Chapter 73: Baby Cakes
A couple of days went by after the group had returned to Equestria and everyone was busy with making preparations for Winter Wrap-Up next month, which Spyro was surprised as Spring started in March, but it seems it comes earlier in Equestria, so Spyro just shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to question it as he'd probably give himself a headache trying to understand it. Applejack was working with Big Mac with collecting the seeds they needed while Fluttershy and Rarity were making sure there were plenty of supplies for making bird nests for when the birds return while Rainbow Dash was busy with caring for the weather, helping to distribute snow in Ponyville, but not as much as it was before as winter was almost over. Pinkie however seemed very excited about something for the past couple of days, saying something about preparing for another party as she wanted to greet a couple of new arrivals, whatever that meant, but he decided not to question her about it and focused on his own work and thanks to the measurements that Rarity provided for him, he could get to work on it.
Spyro was in his garage and was putting in a couple of ingots of Beskar into the forge, following the instructions that he got from the Armorer, melting them before putting it into a mold and letting the machine do it's job, waiting for it to finish cooling off before he got busy hammering it out and heating it back up to harden the metal, making sure it was hard and strong while also following the designs that Tony provided, finding a way to make the armor compact and easy to carry without it being conspicuous, adding science and magic to it. He was finishing up the first set of armor, only needing the helmet, when he heard someone approaching the entrance to the garage, looking over to see Applejack approach, so he pressed the panic button and immediately the armor was taken below the garage, hiding it from her as he wanted it to be a surprise.
"Hey hun." Applejack said.
"Hey AJ." Spyro said. "How's the collecting going?"
"Well, it's slow, but we're getting it done." Applejack replied. "What were ya doin' in here?"
"Oh, I was working on something for you girls." Spyro replied. "I want it to be a surprise."
"Oh really?" She asked, a sly smile appearing on her face. "Ya'll wouldn't mind telling me what it is, do ya?"
"No way AJ." Spyro replied. "Defeats the purpose of the surprise."
"Not even a little hint?" Applejack asked.
She then tackled him and the two rolled around on the ground, laughing and giggling until they stopped, Spyro on top of Applejack as they looked into each other's eyes, lowering his head as the farm mare raised hers and the two kissed, enjoying the moment alone. After a moment, Spyro helped the farm mare up and the two decided to head into town to get something from the bakery, taking a break from their work and get brunch, but when they arrived, there wasn't a single customer inside, even the Cakes weren't in sight, which he found kind of odd.
"Strange." Spyro said. "Usually there's a morning rush around this time. Why's it so empty?"
"Got me." Applejack replied, looking around and finding a note. "There's a note here."
"Why on the inside of the door though?" Spyro asked. "Must be Pinkie Pie."
"Ya'll know another pony as random as her?" Applejack asked.
"Guess not." Spyro replied, the two ponies rubbing noses. "It says, 'Spyro and Applejack, come to Ponyville hospital quick! Mrs. Cake is going to have a baby and everypony else is waiting for you.' Mrs. Cake was pregnant!? That explains some of the things she's been eating."
"Well hot dang!" Applejack said. "Let's get going sugarcube!"
The two ponies then ran out of the bakery and rushed immediately to the Ponyville General Hospital where they burst through the doors and immediately ran past check in, which Spyro had already taken care of, much to the attendants surprise as they rushed straight to the hall with the glass window in it, which the other mares were already there looking into the nursery.
"Spyro, Applejack!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You got my note!"
"Yeah, but maybe next time put it on the outside of the door." Spyro suggested.
"Awe, but I didn't want it to blow away in the wind." Pinkie said.
"Ah'm just wrapping my head around that the new baby's finally arrived." Applejack said.
"Wait, you knew?" Spyro asked.
"Of course Ah knew Spyro." Applejack replied. "Didn't Ah tell ya she was expecting?"
"No you didn't." Spyro replied.
"Carrot Cake and Cupcake must be so proud." Twilight said.
"I wonder if it's a filly or a colt." Rarity said.
"I wanna see the new baby pony!" Pinkie shouted. "Which one is it!? Is it that one!? Or that one!? That one!? No, that one!?"
Her question was answered when Carrot Cake walked into the nursery, looking very exhausted and with five o'clock shadow, but other than that looked very happy, standing between two foals.
"Everypony, meet our son, Pound Cake." Carrot Cake said, pulling the comforter down and revealing a cream-white colt with a tuft of brown mane popping out of a blue blanket wrapped around him, the little colt yawned and stretched out a pair of tiny wings. "And our daughter, Pumpkin Cake."
He pulled down comforter to the crib on his left down, revealing a pale yellow unicorn filly with a tuft of an orange mane popping out of the pink blanket that she was wrapped in. Everyone looked between the two baby's, surprised that the Cakes had twins, but even more surprised that one of the new foals is a Pegasus and the other was a unicorn, leaving them with questions.
