Today was a rare peaceful day in Ponyville, the town now having gone through several exhausting events these past few days. The first had been Flash Sentry's near-death experience, the event shocking the town before throwing a big party for his release from the hospital. Then there had been the Sisterhooves Social, which had been a major spectacle due to the antics of one Orchid Blossom.
And the final big event had occurred just a few days ago. It was the cute-ceañera celebration of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, the crusaders finally discovering their life's purpose, which was to help ponies discover their life's purpose. This had come around thanks to them helping Pipsqueak become pony class president for their school, along with helping their old enemy Diamond Tiara discover what she was supposed to use her special talent for. Now the three girls were enjoying the afterglow of gaining their cutie mark, the rest of the town also taking a well-deserved break from partying. But that break wouldn't last long, as Nightmare Night was only ten days away and Heartswarming wasn't too far off after that.
It was here that one pony was not having a day off. It was Wild, who was preparing for two big parties that were scheduled for today. The first was a birthday party for the CMC's classmate, Shady Daze, along with the school having an end of term party to celebrate the start of the Nightmare Night and the Heartswarming holiday that afternoon.
Now Wild and his puppets were heading to Sugarcube Corner, the stallion ready to meet his girlfriend for the day. She had Pinkie-Promised to be the balloon modeller for the kids, while also being the one to plan Shady's party. "Hello?" He asked as he opened the backdoor of the bakery, "Anypony home?" The sound of foal gargles caught his attention next, making him turn to see the Cake Twins playing in their pen. "Hey you two," he floated his puppets over them, only to turn to see Mrs. Cake walk into the room carrying a basket full of ingredients.
"Oh Wild, hello there. Looking for Pinkie?"
"Yeah. She here?"
She shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not. Twilight called her to the castle for something. Seemed very important, so she headed off right away."
"Alright." Wild was about to recall his puppets before he commented, "Big order?"
"Oh yes. Very special request."
"Who's it for?"
"That's a surprise. Now off with you. I'm sure Pinkie could use your help with whatever Twilight needs her for."
"Yes, ma'am." Wild did a small salute as his puppets imitated him. As he headed out the door, the twins waved goodbye as he trotted to the castle, soon spotting Rarity and Lightning walking by. "Yo!" The two turned to him, smirking as he joined them. "What are you two up too?"
Rarity just waved her hoof, "Oh, we just ran into one another while I was on my way to the castle."
"My patrol's over, so I thought I'd see what Twilight wanted her for. I'm also hoping she'll agree to let Sentry back on patrol."
All three sighed at that. Ever since Flash's near death incident, Twilight had been extra mother hen-like with the defender. She had given him 'royal orders' to not go out on any patrol or training...which was driving the pegasus nuts. In fact, it had taken him some serious convincing to let Twilight let him go watch Scootaloo and Rainbow in the Sisterhooves Social, or let him party at her cute-ceañera.
"With Iron and Gramps out of town, me and Springer could really use a hoof with patrols." Lightning continued, the two now remembering about the mission Celestia had given Iron and Grand. It was a job where they had to hunt a dangerous pony that was holding ponies and buffalo up for the few bits they had. That was two days ago, which is a long time for defenders trying to make sure Ponyville doesn't explode.
"Don't be too hard on her. She did almost lose her true love. Of course she'd be a little overprotective of him."
"There's being overprotective, and then there's wrapping the pony you care about in bubble wrap. I get the feeling we're close to that bubble wrap moment." Lightning moaned, the two continuing to banter back and forth as Wild just watched. Blinking at the sight, he wanted to speak up, only to turn and see his girlfriend talking to her alligator as they approached. And as they got in earshot, they heard her say something about babies.
"What's all this about a baby?" Rarity asked, causing Pinkie to let out a 'eep' before putting Gummy behind her back.
"What?! Who?!" She began to backpedal, Gummy now holding onto her tail. "Who said something about a baby?!"
Rarity raised an eyebrow while Lightning and Wild exchanged glances, Wild shrugging in response. "You did Ms. Pie, just now." Rarity added as she leaned in, "What were you talking about?" Wild then walked in front of her, Pinkie now backpedaling even more as her eyes began to dart around. It was here that she pulled a pacifier that Gummy had been strangely sucking on and put it on her mouth, quickly turning to trotting away with an extra bounce in her step.
Wild tilted his head at this, "Huh. That was weird."
"How can you tell?" Lightning asked, then getting glares from the two before they followed after the party planning pony. It was here that they all arrived at the castle, now finding the whole friendship council there along with Springer and the CMC. Scootaloo, Sweetie and Apple Bloom were all brandishing their newly acquired cutie marks, which were all almost entirely identical, all being pink, red and purple shields, but all had different symbols.
"Great! Everypony's here!" Twilight cheered as Rarity sat down, "Now I don't have to wait any longer to tell you all the wonderful news!" Spike opened up a scroll, which she took in her magic to read out loud. "Somepony special is coming to visit Ponyville, and I need your help getting everything ready!" This statement got everypony chattering in excitement, "It's-"
"Shining Armor and Princess Cadance!" Pinkie said at the same time as the alicorn, Twilight glancing at her with wide eyes.
Pinkie just gave a big wide smile in response, making Twilight turn back to the scroll, "Yes, and they're coming-"
"Tomorrow!" Twilight turned to Pinkie again, the pony still showing the same smile.
"Yes...on the-"
"Friendship Express rather than the Crystal Empire train so as not to cause too much of a scene when they skip town to come visit!" Pinkie interrupted, Twilight now glaring at her as Flash leaned over and started whispering.
