Derpy waited impatiently, pacing in the room they called home. Every day it seemed smaller somehow. Each day, the walls shrank just a little more. And with the new foal, things were tighter than ever. She trodded back and forth, glancing nervously at the door.

Lyra, Bon Bon, and Sentinel were asleep still, at least for a little while longer. Lyra had awoke briefly when the foal had cried, but Berry had been in the room at the moment and had looked after the infant. Berry was now gone, off with Thistle, off for a quick dip so Thistle could catch enough fish for those who hungered.

The foal was sleeping and Derpy wanted so much to nest with it, but right now she had another foal on her mind. Trusting Bucky on the issue of what to do with Dinky when the foal displayed worrying behaviours had been one of the most difficult things she had ever done. She had seen all of the worrying signs herself, had an inkling of the danger posed by them, but part of her still believed that it could be fixed with a few well placed wing slaps and then a hug once the punishment was over.

This was taking too long. Ripple had promised to bring Bucky back. Derpy’s lip curled back. If her headstrong mate made sweet little Ripple break her promise, she was going to go out, snatch him up, and drop him in the lake.

Derpy paused to reflect on her feelings for Ripple. She trusted Ripple with her foals. She loved Ripple a great deal. She loved Loch Skimmer too, but Ripple was still just young enough or perhaps just scrawny and small enough to trigger her extra strong feelings of motherhood. Ripple was filling out though. She was a sleek and beautiful creature, long legged, delicate framed, and she had beautiful slender wings.

It was nice having other pegasi in her herd.

Finally, after an eternity of waiting, the door opened. Piña entered first, peering cautiously around and trying to see if the new foal was still sleeping. Ripple came second, gently planting a hoof in Piña’s backside and scooting her through the door. Dinky came third, and Derpy struggled to keep her emotions in check. Bucky came last, and as he walked through the door, his eye met hers. She saw a faint nod.

Unable to hold back, Derpy pounced.

Dinky was not crushed to the stone floor, but instead was snatched between Derpy's forelegs. The pegasus mare’s momentum carried her forward, and she tucked, pulled Dinky to her barrel, rolled, and landed on her back with Dinky pulled tight to her.

It was not the most graceful move and it was hard on Derpy’s body no doubt, but no foal had ever come to harm from one of her “snatch and roll” hugs.

Bucky left the two alone for a much needed private moment with one another. He shut the door behind him, smiled at Ripple and Piña, and then moved to the straw pile. The foal was sleeping. Once again he felt a curious sensation traveling through him and his mind felt odd. He could smell her. The scent was like strong drink in his nostrils. It filled with him desire and need. Suddenly, he wanted all of his mares together in one place where he could watch over them, keep them safe.

He backed away from the foal, not wanting to wake it. He eased himself into the bed, needing to hold something, an almost overwhelming compulsion. He grabbed Piña instead, lifting her in his magic and bringing her close. She soared through the air with a startled squeak and then settled in beside him.

“You’re shedding,” Piña accused as her nostrils crinkled. “Poor thing. Does it make you itchy? I’ve been shedding a bit, but you’re shedding a lot,” she added as she brushed away little tan hairs from her pink pelt.

Bucky was about to reply when he was suddenly crushed. The air in his lungs whooshed out in a gasp as Ripple settled on top of him. After taking a moment to get air into his lungs, he turned his head to look at Piña. “I’ve been shedding a lot. It is driving me crazy,” Bucky said.

“There’s a brush around here somewhere. Lyra spends a lot of time brushing Sentinel. He sheds a lot in the heat,” Ripple quipped as she made herself comfortable. “You’re bony,” she observed as she examined Bucky. She poked him with hoof and then rubbed her head along the back of his skull.

“So are you,” Bucky responded, enjoying Ripple’s affections. It was easy to know when a pegasus loved you and the bruising went away eventually.

“I can’t help it,” Ripple answered in a soft voice, aware of the sleepers just a few feet away. “But I am getting better. I eat well now,” she whispered.

“What’s your excuse?” Piña inquired in a tiny voice, looking directly at Bucky.

“I’ve always been little and scrawny,” Bucky replied. “You’re getting big Piña.”

“I don’t want to get big,” Piña said sadly. “I want to stay little so I can be cuddled.”

“Berry is a big solid earth pony, and I cuddle her,” Bucky said. “When you grow up, you will find somepony that will cuddle you,” Bucky said reassuringly.

“Those are special cuddles,” Piña whispered. “I want cuddles like these, cuddles without the surprise going up your backside. Quiet cuddles without all of the moaning and heavy breathing. I know what you are doing to Berry Punch. She’s talked to me about it,” the earth pony foal murmured.

Bucky chortled and tried to contain his laughter so the sleepers would not awaken.

“Everypony, come on, we’re going for a walk so Bucky can get some sleep,” Derpy commanded. She stood at the door, Dinky by her side, waiting patiently.

Piña got up rather reluctantly and slipped off the mattress. She turned and looked at Bucky one final time, and then watched as Ripple climbed from the bed. The pair walked slowly for the door and Piña wished she could stay with Bucky for just a little while longer.

Bucky watched them go, wishing they would stay.

