> Desperate Measures
>  by Kiernan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter the First: New Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the door swung open, the quartet walked into the silent house. Immediately, one of them broke off from the group, a chestnut donkey colt almost fourteen years of age. He moved swiftly and silently across the room and into the adjacent hallway, from which a door slammed moments later.

This drew the ire of another Donkey, who scowled at the archway leading into the hall. He was clearly the oldest, being the biggest by far, and the only adult in the building. He was mostly black, with a hoofful of grey blotches all over his body, particularly in his short mane. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he remembered his company.

He moved his hoof and allowed his daughter to pass. She was mostly white with red freckles across her face and back. She walked across the room and hopped up into an armchair, curling up any lying down. She'd had a long day; they all had, but being only twelve, she could be forgiven for finding it exhausting. 

Last, but certainly not least, the youngest entered, a gryphon just a few months younger than the donkey filly. She was black from the chest forward and white going back, with the exception of her face, which had a few slate grey feathers around her dark brown eyes. She carried with her a large carboard box full of stuff.

"Just set your stuff down in the living room, sweetie," the donkey stallion said, hoisting up two larger boxes. "We can start unpacking and going over everything tomorrow when you come home from school, okay?"

The gryphon nodded, then set down her box on the coffee table. She pulled out a photograph, then curled up with it on the couch, holding it close to her chest.

"Do you want to sleep out here tonight, or would you rather go to Jenny's room?"

"She can stay in my room?" asked the filly in the armchair.

"If it would make her more comfortable, sure."

The gryphon just mumbled something softly into the throw pillow.

"What's that, dear?" asked the older donkey, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Speak up, honey."

"I don't want to move... can I just stay here, Mr. A?"

"Of course, dear," he smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek. "And you can just call me Jack, now..."

With a soft pat on her shoulder, he turned and moved into the kitchen, setting down the boxes and fumbling about with everything he'd carried in.

Jenny moved over from the armchair to the couch, placing her ivory hoof on the gryphon's black claw and gripping it tightly. "Guinevere, are you going to be okay?"

Guin shook her head. "It's never going to be okay," she sobbed. "Never again! There's nothing we can do!"

"We can do something," suggested Jenny. "There's always something we can do. Look on the bright side."

"What bright side?!" shouted Guin through a faceful of tears. "My gran is dead! They took my house, they took half of my stuff, and no one else in my family even bothered to show up for the funeral!" She slammed her face into the pillow, crying out all the tears she'd been holding back through this whole ordeal.

"You have us," offered Jenny. "My dad cared enough to lie to all of those guards just so you didn't have to go to an orphanage. And now, my best friend is part of my family! That's a good thing, right? Isn't it nice that you're now living with your best friend?"

Guin sniffed and shrugged. That certainly was a good thing, especially considering the alternatives. If given the choice between living in a state-run orphanage, jumping from foster care to foster care every few months just hoping to end up being adopted, going back to live with her abusive drug addict of a mother or living three blocks away with her best friend's family, this was the best she could have asked for. 

Still, it wouldn't solve all of her problems. her grandmother was still dead. She'd still gone home last week, right after school to see the only member of her family with enough kindness to take her in lying on the floor, cold and unmoving. There was nothing that could change that. The bank had already claimed the house, and was about to take it and everything in it, had Jack not come in and demanded that they release his fiancé. 

And therein lay the problem. In order to keep any of her belongings, she had to have an adult caretaker, and with the paperwork required to adopt her, it was just a lot easier and faster to claim that they were considering marriage, and to "expedite" the ceremony.

She really didn't like that she was married now. Jack was a good stallion, especially since he really didn't have any obligation to help her out, but she'd never thought of him romantically. She'd not really thought of any stallion romantically. She'd had a crush on a zebra colt in her class, but he'd burned that bridge when he'd made fun of Jenny's name.

With two clacks, Jack placed two plates on the coffee table, then retreated back to the kitchen. Each plate had an egg salad sandwich, sliced in half diagonally, spread open and filled with a stack of barbecue-flavoured potato chips. A moment later, he returned with two tall glasses of pink lemonade.

"Thank you, sir," sniffled Guin, not reaching for her plate. Her stomach was turning and reeling as she considered the situation, so having anything inside of it seemed a bad idea.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. And you don't have to call me "sir.""

As Jenny started in on her sandwich, Jack left the room with another plate and glass, taking it to the colt that had rushed off to his own room earlier.

"You really should eat something," suggested Jenny. "You haven't had anything all day, have you?"

Guin looked at the sandwich. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch, yesterday. She'd just been in too bad of a mood. "I don't feel like eating. My tummy hurts..."

"Come on... Half a sandwich?"

Guin groaned and curled up even tighter. 

"Half of half a sandwich?"

"I don't know..."

Jenny grabbed the sandwich. "Just one bite. Just one."

Guin tentatively took the sandwich and bit into it. As she chewed it up, she placed the sandwich back on the plate, and as she swallowed it, she did feel a little better. She didn't want to admit it, though...
> Chapter the Second: The Morning After
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guinevere didn't dream at all. She had expected a nightmare after the last few nights had been so vivid, but she had gone most of the night in utter darkness. She had awoken in the middle of the night and finished her sandwich and chips, but most of the night, she slept restlessly.

Now that it was morning, and the sun was just barely peeking over the trees, she climbed off the couch and made her way to the kitchen. Five dirty plates and four glasses sat on the countertop, as well as a spoon and four forks from yesterday's breakfast. Her grandmother had always done the dishes in her house and had breakfast ready for her. When she was over here spending the night, Jack was usually on top of dishes, but yesterday had been a difficult situation.

She took a deep breath and sat down in one of the chairs, holding her head in her claws. She was married now. She was a wife and a mother, with two kids that she was legally required to care for. She was required by law to make sure their home, her new home, was happy and healthy. She didn't want to be arrested for neglect, but she had no idea how to do any of this.

She moved over to the sink and grabbed the sponge, put a dollop of liquid soap on it, and scrubbed a single plate before realizing that most of the dishes weren't in the sink. Her own, as well as Jenny's, were still in the living room on the coffee table.

She turned off the water and returned to the couch. Jenny had slept next to her all night long. She seemed so innocent, as if she didn't have a care in the world. In some ways, Guin wished that Jenny could feel the pain she had, so that she wouldn't have to suffer alone anymore. But she didn't really mean for that. Jenny had never felt that kind of pain, because she'd never known her biological mother. Guin didn't want to make her feel that suffering, but she also didn't want to suffer alone.

Pulling the blanket up over her shoulders, she planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She didn't know why she did it, as she never had before, but it was allegedly something mothers did for their kids, and she didn't want to be a bad mother.

After moving the dishes to the sink, she knew that there was still a plate and two glasses unaccounted for, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out where they were. Into the hallway, she found four doors. One of them, she knew very well, as it was Jenny's room. Guin had been over here to see Jenny often enough that her steps almost forced her to gravitate toward that door, but that wasn't her goal. 

She stepped up to a door with yellow tape all over it, with "Caution! Keep out!" printed on it. Her new son, the donkey colt, slept here. She knocked lightly on the door, loud enough that he could hear her if he were awake, but not loud enough to wake him.

When no response came, she pushed open the door. "Kurt?"

The room was surprisingly clean. She would have expected a mess, as he was a teenage boy who'd been without a mother for a decade, but everything was picked up and put away, with a few exceptions. Granted, it looked like he hadn't swept the floor in months, and a thin layer of dust covered some things he hadn't messed with in awhile, but all of his clothes were either put away or in a hamper, the desk in the corner looked clean with the exception of last night's dishes, and the messiest thing in the room was his bed, which he was sleeping in. Half of the bed things had been unceremoniously kicked to the foot of the bed in a big pile.

She grabbed the dishes and left the room, closing the door silently so as not to wake him. After taking those to the sink, one glass remained, and that was Jack's. She knew that dishes didn't generally go into bedrooms, so she was certain that this was a rare occurrence, at best. 

After softly knocking, she heard a loud snore, and she knew he was sound asleep. She walked in as quietly as possible, trying to keep it that way.

She'd never been in here before. She'd never been in Kurt's room, either, but this room always felt very off limits. This was an adult's bedroom, and it didn't look anything like a kid's bedroom. This was very rustic, with wood-paneled walls and a worn brown carpet. He had a faux fur blanket, though rather than the soft and fluffy fur most fillies had on their blankets, this was thick and wirey, meant to simulate that of a real animal, rather than a fantasy beast. It matched his own coat, and that made her feel uneasy.

He was lying on top of it, snoring loudly. She'd never seen anypony splayed out like this. He was mostly on his back, with his left hoof under his pillow and his right draped over his stomach. His back legs were splayed wide open, and two large round objects, like eggs, were hanging in a small leathery pouch growing out of his skin. She'd never seen anything like them, but she didn't have anything like that. Maybe it was just adults? Maybe it was just boys? Maybe it was just donkeys? 

A part of her wanted to wake him up and ask about them, but she was already unsure if she should even be in here. She'd been married for less than a week, and she didn't know if it was okay for a wife to see her husband like this. She didn't even know if she was allowed in here.

She found the glass and took it back to the kitchen, and started washing the dishes as best she knew how. She usually went to go make sure her homework was in her bag when her grandmother was washing dishes, as gran had always told her that she needed to further her education and be more than a warm, wet hole for some dealer. Guin didn't know what that meant, but she'd always wanted to make her gran proud. She had to at least try to be a good wife and mother.
> Chapter the Third: Back to School
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast was a rush. Everyone except Guin had slept in, as yesterday had been a big to-do. Between all of them, however, they managed to put together a quick breakfast and were out the door within twenty minutes of waking up. One of the big drawbacks to this rush, however, is that no one had any lunch.

The walk to school was almost normal. There were instances where Guin had stayed at Jenny's house overnight and had taken this exact route to school, but she was used to meeting up with Jenny and Kurt two blocks in and walking together. They were only a few blocks apart to begin with, and where they met up was almost a straight shot to the school.

Guin almost felt a bit lighter as she walked. Having this normalcy to latch onto was wonderful. She certainly couldn't forget her troubles just yet, but there was a glimmer of hope that some things were still the same. Perhaps her entire life wasn't upended, but there was still a lot she would have to grow accustomed to.

"Did you do your homework?" asked Jenny. It was more an excuse to break the silence than anything else.

"No. I didn't have the time," answered Guin. "I spent all of yesterday at the funeral."

"Half of yesterday," corrected Kurt. "I don't know why they didn't give you any leave for that. Really fucked up that you couldn't at least take a day off of school."

"Hey! Watch your language," urged Guin. "You're going to give us all detention if we're caught using those words."

"Good," scoffed Kurt. "Maybe we'll actually have time to finish our homework."

"You didn't, either?"

"I was at the same funeral you were. When would I have time to do my math worksheet?"

"He has a point," suggested Jenny. "Even with how messed up it is that you can't even take a day off of school to attend your grandmother's funeral. Seriously, how did that happen?"

Guin shrugged. "When I went to see Miss Abalone about it, she said I needed the permission of my legal guardian, and we haven't made it around to the point where that's your dad, yet. It's still my gran, legally speaking."

"And we can't change it until Saturday," concluded Kurt. "Dad works during the day, and he can't go down to the school during normal hours through the weekdays. He already had to take a personal day just to make the funeral, and another one to be able to do wedding. It's fucked up, but that's the way it is."

"And that's a detention, Mr. Ass." They all turned around to see Jenny and Guin's teacher and Kurt's former teacher, Miss Abalone. She was very stern and strict. "All of you need to hurry to your classrooms. You don't want to be late."





To Guin's relief, school passed by just like any normal day. It was upsetting that there was nothing to eat for lunch, either for herself or for Kurt and Jenny, but having no lunch was better than the first two days on her own. A peanut butter and anchovy sandwich that had been mashed into her brown paper bag by an unopened can of ravioli that she had forgotten to bring an opener for was always a bad choice. Not having anything to eat was better than having food that you couldn't eat because it had gone terribly. At least now, she wasn't being teased by the food, just her classmates for not having anyone who cared about her enough to send a meal. Even Miss Abalone chastised her indirectly, saying that Kurt and Jenny should have their father or their new mother prepare food for them.

At the end of the day, Miss Abalone asked Guin to stay behind, sending Jenny home with a note telling her father where Kurt was. Guin did as she was asked, as there was a saying among the students. "When Miss Abalone asks you for something, she's not asking." Not wanting to earn herself the extra detention time, she stayed in her seat until the room emptied, and then for several minutes after that as Miss Abalone recorded a few things in her notes. 

Finally, she looked up. "How was the wedding?"

"Fine, I guess," shrugged Guin.

"Good." She put down her pen and adjusted her glasses. "You are aware that every Monday and Friday, there is a meeting here at the school that houses the upper echelons of parents, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," swallowed Guin. 

She'd known about them for awhile now, and had asked her gran why she hadn't gone. "Because I'm not about to let some stuck-up rich cunt tell me that I'm a bad parent because my triple berry pie has the wrong ratio of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Oh, and don't tell them I called them all cunts. That's another one of those "bad words" I told you about."

"It is the duty of a mother to ensure that her children are taken care of," continued Miss Abalone. "I noticed today that neither your son nor your daughter were supplied with anything to eat."

"Well, their dad had prepared some egg salad, but we kind of had that for dinner last night..."

"I'm not looking to hear any excuses," interrupted Miss Abalone. "It's your responsibility to feed your kids. You are obligated to do so, even as a step-parent. I've already signed you up."

"I don't know if I'm going to go, though..."

Miss Abalone took a deep breath and folded her hooves. "Do you not care about the well-being of your kids?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean... I do care, I just... Do I have to attend the meetings? My gran never did, and she took good care of me."

"It is not necessary for you to attend the meetings, no... However, these are the best mothers in the school. Their children are all in the top of their classes. If you want your kids to have a good mother, I suggest that you learn how to be one, and these ladies are very clearly doing something right."

Guin slowly nodded. "I'll try to remember to go. I'm already signed up, after all."

"That's the spirit. Now, let's talk about your son's swearing problem. What have you done at home to counteract this problem?"
> Chapter the Fourth: Maternal Rejection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a short but uncomfortable conversation about whether or not Guin should spank Kurt, she went to the detention hall to pick him up. She couldn't count as her own caretaker yet, but it was surprisingly exceptionally easy to have the school release Kurt, a student in the eighth year of school, into the care of Guin, a student in her sixth year. 

They walked home together, mostly in silence, as Kurt seemed to be holding himself in a defensive stance and was fuming. Guin knew better than to try and talk to him when he was like this, but as they came to the corner, she felt that she had to. 

"Kurt?"

"What?" he growled through clenched teeth.

"Are you mad?"

"What fuckin' gave it away, genius?"

Guin fell back a step.

Kurt let out a huff, then turned around. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I know it's not your fault, and I know you didn't mean to make me angry, and I know you're trying to do the right thing now, but you're just making me even angrier. I'm not in the mood to discuss it right now. Can we talk about this after I've calmed down?"

Guin nodded. "Can we talk about something else, though? This silence is really uncomfortable."

Kurt brought a hoof up to his forehead and rubbed his temple. "If it'll make you feel better, you can talk. But if I tell you to stop, stop. Okay?"

"Deal."

They resumed walking, and for a few seconds, Guin was silent. She had a lot of thoughts going on in her head, the greatest of which was figuring out why he was mad at her. She didn't want him to be angry with her, especially since they would be living together for awhile.

Eventually, though, she found a topic of discussion she wanted to know the most about. "So, I was invited to join the Mothers Overtaking Maternal Structures meeting, a--"

"Stop," commanded Kurt, turning around. "You can't be serious..."

"No, I was signed up for it this morning."

"Why in Equestria would you want to sign up for that?!"

"I didn't sign up for it! I was signed up for it! I didn't ask to be there, I was told that I have to be there!"

"Well, you can't go!"

"I don't have a choice right now..."

Kurt shook his head. "Fucking hell..."

Guin paused for a moment. "Why shouldn't I go?"

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah. I've never been; I don't know what they're like. And my Gran never went because she said they were all bad ponies."

For the first time in a week, Kurt cracked a smile. "That's... Your gran was a smart ol' bird. Listen to your gran, she knew better."

"But--"

"No buts. Don't go to the meeting. They're all cunts."

"Watch your language, kid." They turned to see a rather spindly unicorn wearing taped-together glasses and a tie checking a clipboard. "Do you know the family that lives here?"

"Who wants to know?" sneered Kurt.

"I do," said the unicorn, holding up a laminated ID badge with a poor picture of himself on it. "My name is Red Tape, and I'm here with the Equestrian Board of Familial Welfare. I'm here to investigate the owner of this property, a Mr. Jack Ass."

"He's not home," growled Kurt. "He won't be for a few hours. And his kids are fine. We have no need of your services, and you can see yourself out."

"You must be Curtis," huffed Red, flipping a page. 

"No. Just Kurt."

"Yes, that's short for Curtis."

"No. It isn't. It's just Kurt."

"Which means," Red pointed at Guin, "you must be Genevieve."

"That's not my name," answered Guinevere. "Jenny's name isn't even Genevieve, and that's way closer than my name."

"We know what our names are," concluded Kurt, "and since you're looking for a Curtis and a Genevieve, you're obviously at the wrong address, and you must be investigating another Jack Ass. You have the wrong address, sir, please leave my lawn."

Red snorted at them. "Well, that was rude! I'll have to come back and have your home investigated."

"Yeah, good luck with that. Off my lawn, or I'll call the neighborhood watch."

At the mere mention of the neighborhood watch, several windows flew open and some heads poked out, ready to step in if things turned ugly. Not being particularly strong, Red suddenly felt threatened, and closed his clipboard. He would have to come back with some muscle.

As he walked off, Kurt snorted at him and walked into the house. Jenny immediately came running up to him in shock.

"Did you sneak out of detention again? Dad's going to be so pissed!"

"I didn't sneak out," he spat back. "Just drop it."

"But, how are you here if dad didn't go sign you out?"

"Drop it!" he said again. "And don't let that fucking unicorn come in unless he comes back with a warrant!"

"What unicorn?" asked Jenny.

"Oh, there was a unicorn outside trying to find someone, and he thought we were them," explained Guin. "Don't worry, I'll be the one to answer the door tonight."

Jenny nodded, then moved over to Guin. "So, how did Kurt leave detention? I haven't even told dad that he was there, yet."

"Well," chuckled Guin, "technically, I'm authorised to take you and your brother out of school. The same goes for detention."

Jenny's eyes went wide. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. I was kind of shocked about it, too, but apparently, it's totally legit."

"Why?"

"Well, according to the paperwork, it's because I'm your mother."

"NO YOU'RE FUCKING NOT!!" Kurt suddenly tossed a wooden pot holding some flowers across the room as he shrieked at her and stormed off, slamming his bedroom door hard enough to shake the whole house. 

Jenny and Guin stood completely still, having separated to avoid being hit with the wooden plant pot. For a while, neither of them said anything. Jenny had known about Kurt being angrier recently, but not why. She was sure that her dad didn't even know why, but now, she was certain.

"We should..." Guin swallowed hard. "We should pick this up..."

"Yeah," agreed Jenny. "You put it back where it's supposed to be, I'll go grab the vacuum cleaner. If we hurry, dad won't notice."
> Chapter the Fifth: Open Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the course of the next two hours, Guin and Jenny cleaned up the mess in the living room, repotted the plant, made sure there was lunch for tomorrow in the form of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and started their homework. They didn't make it particularly far by the time Jack had come home, and on seeing their progress, he was understandably cross until they explained to him what had happened. Except, they left out the part where the pot had been thrown across the room in an outburst. Now the story was that Guin really had to use the lavatory, and had rushed by the plant and knocked it over by accident. He couldn't be angry at them if it was an accident and they fixed it, right?

