Because You Are My Sister

by Maverick Cloud

Chapter 3 - Eyes Seek Reality

"Sunburst?” called out an orange royal guard, raping a hoof against the wooden door. When no one responded, he tried again a little louder this time. "You in there? Wake up! We're gonna be late!" After several seconds he could hear something heavy hit the ground, followed by a series of groans.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, Sunburst cracked open his eyes and slowly recovered from the tumble before trudging over to his bedroom door. After a series of failed attempts courtesy of bleary vision he at last opened the door.

"Ugh… where's the fire?" asked a very tired and spectacle-less Sunburst.

"If by fire, you mean the celebration? It’s in Ponyville. That’s today, remember?” Flash reminded his near-catatonic friend. “Shining and Cadence are about done getting ready. I suggest you get a move on and do the same."

As his vision of Flash Sentry became more clear, he remembered what they were going to attend in Ponyville. "Ah, yes. The birthday. The birthday of... uhh... the birthday... of..." And down to his dreams Sunburst returned after a miserable attempt to remain awake.

Flash raised one of his eyebrows, surprised to see his friend able to sleep standing on all four hooves. "The birthday of Princess Twilight?"

"YES!!!" Sunburst shouted out, making Flash jump a little. He groaned again, this time out of embarrassment as he rubbed his eyes. "Ugh… sorry about that. Remind me again why we need to be up so early? It’s not even sunrise yet."

"Well, it's a long trip from here to Ponyville and Shining and Cadance want to be there well before the party starts. You know how close those two are with the princess, one being her brother and the other her formal foalsitter..." Flash trailed off once he noticed Sunburst was sleeping-standing again. Smiling, he rolled his eyes. "Okay Sunny, time to rise and shine."

With that Flash dragged Sunburst’s near-comatose body to the bathroom and into the shower. "Forgive me for this, pal.” he said before turning the lever to the ‘cold’ setting.

The effect was instantaneous.

"GAAAAH!!!! C-C-COLD!!!!"

Flash watched with the slightest amount of amusement as Sunburst shot up and blindly scrabbled at the wall in search of the shower lever, an effort made fruitless all thanks to the damp mane covering his eyes. Once he felt Sunburst had enough he adjusted the temperature to a more comfortable setting.

"Good, you're awake. Better get ready to leave, otherwise in an hour the train will leave without us. I'll be waiting with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence near the entrance. Oh, and Flurry Heart will come too." Flash instructed. He then grinned wryly and added, "Guess you can check off the shower.”

Beneath his wet bangs, Sunburst glared daggers. “You’re despicable.”

“You overslept.”

The two held their gazes for a moment longer before breaking into an amused chuckles.

“I suppose I did.” Sunburst said as he readjusted the water temperature. "One hour, train, entrance. Got it."

"Right. I'll be waiting." Flash left and closed the door behind him before taking note of the state of Sunburst’s room. It was quite messy, with wide open books scattered all over the floor and even a few lying on the bed. A half-full cup of tea that was most likely cold sat on the desk in the company of several unrolled scrolls of parchment and an equally half-full ink reservoir.

Flash closed his eyes and smiled. "Still working hard." He opened his eyes. "You're gonna be one amazing wizard someday. I'm sure of it."

His mind drifted back to the day he and Sunburst first met, the day Shining Armor had sent them on a diplomatic mission to Zigeria, the land of the zebras. Their objective--at the behest of Dragon Lord Ember--was to convince one of the local tribes to release a dragon whom previously caused a great deal of trouble to their village.

It was a quest either Flash or Sunburst could potentially accomplish. Not only were they both fairly capable at the role of diplomat, but as a neutral party Equestria had a better chance of quelling tensions than the presence of more dragons--more dragons meant a catastrophe begging to happen. However with the situation as delicate as it was, Shining Armor felt it necessary they accompany one another for the mission rather than send one diplomat.

Better safe than sorry, right?

In the end it was a rational and wise decision. With Sunburst handling relations with the zebras and Flash keeping the beleaguered dragon’s temperament in check, the mission was a success.

