//------------------------------// // II - A Foal's Tears // Story: Rise and Shine // by Skijarama //------------------------------// She begged Sprout and Honey to look after them, to keep them safe while she set right what had gone wrong. And then, just like that, she disappeared into the snow, vanishing as mysteriously as she had arrived. Sprout and Honey waited for her to come back for her foals. And they waited… and they waited... Sprout awoke sweaty and uncomfortable the next morning. His body was stiff, and the air around him felt… off, somehow. Like he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. His brow furrowed as he felt the warmth of the sun upon his back, seeping into his blankets and warming his skin. He tried to ignore it, but the rising temperatures eventually drove him to open his eyes. He frowned. He wasn’t in his room. His mattress had been brought down into the living room and placed in front of the hearth, inside which the last few smoldering embers of a midnight flame could be seen slowly dying out. Curious and confused, Sprout turned to look at one of the windows, trying to get a gauge for what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw partially-melted remains of an icicle hanging from the roof just outside the window, dripping with fresh water.  All at once, Sprout’s mind was assaulted as the memory of the previous night came rushing back to him. The summer snow that had come out of nowhere, the ominous clouds that had preceded it, and the mysterious mare who had emerged from the blizzard with the two foals in her possession… The two foals that he had agreed, however reluctantly, to watch until her return. Sprout sat upright, causing the blanket draped over him to slide down his body, revealing the mare and two infants he shared the bed with. Honey was starting to awaken now as well, her eyes slowly fluttering open. The dark rings under them betrayed a poor night of rest, while the two foals were still sleeping soundly. “Sprout…?” she asked once she, too, was upright. She stretched and let out a quiet yawn before looking up at her husband. “Good morning.” “Morning,” Sprout replied, being sure to keep his voice down. He didn’t want to wake their new guests, after all. “Sleep well?” “About as well as could be expected,” Honey said, rotating her head. A few satisfactory pops came from her neck, eliciting a pleased groan from her. She slowly rose, taking the time to stretch on the way. Once she was up, she looked down at the fillies, and her brow furrowed. A few seconds passed before she looked up at Sprout. She didn’t say anything, but the intent in her look was obvious. What do we do now? Sprout looked down at the foals as well, his brow furrowing and lips drawing into a thin line. He had only agreed to look after the foals for that mare out of necessity, and perhaps because his judgment had been somewhat impaired by his frayed nerves and the sudden snowstorm. He hadn’t given the matter much thought beyond what was happening in the moment. He hadn’t been given any chance to. Now, though, he had time; time to figure out what to do with the foals, time to talk it over with his wife, and time to make sure they saw it through. But first thing was first. Sprout turned and made his way for the door at a brisk pace. “I’m going to go check the crops, make sure everything survived the night. Honey, you mind whipping up some food? I’m sure the foals are gonna be screaming up a storm when they wake up.” “Alright. Be careful out there, Sprout,” she called after him.  Sprout gave her a reassuring smile before opening the door and slipping outside. At once, he was met with a very welcome change from the previous night. Instead of a freezing wall of icy wind, he was instead met with the expected ocean of warmth and light that was befitting of summer. Most of the snow had already melted away, leaving the earth damp enough to reflect the morning sunlight. Those icicles that remained attached to the rims of his roof were also melting away, unable to survive under the heat of summer. The smothering cold that had enveloped the world for the last few days had seemingly been lifted overnight. Even the natural sounds of the forest had returned, with distant birds and animals calling out to one another. Sprout smiled. It sounded as if they were just as relieved as he was that the cold had passed. “Huh… well I’ll be. Whatever that crazy mare did, I guess it worked,” he mused to himself with a relieved smile. He remembered how she had implied with her words that she and her husband had somehow been responsible for the ice. If it was gone now, then it stood to reason that she had been successful in doing whatever it was she had set out to do. Now all that remained was for them to wait for her to come back and pick up her