Well, actually, he could. But he wasn't. He did manage to deduce that it was a lie, based on where the mud stain was, but they'd cleaned it up, at the very least. With a nod, he went to see Kurt, and to hear a different story. And while Kurt did tell the truth, no retribution came to Guin or Jenny. 

Just as Jack was about to start making dinner, as he was halfway through washing his hooves, there was a knock at the door. He quickly rinsed and dried, then made his way to the front of the house. 

"Can I help you?"

A gryphon stood at the door, holding up a badge. "I have some things I felt the need to report to you," he said. "May I come in?"

"Of course, officer," said Jack, stepping aside. "What's this about?"

"A government snoop came by the office today. He wants you behind bars. Is Mrs. Genevieve here?"

"There's no one here by that name."

"Well, he also said your son's name was "Curtis," and that doesn't match our records, either. What's your wife's name?"

"Muriel," answered Jack. He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Wait, no... I forgot, I just remarried a few days ago. Guinevere." He leaned back and poked his head into the kitchen. "Guin, would you come out here, please?"

Guin set down her pencil and moved out into the living room, standing slightly behind Jack. 

The guard, who was only wearing his spaulders, closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course she is..."

"What's the problem?" asked Jack. "What am I being arrested for?"

"Right now? Nothing. I'm only here to warn you. I know you've had some issues in the past regarding neglect, and I'd like to think you've moved past that."

"I've been sober for nine years," answered Jack. "You know I've been out of trouble for a long time."

"Indeed." The gryphon sighed. "So, the charges suggest that you've been abusing a child in your care; that is, Mrs. Genevi-- I mean, Guinevere. Do you mind if I do a cursory examination?"

"I've not been abusing her," said Jack, stepping aside. "I also just arrived home half an hour ago."

The gryphon made quick work of the examination, determining no signs of bruising, only a few minor cuts that had mostly healed, and very few signs of neglected hygiene. "When's the last time you had a bath?" he asked.

"A few years ago," admitted Guin. 

"She showered a few days ago," corrected Jack. "We've been having trouble adjusting, but we're trying."

The gryphon nodded, then released Guin. "See that she has a shower tonight. Don't leave town."

"I work at the mill," scowled Jack. "I leave town daily."

"I'll take that into account. The fact of the matter is, he has to be able to prove abuse. Having a wife as young as yours is isn't going to be doing you a lot of favours, nor is your history. I doubt he'll bring your history into it, but just in case, I suggest you talk to your AA sponsor tomorrow instead of Monday. Have him drop by, and we'll have him testify as to your state, and hopefully, we can have this all dropped. But I have the feeling that he really wants to bring down the hammer as hard as he can, so be on your guard."

"We will."

The gryphon reached behind him and grabbed his helmet from his back. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"No."

"Alright." he slid his helm over his head. "Have a good night."





Dinner was quiet. Jack had made some kind of casserole, but Guin hadn't been focusing on what was in it. Her mind was reeling from the shock of everything that had happened today. Jack had mentioned before putting his plate in the sink that he needed a shower, as he'd been sweating a lot over the past few days, and Kurt was after him. Guin followed after, and Jenny stepped in just as she was finishing up. 

Once she was out of the shower, she noted how quiet the house was. She spent a lot of time with Jenny, but with Jenny in the shower, she was alone, and it was terrifying.

She walked up to Jack's door and rapped tentatively with her claw.

"Come in..."

She pushed the door open and stepped inside. "H-hi..."

"Hey, Guin," nodded Jack, turning his attention back to the closet. "Sorry about today. I know I said we'd start moving your stuff in, but there's just been... a lot."

"No, it's not... I understand, but..."

Jack turned to look at her, and seeing how nervous she was, sat down on the bed. "Come here," he urged, patting the mattress next to him.

Guin walked up and sat down, grabbing his hoof with her claw. 

"What's troubling you the most?"

"I don't know," she answered. "There's so much, all at once, and I don't know how to make any of it better..."

"I know, sweetie." He wrapped his hoof around her shoulder. "There's a lot that has to be done, and I don't know if I'd be able to handle it if I were in your shoes."

"But you're a grown-up," she sniffled. "You're supposed to be able to handle things..."

"I know. Do you want to know what I do when I'm overwhelmed?"

"What?"

He looked her right in the eye. For a moment, she felt warm inside, almost safe. Just looking into his eyes made her feel like her gran was still there, looking out for her.

"Just focus on one problem at a time. And if there's nothing you can do about that one problem at that time, move to the next. When you come to a place where you can't do anything else to solve your problems, you'll find that half of them have been solved, and you can start to relax."

With tears welling in her eyes, she pressed her forehead against his crest, weeping softly. "I'm sorry," she repeated, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," he said, rubbing her back. "Why don't you sleep in here, tonight? It's more comfortable than the couch, anyway..."
> Chapter the Sixth: Pillow Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin watched quietly as Jack continued his task, putting things away in his closet and looking through some documents in his safe. It wasn't the most interesting thing to watch, but there wasn't much else to do. It was also surprisingly cold in here, lending to her shivering. 

It was a few minutes before Jack noticed her shaking. "Are you cold?"

Guin shuffled her claws. "...a little..."

Jack shook his head. "You can be honest. You won't hurt my feelings."

Guin nodded. "It's freezing in here."

With a soft nod, Jack reached down to the foot of the bed and pulled up the faux fur blanket. As unsettling as it was when Guin looked at it, it was surprisingly warm, though exactly as coarse as she had imagined. It was comfortable, though.

"Can I ask you something, Mr. A?"

"You can call me Jack," he said, returning to his work. "And yeah, go ahead."

Guin curled up, knowing that this was going to hurt him to hear, but needing to know. "That guard, the one who came to the door... He said you had a history of neglect."

Jack stopped what he was doing. He looked hurt.

"Sorry. Forget I asked..."

"No," he sighed. "You have every right to ask. After all, I'm supposed to be taking care of you, and you want to feel safe. How can you feel safe, knowing that the jackass watching you has a history of neglect and public intoxication?"

He sat down on the bed again. "It was just after Jenny was born. While she was pregnant, Muriel had fallen ill. When she died two days after giving birth, I didn't know what to do with myself. I turned to the bottle to drown my sorrows and..." He shook his head. "The rest is a blur. When I came to my senses, I was in a courtroom. I had just been sentenced to four years in prison, and when I was told to say goodbye to my kids, I saw..."

He sniffed. A couple of tears were running down his face. Guin put a claw on his wrist. "You can stop, if you want."

He shook his head. "I saw Muriel's face looking back at me. But it wasn't her. It was Jenny. I begged the judge for one more chance, and he was willing to give it to me. Every day for the next five years, I had to take a sobriety test, I had to go to AA meetings and I had to have a royal guard checking my house once weekly. But in the end, I was given the opportunity to watch my kids grow up. I can't stress enough how important that is."

Guin pushed the covers aside and hugged Jack. To her shock, he was warmer than the blanket. "You're really warm..."

Jack smiled, wrapping a hoof around her. "Yeah, I tend to burn pretty hot. When we were finished for the night and going to bed, she used to say that it was her favourite thing about me; that I could keep her toasty and comfortable, even in the howling winds of a blizzard."

"What do you mean, "finished for the night?" You mean when you were going to bed?"

Jack had to backpedal a bit. "I'll tell you when you're a bit older. For now, don't worry about it."

Guin snuggled up tighter to him. "Okay. I think she was right, though. You're very comfortable..."





Guin was the first to wake up once again, or at least, she thought that she was. After their conversation, they'd gone to bed, with Guin going back under the blanket and Jack staying out in the open air with a fan blowing across his body to help him cool off. 

She didn't know why she was waking up now. Perhaps part of it was that Jack was snoring again. Perhaps part of it was due to the nightmare where she had stayed in the house, but the unicorn had taken Jenny and Kurt and Jack had turned back to drinking, leaving her alone and uncared for. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it was maybe a little too warm under this blanket.

She kicked it off and climbed out of bed, making her way out to the kitchen. The dishes were all clean, as Jack had scrubbed them all while she was in the shower. And of course, she and Jenny had already made lunch yesterday, so that was taken care of. It was time to try her claw at breakfast.

Guin had a favourite breakfast item, and that was a fried egg, over easy, on toast and cheese. But there were a few problems with that. First and foremost, they didn't have a toaster. Her gran had always insisted that she wouldn't need a toaster if she was more comfortable moving around, but the automation was appreciated. She could make toast in a pan, and used to do so when she was younger, but Guin had never paid any attention to how her Gran cooked. She always just guessed that she would have time to learn in the six years remaining until adulthood. 

Either way, she knew that toast could be made in a pan, and even if she didn't know how to make an egg, toast on its own was an okay thing to have for breakfast. She just had to figure out how to use the stove.

Luckily, Jack came out to help her when the fire alarm went off, and they all managed to have breakfast before they left for the day. Even though she'd burnt her way through half a loaf of bread, Jack had been very gentle with her, and had made her favourite breakfast for her, though she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd ruined his morning, even after the smoke had cleared.

"I'm not mad," he said, after sending Jenny and Kurt back to their rooms to prepare for school. "What you did was wrong, but I know you had good intentions."

Guin wiped her face. She'd barely made it through her sandwich. 

"I'll take some of the blame," he continued, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I should have been out here to help. I have some time this weekend; why don't I teach you a few things here in the kitchen, hm? I'm not going to make you do all the cooking and cleaning, but if you're going to try to do it, anyway, maybe it's for the best that you learn how to cook something safely."
> Chapter the Seventh: The Meeting of the M.O.M.S.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a special quality about Friday that every child was aware of. Friday was the last day of school for the whole week, until Monday rolled around to ruin it. Every student in class was waiting for that bell to ring. They'd have the whole afternoon, then all of Saturday off. Then they would spend all of Sunday doing their weekend homework.

While Jenny was looking forward to being let out like any other given Friday, Guin was worried about the meeting she would be attending. It took place almost immediately after school, with a good twenty minutes to set up. That meant exactly enough time to go home and come right back, if she were to run. If she walked, she could only just make it home, and if she flew, she'd be able to spend a bit more time at the house, but she refrained from flying when Jenny was around, as her best friend couldn't follow where she went.

As soon as the bell rang, the students all gathered together in groups and rushed out of the classroom. For the next two days, there would be no more pencils, no more books, and no more teachers' dirty looks. 

For most of them, anyway. While Jenny went for the door, Guin stayed at her desk. It was a solid thirty seconds before Jenny came back in. "What's wrong? I don't remember Miss Abalone telling you to stay after class today."

"I have the thing tonight."

Jenny's face scrunched up. "The parents' meeting, I forgot..."

"Kurt tried to talk me out of it." 

"I think he's right," whispered Jenny. "Do you have to go?"

"I was told I would learn ways to be a better caretaker for all of you if I went," answered Guin. "What if Miss Abalone is right?"

Jenny slowly nodded. "Can I come, too?"

"I... I don't know. I think it's just for parents. I think it's going to be weird being the only kid there. Having two would probably be more of a spectacle. No, I think I want to go in there alone; I'll try to just be a fly on the wall. But I'll tell you how it went when I come home tonight."

Jenny nodded, then hugged Guin. "I'll see you at dinner."

As Jenny left, Miss Abalone escorted Guin down the hall to the cafeteria, where the meeting would be held. Two other moms were already there, sitting at a table. Guin moved to the table next to them and sat down, far enough away to not disturb them, but close enough to listen. 

"Do you think that bitch is going to make anything good?" asked the first one, a unicorn. 

"What concern do you have in the food's design?" asked the second, a zebra. "You'll not even taste it after three glasses of wine."

"I'll abstain from drinking if the food is actually edible," scoffed the unicorn. "Half of these cocksleeves are all shit when it comes to cooking. I have no hope that the new member is going to make anything that doesn't taste like dog shit that's been covered in cat piss and served on a bed of vomit. And yet they all think they're special because they can make a storebought peach cobbler that you just pop in the oven for an hour, and they burn those half the time, anyway."

"Lower your voice when addressing your fears," snorted the zebra, pointing to Guin. "We are joined, at this moment, by childish ears."

The unicorn turned and looked at Guin, then pointed to the door. "Band practice is down the hall."

"I'm not here for band practice," answered Guin, looking to the door to see if Miss Abalone was still there. She wasn't.

"Detention is in another room, too. Away with you."

"I was told to come here. Isn't this the place for Moms something something Structures meeting?"

"Mothers Overtaking Maternal Structures," corrected the zebra. "We're only accepting parents at this juncture."

"Oh." Guin slid out of her chair. "Sorry, I was told to come here."

"By who?" asked the unicorn.

"By whom," corrected a new mare coming through the door with two more following her, all earth ponies. "Honestly, Vino, learn to speak Ponish. Who's the kid?"

"I'm Guin."

The mare smiled, but Guin could see something sinister in her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Guin. You may call me Mistress."

"Wait," sighed the unicorn, holding up her hoof. "You're Guin?"

"I am," answered Guin. "I just became a stepmother on Monday night."

"Great!" shouted Vino. "She's another fucking toddler!"

"Don't worry about her," waved the one calling herself Mistress. Guin was pretty sure that wasn't her real name, but didn't know what else to call her. "She's just mad because you're unlikely to bring any wine for her to drink. Did you bring wine?"

"I didn't," answered Guin. "I'm not old enough to buy it. Even then, I don't have a job, so I don't really have any money."

That wasn't entirely true. Jack had dealt with the bank, depositing everything her gran had into a savings account that Guin would be able to access as soon as she was eighteen. The bank had needed an adult related to her grandmother, and Jack had found the paperwork to make it happen. Technically, as her husband, he could then withdraw it, but he'd opted to hold onto it, as there was already a plan set in motion by her gran, as the paperwork for the account in her gran's file cabinet had been in a folder called "Guin's college fund," and Jack had left that as it was out of respect for her gran.

"Well, the wine was optional, anyway," chuckled Mistress, sneering at Vino. "Some of us don't have to drink away our problems as if our husband's dick would grow when we hit the bottom of the bottle."

The zebra chuckled at that, but stopped and feigned looking at a fly as soon as Vino turned back to her. 

"Anyway, best to bring wine next time," continued Mistress. "Make your husband buy it for you."

As a few more mares filed in, Guin noted that there were no stallions. "Are there no dads coming?" she asked a mare in her mid-twenties that had sat down next to her.

"You know how dads and husbands are," the mare scoffed. "They're just another kid to take care of. They come home and sit down on the couch. They don't do housework, they don't take care of the kids, and then they whine when you don't let them fuck you in the arse."

That sounded very wrong to Guin. Her father hadn't come home since she was conceived. Six of them were listed on her birth certificate because her mom didn't know who it was. And she'd been living with Jenny and her family for a little over a week, now, and Jack always made dinner. But she guessed that didn't count as housework...
> Chapter the Eighth: Mother Knows Best
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the last of the mothers filed into the room, Guin noticed that there were only about two dozen here. Aside from her, there were only two fillies, one about fourteen, and the other only eight. Guin had moved back twice, wanting to avoid being the center of attention. This was not only because she wanted to mostly observe, but also because the other mares kept complaining about the lack of food and wine. One thing was definitely for sure, though. These mares were all from well-to-do households. Guin was obviously the poorest one here, with the teen mother being a close second.

The teen sat down next to Guin. She was a light blue pegasus with a silver mane and tail, with soft green eyes. "You must be Guin," she said, offering her hoof. "Kurt told me I should make sure I was here today to meet you."

"Kurt sent you?" 

"Seascape's the name."

"Guin." She shook her hoof. "Listen, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm just wanting to watch today."

"Fair enough," shrugged Seascape. "Probably the smartest move."

Mistress walked up to the opposite side of the group and clapped her hooves to gather everyone's attention. "Everypony, look at over here so we can begin! Welcome once again to our end-of-the-week meeting. Now, I know a mother's work is never done, so I have your weekend assignments ready, but before we open that can of cake, it's time to compare notes."

"Can of cake?" Guin asked Seascape quietly.

"The expression is "can of worms," but the committee doesn't like that because it sounds disgusting. There's a lot of language they've changed because they didn't like it. Just nod and follow along, or they'll latch onto the fact that you're dissenting."

"Let's start with you, Seascape," Mistress called. "Since you're so set on talking."

"Okay." Seascape stood up. "My son is happy, healthy, and is among the top performers in his class. When the preschool class ran flash cards on Tuesday, he was able to name every fruit from apple to watermelon." She narrowed her eyes and smirked at Mistress. "And he didn't trip over the word "kiwi." How did your son do, again?"

Mistress narrowed her eyes back. "Forty percent better than last week. You're looking at, what, a ten percent improvement?"

"Not much higher one can go than a perfect score," shot Seascape back. "He can also count to Twenty. That's way more than five."

"You may sit," commanded Mistress.

Seascape sat down. As Mistress moved on to other parents, she leaned over and whispered to Guin. "When she comes to you, say you don't know the grades yet. Kurt's just hit a downward spiral with what's been going on, so don't draw any attention to that. Try to just focus on abdicating your time, because you have no way of making yourself look good, here."

"But I'm new..."

"That's not going to protect you. Just say you haven't looked at the grades and have no plan of correcting course until you can see a problem."

"Guin!"

Guin stood up at Mistress's call. "I have nothing to report. Report cards don't come home for two weeks, and mine is still being shipped to my previous address. I can't tell you how I'm doing in school, much less how my kids are doing."

"Sounds like you haven't been paying any attention to your kids," noted Mistress. "You need to be more proactive. Go talk to the teachers and demand that they give you access to the gradebooks."

The zebra, who'd been holding a notebook similar to what the teachers used, turned two pages and stood up. "You and both of your kids took half of Wednesday off, citing "personal day." In addition, Kurt is failing math and biology, Jenny is failing science, and you are failing math and social studies."

Mistress turned back to Guin. "There you have it. Sounds like you need to be a lot less lazy. How you ever convinced somepony to marry you is beyond me. You couldn't even be bothered to cook a simple casserole. Where is your pride as a mother, hm?"

Guin sat down as Seascape stood up. "That's enough, Bitch! I'll have you know that her kids were failing before she became their mother, and she hasn't had the time to fix jack shit since her wedding. And that personal day was for a funeral, so you can shut that cock socket mouth of yours before I shut it for you!"

The eight-year old filly, at the front of the room, chuckled softly, the only sound to be heard. Guin was silent and still, having not expected to be called out for failing math and social studies, because she wasn't. She had seen her grades, and they were at eighty-two percent in math and seventy-six percent in social studies. Those were her lowest grades, sure, but they weren't failures. She also hadn't expected Seascape to jump to her aid like that. She barely knew her; they'd only met twenty minutes ago.

As Mistress continued on, moving to the next order of business, home care, Seascape sat back down. "You okay?"

"I'm not failing," Guin whimpered, almost on the verge of tears. 

"If you have a B or lower, yes you are, in their eyes. B+ or higher is the minimum grade requirement for this group. Kurt actually is failing math, though. I don't know if you can help him, but perhaps you can talk to his dad?"

Guin sniffled and nodded.

When it came time for their turns, Seascape had Guin refrain from discussing home care, as the house was still in turmoil from the impacts. Seascape herself said that her home care was fine, and the only reason it wasn't great was because she was here, rather than at home taking care of it.

Then came the discussion of their sex lives, and surprisingly, no one gave Guin any mind when she said she didn't want to talk about it, with most of them assuming it was boring, and they all wanted to hear something juicy today. Even more shocking, it was the eight-year-old, Short Stack, who managed to draw the attention, as she slipped up and mentioned the colour of the cock pounding her, and it came out that it wasn't her husband, but the stallion that cleaned her pool. Apparently, this was a regular thing for her, because her husband wasn't around during the day, and was always tired at night.

