“Come on my little filly, let’s get you into bed,” Bucky said as he scooped up Ripple’s limp body. He moved towards the bedroom as Sparkler and Loch Skimmer stood there staring. “Berry Punch, please, go to the school and get Doctor Mawu. Tell her we have an emergency.”

Snapping to her senses, Berry Punch took off out the door.

Stepping through the bedroom door, Bucky slipped Ripple into the bed. He looked around and saw the blankets wadded up in the corner. He shook his head. “Sparkler… go to the house. Go and fetch a couple of blankets. Don’t dawdle.”

“This is all my fault, I failed as the alpha of my herd,” Sparkler said as she stood there with her neck pressed against Loch Skimmer.

Bucky emerged from the doorway. “All of you failed. You let each other down and this is the consequence of that. No one is more at fault than the other. All of you have an equal share in this together. Mistakes were made. Beating yourself up or beating each other up isn’t going to help you. Now go fetch some blankets.”

“But Ripple said—”

Shaking his head, Bucky interrupted Sparkler. “Ripple said some things because she was sick where you couldn’t see it. You had no way of knowing. I saw some of Ripple’s dreams last night when she was camped out in the snow. I sort of worried that she might be showing some signs of strain, but I didn’t expect for this to happen. Should I blame myself or say that I am at fault for not preventing this? For not anticipating this?”

“But I… but she… but we…” Sparkler stood there stammering for a moment and then fell silent. She looked at her father. “No… you are not to blame.”

“Neither are you… now go fetch those blankets. I will not ask again,” Bucky said in a voice that had an eerie amount of calm.

Sparkler left and Loch Skimmer watched her go. After Sparkler was gone, she looked at Bucky and stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. She sniffled and shifted on her hooves.

“Daddy, why did you send her out for blankets when you could have just conjured them?” Loch Skimmer asked as she wiped her eyes with her flaming wings.

“I wanted Sparkler to go for a walk and calm down.” Bucky stepped forwards and looked at Loch Skimmer. “You okay? Did you get hurt?”

“I’m okay… my sister was gentle when she took me out,” Loch Skimmer replied. The charcoal grey pegasus looked around the apartment and then focused on Bucky once more. “They cleaned. I don’t know what to say… I hope my sister is okay. I’ve never seen her act like that before.”

“I suspect that if you want your sister to be okay, you have a lot of work ahead of you.”

“What do you think is gonna happen? Not knowing is killing me. I feel sick to my stomach and my head hurts.” Dinky rolled over on her bed and looked at Piña, who was laying on the other bed. “I have stuff I need to be getting done and I can’t do it.”

“I know.” Piña nodded and her head caused her pillowcase to rumple.

“What happens when ponies stop loving one another? Will that happen to our parents? I can’t stop thinking about it and I feel like I am going to throw up.” Dinky clutched her stomach.

“I guess you know how Diamond Tiara feels now when she gets stressed out. I’m sorry Dinky… I don’t know what to do.” Piña curled into the fetal position. “One day everything seemed like it was okay and the next day all of this happened and it all seems so sudden.”

“I think that I’m going to go and hug my mama.” Dinky began to squirm to get off the bed.

“I think I’m going to go and hug your mama as well.” Piña kicked her legs out and slid from her bed. “It would be nice to be under her wings right now.”

Glancing at the bedroom door, Bucky sighed. As he stood there, not knowing what to do, he thought of the Shadowbolt program. Ripple would need to be suspended for a while. Having an enhanced version of Ripple that was even more combat capable would be a bad idea.

“What is going on in there?” Loch Skimmer asked.

“Ripple and Doctor Mawu are talking.” Bucky glanced at Loch Skimmer. “In private.”

“Sparkler, why did you just go along with her?” Loch Skimmer fidgeted on the couch and one ear drooped down to the side of her face.

Shrugging, Sparkler replied, “I don’t know. I was stupid I guess. Part of me thought she was right for making herself alpha. I was so desperate for an easy way to fix the situation that I was willing to do anything.” Sparkler bit her lip and pranced around on her hooves.

“Well that was stupid.” Loch Skimmer slumped down. “Seems like that’s all we do. Act stupid, be stupid, and make more stupid.” She looked down at her belly. “I have bad news, but you’re going to be stupid.”

“Ripple tried to tell me she was feeling a little… discouraged. Sentinel earned a promotion from the rats… Ripple didn’t. I don’t know. I was behind in my homework and I didn’t pay her as much attention as I should have.” Sparkler closed her eyes and hung her head.

“And do tell, why were you behind in your homework? How about an honest answer?” Bucky gave Sparkler a harsh glare.

Opening her eyes, Sparkler looked at Bucky and found she could not meet her critical gaze. She dropped her eyes to the floor. “Rising Star and I spent about two hours fooling around… I could have been doing my homework and if I had done my homework, I might have been able to listen to Ripple tell me that she had a problem.”

“So… were those screaming orgasms worth the guilt you are feeling right now?” Bucky asked. He raised his eyebrow and narrowed his eye at Sparkler.

“No daddy,” Sparkler backed away and then sat down on the couch with Loch Skimmer. “I had an obligation to Ripple and I messed up. I messed—”

“Shut up.” Bucky’s tone was icy. “I have no desire to listen to you berate yourself for this. My patience grew thin quite some time ago. You may have cleaned up your own home, but I’m the one cleaning up your mess.”

Whimpering, Sparkler grabbed ahold of Loch Skimmer and pulled the flaming pegasus closer. The pair clung to one another and both avoided Bucky’s gaze.