"She's finally evolving. First she'll be reading minds, then she'll start controlling them!" Twilight rolled her eyes at Flash's joke, only to find Pinkie had jumped up onto the table.
"Annnnnd?" The earth pony asked next, Twilight shrugging in response.
"And that's it."
"Oh..." Pinkie's mane slightly deflated at that, Wild raising his eyebrow at the sight.
It was here that Rainbow spoke up, "Uhhhh...how did you know all that?"
Pinkie started laughing, her eyes darting around again. "Um...Pinkie Sense?" With that, she slowly backtracked to her throne, her head remaining in the same spot with her neck extending.
Once her head snapped back into place, Rainbow turned to Twilight, "So, you said you needed our help with something?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes. Follow me." She flew out off her throne, Flash, Rainbow and Fluttershy flying after her while the others followed on hoof. It was here they went to the guest hallway, arriving at a door next to the one Flash's parents had stayed in. As they walked inside, the group found themselves in what looked like a young teen's room. Aside from the double bed, everything was what you would expect a colt to have in their room. Train set on the floor, posters on the wall, and a chest of toys alongside a stack of comic books.
Rainbow flew over to the wall, "Sweet posters!" She pointed to one showing a unicorn, "Is that Smash Fortune?"
"It sure is!" Twilight replied as Pinkie and Wild opened up the toy chest before the mare climbed in.
"I always loved his movies," Lightning added.
"Same," Flash continued as he started singing. "Smash!"
"Aaaah," Lightning and Rainbow joined in before the three sung, "Savior of the universe!"
The others all giggled at their antics, Twilight turning to the group, "When Shining Armor said he wanted to come to the castle and visit, I started collecting things he liked when he was a colt as a surprise."
"Surprise?!" Pinkie yelped as she shot her head out of the chest with a toy helmet on. The group glanced over at her, making her laugh before spinning the helmet around and leaning on the edge of the chest.
Twilight blinked at this as she then spoke up, "Anyways...I've been so excited that it's been hard to keep it to myself!"
"I have no idea what that's like!" Pinkie muttered out, her voice muffled by the helmet on her head.
Wild went up and patted her shoulder, "Pinkie, are you okay? You seem a little...overly Pinkie."
"I'm fine!"
"You're vibrating," Lightning deadpanned, everypony now seeing Pinkie's entire body now shaking the whole chest.
"Still fine. Just...ate one too many cupcakes." The group all looked at each other, most showing shrugs as they turned back to the room.
"Cool train," Sweetie said as she and the CMC laid down to look at the track set. She even used her magic to push it along, Scootaloo making the choo-choo noise as she did.
"Aww..." Fluttershy gasped, "Look at the cute little ant farm!"
Flash stepped up to her, looking down at the bugs. "Hopefully this one doesn't meet the same fate as Shining's old one."
Fluttershy turned to him with big puppy dog eyes, "What happened to his old one?"
The defender looked away while twiddling her hooves, "Um...remember the fifth 'Renegade Farm Equipment Incident'?" Fluttershy's face turned pale at the words, Flash doing a small nod, "Yeah...think that kind of accident, but on small scale. Really small...ant-sized scale."
"Oh dear..."
"Check out all these old comic books!" Spike interrupted as he held one up, Springer taking a closer look next.
Twilight saw this and took it out of his claws, "Be careful with that! They're mint-in-bag!" She then turned around to see Pinkie taking out a doll from the chest.
"What's this?"
"That's Brutus Force. Shining Armor used to carry him around like his baby." Pinkie immediately dropped the toy, putting back in the chest.
"Yeah..." She let out another nervous laugh, "That's uh...really cute."
"It is a bit juvenile for castle décor," Rarity added as she pulled Twilight's attention, "But it is very sweet of you."
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, "I'm sure Shining Armor will love it."
Twilight shined a big smile, "I'm really hoping so, but there's a few more things I'd like to add before he gets here. If you all don't mind, I could really use a hoof collecting them."
"Whatever yah need sugarcube, we'll help yah get it." Applejack finished, the rest nodding in unison.
Twilight's face looked as giddy as a filly on Heartswarming, "Thanks everypony! I can't wait 'til they walk in and see everything!"
"Totally understandable. Watching somepony else be surprised with something is almost better than being the one who's getting the surprise!" Rainbow chimed in, her statement striking a chord with Pinkie as she climbed out of the chest.
"But...uh...what if the surprise is something so incredibly exciting that a pony can't keep it in any longer, and she has to tell the pony standing next to her what it is or she might explode?!" That last word was accented by her wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy and squeezing them tightly, almost cutting off her air.
She quickly saw her error and loosened her grip, allowing Fluttershy to breathe before speaking up, "I would say...no." This made Pinkie completely let her go, Rarity slowly creeping along the floor to her.
"The pony who ruins a surprise for somepony else has to live with that guilt...forever!" She slammed her nose into Pinkie's, the party pony seriously sweating as she picked herself up.
She let out several tiny chuckles before saying, "Gotta bounce!" She then curled up into a ball and began bouncing around the room, pinball noises following her with ever ricochet until she crashed right into a far wall.
Everypony stared at the hole she'd made, which the castle would soon magically fix, as Rainbow turned to the others, "So, I know the bar is set pretty high, but does anypony else think Pinkie Pie was acting weirder than usual?"
Springer nodded. "Her aura does seem a little...frazzled. Almost like she was keeping something hidden."
"She did seem to be acting strange when we met up with her earlier," Lightning added.
"Maybe she's having some kind of issue but doesn't wanna us to know?" Apple Bloom guessed next.
