Equestrian Skies

Chapters

Ch 1- An Unexpected Arrival
Ch 2- Meeting the Princess
Ch 3- The problem with Sudden Adoptions
Chapter 4- He Needs to Eat What?!?
Chapter 5- Fishy Lessons
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11

Ch 1- An Unexpected Arrival

“I can’t believe they had me work two extra hours at work just to sign off on a few forms. Yes, I know there’s a rainstorm scheduled the day after tomorrow, and on Wednesday next week, I’m the one who scheduled them you idiots! Hopefully Blue understands why I missed dinner tonight.” Yelled Storm Chaser to no one as he flew home. He was a pegasus stallion with purple fur, a short, gray mane and tail, and a thunder cloud as a cutie mark. Yet, despite the frustration of having to deal with the bureaucracy involved in managing Ponyville’s weather team, he couldn’t help but to look forward to finally seeing his family after a long day at work. He wondered if his wife was still looking forward to do what they planned to do tonight, though.

He made his descent to the ground as he approached his home, and landed at the front door. As he opened the door he called out, “Girls, I’m ho- oof.” He was interrupted when a cerulean ball of fur flew into him, knocking the air out of him slightly. When he looked down at what flew into him, he found his two year old daughter, Cloudchaser, trying to hug him. He laughed and said, “Cloudchaser, I know you’re happy I’m home, but you’re going to knock me down on the ground on of these days.”

Cloudchaser just happily giggled as she hugged her father as tight as she could. Storm Chaser smiled and returned the hug as he heard hoof steps approach the two from the kitchen. He looked up to see his wife, Blue Typhoon, walk up for a hug as well. She was a blue pegasus mare with a long white mane and tail and a hurricane as a cutie mark. When she reached her husband, she embraced him and brought her lips up to him for a kiss. Cloudchaser just stuck her tongue out in disgust of her parents’ public display of affection and flew back to the living room to continue playing with her toys.

Storm Chaser watched his daughter fly off when he was done kissing his wife, she chuckled, and said, “It’s still amazing how good of a flyer she is at such a young age.”

“It is, but it’s also helped her to be quite a hoofful as well.” Blue Typhoon tiredly replied. “So, how was work today?” She asked as she and Storm began walking to the kitchen.

“Long. I had to discuss with the higher ups about my choices for scheduling the rainstorms, then I had to redo the paper work just to confirm when I had them scheduled again, and then I had to stay to make sure we were ready to get our shipment of clouds for tomorrow.” Storm said in a frustrated tone.

“Well, that explains why you missed dinner.” She said as she continued cleaning the last of the dishes. “But if that’s the case, I’m sure that you’re going to be more than looking forward to tonight.” She said with a sultry tone.

“Wait, you still want to go through with it?” Storm asked with a mixture of surprise and excitement. “I was beginning to wonder that you would have been too frustrated with me to actually make love with me tonight.”

“Honey, we planned to do this tonight, because you have the day off tomorrow. Besides, you had a good excuse as to why you got home two hours after you usually do.” Blue reassured him. “Now why don’t you bring Cloudchaser to bed, while I finish up down here?”

“You just can’t wait to get to the bedroom tonight, can you?” Storm asked as he leaned up against Storm, knowing her answer.

“You know it, sweetheart.” She responded as she leaned back into her husband and rested her head under his.

Storm felt all of his stress fade away as he stood there with his wife, keeping an ear out for Cloudchaser as well to make sure she was playing safe. Sure, today hadn’t gone entirely to plan, but with his wife saying that the event he was looking forward to the most was still going to happen, he felt as though his crappy day never even happened. He knew that there was nothing that was going stop them from following through with their plan.

*Bang*

Suddenly, a large sound accompanied by a flash of light came from behind the house, startling both Storm and Blue. They looked around and got into defensive stances, getting ready for anything to happen after the sound went by. Cloudchaser, also startled by the large sound in their backyard, flew into the kitchen, crying loudly in fear. Blue reached up to bring Cloudchaser to the ground and tried to calm her with a loving embrace.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” Blue calmly assured, despite being terrified as well.

Thankfully, her attempts to calm Cloudchaser worked, as Cloudchaser eventually stopped crying and returned her mother’s embrace as a way to seek comfort. Blue gave a small smile to Cloudchaser, thankful that she calmed down, but then she started to hear something that caused her to believe that the situation had not passed. Although it was slightly muffled, she was able to hear the distinct sound of somepony crying outside their house, in the same direction the loud sound had come from.

Storm had heard the crying as well, and realized that it was coming from their backyard as well, knowing full well that it was also the same direction as where the loud sound had come from. Deciding what he needed to do, he looked to his wife and said, “Stay here with Cloudchaser, I’ll see what’s causing that crying.” Blue gave him a worried look, to which he assured, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Although she didn’t like the idea, Blue nodded to Storm to go ahead and check on that crying. Storm nodded back and carefully made his way over to the back door. When he started to open the door, the crying started to sound familiar to him, but it did nothing to stop his confusion. Now that the sound wasn’t muffled, he started to recognize the cry as that of a foal’s cry, but he couldn’t find a reason as to why there would be a foal outside in their backyard. When the door was fully open and he was able to see what was outside, his thoughts fell even deeper into confusion.

Outside in his backyard was a simple wooden crib. While this answered where the crying was coming from, it now left another question. “Where did this crib come from?” He asked out loud. He looked around in a feign attempt to find whoever left the crib there, but, as he expected, he couldn’t find anyone. At this point he was beginning to wonder if that loud noise from earlier and this cribs sudden appearance were connected, but his thoughts were interrupted when he got a very loud reminder of the crib’s occupant with the foal’s cry. “Well, guess I do have to check on the foal.” He said hesitantly, as he began to carefully trot towards the crib, getting ready for anything to happen. When he reached the crib, he looked in it to see its occupant, but what he found caused him nothing but more confusion. “Whelp, wasn’t expecting the foal to look like this.” He shakily exclaimed.

Inside the crib was, well he honestly didn’t know. It certainly sounded like a foal, but it looked nothing like any foal he’s ever seen before. Instead of hooves, it had weird, little appendages on its limbs, it was almost completely hairless, except for a little bit of hair growing from the top of its head, and its face was flat in comparison to a pony’s snout. It was also wearing a yellow onesie, was kicking around a red blanket and was loosely holding on to a stuffed rabbit. It honestly looked more like a little hairless ape than a pony, but the way it was acting and the different items it had arrived in kept him from thinking that it was a random ape in his backyard. Something else he noticed was that this infant was slightly larger than the average pony foal.

Still not sure what he should do, he turned back to the house to call to his wife. “Blue, can you come out here quickly?” He shouted.

When Blue Typhoon heard him, she wasn’t exactly sure what to think, but decided that she should agree to her husband’s request. “I’ll come out in a minute, just let me bring Cloudchaser to her room!” She then picked up Cloudchaser, who she was still holding on to, and flew her to her room upstairs. When she got to her room, she placed Cloudchaser down on to her bed. “Stay here.” She sternly commanded before flying out of the room to join her husband outside.

It didn’t take her long to fly through the backdoor, since Storm Chaser left it open, and reach her husband outside. Needless to say, she was confused about the crib that was in their backyard, but was even more about the foal that was inside the crib. “What is that?” She asked Storm.

“I don’t know, it looks like some sort of ape, but it acts like a normal pony foal instead of an infant ape.” He said in a matter of fact tone. Blue nodded in agreement to Storm’s assessment, as she tried to calm down the infant in the crib. After a few moments, Storm asked, “So, what are we going to do with it?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to bring it inside.” She said bluntly.

“Oh, okay...wait, what?!?” Storm exclaimed in confusion. “Are you sure? We don’t even know what that thing is!”

“Regardless, it’s still an infant, and staying out here in the middle of the night is not going to be good for it. Now come on, you pick up one end of its crib and I’ll pick up the other end.” Blue said as she started to grab the end of the crib that the infant’s head was near.

While Storm didn’t like having this unknown creature in his house, he couldn’t argue with his wife’s logic, especially with how cold it was getting. So, he went to the other end of the crib before saying, “Okay, lift your end on three.” Blue nodded in acknowledgment and got herself ready to lift the crib. When Storm got himself in position, he called to his wife. “Ready?”

“Ready.” She responded.

“Okay. One…Two…Three.” He stated as both he and Blue lifted their end of the crib up. The infant in the crib started crying even louder, clearly scared about the situation it was in. Thankfully for both Strom and Blue, the infant wasn’t that much heavier than Cloudchaser, its crib was about the same size of Cloudchaser’s old crib, and that the backdoor was still open. When they got into the house, they set the crib down in the middle of the living room and Blue Typhoon immediately tried to calm the baby down.

“Shh, it’s okay sweetie. Everything’s alright. No one’s going to hurt you.” She said in a soothing, motherly tone as she stoked the top of the baby’s head to calm it down. Thankfully, her attempts to calm it down worked as the baby gradually stopped crying and looked up at the pegasus. It’s sense of fear was replaced with a sense of wonder and curiosity as it stared up at Blue Typhoon, trying to figure out what she was.

Storm Chaser was standing on the other side of the room looking at the two with mixed feelings. On one hoof, he was glad that Blue was able to calm it down and that it wasn’t proving to be a danger to his wife. But on the other hoof, he was concerned as to how this infant was related to the flash of light earlier and what danger it might hold for his daughter. “Honey, what are we going to do with it?” He asked Blue, hoping that she had a solution for how they were going to deal with this.

Blue walked over to when she determined that the baby wasn’t going to cry at the moment and said, “I think what we should do is let it sleep here for the night and take it to the princess first thing tomorrow morning.”

“*sigh* I can agree with bringing it to the princess, but I’m not comfortable with letting him stay here for the night.” Storm said with mild frustration.

“Oh come on Storm, it’s clearly a foal. Is it honestly going to hurt either one of us?” Blue said, losing her patience with her husband.

“One of us, no probably not, but it’s Cloudchaser that I’m worried about.”

“I understand that, but unless you have a better idea, then it’s going to stay here.” Blue said with anger.

“Anywhere but here is comfortable for me.” Storm responded.

“Oh really, and where would that be?!? Going door to door to our neighbors and asking them, ‘Hi, how are you doing tonight? We’re doing great. Oh by the way, would you like to take care of this infant we found in the middle of our backyard after we heard a loud sound?’ I’m sure that conversation is going to end well!” Blue yelled sarcastically.

While Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser were arguing, Cloudchaser was starting to make her way down stairs. Sure, her mother told her to stay in her room, but she still had toys down stairs. She didn’t want to be a bad daughter by going to bed and leaving her toys around the house for her parents to trip on. As she made her way down stairs, she heard her parents arguing. While she didn’t like hearing her parents argue, she also knew that this would make sneaking in to the living room much easier. But when she made it to the living room, she immediately forgot about her mission when her eyes caught the sight of the crib that clearly wasn’t there the last time she was in the living room.

She flew up to the crib to inspect what was in it, to find the same infant that her parents were arguing about. When the baby saw Cloudchaser, he was filled with the same amount of curiosity that Cloudchaser was filled. Cloudchaser, feeling adventurous, decided to fly into the crib to get a closer look at the unexpected guest. When she came within arm’s length, the infant decided to reach out and grab Cloudchaser with a hug and started to hold her tightly.

Cloudchaser was starting to regret trying to sate her curiosity as she started to feel the pain from the hug she was getting, and was starting to squirm around to try to get out of the infant’s grasp. Fortunately for her, the baby sensed her discomfort and decided to loosen his hold on her, but still kept Cloudchaser in a hug. While she was still somewhat distressed that she was still in grasp, she did eventually stop struggling to get out of this creature’s grasp when she realized it loosened its grip for her comfort. She then decided to return the hug as well to let it know that she appreciated having it loosen its grip. After a few moments, she heard the creature yawn as it started to doze off to sleep, which caused Cloudchaser to realize how tired she actually was and she too decided to doze off to sleep too.

While all of this was going on, her parents were still arguing. “Well, if you have a better idea, then I am all ears.” Blue Typhoon yelled as she made a small glance at the crib. “So please tell me what you have to-“ She immediately stopped yelling in order to turn her head toward the crib in order to get a good, hard look at what was going on in the crib and to make sure that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. When she realized that she was indeed seeing the infant and her child sleeping contently together, she couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“What is it?” Storm asked in confusion when Blue suddenly stopped arguing to look at something.

“Look.” She simply said, pointing a hoof at the crib.

When he looked at the crib, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight as well. While he still wasn’t sure about having an unknown creature staying in his house, he still saw the sight of his daughter sleeping contently in the creature’s grasp heartwarming.

“Well, looks like somepony has nothing to worry about when it comes to the safety of his daughter.” Blue smugly said.

When Blue said that, Storm knew that he lost the argument, since the cause for his concern was comfortably sleeping in the embrace of a creature he knew nothing about. And when he realized that Cloudchaser was going to be safe with this unknown infant, he realized that there was only one option as to what to do with it. “Fine, it can stay the night, but we are bringing it to Princess Celestia tomorrow morning.” He finally relented to his wife’s idea.

“Thanks dear.” Blue said as she came in to hug Storm and kiss in on the cheek. During the hug, she heard a somewhat depressed sigh escape from her husband, which caused her to look up to him and ask, “What’s wrong dear?”

“I guess nothing went exactly as planned tonight, right?” He responded.

It took Blue a few moments to realize what he meant, which caused her to look down to the floor. While she was glad she won the argument and felt like she was doing the right thing by having the baby stay in their house instead of the cold, she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t disappointed that there wouldn’t be any late night fun with her husband. “Well, I guess it is what it is.” She finally said.

“Yeah, can’t be too mad at the little guy though. Can’t exactly control being dumped in our backyard, can it?” He said with a slight smile.

Blue chuckled before responding, “No, I guess it can’t.”

They stood there for a few moments, watching the two children sleep before Storm nudged his wife lightly and said, “Come on, let’s go to bed. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I agree.” Blue said as she and Storm began to head to their bedroom to sleep, leaving the children to sleep in the living room for the remainder of the night. As they did, both of them knew that, even though their night tonight was interesting, their day tomorrow was going to be even more interesting.

Ch 2- Meeting the Princess

It was early the next morning when Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon were awoken by both the crying of the unknown creature that appeared in their backyard last night and Cloudchaser calling out to them. Storm Chaser sighed and said, “Blue, I need you to remind me of something. Why did we decide that we wanted to have another foal?”

“Probably because we forgot how much of the pain in the flank Cloudchaser was.” Blue Typhoon joked as she got out of bed to go take care of the baby.

“Heh, you’re probably right.” Storm chuckled as he also started to get out of bed. “So, when are we going to bring it to the princess?”

“I think we should do it after breakfast, the sooner we have the princess take care of it, the better.” She said as she trotted out of the bedroom.

“Alright, I’ll get Cloudchaser’s old stroller out from the attic real quickly”

“Okay, see you down stairs.” Blue said as she made her way downstairs to the cries of the two children in the living room.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Cloudchaser continuously yelled as Blue Typhoon made her way down the stairs.

“I’m coming, sweetie!” Blue said when she reached the bottom step and made her way to the living room where the crib was. When she reached the living room, she saw Cloudchaser flying around the crib and the baby crying and squirming around in distress. She made her way to the crib with Cloudchaser settling down beside her, looked into the crib, and said, “Now what seems to be the problem little one.” Although a certain smell coming from the crib was starting to answer that question for her.

“Mommy, it keeps crying and stinks really bad!” Cloudchaser said matter-of-factly.

“It sure does, and you were keeping an eye on it, weren’t you?”

“Yes mommy.” Cloudchaser said proudly.

“That’s my girl, now then,” Blue said as she began hovering in the air to pick up the baby, “Let’s get him all cleaned up then.” Thankfully for her, Cloudchaser had only been recently trained to use the toilet, so they still had plenty of spare diapers in the bathroom. Unfortunately for her, the baby was squirming around in her forelegs when she picked it up, and would most likely continue to do so when she cleaned and changed it. Thankfully for her, she had a plan for this. “Honey,” she said turning to Cloudchaser, “Would you like to help mommy out real quickly?”

“Yes mommy!” Cloudchaser said in excitement.

“Good, do you mind grabbing that stuffed bunny from the crib and following me to the bathroom?” She asked, pointing at the baby’s stuffed bunny still resting in the crib.

“Okay!” Cloudchaser said as she flew up into the crib and grabbed the toy Blue was pointing at.

“Alright now come on.” Blue said as she flew to the bathroom with Cloudchaser following close behind her. When they entered the bathroom, Blue put the baby on the counter and began taking of the yellow onesie. Right before taking off the baby’s diaper, she turned to her daughter and said, “Now, I need you to take the bunny and make it dance.”

“You mean like this?” Cloudchaser asked as she started to have the stuffed bunny bounce around in some sort of dance. The sudden motion had an almost instant effect on the baby, as it gradually began to calm down, stopped squirming around, and started watching Cloudchaser play around with it out of curiosity.

“Perfect!” Blue encouraged as she began to take off the diaper. “Just keep doing that for awhi-.“ She immediately stopped talking, had an intense blush appear on her face, and just stared down at the baby, who she now confirmed was a young colt. “H-he…doesn’t have… a sh-sheath.” Blue stuttered in shock.

Cloudchaser also noticed the offending object between the colt legs and started to stop playing around with the toy and began to stare at it out of curiosity. Blue saw that Cloudchaser noticed and silently begged, “Please don’t ask what it is! Please don’t ask what it is! Please don’t ask what it is!”

Cloudchaser pointed a hoof at it and innocently asked, “Mommy, what’s that?”

“Cloudchaser, don’t you still have toys in the living room you still have to pick up?!?” Blue Typhoon blurted out almost immediately.

“Oh, okay mommy. I’ll go deal with.” Cloudchaser said as she flew off out the counter and out of the bathroom.

When she left, Blue Typhoon immediately got to work disposing the old diaper, cleaning the colt, and putting a clean diaper on him before Cloudchaser had a chance to come back in. Once she got the diaper and the colt’s onesie on him, she picked him up and brought him to the kitchen. “Now, I’ll bet you’re real hungry right now, aren’t you?” She asked in a motherly tone.

When she reached the kitchen, she made her way to the refrigerator, and looked for something that she could feed the colt she was still currently holding. However, there was a certain dilemma. She had no idea what she should feed the baby, or if he was even ready to have solid foods right now. Eventually, her eyes settle on one of the packets of applesauce. “How does applesauce sound?” She asked as she grabbed the applesauce and closed the fridge. She then flew to the table to put the applesauce on it and flew back over to the drawers to get a spoon. When she got a spoon, she flew back to the table, took a seat, placed the baby on her lap, and opened the applesauce packet to feed him. She put a fair amount of applesauce on the spoon and put the spoon in front of the baby’s face. “Say ‘Aww’” She said as she started to slowly bring the spoon over to the baby’s mouth.

The colt at first didn’t know what to think. He was confused as to why this strange thing had brought him to this room and put him on her lap when she sat down. But soon, he recognized that object approaching him and recognized it as a possible food source and accepted that this unknown creature was trying to feed him. He opened his mouth and put the spoon in his mouth. He immediately liked the taste of the applesauce and began to swallow his breakfast when Blue Typhoon pulled the spoon out of his mouth.

‘Thank Celestia, he can eat fruit!’ Blue Typhoon thought to herself in relief as she got ready to feed him another spoonful of applesauce. “Who wants more applesauce?” She happily said as she started to feed him again.

It was around this time that Storm Chaser came in with the stroller. He set it over by the wall where it was out of the way, and turned around to find Blue feeding the infant. “Are you feeding it applesauce?” He asked.

“Yep, turns out he likes it!” She said excitingly.

“That’s good to know.” Storm said as we went over to the kitchen to make some breakfast, only to stop when he realized something she said. He turned back around to face her and asked, “Wait, did you say ‘he’?”

“Yeah, he needed a clean diaper and well,” Blue Typhoon said as a blush started to form on her face. “He doesn’t exactly have a…sheath.”

“…What?” Storm asked dumbfounded.

“Yeah, I think that there are multiple reasons for him to be wearing clothes.”

“Okay. Did anything else happen while I was in the attic trying to get the stroller down?” Storm asked.

“Cloudchaser…might have helped me to calm him down before I took off the old diaper.” Blue reluctantly admitted.

“Please tell me she didn’t ask what it was.” Storm begged, hoping that her response was ‘no.’

Before Blue could respond, Cloudchaser flew in and proudly exclaimed, “I picked up all of my toys in the living room, mommy.”

“That’s good, dear.” Blue said as Cloudchaser took a seat next to her to watch her feed the baby.

After a few moments, Cloudchaser decided to say the one thing that Blue Typhoon was hoping she wouldn’t say at the moment. “You still didn’t answer the question I asked earlier, mommy.” She said innocently.

Storm Chaser sighed in frustration before responding, “She asked about it, didn’t she?”

“Unfortunately.” Blue reluctantly admitted.

After an awkward breakfast and answering Cloudchaser’s question with a response that could be summed up as a complex version of ‘we’ll tell you when you’re older,’ they got the baby situated in the stroller and made their way to the train station, with Blue pushing the stroller and Storm walking with a wing wrapped around Cloudchaser. The walk to the train station had been incredibly awkward. Many of the townsfolk had looked at the stroller out of curiosity when they saw they couple walking around with Cloudchaser and a stroller, only for them to be met with confusion when they saw the stroller’s occupant. Needless to say, they didn’t know how to respond when the passing pony asked what was in the stroller. Eventually, they made their way to the train station and got on the earliest train to Canterlot.

The train ride had been mostly silent. Most of the noise made by the family was from Cloudchaser either trying to entertain herself or to get her parents to pay attention to what she was doing. After about thirty minutes of mostly silence, Blue Typhoon decided to break the silence by asking the question that was eating away at the couple. “So, how do you think the princess will react to him?”

“I don’t know, honey. Hopefully she’ll just find a way to bring him back where he came from. Who knows what his parents are thinking right now with him gone.” Storm sincerely responded.

“I know, I don’t think I could imagine having Cloudchaser suddenly disappear from us like that.” Blue said giving her daughter a small hug.

They spent the rest of the train ride going over what they would tell the princess when they arrive to the castle. About an hour later, the train reached Canterlot Station and the family made their way to the castle. On the way there, many of the Canterlot residents took notice of the strange infant being pushed around by the couple. However, the baby was met with more looks of disgust than when they were in Ponyville. Blue Typhoon couldn’t help but respond by glaring back at them. Eventually, she turned to her husband and angrily whispered, “Can you believe these stuck up jerks?!? Not accepting somepony just because he isn’t a pony.”

“Just ignore them, honey. Let’s just keep moving.” Storm Chaser replied as he trotted a little faster, lightly pushing Cloudchaser and Blue Typhoon with his wings to get them to speed up as well. The baby, meanwhile, was starting to feel sleepy after the active morning, so he decided to take a nap as Blue Typhoon pushed him to the castle.

After about a twenty minute walk, they made it to the front entrance of the castle. A guard stood at attention on either side of the entryway. When the family approached the castle, the guards blocked their approach and the one on the left exclaimed, “Halt, state your business.”

Storm Chaser decided to take the initiative and nervously replied, “We need to speak to the princess.”

“Why do you need to speak to the princess?” The guard curtly asked.

“Well, a foal appeared in our backyard back in Ponyville last night, and we were wondering if the princess could help us determine what he is or where he came from.” Storm Chaser replied.

The guards gave each other a confused look before turning back to Storm Chaser. “No offense sir, but wouldn’t this matter be more suited to your town’s mayor or orphanage, and what do you mean by ‘what he is’?” One of the guards sincerely asked.

Blue Typhoon decided to step forward and said, “Well, he’s not exactly a pony sir.”

The guards were about to ask what she meant, but taking a good look at the stroller’s occupant momentarily stopped their train of thought. Their usually expressionless faces changed to those of surprise and curiosity as they inspected the infant. Eventually, one of the guards turned to the family and asked, “What is it?”

Blue Typhoon started to nervously fidget where she stood as she nervously replied, “That’s the thing…we don’t know. All we do know is that it’s a male.”

The guards started to inaudibly whisper to each other as the family stood their nervously waiting for a response. Except for Cloudchaser, she stood their glaring at the guards. Eventually, the guards stopped conversing with each other and one of the guards returned to his original post. The other guard turned to the family and said, “Wait here for a few moments, I’ll be right back.” He then turned around and quickly made his way to the castle.

As they waited, the couple stood their nervously, wondering why the guard ran into the castle. Cloudchaser was spending the time making various faces at the remaining guard, trying to get him to break. After about five minutes of waiting, the guard returned with a unicorn mare with whitish fur, dark brown mane and tail, both tied in a bun using a red hair tie, a collar and red neck piece around her neck, and ink pen and inkwell as a cutie mark. When the guard returned to his post at the doorway, the mare walked up to the family and introduced herself. “Hello, my name is Raven, aide to Princess Celestia. The guard informed me that you have a foal of an unknown creature. Is that correct?”

“Yes ma’am, he’s right here.” Storm Chaser said, pointing a hoof inside the stroller.

Raven took a look inside the stroller and immediately flinched in surprise. Even though she knew that the infant in the stroller wasn’t going to be a pony, she still wasn’t prepared for the infant to look like a small hairless ape. After a few moments of inspecting the napping infant, she looked up at the family and said, “Alright, if you could please follow me to the throne room.”

“Thank you, Raven.” Blue Typhoon said as she started to push the stroller as Storm Chaser used his wing to make sure that Cloudchaser came along with them. Revan nodded back in response, turned around, and began to lead the family to the throne room. The short walk to the throne room felt like hours to the couple. Every step making them more anxious about how the princess would react to the infant. Cloudchaser, on the other hand, just looked around the castle halls in awe, unaware of her parents’ inner struggles. When they reached the entrance of the throne room, Raven turned around and stopped them.

“Please wait here. This will only take a few moments.” She informed before entering the throne room.

As they waited, Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser were mentally preparing themselves for their meeting with the princess and Cloudchaser was hovering over the stroller to watch over the infant. After a few moments, Blue Typhoon decided to break the silence by asking her husband, “So, are you ready, Storm?”

Storm Chaser chuckled before responding, “As ready as I’m going to be, honey. You?”

“I guess, either way it’s too late to back down now, right?” Blue said with a nervous smile.

Cloudchaser noticed that something was bothering her parents, so she landed down on the ground, walked up to Blue Typhoon, and asked, “Mommy, is everything alright?”

Blue Typhoon gave her daughter a small smile and a comforting hug. “Don’t worry sweetie, I’m sure everything is going to be okay.” She said comfortingly, even though she had no idea what was actually going to happen.

After a few more minutes, Raven came out of the throne room and turned to the family. “The princess is ready for you. You may enter.” She said as she kept the door opened for them.

With all of the courage that they could muster, the family walked into the throne room, with Blue Typhoon pushing the stroller, and made their way to Princess Celestia, who was sitting on her throne, with Raven following close behind them. Along the way, the couple couldn’t help but make special note of how the princess was sitting on the throne. She seemed relaxed and had a small and friendly smile on her face as she watched the family walk up to her. This actually caused the couple to relax a little bit, but they still couldn’t help but feel nervous as they came face to face with the Princess. When they reached the front of the throne, Blue Typhoon rolled the stroller a little bit to the side, walked up to Storm Chaser’s side, and bowed to the princess along with her husband. Cloudchaser, meanwhile, just stared up at awe at Princess Celestia and didn’t really pay attention to what her parents were doing. Raven walked up to the steps of the throne in order to be by the princess’s side.

A few seconds after Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser bowed, Princess Celestia bowed her head slightly in response before saying, “Please rise, my little ponies.” The couple did as she said and stood back up. “Now, I understand that you have a foal with you that isn’t a pony and was wondering if I knew what it was, correct?” She said with a kind voice.

