Dash groaned.

“Speaking of Earth Ponies,” Twilight asked. “Did you run into Pinkie Pie on your way up from town, Rarity?”
“No, but I’ve been here since this morning,” Rarity said, gesturing to her dress again. “The best way to advertise is to be seen.”
“I figure it’s hard to look away from a belly like that,” Dash teased again.
“That’s what I thought!” Rarity said excitedly. “If I’m going to be the size of a whale, I might as well use it to my advantage!”
“Pinkie should be here by now,” Twilight said, checking the clock above the counter. “I hope nothing happened…”
“I don’t think any of us are movin’ too fast these days,” Applejack said, patting her middle. “Give her some time.”
“But who’d think she’d be late for a party. At a donut shop!”
“YOU’RE RIGHT! I’M NOT!”

The mares around the table all jumped in unison and glanced in different directions for the source of Pinkie’s voice, as she was just as likely to come out of any given door (or window) as she was the front door. A hard thunk drew their attention to the front of Joe’s shop, where a large cart was being awkwardly pushed through the doorway. Its wheels squeaked and rattled under the weight of all the gift boxes, party favors, decorations, and the rest of the pony’s paper craft arsenal of party-planning. Once the cart was all the way inside, the door swung shut behind it and Pinkie Pie herself stood on her back legs to poke her head above the mountain of party supplies with her wild, curly mane and ever-present grin on her face.

“Now we can let the baby-party start FOR REAL!” Pinkie shouted.
“Did you push that all the way up from Ponyville by yourself?” Twilight gasped. The foal in her belly stirred, as if he was just as shocked.
“Uh, duh!” Pinkie giggled as she walked the cart away from the door. “I can’t go anywhere without my party wagon!” She turned and kicked the side of the car with one leg, dislodging a huge number of already-filled balloons to spill out of a bag and scatter across the ceiling.
“You shouldn’t have walked that far, darling!” Rarity said, concerned. “It’s bad to put that kind of strain on your body!”
“Aw c’mon, Rarity! I’m not even tired!” Pinkie protested as she leaned over the edge of the cart and began throwing streamers and tinsel onto every table within reach. Between her legs, her own baby belly hung low and heavy and swayed a little as she moved, but it didn’t seem to bother her much.

“I guess Earth Ponies really do take to pregnancy well,” Rarity remarked to Twilight, who nodded while the rest of them watched her bury her head into the cart.
“Here it is!” she squealed before pulling out a plastic bag of party hats and tossing them effortlessly across the room and into the middle of the table the rest of her friends sat around. Pinkie Pie finally turned away from the cart and pranced across the room with a smug grin on her face. Her soft, pudgy body jiggled slightly with the extra weight the pregnancy had given her, which she herself was often the first to laugh at. She couldn’t help but trot with a slight waddle as her round belly bounced with her hoofsteps, but it didn’t stop her.
“Well, I’m at least glad you made it in once piece, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed. “Walkin’ all the way up here with a foal in tow ain’t no joke.”

“It isn’t?” Pinkie blinked. “Then why was I laughing so much?”
“’Cause that’s what you do,” Dash remarked. Pinkie began to respond, but burst into a fit of giggles behind her smile and glanced down at her middle.
“I just can’t help it! I can’t stop smiling whenever she gets all wiggly in my belly!” Pinkie poked the side of her round middle with her hoof, as if prodding the foal back from the outside. Twilight craned her neck over the table and was able to see a few bumps and kicks from inside the mare’s neon-pink baby belly.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it, at least,” Rarity sighed. “I just wish I could get my little one to stop once in a while.”
“I like ta think she’s practicin’ for apple-buckin’ on the farm,” AJ smirked. “She’s a strong kicker, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah! She almost took my eye out one time!” Dash said, proudly glancing down at her daughter contained inside Applejack’s belly.
“My little guy’s always been pretty well-behaved,” Twilight said, stroking her belly. “He kicks sometimes, but it isn’t anything too hard.”
“I think that’s a good sign,” Rarity nodded. “He’ll be on your throne one day, after all. Good to know he at least treats his mother well.”
“My foal goes all kung-fu once in a while,” Dash said. “I don’t like it, but at least I know he’s getting strong in there.”
“Pinkie Pie, what are these?” Applejack asked while gesturing to the bag of party hats in the middle of the table.
Pinkie, in response, babbled something very fast and very loud that none of them could understand, then tore open the bag with her teeth and scattered them over the table, where they turned out to be separated into pinks and blues. Pinkie divided up the hats, then slid them across the table to each of her friends.