Before they left, Mistress (whose real name was Blanket Stitch, Seascape had told her) gave everypony an assignment. Guin, having failed to bring food this time, would be repeating that task, and Seascape, having not attended these meetings in the past two months, was assigned to clean up, both today and on Monday when they reconvened. As the mothers all filed out, Guin stayed behind to help Seascape clean up. It was the least she could do for all of her help.
> Chapter the Ninth: Homebound
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After cleaning up, Seascape walked Guin home. They took a detour, first, so that Seascape could show Guin where she lived, in the event that she needed more help, as she would be skipping any further meetings. This took the two further away from Guin's home, but that just meant they had more time to talk.

"So, who did you marry to end up a mother?" asked Guin.

"I didn't," admitted Seascape. "A few years back, somepony decided that I was adult enough to have relations with before I knew anything about reproduction, and I ended up pregnant at a very young age. Younger than you are, actually. I joined for some parenting tips, but it's all just bullshit. Their response to childcare is to hire a better nanny. I can't even take a job, legally, so how am I supposed to afford that? Luckily, my mom works nights, so I could have her watch the kid in the mornings. Had to call in a babysitter this afternoon, though."

"Can you afford that?" asked Guin. "I thought you didn't have any money?"

"I don't. But I have some people that owe me favours... This guy wasn't one of them, but he'd asked me for something, so, tit for tat."

"That's smart," nodded Guin. "I wish ponies owed me favours. That'd be a load off of my mind. Maybe then, I could be rid of the family welfare guy."

"Oof," winced Seascape. "That's not something you want to deal with. I think somepony would have to owe you a really big favour for that. But listen, gaining favours is at easy as being a good pony. Or, in your case, a good gryphon."

"That easy?"

"Do nice things for others, and they'll be willing to do nice things for you. For example, you helped me clean up, so now I owe you a bit of a favour. If you need parenting advice, drop by my house. If you forget where it is, Kurt knows the place.

"He does?"

"Yeah, we..." Seascape paused. "You didn't know?"

"Didn't know what?"

"He and I have been seeing each other for two months, now. Nothing serious, yet. He's never mentioned me?"

"I've only been living there for a week," shrugged Guin. "Well, almost a week, I guess... I've been focusing on the wedding and the funeral, and just trying to make ends meet. I haven't settled into any personal affairs, yet."

Seascape nodded. "Sounds rough... Listen, that offer still stands. If it makes your transition easier, I'd be glad to help you figure some stuff out. Cooking, cleaning up, all the stuff I wish I'd have known, all the stuff I wish the group would have taught me... I know it's rough right now, but if something helps you to help Kurt to help me, I'd be glad to cycle that favour around."

"Thanks." There was a brief pause. "So, what's the deal with the little filly in the group?"

"Short Stack? She's a stepmom like you. She's too young to produce. She was purchased as a bride, though. From what I gather, the dragon that owns the mill that Jack operates purchased her from her parents for a hefty sum, which they blew through in less than a year. They tried to sue, but he's very good at hoarding paperwork, and had a lot of money. He still does, actually. The whole reason his house is out here, rather than closer to his business is because of the niche laws that say he can marry a filly and then fuck his wife. His last hatchling is in his twelfth year of schooling, so she won't be part of the group next year, though not for lack of trying. She'll fuck anything that moves."

"Yikes..."

"By the by, your husband probably knows Blanket Stitch. You remember, the whore calling herself "Mistress?" She's a regular in the AA meetings. Jack's been clean and sober for years. I don't think she's ever made it past a month. Her husband and her two boyfriends buy it for her."

As they rounded the corner, Guin noted that Red Tape's carriage was once again in front of the house, this time with a guard escort. Guin rushed to the front door and threw it open. Kurt and Jack were sitting on the couch, with Kurt holding a crying unicorn toddler, trying to bounce it on his knee to calm it down. 

"There, see?" said Jack. "I didn't kill her. Your accusations are entirely unfounded, sir."

"Unfounded, or merely plausible?" growled Red. "True, you haven't killed her yet, but who's to say you won't?"

Jack stood up and glared at Red. "Guin, come away from the door. Mr. Tape was just leaving, and we don't want to hinder him."

As Guin retreated to behind the couch, Red made a grab for the unicorn. "Give him to me. He doesn't belong here."

As he made another grab, a rock pelted him in the face. "Don't you dare put your filthy hooves on my son!" shouted Seascape, swooping in and taking him into her hooves. "And don't you even think about hurting my babysitter!"

As Red picked himself up, the guard placed a hoof on his shoulder. Nodding his head toward the door, he escorted Red out.

"What was all that?" asked Guin after the door closed.

"That guy thinks, first and foremost, that I married you to skip the adoption process," sighed Jack.

"Didn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but he thinks it was for sexual reasons. The way he sees it, you were a vulnerable little chick, and I'm the big, bad donkey who's taking advantage of you. When you didn't come home from school, I told him you had gone to an after-school activity, and he thought that I'd raped you, then when he brought someone along to find out, you were conveniently absent for the test. He thought I'd disposed of your body to hide the evidence. Odds are, he'll be back tomorrow."

"So, we'll have to take a test?"

"I'll make sure it's a guard performing the test, not him," assured Jack. "Or a doctor, if you prefer. Who's your friend?"

"Seascape," answered Seascape. "You must be Jack. Kurt's told me all about you."

Jack nodded. "A pleasure. He's said very little about you."

Kurt blushed and looked away.

"Anyway, I don't mean to be rude, but it's probably best if you had somepony else looking after your kid. Our house is not equipped for one so young, and we're currently having issues, as you've seen. I'd hate to be responsible for losing him, so for his own safety, please look elsewhere."

"Already planned out," assured Seascape. "I just needed somepony to watch him while I helped your wife with some stuff, and Kurt owed me a favour."

Jack nodded. "I see. Well, when this all blows over, I'd like to have you over for dinner sometime. Now's not a great time, but it'd be nice to acquaint myself with the pony my son is spending so much time with."

"Likewise."
> Chapter the Tenth: First Respite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Guin awoke before Jack once more, having slept in his room again. As she climbed out of bed, she once again saw the low-hanging pouch of skin between his legs, and the heavy, egg-shaped objects sitting inside of it. Short Stack and a few of the other mothers had referred to their husbands' balls between their back legs, but these weren't nearly round enough to count as balls.

She went to the kitchen and waited. She didn't recall the exact wording, but she was pretty sure she'd heard Jack say that he would teach her how to cook something today. She wanted to feel useful, as any pride she would hold as a parent would be in how well she could care for her children, and any pride as a wife would be in how well she could care for her husband. More importantly, she wanted to prove to Red Tape that she was happy and healthy here, so she could stay. She wanted to prove to the committee of mothers that she was at least passable as a wife and mother. And most importantly of all, she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn't dragging Jack, Jenny and Kurt through the mud for no reason. She wanted them to be happy, but with all of the problems she was putting them through, just for her own benefit, she wanted to give back. She wanted to give them something to hold onto.

She didn't spend too long thinking of herself as burden, as it wasn't more than ten minutes before Jack came out. "Morning," he yawned. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"W-well..." Guin fidgeted with her claws. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm fine with anything," he waved. 

Guin shifted in her seat. "I was kind of hoping you'd show me how to make something?" She smiled nervously up at him.

Jack stared at her blankly for a bit, before realisation washed over his face. "Right. Sorry, I'm still a bit groggy. How about something simple? Something that's good that doesn't need the stove, hm? Waffles?"

Guin sighed with relief. Waffles was a good choice. To be fair, though, she had only been hoping for something more complicated than cereal with milk, but not so complicated that she'd have trouble remembering how to do it, and waffles seemed to be right in the middle. 

Jack pulled out the waffle iron and plugged it in, letting it heat up. "So, first, you have to know where the waffle iron is. I keep it right here, in this cabinet. If you wash the plates, they go right back here when you're done. We also want those plates nice and hot when we start."

Guin took note, and paid close attention. The plates were set to two hundred degrees, or just above. He hadn't adjusted the dial, so she had to ask, "Is that the right temperature?"

"For almost everything I do," answered Jack, pulling out a large container. "This is our pancake, waffle and general-purpose baked goods mix. I keep a fair stock of it, and because I work at the mill, I pick up the ingredients for cheap, so don't be afraid of running out. I'll show you how to make more if we need to."

He dumped some out into a bowl, not even bothering to measure it. Then, he opened a jar of unlabeled spice mix and dumped a bit of that in there. It was dark brown, whatever it was.

"This is my good spice blend. It's hydrophobic, which means that if we mix it in wet, it's going to clump. We don't want it to clump, so we mix it in here, first."

He whisked it in slowly, making sure to blend it in such a way that it didn't kick up a lot of flour dust into the air. 

"Can I try?" asked Guin.

"Sure," he nodded, pushing the bowl and whisk to her. "I'm going to prep the rest, just remember to go slowly."

She gripped the handle and mixed slowly, making sure to spread the spices among the flour as evenly as possible. Before too long, Jack dumped in some apple sauce, two eggs, and a splash of milk. The mix was now significantly darker than what her gran used to make.

"Why is it orange?"

"Well, the applesauce makes it turn a little bit yellow, and the spices turn it more brown, so you end up with a kind of orange colour."

"I didn't even know that Applesauce went into waffles..."

"Usually, yes, you'd be absolutely right. But I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you taste them."

Guin nodded. She wasn't quite sure about this, but if Jack was certain, she was willing to follow his lead.

"So, now we grease the plate." With a squirt of cooking oil from a decanter near the stove, and with the help of a small rubber brush, Jack coated the hot plates of the waffle iron, then checked the batter Guin had been mixing. He added an extra splash of milk. "Waffle mix should be thinner and wore watery than pancakes or muffins. You want an even spread and a fluffy center, so we want it thinner and less cakey."

He ladled out a scoop of the batter and fit it into the plate and closed the lid, making sure to show her slowly so that she could see how it was supposed to look. They stood and waited for five minutes, letting it puff up and toast, and when the red light turned green, he opened the lid and pulled out the waffles, as the batter had turned into four of them. 

"Now you try." 

With the ladle in her claw, Guin scooped out more batter and poured it into the waffle iron and closed the lid. When the light changed colour, she pulled it out. It didn't look too bad.

"I did it. I did it!" 

"That you did," smiled Jack, giving her a hug. "I'm so very proud of you. Think you can make the rest?"

"Mhm!"

"Just make sure to give it a fresh oil brush every three scoops. It helps keep them from sticking."

As Guin made the rest of the waffles, Jack chopped up some fruit. Guin was definitely fit to use the waffle iron, as the worst she could do was burn herself, and while he was sure she was smart enough to be careful, he was a little bit less trusting with the knife. She was a good girl, and she had an eagerness to learn, but that eagerness had to be tempered with caution, and he didn't think she was ready for a blade, yet.
> Chapter the Eleventh: Red Returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning went by so quickly. After the waffles and the homework, they all had an early lunch and separated to do their normal activities. 

Kurt, for example, went into his room and closed the door. No one knew exactly what he was doing in there, but it was safe to assume that whatever it was, it was fine. He was neither on drugs nor a sexual deviant, as far as they knew, so there was little cause for alarm, and what cause existed was wholly unfounded.

Jack had gone first to the garage, then bounced back and forth between Jenny's bedroom and his own, carrying a tape measure around and checking things, then shaking his head and frowning. Guin had asked him what was wrong, but he'd barely responded, stating "Just let me think about this for a bit, okay?" She didn't like being left out of the loop, but she was sure he knew what he was doing. She trusted him. 

Jenny, meanwhile, had grown upset with having to move every time her dad came in to measure something, so after a few minutes of playing in her room, she and Guin opted to go outside. There wasn't a whole lot to do in the yard, as the grass was mostly dead. There was a severe lack of care in the back yard, not as far as garbage or overgrowth was concerned, but there were some big, heavy trees that blocked out most of the light and rainfall, so what little grass was there wasn't very healthy. Still, it was kept clean and trimmed, just like the front. 

After about an hour, though, Jack came out, looking quite upset. "Guin, I need you to come back in, now."

Guin hopped down from the bench swing and returned to the house, where Red Tape and a gryphon guard were waiting. "Is this her?" asked the guard.

"It is," answered Jack. "This is my wife, the filly I'm being accused of molesting."

The guard scowled. "Your wife?"

"That's right."

The guard sighed. "Show me your marriage license."

Red rubbed his hooves together. "This ought to be good..."

Jack turned and went to his bedroom, coming back less than a minute later with the piece of paper that they'd signed at the courthouse. "There's another copy of this, fully signed and dated, at the local clerk's office."

The guard looked it over and nodded. "I don't think we have to administer the test."

"What?!" shouted Red. "She's clearly too young to marry!"

"There's no age restriction on marriage out here, sir," insisted the guard. "I've been entertaining your investigation because you'd claimed that he was molesting his daughter. This is his wife. He's allowed to have intercourse with his wife."

"She's too young!"

"Perhaps, but her caretaker consented to it. This is a legal union. Your authority on this matter has just run out."

Red narrowed his eyes. For several moments, he said nothing, but then, he smiled. "Administer the test, anyway."

The guard turned and scowled. "I just told you, it doesn't matter whether he has or not. They're married. It's fully legal."

"Is it?" asked Red, staring Jack down. "Or is it, in fact, a sham marriage to deceive the courts of Equestria and ignore all due process? I'm opening a new investigation on the matter of familial welfare."

"Why would it matter if he's had sex with his wife if it's a sham marriage?"

"Because if it is a real marriage, they're very likely to be sharing a bed. A sham means that she's probably sleeping in another room."

Guin had no idea what to make of this. She'd slept in another room when she'd first been married, but the last two nights, she'd been staying in Jack's room, sleeping in his bed with him. This was, to her, a real marriage.

As the guard reached for his gloves, Jack placed his hoof on his wrist, stopping him. "If this is a new investigation, you're going to need a new warrant. You're also going to need to report back to your superior. That is, you need to return to Canterlot. I gave you permission to ensure that she hasn't been molested, and now you're sure of that. Now you need a new warrant in order to intrude on us, because I am once again refusing this invasive, barbaric, and unreliable test. You're going to need a fresh warrant because you're not looking for the same thing. File the paperwork or stop harassing us."

The guard pulled back and nodded. "He's right. This warrant has served its purpose. As lead detective, I have determined that he's innocent of child molestation, and we'll need a new warrant to proceed."

"This is ridiculous!" shouted Red. "He's just going to deflower her as soon as we leave!"

"Then I suppose it's useless for you to seek out that warrant," smiled Jack. "I guess you'll just have to accept that our marriage is legally binding. Goodbye."

As Jack ushered the two out the door, with the guard being forced to pull Red out, Guin breathed a sigh of relief, but all of that relief disappeared the moment Jack sat down on the couch, burying his face in his hooves. She immediately rushed to his side, placing a claw on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Jack sighed. "A part of me is glad that the first part of this is over. Having him investigate us was terrible. I wish I'd known that the marriage license would have proved my innocence earlier, but when it did, I thought, "finally, we can return to living our lives." I was not expecting him to accuse us of cheating the system."

"We'll just prove that we didn't," answered Guin, smiling. "We'd never cheat."

"But we did," answered Jack. "I married you so that you wouldn't end up lost in the system, buffeted around by paperwork and bureaucracy. I wanted you to recover as soon as possible and begin the process of healing. I wanted to help you. He wants to prove that our marriage is a sham. I'm scared, because our marriage is indeed a sham."

Guin rubbed his shoulder. "So, how do we make it not a sham?"

"I don't know..." sighed Jack. "Do you really want to be married to me until you turn eighteen?"

Guin's rubbing turned into a hug. "I don't know. But if he has his way, it sounds like I'll be spending the next six years in foster care, jumping from place to place, and likely not going to the same facilities as Jenny and Kurt. I don't know if I want to be married, but I know for a fact that I don't want to split us all up and never see any of you again..."
> Chapter the Twelfth: Sham
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin left Jack alone with his thoughts for the rest of the day. She had some thinking of her own to do, and she intended to come up with at least one solution to at least one problem. He'd told her that, when she was overwhelmed with problems, she should focus on just one thing and solve that, and then the next, until her head was clear. Right now, the most pressing thing was being able to prove that this sham marriage was not a sham marriage. But how could she do that?

She had to talk to somepony older. Somepony wiser.

She knocked on Kurt's door. "I'm busy..."

"Kurt?"

"I'm busy, I said..."

"I just need to talk. It's important."

There was a loud thud, then a few hoofsteps, then the door was pulled open. "Inside..."

As Guin stepped in, she noted that the floor was now covered in bolts, nuts, a couple of wrenches, and a whole series of other parts. "What's all this?"

"Never you mind. You said you had something important you wanted to tell me about?"

Guin moved over to the bed and sat down. "What does it mean to have a sham marriage?"

"It means two people married each other when they didn't want to. More specifically, it's to draw out some sort of benefit without the actual means. Most often, it's when somepony from outside of Equestria comes to Equestria on a travel permit, then marries one of the citizens so that they can stay here without having to go through the immigration process."

Guin nodded. "Do you think my marriage to your dad is a sham?"

"I do, yes. It is a sham."

"But I'm already an Equestrian citizen."

"Right. Immigration is the most common use of sham marriages. That doesn't mean it's the only use. It used to be that unicorns would marry earth ponies just to prove that they weren't racist or classist. "Of course I don't hate those filthy, worthless dirt ponies. I married one, didn't I?" And then they sleep in different rooms because they can't stand the sight of their hornless heads."

"I don't think your dad's a racist, either..."

"He's not." Kurt sat down and continued to build. "He married you so that we could bypass the entire adoption system. You already know that, in order to adopt you, we'd have to do months of paperwork, have background checks, have an inspector come to our house and make sure we were providing a safe environment, and then hope that you're the one we ended up with. If he just married you, instead, you could move in immediately. He did this so you could have a safe place to live, not because he was in love with you. It's a sham, through and through."

"But isn't that cheating?"

"Of course it's cheating. The correct way of doing it would have been gruelling, arduous and may not have yielded proper results. Plus, all of your stuff would have been sold off. He's basically giving you a protective barrier to shield you from the system." He put down his wrench. "Out of curiosity, why do you ask?"

"That unicorn came by again."

Kurt took a deep breath. "Damn it all..."

"Can you please put a handle on the swearing? It's causing problems for me at school."

Kurt held up a hoof. "What happened?"

"Miss Abalone keeps--"

"Not at school! What happened with that asswipe from the government?"

Guin held up a claw. "He's closed his investigation."

"Oh, good..."

"And he's opened up a new one."

"What?!"

"He no longer thinks that your dad is molesting me as his daughter, but now he thinks our marriage is a sham."

Kurt sighed. "And it is..."

Guin scooted closer and gripped his shoulder. "How do I fix this? How do I make this marriage not a sham?"

Kurt shrugged off her claw, and was silent for a moment. "There are a few things you could do to cover up the fact that your marriage is false."

"Can't we make it a real marriage? Wouldn't that make it not a sham anymore?"

"Well, yes, but do you really want to go through all of that?"

Guin shrugged. "I don't know. I would need to hear what both sides entail before I decide. I don't know if I want to be married, but I know I don't want him coming back and saying that our marriage is fake. If he can prove it, it's going to tear everyone apart. You, your sister, your dad and I will all be sent to different places. And we'll lose all of our stuff. I definitely don't want that."

Kurt sighed. "Well, to make it official, you have to share everything with my dad. And I do mean everything. You have to sleep in his bed, shower with him, any money your gran left you is his, all the yardwork, housework, and other wifely duties are yours. All of that stuff you're not good at is now your job."

"And if I just want to cover it up?" 

"Then all you have to do is pretend to do all of that."

Guin nodded. "Well, I guess I've kind of already started on the real thing. He taught me how to cook this morning, I've done some amount of cleaning, and we're sleeping in the same bed already."

Kurt looked up, his eyes wide. "You what!?"

"I didn't think it was such a big deal. He invited me to sleep there, instead of the couch."

