The Human's Guide to Raising Fillies - Unicorn, Bat Filly and Changeling Edition
Welcome to the Three Little Fillies Cafe!
Pilot Chapter - Welcome to the Three Little Fillies Cafe!
A Unicorn, a Changeling and a Bat Filly and the Baker
~1st Serving~
Welcome to the Three Little Fillies Cafe!
A soft jingle filled the sunlit cafe as the wide windowed door swung open with an aged but gentle creak. Warm sunlight danced across the bright white curtains billowing in the cool salty sea breeze. The sweet aroma of freshly baked delights mixed with the musk of the ocean-aged wood that made up most of the bakery. The wide open parquet floor was punctuated by counters laden by mouth-watering temptations of every colour and shape.
The light tippy-tap of a set of little hooves against the wooden counter by the window punctuated the tranquil silence. "Welcome to the Three Little Fillies Cafe! Where the cakes are sweetie, the tea's milky and the smiles cheery, always!" A cheerful little voice squeaked. A tiny pair of lilac leathery bat wings flared excitedly as its little owner pranced up to meet her guests. She tossed her lovingly groomed silky violet mane about her fluffy ears to reveal her big golden harlequin eyes. "I am your wait-rest today, Lulu!" She raised a forehoof to gesture at the frilly white apron she wore over her miniature pistachio-green sweater and white skirt.
"And these are my temp-tay-shuns for the day!" The little filly gestured at the wide selection of colourful cakes and sweets stacked on the counter around her. "Psst, the mango fruit tarts are mine. I made the bat-ter myself. I'll bat you my allowance they're the best in town, always. But don't tell anypony else. The whole town would bat-tle over them. It's our little secret." She said in a low whisper, giving a big bat of an eyelid conspiringly.
The soft whir of a well-oiled pair of wheels came from the till counter across the cafe. A small voice cleared is throat carefully before speaking out. "Lulu, I told you to please keep your bat puns out of the cafe." It sighed as its owner pushed her tiny pair of glasses up her little muzzle allowing it to glint in the soft sunlight. "Please excuse my younger sister, dear guest. She goes batty over bat puns." The little filly pulled herself onto a little platform overlooking the till, waving a hoof at her customers over her bright wavy apple-russet mane. "Welcome, I am your barista, Tia. Hmmm, yes, today is your lucky day, dear guests. You're our 70th customer today which means you get a cup of coffee on the house for every cake you purchase. Isn't that simply grand?"
"Allow me to show you our selection of cakes. We have a lot of the Old World delights such as the Cloudsdale cloud cake, the Ponyville apple pie and even the Gryphonian tiramisu." She pushed herself out from behind the till onto a platform overlooking the formidable buffet of tasty sweets by the till. She glided over the platform on a little red wheelchair upon which her rearhooves rested. Little bells jingled on her forehooves as they propelled her forwards. Her creamy marshmallow coat shone as it caught the sun behind the counter. "I would personally suggest the pride of our bakery, our apple cheesecakes. Made with your lucky colours of the day, apple red and creamy yellow." She said, pointing down at a selection of cheesecakes. "Made by me, of course, so they're extra lucky." She added with a proud smile as she whipped out a pencil from behind one ear with a hoof. "Please take your time and let me know when you're ready to order." She leaned in and gave a little whisper, "Your lucky number today is four, by the way. So I suggest you take four of every order."
A little plastic cup on a string dropped down from the ceiling. "Um, hello?" An uncertain little voice came from within. "Oh, hello, w-welcome. Cadie's your chef today, sort of." The string led up to a dark little blob clinging onto the ceiling. A pair of bright sapphire eyes gleamed down from underneath a bouquet of bright ocean-blue mane topped by a big wooly kitty-eared cap. A cute little changeling badge pinned into the cap identified her as a changeling filly. But even without the badge it was quite apparent from the heart-shaped horn protruding from her wooly cap and the little heart and star-shaped recesses in her hooves, reminiscent of cookie cutters. Her armoured carapace and wings, however, were obscured by a white sundress under her frilly white apron, both of which somehow defied gravity. She gave a nervous upside down smile as she whispered into the little white cup in her hooves, "Um, the cookies are really nice. They're all sorts of cute shapes. Please try some if you like. C-Cadie made them. *Squee*" She gave a bashful little ponysquee as her cheeks burned a bright red.
