//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Brothers and Sisters 
// by Alphacat 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot

The train station was always a hub of activity: visiting tourists, dignitaries, and businessponies all made their way through Canterlot’s train depot. It had expanded rapidly since its construction, adding tracks as new rail lines were rapidly constructed to connect more of Equestria together. Canterlot’s architectural style had crept into the station, with flourishing touches like marble pillars contrasting against the station’s rustic brick interior.

Lucky covered his mouth with a wing as he yawned, waiting. A late night, long debriefing, and early obligations all added up to a morning lacking in sleep, although he had managed a few solid hours. Blizz lay next to him, the wolfdog curled up peacefully amidst the hustle and bustle.

Lucky smiled and reached out to pet the dog's side. "You can sleep anywhere, can't you boy?"

Blizz's only response was a twitch of his tail.

At least escort duty should be simple today. Celestia will be around, and that should keep things on track. A speech and some fanfare and I can get away to grab a quick nap, and still have plenty of time to spend with Mom and Dad.

Lucky glanced at the station’s clock tower. The wrought-iron arms ticked over to 9 o’clock exactly. Blizz's nose twitched, and he sat up with a loud bark.

A voice called out of the crowd. “Lucky!”

The pegasus smiled and sat up. His mother approached, wearing the exact same smile for him as when he had left home. Lucky cantered forward and threw his forelegs around her. “Hey, Mom.”

Evengale returned the hug. “Hello, dear. It's so good to see you.”

Blizz ran up and barked, hopping up on the mare with his tail wagging.

"It's good to see you too, Blizz." Gale let go of the hug to pet the dog, and stepped back. "Let me get a good look at both of you."

Lucky stepped back with a silly grin, standing up tall and puffing his chest out. He stretched his wings for a moment, posing with them in mid-flap. Beside him, Blizz matched his master's pose, punctuated with a loud bark.

“Look at you.” Evengale held her soon at leg's length and looked him up and down. “All grown up and you turned into a fine-looking stallion to boot. I see the Guard hasn’t been too rough on you.” To Blizz she gave a chin scratch. "And you look handsome as well."

Blizz responded with a tail wag and a pleased growl.

Lucky rolled his eyes while wearing the same grin. “Hey, after surviving basic, walking down hallways and standing still is a piece of cake.”

“I hope that’s not all you do,” added a deep voice. “I’d hate to think we spent all that money on a fancy Cloudsdale school so you could stand for a living.”

Lucky laughed and turned to wrap his father in a hug. Jetstream was still the same: Broad-chested, impeccably white coat, and the poster boy for a Royal Guard recruitment poster. A cart stacked with luggage was hitched up behind him.

“Hey, standing’s just the work. If I ain’t flyin’, I’m dyin’.”

Jetstream laughed and gave his son a crushing embrace, and then stepped back to greet an enthusiastic Blizz. “That’s my boy. You making waves in the Night Guard yet?”

"Eh…" Lucky scratched at the back of his neck. "Not really. Lots of patrol and escort work. Nothing to write home about."

"Oh, have either of you checked the train schedules?" asked Gale, hovering just over head height and scanning the crowd. "Slip was supposed to get in right after us, but I don't see him yet."

Lucky sighed and fetched the letter from his bag. "Yeah, about that. He's not coming."

"Oh, dear. Is everything alright?" Gale landed and inspected the letter.

"Yeah, yeah. He's not sick or hurt or anything. But he's helping a professor with this research project that's having some trouble, so…" Lucky shrugged. "You know. It's a good opportunity for him. I'm glad he's taking it."

“Sorry, kiddo.” Jetstream placed a hoof on his Lucky's shoulder. “I know how much you were looking forward to getting everyone together in one place again. We all were.”

Lucky shrugged softly. "Yeah, but he said he'd try to make it by in a week or two." Lucky tapped his hoof on the ground excitedly. "Hey, you know, Cloudsdale isn't that far. You guys should take a day or two and drop in on him. I'm sure he'd love that."

“You know, you’re right, it’s not that far,” said Evengale thoughtfully. “We could get there and back in a day if we wanted to. And it’s been a while since I’ve visited Cloudsdale.”

“I’m game. Lucky, you could come with us.”

“Normally I’d love to, but-” Lucky quickly stifled a yawn with a hoof. “We’ll see if I can stay caught up on sleep.”

