“How’re you doing there Blossomforth?” Derpy asked, her face creased with worry. “Are you feeling okay?"

“Yeah...yeah, Ah’m doin’ fine Derpy. Well, at least as fine as Ah can manage.” Blossomforth replied, doing her best to fight back a wince. She was lying down on a stretcher next to Derpy, her huge wings folded against she sides as she did her best to steady her breathing. “Thanks, fer saving me back there again by the way Star Chaser, Raven Moon. If you hadn’t been there to save me...I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.”

“Think nothin’ of it Blossomforth.” Star Chaser said warmly. “We’re just glad that we were able to get you outta there in time before those Tantabuses finished you off. Heh, who would’ve thought that we would’ve run into you while flying around this town?”

“Heh, yeah...who would’ve thought indeed.” Raven chuckled alongside her brother. “Still though, we’re glad that we could get you outta there. Celestia only knows what would’ve happened if we had gotten there any later.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” Derpy nodded, patting Blossomforth on the head. “Speaking of which, I also wanted to thank you too Blossomforth. For ensuring that my daughters and sister were safe, even if you did end up splitting up in the end.”

“Y-yeah, well...I was just doing what I could for a friend.” Blossomforth replied sweetly, leaning in and giving the silvery grey Pegasus a nuzzle. “Even if I did end up getting a few scars in the end.”

It had been little more than an hour or so since the fight between the Royal Guards and the Tantabuses that Nightmare Moon had sent, and it was by far a destructive one. During that time, the Solar and Lunar Guards had put all fo their physical and magical strength into trying to protect the ponies form the ethereal monsters, and boy did they. The sounds of magical blasts, rumbling earth, and crackling lighting could’ve been heard all the way to Sweet Apple Acres, had it not been for the same thing happening in the town.

Despite the freakish numbers that they had come in, the guards were able to keep them at bay, even if more than a few of them managed to sneak past them unnoticed. Luckily, there were other ponies down below that took care of the Tantabuses actually in the town, one of them being a certain Apple Matriarch that had been looking for her grandfilly. She had given the Tantabuses quite the surprise when she dived down on them, along with giving them quite the wallop shock when she took them by surprise.The battle had been on for what seemed like forever, and despite the brutality, the Granny Smith managed to beat them, if not by an insane amount of luck. That didn’t mean she didn’t sustain any injuries of her own though, which led to her being taken to the Town Square to treat her wounds.

Then, out of nowhere, something completely unexpected happened between the Tantabuses and the Royal Guards. One that would finally tip the scales in their favor and end the endless assault on them once and for all.

It all happened so quick that none of them had any time to prepare for it at all. One minute the Tantabus were slaughtering the Royal Guards relishing in their suffering. The next, they were all exploding in a flock of bright lights as if fireworks were being shot off into the sky so everypony could see them exploding. Then, before they even knew what had happened, the Tantabuses were the ones being overwhelmed now.It was like the Royal Guards had found their inner strength that allowed them to gain the advantage with the Tantabuses, because they rained down on the creatures a swarm of locusts making their way throw a wheat covered field. In actuality, Shining Armor had given off the main weakness of the Tantabuses to all of the guards, thus leading to the complete antihalation of the of the ethereal monsters. Though that didn’t mean that they didn’t have help from those who weren’t of their rank.

“Ugh, damn it...these wounds hurt…” The voice of Granny Smith cursed from behind Derpy and Cloud Kicker. “…Ah really got carried away this time.”

“You can say that again.” Snowheart replied bluntly. “I still can’t believe that you went off against three of those creatures all by yourself. What in the world were you thinking? That you could’ve defeated them all on your own?”

“Well, no Ah didn’t...at least fer a while.” Granny Smith murmured. “One minute, Ah’m gettin’ mah ass whipped by them varmints, an’ th’ next minute, Ah’m jus’ goin’ crazy an’ rippin’ them a new asshole. Ah can’t remember ever losin’ it like that in Celestia knows how long.”

