The wind was to my back as I flew over Equestria. No train this time. Instead, I let my wings stretch out for some long distance flying, and so far the currents had all been in my favor. Maybe that was a sign of things to come. I certainly hoped so.
I was perhaps a quarter of the way to Whinnyapolis. The trip would end up being a full day's flight, but I'd accounted for that and packed fairly light. I wouldn't be spending much time in the city anyways. A day's flight in, and then one day there for the show, and a day's flight back. Easy.
Sitting in my meager bit of luggage was the ticket Mint had given me. Whinnyapolis Presents: The Wonderbolts. That by itself was a strange feeling, going such a distance to see a Wonderbolts show. Not that I didn't enjoy the Wonderbolts. In fact, I think I still had my Wonderbolts collectors cards stored away at home.
Of more concern was just who else would be in attendance.
Her voice echoed through my mind as I flew, a rough voice, full of hate from a long time ago.
"Just a wannabe. A pathetic little Night Light." She shoved me with her wings, pushing me down into the soft cloud.
"Sh-shut up! Y-you know I h-hate th-that name." I started to push myself back up, but felt her hoof on my head, pushing me back down into a face full of fluffy nimbus.
She sang my name back mockingly, rubbing my face into the cloud. "Night Light, Night Light, stupid scared little Night Light."
I cowered away as her hoof pulled back and mumbled back, "I'm not g-gunna be Night Light. I... I won't! I'll b-be somepony else... I'll... I'll..."
She put a hoof to my chin as I trailed off and lowered her head towards mine. "You'll go running back to Mom, just like you always do.
I tried to hold back my tears, tried to be brave, but I was only seven, and she was eleven, and big for her age. Not fat, just big, and strong, and she knew it.
"Things were a lot better before you came along, Night Light."
Diamond had always been like that. When Mint was around, they were at odds while Mint tried to keep her from me. When she was with Spring, she tended towards more mischief and pranking, which was still hurtful, but nothing like when she was alone. I had far too many memories like that one.
I had been ashamed of the promises I'd made to Mint, and Spring was like a force of nature, you couldn't blame her, you simply tried to get out of her way. With Diamond, I knew that her problem was always with me. She made sure I knew it, every chance she got.
There was only another twelve hours or so more to go on my flight to meet with her again. I closed my eyes a moment and tried to think of just about anything else, but those memories were hard to look past. I kept flying forward.
---
The stadium was actually fairly impressive. I was familiar with the Cloudsdale stadium, but hadn't expected the stadium in Whinnyapolis to at all compare. There was an open field marked off with white lines markings which were obviously in place for more ground-based events. Today, however, the focus was upon the air. There were large hanging hoop-like clouds arrayed in the general circular track form, though with far more use of vertical space than any ground race could manage.
My seat was in the friends and family section, a VIP bleacher set in about the middle of one side of the oblong stadium with the announcers booth was almost directly behind us. I nervously flagged down a snack vendor, acquiring a soft pretzel, determined that no matter what happened afterwards, I was going to enjoy the show itself. Then I sat quietly amidst the other ponies, all pegasi, from the looks of it, and waited for the event to start.
The buzz of so much noise was almost overwhelming as the audience packed in. Whinnyapolis was a fair bit larger than Ponyville in every regard, and I think the entire town's population could have fit inside with plenty of room to spare. I tried to keep my head down, not looking at the others seated near me as I nervously bit at the pretzel.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" Speakers across the stadium boomed to life. "If I can direct your attention to the sky above our stadium, it is with great excitement today that we present today's show. Please join us as Whinnyapolis welcomes..."
The announcers paused dramatically, as the audience's eyes, mine included, were glued to the sky.
The air crackled, and down came a streak of lightning, an instantly familiar blue and yellow uniform leading the trail of jagged light. "Chain Lightning!"
The next came down in a tight spiral, spinning around the lightning before it could fade, a blue mist in their wake that seemed to extinguish the storm as it descended. "Tempest Sweep!"
The next two came in together, an orange streak from the left, and a yellow streak from the right. They nearly collided, but crossed just past one another, only to continue flying down and cross back once again. "Skyrocket and Sun Chaser!"
"Diamond Wing!"
