I was at the new schoolhouse playground one day with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. I was surprised they made up so quickly after that whole fiasco at the election.
“How have you been holding up, Tiara?” I asked.
“I’ve been feeling a lot better, all things considered,” Tiara replied. “Even with all the stuff going on at my home.”
“What’s been going there?” I knew what the possible results were, but I wanted to know the details.
“When my dad heard how I called my mom out, he wasn’t happy, but he was able to hear my side of the story. Then much later this weird pony came to our estate.”
“What did they look like?”
“They were some sort of teal unicorn. They wore this maroon cape and silver medal. They said they were from this group called the EEA, whatever that means.”
So it wasn’t Neighsay. He must’ve sent one of the other members of the council.
“Anyway,” Tiara continued. “They said that my mom had been accused of using the money from the school to buy personal stuff, and she’ll be put under probation until they confirm it.”
“Wait. Aren’t your parents, like, super rich?” Silver Spoon asked. “Why would your mother use somepony else’s money to buy stuff when she’s married to a wealthy businesspony?”
“How should I know? I can’t tell what her reasoning is. My dad and I didn’t even know she would do something like that. So this EEA pony is gonna check if she really did bedazzle the school’s budget.”
“‘Embezzle,’” I corrected.
“Yeah, that. Worst case scenario, she loses her job. Best case, she gets a slap on her wrist. Or was it the other way around?”
Honestly, it was a good thing I sent that letter. Hopefully, Spoiled does face punishment.
It was also better that I could talk to Tiara and Silver Spoon now that the CMC had their cutie marks. I didn’t know why the show decided to drop focus on those two after the events of Season 5.
One day, I was helping Twilight and Starlight in the library when all of a sudden, my stomach squeezed.
BURRRP!!
I burped out a scroll. It had a sigil of the Crystal Heart. Twilight picked it up and read it.
“It’s from Shining Armor!” She exclaimed.
“Dear Twily,
Cadance and I are planning to come visit Ponyville this Friday. Since this is a casual visit, we’ll be taking the Friendship Express in hopes we don’t cause too much of a scene. We hope to see you then. I’ve got some great activities in mind for all of us to do.
Signed,
Shining Armor”
“Ohh! This is so great!” Twilight trotted in place “I’ve actually got some plans myself for when they come to visit! Excuse me.”
As Twilight left the library, I realized this episode was “The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows.” In the show, Pinkie knew that Princess Cadance was pregnant, and tried her best to keep it secret until much later.
In my opinion, this was one of my favorite episodes of Season 5 along with “Slice of Life” and “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”. It had both its funny and cute moments. I remembered there was one moment in the episode where Pound Cake was riding Gummy. I found that to be the most adorable, and I wasn’t the only one. I recalled that back in my world, there was an artist who used to draw different ponies riding on Gummy. I wondered what he’s been up to these days.
I didn’t know what to change for this episode. The only fix I could do is not accidentally burn one of Shining Armor’s old comics, and that’s about it.
On the day before Shining and Cadance’s scheduled visit, Twilight had summoned the girls and I to the throne room. Pinkie acted nervous while Rarity looked at her confused. I guess the party pony already knew about Princess Cadance’s pregnancy.
“Great! Everypony's here,” Twilight said as I handed her a scroll. “Now I don't have to wait any longer to tell you all the wonderful news! Somepony special is coming to visit Ponyville, and I need your help getting everything ready!”
Everypony cheered after hearing that. Just like in the show, Twilight announced that it was Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, they will be coming tomorrow, and they’ll take the Friendship Express. She would’ve announced it by herself, but Pinkie Pie kept finishing her sentences.
“And?” Pinkie got up close to Twilight.
“And…that’s it.” Twilight shrugged.
“Oh.” Disappointment appeared on Pinkie’s face.
“How did you know all that?” Rainbow asked.
Pinkie nervously giggled before answering, “Pinkie Sense?”
That’s your answer for everything. Besides “a party,” I mean.
Pinkie quickly returned to her seat.
