//------------------------------// // Family story // Story: My Pony Academia // by Omegafr //------------------------------// As the moon gradually descends from the sky to make way for the sun star announcing the beginning of the day, at our friends' homes, excitement takes precedence over reason. Dawn marks the end of the holidays and the resumption of classes for high school students from all over Equestria, but the awakening of our friends precedes their preparation for their morning visit to the hospital. Today marks the end of Light's hospitalisation and his triumphant return among them. The assassination as well as the arrest of the murderer had made a lot of noise in some towns of Equestria through the newspapers and various digital articles written about him. All of them pointed out the monstrosity of the assassin's act as well as the heroism that had been shown by the two pegasus without whom the police would not have arrived in time. The murderer, whose true identity was not known, proclaimed during his trial that a wave of crime would be brewing across the city if he were to be put behind bars. But it was not these threats that stopped justice in its tracks, condemning him to life imprisonment. -----------------------------------Monday 7:30----------------------------------- The hospital opened its doors for authorized visits in the morning, which was quickly passed by the group of friends on their way to the usual room. The eagerness to see their friend walking and fit again carried them away as they rushed through the corridors, running at full speed in unison despite their unequal physical abilities. "Finally, it's the big day." he tells the rest of the group behind him, only Rainbow Dash equaling his frantic run to the stairs. "I hope he hasn't gone too soft in bed, I can't wait to show him my progress in the race." she says in a cheerful voice with an irreducible desire to hug him more than ever before. "Besides, John and I have some news that will make him happy." she insisted, referring to the beginning of their still-secret relationship. "Isn't that right, John ?" She then asked the land pony at the back of the pack. "hmmp... yes Applejack hmmp..." he said, staggering in the face of her distress as he barely managed to keep up with the rest of the group. Once the fifth floor was reached by the strength of their determination and legs, the door of Light's room was spanked for the last time in their faces. All of them felt the urge to open the door violently and find their friend on the other side on his two legs, ready to leave with them, making the group complete again. Drew was finally the one who succumbed to the temptation, letting his massive arm push the door ajar, laying his gaze on the bed. The rest of the group followed the action of the black unicorn and put their heads in the nooks and crannies with smiles on their faces. To their dismay, the room was finally empty, neither Light nor any trace of him was present. It was with open mouths of surprise that our friends found themselves lost before the immaculate whiteness of the room, before a nurse came, having heard the din they had caused. "You're Light's friends, aren't you ?" she asked the distraught faces. "Where is he ?" asked the chromatic pegasus, her voice suggesting a hint of panic in her mind. "Calm down, he left a short while ago." she said. "He went to Mrs. Menez's funeral, a friend of his accompanied him by car, he wanted me to tell you not to wait for him at school and that he'd be back for lunch." The group of friends were puzzled by this revelation, Light had never mentioned that his grandmother's funeral was this morning. Rainbow Dash peacefully recaptured their spirits as the nurse resumed her activities, breaking the silence that now reigned in the hallway. "I was so excited to meet his grandmother, I thought I could at least go to the funeral with him." she said, trying to hide the deep sadness that had been eating away at her. "I think the reason he didn't tell us about it was because he wanted to go alone." he said, comforting her with one hand on her shoulder. "In that case, all we can do is wait for him at noon, we have nothing more to do here." Said the lavender unicorn. "You're right Twilight, let's go back to school, classes will start soon." nodded her dark blue friend, not hiding her concern about being late for class. The group of friends finally made their way back to the exit, this time in no hurry. Their slow footsteps evoked their disappointment, Light's departure delaying their reunion by a few hours. "John, Applejack, you're telling us your news now ?" Harri asked, anxious to know what was going on between these two. "No, Harri, when Light gets here." the twin insisted... ----------------------------------------------------------- So our friends went back to school, expressing their disappointment at their friend's absence. Classes began without any news from Light other than "he'll be back at noon". Without hiding their disgust, they went to class, and while the likes of Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack managed to focus on the class, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie pie and the boys were left hanging for most of the morning. At break time, Drew tried to call his friend, ending his call on his voicemail. "He's not even answering." the big black man replied to his friends, only adding to their frustration. As Pinkie pie and Teddy began to hug each other while crying and wanting to hear from their friend, Twilight tried to calm them down. "Hey, he's at a funeral, he had to turn his phone off for the ceremony." she said. "I hope nothing happened to him on the way." John continued, starting to worry