Kurt took a deep breath. "Okay. I thought you meant... Nevermind."

"Thought I meant what?"

"Well, when a stallion and a mare sleep together, they..." he scratched the back of his neck. "Forget it. You'll find out when you're older."

"Well, you're not that much older than me. Come on, I've been really good at listening, lately. Please?"

Kurt sighed. "Okay, look. I really don't want to think about this. Maybe dad can tell you, maybe those bitches in the mothers' meetings can tell you more. If all else fails, Seascape could explain it to you, but I really, really don't want to think about my dad's balls."

That sounded familiar enough for Guin to latch onto. "So, it's a sex thing?"

Kurt pointed toward the door. "Out."
> Chapter the Thirteenth: A More Experienced Mare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sunday morning, right after breakfast, Guin made her way to Seascape's place with all of her homework. She'd already finished some on Friday night, and some the night before, so very little was remaining. However, very little was not nothing. There was still a bit more, and she didn't know how much time she would have today.

Knocking on the door, an older pegasus opened it. He looked to be about Jack's age, if not a bit older. He was definitely bigger, but being a pegasus rather than a donkey probably played a big part in that.

"What?"

Guin shuffled her claws. "I'm here for Seascape," she explained. "Is she--"

"Out."

"Oh. When will she be back?"

"Later."

Seeing that she wasn't going to make it very far, Guin nodded and turned away, but then she heard Seascape behind the door. "Who was it?"

"Filly scouts," answered the stallion. "You can't afford--"

"Guin?" As Seascape walked into the main entrance, she smiled. "Come in, come in!"

Guin entered, squeezing past the stallion, who scowled at her, and followed Seascape into the living room. "So, is that your dad, or something?"

"Stepdad," answered Seascape. "A bit standoffish, but that's better than my real dad. Anyway, what's up?"

"I need help," admitted Guin. "It goes against my pride as a gryphon, but I'm a little bit desperate. Can we talk privately?"

Seascape looked up at her stepdad and shooed him away. "What's wrong?"

Guin explained the situation she now found herself in, along with a brief summary of her conversation with Kurt. When it came time to explain that the marriage itself was fraudulent, she whispered, not wanting to be heard if her stepdad was around the corner.

Seascape, for her part, listened intently. "And Kurt didn't want to think about his dad's balls swinging around and slapping you in the arse..." she nodded. "Why didn't you talk to your husband about this?"

"He's been mad since the accusation was made. He's afraid that we're going to lose the kids, and I'm terrified that I won't be able to do anything about it."

"That certainly is a conundrum." Seascape leaned back. "So, what do you need?"

Guin took a deep breath. "I want to legitimise our marriage. We can't be lying if we're actually telling the truth, right?"

"Right."

"So, in order to do that, I need to be able to do a few things. First is cleaning. I can already do that, so not a problem. Then there's cooking. Jack taught me how to make waffles, and today we had pancakes. That's about all I know. Finally, as far as I can see, there's the sex, and I don't know anything about that..."

Seascape nodded. "There's more to it than that, but it's a start."

"Wait, what else is there?"

"Loads, but let's start with the parts you're already thinking about. Food first. What's your favourite thing to eat?"

"Peach pie with ice cream."

"Something healthy."

Guin thought for a moment. "My gran had a tater tot casserole. I don't know where the recipe is, though. It was put in one of the boxes and packed up, I think, so it's somewhere in the garage, but I don't know where."

Seascape nodded. "We'll make a potato casserole. I have a recipe for that."

As Seascape jumped up from the couch and headed for the kitchen, Guin followed her, but didn't make it very far before Seascape doubled back. She waved a card in front of her. "Have to buy ingredients, first."





They didn't spend very long at the supermarket. Guin's gran had always done the shopping during the day, while Guin was at school, and Jack tended to do it on the way back from work, as it was right in the middle of his route. Guin hadn't been there very often, as a result. Her gran had allowed her to write stuff on the shopping list, if it was needed, but the intent was to work around the schedules when available so they could spend more leisure time together. 

Seascape's stepdad had watched the baby while they were out, as her mother was out for the afternoon at a dental appointment. When they returned, he was sitting on the living room floor, reading a children's book aloud. 

Seascape and Guin went to the kitchen, and as they started prepping the food, Guin had a lot of questions. Many were about what they were doing, but now that they were out of public and in a more relaxed area, it was time to start her next line of questioning. 

"So, how does sex work?"

Seascape sighed. "I'm really not the best pony to answer this."

"You're better equipped to answer it than I am," noted Guin. "All I know is that it makes babies. You had a baby, so you must have done it at least once."

"Only once," answered Seascape. "Trust me, you don't want to do it the same way."

"But I should at least hear about it, right?" asked Guin. "That way I know not to do it the same way you did?"

Seascape sighed. "You have a point, but... perhaps it's best if you..." she grunted. "Okay. What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, understand?"

"Of course," answered Guin. "I can keep a secret."

"A few years ago, when my parents divorced, I was under joint custody. Half the time with my mom, half the time with my dad. Well, one day my dad had one of his work friends over, and when my dad passed out, his friend pinned me to the bed. It was agonizing. And it's made me a bit envious of you."

"Envious of me?"

Seascape nodded. "I don't know Jack very well, but he seems nice. Your first time will likely be better than mine. Most importantly, talk to him about it. It's more important that you discuss it with your husband than with me. Jack has two kids. Bare minimum, that's twice as much experience as I have."

Guin nodded. "If you think I should, the--"

"Yes. I really do think you should. If you do anything at all, he's going to be involved in it, right? So, he should be a part of this conversation. He should be a big part of this conversation." As the casserole was put together in a disposable foil pan, Seascape placed it on Guin's back. "Take this home. Try not to jostle it too much. Bake at a hundred and seventy-five degrees for an hour or so. Jack can help you out if you need it."

"You're not going to help me anymore?"

Seascape shook her head. "We both have dinner, in a practical sense. All you have to do is pop it in the oven. I'm going to look some stuff up, and I'll send it home with Kurt when I have something for you. Good luck."
> Chapter the Fourteenth: Education
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The potato casserole went over really well with the family. It was surprisingly easy to make, being just corn, potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese and a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, with corn flakes covering the top. Kurt was especially pleased, because the meal he had enjoyed so much was being presented as Seascape's creation, which endeared her to his family and made his budding relationship with her feel more legitimate. 

After dinner, they all had their showers again, and once more, Guin came into Jack's bedroom when she was done. "Hey."

Jack turned and smiled. "Hey, Guin. Great meal. How are you feeling?"

"A bit scared, actually," she admitted, coming to sit next to him. "Kind of proud, too. And angry, and sad and flustered... and then even more scared."

"Ambivalent?"

"What's that?"

"It's when you're feeling lots of different emotions at once."

Guin nodded.

Jack wrapped a hoof around her shoulder. "Do you remember what I told you to do when overwhelmed?"

"Focus on just one problem at a time?"

"That's right. What's bothering you a lot right now?"

"That unicorn."

Jack sighed. "Yeah, he's really bothering me, too."

"I want to stop him."

"Yeah, me too."

"I think I have a way, too."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Do you?"

Guin nodded. "I love you. All of you. Jenny has been my best friend since I was four."

"Since you were two," corrected Jack.

"As far back as I can remember, and even further back, apparently. And Kurt's been great, too. He's been the closest thing I've ever had to a brother. Even when my gran was still around, I spent so much time over here that I feel like I'm part of your family."

"Sounds good, but what does this have to do with the other?"

"I'll come around to that," promised Guin. "And you... You started this whole thing. You're the reason I still have all of my stuff. You're the reason I still have my gran's house. You came in and saved me from being taken away and dumped in some orphanage. I owe you everything."

Jack shook his head. "You don't owe me anything. I was just doing what I knew was right. It was something that had to be done. I couldn't just let you suffer like that..."

Guin sniffed. "What I mean is, I'd be lost without you. All of you. And I can never make it up to you, no matter how hard I try. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to try."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to do that. You protected me, now I want to protect you. And the best way I can see to protect you is to make this marriage less of a sham and more legitimate. He can't prove that our marriage is a sham if it isn't one."

Jack sighed. "Guin, we can't. It's too much. I don't want to hurt you."

"So don't. If he has his way, it's all going to be much worse. If it's a real marriage, he'll go away."

"I don't think he will. He doesn't seem the type to give up."

"So we file a report with the guards. If we can prove that our marriage is real, he'll have made two false claims against us, and we'll have a strong leg to stand on saying that whatever his third claim is will be as unfounded as the first two. Didn't you say he was outright harassing us? And also, he tried to run off with Seascape's toddler. The guards have had to step in twice."

"Three times," corrected Jack. "If, and only if, we can prove our marriage isn't a sham, then we will have a leg to stand on. But we have to prove it, first."

"So, let's do it."

"Do what?"

"Prove that our marriage is real."

"But it's not."

"So, let's make it real."

Jack sighed. "Marriage is a lot of work, Guin. It takes a lot of experience that you don't have, and it takes a physical toll that I don't think you're ready to face."

"You mean the sex?"

Jack winced at that. He hadn't been aware that she knew anything about that. "Y-yeah..."

"Seascape told me about her first time, and how unpleasant it was. She said she was envious of me because I could have my first time with you, a far more gentle stallion."

Jack took a deep breath. "I'm not going to do that. Not now, not for a long time, probably not ever. I don't want to hurt you."

Guin squeezed his hoof. "I don't want to hurt you, either. I don't want to be the reason your family is broken apart. I don't want to be responsible for you losing Jenny and Kurt. I don't want you to start drinking again. Even if it hurts me, it'll be nothing compared to what would happen if I ended up being the reason we all have to part ways."

She was in tears now, and Jack was holding her a bit closer. He gently rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "Let me tell you my point of view," he whispered. "Your first time will be very memorable. It always is. Everypony remembers their first. If we were to do as you're asking, then your first time becomes an obligation; something you were forced into doing. From that point on, you'll always see it as a chore; something you have to do because you have little or no say in the matter. It'll be something that has to be done. And it should be with the stallion or mare that you choose, not an old fart like me. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Guin sniffled and nodded. "But..."

Jack shook his head. "We'll find another way. We'll find a way that doesn't see you giving up your innocence. I will not use you as a shield to protect myself. I'm the one that's supposed to be protecting you. Don't worry about this right now. I'm worrying about it enough for both of us. You run along to bed, now."

Guin looked up. "Don't I sleep in here?"

"I set up your bed in Jenny's room. While you were out, I took the time to unload the cart in the garage. Your bed, your bookcase, your wardrobe; it's all in Jenny's room, which the two of you now share."

Guin hugged him just a bit tighter. For a moment, she was quiet, but as she pulled away, she smiled softly up at him. "Thank you, Mis-- Jack."
> Chapter the Fifteenth: Better Prepared
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin had a decent Monday at school; as good as one could expect. She began to feel exhausted halfway through the day, as she had worked so hard over the weekend and hadn't taken much of a break, and there was no recess for a class of her age, but she pushed on, anyway. She needed to, as the day wasn't over, and she still had the meeting after school. If neither Jack nor Seascape would teach her about sex, she needed to ask somepony else.

The waffles Jack had taught her how to make were a huge hit at the meeting, earning her some amount of favour. She hadn't brought any wine, partially because she didn't want to send Jack into a liquor store, but also because she didn't know the first thing about selecting a wine. All she knew was that there were four types: red, white, Mary-Lou, and Vodka.

Aside from not reading off grades, as nothing would have been handed in over the weekend, the meeting ran pretty similarly to the last one, except with little to no attention on Guin. This suited her just fine, as staying out of the limelight was indeed one of her main goals. Her other main goal was to listen very closely to Short Stack talking about her weekend fun.

"So, I'm lying there on Sunday afternoon, soaking in the sunlight and working on my tan, when the doorbell rings. I think nothing of it at first, and go right back to my sunning, but then it rings again. I have to open my mouth and shout for somepony to answer the door, and a minute later, still nothing. The bell just keeps ringing. So, I go to answer it. It's totally the help's job, and I have to do it myself. Can you believe that? 

"Anyway, I open the door, and it's the milkstallion. He says he has to hurry up with the milk because it's hot out, and he doesn't want it to spoil, so it has to be brought directly to my fridge. I show him to the kitchen, and it occurs to me that I should do something about the lazy staff that's too stupid to answer the door. At the same time, I should reward the milkstallion for his impeccable service.

"I slide down beneath him and kiss his sheathe, gently nibbling at the loose skin as his cock begins to slide out. It's not even a minute before he's fully extended and slapping his cock against his belly. Like, when was the last time this guy had sex if he's this eager?

"Anyway, I bring him up against the wall and pin him there. You wouldn't think I could, but you'd be surprised how accommodating stallions are when you have them by the balls. He's pressed against my cabinets, and I open my maw and swallow down every inch until his tip is right in my stomach. 

"Of course, my husband is out of the house. "There's work to be done, and someone has to do it." Always his excuse. So I know we're not going to be caught.

"It takes some convincing, but after some light fellatio, I manage to convince him to fuck me right there on the kitchen table. I mean, come on, I'm a catch. How long does it take to make a man want to drill my box, right? But he was so stuck on the thought that somepony would walk in and see us. What finally convinced him was the fact that nopony had been able to answer the door until I came back inside, so there must be nopony here but the two of us. 

"So I'm lying on the counter, my legs in the air and just barely able to reach his hips with my back hooves. He's slamming hard against my cervix, apparently no longer afraid of being caught in a compromising position with me, his balls slapping against my arsehole with every thrust. Slap, slap, slap, our hips connecting over and over again echoes off the kitchen walls until he pushes all the way in and cums hard. 

"I was pissed. I had intended for him to spray all over the kitchen, but instead, he opts to fill me right the fuck up. Can you believe that? All of this to punish the incompetent staff for being unable to do something so simple as answer the door, and he ruins it by pumping it all inside of me. What a waste of a perfectly good revenge plot! And of course, I didn't have the time to finish. I didn't even make it halfway.

"This story does have a happy ending, though. Another stallion came by a few minutes later to replace the chest of drawers we broke two weeks ago. The whole time I was watching him put it together, I was admiring his hefty, swinging balls under his short-cut tail, and after a good reaming, he pulled right out of my arse and sprayed his load all over the west wing hall. Oh, the maids spent nearly an hour cleaning that up! 

"This time, though, I was a little bit disappointed that I didn't take a shot in the mouth. He was big, strong and musky. I'm thinking of breaking the wardrobe so he can come back. Maybe he'll bring some friends along, too..."

Guin had missed a bit of that, as she didn't know some of those words, and especially the sensations. She'd never thought to shove anything up her arse before, much less let a stallion go rooting around in there with another gryphon. Why that gryphon had to be a male was another point of confusion, unless there was another meaning for cock that she didn't know about. 

As Seascape didn't show up, there was nopony to clean up, and Guin ended up saddled with the task, as she was already cleaning up the last of the waffles. She started off alone, but to her great surprise, Short Stack stayed behind. She didn't help, but rather, just watched. 

"You seemed to be a bit confused by my story," she said eventually, breaking the silence.

"I guess I was," answered Guin, keeping her head down.

"It's just you and me, here," she said, inspecting her hoof. "No prying ears. Why don't you tell me a bit about your sex life? I imagine most stallions are pretty big compared to you, so you must have some better stories than the other girls."

"Sorry; I don't."

"Nothing? No judgement, here. Most of them are so far beneath me that they could double their affairs and still not be close. Come on, what's been the best sex of your life?"

Guin shook her head. "I can't say I've ever had it."

Short Stack scoffed, hard. "What's the point of being married if you don't have any sex? Come to my place on Wednesday, and I'll make sure you receive a good, solid dicking."
> Chapter the Sixteenth: Subterfuge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as school let out on Tuesday, Guin had a quick check-in with some of the teachers. Miss Abalone, despite being very strict, was glad to hear that she was taking an interest in her children's grades, and Kurt's teacher, Mr. Cockle, was more than happy to send some extra study materials to help him improve. He was even pleasant about it.

With that all taken care of, she and Jenny met Kurt by the door and started home. About a block away from the school, when they were clear of any authoritative eyes, Kurt shoved a box into Guin's claws. "This is for you."

"How thoughtful," smiled Guin. "You didn't have to give me anything..."

"I didn't," answered Kurt. "Seascape said she wanted you to have it. She also told me that you need to keep it in your room, under your bed, and never pull it out unless you're alone."

Guin turned her head away, then back to Kurt. "What about Jenny?"

"I wasn't given anything to give to Jenny."

"No, I mean, I share a room with her."

"Not my fault. I didn't look in the box; it's not my box. I was just told to give you this box, you're supposed to keep it under your bed and not show it to anypony."

"What about your dad?"

Kurt sighed. "Look, if you want to ask these kinds of questions, ask Seascape. She knows what's in the box, okay? I'm just the messenger."

As soon as they rounded the corner and were almost home, they saw Red Tape waiting outside, leaning against his carriage and waiting for them. Immediately, Kurt redirected them back up the street, around a corner, down an easement, and into their backyard without ever needing to go to the front door. Of course, the back door had a different key than what Kurt was carrying, but he'd left his window unlocked, and they all snuck in through there. 

"Okay, now everyone stay quiet," Kurt ordered in a whisper. "Stay out of the front rooms unless absolutely necessary, don't make any loud noises, and just pretend that we're not here. Alright?"

Guin nodded. "The only time I should need to go to the front is to the kitchen for dinner, and Jack should be home by then."

Kurt nodded. "I'm going to do my homework in here. If you need something, let me know, first."

Guin reached into her bags and pulled out the materials she'd taken from his teacher. "You have a math test on Thursday," she whispered. "I want you to do well."

He scowled at her.

"Please?"

He swiped it. "Fine..."

With a nod, she and Jenny left and went to their bedroom. After stashing the box, not under the bed, but between the bed and the wall, Guin pulled out the materials she and Jenny had asked Miss Abalone for. After finishing their homework, they started studying for their own tests, which were coming tomorrow. 

After a few hours of being quiet, they heard the door open, and Red Tape spoke. "You see? They're not here. Your children are off galivanting around town, doing who-knows-what!"

Jack spoke next. "Is anyone home?" he called.

Guin was the first to come to the living room, just beating Kurt by a few seconds. Jenny had stayed in her room. "We're here," she answered. "So's Jenny, but she's staying in her room for right now."

Jack leaned against the wall with a smirk, folding his hooves. "My children are responsible children," he said smugly. 

The guard with them, the same one that had come to warn them after Red had first arrived, nodded his head.

"They must have just arrived back," answered Red. 

"We've been home for two hours," shot back Guin. "Almost right after school let out. I had to stay and talk to the teachers for a few minutes, so we were a little bit late, but not by much."

"And then you came home and started on your homework?" added Jack, suggestively.

"Yep. One second." Guin rushed back to her room and returned right away with her finished homework. "All done."

"And then you went to play and have been quiet as to not upset the neighbors," concluded Jack. 

"No," interrupted Kurt. "She..." he seemed to swallow something hard, then continued through gritted teeth. "Our new stepmom was concerned about our grades and insisted that we study."

The smirk faded from Jack's face. He immediately knew something was up, and he cleared his throat. "As you can see, we're settling into the married life. Now, it's time for the missus and I to make dinner, so I would recommend that you come back another time."

"No, no," insisted Red, "I did not spend all of yesterday applying for a warrant only to be approved an injunction in its place just to walk out empty-hoofed."

"Then why did you?" asked Jack. "I take little issue with you wasting your own time; I'm sure your wife is very proud that her husband isn't home very often. However, I take issue with you wasting my time. I'll not stand here and answer a series of questions I've already answered just to keep me in the living room and away from the kitchen, only for you to take note that it's dinnertime and there's no food prepared for my children and spouse. I have a family that needs to eat, and I refuse to neglect them. Sir, it is time for you to leave."

"You're going to cook dinner?" questioned Red.