“Me neither.” Derpy giggled. “Then again, I can’t really fault you for reacting that way Granny Smith. To be honest, I would’ve reacted the same way if I had heard that my little muffin was surrounded by creatures like that.”

“That you would sugarcube.” The mint green Earth Pony chuckled. “Ah can’t even describe t’ y’all the terror that Ah felt when Ah found out what was going on. You can only imagine th’ terror that went through mah heart when Ah heard ‘bout all o’ them varmints attackin’ th’ town…an’ just where mah darlin’ lil’ grandfilly was.”

“I know how you feel…I just hope that Amethyst and my little muffin are all doing okay back in Twilight’s library.” Derpy murmured, her ears falling limp. “Cloud Kicker too…if anything were to happen to them, I don’t know what I would do if they ended up in the state that we’re in.”

“Hey now, don’t you go worryin’ yer muffin lovin’ head ‘bout any o’ that Derpy.” Granny Smith said, reaching over and putting her hoof onto Derpy’s lower back. “From what Ah know of yer sister an’ that darlin’ Unicorn Amethyst, they ain’t ones t’ go down easily. Even your youngest lil’ sweetie of a filly Dinky looks like she can defend herself pretty well. Not that Ah’m sayin’ that they’ll be able t’ beat all o’ those varmints, but still, they’re certainly not defenseless. Ah’m sure that it’s safe t’ say that the girls will be okay, especially with all o’ them guards prowlin’ ‘round the streets. That’s gotta count fer somethin’ shouldn’t it?”

“She does have a point there Derpy.” Blossomforth shrugged. “With the amount of guards that’re here, I doubt that they won’t be able to spot Amethyst, Cloud Kicker and Dinky. Along with Sheton, Apple Bloom and any of her friends that may be with her.”

“Wait, what did ya say sugar lump?” Granny Smith asked, her ears perking. “Did y’all say that ya met Sheton?”

“Yeah, earlier today, while me and Cloud Kicker were watching over Captain Rainbow’s house while she was away performing weather duties.” Blossomforth replied, tilting her head. “Why? Did your meet him too?”

“Heh, Ah sure did hon’. It was earlier today when Ah was helpin’ Applejack prepare brunch fer this here celebration that she an’ all o’ her friends were plannin’ t’ go to.” A fond smile came to the mint green mare’s face. “Ah’ll be honest, it wasn’t mah very first time seein’ a Thestral, ya know with all o’ them sisters o’ his with him. That didn’t make me any less surprised t’ see him though, but Ah’ll tell ya right now that Ah have never seen any colt as cute as him!”

“Understatement of the century!” Derpy giggled, putting both hooves to her mouth. “I had met Sheton earlier today after I was done delivering mail…and nearly crushed him after I had crash landed for what had to be the billionth time.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “It was a good thing they had seen me when they did, otherwise that would have been worse…but I will admit, he certainly was cute!”

“Cute? I’d say that Sheton was absolutely adorable!” Blossomforth cooed, putting both hooves to her cheeks. “I’ll be honest, I had never seen a Thestral up close and personal before; only in stories that were told to me at the Cloudsdale Orphanage. While I was pretty scared of them from what I heard about them from other ponies, I wondered what it would be like to meet one face to face…that is, until I met Goku and her sisters.” She giggled. “I won’t go into much detail, but I’ll say that meeting went a lot better than I thought. And when I met Sheton…oh, he was just so cute I wanted to hold him all day!”

“I’m pretty sure that if you did that, then he would’ve suffocated under luscious mass of chest fluff you have there.” Star Chaser snickered. “Then again, what mare that’s met Sheton back in Canterlot hasn’t tried to do that? Like a certain somepony here~.”

“Don’t you dare bring that incident up!” Raven Moon shouted, hovering over her brother and glaring down at him. “It’s not my fault that Sheton was so cute that I ended up nearly choking the moonlight out of him! What did you expect me to do, just stand there and not get my own hug in?!”

