Chapter Twenty-four...
(A/N: Sorry this took so long, I've been distracted for a while now. If there is anything that you want to know about the story that isn't in it, send me a message OR a question to my Tumblr. Might even hold a Skype interview thingy.)
It was a few days after the trip to Canterlot, and we had settled back into normal life, after Pinkie's second-ever 'New Alicorn' party. The elements were having a girls-only shindig, which Skye, Lu and Ali had been invited to, leaving us husbands to entertain ourselves.
"Max, pass me that flour." asked Soarin'. We'd decided to just mess around all night without any of us drinking any alcohol. We'd already half-deafened Elliott by messing around with Skye's PC, and my laptop was still cooling down after having been pushed to the limits by my half-assed scheme to run it through enough equipment to make it into a supercomputer. I walked over to where the flour was and grabbed it in my mouth. I dropped it in front of Soarin', and he proceeded to empty a good part of the bag into the bowl before him.
"Why are we baking a cake again Soarin'?" I asked as the wonderbolt cracked an egg into the flour.
"Well, the girls always look out for us and its about time we gave them something back. I thought that we should make a cake because, well, being married to a baker has taught me how to bake a bit myself." he said, starting to bring the cake together. He hustled me out of the way as it seemed Pinkie's unnatural knowledge of the kitchen had rubbed off on him. I sat with Elliott, who was only just recovering his hearing. We sat and flicked through the tech magazine I had bought on the way home. About an hour later Soarin' pulled the monstrously big cake from the oven, and called us into the kitchen. We all simply gawped at it, because it was so damned big. I swear, the bloody thing was bigger than the oven it came out of. We then set to work icing it. It took another good hour, but it was worth it. The cake was the most appetising thing to ever be put infront of me. But, alas, it wasn't for me.
"Well, now that's done, I suppose we should turn in for the night lads. It's nearly midnight." I said, dropping the hint for the guys to get out of my house. They complied, and with a round of goodbyes they went their separate ways. I closed the front door quietly, and padded up the stairs. My hooves were aching from the amount of work I had been making them do lately. I slid into my bedroom. It wasn't the master bedroom, because it was where I kept all of my things. I had also put a comfortable bed put in so when I had an argument with Luna we could cool off quicker. I threw myself down on the firm mattress and dragged the covers over me. I fell into a deep sleep quickly.
It was morning, and Illidan had decided to remind me of this horrid time of day by hopping up and down my prone form. I grunted and rolled out of bed. I looked over to the clock. It was about 8am, so I decided to go into town to grab some breakfast. I padded down the stairs, and took my pony coat off the hook in the hall, and slipped it on. I took my wallet off the shelf and walked out of the door, locking it behind me. The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud to be seen for miles. I smiled to myself as I walked through the town square towards Sugarcube Corner. I saw Lyra and Bon Bon trotting through town together, and Octavia and Vinyl were walking through town with Sparky, their adoptive daughter. I waved, smiling at the happy family. They all waved back, and carried on walking. I finally arrived at Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake had just opened up as I walked in. I bought a couple of croissants and talked to Pound Cake as I ate them.
"How's life Pound?" I asked the young stallion.
"It's all right, but Pinkie doesn't visit as much any more." he said sullenly.
"Don't worry lad, she still thinks about you all the time. She's just a bit pre-occupied with Soarin' right now." I said, resting a hoof on his shoulder. He looked up at me, nodding. His sister came thundering down the stairs at that exact moment in time.
"Pound! We gotta get ready for the Sweet Apple Acres Faire!" She shouted as she grabbed him with her telekinesis. "Sorry Max, but we're in the talent show!" she explained as she carried her brother upstairs into the house. I sighed, shaking my head.
"Kids these days..." I said as I turned to walk outside. I almost walked straight into Big Mac, who was stood in the doorway. "Hey Mac, what's up?"
"Applebloom and her friends have gone missing because of another hare-brained scheme!" the big pony said, his eyes flickering about in panic.
"Do you know what they were talking about?" I asked, trying to calm him.
"Nope. I jus' saw them talking last night, but now they're gone!" he said, visibly shaking.
"Okay, I'll go get the girls, you stay here and calm down." I said, ushering him into the store. "Mrs. Cake? Big Mac's having a panic attack again!" I called to the kindly mare. She nodded, and came over to guide Mac into a seat and placing a large, frothy mug of hot chocolate in front of him. I walked outside, heading towards the library. I stuck my head through the door to see what shouldn't ever be in Twilight's library... a mess. I flinched as I saw the extent of the messiness, and felt a pang of fear for Spike's sanity. I proceeded through to the bedroom, where the girls were asleep. "Oh god why..." I glanced around, scanning as quickly as possible as to not see any more that what first met my eyes. Luna, Skye and Alison were all mysteriously not there. I descended the stairs back into the main room, and passed into Twilight's basement. As I descended, I saw swirling blue mist encircling a heap in the centre of the room. I approached, and ever so gently pulled the mist away from the heap. Luna, Skye and Alison were curled up together, sleeping soundly. I reached out to wake Luna up, but there was an almighty screech from the main room. Skye jerked awake, looking terrified. "It's okay, daddy's here..." I said as I stroked her hair with a hoof.
"Morning Dad." she said, turning her head so she could look at me. I smiled and nuzzled her cheek as she pulled herself up with my neck. I reached down to rouse Luna for the second time. I tapped her ribs with my hoof, and she snorted. I tapped a bit harder. Still no response. I licked the inside of her ear, and she started awake. I was busy cleaning my tongue, so Skye woke up Ali.
"Morning girls!" I chirped as we ascended back into the main room. I heard Rainbow yell something about sleeping, and I noticed the kitchen door was open. I walked over, and stuck my head in. Sure enough, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were passed out on the kitchen table. I turned back into the main room, where the girls were still stood.
"Let's get home, I have one hay of a hangover." said Luna, massaging the side of her head with a hoof. We walked outside, and Luna groaned as the light hit her eyes. Alison was no better, staring at the ground. Skye was busy trying to climb onto my back. We set off for home with encouraging images of aspirin and hot coffee dragging the hungover ponies behind us.