//------------------------------//
// Chapter 50: A Sweet Set Of Twins 
// Story: To Equestria And Beyond (Rewrite In Progress) 
// by NightFurySpeedey8156 
//------------------------------//

“Come on, we're gonna miss it!” Twilight called. 

It had been a week since the little sick Day fiasco Fury went through and things had changed in Ponyville while he was gone. Black Ice was considering opening a restaurant for her recipes, Obsidian was looking to be the first Speed Shifter to join the Crystal Guard, Pyro was getting better at socializing, and most importantly… Mr and Mrs Cake had become parents.

Following behind the purple alicorn were her fellow royals and Night Fury himself, racing through town to get to the Ponyville clinic. 

“Holy smokes, this is crazy! Since when was Mrs Cake pregnant?” Fury asked.

“I don't know. We've had our own issues to deal with after all.” Cadence said. “But that doesn't matter. What matters is we're gonna finally see these two sweet babies!”

“She doesn't have issues, Cadence. She just wanted to keep the pregnancy a secret.” Twilight corrected her foalsitter. “She never wanted to make much of a fuss about it. To be honest, she never really wants to make a fuss about anything.”

“It is truly a blessing to bring not one, but two new lives into this world. The Cakes must be proud of themselves.” Celestia said.

“Mrs Cake especially. I may not be a doctor, but I know enough about due dates that she must have been fighting for her life to deliver those two. Yeesh.” Fury huffed, skidding around a turn with trained skill.

“True. Pinkie has been determined to be a major help to these two while they are going through this ordeal. So at least they have someone on their side.” Twilight said.

“No doubt she'd be elated to have two new faces to treat to her signature practical jokes and parties.” Luna spoke up.

“And we won't have to wait much longer to see ‘em. Clinic on the horizon, ladies!”

Fury and the others rushed through the dirt causing a small dust cloud. They burst in through the doors of the hospital. 

After telling the receptionist pony about who they were in a very quick and rushed way, they finally were allowed in. They walked this time but quickly still to get to the room the babies were in. Opening the double doors, the rest of the Mane Six, Spike, Fury's parents and even Pyro were there to see the new twins.

“Phew! Sorry we're late guys, got a little turned around at City Hall.” Fury said, hugging his parents before turning to his housemate. “Pyro, you're here too?” 

“Well, of course. I may still be new to pony culture, but child birth is a custom I believe we both can agree on.” Pyro said, getting a smile from Fury.

“Glad to see you're getting used to living here. Now, onto the big stuff. Where are these pint sized twins?”

A pink leg grabbed his lower jaw and turned him toward the glass. “You can see the cuties right there! Look just over there!”

“Uh Pinkie, there are a lot of babies in that direction.” Fury said.

“Oh yeah. Um…”

“Wait, got 'em! Side by side, second row, right in the middle!” Everyone turned to where Fury described and they saw two little babies swaddled in blankets.

“Both together, the only twins where Pinkie is pointing too. Very observant of you, Fury.” Celestia complimented.

“Dad didn't pass down his sharp eyes when I was born just for show.” He said.

“You got that right, champ.” Obsidian added. Just then, Mr Cake walked in behind the babies.

“Well, here they are. Everypony, I'd like you to meet our son, Pound Cake…” He pulled the blanket slightly down to reveal a small pegasus colt with curly brown hair and cream colored fur.

“And our daughter, Pumpkin Cake.” The other was a unicorn filly with more yellowish fur like her father, but bright orange hair like a ripe pumpkin.

“Awwww!” 

The father was proud and could hardly resist tearing up at his offspring. “They look so amazing, these fine little foals. Look at their little fur, their horn, their wings and…”

“Wait, a horn and wings?” Fury asked. “But doesn't that make them a pegasus and a unicorn?!”

“Oh that's easy. My Great Great Great Great Grandfather was a unicorn. And Cupcakes’ Great Aunt, Second Cousin, Twice Removed was a pegasus. That makes sense, right?” Carrot Cake said.

“Huh. Genetics are a weird thing. But forget that, look at how cute these two look!”

Fury in his life had seen many ponies even as children. But he almost never saw newborns up close. It was almost like seeing a new species for him.

“What up, speedster? You look starstruck.” Rainbow asked.

“It's just… I've never really seen newborn foals up close. They're so much… bigger than I imagined.” He said.

“Really? How small are newborn Speed Shifters?” Twilight asked.

“Well, it's a little complicated. Usually, we're born in litters like normal cats. Six, seven, eight kittens each. Anything below five is unusual and anything below three is a miracle. So most newborns are barely the size of a mother's front leg.” Fury explained.

“And let me guess, you were one of these single born miracles?” Rarity jumped in.

“He was for sure.” Black Ice spoke up. “You wouldn't believe the pain I felt giving birth to him. Of course all mothers struggle with giving birth. But for me it felt like there was also explosive energy going through my veins. I felt like I was being struck by lightning. And from it all came one offspring. I couldn't have any more and I later on realized it had to do with him being an All Powerful.”

“Well, isn't that a coincidence.” Luna chuckled.

“Heh, I'm just that good.” Fury scoffed cockily, rubbing his claws on his chest and checking the shine.

“As cocky as always.” Cadence giggled. “Oh, look at those cute little pacifiers they have. And those adorable blankets. I might just have to come out of retirement for these two.”

“Oh I'm sure you'll have your own foals to deal with soon, Your Highness.” Obsidian said. “Let me tell you, even one baby is not easy to deal with.”

“That’s quite an understatement.” Black Ice agreed with her husband. “You should just admire them because when you become a parent, well it's harder than fighting a Cragodile.”

“Oh come on, I wasn't that bad.”

…

“Was I?” Fury whispered.

“Do birds sing to attract mates? Do clouds indicate a storm? Does a certain son of mine have the traits of lightning?” Obsidian asked, gazing into his son's eyes.

“Alright alright, I get it! I was a bit of a pawful, no need to rub it in.” Fury huffed, his ears flopping to the sides of his head. 

“Yes, dear, you were a pawful even when you were in my stomach. But I knew even then there was something extraordinary about this baby. And when you finally came out into the world, I could tell something truly remarkable began. You, my boy, did not prove me wrong there.”

“Okay, you win the emotional battle. I concede.” Fury said, hugging his mother.

“Thank you, sweetheart. But that parenting advice goes for you too, Mr Cake. I've heard that pegasus foals can be a bit much.”

“And watch out for Pumpkin Cake too…” Twilight said.

“Unicorn foals can have random magic surges at any time.” Rarity finished.

“Good to know. Now, to get to the point. Princess Cadence, Night Fury, I need to ask a favor from you.”

“Fire away, Mr Cake.” Fury responded. 

“I'll be here with Cupcake while she recovers from the delivery, but the twins are good to go. Could you help us out by babysitting them until tomorrow? Cupcake will have been cleared to be released by then.”

Fury had to admit, he had no experience with babies himself. Maybe foals to play games with but never infants. But he was curious to see what they would be like to care for them. And besides he didn't have anything else to do today.

As for Cadence, her enthusiasm was even greater and she didn't even think before violently nodding.

“Well, looks like you're gonna get your chance to come out of retirement, Cady.”

“And you, ambassador, are going to be assigned a task far tougher than yaks or dragons. Meeting with a little infant.” Cadence shot back.

“Oh boy, here we go. Wish me luck everyone. If I'm not back by tomorrow, just know that the baby food was too much.” Fury said jokingly.

“I'll make sure we have a pacifier engraved onto your stone.” Luna giggled as the two set off on their Babysitter adventure.

–

A Few Minutes Later…

Cadence and Fury soon exited the clinic with all they needed. Instructions for what to do in case of emergency, a baby bag full of diapers, baby powder, formula and much more for on the go feeding and changing, a list of everything the Cakes had stashed at Sugarcube Corner for when they got there, and to top it all off, the newborn twins being wheeled along in their specially made double stroller. 

“Okay, taking care of two baby twins. Shouldn't be too hard.” Fury said, but Cadence thought otherwise.

“I wouldn't be so easy going. Taking care of a baby, let alone twins is a heavy task on its own. It's not like they just have wind-up keys on the back to turn and wait till they run out, you have to truly care and entertain them. But don't worry, you have a renowned foalsitter on your side, so I'll be here to help.” She boasted.

“Well, let's hope you're not too far out of practice. I may not know a lot about foalsitting myself, but I know that after a few years of not being on the ball, it can just slip out from under ya without any warnings signs.” The black cat retorted. Cadence had to admit it had been a good few years since she was a teenager looking after babies and little kids. Her Aunt Luna wasn't even close to coming back from her moon imprisonment when she started with Twilight.

Even so, she kept her head high. “I'm sure I'll get back into the rhythm by the time we settle in. It'll just take some muscle memory to get myself on track. All aboard the Cadence Express, woo woo!”

Fury just started laughing. “You are just as goofy as I am, you know that?”

“It helps in taking care of babies and kids, after all.” Cadence said as they both sped up slightly.

So far the babies were sleeping contently. It was good that the babies had nice cushions to keep them comfortable.

They finally reached Sugarcube Corner and went inside.

“Heh, maybe this won't be so bad after all. These babies seem to be asleep longer than the ones I took care of before.” Cadence said. “I guess we'll just take them and put them to bed.”

“Oh no no, Cadence don't-” Just that second, the drama started.

Waaaaaaah Waaaaaaah!

“Jinx it…” Fury moaned.

They were now in the hallway of the house and the babies’ room was just ahead.