"Oh, aren't they simply adorable, ma'am?" The first guest, a human lady in a smart white business dress and blazer, said, looking absolutely smitten. "Lucky you decided to stop by on the way to the meeting."
"I cannot help but agree, yes. On both accounts." The other guest, a tall, majestic white unicorn in a similar white business dress, nodded in agreement, her brilliant violet eyes twinkling with obvious pleasure. Her lustrous mane and tail gleamed in the colours of the sunrise, sky blue and light pink, billowing gently in the gentle breeze inside the cafe. "Lulu, was it?" She beamed down at the little thestral filly standing atop the counter next to her. "You're a thestral, are you not?"
"Yep! The strongest, fastest fes-chal ever, always! Daddy says so, so it's true!" Lulu said proudly, prancing about in a little circle in demonstration. The little bells clasped to the sash about her withers jingled merrily as she did. "I'm so strong and fast that I've already been accepted by the Earth All-eye-ants Dee-Fence Force's Wonderbolts Team!"
"Visiting the airbase to deliver cakes doesn't mean you've been accepted, Lulu." Tia sighed. "Please excuse my little sister. She has a very overactive imagination."
"You're just jealous cause I'm going to defend daddy's beloved Earth from Night-Falls one day." Lulu nodded sagely to herself. This earned her an eye-roll from Tia.
"You wouldn't rather do what you're doing now? You're really good at it." The woman said.
"First rule of the Filly Scout Code, love your family, always." Lulu said, verbatim. "Looking after daddy is my duty. Of course I'm good at it, always." She crossed her forehooves and nodded proudly.
"You sure are." The unicorn nodded with a genuine smile.
"It's Cadie's duty too." A little voice from the plastic cup in the woman's hand said. "Cadie loves daddy more than anything, even cookies. But don't tell the cookies, please? They're big softies, sometimes." She whispered.
The unicorn gave a light giggle at this. "Since your sister has already told us her dream, what would you like to do when you grow up, Cadie?" She asked, beaming with interest.
"Um, it's nothing special. Nothing as exciting as protecting earth." Cadie said, fidgeting uneasily where she clung to the ceiling, the bells clasped to the ribbon about her neck jingling lightly.
"It's a wonderful dream, Cadie." Tia said, almost reproachfully. "Go on, tell them."
"Yeah, best dream ever!" Lulu had somehow trotted upside down onto the ceiling, joining her sister.
Cadie, shrinking a little under all the attention, gave a little squeak, "Well, um, Cadie wants to be a gondolier." She twiddled her hooves together. "So Cadie can one day give daddy free rides around town, maybe."
"And the best gondola Aria singer ever, always. Can't forget that." Lulu pointed out. "Cadie's the best singer in town, hooves down." She declared, proudly, causing her sister to blush profusely.
"She works at it really hard. She's even an apprentice to the local gondolier's guild." Tia said, sharing her sister's pride.
"That is a perfect dream." The unicorn said with a nod of approval. "I am sure you will be the best gondolier ever." She turned her attention to Tia who had resumed her place behind the till. "And you, young one?"
"Nothing special." Tia said, pushing her glasses up her muzzle, "As fortune would have it I'm the eldest. Looking after those two will always be my job." She huffed. "And daddy too." She added with a quirk of an eyebrow. "I've worked out my fortunes. I can't join the Forces, obviously." She gestured at her wheelchair. "But I can certainly run a gondolier company. That's my dream." She nodded to herself.
"Tia's a worry-wart. She just can't help herself." Lulu giggled, dropping down from the ceiling with a flutter of her wings, landing in a snuggle on Tia's back. Tia gave a little yelp, aiming a fierce glare at her younger sister, but otherwise did not complain.
