With a faint creaking of hinges, Sentinel pushed open the door to the farmhouse library, having been told that he was expected upon his return home. When the door opened, a blast of heat struck him, making him feel somewhat light headed for a moment. The fire was roaring in the grate. He could see his father, his father did not look well. He watched as his father trembled. Had his father been crying? A cold prickle of fear crept along Sentinel’s spine as he made his way into the library. He saw Luna and froze. Remembering to bow his head, Sentinel offered Luna the respect he felt she was due.
“Sentinel, there is no need to bow in private, I wish you would cease doing that,” Luna said in a soft voice.
Luna’s voice didn’t quite seem normal to Sentinel. She was upset, sad perhaps. Sentinel’s ears perked. Luna’s heart was beating somewhat faster than usual. His father’s heartbeat was elevated as well.
Sentinel lifted his head high and looked first at his father and then at Luna. “You wanted to see me?” Even as he was speaking, Sentinel could see Luna nodding.
“I wanted to speak with you about what happened last night,” Luna said. “Please, take a seat… and stop being so formal.”
Sentinel glanced around the room. He could smell alcohol. He noted his father’s empty glass. Beside the empty glass was an empty bottle and a second bottle which was half empty. He chose a seat close to his father, climbed up, and settled in. The seat was chosen because it offered a full view of Luna without turning his head. It was important to maintain eye contact when being addressed, the officer’s manual made that clear.
“Sentinel, what you did last night was foolish, reckless, dangerous, and you placed yourself in great risk.”
Flinching, Sentinel ducked his head. His ears dropped down and he bit down on his lip with enough force to almost draw blood. The worst part was, Sentinel was expecting this. He knew that what he had done was everything Luna had said it was. He drew in a deep breath through flaring nostrils and awaited the scolding to come.
“I am very proud of you for doing it.”
Lifting his head to look at Luna, Sentinel had trouble believing his own ears. He blinked and his ears perked upwards a bit, rising up to stick out sideways. An intense feeling of confusion filled his mind.
“Demons of any sort, be they arch-demons or even little imps, all of them are dangerous. This was an imp that had been feeding… at least from what I have been able to gather. Sentinel, he could have scrambled your brains. There were a thousand different ways that your confrontation could have gone wrong. But you persevered, you remained strong, and you banished it from Cadance’s mind.”
Unable to help himself, Sentinel beamed, smiling a broad fang filled smile.
“This is the sort of threat that the lunar guard and the Myrmidons exist to fight. During my long absence, the fight went poorly. Celestia did her best, but this is not a battlefield she has an advantage on.” Luna paused, shook her head, and closed her eyes for a moment. When her eyes opened once more, they were glittering in the firelight. “I have seen well trained Myrmidons laid low by crafty little imps… I have seen—”
“What Luna is trying to say is, don’t get cocky. You got lucky and you won this fight. Don’t think it will always be so easy in the future,” Bucky said.
“Yes… but I was trying to explain it in a somewhat more gentle manner,” Luna said as she glanced at Bucky. “As well as adding a bit of praise, which I feel that you deserve.”
“I am fully aware of the danger. Had it just been myself, retreat would have been the preferable option.” Sentinel’s smile faded but his fangs remained bared. “Nothing threatens my sisters.” Sentinel paused for a moment and became thoughtful. “Or any of my siblings for that matter. I’ll have little brothers soon.”
“Risks sometimes have to be taken. The only thing that matters is keeping your family safe. You did the right thing Sentinel, Luna and I are both very proud of you.”
The fire now burning inside of Sentinel was far hotter than the fire in the grate. It was the one thing he craved, the one thing he wanted more than anything else, it was what he worked for. His father’s praise. He closed his eyes as he felt a tightness in his barrel.
“So how did everything go today?” Bucky asked.
Opening his eyes, Sentinel turned to look at his father. “Things went well. Everything was delivered. There was a big party. The guard did their part to make the little fillies and colts feel special. There was a major violation of the regulations but I feel that it should be looked over.”
“A major violation of the regulations?” Luna asked.
Sentinel sat up straight and turned his attention to Luna. “Yes ma’am, but it should be forgiven, given the nature of the circumstances.”
Luna sighed. “Just tell me what happened.”
“The officers gathered together. Each of them removed their medals, badges of rank, insignias, laurels, and other bits of dress decoration. Each and every foal in the orphanage was given a little something as a memento, a little treasured keepsake… a reminder of today’s festivities. The officers were aware of the violation they were committing and after some discussion, they were fully prepared to accept the consequences,” Sentinel reported.
Rolling her eyes, Luna shook her head.
From over in his chair, Bucky chuckled and Sentinel felt worried, not able to gage Luna’s reaction. Once more, Sentinel’s ears drooped and fell down to rest beside his face.
“Of all the violations they could be worried about… spitting in uniform… that happens regularly and nopony ever seems to care about that. Drunk and disorderly conduct while in uniform… nopony ever cares about that. But to worry about this of all things… I do not understand the guard at times,” Luna said.
“The loss of symbols of rank is punishable by flogging,” Sentinel said in a low voice.