Twilight shook her head, "That doesn't sound like Pinkie Pie. If it was something bad, then Pinkie would tell us, her friends." She then rubbed her chin at this, "But....we also need to prepare for the visit. So, we'll do this: We'll keep an eye on her while the rest of us will get the stuff. Also, if you can, could one of you ask Pinkie to bring some snacks to the castle?"
"Sure thing Twilight. Anything in particular?"
"Baby carrots are Shining's favorite." They all nodded, the alicorn soon giving them a task to complete before turning to Flash, "And Flash..." Flash gave a big smile, his tail slightly wagging, "Go...take a nap."
Flash's face fell, "Twilight...can we please cut the overprotectiveness?! I'm not made out of glass, you know."
"I know that. But you've been through a lot, and there's no need to rush things."
"A pony that doesn't have my healing abilities would have been back to their normal life by now." Flash deadpanned with a low growl, but the words went in one ear and out the other for Twilight.
Seeing this, everypony sighed as Applejack spoke up, "Ah'm with Flash sugarcube. Ya'll probably been takin' this whole keepin him safe thing a mite too far." Apple Bloom took this moment to let out a strangled cough, making her sister glare down at her, "What was that?!"
"Nothing..." Apple Bloom replied with a cheeky smile.
Rainbow then leaned her head in front of Twilight, "Come on Twi, lay off of him. Flash is probably going stir crazy being stuck in here."
"You have no idea," Flash moaned, only to see a terrified look on Twilight's face. Facehoofing next, he grumbled out, "Twilight...you do realise I could send a message to Celestia or the other princesses and have them veto your order?!"
This got Twilight to sigh in defeat. "Fine. But if at any point you start getting tired-"
"I'll be sure to take a break. Now if you'll excuse me," he spread his wings and turned to the almost filled hole. "I'm getting out of here before you change your mind." With that, he shot through the hole right as Twilight was about to speak up again...only to let out another long sigh.
"Twilight darling..." Rarity added as she put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "He'll be fine. You need to stop worrying about him so much."
"But Rarity, he-"
"He's a grown stallion. Please Twilight....you need to realize this."
The others all giggled at the exchange, most now heading out while agreeing to meet up for lunch. As this happened, Wild went to the park, wanting to get his stand ready for the party. It wasn't long till the rest of the older ponies chaperoning the event arrived as he continued to set things up.
"Wild!" Thunderlane waved as he and Bloosomforth landed while Shady's mom trotted into the scene, "Got everything done?"
"Just about," Wild replied as he kept putting the finishing touches to the stage. As he did this, he noticed the three were holding a bunch of party supplies. "What are those for?"
"Oh uh...Pinkie gave them to us. It was weird. She shot up to us and gave us everything she had prepared for the party, saying she couldn't make it to the actual party before running off."
Wild raised an eyebrow. "That's not weird, that's downright out of character for her. Pinkie never let's anything stop her from attending a party. Heck, she once told me she forced herself to go to a party while she had food poisoning."
Thunderlane just shrugged, "She's your girlfriend. If anypony knows what's happening, I thought it'd be you." Wild just shrugged back, only to see a bunch of young ponies entering the party. Seeing this, Wild put his queries aside as he began his show, entertaining the kids as the older ponies put up the decorations and neatly stacked the presents. The show was filled with great laughter and smiling faces, something Pinkie would have loved to see if she was here.
The show ended after an hour or so, the audience all thoroughly entertained as they began playing in the water or on the shore. While Wild was packing up, he suddenly heard a delighted gasp and looked over to see Shady staring at a toy boat that was carrying a birthday cake on it. Gut telling him who had done that, he then spotted the Cake's delivery cart on the far side of the lake before seeing his very soaked girlfriend climbing out of the water with a mask and snorkel.
He wanted to call out to her, but she quickly hooked the cart to her back and ran off. "Ooookay, something's definitely up with her." He quickly put away his equipment next, the partygoers thanking him as he headed off to another part of the park. There, he found the rest of his friends sitting at some picnic tables as Rarity placed some food down. "Hey everypony."
"Hey Wild," Twilight replied, "Have you had a chance to talk to Pinkie since we left the castle?"
Wild shook his head, "No. I spotted her earlier, but she ran off before I could say anything."
"Same thing happened to us," Flash noted as Wild sat down. "She ran past us and didn't even say hi. It's very unlike Pinkie."
"Maybe she just had a lot of deliveries," Applejack guessed.
"Maybe..." Wild took a bite out of a sandwich, "But she'd still take time to just say hi. It's almost like...she's avoiding us."
"Why ever would she avoid us?" Rarity asked.
"Good question," Twilight hummed. "Reasons Pinkie would try to avoid us. Any ideas?"
"She's got a cold and doesn't wanna pass it on," Rainbow guessed.
"Possible."
"She's playin some kinda game where she can't talk to anypony for the whole day."
Twilight frowned at Applejack's suggestion, "That doesn't really sound like Pinkie."
"Guess yer right."
"Didn't Springer say she was probably hiding something?" Flash added while finishing a spring roll. "Maybe that's the problem."
"But why would she keep something from us?" Fluttershy asked. "If it was bad, then she'd surely tell us."
Lightning spoke up next, "Well, maybe it's not a bad thing. Maybe it's the exact opposite." The others turned to him as he continued, "What's Pinkie always focusing on?"
"Making ponies happy," Rainbow deadpanned while rolling her eyes.
"So what if, for some reason, being around us would cause us to not be happy?" Everypony stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. "What?! Don't act like it doesn't make sense, especially considering the pony we're talking about." Everypony shared a glance, only for Wild to sigh.
"I guess you got a point. But what could be so important that she'd force herself to avoid us at all costs?"