“So, you said you needed our help with something?” Rainbow asked Twilight.
“Follow me,” replied Twilight as she got out of her throne.
Twilight escorted us to one of the guest bedrooms. Instead of being decorated with general items, it was covered in kids items, such as toys, posters, and even child-themed furniture.
“When Shining Armor said he wanted to come to the castle and visit,” Twilight said. “I started collecting things he liked when he was a colt as a surprise!”
The instant Twilight said that last word, Pinkie got all perked up. I know keeping secrets wasn’t her forte, but she could at least try to pretend she wasn’t hiding anything.
The rest of the girls took to admiring the decor. Fluttershy enjoyed the ant farm, while I looked at some of the old comic books. I was careful and did not blow on them like the Old Spike did. Pinkie took note of Brutus Force, a plush that Shining Armor used to carry around.
“It is a bit juvenile for castle décor, but it is very sweet of you,” Rarity said to Twilight.
“I'm sure Shining Armor will love it,” Fluttershy added.
“Me, too,” Twilight said. “But there's a few more things I'd like to add before he gets here, and I could really use a hoof collecting them.”
Everypony agreed to help and couldn’t wait to see how surprised Shining and Cadance would be.
“Watching somepony else be surprised with something is almost better than being the one who's getting the surprise!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“But…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?!” Pinkie asked in fear as she gripped Fluttershy.
“I would say…no,” Fluttershy responded.
“The pony who ruins a surprise for somepony else has to live with that guilt forever!” Rarity said sternly.
“Forever!” I shouted, causing Pinkie and Rarity to jump. “Heh, sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“Gotta bounce!” Pinkie literally bounced off the walls before breaking through one of the castle walls to exit.
“I know the bar is set pretty high,” Rainbow said, “but does anypony else think Pinkie Pie was acting weirder than usual?”
“Perhaps.” Twilight cast a spell to restore the hole in the wall. “But for now, let’s get everything ready.”
We exited the bedroom.
“Okay, let’s see.” Twilight scratched her chin. “We’ll need some decorations. A few places need to be cleaned. Oh! We’ll need snacks. Fluttershy, go and tell Pinkie to bring some snacks.”
“Sure thing.” Fluttershy walked a few steps before turning right around. “Just one question. What snacks should she bring?”
“How about a vegetable platter? Have her bring one with lots of baby carrots. They’re Shining Armor’s favorite.”
“Baby carrots, got it.”
Fluttershy flew away. The rest of us went on to prepare for the visit.
Twilight and I left the party store with a couple of paper banners. Pinkie Pie came running down the street lugging a dessert cart behind her.
“Hey, Pinkie,” Twilight greeted. “We were just—”
But Pinkie zoomed past us without acknowledging our existence.
“Huh. That’s weird.” Twilight scratched her head. “How did she not notice us?”
“Well she was carrying that dessert cart,” I replied. “Maybe she has—hurk!”
“She has what, Spike?!”
“BELCH!!”
A scroll shot straight out of my mouth. Twilight picked it up from the ground.
“Another letter from Shining Armor.” Twilight undid the seal and skimmed through the paper. “Aww, what a shame.”
“What is it?” I rubbed my mouth.
“Cadance and Shining Armor have to hold back on visiting us for another day. We better tell the girls about this.”
“Well, you’re in luck, because here comes one now.”
Rainbow Dash came flying back. Unlike her previous attempt with Pinkie, Twilight was able to get Dashie’s attention.
“What’s up, Twilight?” Rainbow asked.
“Could you find the rest of the girls and have them meet up at the picnic tables?” Twilight asked. “I’m afraid I’ve got some disappointing news.”
“Sure thing.” Rainbow saluted before dashing off.
A short while later, the girls and I were at the picnic benches. Most of us anyway. Pinkie Pie was absent.
“Has anyone seen Pinkie Pie today?” Rarity asked.
“Briefly,” Applejack said.
Everypony else had the same experience.