"Two new foals to play with!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "That means two times the fun!" She then ducked under the window and somehow appeared in the nursery. "Let's celebrate your birthday, because you were just born today, WOOHOO!"
"Shh!" Nurse Redheart said. "The babies are trying to sleep."
"But I-" Pinkie tried to say, only to be silenced by the nurse again, so the party mare slowly crept to the baby's cribs and smiled at them. "... Happy, happy birthday, to you and you today-"
The nurse then glared at the party pony and picked her up, tossing her out of the Nursery where everyone else was at.
"From what I could hear, Pinkie got kicked out, didn't she?" Rosy asked, spooking Spyro.
"Only out of the Nursery to let the baby's sleep." Applejack replied. "But what Ah'm wondering in thunderation is how one of them is a Pegasus and the other's a unicorn."
"On, that's easy enough to answer." Carrot Cake replied. "My great-great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn. And Cupcake's great-aunt, second cousin twice removed was a Pegasus. That makes sense, right?"
His eyes darted between the everyone, unsure of if he was correct on how the genetics worked in the foals DNA, leaving everyone confused except for Spyro and Pinkie, who didn't seem to care.
"Actually, it kind of does." Spyro replied, confusing the girls. "The genetics between the two parents were recessive genes passed down from generation to generation, so there was a possibility for the children to have characteristics from past members of the family, even if the parents are both Earth Ponies."
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked. "How the heck do you know that?"
"Genetics." Spyro replied. "Took a course in it, got a B."
"Well, congratulations all the same." Twilight said. "Just be sure to keep an eye on Pumpkin Cake. Unicorn foals can have random magic surges."
"I agree." Rarity said. "Should have seen Sweetie Belle, she nearly blew up the house."
"And be sure to keep a close eye on Pound Cake." Rainbow Dash said. "Once a Pegasus foal get's their wings going, there is no stopping them."
As Carrot Cake was about to tuck the foals in, Pinkie appeared with a cake that had no candles.
"Quick, make a wish and blow out your candles." Pinkie said. "Which is easy as you have none as you're zero years old!"
"Shhh!" The nurse said, spooking the mare enough to hit her own face with the cake.
"I might not be able to see, but I can guess what happened." Rosy said. "Does she do this all the time?"
"Trust me, this is one of her calmer days." Spyro replied. "The more time you spend with her, the more you'll understand what I'm saying."
As the nurse was dragging the party mare out of the Nursery again, everyone following behind them, Spyro could sense something was wrong with Rosy, sensing she seemed to want to tell him something, but she didn't have the courage to say it to him, but from how she was acting around him, it must be something serious if she was nervous. Deciding to talk to her later, he followed his friends outside of the hospital, leaving the area, but outside, Marluxia was watching them, peering in as he thought of something, looking back as he smiled to himself, forming a plan as a corridor opened up underneath him, disappearing from Equestria before he could be spotted.
The next month was a very quiet one as there were no Heartless and no Nobodies sighted at all, which worried him a little, but he just enjoyed the down time, training his friends on some more magic that the Keyblade holds, but he made sure that they didn't learn about the way the Keyblade unlocks any lock just yet, still fearing what Pinkie would do if she learned how to do it, no pony would be safe from surprise parties. All the while, he was busy working on the armor he was making for his friends, though every time they visited, he had to hide the armor as he wanted it to be a surprise for them when they were ready for the impenetrable armor. He was working on the helmets for the armor, though they appeared to be similar to the helmets from the royal guards, each one of them was sleeker and with a few added features, thanks to Tony's designs, though he didn't want the girls to become dependent on A.I., so he left that out of the armor.
After finishing with the helmets, he put them onto the armor racks he had and smiled to himself, pleased with his work, but he knew they were far from finished as he needed to add a few more special features to the armor, but decided to take a break, making sure the armor is well hidden if one of them comes by again, which Applejack was visiting more and more often, sometimes to ask him to lunch, which was a way for her to distract him while Apple Bloom would look around trying to find the armor. This time however, he decided to take a break as the farm mare was away for a little while to sell some apples and the girls were all busy with their own thing, though every time he crosses paths with Rosy, she always seemed nervous, maybe a crush or maybe something else, either way, he needed to ask her why she always got nervous around him, but decided t do that later as he was on his way to Sugarcube Corner, with spring around the corner, everyone was getting ready for something they called winter wrap up next week, so everyone was buzzing about making preparations to welcome spring to Ponyville.
When he entered the bakery, he saw the two cake twins playing on the ground with Pinkie, the three of them laughing while Mr. Cake was carrying some boxes in, smiling at the three of them when he turned around and left the room, letting the pink party mare play a game of peekaboo with the two foals, which they enjoyed. As soon as he entered the twin's vision, they immediately ran up to him, craving his attention as they wanted to be picked up by him.