“Honey, if you need to get some more rest—”

Lucky waved off the concern with a hoof. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Late night at work last night. Princess Luna held court and… it turned into a long story. I’ll be fine. I’ll catch a nap after the festival and I’ll be good.”

“Festival?”

“Oh, right. Apparently they have this festival for Hearth’s Warming in the castle courtyard. You guys should go. Both princesses are going to make an appearance this year. I got tapped to be Luna’s escort, but we’ll still have plenty of time to spend together after that.”

“That sounds lovely.” Evengale turned to Jetstream. “What do you think, dear?”

"That sounds great. Let's try that."

The three ponies and their dog set off down the busy street, laughing and chatting as they caught each other up on the year's news.


* * * * * * *


A short while later, Lucky stepped into the briefing room, outfitted in his armor. He dodged out of the way of a harried messenger, turning to Lily and Comet, who were having a hushed discussion around a table.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on? I heard something about them not needing us?”

“Luna’s missing,” said Comet, kicking halfheartedly at a chair. “Which means we’re not in the procession, which means I got up early for nothing.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“It’s no joke, Lucky,” said Lily. “She never returned from her ‘walk’ last night. Stand down and go home.”

Lucky shook his head. “Come on, it’s not like she’s really missing. We know where she is. Mostly.”

“All we saw was her flying in the direction of Mount Canter,” said Comet. “There’s no guarantee she’s still there or hasn’t flown somewhere else already.”

"Okay, so, what's Princess Celestia said about this? Is anybody looking for Luna?" Lucky flew over to an area map hanging on the wall, studying the mountain region.

"She's appearing at the festival by herself," said Lily. "And she doesn't want word of this getting out and causing a panic in the populace."

Lucky turned to Lily. "So she hasn't sent anybody to search for Luna?"

Lily shook her head. "Negative."

Turning back to the map, Lucky tried to hide a small grin. "Bet she hasn't said not to look for her, either."

"Can you diagram that sentence?" asked Comet.

"Don't tell me…" Lily stomped over to Lucky and knocked hard on the top of his head. "Hey. She almost flattened you last night. You really wanna give her a second shot?"

"Better me than some defenseless servant."

Lily fell back on her haunches, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. "You realize there's a million things wrong with this idea, right?"

"Yeah, I know, but look…" Lucky glanced sidelong at Comet before dropping his voice. "Look, she needs help. I can't walk away from this without at least trying."

Lily let her hoof drop, and looked at Lucky with a stare underlined by a few bags of sleeplessness. "Okay, if you're dead set on this, I'll let you go. But only if Comet goes with you."

"Hey, what're you dragging me into this for?"

"Safety. I'm not about to send one person into the mountainous terrain solo." Lily sighed. "This isn't an order, since it's not an official search. But we're at least going to follow basic safety procedures."

Comet slumped back in his chair, forelegs folded over his chest as he stewed. "So you’re asking for a volunteer.”

“Look, I don’t expect it to make a lot of sense to you, but I have to try and find her,” said Lucky. “But I’d really appreciate your help with this.”

“Fine, but only because Lily’s asking too.”

"Thanks, Comet." Lily gave Comet a small smile. "I appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah. You both owe me a drink for this." Comet took off from his chair and landed by the door. "Let's get this over with."

"Alright." Lucky started to move, but Lily's firm hoof on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hey. I meant what I said about safety. Don't take any unnecessary risks." She gave Lucky's helmeted forehead a hard knock. "And don't do anything to embarrass me out there."

"You can count on us."


* * * * * * *


Mount Canter jutted into the sky, casting its namesake city in shadow. More than a simple mountain, it provided defense, minerals and ore, runoff water, and plenty of cold fronts to harvest for the weather.

It also had a pretty nice view.

The freezing air nipped at Lucky’s coat as he cruised over the rocky terrain. The two guards were high up—Lucky estimated that they were well above even Cloudsdale's average altitude—but they were still in the safe range for unassisted flight.

The two pegasi roamed over the mountain's terrain, slowly working their way upwards. There had been little talk, their breath best saved for gaining altitude. After completing a climb, Comet swooped in close while they made another pass of the mountain.

"So, Lucky, got a question for you."

Lucky squinted as he scanned the landscape, trying to keep the excess sunlight out of his eyes. "Shoot."

"What happened to all that 'respect must be earned' stuff you were giving me two nights ago?"

"Huh? That hasn't changed."

