It was early in the morning when Flynn got out of bed. Silently, not to disturb the others in their slumber, he got out of the house and walked down the street to the Ponyville post office.

Inside, an older earth pony stallion looked up to him and nodded. After some conversations Flynn got to know him a bit. Pavis Packwind was as hard as they came and his trust wasn't earned easily. Yet after several conversations with Rainbow Dash Pavis agreed to give Flynn the benefit of the doubt,
"So I see you're here for the delivery, huh? Alright..." He then lifted a brown little package onto his desk and nodded to Flynn. "This package here needs to be brought to Manehattan, but all available pegasi are either out there or still sleeping... So..."

Flynn smirked,
"So you finally got something for me, huh?"

Shaking his head slightly, Pavis now leaned in,
"Listen, kid! I don't have anything against you humans, but I'm also not very experienced with your kind either. I mean you guys are good at defending Equestria, but delivering a package is not fighting for your life." As Flynn narrowed his eyes, the stallion rolled his and shrugged. "Alright, alright, you at least deserve a chance, I give you that. If you get this done, there is more work for you here. And if you're only half as fast as you claim, I might get you into the Pony Express delivery department. As high-speed courier or something. Celestia knows I could use someone in case the pegasi are all not available. And if demand for a high-speed courier rises... Well... This will show on your paycheck."

Nodding in approval, Flynn smiled,
"Sounds good enough for me... Is that stuff here fragile?"

"No, the customer didn't mark it as such. But don't get any wild ideas, you hear? I want that delivered in top condition!"

The streets were all clear, no pony was up this early on the streets. Binding his shoes, Flynn warmed a bit up as he grabbed the package and looked ahead. And in an instant he disappeared into a cloud of a dirt, as the velocity made him go faster than everypony could turn their heads. At that speed, he would deliver the package within a few minutes.

On his way to Manehattan, he ran alongside the Ponyville Express, whose conductor activated the train horn as he saw the Ranger. Being greeted that way, Flynn beamed and his face grew determined as he looked ahead. It was like flying just over the ground. Although he was certain that a jet would probably be crushed by the dense air near the ground.

Near the outskirts of the city, Flynn slowed down and ran at the speed any other human could run. By now it felt very slow and dragging, but it couldn't be helped. Manehattan, like its counterpart on Earth, barely slept and the streets were filled with carriages and ponies. Looking for the address, he delivered a package in a matter of minutes. Receiving a receipt in return, he then made haste to Ponyville again.

* * * * *

At noon, Flynn and Rainbow Dash met near the marketplace. While he embraced her and caressed her neck carefully with his lips, Rainbow snickered,
“Hey there, my speeding stud...” After a short while Rainbow gently pushed Flynn away, demanding a tad more personal space in public. “So I take it this morning's delivery was easy?”

"Got there within ten minutes." Flynn answered with a wide grin, "The stallion who took it seemed to have expected a Pegasus, but not a human... You should have seen the face of Pavis as I returned half an hour later with the receipt, signature and all. He had no choice but to hand me the job."

Laughing, she nudged Flynn into the ribs,
“See? I told you that would be one good job for you. Normally we pegasi do the mail delivery for mail that is sent out of town, since we're way faster than unicorns and earth ponies. That’s because we only need to consider air line distance. But since you’re way faster than every runner in Equestria, you should be fine as well.”

Flynn nodded and his hand gently slid down her spine with his index and middle finger. A cold chill ran down her spine as he did that and Rainbow shook a bit in excitement. How she loved and hated it when he did that. These sweet shivers down her spine when he signalled that he wanted her. It was their little secret code and Rainbow used to wallow in that kind of attention. Of all attention in Equestria that was the one kind she couldn't get enough of.

Her little dreamland was briefly interrupted as Flynn grinned and pinched her flank,
“I take it you already brought Scoots to school?”

A little nervous and with blushed cheeks she looked around rather spooked. But after making sure that nopony was eavesdropping, she hovered right before him,
“You’re impossible, you know that? After weeks of telling you every little rule about how to behave in public...”

Flynn, however, smiled in the way he always did when he was out to have fun with her,
"Come on, Dashie...What good are rules that ruin a little bit of fun once in a while?"

The Pegasus mare chuckled a bit. Despite all that, she couldn't be mad at him for long. 'That smile...' she thought, 'Celestia, I would take on dragons for that smile...' When he pulled her back into a bush, she let out a playful yelp before letting herself fall onto him. Minutes later playful giggles sounded off from the bush as his pants went down.

However, their little adventure in the bush was cut short as an all too familiar voice gave a shout-out,
"Surprise!!!"

In an instant, Rainbow's and Flynn's heads popped out of the bush, both blushing with fury,
"P-Pinkie!"

"Yup! That's me! What are you doing in that bush?"

While Flynn was pulling up his jeans again, Rainbow thought of some answer,
"We... er... we're playing a game!"

The pink earth pony then beamed innocently as usual,
"Oh, that sounds fun! Can I play along?

Now the both of them grimaced a bit,
"Uhm... listen Pinkie, that's more of a game for two players...

"Aw don't ostracize me..."

Now Flynn was dressed again and stepped out of the bush with a chuckle,
"Ah, you would like to play that game more when you play it with Sam. I'll tell him about it later. I'm sure he can bring you up to speed." He then bent down to the pink pony. "But right now, why don't you prepare an evening of Marenopoly?"

This brought back the smile on her face,
"Oh well... Fair enough! Marenopoly evening it is."