“No.” Star Chaser replied casually. “Though it was expected of me to not let you do too much damage to the little squirt. It took both me and Captain Moon Blade to pry you off him before he passed out from the hug.”

“Y-yeah well…” Raven Moon huffed, crossing her forelegs. “It’s not my fault that Sheton’s so cute. Honestly, it should be a crime for a foal to be as cute as he is!”

“If it was, then you and all other mares would have nothing to squeal, coo at, and hug.” Star Chaser said smugly. “Which is why there are foals like him running around in the world for mares like you, and them.” He nodded over towards Blossomforth and Derpy. “As you can so plainly see.”

“He does have a point.” Granny Smith chuckled as both Derpy and Blossomforth blushed. “Ah was like that when Ah was yer ages. Any foal that Ah found even remotely cute, I would jus’ scoop up ‘em an’ cuddle in mah chest until they couldn’t breathe. Heheh…Ah can’t even tell ya how much trouble Ah got int’ jus’ fer doin’ that.”

“With how you are, I totally believe that.” Derpy giggled. “I can count the number of times whenever Dinky came over to your farm and you tried to squeeze her mercilessly! There were so many timesthat I had pry her off of you whenever you hugged her too tight. I get that my little muffin is adorable, but goodness, show some restraint!”

Granny Smith rolled her eyes as she crossed her forehooves. “Hey now, ya know that Ah can’t handle mahself ‘round foals like yers Derpy! It’s jus’…somethin’ that Ah can’t really control. So, Ah learned to live with it an’ accept it as part o’ me. Besides Ah ain’t the only one who’s got this in her, an’ both o’ y’all know it.”

“Oh, you mean Honey Blossom?” Derpy’s expression softened. “Yeah, I know, she likes to get all touchy feely with the foals around here as well, Dinky included. And I’m assuming that she did the same with Sheton too?”

“Eeyup.” The Apple Matriarch nodded. “Honey wasn’t the least bit bothered by his appearance, an’ jus’ scooped him up almost immediately. Although, he did tell me, while we were havin’ brunch, that he was pretty worried about how they’d take it. Since Thestrals aren’t really known to socialize with other ponies…fer obvious reasons.”

“Given what kind of pony he and his sisters are, I can understand.” Derpy murmured, looking down at her roseray. “In more ways than one.”

“Thank you.” Chaser sighed as Raven draped a wing over him. “At least someponyunderstands what we’re going through.”

“Oh, I’m just tempted to go up to the farm and take him in my hooves again!” Blossomforth gushed as her cheeks flushed. “Too bad that we’re all stuck here covered in bandages lying in hospital stretchers, with no way to speed up the healing process.”

“Aww now don’t give us like that Blossomforth.” Derpy said gently. “None of us known that we were gonna turn out this way when we were fighting those monsters. Whether it was by bad luck or because we didn’t have any other choice, I don’t know. Either way, we here, and we’re stuck like this until our inner magic can accelerate our healing rates and help us get back onto our hooves.”

“Eeyup, we sure are sugarcube.” Granny Smith nodded, blowing her bangs away. “Don’t worry though, somethin’ tells me that we won’t have t’ wait long. With th’ help of all o’ these doctors here, plus our own magic, we’ll kickin harder than a ten-bit bull herder in an Appleoosa ranch house.”

“I hope you’re right.” Derpy pouted as she squirmed in her stretcher. “Because I just wanna fly over there and hug my muffin so badly!”

“Oh, Ah think that yer eldest muffin’s already gotten that taken care of.” Granny Smith said dryly. “And Ah know fer certain that at leastoneo’ mah grandchildren is squeezin the fritters outta Apple Bloom right now.”

“Honey, long ‘r ya gonna squeeze the fritters outta me?” Apple Bloom moaned, most of her face smothered in chest fluff. “Ah already told ya that Ah’m okay an’ Ah don’t have nothin’ on me that needs t’ be looked at!”

