“Father!” Sparkler cried in alarm as she ran to Bucky’s fallen body lying in the snow. She stood next to Lyra who was kneeling down at his side, fear and panic coursing through her body. “Is he…” she said in a strangled voice.

“He’s alive!” Lyra announced. “He said if this failed, it would kill him. He’s breathing!”

“Where did this sudden blizzard come from?” Bon Bon asked, bracing herself against the freezing wind and squinting into the blinding snow.

“Bucky,” Sparkler replied. “Bucky caused this somehow.”

“We’ll worry about that later, we need to get back to the castle,” Lyra interjected.

“How do we get back to the castle?” Rising Star shouted over the wind as it began to howl.

“I have a perfect sense of direction!” Lyra hollered in reply.

“Lots of ponies claim that ability,” Rising Star said in reply.

“No, Lyra really does have perfect direction,” Bon Bon said. “She can get us back to the castle. I can’t see anything!”

The ponies felt a strong sense of group panic as the storm continued to grow in intensity. Sparkler was right next to Lyra yet could barely see her. Cold slashed through their pelts. Steam was coming up off of Bucky. A lurid green glow came from the emerald in his eye socket. It was not the bright light that it had been before. It flickered faintly and the snow falling around her took on a greenish tinge.

Lyra lifted Bucky with her magic and draped him over Bon Bon’s back. Bon Bon grunted and tried to shift under the load to get Bucky into a more comfortable position for her.

“First you kissed him, now you have him on your back Bonnie,” Lyra quipped.

“Now is not the time for jokes Lyra,” Bon Bon scolded.

“Everybody grab a tail. I am getting us home. Don’t let go and we will all be fine,” Lyra commanded. “And it is always a good time for a joke,” Lyra added in her own defense.

The ponies lined up, tails in teeth, and Lyra leaned forward into the wind. Already the snow was up to her fetlocks, several inches of snow having fallen in just a few minutes. She began the long walk home and hoped that her perfect sense of direction still functioned.

Keg Smasher stared out at the raging blizzard and felt his body shudder. As a pegasus, he was sensitive to unnatural weather, and this was unnatural. A raging blizzard in the middle of summer that had come out of nowhere.

“They’re out there.”

He turned towards the panicked sounding voice and saw Derpy. She looked frantic.

“I have to go find them!” she shouted.

“No,” Keg Smasher said gently. “You go out there and you will probably get lost and die.”

“But they are out there!” Derpy protested.

“Yes they are,” Keg Smasher agreed. “And hopefully they will find a way to return. They are unicorns. Be patient pretty mare,” he said soothingly.

“I can’t stay,” Derpy whined. “I gotta go,” she insisted as she danced around on her hooves.

“I doubt any pegasus could fly in these winds. It is like a hurricane. Stay here lass. I know it is hard, but you need to be here for when they will return,” Keg Smasher said in gentle tones.

Berry threw a leg over Derpy’s withers and nuzzled the troubled pegasus’ neck. The two mares stood together silently and said nothing. Thistle joined them and pressed up against Derpy’s side. Worry was etched on all three faces.

Dinky and Piña exchanged a glance with one another and leaned up against Sentinel who was sitting between them. He wrapped a wing around both of them protectively and sat up a little straighter. Ripple sat down beside Piña and stared out the window.

“My husband is out there too. And Sparkler,” Loch Skimmer said. She moved closer to Derpy, unsure of her place in the herd. She looked at the younger group, and then at the other mares. She saw Berry make a gesture and she came over to Berry’s side. She leaned against Berry and took a deep breath.

“I wonder what caused this,” Keg Smasher said.

“Could the wolves do something like this?” Berry asked.

“I don’t know,” Keg Smasher replied, worried that Berry’s hunch might be the reason.

Lyra walked along the wall of the castle, working her way to the gate. It was difficult to move forward. The storm was savage, unrelenting, and without mercy. The snow was already up to her knees. Her pelt was iced over and she couldn’t feel her ears any longer. She couldn’t even feel her own muzzle any longer. Her sense of direction had proven true and she had brought them back safely.

Finally the group reached the gate and filed through. Afterwards, Lyra led them through the courtyard, which was now empty. Eventually Lyra found the large wooden double doors that led to the entrance hall. She banged on the doors with her hoof and one opened. Lyra felt herself being pulled inside, a group of guard pegasi surrounding the group and ushering them in.

Bon Bon stumbled as she felt Bucky’s weight being pulled from her back. She was caught by a guard and she found herself being slung over a pony’s back. She was too cold to protest and huddled against the warm body she was draped over.

“Bucky, come back to me,” Derpy whispered. She was piled in the bed with the rest of her herd and a fire roared in the fireplace, flooding the room with warmth. Bucky was limp beside her, his breathing shallow and faint.

“He’ll be fine,” Berry said reassuringly. “He’s the most durable pony I know. Look what he has survived so far.”

Derpy nodded in agreement and then she laid her head down upon Bucky’s barrel.

“His horn looks terrifying,” Berry whispered as she stared at the jagged black spike growing from Bucky’s head. It was blade like and much longer than his natural horn. She peered at the angry red skin around the horn. It was blistered and burnt. “Do you really think Bucky caused this storm?” Berry asked as she studied Bucky’s new horn.

“I saw him cocooned in ice. Cold radiated off of him,” Sparkler replied in a weak voice.

“He was completely encased in ice,” Rising Star added.