* * * * *

The humans, Cutie Mark Crusaders and Elements of Harmony spent the evening together with their herd members in a board games evening. However, there was something that was noticed by Flynn... Which was the constant help he received from different ponies. A bit of magic to open that bottle or bring something down from high up, a chair pulled out for him, a bottle of ketchup opened. This angered Flynn a bit. It was as if he was deemed a little boy,
"For the last time! I don't need any pampering! I am perfectly fine! Look, I hereby forbid you girls to do things that I could do on my own!"

When he sat down a bit grumpily, Tyler offered him a mug of cider with a smirk,
"Well then, hold your own cider, because I sure as hell won't hold it for you, big boy! You know they do mean well..."

While Flynn accepted and took a gulp after muttering a low "Thanks!" to Tyler, Rarity looked over to him and nudged Rainbow softly,
"Aren't you worried about him?"

But the cerulean mare simply shook her head as she rested her wing over Scootaloo,
"I believe in Flynn. You guys simply worry too much."

Coming to her side, Twilight nodded, but gave a worried glance over to Flynn,
"Your faith in him honors you, Rainbow, but someone cut off one of his fingers. I deem that the same magnitude as losing part of a wing or hoof. Although he's physically well, I think the scars inside of him haven't healed up yet."

This was a comparison Rainbow could understand quite well and her expression got a bit worried. Flying over to Flynn she helped him a bit by carrying cheese and bread over to him to cut. As he noticed her worried look, he smiled a bit,
"What is it, Dashie? You look like you lost a race."

Resting a hoof on the same hand he once lost his finger on, she looked into his eyes,
"Flynn... You do know I believe and have faith in you above all... uh... I just want you to know... If you need something, anything... I'm there for you, OK?"

Flynn sighed and looked down to the plates,
"Dash... I don't know what they said to you now... But I do know that being with you is being with loyalty herself. I know that you will be with me no matter what. I just..." He looked up at her and they exchanged some uncertain glances. "...I just want some time to process that for myself, OK? All that caring for me just feels like none of you have faith in me being capable of making it."

That was an answer Rainbow could accept and she nodded before she hugged him dearly,
"Alright... Just a little reminder for you: I do have faith in you. But you don't have to prove yourself in front of me. I love you the way you are." Putting both arms around her, he chuckled and exchanged some kisses with her, which earned them an adorable "Awwww..." from the crusaders.

Sam then arched a finger and nodded over to Flynn,
"Oh yeah! Flynn! I almost forgot to tell you; We Rangers pooled up a bit and got you the missing bits you two need to get started with the house."

Lyra nodded with a chuckle,
"Bon Bon says she would miss that little bit of income you contributed, but she's also happy you’re settling down on your own." Looking up to Sam, she nudged him a bit in the ribs. "Something a certain someone should do for his mares as well..."

Pinkie rested her head on Sam's and looked down,
"A house with Sam? That sounds great, but I don't know... If I leave Sugarcube Corner, maybe the Cakes won't make enough money."

Sam looked up and smiled,
"Don't worry, we still have to get the money together to build for ourselves. Until then you have plenty of time to tell them, so they can adjust to the situation..."

* * * * *

On the next day, Rainbow got home a little later and was accompanied by Spitfire. After getting Flynn up into the clouds, they were having some conversations about the academy and Rainbow's many achievements there, Flynn finally got an insight of what she learned there and how much it differed from human flight school. Spitfire on the other hand was very interested in human ways to achieve flight without wings and was fascinated over the concept of machines capable of such speeds.

Two hours into her visit, she changed the topic,
"You know, Rainbow Dash... I always welcomed the idea that you got yourself a relationship with a human. Not that stallions are any better or worse... But it puts the risk of impregnation to a comfortable zero with all the benefits of a relationship." As both Rainbow and Flynn nodded in agreement, the Wonderbolt Captain then continued. "And that's the reason I am here today as well... I want to apply to this herd of yours."

Looking up to her Captain, Rainbow blinked in surprise,
"What? Uh... I don't know... Flynn and I agreed on the fact that this is a monogamous relationship, so I’m his one and only mare."

This prompted Spitfire to arch her brows,
"Really? Rainbow, you surprise me. I never took you for one to be taking a male for you alone... I mean, yeah it happens but those couples are exceptions nowadays. I always took you more for a team player. Then again, humans do have that tendency to see a relationship with someone or somepony as a privilege, don't they?" After a brief nod from Flynn Spitfire continued. "Listen, Rainbow... It's not that I want to force myself onto you two by saying you either let me in or your Wonderbolt career is over. No! I wouldn't do that to you nor the Wonderbolts... Yet... You see, I'm an experienced mare now as the Wonderbolt Captain for six years and it's always good to have someone to... succeed that place in case my career ends for some abrupt reason..."

Rainbow's eyes slowly grew wide,
"Are you saying that..."

Yet Spitfire raised a hoof,
"I won't make any promises to you, Lieutenant... But should you allow me to join, you and I will do some extra training courses in private, giving you some advantage over other nominated officers, should I ever step down as the Captain..." Standing up now, Spitfire then glanced over to Flynn. "And I could see to it that our running ace here also gets some extra training once you're out of breath..."

Her wiggling with the flank gave Flynn just about the right idea what she was talking about, prompting him to gulp. But nonetheless Spitfire turned to Rainbow again. "You don't have to answer right away, of course. Take yourself as much time as you need and make a well thought decision..."

Flynn accompanied the Wonderbolt Captain to the door, only to return to a frozen Rainbow Dash staring right in front of herself,
"This is a dilemma, huh?"

Looking over to him now, Rainbow now threw her hooves in the air,
"Dilemma?!? This is a major catastrophe!!! I have to decide between having you for myself or getting an advantage in achieving my dream! Not to mention that one of my childhood idols is going to apply for a herd membership!"

With a shake of his head, Flynn first grimaced a bit in confusion before he took a breath and rested his hands on her shoulders,
"Well... It's not that bad... You do know that whatever may come, Spitfire will never steal me away from you, right?"