“Ah don’t care, Ah’m jus’ so happy that yer alright an’ back here on the farm!” Honey cooed as she squeezed Apple Bloom tighter. “Ah was so worried ‘bout ya when Midnight told us what was goin’ on back in th’ town! You have no idea how scared I was when Ah found out jus’ where y’all were an’ how many o’ them critters where there!”

“We’re gonna have t’ agree with Honey Blossom on this one AB.” Scarlet said, running a hoof through her hair. “Ah was about ready to shit apple seeds when I learned that y’all were in the same place as them varmints. An’ Ah was jus’ ‘bout to snap the wings off o’ Midnight when Ah had thought she had left ya there defenseless.”

“Now why would you think that?” Snowflake asked firmly, a frown forming on her face. “You and I both know that my eldest sister would never leave any foal, let alone her own sisters on their own unsupervised. I find it highly unlikely that you would think that she’d do that, even after all this time of knowing her.”

Jubilee frowned. “Yeah, we know…we weren’t thinkin’ straight. We just lost it when we found out that Apple Bloom may have been…” She shook her head and looked over at the beetle black mare. “…We’re sorry Midnight, we didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“That’s okay, you were all just worried about your sisters, so it’s completely understandable.” Midnight said gently. “Honesty, I probably would’ve reacted the same way if I had found out Sheton was in the same danger…even though he already was. Then again there were other things going through my head, so I wasn’t entirely focused on that.”

“Well, either way, all o’ y’all ‘r back here a safe an’ sound, an’ hopefully, none o’ them things ‘re gonna harm y’all again.” Anna Blaze murmured. “Especially with us two ‘round, right Big Mac?”

The scarlet red draft Pegasus nodded. “Eeyup.”

“That begs the question.” Honey Blossom asked, looking over at the two Thestrals as she finally set Apple Bloom down. “How did y’all end up gettin’ from Ponyville back up t’ th’ farm?”

“Oh, yes, about that.” Midnight replied hesitantly. “It’s just well...I had run into some...trouble, on the way back to the library.”

“Trouble?” Scarlet asked, her face morphing into curiosity. “What kind of trouble sugar-pie?”

“I think it’s best if I start from the beginning.” The beetle black mare replied, brushing some of her mane out of her face.“When I went back to the Town Square, I looked around and asked anypony if there was anything that I could help them with. That’s when Amethyst came running up to me from the far back of the building.” Midnight began, her expression grave. “The poor dear looked so terrified and anxious that she was hardly able to tell me what was wrong through her tears. I was eventually able to get her to calm down long enough to tell me that her sister Dinky and some of her friends were trapped under a large pile of the roof!”

“What?!” Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Fire Flash, Spike, Crescent and Scootaloo all exclaimed in unison, their eyes widening in horror. Dinky remained silent, holding into Amethyst as the older Unicorn held her tightly in her forelegs.

“T-T-They nearly got crushed under the roof?!” Sheton cried; his face morphed into shocked disbelief.

“Oh, mah goodness! That’s horrible!” Honey Blossom cried, putting her forehooves to her feathered chest. “Are th’ lil’ sugar buns alright?”

“Yes, Honey Blossom, they’re going to be fine.” Midnight replied reassuringly, before her tone became uneasy. “Well...most of them are physically.”

“What do ya mean, most of ‘em ‘re alright physically?” Jubilee asked, her eyes narrowing a little.

“Well...when I managed to squeeze inside the hole that the foals were trapped in, I was led over to them by one colt named Button and found them all huddled in a corner. They were all surrounding one of the foals, and she looked reallyhurt.” Midnight replied, running a hoof through her mane. “It was an Earth filly named Melon Cake, and her right leg was trapped under the wood pile, and it was stuck in there deep.”

“Oh no!” Scootaloo gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth. “Was...w-was it…b-broken?”