“Oops. Well, so much for my slight hope.” Cadence said. She then looked to the babies. “There there dearies, you'll be fine. Just wait a moment and you'll be cozy in your beds-”

As she was approaching the room, Cadence felt a magic force envelop her and then pushed her to the other side of the hallway until…

BAM!

She rammed into the wall causing great pain in her body.

“Ow…” She whimpered.

“Looks like Pumpkin is having her first magic flare. You sent Cady flying, didn't you? Yes you did.” Fury cooed, nuzzling the now giggling unicorn foal.

“Good to see you two are getting along. Ugh, that's gonna sting for days.” The pink princess soon established herself and opened the door to the baby room. Inside the room, the walls were painted a light blue, two cribs sitting side by side along the back wall and plushies sitting on top of a dresser.

“Wow, the Cakes went all out with the baby prep. Gotta give it to ‘em, they've got class.” Fury said, placing Pumpkin and Pound Cake down.

“Okay you two, we're home. You okay now?” Fury asked, sounding hopeful. His wishes were soon mocked by the universe as the twins immediately started wailing again.

“Guess not.” He snorted. “Gee and I thought I was their favorite for a moment.”

As if to pour more salt in his wounds, Pound Cake decided to free himself from Fury's grasp and do some flying.

“Oh you've got to be kidding me! He's already flying!?” Fury was in disbelief. Shifter cubs were never this troublesome, they couldn't even cry for the first few months after birth.

“Cadence, could use some foalsitting rescue over here!” 

“On it!” Cadence flapped her wings to fly to Pound Cake. The little pegasus seemed to be quite amused at this and decided to fly away from her like a game of tag. 

“Come here, you little munchkin!” Cadence said with desperation as the pegasus kept evading her.

“I think I've almost got him…” Fury twitched his hind legs and bounces up to finally catch Pound Cake. “Gotcha!” 

“Nice catch.” Cadence said, hovering down to the floor. Fury sat Pound Cake down again and joined Cadence to sit in front of the twins.

“Okay, so… what's next?” Fury asked.

“We introduce ourselves.” Cadence answered. Fury's ears went crooked and his eyebrows quirked.

“Uh… you sure these squishy babies can even understand us?” Fury said a bit skeptically.

“First of all, rude. Second, of course they can! We just have to get on their level. Watch.” Cadence bent down to eye level with Pumpkin and started to speak.

“Hello Pumpkin, I'm Cadence. I'm really happy to meet you.”

“Guh?” The unicorn baby looked at her with confusion.

“And this is my friendly but sometimes naughty assistant Night Fury. Together we're here to have fun with you two.”

“Ah had to throw in some shade huh?” Fury said with his tongue out. “Eh, anyways kids, we're gonna have a whole bunch of fun. And the funnest thing to do would be to start by closing your eyes and going to a far away land.” Fury said, wanting in reality for them to fall asleep like the instructions told them.

“Oh come on, Fury. You should know just as well as I do that it isn't that easy. We have to wear them out first, get their energy spent.” Cadence whispered. Fury understood and began brainstorming what to do. Then, an idea bubbled to the surface.

“I've got an idea.” He whispered back, turning to the twins. “Okay you two, we're gonna play a game called Hide and Seek. One of us counts to ten while the rest of us find a place to hide. Sound fun?”

The two twins babbled with glee.

“Perfect! Now, we just have to pick who's it. Watch me.” Fury covered his eyes with his ears and began to recite an old rhyme.

“Eenie Meenie Minie Mo, Catch a Cat By His Toe. If He Hisses, Let him Go. Eenie Meenie Minie Mo.”

Fury's finger pointed to himself. 

“Okay, so now I'm gonna count and you three are gonna hide.” Fury said, scooting the others outside the room. “Okay, here we go.”

“1… 2… 3…” 

“C'mon you two, we've gotta hide!” Cadence said, hurrying the twins along.

“4… 5… 6…”

Each of them tried every spot they could, squeezing into hiding spaces they were confident in.

“7… 8… 9… 10!” Fury opened his eyes. “Ready or not, here I come!” He loudly and proudly proclaimed. 

Quietly slinking his way out of the baby room, he snuck down the stairs. Coming down to the front counter, he looked around for any signs of the hiders. The treat case was clear, none of the tables had anyone hiding under them and even the little pockets in dark areas were empty. This made Fury impressed. For a couple of babies, they sure knew how to hide away.

He then went to the kitchen and searched through it. Each and every curtain was drawn closed to reduce light and even the indoor lights were off. But that didn't stop him as he used his hearing to try and pinpoint the slightest sound.

Luckily for him, his ears were tickled by the sound of a loose cupboard door at his paws. He slowly bent down to the cupboard, grabbed the handle and pulled quickly.

“Gotcha!” Fury was greeted with the small yellow face of Pumpkin Cake. She babbled and laughed as she was picked up and placed on his back.

“Nice hiding spot, Pumpkin. Pretty sneaky. Now, let's go find your brother.” Fury said as he continued on into the dining area where a modest table for now four with two high chairs was set. Looking around, once again, nothing immediately stuck out to Fury's eyes. Walking around, he noticed a few drapes along the windows were drawn closed. 

“Hmmm, maybe your brother is behind one of these curtains. What do you think?” Pumpkin giggled and clapped her hooves in agreement. Fury then proceeded to walk over to the first window and draw the curtains back, revealing that nothing was there.

Then came the second set of curtains. Same result. Fury decided to take a peek under the third one and found nothing at all.

“Wow, not going for the curtains? I used to do that trick all the time as a cub.” Fury said to himself as we walked near the stairs that lead back up to the second floor. Just as his paw raised to take the first step, he heard something move behind him. Turning around, his eyes saw nothing, an empty delivery box and a vase being the only objects there.

While he would have turned back around to head upstairs, Pumpkin got his attention.

“Huh, what is it, Pumpkin? You see something?” Fury asked. Pumpkin pointed her head towards the vase on the floor, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the Speed Shifters.

He went over to the vase and inspected it from the outside. Nothing was truly out of place from where he was looking, that is until the vase rattled a bit in front of him. He stepped back a bit in surprise and leaned in to see inside. To his shock, Pound Cake had squeezed his way into the vase and was sitting in it with no issue.

“Clever little spy, aren't you?” Fury said, quite amused. It brought him back to his days of hiding from my mom and his babysitter. He snickered at the memory.

“Well sorry buddy, but I gotta get you out of there.” Fury said, trying to place his paws around the little foal. But Pound Cake was a bit of a sore loser for a baby as he squirmed out of his reach.

“Come on, Pound Cake, you know you're caught. Just let me grab ya…?” Eventually, Fury grabbed Pound Cake and placed him next to his sister, getting a whimper in return.

“Oh, don't be so grumpy. You did good for your first time. Now we have the last of the bunch to find, the pink prize.” Fury said, taking the stairs back up to the second floor.

Walking down the hallway from the opposite side, he looked for anything related to Cadence's position for help. Luckily, he saw the guest bedroom door open slightly.

“Well well well, looks like we have our clue.” He and the twins went inside to be met with a seemingly empty room, a queen sized bed against the back wall with windows on either side and a closet to the left. Everything looked regular and untouched, suspiciously regular and untouched.

“Now that's new. Nothing out of place at all, the windows are fine, sheets tucked and straight, closet closed. She's good…” Fury said initially. But then he saw something under the bed. A strand of multicolored hair that seemed to be moving slightly.

Fury smiled and looked at the twins on his back. “Hey guys, you wanna cause some trouble?” He whispered deviously.

“Gahhh?” The twins uttered. 

The young Shifter had a naughty smile as he pointed to the hair. “See that, oh would you like to play with that? Oh I bet you would!” He said carrying them and placing them near the target location. 

Pound and Pumpkin tugged lightly on the hair. It seemed much to their liking so they pulled harder. 

“Eeep!” A certain soft sound appeared.

Oh this is gonna be good. The shifter mused eager to see how this chaos would unfold.

The babies were now even more fascinated. They were ready to really have fun now. They decided to work together, Pumpkin Cake still tugging on the hair while Pound Cake went under to investigate the squeak.

“Abah?” Pumpkin saw something interesting. “Gahhh!!!” The little unicorn decided to go into the blanket. Fury could hear even more tugging.

“Eeeee… eeeeee…. Ow ow ow! Stop it!! Come on! Give your babysitter a break, will you?!” Just in that moment, Cadence came out from her hiding spot with Pound Cake on her back and Pumpkin hanging by her hair. 

“Dahahahahahaha! The twins gotcha now!” Fury laughed. Cadence however, wasn't amused.

“It's not funny! Now I've got baby slobber in my once nicely kept mane! What's funny about that?” She huffed, sitting down and crossing her forelegs with a pouty face.

“In and of itself, not too funny. But since you’re all uppity and moaning about it, that's comedy gold. These kids already know the key to humor.” Fury said while resisting laughing at his fellow caretaker's suffering. But Cadence didn't respond and stayed pouty and turned away from him.

Fury then understood that this was more than just a joke. He looked to the twins and saw even they looked guilty. He wanted to apologize for the joke, but then he thought of a different way to do so.

“Okay kids, I'm gonna teach you a valuable lesson about cheering your friends up. Whenever you pull a prank or joke on someone, they may not see it as funny sometimes. So the way you get them to be happy again is to cheer them up. Everyone has their ways to cheer their friends up, and this is mine.”

Fury scooted over to Cadence and gave her a hug from behind, nuzzling into her fur.