“Yes, your highness, he’s right here.” Blue Typhoon said as she immediately flew over the stroller in order to grab the baby. The baby started to stir when her hooves made contact with him and slowly began to wake up and started to whimper as a result of his nap being interrupted. When Blue Typhoon was sure that the infant was secured in her forelegs, she carefully landed next to her husband and tried to calm to calm the baby down.

Princess Celestia hid her surprise very well. The only change that occurred in her facial expression was a slight change in the size of her eye pupil. She could see why Raven had described the baby to her as some sort of hairless ape, but at the same time, she could tell that the baby wasn’t any type of ape that was native to Equestria. After determining that she needed to take a closer look at the baby, she asked, “May I take a closer look at it?”

“Of course, princess.” Blue said as she flew up to the Princess. As she flew up, Celestia began to lie down in her throne with her forelegs laying out in front of her. She motioned with her head for Blue to put the baby in the space between her legs. “Here he is.” Blue nervously said as she placed the baby.

When the baby reached it's destination, he looked up at the princess and stopped the fidgeting he had been doing since he woke up. He stared with wide eyed amazement at the princess smiling down and inspecting him. After a few seconds, the baby started to reach up towards Celestia’s face in an attempt inspect the princess through touch.

Celestia gave a chuckle at his actions. “What is it little one?” She said in a motherly tone. “Do you want to know what I am?” She then reached her head down towards the baby, and began to give him a small nuzzle. The baby, in return, began to laugh when the fur on her muzzle began to tickle him.

It was when he laughed that Celestia was able to determine one thing about him. He definitely wasn’t some sort of thoughtless creature; he was a very sentient baby that acted more like a pony than an ape. After she was done nuzzling the baby, she looked up at the family and announced to them, “While I can say that this foal is as sentient as a pony foal, I unfortunately can’t determine what species he is. May I ask how you found him?”

Storm Chaser stepped up towards the princess and calmly explained, “Well, you see your highness. We were at home last night when a flash of light and a loud noise occurred in our backyard.”

“Did you say ‘a flash of light and loud noise.’?” Celestia asked with concern.

“Yes ma’am, and when it subsided, I heard crying outside where the flash came from. When I went outside to inspect it and found a crib with the foal crying inside of it.” He continued.

Celestia spent of few moments trying to come up with some theories as to how the foal had arrived. One theory had immediately come to mind when Storm Chaser told her about the flash of light and loud noise. She frowned when she thought about that theory and what it meant for the strange infant lying in her grasp. She looked up at the family and noticed that they were waiting patiently for her response, except for their daughter, who was trying to find a way to entertain herself. Knowing that she wouldn’t understand what Celestia was going to tell her parents, she turned to Raven and said, “Raven, why don’t you bring the little filly over there out to the gardens to run around.”

Cloudchaser immediately perked up at the prospect of going somewhere fun. “Oh, can I go, mommy? Can I go? Please?” She begged her mother.

Blue Typhoon looked to her husband to see what he thought about having Cloudchaser go out to the gardens. After he nodded to her to let her know that he was okay with it, she turned her daughter and said, “Okay, you can go. But only if you behave and do whatever Miss Raven tells you to do. Understand?”

“Yay, thanks mommy!” Cloudchaser exclaimed excitingly as she hugged her mother. Raven took that as her queue to lead Cloudchaser out of the throne room. Cloudchaser flew circles around the unicorn as was led out of the room, resulting in all of the adults to laugh at her antics.

When the two left the room, the couple turned back around to face the princess, knowing full well that she wanted to speak to them in private. Celestia facial expression had changed to a more serious look as she began to spoke, “I have a theory as to how he arrived in your backyard, but it’s a theory I take likely.”

The couple had different thoughts to what the princess had just told them. Blue Typhoon wondering how this affected the infant and was worried about his fate. Storm Chaser, on the other hand, was more worried as to how this could possibly affect his family than how it affected the infant, even though he wanted him to return where he belongs. After a few minutes of thinking, the couple nodded to the princess to let her know to continue and that they were listening.

“I theorize that he appeared through a form of portal that was connected to another world.” Celestia said bluntly.

The couple didn’t know how to react. They were surprised by the information Celestia gave them, shocked that the baby was an alien, and confused by the idea of a portal appearing in their backyard. After a few moments of silence, Storm Chaser decided to continue the conversation. “Another world, your highness?” He asked curiously.

“I’m afraid so.” Celestia continued. “My theory is that a high influx of magic had built up in your backyard to momentarily connect our world with his. During the time of the connection, a portal opened that allowed access between the two worlds and closed when the magic powering the portal had dissipated. The portal that opened in his world must have opened where his crib was as he was resting and sucked him in to our world, meaning his arrival in our world was nothing more than an accident. While having a portal open like this is very rare, it also occurs randomly, making it impossible to predict when another portal can open.”

“So there’s a way to bring him back to his home.” Blue said hopefully.

Celestia, however, looked down sadly at the infant smiling up at her and spoke, “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t send him back.”

Whatever hope the couple had built up slowly began to fade when she told them she couldn’t bring her back. “But…why?” Blue Typhoon asked sadly.

“There are a few of reasons.” Celestia sadly informed. “One of them being that I unfortunately don’t know any spells that can allow me to travel to a different world. Even if I did, I don’t know what world he came from and the chances of bringing him to the wrong world are very high. Either way, I’m afraid to say that this foal will be forced to live in Equestria for the rest of his life.”

Both Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser didn’t want to believe what they heard. Of all of the things that they wanted Princess Celestia to tell them, they were hoping that she would say that she knew a way to get him to his home. Instead, all she could tell them that the child would be separated from his actual family for the rest of his life. “So, what will happen to him?” Storm Chaser asked out of curiosity.

“Well, I think that the best thing for him would be to be officially adopted into a family. Not only would he be provided with a loving family, but he would be given his Equestrian citizen through the adoption.” She informed as she looked down at the child. “I can only hope that there’s a family out there that’s willing to adopt him.”

“Well,” Storm began, “I’m sure whatever family ends up adopting him will be glad to-.”

“Princess, could you excuse us for a moment.” Blue Typhoon suddenly interrupted.

Storm Chaser turned to his wife to ask her what she was doing, only to stop as soon as his eyes laid eyes on her. Blue Typhoon was giving him the fiercest glare. A glare that screamed ‘we are going to talk and we are going to talk now!’ Not seeing any other way out of an argument with his wife, he turned back to the princess and quickly said, “We’ll be right back.” He then turned towards the exit and quickly trotted towards the door with his wife close behind. We they reached the door; Storm Chaser opened the door and held it open for Blue Typhoon to walk through.

As soon as Storm Chaser closed the door behind him, Blue Typhoon almost immediately aggressively asked, “So, you’re just going to get him out of your mane as soon as you could. Is that what you were planning?”

“Look, I didn’t think that we’d be coming to Canterlot this morning to learn that we’d be adopting somepony into our family.” Storm said defensively. “Are you saying that you want to adopt him?”

“Of course I want to adopt him!” She yelled back. “Weren’t you listening to the princess earlier? She voiced the concerns for him to have a loving family before voicing her concerns about him becoming a citizen. So tell me, which of the two do you think her highest priority right now?”

“I’m not saying that he doesn’t need a loving family. I’m just making sure that you really want to go through with this.” Storm said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Why are you having problems with adopting him? Is it because he isn’t a pony?” She yelled accusingly.

“It’s not because he isn’t a pony. It’s because…I really don’t know how to think about him.” Storm admitted.

“What do you mean?” Blue asked, beginning to calm down.

“I just conflicted, Blue. On one hoof, he’s hasn’t shown us any reason to fear him yet, we know that he can at least eat fruit, and Cloudchaser seems to like him so far. But on the other hoof, we don’t know if he needs more than fruit to eat, how he’s going to act when he gets older, and what that means to safety of both Cloudchaser and you. I’m just…scared I guess.” He shamefully admitted as he dropped his head to look at the ground instead of Blue Typhoon.

There was silence between them as Blue allowed Storm's words to sink in. She knew that he had a point and had every reason to be scared. But she didn’t want fear of the unknown to be the reason they turn the infant away. Besides, he wasn’t the only one that was scared. Knowing what she needed to tell her husband, she walked up to him, used a hoof to lift his head up to meet his gaze, and said, “You know something, Storm?”

“What’s that Blue?” He asked sadly.

“…I’m scared too.” She admitted, causing Storm to perk up immediately. “Heck, I’m scared of some of the same things you are. But that foal deserves a chance to be with a family and I’m not going to let my fear of what I don’t know stop him from getting that chance right now. Besides, we both know that most ponies are going to turn him away for not being a pony.”

“You think we’re ready to adopt a foal we don’t know about?” Storm sincerely asked.

“Were we ready when Cloudchaser was conceived?” She jokingly asked back.

Storm chuckled before responding, “No, I don’t think we were.” He paused for a few seconds before asking, “You’re absolutely sure about adopting him, right?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure.” She slyly said. “But what I want to know is, are you willing to give him the same chance I’m giving him?”

He thought about it for a few moments, trying to figure out if there was something other than his fears to keep him from accepting the infant into him family. But after a few minutes of thinking, he couldn’t think of anything. So he turned to Blue and said, “Alright, I’ll give him a chance. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Thanks, honey.” Blue said, giving him a small peck on the lips. “Shall we tell the princess what we decided?”

“The sooner we tell her, the sooner we get the paper work out of the way.” Storm jokingly replied, causing Blue to chuckle.

They entered the throne room again and walked up to Celestia, who was currently playing with the baby by levitating objects in front of him. When she saw them approaching, she set the items to the side and gave the baby a quick nuzzle so that he wouldn’t cry over her ending her magic show early. She then looked up at the couple and asked, “I take it you had a productive talk?”

“We did your majesty. And we decided that we’d like to adopt the colt into our family.” Storm Chaser announced proudly.

“Is that so?” Celestia asked. The couple nodded back. “Very well,” she said as she carefully levitated the baby over for Blue Typhoon to hold. “I think we should start with the paper work immediately.” She then stood up to lead them to her study to get the forms started. But before she began walking, she suddenly asked, “Oh by the way, did you come up with a name yet?”

“A name, princess?” Blue asked curiously.

“Of course, we’re going to need put at least something on the adoption and citizenship forms. We can’t exactly put “the infant” under name now can’t we?” Celestia asked in a joking manner.

Storm chuckled before responding, “Well, to be honest, we didn’t really come up with one. But I’m pretty sure we can come up with one before we start writing out the forms. After all, it’s not like we were expecting a child to fall down from the sky, right Blue?” When Blue didn’t immediately respond, he turned around to see her looking down at the colt as though she were deep in thought. “Is something the matter, Blue?” He asked with concern.

“…Sky.” Blue finally said.

“What?” Storm asked in confusion.

“Sky Chaser. I think we should name him, Sky Chaser.” Blue said smiling down at the child.

“I…kind of like it actually.” Storm admitted. “What do you think, princess?”

“I think that it’s a fine name.” Celestia said in agreement

“Then it’s settled then!” Blue exclaimed as she place the child back into the stroller. “Welcome to the family, Sky Chaser.” She sweetly said as she gave her now adopted son an affectionate nuzzle, causing him to laugh in response.

Author's Note

Before someone points it out, yes I am aware of the universe jumping Celestia did in the comics. I just decided to treat that as non canon to this story, mostly due to the nature that is the mlp comics.

Ch 3- The problem with Sudden Adoptions

In the gardens of Canterlot Castle, all had been peaceful. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and the animals went about their day undisturbed. It was truly a place where one could rest and relax. Or at least, that was until Cloudchaser was allowed to play around here.

While her parents were talking to the princess, the easily excitable filly was taking full advantage of the large area that the gardens had to offer and flew around with joyous delight. She darted around trees and columns, under bridges, over bushes, and hid in tree branches to take a small breather as part her own little game of keep away from her watcher, Raven. Raven, in her attempts to get Cloudchaser to settle down, chased after the filly as best as she could while calling up to her. She was thankful that all of her years of running from one end of the castle to the other had built up her stamina, but Cloudchaser was still much more maneuverable and showed no signs of calming down.

Eventually, Cloudchaser did decide to slow down some, but not because Raven told her to. As she looked around the garden, she began to realize that she’s been flying around for a long time. She wondered what was taking her parents so long and why they haven’t started looking for her by now. Deciding that the mare she had been flying away from would probably know where they are, she quickly turned around, landed about twenty feet from Raven, and waited for Raven to run up to her.

Raven saw that Cloudchaser finally landed on the ground and began to slow down as she approached the filly. She was gasping for air by the time she reached Cloudchaser. “Oh thank *gasp* Celestia, *gasp* you finally *gasp* landed.” She managed to say.

“Miss,” Cloudchaser said with a concerned look on her face, “Where’s my mommy and daddy?”

Raven took deep long breaths to get her breathing under control as she started to wonder about what the filly's parents and Princess Celestia were doing. She knew that they had been in the gardens for at least a couple of hours, which was a lot longer than what she was expecting them to take. Once she felt like her breathing was under control, she responded to Cloudchaser’s question by kindly saying, “I don’t know, But don’t worry, I’m sure that once they’re done talking to the princess, they’re sure to-“

“Cloudchaser!” a voice that Raven and Cloudchaser recognized as Blue Typhoon yelled out, interrupting Raven. “Sweetie, where are you?”

“There she is now.” Raven happily said. “Come on, let’s walk over to-“

“Mommy!” Cloudchaser excitingly interrupted as she began to fly in the direction of her mother’s voice.

“Or you can fly really fast to her and make me run some more.” Raven deadpanned as she began to run after her again. “Sure, why not.”

Cloudchaser spent a few minutes flying in the direction she heard her mother calling from before she saw Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser walking from one of the garden entrances. She also saw that Storm Chaser was pushing the stroller, but she couldn’t see if there was anyone in it. She yelled out, “Mommy! Daddy!” as she quickly descended to her parents and practically crashed into her mother as she gave her the tightest hug she could.

Blue Typhoon, after recovering from the sudden shock, gave her a gentle hug as she spoke. “There you are! Were you wondering where we were?” Cloudchaser nodded. “Sorry we took so long sweetie,” she said in a motherly tone, “Did you have fun?” Cloudchaser nodded again as Raven came running up, gasping for air again. “Oh, there you are Raven. Thanks for looking after Cloudchaser for us. I hope she wasn’t too much trouble for you.”

“All I can *gasp* say, ma’am, *gasp* is that *gasp* I’m never having kids.” Raven managed to say as she tried to bring her breathing back to normal again.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re going to have kids eventually, dear.” Blue Typhoon teased.

“Why do you *gasp* say that?” Raven asked curiously.

“Because I said the same thing about four years before I gave birth to Cloudchaser, and now I have two children.” Blue Typhoon responded with a smirk. Storm Chaser nodded with a smirk to confirm that what she just said was true.

“Wait, two kids!” Raven exclaimed in mild shock. “I thought you only had Cloudchaser.”

“Well, that’s kind of why we took so long with the princess.” Blue said as she turned to her daughter. “Cloudchaser, there’s somepony I’d like you to meet.” She then picked up Cloudchaser and carried her over to the stroller so that Cloudchaser could look inside it. When Cloudchaser was able to see inside the stroller, she saw that the infant that appeared last night was resting inside it. “Cloudchaser,” Blue Typhoon began, “this is Sky Chaser. He’s going to be your new baby brother.”

“Baby…brother?” Cloudchaser asked, confused over the meaning of the word.

“That’s right, sweetie.” Blue Typhoon happily said. “He’s going to be staying with us for now on as a member of our family.”

Cloudchaser smiled and fluttered her wings in excitement at what her mother just said. She might not have understood what the word, “brother,” meant, but she understood when she was possibly getting a new playmate. Both of her parents smiled at her reaction to the news, thankful that she was happy about the sudden addition to the family.

Raven, who had been watching in respectful silence, asked, “Does this mean you officially adopted him?”

“Yep, he’s now officially our son.” Blue Typhoon said proudly as she started to put Cloudchaser down.

“Well, congratulations then,” Raven said sincerely, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if I can convince the princess to give me the rest of the day off.” She exhaled as she started to force her sore muscles to walk again.

As Raven made her way to the throne room, the family also started to make their way out of the gardens to leave the castle. On the way out, Storm Chaser asked, “Do you think we should have lunch in Canterlot today?”

“Oh, absolutely! It’s probably past noon right now and I’m starving.” Blue Typhoon blurted out almost immediately.

“I’m hungry too, daddy.” Cloudchaser chimed in.

Storm Chaser chuckled before responding. “Alright, let’s go find somewhere to eat.”

They walked around the city trying to find a suitable place to eat, but constantly found restaurants with pricey menus. After about twenty minutes of searching, they found a diner that they felt they could afford and decided to eat there for lunch. Storm Chaser held the diner door for his family to pass through, then made his way to the hostess table after all four were inside. He then asked, “Can I have a table for four and a couple of highchairs for my two foals as well?”

The hostess, who was a purple unicorn mare with a black mane and tail, smiled at the family before responding, “Of course, and I can keep on eye on your stroller for you if you want to leave it up here at the front.”

“Oh, that would be lovely, thank you.” Blue Typhoon said gratefully as she rolled the stroller close to the hostess’ podium so that it would be out of the way. She then reached inside the stroller and gently lifted Sky out of the stroller so that she could carry him over to the table.

The hostess, who was now able to clearly see the stroller’s occupant, took note of his ape-like appearance and tried to politely explain, “Oh, I’m sorry miss, but we don’t allow pets in the diner.”

Both Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon slightly flinched at what the hostess just said. They were expecting ponies to treat Sky differently due to him being an unknown creature, but to assume that he was some sort of strange pet seemed to be a bit much to them, especially when he was fully clothed and being pushed around in a stroller like a normal foal would. After a few seconds, Storm Chaser broke the small silence by responding, “Actually miss, this is our son. We just adopted him today.”

The hostess’ eyes immediately widened as she realized her mistake and began to frantically speak, “Oh my apologies ma'am, I’m so sorry! I’ve simply never seen anything like it- him, before, so I just assumed... Oh, my sincerest apologies."

Blue Typhoon, who was still holding Sky, put a comforting wing around the mare and gave her a reassuring smile as she gently spoke, “Don’t worry dear, you didn’t mean anything by it. Just, be a bit more careful next time.”

The hostess took a deep breath to calm herself down before gratefully speaking. “Oh, thank you for accepting my apology. I’m just glad I didn’t accidently offend you. Here, let me bring you to your table.” She said as she used her magic to levitate a couple of menus and a couple of highchairs.

The family nodded in response and followed the hostess to their table. As they walked through the diner, several of the patrons began to look up and stare at the infant being carried around by Blue Typhoon, either out of curiosity or disgust. This was something that was noticed by both Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon, with the latter glaring right back at some of them. After a few seconds, the hostess lead the family to a table that was next to the window and replaced the two chairs furthest away from the window with the two highchairs. Storm Chaser took a seat on one side of the table and placed Cloudchaser in the highchair next to him, while Blue Typhoon took a seat on the other side and placed Sky Chaser in the highchair next to her. Once the family was seated the hostess gave the couple their menus and kindly said, “A server will come by in a few moments to serve you. I hope you enjoy your meal!” She then turned around and quickly trotted back to her station at the front.

As the couple began to look through the menus, Blue Typhoon let out a frustrated sigh before speaking. “Can you believe some of the looks Sky was getting.”

“I know honey, but there’s nothing we can really do about that, is there?” Storm said.

“*sigh* I guess not.” Blue reluctantly admitted.

At that moment, a teenage unicorn colt with a red coat and an orange mane and tail walked up to their table and said, “Hello, I’ll be your server for today. Can I get you anything to-” He immediately stopped speaking as soon as he got a good look at Sky and rudely asked, “Ugh, how did you ever sneak that ugly looking ape past the hostess?”

Storm Chaser suddenly slammed his hoof loudly against the table, causing the table to shake and catching the attention of most of the patrons. He was giving the waiter the harshest glare he could, causing the colt to shiver in fear, as he began to speak coldly, “Listen, buddy, this ‘ugly look ape’ as you called him just so happens to be our newly adoptive son and we didn’t sneak him past the hostess. She let him in when she realized he’s our son. Now, you,” He said a little louder as he jabbed a hoof at the waiter, “are going to treat him like any normal foal and we aren’t going to have any more problems. Am I understood?”

The waiter, who was shivering in fear, nodded before responding, “O-of course, s-s-sir. Can I get you anything to drink right now?”

“I think water should be just fine.” Blue Typhoon said calmly.

“O-of course, I’ll be right back.” The waiter hastily said before running to the kitchen as fast as he could.

When the waiter was gone, Storm Chaser turned back to face Blue Typhoon and said, “I’m sorry I caused a scene, honey. But I didn’t want to let him talk about Sky like that and be silent about it.”

“Don’t be sorry, sweetie, you have nothing to apologize for.” Blue said sincerely. “Besides you handled that situation better than I would have.”

“Really, how would you have handled it?” He asked curiously.

Blue Typhoon smirked before proudly replying, “I wanted to punch him in the snout, but I had to keep reminding myself that the waiter was still a minor.” Her response caused Storm Chaser to chuckle. “Besides,” Blue continued, “I saw how a certain child reacted to you scolding the waiter and decided that punching the prick wouldn’t leave the best of impressions.”

Assuming that she was referring to Sky, Storm Chaser decided to take at a look at his son. The look on Sky’s face showed a mix of fear and cautious curiosity as he tried to figure out what caused the stallion to get angry all of a sudden. Storm Chaser gave Sky an apologetic smile as he said, “Sorry you had to see that, Sky.”

“Not the child I was referring to, dear.” Blue said simply.

Storm Chaser looked at her with confusion for a few seconds before he realized which child she was referring to. He then looked down at Cloudchaser, who was smiling up at him with pride and admiration, having clearly enjoyed the sight of her dad confronting the waiter. He then turned back to his wife and said, “Yeah, I see what you mean. I think the last thing we need is our daughter thinking that it’s okay to go around punching ponies.”

“Oh, of course not.” Blue Typhoon said half seriously and half-jokingly. “Although” she began, shifter her tone to a more serious one. “I wasn’t expecting you to come to our son’s defense so quickly. Weren’t you the one cautious of him when we first saw him?”

“Only because we didn’t know, and still don't know, what he is.” Storm Chaser replied defensively. He then relaxed a little bit before continuing, “I’m not going to lie, I’m still a little cautious of him and I’m probably still going to be cautious of him until we know more about him. But at the same time, I know he’s still an infant that’s been thrown into a situation he has no control over and the last thing he needs right now is a father that doesn’t act like one.”

Blue Typhoon smiled at her husband’s answer and said, “I’m glad you think that, honey.” The both of them picked up their menus and read them over to find something for them and their kids to eat. But as they read through the menus, Blue Typhoon couldn’t help but think about what happened with the waiter. She understood that Sky was an unknown creature, but to openly insult him in front of them the way he did caused her to frown in frustration.

Storm Chaser saw the frustrated look on Blue’s face and asked, “Are you still thinking what that waiter said?”

“Of course I am!” Blue exclaimed as she slammed her menu down on the table. “I mean, I understand that Sky’s an unknown creature, but he didn’t have to be so rude and insulting about it. At least when the hostess realized that he wasn’t our pet, she immediately apologized for her mistake and seemed legitimately sorry about it. The waiter, on the other hoof, seemed more scared than sorry when you got mad at him for treating Sky like he was a creature from the Everfree forest.”

It was around that time that the waiter came back, but there were two things that they noticed when he did. One was the smug expression on his face as he walked to their table. The other was that there was a yellow, middle-aged unicorn mare with a red mane and tail and wearing an apron around her barrel. The mare had an uninterested look on her face as she followed the waiter to the table. When to two arrived to the table, that uninterested look turned into one of surprise when she noticed Sky. After a few seconds of studying him, the mare said, “Well, you certainly weren’t lying about the strange creature here in the diner.”

“Of course I wasn’t lying, miss Lamp Shade.” The waiter said proudly. “These ponies snuck this wild animal in here and need to be removed from the restaurant, immediately.” Most of the patrons began to watch the scene the waiter was causing out of curiosity, several of them noticing the infant that he was referring to. Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon were glaring daggers at the waiter, and Cloudchaser was blowing raspberries at him.

The mare, who the family now knew was named, Lamp Shade, and could assume was the owner of the diner, studied Sky a little bit more before turning to the rest of the family and politely asked, “Is what he saying true?”

“Of course it isn’t!” Blue Typhoon exclaimed. “The hostess allowed us to bring him in after we explained to her that he is our adopted son.” She explained, putting emphasis on the word, ‘son.’

Lamp Shade stood there in thought after listening to Blue Typhoon for a few seconds before she politely said, “Give me just a few moments.” She then turned around and began to walk towards the front of the diner. As they waited, the waiter kept giving the family a smug grin, thinking that he was about to get them kicked out of the diner, and the family glared at him out of pure anger. After a few minutes, Lamp Shade came back and politely said to the family, “I talked to the hostess, and she confirmed that she allowed you to bring him in when she realized that he was your son. So, as far as I’m concerned, you’re allowed to dine here.”

Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser breathed a sigh of relief to what Lamp Shade said. The waiter, however, was shocked by what he heard and began to desperately protest, “B-but ma’am. You can’t possibly tell me that-”

“You on the other hoof!” Lamp Shade suddenly exclaimed as she turned towards the waiter, switching to an angry and authoritative tone that effectively shut him up. “You have been causing me nothing but problems since the day I hired you. Giving our patrons bad service is one thing, but trying to get somepony kicked out of my diner is where I draw the line. Get out of my diner! You’re fired!”

The colt looked like he wanted to argue about his firing, but Lamp Shade’s glare kept him from doing so. Knowing that her mind had been made up, the colt gave the mare a frustrated grunt before turning around and storming out of the diner. The manager sighed a little before turning to the family, offering an apologetic smile and saying, “I’m sorry about what he put you through. What he did was completely uncalled for.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Blue Typhoon reassured. “Besides, it sounded like you’ve wanted to fire him for a while.”

“Oh, you have no idea!” Lamp Shade said with a sense of relief. She then used her magic to levitate a notebook and pencil out of her apron pocket and cheerfully said, “Well, since I just fired your waiter, I’ll just have to double as your server for this afternoon. Was there anything you were waiting on?”

“We ordered some water earlier.” Blue politely explained.

“Alright, let me get that real quickly for you.” Lamp Shade said and began to trot towards the kitchen.

Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser decided to look through the menus again as they waited for Lamp Shade to return with their water. As they did, however, a thought came across Blue Typhoon’s mind. “What are we going to give Sky to eat?” She asked Storm.

“Huh, I don’t know.” Storm admitted as he started to notice that there wasn’t really anything for them to get Sky. “What do you think we should do?”

“I think we should ask Lamp Shade if she has anything we can give him. If she doesn’t, then I’ll probably just order the fruit salad, tell them to put the dressing on the side, and feed him the fruit from it.” She offered.

“I think that’s a good idea.” Storm Chaser said. “I’ll probably get the hayburger with sautéed onions.” He then turned to Cloudchaser and asked, “And how does the mac n’ cheese sound to you, honey?”

“Yes! Cheese!” Cloudchaser cheered happily, causing the parents to giggle.

As they settled down, Blue Typhoon noticed that many of the patrons were making small glances at their table. She would have ignored them, but curiosity got the best of her and she began turning her ears towards the conversations around her. However, she immediately began to regret that decision when she heard a mare from a nearby table say, “Ugh, can you believe anyone would even consider adopting such a disgusting creature? Those two must have been desperate for another child because nopony in their right mind would ever consider adopting that…thing!”

Blue Typhoon couldn’t believe what she just heard. This mare didn’t just openly insult Sky, but she also just insulted both her and Storm Chaser for making the decision to adopt him. She’ll admit that adopting Sky wasn’t the easiest decision to make, but that was because of what they didn’t know about Sky, not by his appearance.

