35: A Win
Characters
Wind Rider
Renown wonderbolt for her Mustang record that has been at odds with his daughter, Summer Lazuli, about her choice to become a school coach rather than following his hoofsteps.
Loving Bud
A teacher at Manehattan academy and mother of Loving Artemis and Loving Nebula.
Summer Lazuli
A coach at Manehattan Academy and a close friend of Loving Bud. Upon the holiday Field’s day, Lazuli hosts an event for all students of the Academy.
Loving Artemis
Son of Loving Bud and the reincarnation of Princess Luna.
Loving Nebula
Daughter of Loving Bud and the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon.
Duchess Bluebelle
Mother of Prince Blueblood and Princess Celestia’s favored ambassador.
Sabah Glow
The fiance of Sunset Spice. With her motherhood coming soon, she wishes to attain a circle of friends to welcome her foal to.
The sound of glee and wonder invaded the empty bleachers where Wind Rider sat. The frivolous joys the ponies participated in below annoyed him; however, not as much as bearing witness to this travesty of three nitwits.
Emerging from the curtains on the stage, where Lazuli had made her opening speech, came Carrot Cake. The way he merrily carried himself with a lanky body disgusted Wind Rider. It made him wonder if this stallion had an ounce of pride in himself. From how easily Carrot could prance across the stage in a cupcake suit with foals, Wind was convinced that Carrot had cast his pride away a long time ago.
“How do I make her stop?” Wind asked. He rocked a baby filly in his hooves, but her crying persisted. He even devolved to using voice impressions he never envisioned himself doing in his lifetime and even that didn’t calm the filly. “Ugh, forget it. Just take her back.”
“Hold on, Wind,” a mare chuckled from the hospital bed. She held a hoof to her mouth to stifle the laughter quaking her insides. “You haven’t even tried the peek-a-boo yet.”
“Are you enjoying this!?” Wind glared at the mare.
“No, of course not” the mare waved a hoof with a cracked smile. “Now do it for Lazuli. She’ll love it.”
Carrot Cake exited the stage after sharing a bow with the foals to the audience. The ponies clapped at the performance despite the mundanity of it all. All they did was skip around and flaunt their silly outfits, but apparently, that’s all it took to please these halfwitted ponies.
Next to appear through the curtains was Bow Hothoof. Unlike Carrot, Wind recognized Bow as having acceptable conditioning to his body. However, with the extent Bow had built up his body, Wind knew Bow would never prosper as an ace flier. There’s also the matter of the respect he would lose from how he flung himself around in a long dragon costume on the stage. From behind, Wind could see the hooves of the foals following Bow’s direction.
He then became alerted to the cheering of a familiar voice. It was his little sister, Windy Whistles, loud and overwhelming as always. As always, she and their parents were prone to be the loudest amongst the crowd.
“You can do it Lazuli! I believe in you!” Lapis’s voice rang in the ears of Wind and their daughter. Their filly flapped her wings to ascend to the air but inevitably fell flat on her belly yet again.
“Can you at least stay in the air for five minutes?” Wind grumbled.
“You got to encourage her,” Lapis advised. “Come on, give her one of your famous motivational speeches.”
“You mean the ones I give to recruits that bother me with their lack of confidence?”
“C’mon, you’re really good at it. Do it, do it,” Lapis began to chant.
Wind could only groan at his wife’s suggestion. But when he saw his daughter try again to float off the ground, he could feel something prick inside of him.
Wind Rider picked her and held her high above himself. The filly blinked at her father’s motion as he awed her with a comforting smile. “I know you’re trying your hardest. Don’t get glum on me, I know you’re going to do great in the future. Wanna know why? You have us at your side.”
The next to emerge from the curtains was the country stallion, Bright Mac. Wind saw no point in evaluating the prowess of an earth pony. However, he couldn’t ignore a distinct blush on the stallion.
Wind didn’t know how to expect a grown stallion to feel about being decorated in a lion costume. His son, Little Mac, and groups of foals growled and roamed the stage. Bright on the other hoof, stood as still as if his hooves were glued to the flooring.
Wind noticed Little Mac pulling on his father’s costume. He emulated another roar from the foals that was like the cry of a kitten.
Bright gaped at his son and then to the crowd. His lips pursed and a heavy dose of sweat became evident on his face. Even so, Bright shut his eyes and took a breath.
