Previous Chapters
Close
Chapter 11,631 words
Chapter 21,526 words

Chapter 2

Lighting galloped up to her father and mother, a blue ribbon dangling around her neck. She half flew half jumped into her parents forelegs.

They pulled her close as her father spoke, "We are so proud of you! First place in your first race ever! How do you feel?"

"All tingly, it feels...right." Lightning Dust hugged her parents tighter.

"It looked like Lightning out there sport." Her dad said.

Lightning felt the adrenaline of the the race rushing through her body still. She felt more proud than she had ever been before.

"Honey, look." Lightning Dust's mother whispered as she pointed at lightning's flank.

Lightning turned he head to see her cute mark appearing, in all its glory.

She looked back to her parents, but only a roaring storm met her gaze.

She screamed as the nice cumulus below her engorged into a huge thundercloud. She launched into the air, looking around for her parents.

"Mom! Dad!"

"Lightning!" A voice rang from within the clouds. Lightning flew into the clouds searching for the source of the voice as fast as her little wings could carry her.

"Lightning!" The voice rang out, closer this time. Lightning attempted to punch through the next cloud, but she bounced off the angry cloud.

Lightning attempted to scream for help, but her own voice failed.

"Lightning!" The voice cried out again, seemingly feet away. Lightning pounded away at the cloudy barrier, but no progress could be seen.

Electricity sparked more and more each time she punched at the wall. Whole lightning bolts flew from the cloud.

Lightning turned away from the wall and reared up. With all her might, she bucked the cloud. Lightning felt a pulse of energy, and was blinded by white light.

"Lightning!"

Lightning bolted up from her slumber, drenched on a clod sweat. She patted herself down with her hooves, searching for any scorch marks. She condemned herself for losing her composure over a dream.

"Lightning!" Spring Breeze beckoned from downstairs. The smell of breakfast wafted up with her voice, only quickening Lightning's preparation.

Lightning got up from Thunderlane's bed and quickly fixed up her hair how she usually did in the morning. Her gaze slid from the mirror to the Analog clock next to it.

Had she still been a Wonderbolt trainee, she would have been up hours ago.

"Thunderlane! Lightning Dust! Get down here or I'm giving your hay waffles to Rumble!"

Lightning looked at her tight braid-in-progress in the mirror. She stared for a moment, then removed the hoof hat was holding her mane in place.

Lightning looked at her mane hanging down in the mirror. She had never questioned the speed braid her mother had taught her, being the most areodynamic hairstyle she knew. She examined herself, and shook her head as she left the bedroom. Her mane hanging down around her ears.

She made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Rumble frowned as the gigantic plate of waffles sitting before him was split into fractions, which were distributed around the table.

Rumble let out a sigh as a door opened upstairs and Thunderlane half flew half galloped down the steps. Rumble yet again found his plate being split up.

"You going to work with the weather-ponies today Thunderlane?" Spring Breeze said. Her back turned to the table.

"Yes Mom," Thunderlane replied.

"Are you doing anything today Lightning?" She asked.

"Well I-" was all she muttered before being interupted.

"I need some help with some errands today, how does that sound?" Spring Breeze suggested.

"Sure, I suppose." Lightning reponded as Spring breeze plopped another pile of waffles on the table. Which were quickly snatched up by Thunderlane and Rumble

Breezy left the kitchen for a second, only to return with two pairs of goggles and two different sized sets of saddlebags. "Ok Gents, time to get going. I don't want either of you two to be late."

Thunderlane and Rumble cleaned their plates, claimed their belongings, and left. Leaving Breezy and Lightning alone in the house.

Spring Breeze walked over to the stove and collected the single waffle she had saved for herself, and sat down at the table opposite of Lightning.

Lightning couldn't help but ask, "How much do those to eat on a daily basis?"

Breeze chuckled to herself, "Its a miracle they can fly."

The two laughed over their breakfast for a while, then Breeze wrote Lightning a list, and sent her on her way.