Since then the two were nearly inseparable.

With one last look to the bathroom, Flash left the messy room.

After fifteen minutes Sunburst arrived at the castle's entrance, a package in his magical grasp. As expected Flash and the royal family were present and patiently waiting for him. Shining Armor stood off to the side with his sleeping daughter while Cadence and Flash were engaged in conversation.

"So why exactly am I your only escort to Ponyville again?" Flash asked. Normally he would address either of the royals in a more professionally stoic manner, a trait learnt straight from the academy. But this venture was a far cry from a diplomatic mission--it was a private affair, thus the freedom to break away from the role of cold, stone-faced guard to be himself was permitted, and needless to say a relief.

"Oh it's simple, Flash. You're the one I most trust. Aside from my husband, of course." Cadence answered.

It was an answer enough to satisfy Flash’s curiosity. "Well... Thank you, Princess Cadance.”

Cadance put on a warm smile. "Silly. You don't need to call me princess, Flash. I’ve already told you that.”

"My apologies, Princ-- er, Cadance." He returned the smile.

Shining eyed his wife knowingly. “Pretty sure my wife has other reasons to invite you, Flash."

“I have no idea what you're talking about, sweetie.” Cadance said innocently.

His gaze remained steadfast. Shining very well knew what Cadance’s intentions were when it came to the subject of his sister and Flash Sentry, even if the two only met a few times and nothing really happened between them. But as her husband, he knew Cadence wouldn't give up so easily.

Flash looked back and forth between them, clueless as to what his commander was referring. "Umm... okay?" Before he could inquire further, Flash saw Sunburst coming from the end of the hall and gave him a little wave. "Oh, there’s Sunburst.”

"Good morning. Sorry for the delay." Sunburst said as he quickly inspected the package one last time.

"No, you're just in time." Shining Armor opened the main doors to unveil Celestia’s sun beginning to peek over the horizon. There were only a few ponies in the cold streets of the Crystal Empire, most of them vendors in the process of getting their stores ready to open for business.
The group made their way to the train station, saluting the ponies who recognised them, each of them in possession of a gift to Princess Twilight.

Sunburst levitated his gift closer to Flash. "Do you know what I'm gonna give her?"

"Gee, I don't know. A book?" Flash asked with a little bit of sarcasm.

“Oh I’m sorry, Master Sharpshooter. Is it because my career revolves around hours of reading?” He childishly raised his chin to the sky and trotted ahead. “Just because you were so prejudiced, I won't tell you what i'm gonna give her.”

Flash couldn’t help but cringe at how forcefully that came out. "Whoa, sorry. Just worried that we’d end up giving her the same present." He then muttered, “Gonna have to work on the sarcasm.”

Shining Armor joined in on the conversation. "Wait, you're the one who's gonna give her a book? What is it, The Creed of the Assassin Ponies?"

"Now you're the one being prejudiced here, Shining." Cadence told him.

"Well, remember a while back when you mentioned Twilight’s a big fan of Jade Singer?” He showed off the leather-bound book in his satchel.” I bought her her latest book: My Kinsmare, Major Marelineux, and Other Short Stories.”

Shining gave him an odd look. "You don't come off as the reading type.”

“How else do you think I made it through the academy?”

“Doing everything as you were told?”

“Very funny, sir. Actually, I’ve read only some of the Creed installments and a little of Fallout Equestria. But when I saw how huge that series was, I just gave up.” He shook his head at the memory of the exhausting list of titles in the series. “I don't have enough time and patience to catch up on all the material.”

The group went about their discussion of book series both great and horrendous, eventually arriving at the train station. Once inside coach, Shining handed over his now-awake daughter to Cadence as he, Flash, and Sunburst stored away their luggage. The load was light considering they planned on staying in Ponyville no more than two days.

As they did so, Shining couldn’t help but notice Sunburst’s goatee, and how unkempt and nerdy in appearance it looked. At one time he considered growing facial hair himself, but being in the Royal Guard limited his options in style. Maybe he ought to grow it out now that he was a prince. A mustache, perhaps? Or a soul patch; he heard they were recently becoming popular. What would Cadance consider attractive? Come to think of it, what did Starlight Glimmer think of Sunburst’s goatee?