This got everypony thinking until Flash spoke up. "Remember how weird she was acting when we were talking about surprises? What if its that?"
"You think Pinkie has a big surprise she's keeping to herself?"
"It's possible."
Twilight nibbled on her sandwich as she rubbed her chin, "Well, it would explain everything."
"And it does sound like something Pinkie would do," Wild added. "But it's gotta be one heck of a surprise if she's having trouble keeping it in. Wonder what it is?"
"Wonder, wonder, wonder."
Twilight just shrugged, "Guess we'll have to wait and find out."
The others all nodded before finishing their lunches, all soon heading out to complete their afternoon tasks. It was here that Wild went to the school, now seeing Cheerilee and the school ponies setting things up for their party. "Hello Wild," the teacher chimed in before pointing to a section of the schoolyard. "You can set up over there."
"Aye aye," he saluted.
"Aye aye! Aye aye! Aye aye!"
As Wild began to set things up, he spotted Pinkie trotting to the school with a large chest on her back. Cheerilee giggled at the sight before pointing to a nearby tree, Pinkie knowing she could use it to work her magic. Wild smirked as he watched Pinkie sit down and make herself a balloon hat, showing the school ponies her skills. This got them all excited and started lining up to get whatever animal they wanted as Wild continued to stare at her, "What surprise are you hiding Miss Pie?"
As time went on, only a few ponies remained in line to get a balloon. These included the CMC and Featherweight, with Sweetie arriving at the front. "Ooh! I want a flamingo!" Pinkie nodded and pulled out the balloons of that animal's color, quickly wrapping them into the particular bird.
Sweetie cheered as she took her balloon animal, Apple Bloom stepping up next, "Ah want a goldfish!" Once again, Pinkie molded the balloons into the marine animal's shape.
Scootaloo was next, the young pegasi now showing a struggled look on her face, "Um...surprise me!" Pinkie nodded and got to work, pulling out several balloons and slowly folding them around one another. But in that moment, both she and Wild's attention were caught by the sound of a crying foal as it and its mother walked by.
"Is that a...baby bottle?" They both looked back at Scootaloo, then at the balloon construct.
Pinkie let out a scream, almost sending the balloon floating away before quickly catching it and holding it close to her chest. "No! It's a...a...puppy!" She let out a nervous laugh, "Woof woof, haha! Eh..."
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? Because it looks like a-" She didn't get to finish, as Pinkie shoved the end of the balloon bottle into her mouth.
"Next!" Scootaloo just glared at her before pulling the bottle out and walked off, Wild just staring at the situation.
"Okay, that had to be connected to what she was hiding. But...babies?"
"Uh..." Featherweight chimed in, "A baby pony, please! Uh, unless of course that would be a royal pain..."
Pinkie leaned in, glaring right in his eye. "Interesting choice of words, Featherweight."
"They are?" He asked, looking half confused and half scared.
Pinkie suddenly shifted her head back, "I don't know, was it?"
"Um...maybe you'd better just make me a giraffe."
Pinkie Pie did so, Wild still staring to her. "I don't get it." He then walked up to her as the last kid walked away, the stallion now tapping her shoulder, "Pinkie?" she spun around, going wide-eyed at the sight of her coltfriend, "You okay?"
"Of course!" Pinkie squeaked, looking away as she replied, "Why wouldn't I be?!"
"I don't know. You've been acting more...Pinkie-ish than usual."
"No, I haven't!" She put the box on her back. "Sorry, can't stay. I've still got two more Pinkie-Promises to keep." She gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking off, Wild rubbing the spot as he stared at her.
"Baby." Pinkie suddenly froze, beginning to pant before turning to him with twitchy eyes.
"What did you just say?"
"I said...maybe. Maybe we can meet up later."
"Err...sorry, I can't. Promised the Cakes I'd look after Pound and Pumpkin. Maybe tomorrow."
"Well, maybe I-"
"BYE!" With that, she shot off like a rocket, practically leaving a Pinkie shaped cloud in her wake.
"Oookay, something's definitely up."
"Something's up, something's up."
"Baby?" Wild crossed his hooves, his mind going over several baby-related scenarios. "Is it the twins? No, she knows she can ask me to help with them. Who else does she..." His eyes began to shrink as two puzzle pieces fit together in his head, "On no..."
"Wild?" The unicorn spun around to see Cheerilee looking at him, "You ready to start the show?"
"Erm...almost," Wild slowly backpedaled before gulping, "Just uh...excuse me a moment. I um...need to uh...go get in the zone." He didn't let her say anything else, the unicorn quickly zipping to the other side of the school. Once there, he started panting as Red Puppet floated by with a bag in hand. He took it to get his breath back under control, only to heave as he moaned out, "Oh sweet mother of...I'm gonna be a dad."
"What do you mean, you're gonna be a dad?" Lightning yelled as Wild kept twiddling his hooves. They were at their place, (Lightning still hadn't gotten a house in Ponyville yet) and it was evening.
"I mean, I think Pinkie's pregnant."
"Pregnant, pregnant, pregnant."
"Seriously?!" Lightning screeched as he sat in an armchair opposite of Wild's with wide eyes.
"Look at the facts. Pinkie's been avoiding us, Springer said she's hiding something and she seemed to freak out every single time a baby was so much as mentioned. What else could it be?"
Lightning tried to reply, only to sigh as he slumped into his chair, "It's just...hard to believe. I mean, I didn't even know you two were-"
"It's not like we wanted to advertise it. Besides, it was only a few times and...well, we thought we were safe. Mrs. Cake even gave her a special tea that's meant to prevent this from happening." He then put a cushion over her head as he let out a whimper, "Oh Lightning...what am I gonna do?! I'm not ready for this!"
