At Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was trying her best to top a personal record she'd set quite a while ago. She was now counting off a list of freshly decorated and iced cupcakes, even though the only audience she had consisted of Gummy and Pound Cake (who seemed much more interested in giving his pacifier to Gummy when he thought Pinkie wasn't looking).
The pink party pony climbed down from a ladder, admiring her work and counting to herself. "Let's see here: Five hundred and sixty-six, five hundred and sixty-seven, five hundred and sixty-eight," Then she paused and wiped the sweat from her brows. Trying to break this record was quite a challenge. "What do you think of that, Pound Cake?" She asked the pegasus toddler, not noticing he didn't have his pacifier in his mouth. "I am so close to breaking my personal cupcake-icing record! Just a few more and I'll have beaten it! I'm getting pretty good at this."
Pound Cake briefly looked at the cupcakes, then turned his attention back to Gummy as he tried to climb on top of the baby alligator.
Just then, Mrs. Cake came trotting in with Pumpkin Cake on her back. The plump baker was currently holding a piece of paper in one of her hooves, which seemed to be where her attention was focused. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe what I'm seeing here!"
Pinkie smiled. "Oh, I know. It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself. I can't wait to throw a party to celebrate me breaking my own record!"
But Mrs. Cake didn't turn her attention or gaze away from the paper in her hooves. "Not that, Pinkie. Something's come up," And she asked the pink party pony. "Since Carrot's out shopping for the twins, would you mind watching the counter while I pop to the supply room real quick? We've just received a very special order from the Crystal Empire, and the ingredients need to be perfect. It's for the royal couple, after all."
Pinkie Pie happily nodded. "Okie-dokie-lokie. Can do." And she gave a small salute.
Mrs. Cake breathed a small sigh of relief. "Thanks, dear! You're a life saver!" And she zipped away, unintentionally dropping the paper in the process.
Being quite the curious pony, Pinkie naturally couldn't resist taking a peak at what was on the paper that had just been dropped onto the floor. After making sure nopony was looking, she snatched it up and her blue eyes scanned the paper left and right. What she read nearly made her eyes pop out as she gasped, happily exclaiming! "A baby?! Shining Armor and Princess Cadence are having a baby?!" She let out a happy squeal! "Oh, this is the best news ever!" Then she added. "Wait 'til I tell Twilight she's gonna be an auntie! It'll totally freak her frizz!"
Yet just then, Mrs. Cake poked her head out from the kitchen. Upon seeing the paper in Pinkie's hooves, she realized that the pink party pony now knew what was giving the plump baker so much trouble. Nervously, she cautioned. "Oh, Pinkie, you weren't supposed to find out just yet. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence did say they want to tell Twilight the news themselves when they come here to get the cake. So, you know, keep it a secret until then." And she made a shushing motion with her hooves as she dipped back inside (Pumpkin Cake imitating the gesture as she continued to ride on her mother's back).
Pinkie Pie's happy mood immediately faded, replaced by one of great worry. "What? A top secret surprise?! But that means I have to keep the exciting news," She gulped. "To myself! Oh, what am I gonna do?!" Sighing, she said to herself. "Well, I Pinkie Pie do hereby Pinkie Promise myself that I will keep this secret no matter what it takes!" She repeated the motions to herself while chanting. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." And with that, she had binded herself to this vow.
What the pink party pony couldn't have anticipated was just how hard it was going to be to keep herself from blabbing the secret, especially to Twilight.
Hoping to get her mind off her troubles and avoid having to think about the secret she had unintentionally found out about, Pinkie decided to go out for a walk. And so as to avoid being alone with her thoughts, she took Gummy with her. She apparently hadn't noticed that the baby alligator still had Pound's pacifier in his mouth.
A sigh of regret escaped the party pony's lips as she lamented aloud. "I know I didn't make the Pinkie Promise to Mrs. Cake, Gummy. But I made it to myself. It's a promise I have to keep. It's only for a day or two, really. I can keep it to myself until then. If I told Twilight, that would be bad! That would make me a... a... a big old surprise ruiner! Right, Gummy?" She paused and asked the baby alligator.
Gummy just replied with a few suckles on the baby blue pacifier in his mouth.
Pinkie couldn't help but giggle as she pulled the pacifier out and held it aloft. "Did you take that from Pound Cake again?" She playfully scolded him. "I know, I know, he's getting to the point where he doesn't need it as much. But he hasn't outgrown it yet. He and Pumpkin Cake only just started potty training, you know. And it's wrong to steal from a baby, no matter how old or how big they are."
Just then, a very familiar voice happened to call out. "What's all this about a baby?" A moment later, a rather confused looking Rarity appeared before Pinkie's very eyes.
Pinkie Pie broke out into a nervous sweat. Her eyes darted all around as she suspiciously denied. "What? Who? What? Who said something about a baby?! I didn't say anything!"
Rarity wasn't fooled. "Don't be daft, Pinkie. I know I heard you. You said 'baby', I'm sure of it. Whatever were you talking about? Is something wrong with the Cake twins?"
"N-no, you're just hearing things! I didn't say anything!" Pinkie insisted. Then, thinking quickly, she took the pacifier and popped it into her own mouth to keep herself from talking.
Rarity found the behavior quite strange, even by Pinkie Pie standards. But she sensed she wasn't going to get any answers from the pink party pony, so she instead told her. "Well, in any case, Twilight told me to tell you she wants all us to meet her at her castle right away. She says she has something very important she wants to share with us," And then she trotted away, though not before frowning and grimacing. "I do hope you'll wash that... thing before you give it back to Pound Cake."
Pinkie watched Rarity trot away, then yanked the pacifier out of her mouth and breathed a faint sigh of relief. "Boy, keeping that Pinkie Promise is gonna be harder than I thought." She said to herself, already dreading what the next twenty four hours would be like, even as she trotted along to travel to Twilight's castle.
A short time later, Pinkie Pie reached the crystal castle and quickly made her way to the throne room. All her friends were there too, as was a very obviously excited Twilight given the noticeable smile on her face.
