The level of improvement shown between the adopter and child is nothing short of astounding. Both have shown greater confidence in the arrangement, and the child in particular seems much happier than she did just a few short days ago. In fact, the improvement between these two has been so great that both counselors confess to finding it unbelievable.
With this in mind, we are arranging some special ‘at home investigations’ later this month. Such investigations are typical for ‘unusual circumstances’ such as this case provides. Two new counselors will be present with the adopter and child for a few hours each to witness their interactions and behavior. These counselors will not make themselves known to the applicants during the investigation period, and the exact dates of their arrival will not be revealed until after the process is completed.
This is an entirely voluntary set of investigations. If the adopter wishes to refuse them, she is asked to send a response to the Canterlot Adoption Services Office as soon as possible for further counseling appointments. Note that refusal will be taken into consideration when a final decision is made by the counselors. Not sending a response will be considered acceptance.
It was all wrapped up in such careful wording, but the first paragraph had everything Lightning needed to know: they were in the clear. So what if a pony or two came to spy on them? It would just be more evidence that things were going great.
And they were going great.
“Is it… good?”
Lightning looked up to see Keen sitting on the table opposite her, next to a bowl of cereal. She had a full spoon hovering just before her face in a blue glow, but her eyes were set on Lightning and her ears were low.
Lightning grinned and nodded. “We’re good, Keen. We’re really good.”
Keen sat up straight with a bright smile that made Lightning’s heart soar. “So they’ll let you adopt me?”
“Not yet.” Lightning set the letter aside and dug into her own cereal. “They want to make doubly sure. But don’t worry, Little Bolt: it’s in the bag.”
She was rewarded with a beaming smile. “Great! I can’t wait to tell my friends.”
“And I can’t wait to meet your friends,” Lightning replied with a smirk. “I’m gonna scare the older one, you watch me. Not gonna let a good pranking opportunity go to waste.”
Keen giggled. “Apple will probably think it’s funny. After.”
“You’re making a mess.”
Keen noticed how her spoon had tilted sideways while she was distracted, milk and cereal dripping to the table. She righted the spoon quickly and ate its contents before anymore could be lost. She was blushing as she swallowed. “Sorry.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Lightning took a paper towel from the nearby counter and began cleaning up the small spill. “A little mess never hurt anypony.”
Keen remained silent until Lightning was back in her seat. She leaned forward over her bowl with hopeful eyes. “So does this mean we can go?”
A hint of doubt crept into Lightning’s mind, but she shoved it down with a grin. “Yep. We’ll leave this afternoon after I finish work. Cloud Kicker already okayed the days off.”
The filly bounced in place with a sqee. “I can’t wait to see mom and dad again! I have something very important to do.”
Lightning rolled her eyes. “So you’ve told me ten times a day for the past week. You know it’s gonna take three days to get there, right?”
Keen tilted her head. “Three days? But it took over a week to get here.”
Lightning gained a smug smile and opened her wings as wide as she could without feeling that tension in her side. “I couldn’t fly that time.”
“Oh.” Keen blushed with a giggle. “Right.”
“So,” Lightning asked between spoonfuls of sugary goodness, “whatcha gonna do for your parents?”
Keen smirked and shook her head with enough energy to make her mane fling about her face wildly. “Nope, you’re not tricking me! It’s still a secret.”
Lightning snorted down a laugh and had to fight to keep from losing what was in her mouth. At Keen’s raised eyebrow she pointed, and the filly looked down at her bowl.
Keen’s muzzle turned up in a disgusted expression; the end of her mane had fallen in her cereal bowl. She lifted it with a lone hoof and cringed at the sight of her mane caked in soggy cereal pieces and dripping with milk. “Ugh…”
Lightning somehow managed to swallow her cereal before bursting out into full-blown laughter.
Something cold slapped across her face. She blinked and saw Keen’s spoon raised high and the filly smirking. Lightning wiped a hoof across her forehead and looked to find it dripping with milk and cereal.
She snickered. “Okay, I had that coming.”
Keen grinned and raised her muzzle in a proud pose… only to flinch and sag once more when her wet mane fell against her cheek. “It’s still… ick.”
Lightning chuckled and gathered their near-empty bowls. “You’re just lucky I have to get to work today, else I’d be dumping one of these bowls over your head.”
Keen stuck out her tongue. “Cereal goes in my mouth, not in my mane.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lightning cleaned the dishes in the sink and set them aside to dry. She turned and lifted Keen out of the chair. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up, then it’s off to Fluttershy’s.”
