//------------------------------// // 15 - Our Choice // Story: New Moon // by AzuraKeres //------------------------------// The now married couple leaving by a chariot was like a cliché ending to a fairy tale, but still wholesome regardless. Gossamer had mentioned that the two would be heading to their honeymoon at Manehattan to see an annual festival taking place next week. Gossamer and Blueberry had assured the couple that they would keep business running at the Sugarcube Corner during their absence, so there was not much raise of concern. Although, Bud would’ve found the end of this event to be more pleasant if some other mare caught Chiffon’s flower bouquet. She already had more than enough attention from ponies as it is. Bud and the others returned to the Sugarcube Corner for a small reception for the remaining guests. It’s been a while since Bud seen the place packed, which made it inevitable for her to be the center of attention yet again. It was only a matter of time before the guests became aware of her Thestral daughter and their fascination sparked across them like a domino effect. Almost immediately, Bud was bombarded with questions and requests to hold her foals. she wanted nothing more but to run away from paparazzi she called her friends and family; however, Mayor Mare stepped in and asked of the guests to respect Bud’s privacy and space. Bud thanked her and then used this moment to excuse herself and her foals to another room. When she entered the room, she discovered her student, Raven Inkwell, and Lazuli speaking with Gossamer. “You really think I have it in me,” Lazuli spoke. “I mean, I’ve never really cooked anything besides a bowl of noodles.” “You shouldn’t put yourself down like that,” Gossamer said. “With practice, any pony can do well with anything they put their mind in. Especially with a helping hoof.” “Ms. Bud,” Raven announced her teacher’s presence. Lazuli jumped at the sigh of Bud and then quickly approached her. “H-heya Bud,” Lazuli made a meek smile. “Didn’t think you’d be here so soon?” “This room isn’t off-limits Lazuli,” Bud informed her. “I just need a break from the family before I head back…maybe. So, is Uncle Gossamer offering baking lessons?” “What?” Lazuli questioned. “What makes you say that?” “I’m always happy to share my culinary knowledge with anypony curious to learn,” Gossamer said. “I happen to host a weekly class in baking for foals and ponies back at Fillydelphia.” “That’s so generous of you,” Bud said. “But won’t they be saddened to miss class while you’re here?” “Perhaps so,” Gossamer answered. “But they understand that my daughter takes more priority. Anyways,” Gossamer glanced at Lazuli, who was taking solace in disappearing from the conversation. “What do you say Lazuli? Care to join my class at Fillydelphia whenever you have time? I can teach you how to make that blueberry pie you’ve been asking about.” “D-don’t say that out loud,” Lazuli hissed with a blush. “Gossamer mentioned that it’s one of your favorites,” Raven voiced. “I would like to learn how to make one as well as a gratitude for bringing me here.” “Oh,” Bud cooed. “That’s so sweet of you guys.” “Yeah,” Lazuli rubbed the back of her head. “What are friends for, right?” “You’ve certainly made friends with caring ponies haven’t you,” Gossamer commented. “Well, I’ll need to head back and check on the guest, but whenever you two are ready, I’m happy to share what I know.” Gossamer excused himself from the room and moments after he left, Bright entered the room with Little Mac sleeping in his hoof. “Bud,” Bright said as he strode before her. “Glad I found you.” “What’s wrong Bright,” Bud asked. She could see Bright huffing a slight for air as if he’s been running around the place. “Say,” Bright started, “have any of y’all seen Pear around? I’ve been looking for her for a bit but haven’t had any luck.” “Pear’s missing,” Bud widened. “Why? What happened?” “I don’t know. But I noticed she was a bit quiet after the wedding. I think something must be bothering her. Have you seen her around?” “No,” Bud answered. “I haven’t. But I’m going to look for her too. Lazuli—” “Yeah I know,” Lazuli said. “Bring them here, Raven and I can keep an eye on them.” Bud pushed the stroller to Lazuli and then Bud left the room alongside Bright Mac. “Where do you think she could’ve gone to,” Bud asked. “I thought she may have been at Sweet Apple Acre if she wasn’t here, but I didn’t see her anywhere. I’m gonna sweep this place again; you can check upstairs and I’ll look around here.” “I can do that.” Bright and Bud went their separate ways as Bud headed to the second floor of the building. Skimming through each room with no Pear in sight, Bud entered the attic room where Chiffon lived at. Bud lit the room with the chandelier hanging above and skimmed the room for Bud. But yet again, she was nowhere in sight. Bud sighed and sat in front of Chiffon’s desk. When she looked at her reflection from the mirror, she noticed something different about her face. There was nothing distinct to point out from, but she felt an aura in it that made seem more…mature. However, her train of thought halted when she noticed the door behind her move from the reflection of the mirror. “Hm?” Bud approached the closet door and attempted to open it, but she felt a force refusing to let it budge. “…Pear, are you in there?” Bud heard a sigh behind the door and a voice answered, “Yes sis, it’s me.” “What are you doing in the closet? Bright Mac is looking for you.” “He is?’ Pear sounded surprised. “Can you tell him to give me a few more minutes? I can’t see him right now.” “Why? What’s bothering you?” “It’s nothing serious Bud,” Bud noticed a crack in Pear’s voice. “Okay. Just, please, tell him. And don’t let him know where I’m at.” “…Pear, please come out of the closet. Let’s talk about this.” Bud tried to open the door again, but it wouldn’t budge an inch. There was no way Bud could possibly force the door open. Not against a mare like Pear, who works earnestly on the field. “Stop it, Bud,” Pear said. “Just leave me alone. I’ll be fine.” “Please don’t lie to me,” Bud retorted. “We both know that isn’t true. Please, just let me help you like you helped me.” “I don’t want to talk about it,” Pear raised her voice. “Okay.” “I won’t leave you hauled up in the closet. Please Pear, if you won’t come out then let me in.” “No,” Bud heard a sniffle from Pear. “…Fine, then I’ll talk to you from right here. Why are you crying?” “Why are you so stubborn Bud?” Pear groaned. “I’m not…” “Is it about the wedding? I saw that you were making strange glances at Gossamer. Did something happen?” “Please,” Pear’s voice cracked again. “Just stop digging for answers. I want to be alone right now.” “But I can’t sis. Not when I know you’re in pain. You know you can tell me anything, right? No matter what it is, I’ll give you my full attention. I—” The closet door suddenly burst open and then a pair of hooves stretched out and snatched Bud inside the closet. When the door slam shut, encapsulating Bud nearly in total darkness, she felt a mare atop her. “Fine,” Pear sounded harsh. “You want to know how I’m feeling!? Why I’m avoiding others and trying to keep this shut away from them!?” “I-I thought I was pretty clear about that,” Bud meekly answered, uncomfortable with the growing anger she sensed within sister. “I’m frustrated Bud,” Pear angrily confessed. “No, worse than that, I’m jealous. I’m jealous of Chiffon for having the perfect wedding. the wedding I wished I had.” “Is this about—” “Yes Bud, it’s about how my dad disowned me on the night of my wedding. but even goes worse than that. Not a single of my relatives has bothered to reach out to me after I married Bright. It’s like they think I committed some sort of treason against the family. Shoot, maybe that is the case to them. Because I chose to marry a stallion I fell in love with, I ended up losing my whole family. Why? Why couldn’t they just be happy for me like Chiffon’s family are for her?” Bud felt droplets of tears fall upon her neck as she began to hear sobbing from the strongest of her sisters. She never got over it, did she? Of course, she didn’t. they were her family, ponies she’s known her whole life, and they did something that no pony could possibly endure. But Bud and the others believed she could because she put up a strong face in front of them. Bud gently pushed Pear back to rise up on her haunch before her sister. Bud then placed a hoof on Pear’s cheek, wiping the tears that continued to flow down her cheeks like a waterfall. “I’m sorry that we didn’t notice how you really felt. I thought you would be fine with Bright Mac by your side.” Pear rubbed her cheeks and then said, “I didn’t want you guys to take pity on me. I want us all to be happy and not to get all mellow about my choice. I just wanted assurance that I made the right one.” “But don’t you think you made the right choice?” “I don’t know Bud,” Pear sighed. “Who knows what would’ve happened if I left with Papa Pear.” “Well, for one, you probably wouldn’t be here with us. And Little Mac…” Pear flinched at the mention of her infant son. “But why haven’t they come back?” Pear argued. “I’ve written so many letters to them, telling them everything and anything just to get a response. But I never got a single one back from them.” “This might sound harsh, but the truth is that we will never get everything that we truly want. Sometimes to obtain something, something else is given up in exchange. And sometimes we never see those exchanges coming and it’s are out of our control. So that’s why I believe you should cherish what’s still there by your side. And for you, it’s the family you have right now: The Apple, the Swirls, and the Lovings.” “But,” Pear started meekly. “Do ya think they’ll ever come back for me?” “I don’t know sis,” Bud admitted. “We’ll just have to wait and see.” Pear wiped her face again and then chuckled, “I must look really silly after showing how cool of a sister I was