Drawing in a deep breath, Bucky tried to ignite a bit of harmonious magic. He had managed a few successful attempts, but he wasn’t sure how he had managed to it. He stared at the straw in front of him, willing it to move. Dark magic was easy now. It flared effortlessly. No emotion involved at all it seemed.

But harmony magic was now difficult. He needed to free his mana from the corruption, by using emotion. He closed his eye and ignored the straw for a moment, the way it silently seemed to mock him. He ignored the pain in his leg where he had been branded. He ignored the throbbing in his stump. He shut all of these things out. All of these things were distractions.

It was like being a foal all over again and having to learn to use magic. The grey pegasus sleeping beside him snorted and let out a little whinny in her sleep. Bucky loved the sounds she made when she was sleeping. Or screwing. Bucky simply loved the sounds she made.

Focusing on the things he loved, he thought about his family. Honour bound Sentinel. How much he loved Dinky and Piña. Little Harper and her insistence for female pronouns. He thought about how much he loved his herd and everything he had fought for. He thought of Luna and how she had kept him with his family, just as promised.

Bucky opened his eye and saw a familiar blue-green glow coming from his horn.

Trotting as fast as her legs would carry her, Dinky struggled to keep up with Princess Celestia. Her bath had left her feeling fresh and clean. Her pelt shone with a natural brilliance after being brushed by Lyra. She wondered why she had to go with Princess Celestia, but she wasn’t worried.

Lagging somewhat behind, Piña Colada didn’t try to keep up, she kept to her own pace as she followed after the pair. She was radiantly pink and her clean hooves clicked and clattered upon the tile as she trotted through the corridor.

“I hope that both of you know just how special you are,” Princess Celestia said in a soft motherly voice.

“You aren’t going to take Dinky away and make her go to your school are you?” Piña asked.

“Why would I do that?” Celestia replied in puzzled tones.

“Because of everything that happened,” Piña said.

“I have no intention of taking Dinky from all of you. Your herd needs every member you have to heal after all that has taken place,” Celestia said, trying to soothe any fears that lingered in Piña’s mind. “We are here,” Celestia announced, pushing her way into a small room.

Dinky and Piña followed after Princess Celestia and entered the room. It looked like a cleaning closet, only much larger. In the middle of the room was a table, and upon the table was a collection of objects. Celestia moved gently in the room, her hooves making only the softest sounds upon the stone floor. The foals watched as she lifted two pie tins in her magic.

“Making pie?” Piña asked.

“No little Piña,” Celestia replied.

The foals watched Celestia curiously as she poured a white powder into the tins and then added a little water. The mixture was stirred with magic and then Celestia set the pie tins down upon the floor. She smiled.

“Please, both of you, press your hooves down into the plaster, quick now, before it becomes too hard to work with,” Celestia instructed.

Dinky and Piña both carefully placed one hoof each into their tins and pressed down, and then lifted when Celestia made a gesture to do so.

Lifting a pair of clean cloths, Celestia wiped plaster from Dinky and Pina’s hooves. “I collect hoof prints from little foals that I know are going to change the world. Special foals. Foals with talent. Foals with unlimited potential. I collected a hoof print from Buckminster when he was little, and I have another hoof print from Lyra Heartstrings. And both of you know how special those two turned out.”

Dinky sat down on the floor and looked at Celestia, her eyes wide.

“Why me?” Piña questioned.

“Because, you are an earth pony with magic. I have long suspected earth ponies had the potential to have strong magic. Pinkie Pie strikes me as being especially magical. But you, I have a feeling that you are going to learn how to control your magic directly so it is not as chaotic,” Celestia explained.

“I know I could use my talent to spy on stuff,” Dinky said in a low voice, knowing full well her potential.

“Yes you could Dinky,” Celestia said to Dinky in a soft voice. “And when you get a little older and have more control over your talent, you and I are going to have a talk about how you could help keep Equestria safe.”

“I don’t want to use my talent to hurt anything ever again,” Dinky stated, her eyes narrowing and her gaze dropping down to the floor.

“I will not ask you to use your talent to hurt others, only to keep others safe. And maybe save a few lives,” Celestia said in a soft soothing voice.

“I can do that,” Dinky said. “But I want to make one thing clear. I do not work alone. If you want me to use my talents to help other ponies, Piña works with me.”

“That actually makes me very happy to hear you say that,” Celestia replied.

Rising Star looked around the table nervously at the light lunch spread out for them all. He wasn’t particularly hungry and he still felt rather nervous in the presence of his parents. Loch Skimmer was already chowing down, doing what Loch Skimmer did best. Living life with gusto.

“So… um, I guess all of you are, uh, familiar with one another and are all grown up now, since, uh, you get drunk… and… uh… screw,” Shining Star stammered nervously.

“Rising Star is really good at screwing!” Loch Skimmer said around a mouth full of salad greens. “He’s a fantastic shagger!”

Rising Star wanted to dribble out of his chair and form a puddle of embarrassment upon the floor. Hearing Loch Skimmer announce that to his mother made him wish that he was dead. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then reminded himself that Loch was a pegasus. She couldn’t help how she was, and he loved her dearly. He heard Sparkler giggling behind a hoof she had held up to her mouth.

“I see,” Shining Star said in a low squeak.

Galaxy Guide grunted and loaded some salad on his plate and then added a few croutons.

“He’s left Ripple alone though. Ripple is into fillies, and this is why we didn’t want to be traded into marriage. They don’t care about stuff like that on the isles. No respect,” Loch said as she scarfed down a huge bite of cantaloup. “Mmmm, I like melons!”