Chewing on her hoof like a nervous filly, Rainbow peeked over to him,
"I don't know, Flynn... If I choose to let her in, would I sacrifice you for my dream? Wouldn't that be selfish of me? I once said I want to be the only mare for you... I'm too competitive for a herd."

"Rainbow... Sweetie, I always told you that I accept your choice regarding our relationship and that I’ll live with you in monogamy to the day you decide otherwise. This is your chance to come one step closer to your biggest dream, a dream you had even before you met me. Of course this would mean certain drawbacks. IF you deem Spitfire as your personal trainer a drawback."

Frowning a bit, Rainbow pointed a hoof at his nose to boop it,
"You forgot to mention that you’ll have to sleep with her as well, right? That's the very reason why she came to us and not to anypony else... She wants to get laid with you."

"If you wish to, I could take her in your presence..." His hand now gently slid over her back. "If you get an extra kick out of a threesome that is..."

Smirking a bit at his clumsy attempt to cheer her up, she then placed a hoof at his chest,
"Sweet of you, but that probably would do nothing good. Well, I was with you first, making me the Alpha... But still... I..." She then looked at him with a glance full of concern. "Flynn... I-I think I'm going to mess up."

Resting a hand on her shoulder he shook his head,
"I will always think that you are the Greatest. You are the best mare I could ever hope for and as long as you remember that no matter what the others do, you will still be my Alpha..."

Biting her bottom lip, Rainbow looked down with a blush on her face,
"You mean it?"

Leaning a bit in, Flynn lowered his voice,
"If you want to, I'll prove it to you each time the herd does it. Besides... I think it would do Scootaloo best to grow up in a normal herd..."

Rainbow nodded in agreement. This sure was a valid point. Not only was this about her or Flynn or Spitfire, it was also about Scootaloo and the little filly meant everything for the both of them. And when the young filly came down the stairs on the next morning, Rainbow and Flynn sat at the table and looked at her,
"Umm... Scootaloo? Flynn and I got a visit yesterday evening from... Spitfire and... er..."

Flynn took over and completed the sentence,
"And she wants to join us in our herd. But since you are with us, we wanted to ask you if you are alright with this..."

The young filly looked up to her idol and smiled,
"Oh, that's OK with me."

This prompted Rainbow to gulp down a big lump and she hugged Scootaloo tightly,
"Really? It wouldn't matter to you if Flynn and I get another mare into the herd?"

But the filly only shook her head,
"Of course not! It only means you can become that much more awesome! How many mares can say that they are the Alpha in a herd with a Wonderbolt Captain? Only Rainbow Dash can do that!"

Rainbow looked over to Flynn, visibly touched by these words. Flynn on the other hand winked over to her and stood up,
"I'm getting the morning newspapers..." But as he opened the front door, a big lump of coat and leather was hanging from the ceiling of the projecting roof. "What the... a bat?"

With a big yawn the bat pony opened wide and showed her little fangs, as she slowly woke up and blinked in her own sleepiness,
"Ah! Good morning, Flynn Marshall..."

Flynn's eyes grew wide,
"E-Elise! What are you doing here?"

While she still hang upside down from the ceiling, her bat wings were still wrapped around her like a warm blanket,
"Oh it rained quite strong the night before and my home is some miles away. So I hung around a bit... You don't mind that, do you?"

"Can't say that I do... But isn't this a bit uncomfortable?"

It was then when Scootaloo came outside as well,
"Hey dad, who are you talking-" Looking up to Elise, the filly's eyes widened. "Whoa! That's cool! How can she hang upside down like that?"

Spreading her bat pony wings a bit, Elise flapped them and performed a somersault before landing,
"Comes with being a bat pony, Sweetie..." Looking up to Flynn, Elise giggled. "Cute kid. Yours?"

Searching a bit for words Flynn nodded just before he shook his head and finally shrugged,
"Yes, I mean no! I mean... I adopted Scootaloo and take care of her."

Arching a brow with a sly smile, Elise then looked at Scootaloo, so the filly could see into her big golden eyes,
"I see... Well then, young lady... You tell me, is he doing a good job?"

Scootaloo looked up to Flynn and nodded while beaming wide,
"Best Dad ever..."

This prompted Flynn to smile down to her,
"Awww... Come here!" Hugging her, he let her nuzzle him a bit, before he nodded back inside. "Come on, eat up before I bring you to school..."

When the little filly returned inside, Flynn got nudged by Elise with her bat wing,
"Good with kids and good with the ladies... Say... why don't you introduce me to Rainbow Dash? I'd like to congratulate her for having such a cutie as a herd mate."

Looking down to her, he blinked in surprise,
"Elise, you want to join as well?"

Smiling a bit, the bat pony held her hoof to her chest, flattered,
"My, if you ask me like this, Flynn... You surprise me a bit."

Coming outside now, Rainbow arched a brow,
"I think what Flynn means is that Spitfire also applied for joining in earlier this week. Flynn? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Harrumphing a bit, Flynn nodded,
"Er... Of course! Rainbow, that's Elise..."

"Elise Longnight" the bat pony added with a smile.

"Thank you. Elise, that's Rainbow Dash..."

"Oh, I know that!" The bat pony stated with a smile, "So I take it you want to know what I could bring in to the herd that would make me valuable for it?" Tipping her chin a bit, she then began to giggle. "I know that a certain somepony wants her career as a Wonderbolt to prosper, yet I take it you two someday want children of your own...?"

Looking up to Flynn, Rainbow recognized that he slowly nodded with a smile, what made her blush a bit. Surely her career was of importance, but his wish to have a foal with her couldn't and shouldn't be ignored,
"I think so... So what’s that to you?"

