When Lightning's childhood orphanage was wiped out, she managed to save just one filly: the timid Keen Arrow. Lightning has taken her in, but can she handle being a parent? Does she even understand the responsibilities she must face?
In No Heroes Book II, Lightning returned to the orphanage that raised her only to watch it – and all the children she loved – burn to ashes. Yet the tragedy wasn't a total loss: she was able to rescue one filly. Burdened by failure, Lightning decides to take tiny Keen Arrow into her care.
Lightning has never considered what it might take to raise a child. Has she rushed into another task too big for her wings? Now she's in a position she never would have imagined, and Lightning must make a choice between her dreams of glory and her new responsibilities.
But is Keen willing to wait for her to figure things out?
This story expands upon the events established in No Heroes. Although reading the series will help in understanding the background material, it is not essential to enjoying the content of this story.
The cheerful laughter of foals filled the orphanage as Lightning Dust strolled through the halls. Younger foals ran about her hooves, playing some silly game. She saw the older kids down the hall, colts teasing the fillies in the usual childish manner. It was all fun around here. She closed her eyes, listened to the pleasant sounds of happy foals and relaxed.
This was home. This was where she grew up, where she gained her first fans, where she became an adult.
“Lightning!”
She turned about, thrilled to see her cousin Gulfstream. The red-maned, red-coated colt wasn’t an orphan, but he was always visiting and playing with his favorite hero. He leapt into her hooves, the two sharing a moment of laughter after the force of the hit sent her sprawling.
“You of all ponies should know better than to play so rough,” a kind but lecturing voice declared.
Lightning looked up to see Peace Spring, the orphanage's first Headmaster. At her side was her partner Mountain Mantra, a bald but bushy-eyebrowed stallion. His muscles and sheer size were as intimidating as always.
“Excuse us for having a little fun.” Lightning winked at Gulfstream as they stood.
“I’m afraid fun is not on the agenda today,” Mountain Mantra said in his usual solemn fashion with a face as expressionless as ever.
“No?” Lightning looked about at all the playing foals. “You could have fooled me.”
Peace's typically gentle smile turning wicked.
“But we did. Remember?”
Lightning tilted her head at the unicorn, opened her mouth to respond—
The world went dark. The laughter was gone, and the silence that engulfed the world felt oppressive. Lightning shifted as a strange intensity seemed to fill the air. She turned to reassure Gulfstream, but he was gone.
Everypony was gone. She was all alone.
“Lightning…”
She turned and let out a horrified shout. There, illuminated by a light with no source, was Mountain. He sat with his back against a stone wall, body mangled and bleeding. His head hung low, his lips didn’t move, but the voice in her head clearly belonged to him.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
She ran to shake him by the shoulders, but he didn’t respond. A tense horror began to creep through her mind as she lifted his head and tried to slap him awake.
“Come on, you old fart! You’re stronger than that.”
Mountain’s voice echoed in her mind. “You have a responsibility, now.”
Tears welled up in Lightning’s eyes as she took a slow step back. “I’m sorry. I... I should have known…”
“But how could you?” She looked up in alarm to find Peace Spring smiling down at her like a doting mother. “How could you have known what we were up to?”
Lightning blinked through her tears and rubbed her eyes. “We?”
Laughter struck her ears. Not the pleasant laughter of children, no. This was something quieter, a mocking hiss of a laugh.
Lightning’s heart leapt in her throat as she turned to see dozens of blue, slitted eyes peering at her from the darkness around Mountain’s corpse. Lightning knew what they were, and she was appropriately terrified. She backed away, watching them watch her.
She passed through an open door and into an orphanage full of flames. The air fled her lungs as she watched her home of nearly eighteen years burn. The foals… She had to save the foals!
“Peace!”
When she looked into the dark, fire-free room, she saw Peace standing before the dozens of eyes. Her old headmaster smiled, closed her eyes...and when they opened they were blue and slitted and mocking. Lightning jerked back from the sight, revulsion and fear mixing in her brain to create something wholly terrible.
“What’s the matter, Lightning? Are we not family?”
A beam crashed between them, flames licking the air and forcing Lightning back. She bolted, running through the burning hallways and scouring the rooms. There was only one thing on her mind.
“Gulfie! Where are you?!”
Mind frantic, she opened her wings and flew through the halls. “Gulfstream!”
The fire boxed her in. Everywhere she tried to fly, she was met with a wall of flames. With no other way to go and her heart pounding in her head, she fled downstairs.
She was in a large room, the walls glowing hot and the ceiling made of smoke. She came to a stop, hovering just above the floor at the sight of the great boulder in the middle of the space.
There, lying on his back, was her cousin.
Lightning cried out and flew to him. She lifted him up, but dropped him with a whimper as his head lolled back into an unnatural position. “G-Gulfie…” She gazed down, observing his slit throat and his peaceful expression.
She broke down. With no concern for the flames and smoke, she clutched him close and wept. Her colt. Her precious little cousin colt!
“Lightning?”
She looked up to find a lone unicorn filly standing opposite the stone, her tiny face peering with wide, dark blue eyes.
“Keen? You… You’re okay…?”
The filly ducked, as if afraid of Lightning’s words. “I’m scared.”
Knowing she had to save at least one foal, Lightning set her poor cousin aside and reached for her. “It’s okay, Keen. I’m gonna get us out, I promise.”
Keen dropped a little lower, her pearly mane barely visible over the stone. “B-but, what about the monsters?”
“I’ll protect you,” Lightning urged, hearing the familiar laughter in her ears. She glanced back and saw eyes peering through the flames. “Keen, come on. We have to go!”
She felt the filly climb into her hooves and, breathing a sigh of relief, opened her wings… but then she looked at Keen and found herself staring into blue, slitted eyes.
Lightning let out a scream and dropped the filly. Taht simultaneous hit of revulsion and terror threatened to overwhelm her senses. “K-Keen! You…”
Keen stood on tall legs and looked up at her would-be savior, those unnatural eyes as innocent and gentle as ever. “What’s the matter, Lightning?”
She stepped forward.
Lightning retreated.
“No.” The pegasus shook her head frantically, not bothering to wipe away the tears. “No, no, no! I saved you! You… You’re not a changeling…”
“What’s wrong?” Keen approached with pleading eyes. “Lightning, save me.”
“Keep away!”
Lightning fell back, covering her ears as that terrible hissing laughter began to fill her mind. They were closing in with the flames and the smoke made her eyes burn.
Keen kept coming, tears running down her cheeks as she pleaded for help Lightning couldn’t provide.
“Lightning, I don’t wanna be a monster. Please. Please, don’t run away from me!”
Lightning dropped to her knees, surrounded by mocking laughter and fire. Those eyes were everywhere, but the only eyes she cared about were the ones gazing up at her, the ones begging her to do something she couldn’t.
She stared her failure in the face and trembled at the horror which she had wrought.
Lightning jerked awake, a barely-contained scream on her lips. She looked up to find herself lying in a cool, dark forest near a well-worn path. She stared up at the full moon through leaves turning red from the coming fall and thanked Celestia, Luna and anypony else that it had only been a dream.
A soft wind blew. The chill it produced made her aware of the tears on her cheeks. She rubbed them dry, struggling to get over her torrential emotions.
Then she heard the whimpering. She looked down to find a tiny ball of white mane tucked beneath her wing.
Keen Arrow. Her charge and her fear. The sound was coming from the filly. Every now and again a leg would kick out from that thick, unusually long mane. Or tail. Sometimes it was hard to tell when she curled up into a ball like that.
She could still see those blue eyes staring up at her, imploring. They made Lightning shiver. Even so, she leaned her muzzle into the hairball until she felt solid pony beneath and, scrunching up her nose at the tickling hair, nuzzled the filly. Keen didn’t wake up, so she tried again with a little more force.
She heard a gasp and raised her head as the tiny pony shifted beneath her wing. A small, alice-blue face peered out from between strands of mane.
Normal blue eyes. Lightning couldn’t possibly express how happy she was to see them.
“Hey, kiddo,” she whispered as the filly raised her head to look around with wide eyes. “Bad dreams?”
Keen heaved a tiny sigh and nodded, her ears tucked.
“Don’t worry.” Lightning pulled her a little closer with her wing. “There aren’t any monsters out here.”
Keen didn’t look up. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“But…” The filly snuggled close, her eyes on the woods opposite the road. “How do you know? They look like ponies.”
Lightning considered the question. She wasn’t used to providing comfort. What was she supposed to say? Things that helped her wouldn’t work, for Keen was nothing like her. How was she supposed to reassure a filly who was scared of her own shadow?
Keen dropped her chin to the grass, eyes shifting. “I guess there are no ponies out here… Right?”
Lightning looked down at her and smiled. “Yeah. We’re still a day out of Ponyville. Nopony out this far. So don’t you worry, Keen; even if they look like ponies, they aren’t here.”
Keen raised her head again to stare at Lightning. Though it was a soft expression, still Lightning could resist fidgeting.
“You have bad dreams, too.”
Lightning blushed and glanced away. “You know about that, huh?”
“I hear you crying at night.”
Lightning felt as if she’d been stabbed in the heart. It hurt about as badly as that muscle just below her lower left rib sometimes did. “D-Don’t you worry about me, Keen. I’ll be alright.”
She could feel Keen shifting at her side. She didn’t know what the filly was up to, but she was more focused on trying to fight back tears.
Keen’s soft voice arose through the darkness. “I guess we both have broken dreams.”
Lightning smiled at the thought despite her misery. She let her head drop to the grass. “Yeah, I guess so.”
A silence, lingering and uncomfortable, passed between them. Lightning had the strange sensation that this situation was just a bit out of her league. She didn’t know how she was to proceed. She’d never thought about having a family before. Doubts, hesitancy and fear had been dogging her all week.
Now they were almost to Ponyville, their new home. That scared her too. Lightning had spent the past year a drifter; this would be the first time she’d really settled down since leaving the orphanage. She wasn’t certain she wanted to... but she couldn’t travel all over Equestria with Keen on her back, and she wouldn’t dare put the timid filly back in an orphanage. Not after what happened…
“Lightning?”
She blinked; she’d thought Keen had fallen back to sleep. “Yeah?”
“If we live together, will our dreams get fixed?”
She shifted her head to look at the filly. Keen was pressed tightly under her wing, eyes aimed low. She seemed so fragile.
Lightning felt like crying, but she didn’t. She wanted to be as encouraging as she could, so instead she lowered her head so their cheeks were touching. “You bet, Keen. You’ll see. We’ll both be better before you know it.”
Keen didn’t smile, but she accepted the motion anyway, rubbing her cheek against Lightning’s tenderly. The filly sighed and closed her eyes, and for a little while Lightning watched her. She was so tiny. To think she’d been through so much at her age. She deserved something better, and Lightning wanted to give it to her.
She just didn’t know how.
Her eyes closed. When they did, she saw those pleading, slender eyes and was unable to repress a shudder.
Ponyville was just beginning to stir in the dawning hours when Lightning and Keen entered the town. Neither of them were very comfortable with the act. For her part, Lightning was hesitant about coming to Ponyville at all. There had to be dozens of towns she might have chosen to live in, but she was here. Part of her nervousness had to do with a certain blue pegasus who supposedly called the town home.
Even so, Lightning’s grudge against Rainbow Dash wasn’t the greatest problem; what really kept her pace slow was the question of a certain mud-colored unicorn. Fine Crime… A pony she barely knew and who always seemed to have ulterior motives. It was he who encouraged her to come, even before she’d met Keen, and she’d always stalwartly refused to be part of his schemes. Yet, in a moment of weakness, she’d finally agreed. Why had she done that?
But she had made the decision, and she wasn’t going to back out no matter how much she regretted it. If Fine thought he could manipulate her into joining whatever nefarious plans he had, he was sorely mistaken. Coming to Ponyville was not an agreement to work with him! She was doing this for Keen, and nopony else.
Even so… she hoped to avoid him if at all possible.
Where Lightning was anxious, though, Keen was afraid. The poor filly became a shivering mess at the first sign of the locals emerging from their homes. By now they were well within the town, and Keen was tucked between Lightning’s wings with her face hidden beneath her hooves. Lightning was frustrated, but tried to be understanding; after all the little unicorn had gone through in the past few months, it was no wonder she was so terrified of other ponies.
Especially foals. Lightning made a determined effort to steer clear of any children who might pass them by.
A particularly noisy quartet of foals passed by, prompting the filly to speak. “L-Lightning? D-do we have to live here?”
“Yeah, this is the place.” Lightning's eyes shifting from house to house. She had no idea where she was going, or even what she was looking for.
“But it’s so… crowded.”
Lightning paused to look back at Keen, lips set in a sour frown. She thought this was crowded? Ponyville was a bit bigger than Foal Mountains, true, but it was still a pretty small town.
“We have to live somewhere.”
Keen looked up at Lightning from her low position. “C-can’t we live in the woods? Someplace with no ponies?”
Lightning’s frustration melted at that fearful tone. She wished she knew how to handle Keen, but she was just so… timid. What to say? “We can’t avoid ponies all the time. What are you going to do when you’re old enough for school?”
“I don’t wanna go.” Keen buried her head under her hooves again. “I d-don’t need to go!”
Lightning sighed and walked to a secluded spot between two houses. Once safely away from prying eyes, she knelt down and tilted sideways. Keen tumbled to the grass with a shout so quiet it was more like a squeak.
Once Keen was sitting up straight, Lightning sat before her. “I’m sorry, but you can’t stay scared of everypony. They aren’t monsters, they aren’t out to get you! Ya gotta be strong, kiddo.”
Keen‘s head drooped, her face becoming hidden in that long, thick mane. “But what if they are monsters? They look just like ponies…”
“You’ll be safe, I promise.” Lightning dropped to her belly and nuzzled the tiny unicorn’s head, hoping she was achieving... something. “You’ll see, I’m sure the ponies in Ponyville are real nice. Please, just give it time.”
Keen glanced back at the street, lips trembling and ears laid back.
“But... I’m scared… ”
Lightning tilted her head back and fought down a shout. What was she supposed to say to help the filly get over this? There had to be something she could do! But what? Keen practically refused to be consoled, and Lightning was already getting tired of it.
She couldn’t shout or let her frustration be known. Lightning was renowned for not being able to think ahead, but even she knew that her aggression and bravado would be detrimental to the timid Keen. The filly required a gentler touch… and Lightning had no idea if she was capable of that.
Even so, she had to do something…
Keen looked up at Lightning, her big blue eyes moist. She seemed to be asking a silent query, but the disgruntled mare had no idea what.
That was frustrating, too.
At last, Keen lowered her head once more and spoke in a quiet, dejected tone.
“I’m hungry…”
Lightning sagged as the energy left her. They were in trouble; she’d used up the last of her bits buying the supplies needed to get here from Foal Mountains, and those supplies were gone. How was she supposed to get food? She was pretty hungry herself, as she’d been eating less than her fair share so that Keen could stay well-fed.
Perhaps she could barter? She didn’t have anything to offer but work…
“You look like some mares in need.”
Lightning’s hackles rose instantly at the sound of the familiar voice.
“Mr. Crime!” Keen beamed and ran full-gallop for the tall, thin stallion at the edge of the road. Fine Crime, a black-maned pony with a mottled brown coat, dropped to his knees to accept the little unicorn’s eager hug.
“Nice to see you, too.” He offered an awkward smile. “But call me Fine, okay?”
Keen stepped back and nodded emphatically with a grin.
Lightning sucked in a deep breath through her clenched teeth. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here,” he answered as he stood.
“No.” She gestured at the ground between them. “What are you doing here? How did you find out that we had made it so quickly?”
He let out a pompous huff, head held high. “Come on, Lightning. I was able to send you letters no matter where you were in Equestria, and you did a lot of traveling. Do you really think I’d have trouble keeping track of you when you’re coming to the town I live in? Well, near.”
She grudgingly acknowledged his point even as she again questioned how those letters kept finding her, no matter where she was or how far away from civilization she’d wandered. Even so, she had no interest in spending time with him.
“Look, I’ve got things to deal with! Keen and I are both hungry, so just leave us alone so I can find some way to feed—”
“Oh, don’t be such a grouch.” Fine gestured with an inviting smile. “Come on, let me buy you breakfast.”
If her head were equipped with warning bells, Lightning was sure they’d have been going crazy. She took a wary step back and sneered. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I can.” He gestured to Keen, who was listening to their conversation with impressive focus for a filly so young. “Would you prefer she wait for you to figure things out?”
As if on cue, Keen turned to her with big, hopeful eyes. “Can we, Lightning? Please?”
Lightning didn’t know whether to scream her anger or melt at the sight of such cuteness. The combination left her sagging to her haunches. “Alright, already… It’s just breakfast, right?”
“Nope.” Fine turned to the street and gesturing for them to follow. “I intend to help in other ways, as well.”
Lightning sighed as Keen went up to hug her. “But I don’t want your help…”
The door opened slowly, the late morning sun creating a rectangular light in the dark room. Lightning peered into the place, stubbornly debating on whether she should enter or not. The breakfast was already far more charity than she liked to receive, especially from the likes of Fine Crime.
He appeared at her side, rolling his eyes as he entered the small house.
“Please, control your enthusiasm.”
His hoofsteps echoed loudly on the wooden floor, the sound suggesting a distinct sturdiness to the place.
Lightning glanced down at Keen, who was standing at her side with wide eyes. The filly returned the look and gestured to the house. Lightning hesitated, eyes going back to the empty room, but finally nodded.
Keen entered the house slowly, as if not sure what she might find. She was a few feet in when the interior abruptly grew brighter; Fine had jerked some old curtain aside with his magic. The room was wide and tall with solid wood making up the walls, floor and ceiling. It was all bland and unadorned… but it still seemed nice.
Lightning had to struggle to step through the threshold, her head ducked low as she eyed the walls. “You want us to live here?”
Fine nodded from his spot by the window. “It’s no La Mansión de Lagos, but for a family of two? Should do.”
“Can I look?” Keen gave Lightning a curious but solemn glance. Lightning, pleased with her manner, nodded.
Keen turned and entered a hallway just opposite the front door. She seemed neither excited nor unhappy with the place. Perhaps she was indifferent, or maybe she was still hesitant about living in town. Granted, it was the very edge of the town, but it wasn’t like they were way off the beaten path.
“I figured this would be a better place for Keen.” Fine nodded to the window. “Far enough out that you’re not surrounded by houses and ponies. Sweet Apple Acres makes for a nice view, actually.”
Lightning sat and cast a slow look his way, an eyebrow raised and lips set in a tight frown. He took the expression with a small smile.
“You know I don’t want you looking out for us.”
“You’re free to reject the house, but I promise you won’t find a better deal than this.” Fine's horn glowed crimson, and a letter rose from within his vest. “You should take a look at the offer before making any hasty decisions.”
She turned her head away with a scowl. “I don’t want your charity.”
“It isn’t charity.” He hovered the letter before her muzzle. “I merely arranged the deal. You’ll still have to pay a house note, plus buy the furniture.”
She sighed and snatched the letter out of the air. “You know I don’t have a job yet, right? How the buck am I supposed to feed Keen if I'm paying a house note on such short notice?”
“You're not.” Fine's ever-calm manner had her grinding her teeth. “I’ll take care of the down-payment and the first note. That’ll give you two months to get on your hooves.”
She peered at him, wondering just how he was achieving all of this and why. She wasn’t used to ponies doing things for her, and it made her question the motivation. Even so, she made herself open the letter. She scanned the contents, eyes scouring for the important part. “One-ten a month? A, that’s a lot less than I expected. B, that’s still a heck of a lot more than I’ll be earning on any starting wage, no matter what job I take!”
“C,” Fine added with a smirk, “I’m impressed you got to B.”
Lightning shot him a glare and waved the letter at him. “I can’t afford this place, even at the reduced price!”
“Sure ya can,” he countered with head raised. “I pride myself on my analytical skills, and through them I have determined that there is a job you can get that will pay you enough to cover the bill and survive. It’ll be tough going for the first year, but once you get past that hump things will get a lot easier. Provided you do what’s necessary, of course.”
She blinked. “You already found me a job?”
He waved a correcting hoof. “No, I scouted out jobs and picked one that I think you can both get, and get paid well for. It’s up to you to actually get the job.”
She stared at him, then at the letter. Her eyes roamed the room, frustration and uncertainty mixing in her mind. She wasn’t sure she liked any of this. But… it was a decent-sized house for two. Nothing special, but enough for her and Keen to live comfortably. She needed to have a place; Keen needed a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in. So even if she hated accepting Fine’s help, Lightning knew she had to do her part.
But not quite yet.
“Why are you doing this, Fine?”
He smirked once more. “You know I work for Princess Luna, right? She still has plans for you, Lightning.”
“I have no reason to believe that,” she shot back. “I don’t know who you work for, or what you intend for me and Keen. I feel like I’m being manipulated for something and I don’t like it.”
“I’m not manipulating you,” he said, but paused. He rubbed his chin in thought, then gained a small smile. “Well, maybe I am. Just a little. I did want you to come to Ponyville, after all.”
She reared back to point an accusing hoof. “I knew it!”
“But,” he continued with a hoof raised, “I didn’t manipulate things to get you here. It was your decision, not mine.”
“And I’m supposed to trust you?” Lightning turned her head away with a sneer. “You saved my life, and Keen’s soul, and I’m grateful. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna ignore your scheming. Even if I do end up accepting this place, don’t think it means I’m gonna go along with whatever you’ve got planned.”
“I can live with that agreement,” he replied with a shrug. “Like I said, getting you here was your decision, not mine. Oh…”
He closed his eyes and focused, horn glowing once more. After a few seconds some black clouds burst into existence, and when they faded there was a large bag hovering before his face. He floated the bag over to her with a firm expression. “Here, this is for you. Don’t try to reject it, ‘cause you’re going to need it in the coming week or two.”
She sat and took the bag in both front hooves, eyeing it skeptically. It was very heavy and clinked with a very familiar sound. She knew what it was but, just to be certain, went ahead and opened it.
The bag was filled to near-bursting with more bits than Lightning had ever seen in one place!
Lightning's usual stubbornness began to flare up… but it lasted only a short time. Replacing it was a sense of sadness and uncertainty. She really did need some bits to get her through, didn’t she? Keen had to be fed. After all, how long would it be before she got her first paycheck, assuming she could even land the job as Fine was suggesting?
Despite these internal arguments, her pride had her hesitating. “Fine… Why are you doing this?”
A long moment of quiet passed between them. “You already asked me that question.”
“I don’t mean the house.” She lifted the bag demonstrably. “I mean this. The house, okay. It goes with whatever you’re planning. But the job? The bits? You’re taking it too far and I wanna know why.”
His smirk faded to a low frown, and she saw something in his eyes she’d never expected to see: regret. They stared at one another for several long seconds, and she could tell he was mulling over his answer. At last, he sat and bowed his head.
“You’re not the only one responsible, Lightning. I know it was your orphanage and that you loved those foals. I know you think you deserve the brunt of the blame.
“I’m a leader among my order.” His eyes shifting towards the hallway. He seemed worried that Keen might overhear his words, but he didn’t stop. “The investigation of the orphanage should have been below my rank. I took it on anyway, because it was important towards my other goals. I took it over, I ran the investigation, I bore responsibility.
“I failed.” He turned his head away in shame. “I didn’t solve the puzzle in time, and the orphanage burned. So don’t go thinking that, because they were your friends, you hold all the blame. I’m just as responsible for the disaster as you are.”
Lightning was staring, all anger and frustration gone.
“But… But you said you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t.” He turned back to look her in the eye. “That’s the problem; I should have known. It was my job to know.”
He cast his eyes back to the hallway again, a distinct sadness in his gaze. “Keen deserves better. I won’t let her live in a life of fear and loneliness. I know what that’s like and I can’t allow it. I’m not doing this to get you on my side, Lightning. I’m doing this for her. If my contribution to your little family can let her live a happy life, then you can have it and more.”
Another lingering silence. Fine wouldn’t meet her eye, and Lightning actually felt – Goddess save her! – sympathy. Perhaps even a bit of kinship. To think he was harboring such regret. The cynic within her wanted to refute his words as another attempt to manipulate her… but she couldn’t listen to that voice, not in the face of his clear regret.
“Lightning?”
She turned to find Keen standing in the hallway. The filly shifted, glancing between the two adults with a frown. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Lightning dropped to her belly and gestured. Keen came at a slow pace and accepting Lightning’s tight hug. “Not a thing, Keen. Everything is perfectly fine. Did you like it back there?”
“It’s okay,” the filly responded in her ear. “Are we staying?”
Lightning hesitated, casting a glance at Fine. He’d recovered his solemn manner, head raised and eyes free of his momentary weakness. Yet she vividly remembered that expression on his face, and somehow she knew that it hadn’t been faked. She didn’t like to think that he might become a more permanent fixture in their lives, but at least she could say with confidence that his intentions were genuine.
“Yeah, kiddo.” She turned her eyes away from Fine even as she tightened her hug on the filly. “This is gonna be our home.”
Lightning was sitting in the grass atop a hill. She didn’t speak, she didn’t move. She just sat and stared.
Keen kept glancing between her and the cloud house that hovered several dozen feet in the air near the bottom of the hill. Lightning's eyes were locked on that house, eyelids low and lips pulled back in a sneer.
Fine was crazy. There was nothing else for it, he was just plain off his rocker. There wasn’t a chance in hell this would work, and he had to have known it. Lightning figured she might as well just turn around and head into town in search of an alternative.
Keen eyed the house, brushing her long mane from her face. “How… How do you live in it?”
Lightning blinked and cast a slow look at the filly. So she’d never seen a cloud house before. No surprise; Lightning hadn’t seen one until she’d left the wild weather of Foal Mountains. She watched as Keen sat and tilted her head, clearly trying to puzzle out this new mystery.
Lightning had other issues in mind, like how much she didn’t want to be here. There had to be some other solution… She reached into her pack and pulled out the note she’d written, staring at the number on it. It was a lot of bits. If this job would give her the money she needed to take care of Keen and keep the house…
She turned away with a fresh grimace. Damn that Fine! What was he trying to do, teach her humility? The bastard wasn’t going to get away with this. Every time she came close to walking away she reminded herself that she needed the bits, and this might be the only way.
But to work for that blue goody-four-hooves…
Keen slipped between her hooves and stared up at the sky with wide eyes. Lightning caught on quick and looked up to spot four pegasi flying towards the cloud house, the sound of laughter surrounding them.
Lightning tensed; one of them had a rainbow wake. She sucked in a deep breath and fought to keep from walking away. She tucked her note back in her pack and stepped aside, patting Keen’s mane as she dropped down.
“Don’t worry, kiddo, it’ll be okay.” Her eyes remained locked on the approaching pegasi. “Hop on.”
Keen hesitated, but did as she was told and climbed on Lightning's back. Lightning nuzzled her for comfort. The filly returned the motion, though her small frown didn't fade.
“Are you sure they’re not monsters?”
Lightning opened her mouth, paused, then glanced up at the four ponies. She peered at Rainbow Dash, who lead the group.
“Well... mostly.”
Rainbow and the others stopped at the front door to her cloud home, chatting about stunts and weather duty. Lightning took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Alright, here goes nothin’.”
As they approached, one of the pegasi spotted them. Her eyes went wide and she grinned, flying down to meet them on pink wings. Lightning paused halfway down the hill, patting Keen on the head at her whimper.
“Lightning! Is that really you?” The pony asked, hovering just above her.
Lightning blinked and studied this stranger for a few seconds, tapping her chin. She did look vaguely familiar… “You’re… You were at Appleloosa…”
The pegasus drooped, though she had an understanding smile. “I’m Airheart! We were on the same emergency weather team, remember?”
“Oh, right!” The memories from that morose time came flooding back, but Lightning couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, I remember, now. You were the nice one.”
She turned her head away to mutter under her breath, “Unlike those other buckers.”
She noted Keen between her wings, who’s eyebrows rose at the term. Lightning silently cursed and whacked herself on the forehead a couple of times; she had to watch her language, now!
“It’s great to see you.” Airheart landed before Lightning with a beaming smile. “I heard how you’d disappeared after that terrible fire. I was kinda worried.”
“Yeah?” Lightning leaned back, an inexplicable sense of guilt running through her mind. “Really? I didn’t mean to… Look, I had a lot of stuff going on then. I mean—”
Airheart waved a dismissive hoof. “Oh, don’t worry about it. The important thing is that you’re okay! So what are you doing in—”
“Well, there’s a face I never expected to see around here.”
Lightning looked up and glowered at Rainbow Dash, who looked no happier than Lightning felt.
Rainbow crossed her forehooves with an ominous frown. “What the hay are you doing here?”
“Oh, do you know one another?” Airheart, oblivious to the heated looks Rainbow and Lightning were sharing, turned to Rainbow with a grin. “You should see Lightning fly, Rainbow. She’s awesome!”
“Believe me, I know.” Rainbow's eyes were cold as ice. The two pegasi hovering just behind her exchanged wary expressions. “Alright, Lightning, what are you doing here?”
Lightning’s simmering anger disappeared quickly. She glanced at Airheart and the other ponies, her chest suddenly going tight. “I… Well…”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow and set her hooves to her waist. Lightning took a tentative step back, surprised at her own anxiousness, but then remembered Keen. She glanced back at her little rider, who was sunk low between Lightning’s wings and eyeing the three ponies overhead as if they might pounce at any second.
The sight reminded Lightning of her needs and gave her some courage. She turned back to Rainbow with head held high. “Can we talk? Alone?”
Rainbow’s frown deepened and she glanced at the other ponies. She considered for several seconds, but finally turned to the others. “Go ahead, guys. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“I dunno what this is all about,” Airheart admitted, “but I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do. We have to talk later, though. I can’t wait to hear where you’ve been for the past four months.”
Lightning eyed Airheart, not sure how to take the pony’s pleasant attitude. “Umm… Yeah, I guess.” Airheart beamed and flew off with the others, waving merrily.
Rainbow Dash dropped to the grass, peering at Lightning with wings half-opened. She appeared ready to launch at a moment’s notice. “Alright, LD. What’s this all about?”
Lightning glanced about to make sure they were alone. She sucked in a deep breath, opened her mouth… and couldn’t speak. She grimaced, swallowed a few times, worked her jaw.
“I… I need a job.”
Rainbow’s eyes went wide, her suspicious nature fading in an instant. “You? You’re asking me for a job? You want to be on my weather team?”
Lightning cringed, but it was too late to change her mind. “No. No I don’t, but I don’t have any other options.”
“Oh, yeah, that answer really inspires confidence." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Don’t tell me there aren’t other options, I’m sure there are plenty of other jobs in Ponyville.”
“But this is the job I need,” Lightning insisted. “I’m good at one thing, Rainbow, and you know it.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I don’t trust you, Lightning. You’re not a team player and you’re more likely to hurt anypony I pair you with than help.”
Lightning ground her teeth, cheeks burning. “Don’t you think I’ve heard that enough times already? I know I have issues! How the bu—” She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, barely recalling Keen’s presence on her back. She gave herself a second to think on her words… which wasn’t easy, all things considered.
“Look, I just need a chance. Let me prove to ya that I can do this.”
But Rainbow sat and scrutinized Lightning only more intently. “You could have gone to join any weather team in Equestria. Why come to mine?”
Lightning sniffed and glanced away. “Believe me, it wasn’t my idea.” She reached into her pouch to grab the note, offering it to her old rival. “This is what I need to make in a month.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, but took the note. She needed less than a second to throw her hooves up in exasperation. “Are you kidding? It took me three years of hard work to earn that kind of pay, and you wanna be payed that much starting off? No way, it’s not gonna happen!”
Lightning raised a hoof as if to stop Rainbow from leaving. “I know I’m asking a lot. You don’t have to give me a raise or anything till I hit the proper rank. I’ll be a team player, I’ll play nice with the others!”
“No way!” Rainbow turned away with head held high. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“But I need this!”
“You need the bits that badly? Get two jobs. I know plenty of ponies who have done it.”
“I can’t do that,” Lightning snapped. “I don’t have the time. I’ve other responsibilities!”
Rainbow shot her a scathing glance. “Like what?”
Lightning thought her teeth might file down to the gums if she kept grinding them. She turned and grabbed Keen, who let out a surprised squeak as she was pulled from Lightning’s back and set between the two pegasi. She looked up at the glowering Rainbow Dash and immediately retreated behind Lightning’s legs, wide eyes gazing out from beneath strands of white mane.
Rainbow scowled at Keen for a few seconds, then turned the look upon Lightning. “And that is?”
Lightning opened her mouth to answer, but paused. Her frustration faded as she glanced down at Keen. What was Keen to her, really? Daughter sounded… weird. She couldn’t see herself as a parent. Sister? No, that didn’t make much sense in her head either.
“She’s… my kid.”
Rainbow’s jaw dropped. She looked down at Keen, then at Lightning, then at Keen again. She shifted, rubbed her chin, glanced around. Her mouth opened, then closed as she leaned back to think some more. At last she was able to get something out.
“Who’s… Who’s the father?”
Lightning sneered and leaned forward to hiss, “She’s an orphan, and now she’s my responsibility. Is that good enough for you?”
“Oh!” Rainbow waved her hooves as if to ward off an attack. “Sorry! It’s just, when you said she was your kid… I mean, I thought... y’know?” Then she paused, eyes dropping to Keen once more. “An… An orphan, y’say? Huh…”
She lowered her head a bit, eyes shifting as she considered this information. “LD, you’re really gonna try this? I mean, raising a kid?”
Lightning tried to hold back her frustration, rubbing her forehead with a grimace. “Look, I’ve got a house to pay for, furniture to buy, an extra mouth to feed. I can’t take two jobs, I need to be able to spend time with her! Are ya gonna give me a job or not?”
Rainbow thought on the question, brow furrowed and a hoof under her chin. “I… I dunno. We need to talk about this a bit more. Come on, let’s go inside and talk.”
Lightning shifted, diverting her eyes as Rainbow turned away and opened her wings. “I… I can’t.”
A growl emitted from Rainbow's throat as she turned back to them. “What do ya mean, ya can’t?”
Thinking fast, Lightning gestured to Keen, who was still hiding between her legs. “Keen here can’t exactly stand on a cloud.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You can carry her, right? And I’ve got furniture she can sit on.”
Lightning took a step back, chewing her lip as she eyed the cloud house above them. She flexed her left wing and could feel the uncomfortable tightness in her side from the motion. Her head sank with her heart. “I can’t… Not yet.”
Rainbow let out a frustrated sound with her head leaning back. “Oh, come on. Why not?”
Lightning studied her old rival, but couldn’t meet Rainbow’s eyes. She knew the truth might seal her fate… but it was not something she could hide. So she turned so her left side was facing Rainbow and raised her wing high.
