//------------------------------// // Chapter One // Story: A Sister's Love // by Warvyn //------------------------------// The sky was a shade of orange and red, the sun casting a beautiful sunset across the sky. The setting itself was possibly the most wonderful sight anypony could ever see. At least, that was in Flitter’s opinion. The pegasus was flying to her house from work, basking in the warmth of the sky. Often times she wondered how unicorns and earth ponies could live without the ability to fly. Then she thought that none of them had actually flown before, so they must not have known what they were missing. She picked up the pace, and flew a little bit faster. She wanted to get home as soon as possible. There was only one pony in all of Equestria she loved more than anypony else, and that was her sister, Cloudchaser. They didn't get to see each other much, not during the day that is. Their work shifts were during opposite sides of the week, with Cloudchaser taking up the first three days, Flitter working the next three, and then having one day off afterwards. It slightly bothered the pegasus that she couldn't have the same shifts as her elder sister, but the manager for the Cloudsdale weather team said there was nothing he could do about it. After a few more minutes of flying, Flitter could finally see her house coming into view. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she tried to speed up again. Flitter was never the fastest flyer in Cloudsdale, but she wasn't known for a lack of endurance. Everypony would admit that she could outdo some of the best fliers on the team because of how long she could soar in the air. Landing on the soft cloud that held up the home, she took a deep breath. Today was the last day of work for her, which also meant that both her and Cloudchaser had tomorrow off. She knew Cloudchaser wanted to spend more time with her. The older sibling always had something to do for them on their days off. It usually consisted of them just walking around Cloudsdale, randomly picking stores to shop in or places to eat out. Flitter trotted towards the door, pushing it open with a light push of her hoof. It was a real quiet place, though that wasn't unusual. Her parents were always either traveling to some city on the other side of Equestria, or taking a month long vacation. As much as Flitter hated to admit it, she didn't really feel too strongly for her parents. She didn't hate them, but she didn't really love them either. As the pegasus walked through the living room, she could hear a soft humming coming from the kitchen. Her sister was likely cooking. Either that, or putting together some kind of junk food on a plate and calling it ‘dinner’. It was her way of being lazy, though Flitter didn't mind. When she got closer to the kitchen, she could smell the aroma of food getting stronger. It started to make her stomach growl, desperate to finally eat something. Trotting into the kitchen, she slowed down. If there was one thing Flitter always loved to do, it was to sneak up on her unsuspecting sister. It was always hilarious to see Cloudchaser jump at the sudden motion. Slowly, she reached her sister, and quickly sprang on her, her own forelegs wrapping around the pegasus in front of her, quietly saying “Gotcha.” into her ear. At this, Cloudchaser jumped and elicited a small yelp of shock, trying to wriggle out of the grip of her captor, only to find its grip tighten. “Flitter! Why do you always have to do that?” She sighed, trying to hold back a giggle. “I’m trying to cook you know.” “I know, I know. Its just always so cute to see you get so scared,” Flitter laughed. “I wasn't scared! I was surprised! There is a difference.” The spiky maned mare retorted softly. “And I’m not cute...” She added, barely audible. “You were totally scared! You should have seen the look on your face. It was priceless!” Flitter replied, trying not to giggle. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work. She soon broke out into a loud, laughing spasm, trying to calm herself down. Her sides felt like they were on fire, and her breath got harder and harder to catch. “Seriously, I'm the older one. I should be picking on you, not the other way around,” Cloudchaser reprimanded. It was more to herself than her sister. “Oh, come on, I was just being playful,” Flitter started, wrapping her forelegs around her sister again. “You know I love you more than anypony else.” “Yeah, yeah. I love you too, Flitter. Dinner’s almost done though, so go wash up and get ready to eat,” Cloudchaser said. “Okay, okay, I'm on it. Just give me a few minutes, alright?” Flitter said as she turned and left the room. The mare walked down the hallway and stopped at the bathroom. Walking up to the sink, she quickly turned it on and washed her hooves, splashing water in her face, and then took a quick short shower before heading back to the kitchen. As she entered the room, she heard her sister speak up. “So, how was work today, sis?” She asked. “It was okay. We didn't do anything too exciting. We had to set up some thunderclouds in Cloudsdale though. It was pretty funny when Thunderlane got shocked by a small bolt of electricity,” Flitter replied, laughing a little. She could still imagine it now, the stallion trying to buck the cloud, but hitting it at a slightly odd position, which caused a tiny, albeit powerful, shock to light his body up. “He isn't hurt, is he? We’re already short on staff as it is,” Cloudchaser stated. It was true, even for a place like Cloudsdale, the weather team was smaller than it should have been, which surprised many ponies. It was the city of pegasi after all. “No, he was just a little shocked, that’s all. He won't be going back to work until the day after tomorrow though,” Flitter assured. “Well, okay. As long as it isn't anything major. That Thunderlane though, he really needs to be more careful. Always trying to impress the mares, but always failing at it,” Cloudchaser joked. Thunderlane was a cool stallion, Flitter would admit that. She didn't understand why he needed to try and act so tough around the other mares. Although she herself didn't feel like that towards him, she was sure he could have as many marefriends as he wanted. “Yeah, you’re right. I don't understand why he does it though. He doesn't really need to. I always notice half of the mares on the team staring at his wings anyways. Even