“Thankfully no. The bark of the wood managed to leave a pretty deep cut inside Melon’s leg, but it didn’t look or seem broken when I got her out of the wood.” Midnight replied, giving the bright orange filly a reassuring smile. “Despite that, I wasn’t going to take any chances and took her to the first nurse that I could find so she could get that leg looked at. Once I was sure that she was going to be okay, I took my leave and started making my way back to the Golden Oaks Library.” The beetle black mare paused, looking off to the side as her ears flattened against her head. “That’s when things got um...scary.”

“Scary how?” Sweetie Belle asked apprehensively.

“Well...I was making my way back to the library, when I heard screaming coming from where I was walking. That was when I saw one of my old friends, Silver Speed, flying towards me in a panic. When she got to me, I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that there were these monstrous space-like ponies flying towards the town! When I saw them, I got scared and had Silver Speed come back with me to find refuge in the Town Square, since the Tantabuses were coming from the direction of the Everfree Forest.” Midnight grimaced, a shiver going down her spine. “Unfortunately, some of the Tantabuses had already made it, and was engaged in a fight with Shining Armor, so that was out for places to go.”

“Wow, now that had t’ be rough.” Apple Bloom began slowly. “What did ya’ll do t’ get away?”

“It wasn’t what we did to get away, it was what Silver Speed did to help me get away.” Midnight replied, rubbing her left foreleg. Upon seeing Scarlet and everypony else’s perplexed looks, she elaborated. “Silver Speed and me tried to make our way from the Town Square, but we found ourselves surrounded by Tantabuses. I figured that we were going to have to fight them, but Silver told me that she could fight them by herself, and that I should make my escape. I told her that I wasn’t going to leave her, but she insisted that I go while she fought the Tantabuses by herself, and she didn’t let up...so...I-I left.”

“I see…” Crescent Shield murmured, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. “And that’s what led you to come here? To get her help?”

“Yes…” Midnight replied with a sigh. “I was pretty shocked when I saw that there was already Tantabus, and when I saw that, it kind of made me get a change of plans. I’m really regretting having left Silver Speed there.”

“Oh, don’t feel too bad there Midnight.” Snowflake nodded, looking down at her hooves as she kept a wing draped around her daughter. “Silver Speed knew what she was doing, and she knew that she was trying to keep you safe. So, you shouldn’t feel bad for leaving her, especially since she told you to. Besides she wasn’t really alone if you really thing about it; there were a good amount of Royal Guards in the town, so I’m sure one of them happened to come upon her.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I still feel bad for leaving her.” Midnight nodded, letting out a sigh. “That reminds me…how did you all end up getting here like me?”

Sheton raised a claw. “That uh…actually happened in a way not too different from yours.”

“What do you mean sweetie?” Honey asked.

“What he means is that we had also encountered a Tantabus of our own back at the Golden Oaks Library.” Cloud Kicker replied, laying on the same couch Amethyst and Dinky were. “See, Derpy had me, Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth take Derpy to the Golden Oaks Library, because she felt that it would be the safest place for her to be. We had unfortunately ended up getting into a fight with one of those Tantabuses, and Amethyst had me take Dinky with her while she and Blossomforth stayed. Sometime while we were flying to the library, another one of them had found us, and…I don’t think I need to explain what happened next.

“Eenope, ya don’t need to.” Big Mac said shaking his head. “Carry on Miss Cloud.”

“Right…anyway, by some bucking miracle, we had managed to get to the Golden Oaks Library where we ran into Snowflake, Sheton and the foals.” The persian blue mare sighed, dragging a hoof through her muzzle. “Unfortunately, the wooden door was not anywhere near strong enough to keep it from breaking inside, and forcing Snowflake and even Amethyst to engage it in a fight. Thankfully, we had managed to get it out the door, before Amethyst, Snowflake and the kids carried me to Twilight’s room to treat my injuries.”

“Wow, now that had to be real frightenin’.” Jubilee said, letting out a little huff. “So, what happened next?”

“Well…sometime after that, the Tantabus had ended up getting a few friends and they all broke through the shield that I had put up around the library.” Amethyst grumbled, rubbing at her horn. “We were able to escape the library, but soon found ourselves surrounded and it looked like we were going to get finished of, but then…Captain, um…Moon Blade I think he was called, came to our rescue.”