“That’s why.”
Lightning didn’t bother to look. Her cheeks burned with shame at the sound of Rainbow sucking in a deep breath. “Yeow, that had to hurt! How’d you get that?”
Lightning lowered her head and tried to keep the memories at bay. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
A brief pause passed between them before Rainbow asked in a bemused tone, “You tried to pull some ridiculous air stunt, didn’t you? Like the tornado.”
Lightning’s anger flared and she turned on Rainbow with a vicious snarl. “Listen, I was bucking lucky! How would you like if a pony you thought was your friend came up and stabbed you with—”
Too late she realized she’d lost her temper, her words quickly dropping into strange noises as she fought to halt her lips. Damn it, she needed to control herself! She jerked away, clenching her teeth and huffing out breaths that were supposed to be calming, even if they came out as snarls.
Something brushed against her leg. She looked down to find Keen rubbing against her with big eyes. Lightning chewed her lip and fought down the urge to shout her frustration, instead dropping to hold the filly in her hooves and nuzzle that thick white mane.
They maintained the embrace for several seconds, and Lightning could feel her anger fading. She didn’t understand why, but Keen just had a pleasing effect on her. It was as if her anger and stress melted away when she focused her attention on the filly, and she appreciated it more than she could say.
“I don’t believe it.” Rainbow's voice caught Lightning’s attention. “This is actually happening. You’re gonna raise a foal!”
Lightning, still holding Keen close, gave the weather team captain a firm look. “I can’t fly right now, but give me a week.” Rainbow hesitated. “Five days. Four! I’ll make this work.”
Rainbow shifted, rubbing the back of her head with averted eyes. “I dunno… I gotta think on it.”
That wasn’t good enough. Lightning studied Rainbow for a few seconds, but she had no way of knowing for certain if she had the job. She couldn’t take any chances, but what else could she say?
She eyed Keen and realized she couldn’t let her pride get in the way. But if she resorted to that, what would she have left?
Sighing, she stood and patted Keen on the head. “Give me a couple seconds, kay?”
Keen nodded with a wide smile that made Lightning feel strangely good. She turned to Rainbow and approached, knowing that she was about to do something she'd probably regret. Her old rival took a cautious step back, but Lightning did nothing save stand close. Heart heavy, chest tight, she lowered her head and spoke in a whisper.
“I’ve still got my pride. Don’t make me beg, Rainbow. Please, not in front of my kid.”
Lightning closed her eyes and waited. She hated that she’d said that, but she knew she had to make this happen. If it came to begging she’d do it, because deep down she really was that desperate. She silently prayed that it wouldn’t come to that. So she stood still, stomach churning.
It seemed like an eternity before Rainbow emitted a long sigh. “All right.”
Lightning raised her head, eyes opening wide. “Really? I’ve got the job?”
The weather team captain nodded. “I can’t guarantee the paycheck, but I’ll see what I can do about it. You show up next Monday, if your wing’s good, and we’ll get started.”
Lightning grinned and hoof-pumped. “All right! You won’t re—”
Rainbow raised a silencing hoof, lips set in a grim frown. “I have conditions. Two of ‘em.”
Lightning took a wary step back. “Conditions?”
“And a warning,” Rainbow added with a nod. “You’re starting at the bottom of the pack. That means you have to learn to be a team player, look out for the others. I’m gonna be watching you closely, LD. Screw things up and you’re gone, ya got me?”
Lightning bristled. She knew she was probably going to make the other ponies look like foals in comparison. She was an ace flier, for Celestia’s sake! Yet she held her tongue; she would do whatever she had to do to make this work. “Yeah… Yeah, I got it.”
Rainbow leaned forward to peer at her with one eye, but after a couple seconds seemed to accept the answer. “Alright then. First condition: the Academy.”
Lightning tilted her head. “What about it?”
Rainbow fixed Lightning with her darkest, most critical expression. “I want to hear you acknowledge the truth. I want you to tell me that you were booted out because of what you did and not me.”
Lightning tensed. For a long time she could only stare at her old rival, struggling to keep her anger down. “What good is that gonna do?”
“I want you to acknowledge that you have a problem.”
“A pro—” Lightning clamped her jaws closed, cringing at the effort required to keep from exploding. She breathed through clenched teeth for a short time, shoulders shaking at the effort required to keep her emotions in check. At last she had enough control to say, “You realize I won’t believe it, right?”
Rainbow didn't appear at all alarmed by Lightning's anger. “Think of it as a first step. You want the job, or not?”
Lightning chewed her lip; she really had to say it, didn’t she? Curse that pony, she wasn’t making this easy. For Keen. Lightning kept reminding herself: this was for Keen. She took a moment to calm herself and, struggling to keep her voice steady, said, “It was my own arrogance, my drive to be the best that got me booted out of the academy.
"There!” She turned her face away from Rainbow with a jerk, cheeks burning. “Ya happy now?”
Rainbow considered the statement for a few seconds, lips set in a tight frown. “Is that really the best you can do?”
Lightning shot her a venomous look. “Ya told me ta say it, so I did!”
Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “This is gonna take some real work… but I guess it’ll do.”
Thank Goddess! Lightning sagged, head leaning back on her shoulders. “Finally! Now I can—”
“Hold it.” Lightning tensed at Rainbow's interruption. “Did ya forget? There are two conditions.”
Lightning dropped to her belly with a moan. “Oh, come on! What more do ya want from me?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Chillax, ya drama queen. This one’s easy.” She pointed behind Lightning. “How old’s the kid?”
Lightning raised her head, eyeing Rainbow with raised eyebrows. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Now that she thought on it, though, the truth was Lightning had never thought to ask Keen her age, not once. Abruptly curious, she turned about to find Keen ducked in a low position at the sudden attention set upon her.
“Keen?”
The filly hesitated. “Um… I’m…five?” She cocked her head towards Rainbow.
Lightning would have guessed a year or two older than that. Keen was a tiny filly, but she seemed very mature for her age. But then, considering what she’d been through already in her short life…
Rainbow, her voice abruptly much nicer than it had been with Lightning, asked, “When’s your birthday?”
Keen chewed her lip as her eyes darted to Lightning, who nodded. “J-July. The fifth.”
“So ya just turned five, then,” Rainbow observed. “Yep, that’s what I thought; you need to get a foalsitter.”
Lightning blinked. “A foalsitter? Really?”
Rainbow nodded. “She’s got another year before she can start school. Somepony’s gotta look after her while you’re working, y’know?”
Lightning hadn’t even thought of that… and she didn’t like it. “H-hold on… I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Keen was a nervous wreck around other ponies; how would she respond to having to be with a foalsitter? “Surely there’s another option?”
Rainbow considered the question. “Daycare?”
“Hell no!” Lightning resisted the urge to snatch Keen up in a protective hold, though she did walk over to the filly and wrap a wing about her. “She wouldn’t last five minutes! I’m not putting her in one of those places.”
Rainbow leaned back with a sour expression. “What’s the deal? You act like it’s a dungeon.”
Lightning looked down at her charge, and Keen returned the glance with wide, pleading eyes. The desperation in them was heart-wrenching. “It’s… hard to explain. Look, there’s no way Keen’s going to be cool hanging with other foals.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Fine, then go with the foalsitter. Ya can’t well take her with you ta work, and she shouldn’t be left alone while you’re with us.”
“But… But we don’t know anypony, yet.”
“And I don’t want a foalsitter,” Keen added, ducking her face behind Lightning's wing.
Rainbow noted the filly’s behavior and sighed. “I don’t know what’s really going on, but if you wanna have a job, you gotta get a foalsitter. That’s not just me talking, LD; I promise ya, every other place ya go to for a job will tell ya the same thing.”
Lightning considered this, shifting anxiously as she tugged Keen just a little closer with her wing. She looked down at the filly, who returned the gaze and shook her head with a fretful, “Do I have to?”
Yet for all her uncertainty, for once Lightning actually understood Rainbow’s position. She tucked a hoof under Keen’s chin and offered a smile. “We’ll be very careful about who you’re with, alright? I promise, Keen, it’ll be safe.”
Keen shivered and clutched at Lightning’s leg, as if afraid she might be taken away at any moment. “W-what about Mr. Fine? He could…”
Lightning cringed. At this point she had no doubt Fine Crime was at least trying to look out for the two of them – in his own strange way – but for the life of her she just couldn’t trust him. Keen might like him, but that wasn’t good enough for Lightning. “No, Keen. We need to find somepony else.”
The filly sagged and held on even more tightly.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Rainbow said with a grin. “You might not know anypony in town, but I know plenty! And I think I’ve got the perfect group of ponies for the job.”
“Really?” Lightning cast a surprised look at her. “You’d introduce us?”
“Sure!” Rainbow gestured to herself smugly. “I’m an upstanding pillar of the community, after all.”
Lightning hesitated, but slowly gave her little unicorn a smile. “Ya hear that, Keen? Everything will be just fine.” Keen didn’t seem at all convinced. “I better take her back. Why don’t we meet up tomorrow and meet those sitters?”
“Works for me.” Rainbow eyed Lightning for several seconds, as if expecting something, but Lightning only stared back. Eventually her smile dropped. “Don’t you have something to say?”
Lightning tilted her head, not understanding her rival’s meaning. No, not just her rival; her new boss. She barely contained a groan at the thought.
Rainbow sighed and facehoofed. “Yeah, this is gonna take some work.”
Keen stared at the closed door, body slunk low as she fretted. Lightning was gone. She’d left her here!
She cast an eye up to her foalsitter, who noticed and shot her a warm smile. The last a time pony smiled at her like that, she’d nearly been turned into a monster, so Keen did what her five-year-old mind insisted: she backed away very slowly.
Fluttershy frowned at the filly’s behavior. “Is something wrong, Keen?”
Keen winced, eyes darting about for… she had no idea what for. All she wanted to do was flee the house and beg Lightning to never leave her again. She couldn’t lend her voice to any of the thoughts running through her mind, though, for her chest was too tight.
Fluttershy took a tentative step forward, and Keen backed even further away. Her foalsitter studied her for a few seconds, ears drooping. “You poor thing, you’re shaking like a leaf! I’m not going to hurt you, Pinkie promise.”
She sat and set a hoof to her eye, as if this were meant to assuage Keen’s anxiety. Keen tilted her head and tried to make sense of what the grown-up was doing.
“Oh,” Fluttershy giggled. “How silly of me! You haven’t even met Pinkie, have you?”
She smiled expectantly, and Keen realized she was supposed to answer. Her chest was still too tight, though, so she just shook her head.
“Don’t worry,” Fluttershy continued. “You’ll meet her, and soon! Pinkie never misses the chance to make a new friend.”
That was the last thing Keen wanted!
“Oh dear,” the foalsitter muttered, hoof to lips. “And ponies say I’m timid. Please, don’t be afraid. I’m just about the most harmless mare you’ll ever meet.”
Keen used to think that about Miss Spring. But…they were alone and she’d not tried anything yet. Maybe that was a good sign?
Something tapped Keen’s side. It was just the slightest touch, but in her tense state it felt like a jolt of electricity! She leapt with a yelp and bolted under the table in the kitchen.
“Angel! That wasn’t very nice!”
Angel? Heart pounding, Keen just barely poked her head out from beneath the tablecloth. She spotted Fluttershy looking down upon… a bunny? The white rabbit was making wild gestures of denial at Keen’s foalsitter.
Fluttershy’s face softened. “Oh, that’s okay, then. Just be more careful next time, okay?” She turned to look to Keen, who immediately pulled her head back behind the cloth and whimpered. “Keen? Are you okay?”
The filly curled into a small ball of white mane, hiding herself from the world. No, no she wasn’t! She was always scared. Every night, she had nightmares. Every day, she hid from others. She was so tired of being scared, but what was she supposed to do? She was just a little filly, but she knew the truth! The danger was real!
How could she trust anypony after what she’d seen?
She could feel something outside of her dark little world. She had no idea what it was, but it… was it petting her mane? She sniffed, rubbed the moisture from her cheeks and dared to peer out. There was the bunny, his ears low. When he saw her face observing him through her tiny cocoon he offered a smile and a carrot.
Keen eyed the carrot, then the bunny. “F… for me?” He nodded, and she slowly sat up and took the carrot in both hooves. “Umm… Thank you.”
Fluttershy’s voice came from just outside the tablecloth. “He’s very sorry for startling you. It wasn’t on purpose, was it, Angel?” Angel dropped to his haunches and shook his head, ears flopping about.
Keen tried to smile for him, but she just couldn’t work up the energy. She sagged a little and turned her face away. “It’s okay…”
There was a long, quiet pause.
“Keen? Please come out.” When she didn’t, Fluttershy’s voice grew kind. “That’s okay. You can come out when you’re ready. I have to feed my friends, but don’t worry. I’m right here if you need me.”
Angel’s frown faded in an instant, the bunny bouncing so high he almost whacked his head on the table above them. He darted out from under the table, a big grin on his face. Keen watched him go with a tilted head; why did the idea thrill him so? She was caught between curiosity and anxiety, and bought herself some thinking time by nibbling on the carrot.
“Come on out, friends,” Fluttershy called. “It’s time for breakfast!”
Keen blinked as an assortment on sounds hit her ears. Unable to resist her curiosity, she went back to the tablecloth and pushed it aside. Her eyes went wide at the sight of all sorts of animals; squirrels, chipmunks, mice, raccoons! A vast assortment of creatures were coming out from hiding holes all over the cottage. Not just rodents; birds of every shape and size fluttered about, and there was even a bear!
Keen, the tablecloth draped over her like a cape, sat and chewed on her carrot as she watched Fluttershy preparing food for all of them. Most of them were happy enough with assorted nuts and seeds being spread about the floor for them to gather, but a few demanded more specialized meals – such as the bear, who was given a large bowl of fruits. She noted that Angel received particularly good treatment, receiving a bowl of a very yummy-looking salad that he greedily dove into.
Before long all the animals were happily eating, Fluttershy standing in the midst of them like a mother satisfied with her children. She spotted Keen and waved. Keen blushed and offered a weak wave back.
“Are these… your friends?”
Fluttershy beamed. “Mm-hmm. It’s my job to take care of the animals around Ponyville.”
Keen shifted, eyes roaming the vast collection of creatures. It looked so strange. She was used to Foal Mountains, where the animals generally kept to themselves. “Why do they need you to feed them? Don’t they gather their own food?”
Her foalsitter nodded. “They could, if they had to. Before I came here, they did. But now we have a system: they gather the food, I store and distribute it. This way there’s enough for each and every one of them, and what they don’t eat is saved for a rainy day.”
Keen considered this, and found that she rather liked the idea. “Do they all stay here?”
“Oh, no.” Fluttershy shook her head as she walked a beeline through the animals for the filly. “Well, a few do, like Angel, but mostly they come and go. A lot of the space in my cottage is for hurt or sick animals that need special care.”
So…she was a doctor? For animals? Keen looked around, studying all the creatures in the cottage. Her eyes fell on a mouse with a bandaged leg, then a cardinal that was holding its wing funny.
She looked up at Fluttershy, who was smiling in her gentle way. This couldn’t be a monster. Her fear slowly fading, Keen sighed and sagged. “I’m sorry.”
Fluttershy tilted her head. “What for?”
“For being scared of you,” she replied, glancing away.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Fluttershy assured her. “I know what it’s like to be scared all the time.”
Keen looked up at her foalsitter, eyes going wide. “Really?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’m afraid of so many things! I really am something of a scaredy-pony.” She beamed down at the filly. “I learned how to cope with my fears, thanks to all my friends, both animal and pony.” She knelt down so she was eye-level with Keen. “Don’t you worry, I’m sure you’ll learn to handle your fears, too!”
Keen bowed her head, taking a moment to nibble on her half-eaten carrot. “I hope so… but I’m so small, and they’re so scary.”
Fluttershy frowned. “They?”
“The monsters.”
“Oh.” The foalsitter sat up and regained her smile. “Monsters are scary, I know. You know what you should do about monsters?” Keen’s ears perked. “Make some friends!”
The ears drooped once more. “Friends?”
“Friends,” Fluttershy repeated with a nod. “I have many friends to help me. If I’m ever really scared or need help, I know I can call them. They give me courage, because I know that if I’m with them and we work together, I’ll be okay!”
Keen wilted a bit, turning her head away.
But she couldn’t trust anypony...
Fluttershy reached a hoof under Keen's chin and made her look into her eyes. “I know you’re new to Ponyville, but don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll make plenty of new friends before long! After all, this is Ponyville, and there are many nice ponies here.”
Keen couldn’t take comfort in those words, but she was trying to help. The filly was starting to like Fluttershy; she seemed nice.
“Oh, I still need to feed the chickens,” Fluttershy noted as if she’d forgotten. “Would you like to come and meet them?”
After that bumpy start, the rest of the day went very smoothly. With the help of Fluttershy and the animals, Keen gradually got over her nervousness and started to relax. She even began playing with the creatures, and in the afternoon she enjoyed a nap with Bearrington the Bear, curling up on his oversized belly.
She came to realize that she liked Fluttershy’s cottage. It was well away from the town, quiet and it was simply a nice place to be. She almost wished she lived here, but not quite; after all, that would mean leaving Lightning. Keen might only be five, but she was well aware that Lightning needed her just as much as she needed Lightning.
Even so, if this was where she’d spend her days while her new guardian was at work, she didn’t mind. She would have to thank Miss Dash for introducing them.
Well, in that case, maybe she should start to trust in Miss Dash, too? Keen wasn’t so confident about that idea, not just yet…
The morning wore on, and soon came the afternoon. Keen didn’t notice the passage of time until her belly rumbled at her. Fluttershy was already in the kitchen making daisy sandwiches when Keen went to look for her.
“So tell me,” Fluttershy asked as she lifted the small filly up to a seat at the table, “how are you liking Ponyville so far?”
“There are too many ponies,” Keen responded quickly, having at last growing accustomed to her foalsitter’s presence. “I wish we could live outside of town like you.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Fluttershy set a sandwich down on a plate before her guest. “I think that, if you give it enough time, you’ll come to love it! Most ponies do.”
Keen drooped a little. “I guess…”
Fluttershy giggled at the motion before adding, “But you like it here, don’t you?”
“Oh, yes!” Keen bounced in her seat and flashed a grin. “It’s quiet and fun and the animals are cute.”
Fluttershy laughed and waved for the filly to calm down as she sat in her seat opposite with her own sandwich. “Glad to hear it! I’m sure all my friends will be happy to have you over any day, won’t we?” The dining room was filled with chirps, squeaks and other noises as the animals, most now residing in their cubbyholes dining on their own lunches, responded their pleasure. “See? They all like you, just as I knew they would!”
Keen beamed as she took her first bite of the sandwich pleased to find it very tasty. It had been so long since she’d really enjoyed herself....
“So how did you meet Lightning?” Fluttershy asked after a brief silence passed between them. Keen looked up at her foalsitter, her happy moment cracking.
Fluttershy misinterpreted her expression as confusion. “She’s not your mother, I can tell. I was just wondering how the two of you…”
Keen looked away, suddenly losing interest in her sandwich.
“Oh dear... I’m sorry, it’s personal, isn’t it? Please, don’t be upset! I was just curious. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Images of the orphanage were already swimming through Keen's mind. First her parents, and then that… She turned back to Fluttershy, head hanging low, and spoke slowly. “Lightning... rescued me. From the monsters.”
“Monsters?” Fluttershy's curiosity got the better of her once more. “What monst—” There was a knock on the door, which made Keen jump in surprise. “I wonder who that might be?”
Keen sank low in her chair, watching as the pegasus made her way to the front door. Worry began to fill her mind; what if simply bringing them up was enough to lure the monsters here? She suddenly really didn’t want Fluttershy to answer the door, but couldn’t get her voice to come out and say so.
The door opened to reveal a trio of fillies who looked to be just a little older than Keen. “Oh, hello girls,” Fluttershy said. “Is class out, already?” Keen dropped from her seat and went to the corner of the door to watch the visitors more closely.
“Yep, we ended a little early, today,” said the leader, a light-purple unicorn with a yellow mane.
“It wasn’t my fault, honest!” cried a filly near the back. She was a pale yellow pegasus with a purple mane.
“Was too,” snapped a third filly. More purple… Keen wondered if the fillies were all friends because of the color. This one, who appeared to be the oldest, was an Earth pony with a purple coat and mane so dark as to almost be black. “You’re the one who wanted to prance around the woods looking for poison joke! I wanted to go to the arcade.”
“You always wanna go to the arcade,” the pegasus countered.
“Because it’s fun!”
“Maybe the first hundred times.”
“Well it’s more fun that skipping around in the woods like a—”
“Girls!”
They snapped to attention immediately at the leader's stern glare. She turned back to Fluttershy with ears tucked. “Sorry, Fluttershy.”
“Oh, it’s okay, Dinky,” Fluttershy declared with her usual kind smile. “But did I hear that right? You were in the Everfree Forest?”
“I just wanted to get my horn back,” the pegasus noted with a pout.
“You shouldn’t be wandering around the forest,” Fluttershy declared with genuine worry. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”
“We do, now,” the Earth pony admitted, cringing. She turned and helped a colt limp forward. Keen couldn’t believe it; there wasn’t a spot of purple on him! Instead he was green with a dark blue mane. He was holding one of his front legs high, wincing as he struggled to walk on the other three without it.
Fluttershy sighed. “Green Daze, you are the most accident-prone colt I know.”
Green winced, ears and eyes lowering in unison. “Sorry, Fluttershy…”
“We knew we were close to here.” Dinky patted him on the shoulder and looked up at Fluttershy imploringly. “So we brought him as fast as we could. Would you…?”
“Of course I will,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Come on in, and let me take a look at that leg.”
No! Keen retreated till she was hiding under the table again, that determined fear back in full force. She kept as close to the center of the table as she could, trembling and listening with perked ears.
She covered her mouth, barely stopping a squeak as Angel abruptly appeared beside her. He studied her with a concerned frown and she shook her head at him. She didn’t dare speak.
“You just sit on the couch while I get my first aid kit.” Fluttershy's hooves appeared beneath the tablecloth. “Keen?”
Keen flinched. No, she didn’t want to be seen by the others! She dropped to her belly and covered her face. When she closed her eyes, however, she could see those scary blue eyes staring at her. She opened them wide and didn’t dare close them again.
Angel, observing her behavior, abruptly darted out from under the table towards Fluttershy.
“What’s that? Oh… I see.”
Another small set of hooves appeared. “What’s the matter, Fluttershy?”
“Nothing.” Fluttershy moved away from the table. “Just trying to find my kit. Now where did I put it?”
Angel appeared again once the ponies had cleared the kitchen, sitting before Keen with a smile and offering another carrot. Though her fear still gripped her, she smiled and hugged him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He seemed very pleased with himself.
The two of them remained down there for a long time, listening as Fluttershy tended to the wounded colt. One of the fillies – Keen could only presume it to be the one named Dinky – was constantly fretting over him. Apparently he’d had his accident trying to protect her from getting hurt, and she was feeling not just a little guilty.
Keen finally overheard the names of the other two. Well, sort of; the first one was Apple Bytes, which was an easy enough name to recall, but the other had some strange, long name Keen wasn’t sure how to pronounce. The others all kept calling her “Ani” for short, so that was just how Keen would recall the name, too. Apple and Ani were constantly bickering and teasing one another. On more than one occasion Dinky would chasten them and they’d go quiet, though it never lasted long.
Green, for his part, was mostly silent, save to assure Dinky he didn’t blame her for anything or to respond to Fluttershy’s questions. He seemed like a fairly quiet pony.
“There you go,” Fluttershy said at last, “all fixed up! Now you stay off that leg for the next couple days and it should be good as new.”
“See?” Ani declared, “I told ya there was nothing to worry about!”
“Yeah… Thanks, Fluttershy,” Green said, sounding relieved. “I owe ya. Again.”
Fluttershy chuckled. “Oh, it’s okay, you don’t owe me anything! But you can do me a favor and stop wandering around places like the forest. Someday one of you will get hurt in a way I can’t bandage up.”
“We’ll play it safe from here on in.” Apple's voice took on a sour tone. “Assuming we can get Ani to stop going out in search of poison joke.”
“What? It’s not my fault!”
Dinky sighed as the two engaged in another brief round of verbal sparring. “Here, let me put the kit up for ya. It’s the least I can do.”
“Oh, why thank you,” Fluttershy replied. “You know where it goes?”
“We’ve been here so many times with scrapes and bruises, I just about have to.”
Keen, who had been lying on the floor next to Angel and listening, lifted her head as she heard the filly’s hoofsteps coming near. She clutched Angel and he squirmed against her tight grip. She realized she had him by the neck and released, casting an apologetic look as he coughed and glared.
“Hey, what’s this?”
Keen blinked and glanced to her side. Her eyes went wide as she realized that the tip of her unusually long tail was just sticking out from under the tablecloth… and Dinky’s hooves were right next to it! Hit by a moment of panic, she jerked her tail in and immediately regretted it.
Dinky pushed her head through the tablecloth, wide yellow eyes looking right at Keen. “Whoa! Who are you?”
Keen, body low and heart pounding, edged backwards with eyes locked on Dinky. Angel hopped between them and waved at Keen as if trying to encourage her to talk, but Keen had no words. She just wanted to run away!
The tablecloth shifted and the all-purple filly’s head appeared just next to Keen, making her leap back in fright. “Hey, it’s a new kid! Where’d you come from?”
“Oh, my.” Fluttershy apparently just noticed that Keen had been discovered. “Girls, please, let her be! She’s very shy.”
“Really?” A grin coming across Apple's face. “Don’t worry, we don’t bite! My name’s Apple Bytes… and, uh, I didn’t mean that pun. What’s yours?”
Keen dove out from under the table, only to smack right into the pegasus. “Whoa, careful; you’ll ruin my perfect coat.” Keen scrambled away, accidentally shoving Ani on her back in her rush to escape. “Hey! What was that for?”
Keen found herself in a corner of Fluttershy’s kitchen, surrounded by three supposedly curious fillies. She pressed herself against the wall, mind frantic and tears in her eyes.
“P-please… Leave me alone…”
They exchanged looks, brows furrowed as they considered her. Dinky offered a hoof. “What’s wrong? You act like we’re gonna eat ya or something.”
Keen dropped down and covered her eyes, but once again had that horrible vision of blue-eyed foals laughing at her with their hideous clicking noises.
“Girls!” Fluttershy appeared overhead. “Please, give her some room! She’s too shy to talk right now.” She landed between Keen and the others and shooed them back. “Go on, leave her be.”
“But we were just curious,” Dinky noted even as she let herself be ushered away.
“Yeah.” Apple shot Keen a raised eyebrow. “What gives?”
“Shouldn’t she at least introduce herself?” Ani demanded with head held high, though she was the first out of the room.
Keen sat up and sighed, a hoof over her heart as it slowed to a normal pace. She looked up in time to see the green colt peering at her from around the doorframe, his eyes wide. He winced as Fluttershy tapped him on the head, as if her gentle touch was enough to actually hurt, and quietly followed the others out.
“I really like her mane…”
Keen blushed and shoved her mane away from her face. She looked down to find her tail trailing along the floor towards the table. She gathered it up and tossed it behind her; stupid tail, getting her caught! What if they’d been monsters? She started to walk for the table, but jerked to a painful stop. She looked back and groaned at the sight of her tail caught on one of the drawer handles.
Fluttershy came back to find Keen stretching for the handle, her hooves not quite able to reach. At Fluttershy's giggles she blushed and dropped to her haunches to pout.
“Here, I’ve got it.” Fluttershy began working the hair from the knob. “I’m sorry about that, Keen, but you really don’t have to be afraid of them.”
Keen didn’t answer; she just hung her head and sulked.
“You know, you could try making friends with them,” Fluttershy suggested, finally managing to get the tail free. “They’re quite a fun bunch, actually.”
Keen turned her face away. “I don’t want to.”
“But why?” Fluttershy studied her, but Keen wouldn’t respond to that, either. After a time the foalsitter sighed and carefully set the rest of Keen’s tail neatly down to the floor.
The bed was far too large for just Keen. It was nice and soft, though, and when she sat near the middle she could look out the window at the moon over Sweet Apple Acres. The window was exactly why she’d wanted this room; at night it let the moon’s light in so that she could see. Maybe that way she’d be a little less afraid.
But tonight the moon was a pale sliver. Keen eyed it with dismay before letting Lightning tuck her under the covers. “Are you sure you won’t stay tonight?”
Lightning nudged the filly’s head playfully. “Not tonight, kiddo. Ya gotta learn to sleep on your own every now and then.”
Keen peered around at her dark room and chewed her lip; she hated being alone in the dark. “B-but… But you don’t have a bed.”
“Nice try, but I don’t need one." Lightning chuckled at the filly's pout. "I’ll get a bed later, when we have more bits. There’s a perfectly good couch in the front.”
Keen sighed as she gazed up at her guardian. “And if the monsters come?”
Lightning's eyes grew hard. Keen was starting to recognize that look. “They’re not going to.”
“But they might.”
Lightning’s lips tightened and she averted her eyes. “They’re not Keen. I promise.”
The filly glanced at the window and said nothing, her mind turning over terrible possibilities. Her chest was tight and her tiny heart pattered wildly. “C-can I come see you if I get… really scared?”
Lightning considered this, shifting from hoof to hoof. “Sure, kiddo. I’m right there if ya need me, okay?”
Well, at least Keen had that option. She couldn't take her eyes off the window.
A long, difficult silence passed between them. Keen could hear her guardian shifting some more. Maybe she was going to change her mind? “I’m glad you liked Fluttershy today.”
Keen didn’t care about Fluttershy right now. Even so, she gave a weak nod to show she’d heard.
More silence. At last Lightning sighed and sat, head hung low. “Keen?”
The filly looked up at her, a small light of hope within her at the sight of the adult's anxiousness.
“W-what did… Back at home, back before the orphanage. Did your parents…” Lightning paused and set a hoof to her lips as she thought. Her face scrunched up with a small wince and she turned her eyes away once more. “I mean… you don’t have to talk about them. Forget it.”
Keen wasn’t sure, but she thought she understood. She rolled away from Lightning and tightened the covers over her shoulder. She closed her eyes and tried to remember her mother. She was blue with a black mane. Her eyes had been… what? Grey? That sounded right. Why was it so hard to recall? She moved on to her father, but he was just as enigmatic; a white coat and soft blue mane. And… blue eyes? Maybe. He was the unicorn of the two, she at least recalled that.
Why was it so hard? They hadn't been gone that long... Keen fought down the urge to cry, but her sniffles betrayed her.
“H-hey, it’s okay.” Lightning nuzzled the back of the tiny unicorn’s head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry, okay?”
“Mom would sing.”
The comforting motions ceased. “Sing?”
Keen nodded as she slowly rubbed the moisture from her eyes. “It was her talent. She’d sing me to sleep.”
“Oh.” She could almost see Lightning blush. “Th-that’s nice. Umm… and your dad?”
Keen smiled at the memory. “Dad wasn’t a good tuck-iner. He let Mom do it.” She stared at her hooves, imagining that she was holding something. “He made a doll for me once…”
“A doll?”
Keen nodded, burying her head in her hooves.
“The rocks took it with them.”
Another long, terrible silence. Keen kept trying to picture their faces, but they just wouldn’t come. Why wouldn’t they come? They had been good parents. Kind parents. She would have given anything to see their faces again…
Lightning was on the bed, wrapping the filly in a tight hug.
“I’m here, Keen. Okay? If you need me, I’m here. So p-please, don’t cry. Don’t be scared.”
Keen soaked in the warmth of her guardian. She could feel Lightning’s tears on her cheeks. Lightning was trying, and Keen felt guilty. She wasn’t at all like Keen’s parents, but she was trying… so Keen would try, too.
She fought down her tears and pushed back against Lightning’s chest, using the back of her head to nuzzle the mare in return. “I’m okay. I am. I… I’ll be okay on my own tonight.” Lightning sat up and Keen turned to give her a fragile smile. “Don’t you cry, either.”
Lightning rubbed her eyes with a blush and returned the smile. “You sure? I can stay if ya really want.”
Keen sat up to hug her. “I’m okay. Promise.”
Lightning sighed and patted her on the head. “Alright, kiddo. But I’m just down the hall if ya need me, ’kay?” Keen let herself be tucked back under the covers. “You’re a good kid. Way better than I was at your age. G’night, Keen.”
“Good night, Lightning.”
The mare stood smiling over Keen for several seconds with eyes shining, but she finally turned and left. Keen was sure to turn away so that her frown wouldn’t be seen. The door closed. She waited several seconds, just in case Lightning decided to come back. Once sure she was alone, she grabbed her pillow and moved to the center of the bed. She lay on her back and stared up at the moon, hoping that it’s tiny offering of light would be sufficient to keep her nightmares at bay.
Keen jerked awake with a gasp, blue eyes and clicking laughter echoing in her ears. She sat up swiftly, her head darting about for signs of danger. Nothing. She was alone and safe on her bed.
The filly sucked in a shaky breath and drooped, fighting to keep tears out of her eyes. She was so tired of nightmares. Her legs locked; she wanted Lightning to be there, but she wouldn’t run. She promised she would be okay.
She was okay.
She was okay!
Something shifted out of the corner of her eye. Keen gasped and dropped to her belly, hooves over her eyes. She wasn’t alone! Maybe it was Lightning? Or maybe it was a monster…
Keen remained that way for some time, trembling like a leaf but not daring to do anything. Maybe if she was perfectly silent it wouldn’t notice her. It would go away and she’d be okay. Maybe, if she was lucky.
Silence filled the room like an inaudible claw scratching at her ears.
She couldn’t take it; Keen gradually raised a hoof to peer at the darkness. There was a pony in the corner of her room, watching her. A unicorn. He stepped forward into the dim light, his features appearing like a ghost in the shadows. When she saw that face she immediately sat up, her jaw dropping.
Fine Crime raised a hoof to his lips. “Shhh. Don’t want to wake Lightning up, do we?”
She crossed the bed as quick as her long legs could carry her and leapt up to hug his neck. The wave of relief that swept over her was overwhelming! “I th-thought you might be a monster.”
He chuckled and carefully set her back on the bed. “There are some who think I am, but I’m just a pony like you. Promise.” He sat and tilted his head, a deep but concerned frown on his lips. “Nightmares?”
She ducked her head and nodded. “I keep seeing the monsters.”
He lowered himself so that his chin was resting on the edge of the bed. “It’s tough seeing monsters, isn’t it?”
The filly blinked and studied him. “You have nightmares, too?”
“Yes. My monster isn’t like yours, though.”
