The Fears of Yesterday

by SolidFire

Family Ties

Family Ties

Lightning slowly awoke to the comforting warmth of his marefriend. She smiled at him when his eyes finally opened.

"Morning sleepyhead." Lightning smiled.

"Morning Scootaloo." Scootaloo pressed her lips against his. Lightning closed his eyes, but then immediately they shot back open.

Spitfire heard Lightning's scream from the kitchen. She immediately proceeded to fall over laughing.

"Lightning, I can't believe you actually slept on the floor!" Tears were streaming down her face as Lightning burst into the kitchen, babbling out apologies. Scootaloo looked incredibly confused.

"Is my mane really that bad when I wake up? All I said was good morning and you shrieked like a filly watching a horror movie and bolted out of the room."

"S-Spitfire told me if we slept together, she'd... she'd... soup." Lightning shuddered.

"WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE BUCKING SOUP!?" Scootaloo was losing it. Spitfire laughed even harder.

"The soup is what we promised to turn your coltfriend's genitalia into if he steps out of line with you." Rainbow had to answer for Spitfire. "Now, given that he actually slept on the floor last night instead of sharing the bed with you goes to show that we really can trust him to keep in line. Which is sad in a way, that soup is delicious." Lightning shuddered. Scootaloo facehoofed.

"Lightning, you didn't have to sleep on the floor last night. I trust you with my daughter. Hay, if I didn't trust you I wouldn't have let you stay in her room at all. I could have easily had you stay in Steel's room." Lightning was dumbfounded.

"You mean I've been terrified of you the last three months and you were just messing with my head?" Rainbow pretended to ponder his question.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And I had nothing to be afraid of?"

"I wouldn't go that far. But as long as you keep your tool between your legs and not hers you're safe."

"You couldn't have mentioned this sooner?"

"Of course not! It was too much fun watching you squirm every time you were about to have a special moment with Scootaloo!" Lightning wasn't sure how to react. He unwittingly opted to stare at the wall, completely lost in thought, for about five minutes. He knew his marefriend's parents were unique. He didn't realize that they were completely psychotic. Then again, they did scare him by threatening to cook his genitals into soup... Okay so he knew they were totally insane. What had he gotten himself into? And how the hay did Spitfire know he slept on the floor?

"Uhh, Lightning? You there?" Scootaloo waved her hoof in front of his face. He snapped out of it and realized he really shouldn't have been surprised by any of it.

"Sorry Scoot. Didn't mean to scare you when I woke up." Scootaloo laughed and leaned against him.

"It's fine. My parents get to colts like that." Lightning nuzzled her. Spitfire put a pile of steamed carrots on a plate and passed them to Lightning.

"Bring these to Steel. And try to convince him to come out here when he's done eating." Lightning nodded and took the food to Steel's room.

"You up bud? Spitfire made you breakfast." As soon as Lightning finished his sentence (it was difficult with a plate in his mouth), Steel kicked open the door, grabbed the plate from Lightning, and chowed down. Lightning laughed.

"Hey Mom! Looks like Steel is a fan of your cooking!" It wasn't long before Steel had burned through breakfast and had retreated back to the safety and comfort of his room. Lightning pushed the door open.

"Go away." Steel had retreated to the corner of his room. His back was facing Lightning.

"Come on bud, don't lock yourself in here all day. Come out and enjoy your new family!" Steel turned around to face Lightning. The young colt's eyes were red and puffy from crying, but it was obvious he had been trying hard to fight back the tears.

"I don't want a new family. I want my mommy and daddy. When will I see them again?" Lightning sighed. How was he supposed to tell a six year old colt that his parents are dead?

"You're parents aren't here anymore Steel." Steel looked up at Lightning.

"Then where are they? Daddy just got hurt, right? He'll come back here soon, right?" Lightning sighed. He had no idea how to answer the foal. He had to think of something.

"No. He can't come back for you." Before Lightning could elaborate, Steel began to sob.

"I want my family back! I want my mommy and my daddy! I want them back!" Lightning wrapped a wing around Steel. The sobbing colt gladly accepted the comforting gesture and leaned into Lightning. It wasn't long before he stopped crying and pulled away.

"No, I can't cry. Daddy says ponies aren't supposed to cry. He said I should never be sad." Lightning stared with wide eyes at the colt in front of him. What kind of father convinces his foal that it's wrong to feel sadness?

"I don't know much about your dad, but I can tell you right now that that's wrong. Lot's of things happen in our lives that make us feel sad. It's not only okay to feel sad when bad things happen, it's a good thing." Steel looked up at Lightning. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. The strange stallion in front of him seemed so sincere. So trustworthy. For reasons he couldn't understand, he felt like he could trust Lightning. Tears welled in Steel's eyes and he broke down again. This time he just let the tears flow. Lightning again wrapped a wing around him. Scootaloo walked in and sat down next to them. When Steel saw her he immediately bolted away and cowered in the corner of the room.

