• Published 11th Apr 2014
  • 1,023 Views, 24 Comments

I Promise - pokeking95



A few snapshots of Lyra's and Lightning's sisterhood over the years.

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I Promised

“Do you know how long it’s been, Lightning Dust?”

“…”

“Five years, Lightning. Five long, Celestia-forsaken years.”

“…”

“We hugged and that was it. Left in the middle of the night while everypony was sleeping… No trace of you afterwards. You didn’t write, you never visited. We never knew what you were doing with your life. You simply left. One hug, and then gone for five years. It’s like you fell off the face of the planet, Lightning.”

“…”

“I was worried sick. For a while, I wasn’t the same after you left, you know? Didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t study. When I wasn’t crying or moping around, I spent all my free time trying to figure out the slightest hint of your whereabouts. And I couldn’t find you.”

“…”

“I damn-near flunked out of school because of you, Lightning. I damn-near gave up my whole future for you.”

“…”

“I missed you, sis. Really. It was only after two years did I finally give up. Spent another year coping, but the pain never really went away, though.”

“…”

“…Heh, and you still kept your dye job after all this time.”

“…”

“Oh, Lightning…”

“…”

“…You were right, you know? There, I admit it. Mom and Dad really didn’t care about you. I really thought that regardless of how cold or uncaring they were towards you they would still love you as their daughter, even if they never showed it. I was wrong. They hardly put any effort into looking for you after you left. Just a month of half-hearted searching, just to look like they tried, and then they stopped and just… forgot that you ever existed, I guess. They didn’t care, Lightning. I see that now, and I’m sorry I didn’t earlier. I cared, though. I always did—and I still do—even after they passed away a few years after you left. But did you ever believe it? Did you really mean it when you said you loved me? Did you think I was lying when I said I loved you?”

“…”

“…Guess you can’t really give me that answer right now.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…You’re so selfish, you know that? You’re so bucking selfish.”

“…”

“You just up and leave, without telling anypony, not even me, and you disappear from our lives for half a bucking decade.”

“…”

“Then, when you show up again, it’s not you at our parents’ place or at my front door. No, it’s your name plastered on the headlines of every major newspaper in Equestria, saying how you almost ended up killing a bunch of innocent ponies in a freak weather incident!”

“…”

“It was at the Wonderbolt Academy, wasn’t it? So you did end up chasing your dreams. Not many ponies can say they were a contender for the Wonderbolts, even if they did kick you out. I’m proud of you, Dusty. I really am. You proved that you weren’t nothing. But you were so selfish. Didn’t you think about what you were doing? Was the chance to impress your superiors really more valuable than the lives of other ponies? Was it? Why, Dusty? Why?

“…”

“…”

“…”

“What you did last, though, that was the most selfish thing you could’ve done.”

“…”

“I get it. You lost your chance. You were in trouble. You needed help. So then, why didn’t you just ask for it? Why didn’t you just ask somepony for help? Didn’t have to be your family; could’ve been a friend of yours or a coworker or somepony else. But why… why did you have to be so Faust-bucking selfish to try and kill yourself?”

“…”

“W-Why…? Look at you. Y-You were so much stronger than this. S-So much prouder. And this is what you ended up doing. J-Just went to the p-pills and alcohol, hoping you would d-die...”

“…”

“Well, w-what good did that do you, huh? Stuck in a… a c-coma; doctors aren’t sure when—if—you’ll wake up. Can you im-imagine how it felt for m-me, to have gotten a message saying my estranged baby sister a-almost k-killed herself a few days after… after she almost k-killed the bucking El-Elements of Harmony?”

“…”

“W-Why’d you do it, L-Lightning? Huh? Huh? Th-there were o-other ways out of your… s-situation. D-Did you think you had no-nopony else to turn t-to? Is that it? Y-You still had me, always did… and y-yet…”

“…”

“…Damn it… I… I failed you, Lightning D-Dust. I f-failed you. Ever since we were just children, I promised… I promised to t-take c-care of you… and t-this is w-what happened… What kind of b-big s-sister would let her baby s-sister do this to herself? I’m so awful… so b-bucking a-a-awful…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…J-Just come b-back, D-Dusty. Please. I-I miss you. I miss you so m-much…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Miss Heartstrings? I’m sorry, but visiting hours are up.”

“…O-Okay then.”

“…”

“…Well… G-Goodbye, Dusty. I… I’ll visit again t-tomo-tomorrow. Just… just come back, o-okay? Promise? P-Please?”

“…”

“…I love you, sis. I promise I do.”

Author's Note:

Cover art made by myself using two vectors: Lyra is Surprised, by PaulyVectors on deviantART, and Lightning Dust Vector, by the-bitterman on deviantART

Another story from me, so soon after the last one.

This story came about in a rather interesting way. First off, the premise: Lyra and Lightning Dust as sisters. I mean, this was actually the first thing I thought of when I first saw Lightning Dust's debut in Episode 7 of Season 3, "Wonderbolts Academy." Yeah, it's weird and random, and I'm pretty sure it's never been done before, but that is precisely why I decided to do it.

Furthermore, the last bit about Lyra visiting Lightning Dust in a hospital while the latter is in a coma was really the first thing I thought up of with this idea (because, you know, I'm a sucker for bittersweet/downer endings), and that came about while I was listening to "Hollow," by Pantera:

Then, I came up with the rest of the story after I decided I would experiment and try writing an entire story using only dialogue, once I realized I was writing Danse Macabre without any dialogue at all. This was quite convenient, to be honest; it made writing the whole story a heck of a lot easier and let me finish in only a couple of days. I also decided to split it into multiple little chapters instead of leaving it as a one-shot, because I felt that it fit the snapshot theme better that way.

Lastly, I decided to upload this on April 10, 2014, which is Siblings Day here in the United States. A bit of a coincidence, since I did not know until earlier today, but it is fitting, no?