"Great! You're all here," Twilight beamed. "Now I don't have to wait any longer to tell you all the wonderful news I just received!" And without waiting for anypony to ask her, she told her friends. "Someponies very special are coming to visit Ponyville, and I need your help getting everything ready for their visit!"
The five other mares in the room began excitedly chattering amongst themselves (except for Pinkie Pie, who remained suspiciously silent).
Clearing her throat, Twilight began. "It's..."
But Pinkie interrupted, unintentionally saying aloud at the same time as Twilight. "-Shining Armor and Princess Cadence!"
The young alicorn blinked in surprise, before she resumed talking. "-Y-yes, and they're coming here-"
"-Tomorrow!" Pinkie Pie interrupted again.
Again, Twilight was left surprised and confused. Yet she continued speaking. "Right. And it'll be-"
And once again, Pinkie interrupted, finishing Twilight's sentence for her. "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. Right?" As she spoke she had gotten up from her seat and was now pressing her snout right into Twilight's at the opposite end of the table.
The young alicorn nodded quite slowly. "Y-yes. That's all true, Pinkie."
Then the pink party pony vaguely and suspiciously asked. "And?"
Blinking anew, Twilight just replied. "And nothing. That's it. I even re-read the letter just to be sure," She put a hoof to her chin. "It is kind of odd they're coming to Ponyville so suddenly. Come to think of it, I don't think I've really heard from them since Cranky and Matilda's wedding. I guess life in the Crystal Empire must keep them busy."
"Y-yes, very busy." Pinkie Pie commented, sounding rather upset about the apparent lack of anything further.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but ask of her pink party friend. "Uh, how did you know all that? Did they tip you off or something?"
Pinkie shook her head and stretched out her neck not unlike a giraffe. "It was just... 'Pinkie Sense', that's all."
Rainbow then coughed into a hoof as she watched Pinkie return to her seat. To Twilight, she then asked. "So, you said you needed our help with something, Twilight?"
The young alicorn's bright smile returned as she rose from her seat. "Indeed I did. Follow me." And she led her friends away without another word.
As it turned out, Twilight had somehow managed to convert an entire guest bedroom within the castle to look like something a little colt would have. There was even a toy chest, a miniature train set, and posters depicting a unicorn stallion with a glowing ring of some sort around his horn.
Rainbow Dash was the first one to speak up and offer her sentiments on the room! "Sweet posters! Is that Smash Fortune on them?"
Twilight happily nodded. "You bet it is! Shining Armor told me he wanted to come to the castle and visit with me for a while," She then teased. "He's been joking about old he's been feeling lately, so I figured I'd help him feel young at heart again. I've been gathering up things he liked when he was a colt as a surprise! And boy is he going to be surprised when he sees all of this with his own two eyes!"
"What? A surprise?!" Pinkie Pie commented as she dove into the toy chest, before placing a toy helmet over her head and spinning it around to block her mouth as she gave off a nervous laugh.
Twilight's smile grew brighter as she confirmed. "Indeed. And I've been so excited I can barely keep it to myself! It's so hard!"
"I have no idea what that's like." Pinkie insisted in a tone of voice that was not as innocent sounding as she wanted it to be. For a moment, she thought she saw everypony glaring at her. But the moment passed and nopony said anything.
Fluttershy had her attention drawn to something she found equal parts adorable and fascinating. "Aww, look at the cute little ant farm!" She cooed, not appearing to notice when she made one of the ants inside become frightened by the presence of her big eyes.
Spike, meanwhile, had opened a cabinet and found several comic books in a protective bag. "Whoa! Check out these old comic books! I didn't know they still exisited!"
"Be careful!" Twilight warned the little dragon. "They're mint-in-bag! You can't exactly find these at a store, you know." And she watched as Spike hesitantly put the books back without touching them any further.
Then Pinkie happened to pull out a small, stuffed turtle in shades of green and orange. "Hey, what's this?" She asked.
Smiling, Twilight trotted over and explained. "That's Brutus Force, Shining Armor's snuggle buddy when he was a colt. He used to take him everywhere, carry him around like his baby."
Upon hearing the word "baby", Pinkie began noticeably un-eased. She shuffled her front hooves as she hastily put the stuffed turtle back where she'd found it, and tried to look as innocent as she could. "Uh, yeah!" She said in between fits of nervous laughter. "R-real cute!"
Rarity saw fit to add her own sentiments. "Well, it is a bit juvenile for castle décor, but it is very sweet of you to do this for your brother."
"And I'm sure Shining Armor will love it when he sees it," Fluttershy commented with a smile. "I know I would."
The young alicorn smiled back, delighted that her friends all seemed to think that her decision was a good one to make. "Me too. But there's a few more things that I'd like to add before he gets here, and I could really use a hoof collecting them. It was already hard enough just getting some of the things you see here. I wasn't sure I could get my hooves on Brutus Force, but I'm lucky my mom held onto him after Shining outgrew him."
Applejack then offered. "Whatever you need, sugarcube, we'll help you get it. You can count on it!" And the rest of Twilight's friends all nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, girls!" Twilight said to the five other mares. "You're the best, really!" Then she giddly exclaimed! "Ooh! I can hardly wait until Shining Armor walks in here and sees it all!" Then she giggled. "And Cadence's reaction will be great to see too! I'm sure it'll bring back memories of when she used to foalsit me!"
Rainbow Dash could only comment. "Well, if you ask me, watching somepony else be surprised with something is almost better than being the one who's getting the surprise! Nopony in their right mind should take that away from somepony!"
Pinkie seemed to think otherwise as she crawled out of the toy chest and made her way across the floor. "But... but... but what if the surprise is something so incredibly exciting that a pony can't keep it in any longer, and they just have to tell the pony standing next to them what it is or they might explode?!" When she finished that sentence, she grabbed a hold of Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was silent for a moment as she looked at Pinkie Pie, and then in no uncertain terms told the party pony. " I would say... no. You can't do that."