“Colt!” Pinkie said as she slid a blue hat over to Twilight. “Colt!” She said again as she pushed another to Rainbow Dash. “Filly!” she said as she handed a pink hat to Applejack. “Colt!” she said while handing another blue hat to Rarity. “Aaaaaand…filly!” Pinkie picked up a pink hat and, instead of putting it on her head, stretched the elastic band as far as it could go and pinned the hat atop her rounded middle.
“That’s so thoughtful of you!” Twilight smiled as she glanced at the hat while comparing it thoughtfully to the little colt growing inside her.
“I’m surprised you remembered who’s having what,” Dash said, putting the hat on her head where it poked out from her rainbow-colored mane. “Sometimes I forget if I’m having the boy or the girl.”
“That’s kind of a big deal, Rainbow,” AJ frowned. Dash shrugged and fluttered her wings.
“Eh, whatever. I’ll remember better once they’re born.”

“Gender is an illusion and a social construct, anyway,” Pinkie Pie said off-handedly. The others blinked at one of each other in surprise. They waited to see if she would say more, but the next time she opened her mouth she shouted, “So where are the donuts!?”
“We’re waiting on everyone to get here, Pinkie,” Twilight explained.
“Everyone is here!” Pinkie shouted, more forcefully as she slammed her hooves on the table. Twilight blinked and before her eyes, Pinkie’s hair had flopped over her face in a ghoulish shadow and her teeth were bared furiously. “BABY NEEDS DONUTS!” She roared in a voice that sounded completely unlike her own.

“But what about Fluttershy?” Twilight asked while Rarity quietly shuffled away from Pinkie Pie. “We can’t start without her, can we?”
“Oh!” Pinkie blinked, her voice returning to normal as she stared around the room. “I thought she was already here! She left before I did.”
“Well, she’s a bit more slow-moving than the rest of us are,” Rarity said. “Give her some extra time.”

“I was here first,” Dash said, smugly.
“No you weren’t, Twilight was,” AJ countered.
“Yeah, but she left early. If we left at the same time, I woulda got here first.”
“It wasn’t a race, Rainbow.”
“Yeah, but if it was I woulda won.”

Applejack sighed and rolled her eyes while Dash snickered beside her.
“I swear, you’d be competitive ‘bout which one of us has their foal first, too,” AJ said.
“Oh, I am,” Rainbow Dash said. She sat up at the table, her belly pressing against the edge, and tossed a pouch of coins to Pinkie Pie. “I got five more bits on my kid being first.”
“Okie dokie!” Pinkie giggled as she took a notepad from nowhere and marked an extra check next to Dash’s name.
“Wait, you two are betting on us?” Twilight gasped.
“Just me,” Dash said. “Pinkie’s the one running it.”
“So far, Applejack is in first place!” Pinkie said, reading off the list.
“M-Me?” AJ blinked. “They think I’m gonna have my foal first?”
“Yep! I guess everybody thinks you’re gonna work yourself into an early labor.”
“Wait wait wait,” Twilight interrupted, rubbing her forehead. “Who’s ‘everybody?’”

“Just a few ponies,” Pinkie said, reading down a list on the second page of her notebook. “The Cakes, Mayor Mare, Big Mac, Lyra, about half the Wonderbolts, Discord, Rainbow Dash, BonBon, Cherilee, Celestia and Luna…” Pinkie paused as she flipped the page to reveal dozens of other names written on the back.
“The Princesses?” Twilight gasped, her eyes widening.
“Mm-hm!” Pinkie glanced around, then leaned across the table and whispered, “They’re both betting on you.”
“This…seems very unethical,” Twilight said, tapping her chin.
“How much is the buy-in?” Rarity quietly asked Pinkie Pie when no one was looking.