"Yes, I am," insisted Jack.

"Then you won't mind if I question your wife, instead," Red concluded. "Sit down, Genevieve..."

Guin looked around, then up at Red. "Who's Genevieve?"

"You are."

She shook her head. "My name is Guin."

"Fine, Gwendolyn, have a seat."

"It's Guinevere..."

"Stop making up names."

Guin sat down and answered a lot of questions, most of which were exceptionally easy for her. Red's whole game, here, was to prove that she didn't know the household very well, as the marriage had been rushed, but having spent a lot of time here, Guin knew a lot of things. 

When they did laundry, for example, matched up with Jack's answer that she hadn't been present for. Three years' worth of Hearth's Warming gifts, with special notice of what Jack had given to Guin, and what Guin had given to Jack, all matched up perfectly. The locations of every fire extinguisher, what time everyone went to bed, what school they went to, the names of the flowers in the window boxes, when those flowers were planted; Guin answered everything with ease. 

She knew this house like the back of her claw by now, even though she'd only lived here for eleven days. Simply being here for years beforehoof had been a huge boon.
> Chapter the Seventeenth: The Spank Bank
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner, and after everyone showered and went to bed, Guin pulled out the box that Seascape had given her. It was one with a latch and a lock, though the lock wasn't engaged and the key was lightly looped around the bolt. She had a booklight that she sometimes used to stay up reading scary stories, but none of those stories compared to her reality. She grabbed that, as well, and clicked it on, illuminating half of her bed in soft blue light.

She unlatched the box, taking a look at Jenny. She was asleep, and that was good, because it meant Guin was alone enough. Inside the box, a few magazines were stacked, along with a rubber tube in an unmarked cardboard box. She set the tube aside, and pulled out the magazines.

There were three. The first featured a muscular, suave stallion on the front. He was covering up the name of the magazine with his head, as she could see some letters behind him, but all she could make out was "PLA_ _ _LLY." He, too, had a baggy thing between his legs, but unlike Jack's, his was covered up by cloth. Perhaps she could buy him something like this to keep them from hanging too low?

The next was called "RUSTLER," and the picture on the front featured a stallion and a mare. He had pinned her to the desk, and seemed to have slammed her against it so hard that her eyes rolled back in her head and her tongue popped out of her mouth. She didn't know why Seascape had sent such violent imagery in a magazine named for foalnappers, so she moved on. 

The third one was not, as she had initially thought, a magazine, but a paperback book. "The Pony Sutra," it was called, and it had some weird glyph as the cover image; a circle with a horizontal line in the middle, interrupted by two boxes at the exact center. This one seemed the best place to start, as it was an actual book.

She opened the cover, and the first page was a wall of text. She had expected a table of contents that she could skim, as she didn't have all the time in the world to go over this, but with that no longer an option, she had to just flip a few pages, glancing at the first few words of every paragraph.

Or so she thought. After a few pages, pictures began to show up. They were captioned with words like "7A," "7B," and "8A." The numbers seemed to correspond to the page numbers, and the pictures were in alphabetical order. That is, "12A" was at the top of the page and "12B" was at the bottom. Never more than two images per page until page thirty-six, where there were eight separate images of a step-by-step instruction on how to do... something. She wasn't sure, because she wasn't really reading the text.

Then she came to a section in the back, With a big word at the top of the page: "SOLO." The first section showed pictures of a pony with the sack like Jack had, as well as the long rubber tube, between his legs. Glancing at the text, it indicated that this was "male masturbation techniques." Further skimming read "caress the balls (fig. 73C) softly, so as not to cause pain." 

This led her to some conclusions that she had already suspected. Those things that didn't quite look like balls between Jack's legs were indeed what was being referred to as "balls." They looked more egg-shaped to her, but even the book was in agreement; these were balls. It also confirmed that these were, in fact, a male thing. Her gran had instilled in her the idea that it was rude to look between somepony's legs, so she'd never really noticed, but it made sense now. Her theory aligned with the descriptions provided by the other moms, which were in agreement with the book. It had to be true.

Still, though, where was the tube? She'd seen between Jack's legs twice, and had taken note of his balls. She knew it was rude, but she hadn't meant to stare. What she hadn't seen was the rubber tube. This book was about ponies, though, and he was a donkey. Perhaps he was different?

The next section was more familiar, detailing female masturbation techniques. She'd never done anything like in the pictures, but she had most of the parts. Her breasts were significantly smaller, but perhaps the mare in the drawings had been enhanced to show details.

She was missing one part: a hoof. She could replicate what was happening in the images if she had a hoof, but she wasn't sure if she could do it with a claw. She thought about waking Jenny or Jack, but knew that Seascape had said to be alone. She didn't want to disappoint Seascape, especially since she still needed her help.

Then she remembered the tube in the box. It was vaguely hoof-shaped.

She pulled it out of the box. It was firm, but still quite floppy. If she held the bottom end of it straight up, the top would bend forty-five degrees or so. She could probably apply more pressure to bend it even more, but that wasn't the point.

She grabbed the top end in her claw and held it like a hoof. Carefully, she followed the motions the book showed her, first rubbing it against her breasts as indicated. Whether it was because she was a gryphon and not a pony, or because she wasn't doing it correctly, or maybe her breasts just weren't big enough, nothing seemed to happen. The book had said that larger motions would stimulate a bigger response, and her breasts could barely move. 

The next section, however, had much better results. After rubbing the tube against her vagina for a bit (the book called it a pussy, but it also referred to both a clitoris and clitoral hood, neither of which Guin could find on herself), she felt like she was going to pee herself, but also not. Maybe a little bit, as a fluid did run from her, but it didn't smell like pee, and it was thick, like phlegm.

Breathing a bit heavier, which was odd because she hadn't been working that hard, she decided to call it a night. She cleaned the tube and herself with a rag, stuffed everything back into the box, and locked it tight. She would try more tomorrow, if she could find the time to be alone.
> Chapter the Eighteenth: Unfamiliar Company
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday saw an unusual event, though one they all saw coming. It was Crystalmas, the anniversary of the day the Crystal Empire returned. That meant a half day at school and a small party for all of the students, unless some parents wanted to excuse their children early to celebrate in private.

Guin was among those parents that excused her children, having been registered this morning to be able to excuse herself. However, this wasn't to celebrate in private, as much as it was that they didn't really want to celebrate right now. It had been discussed at dinner a few nights ago, and while Guin was in favour of attending for the snacks, songs, games and such, her reason being that they deserved a break, neither Kurt nor Jenny was in the mood. She wasn't going to make them attend if they didn't want to. 

Once they were out, however, Guin noticed Short Stack riding on the back of a dragon, waving her over. She bade goodbye to Jenny and Kurt, knowing they could make it home by themselves, and made her way over to the filly.

She had weighed the costs and benefits in her head as to whether or not she should associate with Short Stack after their last conversation. She was kind of rude and arrogant, but she had a lot of boons. For one, her husband owned the mill where Jack worked. Keeping her happy meant keeping the boss happy, which meant keeping Jack happy, meant he had more time to come up with a plan. Additionally, Short Stack had the attention of the mothers at the meetings, and having her by Guin's side was a good thing, like having Seascape standing up for her. She was also more sexually active, by a very wide margin, so having somepony to teach her about sex was appreciated. And to top it all off, she was rich. Her husband owned twenty percent of the town's businesses, and drew huge profits from them. That made her a powerful ally, or a powerful foe.

"Are you ditching the party, too?"

Guin nodded. "The kids don't really want to be here. I'm not going to force them to stay if they don't want to."

"You let them walk all over you like that?" snorted Blanket Stitch, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere. In truth, she had simply been behind a sign. "Go tell them they need to stay."

"Why would that be necessary?" asked Guin. "This is a party. It's not a plate of beets."

"It's about respect."

"Indeed. And I respect their wishes, as well as their right to make the decision for themselves. In turn, they will come to respect my wishes in the future."

"It's still folly to just bow out like this."

"I was going to ditch the party, too," interjected Short Stack. "I was about to walk out when I thought I should take Guin, here, with me. If she feels up to it, of course..."

Guin looked back to Jenny and Kurt, already a block and a half away and opening. "Will it take too terribly long?"

Short Stack shrugged. "Who knows how long it will take. It's done when it's done."

Guin swallowed and nodded.

"Great." she patted the dragon's shoulder. "Hop on."

As the dragon made room for her, Guin settled herself lightly onto his shoulder, and he took off. 

They landed at what Guin had always guessed was a fancy hotel. It was actually a house, as she now learned. The entrance hall alone could fit her whole house.

The dragon set them both down, then went off upstairs. "Charming boy, isn't he?"

"I guess so. Is he your husband?"

She shook her head. "Youngest son. Turned eighteen four months ago and already has a place further inland."

"Then why does he live here?"

Short Stack shrugged. "Finishing out the school year. Now, I promised you a good dicking, didn't I?"

Guin blushed. "I didn't know it was a promise..."

"Well, there's one waiting for you upstairs. Come along."

Guin followed Short Stack upstairs and into a room four times the size of her own. On a king-sized bed, a very large earth pony stallion was tied up. He had the tube between his legs, very stiff and rigid, leaking some sort of fluid from the top. beneath it, the "balls" hung, twitching and scrunched up over his tail. He was blindfolded, gagged, and his ears were stuffed with fluff.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

Short Stack chuckled. "You are my guest. You can have first crack at him. I'd like to see your technique."

Guin shrank down, trembling more than the stallion's balls were. "I-I don't know..."

"Oh, come, now," laughed Short Stack. "He's clean. Or did you need me to wrap him for you?"

"I don't even know what that means..."

"A fan of letting him dive in raw, are we? I can respect that."

"No, it's..." Guin took a deep breath. "I've never seen one of these in real life before."

Short Stack stopped, turned, and for what felt like hours, stared blankly at Guin. Neither of them moved, neither of them blinked, they just stared at each other until Guin's gaze finally faltered, and she curled up to look at the floor. 

"But you've looked at porn, right?"

Guin looked up and shook her head. "I don't know what that is."

"Have you even masturbated?"

Guin looked up proudly. "I did. Last night, in fact."

"For the first time?"

Her pride vanished just as quickly as it had arrived. "Y-yeah..."

"You poor thing. Here, let me help you."

Short Stack pushed over a large chair, facing it toward the bed. On the arm, she left a copy of the first magazine that Seascape had sent, the "PLA___LLY."

"That magazine is yours to keep. I know it's difficult to grab those as a foal, so I imagine you'd have the same difficulty."

"I actually have one," answered Guin, sitting down in the chair. "I haven't opened it yet, though."

"Well, you should. Lots of neat things in there." She climbed up on the bed and stood in front of the stallion. "Now, here's what we're going to do instead of what I had planned today. Instead of you having sex with him, I'm going to. You will watch, you will learn, you will masturbate while you do."

"But I don't have a fake hoof with me?" questioned Guin. 

"Just use your claw," answered Short Stack. "Now, watch this..."
> Chapter the Nineteenth: Before Her Eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin watched as Short Stack pulled herself up onto some silk curtains hanging from the ceiling. She was rubbing herself dutifully, ignoring the feeling that she had that she should run to the toilet. Short Stack had assured her that the feeling was okay, and that there was a subtle difference in the way this felt versus the way it felt to have to go to the bathroom, and being unfamiliar, Guin was unable to tell the difference. She assured her, however, that even if Guin really did have to pee, the chair had been given a waterproof coating to protect it from staining. The word she had tried to use was "hydrophobic," but couldn't quite remember how to say it.

"Now, watch very closely," instructed Short Stack. "The initial penetration is the hardest part. There's no gape, yet, and everything's slippery."

Her back hooves came up and out, and her grip on the silks relaxed so she could slide down, stopping as her pussy lips kissed the tip of the bound stallion. Almost immediately, she pulled herself back up as he began to buck his hips. 

"So, is this your h-husband?" asked Guin, already knowing she was way out of her element.

"Oh, goodness, no. This is one of my eight boyfriends. There's nothing wrong with shopping around, Guin. They cheat on us all the time. It's fair game."

"I don't know about that..."

Short Stack leaned forward. "I'm sorry, how many times have you and your husband had sex?"

"We haven't."

"Exactly," she smirked. "That means he has another source of pussy. Somepony who can do this!"

She lowered herself down even further, swallowing half of the bound stallion's rod into her in one smooth motion. As she did, her face contorted, first into a grimace, then a smile with her tongue hanging out as her eyes rolled back in her head.

Guin immediately stood up and flew over. "Are you alright?!"

"I'm grrrreat!" moaned Short Stack. "Just peachy!"

Guin backed off a bit, just in time to see Short Stack lifting herself off of the stallion, who began to buck his hips once again. This time, though, she didn't pull away. In fact, she lowered herself back down, letting him hammer away at her. 

For a few minutes, at least. Before anything else could happen, she pulled herself up again and separated, leaving him thrusting away at nothing. 

"Is... Is that it?" asked Guin. "Is it over that quickly?"

"Oh, not remotely," smirked Short Stack. "We've only just begun. But it's time you not just watch. You're going to do something, now."

Guin looked up at the curtains. "I don't know if I can do that..."

"No, not the aerobatics! Just focus on his cock."

Guin looked around the room again. She didn't see anyone else. "But, he's a stallion."

"So's your husband."

"But where's this cock?"

Short stack closed her back legs around the stallion's penis. "His wang. Have you never heard it referred to as a cock before?"

Guin swallowed.

"Oh, right, you've never seen one in real life..." She slid down onto the stallion's stomach and rubbed her hoof along the top.  "This is a cock. Go on, touch it."

Guin slowly reached out, placing her claw against it and rubbing. She didn't know why she was hesitating. It was just slightly damp skin. What was the big deal? 

"Remember, cats like to eat chicken."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"The pussy wants to swallow the cock."

Guin nodded as she continued to rub. That was actually a good analogy. If she could just remember that, she could figure out how sex worked. Or at least, she thought so...

"Try to find a dry spot."

Guin looked up. "What?"

"Unless you want to taste my pussy, try to find a dry spot. You're going to lick it."

Guin looked at it from every angle. There weren't a lot of dry spots remaining. "I think the whole thing is soaked..."

Short stack leaned around. "His balls are mostly dry."

Guin lowered her gaze. "But they're all hairy."

"So are kiwifruit," answered Short Stack. "And peaches, too. Just give it a taste. But no biting; they hate that."

Guin lowered her face to his balls and licked one. It didn't taste like anything. She licked again, slower this time. Soap. It was barely there, but he tasted like soap. It was just a mild taste of soap.

"Isn't that the best thing you've ever tasted?"

Guin shook her head. "I'm not a fan of cilantro."

"Oh, no, his body wash is coriander."

"Well, it tastes like cilantro..."

Short Stack scowled, then pushed her away. "Go back to your chair. You're going to want a good view of this. And keep rubbing yourself."

As Guin sat down, Short Stack unlocked the bar holding the stallion's front hooves, and immediately, like a lightning bolt, he had her by the hips, lifting her up and impaling her on his dick. How it all fit was a feat Guin couldn't fathom, as it had come up to Short Stack's nose when it was outside of her. Just how deep could she take it inside of her? How stretchy was she?

And then back up she came. And then back down. And up and down, again and again. Counter to her movement, his hips bounced between the bed and her arse, his balls slapping against her with a wet plop twice per second. She was screaming, but she was smiling at the same time. And the word she kept screaming over and over, "Harder!" was just encouraging this. 

In truth, Guin had been afraid of having sex with Jack because he had said it would hurt. If this was what it looked like, it probably would hurt. But Short Stack was smaller than her and the stallion was bigger than Jack, and they seemed to fit together just fine.  Perhaps she was fretting over nothing...

She continued to watch and learn. She rubbed herself while watching them change positions twice. After holding Short Stack down until white goop was leaking out of her gaping pussy, the stallion pinned her chest to the bed after freeing his back hooves, filling her arse until more of that goop came out, then rolling her onto her back and shoving his cock down her throat until she passed out. 

Not wanting to overstay her welcome or be claimed responsible for the mess, Guin scooped up the magazine, tucking it under her wing, and left.
> Chapter the Twentieth: The Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin was glad Short Stack had sent her home in a carriage. The celebration had taken place in the sun, but once it had cleared out a bit, it was scheduled to rain, and rain hard. By the time they were done, the streets were flooded, water gushing into storm drains as it ran off the roofs. A few rumblings of thunder warbled in the air, but Guin was safe inside of a covered carriage with padded seats.

She had met with Short Stack's son again, who tipped her off to bit of a secret while she was waiting for the carriage to come around: his dad knew about the affairs. In fact, he encouraged them. He had even paid some of the earlier stallions to come fuck his wife and stretch her out. 

"Believe me or don't; it doesn't matter. Speaking of it will see your destruction, of course, but your silence will see you invited to return. Don't be an idiot."

His words echoed in her head as she rode back home. Why would he have entrusted her with this information if she wasn't supposed to deliver it? How could she possibly use that? Why would she ever need to know any of this?

The carriage came to a stop, and the door opened. Before she could hop out, her driver had an umbrella ready, and he escorted her wordlessly to the door, and did not bother to close the umbrella until she was safely inside, all but her claws dry.

Jack was already home, and after dinner, they all went to bed. No showers tonight, as, even though it was incredibly unlikely, there was still a chance that lightning could strike the house and travel through the old metal pipes. It wasn't long at all before they were all asleep, lulled to dreamland by the gentle thrum of rain on the roof.

For a few hours, anyway. As soon as lightning struck nearby, Guin was awake and alert. Three days after she'd learned to fly, she'd fallen out of the sky when struck by lightning, and it had been horrifying for her ever since. She knew there were some rumblings of thunder nearby, but the weather report had indicated that it'd pass right by them. It wasn't supposed to come this close. 

A flash lit up the room, and a boom shook the windowpane so hard that it rattled. On nights like this, she would sleep next to her gran, who would comfort her and tell her that everything would be okay. 

Jenny let out a loud snore. How she could sleep through this was nothing short of unfair. Still, Guin had gone beyond wishing harm on her friend just to have somepony on her side. She would have to go a bit further up.

As the room lit up again, Guin covered her ears, but she could feel the vibrations in her chest. There was no way she could handle this on her own. She jumped down to the floor and rushed into the hall. She could hear Kurt's snoring through his door, but Jack was surprisingly quiet. Perhaps he was still awake?

She pushed open the door, and found that, no, he wasn't. He was asleep, too. He was just snoring quietly.

There was something odd about him, however. Something Guin had never noticed before. Something she definitely would have noticed before. He had a cock, right in the same place all of the pony stallions did. It even looked pretty similar. 

She came up to see it a bit closer. She'd seen a lot of the stallion Short Stack had been riding today, though she hadn't tasted him more than once, hadn't tried to ride him, and hadn't really been participating once the shackles came off for fear of being involved any further. They were moving too fast for her to be comfortable joining in and slowing them down. 

Lightning flashed again, and she curled up. In doing so, she had put her face in his balls. He certainly smelled better than the stallion, with lavender and thyme being the scents of his body wash, very subtly wafted under the overtones of his natural musk.

Gingerly, she stuck out her tongue and licked him. He tasted a bit salty, but otherwise, much better than the other stallion. If he kept washing the same way, she could see herself enjoying this.

As light flashed across the room and the windows rattled again, she didn't feel as scared as she had before. Maybe it was because her mind was on other things, maybe it was his warmth, or maybe all the mares were right about sex just being so good that all worry fled from their minds.

She took a deep breath. If Jack was awake, he'd put an end to this. He'd try to find another way, and he'd probably find one. But she had to do this, for multiple reasons. Short Stack had showed her how good it felt for both stallion and foal, Seascape had been envious of how great a partner Jack would be, and it would spit right in the face of Red Tape if he showed up. All of her roads were leading to this point, and it was the solution to all of her problems. Even if Jack would hate her for it, even if it hurt, she had to try. She had to make it work.