foals. Maybe then they would get some tangible answers. Sprout spent the next fifteen minutes or so going over his various crops, making sure all was well. To his relief, they appeared to have weathered the storm fairly well. A few growths had taken it worse than others, and only a couple had been outright lost. All in all, it could have been far, far worse. Satisfied, Sprout took some time to make a few mental measurements of his plots, already formulating ideas on how to combat such weather in the future. If something like that ever happened again, he’d need to be prepared. Maybe he could make a whole new building that was there purely to house and protect his crops? If he could find a way to make that work, he could grow them year-round… Eventually, Sprout reminded himself that there were two unknown fillies in his home that required his attention. Satisfied for the time being, he made his way back inside to find Honey at the cauldron, stirring up something inside. Judging by the smell, he assumed it was porridge. Honey turned to him and smiled. “Well? How are things outside?” “All in all? Not half bad,” Sprout said. He shut the door behind him and approached the mattress, his eyes lingering on the fillies. “Snow’s melted, and the ice is going away, too. Only lost a few potatoes in all of that.” Honey visibly relaxed. “Oh, thank goodness…” she breathed. Sprout nodded at her. He sat down by the bedside, refocusing on the foals. They were still asleep, but by the look on Celestia’s face, they would be stirring any moment. Sprout watched them for a few moments, his mind wandering. He allowed his many questions about these foals and their mother to repeat in his thoughts, giving each one momentary consideration before moving on. Soon, Honey sat down beside him. “Any sign of the mother?” she asked in a hushed whisper. Sprout shook his head. “Nah… none yet,” he replied, frowning. “But the snow’s gone, so I think she did whatever it was she was trying to do. Just a waiting game, now…” “Right…” Honey nodded. She gave a quiet hum before leaning down to get a closer look at Celestia. She just stared for a while, a tiny smile appearing on her face. “Well, if nothing else, the mare’s got beautiful foals…” Sprout chuckled, placing a hoof on his wife’s back. “Hey, now, no falling in love, you hear?” he lightly chastised her. She turned and swatted his hoof away. “Oh, you hush. I’m allowed to find another pony’s foals cute, aren’t I?” she asked with a roll of her eyes. Sprout opened his mouth to offer up some witty retort, but the rustling of blankets drew his attention. Celestia was stirring, her big, round eyes opening up. She looked around, her mouth open in a little ‘o’ of curiosity and confusion. Her eyes eventually settled on Sprout and Honeydrop, and she withdrew into herself with a shy squeak. Honey smiled. “Hey, there. Good morning, little filly,” she said in a gentle, reassuring whisper. “It’s alright. We aren’t going to hurt you.” Celestia stared at Honey for several seconds. Her eyes were wide and fearful, and if Sprout didn’t know any better, he would say that the foal was on the verge of panicking. He put on a gentle smile to try and ease her concerns, even if his own mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour, searching frantically for a solution. Eventually, he lowered himself down until he was almost on his belly by Honey’s side and reached a hoof out. “My name’s Sprout. This is my wife, Honeydrop.” The introduction did a little to earn Celestia’s trust. She slowly poked her head forward and looked toward the door. She stared for a long few seconds, each one feeling like an eternity, before she spoke. “Where… Mama?” Sprout’s smile faded for a moment. That was the big question, wasn’t it? He was quick to compose himself and give the best answer he could. “Your mama’s taking care of your daddy, remember?” he asked. Celestia turned to him. “Where dada?” Sprout hesitated. He glanced down at Honey, who in turn sat back on her haunches and shared a look with him. Neither of them had ever dealt with foals for very long, especially not this young and without their actual parents nearby. It felt almost as if they were marching on eggshells. One misstep and it could all fall apart, and that was not something Sprout wanted on their minds right now. Eventually, Honey found an answer. She smiled sweetly at Celestia. “He’s with your mommy.” Celestia blinked a couple of times. She then began to squirm, grunting and fidgeting with the blankets she had been tightly wrapped up in. Honey and Sprout shared a look, wondering if they should help, before Celestia managed to wiggle free on her own. The breath left Sprout’s lungs as two, tiny pegasus wings stretched out from Celestia’s back. His mind reeled with confusion, his eyes darting