Inside, Shining smiled deviously. For every stallion lay the only fun way to find out: a good, old fashioned bet.

"I wonder if Sunburst will get rid of his goatee if Starlight asks."

"Very funny, Captain. But Starlight never complained about the goatee." Sunburst winked.

"I think it looks stylish," Cadence opined. On her lap her daughter cooed, eliciting a giggle from the princess. “Seems like Flurry agrees, too.”

"Thank you, Cadence, Flurry."

Flash and Shining leaned in close to one another, sly grins gracing their faces. "Fifty bits says he’ll shave it if Starlight asks him." Flash whispered.

Shining hoof-bumped his subordinate. “All we need to do is get her in on it.”

Sunburst adjusted his spectacles a adopted an uncharacteristically challenging smirk on his face. “Try me, sir."

Shining began to laugh and joined Sunburst. Both of them then departed to grab some snacks from the culinary car, still running on empty stomachs. Flash remained behind, however--he simply stood there, motionless and looking at the ground as if he was lost on his thoughts.
That phrase. The way Sunburst said it, the way he smirked… Flash had seen that approach to a challenge many times in the past. Not from his wizardly friend, but from a someone else who Flash considered his very best friend in the whole wide world.

Someone now lost.

Cadence noticed Flash’s change in mood and called for his name. He didn't react. She then vacated her seat and touched his shoulder. Only then did he react, turning his head to face the concerned Princess of Love.

"Flash, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah.” Flash said quickly, scratching the back of his head. “I'm okay. Just… got a lot on my mind. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? We can always talk if something’s bothering you."

Cadance’s caring demeanor was rather touching and prompted memories of his mother and sister to flash before his watering eyes. It’s often said time heals all wounds, but if experience taught Flash anything, it was that some wounds tend to take longer to heal than others.
Ever since Lightning Dust went missing, life had never been the same. It was as if his heart had a hole that could never be filled. He missed her, his sister and best friend, dearly, and it wasn’t an easy situation to deal with -- thoughts of her plagued his mind like a parasite, and because of this Flash often found it difficult to focus both in and out of the armor. There would be times he mistook one of the Empire’s residents for her. Other times as he escorted the royals on the diplomatic visit of the week, he would ask the locals if they ever saw a pony matching Lightning’s description, only to no avail.

If only the world knew of the pain hidden beneath that dashing smile...

"Really, Cadence. It’s fine,” he lied. “I promise it’s nothing to worry about."

Cadence remained silent as she shifted her gaze away. Both she and Shining knew very well what was going on, but prefered not to push it. If Flash wanted to talk about his sister, he would do so when he was ready.

The train lurched forward as it began the long journey to Ponyville. Flash sat, watching the window with the faintest hope that by some miracle Lightning Dust would show up on the other side, peacocking as usual. But like numerous times before, no luck, much to his dismay.

"Where are you, Lightning Dust?" He asked, wistfully gazing out onto the vast expanse of snow and ice.

---

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"Ugh..."

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"Celestia have mercy on me."

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"OKAY, FINE!"

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

Lightning violently smashed her alarm clock. "I ALREADY HEARD YOU, YOU PIECE OF JUNK!" With an annoyed grunt she trudged off to the bathroom, then turned the hot shower on and waited until it was warm enough before stepping beneath the showerhead. Her mind drifted over the plans for the day ahead as she bathed. Today would be one heck of a day, one with mistakes rectified and selfishness cast aside.

A day full of change.

She finished her bath, ate her breakfast that consisted of buttered toast and milk, and headed out to take the train station. On her way out she saw Brick Seal on a ladder next to the doors fixing a lamp. She smiled and saluted the old stallion. "Morning, Mister Seal."

"Oh, good morning to you young'un." He said from up the ladder. "I thought the weather factory wouldn’t be open for the day."

"And it won't. I'm actually heading out to Ponyville."

