//------------------------------// // 37: After Party // Story: New Moon // by AzuraKeres //------------------------------// The chilly night conquered the warm air that swathed the city of Manehattan. Ponies continued to walk the streets—purchasing goods, riding taxi carriages, and pairing. On this night, Lazuli gathered her friends and family at her favorite cafe in Manehattan. They filled the restaurant with energy and delight. Granny Smith and Cloudy Quartz spoke fondly of their farm. To Bud’s annoyance, Limestone laid cozily on the elder mare’s hooves. The little filly would often swipe Bud’s hoof away at each of her attempts to groom her. It was unfair. Loving Hope rubbed her cheeks upon Tenure Grace’s mane, enchanted by its silky texture. Bud could only expect Grace to fare with her privacy to be besmirched for some time. Bright Mac and Bow Hothoof guffawed of their competition as the bedrock of their friendship. Carrot on the other hoof grumbled of his deserved victory. Chiffon consoled her husband in her grasp and groomed his mane. This should have been harmony. And yet, Bud could only sigh with a forlorn face. “Bud,” Velvet Sparkle called her from across a table they shared. Beryl and Sabah sat next to Bud, brushing her back with comforting hooves. “I promise it’s not as bad as you think it is. You just need to relax.” “How can I?” Bud hissed with a low voice, careful not to draw attention to herself. “I just found out that my best friend likes me. And not in the way a best friend should. What am I supposed to do?” “You could start by not freaking out,” Nebula commented from between Bud’s hind legs. “Honestly, just when you begin to show promise, you become an immediate disappointment.” Beryl, Sabah, and Velvet had noticed Bud’s silence on their way to the cafe. Curious of what ailed her mind, they arranged a table with her to ask Bud to share her thoughts. Nebula crossed her hooves and huffed, “To fear something as flimsy as love instead of I truly baffle me. You truly lack common sense.” “That’s not fair,” Bud retorted, narrowing below the table to her daughter. “I’ve never been desired before. It’s usually me that makes the first step.” “Which have all ended in disastrous failures no doubt. I must again question whether to entrust the safety of Luna to a mare so weak and passive.” “Um,” Bud perked at the voice of Sabah. “You know your daughter is not the only one you can confide in, right?” Bud blinked at Sabah’s response and then laid Nebula on the table to hide her blushed face. “Also,” Sabah continued. “What do you mean, you have never been desired? What of your thestral lover?” “I don’t want to talk about that right now,” Bud groaned. “Can’t you see I’m having an existential crisis here?” “You can be so cruel,” Beryl pouted. “Here you have an unworldly story of romance with a creature long forgotten by Equestria and you haul it all to yourself.” “However,” Velvet said. “We respect your privacy and would never push you to tell us if you’re not comfortable to. Besides, that is not the pressing issue here.” Bud could not thank Velvet enough for taking her side. However, she knew she couldn’t expect them to remain passive about her mysterious partner forever. A pony could only have so much patience. Especially Princess Celestia. But for Lazuli to have feelings towards her shook Bud’s world. She wondered how long Lazuli had felt that way. Had she been plotting to couple with Bud this whole time? If so, how is it that Bud never caught on to this? Wait, Bud thought. Plotting… Lazuli is going to join me at Ponyville in a few days. It’ll be me, her, and my foals… “Dear Celestia,” Bud blurted in a low voice. “Lazuli asked me on a date.” “Ah, then she has already made the first move,” Sabah said. “How did I not see this? I don’t think I’m mentally prepared for a date. Oh no, what should I do?” “You won’t find a solution without a calm mind,” Velvet advised. “You just need time to process this. Why not first ask yourself how you think of Lazuli?” Bud had been wondering about this since Wind Rider shared this unprecedented news with her. To be honest, she didn’t know what to think. Bud had never seen Lazuli other than a friend. A pony that gave her a sense of security and joy that no pony beside her mother had for her. But could Bud call that love? “Is it because Lazuli is a mare that you are confused?” Sabah asked. “Hm,” Beryl said, tapping her chin. “If mares are not part of Bud’s preference, then her turmoil is far more understandable.” “I’ve...never thought about dating a mare before,” Bud confessed. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always looked for a stallion to have a foal with. Becoming a mother was the most wondrous thing I’ve ever desired.” “I hope there is more than just being a stallion that earns your fancy,” Velvet said. “You should take more consideration into the pony themself as to who your partner is.” “I know,” Bud groaned and dunked her head on the table. As Bud unfathomably grumbled to herself, Nebula climbed atop the back of Bud. Nebula gleamed her fangs and lunged for Bud’s ears, however, Bud quickly grabbed hold of Nebula’s face. “Will you stop it, Nebula?” Bud urged. “I’m in no mood for this right now.” “Then quit your sulking and start thinking of a solution,” Nebula hissed. Beryl had sipped her cup of tea before calmly laying it back on the table. “Why not test it out?” Beryl suggested. “If you are curious about this, then do not use this date as an opportunity to learn about yourself.” Bud and Nebula paused their feud and stared