//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9: Windy Meadow 
// Story: Larkspur Blossom 
// by Pone_Heap 
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It was Tuesday before Lark could bring himself to go to school. His aunt walked the siblings and Lark hated the sun every step of the way. His uncle had spoken with the school, and Lark would be playing catch-up with Mr. Chippy. Lark was at once happy to work with Mr. Chippy again, but disappointed he couldn’t rejoin his class right away.

It was for the best, really. It wouldn’t take long to catch up, and the class wouldn’t have to accommodate his condition. He and Mr. Chippy could work under low light, not aggravating his ailment.

What really disappointed him, was the fact the Running of the Leaves had been held Monday. In place of normal gym class, the gym periods throughout the day took turns running near the school.

The leaves were down, and everypony was beginning to clean up. Lark hadn’t thought about it much, with so much going on, but forced himself to sit on the front porch to watch the students fly by. He even saw his friends and classmates.

A few of his classmates greeted him happily at the door, including Sherry, who hoofed the ground shyly.

Lark laughed at her, “I told you last week it was alright. You’ll never catch me distracted in a ball game again.”

His class was glad to see him in decent spirits. Medium was there, beaming. They had made up Sunday afternoon, so everypony was glad for that.

Smiling at Thunder and the girls, he asked, “So what kind of fun activity in gym do I have to sit out for the next 2 weeks?”

Aunt Fairy ruffled his mane, “3 weeks, Lark. And then, only when the doctor says it’s alright.”

His classmates tried not to laugh at Lark’s obvious disappointment but found it difficult.

Pine put in, “We’re playing kickball, for 3 weeks, or until it gets cold. If the weather turns before then, we start indoor volleyball early.”

Both, Lark liked, “Oh, well… I’ll just have to watch.”

Aunt Fairy said, “Just be glad you’re well enough to be here. Well, see you kids later.”

The class waved. At least some of them had gotten to know Lark’s aunt and uncle. Lark’s sisters went to their classes, while Lark and his class walked to Ms. Pearlshine’s. Greeting the rest of the class, he took a fair size pile of work he would be going over with the old timer in the little room.

Mr. Chippy was happy to be working with Lark again, but wished it was under better circumstances. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have time to do any side projects, but Lark could either walk in the gym, or if he felt up to it, he could sit outside and watch his class play kickball. He just had to avoid getting hit in the head for the rest of the year…

But, things went alright. Lark, feeling much better than the week before, and eager to do something other than lie around in the dark, breezed through the material. He would easily be caught up by the end of the week, having missed 3 days. Unfortunately, he would have to work in the little room until he could deal with all the lights and sounds of the regular classroom. It would be a week or so, but that’s how it had to be.

That Tuesday, it was partly cloudy, but comfortably warm with a pleasant breeze. So, Lark decided to go outside. It took a moment to adjust, but soon he felt okay and went to the field. Of note, he still wasn’t wearing his prescription glasses, but could see well enough to navigate.

His class waved to him, and he gladly sat down to watch the game. It was fun. Sherry really kicked the ball hard now. Nopony could catch it, or even get to it in time. To level the field, no magic or use of wings was allowed. It was only fair. But it was a great game.





Wednesday and Thursday were fairly uneventful. Lark’s eyes got a little better everyday.





Friday was much the same. Easy time with the classwork, nice day outside. Lark had new glasses but hadn’t taken to wearing them outside. Lark watched the kickball game for a few minutes and decided to get up and walk around. He was free to walk anywhere on the field. Naturally, he kept close watch on any stray balls flying around. Maybe I should wear a helmet.

He hadn’t thought much about her, dealing with Thunder’s affection and his concussion, he espied Windy Meadow. She was standing by herself, away from her class, rather forlornly. He hadn’t thought about her much the entire week. He had just wanted to sit and relax. Without even telling his legs to move, he found himself walking her way.

What am I doing? I must be crazy. Lark continued to walk, getting closer. She was facing away from him, slightly, so she didn’t see him immediately. Windy must have heard him, as she glanced his way. She had teal eyes. He was now close enough to see without his glasses, and give the color a name.