She didn't have silk curtains like Short Stack, but she had wings. Hovering just above Jack's penis, she gently pushed the tip against her slit. They were both mostly dry, but she could feel herself slickening as she rubbed. She was very gentle, not wanting to wake him. That would be the end, if he were to wake and find her doing this. 

Once she had a bit of lubrication, she tried to work the tip in. It was starting to flare outward, and if it went any wider, it'd never fit. Thankfully, she managed to let it in once she relaxed her legs a bit more. 

The feeling was incomparable. She'd never felt anything like this. It was a pain, but it was a good pain. She'd never felt a good pain before. It was always bad. So why was this good? Was sex so great that even pain itself could be completely removed from her body?

The answer came to her a moment later. She felt a pair of hooves grip her hips and push down. In an instant, all good was gone from her, and she was in excruciating agony, feeling like her insides had been torn apart.
> Chapter the Twenty-First: Split
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin's blood-curdling scream woke the whole house. Of course, Jack was there, first, and within seconds, she was removed from his impaler and wrapped in his arms.

Though the storm raged on outside, he carried her to the bathtub, still in a daze, and started up the cold water. It took him a moment to figure out the best way to avoid immersing her in the water, but when Kurt showed up, his first instinct to send him away so as not to see was to fetch a bucket, and that was the best answer. Jenny also appeared to help, and she was sent to grab a rag.

On their return, Jack was able to block their view and tell them that he'd handle it from there, and that they should go back to bed. By then, he'd gathered enough visual information to figure out what happened, and he didn't want them to spend too much time worrying about what happened, and he'd come up with an excuse later.

As he wiped her blood off of his dick and her cunt, he said nothing. He was too upset to say anything. The trouble with that was, Guin didn't know that he wasn't angry with her. Not for the most part, anyway. 

Once they were cleaned up and frigid, and the storm was winding down, Jack wrapped her in a towel and carried her back to his bedroom, and it was there that he finally spoke to her. "Stay here."

Guin just nodded, knowing that she was in a lot of trouble, and it was best if she did exactly as he said. He was back a moment later with a bag of ice cubes, which he wrapped in a damp rag and placed on her abdomen to numb the pain she was still feeling. She was still bleeding, just not as much as she had been. 

A few hours passed before Jack returned. She should have been leaving for school right now, but he'd instructed her to wait. "I've contacted your teacher; you're taking the day off because "you tripped over an end table last night and a vase fell on you, so I took you to the doctor." Jenny and Kurt have been let in on that information, and not the truth, so they'll be corroborating this story until it dies down. I'm taking the day off of work to take care of you, for the same reason. If anyone asks, the lightning caused you to jump sideways."

Guin nodded. She was scared of thunderstorms, so that made sense. 

"How do you feel?"

It took a moment for Guin to answer. She felt terrible, both physically and emotionally. Part of her wanted to hurt. She'd done something she knew was wrong, and now she had to suffer the consequences. She deserved to be in pain for what she'd done. "Awful..."

Jack took a few steps closer and placed a plate in front of her. It had poached eggs on toast with some kind of red sauce, with buttered grits on the side. "You should eat. Keep your strength up."

As he walked out of the room, she stared at the plate. She loved this, but she didn't deserve it. Not after what she'd done. And to top it all off, she'd made Jack miss a day of work. That was not something she could ever make up to him. So she just poked at her breakfast. She wasn't very hungry.

Jack returned half an hour later, a hoof towel over his shoulder. "You've barely touched it. Is something wrong?"

"I'm not hungry," she groaned, moving the plate off to the side and curling up. The gravity of the bed shifted as Jack sat down next to her. As she felt his hoof on her shoulder, she found herself unable to hold back her tears anymore. "Are you going to send me away?"

"No," answered Jack. "No, of course not... Why would you even think that?"

Guin shook her head, burying her face in the pillow. "I'm a fuck-up..."

As she lay sobbing, Jack rubbed her back. "No, you're not. It's just one mistake."

"A big one. You missed a day of work and I missed a day of school and we're both bleeding and I--"

Jack put his hoof to her beak to silence her. "It's okay. It's kind of my fault, anyway..."

"How is it your fault?" sniffled Guin. "You were asleep."

"You wanted to know," he answered. "I should have brought you in here and taught you in a safe environment. Instead, I left you with so little information that you put yourself in danger. I shouldn't have allowed that to happen. I should be responsible for your safety, and because of my negligence, you were hurt. I cannot tell you how sorry I am..."

Guin felt a drop on her neck, and looked up at Jack. He was crying. 

She rolled over and wrapped her claws around his chest. "I'm sorry I did this. I shouldn't have tried it. I should have listened to you."

He hugged her back. "I'm the one who should have listened to you," he replied. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her away and kissed her. "Right now isn't a good time, as you're still healing, but since we have the day, I want to hear what you have to say. I'll teach you what I know. How's that sound?"

Guin smiled for the first time that day, glad to have a place to discuss this closer to home. But first, there was something she needed to do. "Could I have some time to think about it?"

Jack nodded. "I should go pick up a few things before we begin, anyway. Do you need anything from the market before I go?"

Guin shook her head. She didn't know what she would need, as she didn't know what all was necessary, as she didn't know exactly what she wanted to do. "I'll trust your judgement," she said, pulling her plate back. "You probably know more about this than I do."

Once he left, she hurried to eat, limped out of the room to wash her plate, then retreated to her own bed and pulled out the box. When he returned, she wanted to know what questions she wanted to ask. She didn't want to look stupid in front of him, and while that ship had sailed last night, she was intent on having something that she could offer as a "good question."
> Chapter the Twenty-Second: Married Congress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack returned to a silent house. He checked his bedroom first, and finding that Guin was not there, checked her bedroom next. She was lying on her bed, two magazines and a book in front of her, looking them over intently. From the pictures, he could tell what they were.

He cleared his throat and Guin looked up. "Oh. I didn't hear you come in."

"Care to explain what you have, there?"

She looked it all over rather swiftly. "I wanted to learn how sex worked."

Jack sighed, then nodded. "And since I was being a stubborn ass about it, you opted to try to learn it yourself through means such as this..."

Guin lowered her head. "I wouldn't use those exact words, but yeah..."

"What words would you use?"

"I would have tried to avoid calling you a stubborn ass..."

Jack chuckled. "You're a good kid, Guin. But I have been stubborn, and I am an ass. My name is literally Jack Ass. That's who I am, and that's what I've been."

Guin was silent. She didn't want to agree with him, but he was right.

He walked over and sat down. "Is there anything else in this collection?"

She pulled out the rubber dick, still in the box. Now that the comparison was fresh in her mind, it was smaller than he was, by a wide margin.

"Still in box, huh?" asked Jack, inspecting it.

"Well, I did open it... I'm just using the box for storage."

"You cleaned it, right?"

She nodded.

He took a deep breath, draping it over his shoulder. He then picked up the magazines and book, as well as Guin, and carried everything back to his bedroom, where he laid it all out. "I want you to tell me the truth, Guin. Does Jenny know anything about this?"

"She knows about the box I kept everything in, but not what was inside it. She hasn't seen any of this stuff. Neither has Kurt."

"Good. It stays that way, understand?"

Guin nodded.

"These things are staying in her from now on, too. They'll be safe, and you can still use them, but just with my supervision. Do I make myself clear?"

She nodded again, vehemently.

"Good." He sat down. "They'll learn eventually. I was going to teach Kurt before too long, and with him having a marefriend, I should do it soon, but Jenny... I think you should be the one to talk to Jenny about it. I'll coach you through it, don't worry, but it's going to happen. You have a few years to prepare."

"But I don't know how to teach her how to do it. I don't even know."

"That's what we're going to start on today." He picked up the rubber cock. "Do you know what this is?"

"A penis."

"Almost. It's a dildo; a facsimile of a penis. And a small one, at that. Do you know how to use one?"

Guin shook her head. "I've only used it once, and I think I did it wrong."

"In truth, it can be used to replace a dick in most scenarios," explained Jack. "If I'm asleep, for example. Don't ever do that again; you nearly gave me a heart attack with that scream."

Guin nodded. She was already never going to try that again, because of how much it hurt, but if Jack was in agreement, then it was mutual.

"Good. Now, let me show you the most important things you'll need."

Next to the bed was a shopping bag, and he pulled from it a bottle of clear liquid and a cardboard box. He opened the cardboard box and pulled out a small sleeve, then lay down next to her on the bed. 

"This is a condom. It's also called a rubber. It's one of the most important parts of sex. It's a protective film that goes over the penis to prevent unwanted pregnancy."

"But what if I want to become pregnant?"

"Then you don't put one on. But always ask, first. If you don't want to discuss it, always wear a condom. It's the safest choice." He picked up the dildo. "Now, if I knew you had this, I would have bought condoms in this size, and I could let you practice on that. But since I didn't know, I guess we're going to go back to plan A." He opened the sleeve. "These are in my size. But first, I will need to have an erection."

Guin nodded. "How does one... make that happen?" she asked. "Every one I've ever seen has already been out or was tucked away. I've never seen the change."

Jack nodded, then picked up the book. "There should be a section here at the back... Ah, yes." He turned it around and showed her what he was talking about. "Now, I don't want to seem a selfish lover, but it's important that you learn how to do this. Use your claws on me like he uses his hoof on himself, but make sure not to use your talons. Breaking the skin is a bad thing. And if you have any questions, just ask for help."

Guin followed the instructions in the book, and it wasn't long at all before Jack's cock began to slither out of its sheath. It was even floppier than the rubber one, despite how hard it had been last night. "Am I doing this right?"

"Yep. Keep going, though."

"But it's all floppy."

"Think of it like a balloon," answered Jack. "when it's only halfway inflated, it's all floppy, too. But when fully inflated, it's firm and likes to hold its shape."

As he tried to think of arousing things to help her along, he suddenly felt a wetness on his tip, and had to look as Guin's cheeks began to puff out.

"What are you doing?"

"You said it was like a balloon. I'm trying to blow it up."

"Just rub it with your claws." He intentionally twitched, using his abdomen to yank it upward a small amount. "See? Working just fine. We'll do mouth stuff later, just focus on your claws for now."

It wasn't long at all before he was nice and firm again, standing straight up. Jack ripped open the sleeve and pulled out what looked to be some kind of gasket. "I want you to pinch this part, hold it at the tip, then roll this down the sides."

She did as he said, and seconds later, he was covered in a thin green film. "Did I do it right?"

Jack nodded. "You did it exactly right. Make sure you do this every time, unless both you and your partner want kids. Now, let's talk about lube..."
> Chapter the Twenty-Third: How We Could Be
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin clamped her beak shut, trying to hold in her moans, and failing adorably. She was lying on her back atop Jack's chest, and he had his left hoof wrapped around her chest. His right hoof was down between her legs, whipping back and forth in shallow, thrumming movements. He didn't want to dig in too deep, as she was still kind of sore, but he wanted to show her a good time.

That's not to say that he wasn't enjoying himself. After she'd applied a condom and a coating of lube, his staff had not lost any rigidity, holding its position between Guin's knees. Every so often, it would twitch. It wasn't that he didn't want to do this. Ever since they'd signed the marriage certificate, the fact that this was allowed had been wearing on the back of his mind. He hadn't acted on it because he had considered himself too big; that if he were to plunge himself into her depths, that he'd end up hurting her. 

But now wasn't the time for "I told you so." He'd tried to keep it from her, thinking it was the safest option, but he'd failed. If she was going to do this whether he wanted her to or not, he'd rather she do so as safely as possible.

"How does that feel?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Do you enjoy that?"

She nodded vehemently, not daring to open her mouth for fear of screaming again, alerting the whole neighborhood. 

"Good. I want you to like this." He started rubbing just a little bit harder. "This isn't a bad thing, and I don't want you to grow up thinking it is. Sex can be wonderful, and that's what I want you to understand. You didn't do anything inherently wrong."

As she let out a squeak, her toes curled, and for the first time in her life, she was brought to orgasm, though she wouldn't learn the word for a few days, yet. She let out a clear squirt of liquid, which was encouraging to Jack, as it meant she wasn't bleeding anymore. He still wasn't going to insert anything into her today, but he was glad to know she'd healed.

She'd not slept well through the night, and having her body rocked by her very first orgasm took a lot out of her. Within minutes, she had passed out.

She woke up a few hours later to find that she was still in Jack's bed, but now covered in the faux skin blanket. It was very warm and snuggly now that she was alone. She had overheated the first time she'd used it, but that was likely because it was absorbing some of Jack's heat, as well as her own. Now that it was just her own body regulating the temperature, it felt wonderful.

Still, she pushed it off and climbed out of bed. Her ice pack and damp towel had already been removed, and she was having little trouble walking anymore, whether it had been pain or pleasure that still kept her legs stiff. 

Jack was out in the living room, flipping through the "RUSTLER" magazine. As she walked out, he waved her over, and she hopped up to snuggle under his elbow.

"So, is this what you've been reading?" he asked.

"I hadn't even opened that one, yet," she admitted. "There was a lot to go over, and I haven't had them long."

"Which one were you focusing on the most?"

She pointed to the book. "I thought that one was likely to contain the best information."

"Very likely," nodded Jack. "It's more of a technical manual, while the magazines are more of a fantasy fodder. You might find some fun ideas in here, but the most basic stuff is going to be in the book, so that's where we should start."

Guin looked up at him. "Now?"

"If you want, but I think you should wait until after lunch..."





After some tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, as well as a good shower to make sure they were both clean, they returned to Jack's bedroom. They had spent about forty-five minutes discussing what Guin wanted their sexual relations to be, with Jack mostly insisting on temperance. He didn't want to stifle her thoughts, but she wanted to experience so much. She wanted to try almost everything in the magazine, and what was feasible, he told her they would work their way up to that. He wanted her to try a lot of it, and was willing to go on this journey with her, but everything at once would overwhelm her, for sure.

Instead, He focused on some of the simpler things. He had her demonstrate how to put on a condom, which she did on her own, as well as applying lube. 

He had her demonstrate the mating press, a simple alteration on the missionary position. Rather than lying flat, she grabbed her paws with her talons and rolled back onto her shoulders. As she held herself like this, he climbed up on top of her and began to grind the bottom of his dick against her. The book said he was supposed to penetrate and drill down as far as possible to maximise the chance of conception, but that wasn't their goal. He wasn't even going to go inside of her. Not yet.

As he slid along her, Guin could feel how big he was, and it gave her pause. She had taken almost all of it, or so she thought. It could reach her shoulder, almost, and it had been inside of her. It didn't look that big, but having it pressed against her, she knew she had a lot to learn before she could take it reasonably. 

They carried on like that for a bit, then they flipped over and she rode him for a bit, again without any penetration. The closest they came to that was just the tip, as she had tried to do last night, but this time with his hooves keeping her from falling too low. She took on some of that responsibility, herself, using his knees as handles, but neither of them was keen on letting her slip again.

They ended the session with a bit of oral. As Jack was the one calling the shots, he ensured that she had a comfortable seat on his face before having her grab his mast. She was going to learn some amount of technique, and he would keep her right on the edge until she was able to finish him off. When he finally came, he directed her attention to the reservoir tip, mentioning that this was the purpose of the condom, before diving into her loins and giving her a second orgasm, much more powerful than the first. 

As she slumped down, panting, she had to admit, this was way better than school...
> Chapter the Twenty-Fourth: The Last Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the kids came home, Guin had a lot of homework to do. Aside from the standard amount, she had everything she'd been missing the day prior. To her immense pride, Kurt came home with the news that he'd passed his test with excellent marks. Not perfect, but it was clear that her insistence on his studying had paid off.

After spending the night in her own bed, as Jack didn't want to have another interrupted night, she was well enough to attend school the next day, as well as the meeting after class. She was just supposed to clean up this time, not bring food and wine.

The food at this meeting was inedible. Vino had brought them pizza; several boxes worth. Frozen pizzas, that she had forgotten to cook. 

What she had brought was wine. And whiskey. And schnapps. 

Guin wasn't particularly fond of alcoholic beverages, and was convinced that coming home smelling of booze would not be good for Jack. Even worse if Red were to make an appearance. 

The same could not be said for the other mothers, almost all of them having drinks. Even Short Stack had a few shots of schnapps, though she didn't over-indulge like some of the others.

"Okay," slurred Blanket Stitch, who had grabbed a bottle of whiskey when she came in and was more than halfway through it. "I can't keep track of who has and hasn't been counted, so if you're not here, let me know."

There was some scattered applause, but no one called out.

"Good. Now, who failed their tests this week?"

"I did!" shouted one of the moms Guin hadn't met. "One blue line!"

"I meant school tests, not pregnancy tests..." She sighed. 

Guin stood up. "I am proud to announce that my stepson has moved up two letter grades since last week. On top of that, my stepdaughter's score went up six percent."

"That's still failing on both counts," noted the zebra, who'd had very little to drink. "Plus, it says here you took all of yesterday off. Would you care to explain?"

"L-later..." she answered. She was astounded that she would still be looked down on for that. Short Stack didn't jump to her aid, either, having been engrossed in a conversation at her table.

As the other mothers went over their advancements and failings, none of them had even come close to the burst of progress Guin had experienced. Most of them had dipped this week, likely due to the holiday in the middle of it. Vino had even suffered a substantial loss, with her son being suspended from school for breaking a bunch of windows because he'd failed a test, and she was just given a "thanks for trying." Nopony even said anything when Blanket's son had turned in a failure of a macaroni art. How anypony could fail a macaroni artwork was beyond Guin's imagination, but it had happened somehow, and nopony dared call her out for it.

Being called out for not improving Kurt's grades enough had diminished Guin's confidence to the point where she didn't volunteer her sex story, but not so much that she opted out of telling it when called on. 

"So, after spending half the day looking at and discussing dirty magazines with my husband, he and I went into the bedroom, put on a big, orange condom, and--"

"Boring!" shouted Blanket Stitch. 

"I'm sorry?"

"You should be! I mean, sex with your husband? Condoms? Your own shared bedroom? Where's the excitement in that?"

Guin shuffled her claws. "Well, it was exciting when we did it..."

Blanket scoffed. "Let me guess: After grinding on you for a bit, you stayed in one or two positions until he finished, and then you cuddled for the rest of the time?"

"It was three positions..."

"Still boring."

"Yeah," called Short Stack. "Tell them about the one where you came to my place, it's way saucier!"

"No, she'd just ruin it," snapped Blanket Stitch. "Why don't you tell it, instead?"

As Short Stack began to recount the tale, Guin sat back. Some of the other mares laughed when Short Stack revealed that Guin had been a virgin a few days ago, and even made fun of her for not knowing what porn was. There were even a few that spat out their wine at the mention of Guin not liking the taste of balls. To be fair, she liked Jack's balls, but not that strange stallion's.

As the story came to a close with Guin walking out of the bedroom, something occurred to her. Seascape was right. Her Gran was right. Jack was right. Even Kurt was right. She had nothing to gain from this. What she should do now was what she'd done two days ago: leave.

She did feel a bit guilty as she walked out the door. She was supposed to clean up, but they were all mothers in there. Cleaning was part of being a mother. And they'd all, by their own admission, married incompetent stallions that were incapable of picking up after themselves and their children. That meant they were used to cleaning, just like they were used to cooking. After all, their husbands didn't do any of that. If their whole job was to cook and clean, there were enough experts in that room to pick up the empty bottles and plastic cups.

Guin knew there would be some blowback for this, but she didn't care. It didn't matter anymore. What benefit there was in having access to the group was minimal, so long as she could still talk to the teachers as a parent and improve her children's grades, along with her own. And with more time at home, she could be a better mother than all of them, by spending her extra time with her family. 

She rushed home, her mind not a reflection of the odour she carried with her. As much as she had tried to avoid drinking anything, she had been splashed three times, and was looking forward to an impromptu shower. 