“You mean that really good lookin’ Thestral stallion that looks more like a ghost?” Anna asked, earning a nod from thee magenta purple Unicorn. “Well that had t’ be relievin’, huh?”

“Yeah, it sure was.” Amethyst nodded. “Although, it was a little bit marred when my aunt tried to flirt with Moon Blade almost immediately after he had saved us.”

“Oh, come on! You’re still going on about that?” Cloud groaned. “All I was doing was just showing my appreciation to him for saving you and Dinky!”

“By nearly making him take you right there in front of us?” Amethyst deadpanned. “Like how you let Big Mac ‘plough your field’ after he helped you clear those extra clouds that you said you could clear on your own?”

Big Mac flinched, his eyes squeezing shut as a Jubilee gained a tick mark on his head. “Hey now, you leave Big Mac outta this!”

“That has nothing to do with that I was doing with Moon Blade!” Cloud Kicker shouted, her forehead gaining a tick mark of her own. “And I thought that you, Derpy and I agreed that we’d never talk about that around anypony else!”

“I never agreed to not speak about anything aunt Cloud!” Amethyst hissed. “You just told us how much of a fun time with the so called, as you quoted, ‘Big Red Rutter of Sweet Apple Acres’ and that’s it! Under no circumstances was I obligate to keep it a secret that you got the biggest bachelor in all of Equestria to rut you into the ground!”

“Oh yeah? Well I’d like to think that nopony asking me about that was you keeping your word not to tell anypony.” Cloud huffed, crossing her forehooves. “But it looks like I was wrong about that.”

“What the hay is that supposed to mean?!” Amethyst asked, her eyes comically white while her teeth turned shark-like.

“Ahem, Ah hate to butt in but…” Scarlet said, coughing into her hoof. “Need Ah remind ya that there are foals here listenin’ yer banter? They are nowhere near old enough to be hearin’ this bullshit right now, so if yer gonna be talkin’ ‘bout shit like that, do it where they can’t hear it!”

“Don’t bother Scarlet, you know how those two are when goin’ at each other’s throats.” Big Mac murmured, his face still red. “There could be a whole school o’ foals around them an’ they wouldn’t care if they’re talkin’ ‘bout anythin’ even remotely outta place fer ‘em.”

“Yeah, and I have the visits to prove it.” Spike nodded, a frown forming on his own face. “Oh, and Scarlet, you do realize that I’m thirteen years old, not eight, right?”

“Spike, sugar lump, just…” Jubilee sighed. “…Jus’ don’t worry ‘bout it, alright? Jus’ let her be.”

“Um, I don’t wanna interrupt, but…” Sheton asked innocently. “…Can somepony explain to me what they’re talking about?”

“Nothin’ that ya need t’ worry yer precious lil’ head over.” Honey replied, patting the colt on his head. “Trust me, it’ll be worth th’ wait when ya git older…it really will.”

Before Sheton could ask what she was talking about, a loud rumbling sound emitted from him, Spike and the other fillies inside the room. They all gasped, blushes blossoming across their faces as they became rooted in place.

“Whoa, now what in the hay was that?” Cloud Kicker asked, blinking a couple of times. “Some sort of earthquake?”

“Eenope.” Big Mac snorted dryly. “It was them youngin’s stomachs, an’ judgin’ from how loud it was, Ah’m assumin’ that they hadn’t eaten yet.”

“U-um…no we haven’t.” Scootaloo murmured shyly, her face heating up. “W-we were only able to eat b-breakfast, a-and some pastries b-before we w-went to t-the T-T-Town Square f-for the S-Summer Sun C-Celebration. O-other than t-that…n-n-nothing else.”

“Is that so?” Scarlet asled, looking over at each of the foals. “So what yer sayin’ is that you youngin’s haven’t been able t’ get a proper meal have ya?”