Keen sat patiently in the sink while Lightning cleaned out her mane. Her expression became solemn after a while, her eyes fading as if she were thinking deeply on something.
Lightning frowned even as she began drying Keen off. “Something wrong, kiddo?”
“No…” Keen used her magic to lift up enough of the towel to see Lightning. “When we get to Foal Mountains… there’s somewhere I want to go.”
“Oh?” Lightning set Keen down on the countertop and began washing the milk out of her own mane. “Where’s that?”
“I… I have to show you.”
Lightning peered with one eye through the running water. “Another secret?”
Keen nodded. “But it’s really important.”
Lightning stood up straight and began drying herself. “Another ‘really important’ thing, huh? I guess there’s no harm in it.”
Keen smiled, but it was weak. “Thanks, Lightning.”
Lightning chuckled and lifted the filly up to bump muzzles with her. “Come on, now, stop that. You don’t want to worry Fluttershy with frowny faces, do ya?”
Keen giggled at the contact. “Don’t worry, I’m good.”
Lightning beamed down at her little filly.“You and me both, Keen.
“You and me both.”
Lightning’s wings beat in a slow, steady rhythm as she followed the air currents just beneath the clouds. The biting wind made her glad she’d thought to buy warm winter clothes for Keen. She had on a sweater for herself, but her pegasus down did most of the work keeping the cold out. Keen didn’t have any such advantage, though, so Lightning tried to avoid the strongest winds.
The mountains rose tall all about them, their smooth slopes covered in thick pine trees that refused to lose their green needles. Lightning felt as if she’d not flown through this landscape in ages, but in hindsight it hadn’t even been two years, not considering her brief return a few months back. She had sworn never to return, not after what had happened… but the sad memories didn’t hurt as much as she’d expected.
They’d already passed the cemetery; Keen claimed she had something she wanted to do before heading there. They’d passed over the town, its sturdy wooden houses dotting the forested mountainside in a way that was nostalgic to Lightning’s mind. How many times had she flown over this pristine scene?
But she had no intention of lingering. Her eyes briefly set upon the blackened square that had once been an orphanage. They passed over in silence, neither Lightning nor Keen willing to bring up what had happened in that cursed place.
To think, Lightning had once thought of it as home.
She glanced back at her rider. Keen was strapped onto Lightning’s back with a thick belt – a precaution for the long trip – and lying on her belly to avoid the winds as much as possible. Her thick cloak and scarf flapped wildly in the winds, trailed by her long white tail. Her eyes peered through her goggles at the ground below.
“You sure you know where we’re going, Keen?”
The filly nodded without a word and pointed somewhere to the west. Lightning eyed that direction and, finding a good wind, banked between two short mountains. They flew on in silence, Lightning occasionally glancing back for directions. Keen led her on a weaving route through the forests, and Lightning could just make out a path beneath the trees. How far out were they going? Lightning was pretty sure she’d never flown this far out as a filly.
Keen moved forward to call over the winds. “Down there.”
Lightning followed the direction Keen indicated, her eyes quickly spotting the large pile of rocks and debris at the bottom of a particularly tall mountain. She flew a little lower and skirted the mountain, following a sight of destruction: huge boulders, churned dirt and fallen trees.
Lightning knew a rockslide when she saw one. She eyed the foliage that had started to form in the area and guessed the event to have happened sometime within the past two years.
Then she spotted it: an old log cabin by a river. Or what was left of one; most of it had been smashed to pieces by the rocks.
The sight made her catch her breath. “Keen… is that where we’re going?”
Keen didn’t reply… which was all Lightning needed. She began to circle, making her descent gradual since there was no safe place for a steep landing. Keen remained eerily silent, and Lightning decided it was better not to ask questions. Even so, she had to wonder why she wanted to come to this place.
They landed among some small boulders, close to the ruined cabin. Lightning unclasped Keen’s belt and dropped to her belly, and Keen slowly climbed down.
Lightning sat up and watched, her breathing slow and her eyes locked on her Little Bolt. Keen pulled down her goggles with her magic and approached the last standing part of the house, her head held high but her pace slow. If only Lightning knew what was going through the filly’s head…
Keen paused to look back. She gestured, but Lightning hesitated.
“Are… are you sure? You don’t want time alone or anything?”
Keen shook her head.
“I want you to know.”
Lightning’s heart skipped a beat. At last she understood what Keen intended, and as sad as she was… she was also strangely happy. She offered a weak smile and followed as the filly guided her past the cabin’s intact corner. Keen didn’t even give it a passing glance; she was moving with clear intention.