"W-we worry about Tia too." Cadie said, dropping down from the ceiling behind Lulu on, of all things, a bright green miniature parachute fashioned out of a little changeling cocoon she had shot out from her forehooves. She drifted down gently before adding herself to the snuggle pile forming behind the till. "Because Tia doesn't worry enough about herself. But don't tell Tia that." She whispered.
"I heard that, you know." Tia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Sorry for the display, dear guests." She cleared her throat before straightening up as best as she can under her sisters' snuggle pile. "What can I get you?" She asked, struggling to dislodge her giggling sisters.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot why we were even here." The woman giggled cheerfully. "It's so sweet I feel like I already ate half the store."
"Indeed. One could argue that simply walking in here soothes all aching sweet tooths." The unicorn smiled, "But I may have room for a banana muffin." She added. The sudden downcast expression on all three fillies prompted her to backpedal quickly, "Oh, uh, and four of each of your suggestions, seeing as four is my lucky number today. And four coffees. To go, please." All three fillies smiled brightly again, ears perking up excitedly as they got to work gathering the orders.
"So, your daddy is the baker here?" The woman asked, curiously, as she watched the three sisters bustle about their respective treats.
"Yep, the bestest baker ever, always!" Lulu grinned, catapulting the cakes across the cafe with a skilful whip of her cake spatula.
"It's Neo Veneighzia's little secret." Cadie said, folding up cake boxes before catching the flying cakes in them with expert precision. "Worst kept secret." She giggled.
"Also a bit of a mad tinkerer." Tia said, expertly wrangling the rather old coffee-making monstrosity at the back of the cafe, turning dials and knobs while eyeing the thermometer carefully. "No coffee machine in the world will make you better coffee. At least while I'm behind the wheel." She gave it an expert punch with a forehoof in a corner, making it give an obedient little rattle.
"And he made our clothes too." Lulu planted her cake spatula on the counter and twirled herself about it to show off her frilly apron and clothes. "Aren't they pretty?"
"They're gorgeous. All of them." The unicorn said, earning herself beaming smiles from all three fillies. "So, he looks after you three quite well, does he?"
"Yes. Officially." Tia said, a little smirk playing across her face as she pushed the coffees across to the till.
"Um, we're sort of the ones looking after him." Cadie whispered, "But, um, please don't tell him that." She gave a soft giggle at the thought.
"Yes, we kind of adopted Daddy." Tia said, bells on her forehooves jingling as she ran them quickly across an abacus before she tapped the buttons on the till. "That'll be 12 dollars, please."
"He's helpless by himself so we took him in." Lulu grinned, gliding over to the till to drop off some napkins.
There was a loud muffled crash somewhere inside the store. A few clangs and light tinkling sounds followed, trailed by a few random tinks and plings. A can of mangoes rolled out of an open door, rolling gently across the cafe floor, before coming to a stop against the woman's foot. "Uh, Girls? Help?" A muffled voice called from somewhere deep inside the cafe. "Daddy's locked himself in the storeroom again." The voice said pleadingly.
"Speaking of." Tia sighed, shaking her head.
"Hang in there, daddy! We're on our way!" Lulu called out.
"How are we going to get him out today?" Cadie asked, "Cadie would rather we don't try the flour cannon again, if that's alright?"
"We'll wing it!" Lulu declared, leaping off the counter with a flutter of her wings. "Fillies! It's time to bring out the Little Busters Bat-tering ram!"
Tia could only face-hoof at the barrage of horrible bat puns as she wheeled herself after her excitable sister. "Please excuse us. Duty calls. Thank you for coming, dear guests. Have a lucky day."
"Y-yes, please come again." Cadie said, waving a hoof at the guests, before running after her sisters. "W-wait for me!"
The two customers were left alone in the cafe. They looked at one another before stifling little giggles of amusement. With a burst of golden magic the unicorn levitated their purchases and turned to leave. They paused to listen curiously as a chorus of voices came from deep inside the store.
"Cadie, the sugar goes this way up. I think 1200 newtons of force should do the trick."
"Um, okay. How long should the fuse be?"
