Chapter 2
“Hurry up, slowpokes!” Dream yelled over her shoulder as she raced down the dead-end street towards the doors of the Second Chance Orphanage. We were in the back of a quiet neighborhood, well removed from any of the busy areas of Canterlot.
Laughing, I looked at my two companions, Shining Armor and the guard Breeze, and motioned with my head towards Dream. “You heard the filly; we need to hurry it up!” I took off after her at a slow trot, a large smile on my face. Quickly glancing back, I suppressed a chuckle as Shining groaned and looked back in time to see the door open up.
An older slate grey earth pony stood at the door, a large smile on her face as she noticed Dream. “Ah, Dream! It’s nice to see you again, little filly. Your friends have been looking forward to your next visit, especially Comet.” She moved out of the way, Dream darting off into inside moments later.
As the cobblestone yielded to a compact dirt pathway, I slowed down to a walk once more. “Good morning, Matron.” I greeted her with a wave of my hoof, a wide smile on my face as I stopped just in front of her.
“Oh, it’s such a pleasure to see you again, Princess Aurora,” she began, and then noticed my companions over my shoulder, “and I see you brought a prince along with you this time, oh the children will be thrilled about that!”
“Aww, I thought I asked you not to call me ‘princess,’ it makes me feel kind of weird still,” I jokingly whined, making the best pout I could manage. Eliciting a laugh from Matron, I dropped the fake expression just as Shining and Breeze finally caught up. “As for the Prince here, I figured that he could soften up the children for us while we talk for a bit. Let him get a feel for how it’ll be once he has some of his own underhoof.”
Breeze laughed at the expense of Shining as Matron moved in front of Shining. “Prince Armor, it’s a pleasure to have you here. I’m Matron, and as you’ve probably guessed, I’m the matron for the orphanage. I’m certain the children will be beyond excited to have you visit, even if only for a short while.”
Shining seemed a little nervous as Matron introduced herself, his ears twitching occasionally as the sounds of children playing reached them. “Ah, yes, well…” he started, uncertainty underlying his voice, “it’s nice to be here?”
Matron looked at him closely, nodding her head after a few moments. “Wife wants a foal, right?” She laughed as he nodded, resting her hoof on his shoulder. “I’ve seen it a lot of times, there’s nothing to be worried about. Why don’t you head on inside and go say hi to the children? The more time you spend around them, the easier it becomes. I promise.”
“Thanks,” he replied, taking a deep breath before glancing towards me and Breeze. “Don’t take too long talking though; I’m not sure I’ll survive that long alone.” Shining gave us both a nervous smile before heading inside.
“Straight through to the back, you’ll find them outside in the playground. We’ll be right inside here for a bit, just come if you need any help… I’m sure you’ll be fine though.” Matron calmly told him, a disarming smile on her face. She turned back towards me and Breeze, a trace of amusement shown by the faint lines in her face. “Poor stallions, almost every single one of them is scared stiff at the thought of foals until they hold their own in their hooves, and then it becomes their whole world,” She gazed off into the distance for a few moments before shaking her head slightly. “Well, come on in, you two. It’s nice to see you both again.”
The three of us walked inside, entering a reception area for the orphanage. We passed through a hallway to the side and stopped at a small office, the faint sounds of children laughing in the background as I took a seat in one of the chairs in the room.
“Well, I think I’ll go and make sure ‘Prince’ Armor doesn’t get too overwhelmed,” Breeze chuckled, humorously emphasizing the word prince as he quickly began to remove his armor and stow it in the rear corner of the room. As the last piece came off, the enchantments returned his white coat back to its normal sky blue color. Shaking his coat out quickly, Breeze moved the last one to the corner with his magic and then turned towards us. “Plus, this should let you two mares chat without any stallions around. See you shortly.” He flashed us a smile before leaving, the sounds of a door opening and closing reaching our ears a few moments later.
“So,” Matron began as I slumped back into my chair, “it sounds like you’re still quite apprehensive about becoming a Princess? Even though you were joking about me not calling you that, it seems like it still bugs you.” She kept her focus on me even as she began to put on a pot of hot water for tea. It still baffled me just how much she was able to do without the aid of magic, especially dealing with so many children all the time.
“Yeah, no matter how much I hear it, I still get unnerved. I mean, the kids calling me princess doesn’t bug me too much because it makes them happy, but everypony else…” I let out a sigh, closing my eyes and enjoying the aroma of the teabags Matron had pulled out. “It’s annoying, I guess? Celestia and Luna both keep telling me that I’ve got the material to make a fine princess with time, but I just don’t see it in me.”