Standing there, he fidgeted, “Uh, hi…”

Looking back to him, with little expression, “Hi…”

“You’re Windy Meadow. I’m Lark.”

A little smile crept to her lips, “Yes… I figured you were. How’re your eyes? Considering how bad I heard your concussion was, I’m surprised you can stand being out here, even with sunglasses.”

He was surprised by her manner. Her voice was very laid back. Her eyes seemed to be riding at half-mast most of the time. But her body language couldn’t be described as easy-going. It was as if she had energy but was unable to use it. She seemed… trapped.

“Yeah, I got my bell rung pretty good last Wednesday. My friends tell me it was quite a sight.”

She couldn’t help a giggle, “Oh, yeah. I don’t know if anypony in class A saw it happen, but we sure saw the rest… I shouldn’t laugh… I got my ‘bell rung’ once when I was little. I could barely leave a darkened room for 3 weeks.”

Some common ground… “3 weeks… that’s at least how long it’ll be before I can do much again. I hope I can play volleyball… It’s bad enough missing kickball.”

Eyeing him, “You just transferred in this summer, right?”

“Yes. My sisters and I moved here before school started.”

“…I’ve heard quite a bit about you already. I missed your… rise to fame, but I’ve heard quite a bit. Sure was weird to come back here, and find things so different.”

Her face brightened a little, and she tried to stifle her giggling. She’s cute…

He hoofed the back of his neck, “Mmhmm. Things were rough for a bit, but… I’m still here.”

“Larkspur Blossom… how’d you get a name like that?” The question was innocent and without malice.

Still, Lark blushed, “I dunno… Mom named me, but… Dad never told me why. I never thought to ask.”

Her face softened, “Oh. Sorry for asking. I… know you and your sisters live with your aunt and uncle.”

“It’s okay. Seems there aren’t many secrets around here.”

Windy chortled humorlessly, “I know that… What’s everypony been saying about me?”

That was some question for Lark, “One of my classmates said you’ve been gone a few months to Canterlot with your parents. He said you’d taken a nasty drop and you had to go there to see what was going on.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s all I know…”

“Well, I haven’t been around long anyway. Not surprising. My dad got transferred here around Winter Wrap-up for work. I’ve lived in 6 cities and have gone to 4 schools, including this one. But we’re finally settling here. Mom and Dad put their hooves down, and this is it.”

This was good news to Lark. If he became friends with this filly, she wouldn’t up and disappear at some point.

Lark’s mind was wandering. And Windy could tell, even with the sunglasses. So, she put on a funny face. Standing in front of him, she waited until he came back.

His eyes focused and he saw her, “Ahh!”

He fell backwards as she let her face slip back to normal, and she laughed at him as he scrambled back.

“You are something, Lark… Wanna go for a walk? I’m bored just standing around.”

Recovering, he wondered just what he’d gotten himself into, but, “Sure…”

They began to walk. She was quite a bit smaller than him, so he tried not to walk too quickly. And she was in no hurry to begin with, so it was a slow walk. Risking a glance over, he noticed something off in her gait. It seemed… disjointed.

“So, Lark… why’d you come over to see me?”

This was… unexpected. He began to wonder if this filly just said whatever popped into her head. He was reminded of the first time he met Thunder. Valley could be that way… when she forgot her manners. But this was different ground than he’d seen. It was a question he had a hard time answering. Now, he wasn’t so sure it was some crush. Something about her just attracted him, and he wanted to meet her.

“I… dunno. I noticed you last week and I was… curious. Since I’m out of gym activity for a while, I had an excuse to come over. I just wanted to meet you, I guess.”

She seemed pleased at the answer, however mysterious it may have been, “What an answer! I have to say, I was interested in meeting you too. Guess it wasn’t so bad you were staring over at me. I just wish the knock to your head that brought you to me wasn’t so bad.”

Lark was baffled, “You noticed me looking your way?”