“Oh, wait, here she comes!” Rainbow got up. “Hey, Pinkie, we’ve been—”
Once again, Pinkie ignored Rainbow and continued on her swift delivery route.
“Seriously, what’s with her?” Rainbow asked. “It’s like she’s been purposely avoiding us for some reason.”
“Well, somepony has to deliver all those treats,” I said. “Pinkie Pie takes her sweets seriously.”
“I’ll say, she even left her glasses.” Fluttershy showed us Pinkie’s groucho glasses before putting them on.
“She must have quite the backlog,” Rarity pointed out. “Earlier, my order of macadamia nut cookies came via zipline. I’ve heard of ponies not having enough time to stay and chat, but Pinkie takes it to the utmost extreme as it were.”
“Well, anyway,” Twilight sighed. “I asked you all here because, unfortunately, Shining and Cadance have delayed their visit for Saturday.”
“Ain’t that a misfortune?” Applejack said as disappointment filled the air.
“It is, but we can still spruce up the place. It’s only one extra day.”
The girls and I returned to the throne room to finish preparations. Starlight joined us to help.
“You know, I never really got to know your brother or his wife that much, Twilight,” Starlight said. “Other than the fact that he cries a lot at weddings.”
“You might want to call that ‘liquid pride’ when he’s around,” Twilight said. “Just trust me on that.”
Much later, Pinkie Pie came in carrying vegetable platters. Twilight thanked her and enclosed the food with silver cloches.
“We better cover them up so they don't get spoiled,” Twilight said.
“Why would they get spoiled?” Pinkie asked. “We're all gonna eat them super soon!”
“Oh, didn’t anypony tell ya? Shining Armor and Cadance are held up,” Applejack said. “They may not arrive 'til Saturday.”
Pinkie sprang up in shock. She held onto one of the branches of the chandelier for dear life, rapidly breathing.
“You mean...I have...to wait...another whole day?!” She hugged the branch like a toddler to a parent’s leg. “I don't know if I can!”
“Pinkie Pie, do you have something you need to say?” Twilight asked. “You seem like you've been keeping something in.”
“We're here to listen,” Fluttershy assured Pinkie.
“Well, go on then, sugarcube,” Applejack encouraged.
“We're not going to judge you, darling,” Rarity added.
“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” I said.
“Spike!” Twilight said.
“Come on, Twi, don’t pressure her. If she doesn’t want to talk about it right now, then—”
“Okay, okay, you win!” Pinkie inhaled deeply. “Shining Armor and Cadance are gonna have—”
“—an awesome weekend with the best little siblings in all of Equestria!” a familiar stallion’s voice interrupted.
We all turned to see Cadance and Shining Armor with their luggage.
“Hi, everypony,” Cadance greeted.
Pinkie sighed sharply as she floated down to the map like a piece of pink construction paper.
“Shining Armor, Cadance!” Twilight exclaimed. “You're early! I thought something had come up and you weren't gonna make it until Saturday.”
As it turns out, a couple of events that Cadance and Shining Armor were supposed to attend had to be rescheduled, so they were able to visit Ponyville much sooner, which was good news for Twilight and Pinkie.
We all cleared out of the throne room. I carried the luggage.
“Where do you want these, Cadance?” I asked.
“Oh, just set those aside for now,” Cadance replied. “We’ll put them in our room later.”
I shrugged and obliged.
“So you’re Twilight’s student?” Cadance asked Starlight.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Starlight replied. “My name is Starlight Glimmer. I think I saw you and your husband at Cranky and Matilda's wedding, but I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Starlight. I’m Princess Cadance, the ruler of the Crystal Empire.”
Starlight widened her eyes. “The Crystal Empire?”
“Y…yes.” Cadance stared at her awkwardly. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh…well…” Starlight rubbed the back of her head. “Let’s just say I have history with somepony there…”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” Cadance cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m sure we're gonna have a lot of fun on our visit, everypony. Let’s head on out.”
“Ooh, wait!” Twilight said. “I’ve got to show the surprise to my brother first!”
Twilight escorted Shining Armor to where the newly-decorated kid’s bedroom was.