"Where's Pinkie Pie?" She asked, hissing behind the doors. "Here I-" She then stopped when she saw Spyro was playing with them, using his magic to conjure a couple of colorful butterflies while using the Force to make them fly, the two twins giggling and cheering with pure joy as they flew." Hey! It's my job to play with the babies!"
"Sorry little cupcake, but they seem to really like me." Spyro replied, setting them down as Pumpkin Cake hugged his leg, nuzzling it while Pound Cake started to pound on the other, not feeling any pain from the punches, but smiled at him. "And it seems that Pumpkin likes me more than Pound does. Little guy has some power in those hooves."
Pound cake tried for another hit, but Spyro just lifted his foreleg, the little colt, rolling in Pinkie's direction, which she picked the little colt up and blew raspberries into his belly, sending the little guy into uncontrollable giggles and laughter, flailing his legs around as he tried to flee from the tickle torture. Cupcake looked over the kitchen door, watching Spyro and Pinkie play with the twins and smiling, grateful to have them watch their kids while they had important work to do.
"Is everything alright in there?" Cupcake asked. "Who needs a diaper change?"
"Nah, everything seems fine here." Spyro replied, but instantly regretted it. When he took in his next breath, his eyes shrunk to the size of pin needles, his face turning green and twisting with disgust and he suddenly collapsed, going into a coughing fit as he slowly reached for one of windows, propping himself up and taking some deep breaths, getting some fresh air as he looked back to Pumpkin Cake, finding the smell was coming from her. "Never mind! Pumpkin needs one."
"EW!" Pinkie exclaimed, stretching her forelegs out as far as possible to keep the colt away from her. "And Pound Cake! What have mommy and daddy been feeding you!?"
"Don't worry, I got it." Carrot Cake said.
He came out of the back with a couple of diapers on his tail, carrying them with ease as he took the foals to the changing table, the young prince watching the father changing the diapers, but nearly lost his lunch when he saw the stallion pick the diapers up with his mouth, not even batting an eye or being bothered by how disgusting that was before applying talcum powder and putting fresh diapers. If he could, he'd not only give him a medal for being brave enough to do that, but also hold a banquet for the baker as that was something he couldn't do.
"Ok... that was both impressive, and disgusting." Spyro said, shuddering at the thought. Which his train of thought was interrupted when he heard the foals stomachs growl. "And it sounds like somepony's hungry."
"Not me." Pinkie said. "I had a big breakfast."
"I'm on it." Cupcake said.
She came out of the kitchen with what appeared to be a couple of warm milk on a tray, perfectly balancing them with her tail, tossing them to the foals and landing in their mouths as they suckled their lunch down greedily while making Pinkie wait, which she didn't seem happy about as she checked her watch, which he was surprised she had one, wanting to make time go faster if she watched it tick by. After a few minutes, the foals finished their lunch, looking very satisfied, but then they started to make strange faces, gas building up in their stomachs, causing discomfort for the twins.
"Oh, they're making funny faces!" Pinkie said. "I have one."
She then made a face that seemed more disturbing than funny, making the young prince hoof smack himself, completely at a loss at the pink party mares obliviousness to their situation.
"By the ancestors, Pinkie, they're not making funny faces." Spyro said, getting her to stop. "They need to be burped."
"Burped?" The part mare asked. "They can't burp by themselves."
"No Pinkie, they can't." Spyro replied. he then picked up the two foals and sat down, putting them over his shoulder and patted them on the back a few times until they released a burp loud enough to crack a smile. "Now those were burps to be proud of."
After they were burped, the two foals then started to climb all over the young prince, no longer bothered by the gas they could let out and continued to play. Pumpkin crawled onto Spyro's neck and then started gnawing on his horn with her toothless maw as if she was teething, which he wasn't disturbed by as it's not very sensitive, but Pound Cake was worse as he climbed down from the dragons/pony hybrids back and crawled over to his tail, lifting his hooves and pounded his tail, causing him to jump in the air and scream like Tom the Cat after he got his tail in a waffle maker, landing on his flank and picked his tail up and found two spots were flat with literal hoof marks on it.
"Pound Cake, no pounding things, or ponies." Cupcake scolded, picking the colt up.
"Or chew on things, including ponies, Pumpkin." Carrot said, taking the filly off of Spyro's neck.
"Except for food." Pinkie commented. "Or if you're carrying things in your mouth, but that's only if you're an earth pony."
"FOOD!!!" Cupcake exclaimed, looking very surprised and shocked. "I completely forgot! Carrot, we have a big catering order to deliver for the banquet today!"
"That's today!?" Carrot asked. "Oh gosh, we were so distracted with the twins, it completely slipped our minds! Honeybun, we need to find a foal sitter, now!"
"Oh, I'll do it!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Pick me! I love playing with the foals! I can do it!"
