//------------------------------// // Thunderlane -- Sibling Love // Story: The Album // by Peregrine Caged //------------------------------// Written by: iEspeon Rated Teen “Time's up! Bedtime!” “Awww... can't I stay up?” “Nuh-uh, you got school tomorrow.” “Pleeeaaase? Just five more minutes?” Thunderlane put a hoof to his chin to think about it, before scooping up his brother and starting a noogie. “ACK!” Rumble squeaked, even as he giggled, trying to escape his brother's grasp. “Okay, okay, I give! I give!” Thunderlane stopped, but kept his hold. “You gonna go to bed and not ask for more time?” “Yes!” The older pegasus gave his younger brother a skeptical look, before smiling and letting him down. He followed him to his bedroom, up the stairs and across from his own. The little gray pegasus hopped onto the bed, where he was promptly tucked in and given a playful ruffle of the mane. “Sleep tight, squirt,” Thunderlane murmured affectionately. “Good night,” Rumble said quietly, smiling peacefully. Just before the door was closed, there was a momentary checking to see if the little safety light was on and working, before the lights were put out and the door shut. Thunderlane took a moment to listen carefully, only leaving for his own bed once he heard the soft snores of his little brother. He was old enough to be on his own, and so neither of their parents lived with them. He'd started taking care of the little colt when it had been decided that Rumble wanted to stay with his older brother rather than their parents, who were in Cloudsdale. It wasn't a bad thing, since those two were ridiculously busy anyways with their jobs; plus Ponyville was a perfect place for the little pegasus to grow up. Thunderlane smiled as he remembered the first few days of Rumble's arrival in Ponyville. There had been the obligatory Pinkie Pie 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, followed by a much quieter welcome from himself and his fillyfriends, Flitter and Cloudchaser (a relationship that took constant work from them all to maintain). With their help, his little brother had easily fit into the small, tight-knit community. He found said mares lying in his bed already, with only Cloudchaser still awake. “Is he finally asleep?” she asked quietly, nuzzling against his neck as he climbed beside her and Flitter. “Mm-hm.” “He's such a sweet kid. He's lucky to have you for an older brother, you know that, right?” Thunderlane smiled, it was an old topic. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.” “That's because it's true.” “Mm-hm.” Cloudchaser gave a tired smile, leaning against her coltfriend's side, her sister leaning against his other side. His wings gently opened and wrapped around the two of them, enticing the sisters to fall into a deep sleep. Thunderlane remained awake a little while longer, thinking back to when his relationship with these two wonderful fillies had started. It brought a smile to his muzzle remembering how it had been Rumble, naive little colt he was at the time, to wonder if his older brother liked the two of them. In public. Around said fillies. Naturally, there had been the knee-jerk reaction denial in the presence of his younger brother, if only to appear 'cool' to him. Celestia knew that was a lie, back then he was completely smitten with both of them! And now here they were, a little triad working hard to stay together. His little brother had been the one to help get the three of them to start talking (thanks to that initial blurting-out). It was rather entertaining in hindsight, despite how mortifying it had been at the time. It had been only the next day that his little brother had returned home soaked to the bone, caked in mud, and wearing the biggest, goofiest grin he'd ever seen on the little guy. At dinner that night, he was regaled with endless stories of pirates and boats and special pirate coins... oh, his brother went on and on that night. These days he and that Pipsqueak – a nice little colt, if a bit wild with his imagination – were nearly inseparable. Going on the wildest of adventures whenever possible, and getting in just as much trouble. So long as his brother was happy and safe (and got his school work done beforehoof), he didn't mind. Especially since it gave him more time to be with his fillyfriends. That's not to say that ignored his little brother, hay no. He loved the little guy, spent as much time with him as he could. Thunderlane was proud to say that he and Rumble were the kind of brothers that were nothing less than best friends. It was his little brother that he first confided to about really liking both Cloudchaser and Flitter; it was the same little bro that had admitted he saw both fillies – whom had become his sitters after a short amount of time – as sort of surrogate sisters. So clearly, the idea of dating them both was fine. His rare musings on his current life were cut short by a soft, almost timid knock on the door. “Rumble?” Thunderlane asked quietly, attempting to not wake either of the sisters. The little gray head of his brother peeked in, with a look in his eyes that made Thunderlane wonder what had happened. “Are you alright?” Rumble carefully came in, and looked rather frightened, “I... I had a bad dream...” “Do you want to talk about it?” “N-Not right now...” Thunderlane gave a small smile, holding out his forelegs, “Crawl in, squirt.” Rumble gave a grateful smile and carefully joined his little family on his brother's bed. Thunderlane gently used a hoof to wipe the tears from his little brother's eyes, even as he held him close. Soon enough, he was fast asleep. Thunderlane decided, with a smile, that he would cut his reflections short tonight. His brother needed his comfort right now, no matter how silent it would be. It wasn't until morning, on the rare occasion that he was the first one awake, that Thunderlane realized that at some point in the night, his filly friends had scooted closer to him, and they were sharing their hold of Rumble. While he was still his little brother, he was still very important to all of them. Thunderlane was just glad that they were allowed to share these moments of peace and wished they could last longer than they would. Because it was these moments, the ones where they all held each other close, that would be the ones he would cherish forever.