Collapsed into a miserable heap upon his bed, Bucky lay on his side trembling and occasionally whimpering, his head stuffed under a large pillow. Beside him, Derpy lay on her side as well, her head raised, trying to comfort her miserable mate.
“I dunno… we could have a lot of fun with three dozen consenting mares,” Berry Punch quipped as she lept up onto the bed and flopped down beside Bucky, who whimpered loudly at her words.
“Cut it out Berry Punch,” Derpy chided, looking at the saucy earth pony. “We sent them away Bucky. They’re gone. They’re gone and you don’t need to worry.”
“Emperor… what if they try to drag me up there?” Bucky whispered from beneath his pillow. “Don’t want.”
Running her hoof along Bucky’s ribs, Berry Punch tried to calm the inconsolable unicorn. She stroked back and forth slowly, applying pressure, getting the loose skin along his side to slide along his ribs. She knew that what she was doing was working when she heard a low moan from beneath the pillow. She grabbed a hind leg, tugged, and straightened out his body. She began kneading upon his spine, carefully applying pressure with her hooves.
“I can’t help but wonder what the world would think if they saw him like we see him. The rest of the world sees Bucky as some kind of rampaging psycho horror. We see him as some kind of neurotic twit with a penchant for lactophilia and some kind of weird dreadful phobia about anything to do with responsibility,” Berry Punch mused, a half smile upon her lips as she continued to try and unkink Bucky’s spine.
“Is he feeling better yet?” Belisama asked as she crawled up onto the bed.
“No… he’s pretty much having a breakdown I think. He lost one of his best friends, he found a whole bunch of foals that some maniac psycho had foalnapped, he stopped a hurricane, he endured going to Tartarus to fetch Cadance, he absolutely terrified the assembly into behaving themselves and survived the first few clumsy attempts of a budding democratic government… but being reminded of his responsibilities completely unhinged him,” Berry Punch replied, shaking her head in a Berry serious manner.
Belisama shoved her head beneath the pillow to be with Bucky. “Hi,” she said, trying to be conversational. “Fancy meeting you here. Do you come here often?”
From beneath the pillow, there was a soft chuckle.
“Suddenly I have a profound new respect for Belisama,” Berry Punch announced as she tried to rub out a giant knot she found on Bucky’s back. She pressed in her hoof and twisted, knowing that Bucky would be in better state of mind if his back wasn’t in knots.
“I am not the pony others think I am,” Bucky mumbled in a muffled voice from beneath the pillow. “I don’t have a herd and keep all of you as mindless sex toys… I need each and every one of you. I would be lost without you. I thought I’d be on that hook for thousands of years… maybe even forever. I thought I’d never see you again. It hurt more than the hook did.”
“I’m a smart sex toy,” Berry Punch remarked and then bent over and kissed Bucky on his withers as she continued to rub. “And don’t you ever forget it mister.”
“I don’t want to be the pony that I am. I can’t do this anymore. I can still feel the hook. I don’t want to be selfish, but I need time for me. I need quiet. I want to open the school. I know that seems contradictory, but I want to focus on a different set of problems. I want to be back in our brewery… seeing that little missing bit of my cutie mark grow back made me feel better. I already know that they are going to ask me to assume high command of Equestria’s military. I just have a feeling… I can’t do it. I just can’t,” Bucky said, pouring his heart out to his wives.
“Bucky, honey, put your hoof down. Tell Celestia that you demand to name the new high commander. Just do whatever it takes to make her listen and then tell her to put Keg Smasher in the spot of high command,” Berry Punch suggested, giving a worried glance to Derpy as she did so. Even as she rubbed, she felt Bucky’s back convulse, a new set of knots appearing with the spasm.
“That’s brilliant,” Bucky whispered from beneath the pillow. “I’ve been meaning to talk to Luna about building a military academy on the Shetlands. It would give those ponies a proud and noble future. It would brings jobs and modernisation to the isles. And with mares serving in the guard now, it would bring an influx of modern thinking mares to the isles.”
“See, I told you I’m a smart sex toy,” Berry quipped, waggling her eyebrows at Derpy.
“That’s actually pretty smart,” Derpy remarked, looking thoughtful.
“So this is where we solve the world’s problems?” Belisama questioned, her head still under the pillow with Bucky. “With the good wise king of the griffons hiding with his head under a pillow?”
“I’m in the mood for chocolate,” Bucky mumbled in a muffled voice.
Grunting, Rising Star squirmed and tried to get comfortable beneath the hot, sweaty, sticky, sexy pegasus on top of him. It had taken a while, but he had finally worn out his fey stamina, at least for a little while. “Loch,” he murmured, thrusting his muzzle closer to her quivering ear.
Tittering, still shuddering, her feminine places still clenching and spasming, Loch Skimmer closed her eyes and rolled off of Rising Star, slipping off of him and settling onto the bed beside him.
Sparkler, on the other side of Rising Star, giggled and pressed her face into his corded neck. “I like watching Loch Skimmer’s face when she orgasms… it never gets old.”
“How is your dock piercing?” Rising Star asked. “You asked me to roll over and let you on top,” he said breathlessly.
Taking a deep breath, Loch Skimmer let it out slowly and then took another deep breath. “When you were on top of me and screwing me into the mattress, I thought my backside was going to explode. It felt really good. Too good. The stimulation got to be a little too much. It was overwhelming.”
