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- >It's a pleasant afternoon towards the end of summer.
- >The sky is blue and spotted with flecks of white, the breeze is a bit firmer than usual with the coming of autumn and, in the distance, you can see Cloudsdale pumping out clouds for the seasons ahead.
- >All in all, it's a pretty nice day, may as well call it a cicada haze.
- >At least until a thundercrack snaps the calm, putting your hair on end.
- >Gritting your teeth, you stand and walk to the edge of the porch.
- "Not again... All right you chuckle monkeys, get your tails down here NOW!"
- >You're not even surprised when Hotshot touches down first, even less so that he's trying to appear as innocent as possible.
- >This boy...
- >Ace comes down next, looking more than a little peeved with her clothes slightly singed and the scent of ozone pouring off of her.
- >She shoots a deathglare at her brother, who puts on his best hurt expression.
- >"Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything."
- >"Yeah you did you klutz!"
- "Enough."
- >Holding up your hand, you step between your two children.
- >Hotshot's relieved smile lasts only until you give him the evil eye, while Ace is stuck in a perpetual pout; arms crossed over her chest.
- "We've got one more, right?"
- >You look up to the third member of their merry band, hovering a fair distance above.
- "J.B., now."
- >There's an exasperated sigh as the satyr wings towards the ground.
- >It's an agonizingly slow descent, but as you begin to tap your foot, the standoffish satyr quickly decides to touch down rather than earn another tongue lashing.
- >Still, he doesn't seem to be taking this very seriously, with his arms crossed over his chest and a happy smile on his lips.
- >"Hey Pops, what's the beef?"
- >A comeback about gravy makes it to the tip of your tongue before you bite it back.
- >You can't afford to be playing J.B.'s games right now.
- >Crossing your arms over your chest, you look between the three satyrs for a long moment.
- >Ace and Hotshot's shoulders slowly begin to sink towards the ground
- >Even their boisterous buddy realizes that everything is not okay
- >Satisfied that they've thoroughly tenderized themselves, you ask the question you already know the answer to.
- "Who did it?"
- >Silence, but you can see both J.B. and Ace looking at Hotshot out of the corner of their eyes.
- >Big surprise there.
- >Taking a deep breath, you ask again.
- "Who was playing with lightening?"
- >Finally, the ruddy-haired satyr raises his hand with a trembling sigh
- >Before immediately firing off with an excuse
- >"Poppa, you don't understand, J.B. was there and teasing and Ace was-"
- >You hold up your hand again.
- "I don't-"
- >"But he started it and Ace was-"
- "Hotshot!"
- >The boy clams up.
- >Taking a deep breath, you reach out and place your hand on top of his head.
- "Were you playing with lightening?"
- >"...yeah."
- >With a heavy sigh, you ruffle his hair a few times and give him a nudge towards the door.
- "Go inside, you're grounded until Momma comes home."
- >The boy's eyes bug out of his head as he turns back to you.
- >"But, but that's like hours from now!"
- "Yup."
- >Another nudge.
- "So you'll need to find something else to do with your time rather than flying."
- >The slackjawed boy stares at you a moment longer, then huffs as he stomps his way up to the house, grumbling the whole way.
- >And then there were two.
- >Ace is giving J.B. the stink-eye, so obviously there is more to the story.
- "Who's going to tell me what happened?"
- >"Well, see Pops-"
- "Don't call me that."
- >J.B. scowls, the thick strands of milky-white hair falling in front of his face.
- >Sweeping them back, he clears his throat and tries again.
- >"Well, what I was trying to say was that we were all playing MONKEY."
- >Ugh, MONKEY.
- >It's like HORSE but for ponies; everyone follows the lead of the person before them and tires to perform the same movement as well, then add something better.
- >Most of the time it's okay.
- >But put three hyper-competitive pegasus satyrs in the same space and, ugh.
- "So what happened?"
- >"Well, I was winning-"
- >"I, was winning; you were cheating."
- >Ace glares at the cheeky satyr.
- >J.B. sticks out his tongue and continues.
- >"Anyway, Ace and me"
- "And I."
- >"Whatever; Ace and I had an M-O each, but Hotshot had just gotten his E, so he was really peeved."
- >That's hardly a surprise, Hotshot is the youngest of the three, with your daughter and J.B. being closer in age to each other than to him.
- >Not to say the boy isn't talented, but in terms of size, experience, and all around muscle, the other two have him beat.
- >"So anyway, we're watching him as he goes through the route, and then he starts circling this cloud."
- >J.B.'s grinning by this point, fully into telling the story.
- >"Round and round he's goin; faster and faster and making the cloud smaller and smaller. I thought he was going to puke for sure!"
