Princess Twilight did not look happy.

Through a clenched jaw and tear-filled eyes, I struggled to nod my response. “I’m okay. You can keep going. I need to see this through.”

“Alright, but you let me know if you can’t handle it, and we’ll shut it down immediately.” Her horn sprang to life, and her magic wrapped around me once more.

I could feel the bugle twist and turn in a way I could only describe as something akin to eating a pile of alfalfa gone bad. My intestines fought me every step of the way, but if I stopped now, I would never live it down. There was no going back from the choice I had made.

“Ready to move to stage two?” Twilight asked, her left eye twitching slightly as she viewed my discomfort. Her magic aura helped to keep the nausea at bay.

“Ready,” I replied.

“Hold onto the hoofrests, and let me know if you want to stop at any time.” Twilight glanced over my shoulder and gave a sigh before ratcheting up the spell power.

My hooves dug into the hoofrests. The pain made my tail stand on end with every bristling hair of my mane screaming out for relief. I held in my own scream, bracing myself against the growing pressure below, threatening to tear me apart. My eyes sealed shut, but the tears flowed through anyway. Gasping for breath, I realized I had been holding it in for far too long.

“Take shorter breaths and don’t try to hold it all in.” Twilight exchanged another glance over my shoulder without letting up on her spell.

I huffed in short gasps. My lungs felt like they were on fire, and all I was doing was fanning the flames. My hind legs curled up on the bench. The rest of me wanted to curl up into a ball, but every time I tried, the pain in my stomach would straighten me out.

“Stage three?” Twilight asked with strong reservation.

“Yes, do it,” came the reply from behind the couch.

I braced myself against the back of the seat for what I knew would not be pleasant. The magic burned through my hips, and shortly I couldn’t feel any sensation beyond my cutie mark. Squeezing a glance past my clenched eyelids, I could see my hind legs hanging limp over the end of the couch. Wave upon wave of shooting pain throbbed through my midsection. The strain was too much, and I could feel my stomach making preparations to revolt.

“Stop!” I yelled, although it came out more like a foal’s squeal.

Twilight’s magic instantly dropped. I turned to the side and let my insides empty on the floor.

“See, I told you that you couldn’t handle it.” My darling, Cup Cake, stepped around the couch and patted me on the head with a patronizing hoof. “You didn’t even make it to stage four, honey. That’s the twins stage.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m just not comfortable taking this any further,” Twilight said backing away from the both of us.

“That’s quite alright, Princess,” Cup Cake replied with her signature smile. “I think Carrot has learned his lesson.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to walk straight for a month.” I gathered in my hooves and made a pitiful attempt to check that my hind legs were still attached. “I won’t ever take my wife for granted or even try and suggest that having a foal is easy.”

“Let alone having twins,” Cup Cake added with a jab to my barrel. “Being a pregnant mare is no cakewalk.”

“I’m glad I could help settle your argument, but I strongly suggest you have a little more trust in one another in the future—for all of our sakes. Perhaps you should visit a real therapist as well.” Twilight’s half-smile lingered for only a second. “Marriage can be difficult, and I hate to resort to magic to settle disagreements.”

My wife’s smile lasted much longer as she turned to face the Princess. “Thank you for your help, Princess. I knew you would have a spell to help him see the error in his thinking. This was just what the doctor ordered. Let’s just hope his stallion brain remembers this little exercise the next time he thinks we should have another foal.”