//------------------------------// // Ch 13 // Story: Fractured Soul // by JollyRogue //------------------------------// I awoke to find myself in the carnage from the previous night. Pillows were strewn about the room, feathers falling out from the sides of a few of them. Pillow wives, and pillow children stood over there fallen husbands and fathers, and they wept. A single tear rolled down my cheek, there had been no survivors. Wow, I seemed to be pretty loopy in the morning. Hmm... The room was a real mess, it seems we left no pillow untouched. Wait where was Pinkiepie? I looked around the room, I found Pinkie on her back, lying on top of a pile pillows, a smile plastered on her face. She looked adorable in her sleep. How can I wake something that looked like this. Oh I know, I lifted a few feathers from a fallen solider, and brought them over to the sleeping mare. "Oh Pinkie." I said, as I prepared the feathers. "Wha?" She said, as she woke from her sleep. I brought the feathers down on her belly, and started to tickle her. Pinkie immediately started to laugh. "Stop it, that tickles!" Pinkie laughed. I stopped my attack on Pinkie, and allowed her to get up. "Now it's my turn!" Pinkie yelled as she jumped on me, feathers in her hooves. Pinkie tickled my sides with feathers. I laughed uncontrollably "Pinkie, please stop, or, or else!" I said while laughing. "Or what." Pinkie said, a menacing smile spread across her face. "Or, Volle Vantes!" I floated some feathers over to Pinkie's side, and started to move them. Neither of us gave up on the onslaught. We continued to tickle each other for a few seconds, before Pinkie fell off of me, and laid down next to me on the floor. I turned my head, so I could see Pinkie. She laid there, inches away from me, her belly moved up and down, as she tried to catch her breath. Our hooves where touching each other. The warmth passed between both of us.. I think I would have given anything, to stay in this moment, it was perfect. Pinkie turned fer head. Her mouth was centimeters away from my own. I could feel the air she exhaled from her nose. My face felt hot again. "Hey we should probably do it." Pinkie said. "What!?" "Yeah we need to take a shower and start baking!" She said. as she got up from where we laid. Oh, that's what she meant. "Oh, umm... Okay." *** Pinkie showed me where the bathroom was. I stepped in and walked into the tub as she closed the door. I shut the curtain and tried to pull my scarf off. It wouldn't come off. I pulled on it a few more times. Still nothing. *sigh* I guess it was staying on. "Rythian you should probably come out of there." A green claw shot out of my scarf, the small crocodile followed. Rythian tumbled out of my scarf and landed on the floor of the tub. When he got up I turned on the water. "Cold!" I yelled, as I quickly reached for the other lever. I turned it on and the cold water stopped. A rush of warm water flowed out of the faucet, warmth passed over my fur. It felt amazing. I floated a bar of soap over and started to clean my body. After a few minutes I lifted the bar away and grabbed a bottle labeled shampoo. I brought to my nose and smelt it. It smelled like lavender, I know she has it. Where does she keep that cake and cotton candy scented shampoo? *sigh* I guess I would just have to settle for lavender. *sigh* I floated the bottle up to my mane and forced a little bit out of the bottle. I brought my hoof and started to scrub my mane. After a few minutes, I rinsed my hair out and repeated the process with my tail. As I rinsed off my tail I noticed I had used my metal leg to clean out the bubbles. This again, what was it? Of the memories I had regained, this leg was not in one them. Where did it come from? What was it exactly? Why did it feel alive? Did I have to worry about rust? Another sigh escaped my lips. Oh well, I'll find out about it eventually, besides the magic I had remembered seemed like it would be more useful. "Rythian you ready to get out?" I looked down at the wet crocodile between my leg's. He shook his body and opened his mouth, a small growl came out. I guess he was kind of cute. I reached for the lever and turned the water off. I gave my body a good shake, before I opened the shower curtain. I stepped out and I made a towel float over to me. I rubbed it over my body, drying every inch. As I dried my mane off, Rythian climbed out of the tub and landed on the ground with a thump. I looked over at him. "Hey you need to dry off to." I threw the towel at him. He made his way out, giving a unamused growl as he broke free of the towel. "Yeah, yeah now come on." I said to him, as I picked him up with my hoof and plunked him down on my head. "Lets go get something to eat!" *** Rythian and I stumbled down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Pinkie was inside standing behind a counter. In her hoof she held a whisk and beat something into a bowl. "What's for breakfast?" I asked. "Scrambled eggs!" She said, as she tipped the bowl to show me the yellow mess on the inside. "Sounds good, anything I can do?" "Sure, you can put that