The New Life Begins
Blossom took the news surprisingly well. “This is a joke, right? One of those times when you’re just being silly and random? Because there’s no way you could seriously be considering naming our child Aurora Boreawesome.”
Eepy bit her lip, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of us.. “Well, I like ‘Aurora’.”
“That part of the name’s not the problem,” Blossom grumbled.
I shrugged. “I know it’s silly, ridiculous, and completely over the top, but it’s just a fun name. I like saying it.”
Blossom rolled her eyes. “You realize that would get our kid laughed at in school, right? You can’t treat her name like it’s just a joke.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “It would just be her middle name. Most ponies don’t even care about middle names. You and Fluttershy don’t even have one, and I bet neither one of you know what mine is.”
“Lysistrata,” Blossom and Fluttershy responded in near-perfect unison.
Huh. When did I tell them that? “Way to undermine my argument,” I grumbled.
“Whether or not everypony knows her middle name isn’t really the point,” Fluttershy murmured. “We shouldn’t give our foal a bad or silly name just because her middle name doesn’t matter. It matters to Blossom, and it matters to me. While Rainbow’s suggestion is very ... nice, I don’t think it’s the right one for our child.”
Blossom frowned at me. “Don’t tell me you’re going along with this just to get some points with Rainbow? I know she’s been a bit worried about the two of you drifting apart now that you’re not working together, but there are much better ways to deal with her insecurities than letting her give our foal a ridiculous name.”
“It’s not about Rainbow,” I grumbled. “It’s just...” I shrugged helplessly. “I guess just saying ‘I like it’ isn’t good enough?”
“For most names, saying you like it is fine,” Blossom answered. “We’re gonna need a bit more for a name like ‘Boreawesome’.”
I sighed and ran a hoof through my mane. “Yeah, I guess that’s fair enough.” I tried to come up with a more substantive argument than saying that I liked the name, or that Rainbow would sulk if we didn’t take her suggestion. Pushing that angle would probably just lead to Blossom pointedly reminding me that Rainbow wasn’t the sire, which would be kind of hard to argue with. A best friend and honorary aunt is a big deal, but it’s still well short of an actual parent. All else being equal, Blossom and Eepy had the right to veto Rainbow’s ideas. I had to admit though, it was a little amusing to imagine what Rainbow would name her own foal...
Maybe Blossom had a point that part of why I was working for Rainbow’s suggestion was to keep things going smoothly with her. Rainbow was pretty worried about losing touch with me now that we weren’t working together. Which was ridiculous considering everything else we’d been through, but just because I thought she was being a bit silly didn’t invalidate her feelings. Going along with one of her silly name ideas wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’d ever done to help calm her down when she was feeling a bit insecure.
Maybe I should just try to seduce Rainbow and get her to turn our trio into a quartet? It would deal with her insecurities, and if we could move past all our mutual baggage we’d probably work pretty well. Of course, that baggage was pretty substantial, and while the idea was appealing in abstract we’d never really had a romantic dynamic. I loved her every bit as much as I did Blossom or Eepy, but it was a different sort of love.
Still, I wasn’t going to give up on my choice of name without a fight, and I was prepared to fight dirty to make it happen. “Alright. Fine then. If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”
“Do what?” Blossom asked, frowning at me.
“You know...” I grinned and slowly ran a feather up her spine. “That.”
Blossom shivered, then blinked and quickly took a step back from me. “Tempting, but I’m wise to your ways. This is one problem you can’t sex your way out of.”
“No such thing,” I shot back with a teasing smirk. “That just means I need to break out a few tricks you haven’t seen yet.”
Blossom rolled her eyes. “We’ve been together for years, Cloud. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen just about everything you can do.”
Oh, there was no way I could let that pass. I grinned at her, scooting over to give her a long, lingering nuzzle. “That sounds like a challenge. One thing Dash and I have in common, we can’t turn those down.”
Blossom shooed me off with one of her wings. “Don’t make me get Fluttershy’s spray bottle. I will use it on you if I have to.”
“Fiiine.” I sighed and slumped back onto the couch. “No using my feminine wiles and incredible sexual prowess to convince you to see things my way, even though I totally could if I really wanted to. Everyone knows I’m irresistible when I’m really trying.”
“Of course you are, dear,” Fluttershy smiled and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder that somehow managed to be both comforting and just a tiny bit condescending.
