The night came and went like a thief in the night as the family happily slept. The moon shined bright as it gently cast its light over all of Equestria. Every member of the family, except Anonymous, remained in their beds as the moon lowered. He awoke and got out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, careful not to wake his wife up. As the moon disappeared and the sun rose to take its place, Anonymous walked into the kitchen.

The sun's rays made their way into the living room, which prompted the man to start cooking breakfast for his whole family. Anonymous had always been the early bird while his bat pony family members often stayed in bed. This gave him plenty of time to cook for them uninterrupted. The man was on a high having had a good night's sleep. Because of this, he opted to cook a skillet breakfast for everypony.

"If I can't get a Denny's skillet breakfast, I'll make my own. I hope they'll like it."

The man pulled out fresh ingredients from the fridge and went to work on cooking the best breakfast skillet he could. He was inspired to make a southwest skillet hash with pony friendly ingredients and went to cook like a boss. In about 30 minutes, he made enough for the entire family and was satisfied with his breakfast creation. The smell of hot and fresh breakfast permeated the apartment home, and the scent woke up everypony.

It didn't take long before his wife and foals came into the dinner room as he set the breakfast on the table. Glisten Sheen, Eventide and Moon Flash's eyes widened as they ate breakfast on the table and were excited to eat. Sweet Shade's mouth dropped as she saw the delectable morning fest her husband whipped up. As he finished putting the drink on the table, Anonymous crossed his arms with a satisfied smile and said, "Breakfast is served."

"Wow! Thanks dad! It looks really good." said Moon Flash.

Eventide ran up and gave Anonymous a hug before saying, "Thank you, daddy!"

The man returned the hug before his youngest daughter made her way to the seat. Glisten Sheen simply stared at the food before turning her attention to her dad and said, "Thanks dad. I really mean it. Thank you."

A small smile formed on her face before she took her seat. Anonymous was glad his eldest daughter was grateful, but he felt something was off with her. There was a brief look of sadness passing in her smile. It was quick and subtle, but it was there.

"Is she sad? I kinda feel like something is bothering her. I'm going to talk with her after breakfast."

"You're welcome, Glisten Sheen."

As the foals made their way to their seats, Sweet Shade looked at Anonymous and flew up to him. He kissed him on the cheek and nuzzled him before whispering, "I'm going to treat you right tonight."

The man grinned as Sweet Shade blushed and landed back on the floor. She too made her way to her seat and was joined by Anonymous as he sat at the head of the table. Anonymous took a quick second to admire what sat before him. At the table was his family, the family he loved so dearly, and he felt like a man for giving them the best life he could. He wouldn't allow anything to jeopardize their lives and if anyone or anything attempted to do so, the wrath of Anonymous would be brought down upon them.

Satisfied that everything was alright, Anonymous said, "Well, my wonderful family, enjoy!"

The family ate the wonderful breakfast, leaving no spec of food left on the plates. Anonymous thought to himself, "Nothing can ruin this at all. Not a damn thing."

As Glisten Sheen finished her portion of the dishes, the teenage filly made her way to her room. Anonymous saw that this was the best opportunity to talk to his oldest daughter. For the past few months, she had been emotionally distant and more reserved. Not only had it affected her relationship with her siblings, but it also affected her relationship with her mother. It seemed anytime Sweet Shade was around, Glisten Sheen either tried to avoid her or gave her the bare minimum interaction.

The behavior worried Anonymous and his mind was worried what the core issue could be.

"Was there a fight I'm not aware of? Is it just simple teenage angst? I really hope it's not an issue with colts."

The thought of some despicable colt hurting his oldest daughter boiled his blood. She was, after all, old enough to attract teenage colts and God forbid, young stallions on the prowl for young teenage fillies. Anonymous knew he'd likely do something drastic to ruin whatever foolish teenage colt had harmed his daughter. Regardless of the real reason, the man couldn't let this behavior continue and sought answers from his daughter. Just as Anonymous walked into her room, the teenage filly was busy putting overnight items in her saddle bags.

The father closed the door, which caught her attention. Glisten Sheen was surprised and curious as to why her father closed the door. The teenage filly knew that usually meant she was either in trouble or that a serious discussion was about to be had. Resigning to her fate, the teenage filly sat on her bed and said, "Hey dad. What did I do wrong?"

Anonymous facepalmed and replied, "Oh my oldest daughter, nothing really wrong per se, but I'm worried about you. You've been emotionally distant the past few months. I have no clue what's going on, but we're going to talk about it. I'm not going to leave until I get some answers."