“Y-you mean there are other monsters out there?” Keen blanched and backed away, her ears laying flat as her eyes flicked to the window.
“Don’t worry. Mine wouldn’t like to eat you.” Fine raised his head and gave her a soothing smile. “He only eats bad ponies like me.”
Keen’s moment of fear faded as she tilted her head at him. Her eyes roamed up and down his body, trying to identify some proof to his claim. She found none, aside from the black knife around his neck, which was more an oddity than a sign of badness.
“You’re not bad.”
“Don’t tell Lightning that, she won’t believe you.” He chuckled and walked about to sit on the bed next to her. “So, I hear you like Fluttershy.”
“Oh, yes!” Keen paused and glanced at the door before speaking again in a quieter tone. “She’s very nice. Her pets are fun and there are no ponies there to scare me.”
Fine grinned. “Good to hear. I happen to like her a lot myself. I visit her often.”
Keen sat and leaned forward a little. “Will you visit me more?”
“Would you like me to?”
She nodded emphatically. “I know you can protect me from the monsters.”
“Lightning can protect you, too.”
“Not like you.” Keen moved close to nuzzle his side. “I saw you hurt one. She didn’t hurt one.”
Fine reached up to pet her mane and offered that calm smile again. “They just caught her by surprise, that’s all.”
Keen wasn’t reassured. She sat back and glanced out the window at the moon. “Lightning says there are no monsters here. I don’t think she knows.”
He studied her, eyes glazed over in thought. Keen kicked the bed and pouted, not sure what else to say. After a few seconds Fine scooted off the bed and lowered himself, setting his forehooves on the edge and peering at her. “Do you know what I do for a living?”
She blinked and turned to him. “For a living?”
“My job.”
Keen thought on this, rubbing her chin and frowning. At last she shook her head.
His lips curled up in a grin, but this one wasn't friendly. Keen wasn't sure how to describe it. “I’m a monster hunter.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.” He sat up and turned his eyes to the window, pride reflected in his voice. “I lead ponies. We look for monsters and we get rid of monsters. I do that every day.”
She believed it. She could still recall the sight of that black creature standing over Lightning, how she was bleeding and crying. It had been so scary… But she also remembered Fine appearing behind it and the green gunk that had poured from the creature. He’d knocked it away and it hadn’t moved again. So when he said he hunted monsters, she believed him.
Thinking about it also led to remembering how scary that moment had been. She’d thought Lightning was going to die. He hunted those things?
“B-but isn’t that scary?”
“It can be,” Fine admitted. “There are some big and nasty things out there. But we fight them, Keen. We hunt them down and keep them away so that fillies like you don’t have to be afraid. I have to know a monster when I see it.” He lowered his head so that their muzzles were almost touching, his rosewood eyes filling her vision. “So when I tell you that there are no monsters in Ponyville, you know I’m telling the truth.”
Keen fidgeted and chewed her lip. “Are you sure? Really, really sure?”
“I’m sure,” he whispered, nuzzling her cheek. “And if ever one comes to town, I promise you’ll be the first I tell about it. Okay?”
She returned the motion with a smile, a strange feeling of relief coming over her. “Okay! Tell Lightning, too. They hurt her real bad last time.”
“Of course I will.” He sat straight and nodded. “After all, if she gets hurt who’ll look after you?”
Keen tilted her head, ears perking up. “You could.”
Fine's smile faded, but only for a moment. “No, Keen. That really wouldn’t be a good idea.”
She pouted and kicked at the bed. “That’s what Lightning said. Why?”
“Because I’m a bad pony.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he set a hoof to her lips. “Some ponies think I’m scary. I’m nice to you and Lightning, but I’m not a good pony. Maybe you’ll understand that someday.”
Keen wrinkled her nose and rubbed it before looking up at him with questioning eyes. “You’re not scary at all.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “If you only knew. Let me ask you: what scares a monster?”
“Scares a monster?” She thought on this question for a moment, face twisting as she sought an answer. Then she realized that the question didn't make sense. “Do monsters get scared?”
“Oh yes,” he whispered, “they do. Monsters have feelings too, y’know.”
Keen really doubted that, but wasn’t about to argue. So instead she leaned forward and asked, “So what scares a monster?”
His eyes flashed and his lips curling back in a toothy grin. For just a moment Keen thought she saw the shadows shift, and once again she had that curious impression of a ghostly look to his features. He reached up and tapped the knife that was hanging from his necklace, making it sway like a pendulum.
“What indeed?”
Keen leaned back on her haunches with her forehooves close to her chest, not sure what to think of this… strange display.
Fine broke off the mysterious contact, turning away to walk back to the corner from which he’d first appeared. “You should get some sleep, and I should get back to hunting monsters so you can.”
She shook her momentary anxiety away and ran to the edge of the bed. “Do you have to go?”
“Yes.” He turned to offer a charming smile. “Don’t worry, Keen, I’m watching after you and Lightning. You might not see me, but I’m still watching.”
She sat and drooped. “That makes no sense.”
He chuckled. “I know. You should learn some magic. Do that and I’ll teach you how to call for me.”
Her ears perked. “You will?”
“It’s a promise.” He gestured to the door. “You should ask Lightning to talk to Miss Twilight Sparkle about it.”
She tilted her head. “Who?”
“The librarian.” Fine stepped back. He was out of the light, his already dark body visible only as an outline. “She’s a strong mage. She can get you started. Don’t worry, she’s nice.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure she liked that idea. “I… I guess.”
“Good night, Keen. Be good for Lightning, okay?” Something – clouds? – seemed to rise up from the floor. When they disappeared, so did he, gone as quietly as he’d come.
Keen stared at the corner for several long seconds. Gradually, she began to sink into a drooping pose as her inevitable fears tried to creep back into her. He’d said there were no monsters and she wanted to believe him. She tried to, but it was hard.
A heavy sigh escaping her lips, Keen went and flopped down on her pillow. She looked up at the moon through the window and tried to use it as encouragement. As she did her eyes set upon her tiny horn.
Magic. She’d always wanted to learn. She used to think of her father, how he used his magic to cut wood. She closed her eyes and could hear the steady thunk, thunk of the axe. Her pillow was a lot softer than a hard stump, though, and she couldn’t nap to that sound anymore. She missed that axe, and his hard work. Always working in the yard, always chopping. She could almost smell the cut wood, wood that fed her, wood that kept them warm in the snowy days.
She rolled onto her back and touched at her horn, wondering at it. He’d promised to teach her magic this year. “One more year,” he’d said. “I’ll teach you next year, and someday you’ll learn to swing an axe with your horn just like your old stallion does.”
Her mother lectured him every time he made that promise.
One more year had come and gone, but he wasn’t here. The thought nearly brought tears to Keen's eyes, and she turned to bury her head under her pillow. She would learn. Even if he wasn’t here, she’d learn.
Lightning trotted through the busy street, Keen bouncing on her back with every step. One business week over, but Lightning’s work wasn’t done; that insufferable blue witch had scheduled her for a night shift over the weekend. Lightning had barely managed to accept it without complaint, but even now she was quietly fuming. Night duty, her! She kept reminding herself over and over again that this was to be expected. She was of low rank, after all. Even so, she was convinced Rainbow Dash had to be doing this over a grudge.
There was no doubt in her mind that pony had it in for her.
She felt Keen move forward and set her forehooves to Lightning’s head. “Lightning? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Lightning grumbled. She eyed the ponies all around them, suddenly struck by Keen’s calm manner. “How ‘bout you? You okay back there?”
Keen hesitated. “I’m… trying.”
“Good girl.” Lightning knew she should feel proud, but right now she was too bitter. Even so… “You want me to take a less crowded route?”
“Umm… that would be nice.”
Once they were on a quieter street Keen dropped back between Lightning’s wings. Seeking to get her mind off her nemesis, Lightning asked, “So did you have fun at Fluttershy’s?”
“Mm-hmm. I got to meet Harry the Bear and we had a tea party!”
Lightning cringed; even as a filly, tea parties had never sounded even remotely interesting to her. “That sounds… nice. Wait, I thought the bear was named Bearrington.”
“There are two bears,” Keen pointed out. “Well, so far.”
Lightning glanced back at Keen with a raised eyebrow. “And the bear had tea with you?”
Keen grinned as she brushed her mane from her face. “Yeah! And some squirrels and an owl and Angel Bunny.”
“Huh.” Lightning tried to imagine this tea party in her head, but just fitting the bear in there was tricky. “Anyway, are you sure you wanna go meet Twilight Sparkle? How’d you find out about her?”
“Oh! Umm…” Keen’s pause caught Lightning’s attention, but by the time she looked back the filly had an answer. “She’s a friend of Fluttershy’s.”
“Really?” Lightning thought on this, and suddenly it seemed obvious. In fact it became so blatantly obvious that she facehooved; of course the Element Bearers knew one another!
The library was in a quieter part of town, with far fewer ponies wandering around. Lightning let Keen off her back so that they could walk side by side. As they walked Lightning watched the little filly zig-zag around the path to gaze and study. She was so unusually energetic! Perhaps the idea of learning magic really was that exciting to a young unicorn.
Keen did a great many foalish things on the short trip to the library. She smelled the fall flowers. She studied a line of ants, her long tail poking up high in the air. She giggled as she bounced through piles of leaves. It was so strange to Lightning, for she’d never seen the filly so… happy. It was an infectious happiness, and soon the pegasus found herself grinning. She couldn’t be certain what had Keen so worked up, but she liked it and wanted to see more of it!
They reached the library without incident. Lightning let Keen look around the nearby flowerbed as she reached up to knock on the front door. It opened just as she was about to knock, though, and she was startled to find herself standing in front of a large, strong-looking white pegasus.
He paused, staring at her raised hoof as if not sure what he was looking at. He had dark green eyes that stood out in stark contrast to his silver mane. He looked from the hoof to Lightning’s face. “Well hello.”
Lightning lowered her hoof and peered at him. “I know you.”
His surprise faded as he grinned. “I believe so! Lightning Dust, am I correct?” She nodded, her lips pursed as she leaned back. “It’s Jimmy. Jimmy Stone?”
She rubbed her chin and tried to remember. “You were one of the brothers… right? In the Crystal Empire?”
“That’d be me,” he declared, raising his head with pride. “I didn’t know you lived in Ponyville.”
“I just got here.” Lightning felt her tail swish unbidden and glanced back to see Keen peering around her hind legs at the stranger. Lightning’s ears drooped at the sight of the filly’s wide eyes; there went that happy moment. She turned back to him with a sigh. “You work at the library?”
He chuckled and reached into his pack, lifting a book just high enough from it to let her see. “I’m just borrowing a study guide to help with my latest project. So—” he set the book back in the pack and tilted his head, “—why’d you come to Ponyville?”
“Reasons,” she grumbled as she felt Keen shift under her. “So Twilight’s here? I need to talk to her.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he answered with a wave of his hoof, “I won’t keep ya. But you should come by Nye’s shop, sometime. We’d love to know what you’ve been up to!” He trotted off, humming to himself.
She watched him go with a raised eyebrow. Now that he was gone, she realized she’d been rather gruff with a guy who’d helped her rescue an entire kingdom from enslavement. Maybe she should go by to visit. Then again, he didn’t seem to mind…
She shook her head. What was wrong with her? She was always gruff! Why was she worrying about it now?
“Who was that?”
She glanced down at Keen, who was watching the stallion with worried eyes. “He’s… somepony who helped me a while back.”
“He had legs like Mountain.”
Lightning was tempted to laugh at that thought; Mountain Mantra had been a big stallion, and Jimmy wasn’t quite that muscular. Her pleasant moment was ruined by a clenching in her gut. It still hurt to think that the old stallion was gone…
“Can I help you?” Lightning turned to find Spike the Dragon standing at the door, waiting with a curious expression.
Lightning opened her mouth to speak, but Keen was first. The filly had moved quickly so that she was under Lightning’s front legs and leaning forward to peer at the dragon. “What are you?”
He noted her for the first time and scratched his cheek. “Umm… I’m a dragon.”
Keen blinked and looked up at Lightning with big eyes. “Aren’t dragons big?”
Spike's entire body dropped to a blatant sag, his lips set in a bemused frown. “I’m still a kid, okay? I’ll get bigger when I grow up.”
“Oh.” The filly stepped forward to examine Spike a little more closely. “So you’re a baby?”
He set his claws to his hips and turned his nose up. “Nooo, I’m an adolescent.”
“Adol…?” Keen tilted her head, eyes going cross as her mouth worked. “Huh?”
Lightning couldn’t resist the temptation to chuckle, and at Spike’s glower she broke into full laughter.
“Stop mincing words, Spike,” a new voice called from within the library. A violet-coated pony – the famed Twilight Sparkle – appeared at the door and patted him on the head with a grin. “You’ll just have to accept that you’re still a baby.”
“I am not!” He swatted her hoof away and stomped back into the library, muttering under his breath while Twilight and Lightning giggled.
“Don’t mind him,” Twilight instructed with a hoof over her lips. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. And you’re Lightning Dust, correct?”
Lightning’s laughter faded in an instant and she took a cautious step back. “You know who I am?”
“Of course I do. You went to the Wonderbolts Academy with Rainbow Dash. I was there for the whole tornado incident, remember?”
“Oh…” Lightning sagged, her heart dropping to her hooves. “Right. Forgot you saw that.” Or that she knew Rainbow Dash. She had to remember to look up just who the Element Bearers were so she’d stop being caught off guard like this!
“I didn’t just see it, I was in the balloon." Twilight offered a welcoming smile. "Rainbow said you’d come to Ponyville and joined the weather team.”
Lightning’s ears perked. “She did? W-what else did she say about me?”
Twilight averted her eyes with a blush and a forced laugh. “I think that’s between you and her. Anyway, what can I do for you? Have a book you’re interested in finding?”
“What? No!” Lightning shook her head furiously. “I don’t read! That’s for egg—” Twilight’s lips fell to a bemused stare “—Iiiii mean I don’t have the time.” The pegasus rubbed the back of her head as her cheeks burned. “I was just hoping you could help my kid.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, a critical frown still on her lips. “What kid?”
Lightning paused and looked down; Keen wasn’t there. She heaved a sigh and glance around to find the filly hiding behind her back legs once more. “Come on, kiddo. You’re the one who wanted to come here.”
The filly peered through her mane and slowly stepped up, ears and eyes low. “Umm… h-hello.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up at the sight of the tiny unicorn. “Oh, she is precious! Is she yours?”
Lightning groaned. They always asked that and she never knew the best way to answer! “She’s… Well, yes and no. She’s my kid but… not my kid?”
Twilight considered this, looking between the pegasus and the filly a couple times. At last her ears perked as she said, “You mean she’s adopted.”
“Well, no.” Lightning shook her head. “I mean, yes? Not yet. She’s just my kid, okay?”
Twilight’s ears lowered and she took on a concerned frown. “You sound confused.”
Lightning drooped. “I’m still new to this whole thing.”
She felt Keen nuzzle her cheek. She returned the motion with an appreciative smile before standing tall once more. Twilight was beaming, and Lightning felt her cheeks burning once again. “Umm… Anyway, can we talk? We need a little help.”
“Of course!” Twilight turned to make room and beckoned. “Come on in.”
Her pleasant eyes fell on Keen, but the tall filly hesitated. Keen looked up at Lightning with questioning eyes, prompting Lightning to nod. “It’s okay.”
Keen didn’t seem so sure, but she entered the library anyway, her pace slow and her eyes roaming the interior. Lightning followed close behind, offering an offhoof “thanks” to Twilight as they passed.
The Golden Oaks Library was a lot bigger on the inside than its exterior had suggested, and Lightning was confident she’d never seen quite so many books in her life. She looked around with ears tucked and an unpleasant feeling in her gut. Smart ponies made her feel nervous… and inadequate.
“So what’s your name?” Twilight asked as she lead them into the main room.
Keen kept close to Lightning and hid her face behind her mane. “Um… I’m K-Keen.”
Twilight’s face lit up once again as she turned to them. “Keen Arrow?” The filly winced, but nodded. “So you’re the little pony Fluttershy’s been foalsitting! She told me you were cute, but I had no idea just how cute.”
Keen sat and blushed, head low as she observed Twilight. “Th-thank you?”
“And shy,” Twilight added with a smile at Lightning. “Definitely shy. So what can I help you with, girls?”
Lightning gestured to her charge. “Keen here wants to learn magic.”
“Oh!” Twilight considered this for a moment, then dropped to her belly so as to be closer to Keen’s level. “Have you learned any magic before, Keen?” The filly shook her head, unwilling to speak. “That's okay. How old are you?”
Keen hesitated, so Lightning spoke up. “She just turned five.”
“That’s just the right age to start Magic Kindergarten,” Twilight acknowledged. She sat up and tapped her chin, eyes roaming to the ceiling in thought. “There isn’t one in Ponyville, though.”
“I wouldn’t make her go to one of those places, anyway,” Lightning pointed out. At Twilight’s questioning look she added, “It’s complicated. Let’s just say any public foals’ school won’t do.”
“But what about next year when she’s old enough to attend regular school?”
Lightning sighed. “I… don’t know yet. I’m sorta hoping we can get through some issues before then.” Lightning hoped the mare wouldn’t press the topic.
Twilight hesitated as she considered this response, but finally nodded. “Okay then. What else did you have in mind?”
“Well…” Lightning blushed and averted her eyes. “I’m in a bind. I know she needs to learn, but I can’t teach her.”
“Most unicorns in a little place like Ponyville learn magic from their relatives.” Twilight pouted as she eyed Keen. “I guess that’s not an option here.”
Lightning hung her head. “I don’t earn enough bits to pay for a private teacher. We were hoping you’d—” She hesitated. “That you’d have some advice. Maybe point us in the right direction?”
Keen abruptly stepped forward, looking up at Twilight with big eyes. “I wanna learn. I was promised.”
The two mares gazed at the filly. Lightning found herself momentarily at a loss, and when Twilight glanced at her with a raised eyebrow she could only shrug; she’d never made any such promise.
“Promised by who?” Twilight asked.
Keen backed away and sat. She began chewing her lip as her eyes grew moist. She shook her head and rubbed her face frantically, almost as if afraid she were about to do something wrong.
“D-Dad.”
Lightning’s heart twisted. She dropped down next to the filly and nudged her close with a wing. “Keen? Your dad promised to teach you?”
Keen nodded, not willing to look at either of the adults. “This year. He promised. I wanna learn, because he said so.”
Lightning didn’t know what stung more, the fact that Keen was trying to honor her father’s promise or the fact that she’d never bothered to inform Lightning of said promise. Why did she feel so bad about not having been told? She turned her head away and struggled to keep control of her emotions. “That’s good, kiddo. Real good.”
“It most certainly is,” Twilight agreed with a weak smile. She considered them for several long seconds, ears laid back and a hoof to her lips.
Lightning, at last sure she wasn’t going to cry, nuzzled Keen’s neck. “It’s okay, Keen. You can, if you wanna.”
Keen sniffed and didn’t look at her.
“Spike!” Twilight looked towards the stairs and called the name again after a few seconds. The baby dragon came running. “Get my calendar and lots of ink. We need to rearrange some things.”
He sagged with a particularly long groan. “But that takes forever! Do we have to?”
“Yes.” She turned back to Lightning and Keen with a beaming smile. “I have to make room for my first student, after all.”
Lightning’s head rose with a jerk as she stared. “You mean that?”
Keen bounced, her eyes lighting up. “Really?” It was about as close to a real shout as she’d ever managed.
Twilight giggled at the filly's enthusiasm. “I’m sure Princess Celestia won’t mind if I take a little time from my own learning to teach the basics. She might even consider it part of my Friendship studies.”
Lightning hadn’t known Keen was capable of a smile that big. The filly laughed as she turned to hug Lightning’s neck, then went to do the same thing with Twilight. “Thank you so much! I’ll study well, promise!”
Twilight returned the hug with a grin “It’s my pleasure. I know you’ll be a good student.”
Lightning stood on weak legs. “I… I appreciate this, Twilight. Seriously, I owe you big. It’s way more than I expected.”
“That makes two of us,” Spike grumbled as he trudged towards a back room with head hanging.
Lightning watched him go with a raised eyebrow. “What’s with him?”
“Can I look around?” Keen was hopping in place, her eyes shining. “Can I look for spellbooks?”
Twilight beamed at the filly’s eagerness. “Go ahead!” Keen began to roam the walls, looking from book to book as Twilight turned her attention to Lightning. “My schedule is always packed pretty tight. Most ponies think I go overboard.”
“I think you mean all ponies,” Spike called from the other room.
Twilight blushed and coughed. “Yes, well… it’s a big deal when we have to rearrange the schedule. It could take a few hours.”
Lightning balked. “A few hours? How far ahead do you plan?”
“A year in advance.”
There was a couple seconds of stark silence as Lightning tried to take this in.
“Yeeeah, I think I have to agree with Spike.” Lightning eyed Keen, who was tracing the edge of a low bookshelf as she walked along reading the titles. “Are you sure it’s okay for her to look at those? No dangerous spells she might stumble on or nothin’?”
“Oh, no.” Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. “Even if she did, I’m sure her level of reading probably won’t let her understand the concepts, much less the spells. You actually have to know how to read the spell before—”
“Advanced Wards for Protection Against Unusual and Dominant Beasts of the Everfree Forest. This looks like a good one!”
The two mares spun as one to see Keen opening a standing book that was almost as big as she was. They gaped at one another for a full three seconds before either could think of a proper statement.
“Keen,” Lightning called, “You can read that?”
Keen poked her head up over the book and saw their expressions. “Umm…” She looked down at the book, then at them once more. “Yes?”
Twilight stood to eye the little unicorn. “And… do you understand what kind of spells are in the book?”
Keen blinked, her eyes flicking between them and the book once more. “It’s the title.”
“Which means?” Twilight pressed.
Keen laid the book down and sat. “The spells protect me from monsters, right? Monsters that live in the woods.” She blushed and ducked her head. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No!” Twilight trotted over to the pony and patted her on the head. “Not at all! I’m just surprised, that’s all. I figured you could read, but at your age I didn’t think it would be at such a level. I’m impressed.”
“And I’m clueless,” Lightning declared. “Why didn’t you tell me you could read so well?”
Keen ducked once more. “There are no books at our house. Nothing to read.”
“Oh.” Lightning blushed with a weak chuckle. “Right. Maybe I should get you some books then, huh?”
Great, her kid was an egghead.
“I can lend you some books,” Twilight assured her. “This is a library, after all.”
Keen gave a little hop as she beamed up at her new teacher. “Can I learn these spells?”
“Oh, no.” Twilight lifted the book with her horn as she patted the filly on the head a second time. “I’ll only be teaching you the basics.”
Keen pouted, her eyes following the book as it made its way back to the shelf. “Why not?”
Twilight chuckled at the filly's expression. “They’re a little advanced for a unicorn who doesn’t even know how to turn a page with her horn. Don’t worry, Keen; you’ll get there someday.”
The filly stared at the book, ears flattening. “But I’m scared now.”
Twilight paused, her expression a blend of concern and surprise. “Of what?”
“The monsters.”
Twilight smiled. “My little pony, there’s no reason to—” She caught sight of Lightning’s frantic head-shaking. “Err… what I mean is, you have to learn more basic spells before you can advance to those. But don’t worry, you’ll learn them. Why don’t you take a look around while me and Lightning figure out a time for you to come study?”
Keen sighed and cast one more gloomy look to the book before trudging to a different bookshelf. As soon as she was out of earshot Twilight moved close to Lightning and whispered, “Monsters?”
Lightning nodded, ears laid back as she tried not to get memories stuck in her head. “Changelings.”
Twilight's jaw dropped. She stared at the unwitting Keen with wide eyes. “Seriously?”
“Don’t bring ‘em up, Twilight,” Lightning pleaded. “She’s having enough nightmares as it is.”
“I see.” Twilight tilted her head with a worried frown. “Is that… what happened to her parents?”
Lightning shook her head. “I don’t know what happened to her parents. The changelings came after. Just try to avoid the subject if you can? And keep her away from other foals. She still thinks…” She grimaced and looked away, fighting to get the images out of her mind.
Twilight’s head lowered as she eyed the pegasus. “You two went through a lot together, didn’t you?”
Lightning growled. “Can we please stop talking about this now?”
“Okay.” Twilight set a hoof on Lightning’s shoulder. “But if you need to talk or anything—”
“I’m fine! It’s Keen I’m worried about.” Lightning sidestepped out of hoof range with a scowl. “Are we gonna schedule this thing?”
Twilight hesitated before emitting a long sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s get started.”
“Lightning?”
She blinked and shook her head. Keen was sitting on her bed, a book opened before her. A candle burned on the windowsill for her to read by, but the filly’s eyes were locked on Lightning. “Y-yeah?”
Keen tilted her head with a soft frown. “Are you okay?”
“Of course!” Lightning struck a gallant pose. “Why would you think otherwise?”
“You’ve been quiet,” Keen replied. “Since the library.”
Oh. Lightning tried to maintain a pleasant smile. “I’m fine, kiddo. I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.” She closed the book and gently pushed it to the foot of the bed. “I think it’s about time we both went to sleep.”
Keen studied the book for a few seconds, then raised her questioning eyes to Lightning’s. “You don’t like books.”
Lightning's mind froze and her jaw locked. It took a moment to come up with a response. “Th-that’s not true. I just… don’t have time to read.” Keen tilted her head at her with eyelids lowering. It was a surprisingly suspecting expression for the typically gentle filly.
Realizing her lie had been transparent, Lightning drooped. “You’re awfully observant for such a young pony. It’s not that I don’t like books, Keen. It’s just that… It’s just that I’m not good at reading.”
“Oh.” Keen stood and walked to the book with a grin. “You just need practice!”
Lightning managed a weak smile and, catching the filly’s tail in her mouth, pulled Keen away from the book. The motion forced Keen to her belly, her long mane dragging along the sheets and burying her face.
She spat the tail out – noting with some curiosity a hint of minty flavor on her lips. “It’s time for bed. And no amount of practicing is gonna get me better at reading.”
Keen sat up and shook her head to get her mane out of her face before looking over her shoulder at Lightning. “But Twilight said practice makes perfect.”
Lightning nodded. “She’s a smart mare and I’m sure she’ll be a great teacher, but certain ponies are good at certain things, and others aren’t. I can fly better than most ponies out there, and most ponies will never be able to fly as good as me. It’s what I’m good at. Right now you and I can probably read at the same level, but you’re gonna be better than me at it as you get older. Much better. I’m a smart flyer, but a dumb reader.” She tilted her head and considered her own words, then eyed the filly. “Does… that make sense?”
Keen had her head lowered in thought. “I think so.”
Lightning heaved a relieved sigh. “Good. Felt like I was rambling for a moment there.”
Keen giggled and went to her pillow. As Lightning began tucking her under the covers she asked, “Was it hard, learning to fly?”
The mare tilted her head. “Not really. Why?”
“Pegasus ponies fly. Earth ponies farm. Unicorns use magic.” She rubbed her horn with both hooves, eyes going cross. “I wanna learn. Are all unicorns good at magic?”
Lightning chuckled. “No, but I’m sure you’ll be great at it! Smart ponies typically are.” She didn’t really know that, but it sounded right in her head. “G’night, kiddo. See you tomorrow, k?”
She paused at the door to study the filly. Keen was still rubbing her horn, eyes fogged over as she thought about her future. Lightning wondered if she’d have any nightmares tonight. Hopefully not. Maybe her excitement would keep her mind too occupied for that.
Hearts and Hooves Day had never held any special significance for Lightning, so she didn’t care that she was working. She did care that she was working with Rainbow Dash. This time literally; the weather team captain had decided to pair up with her for the day. She seemed to be doing it once every four or five shifts, just to make sure Lightning was ‘behaving’.
If Lightning didn’t need the job, she’d have bucked the color out of that pony’s rainbow by now! She was team captain, surely she could have abused the rank and taken off for the holiday…even if it was a pointless holiday.
Lightning and Keen had lived in Ponyville for nearly three weeks now. Keen seemed happy, at the very least. Being foalsat by Fluttershy was the highlight of the filly’s day, and she went to Twilight’s three times a week now for a little magic training. She was already lifting small objects with ease, and now she was trying to learn to write. Lightning had never thought of it before, but apparently the fine control needed to write with magic was a big step for little unicorns.
But Lightning wasn’t at all happy. Her job was hardly satisfying; every time she tried to improve her standing and impress, it backfired. Rainbow was constantly nagging her to slow down and be a ‘team player’, a phrase that had quickly grown tiring. She wanted to get the job done in her own way – Rainbow did that for her shifts, so why couldn’t Lightning? The mere thought of it raised her hackles.
The worst moment had been at the end of the first week, when Lightning had tried to prove herself to the damned pegasus by challenging her to a cloudbusting race. She knew the weather team captain wouldn’t ignore a challenge, and had thought that she might at least win some respect out of it. But when she’d tried to fly at her best she felt an unfamiliar tug on her side and had known she was straining that one weak muscle. She could still move far faster than almost anypony else in the skies…but Rainbow had made her look like a snail.
Not only had she been humiliated, but now Rainbow was on her even more! It was all bull; she was just using Lightning’s weak wing as another excuse to ride her rump harder and get in a few more lectures.
Lightning hated that pegasus. Passionately.
But work was only one part of her daily frustrations. Keen was still scared of her own shadow, and every day Lightning was more and more frustrated with her. More than once she considered snapping at the filly and telling her to grow some guts, and every time she barely managed to hold it in.
And she was coming to learn that Keen really was a smart filly. She’d already read through the half-dozen books Twilight had let her borrow, and was now going through a magic textbook. It was strange, though; she could plow through pages in a way that staggered Lightning, yet in her regular chatter she didn’t seem any smarter than any other filly her age. More mature, yes, but not necessarily smarter.
Maybe Lightning had it wrong. Maybe being able to read didn’t equate to smarts. It was confusing, to say the least. Regardless, her little reading gift made Lightning uncomfortable.
But the worst part? Keen loved visiting with Fluttershy. She loved it. She seemed okay when she was with Lightning, but she was always happy – even excited – to go to that cottage. It made Lightning feel…underappreciated.
As she busted her way through a particularly thick cloud, she realized that she hadn’t heard Rainbow gripe at her for at least a minute. She came out of the cloud and paused to look around. There were still lots of clouds up there. Too many; her unwelcome flight partner was gone.
Part of her wanted to rejoice, but she forced the temptation down in case her nemesis was watching from some hidden spot. Instead, she flew in ever-widening circles, eyes roaming about for any sign of that rainbow-maned jerk. If she didn’t at least take a look around she might get accused of leaving her partner behind, and that was a headache she didn’t care to have.
It didn’t take long to spot Rainbow. She was hovering just above the road, talking to a white-coated and blonde-maned Earth pony stallion.
Lightning was anything but lazy. Being a hard worker was perhaps the one thing Rainbow had never lectured her on. As such, seeing her slacking off to chat made Lightning’s blood boil, for she just knew that if she’d tried to do that she’d have a fire lit under her butt in no time! She flew a little closer, hiding behind a cloud to get better look.
She recognized the stallion Rainbow was talking to. He’d helped her in the Crystal Empire! He was one of those brothers. She’d met Jimmy a couple weeks back, so that made this one…Nye? That was it, Nye Stone. Kinda chubby, nothing worth writing home about. Rumor had it he was a determined tail-chaser, too.
Lightning found herself chuckling. It was Hearts and Hooves Day. What if he was asking Rainbow out? She couldn’t imagine any mare being interested, but for some reason it still struck her as amusing.
She realized that if she let them talk for too long she’d probably get blamed; Rainbow would say she hadn’t intervened, or something of that sort. This in mind, she backed up a ways and flew through the cloud, effectively popping it, and zipped down to hover a few dozen feet above the two ponies. “Hey Rainbow! Stop talking to your colt-friend and get up here! These clouds won’t bust themselves.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” Rainbow called with a wave of her hoof. “Good luck, Nye!”
“Don’t need it!” he shouted as the blue pegasus zipped past Lightning, who followed as quick as she could.
“What was that all about?” she asked as she caught up.
“Nothin’,” Rainbow replied quickly, leading the way to a particularly thick group of clouds.
Lightning grinned. “Did he ask you to be his special somepony?”
“Not this time.” They began to gather the clouds together in a large mass.
Lightning raised an eyebrow and took a closer look at her flight partner. “You sound almost disappointed.”
“What, me?” Rainbow laughed. “Like I have time for a colt-friend! I’m too busy being awesome.”
“Awesome my tail,” Lightning grumbled as they hit the clouds at once, their combined attack wiping out the majority of the fluffy object.
Then Rainbow did something unexpected: she kept talking. “It’s just that he does the same thing every year. He’ll go to every available mare in Ponyville with a box of chocolates lookin’ for a date. He never asks me. I sorta feel left out, y’know?”
“Aawww.” Lightning grinned from over a cloud just before giving it a good whack. “Is the awesome Rainbow Dash not feeling pretty?”
“Sh-shut up!” Rainbow zipped past her to bust several clouds in a row. “I don’t see anypony asking you out!”
Lightning chuckled and gave chase. “Did I touch a nerve? Sorry. If ya wanna date him, just say so.”
Her leadpony stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted sound. “Are you kidding? Nye’s like my best friend! Ya don’t date your best friend.”
That knocked Lightning’s prepared tease completely off her lips. “Best friend? That guy? What could he possibly—?” Rainbow flew a sharp circle and stopped right in front of Lightning, who had to flap hard to keep from ramming her. The weather team captain had her locked with a hard glare.
“Do not insult him,” Rainbow snapped. “That guy saved my life. You mess with him and you mess with me.”
Lightning flew back a little and raised her hooves. “Whoa, easy. Ya don’t have ta get all dark and stormy on me!” But then Rainbow’s words really hit her. “Wait, he saved your life? Seriously? How?”
“You don’t need to know that,” Rainbow replied, turning away with a jerk. “Just don’t pick on him, ya got me?”
Lightning stared as she flew off, trying to process what she’d just heard. “Uh, yeah. I got it.”
They went on for a while in silence, busting clouds throughout the West side of Ponyville. Lightning found herself wondering about what she’d just learned, and on Nye Stone. Not just Nye…all of them. She tried to recall those ponies who had been there to fight King Sombra some four months back. Who were they?
She recalled Rainbow – obviously – and there was Applejack, too. Nye and Jimmy Stone, the twins. And Fine Crime, he’d been the one with the plan. Who was she missing? There was that music pony. Lightning hadn’t acknowledged it before, but now that she thought on it that mare had been pretty awesome fighting alongside Jimmy. Octavia, that was her name. And the last one, the one who’d figured out how to break the Crystal Heart’s barrier. Wasn’t she some elite Canterlot mare? She’d seemed rather useless up until then. Crust? That’s right, Upper Crust.