"Um...maybe you could start by talking to her about it?"
He muttered back into the cushion. "I tried...but I couldn't find her. As soon as my show ended, I ran off and looked everywhere. Sugarcube Corner, the Party Cave, everywhere! It's like she vanished off the face of the planet."
"Well, you'll probably see her tomorrow. She's supposed to be bringing snacks to the castle, and since she's been so elusive, she probably doesn't know Cadance and Shining are gonna be late." Wild lifted his head at that fact, Lightning shrugging in response, "Something came up, don't worry about it. Instead, you just need to pull her aside and...talk to her."
Wild sank back into the cushion, moaning in response, "Oh no...I can't avoid this, can I? I'm...I'm too young for this. I can't be a dad!"
Lightning was about to get up to give him a pat on the shoulder, only for something to chime in his head, "You also realize you'll have to let her family know, right? I get the feeling they won't be too happy with you. Remember what Maud did when Pinkie was in danger?" Wild's eyes shot open as he remembered back to when Pinkie's sister atomized a giant rock, the sight switching the rock to an image of him...and a certain part of his stallion self.
"I'm so dead."
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead!"
"You're not helping!"
The next day...
The castle was looking exceptionally neat and tidy today, Fluttershy and Springer cleaning up the map table while Rarity was giving Rainbow vases of flowers to place on higher levels. Applejack was sweeping while Flash was busy cleaning the windows, finishing the last one as he spotted Lightning and Wild walking into the room.
"Whoa...you okay Wild?" he asked while pointing at the large bags in Wild's eyes, "You don't look so good."
"I...er...didn't sleep too well last night," Wild let out a yawn as he moved over to the table and sat down in Pinkie's throne. The others all glanced at Lightning, the unicorn shrugging back as if to say 'I'll tell you later'.
Everypony nodded and got back to work, Wild slowly dropping into sleep until he heard Twilight say: "Those look yummy, Pinkie!" He spiked up and turned around, now seeing the party pony carrying large plates of cakes. "Here, let me help you." Wild got out of his seat as he tried to move to the pony as Twilight added, "But we better cover them up so they don't get spoiled."
"Why would they get spoiled?" Pinkie asked as Twilight covered them in a pair of clothes, "We're all gonna eat them super soon!"
Applejack walked up with a frown, "Didn't anypony tell yah? Shining Armor and Cadance are held up. They may not arrive 'til Saturday."
"Hey Pinkie-"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Everypony watched as Pinkie shot into the air, landing on the root chandelier as she started to hyperventilate while fanning herself with her hoof. "You mean-*gasp* I have-*cough* to wait-*pant* another whole day?!" She let out a strangled cry as she hugged the root, "I don't know if I can wait!"
Everypony just stared at her, Lightning now seeing Wild really hesitating as they watched her shiver as she clung to the chandelier. But before he could do anything, Twilight spoke up, "Pinkie Pie, do you have something you need to say? You seem like you've been keeping something in."
Pinkie covered her mouth as Fluttershy flew up to her. "We're here to listen."
She shook her head in response, Applejack sighing as she said, "Come on sugarcube."
"We're not going to judge you, darling."
Spike nodded in agreement, "You'll feel so much better once you get it off your chest!" Pinkie then pulled a balloon out of her mane and started using it to regulate her breathing.
As she did this, Rainbow flew up, "Come on-" The balloon finally popped. "Whatever it is, you can tell us! We're best friends!"
Pinkie looked like she was close to having a full-on mental breakdown, placing her hooves on her head and letting out short rapid pants. "Okay, okay, you win!" Everypony was taken aback by this outcry, Pinkie now taking one last deep breath.
Wild did a long, giant gulp as he watched her open his mouth. The sight made him go pale, Lightning putting a hoof on his shoulder as Pinkie started to say, "Shining Armor and Cadance are gonna have a-"
"An awesome weekend with the best little sister in all of Equestria!" Everypony spun around at the sudden voice, now seeing the couple in question as they stood in the doorway with suitcases beside them.
Cadance let out a giggle while she waved her hoof, "Hi everypony." They all gasped at the sight, only to hear a thud behind them. Turning around again, they found Pinkie laying on the floor, letting out a long happy sigh.
Once they were sure Pinkie wasn't hurt, Twilight went back to her brother and sister-in-law. "Shining Armor, Cadance, you're early! I thought something had come up and you weren't gonna make it until Saturday!"
"We did too. Turned out, we weren't needed in Maretonia until next week, and the summit we were supposed to attend today had to be rescheduled, so...we got here even sooner than planned!"
"Surprise!" Shining cheered as he pulled Twilight into a forehead rub, then turned to give Flash a hoof-bump.
Cadance giggled at the sight before turning to the others, "It's wonderful to see you all again!" This was met with hellos and 'great to see you' from everypony except Pinkie.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Twilight added before trotting away, "I have a big surprise for you!"
In return, Shining shot her a knowing smile. "Oh yeah?" His gaze then turned to Pinkie, Wild also staring as both saw she was sweating up a storm while her eyes darted all over the place.
The ponies then all made their way through the castle, Cadance moving up to stand beside Flash and Twilight as they lead the group, "How are you feeling Flash? You have no idea how worried Shining and I were when we heard what happened."
Flash rolled his eyes, "I'm fine. I admit, it might have been touch and go near the end, but I'm doing well now."
Cadance nodded back, "Alright. I trust you."
Flash then glanced at Twilight with a cheeky grin, "At least somepony does."
"You almost died Flash." Twilight growled back, "I have every right to be worried about you after that."
