Twilight Sparkle gets pregnant, but won't reveal the father; rather, she leads her friends on a long mystery hunt to discover the father. Oh, and towards the end she has her baby.
Pinkie looked her group of friends, and was glad once again that for this party, she had only invited her close friends. After all, not everypony appreciated Gummy's third birthday like the girls. Running a quick head-count, she was glad all four of her friends were there.
Wait. Four? She recounted, and was shocked to see Twilight absent from their numbers. Bouncing towards Applejack, she tapped the mare on the shoulder.
"Yeah, Pinkie? Sure is a great party, b' the way."
"Have you seen Twilight? She's super-duper late, and that's super-duper strange."
"Come t' mention it, ah haven't. Girls?" She asked, raising her voice.
"Yes?" Came a chorus of voices.
"Have any of you seen Twi?"
"I can't say I have, darling," sighed Rarity, concern filling her eyes as she spoke for all of them. Her sigh was cut off by Twilight elatedly running through the door.
"Hey girls, guess what?" She was bouncing more than a sugar-high Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash stumbled backwards, dizzy from her attempt at following her.
"What is it, dear?" Rarity spoke once again for all of them, but those words were enough for Twilight.
"I said guess!" Her bouncing slowed slightly, and the girls formed a semi-circle around her.
"Yer moving back to Canterlot?"
"Nope."
"You've met a stallion?"
"Nope."
"You're the Wonderbolts' manager?"
"... Nope."
"You're having a party?"
"Nope."
"W-will you tell us Twilight? If you don't mind, that is..." Fluttershy's quietness was almost blanketed by the music, until Pinkie threw the record off, the room now silent.
"I'm pregnant!" The room fell even more silent, if that was possible, and each mare had a different expression. Pinkie's face was slowly stretching into an overly large smile, nearly falling off her face. Fluttershy had a much smaller smile, clearly proud of her friend. Applejack was staring at her intensely, and Rainbow Dash's jaw was on the floor. Rarity's reaction was the most shocking, staring with almost disdain at the other unicorn.
"Are ya ready for this, sugar cube?" Applejack's hat cast an ominous shadow over her face, but Pinkie was the only one to notice this.
"Of course! Otherwise, I wouldn't've tried!"
"I hate to be rude," Rarity hissed, clearly meaning otherwise, "But you don't even have a stallion, as far as we know. Was it a one-night stand?" She spat the last sentence, and Twilight took a step back as Rainbow Dash flew protectively in front of her.
"No, it was not. I don't need to share my personal life with all of you!"
"Of course not, sugar cube." Applejack stepped in front of Twilight also, followed by a bouncing Pinkie and a skulking Fluttershy.
"I-I'm sorry girls," faltered Rarity, and without warning, she fainted. Within moments, Fluttershy was at her side, followed by the others.
"Get me some cold water and a cloth!" Commanded Fluttershy, and Pinkie had one at her side in a pink blur. Fluttershy gently applied the wet cloth to Rarity's forehead, humming a quiet tune nopony could hear. Rarity's eyelids fluttered, but then shut again. Fluttershy wet the cloth again, and this time Rarity's eyes remained open.
"I'm so sorry girls. It's just... I was so shocked by this. I expected Twilight to tell us everything, but she doesn't have to." Rarity turned her head to look directly in Twilight's eyes. "I'm sorry."
"That's no excuse!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "You can't just be mean like that."
"It's fine, Dash. I accept your apology, Rarity." Twilight smiled softly at Rarity, and Rarity couldn't help but be glad her apology was accepted.
"Hey Twilight? Who is the father, after all?" Pinkie was clearly confused, blinking her eyes slowly. "It has to be a stallion, and I'd say there isn't a lot of them, but then there's all the stallions in Canterlot, and Trottingham... it could be anypony!"
"That's right, Pinkie. But I'm not just going to tell you. There'd be no fun in that. I've created a treasure hunt, if you will, with clues to find who the father is. One of you," she added, pointing her hoof at each of them, "Already knows, and Pinkie-promised not to tell. So you won't. After all, breaking a promise is the best way to lose a friend..."
"Forever," finished Pinkie with a giggle.
"Now, I have the first clue written right here," declared Twilight, magically lifting a piece of paper. "The father of my foal, I'm sure you want to know. To discover the father, look in the domain of the farmer. Now, by discover the father, I really mean next clue, but this rhymes better, doesn't it?" Eyes all turned towards Applejack, though the farming mare was oblivious to their looks.
"At my farm? D'you mean Big Mac's the father?"
"I have the right not to answer," smiled Twilight teasingly.
"Well let's get looking!" Cheered Pinkie, already halfway out the door. The others followed, including Twilight. As they trotted down the path, they all stopped at Twilight's home.
"I'm going to stop here, but have fun, and whoever finds the clue is the one to tell me, but don't read it until everyone is back here. It won't take more than a month to find," she added tauntingly, before sauntering up the path and into the library, flipping the sign in the door to 'Closed'.
