//------------------------------// // Familial Resolution // Story: A Different Kind of Treasure // by Mechawrecker //------------------------------// Cloud knocked softly on the door to Flitter’s isolation chamber. After waiting several seconds with no response, she raised a shaky hoof and pressed down on the imposing door’s handle, which unlatched with a click. Blinking back her surprise, she turned to look at Sky, whose face bore the same anxious expression she had. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and entered the ominous room, shutting it behind her. As the door closed, the room was plunged into darkness, making several shivers race up her spine. Gazing around the gloomy space, her eyes focused on the messy bed where Flitter sat, head bowed in a look of defeat and resignation. Cloud slowly crept towards Flitter’s broken form, ready to jump back from an attack, but the demure pegasus just sat there looking as lifeless as a doll. Sitting down, she reached a tentative wing around Flitter’s barrel and stammered, “H-Hey, sis. I, uh… just wanted to come by and check up on you.” Cringing at her own words, Cloud continued, “Listen, I know that things aren’t great between us right now, but I just want you to know that-” “I’ve always resented you.” Flitter’s words pierced Cloud’s heart as if she had fired one of her magical arrows. Cloud’s voice faltered as she quivered, “O-oh… well, I guess things are even worse than I thought. Can I ask why you’ve always h-hated me?” Flitter’s gaze remained fixed on the floor, but her lips moved as she whispered, “You’ve always had everything I ever wanted: You’re naturally big and strong, you have a natural gift for making friends and relationships, you even have memories with our parents.” Cloud winced at the mention of their parents, but held her tongue as Flitter continued, “You’ve always been the better sister, the more desirable sister. Throughout our lives, you’ve always gotten everything I could never have.” She turned to gaze at Cloud with her dead, unseeing eyes and breathed, “And just when I thought I had found a stallion, a guy so incredible that I could finally move past all those other things, you swoop in and take that from me too.” Her face split into a hollow smile as she giggled, “B-be honest with me, Cloudchaser. Are you doing this on purpose? Did you make it your life’s goal to make me as miserable as possible? Because if so, you’re doing a perfect job.” Cloud’s face ran wet with tears as Flitter twisted the knife inside her heart. She thought back to their childhoods and cringed at the truth behind her sister's words. Being born with more prominent features, Cloud had always been the center of attention. With her loud, outgoing personality, she had always had plenty of other foals to play with while Flitter was shunted to the sidelines by herself. Also, being the older sibling meant she had gotten to spend more meaningful time with their lost parents, no matter how much heartache those memories caused now. Shame and regret filled Cloud’s mind as her unintentional torture of Flitter throughout their lives came to light. As Flitter shrugged off her wing, Cloud burst into hysterical sobs and wrapped her hooves around her sister’s neck. Squeezing tight, she cried, “I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry, Flitter! I never meant to hurt you! You have to believe me! I never wanted to make you feel this way!” They both sat there, crying into each other’s fur until there were no more tears to shed. The buildup of years worth of buried emotions and grudges breached their self-made barriers and finally revealed themselves in the form of sobbing apologies and cries of desperation. Eventually, the two sisters quieted down enough to wipe away their last snivels and clear the air. As Cloud pulled away, she flapped her wings anxiously and mumbled, “Flitter, I’d never try to push you aside. We’re the only family we have left. I really am sorry for the things I’ve done to you, but please don’t let this be the end of us. I couldn’t live if you turned your back on me now.” Flitter didn’t speak for several moments. Cloud started to grow nervous and supplied, “Sis, I know how much you like Sky. I even teased you about him when we first met, remember?” Nodding, Flitter stared at the ground, a look of pain and longing etched across her otherwise beautiful face. Cloud bit her lip and looked back at the closed doorway where the stallion in question was likely panicking, waiting for her to emerge. Taking another deep breath, she opened her muzzle and forced out the words that pained every inch of her body. “Flitter, I give up. You can have him.” Flitter raised her head and stared at her sister with a look