Letting her hoof slide through her short mane, Elise looked at the Element of Loyalty,
"Well, with your military careers, you both need your sleep at night, yet a foal doesn't care if you are asleep..."

Flynn now got it and smirked,
"And that's where you come in?"

Shrugging a bit, Elise chuckled,
“Well it can be an advantage if you are nocturnal... I wake up a few hours before you go to sleep and to be frank, I sure do love the laughter of foals. I wouldn't object to watching your foal if I'm in your herd." With a sly smile, she looked up to Flynn. "Or carrying your foal for that matter..."

Arching a brow, Rainbow grinned a bit,
"Seems to me you’d get the far better cut in this kind of deal..."

Giving the Pegasus mare a smile, Elise shrugged a bit,
"Give this bat pony a chance, Element of Loyalty... I assure you I can be a great addition to your herd..."

Now Rainbow looked up to Flynn who rolled his eyes and shrugged,
"Well, she DID save me that one time from being a vampony meal... She can be of-"

But this got the Pegasus' immediate attention and she flew up to his face,
"Wait a second! A vampony attacked you?!? Flynn, why didn't you tell me about that?"

Sighing, Flynn shook his head,
"Because I didn't want you to flip out like this..."

A girlish giggle caused Rainbow to look back to Elise, who simply winked at them,
"He's too cute to be killed, wouldn't you agree?"

Looking down to Flynn with a slightly angered face, Rainbow nodded,
"Yeah, unfortunately he IS that cute... lucky bastard, you..." With that her wing smacked into Flynn's butt before she huffed a bit. "Hrmpf... I think it’d look bad if I deny a mare who saved my Flynn the chance to court into the herd..." Pointing her hoof at his nose, she frowned at him. "Alright, enough trouble-making from you now, Flynn! If more mares save your ass, I'm going to think you do that on purpose!"

But Flynn smiled and pulled his girl in, rested her Pegasus body over his shoulder. The weight was there, but bearable for him. Maybe pegasi were so much lighter in weight than normal ponies. As he turned to Elise once more, he fondled Rainbow's wild mane and ear,
"Rainbow is very fond of me... She still has some trouble adjusting to the idea of sharing me with other mares because after all... We were a monogamous couple until recently."

Taking a step back, Elise then turned her head a bit down while keeping eye contact. A slight blush formed over her nose,
"Oh, I see... This is due to your normal human behavior. It must be a dream come true for every mare to have someone like that." The bat pony then shook her head gently and smiled over to Rainbow. "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash... First come, first served, Alpha privilege and all that... I won't compete with you over the man we both love. But I think that means that the role of Beta isn't settled then?

Now Flynn was a little confused,
"Beta? You mean like... second female?"

This, however, prompted Rainbow to shrug,
"Well the herd thing is way more complicated than the couple stuff, Flynn..." With a sly grin, she nudged him into the ribs. "Why? Having second thoughts?"

Shaking his head now, Flynn frowned a bit,
"No, If you are the Alpha, I think you can fill me in if I don't know something."

Looking to Elise now, Rainbow cocked her head as she landed at Elise's side while Flynn went back inside,
"So... If you don't mind me asking: When did you and Flynn meet?

"It was on his trip to Zebrica, he sure is such a cutie." Elise answered truthfully with chuckle. "Always faithful, always stumbling a bit over bat pony customs... These humans can talk with silver tongues... makes me want to nibble on his ears."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, yet smirked,
"Yeah... They sure can do that. I'm just not sure why he never mentioned you..."

Another girlish giggle escaped the bat pony and she held a hoof in front of her muzzle,
"Oh he never made a move on me if you mean that. That guy is faithful, a real keeper. Even more so than the next stallion and as a sailor I had my share. I assume it never occurred to him that I could be something more to him. And after saving him from my vampony cousin... Well let's say he was aware of certain things and tried his best to remain loyal to his girl. I think he is as loyal as you ask him to be. However... There's one thing I have to ask..." Looking all around to ensure that there were no ponies near, Elise leaned in and lowered her voice." Are they really as big as the rumors say?"

Arching a brow, Rainbow cocked her head,
"I don't know... What DO the rumors say?"

Spreading her hooves, Elise showed a length of a pony’s leg, which prompted Rainbow to snicker
"Who came up with that?"

Cocking her head, Elise arched a brow,
"But... you know... One of them pleases Princess Luna and she is quite big in figure... So some believe..."

Correcting the size down to normal human penis length, Rainbow nodded,
"Try this..."

Elise arched a brow as she looked up to Rainbow again,
"Uh-huh... That's not bigger than the average stallion. I don't know if I should be disappointed or relieved."

Waving the thought away with a hoof, Rainbow shook her head,
"Trust me, if Flynn was bigger, he’d tear a mare apart with his... you know... fast thrusts."

"I say humans are quite different, each on his or her own, but that also makes them that much more exciting..." With a most girlish giggle, Elise gently passed by Rainbow, her cat-like eyes half closed.

This made Rainbow think a bit. She had little experience with bat ponies, yet she could see was that Spitfire was out to get into the herd to have somepony at her side. It wasn't only to get laid, but a more of professional approach to get into a team of her liking. Combined with the offer to pass over her knowledge to Rainbow, this seemed like a good deal for everyone in the herd. Spitfire would have a herd, Rainbow would get Spitfire as personal trainer and Flynn... Rainbow chuckled a bit at the thought of it. Yeah... Flynn would have the privilege to bang two awesome mares.