"Fire in the hoooole!"
"Girls, w-what are you all d-doing?"
"Nothing, daddy. I've always wanted to say that, that's all."
"Girls, what did I tell you about playing with that thing in the house?"
"Not without you around, Daddy. Well, you're here, so...."
"W-wait! At least let me get clear of the door first! Whoah!"
There was a loud WHOOOOMPH. A big cloud of what was hopefully only flour burst forth from the door leading into the interiors of the cafe. What looked like glitter and possibly confetti seemed to be mixed in too. The two guests shared a look, silently agreeing to pretend they didn't see anything, before quickly making their way out.
The two walked out into the bright afternoon sunlight just in time to be greeted by a pleasant gust of sea air. The caws of a passing flock of seagulls punctuated the otherwise tranquil sound of the waves in the distance. Their footsteps creaked across the sea-aged wood as they stepped off the stonework sidewalk and onto the little wooden jetty in front of the bakery. There, waiting for them, was a sleek blue gondola bearing two other pony passengers and its pony gondolier.
"Thou tooketh thy sweet time in yonder sweets parlour." One passenger, a royal blue unicorn wearing a smart black business suit, said, crossing her forehooves impatiently. "Doth thou not pity thy poor pudgy flanks, Tia sister?" She demanded, tossing her billowing starlit midnight blue mane over her shoulder.
"I'm afraid our gondolier's suggestion was frightfully spot on, Lulu dear." The white unicorn said, nodding over at the azure unicorn standing at the aft end of the gondola. "As Ms. Colgate rightly said, there are more sweets in this bakery beyond the cakes and pastries themselves."
"Did you find the inspiration you needed, your highness?" The gondolier, Colgate, asked with a knowing smile as she lit up her horn. Her trusty gondola paddle, bathed in her sea-blue magic, rose up to her side.
"Very much so." The white unicorn nodded as she took her seat opposite the midnight blue unicorn. "I am now reminded of what it is we are fighting to protect."
"The earth?" The midnight blue unicorn raised an eyebrow dryly.
"The future, dear sister." The white unicorn smiled up at the sky. Above a flight of weather pegasi flew by towards the pegasus weather station cloud tethered by anchoring cables over the little town. "A very beautiful, sweet little future. And what I've seen makes me believe all the more that change is possible."
"It sounds like thou had quite the experience then, Tia." The midnight blue unicorn perked up with interest. "Considering what we hath seen in our lives, I am surprised anything could be so new and profound as to move thee so."
"I saw something we would never have imagined possible in the Old World." The white unicorn said. "Unification of the three tribes alone was already quite difficult. But I just witnessed a unicorn, a thestral and a changeling call each other sister."
"Ho, almost sounds like the opening to a jest. A unicorn, a thestral and a changeling walking into a bakery and so on." The midnight blue unicorn chuckled lightly.
"Yes. I would have been accused of jesting if I told anypony in the Old World. But here they are, brought together by their human father." The white unicorn seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Such is the power of humanity. Their ability to bring about change, for better or worse, is almost...frightening." She said, watching a pegasus mail mare fly by, stopping to hand a parcel to an eldery fisherman sitting on a nearby jetty.
"Hear hear, sister. But thy story doth give me faith in that power." The midnight blue unicorn said. watching as an earth pony and a human skilfully maneuvered a two-man gondola past them. "Perhaps we may learn more from them after all, that we may secure a better future together."
"More importantly, I hope the future involves lunch. Hopefully not all bananas or derivatives thereof." The other passenger, a pink unicorn dressed all in smart dark velvety purple, finally spoke up. "It's still a long way to the airbase."
"Forsooth, thou did insist on the gondola ride." The midnight blue unicorn muttered. "Ms. Colgate, if you please? Let us make a move." The gondolier happily obliged as she pushed the gondola off into the cool shimmering waters.
"Yes on both accounts. I was threatened at tear point to purchase everything in the store." The white unicorn chuckled, setting out her sizeable haul.