When she stepped out, she was quite pleased to find Seascape in her kitchen, making dinner with Jack. "What's all this about?"

"Thought I'd pop in and see how you were doing," answered Seascape. "How are you doing?"

"Good," Guin answered. "I've decided not to attend any more meetings."

Seascape nodded. "What did it?"

"Kurt passed his math test so masterfully that he went from a high D to a low B. If that's not enough of a reason to be glad, I don't want to be there anymore."

"Well said," agreed Seascape. "Very well said, indeed..."
> Chapter the Twenty-Fifth: Family Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't particularly often that they all sat down to dinner together. They'd usually eat in shifts, with Jenny and Guin eating first while Jack was doing some dishes to make sure he stayed ahead of them. As they dropped their dishes into the sink to let him wash them, Kurt would show up and eat, and would finish up shortly after Jack started, and return to his bedroom for solitude. When Jack would finish, he would finish the dishes and return to his own room. 

However, they had guests today, and not the way that Guin had always been a guest before moving in. Guin was considered familiar enough, even then, to be counted as not special enough to be a "guest."

Seascape, however, was absolutely a guest in their home. Having a guest to dinner meant they would all sit down at once in the same room. It was an uncommon occurrence, but perhaps that was for the best. If they all did this every night, it would feel less special. 

"How's your lasagna?" asked Seascape, tucking into her food. 

"It's pretty good," answered Kurt, blushing and looking away. He'd barely touched his, mostly just poking it with his fork.

Seascape swallowed her bite. "You can feel free to be honest, you know. I ask what you think because I want to do a better job. I'm not seeking validation when I ask, but input. Please, tell me if there's something wrong with it."

"No, it's a good lasagna," agreed Jack. "It's a fine lasagna. I only see one big issue with it."

Seascape puffed out her chest, ready to face whatever criticism he had for her. "And that is?"

Jack cut out a piece of his, then held it in front of his mouth. "Kurt doesn't like basil."

Guin wasn't experienced enough to pick out flavours in her food and identify what was what, but she knew basil was an herb, and herbs were usually green. In the white layer of the lasagna, there were green flecks, likely the basil. It was the sweetest part of the dish. Why Kurt didn't like it was beyond her. 

Seascape shrugged. "I didn't know that."

Jack nodded as he swallowed the bite. "I would have warned you if I'd looked at the recipe, rather than just leaving you to it, but I guessed that you knew what you were doing. I figured he'd told you already."

"It never came up."

Guin smiled to herself. She had known that Kurt didn't always stick around for dinner on nights they ate Italian, or when he did, gorged himself on garlic bread, but didn't know why. She would file that information away for later, but that wasn't what made her smile. It was seeing that Kurt and Seascape's relationship, despite being two months older than her relationship with Jack, still had problems. In a way, it was comforting, knowing that she was doing about as well as one could hope.

"Jack, could I speak to you in the kitchen, please?"

Jack glanced over to Guin, who had eaten half of her plate. "Sure."

They scooted apart and made their way to the kitchen. Once out of immediate earshot, Guin waved him down and whispered in his ear, "How long would it take to make garlic bread?"

"From scratch? A couple of hours. If you want it to just be makeshift, I can do it in five minutes."

"Can we make some for the table? I want Kurt to eat, but I don't want to insult Seascape by taking the spotlight."

Jack smiled. "I'll handle it myself. I'll bring it out when it's ready."

With a nod, Guin returned to the table. Granted, they were still in the kitchen, as it was a small house and the dining table was in the kitchen, but there was space enough for them to be unheard. Not enough space to be unseen, however, as everypony saw Jack making garlic butter and spreading it on sliced bread, then dumping that on a hot griddle. Everypony saw him flipping it over and sprinkling some parmesan on it. It wasn't hard to figure out what he was doing.

True to his word, he returned five minutes later with a platter of garlic bread. Guin took a slice with her second serving of lasagna, as did most of the table, and Kurt took half a dozen. "Thanks, dad..."

"You should thank Guin. It was her idea."

"Thanks, mum."

Guin nearly choked, and once her coughing fit was over, everyone's attention turned to Kurt. 

"What?"

"Nothing," chuckled Jack, returning to his meal after rubbing Guin's back for a bit. 

"You called Guin "mom."" clarified Jenny. 

"No, I didn't," insisted Kurt. 

"You kind of did," argued Seascape.

"I said "Thanks, Guin,"" he insisted. "She's not my mom."

"Technically, she is," shrugged Jenny. "She's married to our dad."

"That makes her a stepmother," spat Kurt.

"But stepmothers are always evil," spat back Jenny. "Whoever heard of a "good stepmother?" Every storybook says either "evil stepmother" or "wicked stepmother." Are you saying Guin is mean, after she came up with the idea of having garlic bread?"

"I didn't say she was cruel; I said "thanks,"" he growled. "What more do you want from me?"

Guin held up her claws. "Everypony, settle down!" When the room was quiet, she took a deep breath. "Look, we all know that this marriage situation is not ideal. We've all voiced our concerns on that front."

"I haven't," interjected Jenny.

Guin just held up her claw again. "None of us were hoping for this outcome. It's not ideal. But I'd like to make the most of it. So, Kurt doesn't want me to be his stepmom. So, Jenny doesn't like the idea of stepmoms in general. Maybe I'm not a good stepmom. But I'd like to try. Please, let me try. You don't have to call me mom, you don't have to call me stepmom, you don't have to treat me like a parent. Just treat me as if I'm somepony who cares enough about you to work towards your safety and comfort."

Kurt lowered his head. "Sorry..."

"It's not a big deal," assured Guin. "Just try to remember that this is a challenge for me, too."

Kurt lifted up a slice of toasted garlic bread. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Guin smiled sheepishly, "dear."
> Chapter the Twenty-Sixth: Kurt's Reason
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was very little teasing after the bit of cheeky fun at Kurt's expense. After that, the conversation turned to the weather, weekend plans, and a few other topics of polite discourse. Seascape's whole purpose in coming was to check in with Guin, but she had some other goals, as well.

When she invited Kurt on a date, Guin was quick to be in support. She wanted them to be happy spending time together, because she liked Seascape. Plus, if she could find a way to send Jenny off to do something, she and Jack could have the house to themselves, and do some more experimenting.

After dinner, they started their shower rotation. When Kurt went in for his, Seascape asked Guin secretly about the box, only to find out that Jack had confiscated it and was keeping it in his bedroom, but that she was still allowed to access it with permission. With that confirmed, Seascape gave her a small, unmarked box, telling her to put it with the rest. Then, she left. She wasn't staying the night, after all.

When Guin's shower was over, she started toward Jack's room, but Kurt stopped her in the hallway, waving her into his bedroom. "Look, I've been thinking, and... I'm sorry. It's not a personal attack."

Guin cocked her head to the side. "What are you talking about?"

"What I said at dinner," he clarified. He sat down on the corner of his bed and gestured to his desk to let her know that she could sit down.

"Oh, I forgive you," smiled Guin, taking a seat. "And hey, I was just teasing. I wasn't trying to make you upset, I was just poking fun."

Kurt shook his head. "It's not just dinner. I've been angry with you this whole time, and I think you deserve to know why." He opened a drawer and pulled out a photograph, giving it to Guin. "This was us."

Guin took the photograph from Kurt's hoof. She saw Jack looking a bit worried, Kurt looking genuinely happy, and Jenny asleep in the hooves of a sickly-looking donkey mare.

"You and Jenny were already friends at this point. Jenny can't remember her. You probably don't, either. But I do."

Guin shook her head. "Your mom, I take it?"

Kurt nodded. "This was shortly before the end. A little more than ten years ago."

Guin gave the picture back. "She seems like she was a nice enough mare."

"She was wonderful." Kurt turned to Guin. "I know what it's like to lose somepony close to you. I feel it in a way that Jenny can't understand. In a way that you'd have been unable to comprehend a month ago. My dad feels it, too, but there's something else. If it were just this, I'd probably be a lot nicer to you. My problem is something my dad can't feel the way I do."

Guin nodded, but said nothing. She wanted to know why Kurt had been so cold. 

"Everyone is trying to erase this photograph."

Guin raised her eyebrow, clearly confused. "Don't you keep it locked in a drawer?"

"Not literally," he growled, "figuratively. Most of them don't even know they're doing it, but every time somepony refers to you as "my mom..."" He trembled, as if even explaining it hurt him somehow. "I thought referring to you as my stepmom might help, so I've been trying to usher that forward, but it doesn't do much. Seascape actually came up with a good idea, to just call you "Guin." Change nothing, just... know you as I have always known you; my sister's best friend that lives with us."

"I don't want to replace your mom," assured Guin. "I certainly don't want to damage your memories, either. I'm still Guin, just, now I'm married to yo--"

"Nono, no... Don't say it," he waved. "I know how it is, and why it has to be that way. But please, don't say it. The more I can ignore this problem, the better."

"Ignoring the problem doesn't change it," breathed Guin. "It's still there."

Kurt shook his head. "This is a "wait out the clock" situation for me. In six years, none of this will matter. You and my dad can divorce, nopony will be hurt by that, and then you can be an adult that lives in your own house, because you'll still have your gran's place. In order to fix this problem, all I have to do is wait. When you're eighteen and can be released into your own custody, instead of the state's custody, I won't have to deal with this problem anymore."

Guin swallowed. "Unless we stay married."

The room fell silent as Kurt scowled. "Excuse me?"

Guin puffed out her chest. "A lot can change in six years. Maybe your dad and I will be happy together. He certainly doesn't deserve to be alone."

"He has children," Kurt seethed. "He'll have grandchildren."

"And that's fine," nodded Guin. "Two visits a month. What about the day-to-day?"

Seeing Kurt stewing, she decided that was enough for now. She hopped down and made her way to the door. 

"None of this is decided, yet. But your dad's been very good to me. And I want to make sure that he's taken care of."

"And I don't?"

"I'm sure you do. I'm sure you want what's best for him. If I'm not what's best for him, I will abdicate, and your worry will be gone when I come of age. But if he would be better off with me sticking around, then that's what I'm going to do. I just hope that, if that day comes, you can see me as I'm trying to be, not the accident that I started as."

As she closed the door behind her, she lowered her face into her claws. She meant most of that. Counter to what she'd felt at the beginning, which was just confusion, she now knew that she was happy being married to Jack, not just because it was better than the alternative, but because he had made every effort to make her feel as if she belonged in his home. She loved him, and she was no longer unsure of that fact.
> Chapter the Twenty-Seventh: An Afternoon Alone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a fairly restless night, Guin was almost relieved to find that Kurt had already left. Additionally, Jack had sent Jenny out for the day, as well, to prepare for an activity they would all be taking part in tomorrow. That left Guin and Jack home with just each other for the whole day.

After breakfast, they talked for a bit, Guin curled up under Jack's elbow, showing him that she wanted to be intimate, as well as telling him what she wanted to do. They weren't quite to the point where they could communicate wordlessly yet, but they didn't need to remain silent. 

After some light touching and a spot of lunch, he scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom once again. The first thing they did was open the small box that Seascape had given Guin yesterday, and it was some sort of egg-shaped device with a cord running to a remote with a strap. Jack called it a vibrating butt plug, but insisted that they wait a fair bit before he would show her how it worked.

That's because today was the day they would try again. It wasn't simply rubbing or just wedging the tip in there. Today was about penetration. This time, hopefully, without injury. 

Jack worked himself up this time, and once he was nice and firm, he lay down on his back. Immediately, Guin reached for the side table where the box of condoms had been, but they weren't there.

"Top drawer," smiled Jack, glad she had passed the test he hadn't even told her about. He was hoping she would remember, and would only tell her about the test if she failed. But there was one other point of review he wanted her to do. Thankfully, she passed that, too, checking to make sure it was rolling the right direction before she even tried to put it on. His pride in her swelled, glad that she remembered what he'd taught her.

After lubing him up, she climbed up onto his knees, but he pulled her down to his chest. "I don't want you slipping. If you fall, I don't want to hurt you again. So this time, and until you can adjust to the size, I want you to just back into it."

"O-okay," nodded Guin. The book had said nothing about this, nor had any of the magazines. But neither had they said anything about how much it would hurt, and Jack had a point. Plus, all of the pictures were of adult mares, and they probably had a lot more practice than she did. If this was a safety feature Jack wanted to employ, then she was ready to implement it.

Wedging the tip in, she began to push back, with Jack barely moving in response. She was the one controlling the depth. She went very slowly, stopping only when she ran into Jack's hoof.

"We're going to stop there for a second," he said, coaxing her to lie down on his abdomen. "How does it feel?"

To be honest, it hurt. Not as much as it had a few nights prior, but she still felt as if he were too big. However, there was a tingling sensation that she couldn't ignore, telling her to keep going, and it was stronger than it had been before. "G-good..."

"No, come on, tell me for real."

"It stings a bit, but I think I can do more."

With a nod, Jack removed his hoof, and she moved down, centimetre by centimetre until she felt a flaring width spreading her lips. 

"I did it," she gasped. "I did it! I took the whole thing!"

"You took half," clarified Jack. "Still, that's a lot."

Guin turned her head and reached a claw back to feel that there was still a fair bit of dick before she could reach the balls. She didn't think she could fit any more in, but she hadn't taken the whole thing. She was suddenly less proud of herself, and tried to push back a little further, only to let out a yelp as she took in a little too much.

Immediately, Jack's hooves grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her back up. "Easy!" he called out. "Don't try to take on too much at once..."

"But I need to stretch out," said Guin. "I have to be able to fit all of you..."

"Eventually," assured Jack, petting her neck. "You'll be able to eventually. But don't worry about it so soon. Everywhere else in Equestria, you wouldn't be allowed to even attempt it for another three years, and even then, only with kids your own age. You're way ahead of the curve at just halfway."

She nodded and lowered her head to his chest. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. She lay there, with him petting her shoulders to make her feel a little bit better while he waited for her to relax a bit.

"Are you ready?" he asked, finally.

"Ready for what?"

"To see what this was all building up to."

Guin swallowed, then nodded.

Gently and slowly, Jack began to pull out. The sudden vacancy created a vacuum that sucked her flesh after him, following his tip as it slipped out of her. The tingling she'd felt in her loins as it slipped in was nothing compared to this. Even the pain of sliding a little too far was gone, completely obliterated by the intense pleasure of him sliding out.

And then he went back in. He was faster than before, but that didn't matter. Whether it was the rippling pleasure she'd just felt mitigating what had happened, or the fact that she'd spent some time adjusting to his girth, she didn't know. All she knew was that it was less bad than it had been.

Then he pulled out again, and everything felt good. And then back in, and then out, and then in, and then out again. Before too long, she didn't even notice the little twinges of pain when he went in. She didn't feel herself being stretched. She could barely think of anything to compare this feeling to, other than when Jack had masturbated and licked her a few days ago, and even that was incomparable when stood up against this. 

This was perfect. There was no coming back from this and returning to the way things had been before. Her life would never be the same.
> Chapter the Twenty-Eighth: The Depths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After only a few dozen thrusts, Guin felt herself involuntarily clamp down. She'd felt something similar a few days ago, when Jack was rubbing her, but she felt it again now. 

Last time, her feet had all been in the air, so she couldn't be sure if the same thing happened last time as this time, but her limbs locked in place as her fingers and toes curled and her claws stretched out, locking into the bedspread beneath them. Moments later, a spray of fluid gushed out of her, and she collapsed on a crumpled heap onto Jack's chest.

He wrapped his hooves around her. "Looks like you had a good time," he chuckled.

"Mhmm..." Guin couldn't handle words right now. She could barely handle thinking, much less speaking.

He began to stroke her back, but rather than being gentle, he was applying pressure. Every stroke moved her just a little bit, and that meant moving him inside of her. It was barely any movement, but she felt every millimetre as if it were a decimetre. Were her claws not latched firmly to the bed, her legs would be flailing wildly as the pleasure she felt was sending pulses through her body in rippling waves.

Soon, the pulses calmed in intensity, and she was left to her quiet, humming moans. "That was... great," she breathed, barely able to elaborate.

"Good," he smiled. "So now, there's something else I'd like to do, now that we know your maximum comfortable depth."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'd like to check your depth again. Can you go any deeper?"

Guin looked back. She could feel herself pressed against the medial ring, and any further than that was painful territory. "I don't know..."

"Just try," Jack urged. "If it hurts too much, you can always stop or come back. I'm not trying to hurt you, I just want to see how you feel."

Guin nodded and gulped, then closed her eyes and pushed back. To her amazement, she was able to swallow the medial ring, and even a few centimetres more before it became too much. As promised, Jack let her back up.

"You went a little deeper that time," he smiled. "See? You'll be able to fit the whole thing before you know it."

Guin smiled and placed her claws on his chest. He was a good teacher, and she was right to trust him. 

He held her tight to his abdomen and rolled them both over, so that he was on top, then lowered her to the bed. "Are we going to do that "mission-style" the book was telling us about?"

"Missionary," corrected Jack. "And yes, that's what we're doing. I now know how deep I can go, so as not to hurt you. But if it does start to hurt, I need you to tell me to stop, okay?"

Guin nodded. That seemed simple enough. But as he began to push in to the medial ring, she stopped him. 

"That one magazine talked about how we should have a safe word if things turn sour," she reminded him. "Shouldn't we have a safe word?"

Jack nodded. "The safe word is "stop.""

"But the magazine said to use a word that would seem out of place. What if I said "Don't stop?""

"Then I wouldn't stop." Jack leaned down to kiss her beak. "Safe words are for when regular words don't mean anything. If you tell me to stop, I'll stop. If you want me to go deeper, I'll go deeper. If you want me to go faster, just say so. All you have to do is tell me."

She nodded and let him go. He started off slow, just a few thrusts at a time. He would drive in with a fair amount of speed, then angle his hips and push against her insides as he slowly pulled out. He knew she could take it deeper than he was giving her, but the medial ridge was a good stopper. Also, he wanted to reserve a bit of length in case she wanted him to go deeper.

She didn't call out for anything for a bit. She didn't really feel that she needed to. He was making her feel spectacular, and she didn't even have to do anything this time. Her whole job was to lie back and let it happen. 

As she didn't have to do anything, she didn't know what to do with her claws. If left alone, they would continue to swipe and swing. Her front claws were easy enough to manage, reaching back and grabbing the sheets, but her back paws were still flailing with every twitch. 

That's when she had an idea. Jack could hold them down for her. She looked up, panting, and moaned out, "h-hard..."

She'd meant to say "hold," but everything in her mind was muddled. Immediately, she lost track of her claws as Jack began to drive deeper, faster, and push his dick harder against her vaginal walls. She was being reamed, and she lost the ability to care about where her feet were.

Jack, however, had not lost that ability. He was very aware of what was happening as her back claws dug into his chest. They didn't go deep, and from the look on her face, it wasn't out of any kind of malice. He knew she was in ecstasy, and to be fair, he'd never been with a gryphon before. He'd never even considered that her back paws would hold claws that would dig into him like this.

She came again before he did, and after he finished, he left himself inside of her, just up to the medial ring. She had passed out, and would be enjoying a nap, and he'd show her more when she woke up. But as she'd expressed an interest in stretching, he was going to stay inside of her for a bit. It would help her adjust to the size.

Granted, he knew it wouldn't be an overnight change. It would probably be a few more years before she could take all of him. She was made of flesh, after all, and it liked to return to form. But she was young and pliable, and that meant that she could stretch out now and be ready for a relationship with someone her own age when she came of age. It was unlikely she'd want to stay with a stallion thirty years her senior.
> Chapter the Twenty-Ninth: Red Menace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of Saturday passed uneventfully. Certainly, they did things, but Guin cleaning up the living room while Jack did laundry wasn't all that exciting. Kurt brought Seascape back for dinner, and they found the tater tot casserole Guin had so loved, but there wasn't a big to-do. Jack even sent everypony to bed early because he had something planned for tomorrow. To that end, everypony woke up early. Guin even made waffles to help them along.