About a few minutes later, we were out of the castle. I took it from Shining and Twilight’s gleeful expressions that Shining Armor loved the surprise. Maybe even more since I didn’t burn any of his old comic books.
“Thank you so much for that, Twily!” Shining exclaimed.
“No problem,” Twilight replied.
“Say, since we’re in Ponyville right now,” Cadance said. “There were a few things Shining Armor and I needed to take care of.” She discreetly winked at Shining.
“Right,” Shining said, taking the hint. “We’ll meet you all at the town square shortly.”
The married couple hurried down the road. The Mane 6, Starlight, and I walked leisurely.
“I’m glad Shining liked the surprise you made,” I said.
“You should’ve seen him,” Twilight responded. “He couldn't stop raving about it!”
That’s when Rainbow’s stomach growled.
“Where did Shining Armor and Cadance say they'd meet us again?” Rainbow asked. “I'm starving!”
“Now that you mentioned it, we never had lunch, did we?” Starlight pointed out.
“What happened to those vegetable trays Pinkie brought?” Fluttershy scratched her head. “I thought we were going to eat those.”
“So did I,” I replied.
“I guessed not.” Twilight shrugged. “To answer your question, Rainbow, Shining and Cadance are going to meet us in the town square. I wish they'd waited to walk over with us, but they did say they had something to take care of first.”
Pinkie whispered through gritted teeth, “They're gonna have a lot more to take care of soon...”
“What?” Twilight turned to Pinkie.
“Nothing!” Pinkie zoomed past us.
By the time we arrived at the town square, there was nopony else around.
“That's odd.” Twilight looked around. “Usually, they're quite punctual.”
Dashie groaned. “I need a hayburger in my belly right now!” She smacked a nearby statue, which had a scroll in its mouth.
“Hey, what’s that?” Starlight asked. “I don’t remember the statue having a scroll.” She levitated the paper towards her and read it. “Is…this some sort of filly’s poem?”
Twilight raised her eyebrows and gasped. “Let me see!” She grabbed the paper. “It's a scavenger hunt! Shining Armor used to set these up for me when I was a filly! At the end, there was always a big prize, like a new book, or several new books, or—”
“We get the picture,” Pinkie snapped. “You like books!” She swiped the scroll from Twilight and read it.
“So what's the first clue?” Applejack asked.
“I hope it's something about eating lunch!” RD complained.
Pinkie read rapidly:
“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.”
Twilight scratched her chin. “I've got it! ‘Where the young ones spend their week.’”
“I’m not quite followin’,” AJ said.
“Follow me.”
Twilight quickly took us to where the next clue might be, which was at…
“The Ponyville Schoolhouse!” Twilight announced.
“Good enough for me!” Pinkie declared. “Now where’s the next clue?!” She panted and sniffed the ground like a dog.
That’s when Featherweight came by carrying a stack of newspapers.
“Extra, extra!” He announced. “Get your Ponyville news! Read it in the paper!”
“‘A piece of paper will continue this caper.’” Twilight then realized what the last stanza meant. “It's in the Foal Free Press!”
Twilight got a paper from Featherweight and flipped through the pages. Rarity was temporarily distracted by an outfit the mayor wore in one of the pictures, but Pinkie was quick to put her on track.
“Aha! There!” Pinkie pointed to a box that had another poem.
Twilight read:
“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.”
We all stared at the farm pony, who also had no idea she was involved.
“I don’t like where this is goin’,” AJ said uncomfortably.
We immediately headed to the town hall. Mayor Mare was anxious to let us in. I bet she also knew about the pregnancy.
“Does anypony know where the birth certificates are kept?” Twilight asked.
“Ooh! I do, I do!” Pinkie answered. “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!”
“Wow, Pinkie. I never knew you knew so much about town hall,” Fluttershy said.
“Maybe that’s how she knows every pony in Ponyville?” I asked.
“There's a lot of things I know that you don't know I know!” Pinkie exclaimed.
I know what she was implying, but out of context, that seemed creepy.