“Don’t tell me,” Wind groaned. “Are you really going to do it?”
With a blush redder than the freshest apples from Apple Acres, Bright Mac let out a quivering roar alongside his son. Wind and the audience sat astonished by this development.
Wind’s body cringed at the nonsensical theatrics that he became witness to. It was an execution he wouldn’t wish upon those he hated most. However, his mind did not linger long on this when a piercing laugh rang in his ear.
His eyes searched the crowd, and he found Loving Bud curled up in a fit of laughter on her blanket. The mare held her belly and rolled about. Her friends and family gawked at her, but like a domino effect, they and the rest of the crowd became infected with her laughter.
“Nonsense, all of it,” Wind commented and then leaned back on the bleachers. Of course, that mare would find joy in something so irrelevant. And now she’d dragged his own daughter down to that level!
“Oh, Wind,” Wind Rider perked at a nearby voice. “You won’t have much enjoyment being such a spoilsport.” Loving Hope revealed herself coming down the steps of the bleachers to meet Wind.
Wind scooted an inch from Hope when she sat next to him. “I didn’t come here to play silly games.”
“Come now,” Hope said. “Everypony needs a chance to loosen up every now and then. I’m sure Lazuli would really like that.”
Wind eyed at the mare. “What I have with my daughter is for us to decide. I don’t need any advice from a happy-go-lucky mare.”
“But restraints are such a bore. It’s moments like this when we can all appreciate being alive.”
“You and I clearly have different standards. I’ll have you know that it was my restraints that made me the pinnacle of what it means to be a Wonderbolt.”
“Forget prestige for a moment.” Hope patted on Wind’s back. Wind grunted and caressed his back from the monstrous strength this mare continuously forgets. “All that should concern you is Lazuli. She’s been doing great for herself in this city.”
“And how do we not know she’s just being strung along by a mare?,” Wind argued. “She had a great future set for her as a Wonderbolt, and yet she decided to throw it all away for a coaching job. It baffles me how she could do that.”
“This is about her inheriting the mustang record, right?”
“That is my greatest success as a Wonderbolt. Before I found the drive to become the ace I am today, I let so many things get in the way of my growth. It was only when I cast them away that I finally delved into my true potential. And look where it has led me.” Wind Rider pulled his aviator jacket to display his Wonderbolt emblem before Hope.
However, Hope kept her sight on Wind. “It led you to Lapis.”
Wind raised a brow at Hope. He then sighed and leaned back on the bleacher. “It disturbs me how alike you are to my wife. She was an investigative nut as well.”
“You know, maybe you’re just not seeing this from the right perspective. Maybe you should try looking at things from Lazuli’s eyes rather than yours.”
“Didn’t I tell you that it wasn’t any of your business?”
“Oh I know,” Hope said. “I’m just shooting ideas from the top of my head. You’re welcome to take them if you like.”
“Hmph.” Wind averted his gaze back to the field where he found his daughter. Her jolly laugh with Bud and the foals vexed him with a feeling. A sensation that used to shower him with constant euphoria; when everything was still whole long ago.
Lazuli entered the stage to see the awaiting ponies. She could see ponies of all ages sprightly commingled amongst each other, as open as if they had been friends for a long time. Without a doubt, her efforts were a stunning success, something she could boast about through the summer break. But now that she’d made it this far, she’d need to end it with a bang.
“Alright ponies,” Lazuli announced. “I hope you all got your laughs out of your system cause we’re now at the home stretch.” She could hear the whines of a few foals that stared disappointedly at their coach’s announcement. “Hey now.” Lazuli gave them a smirk. “Don’t get upset. All great things eventually come to their end.
But the end is also a start to something new.” Lazuli found Bud and her cheerleading foals amongst the crowd.
Artemis gave spirited pumps with his pom-poms as Nebula morbidly followed suit with her brother’s thrust. The energy in the colt was so vast that he began to steal attention from Lazuli’s announcement. Lazuli grinned at the spectacle. There’s never a dull moment with those two around.
These past months she shared with the foals had pushed her to confront things about herself that she thought she’d never dare to. They’d also given her a glimpse of a future that used to seem like a fantasy in her dreams. A family of her own...