Elise, however was a mystery. She seemed innocent and inexperienced when it came to Flynn. Then again, from what Rainbow knew so far, nopony but the princesses, her friends and herself had experience with humans, so this couldn't be much of an act. The innocence part however could be. And Flynn was too dear to her to risk him for anything. She would have to watch both Spitfire and Elise for some time. If not for her loyal Flynn, then for the sake of this new herd.

It was then when Rainbow's eyes widened a bit. 'Heh! Here you go talking all like a lead-pony. Being a Wonderbolt Lieutenant left its mark on you already, Rainbow...'

* * * * *

On the next day, the Rangers stood together in the valley under Rainbow's home and worked on some blueprints for the new house she and Flynn had planned. While Tyler and Flynn went over the blueprints, Sam, Lyra and Rachel calculated the materials needed for the house. Half an hour in, Sam looked up to his friend,
"Two new mares at once courting into that herd of yours? Flynn, isn't that a bit fast? I mean it was quite some time before Lyra and I got Pinkie in..."

Tyler on the other hand shrugged,
"What? I had Twilight and Applejack confess to me in two days. I say since there are more females than males in Equestria, it is not out of the ordinary to have more than one cutie confessing to you if you play your cards right..."

Rachel arched a brow,
"And being a human is giving out plenty of good cards already it seems. Especially if one is the lover of the princesses..."

Tyler cleared his throat a bit,
"Yes... that... that probably adds to it as well. But that also makes mares a health hazard. You're lucky stallions have plenty of mares to choose from, so they won't hunt you through the streets."

Smirking a bit, Rachel patted her rifle,
"If they were out to get me I assure you they would get me magic bullet by magic bullet..."

Flynn, however, looked into the blueprints,
"It's just that Rainbow's cloud-home and my room over at Lyra and Bon Bon's home are no places for a filly. Neither for Scootaloo or any future children. What adds to all of this is the fact that two mares are applying to join the herd. This of course means we should move or get something bigger. If Scoots and I can live in this one house with them while they get some bigger clouds together, it won't get so cramped." He then sighed a bit and looked at the others. "You have no idea how thrilled Rainbow is about this. And not only in a good way..."

Rachel leaned in and rested an arm around him,
"If you ask me... And I know you didn't... I think you two are all it takes now... I mean Scootaloo now has a father- and a mother-figure that both care about her, what more does a child need?"

Tyler nodded in thought,
"If Scootaloo was a human girl, I would totally agree with you there, Rachel, but she's a filly. It's actually more common to grow up in a herd here..."

Now Rachel nodded,
"I see... Flynn you lucky bastard..."

"Shut up, Rachel." he simply muttered, "This is not easy for Rainbow at all. You DO know how competitive she can be. I mean these things will have to happen slowly or not at all. I love both Rainbow and Scootaloo, but these two new mares? They are cute, but if it doesn't work, I won't feign feelings for their sake."

Patting his shoulder, Rachel smiled,
"Good way to see it, man... What really matters to you is the girl you love and the daughter you hold dear. If it's not going to be, then it's not going to be..."

* * * * *

Later that day, near the early evening hours, Flynn entered Rainbow's cloud-home,
"I swear I'll never get fully used to these cloud walking spells... Where's Scootaloo?

Decorating the table a bit after getting her living room ready to expect visitors, Rainbow looked over to him,
"Over at Sweet Apple Acres. The Crusaders are having a sleepover. AJ will have an eye on them."

"When will our guests arrive?"

"Should be any minute now..." Taking a deep breath in, Rainbow exhaled as she closed her eyes. "Flynn? I'm a bit scared of this."

Caressing her wild mane a bit, he smiled,
"Come on, Dashie... It's not like they're members of the herd at once and will draw my attention from you. We decided to let it happen slowly and as comfortably as possible. If you're ready to take them in as full members, you'll do it. And if it means anything to them, they will wait for your approval."

It was then when Flynn overheard a sudden commotion from outside. As he went outside, he saw that both Spitfire and Elise had landed on the cloud, both dressed in evening dresses and approached each other with wary eyes,
"A bat pony? Seriously? Well I guess I'll have to talk with Rainbow Dash later... About the quality of this herd... We don't need any of you troublemakers or floozies."

Elise's brow twitched a bit, yet she controlled her anger for now,
"What's the matter, granny? Scared of some fresh blood on the scene? Afraid of being left on the shelf, so you approach your best protege in the academy for the promise of a fast career?" Just as she said that, Spitfire's head rose up and she glared at her, her pupils tiny as dots and her teeth gritted in rage. But nonetheless Elise continued. “Well… Of course with so little plot to offer I can understand why you insist on wearing your bodysuit all the time. Show it off, little Wonderbolt! I dare you!”

It was in this moment that Spitfire’s wing slapped Elise on the right cheek. The bat pony’s eyes went wide before she retaliated with two wing slaps of her own on Spitfire’s left and right cheek. Enraged, both of them growled at each other like two rabid dogs.

Raising a finger, Flynn started to approach them,
“H-hey, girls?” Both mares now stared at him with blind rage in their eyes. How dared he to interfere with this? Flynn backed away with a nervous grin. “Ha, ha... N-Nothing!”

Huffing heavily, Elise closed her eyes in anger,
"I’ve had about enough of this! I think that you, Wonderbolt Captain, think that I’m harmless!" Now her eyes sprung open again and her cat-like pupils became thin slits. "And that’s where you’re sadly mistaken!"

Arching a brow over this vocal and visible threat of hers, Spitfire only smirked,
"Oh yeah? I think you are nothing but a spoiled, undisciplined brat. The likes of you only cause problems in well organized herds."

This caused Elise to sneer at the Pegasus in front of her,
"Says the mare who depends on her wingponies in every conflict! Say... How was your fight with that dragon? I heard you Wonderbolts really outdid yourselves with being captured."