“A hug isn't an apology, smarty pants.” The pink alicorn snorted. Fury shot a glance at the observant babies and winked. Just then, his paws began to move lower down to Cadence's belly.

“Oh I know, I'll just do that right about… Surprise!” Fury said as he began tickling Cadence.

“Whoa whoa what the heh heh heh heck?! Heh heh heh heh heh!!!”

“Oh just a little gift of happiness, Cady. We could all use a good laugh from time to time. I had mine and now it's your turn!” Fury said gleefully.

The babies were also laughing along at the sight and unlike Cadence, intentionally.

“Hey Pound, Pumpkin, you wanna get in on this!?” Fury asked them.

“Gahhhh!!!” The twins excitedly complied, deciding to mimic Fury's tickling of their victim.

“Nahahahahahahaha! No more!” Cadence declared, using a burst of magic to gently but quickly get them off of her. Pound and Pumpkin Cake were now on either side of Night Fury and were all staring at Cadence who turned to them.

“So this is the game you wanna play, huh? Okay… you've rang the gong of war now...” Cadence said darkly with a smile.

“A… Tickle War!” Cadence quickly went on the attack and targeted the one who started it all.

“I've got you now! Your ticklish tummy is mine!”

“No, not me! Not again! It's no fun now! Ha ha ha ha ha!” Fury said in agony. He turned his face desperately to his accomplices. “Guys, help me! Help your ha ha friend!”

The babies smiled and eagerly went close but not to Cadence as he had hoped but to Fury's paws.

“No! Ha, ha, ha, the Ambassador's been betrayed ha ha ha!” 

Fury could now see a genuine glee in Cadence's face. A sadistic almost blood thirsty face. The Shifter knew he was helpless with not just her as usual, but with two naughty and playful babies even by usual baby standards.

“Cadence I can handle you tickling me kind of! But these babies are crazy and all slobbery! You've gotta call a ceasefire with them! They're too much!” Fury begged.

“Okay okay, we'll call it off. Come on guys, we’ll show him mercy.” Cadence said, using her magic to pull the twins off of him and remove herself from her position over him.

“Oh boy… Phew, that was intense!” Fury gasped.

“That's what you get for your sneaky tummy tickles on me!” Cadence shot back.

“Okay okay, you've got me. Heh, I couldn't resist it.” Fury said. Just then, an almost animalistic roar filled the room. Cadence squeaked in surprise while the twins covered behind her.

“Fury… I don't know what that was, but it didn't sound friendly.” Cadence said, looking around the room before another, louder roar rang out.

“Eeek! Something wild is in here! And I don't know what it is!” Cadence whimpered. Then, her intuition kicked in. “Wait… if it was so loud, that would mean it's in the room. And no wild animals would fit in here.”

Then she finally figured it out, giggling to herself as she looked over to see Fury blushing. “Fury… i-is that your…”

“Ehehe… Yeah.” Fury said as it roared again. 

“Well, I've heard Sombra's monstrous voice but even that doesn't compare to your stomach! You must be really hungry then!” Cadence commented.

“Totally! Besides, it's almost noon so the twins are due for some nom noms themselves. Right guys?” Fury's question was answered clearly and the twins' tummies responded in a similar way.

“Well, I guess you three are due for some lunch. I'm sure there's something for you downstairs.” Cadence said, now getting signals from her own stomach.

“Heh, I guess we're all hungry now. C'mon, let's see what we've got to munch on.” Fury proposed, getting a unanimous vote from everyone else as they went into the kitchen to find their food.

–

Later on…

“Okay, the note from the Cakes says that they have a few cases of food in the fridge for the twins. We have to drop the packs of food into the water and let them cook. And we have to make sure they're only lukewarm once they're out of the water. I'm pretty sure it's triple underlined, circled and in all capitals for a reason.” Fury chuckled.

“As expected. No new parent is ever easy going when it comes to feeding their kids. Every parent I've met has gotten very high strung even after their kid hits double digits. All there is to do is get this food ready, then feed ourselves.” 

Fury himself was unfamiliar with making this mix. He was thankful to have Cadence along to provide some help. 

“I bet you had to take care of babies too.” Fury said. “It must have been hard to get them to eat.”

“Yep. You got that right. But you get used to it.” Cadence said as the two mixed the solution around.

“Okay, let's heat things up.” Fury said, but instead of using his powers, he did the unthinkable. Using the slower stove top to boil the water.

“Interesting, you're not using your powers.” Cadence said.

“Yeah, I still haven't completely recovered from my sickness. I want to have a good mind to control my powers with something as delicate as cooking. So might as well try the ethical and delicate route. Yuck, I'm starting to sound like mom.” Fury gagged, making Cadence giggle a bit.

“Well don't worry, it'll only take a minute or two for them to get to optimal temperature. In the meantime, how about you find something for us to nibble on?”

“Now you're talking!” Fury immediately went searching for something for them to eat in the fridge. But what he found was disappointing and frightening.

“Uh Cadence… you know how you said parents can get a bit high strung about feeding their kids?” Fury asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well… uh… the Cakes got so high strung that they packed the fridge with baby food.” Fury said. Cadence initially was caught off guard by that notion, but wasn't too overwhelmed.

“Well, of course there's going to be a bit of an imbalance from regular food to baby food. It's just natural to-”

“No, it's not that. What I mean by that is that they literally packed the fridge with baby food. Take a look.”

Cadence looked in and saw how every level was packed with baby food. All of it with packets with sentimental art of foals playing with their mothers. They couldn't see one speck of adult food.

“Oh dear. It appears we've been given the unlucky roll with the over prepped parents. I don't think there's a single bit of food for us in here.” Cadence said.

“Nothing in the freezer either.” Fury added. “Well, looks like we'll have to go a different route. Order in?”

“Sounds good to me. I'll keep watch over the twins, you go find us something to eat. There should be a magazine with tons of restaurants that do delivery.” Fury let off a stern salute before he walked off to look for those ads. Meanwhile, Cadence took the two packs of food out of the water and cut the heat. Pouring them into two respective bowls, she pressed her hoof against each of them to test the temperature. She deemed it sufficient and walked over to the twins in their high chairs.

“Alright, kids, it's time for munching time!” She said to the foals she had previously placed in baby chairs.

She looked at Pumpkin first. “Here comes the choo choo train. Chugga chugga choo choo! Chugga chugga choo choo!”

She successfully inserted the spoon into Pumpkin who seemed to be in a pretty good mood. This gave Cadence relief that she didn't take to it unkindly like some would.

“Now it's your turn, Poundie. You get the train now. Chugga chugga choo choo! Chugga chugga choo choo!”

Pound Cake seemed less enthusiastic about the food and looked at the spoon with hostility before slapping it away angrily.

“Hey, now! Don’t be so mad, it was friendly.” 

Pound Pumpkin simply looked away angrily.

“So much for it being easier.”

Just then, Fury walked in with a magazine coiled in his tail.

“One of the twins getting picky?” Fury asked.

“Unfortunately. Pound Cake isn't too happy with the mush.” Cadence sighed.

“Maybe it's down to how you introduce it to him. I mean, the whole ‘Here comes the choo choo train’ shtick is super generic. Here, let me try.” Fury picked up the spoon and presented it to Pound Cake.

“Hey big guy, you see this? Cadence might have said it was a train, but look… I think it's a spaceship! Pew pew pew!”

Pound Cake seemed more interesting. He liked the sounds of shooting from Fury. He looked on with amusement and giggles. He tried to bite the spoon but Fury kept on having it fly, teasing the baby.

“Oh here it comes flying high and low! Avoiding the Shadow Shifter pilots!”

“Gahhh!!!” Pound yelled wanting it badly.

“There we go. That's more like it.” He finally gave him the food to which Pound finally showed satisfaction and happiness.

“What was wrong with my method?” Cadence asked.

“Normal civilian day to day life can be boring. But adding space? Conflict? Anticipation? You can't resist that!” Fury said. 

“I guess you and Pound have something in common.”

“Heh, I guess we do.” Fury said. “A love of action, I can already tell by his name. I bet you'll do some cool action when you're older.”

“Oh, that reminds me! I found something for us! Check it!” Fury unfurled the magazine in his tail to reveal a special deal. Two for the price of one large pizza from Peppino's Pizza Planet.

“Peppino's? It's been too long since I had one. All the work has made me forget. I could go for a nice hot slice with some marinara and some cheese!” Cadence said, her mouth watering at the sight of pizza.

“I knew I was right on the money. I guess I don't need to ask you if you want to come then.” Fury said.

“No need. We can send a scroll. It wouldn't exactly be a delivery option if you went to place the order and walked back just to wait.” Cadence giggled.

“Yeah, good point.” Fury said with a deep breath. “We wanna keep these babies in the house after all. Don't want them to get too curious about the outside world yet.”

“Also a good point.” Cadence replied. “Now, all we have to do is write what we want onto a scroll and I can send it to the pizza place for them to make.”

Fury and Cadence got a piece of paper and quickly wrote on it. They were eagerly writing while examining the mouth watering names of all the breadsticks, sauces and types of pizzas.

Cadence swiftly went down, almost tripping to get the list into the mailbox, ready for delivery.

“Ooh man, I can't wait for them to get here! If I wait any longer, I think I might just go feral.”

“Yeah agreed!” Cadence said followed by her own stomach grumbling. “The sooner the better. By the way, are the babies still nice and calm?”

“Yeah, so far. The babies are luckily distracted for now by the blocks now.” He said pointing to the children.