"Stay away! Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me like you hurt Daddy!" Scootaloo lowered her head. She had hoped Steel didn't see that it was her who killed Jade.

"I don't want to hurt you Steel. You remember when I helped you, right? When you couldn't get home?"

"You hurt Daddy! Go away, don't hurt me too!" Scootaloo was about to speak again when Lightning rested a hoof on her shoulder. As much as it pained Scootaloo to leave then, she understood. Steel wasn't going to be quick to warm up to her after watching her kill their father. There was no way he'd understand that she didn't do anything wrong. No way he'd understand how much it tore at her that she had taken a life. She kissed Lightning and walked slowly out of the room. She took one last look at her brother. It was the first time she had taken a good look at him. She knew from one good look that he would be an attractive stallion one day. His jet black mane and tail flowed perfectly with the dull grey of his coat. His eyes were a brilliant blue that she had rarely seen. She sighed and walked out of the room. Spitfire was waiting for her.

"Didn't go so well, huh?" A single tear escaped Scootaloo's eye.

"Not so much, no. I just... he's my little brother, and I can't even talk to him." Spitfire wrapped a wing around her.

"He'll come around Scoot. Just give him time."

"What if I'm gone before he does?" Spitfire smiled softly.

"Don't worry Scoot. He'll open up to you before the week is over." Scootaloo looked at the door to Steel's room.

"How can you be sure?" Spitfire's smile grew ever so slightly.

"I'm a mom. Knowing these things is part of the job." Scootaloo nuzzled Spitfire.

"You gonna be able to handle him while Lightning and I are at school?" Spitfire laughed.

"If things stay the way they are he'll be no problem." Scootaloo chuckled. She hadn't thought about the fact that he hadn't left his room since he got to their house.

"Alright, I'll go get Lightning." Scootaloo pushed open the door to find Steel curled up sound asleep next to Lightning. She smiled.

"I hate to break this up but it's time for us to go to school." Lightning sighed. He didn't want to leave Steel at the moment. As he stood up, Steel woke up.

"Where are you going?"

"Your sister and I have to go to school. We'll be back in a few hours." Steel looked heartbroken. As Lightning and Scootaloo headed for the door, the young colt followed close behind his new role model.

"Will you come see me when you get back?" Steel didn't want to lose Lightning like he lost his parents. Lightning chuckled.

"Of course I will bud. Come here, give me a brohoof." Lightning lifted his hoof and Steel gladly hit it with all his might. Spitfire laughed.

"Looks like he's taken a liking to you Lightning."

"At this rate he'll be clinging to you like Scoot used to cling to me within a day," Rainbow added with a laugh. Scootaloo giggled at the memory of when Rainbow was her idol.

"Fine by me as long as there's no Lightning Spark fan club popping up anytime soon." Spitfire clearly remembered watching her wife interrupt Rainbow Dash Fan Club meetings while they were dating. She knew Lightning would have WAY too much fun with his own adoration community.

"I'd be okay with that if I was allowed to join," Scootaloo added. Lightning blushed at his marefriend's comment.

"Off with you two, you're gonna be late." Rainbow shooed the two schoolponies out the door.

"But hanging out with you guys is way more fun than school!"

"Scootaloo, I consider myself lucky as a parent that you can say that without gritting your teeth. But you're not going to be late to school because we're awesome parents." As the conversation dragged on, Steel could only watch in awe. He had never been a part of a family that was so close before. He had always submitted to his parents because he was supposed to. He had loved his parents because that's what foals were supposed to do. His sister seemed to view her adoptive family as if they were her friends, all the while respecting their authority over her. Steel didn't understand their relationship, but he knew right away that he wanted it.

Author's Note:

Disclaimer again, I don't take credit for this story, as it is an approved re-post from the original author, coupled with the permission of the site's staff. I got a bunch done this past twenty-four hours, so expect a bunch of chapters today as my gift to all you followers and the fans of the original author of these stories.

Comments

[Crimson Valor]

Is there another story after this one, or was this the last one? I swear the Original Author was going/did a Trilogy?

[dreamingnoctis]

I never realized that the original author vanished. I was thinking about this series, and was wondering why the third installment had not been updated in so long, so I did a search. It's good that these stories are being preserved here, because they're really wonderful. Still, it's a shame that the third one was never finished (at least I don't think it was).

[SolidFire]

3684817
Yes, there is another story after this one. There is also a prequel to the first one that I'll be posting up as well. Neither were finished, but I might be able to finish them if I can get where he was going with them.

~SolidFire