A Herd in Maretime Bay

The next day the group were at the beach again. Aside from the fact that the mares were now wearing their new swimsuits, things started out the same as last time. They arrived, set up their belongings, put on sunscreen then Misty dug into her book while Hitch began massaging the others’ backs one by one. But of course, things were different this time. Misty was part of the herd now, which meant…

“Hey Misty,” Hitch said, approaching her. “Would you like me to massage your back too?”

Misty let out a little squeak. The image that had been popping into her head several times over the past few days was becoming a reality. Was this a dream? She pinched her own cheek to confirm this was real. It was.

“Sure.” She replied, a bit hesitant. Misty put her book down and shifted so she was lying on her stomach while Hitch knelt down behind her. She couldn’t help but tense up when she felt his hands on her back, but then he started massaging her and all Misty’s tension and nerves quickly faded away. She let out a contented sigh as she closed her eyes. “I can see why you girls enjoy this now.”

Unbeknownst to the group Haven and Alphabittle were sitting further up the beach and were watching them from a distance.

“Misty seems to be alright now.” Alphabittle commented, sounding hopeful.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still upset with me.” A rather dejected Haven countered.

“Hey,” the stallion placed a hand on his marefriend’s shoulder. “Misty might just have been having a bad morning that day. And I’m sure she isn’t upset with you.”

Haven sniffed. “I hope so.”

Back with the herd Misty heard two ponies approaching before a familiar voice spoke. “Well, someone sure looks like they’re enjoying themselves, huh Misty?”

Misty opened one eye to see Jazz and Rocky standing over her and Hitch. The Pegasus stallion had an amused expression on his face while the Earth Pony mare was sporting her signature shit eating grin. Misty closed her eye again. “Oh, shut up and let me enjoy this Jazz.”

Misty couldn’t see it, but Jazz’s grin widened. “So you are enjoying it then.”

“Hey, Pipp.” Zipp said suddenly. “Don’t you have something to talk to your employees about?”

“Oh yeah.” Pipp grabbed the invitations from her bag before ushering the two away from the others.

“What was that about?” Sunny asked.

“Pipp wants to make sure Jazz and Rocky know to keep quiet about our herd,” Zipp explained. “And she can give them their invitations to the grand opening at the same time.”

“No, I get that. I was asking Misty why Jazz seemed so keen on teasing her for enjoying getting a massage from Hitch.”

Misty turned her head and opened her eyes so she was looking at Sunny. “When I went to talk to Jazz about how to bring up the topic of the herd after I tried to talk about it during a conversation with Hitch she suggested that I might be struggling because I wanted to join the herd. I said no at the time but then on my way back to the Brighthouse afterwards I realised that she was right. I think she’s just realised that she was right as well and is feeling all smug about it.”

“Ah.” Sunny nodded her head in understanding.

Once Hitch finished massaging Misty’s back he started playing with Sparky while Sunny and Izzy began construction on a rather elaborate sandcastle. Instead of returning to her book Misty elected to remain lying where she was and enjoy the sea breeze, until she felt a shadow fall over her. Looking up she saw Zipp standing there with two surfboards, Misty’s and her own.

“Hey, Misty. Want to go try and catch a wave?” The Pegasus mare asked eagerly.

Misty stood up and stretched. “Sure. Let’s go.”

Misty honestly wasn’t sure what happened. One moment she and Zipp were surfing together, then the next moment a large wave came along and wiped them both off their boards. Neither of them must have been paying attention. All she knew was that suddenly the two of them were lying in the shallows, panting heavily to try and catch their breath after ending up underwater unexpectedly. Once she got her breath back Misty noticed that she and Zipp were lying face to face.

“Hey.” Zipp said, a flirtatious tone to her voice.

“Hey.” Misty replied breathlessly, getting lost in Zipp’s blue eyes. For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of them. Then the moment was shattered.

“Oh goodness. Are you girls alright?” Haven asked, running over.

Misty saw Zipp’s expression flicker for a second before a very fake smile appeared on her muzzle as she stood up. “We’re fine, mom.” Zipp answered, dusting herself off before offering a hand to Misty to help her up.

“Yeah, fine.” Misty added as Zipp pulled her up. There was a slight edge to the other mare’s voice. Apparently Zipp was still mad at her mother for feeling the need to ask Misty about the group’s love lives.

“Good, good.” Haven looked directly at Misty. “Listen, Misty dear. I wanted to say…”

Misty felt Zipp start to move beside her, probably to step between Misty and Haven. Thinking quickly, Misty took advantage of the fact that she was still holding Zipp’s hand to squeeze it, sending a silent message to Zipp to stay put. Fortunately, Zipp seemed to get the memo.

“…sorry for what happened at the cafe. It was very foolish of me.” Haven continued, not seeming to have noticed anything.

“You don’t have to apologise.” Misty said quickly, shaking her head. “I should be the one saying sorry for running off.”

“Misty, we’ve gone over this.” Zipp groaned. “You don’t have to apologise for needing some time to yourself.”