“Sure. It’s not like it was subtle. I fibbed earlier. My class didn’t see you clock out, but I did. I might not have wound up seeing it, but your game was better than anything from my class.”

“You saw that? Really?”

“Oh, yeah. That Sherry filly really messed you up. You should have seen your class carry on. I supposed it was scary, being there when it happened. You have some pretty good friends, Lark.”

He noticed she ended on a low note, “I guess… They sure made a fuss over me.”

A tension suddenly took the air around them. And Lark had to say what was on his mind.

“Have you… made many friends since your family moved here?”

He knew it was a rude question, but something in his gut told him to ask.

She halted, and contemplated, “Not really. Just a couple weeks after we came here, I took that fall. Before that… I moved around so much, that I… never made many. I’d like to, but…”

Lark could relate. He’d only had to move the once, but he’d never really cared much about friends. He’d been too preoccupied with the life he’d never known much beyond. It was normal for him. But now that he had a real family… things looked a little different. He didn’t mean to take advantage of her manner, but spending some time with a laid-back filly might be easier on his mind than the girls from his class.

“How about we do something this weekend, Windy?”

She looked flummoxed, “Huh?”

He took on a confidence he didn’t really feel, “Let’s do something this weekend. What do you like to do?”

Windy, after taking a moment to process, fumbled, “Oh, you wouldn’t think it was fun…”

“Try me.”

“…I hear the university is putting on a lecture covering the Las Pegasus Boom… from when the city was founded?”

Lark could have died, right there. A filly who was interested in history? And a pretty one, to boot. What else did she like?

Seeing the gears working in his head, she relented, “Yeah, I figured-”

“I would love to go! You like history? W-w-what else do you like?”

This surprised her about was much as it did him, “…You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

“No! Really! What else do you like?”

She felt a spark. A warm happiness came up inside her. And she beamed.

“Well… the art museum here is pretty good. I haven’t been to the other museums, but I hear good things.”

Lark was… well, ecstatic, “Let’s go to the lecture.”

Then, he deflated a little, “I… don’t know if I can get there. It’s too far to walk in my condition.”

“Don’t worry about that. Meet me at the bus stop north of the school at 9:00 a.m. Bus is free for students. It’ll take us right there.”

Wow… “Okay, Windy.”

Looking over to their respective classes, they saw their teachers gathering up their students.

“Well, see you tomorrow, Lark.”

“Sure.”

They each had a bit of a distance to cover. Lark trotted away briskly. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Windy walking.

She wasn’t flying, despite the great distance she had to cover.

She was just trotting in her unusual gait, much faster and without apparent difficulty, but it was there.

It would have been most rude, but he was very curious, now. There was a lot he was wondering about his new… potential friend.

Rejoining his class, Medium convinced Lark and Misty to go to the ice cream shop near the school. Thunder was going out of town with her parents, so she left the moment school was out. But Lark’s sisters came along, as did Misty’s. He hadn’t had the chance to meet all of them. He counted: 1, 2, 3, 4… Yes, 4. What that must have been like. One in each elementary grade under 6th grade… Seems her dad got yelled at a lot by her mom, he mused, remembering Misty’s story.

As they set off, Lark remembered Windy. If he’d known, or given it a thought, he might have invited her.





Lark woke up Saturday morning feeling the best he had. Lark’s aunt and uncle weren’t crazy about him going on such a daytrip, but Lark had been cooped up, so it was hard to hold him back. Plus, he’d met another filly. So, they told him to take things easy and ring them if need be. He managed to wear his new glasses, which fit under the huge shades he wore. It was good to see again.

So, after a light breakfast, he trotted to the aforementioned bus stop. He didn’t have long to wait. Windy showed up a moment later. Still, she didn’t fly, trotting towards him in the gait he’d noticed. He could even hear the difference in her hoofsteps.

It was an odd thing to see: she looked like a combination of his 2 sisters. She moved in a forthright way, but her face betrayed a bliss he found spellbinding. Not a hair was out of place, perfectly groomed, she strode up to him, her doe-eyes at their now familiar half-mast. He’d thought Thunder was cute… Windy was… something else.

