“You know, I am a big girl now… I don’t need you fighting my battles for me or hovering over me like I am some silly little filly,” Thistle snapped. She snorted once, twice, and then thrice, each time sounding just a little angrier.

“I wasn’t trying to treat you like a filly,” Derpy retorted. “I would do the same for any of my fellow-wives.”

“I dunno, you sound pretty angry, like you’ve been caught in the act,” Thistle said in guarded tones, glaring at Derpy.

“Of course I sound angry!” Derpy shouted. “I am angry! Somepony said something awful about us!”

“SHUT UP!” Bucky commanded.

Both mares fell silent and slowly turned to look at Bucky.

“We cannot afford to fall apart right now and start bickering among each other. I won’t stand for it! Derpy mothers everything she touches. In all honestly it was probably half and half. She is going to be extra protective of you because of your age Thistle, she can’t help her instincts, they make her what she is. Derpy, Thistle is a big girl. Now no more quarreling,” Bucky demanded.

Thistle and Derpy remained silent, cowed into submission.

“Now kiss and make up,” Bucky said in a tone that was not a suggestion.

“We’d better do as he says,” Thistle said in a small voice. “I was behaving like a foal.”

“It would be wise,” Derpy said. She looked at Thistle. “I’m sorry… I might have responded with just a little bit of motherly instinct.”

“It’s okay,” Thistle said, looking at Derpy.

Both of them shot a glance at Bucky, turned back to one another, gave each other a quick kiss, and then Derpy pulled away to cool off. The grey pegasus stood stiff legged, her wings out in a dominant pose.

“She is sexy when she’s angry,” Bucky muttered.

“Yeah, she kinda is,” Thistle said. “But I like her more when she is smiling.”

“Shush,” Derpy said, not bothering to make clear whom she was shushing.

“So what do we do now?” Thistle asked, trying to get comfortable upon the examination table. She squirmed and kicked around a bit, unintentionally giving Bucky quite a show.

“I guess we wait,” Derpy said, now pacing back and forth in the small examination room. She was still stiff legged, but she folded her wings against her sides.

“My balls itch and I can’t reach them,” Bucky said. “And I don’t trust my magic yet with something that delicate. I might tear them off. Still trying to learn how to focus again.” He squirmed around in the wheelchair and very nearly fell out.

Derpy was at his side in an instant, pushing him back into position and propping him up. She reached up and offered a helping hoof, scratching an itch that just had to be scratched.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Derpy froze and then saw the look of stunned horror upon Bucky’s face. A moment later, she recognised the voice. She froze, her hoof still in a very compromising position.

“It is very kind of you to try and make your husband feel better after something so upsetting. You are a very devoted wife. I knew I could trust his life in your care.”

“Princess Celestia,” Bucky said in a strained squeaky voice that cracked from nervousness.

“Um, this isn’t what it looks like,” Derpy said, not daring to turn around. She pulled her hoof away slowly and her ears drooped down to the sides of her face.

“You were scratching his itch. I heard everything. I was coming by to see if there was a new kelpie in my kingdom. I am very concerned over this issue. I ran into Doctor Whippoorwill. She has been relieved of her job,” Celestia said in a cool collected voice.

“She shouldn’t be fired,” Bucky said.

“Buckminster, what am I to do with you… protecting ponies who wrong you,” Celestia said in a calm gentle tone. She clucked her tongue a few times and stared at Bucky, her ethereal mane whipping around aimlessly.

“This is bound to be upsetting to some ponies,” Bucky argued in a very subdued voice.

“She has been warned several times about her judgmental behaviours. When the guards come in with a case of the Drips, she is supposed to treat them. Not cast judgment. She committed her final offense,” Celestia explained patiently.

“I see,” Bucky said in a miserable sounding voice.

Celestia strode into the room purposefully, came to Thistle’s side, and then smiled down at the kelpie. “I know that Bucky loves you. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. Cadance feels stronger when she is around you… you are filled with love. Now we shall determine if you are filled with a future kelpie.”

Celestia studied the machine for a moment, scowled, prodded a button with her magic, waited, scowled a bit more, and then gave the machine a swift kick. The machine thrummed to life. “Percussion engineering,” Celestia muttered to herself. “Makes me glad I am part earth pony.”

Lifting the ultrasound wand in her magic, she squirted a glob of lubricant over the end and pressed it to Thistle’s stomach. She maneuvered it around for a while, frowned, moved it a little more, smiled, and then continued to move it around at different angles and positions. “Been over a year since I used one of these last,” she said apologetically. “Oh there we go…”

“Well?” Bucky said impatiently.

“Oh I just found Thistle’s bladder. Looks almost full, I’d better hurry,” Celestia said, beaming a celestial grin. She looked at the machine’s arcano-tech projection screen. “This machine was made to mimic the echolocation of lunar pegasi. A gifted lunar pegasus can tell the gender of their foals before they are born. From long time ago, marriages were arranged between them while the foals were still in the womb, and for some, the tradition persists.”

“Fascinating,” Bucky stated.

“Lunar pegasi midwives would occasionally work for the nobles and tell them what gender their foals were. We only recently figured out how to mimic their abilities and this machine was the result,” Celestia explained as she rubbed the wand over Thistle’s belly.

“I can’t take it anymore!” Derpy cried.

“Oh… there we go…” Celestia said, her grin broadening ever wider. “Thistle, I see a tail.”

