Discord rolled his eyes. "Why do you always insist on going the *long* way? Did you forget you can teleport?"
    "No, I–"
    Before she could offer her explanation, Discord snapped his digits and they were suddenly standing outside Fluttershy's cottage.
    "If you're taking a shortcut, why not just teleport into the cottage directly?" Twilight asked.
    Discord knocked on the front door with a paw. "Manners, Twilight. Fluttershy asked me not to pop into her cottage without warning, since she's so easily startled. Oh, and she said something about her 'privacy'…"
    "J–Just a second!" Fluttershy's voice called out. The door audibly unlocked and opened a crack, Fluttershy's face peeking out. "O–Oh, it's you. Come in." She undid the chain holding the door shut and opened the door. "Hurry inside so I can shut the door." She waved them in.
    Rarity, Discord, and Twilight Sparkle stepped into the cottage, and Fluttershy quickly shut the door behind them, locking it and rebooking the chain.
    "Is everything alright, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "You seem pretty… on edge."
    Fluttershy nodded and led them across the room to her sofa, where her three guests sat. "Oh, no, I'm… fine. The chain is just a… a precaution."
    Twilight tilted her head. "A precaution? Against what?"
    Fluttershy sighed and sat in a nearby chair, which she scooted across the rug, closer to the sofa. "Well, it's not just mating season in Ponyville…" She blushed. "A lot of animals in the Everfree Forest are going into heat too, and living this close to the Forest…" She cleared her throat. "Better safe than sorry."
    Her friends had expressions that revealed that they didn't quite follow.
    "Specifically, I'm worried about the timberwolves. If one of them strays too far from the Forest, it might see me as a good place to plant it's seed…"
    Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Plant its seed? Do you mean…"
    "I mean an actual seed, Twilight, somewhere between the size of an acorn and a large grape. Timberwolves are hermaphroditic, and once they're pollinated, they seek out a warm, wet place for the embryo to grow." She shuddered. "It'd put out roots to dig into my flesh and draw out nutrients, and grow there for several years."
    Twilight's eyes went wide, and Rarity looked like she was about to be sick. "Several years. Couldn't you just have it removed?" Rarity's ears perked up.
    Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no-no-no-no-no, I could never do that! With enough antibiotics and painkillers, I could get through it, and I just wouldn't have it in me to kill a timberwolf pup… or a litter, if a whole pack found me…"
    "Why, that's very noble of you, Fluttershy!" Discord complimented.
    Fluttershy smiled weakly. "Th–Thanks, but it's really nothing. Besides, I've managed to keep away from them every year since I moved here, so it'll probably never come up."
    Twilight nodded. "Are you sure that you don't just want to move somewhere safer until the season's over?"
    "What about my animals? I can't just leave them alone all season…"
    "I'm sure we could find somepony to watch them for you. A stallion, maybe?"
    Fluttershy shook her head. "A timberwolf wouldn't differentiate between a mare and a stallion. The only difference is a stallion probably wouldn't survive."
    Rarity cleared her throat. "That sounds awful, and I really hate to be rude, but we didn't come here to chitchat. We have to talk."
    Twilight blushed. "Oh, yes, of course. Fluttershy, it's about Discord. He's gotten into some… trouble."
    Rarity sighed. "He impregnated me. In my sleep." She was losing her patience for beating around the bush.
    Fluttershy frowned and looked at Discord disapprovingly. "Is this true?"
    Discord nodded.
    She turned her head to Rarity. "By magic, or…?"
    Rarity shook her head. "He mated with me."
    Fluttershy winced. "Did you tell him he could do that?"
    Rarity shook her head again. "No, he says did it because he thought it'd be 'funny'."
    "Discord!" Fluttershy scolded. "You can't do that! You need to ask for permiss–"
    "Yes, yes, so I've been told. I know."
    "Then why did…?"
    "I know *now*! Nopony told me there were rules for sex!" he protested.
    Fluttershy's ears flattened to her head. "This is all my fault…"
    "Don't be ridiculous!" Rarity protested. "He's Discord; you can't hold yourself responsible for what he does!"
    "But I can, and I should! Discord has been learning what it means to be good, and I was supposed to be his teacher. If I weren't so uncomfortable talking, or even thinking, about… this sort of thing, then this never would've happened. I'm sorry, Rarity."
    Rarity shook her head. "I don't blame you; I blame Discord. He knew what he was doing, even if he didn't know about the 'rule' against it." She turned to Discord. "At least now you know it was wrong, right? You won't do it again?"
    Discord rolled his eyes. "I've learned my lesson, okay? I'll never, ever do it ever again. I promise. Cross my heart, yadda yadda yadda, happy now."
    "No, I am *not* 'happy' at all!" Rarity protested.
    "What do you want from me, then‽"
    "I want you to fix this!" Rarity demanded, her voice cracking. "Use those powers of yours to put everything back to normal!"
    He scoffed. "I won't just erase our foal from existence, Rarity; I'm not a monster."
    "Fine, then just take it out of me; I don't care!" Rarity gesticulated in frustration.
    Discord's face grew more serious, but still slightly annoyed. "Our foal is half pony, which would make it mortal. It needs to stay inside you to survive."
    Rarity frowned. "Can't you carry it, then?"
    "What, turn myself into a female?"
    Rarity nodded.
    Discord shook his head. "I'd have to hold that form for the duration of the pregnancy. I'm sorry, Rarity, but there's only so far I'm willing to go to make amends." He chuckled. "Besides, I like this body."
    Rarity slumped in her seat. "Well, that's just great. You mean I'm stuck carrying your little bundle of chaos for the next eleven months?"
    The others seemed somewhat uncomfortable, exchanging glances.
    "What? What is it?"
    Twilight sighed and spoke up. "Hybrid pregnancies don't tend to have the same gestation period as the parent species."
    Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
    Twilight turned to Discord. "How long to half-draconequus pregnancies usually last?"
    "How should I know?" he responded. "This has never come up before."
    "Take a guess, then!" Rarity insisted. "How long do you *think* this is going to last?"
    Discord rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I have absolutely no idea. For all I know, it could be anywhere from a few days to a few centuries."
    "C–C…Centuries?" Rarity asked, feeling herself getting lightheaded. "There's no way!"
    Twilight shook her head. "It's not impossible, I suppose. Some species of dragon take decades to hatch, and Discord is part dragon… sort of."
    "I don't care if it's possible; there's no way I'm being Discord's incubator for anywhere *near* that long! I absolutely *refuse*!"
    Fluttershy offered Rarity a smile. "It won't be that bad, Rarity; we'll be here for you."
    Twilight nodded. "We can help you through this. That's what friends are for, right?"
    That seemed to take the edge off slightly, but Rarity was still upset. "That's easy for you to say; you don't have to carry Discord's… spawn." She said the last word with a note of revulsion.
    Fluttershy got up from her chair and walked over to Rarity, giving her a big hug. "I know it seems scary from here, but I promise you can get through this. We can help you, but you still have to try. Do you promise to try?"
    Rarity sighed and nodded, forcing herself to smile slightly, for her own sake as much as Fluttershy's. "I promise."