The Cakes looked at each other, worried about letting Pinkie take care of the twins as, even though she was good with keeping the foal occupied while they were busy in the kitchen, but the pink mare tends to act like a filly and were afraid to leave their twins alone with their employee. They then looked over to Spyro, who was playing with the twins and knew he sometimes had a goofy streak from what they heard, but he was more mature than Pinkie was, watching him conjure some of his butterflies made o fight to keep the foals distracted while also using the Force to make them fly again. They looked between the two ponies and then to each other, nodding their heads in agreement.
"Um, Spyro, your majesty..." Carrot said, getting his attention. "Are you currently busy right now?"
"Nope, I'm not currently busy at the moment." Spyro replied. "Got all my tasks done at Sweet Apple Acres, and I'm ahead of schedule with my current project."
"Wonderful!" Carrot said. "Could we ask you to babysit our foals until we get back tonight?"
"Sure, why not." Spyro said, picking the foals up and cradling them. "I baby sat before a couple of times, I can keep an eye on them."
"Wonderful." Cupcake said, walking past a dumbfounded Pinkie as she went into the back, followed by Carrot Cake as they moved what appeared to be an endless amount of sweets and goods out from the back and towards the front door, Mrs. Cake coming out with a large cake and a scroll, tossing it to the ground as it revealed itself to be a very long list of things that needed to be done when taking care of the foals. "Here's a list of things of what to do, when to feed them, when they need their nap, everything you need to know.
"Hey, why can't I babysit?" Pinkie asked.
The cakes looked to one another, both looking very nervous as they tried to think of something.
"Pinkie Pie, taking care of a baby is a very big responsibility." Mrs. Cake said. "You can't just play with them all the time. They need to be fed, cleaned, and watched over. It's a lot of hard work and... well, don't take this the wrong way, but you're not exactly the most mature pony we know."
"I am too mature!" She exclaimed.
She was about to retort, but they then heard Spyro yelp again, looking back to see that Pound Cake had pounded his tail again, causing the prince to hover in the air while keeping his tail away from the colt and the filly as she tried to grab it.
"Honestly Mrs. Cake, I got the feeling Pound Cake might not like me all that much." Spyro said. "I think I could use a helper."
"See, even Spyro thinks it's alright." Pinkie said. She then walked up to the colt, who immediately reached up to Pinkie and she picked him up, putting the little pounder on her back, which he seemed to like her a lot. "Two responsible ponies, taking care of two foals. We're basically second parents to the twins already."
"Pinkie, we're just babysitting." Spyro pointed out. "I need your help because one baby is hard enough work, two is double the work and I know when I'm in over my head. Especially when one of them doesn't seem to like me as much."
"Well, ok..." Cupcake said, the two Cakes taking their leave. "Please take very good care of our little gingersnaps!"
"No problem Mrs. Cake." Pinkie said, saluting her. "Everything here is under control! They don't;t call me Pinkamena 'Responsibility' Diana Pie for nothing."
"Since when did everyone start calling you that?" Spyro asked. As soon as the parent left to deliver, Spyro and Pinkie turned to the foals, ready to start foalsitting the twins, however the two foals looked confused, looking for their parents. "Alright little guys, who's ready to play with Uncle Spyro and Auntie Pinkie Pie?" However, when he asked the question, the foals started to cry, already missing their mother and father. "Or maybe not."
"Don't worry, I got an idea." She said, running to the swinging shutter door. "Where's Pinkie Pie? Where's Pinkie Pie?" However, it didn't seem to work as the twins kept crying. "Why isn't it working? It always works."
"It's because they miss their parents." Spyro replied, picking the foal up and gently bouncing them in his forelegs. "They haven't been away from their parents before, so you can't expect them to forget about their parents being gone for a short while."
"Oh, I have an idea!" Pinkie exclaimed. She rushed into the back where and after a moment, she came back looking a bit like Mrs. Cake, styling her hair up to look like her and dying herself blue just like Mrs. Cake and with a picture of the mare's Cutie Mark. "Hi Poundy and Pumpkin! Mommy's back!"
"Oh for the love of... Pinkie!" Spyro said. "What are you doing?"
"What?" She asked. "All I did was dress up like Mrs. Cake, hoping that it will get them to stop crying and it worked."
A moment later, they started to cry again, both confused and upset.
"Seriously Pinkie, clean yourself up." Spyro said. "You're just confusing them."
"I'm sorry." She said, wiping off the blue powder and her hair going back to normal. "But I get another idea that I'm sure it will work!" She then disappeared for a moment, leaving Spyro alone with the crying things, finally getting them to calm down when the lights went out, looking around to see what was going on when Pinkie came back, a spot light on her as she was carrying a broom. "Hey there mares and gentlecolts, you're all a wonderful crowd, where you from?"
"Oh for Pete sake." Spyro said.