between her horn and her wings in abject disbelief. Celestia, however, did not seem to mind his stares and instead turned to look at her sleeping little sister. Sprout and Honey shared a glance. Honey swallowed heavily and leaned forward to whisper. “Sprout? What do you call a pony with wings and a horn?” she asked quietly. “Er, I don’t know,” Sprout replied, racking his brain. He had never heard of something like this before. Everypony knew that there were only three pony races; the earth ponies, the unicorns, and the pegasi. He had heard rumors of other subraces before, like bat ponies, crystal ponies, or unicorns with curved horns, but he had never laid eyes on one, and never once had he heard of a pony with wings and a horn. It was utterly inconceivable to him. Honey stared down at Celestia and Luna, set her jaw, and nodded. “Well… Guess we can ask their mother when she comes back,” she decided. Sprout agreed, leaning against her side. “Yeah, after what happened last night, she owes us some answers…” And so they waited. And waited… and waited. Honey and Sprout did their best to take care of Celestia and Luna that day, using what little knowledge of foal care they had between them to meet the fillies’ needs. When Luna awoke, it was in tears, crying out to the heavens as foals are wont to do. It took far longer than either Sprout or Honey would be comfortable to admit to get her to calm down. Hours passed. When Celestia wasn’t resting by Luna’s side, she was trying to get a look out through one of the windows to watch for her mother. Such was the case near the end of the day, as the sun gradually began its descent toward the horizon. Sprout had taken his leave of the inside for the time being to take some measurements. Apparently, he had plans to build some protective coverings for his crops. Maybe, he had speculated, such constructs would even allow him to grow food during the winter. Honey sure hoped so. After the scare they had gone through with the snow last night, she wasn’t in any hurry to potentially lose out on their main source of food if another cold wave came their way. But she did her best to push such troubles and worries from her mind. She kept her gaze on Celestia. She could see the setting sun reflected in the filly’s eyes and shining on her face, giving her an almost divine radiance, despite her small size. Honey had taken one of the end tables and put it by the window for the moment so that Celestia could look outside from up close. In Honey’s lap, Luna was curled up in her bundle and sound asleep.  Celestia shifted in place, her ears drooping. “...When mama coming?” she finally asked, sitting down on her haunches. Honey sighed, her heart withering at the sad look in the foal’s eyes. No filly should have to be isolated from their family like this, but what could be done for now but wait? Still, she did not let those concerns show, and put on a warm smile. “I don’t know, Celestia. Soon, I imagine. You’ll probably be home in a few days, at the most.” Celestia didn’t reply. She kept staring out the window. She jumped slightly, leaning back with a squeak when Sprout passed by the glass, his heavy hoofsteps thunking on the porch. Celestia watched the window tensely for a few seconds before Sprout’s steps faded into silence. Celestia blinked a few times, then turned to Honey. “What he doing?” Honey looked out the window and smiled. “He’s working. Sprout handles all of the hard work outside. Planting food, building things, gathering water, that sort of thing.” “Oh…” Celestia replied. Her wings twitched at her sides, and she squinted out into the day. Her little cheeks puffed up with concentration, and she eventually asked a question. “Where’s his horn?” Honey blinked. “Huh? Oh, uh, he and I are earth ponies. We don’t have wings or horns. We make up for that by being really strong.” “Strong?” Celestia turned to Honey. Honey nodded. “Oh, yes. He likes to haul all of the wood for his building projects back by himself. Why, one time, he dragged a whole tree trunk all the way back from the stream.” Celestia’s eyes widened in wonder at the idea, and Honey couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. It was like the filly’s whole world had been blown out of the water in one fell swoop. She turned back to the window to watch Sprout with renewed interest, even as the sun set below the horizon. Celestia and Luna’s mother did not return that night. Or the night after. Celestia continued to watch for her whenever Luna was being cared for by Honey or Sprout, though her attention was often dragged away when she saw Sprout working. He was not oblivious to this fact, and sometimes gave her friendly smiles and waves. She would usually give him a timid smile in response and wave in return. She was still quiet, but after a few days