Matron was amazingly perceptive. She reminded me of the neighborhood mother who would sit you down on her couch while offering cookies and milk with a warm smile, quietly listening as you spilled all of your problems. Then once you were done, with that same disarming smile, she would quietly speak and give ideas on how to go about solving those problems. I think that this is part of the reason the children always listened to her no matter what, as even the most unruly ones would quickly fall in line beneath her mothering.
“I see, so still hung up on that issue then.” She set a cup of tea down in front of me, then moved a chair across from mine and sat down. “You know, looking at you with these children, I think they are right. You may not realize it yet, but you truly do have the type of personality that shines under such pressure.” Matron calmly spoke, that motherly disarming smile gracing her face the entire time. “Really, you just need to focus on the smaller things, let the big picture form as it will.” She chuckled before taking a sip of her tea. “How do you think I manage to keep up with all of these youngsters?”
Her laughter was infectious, and within moments we were both laughing. It died down to short chuckles, a bright and cheerful expression on Matron’s face. “Children are different though, you know? Sure, they may wear me out physically when they want to play, but they don’t expect anything from me. Not like those annoying nobles…” My eyes unfocused as the memories of the last so-called noble that I met came to mind. To keep it brief, he basically propositioned me right in the middle of the street, and it had only been Breeze’s timely intervention that kept me from trying to geld him.
“Over here, dear,” Matron firmly spoke, waving her hoof in front of my face, causing me to focus on it. “You seemed to be spacing out there. The nobles are quite annoying, there was actually one here the other day enquiring about you…” Matron trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face. “Now, what was his name? Ghey? Hay? Grey, Grey something.” She noticed the look of hatred on my face and waved her hoof again. “Don’t worry, I sent him off packing. Claimed I’d call the guards on him for taking the wrong interest in my wards. That sent him scuttling off very fast.”
Tea threatened to escape my nostrils as I snorted at Matron’s words, my eyes the size of saucers. That was one hell of a threat, and knowing her she would have done it if he had stuck around. Not even being a noble would not have saved him from the consequences of that accusation, even if they were proven false at the end. And if it came to a he-said she-said situation, Matron would definitely win almost every time.
“Yikes… shame I can’t use that in the castle.” I took a long sip of tea, letting the smooth blend clear my mind. “Anyways, I’d rather not talk about those issues anymore today… so how are things going here? Did anything new happen since my last visit?”
Matron beamed, the smile she gave me going from ear to ear. “I had a lovely visit from a couple out of Cloudsdale. It turns out that they were distant family of Rain’s who had just returned from a trip, and they were glad to take her in.” A few tears of joy trickled from her eyes as she continued. “Plus, I only have a dozen children here now, that’s the lowest it’s been in over ten years. It has really allowed me to give even more attention to each child.”
A large crash from outside drew our attention, and we both chuckled in sync. “I guess it might be time to head outside, they may have gotten in over their heads.” Setting my cup down next to the small sink with magic, I got out of my chair and quickly stretched. “Shall we, Matron?”
The bright sunlight outside heralded an amusing sight. Shining was on his side, children piled atop him. Breeze was off to the side with Dream, both of them holding their sides and laughing. I looked around for the potential source of the crash and noticed the hole in the fence, its size the same as Shining’s head.
I walked closer to the group, doing my best to suppress the laughter threatening to overwhelm me. Once Shining noticed me, I stopped and just smirked at him. “Well, that’s one way to use your head.”
All at once, every kid stopped and turned towards me. “Princess Aurora!” a cacophony of voices rang out, and all at once a dozen tiny terrors took off towards me. I faked an expression of surprise, slowly backing away as they clamored ever closer. The first child to reach me was one of the older earth ponies, Boulder, and when he tackled my leg I made a show of falling down to my side, letting a loud ‘oomph’ out of my mouth.
After giving Boulder a chance to look triumphant to the others, I rolled off my side in time to see the rest of them stop just short of colliding into me. Chuckling as Dream hopped over the rest and landed on my back, I addressed them all. “Hey, kids. Have you all been good since I last visited?”
“Yes!” They all replied nearly at once, lighting my face up with a smile. I noticed that a few of them had grins on their faces as they looked between each other, betraying the truth that they had probably been up to some sort of mischief. The fact that there was a hole in the fence presumably because Shining’s head went through it spoke to that fact.
“Bloody rascals chased me all over the place. Me! Cadance and I single-hoofedly repelled an entire changeling invasion, but a mere dozens kids disorient me enough to go through a fence…” Shining spoke, walking up to us. “Kids, please, please. Please? Don’t tell anypony about that, okay?”
Everypony broke out into laughter as Shining begged the children not to say a word as I schemed how to further cause him embarrassment. Who knows, maybe I could trade my silence for favors down the road, it could prove quite useful. If nothing else, it would be extremely amusing to see. While he was occupied with the foals which had focused on him for the time being, I reached around to whisper into Dream’s ears. “So, what else can we do to have some fun with your Uncle Armor?”