"Ponyville, eh? What exactly are you going down there for, young’un? Were you invited to the ceremony?"

Lightning thought for a moment, but told him nonetheless. "Not really. My brother, he's... gonna be there."

The landlord raised his eyebrows as if Lightning Dust just told him she found the cure for cancer. Brick Seal knew about her situation as well. Hearing this from her gave him hope she'd make peace with her family soon.

"So you finally decided to act. That's great to hear.”

"Yeah.” Lightning shrugged. “I don't know if he really will forgive me, but I’ve gotta sort this out sooner or later."

A warm smile graced his lips. "Well... good luck to you, missy. I really do hope for the best." He then pointed to a switch on the wall. "Say, before you head out, could you do me a favor and turn that switch on?"

Lightning nodded and did as he asked. One flip of the switch later, and the presence of illumination signaled the landlord his job was done.
“Appreciate it.”

"Thanks, Mister Seal. Seriously, thanks for everything." She gave a quick hug to the old pony. She really owed him a lot.

"You're welcome, young’un. Now you better get hustling before you miss the train.”

Lightning smirked. “Tch, like that ought to be a problem.” With that she flew off to the train station. She honestly didn't know what to expect in Ponyville, and much as she hated to admit it she was… unsettled. But this trip was no ordinary pleasure tour, and no amount of trepidation would slow her down. Lightning Dust had only one goal in mind.

End this nightmare.

Author's Note:

So... funny story: I was suppose to upload this yesterday but i was drunk

But anyway, here it is the third chapter. Once again, i have to thank 621Chopsuey for editing the chapter. He did an amazing job.

I'll try and write the next chapter as soon as possible, even though i have the college and the job pushing on me.

Thanks for watching.

Comments

[Anachronon]

Certainly interesting. I will track it.

If Rainbow gives Lightning to much of a bad time she hopefully gets hit down a notch.

I always saw the episode with mixed feelings.
On one side you could say that Lightning's action was much to reckless, selfish to a certain degree and it endangered Rainbow's friends.
On the other it was completely unintentional and Twilight & co -civilians- just came unannounced into a miilitary area, during the middle of a training session no less. Bearers or not, that was sheer stupidity from their side and that Lightning Dust lost in the end her chance to fullfil her dream and got blamed for everything was ridiculous. The others were at fault, too. Instead they got off scot-free for being retarded.

But whatever, that's just me. I'm interested in seeing how you'll handle the whole thing and what Flash and all the others are gonna do.

[Maverick Cloud]

8147296
I belive she was just too selfish trying to be the best of the best. And what she did was suppose to harm the other wonderbolts.

I always saw her as a trouble maker, but the way she acted on that episode was way too much. However i do think that the mane six had part of the fault, but that doesn't change the fact that she was selfish and reckless. She had no reasons to do that besides wining no matter what.

In fact, on my headcanon she was so much of a trouble maker that she even convinced flash to join her in beeing a trouble maker too. But the diference is that flash knew where to stop, and when things got out of control he would convince lightning to stop as well.

They both are that way, but flash is the one more responsible. Especialy after he entered the army.

Btw, i have something special for her in the end of the story. Something i won't spoiler

[Anachronon]

8148645 Ah, So Flash has in your fic the role of the worried and compassionate big brother who knew what his sister was capable of and tried his best to contain her more selfish side when they were together? What obviously couldn't work when Lightning was alone in the Wonderbolt Academy without him to, well, suppress her 'dangerous streak'?

[Maverick Cloud]

8148768
It's like "oh, i can do whatever i may desire because my brother is there and when i pass the limits he'll just warn me"

She just became more responsible after the s*** hit the fan, and she finaly saw how imature she still was. Don't take her wrong though, she loves him more than anything in the world. But alone she can pass the limits and he won't be there.

She still is a bit crazy and likes to do crazy stuff like RD. But now she's more mature. While flash is more calm and serious, but he's not boring and loves to hang out with her and his friends

[Fire Seeker12]

I'm glad that Lightning is taking some careful thought and deciding to face it head on even the consequences she'll face.