Sentinel awoke to a strange sound, not one of the usual background sounds his ears could tune out. There was gurgle and a bit of a low moan. He lifted his head and his tufted ears stood erect, taking in everything around him. He raised a hoof and scratched behind his ear, sending sooty brown hairs flying. Bucky was nearby, and his night mothers were still asleep.

He scooted from the bed with shocking speed, his movements catlike and graceful. He landed in the straw and prodded the foal with his nose. The little foal made snuffling sounds and looked up at him. Sentinel’s nose crinkled as he scooted away soiled straw with his hoof and moved in some fresh straw to replace it. A little foreleg brushed his face, causing him to freeze for a moment. He waited, allowing the touch to happen, and then he began to sniff the foal with his nose. He continued sniffing, moving around the straw pile, aware of the soiled straw, but worried about other things, like rats. He didn’t smell anything, but it never hurt to check. Sentinel was perhaps too cautious. The rats had learned to fear him and avoided him at all costs. There was a foal here though, and Sentinel knew from dreadful experience that rats would devour any unattended foal they could find.

He moved to the wall and rubbed the side of his face along the wall, leaving behind a greasy oily smear on the stone. He stopped to sniff his work, and then he moved over to the foal. He rubbed the side of his face along the foal, careful to move the little bumpy places below his ears along her soft pelt. Part of him felt a strong compulsion to piss and mark his territory, but that was uncouth. The instinct was still strong, but the actual practice had long since died off.

He lifted a wing, exposing the underside of his wing joint, and rubbed that against the foal, continuing to mark her. He had marked her several times already, leaving her thick with his scent.

The rats feared his scent.

His work done, he flopped down into the straw with his still unnamed sibling, wrapped her up in a wing, lowered his head with a soft growl, and then went back to sleep.

Bon Bon awoke. She still felt a needful itch in her nethers, but it had eased off a bit. In a day or two, she reckoned it would be gone completely. She lifted her head and looked around her. Bucky was nearby, sleeping on his belly as he always did, his his hind legs kicked out behind him rather than folded beneath him. Lyra was still asleep beside her. It took a moment to find Sentinel, who was asleep in the straw with the foal.

She slid from the bed, crossed the room, vanished behind the privacy barrier, filled the bucket a fair bit, sniffed, crinkled her nose, and then hurried away from the bucket. More than anything, Bon Bon wanted modern plumbing again. A unicorn was going to have to dump it out the window. Bon Bon knew she could do it, but had been forbidden from lifting the bucket in her mouth to spare her the humiliation.

Her gaze fell upon the two sleeping unicorns. Both of them needed her, and Bon Bon liked being needed. She also needed them, but had different reasons for each of them. She recalled meeting Bucky, it felt like a lifetime ago now, and she remembered fondly the wagon ride home. She remembered the long talks with Bucky in the bed, and how he had bared his soul to her. She had fallen in love with him at some point during his convalescence.

Maybe not love, she thought to herself, reflecting upon her own honesty. Infatuation perhaps. A curious crush. You felt the same way about Lyra when you nursed her back to health. You are an earth pony that can cultivate unicorns, and how can you not love what you spend so much time nurturing and growing? It is the earth pony way, her inner voice said to her. She considered her thoughts and watched both of them as they slept.

She thought of Dinky’s troubling outburst at breakfast. She had another unicorn to cultivate and nurture. And then there was the little infant tucked away in the straw.

She watched as Bucky twitched and began to spasm and kick. He whimpered in his sleep. Bon Bon went to his side, touched him with one hoof, and watched as he settled. All it took was a touch. With each passing day, Bon Bon became more and more aware that something was going on, and Berry Punch shared her observations. With Lyra, Bon Bon had believed it was because ponies simply needed to be touched. Now, it was clear that something was going on. Bon Bon lifted her hoof, turned up upwards, and examined her soft fleshy frogs. She stared at them for a while, lowered her hoof, and pressed it into Bucky’s side. He leaned back into her touch, his body moving beneath the pressure she applied. His sleep became even quieter and finally, he went still, a faint smile upon his face.

Bon Bon realised just how much she really loved him. It was different than her love for Lyra, but it was love, no matter how confusing it might be. He had resisted her, drawing a clear line. He has kissed her, held her, cuddled her, been exceedingly intimate with her, but he had held the line. Even when she was carrying him on her back that horrible day, somehow, he had held back his arousal, even with her being in heat and her every step bouncing him on her back. All of his kisses had boundaries.

The realisation actually inflamed her desire.

And then there was his behaviour with Lyra. He had done the same with Lyra, the other unicorn that Bon Bon loved. Lyra seemed just as confused about Bucky as Bon Bon felt. Bon Bon wondered at Bucky’s motivations and intended to ask him about it at some point. Why was he doing this? Bon Bon had her suspicions, and her most logical conclusion so far was that he was doing this so future foals would know that he loved all of his wives equally and unabashedly, because foals needed to see that their parents loved one another. Bon Bon thought of her future foals and how hard it would be, how confusing it would be, if they never saw their father touching and loving on their mother.

A part of Bon Bon never wanted to ask, but wanted to continue to believe that it had to be the reason.

Author's Notes:

Anybody notice any clues?

See typos?