"Okay, we're all ready?" smiled Jack, rubbing his hooves together.

"You still haven't told us what we're doing, dad," yawned Jenny. 

Jack nodded and clapped. "We're all going to go over to Guin's Gran's place and clean it up a bit."

Guin shrank back. She hadn't been to the house since the day after her gran had died. It'd only been a few weeks. She didn't know if she was ready to see it again.

"Her house technically belongs to Guin, now, and as Guin is now a member of our family, we're not going to let her place of residence fall into disrepair. We're going to spend some time over there, making sure it's well-maintained, so that she has a place to go when she grows up."

"Do we have to?" asked Guin. She was shaking. "Can't I just live here?"

"Of course you can," smiled Jack. "But if you ever want to go back to your gran's place, it'd be nice if it wasn't full of rats and water damage. We're just doing some home maintenance to make sure it's easy to go back, if you ever want to."

Guin smiled a bit. She was scared, but Jack had a point. Plus, he was going to be there with her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong, but she trusted Jack. She knew he wasn't going to do anything to hurt her. "Okay..."

As Jack opened the door, however, they were met with a trio of guards, led by Red Tape and another stallion, a yellow earth pony with a black mane. These weren't local guards, either; they were Canterlot guards, bearing the official seal of Princess Celestia, herself.

"That's him, boys," nodded Red Tape. "The big one, there."

One of the guards stepped forward. "Jack Ass, you're under arrest for coercion of a minor. Put your hooves together, please."

Jack scowled, but complied with the request. "This is bullshit. We've already been over this. I have the paperwork to prove it." He seemed like he was going out of his way to be docile and cooperative. Guin now understood where Kurt's rage came from. 

As Red escorted Jack to the carriage with two of the guards, the other stallion stepped forward. "Do you kids have somewhere to go where we can contact you?"

"We can stay right here," growled Kurt.

The stallion pulled out a clipboard. "It says you live in a single-parent home."

"That information is inaccurate," interjected Guin, seeing an opportunity. "Jack recently remarried, and there's a new stepmom living here. They can stay here with their stepmom."

The stallion looked at the clipboard again. "You must be Genevieve."

"Guinevere."

The stallion furrowed his brow, then grabbed a pen from behind his ear, scribbling it out. "Don't know why he didn't change that," he muttered. "G-w-e-n-e-v-e-r-e?"

"G-u-i-n."

"And you're the abused party?"

"Allegedly," she clarified. "It's not true; he's very nice."

"I'm sure he is, but being a nice character is not the same as doing the right thing. I'm going to need you to stay here under the care of these two's stepmom. I need to clarify a few things, but that'll have to wait until after Mr. Ass's interrogation. I'll send a guard when it's time to collect you." He looked up and offered his hoof. "Yellow Line, Director of Familiar Welfare, Investigations Branch."

Guin shook it with her claw. "Guin, unemployed."

"I should hope not," he chuckled. "If you need to talk to me at any point during this closing, I'll be down at the guard station on Third Street."

As he and the last remaining guard took off after the carriage, the three of them filed back into the house. Immediately, Guin slumped to the floor and started crying.

"What do we do, now?" asked Jenny. "We can't live here without dad."

"Don't worry," breathed Kurt, though the tremolo in his voice betrayed how worried he actually was. "Like he said, we've been through all of this before, and we have the paperwork. It's in his safe, right?"

No answer came.

"Right?"

Jenny looked to Guin. Neither of them knew exactly where the paperwork was. Jenny had never known, and Guin wasn't watching when he put it away. She knew they were married, and they were even having sex, but it still felt like an invasion of privacy to read his paperwork without permission. 

Kurt took a deep breath and looked outside. While it had seemed that the guards had all left, one had stayed behind to watch the place and make sure they didn't leave. They could probably sneak out the back, but even if they did, where would they go?

"Let's just wait here, for now," he concluded. "I'll be in my room. Come grab me if there's a development."

As Kurt disappeared, slamming his door behind him, Jenny was starting to shake. "I don't feel well..." 

Guin didn't know how to make soup, as she had only just started learning how to cook. Not having an adult to help her figure it out, she was definitely not in a good spot.

Still, she had to do something, and her first line of thought was to walk Jenny to her bed. At the very least, she could recover there, rather than in the living room. 

As she stepped out into the hallway, though, one thought echoed constantly in her mind. There was no way around it, and she'd have to face the facts. She didn't want to run away or hide anymore. She especially didn't want to hide behind Jack. Now, he was under arrest, all because of her. If he went to jail, this home would be torn apart. And it was all her fault.

She steeled herself. She was a gryphon. Gryphons were powerful, prideful, and didn't let others fight their battles for them. She was going to fight her own battle. She was going to face those guards and do what she knew was right. She just had to be brave and own her decision, like she had with leaving the mothers' meetings.

She marched out of the house, walked right up to the guard, and issued her command. "Take me to the guard station."
> Chapter the Thirtieth: Behind the Yellow Line
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin led the guard to the station, rather than letting the guard lead her. Aside from the fact that she knew the area better, he was making sure she didn't stray from the path. As soon as she arrived, she demanded to talk to Yellow Line, and was placed in a small room with a table, two chairs and a mirror. She waited ten minutes before he came in.

"I was expecting you to wait a little longer before coming forward," he said, sitting down across the table from her. "That you've arrived so early tells me that there's something important that you want to say."

Guin leaned forward. Her face was akin to stone. "You're in charge of making sure that this family is under proper care, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm here to stop you from destroying it. I will take the hit."

Yellow furrowed his brow. "That's not how this works. Nopony's going to hit anypony else."

"It's a figure of speech," said Guin. "A metaphor, if you will."

"Okay. I'm not sure what you mean, but please, continue."

"First and foremost, those other two kids have a dad that loves them and takes good care of them. They're properly fed and taken care of by their biological father. He's never abused them in any way."

"He was charged previously with neglect..."

"He'd just lost his wife at that time. When he recovered from that, he did everything he could to make them into the best kids they could be. Sure, he had some hiccups along the way, but he was a single parent."

Yellow line clicked his pen. "Tell me about their mother."

"She died before I was able to form memories. I only ever saw pictures."

"Their stepmother, I mean."

"That's me."

Yellow Line looked up at her through his eyebrows. "Be serious."

"I am."

"Young lady, there's no way you're married. There's a law governing age of consent in Equestria."

"Most of Equestria," corrected Guin. "Everypony knows that it's eighteen through most of Equestria, but sixteen in Las Pegasus."

"Right. And you're what, eleven?"

"Twelve. And here, there is no age of consent for marriage."

Yellow Line turned to the mirror. "Is that right?"

There was a click from the other side of the glass, then through the wall came a voice. "Yeah, he's allowed to marry her as long as he has the permission of her legal guardian."

Yellow shrugged. "Okay. So, when you said that their stepmom was home, you meant that you were home, and now your children are unsupervised because you're here."

"Kurt's fourteen. He's legally allowed to babysit."

"Fair enough..." he leaned back. "At some point, I want to discuss how it feels to have a stepson that's older than you are, but right now, I'd like to return to our topic. The kids are well cared for?"

"Yes. There was a slight dip in their care two weeks ago, but that was because of the wedding and funeral. We have since recovered, no thanks to that unicorn you sent."

"I'm sorry... Funeral?"

"My grandmother died. That's why all of this is happening to begin with."

"My condolences. I bet that made the wedding difficult. That's supposed to be a happy time in a young mare's life. Why didn't you postpone?"

"Because once my gran died, I had no legal guardian."

There was a pause, and Yellow held up a hoof while he considered what she had just said. 

"Excuse me." He stood up and walked out of the room, and came back five minutes later. "The next part of this conversation does not leave this room. It's just between you and me, it cannot be used against you or your husband in a court of law; this is a candid conversation. In this moment, I'm not a welfare officer. Do you understand this?"

Guin nodded.

"I'm going to pose a scenario to you. If I'm right, just tell me."

"Okay."

Yellow tented his hooves. "Your gran never consented to your marriage. The fact that you didn't bother to separate the funeral from the wedding is proof of that. You mention that her death kicked off this whole thing. If she was your legal guardian, which my paperwork suggests, then her death would leave you at the mercy of the legal system. It is at this point that along comes Mr. Ass. Friend of the family?"

"My best friend's dad."

"Right. He decides that what's best for you is to come to his house, where you are given a place to stay. Basically, he impromptu adopts you. However, he knows that it won't be long before the state comes in to try and claim you, so he forges your gran's signature consenting to your marriage, making it legal for you to stay with him. Am I close?"

"That's right."

Yellow settled into his chair. "This can't be used in a court; I already informed you of that. But I need you to know, and say back to me, that forging your gran's signature to cheat the system was illegal. Repeat that back to me."

"By forging my gran's signature, Jack committed fraud to keep me from being chewed up by the adoption system or left to rot in an orphanage."

Yellow smirked. "Close enough. You seem to already know that what happened was wrong." He flipped up a page on his clipboard, then let it fall back. "Are you familiar with the word "sex?""

"I am."

"Have you ever performed it?"

"Yes."

"With Jack?"

"That's right."

"Did he ever force you into it?"

"No. In fact, he refused to teach me about it several times. It was Red Tape that forced me to do it."

Yellow's eyes shot open. "Guin, this is the first I'm hearing of this. This has to go on the record." He picked up his clipboard. "Tell me about that exchange."

"Red Tape came to the house and, after hearing that I had been married, rather than adopted, wanted to prove that we weren't married for real. He said we couldn't be married as long as we weren't having sex, and he was going to go grab a warrant to check for my virginity, and that if I was still a virgin when he came back, that he'd have Jack arrested, and the three of us would be forced to go into state care. I didn't have a choice; I had to do it. Jack never forced me, he was always trying to prevent it until I forced his hoof, and afterward, he was always telling me to slow down and that I wasn't ready to try the more extreme stuff yet."

Yellow sighed and lowered his head. "That doesn't need to go on the record, after all." He raised his gaze to Guin and then stood up. "I'm going to have to ask you to wait here, again."
> Chapter the Thirty-First: Reunited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guin had to wait half an hour for Yellow Line to return. When he did, he held the door open, and in walked Red Tape, followed by Jack. "Have a seat next to your wife," he said, looking at Jack. He then turned to Red. "You, stand over there and keep your mouth shut."

As Jack sat down next to Guin, she wrapped her claw around his wrist and held on tight. She didn't know what was about to happen, but she wanted him by her side for it. Even if she would have to let go and be subjected to the process of being sent to an orphanage, or worse, to her mother, she wanted to make it clear that her intention was to stay by his side as long as she could.

Yellow Line sat down on the opposite side of the table and took a deep breath. "First and foremost, I'd like to extend an apology from the whole department. At least my regional branch, anyway. This never should have happened." He turned to Jack and tented his hooves. "Now, what you did was illegal. Forging a signature is punishable by up to twenty years in prison. However, the state is going to look the other way this time. I'm letting you off with a warning."

"What about your chum over there?" asked Jack, gesturing to Red Tape.

"An overzealous newbie. This was his first case, and if it turned out to be an exciting and lucrative case, it would have been a big first step. My first case, for example, was a pretty big deal. Four adopted foals were being used as drug mules. My second case was an upset mother of twelve who'd never heard of a condom, and was refusing to feed some of her children because she didn't want any more. I was promoted after that from being a detective to running task forces, so you can imagine how I managed to draw in a seat as regional director before thirty."

Jack squeezed Guin's claw when he heard about the mother of twelve, as if to instill in her the reason for wearing protection. 

"Two homerun cases like that, and he wouldn't be a detective for too much longer. That's what he was hoping for. However, this wasn't a big case. It is now, but it wasn't at first. Jack, while I cannot approve of your methods for legal reasons, I want to commend your resourcefulness."

Jack raised his eyebrow. "Thank you?"

"I'm being serious," nodded Yellow. "If we overlook the forged signature and the strange laws that allow the two of you to marry, what we're left with is you accepting the responsibility of caring for young Guin, here, when you had no obligation to. You could have told her "tough shit" and walked away, and there's nothing we could do to stop you. Instead, you brought her into your home, gave her a place to stay, something to eat, and I'd like to believe that you're continuing to pay her tuition, is that correct?"

"It is."

"Good." Yellow leaned back. "Now, if you had adopted her, we all know it would have taken months, and she'd have to stay in our care until the paperwork went through. Even so, somepony would need to keep a close eye on that paperwork, and make sure it doesn't become muddled down the line. Even then, it's more likely that you'd end up adopting another donkey. I'm not dismissing the adoption process, as it's still something I believe everypony should consider, but when faced with a difficult situation such as she was, I think it was very brave of you to champion her escape.

"Now, I have every reason to believe that you're going to take care of Guin, and with most marriages, I wouldn't have to do this. However, as this was done with the intention of mimicking an adoption, I'm going to assign you a social worker from my office that's going to check in on you periodically. That is, they will make sure she is well taken care of. If Guin, or either of your biological children, is found to be in poor condition, an investigation will be launched, and if it is found that you are unfit to take care of your children, all of them will be removed from your care, regardless of their relationship to you. I hope I won't have to do that, so I'm warning you now."

"I will make sure of it," agreed Jack. 

Yellow leaned forward and smiled. "Something that is noteworthy in all bureaucracy is that the focus on the paperwork treats everypony like they're the same cardboard cutouts. The paperwork always assumes that each party is the same until proven otherwise with more paperwork. It is because of that fact that unique individuals that have unique situations are either expelled from the system entirely because they don't fit, or are forced to stretch themselves thin to cover ground that should be covered by other ponies, but isn't. It should not be that we forget that our charges are ponies, too, and not just paperwork."

"We're not actually ponies, even," shrugged Jack. "I'm a donkey, and she's a gryphon."

Yellow nodded. "Either way..." He closed his clipboard and stood up. "In light of the testimony provided by your wife, coupled with your much-appreciated cooperation, the state has decided to dismiss all charges. We will be setting you up with a social worker, who will come out once a week for the first six months to ensure that you're managing. Saturday okay?"

"Saturday works," nodded Jack.

Yellow nodded. "You're free to go. If I may, go check on your kids. I know they're home alone right now."

With a nod, Jack hoisted Guin up onto his shoulders and left the room. Once they were out of the guard station, and far enough away as not to be heard, he looked up at her. "That was a very risky thing you did."

"If I did nothing, you'd still be in there," answered Guin. "I may be learning, but I'm not that good yet. Plus, without you, we have no income. How do I support a family with no job?"

"Still, you could have ended up annulling the marriage and having me arrested, anyway."

"Which still would have happened if I hadn't done anything." She wrapped her claws around his shoulders. "Besides, I didn't want to keep running..."
> Epilogue: One Big Happy Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One last thing before I go."

Guin looked up, unsure what was about to be asked. "Yes?"

"Can I take a couple of these cookies for the road?"

Guin nodded and grabbed a brown paper bag. As she slipped the cookies into the bag, she silently thanked the universe for sending a pony to be her social worker, and not a gryphon. 

She'd been seeing her social worker every week for a month now, and everything seemed to be going well. She'd managed to keep the house clean, as it didn't become too messy through normal use. Guin had become more and more competent and confident in the kitchen, and had even interrupted the meeting to take a nutcake out of the oven for Seascape's son's birthday. And most importantly, everyone in the house had calmed down with their stressors diminishing. 

"Thanks. It's going to be a long ride back to Canterlot."

Once she was out the door, Guin made her way out to the garage, where Jack was working under the carriage. "Hey."

Jack took a moment to look, and upon seeing Guin, smiled, and returned to his task. "She gone?"

"Just left," nodded Guin. "How's the cart doing?"

"Well, the axle's fixed," answered Jack. "Wheels are reattached, bearings fitted, all that's left now is to finish attaching it and put it through its paces." He grabbed a bolt from the small stack next to him. "I wager about two more minutes, and then we can try it out."

Guin sat down by his back hooves and gave him the last two bolts. Once he had those in place, she lowered the cart onto its axles and let Jack tighten them down at their full capacity, then helped him slide out from underneath. 

"Okay." He dusted himself off and stood up. "Once around the block?"

Guin hopped into the back as Jack hooked himself up to pull. He took off at a slow walk to the end of the driveway. "Feels good so far," Guin called up to him.

With a nod, Jack kicked it up to a trot and pulled it out onto the street. "How about now?"

"Smooth and easy," called Guin. 

As he turned the corner, he began to gallop, running as fast as he cared to. This time, it was a little bit bumpy, but not more than could be expected. Guin was easily able to stay inside of it, though she was a bit jostled as he slowed down. "How was that?"

"Well," thought Guin, "remember how your bed was squeaking the night before last?"

"Yeah?"

"Felt like that, but less pleasant. I wouldn't put anything glass in here if we're going to go that fast, but if you padded it out a bit, it's a pretty smooth ride."

Jack smiled and turned back up the driveway. As soon as it was parked in the garage, she jumped on his shoulders. "You're a pretty smooth ride, too..."

"You tease," he chuckled. "You know, we don't have to show up at the party for another hour. We have the house to ourselves. Wanna roll around for a bit?"

"I'm in!"





"How are my feathers? Do they look okay?"

Jack placed a hoof on her shoulder. "You look fine, dear."

"Are you sure? I still feel ruffled..."

"You're walking a little crooked, but nopony's going to notice. You're fine."

"I'm walking crooked?" Guin shrank down. "Carry me."

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that," smirked Jack. 

"Everypony's going to notice that I'm walking funny. Carry me."

Jack shook his head and opened the door to Guin's gran's house. "We're here!" he called, alerting everypony to their presence. 

Seascape immediately came over and grabbed the cake. "I'll go cut this up," she said. "Go on, the kids are in the living room."

Guin shivered as she entered the room, with Jack splitting from them to talk to Seascape's stepdad. Guin was left to walk over to Jenny and Kurt on her own.

"Afternoon," smiled Kurt, waving the baby's hoof. "How was the meeting?"

"Good, good," smiled Guin back, sweating. "H-how was the party?"

Jenny looked around. "Still going. You want some punch? It looks like that cart repair took a lot out of you."

"Yeah, that explains it," chuckled Guin, glad to have an excuse. 

However, her forcing it revealed to Kurt what had happened. The smile on his face diminished, but didn't leave. "I expect that you tested the shocks so completely that the ride will be smooth as butter after this," he quipped. 

Guin nodded. At the very least, she was glad that he wasn't as angry anymore. Spending some time talking to the social worker on his own, as well as seeing his dad happy, had opened him up to the idea that it was a good thing that Guin was staying with them. He hadn't yelled at anypony in a week, and hadn't cursed since Thursday. 

"Okay, cake's ready," called Seascape, bringing it in from the kitchen. It had been sliced into eight sections; one for each of them. Seascape, her mom, her stepdad, her son, Guin, Kurt, Jenny and Jack. One of the slices, she put on a plate with a big six-shaped candle. 

They all sang happy birthday to Seascape's son and watched him blow out the candle, then tucked into their cake. Immediately, compliments began pouring in for Guin's nutcake, and then it was time to open presents. Guin and Jack had bought him a stuffed black knight. 

Unfortunately, most of the day had passed, and Kurt and Seascape had a date tomorrow, so it wasn't too much longer before they all had to go home and go to bed. However, Guin was no longer sharing a room with Jenny. Since she was in charge of breakfast anymore, Guin needed to wake up a little bit earlier, and it was easier for Jack to do that if they were sharing a room, and even easier, a bed. 

As Guin, climbed up into bed with Jack, he wrapped his hooves around her and held on tight. "Good night, my love," he said, kissing her head.

"Sweet dreams," she said back to him, burrowing herself into his chest. There was no need for a blanket when she had his warm embrace. "I'll see you in the morning."