Why was it that when she thought about that brief battle she felt…nostalgic? She didn’t know any of those ponies – except Rainbow, whom she hated. She didn’t even earn any recognition, and she’d taken a direct hit from Sombra! She remembered flying off in a fury because of how things went.
But now that she looked back…at least she’d accomplished something. Up ‘till then, everything she’d tried to do ended in catastrophic failure. Everything afterwards, too. She suddenly realized that – even if she didn’t get the fame she’d been aiming for – the Crystal Empire was the one thing she’d done that hadn’t been a complete disaster. She’d accomplished something…and she wanted to do that again.
“Helloooo?”
Lightning shook her head with force and realized Rainbow was waving a hoof in front of her face. “Huh, what?”
“You really zoned out, there,” her leadpony noted with a raised eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Lightning grumbled as she came to a stop. She cast a quick glance around; had she been cloud busting at all? Well, there were a lot fewer clouds up here…
Rainbow peered at her. “Are you sure?”
“I said I’m fine!” Lightning backed up from the pony with a sneer. “I’ve just got a lot on my—” She winced as something bright flashed in her eyes.
Rainbow covered her face. “What the hay?”
They both looked down as another flash hit them. Lightning’s eyes roamed the Earth until she spotted a pony standing atop a lone hill just outside of town. It was pretty close to Fluttershy’s cottage.
Another flash made Lightning growl. “Okay, that’s gotta be aimed at us.”
“So not cool,” Rainbow admitted. “Come on, let’s show him he’s got our attention!”
They dove, bolt and rainbow wakes side by side. Rainbow got there first, performing a flyby that had the pony’s mane whipping about wildly. He didn’t pay any attention to her; his focus was on Lightning.
She darted past. “What’s the big i—” She spotted his face. “—Fine Crime?” She flew a tight circle and paused over his head to glare. “Is there a reason you’re trying to blind me? Ya trying to make us crash an’ burn or somethin’?”
“Didn’t expect to see you,” Rainbow acknowledged, hovering on the other side of the stallion.
“Hello, girls,” he greeted with a wave. “Sorry about the light show, but I had to catch your attention somehow.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t wanna hear it,” Lightning snapped. “Besides, we’re working!”
But Rainbow landed and gave him a quizzical look. “Last time I saw you was at Applejack’s. Twilight says you were a total jerk.”
He winced. “Err, yeah. That’s a bridge I need to rebuild. Sorry Rainbow, but could I borrow Lightning for a moment? Just need to talk to her for a quick moment.”
Lightning groaned. “I told you, I don’t wanna talk about it!”
He turned to her with a small smile. “You don’t even know what it is.”
“I don’t care!” She waved her hooves in exasperation. “It’s nothing I’m gonna wanna hear!”
“I don’t mind,” Rainbow said. Lightning noted her wry grin and felt her blood run cold. “I’m sure it’s something real important, so go ahead! We’re practically finished for today, anyway.”
“Wait!” Lightning raised a hoof as Rainbow launched. “What are you thinking?”
“I’ll finish the rest,” the weather captain declared with a grin. “You two talk. Have fun!” And she was off, her rainbow wake darting across the sky.
Lightning facehoofed. “There’s no way I’m gonna have fun talking to him.”
“What,” Fine asked with a smug smile, “am I not charming enough for you?”
Lightning faked a gag and landed. “What do ya want, Fine?”
His jovial manner faded instantly. “We need to meet later tonight. I’ve got a little announcement to make.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “So? Make it now and get outta my mane.”
He shook his head. “This doesn’t just involve you.”
Lightning grimaced and turned away. “Forget it! I have no idea what you’re up to, but I want no part of it.” She opened her wings and launched.
He called after her. “I thought you said you wanted to do something for Equestria?”
She jerked to a stop. That had been how he’d lured her in the first time, wasn’t it? All she had to do was ignore him and fly off. She stared at the town ahead, thinking of just how easy it would be to lose him among the buildings. This didn’t involve her…but a chance to do something big? She closed her eyes and remembered her old dreams of glory, of having an army of adoring fans. She could almost hear the cheers…
She let out a frustrated shout and flew back to him. “The last time you said those words, that blue jerk got all the glory! How’s this gonna be any different?”
His face grew hard. “I never offered you fame, Lightning. I offered you a chance to make a difference and give your life some meaning.”
She glowered, but realized that he had a point. Damn him for being good at that. “Maybe I want something else.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you really? Is having adoring fans the only thing that matters to you?”
“It’s a lot better than what I’ve got.”
His ears lowered and his eyes grew sharp. “Even with Keen?”
She choked down her words, legs falling limp as she glared. Was her eye twitching? “I…didn’t mean it like that.”
“I wonder.” He rubbed his chin as he scrutinize her with one eye. “Whatever your motivations, I promise this is a meeting you don’t want to miss. Tonight, right here. When the moon is at its zenith. Keen should be in bed by then, right?”
“As long as she doesn’t have another nightmare,” Lightning grumbled. “What’s so big about this meeting, anyway?”
“Go to it and see.”
She growled and launched. “Don’t count on it!”
But as she flew away, Lightning found herself wondering.
Lightning lay on her couch, staring up at the ceiling with hooves behind her head. Keen was asleep in her room, but sleep wouldn’t come to Lightning. The moon would be at its zenith soon, and she was struggling to come up with the best reason not to go to Fine’s meeting. No matter how many excuses ran through her head, however, there was always that nagging feeling that she needed to be there.
Her dream of being a Wonderbolt was dead. She needed another avenue to glory. Fine wasn’t the way to get there, the Crystal Empire incident had made that clear. Yet that little adventure had given her a moment of self-satisfaction, and she longed to have that feeling again.
But what about Keen? Assuming Fine could lead her on the path to fame, could she balance that with her responsibilities to the filly? She wasn’t sure she could. The dream of a lifetime against the future of one filly. How did she ever get into this mess? She wasn’t even sure she was doing right by Keen…but there was also no guarantee Fine could get her to her dream. What if she was destined to fail, regardless?
That thought left an empty feeling in her stomach.
“L-Lightning?”
She fought down a groan and waved a hoof over the couch. “Still awake, kid.”
She heard Keen’s quiet hoofsteps approaching, and the filly’s pale mane came into view. Keen chewed her lip as she looked up with moist eyes. Lightning scooted away and patted the cushions. “Come on up.”
Keen said nothing. She climbed onto the couch with some difficulty, finally curling up at Lightning chest and tucking her head under the pegasus’ chin. A long silence passed between them, and for a moment Lightning’s mind began to wander once more. But then Keen spoke up, her voice barely a whisper. “I’m s-sorry I keep having nightmares…”
Lightning grimaced, but held the filly close. “It’s okay. I still have them, too.”
“But you’re never scared.” Keen shifted so her back was against Lightning’s chest. “I wish I was brave…”
Lightning did, too. Part of her wanted to toss the pony back into her room and tell her to deal with it. Yet Keen wasn’t like her; she couldn’t just ‘deal with it’. Lightning was hit with an intense sorrow at the thought that she still had no idea how to handle this. It was her job, wasn’t it? But she’d done nothing to help Keen so far, and it made her feel like a failure.
She needed advice…but who could she possibly turn to for that? They’d been in Ponyville for almost a month, but she couldn’t claim to really know anypony. Ever since the Academy, Lightning had been bad at making friends. She was always too busy brooding. Ponies kept avoiding her because of it, and she couldn’t blame them; who wanted to be around an unfriendly, snappy pegasus?
But she needed help. How was she supposed to meet other ponies—
Meet. The meeting. If she went she might at the very least meet some ponies. It sounded lame in her head, but she wasn’t exactly being social on her own. And then she could know for certain that nothing Fine was trying to do would interest her, so it was a win-win decision, right?
But if it did interest her, and it did pave the way for her old dreams…
Win-win, again.
Realizing her decision was made, she waited ‘till she heard Keen’s breathing steady and deepen. She moved very carefully, tucking the filly in the corner of the couch and setting the covers on her. She left the house as quietly as possible, but as soon as the front door was closed she zoomed across Ponyville. The moon had passed its zenith; she was late.
Fine was right where he’d said he’d be, sitting atop the hill and watching the moon. She sucked in a deep breath and prepared herself for what she hoped wouldn’t be a completely worthless event.
Lightning dove to hover over Fine, leveling him with a harsh look. “Alright, Fine. I came.”
His smug smile made her hackles rise. “You’re later than I expected.”
He’d expected her to come late? Fortunately her excuse was as legitimate as possible. She dropped down to the soft grass as she said, “I had to make sure Keen was actually asleep this time. She always wants to share the bed.”
He nodded. “Still having nightmares?”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” she reminded him. “The kind of stuff she’s seen will take a lifetime to get over.” She blinked; she’d only said it as part of her excuse…but it was true, wasn’t it? Why did she suddenly feel like she was too hard on the filly?
“Well,” he replied softly, “maybe after tonight you can get her some professional help.”
She raised an eyebrow, not liking the sound of that at all. The last thing she wanted was to get a know-it-all shrink involved. “Uhh, yeah, whatever. Now why the heck am I out here?” She grimaced at a sudden thought. “If you’re about to ask me to be your special somepony I’ll buck you clear across town!”
“Better him than us.”
Lightning blinked and turned to look down the hill. It was the brothers Jimmy and Nye Stone. She couldn’t be sure which one had spoken. Jimmy waved to her in a manner she found strangely friendly for how little they knew one another. “Hey, Lightning. Fine call you out here, too?”
“Uh-huh.” She cast a glance at Nye, who was grinning like a fool. “What are you so cheery about?”
“Him?” Jimmy grinned and whacked his twin on the shoulder. “He finally asked Rainbow Dash to be his mare-friend.”
Lightning’s jaw dropped, her mind going back to her conversation with the weather captain. “And she said yes?!”
Nye was positively glowing. “She sure did!”
Lightning stared at him, unable to believe it. She noted his pudgy face and slightly oversized belly and turned away to mutter, “Goddess, does she have bad taste.” A cursory glance confirmed they’d missed it.
“We’re here.” They all turned to look down the hill once more. Lightning could only stare as Octavia Melody and a very hesitant Upper Crust approached them. She didn’t know they were in Ponyville, too! She cast a sharp look Fine’s way; this had to be his doing.
“Looks like everypony showed up,” Octavia noted, expression serious.
“Everypony?” How did she know this was all of them? Lightning turned that same critical look her way. “So you were in on this?” Suddenly she wasn’t sure she liked Octavia as much as she had.
“I’ve been ‘in’ on a lot of things,” the musician replied. She fidgeted under Lightning’s peering and turned her attention to Fine Crime. “So I guess this means it’s finally time?”
Fine’s nod confirmed Lightning suspicions: Octavia had been in cahoots with him! Just how much did she know? Was she part of his little organization, or whatever he was associated with?
“Hey, Upper Crust,” Nye called, distracting Lightning’s thoughts. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“That makes two of us,” Upper Crust admitted, scuffing the grass with head low, “but Octavia said it was important, so here I am.” She still looked like a scaredy-pony to Lightning. If she hadn’t helped out in the Crystal Empire, Lightning would have doubted that she was of any use at all.
The Crystal Empire. She looked at all of them in turn. These were all the ponies who’d helped that day…except Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Why weren’t they here? Was this supposed to be some sort of reunion? Lightning didn’t know whether she approved of that idea or not.
“I’m glad you all could come,” Fine declared, now standing apart from the them. “It’s time to make things official.”
“Official?” Jimmy asked.
“Make what official?” Upper Crust added.
He turned to them with a solemn frown. “Some things need to be explained to you. I know you all have had a lot of questions about me.”
Oh great, was this supposed to be some kind of tell-all? Lightning jumped to hover in the air, ready to bolt at the first sign of mush. “What makes you think I care?”
“I do have a lot of things I’d like cleared up, actually,” Jimmy noted.
“Me too,” Nye mentioned. “Like who you really work for, and why you seem to know so much about all of us.”
Lightning had to admit, that was something she’d like to know. Maybe she shouldn’t get ready to fly off just yet…
“Indeed,” Upper Crust declared. “We know so little about you, and yet you act as if you’ve known us for years.”
“In a way,” Octavia told them quietly, “he has.” She turned away nervously when they all locked eyes on her. Lightning sneered and turned back to Fine; she didn’t like all these secrets! Why couldn’t anypony be direct like her? But then, if they were about to reveal everything…
“Octavia knows what I am going to tell you,” Fine Crime declared. “She knows because back in the Crystal Empire she chose to stick around and listen to what I had to say while all of you went your own ways.”
So Lightning would have been in on everything if she’d stuck around after the battle? She didn’t know whether to kick herself or be angry that she had been left in the dark. After all, she’d met Fine plenty of times since then.
That thought spurred her frustration, and she flew close to hit Fine with a glare. “And what exactly does Octavia know that we don’t, huh?”
Fine pushed her away gently. “She knows that for the past three years I have been traveling all across Equestria looking for a select group of ponies, ponies who would become members of a small team. I personally tested each qualifying candidate to see who would make the cut and who would be left alone. In the end, we chose the five of you.”
Lightning stared. She didn’t know whether this was too crazy to be believed or just within the realm of possibility for him.
“Alright, Fine, seriously,” Jimmy said, “someday you’re going to shock us all and tell the truth.”
“This is no lie,” Fine snapped. “Each and every one of you showed the qualities we wanted for this team. Octavia, who displayed devotion, integrity, determination, leadership and kindness, was the fourth candidate.”
Lightning glanced at the musician, who maintained an expressionless but high-browed manner. She had all that? When did she ever display such qualities?
“Nye, you maintained your social, optimistic nature even when your own life was falling to pieces, and have the honor of being the first pony aside from her sister to befriend Princess Luna, a true indicator of your character. You were number two.”
Lightning’s ears drooped; oh yeah, he did know the princess, didn’t he? That had been an important part of his contribution to the Crystal Empire fight.
“Jimmy, you overcame your own life’s desire and your fear of your father to do what you knew was right. Number three.”
She glanced at the more muscular twin. Him she could see as special material. Why wasn’t Rainbow going for that guy?
“Lightning.” She blinked and turned to find Fine’s eyes locked with hers. “No matter the situation, no matter how depressed or unprepared you ever were, no matter what you thought your personal reasons were, when the time came and somepony needed help you always answered the call, without hesitation or doubt. Number five.”
She ducked once more. Why were her cheeks burning all of a sudden? Did he really see such a…good quality in her? And when had he tested her?
“And you, Upper Crust,” he said, turning to the elite pony and smiling. “When nopony else would help, when the situation was most dire, you overcame your lack of self-confidence and your personal fears to do what needed to be done. You were the first.”
That weak little thing? Lightning felt she should be impressed, but she was still too stuck on his unexpected praise for her.
“Okay.” Lightning dropped to the grass. “Okay, I’ll admit: that was a pretty good job buttering us up.” She stood tall; she didn’t dare let him know his words had affected her. “I still don’t believe it.”
She glanced at the others and saw that they had been affected, too. All of them were fidgeting and exchanging uncertain looks. It was Jimmy who finally stepped forward to speak. “And what exactly are we supposed to do in this…team?”
Fine smiled. “For that, I think I’d best turn things over to my boss.”
His boss? Lightning glanced about the hill, but they were alone. Upper Crust beat her to the question. “What boss?”
Fine turned and bowed his head. His horn began to glow brightly, sparking in a manner that reminded Lightning of a star. He let it shimmer for a few seconds before it finally burned out.
Quiet filled the cool night air. Nothing happened. “What was that supposed to do?” Nye asked.
“It was a signal,” Fine answered.
Lightning rolled her eyes; would it kill him to be direct? “A signal for what?”
But in rolling her eyes, she’d looked up. In looking up, she seen the moon. And in seeing the moon, she’d noticed the shadow.
“A signal that the team is at last ready to meet her.”
Lightning felt her heart skip a beat as that shadow began to form a distinct shape. She abruptly remembered the first time Fine had offered to let her work with him. He’d given her a talisman, which had held a certain royal sigil. Now, as she saw the dark sapphire wings spreading wide, she seriously regretted pawning it, even if she’d been desperate at the time.
He’d been telling the truth, all along.
Princess Luna landed in the soft grass, tall and regal in the shining moonlight. Lightning rushed to bow with the others. Her mind was stuck on one incredible realization:
She was being recruited.
She flew circles around Ponyville, the chilly night air keeping her alert. She was in a state of disbelief, struggling to sort out what had just happened.
She’d agreed.
She was in a team. Endorsed by Princess Celestia, commanded by Princess Luna. Lead by Fine Crime.
They were a team. They were supposed to support the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony.
What did that even mean?
And why had she agreed?
She slowed down to push through a cloud, letting the condensed material form water against her body. She came out wet and spun, droplets flinging off her wings in majestic circles. She folded her wings and fell, landing on her back atop the cloud. A second later the droplets hit her, pattering against her neck and belly. It was an old trick, something she used to use to cool her head.
Her head didn’t need cooling, though; it needed clearing.
Upper Crust, Nye and Jimmy Stone, Octavia Melody, Fine Crime.
And Lightning Dust.
None of them seemed like hero material to her. She gazed up at the moon, still recalling Luna’s face in her mind. She couldn’t believe that she was now in the direct service of a princess! What did that mean for her? Would her life change? Or would they be more like the Element Bearers, living their day-to-day lives until called upon to act? Did this have any effect on her old dream to be famous?
The Crystal Empire had been a test run. She understood that now. If they could work together to defeat King Sombra…maybe this wasn’t such a crazy lineup, after all.
But the Crystal Empire hadn’t given her what she’d been after. Maybe this was her chance to become a hero. Maybe not. It was far better than anything she’d been doing before. It might even be better than being a Wonderbolt, though that was a long shot.
She sat up and heaved a sigh. Despite all her doubts and questions and reservations, she’d agreed to join this team. She reached back to rub the scar hidden beneath her left wing, tracing its short length with the edge of her hoof. She was always second best. That was a reason she’d been picked. That fact made her feel…insignificant. So if she’d become a Wonderbolt, she’d not even have been considered?
How else was she supposed to feel about that?
But she’d been deemed worthy. Second place but worthy. Worthy of what? A second place princess? That’s what Luna was, wasn’t she? A lesser princess with a lesser team. How fitting.
Rainbow was an Element Bearer. She was supposed to help her boss? Did that make her less than Rainbow? She sneered and kicked at a fluff of cloud, imagining it as that blue do-gooder’s head. Why did it feel like being on this team was accepting her inferiority?!
Lightning was better than Rainbow. She knew she was better! Why did she have to be on support? The wing-pony? First the academy, then the Crystal Empire, and now this? Maybe she wasn’t an Element Bearer. Maybe she did have a bum wing. Maybe she was saddled with some kid. She could still best Rainbow, and this was her chance to prove it! The Element Bearers just had to slip up one time, and then her team would come in and be the heroes!
Lightning could see Rainbow’s humiliated face in her head. It was almost enough to give her a wingie. She gazed up at the moon with grin…
Her pleasure faded, her head lowering. She stared up at the moon, recalling Princess Luna’s face, her words, her ever-calm manner.
Lightning's first time meeting a princess. What would that princess think if she saw Lightning, now? If she knew the bitter thoughts that ran through Lightning’s head, would Luna want her on the team at all? A princess who forgave her sister after a thousand years of imprisonment had to be above such vengeful concepts.
But Lightning wasn’t. She wanted to smear Rainbow’s good name, and pay her back for everything!
She flopped onto her back, mind rampant with conflicting thoughts. Her revenge might be right in front of her! But to use this new position to attain it, to abuse the trust placed in her by a princess – Lightning wished it didn’t feel so wrong. Why did it feel wrong? She wouldn’t have hesitated a year ago.
If only she didn’t still feel like a loser...
Was that all it was? Did she just want to be a winner for a change? Could she be a winner, even on a team of losers?
She let herself sink through the cloud. Upon dropping through the bottom, she opened her wings and made her slow way home. She probably should have been happier about this situation. After all, it had taken Fine Crime three years to sort through potential candidates. That was like being a winner. It put her among the best, right?
The best of the not-good-enoughs. She landed by her front door with a sigh. Was that really all she was going to be, now?
She went inside and made her way to the couch, eager to get some sleep. Maybe in the morning she’d see things in a more positive light. Maybe she’s recognize the good side of this. Maybe—
She paused and stared; Keen wasn’t on the couch.
She looked about the room, mind momentarily blank. The filly had to have woken up, but where had she gone? She turned and walked down the hall, finding the door to Keen’s bedroom opened. Keen’s bed was too tall for her to climb on by herself, but maybe…
The bed was empty, and a trickle of fear crept into her mind. “K-Keen? Are you here?”
She heard a muffled squeak, and a second later the filly’s head poked out from under the bed. Upon spotting Lightning she burst out and locked her legs around one of Lightning’s. “Y-you’re here! Thank goodness!”
Lightning stared with wide eyes; Keen’s cheeks were covered in tears. “Keen, what’s wrong?”
“You were gone!” The filly cried. “I woke up and you were gone!” She pressed her forehead against Lightning’s leg and sobbed. “I was s-so scared!”
Something dark surged within Lightning as she glared down at the little unicorn. “The monsters are not in Ponyville! For buck’s sake, Keen, get over it!”
Keen ducked, looking up at her with wide eyes. “Y-you don’t know that…”
Lightning stepped back, jerking her leg away from the filly’s grasp. “What do you think, that they’re looking for you? That they’re gonna come all the way to Ponyville just to get you?”
Keen sank low, tears streaming from her cheeks. “I… B-but I thought they had y-you…”
Lightning growled. “They’re not gonna take me, either! Why the buck would you think they’d take me?!”
The filly bowed her head and shook. “L-like… Like they took M-Mountain…”
Lightning felt as though she’d been splashed with ice water. Mountain Mantra…his last words still haunted her dreams. She could still remember finding his broken body in the well. And Keen had seen him dragged there.
If they could cart off a pony as big as Mountain…
For the first time, Lightning understood that Keen had more experience with changelings than she did. Lightning had only encountered them for a brief time, but Keen had lived with them. She’d been forced to hide under her covers and listen while the others foals were shadowed away one at a time, night after night, and brought back as something else entirely…if they came back at all. And how long had it been going on? Weeks? Months?
She’d flown off to do things in the night and not once paused to think of how the filly would react if she woke up alone! What had she been thinking? And now Lightning had blown up at her for being scared of something that she now knew might not be as far-fetched as everypony believed.
She dropped to her belly and swept the weeping filly into her hooves. “I’m sorry, Keen. I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I mean I did, but it was wrong. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
Keen wrapped her legs about Lightning’s neck. “I-I’m sorry t-too. I’ll try t-to be b-braver, I p-promise!”
“No.” Lightning sat up, lifting the filly in her hooves and looking her in the eyes. Or tried to; Keen was so busy crying she had trouble focusing. “Keen, you don’t have to be brave now. Let me be brave for both of us. I shouldn’t be pushing you like I have been, and I’m sorry. If either of us is wrong, it’s me. I won’t leave you alone like that again, kay? I promise.”
Keen just sobbed, and Lightning held her close for a while. It took some time for the filly to regain control of herself – or perhaps just run out of energy. Lightning climbed into bed with her, but Keen insisted upon sleeping within the light of the moon, so they moved the pillows in front of the window.
“Y-you really won’t leave?” Keen whispered as she snuggled against Lightning’s side.
“Never.” Lightning nuzzled the filly’s soft mane. “Get some sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
She stared up at the moon, thinking about what had just happened. She realized that in her surprise and confusion she’d completely forgotten the reason she’d gone to that meeting in the first place. Her thoughts had turned to the potential for fame – or lack of it – and Keen had completely slipped her mind.
Some parent she was turning out to be. Maybe she really was only suited for second place…
The sun was dropping on the horizon, and ponies throughout Ponyville were beginning to close up shop. Keen's hooves dragged along the ground as she followed behind Lightning, head hanging low.
“But I don’t want another foalsitter.”
Lightning said nothing.
“I could go with Fluttershy.”
Lightning let out a huff, but otherwise remained silent.
Keen pouted, kicking a pebble and glowering at her guardian’s back hooves.
“Or Twilight could do it.”
Still, Lightning wouldn’t answer.
Not ready to give up, Keen moved a little closer and tugged on Lightning’s tail. “Fine could!”
Lightning turned about and knocked Keen’s hooves from her tail with a sneer. “Enough, Keen! I know you don’t like it, but it has to be done.”
Keen dropped back at the adult’s anger. “B-but they’re all good choices.”
Lightning rubbed her forehead and sucked in a deep breath. “No, they’re not. You can’t go with Fluttershy to Cloudsdale. You know you can’t walk on clouds.”
The filly offered a hopeful smile. “Twilight can make ponies walk on—”
Her guardian poked her in the chest, which hurt. “We’re not imposing on Fluttershy while she visits family. Stop asking.”
Keen rubbed her chest and drooped, but perked up quickly. “But Twilight can still—”
Lightning silenced her with an ominous frown. “You’re lucky enough she offered to be your teacher. Don’t push it.”
Keen wilted once more. She’d spent all day thinking on those arguments… “And Mr. Fine Crime?”
“No. Just… no.”
That wasn’t a reason! Keen crossed her hooves and sulked, eyes on the ground. “I don’t want a new foalsitter…”
Lightning groaned and lifted Keen, setting her on her back. “So you keep saying. Just deal with it.”
Keen rocked to Lightning’s motions as the mare continued down the road. “I don’t wanna deal with it, either.” She observed the back of Lightning's head and wondered if it would be worth the trouble she'd be in if she gave it a good whack.
Lightning's growl was enough to make her abandon the idea, so Keen merely dropped to her belly and kept her lips pressed tight. She had been arguing all day. Lightning wasn’t going to budge, though, so the filly just turned her head away and sulked. She locked her eyes on the setting sun, wondering which adult she would have to spend next week with.
Lightning had worked late today. She was going to work late on several days over the next week. Why did ponies have to get sick in the fall? It wasn’t fair…
Keen’s ears perked as laughter briefly filled the air. She turned to look ahead and saw that they were approaching a short, wide building. Up above the two sets of doors were signs. The words over the single left door were darkened and read Jimmy’s Days. The pair of doors on the right sported a sign that glowed a dark blue and read Nye’s Nights, with a white crescent moon between the words.
The doors to Nye’s Nights opened as a pair of ponies left the building, and laughter reached her ears once more. Keen could see a large crowd inside and her chest tightened. She ducked and waited with bated breath as Lightning approached the building, a silent prayer going through her head.
Lightning paused a few feet from the door and raised her head. She studied the doors for several seconds, then looked to the darkened Jimmy’s Days. At last she approached that side of the building, and Keen let out a deep sigh.
Lightning knocked on the door, and the two waited quietly. Keen looked up at the sign and wondered about the name. After a while Lightning knocked again with a little more force. Still, there was nothing.
Keen's spirits rose a tiny fraction. “Maybe they’re not home.”
“If he’s not,” Lightning replied without looking back, “we’re going in there.” She waved a hoof towards Nye’s Nights just in time for a lone stallion to enter the doors, a burst of chatter escaping the building. The filly ducked and shook her head. Let them be home!
Lightning knocked again, and this time the door opened. Keen peered over her guardian’s head to see the big, muscular pegasus they’d met at the library before.
“Lightning?” he asked, tilting his head. “What are you doing here? Nye’s is on the other side.”
“Nice ta see you, too. Can we come in?”
He blinked, eyed Keen and finally stepped aside.
“Thanks, Jimmy.” Lightning trotted through, and Keen made sure to keep her face half-hidden as Jimmy's green eyes followed her.
Keen dared looked up at Jimmy as they passed him. He offered her a smile, but Keen only ducked back behind her mane. Who was this pony? Lightning said she used to work with him. How?
Jimmy’s Days was a workshop filled with tools, spare parts and strange machines. It was all very clean and organized. Keen wasn’t sure what most of the bits and pieces were, and found herself staring at them with genuine interest.
“Sorry it took so long to answer.” Jimmy made his way to the counter. “I was in the back, working on some designs.”
“But aren’t you closed?” Lightning asked.
“I’ve got way too many orders to stop working at closing time.”
“Oh.” Lightning gave Keen a worried frown. “I guess that nixes you, then.”
Now leaning heavily on the counter, Jimmy raised an eyebrow. “Nixes me for what?”
Lightning went to the counter. Keen promptly hopped on top of it and sat, hiding once more behind her mane as both adults turned their eyes on her. Lightning said, “I’m in a bind and need somepony to look after Keen while I’m working next week.”
Jimmy whistled and smiled. “Yeah, I definitely can’t. Maybe if I wasn’t swamped with orders.”
Lightning sat back, her shoulders sagging. “Fluttershy suggested trying this place. She gave me a small list of names, but since I know you and your brother I thought I’d come here first.”
Jimmy's head cocked. “We were on the list?” Lightning nodded. “Huh. I’m kinda surprised.”
“Why?” Lightning studied him. “Don’t think you’re up to it?”
Jimmy chuckled. “Neither me or my brother have any experience with foals.”
“Well, Fluttershy thinks you can do it.” Lightning patted Keen on the head, perhaps trying to encourage her. Keen made no attempt to show her face, though. “She’s been taking care of Keen for a few weeks now and doing a great job. If she says you’ve got it, I’ll believe her.”
Jimmy studied Keen for a few seconds, and she averted her eyes. He seemed even bigger than she remembered.
“Let me grab Nye. I can’t help ya, but he doesn’t open his shop till late in the afternoon, so perhaps he can.” Jimmy came back around the counter and made his way to a side door. “Be right back.”
Keen watched as he left, voices coming out of the other part of the building while the door was opened. Once it closed, she cast a big-eyed look Lightning’s way.
Lightning rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry! Jimmy and Nye are stand-up guys, I promise.”
Keen bowed her head and sighed. “I dunno…”
Silence filled the workshop. Keen’s eyes roamed the tools and machinery that filled the place, but they no longer held her interest. All she could think of was that she was going to be with new ponies. She didn’t like meeting new ponies.
“Hey.” Lightning leaned forward and wrapped a hoof about Keen with a soft smile. “Trust me, kiddo. I’m not gonna give ya to somepony who can’t look after ya.”
Keen frowned at her guardian. “Then why can’t I stay with Mr. Fine?”
Lightning facefaulted, her head whacking the counter hard enough to make Keen wince.
“Please, Keen, just work with me!”
Keen pouted and looked away, determined not to say anything else.
The door opened. Jimmy came back in, followed by a slightly shorter white stallion. Keen noticed this newcomer’s lack of wings and tilted her head; weren’t they brothers? The new stallion also didn’t have Jimmy’s muscles and was a little wider in the midsection. Keen couldn't help giggling; he reminded her of a marshmallow.
“Lightning! I was wondering how long it would be before you graced our place.” The newcomer wrapped Lightning in a hug, which she returned awkwardly.
When they parted Lightning had a strange frown, as if she wasn’t sure what was happening. She blushed and offered a weak smile. “Umm, yeah. Sorry, Nye. I’ve been kinda busy, y’know?”
“Yeah,” Nye agreed with a nod, “it gets that way.”
Jimmy snorted, his cheeks puffing out as he fought down a laugh. “Yeah, right! Like you ever actually work.”
“Hey!” Nye sat and crossed his legs, head raised. “I work plenty at my shop.”
His brother grinned. “Between the naps, and chasing Rainbow around, and napping with Rainbow, and—”
Nye pressed a hoof against Jimmy’s muzzle, effectively silencing him. “Shut up, bro! They don’t need to hear that part.”
Keen tried not to smile, she really did, but it came anyway.
“So.” Nye turned to Lightning with a grin. “Jim tells me you’ve got a foal problem?”
Lightning gestured to Keen with a nod, still smirking at the brothers’ banter. The filly quickly hid her face when his smile turned her way. “Well hello, little lady. And what’s your name?”
It took her a second to find her voice. “K-Keen.”
“What’s the matter, never seen such a handsome stallion before?”
He leaned against the countertop with a grin, and Keen backed away. He seemed a lot more… active than his brother.
Nye tilted his head, his eyebrows rising in curiosity. He never lost that charming smile.“You’re a shy one, aren’t ya?”
Keen winced, but Lightning wrapped a hoof around her once more. “She has to get used to strangers.”
“I’ll fix that.” He leaned low, his head hovering just over the counter as he smiled at the Keen. “Tell me, kid, what’s your favorite treat?”
Keen's ears perked and she gave Lightning a questioning look. The mare shrugged. Keen looked to Nye and saw he was eagerly waiting, so she closed her eyes and tried to think of an answer.
She could remember Hearth’s Warming Eve, though she didn’t know why. Her father working the fireplace, her reading at her little desk he’d made. Her mother was in the kitchen, cooking up something for that special night. Pasta, her mom loved pasta. And cake and a big bowl of her father’s favorite soup. Well, Keen thought it was soup. She could almost smell the spices, and the burning wood, and the sweetness of the cake, and the—
—the cookies. Warm, soft, sweet cookies with that powerful aroma. Keen loved those cookies. Cookies her mother made every year, laced with...
“Mint.” Keen opened her eyes and looked up at Nye with a deep frown. “I like mint.”
Nye stood straight, clapped and pointed at her with both hooves and a wink. “Don’t you go anywhere!” He was off to the other room.
Keen and Lightning shared questioning looks. Lightning turned to Jimmy. “What’s he gonna do?”
Jimmy smiled and shrugged. “His thing.”
Nye returned a couple seconds later carrying some bottles, a bowl and a curious looking machine on his back. “Ladies and fillies, let’s have a little show!” He set the bottles on the countertop one at a time, followed by the machine. He placed the bowl next to Keen and a strong, minty smell hit her nostrils. She peeked inside to find it half-full of crushed mint leaves.
Nye grabbed two bottles, which spun about his hooves in a blur as he shot his audience a grin. “I call this one the Minuette Special!”
Keen gaped as he began to juggle the bottles. Two, three, four, six! Every now and then he’d pour just a little of something in the machine, never slowing down as bottles flew through the air. He tapped the machine with a hind hoof and a flourish and it began to buzz. He spun one bottle right over Keen’s head, making her duck in surprise, but when she came back up she was laughing.
Nye put on a great show. Bottles bounced on his hind legs, rolled on his back, spun circles about one another on the counter. One of them went flying at Jimmy, who caught it with a smirk and sent it right back.
“Someday I’ll actually hit him,” Nye cracked with a wink at Keen. “Knock some sense into that thick skull.”