with them, Celestia was gradually starting to open up. A fact that was exemplified on the morning of the fourth day as Sprout got ready to head out. He had taken care of what few rudimentary tasks he had to do inside, and with Luna being taken care of by Honey, it was time for him to head out. As he grabbed hold of the door’s handle, though, there was an unwelcome tug on his tail. He let out a yelp and turned to look, tearing his tail out of the grasp of whatever had dared to clamp down on it. To his surprise, Celestia was there, looking up at him with wide, curious eyes. Sprout quickly eased the indignation on his face. “Heh. Ya know, you’re not supposed to bite other pony’s tails, Celestia,” he said with a weak chuckle. “It’s rude, and it hurts.” Celestia’s ears drooped. “Oh… sorry.” Sprout frowned, feeling just a touch guilty. He was quick to shake it off and smile down at her. “There something you need? I was about to go and do my work outside.” Celestia looked up at him, then looked at the door behind him. “Can I go outside?” she asked hopefully, leaning to the side a little. Sprout raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Outside? What, to play?” he asked curiously, glancing up at Honey, who was seated by the fireplace with Luna asleep in her lap. Celestia nodded. “Uh-huh.” Sprout frowned, rubbing at his shoulder. “Er… well, I mean… I’d love to allow that, but I’m gonna be busy, and my wife’s looking after your sister right now, so…” he muttered, hoping that Honey would hear him. To his relief, she did, and turned to look at him. “I could keep an eye on her,” she suggested. She nudged Luna onto her back and stood to approach the door, a warm smile on her face. “I think the two could use some fresh air anyway. They’ve been cooped up inside since they got here.” Sprout relaxed somewhat at that. He looked down at Celestia. “Alright. As long as you stay close and don’t go anywhere Honey can’t see you, I guess it’s okay.” Celestia smiled up at him, the warmest and most earnest smile he had seen from her yet. He lifted a hoof to slow her down a bit. “Okay, couple rules, first.” Celestia’s frown faded, and she lowered herself to her haunches. “Rules?” she echoed in dismay.  Sprout couldn’t help but snort. He got the feeling this kid didn’t much care for that word. He nodded, though, being sure to keep his voice firm but not unkind. “Yes. Rule one, you stay where we can see you. Always. That means no hiding, no wandering out of the clearing, no jumping into bushes, no chasing bugs, nothing like that. If we can’t see you, you’re doing something wrong.” Celestia pouted, but nodded in understanding. Sprout lowered his hoof. “Rule two. Please don’t bother me when I’m working, and don’t step on my plants. I need them to stay healthy to feed my wife and I, and they might get broken if you step on them, so stay out of my crops. Can you do that for me?” Celestia nodded again. Sprout glanced up at Honey. “Alright, then. Let’s go,” he said, earning a nod from her. With that, he opened the door with a soft click. In a heartbeat, Celestia bounded out of the house, her wide eyes sweeping across the open yard before the isolated forest home. Sprout took the chance to refamiliarize himself with the layout himself. A simple network of dirt paths had been worn into the grass in the clearing, linking together the various “posts” where he did his work. A stump for the chopping of wood and a storehouse for his tools. It was surrounded on all sides by rich, reddish-brown soil, verdant grass, and tall evergreen trees that filled the air with the powerful scent of pine. Celestia giggled at the view, and bounded off the porch to start exploring. Sprout watched her go, then looked back at Honey with a smirk. “Well, I think she likes the place,” he said in amusement. Honey smiled and sat down with her back to the wall, keeping Luna close to her chest. “So she does. You’ll help me watch her, right?” she asked once she was comfortable. Sprout nodded as he stepped down from the porch. “As well as I can, sure,” he called over his shoulder before turning to head for his crops. All the while, as he worked that morning, he could hear the high-pitched voice of Celestia giggling merrily to herself as she raced around the outside of his home, becoming familiar with the space. It was a light, easy sound that pulled at his heart and drew a smile to his lips. Two weeks had come and gone since Celestia and Luna’s arrival. As per usual, as the sun was setting, Celestia was on her end-table by the window, staring out into the yard for any sign of her mom. Sprout watched her from his place at the dinner table, a solemn frown adorning his muzzle. She had been spending more and more time there each evening, sometimes having to be physically pulled away from the window when