“Where in the world is Pinkie?” Rarity wondered aloud.

The five friends stood awkwardly in the party pony’s room.

“This ain’t like her,” Applejack remarked. “I wouldn’t spect her ta be late, and for her own party no less.”

The room was well prepared for the party. A massive cake, which seemed to be more frosting than anything else, tantalized the ponies mercilessly. Colorful streamers draped the walls, polka dot party hats sat neatly on the table ready to be worn by eager ponies, and Pinkie’s favorite party record rested on the gramophone, ready to fill the room with raucous music. Yet there was only silence.

“I would feel bad if I started having fun without her,” Fluttershy whispered as she gently batted a derelict balloon away.

Rainbow Dash, who did not seem as perturbed by Pinkie’s absence as her friends, stole a chair away from the table and leaned it precariously against a wall. She flopping onto it and took out the latest Daring Do novella. She smirked, appearing to have opened on a page with an especially amusing passage. More time ticked away in awkward silence before Dash eventually flipped to the next page.

There was a loud bang as Pinkie burst in, flinging the door open with such force that it shook the entire room. The shock knocked Dash from her chair, causing her to tumble haphazardly to the floor.

The pink pony charged into the middle of her friends, ignoring all conventions pertaining to social space. “Guess what girls! Something really amazing has happened. I’m pregnant!” she exclaimed, practically squealing with delight.

Everpony looked astonished. Rarity reared up with a hoof to her forehead and fainted onto Pinkie’s bed. Twilight cocked her head to one side. Fluttershy merely blinked in surprise. An expression somewhere between confusion and mirth crossed Applejack’s face. Dash however, mostly appeared annoyed at being knocked to the ground and losing her place in the book.

“Well, uh, I reckon congratulations are in order then?” Applejack asked, looking around at her friends expectantly.

“Oh, um, good job,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“So is that what this party is about?” Twilight asked, finally managing to recover her wits.

“No this party was actually planned in advance,” she replied happily. “I just found out about the little bundle of joy in my tummy. That’s why I’m late. I took the pregnancy test and passed. I couldn’t believe it at first, but Dr. Whooves confirmed it… Now let’s get this party started!” she exclaimed, zipping over to the gramophone and blasting the room with music by P!nk, a famous Equestrian pop star.

The music screeched to a halt as Rarity hastily batted the needle off its groove. The noise had snapped her back to consciousness. She peered at the pink pony with clear concern on her face. “Pinkie dear, as difficult and unusual as this situation might be, you should know that you can always talk with us about anything.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t going to not talk about it. I just wanted to party at the same time! Partying makes everything better. Hey that’s a good one! Maybe I should make it my official motto. I could put it next to my signature when I do paperwork and stuff. 'Pinkamena Diane Pie, Partying makes Everything Better.' That's got a ring to it."

Twilight used her magic to start the song over, simultaneously adjusting the volume to a decibel which was not guaranteed to draw the Cakes’ wrath. “This is really big news, Pinkie. We’ve naturally got a few questions. Let's talk about this. We can always dance later.”

“Okie dokie!”

The friends gathered around the table in great anticipation, but Pinkie refused to begin the conversation before first putting them each in party hats matching their manes. This done, she stepped up to the table and took a deep breath.

“Alright, you’re all my bestest friends and I trust you all very much, so you have to promise me you won’t tell anypony a word, or even a fragment of a word, of what I’m about to tell you.”

“We promise,” they all murmured, some nodding their heads. Fluttershy tried to do the Pinkie Pie Swear, but botched it by sticking her hoof in her eye too forcefully.

“I’m pregnant,” she announced, as if it was a momentous revelation.

There was silence at the table aside from the music.

“We already knew that much,” Applejack replied in an annoyed tone. “Ya told us that when ya came in.”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh right, silly me.”

Fluttershy began to ask a question but trailed off in embarrassment.

“Oh, don’t be nervous,” Pinkie encouraged her. “I always like it when you talk. You don’t talk very much and that makes it extra special when you do!”

The little pegasus hesitated a few seconds more before finding the courage to speak. “How does it feel to be pregnant?” she asked timidly, only looking up to make eye contact with Pinkie for a moment. “Can you feel the little baby inside of you?”

“No it’s still too early for that, but I’m so excited about when that’s going to happen. It's going to be so special.”

“So, uh, how long have you been pregnant?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie flashed a broad smile at her before answering the question. “It all happened about a month ago, if I remember correctly... which I do, because I have a great memory!”

“Might I inquire as to who the father is?” Rarity asked.

“There is no father. This is a prophecy baby,” Pinkie announced proudly.

Twilight frowned skeptically. “A prophecy baby? Really?”

“Really, really.”

“What prophecy?”

“Uh, the really important one,” she stammered, producing the most badly executed poker face in the history of Equestria.

“I can spot a lie when I see one… and that’s one of ‘em,” declared Applejack.