They entered the area of the landslide, slipping over cold rocks and thick moss. Lightning was worried for Keen at first, but the filly moved carefully and avoided the more dangerous parts. Lightning used her wings to get atop a particularly large boulder, and she flinched at the sight of splintered timber. She began to notice certain things in the rocks: the corner of a crushed table, a couple wooden plates half-buried in dirt, the twisted remains of a bed’s metal frame.
She had a sudden, eerie feeling that she wasn’t supposed to be here. She felt like an interloper, as if this were a secret property that deserved respect. Even so, she didn’t dare suggest they leave.
After all, who deserved to be here more than Keen?
The filly paused and sat next to a large rock. She stared at it silently for a while, closing her eyes as her frown deepened. Her tail began to flick in a rhythmic fashion as Lightning approached.
“Keen?”
The filly sniffed and bowed her head. “There used to be a big stump here. Dad used to call it my throne. It was my favorite. I used to nap on it while he worked.” Her tail flicked a few times in that same steady rhythm. “Sometimes I can still hear his axe.”
Axe? Lightning took a closer look at her surroundings and noticed that the land at the edge of the rockslide’s path was covered in neatly-cut tree stumps.
Keen leaned her head back and sniffed at the air. A frail smile came to her lips. “I like the smell of cut wood. It reminds me of him. Cut wood gave us food, warmth, our home. Dad was really good with it.”
She lifted her hooves to stare at them, her lips trembling. “He… he carved me a doll named Little Lumber. Mom put strings on him so Dad could make it dance with his horn. He used to tell me he’d let me use his axe someday. Mom didn’t like it when he said that, though.”
She turned away from the rock. Lightning wanted to hold her… but Keen didn’t approach, so she held back. She saw that Keens’ eyes were wet, but she wasn’t crying. Not yet.
That made her strangely proud.
“Mom was always busy.” Keen walked towards the remains of the cabin, towards a large hole that had been cut into the side of one wall. Lightning followed, keeping her distance.
“She always spoke to the ponies. Mom ‘knew business,’ Dad said. She had to cook at night, and she was always cleaning. She didn’t like a dirty room.”
The filly’s steps slowed at the wall. Her head was low, her small body shaking. Lightning moved in close and nuzzled Keen’s back, which earned her a small smile.
Keen sucked in a deep breath and entered the cabin, stepping carefully over the splintered wood. Lightning followed, having to duck her head to fit.
It was a small bedroom, smaller even than what Keen had back in Ponyville. Judging by its size, it was probably the only room in the house left standing. The rocks and debris made a high wall almost to the top of the room, and Lightning noted half of a small dresser lying on the floor. The other half was gone, ripped away by the stones. The floor was covered in ruined books, perhaps from a bookshelf that no longer existed.
In the surviving corner was a small bed, the only thing completely untouched by the rocks. Keen was sitting beside it, her eyes staring up at the mattress with a long frown.
Lightning stepped up beside her, hesitating as she eyed the dusty, mouldy sheets.
Keen closed her eyes and began to sway, humming a soft tune. She couldn’t do it for long, her entire body shivering as she choked down a sob. Lightning was unable to stop herself from dropping low to hold the child, and Keen nuzzled her as she fought to regain control.
“I… I’m okay. I am…”
“If you say so, kiddo…” Lightning sniffed and sat back up, offering a sad smile. “But if you need me…”
Keen nodded, unable to look her in the eye. After a few seconds she turned back to the bed.
“Mom would sing me to sleep. She was always singing. It was what she was good at.” Keen rubbed her cheeks. “Dad used to say it was her voice he loved most.”
She turned to Lightning, her teary eyes clenching at the mare’s heart. “They were good parents. I loved them so much…”
Her eyes drifted to the rocks. Lightning noticed.
“Y-you don’t have to tell me, Keen,” she whispered. She dropped down to nudge Keen with her muzzle, and Keen returned the motion. “I… I’ve heard enough.”
“No.” Keen slowly shook her head. “I want you to know. It’s important.”
Lightning held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Goddess, it hurt so much to see the filly like this… “Are you sure, Keen? You really don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do.” Keen stepped back and turned to the bed. She closed her eyes and remained silent for several seconds, taking her breaths in a very slow, careful manner.
With one last, extra-long breath, she opened her eyes. They were startlingly clear.
“A storm came. It was really loud. Mom and Dad were worried, I knew they were. Big storms made Mom nervous. Her singing wasn’t that good that night.”