He grabbed the bowl, spinning it over his shoulders before tipping a small amount of its contents into a waiting glass. He kicked the glass with a hind-hoof; it slid into place under the machine just in time to catch the steaming liquid that poured out. As soon as the machine was empty, he snatched up the glass and had it spinning around his legs alongside the bottles. Keen could only watch, mesmerized by the display. More liquid was poured in from the other bottles.
“Little lady—” the full glass slid to a stop right in front of Keen, “—the Minuette Special.” He posed, the bottles all perfectly balanced on his legs and head and a big grin on his face.
Keen laughed and clapped. “That was great!”
“You’re tellin’ me,” Lightning said with a grin. “I’ve never seen anything like it! What’s the cutie mark for flare bartending look like?”
Nye chuckled with a blush as he set the bottles on the counter. “Hehe, yeah, that’s not my special talent. I just thought it would be fun to learn.”
Keen giggled. “It was very fun! Thank you!”
He offered a flamboyant bow before gesturing to the glass. “Better drink up before it gets cold.” He tilted his head to Lightning with a grin. “On the house.”
Keen blinked and studied the glass. It was almost half her height! She glanced at Lightning, who nodded with smile. “Go ahead.”
Keen looked down to see a green liquid inside. It wasn’t steaming anymore. She carefully lifted it and took a sip; her tongue was assaulted with a warm, chocolatey mint flavor. She let out a small gasp and took a much bigger drink. When she finally set it down she beamed up at Nye with chocolate coating her muzzle.
“It’s yummy!”
“Knew you’d like it,” he declared with a wink. “You come by every now and again and maybe I’ll whip up something else for you to try.” He turned to Lightning. “So, what’s this problem you’ve got?”
Lightning had to think for a moment. “Oh, right! Sorry. I’m looking for a foalsitter to look after Keen next week while I’m working. Fluttershy suggested you and Jimmy.”
“Oh.” He winced and his smile went lopsided. “I dunno, neither of us have much experience with kids.”
Lightning smirked and gestured to Keen, who was eagerly lapping up some more of the Minuette Special. “Could’a fooled me.”
He chuckled but shook his head. “I could probably do it, but I think you’d want somepony who knows what he's doing.” He rubbed his chin for a moment, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. “I don’t know every pony in Ponyville, but I think I know one or two who could help.”
“As long as it’s somepony trustworthy,” Lightning replied. “Anypony Fluttershy suggested will be good. I just wanted to come to see you guys first.”
“For once, I have to agree with Nye,” Jimmy told her. “No disrespect to Fluttershy, but I don’t think either of us have foalsitter potential.”
Nye's ears perked and he raised a hoof. “I think I know just the pony, and you’re in luck: she’s gracing my establishment at this very moment. Let me grab her real quick.” He turned and headed for the door.
Keen lifted her glass, trying to tip it without making a mess. It was abruptly forced back down, and she looked up to see Lightning smiling at her.
“Slow down, kiddo. Jimmy, ya got a smaller glass?”
“Yep.” He reached under his counter and pulled out a glass more fitting to Keen’s size. “I use this for my once-a-day dose of Cider Rainbooms.”
Keen tilted her head as he poured the rest of her Minuette’s Special in the smaller glass. “What’s a Cider Rainboom?”
“Something only older ponies get to drink,” he replied. “Sorry, Keen. You’re a bit too young for that.”
“Does Nye come up with his own drinks?” Lightning asked as Keen sipped her beverage.
“Yeah, the guy’s pretty good at it.” Jimmy shook his head. “He’s always been the creative one. Got it from our Ma.”
Keen looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “But this isn’t his special talent?” Jimmy shook his head. “What is?”
The stallion chuckled. “Cobbling.”
Lightning tilted her head. “What’s that?”
“He makes shoes?” Keen barely noticed Lightning's blush.
“He doesn’t,” Jimmy replied, “but that’s what his gift is. Don’t ask, it’s a long story.”
The door opened and Nye was back. He stood aside and held the door open for another Earth pony, who walked in at a slow and graceful gait with her head held high. She was grey-coated with a dark mane and mulberry eyes. Keen studied her and couldn’t help thinking she was awful pretty.
“Octavia?” Lightning leaned forward. “I thought Nye’s place would be too ‘low brow’ for your tastes.”
“Hey!”
Octavia giggled. “Maybe, but he still serves the best drinks in town. And now that he’s not chasing after my tail—” she patted him on the cheek with a smirk, “I feel much safer coming here.”
Nye struck a pompous pose as the door closed behind him. “Come on, Octavia! You and I both know you’re jealous that Rainbow got to me, first.”
Octavia covered her lips and fought down a giggle. “Yes, jealous. That’s it exactly.” She gave Lightning a beaming smile. “I’m glad to see you back here, Lightning. For a moment I thought Nye was trying to cheat on Rainbow with me.”
Nye ducked as the two mares and Jimmy chuckled. “No way! Rainbow might drop a Rainbomb on my head if I tried something like that.”
Jimmy waved. “Hey, Octavia. How’s Upper Crust?”
“Jimmy.” Octavia offered him a broad smile. “She’s… getting along.” She caught sight of Keen and set a hoof to her cheek. “And who is this lovely little filly?”
Keen set her almost-empty glass down and smiled up at Octavia. “I’m Keen!”
“She needs a foalsitter,” Lightning added, patting her on the head.
“Oh. So that’s what this is all about.” Octavia giggled and tapped the countertop. “Jimmy, could you get her a napkin?”
Jimmy chuckled and pulled something out of a drawer. “Have a rag.”
He tossed it to Octavia, who promptly wiped chocolate from Keen’s muzzle. “There, much better.”
Keen rubbed her face. “Umm, thank you?”
“You’re very welcome.” She gave the rag back to Jimmy before turning to Lightning. “Foalsitting, hmm? I don’t understand why it is that so many foals like to visit me, but I suppose one more wouldn’t hurt.”
Lightning’s eyes lit up and her wings half-opened. “Really?”
But Keen shifted. “Other foals?”
“Mm-hmm.” Octavia noted how the filly drooped. “Is something wrong?”
Lightning cringed, her moment of excitement effectively quelled. “Maybe.” She glanced around, then gestured for Octavia to follow. “Let’s talk over there, huh?”
Keen watched the two of them walk to a corner of the shop, lip trembling. She didn’t want another foalsitter, but getting one that had more foals around was even worse! Lightning wouldn’t make her go… would she?
She heard a familiar buzzing sound and turned to see Nye working the mixing machine. At her curious look he smiled and grabbed her glass. “Want another?” She bounced with a big grin. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Now hold on.” Jimmy tapped the countertop and gave Keen a frown. “Are you sure you’re not overdoing it?”
“Whatcha mean?” Nye asked.
Jimmy gestured to the empty glass. “How much sugar is in one of those things?”
Nye ducked as if to dodge a blow but continued to fill the glass with his tilted smile. “Come on, bro! Kids thrive on sweetness! One more couldn’t hurt.” He set the steaming glass in front of the filly, who was quick to suck down some of the minty beverage.
“If she gets sick, I’m blaming you.”
“I’ll be okay,” Keen assured him with a chocolate-covered grin. “It’s really good!”
“I’m sure it is.” Jimmy chuckled and wiped her face with the rag once more. “But good rarely means good for you. Beware that you don’t succumb to my brother’s evil ways.”
Nye grinned and waved a bottle at her. “Come to the dark side! We have chocolate.”
Keen giggled, silently concluding that she liked these two.
“The matter is settled.” Octavia rejoined them, Lightning at her side. “I’ll be taking turns with Fluttershy and Twilight to look after Keen, at least when I’m not traveling on the job.”
Keen’s happy mood popped like a balloon. She turned to Lightning, whose face was set in a firm frown. “But what about the foals?”
Keen's ears folded back and she kept staring at her guardian. “Lightning?”
“Sorry, kid,” Lightning replied, “but we’re gonna try this for a bit.”
Keen pouted and lay down to sulk. “It’s not fair…”
“Welcome to life,” Lightning grumbled.
Octavia shot a critical look Lightning’s way, then lowered her head so it was close to Keen’s. Her kind eyes locked with the filly’s and she had a soft smile.
“Keen, please give me a chance. If you don’t like it the first day, you don’t have to come back.”
Keen blinked and raised her head, not sure what to make of this offer. She glanced at Lightning, but her guardian said nothing, so she turned her eyes back to Octavia. “Really?”
Octavia nodded and straightened, setting a hoof to her heart. “On my honor.”
Keen chewed her lip and tried to think. She wasn’t used to being given an option… “Well, I guess I can try. M-maybe? If there really won’t be any other kids?”
“They may drop by to visit,” she replied, “but don’t worry. I personally vouch for them!”
Jimmy leaned over Keen. “Uh, vouch? You know what that means?”
“Oh, she knows.” Lightning patted Keens' head with a weak smile. “She’s one smart kid.”
“I don’t wanna.” Keen stood and studied Octavia for a few seconds, mulling over the situation. She cast another glance at Lightning before heaving a long sigh and bowing her head. “If I have to…”
“Thank you, Keen. “ Octavia beamed. “I promise, it won’t be that bad.”
Keen was lying on her back in the bed, groaning and rubbing her belly. “It hurts…”
Lightning stood nearby, scowling.
“When I get my hooves on Nye, I swear I’ll shove those bottles down his throat.”
Keen shifted to her side and gave Lightning a big-eyed, teary look. “What do I do?”
The pegasus rolled her head back on her shoulders with a sigh. “Wish that a store was open this late so I could buy some medicine?”
That didn’t sound promising. Keen curled into a tight ball and clutched at her stomach, unpleasant sounds coming from her throat as she fought not to cry.
“But it hurts…”
Lightning grumbled and shook her head. “I’m sorry, kid. There’s nothing I can do. Maybe this’ll teach ya not to overdo it on the sweets next time.”
“It was just a little chocolate...”
“Three glasses of mint chocolate whatever does not count as a little.” Lightning facehooved. “Had I realized Nye was giving you so much…”
Keen eyed Lightning through her mane, teeth clamped at the pain. “D-don’t be mad at him. Please?”
“Well of course I’m mad at him! Who should I be mad at? You?”
Keen hid in her mane, a tear running down her cheek. “I’m sorry…”
“I bet you are.” Lightning sighed and patted her head. “You’ll be alright, Keen. You’ll just have ta bear with it for a little while. I promise not ta hurt Nye… much.”
She tucked Keen under the covers, a small frown on her lips as she watched the filly cringe. “It’ll go away. Just give it time.”
“I want it to go away now,” Keen muttered.
Lightning went to the door, but cast one more apologetic look the filly’s way. “I know it’s hard, but try and be tough, kiddo.” Keen didn’t answer, and after a few anxious seconds the mare closed the door.
Keen tossed and turned, her mind focused on her churning stomach. She didn’t understand why something so good could end up so bad. She buried her head in her pillow and cried. She really wanted Lightning to stay with her tonight. Why hadn’t she asked?
Because she was supposed to be tough.
But she wasn’t a tough filly! She was just Keen…
Her bed shifted and she promptly sat up. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Fine Crime, who offered her a small smile.
“Hey, Miss Sweet Tooth.”
Keen curled and held her stomach some more, then wiped a tear from her eye. “H-hello.”
He tilted his head at her. “Hurts, huh?” She nodded with a sniff. “No surprise.”
Keen drooped. “We don’t have medicine…”
“But I do.” She looked up to see a small, dark-red bottle floating next to him. “Come on, let’s get some of this in ya.”
She approached, eyeing the bottle. “Will it help?”
He nodded. “It’ll take some time to kick in, but yes. You’ll be feeling better before ya know it.”
She sat next to him as the cap unscrewed from the bottle, which tilted and poured a small amount directly into the cap. The medicine dropped down to hover before her.
“This won’t taste good. Medicine never does.”
As long as it stopped the pain. Keen leaned forward and took the cap, sipping from it. Her face wrinkled up at the bitter flavor.
Fine chuckled. “Just drink it all in one go. Get it over with.”
She sighed and, bracing for impact, did as he suggested. It was even nastier the second time around! She forced herself to swallow, smacking her lips to try and get the taste out of her mouth with a profound “Ick.”
Fine replaced the bottle’s cap and set it aside, bringing up from beside the bed a small glass of water. “Here, wash it down.” She did, grateful for the cool liquid. “There. That’s better, right?”
“No,” she grumbled, wincing as her stomach performed a few flips. “It’s not.”
He chuckled and pulled her a little closer. His horn shined, and black clouds poofed into existence overhead. When they faded, a small book was in their place. “I hear you like to read.”
She nodded, though the book held little interest to her at the moment. It lowered to about her height, and she saw from the title that it was a series of short stories. She recognized the author. “Mom liked her.”
Fine raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Keen fought the urge to grab her stomach so that she could take the book in her hooves. “She had a small collection of Verity’s books.”
He chuckled once more. “Ever read any?” The filly shook her head, and he wilted just a little. “Well, why not start now?”
Keen sighed and set the book aside. “I don’t feel like reading…”
“Oh, come on.” He magically raised the book up to her once more. “I hear you’re really good. Show me?”
Her stomach did a backflip, but she took the book anyway. Why did adults always want her to do things she didn’t want to do? She used her horn to flip a page or two, feeling a little proud that she could do that now. She read through the table of contents, but nothing interested her. So she flipped to a random story and began reading out loud, sure to keep her voice down so that Lightning wouldn’t overhear.
It was a curious story. At first she just read through it, but soon she was wondering how the colt would convince the ghost to leave the flowerbed. She kept reading, even as her eyes drooped and a long yawn escaped her lips. A ghost that was scared of honeybees? Could ghosts be scared?
About halfway through the story Keen found herself leaning against Fine. He took the book and began to read for her. He had an animated voice, even when whispering. She snuggled up against him and listened, trying to catch all his words. He was a good reader. She wouldn’t sleep yet, she had to know if the poor ghost would be okay…
But at last her mind drifted. Just before everything went dark, she found herself wondering…
The Ponyville Weather Office was a wide cloud structure set at the edge of a hill just South of town. Equestrian flags fluttered at its corners, the building’s exterior decorated with columns in the Cloudsdale fashion. Lightning never liked the architecture of Cloudsdale. It seemed to austere, too self-serving. That was part of why she didn’t like how all the Weather Patrol Offices in Equestria used Cloudsdale’s building style; it was almost like the city was reaching its fluffy claws out to encompass Equestria.
Not that there was anything wrong with Cloudsdale. It was just a feeling she had.
Lightning had woken early so as to make sure her directions to Octavia’s were accurate, so she was one of the first to arrive at the office. Today was set to be a long one, and she was grumbling under her breath about working too many hours. When she spotted Rainbow she let out a noisy groan; what was she doing here so early? She usually didn’t come in for another four hours!
Determined to ignore Rainbow, Lightning headed for the Assignment Office where Cloud Kicker gave out individual jobs and assigned teams for the week. She got only a couple steps before she winced; Rainbow was calling her name. She considered pretending to not hear, but with a sneer and a silent curse she turned about.
“Yeah, what is it now?” Lightning grumbled as she walked up to her boss.
Rainbow was flanked by Cloud Kicker and Airheart, who both looked worried. She didn’t seem to take offense to Lightning’s grumpy response.
“Say, you’re from Foal Mountains, ain’t ya?”
Lightning sneered. “What of it?”
“How good are you at working with wild clouds?”
That caught her attention. Lightning thought back on her time in Appleloosa – a period she mostly tried to forget – and further back to Foal Mountains. There was one small success. “I’ve wrangled one or two in my time. Why?”
“There’s a monster of a cold front moving in from the Everfree,” Rainbow replied. “I’ve never really seen anything like it; we don’t work much with wild weather around here.”
Lightning frowned, understanding her boss’ meaning. “So I’m the closest thing you’ve got to an expert, huh?”
“More or less,” Cloud Kicker acknowledged. “We sent word to Cloudsdale, but they probably won’t send a response before the front gets here.”
Lightning tilted her head, eyes going each of them in turn. “I don’t get it. What’s so bad about this thing?”
Airheart stepped forward to explain, “Usually some pegasi are sent to the edge of the forest to hold the front at bay and only let so much of the cold in. This is much bigger than we’re used to, though.”
“We can’t stop a cold front,” Cloud Kicker admitted. “The cold’s going to come whether we like it or not, but we can slow it down. You know, make the change more subtle so that it’s not too rough for everypony.”
Rainbow shook her head. “But this ‘winter storm’ or whatever is huge. I’m not sure we can even do that this time.”
“Hmm…” Lightning wondered what it might be like for a severe winter storm to hit Ponyville. It still seemed a little early for that kind of thing; according to Ponyville’s weather charts, it was a solid two weeks before winter really hit.
“We were hoping you could provide some insight,” Cloud Kicker said. “Foal Mountains has rough winters now and then, right?”
Lightning thought back, visualizing the times when she was cooped inside because of severe blizzards and winter storms. The orphanage had been nice and warm, but Lightning had always hated having to sit inside all day. Just the thought of staring out the window for hours made her wings twitch.
“We had a rough time or two. It probably won’t be half as bad as what I’m used to, though.”
Cloud Kicker glanced to the side, her eyes faded with thought. “Even so, I think this one’s far more intense than what Ponyville is accustomed to. We might have to sound some sort of alert.”
Rainbow wrinkled her muzzle as she thought. “That’s taking it a bit far, don’t ya think?”
They all considered the situation for several seconds. Lightning was no expert – she’d only been on the weather team a few weeks, after all – but certainly had experience with winter storms. “Perhaps I can get a closer look.”
Cloud Kicker tilted her head. “You wanna scout it out?”
Lightning nodded. “I’ve been through a storm or two. Maybe I can get a feel for how bad it will be.”
“Not a chance,” Rainbow replied. “That’s waaay too dangerous. I mean, we’re talking about wild weather. It’s bad enough to go down in the Everfree where it’s hard to be found. You do it in that kind of weather and ya might not get back.”
Lightning grimaced. “I can handle it.”
“I said no.”
Rainbow leveled Lightning with a commanding glare, but Lightning fired one right back. “You need more information about this thing! What if it is too big? Ya don’t have enough pegasi here to slow the storm down and warn the town. I can go out there, figure out the storm’s strength, then come right back and tell you which is more important.”
Her rival considered this, expression harsh. “I dunno. It still sounds dangerous.”
Lightning grimaced. “Then… give me a wing pony.”
Rainbow blinked. “Wait, are you actually asking for a partner? You hate having a partner!”
A low growl came unbidden from Lightning’s throat. “What, now that I’m offering to do things your way you wanna argue? Is Lightning too dangerous for a partner? Make up your bucking mind!”
Her rival sneered and shook her head. “I’m trying to keep you safe, ya lamebrain!”
“No,” Lightning snapped, “you’re just getting in my way again.”
“Getting in your—!” Rainbow clamped her mouth closed, cheeks going red. She jerked away from Lightning and simply stood, making unpleasant sounds. Cloud Kicker moved close to her and was whispering in her ear, one peering eye locked on Lightning.
Lightning just stood and waited, seething with anger. What was Rainbow trying to do now? She kept telling her to be a team player, but now she wasn’t going to let her have a wing pony? This just proved that she was intentionally making things difficult! Lightning couldn’t believe that the captain of the weather team was putting this petty grudge in front of a very serious weather issue. It was irresponsible beyond belief!
If only she didn’t need the damn bits…
“I’ll be her wing-pony.”
Lightning blinked. All eyes went to Airheart, who blushed at the attention. “Let us try, Rainbow.”
Rainbow and Cloud Kicker exchanged wide-eyed glanced. “You sure about that?” Rainbow asked. “You have any experience in wild weather?”
Airheart nodded, trying her best to look confident. “I have to cross the wildlands to visit my sister in Las Pegasus every now and then. It’s not a winter storm, but it’s something.”
Cloud Kicker raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you usually take the train?”
Airheart winced, her confident veneer cracking. “N-not always…”
“I can work with Airheart.” Lightning shot Rainbow a firm, confident look. “We flew in a squadron together in Appleloosa.”
Rainbow sat and crossed her legs, lips set in a taught frown as she thought. Cloud Kicker looked between Lightning and Airheart before saying, “We do need more info.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her, but finally sighed. “I guess we do.”
Lightning launched to hover over them. “Great! Come on, Air, we’ve got a front to catch!”
“Hold it.” Lightning, already set in full flight pose, cringed and glanced back. Rainbow stood and said, “Wait till the others get here. I want every available pegasus at the edge of the forest, ready to do her part.”
“Sounds good to me,” Airheart admitted.
“But we could be investigating the storm while you’re gathering ponies!” Lightning waved her legs wildly. “We save time this way!”
Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes. “And if one of you goes down while nopony’s around to see it?”
“Isn’t that why there’s two of us?” Lightning snapped, gesturing at a shifting Airheart. “For buck’s sake, it’s not like we’re going to commit suicide!”
Rainbow stomped a hoof, face firm. “You’ll wait, Lightning!”
Lightning ground her teeth, fighting to keep the vitriol from exploding out of her mouth. She made no attempt to hide her anger. Airheart flew up to set a hoof on her shoulder. “Come on, we can practice flying together. It’s been a while, after all.”
Lightning’s glare was so harsh the pony shied away. She shot one last snarl at Rainbow before letting out a frustrated “Fine!” and darting out the door.
Lightning hovered at the edge of the forest, gazing in solemn wonder at the massive clouds in the distance. She’d only seen a formation like that once before, when she was a filly. Foal Mountains had a rough winter season that year…
“It’s a lot bigger than I expected.” Airheart was just beside Lightning, head lowered a little at the sight of the cold front.
“Me too,” Lightning admitted, her voice determined. She kept her eyes locked on the clouds directly ahead, focused on this ‘opponent’. That was how she needed to see this force of nature, as an enemy to be defeated.
She had no intention of losing.
“Alright,” Rainbow called as she approached them, expression stern. “Everypony’s here. Not sure what good it’ll do us against that thing, though.” She shot a concerned look at the pair. “You guys sure you wanna do this?”
“We got this.” Lightning lowered herself to a ready position.
“Y-yeah.” Airheart imitated the stance, albeit with a less enthusiasm.
Rainbow’s faced twisted with uncertainty. “Remember, all you gotta do is figure out how strong the storm is. Find out and come right back, got it?”
Lightning growled through her teeth. “Come on, already!”
“We’ll be careful,” Airheart added.
Rainbow sighed and waved a signal. “Good—” Lightning was gone in a blur! “—luck.”
Lightning burst through the invisible edge of the Everfree skies and immediately felt the shifting winds on her wings. Her body tilted a little, but she was able to adjust and flow with the new air, instinctively finding a current to ride along.
She heard a cry and looked back to see Airheart just passing the edge of the forest, her wings flapping wildly against the winds. For a pony who claimed to have been through wild weather before, she sure wasn’t putting on a good display.
Lightning sighed and banked, coming about and dropping to Airheart’s elevation. “Don’t fight the winds, use them!”
“G-give me a second.” Airheart's body rocked wildly as she struggled with her wings. “I don’t fly the wilds that much!”
Lightning moved ahead of her. “Come on, follow my lead.” Her wings beat slowly, feeling at the air as she descended at a shallow angle. “Feel with your feathers, not your muscles.” She glanced back to see her wing-pony not far behind, wobbling but managing to keep up.
A strong wind touched the tip of Lightning’s right wing and she banked into it. The winds caught her and lifted her high.
“Whoooa!”
She glanced back and grinned at Airheart’s wide eyes as she was brought up in the same way. “Feels weird the first time, doesn’t it?”
“V-very!” Airheart followed as Lightning beat her wings to gain a little more altitude over the currents. She knew from a lifetime of experience that a calm region had to be right above them, and after a couple hundred feet she found it.
“Come on, get up here,” Lightning called, circling as the inexperienced pegasus flapped up to meet her in a clumsy display. “How often did you say you flew in wild weather?”
Airheart let out a relieved sigh as she entered the calm region high above the forest. Catching Lightning’s wry smile, she blushed and rubbed the back of her head. “Umm… twice?”
Lightning facehooved. “So why the hay did ya offer to come along?”
Airheart flew slow circles around her, experimenting with her wings. “It just seemed so important to you. You’re always trying so hard. I know it hasn’t been easy.”
Lightning crossed her hooves and sulked. “Maybe if Rainbow would get off my rump…”
Airheart moved to fly past her with a concerned frown. “Why don’t you like her?”
“You’ve gotta ask?” Lightning rolled her eyes and flew past, making for the clouds ahead. “After all the crap she puts me through? She’s been trying to destroy me ever since I got here!”
Airheart followed behind and Lightning slowed to let her keep up. “Really? I never noticed anything like that.”
“How could you not notice?” Lightning glowered at her wing-pony. “Every time I try to do something worthwhile, she tells me I’m reckless. I try to speed things up a little, and I’m not a team player. I actually offer ta fly with a partner, and I’m too dangerous to do so! Nothing I do pleases her!”
Airheart had an almost panicked look in her eye. “But… but she’s just trying to keep you safe, right? Rainbow’s not a bad pony, she just has a lot of responsibilities, and—”
Lightning turned so she was flying sideways, waving her hooves at the pony. “How does she have all you ponies fooled? Everything she does is designed to make me look bad!”
Airheart’s ears lowered and she chewed her lip. “If you really think so, why are you still working for her?”
The lead-pony sighed and turned to face the looming clouds. “Because I really need the bits. I have my own responsibilities.”
Airheart flew even with her and offered a smile. “Maybe you two just got off on the wrong hoof! I’m sure if you just ta—aaah!”
They tumbled, Lightning’s mind snapping into focus as her horizon spun wildly in her vision. “Pressure pocket!” she cried, expertly working her wings so that she was at least falling straight and facing down. She looked to find Airheart caught in a dizzying display of whirling and flipping.
“What do I do?!” Airheart eyes were wide and her pupils little more than pinpricks. “L-Lightning, I don’t know what to do!”
“Stop flapping.” Lightning rolled her eyes. “Take a deep breath and calm down. Don’t flap.”
Airheart did as she was told, though her teeth were clamped tight. Her spinning slowed as she kept her wings rigid.
“Loosen up!” Lightning called, aware of the rapidly approaching ground. “Remember, feel with your feathers! Let the winds even you out.”
It took several seconds, but at last Airheart’s rotation eased and she was falling alongside her partner. She wobbled and tipped, but managed to stay facing down. “Wh-what now…?” She was trying her best not to panic, eyes locked on the forest below.
“In a second we’ll come out of the pocket,” Lightning told her, focusing her attention ahead. “When it does you—”
She sucked in a deep breath as a strong wind hit her from below, signifying exactly what she’d been about to warn Airheart of. Her wing-pony let out a surprised cry and dropped a few hundred feet below the already-stabilized Lightning, but was able to recover now that they were back among the currents.
Lightning descended to meet her halfway, a big grin on her face. “See? Wasn’t that fun?”
Airheart was breathing heavy, a hoof to her chest. “Exciting? Yes. Fun? Not so much.”
They were a lot closer to the cold front now, and Lightning was beginning to have doubts as to whether Airheart would be able to handle it. She didn’t want to get the pony hurt… “Come on, let’s get higher. Don’t want to hit another pocket at low altitude.”
“I can’t believe you grew up in this kind of weather,” her partner said as they ascended once more. “Wasn’t it hard, learning to fly?”
“Not really.” Lightning was eyeing the clouds. “When it’s what you’re used to, it comes naturally. My first time flying in calm weather was a real eye-opener, though. You ponies got it easy, even if ya do have to form a whole government organization to keep the weather going.” They leveled out at a significant elevation.
“I’m more impressed now than I was back in Appleloosa! Oh my…” Airheart's voice weakened at the sight of the cloud bank rising high over their head. “I didn’t realize we were so close… H-how do you stop and hover with all this wind?”
“You don’t, not this high up. Ya gotta circle.” Lightning demonstrated, cutting a wide arc through the sky. Airheart clumsily followed suit. They eyed the clouds that moved towards them with surprising speed. It would overtake them within a few minutes.
“Hey,” Lightning called, “are ya sure ya wanna do this? There’s no telling what kind of weather we’ll encounter in there.”
“I can’t let you go in alone,” Airheart called back. “We’re supposed to be a team, remember?”
By now Lightning was confident her partner wouldn’t be able to handle what was coming. “We just need one pony to go in and get a feel for the thing. Let me do that. I’ll pop in and come right back out, then we’ll head back to Ponyville.”
“B-but what if something bad happens to you in there?” Airheart wobbled, sucking in a sharp breath as the winds began to pick up.
They were running out of room. Lightning wasn’t about to back out of this, but she couldn’t let Airheart go in, either. She spread her wings just enough to get the drag necessary to drop back so she was flying by her wing-pony. “I’m going in. Don’t follow me, Airheart!”
“Wait!”
Too late; Lightning turned sharply and made for the cold front. “Don’t follow me!”
A frigid wind blasted Lightning in the face the instant she hit the clouds, which quickly had her tumbling. Her world was full of grey and her ears were filled with noise. She tried to level out, but the winds were ferocious! It took her several seconds to find a proper current, and even after she’d leveled out she was having to constantly adjust her wings to keep from spinning again.
A few seconds was more than enough for Lightning to decide this was a bad idea. She couldn’t remember having flown through such winds! Even with her wings constantly adjusting to the rapid changes in the air, she nearly flipped on several occasions. It was impossible to gauge elevation with the constantly shifting pressures, but she thought – hoped! – she had a good idea of her bearings.
This cold front was far too dangerous. She struggled to bank and turn back for the edge, trying to follow the brighter portion of clouds. The winds were pushing her from all over, but most of them went in a single direction, which she knew had to be the way the front was moving. She could follow that to get out…
“Help!”
Something pink and orange flashed by just within her vision, dropping like a rock.
“Airheart!” Lightning tucked her wings in and dove. What the buck was she doing in here?!
The fierce winds buffeted her and she had to fight against them to stay on course. Her partner grew closer, screaming as she was sent rolling by chaotic gusts. “L-Lightning! I can’t… I don’t… Help me!”
A freezing rain abruptly filled the air.
“Open your wings!” Lightning called over the fierce winds. “Try to slow down!”
Airheart’s wings spread and she was instantly sent tumbling sideways by the furious currents. She let out a shout as Lightning fought to adjust her path. Airheart flapped, but her efforts were pointless; every motion just sent her in another random direction.
This was getting them nowhere! Worry filling her, Lightning thought up a new plan as fast as she could. “F-fold your wings! Airheart, fold your wings!”
“B-but you said—”
“Fold your wings now!”
The terrified pegasus closed her eyes and did as she was told. Lightning pumped her own wings, her face stinging as the ice-cold rain pummeled her. They couldn’t be far from the ground by now, but she was not going to lose her partner!
“Hold on! I’m coming, Air!”
She zoomed in, letting gravity pull her closer to the tumbling pony. Airheart’s eyes were firmly closed, her lips working in what Lightning could only assume was a silent prayer. She could get to her, they would get out of this! She stretched a hoof out, tried to grab a leg…
A strong gust struck and she was knocked sideways. The distance grew between them and Lightning let out a furious curse. She flapped her wings, wincing at the pain in her side as she struggled to make up the distance. There was no way to know how far they’d fallen. Lightning was starting to feel a very real fear.
“Come on… Come on…” She gritted her teeth against the biting rain and freezing winds as she closed on the helpless pony. “Air! Air, reach for me!”
Airheart’s eyes fluttered open and locked on her even as she spun wildly. “L-Lightning!” Her hooves flailed, unable to reach for all the twirling.
Another powerful gust hit them, but this time it knocked Airheart right into Lightning. They tumbled, a chaotic mess of legs and fur, but soon Airheart was hanging on tight to Lightning’s hind legs. The lead-pony spread her wings wide and fought to right their flight path, but with the extra weight it was proving difficult. She’d never be able to ascend like this…
“Tree!”
Lightning saw it, letting out a surprised shout as she fought to change directions. She pulled it off, but forgot to account for Airheart. She felt her legs jerked down as her partner smacked against a limb with a pained cry, and Lightning dropped. Mind working fast, she dodged another tree, barely avoided a massive trunk and hit the ground on her knees, bouncing along the Earth painfully. She smacked the ground on her side, rolled and went whack against a tree.
She bit her lip, tears in her eyes as she clutched the scar under her wing. Goddess, did that hurt! But she could still move her legs, so she knew the muscle would be okay. She couldn’t strain it like that again…
She forced herself to her hooves, wet fringe plastered to her face. Her partner was nowhere to be seen and Lightning's view was blocked by a veritable wall of trees. She called for her wing-pony, but could hear nothing over the torrential storm. Grinding her teeth, she limped in the direction from which she’d fallen, scouring both limbs and Earth for Airheart.
She found the pony clutching to a tree limb for dear life. It took several tries to catch her attention. Airheart dropped, nearly smashing against the tree’s trunk from the winds. “Lightning! Am I glad to see you!”
“Are you okay?” Lightning sat and held her side with a grimace.
“I think so.” Airheart turned a small circle as she looked herself over. “Thanks for coming after me.”
Once the pain had receded to a mere throbbing Lightning grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “What the buck were you thinking? I told you to stay out of the storm!”
Airheart shrank back, ears low. “B-but we’re partners. I’m your wing-pony. I couldn’t let you go it alone, that’s the whole reason I’m out here.”
“I was doing just fine on my own!”
“How could I know that?” Airheart shook her head, tears in her eyes. “A wing-pony is supposed to look after her partner!”
“How could you be so stupid?” Lightning rolled her head back on her shoulders with a shout. “You should have known you couldn’t handle this thing!”
“I’m sorry!” Airheart sat and sobbed. “I had a plan, I really did! But you went charging in before I could explain, and… and I panicked! I’m sorry!”
A plan? Lightning glared at Airheart, but her simmering anger was beginning to change targets.
There was no time to think on that. “We have to get back.” Lightning stood and scowled at the sky. “This storm is way too strong. The weather team will be crushed if they try to stop this! We have to get to them before the storm does.”
Airheart rubbed her eyes and nodded, unable to meet her partner’s eye.
Lightning dropped to a launch position, ready for a second attempt. Her wings opened wide—
—and she fell to her knees, crying out in pain. It was as if somepony had jabbed a red-hot knife in her side! She felt at it with tears in her eyes, hoof tracing the scar under her wing. There was no way she could fly in a storm like this…
Airheart leaned in close. “What’s wrong?” Lightning observed her and saw the concern on her face. That expression filled her with guilt.
“I can’t fly,” she shouted, raising a hoof to shield her face against the rain. “My wound’s acting up!”
Her partner’s eyes widened with alarm. “S-so what do we do now?”
“Not ‘we’.” Lightning pressed a hoof to Airheart’s chest. “You!”
“What?” Airheart shook her head violently. “I can’t! You saw me, I dropped like a rock!”
“If ya can’t fly, then run,” Lightning snapped. “Rainbow needs to be told!”
