Attention readers!
The chapter you're about to read was rushed and it's probably one of my weaker works. I apologize in advance.
Frost quietly gave me the cinnamon powder when I asked and after few minutes of baking in the oven the apple chips were done. Now we just needed to test them.
Both of us bit into the cinnamon coated apples and chewed slowly, savoring every bite we took while judging the smell, texture and taste. The chips retained the juiciness of an apple while the cinnamon just added the extra layer of sweetness to the crunchy, fruity and very hot snack. The fact that we didn't wait for it to cool off crossed our minds only after we felt the coursing sensation of our taste buds popping under the unrelenting force of heat before dashing towards the fridge. Luckily, it took us less than an hour to explain why Mrs. Cake found us on the floor, chugging milk like foals and singing "What will we do with a milked manatee?" when Pinkie and Mr. Cake returned.
After that little mishap the day went by quietly and I was in bed before I knew it. My sleep was pleasant but short because of a small Pegasus that snuck into my room in order to practice either his jumping or air-dancing. I couldn't tell the difference between the two since I was preoccupied with getting off the improvised stage the foal was using and filling my lungs with air again.
My stomach was still sore from the sudden impact so I slowly got up and turned around to see what my unannounced guest was doing. Surprisingly, he left the bed and continued his areal demonstration around the lamp that was hanging over my head. The light yellow foal stopped when he realized that I was watching him and landed next to me.
After a quick glance the little demon smiled and ran off screaming. That left me confused long enough for him to fly back and jump off my snout into the air again. As I rolled in pain the brown haired psycho hovered near the lamp, laughing at my pain before flying out of my room followed closely by my pillow and me. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for him the pillow hit Mr. Cake straight in the face when he tried to enter the room to inspect the commotion.
"Uh-oh… Mr. Cake I'm really sorry but that little…" the stern look on my employer's face shut me up before I could explain the situation any further. Without uttering a single word he walked into my room and approached me, his gaze fixed on the same location I was looking… my front hooves. Even thou I was a grown stallion I couldn't help but feel like a young filly that just broke a window and was about to receive a spanking from my father.
"Go back to bed, Pumpkin." Mr. Cake's words echoed thru my ears. My eyes rose up so I could take a closer look and check if he was joking or serious. Nothing on him indicated that he was angry or happy, he simply looked tiered and disappointed by what he saw.
No words could explain or justify my actions, a baker had a very tight work schedule in which sleep was a very limited commodity. A commodity I took for granted while working in the city with an automated oven. Filled with shame I lowered my head apologetically, only to discover a small yellowish head of an orange haired unicorn foal staring at me thru the floor with its blue berry eyes. It's suffice to say that my short exclamation of surprise managed to wake up the rest of the household earlier than they expected.
Mrs. Cake and Pinkie barely passed thru the doorstep when they saw me on top of stunned Mr. Cake, observing another foal leaving a trail of drool across the floor as it tried to chew everything in sight. My checks grew red from the embarrassment as I decanted Mr. Cake as quickly and politely as possible before bowing down again. The Cakes attempted to tell me something but their words became mixture of buzzing and muffles yelling when I felt something small and hard hitting my head. Whatever happened after that remained a mystery to me.
I woke up next morning feeling heavy and sluggish. My back was stiff from the hard surface that was considered a bed and my legs shook as I tried to get up. It felt like they were pressed down. The world around me seemed blurry. With a few blinks I cleared my eyes and saw the familiar strands of brown, blue and purple.
It was Frost. The light brown Pegasus was resting her cute little head on me. Even thou the clock on the wall rang afternoon she didn't move an inch from the chair she was using as a bed. Her stomach rose and fell rhythmically with her breathing and her snout wiggled like that of a rabbit as she pressed her head closer to my stomach. As she leaned closer to me she lost her balance and fell face first on the hard wooden floor.
"Ouch!" echoed thru the room as I quickly got up to help her. "Are you okay?" I asked while pulling her up with my front hooves. As I pulled her up I couldn't help but notice how soft her fur felt and how cute her feathers wiggled in unison. What I failed to notice was the fact that she was spreading her wings in surprise when she felt my hooves around her.
"Frost! Are you alright?" Mrs. Cake asked when she entered the room "Goodness gracious!" and gasped when she saw her on top of me. "He just got up!" Frost exclaimed as she got back on her hooves "I was just startled by it."
"Oh good…" Mrs. Cake let out a small sigh of relief before approaching us with a soft smile.
"Do you feel dizzy or nauseous Cupcake?" they asked me full of concern. I quietly shook my head in denial while taking a few steps to prove it. Both to them and myself. Ladies were still concerned so I pointed and named a couple of things inside the room (clock, wardrobe, etc.) to reassure them. That seemed to have calmed them down for the time being.
"What happened last night?" I asked while stretching my neck. The awkward and somewhat concerned look Mrs. Cake gave me sent shivers down my spine but I kept my mouth shut. "Well… How should I put this…" the blue mare began "You remember my foals Pound and Pumpkin?" I slowly nodded, how could I forget the little flying kicker and the chewicorn. "You see, they are very possessive about this room. They tend to hide their favorite toys and candy here so… when you looked towards their hiding spot they tried to protect it and knocked you out cold."
"What?" The shock on my face was pretty obvious to both of them. A little filly managed to knock a grown stallion out? The whole story sounded like something a filly would write for his or hers creative writing class. The more I thought about it, the funnier it became and began laughing; and so did the ladies. It was a long, unsure laughter but we eventually stopped. "Okay, kidding aside… what actually happened?" I asked again but the only response I got was silence. I quickly approached Mrs. Cake to check for any sign of a smile or a chuckle but Frost genteelly pulled me back.
"She isn't kidding Cupcake." she began rubbing the back of my head "Pound Cake may be young but he kicks as hard as he is restless and Pumpkin's still unpredictable with her magic. It's always a circus when one of them discovers something new about their abilities or get upset." Her words got me very concerned. "But…" She quickly tried to change the subject when she noticed. "They are very good kids when you get to know them…"
Frost's speech was interrupted by the creaking sound of a slowly opening door. A sound that announced the arrival of the little hooligans in tow with their concerned father. "Is he…" the answer to his question stood right in front of him; give or take a few steps behind Frost. "I'm glad you're ready for work Cupcake." Mr. Cake's face light up when he saw me back on my hooves and ladle in snout. "But first, I think you deserve to hear something from these two troublemakers." he said while pushing the two fillies towards me.
At first the two looked at me with extreme anger, as if I was the one in the wrong, but when they saw Frost's hoof around my neck they slowly got closer and closer. Their little eyes never left Frost's hoof during their long walk around us. I could feel their gaze on me and remained motionless for the rest of the inspection.
Almost forgot to mention.
I'm working on a MLP review that will be featured on Doomed From the Start youtube channel.
The review is still a work in progress but, hopefully, it'll be finished at the same time as the next chapter for this story.