"Well, that's just great." Pinkie continued. "You know, i use to have an ant farm, but I had to get rid of it because... I couldn't find tractors that small." She then rushed over to a dump set and made a rim shot sound, emphasizing the terrible joke, which no one was laughing as the pink party mare slipped back into the spot light. "Get it?" She waited for a response from anyone in the crowd, meaning from Spyro or the twins, but they were dead silent. "The other say, i spilled spot remover on my dog, but now I can't find him!"
She the did another riff, trying to get a laugh from the twins, but instead, they only started to cry, making the pink mare sweat.
"Pinkie, they're only a month old." Spyro pointed out. "They don't understand your jokes at all. Besides, I've heard dad jokes funnier than that."
"But, I worked hard on that routine." Pinkie said. "But don't worry, I wasn't;t planning on bringing out the big guns, but since you've all been such a lovely audience, you deserve it!"
She then disappeared behind the curtain, leaving him alone with the twins again as he tried to calm them down, even trying to reach out with the Force to calm them down, but for some reason it didn't work, somehow resisting the power of the Force. A moment later, music started to play and a moment later, Pinkie appeared from behind the curtain, wearing a pig nose and bouncing along to the tune.
[Pinkie Pie]
First you jiggle your tail! Oink, oink, oink!
Then you wriggle your snout! Oink, oink, oink!
Then you wiggle your rump! Oink, oink, oink!
Then shout it out! Oink, oink, oink!
She repeated the song lyrics again, doing the same thing, but instead of calming them down, it only seemed to upset them even more. Spyro looked down to see them looking to him, terrified of the strange piggy bouncing around and being crazy as they were on the verge of tears.
"It's ok, the bad little piggy won't get you." Spyro said. He hugged the two foals, which they hugged him back as they felt safe around him before crying again. He wanted to shout to Pinkie to stop the singing, letting her know she was only scaring them, but instead, she only sang faster and bounce around faster to try and be funny, but she ended up slipping when she bounced, rolling into a cabinet and ended up knocking a bag of flour off the top and getting hit in the head with it, covering herself in flour. However, the twins seemed to like that as they started to laugh uncontrollably and clapped their hooves together. "Well, that seemed to have worked."
"See?" She asked, looking exhausted. "Nothing to this baby sitting business."
"Oh, there's a lot more to it Pinkie." Spyro said, picking up the list. "Looks like it's snack time for these little ones."
"I'll get it!" Pinkie exclaimed.
She then rushed off to the fridge, her coat of flour floating in the air, which creeped the twins out, so he blew on it and made it disappear before they started to cry again. He then got them into their high chairs, using his butterfly trick to keep them happy until Pinkie came around with the food, which was some kind of orange mush and expected them to eat it themselves, which the fillies looked at her in confusion. Spyro just shook his head at Pinkie, who was trying to demonstrate that the food she gave them was edible, pretending to eat it, but saw that Pumpkin was knowing on the table cloth, so Spyro took it out of the fillies mouth, which prompted her to start crying, followed by Pound Cake as he pounded his dish into the air, splatting it on himself as it landed on his head and made him cry. Pinkie then resorted to the flour gag that got them earlier, only this time she dumped it over Spyro, who sneezed as soon as he was covered, releasing some fire from his maw, causing the foals to laugh, but he just leered at Pinkie, who smiled nervously at him.
"Right, bath time." Spyro said, shaking the flour off himself.
The two of them picked the foal up and Spyro left Pinkie with holding the foals while he got the water to the optimal temperature to where it wasn't took hot or too cold for the delicate foals, but when he turned around, he saw that they had just gotten free of the pink mare after getting their diapers off, the two of them chasing the foals around until they ran into each other, collapsing to the ground as they saw miniature versions of the foals running around their heads, loosing them when they came to.
"Oh no!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Where'd they go!?"
They looked around for a little bit, playing their game of hide-and-seek, but Spyro found them hiding behind the shower curtain, shushing Pinkie and whispering to her, a smile cracking on her face.
"Now where could they have gotten to?" Spyro asked, pretending to be in a playful and cheery mood as he pretended to look, listening to the twins giggling. "Are they under the tub? No, not there. How about in the medicine cabinet? No, not there either. How about...?" He then moved the curtains, the twins giggling at him after being discovered. "There you two are! Come on, we can play more hide-and-seek after you've had your bath."
He used his magic to pick them up, the two foals giggling at him as he gently put them in the warm bath water, the twins calmer than they were as Pinkie started to play with the bubbles before Spyro used his magic to make bubble animals from them, making them run around the foals as they giggled and splashed the water. However, a stray bubble flew towards Pumpkins horn, popping and making them cry again, Spyro bracing himself for another bag of flour, but instead, Pinkie ran out and brought over a rubber ducky, putting it in the water and pushing it, which calmed the twins down instantly.
"Good thinking Pinkie." Spyro said. "Babies love bath toys while taking a bath."
"Really!?" She asked excitedly.