Lazuli coughed into her hoof and continued. “You ponies have all been amazing today. But in our last event, you’re going to have to place your faith a select few ponies.” The field suddenly shook by a loud cheer from Artemis who dangled his pom-pom high above him. Bud nervously smiled at the staring ponies as she pulled in her energetic colt. “Loving the enthusiasm,” Lazuli chuckled. “But maybe wait till I finish, okay?”
The colt nodded and rested his pom-pom on his belly. His sister crawled in their mother’s grasp and used her mother’s hoof to mask her face. ‘Oh wow. Don’t tell me she’s embarrassed?’ Wind Rider thought.
On one side, Lazuli really wanted to count this as payback from their card games. But then there’s another part of her that wanted to pick Nebula up and hide her from the watchful masses. It was a strange thought for the mare. She knew very well that Nebula would bite her, but even that didn’t feel like an issue. Weird.
“Okay.” Lazuli clapped her hooves. “It’s time for each team to huddle up one last time. Let’s get things in motion.”
Bud assembled with the green team in the middle of the field. As stadium workers prepared the track for a baton race to serve as the finale of the field day competition, Bud’s team members held an oddly serious discussion.
Bluebelle took charge of the conversation, providing an in-depth assessment of the performance of each pony. Bud found it astonishing how Bluebelle memorized the names and feats of so many ponies she had recently met. Most of which she had yet to greet as well. Guess she truly is Princess Celestia’s star ambassador for a good reason.
Bud on the other hoof simply watched Bluebelle at work as she attended to the young foals with Sabah Glow at her side. The parents were deeply invested in the selection, delegating their foals to the foal-fanatic mother, Loving Bud. She did not find the title all that pleasing, but she could not deny such a desirable task.
“I never expected to see those three so passionate about this,” Sabah commented. Bud shared Sabah’s surprise. To see not just Bluebelle, but also Velvet and Cloudy providing thorough inputs about the matchup seemed to come out of left field. Neither of them would expect those three to have such a competitive side.
“Well,” Bud started. “I think it’s nice. I was getting worried if Cloudy would stay bitter towards Bluebelle throughout the day.”
“Bluebelle has this mysterious way of befriending any creature she meets. I once saw her having a joyful conversation with a grumpy old griffon. Bluebelle was the only one who could keep him in check.”
“That’s amazing,” Bud commented. “She must have friends from creatures all across the lands.”
“I’m confident she does. We all know she has her moments when she’s overbearing, but it all comes from the goodness of her heart.” As Sabah watched Bluebelle, a frown came upon her face. “It’s a value that other nobles in Canterlot pale in comparison to.”
Bud perked at Sabah’s words. “What do you mean?”
“Feh,” Bud heard Nebula harrumph at her side. The filly leaned her body onto Bud, appearing to coat her body in as much of her mother’s warmth as possible. “The life of a noble is one riddled with deception. A pony must possess great knowledge and cunning to hold on to their status. Though, I wouldn’t expect a pair of plebes to understand.”
“Bluebelle may never want to admit this,” Sabah said. “But there’s a sense of hostility cloaked around the nobles. It is as if they’re all wearing a mask for ulterior motives. That’s why I feel she may need this day more than any of us.”
Bud focused her eyes onto Bluebelle. A royal mare with a personality as elegant yet bombastic as hers was a pony Bud would never imagine having shadows. But that was a foolish thought. No matter what walk of life a creature has, there was always a shadow to haunt all of them. The best thing Bud can hope for is that it does not consume Bluebelle. And with friends like her and others around her, she was hopeful that it would never come to pass.
Bud gazed down at the three colts huddled between Sabah and Bud. Her son had become a favorite of Shining Armor and Blueblood, barely giving Artemis any time alone. Their cheeks squashed between each other as Artemis giggled and the other two bickered amongst each other with cute groans.
Limestone, on the other hoof, nestled in Sabah’s hooves. Her eyes often drifted towards Shining, who sat between Artemis and Sabah’s belly.
Bud was relieved to find the filly finally opening up to somepony. Now, if only she could find a way to get a hold of the filly herself.
“I see Artemis is popular amongst the colts,” Sabah commented. “I sense he may share that ability of unity with Bluebelle. Though, I can only hope this does not spark a rivalry.”
“Do not joke about such paltry things,” Nebula spat. “Luna does not have time to waste with mortal romances. She is a goddess meant to be idolized, not ravished.”
Bud gave a weak smile. “I…uh…don’t know how to feel about this topic,” she confessed. “Maybe we can talk about that some other time.”
