Yomega and I made our way to join with the others at Sugarcube Corner. As we did, Abes and Conner joined us as we past the library.
"I heard thunder earlier." He yawned. "Was there a storm?"
Conner smacked Abes's leg as he passed him. "It was the Running of the Leaves, you goober."
The Umbreon blinked owlishly at us. "Wait, that was today? Did anyone evolve?"
"You were expecting someone to?" Conner asked.
"Heh." I nudged Yomega. "Deja vu."
"Yes." Abes answered. "Twilight's been having Applejack feed Vince ground up charged topaz in his food."
"What?! Why?"
Yomega spoke up. "Well, after Lulu evolved-"
"Not that!" Conner cut him off. "I get that! But you're using Vince and Cy as lab rats!" We all blinked at him. "Am I seriously the only one who's concerned that you've been potentially liquidizing his insides with gem shards?! And you're doing it without their consent!"
"They did!" Abes whined. "Twilight got their permission through Fluttershy!"
"So, Vince knew he was going to be eating shards?" I asked.
Yomega shrugged as we neared the bakery. "Twilight got their permission to do this, then flipped a coin when their backs were turned."
<<That's oddly unscientific of her.>> Conner commented as we entered the building.
<<Unscientific of who?>> Lulu asked, looking over from under the table the ponies had taken over.
<<Tell you later.>> I promised. I made my way over to the rest of the Eevees. Fluttershy gave me and the other newcomers a nod, then turned back to the conversation the ponies were having. <<Speaking of later, some 'Vee's owe me some words.>>
Cy perked up. <<Potato, tax returns, accounting. Um, ah...>>
<<Crispy Cream Donuts! Timmy's down the well!>> Vince continued.
"Frozen spaghetti!" Pinkie yelled. Everyone, pony and Eevee, paused to stare at her. "What? It looked like fun!" Shaking our collective heads, we all turned back to our respective conversations.
<<To finally answer your earlier question,>> Vince smiled, <<Applejack had us running laps around the barn, then the orchard.>>
<<From breakfast to dinner, with an hour lunch break.>> Cy finished. <<Everyday since Rainbow and Applejack made that challenge. What were you doing?>>
I tapped my chin. <<You guys know that I've used to do death sprints and weaving between trees? Well, Rainbow and I have been going for straight line distance jogging. We would increase the distance each day.>>
"Hey, Leo. Catch!" Rainbow called, tossing another fish cake over to me. I easily snagged it out of the air.
<<Fash the ov'r fing.>> I spat out around my fish snack. Swallowing, I continued. <<Ever since I first started training with Rainbow, I've been on a steady fish diet.>>
<<Wait.>> Yomega paused. <<Fish are high in carbs, yeah?>> I nodded. <<Figures...>> He muttered. Louder, he continued. <<Reminder, Moon Dancer's coming soon. Maybe over the next few days.>>
"Oh." Fluttershy cooed. "Are you all excited to make a new friend?"
"Oh! Oh,oh,oh!" Pinkie bounced in her seat. "Are we getting more Eevees?"
"They mentioned Moon Dancer." Fluttershy explained. "I think they like meeting new ponies."
<<... Yes.>> Lulu stated. <<That's it. We like meeting new ponies.>> We woodenly nodded our heads.
Fluttershy turned to the rest of the ponies with a smile. "I was right."
<<We're, uh.>> Yomega looked from side to side. <<We're going to check on the eggs.>> We took the exit available to us and egressed the bakery en mass. We were near the towns edge before anyone spoke up.
<<Just how gullible are these ponies?>> Villhiem burst out.
Abes shook his head. <<Some days, I can't help but think you can take over Equestria with three puppies and a butter knife. How many disasters have befallen them because the perpetrators were 'cute'?>>
<<At least once.>> Yomega and I chorused.
<<The parasprites come to mind.>> I added. <<Imagine a dust bunny that can come in any pastel color, flies, has the biggest doe-eyes to rival Conner's Baby-Doll Eyes, can eat anything edible, and reproduce by barfing up another dust bunny.>> I paused mid-step. <<Oh, and after Twilight tried to get rid of them magically, heh. Add an 'in' to the 'edible'...>>
Almost everyone winced. Zann just looked confused. <<I don't get it.>> He murmured.
Chuckling, I led the way to the Daycare. Lulu and I checked up on our eggs, and, seeing that they were still fine, we curled up around them. We spent the rest of the evening talking about the latest gossip from Canterlot. Other than Blueblood's plan for the fleet going through because of Rarity, of all ponies, there really wasn't anything new. Eventually we all fell asleep around the eggs.
Late that night, I was jolted awake. In my sleep, I had shifted so that my back was to my eggs, and someone had just kicked my bladder. Getting up, I began to shuffle through the entangled pile of Eevees. Half awake, I wasn't paying enough attention and tripped over someone's legs. I landed between Yomega and Zann, letting out a quiet "oof". Hearing movement, I quickly stood back up.
Turning to Yomega, I saw that he had turned to lie on his back. He raised his front paws, holding them pad to pad. "Mbip mbip." He mumbled, using his paws to mimic a mouth. Lowering his paws, he shifted in his sleep again.
"... Wha?" I mumbled.
"It's za bird." Zann muttered as he rolled over.
From across the room, Vince spoke up. "Birdz 'leep at night."
"Lies!" Cy cried out from his place across Vince's back.
That caused Conner to bolt upright. "Free punch trade for all!"
"No more for me, darling." Lulu breathed from her place by her eggs. "I'm full."
"Oh." Conner nodded. "Okay then." And, with that, he promptly flopped back and began to snore.
"No, Applebloom, don' eat the punch." Villhiem mumbled as he shifted. "Sweetie made it from real punches."
"It's za fistful o' flavor." Yomega mumbled into his leg, drooling as he did so.
I looked around, waiting to see if the chain would continue. When I was greeted by silence, I shook my head and carefully picked my way to the Daycare's doorway. As I left, I noticed that Abes was missing. Looking around, I saw that something was wrong with the moon. "I mus' be dreaming." I mumbled as I made my was to a nearby bush. "Th' Mare in th' Moon's back. Don't know 'bout the gold line, though."
As I was dealing with my business, I saw a brief flash of light. Leaving the bush, I watched Abes stumble around the edge of the Daycare. "Ya look a little flushed, there." I commented, making my way over. "Where'd ya go?"
Abes gave me a cocky grin. "Ya wouldn't believe if'n I told ya."
I gave him a sly grin. "You were having fun times with Luna, weren't you?" I giggled at his blush, making my way back to bed. "Goodnight, Lover boy." I teased.