Dream cutely put her hoof underneath her chin and stuck her tongue out the corner of her mouth in concentration. “Hmm, we were playing tag with Uncle, but I don’t know how he ended up going into the fence. One moment he was chasing Comet, the next he went through it, like bam!” She clapped her hooves together in emphasis, drawing the attention back towards us.
“Play with us, Princess Aurora!” Comet called out, immediately drawing the rest of the foals into a chant. “Play, play, play!”
I gave a quick glance to Matron, who had a large mirthful smirk on her face as she nodded. “Very well, let’s play a game!” They all cheered, stomping their hooves on the ground. “So, what all does everyone want to play?”
“Let’s do hide and seek!”
“Oh, we should play more tag!”
“We haven’t played hoofball since forever!”
Chuckling, I raised a hoof to try and get their attention. “Now come on, everypony, we can’t do all of those at once. You all know that!” I briefly stuck my tongue out, causing them all to laugh and make funny faces at me. Pulling it back in, I decided on the easiest approach. “Okay, when I say a game, raise your hoof if you want to play it. Only raise your hoof for one game though, okay?”
I briefly ran through the list, forcing myself to suppress a squeal of delight when most of the foals decided they wanted to play tag. I motioned for Breeze to come on over, leaving Matron to watch, or do whatever she wanted to do while we distracted the kids. I leaned in close and whispered as quietly as possible into his ear. “Gang up on Shining; I kind of want to see him go through the fence again if we can. Plus, he could use a bit more experience I think.” I pulled back, a large grin on my face as I faced the kids again.
“So, everypony, here are the rules. No wings, no magic. Just good, old hoof power, okay?” All of the kids nodded, although one or two of them had a slight pout in their face. “Okay, very well. Now…” Slowly, my hoof reached out towards Shining, “Three two one,” I quickly ran through the numbers and bopped him on the nose. “You’re it!”
Everypony gathered scatter in every direction as Shining just stood there with a puzzled look on his face. Dream was holding on to my mane, still riding atop my back. “’Rory! Wait up!” Turning, I noticed Comet was madly dashing towards me in an attempt to catch up. She was doing a decent job of it, although I definitely had the obvious advantage.
Making sure Shining was not chasing me first; I stopped and let Comet clamor atop me as well, my back thoroughly claimed by the two kids. “Hold on!” I kept a safe distance from Shining as we watched him chase down Boulder. It was quite comical to see him try and hold back enough to give the kid a chance, although it only took him less than a minute to tag Boulder.
The next thirty minutes rapidly passed as we all ran around, laughter and glee permeating the air. It was humorous when I let one of the kids tag me, and I immediately tagged Dream in turn as I launched her at Shining Armor. In an attempt to dodge her, we successfully put a second hole into the fence right next to the first. Matron had shot me a rather nasty glare, and I made a mental note to ensure we left some bits to fix the damage. Not that I did not already give the orphanage plenty of them, I had no use for the money and it was for a damn good purpose.
Finally, I slumped to the ground as Comet bopped me on the nose. “I give up.” I stuck my tongue out at Comet, gently grabbing her tail as she went to take off away from me. Mussing with her mane, the rest of the kids all gathered around and laid down in the grass with us. Shining and Breeze had backed out of the game shortly after the second hole in the fence had been made, and had been content to just watch.
Matron walked out with a large tray of sandwiches balanced on her back, grinning at the sight of us all lumped together. “Children, your savior comes with food!” It was amazing how kids could flip on a dime. They had looked moments away from naptime, yet the moment they caught sight of Matron with food, almost every single one of them jumped up at once and took off. I let go of Comet and slowly stood up, chuckling as I walked towards Breeze.
“Kids… so adorable, aren’t they?” Stretching out my limbs, I just grinned at Breeze and Shining, the latter of which still had a somewhat dazed expression plastered on his face. I did not try to rub it in anymore though, as I figured we had thoroughly exposed him to children enough for one day, and plenty of stories for me to share with Celestia later.
Breeze lazily waved a hoof in the air. “Oh, you like kids, do you? You know, instead of visiting here all the time, you could just have a little bit of ‘fun’ in the future and get some of your own,” he quipped with a massive grin plastered on his face. Heat blossomed in my face as I thought of everything that entailed, in quite a bit of detail, too. Unable to make any sort of comeback, I stood there stunned as Breeze began laughing, Shining joining in with him moments later.