“Perhaps we’re looking too far into the future,” Sabah chuckled. “However, I cannot stop myself from thinking about it. It is still a few months before I can hold my foal in my hooves. With so much time to wait, I sometimes get rattled with thoughts. Like, will she come out okay? Will she like it at Canterlot? Will she like me? Will she get along with other foals? Will she–”
Bud placed a hoof on Sabah’s. “Hey, hey,” Bud spoke in an assuring voice. “She’ll be okay. She has two wonderful parents to watch over her and she has a group of ponies from all walks of life to keep her company. You and your daughter won’t be alone to try and figure things out.”
Sabah paused at Bud’s words. She then breathed and shared a smile with Bud. “It appears you have it too.”
“Oh no.” Bud shook her head. “Not at first. I needed the encouragement of my friends and family to get where I am now.”
“Then I should count myself lucky to have you as a friend.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Bud said. “So, have you thought of a name for her?”
“Spice and I spent hours discussing it,” Sabah chuckled. “He went so far as to compile all of our suggested names into a list for us to choose from. We ended up choosing none of them.”
“None? Then you haven’t picked a name yet?”
“Oh no, we did. At the moment when the sun was coming down, it came to us at the same time like it was the work of magic. Sunset Shimmer.”
“Sounds magical,” Bud commented. It must be nice to have a stallion at her side to reassure her. It’s a piece that she and her foals were missing in their life. Well, at least they had Lazuli. With a strong-hearted mind like hers, it’s surprising Artemis does not call her his dad. Lazuli… Bud pondered for a moment but was immediately yanked out of her thoughts by a voice.
“Bluebelle,” Bud perked to the rising voice of Twilight Velvet. “I really don’t think he wants to join us. He’s refused to attend any of the events.”
“I must agree with Velvet,” Cloudy concurred. “Our chances to sway the Wonderbolt are beyond slim. We must look to another.”
“Come on, you two,” Bluebelle pouted. “It is imperative that we have all ponies basking in the joy of this event. To not include him would mean turning our backs on what our dear Lazuli is trying to achieve.”
Velvet craned her forehead. “Okay, how about we come back to that later. We still haven’t decided on a foal to participate.”
Bud noted her daughter observing the conversation. From what Bud has gathered, the baton team consisted of a team of three: an adult, a school staff member, and a foal. Her team intended to assemble the ponies that had participated the least. Other ponies on her team looked to the performance of others to increase their odds of victory, but the theme of Lazuli’s event took precedence in Bluebelle’s mind.
“I agree with the mass that they should optimize their team with the best forces we have,” Nebula commented. “Only a fool would gamble their chances with frivolous values.”
Nebula quivered when she felt her mother grooming her back with a hoof. “A little faith can go a long way for a pony. Every pony has the potential to do something wonderful if given the chance.”
“Meh.” Nebula laughed. “That’s the frivolous value I was talking about. I bet I could do better than all of these foals. None could dream of competing with me, especially after my months of practice.”
Bud stared at her daughter with observant eyes. Her gaze left Nebula unnerved. “What?” Nebula questioned. “You don’t believe me?”
“Wind Rider!” The two heard Bluebelle cheer. The famed Wonderbolt descended within the group, uncaring of the admiring gaze of ponies. “So nice of you to drop by. We were just talking about you.”
“How long are you ponies going to take with this?” Wind questioned. “The other teams have already picked out their participants.”
“Oh yes.” Bluebelle nodded. “About that…”
“We would like for you to participate in the baton race.” Hawk Inkwell emerged from the gathered ponies. “I have endured the back and forth long enough. You, Wind Rider, are the most exceptional pegasus that is within the team’s arsenal. There is no adult to select from other than yourself if we wish to win this.”
“Plus, there is the matter of wanting you to enjoy yourself,” Bluebelle added. “I’m sure Lazuli would appreciate it.”
Wind Rider narrowed his eyes at the two and then sighed. “I’ve already made it clear to all of you that I want no business in this foals’ game.” His eyes steered towards Bud and the foals. Bud gaped and then averted her eyes to the shuffling colts. Nebula, however, kept her eyes trained upon him, unmoving and fierce. “Who have you picked so far?”
“Well,” Bluebelle started. “For teachers, we’ve decided to go with Leaf Clip.”
“I would like to note that I did not consent to this,” Leaf Clip voiced from amongst the group.