I swallowed hard and my stomach suddenly regretted eating that soft pretzel. There was a turquoise blur, but with a stripe of red straight through it, the pony at its fore zipped around in a precise pattern. The contrail formed a pentagon, and as she completed her sky drawing, she zipped up into a loop.
Apparently on cue, the other four Wonderbolts arced away from their displays, looping up at a precise angle until each met at one corner of the design, extending hooves and wings to mimic the pattern among themselves. At last, all five were free falling, wings outstretched to almost touch at the tip.
"And last but not least, Ballistic!" The sixth came in out of nowhere, flying straight down through the formation the others had formed and threading the needle between their wings.
The other five broke away from one another just as Ballistic cut through, each twisting backwards into a half-loop downwards. Ballistic slammed into the center of the stadium ground with a dramatic impact, and the others each completed their loop to land in position surrounding her. There was a stunned silence in the stadium as the six began to wave to the audience.
"They are, the Wonderbolts!" The crowd broke into a tremendous cheer, and swept up in the moment, I was right there with them, forgetting why I was there and genuinely enjoying the spectacle.
After the impressive entrance, the Wonderbolts went through a practiced routine, more acrobatics, precision maneuvers, and expert timing. Some earth ponies and unicorns think that flying is easy, and that the Wonderbolts are renowned for speed alone, but knowing just what they're doing, speed was only the smallest part of it.
To conclude the show, the six had an exhibition race through the course set up over the stadium. They sped through the cloud rings, weaving and diving as each racer pushing for every bit of speed and control. The whole event was amazing, and in the end, Skyrocket won the race, with my sister coming in fourth. I had mixed emotions as she sped through the finishing line, unsure if I should be happy for her, upset with her, or even disappointed she hadn't done better.
The stadium began to empty as the show ended, and I sat still as the other ponies made their way out. Not everypony was heading for the exits, however, as a small group moved their way down to the field. With a glance down at the line forming, I took a deep breath to muster up some resolve, and opened my wings to glide down to the end of the line.
It wasn't a huge group, mostly foals accompanied by their parents, each bouncing excitedly about. A few had autograph books, others had cards or hats or other items to have signed. I almost wanted to find a way to get one myself, and felt a smile creep onto my face at the thought of starting an autograph collection. Diamond might one day have a trading card with her picture on it. Maybe she already did. I resisted the urge to ask one of the foals.
The Wonderbolts stepped back out into the field with a small cheer, the six pegasi accompanied by some additional ponies wearing headsets and carrying clipboards. They consulted a moment with the Wonderbolts, then two of them headed towards our line and started directing ponies onto the field.
I watched Diamond as she talked with a couple colts as she signed her autograph. Getting a closer look at her now that she wasn't speeding over the stadium, she was wearing the half-uniform of the reserves, a waist to neck vest in the familiar blue and yellow colors of the Wonderbolts. There was only one other performer in the reserve uniform, and the crowds of ponies surrounding the other four were telling.
More shocking in her appearance were the stripes of red running through her mane. Those were new since I'd last seen her, and they certainly fit, making her normally blue hair stand out against her similarly light blue coat. She was smiling wide, her wing gripping a quill as she signed another book for a filly wearing flight goggles before she sent her off with a salute.
I approached slowly, waiting for somepony else to run up between us and forestall the moment. Instead, she stood alone, watching the other Wonderbolts as the foals gathered around them.
I cleared my throat. "N-not, um... not as long a line for you."
"Yeah, well, I'm just a reserve. The Wonderbolts are the heroes. But you know, someday, right?" She turned to me with a grin. "So you fan or just a—"
She stopped, and I instantly felt like I was a colt again. Her face shifted away from her initial shock into a hard gaze that bore into me. She lifted the goggles up from over her eyes and began to walk towards me.
I sputtered, suddenly unsure about this. Why had I let Mint talk me into this? How had I even considered this a good idea?
A hoof against my shoulder only proved my doubts and fears all correct. The strike landed hard, and I made no effort to block as it knocked me to the side. I shied away, keeping my balance.
Her face was red, but inside that mask of rage, her eyes welled up with tears. "How... how dare you? How dare you?"
"D-Diamond... I..." I glanced around. Several of the other groups had turned to check on the disturbance, but so far, they all just watched curiously.
"Shut up. Shut up you complete, utter horse apple." She pushed me again, but as I started to pull away, she grabbed me.