The princess was satisfied so far. Maybe babysitting again was not as hard to come back to as she thought. Besides, the babies looked cute especially stacking blocks on one another.

“Awww, look at you cuties. Just playing and having fun.” Cadence said.

But right on cue, Pound Cake pushed one of the blocks. This caused Pumpkin to start to tear up. 

“Wahhhh!!!”

“Having fun, huh?” Fury said sarcastically.

“Oh by my aunt's name… Come on sweetie! Everything will be okay.” Cadence said, going to pick up Pumpkin. Fury went to Pound Cake and picked him up.

“Pound Cake, it isn't nice to wreck something your friends and family do. How would you feel if your tower got knocked down by your sister?” Fury said sternly. Pound Cake looked over to her whimpering sister in Cadence's foreleg and changed his attitude almost immediately. 

The pegasus colt walked to his crying sister and put arm around her. She still seemed sad. But she eventually smiled and hugged him. It seems they made up.

“Well, I guess that's one job of being an ambassador is.” Fury said with a chuckle. “Not bad for a rookie babysitter, huh, Cady?”

“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Cadence said with an impressed smirk. Just then, a tiny set of yawns drifted out from the twins’ muzzles.

“Awww, you two are tired already?” Fury asked. Pumpkin answered for both of them with a nod.

“You must have had a big day today. Now let's get you two to bed.” Cadence said, levitating the twins onto her back. Fury looked at the clock nearby and saw it was only 4:00 in the afternoon.

Wow, only 4 o'clock? When I was a kid, I'd be staying up till near midnight with Mom and dad, sometimes even 2 am! Huh, I guess that's another difference my baby years and ponies’ baby years have.

Fury said to himself as he followed Cadence back up to the baby room. Placing each of the babies in their respective cribs, she sat in front of them and gave a soft smile.

“Alright, sweeties, it's time for none other than a little song.” Cadence said. 

Oh, a lullabye. I wonder what Cady will sing. Let’s hope she’s better at it than my dad's attempts at it. Good grief, who knew a feline with a voice as deep as his was able to crack glass.

Cadence put them in their cribs. She took out an ornament from her bag, it looked like a snow globe. She twisted the bottom of it and it played a soft tune.

🎵Hush now, quiet now rest your sleepy eyes🎵

🎵It's time to lay your sleepy heads🎵

🎵It's time to go to bed🎵

Cadence's soothing voice put them at rest and thus their eyes closed.

“Wow, I guess you really do have a way with words. You literally are about to put babies to sleep.” 

“Well, I do have a way to soothe ponies with my words. It's no big thing.” She said, a split of confidence tracing her voice patterns.

Before Night Fury could come up with a snippy response, a distant knock came from downstairs. Cadence and Fury's eyes lit up like fireworks as their minds immediately knew who was there.

“The chosen one has come…” Fury said, “I can already smell it!” 

They both ran and flew to the front door. And quickly opened it. There they saw a box of pizza with a familiar logo.

“Peppino’s at your service!” The delivery colt said. “Are you the ones who bought these?”

“You bet it! Hoo boy, this looks good. I can even smell a few extra ingredients I never knew!”

Fury quickly gave money and before the colt could say anything Fury slammed the door and walked over to the table that sat in the living room.

“Alright, time to chow down! Let's see what we've got here.” Fury said as Cadence was setting up the plates and napkins.

Fury opened one of the six boxes they ordered and found cheese mixed with green bell peppers, olives, and Roma tomatoes.

“This must be one of yours. I know mine is in here somewhere. I had a special request put in to suit my palette.”

“It's nice that you're kind is getting more ease of access when it comes to meat. It shows that ponies are truly starting to warm up to you.” Cadence said, getting an agreeing nod from her feline friend.

“Yeah, feels good to get some recognition.” Fury said, sniffling one of the pizza boxes. “Ooh, and speaking of which…” 

Fury opened the next box and saw his specially made, sausage and pepperoni pizza. 

“Wow, I have to admit even though I find meat a little off-putting, that does look good.” Cadence complimented. “Maybe you've rubbed off on me.”

“Had some of the stuff brought in from home. Trade deals are starting to kick up now that the deal is sealed. And now, I get to reap the benefits.” Fury said, licking his already drooling chops. Just then, his nose caught another scent. A particularly chocolate-y scent. He looked over and saw a smaller box next to the pizza.

Cracking it open, he saw a grid of chocolate squares precisely cut for easy tasting.

“Well these are definitely new to me. What are these?” He asked curiously.

The princess of love was stunned. “Wow. Those look like Brownies! It looks like they took Celestia's suggestions to heart. A nice break from savory foods after all.” She took the brownies and chewed on one. Her mouth turned from a tomato to chocolate taste. She felt like she was in a bakery.

“Mmm, all of this looks tasty! Welp, nothing left but to enjoy.” Fury said, deciding to put on some old shows on VHS for them to watch while eating. Including the Hyper Wheels cartoon as well as Lightning Cats show.

–

A Few Minutes Later…

After a while, Cadence and Night Fury had collectively eaten 3 of the 6 pizzas they ordered and snagged a few breadsticks along with it. Sitting on the couch in relaxed positions, lying on their sides while facing away from each other at either end, they were both still eating as if they had just started. They were watching a romance show and the couple on screen was having a romantic dinner.

“Oh man, this stuff is delicious. The romance could do with a downward toning of the cheesy stereotypes though. Though I’m sure my mom would disagree.” Fury said.

“You're not wrong. As much as I love romance and all, this is almost too cheesy to watch.” Cadence agreed.

“Yeah, like why is it such a big thing to feed your partner? Just seems strange to take all that effort just to seem romantic.” Fury rolled his eyes as that exact scenario played out on screen.

“It's supposed to symbolize support and comfort. That you'd trust your partner to give you what they need.” Cadence explained. Fury still saw it as unnecessary to do such a thing, but the concept did make him chuckle a bit on the inside. He was so amused that he decided to take a brownie and experiment with it.

“Hey Cady…” He said with a bit of cheekiness.

“Yes?” She answered. Turning her head, she was met with him up against her with the sweet treat in his paw.

“Whoa, what is-” 

“Do you smell it, Cadenza? The fragrance of sweetness and delight? I give it to you as a token of my appreciation and undying love.” Fury said in a suave voice. Cadence then realized it was a joke but played along. 

“Oh Night Fury… I don't know what to say. It is simply a true delight. In all the kingdoms I have traveled to, not one has given me the delight of a sweet offering. Better than any gold.” She replied in a similar way.

“I give it to you because I think it is not just what you want, but what you need. For I wish to free you from your accursed skinny body and free you from the curse of your trainers.” Fury said as sincerely as he could with his snarky comment. Cadence snickered at his clearly teasing joke masked with romantic talk. She opened her mouth and let Fury slowly place it inside, closing it and chewing the sweet chocolate with half lidded eyes.

“Yes, my lady. Chew. Chew with all the smoothness that a pink princess as yourself can muster. But do not tire yourself out. I would never be the same if you felt unpleasant.” Fury said dramatically as Cadence chewed her brownies.

Cadence had to resist laughing at his hammy dialogue. He would fit right in with those low budget romantic films on Hoofmark. She eventually swallowed and licked her lips, grabbing him by the sides and pulling him closer.

“You know good and well that I'm married, and yet you still persist in your efforts to break mine and Shining Armor’s bond. How dare you, you curr!? You shall face the wrath of my fuzzy fur for your transgressions. Have at thee!” Cadence giggled, wrapping him in a hug from behind and bringing him back to chest with her.

“Noooo, it's too fluffy! I have been thwarted by the evils of the snuggle! My work is ruined!” Fury cried in a fake fit of depression.

“Thus it may be to all smooth talking charlatans as yourself! For I am a princess of justice!” Cadence said in a dramatic voice.

Her captive finally broke character and burst with laughter at the absurdity of their performance.

“Wow, Cady, you should win awards for most corny cheesy acting of all time! Rarity would be jealous.”

“And so should you! You have the most romantic dialogue for a newbie actor. Even though you have the worst emotional translation. Seriously, even Shining in high school theater did it better.” Cadence giggled.

Fury flipped over onto his back and stared up at Cadence. He saw her face staring back at him with a childish smile that only he knew. She moved her hoof over his belly and started to give him belly rubs.

“Look at you. Such a plump little cutie, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are.” She said, baby talking to him like a pet.

“Oh of course you divert to how much I have on my underside. Typical. But I have to admit, it does feel good to know how dogs feel when they get belly rubs.” Fury said, lying back and just enjoying the treatment.

Now I know how Winona feels. Oh this is the good stuff. Yes it is. It feels good to be pampered sometimes. 

“You seem so tense when you see anyone looking at your underside. Why is that?” Cadence asked. Fury blushed and began to explain.

“Well, it's because my tummy is my weakness. Not just because it's my tickle spot, but because it's the least protected part of me. Everything about me is tied to that thing. My appetite, it's where my softest fur is and most importantly… It's where I'm the squishiest.”

“Makes sense, considering you are simply a large intelligent cat.” She said, stroking his stomach to his delight. “I bet your mother and your babysitter do this too.”

“They did. They've always made it a point to remind me of my more rounded form. Queenie did it the most, almost as if I was some sort of fidget toy rather than a living creature. Dad left all the cutie stuff to mom though, he wanted to teach me the other side of things. No real surprise there. Even Luna calls me her little Snuggle Bug on occasion.”