Thistle made no response. She lay there for a moment, quiet, stunned, and then she began to weep. Her cries started off small, but quickly became overpowering sobs. She covered her face with her forelegs and her whole body shook as she wailed.

Derpy sat down suddenly upon the floor, unable to say anything, unable to respond. She took several deep breaths and then, she too began to cry.

Bucky slumped over in his wheelchair and took a few deep gulping breaths. He said nothing, but stared at Thistle.

“There… I think that little bit of news will make everything better. I am going to step out for a moment and speak to another patient. Discord is having a few problems and I do hope I can make him feel better,” Celestia said, excusing herself and stepping outside the door.

“We have another kelpie,” Bucky wheezed.

Sentinel stood by and proudly watched as Ripple was informed about her rank of Cornet by Grimglammer. The filly could barely contain herself, her wings fluttering as she pranced around in excitement. He watched as Grimglammer saluted, and then Ripple returned the salute.

“Two squires,” Grimglammer said. “Both in the same family. What a marvelous age we live in,” she stated. The big lunar mare looked around the room and saw a lot of proud eyes. “Alas, I must be going. This is my last day of duty, and I requested the privilege of this mission.”

“Last day?” Sentinel questioned, blinking as he looked up at the big mare.

“Furious and I both are going to settle down and raise a family. We’re also going to try and talk Shadowguard into forming a herd with us. If both of us are fat with foal together, nopony has to lose our wager,” Grimglammer replied.

Saluting, Sentinel snapped to attention. “I wish all of you the best of luck,” Sentinel said.

“Thank you,” Grimglammer said. “We will be seeing each other again. We are retiring to Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle has personally invited us. There is a large cave on the edge of the White Tail woods. It is large and comfortable, and we are going to convert it into a home.”

“Will you visit us when we arrive in Ponyville?” Ripple asked.

“Of course,” Grimglammer said. “One of my retirement directives is to look after the Knight and the Librarian. In an unofficial capacity of course. Which means we will be neighbors.”

“Will you teach me some moves?” Ripple inquired.

“On the condition that you teach Sentinel how to fight,” Grimglammer answered.

“I intend to. He’s a tough little scrapper,” Ripple said.

“I know, he’s flashed those cute little fangs at me,” Grimglammer stated.

Blushing, Sentinel kicked his right front hoof into his left front hoof and grunted in embarrassment. He then kicked the floor a few times, but he said nothing.

“I must be going,” Grimglammer announced.

“Goodbye,” Sentinel said in parting.

“So we have a kelpie,” Berry said to Bon Bon.

“I know,” Bon Bon replied.

“So will she sprout legs after she is born?” Lyra asked.

Bon Bon shrugged and said nothing.

“So I have a kelpie sister,” Loch Skimmer said.

“We have a kelpie sister,” Sparkler corrected.

“Well, yeah, but you get what I mean,” Loch Skimmer said, rolling her eyes at Sparkler.

“While I am happy about the kelpie, I must say, I am worried about the lack of males in this family,” Rising Star said as he levitated over a hundred crayons, trying to work on his fine magical control. “Nuts, this is harder than it looks.”

“Crayons are for colouring, not for magicking,” Piña protested.

Dinky, flustered by Rising Star hogging most of the crayons, levitated Rising Star up off of the floor and held him near the ceiling. “You took all of the Thistle colours you jerk,” she accused.

“Hey, woah there Dinks, the floor is a long way down,” Rising Star said nervously. He squirmed midair and his tail swished in fear. “Seriously, Dinky, I like having my hooves on something solid.”

“Dinky, put Rising Star down,” Lyra said.

“Harrumph,” Dinky grunted. She let Rising Star down slowly and Rising Star, thankful to have his hooves on the ground, returned all of the crayons with a sheepish grin.

Thistle settled deeper into the tub and took a deep breath. She was still in pony form, which made her kind of uncomfortable in the water, but she really didn’t have enough room to stretch out her tail. She let out a low moan as Derpy scrubbed her belly with a brush. She felt the brush moving in slow careful circles, never once striking her more tender places.

“I feel so much better,” Thistle said in a drawn out voice.

Derpy did not reply, but kept scrubbing, trying to get the goop worked out of Thistle’s pelt. She smiled though as she leaned over the tub.

Without giving a warning, Thistle wrapped her forelegs around Derpy’s neck and hauled her into the tub. She locked lips over Derpy’s own, and kissed Derpy with an almost pegasus level of ferocity. She felt Derpy squirming on top of her, trying to not squish her or her belly. She felt Derpy’s wings snap outwards and she felt the pegasus’ body stiffening. She wiggled her tongue in past Derpy’s lips and then felt Derpy melt into her embrace. She felt the pegasus begin to kiss her back. After a moment, Thistle pulled away, leaving Derpy breathless and heaving.

“I want you to think about what I just did before you think of me as a foal again,” Thistle said in a gasping voice. “I am all the mare you can handle. I’ve earned my place in his herd. I carry my fair share of the load. And I’ve cried more tears than I can count for Bucky and I mmmMMMMmmmph!”

Derpy shut Thistle up with a kiss and squeezed a fetlock full of tender Thistle flesh. The two mares struggled for dominance for a moment and then Derpy pulled away. “Just remember. You have my love. I am not a perfect pegasus. I make mistakes. I’d rather make a mistake protecting you then do nothing at all.”

“Protect my foal,” Thistle begged.

“You have a whole herd looking after you,” Derpy whispered reassuringly.

Author's Notes:

I got to show a different side of Celestia.

**grins proudly**

And I probably made a few typos.