I groaned and threw up my hooves in surrender. “Fine, we’ll drop the ‘Boreawesome’ part of Aurora’s name, if that’s what it’ll take to make you two stop teaming up on me. So what should we do for a middle name?”
Blossom frowned in thought for a few moments, then shrugged. “It’s not like we have to give the foal a middle name. Like you said, Fluttershy and I don’t have one. The usually only come up in families with a strong family naming convention.”
“Like the Kickers?” I pointed out. “I mean, I guess we could try something vaguely Old Pegasopolan-ish like my middle name is, but...” I trailed off with a shrug. Nothing was really springing to mind, and it’s not like I was incredibly devoted to slavishly following every single clan tradition. Besides, I’d already insisted on the kid being a Kicker, that was more than enough work to honor the whole clan legacy.
Fluttershy idly stroked my huge lump of a belly. “If we do want to choose a middle name, I still think Nimbus would be really nice.”
I grimaced and shook my head. “I dunno. I mean, I get the idea behind it, and it’s nice. You know, honoring Mom and everything. It’s just ... that’s a name with a lot of baggage for me. I’m already pretty worried that all my mom issues might end up bouncing back on my kid, and putting her name on Aurora ... yeah, that probably makes it more likely.”
“Right,” Blossom sighed and rubbed my back. “I think you’re a bit more centered than you’re giving yourself credit for. I doubt you’d do anything ridiculous just because your mother’s name is our kid’s middle name, but ... well, I suppose if we’re vetoing your idea for a middle name, you can veto ours too.” She smirked at me. “After all, as you’re so fond of reminding us, your vote counts for more since you’re the one carrying the kid.”
“Darn right it does.” I playfully hoofed her in the shoulder. “Not to mention it’s my mom’s name we’re talking about.”
“I suppose that’s fair enough,” Fluttershy conceded. “I suppose if we don’t have a good idea for a middle name, we could always just go without.”
“Seems like the best solution,” I agreed. “I just hope Rainbow won’t sulk too much when she finds out she only went with half of her name suggestion. Though I suppose if we don’t give Aurora an official middle name, Rainbow might just assume it’s Boreawesome. I mean, it’s not like we’re telling her it’s not that.”
Blossom tapped her chin in thought, then shrugged. “I suppose it’s fine if that’s just Rainbow’s nickname for her or something. I’m just not putting it on our foal’s birth certificate.”
“That seems like a very reasonable compromise,” Fluttershy agreed. “I’m sure Rainbow will agree. If she doesn’t...” She took a deep breath, then spoke with surprising firmness for Eepy. “Well, then when Rainbow has her own child, she can name it whatever she likes.”
“Sounds like we’re all on the same page then.” I reached down and gave my own belly a quick pat. “Hey there, Aurora Kicker the Middlenameless One, who may or may not be nicknamed Aurora Boreawesome by a certain strange but very good friend of mine. Nice to finally know what I’m supposed to call you.”
“Let’s just stick with Aurora Kicker instead of including a paragraph of backstory in her name,” Blossom commented dryly, though her attempt at snark was ruined by the smile on her face.
“I really like it.” Fluttershy slowly ran her hoof over my belly, as if she could stroke the foal through my stomach.
“Sounds good.” I gently put one of my hooves on top of Fluttershy’s. “Now we just need to tell every—” The rest of my sentence disappeared in a gasp of pain as the foal kicked again.
Fluttershy’s ears perked up and scooted closer. “Cloud? What is it?”
“Fine,” I winced and rubbed my belly. “Glad you like your name, Aurora, but you don’t have to work so hard at living up to the Kicker part of it.”
“You okay?” Blossom asked, scooting up against my side.
“Yeah, fine,” I assured them both. “Just Aurora getting really restive again. Guess it’s no surprise when she’s close to coming out.”
“Right.” Blossom joined Fluttershy in rubbing my belly. “Be nice to your mom, Aurora. She’s gone through a lot for you already. I know you’re eager to meet the rest of us, but there’s no need to rush it.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I grumbled.
“Maybe someday I will,” Fluttershy answered with a hopeful smile. “I know it’s probably not what you want to hear right now, but I wouldn’t mind have another foal someday, and I’d like to carry it if that’s okay.”
“Be my guest.” I tried to smile, but it faded away into a grimace when Aurora kicked again. “I mean, the miracle of life growing inside my body is amazing and all, but I could do without the constant pain and discomfort.”
“I’m sorry it’s so hard on you.” Eepy wrapped a reassuring wing around me and kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry, I know you can do this.”