She then ran out of the room and got more stuff, sponges, a toy penguin, a beach ball, even a row boat, which was thankfully a rubber one, but it left Spyro with questions about where she got it from. However, the foals then started to cry again, all the random items flying everywhere as Pound Cake hit the faucet, destroying it as the water hit Pinkie, sending her crashing through the door as Spyro used a new spell he learned to repair the faucet and used his magic again to make the bubbles turn into dancing ponies, the foals momentarily calming down, but Spyro felt a disturbance in the Force, looking back to see a drenched Pinkie Pie swing a bag of flour at him.
"Oh no you don't!" Spyro exclaimed, ducking the attack and used his magic to take the bag away from her. Before she could take it back, he hit her with it, which accidentally caused it to explode on both of them while leaving the tub untouched, Spyro covered in the flour while still dry, but Pinkie was all wet and it turned the flour into dough, the pink party mare leering at him as the twins giggled at them. "Why don't I put them to bed while you have a bath."
He got the foals fully cleaned up and took them out for the tub, gently drying them off with a towel as he left the bathroom while Pinkie refilled the tub with fresh, clean water to clean herself off. Spyro then took the twins to their room, which he found as he looked around for it upstairs and put fresh diapers on the little foals and put them in their cribs, finding their favorite toys from what Pinkie described as she played with them and tried to get them to go to sleep, but they were still active, still full of energy, making him groan until he thought of something.
"Well, I don't know if this is exactly a lullaby." Spyro said, tucking the foals in. "I only heard this from one of my video games, but it's kind of soothing, so hopefully it will work."
At that moment, a gentle tune started to play as Spyro spun the mobile that hung over their cribs, using his magic again, but this time to make them glow and move the Pegasi and unicorns on them, making them run as he created an illusion around them of a peaceful mountain range with the moon in a stary night sky over a field of grass with a single tree, making the foals yawn as he hummed the tune.
[Spyro]
On winds and waters may you cross,
see mountains white and blue.
But on the road, let's not forget,
the love I have for you.
Dance on beaches in Anfalas,
sleep in moonlit fields of view.
May you cross another golden age,
with preciousness free-flowing.
With Halflings, Elves, and Dwarves engaged,
Their wisdom onto you, bestowing.
After he was finished singing his song, he looked down and saw the foals were peacefully asleep, still humming the tune as he planted a kiss on their heads, smiling at the cute little foals as he slowly crept out of the room, gently closing the door behind him as the illusion disappeared around them, the blinds closing as the illusion disappeared. However, in the room was Marluxia as he smiled to himself, quietly walking over to the napping twins and smiled down on them, ready to enact his plan. As Spyro was walking down the hall, he ran into Pinkie, who was entering her room, a pale blue colored room with candy patterns going up and down the walls with a bed that had candy cane posts. She immediately collapsed onto the bed, clearly exhausted from taking care of the foals, looking up to Spyro as he sat down next to her.
"Now you see how hectic it is being responsible while caring for a baby?" Spyro asked, the pink mare sitting up.
"Yeah." Pinkie replied, taking in a deep breath. "Maybe the Cakes were right in asking you to babysit. But, I'm glad you asked me to help as it probably would have been a lot worse if either of us did it alone."
"Agreed." Spyro replied, wrapping his wings around her and pulling her in, which she yelped a bit as their noses touched. "And since the foals are asleep, we have some alone time."
"But, but I-I-I-I-I-" Pinkie tried to say, flustered about how forward Spyro was.
He got her to stop when he kissed her, though she blushed from the sudden kiss, she closed her eyes, enjoying it as her tail puffed out and shaped itself into a heart, the two of them lying down on the bed as they enjoyed the peace and quiet for a change. However, the moment was ruined when they heard the twins cry, breaking the kiss up as they both groaned.
"Seriously!?" Pinkie exclaimed. "We were having a moment!"
"It's ok Pinkie." Spyro said, getting up from the bed. "Must of had a bad dream or something. I'll go check on them."
He walked to the door of the pink party mare's bedroom, which she followed close behind as they went to the foals room, but as soon as they opened the door, Spyro froze, feeling his blood turn cold as he saw Marluxia in the twins window, but he wasn't alone as he was holding the foals with his magic, the twins crying as they didn't recognize the pony who was foal napping them.
"Marluxia!" Spyro shouted, the red unicorn stallion running away. "He's foal napped the twins!"
"WHAT!?" Pinkie shouted, growling like a dog until her eyes turned into fire. "GET THAT BABY SNATCHEFR!"
Both she and Spyro ran down the stairs and out into the street, chasing the Organization member down the street as the twins kept crying all the way to the park, when he stopped and turned to face them, multiple reapers appearing from voids surrounding the two Keyblade bearers.
"Marluxia, this is a new low, even for you." Spyro said.