Cadence giggled at that. “Auntie Luna hit the mark right on with that.”

“I guess so. Y'know, I'm surprised your husband hasn't torn me a new one for how risky I play my jokes about your marriage. Even more so with how close I can get to you and how much I tease you about possibly leaving him for me. To be honest, I'm surprised I'm not six feet under because of this.” He chuckled.

Cadence pondered this thought. She never thought of it much but she knew him to be the protective and jealous type.

“Perhaps, it's a testament to how much he trusts you. Like in saving the Crystal Empire or helping me with so much. Perhaps he sees you as a guard for me. 

“Well, I guess that's a plus. I mean I do have the power, the status, the past experiences… The clear lines I draw with insults that, if crossed, will result in me gutting whoever dare spoke, cracking their skull open and ripping out whatever brains they thought they had…”

…

“But hey, that's just an opinion, right?”

“Yep. That's definitely an opinion. A colorful opinion for sure. You know how to add spice for sure.” Cadence said with a hint of sarcasm.

Fury sighed. “I'm sorry, it's just… I've been so closed up about my powers that I haven't really been able to… let loose for once, y'know? Ever since I moved here, everything has been so safe, secure, non threatening. And while that may sound like a good thing to most, for a predator… it's a nightmare. Where's the dangerous environment that keeps you on your toes? The ruthless animals that'll have anyone else wetting themselves? The stain of blood that comes with a satisfying kill?”

“I've become so domesticated that I… I think I'm losing my instincts. I sometimes feel like a sheep, not even a ram.”

Fury got up and looked out a window to see the forest. “I guess I welcome the friendly atmosphere, but now it's gotten old. Conflict can be stressful but also endearing. Who am I if I can't take out the smallest of threats with all this power, huh? And this isn't even talking about the moral high ground of staying metaphorically still when it comes to showing off my skill in front of you ponies!”

“I'm glad that I got away from the mentally draining place I was in at home. That, I cherish like a child. But sometimes, I think back to all the times Dad took me hunting and taught me how to pounce and go for the kill, the times Jade helped me get a grip on my scouting skills. Heck, even Amethyst had her moments teaching me defense tactics! It just feels like I'm letting all of that slip away just for the sake of staying morally and politically correct.” Fury explained.

Cadence looked at him with pity. Though it was hard for her to truly understand how threats could make life more worthwhile, she understood the stress of how it feels to let life slip away. To lose control.

“Fury, do you think you feel homesick? Do you want to reconnect with your people and traditions?” Cadence proposed.

“Oh goddess no, good riddance to that Minasi Conarut.” Fury spoke in his language. “It's just that I'm confused. Do I brush up on my skills and run the risk of my embracing of violence crippling my social standing? Or do I stay docile, doing my darndest to make myself presentable to those I now associate with? It's a moral dilemma all over again. I know you all tell me that my culture is accepted and there's nothing to worry about, but that's just you and the others. What about the public? What about the rest of them who haven't seen that yet? I know they won’t have so much patience.” 

Cadence knew Fury was right even if she didn't want to admit it. She knew how fearful her subjects and most ponies of other lands could be. She knew he was lucky he ended up seeing such open ponies and not others.

“I suppose it's true that most of our society hasn't gotten to meet you and underlying your origins, so they may fear the unknown of what you may do in the sight of a predator. But you're not really like that.” Cadence tried to reason with him, but he was still adamant.

“Yeah, when I'm holding back.” Fury reminded her. “I will admit I can be a savage when something enrages me, but I'm not looking to hurt or kill anyone innocent. I just like to make others accountable for what they say.” He said with a bit of a snarl. “I mean, well… you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do. But I also see a barrier between you and your emotions being held together with barely a threat. No… a Bungee cord. Constantly in tension, coiling back and forth in an effort to withhold your anger at your own command. You see your completely natural emotions as a sort of sickness. A parasite. Something leeching off of your sadness and anguish any time you feel disrespected. But it's not just because you want to hold back for the sake of us, you don't want to admit that you like embracing it every once in a while.” She explained.

“It makes me feel normal. I feel better using my power to do damage, destroy something, witness what I can do. It gives me a bit of satisfaction seeing everything just come together inside of me.” Fury explained.

“When we went to the Cursed Forest to save my parents, I killed one of the guards. My first actual kill. It felt… good to watch him die. To see the life drain from his eyes after seeing him whip my mom. It made me feel like I was making a difference, like I was doing what I was meant to do… Like I was being true to my DNA.” Fury said with a certain satisfaction like a starving lion eating a gladiator. “And as long as he's enough of a jerk, it's free real estate for my thirsty mind.”

Cadence nodded. “I… see. Well I can see how you miss those… days. Even with all the fun and pleasantries you had.”

“You can say that again. This urge of mine. The urge shared by many Speed Shifters. Sometimes I wish Blueblood could come out of his lair and I'd show him a real fun time with my claws. But all I can do is just lie around and do nothing.”

“Hmmm… perhaps I can arrange something for you. The yearly check-in will be happening next year and that would be the best time to propose it.”

“Yearly check-in?” Fury parroted.

“Mhm. Every few days after the New Year, all of the top ranking nobles and royals group together in Canterlot to speak on last year's dealings and anything happening from then on. New laws being passed, military deals, peace treaties…”

“Discussing Pyro and her eventual release from my watch.” Fury finished.

Cadence nodded. “A big moment for Pyro. Where she finally becomes her own autonomous being. But also for you. I think you'll take pleasure in something with emotional weight. No contracts or landholdings, simply about helping your new friend.”

“Well, technically she's my aunt. But yeah, I'll be helping her out nonetheless. Also, it'll be refreshing to get her out of my house. I can finally be rid of that little-”

“Watch your language!” 

“Fine, fine. I guess she is still my aunt after all.” He said with a bit of a chuckle. “But don't act like you're so innocent. My ears have caught you saying worse. Like when you stubbed your hoof at your wedding and called the table leg a cockatrice suckling- Mmmm!” He said before a slice of pizza magically got stuffed in his mouth.

“Okay, okay!” Cadence said. “You have a point. I was a bit on the wild side sometimes back then. But seriously, we got babies here! Maybe tone your language for their sake.”

“Ohay ohay!” He mumbled, swallowing the pizza. “Hmph! Don't get to have any fun…”

The mood started to calm down a bit. It felt like they had gained a true understanding. They continued to eat a bit more even dipping them in some ranch sauce. 

“I may just have to start hunting again with how convenient food is now. This pudgy pouch might just turn into a weight if I'm not careful.”

“Good to know you're starting to understand not to overeat.” Cadence said with a smirk.

“Ha ha ha ha. Real funny, Your perfectionistness.” Fury said, his tongue sticking out. “But I was wondering, for real. How much longer do we have to care for the babies? It can't be that much longer.” 

“Just until the morning. By around noon, Mrs Cake will be cleared of her recovery time. Recovering from childbirth is just about as bad as healing from war wounds. I know most girls like me would go on mile long rants saying ‘It's not the same!’ and ‘Guys just don't know the pain of childbirth and never will!’ but I believe we have just as much to share in our pain as any other creatures.” Cadence said, using an extra girly voice to mimic her fellow young mares.

“heh heh heh, nice talent for voices, I gotta say. I suppose it is hard to recover from that. But I think what most Equestrian females don't understand is that war wounds can hurt just as bad. Amethyst almost had to get her leg amputated after a Black Mamba bite.”

“Black Mamba? What kind of creature is that?” Cadence asked.

“Only the most venomous of the snakes in nature. Not only is their venom deadly if not treated within minutes of biting, but they can raise themselves 3 feet off the ground to strike at taller targets. That's high enough to give even you a nice, painful, venomous little kiss on the forehead!” Fury explained, making Cadence's face go a few shades lighter.

“Oh dear. Was Amethyst okay? That must have been really painful, being bitten in the leg like that?”

“She was fine. Thanks to our ability to turn into any animal in existence, research and experimentation with biology is much easier for us. So all it took to make an easy antidote was to find a lucky guy or gal who managed to touch one without getting bitten, have them turn into one and test what works and what doesn't. But almost all venomous bites don't work on us as the dormant DNA inside of us of said creature who would try and take a bite would act as a natural antidote, kinda like positive on positive magnets.”

“Wow, that's quite an impressive ability you Speed Shifters have. Never thought changing to an animal could actually be used in a clinical setting.” Cadence said. “I bet Twilight would love to hear about this stuff.”

“Yeah, but that info won't be coming out of my mouth. The amount of reflex, sensory and tickle tests she practically dove in to take when I was still new would make Discord look sane. If Mad Scientist isn't on Twilight's list for Nightmare Night costumes, I don't know what to think.”

“I know how that is. Even more so my husband.”

“Well, he's the brother to your purple alien sister-in-law. Probing at everything that moves to get a better understanding of our strange world. I wonder what experiments she has stored away? Can your tail be used as a fifth limb? Can the other senses be combined into one super sense? Does tickling have the possibility of actually turning you pink?” Fury wondered aloud.

“I don't know about the first two, but that last one sounds interesting. Perhaps all pink ponies were tickled as children to turn them pink in the first place?”

The two had a good laugh at that idea. Indeed they both felt great amusement at this.

They felt both like nothing could go wrong at this point. All the fun and light hearted teasing made it feel all the more satisfying.

They then went up to check on the twins. Walking into the baby room, they were both sleeping safe and sound.

“You know, these babies actually behave nicer than I thought.” Fury said. “I was kind of expecting some apocalypse from them but it really was more like a little trickle of rain.”