She then began to turn her ears even more to listen in on more conversations. Much to her distress, she discovered that most of the patrons were talking about Sky as well. There were some comments that she didn’t mind hearing, like “what is that thing?” or “where did it come from?” But many of the comments that she heard left a sour taste in her mouth. Particularly comments like “are they sure that isn’t a hairless ape?” and “Where did they find this thing, the Everfree Forest?”

Storm Chaser noticed the distressed look on Blue Typhoon’s face and that her ears were moving around as well. He was about to ask her what she was hearing, but Lamp Shade’s arrival with their water stopped him from doing so. As she began to put the two glasses of water in front of the couple and a small, plastic cup with a lid and straw in front of Cloudchaser, she said, “Here are your drinks. Have you decided what your-“ She paused when she noticed the distressed look on Blue’s face and asked, “Is everything alright, dear?”

Blue Typhoon shook her head when she realized that she was being spoken to and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. I just can’t help but overhear what some of the ponies around us are saying about Sky.”

Lamp Shade gave a sad sigh before carefully saying “Let me guess. Some of the things they’re saying aren’t entirely pleasant, are they?”

“No, no they’re not.” Blue sadly admitted. Hearing that caused Storm Chaser to frown in frustration.

Lamp Shade gave a concerned look before saying, “I’m sorry you had to hear all that, hun.” She then gave a small smile before continuing. “If my opinion means anything, I think that both of your foals are very sweet and well behaved.” She then smirks before jokingly saying, “Especially if you compare them to some of the six year olds that come in here and start screaming loud enough to put holler monkey’s to shame.”

This got a small laugh out of the couple. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.” Blue Typhoon said when they stopped laughing.

“No problem, hun.” Lamp Shade said as she pulled her notepad and pencil with her magic. “Now, have you decided what you want to eat?”

“I think we have.” Storm Chaser said as he picked up his menu. “I’ll have the hayburger with sautéed onions and we’ll get the mac n’ cheese for my daughter.”

“Excellent choices!” Lamp Shade exclaimed as she wrote down the order. She then turned to Blue Typhoon and asked, “And what will you have, dear?”

Blue Typhoon skimmed through the menu one last time before turning to Lamp Shade and asked, “Do you have anything I can feed my son here. We don’t know exactly how old he is, but we assume that he’s still a toddler.”

Lamp Shade stood in thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to give to the strange infant. She then perked up when she came up with a solution and said, “I’m sure there’s a few peaches in the kitchen I’d be willing to give you. On the house, I might add.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Blue tried to protest.

“You’re right, I don’t’ have to. But I want to. Consider it my apology for all the trouble you had earlier.” Lamp Shade cheerfully said.

“Oh, thank you very much. You’re too kind.” Blue finally relented.

“It’s no problem!” Lamp Shade happily exclaimed. And what will you have to eat, hun?”

“Oh, I think I’ll have the fruit salad.” Blue said.

“Excellent! I’ll get you your orders as soon as they’re ready. Let me know if you need any refills.” Lamp Shade said before she trotted off towards the kitchen.

“Well, that was nice of her.” Storm Chaser said happily. “I’m glad we decided to eat here for lunch.”

“I am too.” Blue Typhoon agreed. “I think I might be able to enjoy our lunch now.”

Right as Blue Typhoon spoke; their conversation was interrupted by the shrill cry of a foal. Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon turned to the source of the cry to find a young filly being forcibly led to the exit by her mother. The both of them were trying to figure out why the filly was creating a ruckus until the filly loudly exclaimed, “But, mommy, I wanted to look at the monkey!”

“You are not going anywhere near that thing! Now come on we’re leaving.” Her mother scolded as she led her daughter out of the diner, despite her protests.

Blue Typhoon gave a frustrated sigh before she turned to her husband and said, “Nevermind, I think that we’re in for the most awkward dining experience of our lives.”

Blue Typhoon couldn’t have been more right. They were practically plagued with ponies coming up to their table to ask about Sky or openly state their disgust about having him in the diner. Lamp Shade did all she could to maintain control over the patrons, but she couldn’t be there the entire time. It became even more awkward when the couple were trying to feed their children before they started eating their own food. Lamp Shade even tried to offer to charge them for half of what they owned as an apology for the disturbances, but they kindly turned the offer down.

After they payed for their meal and thanked Lamp Shade for everything she did for them, they left the diner and made their way to the train station to purchase their train tickets to Ponyville. Unfortunately, the next available train to Ponyville wouldn’t be until around four o’clock, which forced them to wait for a couple of hours at the train station. This meant that they had to deal with more ponies that were curious of Sky or made rude comments about him, much to their annoyance.

When the train finally arrived, the family got onto the train as quickly as they could and got themselves situated in a relatively empty car. They had themselves by the window so that Sky and Cloudchaser were seated by the window and Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon were seated by the aisle. Thankfully, nopony was coming up to them to ask about Sky, which meant they could finally relax and enjoy the train ride.

When the train was about ten minutes from Ponyville, Blue Typhoon turned to her husband and said, “You know, after seeing how those ponies reacted to Sky throughout the day, I’m really glad we decided to adopt him.”

“I am too, honey.” Storm Chaser replied. “I don’t see how he would’ve made it through an orphanage.”

“I can’t either. But still, who would’ve guessed that we would be coming back from Canterlot with another foal in our family.” Blue Typhoon said as she tilted her head back and began to relax. She then immediately perked up when she realized something. “Oh my Celestia!” She suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it, Blue?” Storm asked.

“We just adopted a baby, and we hardly have any supplies to take care of him. We need to get baby supplies tonight!”

“Don’t we still have extra diapers lying around?”

“I think we have two or three left, so we’re going to need some more of those. Don’t we still have Cloudchaser’s old milk bottles?”

“You mean the ones she chewed up?”

“Okay, so we’re going to need to buy those as well. As well as milk formula, baby food, a changing station, clothes, toys, furni-“

“Blue!” Storm blurted out loudly to get Blue Typhoon’s attention. “We’ll figure out everything we’re going to need later. For tonight, just get the diapers, bottles, and food to feed him. We can start getting everything else tomorrow.”

After taking a few moments to calm down, Blue Typhoon replied, “Okay, you’re right. I just sort of panicked. Do you remember when the baby supply shop closes?”

“No, I don’t remember.” Storm Chaser admitted. “But it should still be open by the time we get into town.”

“Maybe, but I should still probably fly straight there just in case.” Blue Typhoon replied.

“You want me to bring the foals straight home then?” Storm Chaser asked.

“Yes that would be nice.” Blue Typhoon happily answered.

The conductor suddenly came through the car and announced, “Attention passengers! We are arriving to Ponyville. All departing passengers, make sure you have all your belongings before you depart.”

“Alright, better get ready.” Blue Typhoon said as she began to stretch her wings.

“I’ll let you off first then.” Storm said as he made sure that Sky was still comfortable in the stroller.

The train began to slow down as it approached the station until it stopped at its destination. The conductor then opened the exits as he said, “We’ve arrived at Ponyville. All departing passengers-“

“Get out of my way!” Blue Typhoon yelled out as she flew as fast as she could and knocked the conductor over in the process.

Storm Chaser could only shake his head and smirk at his wife’s actions as he began to push the stroller off of the train with Sky inside. Cloudchaser followed close behind him and asked, “Daddy, why did mommy leave the train so fast?”

Storm Chaser chuckled and said, “Well, sweetie, let’s just say that being a parent is a lot crazier than you think it is. Now come on, let’s go home.”

As Storm Chaser and the kids were heading home, Blue Typhoon was quickly flying above the buildings and avoiding any pegasi that were in the air while maintaining her speed as best as she could. After about ten minutes of flying, she finally caught sight of the baby supply shop. “Thank Celestia. There it is!” She exclaimed. She picked up a little bit more speed as she flew straight towards the shop while making sure she wasn’t about to ram into anything or anypony. “Okay, I’ll just get what I need tonight and tell the shop owner that I’ll-” She stopped speaking when she noticed something on the door. “Wait what is that…oh no no no no! Dammit!”

When she was about fifteen yards from the store, she saw that there was a closed sign on the shop’s front door. She landed when she was right in front of the door and tried to see if the door would open. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t budge. “Oh come on! How can it be closed! It’s only,” she paused to check the time on a clock tower nearby, “Five fifty-eight!” She paced angrily in front of the store for a few seconds with her head pointed towards the ground. She then stopped pacing and angrily said, “Fine, I’ll just have to come back tomorrow!”

She then took off and began to fly straight home at a much slower rate. After about twenty minutes of flying, she made it to the front door of her house and angrily opened the door. “Can you believe it?” She yelled out as she slammed to door closed. “The store was closed. Who closes a baby supply shop before six?”

“Wait, so you weren’t able to get the stuff we needed?” Storm asked.

“Nope!” She answered angrily. She then took a few seconds to calm down before she continued to speak. “Well, I’ll just have to write down a list of things we need to do and buy tomorrow. What else could possibly go wrong?”

“Um, we’re now down to two diapers. Sky needed to be changed when we got back.” Storm said, smiling sheepishly.

Blue Typhoon sighed in frustration before she spoke, “Alright, let’s not worry about it. I’m sure we can make them last until tomorrow.”

It was now morning and the couple was awakened by Sky’s loud crying for the third time since they went to bed the night before. The other two times had required them to change his diaper. Storm Chaser stretched before getting out of bed and said, “Whelp, I’ll go check up on him. Let’s just hope and pray he doesn’t need to be changed again.”

“I’ll start praying then.” Blue jokingly replied. She then got out of bed as well and followed Storm Chaser down the stairs. While Storm Chaser went into the living room, where they still had Sky’s crib, to check up on him, Blue Typhoon went into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. She got a couple of muffins from the cabinet for herself and a cup of applesauce for Sky.

When she put the food on the table, Storm Chaser came in carrying Sky in one of his forelegs and happily said, “Good news, he doesn’t need to be changed. He’s just hungry.”

“That’s a relief.” Blue Typhoon said as she took a seat and reached out for Sky. “Are you going to wake up Cloudchaser?”

“I will in a little bit, and then I’ll make sure that the room we decided to use as Sky’s room is ready for you when you get back after I have breakfast.” Storm replied as he gave Sky over to Blue. “Know what you need to get done this morning?”

Blue Typhoon situated Sky in her hold so that she would be able to feed him before she replied. “Yep, I need to make an appointment for Sky at the doctor’s office, find that clothing store you talked about last night, and then get the supplies we need from the baby supply shop.” She said in a frustrated tone.

Storm Chaser raised an eyebrow at his wife’s reply and asked, “Why do you seem so frustrated?”

“Because I’m sure I’m going to receive nothing but grief from the doctor’s office about him not being a pony.” She stated bluntly, “I can’t wait to see what type of excuse they’re going to make so that we can’t get an appointment for him.”

“Okay, the earliest I can schedule you for a physical for him is Tuesday next week. I’ll need you to fill in this information form for your son before you come in for his appointment.” The receptionist said as she reached for an information form from under her desk and handed it over to a stunned Blue Typhoon, who had Sky in the stroller with her.

“Th-that’s it?” Blue Typhoon eventually asked as she took the form. “The fact that he isn’t a pony isn’t going to be a problem?”

“Of course not, ma’am. Just write down unknown when it asks for his species.” The receptionist informed cheerfully.

“Oh, uh, okay.” A slightly embarrassed Blue Typhoon said as she neatly folded the form and put it in her saddle bags. “So, the appointment is next Tuesday?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Okay, thank you. Have a nice day!” Blue politely asked as she pushed Sky out of the doctor’s office. As they left, Blue Typhoon couldn’t help but think out loud. “That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Now I need to find that clothing store.” She said as she began to pushing Sky through the town to look for the clothing store. The one she was looking for was called, Seam Line Design. While she has never gone there, many of Storm Chaser’s friends had shopped there and recommended the shop to him multiple times, so she figured that it was as good a place as any to get Sky clothes.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, she found the store she was looking for. The Seam Line Design looked identical to most of the buildings in Ponyville, with the only differences being the large display windows that displayed the mannequins wearing some of the suits, shirts, pants, and dresses the owner had made and a large sign above the door with the store’s name written on it. “This must be the place.” Blue Typhoon observed as she opened the door.

After struggling a little bit to get the stroller through the entrance and into the shop, she noticed that there wasn’t an employee in sight. Figuring that the owner was probably somewhere else in the building, Blue Typhoon decided to make a quick inspection of the clothes in the store. There was a small section that was targeted towards mares, which was filled with both simple and extravagant dresses. A much larger section of the store was targeted towards stallions, which was filled with shirts, pants, sports jackets, and suits. She decided to pay closer attention to the stallion’s section since she was getting clothes for Sky. While she knew nothing about stallion’s fashion, she could tell that the clothes were of a good quality and were well made. Wow, coming here was a good idea. The designer here must really know what she’s doing.

“Why hello there, ma’am.” A gruff, masculine voice suddenly said behind her. Blue Typhoon turned around to speak to the pony behind her, only to be immediately stunned by who she saw behind her. The pony behind her was a brown pegasus stallion with a short, blonde mane and tail, but that’s not what caught her attention. What did catch her attention was his size and appearance. He had a very bulky and masculine build and was definitely above the average size of most stallions. His appearance also looked as gruff as he sounded. “Welcome to the Seam Line Design! Is there anything I can help you with?” He said politely.

“Um, well I was wondering if I could speak to the clothes designer here.” Blue Typhoon replied after recovering from her initial surprise.

The stallion chuckled a little before he responded. “That would be me, ma’am. The name’s Seam Line, the clothes designer here.”

Blue Typhoon’s surprise turned into shock. He’s the clothes designer? She thought to herself. This large, bulky, gruff looking stallion is the one who made all these clothes!? After a few seconds, she recovered from her shock and hesitantly said, “Oh, well it’s nice to meet you, Seam Line. I was wondering if you could make some custom clothes for my son. As you can see, he’s not really a pony.” She then turned the stroller so that Seam Line would be able to see Sky.

Seam Line took a few minutes to study Sky in the stroller. He then turned to Blue Typhoon and asked, “Well, he’s definitely an interesting kiddo. Do you mind if I hold him to get a close look at him?”

“Um…sure.” Blue Typhoon reluctantly replied.

Seam Line carefully picked Sky up from the stroller and held him up so that he could get a close look at him. As Seam Line studied Sky, Sky decided to study the gruff looking stallion the only way he knew how, reaching up towards Seam Line and taking a hold of his snout. Seam Line jerked his head back after Sky’s sudden action and started giving a hearty laugh. “Curious little fella, ain’t ya.” He joyfully said as he used one of his wings to tickle Sky, making the infant laugh. He then turned to Blue Typhoon and said, “It might be a bit of a challenge, but I should be able to make a few outfits for him. I’ll need to get his measurements before I start making them though.”

Blue Typhoon started to relax a little after seeing how Seam Line was interacting with Sky and said, “Of course, go right ahead.”

Seam Line nodded in response and carried Sky over to the counter. He then carefully placed Sky on the counter in a sitting position, pulled out a measuring tape, and began to take Sky’s measurements, being careful not to cause Sky any discomfort. As he did, he asked, “So, how did you come across this little fella? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well, I guess the easiest way to describe it would be that he magically appeared in our backyard and my husband and I decided that adopting him was the best option for him.” Blue Typhoon explained.

Seam Line raised an eyebrow before asking, “How did you find out the little guy’s a ‘he’?”

Blue Typhoon blushed a little as she embarrassingly replied, “I might have found out that he doesn’t have a sheath when I changed his diaper for the first time.”

Seam Line gave another hearty laugh before he said, “Yeah, I can see why you need him covered up.” When he finished recording Sky’s measurements, he asked, “Was there anything in particular you’re looking for his outfits?”

“Not really.” Blue replied. “But I’m sure he’ll need more onesies like the one he has on now for sleep wear.”

“You might be right about that.” Seam Line agreed. “Now, as for his daily wear though, hmm.” He paused as he began to think through his possible options. He suddenly perked up when he came up with a solution and said, “I’ve got it! How about I make a few outfits involving overalls and shirts for him to wear during the day?”

Blue Typhoon was initially confused when he first suggested the idea, but then she started to visualize Sky in a little shirt and overalls. “That actually sounds like a cute idea.” She admitted. “I like it! Let’s go for it.” She then began to reach into her saddle bags for her bit purse. “How much is it going to be?”

He thought about it for a moment before responding, “How about this, why don’t I make an outfit or two as a sample to see if it actually fits him. Once you’re satisfied with it, I think that we should be able to negotiate a price for the full order.”

“Are you sure?” Blue asked with concern.

“Of course, I’d rather you pay for something that you’re satisfied with.” Seam Line said.

“Alright, do you know when the clothes will be ready?”

“I think I should have at least one outfit done by tomorrow. I can’t guarantee that it’ll fit him the first time, given his unique body shape.” He said as he placed Sky gently back into the stroller.

“Alright, I’ll stop by tomorrow then.” Blue said as she began to push Sky towards the exit. “You have a good day!”

“You too!” Seam Line said as he held the door open for the both of them to exit with ease.

When Blue Typhoon left the store, she couldn’t help but think to herself, “What a surprisingly nice stallion. I can definitely see why ponies like shopping there.”

She spent about fifteen minutes walking to the baby supply shop. As she began to approach to store, she reached into her saddle bag for the list of items she needed from the stare that she wrote down last night. “Let’s see,” she began to say, “we need diapers, baby food, milk formula, changing station-“ She then looked up to pay attention to where she was going only to pause when she noticed something on the window of the shop that she didn’t notice the night before. Hanging on the inside of the shop window was a sign that said that business hours ran from eight o’clock A.M. to nine o’clock P.M.

She scowled when she was done reading the sign and angrily grumbled to herself. “Okay, they have some explaining to do.” She entered the store, holding the door open so that she could carefully get Sky into the store, and stormed to the front counter where the manager and another employee were standing. She then parked Sky next to the counter and stormed over to the employees, yelling “I need you two to explain something to me! Why is it that you were closed when I came by yesterday evening, but your sign says that you stay open until nine?”

“Um, around what time did you try to come in, ma’am?” The manager asked nervously.

“Five fifty-eight.” She simply answered.

“Oh, well you see, ma’am, I was the only one working here last night.” The manager began to explain. “So when I went out for my dinner break, I had to close the store as well. I put a sign up that said I was coming back and opening the store back up around six, but I guess it must have fallen off while I was gone.”

Blue Typhoon’s anger immediately subsided. “You were only closed for dinner?” She weakly asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Blue Typhoon said nothing as she processed the information that was just told to her. On one hoof, she knew that there was no way for her to know that the manager was eating his dinner if the sign fell off. But on the other hoof, she didn’t even bother to look for the sign that showed the store’s normal business hours. If she had, she would have figured out that something was up and probably would have waited around a little longer to get the supplies she needed. And she probably wouldn’t have given the employees here grief because of a misinterpretation and her impatience. As all these thoughts and realizations came through her head, Blue Typhoon couldn’t help but tremble a little as she began to weep.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The concerned manager asked.

“Just give me a minute.” Blue managed to say as she continued to cry.

It was early evening by the time Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon moved Sky’s crib in his new room. They had spent a good deal of the afternoon getting the changing station that Blue bought assembled and loaded up with diapers, then getting a play area set up with a bunch of toys that she purchased as well. As they were getting the crib into place, Storm Chaser teasingly asked, “So you broke down and cried for ten minutes before you started to calm down?”

“Please, don’t remind me!” Blue Typhoon snapped back. Storm Chaser tried to stifle a laugh at his wife’s reaction. After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she gave a small smile and happily said, “Well, I’m sure the worst of our problems is over. I don’t think we’ll have to go through anything else as hectic as today when it comes to raising Sky.”

Of course, she couldn't have been more wrong.

Chapter 4- He Needs to Eat What?!?

I should really stop asking what else could go wrong. Blue Typhoon thought to herself as she watched the physician inspect Sky Chaser from the chair she was sitting on while holding on to Cloudchaser to keep her from flying all over the room. Originally, she just wanted to bring Sky to the clinic to get a physical, establish him into their records, and to see if there was a way to determine approximately how old he was. But in the last few days, Sky seemed to be getting tired more easily, got moody from time to time, and looked to be in pain when he moved around sometimes. At first, Blue Typhoon and Storm Chaser thought nothing of it, but started to get worried when they noticed these symptoms for three straight days and decided that it was a good idea to voice their concerns to the physician. So now she sat there, waiting to see what the physician will say about Sky’s condition.

After a few more minutes, the physician turned to Blue Typhoon and said, “I’ve looked over your son and, even with all of those symptoms you told me about, I can’t really find any sign of any serious illness.”

“But there’s got to be something wrong with him.” Blue said with a hint of despair. “There’s no way he can be suffering through all of those symptoms and be perfectly healthy.”

“I know, ma’am. I know.” He tried to reassure as he began to pace around the room. “Now let’s see here.” He began to mutter. “You said that he was getting tired easily, was starting to get moody, and looked as though he was in pain from time to time.” He then stood by the clinic bed in thought until he started to remember a health condition he learned about during his last year of medical school. A health condition he never thought he’d have to tell to a patient or a patient’s parent. He then turned to Blue and asked, “Ma’am, if I may ask, what have you been feeding him?”

The question caught her off guard as she began to answer, “Well, we’ve been mostly feeding him a mix of fruits and vegetables. We’re mostly experimenting on what he can and can’t eat to be honest with you.”

“Has he been digesting what you’ve been feeding him just fine?”

“For the most part, yes. Why are you asking?” Blue asked curiously

“Well, I might have a good idea as to what might be going on with Sky.” He admitted

“You have!” Blue exclaimed in surprise. “Please, tell me!”

“Ma’am,” the physician hesitantly began to explain. “I think that it’s possible that your son is suffering from protein deficiency.”

Blue Typhoon tilted her head in confusion. “Protein …deficiency, what’s that?”

“I’m not surprised you haven’t heard about it. It’s not exactly a condition that ponies deal with on a regular basis.” The physician began to explain. “In all honesty, it’s a condition that we mostly see in griffons that try to stick to a vegetarian diet.”

The doctor mentioning griffons immediately caught Blue Typhoon’s attention as she exclaimed, “Griffons?!? But don’t they eat meat?”

“Yes, they do.” He immediately answered. “And I think that the same might be true about Sky too.”

Blue Typhoon couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Up until now, the only thing they knew about Sky’s eating habits was that he loved fruit and absolutely couldn’t eat hay. But being told by the doctor that he most likely needs to eat meat to stay healthy was hitting her with a mixture of shock, surprise, and confusion. “But wait a moment,” Blue frantically said, trying to find some way to challenge the doctor’s theory, “Sky’s been able to eat the fruit that we’ve been feeding him just fine, so how can he be carnivorous?”

The doctor stood there in thought for a moment before replying, “Well, if he’s been eating fruit just fine, then it’s possible that he might be an omnivore. While it’s probably acceptable to feed him fruits and vegetables, he’s still going to need some sort of intake of protein that ponies usually don’t need.”

Blue felt some of the tension go away when she heard that Sky could still eat fruits and vegetables, but still felt uneasy about him needing to eat meat. “So does that mean that he needs to eat meat on a daily basis?” She asked, feeling slightly uneasy.

“Probably not.” The doctor answered, catching her attention. “There are some nonmeat options that can give him protein, such as tree nuts and dairy products. Also, feeding him eggs from time to time wouldn't be a bad idea."

“But,” the doctor suddenly said, catching her attention again. “That doesn’t mean that you should completely avoid giving him meat entirely. Not only is the quality of the protein in meat much better for him, but there’s also plenty of vitamins and minerals that he needs from meat. As a whole, he’ll most likely function much better if he eats a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and meat.”

“Oh.” Was all Blue said as she started to feel a bit of anxiety hit her. She looked down at Cloudchaser to see how she was reacting to all of this and saw that she was just wearily starring at Sky. She then looked up at the doctor and asked, “Are you really sure that’s what he’s going through?”

The doctor, knowing fully well that Blue wasn’t taking the news well, sympathetically said, “I know it wasn’t exactly the news that you were expecting, but all of Sky’s symptoms suggest that he probably has protein deficiency. I wish that I didn’t have to tell you that he’ll need to eat meat, but I wouldn’t exactly be doing my job as a doctor if I lied to you about his condition.”

Blue sighed before sadly admitting, "I know, and I am glad you were able to figure out what was wrong with him. Really, I am. It’s just that…I don’t know how I’m going to tell my husband about this.”

“If you want my opinion, just tell him everything that’s wrong with Sky. Playing around the issue isn’t going to do anyone any favors.” The doctor replied.

“You really think that’s the best thing for me to do?” Blue asked.

“Trust me, ma’am, one of the things medical school doesn’t teach ponies is that you sometimes have to act as a marriage counselor every once in a while.” The doctor said with a sly grin.

Blue Typhoon chuckled a little bit before responding, “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. So, about those blood tests?”

“I think that it’ll be better to wait until after Sky starts feeling better before we start doing a blood test.” The doctor kindly replied. “I’ll make sure that the receptionist only charges you for the checkup.” He said as he left the room.

"Okay, thank you doctor." Blue said as she set Cloudchaser on the chair next to her and flew up. She flew over to Sky Chaser and picked him up to carry him into the stroller. She then placed Sky into the stroller and made sure that he was secured inside. Once she was done, she got behind the stroller to push it out of the room and called to her daughter, “Come on, Cloudchaser.” She began to push the stroller out of the room, but immediately stopped when she didn’t hear her daughter move from the chair. She to see that Cloudchaser was still sitting on the chair, starring at the stroller with a concerned look on her face. Blue, with a more authoritative tone, said, “Cloudchaser, come on. We’re going home.”

Cloudchaser snapped out of her small trance after the second time her mother called her and yelped out, “Coming mommy!” as she jumped off of the chair.

When Cloudchaser was right next to her, Blue Typhoon gave her a concerned look and asked, “Sweetie, is there something bothering you?”

Cloudchaser, thinking that her mother would be upset if she told her what was bother her and not knowing how to talk to her about it, just simply answered, “N-nothing, mommy.”

Blue Typhoon didn’t completely believe her daughters answer, but decided not to question Cloudchaser ) any further and said, “Okay then, let’s go home.” She then pushed the stroller out of the room with Cloudchaser close behind in order to go bay for the bill. Once the bill was payed, they began to walk home. On the way there Blue Typhoon, kept thinking about how she was going to break the news to Storm Chaser. She tried to think of ways to lie or downplay Sky’s situation, but each time she did, she also thought of the ways that they could affect their relationship and, more importantly, Sky’s health. By the time she reached her home, she came to the conclusion that the doctor was right, she needed to be completely honest to Storm. As she unlocked and opened the door, she began to feel some relief since she would be able to sit down and relax once she’s inside.

“Hey honey, welcome home.” Storm Chaser called out when Blue Typhoon walked inside, catching her by surprise. He started to walk up to hug Blue as he asked, “How are you doing?”

“Hello, Storm. I’m doing fine.” Blue said as she accepted Storm’s hug and gave him a short nuzzle while Cloudchaser quickly ran by to go into her room. “I wasn’t expecting you to be home so early.” She said after she after they separated from the hug and gently pulled Sky out of the stroller and walked over to the play pin that they set up in the living room.

“Today ended up being a short and easy day, so we were allowed to go home early.” Storm replied. “So how was the visit to the doctor’s office? Did they figure out what was wrong with Sky?”

“Oh they…did.” Blue reluctantly replied as she gently placed Sky into the play pin.

“Well, what did they say?” Storm asked curiously.

Blue took a deep breath before reluctantly replying. “The doctor said that Sky was possibly suffering from protein deficiency as a result of us not giving any food with protein in it.”

Storm raised an eyebrow as he asked, “So…what does that mean?”