“B-but I’ll never move faster than the storm!” Airheart sank low and shivered in the rain. “I’m not good enough!”
Lightning groaned. She looked up at the stormy skies, the trees swaying wildly in the gusts. This was bad…
She set her hooves to Airheart’s shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “Listen to me. You’re the only pony available. If you can’t do this, nopony can! Ponyville needs to be warned; this thing will knock every pegasus in town out of the sky, just like it did you. They need you, Airheart!”
Airheart trembled as she raised a hoof against the rain. “I... w-what if I don’t make it?”
Lightning shoved her away with a snarl. “You can either stay here and mope or you can try. At least if you go you can say you did your best! Which do you think will make you happier tomorrow?”
The pony chewed her lip, taking a hesitant step back. “But what about you?”
“Go!” Lightning pointed over her partner’s shoulder. “For buck’s sake, go!”
Airheart ducked as if to ward off a blow and turned to run. “I’ll be back, Lightning! Please, stay safe!”
“Go on, get out of here!”
She stood for several seconds after Airheart had gone, huffing and sneering at the forest. The frigid rain combined with the wind made her shiver and she silently cursed her situation. A slow, cautious stretch out her left wing made her wince. It snapped back to her side when the sting became too much. Goddess, she hoped that wouldn’t take long to heal.
She began to limp into the woods, head low and mind seething. She couldn’t believe Airheart had come in after her! They could have been practically out of the forest by now if she’d just listened! Why were all the ponies in this town such do-gooders?
No. She shook her head with a snarl; she was not going to pin this one on Airheart! She really was a good pony, and one of the few to put up with Lightning’s brooding. She was the only pony to be nice to her back in Appleloosa and Lightning had never forgotten it. If she hadn’t—
No! Lightning whacked herself over the head. “This is not her fault!”
She sat and let out a deep sigh. In the end, she had to admit that this was actually her own fault. She charged in, just like she always did, and Airheart had nearly been killed. Why couldn’t she learn to slow down and listen? She needed to be more like Keen.
She resumed her walk, occasionally forced to sidestep when a strong gust would hit. She had to get back to Ponyville as soon as she could. Keen would be worried sick if she didn’t show up on time at Octavia’s, so she trudged along and tried to ignore the sting of her hip.
But her anger wouldn’t fade. She wanted to lash out and hit somepony! Airheart would get to the others, and then she’d be a hero. Lightning would be stuck as the bumbler, as always. She ground her teeth, cursing as she nearly fell from an icy blast of wind. Second place. Why was she still in second place? Even Airheart would be better than her. Not that Airheart wasn’t a good flier, but compared to Lightning? This was almost insulting. No, it was insulting!
What was she thinking? She shook her head, leaning against a tree to keep from being blown backwards. She hadn’t come out here to be a hero. She’d come out here because it needed to be done! What did it matter if it was Airheart or Lightning who warned the others, so long as the deed was done?
But it did matter. She wanted to be recognized, to be known!
Fury began to mix with her misery. Why couldn’t she do anything right? She fought against the winds, bitterness driving her ever onward. The chill was seeping into her, but she wouldn’t lose to this. She had nothing else to take her anger out on, so she focused it all on the storm. She screamed at it, fought for every step, glared into the icy rain as if expecting to see some physical entity that she might pound on!
There was no telling how long she pressed through the storm. She tried to make sure she was walking towards Ponyville, but with all the chaos around her there was no way to gauge her direction. It was all pointless. Her side wasn’t hurting so much, but her legs were growing sore and she still couldn’t spread her wings without that searing pain. Her anger remained, but her energy was fading.
She had to keep on. She had to at least prove that she could do this much!
“Lightning!”
No.
“Not you!” She didn’t even bother to look. Maybe if she kept going she could prove it to be a horrible trick of her mind!
But it was no illusion; Rainbow appeared, landing at her side. “Come on, I’ll get you out of here!”
She reached for Lightning, but was shoved back. Rage was billowing up in Lightning’s mind as she fired her most malevolent glare at the pegasus.
“I will not be rescued by you!”
Rainbow backed away, her mane covering her face in the harsh winds. Her eyes were wide as she called, “What are you talking about? We’ve got to go!”
“No!” Lightning turned away and forced her legs to move. “I can do this! I don’t need you! Find Airheart!”
“We already did!” Rainbow moved close to Lightning to shout in her ear. “She’s okay! Ponyville’s being warned right now. So come on, I can—”
She set a hoof to Lightning’s shoulder, but it was knocked away with a violent swing.
“Keep away from me!”
Rainbow hesitated. “Lightning, what’s wrong?”
The wounded pony was seething, her fury like a white-hot sword in her brain as she stared her old foe down.
“Never. I will never be the helpless victim to your hero! I’m not giving you anything else to lord over me!” She backed away, a snarl escaping between her bared teeth. “I’ll show you! I can do this. I can! I have to be able to do something without you making me look like a bucking foal!”
Rainbow gaped at the enraged pony, not understanding what she was seeing. “LD… I never meant to—”
“Shut up!” She turned and pressed against the winds once more. “I can do this! I’m supposed to be able to do this! I can be a hero, I should be a hero! I have all the skills, all the gifts! For once in my bucking life, let me do something right!”
“Lightning!” Rainbow ran close once more to plead in her ear. “This is not the time or the place. You’re hurt! Put your pride aside and let me help you!”
“I refuse!”
A powerful gust struck and Lightning’s legs gave way. She fell back and hit a tree, clutching to it to keep from moving any farther. She had tears in her eyes as she ducked her head under her foreleg to block against the stinging rain. She tried to push herself forward, but her body wouldn’t go any further.
“No! Damn it, not now! Not with her here!”
Rainbow leaned against the tree and glared at her. “You idiot, are you trying to get killed? I am not losing a single pony on my weather team, do you hear me?”
Such a good reason. Such a nice reason. Why was it always layered with sugary kindness? It was more than Lightning could stand. Her anger was fading to depression as her energy finally succumbed to the emotional storm within her. “P-please… not by you. Anypony but you…”
“Come on,” Rainbow called, her voice a little calmer. She reached for Lightning. “Take my hoof, I’ll fly you out of here.”
Lightning stared at the appendage, tears mixing in with the frigid rain her cheeks. She didn’t want to. It would mean admitting defeat. She couldn’t accept Rainbow’s help, she just couldn’t. This was the pony who was trying to destroy her! It was one more knife in the back, one more opportunity stolen away, and always under such gentle pretense.
“I j-just wanted to prove myself…”
Rainbow set a hoof to her shoulder. “You never had to. Please, Lightning.”
She was such a good pony. Lightning hated her so much… but she grabbed the hoof. Rainbow offered the other and she took it, too.
“Hold on!” Rainbow launched, carrying Lightning beneath her as they were battered about by the storm. She struggled to get them above the treeline, wobbling dangerously in the dense grey clouds.
She wasn’t used to wild weather, that Lightning could see. But Rainbow was a gifted flier, and she was able to stay aloft and moving. It was sickening to think that Rainbow was that skilled. Lightning bowed her head and trusted in her hated savior to get her home…
They were almost to the edge of the Everfree Forest when they finally burst out of the cold front, soaked and half-frozen.
“Thank Celestia!” Rainbow cried, descending to a nearby hill where some other ponies were waiting.
Lightning had been in a bitter, miserable stupor the entire time, but now that they were out in the warm sunlight she began to shake off the doldrums and pay attention. She noted the trio of nurse ponies and grimaced; the last thing she wanted was to see a doctor. “You called for an ambulance?”
“Not me,” Rainbow replied.
“Lightning!” Airheart was there, flying alongside them and looking the injured pony over. “Thank goodness you’re alright. You can’t imagine how worried I was!”
Lightning huffed in response, not meeting the pony’s eye.
Rainbow gently let her down in the grass next to the nurse ponies. They immediately started checking her, asking questions and running tests. Lightning stepped back with a growl. “I don’t need it, I’m fine!”
“Let them look ya over, LD,” Rainbow instructed even as a nurse began checking her out.
Lightning grumbled, but let them do their thing. She answered their questions through gritted teeth and let them run their stupid tests. They had her medical record, and she was forced to reveal the pain in her side. When she did they insisted that she be brought to the hospital to have her old wound looked at for extra damage. She bit down her objections and let them throw her on the stretcher. She was a little worried about it, after all.
It took nearly two hours of poking and prodding and testing before the Ponyville doctor at last concluded that there was no permanent harm done. She even managed to convince them to let her gone home, which was an intense relief considering she didn’t want to saddle Octavia with Keen for a night.
Speaking of whom, she was surprised to find them waiting in the hospital lobby with Airheart and Rainbow. She paused to give them all a wide-eyed look. “What are you doing here?”
“I got Octavia for ya!” Airheart declared, beaming.
“And of course I had to bring Keen to see you,” Octavia added, head high as she offered a soft smile. She was wearing a thick-looking raincoat, but even that looked strangely flattering on her.
Keen approached her guardian, moving slow with ears tucked. “Lightning? You’re okay?”
Lightning saw that face and felt her heart skip a beat. She dropped to her knees and gestured with a grin, and Keen moved in for a hug. “I am now. Just a little bruise, kiddo. Nothing to worry about.”
She caught sight of Rainbow and leveled a dull frown at her. The fury she'd felt in the storm bubbles in her brain like a pool of magma waiting for the volcano to erupt. “What’s your excuse?”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “I told ya, I look out for my crew.”
“Well I’m fine,” Lightning snapped. “So go back to doing whatever it is you do when I’m not around.”
Rainbow let out a frustrated sigh and turned away. “You’re welcome!” She left the hospital without further ado.
Airheart winced and gave Lightning a sad look. “You don’t have to be so mean. She sacrificed a lot to go help you.”
“Yeah right,” Lightning said, turning to snuggle Keen a little more in hopes that it would cool her off. “She got the chance to be a hero.” Again.
Airheart winced. “B-but what about her house?”
Lightning blinked. What did Rainbow’s house have to do with anything? She tilted her head at Airheart.
Her partner hesitated. “She was out helping you, so she didn’t have time to secure her place afterwards. The top two floors of her place are gone.”
Lightning gaped. “Gone?”
“Gone.” Airheart nodded. “She can easily remake the floors, but her possessions…” She drooped and shook her head.
Lightning groaned; this was her fault too. Why did everything she tried to do always go wrong? She sagged and rubbed her forehead, wishing she could learn to think before acting.
Keen looked up at her with big, fretting eyes. “It’ll be okay, right?”
“I hope so.” Lightning patted the little unicorn on the head. “I really do…”
“I’m sure everything will be just fine,” Octavia assured them. “Rainbow won’t let a setback like this bother her for too long.”
Lightning eyed her, noting how she was soaked, then took a look at the dry Keen. “Thanks for bringing Keen along, Octavia. I was kinda worried about her.”
“Oh, it’s no problem,” the Earth pony declared with a grin. “I brought an extra raincoat for you, if you’d like.”
“That would be great, thanks.”
Airheart walked up to her with a frown. “Umm… Lightning? I’m sorry about today.”
“Sorry?” Lightning stood and gave her a questioning look.
She nodded. “If I hadn’t panicked and chased after you, things wouldn’t have gone so poorly. It’s all my fault and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Lightning stared at the pony for several seconds, noting her genuine anxiety. She was serious! She actually thought this was all her fault. Lightning knew better; if she’d just waited to form a plan, or at least properly explain her intentions, none of this would have happened. Airheart was a good pony and she didn’t deserve any of the blame.
But she was offering to take it. Lightning chewed her lip and thought, a feeling of guilt creeping into her. She eyed Octavia, who was watching expectantly, and then at Keen, who was hiding behind Lightning’s legs from Airheart. What should she do in this situation? It was Lightning’s fault, but she didn’t want to look bad in front of the others, especially Keen. She needed to set a proper example, didn’t she? Was it better to show forgiveness or honesty?
“Y-yeah… it’s okay.” She patted Airheart on the shoulder and offered a grin. “It could happen to anypony! I’m not mad at ya or anything, Air.”
Airheart sagged with a relieved sigh. “Thanks goodness! I was real scared. I mean, you seemed so mad when we were in the storm…”
Lightning chuckled to get past the sick feeling in her gut. “That was just the heat of the moment, that’s all.” She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Did you really manage to beat the storm out of the Everfree Forest on your hooves?”
It was Airheart’s turn to chuckle, her face going red as she averted her eyes. “N-no, not really. Rainbow lead a small squadron to look for us when we didn’t come out of the clouds. They found me as I was making my way out. But I tried, and that’s the important thing, right?”
Lightning saw her hopeful eyes and grinned. “Exactly! I’m sure they’re singing your praises all over Ponyville, right now.”
“Who cares?”
Lightning blinked. “What?”
“Who cares?” Airheart repeated with a grin. She hugged the stunned Lightning. “All that matters is we’re both safe and so is Ponyville!”
She really believed that? Lightning fought to keep from staring as her partner stepped back.
“Y-yeah, of course.”
The storm wasn’t so severe in Ponyville, the peaceful nature of the region steadily forcing the wild winds to calm as they spread out. Lightning thought it fascinating; storms in Foal Mountains could go for a week being powered by the inexplicable forces of nature, but out here there was no natural weather patterns to guide it. Without pegasi to keep it going, the cold front would run out of energy and be mopped up by the combined weather teams of Cloudsdale, Ponyville and Canterlot in a matter of days.
But for now the winds continued to rage and the rain went on. Keen and Lightning watched it through Keen’s bedroom window, their faces reflected back at them from the water-streaked glass.
“You really flew through that?” Keen's muzzle was pressed against the glass.
Lightning chuckled. “Sure did. Makes that storm you and I went through look wimpy, huh?”
No answer. Lightning just assumed Keen was too busy being fascinated by the storm. She tucked the filly a little closer with her wing and watched the swaying apple trees in the orchard.
“Lightning?”
“Yeah?”
Keen lingered, head low as she gazed through the glass. “Nevermind.”
Lightning raised an eyebrow, wondering what was bothering the filly. “So. Umm… did you like Octavia’s?”
Seconds ticked by. “She’s nice.”
Lightning latched on to this news. “That’s good! Did she play any music for ya?”
The filly nodded. “She’s very good.”
“So you’re okay with staying with her every couple days?” Lightning dropped to her belly and nuzzled Keen’s long mane.
“It’s… okay.”
Lightning raised her head and tilted it at the filly. Something was wrong, but what? “Keen? Are you really okay with staying at Octavia’s?”
Keen nodded again. “I am.”
What else was there to ask? Lightning stared at her charge for some time, trying to think of something else. Keen was bothered, and that bothered her. But what was wrong?
The tiny unicorn looked up, her blue eyes catching Lightning’s through the window.
“Why don’t you like Miss Dash?”
Lightning thought her heart might have stopped beating. She stared back blankly, frantically fighting down the urge to panic. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to explain this?
“I… Well…”
Keen turned to give her a curiously ominous frown. “You really don’t like her.”
The pegasus opened her mouth, closed it again. This was not a topic she wanted to broach, not when she was still angry about what happened. “It’s… hard to explain.”
Keen set a hoof to her chin, eyes dropping to the bed. “Is she a bad pony?”
Bad? Lightning wanted to blurt out ‘yes’ and had to keep her lips tightly closed to control the urge. Once certain she had control, she finally answered, “It’s not that she’s bad… but she’s not really good, either. She’s… our relationship is…” What was the best word? “Complicated.”
“But didn’t she save you from the storm?”
Lightning sagged, bitterness and sorrow mixing in her mind like the wild winds of the storm. “I just don’t know how to explain it. It’s not so easy as her being good or bad.”
Keen thought on this, brow furrowed in confusion. “Did she do something to you?”
Her guardian blinked. Keen looked up at her, her eyes unusually sharp and focused.
“Y-yes. She did something that hurt me a long time ago, back when we first met.”
Keen tilted her head. “What did she do?”
Lightning chewed her lip, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Why did the idea of Keen knowing the truth hurt so much? “You don’t need to know that,” she whispered. “Just know that it hurt a lot, and I’ve not forgiven her for it.”
Keen’s brow furrowed once more. “So she is bad.”
“No!” Lightning dropped to her belly once more so that she could be closer to eye-level with the unicorn. “No, Keen, I don’t want you to think that. Rainbow’s not bad, she just made a bad decision. She thought it was the right decision, and maybe for her it was, but it was bad for me.”
Keen seemed even more confused than before, scratching the side of her head with a deep frown. “So she doesn’t know she hurt you?”
Lightning felt that familiar anger simmering within her and turned her face away so Keen wouldn’t see it. “Oh, she knows. Trust me, Keen, she knows.”
Keen sighed. “I’m confused…”
“I know.” Lightning turned to nuzzle the filly, though it didn’t help her own lost feelings. “Keen, it doesn’t matter if a pony is good or bad, she can still hurt others. Two ponies can be very good and still not like one another.” She recalled Airheart and was hit by an intense wave of guilt. “Rainbow and I are trying to be good ponies, but sometimes we don’t think things through and ponies get hurt. A mistake was made today, and we both suffered for it.”
Keen gave her a surprisingly intense look. “Who made the mistake?”
Again with that sickening feeling. Lightning cringed and shook her head. “That’s not important. The point is…” She had to pause and collect her thoughts. What kind of lesson could she try to give Keen about this? She wasn’t exactly a fountain of wisdom. “The point is… I don’t want you thinking Rainbow’s a bad pony just because I don’t like her, okay?”
The filly frowned, her eyes locked on the bed with an intense focus as she tried to think on this. Lightning didn’t know what else to say, and it left her feeling useless. This was not a subject she felt at all good passing advice about. She waited for Keen to say something, but the filly just kept on thinking. She couldn’t take the waiting for long, so she finally nudged the unicorn with her hoof. “Time for bed, kiddo.”
Keen said nothing. She only walked to the pillow, head low and eyes still focused in thought. Lightning tucked her under the sheets and gave her another small nuzzle, not sure if she was doing it for Keen or herself. “It’ll all make sense someday. Promise.”
Keen’s frown deepened. “I hope so.”
Not sure what else could be said, Lightning left her to her contemplation.
Something bumped Keen in the darkness, jarring her from half-sleep. She let out a deep yawn as her eyes flickered open, but all she saw was black.
“Come on, kiddo,” Lightning’s voice called. “We’re here.”
Keen uncurled from her insulating ball of mane and tail, shivering as she was hit with the cool air left behind by the storm a couple days ago. She rubbed her blurry eyes and looked around, realizing she was nestled between Lightning’s wings. Had she fallen asleep on the way? “Mmm up…” she muttered, shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of her sleepiness.
She climbed off her guardian’s back into the cool, moist grass and looked up to see Octavia smiling down at her. “Mornin’, Miss Melody.”
“And a good morning to you, too,” Octavia answered. “What’s got you so sleepy, hmm?”
“Nothin’.” Keen shifted under the adult’s gaze as memories of Fine's visit flitted through her mind.
Lightning's head hovered low and her eyes had that simmering nature Keen had become accustomed to. “I should be in early today. I volunteered to help Rainbow fix her place.”
“That was awfully generous of you.” Octavia raised her head high and offered an approving smile.
Lightning jerked her head away with an angry snort. “I just don’t want her jumpin’ my rump for not bein’ a ‘team player’ again.”
Octavia raised an eyebrow. “I see. Well, I shall hope she doesn’t… erm… ‘jump your rump’.” Her unpleasant expression made Keen giggle.
“Yeah, whatever.” Lightning turned away and opened her wings, albeit tenderly. “Thanks again for looking after my kid for the day.” She lifted off, flying away at a slow speed as she favored her weak wing.
Keen watched her go with a frown; no ‘goodbye’ today. Well, she did seem upset ever since the storm.
“Come, little filly.” Octavia ushered her to the open door. “Let’s get out of the cold and damp, hmm?”
The interior of Octavia’s two-story home was lined with bright colors and dark accents. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, but there was a number of interesting decorations, such as odd pictures and foreign-looking pottery. Octavia claimed they were from her ancestral homeland of Nildea. They were neat to look at, but Keen wasn’t sure she liked them.
“How about a nap?” Octavia offered with a knowing smile.
Keen shook her head slowly and opened her eyes wide to demonstrate her awake-ness. “I’m good.” Octavia’s smile grew. “Honest, I’m up.”
“We shall see,” her foalsitter declared. “I was just about to practice. Why don’t you borrow one of my books and read in the music room?”
Keen nodded and went to the short bookshelf under the stairs. She took down the nilgiri history book, the one written by Octavia’s father. She paused to consider the book, then lay it on the floor. Checking to see that Octavia was watching, she focused as hard as she could. It took a few seconds, but a dark blue aura began to appear at the book’s edge. Keen worked the magic, trying to recall what she’d learned, and finally managed to get the aura to cover the entire tome.
Grunting with the effort, she finally managed to lift the book off the ground. Sucking in a deep breath, she grinned at Octavia, who returned the expression. She’d finally done it! Twilight would be so—
The aura fizzled out and the book went slap on the floor.
Keen sagged, her muzzle so low it almost touched the floor. “Aaww…”
Octavia chuckled and lifted the tome with a grin. “Don’t feel bad. That’s very impressive for a filly whose only just started to learn! My sister couldn’t have done that at your age.”
Keen followed her to the music room, so called because it was Octavia’s preferred room for practicing her cello. The room was very bare aside from the musical instrument and a small desk covered in sheet music. One wall was made up almost entirely of a big window that displayed a nice view of the field behind her house. Keen eyed the cello on its stand in the corner, its polished veneer reminding her how important it was.
“Up you go.” Octavia picked the filly up off the floor and set her atop the desk’s chair, which she’d raised so Keen could read the book at the desk’s edge. “How’s that?”
Keen lifted herself up to the book before nodding to Octavia with a long yawn. “This is fine.”
The musician smirked. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a nap?”
“No!” Keen turned to focus on the book. “I wanna know how the war went.”
Octavia chuckled but said nothing, instead going to her cello. Keen sat back and eyed the closed book for a few seconds, trying to recall her place. After a while she thought she had it and, with some effort, managed to cover a portion of the tome in her blue aura. She had to work to turn so many page at once, by which time she could hear Octavia testing her cello’s tuning. A cursory glance revealed that Keen had reached the desired page in her first try, which had her feeling pretty good about herself.
Keen did her best to focus on the story, she really did. It was all about a revolution in Nildea. It was a very detailed book, and a little hard to follow at times. Octavia said it was supposed to be for university students, so it was a little advanced for the filly. She followed the story as best she could, because she wanted to know if the nilgiri could defeat the griffons. Still, there was a lot of names and dates…
Octavia began playing a slow, deep tune. Keen glanced back at her through heavy eyelids; the musician’s eyes were closed, a soft smile on her lowered face as her body swayed back and forth to the music. Keen couldn’t help smiling… and yawning. She turned back to her book and had to struggle to find her place.
Laughter. The laughter of foals. That’s what Keen was hearing. She shifted, shook her head, tried to get the sound out of her ears. She felt that familiar sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach; something ominous was out there in the dark, its laughter mocking as it hovered just in the peripheral of her awareness. She whimpered and clung to her pillow, wishing the noise would stop. The sounds kept shifting, and she could swear there was a strange clicking underlying the pretense of happiness.
Blue eyes. Happy, mocking, mirthful blue eyes. They peered, they closed in, they laughed…
Keen jerked up, eyes opening wide as she let out a startled gasp. Her heart was pattering in her chest as she sought out her tormentors, but she was alone.
The laughter didn’t stop, though. She ducked a little at the sound, her eyes searching the room for threats. She was in a bedroom. Octavia’s? Sunlight streamed through a pair of open windows, making it all the more clear that she was alone. She perked her ears at the laughter, turning her head to the slightly-opened door.
The filly hesitated; if there were foals here, she didn’t want to meet them, but she was also worried about Octavia, for what if they weren’t really foals?
Choking down her fear, Keen crept to the edge of the bed. It wasn’t as tall as her own, though she still moved carefully to get down, lowering her hind legs over the side before dropping to the floor. Her hooves sounded loud in the empty room, making her wince. She paused with ears perked, ready to dive under the bed at a moment’s notice… but the laughter continued.
She approached the door at a slow pace, pushing it open just enough to poke her head through. She was at the edge of the stairwell, with a short hall to her left. Not seeing anypony, she pushed her way through and made for the stairs. She paused at another bout of laughter and ducked, body trembling, but she refused to stop. She had to check on Octavia! What if she needed help?
Keeping her body low, Keen slowly made her way to the top of the stairs. She could hear excited chatter below, but had to drop a few steps to understand what she was hearing.
“—what now?”
“A fan club!”
“For our favorite hero, of course.”
Octavia made an exasperated sound. “I really don’t think I need a fan club.”
Keen recognized those voices. She dropped a few more steps until she was at the level where the banister began, peering between the ceiling and the step. Just as she thought, there were four familiar foals in Octavia’s living room, surrounding the clearly amused mare.
“You definitely need a fan club,” Apple Bytes declared with confidence.
“All heroes need one, do they not?” Ani asked.
“Rainbow Dash has one,” Dinky pointed out.
Octavia blushed with her lips curled in a lopsided smile. “Rainbow is far more deserving of fans than me.”
“No she’s not!” Dinky gave a little bounce. “That’s why we want to form one, to show everypony that you’re the greatest hero of Ponyville!”
The mare sighed. “Rainbow does things almost on a daily basis. I think she’s far more qualified than a mere musician.”
“But Rainbow didn’t buck a dragon!” Apple declared.
Dinky rolled her eyes. “Yes she did.”
Ani shook her head. “Didn’t see it, didn’t happen.”
Dinky turned to her friends and tapped her hooves together as if keeping count. “Pinkie says so, Twilight says so, even Fluttershy says so!”
“And Rainbow continues to do impressive things,” Octavia added hopefully. “I don’t think I’m anything in comparison.”
Green Daze spoke up for the first time, moving over to give her a hug. “Are too!”
Octavia’s head rolled back on her shoulders. “Green, not you too…”
“It was his idea.” Dinky patted him on the back with a grin.
“Yeah.” Apple shoved the colt away from the blushing Octavia. “But he needs ta stop hoggin' the hero.”
Green fell on his back, laughing. His eyes locked on and Keen immediately jumped back up the stairs. She pressed her back against the wall, air catching in her throat as she waited…
“Hey, is somepony upstairs?”
No!
“Come here.”
Keen looked up to see the uncertain face of Upper Crust at the top of the stairs, waving for Keen to come closer. The filly hesitated, but she could hear the voices below and found herself bounding back up the stairs. Upper Crust ushered her back into her bedroom and closed the door, leaving her alone. Keen pressed an ear to the door, holding her breath to better her hearing.
Green’s disappointed voice passed through the wood. “Oh, it’s you, Miss Crust.”
“Yes, it’s just me.” Upper Crust sounded… grumpy. “And please, call me Upper Crust.”
“Hey there, Crustie!” That one was Apple.
Ani was next. “Hey, you like the idea of an Octavia fan club, don’t you?”
“Indeed I do,” Upper Crust replied pleasantly. “Why, I might even consider signing up.”
“Please don’t encourage them,” Octavia called from downstairs.
“But it’ll be fun!” Green shouted back.
“You can join if you like,” Ani declared. “As club leader, I extend a warm welcome to you!”
“That’s very generous of you,” Upper Crust replied.
“Hey,” Apple snapped, “I’m the leader of this thing!”
“Pu-lease,” Ani countered in her haughty manner. “What leadership experience do you have outside of a video game?”
“I’ll just add some points to that skill,” Apple declared smartly.
“That doesn’t even make sense!”
“Only to losers.”
“Princess Animatia Erroria is not a loser!”
“She’s not a princess, either.”
“Girls!” Dinky’s voice effectively silenced them. “I think Green should be the leader. He’s Octy’s biggest fan, after all.”
“M-m-me?”
Upper Crust interrupted. “I think you all should press Octavia a bit more. I’m pretty sure she’s not convinced that she deserves a fan club.”
“Oh, come on!” Apple cried, and Keen could hear her running down the stairs. “How could she think that?”
“We’ll convince her,” Ani agreed. “We’ve got my charm, Dinky’s smarts, Green’s enthusiasm, and Apple’s… umm… and Apple.”
“I heard that!”
“There’s no way she won’t be convinced.”
“Would you really join the club?” Dinky asked, her excitement clear even through the door.
“Of course! I’m a fan too, you know.” Upper Crust sounded sincere.
“That’s great! We’ll be sure to list you as a founding member. Come on, Green.”
“Kay. Bye, Crustie.”
The mare made an unpleasant sound. “Upper Crust!”
The foals were heading downstairs, and Keen leaned back from the door with a relieved sigh. But then the door began to open and she fled with a startled squeak! She trembled under the bed for a couple seconds, only peering out when the door closed once more.
Upper Crust gave her a weak, sad smile. “You okay?”
Keen crawled out from under the bed and nodded, half-hiding behind her mane. “Th-thank you.”
A lingering silence passed between them. Upper Crust’s head was low, her eyes averted as her smile slowly slipped away. Keen copied the expression, but kept careful watch of the adult through her mane.
She didn’t know what to make of Upper Crust. She lived with Octavia, but didn’t speak much, and tended to stay hidden away. When she was around she would try to look happy, but she always seemed sad when she thought nopony was watching. This was the first time Keen had ever been alone with her.
The silence went on for a little too long, and they were both fidgeting. At last Upper Crust spoke. “S-so…umm…how do you like being foalsat by Octavia?”
Keen raised an eyebrow. “Umm… it’s okay. I guess?”
“Good.” Upper Crust managed the tiniest hint of a smile. “That’s good.” Her eyes shifted and her ears drooped.
Another long, awkward silence. It was so uncomfortable that Keen blurted out the very first question that came to mind: “Are you really Octavia’s fan?”
Upper Crust blinked, locking eyes with the filly for the first time. Keen blushed and used her tail to hide her face. The question didn’t feel very… important.
Upper Crust answered, “Yes, I really am.”
Her sad voice made Keen peek from over her tail. “Why?”
The adult considered the question with a hoof to her chin, sitting as her eyes rolled up to the ceiling. “Octavia… is a good pony. She took me in when I was in trouble.”
Trouble? Keen took a small step forward, observing Upper Crust’s deep frown and dull, heavy-lidded eyes. “Are you still in trouble?”
Upper Crust smiled. “Not in any way that you have to worry about.”
Keen ducked, her recent dream coming back to mind. “Do… do you have monsters, too?”
“Monsters?” Upper Crust cocked her head. “Well… I suppose that’s one way to put it. But they won’t come here. They don’t like Ponyville.”
Keen frowned as she tried to understand those words. “Why?”
Upper Crust chuckled, but it was a feeble sound. “It’s hard to explain. They just… prefer the cities. Like Canterlot.”
Keen's ears perked and her eyes went wide. “Canterlot has monsters?”
Another laugh, but this time is seemed a bit more sincere. “Do not worry, my little filly. They only like to be around rich ponies. They’re completely harmless.”
Keen tilted her head, her muzzle wrinkling as she thought. “But how can a monster be a monster if it can’t hurt you?”
“There are many different kinds of monsters,” Upper Crust explained. “They all have their peculiar habits. Some are scary. Others are just… dumb. Like mine.”
“But if they can’t hurt you, why run away from them? Why live with Octavia?”
Upper Crust’s smile broke, and for a moment she actually seemed hurt. She turned her head away, reacquiring that familiar frown. “Because I used to be one of those monsters.”
That made Keen back up just a little, her head ducking low. “R-really?” The mare nodded solemnly. “But you’re not now?”
Upper Crust offered another small smile. “I took a look in a mirror one day and didn’t like what I saw. So I ran away. I was lucky enough to meet Octavia. She’s a very kind pony, and she’s teaching me how to not be a monster. That’s why I am Octavia’s fan.” She leaned forward a little. “Maybe you could be a fan too.”
Keen considered that, but shook her head. “I don’t know… I think I like Fluttershy more.”
Another, far more sincere giggle from the adult. “I’m sorry to say Miss Fluttershy already has a very large fan club, and most of the members are stallions or older colts.”
Keen tilted her head, not sure what to make of this news. She felt like she was being led away from something…
“You’re an Octavia fan?” The mare nodded. “Then why aren’t you happy?”
A choking sound came out of Upper Crust’s throat as she leaned back with wide eyes. “I…err… I’m happy. I am.”
Keen peered at her, wondering why it was that so many adults tended to lie when she asked questions.
Upper Crust blushed, her eyes darting about for a few seconds, but finally sighed. “You’re very observant for such a young pony.”
“That’s what Lightning says,” Keen noted.
Upper Crust regained that feeble smile. “Keen… I lost somepony very important to me and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him back. So I’m very afraid… and a little lonely. I miss him, that’s all.”
The filly’s eyes went wide as a thought passed through her mind. “Did the monsters take him away?”
Upper Crust considered this for a few seconds... then nodded.
Keen’s breath caught in her throat, a terrible fear gripping her. Before she knew what she was doing, she ran to the mare and wrapped her hooves about a leg. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she held on tight.
“K-Keen?” Upper Crust shifted. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry.” Keen nuzzled the mare tenderly. “I’m so sorry!”
“You don’t have to… I m-mean…”
Keen looked up to see the mare looking about wildly, her cheeks a deep crimson. The filly rubbed her eyes free of the fresh tears before letting her head hang low.
“I’m really sorry they took your friend, too.”
Upper Crust blinked and looked down at Keen with wide eyes. “Too?”
Keen only pressed her head against the mare’s leg and cried some more. She felt so… so terrible! To think that the monsters were still stealing ponies away, even in Canterlot! Was nopony safe?
Upper Crust dropped to her knees and nuzzled the filly. “Please don’t cry. I might get him back.”
Keen sat back with a choked hiccup. “C-can you do that? Save a pony from the m-monsters?”
The mare offered a smile, though it lacked enthusiasm. “I used to be a monster, but I’m a normal pony now. If I can be saved, so can my husb… my friend.”
This was… important. Keen bowed her head, rubbing her cheeks with a hoof as she thought. Ponies could be saved, brought back. Did that mean that all the other foals could have been saved too? They all burned. She saw them burn. When the worst nightmares struck, she would hear the screams of black creatures no bigger than herself as they were consumed in flames. They were monsters, but it had been so horrible…
“Come on,” Upper Crust whispered, standing and opening the door. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Keen nodded and trudged out the door, mind still focused on the terrible memory.
They were halfway down the stairs before Keen remembered the other foals, her body going rigid with fresh terror. Upper Crust almost tripped over her. “What’s wrong?”
A quick glance showed the room was empty. Keen sank back as if to hide, but after a few seconds Upper Crust lifted her off her hooves and carried her the rest of the way down. Keen said nothing, though she trembled like a leaf from where she was tucked under the adult’s leg.