“Is it?” Luna replied. For a moment her eyes went wide and then Luna regained her composure. “Oh… er, yes, yes it is. At some point, I need to see about removing that from the books.”
“It is good to know that everything went well,” Bucky said.
“Father?” Sentinel looked over at his father.
“Yes?”
“Father, I invited Violet Velvet and Helia to stay with us during the holiday. We have extra rooms. Helia was a big help today…”
“I’m sure that Bon Bon and Lyra will be very happy about what you’ve done,” Bucky replied. “This is a big house, there is always room for a few more.”
Staring out the window, Dinky watched as the large fluffy white flakes flew sideways. It was late afternoon but it was already dark outside. The snowfall never seemed to end. It let up a little now and then, but for the past week or so, it had been constant.
Now, it seemed as though it was gaining intensity and there were fears of a major blizzard during the holiday. Dinky sighed. At least it was warm and comfortable indoors. She peered out her bedroom window, straining to see anything, and realised she couldn’t even see the school. Most of the students had gone home for the holidays, except for those that didn’t have homes to go to. At least they were getting a good holiday too, Dinky had eavesdropped enough to know that every student spending the holiday at the school was being cared for and no expense had been spared.
Looking away from the window, Dinky turned and saw her sister Piña. Piña was meditating, her eyes were closed, and she was sitting on her haunches. Her front hooves were raised and held inches apart from one another. In between Piña’s front hooves was a small ball of flame, kept alive and burning through intense magical focus. Dinky was careful to never disturb Piña during these times, live flames were dangerous and a loss of control, a loss of focus, could be catastrophic.
Turning her gaze to look out the window once more, Dinky wished that Hearth’s Warming would hurry up and get here. Waiting was awful.
“Thistle? Thistle, love, you doing okay?” Bucky heard a soft cry from the bed where Thistle was laying, no longer in the enormous bath. He walked through the bedroom, his hooves making no sound. The lights were off, leaving the room completely dark.
“Thistle has a really bad headache,” Derpy said in a soft whisper.
“What about you? How are you feeling?" Bucky asked Derpy.
“Those pills make me light headed and my mouth stays dry. Bucky, I’m worried that the pills will hurt the foals.”
Derpy’s whimpered words filled Bucky with worry. He jumped up into the bed, careful not to jostle the two mares. “The doctor promised that the pills will have no chance to hurt the foals. You gotta stop worrying about that,” Bucky said as he settled down beside Derpy and Thistle.
“They do help a little, I don’t hurt so much… I hate being stuck in the bed.”
Thistle, grunting, lifted her head. “You don’t get to complain about being stuck in a bed.” The kelpie was grumpy, frustrated, and in a bad mood. “I hate headaches.”
“Any day now,” Bucky said as he rested his head upon Thistle’s belly.
“For the past week it is has been any day now.”
Thistle’s retort was almost a snarl. Bucky rubbed his chin along the rounded curve of Thistle’s stomach, trying to bring her some comfort.
“When this foal comes out, I’m going to hide in the bottom of the lake and I’m never going to have another foal, ever… and Bucky is never touching me again. Sorry Bucky, but it has to be this way.”
“But Thistle… we had plans to have a whole bunch of little kelpies—”
“Nope… those plans are off,” Thistle said. “And stop rubbing my tummy… the last thing I need right now is to get turned on. I was turned on all morning because I could feel the pressure from the inside pressing up against my little filly boner from behind.”
In the darkness, Bucky froze and raised an eyebrow. He heard Derpy giggling. “Filly boner?”
“Well, it gets hard too… and then it sticks out… almost like it was inviting somepony to come up and give it a lick,” Thistle replied.
“Filly boner… I… Thistle, I don’t know what to say.” Bucky reached out his right front leg and then rubbed his fetlock over Thistle’s thigh.
Kicking out her other hind leg, Thistle farted, a loud trumpeting blast. “Ugh, that’s been in there for hours… I could feel it pressing in on my guts… I’m so glad it came out.”
His nose crinkling, Bucky lifted his head away from Thistle’s stomach. Pregnant mares were sexy, pregnant mares were attractive, pregnant mares were Bucky’s favourite thing in the whole wide world… except when they weren’t. As Bucky had discovered, pregnancy was the ultimate test of love and marriage.
This was one of those moments.
It was easy to fall in love with a mare. It was easy to get said mare pregnant. It was difficult to share a bathroom with a pregnant mare taking a dump, as Bucky had discovered early on, when Berry Punch had sauntered in to use the toilet while he was in the shower.
There were moments that tested the durability of a marriage, and Bucky found himself experiencing one right now.
“Ugh, Thistle…”
“Ew, she’s been eating chocolate again,” Derpy said.
Unconcerned about the suffering of her bedmates, Thistle let rip once more. “Belisama shared her chocolate covered crickets with me.”
Bucky rolled away from Thistle and laid on his back. “I want to find the jerk that claimed that sharing was caring… and a good idea.” As he was trying to get comfortable, a crushing weight rolled over on top of him.
“Cuddle me.”
“Derpy I’d love to but you need to get up… please?”
“Bucky, your voice is all squeaky.”
“Your hip bone is crushing my balls…”
“Oh goodness Bucky, I’m sorry!”