“You’re almost done,” Blossom chimed in. “Redheart said you were due any day now. Then you can look forward to being done with this.” She teasingly poked my shoulder. “And we’ll be done with listening to you complain about the constant pain and bloating.”
“No making fun of my suffering,” I pouted. “And of course, you forgot about—” I gasped as a new, much sharper pain shot through me. “Oh ... oh, that’s not just a normal kick.”
Blossom’s eyes widened and she immediately shifted from teasing to nurturing. “Are you okay? Is something wrong with the baby?”
“You know how you said it might be any day now?” I managed to groan out in between waves of agony. “Well ... I think it might be today.”
Fluttershy’s jaw dropped, and she bolted up to her hooves. “Oh! Oh dear! Oh my goodness, it's not ... oh my goodness!”
Blossom seemed to be keeping a slightly cooler head, but only slightly. “Do you think you can make it to the hospital, or do we need to do it here? Fluttershy’s got some experience from her animals, and I could go get Redheart...”
“I’ll make it to the hospital if you two have to carry me,” I groaned out. “No way I’m having this kid without a bunch of docs putting every painkiller known to ponykind in me.”
Fluttershy quickly grabbed her bag of medical supplies. “I’ve got a few things to help with pain in here. Maybe we could try some—”
The first contraction hit. “I need something way feathering stronger than what you’ve got!” I screamed at her. A second later I realized that I was screaming at the top of my lungs. At Fluttershy. “Sorry, I just—Shadow’s feathery TEATS! Get me to the hospital! Now!”
I’m sure there are mares out there who say that every moment of childbirth is a wonderful, magical experience. After having gone through it myself, I’m equally certain that every last one of them is a liar.
Back when I’d been reading classical literature in college, I’d come across a line in Lyequinegus’ biography where Plutrotus claimed that when Lyequinegus lost one of his eyes it hurt him ‘almost as much as a mare suffers whilst foaling.’ At the time, it struck me as a really weird and out-of-place comparison. Sure, the idea was to talk up how tough Lyequinegus was for carrying on in battle despite such a painful wound, but I just didn’t get why Plutrotus drew that parallel.
Now that I’d gone through it ... well, if Lyequinegus managed to keep fighting while going through something that hurt half as much as what I suffered, I had a newfound respect for the guy.
The main thing I remember about the whole experience is a whole lot of screaming at Redheart, Eepy, Blossom, and anypony else I could see about how I needed more meds. Then everything got hazy once they’d finally pumped me full of what I presume was the maximum safe amount of the most powerful painkillers known to ponykind. I’m not sure if the drugs actually took away the pain or if they just everything so foggy that I can’t remember it, but I wasn’t about to complain about either outcome. After all, if my brain didn’t really register the pain, that’s as good as taking it away entirely. Once everything was done, the docs told I’d been in labor for a little over eight hours. Considering how long that is and how much I don’t like what I do recall, I’m very happy I don’t remember it all.
Besides, everything cleared up in time for the most important part. I don’t exactly recall when my daughter was officially born, but once Aurora was out the docs gave me something to clear up my head since I didn’t need to be half-unconscious anymore to deal with the pain. I remember coming to lying on the hospital bed, feeling utterly exhausted and incredibly sore, but now it was more like the soreness from working out too hard rather than the earth-shattering agony I’d gone through up to that point.
I looked around the room. Blossom and Eepy were both sitting beside me, one on each side and holding my hooves. Eepy must’ve seen that I was starting to come back to the world because she gently nuzzled me. “Your father, Rainbow, Twilight, and everypony else are all waiting outside. Some of them wanted to come in, but Redheart didn’t want the room too crowded.”
“Yuh,” I groaned out, gently squeezing her hoof. I would’ve said something more, but even that half-formed syllable took a lot of work.
Blossom gasped softly, and when I followed her gaze I saw Redheart approaching us with a carefully wrapped bundle. The nurse smiled, then carefully passed it over to me.
I took my baby from her, all the pain and exhaustion fading away as I stared down at this tiny little foal. I know every mother is supposed to say this about their kids to the point of it being a huge cliché, but ... she was the most beautiful thing in the world to me. Her coat was lavender and just a shade lighter than mine, while her mane mixed pink and green in softer hues than Blossom’s. She opened her blue eyes for the first time, staring up at me.
As her eyes met mine, I knew my life would never be the same. This changed everything. But ... I think maybe I was okay with that. “Hi Aurora. I’m your Momma.”