And Rarity ominously declared as she trotted up and pressed her snout against the pink coated earth pony. "The pony who ruins a surprise for somepony else has to live with that guilt," Pausing for dramatic effect, she then declared. "Forever!" Yet she was quick to ask her friend as if her last words had meant nothing. "Is there something you wanted to tell us, Pinkie? Something you weren't supposed to tell us?"
The pink party pony bit her lip, unsure of what to say or do. She eventually shouted at the top of her lungs! "Gotta bounce!" And she began bouncing all about the room, not unlike a pinball! Pretty soon, she had broken through the solid crystal wall of the room and disappeared into the distance.
The strange behavior of their friend did not go unnoticed by the other mares, but only Rainbow Dash seemed to see fit to ask. "So, I know the bar is set pretty high, but does anypony else think Pinkie Pie was acting weirder than usual just now?"
"She certainly has if you ask me," Rarity commented with concern. "Just what has gotten into her today?" No one in the room seemed to know why that was, however.
Pinkie had stopped bouncing once she was outside Twilight's castle. But that was only so she could run all the way back to Sugarcube Corner. She hastily slammed the front door shut behind her and started panting heavily with fright! The reality of what she'd almost done back at the castle terrified her completely. "That was way too close, Gummy!" She said to the baby alligator, who just blinked back at her. "I almost broke my Pinkie Promise and spilled the beans! Beans that would've been really hard to clean up!"
After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, the pink party pony promptly proclaimed. "I obviously can't be around my friends right now. Or anypony else for that matter! I'll blab for sure!" And that meant there was only one solution in her mind. "Wait, that's it! If Shining Armor and Cadence are coming tomorrow, then all I have to do is lock myself in my room away from everypony until they arrive! Then I won't ruin anything! It's the perfect plan! Why didn't I think of it sooner, Gummy?!" And she trotted upstairs, prepared to do exactly what she had said she was going to do.
Before Pinkie could get very far, however, Mr. Cake happened to spot her. Unaware of what was going on, he called out to her. "Oh, there you are! I was just looking for you," And with a smile he explained. "I need to help Cup Cake get everything ready for the crystal couple's visit tomorrow. That means I need you to cover for me on the deliveries. They're very important. And you specifically promised you'd be my back-up."
"I did?" Pinkie Pie blinked, suddenly recalling a memory from several weeks ago.
In the flashback, Pinkie had been mixing up a bowl of chocolate. All the while, Mr. Cake was inspecting the wagon he used to make deliveries for ponies who placed carry out orders. It had red and white stripes, and had a pie for a symbol painted on both sides. "Boy, these deliveries are taking more and more out of me every day," He lamented. "And the twins are not making things any easier for me," Putting a hoof to his chin, he contemplated for all to hear. "Maybe I should hire somepony to be my backup delivery pony. But who?"
Pinkie, in stark contrast to how she would feel a few weeks later, eagerly volunteered. "I'll do it, Mr. Cake!"
"Really?" Mr. Cake asked, surprise by his young baking apprentice's quick offer of help.
The pink party pony nodded. "Sure. I can't imagine I could ever have anything that might interfere with doing that task or make it impossible to do. Not even a gigantic, emotionally exhausting surprise that would make it super hard to be around other ponies."
The lanky stallion was surprised by the specificness of Pinkie's vow. Still, he took her up on her offer. "Great!" Though he had then asked. "Uh, you sure you won't maybe change your mind later?"
Pinkie Pie shook her head from side to side. "No way! I Pinkie Promise you I will be your back-up delivery pony come rain, or shine, or snow, or whatever the weather," And she repeated aloud the words while imitating the motions that went with them. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
The flashback ended as the reality hit the present Pinkie Pie square in the muzzle. "Oh, yeah. I Pinkie Promised I'd do it," She unhappily and unfortunately realized. Her mood only slightly perked up as she insisted! "And I never break a Pinkie Promise! Never ever!"
Mr. Cake smiled as he trotted away. "Well, thanks again, Pinkie Pie! You're a real cake-saver! I mean it!"
Only once Mr. Cake had gone into the kitchen to be with his wife did Pinkie unhappily deflate, her whole body going flat not unlike a balloon when all the air had been let out of it. But then she had an idea. A hope, really, as she said to herself. "Maybe it'll be a quiet day and I can just avoid everypony!" With that hope in her heart, she strapped herself to the delivery cart and set out to make the rounds.
Alas, the pink party pony's hopes were soon rather abruptly dashed when she saw that all of Ponyville was out and about today. The chances of her avoiding everypony seemed slim at best. Still, she trotted along, hoping she could make the deliveries without having to stop and talk to anypony at all.
Yet Pinkie hadn't been trotting along with the delivery wagon for very long before she was approached by none other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. It had only been a few days or so since they'd finally gotten their cutie marks.
Apple Bloom was the first of the Crusaders to speak up. "Hiya, Pinkie Pie! Got a moment to talk?"
Without bothering to wait for a reply, Sweetie Belle added. "Heard any good gossip today? Or any gossip at all?"
And Scootaloo chimed in with a groan. "Yeah, we're bored. There's nothing to do. Please say you have some interesting news."
"Nope!" Pinkie Pie replied and quickly raced away without looking back to the Crusaders! But she still forgot to pay attention to where she was going, and as a result she bumped straight into one of her friends: Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, what a surprise!" Then she gasped and quickly corrected! "I mean not a surprise to see you!"
Fluttershy, suspecting nothing, simply commented. "Twilight wanted me to tell you, Pinkie. You were in such a rush earlier that she didn't get a chance to ask. She was hoping you could bring some snacks to the castle for when Shining Armor and Cadence come to visit."
"Oh yes! Definitely! I can do snacks!" Pinkie spoke, talking a mile a minute. "Pinkie Promise and everything!" Against her better judgement, she then asked. "What kind of snacks should I bring?"
The animal loving pegasus proposed. "Maybe some baby carrots."
The pink party pony nearly gasped, and hoped she had somehow misheard her pegasus friend. "Uh, what did you just say?"
Fluttershy repeated quite clearly. "Baby carrots. They're Shining Armor's favorite, or so I'm told."