Octavia appeared from the entry room, blessedly alone. She spotted Keen and Upper Crust and offered her usual calm smile. “Hello, you two. Don’t worry, Keen; Green and his friends have gone.”
Keen relaxed, letting her body go slack as she breathed a relieved sigh.
“Who’s that, Octavia?”
The filly went stiff once more at the unfamiliar young voice. A unicorn filly, who appeared to be around Apple's age, appeared beside the musician. She was white with a mane that combined both mulberry and rose-pink colors. She offered Keen a friendly smile. Keen, unable to properly flee in Upper Crust’s grasp, covered her face with her mane.
Octavia’s voice was as gentle as ever. “Sweetie Belle, this is Keen Arrow. We’re foalsitting her today. She’s quite timid, as you can see.”
Keen could feel Upper Crust moving, and after a few seconds she was set on top of something. She peered through her mane and saw she was on the counter by the sink. She turned, spotted Sweetie approaching with a curious expression and promptly pulled her tail across her face for an extra layer of protection.
“L-leave me alone!”
“But I haven’t done anything,” Sweetie noted with a confused frown.
Keen's tail rose of its own accord, covered in the green aura of Upper Crust’s magic. The mare, a soft smile on her lips, brushed Keen’s mane aside and rubbed a moist towel across her face. “There, that’s better, hmm?”
When the towel lifted Keen let out a squeak at the sight of Sweetie raised up against the side of the counter. She backed away, lips trembling and heart hammering in her chest. “G-go away!”
Sweetie cocked her head. “I just wanted to know why you were crying.”
Keen merely cowered against the wall, her tail over her face and her entire body trembling. “P-p-please, just leave m-me alone…”
“Come on, Sweetie,” Octavia instructed, her voice sad. “Keen’s been through a lot. You have to give her time.”
“Oh. Umm… okay.” Sweetie dropped back to four hooves and followed Octavia into the music room, though she cast a forlorn look Keen’s way as she did.
Keen relaxed, but only a little. She looked to Upper Crust, who lifted the filly and set her on the floor. “Why don’t you grab a book while I whip up some lunch? I think Octavia left your favorite on the table.”
Keen didn’t move, her eyes set to the music room door. She could hear Sweetie and Octavia discussing something involving music. “Wh-what about the… about Sweetie?”
“They’ll be in there for a couple hours at least,” the adult claimed, opening the refrigerator. “The two visit to discuss music once a week. Don’t worry, she won’t bother you.”
Upper Crust made a few salads while Keen tried to read. It wasn’t easy; she kept glancing at the music room, heart pounding constantly. Upper Crust delivered two salads to Octavia and Sweetie before making some for Keen and herself. They weren’t the best salads Keen had ever had, but they weren’t bad. Upper Crust seemed to think they weren’t good at all. Keen had the vague impression that the poor pony didn’t like herself that much.
Keen decided to stick with Upper Crust for a while, following her around the house and helping her with chores. She kept hoping Upper Crust would talk about her monster experience. Her only other option was Lightning, but Keen’s guardian always dodged the subject. If only she could be a little more open about it with somepony… but Upper Crust never brought the subject up again. Even so, Keen felt that maybe she’d found somepony who could sympathize with her fears.
Upper Crust remained quiet much of the time, but she didn’t seem to mind Keen’s presence and they worked well together on the household chores. Keen found comfort in the mare’s sad aura, and thought Upper Crust might feel the same way about her. In the end they retired to the living room, Keen nestled at Upper Crust’s side as they read together.
They were still at it when Lightning returned. The pegasus was steaming, the simmer of her eyes from that morning having evolved into a boil.
Upper Crust remained on the couch, tilting her head curiously at the sight. “I say, Lightning, whatever is wrong?”
Lightning jerked her head away from them both, steam blowing from her nostrils. “I hate that pony…”
“Oh.” Octavia appeared at the door of the music room, Sweetie Belle at her side. “Hello, Lightning.” She noted Lightning’s fierce expression with classy disdain. “I take it your assistance didn’t go so well?”
Lightning offered only a menacing snort.
Keen ducked when those fierce eyes locked onto her. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Lightning stomped over to the couch and turned so that she was standing beside it. “Come on, we’re going.”
“Are you sure?” Upper Crust held Keen back with a wary frown. “You sure you don’t want to go cool off for a bit?”
“Now, Keen.”
The filly hesitated, but climbed on Lightning's back as she was told. She was going to say goodbye to Upper Crust, but Lightning's abrupt walk made her slip and interrupted her words.
“Thanks, Octavia.”
“Any time.” Octavia maintained her haughty, lecturing expression as they passed. Keen caught a glimpse of Sweetie hiding behind the door as they exited the house.
“Hold on.”
Keen barely had time to grab hold of the pegasus’ neck before they launched into the air, a streak of lightning in their wake. She felt her stomach churn at the sudden lift, her heart leaping into her throat at the sight of the homes below.
Lightning flew through a cloud, the cool moisture making Keen wince. “W-where are we going?”
“Just gotta cool off,” Lightning grumbled as they flew in directions Keen couldn’t fathom in the blinding clouds.
Keen held on, not sure what Lightning intended as she swayed back and forth. Keen couldn't resist a shiver in the chilled cloud, but even so she gradually came to lose her fear. Lightning wasn’t flying all that fast and Keen was used to the cold. She didn’t understand what her guardian was doing, but maybe it was better to wait and see?
Keen let out a surprised shout as Lightning performed a swift rise and fall maneuver. Keen hadn’t been holding on properly and her momentum sent her flying up off the pegasus’ back.
Now she was scared.
“L-Lightning!”
Lightning turned so she was flying upside down and caught the filly in a tight hug, making Keen gasp at the grip. She looked up to see that Lightning was watching her with a solemn frown. She seemed angry… but there was a touch of something else in Lightning’s eyes.
“Sorry, kid.” Lightning loosened her hold just slightly. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.”
Keen nodded, her fear already dissipating. “What are we doing up here?”
“Nothin’.”
Keen looked around at the fluffy whiteness all around. “Nothing?”
“Nothin’,” Lightning repeated. She blushed, eyes dodging as she maintained her glower. “I just wanted to see ya. Alone. For a little bit.” Her frown softened. “I guess I just wanted a reminder.”
Keen cocked her head, but settled down on Lightning’s chest and nodded. “Rainbow, again?”
The mare faked a gag that made Keen giggle, then patted the filly’s head with a sad smile. “Sometimes I wish I was more like you, kiddo. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so mad all the time.”
Keen frowned and shook her head. “You’d be afraid all the time.”
“But I’d be good,” Lightning countered. “And then that goody-four-hooves wouldn’t piss me off so much.”
It was hard to reply to that. Keen turned her head away, wondering. Lightning wasn’t a bad pony… but she wasn’t all that good, either. It didn’t feel like something that should be pointed out, but it still made her uncomfortable.
Lightning let her head fall back to hang loosely in the air, her wings beating in a slow, steady rhythm. “Sorry for pulling you out of Octavia’s like that. Was it okay today?”
Keen sighed. “Lots of foals visited.”
Her guardian's head rose up with her eyebrows. “Did you try talking to them?” There was no disguising the hope in her tone.
Keen frowned and shook her head. “I hid.”
“Oh.” Lightning's head rolled back. “Crud.”
Her suspicions confirmed, Keen turned around and stared into the cloud. She felt a tiny fire of anger in her chest, but didn’t say anything about it.
“I spent the day with Upper Crust.”
“Yeah? She nice?”
“She’s sad,” Keen said, her anger abruptly fading as she wilted. “She lost a friend to the monsters, too.”
Lightning shifted. “Really?”
The filly nodded, turning back to Lightning. “She wouldn’t talk about it, though.”
She studied Lightning for several seconds, their eyes evasively meeting on occasion. Keen found herself thinking on Upper Crust and what she’d learned today. If Upper Crust wasn’t a monster anymore… why did the thought upset her? But it did. It made her really mad and she wasn’t sure why.
But she didn’t have long to think on it before Lightning lifted her up and, flipping over on the cloud, set Keen on her back once more. “Y’know what? I feel like having a little fun. How about we go to Sugarcube Corner?”
The anger was gone in an instant. “Really?”
They flew off, Keen’s mind now completely focused on what sweet delectable she’d have this time.
Night shift. Again. Lightning hated being on the night shift. She hated having to team up with slower ponies who couldn’t corral clouds in a tenth the time she could. She hated listening to them complain when she flew ahead to handle a region all by herself. She hated when they struggled to get the right amount of rain from thunderheads when she could do it with a single kick. She hated having to explain to them how to utilize clouds to capture heat and warm the region, protecting it from the chilly Everfree winds.
She hated that she was working with amateurs.
She hated that she had to be accommodating to their lack of ability.
But above all else, Lightning hated Rainbow Dash for making her do all of it.
Every day she reminded herself that she was going through all of it for Keen. Every night she tucked the filly into bed and reminded herself, again and again, that Keen was her obligation. But every time she found herself working sixty hours a week – only to spot that smug blue bucker lazing about with her dumb coltfriend – Lightning’s fury would come back full swing.
Rainbow’s shifts were short. Rainbow flew alone. Rainbow could work as fast as she wanted. She spent more time assigning tasks and communicating with Cloudsdale couriers than actual weather service!
Then there were the Wonderbolts. Oh, they never came to a backwater little place like Ponyville, but Rainbow was always getting messages from them. Assignments for a Junior Wonderbolt, invitations to attend races, sometimes even an offer to compete. Her occasional departure should have been satisfying, except that her right-hoof mare, Cloud Kicker, was always left with plenty of instructions to keep Lightning in line!
Every time she saw one of those letters in Rainbow’s hooves, Lighting fumed. Every time Rainbow dropped a new task on Lightning’s head rather than take it on herself, Lightning steamed.
Every time those stupid foals called Rainbow a hero, with their doting praise and glowing eyes, Lightning wanted to buck them into the stratosphere!
Lightning had flown ahead of her slowpoke night shift ‘wingponies’ ages ago, needing some time alone to fume. They would complain, but she didn’t care. If they didn’t appreciate Lightning taking her anger out on the clouds and doing all the work, that wasn’t her problem. She needed to fume, and fume she did, lashing out all night long at every cloud she could find in the Ponyville sky. When there was no more of those she flew to the Everfree Forest and raged against the wild winds.
No matter what she tried, though, her anger wouldn’t fade. So long as that damnable pegasus wasn’t getting her just desserts, it never would. Something had to give, and soon. Lightning was getting more and more snippy with Keen, and though the filly gave her some comfort just by her soothing presence Lightning knew it wasn’t enough.
There was only one way Lightning was going to be satisfied, and that was to get all her frustration out of her system, so when she headed back to the Weather Team Office in the morning light her mind was set on doing exactly that. She still had some time before Rainbow came in for work, though, and Lightning didn’t want to go to Rainbow’s place for this; it needed to be public. That way everypony would see her get creamed!
With a goal in mind, Lightning decided to lie in wait on a lingering cloud outside the Weather Office. She observed the ponies below coming in for work, lips pulled back in a sneer. Such loyal little ponies, always so quick to praise Rainbow for her ‘bravery’ and ‘skill.’ Rainbow wasn’t half the pegasus Lightning had been in her heyday! If it weren’t for that changeling ruining her wing…
They’d see. When Rainbow showed up Lightning would pound her into pudding! She wouldn’t appear so heroic then, would she? Lightning closed her eyes and grinned at the image, relishing her planned vengeance. She would be respected again!
But there was one problem, and closing her eyes suddenly made that clear. She rubbed her face, her lips forced open by a long yawn...
“Lightning?”
She shook her head, eyes flitting open as a shadow passed over her face. She winced at the sunlight and peered up to find a pony hovering over her. “Hmm…? She here yet?”
The pegasus dropped a little closer, revealing a familiar pink coat and orange mane. “Did you fall asleep up here?”
Fall asleep?
Lightning jerked awake, almost whacking Airheart in her leap. “Whoa! W-what time is it?” She looked up and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. It had to be close to noon!
Airheart floated a little closer, chuckling off the near-miss. “Guess the night shift was rather intense, huh?”
Alarm mixing with her frustration, Lightning shook the innocent pegasus. “Where’s Rainbow? I was supposed to get Rainbow!”
“Sh-she’s o-off t-tod-day.” Airheart caught Lightning’s legs to stop the shaking, her eyes swirling. She shook her head as if to clear it. “Didn’t you know?”
Lightning’s jaw dropped. “W-what?”
Airheart took advantage of the moment to pull away from Lightning’s hold, brushing her mane back into place before offering an uncertain smile. “Did you need her for something?”
Lightning ground her teeth; buck Rainbow for making her look foalish again! She was going to find that blue jerk and teach her a lesson if she had to search all of Ponyville!
“Where is she?”
Airheart winced at Lightning’s tone. “I don’t know. What are you—”
Lightning let out a frustrated shout and launched, ignoring Airheart’s call and heading for Ponyville. She couldn’t believe this! She’d spent all that time waiting, and not only was Rainbow not coming in at all, but Lightning had fallen asleep! How could she have been so stupid? If she’d thought ahead just a little she’d have known to wait a day or two. Why could she never plan ahead?
Fueled by anger for herself as well as for Rainbow, she moved from place to place over the town. She scoured the heads of the townsponies, seeking out that absurd rainbow mane. She wasn’t going to let her anger go to waste, her sanity couldn’t take it! Another day or two of this and she would end up hurting somepony anyway, so she might as well hurt Rainbow now.
She kept pounding her forehooves together as she searched, just to relish the feel. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to pound them on a certain pegasus’ skull!
Rainbow, she saw a rainbow! She jerked to a stop and turned just in time to see the familiar multicolored wake fading between the buildings. She let out a snarl and pursued.
Rainbow Dash was at the Carousel Boutique talking with one of her friends. Lightning dove to land right behind the unicorn, her four hooves slamming the ground. The impact made both Rainbow and her friend leap up with matching shouts and turn to face the newcomer.
“Good heavens!” The unicorn set a hoof to her chest. “Don’t you know it’s not right to sneak up on ponies like that?”
To Lightning’s fury, Rainbow was actually laughing. “Lighten up, Rarity! Lightning’s only having a little fun.”
A growl from Lightning silenced the laughter. “No, Rainbow, I’m not having any fun at all.”
“Lightning?” Rarity raised a haughty eyebrow. “Ah, so this is the ‘eternal headache’ I’ve been hearing about.”
Lightning shook her hoof in the unicorn’s face. “You’re about two seconds away from a broken jaw. Get outta my way!”
Rarity’s eyebrows rose at this threat and she obediently stood aside, clearing the way to Rainbow. “My, she’s a real ruffian, isn’t she?”
Rainbow was leveling Lightning with a glower, but had nothing to say. Lightning stepped forward, wings flapping eagerly.
“You and me, Rainbow. Right here, right now.”
Rainbow facehooved with a groan. “You want another race? I already beat ya once.”
“Not a race,” Lightning hissed, lowering into an aggressive pose.
Rainbow considered her, lips set in a taught frown. She glanced at Rarity as if looking for some sort of confirmation.
“I don’t believe this. You’re doing this? You want to fight, right now?”
Lightning reared her head back to shout at the sky. “Yes! How can you be so stupid?”
“Forget it.” Rainbow shook her head. “What good would it do?”
Lightning stamped both front hooves with a snarl. “A lot! I get to give you a pounding and finally get a little satisfaction.”
Rarity was backing away, watching the scene with a pouty, unpleasant frown. “I can see this is going to get out of hoof quickly.”
“It always does when it involves Lightning,” Rainbow grumbled, eyes not leaving her rival. “You wanna fight that badly, right here in the middle of town with everypony watching?”
Lightning’s eyes shifted to note the small crowd of ponies, who were watching the exchange with a mix of alarm and curiosity. Her lips curled up in a wicked grin. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I want! Everypony needs to see you get what’s coming to you.”
“What’s coming to me?” Rainbow jumped to hover in the air. “What the hay did I do?”
The fire in Lightning’s mind flared. “What didn’t you do? You’ve humiliated me, treat me unfairly in everything I do, shoot me down no matter how good my work is.” She reared back to pound her hooves together. “Admit it, Rainbow, you’re out to ruin me. Ever since you got me booted out of the Academy my life has been a bucking waste. I can trace every problem I’ve ever had back to one pony: you!”
Aggravated sounds came out of Rainbow’s throat as she rubbed her face with both hooves. “LD, you are without a doubt the most frustrating pony I have ever met.”
“I’m frustrating?” Lightning jumped up to match Rainbow’s height, pointing an accusing hoof. “You’re the bucker who won’t leave me alone! I came to you looking for help, and you’ve made me regret it every single day since.”
“I haven’t done anything!” Rainbow threw her hooves high in exasperation.
“The ridiculous hours?” Lightning pressed, flying close to poke her rival in the chest with enough force to knock her back. “Teaming me with crappy fliers for humiliation’s sake? Lazing around while I work my tail off? Jumping my rump when I do my job efficiently? Everything I do leads to you snapping at me, and you want me to believe you don’t have it in for me?”
Rainbow rubbed her chest with a scowl. “I gave you a fair chance and this is how you repay me?”
“A fair chance?!” Lightning was shaking with fury. “That’s it!”
She flew forward with a shout, but Rainbow dropped to the ground, easily dodging the lunge. Lightning flew a tight circle, ready for the counter… but it didn’t come. Rainbow wasn’t even facing her. Lightning pounded her hooves, knowing this was some kind of trick.
“Come on, stop playing around and fight me!”
But Rainbow didn’t move. She stood firmly in the road, back to Lightning and head held high.
She was being ignored! Lightning let out a furious scream and dove. Rarity shouted the warning and Rainbow deftly stepped aside, leading Lightning to harmlessly zoom past.
Lightning slid to a stop, her hooves leaving dirt tracks in the grass. She couldn’t believe this, she was being humiliated again! She let out a snarl and turned to face Rainbow, steam snorting from her nostrils.
Rainbow eyed her coolly, then turned away from her without a word.
Lightning felt her eye twitch. “What are you doing? Fight me, for buck’s sake!”
Rainbow refused to answer.
Lightning barely stopped herself from launching a third time; she wasn’t going to fall for it again. She stomped her hooves a few times to vent her frustration. “I can’t get my revenge if ya won’t face me!”
What good was it to pound Rainbow in front of all these ponies if Rainbow wasn’t fighting back? That wouldn’t prove anything!
“Come on!” Lightning reared back and gestured at Rainbow. “What are you waiting for? I know you’ve been wanting to do this just as badly as I have! Now’s your chance!”
Still, Rainbow wouldn’t respond.
Lightning glared at the back of the pony’s head, her hooves trembling with rage. “Damn it, stop ignoring me!”
At last, Rainbow spoke. “I am not going to fight you, Lightning.”
“Why not?” Lightning flew forward, attempting to move around to Rainbow’s front, but Rainbow followed the motion and kept her back to Lightning. “Come on, don’t ya wanna put me in my place? What is wrong with you?” She flew circles, but Rainbow closed her eyes and refused to acknowledge her antagonist.
Lightning’s fury was fading to frustration. She wasn’t even going to let her have the satisfaction of a proper fight?
“Stop being a coward. Take responsibility for what you’ve done to me!”
Rainbow’s head lowered, her lips pulling back in a fresh sneer. “You’re one to talk.”
Lightning slammed to the ground with a snarl. “What the buck does that mean?”
Rainbow opened her eyes to peer at Lightning for a second, but wouldn’t respond. She merely turned away yet again.
Lightning’s anger was slipping. She couldn’t fathom the reason, but losing her anger scared her. She glanced at the crowd surrounding them and felt something welling within her. Was it… panic?
“C-come on. Face me! You have to let me do this!”
“No I don’t,” Rainbow countered with her back still turned. “I never had to do anything for you.”
“But… I…” Lightning stomped. “Damn you, give me something to hit!”
“I’m right here.” Rainbow gestured to the back of her own head. “Go ahead and hit.”
“That’s not fair!” Lightning dropped to her haunches and let out a frustrated shout. “I don’t want to beat you, I want to defeat you!”
She paused at her own words, an intense sorrow coming over her. She stared at the back of Rainbow’s head, silently begging her to turn around and give her what she wanted. Why wouldn’t she do that? “Don’t do this, Rainbow. Don’t just ignore me. Fight me!”
Rainbow raised her head high and remained silent. The quiet hung heavy in the air, weighing down on Lightning like a thick blanket. She lowered her head, trying to understand why her heart was stuck in her throat. She needed Rainbow to look at her, to acknowledge her! But it wasn’t going to happen, and if Lightning attacked now… She eyed the crowd, suddenly very aware of all the attention she had. She spotted Airheart amongst them, watching with sad eyes. Lightning saw those eyes and felt small.
So very, very small.
Lightning spread her wings and left the ponies behind with head hung low. She’d had such high hopes for this moment, and instead she was looking like a foal. Rainbow had played the game perfectly; nopony would respect Lightning for this. Lightning’s humiliation couldn’t have been worse even if Rainbow had beaten her. Now what was she in the eyes of the others?
She just wanted to find a deep, dark hole and hide.
“Come with me.”
Lightning looked up to see Rainbow flying past her, eyes sharp.
Her tormentor flew for a large cloud formation just outside of town, but Lightning wasn’t in the mood anymore. What was the point of fighting now? Everypony had already watched her make a foal of herself. Even so, she found herself slowly following.
It took a few minutes for her to get to the clouds. She found Rainbow sitting on one, her expression grim. Lightning landed before her boss – probably former boss, come to think of it – and sagged. For a long time they said nothing, Lightning staring at her own hooves and feeling pathetic.
At last Rainbow sighed. “LD, what am I going to do with you?”
Lightning’s eyes rose to meet those of her hated rival. Rainbow was solemn, but the question seemed oddly sincere. Lightning considered it for a few seconds, ruminating on everything that had happened recently. She remembered the crowd just now, and getting stuck in the cold front. The humiliation of having to be rescued. And before that, before she ever came to Ponyville.
Foal Mountains. She’d tried her best to help her friends. She spoke to everypony, searched high and low, never even knowing what to look for. She’d been as useless then as she’d ever been, even having to rely on Fine Crime to save her! And Gulfstream… poor Gulfie, her precious cousin colt. That moment would be seared in her mind forever…
Fighting Sombra. Rainbow and Lightning had worked together, like a real team. She could still recall dodging the tyrant’s magical attacks together, flying about the castle in a furious duel for the city’s salvation. In the end, none of the crystal ponies were aware of what Lightning had done. All they’d seen were the two rainbooms. To them, Lighting was a hoofnote in the battle. She could just see the history books praising Rainbow for her glorious achievements, and when they got to it Lightning’s entry would simply read: “She was there.”
Going back even further, to when Lightning was roaming Equestria. Her life had been so meaningless. Just one more failure after another, traveling from town to town in a desperate effort to outrun her shame. Her time in Appleloosa came to mind; the fire, the tornado, her Wonderbolt Academy failure being brought up for everypony there to mock.
And the Academy. Everything started with the Academy.
“Give it back.”
Rainbow’s ears perked. “What?”
“My future.” Lightning sniffed down her sob. “Give it back.”
Rainbow cocked her head with a frown. “Umm…?”
“Give it back!”
The despondent Lightning sunk low again, misery filling her as the words just came out. “I used to be respected. I used to be somepony. I was going to be a hero, a Wonderbolt. The best flier in Equestria! Now look at me. I’m pathetic. Ever since the Academy, ever since I met you, it’s all fallen to pieces!”
She looked up at her rival, not bothering to wipe away her tears. “You took my future. Give it back!”
Rainbow’s eyes shifted thoughtfully, her face expressionless. She made no attempt to respond, and after a while Lightning dropped to her belly with a sigh. She rested her head on her hooves and gazed into the clouds, basking in her own misery. “I would give anything to be respected again…”
There was a long pause between them. It had the terrible sensation of making her feel cold and vulnerable.
“So why are you doing all the wrong things?”
Lightning shook her head. “What am I supposed to do?” She looked up at Rainbow imploringly. “I keep trying. I work so hard!”
Rainbow facehooved once more. “But you’re working hard at all the things you’re not supposed to be working hard at!”
“Stop acting like you understand.” Lightning looked away with a pout. “It’s not like you actually care.”
Rainbow's wings flared and there was heat in her tone. “You moron. You really don’t get it, do you? Everything I’ve done was for your sake!”
Lightning raised her head to glower at her. “You’re joking, right?”
Rainbow’s eyes grew deathly serious. “Shut up and listen. I told you when you first asked for the job that getting the kind of pay you wanted was going to be hard. The only way I could convince the head honchos in Cloudsdale to give you the wages was if you worked longer hours and acted as one of the backups. If you don’t work longer than everypony else, they’ll know it and they’ll force me to dock your pay.”
Lightning blinked, looking around as if expecting to find some pegasus official peering through the clouds. “They’re watching?”
Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “I’m not the only pony reporting to headquarters, Lightning. Even if I didn’t tell the truth, somepony else would. Every time somepony sends in a complaint about you I have to intervene on your behalf.”
Lightning sat up to stare. “You’re doing that? For me?”
Her old rival cringed as if to hold her frustration back. “I’ve been doing it since you got here! I’ve been putting you with weak fliers because I’m trying to teach you to look out for them.”
Lightning threw up her hooves. “But if I get all the work done early—”
“—you’ll get ponies fired.”
Lightning paused, hooves still raised high. “What?”
Rainbow sat and scowled. “You think reporting in the numbers at the end of each shift is for fun? Cloud Kicker has to write a report every week about the work my team’s doing, with stats for every pony. If a pegasus’ numbers suggest she’s not earning her part, headquarters docks pay. If a pony’s numbers get too low, I’m forced to fire her! I have bosses too, y’know, and they’re watching me like gryphons.”
Lightning scratched the back of her head, trying to figure things out. “But if I’m doing really good, and my numbers are high... that’s bad?”
“Yes!” Rainbow bowed her head for a moment, sucking in a long breath and exhaling it with equal dedication. “There are only so many clouds in the sky. You doing everything quickly leaves no room for everypony else to do anything, which means they have bad numbers, which makes my team look bad.
“Think about Airheart,” she added, gesturing towards Ponyville. “You know she’s paying both her parents’ cost of living and has a little sister at an advanced school in New Horseleans? Her numbers have been plummeting since you got here, and if it continues I’ll have to reduce her wages.”
Lightning flinched. “B-but she’s not responsible for—”
“No,” Rainbow snarled, “you are! If she’s paid less, it’ll be because you took all the work away from her. So when she has to choose between pulling her sister out of school or sending her parents to a nursing home, make sure to give her your opinion on the matter.”
Lightning wilted and couldn’t meet Rainbow’s eye. She thought of Airheart, who had been nothing but kind despite Lightning's attitude. “I… I didn’t know that.”
Rainbow crossed her hooves, sitting tall with an authoritative glare. “Didn’t take the time to find out, did you? You need to stop and think about how your actions affect everypony else. That’s the whole reason I keep teaming you with those ponies. Being on a squadron isn’t just about being the best, and that’s something you should have learned at the Academy. Every pony on my weather team has to know how to work together and you’re blowing it big time.”
Lightning hesitated. She wanted to find some kind of argument, but all she could think of was how she suddenly felt like a total jerk. She’d never intended to hurt anypony – well, aside from Rainbow herself – but suddenly all Rainbow’s actions towards her made a scary sort of sense.
Had Lightning been misinterpreting everything?
Rainbow peered at her for several seconds, her wings fluffing in agitation. Lightning had no idea what to say, so she just kept quiet. She was half-afraid that anything she’d say could make her look dumb. She already felt pretty bad, after all.
Why couldn’t she learn to think ahead? No wonder nopony respected her anymore…
At last Rainbow spoke up. “Y’know what? Forget about Airheart and the weather team. There’s somepony else far more important that you should be worried about.”
Lightning frowned and considered this. Somepony else? “Like who?”
Rainbow leveled her harshest glare yet. “Keen. I bet you were supposed to pick her up hours ago, weren’t you?”
Lightning’s jaw dropped just a little. Come to think of it, she was. She’d been so hell-bent on her revenge…
Rainbow understood Lightning’s expression. “So what excuse are ya gonna use for Twilight?”
If Lightning didn’t feel shamed before, she most certainly did now. She drooped and chewed her lip, trying to think of something appropriate to say, but all she could manage was a feeble “I…”
Rainbow sneered. “Do you even care about that kid?”
“Of course I do!”
“I’m not so sure.” Rainbow shook her head, anger set in her eyes. “As far as I can see everything’s you, you, you. Your glory, your revenge, your fame. If you don’t want to take responsibility for her you should just say so!”
Lightning’s anxiety faded at Rainbow’s accusations. She stood to her full height and shot the pegasus a glare. “I do care about Keen! What would you know about taking care of a foal?”
Rainbow’s counter came quick and strangely calm. “What do you know about loving one?”
Lightning’s argument got caught in her throat. She blinked, not sure what to make of Rainbow’s response. Why were her cheeks going hot? “I… what?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, you heard me right. You’re supposed to be raising that kid. Foals need more than just a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs; they need attention and love. I thought you were offering that to Keen, but now I think even that’s just something to make you feel good about yourself.”
Lightning felt as if she should be enraged by that statement, but instead she just felt her shame coming back. “I… It’s not just for me. I mean…” Why couldn’t she say anything?
“Then why?” Rainbow raised her eyebrows in a haughty expression. “Why did you choose to take Keen in?”
Lightning stared, the question running through her mind over and over again. She swallowed to clear her throat and thought on the filly. Not just on her, but on the entire orphanage.
“B-because… because I’m responsible for what happened. Because I want to make it right, even if—” She paused, setting a hoof to her lips; the thought that had come to mind hurt. It hurt a lot.
“Even if I don’t know what I’m doing…”
Rainbow lowered her head in thought, though her eyes didn’t leave Lightning’s. She considered the response for some time, eventually turning her eyes to the surrounding clouds. Eventually she lost her angry expression; her ears folded back and eyes softened.
“Look, I know it can be tough. It’s not the same thing, but I’ve got my own little filly to look out for, a surrogate sister. She looks up to me, and I try to do things with her in mind. I think that’s where you’re messing up, LD.”
Lightning tilted her head. “I don’t follow.”
Rainbow’s eyes were sad as she leveled them at her. “Scootaloo is a very important factor in everything I do now. From what I’m seeing, you haven’t made Keen an important part of your life.”
Lightning felt something akin to a sting in her heart. “I have too! Why do you think I’m putting up with y—” She paused, fighting down the words. “I mean… I’m still here because of her.”
“I don’t think you are.” Rainbow's quiet tone was more damaging to Lightning’s confidence than the anger had ever been. “I think you look at her as more of a burden than anything. If you were in it for her, you wouldn’t have put on that display just now.”
Lightning bowed her head with a sigh. “I was just trying to regain a little respect.”
“By getting into a brawl with your boss in front of the whole town?” Rainbow shook her head. “Don’t you realize what ponies will think? ‘Lightning’s violent.’ ‘Lightning’s mean.’ ‘Lightning gets pissed about everything.’ Even if you did win the fight, you think they’d celebrate your ‘glory’?”
“I…” Lightning looked away. “I didn’t think of it like that.”
Rainbow nodded. “Somepony out there will. Now everypony’s seen you act like that and they’re all going to be wondering if a foal living with you is going to be safe.”
Lightning turned on Rainbow. “I would never hurt Keen!”
“Wouldn’t you?” Rainbow countered. “They don’t know you. You haven’t given anypony a chance to. They just know what they saw, and what they saw wasn’t good.”
Lightning had to admit she had a point. What if somepony did some investigating and decided Lightning wasn’t fit to raise Keen? What if some civil service know-it-all showed up to take Keen away? Keen would end up in another orphanage.
The thought sent shivers down Lightning’s spine. “Good Goddess, what have I done?”
Rainbow nodded sympathetically. “You’ve put yourself in a really bad spot, that’s what you’ve done. Everypony in Ponyville’s gonna be watching you for your next big mistake. Gossip has already spread all over town. Your image is pretty low.”
Lightning’s stomach twisted as she turned to gaze out at the town behind her. “B-but they can’t take Keen. They don’t understand how sensitive she is! I can’t let that happen.”
“That’s not all,” Rainbow added. “You’re also on thin ice back in Cloudsdale. I’ve been covering for your butt, but I can’t do it forever. Eventually you’re going to be putting my job on the line too. If your performance doesn’t improve, and improve right now, you’re gonna lose the job I helped you get.”
Understanding dawned upon Lightning like a storm cloud hovering over her head. If she was so close to losing Keen, losing her job would seal the deal. Keen needed her and she was spending all this time being a selfish jerk! She could just see the filly cowering under the covers, jumping at every little sound. How long would she last under those conditions?
She wasn’t doing her job as Keen’s guardian… and that made her feel empty. She sagged, fear and sorrow merging into something new and terrible in her heart.
“What am I going to do…?”
Rainbow appeared at her side, setting a sympathetic hoof to her shoulder. “That’s up to you, LD. But if you really want my advice?” Lightning said nothing, so she pressed on. “Stop everything. Stop trying to beat me, stop thinking of me as the enemy, stop looking for ways to glory. Keen’s your path to glory, now.”
Lightning blinked and gave her rival a questioning look.
The smile that graced Rainbow's face was surprisingly warm. “They say raising a kid is a great adventure. Ponies will know you by how you raise Keen, and what she does will forever be tied to you. Think of how you’ll feel when she grows up to do great things! You’ll be able to say ‘that’s my kid’. Keen can be your greatest achievement… or your biggest mistake. It’s up to you.”
Glory… through Keen? “It almost sounds as though I’m using her.”
Rainbow facehooved. “Yeah, thanks for ruining my attempt at stirring emotion.”
“No, I think I get it.” Lightning turned back to the town, mind slowly grasping at Rainbow’s meaning. “What’s good for her is good for me… right?”
“That’s a much better way to put it,” Rainbow said with a relieved sigh. “You just focus everything on Keen. Let everypony know that you want to be with her and that you care. No more raging over the past, okay?”
That was easier said than done. Lightning wasn’t sure she had what it took; she’d never been confident in her ability to raise Keen. How could Rainbow look at the future with such optimism? Lightning never thought ahead partially because the future was a scary, dangerous concept. But at the same time, looking back wasn’t proving any brighter, was it?
Keen’s future was as murky and unknowable as a winter storm. If Lightning made the wrong choices…
Rainbow sighed and lifted off. “Look, take tonight and tomorrow off,” she instructed, hovering just off the edge of the cloud. “You’ve got a lot of thinking to do. When you get in the next day I’ll let you pick a pair of wingponies.”
