//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: MLP FIM Guardians of the Elements // by Hyena King //------------------------------// After doing their "business", Thunder and Lightning set out to get ready for the day, Spiking up manes, brushing their tails, polishing their cutie marks, etc. Then they ate their breakfast of pancakes and leftover hay fries (each ate about the approximate weight of six full grown stallions). They then made their way to the roof of their home, where they prepared to launch off of their take off platform. Unlike the house (which was made of clouds, the same design as most homes in Clouddale) the platform was made of wood and hung a little ways off the edge of the roof, supported by wooden beams. It was a shoddy thing, having been hastily built, and was falling apart in some places. Frankly, it was a wonder that the thing still stood. Lightning quickly got on first, followed by Thunder, the platform creaking and groaning under the weight. Once both were in the center of the platform, Lightning turned to his brother. "Ready?" Lightning asked, excitement in his voice. "Ready." Replied Thunder a smile of determination growing on his face. Lightning grinned, then turned and jumped of the platform, spreading his wings as he dived into the sky then flew up. Thunder simply crouched down and jumped into the air, a crash of noise following after him. They both got to a reasonable altitude, then flew north towards Ponyville, their hometown. "I wonder what we'll find in town today." Lightning mused. "Perhaps it's been overrun by Timberwolves, or is being threatened by a cockatrice, or maybe…" Lightning continued to rant, oblivious to his surroundings. Thunder just rolled his eyes and listened and only spoke once Lightning finished. "We're going to have to cut this patrol short, we have to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration." "Oh, right, I completely forgot about that." "Of course you did." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Lightning, you're the most forgetful pony in Equestria, and I know Derpy Hooves." "At least I don't- "Help! Help!" Thunder and Lightning skidded to a stop in midair, perking their ears to listen carefully. "Help! Help!" It was a pony in distress. With smiles on their faces, the brothers veered in the direction of the voice. They landed on the fringes of the Everfree Forest, standing before a filly who hadn't even gotten her cutie mark yet. "Never fear! Thunder and Lightning are here!" they both shouted, rearing into the air and flaring out their wings. That done, they looked down expectantly at the filly. "What seems to be the trouble?" asked Thunder, trying and failing to hide his excitement. "Mrs. Truffles is in trouble. Could you help her?" responded the filly, who was on the verge of tears. Lightning gasped. "A damsel in distress? This is great! Quickly, take us to her." A few minutes later, the brothers were looking up in disbelief. The filly had taken them to the base of a large tree. Clinging on the uppermost branch was a small brown cat. It was scared out of its wits, but was fine, for now. "You've got to be kidding me!" Exclaimed Lightning, shock turning to disappointment. "Please help her! She's so scared!" the filly cried, sadness in her voice. Mrs. Truffles mewled in fright as if to empathize her point. Lightning groaned in disgust. Thunder , however, saw the distressed look on the filly's face and got a determined look on his face. "Don't worry little girl. I'll get her down." said Thunder. He went to do just that, but Lightning step in front of him. "No, no, no. I got this." Said Lightning as he went for the tree. "Are you sure? I could just- "No. I can handle this." The tone in Lightning's voice indicated that he was not happy with this turn of events. He went to the base of the tree and, with two lazy flaps of his wings, flew to the top. He hovered in close to Mrs. Truffles, his legs reaching out to grab her, growling "Here kitty kitty." As he drew closer, the cat began to hiss and the hair on her back stood on end. "Be careful, she doesn't like strangers!" the filly shouted suddenly. "She doesn't like wha-?" The rest of what Lightning was about to say was lost as the cat suddenly jumped from his perch and onto his face. Lightning's face disappeared in a dust cloud as the cat proceeded to maul it. Lightning yelled and squealed (yes, squealed) and flew up, down, left, right, forwards and backwards flailing his legs about the whole while in an attempt to dislodge the crazed feline. "Thunder, help!" Thunder, who had been staring in disbelief at the spectacle, snapped out of it quickly. "Hold on Lightning, I'm coming!" Thunder flew up next to his brother and, avoiding the flailing limbs, pinned him in the air. Moving carefully, he wrapped a hoof around Mrs. Truffle's tail and removed her with a sharp ripping noise and a yelp from Lightning. Thunder then flew down and deposited the insane animal into the filly's waiting forelegs. "Thank you! I don't know what I'd do without her!" cried the filly as she nuzzled the cat, who seemed to have regained her sanity. "No problem." Responded Thunder as the filly ran off. Thunder smiled, the look on her face was priceless. He was then aware of someone beside him and turned to see Lightning. His face was now covered in scratches and his spiky hair had been ripped up. Thunder couldn't help but snicker. "Don't you say a word." Growled Lightning clearly not amused. The rest of the patrol was uneventful. They next helped Miss Cheerilee, whose lawn was being beset by ravenous leaves, as Lightning put it. During the job, Thunder decided to get it done quickly and to use one of his thunder blasts to blow away the leaves. All that did was get leaves everywhere and destroy half of Cheerilee's house, which afterwards the brothers offered to pay for damages. After that, Amethyst Star needed assistance in getting rid of a pesky beehive. Instead of asking them to leave as Thunder would have done, Lightning simply grabbed the hive and threw it as hard as he could. The bees were not happy campers. And so the brothers trudged into town covered in scratches, leaves and bee stings, where the townsfolk were, thankfully, too busy with the Celebration to notice them. "Well, I'm off to Sugar Cube Corner to get our special Caramel Swirl cupcakes." said Thunder, turning towards said establishment. "Yeah, whatever." Replied Lightning, in a foul mood after today's disappointments. Thunder turned to his brother and smiled. "Hey, cheer up. So what that we didn't fight monsters or prevent any natural disasters and or anything of heroic performance for that matter. We helped ponies today. That's worth something." "Yeah, and we managed to screw it up all the same." Thunder shook his head and sighed. "Well, I'm off. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." "Don't talk to me like that. I'm a full minute older then you." "And yet I don't pout like a baby when my day doesn't go well." "…Just get the dumb cupcakes." Thunder smiled, glad that Lightning was better, somewhat. He turned and went into Sugar Cube Corner, leaving Lightning alone. Lightning sighed, already bored, and began looking for something to occupy himself with. Then he saw her. The mare with the mane the color of the whole spectrum. The mare with the cyan fur. The mare with the cutie mark of a cloud spewing forth a rainbow lightning bolt. The mare with the rosy eyes and the "I can do it cause I'm awesome" attitude. The mare who was the fastest pegasus in Ponyville and the object of Lightning's affections since he was a colt. Rainbow Dash