Comet reached out to jab Lucky's side, and the other pegasus quickly veered away. "Come on. Two nights ago you were calling her a spoiled brat."

Lucky jerked his head up and started to climb, and Comet matched his ascent. "Yeah. So?"

"So this morning you wandered into the room with her while she was smashing everything up, and now we're on a wild goose chase for… why are we doing this?"

Lucky shrugged. "She looks like she needs help. That's about all there is to it."

"That mean you respect her now?"

"No. It just means… I think she needs help. They're not mutually exclusive."

"They're not, huh?"

"Sure." Lucky kept facing forward, schooling his face to suppress a grin. "I'd help you if you needed it."

"Hey!" Comet swung wildly at Lucky. "You saying you don't respect me?"

Lucky wheeled out of the way, laughing as he let the waiting grin out. "No, I just think you need a lot of help."

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

They climbed up over a ridge, and on a rocky outcropping the missing alicorn princess paced furiously, surrounded by a tangled mess of hoofprints. Lucky gestured to Comet, and both pegasi touched down.

A sharp hit stung at Lucky's foreleg.

Lucky rubbed his leg and turned to Comet with a flat stare.

Comet silently jerked his head in Luna's direction.

Rolling his eyes, Lucky stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Princess? Do you need any assistance?"

Luna stopped in her tracks, her mane blowing past her as she trained a hard stare on Lucky. "Nay."

"Would you like an escort back to the castle?"

"Nay." Luna resumed her pacing.

Great. All those drills and they don't have a protocol for dealing with a moody alicorn. Figures. Lucky glanced back to Comet, who only shrugged in reply.

Lucky weighed his options for a moment, watching Luna travel back and forth, muttering to herself in an old tongue he didn't understand.

Here goes nothing. "Princess, what's wrong? I know you're scared, but please, let me help—"

"Scared?"

Luna turned a gimlet eye to Lucky. “Scared?” Her voice rose in pitch, echoing off the mountainside as her nose crinkled with disgust. “Scared?!” An angry swirl of clouds sprouted above the cliff, quick, harsh winds swirling around the two ponies. Two bolts of lightning struck on either side of the princess, casting her in sharp relief as she slowly turned, fixing a piercing glare on the guard. “Think me a witless foal or a mewling kitten?!” Slowly she advanced, head held high with regal posture, her voice echoing in the rumbling thunder as the storm overhead grew darker and more twisted.

“I have commanded armies and won wars. I have strode into the heart of battle wielding naught but hoof, wing and spell. I have turned armies with my very presence! Dost thou think thou knowest of fear?” said Luna with a sneer. She towered over Lucky now, and the guard kept his gaze matched with hers.

“Thou art but a child. What couldst thou know of fear?” Luna leaned in, her hot breath washing over Lucky’s face. “The pony of today is a weak and indolent thing. Pampered and coddled, spoiled by prosperity. You want for nothing, and you do not know fear. Flee, tiny mortal, lest We become of a mind to instruct thee.”

"C'mon, Lucky," said Comet, already spreading his wings for takeoff. "Maybe we should—"

Lucky held out a wing to cut Comet off. His heart hammered in his chest, but he willed it to remain steady, holding the furious gaze of the alicorn.

"I won't run, Princess. Because you are scared."

Luna snorted, but Lucky pressed on.

"You're scared of yourself and the things you've done. All this yelling is just you trying to hide your real feelings, but I know that trick, and it won't—"

"Silence!" Luna reared back, her forehooves wheeling madly in the air. Her eyes and horn grew ablaze with crackling blue energy. A bolt leapt from her horn into the storm above, crawling along its surface.

The hairs on Lucky's ears prickled with static. A thunderbolt crashed down inches from his face, flooding the area with light. He turned his head, but the flash burned through his eyelids. Heat and the stench of burnt ozone washed over him.

Lucky threw himself sideways just as Luna's hooves smashed into the ground. The princess' strike sent tremors rumbling through the ground, causing a pile of rocks to clatter down the mountainside. Lucky rolled across his back, springing back up on all fours in a mostly-steady stance.

"Lucky! Hang on!" Comet stepped forward, sprinting forward with a flap of his wings.

Luna stalked closer to Lucky, a shimmering field of light springing up between her and Comet. "What now, child? Must We make an example of you both?" She glanced over her shoulder to Comet, who was pounding at the barrier. "Will thou defy Our will?"