it was time for dinner. She put on an impressively brave face for a filly so young, but it was clear she was growing more and more confused and desperate. And Sprout would be lying if he said he didn’t share her concerns. Their mother had yet to make her return. There hadn’t been even a clue, or a hint as to her whereabouts. He was starting to get worried. In the back of his mind, troublesome concerns made themselves known. Uneasy questions he did not want the answers to. “...Something wrong, Sprout?” Honey asked from behind him, making him jump. Sprout turned to see her coming over from the counter, where that night’s dinner was partially prepared. He smiled and shook his head. “No, no, nothing. Just a little worried for Celestia, that’s all.” Honey glanced past him and frowned. “Yeah… and her mom still isn’t back yet…” Sprout frowned, looking down at the wooden grains of the table. His lips drew into a thin line as he tried to think of how best to phrase the largest concern in his mind. After a moment, he looked up at his wife. He leaned forward to speak in a near-silent whisper. “You don’t think she just… abandoned them with us, do ya?” Honey’s frown grew stern, and she gave a sharp shake of her head. “No, I do not, and I don’t want you thinking like that, either.” Sprout flinched back from the force in her voice. He looked down and to one side, unable to meet her gaze as he spoke again. “Sorry, but I can’t help but think that, maybe, she just didn’t want her foals, and pawned them off on the first ponies she found…” “The big problem with that, Sprout, is that Celestia is three,” Honey countered, placing a hoof to his shoulder. She met his gaze again, having to crane her head down to do so. “Why would she take care of her daughter for that long only to then decide she didn’t want her? If she was gonna get rid of her foals, she would have done so a lot earlier, and you can bet she wouldn’t have let herself have a second.” Sprout opened his mouth to offer up some retort or counter, but the sound of movement from the window caught his attention. He turned to look to see that Celestia had stood upright, her eyes wide and a hopeful grin on her face. She hopped up and down a few times, her wings buzzing eagerly on her back. “Something coming!” she stated emphatically, pressing her hooves up to the glass. “Mama!?” “Oh, speak of the devil,” Sprout thought, quickly rising to his hooves. His heart was beating faster, both out of relief that he was about to be proven wrong, and out of his eager desire for some answers. Celestia hadn’t been able to give him any yet, seeing as she was just as lost about what was going on as he was. He came up to the door and threw it open. His hopeful smile faded away when he saw no sign of Celestia’s mother. Instead, at the edge of the clearing, a lone mountain wolf wandered into the yard, it’s nose to the ground. It sniffed around for a little bit, it’s low tail wagging curiously. Sprout heard Celestia whimpering off to one side. He looked her way, and his heart all but shattered in his chest. The look of pure devastation on her face was unrivaled, and already he could see the tears welling up in her eyes. She slid down the glass and slumped to her haunches. “N-not mama…” Sprout sighed and shut the door. “I’m sorry, kid. We do have wild animals in these mountains,” he said apologetically. “B-but…” Celestia babbled, her lip trembling. She turned to Sprout. He could tell the dam was breaking, and it was too late to stop it. She screwed her eyes shut and lowered her head, starting to openly and loudly cry, filling the house with the heart-wrenching noise. “W-here’s m-my maamaaaa?!” “Oh, baby,” Honey said, quickly crossing the distance and scooping Celestia up into her hooves.  The filly clutched tightly to her, wailing and incomprehensibly babbling for her mama. Honey did her best to soothe the crying filly, but all of her best efforts amounted to nothing. Sprout joined her and lent his voice, but that too seemed to be insufficient. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Celestia’s wails died down and she fell into a quiet sleep. Honey looked down at her in her hooves, then looked up at Sprout with a truly hurt look on her face. Sprout sighed and glanced toward the stairs. “...I think we should put her to bed,” he said quietly. “She could use the sleep.” Honey opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. She looked down at Celestia again, then rose to carry the sleeping filly upstairs. Sprout followed closely behind her. Soon, they stepped into their bedroom, where a freshly-constructed crib had been placed beside their own bed some few days previously, after Sprout had built it to accommodate their guests.  