“Good morning, Lark,” she said pleasantly.

He realized he was staring, “Uh, good morning, Windy.”

Smiling at his manner, eyelashes fluttering, she giggled at him, “You’re easy to please. All I did was wash my mane and tail.”

Man, where did she learn to throw curve-balls like this? His eyes darted, and he chuckled.

“So, were you waiting long, Lark?”

He was glad she didn’t seem to linger on his gawkiness, “Oh, no. I just got here a couple minutes ago. My aunt and uncle had to do a house showing, so I had to fix my sisters breakfast.”

“Oh, I’ve seen them. They’re adorable. Valley? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a filly that fast. It’s hard to believe she and Copper are related.”

It came as no surprise she knew of his sisters. It seemed everypony did.

With little pause, “What’s it like, having siblings?”

More right field questions. “I… dunno. It’s all I’ve ever known so it’s hard to say. But I’d have to say… I dunno.”

Looking down the road, “Me, I’m an only child. With all the moving we did, and everything else there’s been to deal with, my parents just had me.”

They continued to chit-chat, and after a few minutes, the bus came. It took them to the university, and Windy pointed out a few landmarks to Lark. Once it came time to leave the bus, Lark hopped right off. He turned and saw Windy taking her time with it. She was having trouble. Without even thinking about it, he held out his hoof to her. She halted and gawped at it.

A little smile on his own face, he noticed the very slightest blush on hers. Her eyes were wide with surprise. A tiny smile crept across her lips, and her eyes softened from their initial wonder. He helped her down.

Walking beside him, she whispered, “Thank you…”

Lark was concerned. What was that all about? “Uh, sure.”

The campus was pretty big. He’d never seen the place. The architecture was something. It reminded him of the campus his parents had taught at.

“So, uh, Windy? Where’s the lecture?”

Her face lit up, “This way.”

Trying to hold pace with her, he walked along. He just couldn’t get enough of the architecture. It was the only thing that looked like Fillydelphia he’d seen thus far. She noticed his interest, and let him enjoy the time.

Lark expected an auditorium. They found themselves in a windowless classroom in some newer building that had just gone up for their business expansion. He was… put off. There wasn’t much there. Just an overhead projector, a lectern, and a couple tables. There were only 7 other ponies there. A couple of them looked like college students, but the rest appeared to be faculty.

This didn’t seem like much. Looking over to Windy, he saw her unfazed. In fact, she greeted a couple of the ponies as they sat down. They hadn’t seen her in months. At 10:00 a.m., the lecture began. By noon, Lark’s head was full of old, yet fresh knowledge. He’d always been more interested in war and pioneering, but the gamblers and bootleggers that built Las Pegasus were something.

“Glad you liked that, Lark,” Windy was moving in a slow trot. “They do this most Saturdays.”

“Really? I wanna go again.”

“Looks like I won’t have to do this alone, now. I found out about this right after we moved here. I only went a few times, but it’s one of the things I missed most when Mom and I were stuck in Canterlot.”

“I thought your dad went, too.”

“He came out a few times, but work kept him here, mostly.”

Lark had a lot he wanted to ask but decided to not worry. Nudging him, she brought him out of his thought bubble. She went into her saddlebags.

“Lark. I have this coupon for the new pizza place off-campus. I know the school feeds us pizza every Friday, but we could split the cost of lunch and get a whole pie.”

Never one to turn down a deal on food, he agreed. He brought along a few bits, thinking they might get something. Taking the direction of the shop, they encountered a concrete stairway that would take them out of the university grounds to the old downtown area.

Lark was ready to trot on up, but he noticed Windy falter. Waiting, he saw her take her time, as if her step was unsteady. She didn’t struggle, per say, but it took some careful maneuvering. He wasn’t sure if he should stay with her, run ahead, stay behind, or help her. While he was thinking, she made it up.

