The past few days had become blurry and confusing for Bucky. Too much had happened and kept happening. The death of Filthy Rich. Diamond Tiara’s illness. Tragedy hitting the Apple family. Twilight Sparkle’s doubt… which bothered Bucky a great deal.

The only real bright spot had been working in the brewery, which Bucky swore to do more of, as often as possible, because of the remarkable feeling of calm that it brought. His now restored cutie mark was a reminder that brewing beer was an integral part of what made him what he was.

“The foals are back in school. Well, except for Diamond Tiara,” Derpy said, sitting down beside Bucky on the couch. She leaned over and rested against him.

“Harper is still not eating solid foods,” Berry Punch muttered as she sat down on the other side of Bucky and squished him against Derpy. She rubbed her cheek against Bucky’s neck and heard a whicker.

“At least she hasn’t zapped us, not since it was you that scolded her,” Derpy said, responding to Berry Punch. She rubbed her face against Bucky’s cheek and then she pressed her nose into Bucky’s ear. She snorted, which caused the unicorn to shiver.

“That was just awful. Bucky said ‘bad Harper’ and she just fell over onto her back with all four legs sticking up into the air and then she announced that she was dead. I thought I was going to die laughing,” Berry Punch said, reminiscing about the moment. She nuzzled Bucky’s muzzle, continuing to squish him against the solid pegasus.

“There is something to be said about inter-tribal unity,” Bucky murmured as a somewhat dopey grin spread over his face. “Forget about the fires of friendship, how about the inferno of lust,” he quipped.

“I had a long chat with Twilight Sparkle, Flash Sentry, and Rainbow Dash. All this trouble was actually a good time to do it. They were emotionally vulnerable… turns out, the problem is mostly Twilight. She keeps checklists for everything. And I do mean everything. I hope both of you will forgive me, I but I shared a few minor intimate details about our encounters. Twilight wants perfect time allotment. She actually wants to keep a timer by the bed to make sure that everybody gets an equal amount of time,” Berry Punch announced and then explained. Reaching up, she carefully clamped her teeth down on Bucky’s ear, pressing in gently, and then gave him a tug.

“Sex does not work that way,” Bucky remarked as his eye closed and he went limp, propped up on both sides by an earth pony and a pegasus.

“Twilight Sparkle has trouble with spontaneity. She immediately made a list of things to do in a spontaneous situation and a checklist on how to be random. Rainbow Dash said that wasn’t how to be random. Twilight got a little defensive and angry… she demanded Rainbow Dash show her how to be random,” Berry Punch said, continuing her story as she rubbed up against Bucky.

“So what did Dashie do?” Derpy questioned as she sniffed and snuffled against the back of Bucky’s neck, which caused her husband to tremble.

Laughing, Berry Punch closed her eyes and allowed the moment to take her. “She actually slammed Twilight down upon the couch, held her down, and blew a raspberry on her belly… Twilight Sparkle nearly wet herself.”

“That was random,” Bucky stated as both mares rubbed up against him on either side.

“I think they’re going to be okay. Twilight is a bit like you… a spring too tightly wound. Well, how you used to be. I think we’ve made you better,” Berry said in a pleased sounding voice.

“You look better,” Derpy said to Bucky. “I think Berry and I are going to go cheer up Thistle now. Belisama has been reading to her. They like reading really weird murder mystery books.”

“You’re leaving me?” Bucky protested.

“Well, you look cheered up,” Berry responded, looking apologetic. “Our work here is finished. You could help us cheer up Thistle.”

“Bunkbeds… I feel like I’m back in school again,” Sunset Shimmer mumbled as she flopped over into a large bowl shaped chair.

“How do you deal with the stairs?” Trixie asked, raising one eyebrow in curiousity.

“I dunno, I like the stairs. I’m getting in shape. I no longer have such a squooshy tushy,” Sunset Shimmer remarked. “Feels nice to be taking a break. I feel really bad for Diamond Tiara but I was starting to get worn out.”

“We are a fine collection of bullies,” Trixie grumbled as she fell over on the top bunk.

“I am not a bully,” Bartleby protested around a beakful of feather.

“Does it bother you to live with two gabby mares?” Sunset Shimmer asked Bartleby.

The griffon, who had been preening his wings and his feathers, lifted his head, turned it completely around backwards, and looked at Sunset Shimmer. “Should it?”

“I dunno,” Sunset Shimmer replied, shrugging slightly as she spoke. “And don’t turn your head around like that. It isn’t natural.”

With a sarcastic squawk, Bartleby turned his backwards head upside down, the bottom of his beak pointing towards the ceiling and his crest now pointing towards the floor in a boneless manner.

“Eeeeeugh!” Sunset grunted as she cringed, hiding her face behind her hooves.

“Trixie finds this display most disturbing!”

Easing himself into his high backed chair in the farmhouse library, Bucky settled into a pony-loaf position as he watched Rarity and Coco getting settled into a seat facing him. The two mares seemed jittery, nervous, both were eager to see him. Sweetie Belle, who had come with them, was upstairs visiting Diamond Tiara.

“You wanted my ear for a while?” Bucky inquired as he poured himself a drink. Red wine trickled from the bottle and into a small glass goblet. “Would you two visions of loveliness care for some wine?”

“No thank you,” Rarity said, jittering in her seat.

“Yes please,” Coco replied, looking at Bucky with a nervous smile.