“It means that, while he is able to still eat fruits and vegetables, he needs to start eating meat as well to get protein.” Blue finally admitted.

Storm flinched back before asking, “Wait, did you just say that he needs to eat meat?”

“Unfortunately…yes.” Blue sadly confirmed.

There was a strong silence between the two. Blue was waiting for Storm to make another reply to the revelation, and Storm didn’t know how to react. The two stood there for what felt like hours before Storm suddenly began to turn towards the stairs and began to walk towards them.

Curious as to what Storm was doing, Blue asked, “Storm, where are you going?”

“I’m going to the study so that I can write a letter to Princess Celestia about Sky needing to eat meat.” Storm simply answered.

Blue Typhoon was shocked by what Storm said that he was doing. She knew that he probably wasn’t going to react well to the news, but she didn’t think that he would immediately write a letter to the princess. So, she yelled out, “Isn’t that a bit brash?!? Who knows how she’s going to react.”

Storm turned towards her and, with a slightly raised voice, said, “Well, I’m sorry, do you have any other ideas then?”

Blue frantically tried to come up with some idea for a few seconds until she remembered something the doctor told her. “Well, the doctor said that there are some alternative ways for him to get protein, like tree nuts and eggs.” She tried to explain.

“Did he also say that they would completely eliminate his need for meat?” Storm asked.

“…No,” Blue sadly admitted, “he said that Sky would still need to eat meat from time to time.” She then switched to a more hopeful tone as she asked, “But isn’t there any way of taking care of this without letting the princess know?”

“Okay then, do you know how we can get Sky meat?” Storm asked bluntly.

Blue just stood there in silence.

“Do you know if he can eat meat raw or does it have to be prepared?”

Blue still stood there in silence.

“And on that note, do you even know how to prepare meat?”

“Okay, I get your point!” Blue finally exclaimed.

The two just stood there for a few moments before Storm calmly asked, “Blue, what’s the matter? Why don’t you want me to tell Princess Celestia about Sky?”

Blue sighed as she walked towards the couch and took a seat. She then faced her husband and said, “To be honest…I’m scared.”

“Scared about what?” Storm asked sympathetically as he joined Blue on the couch without losing eye contact with her.

“I’m scared about what the princess would do if she found out about Sky needing to eat meat.” Blue explained. “I’m afraid of her taking Sky away to live with another family. I’m afraid of her locking him away somewhere. I’m afraid of her exiling him from Equestria. As a whole, I’m just…afraid of what she’ll do if she finds out.” Blue sadly admitted.

Storm reached out a foreleg to give Blue a comforting hug, which she accepted by leaning into his embrace. They sat there for a few minutes in the comfort of each other’s embrace, with Storm stroking Blue’s back, before Storm broke the silence when he said, “Now Blue, let’s talk about this. Even if she found about Sky’s need for meat, I don’t think she’ll lock him away or exile him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, didn’t you see her when we brought Sky to her?” Storm rhetorically asked. “She loved the little guy! I doubt she’ll do anything like lock him away or exile him just because of his diet.”

“But still, the possibility is still there.” Blue tried to argue.

“Possible? Sure, but it’s still unlikely going to happen.” Storm countered almost immediately.

Blue thought about what Storm Chaser was telling her for a few moments and realized that he had a point. It would be a bit much to assume that Princess Celestia would isolate Sky from Equestrian society just because he needed to eat meat to stay healthy. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have allowed the griffons to immigrate from the griffon kingdom. “Alright, so maybe she wouldn’t send him away.” She finally relented before asking, “But what if she tries to send him to another family?”

Storm Chaser tightened his hold on Blue slightly before replying, “If she does, then she’s going to do so because she’ll think that that’s the best course of action for him. And isn’t that what you want for him?”

Blue sighed sadly before saying, “You’re right, that is what I want, but I wished it would be here with us.”

“I know you do.” Storm said, giving Blue a kiss on the top of the head. “And to be honest, I want that too. But if Celestia end up deciding that sending him to another family is for the best, then I’ll just have to go along with it. What about you?”

“I suppose I’ll just have to go along with it too.” Blue relented.

“Alright, then it looks like we’re going to let the princess know, right?”

“I guess so.” Blue simply replied.

“Okay, I’ll go write that letter then.” Storm said as he got off of the couch. “I’ll be down as soon as I’m done and we can mail the letter tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Blue simply answered as she watched Sky Chaser play around in the play pin.

It’s been five days since Storm Chaser mailed the letter to Princess Celestia, and both he and Blue Typhoon were still anxiously waiting for her response. They both understood that Celestia’s position would keep her busy and probably wouldn’t respond in a while, but that didn’t do anything to calm their anxiety down. If anything, the uncertainty of when and how she would respond made them even more anxious.

Sky’s condition started to improve slightly when they started feeding him eggs in the morning, but they knew that they couldn’t get away with feeding him just eggs forever. At the same time, they also noticed that Cloudchaser was starting to avoid Sky ever since the doctor visit, which was also starting to worry them. They tried from time to time to see what was going on, but every time they did she would say that nothing was wrong. While they didn’t completely believe her, they were still too busy worrying about Sky to push the issue further.

Currently, it was early in the evening as Storm Chaser and Blue Typhoon were both reading in the living room and keeping a constant watch over Cloudchaser and Sky Chaser as they played. Sky was playing with various toys in the play pin and Cloudchaser was playing with a couple of stuffed toys with plenty of distance between her and Sky’s play pin. The family was mostly just minding their own business until they heard a hard knock on the door.

“I wonder who that it?” Storm Chaser asked as he put his book down, stood up, and trotted towards the front door. When he opened the door, he was immediately surprised that it was Princess Celestia at the door. She was accompanied by a pair of her royal guards and a gruff looking griffon standing slightly behind her. He also noticed that the griffon also had a pair of saddle bags that resembled ice chests strapped onto him. “Pr-princess Celestia, it’s an honor for you to visit us!” Storm exclaimed, bowing.

“Please rise, my little pony. We’re your guests after all.” Celestia calmly reassured. “May we come in?”

“Of course, come right in, princess.” Storm Chaser said as he rose and gestured his guests inside. Celestia and the griffon walked inside as both of the guards took position on both sides of the front door. They followed Storm Chaser into the living room. “Honey, the princess is here to see us!” He called out.

“She is!?” Blue Typhoon exclaimed. She quickly and haphazardly placed her book down on the coffee table and scurried off of the couch. Cloudchaser, meanwhile, had ran up to her room when she heard that guests were coming in. When Blue saw Celestia enter the room along with Storm and the griffon, she immediately bowed.

“Rise, my little pony.” Celestia gently said. Blue did as she was instructed as Celestia continued. “Tell me, Blue Typhoon, how have you been?”

“I’ve been doing well.” Blue replied, the question giving her some form of relief. “Are you here about the letter we sent you?”

“Indeed I am.” Celestia replied as she walked over to the play pin to look at Sky Chaser, who began to look up at her curiously. "And how is Sky doing?" Celestia cooed, reaching her head down to give Sky’s head a quick nuzzle, causing him to giggle.

“He’s been doing better since we started giving eggs to eat, but we know that we can’t keep settling for that forever.” Blue replied. “To be honest, we were never prepared to find out that he was an omnivore.”

“Yes, his need for meat is quite troubling.” Celestia began as she turned to face the couple. “Which is why I’d think it would be a good idea to give you some special accommodations for him.”

“Special accomidations?!?” Blue replied. “You mean that he’ll be able to stay here?”

“Of course, if that’s what you want?” Celestia sincerely replied.

“Yes!” Blue happily yelled out. She then remembered that she was speaking to royalty, so she composed herself before continuing, “Um, yes we want nothing more than for him to stay here.”

“That’s wonderful to hear." Celestia cheerfully exclaimed. “Now, before I begin listing the accommodations I’m making for you, I need to confirm that you don’t have a way of obtaining meat for Sky here in Ponyville.”

“Not really, your majesty. The only stand that sells any kind of meat is the one that sells cat and dog food. We don’t get enough carnivorous visitors here for anypony to think about selling meat.” Storm Chaser informed.

“Heh, can’t say I blame ‘em.” The griffon finally spoke in a gruff voice. “No sense in tryin’ to sell somethin’ if ya don’t have a demand for it.”

“Oh, shoot, where were my manners.” Storm Chaser exclaimed, feeling slightly embarrassed, “I should have greeted you at the door.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Aye would a’ forgotten my manners too if I were in your position.” The griffon said as he approached Storm. He then lifted a talon as he spoke, “The name’s Chef Silverclaw, one of the many chefs workin’ at the castle.”

“Storm Chaser.” Storm replied as he accepted Silverclaw’s handshake. “And this is my wife, Blue Typhoon.” He said as he gestured towards his wife, how nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure to meet ya too.” Silverclaw responded before releasing Storm Chaser’s hoof.

Celestia, who was watching the exchange, gave a cough to get everyone’s attention and said, “Since the introductions are done, shall we start discussing the special accommodations?”

“Oh, of course, princess.” Blue said as she and Storm Chaser gave Celestia their full attention and Silverclaw walked over to Celestia in order to stand next to her.

Once she had everyone’s attention, Celestia began to speak, “Alright, one of the issues you brought up in your letter was the lack of access to meat.” The couple nodded in response. “Unfortunately, I can’t send you meat directly from Canterlot Castle, since we only obtain meat if we are expecting a delegate that needs to eat it. Thankfully we were able to make a deal with the griffon we get are meat from. And he agreed to have special orders delivered to your house, but only if you’re able to pay his prices for it.”

“What do you think, dear?” Blue asked Storm.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice.” Storm replied. “Don’t worry I’m sure we can afford the costs.” He then turned to Celestia and said, “Okay, we’ll do it.”

“Splendid, I’ll make sure to let him know right away.” Celestia said cheerfully. “Now, you also stated in the letter that you don’t know how to prepare meat, is that correct?”

“That’s correct, princess.” Storm replied.

“Well, thankfully Chef Silverclaw here has agreed to help you out with that situation.” Celestia replied, gesturing a hoof towards Silverclaw.

“That’s right!” Silverclaw stated proudly. “I’m gonna teach the two of ya how to prepare and cook meat dishes. By the time I’m done teaching you, you’ll know how to properly store and prepare meat for the little fella.”

“That’s very nice of you, Silverclaw.” Blue happily replied. “When are we starting?”

“Technically tonight, but you’re only going to watch me cook tonight. Tomorrow is when I’ll have you start cooking.” Silverclaw replied.

“Oh, goody.” Blue sarcastically replied. She then looked up at the clock and saw that it was about six-thirty and said, “Oh, look at the time! We need to start making dinner! Will you be joining us, princess?”

“I suppose there’s no harm in joining you for dinner. After all, Silverclaw’s going to prepare dinner tonight. Isn’t that right?” Celestia said, directing the question to Silverclaw.

“That’s right, princess. Just relax until dinner’s ready.” Silverclaw responded. He then took the ice chests off of his back and opened one of them. He then turned to Blue and Storm and said, “As for you two, you’re gonna join me in the kitchen.” He then pulled out a dead rabbit from the ice chest. “Cause I’m gonna show you how to skin a rabbit!”

Storm Chaser stared at Silverclaw with disbelief and disgust as Blue Typhoon fainted on the spot.

Chapter 5- Fishy Lessons

The start of the afternoon was going to be anything but pleasant for Blue Typhoon. The day itself had started off good enough, since the only thing out of the norm for her was that she needed to make breakfast for Silverclaw. She then spent the rest of the morning doing chores around the house and taking care of Cloudchaser and Sky Chaser whenever she needed or wanted to. It was a relatively normal day for her, until Silverclaw had called her down to teach her how to prepare fish for Sky’s lunch.

Now, she was standing in the kitchen, staring at the two cutting boards that were resting on paper towels and the knives that Silverclaw had placed on the counter. She didn’t even need to ask him about the extra cutting board and knife to figure out that, unlike last night where she reluctantly watched Silverclaw skin a rabbit, she was going to get involved this time.

Silverclaw, meanwhile, was digging around in one of his ice chests until he pulled out two six-inch long bass from it. He flew over the counter and placed a bass on each cutting board. He then turned to Blue Typhoon and said, “Alright, today I’m going to teach ya how ta fillet a fish.”

Blue Typhoon walked closer to the counter in order to get a closer look at the bass, but reeled back as soon as she was hit by the smell of them. “Oh, Celestia, they stink!” She yelled out as she used one of her hooves to cover her nose.

“The sayin,’ somethin’ smells fishy, exists for a reason, sweetheart. What’cha expectin’ them to smell like, cologne?” Silverclaw lightheartedly replied.

“No but I didn’t think they’d stink this badly!” She exclaimed.

“Oh please, this is nothin.’ Wait till ya try to fillet a swordfish, then tell me how bad the bass smells. I guarantee that you’ll say that they smell like roses in comparison.” Silverclaw jokingly said.

“Yeah, how about I don’t and say that I did.” Blue deadpanned.

Silverclaw chuckled before speaking, “All right, I can agree to that.” He then walked behind the cutting board on the right and said, “Shall we get started? The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can give those kids some lunch.”

Blue took a deep breath before replying, “I suppose we should.” She got behind the other cutting board, stomaching the smell of the bass.

“Alright, before we get started,” He said as he grabbed his knife. “An important thing to keep in mind is that you’re always usin’ a cuttin’ board and that you’re usin’ a sharp knife.”

“Isn’t that kind of a no brainer?” Blue sarcastically asked.

“You’d think that, but I’ve lost count of the number of cooks I’ve caught trying to fillet a fish before sharpening their knives and without a cutting board.” He replied.

“Wow, good to know that I know more about cooking than some of the cooks that work at the castle.” Blue joked, causing Silverclaw to chuckle. Blue then picked up the knife as she said, “So let me guess, you want to use a sharp knife so that you can actually cut through the fish and because a sharp knife is much safer to use than a dull knife.” Silverclaw nodded. “And you use the cutting board to protect the counter.”

“Well, you’re half right about the cuttin’ board.” Silverclaw replied. “The other reason is because fish is a lot more slippery than most fruits and vegetables, so the friction between the fish and the board actually helps keep it still as you fillet it.”

“Huh, didn’t think about it like that.” Blue said thoughtfully.

“Bet you’re glad I’m here ta tell ya this stuff now, aint ya.” Silverclaw lightheartedly said before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh, while I’m thinkin’ about it, never cut fruits and vegetables on the same cuttin’ board and knife you used ta cut meat. If ya do, then ya run the very high risk of getting’ yer family very sick. Either cut them before ya cut meat, use a different cuttin’ board and knife, or clean them thoroughly before hand.”

“I’ll be sure to write that down once we’re down here.” A disturbed Blue Typhoon replied.

“Good, now let’s get started.” Silverclaw exclaimed as he grabbed a hold of the bass as Blue Typhoon mentally prepared herself for his demonstration. Mostly just waiting for him to tell her she needs to cut the fish’s head off. “First, ya gotta position the knife so that it’s behind the pectoral fin.” Silverclaw explained as he put the knife where he said to. “Then, cut into the fish until ya reach its spine.” He paused as he began to cut into the fish. Once he cut it about half way, he continued, “Once ya reach its spine, turn the knife so that the blade is pointin’ towards the tail and cut down the body.” He then rotated the knife towards the fish’s tail and began to cut down it’s body. “It’s important ta keep in mind that ya gotta cut away from yerself, so move the cuttin’ board around if ya have to.” After a few seconds, Silverclaw cut his way through the fish and placed the knife down on the cuttin’ board while leaving the meat on the fish. He then turned to Blue Typhoon and said, “Alright, it’s your turn now.”

Blue just stared at her fish for a while before turning to Silverclaw and asking, “So…I don’t have to chop it’s head off?”

“No, of course not. What made ya think that that’s necessary?” Sivlerclaw bluntly asked.

“I just…thought that it was necessary.” Blue sheepishly answered.

“Well it isn’t, so don’t ya think about doin’ it.” Silverclaw replied. “Just do what I showed ya and you’ll get through it just fine.”

“…Okay.” Blue simply said as she walked up to her cutting board and hovered the knife over the fish. It’s not going to jump up at you It’s not going to jump up at you. Blue repeatedly thought as she positioned the knife behind the pectoral fin and began to cut into the bass. She had a little bit of trouble at first due to her inexperience and her uneasy feelings about the task. She was putting a lot of pressure on the fish to keep it from moving around and was taking much longer than Silverclaw did to cut it. She almost cut through the fish’s spine before she managed to catch herself. She did finally begin to relax a little when she began to cut down it’s body, which caused her to fillet it a little bit faster. This isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. She thought to herself as she finished cutting through it’s body. I don’t know what I was worried about. She then, on an impulse, took the meat off the fish and dropped on the cutting board when she was met with the sight of the fish’s organs. Oh…that.

Silverclaw, who had been watching her carefully, asked, “So, first time seein’ a fish’s guts?”

“…Yep.” She simply replied.

“Yeah, I figured. I actually wanted ta prepare ya for that before takin’ the meat off the fish. It’s why I didn’t take the meat off my fish before.” He explained as he took the meat off his fish and placed it next to the fish. “Oh well, it is what it is. How are you feelin’?”

“A little disgusted. Definitely disturbed.” She answered.

“Yeah, I figured as much.” Silverclaw then gave a sly smile before jokingly asking, “Wanna cut its stomach open ta see what’s inside?”

“Want to clean vomit off the kitchen floor.” She deadpanned back.

Silverclaw let out a hearty laugh as he grabbed a hold of the counter to keep himself from falling over. When he started to calm down, he wiped a lone tear out of his eye and said, “Oh, that was good. I can see why my wife likes ya guys so much.”

Blue flinched in surprise as she said, “Wait…what?”

Silverclaw chuckled before saying, “What’s the matter? Didn’t think that yer talkin’ to a married griffon did ya?”

“W-what, no. That’s not what I was thinking.” She frantically responded. She then paused for a moment before saying, “Although, if you had told me that you weren’t married, then I wouldn’t have been surprised.” Silverclaw chuckled in response. “I just didn’t know that we met your wife.”

“Yep, give me a moment.” Silverclaw said as he left the kitchen and up the stairs into the guest room.

“Alright.” Blue said as she turned to look at the fish as she waited for Silverclaw to come back. After a few seconds, she began to think to herself. You know, I could get used the seeing fish guts on a regular basis. So long as their hearts aren’t beating that is. I wonder what’s inside it’s stomach…dammit, now that griffon’s got me thinking about it.

After a few more seconds, Silverclaw came back into the kitchen with a black booklet in his talon. “Here ya are.” He said as he handed the booklet to Blue Typhoon.

Blue retrieved the booklet from Silverclaw and opened it. Inside were two items. One was a card with Silverclaw’s picture, name, and job title. She didn’t even need to ask to figure out that the card was Silverclaw’s I.D. that he used to get into the castle. The other item was a photo that depicted Silverclaw with a talon around a very familiar mare. “Wait…isn’t that the owner of that diner we went to in Canterlot?”

“You mean Lamp Shade?” Yep, that’s her.” Silverclaw confirmed. “I thought she was pulling my leg when she told me about the family with the well-behaved foals and how one of them looked like an ape.”

Blue giggled before responding, “Yeah, I don’t think that I’d believe my husband either if he told me about a family with a foal that looked like an ape.”

“Oh no, I believed that part of her story. I thought she was joking about the well-behaved foals.” Silverclaw sincerely replied.

Blue laughed as she responded, “Oh come on, you’re kidding?”

“Let’s just say that, even before we got married, a day has not gone by when she doesn’t bitch about somepony’s kids.” Sivlerclaw explained.

“Fair enough.” Blue said as she passed the booklet back to Silverclaw. “So was Lamp Shade talking about Sky the reason you decided to help us out.”

“I’ll admit, I was curious about him when she told me about the little guy and I figured that the family that the princess wanted me to teach was the same family my wife praised, but that wasn’t the reason I agreed to teach ya guys.” Silverclaw explained.

“What was the reason?” Blue Typhoon asked.

“A combination of me bein’ the primary expert on preparing meat among the castle staff and Princess Celestia threatenin’ to send Chief Marinade instead if I didn’t go.” Silverclaw answered.

“How is that a bad thing?” A confused Blue Typhoon asked.

“To say that she’s an absolute catastrophe at cooking anything other than pastries would be an understatement.” Silverclaw clarified. “If she had arrived, you would have lost yer kitchen by now…and quite possibly house.”

“…I’m so glad you came.” Blue said, feeling slightly relieved.

“I bet you are.” Silverclaw lightheartedly replied. He then walked up to the cutting boards and asked. “Shall we continue where we left off.”

“I suppose,” Blue said as she got behind the other cutting board. “What else is there for us to do?”

“First, we gotta cut the rest of the meat off the fish. Then, we gotta cut the scales, which will probably be the hardest part of this process.” Silverclaw explained.

“Thanks for the warning.” Blue sarcastically said as she looked up at the clock. It’s almost twelve o’clock already! I’m surprised Cloudchaser hasn’t stormed in to complain about being hungry. I wonder what that filly’s up to.

Cloudchaser was on her bed playing with her teddy bear with a small frown on her face. She had gone downstairs to tell her mom that she was starting to get hungry, but ran back to her room when she saw her about to cut into a fish. She didn’t think she could stomach watching her mom cut into another living being.

She couldn’t believe what that little monster was forcing her mom to do. She hated him for it. She didn’t even want to think about a time where she actually liked Sky. How could she ever like that little meat eater after what she witnessed two weeks before Sky’s arrival.

It was the middle of the afternoon and Blue Typhoon thought that it was a good idea to take Cloudchaser out in the backyard to play around for a little bit. Cloudchaser was running and flying around while kicking a red ball. Blue, meanwhile, was sitting on one of the lawn chairs reading a book as she kept watch over her. As rambunctious as Cloudchaser could be, she thankfully didn’t have to worry about her flying off so long as there was something to keep her occupied. Cloudchaser’s focus was primarily on the ball, until something else caught her attention.

It was a butterfly with blue wings. First, it landed on Cloudchaser’s ball right before she was about to kick it again. She stopped when she saw it and leaned in to get a closer look at it. The butterfly, unsatisfied with the ball, flew up and began to head towards a group of flowers on the other side of the garden. Cloudchaser followed close behind it so that she could continue to watch it. Eventually, the butterfly landed on one of the flowers and began to feed on the nectar, while Cloudchaser watched it with child-like wonder. Little did they both know that there was another pair of eyes watching the butterfly.

A hungry pair of eyes that began to slowly approach the butterfly, but hesitated when it saw Cloudchaser. It didn’t know whether or not to see her as a threat, but what it did know was that it wanted to eat. It needed to eat. And it knew that neither Cloudchaser or the butterfly knew that it was there. So, it moved slowly toward the butterfly. So slowly that neither the butterfly or Cloudchaser could notice it approach its prey. The only thing keeping it from making a sudden movement was its own experience and patience. It stopped moving when it was right next to the flower and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. That opportunity came when the butterfly, still unaware of the predator watching it, started getting closer to it. The predator knew it was now or never, so as soon as the butterfly was in reach, it striked.

Blue Typhoon looked up and haphazardly threw her book down when she suddenly heard Cloudchaser. She flew over to Cloudchasder, who was crying by the flowers. Blue gave her a comforting hug as she asked her, “What’s the matter, sweetie? Did you get hurt?”

“Mommy…look.” Cloudchaser said in between sobs as she pointed a hoof at the flowers.

Blue Typhoon looked over to where Cloudchaser was pointing and immediately saw what she was trying to show her. Standing on her flowers, with a butterfly in its pincers, was a praying mantis, who had already begun to eat its prey. It didn’t take long for Blue Typhoon to figure out what Cloudchaser had just witnessed.

“Y-you have to do something, mommy. Please.” Cloudchaser croaked out, giving Blue Typhoon a pleading look.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, but there’s nothing I can do.” Blue sadly admitted.

“Why not?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Well, you see…” Blue Typhoon said as she tried to formulate her thoughts. “…You know how you have to eat dandelions and other plants, right?”

“Mhmm” Cloudchaser replied with a nod.

“Well, there’s also other animals that eat plants too, and because of that there’s animals that exist to eat other animals.” Blue tried to explain.

“B-but why do they have to.” Cloudchaser sadly asked.

“Well, that’s…something that I can’t really explain to you right now. That’s something that you have to learn when you’re older” Preferably, when you’re in school. “Now, come on. Let’s head inside.” Blue said as she took a hold of Cloudchaser’s hoof and began to lead her to the house.

Cloudchaser took one last look at the praying mantis, only to turn away from it when she saw it clearly bite off the butterfly’s head. She might not have known why the praying mantis needed to eat the butterfly to survive, but she did know one thing. She wasn’t going to forget this moment anytime soon.

Cloudchaser frowned as she thought back to that day. While her young mind kept her from remembering the specific details of that day, she still remembered the mantis and that her mother tried to comfort her. Since then, she’s been thinking about why the mantis ate the defenseless butterfly from time to time and came up with a conclusion. That it was cold, heartless monster.

And now there’s a monster that needs to eat small defenseless animals living in her house. And worse yet, her parents are actually trying to provide those animals to it. They might have been fooled by its innocent act and she might have been fooled by it at first, but she wasn’t going to be fooled by that monster so long as she lived.

Chapter 6

Cloudchaser was flying around the trees of Ponyville Park, inspecting the foliage of each tree as she flew by them. Back when she was two years old, her parents would have preferred her not flying as close to the trees and limited the area she could practice flying to the backyard. But now that she’s four, they felt more comfortable with her flying close to the trees, but they still continuously lectured her about the importance of paying attention to where she was flying. They also decided to go to the park with her more often to give her more space to fly around and lets her make some friends. One of those friends was a black pegasus colt with a short, silver mohawk mane named Thunderlane. He was flying a few feet behind her with a nervous expression. After a few more seconds of flying, Cloudchaser found a tree that had enough foliage to make seeing through it difficult. With a sly smile on her face, she slowed to a hover and pointed to the tree as she said, “This one’s perfect to hide in! He’ll never find us in here.”

Thunderlane hovered next to her and nervously said, “I don’t know, Cloudchaser, this doesn’t seem fair. What if he tells on us? I don’t want to get yelled at again.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s not going to tell on the grownups. It’s Berry that we have to worry about. Now come on, he’s almost done counting.” Cloudchaser said as she dove into tree and perched herself on one of the branches.

Thunderlane hesitated for a little bit before reluctantly following Cloudchaser into the tree branch. When the two of them were sitting carefully on one of the branches, they looked down to watch for the “foal” they were playing hide and seek with. After a few minutes of waiting, he finally came into view. The “foal,” walking around on his two legs, was Sky Chaser.

Much like Cloudchaser, Sky Chaser had grown in the past two years as well. He was now a healthy three-and-a-half-year-old who stood a couple of inches taller than Cloudchaser. He was wearing a pair of blue jean overalls over a yellow shirt. The brown patch of hair on his head became more prominent as well. While the blood test his parents did two years ago determined that he was roughly fourteen months old, they were unable to determine an exact date he was born, so they figured to make his birthday to the date two months before he appeared.

However, Sky Chaser growing bigger also meant that his parents needed to give him larger servings of food, including meat. It was something that they didn’t have a shortage of, thanks to the meat vendor from Canterlot coming on a bi-weekly basis, but that didn’t exactly go unnoticed by the rest of the town. It was about three days after their first delivery that Storm and Blue admitted to their neighbors and friends about Sky’s dietary needs. Some were a little wary of Sky’s diet, but most of them, especially those who had carnivorous pets, were very understanding of the situation. And today marked the fifth day he was able to go to the park to play with Cloudchaser and her friends, currently being the seeker in their game of hide and seek.

Cloudchaser watched him with a satisfied smile, feeling proud of herself. Thunderlane watched him with a sad look on her face, feeling sorry for the kid. He then turned to Cloudchaser and said, “Hey, can’t we hide somewhere else?”