“I still do not understand the advantage of this,” Hawk spoke. “It’s obvious that the other teams will use pegasi.”
Bluebelle placed her hooves onto Leaf’s cheeks, squishing them. “Hawk Inkwell, don’t you see that this poor fellow is in a need of fun. Just look how stressed he is. His face is so red that he may begin to boil.”
“I’m not red!” Leaf refuted with a high-pitch voice. “And I’m not stressed! I just got kis–I mean I just got into a relationship I’m not fully sure I’m prepared–I mean…” Leaf stopped and breathed. “No comment.”
“I understand the sentiment of embodying Lazuli’s goal,” Hawk said. “But if you truly want to win this then–” Hawk stopped when he felt a poke on his side. Beside him, he found his daughter, Raven Inkwell. “–Yes, what is it?”
“Dad,” Raven said. “I think we should trust Bluebelle’s judgment.”
“You too? Am I the only one that understands the disadvantages of this?”
“He’ll do,” Wind Rider concluded. “And I will cover the part of an adult.”
“You will?” the ponies around him blurted incredulously.
“Yes,” he confirmed. “But only on one condition.” Wind Rider turned towards Bud’s direction and approached her. Bud looked around her, hoping he was coming to somepony else. A fool’s dream as Wind Rider stood before her. He then pointed his hoof at Nebula. “I want her to take part in the baton race as well.”
His eyes focused upon the glaring thestral. He found it unreal for a foal to pierce him with such defiant eyes. Yet it felt so reminiscent that it piqued his interest more and more.
“You want my daughter to race?” Bud’s eyes finally met with Wind Rider’s.
“That’s right.” Wind said. “I’ve heard that Lazuli has been training her over the last few months. I want to see her progress.”
“But she’s only a few months old,” Sabah stated. “You can’t be serious about this? She’ll get herself hurt.”
Shining and Blueblood cowered behind Artemis as the colt gazed curiously at the stallion. Something about the colt’s eyes made Wind Rider uncomfortable. It was as if the colt was looking into the depths of his soul without his consent.
Bud and Nebula on the other hoof shared a gaze. Despite no words being spoken, there was a conversation being held that only the two could understand. Bud then closed her eyes and spoke, “Okay.”
“Are you sure about this?” Sabah asked. “Just because he’s a famous Wonderbolt, doesn’t mean you have to listen to him.”
“I’m not doing this because of him,” Bud assured Sabah. “I’m doing this because I have faith in my Nebula.”
“Good,” Wind said. “Then we should hurry and take on our place on the track.”
“Hold on,” Bud interjected. “I have one condition myself.”
“Come on, stretch them bones out. You gotta keep them limber.” Lazuli instructed Nebula to perform their routine stretches before she would begin her flight, however, the young thestral had stiffened at Lazuli’s words. Nebula expected the utter blasphemy of being bossed around by a plebe to be the most bothersome aspect of this, however, it appeared to be the eyes of ponies that fazed her the most.
“Heh,” a pegasus colt smirked from across a white line on the track. The other participants of the baton race had already taken their places. At the blast of a flare spell, it would begin. But before the flare would shoot to the sky, Nebula was welcomed with the discomfort of three of the competing colts gawking at her. “Guess that’s one less pony I have to worry about.”
“I’ll throw you into the shadow realms for your arrogance.” Nebula growled with her fangs out for all ponies to bear witness to. However, she immediately retracted them when she felt a tap on her head.
“Hey.” Lazuli lowered her face to Nebula’s. “Don’t let them get to you. You’re going to do great.”
“Save your consoling for Luna,” Nebula spat. “I have no intention of losing to a bunch of prepubescent colts.” Though her words were filled with rage, there was a tinge of a quiver in her voice that became the only thing apparent to Nebula’s mind.
Nebula tried to turn her attention back to the track. The baton race will have the staff member and adult of each team cover a quarter of the track, leaving the foals to finish the remaining half. When it comes to speed, Nebula should have no concern. However, she couldn’t help but wonder if it’s enough.
Besides her wits, she had nothing to bask over with her physical prowess. Countless times she has fallen to her foes, left at their mercy each and every time. Who’s to say it won’t happen again? Right here in front of every pony to bear witness to.
Nebula took a step back. Despite how wide the field was, she felt trapped in a tiny cube. She wanted out of it.
