"Pinkie, you look like you've been keeping something in." Magenta eyes in a blue countenance regarded me. "Do you have something you need to say?" She looked really concerned. For self-absorbed Dashie, that was a look to treasure.
"I—I—"
We stood in the castle, underneath the Golden Oaks root chandelier, beside the table bedecked by flowers and a couple of yummy-looking sliced vegetable platters that, considering they were on the Cake's fine china, had obviously been brought by me. I saw baby carrots and remembered Fluttershy had told me during a different time that baby carrots were Shining Armor's favorites. Speaking of Fluttershy, she said, "We're here to listen."
"Well, go on, sugar cube."
"We're not going to judge you, darling."
All my friends were there, and behind them stood a tan stallion with a brown mane, frozen in shock and blinking in surprise; Time Turner had followed my musings with me.
Spike added, in a very effective wheedling child-like tone, "You'll feel so much better once you get it off your chest!"
It was just as I imagined it, my friends around me waiting for me to crack. Well, all except for Time Turner. The secret would get out, probably was out, and would get to them eventually. It was probably better that I fess up. What a bummer.
Dashie said, "Come on!"
"I'msorryIcouldn'tkeepthesecretsbutit'sbetteryouhearitfromme."
"Pinkie!" Twilight said, above the protests of my other friends. "Slow down. Hear what?"
Time Turner shook his head vigorously, waving a hoof, but I powered on. "Cadance and Shining Armor are having a baby."
You could have dropped a pin and heard it echo. A beat later, Twilight said in her crackly voice, "Wow! I mean, wow! I'm going to be an aunt."
Behind me I heard a gasp. I turned, and from the shadows of the hallway came the clatter of hooves, including a set in tinkling golden shoes. "That's right, Twilight," Princess Cadance stated in a flat monotone. As she came into the light, she gave me a glare that would have made King Sombra proud. As I wilted, her glare morphed into a sweet smile as she greeted her sister-in-law.
Shining Armor didn't even look at me.
Drained, ruined inside and out from the lousy wonderful secret, I slunk away from the ensuing gaiety, knowing that I had really and truly blown it. My curls gave way as my mane slumped like limp silk across my neck and withers. What had Rarity said? I'd feel guilty—forever?
And now, it would be a forever without friends.
Keeping secrets could be horrible, but revealing them was even more horrible.
Time Turner stood beside me. "I tried to tell you not to say anything. The secret is the key to the temporal convolution you've instantiated."
"Doc," I said, collapsing into a heap on the cold stone floor, "I really don't care."
"But you need to." He knelt. "Look at me."
I did. A nice stallion, him. It felt good that Muffin had found such a nice colt-friend. She deserved someone great. But I felt bad about myself. And the friends I no longer had.
"I'm here. You dragged me along from the other before time. I remember the collision in front of Sugarcube corner, and the rumor later before that. Temporal anomalies. Time rifts? They surround you."
"And you know this, how?"
He gazed at his cutie mark, an hour glass that, oddly enough, suddenly had sand that poured steadily out into the bottom glass. At that rate, there was about a minute left. "Ever since I came to your ponyverse, I've been wondering what use I could be. Then Muffin kicked my traverse chronometer back a few dozen million years, proving that time wasn't crystalized and made immutable in this universe by magical influences. Now I see that even the fabric of space-time is fluid. This may be good. This may be bad. But stabilizing it is a purpose. And because friendship magic is important, and you seem to have messed that up today, you need to do something before it all falls apart. So, will you listen to me?"
"I didn't understand a word you said, but I think you do."
"Okay. We have about half-a-minute." He looked at his cutie mark.
"Until what?"
"I don't know, but I rather not find out."
"Maybe the hour-glass turns over?"
"Pinkie!"
"Alright. What'you want me to do?"
"Think of a time where something could happen that would convince you to keep your secret."
"Okie dokie loki."