Coming into the kitchen, Bucky paused. There was herd of foals sitting in the kitchen window, eating cookies, and looking adorable. Without even thinking about it, he conjured a camera and began snapping photographs, feeling a sense of deep personal satisfaction that Sentinel looked so embarrassed.

“Father, I gave Harper some of her special cookies to help with her digestion,” Sentinel said, his ears pinning back against his head as he spoke.

Peering out from beneath her curls, Harper looked over at Bucky, a wide grin upon her muzzle. “Mama… Harpy tell you secret.”

“Secret?” Bucky unsummoned the camera, sending it back from whence it came. He watched as Harper gestured for him to come closer. “Harpy wants to tell me a secret?”

“Big secret. Mama come close,” Harper replied, her mouth full of cookie.

Delighted, Bucky went over to the bay window seat where Harper, Peekaboo, Sukari, Cadance, and Sentinel were eating cookies. As he approached, he heard Sentinel ask, “Where have you been?”

To which Bucky replied, “With Dinky and Piña.”

Having reached the bay window, Bucky stood there close to Harper, waiting for Harper to tell him her secret, feeling something warm and squishy in his heart because of the pride that he had as Harper’s father. His little filly was talking now, she had personality, she did more than just lie there like a lump. Every day, she amazed him with something new.

Harper held out her forelegs. “Hold Harpy.”

“Okay.” Bucky sat down upon the kitchen floor, reached over, and lifted Harper. He hugged her close, glad to be able to hug her once more. “Now, tell me your secret.”

“Come close,” Harper said in a whisper, gesturing with her hoof.

Bucky lowered his head, saw Harper wave, dropped his head a little more, and gave Harper a squeeze. He felt her muscles tense, all of them, and her whole body went stiff. A second later, a brassy, sassy, trumpeting blast could be heard, and Bucky felt Harper’s whole body strain. Stunned, it took a second for Bucky to piece together what had just happened, foalish giggling filling his ears all the while.

“Why you little stinker,” Bucky said as he heard more feminine foalish laughter. He turned to look at his offspring and noticed that Sentinel was trying very hard not to laugh. He gave Harper a squeeze, as dangerous as it might be, and then kissed her on top of her head, his muzzle having to hunt for a kissable place through a mass of curls. “You pranked me.”

“Harpy funny.”

“I am so proud of you… you fooled me,” Bucky said as he lifted Harper up and then set her down upon the cushioned bench in the bay window. Leaning his head down, he kissed Harper on the end of her snoot.

Cadance, her muzzle covered in sticky cookie bits and pieces of coconut, looked at Bucky and her eyes narrowed. She tilted her head off to one side, her cookie held between her front hooves, and her ears splayed out sideways. “Kiss?”

“For you, anything,” Bucky replied. He stretched out his neck, leaned his head down, and kissed Cadance on the corner of her mouth. As he pulled away, he felt something touch his ear. Turning, he saw Sukari, sitting there and looking hopeful, her hoof still raised.

He smooched her next, pressing his lips just above her eyes, and he heard giggling as he pulled away. For good measure, he grabbed Peekaboo and gave her a kiss upon her cheek. As Bucky pressed his lips against the pegasus filly, Peekaboo flapped her wings, scrunched up her body, and giggled.

Looking at Sentinel, he saw the colt start to make a leap for it. Bucky, being a known clever unicorn, grabbed Sentinel with his telekinesis, sat him back down, leaned over, and gave his colt a kiss just in front of Sentinel’s scarred ear, the same ear that Lyra had sewn back on after the trout bite.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go spend some time with Bell Heather and Bandua. I have little, little foals to look after,” Bucky said.

“Loki, right?”

Looking at the blue foal, Loki nodded. The earth pony filly was almost as large as he was, and she was certainly more muscular. She was wearing a bright green winter coat and had a black case upon her back. Loki wondered if she played in instrument in the school band.

“My name is Archer and I want to join the Raptors,” the blue earth pony filly said.

“I dunno about that—”

“I have a note of permission from both of my parents… Daddy really wants me to join the military. His name is Fletcher and he makes arrows. He’s a wood carver.” Archer blinked and looked at Loki. “I realise that I am an earth pony and that makes things complicated.”

“Kiddo, you have no idea,” Loki replied. “I mean, the name… ‘Raptor,’ it is a type of bird.”

“Scootaloo doesn’t fly,” Archer said in a calm voice. “She is training to be a pilot.”

Feeling somewhat irritated, Loki realised that he was losing this battle. Archer had a bow and arrow cutie mark and Loki began to get an inkling as to what might be inside the black case. But Loki couldn’t make it easy on her. Nope. “I don’t think you’re cut out for it, kiddo.”

“I demand a second opinion, this time from somepony or somebirdy with meaningful rank and decision making ability,” Archer said in a calm, steady voice.

Loki’s irritation vanished and a sense of respect replaced it. The filly was bold. She had guts. Loki’s crest rose and he cocked his head off to one side. “You know what, you wait right here. I’m gonna go get somepony or somebirdy so you can talk to them.”

“Okay. I will remain here for a while. But if you fly off and try to give me the slip, I will come looking for you, and my bow will not be in the case, Loki Apple,” Archer replied, her voice still cool, calm, and collected.