As if in response, each and every single one of their stomachs rumbled again, causing the foals to snap their mouths shut and blush fiercely. Cloud Kicker, Amethyst and the other mares giggled as Scarlet’s eyes became half-lidded, a smile of amusement making its way to her lips.

“Ah’ll take that as a big growlin’ yes.” The mint green Pegasus chuckled as she gave a shake of her head. “Alright, you stay ‘ere while Ah get Apple Fritter whip somethin’ up fer y’all. After y’all get yer plates, Ah’ll have Anna Blaze take ya’ll over t’ th’ barn so y’all can eat there.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom said happily. “Thank you Scarlet!”

“Oh, can I come too?!” Dinky suddenly squeaked. “I wanna hang out with the girls Spike and Sheton too!”

“Well...Ah guess we could let ya,” Anne Blaze replied slowly. “Though you’ll have t’ ask yer aunt first. Ah ain’t comfortable with lettin’ any youngin’ play with Apple Bloom without their own parents’ permission.”

Dinky whipped her head around to look at her sister and aunt. “Oh, can I go with them Auntie Cloud? Big Sis? Please,please, please?!” She pleaded, clasping her forehooves together as she put on a sad puppy dog face.

Cloud let out a soft chuckle, rolling her eyes at her niece’s pleading as she gave her a pat on the head. “Well, I suppose I could let you go with them. Just as long as you stay where we’ll be able to find you and the rest of your friends. If there’s anything wrong, make sure to come straight to me or your sister, understand?” The persian blue Pegasus said, her tone caring yet stern.

“Uh-huh!” Dinky replied with a rapid nod of her head as she gave a little salute.

“Well then, that settles that. We’ll be sure t’ add an extra plate for your daughter Dinky.” Jubilee said with a warm smile, before looking over at Sheton. “Oh, and Sheton?”

“Y-yes Jubilee?” The stormy grey colt asked as he looked back up at the pale orange mare.

“Just in case ya finish yer plate too early, Ah’ll have Fritter make sure that yours is full to where ya won’t need t’ ask for seconds.” Jubilee said, smirking as Sheton’s ears perked up. “Don’t wanna have what happened earlier today happen again, now do we?”

Sheton’s eyes widened at these words, recognition once again morphing on his face as the memories of yesterday made their way into his mind. Once the shock wore off, the stormy grey colt shrank back, his ears flattening once more as another blush came to his cheeks.

“Heh, Ah’ll take that as a yes.” Jubilee said, letting out a chuckle. “You an’ yer friends sit tight hon’. Ah’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“O-Okay.” Sheton replied with a light nod as the Apple Matriarch left the room, leaving him and the other foals alone with Scarlet, Derpy and Amethyst.

“Hey AB,” The crimson filly whispered. “What did your grandmother mean by that?”

“Mean by what?” The sun yellow filly asked, looking back at Fire Flash.

“You know, how she was gonna give Sheton an extra plate or two?” Fire Flash specified. “Does he have some kind of eating disorder or something?”

“Fire Flash!” Sweetie Belle admonished. “It’s rude to ask something like that!”

“No, I don’t.” Sheton said before Apple Bloom could reply, looking off to the side. “I just have the tendency to eat more than most ponies my age...and trust me, I really, really do.”

“You do?” Scootaloo asked, looking at the stormy grey colt curiously.

“Totally.” Spike replied. “I don’t know if it may have to do with him being half dragon, since they areknown to have much bigger stomachs than us. Either way, Sheton has a bigger stomach than me and Crescent Shield combined, and I’m half dragon too!”

“Seriously?” Fire Flash asked, raising a fiery eyebrow as she looked at Sheton’s barrel. “It doesn’t really look all that big to me.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Fire Flash.” Sheton said softly. “Not all things are as they appear, especially when it comes to the anatomy of certain creatures, including us. Like Spike said, he and I are half dragon, even if it doesn’t outwardly look like he does, and that’s definitely bound leave some changes in their bodies, especially with their eating habits.”