"By Starswirl's beard. How frightful these weaponized tears are to force the great Tia to forsake the sanctity of her flabby flanks!" The midnight blue unicorn gasped, eyes widening at the sight of the sprawl before her.
"It's true. You should've seen it. Their faces could move entire mountains with diabetes." The human woman said. "And the frightful part is, I cannot wait to return."
"Neither can I." The white unicorn said. "I wish nothing more than to see more of this little miracle."
"Then you're in luck." The pink unicorn said, pointing at a sign hung next to the bakery's door. 'Hiring a Nanny. Please inquire inside.' It said.
"Something to consider, certainly." The white unicorn said, tapping her chin with a hoof thoughtfully. "And for that you get the favourable share of our loot today. Enjoy...Cadie."
"Cadie?" The pink unicorn broke into a little giggle. "Now, where in the Old World did that come from?"
The Human's Guide to Raising Fillies - Unicorn, Bat Filly and Changeling Edition
A Unicorn, a Changeling and a Bat Filly and the Baker
~2nd Serving~
Bat-Time Snuggles!!
The Baker's a simple man. So simple in fact that most remember him only by his profession, the 'Baker'. Simple defined everything about him from his messy permanent bed-hair, his approach to life, all the way to the warm pink pajamas his daughters had given him last Christmas. He is a man of simple pleasures. So simple in fact that one of his greatest pleasures in life was his daily evening routine.
"Cocoa." He said, reading off a mental check list.
"Check." His eldest daughter, a young unicorn filly, said from where she sat on the living room coffee table, hugging an empty mug, drained of its warm creamy cocoa.
"Sleepy." He said, quickly kneeling to wipe off the marshmallow cream moustache from the little unicorn's muzzle, much to her chagrin.
"Cheeeeck..." His youngest daughter, little changeling filly perched comfortably on his shoulder, tucked comfortably into the nook of his neck, murmured sleepily. This earned her a gentle petting on her kitty-cap to which she cooed happily in reply.
"Luna." He looked around. "Anyone?" The warm, cozy little living room was stubbornly thestral-less.
"Lulu's missing." Tia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Again."
"Where is that filly?" Baker sighed at the absence of his second eldest daughter. Being naturally nocturnal, the little thestral was the most difficult to get to bed at night.
"Um, Cadie'll find her, daddy." Cadie yawned widely. "Uh, Cadie's sure there's no way Lulu can sneak up on us, Cadie thinks." She said, raising her voice just a thimble over her usual whisper.
"3...2..." Tia counted down until her sister bit on the bait. "1."
Chomp...
Chew....chew....chew...
Baker suddenly had a little thestral filly biting him affectionately in the neck, stubby little fangs barely tickling his skin. 'Love-Nibbles', a show of affection surprisingly common to both changelings and thestrals, or so the few books on the two races had taught him. He turned his head this way and that, confirming to his own satisfaction that the little thestral was quite securely anchored to his neck. Yes, filly cannot be removed.
"Lulu, check." Tia said, crossing her hooves with a sigh. She gave a sudden squeak as Baker leaned down to scoop the last of his daughters from her wheel-chair. "W-wait, d-daddy! I..." She quietened down as she was cradled against his bosom as he began to make his way for the stairs. "F-fine, i-it's not like I like this or anything..." She muttered into his soft warm pajamas as she snuggled up closer for safety.
Baker shouldered open the door into his daughters' safe little sanctuary, the bakery's largest bedroom. "Night light mode." He called out. The wall lamps and night lights lit up to a warm, cozy glow, just enough to illuminate the star-studded ceiling and various sparkly galaxy-and-planet mobiles hanging from above. The night sky above melted away into the wall murals of sceneries from the Old World. These were interrupted along one wall by large wall-length windows looking out onto a balcony overlooking the canal sparkling under the moonlight below. A lone stargazing telescope stood watch in the darkness outside.
He tiptoed over Lulu's Elements of Harmony action figures lying about on the ground, carefully avoiding tripping on Cadie's foal-sized gondola paddle before navigating the maze of book towers that marked Tia's domain. "So, pajamas. Who first?" He said, looking about for his daughter's onesies.