"C'mon!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, grabbing Fluttershy by the tail and yanking her to Sweet Apple Acres.
"Whoever finds it gets a free cupcake!" Added Pinkie cheerfully. "Unless it's me. In that case... I already have free cupcakes!" Rarity rolled her eyes, and eying the muddy path disdainfully, entered the farm.
"What should we do next?" Asked Fluttershy quietly, a light blush on her face. Pinkie chuckled, donning an investigator's hat and pulling a magnifying glass out of Celestia-knows-where.
"We investigate!" Exclaimed Pinkie, and within moments, the five were off, searching high and low through the farm for a clue, unsure of even exactly what they were looking for. Their search continued for many hours until the sun was just setting, and Applejack heard the familiar chiming of a triangle.
"Grub time. Ah'm sure Granny won' mind if y'all join us," yelled a tired Applejack, and the five mares crawled tiredly towards the farm.
Even Rarity's mouth began to water at the sight of the apple-filled meal in front of her. They all sat down at the benches lining the wooden table as Granny Smith and Applejack served them.
"Thanks!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash before digging into the apple pie slice in front of her. Her chewing was interrupted as she crinkled her nose and spit out the bite she was chewing.
"Rainbow Dash! You apologize this instant!" Demanded a shocked Rarity.
"Sorry, everypony. But there was..." She lifted a slightly-apple coated thin plastic bag, and wiped it off with a napkin. "I found the clue!"
The five mares finished the meal at lightning speed, even Fluttershy, and they zipped towards the library through the dark night. All of them were out of breath as they arrived, and Rainbow Dash was the only one with the strength to knock. They all stood with abated breath until the door slowly opened, thanks to a small purple dragon. He could barely speak before being trampled by the others, running towards Twilight.
"I found the clue!" Cheered Rainbow Dash, a burst of adrenaline causing her to speak faster than Pinkie on a good day.
"Well then, let's hear it," said Twilight with a smile. Rainbow Dash struggled with the plastic wrapping until Twilight gently pulled it off, and Rainbow Dash flashed her a grateful grin before reading.
"The colt has a father, as I'm sure you all know,
but to find it, you move awful slow!
I can assure you, in Ponyville they reside,
More specific than that I cannot provide."
"Twilight dear?" Rarity interrupted the short bout of silence that filled the library. "When's the foal due?"
"Glad you asked. Let's see, it's June, and the doctor said the baby was probably conceived about five months ago since I'm just starting to show, and the average gestation period is about ten months... November, or maybe a bit sooner or later. Now, I'm assuming you girls want to review the clues, so just ignore me."
"Thank ya Twilight," sighed Applejack as she collapsed on the ground, followed by Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and finally Fluttershy.
"Now, so far we know that the father lives in Ponyville," declared Rainbow Dash, seemingly taking charge.
"An' we know one o' us here knows who the father is," added a suspicious Applejack.
"But who would keep a secret like that from us?" Whispered Fluttershy, looking at each of them worriedly.
"Well, when Twilight has the baby, we'll throw her a party!" Pinkie's outburst was ignored by the others as they each stared suspiciously at each other.
"Well either way, we'll find out when we do. Now who wants to get some sleep?" Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings tiredly, accompanied by an overly-loud yawn.
"You can stay here," offered Twilight, "And help me plan!"
"Plan what? The party?" Pinkie was still bouncing around, despite the sleeping blue pegasus next to her, jumping over her back and forth.
"No! What do to when he-or she-is born. I'll be staying here in the library, and the foal will stay with me for a while, but what about when they need their own room? I suppose I could use my old Griffon room, but it'll need cleaning..."
In the morning, the girls were more than glad to make breakfast for Twilight, creating a buffet-sized meal for her. "I can cook, really girls," she sighed, but sat down and began to eat. She was about halfway through the meal when something dawned on her. "Did you read the back of the note?"
"No," came a chorused response, and Twilight smiled.
"Each clue will have a front and back. The front has a clue about the father, the back a clue about where the next clue is. When you're done you can-" She was cut off by a gust of wind and a rainbow blur. Rainbow Dash sat at the table with a grin, ready to read the second clue again. "Or you can read it now," she sighed resignedly.
"Your second clue isn't hard to find,
located somewhere way up high.
A cloud walking spell you may require,
to end up in the home of a high-flier."
Rainbow Dash stared confusedly at the letter, when it dawned on her. "My house?" She asked, staring at Twilight.
"I'm not going to say. But if you want that cloud walking spell..."
"Yes!" Cheered Pinkie, jumping in front of Twilight.
"Alright," sighed Twilight, and closed her eyes, recalling the spell as she cast it on the mares around her. "Now have fun, and be safe!" She realized she was speaking to an empty room, and turned around, magically lifting the dishes. "This is so much more difficult than it should be..."
The five mares had finally made it to Rainbow Dash's home, having been carried up there by Rainbow Dash one-by-one. They sniffed around, searching aimlessly for some sort of rolled up piece of paper. This time, Pinkie was the one to find the message, and much faster than the day before.