While they exchanged insults and threats, Flynn looked over to Rainbow, who came out now as well,
"Shouldn't we interfere? I won't go in alone... They sound like they are going to start a catfight anytime now.”

Frowning in an angered manner, Rainbow folded her hooves,
"Hmph! No, I take it they don't want their share in the action tonight." This prompted both mares to listen up before they could haul off to beat each other up. Both then sat together in an instant and laid their hooves around each other’s shoulders while giving Rainbow and Flynn their best grins. But Rainbow didn't fall for this. "If you really want to become full members of this herd, you’ll have to work on that competitive behavior of yours. Because I’m the competitive one here! If you compete that much about the position of Beta, Flynn and I have to worry that one of you might compete with me for the place of Alpha! And trust me: He’s with me on that. So cut the competition out, OK? This won't do this herd any good."

Shoving her a bit away, Spitfire pointed her hoof at Elise, arching a brow while looking at Rainbow,
"My mother lost her herd because of a bat pony! She was devastated and wasn't able to approach another herd for years! I won't let that happen to me as well!"

"So what?" Elise snapped back, "You encountered one misbehaving bat pony! Does that mean we bat ponies are all evil now? Being a minority tribe is hard enough, so we take what we can get!" Both mares now bumped each others noses together and growled angrily.

Shaking her head, the Element of Loyalty sighed,
"Either you two pull yourselves together and learn to be with each other, or one of you has to go. And in either case, the one staying will be facing severe rumors. If Elise is going, Spitfire will be labeled a racist who doesn't tolerate bat ponies... And if Spitfire is going, bat ponies will be labeled as herd destroying. And I don't think either of you would like any of this."

Both mares looked at each other in surprise, before looking down, ashamed,
"Yeah... I think we're both not the best in courting. Poor sailor manners..." Elise stated before looking up to Spitfire. "I'm sorry..."

Rubbing her neck, Spitfire grimaced a bit,
"I... Uh... I think my experiences with bat ponies are too one-sided to make a good judgment on you. I'm sorry as well, Elise."

Rainbow then finally nodded, almost satisfied,
"I think you both now see that each one of you has her little flaws... Good to know each one in this herd has some flaws..." Looking up to Flynn, Rainbow smirked. "Yeah... even me. But Flynn taught me that flaws don't have to be bad. They just make the pony more interesting. Now go on..."

While both hugged, Spitfire smirked as she thought for herself. 'I will make Flynn Marshall squeal in delight... With my experience and agility I can surely outclass her. We will see who is Wonderbolt material here...'

Elise for her part grinned mischievously as her eyes were open just for a few slits. 'Once it comes to the night, that man will whimper my name in pleasure. I can't wait to bury my sweet little fangs deep into his shoulder to give him pleasures beyond his imagination...' Both mares ceased to hug each other while still grinning. And each of them now began to laugh for her own reason.

Nodding this conflict off as resolved, Rainbow then hovered besides him as they went along the clouds back inside,
"You know, Flynn? This herd thing really starts to appeal to me. I can lead by example, can show others how it's being done. Maybe being an alpha in itself might be a great preparation for myself becoming a Wonderbolt Captain!"

Flynn looked back to Spitfire and Elise, who once more showed a hug while beaming at him. Somehow he wasn't that sure about this peace. But at least for now they weren't fighting over certain positions. Giving them a smirk, he accompanied Rainbow on the way in,
"Uh-huh..."

* * * * *

On the next day, just after school, nodded over to Scootaloo while she was waiting for Rainbow Dash to pick her up, when Cheerilee spoke to her,
"Ah, Scootaloo! I wasn't going to bring it up for class, but I heard rumors about a Pegasus father looking for his missing daughter coming to Ponyville. Isn't this wonderful? Your father seems to be looking for you!"

Highly alarmed now, the little filly turned around to her teacher. Miss Cheerilee didn't know what her father did to her, so she couldn't know that this was actually very bad news. Home! She had to get home now and fast. With that, the young Pegasus ran down the path to Ponyville. Maybe Miss Bon Bon was already at home now.

In the meantime Flynn overheard two mares gossiping at the Ponyville marketplace as he returned from another delivery assignment,
"Oh, did you hear? Scootaloo's father seems to be in town. I thought she was an orphan. Isn't it great that after so long both father and daughter will be reunited? Not only does she have people around that care for her and love her, now this wonderful family reunion. I wonder who that Ice Hammer is..." All red alert alarms began ringing in his mind now.

In the next moment, Flynn confronted the mare,
"Who is he and what does he look like?!?" After answering the questions as well as she could, the mare looked up to him in confusion. But Flynn didn't care anymore as he ran towards the school. He had to find Scootaloo. And fast!

Meanwhile Scootaloo looked around warily as she sneaked through the alleys of Ponyville, trying to spot her real father before he spotted her and avoid him. Just as she galloped down an alleyway, he suddenly stood right before her,
"So there you are, little one..." In a heartbeat, Scootaloo's blood began to freeze.

As he slowly approached her, careful not to cause a scene on the main street, Rainbow Dash appeared and landed right beside her,
"There you are, squirt. I was looking for you. Why didn't you wait in..." Recognizing the filly's terrified stare, Rainbow looked at the stallion and shot him a glare "Hey! You leave Scootaloo alone! Who are you anyway? A bully?"

Noticing Rainbow, Ice Hammer turned over to her,
"Oh? I didn't know I had to justify myself here... You see..." Now his and Rainbow's eyes met. "I'm her father."

Now Rainbow's wings rose up and shielded the filly from his sight as she stepped in front of her,
"In that case, you better watch it, buddy! You won't come near her again! You've done enough harm to her! She told me what you did and she's far better off with us!"