“Uhmm…Hello?” said a small voice from the doorway. “Am I too late?”
The ponies around the table stopped bickering and all simultaneously turned to look up at the door. Standing on the threshold was Fluttershy, self-consciously shuffling her hooves on the dust mat to not track in any dirt while half her mane had fallen over her face. She smiled at her friends and winced as she waddled inside, the sides of her belly brushing the doorway. She was enormously pregnant, far more than the others, and seemed to have the most difficulty walking. Though usually nimble and light, she’d been having a hard time in the past months getting off the ground, so her wings were mostly used as a balance. Her belly bulged out to the sides, twitching every so often with tension and the stirring from inside.

“You made it!” Twilight exclaimed, sighing in relief. With her size, they couldn’t help but worry the most about Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry I’m so late,” She said while awkwardly waddling over to the table. “I thought leaving early would help, but…”
“Don’t worry yourself, sugarcube,” Applejack grinned while touching a hoof gently to Fluttershy’s heavy middle. “We’re just happy y’all made it safe.”

“I did need to stop and rest on the way, but I’m happy you didn’t start the party without me.” Fluttershy paused, then quickly added, “N-Not that I would’ve minded, of course. You didn’t need to wait on me, it’s okay.”
“C’mon, we wouldn’t do that,” Applejack said.
“I would have,” Pinkie said. “But that’s only because the baby’s giving me cravings.”
“That would have been fine,” Fluttershy giggled. “I know what cravings are like.”

“Oh oh oh! Hang on!” Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped while reaching across the table and scrambling for the bag of party hats. She couldn’t reach past her round belly pressing into the table, so Twilight used her magic to push them into her reach. Pinkie divided up the hats again and slid a blue one to Fluttershy. “Colt…” Then, after a moments pause, she slid a pink one next to it. “...AND filly!”
The heavily pregnant pegasus giggled as Pinkie helped strap both hats on her head, side-by-side, to represent the twins side-by-side in her belly.

“How are you feeling?” Rarity asked. “I can barely handle carrying one foal. I can’t imagine how two are treating you.”
“Oh, they’re not too much trouble,” Fluttershy said, turning to look down at her rounded middle. “The boy is a little more active than the girl, but they’re both very calm.” She paused, as if in thought, then added, “Well…they do tend to get a little excited when I try to go to bed.”
“I think that’s just a fact of life for havin’ a foal,” Applejack sighed. “But havin’ a pair in there with ya probably don’t make it easier.”
“Really, I’m fine. It’s nice of you to be so worried about me, but I’m taking good care of myself and the twins.”

“You’re almost as big as Mrs. Cake was!” Pinkie said excitedly. “And she was huuuuuuuuuuuuuu-”
“You don’t have to rub it in, Pinkie,” Twilight said under Pinkie’s shouting.
“-uuuuuuuuuuge before she had her twins!”

“I don’t mind being…um…big,” Fluttershy said, blushing slightly. “As long as the babies are healthy.”
“Good afternoon, ladies,” said Joe in his deep voice as he approached the table. A glowing tray of hot, freshly glazed donuts floated down in the middle of the table. “I figured you all might need a bit of an appetizer.”
“That’s mighty kind of ya, Joe,” Applejack said, tipping her hat. “I think all of us were startin’ to-”
“DONUTS!” Pinkie Pie roared as she dragged the plate across the table and plunged her head into the stack of pastries, with nothing but her curly mane and wiggling ears visible.

“I guess those pregnancy cravings can really get to ya,” Joe laughed.
“No, I’m afraid Pinkie is just…like that,” Rarity said, watching with a hungry look on her face.
“Hey! Don’t hog ‘em all!” Dash shouted as she flapped her wings and rose above the table, wobbling uneasily from the weight of her hanging belly. She snatched a donut from the top of the pile and dropped back down into her seat with a heavy thud. “We’re all eatin’ for two, here!”
“Or three,” Applejack added with a friendly wink to Fluttershy.