Once more, Keen stared at her hooves. “I forgot Little Lumber. I was scared for him. I couldn’t go to sleep knowing he was back at my stump in the rain. I cried… I wanted them to get my doll. Mom and Dad told me Lumber would be okay, but I was so scared. Dad… Dad decided to go outside and find him.”
Keen wrapped her hooves about herself and shook. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Lightning was almost desperate to tell her to stop, but somehow she knew Keen was determined to get this out… so she kept close and paid rapt attention.
“M-Mom was scared. She couldn’t sing. Dad was taking so long, and the storm was getting really loud. She told me to wait in my bed, that Dad would come back with Little Lumber soon. She left. I think she was going to look for him.”
She covered her ears with shaking hooves, her body going low. “Th-that’s when the noise came. It was so loud. The house was sh-shaking. I thought the mountain was angry. I… I h-hid under the covers and cried. The noise… it was so sc-scary…
“Then the noise stopped.” She sucked in a deep breath and climbed slowly to her hooves. She kept her head bowed and turned to stare at the rocks.
“Mom and Dad… didn’t come back.”
Lightning took a ragged breath and held a hoof to her lips. She looked to the bed and couldn’t help imagining a little filly shivering under the covers, alone and terrified in the darkness as she wondered where her parents were.
“Oh Goddess, Keen…”
Keen nodded, once more rubbing the tears from her cheeks. “I… I’m o-okay… Tears are g-good, right? Th-they help…”
Lightning lifted the filly and held her tight. “I’m so sorry, Little Bolt. Y-you really didn’t have to tell me this…”
Keen squeezed Lightning neck. “Th-the story’s not over…”
“Yes, it is.” Lightning held her at leg’s length and shook her head. “It’s over, Keen. I don’t need to hear anymore.”
Keen’s eyes gazed into hers, though, and Lightning could see that the filly was determined. Lightning’s legs shook… but she slowly put the filly down. “If you’re really sure…”
Keen nodded and turned back to the bed. She moved closer, setting herself just beside it and staring at the space underneath. It was some time before she spoke again.
“The storm was gone in the morning. I saw the rocks. I didn’t understand, not then.” She looked around at the walls. “I wanted to find Mom and Dad. I couldn’t; the door was gone. I couldn’t get out. I remember calling for them. I wasn’t scared, not at first. I… I didn’t understand.
“Then I got hungry.” She bowed her head once more and felt at her stomach. “Very hungry. I started crying. Mom and Dad wouldn’t come. Night came back, and I was still here.”
She slowly dropped to her belly. Lightning watched, tilting her head as Keen crawled under the bed. A few seconds later she came out, dragging something small behind her. Lightning gasped as the filly sat up and held the wooden puppet out at leg’s length.
“I found him the next morning under the dresser. I was s-so mad… I blamed Lumber for my parents going away. I threw him away. I didn’t want to look at him.” She held the well-preserved puppet close and took a long, calming breath. “It wasn’t his fault. I forgot he was inside. I… I w-was so hungry, so angry. I kept crying for Mom and Dad.”
She turned and looked at the shattered dresser. “I tried to escape. I tried to push it. I was too small. I was scared, Lightning. The sun was going down. I… I felt weak…”
Lightning sucked down a calming breath of her own. Her chest was tight, her heart heavy. She reached a trembling hoof out to pet Keen’s mane, and the filly offered a shaky smile in return.
“Keen… how in the name of Luna did you survive?”
The filly bowed her head, resting her chin against the puppet’s shoulder and closing her eyes. “A mare found me. I think she wanted to buy some wood. I don’t know when it was. The sun was up, though. I couldn’t move much. I just… I remember hearing her voice. I thought it was Mom. I cried and cried, and she heard. Some big ponies from town came with axes.”
She turned and nodded to the hole in the wall. “They got me out.”
Lightning stared at the hole for a while. Frightening thoughts drifted through her mind. Just how close had Keen come to dying because of this? And then, at the orphanage…
But she was alive. Keen had to be the luckiest little filly in the world.
She swept Keen under the protective cover of a wing. “You’re amazing, Little Bolt.” She bent down to nuzzle her, and Keen eagerly pressed back. “Thank you for telling me. You really didn’t have to, but thanks.”
Keen held her leg and nodded.
They remained silent like that for some time, taking in one another’s presence. Lightning felt so incredibly sorry for her little filly, but at the same time she was strangely proud. Keen had survived so much. For such a tiny pony, for all her claims to be scared… she had survived. She was strong, no matter what she claimed. Lightning found it… inspiring.
