Unpredictable (Balloons)

This party was significantly larger than the last one, consuming all of the ground floor of the shop and also a small amount outside. Otherwise it was identical, with the extreme detail that Swiftpen noticed everywhere. Vinyl was here and already playing music, which surprised nopony. Swiftpen thought the food would be just as great as before, but it was actually better. It was odd, he didn't think they could get any better. And every different flavor of punch was the equal amount of delicious, though he still stuck to the pink. Pinkie and Swiftpen stuck together throughout the whole party. They never spoke a word, it was unnecessary. They partied hard together. Their rancorous behavior caused a lot of other ponies to join, a lot more than before. Their spirit seemed to catch on, and the wonderful party went very late. Until around 4:00 am, Swiftpen thought he read on his watch. He almost fell asleep on the spot, but again cleaned up a large amount and then went home. These parties were turning out to be the highlights of his life.

Swiftpen woke up at 10:00 am. Very late for him, but he got a very refreshing night’s sleep, as he had been ever since the first party. He knew that Twilight would again want him at noon. He reported there at a punctual 11:55 am.

“Hello, Swiftpen. That was quite an interesting secret you told Rainbow the other day.”

She giggled and went on.

“Also, you are turning out to be quite the party animal. I never took you as that kind of pony. Anyways, there really still isn't anything to be done, besides the things I personally have to do. Perhaps take some more days off. I’m sure the chaos will have returned by then.”

Swiftpen was unsurprised, but courteous.

“Thank you, Ms. Twilight. I will be sure to spend my free time wisely.”

He left, knowing that most of the rest of his day would be writing and reading. He was used to this. He did spend 5 years in seclusion… writing and reading. He didn't regret that, though. It all led up to this wonderful “job” with these amazing ponies. As he was walking home to get his writing supplies, an overpowering thought went into his head. Why don’t I head down to Sugar Cube Corner and see if Pinkie wants to hang out? It sounded like a great idea, but he disregarded the thought best he could. He couldn't let himself get distracted this easily, could he? Was this going to become a problem? Swiftpen shrugged it off and went into his house. He, very soon after closing his door, heard a knock on it. He answered, and saw standing before him.. of all ponies. Pinkie Pie. He wasn't given a chance to greet her, but he doubted he could’ve said anything anyway.

“Hi Swifty! How’re you doing?! I’m doing just PERFECT. Do you want to, uh, go back to Sugar Cube Corner and cooooook around a bit again? I mean, it’s fine if you don’t but I’d really enjoy it if you did!’

He covered up his pleasantly surprised face with a smile, and nodded his head.

“That’s great, let’s go!”

She then started trotting at an unusually reasonable pace back to Ponyville, giving Swiftpen a good amount of time to set down his things and catch up. He was actually very grateful for the mare’s appearance, he was starting to dread the idea of spending another day with only the written word. He wondered about how Pinkie knew where he lived, but he didn't give it too much thought. He felt it was useless and unnecessary to question her. She was just being herself. They did exactly what they did the last time they were together at the shop, only Pinkie made more mistakes and Swiftpen made less. Pinkie’s pastries were still much better, even with the few silly slip-ups she made.

“You’ll get the hang of it, someday, Swifty!”

She was so ridiculously optimistic and happy all the time. Just thinking about it brought a smile to Swiftpen’s face. And he loved the nickname he had gotten from her. She was the only one who ever called him by a true nickname (that was not his alias, of course). He felt like he could honestly spend all of his time just messing around and having fun with Pinkie. It’s not like he had anything better to do, his life was basically set. Besides, he had had enough of novels for this decade. Perhaps he could start writing something else. He had something in mind. He asked Pinkie about it.

“Hey, Pinkie, what would you think about me writing songs with you?”

She smiled her characteristic smile.

“That sounds wonderful, Swifty! With my musical talent and your writy-talent, we can make the BEST SONGS EVER! How about tomorrow?”

She actually gave him a chance to answer.

“That seems perfect.”

She never stopped smiling.

“GREAT! Be here at 10 am please.”

Her smile had caught on a while ago. He wasn't sure he would ever stop, or if he ever wanted to. They continued their escapades throughout the day, occasionally making big messes and then hastily cleaning them up only to make bigger ones. It was great fun. Never once did it feel tedious or difficult. He went home not feeling tired in the slightest, but still falling straight asleep anyway.

It was 7:00 am, and Swiftpen was prepared for their songwriting session already. He was just about to get some coffee along with the newspaper, but first he put his saddlebag on with all of his supplies in it. It was mostly just paper and various writing utensils, but he didn't doubt that some of the papers would be rendered unusable. He went to the pastry store to find a note hastily taped onto the door. It read in bright pink ink:

Dear Swifty,

I realized that I accidentally set our session to be at the SAME EXACT TIME as some other thing I set up a while ago! How silly of me! How about we do this on FRIDAY?! I know it’s sad ‘cuz we gotta wait 2 days, but I’m still sure it’ll be GREAT! I know that you can, I already asked Twi if you were doing anything that day, and she’s probably right, I mean when isn't she! Well, she has been wrong a lot but that’s besides the point! I’ll be at your house at 10:00 am FRIDAY ok??!??! Okay! Seeya then, Swifty!

~ Pinkie Pie

He could’ve sworn that it was signed in frosting. He thought it was kind of odd that she would meet him at his house instead of the other way, but had no qualms. He had no plans. He never did. Even if he did, he would probably move them aside for Pinkie. He was fairly sad that he would have to wait, but he figured that it would be worth it. A day with Pinkie, no matter what day it was, would always be worth it to Swiftpen.