Glisten Sheen looked down at the floor, clearly nervous and conflicted about something. This made Anonymous worry even more, and he controlled his emotions as best as he could. He needed to be strong for his daughter in order to help her with whatever issue she had. The teenage filly took a deep breath and said, “Are you going to go away?”

Time stopped for Anonymous as his oldest daughter’s question took him for a loop. He had no idea why she asked that question but replied, “Glisten Sheen, why do you think I would leave you and the family?”

The teenage filly kept avoiding her father’s eyes and continued, “What I mean is, what if something happened that would make you want to leave? What if you and mom don’t work out?”

Anonymous chuckled at that statement, mostly because he knew his marriage with Sweet Shade was as solid as a rock. The idea of divorce at this point was unfathomable. Anonymous asked, “Is there a friend of yours that’s going through a divorce?”

Glisten Sheen shook her head in a “No” answer before asking, “What I mean is, what if you and mom split? Would if something happened that would make you not want to be around anymore? Like you’d be ashamed to have been our dad or-”

Holding a hand up, Anonymous said with authority, “STOP! Glisten Sheen, look at me.”

The teenage bat pony filly looked into her father’s eyes as ordered. The filly was scared and sad, clearly looking for reassurance from her father. The man, with conviction, said, “I will NEVER abandon you or your siblings. I RAISED you from the moment you and your siblings were little babies. If you think I’d ever walk away and let anything, get between your guys and me. May God and Faust have mercy on anything or anyone who dares get between you guys and me. Do you understand?”

Glisten Sheen’s eyes started to form tears with her lower lip quivering, almost like a baby. The teenage filly suddenly flew at her dad and hugged Anonymous for dear life. The man was surprised by this but held his teenage daughter just the same. The filly cried into her father’s shoulder and tightened her grip with her forelegs. The man held firm too and cried a bit in return.

Glisten Sheen, albeit muffled, cried out, “Don’t leave us daddy! I don’t want us to lose you!”

Tears fell down his eyes as he and his daughter bonded. Anonymous couldn’t only hold onto his teenage daughter and think, “The feels man…damn the feels.”

After Glisten Sheen and Anonymous calmed down, the two joined the rest of the family in cleaning up their home. Sweet Shade noticed that Glisten Sheen was upset and saw that Anonymous had red eyes from crying. The motherly mare tried to find out what was wrong but both Anonymous and Glisten Sheen dismissed her. Anonymous simply told her that it was a personal matter and that he took care of it. Once she was satisfied everything was okay, Sweet Shade went to check on Moon Flash and Eventide’s progress.

As the younger foals cleaned the dishes, Glisten Sheen prepared her overnight bag for their stay at their grandparent's apartment. Anonymous and Sweet Shade prepared their evening clothes for the company's party night. The man had a brand new, fully customized suit that screamed high value and he couldn’t wait to wear it. It was on par to the quality one could find at a high-end suit dealer in any major city back on Earth. Sweet Shade had an equally exquisite dress that came from Miss Rarity's Boutique in Canterlot.

Anonymous had met the business mare on a business trip and after talking with her at a café, he placed an order for his wife. Sweet Shade was surprised that Anonymous had a custom dress made specifically for her and loved the dress once she received it. She was even more impressed that he knew her measurements and rewarded him with a blowjob the day she received it.

Anonymous grinned at the memory of his wife giving him head, as well as tasting her nether regions in return. She said it wasn’t necessary but quickly gave up as he insisted on returning the favor. She didn’t complain after that.

“Heh, I love giving my wife oral. I swear, nothing better than good ol’ 69.”

They were going to go to the party dressed to impress. And the best part for the married couple, was their foals would not be home that night. Sweet Shade made it very clear they were going to have a marathon “fun” session, with little to no breaks. Anonymous almost couldn’t wait to get laid again, but knew all good things came to those that wait. After getting his mind out of the gutter, the man packed all of his clothes for the evening.

After carrying his bag, the man rejoined his family in the living room. His wife and foals were all ready with their saddle bags packed up. Anonymous looked at his foals just once, making sure they had everything they needed. Moon Flash was wearing a T-Shirt with a Moon Wars logo on it. He was like Anonymous when he was 10, as he too enjoyed Sci-Fi during his childhood.

“Oh course, the ponies have a Star Wars equivalent. Lord, was that movie hilarious.” thought Anonymous.