“I. You… What? I don’t even!” sputtering, the words shot out in a highly disjointed manner. Finally, I settled on smacking Breeze with my hoof, but put no real force behind it. Mentally making a note to get him back as soon as possible, I decided to go ahead and twist the dagger just a little bit more and let my hoof rest on Shining’s shoulder. “So, how was the practice, ‘Dad?’”
Shining just shook his head, a hint of amusement in the small smile he had. “Actually… I’m still apprehensive about it, but… I think just one of these things will be manageable.” He shook his head slightly, a wry chuckle escaping from between his lips. “Still, I find it amazing that I can spend hours drilling outside, yet a mere half hour leaves me drained more than work ever has.”
“That’s kind of true for any kids, really. Least you have a very kid-friendly family from what I know. I mean, Luna and Celestia get to be aunts, Twilight…” trailing off, I released how that could possibly be a bad thing, although she had done a good job alongside Luna with Dream the past few months. “Yeah, I think Twilight would be good. I just don’t think you should leave your kid alone with Twilight and Luna for any extended period of time though. You won’t know what pranks you might wake up to one morning if that happens!” Grinning, I motioned towards Matron, who had organized the kids together at a few tables and had gotten lunch underway. “Come on, let’s go join them. I’m feeling a bit hungry myself.”
“Please, take a seat,” Matron motioned with her hooves as she greeted us. The three of us sat down at the table with her, three plates filled with larger sandwiches and a pitcher of water on its surface. “As always, Aurora, it is nice to have you here with us,” she quietly spoke, that motherly smile directed towards us. She turned towards Shining, nodding slightly at him. “And you, Prince Armor, I hope you got past some of your fears. They truly are wonderful things, and I’m sure you’ll get to find that our first-hoof soon enough though.”
“It was enlightening, to say the least. Definitely ended up being better than hanging around the castle, I have a feeling that I was driving some of them nuts with my hovering.” Chuckling, he took a small bite of a sandwich, letting out a hum as the flavors met his tongue. “I’d recommend Cady come with Aurora next time, but I’m sure that she would simply come back wanting as many kids as you have here instead.”
A round of laughter went about the table, my ears listening while I watched Dream animatedly chat with Comet and Boulder. Without realizing it, a wisp of a smile crossed my face, and it was not until Breeze elbowed me in the side a few times while nodding towards Matron that I found my focus returning back towards the conversation. “So, Princess, have you started thinking about one or two of your own? You seem to be quite the natural with them, you know.” Matron asked, glancing over towards Breeze as she talked.
Quickly, I threw my hooves in the air and waved them back and forth. “No no no! I mean, they’re nice to hang out with and all, but I don’t have anything special or anything, I just enjoy that… let’s go with their spark of innocence. I can just do whatever with them and be a kid again, get away from things. Plus it’s nice seeing Dream so engaged with kids her age.” Matron raised a brow, as if she did not believe me, which prompted me to further elaborate. “You know I’m not ready to really get into a relationship with anyone, Matron, so, umm… yeah. Besides, it’s kind of hard to have a kid without some help, you know?” I gestured helplessly with my hooves, uncertain of what else to say as crimson flooded my cheeks.
“You know, all you have to do is ask, Princess,” Breeze started, a large grin on his face as he kept his voice low. “I’d be more than glad to be your foal-daddy for you. I mean, I am in the Royal Guard and all, got some pretty good credentials and everything!” The glass that I had been drinking from dropped to the ground as I accidentally sprayed Shining with a mouthful of water.
Matron chuckled, darting her gaze between Breeze and I. “Oh, to be young again…” She rested a hoof on my shoulder, gently patting me on the back. “Trust me, Princess; speaking from experience, the Royal Guardsponies are a pretty solid bunch to pull from. Excellent father figures, too.” She turned towards Breeze, a glimmer in her eyes. “I must say, son, I approve.”
“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, no way, no way…” I muttered moments before shoving the rest of my sandwich into my mouth. I kicked Breeze in one of his legs as I glared at him, imagining my gaze boring a hole through his head. Once the quiet laughter died down, I moved my empty plate to the side and threw my manners aside. “I’m just going to take a quick afternoon nap here, m’kay?”
Before anypony responded, I laid my head down on the table’s surface, its warmth transferring to my cheek as I let out a sigh. “Yup, just wake me up at the end of lunch.” The sounds of the children’s voices and laughter filled the air as I slowly drifted off into a light slumber.
The quiet noises of nature permeated the cool air as I lay down on the grass, the sun’s warmth striking my backside. Scents of flowers greeted my senses, their flowers in full bloom within a gorgeous garden bearing a striking resemblance to the one I often frequented in the castle. In the distance, somepony spoke, although at this range it was impossible to discern what was being said.