“I'm not sure about that. Babies can always be surprising. But…” Even Cadence sighed in relief. “I think so far these might be an exception. I shouldn't be surprised. Their parents are very nice and well mannered ponies.”

“Definitely not the ponies I would expect for weird genetics to be involved in.” Fury said. “Anyways, how about we just go back out. They seem alright.”

“Yeah.” Cadence looked one last time. “Good night sweethearts. Sweet dreams.” She said giving Pumpkin one last kiss. 

Night Fury's eyes squinted at that move from her.

Why do I get the feeling that something is about to go wrong again?

But unfortunately for her that was when trouble truly started.

Aacho…

A little baby sneeze escaped Pumpkin's muzzle. But that was only a precursor to the next set.

“Well at least that wasn't too bad…” Cadence said.

“WAHHHHHHHH!!!”

Pumpkin cried out loud which made her brother also cry. It was loud but not like other times. It felt almost supersonic.

“Why is she crying like that?! Fury asked out loud.

“Babies do that, it's natural! The slightest disturbance can set them off!” Cadence said. “There there. How can I make you feel better?” Cadence asked, pondering what to do.

“Oh I know, some food! Maybe you're hungry.” She grabbed some mix for the babies. “Here you go sweetie. Here comes the choo choo train!”

As she put the spoon in Pumpkin's mouth, she seemed happy enough. Cadence sighed in relief until the baby seemed a bit green.

“Uh oh… I know what that is!” Fury said, making a mad dash to get clear.

“Oh calm down, Fury. She's not going to throw up, I would know. And besides, I think they just need a little burping.” Cadence reassured him. The black cat popped his head in to see what the deal was.

“Burping? What are ya gonna do, pop a couple of pint sized sodas for them?” Fury asked all too innocently.

“Not even close, furball. I've just gotta give them a few pats on the back. What, do Speed Shifter babies not require burping?” The pink alicorn asked, grabbing the twins.

“Nope. Speed Shifters get their teeth basically as soon as they're born, just a few little nubs at first. But after a few weeks, we get our full baby set and the parents immediately go for solid food, although in small pieces. We're built a little differently than ponies. We can actually digest solid food very early on in life.” He explained.

“Well, I guess that clears up a few things. And explains a whole lot more…” Cadence mumbled that last part before sitting down and hoisting the twins over each of her shoulders and patting their backs.

Urp!

Buruuuup!

“Wo-hoah! Nice one, Pound! You might just be as good as AJ.” Fury chuckled.

“These babies have a lot of spunk in them.” Cadence said.

“Yeah for sure.” Fury said. “I think they're gonna become some really strong little fellas when they grow up.”

“But, for now, they need their sleep.” Cadence reminded him, two tiny yawns solidifying her point. Cadence put them back in their cribs and they soon fell back to sleep, allowing the two babysitters to sneak their way out and escape them for the rest of the night.

“Gee, I forgot just how many unexpected surprises babies can throw at me.” Cadence said finally relieved that the babies were finally back to normal.

“Yeah no kidding. I'm starting to understand the burden of my mom raising me. Well at least I didn't have teleportation or flying.” Fury said, chuckling.

Cadence nodded to that.

“So, are you ready to call it a night? I personally would stay up until midnight or longer. I mean, I am semi nocturnal after all.” Fury asked.

“Yeah I think I am. I'll just call Mr. and Mrs. Cake. And then they'll be the ones dealing with those little babies.” Cadence said.

“Good, because once they show up tomorrow, I am outta here.” Fury sighed. Cadence went downstairs to handle the rest of the pizzas and the movie while Fury walked over to one of the guest bedrooms the Cakes left for them and went inside.

It wasn't anything special, but the decorations seemed somewhat tailored for them as somewhat of a thank you for good work. Fury took the time to quickly snag a shower and brush his teeth before Cadence and got himself comfortable.

It was kind of fun being here but I can't wait to be back at my place. Heck doing 6 hours of meditations doesn't sound so hard now.

Fury finally finished up with grooming himself. The Cakes did have a cozy if not small bathroom. 

He went out the door, and saw Cadence with a bag of boxes.

“Ready to go so soon? Mr. and Mrs. Cake won't be coming back until tomorrow, remember?” Fury asked.

“Yeah I am. I'm tidying up the place for them to have a nice clean place.” Cadence said.

“I suppose you're right. Well, I'm kinda sleepy. I'll take my moment and get settled for the night.”

“Yeah. I agree. After all this baby stuff, I just wanna drown myself in sleep.” Cadence said.

Fury chuckled. “You think you'll have it this tough when you become a mom? Because I bet one day you'll have one too.”

It gave the princess of love food for thought. “Frankly it might be tougher. We only took care of them for one day. But parents like the Cakes have it much harder.”

“Eh, well I'll be betting that you'll be just fine.” Fury said, walking off to get some sleep.

“Heh, yeah. I'll be just fine…” Cadence said quietly, looking down towards her barrel with a sort of strange look before going to do her routine before bed.

–

The Next Morning…

The sun shone through the curtains of Fury's guest bedroom and prompted him to open his eyes and welcome the warmth of the day. Looking around the room to get his bearings, he stretched his forelimbs and let out a snarl.

Another day, another chance to better the world…

He pulled the covers off of him and shifted himself over the edge, hopping down and shaking off the sleepiness. Walking over to the door, he opened it up to see Cadence's door was already opened.

Hm, guess she got an early jump on the day. No biggie, just means I can get the shower before her.

He dashed like a madcat to get to the shower. He enjoyed the experience with soap and cleaning it off.

“I wonder what Cadence is doing? Eh, probably just getting some more beauty rest.” Fury wondered aloud. He turned the water on and waited for it to heat up. Once it was at a suitable temperature, he stepped inside and was immediately drenched with warm water that made him sigh with relief.

He wasn't one to usually shower, being the bubble bath type himself. But ever since he found out there was an alternative, he was somewhat hooked on it. 

Grabbing a washcloth, he lathered it with soap and got to work washing his chest fur. Soapy bubbles covered his body in no time and he was soon well into his shower time. But little did he know, he was about to get a lesson on another pony tradition.

“Wait, I hear someone. Who's there?! Show yourself or you get my claws!” Fury declared.

“Relax Fury. It's just me. Cadence”

“Oh okay, it's just you.” Fury sighed with relief and relaxed again. Then his eyes open with shock. “Cadence?! What in the name of the emperor's beard are you doing here?! I’m showering!”

“Well, I am too.” Cadence said, confused. “I figured we both will get it over with and save some water for Mr and Mrs. Cake.”

“Wait a minute…” Fury said, calming down. “Is this another pony tradition I haven't seen?”

“Well if tradition is what you call it since we're used to this, then yeah. Many ponies can shower at the same time. Even a stallion and mare if you are asking. And no, not for any unsavory reasons if you're wondering. That is not the place for that.” Cadence assured him.

“I guess I should have expected this to be a thing since after Celestia told me that you guys share baths too. And you know we're both taken, you're the one who brought it up, you dirty minded strawberry milkshake.” Fury joked.

“Okay. I'll admit I never heard that one before. Impressive.” Cadence said. “But anyways sometimes I forget just how different we are.”

“It's fine, I'm all for new experiences. It's not too bad anyway, I've always hated trying to get my back and face. Always so difficult…” He muttered.

“Well, I guess that's what I'm here for. Hold still.” Cadence said as she got out some shampoo. It seemed to have a vanilla flavor, which was fitting for the Cakes and she lathered it on his back.

“Ah finally thanks! It used to take me like five minutes to get that spot.” 

“Happy to help. Mutual aid is always a useful tool whether in diplomacy or even getting yourself tidied up.” Cadence said. “Now turn around so I can get your face.”

Fury obliged her request and she placed her hooves on his face. She rubbed the soap in and watched as Fury's face went from a sleek black to a bubbly white. 

Fury then noticed how she would squeeze his face a few times every few rotations. “Do you want to say something about my face?”

“Oh well, since you brought it up. I never noticed how squishable it was. Just like a plush toy or a balloon animal. I just can't resist that flexible face.” Cadence teased, getting Fury to roll his eyes.

“Well, if we're talking sweet sensations, what about that pegasus chest fluff you go to such lengthy efforts to hide?” He said smugly.

“That's different. We princesses try to keep it down to look professional and serious. Not like a lamb. It's all part of being a princess.”

“Eh, I guess that's fair. I mean, basically no one knows I have chest fluff too because I smooth out my fur every morning.” Fury admitted.

“I'm sure Auntie Luna would go crazy over that.”

“Yeah. Can't appear too soft though, she has her own crazy but lovely side.” He said with a laugh. “Even so, I have to keep things low down. Y'know, aerodynamics and all?” Cadence understood her friend's efforts, being that she was a pegasus before she was royalty and could relate to his speed complex.

“Yep! When I used to be into racing and combat training, I had to style my fur to be less poofy so I could go quickly. It also shows you're more mature as a pegasus and you could be taken seriously.” Cadence boasted slightly, taking the time to load her wings up with suds.

“Eh, maturity is for the boring and bland. I like feeling the natural floof of my fur every once in a while. Besides, are we really any more mature from when we were kids anyway? Growing up is just packing layers of knowledge onto yourself to make yourself appear older and more mature.” Fury said, sounding like an inspirational speaker.

“Huh, I never thought of it that way.” Cadence said, a bit amazed at what her friend said. “I suppose I do still have those childish parts of me still believing in fairy tales of love at first sight and all that.”