But just as her anxieties were getting the best of her, she found Bud and Artemis watching her from the bleachers. Not only them but also the friends and family that constantly dare to be in her presence. As Artemis and the colts pumped their pom-poms wildly in the air and chanted a sound that no pony could possibly understand, it rang inside Nebula.
The proud smiles and glees of her friends and family struck something in Nebula. She couldn’t find the right words to explain this feeling. All that she knew is that whatever she had been afraid of, it was no longer there. The only fear now was disappointing their smiles, and Nebula would be damned to make that nightmare a reality.
Lazuli noted Nebula taking a step before the white line. “Atta girl.” Lazuli grinned. “Go show them what you’re made of.”
The race began when the vice-principal Cinch was chosen as the mare to shoot the flare spell. The staff members were the first to start on the track with Leaf Clip racing down the track with mediocre speed. No, that was putting it lightly. Even with the peak of his spirits on display, Leaf lagged behind the other staff members.
He was finally given a moment to rest when he became the last to pass the baton to the adult section. The competing stallions already had seconds of a head start as Wind Rider waited for Leaf Clip with unwavering patience. As soon as the baton fell into his grasp, his body blurred past his competition and stopped before Lazuli and Nebula in barely a second.
Wind Rider and Lazuli shared a brief gaze with each other before he dropped the baton in Nebula’s teeth. “Show me what you can do.” Wind Rider said.
Nebula stared at the track before her. This was it, her moment. There was no more time for doubts as Nebula roared and unleashed a strong gust of wind with her small wings.
Nebula immediately heaved her wings after reaching the corner in a mere second. Her eyes traced the white lines between, committing her mind and body to stay within its bounds as she rebelled against the rough winds.
Nebula could already see the finish line before her. The colts that were meant to be her competition only stood with their jaws dropped at her remarkable feat.
Her wings however were beginning to feel sore. Despite all that training she endured, her body was still too weak to contain her unrivaled will. Her body began to descend to the ground.
“I refuse to yield!” Nebula pulled whatever she had left in her body to launch the strongest gust of wind she could manage. The air current she created was so powerful that it blew upon the audience on the bleachers.
The finishing tape tore and slapped onto Nebula’s forehead as tried to pull the brakes on her wings. Instead, the winds launched her upward to the sky above.
At that moment above the stadium, she could see the full stretch of her new home. Manehattan, a city of stardom and fashion. A place where ponies came to make a name for themselves. A place where one could find a place to belong in this large world. And hers was with Luna and…
“I gotcha.” Lazuli caught Nebula before she could begin her descent. “Yeesh, where did you learn to pull off a trick like that? I don’t remember teaching you that. Now you’re going to have Bud at my throat.”
Lazuli shook when she heard a piercing cheer below her. Down below on the bleachers, she was awed by the bombastic cry of Loving Bud. She was practically jumping in applause as she cried, “That’s my baby!”
“Woah,” was all that Lazuli could manage. However, she had another moment of awe when she looked down upon the filly in her hooves. Though Nebula breathed raggedly in exhaustion, the filly bore a wide and tearful smile.
“I won…I won…” the filly repeated over and over.
“Heh.” Lazuli grinned. “I knew you had it in you.”
From below, Wind Rider observed the two. The sight clicked something in his mind. “I see now. She’s your Lazuli.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Nebula grumbled as she was snuggled in a tight hold by Bud and Artemis. After flawless victory in her race, the two wasted no time pouncing upon her as if she was a slice of meat thrown to a pair of hungry hounds. Her friends and family could only give their regards as the two showed no signs of sharing her.
“I’m just so proud of you,” Bud said. She finally spared her daughter when she lowered her on the blanket. Artemis however kept his grip on Nebula, but at least his hold was not as suffocating. “You were amazing.”
“Save your praise for Luna.” Despite Nebula’s refutation, her tail on the other hoof wagged excitedly. A shame that Nebula held it to a stop. “Just let it be known that I won’t always be the filly in need of protection. This body may be weak now, but within time, it will become an unbreakable sword that will smite any foe in Luna’s path.”
“Oh Nebby,” Bud sighed. She picked a comb from her plaid saddlebag to groom upon her daughter’s frazzled mane. The powerful winds she birthed in her race whirled it to a frantic for her mother wove back into shape. “I’ll always be there for you.”
“You’re not calling me that,” Nebula growled. She then felt her brother brush his face upon her cheek. “And how long are you going to have Luna wear this degrading thing?”
