The Buckball stadium had largely emptied since the end of the game, and though there was the usual throng of ponies all wanting autographs and just generally wanting to spend time with the athletes, it was more or less accepted that the day's excitement had ended. Mares and stallions, fillies and colts began to trickle out of the stadium, leaving behind either only a devoted few fans to chat with each other, or the athletes themselves, who finished up their day with either casual conversation or some practice of the sport. Among the crowd, however, was a lone mare, finishing off the last of her soda. Clear Sky, after slurping down one gulp in particular, looked down and smiled as she saw her daughter. Little Wind was as happy as could be down there, talking to Fluttershy about her role in the team and her experiences. Clear even giggled a fair bit as the filly waved to her from down there, but her attention was soon drawn to the one who now approached her from the side. Quibble, smiling to her, offered her a new soda to replace the now-empty one she'd been holding.

"Here you go, sweetie," he said.

Clear smiled back to him.

"Thanks honey."

Together, the couple sat beside one another, drinking their sodas together and watching as Wind began to play with Snips and Snails in a mock Buckball game, all while the others cheered them on. Quibble especially seemed pleased with this, as evidenced by the sigh he now released.

"You know...you were right."

Clear arched an eyebrow to him.

"Oh, really? You don't say?"

Quibble chuckled.

"Yes, yes, I know. I should've listened from the start. But yeah, I would have been better off just being myself around her. It would have been easier on my muscles, if nothing else."

The two laughed together, and Clear scooted on closer to him, wrapping a hoof tenderly around him and holding him closer to her.

"You've got nothing to worry about, Quibble. I know things were a bit shaky there for a time, but it all worked out in the end."

Quibble grinned nervously back to her.

"Yeah..."

Then his eyes darted down to Rainbow and the other Ponyville mares.

"...things always seem to when those mares are around."

Clear nodded in agreement, then looked to her coltfriend softly.

"Besides, you're hardly the first stallion who's had silly ideas that I've had to deal with."

She finished that off with another giggle, after which she got back to her soda. But, while she may have started to focus again on her daughter, there was something about what she'd said that echoed in Quibble's mind. Something that began to stir a curiosity in him that, at the same time, evoke feelings of concern and nervousness. There was something he wanted to say, or perhaps felt he even needed to, yet it was clear from the look on his face that doing so would have been difficult for him. However, if there was one thing the recent series of events had taught him, it was the value of honesty. So, after taking a deep breath, he set his drink to one side and turned to look at Clear.

"Clear?"

Clear looked back to him.

"Yes, Quibble?"

Though hesitant, it only lasted a moment, and the stallion finally asked his question.

"...Why did things end between you and Wind's Dad?"

A silence fell, and for a time, Clear looked quite surprised at having been asked the question. Quibble worried about how this question might be taken, that it might upset her in some way. And that was a fear that only deepened as he saw her start to look to him more seriously.

"...Quibble...you've never asked me that before. Not once. Why now?"

Quibble sighed, taking off his hat and hanging his head slightly.

"You're right. I should have asked a lot sooner. It's just...I don't know...I was worried it might just open an old wound, or that you wouldn't want reminding of him or something like that."

Clear tilted her head.

"So, I'm guessing you already have some idea in your mind as to what happened?"

Quibble, though still worried, gave a shrug.

"Hey, I'm kind of a professional fanboy. Making headcanons is part of the job description."

Clear actually laughed a little at that, which understandably alleviated much of the tension the two were feeling. It was a welcome reprieve, that much was obvious, but it only lasted a few moments. What it was finished, it was Clear's turn to sigh, and she looked to her coltfriend earnestly.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint whatever picture you made, but...things between me and him just...ended."

Quibble didn't quite get it, so Clear elaborated.

"There was nothing bad or dramatic about it really. No arguments, no feeling unhappy around one another, no final goodbye on a rainy day, things just...stopped being what they were."

She turned, looking down to her daughter from afar.

"Things were good between us for a long time. Good enough for us to want a child together. But as time went on, the love we used to feel for one another just, you know, faded. We still cared for one another, and we wanted to be there for Wind, but we both knew that things had reached a point where we just didn't love each other anymore. At least not how we used to."

She looked back to him.

"After a while, we started talking about it, and he said maybe we should stay together, if only for Wind's sake. But after talking some more, we both knew that it wouldn't do anypony any good to keep the relationship going if we didn't mean it. We didn't want an empty relationship, and we certainly didn't want that kind of relationship to be the kind of thing our daughter took as some kind of example as she grew up."

She sighed again.

"So...we ended it. It was hard of course, having to explain it to Wind, but I think she knew as well as we did that we couldn't just keep things going as they were."

Her smile returned, albeit smaller than it was before.

"But he's still there for her. Whenever he has the chance, he spends every moment of free time he has with her, and I'll always be thankful to him for that."

Quibble, stunned after hearing all that, sounded more than a little uncertain as he finally spoke again.

"So...things are...okay with you two?"

Clear nodded.

"They are. We're still friends, and whenever we can we meet with one another and try to catch up, always with Wind there of course. Things aren't ever going to be what they used to be, but that's no reason to just cut things off between us completely."

Quibble, having taken in all of that, looked away from her, thinking on everything he'd learned.

"Well, that's...not what I was expecting."

Clear raised an eyebrow.

"What, not dramatic enough?"

"No, it wasn't," Quibble answered immediately.

Then he realised what he'd just said and snapped back to look at her.

"Oh! I don't mean to say I want things to be dramatic of course! It's just...er..."

Thankfully, Clear just took that whole blunder on his part as something funny, then reached over and gave him a quick pat on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I know people will often think of bad circumstances when they hear of family situations like mine and Winds, and perhaps not without cause. And yes, it was sad for us when we stopped after it happened and realised that things had changed..."

Quibble calmed down, looking to her and seeing her dwell on past memories, though still retaining her smile.

"...but I consider us fortunate that things ended as they did. Nopony got hurt, there was no heartbreak, and I think even Wind will be fine after a time. She still misses her Father when she's not with him, and I wouldn't ask her not to...but she knows as well as we do that having things end was for the best."

The stallion looked to his fillyfriend, and though he felt much calmer and more relaxed than he had done, there was still some measure of uncertainty to him.

"And...and us?"

With her smile widening, Clear leaned forward, giving him a tender kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry. You're no intruder in this. Never have been. I'm happy being with you, Quibble, and I'm sure Wind feels that way too."

The two looked down to the filly in question, and sure enough, she was smiling to them, even giving Quibble a wave. Quibble himself waved back, and as he looked back to the mare at his side, he began to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's...good to hear. And Clear?"

"Yes, Quibble?"

The stallion hesitated, then smiled wider than before.

"I'm happy to...to have a family like you two."

The two smiled lovingly at one another, moving closer and embracing one another in a warm hug. The others ponies in the stadium were oblivious to this, and several minutes passed by before the couple finally parted from one another, and when they did, Clear giggled a little before nudging Quibble in the side.

"Say...wanna go on down there and have a play with Wind? I'm sure she'd like that."

Here, Quibble tensed.

"Er, thanks for the offer, sweetie, but...I think I've failed at Buckball enough for one day."

Author's Note

What a lovely episode that was. And I really am happy for Quibble that things ended well for him at the end. Oh, and how could I forget the wonderful voice performance by actor Patton Oswalt's (Quibble) real-life wife and daughter, Meredith and Alice. Kudos to you both, on the off-chance you actually read this