“What!?” She exclaimed, barely keeping it to a whisper. “Are you kidding me? We just hid here, why do you want to change hiding places now? You even said this was a good idea the first time we hid in a tree.”

“But was during the first game when Berry was it. We’ve done this every time Sky was it. The only time you don’t is when either Berry or I are it. Your mom even told you to stop doing it.”

“That’s because you and Berry are different.” Cloudchaser responded.

“How?”

“You just are.” Cloudchaser said. Thunderlane just gave her an ‘are you kidding me look.’ Cloudchaser just rolled her eyes as she said, “Fine we’ll wait for him to walk past and then we’ll go to-” She immediately stopped talking when one of the bushes a few yards away from Sky suddenly began to rustle. “What?! Don’t tell me that’s where Berry decided to hide.”

Sky heard the rustling too, so he turned towards the bush and cautiously approached it. When he was about five feet away from it, a mulberry earth pony filly with a messy cerise mane and tail shot out of the bush, laughing with glee as she ran. She was the third friend playing hide and seek with Cloudchaser and Sky, her name was Berry Punch. Sky recovered from the surprise rather quickly and chased after her.

Really, Berry?! Really?! Cloudchaser thought in frustration. This had been the fourth time since they started playing hide and seek that Berry Punch had intentionally allowed Sky to find her. At least she’s not letting him catch her. She noted as she watched Sky struggle to keep up with the running filly. Then, Berry suddenly began to slow down and started to pretend that she was getting tired. Sky smiled as he thought that he had worn Berry out. Cloudchaser knew better. She knew that Berry was intentionally allowing Sky to catch her.

When Sky’s hand made contact with Berry Punch, she slowed to a stop and dramatically said, “Oh no, looks like you got me again Sky.”

Sky laughed in excitement and happiness. Thunderlane smiled down at the two of them. Cloudchaser just rolled her eyes and looked off to the side. That’s when all four of them heard Blue Typhoon yell out, “Alright kids, it’s time to go!”

Cloudchaser was the first to react as she flew off of the branch and flew towards Blue and the other adults, followed by Thunderlane. Sky ran in behind him with Berry Punch trotting right next to him. After a few seconds of flying, Cloudchaser began to reach the adults, who were sitting on a park bench, and landed about ten feet from them. Right as she was about to trot the rest of the way, Berry’s pitbull, Bruiser, ran fast enough to have his leash escape from the grasp of Berry’s mom and greeted Cloudchaser by licking her face repeatedly. Cloudchaser laughed as the dog’s tongue tickled her with each lick. She tried to playfully push him away to get him to stop, but to no avail.

This continued for a few seconds until Berry’s mom got a hold of Bruiser’s leash and gently pulled him away from her. “Alright, Bruiser, that’s enough.” She lightly scolded before turning to Blue. “Sorry about that, Blue. I thought I had a good hold on him.”

“That’s alright, Dry Sherry. I’m sure she needed a bath anyway.” She said, ruffling Cloudchaser’s mane, much to her displeasure. It was around that time when all of the other kids began to arrive. Blue turned to them and asked, “So, did you kiddos have fun today?”

“Yes mommy!” Sky happily said while Thunderlane nodded.

Berry Punch then walked up to Blue as she said, “Mrs. Typhoon, Cloudchaser was hiding up in the trees again.”

“Oh, did she now?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at Cloudchaser. Cloudchaser just scowled at Berry, which caused her to stick her tongue back at her in response.

“Well, we need to get going. Say goodbye, Berry.” Dry Sherry said as she gave Bruiser’s leash another soft tug before she began to walk home.

“ Goodbye everypony!” Berry happily exclaimed before she followed her mother.

“Say goodbye, Thunderlane, we’re going home too.” Thunderlane’s mom said.

“Okay. Bye, Cloudchaser. Bye, Sky.” Thunderlane exclaimed before he and his mother flew home.

“Alright kids, let’s go.” Blue said as she used a wing to hold Sky’s hand.

“Okay, mommy!” The both of them said as they walked home with Blue, although Cloudchaser made sure that she was on the opposite side of their mother.

But after a few seconds of walking, Blue suddenly asked, “Cloudchaser, were you hiding in the trees during your game of hide and seek?”

Cloudchaser began to feel nervous as she answered, “Y-yes, mommy.”

“And who was it when you were hiding in there?”

“…Thunderlane.” Cloudchaser hesitantly answered.

“…Okay, so long as you were hiding from Thunderlane, then I suppose that it’s okay.” Blue Typhoon responded after a long pause.

Cloudchaser released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and continued to walk home with a smile, thinking that her mother believed her. Little did she know, Blue Typhoon wasn’t sure if she believed her or not. She was honestly fine with her hiding in the trees so long as Thunderlane was the seeker, since he could reach her up there. But at the same time, she doubted that Berry Punch would have told her something about it if that was the case. The only reason she didn’t press Cloudchaser further was because she knew that she wouldn’t back down on her lie without a fight and that was an argument she didn’t want to have in front of Sky.

In fact, she’s noticed that Cloudchaser had been giving Sky the cold shoulder for a while now. At first, it only bothered her slightly since Sky was still a toddler who wasn’t quite ready to rough house with Cloudchaser yet. But as Sky got older and tried to actively play with Cloudchaser, the more worried she got. Every time Sky did try to get Cloudchaser to play with him, she would run away from him. The only time she did play with him was whenever Blue or Storm forced her to. The both of them have tried to ask her what was going on, her answers would usually be summarized as “nothing was wrong.” Blue had her suspicions behind Cloudchaser’s behavior, but she didn’t want to act on it unless Cloudchaser confirmed it.

The rest of the walk home was relatively silent between the three of them. Once they were home, Blue Typhoon opened the door and led the children inside. She then closed the door and said, “Alright, Cloudchaser, why don’t you go upstairs. I’ll get the bath ready for you.”

“Okay, mommy.” Cloudchaser groaned before unenthusiastically walking up the stairs.

Sky was about to follow her up the stairs until Blue suddenly said, “Sky, could you come here for a few moments.” He turned around surprised before he walked up to Blue with a sad look on his face. “Don’t worry, sweetie, you’re not in trouble.” Blue reassured. “I just want to ask you a few questions, okay?” Sky slowly nodded. “Okay, did Cloudchaser hide in the trees when you were playing hide and seek?” Sky nodded again. “Did she do it when Thunderlane wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know.” Sky answered honestly.

“…Okay, that’s all, sweetie. Why don’t you go play in the living room until dinner is ready?” She said with a small smile. As Sky went into the living room, Blue frowned a little bit as she thought. Shoot, I was afraid he’d say that. I had a feeling that Cloudchaser might have been lying to me, but I don’t want to confront her about it when I don’t know what she was lying to me about.

She stopped her thoughts when she heard the door open. She turned to find Storm Chaser walking into the house. He smiled at her as he walked up to her. “Hey hun, how was your day?” He asks as he kisses her forehead.

“It was pretty good.” She said with a small smile. The smile then shifted to a frown as she said, “Hey, can I ask you something really quickly?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Have you noticed how Cloudchaser’s been acting around Sky?”

“How can I not notice, dear. She doesn’t even play with him unless we tell her to. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Berry Punch told me that Cloudchaser was hiding up in the trees while they were playing hide and seek. Cloudchaser claimed that she only did so when Thunderlane was the seeker, but I don’t think that Berry would have told me something about it if that was the case.” Blue exclaimed. She then looked Storm directly in the eye as she said, “Honey, I think she’s going out of her way to either avoid or antagonize Sky.”

The two of them stood there in a deafening silence, just staring at each other. After a few moments, Storm began to respond, “If that’s the case, then why would she be doing it?”

“I don’t know.” Blue sadly responded as she paced around the room. “I don’t know if it’s just a phase or something else.”

“Well, we won’t know unless she tells us, and something tells me that she won’t unless we back her into a corner.” Storm replied.

“I know, but how do we-” Blue began to say before she was interrupted by a call from upstairs.

“Mommy, where are you?”

“Shoot, I forgot that I was going to give Cloudchaser a bath.” Blue exclaimed as she began to walk out of the kitchen. “We’ll continue this conversation after dinner.”

“Okay, do you want me to start cooking then?”

“Sure, you can start with the salmon in the fridge.” She said as she reached the stairs.

“Alright.” Storm said as he walked into the kitchen.

Cloudchaser ran down the stairs when dinner was called, still feeling refreshed from the bath she took ten minutes ago. When she was three-fourths of the way down, she launched up into the air and flew the rest of the way into the dining room. She saw that there were four seats set with three of them having a bowl of fruit salad and a variety of drinks. She noticed that one of bowls was noticeably smaller than the others and had a cup of milk beside it, so she assumed that that was where she was sitting.

As she was taking her seat, Blue Typhoon walks in, leading Sky to the seat next to Cloudchaser. “There you are, Cloudchaser. We’ll start eating once daddy gets Sky’s dinner together.” She said as she helps Sky take his seat.

“Okay, mommy.” She said politely, but then started to keep a cautious eye on Sky. It was at that moment that Storm came in with a bowl and plate balanced on his back. He placed both in front of Sky. The bowl had the same fruit salad the rest of the family was having. The plate, however, held something that caused Cloudchaser to flinch in disgust. Meat.

The salmon that Storm had grilled was cut into smaller pieces so that it would be easier for Sky to eat. “Alright, everypony,” Storm began to say as he took his seat, “let’s eat!” Everyone began to focus eating their meals, except for Cloudchaser. She was focused on Sky’s meal, just staring at it with disgust. Blue looked up from her meal for a few moments to see that Cloudchaser wasn’t eating and that Sky was struggling with putting a piece of salmon into his mouth.

She swallowed her food before saying, “Cloudchaser, eat your dinner. Sky hold on for just a moment.” She flew up from her seat and got behind Sky. “Remember what we taught you, sweetie.” She sweetly said as she gently took a hold of Sky’s wrist. Just bring your silverware to your mouth and say, ‘ahh.’”

“Ahh.” Sky enthusiastically said as he brought the food to his mouth with Blue’s assistance and ate it.

Right as he was about to eat another piece of fish, Cloudchaser suddenly yelled out, “Stop!” Which caught everyone’s attention.

“Cloudchaser, what’s wrong?” Blue asked.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?!” She responded, feeling bewildered. “That’s what’s wrong!” She exclaimed, pointing at Sky’s fish. “You’ve been giving him animals to eat and your okay with it! You’ve been killing and cutting animals just to keep this…this…monster alive!” She then looked down at the plate again and came up with an idea. She flew up from her seat and picked up the plate. Then, with as much force as she could muster, she threw the plate against the floor, causing the plate to shatter and the food to scatter. She smiled proudly when she heard Sky cry, but that smile soon faded when she turned to face her parents only to find Blue staring at her with a shocked looked while Storm began to look at her angrily.

Storm got up from his seat as he roughly pulled Cloudchaser by the tail. “What is wrong with you!” He yelled angrily at her when she was on the ground.

“I…I…I…I was…” Cloudchaser tried to fearfully explain.

Storm continued to sternly glare at his daughter for a few moments before he said, “We’ll talk about this later. For now, you can go up to your room and think about what you did.” He then got up and walked to the laundry room to get a broom and dust pan.

Cloudchaser just watches her dad walk away, feeling distraught. She then looked over to her mother, who was busy trying to get Sky to stop crying. As tears welled up in her eyes, she came to one conclusion. They love him more than me. She then turned around and flew out of the room.

Blue looked up for a moment to see Cloudchaser’s tail move around the corner, but didn’t see her go up the stairs. Right before she could ask her where she was going, she suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of the front door opening. Her eyes widened in fear as she rushed out of the dining room and towards the front entrance. She stopped when she saw that the door was wide opened. “Oh no.” She muttered before yelling out. “Storm, Cloudchaser just ran out the front door!”

“What?!” Storm yelled as he ran over to Blue Typhoon. When he saw that the front doorway, her turned to her and said, “Stay here, I’m going to go get her.” He flew out the door before Blue could respond and began to search around for Cloudchaser. It took him a few seconds before he saw the silhouette of his daughter flying a few feet above the ground. He began to chase after her as he yelled out, “Cloudchaser, get back here!”

Cloudchaser looked behind her and yelled out, “Leave me alone! You don’t love me anymore!”

Storm flinched back, causing him to slow down a bit, before he responded, “What are you talking about? Your mother and I still love you. Now, get back here!”

“I said, leave me alone!” Cloudchaser yelled back.

“Honey, what’s gotten into-” Storm began to yell out before he saw something up ahead. It was a tree that Cloudchaser was rapidly approaching, but she still hadn’t turn her head to see where she was going. “Cloudchaser, look out!” He yelled out, trying to alert her towards the danger.

Before she could react, Cloudchaser slammed her shoulder into the tree and began to plummet to the ground. When she hit the ground, she suddenly began to feel an incredible amount of pain in her shoulder. She tried gripping her shoulder to alleviate the pain, but to no avail. Soon, she began to cry loudly as tears streamed down her eyes.

Storm Chaser lands next to her with a worried expression on his face as he said, “Calm down, Cloudchaser. Calm down. Where are you hurt?”

Cloudchaser was unable to form any words as she continued to cry in pain. The only hint that Storm had about her condition was how she was holding on to her shoulder. He carefully picked her up, being mindful of her shoulder and giving her reassuring shushes to try to calm her down. “Don’t worry.” He calmly reassured as he began to fly up in the air, “I’ll get you to the hospital and they’ll be able to patch you up.” He then flew off towards the hospital as quickly, as he could.

Along the way, he saw that Blue Typhoon was standing at the entryway looking around for them and flew down to her. When she first saw them, she walked up feeling relieved at first, but then started feeling worried when she saw how Storm was carrying Cloudchaser. “Storm, what happened?”

“Cloudchaser injured her shoulder. I need to get her to the hospital.” Storm quickly explained.

“Oh my Celestia.” Blue Typhoon gasped out. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet you there after I pick up Sky.”

“I’ll see you there.” Storm said before he flew off.

Blue Typhoon quickly ran back into the house and went up to Sky, who was still in his chair. “Come on, sweetie. We need to go to the hospital.”

“A hos...pi...tail.” Sky tried to sound out. “What that?”

“Well, it’s a place that ponies go to when they’re hurt.” Blue sweetly lectured. “We’re going there because Cloudchaser hurt herself.”

“She going to be okay?” Sky asked.

“I’m sure that she’ll be fine.” Blue replied. “We just need to let the doctors treat her. Now, let’s get you out of that chair.” As she got him on the ground, she thought to herself, Maybe I should bring a toy or two with me to keep him entertained. “You wait right here sweetie, I’m going to go get something for you.”

“Okay mommy.” Sky replied.

She gave him a quick smile before flying upstairs and into Sky’s room. Now let’s see. What’s a fairly easy toy for me to carry to the hospital. She thought to herself before her eyes landed on a specific toy. Laying on Sky’s bed was the stuffed bunny that he had when he arrived in Equestria, which he had started to call Mr. Bunny. Ah, perfect. She thought as she picked it up and flew downstairs. When she reached Sky, she pulled out Mr. Bunny and said, “Hey Sky, look who’s coming to the hospital.”

“Yay, Mr. Bunny!” Sky exclaimed as he grabbed it and started to hug it.

Blue giggled before she used a wing to grab one of his hands. “Come on sweetie, let’s get going.” She said as she began to lead Sky out of the house and to the hospital.

The hospital waiting room was eerily silent for Storm Chaser and his family. Once Storm had brought Cloudchaser to the hospital, the doctors told Storm that they would start treating her immediately, rushing her to an emergency room. About twenty minutes later Blue and Sky arrived, with Blue immediately asking Storm about Cloudchaser. Once Storm was done explaining what had happened, the two of them sat down waiting for the doctors to finish treating Cloudchaser. Sky, meanwhile, was keeping himself occupied by playing with his stuffed bunny.

After waiting for what felt like hours, a doctor walked into the waiting room and looked around before seeing Storm and Blue. He walked up to them and asked, “Excuse me, Mr. Chaser, we’ve finished treating your daughter.”

Blue Typhoon shot up immediately as she worriedly asked, “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’s going to be fine.” The doctor reassured. “She only had a dislocated shoulder. We’ve put the bone back into place and the swelling has begun to go down. If it’s okay with you, we would like to watch over her for the night and monitor her condition until morning. If she’s doing well, then she can go home tomorrow, but she’ll still need to stay off her leg for the next couple of weeks.”

Blue looked at Storm to see what he thought about the doctor’s response. When he nodded his head, she turned to the doctor and said, “Okay, we’ll be fine with her staying here for the night. Is it alright if I go see her?”

“Of course, ma’am, she’s in room thirty-three. You all have a good night.” The doctor said before walking away.

Blue turned to Storm and said, “You mind waiting out here with Sky? I think it would be best that he’s not around when I go speak with Cloudchaser.”

“Sure, I’ll keep an eye on him.” Storm replied.

“Thanks.” She said before she began to walk towards Cloudchaser’s room.

It was at that moment that Storm felt something tugging on his foreleg. He looked down to see Sky looking up at him with a worried look on his face. “Daddy, is Cloudchaser okay?” Sky asked.

“She’s going to be fine, son. She just needs to rest for a while.” Storm reassured with a small smile.

“will she be coming home then?” Sky asked hopefully.

“She’ll be able to come home tomorrow morning, but she’s going to stay here for the night.”

“Oh.” Sky sadly said before turning his head towards the direction Blue walked off to. After a few moments, he turned back to Storm before shyly saying, “Um, daddy, can I ask you something?”

“Let’s see here,” Blue wondered out loud as she walked through the building before finally spotting her target. “Ah, here it is, room thirty-three.” She then opened the door and peered inside.

Laying on the hospital bed with a dejected look on her face was Cloudchaser. Her right foreleg was in a sling to prevent her from moving around too much. She looked to see who walked in, but looked away when she saw that it was her mother. Blue walked over to one of the chairs and pulled in closer to the bed before sitting on it.

“Hey, sweetie, how are you doing?” Blue asked calmly.

“…Just fine.” Cloudchaser slowly answered, still not looking at her.

“That’s good, does it still hurt?”

“Just a little bit.”

“I’m sure it does.” Blue said, giving her a little nuzzle on the top of her head. “Now, do you mind telling me what happened during dinner?” Cloudchaser just continued to stare down at her bed as her ears folded down. “Cloudchaser,” Blue said more sternly, “Look at me.” Cloudchaser reluctantly looked up at her mother and made eye contact with her. “Why did you act up during dinner?”

Cloudchaser looked up at her mother, trying to think of a way to word her answer. After a few moments, she began to softly, but shockingly answer, “I just…I just…I just couldn’t take it anymore!”

“Couldn’t take what anymore?”

“J-just having Sky around.” Cloudchaser admitted.

Blue was surprised by this answer. She had a feeling that Sky was the reason behind her actions, but just having Sky around was enough to set her off. “What are you talking about? Sky hasn’t done anything to you.” Blue replied.

“But he eats animals, mommy!” Cloudchaser yelled out, causing Blue to flinch back. “He eats animals that you have to cut up. I-I don’t want him to eat me someday. What if he turns out to be a monster when he gets older?”

“…Honey, you still remember that time you saw that mantis eat a butterfly in our backyard, don’t you?” Blue asked, causing Cloudchaser to reluctantly nod. Blue let out a sigh before she began to say, “I was afraid you’d say that. You were just so young back then that I didn’t know how to explain it to you. I had hoped that you would forget about it and learn about it when you go to school.”

“Learn about what, mommy?”

“Well, you see,” Blue began to explain, “you know how we eat plants, right?” Cloudchaser nodded. “And you know that there are other animals that eat plants too, right?” Cloudchaser nodded again. “Well, what do you think would happen to all of the plants if there was nothing but animals that ate plants?”

“Um…they would be eaten.” Cloudchaser answered.

“Right, so to make sure that not all of the plants are eaten, there are animals that need to eat other animals. That way there aren’t so many plant eating animals running around eating all of the plants. Does that make sense to you?”

Cloudchaser sat in silence for a few moments before replying, “So, animal eating animals are around…because they have to be around.”

“Yes.” Blue replied.

“B-but why do have to be so scary?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Oh honey, they’re not all that scary.” Blue replied.

“What do you mean?”

Blue thought for a moment before asking, “Well you remember Berry’s dog Bruiser, right?”

“Of course, I do!” Cloudchaser happily answered.

“Okay, so tell me. What does the dog eat?”

“Dog food.” Cloudchaser immediately answered. “I’ve seen Berry’s mom feed him all the time.”

“Well that is true, he does eat dog food,” Blue replied, “But he also eats animals too.”

“…What?” A confused Cloudchaser replied.

“Yep, dogs eat meat. Even Bruiser chews on bones from time to time and he’s over twice your size. Has he ever tried to eat you once?” Blue asked.

“…No.” Cloudchaser replied.

“That’s what I thought. And you know that cat who lives at the house across the street you like.” Cloudchaser nodded. “Well a week ago, her owner complained to me about her bringing him a dead bird.”

“But why would she do that?”

“Well, cats actually eat meat too.” Blue explained. “But at that instant, gave her owner the bird as a way of saying that she loves him, thinking that he would eat the bird.” She chuckled a little bit before continuing. “Now Cloudchaser, has Sky ever done anything to cause you harm?”

“N-no.” Cloudchaser admitted.

“And do you still think that he might do anything to hurt you?” Blue asked.

“…Maybe…I don’t know.” Cloudchaser hesitantly answered, not feeling sure of herself.

Blue looked at her daughter for a few moments before softly saying, “You know, you were one of the reasons we decided to adopt Sky.”

Cloudchaser looked up at her mother with a surprised look before asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well the night Sky showed up, while your father and I were deciding what we were going to do with Sky the next day, you managed to sneak into his crib and cuddled up with him before the two of you went to sleep. Oh, it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.”

“I…I did that?” Cloudchaser softly asked.

“Yes, you did. And you should have seen the look on your face when we told you that Sky was going to be your younger brother. You were just so excited.” Blue happily said.

“And you did that…because you thought I would have wanted him as a younger brother.” Cloudchaser sadly said.

“That’s right, sweetie.” Blue said. “I know the idea of him eating meat isn’t exactly the most comforting thing in the world. To be honest with you, I was concerned when I was told that Sky would need to eat meat. Not only because I was afraid about how our friends and neighbors would react, but I was also concerned about how well I would be able to take care of him properly. And sure, I’m grossed out by some of the things I have to cook for him, but if it helps keep him healthy, then it’s a small sacrifice that I have to make.”

Cloudchaser started to think about what her mother just told her. And the more she thought, the more tears started to stream down her face. Is mommy right? Was I happy when she said that Sky was going to be my baby brother. But then I started being mean to him when they said he needed to eat animals... Maybe he isn’t a monster. He didn’t deserve that. He never was a monster. This entire time…I was the monster. That was when Cloudchaser began to weep.

Blue pulled her wings and forelegs out to give Cloudchaser a comforting hug. Cloudchaser hugged her back and began to cry in Blue’s shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes before they both heard a knock on the door. “Let me go see who that is.” Blue said as she got up and walked to the door. She opened it to find Storm Chaser and Sky Chaser on the other side.

“Hey, are you done talking with Cloudchaser?” Storm asked.

“I’m pretty sure I am. Why do you ask?” She replied.

“Well, Sky wanted to go in to see Cloudchaser.” Storm explained. “I told him to wait until you were done, but he was pretty insistent on seeing her.”

Blue looked down at Sky, who was looking at her with a shy look while hugging his stuffed bunny. She looked back at Cloudchaser and thought, Well, so long as she’s okay with him coming in, then I don’t see anything wrong. She then turned back to Sky and said, “Alright, you can come in, but if she wants you to leave, then you have to do as she says. Do you understand?”

“Yes mommy.” He answered.

“Alright, come on in.” Blue said as she moved aside to let him in.

Sky walked in to the hospital room and his eyes immediately landed on Cloudchaser. He felt heartbroken to see her injured like this. Cloudchaser on the other hand, was scared about the prospect of speaking with Sky at the moment. Not because she thought he was going to hurt her, but because she didn’t know what to say to him. Regardless, she knew that she needed to apologize to him for everything she’s done.

Sky walked up to the chair that Blue pulled up and climbed up on it so that he was eye level with her. Once he was on the chair, he asked, “you okay, Cloudchaser?”

“Uh, yeah…I’m okay now.” Cloudchaser replied shakingly.

“That’s good.” Sky said as he looked down at his bunny. After a few seconds, he said, “…daddy said you’d be staying here for the night and you don’t have any of your toys with you. So, I want you to hold on to Mr. Bunny tonight to keep you company.” He said, presenting the bunny to her.

Cloudchaser just stared at him in shock. Mr. Bunny, his stuffed bunny, was his favorite toy. One of the only things that came from his original home. The only toy that could always get him to stop crying. The only toy that Sky ever tried to stop Cloudchaser from taking. This toy pretty much meant the world to Sky. And here he was, just handing it to her in hopes that it will help her feel better. She shakingly reached for the toy and just stared at it. After what felt like hours, she suddenly threw her good foreleg around Sky, Mr. Bunny still in her hoof, as she started to cry on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry!” Cloudchaser cried out. “I’m so sorry! C-can we be brother and sister again?”

Sky, at first surprised by Cloudchaser’s sudden hug, was confused by her question as he sadly replied, “B-but I thought we were brother and sister.”

Cloudchaser cried even harder as she tightened her hug slightly. Sky, not knowing what to say, just returned the hug lightly, being mindful of her injured leg, and just let her cry on his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Storm Chaser, who had watched the entire exchange along with Blue, turned to her and asked, “Do you think those two are going to be okay?”

Blue just look at him with a small smile as she replied, “I think that they’re going to be just fine.”

Chapter 7

There were several things Blue Typhoon wanted to do this afternoon. Get some shopping done. Do a bit of gardening. Maybe even finish that novel she was reading. What she didn’t want to do was go to the schoolhouse to talk to the teacher about Cloudchaser’s behavior…again.

A small part of Blue was wishing that it was because Cloudchaser was simply misbehaving at school, but larger part of her knew that that wasn’t the case. Cloudchaser was by no means a bad filly at school. She listened to the teacher, she did her school work, and usually got along with most of the other foals. But, every now and then, she would get into fights with one filly in particular. Usually when said filly mocked Sky Chaser around her. She probably wouldn’t be thinking that this wasn’t the case this time, if Blue hadn’t already been called to the school six times for that reason. The only difference this time was that Blue didn’t come alone.

Because Storm Chaser was still at work, Blue was forced to bring Sky Chaser with her as she held his hand with her wing. Most ponies that didn’t know who Sky was would have found the sight odd, since he was nearly as tall as she was. Then again, those ponies also wouldn’t have known that Sky was only five years old. He was wearing a red shirt and brown shorts while he had a pair of shoes that his parents managed to get a cobbler to make. In his free hand, he held a coloring book and a box of crayons that Blue told him to carry with him. He had a worried look on his face as he looked up at his mother’s frustrated look.

Once they reached the schoolhouse, Blue turned to Sky and said, “Now, I need to talk to somepony about something important. Why don’t you sit down at one of the desks and play around with your book?” She asked with a smile, pointing a hoof to the coloring book.

“Okay, mommy.” Sky replied with a nod.

