Heaving a sigh of relief, Derpy was thankful that Bucky’s tongue was no longer swollen and purple, but had gone back to a somewhat more usual orange colour. She stroked him gently with her wing, moved just a little closer without pressing up against him, and laid her head down upon the bed. She wished that he was awake, but was content to know that he was currently beyond pain.

Grimglammer had seen to that, injecting him with powerful painkillers when he had awoke an hour or so ago. Bucky had slipped off with a dopey smile after eating the rich broth that had been prepared for him.

It was late, and it had been a long day for Derpy. A long troubling, trying day that had left her mentally exhausted. Knowing that time was the only thing that would heal Bucky, she gladly slipped off into slumber, hoping that when she woke, Bucky would be better.

Another day, another dawn. And on this day, as the sun dawned, Ripple stood proudly at attention as the day began and the golden rays of sunlight spread over everything as the sun rose above the treeline.

“You lot turned the tide of battle. All of you, male and female, have proven your worth. We have special honours for pegasi and for earth ponies, and the earth ponies are off earning their honorifics right now from Lord Thrasher. It is my honour to look upon you fine pegasi, knowing that I see the very best of the best before me,” Deadspin said as he moved among his troops.

Ripple stood shoulder to shoulder with several other pegasi, some of them much larger than she was, but she had no doubt where she stood among their ranks. Still at attention, her eyes traveled over to her teacher and instructor, Knocker, who was a fair distance away, looking upon several of his students, Ripple among them.

“Every pony proved their worth during the battle, but you lot went above and beyond the call of duty. Some of you held the line and defended Knight Captain Bitter’s wives. Others pushed our enemies from the deck. One of you turned into a whirlwind of death to defend your husband, and you acted bravely in the defense of the one you love,” Deadspin bellowed as he paced.

A hot feeling filled Ripple’s cheeks and she struggled to remain at attention. She felt too hot and wanted to flare out her wings for a cooling breeze along her sides.

“Each and every one of you are now within the ranks of the Dragoons, our air cavalry. The best of the best. The numbers fell for a while, many died defending farmhouses or off picking fights with the wolves. But now, the ranks are growing again, and all of you have proven worthy. You are an elite brotherhood… and sisterhood, of death dealers. I am proud of you all and it has been an honour to serve beside you!” Deadspin shouted.

A cheer went up from the gathered pegasi and the ponies standing around them. In the crowd, Sparkler, Loch Skimmer, and Rising Star all beamed with pride as Ripple received her accolades and new title.

“All of you are dismissed. Go and celebrate today as Dragoons. Remember, Dragoons keep Death busy while skillfully evading Death’s clutches,” Deadspin said to his crew of deadly killers.

Leaning over to whisper into Sparkler’s ear, Loch Skimmer lowered her voice and spoke. “You know Sparky, I am the only one in this herd that has not served and does not have a rank.”

“One of us has to stay sane,” Sparkler replied. “Might as well be you.”

Unable to stop squirming, Thistle tried to relax and let the big lunar pegasus mare have a look at her. She rolled over onto the back, exposing her belly, and a faint squeak of fear escaped from her lips. She could feel her hind legs being gently pulled open, and then rotated, checking the movement in her hips.

“Do try and relax little one, it will make this easier,” Grimglammer said, looking somewhat tired. It was going to be rack time again soon, but she still had some work ahead of her.

Closing her eyes, Thistle decided to try and wait this out, just letting it happen. She felt vulnerable and exposed under the much larger predator. She felt a pressure upon her large belly, and the tickle of a large tufted ear. She giggled nervously from the tickle.

“Two heartbeats, both of them quite strong and healthy,” Grimglammer murmured.

A moment later there was a very embarrassing sniff in a very delicate location and Thistle squealed before finally letting out another nervous giggle.

“Any discharge?” Grimglammer asked.

“Discharge?” Thistle asked, opening up her eyes and looking at the much larger mare.

“Discharge. Runny gunk that oozes from your vulva,” Grimglammer explained.

“Oh… I think I understand. I get really runny and dribbly when Berry Punch or Derpy work me over,” Thistle confessed, now blushing. She bit down on her lip and fell silent.