about his model. "Friends, there's no need to stress, he said he'll meet us at noon, probably straight to the canteen." she says to calm the emotions. At Applejack's request, the scene ended gently and the break ended, telling the students to return to class. The next math class passed like a letter through the post office, with most of the students sleeping in front of the teacher's soporific explanations. Then came the new moment expected from our group of friends, noon had struck and it was time for lunch. The way to the canteen became full of high school students and teachers happy to settle down for a good hour to eat. Contrary to most establishments, the Pony Academia had an excellent reputation in terms of gastronomy. The director Celestia took particularly good care of her students, especially the internees, for whom she sometimes acted like a real mother to her children. It is therefore not strange to see her contacting some of the great chefs of the region to prepare the dishes, as well as having contacts with highly rated suppliers. Our friends served each other starred dishes, but not all of them managed to put a smile on their faces. They took their usual place, close to the window at the back, with other tables placed on either side of it. The space between Rainbow Dash and Drew remained empty, hoping that Light would come and fill it. Without talking more, they began to eat, as did the rest of the academy, the students on the ground floor and the teachers upstairs. The boys all continued to look unhappy, despite the sublime dishes on their plates, and the violet unicorn's appetite was ruined. "Boys, I understand you want to see Light again, but we saw her yesterday." Twilight nodded, wanting to see them smile a little more. "That's right." continued his white friend Rarity. "I didn't think you'd miss him so much." "That's something you girls just can't understand." said Drew. "Light, he's more than just a friend to all of us." "The six of us have been living here since the beginning of the second." continued the computer geek. "Our group is probably as tight-knit as yours, maybe even tighter." "Hmmm." then nodded the white pegasus. "The six of us are inseparable because we stay together all day long." "We only leave each other at Christmas and on holidays." continued the land pony not smiling for once. "And every time we say goodbye, we get a twinge in our hearts." "I don't know about you, but I see Light as the leader of the pack." said the shy pony. "Without him, I feel like I'm lost." he confessed, looking at his plate still full and probably cold. The other boys confirmed John's thought, spanking the girls' understanding of the close bond between them. "We're part of the group now, too." the rainbow pegasus continued, cutting off the slight white. "Light and our friend to all of us, and my boyfriend in my case, so of course I miss him very much." she confessed afterwards. "Hmm, we understand how you felt too." said the orange mare. "Probably less than you, but we know the feeling of desperately waiting for a dear friend." "Life would be a lot less fun without friends." continued the pink-furred pony, trying to bring a smile to the table. "Tonight we'll celebrate his return properly." she said, with Teddy's agreement to organize something quickly. "Well, I didn't know I was so vital to all of you." said a voice close to the group of friends. Heads turned to the voice on the side of their table, some with their mouths still full. A Pegasus with recognizable skin, brown hair and cyan eyes was standing here, his left arm in a thick plaster cast while his right hand balanced his well-filled meal tray. "LIGHT !!" shouted the group of friends in surprise but also in ecstasy, bringing their eyes to their tables. There he was, he had finally returned from his hospital bed, not without physical and surely mental changes, but they didn't care. Rainbow Dash was so unfazed that she didn't hesitate to bring him in another kiss as she stood up from her seat, narrowly missing toppling the tray. "Wow, Dashie, calm down !" he said as he tenderly emerged from the forced kiss he too desired, a charming look on his face. "I knew it wouldn't fall." she defended herself to justify her action. "Light, we're all glad you're finally back." Affirmed John, followed by the approval of the entire group. "I can see that." he said, spanking reference to his girlfriend. "Did you save my seat ?" He then asked, knowing the answer. "Come on, sit down." the bodybuilder asked, pointing to the empty seat to his right. Light and Rainbow Dash sat down and the eyes began to return to their plates, not without feeling all the good humor now emanating from the group. A discussion began as the students and teachers who knew about Light's adventure were happy to see him again, knowing where he had spent his vacation. Others were just sad to see him with a cast, not wanting to know how he got it. Most of the girls, meanwhile, seemed disgusted to have seen him kiss Rainbow Dash, realizing that he was now out of reach, raging inwardly against the Pegasus. ----------------------------------------------------- Classes then resumed, but they were not an interruption for Light who had been questioned all afternoon about his cast. The teachers, who had shared the story in the teachers' lounge, could not help but congratulate Light and Rainbow Dash for their heroic actions. Already that Light was the most popular high school student, this misadventure only made him even more adored by the students and teachers in general. Only some like Trixie stayed in their corner, realizing that his task of dethroning him would become even harder than before. Finally, at the end of class, the group stayed