Blue nodded at him before saying, “Good colt. Now, come on.” She opened the door and held it for Sky. When she entered she saw four ponies sitting around the teacher’s desk. One of them was Cloudchaser, who was looking back at Blue with a nervous look and her right eye sporting a very visible black eye. The other filly, who was sitting a good distance away from Cloudchaser, was the filly Blue recognized as Spoiled Milk, the one Cloudchaser usually had problems with. The fur on her snout was a bit matted, which Blue guessed was because the teacher had to wash it after Spoiled Milk’s nose stopped bleeding. Sitting next to her was a maroon earth pony mare with a bright red mane and tail. She had a set of black pearls around her neck that looked similar to her cutie mark. This mare Blue recognized as Spoiled Milk’s mother, Soy Milk, who’s oranges eyes were glaring straight at Blue. Sitting behind the desk was the spectacled white mare Blue knew as the teacher, Mrs. Whiteboard, her black mane and tail both done up in a bun and her cutie mark depicting a whiteboard..

“Ah, Blue Typhoon.” Mrs. Whiteboard politely greeted. “I see you finally made it. Please, have a seat.” She said, gesturing a hoof towards the empty seat to Cloudchaser’s left.

“Of course, Mrs. Whiteboard.” Blue relied as she led Sky Chaser to an empty desk. When Sky Chaser was seated, she took the seat that Mrs. Whiteboard pointed to. “So, what did my daughter do this time?” She said in a frustrated tone as she looked over at Cloudchaser, who was trying her best to avoid making eye contact with her.

“Well,” Mrs. Whiteboard began as she adjusted her glasses, “your daughter got into another fight with Spoiled Milk.”

“Why am I not surprised.” Blue muttered in annoyance and frustration.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re not. However, you’ll probably be slightly happy over the fact that Cloudchaser wasn’t the one who threw the first punch.” She added as her gaze shifted to Spoiled Milk.

“I beg your pardon!” A flabbergasted Soy Milk interrupted. “But are you suggesting that my daughter started the fight?!”

“Actually, I am, since I saw the whole thing.” Mrs. Whiteboard stated matter-of-factly. “Your daughter was the one who instigated the fight when she walked up to Cloudchaser and started saying some things to her. I couldn’t hear what she was saying to her, but some of the other foals later told me that she was insulting somepony named Sky Chaser.” She said as her eyes glanced over to Sky.

I should have known. Blue thought before asking, “And then what happened?”

“Well, by the looks of things, Cloudchaser shared some insults back. And right as I was about to step in, Spoiled Milk struck Cloudchaser. Cloudchaser, of course, struck back and a fight broke out between the two. I literally had the pull the two of them apart to get the two of them to stop fighting.” She said in a slightly raised voice as she glared at both fillies. She then turned to Blue before saying, “Mrs. Typhoon, I called you in here to tell you what happened with Cloudchaser and that, because she got into a fight in school, I will be implementing some disciplinary action, including holding her after school for detention.”

“Yes, of course. I understand.” Blue replied with a nod.

“Alright then. You’re free to go, Mrs. Typhoon.” Mrs. Whiteboard said with a polite smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Whiteboard.” Blue said as she got up. “Cloudchaser. Sky Chaser. We’re leaving.” Blue said as she went over to Sky to help him put away his belongings.

“Now wait just a moment!” Soy Milk yelled out, causing Blue and her kids to pause. “You can’t just let that…that…thug just walk out like that! Just look at my daughter!” She exclaimed pointing a hoof at Spoiled Milk. “You told me that she had a bloody snout! Are you telling me that you’re allowing the filly who did this to just walk away?!”

Mrs. Whiteboard’s smile fell to a hard glare as she turned towards Soy Milk. “As a matter of fact, I am, because there’s several things that you apparently don’t understand. Cloudchaser will be punished, but only to the extent of fighting in school. Your daughter, on the other hoof, clearly needs discipline both at home and at school, because this isn’t the first time I’ve had an issue with your daughter and it’s clear by your reaction that you think it’s anypony’s fault but hers. And while I’ve had issues with Cloudchaser before, I know through previous conversations I’ve had with Mrs. Typhoon that she has disciplined her daughter for her actions. Even then, the only thing Cloudchaser’s guilty of is fighting back against somepony” She then stared Soy Milk right in the eye as she said, “Meanwhile, your daughter is guilty of doing each of the following. One, approaching somepony with malicious intent. Two, instigated a confrontation by trying to get under Cloudchaser’s skin. And three, throwing the first punch that started the fight. Oh, by the way, should I mention that your daughter’s three years older than Cloudchaser.” She then noticed that Blue was still standing there with her kids right beside her. “Go on, Mrs. Typhoon. You’re free to go.” She said giving her a smile that made Blue feel uneasy.

“Um, right. Come on, kids.” She said as she used both wings to lead her kids out of the schoolhouse. Once outside, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Right as she was about to start walking, she heard her daughter nervously say, “Mommy?”

“What is it, sweetie?” Blue asked as she turned to face her daughter.

“Am I in trouble?” Cloudchaser asked as she looked up at her mother nervously.

Blue stared at her in thought for a few seconds before responding, “Well, I think that the punishment your teacher is giving you at school should be enough this time.” She began to say, causing Cloudchaser to perk up a little. “But, you will be punished the next time you get into another fight at school.”

“But she started it!” Cloudchaser argued as she pointed a hoof at the schoolhouse.

“I don’t care who started it! I told you the last time that you should know better than to get into fights at school, but then you got into another fight for the same reason!” Blue yelled back, causing Cloudchaser to flinch. She then took a deep breath before saying, “Look, I know you’re protective over Sky and I’m glad you are, but fighting everypony that says mean things isn’t the way to go about it. Ponies who do that are trying to get you to do something stupid. Do you understand?” Blue asked as she sternly stared her daughter in the eye.

“…Yes, mommy.” Cloudchaser eventually answered.

“Good, now come on. We’re going home.” Blue gently said as she started to lead the way.

Cloudchaser hung her head down in shame. She was about to follow her mother home only to stop when Sky suddenly ran up to her and hugger her. “Please don’t fight, Cloudchaser! I hate seeing you get hurt!” He pleaded as he tightened his hug. Cloudchaser’s eyes began to tear up as she gave him a small smile and returned the hug. Blue couldn’t help but smile as well as she watched her children hug each other.

“Oh, how sweet. The thug and the ape embracing each other. How fitting.” A posh and arrogant voice suddenly said from the schoolhouse’s entry way.

Blue frowned as she turned to find Soy Milk and Spoiled Milk walking out of the schoolhouse. “I’m expecting an apology.” She said in a low voice.

“Or you’ll what? Punch me?” Soy Milk mockingly asked. Blue just stood there glaring daggers at her. “Hmph, well if she doesn’t get it from you, then I’d hate to see what your husband’s like.” She said with a smug smile.

It took every ounce of willpower that Blue had to not beat the mare down where she stood. Now Blue, remember that lecture you just had with Cloudchaser. She thought to herself. The last thing these kids need to see is to watch me murder a mare…no matter how tempting it is.

“Now if you don’t mind,” Soy Milk suddenly said, “I need to get my daughter home so that I’m not late for my hair appointment. I have to get my perm done.” She hauntingly stated as she walked off with her daughter in tow.

Blue just stood there with a blank expression for a moment. Then, a devious smile began to slowly form as a wicked wicked plan came into mind. A non-violent plan, but still wicked. One that her kids really shouldn’t watch her follow through. Thankfully, she had a friend who’s stand wasn’t close to the hair salon. “Hey kids, why don’t we make a stop on the way home. I have to do something today.” She said, her smile never wavering.

Business was running steadily for Dry Sherry that afternoon. A few ponies came by her stall for an expensive drink to celebrate something while others came by to get something cheap to get drunk on. It wasn’t exactly the bar she wanted, but that was still in the works for her. “Hey, Dry Sherry!” She suddenly heard a mare’s voice call out.

She turned towards the source of the voice and smiled when she saw who it was. “Hey Blue. How’s it going?” She greeted cheerfully.

“Oh, pretty well I guess.” Blue said nonchalantly. “Hey, do you mind watching the kids for a moment?” She asked with a hopeful smile.

Dry Sherry raised an eyebrow as she looked over at the two kids and noticed Cloudchaser’s black eye. “Let me guess, Cloudchaser got into another fight with Spoiled Milk again?” She quietly asked with a dry look.

“Of course, she did. Although, she wasn’t the one who started the fight this time.” Blue said dryly in an equally quiet tone.

“That’s good, I guess. But did Soy believe that?” Dry Sherry asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Of course she didn’t. She even went as far as to insult my family as she left the school.” Blue informed in an annoyed tone.

“Damn. So, what you’re saying is that you want me to watch your kids while you go out to get revenge?” She asked with an amused smile.

“Yep, that bitch made the mistake of telling me that she was getting a perm done before she left. So, I’m going to go find a cloud and dump rain water on her once she leaves the hair salon.” She said with a proud smile.

Dry Sherry scoffed at her answer. “cone on, Blue. You’re better than that.” She then pulled out a permanent marker and a full bottle of beer from behind her stall. She then wrote something on the bottle’s label. “Use this instead.” She said as she handed the bottle to Blue.

“How much do I owe you.” Blue asked as she took the bottle.

“Considering some of the things that mare’s said to me, consider it-”

“On the house?” Blue interrupted in order to finish Dry Sherry’s sentence.

“A donation.” Dry Sherry said with a sly smile.

“…Dry, I could kiss you right now.” Blue happily replied.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not into mares.” Dry said with a chuckle.

“Neither am I.” Blue said with a grin.

“Hmm.” Dry hummed with an amused smile.

Blue turned to her kids and said, “Now, mommy needs to do something really quickly. You two stay with Mrs. Sherry and do everything she says. Okay?”

“Yes mommy.” The two equally confused children answered.

“Alright, be good you two. I’ll be right back.” She said, giving the both of them a kiss on the forehead before flying off towards the hair salon.

As they watched Blue go off, Sky walked up to Dry Sherry and said, “Mrs. Sherry. What is mommy doing?”

“Well…” Dry Sherry dragged out, thinking of a creative answer. “Your mother has some dirt that she needs to wash off and make sure somepony gets a very important message.” She explained.

“Really, because it sounded like you and mommy were talking about something else?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Hey, I have an idea!” Dry Sherry quickly exclaimed. “Why don’t the two of you work on that coloring book of yours instead of worrying about what your mother’s doing, okay?” She said in a tone that made it sound more like a request.

Cloudchaser and Sky looked at each other at each other with a raised eyebrow. Both of them wanted to get Dry Sherry to explain what Blue was up to, but neither of them knew how to go about it. So, the two of them decided that it was best to do what they were told and began to work on the coloring book together.

“There you are Mrs. Milk. How does it look.” The hair stylist said as she turned the chair so that Soy Milk could see her new perm.

Soy Milk took some time to inspect her hair before saying, “It looks adequate enough, so I guess it’ll do.”

“Very well, ma’am.” The hair stylist said as she let Soy Milk out of the chair and led her to the front counter. “That’ll be sixty-three bits.” She informed with a smile.

After Soy Milk payed the hair stylist, she exited the hair salon and said, “Now that that’s out of the way,” She began to say to herself. “It’s time for me to-” But she was interrupted when she started to feel a stream of liquid pour on her head. She immediately started to panic when she recognized the scent of beer. Once the liquid stopped pouring, she tried to look around for the pony responsible only to jump when she heard a bottle fall nearby. She turned to find the bottle over to her right with something scribbled on the label. She then grabbed the bottle and read what was on the label.

That’s for insulting another mare’s family, you arrogant bitch.

-Dry Sherry

P.S. You and your husband are banned from my stand.

Soy Milk began to fume, and she looked furiously at the sky for any sign of Blue Typhoon, knowing full well that she was the one who poured beer on her mane. When she couldn’t find her, all she could do was scream in rage.

All the while, she didn’t know that Blue was hiding behind a nearby rooftop just chuckling at Soy’s misfortune. Oh, that was satisfying. She thought to herself as she flew off the roof and back towards Dry Sherry’s stand. Now to bring the kids home and start getting dinner together. Hopefully Storm’s home in time for dinner.

Storm wasn’t home for dinner, which meant that he had to work overtime tonight. It also meant that Blue had to cook dinner, clean the kitchen, and get the kids ready for bed all by herself. Needless to say, the first thing she did once the kids were asleep was just flop down on the bed and message her temples in order to alleviate the stress.

Suddenly, she heard the front door open and slam shut. Storm’s finally home. She thought to herself as she leaned up to watch the door. A few seconds later, Storm came inside and closed the door behind him. He looked exhausted and frustrated. “Hey honey. Rough day at work?” Blue tiredly greeted.

“You have no idea.” Storm tiredly replied. “You know how we have a rainstorm scheduled for tomorrow evening?” Blue nodded. “Well, the idiots at distribution managed to confuse rain clouds with hail clouds.” Blue facehoofed immediately after hearing that. “So, I ended up having to stay late to make sure the hail clouds got returned and that we got the right clouds in.”

“Oh, Celestia, why did they even have hail clouds in the first place?!” Blue exclaimed.

“I don’t know.” Storm tiredly replied as he got on the bed with her. “So, what happened with you?”

“Well, Cloudchaser got into another fight at school today, so I had to deal with that.” Blue began to explain.

“Let me guess, Spoiled Milk again?”

“Yep. Although, if it makes you feel better, Cloudchaser didn’t throw the first punch.” She said dryly.

“Eh, I guess it does.” Storm answered tiredly. “What happened after that.”

“Well, I ruined Soy Milk’s perm.” Blue said proudly.

“…Why?” Storm asked worryingly.

“Because she insulted my children and insinuated that you’re violent!” Blue exclaimed.

“Oh…did you use rainwater?” He asked.

“Even better. Dry gave some beer. You should have seen how furious Soy was when she couldn’t find me.” Blue cheerfully explained as she began to giggle.

Storm have out a hearty laugh. “Oh, I needed to hear something like that today. What happened after that?” He asked after he calmed down.

“Oh, you know. Trying to run a house with two kids while preparing dinner…by myself.” She explained.

“Oh.” He simply replied as his smile shifted to a frown. “I’m sorry I didn’t get home earlier to help you.”

“Honey, I’d rather do that than get hailed on tomorrow.” Blue jokingly replied, causing both of them to chuckle. They just laid there in silence for there in silence for a moment before Blue suddenly asked. “Hey, remember the night Sky Chaser arrived.”

“How could I not. It’s pretty hard to forget about a time that a foal suddenly appears in your backyard.” He replied.

“Hmm, true.” She said as she slowly rolled on top of him. “But I was referring to what we were originally going to do that night.” She said seductively.

It didn’t take long for Storm to realize what she was referring to. “You sure you want to do that tonight?” He asked with a smirk.

“Hey, you’ve had a bad day. I’ve had a bad day. We might as well end it on a good note.” She said before leaning down to his ear and whispered. “Besides, I think that night is long overdue.”

“Well, in that case.” He said as he suddenly flipped Blue over on her back and loomed over her. “Let’s end this bad day properly.” He said before giving Blue a passionate kiss.

Cloudchaser was in the process of dozing off to sleep. Key word, was. She probably would have fallen asleep had she not have heard a faint noise coming from downstairs. She thought nothing of it at first, but then the noises got louder. And the more she heard, the more she recognized the noises as moaning. Then she realized who the moaning sounded like. Is that…mommy. She thought.

“Yes…yes…come on…come on!” She heard her mother yell out.

What are mommy and daddy doing? Cloudchaser asked herself. She was about to head downstairs when she suddenly heard Blue yell out something.

“Come on…buck me…buck me!”

B-buck. Cloudchaser thought. Her mind immediately thinking back to Mrs. Whiteboard’s lesson about the Apple Family farm and their farming practices. Particularly, the parts about them bucking apples from the trees. Mommy wants daddy to kick her?! But...why?!

Suddenly, she heard her door open and close. She turned to find Sky rushing up to her bed. “Cloudchaser, are mommy and daddy fighting?” A frightened Sky asked.

“I-I don’t know.” Cloudchaser fearfully replied, flinching when she heard loud screaming coming from downstairs.

“Cloudchaser, I’m scared. Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” Sky pleadingly asked.

Cloudchaser nodded as she moved over and lifted the covers up. Sky quickly got in the bed and held his older sister as they waited for the “fight” to end. “Harder…harder!” They heard Blue yell out. They held each other tighter when they heard a particularly loud scream from their mother. And then…silence. Neither of them dared move to see what happened, opting to lay in bed huddled together and try to fall asleep.

The next morning, Blue took a seat at the kitchen table and accepted a glass of orange juice from her husband. She would have helped him make breakfast, but, unsurprisingly, she found standing for long periods of time difficult. Suddenly, both Cloudchaser and Sky came in the kitchen with nervous looks on their faces. Those looks turned to surprised looks when they found that their mother didn’t have a single injury on her.

“Hey kids, what’s wrong?” Blue asked when she noticed them.

The two of them shuffled in place nervously before Cloudchaser shakingly asked, “Mommy…um…were you and daddy fighting last night?”

Blue stared blankly at them while Storm immediately stopped what he was doing as soon as the question was asked. “N-no…why do you ask?” Blue eventually said.

“B-because we heard you last night.” Sky admitted.

Every gear in both Blue’s and Storm’s heads just stopped. Neither of them knew how to respond to this and having “the talk” with children that aren’t even close to being teenagers was out of the question. “Um…well, you see.” Blue began to nervously explain. “We weren’t fighting. We were…um…”

“Practicing for a play.” Storm suddenly chimed in.

“Yes, that’s it!” Practicing for a play.” Blue immediately agreed, deciding to just run with it.

“Really?” Cloudchaser asked in confusion. “What play?”

“Oh, just some…adult play.” Blue dismissively replied, thankful that they weren’t catching on to her nervous expression. “Nothing that you interest the two of you.”

“Yeah, beside I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be in it.” Storm added in.

“Then why did you practice last night.” Cloudchaser asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, well…it was because of a…dare.” Blue shakingly explained.

“You mean like truth or dare?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Yes, like truth or dare.” Blue said a little too quickly.

“Who dare you?”

“Um…Dry Sherry.” Blue replied, saying the first name that came to mind.

“Oh, is that you and Mrs. Sherry were talking about.” Sky asked.

“Yes, that’s right. And I told daddy about it when he came home last night.” Blue explained, thankful with how things played out. “Now why don’t you to get washed up and don’t worry, your father and I are fine.”

“Okay, mommy!” Both Cloudchaser and Sky exclaimed before running up to the bathroom.

As soon as they were gone, Storm immediately turned to Blue and said, “I thought you put them to bed last night.”

“I did! We must have woken them up last night.” Blue replied frantically. She took a few gulps of her orange juice before saying, “Well, at least we were able to convince them that we were up to something else.”

“True, although we’re probably going to have to get them to sleep at somepony else’s house if we ever want to have sex again.” Storm jokingly said.

“Or at least tape our mouths shut.” Blue said with a chuckle as she took another sip from her juice. At that moment, however, her eyes widened when what she told her children finally caused her to realize something. “Oh no.” She shakingly said when she put the glass down.

“What is it?” Storm asked in concern.

“We just covered the fact that we had sex last night by telling our foals that we were dared to practice for a play…by Dry Sherry.” Blue explained.

“…She’ll never let us live this down, will she?” He asked.

“Nope.”

Chapter 8

There are several situations in a child’s life that can cause them to feel unsure. Cloudchaser and Sky Chaser currently found themselves in one of those situations as they were stuck in the hospital’s playroom with a nurse watching over them. The nurse tried everything she could to get the children’s attention, from showing them different toys to reading them a story, but they couldn’t have cared less. They were too busy worrying about their mother.

The last time they saw her, she was screaming bloody murder as the doctors carted her away with their father following close behind them. This, combined with them recently knowing the truth about the large bulge that developed on their mother’s stomach, caused them to feel concerned about their mother’s wellbeing. They tried asking the nurse if they could see their mother, she would always say that they couldn’t, but tried to reassure them by saying that she was going to be fine. Her reassurance fell on deaf ears, since they would rather see their mother than believe the words of a stranger. What they didn’t know was that what their mother was going through was an event that started nine months ago.

It was an early Friday morning, about two weeks after Storm and Blue “practiced their play.” Storm was preparing breakfast for the kids, who were waiting patiently at the table. It was a relatively peaceful morning. That was, until Blue Typhoon came bouncing in the room with a pregnancy tester in her hoof.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She excitingly chanted with each bounce.

“Blue, what is it?” Storm asked with a raised eyebrow. Blue practically shoved the tester in his face, causing him to almost fall backwards. Once he regained his balance, his eyes widened when he saw the tester, which showed a red positive sign. “Blue, are you…” He began to ask before the rest of his sentence trailed off.

“Uh huh.” Blue replied with a nod.

A smile grew on Storm’s face as he pulled his wife in for a hug and cheered loudly. Blue returned the hug with a giggle as she nuzzled into his neck. Cloudchaser and Sky gave each other a curious look before walking up to the two of them. “Mommy. Daddy. What is going on?” Sky asked.

Storm and Blue gave each other a loving look before turning to face the two of them. “Well, kids.” Blue began to explain. “What if I told you that we’re going to have another baby?” Blue asked excitingly.

Cloudchaser gasped in excitement before she flew to one of the windows to look at the backyard. She stared through the window with anticipation for a few seconds before she turned to her parents and asked, “When is baby coming, Mama?”

Both Blue and Storm chuckled at their daughter before Blue flew up to Cloudchaser and gently held her. “Oh, sweetie, the baby’s not going to come for a while. Besides, they’re not going to show up in the backyard.” She sweetly explained.

“But Sky came from back there.” Cloudchaser pointed out.

“True, but that’s what made him a special little surprise.” Blue replied as she gently placed Cloudchaser down on the ground.

“Okay…so where the baby coming from?” Cloudchaser asked innocently.

“Uh…” Blue trailed off as she tried to think of a way to explain how babies were born. That was until she decided to use a technique she wished she used two weeks ago, avoid the question as best as she could. “Hey, why don’t you get ready for school?” She offered with an unconvincing smile.

“But, mom-” Cloudchaser tried to plea.

“Get ready for school.” Blue sternly commanded, interrupting her daughter.

Cloudchaser looked like she wanted to argue further but decided to do as her mother commanded to avoid angering her and ran upstairs. Blue let out a relieved sigh as she sat on her haunches. Storm chuckled as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Guess that’s one crisis averted for now, huh?” He said in a joking tone.

“Yeah, for now.” Blue replied, feeling slightly disgruntled.

“Mommy?” Sky suddenly piped up.

Blue and Storm both went wide eyed as they turned to their son. “What is it, Sky?” Blue nervously asked, silently praying that he wasn’t going to ask what she thought he was going to ask.

“Um…where did I come from?” He asked.

Bother parents breathed a sigh of relief and began to relax when the question they were expecting didn’t come. “Well, son,” Storm began to answer, “to be honest…we’re not too sure. You just kind of showed up in the backyard.”

“Oh.” Sky responded, though he still didn’t understand what Storm had told him. After a few seconds, he asked, “So, where do babies come from?”

Neither parent said a word for a while. Instead, they just stood there silently as one word passed through their thoughts. Dammit.

About a week later, Blue had decided to run some errands while Cloudchaser was at school and Storm was at home watching Sky. Along the way, she noticed Dry Sherry at her stand and decided to stop by to say hello. When she was about twenty yards away from the stand, Dry Sherry noticed her walking up and immediately moved from behind her stand and run up to her. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am.” She stated as she struggled to keep a straight face and playfully pushed Blue away from her stand. “I can’t, in good conscious, sell alcohol to a pregnant mare.”

“Yeah, good to see you too, jerk.” Blue jovially said as she playfully pushed back, causing Dry Sherry to laugh. “How’d you even know I was pregnant?” She asked as the two of them walked to the stand.

“Blue, come on. When your daughter asked me why I got you to be in a play while you’re standing behind her red as a tomato trying not to look me in the eye, I couldn’t help but put two and two together. Speaking of which, when is this play, because I could really use something steamy to watch?” She asked with a sly grin as she got behind the stand.

“Two words, Sherry. Piss. Off.” Blue deadpanned before her ear suddenly flicked twice. Dry Sherry, noticing this, pulled out a bucket from behind the stand and slid it to her. Blue looked between the bucket and Dry Sherry feeling confused before asking, “What in Tartarus is this fo-” Before she could finish the sentence, Blue’s mouth suddenly filled up with vomit. So, she threw up into the closest object available, the bucket Dry Sherry pulled out.

“It’s for that.” Dry Sherry stated with an amused smile.

“How did you know?” Blue asked in-between breaths.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you have this weird habit of flicking you ear twice before you vomit. It’s something I noticed the last time you puked on my stand.” Dry Sherry explained.

“Good to know, I guess.” Blue responded, not really knowing how to feel.

“Thankful that you won’t be cleaning up the vomit on my stand like last time?” Dry Sherry jokingly offered. She then glanced between the vomit filled bucket and Blue before saying. “On a serious note, that bucket’s yours now.”

“Oh, piss off, Sherry!” Blue exclaimed.

Over a month later, Cloudchaser had managed to talk Sky into playing along with a pretend tea party. Sky, at first, wanted nothing to do with it, until Cloudchaser claimed the tea she makes allows the drinker to breath fire. Needless to say, Sky thought that it was pretty cool. Things were peaceful, until they heard something that caught their attention.

“What in Tartarus were you thinking?!” They heard their mother yell from downstairs. Cloudchaser and Sky shared a scared look before they quickly got up and ran downstairs. They stopped as soon as the kitchen was in sight, where they saw something that turned their fear into slight confusion. Their parents were standing the kitchen. Blue Typhoon was angrily waving a jar of peanut butter in Storm’s face while he was just staring at her with a blank look. “I told you to get a twenty-ounce jar of peanut butter! So, why would you get a forty-ounce jar?!” She yelled.

“Honey, the forty-ounce jar costed us less bits per ounce. This saves us more bits in the long run.” Storm calmly explained.

“Oh, money was what you were thinking of.” She bewilderedly said as she slammed the jar on the counter. “Well, here’s something you probably didn’t think about. How’re we supposed to store this big jar?!”

“In the pantry. Where there’s plenty of room for it.” Storm pointed out.

“Oh, so now you’re going to tell me that you already thought about that!” She exclaimed in anger before tears began to form. “S-so you’re saying th-that I was worried o-over nothing?” She shakingly asked. Then, she began to cry loudly. “I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed as she slammed into Storm and cried into his neck. “I-I shouldn’t have y-yelled at you! Can you forgive me?!” She cried.

Storm lightly patted the back of her head. “I already have, honey. Want me to make you apple slices and peanut butter?” He asked with a bemused smile.

Blue let out a big gasp as she leaned back to give her husband a smile. “You’d do that for me?! Oh, you’re the best, Storm!” She cheered. She planted a big kiss on the cheek before sauntering towards the living room with a content smile.

Cloudchaser and Sky shared a very confused looks before they went into the kitchen. “Daddy,” Sky said, catching Storm’s attention. “Everything okay?”

Storm, who figured that they saw the exchange, gave them a smile before saying, “Yes, kids, everything’s fine. Your mother’s just going through a weird moment right now, but it’s because of something important and I love her all the same because of it.” As he turned around to make Blue’s snack, he muttered under his breath. “Besides, there’s not much she can do to surprise me after the first time.”

Many months later, Blue’s stomach drastically grew in size as her baby continued to develop. As of now, she knew that the baby was going to be a pegasus filly and that she was due any day now. She was currently spending the early evening reading a book in the living room while Storm was upstairs making sure the unborn filly’s room was ready. At some point, Blue decided to glance up for a second and noticed that her children were standing right in front of her. She placed the book down and saw that they were giving her stomach some curious looks. “Hey, kiddos, what’s the matter?” She asked sweetly.

The two kids gave each other a look before Cloudchaser asked, “Mommy, we wanted to ask. Why did your tummy get big?”

Blue giggled as she thought about how to answer the question. Well, I guess I can tell them about one aspect of child birth. “Well, you see, your baby sister’s in here.” She exclaimed as she lightly pressed her hoof against her stomach.

Looks of horror appeared on Cloudchaser’s and Sky’s face. “You ate baby!” They both yelled simultaneously.