1. Pick up groceries from the cakes at Sugarcube Corner.

"OK, shouldn't be to hard." Lightning dust said strolling down the main road of Ponyville. The separate buildings defenitly stood out from one another.

Spring Breeze had given a discription of Sugarcube Corner, and told Lightning that the order was already filled. She would just have to bring it back to the house.

LIghtning examined ponies of all races, shapes, and sizes living life.

Lightning discovered what Breezy had described as thhe Bakery, she pushed the swiging doors aside and entered.

Pure, concentrated, chaos.

Lightning entered what looked like a warzone, baby bottles and flour bags strewn around. She approached the vacant front counter and rang the small service bell next to a cash regester.

"Coming!" A stallion voice yelled from one of the back rooms. A series of crashes and klangs announced his progress through the kitchen along with an assortmet of "ouches".

A slender yellow stallion emerged from the kitchen, Lightning could notice signs of exhaustion.

"How may I help you ma'am?"

"I'm here for the Thunder family order."

"Oh, OK." He turned away and yelled upstairs, "Pinkie! Can you get the Thunder order for this mare here?"

The stallion cringed as another series of crashes came now from upstairs. A pink ball of energy bounced down the steps.

"Got it, Mr. Cake!" The pony named Pinkie bounded around the counter and into the kitchen.

"Now, you don't look like a Thunder. Are you a relation?"

"Uh, yeah. My name is...Flash Powder. A cousin from Cloudsdale."

Lightning heard a gasp from the kitchen. Pinkie emerged, blasting the swinging doors open.

"Your new in town?"

"Yes I-" Mr. Cake put his hoof in her mouth and turned to Pinkie.

"Pinkie now is not the time. Did you get Flash here her order?"

Pinkie looked disheartened as she placed the box on the counter and sauntered back up the steps. "Actually, I think I've seen..." Her voice fell away as she left Mr. Cake and Lightning alone at the counter.

"What was that all about?" Lightning asked as she grabbed the strings holding the box.

Mr. Cake shrugged, "It's Pinkie, who knows."

Lighting took the package and left. One down, a few more to go.

"So, you're Thunderlane's cousin?"

"Yeah," Lightning dust bluffed as the unicorn seamstress levitated over a blue dress with gold trim.

Lightning took the dress hanger in her mouth, while balancing the bakery delivery on her back.

"Tell him I said hello!" The unicorn exclaimed. Lighting only managed a hesitant wave as she struggled with her growing load.

3. Check out Daring Do and the Obsidian Spire from the local library.

Lightning grumbled through the dress fabric, now flapping around in the spring winds. This was getting ridiculous.

Lightning started back towards the Thunder household, observing the ponies she walked by. She was only a half of the way done with the list of things Spring Breeze had given her.

She grumbled as she passed an earth pony who was arguing with two angry unicorns in front of his store. Bickering about not having a certain couch they wanted or something.

"How did I even get roped into this?" She thought to herself. "I could just go home to mom and dad like none of this ever-"

"NO!" Lightning interupted her own train of thought, stomping the ground in emphasis. "I waited all my life, sacrificed to much time to just give up now! I won't quit because I was cheated out of my rightful spot as wing leader! I won't give up until I fulfill my dream, or at least bump that Rainbow Dash down a few pegs."

The argument between the unicorns and the earth pony ceased as the whole street now moved their attention to Lightning. She didn't care, she had more important things to do. She clenched her teeth so tight on the hanger it bent under the pressure and tightened the straps on the grocery order.

Lightning hurried on her way, dress fabric flowing behind her. She had no time to waste.

Author's Note:

Ugh, sorry everyone. Been awhile since I had the chance to redo this chapter. Finals are over, so now I'll have more time to write. Hopefully the new chapter will come quicker than that month of Blech that it took me to re-and-deconstruct this chapter two or three times until I had it how I liked it.

Will write again soon,
Diabetic

1,155 views

Previous Chapters