bewildered at Beryl. “You mean,” Bud started. “You want me to go along with the date.” “An understanding is pivotal to a relationship, dear. Finding the parts of your soul that can be intertwined with another is a wondrous luxury to have. It’s something I wished I had the chance to explore.” “What do you mean?” Bud seized the moment to catch daughter and lock her between her hind legs. Nebula made her regular protest against Bud that her mother had long grown used to. “Didn’t you find love with your husband?” Beryl chuckled. “Oh, forgive me. I just find the courtship of freely selecting one’s partner a delight I wished to take part in.” Beryl took another sip of her tea. “You see,” Beryl continued. “Due to my noble blood, my line of suitors is limited to those acknowledged by my family.” Bud gaped at Beryl. “You mean your marriage was arranged?” “It’s common practice among royalty,” Velvet explained. “Unicorns of high status prefer their offspring to be in the hooves of those with high power.” Bud frowned. “I’m so sorry, Beryl. I must sound spoiled complaining about my problems.” Beryl laughed in response, earning a confused gaze from Bud. “Oh Bud,” Beryl said. “There’s no need to pity me. I can assure you that I am happy with my husband, Ardent.” “Even so, the fact that I have a choice makes me feel bad. My reasons for having a partner in the first place were selfish.” Bud let out a sigh. “I feel stupid.” “Don’t be,” Beryl countered. “Your feelings should always be taken into consideration. So now, you will have to find where to take those feelings. A pony you know well in your life wishes to grant you, love. I suggest you ruminate about this before giving her your response.” “Just use another one of your sappy spiels, like you always have,” Nebula grumbled. “Isn’t that your specialty?” Bud looked at her friends across the table. To think one unbelievable meeting at Canterlot would grant her so many wonderful friends astounded her. But Bud was thankful for it. Bud smiled. “A date in Ponyville, huh?” She said, “I always imagined my first date being there.” “What’s going on over here?” Bud’s body jolted at the sound of Lazuli’s voice. Lazuli dropped before the table fast, shocking the mares. “You guys look like you’re plotting something sinister.” Bud let out a high-pitch yelp that garnered the attention of every pony in the vicinity. The eyes of Bud’s family and friends trained on her made her body numb. “Uh, Bud,” Lazuli said, approaching her. “You alright?” Lazuli tried to reach for Bud but quickly retreated from Lazuli’s hoof. “I’m fine,” Bud hurriedly said and picked up Nebula. She then wandered to a rug corner of the cafe where Pear was playing with the foals. Bud placed Nebula atop her back and grabbed hold of Artemis, who stared befuddled at her mother. “I just uh, realized that it’s Nebby and Arty’s bedtime.” “Is that it?” Lazuli chuckled, though her smile looked fragile. “C’mon, today’s a special occasion. It’s not often we have everyone here like this.” Bud couldn’t find it in herself to look at the others standing behind Lazuli. Not like this. “I… need to go.” Bud strapped Artemis on her pectoral and exited the cafe. As Bud disappeared through from across the windows, the group muttered amongst each other about Bud’s strange behavior. Loving Hope raised on her hooves and left the cafe. Lazuli stared dazedly from where Bud and Hope left her sight. Through the window, she saw both of them pass by her father, Wind Rider. He leaned outside the cafe with a cup steaming hot during the cold night. Lazuli sensed something terrible from Bud’s reaction to her. It didn’t make any sense to her. But eventually, something clicked in her mind… Rage swelled within Lazuli’s heart. A wave of anger that had been festering for years but held withhold as her last line of respect for her father. But now Lazuli wanted nothing more but to let it all loose. Wind Rider took no delight in the cold night. If not for his hot coffee to warm his body, he would have no choice but to take shelter with the others at the cafe. A part of him, though he may have overstayed his welcome. He only came here for a reason, after all. And yet, within the cold, he could not help but think of better times. He recalled a night at a restaurant he shared with his wife, Summer Lapis. It was on the day he set the Mustang record that would forever etch him into Wonderbolt history. Lapis was a reporter whom he consented to an interview. However, what was supposed to be a review of his success as a wonderbolt shifted to talk of the most irrelevant things. Lapis baffled Wind Rider. He was supposed to be the fastest pony there was, but Lapis would always have him eat her dust in their conversation. It was a wound in his pride that Wind aimed to correct in their next interview. Wind snapped from his thoughts when he heard a ring from the cafe entrance. Rushing out of the cafe came Bud with her foals clutched onto her. He took note of the frown plastered on Bud’s face. “Running away isn’t going to solve your problem,” Wind said as Bud stopped a few feet away from him. Her eyes looked back at him with a coldness he never imagined this mare to have. “You’re the last pony I want to hear that from,” she responded in a cold voice and then left. Wind simply watched her leave and took a swig of his coffee. The gall of the mare to call him a coward left him grumbling. “Running away?” Wind Rider said. “Why else am I here in the first place?” Next came Hope, who gave Wind a brief glance before rushing through the streets to find her