“H-he goes m-make a g-g-good p-point.” Scootaloo said softly. “N-not every c-creature’s body w-works the s-s-same way, a-and I should k-know. D-due to e-everything t-t-that I’ve seen h-happen ay my b-big s-sisters c-cottage.”

Fire Flash paused at these words, taking a moment to mull over it in her mind, before she shrugged. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Still, I kinda find it pretty hard to believe that anypony our age could eat that much, even if they’re half dragon.”

“It’s fine if you can’t.” Sheton said dismissively. “I’m just saying that due to my anatomy and my heritage, I tend to eat just a bit more than others.

“Heh, yeah.” Apple Bloom said dryly, flicking her tail in the stormy grey colt’s face. “Jus’ a lil’ bit.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Oh nothin’.” Apple Bloom said before Sheton could reply. “It’s jus’ that Sheton ‘ere practically cleared all o’ the plates when he an’ his big sisters all ate breakfast with us during the Apple Family Reunion earlier today.”

“Whoa, seriously?!” Spike gasped, looking over at the stormy grey colt once more.

“Heheh, eeyup! Y’all should’ve seen it yourself Spike! Sheton wolfed down all o’ breakfast like a herd o’ pigs rollin’ ‘round in th’ mud!” Apple Bloom giggled. “By the time he was done, the poor boy looked like he was gonna burst into apple sauce!”

“Apple Bloom...” Sheton whined as he pulled his fedora over his face.

“Okay, I have got to see this!” Fire Flash said excitedly. “If Sheton can eat as much as you say you can, then I bet it’ll be hilariousto see him with a bloating stomach!”

“Heeheehee, me too!” Crescent Shield nodded with a giggle.

“Girls!” Scootaloo chastised as Sweetie Belle and Spike glared at them all.

“Come on girls, stop it!” Sheton cried as a deep blush made its way to his cheeks.

“Don’t worry Fire Flash, you an’ th’ girls will be able t’ see for yourself soon enough.” Apple Bloom said as she smirked over at Sheton. “An’ Ah know we’re gonna enjoy every second o’ it.”

As the sun yellow filly, Fire Flash and Sweetie Belle all giggled, Sheton stayed silent, pinning his ears against his head as he hid his face under his hat. The stormy grey Thestral laid down on the carpet as he wrapped his wings around himself, ignoring the looks of sympathy given to him by Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Spike, as they did their best to comfort him.

“Uh, I don’t get it.” Dinky finally murmured, looking at Apple Bloom in confusion. “What’s so funny Apple Bloom?”

“Oh nothin’...” The sun yellow filly chuckled, glancing over at the violet orange filly. “Jus’ that Sheton ‘ere like to eat more than he’s supposed to.”

Dinky blinked a couple of times, her confusion growing. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find out in a bit Dinks.” Apple Bloom replied dryly. “Though, be prepared to have a real good laugh when the time comes. ‘Cause Ah’m tellin’ ya, you are gonna feel like yer ‘bout to burst!”

“Oh, for the love of…!” Spike hissed, his claw flying up to his face as Sheton groaned with embarrassment.

“Me and my big mouth…” Sheton mumbled, anime tears streaming from his eyes as Scootaloo comforted him.

Author's Notes:

I gotta admit, I had a lotta fun writing this chapter mainly involving the Granny Smith, Depry, Amethyst, Cloud Kicker, Blossomforth, Midnight, Snowflake, Sheton, Spike the CMC and the Apple Family! As stated in the last, blog, I wanted to try to wind down on what was happening in Ponyville and have things go at a more relaxing pace. Now that the fight with the Tantabuses are over with, I'm gonna try to see if I can get some more fluff filled scenes in before I get back to the adventure in the Everfree Forest, though that's gonna be bit hard since I only have a couple of them in my arsenal. That's okay, because I plan to have Ponyville in the process of cheating death again before very long, but I do plan to lighten things up in the next couple of chapters before then.

Well that's all for this chapter! Tune in next time for some more fluff in the next couple of ones, before we get back on the action once more!!!