Standing up, I stretched out as a small form came hurdling into the garden, a gleeful smile plastered on her face. At first I thought it to be Dream, but then I remembered that she had long since grown up and was currently staying with her parents at the castle in the Everfree Forest. Twilight and Luna had rebuilt it while pursuing knowledge from the past, after all, and from there it was a short step to simply renovate it.
The filly nearly crashed into me, flaring her wings at the last moment. I felt her short hooves wrap themselves around my neck in a hug, trapping a few strands of my flowing mane against my coat. She squealed as I moved a forehoof to return the hug, a wide smile on my face as she squealed.
“Mommy, Mommy, guess what?!” she exclaimed, her voice partially muffled from her face being buried in my fur. Without even giving me a chance to reply, she continued on, the words rapidly pouring from her mouth. “Aunt Twilight and Aunt Luna are coming today! Not only that, but I heard they have a present for me!”
“Love, anytime they visit they bring you a present, you know that.” Chuckling, I let go of my daughter. She dropped to the ground and began bouncing in place, glee emanating from her. “That’s what aunts do, you know. They bring you gifts all the time and spoil you so that I’ve got to be the mean mommy. After all, cake more than three times a week is just too much!”
My daughter began rapidly shaking her head back and forth even as she continued to bounce. I swore that I could almost see Pinkie Pie in her, amazing what habits could be picked up after having the hyperactive pink bundle looking after her twice. “Nuh uh, cake is good! It should be eaten every single day!”
I laughed, picking her up mid-bounce in both of my hooves, swinging her up onto my back. She valiantly attempted to fight off the face-full of mane she received, sending me further into mirth as I waited to catch her in case she fell off. It took a few moments, but I felt a pair of hooves wrap themselves around the top of my neck as her head poked out of the flowing mass. “As nice as it is, you know you can’t have it every day, silly filly.” I playfully bantered with my daughter as I glanced up at the sun, gauging the time. “Oh my, it’s a lot later than I thought… Princess,” I started, addressing her, “would you like to sit in on my court today? You can finally see what exactly Mommy does for work.”
I heard her hooves clap together a few times as she bounced slightly on her hind hooves. “Really, Mom? Can you tell me what you do again, too?” she pleaded, and I could just imagine those twin orbs of hers growing to unimaginable proportions as she nearly begged.
“Of course, you only need to ask you know,” I began, nearing the arch to leave the garden, “I deal with…”
A nudging at my side slowly brought me out of my brief nap, causing me to yawn as I slowly looked for the culprit. “Hey, sis, they want you to tell them a story again!” Dream’s voice filled my ears as I rapidly blinked to clear my sight. “Plus, if you do it, it means we can stay a bit longer!” Her gaze fell towards the ground slightly. “Otherwise, Matron will have them all take a nap, and that’s no fun!”
Standing up, I attempted to recollect what I had daydreamed about and nudged Dream slightly with my head. “Sure, why not. I’m certain I can think of a story to tell them that I haven’t told you yet, too. Go on inside, I’ll be there in a minute.” Her eyes lit up, and she took off inside. I slowly stretched my partially numb legs while attempting to remember the dream. It felt important for some reason, but the details completely eluded me. Eventually the feeling returned to all of my limbs, and I just shrugged and headed inside.
The first time I had been asked to tell the children a story, I had been slightly hesitant to say the least. Kids of any age had a hard time focusing, and I was pretty bad at telling stories, or at least I thought so. However, once I saw the room they used for it, I caved in an instant. There were an insane number of pillows strewn about the room, and off to one side a shelf contained an equally impressive number of sheets. The first story I tried telling was somewhat of a disaster, but it was negated by the time spent building pillow forts and having a blast. Matron had only stepped in once we began a pillow fight.
Stepping into the room, Breeze caught my attention while the kids were wrapped up in getting comfortable. “Hey, just letting you know that Prince Armor decided to head back to the castle. I think Princess Cadance is supposed to be here within an hour or so, I figure we won’t see either of them for a few days.” Breeze bumped me in the side jokingly, a large smile on his face. “Anyways, knock ‘em out, I have a feeling Matron is hoping you’ll put them all to sleep for her.”
Chuckling, I just gently shook my head, a mirthful smile crossing my face. “I’ll just completely ignore that innuendo about Shining you said, I’d rather not think about that. In the meantime though, I think I’ve got a good story to tell them all, and it might keep them all nice and awake this time.” Grinning, I nudged Breeze with my shoulder as I walked towards the front of the room.
“Hey everypony, are you all ready?” I asked, inwardly laughing as everypony and everything completely stopped with the sole exception of a pillow that was precariously balanced atop a quite impressive stack of pillows. A resounding yes filled my ears, and I concentrated on plucking the pillow and a few others to the carpet in front of me. Once I was satisfied with the pile, I plopped myself down on it, facing all of the kids who had moved very, very close.
