Pinkie (re)Curses A Lot

by scifipony

Crisis: Tense Situation

Had I only answered Sweetie Belle's question differently! I mused about just starting out my delivery run, trying to pull my delivery van as stealthily as possible, practically moving on the tips of my hooves despite the marimba tap noise that usually made, and suddenly again worrying about letting go of the weighty secret I'd inadvertently saddled myself with, when the inexplicably bored Crusaders with shiny newly-minted cutie marks began pacing me like information-hungry sharks. The screaming tea kettle in my head drowned out everything but Sweetie's one word:

"Gossip?"

Sweetie Belle was so growing up to be a secret agent or a spy or Celestia's morally ambivalent adjutant. Sly, that one. Cut me to the bone.

I stopped so quickly that the van pushed me forward, causing my hooves to dig a rut in the street. My CMC inquisitors skid, turned, and faced me.

"Cadance. Shining. Here tomorrow. Too much said." I squee'd—albeit shrilly—and dashed away achieving hyper-hoof warp 1 in three seconds flat.

That did it. Sweetie Belle, less prone to boring tea parties than her elder sister or Fluttershy, would be uninterested in accepting an invitation to the Strawberry Jam Teahouse, even with the temptation of the most mind-blowingly tasty fruit and nut scones this side of Canterlot.

Following my deliveries, I trotted right past Strawberry Jam, though I did glimpse inside to see Rarity who saw me and smiled.

Crisis averted.

As I unhitched the delivery van behind Sugarcube Corner, I glimpsed a rapidly moving shadow. I jumped aside to avoid being knocked over by a gray pegasus with a golden mane who flattened the petunias.

"Oh, sorry."

"No problemo, oh golden-eyed terror of the skies."

"I was wondering." Muffin glanced across the street and I saw Time Turner who looked at the both of us, scratching his head. She nodded and asked me, "Is it true? Is Princess Cadance having a baby?"

"That sounds like a rumor to me."

"That's what Doc said."

I dashed up to my room. Soon I was eating an apple and reading the note gummy had been gumming on my bed. A note to me from me. More Pinkie Promises!

I was being a little too liberal with those!

A half-bushel of apples later, I was off, which is how I found myself in the school yard making balloon sculptures for Twist's birthday. It's amazing how close to that zen-thang inflating and tying squeaky balloons could be. It probably had something to do with my cutie mark. The rubbery material stuck nicely to the frogs of my hooves, making the most intricate creation a cinch to craft.

Request: "Flamingo."

I only thought about the secret between requests.

Request: "Goldfish."

Like now when I handed over a goldfish, then a giraffe. Cadance and her baby ricocheted about my skull as Scootaloo smugly smiled up from under her purple mane and said, "A baby bottle, please."

My front legs blurred as they went to work, a whole few seconds before the request splatted on the already overheated, completely overwrought, tiny thinking part of my brain. To my credit, I didn't scream, blurt the secret, or simply explode into a dozen pink pieces.

I locked eyes with Scoots, my blue against her purple. Scoots, to her credit, kept eye contact. She grinned foalishly. She was good. Canterlot-castle-royal-guard good. I finished her balloon with a rubbery snap.

"It's a puppy."

Startled, Scootaloo fluttered back into a brown pinto pegasus, Featherweight. I stuck the business end of the bottle into Scoots mouth and shouted, "Next!"

Crisis averted.

Featherweight stepped up. "A baby pony, please! Uh, unless of course that would be a royal pain…"

My heart ricocheted off my sternum, spine, and clavicle, but I was getting good this keeping cool routine. I leaned closer and gave him the look. "Interesting choice of words, Featherweight."

Featherweight fluttered up and screamed, "Princess Cadence is having a baby! A baby!"

The school yard dissolved into cheers, with parents looking on, and pegasi zooming into the air heading for town.

In the pandemonium that ensued, I slunk away.