yesterday, huh?” “Don’t think that,” Bud said. “Everypony needs a moment to cry their pain out and also a helping hoof to lift them back up.” “You’ve really grown over this year,” Pear smiled. “You know that?” “Maybe I have, but I think we both still have some ways to go.” The two chuckled and then hugged each other. “We sure do,” Pear said. “But let’s not tell Chiffon about this. Can’t let her think she’s ahead of us.” “Agreed.” The door suddenly popped open and before the two mothers stood Bright, Lazuli, and Raven with the foals on each of them. “Pear,” Bright looked sullen. “Bright,” Pear stood alarmed. “How long were you there?” “About the time we heard one of you slammed that door shut,” Lazuli mentioned as Artemis shuffled about in Lazuli’s hoof to reach for Bud. Lazuli lays Artemis on the floor and the little colt begins to wobble his way to Bud. His mother wrung her hoof for him when he drew near and cradled him with both of her hooves. “I’m so stupid,” Bright said. “I should have taken your feelings under more consideration. I never meant to ruin your relationship with your—” “No Bright,” Pear interrupted. “None of that was your fault. I made a choice…and so did they. But maybe that’ll change. Maybe not today. Maybe not in more months. But I’ll hold out hope that things will work out. So that’s why I’m staying here in Ponyville and be happy with the ponies that didn’t leave me behind.” Pear stepped out of the closet and hugged Bright, mushing Little Mac in both of their warmth. Bright hoofed the colt to Pear and then Pear said, “I’m sorry if I worried you, Little Mac. Can you forgive me?” Little Mac simply snugged himself onto Pear’s coat and started to return back to sleep. Lazuli and Raven approached Bud, who was still in the closet. Bud raised her brow at Raven and said, “Why do you have Nebula on your back?” “She perched on top of me when Lazuli and I were trying to figure out how to bring both the foals upstairs,” Raven answered. “I think she’s enjoying it.” Bud looked at Nebula, who stared indifferently at Bud. “How many more of these dramatic moments must I endure before I can have at least one quiet day?” Bud shrugged and then grabbed hold of Nebula as well after freeing one of her hooves from Artemis. She pulled their cheeks against hers and she couldn’t help but smile. Regardless of how any of this happened and the new problems she must work around, she’s never been more certain that things will get better in the future. She was determined to work for that blissful motherhood she always pictured. “So how long are you going to stay in the closet?” Lazuli asked. A door opened into an apartment room as a yellow mare entered inside. she dropped her saddlebag on a couch and then loosened a tie off form her office dress. She made her way to a kitchen and then poured a bottle of wine in a glass. The mare breathed outwardly after gulping down the entire glass. Today had been another chorus and she wanted nothing more but to resign for the night. She then returned to the living room and dropped her class after noticing a business-suited stallion seated on her couch. “By the sun,” she swore. “Don’t scare me like that.” The stallion held out an envelope and then tossed atop a lounge table toward the mare’s direction. “Your performance today was good. But you have another assignment that you will need to start tomorrow evening. It’s from the boss.” “Him?” the mare said sourly as she grabbed the envelope from the table. “Been a while since I’ve heard from that creep.” The mare pulled the files out and then skimmed through two papers. Shen then looked incredulously at the stallion and asked, “Are you serious? These are just foals.” “I’m not here to hear about your morals,” the stallion said. “You’ve been given a new assignment and you will carry it out.” “But this goes beyond my boundary,” the mare argued. “can’t he have somepony else do this?” “Tenure Grace,” the stallion’s horn lit yellow as an embroidered choker on Tenure’s neck began to tighten, making her stumble to the ground. “Our boss would like for you to make contact with the targets as soon as possible after they return to Manehattan. He’s already made the arrangements for you. So, do this job right and you will be a step closer to your freedom. Is that clear?” “Alright,” Tenure gagged. “I get it. Just stop trying to kill me.” The light dissipated from the stallion’s horn and Tenure immediately huffed for air.” “Hurry and make the contact when you can,” the stallion rose from the couch and headed for the exit of the apartment. “But remember that I have my eyes on you and I can end your life whenever I wish. You’re no longer within the boss’s favor.” The stallion left though the door and Tenure made certain that her locks were in place. She’ll need to change them yet again. Before Tenure would throw herself to bed, she picked up the two file papers she dropped on the floor. She observed the pictures of the foals she will need to be acquainted with. “Artemis and Nebula, huh?”