I smiled before launching into my tale. “Once upon a time, there was a small family that lived near the Everfree Forest. The father was a strong earth pony who ventured into the woods to cut down the massive trees that grew within so that he could sell the wood to support his two children…” Oh crap, umm… no time to make up names, I’ll just go with what I know. “Hansel, and his sister Gretel. Now, the life of a woodspony was not an easy one, but the three of them were happy together.”
All of the children looked on in rapt fascination, seemingly hanging off my every word even though I had just begun. I suppressed the desire to laugh at the sight, and continued on, allowing myself to be absorbed in the story as well.
Hansel’s father left early every morning to go into the woods so that he could return home as soon as possible. At first, Hansel watched his dad leave, his wide eyes watching his father’s retreating form through the small window in the bedroom. One morning, however, Hansel woke up before his father left, running to his side.
“Father, can Gretel and me come into the woods with you today?” he pleaded, presenting his dad with the best pout he had ever managed. His father’s eyes filled with sadness as he slowly shook his head.
“My son, I am sorry, but it is not safe for you or your sister. I cannot cut wood and ensure your safety at the same time; otherwise I would be overjoyed to bring you both along.” He placed a hoof on Hansel’s shoulder, a sad smile on his face. “In a few years, perhaps you two will be old enough to come with me. Until then, please stay here and make sure your sister stays safe for me, my son.”
Gretel left her room that morning in time to see her father leave out the door as he always did, her brother sitting on the floor. “Hansel, I have an idea,” she said, an idea in her mind. “Let’s go down to the river today and gather as many of the stones as we can carry back.”
“But why do they want rocks?” I paused, looking around the room. Everyone was looking at Boulder, who just shrugged in return. Laughing, I reached out and lightly bopped him on the nose with my hoof.
Everypony laughed while Boulder rubbed at his nose, and I just smiled at him. “You have to be patient; I promise you that you’ll find out exactly what they need it for. I think you’ll like it, too.” Letting them quiet down, I went back to my narration.
Hansel and Gretel returned to their house, two baskets filled to the brim with stones of all shapes and sizes. They were all a bright grey color, something easily seen against the grass in the forest. “I also want to follow Father, Hansel,” Gretel eagerly spoke, a beaming smile on her face as she felt pride with her idea. “We just need to drop these rocks behind us as we follow him, and then we can get back home before he does! Father will never know we were there, and we can finally go into the forest together.”
They moved the heavy baskets of rocks to their room, hiding them underneath their beds. The rest of the day was spent eagerly waiting for it to end so that they could follow their father the next morning. Even with their anticipation, their father did not catch on to what they had planned.
The next morning, Hansel and Gretel quietly watched their father leave their small house, the wooden door closing behind him. “Quickly, Gretel, we can’t let father get too far ahead of us!” Hansel bugged his sister, who stuck her tongue out in reply.
“What are you talking about, I’m ready to go now!” she shot back, grinning. “We just can’t be too close, or else father will make us come back home. That wouldn’t be any fun!” Hansel sighed, knowing that his sister was right. He impatiently paced around in the small room while Gretel laughed at him. “Okay, we should be good now!”
Together, they left the house, quietly closing the door behind them. In the far distance they saw their dad slip into the forest, his large axe strapped to his back. When they got to the tree line, Hansel paused, pulling out the first stone he could grab from the basket. “Okay, Gretel, let’s go!”
They followed the steps of their father through the woods, dropping a stone every few steps. The grey rocks stood out against the browns and greens of the forest floor, ensuring that Hansel and Gretel could find their way back home. For an hour they followed the faint hoof prints in the damp ground, until they came to a patch of stone.
“Uh… what now, Gretel?” Hansel asked as he looked around, uncertain of which direction their father had gone. He was unable to see his father, and they were running low on rocks. Gretel walked ahead of him and looked around, deep in thought.
“I think we need to go…”
A pillow smacked into my face, disrupting my focus on the story. I looked around for the culprit and noticed Dream with a pillow in hoof taking a swing at one of the fillies. In a matter of seconds pillows were flying about the room in huge numbers, and I had to duck to avoid a wildly thrown pillow.
Glancing through the fluffy onslaught, I noticed a distinct lack of Matron and Breeze. Grinning wildly, I grabbed the pillows that I had been resting on came up with one in each hoof. Dream was close by, and making sure to not put too much strength behind it, I swung it in her direction.
Dream’s reaction to the surprise attack was priceless. She staggered and dropped her ammunition, then turned and looked towards me in surprise. “Sis, you…” she stuttered, going slightly red in the face. Of course, what happened next I only had to blame myself for. “Everypony, its gang up on my sister time!” she squealed, bringing a shower of projectiles in my direction.