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And there we have it. Dear old responsible Cloud and her little filly. Nice way to end it.
D'aw.
Yes, I think that sums it up.
Aww... what a sweet end. It has been one hell of a journey.
"having" or
"if we have"
ICR which movie but a husband asked his wife "How're you doing" She replied "I just had something the size of a watermelon squeezed through something the size of a lemon. How do you THINK I'm doing?"
First off: AWWWWW! :). Second off: This ending leaves me feeling conflicted. While I really wanted to see how everyone else reacted to Aurora’s birth, it also probably means we’ll get other stories that cover how this effects the ponies in Clouds life, which is awesome! Third off: I still think it would be hilarious if Blossom’s title is “Daddy”. All in all, a great story, and a pretty great ending!
Bummed the Tree hugger thing went nowhere.
Where's feathered teats. If Tia heard that one I think she chuckle. Her o!d friend\ lover is now in the same boat as her.
And so it ends. Very well done!
... Though really, would Aurora Boreawesome have been THAT bad a name for the kid to have? XD
Wait, wings or no wings. We never very clear on blossoms heritage
Well, that was sweet, but a little bit rushed I feel, and a very sudden ending. I do like Kicker's self-awareness of how cliché her own words are, but it makes it a bit refreshing.
And thus this story ends. And what can I say, it was a pretty sweet story. It wasn't as epic and adventurous as The Life and Times of a Winning Pony, focusing far more on the slice-of-life aspect, but perhaps that's a good thing. I have been following this story from beginning to end, unlike any of the other longer stories, and I have to say it's a pretty nice feeling to see a work slowly arrive from its beginning to its conclusion chapter by chapter like that.
I do enjoy how many new story possibilities this opens up. I'm expecting a time skip of some sort for future stories. Maybe centered around her being a little filly or her causing havoc like Pound and Pumpkin Cake in Baby Cakes? Oh well, I guess we'll see.
So what race is the foal exactly? Is it a pegasus or an earth pony? I didn't see any mention of wings, though with both Blossom and Cloud being pegasi, it's perhaps most likely that Aurora Kicker is a pegasus as well. Oh well, I guess we shall see.
I wonder what's next? "The Life and Times of Aurora Kicker?" Now that would be interesting to see.
Congratulations, Cloud Kicker. Aurora's got a great life ahead of her.
NOW I NEED ANOTHER STORY TO CHRONICLE THIS SMALL HORSE'S LIFE
8882958
C'mon, you have to admit that it's a very "Original Character, Do Not Steal" kind of name.
Hah!
Keep the Aurora part of the name.
There we go.
The pain of this childbirth is clearly karma for something.
It's easier on unicorns. The foals can just phase out of the mother.
And now comes The Life Of A Winning Mother.....
Splendid, this story like the one before this was totally worth it.
8883419
I dunno, that sounds like it could be full of possible medical complications, the least of which would be having an umbilical cord spliced through the mother.
It's over? Already?
It feels like to me it barely even got started.
Just curious because Cloud considered it..... is Rainbow not with Pinkie atm on the winningverse?
I eager to the next sequel!
D'awwww
Yep, they're married
8884531
Oh, so you've gotten "the pat" too, eh?
8884628
Personally? Naw, but I've seen it happen plenty of times.
Well, with a middle name like that, it's no wonder Cloud developed the proclivities she did...
D'awwww! <3
No Bunny Kicker. Dangit! *snaps fingers*
Oh well! Win some, lose some...
Thanks, as per usual, for all the effort and time in giving us another good story.
Are we going to see the whole 'protest at the Archon's visit' thing? Because for me that was probably the part I was looking forward to the most. I'd just like to know if that's something we will be privy to or not so I can stop waiting for it lol
Amazing story thank you for wrighting it. What tribe is the filly?
This story was just kinda boring. Like yeah it's supposed to be a slice of life not crazy action but things still have to happen, even if it's interpersonal things. The main conflict seemed to be the whole forest protest however no one took Fluttershy seriously and it felt more like they were patronizing a child. Every single person just agreed with more soldiers who have only been shown to be useless or just didn't care. Jokes were reused a lot and they stopped being funny like Cloud eating strange things because pregnant.
Wasn't Sunset supposed to visit at some point?
Wait, you're telling me Cloud Kicker is named after a character famous for refusing to have sex?