“Uh, Lark. Up here…”

He looked up at her, and saw a little smile, “Oh.”

Trotting up the stairs, he joined her. Her countenance betrayed something odd, as if she knew something he didn’t. What it could have been was a mystery to Lark. This filly was something of a mystery. Again, while he was thinking, she started off. He perked up and went after her.

When he came up beside her, she was chortling, “La-a-a-a-ark… One of the funniest things I’ve heard about you is you think too much. It sounded like such an odd thing but seeing this… they’re right!”

He knew he overthought things. He’d always been that way. At this point in his life, he was too young to worry about it, though. It was also something, he would be reminded of his entire life, he would never overcome.

Lark had no idea what was going on with Windy. Did she have a limp? Or some other injury? Was she hurt when she took her fall in the spring? He thought of all the textbooks he’d paged through in his dad’s library. Then he caught himself.

There you go again, Lark. Thinking too much. Looking over to Windy, she had an odd, dreamy expression, somewhere between amusement and confusion. Before he really got his bearings, she batted her eyelashes at him, with a smirk.

That did it. Lark jumped away, on pins and needles, wondering just what kind of filly he was becoming friends with. She laughed at him, so hard she almost cried. Lark knew he probably looked like a cherry.

“You’re so easy, Lark! You disappear into some world of your own, and you never know what might be waiting when you get back.”

He was about to retort. He liked her, but the couple of times she startled him were getting old.

Letting up with the laughter, “Okay, Lark… No more games. I promise.”

Can she read minds? Lark wondered. She was certainly perceptive. A lot more so than he himself was.

She hoofed his shoulder, “Over lunch, I’ll quell your curiosity.”

Lark thought that was a strange statement, but recognizing what she was, he could at least buy it. They walked a block to the restaurant in relative silence.

In the pizza shop, they ordered a couple colas and decided on a supreme pizza. Lark was glad she knew how to eat variety. He’d struggled for years with his sisters, trying to get them to try different foods. Of course, both were still picky eaters and Lark had to put up with years of single-topping pizza, or holding mushrooms and peppers from pasta.

Through the magic of using a coupon to its greatest extent, the pair got an onion blossom to share and complementary breadsticks.

Beginning to graze on what they had, Lark looked to Windy. She had already sucked down a full glass of cola and was making a real dent in the food. He’d never seen a filly eat like this, not even Thunder. It took him the morning to figure it out, but he realized she didn’t worry about things that much. She was like him… living in the moment but worrying less about everything. It was like looking in the mirror and seeing a caricature of himself.

Her words jostled him out of his thoughts, “So, Lark? What worries you?”

Worry? He wasn’t exactly worried about anything then. He just had a lot on his mind. And he was curious.

“Uh… I’ve never seen a Pegasus not fly when she had the chance.” He forced himself to say. “And then…”

He suddenly felt sick. He couldn’t bring himself to finish, do you… have a brain tumor? A “carefree” filly? Living in the moment? Gone to Canterlot half the year? The problems walking? It fit.

It was no secret, Looking at Lark, that he was upset. She quickly got his attention.

“Oh, Lark. I’m sorry.”

Lark realized his eyes were getting near swimming time, “Huh?”

Genuinely looking apologetic, “I’m sorry… I promised you no more games. I thought I’d have a little fun with you, all the thinking you do… So, I’m sorry I upset you.”

“Oh, I…”

Putting on a sad little smile, “Well, you were looking at me like I’d just told you I… was dying, or something. That was mean of me. So… sorry.”

Lark sat up, “Why jerk me around?”

That bit a little, “I didn’t mean to jerk… fine. I was jerking you around. But I didn’t think it would be anything. I’m… just trying to make light… about why I was in Canterlot for so long. You want to know, I’m sure.”

Realizing how sorry she was, he relented, “I’m sorry, too… if I made you uncomfortable. You don’t have to tell-”

“But I want to. I think… we’re friends now. And you’re worried about me. So, I’ll tell you.”

The pizza came, and she began to tell her story.