"How else was I going to draw you out in the open?" Marluxia asked. Spyro called his Keyblade to charge in, but the Nobody held his scythe to the twins, making him stop where he was. "Ah, ah, ah, don't do anything stupid now. I wouldn't want to hurt these cute little foals and you don't want their blood on your hooves, do you?"
"Pumpkin, Pound!" Pinkie exclaimed, the babies looking very scared. "Don't worry, Auntie Pinkie Pie is coming!"
"Not another step Keyblade Bearer." Marluxia said, putting his weapon under their chins. "This is your only warning."
"Let them go Marluxia!" Spyro said. "This is between you and me. Leave them out of it."
"Hm, I guess you're right." He replied. "I'll guaranty their safe return, but in exchange, you must submit and allow yourself to loose your heart."
Pinkie gasped, looking between Marluxia and Spyro, calling her own Keyblade to fight.
"No way is he going to do that!" Pinkie said. "He would never-"
"Fine." Spyro said, shocking the pink mare as he dismissed his Keyblade. "Spare Pinkie and the twins, I'll submit."
"See, was that so hard." He asked, keeping his scythe to the twins chins. "Once you're defeated and your heart is gone, I'll return the foals to the pink mare and let them be."
He walked forward, much to the pink party ponies dismay as the Reapers slowly approached him, circling him as they raised their scythes and swung, the first strike hitting him on the back, sending him flying into another and the second one strike him into another, the third using the blunt end of the scythe to knock him to the ground as the three of them surrounded the downed prince, hacking and slashing at him while Pinkie couldn't do anything but watch, her own heart breaking at the sight. The foals watched one of their sitters getting beaten up by a bunch of strange looking flower/human looking creatures, not wanting to loose their silly stallion as something sparked inside of them.
Pound acted first as he raised his forelegs and pushed the Scythe away from their necks and slammed his hooves down on it, breaking the distracted stallions spell as it went straight through the ground, catching him off guard as he looked back to see what was going on. Pumpkin then acted as she used her magic, a blue aura surrounding a tree branch and ripped it off the tree, smacking the Organization member in the back of the head before using it to uppercut him, knocking him for a loop as Pound Cake flapped his wings, flying in the air while the filly used her telekinetic abilities to make herself fly in the air, flying around the bad pony as they beat him up, Pound Cake picking him up and slamming him into the ground with incredible strength while Pumpkin hit him in the head many times with the stick she was holding.
"Holy guacamole!" Pinkie exclaimed. "They're fighting back!"
"You annoying little pests!" Marluxia said.
He caught the branch Pumpkin was using to give him a headache and tossed it away, using his magic to grab the twins and threw them down, raising his scythe to deal a deadly blow, but Pinkie acted quickly and moved with great speed, picking up the twins and avoiding the scythe as she rolled away, standing on her hooves as she used her foreleg to hold onto the twins.
"Spyro, I got the twins!" Pinkie said.
"That's good to hear." Spyro said, getting up as dark mist entered his body. "Because these guys are making me very ANGRY!"
A wave of dark energy shot out of Spyro, cutting straight through the Reapers and stopping just short of Marluxia, who couldn't believe what he was seeing as both he and Pinkie watched him change. His coat was turning from purple to black as the orange horns, underbelly, and wing membrane became a darker shade of orange, the spines on his tail turning dark as his eyes went from purple to silver, a dark smile appearing on his face as a Keyblade appeared next to him, the stem of the blade scarlet in color, the shade of the stem darkening on both the tip and the guard while being a little lighter in the middle, white wind patterns going across the entire stem. The teeth appeared to have the shape of a heart, but the entire thing looked like black vines were intersecting to appear at the bottom half of the heart and with hollow points in it while sharp points stick out. The guard was in the shape of a heart, but crimson red in color and a dark moon at the end of a keychain.
"This power..." Marluxia said, raising his scythe. "But, you fear to use the darkness."
"Not anymore." Spyro replied, looking to Pinkie and gave her a warm smile. "Because I know I would never hurt those I cherish."
Pinkie smiled back at him, please to see he was still himself, but saw Marluxia was rushing at him, wanting to warn him, but he raised his new blade and blocked the attack, the two disappearing as they seemed t match speeds. Pinkie looked around to see if she could see them, but saw nothing until she heard something that sounded like metal clang against each other, looking up to see them slashing and swiping at one another, each casting spells at one another, but when a spell was about to hit Spyro, he turned into pure shadow and back as his wings started to glow gray, hovering in the air as he flapped his wings, releasing razor sharp ethereal blades that flew towards the Nobody like wind, which he deflected most of them, but a few managed to hit him, dealing some damage before striking him in the back, a arc of poison coming off the blade as it burned the red pony. He landed on the ground, feeling the acidic sting of the poison that Spyro left on him when he felt like his whole world was spinning, seeing everything change before him as it became a world of nightmares, yelling out in fear as everything turned into horrific nightmare beasts like when Spyro saw.
