Unpredictable (Balloons)

Swiftpen heard Pinkie Pie trot to his house, and heard her stop to read the note. She then knocked, and he answered swiftly.

"Oh, hi Swifty. We're not going to do stuff today, but I just wanted to ask- what was your secret that you told my friends?" He was surprised at the blunt question.

"This is a bit unexpected, and I didn't realize that you haven't heard it. There's no harm in telling you. The secret is this- Spitfire is quite obsessed with me. I don't return her feelings, but I have pulled in a few favors that I feel a little guilty about, but she's always happy to help. It's definitely nothing we want the media to hear about, that's for sure, though I'm sure I can trust you." He gave a friendly smile. She seemed a bit... startled, to say the least, but quickly got her smile back, though it looked a tiny bit forced.

"Alright, Swifty. Seeya in a week or so!" She trotted away quickly. Odd...

He found waiting a week inside the confines of the Everfree to be infinitely boring. The only thing he really looked forward to were casual visits with Zecora every day. Other than that all he had were books and magic, and he'd had enough of books for the next 10 years, he assumed. Pinkie's behavior that Monday and Friday still haunted him. He thought about going to her friends after the rumors died down and asking. But perhaps he was snooping too much. Maybe he didn't need to know. But he assumed he would ask politely after all this blasted waiting.

It was finally a week later, on a Wednesday, that Swiftpen felt like he could return to Ponyville in safety. In town, the newspaper was boring as usual, and there were no rabid fans. He'd had enough experiences with those kinds of fans in the past. He figured that Twilight would probably have quite a bit of work for him, even though it seemed unrealistic for he hadn't really done anything since that first day. He walked in to find total chaos. He tsked as he greeted Twilight.

"It would appear that I have work to do!" Twilight smiled in relief.

"Finally, you're back! Pinkie told us about what was going on. It seems rough being famous!'

"None more famous than you, Princess. You go relax while I sort things out." She smiled weakly, she was obviously exhausted, and went upstairs, presumably to sleep. Spike went out to get some coffee, which was odd considering his love of rest. He got to work while thinking of ways to ask Twilight about Pinkie, respectfully and politely. This caused him to be unusually clumsy and unfocused. He didn't like that one bit. He was still getting the organization done, anyway. Just a bit slower than usual. He was done at around 5:00 pm, and the resident mare was awake by then. He figured it was time to ask her.

"So, uh, what was the deal with Pinkie before the whole author deal? I mean, she seemed quite nervous and just off, especially for her. I've actually been worrying about it for a while. I don't like it when mares are unhappy." Twilight looked like she was about to start giggling, and tried very hard to hold it back. It was quite obvious, actually, and Swiftpen wondered why  she even tried to disguise it. She waited until she could keep a straight face to speak.

"Erm.. you should talk to her about it." She muttered something afterwards.

"Have you SERIOUSLY not noticed? Geez." She regained her slight smirk and trotted away. Swiftpen figured he would simply have to talk to Pinkie herself, even though he somewhat dreaded doing so. Getting the mare all nervous and unsmiling just didn't sit right with the stallion.

He finally mustered up the courage to go up to Sugar Cube Corner and ask Pinkie. As he arrived, he greeted the Cakes.

"Sorry to bother you, but do you know where Pinkie is?" They looked fairly surprised, as they had actually never seen the stallion in Ponyville before.

"You're Swiftpen, I assume. Pinkie actually went out looking for you earlier. She should probably be at your house." Mrs. Cake answered.

"Thank you." He said, and swiftly trotted away. He wondered if he would catch her there or on his way. His thoughts were answered as soon as he came in "sight" of his house, seeing Pinkie sitting right outside.

"Hello, Pinkie. I'm glad I caught you. What's up?" She again seemed very nervous, for even longer this time, with uncertainty in her eyes. She almost seemed scared.

"Um.. my friends told me that I should, uh, explain to you what was going on the past couple of weeks, so I came here to do that..." The brown pony was surprised.

"And I was looking for you to ask the same thing. So, let's hear it." He then sat next to the mare, looking directly in her eyes with a warm smile. She had apparently lost all use of her voice, and pulled out a large cake from who-knows-where. It was a beautifully decorated pink cake, with chocolate and even icing hearts lining the entire thing. After gazing at the pastry for an unknown amount of time, Swiftpen looked at Pinkie's face again. Her nerves seemed to be going wild. She even appeared to be sweating. He uttered the only words he felt he could speak at the time.

"You made this... for me?" She simply nodded curtly. He magicked the cake onto the ground and suddenly grabbed Pinkie in a huge embrace. The mare blushed deeply and eventually returned the hug. Swiftpen finally understood everything that had transpired, and even why Twilight had laughed earlier. He felt a little dumb that he had missed it, but he didn't regret anything that had happened, and was truly glad that it was nothing bad. Quite the opposite.

After the long, emotional embrace, they looked deep into each other's eyes and started laughing like little kids. They then promptly shoved the cake in their faces and laughed even more. The rest of the day and night they spent their time together telling jokes and giggling like idiots.

At the end of the night, they shared a gleeful look and Swiftpen broke the silence with a question.

"Shall we party together, later?" Pinkie Pie had a even crazier smile than usual. She nodded and quickly ran into Sugar Cube Corner. Swiftpen then walked slowly home, almost in ecstasy.