Conjuring up two more glasses, Bucky poured the rest of the wine bottle into both of them and then levitated the glasses to both mares. Coco took hers and immediately took a sip, Rarity accepted hers hesitantly and then held it for all of ten seconds before taking a big gulp that emptied half of the glass.

Grimacing from the pleasant burn of the wine, Rarity took a deep breath. “I saw Applejack this morning… Babs Seed is getting better. The Royal Pony Sisters provided a new healing compound to the hospital. Apparently, even the doctors are baffled by its effects. It was delivered yesterday afternoon and by this morning, there was a marked improvement in all three of the earth pony foals. The doctors haven’t seen anything like it,” Rarity said, nervously sharing gossip.

After taking a drink, Bucky heaved a small sigh of relief. He was going to have to give Tourmaline an extra squeezy hug and a kiss.

“And one of the secondary school teachers has gone missing,” Rarity said as she eyed her wine, sloshing it around inside of the goblet.

“Loch Skimmer mentioned that Bill Neigh, her teacher, seems to have vanished,” Bucky said, fully aware of the situation and what was really going on. The real Bill Neigh was recovering in a hospital room in Canterlot and his memories were being edited after his experience. The changeling posing as the secondary school teacher was currently in Hidden Hollow Fortress. “So, tell me, why am I graced by both of you radiant beauties?”

“Flatterer!” Rarity snorted, covering her mouth with her hoof. The alabaster mare began to titter as her ears began to splay out sideways.

“There is a very delicate issue we wish to discuss. I suppose the best way to deal with it is just getting to the point. We want to talk about Diamond Tiara,” Coco said in a soft demure voice, looking at Bucky and blinking slowly.

“What about her?” Bucky questioned, watching as Rarity killed off her glass of wine.

“This was Sweetie Belle's idea… at first. And then Rarity and I really began to discuss it one night while giving one another hooficures,” Coco said, gently opening up the exchange of dialogue between them. She took a small careful sip of wine and then looked at Rarity.

“It occurred to us that if you kept Diamond Tiara, it might look poorly upon both her and Sentinel later if their relationship continued. Society might see it as being too much like brother and sister,” Rarity said, her eyes only half open. She looked very relaxed.

“I have had the same thought,” Bucky admitted, looking first at Rarity and then at Coco.

“If their relationship continues, and we realise this is a big if, certainly nothing is set in stone, Diamond Tiara is going to need a certain level of polish. A certain level of finish. She is going to need to learn poise and grace if she is going to be the wife of a knight,” Coco said gently, a soft understanding smile upon her muzzle.

“She is going to need to learn social graces. How to be a lady. High society functions. How to behave at a cotillion for example, or a gala. We know that you have designs on having Sentinel continue your place as one of the kings of the griffon empire,” Rarity said. When she was done speaking, she let out a tiny cute little hiccup and then covered her mouth with her hoof.

“I think I understand what you are getting at. You two want to do a little diamond polishing to make a finely presentable gem,” Bucky stated as his smile broadened. “I do appreciate the gesture, but this is a bad idea.”

“Why?” Rarity said bluntly, looking at Bucky with one wide eye and one half opened eye.

“Diamond Tiara is going to need to continue therapy. Which is probably going to mean traveling to Canterlot or paying to have a psychiatrist travel to Ponyville from Canterlot. She needs medications to manage her mood. Maybe not forever, but she was taking four pills a day and now with her current state of illness, she is taking over a dozen. Plus there is her ulcer medication and blood pressure medication. Her current medical care is expensive,” Bucky carefully explained.

“We don’t care,” Coco Pommel said in a soft retort. “It becomes even more important for us to do this. Tell me Buckminster, who would you trust more? Us, or some random foster home? Some adoptive strangers? The orphanarium?” the earth pony mare questioned in a firm but gentle voice, her piercing gaze locked on Bucky.

“This started off as Sweetie Belle’s idea… my dear little sister Sweetie said what Diamond Tiara needs is proof that somepony believes in her. She said she was willing to share her bedroom with Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle is very selfish with her space. Her boudoir is her sanctuary… My mother and my father, whom you have met, have all kinds of money and no grandfoals to currently spend it on. I have already spoken to them on this issue. They like the idea. We can provide for every need she has,” Rarity said as she set her wine glass down upon a table and leaned forward in her chair.

“I will give it serious thought,” Bucky responded as he nodded his head. “I will also discuss this with Diamond Tiara. Mister Rich actually appointed me as the executor of his estate. I have no idea why. He had a whole company full of people who might know what to do with everything.”

“You were his friend,” Coco whispered in a soft sad voice. “You’ve seen Mister Rich at his best and his worst. You worked for him. You know what sort of pony he was, how awful he was, and you embraced him when he had shown that he had turned over a new leaf,” the earth pony mare said, her eyes dropping down to the floor. “Twilight Sparkle and I were talking just a little bit about this subject when she had us over for tea so Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo could get together.”

“Glass Slipper is a perfectly adorable little foal. So much like Sweetie Belle when she was at that age. Now Sweetie Belle is chasing colts… well, one colt. Oh my how the years do fly by,” Rarity murmured, shaking her head and looking melancholy. She lifted her forehoof to her forehead. “Oh where does the time go?”

Saying nothing, Bucky wondered if he had hired the wrong pony to be the drama teacher.

Author's Notes:

Coming very very soon... a hurricane.

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