Pinkie nervously bit her lip as she began to prattle on. "O-oh, they're my favorite too! Baby carrots are kinda like big carrots but smaller, kinda like how foals are tiny versions of their parents but smaller and cuter and-" Out of the blue, she shouted at the top of her lungs! "Oh my gosh! An albino squirrel!"
Fluttershy spun around, looking in the direction she'd seen Pinkie point her hoof. "Where?" She didn't see anything. She turned back to ask Pinkie Pie if she'd been mistaken, only to find that the earth pony had disappeared. In fact, where Pinkie Pie had been there was now a stallion who looked almost exactly like Fluttershy in every sense of the word.
Meanwhile, hiding in the safety of a back alley, the pink party pony was getting desperate! She'd already come close to spoiling the secret after she'd Pinkie Promised herself she wouldn't. And she hadn't even made the deliveries yet. So that meant there was only one thing to do! "It's time to kick this operation into hyper-hoof and avoid all ponies by any means necessary!" She proceeded to execute a series of incredible elaborate (and probably unnecessary) movements to deliver pies, cakes, and other tasty treats without anypony seeing her or having a chance to talk to her.
They included doing such thing as floating a cake on a small boat sent out into the middle of a pond, zipping by and dropping off pies via a zipline (nopony bothered to look up), or even just delivering boxed desserts to a doorstep and then disappearing after ringing the doorbell.
Mircaulously for Pinkie, her plan worked. She got all the deliveries done on time, and didn't have to talk to a single pony. The secret was still safe.
Despite knowing she had held onto the secret and not disclosed it, a small part of Pinkie Pie was beginning to have regrets and second thoughts about her abrupt act of silence. As she was making her way back to Sugarcube Corner with the empty delivery cart, she stopped near a window where a light pink coated unicorn filly with a light yellow mane and tail styled into a curl was having a drink.
"It didn't feel good ignoring my friends like that... " Pinkie said as she held a conversation with her conscience. Then she peered through the window while contemplating. "Maybe I can tell just one little pony the surprise if I make them promise not to tell anypony else?"
But the words of Rarity from earlier rang clear in Pinkie Pie's mind. She could even picture Rarity's disapproving faces as the words ominously echoed. "The pony who ruins a surprise for somepony else has to live with that guilt forever!"
The pink party pony shook her head, realizing what she was about to do. She had Pinkie Promised herself that she would keep the secret a secret, telling anypony for any reason would be breaking that promise. And that was a big no no. She turned away from the window while sulking. "You're right, spooky-reflection-of-Rarity-that-I-know-is-actually-my-own-imagination. I can't tell anypony at all! I can't ask them to keep it a secret if I'm not able to keep it a secret. I want Twilight to be surprised." And she then trotted back to Sugarcube Corner, continuing to take great care not to let anypony see her for any reason.
Never was Pinkie more relieved than when she returned to Sugarcube Corner. To her great relief, she found that neither of the Cakes needed her for anything, not even to look after the twins. She could finally retreat up to her bedroom and stay there until Shining Armor and Cadence arrived the next day. That's precisely what she intended to do as she trotted upstairs, locking her bedroom door shut behind her and throwing herself onto her bed. "Ah, finally!" She sighed. "I'm all aloney on my owney. Nothing left to do but to stay out of sight until Twilight gets surprised tomorrow."
But just as the earth pony was prepared to call it a day and get some rest, her wandering blue eyes happened to spot Gummy trying to chew on a piece of paper. Since he didn't have any teeth, all he could do was get the paper really wet. "Hey, whatcha' got there, Gummy?" She asked her pet as she trotted over and pulled the soggy parchment out of his mouth. "I didn't forget to feed you again, did I?" Then she looked at the piece of paper, and her eyes went wide as she realized with horror! " Oh, no! It's the list that Twilight helped me make yesterday so I wouldn't forget all of my Pinkie Promises today!"
Gummy just blinked, seemingly oblivious to his master's distress.
Pinkie prattled on, moaning to herself. "I have three more things to do! Four if you count bringing those snacks to Twilight's castle! And there's still my promise to myself not to ruin Twilight's surrpise!" She then commented. "Boy, I've been making a lot of Pinkie Promises lately. Maybe I need to start being more careful about when I make them and who I make the promises to." Still, promises were made. And promises had to be kept.
The first of these promises involved Pinkie Pie making balloon animals for all the colts and fillies at the Ponyville school house. This included the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
One by one, all the school children lined up outside. And one by one they all came trotting up to Pinkie, making requests of her as they saw fit.
"Ooh! I want a flamingo! Make me a flamingo!" Sweetie Belle asked, and was soon rewarded as Pinkie weaved a bunch of balloons together.
Apple Bloom was next. "Make me a goldfish!" She requested, and her request was soon granted.
Then Scootaloo approached. Unlike her fellow Crusaders, however, she didn't make a request for a specific animal. She instead said simply. "Surprise me!"
So Pinkie took out a bunch of pink and white balloons, and started thinking about what sort of animal she should make for Scootaloo.
As it so happened, however, the pink party pony was momentarily distracted by the crying of a baby not too far away. Her eyes became drawn to it, and her mind started to wander.
Scootaloo suddenly interrupted. "Hey, isn't that a baby bottle?"
Pinkie Pie looked back, and gasped with alarm upon seeing that she had indeed somehow made a baby bottle out of balloons! She hurridly grabbed it and tried to shape it into something else. "Er... no, no!" She insisted. "It's a... a..." But she was unable to think of a good reply, and she couldn't really turn the balloon bottle into anything else. Her mind was drawing a complete blank at the moment, thinking about babies and about the big secret she was still trying to keep. She hastily gave the bottle to Scootaloo. "A puppy! Yeah, that's it!"
Scootaloo wasn't fooled for a second. "You sure? It looks like a baby bottle to me. Can I get something else, please?"
But Pinkie just shunted the tomboyish pegasus filly aside. "Sorry, you'll just have to come back some other time!" And she hastily called out! "Next!" She wanted to forget all about babies and baby ponies.