Comet stepped back and looked between Luna and Lucky, then slowly shook his head. "I don't want to, Your Majesty, but this is getting out of hoof. Let me take Lucky out of here, and I promise we'll leave you alone."

"Stay out of this!" shouted Lucky as he slowly backed away from Luna's voice. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. The world was still washed out, but he could barely see sky and earth now. "I can handle this!"

"Thy compatriot possesseth more sense than thee. Thou art a fool, and We will tolerate no further insolence." Luna's horn lit up, and in a brilliant flash of light, she vanished. The swirling clouds overhead broke up and drifted apart.

Comet rushed to Lucky's side. "C'mon. Let me take a look at your eyes."

Lucky held Comet at bay with a hoof. "My eyes will be fine. What did you do that for?"

"That's a funny way of saying 'thank you.'"

"I didn't need any help. She wasn't going to hurt me. Not much, anyway."

"Oh yeah. Stomping your skull in is just her way of saying ‘hello.’" Comet waved a hoof in front of Lucky's face. "You still can't see, can you?"

Lucky blindly swatted at Comet's hoof. "It's coming back. I'll be fine. Did you see how badly she telegraphed that blow? And she didn't even aim that lightning strike at me. She was just trying to scare us off."

"Yeah, well, it looked plenty real from where I was standing."

"A bluff doesn't work if you can't sell it." Lucky took a few halting steps towards the edge of the summit.

"C'mon. Let's get you to a medic, and then we'll talk to the sarge." Comet pulled Lucky's foreleg over his withers. Lucky resisted briefly, then let the other pegasus guide him to the edge of the cliff and back to Canterlot.







Manehattan

The final bell rang and students flooded the hallway. Lucky took off, flying over the heads of the other students while ignoring the shouted warnings of a teacher. He headed for the lower-grade wings, where his brother would be waiting for him.

He pushed through a doorway, and smiled as the sky opened up before him.

A pegasus leapt up into his path. “Wait! Can we talk?”

Lucky braked to a halt, and raised a skeptical eyebrow. “What is it?”

The pegasus filly's mane was soft and golden, flowing off of her shoulders in large curls. “You’re Lucky Break, right?”

“Yeah. Did the wings give it away?”

“I’m Golden Gust. But you can call me Goldie.” She flashed a coy smile. “I heard you did some pretty fancy flying earlier.”

“Is there a point?”

Goldie drifted closer, her bright blue eyes staring deeply into his own. “Not everyone stands up to Stormcrasher like that. I have to admit, you leave me… curious.”

Lucky quickly back-flapped to put some space between them. “Curious? That it?”

“Mmhmm. And those ears of yours are kind of cute too.” Goldie traced a hoof slowly over the tufts on his ears, leaning in close again.

Lucky jerked his head back, drawing back again. “Hey, hooves off. I’m not some pet or sideshow for you to gawk over.”

Goldie laughed, a light and airy sound, yet devoid of mirth. “Oh come now, don’t be that way. I just want to get to know you better.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m not interested, Goldie.” Lucky glanced around. A crowd was gathering, and he thought he spotted a familiar patch of gray through the onlookers.

“Am I not good enough to hold your attention?” asked Goldie, leaning close again. Her gaze flickered to something in the distance but then back to him.

Lucky snorted and rolled his eyes. “Actually, you’re really not. I’ve gotta fly.”

A shadow fell upon them, and the filly suddenly leapt back. Lucky’s vision was engulfed by a thick and sudden coldness, slimy tendrils crawling through his mane and fur. A ripple of laughter traveled through the crowd.

He shivered as it slithered down the back of his shirt, and reached up to wipe the substance from his eyes. The scent of chocolate overwhelmed his senses. “Pudding? Is this pudding?”

Goldie leaned in close, her smile sharp and predatory. “A gift, Lucky Break. From Stormcrasher. Enjoy.”

Lucky sneezed, spraying pudding on the ground. He turned, making a beeline for the doors. Two colts-Stormcrasher’s goons-barred the way.

“Can’t let you get pudding all over the nice clean floor, now.”

“Imagine what would happen if someone tripped on it.”

Lucky stared flatly at the two colts. He dipped his hoof into his pudding-covered mane and brandished it wildly, slowly advancing on the two colts blocking the door. “Let me in, or I’ll get your uniforms dirty.”