Luna could be seen in it, her eyes opening at the disturbance. She sat up and leaned forward, trying to get a better look at her sister. She made a few tiny squeaks of distress, no doubt sensing something was wrong with Celestia. Honey carefully lowered Celestia down into the crib. Luna retreated into the corner as the larger mare approached, and only once Honey’s hooves had totally retreated did she come over and wrap her hooves around Celestia, hugging her tightly. Celestia stirred slightly from the contact, returning the embrace in her sleep. Sprout stared down at the two and sagged, any good mood he might have had being well and truly dashed. Moving slowly and carefully, he reached down and gingerly brushed one of the remaining tears off of Celestia’s cheek with his hoof. She winced under his touch, but soon relaxed.  Sprout turned back to Honey. “I think an early dinner and some early sleep might do us some good,” he suggested quietly. Honey nodded as the two slowly slipped out of the room. “Yeah… I don’t want to be too far from them right now, either,” she clarified what he had actually meant, closing the door behind them to give the foals some peace and quiet for the moment. Three weeks. It had been three long weeks now since Celestia’s mother had dropped off the foals, and there was still no sign of the mare. Sprout was growing increasingly worried that she wouldn’t be coming back with every day that passed. As he stared off into the sunset one evening, his thoughts drifted to the mare for what must have been the thousandth time. Though Honey had done wonders to dispel his doubts about her simply abandoning Celestia and Luna, there was also the grisly possibility that she had simply perished on the return trip to the house. She had appeared to be on her last leg when Sprout had seen her. She had claimed to be stronger than she looked, and at that moment, there had been such conviction in her voice that he had believed her. But, looking back, doing so might have been a mistake… If she didn’t come back for her foals… what was to become of them. Sprout frowned, trying not to imagine that scenario, but doing so anyway. Celestia had experienced more than one emotional breakdown over the last few days as her mother continued to be absent. He didn’t want to see it again. Every time Celestia cried, his heart broke for her, and it took far too long to get her to calm down every time. How many more times was that angel of a filly going to cry her eyes out before she could finally be reunited with her family? How long until Sprout and Honey could finally get some answers? Would there be any answers to be had, or would the mare simply wish to whisk her foals away into the night, just as mysteriously as she had delivered them? Sprout heaved a sigh and rubbed a hoof against his temple. “Ugh… what are we gonna do…?” he asked himself in a frustrated whisper. The front door to the house clicked open, and Sprout turned to see Honey stepping out. She shut the door behind her with a soft click before making her way over to him. “Celestia and Luna are asleep. I put them to bed upstairs,” she said, sitting down by his side. Sprout smiled, taking one of her hooves in his. “Good. They doing okay?” “I think so,” Honey replied with a nod. She turned to look at the distant horizon, a distant look coming over her face. The two sat in silence for a long time, simply taking comfort in the company of the other. But eventually, the silence became too much. Sprout sighed and looked over at Honey, seeing the way the sunlight caught her face, how it reflected in her eyes and shined in her curly mane. He found his heart melting at the sight, just like it had the day they had first met so long ago, when he had known this was the mare he would spend the rest of his life with. The sight gave him the courage to speak his mind and air his worries. “...hey, hon?” “Hm?” “What if she doesn’t come back?” Honey glanced at Sprout with a raised eyebrow. “Huh?” “Celestia and Luna,” he clarified, looking down at the wooden floorboards of the porch. “Their mother. What if she doesn’t come back?” He felt Honey squeezing his hoof as she shifted to face him more directly. “She’ll come back,” she said firmly, although Sprout had a feeling she put that conviction in her voice to convince herself more than him. He turned back to her. “But what if she doesn’t?” he insisted. “It’s been weeks, Honey. The snow was gone the day after she left the kids with us, but she hasn’t been back for them yet. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of her since, and I don’t even know where she came from or where she could have gone! The only proof we have that she was ever even here are her daughters…” Honey opened her mouth to offer up some rebuke, some counterpoint to assuage his concerns. But nothing came. She stared at him for a time before turning away. ‘...I don’t know, Sprout,” she confessed, reaching up to toy with her mane. “I wish I did, but I don’t. I’ve been asking myself that same question for a while now, but I just don’t know…” Sprout sighed, leaning into her side. “I mean, we can’t just keep them around, can we?” he asked quietly. “They’re not our foals. It wouldn’t be right of us, would it? I mean, we agreed to watch them for a while, but not much more than that…” Honey was quiet for a moment. “Maybe… but didn’t she also ask us to just make sure they were alright if she didn’t come back for them?” she eventually asked. Sprout frowned, thinking back.  “Please take care of them both. I’ll be back soon, I swear it.” Sprout eyed her critically. “...And if you aren’t?” She hesitated, looking down at the ground. “...Then do with them as you see fit. Just don’t let them die, that’s all I ask.” “She asked us not to let them die,” he clarified. “Other than that, we could do whatever we wanted with them.” Honey hummed in response, her eyes falling. Neither of them said anything for a while after that, each of them exploring their thoughts and feelings on the matter on their own, with the warmth of the other serving to keep the chill of their anxieties at bay. When one of them finally broke the silence, it was Honey. “I want to keep looking after them.” “Hon?” Sprout blinked and turned to look at her. There was a fiery conviction in her eyes. Honey placed a hoof against his chest. “I know they’re not our foals, and I’ll happily give them back if… when their mother comes back for them. But I just wouldn’t feel right about taking them all the way to town to give them away. They’re really sweet. And besides, who would take them?” Sprout frowned. She didn’t need to clarify what she meant by that for him to understand. The wings and the horns. Most earth pony families would only be content with adopting a pony of their own tribe, given the long-lasting tensions with the other tribes. The complications would only be compounded by the fact that Celestia and Luna had both sets of extra appendages. “And if she doesn’t come back? Ever?” Sprout asked, a knot forming in his throat. Honey met his gaze firmly. “Then we keep taking care of them until they don’t need us anymore.” Sprout turned to face her, his eyes flying wide. “Honey, you do realize what you’re suggesting, right?” he asked. “Course I know,” Honey acknowledged with a firm nod of her head. “But they’ve already been here for just shy of a month… and I wanna keep ‘em safe. You promised their mother you would, and I am not going to make a liar out of you or me by going back on that. And besides…” A gentle smile came over Honey’s face, and she placed her hoof against Sprout’s cheek. “I always wanted to have foals with you someday… So if their mother comes back someday, then Celestia and Luna will be great practice. And if not… well…” Sprout stared at his wife for a long time, his mind taking a bit to catch up. Then, gradually, a crooked smirk broke out across his face. “Heh… you always did have a fire in your belly, didn’t you?” he asked whimsically. Honey smirked in response and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. When she pulled back, her eyes were practically glowing with resolve. “Isn’t that why you fell in love with me?” she asked knowingly. Sprout chuckled and pulled her closer. “Among other things…” “Like what?” “Oh, you know. This and that.” Honey giggled and shoved him playfully. “Oh, how specific!” Sprout laughed back at her. “Come on, you know I’ve never been good at this kinda stuff!” “Trust me, dear, I noticed,” Honey replied with a roll of her eyes. “But, for what it’s worth, I find it very cute.” Now blushing intensely, Sprout coughed into his hoof and looked away sheepishly. He heard Honey giggling beside him before leaning over and wrapping her forelegs around him in a warm hug. He felt her head near his chest, and her breath tickling his belly. “I know it’s a lot to ask of us,” she finally whispered to him. “And I know their mom’s probably gonna come looking for them, someday… but till then, I wanna be as good to them as I can.” Sprout nodded, wrapping his own hooves around her to return the hug. It was a tall order, he wasn’t going to lie, especially not to himself. And as long as he was being honest with himself, he had to admit, the prospect of taking care of these two foals long-term, if needed, wasn’t all that bad. Sure, he wished Luna would stop crying at him all the time, but Celestia’s curiosity and interest were endearing to the extreme, and Luna was so small and scared that he often felt the urge to join Celestia in her protective vigil over the tiny little filly. “Okay, then,” he finally agreed, resting his chin on his wife’s head. “Whatever happens, we watch them. We take care of them. We keep our promise.”