“I see,” Grimglammer stated. “Well, that’s pretty normal. So no runny smelly discharge, burning painful itchy sensations, or just a feeling of something being wrong?” she inquired.

“No,” Thistle said.

“Been taking the neo-natal vitamins that were sent out for you?” Grimglammer asked.

“Yes, we’ve all been taking them, Derpy said they were running low,” Thistle answered.

“I am going to be inserting something into your vulva and down into your vagina. It is going to be cold, I am sorry,” Grimglammer said apologetically.

“Oh? Why would you neED TO DO THAT?” Thistle asked, her voice shooting up several octaves. “COLD!”

“I need your temperature,” Grimglammer said. “I need to do the best I can to determine how healthy you are. If you have a higher than normal temperature down there, I can spot things like infections or other complications. I don’t have a lot to work with out here, and I could only bring what would fit in the saddlebags of my companion and I.”

The kelpie squirmed uncomfortably and tried to not squeeze her legs shut. “I don’t like this,” she whimpered.

“I know, I am sorry,” Grimglammer whispered in a soothing tone.

Finally, the invading feeling of cold pressure was pulled free and Thistle was able to take a deep breath of relief. She rubbed her belly, mostly trying to make herself feel better. And then, she saw the enormous metal spike being held up in Grimglammer’s thumb and knuckle. “Oh no no no, what is that?” Thistle whimpered.

“Vaccinations,” Grimglammer answered, preparing the syringe.

“No!” Thistle cried.

“This will all be over in just a second, I apologise miss, but I do need to poke this into your backside,” Grimglammer stated.

“No! NO! NOOO! DERPY! SOMEPONY HELP ME!” Thistle screamed as she scooted over the bed away from the big mare holding the giant metal needle.

Grimglammer scowled when she heard the thudding of hooves, and all of her muscles tensed. “Oh nuts, why can’t this ever be easy…”

A second later the door exploded open, nearly torn free of its hinges. Stiff legged and stomping, a grey pegasus pushed into room, her wings flared and each breath a violent snort. Her golden eyes were filled with what could only be described as homicidal fury. Behind her was a green unicorn, and the doorway was filled with golden light from the unicorn’s horn.

Grimglammer held up the syringe before her for all to see. “Vaccinations. She just got a little scared.”

Derpy pawed the wooden planks and took a deep breath. Her wings flapped a few times, then fluttered, and then she slowly folded them in to her sides. The look of homicidal rage was still blazed in her eyes though, and her pupils were the size of pinpricks. After taking a few deep breaths, the grey pegasus finally let go of her berserker fury and the faint light of sanity crept back into her eyes.

“That’s a railroad spike!” Lyra shouted.

“It is a standard guard issue field syringe,” Grimglammer said. “I plan to stick all of your other family members as well, so make peace with it now.”

“I don’t wanna be stabbed!” Thistle protested.

“Needs to be done,” Grimglammer said firmly.

“Yes it does,” Derpy said in a ragged voice.

“TRAITOR!” Thistle cried.

The grey mare sighed and then turned to look at Lyra. “Go get Sentinel and the girls.”

Lyra’s lower lip quivered and trembled. “Oh don’t make me be the bad mama,” Lyra begged as she backed away. She saw the look on Derpy’s face, took a deep breath, and resigned herself to her fate. “I’ll go get Sentinel and the girls.”

Going to Thistle’s side, Derpy pulled the kelpie close and tried to sooth her. “This needs to be done,” she whispered, stroking Thistle and glaring at Grimglammer. “It might be kinda awful because some inconsiderate arsehole couldn’t be bothered with packing needles for little ponies.”

“NO!” Thistle sobbed, squirming in Derpy’s embrace. The kelpie resisted being turned slowly over, exposing her rump to the big mare holding the metal spike that was the sum of all of Thistle’s fears. Finally, knowing that she was no match for Derpy’s strength, Thistle gave in and wrapped her forelegs around Derpy’s neck and squeezed.

A moment later, her frenzied scream of pain could be heard all over the whole ship.

A few minutes later, there was another scream of pain when Derpy Doo Hooves received her vaccination boosters from a standard issue syringe, stabbed directly into the big fleshy padding of her rump.