Ice's eyebrows arched a bit, before he closed his eyes and slowly approached Rainbow with a chuckle,
"I understand... Yes, I really do." As he slowly turned away, Rainbow nodded. Obviously he wasn't out to pursuit the little filly any more.

But just as she turned to Scootaloo, the filly's eyes went wide,
"LOOK OUT!!!" But already the kick was delivered and the athletic mare was sent to the ground. 'Bastard took me by surprise...' she thought as she gritted her teeth. Her lip was bleeding, but that wouldn't stop her. If he wanted a fight he was at the right mare. Yet just as she attempted to get herself up, another kick to her chest caused her to gasp, robbing her of the breath to do so. "No!!! Rainbow Dash!!!" Looking down at her idol, the young filly's eyes were filled with terror when her father's shadow towered over the mare.

"SHUT UP!!!" Ice barked at her before leaning down to Rainbow, "I'll be right back to you and your snatch right after I taught my disobedient daughter some manners..." Now retreating with every step her father took, Scootaloo backed away, as his voice became quite strict and malicious, "Didn't I told you to stay at home? Have you ANY idea how long I searched for you, you little ungrateful bitch? Now turn around and bend over so you can get what you dese-"

In the next moment Ice Hammer's head was in the tight grip of a hand. But before he could even wonder what happened, he was slammed to the ground and Flynn leaped onto him. The hit was hard and fast enough to turn the stallion's vision flashing white and his ears began ringing. With an expression of rage, Flynn was now on him like a lion protecting his cubs. And while punch after punch rained down on the stallion, Rainbow regained her breath enough to push herself up and stand in front of Scootaloo.

Holding the filly behind herself, Rainbow shook her head as blood dripped from her bottom lip. As she looked up, Flynn delivered one particularly strong jab before his punches rained down with the speed of a sub-machine gun. The laceration she got was fortunately only minor, but the violence taking place was nothing she could approve of in front of Scootaloo,
"Flynn! Stop it! You're killing him!"

But Flynn didn't stop. Delivering punch after punch to the grown stallion in blind rage, his fist quickly turned red with pony blood. Grabbing Ice Hammer's ruined jaw he leaned over and pointed at him,
“If you ever again get close to my daughter or one of my mares, you sick fuck, I will not stop next time, do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME?!?”

Coughing blood, Ice Hammer tried his best to stay conscious. Everyone could see that the stallion had had enough already,
“Yeahhhrrr…

Meanwhile Sam and Tyler came to the scene and stormed right at Flynn, who now gritted his teeth,
"I’ll beat you dead if you don't leave them alone, asshole! I’ll KILL you in cold blood!” With one final blow, he knocked the stallion out before the other Rangers got hold of him and pulled him off.

* * * * *

On that same day, Tyler stood in front of the cell in the evening hours while Flynn stared angrily at the wall in front of him. The cell clock of the Ranger Headquarters was a dark and quiet place and several of the griffins in the cells further away waited in boredom for their trial in Canterlot,
"You are one angry and sorry bastard, Flynn…" Tyler muttered, "You know that? Do you have any idea how long I had to talk to Celestia not to pull you down to court? Since that stallion attacked first, you’re lucky I could make self-defense and defending others count. But then you went overboard and beat him up a few punches too many, which means that I had to assure her that you will be disciplined."

But Flynn simply grimaced as if he wouldn't care about the consequences,
"That fuckhead abused his own flesh and blood, Tyler... How would you react if you were in my place?"

Looking down, Tyler thought for a minute before he looked up again,
"If someone like him did something like touching Appleseed, you mean? I wouldn't have beaten him up... Way too risky to kill him... Instead he would learn to beg for the liberation of death. But then again, that would be too gosh darn easy. We should be better than this. You should be better than this." He looked back to Flynn. "Your payment is revoked for the next three months. And after these five weeks of arrest, I hope I get the Ranger out of this cell that swore an oath with me to protect others."

Flynn nodded with a smile,
"I think he would love to return to his fellow Rangers as well..."

* * * * *

At the same time in Canterlot hospital, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna entered the room of Ice Hammer. His jaw was heavily broken, yet the doctors claimed that after six months he would be healed. Standing in front of him, both alicorns looked down at him. While Celestia looked at him with a strict, yet gentle glare, Luna's face was visibly angered,
"You have failed little Scootaloo as a father." Celestia started, "I always wondered why that little filly had problems to achieve flight. Now everything is clear to me. The times your daughter had to be afraid of you are now over, Ice Hammer... You will never see her again."

Luna's face now went really dark,
"Sister, let me have at him... I will make sure that he will-"

But Celestia raised a wing in front of her younger sibling and shook her head,
"Enough physical violence, Luna. I won't stand for any more..." And with that she slowly approached Ice Hammer and looked down to him with her usual gentle smile. While Luna already went outside, she bent down and whispered something into his ear. It was almost inaudible, but as she left him, his eyes were widened, stricken with terror as if he had seen death himself. Throughout his bandages, a silent whimper became audible.

When both princesses walked back through the corridor to the exit, Luna was still grumpy,
"I still think we should banish him after his recovery."

Celestia shook her head while closing her eyes with a strict face,
"I don't think he will ever recover... After his physical recovery I think he will be a case for the asylum..."

Luna looked over to her sister and frowned,
"Sometimes I don't know what to think of thee, Tia..."

* * * * *

Meanwhile on the southern front of Equestria, a few kilometers from Appleloosa, Sheriff Silverstar approached a little outpost fort of the Harmony Rangers on behalf of a routine inspection. As he came to the gate, a rifle was pointed at him for a second, before the Pegasus in the tower raised it into the sky again,
"Oh, Sheriff... it's just you."