The two colts recoiled, and Lucky pressed forward, stabbing at the air. They skittered away from the door and he wrenched it open, stomping through the halls. The hallway crowds parted before him; whispers and stares followed in his wake.


* * * * * * *


Lucky fumed as he fought with the bathroom’s impossibly small sink. It was enough to politely wash one’s hooves with, but suited to little else.

It was definitely not equipped to handle the remains of an entire bowl of pudding.

The bathroom was a mess. The marble countertops, tile floors, and even a bit of the mirror were all covered in varying amounts of chocolate dessert. One sink was hopelessly clogged, and Lucky had moved onto the second, hoping to finish before it became unusable.

He hoped he had enough paper towels to finish the task; like the sinks, they were thin and suited to the task of polite hoof-washing, not pudding removal. The bathroom had started with a generous supply, but most of it was crammed into the wastebasket or strewn on the counter.

“Lucky Break? Are you in here?”

Lucky tilted an ear to the ground and concentrated on it. He sincerely hoped that wasn’t the trickle of pudding he felt, but he couldn’t be sure. Despite removing the worst of it, he still felt… squirmy. The dessert matting the fur underneath his shirt didn’t help matters.

“I’m busy!”

Rose stuck her head into the door. “I know. I brought you some towels. I thought you might need them.” She trotted in, carefully minding the pudding on the floor, and placed a small stack of thick, fluffy white towels on the counter.

“Huh. Thanks.” Lucky grabbed the top one and quickly toweled off the rest of the pudding he could reach. “Where’d you get these?”

“Nurse’s office. They keep the really good towels there. There’s some in the locker rooms too.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lucky said dryly.

Rose found a clean patch of floor and carefully sat. “Lucky Break, I’m so sorry. If I’d known, I could’ve warned you—”

“Lucky.”

The filly watched Lucky curiously. “I’m sorry?”

“Call me Lucky.”

“Oh! I see.” Rose smiled. “Well then. Pleased to meet you, Lucky.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lucky ran a dampened towel through his mane. “Don’t get any ideas. I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be seen with me.”

Rose’s ears fell. “Ah, I see.”

“But, uh… Thanks for the towels. I mean it. They’re helping.” Lucky looked at the filly’s reflection and gave her a small smile.

Rose smiled again. “You’re quite welcome, Lucky. But how did you get under Stormcrasher’s skin like that?”

Lucky shrugged and dampened a towel, using it to wipe the rest of his coat. “Oh, it was this stupid thing at the Guard picnic last year. He bumped me out of a line, I knocked his food on the ground, he chased me…” The recollection brought a grin to his face. “I outmaneuvered him and got him to crash into the mud pit for the tug-of-war. He looked ridiculous.”

“Oh my…” Rose quickly covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “I can’t imagine he was too happy about that.”

“Yeah, well… Turns out he can hold a grudge.” Lucky quickly dried off his head and inspected the mirror. It wasn’t perfect, and he definitely still needed a shower and a brush, but he could at least make it home without dripping pudding everywhere.

He surveyed the room next. “I really should clean this up, but I’m running late as it is.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We have a cleaning staff, after all.”

The colt stepped carefully to the window, sliding it open. “Yeah, well, I like taking care of my messes myself. Take care.” He slipped out the window and hurried to meet his brother.

Rose waved. “You too!”


* * * * * * *


“Pudding? That must’ve been a pain to get out.” Lily snagged another roll and tossed it in her mouth.

“Yeah. Got the damn stuff in my ears. I swear I can still hear chocolate.” Lucky tapped the side of his head.

Lucky and his friends were gathered in his family’s living room. Lucky had spent the morning keeping watch over the house by himself, but having his friends around helped relieve the boredom.

“Perhaps, once the novelty wears off, they will simply leave you alone,” offered Glimpse as he read through his textbook.

“Yeah, I kind of doubt it. Stormcrasher seems like he has an axe to grind.” Lucky held up his book, studying a diagram.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Lily.

“What makes you think I have a plan?”

“You always have a plan.”

Lucky grinned. “Well, I have an idea. It’s not a plan yet.”

Lily rubbed her hooves together excitedly. “I can’t wait to do this. We’ll show him what the Nycta are made of.”

“I don’t know, guys…” Glimpse set his book down. “What if this just starts a cycle of retaliation?”

“Come on, Glimpse. Please? I really need your help on this.” Lucky got up and threw a foreleg over the other colt’s shoulders. “I’m gonna need your knowledge and expertise for this too.”