He looked around, terrified out of his mind until Spyro struck him in the head,m sending him flying into the air as the shadows from the buildings and the ponies collected underneath him, a dark circle spinning underneath as a massive dragons head shot out, eyes red with rage as its nostrils flared, dark green flames shooting out as it breathed poisonous green flames at the Nobody, making him shriek in agony as he fell to the ground, smoke coming off him as he tried to get up, looking to Spyro as he remained in his dark form.
"It's... impossible." Marluxia said.
"Not when you let go of your fear." Spyro replied. "I was afraid of my darkness, afraid to use its power. But I let go of my fear in order to save those I care for. In the end, I no longer fear the darkness, yet I don't fully embrace it. Just enough to find balance."
"Balance?" He asked, laughing as a dark corridor opened up beneath him, his laughter echoing as he vanished.
As he left the field of battle, Spyro took in a deep breath and calmed down, his dark form dismissed and turned to face Pinkie, but a moment later, he was tackled by the twins, the two foals trying to wrap their forelegs around his neck as best they could.
"Nice work saving the foals Pinkie." Spyro said.
"Well, they sort of saved themselves." Pinkie replied.
Spyro was confused but looked back, finding that Pound Cake was flying with his little wings while Pumpkin Cake was using her magic to make herself fly.
"Well, looks like we got some future Keyblade bearers here, don't we?" Spyro asked, taking the foals in his forelegs. The foals all giggled at him, hugging him as they started to yawn. "Looks like someone disturbed you foals while you were having your nap. Let's get you two back home. We've all had enough excitement for one day."
Spyro gently put the foal on Pinkie's back and the two of them walked back to the bakery and once back home, they needed a diaper change again, but Spyro was ready for them this time and used his wind magic to create a bubble over his nose and mouth, preventing the smell from knocking him out. After they were changed, Pinkie got their formula and brought it to the foals, letting them feed and teaching Pinkie how to burp them after they were done, the pink mare doing exactly as he instructed and took them back to their room.
"They had a very exciting day." Pinkie said, putting Pumpkin in her crib.
"They did indeed." Spyro said, tucking Pound in. "They have strong hearts. Maybe they can be Keyblade Bearers someday, if they wish. For now, let them sleep and enjoy themselves."
He then spun the mobile again, using his magic again as he recreated the scenery they saw the first time they fell asleep, humming the tune again as the foals eyes started to shut as he finished humming, music beginning to play as the mobiles glowed a gentle blue.
[Spyro]
On winds and waters may you cross,
see mountains white and blue.
But on the road, let's not forget,
the love I have for you.
Dance on beaches in Anfalas,
sleep in moonlit fields of view.
May you cross another golden age,
with preciousness free-flowing.
With Halflings, Elves, and Dwarves engaged,
Their wisdom onto you, bestowing.
As he sung the song a second time, the foals fell asleep instantly, Spyro still humming the tune as they quietly walked out of the room to let the twins sleep as the sun started to set. After getting downstairs, Mr. And Mrs. Cake walked in, looking tired, but relieved to be back home, however when they got home, they were surprised to see how clean the place looked.
"Oh my goodness." Cupcake said. "Look at this place. It's spotless."
"Hey there Mr. And Mrs. Cake." Spyro said, walking down the stairs.
"Hello Spyro dear." Mrs. Cake said, walking up the stairs and to the foals room. "I hope the foals weren't too much of a hassle."
"A little rocky at the start, but everything turned out just fine." Pinkie replied. "But boy did I learn something about responsibility. As much fun as playing with them is, caring for them is a lot of hard work. If either Spyro or I tried to do that on our own, we'd have gone loco in the cocoa."
"That's very mature of you to say Pinkie." Carrot said, both the parents having their doubts, but looked in and saw how happy the foals looked, making a decision. "Spyro, Pinkie, would you two be our permanent babysitters?"
Pinkie looked very unsure at first, looking very nervous while the two withheld the information about Marluxia having tried to foalnap their kids and threaten to do them harm while earlier in the day they had to waste a few bags of flour just to calm them down. After a moment, Pinkie was going to say no, but they then heard the foals mumbling, everyone looking into their room as they mumbled in their sleep.
"Pinkie..." Pound said, saying his first word.
"Spywo..." Pumpkin said, the twins actually saying their first words.
"Oh, how could anyone say no after hearing that?" Spyro asked, Pinkie nodding her head.
"Yes indeedily." Pinkie said. "We'd be more than happy to be their foal sitters."
At the Nobody Stronghold, Xemnas was discussing something with Ansem, talking about their next move when Marluxia walked in, the two of them looking at the injured Nobody as he walked in, clutching his arm as he limped.
"What happened to you?" Ansem asked.
"I... hate... babies." Marluxia replied.
He then collapsed to the ground, passing out from all the damage he took and left the two leaders confused, starring at their defeated member, wondering what he meant by that.