- >You motion with your fingers for him to speed up the story, which earns you a teenage sigh and a roll of the eyes.
- >"So anyway, all that activity really got the energy in the cloud hopping and then it was all ZAP!!!! right into Ace's face. She looked like some disco-pony with her hair all frizzed out like that!"
- >With a whoop, J.B. throws his hands into the air and starts laughing as though it were the funniest thing in the world.
- >He even goes so far as to flop onto his back, kicking his legs in the air.
- >You step back to avoid the icy-winter colored thrashing limbs and look to Ace.
- >Who is fuming.
- >Best to let this play out on its own.
- >And sure enough, it does.
- >"You forgot the most important thing, J.B."
- >Wiping a tear from his eye, the smug satyr sits up.
- >"Wu-wuzzat, Ace?"
- >Gritting her teeth, she gives him a quick kick in the haunch as she shouts
- >"You're the one who suggested he do it in the first place!"
- >J.B. yelps, hopping to his hooves and glaring at the girl.
- >"Hey twerp!"
- >"Hey yourself!"
- >As the two satyrs square off, you push your way in between them.
- "Okay, enough of that."
- >Ace settles down almost immediately, but J.B. struggles against you for a moment more.
- >Glancing to your daughter, you nod towards the house.
- "Go make up with your brother and get cleaned up."
- >The girl glances between you and the remaining before nodding.
- >As soon as her hooves touch the stairs, J.B. relaxes and goes back to grinning.
- >"Man, the two of them are a real hoot though, right?"
- >Turning your full attention back to J.B., you loom over him for a moment, savoring the small gulp of tension that rumbles down his throat.
- "They're my kids, and they're very important to me. I'd like you to keep that in mind from now on."
- >You stand over him for a while longer before smiling and placing a hand on his shoulder.
- "C'mon, join me for a sit."
- >The cheeky satyr doesn't seem especially inclined to do so, but you're not in the mood to take no for an answer.
- >Sitting yourself own in your chair, you motion to the one beside you.
- >J.B. stares for a moment before plopping himself in and begins rocking.
- >You do as well, and the two of you stare off into the distance for several minutes before you finally speak up.
- "I don't mean to be harsh, J.B., I know that you're a good kid, but you've got a bit of a mouth on you."
- >"Yeah, Mom says the same thing."
- >He rocks in his chair for a few seconds before shrugging.
- >"She said that I get it from my dad."
- >You snort.
- "Oh does she?"
- >"Yup. Did you know my dad, Pops?"
- >Looking over at the wide eyed boy, you can't help but smile a little and ruffle his hair.
- "I know enough to say that you probably got your tongue from your mother."
- >J.B. nods, turning back to the horizon.
- >"I'm going to find out about him one of these days. There aren't that many humans in Equestria."
- "I have no doubt."
- >The topic quickly shifts to school and sports, and then anything else to change the subject.
- >After a few hours of talking, eating, and the three fliers making up with one another, there's a rapid-fire rapping on the door.
- >J.B. scampers to it first, throwing it open and grinning.
- >"Hey Mom!"
- >Of course, Hotshot and Ace are hot on his hooves.
- >"Momma!"
- >Spitfire comes in first, laughing as she wraps the kids up in a hug, nuzzling against both of their cheeks.
- >"There's my little darlings!"
- >As the three of them chat away, Fleetfoot hops onto her hind legs and plants a kiss on J.B'ss cheek, much to his displeasure.
- >"Aw gross! Mom!"
- >As he moves outside, wiping his cheek on his sleeve, the fabulous flier approaches you.
- >"Everything good?"
- "For the most part. He's still a handful."
- >"As if that's any different than usual."
- >The mare rolls her eyes.
- >Glancing towards the pile of Spitfire and family, she flinches a little, then forces a smile up at you.
- >"Well, thanks for watching over him while we were on tour; it isn't easy to find somepony to handle a satyr."
- >You nod and an awkward silence grows between you.
- "Well, hope you had a good trip. Take care, Fleetfoot."
- >"You too..."
- >The mother and son pair take to the sky, leaving you out on the porch to watch them go.
- >By the time they're just specks in the distance, you feel a familiar pressure pressing up against your leg.
- >Smiling, you reach down and ruffle Spitfire's mane.
- >"You have a good time?"
- "Well as can be expected; you?"
- >"Same as usual; Fillydelphia's gearing up for winter already."
- >Snorting, you look down at her, and she up at you.
- >"He still doesn't know?"
- "Not yet."
- >Scritching her ear, you can't help but smile as the tell-tale moan of mare-turning-to-mush rumbles up from her throat.
- "But he's a smart kid, and he said it himself: there aren't that many humans in Equestria."
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