When we entered the room of the birth certificates, Pinkie opened a file cabinet. She pulled out a folder that contained AJ’s certificate and a very cute image of the farm pony as a baby. Much to my surprise, her eyes were completely black just like the ones in “Apple Family Reunion.” What was weird was that in the show, baby Applejack’s eyes on the birth certificate were similar to Flurry Heart’s, which caused an inconsistency. However, I supposed that was just a design error.
I shrugged it off and continued fawning over the baby picture before a bashful Applejack turned the document over.
After Twilight giggled, she read:
“This next place is where
you can buy a table or chair,
or some comfy beds
to rest little heads.”
“Oh!” Starlight clapped her hooves together. “Is it the furniture store?”
“That could be it,” I replied.
“It IS it!” Pinkie grabbed all of us and carried us to our destination.
We all entered the store. The establishment was covered in more furniture than in an IKEA outlet.
“Are we sure it’s in here?” Applejack asked.
“Well, it’s what the clue said,” Twilight said unsurely. “We’ll have to check every table, chair and bed to—”
“It’s here! It’s here!” Pinkie shouted from across the store.
We gathered up to find Pinkie bouncing on the crib. A note was attached to one of the bars.
“Wow, you're scary good at this, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Get off of there, Pinkie,” I scolded. “It’s not a trampoline, it’s a crib. It’s to be used for napping, sleeping, and (with permission) an old-timey Western fort.”
“Huh, I just had the strangest case of deja vu for a second there,” Pinkie calmly said.
Twilight read the final clue:
“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!” The girls shouted in unison.
“That was an easy one,” Pinkie scoffed.
After we left the shop, we made our way to Sugarcube Corner. There we found Shining Armor and Cadance. The place was also decorated with balloons and banners.
“Surprise!” Shining announced. “Twily, did you like the scavenger hunt?”
“It was perfect!” Twilight exclaimed. “Just like old times, except even better because this time I got to share it with my best friends.” She then looked around. “There's just one thing missing, isn't there?”
“What’s that?”
“The book prize at the end.”
Shining chuckled. “There's still a prize, but it's a little different this time.”
“I don’t understand.”
Pinkie giggled with excitement.
“All the places we sent you today had something in common,” Cadance pointed out.
“Besides all of them being in Ponyville?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s not the only reason why they’re connected.”
Twilight tried to connect everything while Pinkie tried not to burst. I tried to hold back my laughter. Only one of us was succeeding.
That’s when Twilight's mind clicked.
“Can it be?! Are you two...?!”
Cadance and Shining revealed a cake with a baby carriage on it. “We're having a baby!”
Pinkie then let it all out. “A baby, Twilight! It's a baby!”
Twilight stood in silence. “You mean... I'm going to be an aunt?!” A smile appeared on her face as her wings unfurled. “This is the best prize ever!”
As everypony celebrated, Pinkie praised herself for keeping the secret to the very end. Then she fell apart figuratively and literally.
Twilight, Starlight and I sat together.
“I can’t believe Princess Cadance is pregnant,” Starlight said.
“Me neither!” Twilight clapped her hooves. “I wonder what the baby will look like.”
“Do you think the baby will be an alicorn?” I asked. “I mean, it could happen, given their mother.”
“I…don’t know, Spike. No pony has ever witnessed a baby alicorn being born into Equestria. Even with unicorns and pegasi being together.”
“What about Princess Celestia and Luna?” Starlight asked. “And Cadance for that matter?”
“Princess Celestia and Luna weren’t born in Equestria, and Cadance was a pegasus,” Twilight explained.
The two girls and I continued celebrating. This was a hilarious day. Seeing Pinkie trying to hold a secret was perhaps one of the funniest moments in the show. Also, Shining Armor’s comic books never got burned.
I didn’t know how long a pony’s pregnancy was in Equestria. It could have been nine months like humans or eleven like actual horses. All I knew was that some episodes of Season 6 were going to occur much earlier than the premiere even without my changes to the timeline.