"A bit of a no brainer, daddy." The ever put-upon Tia sighed from the comfort of his arms.
"You've got a point. I think Cadence fell asleep with the parking brakes on." Her father said, finding his lightly snoozing changeling daughter's grip on his shoulder and neck was stronger than a gondolier's paddle-grip. "As for Luna..." The filly occupying the other side of his neck spoke for itself. Nibbling intensified.
"Thank you for volunteering, Celestia." He summed up.
"Mmmph." Tia had somehow magically produced her fluffy strawberry-pink bunny-rabbit onesie in her muzzle, holding it up for him.
He took the onesie in one hand and skilfully slid Tia's rearhooves into the rearhoof sleeves as he deposited her on her soft pink bed.
"Hooves up, like you're cheering." Baker said. Tia could only roll her eyes at the childish request but obediently raised her forehooves to allow him to slip the forehoof sleeves on.
"Yay." Tia monotoned as her father zipped her onesie up securely.
"Now, your turn, Luna." Baker said, looking to his second daughter....only to find his shoulder suddenly thestral-less once more. "Luna?"
"I win! Lulu one, bat-jamas zero!" He heard the little filly declare her victory from somewhere behind him. He turned to find her rolled over on her back on her bouncy black bed, little hooves in the air, her Wonderbolt onesie stuck over her eyes. "This is me winging, always!" She declared defiantly, hooves flailing at thin air. Baker couldn't help but wince at the awful bat puns. He had decided it must be somehow built into bat pony genetics, denying all guilt on his part.
"I'd hate to see you losing, sister." Tia sighed, hoof in her face.
"Is it? Let me check this alleged victory." Baker said, picking up the giggling filly. "I don't see your hooves in the air, champ." He coaxed as he righted the filly and eased her rearhooves into her onesie.
"Too cool for old school, always." Lulu giggled at her father's ticklish handling. "E-eeeeee!" She gave a screech of laughter as her father found a particularly ticklish spot at the base of her wings. "O-okay! Okay! Y-you get to win too!" She gasped, raising her hooves for him.
"How generous." Her father said, slipping her small leathery bat wings through their holes and adjusting the onesie's hood around her big fluffy ears. "Now, try and keep that on at least half the night."
"Armour on. Bat-tle ready." Lulu nodded to herself. "Tia! Pillow fi-..." Her battle cry was cut short by a flying pillow to the face.
"Be quiet and go to sleep." Tia, living pillow cannon, huffed at her downed sister, pushing up her glasses up her muzzle.
"What shall we do about your sister?" Baker asked, pointing at the sleeping changeling still fastened to his shoulder like a cute and furry limpet. "We need to get her into bed somehow."
"Put yourself in her bed with her." The ever pragmatic Tia suggested.
Her father paused for a moment, seemingly considering the suggestion. "That works." He shrugged, before flopping onto his daughter's big cerulean blue bed and pulling the fluffy blanket on. "There, she's in her bed." He nodded to himself, satisfied. "Wait, there's one problem with this plan, Celestia." He added. "I'm kind of stuck here."
"I see no problem with this." Tia had somehow materialized on his chest, poking her head out to peer at him from beneath the blanket.
"I see one problem. I'm not in that bat." Lulu's muffled voice said. "There, problem solved." She said, somehow magically appearing beside Tia from under the blanket. "Eeeee~" She gave a happy little screech as she snuggled up against her father.
"What am I going to do with you three?" Baker sighed, shaking his head.
"I know! I know! bat time snuggle!" Lulu giggled.
"Fine. You asked for it." Her father wrapped his arms around all three of them and pulled them all into a tight snuggle under the blanket, earning him a chorus of giggles and one sleepy purr. They settled quickly, reveling in the warmth and comfort of the happy little world underneath blanket.
It was a while before the sound of soft, quiet breathing filled the room. The young father sighed softly as he slowly, gently dislodged the three fillies off himself before rolling off the bed. With practiced precision he tucked all three into the same bed before planting soft kisses on their foreheads. Then, with almost tactical stealthiness, he snuck out of the peaceful sanctuary as quietly as a shadow.