A disappointed Scootaloo reluctantly took up the balloon baby bottle, grumbling in disappointment and trying to ignore the stares she was getting as a result.
Pinkie Pie was glad when her balloon animal making was all done, and she could move on to the next Pinkie Promise she had made. This one was helping Mayor Mare with sorting out and organizing the filing cabients at town hall. That promised to be a welcome distraction from anything baby related.
Mayor Mare was more than grateful for the help, especially since she was content to let Pinkie do as she pleased more or less.
It didn't take long for Pinkie to sort out the files and get them organized into their proper cabinets. Soon, the last file had been sorted and the cabinet it belonged to closed.
Mayor Mare seemed impressed if the big smile on her face was anything to go by. "My, oh my," She happily exclaimed to the pink party pony. "Your friends weren't kidding when they said you had a great filing system, Pinkie! I dare say, you are Ponyville's best kept secret!"
Hearing the word "secret" was enough to give Pinkie cause for alarm! She hastily denied! "No I'm not!"
Mayor Mare waved a hoof. "Oh, don't be so modest. Without your help, I could've never gotten those filing cabinets organized and sorted out properly," Then she leaned close to her fellow earth pony and whispered into her ear in a hushed tone. "Speaking of secrets, have you ever known somepony else's secret? Even just a secret somepony told you themselves?"
Pinkie Pie gulped and nervously denied. "Nooooooooo." She was surprised at how long she dragged it out.
"Really?" Mayor Mare asked as she leaned in closer. "Not even one that was so big and exciting that it was all you could think about?"
Throwing her hooves over her mouth, the pink party pony forced out a cry of "Nope!", and then she took off as fast as she could!
Mayor Mare watched Pinkie disappear over the horizon, and sighed as she lamented aloud. "Oh, I was so bored. I was hoping for something juicy," Then her eyes darted all about as she hastily added. "Although, maybe I shouldn't be talking about secrets given the big secret I've been keeping." She blushed, remembering the "Gabby Gums" incident from a few years prior that had exposed the truth about her gray mane and tail. It had taken months for that scandal to die down and for ponies to forget about it.
The third and final promise not directly related to the big secret Pinkie had found out by accident seemed the simplest of all. It involved delivering an inflatable tube pony to a store in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie didn't even double check to see what type of store it was, so determined was she to have something to think about that didn't involve babies, baby ponies, or secrets. Why was today being so difficult for her on all three fronts?
The store owner was a pegasus stallion of medium build. He had a chestnut brown coat, and similarly colored eyes. He had a large five o'clock shadow all around his mouth, had a dusty brown mane and tail cut short and bushy, and wore a white smock with a blue bow tie. His cutie mark was obscured by his wings, but it seemed to be some kind of furniture.
The tube pony was inflated, and everything seemed to be okay.
"Perfect! Just what I needed to attract customers!" The pegasus stallion chortled. "Thanks for bringin' it here on short notice, Pinkie. You know how hard it is to find these things."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Tube ponies are just another thing I keep stocked in case of emergencies. Never hurts to be prepared."
Then the pegasus stallion added. "By the way, have you heard about the big sale I'm havin'? I got inspired when a certain royal couple placed an order. Said they wanted it shipped right to the Crystal Empire, and they demanded only the best." He delivered the last part of his sentence with a knowing wink, before pointing to a poster hanging in one of the store windows.
Against her better judgement, Pinkie examined the poster and read the words printed on it aloud. "'Treat your foal like royalty'?" She jumped back in surprise! As she did so, she now saw that the store she had delivered the tube pony to was in fact a foal supply store. The very store she recalled the Cakes getting most of the twins' supplies from. But she knew that the Cakes hadn't been the ones to place the order inspiring this sale!
"Pretty good slogan, huh?" The pegasus stallion chuckled to himself as he unfolded his wings, revealing his cutie mark to display a large, wooden crib. "Cribs are my specialty. But I make sure to stock the other essentials for foals too. Figured it was the right time to have a sale, got lots of ponies lookin' to get only the best for their foals."
The pink party pony was utterly horrified by what she had seen and heard! She screamed, flailing her arms around not unlike the tube pony! And she promptly raced away from the store as fast as she could!
"What? I thought it was clever." The store owner remarked.
So it was that Pinkie Pie, her nerves already frayed to near the breaking point, brought the baby carrots to Twilight's castle as she'd promised. Little did she anticipate what was about to happen.
As soon as Pinkie had set the baby carrots down on a platter on the throne room table, Twilight came trotting up to her. "Those look yummy, Pinkie! Thanks for bringing them over so quickly," Then she dropped a bombshell. "But you really didn't have to. I'll have to cover them up so they don't get spoiled."
The pink party pony blinked. "What? Why would they get spoiled? We're all gonna eat them super soon, right?" She asked, even though she was already certain she knew what Twilight meant.
It was not Twilight, however, but Applejack who confirmed the worst for Pinkie Pie. "Oh, didn't anypony tell you yet, Pinkie? Shining Armor and Cadence are held up. They may not arrive 'til Saturday."
Upon receiving that dreaded bit of news, Pinkie Pie shot up towards the ceiling! She ended up on one of the banches of the remnants of the Golden Oak Library, which had been installed in the throne room just a few shorts months ago. "Whaaaaaaaaaat?!" She shrieked in terror, soon hyperventilating due to the shock! In between deep breaths, she panted out! "Y-you mean... I... I have to... to wait... for an entire extra day for them to get here?! Oh, I don't know if I can! I'm just barely getting by as it is! Why didn't anypony tell me this sooner?!"
Rarity then took the liberty of asking, looking up towards the ceiling to do so. "Pinkie Pie, darling, is there something you'd like to tell us? It seems like you've been keeping something in all day. I told the others about our encounter earlier, and they're all quite worried. This isn't like you at all."
"I... I can't tell you! I Pinkie Promised myself I'd keep it a secret! Especially from Twilight!" Pinkie protested, then threw her hooves over her mouth to keep herself from saying anything more.