Glimpse tensed and quickly looked away. “I can’t help but think this will get out of hoof somehow…”

“I just need to do one big thing to convince them it’s not worth picking on me,” insisted Lucky. “To show them I’m not a pushover. Please? Do it for me? I’ll owe you one.”

The unicorn slowly sighed, hanging his head. “Okay, but only because it’s you asking.”

Lucky gave Glimpse a squeeze. “Thanks, buddy.” He dragged his textbook over to himself. “Now, can you explain this math problem one more time?”


* * * * * * *


Lucky did his best to stifle a yawn as he stared at the blackboard. The air was unseasonably muggy, thanks to the need for one more day of prep work for the autumn season. He glanced around as the other students filed into the classroom, noticing more than a few expressions of heat-induced stupor.

It had been three days since the pudding incident. Lucky had washed all of the pudding out of his coat the first day, but it had taken several days of hard scrubbing just to be sure.

More infuriating, however, had been the smug stares of Stormcrasher and his fillyfriend, Goldie. It ignited a slowly burning fury in the back of his head.

But two could play at Stormcrasher’s game.

Stormcrasher strode into the classroom with one of his flunkies. They had their heads together, holding a private conversation.

“Hey, Stormcrasher.”

The two ponies froze, and Stormcrasher fixed a withering glare at Lucky. “What is it?”

Lucky put on an easy smile and shrugged. “Nothing. Just had an interesting piece of trivia for you.”

Stormcrasher snorted and kept walking, moving to his desk. His friend sat beside him, and they resumed their conversation.

“The juice of a red-shelled stinkbug,” continued Lucky to nobody in particular, “has a lot of interesting uses.”

More students were filing in, as well as the teacher, who was setting up at the head of the classroom.

“For instance, it can be used as in perfumes and other aromatic substances, as long as you’re careful to neutralize the original smell.”

Lucky faced the front of the classroom, but watched Stormcrasher out of the corner of his eye. The other colt kept looking his way, despite doing his best not to. So were several other students.

“Of course, if you’re not careful, when it dries, it lets off the original stench.”

The colt hid a half-smile as he watched Stormcrasher’s head jerk up. The noblecolt leapt out of his seat.

“Sit down, Mister Stormcrasher. We are beginning class,” admonished the teacher.

Stormcrasher sat, and Lucky watched as he shared a few heated whispers with his cohort. The whispering quickly died down as the teacher began his lecture, but Lucky could feel the other colt’s gaze on him for the rest of class.


* * * * * * *


Lucky grunted as Stormcrasher’s goon shoved him against the wall. They were nominally out of sight underneath a stairwell; Lucky was sure that many of the students would conveniently ‘not see’ what was going on.

“What did you do, freak?!” demanded Stormcrasher.

“What did I do?” Lucky grinned. “Well, I woke up at midnight, had breakfast, did some studying, played with my pet dog some. We’re working on a pretty cool trick—”

The goon shoved Lucky against the wall again, and the nyctan colt just laughed softly.

“What did you do to my girlfriend’s mane?”

Lucky shrugged. “Oh, I didn’t do anything to her mane.” He ducked underneath another shove and slipped to the side, slowly circling around the two ponies. “I can’t be held responsible if Goldie goes around accepting gift baskets without checking who they’re from.”

Stormcrasher stalked up on Lucky, flaring his wings angrily. “You better tell me how to get rid of that stench right now, or so help me…”

“You’ll dump pudding on me again? Call me names?” Lucky pretended to pout. “Make me feel bad so I cwy?” He snorted. “Anything you can dish out, I can give back. So just back off, okay?”

The noblecolt pounced. Lucky slid underneath him and drove his shoulder up, flipping Stormcrasher onto his back.

“Don’t worry. The ‘antidote’, so to speak, is in the basket. Somewhere. Good luck!” Lucky waved goodbye and slipped into the crowd.


* * * * * * *


Lucky settled into his cloud with a weary sigh, carefully setting his plate down. A crisp autumn breeze swept past and he leaned into it, closing his eyes and letting the refreshing zephyr blow away the morning’s stress. Another day of being on his guard, of pretending to fit in, of avoiding Stormcrasher and his goons, of worrying about his brother. At least for the moment he could enjoy his lunch.

Lucky squinted as he looked over the school from above, slowly picking at his lunch. It had been a contentious month, and while the new arrangement had finally started to become routine, it still felt alien. He did his best to ignore the school, and it ignored him, for the most part.