“And I still like playing imaginary games to cheer myself up. We both have our ways to remember our childhoods.” Fury said. “Ah, okay. I feel clean again. Time for a little dry off.”

“Good call.” Cadence shut the water and climbed out of the shower with Fury, both of them dripping with water. 

“Y'know, a quick blow dry would be faster than using a towel. It'll save us time and the Cakes some laundry.” Cadence lit her horn and prepared a spell. “This should get both of us dry in no time.”

The mere mention of a blow dry got Fury's face looking like he had seen death itself. 

“Wait wait wait, Cadence don't-” Before he could intervene, Cadence let loose the spell and a quick wind blew all the moisture off of them and left them dry.

“There, all dried off. Now, what were you so hissy about?” Cadence asked him.

“That's the thing. There's one glaring negative about blow drying a cat instead of towel drying. If you don't dry us off slowly and with care…” Fury whimpered. Just then, his fur seemed to start standing on end, getting puffier and puffier until…

Floof!

“We puff up like fuzzy balloons.”

The black cat looked more like a porcupine than a Speed Shifter now. To Cadence, instead of showing regret, she simply giggled at the sight.

“Pfffft, I didn't think Shifters could look even more fluffy than before.” Cadence snickered.

“No thanks to the pony who doesn't know how felines work. Why do you think cats lick themselves to keep clean? It's not just to clean ourselves, it's to keep our fur slick and let our fur naturally dry in the room temp air so it doesn't puff up. Not to mention if it does get puffy, it's a pain to groom it back down.”

“Heh, I see, sorry.” Cadence said sympathetically yet trying to resist laughing. “Here, I'll make it up to you.”

Cadence spawned a brush in her magic and began to go at Night Fury's puffy exterior. Starting at his head, she slowly brushed back the puffy fur around his eyes and behind his ears. Moving down, she got to his back and sides, making sure no loose ends were left. Soon enough, she had gotten to his paws, legs, tail and chest. Now came the tricky part… his underside.

“Okay just hang on, this will be… complicated.” Cadence said.

“Well just get it over with so I can get out of the bathroom.” Fury said. 

Cadence moved slowly as she came into contact with his tummy, going in long slow strokes in an attempt to not trigger Fury's dreaded tickle spot. But even with her efforts, he started to snicker and wiggle.

“Pfft. Oh no, not again! Heh heh heh. Come on Cady, give it a rest!” 

“Fury, I'm not trying to tickle you. I want to get this over with as quickly as you do, but you're just so sensitive down here. Now, try and hold still.” Those words were the epitome of easier said than done as Fury was practically incapable of holding still with how much the brush's bristles tickled.

“Okay, almost done. Just one last patch of fluff and we can get out of here.” Cadence went for the last fluffy spot and ran the brush over it. To her shock, the fur didn't go down. And to her horror, it was directly in the middle of the black feline’s belly.

“Uh… my bad?”

Fury sighed. “Oh great, this is gonna take longer than I thought.” he said aloud.

“Not on my watch. Fury, prepare yourself. This is going to be one very giggly experience.” Cadence said, a determined look on her face. 

“Oh dear…” Cadence readied the brush, giving Fury one last look before going to town. Fury immediately lost it and began wiggling in reflex to try and get away. 

“Just a little more. Hold on!” Cadence said.

“I'm tryihihihihihing!” Fury squealed.

The princess brushed the reluctant and very ticklish Shifter hard, trying to get as many tight knotted hairs as she could. The more she pushed and pulled, the more amusing Fury's face looked.

For the black cat, he was just trying to hold it together. But his mouth certainly couldn't do so. 

“Ha ha ha ha! This is too much!” He said kicking his legs every so often at the walls.

“Almost got it…” Cadence made one final pass and finally got the extra fuzz to lay flat. She quickly removed herself from her unintentional victim and watched as he slowly reduced his laughing to giggles and fell over in a heap.

“Heh heh heh… oh it's over. Thank the gods, I'm finally back to normal.” He said with relief.

“It couldn't have been that bad. I mean I was able to keep it all well in the end.” Cadence said.

Fury looked up to Cadence. “At least that. But you clearly still have a lot to learn about speed shifter brushing techniques. Not to be underestimated, Lovebutt.”

“Perhaps. But one thing I do know is that you are undeniably the most ticklish creature I've ever met. Seriously, I bet a leaf falling on your belly would make you giggle!” Cadence teased. Night Fury let out an embarrassed chuckle at that.

“Funny you should mention that because… it actually… happened. In the schoolyard no less.” He mumbled, his cheeks shining a clear pink.

“What are we ever going to do with you, fuzzball?” Cadence giggled. “Now come on, let's get ready and check on the twins. We've spent enough time goofing around this morning.”

“Yeah, let's. And this time I'll be drying myself, thank you very much.” Fury said, taking the towel and getting rid of every wet spot on his fur with the speed of thunder.

“Ah, there. Nice and dry. You go ahead and give the twins a wake up call, I've got to tend to my fangs.” 

Cadence nodded and went out. “Okay, but don't take too long.”

Fury did as she asked. And once again quickly brushed his fangs and gargled up the mouthwash. Confident in his shining sharp fangs, he decided to take the time to do his claws. Thankfully, Celestia gave him a specially made nail file reinforced with her own magic to deal with his claws.

Meanwhile, Cadence walked into the baby room to see Pound Cake up and awake before his sister.

“Ababu…” He babbled, trying to say hi.

“Hi Poundy! Did you have a good rest, you little champ?” Cadence asked with a baby-like voice.

“Bababa?” The colt looked a bit confused and was looking at his surroundings.

“Oh, you like the bright sun? Yeah, that belongs to my Auntie Celestia. She raises the sun every day for all the young fillies and colts like you.”

Pound Cake babbled cheerfully at that. Soon enough, his sister popped up from her sleep and made her presence known.

“And good morning to you too, Pumpkin.” 

So far the twins looked quite happy and calm. She decided to get the food now while they seemed happy. Grabbing the twins, she headed downstairs to get started on breakfast for them.

Not much longer after her, Night Fury emerged.

“Well, looks like the twins are up and at ‘em. I'll get the water going.” Fury said. Reaching into the fridge, which was now partially filled with pizza leftovers, he grabbed two packs of baby food, one carrot and one mushed peas.

Passing them to Cadence, she handled the packaging while Fury once again went the slower route to heat up the water. A few minutes later, Cadence got out the food and went to present it to the twins.

“Bon appetit! I bet you two are hungry. Well, here comes the airplane.”

Cadence decided to go with Pumpkin first. As per usual, she imitated a 
train as the food goes into Pumpkin's mouth.

“Here comes the munchies! Chugga chugga choo choo!” She said the spoon was approaching the baby.

To Cadence's delight Pumpkin didn't resist. But was rather still and expressionless.

“Well, aren't you a good girl-”

“WAHHHHH!!!’

The peas and carrots splattered all over Cadence's fur. And for Pumpkin she seemed in a frenzy.

“Oh what now?”

“Maybe she just isn't feeling the theatrics.” Fury suggested, taking his own turn.

“Okay Pumpkin, let's see if just doing this the easy way will get things done. I'll try your brother first.” Fury said. “Here ya go, Pound. Try it.”

This time Pound seemed to be a bit reluctant to eat. Perhaps his sister made him have a bad feeling about the food. 

“Oh boy, seems Pumpkin has got her brother on the skeptical side.” 

Fury had to think of a way to get the baby on his side. Then he got an idea.

“Oh Pound!” He took his paws and made some goofy faces with them. “Saw this at a mirror tent in a circus! Goo gah, gah, goo!” He said hoping to make eating food seem more fun.

The baby, although confused at first, seemed to take a liking to the silliness. One could say it made him feel more relaxed and feel less pressure.

The baby was chuckling again now. He seemed perfectly receptive. Fury took this opportunity and fed the baby the food finally. And he seemed happy with it although he did also splatter a bit of food on Fury due to him laughing.

“There we go. A little messy, but all good. Now, time for the instigator of this scenario.”

Fury looked into the eyes of Pumpkin, staring almost into her soul. “Hey Pumpy, wanna see something cool?”

Fury got it, took his tongue out of his mouth, crossed his eyes and made some babbling sounds. He's even crazier looking than when he did it with Pound Cake.

The baby pumpkin at this time was a bit more confused; it seemed like she was not quite as receptive to this strange face at first. Fury was worried if she didn't like it or something.

Hmm, a bit of a hard case, eh? Alright, just gotta push the limits a little.

“Oh, you think you've seen all the mirror master's tricks?! You have not seen anything yet!” Fury declared confidently.

He decided not to just use his normal face; it wasn't enough. He decided it was time to use one of his Transformations faces; he decided to use an ugly yet amusing face.

“Watch this!”

The black feline felt his power surging through. He transformed into none other than a manticore. The large Wiley lion face appeared before the baby.

He then proceeded to Fury proceeded to do the faces he did before but now with a larger head he's able to go all out he's able to make it look so surreal it almost looked like it came out of the mirror world he once looked at.

The baby finally started to giggle and then outright laughed. It looked like Fury's trick worked not just for Pumpkin but for Pound as well.

Here's my opportunity! 

Fury said to himself. Fury took the spoon and gave the delicious meal to Pumpkin.

“There we go. That wasn't so bad, was it?” Fury asked the baby unicorn.

