New Moon (My Little Pony)

30: Mother of Five (1/6)

Loving Hope witnessed the sun dawn the sky and shed its light upon her bedroom as she woke from her slumber. Without a sigh, a yawn, or even an irk, she hopped off her bed and neatly tidied her sheets. She then gazed from the opposite of her bed and gazed at the end of the wall, where she saw a small mirror that showed a reflection of herself.

She was taken aback from much she had aged, at least until she remembered her life. Of what she has experienced and gone through. That past she briefly remembers being a part of is now only a remnant. That line of her life was long behind her now. She's now a caring mother that runs a daycare center.

A chuckle escaped the mare as she patted her head. "Old habits really do die hard."

Hope walked to her dresser where a framed picture was propped atop of. The picture held an image of her and foal-aged Loving Bud in her hooves. At Hope's side stood a teary-eyed white stallion that marveled at the sight of Bud.

"When will my senses finally catch up," Hope said. "You probably would've made this a lot easier for me, Gambi. You had a way of making everything so sappy. You always found ways to make things awkward, but also so endearing at the same time."

Hope grabbed hold of the framed picture and rubbed her hoof on the image of the stallion. "I wonder how you feel about how our lovely little bud has grown. You'd no doubt be crying tears of joy and she and I would have to console you for hours. I really miss those moments."

Gambi always envisioned them living out the rest of their days at a normal home, unwinding to a sweet mediocre life they could call their own. Hope had long dismissed the possibility, but that quirky stallion managed to swoon her into hoping for those blissful times. However, fate always has a penchant to be cruel to those who greed for too much.

Their past was plagued with so many wrongs and dangers. It was foolish to think that something so hazardous could easily be swept away for an innocent dream with him. Still, she would always wonder if things could have ended differently if there was an answer that they could have followed that brought them together where she stood now...

Hope noticed frown coming upon her and slapped both her cheeks. "None of that," she told herself. "Accept and live on. That's what he wanted from us."

On that note, Hope decided to begin her morning with a soothing shower and grooming her mane to a bun. Collecting a towel, she dried herself with, she tossed it into the hamper in her laundry room.

She then went through the hallway where she passed by her daughter's room. Hope remembered the countless days where she would burst excitedly into her daughter's room and wake her for school. That filly would always run frantically through the house to prepare, leaving Hope to always keep close to ensure she didn't skip over any of her morning rituals. Good times.

But now that Hope was alone in this house, there's an uncomfortable amount of free time that she had always invested in her daughter. If she weren't attending her daycare center, Hope would be helping Bud with her homework, go shopping together, or share in their personal rituals. It was honestly a bit of a struggle for the mare to figure out what to do with herself nowadays. So, Hope tapped her chin and thought about how she should spend the rest of her morning.

Perhaps she could go out and check on the neighborhood...no, she's already done that yesterday. Oh, she could enlighten herself by going to the museum...no, she's been there a hundred times with her daughter. Well, maybe she could...

Hope hummed to herself as she strode to the living room. There, she looked at a picture frame propped on a table. It was a picture of Bud with her foals. It was during the day of Chiffon's wedding where Hope took shots of them in their dress. Her grandfoals were so adorable in their outfit that she had a hard time not giving in to her temptation and took them away for a personal modeling shoot. But she'll get her chance, eventually.