together in the room of the hero of the day. The perfect opportunity to catch up with friends. Until Rainbow Dash asked her a question she had long wanted an answer to. Sitting on his lap, her left arm around his waist, she turned to him and asked. "Light, there's a question I've been asking myself for some time." she began. "Of course, Dashie, what is it ?" he asked with a smile. "There, during the 'misadventure' you said something like, 'That was my only family,'" she said, trying to remember the exact words. "Does that mean... you don't have one anymore ?" Then she asked, a little embarrassed to ask such a personal question like that. The whole group began to wipe the smiles off their faces, seeing that the question wasn't being asked. Light also removed her charming, childish smile, replacing it with a neutral, emotionless expression. "It makes me think, Light." began Drew. "Whenever we talk about our families, you duck the subject, why ?" Then he asked. "We're your friends, Light, so if there's something wrong, you can tell us, we're here to help." Applejack nodded. "No Applejack." he said, "if he doesn't mind telling us, he doesn't have to tell us." John nodded as if defending his friend for the first time. "Leave John." said immediately after the Pegasus. "I'll tell you if you insist." By this time, everyone was glued to his lips, waiting for the answer to his questions, Rainbow Dash had even gotten off her knees to stand beside him. Fortunately, he didn't take long to show up. "I... never knew my parents, they died shortly after I was born, I was raised in various orphanages until I got here." he said clearly. The group was speechless at this revelation. In the more than 2 years they had known each other with the other boys, he had never spoken of it or evoked it, which began to make one of them feel a deep anger. "WHY, WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL US ABOUT IT IN LIGHT ?" Drew clearly asked Drew, obviously on edge, abruptly jumped out of his seat. "HAVE AND YOU'RE FRIENDS SO TO..." "What's the point ?" he replied simply, cutting Drew off without having to raise his voice. Light's look at his friend said it all, he didn't care if he was raised by his biological parents or by charitable souls. As Drew began to open his mouth to answer him, no sound came out of it, and no answer either. It was only by racking his brains that he found a way and took it without delay. "But isn't it hard for you not to know them, not to have had time to become a real family with people who love you ?" He asked then. "No." he replied immediately in a dry tone. "I've made it this far without them, so why should I feel sorry for them, I don't even know who I should be crying for." he said again, surprising Rainbow Dash with his answer. "I'm sure that... if they were still alive, your parents would love you more than anything in the world, Light. You know, family often walks past friends." she confessed, placing her hands around her neck, bringing a slight smile to her lips. But it was soon removed. "Except that I never had a family, even Mrs. Menez was just an old lady to whom I brought bread and newspaper. I guess I came to think of her as my real grandmother and the only parental figure I ever had." he said in closing. That's how the news spread, Light had no family and didn't complain about it. In fact, he was almost thankful for his way of life which had taught him many lessons that those living peacefully in their homes could not learn. By the time everyone was faced with the situation, Drew was once again the first to react. "We're your real family now." he says with a dominant hint of pride in his voice, eyes and head held high, inviting his friend to join him in their siblings by offering a handshake. The group nodded to Drew's assertion that his twelve friends were just classmates. They were now united as a family, ready to help their brother and defend their sister. With a smile on the corner of Light's mouth, he seemed to like the idea, so he asked, looking Drew straight in the eye. "Okay if I'm the big brother." he asked in a protective instinct towards the whole group. "Let's just say we're twins." Drew replied, finding one in between that seemed to satisfy both of them. Rainbow Dash then stepped aside and let Light stand up to Drew. The two older brothers looked at each other intensely for a few seconds, smiling fervently. Light finally took Drew's hand as a sign of approval, before forcing a warm embrace with his best friend and now brother. "You guys are my real family, thank you !" He said between light sobs, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but join the embrace. Everyone was happy to consider themselves brothers and sisters for their friend's sake. The great joy that reigned was further heightened after Applejack spoke. "With all this, I almost forgot." she said, followed by a light laugh. "John and I are dating now." she said not without an aroma of red spreading over her scarlet cheeks. The warm hug between Light, Drew and Rainbow Dash ended when the news was heard. The faces turned to the two lovebirds, one proud and happy and the other blushing and curled up in a corner of the room. Light was the first to show his enthusiasm. "Is this true ? WAOUH !!! AWESOME JOHN !" he shouted as he grabbed his favorite little brother with one arm. "So my advice has served you right, huh ?" John couldn't keep his composure, which now bolted throughout his body, just like the rest of the group couldn't keep their cool, laughing out loud at Light's questions and John's reactions, each more hilarious than the last. So the day ended in the most total good mood, everything seemed perfect and the group was now more united than ever.