New Moon (My Little Pony)

32 Gathering Winds (1/4)

Bud and Lazuli did not anticipate their group to be so large as they traveled through the streets of Manehattan. To have not only a daughter of an exotic species but also a renown wonderbolt amongst their group, it was inevitable that they would be privy to the eyes of passing ponies.

Bud was afraid that they were going to be bound by a throng of curious fans if not for Wind's sudden split from the group. Wind had let out a sigh before flying off to a different street with bunches of ponies to pursue after him like a pack of timberwolves.

And as soon as they reached their destination, they were surprised to see Wind Rider waiting patiently at the entrance. A wide entrance of a large building dome extended across the center of the city. The sheer size of the place Windy and Bow in utter awe.

For Bud, it felt strange for the place to be absent of uproars of cheers and cries from a massive throng of fans. She rarely had a reason to come here, and when she did, for the amusement for a friend.

"You," Windy started while keeping wide eyes upon the building. "You booked an entire stadium for this?"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Lazuli grinned. "The Hoofball season had ended a few weeks back, leaving us to do what we want with the place."

"Please do not misinform them," Grace voiced. "The truth of the matter is, the principal happened to have a friendly relationship with the owner of this stadium and convinced that pony to reserve the area for the school for today."

"I didn't lie," Lazuli argued as she began her walk inside the building, followed by the rest. "Daffy wouldn't even bother to talk with the owner if I hadn't asked."

"As Bud had described, it was rather persistent."

"Dear Celestia, are we really going to have this conversation again?" Lazuli rolled her eyes. "You need to learn not to take things so seriously and just have fun. Today is going to be a blast."

"Let's hope that it doesn't become literal," Grace said.

"Well I'm looking forward to this," Bud voiced after grabbing onto Artemis's hooves that were currently wrapped around her neck. The little colt had strapped himself upon his mother's back throughout their walk, gingerly tried to gnaw her flowing mane against the air. "My students have been eager for this throughout the week."

"Yeah," Lazuli smiled and then glanced upon Artemis. "But are we really going to have Artemis in that getup all day?"

Bud slid her hoof underneath Artemis's hoof to find his stomach and then hoisted him from her back to cradle in her hoof. The colt held a few stands of Bud's mane that she tugged off from Artemis with her mouth. "I think we're passed the point of no return. Besides, I wouldn't want Nebula to feel alone in this."

Bud nodded towards her daughter, who had her wings stretched wide above Loving Hope. Bud's mother held a small mirror in her hoof that she frequently looked upon to watch the filly's movements.

Nebula had shared the same idea as her brother to find a pony to carry on their back, however, she was determined to use that as an opportunity to continue an extensive exercise she had begun months ago.

Her daughter had constantly voiced her frustration of being weak and to remedy this, she decided she would train her body to at least recover a fraction of her prime. For a normal foal, that would sound absolutely ridiculous, but Bud knew full well that her daughter is the average foal.

However, she's still a frail baby and will be treated as such. Bud can't have her filly constantly trying to jump out windows and disappearing into the shadows as the filly, please. There's only so much shock that Bud can take before she gets a heart attack.