Laughing even as I was being pelted, I sank to the floor and lay in wait while I was partially buried underneath the onslaught of fluffy devastation. I waited for them to stop and approach, grinning all the while. When they came close enough, I stood up, pillows flying off my body in every direction, getting a nice group of the kids.
“Ah ha, I shall have my revenge!” Chasing after Dream, who had seemingly started the entire thing, I cornered her and mercilessly began tickling her sides. Some of the kids began attempting to tickle me in return, but I simply refocused my attention on them, a manic grin on my face. “I will get you all for attacking the Great and Wonderful Princess!”
A rather loud clearing of a pony’s throat brought our focus towards the doorway, where Matron stood. She was attempting to look stern, but the mirth in her face betrayed her, and I just waved and laughed at her. “Well, I see that the story went well,” she began, looking around the room, “but I’m afraid it’s time to end it for today.”
I carefully stood up, helping some of the kids up too. “Everypony, I suppose that I have to go now.” They all began pouting in less than a heartbeat’s span, although it had no effect on me. “Sorry, but it just means that you get to hear the other half of the story when I visit again, okay?” I turned towards Matron, noticing the beaming smile on her face, and addressed her. “Just give me a minute to say goodbye, okay? Feel free to grab Breeze from wherever he’s hiding if you’d like to.”
Turning back towards the kids who were now huddled around me, I gave each and every one a quick nuzzle, having thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with them all. “Now, everypony, make sure to behave while I’m gone. I should be back in a week or so, okay?” I gave one last wave before walking out the room, leaving Dream alone to say her own goodbyes.
As I walked closer to the office where Breeze had stashed his armor, I overheard part of a conversation as I approached, the door into the room open.
“—it’s rather obvious though, don’t you think?” Breeze’s voice drifted towards my ears, gaining in volume as I came closer.
“Yes, of course it is. However, remember that it’s only part of it. Just remember that telling won’t help at all, it might even hinder things.” Matron’s voice replied, carrying over the sounds of Breeze’s armor moving around.
“Hey, where are you all at?” I called out, pretending that I had not heard whatever it was they had been discussing. I figured that whatever the topic was, it was between Matron and Breeze, and at the moment I was not too concerned about prying.
“We’re in here, Princess. Just getting this armor back on.” A particularly loud ringing sound filled the air, a curse shortly following it as Breeze seemingly dropped a piece of it. Chuckling, I walked into the room, sticking my tongue out at him as I entered. “Matron, just waiting on Dream. Gave her a chance to say bye to her friends and stuff.” She moved forward and wrapped me in a motherly hug. “Thanks for having me as always, Matron. It’s a pleasant break from the rest of things.”
Matron responded by gently patting my shoulder, her hooves still firmly around me. “Anytime. As you know, me and the kids will be here anytime you need to stop by.” She unwrapped her hooves and took a step back, her ears flickering towards the hall. “It sounds like Dream is about to be here, I’ll go ahead and take control of this kids and get them moving with the rest of their day.” Matron laughed, a hearty, healthy sound. “The hardest part of the day… lessons!”
The three of us laughed as Dream dashed into the room, the corners of her mouth slightly turned down into a small frown. “Okay, Sis, I’m ready to go now.” I lowered myself a little and let her climb up onto my back and motioned with my head towards the door.
“Okay, let’s head home, still plenty of hours left in the day. Come on, Breeze, lead the way.” I followed him through the narrow hall and back outside, until he stopped on the edge of the street. I nudged him quickly to get his attention and he turned around. Before he could ask me anything, I smacked him in the back of the head with a hoof, the connection making his metal helmet ring like a muted cymbal.
“For the love of everything that is good, Breeze, don’t you ever give Matron any idea that we should be together, okay? The last thing I want to do is to find out she’s scheming something to hook us up… and she’d do it, too.” With that said, I took off into the sky, leaving a dumbfounded guard behind me, and Dream’s squeals of glee filling the air.
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YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
.....My hunger has been sated.....for now.....
Many D'aaaws were had.
This chapter earned my thumbs-up!
4292096 This chapter was amazing, and has sated my hunger for cuteness and adorableness. Also poor Breeze xD, though I doubt this will be the last we see him trying to win Aurora over :P
Well, that story was about to go pretty dark there.
Did Aurora even know where she was going with it?
Edit: Also, foreshadowing, foreshadowing... is somewhere...
Nice
Really good chapter, he is so good with the kids. Brings up an interesting conundrum on if he wants to have a kid. I wonder if he still likes females or not, odd situation.
