“Do you want one of us with you?” Derpy asked, giving Rising Star a soft nuzzle.

Rising Star closed his eyes and let Derpy comfort him. He leaned into her touch and tried to clear his mind. He thought about himself, his wives, his parents, and the complication of everything that was about to happen.

“It is going to be overwhelming as it is. Maybe the fewer of us the better,” Rising Star said in an unsure voice. “I still don’t know what to say to my parents.”

“Don’t be a foal for your parents, be a husband for your wives,” Derpy suggested. “You are a good husband. You’ve made Sparkler very happy and I am proud to have you as my son. If your parents see you being a good husband, I know they will be proud of you.”

“How do you know?” Rising Star asked.

“I’m a mom,” Derpy replied. She lifted her head and looked at the reflection of Rising Star in the mirror, and saw him looking back at himself. “You’ve grown taller.”

Nodding, Rising Star silently agreed.

“And you are very handsome. Keeping your mane a little long was a good idea,” Derpy said as she reached out with her wing and gently brushed the hair from Rising Star’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Rising Star said, blushing slightly.

“Now go have a nice time with your wives and your parents,” Derpy said. “I need to go check on my husband.”

Derpy entered the room where Bucky was laying and slowly approached the bed. She saw the steady rise and fall of his barrel and noticed he didn’t sound so congested. He looked better too, a very general sense, even though Derpy couldn’t put her hoof on what had changed exactly.

“The contract,” Bucky said in a low voice.

“Is a very silly piece of paper,” Derpy said with a smile. “Shining Armor said it was his best piece of work ever. He is very proud of what he did.”

“You have to keep me happy… otherwise I get to complain about my treatment,” Bucky said with a faint smile.

“Yeah I do,” Derpy said, her own muzzle splitting with a broad smile.

“I have to be well fed. I have to be kept comfortable. And the sexual obligations…” Bucky whispered in a voice that sounded like it was holding back a chuckle.

“Hey… you have some obligations to me as well,” Derpy said in a vaguely seductive voice.

“I think I am feeling a bit of unhappiness right now… right here on my muzzle, just above the corner of my mouth and just below my good eye,” Bucky said.

“Oh? Let me get that for you,” Derpy said, jumping up into the bed beside Bucky. She kissed him on his muzzle, approximately where the unhappy spot was located.

“Ah, that’s better,” Bucky said, relaxing into his pillows. “So about that penalty if you make me unhappy…”

“Oh dear,” Derpy said, laying down beside Bucky. She tried to ignore the crash and the yelling in the other room.

“Berry Punch ends up owning both of us. Me, because I have to spend my life as a slave, and you, because you screwed up and failed to look after me,” Bucky said.

“We don’t want that,” Derpy said with a soft giggle. “Imagine what Berry Punch would do to the both of us if she had ownership.”

“And if Berry Punch fails, the three of us end up in Bon Bon’s care, then Lyra, and finally, Thistle provided she is of responsible age. And if Thistle fails, we go into Luna’s custody,” Bucky said, shivering slightly as he could feel Derpy breathing on his neck. “What happens if Luna fails us?”

“The contract does not say. At that point, Luna becomes one of us on the chain gang and we probably go to Celestia to get a stern talking to,” Derpy said, now laughing as she spoke, unable to contain herself.

There was a loud hissing sound followed by growling from the other room and the two ponies in the bed sighed together, sounding content. Neither of them did so much as flinch when there was another loud crash.

“Moonbow is pouncing Sentinel again,” Derpy said.

“You horrible little monsters! All pegasi are brutes! You bloodthirsty little savages!”

Bucky heaved another contented sigh. “Poor Berry Punch,” he murmured. “You know, I really like that part in the contract where I get one day off a week from being a slave and you have to behave as my servant.”

“That was actually my idea,” Derpy said. After the words left her mouth she began to plant little kisses along Bucky’s neck and delighted in making him squirm just a little bit. “And I will do anything you ask of me…” she breathed seductively.

“I can’t think of anypony I’d rather be owned by,” Bucky said, totally ignoring the sounds of shattering glass and Berry Punch’s frustrated swearing.

“I’m scared,” Ripple said, her wings fluttering nervously.

“Ripple, honey, don’t be scared,” Rising Star said as he stood nervously in the center of the room. He lifted one hoof and shook it nervously.

“I get horny when I get nervous,” Loch Skimmer muttered. She looked around at the furnishings in the small sitting room. “This place is fancy.”

“Loch Skimmer, is there anything that doesn’t make you horny?” Sparkler asked.

“Let me get back to you on that,” Loch Skimmer snarked.

They could hear faint voices outside the door and the two unicorns and two pegasi all huddled together nervously.

“Lord Rising Star and Lady Sparkler Doo Hooves will see you now.”

Rising Star felt a lump magically appear in his throat and he found it hard to breathe as the door handle began to move. The door opened and he saw his mother and father. He stared at them for a moment, holding himself together somehow, and then he lost it completely as he began weeping.

He ran to his mother and she hugged him, wrapping her forelegs around his neck.

Rising Star’s wives all watched as he was crushed by both of his parents, Shining Star and Galaxy Guide, and all three of them were crying. Loch Skimmer leaned on Sparkler and rested her head against Sparkler’s neck.

Still crying, Rising Star gently pulled away from his parents to introduce his wives. “You sort of know Sparkler already… you told me to go after her and I did. The pegasus with the straw coloured mane is Loch Skimmer. The pegasus with the blue mane is Ripple, who is very dear to me because she saved my life,” Rising Star said to his parents.

Ripple nearly found herself bowled over when Rising Star’s mother slammed into her, wrapped a leg around her neck, and began squeezing tightly. Ripple squeaked in nervous alarm, and then tried to relax and allow herself to be hugged.