"Lookie-lookie-look!" Exclaimed the pink pony, pointing wildly out Dash's bedroom window. The others gathered round, staring out the window, and they all facehoofed simultaneously.
"How could I have missed that?" Muttered Dash under her breath, but Pinkie was too busy bouncing around to hear her.
"You may recall that I never said
that the father was a stallion.
The next clue you can't discover
until you've had time to recover.
The next clue you can take
by looking inside a cake!"
"So the father could be a..."
"Mare." Fluttershy whisper-finished Rarity's sentence as Rarity collapsed to the ground, her eyes closed. Fluttershy gently lifted the unicorn, laying her on Rainbow Dash's shockingly-clean bed.
"Well tha' sure does narrow i' down," said Applejack sarcastically, looking around the room. "Can ya take me home, Dash?" The rainbow maned pegasus nodded, and leaped off the cloud, Applejack securely on her back as they glided towards Sweet Apple Acres.
The other ponies were carried home by Rainbow Dash, and she dragged herself up to her cloud home, collapsing tiredly on the bed with a sniff.
"Really Twi? You bend that way? You shoulda told me that." And she fell tiredly asleep.
Twilight looked up at the cloud message in the sky, and waved her horn, magically vanquishing it. "Red herrings are entertaining," she smiled, and looked over at the sleeping Spike. Standing from her couch and setting her book down, she trotted around, magically extinguishing each candle, then finally the main lights as she cantered up the stairs and into her room.
Flopping down on the bed, she magically summoned her book. Lighting a candle next to her, she opened the book, letting the bookmark fall to the ground as she read "Parenting for a Single Mare".
Pinkie smiled to herself as she scribbled on a notepad, blowing bubbles through a pipe. Her friends were seated around her, all piping up randomly as she scribbled.
"So far, we know they live in Ponyville, can be any gender or species, and... the next clue is somewhere in a cake." Pinkie blinked slowly as she looked over the clues, trying to make some sense of it, when she heard a western 'aha'.
"Ah think the clue is at Sugah Cube Corner!" Applejack's exclamation was met by several questioning pairs of eyes. "Cake... Mista' and Missus Cake?"
"Oh!" Exclaimed the others, and they all tore off towards the bakery.
Finally arriving at their destination, Pinkie was the first to burst through the door, running towards Mrs. Cake.
"Mrs. Cake! Mrs. Cake! Mrs. Cake!" exclaimed the pink mare, and Mrs. Cake smiled.
"Yes Pinkie?"
"Do you have any clues for us?"
"Clues..." said Mrs. Cake thoughtfully. "Do you mean this?" she held out a small, folded piece of paper which was quickly grabbed by a small cloud of pale blue magic.
"Yes!" exclaimed Pinkie, hugging Mrs. Cake briefly. "We'll be off now!" she exclaimed, grabbing her friends and herding them through the door. "To Twilight's!" she declared, and the others picked up the pace, eager to read the next clue.
They nearly broke down the door, if it wasn't for Rarity's quick save with her own magic. The five thundered in, sitting down in front of Twilight expectantly.
"Yes?" sighed the mare, magically closing her book.
"We found it! We found it!" sang Pinkie, waving the message around. "And Fluttershy can read it!" she added in the same sing-song tone, hoofing the message towards the yellow pegasus eagerly.
"Oh... um, okay," she smiled, then unfolded the note.
"What's it say?" pressed Rainbow Dash, trying to read it.
"Here's a tip,
The dad is a mare.
She's also a pony,
So there!" Concluded Fluttershy, flipping over the note.
"The next clue I believe is your last,
Unless you are dense, or your head is full of glass.
Check out the place
Where I myself live.
You girls have much 'credit'
I have yet to give!"
"Credit?" asked Rarity, looking around confusedly. Her eyes fell on the shelf of film reels, and her eyes lit up. "What about movie credits?"
"We'd have to watch all of them," groaned Dash, rolling her eyes.
"No' if they're special marked," said Applejack, and Rarity nodded, darting towards the film reels. Pinkie joined them, followed slowly by Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash hastened to set up the machine, then sat lazily down on a couch to wait for somepony to find it.
Dash didn't have to wait long before Fluttershy held up a small roll of film. "Is this it?" she whispered, and Rarity magically lifted it, glancing at the label.
"This would be it, darling," said Rarity kindly, setting the film onto the player and pulling down the screen with her magic. She smiled as the others curled around her, watching the screen intently. Words flashed onto the screen, their white brightly contrasting the black of the rest of the screen.
"When I say one of you knows who the father is, I mean one of you is the father. Here's a clue. The father lives at one of the places you haven't been. That takes off Pinkie, Dashie, and AJ. Here's another clue: The Element the father holds has an e, an n, an i, and an s," finished Rainbow Dash as the film ended, clicking emptily until she removed the film from its spin.
"Well, that means it's either Fluttershy or I," said Rarity snootily. "And Generosity has...all those. As does Kindness."
Pinkie smiled, then turned to face you. "Who do you think it is? Post your suggestion right down there!"