"Uh-huh. And that includes not trusting me." Flash replied while sticking his tongue out.
"Flash..."
It was here that Cadance put her hoof between them, "Oh no you two don't. I don't want you fighting right after we arrived. Right Shining?" Silence followed this, making them turn back as she repeated, "Shining?"
"I think I saw him talking with Pinkie," Spike noted as he dropped all the cases he was carrying.
But before they could ask anything, Shining and Pinkie then walked into the corridor, Flash responding, "What took you so long?"
"Sorry. Just wanted to ask Pinkie about how you're supposed to properly prepare a souffle."
"Since when did you bake?"
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Shining replied with a giant smirk, "Now, what's this surprise you had for us?" This got Twilight to shine a huge grin before opening a door. And as Shining walked inside, everypony was suddenly subject to watching him geek out as he looked around the whole room.
It took ten minutes for him to eventually calm down, the prince now staring at his sister, "This is amazing Twily!" He pulled her into a giant hug, "You're the best!"
"Thanks, BBBFF." Twilight responded before seeing the clock on the wall in the corner of her eye. Ending the hug, she said, "You two must be hungry. How about we all go out to grab a bite to eat?"
Cadance shook her head in response, "Sorry Twilight, Shining and I need to take care of something before we have lunch."
"Oh? Do you need some help?"
"We've got it. Why don't you go on ahead and we'll meet up with you at the town square once we're done. Okay?"
"Sure," Twilight and the others nodded before heading out of the castle, Shining and Cadance soon leaving as everypony else trotted to the town square. Lightning and Springer went off for midday patrol, (Flash still not allowed due to Twilight) while Twilight and the others made their way to the town square's fountain. Pinkie was the first to arrive, gnawing at her hoof as the others walked up and found that Cadance and Shining were nowhere in sight. "That's odd. Their usually quite punctual."
"Ughhh!" Rainbow moaned as she flew over to the statue in the fountain, "I need a hayburger in my belly right now!" As she said this, she hit the statue's head, caused something in its mouth to come loose.
"What's this?" Twilight took it out and saw it was a scroll, which she unfurled to read before gasping.
"What does it say?" Rarity asked next.
"A scavenger hunt!" She cheered while wagging her tail, "Shining Armor used to set these up for me when I was a filly!"
"Oh yeah...I forgot about those." Flash added before chuckling, "He usually made them for you whenever you lost sibling supreme, all so you would stop pouting." Twilight turned to him with a long glare, "Just like that."
Twilight rolled her eyes before turning back to the scroll, "Anyways...at the end, there was always a big prize, like a new book, or several new books, or-"
"We get the picture!" Pinkie yelled, "You like books!" She then shoved her face into the scroll, nopony knowing if she could actually read it like that.
"So what's the first clue?" Applejack asked while Rainbow crossed her hooves.
"I hope it's something about eating lunch!"
Pinkie then quickly read out loud. "You've got a scroll, you're on a roll, why don't you take a peek where young ones spend their week? A piece of paper will continue this caper."
Flash tilted his head, "Huh. Wonder if they asked Zecora to write this?"
"I've got it!" Twilight announced while clapping her hooves, "Where the young ones spend their week!"
"Ah'm not quite followin'," Applejack replied, only for Twilight to motion them to follow her.
As they walked after her, Wild went up to his girlfriend, "Pinkie, I think we need to talk." Pinkie whipped her head at her, quickly pulling out a zipper and using it to strap her mouth shut. "Alright..." he to a glance back at the others before whispering, "I'll talk and you nod your head if I'm right. I know the secret you're hiding." Pinkie's eyes went fully wide at this, "And I understand why you kept it from the others...but why would you keep it from me? I deserve to know." Pinkie raised an eyebrow and opened the zipper, but as she opened her mouth-
"It's the Ponyville Schoolhouse!" Twilight announced, the two entertainment ponies glancing at the princess.
Before anypony could do anything, Pinkie shot past the group, "That's good enough for me!" She then started to zip around the area, "Now where's the next clue?!" She panted like a dog next, sniffing along the ground before hitting a bush. The pony fell back on her flank with a leaf on her nose, soon sneezing it away before scratching the back of her ear like a canine.
"Extra, extra!" Everypony turned away from Pinkie's mental case, now seeing Featherweight carrying a bag of newspapers. "Get your Ponyville news! Read it in the paper! Extra, extra!"
As he continued to announce this, Twilight hummed to herself, "A piece of paper will continue this caper..." She let out a gasp next, "It's in the Foal Free Press!" She quickly ran up to Featherweight and bought one before opening it, the others all gathering around her.
"Ooh, look at that dress Mayor Mare is wearing in the social report! Why, it's stunning!" Rarity cheered, everpony glaring at her.
"Uh...didn't you make that, Rarity?"
"Why yes I did." she flipped her hair back with a grin, "What's your point?"
They didn't get to say their point as Pinkie suddenly ripped her head through the paper. "FOCUS EVERYPONY!" Her eyes started to scan the unripped parts, everypony raising an eyebrow at this.
"Oookay." Flash said with a slight cringe, "You might wanna cut back on the sugar Pinks."
Twilight nodded in agreement, "There's really no time limit on these scavenger hunts."
"Aha! There!" Pinkie replied, pointing as a piece as Twilight began to read the section aloud.
"Though this hall is rather small, in it you'll find files of all kinds. Take a look on the back of the birth certificate of Applejack." This statement made everypony turn to Applejack, the earth pony about to backpedal.
"Ah don't like where this is goin'."
One transition to the town center later...