“If Violet were here I would order her to go after you with a newspaper!” Bucky’s raised voice carried through the open space of the apartment and there was a faint echo.

There was a faint click as the door handle on the bedroom door moved and then the door opened. Doctor Mawu stepped out and looked at the three ponies in the room. She cleared her throat, lifted her head, and focused her attention upon Bucky.

“She required further sedation. After talking for a while, she became increasingly agitated and hostile. She is very stressed. She needs a stable home environment. She needs love and support. She is at a precarious age and she might look tough as nails, but she has the same soft heart and insecurities as almost any filly her age.” Doctor Mawu turned and looked at Loch Skimmer and Sparkler. “Did either of you ever stop to think what the sounds of your ceaseless rutting might have sounded like to a filly that grew up hearing her mothers being brutalised by an over aggressive and sexually domineering father?”

Loch Skimmer started to say something, gagged, hung her head over the edge of the couch, and then threw up all over the floor. She almost pitched forward face first into her own mess, but Sparkler grabbed on tighter and held on.

“Anyway… I must be going. I shall return in a few hours to check on Ripple. Try to see that she remains calm if and when she wakes up.” Doctor Mawu turned her head towards Bucky. “Please see that she is cared for.”

Bucky nodded as Doctor Mawu made her way towards the door. The zebra ignored the vomit puddle as she passed. She opened the door, stepped through, and then shut the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Bucky turned to the fillies on the couch and said, “Clean that up. You don’t want this place to get messy again. I am going to leave you two alone to talk for a while. I need to go clear my own head after hearing that.”

Canterlot. Canterlot seemed like a bleak place. The buildings around the train station had been damaged and some of them had been burned down. But the city was rebuilding, much like Ponyville. Snorting, Rising Star shut the curtains on their private carriage and then smiled at Bittersweet.

“I miss home already,” Bittersweet said, moving her lips and her ears.

Rising Star made certain that Bittersweet could see him when he replied, “Me too.”

The carriage bounced over the cobblestones, rocked back and forth, and the swaying motion made Rising Star feel kind of drowsy. He half closed his eyes and studied Bittersweet. She was pretty, in her own way, she had her own charms, and there were moments where Rising Star felt quite taken by her. There were even moments were Rising Star wondered what it might be like to do more than just kiss her. In those moments Rising Star thought of Bucky, Bon Bon, and Lyra.

As the carriage bounced over a pothole, Rising Star realised that he was trapped with one of the females from his herd that he couldn’t shag and could only make base communication with, and only after a great deal of efforts on their parts to understand one another. He wasn’t quite certain what to do. If this was Loch Skimmer or Sparkler, there would be a way to pass the time. Plenty of fun ways to pass the time. If this was Ripple, at least they could talk to one another while staring out the window, although Ripple was usually up for a wrastle or a throw down if he did so much as blow a raspberry at her. Being suplexed or piledrived by a filly was its own special sort of fun. There was a lot of exciting grabbing, groping, and bodies rubbing together.

But Bittersweet was delicate. Bittersweet, while a rather solid donkey, was also somehow dainty. She was feminine, soft, and gentle, to match Ripple’s hard, sharp, and flinty.

It was in that moment that Rising Star discovered the pain of being entrapped in a closed space with a female, one of his own wives no less, with nothing of interest to talk about, nothing to say, just a wall of silence between them, an insurmountable, unassailable mountain that barred communication.

Heaving a sigh, Rising Star wished that he could go home.

“...and so my little griffons, always be reminded to protect the sanctity of home and hearth. Stay true to your flock. Stick by your family. As you heard in my stories, it was always love that saved the hero from imminent demise. Not magic swords, nor magic bows, or even powerful artifacts. Every great thing to do begins and ends with your home and hearth. Defend it well. Look after your families, and remember this one griffon proverb.” Odin looked around the mead hall and raised his mug. “When the pride faileth, then cometh the fall.”

The little griffons sat in stunned silence for several long minutes. Little eyes blinked. A few of the larger griffons like Grisabella looked around the room, also blinking, each of them trying to take in what Odin had just said.

Weaver, Grisabella’s mate, raised his talons almost like a schoolcub. “Um, sir, do we have to take on multiple wives or mates?”

“No… no, that isn’t necessary at all. Your pride, just you and Grisabella, that is enough. I am asking you to treat it with respect,” Odin replied.

“Oh. I see,” Weaver said, his crest falling flat. “So we can be a pride of two.”

“And you must never demean or belittle each others’ prides for being different.” Odin pointed to Gofannon and Helia. “Like those two. A griffon and a pegasus. Much good can be accomplished with those two.” Odin moved his talons around and then pointed to Lugnut and Spanner. “Or those two. I know that some of you question them. I know your minds… are they not good fathers to Sprocket and Cog? Or you would you claim different?”

The quite a number of the gathered griffons stared down into the mead mugs, almost as if they were searching for the meaning of life down in the depths.

“All you have in this life is a king and queen that is dedicated to serving you and each of you have each other. Guard what is yours, and do so zealously. Are we not a greater flock? Are we not a pride unto ourselves? How many of you call me Alfadir? How many of you call your king Winter Father? With these titles, you recognise each other as siblings, but there are those among you than treat your siblings poorly.” Odin narrowed his eyes and his face took on a wizened expression. “When the pride faileth, then cometh the fall. Think about that my cubs. Do you want to go back to being slaves? Do you like being property? Strengthen these familial bonds or else..”

Author's Notes:

The main part of this mini arc is done. Now, the cleanup and the aftermath exist.

Oh my goddess, typos everyhwere.