of shock. After several seconds of disbelieving silence, she stuttered, “W-what did you say?” Cloud clenched her teeth with the effort of not crying and repeated, “I give up… he’s yours. I promise, I won’t try and be with him anymore. You can have him all to yourself.” To say Flitter was surprised would be a massive understatement. For as long as she could remember, Cloud had never given up something this important to her. She would always fight to the bitter end to get what she wanted, even if it was just another cup of pudding at the orphanage they used to live at. To see Cloud purposefully quell the burning fighter that always drove her to any lengths was so unnerving that Flitter even forgot to act cold towards her. “A-Are you serious, sis? You’re actually going to back off of him?” Cloud’s head and heart fought furiously against each other. On one side, her mind told her that this was the best, most effective way to get Flitter to forgive her and move on from their marred history. However, Cloud’s heart ferociously retaliated by arguing that Sky was a unique stallion that would never be accessible again should Flitter successfully claim him as her own. In the end, Cloud’s mind emerged victorious as she mumbled, “Yes, I’m being serious. You and Sky are perfect for each other. He’s your knight in shining armor, and you’re his beautiful princess. Once he’s been with you, I’m sure he’ll forget all about me and the times we spent together.” Visions of the humorous jokes, the strolls through the marketplace, the battles they won, and the loving affections they shared flashed through Cloud’s mind before she forcefully suppressed them. She couldn’t afford to think of those memories anymore. All those wonderful moments full of bliss and happiness would only make her want him again, which would strain her relationship with Flitter to the breaking point. Hating every syllable she was saying, Cloud finished, “I value our bond more than anything in the world. You’re my sister, the only one that I can call family. We’ve been through so much together that it wouldn’t even matter if we weren’t related by blood. If giving up the most important stallion in my life is what it takes to make you whole, then I’d dump him a thousand times before choosing my own happiness over yours.” Flitter’s ears perked up at her words. With a tender expression she furled her wings against her body and stuttered, “A-After everything I just said to you… why would you be willing to do that for me? Aren’t you angry?” Cloud turned to look her directly in the eyes and stroked her mane with a hoof. “Of course not, sis. I could never turn my back on you. You’re family, and family always sticks together no matter what sacrifices we have to make.” With one last loving embrace, she leaned towards her stunned sister and whispered, “I love you, Flitter. No matter what.” Sky paced around the living room on anxious hooves. The deserting dragons had all left to find lodging in a more ‘dragon-friendly’ environment, so he was all alone with nothing but his increasingly worrying thoughts. When Cloud had first entered Flitter’s den, he had been uncomfortable with the situation. Now, half-an-hour later, Sky was positively hysterical. Despite his promise to check on her after twenty minutes, she had yet to make any kind of loud cry for help. With a light head and a churning stomach, Sky flapped his wings in desperation, hoping beyond hope that everything was going to be okay. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door handle unlatched with a click. Sky whipped around, eager for any scrap of information as to what was happening inside the room’s confines. Cloud emerged from the dark doorway, an unreadable expression on her face. Flitter followed right behind her with an equally ambiguous gaze locked onto him. Sky’s heart skipped a beat. He had expected a violent argument and hoped for a peaceful compromise, but the stoutly resolute features that stared back at him made his skin crawl. Eventually, he cracked a tentative grin and chuckled, “S-So, ladies, is everything okay?” The two sisters glanced at each other before slowly advancing on his position. Suddenly fearful for his life, Sky reached for his shield only to fall back in horror as the busted metal splintered at his touch. Before he could do more than yelp, Cloud and Flitter descended upon him, their unwavering glares never breaking eye contact. If Sky had been scared before, this new development upgraded him to terrified. His tail and barrel were being pinned to the floor by their hooves as they leered down at his exposed form. Covering his crotch with his forelegs, he whimpered, “P-please, girls… do whatever you want to me, just don’t hit below