As they got to main part of town, they found Mayor Mare panting outside of a large building. Pinkie was the first one there, zipping into the place as the others followed. And as Wild was the last through the door, his ears picked up the mayor saying, "Baby!" But before he could do anything, Pinkie shot past him and slammed a hoof over her mouth.
"A-hem?!" Mayor Mare then gave her a nervous smile, Wild raising an eyebrow at the sight.
"Does anypony know where the birth certificates are kept?" They then heard Twilight ask, Pinkie swiftly reappearing right in front of her.
"I do!" She exclaimed as she then pointed at a curtained off doorway, "Go down that hall, then you take a left, then a right, then another right, then a slight left, and it's the third door from the right!"
She began to trot to door next, only to hear Fluttershy say, "Wow Pinkie, I never knew you knew so much about town hall."
This caused Pinkie to freeze up, turning back with a twitching eye, "There's a lot of things I know, that you don't know I know!" She then shot through the curtain, leaving the rest blinking at the sight.
"What do you think she knows?" Flash asked as Wild walked past him.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's entirely her business and we have no right to ask."
"No right, no right." his puppets repeated as everypony shared a glance, a volley of shrugs soon following this. Agreeing with him a few moments later, they went down the corridor before getting to Pinkie, the party pony now holding up a file labelled 'Applejack'. She pulled out the birth certificate and handed it to the others, Flash, Twilight and Fluttershy gushing over the image of baby Applejack.
"I am so asking for a copy of that," Flash added.
"Well yah ain't getting' one," Applejack grumbled as she turned to document over, now seeing a sticky note attached to it.
Twilight read it aloud. "This next place is where you can buy a table or chair, or some comfy beds to rest little heads?"
Pinkie suddenly shot out of the room in an instant, everypony else humming in thought. That is, till the pink earth pony returned with a cringe, "Really?! None of you figured it out?!"
Flash shrugged in response, "This is a hard one."
Letting out a huge groan, Pinkie quickly zipped behind them, seemingly pushing the whole group with ease. "IT'S OBVIOUSLY THE FURNITURE STORE!" she yelled as they found themselves outside the store faster then Rainbow could chug down a mug of cider. "Go in, go in, go in!"
"I don't know..." Twilight responded, rubbing her in chin in thought, "That seems kinda off-"
"Daagh, fine! I'll do it myself!" Pinkie roared before bolting into the store, sounds of rattling, chicken squawks and an elephant call now being heard.
And as they waited, Lightning and Springer walked up to the group as the jakhowl asked, "Everypony okay? We saw you all shooting across town in a cloud of dust."
"We're fine. Pinkie's just taking this scavenger hunt a little to serious-" Flash didn't get to finish as Pinkie suddenly flew out of the store riding in what looked like a large baby crib.
The pony landed right in front of them and pointed at the sticky note attached to the crib, Rainbow whistling in response, "Wow! You're scary good at this, Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie glared at the upside down sticky note, reading aloud despite its position, "It seems we've saved the best for last. We hope that you have had a blast. Now it's time to take a break where you can get a slice of cake!"
"Sugarcube Corner!" Everypony cheered barely a second after she had finished reading.
Pinkie scoffed with her tongue out, "Eh, that was an easy one."
The group started to make their way to the restaurant, Lightning and Springer joining them on the last leg of their journey. As they did this, Lightning started walking beside Wild. "You talk to her yet?"
Wild shook his head. "No dice. She won't stay still long enough for me to get a word out. Hope all this excitement is okay, given her condition."
"Alright. Just remember, I'm here to help you-"
"Surprise!" They heard Shining yell, the two turning to see they were outside of the shop. Quickly shuffling in, they now saw that the store was decorated for a party. It was here that Shining came over and ruffled his sister's mane, "Twily, did you like the scavenger hunt?"
"It was perfect!" Twilight replied before giving him a hug, "It was just like old times, except even better because I got to share it with my best friends!" She then released the embrace, her friends all smiling as she asked, "Though uh...there is one thing missing, isn't there?"
"What's that?" Shining asked, only to see Twilight give him a knowing look.
"The book prize at the end!"
This made Shining laugh, "Oh Twiliy...there's still a prize, but it's a little different this time."
"Oh? I don't understand."
Wild was just as confused, only to hear Pinkie let out a giggle as Cadance spoke up, "All the places we sent you today had something in common."
This statement got Twilight and everypony else humming in thought, Twilight being the only one who could really focus since the others were now distracted by a vibrating Pinkie Pie. "First we went to the schoolhouse, and then we read the Foal Free Press." Pinkie seemed to be in almost physical pain, her face inflating and deflating. "After that, we found Applejack's birth certificate....and the last clue was under a crib." Pinkie suddenly pulled Pound and Pumpkin out of nowhere, though her efforts to get Twilight to see them were in vain a she continued. "Hmmm...school...foal...birth certificate...and crib?"
Wild's eyes went wide as he began to say, "Wait-"
"Can it be?" Twilight gasped as she put a hoof to her mouth, "Are you two-"
Cadance and Shining both shined a huge grin, stepping aside to reveal a large baby-themed cake behind them. "WE'RE HAVING A BABY!"
And thus, the hammer dropped as Pinkie suddenly screamed out. "A baby, Twilight! It's a baby! Woo-hoo!" They all watched as Pinkie curled up and bounced around the room, the information now sinking in.
"So...Cadance is the one who's pregnant?" The princess nodded at Wild's question.
"Who else would it be?" Wild's face went pure red, Lightning snickering at the sight.