Eventide had a cute little flower between her ears and wore a white shirt with an adorable filly skirt with a moon flower sown on the side. Anonymous adored his sweet little night angel and hoped she would remain that way into her teenage years. He knew it was a long shot, but he nonetheless loved his youngest daughter’s innocence. Anonymous could only hope Glisten Sheen would feel better knowing she’d never lose him no matter what.

A small nagging feeling made Anonymous worry that there was something else. He couldn’t help but wonder what started her insecurity the past few months. If he had time, he would have pressed the matter further. Unfortunately, he did not and Anonymous pushed the concern aside as nothing more than teenage angst.

“Hopefully, her attitude will improve over the next coming months. I want her to do well on her exams. She’s been eyeballing the Manehattan Scientific University and I want her to get in with no issues…and to save some Bits if I can help it.”

Satisfied at their appearance, Anonymous asked, “Did you guys do all of your cleaning? Got everything you want to take? We’re not coming back the moment we go through that door.”

“Eeyup! I sure do!” said Moon Flash.

He pulled out his Joy Boy Deluxe, complete with the games Anonymous bought him for his birthday. Once again, the Joy Boy Deluxe was on par with its equivalent, the Game Boy Advance. Even the games were surprisingly decent, though Anonymous was irritated that the Ponies had no Advance Wars equivalent. He’d have bought another Joy Boy Deluxe to play with his son for that reason alone.

The man shook his head at his son and said, “I see you have your priorities. Okay then, put it away until you get there. I don’t want you losing it on the tram ride.”

“Yes dad.” said Moon Flash as he put the hoofheld game system back in his saddlebag.

Glisten Sheen was in the process of putting her mini-gem cartridge player and headphones in her saddlebag. Anonymous saw that headphones were the wireless magic gem version. They were slightly inferior to bluetooth headphones from Earth in the man’s opinion but the Equestrians were on the right track. Anonymous remembered paying 100 Bits for the player but Glisten Sheen had been helpful in watching her siblings and helping her mother out. If any of his foals deserved an expensive toy, it was her.

Eventide was perfectly content with her books and drawing pad, as she had shown an interest in Art. The man was happy one of his kids had a cheap hobby, despite getting a higher raise. Satisfied everything was right, Anonymous turned to his loving wife and said, “Lead the foals out, I’ll lock up the place.”

Sweet Shade winked at Anonymous with a loving smile before turning to their foals, “Okay, you heard your dad, no last minute rushes to your rooms. Let’s go.”

As Sweet Shade walked out, Moon Flash was the first to follow, then Eventide, and Glisten Sheen. Anonymous made one last check around the home before locking it up. As Anonymous walked down the hall to the elevators, he thought to himself, “My life is perfect. Ain’t nothing gonna change that.”

As he caught up to his family, the man gave his mare a quick kiss before the family went down to the lobby. It was a short walk to the tram station, with the family in high spirits for the weekend.

Copper Top had been in the library for the past three hours on her day off. Ever since she saw Anon’s family, alarm bells were ringing in her mind. The ponicemare took another sip of her coffee as she went through the three books concerning crossbreeding. She had learned a great deal from the surprisingly easy to follow books concerning the subject. The last one was a little old and delicate but it contained valuable information.

She had learned crossbreeding was directly responsible for the creation of the Griffon and Hippogriff race. In regards to the Minotaur race, records were very incomplete or pure speculation at worst. It wasn’t known who the other parent race was, though records suggest it might have been an ancient human. Other records suggest another creature with human-like arms but it likely would never be known.

One thing the books mentioned was that most creatures who crossbred would come out with similar features of both parent creatures. In the case of two quadruped parents, the species would likely share hard physical features of both parents while being quadruped. If a creature happened to be a biped and crossbred with a quadruped, then the offspring would likely be a quadruped with mane colors, eye colors and cosmetic features from the biped parent. There would also be a 37 percent chance the offspring would be a biped taking the form of the biped parent but with colors borrowed from the quadruped parent or mixed colors.

Copper Top had to read that portion of the book three times before remembering what Anon’s foals looked like. Since he had three of them, and they were all ponies, more colors and cosmetic characteristics should have been borrowed from Anonymous. While Anon had green eyes similar to their mother, there was nothing else physically tying him to his foals.

And if the books were correct, one of these foals should have come out with a human-like body. Not a single one had a black mane, mixed colored mane, tail or even green/mixed colored fur coat. A sinking, foreboding feeling in Copper Top’s gut slowly increased as she began to fear the worst. The man might not be the father of his foals and unaware as well.