“Well, say something about yourselves,” Rising Star suggested

“My sister Ripple and I, we were about to be traded for…” Loch Skimmer’s words trailed off when she saw the blank stares of horror from Rising Star’s parents.

Ripple felt Rising Star’s mother squeeze her even tighter, a hug of almost pegasus proportions. She felt comforted by the crushing embrace and leaned into it.

“Loch Skimmer and Ripple were going to be placed into a very bad situation that would have ended badly for them. Rising Star agreed to marry me and both of them to save them. Your son was very heroic. He says Ripple saved him, but he saved her from a fate worse than death,” Sparkler said rather bluntly.

Shining Star looked into Ripple’s eyes and then began to kiss her face repeatedly, pulling tighter and tighter with each kiss. Finally, she relented from her kisses and pressed her muzzle into the top of Ripple’s head, breathing in her scent. “Nopony better touch my little girl. I’ve always wanted a little girl. Now I have a little girl that I can spoil.”

“You did good,” Galaxy Guide said to Rising Star, his voice sounding a bit raspy.

Shining Star finally let go of Ripple and then moved towards Loch Skimmer, snatching the other pegasus and working her over with motherly affection.

“So what have both of you been up to?” Rising Star asked.

Galaxy Guide cleared his throat. “We joined up with the Ponyville Militia early on. We worked in the provisions brigade. We’ve never seen combat, but we’ve battled hunger. We’ve used our magic to prepare and distribute food to lots of hungry ponies. Nothing quite as exciting as the action you’ve seen.”

“Killing is awful dad… be thankful you’ve never seen heavy combat. You wouldn’t like what it does to you,” Rising Star said in a dull voice, his expression going vacant for a moment. “It hurts you on the inside and makes you change.”

Galaxy Guide looked taken aback, his eyes narrowing, and he leaned in close to his son. “I’m sure it has… I’d say something to make you feel better, but it would just sound trite. Is there anything that helps you get through it?”

“Well, Bucky has given me the best advice so far… get drunk and screw.”

Piña reclined back into a tub full of bubbles and giggled at Dinky, who was in the other end of the tub doing the same. The pair had been covered in all manner of sticky stuff yet again and Berry Punch had tossed both of them into the tub and told them to clean up.

“I’m not sorry I slathered potato salad all over your head,” Piña said.

“And I am not sorry I shook up a bottle of of lemon soda, pointed it at you, and popped the cap off with my magic,” Dinky said in return.

Piña giggled a bit more. “Must be nice knowing that you will never need a bottle opener.”

Dinky farted, releasing a stream of bubbles into the bathwater and making rude resonant noises as her flatulence reverberated against the bottom of the tub.

“Has the worm medication kicked in yet?” Piña asked.

“Yeah, it has. I pooped out a bunch of stuff that looked like spaghetti noodles and it was Bon Bon who helped me get cleaned up. She was really nice. I love Bonnie,” Dinky replied. “What about you?”

“Nothing yet, I’m going to get another dose soon,” Piña responded.

“Bonnie really is a good mama. I was crying and really embarrassed and still pooping and she came into the bathroom and gave me a hug while I was stuck on the toilet and she made me feel better,” Dinky said.

“We had cooties,” Piña said, somehow managing to giggle.

“I hope the other fillies in school never find out that we had cooties,” Dinky said.

“The doctor said that this kind of thing happens when you have a whole bunch of ponies all living together without modern sanitation,” Piña commented. “I really hope that the Princesses help fix up the isles now.”

“So now that we are home, what do you want to do first? Go to a movie?” Dinky questioned.

“No… I wanna go to a grocery store,” Piña said.

“I kinda want to do that too,” Dinky said.

“And have a tea party with daddy. He deserves a nice time,” Piña stated.

“I’m up for that,” Dinky said as she sank down into the water a little bit more and rubbed her belly with her hooves, scrubbing away any dirt that might be in her pelt.

“Are you ready to be a big sister?” Piña asked.

Dinky did not respond right away. She thought about it for several moments, which lapsed into minutes, before she finally had a reply. “Yeah. I am. Everything I’ve learned from all my bigger siblings. Sparkler. Sentinel. Ripple, Loch, and Rising Star. Even Moonbow. I think I’m ready. I just have to try and act like them.”

“We’re going to be the best big sisters ever,” Piña said.

“Gonna be your birthday soon,” Dinky said.

“I know,” Piña said.

“Almost time for school to start. The end of the summer and the start of fall,” Dinky said wistfully. “Time of the year when pancakes and maple syrup tastes really good. Everything turns orange. Won’t be long before it is time for the running of the leaves.”

The bathroom door opened and both fillies let out a squeal. Berry Punch staggered through the doorway, slammed the door, shuffled over the bathroom tiles, and then threw herself into the tub, displacing Piña and shoving her towards Dinky.

“I’m having some second thoughts about motherhood,” Berry grumbled as she sank down into water. “Moonbow is a terror. She just wants to play. But she doesn’t understand that she can’t play like that indoors. All of my foals are wild feral savage brutes!”

“We’re sorry we misbehaved… please still have our siblings,” Piña begged, sloshing through the water to rub Berry’s belly. “We’ll be good. Don’t have second thoughts about motherhood!”

“I won’t use my magic to paint on the ceiling with ketchup and mustard anymore, I promise!” Dinky said.

“Keep begging, and you, Piña, you keep rubbing my belly… I’m going to have to think about this for a while,” Berry mumbled.

Now worried, Piña placed all of her efforts into rubbing Berry’s belly to make her big sister feel better. Piña wanted to be a big sister more than anything else in the whole wide world.

Author's Notes:

The nature of the contract revealed. Sorta.

And typos are probably to be found.