“So, why did you run off, if you don’t mind me asking?” Alphabittle asked as he joined the group.

“Well…” Misty began, not entirely sure how to answer.

“Are you two okay?” Pipp interrupted, flying over to them. A second later Hitch ran over, carrying Sparky in his arms. Glancing over her shoulder Misty saw Sunny and Izzy swimming out to retrieve Zipp and Misty’s surfboards.

“We’re okay, sis.” Zipp assured her.

Sparky was looking at Zipp and Misty with concern. “Mama Zipp? Mama Misty?”

Zipp, Pipp, Hitch and Misty all froze. Well, shit. Misty thought.

“Fu…” Zipp and Pipp both started to say at the same time.

“…dge.” Misty finished quickly, cutting them both off. It was a trick she had seen Izzy do once before when Pipp was so frustrated with trying to write a song that she nearly swore in front of the Pippsqueaks.

Hitch let out a sigh of relief. “Good catch, Misty.”

Haven and Alphabittle were looking from Sparky to Zipp and Misty, confused expressions on their faces. “Did he just refer to you two as mama?” Haven asked.

“Er…” Zipp had no idea what to say.

“Why don’t you both come to the Brighthouse for dinner tonight and we’ll explain everything.” Misty said quickly.

Hitch and the sisters shot her a look that said they didn’t like the sound of that plan, but before they could say anything Haven clapped her hands together. “Excellent. We’ll be there for eight.”

“Um, sure. See you then.” Pipp said awkwardly.

Satisfied, Haven and Alphabittle departed. The group watched them go. “We’re screwed.” Zipp said as soon as they were out of earshot.

“Yep,” Misty agreed. “I know I’m the one who said we should stop hiding, but I kinda wanted to have a plan first.”

Pipp sighed. “Well, cat’s out of the bag. Better go tell those two.” She pointed in the direction of Sunny and Izzy.

Sunny spotted the others as they were walking back and waved to them, sporting her usual smile. But something about their facial expressions or body language must have alarmed her, because the smile quickly faded. “Did something happen?” She asked.

“Sparky called Zipp and Misty mama right in front of mom and Alphabittle.” Pipp explained.

Sunny and Izzy paled. “Oh, snap.” Izzy said quietly.

“And now they’re coming over for dinner so we can explain everything.” Zipp added.

Sunny gave a nervous chuckle, then groaned. “We are so done.”

“Izzy, is the fruit cake ready?” Sunny asked frantically as she and Pipp set the table.

“Not yet.” Izzy reported, bending down on her knees to examine the cake through the glass oven door.

“Table’s all set, Sunny.” Pipp said, putting the last of the cutlery in position.

Sunny nodded in acknowledgement. “Good. Zipp, Hitch, is the salad done?”

“Just about.” Hitch replied.

Misty looked up from the microwave as she finished setting the timer for the ponycorn. “Um, don’t you lot think you’re overreacting just a smidge?”

“Misty,” Izzy stood up and approached her, her eyelids twitching. She grabbed Misty by the shoulders and began shaking her. “We’re just about to reveal to two people we care about that we’ve been lying to them for months. You of all ponies should know what that feels like.”

Misty’s expression darkened before she shoved Izzy away from her. The other Unicorn stared at her in shock. Misty’s expression quickly turned apologetic. “Sorry,” she apologised, her voice hoarse. “I just don’t like being reminded of bad memories. Anyway, you shouldn’t compare this situation to mine. This secret is nowhere near as bad as the one I was hiding. Heck, this secret isn’t even bad.”

“Maybe, but to paraphrase something I once said to you, we haven’t been honest Misty.” Zipp said.

“Yeah. Lying to your loved ones is never a good thing, no matter what it’s about. I mean, this is our mom and your dad we’re talking about.” Pipp pointed out.

“Alphabittle’s also technically my guardian.” Izzy added.

“How are you being so calm about this anyway?” Hitch asked Misty. “I figured you’d be the most stressed about all this, given your past.”

“I’ll agree that these circumstances are less than ideal,” Misty admitted. “But I still don’t think that it’s enough to warrant…” she spread her arms to gesture at the others, who were all various levels of frantic, particularly Sunny. “This reaction.”

At that moment the microwave beeped. Misty turned her attention back to it, opening the it and using her magic to levitate the ponycorn onto the table. Then there was a knock at the door and everyone except Misty leapt.

“They’re here? Oh no, no, no. We’re not ready yet.” Sunny tugged at her mane in panic.

Misty walked over to the over and knelt down. “The fruit cake looks ready.” She reported. “You guys finish setting the table, I’ll get the door.”

Leaving the others in the kitchen, Misty approached the double doors. Sparky, who had been sitting on the couch this whole time, jumped down and ran after her. Misty opened the door to see Haven and Alphabittle waiting outside, arms linked.

“Hello, Misty.” Her father greeted. “I hope we’re not too early.”