“Mmm, kelpies,” Bucky said as he made his way into the nursery. He looked around. He saw Belisama sitting on a cushion on the floor, she was holding Bandua and cooing at her. There was no sign of Magpie though. Bucky supposed that Magpie might be taking a well deserved break.

He crossed the room, aware that Thistle was watching him. She was laying on a blanket, sprawled out on her side, and Bell Heather was suckling while making sloppy slurping sounds. Thistle, reclining on her side with her head raised struck him as being especially beautiful and he felt his pulse quicken. The way that Thistle blinked her eyes, the slow, almost seductive movement of her eyelids, inflamed Bucky’s passion. Suddenly, Bucky wanted another little kelpie to look after. Shaking his head, Bucky realised that Thistle was using her talent against him.

“Hello,” Thistle said in a purring voice. “Do you come here often?”

“Only when I’m thirsty,” Bucky replied, raising his eyebrow.

“Poor you… you are going to be disappointed.” Thistle grinned. “Have you noticed how chubby Bell Heather is? She’s a heavy drinker… and she leaves nothing behind.” The kelpie watched as Bucky eased himself down to the floor, lying on his belly, and kicking his hind legs out behind him while crossing his front legs in front of him. Leaning her head over, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Bell is a chubby little foal,” Bucky said as he looked at his kelpie filly. “Look at her… she has little flab rolls around her middle… she’s so cute… I could just die.”

Abandoning her cushion, Belisama came over with Bandua and sat down beside Bucky. She got herself situated, pulled Bandua out of her shawl, and cradled her cub in her forelegs. “Bandua got bigger while I was away. She has more feathers and fuzz now. She has a few feathers on her head, but not many. Makes her look like she has a mowhawk.”

“Daddy’s little vulture-pony.” Bucky turned his head around to have a look at Bandua and could not help but think that she was beautiful. She was his and he felt an immense feeling of pride for having helped to make her.

Belisama put Bandua down upon the floor beside Bucky, pulled the shawl from her neck, shook the shawl, and then slipped it over Bucky’s head. Reaching down, she lifted Bandua and then dropped the peeping hippogriff into the shawl.

“She’s clean, has a fresh diaper, has just been fed, and I am going to go and take a nap with Derpy for a few hours if I can. If she gets hungry, Bucky, you can probably chew something into a fine pulp and cram it down her gullet.” Reaching out, Belisama grabbed Bucky’s ear with her talons, gave it a tug, and then took off, walking away with her tail raised high, giving Bucky a fine view as she departed.

“Well Thistle, I am all yours,” Bucky said as he turned and gave the kelpie he so loved a lewd wink.

Eyes narrowed into a hawkish glare, Ripple looked down at Archer. “I know you. You’re Apple Bloom’s friend. You’re in that club of hers.”

“Yup.” Archer nodded and grinned.

“You want to be a Raptor?” Ripple asked.

“Yeah I do,” Archer replied.

“Why?” Ripple flexed her wings and winced from the sore ache. She had been slap boxing with Loch Skimmer and Loch Skimmer was getting pretty good at fighting back.

“I want to be part of Princess Apple Bloom’s royal guard one day. Daddy says the best way for me to do that would be to join the military now. He said this would be a good idea.” Archer stood up at a little straighter and tried to look as though she was standing at attention.

“Do you know what we do to Fledglings that join the Raptors?” Ripple, doing her best to be intimidating, leaned her head down and got snoot to snoot with Archer. “Do you know what Private Loki does to whimpering little snots like you?”

Archer, unphased, grinned. “He runs us till we puke?”

Ripple nodded. “Yeah. He does. And he enjoys it. And Loki is only the beginning. Luna help you if Buck Sergeant Sparkler wakes up one morning in the mood to make somepony miserable. Then there is Flitter and Cloudchaser, Rumble’s mothers. They like their new hobby of ‘what did the foal eat for school lunch today.’”

“Sounds great!” Archer said in a cheerful, chipper voice.

“You have your parents permission?” Ripple asked. She watched the filly nod. Ripple lifted her head up high and stared down her nose at the smaller earth pony filly. “Loki… what kind of lunch are you in the mood for today?”

Loki’s crest rose and the little griffon’s eyes glittered with feline-avian malice. He began to size up Archer, gauging her strengths and her potential weaknesses. After several moments, he looked up at Ripple and said, “I think I’m in the mood for kebabs.”

“Fledgling Kebab, you worthless little puddle of chunky chimera snot… YOU’RE NOT WORTHY!” Ripple’s wings snapped out and her eyes narrowed into fierce looking slits. “So help me though, Loki is going to make you worthy, EVEN IF IT MEANS GRINDING YOU INTO A FINE PASTE!”

“WOOHOO!” Archer replied as she lept up into the air and clicked all four of her hooves together. “I get to shoot stuff with my arrows!”

“Private Loki,” Ripple snapped.

“Yes, Squire Cornet Ripple?” Loki replied, snapping to attention.

“I want you to run this little blue cuss until she barfs. After she’s barfed a few times, have her shoot something. If she can’t hit a target, I want you to run her until she dies. Am I clear?” Ripple towered over Loki, looking every bit the very daughter of War.

“Aye aye, Squire Cornet Ripple,” Loki replied, snapping his wing out in a salute.

Author's Notes:

Harper is growing up. Part of me feels sad.

The rest of me feels afraid.