I felt like I was being crushed. Her grip was tight, and she was squeezing me hard. I struggled a moment before I really started to understand what was happening. She was hugging me.
To my further surprise, Diamond sobbed a bit as she squeezed tight. Her voice strained over the rising emotion. "You stupid little... you... you... goddesses... Night... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
My hooves shook as I struggled free of her grip, bringing them up to hug her back. "Diamond, S-Sis... I... I forgive you."
---
With emotions high and needing a moment away from the spectators, Diamond led me out of the stadium and into one of the private rooms. There, she gave me another hug, just as bone-crushingly tight as the first.
She eventually released me, letting out a deep sigh. "Damn it, Night. I... I never thought I'd see you again."
I grinned awkwardly, scraping a hoof on the floor. "I... I didn't think so either. I thought, well, maybe we'd both be better off that way?"
"I... I can hardly blame you, Night." She looked away. "I did a lot to you. I'd say I didn't mean it, but..."
My ears dropped. "I... know. I know you hated me. I'd... I don't know. I just wanted to find a way to... to get past that."
She choked, biting out a laugh. "Hate you? Night, I... yeah, maybe I used to. But that wasn't your fault."
Part of me knew that, I suppose. Especially now, after talking to Spring, and Mint. Still, those memories still hurt. I couldn't help but laugh at her words. "M-maybe not. But it wasn't just you."
Diamond furrowed her brow and tilted her head to look at me askew. "No, but I certainly never helped. I was so jealous of you, Night."
"J-jealous? Of me? Why? What did I have that you didn't? Or... or that you didn't break?" It came out harsher than I intended, but old feelings were stronger than I'd believed.
She was crying as she stared at me, tears slowly tracing down her cheeks. "You know why? Why I broke your things? Why I tormented you, or tricked Spring into hurting you? Or just hurt you myself?"
I could only shake my head. I'd never thought on it much. My old self was convinced it was something I'd done to deserve it, and I wasn't sure what else it could be.
"Your name." She broke eye contact as if she couldn't bear it. She forced a laugh before she could continue. "Damn you, I hated your name. Night Light. You were Mom and Dad's only son, and they were so proud."
"N-Night Light... I used to hate that name too. N-not just because of you. I wanted to be more than just a night light."
Her laughter was far less forced as she roughly pushed me with her hooves. "Ya dunce! You still don't get it? I hated you for that too. You didn't realize what your name meant... took it for granted."
I wobbled back from the hit, but my jaw dropped down. "For... granted? What do you mean?"
She placed a hoof on her chest. "You think the rest of us got names like that? Mint? Diamond? Spring? The only one of us who was honored like that was Sun."
Her hoof turned to prod at me. "Night Light was Dad's way of saying you were special. From the moment you were born, all I could think about was that name, and how much I wished I'd been the one that Mom, and Dad, and even Mint all looked at and hoped the best for."
I was stunned, and my lack of response spread back to Diamond. We sat next to one another in the silence, each guarding our next words. The room was thick with emotion. "I... I didn't even realize. I... I'm sorry."
She chuckled. "Why? You didn't know. Besides, look at me now." She reached up to adjusted her goggles absently. "You get in the habit of pushing yourself too hard to make ponies notice you, sometimes, you end up on the path to becoming a Wonderbolt."
I smiled sheepishly. "S-still... I wish... I wish that... I don't know. Something between us could have been... better."
"Yeah... me too, Night. I'm sorry about all that. I don't know. I guess I'm happy now? I've... had to do a lot of work to find myself. Still trying. But that's on me." She swallowed. "I shouldn't have taken that out on you."
My hoof rose towards her. "I... I came all this way from Ponyville to meet with you, Diamond. You... you up to trying to start again? Brother and sister? Um... Night Light and... a-and Diamond Wing?"
She glanced at my hoof in disbelief, then grinned. "Well, I don't know that you're my real brother. He's kind of a pushover... a bit of a... what did Spring always call you?"
"A, um... a doof?"
"Yeah. A doof." She brought her hoof up and bumped it against mine. "But you seem pretty okay. Maybe we could try the whole sibling thing over. And why don't we both try not to screw it up so badly this time, alright?"
"Yeah, alright, Diamond."
She stuck out her tongue. "Even if you are a still a doof."