While passing through the gate, the sheriff murmured in slight anger,
"Maybe I was safer outside..."

Inside, the ponies approached the Sheriff and nodded over to him,
"Greetings, Sheriff. Test, please?"

Rolling his eyes, the sheriff held up his hoof in order for one of them to prick it and inspection the blood. After passing the test, the stallion taking the test nodded over to the others, causing each of them to calm down.

Silverstar, however, sighed,
"I know you are just doing your thing out here so close to the border, but down south is only desert and solitude for miles."

One of the other ponies rolled her eyes,
"Yeah, but orders are orders. You know what that's like, Sheriff. I mean almost nopony breaks the law and still your city needs a..." Trailing off, the mare now recognized something on the horizon.

The sound of boot steps echoed from afar. When the Pegasus in the tower looked up, his eyes widened,
"What in Celestia's name...?"

Counting the ponies in sight, the incoming giant creature made no halt as it stomped towards the fort.

Changeling structural integrity - 100%
Changeling vital integrity - 100%
Weapon spell charge - 100%
Telepathic connection - nominal

All systems nominal

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMBATANTS: 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOCAL LAW ENFORCMENT: 1
01000001 01101100 01101100
00100000 01111001 01101111
01110101 01110010 00100000
01100010 01100001 01110011
01100101 01110011 00100000
01100001 01110010 01100101
00100000 01100010 01100101
01101100 01101111 01101110
01100111 00100000 01110100
01101111 00100000 01110101
01110011

The Pegasus in the tower now blinked twice before he identified the dark chitin armor plates on the creature, yelling changeling all over it. This creature didn't appear to come with friendly intentions, so he raised his rifle and delivered a shot into the leg of the creature in hopes of felling it or slowing it down for the others.

But this only made the giant recognize the sniper...

Changeling structural integrity - 99.98%
Changeling vital integrity - 99.99%
Weapon spell charge - 98%
Telepathic connection - nominal

Unit is combat ready

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . COMBATANTS: >>7<<
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LOCAL LAW ENFORCMENT: 1
01010100 01111001 01101100
01100101 01110010 00100000
01110111 01101001 01101100
01101100 00100000 01100010
01100101 01100011 01101111
01101101 01100101 00100000
01100001 00100000 01110000
01110010 01101001 01101110
01100011 01100101

Surprised that the shot had no effect whatsoever on this changeling giant, the sniper pony aimed and delivered another shot. The hit, this time directly into the heart, splattered some green blood over the ground, but the enemy was still standing and kept walking. What was this? A zombie? Angered and determined, the Pegasus now jumped up, taking aim for the final shot. Just like Ranger Rachel taught him; if everything else failed, he was to aim for the head,
"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!!!" But just as he aimed for the head of this dark humanoid figure, he recognized that the enemy has raised his arm and a fireball formed in his hand. Gritting his teeth, the Pegasus stallion jumped away. "Oh BUCK!!!" In the next second, the whole upper part of the tower detonated.

Now the remaining Ranger ponies nodded at each other and took positions,
"Spread out! Defense formation! Just like we trained!"

Shaking his head in disbelief, Sheriff Silverstar stared at the Rangers who readied themselves for the impending battle,
"You Rangers are crazy! That thing can blow stuff up! We need to get out of here!"

Deep inside the Nagohod control center, Princess Lamira oversaw several monitors showing the world through the eyes and ears of the giant.
"What has he found?"

One of the many operators looked up from his monitor and smirked,
"Half a dozen armed ponies, well organized."

Blinking a bit, Lamira arched a brow,
"Already? I'm surprised they are already that organized after our first attack..."

Another operator, sitting very close to the princess and a unicorn mare, arched a brow with a determined glance to her own monitor,
"They are Harmony Rangers, Equestria's newest and strongest task force. Our sources claim those are trained by the humans, deemed as the best." On the monitors, the pony rangers gritted their teeth as the order came:

"FIRE!!!"

A storm of bullets rained down on the dark humanoid, who simply took one step after another, giving an aggressive, bellowing roar. Green blood splattered all over the ground as this unstoppable giant just continued to walk towards them like a machine.

Lamira arched a brow as a dark smirk crawled up her face. 'This is actually getting quite interesting. These humans are training the equestrian ponies to stand up against our forces?' Yes, she could see clearly the military discipline in their stances, the assurance only trained soldiers had. And the structural integrity was falling down slowly, yet constantly. 98.7%...97.5...95.3... Their shots seemed precise, causing damage to the humanoid giant as they also changed positions, always watchful of being able to cover each other. Leaning down to the unicorn mare, the dark princess then gave the monitor a cruel grin,
"The best, you say? This I want to put to the test...Leave only one of them alive!"

A Pegasus operator chuckled,
"And not too soon. He’s starting to request orders like crazy. Our newest asset sure lusts for blood."

Nodding, the unicorn mare began to charge her horn,
"New command: Execute all but one."

Gritting his teeth, the fangs of the giant crunched as he grinned with murderous lust. Concentrating magic in his right fist, he suddenly knelt down and slammed it into the ground with a gargling roar as several thousand magic shrapnel shards obliterated the ponies from below.

As the silence returned, Sheriff Silverstar opened his eyes again. The air around him was filled with smoke and the stench of burned flesh filled his nostrils. As he looked around, all the ranger ponies were lying on the ground, motionless. The wounds in their bodies... they were cauterized like something incredibly hot shot through them and not only mortally wounded them several times, but stopped all bleeding at the same time. Perforation and shock killed these ponies. Not once in his entire life had he seen such horror. But this giant simply stomped away deeming him no real threat. Seemingly it was his sad duty now to bury all of these ponies and fill in a telegram directly to Canterlot.

Author's Notes:

Proofread by Shwaggy