“Hmm,” Sparkler murmured, a wordless sound of pleasure as she continued to enjoy her afterglow. She reached over and stroked Rising Star with her hoof, which trembled slightly.
“That’s for securing my sister’s future and doing your part for making sure mares can serve,” Loch Skimmer whispered to Rising Star.
“Glad I could be of service ma’am,” Rising Star remarked, already feeling the first hints of arousal as he felt a hot sticky sopping wet pegasus grinding and humping away on his hip.
“She’s insatiable,” Sparkler whispered. “She’s a dirty little nympho. What do we do with a dirty little nympho Rising?”
“Oh I could think of a few things,” Rising Star replied as he felt Sparkler grinding up against his other hip. “The sheets are soaked and they smell like horny teenagers having perverted sex. They’re gonna have to go in the wash.”
“Oooh Rising… talk dirty laundry to me,” Lock Skimmer begged, making the most seductive come hither face the young pegasus was capable of.
“You can stay a little longer lasses,” Barley said in a low soft voice, looking over at Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
“I left Glass Slipper, Spike, and Scootaloo with Rarity and Coco… I should be getting back to them. I don’t want to leave Cadance though,” Twilight Sparkle replied, looking a bit conflicted as her eyes darted around the room.
“Is Bucky going to be okay? He didn’t look well… I’m kinda worried,” Rainbow Dash inquired in a raspy voice, looking over at Barley.
Shrugging, Barley cocked his head to the side and said nothing.
“I know he’s having a private moment back there, but I can’t leave not knowing if he is okay,” Rainbow Dash whimpered, dancing around on her hooves, her wings fluttering at her sides. “I’m worried!” she shouted as she took off down the hall.
Twilight Sparkle started to say something to call Rainbow Dash back, but stopped when she saw Barley raise his hoof and shake his head. She watched as the old stallion drew close.
“He’s not well lass… I… I haven’t seen him like this in a while. Whatever horrors took place in yonder Tartarus did something to him. Everypony just sort of takes him for granted and nopony ever really watches for the warning signs. He’s gonna break if things don’t let up. You need to make sure that the pressure stays off of him for a while or there is gonna be a big damn problem. I dinnae want to have to put my hoof down like this, but I am. No more for a while. You keep the world away from him if you really are the friend you claim to be, ye hear me lass?” Barley said in a low solemn voice, his eyes narrowed and his face serious. “And I plan to to give Luna an earful too… don’t think I won’t,” the old stallion added, his ears splaying out sideways.
“I understand Barley… I’ll do what I can to make sure that he gets a little well deserved rest,” Twilight Sparkle replied, nodding her head.
“He lost his friend and the pony he trusts to keep everything organised. Mister Rich was the fortified wall that protected Bucky from the unnecessary pressures of the world. I don’t think you fully understand just how important Mister Rich was to Bucky or the sort of relationship they had. Like everypony else, you just sort of take Bucky for granted and just assume that he’ll be there and he’ll pull through for you and he’ll fix all of yer damn problems and he’ll take every burden ye have to give him on his back without complaint… yer killin’ him,” Barley said, his lilt growing stronger with each word.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, backing away from Barley. Her eyes stung and she could feel tears starting to form. “You’re right… I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”
“Over ten feckin’ years on a damn hook… Luna told me what it was like for her… she had to dangle there helpless, unable to do a damn thing as she was gutted over and over. She told me what it was like for them… how Star Swirl and Sombra led an army into Tartarus to recover the Elements of Harmony. Celestia and Luna both had to face the same trials that Bucky did… a thousand years later and it still hurts them both to think about it,” Barley continued as he took another step towards Twilight.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight whimpered, backing up another step.
“I love him ye know… I do. I love him because he makes Berry happy and he’s good to his wives and his foals… I ain’t trying to be a hardarse about this, but I’m his uncle and he’s my nephew, and somepony has to think about his needs,” Barley said in a low lilted whisper. “And make no mistake, I protect what I love. I’d do the same for you. Yer family.”
“Th-th-thank you Barley,” Twilight stammered as a tear slid down her cheek.
His horn flaring, Barley levitated Cadance up from the floor and then retreated to his chair by the fireplace. “I has me a new niece to spoil,” he muttered as he eased himself into his chair. He stuffed Cadance down beside him and then rubbed his cheek against her, which made the filly giggle and burble.
Using her fetlock, Twilight scrubbed her tears away.
“He’s got his head crammed up under a pillow and he refuses to come out,” Rainbow Dash announced as she stepped back into the living room. “He’s like Rarity when she gets into one of her snits. They have a really big bed Twi… we need a big bed… I know we all sleep in a pile, but we need a big bed for other reasons… you okay Twi? You been crying?”
“Just a little,” Twilight replied as she sniffled. “I’m fine,”
“Huh… okay… if you say so… Bucky keeps saying he’s fine too from beneath his pillow… both of you are lousy liars,” Rainbow Dash remarked as she looked over at Twilight.
“No… I’m fine. I just realised that I wasn’t being a very good friend and now I’m a little worried and kinda embarrassed and kinda hurt by what I’ve done,” Twilight admitted as another tear fell.
“Oooooh… well, I know exactly what that feeling is like,” Rainbow Dash responded.