“Do you… do you want to stay for a little while?”
Keen shook her head against Lightning’s leg.
“Alright.” Lightning petted the filly’s mane with a gentle smile.
Keen stepped away and set the doll on her back. “One more thing.”
She led Lightning out of the cabin and made her way along the path of the rockslide. Lightning followed close behind, wondering what else the filly intended to go through today. As sad as she was, she couldn’t help being impressed; Keen kept going, despite everything. She was determined to make sure Lightning got the whole story.
Keen started climbing over the rocks. They weren’t far from the river now, the waters snaking along the valley between the mountains in a quiet rhythm. Keen couldn’t climb over all the rocks, so Lightning carried her over them with small, wing-assisted jumps.
After a while Keen found what she was looking for: a long, shallow hole. There were no rocks there; they’d been pushed aside. Keen stepped down into the hole and sat, pawing at the moss-covered dirt.
“This is where they found Mom.”
Lightning cringed, that familiar stabbing sensation hitting her chest once more. “K-Keen…”
“I never saw it before,” Keen whispered, her head low. “I asked about it, but they wouldn’t let me come and see.”
She looked up at Lightning with big, sad eyes, but there were no tears. “Thank you, Lightning. I… I always wanted to see it.”
Lightning dropped into the hole and held Keen close. “Of course, Keen. I’m… glad to help.”
Keen sniffed and returned the hug. “You’re lying, again.”
Lightning forced out a feeble chuckle and just held on a little tighter.
Keen sighed and rested her chin on Lightning’s shoulder. “I don’t mind that kind of lie, though.”
Lightning sat back up and brushed her eyes, just in case. “Do you… do you want to find… y’know…”
Keen shook her head. “Dad went farther. They found him in the water.” She pointed to the river.
Lightning watched the water snaking by and sighed. “I see.” She turned to the filly. “Is there… is there anything else you wanted to find?”
Once again, Keen shook her head. She stepped up close and rubbed against Lightning’s leg. “I’m ready to go see Mom and Dad.”
Through her sadness, Lightning was astounded.
“Are you sure? We could go to the hotel… come by tomorrow.” Keen said nothing. “You really want to go there? Right now?”
“Right now.” Keen looked up at her with a solemn frown. “It’s important, Lightning. I need to tell them something.”
Her determination was apparent. Lightning sighed and nodded. “Okay, Little Bolt.
“Let’s go.”
Lightning landed near her parents’ graves. She dropped down to let Keen off before walking over to pay her respects. She didn’t say anything; she rarely did. She had no intentions of lingering, either.
Keen had other plans. “These are your parents?”
Lightning winced and nodded. She glanced down at Keen, who looked up at her with big eyes.
Her curiosity was apparent, but she still asked the question very carefully. “How did they die?”
Lightning sighed and shook her head. “There’s no big story, Keen. My Dad’s friend got into an accident and he went in to help. His friend came out, Dad didn’t. Mom fell ill a few days later.”
“Oh…” Keen shifted, her eyes set on the shared tombstone. “Do you miss them?”
Lightning fidgeted and averted her eyes. “To be honest? I don’t remember them that well. I just remember… calm. They always made me feel calm. But they were good parents, I’m sure of it.”
Keen nodded. She remained silent for several seconds, and Lightning wondered if she shouldn’t usher the filly away. She wasn’t comfortable with this situation at all…
“Can I tell them something?”
Lightning blinked. “Sure… I guess.”
The filly smiled up at Lightning, then walked forward so she was just before the graves.
“Hello. I… I wanted you to know. I’m Keen. Lightning’s taking care of me… so I guess that means you’re my grandparents now.”
Lightning blushed; the thought hadn’t even occurred to her.
“I promise to be good for Lightning, so don’t worry, okay?”
Keen shifted, ducked her head. She finally turned to Lightning. “I… I guess that’s good for now?”
Lightning beamed at her. “Yeah, that was great, Little Bolt. I’m sure they are very happy to meet you.”
Keen sighed and nodded. “Good. First meetings are important, right?”
“Right.” Lightning patted her on the head and smiled. She turned her eyes on the graves. “Don’t worry, guys; she’s a much better kid than I was.”
Keen giggled. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
The two shared a tender smile for a few seconds, but then Keen turned away. “Okay… Mom and Dad.” She trotted through the cemetery, making her way to the familiar spot. Lightning watched her go with a sigh and turned back to her own parents’ graves.