Guessing Auroa's cutie mark will be Oingo Boingo related then, based off what I think I read between the lines.
Really enjoyed that chapter! Been a while since I read something so cute and cuddly!
FEEEEEEEDDDDDD UUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
please?
On an unrelated note, Good job. Can't wait for more.
Very bite chapter. I liked the interaction between the adults and foals. Aurora would make an awesome mom.
MOOOOOOAAAAAR
pretty please
thanks for the update!!
Aunt Luna and Aunt Twilight? Why do I have the feeling that you are going to ship Aurora and Celestia togther. That or Breeze is actually going to be the father....
I am sticking with Celestia.
D'awwww cute chapter.
4293723
4293725
4293726
triple play
4295555
Internet was shit and did this. Blame the interwebs
4295745 I know my friend
4293726 first I loved this chapter it was all so cute I loved it all
.I thought I was going to explode from it all
. I think it should be both that would be so awesome beyond awesome if t has that happens I will just
.... Did 'Rory just give Breeze a good, 'ole fashioned, 'MMRCAN-born DiNozzo'ing/Gibbslab?
Definition of being 'DiNozzoed'
Definition of performing a 'Gibbslap'
DiNozzo's First DiNozzoing
Sounded like Matron and Breeze were talking about Rorys Cute Mark. My bet is children related.
Ugh, so much unexplained backstory!
4302819
which part(s) in particular?
4292331
I like to think that there's a bag of bricks in this chapter made for throwing with foreshadowing strapped onto them. I was about 3,000 words in when I realized just how much I'd put in, so I decided to just go all-in.
4292096 4292174 4292250 4292604 4292691 4293090 4293437 4293496 4293498 4293714 4293912
Glad y'all liked it. This chapter turned out to be a blast to write, once I got past the hiccups.
4292253
I think that Breeze is here to stick around. He was somewhat of a last minute addition, but I think he has a great future ahead of him now.
4292331
She was probably frantically figuring out how to avoid cooking a 'witch' I think. Who knows though? (In all honesty, I got tired of writing the story, so thus the pillow fight was born. Way, way more fun to write that.)
4293007
Kids... hmm, the possibilities there... Time will tell.
4293060
Oingo Boingo? That slang for sex?
4293726
I was really thinking the whole living in the castle bit. Figure related or not, they'd end up as one giant family. But, just how much of that daydream can one really read into, that is the question...
4296579
And another comment about kids... Time shall tell! I have plans, but I cannot share them with anyone!
4297936
Eeyup.
4298313
You shall see... Still uncertain exactly when I'll reveal her mark, but time will tell.
4302932 Nope, the dude who wrote the pedophilia song, Little Girls.
in truth it's apparently not about pedophilia, but rather a fetish for girls who may or may not suffer dwarfism, but which makes a better story?
4302967
You know I'm even more lost than before, right? Although, I'm going to extrapolate you now mean kid-related. That's kind of a weird thing to reference for it though.
4302981 I was trying to say my bet is her cutie mark is related to childcare of some sort, apparently it didn't come across that well.
4293726 I had the same thought, given their heart to heart or whatever you call it.
4302867 Aurora's relationship with Breeze. Obviously, they've known each other for a few months, but the approach in this story feels like "Ignorant, foolish reader! You should already know what happened in those six months!"
An idea for an improvement would be a bit more explanation on who Breeze is and what his relationship with Aurora is when he's first introduced in Chapter 1.
Just my input, take it or leave it. I'll still be reading this story either way!
4302932 I know but still I can't wait until you do.But I can be patient and wait but it will just be default.
4303019
Ah, yes. Literally a last minute addition, otherwise I probably would have had the foresight to at least make mention of him before the prior chapter in a mere few paragraphs. I'll probably fill in backstory moving forward as needed to flesh his character out a bit more. I'm not a big one for doing content-type editing of prior chapters.
These?
Alright chapter, felt like there was some mild word repetition in places but nothing to really worry about.
4302932 ....... Sweeeeeeeeeeet....
More, More, More
I love this story so much!
This is turning into a great story already!
That dream sequence opens so many opportunities to develop the story... made me cry, almost.
4415663 brilliant
please hurry with the next chapter
I I think her cutie mark should be something about children
i.imgur.com/jD8auXE.jpg
I know this was previously posted, but I felt like adding a filter to it to spice things up!
Did you see the iceberg that sank that ship before it left port?
Gotta be honest, I actually cringed when they made that joke against her but the chapter ending shot down my worries, for now.
On a side note, Gibbs would be proud.
moar!!!
more soon please
I love this story
moar!
Um, I mean, that is, if you don't mind... please?
edit as of the next chapter coming out: after I saw the most recent update, it took me a mere one second to click the link to the story.