Chapter 5: Shock and Awe

Braeburn was working an empty field, checking for anything that somepony might have left behind, when a scroll appeared in front of him. His first reaction was to freak out, but he quickly calmed down and picked up the scroll, opening it slowly so that if there was any scary magic waiting inside for him, then he might have a chance to avoid it. When the scroll was open all the way Braeburn cracked open an eyelid, looking at it nervously, and when he saw that it was just a letter he began to read it, but the fear quickly came back to him.

"Pinkie is what?" Braeburn asked weakly, his worried eyes scanning the scroll in front of him for any sign that it was a joke, but if it was, he couldn't see it. For what seemed like years Braeburn just stared at the open letter, mouth open, until somepony came up and read it over his shoulder.

"You got Pinkie Pie pregnant?" the stallion laughed, having only been nearby because he was checking the next field over, "Looks like she's Pregnant Pie now"

"Shut it" Braeburn said quietly under his breath, his eyes narrowing as the stallion continued to laugh behind, occasionally repeating his joke to himself so he would keep laughing at it. As the stallion continued to laugh Braeburn stood up and turned around, slamming his hooves onto the ground on either side of the stallion's face. With a look of fear in his eyes the stallion stopped laughing and got up to run away, tripping as he tried to jump the fence between fields. Braeburn couldn't help but laugh as the stallion got up with a pile of dirt on his head, but his mood quickly sank back down when he looked at the letter again.

"I'm a father now..." Braeburn muttered to himself as he rolled the scroll up, setting it inside his vest so he wouldn't lose it. For the rest of the morning Braeburn went about his duties like a machine, not showing any emotions as he thought about what this meant for him now. First thing he had too figure out, was he moving to Ponyville, or was Pinkie moving to Appleloosa?

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Pinkie, Twilight, and Mrs Cake all sat together in the library's main room as Spike made them all tea, picking out a sweet cinnamon one for her after she said she didn't care which. The library's sigh read closed to those that were outside, with a small note hanging below it,

Closed for Friendship

Spike entered the room and handing out the tea to everypony, but as he went to sit down Twilight picked him up magically and put him in her room. He grunted angrily from upstairs which helped to lighten the mood of the three mares, but the face still remained, Pinkie was pregnant.

"So, do you know what you're going to do now Pinkie?" Twilight asked worriedly, but Pinkie just shook her head sadly, her eyes focused on her reflection in her tea. Twilight looked to Mrs Cake for help, but found her idly sipping her tea as she looked at the table with a blank face, offering no real support now that her plan had succeeded. Knowing that Mrs Cake might need a bit of stimulus to start thinking again Twilight looked around the room for a book on unexpected pregnancies, and found only one.

"The Big Surprise" read Twilight out loud, getting both mares to look up at her, "Pinkie, Mrs Cake, maybe you two should read through this together" Mrs Cake nodded slowly before pulling the book towards her, opening it up to the first page. Pinkie watched quietly as Mrs Cake flipped through the book, occasionally stopping on a page to read it, but quickly learning that it was just a page used for chapter breaks. Eventually she got to the end and made a thinking face, but not before handing the book over to Pinkie. When she got the book Pinkie flipped through it's pages multiple times, but then put it down on the table with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know what to do..." Pinkie admitted sadly as she looked down at the floor, making Mrs Cake and Twilight share a glance between themselves.

"Dear, do you hate the baby?" Mrs Cake asked as she put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.

"No..." Pinkie replied, somewhat looking at Mrs Cake.

"Do you regret spending that time with Braeburn?" Twilight asked as she put the book away.

"No" Pinkie said, this time sounding confused at what was being asked.

"Then you should keep the baby dear" Mrs Cake said comfortingly, but Pinkie didn't feel it.

"What if Braeburn doesn't want to be with me, even though we have this baby?" Pinkie asked, looking up pitifully at Mrs Cake. Twilight and Mrs Cake shared a worried look before one of them spoke up again.

"Then he wouldn't deserve you dear" Mrs Cake said, looking into Pinkie's sad eyes. Pinkie looked up sadly, the idea going through her head. It was obvious that she was thinking hard about it, trying to figure out if she was worth that much to anypony.

"Yeah, and you'd be an amazing mother Pinkie" Twilight said with an honest smile on her face, bolstering Pinkie's confidence.

"You two mean what you're saying?" Pinkie asked, looking between the two of them with hope in her eyes. Both Mrs Cake and Twilight nodded, making Pinkie smile cheerfully. The other two mares joined in with her smile, which only made her smile bigger.

"So what's going to happen dear?" Mrs Cake asked, still smiling at Pinkie.

"I think..." Pinkie said, confirming it in her own head first, "I'm going to keep it"