“Oh no, you’re right on time.” Misty replied. She glanced over her shoulder to see if the others had finished and saw Sunny coming over, a rather forced smile plastered across her muzzle. Misty groaned. This is what the rest of my night is going to be like, isn’t it? Keeping my herdmate from breaking out into a full blown panic.

“Hey, Alphabittle.” Sunny said, putting her arm around Misty’s shoulder. “Hi, Queen Haven.”

The two of them quickly picked up on Sunny’s nervousness and shared a concerned look. “Sunny, are you alright?” Haven asked.

“Ptth. I’m fine.” Sunny tried to dismiss their concerns, waving her hand nonchalantly, but her facial expression betrayed her.

“She really is fine,” Misty assured them, sounding bored and trying to ignore the fact that Sunny was leaning most of her body weight on her. “She and the others are just making a bigger deal out of this than it is.”

“Mama Sunny?” Sparky piped in.

This drew Haven and Alphabittle’s attention to the baby dragon. “Does he refer to all five of you as mama now?” The queen asked.

“Yes, but he only started doing it yesterday.” Misty admitted.

“So it’s a very recent development. But why would he start doing that unless…” Alphabittle trailed off. His eyes widened, and Misty knew her father had worked it out. He covered his face with his hands. “That conversation at the cafe…”

“Conversation at the cafe?” Haven repeated, sounding confused. “What’s that got to do with any…thing.” A look of realisation appeared on Haven’s face.

Sunny’s smile became somehow more forced than it already was. Now Misty was starting to get seriously worried. “Sunny-bunny, I’m beginning to think you’ll hurt your face if you keep trying to force your smile like that. Maybe ease up a little.” Sunny didn’t respond. “Sunny? Sunny, for the love of Opaline say something!”

Sunny shook her head. “For the love of Opaline?”

Once she registered what she’d said Misty wanted to slap herself. Damn you, Opaline. Damn you for putting those phrases into my head.

“Dinner’s ready.” Izzy called.

Sunny jumped slightly. Misty gave a small smile. “Well, shall we eat?”

“So about that question I asked you at the cafe, Misty.” Haven said as she helped herself to a slice of fruit cake.

“Huh?” Misty had stuffed her mouth full of ponycorn. She quickly swallowed it all. “Oh, right. I admit I was lying when I answered.”

Haven leaned forward eagerly. “Tell me everything.”

Zipp tapped her fingers against the table nervously. “Mom, have you ever heard of herds?”

The older Pegasus’s face scrunched up in thought. “Herds? That does ring a bell. Oh, I remember now. I read a book about them in the castle library back before I was queen.”

Zipp blinked. “There’s a book about herds in the castle library?”

Her mother nodded. “I forgot the name for it was herds, but I remember the concept. That’s why I asked Misty if there was something going on. I figured you lot could have that type of relationship and make it work.” She smirked. “And I was right.”

Alphabittle chuckled. “So if none of you knew about the book at Zephyr Heights, how did you find out about herds?”

Misty muttered something about a collection of books Opaline had in her castle while Hitch, Izzy, Zipp and Pipp all pointed at Sunny, who slid down in her chair until only the top of her head and her ears were visible above the table.

“To make a long story short, Sunny told me about herds back before pony kind reunited. She had found some texts referring to them amongst her father’s research.” Hitch explained. “Then later after we met Izzy and the sisters I realised I had four friends, all of whom I found attractive. I wasn’t sure what to do at first, until I remembered about herds.”

“So Hitch came to me and proposed the idea of him forming his own herd,” Zipp continued. “I liked the idea, so we formed it. Then he invited Sunny to join, then Izzy, then Pipp.”

Alplabittle looked over to his daughter. “And Misty?”

Izzy let out a nervous laugh. “Funny story. We meant to invite her ages ago, but with so much going on in our lives we kinda forgot.”

“And as a result, Misty didn’t end up joining our herd until two days ago when she brought the topic up herself.” Pipp added.

“Wait, two days ago?” Haven asked. Pipp nodded. “Was this before or after you met with us at the cafe?”

“After,” Misty answered. “Like literally right after when I came back to the Brighthouse.”

“Can someone please help me up?” Sunny said suddenly. She was still slid down in her chair.

“I got you, Sunny.” Izzy stood up from her chair and pulled Sunny up back into a sitting position.

“Thanks, Iz.” Sunny half stood up and pecked Izzy on the cheek.

“So you six are a herd,” Haven stroked her chin as Izzy sat back down. “That’s gonna be one complicated wedding to plan out.” She joked.

The group’s cheeks all turned pink, Sunny’s Alicorn form flickered into existence for a second, Izzy and Misty’s horns both sparked and Zipp and Pipp’s wings both flared. “Mom!” The sisters both yelled.

Alphabittle burst out laughing. “Never mind the wedding, what’s the proposal gonna look like?”

The herd’s cheeks turned from pink to red. But soon the blushing subsided as they all started laughing too. Once the laughter died down Misty noticed that her herdmates’ nervousness from earlier had vanished and they were back to acting like their usual selves. Well, would you look at that. Everything turned out alright.