Blue couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh. “No, you two, I didn’t eat the baby.” Blue explained as she calmed down. “You see, the baby’s going to come from mommy.”

“Really?” Cloudchaser asked in awe while Sky just stared at Blue’s belly.

“Yep, you see, kids.” Blue began to explain while carefully thinking about what to say. “Babies don’t come from nowhere. They have to be made with a piece of mommy and daddy. Then, as the baby grows, mommy keeps it protected in her belly until it’s ready to see the world.”

“Wow.” Cloudchaser gasped in amazement. “So, did you and daddy make me too?” She asked.

“We sure did.” Blue confirmed all the while thinking about how to steer the conversation away from sex. “Hey, Cloudchaser, give me your hoof.” She said as she reached her hoof to her daughter. Cloudchaser placed her hoof in her mother’s and let Blue guide it to her belly. When her hoof was pressed lightly against the bulge, Cloudchaser’s eyes went wide as she felt something shift around inside.

“Oh, wow! I can feel it!” Cloudchaser exclaimed.

“Yep, that’s your baby sister.” Blue happily stated. She turned to Sky to do the same with his hand, only to stop when she saw that he was just staring at her stomach. She didn’t have to ask him what he was thinking. She had had always had a feeling that he subconsciously figured out that she and Storm weren’t his real parents. The look on his face confirmed those feelings. She gave him a sad smile as she said, “Sky, can you look at me?” She used a hoof to gently lift his head up. “You might not have come from Storm and me, but that has never stopped Storm and I from loving you as our son.”

Sky stayed silent for a few moments as tears began to form in his eyes. “Did she love me?” He asked sadly.

Blue smiled sweetly as she pressed her forehead against his. “Yes, sweetie. I’m sure she loves you very much.” She explained. She then leaned back and gently led his hand towards her stomach. “And I’m sure that your little sibling will too.” She added as his hand touched her stomach.

“And I love you too!” Cloudchaser exclaimed.

Sky didn’t say anything, but Blue could tell that he was thankful of the family they gave him. She leaned back as she continued to feel her children touch her stomach, along with another feeling that had just occurred that seemed familiar to her. Her eyes went wide when she realized what that feeling was. “Oh, my Celestia. Storm! Storm!” She yelled up.

“What is it, dear?” Storm yelled back.

“My water broke!”

“…What?!”

Needless to say, when his dad had flown back from the hospital followed by some hospital staffers with a wagon, Cloudchaser and Sky began to feel concerned. When they heard her screaming in pain as they followed the wagon to hospital, worried wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how they were feeling. By the time they reached the hospital, all they wanted was to be with their mother to make sure she was going to be okay, but Storm didn’t let them. He didn’t think they would be able to handle watching Blue give birth to their sister. Instead, he asked one of the nurses to watch over them in the hospital’s playroom while he ran off to be by his wife’s side. The two kids had been sitting around glumly asking the nurse if they could see their mother since. To them, they felt like they had been sitting in the hospital for a whole day, when it had only been a few hours. That was until their father suddenly walked in the playroom with a tired, but content smile.

As soon as they saw Storm, Sky and Cloudchaser immediately got up and sprinted towards him. “Daddy! Daddy! Is mommy okay?” Sky asked.

“Calm down, she’s fine.” Storm calmly reassured. “As is your sister.”

The two released a breath they didn’t realize they were holding, but then they realized what their dad also said. “Sister…does that mean?” Sky asked.

Storm smirked as he said, “Why don’t I show you.” He then used both of his wings to lead them down the halls of the hospital until they reached a certain door. Storm opened the door to reveal Blue Typhoon lying in a hospital bed with a bundle of pink blankets in her forelegs.

“Mommy!” Both children exclaimed.

Blue immediately shushed them. “Quiet, you two. I’m alright.” She reassured above a whisper. “Now, come here. There’s somepony I want you to meet.”

Cloudchaser and Sky shared a curious look before they walked up to their mother. Cloudchaser flew up to get up on the bed while Storm helped Sky up by hooking his forelegs under Sky’s arms, flying up in the air with him, and placing him gently on the bed. The two children then very carefully looked to see what was inside the blanket and stared at awe at what they saw. Sleeping silently in the bundle was a grayish blue filly with a grayish opal mane. “Cloudchaser. Sky. Meet your little sister, Flitter.” Blue gently announced.

“Wow.” Cloudchaser breathlessly said in awe as her eyes started to get heavy. Sky didn’t know what to say, but he shed a few happy tears before his eyes started to get heavy too. Now that they knew that their mother was safe and sound, exhaustion had finally decided to catch up with them. So, the two of them slowly laid their heads against their mother and fell asleep.

Storm chuckled as he wrapped a foreleg around Blue. “Guess all the excitement tuckered them out.”

“Yeah, I’m not far behind them though.” Blue replied with a yawn. “At least I’ll go to bed knowing that these two already love their little sister.”

“Hmm, true. Now, get some rest. You more than deserve it.” Storm said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Blue deadpanned. She then turned to Flitter and gave her a loving smile. “Welcome to the world, Flitter.” She said, giving her newborn child a kiss on the forehead.

Chapter 9

“Kids come on down! It’s time to go to school!” Blue yelled up as she finished up preparing the lunch bags for her kids. Normally, she would have to only prepare a lunch for Cloudchaser, but today Sky needed one too. It was his first day of school after all.

“Mommy?” She turned to the kitchen’s entryway to find Sky standing there, holding his shoes up. “Can you help me with these?”

“Of course I can, sweetie. Come on, let’s get you seated on the couch,” She said as she led him into the living room. Once he was seated, she took one of the shoes and began to put it on his right foot. “So, ready for your first day of school?” She asked.

“I guess.” Sky responded a little apprehensively.

A frown formed on Blue’s face. That’s not the answer I was hoping for. She thought as she used her wings to tie his shoelaces together. “What’s the matter Sky? Is something bothering you?”

He sat there silently for a few seconds before responding, “Mom, you said that I will be able to make friends at school, right?”

“That’s right.” She responded as she began to work on the other shoe.

“But what if nopony wants to be my friend?” He asked.

I should’ve known that it’d be about that. Blue thought as she took the time tying his other shoe to think of a response. Over the past couple of years, Sky had been having problems increasing his circle of friends beyond Berry Punch and Thunderlane. It wasn’t necessarily because the other foals didn’t want to play with him, but primarily because their parents were nervous about the idea about something larger than their children playing with them, even after Blue tried to reassure them that Sky was practically harmless.

Once she was done tying his shoe, she gently grabbed Sky by the shoulders and said, “Sky, I need you to listen to me for a second. There’s going to be lots of foals going to school with you. Some of them might want to be your friend, while some of them won’t. It’s not something that you have control over. Just bear in mind that if they don’t want to be your friend, that doesn’t mean they hate you. They just don’t know who you are yet. Just give them time to get to know you, okay?”

“O-okay,” Sky stuttered.

“Good! Now, come on, we’ve got to get going,” she said before she pulled him up to his feet. She turned to the staircase and yelled up, “Cloudchaser, get down here! It’s time to go!”

“Alright, I’m coming down!” Cloudchaser yelled before quickly flying down the stairs.

“Alright,” Blue said as she walked over to the playpen that they had set up in the living room, where Flitter was currently sitting. “Let’s get you ready to go, sweetie.” She said sweetly as she carefully picked Flitter up from the playpen and flew over to the stroller, which was set up by the front door.

Once she had Flitter secured in the stroller, she turned around to find Cloudchaser and Sky standing behind her holding their lunch bags. “You two ready to go?” She asked. When the two of them nodded in response, she got behind the stroller and said, “Alright, let’s get going then.”

After an uneventful walk that primarily consisted of Cloudchaser explaining to Sky what school was going to be like, they reached the schoolhouse alongside other foals and parents, where Whiteboard was standing outside the entrance welcoming everypony who entered. As they approached the entrance, the white mare took notice of them and gave them a bright smile, “Ah, hello there Cloudchaser. It’s wonderful to see you again. And hello to you too, Sky Chaser. Are you ready for your first day of school?” She asked.

“I guess so.” Sky responded.

“Well then, why don’t you go inside. I’m sure Cloudchaser’s got plenty of things to show you before school starts, right?” She said, glancing at Cloudchaser.

“You bet I do! Come on, Sky!” She exclaimed before she grabbed his hand with her wing and led him inside the school.

As Whiteboard and Blue watched them go inside, Blue leaned over and said, “Well, I need to go run some errands. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine, right?”

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll be keeping my eye on him, just in case.” Whiteboard reassured.

“Alright, I’ll be back later to pick them up. You have a good day!” Blue said before she turned around to leave.

“You too!” Whiteboard waived back before she continued to welcome students inside.

Meanwhile, Cloudchaser was enthusiastically showing Sky around the schoolhouse and explaining everything that the place offered, but Sky wasn’t paying too much attention to her. He was paying more attention to the foals around him. Many of them were staring right at him, which was making him more nervous than he was before.

“-and that’s a globe.” Cloudchaser explained, pointing a wing at the object sitting on one of the many bookshelves. “Mrs. Whiteboard likes to use this when she talks about what the world looks like. Cool, right?” She asked as she turned around, finally noticing that he wasn’t really paying attention to her. “Hey, Sky, are you listening?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Sky softly answered.

Cloudchaser gave a slight frown at the answer before she looked around the school and noticed all the foals staring at him. She almost immediately realized what was going on, so she turned back to Sky and said, “Hey, don’t worry about them. They’re just wondering what you are. They’re not going to try to hurt you.”

“You sure?”

“Of course, cause if anypony tries then they gotta get through me.” She said proudly as she puffed her chest out. It was at that moment that the school bell started to ring. “Oh, shoot! That’s the bell. We gotta take our seats,” she exclaimed.

“Where at?”

“Anywhere really. Just gotta sit at a desk before somepony else does. Now, where’s a good spot?” She asked herself as she looked around the seats, many of which were being occupied by foals already.

“Cloudchaser! Sky! Over here!” They heard somepony yell out. They turned to find Berry Punch waving from a desk in the back row. There was an empty desk on either side of her. “I saved you guys a seat.” She said as she pointed to the two desks.

“Awesome, thanks Berry!” Cloudchaser exclaimed as she took the seat to Berry’s left.

“Yeah, thanks.” Sky said as he took the other seat.

It was at that moment that Whiteboard walked into the school and closed the door behind her. “Good morning, class,” she greeted.

“Good morning, Mrs. Whiteboard,” most of the class responded.

“It’s good to see many of you again. And it would appear that we have a couple of new students here today. Can I have all the new students come up and introduce themselves?” She said before moving to the side of the room.

Sky looked over at Berry Punch and Cloudchaser, who both just motioned him to walk forward encouragingly. Sky let out a tiny gulp, but still got out of his seat and walked up to the front of the room, where a yellow pegasus filly with a cyan mane and tail was already standing.

Whiteboard looked over the two new students with a hint of interest. She wasn’t really surprised that there was only two of them, since the school was in a relatively small town. What she was interested in was how the class was going to react to Sky and that the little filly already had a cutie mark, which consisted of a group of three raindrops. “Alright, you two, don’t we start by telling the class your names. Starting with you, miss.” Whiteboard said, gesturing a hoof toward the filly.

The filly nodded before taking a step forward puffing her chest out. “Hi, I’m Raindrops!” she announced proudly. The class gave her an applause in response.

When she stepped back, everypony turned their attention toward Sky. In spite of his nerves, he still managed to take a step forward and squeak out, “I’m Sky Chaser.” To his surprise, the class began to give him an applause too. The only noticeable difference between the applause was that Cloudchaser was clapping louder than what she gave to Raindrops.

“Good job, you two,” Whiteboard said as she turned to the rest of the class. “Now, I’m sure you all have some questions for your new classmates, so if you have one, please raise your hoof.” At that moment, several hooves began to rise to the air. “Hmm, why don’t we start with you, Lily?” She said, pointing a hoof at a pink filly with a blonde mane.

“Okay,” the filly said before turning toward Sky. “So, Sky, I was wondering. What are you exactly?”

Sky wasn’t sure how to answer that question. It was a question he had asked his parents multiple times, but they always told him that they didn’t know. Thankfully for him, Whiteboard stepped up and said, “Sky is actually an unknown species from outside of Equestria.” The class let out a series of amazed ‘wows’ at Whiteboard’s answer.

An orange hoof of a filly rose after that. When Whiteboard selected the filly, she stood up slightly and said, “Hi, I’m Applejack, and I was wondering something about ya Sky. Where are ya stayin’ at?”

“With my mom and dad. They’re pegasi.” Sky answered. Applejack gave him a nod in satisfaction before sitting back down.

“Alright, who’s next?” Whiteboard asked. A blue colt’s hoof rose up. “Okay, Noteworthy, what’s your question?”

“Are those claws?” The colt asked, pointing at Sky’s hands.

“Nah, they’re not sharp enough to be claws,” a filly piped up before Sky could answer. “They look more like paws to me.”

“Regardless, they’re definitely not hooves.” Spoiled Milk commented.

“Alright, class, settle down.” Whiteboard ordered with a raised voice. She looked over at Raindrops, who was glancing toward the ground with a dejected look on her face. Guess somepony’s feeling left out. She thought before addressing the class. “Does anypony have a question for Raindrops?”

The room was still for a moment before a filly rose her hoof up. Once Whiteboard called on her, she stood up and asked, “When did you get your cutie mark?”

“Last year!” Raindrops stated proudly, waiting for some form of follow up.

“Oh, cool,” The filly said before sitting back down. Raindrops sense of pride began to deflate as the teacher asked if anypony else had any questions.

There were many more questions after that. The vast majority of which were directed towards Sky, with about three questions being directed towards Raindrops. Eventually, Whiteboard decided that it was time to move on to the next lesson and told the two of them to sit back down. Once Sky was in his seat, Cloudchaser leaned over to him and whispered, “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

Sky gave her a sheepish smile before turning his attention toward the teacher. Though he wouldn’t be lying if he said that he had fun introducing himself to the class.

“Alright class, why don’t we start the day with some basic addition and subtraction,” Whiteboard said as she picked up a piece of chalk and began to write various numbers on the board.

The foals filed out the school when Whiteboard allowed them to go to recess. Many of them forming their own groups before running off to play a game or on the playground equipment. Sky felt lost at first, until his sister yelled out, “Sky, over here!”

He turned to see Cloudchaser standing by one of the picnic tables along with Berry Punch and Thunderlane. With no idea what else to do, he ran over to them. “Sis, what are we supposed to be doing?” He asked when he reached them.

“Whatever we want, silly,” Cloudchaser giggled out. She then turned to the rest of the group and asked, “So, what are we going to do?”

“We should let Sky decide. It’s his first day after all.” Thunderlane said.

“I’m okay with that,” Cloudchaser said before turning back to Sky. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Um…hide and go seek?” Sky offered.

“Nah, not enough good places to hide.” Berry Punch responded with a shake of her head.

“Okay…what about tag?” Sky asked.

“Alright, I’m okay with that. What about you guys?” Cloudchaser said.

“Sure.” Thunderlane responded.

“I call being it first!” Berry Punch exclaimed with a mischievous grin.

It was at that moment that Sky decided to look around, but stopped when he saw something that caught his attention. Standing a few feet away from them, with her back turned to them, was Raindrops. It looked like she was looking around the playground to find something to do or somepony to play with. Needless to say, Sky felt slightly sorry for the filly, so he decided to walk up to her. “Hi!” He greeted when he reached her.

She turned around and frowned when she saw Sky. “What do you want?” She curtly asked.

“My friends and I are about to play tag. Wanna join us?” He asked.

She snorted before responding, “No, thank you.”

“Are you sure? Cause it doesn’t look like you’re having a lot of fun.”

“And what’s it to you!?” She exclaimed bitterly. “You think you’re so special that you can get everypony to like you?! For what?! What’s so special about you?!”

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” Cloudchaser yelled out when she saw what was going on and ran up to be right next to her brother.

“Just letting him know how I feel. He’s not as special as he thinks he is,” Raindrops said haughtily.

“What’re you talking about?! He doesn’t think like that. If anything, he was just trying to be your friend!”

“Please, like I need some freak as my friend.” Raindrops said without really thinking.

Cloudchaser was taken aback at that. “Well, if there’s anything he has going for him, it’s that he’s much nicer than you.” She said as she took a threatening step forward. “So, you better stop saying bad thing about him or else.” She warned, flaring her wings out. Raindrop instinctively flinched back at the display and found it increasingly difficult to argue back.

“Oh, please. Resorting to threats again, Cloudchaser,” they heard a new filly’s say. “If anything, I think that the new filly has a point.” They all turned to find Spoiled Milk sauntering right up to the three of them.

“What do you want, Spoiled?” Cloudchaser growled.

“Why, I couldn’t help but notice your little display and just had to listen in. And I for one, agree with the new filly. There’s absolutely nothing special about that little ape of yours. As opposed to Raindrops here,” she said, catching Raindrops by surprise.

“Oh really, and what’s so special about her?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Why, just look at her flank.” Spoiled Milk responded while pointing a hoof at Raindrop’s cutie mark. “She’s probably younger than you are, yet she’s already figured out what her special talent is. Unlike you and the ape.”

“Yeah, well…I’ll figure that out soon. Besides, Sky probably can’t get a cutie mark.” Cloudchaser argued.

“Oh, really. Is that because he’ll never be good at anything?” Spoiled taunted with a sneer.

“What did you say?!” Cloudchaser exclaimed. She tried to lunge at Spoiled Milk, only to be stopped by Sky.

“Cloudchaser, please don’t,” He pleaded. “It’s not worth it.”

Cloudchaser growled at the two fillies before she glanced at Sky and paused. The look in Sky’s eye was enough to remind her of all the lectures her mom gave her about being a role model for her brother. “Fine,” she relented taking a step back. “Just leave us alone, got it?!”

“That’s something I can agree with.” Spoiled said before turning around. “Come on, Raindrops, let’s get away from these brutes.” She added as she began to walk away.

“Oh, um, sure.” Raindrops replied before following him.

Cloudchaser and Sky walked back to their friends, a frown still present on Cloudchaser’s face. “Hey guys, what was that about?” Thunderlane asked when they reached them.

“That new filly was being mean to Sky when he was just trying to be nice to her. And then Spoiled Milk decided to get involved.” Cloudchaser explained with a growl.

“Oh, boy. I should have known.” Thunderlane replied before turning back to Sky. “Are you doing alright, Sky?”

“Mhmm.” Sky replied with a nod.

“That’s good,” Berry Punch said.

“No, it’s not!” Cloudchaser exclaimed, catching everyone by surprise. “I mean, I knew Spoiled Milk was going to be mean to you, but why was that other filly so mean to you when you did nothing to her?”

“Well, mommy said that not everypony was going to be my friend.” Sky replied.

“Yeah, well she could have been nicer about it.” Cloudchaser growled.

“Hey, stop worrying about it, Cloudchaser,” Berry Punch said as she tried to think of something to get those two fillies off of Cloudchaser’s mind. After a few moments of silence, an idea came to her mind. With a mischievous smirk, she sauntered up to Cloudchaser and lightly booped her snout. “Tag, you’re it!” She exclaimed before she ran off.

“W-what?!” Cloudchaser exclaimed before she realized what just happened. “Hey, no fair, Berry! We didn’t start a game yet! Berry!” she yelled chasing after the mulberry filly.

“Come on, Sky. Let’s start running before they start chasing after us.” Thunderlane said before he started to run in the opposite direction that Cloudchaser ran.

“Okay!” Sky responded before he followed him.

While the four friends were playing tag, Raindrops had been following Spoiled Milk to a nearby hill, silently trying to think of a way to thank her. “Hey, um, so, thank you for helping me out,.” She finally said when they reached the top.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. Anything to help a special pony like you.” Spoiled replied with a faux friendly smile.

“You really think I’m special?”

“Of course. Getting your cutie mark at your age is proof of that.” She replied. Even if it’s a mundane cutie mark for a pegasus. She kept to herself.

“I-if you say so.” Raindrops replied feeling slightly flustered. In reality, she knew her cutie mark wasn’t all that unique for a pegasus to have, but a large part of her wanted to believe that Spoiled Milk was right. “So, what are we gonna do then?”

A haughty smile formed on Spoiled Milk’s face as she pointed at a random cloud. “Bring that cloud over here and put it over me.” She ordered.

“Okay.” Raindrops responded before flying up to the cloud. When the cloud was over Spoiled, she asked, “Now what?”

“Now, we rest.” Spoiled said before curling up in the shade and closing her eyes.

Raindrops frowned in confusion. “That’s it? You’re just going to take a nap?”

“Of course, what else would we do.”

“Well, we could play a game?”

“And feel tired when Mrs. Whiteboard is trying to teach us?! I don’t think so. Now, just let me get some sleep. And wake me up when Mrs. Whiteboard calls us inside.” Spoiled Milk said before closing her eyes.

“Okay.” Raindrops sadly replied before lying down next to her and began to look around the playground. She didn’t feel tired at all. She wanted something to do. She wanted to approach one of the other fillies earlier, but she felt to nervous to do so. Then he walked up to her.

She didn’t want to be the center of attention during the introduction, but she was still disheartened by the lack of attention she was given. Meanwhile, Sky was given more attention from the other students, just because he was some different looking creature. To say that she was frustrated and jealous of him would be an understatement. To her, him coming up out of no where and trying to be her friend when no one else would just rubbed salt in the wound.

A sudden burst of laughter caught her attention. She turned her head and watched as Sky and two other ponies she didn’t recognize were running away from Cloudchaser. All four of them had smiles on their faces.

She frowned at the four of them at first, but soon her frown shifted into a more solemn look. A part of her wanted to walk up and ask if she could play with them, but one glance at Sky and Cloudchaser kept her from doing so. They were the only things she needed to remind herself that the damage was already done. So, she did the only thing she could do. Lie her head down and watch them, bored out of her mind.

The final bell of the day rang as all the foals ran out the school house. Blue Typhoon was standing by the gate with Flitter in her carriage as she waited for her kids to walk up. When they showed up, she gave the both of them a hug and asked, “So, how was school, guys?”

“Great!” Cloudchaser beamed out.

“That’s good. So, how was your first day, Sky?”

“Pretty good,” Sky responded. “Though, there was this one thing that happened.”

“Oh, what happened?” Blue asked.

“There was another filly that was starting school too. I tried being friends with her, but she ended up being mean to me.”

“Oh, well that’s not very nice of her.” Blue responded.

“Yeah, but I stepped in and confronted her.” Cloudchaser chimed in proudly. Blue raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
“Hey, I didn’t fight her!” Cloudchaser chimed in proudly.

“It’s true. I kept her from doing so.” Sky spoke up to help defend her sister. However, even Cloudchaser knew that what he just said was going the opposite effect.

“Cloudchaser, we’re going to have a talk when we get home.” Blue said as she began to lead them home.

“Hey, give me a break mom. I’m his older sister. It’s my job to keep him safe,” Cloudchaser said as she and Sky followed her. “And so long as I’m at school, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do!” She said proudly

Blue just gave her a deadpanned look before sternly saying, “We’re having a talk when we get home.”

“Yes, mom.” Cloudchaser replied.

After a few minutes of walking, Sky turned to Cloudchaser and asked, “Hey, did you really mean that? That you’ll keep me safe.”

Cloudchaser gave him a sweet smile. “Absolutely, cause I love ya, Sky. And I’ll always be there to protect you. No matter what.” She stated with pride. They continued the walk home, content smiles on both Cloudchaser’s and Sky’s faces.

Chapter 10

“But…mom,” Cloudchaser complained between coughing fits, a thermometer sticking out from under her tongue as she laid in bed. “I gotta go to school!”

“Sorry sweetie, I don’t think you should go,” Blue said as she took the thermometer from Cloudchaser. “Not when your temperature is this high.”

“No, it’s not,” Cloudchaser weakly argued. “I can still get out of bed…see.”

“Oh, no you’re not,” Blue said sternly, placing a hoof on Cloudchaser’s chest to keep her from getting out of bed. “You’re staying right here until you get better.”

“But, mom…Sky’s gets to go.”

“That’s because Sky’s not sick.”

“That’s not fair,” Cloudchaser pouted, crossing her hooves over her chest.

Blue gave her an amused smirk before replying, “Sorry, kiddo, that’s how things are. How about I get you some lemonade? Will that make you feel better?”

“…Maybe.”

“Alright, one lemonade coming right up,” Blue said, leaving the room. Once she got to the kitchen, she saw Storm by the sink, washing the last of the dishes.

He looked at her before asking, “So, how is she?”

She grabbed a glass before saying, “Well, she’s frustrated that she’s not going to school, so she’ll be fine. She’s still going to be in bed for a couple of days, though.”

“That’s good,” Storm said, putting up the last plate. “They weren’t kidding when they said that stomach bugs spread like crazy here. Both Berry Punch and Thunderlane were out sick yesterday.”

“Well, it is what it is,” Blue replied, pulling the lemonade out of the fridge. “Do you mind bringing Sky to school today? I don’t feel comfortable leaving Cloudchaser alone while she’s sick.”

“Yeah, of course, dear,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Hopefully he doesn’t get sick like Cloudchaser did.”

“He’ll be fine. It’s better than keeping him here around Cloudchaser right now. Besides, I’m sure it’ll still be a productive day at school for him.”

Honestly, today’s going to be so unproductive. Whiteboard noted to herself, her head resting on her hoof as she looked over her class. If there were only a couple of foals out sick, then it would’ve been another normal school day. Instead, she found that all but eight of her students were absent. She didn’t even feel a need to do roll call since she already made a mental note of who was here. Roseluck, Carrot Top, Cloud Kicker, Sea Swirl, Daisy, Shoeshine, Raindrops, and Sky Chaser. She wasn’t really surprised by this though. It was the curse of teaching in a school in a small town. When one student gets a virus, then almost all of them get it.

With so many students out, she couldn’t just go through with her original lesson plan. Not unless she wanted to play a massive game of catch up. So, instead she decided that she needed to alter her lesson plan to something light, but still engaging. Or, as she liked to call it, turning school into a glorified day care.

“Alright class,” she announced, getting everyone’s attention. “We’ll start today’s class with a lesson…in…teamwork. So, let me get some materials and I’ll give you your assignment.” She then turned around to walk to the supply closet.

A “lesson in teamwork”…real original, White. She chastised herself. Well, the least I can do is give them something to do while I try to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. So, let’s see what I got to work with… She began to rummage around in the closet. Pipe cleaners? Eh, they’re always useful for something. Styrofoam balls? Why not. Popsicle sticks? Hey, I might be getting somewhere with this. Markers, glue, and… actually, I think I have an assignment right here.

With a plan in mind, Whiteboard left the closet with the supplies before addressing the class. “Alright, I need you all to get into groups of two and work together to make a pony. The first group to finish their pony will…” she trailed off before her eyes landed on the bookshelf. “Pick the story I read today.”

Most of the foals looked at each other with confusion at first, but then they all decided to go along with it and group up. It was something that didn’t take long for them to do, since most of them just grouped up with a friend. All except for two.

Raindrops was looking around the classroom for somepony to group up with. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t really friends with anyone there. The only pony she did consider a friend was Spoiled Milk, though recently she had been questioning how good of a friend she was. In the weeks that she knew her, all Spoiled Milk wanted to do was take naps or gossip about things she didn’t care about. No games. No running around. Nothing she considered remotely fun. She almost felt like she didn’t really care about her at all. She continued to look around the classroom until her eyes landed on Sky, who was looking also looking around the classroom for somepony to group up with until his eyes landed on her.