My one complaint is that it's over. All the Winningverse stories, except maybe Life and Times, seem to end too abruptly. No clue if that's the writing, me just wanting MOAR, or both.
)
Otherwise, another excellent fic. I really liked its more slice of life nature. The characters are what drew me to this universe (as well as the show, along with the fandom itself), and they really shine in your work. Interactions seem natural, arguments occur where they should, everyone has virtues and flaws; it's all very organic. Honestly, I'm really torn on whether I should dig into some of the side universes, particularly Freeport. My current goal is to empty my "Read Later" bin rather than add to it, but your work is that good.
Either way, I'll be watching for a new Winningverse fic. I can't wait to see how Ponyville evolves, what Aurora's life is like, whether Sparks goes all Guard, whether Twi ever finds somepony special, etc. (And seriously, we need Twi and Dinky/Sparkler being more family-y. Just imagine the snark levels! Imagine them!
Finally, I'd like to thank you for the story and the universe. One of the things that draws me to fandom and the internet is the willingness for folk like you to create something and just give it out to us completely freely. It's pretty awesome. Sometimes folk take that for granted, and I don't want to be one. So, sincerely, thank you.
Hey Aurora! Welcome to Casa de Life, lets get you situated! Now, we know you've been real busy with the whole, you know, cell dividing and hijacking your mothers body for a year, but we got some things to cover!
If you'll look to your left, you can ponies Merv Griffon albums, their Merv Griffon scrapbook, and their Merv Griffon Merv Griffon (He was made in a lab they say... but no means by way of pony can
they forbid Merv from Merving! He escaped, and they made another Merv! But our world could barely contain one Merv, and two threatened to rend the world in twain! And so through the Magic of Merv, the two Merv's fused into one Super Merv, and now delight young and old alike with the majesty of Merv Griffon.)
Over there you can see the Sunbeam Sparkle Club. Yeah, just the one pony. We had more, but during a convention in Fresno the whole of the Sunbeam fandom collapsed in upon itself like a neutron star, and collesed itself into a singularity of nerd horse. It has also seemed to have the effect he has been rendered into a non entity. No, nothing cool like he's existing on some different plain of reality... its just the whole of the multiverse is actively ignoring him at all times.
Over there we have humans. We have no idea what they are, what they want, but Princess Twilight assures us they are entirely reasonable and pleasant. Also, by Royal Decree, you are to ignore them or mention of them at all times. Avert your tiny horse gaze!
Ah, I see you're admiring our newest additions to this hospital, the ceiling and floor! Just had them installed... awhile ago. Got a great deal on em too. They apparently found out Rainbow Dash was going to be born so they figured they'd air on the side of caution and have someplace nearby where she could be really stupid for a few days and develop a love of literature. Oh, and the mares around here got tired of having to squirt out their foals where the gypsies could grab, and wanted to writhe in agony bringing life to the world where the gypsies can't get them so they can focus fully on how much terrible pain they were in.
And speaking of pain... well, what to get the filly who has nothing? Why not the gift that keeps on giving? If you will look upwards in the general vacinity of the designated region of mom horse, creator of you, we ask that you look upon said mom for five seconds, and contemplate the fact Cloud Kicker is your mother.
... there you go kiddo! An entire lifetime of lifes disappointments in five seconds! Now your ready to start the day, and maybe more after! Have fun!
9032370
Having been through this with my kid, and also being a child of adoption myself, I respectfully disagree.
However, to each their own. I can only put in my two cents from my own experiences.
My ex and I were woefully unprepared for our child, and our family talked her out of adoption. Now, I can objectively say that our current situation is most likely worse than if she was adopted by a willing and ready family.
9033528
What I meant was aborting without really thinking about could hurt her later, especially considering what her last rushed decision did she should have been more careful.
9034459
My point exactly.
8908387
I believe this is called irony, and it is glorious!
9056921
De Nile/ denial in the less punny form. Traditional work up goes "Are your feet wet? Can you see the pyramids?"
9124318
There is a story called “To Serve and Protect” that covers how Storm got the Armor. Just look through Chengar’s stories or check the Winningverse group, you’ll find it.
-Wipes tear-
It is done. Welcome, little one!
9155859
Yeah, Dinky's the one-night-stand of Derpy and a college-aged Shiny (who was single at the time).
Sparkler and Vinyl Scratch are Twilight and Shiny's half-sisters - Sparkler's their mother's, and Vinyl's their father's.