“Thorry!” Pinkie Pie shuffled and backed away from the plate of donuts, half of them falling off and rolling across the table. She held three different-colored donuts in her mouth, all stacked high in the middle of her jaw. Pinkie scrunched up her face in concentration while the rest of the ponies around the table watched her with concern. With a huge, jaw-shattering bite, she clamped down on all three pastries and swallowed them simultaneously. Pinkie smacked her lips in satisfaction and leaned back slightly, her round, pink belly moving slightly with the kicking from the foal she carried. “The baby makes me go crazy for donuts sometimes!”
“Sometimes?” Twilight snorted. Her laughter was broken by the foal in her belly turning over and kicking impatiently, as if he could smell the food just barely out of reach. “Nnf…I think your baby is getting excited to try his dad’s baking,” Twilight smiled up at Joe, who blushed back self-consciously.

“I can take orders if you ladies want anything specific,” Joe said, clearing his throat and pulling a notepad out of his apron pocket with magic.
“Oh, whatever it is, I want it cream-filled,” Dash said excitedly. She stroked her belly, then added to Applejack quietly, “Just like we were about eleven months ago, right?”
“Rainbow,” Applejack snapped back, but she couldn’t hide the slight smile on her face caused by Dash’s dirty joke.
“Oh, and she’ll have a plate of apple fritters,” Dash said to Joe while gesturing to her wife.
“How do you know that’s what I want?” AJ frowned.
“‘Cause that’s what you always want,” Dash teased.
“Well maybe I wanna think about it and order somethin’ different!”
“Okay then,” Dash shrugged. She turned back to Joe, then said, “Nevermind, she wants the lemon-”

“NO!” Applejack spluttered, jamming a hoof in Dash’s mouth. “I’ll eat dirt b’fore I eat lemons.” AJ glanced around the table, realizing everypony was watching them curiously. She blushed and, then said, “I’ll uh…apple fritters would be great, now that ya mention it…”
“Got it,” Joe nodded while scribbling on the notepad. He looked up at Twilight with a knowing smile and said, “Your regular craving snack, your highness?”

“I’d love that, thank you,” Twilight smiled, stroking her belly.
“What’s your regular?” Fluttershy asked.
“Key-lime pie with a side of maple syrup to dip it in,” Twilight said. Every other pony she’d told that to made a face of confusion and disgust, but her heavily pregnant friends around the table all paused to lick their lips hungrily while picturing the snack in their minds.

“You wouldn’t have anything in the way of sorbet, would you?” Rarity asked.
“Not really,” Joe shook his head.
“Hmm…” Rarity frowned in thought as she tapped her belly absentmindedly. “Then how about vol-au-vent or crème brulee?”
“Rarity, I don’t think this is the kind of place that-” Twilight began to say.
“Alright, one crème brulee,” Joe interrupted from over her shoulder. “Side of fruit?”
“Please,” Rarity nodded with a smug expression. “That would be delightful.”
Twilight glanced up with a puzzled expression.
“We got a lot of international customers,” Joe shrugged.

“My turn?” Pinkie squeaked, sitting up in her seat and swishing her tail excitedly behind her. “Ooohhh, my turn!” She buried her face in the plate of donuts again before pulling out a dark, chocolate pastry covered in a dark-red icing and filled with an off-white cream. “What is this?”
“Oh, that’s one of our special-”
“I want five!” Pinkie Pie beamed excitedly while taking a bite out of the one in front of her.
“Um...Okay,” Joe said while jotting down the order.
“Ain’t that a little much?” Applejack asked. Pinkie Pie glanced up at her, then her eyes suddenly dimmed and her body slumped over as a dejected frown fell over her face.
“I’m already as fat as an elephant already, so why not?” Pinkie sighed dejectedly. “I’m so big they should change my name to ‘Pudgy Pie.’”

“W-Wait, Pinkie I didn’t mean it like that,” Applejack stammered. “You’re carryin’ a foal, you gotta eat a lot to make sure-”
“‘Pudgy Pie,’” Pinkie repeated to herself before giggling at her own words and glancing up with a bright look in her eye and a creeping smile on her lips.
“Oh, she’s fine now,” Fluttershy said. The rest of them were well-used to Pinkie’s hormone-induced mood swings. The twin-laden pegasus glanced around the table, then shuffled anxiously as she noticed the eyes on her. “O-Oh, is it my turn? W-well…um…I don’t really know…Could I see a menu?”