"Is that all?" Twilight blinked. "If it's something you don't want me to know, I can go somewhere else until you've got it off your chest. It's not good to keep it inside if it's causing you this much trouble, Pinkie," She trotted to the door of the throne room. "I'll step outside for a moment. Feel free to tell the others whatever you need to tell them. I promise, I won't ask what it is if that'll make you feel better." And a moment later, she had exited the throne room.
Applejack then encouraged her fellow earth pony. "Well, go on, sugarcube. We're all ears."
Rarity sweetly added. "We're certainly not going to judge you, darling."
And Spike chimed in. "Trust me, Pinkie. Whatever it is, you'll feel much better once you get off your chest. I've learned my lesson about keeping things bottled up inside. It never did me any good, and it won't do you any good either."
"So just talk. This doesn't have to leave the throne room," Fluttershy encouraged with a wink. "We'll all keep it a secret from Twilight, then your Pinkie Promise won't be broken."
Rainbow Dash then flew up to Pinkie Pie as the pink coated earth pony was breathing heavily into a balloon. She was hovering next to Pinkie just as the balloon popped, looking her occasional prankster partner deep in the eyes. "Come on, Pinkie. Whatever it is, you can tell us. We're best friends!"
Yet then a rather surreal scene started to play out in the pink party pony's mind. The bodies of her friends disappeared, only their heads remained. And they started hovering her around like balloons, all the while chanting and repeating again and again. "Friends! Friends! Friends! Tell! Tell! Tell!"
Try as she might, the stress was too much for Pinkie to bear any longer! She groaned loudly as she put her hooves to her forehead! "A-alright! Alright! You win! I'll tell, I'll tell you everything!" She screamed! "I can't believe I'm going to break a Pinkie Promise for the first time ever, but I guess it had to be done," She paused, taking in a deep breath, then at the top of her lungs she shouted! "Shining Armor and Cadence are going to have-"
But Pinkie's confession was cut off as Twilight came trotting in with a smile on her face, proudly proclaiming. "-An awesome weekend with the best little sister and sister-in-law in all of Equestria!" In the glow of her horn, she was holding up a letter. "I just got this letter from them. Since they can't come to Ponyville, they want us all to come to the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor even says he has a big announcement he's been waiting to tell me."
"Did he say what it was?" Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head from side to side. "I already wrote him a reply telling him to wait and tell me himself when we meet face to face. After what happened with his wedding, I'd rather not be surprised by another big development happening in his life that I didn't know about," Then she added with a knowing wink. "But I'm sure whatever it is, it's going to be an announcement I'll never forget," She then looked up, seeing Pinkie Pie still hanging onto one of the tree branches. "Did you get your confession in, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie just replied. "It's not important, Twilight. Forget I said anything." She seemed to believe that whatever she was about to say was better off not being said.
The young alicorn simply blinked slowly in response, then said. "Very well. Forever hold your peace then, Pinkie," She turned to the rest of her friends, and to Spike. "Come on, everyone. Help me put away all the snacks and get all the stuff for Shining Armor boxed up. No sense having it around if he's not going to be coming to Ponyville."
"And after all that trouble you went through getting everything." Rarity commented.
"It can't be helped," Twilight insisted. "Now let's clean up. We have to be on the next train to the Crystal Empire, time is short." And just like that, everyone forgot all about Pinkie's planned confession, much to Pinkie's relief.
"Talk about lucky!" Pinkie Pie thought to herself as she trotted after the others. "I just have to hold it until we get to the Crystal Empire. You've come this far, Pinkie. You can do this!" But deep down, she was not so sure she could.
The minutes seemed to tick by agonizingly slow as far as Pinkie Pie was concerned. Even so, it wasn't long before she, Twilight, and all of their friends (Spike included) had boarded the train and departed for the Crystal Empire. While on the train, Pinkie took advantage of the opportunity to stay as far away from Twilight and from her friends as she possibly could. She knew they would surely try to pry again in the hopes of forcing a confession out of her. But she was so close to having successfully kept the secret, she didn't want to ruin it now.
At last, the train slowed to a stop at the station in the Crystal Empire. And Shining Armor was right there, waiting on the platform (although Princess Cadence wasn't also there with him, which even Pinkie Pie found odd).
Upon departing the train, Twilight was overjoyed to see her big brother again! She happily raced up to him and threw herself into his waiting hooves! "B.B.B.F.F.! How I've missed you!"
Shining Armor returned the hug full force, stroking Twilight's mane with a hoof. "I've missed you too, Twily. I hear you've been very busy since the last time we met. You've got your own castle now and everything. Sorry I couldn't come to see it. I was really looking forward to the trip to Ponyville."
"Hey, it can't be helped," Twilight waved a hoof as the hug ended. "I understand that you and Cadence have big responsibilities of your own," Then she asked. "But does this mean you're ready to tell me about that big surprise of yours?"
The stallion somewhat vaguely replied. "That depends. Cadence and I still have a few things we'd like to get ready. But if you really wanna know now, I suppose I can tell you."
Pinkie seemed to beside herself with anxiety. This was it, all her waiting was about to pay off!
Yet Twilight, suspecting nothing, just told her brother. "If you're not ready yet, I won't force you. Besides, who doesn't like a good surprise every now and then?"
Pinkie's mouth dropped wide open in shock! She could not believe Twilight would do this! Why drag things out even longer?!
Shining Armor smiled and then winked. "Okay, Twilight, have it your way," He chuckled as he then floated over a small scroll. "Cadence and I were hoping to do something like this in Ponyville. But when I knew we'd be delayed and that you were coming to the empire instead, I went ahead and got everything all set up. I'm sure this'll bring back memories." Then he trotted away.
Now alone with her friends on the platform, the young alicorn didn't hesitate to unfurl the scroll her brother had just given her. When she did so and read over its contents, her eyes widened and her wings popped out as she let out an excited gasp!
"What does it say?" Rarity questioned.
