*Seven years later*
A steady head wind sieves through Thunderlane's feathers as he stands before the dreaded Ghastly Gorge. The rush of the challenge before him courses through his veins. Ghastly Gorge opens up its maw, inviting him in to seal his fate, but Thunderlane has other plans. He unfurls his wings and reaches for the cloudy sky. Cloudchaser and Rumble are standing nearby watching him as he prepares for flight. Thunderlane gives the signal and Cloudchaser picks up a stopwatch tied around her neck. "Ready," yells out Cloudchaser, "set, GO!"
Thunderlane launches himself into the maw of the beast. He glides over the unruly white water. Dew drops form on the edge of his wings from all the mist being expelled by the water crashing against the stones protruding out from it. Thunderlane swiftly traverses the rocky obstacle. A howling gale meets up with him as he enters the wind tunnel of Ghastly Gorge. The gale pushes on him to turn back, but Thunderlane bats it away with his wings, paying no heed to its will. He shoots out of the tunnel.
He sees a web of thorny brambles covering his path. He licks his dry lips and pushes forward without slowing down. Thunderlane weaves through the thorn-filled mess, avoiding each branch and vine in his way. Dodging the last of the thorns, he enters the nesting grounds of the Quarray Eels. Each hole on his left leads to an abysmal web of crevasses the eels call home. Like an arrow, he flies past them. The Quarray Eels try to bite him, but each fail to pin him down. He's out of their range before they know it.
The final stretch is a straight-away. This is when he pours all his energy to reach the end. He pushes his body to its limit, reaching a speed he never could before. His mane whips in the wind faster than any eye can follow. He sees Cloudchaser's friend, Flitter, with a stopwatch of her own. She is also a pegasus similar to Cloudchaser only she has a lighter coat and a pale green mane with a pink bow on top. Flitter is standing at a makeshift finish line somepony left behind. As he gets closer, Thunderlane's wings begin to falter and he slows down. He thinks of Lightning Dust; how she never gives up even when at her breaking point. He pulls together the last of his energy and steadies his beating wings. He crosses the finish line and crash lands on the ground. Flitter presses on her stopwatch. She goes over to Thunderlane to lend him a helping hoof.
A few minutes later, Cloudchaser and Rumble arrive. "Remember to stop the watches at the same time," says Rumble.
Cloudchaser and Flitter look at each other. "One, two, three, there," they say at the same time, pressing on their respective stopwatch.
"How would this work again?" asks Flitter.
Rumble sighs. "Just subtract your time from Cloudchaser's time. That will tell us how long Thunderlane took up in Ghastly Gorge."
"Oh, okay," says Flitter. "I got five minutes and thirty-two seconds."
"Mine says ten minutes and twenty-one seconds."
Cloudchaser and Flitter both look at Rumble.
Rumble rolls his eyes. "Five eleven."
"Hey, not bad," says Cloudchaser petting Thunderlane on his head.
Thunderlane smiles at his achievement. Lightning cracks the sky overhead sending a rolling wave of thunder echoing off the walls of Ghastly Gorge.
"Maybe we should head home. It looks like it's gonna rain," says Flitter.
"You girls go ahead," says Thunderlane. "Rumble and I are gonna go visit our mom and dad."
"Just don't stay out in the rain for too long," says Cloudchaser. "If you get sick, Rainbow Dash is going to have your head. We still have to help her send water to Cloudsdale this Friday."
"Don't worry, my family is notorious for being immune to the Feather Flu." Thunderlane smirks.
"Yeah, but you aren't," replies Cloudchaser. A raindrop falls in between the group. "Promise me you won't stay out too long."
"I promise," says Thunderlane.
More raindrops fall onto the group, most of them hitting Flitter. "Come on, Cloudchaser. I want to get caught in the rain."
Cloudchaser pays no attention to her friend's plea. She stares into Thunderlane's eyes and rubs his mane one last time. "Alright Flitter, lets go." The two mares walk away.
Flitter whispers loudly to Cloudchaser. "Why don't you ask him out already? You know he likes you."
Cloudchaser elbows Flitter on the side. "Shut up." They take off, leaving Rumble and Thunderlane giggling at the mares' exchange.
"How come you don't ask her out big brother?"
Thunderlane looks at Rumble and rubs his mane. "Cuz Rumble, mares like it when you tease them. It keeps them interested."
"Won't she get tired of it eventually?" asks Rumble prepping for flight.
Thunderlane follows his lead. "Yeah, but I know Cloudchaser, so I know exactly when to ask her out."
"And when's that?"
"Why are you so interested all of the sudden?"
"Um, well there's this girl at school. She's a unicorn and um her mom's pretty cool. She gives me muffins."
"You in love with the filly or the mare?" asks Thunderlane jokingly.
"Um... both?"
Thunderlane chuckles. "Come on Rumble, lets go say hi to mom and dad."
"Okay, big brother."
The two siblings take off. The rain is falling more heavily, but they don't care. The rain to them is like sunshine to everypony else. They arrive at the end of Ghastly Gorge, both of them landing at the familiar spot they have come to hold dear. Two elevated polished pieces of stone stand side by side. One holds the name Rolling Thunder while the other one holds the name Shower Flash. "Hi mom, dad. You guys remember Rumble." Thunderlane points at him.
"H-hi," says Rumble.
"I'm sorry Lightning Dust isn't around. I still can't find her. Hopefully she remembers you guys and visits if she hasn't already."
The two stone memorials stay silent.
"You know how hard-headed she can be," continues Thunderlane. "Um, Ponyville was chosen to collect water for Cloudsdale this year. All the pegasi in town are excited for it. Rainbow Dash has even set up a training regimen for us. That starts tomorrow, and this Friday is when we're suppose to send the water from our reservoir to Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash wants us to break the record, so that's why she wants us to train hard." Thunderlane laughs to himself. "Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust would definitely get along. They both like to push themselves, though Lightning can be a bit harder on herself."
"Um, big brother?"
"Yeah Rumble?"
"You're crying."
Thunderlane wipes his eyes. On his hoof are some tears he didn't even feel come out. It's become natural to him--to cry every time he visits his departed parents--he doesn't even notice when he does. He chuckles. "Would you like to say anything, Rumble?"
"Um, hi mom and dad. Even though I was too young to remember you guys, Thunderlane tells me you two were pretty cool. And uh he's a cool big brother, so I believe him. He also told me about my big sister. I don't know much about her other than what she did. Can you please forgive her? I did, and my big brother did. She just lost her way, so uh, yeah. Please forgive her. How's that big brother?"
Thunderlane bites down on his lips to keep from sobbing. "That... was perfect... Mom and dad would be proud of you."
"You're crying again."
Thunderlane takes Rumble in his arms. He hugs him close. The heavy rain is masking his tears, so Thunderlane feels more comfortable letting them out in front of his little brother. Rumble hugs him back. "It's okay big brother. Mom and dad are proud of you too."