Lyra’s teeth clattered together as she began to warm. She remained silent and buried her face against Sentinel’s neck. The colt shivered from the cold snoot pressed against him, but he did not complain. Lyra looked into Bon Bon’s eyes and smiled weakly.

“You did good Lyra,” Bon Bon praised in a weak and wavering voice.

“You brought our husband back,” Berry said.

“Thank you,” Derpy said as she wrapped her wings around Bucky.

“It was so cold that I thought my teats were going to fall off,” Sparkler mumbled.

“Sparkler!” Derpy cried.

“I can’t even feel my teats! It is like they aren’t even there,” Sparkler protested. “If Rising Star wasn’t an ice cube I’d ask him to rub some warmth into them,” she muttered.

“You don’t even want to know what I can’t feel,” Rising Star complained.

“As awkward as it might be, I am a warm body,” Loch Skimmer said.

As the final word left her mouth she found herself sandwiched between Rising Star and Sparkler and she could feel very delicate places pressed against her on each side.

Berry raised her eyebrow and looked at Derpy, and Derpy responded by shifting her hind legs and wrapping around Bucky’s backside.

“We have to keep what is important to us safe and warm,” Derpy whispered as she glanced at Berry.

Berry nodded and pulled herself closer to Bucky. As she did so, she was stepped on by Thistle, who piled in on top of them all.

“Big warm pregnant pony coming through,” she said as she tumbled down on top of the two mares and Bucky. She could feel his chilled skin against her belly. She rubbed herself up against his body and she felt herself warm as she touched him.

“He’s going to be okay,” Dinky said as she snuggled up against Bucky’s neck and against her mother. The filly’s words were confident and there was no fear in her voice. She wrapped her forelegs around Piña and pulled her close.

Piña said nothing, content to be held. She could feel the cold skin of Bucky’s face up against her side. The green gemstone in his eye was dark now, but it flickered occasionally with a dull green glow. She could feel Thistle’s breath blowing on her.

“Well, I can feel somepony is thawing out,” Loch Skimmer announced.

There was a groan from Rising Star and a giggle from Sparkler. The other ponies turned to look at the trio. Loch Skimmer’s eyes were locked on Rising Star, they were wide and glittered in the firelight. Rising Star squirmed under Loch Skimmer’s gaze.

“I can’t help these uncontrollable boners,” Rising Star whined. “You’re just so warm and soft.”

Derpy awoke and peered at the window. It was difficult to tell if it was night or day. The room was still warm and Lyra did not have her harp out, so the grey mare assumed it must still be daytime. She shifted against Bucky and felt his warmth. She took comfort in the soft warmth of his balls pressed up against the curve of her upper leg. Thistle was still sprawled out over the top of him and the faint sounds of her breathing could be heard near Derpy’s ear.

The pegasus mare closed one eye and took a closer look at the skin around Bucky’s horn. His mane had burned away from around the area and much of the hair on his pelt was gone as well. The skin was bubbled and blistered. As she watched, a bit of energy crackled along the jagged black edge of his horn and a whiff of ozone filled the air. She took a deep breath and sighed.

“You scared me,” Derpy whispered into Bucky’s ear. “You scared me and I am so angry with you,” she continued. “But I am also glad you are still with me,” she finished in a soft whisper so none of the sleepers would be disturbed.

“I am sorry,” Bucky whispered back.

“You’re awake?” Derpy breathed into Bucky’s ear.

“Yes, but I wish I wasn’t,” Bucky said in reply. “Why are you angry with me?”

“Because you scared me!” Derpy said in an angry whisper. “Does your head hurt?” she asked, her tone now gentle.

Bucky nodded slightly, trying not to disturb Piña who was curled up against the side of his face.

“You need to stop scaring me,” Derpy demanded. “I don’t think I can take much more.”

“I am sorry,” Bucky apologised.

“I really love you. But you keep scaring me. Panic attacks. Cracked horn. Getting mauled by wolves. I can’t take it anymore,” Derpy whispered.

Bucky groaned and squirmed, the pain of knowing that he made Derpy feel awful somehow worse than the pain in his head. “Don’t worry, you will pay me back, of this I am certain,” Bucky mumbled.

“How so?” Derpy responded in a low voice.

“Pregnancy. Foal birth. Hearing you scream is probably going to kill me,” Bucky confessed.

“I’ll make sure to scream at the top of my lungs then,” Derpy promised. She snuggled up against his side and kissed him just behind his ear.

“Other than my head hurting, I really don’t feel too bad,” Bucky whispered. “I can feel Thistle’s teats on my back. Is it wrong that I am feeling turned on by this?” he asked.

Derpy sighed. “No, it isn’t wrong that you are turned on by that,” she responded in a gentle voice. “Do you want her in our herd?”

“Yes,” Bucky replied.

“Well then you need to do more to make her feel welcomed. Spend a little time making her feel special,” Derpy murmured into Bucky’s flickering ear.

“Are you alright with this?” he asked.

“If she agrees to your advances, you and I will talk more about it,” Derpy answered.

“My head feels like it is going to split open,” Bucky said. “I could feel the glass rooting itself into my brain.”

Derpy winced and her lips pulled back from her teeth. “Ouch,” she said.

“I think that was the worst pain in my life. Hurt even more than having hot irons pressed against my flesh. Hurt more than being savaged by wolves,” Bucky confessed. “I can only think of one thing that might hurt more,” he added.

“And that is?” Derpy asked.

“Losing you,” Bucky replied.

Author's Notes:

Upon his character creation, Bucky spent all of his points on endurance, ignoring the rest of his S.P.E.C.I.A.L. scores.