some of the stallions too,” Flitter said. She didn't understand why he was so popular, but he was. “Really now?” Cloudchaser asked. “And just how would you know that?” She played. Flitter’s face turned red. “Because they aren't very good at hiding it! And sometimes it takes out of our work. Today’s job took two hours longer than it should have.” She retorted. “Mhm. Believe what you want! Speaking of that, how is your little crush thing going?” Cloudchaser asked casually. Flitter sighed in response. She knew this would come up sooner or later today. “Its... its going okay, I guess.” She lied. Her sister somehow found out she was in love with a pony a month ago, and kept tormenting her about it, trying to find out who it was. “Now really, just tell the stallion you like him. I'm sure the worst that can happen is he says no,” Cloudchaser stated. Flitter thought for a moment. Her sister knew she was in love, but not with whom. She never told anyone she was into mares instead of stallions, not even Cloudchaser. Now might be a good time to get it out in the open, if only to see how she reacted. “Actually...” She started, “It’s not a stallion that I like. It’s, um, it’s a mare.” Flitter meekly said, looking up to her sister. “Mares huh...well, guess that shouldn't be unexpected. Equestria seems to be full of colt-cuddlers and fillyfoolers,” Cloudchaser admitted with a light shrug. “You didn't have to hide something as silly as that from me you know.” This worried Flitter. She didn't like keeping secrets from Cloudchaser, but there were some things she didn't want to tell the pegasus. “I was just scared for how you would react...” She said. She felt foalish for thinking this. Flitter knew she should always trust her sister no matter what. “It’s nothing terribly uncommon. For all we know, half of the empire probably loves ponies of the same gender,” Cloudchaser said, pausing for a second before continuing. “So...who’s the lucky mare?” She asked expectedly. This is what Flitter feared the most. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell Cloudchaser, because it was her that she was in love with. Even though she knew the feelings were wrong, they grew almost everyday. At first, she thought it was only deep admiration, but eventually, as her thoughts drifted to more intimate aspects, she knew it was more serious than that. The only thing that stopped her from confessing was the possibility of losing her own sister. “Um, Flitter? You still there?” Cloudchaser asked, waving a hoof in front of the distant pegasus. “Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm sorry, I was just thinking...” Flitter said with a light blush. “What are we eating anyways?” She asked, trying to change the subject. “You can change the subject now, sis, but you can't avoid it forever. Knowing you like mares now gives a whole new level to this!” Cloudchaser enthusiastically exclaimed. “But just this once I won't bother you about it,” She added, which relieved Flitter a little. “And it’s just some sunflowers made to be a little more crispy. Not exactly healthy, but it tastes good!” Flitter smirked at this. “One day you’re going to get sick from eating like this.” “I know, but I blame healthy food! It doesn't taste very good,” Cloudchaser stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, it isn't like I eat like this all the time. It’s just more often than not...” “Alright, you win. Just give me the food so I can eat. I'm starving,” she begged. She didn't have much of a chance to eat during her lunch break at work, and she realized how stupid it was to miss it. After Cloudchaser finally prepared the plates, she trotted over to the table, Flitter sitting beside her, and set down the food. For the rest of the meal, they talked about anything that came to mind, laughing or giggling at everything the other sibling said. After a good ten or twenty minutes, Flitter finally stood up. “I think I'm going to bed,” Flitter said after finally finishing her food. Her stomach was full, and it was getting pretty late. “What are we doing tomorrow?” She asked. “Aww, already?” Cloudchaser teased. “Nothing much. Thought we could go out to eat for a bit. Adding your last pay to mine gave us a nice amount of money, and even after paying for all the necessities, we still have about fifty or so bits left.” “Fifty!?” Flitter said, shocked. Usually they only had around ten or twenty bits if they were lucky. Their jobs didn't exactly pay well. “How did we manage that?” She asked. “Well, remember those nights I came home a little later than usual last week?” Cloudchaser hinted. “I worked a bit of overtime to have some extra money left over. I wanted our day off to be special for once,” Cloudchaser said. “You didn't have to do that you know. I'm just fine with how everything turns out, as long as I spend the day with you,” Flitter said sweetly. “Aww, how cute!” Her sister teased. “But you see, I did have to. We don't ever get to do anything over the top, so I figured we should spend tomorrow doing just that. Besides, we both need a break after working at that job so much. I don't mean anything bad to the Cloudsdale weather team, but they aren't exactly the ponies I want to be around all the time.” “I guess I see your point. Just don't try to do anything too fancy,” Flitter said with a quick wink. “Anyways, I'm going to bed now. It’s getting pretty late, and work has been rather busy lately.” She added. “Okay...” Cloudchaser said dejectedly. “I’ll see you in the morning then. Good night, sis.” “Night!” Flitter called back, already walking to her room. There she laid on the bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Work had tired her tremendously, and all she wanted right now was to sleep. I sure hope that wherever Cloudchaser takes us tomorrow, it will be fun... Flitter thought. But then again, as long as I'm with her, it doesn't matter what happens. All the mare wanted was to spend time with her older sister. She knew that Cloudchaser would never love her more than just family, and tried not to let that get to her. It didn't help. Anytime she thought of the pegasus, her mind would wander into fantasies and often distracted her. I just can't let that get to me. She told herself. It was her sister after all. Just being able to live with her was good enough, wasn't it? As she kept asking herself the question, she slowly drifted to sleep.