It was a quick step across the corridor back to his own room. "I feel like I forgot something." Baker paused at his door. He gave it a moment's thought before finally shrugging and retreating into his own room.
Barely a moment later the door to his daughters' bedroom slowly creaked open, revealing three little pairs of eyes, all gleaming with mischief in the dark.
The night was still young after all.
Operation 'Awesome-Special-Somebody-For-Daddy-And-Mommy-For-Us-AKA-Shooting-Star'
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The Human's Guide to Raising Fillies - Unicorn, Bat Filly and Changeling Edition
Operation 'Awesome-Special-Somebody-For-Daddy-And-Mommy-For-Us-AKA-Shooting-Star'
A Unicorn, a Changeling and a Bat Filly and the Baker
~3rd Serving~
Operation 'Awesome-Special-Somebody-For-Daddy-And-Mommy-For-Us-AKA-Shooting-Star'
"Alright, I call this meeting of the Little Busters Brigade to...umm...shuffle? Sushi? Oh, I know, fuu-sion!" Super-Commander Lulu declared with a commanding hoof in the air. "Is that right?" She threw a sidelong glance at Slightly-Less-Super-Commander Tia, subtly seeking her approval.
"Session." Senior-Chairmare Tia corrected as she fixed her glasses and hoofed the meeting agenda over to Sub-Chairmare Lulu.
"Yeah, that too." Mega-Commander Lulu gave her approval as she looked down at the agenda carefully laid out in colour-coded crayon. "Is this supposed to be a duck?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sshh, daddy might wake up." High-Chairmare Tia warned, softly, as she turned the pile of papers in Lulu's hooves the right way around.
"Ooooh...." Ultra-Commander Lulu nodded understandingly at the agenda, "Uh, Tia, it still looks like a duck."
Supreme-Chairmare Tia decided to reply with a prompt hoof to the face, carefully aiming for her own, overcoming the temptation to rattle her sister's skull through sheer force of will alone. "It says 'Operation Special-Somebody-For-Daddy-And-Mommy-For-Us'." She read out for her sister.
"That's a very long duck, Tia." Awesome-Commander Lulu frowned, "I thought we were gonna call it something awesome, like 'Operation Awesome'."
"My name has exactly 45 letters and 17 syllables, a lucky combination." Tia argued, crossing her forehooves.
"Mine is awesome-er." Lulu gave her watertight argument.
"Cadie?" They both turned to their resident tie-breaker, the Also-Commander/Equally-Chairmare Cadie.
"Mmmmm....Cadie can't eat anymore shooting stars...." The little changeling mumbled sleepily from where she was curled up around the baking whisk holding up the roof of their ultra top secret headquarters, otherwise known as Lulu's blanket.
"Operation Shooting Star sounds good." Lulu conceded.
"All in favour say 'aye'." Tia motioned, raising her own hoof into the air.
"Eye?" Lulu asked.
"*mimblewimble*" Cadie agreed sleepily.
"Motion passed." Tia nodded in satisfaction.
"Where?" Lulu looked around, trotting round and round slowly in place in search of these 'motions'.
"Going back to the minutes of our last meeting, we agreed that daddy spends all his time either working in the bakery or being looked after by us. He barely has time for himself, let alone a special somebody." Tia went on, "We adopted daddy, so we're responsible for looking after him. That includes finding him a special somebody." She nodded sagely, mostly to herself.
"And get ourselves a mommy too. Just like Dinky did last week!" Lulu did a little tippy-hoof dance on the bed, her bat wings fluttering excitedly.
"Ms. Ditzy is such a nice mommy. Dinky and Mr. Hooves are so lucky...." Tia sighed, enviously.
"That's why we're doing this, right?" Lulu grinned, "So we can be like Dinky and have a mommy too."
"Cadie wants a mommyyyy...." Cadie mumbled in her sleep.
"We are not selfish mares." Tia asserted, pushing her glasses up her muzzle, "We are doing this so Daddy will have somebody special to love him."
