Chapter 4: The Test

"Pinkie, dear, are you awake?" Mrs Cake asked quietly from the hallway outside Pinkie's room. When there was no answer she pushed the door open slightly, seeing Pinkie's hoof hanging off of her bed. She let out a loud sigh before opening the door all the way to see Pinkie sprawled out across her bed with her hooves going in every direction.

"Pinkie, time to wake up" Mrs Cake said quietly, giving Pinkie a little poke in the ribs to try and wake her up. Pinkie's eyes jerked open as Mrs Cake pulled back her hoof, just in time to get out of the way of Pinkie's laughing fit from being tickled by Mrs Cake's hoof. Pinkie laughed like a maniac for a few minutes before calming down completely, looking Mrs Cake with a smile on her face.

"Morning Mrs Cake!" Pinkie said happily as she prepared to bounce off her bed and towards the bathroom, but Mrs Cake stopped her. Pinkie looked at Mrs Cake confusedly before she was sudden overtaken by a sick feeling, prompting her to push Mrs Cake out of the way so she could get to the toilet. Mrs Cake sighed and headed out of Pinkie's room and into the bathroom, where she found Pinkie in the same position as she was the night before.

"Pinkie, dear, is there something you need to tell me?" Mrs Cake asked as she put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, feeling her shudder as another round of vomiting began. Out of curiosity Mrs Cake looked into the toilet, gagging when she saw the brownish sludge that was sitting just on the water's surface. When Pinkie finished vomiting she looked up at Mrs Cake with a pained look on her face, having now emptied all of her stomach contents into the toilet bowl.

"I don't know Mrs Cake..." Pinkie said shakily, blinking her eyes a few times to make sure she was seeing everything correctly. Just as she got steady she felt another round of vomiting come over her, forcing her to shove her snout back into the bowl as Mrs Cake looked in their medicine cabinet for something. Pinkie tried to look at Mrs Cake, but her constant shaking made it nearly impossible. When the vomiting stopped she looked up to see Mrs Cake holding a box for a pregnancy test, making Pinkie raise an eyebrow.

"Do you think you're pregnant again Mrs Cake?" Pinkie asked, watching as Mrs Cake pulled the test out of the box.

"No dear, this is for you" Mrs Cake said calmly as she offered Pinkie the test, which she took albeit with a confused look.

"Why would I need one of these?" Pinkie asked innocently, which made Mrs Cake frown.

"Dear, do you know the signs of pregnancy?" Mrs Cake asked, sounding like a teacher.

"Cravings, weight gain, and..." Pinkie tapped her chin as she thought about the last thing, "Morning sickness"

"Exactly, now what have you been having for the past few weeks?" Mrs Cake asked, nodding towards the brown sludge in the toilet bowl to enforce her point. Pinkie looked into the bowl as well, her eyes getting wide as she realized that she was showing signs of pregnancy, but hadn't payed close enough attention to really notice it.

"Now you take that test okay Pinkie? I'll be right outside the door" Mrs Cake said as she looked Pinkie in the eyes, waiting for a nod so she could go stand outside. While she was waiting outside Mr Cake stumbled out of his room into the hallway, making his way towards the bathroom, but Mrs Cake blocked him off.

"You can't go in there right now" Mrs Cake said sternly, holding her husband away with one of her hooves.

"Why not?" Mr Cake asked confusedly, still partially asleep.

"Just because, now go tidy yourself up, it's almost time to open" Mrs Cake said, shooing Mr Cake away with a wave of her hoof. He grumbled something to himself as he walked away, Mrs Cake only hearing something about how it was his bathroom and that he had to pee, or something like that. She waited another minute before opening the door slowly, quiet sobbing coming from inside.

"Pinkie?" Mrs Cake asked slowly as she peeked around the door, seeing Pinkie sitting on the floor with her head in her hooves, the pregnancy test sitting just a bit ahead of her on the floor. Mrs Cake slowly entered the bathroom and picked up the test, her eyes drawn immediately to the results.

"I'm pregnant..." Pinkie said through her sobs, causing Mrs Cake to drop the test in shock. Pinkie was like a daughter to them, and with this news...