Bon Bon came running, no longer able to stay put like she had been told, and she froze in the door, her eyes wide with horror. She began to back away into the hall. A guard pegasus showed up a moment later, and peered around in confusion.

“Vaccinations, little cousin,” Grimglammer said to the pegasus. “Want one?” she asked, holding up a syringe.

The pegasus took off, running away as fast as he could go down the hall, returning to his post, his armor clanking as he departed.

Lyra returned, with three foals with her, holding two them with her magic.

“What is going on?” Sentinel demanded. “Why are my mothers screaming?” He pushed his way through the door, looked up, and let out a shrill squeak of alarm from his echolocation when he saw Grimglammer.

“Sentinel, be a good colt, show your sisters how brave you are,” Derpy said, rubbing her backside with one hoof while wiping away tears from her eyes with her wings. “Let Grimglammer stick you in the backside.”

Looking around and weighing his options, Sentinel made a very difficult decision, something his kind seldom did. He chose strategic retreat, taking off as fast as his legs would carry him, panicked clicking sounds coming from his throat as he ran.

“Aw nuts,” Lyra said, shoving Dinky and Piña into the room and shutting the door behind them. She took off after Sentinel at a run, hoping to catch him. She readied her magic and began to feel a crippling sense of self loathing setting in.

“Sentinel, come back! Mama loves you!” Lyra cried. She reached out with her magic and grabbed Sentinel, and then as she watched, he dissolved into shadow in the dim light of the hall and slipped free from her magical grasp. “Oh bother! Shadow diving isn’t fair!”

Sentinel was simply gone. He hadn’t just shadow dove, he had shadow winked, which meant he could be anywhere on the ship, anywhere where it was dark. Lyra set off to play hide and go seek with her colt, hating herself for what she was doing.

“No way!” Dinky cried, her horn flaring with dangerous intensity.

“Dinky, don’t do it!” Derpy warned.

“If she sticks me I’ll zap her!” Dinky threatened, backing into a corner and shielding Piña with her body. “Ya like bees? Well, do ya?”

Derpy cautiously approached her cornered foal. “Just a shot Dinky… you can be brave for just one shot. It will only hurt for a few minutes, and mama got one, so can’t you do it for me?” Derpy coaxed.

“BEES!” Dinky shouted. “Sting me and I will sting you back! Don’t make me call out the wrath of the swarm! There is no place to run in this little room!”

Grimglammer wasn’t sure what was so threatening about bees, but she stood at the ready with a syringe, waiting for Derpy to wrangle her foals.

Derpy pounced on Dinky, wrestled her, and pinned the foal down, securing her in a headlock. She folded Dinky in half, exposing her buttocks to the air. A moment later, Dinky’s agonised cry filled the room.

Thankfully, there was no bees.

Derpy tried to console Dinky, and was promptly bitten, Dinky biting down savagely on her mother’s leg. Derpy let go, and Dinky ran off to another corner to rub her aching buttcheek, glaring balefully at her mother.

Holding a fresh syringe, Grimglammer advanced on Piña, who was cowering in the corner.

“Stay back, if you hurt me my daddy will kill you when he wakes up!” Piña wailed, the tears already flooding down her cheeks. She pushed herself into the corner, her hooves scraping and skidding.

Derpy pulled Piña into an embrace, and began to expose Piña’s backside, lifting her slightly for the injection. Piña gibbered with fear, kicked, squirmed, and her full earth pony strength kicked into emergency mode. Derpy was actually having trouble holding her.

Berry Punch came through the door, saw what was going on, realised what was about to take place, and said nothing, knowing her sister needed the shot, but secretly hoping that Piña would wiggle free and escape somehow. Berry did not close the door behind her.

As Grimglammer approached, Piña’s hooves began to glow alarmingly. One shot out and connected with the lunar pegasus mare’s leg. There was loud crackle and a whiff of ozone as the big armored mare was launched across the room and smashed into the wall. She bounced and fell to the floor, and there were several gasps from all around the room.

But none looked so shocked and stunned as poor Piña, who was now sitting on the floor, free of Derpy’s grasp, her hoof still trailing smoke. “What did I do?” she whimpered.

Author's Notes:

And Sentinel learns that discretion is the better part of valour.

Earth pony magic has been revealed.

And typos have probably escaped. Nuts.