Twilight and Shiny were told as foals that Sparkler had been stillborn, when she was actually put up for adoption in a scheme that didn't work out.
Wherein Cloud Kicker learns to stop worrying and grow a spine.
Okay, that's hardly fair, but it is good to see her actually confront some problems that aren't actively trying to kill her. Plus, it's good to get some context on events that have only been alluded to in other parts of the Winningverse. Don't know why I never picked this one up while it was updating, but I'm glad I finally read it. Thank you for it.
Aaaand done! That took me a while. I remember I first started reading this back when it was new, but I stopped about halfway in for whatever reason. I didn't remember why, until I ran into it again here. It was the chapter where the story casually dropped all those big revelations from Study.
Having since read Study for myself and... mostly enjoyed it, I was able to get past the hurdle this time, but it still strikes me as very badly implemented here. Study's canonical status and immediate relevance to this story was not made clear before that chapter, so I initially went in knowing nothing about it, and stopped last time because of the feeling of continuity lock-out it brought. All those big revelations about the Sparkle family are pretty heavy asks for a reader to buy without context, and even with context it still feels a little ridiculous how messed up that family tree is. This story really needs to be marked as a sequel to Study as well, not just Life and Times. I know the official sequel-marking mechanic doesn't allow that, but you could still make a note in the description at least.
Anyway, that small issue aside, this was mostly pretty good. I don't think New Life has quite the same wow factor as Life and Times, being more focused on pregnancy drama rather than big messy break-ups or changeling invasions, but it's definitely a more tonally consistent story for that. It has a more clearly defined genre, and a focused vision. It knows what it wants to be, and it sticks to it. Even as someone who enjoyed the roller-coaster aspect of Life and Times, I do have to admit that this is an improvement.
The only time it really felt like the story was derailing at all was in the protest arc towards the end. It comes in relatively late in the story, and it's the only time the story as a whole (rather than just a single chapter) devotes significant focus to something other than Cloud's pregnancy. Everything else, like the various members of the Doo family, or Cloud's new stepmother, are clearly relegated to subplot status, but the protest is given a lot of significance. In fact, it's given more significance than the Archon's visit itself, which is weird given how much build-up the visit is given, and the fact that it's a long-awaited crossover with the Freeport series. Feels like we should've gotten the Archon's visit in the main fic, and the protest should've been the subject of the side-story. I guess it's because of the limitations of the viewpoint characters, or maybe you just wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Study chapter, but the last stretch of the story just felt strange in how it was all handled. Nice to see Lyra and Skyra together, though.
Though, if there's one thing I'm really glad I read this for, it's learning the identity of the other Magnus from the Battle of Two Magnuses. I'd been wondering about that since reading Last Charger, and I find it amusing how history repeats itself. Through all the change, through hundreds of years of exile, long after everyone involved in the original rebellion except for Celestia is long dead, it yet again all came down to a Charger vs. a Kicker. The clans must've been furious after that. No wonder they butchered the Chargers.
Personally this feels like Cloud lost, every single thing has been changed, all the compromises seem to have come from her, the others just kind of forced her to change. Pretty much browbeat her into keeping the foal. It was deeply uncomfortable and doesn't feel like a happy ending to me. But, that's my own personal feelings on the matter. They're lovey and romantic but they tend to refuse to let her have meaningful choices, they don't physically stop her but they take advantage of her emotions and reluctance to say no. Also, there's a lot of uncomfortable parallels I can draw between her and I, which is why I feel this way about it all. The way the story is written makes it seem (To me) that the others are manipulative and controlling, even gaslighting slightly.
And well, even her friends, like Rainbow Dash, don't really seem to get it, they seem like they care more for their idealized version of Cloud than the real one
I'd love to read a version where she's her wild, winning and awesome self, except she didn't bail out of the military at her graduation. And also wasn't with Fluttershy and stuff but single like she was at the start of the series.
10480835
That’s awful. My dad has better puns than that.
Thanks for the fic! It was wonderful!
10768078
Thanks! I had, to be honest, totally forgotten heh. Real life has been super busy, so I've fallen way behind on my reading (part and parcel for having a 3 year old I guess heh)
This was a great chance to see what happened after Life and Times of a Winning Pony. I'm so glad I came across this sequel after I came back to revisit the fandom. I really liked seeing Cloud get to settle down a bit with Fluttershy and Blossom, and it left me wanting to see more Cloud Kicker and all the great supporting characters in the future.
8883073
My biggest complaint yeah. It just suddenly ends