daughter. Hopefully, she could talk some sense into Bud. But then came somepony that worried him. Wind had made the poor decision to look into the window of the cafe. There he locked his eyes with a shocked Lazuli. And then her surprise arched into a rage. As soon as Lazuli began her march out of the cafe, Wind could expect one thing to happen. Wind Rider sighed, “How typical.” He knew his daughter to be quick-tempered with him. That seemed to be her default emotion toward him. Wind’s disappointment by her waste of talent and Lazuli’s anger at Wind providing her guidance. It wasn’t always this way. He could still remember the days when she looked at him with a smile. She was a brash filly who strived to exceed his expectations. Those were simpler times. Lazuli slammed the door open and gave an intense glare. The contempt in her eyes was all Wind needed to remember that those times were long gone. “Tell me right now what you did!” Lazuli demanded as she stomped before her father. “I swear, if you did anything to Bud, I’m gonna-” “I didn’t touch her, if that’s what you are insinuating,” Wind said. He then took another drink of his coffee. “I know you did something. You’ve never approved of my relationship with Bud. So now you’re finally trying to sabotage, right?” “Is that how you speak to your father?” Wind quirked a brow at Lazuli, only to be met with the same intense glare from his daughter. “You haven’t been a good one in a long time,” Lazuli retorted. “Now talk. What did you do?” Wind stared at his daughter for a moment before he continued. “I told her something I had expected you to have already told her. It is the reason you’ve fallen so far.” “...you...what?” Lazuli muttered. And then her eyes stunned open. “You told her that?” Wind averted his gaze from Lazuli. He didn’t like this reaction. A part of him hated that weakness on her face. He raised her to be strong and never waver from her ideal. And another part of him couldn’t help but pity her. “I figured you would have told her by now,” Wind explained. “You’ve chosen to go against guidance and flee all the way here with her just so you could have her. I would have at least expected my daughter to have the courage to confront your feelings.” In an instant, Lazuli swung her hoof toward her father. Despite how swift her movement was, Wind reacted fast and caught her hoof. Pain surged through his limb from the impact. Though not as much as the cup of coffee he dropped on the sidewalk. Honestly, Wind felt prideful of the strength in her hoof. Her muscles were smooth, yet dense. A perfect composition for an ace flier.” “Why?” Lazuli asked. “Why do you always want to hurt me?” Wind sighed. “What I want is for you to inherit my place in the wonderbolt. You have the talent and skill to be recognized as among the best and yet you waste it here with young foals at that academy. Obviously, I don’t like where you have ended up, but the last thing I would do is play petty games to manipulate you.” “Petty, you say,” Lazuli snickered. “Aren’t you the one who disowned your own family just so you could be the best? You don’t seem to have a problem hurting those of your own blood.” “I did what was best for me,” he retorted. “To become the ace, I am now, I had to remove all the distractions that held me back.” “And is my future as a wonderbolt best for you, too? Did you bring me into this world just so you can inflate your ego to the world?” Wind twitched an eye. “I don’t need you to prove that I’m one of the best. I’ve already done that myself. I wanted to show the world that you were better.” “So that’s it? You want me to become a better version than you? So, what, do I have to throw away everything precious as well. My friends, my job, my hobbies, my family. The benefit here is that I wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore.” Wind paused at her response. He then looked at the night sky. “I wonder what Lapis would do if she was here. You know, though I hate to admit it, she had a way of reigning us both. It’s no secret that I like to take control, but whenever it came to the three of us, something about it felt comforting. Strangely, those times were more memorable than my record, if you can believe it. I can picture all those little moments so vividly.” Wind looked at his daughter, who glanced confused at him. “I’m just rambling at this point, aren’t I?... Well, let me at least tell you this. I gave her my blessings.” “Huh?” Lazuli crooked her head. “I know nothing I tell you will take you off this path you’re going,” Wind Rider said. “You’ve shown me today how passionate you are as a coach to these foals. Despite how irrelevant I think it is, this is clearly important to you. And so is Bud. So…” Lazuli backed away from Wind. Her eyes swiveled about, trying to piece everything together. But the only thing she could do was sigh. And then she left, leaving her father alone on a starry night. As Lazuli walked through the streets, she passed by an alleyway that hid a white stallion. It was Hawk Inkwell. Hawk had taken his daughter, Raven Inkwell, back home before he would dine with Beryl and Wind Rider. To his horror, he came upon a heated argument between Wind and Lazuli that prompted him to hide. Their argument left him disturbed. To think the star wonderbolt would have such a toxic relationship with his daughter shocked him. But what scared him more were the similarities he shared with Wind Rider. Just as Wind set a path for Lazuli, Hawk had done the same for Raven. Was this what Hawk would expect in his future with Raven?