the belt…” Sky closed his eyes and prepared to endure unspeakable pain, but the next thing he heard made his ears perk up in confusion. Instead of shrieks of rage and hatred, a low chortle and a high pitched giggle met his ears as the hooves holding him down lifted themselves off his quivering body. Several seconds passed before he had the courage to open his eyes. When he finally decided to use his vision again, he was met by the two sisters shaking with laughter as their hooves tried and failed to cover their amused muzzles. As the realization crashed down, Sky’s ears flattened in annoyance as he shouted, “What the hay was that!? I thought you girls were going to kill me!” At this, Cloud broke out into uncontrolled laughing fits as Flitter sat down to stop her back legs from shaking. Sky’s frown deepened the longer their shared humor lasted, which took a good five minutes to calm down to a more reasonable level. When the two girls composed themselves, Sky grumbled, “Well, now that you two she-devils have had your fun, can we get started with our super important invasion of the Dragon Lord’s Palace?” “Oh, don’t be like that.” Cloud guffawed with her usual smug grin. “Frankly, Flitter and I could have done a lot worse to you considering how much pain you caused.” Flitter nodded in agreement. “Yep! We’re letting you off easy today, but don’t ever break our hearts again, or we’ll have to punish you~” “Oh, come on!” Sky exclaimed, his wings flaring in indignation. “How is this my fault? It’s not like I tried to make this happen.” After another shared giggle, Cloud trotted towards the front door. “Alright, I’m going to grab some things from our apartment. Flitter, do you need anything in particular?” “Yeah!” Flitter replied, giving a side glance to Sky. “I need my toothbrush and another change of clothes. I want to take a shower before going to bed.” Sky’s muddled brain tried to process what the two sisters had said. When the message finally penetrated his skull, he raised his eyebrows and asked, “Wait, hold on. You two are staying at my place tonight?” Flitter flashed him an ingratiating smile. “Well, considering our apartment has a smashed window and multiple arrows stuck into our stuff, it’s probably not the best place to sleep.” She sauntered over to Sky’s side and nuzzled his chin with her fuzzy cheek. “We were thinking that… if it’s not too much trouble… maybe we could stay over at your place for the night~” Sky’s face blushed scarlet as Flitter’s seductive tone clouded his judgement. As he tried to form a coherent sentence, her tail crept under his barrel and brushed against the sensitive bits underneath, causing him to let out a very feminine eep. His voice trembled as her continued ministrations made it difficult to think straight. “A-Are you sure? I mean, my place isn’t that big, so you and Cloud won’t have a separate room.” “That’s okay. I’m sure you can find a way to squeeze us both in. After all, if you can set up complex battle strategies and plan invasions, I’m sure you can imagine how to fit two girls into your bedroom~” There’s only so much one stallion can take. After relentless attacks from the undercover succubus, Sky’s hormones finally got the better of him. "Ok, you two can stay! Just tone it down a bit, alright? My heart can only take so much.” Flitter‘s seductive expression vanished only to be replaced by one of happiness and joy. “Oh, thank you, Sky!” She gave him a glowing smile and wrapped her hooves around his neck with an adorably cute squeal. Before Sky could return her affection, a smug voice rang out from behind him. “Nice work, Flitter! I had my doubts, but you’re a natural at talking to stallions.” Sky glanced around to see Cloud smirking back at him, a pack of clothes and toiletries in her hooves. Grinning back at her, he chuckled, “You two convinced me. It’ll be a tight fit, but I’m sure the three of us will be able to squeeze into one bed~” The two sisters shared a smirk as they made their way to the bedroom. “Oh no, the bed won’t fit all of us, so somepony’s going to have to sleep on the couch tonight.” Sky’s expression faltered. “Wait, so are one of you girls staying in your own apartmen--” His voice cut off as something blue impacted his body. Disentangling the offending object, he gazed at the cloth and realized it was an old camping blanket. Cloud's cutie mark flashed back at him as he continued to stare at her parting gift. Seeing his confusion, Cloud snarked, “I hope you have working AC ‘cause you’re going to need it~” and shut the door with a snap, leaving Sky stranded outside his own bedroom. After processing what had just happened, he flattened his ears and looked directly at you, the reader. “I just got played, didn’t I?”