“Lightning?”
She blinked and turned. Keen was trotting back. She paused before her and tilted her head. “Come on.”
Lightning blushed, her eyes swimming up to the place she knew the graves to be. “Really? I… I thought you’d want to be alone.”
Keen tugged on her leg. “You need to be there. Please?”
Lightning tilted her head and perked an ear at this, but decided to do as she was told. It was hard to say no to those big blue eyes. Lightning wished she knew what was going on. She wished she didn’t feel like she was trespassing on a private matter. But Keen seemed so very eager, so she kept silent.
The grave of Keen’s parents was little more than a dirt mound. There was no tombstone, no markers of any sort. Now that Lightning knew so much, that seemed… wrong. She paused a couple feet away while Keen walked to the edge of the grave.
Keen paused and bowed her head. She kept still for a second or two, but then squared her shoulders and looked at the mound.
“Hey Mom, Dad. I’m sorry I haven’t visited much. I’ve moved to a new town. I hope you don’t mind.”
Lightning sat to watch as Keen slowly removed the doll from her back.
“I… I found Little Lumber. I’m sorry I cried and made you go outside.” She climbed the grave, the doll resting over her shoulder, and slowly set it down on top of the mound. “I think he’d be happier with you. You went through all that trouble to find him.”
She stepped back, leaving the puppet behind. She sat at the edge of the grave and remained silent.
Lightning wondered why it was so important that she be here. If anything, she felt as if she were intruding on a private conversation. She actually considered leaving quietly.
“…Mom? Dad? I want you to meet somepony.”
Lightning’s heart hit her throat, her eyes going wide. Keen turned and pointed to her, but kept her eyes on the grave.
“This is Lightning Dust. She lost her parents, too. She saved me from the monsters I told you about.”
Lightning’s lips twitched upwards. She had to remind herself to breathe. Keen turned to her with a smile and gestured, and though her legs shook Lightning approached.
“Umm…” Lightning fumbled for something to say as her face grew hot. “H… hello?”
Keen set a hoof to her leg, which made her flinch. She looked down at those happy blue eyes and realized Keen was trying to comfort her.
The filly turned back to the graves. “Lightning’s been taking care of me. She’s working really hard, and she doesn’t really know what to do. But she’s trying. It was hard at first, but I like her.”
Lightning’s stomach flipped. The smile came unbidden as she stared at the foal.
“Lightning wants to adopt me. She wants to be my parent. I wanted you to know. She can be rough, but she’s just learning. So, if it’s okay with you, I wanted to let her try.”
Lightning’s eyes began to tear up. She set both hooves to her lips and struggled to keep it in.
“Thank you both for getting me so far. You were wonderful parents. I love you both, and I promise I’m not replacing you. Lightning can raise me, and I’m sure she’ll make you both proud.”
It was too much; tears fell down Lightning’s cheeks. She kept her lips firmly closed to keep from making any sounds and interrupting.
“I… I have one last favor to ask before I go live with Lightning. I hope you don’t mind. Mom, you’ll always be my mother. I promise.
“…but if it’s okay… can I call Lightning ‘Mom?’”
Lightning let out a weak gasp: her heart may have exploded.
She sat there, her chest heaving and her face moist. Her hooves trembled before her lips as she gazed with blurry eyes at her Little Bolt.
A few seconds passed. Keen slowly turned to look up at Lightning. She was smiling.
“Do… do you think they said yes?”
Lightning sobbed and fell to her belly, pulling Keen in for a hug.
“I love you, Keen. I love you so much!”
Keen held on tight. “I… I love you too… mom.”
Lightning didn’t know she had so much emotion in her. She didn’t know it was possible. She wept with joy and sat up, rocking back and forth with Keen over her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked to the grave.
“I p-promise I’ll take good care of her. Sh-she’s in good hooves, you’ll see! We’ll both make you proud. Keen is the most precious filly in the universe. Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me care for her. I swear, I won’t let you down.”
She felt Keen shift. She looked down to find beautiful blue eyes staring up at her, tears cascading down Keen’s soft cheeks.
“We’re family now, right?”
“Yes.” Lightning kissed her forehead and beamed. “You’re absolutely right, Keen. We’re family.”
They held on for a long time, even after the crying was over. Lightning let the unadulterated happiness wash over her in a massive wave, content in the knowledge that, for once, she’d done something right.
She had a daughter.
This indefinable pleasure that filled her to the core of her being?
It was far better than any cheering crowd could have ever been.