“Okay, it’s not actually an important prophecy. It’s one of the less important ones,” Pinkie backtracked embarrassingly.

Dash looked up from a plate of cake she had served herself. “Of course there’s a father. Pinkie is just too embarrassed to tell you who it is,” she said, cake crumbs falling from her mouth as she talked.

Rarity was astounded. “Rainbow Dash, you mean to tell me that you already knew?”

“Well, who is the real father?” Twilight asked, as everypony turned their attention to the cyan pegasus.

“It’s—”

Pinkie interrupted the pegasus before she could say another word. “Rainbow Dash, you Pinkie promised not to tell,” she pleaded.

“I wasn’t going to tell them. I was trying to say ‘it’s none of their business.’ What kind of loyal friend would I be if I broke a Pinkie promise?”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “A bad one.”

“Uh yeah, so that’s why I didn’t tell.”

“Ya can’t just tell us about this pregnancy and not spill all the beans,” Applejack protested.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable about it,” Fluttershy offered.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, what’s so special about Rainbow Dash that she gets to know and we don’t?” Rarity complained.

“Well she would know. She was there,” Pinkie said, licking a mouthful of frosting from of a piece of cake.

“What?” Rarity gasped, clearly scandalized at this casual revelation.

Dash slid a serving of cake across the table to Rarity. “Okay, I wasn’t there for the, uh… you know, but I do know who the father is and I’m not telling, because I’m a loyal friend and I keep my promises.”

“I would think that as a ‘loyal friend’ you would tell us all who it was, since we’re all your friends too,” Rarity reasoned, staring Dash in the eye expectantly.

“Aw, why do you have to make this so complicated? Pinkie is just embarrassed about who the father is and, to be honest, I am too. Let’s just leave it at that okay.”

Pinkie served slices of cake for the rest of the ponies. Nopony could quite identify the flavor, but it seemed something like cherries baked with a lot of butter. It also had a zesty “south of the border” type of aftertaste.

“We’re eventually going to meet him though right?” Twilight asked as she finished her slice.

“Yep” Pinkie said as she finished gulping down her fourth piece from the pile on her plate.

“If we’re going to meet him you might as well tell us now,” Twilight suggested. “If not, can we at least have a hint?” she asked hopefully.

“Nope, no can do, Twilight,” Pinkie said stubbornly as she eyed her cake slices, deciding which one to attack next.

Applejack eyed the party pony quizzically. “Ya know, you’re not usually the sort o’ pony ta get embarrassed about stuff, even somethin’ like this. How gosh awful bad could it be?”

Pinkie looked back at Applejack and grinned sheepishly. She giggled self-consciously and tried to collect herself so that she could answer her friend’s question. “Okay, let me put it this way. On a scale from violet to red, violet being the least embarrassing and red being the most embarrassing, this one is definitely a big red.”

Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack exchanged glances.

“Macintosh?” Applejack asked.

“Good job keeping the secret, Pinkie,” Dash said sarcastically, looking up from her Daring Do book, which she had apparently retrieved and resumed reading.

“What’s so embarrassing about that?” Rarity asked. “I mean, I’m sure we’ve all fantasized about it ourselves. Somepony correct me if I'm wrong.”

Applejack glared at her venomously.

“Oh, well, except for you of course,” Rarity corrected herself.

Fluttershy also seemed upset, but her glare was directed at Pinkie. The pink pony failed to notice this and continued gobbling up her cake.

After they finished their desserts, the party fell apart rather quickly. The friends all provided excuses to head home early.

Fluttershy had grown angrier and angrier until she seemed absolutely livid. When asked however, she blamed it on a stomach ache and excused herself, flying out of the window instead of taking the door. Rainbow Dash pursued her, saying something to the effect that she wanted to make sure Fluttershy made it home safe, since flying with a stomach ache could be dangerous.

Twilight commented that she had completely forgotten about Owloysius and needed to feed him. Rarity offered to help Twilight with the chore. This tenuous excuse drew a suspicious look from Pinkie. Luckily, after they congratulated her on the party and pregnancy, the unicorns managed to bid her farewell without being forced to justify their excuses more rigorously.

Though she looked antsy, Applejack was the last of Pinkie’s friends to leave. “Well, seein’ as how everypony else skedaddled, I might as well make for home myself. I’ve got some mighty important business ta attend to.”

“See you later,” Pinkie waved pleasantly after her as she trotted out of the room.

As the farm pony’s hoofsteps faded from earshot, Pinkie let out sigh of relief. She trotted over and fed Gummy the last slice of cake. “Well, that went a lot better than I expected,” she informed the little alligator. “I was afraid they’d be upset with me and make me cry. I’m glad I have such supportive and understanding friends,” she walked over to the window and gazed up at the stars. A small tear of thankfulness crept down one of her pink cheeks. The moon rose in the new night sky, its light causing the tear to sparkle softly. Next Chapter: Confrontation Estimated time remaining: 45 Minutes