Pumpkin just giggled and decided to try her own trick. She lit her horn and took the blob of food out of the bowl it was in and began to make animal shaped with it.

“Wow, look at you! You're getting good at this, Pumpkin! Nice giraffe!” Fury complimented.

“It seems we've done our jobs well. Now all we have to do is make sure this stays that way by the time the Cakes arrive.” Cadence said. But little did she know she had messed with the forces of karma once again.

Pumpkin began separating the blob into little balls, spinning them around her head while she clapped her tiny hooves and laughed. Soon enough, she figured out what throwing stuff with magic was like. And from that moment forward, a mushy warzone was created.

“You just had to tip off karma once again, didn't you!?” Fury snarled, taking cover.

“I seriously don't know how I get away with half the stuff that comes out of my muzzle! This must be my comeuppance!” Cadence shot back. They both peeked over their solid table cover to get an angle on the living slingshot that was Pumpkin Cake and her magic.

“We have to do something! If we don't get this under control, we're deader than snakes in an acid pit!” Fury said.

“Well what do we do? We can't just walk up to her and tell her to stop, that'll make her sad or even mad.” Cadence returned.

“We don't have to, all we have to do is cut it at the source! And besides, she's not the only one with a horn.” The black feline said, gesturing to the very one sitting atop Cadence's head.

“Good thinking! I'll use a barrier spell and keep us covered.” She ignited her horn and summoned a teal barrier around herself and Night Fury, allowing them to move away from cover and slowly make their way towards Pumpkin. By this time, Pound Cake had somewhat gotten in on the mischief himself, although to a reduced degree due to his lack of magic. Green and orange blobs splattered everywhere, coating the walls and ceiling with carrots and peas.

“Yeesh! Even I wasn't this bad when I was a kid, and even then I was practically running up the walls thanks to my then undiscovered destiny.” Fury admitted.

“I can't say the same for myself. My alicornification came when I was just 10. To say that my powers were tame is… completely incorrect.” Cadence sheepishly chuckled.

“Well at least I'm not alone when it comes to dealing with powers beyond anyone else's comprehension.” Cadence and Fury smiled at their similarities in childhood, both having to face a destiny that neither of them were ready for. But that was of no matter now, as their main mission was to stop the carnage of Pumpkin Cake.

As they slowly but surely made their way to the highchairs the twins were sitting in, they tried their best to get them to stop. They tried toys, pleading with them, trying to distract them, but nothing was working.

“Oh it's no use! What are we gonna do if neither of them are listening to us!?” Cadence cried. Fury took a moment to think about what they could do about this dilemma, trying to run every possible thing to come up with a solution.

But at that moment, something strange happened. Pumpkin began to… clean up after herself? She uses her magic to slurp up all of the mushy baby food and turn it into a ball of mixed and mashed mush.

“Well, it looks like our problem has solved itself. Maybe Pumpkin got bored and decided to do something nice.” Cadence said. But once again, she had tempted fate.

“Uh Cadence, is it just me or is that blob getting bigger?” Fury asked. The pink alicorn turned to Pumpkin and sure enough, she was procuring a ball of baby food as big as a buckball. And it continued to grow. Slowly, a shadow cast over the two babysitters and the orb began to swell, almost as if it was losing its structure.

At that moment, both Cadence and Night Fury had a moment of synchrony. All of their thoughts seemed to fuse together into one single phrase that perfectly described the situation they were in…

“Awww tree sap…”

–

Meanwhile, in the streets of Ponyville…

The Mane Six, Celestia, Luna, Fury's Parents, Pyro and the Cakes were all walking through the streets to get to Sugarcube Corner. They all figured why not check in on the two who were assigned the babysitting job together as a group? But what they didn't know was the situation they were about to be greeted with would solidify this time as a moment in their friendships for years to follow.

“I can't wait to see those cute little babies!” Pinkie cried out in excitement.

“I hope Cadence and Night Fury didn't have a hard time taking care of them. I can say that babies are not easy, especially considering my childhood.” Twilight said with a blush.

“Ah, the stories your mother would tell me about your infant years. You were said to be quite the hoof full, my faithful student.” Celestia chuckled to which Twilight blushed even more so.

“I just know everything is okay when we get there. We gave them everything they needed for yesterday and this morning. They must be fine!” Mrs Cake exclaimed.

“I’m sure our son and Cadence did a wonderful job of taking care of your children. He may be a bit on the high adrenaline side, but he can take care of anything that's needed.” Black Ice said.

“That's right, honey. He's our little helper. I'm sure everything will be fine when we get there-”

Splat!

Just as they came into view of Sugarcube Corner, all of the windows were suddenly coated in an odd orange and green slop that made it almost impossible to see inside. This triggered everyone's internal alarms as they rushed to the front door to knock and see what the deal was.

But before anypony’s hoof touched the door, it opened slowly from the inside. And from there, out came two covered figures with coats of orange and green respectively, slowly making their way into the daylit exterior of the building.

Twilight was the first to speak. “Magic surge?”

“Magic surge.” The two spoke in unison.

“I see.” Twilight looked into the now gunk covered house/shop hybrid. “I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.”

“Well, you were at least right about Pumpkin. She's got some power.” Came the green covered figure, now identified by his voice.

“Oh my. It seems my lover was right, the baby food was too much.” Luna giggled, wiping a portion of the slop aside to reveal the red eyes of the one she loves.

“Well, I guess everyone has their weakness.” Fury chuckled. “And you wanna know who my second weakness is?” He said with a smile to the dark princess.

“No need, your sparkling ruby red eyes speak a thousand words.” Luna said softly.

Then Pinkie started giggling. “Hehehehe, you two look hilarious! You look like you lost a fight with the Smooze.”

Cadence cleared her vision and looked to Fury, prompting him to do so as well. The two stared at each other, observing the mess they were in. And not too much later, both of them lost it.

“You look like a monster from one of Spike's movies! Someone call the military before you destroy all of Ponyville with your ooze!” Fury laughed.

“Ha, you first! You look even worse than I do! And you'd probably enjoy filling the town with ooze!” Cadence replied while also laughing.

“Oh man, this is crazy. Oh wait, Tia, get a picture of this! This is a memory for the books!” Fury chuckled.

“Indeed. I often carry a camera for events like birds or comets. But this… this might be far more magnificent.” Celestia said. “Alright get in line everyone.”

Some took longer than others, like Rarity who wanted to be as far away as possible from the ooze. But some like Pinkie just dipped herself straight in with no care. 

Flash

“Now this is a moment in history.” Celestia giggled. 

“Don't worry, you two, we'll handle the twins now. They are out of your hooves and paws.” Mr Cake said, him and his wife walking inside.

“We'll help too! C'mon Fluttershy, let's get this place cleaned up!” Applejack said, leading the yellow pegasus inside to deal with the mess.

“Okay, now that this is being dealt with… Hey RD, a quick shower for two?” Fury called.

“Coming right up!” The athletic pegasus replied, quickly grabbing a rain cloud and placing it over the two babysitters.

“One storm coming right up!” Rainbow said. She kicked the cloud. And rain came pouring down. Now fully moistened Fury and Cadence were able to scrub all the hung gunk off with ease. 

“That was nice! Freedom from the ooze!” Cadence said.

“Well now what do you want to do?” Twilight asked. “You've done your babysitting, where will you go now?”

“Hmmm… how about we just hang out? Y'know, as friends. As a matter of fact, I don't have to be back in the Crystal Empire for a while since a diplomatic trip for me and my fellow royals is coming in a few days. So, how about I stay with you and Pyro for a while?” Cadence asked. Night Fury was immediately intrigued by the idea and welcomed it with open arms.

“Sure! The villa’s got plenty of room. Hey Pyro, you wouldn't mind another roommate for a little while, would ya?” Fury asked.

The orange Shifter shook her head. “You'll hear no complaints from me.” 

“Great! C'mon, I'll get you set up in one of the guest rooms, Cady. This is gonna be good!” Fury said, taking his leave with Pyro and Cadence in tow.

“Diplomatic trip? I wasn't made aware of this!” Twilight said, starting to panic.

“No need to get in a tizzy, Twilight. We had to keep this to a minimum as this little trip is also a surprise for a certain feline.” Celestia reassured her student.

“Indeed. In light of the looming holiday on the horizon, we felt it only necessary to give him a show of one of the biggest candy factories in Equestria. To give him somewhat of an idea of what to expect when it comes around.” Luna added.

“Huh. Well, Night Fury will get a pleasant surprise from this trip. But, isn't he off duty?” 

“He is. But for this trip, he is our plus one. We were summoned by the founder to give our opinions on his factory and the treats he makes. He is just an ‘Outside Eye’ to the matter.” The solar princess elaborated.

Twilight was impressed with the logistics of the matter. She and her fellow princesses would all be doing their work while Fury would just enjoy the experience.

“This sounds amazing. I bet he'll be excited to hear the news-” Just then, another loud splat came into range.

“Ladies, a little help in here! Pumpkin is starting to flex her ability!” Applejack cried, floating in a familiar aura and a few tiny giggles following suit.

“Oh boy, looks like we've got a strong one.” Rainbow said.

“No matter. We have to help the Cakes with whatever they need, and what they need is a bit of magical assistance.” Twilight proclaimed.

“Oh my… It seems that I must endure the grossness of this mess for the greater good. But, I am not the element of Generosity just for show.” Rarity said as she followed the crowd inside to help with the babies. Nothing like what they would endure would be seen for millennia to come, facing challenges and obstacles that could only be described as an infant incursion.