Except for that guy, he thought as he watched the too-familiar pegasus ascending towards him. He kept eating his lunch, staring fixedly past his unwanted rival at the landscape below.

“Hmm. How sad. A single colt eating lunch all by himself.”

“It’s a nice lunch,” said Lucky, still staring at the ground. “As long as you stand downwind.”

“You always have a clever remark, don’t you?” asked Stormcrasher, folding his forelegs over his chest.

Lucky pushed his plate away from himself. “Look, you don’t like me. Fine, I get it. I’m the weirdo freak who threatens your sensibilities, or whatever you tell yourself to help your ego.”

Stormcrasher glowered. “You’re a stain on the reputation of this school. My ancestors built this city. My family still runs it. We like to have everything in its proper place. If you’d just learn yours, I could see my way to ignoring you.”

Lucky shook his head. “Yeah, this little back and forth nonsense between us is getting old. You take a swipe at me, and I’m just going to give it back as good as I get. You’re not happy I’m here—moon and stars, I’m not happy I’m here. Why can’t we just ignore each other?”

“I like having things be orderly. You,” said Stormcrasher with a sharp point, “are messy. You don’t fit. You don’t belong. Every time I try to squash you, you pop back up again.”

Lucky grinned. “Coming from you, that’s a compliment.”

Stormcrasher scoffed. “Hardly. And while I do hate violence, I can’t argue with its effectiveness.”

Lucky frowned. Stormcrasher seemed sincere. He seemed smug even, with a tight smile but an odd intensity in his eyes.

Lucky slowly craned his head around. In the few brief moments of conversation, three colts had ascended at a distance, and now that they were noticed they sped up their approach. They were all a year or two older than him, and much less reserved than their leader in their excitement.

He slowly rose to his hooves, stretching each limb and wing one at a time. “Trying to intimidate me, Stormcrasher? Do you really think that’ll work, after the last month?”

“Quite the contrary,” said Stormcrasher, as his face scrunched up into an ugly sneer. “I rather hope it doesn’t.”

Lucky bounced on the tips of his hooves, flexing his wings. “I don’t suppose I can finish my lunch first?”

“No.”

“Too bad. I thought the daisy lasagna was really delicious.” Lucky crouched low, wings up and primed to flap. “Oh, can I say one thing really quick?”

Stormcrasher arched an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

Lucky scooped a wing under his plate and flung it at the other colt. “Duck!”

The noblepony ducked under the flying dish. He looked up just in time to see Lucky rushing at him. One of his forehooves was cocked back, and it sparked and crackled with electricity. Stormcrasher let out an undignified squeak, trying to flinch and draw back all at once, but he was too slow.

Lucky smirked as he felt the satisfying thump of his hoof impacting with the other colt’s face. His foreleg was prickly from the static, but the result would be worth it.

Stormcrasher clutched madly at his head. The entire left side of his face was twisted and warped, twitching in fits and spasms. He backpedalled furiously away from Lucky. “Get him!”

Lucky grinned broadly as he turned, shaking his hoof to restore sensation to it. He waited patiently as the attackers closed in, carefully studying their motions. They were all bigger than him, barely fitting into their uniforms. Not that muscle matters a whole lot up here.

The first attacker charged recklessly towards him with a wild punch. Lucky brushed the hoof aside, and with a quick motion wrapped his foreleg around his attacker’s. The attacking colt’s face barely registered surprise before Lucky wrenched himself around with his wings, shifting the colt’s momentum as they spun together in mid-air.

Gotta remember to thank Lily for this move!

Lucky flung the first colt into the path of the second rushing in . They collided with a solid impact, tumbling backwards as they attempted to right themselves.

The last colt snarled as he swerved around the first two and rushed for his target. Lucky flitted left to avoid a wild buck, then skirted right to avoid the follow-up double hoof stomp. As the colt righted himself, Lucky darted in and drove a hard knee into his attacker’s stomach. The other colt wheezed and backed away, gasping for air.

“Guess they don’t make goons like they used to, huh Stormcrasher?”

Two pairs of hooves grabbed at his forelegs from underneath, and Lucky grunted as he attempted to wrench his limbs free. As he struggled, Stormcrasher and his goons slowly assembled in front of him.

“Now then, Lucky Break. Let’s see just how strong your resolve is.”