New Moon (My Little Pony)

35 A Win (5/5)

"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 refute, 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 laid 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 very well with sentiments. I'm a stallion of action, not words. Well, emotional kinds."

"Okay..."

"Despite what you may hear what goes 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 it."

"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 may earn the glare of Wind Rider; however, she was only met with a gaze of indifference. "She was never one to fight me on the path I had set before her. It was only when she met you that she started to rebel against me."

"So, you do blame me?" Bud asked.

"You're the cause of her transformation," Wind said. "I never would have expected her to fall for a run of the mill teacher to change her so much."

"Wait what?" Bud narrowed her eyes confusingly at the stallion.

"But there's no point in fighting it anymore," Wind continued. "The damage is already done. So, you 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?"

"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 now."

"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 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 gaze 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 upon her stricken cheek and frowned upon 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 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 mythical. Then again, she's never had any pony felt that way about her before. It's been her chasing after stallions without a speck of gold to show from her efforts. She started to feel that her body was simply undesiring to ponies. All but Lazuli, apparently.

"So," Nebula said. "What're you going to do now?"