A big, bright, happy smile spread across Twilight's face as she explained. "It's a scavenger hunt! Shining Armor used to set these up for me when I was a filly! He'd do it every time he had some big, important development he wanted to tell me. Heck, sometimes he'd do it even when he didn't have anything important to tell me. But no matter what, whenever he did it, at the end there was always a big prize!" She shut her eyes, fondly remembering. "Often, it was a new book, or several new books, or—"
Pinkie Pie stomped a hoof down in impatience and replied in a frustrated tone! "We get the picture! You like books! Can we move it along, please?!"
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Applejack pondered. "Why are you so impatient?"
The pink party pony immediately clammed up while vaguely replying. "I can't tell you." And she was relieved when her fellow earth pony decided against asking more questions.
Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, asked Twilight. "So, what's the first clue? What does it say?"
The young alicorn cleared her throat, reading aloud: "'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.'," Almost immediately, the answer to the riddle came to her. "I've got it! 'Where young ones spend their week.' Come on!" And she led her friends away from the station, out into the Crystal Empire itself.
After wandering past row after row of houses, and turning and trotting up and down various streets in the Crystal Empire, the group finally reached their destination. Tucked away into a little corner of the empire was what appeared to be a hastily constructed, one room schoolhouse. Like all the other buildings in the empire, it was made of solid crystal. Compared to the one in Ponyville, it did not have a bell or a bell tower. And it didn't seem as if there were any students or teachers.
"Didn't know the Crystal Empire had this." Applejack blinked in surprise and confusion.
Twilight beamed. "I know, I only just found out about it after the royal summit. Cadence told me she was having one built, although she wouldn't tell me why."
"I bet I know why." Pinkie Pie vaguely grumbled to herself. But no one but her heard a word she said.
"Okay, so we're here now," Rainbow Dash remarked as she looked all around. "So where's this... 'piece of paper' that scroll mentioned?" She rubbed a hoof over her stomach as she complained. "I hope it to leads somewhere where we can eat. I'm starving!" And an audible gurgle from said stomach made that fact known to all.
Just then, Spike spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It looked like it had been taped to the schoolhouse door. He ran up and grabbed it, then brought it back to Twilight. As he did so, he happened to notice the paper's name printed on the top. "You're not gonna believe this, but I think you'll recognize this paper, Twilight."
Indeed, Twilight did. The title immediately grabbed not only her attention, but everypony else's. "The Foal Free Press!" She exclaimed with shock and surprise! "That's the paper for the Ponyville schoolhouse."
"And the one that had that rather unfortunate Gabby Gums incident." Rarity frowned.
"What's it doing here?" Fluttershy pondered.
Twilight shrugged her hooves. "It must be part of the scavenger hunt. I guess the Crystal Empire doesn't have a paper of their own, so Shining Armor 'borrowed' one from Ponyville. Interesting choice to make it the Foal Free Press, though," She began to look through the paper's pages, until finally she found something taped to the very last page. It was another scroll. Pulling it out, she read aloud the words printed on it. "'Though this hall is rather small, in it you'll find files of all kinds. The next clue on's a certificate in a rack, take a look at the back.'"
"So, what, now the Crystal Empire has a schoolhouse and a town hall?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Are we sure we're in the right place?"
But Twilight giggled. "Oh Rainbow Dash, don't be silly. Of course the Crystal Empire doesn't have a town hall. But they do have a hall where they keep all sorts of records: Birth certificates included."
Spike nodded. "When Twilight and I were doing research to help Cadence prepare for the Equestria Games, that hall was one of the first places we looked. It's not as grand as Ponyville's town hall, and their record keeping isn't as organized. But it shouldn't be too hard to find what we're looking for."
"Great! Then let's go!" Pinkie Pie eagerly encouraged, and sped away as she revved her hooves up into a blur!
"Don't know why Pinkie's tryin' to rush this," Applejack frowned. "I don't know why she won't just tell us what's eatin' her. What good is to keep a Pinkie Promise to herself if it's makin' her act like this?"
"We tried to get her to tell us, and she wouldn't do it," Rarity remarked with an unhappy sigh. "I guess there's not much we can do about it now. Let's just continue the scavenger hunt, and hopefully after that we'll get some answers out of her." And then the rest of the group ran to catch up to Pinkie, certain that she didn't know where she was going.
Indeed, Pinkie Pie had no knowledge about where the "hall" the scroll had mentioned was located. But it seemed she didn't really care, she just wanted to get the scavenger hunt over with as quickly as possible for some reason. And she still refused to explain way.
It took significantly less time to find the aforementioned hall with the records after that little detour. It was a fairly small building made of solid black and blue crystals. There didn't seem to be anypony inside the hall, and the records were right there for everypony to view. They were all in various large, messy stacks. It was hard to know which ones housed the birth certificates, let alone which one of the certificates was the one that would lead to the next clue.
"So, where do we look?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
Twilight only replied. "This isn't an exact science. Just pick a pile and go from there." And she trotted away to do exactly that.
The six mares and dragon all began to rummage through the various stacks on the desk, tossing aside scroll after scroll when they couldn't find any sort of taped note or writing that could lead them to the next clue.
At last, however, Spike eagerly shouted! "I think I found it!" And all the ponies came rushing over to him, eager to see what he'd discovered.
Held up in the little dragon's claws was indeed a birth certificate. This one depicted a rather scrawny looking colt with a majestic white coat. He had a smal, whispy, moderate sapphire blue mane and tail with shades of darker and lighter blue in waves. And his eyes were an innocent moderate cerulean in color. Everypony awwed at the adorable sight.
A goofy grin spread across Twilight's face as she commented. "Hey, that's Shining Armor's birth certificate. I'd almost forgotten that he used to be so small. Apparently, Mom said he was born prematurely, and that caused a lot of problems. Can you believe this is the same pony who'd grow up to be captain of the royal guard?" Then, after taking a moment to compose herself, she turned over the certificate and took a look at the back. There was another scroll, hastily taped to the back of Shining's certificate.