Ripple choked and sank down into her chair, her face, which was a dark charcoal grey, began to turn a blotchy purple. “Loch!” she cried as she hid her face behind her hooves.

“You’re gay. So what?” Loch Skimmer mumbled, her mouth full of cantaloup.

“Loch…” Sparkler whispered in warning.

“There is nothing wrong with being gay, and I am very proud of my son for taking you as his wife to save you from those who would not respect you,” Shining Star said in a wavering voice. She reached out and stroked Ripple, who was sitting beside her. She felt a little better when she felt Ripple respond to her touch.

“I raised my son right,” Galaxy Guide grunted. He looked around the table, clearly overcome with emotion, and he looked very proud.

“So, um, how will Ripple be happy later on when she grows up?” Shining Star inquired gently, her nervousness fading away and being replaced with motherly concern.

“Oh… she and Sparky here plan to shag like rabbits when Ripple feels she is ready,” Loch said just before she jammed her muzzle down into a bowl of berries and cream.

“Oh… I see… so everything works out okay then, Ripple will have her needs looked after,” Shining Star said in a slightly strained voice.

“Rising, son, you have to be living every teenage colt’s dream,” Galaxy Guide said as he wiped his muzzle with a napkin.

“Laxy!” Shining Star scolded.

Rising Star squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. “Yeah… survive a war… get drunk… screw…” he muttered.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Galaxy Guide said, looking apologetic.

“I had to watch somepony I love dearly get ripped apart inside and out… get consumed by darkness… I had to watch him die a little more each day. It wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare. And the only comfort I had was with my wives and my extended family,” Rising Star spat.

“I’m sorry,” Galaxy Guide said to his son.

“I am sorry too… I stay sorry. I stay angry. You have no idea how angry I stay. And just like Bucky, the only thing that keeps me from burning down the entire world around me are my wives, who keep me sane. We’re all screwed up and broken ponies and all we have is one another,” Rising Star grumbled.

“Son, the war is over. The fight ended. I know it will be difficult, but now is the time to put that behind you and move on,” Shining Star said, setting her fork down as her horn dimmed.

“Rising, you okay?” Loch Skimmer asked.

“Rising, do you need a few moments to yourself?” Sparkler inquired, her voice full of worry.

“I’m fine,” Rising Star whispered as he let out a deep breath.

Moonbow waited patiently, stalking her prey. She didn’t move, not one muscle twitched. To most observers, she appeared to be asleep, her eyes closed. Her eyelids only opened the tiniest bit for her to observe her prey. An occasional whistling snore came out, which was actually her echolocation system keeping an active lock upon her target.

Her target was busy drawing upon a sheet of paper using some charcoal pencils which had been provided for him.

Concentrating, she increased her heartbeat, preparing herself. She had an instinctive feeling that the moment to strike would come soon. Sentinel was yawning, and his guard was slipping as he grew tired. She could feel the blood rushing to her extremities, preparing her body for the hunt. Her prey was small and appeared to be helpless, but she had learned that he was fearless in combat and was in fact, quite wily. He was excellent breeding stock and would give her fine foals one day.

She saw his head nodding, drooping slightly and she saw him put down his pencil. He flexed his wing, which seemed to be cramped after the time spent drawing, and then, he yawned again, exposing his fangs as well as his long orange tongue.

It was the right moment. Moonbow launched herself from her spot upon the sofa, soared through the air with her wings still folded tightly to her sides, and she pounced. It was the oldest and most instinctual pair bonding and mating behaviour her species had. Females pounced males in play when younger, and then would hold them down to breed with them when they were older.

She heard an angry yowl from Sentinel as they collided, and the force of the impact knocked him from the chair. Their entwined bodies tumbled through the air and then crashed into the floor. They rolled for quite some distance, Moonbow gently grabbing while Sentinel kicked and wiggled, trying to free himself. The wooden chair beside the table fell over and clattered to the floor.

Bursting free from her clutches, Sentinel tumbled away and then bounced up onto all fours, springing away stiff legged, wings out, and hissing loudly in challenge. Moonbow felt her heart flutter and there were moths in her stomach. Something about her future mate made her have funny feelings when he was so defiant and brazen. He was never submissive. He continued to bounce away, his legs acting like springs, and his stiff legged gamboling excited her. She let out her own somewhat lusty yowl in response to his. He wasn’t ready for more affectionate gestures or activities yet, so her pouncing remained innocent for now.

She watched, her heartbeat increasing rapidly, as Sentinel’s lips curled back completely from his teeth, exposing a mouth full of deadly weapons. His hisses were getting better and she wondered if they would soon bear the magical effect of fear that their kind possessed. She pounced again, launching herself from her position upon the floor.

She collided with the floor, hitting nothing, Sentinel bouncing out of the way with a stiff legged springy leap. She rolled, tumbled, and then launched herself again, this time with a false start in one direction before changing directions, and this time, she was rewarded for her cunning as she came crashing down upon Sentinel once more. She carefully pinned him down and rendered him helpless. Puckering up, she kissed him gently upon the cheek and sang a little song of victory using her echolocation. She grinned a wicked grin and stared into Sentinel’s eyes.

Sentinel kicked and squirmed beneath her and she felt her body warm slightly. She felt a strange blush build up in her cheeks as she became aware of the fact that every pony in the room was watching her. Bon Bon. Lyra. Berry Punch. Thistle. Even Harper was staring at her wide eyed.

“All pegasi are brutes,” Berry Punch grumbled as she rolled her eyes.

Author's Notes:

We need somebody with a fine British accent narrating the hunt between Moonbow and Sentinel.

Hopefully, knot two man-ee typos tew bee fuond.