“Dang it! I wanna be wrong, but this just stinks to the moon and back!” shouted Copper Top.

An old, elderly mare with glasses and a pearl necklace came around the corner and went “SHHH!”. As quick as she came, she disappeared into the maze that was the Manehatten Central Library. Copper Top facehoofed at her outburst before looking back into the books. She was trying to find anything that would contradict or assuage her worries.

Unfortunately, the books were consistent in the likelihood of what a crossbred of a biped and quadruped would look like. The reason the rules were different compared to crossbreds of two quadrupeds was a built in safety effect from the potion. The book stressed that since magic was a tool to overcome the natural order of breeding species, it was necessary to have that feature built in as a means to ensure healthy, viable offspring.

In order to save the ancient Lion and Bird race from dying out, a potion was made by an ancient Equestrian Wizard. The Wizard was older than even Starswhirl the Bearded himself, and even that of the Princesses. Because a great, unclarified destructive event wiped out the old races, a potion was made to prevent complete extinction. Records weren’t clear who the name of the Wizard was but that was irrelevant to Copper Top.

What was relevant was the fact the potion decides the appropriate amount of blood mixing to produce a healthy, viable offspring. And thus, the Griffon race was born, at least according to the books on the subject. Copper Top had no interest in looking into Griffon or Hippogriff history to confirm that. Her only concern was to make sure Anonymous wasn’t suckered into being a victim of paternity fraud.

Such an act used to be punishable by the Solar Court, but Princess Celestia removed that. The reasoning behind it was the foal needed the mother regardless, but it left a sour taste in Copper Top’s mouth. It reeked of reducing the stallion’s status as a parent and reduced the fact the stallion was a victim. Paternity could be disputed, and the affronted stallion could be released from duties as a parent but compensation or being struck from the record of birth was rare.

If Anonymous was indeed a victim, he’d have to bring his case to the Night Court of Princess Luna. Ever since her return fifteen years ago, she integrated well but kept a lot of her old ways. The return of the Night Sentinels and the Night Court were well known to Equestria. Many ponies rarely went to her Court sessions, as she was more averse to babying full grown ponies. She also was harsher in her judgments against those who committed acts of wrongdoing, both criminal and civil. Most cases, both criminal and civil, were dealt with within the systems of their cities. To seek the audience of either Diarch would take time if a subject formally made said request.

It did happen from time to time, and if Copper Top was correct, bat ponies usually fell under the Night Court systems and ancient bylaws of the bat ponies. They were truly a unique race of ponies, some with their own customs and ways of solving disputes. If the worst was truly confirmed, he could have a decent chance at justice, if he played his cards right.

“I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t even know if those foals his or not.”

Copper Top looked further in the books and found that a heritage spell could answer the question. It was mostly created to study the crossbred species for scientific purposes but could theoretically be used to determine parental lineage, both female and male. It could only be cast by a specially trained unicorn or capable magic wielder, as it was neither a common nor simple spell.

The mare stopped and thought to herself for a brief moment.

“Would he even listen to me? Would he even want to know? How could I convince him to try and get the spell cast on his foals? I’m gonna have to do some more digging on his wife.”

As Copper Top finished reading the books, she finished her coffee and put the books back. Satisfied she found out as much about cross breeding, another thing popped in her mind.

“How did he even get the crossbreeding potion? They have to be rare and a controlled item, and not cheap either…”

The mare stopped and pondered while holding a hoof at the bottom of her mouth. She tried to give Anon’s wife the benefit of the doubt, but her gut was still bothering her. As if on cue, Copper Top remembered Anonymous's wife.

She had met the mare at the club the night Copper Top was supposed to meet him many years ago. She also had seen the very same mare with a known stallion she and her fellow cops had run into several times. The stallion was suspected of several petty crimes, and he had a prior criminal record too.

And suddenly, it all fell into place. Copper Top’s face went pale as she put two and two together.

“Oh bucking Tartarus! I got to find Anon! And I need to gather some evidence! A quick stop by a substation for records check and home for my gear.”

The ponicemare didn’t waste any time making her way out of the library and ran to a nearby substation. She’d have to put in for some extra leave, in order to pursue her personal investigation. After quick records check from the station, and leave extension, she broke into a gallop. As she made her way onto the tram system to reach her apartment, Copper Top thought,

“This is for you Anon; I’ll always watch your back.”

Author's Note

I felt I might have been able to expand more, but you guys and gals have waited long enough. I hope it was good either way. Share your thoughts!