Of course, he’d have to be the last one. Just look at how pathetic he is without those three little punks circling around him. So much for being “Mr. Popular.” She sneered to herself. She started looking around to see if there was anyway to group up with someone else, but saw that Whiteboard had already started giving out the materials to the other groups. She looked back at Sky for a few seconds. …If I have to. She sighed before walking up to him. “Look, I’m only going to group up with you for this assignment, alright. As soon as this is done, I’m picking the story, got it.” She said, taking a seat in front of him.

“O-okay,” he responded meekly, sitting down as well.

“Good,” she said with a nod, right as Whiteboard placed a whole bunch of materials in front of them. Almost immediately, Raindrops grabbed a Styrofoam ball and a popsicle stick and tried to jam the two pieced together. But when she did, the ball slid out of her hoof. With a growl, she picked it back up and tried again, only to get the same result.

Sky recognized what was wrong as he watched her try for the fourth time. The ball was too big for her to grip effectively and her wings were too short to act as an extra set of limbs. He knew what he could do to try and help her, but he also knew that just trying to jump in would tick her off. “Um, maybe I should help,” he meekly offered.

“No, I got this!” Raindrops argued as the ball fell out of her hoof again.

“But, you clearly-”

“Alright, listen you monkey,” Raindrops sneered, slamming the popsicle stick to the ground. “I’m not some scared little filly who needs a freak like you to be my friend just because you think you’re special or something!”

“But I was only trying to-”

“And I’m definitely not like that stupid little filly that hangs around all the time,” she continued to rant, not really paying attention to what Sky was trying to say. “What’s her name…Cloud…Flaker or something. I mean, what’s her deal anyway? Probably hangs around you just so she can brag about it to her parents or maybe-”

Sky stopped listening to her as she rambled on. Her insults to him were one thing, but the insults to his sister made him something that he rarely ever was. Angry. Angry, because he knew that whatever she was saying about Cloudchaser was completely undeserved. So, with a loud voice that surprised even himself, he yelled, “Stop talking about my sister like that, you jerk!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Sky, but no one was as shocked as Raindrops. That shock quickly evaporated as she realized what he just said. Did he just say…sister?

“Raindrops. Sky. Is there a problem?” Whiteboard asked the two of them with a stern glare.

“Um…” Raindrops trailed off. She took occasional glances at Sky, who just sat there and refused to look at her. “N-no, ma’am.” Whiteboard’s frown hardened before she turned her attention back to the other groups.

Raindrops looked over at Sky as she mulled over her thoughts. She was his sister. But that can’t be possible. They can’t be brother and sister. They look nothing alike. I’ve never even seen anypony that looks like him around. I’ve…I’ve never seen anypony like him in town. I’ve mostly seen him get picked up a pegasi, but I just assumed they were babysitters. Are they his…parents?

She felt horrible. All this time, she thought that the foals that hung around him did that to boost whatever ego she thought he had. Especially Cloudchaser. But as she thought about the two of them being siblings, it started to make sense to her. It would explain why she was always so close to him and protective of him. She looked down at all the materials in front of her. And as she looked at them, a plan began to form in her head. One she hoped would make up for her behavior.

She picked the Styrofoam ball and popsicle stick again before nudging Sky’s shoulder with her snout. “Hey…um…Sky. I’m…I’m sorry alright.” Sky began to turn to face her. “I shouldn’t have said those things. I never knew that Cloudchaser was your sister. I just…I just…do you want to still help me with this?” She asked, holding the items out to him.

Sky stared at her silently for a few seconds, his expression almost unreadable, before he said, “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

“Um…” Raindrops thought as she looked at the items, then over to Sky, and finally over at Sky’s hands. “Here, hold this,” she said as she passed the Styrofoam ball over him. “You can probably hold on to this better than I can. That way I can push this into it.” She explained, holding the popsicle stick between her two hooves.

“Okay,” he said as he held on to the ball.

“Now, on the count of three,” Raindrops said, holding the stick next to the ball. “One…Two…Three.” Together, they almost effortlessly pushed the stick into the ball to form the pony’s head and neck. “Wow, that was… a lot easier.”

“Yeah,” Sky responded before picking up the other Styrofoam ball. “Again?”

They repeated the process to get the other ball to form the pony’s body and to get the other popsicle sticks to form its legs. As Raindrops inspected their work so far, she said, “Well, I think we should glue the pipe cleaners onto the head and use the marker to draw its face, but I feel like it’s still going to be missing something.”

Sky nodded as he looked at the pony they’ve built so far and at the materials they had left, which mostly consisted of the unused pipe cleaners and a couple of popsicle sticks. He then looked over at Raindrops and soon realized what was going to be missing. “The ears. We’re missing the ears.”

“You’re right! But what are we going to use for ears?”

Sky looked over at the materials one last time before a single idea came to mind. He picked up one of the popsicle sticks and began to break the ends of it off.

“What are you doing?” Raindrops asked with a raised brow.

He held up the two pieces with a proud smile. “Ears.”

“Huh, that’s pretty clever, Sky,” Raindrops replied. She grabbed the pony’s head and held it up to Sky. “Well, what are you waiting for? Put ‘em in.”

And put them in they did, followed by Raindrops gluing some pipe cleaners on its head while Sky put in the tail. Finally, Sky used the marker to draw the pony’s face with a simple smile. And when the marker was capped, their pony was done.

“Mrs. Whiteboard, we’re done!” Raindrops called out with a raised hoof. It was at this point that she saw that most of the other groups were just now finishing up putting the legs on. Huh, guess we had an easier time putting it together with Sky’s weird…hoof thingies.

“Let me see,” Whiteboard said, approaching the. “Huh, well that’s definitely a pony. The two of you even thought about giving it ears. Well, a deal’s a deal, go ahead and pick a story.”

Raindrops smiled proudly as she began to stand up, only to stop as she saw Sky was starting to look down glumly. Guess he’s still a little bummed out about what I said earlier. She silently observed before looking over to the bookshelf. She let out a soft sigh before looking over at Sky again. Well, I guess I still owe him a lot. “Hey, why don’t you pick the story, Sky?”

He looked up at her with a surprised look. “Really?! But you said-”

“I know what I said, but you were the reason we were able to finish our assignment so fast. So, you go pick one.”

“O-okay,” Sky said, still feeling slightly unsure. He walked over to the bookshelf and began to browse through the books. Then he found one that caught his eye. “This one!” he exclaimed as he held it out to Whiteboard.

“Gusty the Great. That’s a great choice, Sky,” Whiteboard commented as she took the book. She turned to the rest of the class before saying, “The rest of you can finish your pony while I read the story if you want.”

Sky smiled as he watched Whiteboard walk toward the front of the class. He turned to go to his seat, but paused when he saw that Raindrops was staring at him with a surprised look. “W-what is it?”

“You picked that story?”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite. You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s…it’s my favorite story too.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah...so, wanna sit together while we listen?” Raindrops asked without really thinking.

Sky was caught off guard, not really expecting her to ask him to join her. Regardless, he gave her a nod. “Yeah, sure,” he said, sitting next to her to listen to the story together.

“So, you’ve never seen your real parents?” Raindrops asked as she swung on the swing.

“Yeah, mom and dad said they found me in the backyard,” Sky said from the other swing.

“That…must really suck.”

“I mean…it kinda does, but my mom and dad are my parents.”

“What do you mean?” Raindrops asked, raising a brow at him.

“All I remember are my mom and dad here. I don’t really miss my real parents cause I don’t remember them.”

“I…guess that makes sense. What about that sister of yours?”

“Cloudchaser? She didn’t really like me at first, but now we get along great.”

“Really, you didn’t get along why’s that?”

“She was scared of me because of what I eat. I eat meat.”

Raindrops stopped swinging at stared at him with shock. “Meat? As in animals?”

“Yeah,” Sky admitted.

“Why do have to do that?”

“Daddy tells me that if I don’t, I then I start to feel sick. Don’t worry, we have somepony come to give me stuff to eat.”

“Oh, well, that’s good to hear,” She replied, feeling a little reassured. She then let out a chuckle as she said, “And to think, I thought you were some punk who thought that he was special.”

“I would never call myself that. Besides, you’re more special than I am.”

Raindrops turned to stare at Sky, shocked by his response. “Me, special? What makes you say that?”

“Cause you already have your cutie mark. My sister and her friends don’t have their cutie marks yet,” he answered honestly.

Raindrops let out a frustrated groan. “Yeah, I do.” She shifted in her seat so that her cutie mark was visible. “And do you wanna know how I got it?”

“Yeah, of course!”

“By jumping on a cloud and making it rain. Just like every other pegasus?”

“So?”

“So?! So?! My special talent is doing something that pegasi just…do. What’s so special about that?!” she yelled.

“Well…” Sky trailed off. “…At least you can get one.”

Raindrops frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“Just that. I probably can’t get a cutie mark,” Sky admitted.

“What?!” Raindrops exclaimed. “How are you going to know what your special talent is then?”

“Probably the same way Shef Silverclaw did-”

“Who?”

“He’s a griffon that taught my mom and dad how to cook meat. He doesn’t have a cutie mark either.”

“Then how did he know what his special talent is?”

“I asked him that. He said he tried stuff until he found something he was good at, then he kept doing it til he was better at it.”

“Huh, that…kinda sounds like how my parents said they got their cutie marks,” Raindrops commented. There was a silence between the two of them before she suddenly said, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For how I’ve been treating you. And not just today, but all the other times to. I know now that you didn’t deserve it,” Raindrops admitted.

“So…does that make us friends then?”

Raindrops tensed up at that question. Sure, a good bit of the air was settled between the two, she still didn’t feel like it made up for her actions. “I don’t know,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I really don’t know right now.”

At that moment, Mrs. Whiteboard started calling everyone back to the schoolhouse. “C’mon, we gotta head back,” Sky said before getting up to follow the rest of the class.

As Raindrops got up to follow him, she thought about the time she spent with Sky. More importantly, she thought about how much more fun she had around Sky than she did with Spoiled Milk. Even before they had their talk, he actually made sure that they were working on the assignment together. Had Spoiled Milk been her partner, she probably would have had her do most of the work by herself. So, as she walked back to class, she looked back up at Sky and thought, Maybe being friends with him wouldn’t be so bad.

Chapter 11

“Oh, come on, Cloudchaser! Just try to talk to her. She actually really nice,” Sky pleaded on their way to school.

“No! She’s mean! She was probably pretending to be nice because Spoiled wasn’t there!” Cloudchaser argued.

“No, she wasn’t. She’s nice.”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Alright, you two, that’s enough!” Blue exclaimed, separating the two of them and silencing them instantly. She turned to Cloudchaser before saying, “Now Cloudchaser, I understand that you didn’t exactly start on the right hoof with Raindrops, but you’ve also been out of school for a couple of weeks. It’s possible that’s she’s changed. You don’t have to be friends with her right now, but you should at least give her a chance, okay?”

“…okay, mommy,” Cloudchaser muttered, a frown etched on her face.

“And Sky, you can’t force your sister to be friends with somepony, understood?” Blue asked, turning to Sky.

“Yes, mommy,” Sky answered.

“Good.” When the schoolhouse came into view, she nudged the two of them with her wings and said, “Now, go on and have a good day you two. Remember, your father’s going to pick you up after school.

“Bye mom,” they yelled as they ran to the schoolhouse.

White Board, as per usual, was greeting students by the entrance. Her smile widened a little as Sky and Cloudchaser approached. “Good morning, Sky Chaser. And good morning to you too, Cloudchaser. It’s wonderful to finally have you back!”

“Good morning, Mrs. White Board,” they both replied before going into the classroom.

Berry Punch, who was already inside, waved at them as they walked in. “Hey guys, look who’s back. I heard you were sick too, Cloudchaser.”

“Yeah, I was…I don’t see Thunderlane. Doesn’t he usually get here before you?”

“He usually does,” Berry commented as she looked around the classroom. “Guess he’s either late or he’s still sick.”

“That sucks if he is,” Cloudchaser stated.

“Yeah, it does,” Sky chimed in as he looked over at the door and saw Raindrops saunter in. He smiled as he went up to her. “Hey, Raindrops, how’re you doing?”

“Good, how’re yo-” Her smile began to drop when she noticed Cloudchaser frowning at her. She leaned closer as she whispered. “So, um, I see that your sister’s here.”

“Yeah, she got better”

“I…uh…should probably just go to my seat then.”

“Why?”

“Well..I mean…she still doesn’t like me, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Then won’t she be mad if she sees you talking to me?”

“She probably is, but I still wanna talk to you.”

“Oh…um, okay,” she replied with a small smile.

While the two of them were talking, Cloudchaser and Berry Punch continued to watch them silently. “Hey, uh, did I miss something?” Berry Punch asked.

“Apparently, Sky became friends with Raindrops while we were sick,” Cloudchaser replied.

“Oh…well, that’s good for him, I guess,” Berry said, almost cheerfully.

“What?!”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing that Sky made a new friend.”

“But her! Of all ponies!”

“Well, if that’s what he decided, then that’s the way that it is.”

Cloudchaser growled as she glared over to Raindrops. “Yeah, well, I don’t like it!”

“I really don’t like it either,” Berry admitted. She took a small glance at the door, then turned fully when she spotted somepony at the door. “Of course, she had to get better too,” she growled. Cloudchaser turned to look at the door and growled as she watched Spoiled Milk saunter in haughtily.

She smugly looked around the classroom, until she saw Raindrops with Sky. Her smirk morphed into a frown as she watched her seeming enjoy her conversation with him. “What is she doing?!” she muttered. “What is she doing with that ape?! He has a lot of explaining to do!” She was about the stomp up to the two of them but stopped as the bell started to ring.

“Alright class. Settle down and go to your seats. It’s time to get class started,” White Board announced.

Spoiled let out a groan but did as she was told as she sat at a desk next to the window. She glanced over at the desk next to her, expecting Raindrops to sit there. But it remained empty, even as the desks around it started to fill up. She looked around until she saw where she was. In a desk in the back row right next to Sky, with Cloudchaser and Berry Punch sitting on the opposite side of him. She emitted a low growl as she turned forward, wondering what she missed while she was at home.

Everyone ran off in their own direction as the bell rang for recess. Cloudchaser, Berry Punch, and Sky were no different as they ran towards the swing set. “Who’s going first?” Sky asked, looking between the two swings.

“I’m first!” Cloudchaser exclaimed. “You can push me, Sky.”

“No, I’m going first. You went first the last time we ever used the swings!” Berry Punch argued.

“So what? I wanna go first this time too.”

“No, I wanna go first!”

“Um, excuse me,” they heard someone pipe up. They all looked over to the filly. Berry Punch frowned, Cloudchaser glared, and Sky perked up as they looked at a nervous Raindrops pawing at the ground. “Is it okay if I join you?”

“Of course you can!” Sky happily exclaimed before Cloudchaser and Berry could voice their objections.

“Okay, thanks. Why don’t you get on the swing first then? I’ll push you,” she offered.

“Are you sure?”

“Totally, now get on!” Raindrops immediately said, flying behind one of the swings. Sky, somewhat sheepishly, got onto the swing before Raindrops started using her wings to try to pull it.

Cloudchaser just watched silently, her jaw threatening to hit the ground. “Berry, can you believe this?!”

“Not really…and neither can she apparently,” Berry said, looking over to the side.

Cloudchaser looked over as well, growling as she watched Spoiled Milk stomp her way towards Sky and Raindrops with a scowl.

“Raindrops!” Spoiled yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Raindrops let go of the swing immediately. “I-I was just-”

“Hey, why don’t you leave him alone!” Cloudchaser yelled, suddenly jumping in between Spoiled Milk and Sky.

“Relax, I don’t have business with your ape. And neither does Raindrops. Now, come on. Let’s leave before she decides to make good on her threat,” she snidely said as she turned around to leave. Raindrops looked like she wanted to argue, but all she could do was look sadly at Sky before she started to slowly fly after Spoiled.

Cloudchaser and Berrry both let out sighs of relief as they watched them walk away. Sky, however, frowned at Spoiled as he muttered. “Why should she go with you?”

Everyone froze and slowly turned to Sky. Cloudchaser, Berry, and Raindrops’s mouths were slightly agape. Spoiled, however, was glaring furiously at him. “I’m sorry, would you like to repeat that?!” she asked, stomping towards him.

“I…I…” Sky studdered, any bravado he had quickly melting away.

“Hey, leave him alone!” Berry Punch exclaimed.

“Not until he tells me what he just said,” she threatened, taking another step towards him.

“Leave him alone!” Cloudchaser exclaimed, spreading her wings out a bit. “Or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll what, ape lover? Attack me? Beat me to a pulp? I’m sure your mom and dad would love to hear all about it. So, go ahead. Make. My. Day,” Spoiled taunted. It took every fiber in Cloudchaser’s being to stop herself from lunging at her right there and then.

Raindrops didn’t know what to do at first. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to support Sky, but she was too scared to do anything. Yet, the more she watched Cloudchaser and Spoiled stared each other down, the more she realized that there was little chance of her walking out of this without losing a friend. And she knew which friend she didn’t want to lose. “She’s not going to do anything,” she said as she flew down towards them. Cloudchaser growled, shifting a little to face Spoiled.

“Oh, and why’s that?” Spoiled asked, smirking.

When Raindrops landed, she turned to face Spoiled. ‘Because you’re going to leave Sky alone.” Everyone flinched back from her answer, Cloudchaser losing her defensive posture in the process.

“You…what?!” Spoiled exclaimed. “What’s the meaning of this?! Why are you taking his side?!”

“Because he’s my friend, Spoiled!” Raindrops said, taking a step towards her.

Spoiled took a step back, growling. “Your friend? Please, he’s not your friend. You’re my friend, remember. Now, step asi-”

“No!” Raindrops exclaimed, taking another step forward. “Sky is my friend. He’s been more of a friend to me than you!”

“More of a friend. How?”

“Well, he likes talking to me before school starts. He listens to what I have to say. And he likes doing stuff with me. All you’ve ever wanted to talk about was you and your family. I don’t remember doing stuff with you, cause I only remember doing stuff for you. If that’s what you consider your friend, then being your friend sucks!”

Spoiled let out a snort as she leveled a glare at Raindrops. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”

“You know I am!”

Berry and Cloudchaser just stared slack jawed at her. Neither of them knew what to say at the moment. Spoiled, meanwhile, had nothing more to say. All she wanted to do was pounce her former friend to teach her a lesson. A sudden cough from behind her stopped in dead in her tracks.

“Excuse me, is there a problem here?” White Board said, frowning at the five of them.

“No ma’am,” everyone but Spoiled, who was silently staring at the ground, answered.

“Good. I hope to keep it that way,” she stated, mostly at Spoiled.

As she started to walk away, Spoiled Milk looked up at the others for a few seconds before lifting her nose up with a huff as she turned to walk away.

Raindrops let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before turning back to Sky. “Are you okay, Sky?”

“Yeah…what about you?”

“I’m fine,” she answered. She let out a chuckle before adding, “That was actually kinda scary though.”

“Yeah, that was,” Sky admitted with a small smile. “Wanna continue where we left off.”

“Yeah,” Raindrops said as she started to walk back to the swings.

“Hey, Raindrops,” Berry Punch suddenly yelled out as she approached her.

Raindrops stopped, turning to face her. “Y-yes?”

There was an almost unsettling silence between the two of them as they stared each other down. Berry then smirked as she asked, “Wanna push him really high?”

“Um…sure,” Raindrops replied quite nervously.

“Then I’m gonna help,” Berry Punch said proudly.

Raindrops flinched a little as she stared wide eyed at Berry. “Really, you are? I mean…you really don’t have to.”

“Yeah, but I want to though. Beside’s, Sky loves it when Cloudchaser and I push him. Right Sky?”

“Yeah I do!” Sky exclaimed.

“See! Now, fly up to the ropes. I’ll help you pull it from below,” Berry explained, getting a shy nod from Raindrops in response.

Right as she was about to follow Raindrops to the swings, Cloudchaser placed a hoof on her shoulder and said, “Hey, Berry, hold up. I wanna talk to you about something.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Hey, Raindrops I’ll be with the two of ya in a second.” Berry turned to face Cloudchaser before asking, “What is it, Cloudchaser?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, slightly above a whisper.

“Helping Sky and his friend. Maybe become friends with Raindrops while I’m at it.”

“What?! I thought you hated her!”

“I did. But maybe she’s starting to grow on me now.”

“You…you can’t be serious! Don’t you remember how she treated Sky? Or how she was friends with that jerk?”

Berry frowned at her, “Yeah, and we just watched her end that friendship. And Sky gave her a chance before that. So, I’m going to give her a chance too. Whether you like it or not!”

Cloudchaser hardened a glare as she watched Berry Punch trot up to the swing before placing her hooves near the bottom of the swing while Raindrops grabbed the middle of the rope. She just silently watched as she watched the two of them pull Sky up before releasing him. After watching them push Sky a few times, Cloudchaser let out a defeated sigh as she walked over to the swing. “Just deal with it for now, Cloudchaser,” she muttered to herself. “You only have to be nice to her during recess. Then you can ignore her for the rest of the day.”

Most of the foals ran out of the school when the last bell rang, all of them more than ready to enjoy the rest of the day. Cloudchaser and Sky were among them at first, but soon deviated from the group when they saw Storm over by the gate. “Hi daddy!”

“Hey, kids! Did you have a good day, Cloudchaser?” Storm said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” she answered with a shrug.

Storm raised an eyebrow at that. “Is there anything you wanna talk about?”

“Not really.”

“…Alright then, I guess we should start heading-”

“Storm! No way, Storm is that you!” a mare suddenly exclaimed from behind him.

Storm froze for a second. He recognized that rough sounding voice almost instantly. He turned around and found a gray pegasus mare, her white mane going down the right side of her face until it reached her cheek. He didn’t need to see the lightning bolt cutie mark to know who it was. “Thunder Blight?!” he asked in astonishment.

“The one and only!” she exclaimed, running up to give him a hug. “It’s been way too long, buddy! What’ve you been up to?” she asked, separating from the hug.

“Well, I was working at the weather factory at first. Now I’ve been managing the weather team here.”

“Wait, what?! When the hell did you sell out?!” Thunder Blight exclaimed

“Says the mare signed up for the royal guard,” he answered with a smirk.

“Hey, that’s not selling out. That’s trying to serve my princess.”

“Yeah, and I call my position a way to support my wife and kids.”

“Hold up, you got married too! Dang, I missed a lot when I went to Canterlot.”

“Guess so. So, how did things go at the guard?”

“They…kicked me out during the first week,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “Turns out you need discipline to become a guard. Who knew?”

“I’m pretty sure everypony would’ve told you that,” Storm pointed out with a smug grin.

“Yeah, yeah. Stop being a smart aleck,” she replied, playfully smacking his shoulder. “Anyway, after that, I ended up living in a box for awhile, took some odd jobs, and rented a moldy, one-room apartment before landing a gig as a bouncer at some bar.”

“Sounds rough. Sorry that happened to you.”

“Ah, don’t be. It was because of that job that I met my husband.”

“Oh, you got married too? Anypony I know?”

“Eh, probably not. He’s a meek unicorn named Annuity Bond,” she answered proudly. “Had to throw a mare off him when she was being to hoovsy with him. He came back a few nights later and actually had the guts to ask me out. I humored him at first, but took a liking to him after a few dates, spent a few nights with him, and got married. We moved here a few months ago once he got a new job here.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad things worked out for you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” she replied with a smile. She then look down to see Cloudchaser and Sky looking up at her curiously. “Oh, hey, is this one of your kids?” she asked walking up to Cloudchaser.

“They both are actually,” he clarified as he trotted behind them. “Kids, why don’t you introduce yourselves to my old friend.”

Cloudchaser immediately bounced up to her before saying, “Hi, I’m Cloudchaser!”

Sky, while not as enthusiastic as his sister, walked up to the mare and said, “I’m Sky Chaser. It’s nice to meet you.”

Thunder Blight paused for a few seconds as she stared at Sky before flashing them a big smile and pointed a wing to her chest. “Well, it’s nice to meet ya too.! I’m Thunder Blight!” She then hopped over to Storm and turned around to continue facing them, wrapping a wing around Storm. “And I’m the oldest friend your father’s ever had.” She leaned over to Storm’s ear to whisper, “So, about your son here. What happened? Was she worth it? And did Blue Typhoon kill her when she found out?”

“No, it nothing like tha-…wait, how did you know I married Blue?” He asked, pushing himself away from Thunder Blight. The widest smug grin he had ever seen plastered on her face was all the answer he needed. “I just told you. Didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but I was also kinda hoping it was her. What with you being all sweet on her back in school,” she replied, nudging him with a forehoof. She turned her head towards the school and started looking around the yard. “Sweet Celestia, what’s taking her so long?”

“Who?” Storm asked.

“My daughter, dummy. Why else would I be at the school?”

“Sorry, you just never mentioned that you had daughter.”

“Yeah, but I did say I spent a few nights at Annuity’s place,” she said with a wink.

“…You know, I’m not even surprised,” Storm deadpanned.

“I’d hope not. Then I’d be questioning whether you know me or not.” She looked back at the school as she said, “She’s certainly taking her sweet time. Normally, I’d trust her to fly home on her own, but she insisted I come meet a new friend of her’s today… Oh, finally, there she is now!”

All eyes were on the school’s door as it opened. Cloudchaser was the only one to frown as Raindrops walked out. She immediately smiled when she saw Thunder Blight and flew over to her. “Hi, mommy!”

“Hey, sweetie!” She exclaimed, wrapping her daughter in a hug when she caught her. “What were you doing in there for so long?”

“I had to ask Mrs. Whiteboard some questions, mommy!”

“Well, guess there ain’t anything wrong with that,” she said, putting Raindrops down. She looked around as she asked, “So, where’s this friend of yours? They didn’t run off while you were in there did they?”

Raindrops shook her head. “Nope, he’s right here.” She bouncer over to Sky before saying, “Mom, this is my friend, Sky Chaser.”

Thunder Blight was drawing a blank at first. Then a smile gradually grew on her face as the gears started turning in her head. “Oh. My. Celesia! Storm can you believe it?! Our foals are already friends! Do know what that means?!”

“No, I can’t say that I do.”

“This means you have to bring your kids over to my house for a play date!”

Storm raised an eyebrow at her. “Huh, that…actually sounds like a good idea.”

“Of course it’s a good idea,” she said, wrapping a wing around Sky and Raindrops. “They’re already friends. So, we’re going to make sure that they’re the best of friends.”

“I don’t think that’s how that works, Blight,” he said with an amused smile.

Raindrops raised an eyebrow before whispering, “Sky, what’s going on?”

“Our parents are really old friends.”

“Oh…that’s weird.”

“Oh, hush you,” Thunder Blight lightly chastised, ruffling her daughter’s mane. “So, how does Saturday sound?”

“I won’t be able to bring them. I have to work that day. Blue should be able to though.”

“That’d be great. Celestia knows that I need to catch up with her too.”

“I’ll be sure to ask her about it tonight then?”

“Tell her I’ll only accept a yes,” she joked. She stretched out her wings before saying, “Well, we should get going. Come on, Raindrops. Let’s get you home so that you can get your math homework done before dad gets home.”

“Okay, mom. Goodbye Sky!” she exclaimed before taking off after her mother.

“Goodbye, Raindrops!” Sky yelled out.

“Well, that was something. Blue’s gonna get a kick out of this,” Storm muttered with a grin before looking over to his kids. “We should head home too.” He paused when he saw Cloudchaser just frowning silently at the shrinking Raindrops. “Cloudchaser, is something wrong.”

“Nope, nothing’s wrong, daddy,” Cloudchaser answered.

“Nu-uh, you just don’t like Raindrops!” Sky accused.

“That’s right. So nothing’s wrong,” Cloudchaser affirmed as she started to walk home. Sky leveled a glare at her as he followed close behind.

Storm let out a sigh as he followed the both of them. “Something tells me that I’m going to be glad that I’m working on a Saturday.”