Joe dutifully slid a menu across the table to Fluttershy, who stared down at it with one hoof in her mouth. The diner was silent for a few minutes as she read carefully over the menu from top to bottom. She made a quiet ‘Oh!’ that sounded like she might have come to a decision, but it was just from the movement of her twins. Applejack and Dash glanced at one another. Pinkie quietly chewed on one of the sample donuts. Rarity busied herself by checking to make sure the fabric of her maternity dress wasn’t too wrinkled.
“W-well…” Fluttershy said, biting her lip. “I think…I think just the regular glazed sounds pretty good.”
“Sounds good,” Joe said, taking the menu back. “One order of reg-”
“NO!” Fluttershy suddenly screamed while slamming her hoof on the floor, making her friends and the foals in their bellies all jump in unison. “Bavarian cream. Sprinkles. Dipped in chocolate. Twice.” She paused, then blinked up at Joe bashfully. “…Please.”
“I’ll uh…I’ll need a minute on that one,” Joe nodded. He smiled at the soon-to-be mothers and trotted off back to the counter to work on their orders.

“So…” Twilight said. “Any ideas on names?”
“Nope,” Dash and Applejack said in unison.
“Not really…” Fluttershy said, glancing down at her heavy middle. “And it doesn’t help that I need to think of two…”
“Me either,” Twilight sighed. “I need to think of something that would sound good with ‘Prince’ or ‘King’ in front of it, too.” She looked down at the purple swell of her belly. “I almost wish I could ask him.”
“By the time you could, it’d be a little too late,” Applejack said.
“True…” Twilight sighed. “I think Rarity’s the only one of us to have a name already.”
“I was thinking of names the moment he was conceived, darling,” Rarity said with a swish of her hair.
“I’m sure that’s not all you were thinking about,” Dash snickered to Applejack.

“As soon as I knew the gender, I knew I’d name him ‘Regent.’” Rarity beamed proudly down at her belly. “I can’t imagine a more perfect moniker for as immaculate and perfect a child as-
“I thought of a name!” Pinkie Pie interrupted with a snicker. “I wanna name my baby ‘Stinkie Pie!’” She broke into a fit of laughter and rubbed her round belly.
“I uhh…I think you might wanna go back to the drawin’ board on that one,” Applejack said.
“Why?” Pinkie asked. “She’ll wanna laugh every time somebody says her name! She’ll love it!”
“Please don’t call your daughter ‘Stinkie Pie,’” Twilight pleaded. Pinkie sighed and rolled her eyes.
“Fine.”

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Fluttershy said quietly. She paused and blinked in slight bewilderment, as if surprised the rest of them were listening to her talk. “O-Oh, I’m sorry. I changed the subject. Well, I’ve just…it’s been on my mind for some time but…it’s sort of strange, isn’t it? That all of us would end up…you know, having foals together? At the same time?”

“It’s pretty lucky, I guess,” Dash nodded. “This would suck if I had to do it by myself.”
“But, well, what if it’s more than luck?” Fluttershy said, looking down a the table while lost in thought. She lowered her wings and wrapped them as much around her belly as she could. “We didn’t plan this or anything, but the six of us all being pregnant at the same time? It seems a little…more than just coincidence.”
“I guess we’re all in a time in our lives when we can have foals of our own,” Twilight said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “But even so…it is a stretch to call it just luck.”

“I mean, me and AJ were plannin’ on having kids together since we got hitched, yknow?” Rainbow Dash said.
“And I’ve been planning with the donor for ages,” Rarity said. “This foal is far from just a stroke of luck.”
“Mine was an accident!” Pinkie giggled. “A good accident, though.”

“But all of us being pregnant at the same time…maybe even conceiving at the same time. It just seems like…” Twilight paused as the thought blinked into her mind, then smiled as she understood.
“...Harmony.”

The word put a stop to the conversation as the six ponies thought it over, then smiled one-by-one at each other. It seemed to fit, in so many more ways than one. The conversation resumed a short while later, the pregnant friends all happily discussing their soon-to-be lives of motherhood and the exciting lives their foals would lead.