"Do you have any idea who the father is?" Mrs Cake asked worriedly, moving down to give Pinkie a hug.

"Yes..." Pinkie replied, happily accepting the hug from Mrs Cake, "But he's not from around here..."

"Who is it dear, we'll help you find him" Mrs Cake said as she rubbed Pinkie's back to comfort her, which appeared to be working as her sobbing was starting to die down.

"It's Braeburn, Applejack's cousin from Appleloosa..." Pinkie said sadly, now fighting back the tears that were trying to force their way out. Mrs Cake held Pinkie closer, knowing that it wasn't easy to travel between Appleloosa and Ponyville, and now with winter approaching all the farms would be working hard to get everything finished so nothing would be lost to the cold. With Pinkie in the state she was in there was no way she would be able to make it all the way to Appleloosa without something bad happening, and nopony could get a letter to Appleloosa fast enough, except...

"Pinkie, dear, are you feeling well enough to walk?" Mrs Cake asked, pulling away from the hug enough to see Pinkie's face.

"I think so" Pinkie said, not feeling all to confident in her ability to walk at the moment because of how shaky she was feeling. Mrs Cake helped her to her hooves and then sent her to her room to get ready to leave the bakery while she told Mr Cake what was going on. He quickly understood what was going on and what Mrs Cake's plan was, and he was prepared to watch the bakery by himself for a few hours while Mrs Cake made sure everything was okay. Once Pinkie was ready to leave they went out, making their way to the library.

"Why are we going to see Twilight?" Pinkie asked weakly, feeling exhausted from walking already.

"No pony, can get a letter to Braeburn before winter begins," Mrs Cake smiled as she thought about how clever she was, "but we both know a certain dragon that can" After a few minutes of walking they were at the library, frantic sounds of Twilight having a panic attack coming from inside.

"Spike, where is the book on Winter Start Up?!" Twilight cried as she ran around the library, nearly sending Spike flying away.

"I don't know, it should be in the shelves" Spike said defensively, honestly not knowing where it was.

"IT'S NOT IN THE SHELVES!" Twilight shouted as she prepared to rip apart the library to find the book, but a cough from the door made her stop.

"Are you looking for this?" Mrs Cake said, pointing a hoof towards a book on the floor that was titled Winter Start Up: The How to Guide. Twilight quickly ran over and picked up the book, giving it a giant hug before she realized that Mrs Cake and Pinkie were standing there, with Pinkie not looking all too well.

"Is everything okay?" Twilight asked, giving Pinkie a worried look.

"She's pregnant, and she says the father is Braeburn, Applejack's cousin from-" Mrs Cake said, being cut off by Twilight before she could finish.

"Appleloosa" Twilight said quietly, thinking to herself, "Wasn't he in town a few months ago for the harvest party that Pinkie threw?" Pinkie nodded quickly, making both Mrs Cake and Twilight frown worriedly. The two mares looked at each other, and Twilight could tell why they were here.

"Spike, get ready to send a letter" Twilight said with her head slightly turned towards Spike, who had begun to pick up all the books. With a grunt he went up to Twilight's room, coming back down with a quill and a scroll. Once he was in front of Twilight he prepared to write the letter, but Twilight used her magic to turn him around so he was facing Pinkie.

"Okay Pinkie, what do you want to say to Braeburn?" Twilight asked calmly, making Pinkie look up.

"Braeburn, I'm sorry that I have to send you this, but after what we did during the harvest party..." Pinkie got quiet as she tried to hold back her tears, "I'm pregnant. Mrs Cake says she wants me to send you this letter, probably so that you can know you'll be a father, but I don't really know what to say. I'm sorry for causing you all this trouble..."

"Signed Pinkie Pie" Spike whispered quietly to himself as he wrote Pinkie's name on the bottom of the letter before turning to Twilight, a somber look in his eyes, "This is going to Braeburn right now?" Twilight nodded sadly, and Spike thought about the farm pony, allowing him to locate him in Equestria. Once Spike knew where he was he breathed in, and when he exhaled his magical fire engulfed the letter, a green smoke cloud flying out the window once it was gone.

"There, it's sent" Spike said sadly, turning around to go back to tidying up the library while the three mares stood in a depressing silence.