"But....we love Daddy lots, don't we?" Lulu frowned, cocking her head to one side in deep thought. "I mean, Lulu loves Daddy about thiiiiiiiiis much." The little thestral stretched her forehooves out as far as she could in an effort to very exactly quantify her love. Unfortunately her love was so infinitely vast that her forehooves failed to contain it, causing her to flop over to one side onto the soft bed they had gathered on.
"But it's not the same. Daddy needs another grownup to love him." Tia argued, "I read this in a book, so it must be right."
"So, where do we start looking for one?" Lulu asked, picking herself up. "Cadie, wake up. Plans. We need them!" She shook her changeling sister awake.
"Mmm...a mommy? Mmm....If we can get a mommy seed, we can plant it in the garden." Cadie suggested, dreamily, "Cadie will water her everyday and..."
"We can just trot into one of those 'mother and child' stores and pick one up, right?" Lulu suggested, "I saw one with a big sale. That's a good thing, right?"
"The pay-for ones are no good, the books say so." Tia said, firmly, "We'll need to find one out in the wild." She tapped a forehoof on her chin thoughtfully.
"Out in the wild? You mean, we're gonna go raiding some lost temple for mommies? Like Daring Doo?" Lulu gasped breathlessly, "Well, except for the mommies bit. Daring Doo isn't that awesome."
"Well, we don't have to look that far. There are mommies all around us." Tia pointed out, "I would love to finally have someone to help me with my homework..." She sighed, wistfully.
"I wanna have someone who'd take me out to play catch and fetch!" Lulu's ears and tail twitched excitedly. "And does good ear-scratches!"
"And belly rubs. N-not that I like them o-or anything! It's just a basic s-standard, that's all!" Tia blurted.
"Someone who would read Cadie bedtime stories...and sing her...to sleep..." Cadie was already swaying sleepily from her imaginary mother's lullabies.
"Wait, doesn't Daddy already do all that?" Lulu quickly pointed out. "And Daddy's really good at all that too."
"That's true." Tia tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Well, I for one would like someone....somepony even, who could teach me magic."
"Oooh! Somepony who could teach me how to fly! Like a Wonderbolt!" Lulu's wings fluttered in excitement.
"Somepony who could teach Cadie how to eat shooting stars...." Cadie sighed, wistfully.
Her sisters stared at her, then at each other, before shrugging. 'Yes, that sounds good too', they agreed silently.
"So it has to be a pony then." Tia nodded.
"So where do we find one then?" Lulu raised the most pertinent question.
"The books say Daddy's true special somebody is already in his heart." Tia nodded, sagely. "He must simply follow his heart to find her."
"Um, but...Daddy can hardly find the grocery store without us though." Cadie pointed out, sleepily.
"True." Tia sighed. "Well then, plan B. It'll be like Hanzel and Grettel."
"We bake a giant gingerbread house?" Cadie asked, dreamily, "Can it be cookies instead? Cadie's good at cookies. Hmm, chewy marshmallow cookies..."
"And then ovens! And then 'Fuwaaaaaaafu', instant mommy time!" Lulu declared, smacking her forehooves together.
"What in heavens is 'Fuwaafu'?" Tia's eyebrow twitched.
"It's my 'awesome' sound, always." Lulu said, matter-of-factly.
"Right." In a show of sisterly wisdom, Tia carefully ignored that and carried on, "What I meant was, we lure a mare in here with our amazing sweets. Mares love sweets."
"And then 'Fuwaaaaaafu'!" Lulu smacked her forehooves together again.
"Yes, you do that, whatever that is." Tia sighed, wearily. "Anything else? Cadie?"
"Munyuuuu....munyuuuu...." The little changeling supplied in her sleep. The baking whisk she had been holding up to support their headquarters' roof slowly slid out of her sleepy grasp. With a soft and gentle whomp their roof collapsed, bringing their super top secret headquarters down with it.
Three filly-esque shapes under the blanket squirmed a little. "Told you we should've had the top secret meeting inside my boop box." The thestral-shaped lump finally said.