Twilight then spoke up, "You mean...I'm going to be an aunt?!" The couple nodded, Twilight's smile now widening till she exploded with joy. "This is the best prize ever!" Shining and Cadance both laughed as Twilight flew over, throwing her hooves around the two. "Oh, I love you two! I can't wait to meet your little foal!"
"Neither can we," Shining replied before the others all gathered around, all soon giving their congratulations.
The only ones who didn't were Pinkie and Wild, the unicorn watching as the earth pony dance around, "I did it, I did it, I did it, I did it!" It was here that she froze in midair before somehow exploding into a ton of tiny pieces that fell to the floor. Wild rushed over to see if she was alright, but Pinkie continued to smile as one of her hooves floated up as her mouth said, "Go Pinkie."
Wild couldn't hold back and let out a mighty laugh, then began reassembling the poor mare.
One convoluted conversation later...
"What?!" Pinkie yelped as Wild put her last leg into place, "You thought I was the one who was pregnant?!"
The party was now in full swing, Flash, Shining and Mr. Cake all chattering while the others were enjoying their own conversations. "Yeah..." Wild said with a long sigh, "It uh...it just made sense. You were keeping everything from us and freaking out every single time you saw anything baby-related. Sorry if I jumped to conclusions."
"Sorry, sorry, sorry."
Pinkie just shook her head before pulling him into a hug. "Don't worry about it. I get what you're saying and I'm sorry I made you worry." She then ended the embrace, "Though...what would you have done if I was pregnant?"
Wild's face went red again, "Uh....I'd be ecstatic, but I'm glad I won't be a dad for a while. You and I have still got some wild times ahead of us before we even think of having kids. Heck, we've still gotta meet each other's family."
Pinkie giggled at this, slinging a hoof around his shoulders, "How about you come to my family's place for Heartswarming? You could meet my whole family. Applejack's family's coming too, since we're related."
Wild did a small nod, "Sure. Looking forward to it." Pinkie then gave him another hug, Cadance walking over to get them back into the party.
Later...
Once the party had calmed down, everypony headed off home with the royal family arriving at the castle as the sun began to set. "So let me get this straight," Flash said as they entered the library, Twilight carrying mugs of hot cocoa as the group began seating themselves. "Pinkie knew about your surprise and kept it to herself the whole time?"
"That's right," Cadance snuggled up to Shining while sipping her drink. "She said it was a piece of cake, but I think she was having trouble."
Springer slumped into a beanbag, "Wow. I don't think I could keep that in. Pinkie's tougher than I gave her credit for."
Twilight nodded while taking a sip, "I've gotta make sure to come up with a way to thank her for everything she must have gone through."
"Same," Shining added. "It's partly our fault she had to go through all that."
Flash put his hooves behind his head, "Yeah. One of the things I've learned is that when you're planning a celebration, Pinkie Pie is the constant. Always take Pinkie Pie into consideration, even if you don't think she's gonna have anything to do with said celebration."
"That would have been nice to know last week," Cadance huffed. "We really need to do something to make it up to her."
Scootaloo spoke up next. "You could get a cake, or whatever her favorite dessert is, with the words 'thanks Pinkie' written on it."
"That's a great idea. Flash and I can go get one tomorrow."
"Twilight...I'm back on patrol tomorrow."
"But Flash-"
"No. We talked about this." Flash interrupted, putting his hoof over her mouth as she glared back at him.
Cadance couldn't help but giggle at the interaction, "Leave him be Twilight. Never try to stop a colt that's trying to show off how stallionly he is. It never ends well and they just start whining like colts."
"Hey!" Both Flash and Shining barked, making the others all giggle.
"Anyways..." Cadance's eyebrows started hopping as she said to Twilight, "I bet you're looking forward to being an aunt."
"You bet I am. I can't wait to meet her...him...whichever it is."
"Any idea which?" Flash asked, Shining shaking his head.
"Nah. We've decided to keep it a secret until it's born. Heck, we won't even know what it is before then. Probably a unicorn."
"It could be a pegasus," Cadance noted. "I was one before I became an alicorn."
"Well, couldn't it be an alicorn?" Scootaloo asked, causing the two awaiting parents too blink before glancing at one another.
"That's not possible...right?"
"How should I know?" Cadance replied with a shrug, "It's not like I know any alicorns that have given birth."
"You're probably fine. As far as I can remember, there hasn't been any mention of alicorns giving birth to other alicorns. I mean, for all we know, Celestia and Luna weren't always alicorns. They could have been made into them before Starswirl found them and don't remember the transformation."
Cadance hummed at this, "I'd still like to be sure though." She stared down at rubbed her stomach, "But you know what, I don't care what it is. Alicorn, unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony...heck, even bat pony. As long as it's happy and healthy, I'll be fine with it." She then put her head on her husband's shoulder, "Though I wouldn't mind if it grew up to be as strong as its daddy."
Shining kissed her forehead, "And as loving as its mommy." He glanced over at Twilight, "And as smart as its aunty."
"And as brave as its uncle," Cadance added, Scootaloo and Spike now sticking their tongues out at the 'mushy stuff'. The ponies then took another sip of cocoa as Cadance continued, "And who knows, maybe in a few years, it'll have a little cousin to play with."
It was a good thing that the seating area was placed far away from any of the bookshelves, as Twilight spat out a blast of brown spew on Flash. "CADANCE!" The Princess of Friendship screamed, everypony else laughing themselves silly at the couple's faces.
"Oh Twilight, you know I'm kidding...mostly."
Twilight's face was now fully red as she looked away, Flash wiping off his face before putting his wings over his lover. And as they cuddled, the family began to talk into the night, all ready to spend more family time with Shining and Cadance. Knowing a new addition of family was on the horizon, the future was looking bright for the heroes.