Once again, Twilight read aloud: "'The furniture store is where, one could buy a table or chair. But this clue can be found in a bed, to rest a little's head.'," Then she blinked. "Don't where that could be found. Guess we'll just have to ask around and see if anypony knows where we can find a crib with a note on it."
But Pinkie Pie, utterly fed up with how long this scavenger hunt was taking and how it seemed to prolong the wait for the inevitable, raced away once again! She was determined to bring this hunt to an end as fast as possible, that way the secret she knew about could finally be disclosed to Twilight. She returned shortly with the crib, pointing to the note taped to its front. "Read it!" She requested of Twilight.
"Just a moment, Pinkie," The young alicorn insisted. "Shining Armor probably set this up to give himself more time to get ready. I don't wanna rush him."
The pink party pony just insisted. "Fine, then I'll read it!" And that's exactly what she did, clearing her throat and reading aloud: "'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, come to the castle for tea and cake.'"
"Well, guess that's the end of the scavenger hunt," Spike shrugged his claws and looked to Twilight. "Nothing left to do but claim our prize, whatever it is."
Twilight firmly nodded. "I just hope Shining Armor and Cadence are ready for us."
"And I hope they don't mind if I help myself to the cake!" Rainbow Dash complained. "I am so hungry right now, it's not even funny."
And so the group made their way to the Crystal Castle, ready to partake in the celebration that they knew was waiting for them.
The group of seven reached the castle in record time, largely due to Pinkie Pie insisting they get there as quickly as possible for some reason. It wasn't normally like her to want to rush things, especially when it came to celebrations. Why was this time so different?
Well, those thoughts would be pushed to the back of everyone but Pinkie's mind when they came trotting into the castle's foyer. Shining Armor and Cadence were waiting for them, and seemed to be blocking the view to something.
Shining Armor smiled. "So, how was the scavenger hunt, Twily? Did you enjoy it? Was it just like old times?"
Twilight smiled back. "You bet it was. And it was even better than I imagined, because this time I got to share it with my friends! We should do it again sometime," Then she remarked. "Although, it seems you forgot something: The book prize at the end."
Shining couldn't help but give off a playful laugh. "Oh, there's a surprise, alright. But it's a little bit different this time. I'm kind of surprised you haven't already figured it out."
The young alicorn blinked in confusion. "I... don't understand."
Princess Cadence flashed a warm smile and explained. "Think about the clues. Everywhere you went today had something in common. Everything was there for a reason."
Twilight put a hoof to her chin, contemplating and pondering aloud as she thought over the clues more detail. "Well: We visited a schoolhouse, found the next clue in a copy of the Foal Free Press, looked at Shining Armor's birth certificate that happened to be in the empire, and the last clue was on a crib," Suddenly, it all came to her! She unfolded her wings and her eyes widened as she gasped! "No... can it be...."
Shining and Cadence stepped aside, revealing a magnificent cake in hues of baby pink and baby blue frosting. Resting atop it was a miniature display of various foal things: A rattle, a pacifier, and even a diaper. Proudly, they proclaimed in unison! "We're having a baby!"
Never was Pinkie Pie more relieved than in that moment! The secret was out, and it wasn't because of her own doing! She had kept her promise! "Yes, Twilight! A baby! Congratulations!" She started bouncing like a ball, bouncing all around in excitement!
As for the aunt-to-be, she could only stand there for a moment as the reality slowly settled in. "I... I can't believe it! I'm going to be an aunt: Auntie Twily! Ooh, it has a nice ring to it!" Then she smiled, looking to Spike. "And Spike, that means you'll be an uncle. Think of that!"
"Whoa! Uncle Spike?!" Spike gasped! "I think I like the sound of that," Then he asked the royal couple. "So... is it a boy or a girl?"
Cadence looked down to her womb, then looked up and smiled. "We don't know yet, I only just found out about a week ago. I wanted to tell you right away, but Shining here," She playfully pointed a hoof. "Insisted we keep it a secret until we got to Ponyville. Then, when we realized we'd have to stay in the empire and delay our trip by a whole day, he decided to move the celebration here. And he figured it'd be a good idea to set up the scavenger hunt. He even wrote to his mom asking for a copy of his birth certificate."
Shining playfully grinned. "Come on, Cadence! You were in on it too, hon. If you'd really wanted to, you could've blabbed at any time."
Twilight's smile only grew brighter as she hugged her brother and her sister-in-law. "This is the best news you could've given me! I love you both so much! And I can't wait to meet your little foal!"
"Neither can we, Twilight." Shining replied.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was excitedly shrieking and chanting again and again! "I did it! I did it! I did it! I did it!" She then quite literally fell to pieces as she said. "Go Pinkie!"
The rest of the group slowly began to realize what had been causing their pink party planning friend so much stress. "Wait a minute," Rarity took the liberty of guessing. "Is that why you've been acting so strange today, Pinkie? Did you know about this secret all along?"
Pulling herself back together quite slowly, Pinkie nodded. "Yes. And it was the hardest Pinkie Promise I've ever seen made by anypony," She let out a sigh of relief. "There were so many times I came close to telling you girls everything, but I just couldn't do it. From now on, though, I think I need to be more careful with my Pinkie Promises. It's starting to get hard to keep track of them all."
Twilight then trotted over, pulling Pinkie into a big hug! "Well, thanks for keeping it a secret, Pinkie. I know it couldn't have been easy for you. But I'm glad that you kept your promise despite everything. I couldn't ask for a better friend."
"Aw shucks," The pink party pony faintly blushed as she waved a hoof. "It was a piece of cake, really." But when she thought nopony was looking, she turned and shook her head furiously. As relieved as she was not to have to hold the secret in anymore, keeping the secret had been anything but a piece of cake.
Cadence then cleared her throat. "Speaking of cake," She used her magic to levitate over a slice on a plate. "Would you like to have the first slice, Pinkie? It only seems fair after what you had to go through today."
Pinkie Pie smiled, happily accepting the slice of cake. "How could I possibly say no?!" She jokingly replied, and greedily devoured the slice in one bite. It was a very tasty and very satisfying reward for all she'd had to go through today.