bread into the toaster, and put the food for Gummy and Rythian out!" She said, as she gestured to two bowls and a bag labeled "Alligator Chow". I floated the bread into the toaster and turned it on. I made my way over to the bowls and floated a little bit of food into one. Gummy ran out of Pinkie's mane, and dunked his head into the bowl. "Hey Pinkie, what's Rythian going to eat? He's still a baby so he can't have solid food just yet, nor should he eat food labeled for alligators." "I guess you're right, just pour him a bowl of milk. It should be good enough for now." Pinkie said, as she stood next to a steaming frying pan. I made my way to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of milk, I floated it over to the second bowl and poured some into it. Rythian jumped off my head, and made his way over to the bowl. He dunked his head into the bowl, similar to Gummy. *sigh* He was receiving bad influences. *ding* "I'll get that!" Pinkie exclaimed. Rushing over with two plates piled with eggs in her hoof. She grabbed the toast and through them on the to the plates. "Hope you're hungry!" My stomach made a loud gurgle "I guess I could eat." *** We finished our breakfast and after a quick dish washing, we started baking. "So Pinkie, what should I do?" "Oh, well, you can try finding a recipe in this book and then try baking it!" She gingerly tossed a giant book at me. "Volle Vantes!" The book stopped in middair. "You sure? I don't know if I'm good at baking." "It wont hurt to try, now go find a recipe!" Well I needed to see if I was good at something other than being a mooch. I flipped open the book to a random page. Hmm... Sweet roll, no those things are easily stolen. Peeta bread, hmm, no that type of bread only is good when you're starving. Black forest cake, now that was a lie if I thought I could cook that. I gasped at next recipe. It was a picture of yellow squares. Lemon bars, I thought quietly. This was it I was for sure going to make this. Then I noticed the next recipe. No way, lemon cake, what would science think of next. A tear rolled down my cheek. The thought of making this incredible concoction, with my own hooves, it brought me great happiness. "I shall do the lemons proud." I blurted out. "What was that?' "Nothing..." I said, while the ingredients floated in front of me. "Now lets get cracking!" I cracked two eggs into a large bowl. *** Within an hour my master piece was done. On a platter sat a large double-decker cake. Around the middle of the cake there was a ring of light yellow frosting, gluing the two cakes together. The rest of the cake was covered in white frosting. On top, there was a ring of yellow flowers, and in the center of the cake, sat a little yellow frosting lily. "Jason that is beautiful!" Pinkie said. Her mouth hung open. I laid at the base of my creation. My breathing was unsteady, my mouth was dry, and my hooves hurt. "I'm just glad I could make the lemons proud." I looked up and saluted to the cake. "I think you might be a little dehydrated." "Depends, does the air normally have stars?" She let out a giggle "Sometimes." She walked over to the sink and turned the water on. "Now drink this." Pinkie brought a glass of water to my lips. I greedily gulped the water down. "Much better! Hey where did the stars go?" "Don't worry they'll be back, they always come back!" "Cool, so what did you do while I made that?" "Oh just these!" She gestured to a table that was filled with cakes, cookies, and other delicious treats. "Wow, way to upstage me." "Oh this was nothing, I've had years to practice, Besides your cake is really good. Now lets bring these out into the front." I nodded and grabbed a few of Pinkies baked goods, and my own from the counter. I made them float and walked out to the front of the store. When I made it through the doorway Pinkie stood with her back to me. The rest of pastries I had left behind were now under the display case. How did she leave the kitchen before me, and how did she bring out the rest of the supplies? No it's better not to ask. Just chalk it up and carry on. "Hey Jason you can just put those cakes under here," She gestured to a few glass domes sitting on top of the display case. "and the rest can go under the case. I sent the respected items to their respected containers. "Now what?" I asked. "Now I need you to deliver these orders!" She laid a hoof on a pile of boxes. "By myself?" "Of course! Somepony needs to manage the store." How could I go the day without her. "Okay," I said a little dryly. "come on Rythian lets roll!" Rythian ran out of the kitchen and without stopping, jumped into my scarf. When he had wriggled his body in, I floated the boxes onto my back. "So who do I send these to?" "Everyone's on the list, with what they ordered, and where you need to deliver the boxes to." She said as she held out a piece of paper for me. I made the paper float over to me, and scanned the list. "Seems simple enough." "You sure you can handle it?" Pinkie said a little unsure. "Sure I can. It's not like anything bad will happen to me!" I said, as I made my way out the door.