Their conversation came to a halt when they were approached by the star Wonderbolt. “Wind Rider,” Bud blurted.
“We need to talk,” Wind said.
“We do?” she stuttered, something she could really do without right about now. “About what?”
“Look, I need you to understand that I don’t do very well with sentiments. I’m a stallion of action, not words. Well, emotional kinds of .”
“Okay…”
“Despite what you may hear about what goes on between me and Lazuli, she is very important to me. So, whether she likes it or not, I want to be a part of her life, regardless of how wasteful she is with her life.”
“It’s what Lazuli wants,” Bud argued. “It might not be as grand as becoming a star athlete, but this is what makes her happy.”
Bud became anxious that statement might earn Wind Rider’s glare; however, she was only met with a gaze of indifference. “She was never one to fight me about the path I had set before her. It was only when she met you that she started to rebel against me.”
“So, do you blame me?” Bud asked.
“You’re the cause of her transformation,” Wind said. “I never would have expected her falling for a run of the mill teacher like you to change her so much.”
“Wait, what?” Bud narrowed her eyes in confusion at the stallion.
“But there’s no point in fighting it anymore,” Wind continued. “The damage is already done. So, you had better take responsibility for this.”
“Wait, wait,” Bud waved her hoof. “What was that part about her falling for me?”
“What do you think I mean?” Wind raised a brow and then he gaped upon the mare. “You can’t mean to tell me that you didn’t know?”
“I know, right!?” Nebula suddenly blurted. “Isn’t it astonishing how she can be so oblivious at times?”
“You knew it too?” Bud gaped at her daughter. “Then who else knew about this?”
“How did my daughter fall for a mare so slow?” Wind Rider slapped his forehead. “She’s probably going to be upset that I told you this.”
“Why would Lazuli like me that way?” Bud asked in an urgent tone. “What’s there to even like in somepony like me?”
Wind Rider held a hoof over Bud’s face to stop her. “If you want to know more, then you will have to ask her about it yourself. I’m not adding more powder to the flames.”
Wind Rider turned away to make his exit despite Bud calling to him to come back. Her mind festered with numerous questions about this sudden discovery. The unknown shook her into an anxious fit. At least until she felt a hard slap across her face.
“Will you pull yourself together!?” Nebula sneered at her mother. Bud could only gape at her daughter in utter shock as Artemis placed a hoof on his mouth. “I’d be damned if this is the thing that bests you!”
Bud felt her stricken cheek and frowned at her daughter. “But…what am I supposed to do? I don’t know how long Lazuli had felt that way about me. I didn’t even know she felt that way about mares. Do I even like mares that way? I never thought about that before.”
“I’m not your life coach, okay? You’re the one that’s going to have to figure out the answer to those questions. Just know that I have faith that you will figure this all out, regardless of how much of an idiot I think you are.”
Bud found Lazuli talking amongst the friends she made at Canterlot. To think a mare like her would feel that way about Bud seemed nonsense. Then again, she’s never had any pony feel that way about her before. It’s been her chasing after stallions without a speck of gold to show for her efforts. She started to feel that her body was simply undesirable to ponies. All but Lazuli, apparently.
“So,” Nebula said. “What’re you going to do now?”
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Lazuli's time just got infinitely easier, no misunderstandings to dissuade her
They're adorable
So adorable
Probably
Wind Rider strikes me as a great flier, but a terrible parent.
Goth Nebula is a thing and non of you can convinse me otherwhys.
And this is why I love this story so much and can’t wait to read moreeeeeeeeee
P.S love those art to show what they look like,way better than how I imagined them lol
Oh that ending
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Goth Nebula? Well, that's never cross my mind before. But think of the possibilities...
Oh wow, I think you have just given me a side story idea!
10584060
A pleasure.
Sorry I gotta ask something, "Wasn't Blueblood's mother named Beryl in all the previous chapters?"
At least until she felt a hard slap across her face.
“Will you pull yourself together!?” Nebula sneered at her mother. Bud could only gape at her daughter in utter shock as Artemis placed a hoof on his mouth. “I’d be damned if this is the thing that bests you!”
Me and discord:DAAAMN!!!!?😱😱😱😱😱
Alucard: damnit Artemis now got me thinking about the cat meme!!!!😹😹😹
Get in the bag Nebby