“Wingponies?” Lightning looked up at her boss, not sure she heard that right. “You mean I’m going have a more permanent team?”
Rainbow nodded. “A little extra responsibility, so that I can tell the big wigs back at headquarters something positive about ya. If it works they might shut up, but it’s up to you to make it work. Got it, LD?”
Lightning stared at her, feeling a strange mix of shame and hope. It was like she was seeing Rainbow Dash for the first time, and it was an eye-opening experience.
“Yeah… I got it.”
“Good.” Rainbow turned and started to fly off, but Lightning stepped to the edge of the cloud and called out. Her boss zoomed a quick u-turn and paused a few feet away, raising an eyebrow.
Lightning scuffed a hoof on a cloud, blushing as she averted her face. “Th-thanks, Rainbow. I’m sorry I’m such a pain in the flank.”
Rainbow studied her for a few seconds, her lips gradually turning up to a big smile. “Ah, don’t worry about it.”
She was gone once more, a streak of colors shrinking in the distance. Lightning watched it fade, a strange sense of appreciation filling her. She sat on the cloud for several minutes, turning over what she’d been told today and wondering about the future. For the first time since before she could remember, she thought there might be a bit of light shining through the fog.
For reasons she couldn’t comprehend, she felt eager to see Keen. She launched from the cloud and made her way for the Golden Oaks Library, hoping her filly wouldn’t be too worried about how late she was.
It was Spike who answered the door, and he looked very relieved to see Lightning.
To put it one way.
“Thank goodness you’re here.” He hurriedly ushered her in. “Ya gotta help me get them out of here!”
He showed her into the library’s main room, eyes wide with alarm. “I’m not worried about her, I’m worried about me!”
“Pull!”
The moment Lightning entered the room, a mass of scrolls flew through the air and blinded her. Spike hid behind her as she covered her head against the falling rolls of paper, the distinct sound of a rapidly-firing magical laser filling her ears. When all the scrolls fell there was smoke rising from several spots among the debris. Lightning gaped at the sight of Twilight roaming among the rolls of paper, a quill and notepad hovering over her head as she attentively checked each tiny column of smoke.
And there, sitting on a chair with her horn smoking and a grin on her face, was Keen.
“Ten out of ten!” Twilight clapped her hooves as the quill marked the count. “That’s five in a row!”
Lightning glancing at Spike with a raised eyebrow. “What the hay is going on here?”
“Lightning!” Keen bounded off the chair, kicking up paper as she ran to hug Lightning’s leg. “I learned a new spell!”
For just an instant Lightning saw those big, wonderful blue eyes and felt an elation like she’d never felt before. This was her kid, and suddenly that thought made her happier than she could ever remember being. She beamed and caught the filly in a tight embrace.
“That’s great, kiddo! But, uh…” She looked around at the mess. “…what exactly does this spell do?”
“Oh, it’s just a basic laser spell.” Twilight gathered up all the scrolls in one place with her magic. “Every little pony has to learn it in magic kindergarten. You’d be amazed how useful it is.”
Lightning stared at the mage with wide eyes. “Isn’t it dangerous to teach weaponized magic to foals?”
Twilight chuckled. “It’s hardly a weapon, Lightning. It’s practically harmless.”
“Could’a fooled me,” Spike grumbled as he stepped out from behind Lightning. He displayed a small burn on his tail with a glower.
Keen winced. “I said I was sorry…”
Lightning glanced around, noted a few extra burn marks on the walls and found she was in agreement with Spike. “Yeah, just promise me you’ll be careful with it, okay?”
Twilight caught where she was looking and waved dismissively. “What, those? Those were just misfires from when she was learning it. Perfectly natural.”
“Don’t worry, Lightning.” Keen rubbed her cheek on Lightning’s chest with a big smile. “I’ve got the spell figured out.”
“Good.” Lightning lifted Keen so she could nuzzle her. The act felt surprisingly good, and for a second Lightning had to wonder at the light feeling in her chest. She found she didn’t want to let go of the filly and she wasn’t sure what to make of that.
She noted Keen’s curious expression and coughed self-consciously. Seeking something to distract, she nodded to the pile of scrolls in the center of the room. “But what’s with the mess?”
“Oh!” Keen squirmed so that she was turned around in Lightning’s hooves. She waved eagerly at Twilight. “Can we show her, please?”
Spike let out an alarmed “No!”
The filly’s entire body slumped. “Aaaw…”
Twilight shot her assistant a sour look before nodding to Keen with a grin. “Of course we can.”
Spike let out a snort and stomped for the back room. “We’re going to be late for the picnic with Jimmy and Rarity and I’m gonna get the blame.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Twilight assured him with a roll of her eyes. “We’ve got time for at least one more demonstration.”
Keen let out a gleeful cry, hooves already kicking the ground as Lightning – grudgingly – set her on the floor. She ran to jump back into the chair, turning to face the center of the library with a big grin as Twilight used her magic to spread the scrolls out all over the room.
Lightning backed up to the doorway so as to be out of the way. Her ears lowered as she recalled Spike’s burnt tail. “This isn’t dangerous or anything, right?”
Twilight chuckled as she moved to the center of the room. “If it was, would I be allowing it in my own home?” Lightning had to concede the point. “Ready, Keen?”
Keen turned to Lightning and made an inviting gesture. “You can’t see what I’m doing from over there.”
“Oh, right.” Twilight waved to the filly. “Why don’t you stand behind her chair? You won’t get it if you can’t see what she’s doing.”
Lightning hesitated, but at Keen’s big-eyed, imploring face she relented and went to stand just behind her. Keen gave her another quick nuzzle from over the back of the chair before sitting properly once more. “Okay, now I’m ready.”
Seconds passed in silence. Twilight was in a low stance with a wry smile, eyes locked on Keen. Lightning shifted, wondering just what this was all about. It wasn’t some kind of waiting game, was it?
“Pull!” Twilight shouted the word and raised her head, horn shimmering. The scrolls all glowed purple, except a few that were glowing green. Then they flew into the air, tossed wildly about the room in random directions!
Lightning barely had time to register the event when a series of tiny blue beams fired from Keen’s horn. They flew out into the scrolls, so fast that they almost appeared to be firing at the same time, but not quite.
An instant later and the scrolls were on the floor again, Keen’s horn smoking and Twilight still standing at the center of the room. Lightning looked around, noting the small columns of smoke once more. Twilight immediately began roaming the mess, lifting up green-glowing scrolls as she did. “One, two, three…”
Lightning rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t get it.”
“Ten out of ten!” Twilight beamed at Keen, approaching with ten scrolls floating over her head. The green aura around them was already fading. “Keen, you are a marvel of precision.”
Keen bounced in her chair with a grin. “See, Lightning? I’m really good!”
Lightning didn’t understand… until Twilight showed the scrolls to her. Each one had a tiny black spot on the seal where Keen’s laser had hit them. “Whoa. You mean she can find and hit all those every time?”
“It’s incredible!” Twilight marked the success in her notebook. “I want to do some more tests, see just how good she is. I’ve never seen anything like it! I don’t have that kind of accuracy now and I certainly didn’t have it at her age.”
Lightning stared, trying to process this news. “Does that mean she could be better at magic than you?”
Celestia’s prized student chuckled at the suggestion. “She’s learning fast, but not that fast. It’s the accuracy that’s amazing. It’s not related to the magic, it’s just something she’s really good at. In fact—” she sidestepped and tapped her own cutie mark with a wry wink, “—it might be important for her future, if you catch my meaning.”
Lightning caught it all right. She grinned and turned to hug Keen with a delightful sense of pride. “That’s great, Keen! My little filly’s got skills.” Keen giggled and eagerly returned the hug.
“She most certainly does,” Twilight agreed. “And the speed at which she acquires a target is astounding! She’s like a bolt of lightning. I need to come up with some new tests, though; I’ve only got so many unused scrolls and I do sorta need them.”
A bolt of lightning.
Lightning studied Keen for a moment, thinking on that phrase. Keen Arrow. Arrow. Bolt. Bolt of lightning.
Huh.
“Oh my goodness.” Twilight was at the window, eyes on the sky. “Look at the sun! We’re going to be late, why didn’t Spike say anything? Spike!”
The baby dragon was already marching into the room, a picnic basket held under one arm and a bemused expression on his face. “Yeah, yeah, I’m here.”
“We’ve got to go.” Twilight snatched the basket from the dragon with her magic, the force of her tug toppling him onto his belly. “I’ll see you later, Keen. Bye, Lightning. Spike, stop loafing and come on!”
Spike stood and dusted himself off, following at a walk. “Told ya she’d blame me.” Lightning watched them go with a raised eyebrow, wincing as the door slammed closed.
There was a moment of calm and silence as Lightning and Keen stared at the door, surrounded by a mess of scrolls.
Keen looked up at her guardian with a tilted head and strangely innocent expression. “Time for us to go, too?”
Lightning turned to consider the filly. Now that they were alone, she was abruptly reminded of her recent conversation with Rainbow. Keen was the key to her glory, huh? Why did that seem to make so much sense just now? For the first time in a while, she came to wonder just what the filly really was to her. How was she supposed to define her? A daughter? A sister? A ward?
What was Keen?
The filly’s tilted head righted and her expression grew curious. “You’re real late. Did something happen?”
Lightning blinked; had she been so obvious? But then… she glanced at the scrolls on the ground, recalling the impressive display of accuracy. Maybe Keen could target a pony’s thoughts in the same way? Or maybe not thoughts… Lightning didn’t know how to describe what she meant, but it was an interesting idea all the same.
Keen moved to the edge of the seat. “What’s wrong, Lightning?”
“Nothing.” Lightning lifted her up in another hug. “I just… Y’know what? Don’t worry about it. I’ve got some time to kill. Wanna go flying?”
Keen hesitated. “I dunno, last time was kinda cold.”
“Oh, right.” Lightning chuckled and set Keen on her back. “Well, what would you like to do?”
The filly considered. Her eyes lit up and she licked her lips in anticipation. “Can I get a drink at Nye’s?”
“I don’t think his place is open yet.” Lightning noted Keen’s pout and cringed. “I guess we can try anyway.”
Keen gave a little bounce and hugged the back of Lightning’s neck. “Great! I promise to only drink one, though. No tummy aches for me!”
That hug felt… good.
Lightning trotted to the door with a beaming smile. “I might ask him to whip up a few extras to put on ice. You can have one every couple of days or so, as a reward for being the most awesome filly in Equestria!”
Keen’s face broke into a broad grin. “Really?”
Lightning chuckled as she went outside, making sure to close the door behind her. “You bet! Hold on, Little Bolt, we’re going for a ride!”
Keen laughed as Lightning launched, darting her way through the buildings. Lightning didn’t understand why, but that suddenly seemed like the most beautiful sound in the world.
Keen stood in the dark kitchen beneath the sink, ears perked as she listen to the water run. A few seconds ticked off in her head, and then the faucet stopped. She hesitated, glancing back to the couch where Lightning was sound asleep. Chewing her lip, she looked up at the sink once more and concentrated, her tiny horn emitting a dim glow. Slowly, a glass half-full of water floated over the counter and down. The filly ducked her head, hooves shifting anxiously as she tried to bring the glass to the floor. It was possibly the heaviest object she’d managed to successfully lift so far, but to her immense relief she was able to set it to the floor without a mistake.
A broad grin crossed her lips, eyes aglow with the accomplishment. Imagine when she told Twilight tomorrow! How long before she could lift the big books? She took the glass and drank every drop of water, feeling extra thirsty after the work she’d put on her untested horn. She wiped her lips on the cloth hanging by the sink, then focused on returning the glass to the counter. It was much easier now that the water wasn’t weighing it down.
Though she made an effort to keep quiet, Keen found herself prancing back to her room. She was so glad that she wouldn’t have to wake Lightning up for things like this anymore; the pegasus was even less friendly than usual when her sleep was interrupted.
Keen had closed the door to her bedroom by the time she saw Fine Crime. The sight of him made her jump in alarm, but she recovered quickly once she recognized who the invader was.
Fine was sitting on her bed, staring at the half-full moon through her window. She couldn’t see his face, but he had a distinct sag in his shoulders. When he spoke there was an unmistakable weariness in his voice.
“Hey there, kid.”
She moved slowly to the bed, ears tucked and head low as she took in his somber mood. “Hello, Mr. Fine…”
He looked over his shoulder. He had the drooping eyes of a pony in need of sleep, but he still managed a smile. “I told ya, just ‘Fine’.” His horn glowed and Keen was lifted into the air. She let it happen without complaint, and he set her on the bed in a sitting position. “How ya doing, Keen?”
She tilted her head with a frown. “Are you okay?”
His smile faded as he looked out the window again. “No. I haven’t been okay in a long time.”
Fine’s sad manner was contagious. Keen slipped a little closer and nuzzled his side before looking up at him with big eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
He sighed. His eyes refused to leave the moon. Was he hoping it could help him?
“Just having nightmares. They’ve been worse than usual.”
“Oh.” Keen bowed her head, a sense helplessness wafting over her. “I’m no good with nightmares.”
A silence lingered between them, punctuated only by the soft call of an owl somewhere in the orchard. After a time Fine turned to Keen, smiling down at her even as his entire body slumped.
“I thought it would be a good time to visit. I’m sorry I came so late.”
“It’s okay.” She offered a smile in return. “I wake Lightning up all the time because of nightmares.”
Fine nodded before dropping to his belly, his black mane splaying out on the covers. “Sometimes it helps to see a friendly face. To remember what it’s all for.” Keen tilted her head at him, trying to understand his words. Noting her confusion, he patted her on the head. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I just wanted to see you, that’s all.”
Keen hesitated, but the sight of him so downtrodden made her heart ache. There was only one thing that ever made her feel better when suffering from nightmares… so she walked over and lay beside him, tucking her muzzle beneath one of his legs. She didn’t know if it would help somepony like Fine, but it was worth a try.
The stallion chuckled and pulled her a little closer. “You’re a good kid, you know that? I wish I had been half as good.”
“That’s what Lightning says.” Keen shifted to get more comfortable before asking, “Were all adults bad as foals?”
“No.” He ruffling her mane with a chuckle. “You just got lucky.”
She brushed her unkempt fringe out of her face and nestled against him once more. For several seconds they remained silent. Keen hoped her small presence could help him. Would he stay all night? What would Lightning think if she found him here? She probably wouldn’t be happy. Keen was once again forced to wonder why she didn’t like him.
“Keen?” She looked up to find him watching her, a long, gloomy expression on his face. “I thought you should know that I’ll be gone for a few days.”
Keen’s heart skipped a beat. She jerked away and stood facing him so as to offer a proper stare. “W-what do you mean?”
He spoke in a soft, calm voice. “It’s just three days, maybe four. I promise.”
Keen sat, eyes going to the window. She had that terrible sinking feeling in her chest again.
“B-but what about the monsters?”
Fine rolled onto his belly and offered a smile, though it was strained. “Lightning will look after you.”
Keen bowed her head, trembling just a little. “If she can…”
He sat up, groaning with the effort. He stared down at her, serious but not harsh.
“I’m taking Fluttershy and Twilight with me.”
A fretful sound escaped her lips as her head jerked up. “But what about my lessons?”
He chuckled. “I don’t think missing one lesson is going to ruin your education, Keen.”
“B-but I… Why do you have to take them with you?”
A long yawn escaped Fine’s lips as he studied her. “This is why I came here tonight. I think it would help you to know what I’m trying to do.”
Keen shook her head. “I think you’re the one who needs help right now.”
“Exactly.” He climbed off the bed, stumbling as he did. He turned and gestured. “Lie down and I’ll tell you a little something.”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to, but did as he asked and curled up on the pillow in front of the window. It was very warm thanks to his earlier presence. She looked up at him, chewing her lip and wondering what he was going to say.
He wasted no time. “Keen, like you, I have nightmares. I encountered a monster once. I was your age.” He bowed his head and closed his eyes, and after a second his entire body shuddered. “It scared me half to death, but I’ve never seen it again. It lives now only in my dreams.”
Keen leaned forward, eyes wide. “D-did it take someone from you, too?”
He offered a small smile... and went on.
“I can’t find it. I’ve searched everywhere, but the monster is gone. But I keep seeing it, over and over again, and I’m tired of seeing it. You have nightmares. Can you imagine having them forever?”
A small, shaky sound escaped her lips. She shook her head, sinking low on the pillow. “I don’t want to have the nightmares forever…”
“Me neither,” he agreed with a comforting smile and a pat of her head. “Have you ever heard of the Door of Fears?” Keen shook her head. “It’s a magical doorway. When you open it, it shows you your worst fear.”
Keen swallowed the lump in her throat. “W-why would somepony make that?”
“It was a trap,” he explained. “A trap to keep ponies from reaching a certain treasure. Now it lingers, forgotten and unwanted in the Crystal Empire. That’s where I’m going, Keen. I want to open the door.”
Keen stood up, eyes going wide. “But why? Why would you want to—”
He set a hoof to her lips with a small smile. “Come now, don’t want to wake Lightning.”
She sat and bowed her head, eyes shifting in quiet thought. “You want to face the monster again?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She cast her eyes up at him. “I don’t understand. Aren't you scared?”
He nodded. “It’s going to be very scary. Terrifying. I really don’t want to go.”
“Then why are you going?” she asked, her mind swimming with uncertainty. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Fine thought on his answer, eyes turning away from her. Keen stared at him, wondering what was on his mind. She thought about what would happen if she tried to face her own fear… and could only shiver.
Fine lowered his face to her level and looked her in the eye. She stared into his red gaze, sensing the importance of what he was about to say.
“Everypony is afraid of something. There is only one way to get rid of nightmares, Keen, and that is to find what you’re afraid of, look it in the eye and say ‘You will scare me no longer.’ You have to face your fear.”
Keen’s lips trembled. “B-but… but that’s scary.”
“I know.” He sat back and heaved a long, deep sigh. “Believe me, I know. That’s why I’m telling you this now.”
Keen shrank back a little, eyes widening. “You want me to… t-to face the monsters?”
He smiled. “I want you to face the things the monsters pretended to be.”
She paused, thinking on this. “You mean… other foals? But what if they’re monsters?”
“What if they are?” Fine rubbed his tired eyes with a frown, shook his head. The small motion made him wobble. “You have to face them eventually. You have to learn to handle it, just like Lightning always suggests.”
“B-but I’m not brave like her!” Keen turned away, bowing her head and whimpering. “I’m not a strong pony and they scare me. You don’t understand, either.”
“I do understand,” Fine whispered. He caught her up in his legs and gave her a tight hug. There was such sadness in his voice... “I understand all too well. But you don’t have to be a strong pony or a great mage, or even brave. Keen, I’m asking you, go out and face what scares you as soon as you can. Don’t be like me. Don’t hide from it forever. If you do, you may never escape the nightmares… and someday, the thing you fear may catch up to you.”
She heard a sniff and looked up to see him crying. She could only gape in a confusing mix of sadness and uncertainty. He set her back down on the bed and sat up to rub his eyes. The filly watched, unable to speak for her amazement.
“I’m scared, Keen,” Fine whispered through his tears. “Twilight and Fluttershy are coming to help me, but even with them… I don’t know if I can do this. I’ve been running away from it for twenty five years. After so long, it becomes hard to stop and stand your ground.”
He leaned over her, eyes imploring. “That’s why I’m here, right now. That’s why I had to see you. Don’t keep running, Keen. If you just run, you might never be able to stand and face it. Do it now, while you still can. You don’t deserve to be scared all your life.”
Keen bowed her head as she wondered what to say. She understood that his words were important, but it sounded so hard. He had to be the bravest pony she’d ever met. To see him like this… hurt. If hiding from his fears made him that scared, what would she be like by the time she was all grown up?
He was trying to help her. She knew it, but to just go and face the monsters…
“Do you know how to copy magic yet?”
She looked up, head cocked. “What?”
He tapped her horn, a feeble smile on his lips. “You know, copy what others do?”
“What does—” She saw his sad face and bit back her words. “Twilight said she'd show me when I was ready.”
“That’s okay.” He nuzzled her, pushing her back down onto the pillow. “You practice that when you can. Soon I’ll be able to teach you a trick or two that might make you feel better when you’re scared.”
She eyed his moist cheeks. “Do they help you?”
He stepped back, the shadows wrapping about him like greedy arms. “Not anymore. I’m too far gone for such comforts. But I think they’ll help you. Your fears are fresh, young. Mine are mature and experienced.”
She rested on the pillow, but her fretful eyes remained locked to his. “Will you be okay?”
His toothy grin appeared bright in the shadows. “Don’t worry, kid. No matter what happens, I’ll be back to keep your monsters away. It’s a promise.”
“But…” He was already being covered in dark clouds. Within a few seconds he was gone.
Keen wished she knew how he did that.
She rested her head on the pillow. She didn’t turn to the window this time. She just kept staring at the shadows, thinking about the strange stallion. For once, she wasn’t worried about herself.
It was two days later and Keen was once again at Octavia’s and Upper Crust’s home. Octavia was working a job in town, though, so it was just Upper Crust taking care of her that day. In all honesty, Keen didn’t think Upper Crust was as good a foalsitter as her housemate. Upper Crust wasn’t as cheerful as Octavia. She couldn’t cook like her, didn’t play any instruments and didn’t seem as smart. She wasn’t even all that good at magic.
Yet despite all of these issues, Keen found she liked Upper Crust’s company more. Maybe it was how quiet she was, or how she never pressed Keen into anything she didn’t want to do. Perhaps it was just her constant aura of sadness, the permanent downtrodden look she maintained despite always trying to fake a smile. Keen had this strange feeling, like she was understood by Upper Crust. Was it a good thing? Keen couldn’t tell… but she didn’t mind.
It was early in the afternoon and Keen was sitting at the table watching her foalsitter make sandwiches. Upper Crust didn’t ask Keen’s preference, but that was okay; she accepted the sandwich in silence. The tomato slices were too thick and there wasn’t enough lettuce, but Keen didn’t complain; Upper Crust was doing her best. There was no point in complimenting Upper Crust’s food, for her foalsitter would recognize the white lie. Upper Crust preferred honesty; honesty when addressing others, and honesty with oneself. It seemed to be one of her personal rules.
The meal went on in silence, but Keen’s mind was buzzing. It had been ever since she’d last seen Fine Crime. She had questions, but she didn’t know who to ask. Lightning wouldn’t understand, she never did. Fluttershy might have been a good pony to ask, but she wouldn’t be back until at least tomorrow. Twilight, too. Octavia… Keen wasn’t sure Octavia would have an answer. She seemed like a smart pony, but Keen didn’t need smart. She needed… understanding.
She studied Upper Crust. Now that she thought on it…
Upper Crust smiled, though it was weak. “About what?”
Keen bowed her head, her long white mane falling over her eyes. “Scary things.”
“I know my sandwiches are bad, but scary? Really?” The adult tried to grin, but Keen only kept staring at her sandwich. After a couple seconds Upper Crust’s smile began to fade and she slumped in her chair with a long sigh. “What kind of scary things?”
Keen shifted in her seat, not sure of how to say what she was feeling. She kept seeing Fine’s tear-streaked face. It made her feel strange. Weak. At last she looked up at her foalsitter and asked, “Was it scary when you stopped being a monster?”
Upper Crust sat up straight, staring at the filly as if not sure what she was looking at. “W-what brought this up?”
Keen leaned against the table, chin set at the edge of her plate. “There’s something I think I need to do, but it’s scary.” She closed her eyes and saw something peering at her in the dark. The sight made her shiver. “I’m tired of having nightmares.”
A long silence passed between them. Keen opened her eyes to see Upper Crust had averted her gaze, her lips set in a soft frown and her eyes shifting at the floor. Maybe she wasn’t the right pony to ask about this after all.
“I’m sorry,” Keen whispered, turning her eyes to her sandwich. “I asked something bad.”
Upper Crust looked up as if pulled from a trance. She stared at Keen for several seconds, then broke into a smile. Keen was struck dumb; it was so… real.
“I don’t think adults should admit to fear before foals,” the mare admitted, “but I think you’re such a smart young filly that you’d know better. Yes, Keen, it was scary.” She turned away, her frown coming back just as quickly as it had left. “I keep thinking that someday I’ll wake up and be just like I used to be. It’s terrifying.”
The question Keen wanted to ask felt strangely improper, but now that she’d started… she sank low in her seat, peering over the table’s edge as she asked, “How would you face your fear?”
“I’d return to Canterlot.” Upper Crust’s response was quick and precise, though she still wouldn’t look at the filly. “I’d go back and meet the monsters and tell them exactly what I think of them.”
Keen stood up, eyes going wide. “Y-you would?”
For the first time since Keen had met her, Upper Crust’s doubts and sadness faded. She met Keen’s gaze with hard, focused eyes. “If I could, yes. I hate what I was and I hate them for making me that way. But,” she added, lowering her eyes but maintaining her fierce expression, “most of all I hate me for letting it happen. Once I’ve recovered, once I have a few legs of my own to stand on, I intend to do go back and face them.”
Keen blinked, eyeing Upper Crust’s legs. “Legs to stand on?”
The mare blinked, noted Keen’s confused face and began to laugh. That only made Keen sit back down and cock her head. What was so funny about legs?
“The point,” Upper Crust said through her grin, “is that I want to face what scares me most.” She leaned over the table to eye the filly.
“That’s what you want to do, isn’t it?”
Keen bowed her head and nodded. She wanted to say something, but just at that moment her tongue seemed locked to the ridge of her mouth and her chest was tight.
Upper Crust leaned back with a sigh. “It’s a scary thought, I know, but if I can do it, surely you can too. Granted,” she added in afterthought, “I haven’t done it yet. My time will come. I just need to… to find my direction. I’m still a little lost.”
Keen looked up at her. “Lost?”
Her foalsitter nodded. “I don’t know what I’m doing... or where I’m going. I have a destination but no map.” She spread her hooves wide, indicating their surroundings. “Octavia has granted me a safe haven, and I am her fan because of it. Yet her generosity can only take me so far; I have to take the next step on my own. Even if I have no clue what that next step will be.”
Keen thought on this, eyeing Upper Crust curiously. “You've been thinking a lot.”
At that her foalsitter drooped, her smile becoming just a little smaller. “Yeah, I have.”
“So… when do you stop thinking?” Keen asked. “When do you take the next step?”
Upper Crust sat up and stared at the filly. She didn’t seem to understand the question. But then her eyes widened and her smile was warm.
“From the moment I choose to.”
Keen rubbed her chin, trying to make sense of this. “I don’t get it.”
Upper Crust giggled. “You don’t have to. Just know that—”
Her words were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Now who could that be?”
Keen felt as if the air had been blown out of her. She cast a sour look out the kitchen door; why did somepony have to come by now? As Upper Crust went to answer the knocking, Keen hopped off her chair and went to the kitchen door. She wanted to see who had interrupted what had felt like a very important conversation.
She also wanted to know if the visitors were monster so she could be ready to hide if necessary.
She could see Upper Crust’s hind legs from around the corner of the house’s entryway. The mare’s voice reached her ears. “Oh, hello Green. I thought you’d be at the festival watching our hero perform.”
“Hey, Miss Crust.” Keen recognized the subdued voice of Green Daze from outside.
Upper Crust made an unpleasant sound. “Just call me Upper Crust, please. Where are your filly friends? It’s odd for them not to be with you.” A moment’s pause. “Green? Is something wrong?”
“Is she here?”
Keen’s ears perked.
Upper Crust, oblivious, asked, “Is who here?”
“Th-the… the girl.” Green hesitated. “You know, the one you and Octy foalsit sometimes?”
Keen felt her heart slam into her throat. She shook her head forcefully, but didn’t dare try to catch Upper Crust’s attention.
Upper Crust couldn’t see her, of course. “Oh… Umm, well…”
Green sounded very hopeful. “I wanted to talk to her. Can I?”
“I don’t know,” Upper Crust replied. “She’s rather shy…”
“I know. That’s why I wanna talk to her without the girls.”
Upper Crust hesitated. “I see.”
Keen clutched the door frame, trembling as she listened to the exchange. Please say no, please say no, please say—
“If you promise to be nice.”
“Pinkie Promise!”
No! Keen turned away, eyes wide as she scoured for a hiding place. She went for the first thing that came to mind, opening the cabinet door under the sink and diving in. Closing the door with her magic and trying not to bang her head on the pipes, she cowered in a corner and listened.
“Keen? You have a… oh. I wonder where she went?”
Green sounded hurt. “Did she run away again?”
Keen sank low, her tail moving to cover her face as she trembled. He was looking for her, actually looking! What would she do if he found her? She couldn’t run, she was trapped in a corner. She covered her head in her hooves and prayed.
Hoofsteps resounded in the kitchen as Upper Crust and Green searched for her. After a few seconds Upper Crust said, “Well, I guess if she really doesn’t want to come out…”
“But I need to talk to her now. The girls are watching Octavia play. I might not get another chance.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll have an opportunity at some point.” There was a soft squeak and Keen could just barely see the light of the kitchen shining through her pale tail. “Oh, there you—”
Keen’s head jerked up, eyes wide at the sight of Upper Crust peering in at her. Without even thinking about it, Keen seized the door in her magic and slammed it, the mare’s face caught between it and the frame. Upper Crust let out a pained shout and jerked back; the door closed the rest of the way with a bang.
Guilt welled up in Keen, but she was too scared of having been caught to think of how she’d hurt poor Upper Crust. She kept the door locked in a blue glow, refusing to let it budge as somepony outside tried to open it.
“L-leave me alone!”
“Keen!” Upper Crust’s patient voice was long gone. “What has gotten into you? Come out here right now, little filly!”
“No!” Keen tried to squeeze herself a little more tightly into the corner, wide eyes locked on the door. “M-make him go away!”
“Green is a friend,” Upper Crust snapped. “This is no way for a filly to behave.”
Keen covered her face in her hooves and saw blue eyes staring through the dark. She lowered her hooves with a whimper.
“P-please...” Keen's tail tucked over her face once more. “Don’t make me…”
A long, lingering silence passed through, punctuated only by Keen’s shivering and whimpers. She silently begged for Upper Crust to understand. Please, let somepony out there understand! She couldn’t face the monsters…
Face the monsters. That was what Mr. Fine Crime was doing right now, wasn’t it? Suddenly she remembered him, could see his tear-streaked face. His plea echoed in her ears, a plea to face her fear.
But what if Green was a monster?
Green’s timid voice reached her ears. “Umm, Miss Crust? Could I talk to her?”
“Upper Crust. And of course you can, she’s right behind the door.”
“I mean, can I speak to her… alone?”
Keen sucked in a sharp breath. The last thing she wanted was to be alone with him!
Upper Crust sounded hesitant. “I suppose…”
Keen rose up just slightly. “D-don’t. Don’t go!” The long silence left Keen feeling cold as ice. “U-Upper Crust…?”
Green’s voice called, soft and uncertain. “Umm… hello?”
Keen pressed against the wall, eyes going wide as she realized she was alone. “Go away!”
“Please don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.”
Keen shook her head and closed her eyes, concentrating on keeping the door firmly closed with her magic. “I d-don’t believe you.”
“Why?”
“Because you might be a monster!”
“A monster?” A heavy sigh passed through the wood. “If only I were so lucky. Ponies might see me if I were a monster.”
Keen blinked, trying to wrap her head around that statement. “See you?”
“I see you, though.” Green's voice was kind. “You always run away when we show up. Why do you run?”
Keen gazed at the door, not certain of what to say. She felt… weird. There was no other way to describe it. His asking that question seemed backwards from how things should be. “I… umm…”
He spoke as if reading from a list. “Fluttershy’s, Sugarcube Corner, Octavia’s. Every time I see you, you’re hiding. Please tell me why.”
The image of Fine came to Keen once more. Suddenly, she felt like she should try. She perked her ears, listening for the sound of chittering laughter. It didn’t come. Was he alone? She didn’t think she could do it, but if he was alone... she still wasn’t sure she could do it. And Upper Crust wasn’t there.
A terrible thought passed through her mind. “W-where’s Upper Crust?”
“Watching from in the living room,” Green answered in a smug whisper. “She thinks I don’t notice, but I can see her reflection in the oven window.”
So she hadn’t left after all? Or was he just saying that to make Keen feel better? But if he wasn’t a monster…
He might be.
What if he wasn’t?
How to know for certain?
She should try.
But it was scary!
Fine Crime waited, and his tears hurt a lot. She didn’t want to disappoint him, and she had this opportunity…
“Please come out.”
Keen looked up at the door, heart beating at a hummingbird’s pace and hooves shaking. Slowly, she forced herself to stand. She could do this. Fine wanted her to. She didn’t want to be scared or to have nightmares anymore.
What if she was wrong? What if he attacked?
The thought made her pause.
“Keen… please?”
She chewed her lip and closed her eyes, fighting to channel Lightning’s bravery. Green wasn’t a monster. She didn’t know if it was true, but she kept repeating it over and over again in her head; Green wasn’t a monster. She took a couple steps and was standing beside the glowing cabinet door. She gazed at the blue aura holding it closed, the one thing protecting her from him. If she took it down…
“I… I’m sorry.” She could hear Green's hooves on the kitchen floor as he turned around. “I guess I should go.”
Keen didn’t know why she felt such a sense of urgency, but she released the door and moved forward. She pushed it open just a crack and peered through. Green had been stepping away with head bowed, but he paused and looked back at her through his blue fringe. He reminded her of a kicked puppy, but the image didn’t put her at ease.
Ready to close the door in an instant, she met his gaze and stared for several seconds. She didn’t know what to say. How to address a could-be monster? At last she said the only thing that came to mind.
“What do you want?”
He turned to her, sitting and keeping his head low. “Don’t be scared of us. I don’t like that you’re always scared.”
Hesitation filled her as she gazed at his forlorn face. Could she believe him? She could leave the safety of her little spot under the sink and then he might carry her away to become a monster. She closed her eyes and saw the images of her nightmares.
Hiding under the covers, peering out as colts and foals crawled from bed. Foals turning black, gaining slitted blue eyes and wicked grins. She could still vividly remember them grabbing the colt in the bed next to hers. His name was Roar. He’d been so nice to her. They dragged him away, but she’d only watched him struggle in silence and tried not to cry for fear of being next.
When he came back on his own, he hadn’t been Roar anymore. How many foals did she watch being dragged off? How many times did she choose to stay shivering under the covers, head buried beneath her pillow so she wouldn’t have to listen? Was it worse when they came back… or when they didn’t?
Keen whimpered and opened her eyes. Green was still there, waiting with eyes averted. He looked so plain... and yet he terrified her. She knew how deceptive they were. She knew she couldn’t trust him.
She considered closing the door. She almost did. But then her eyes went past him, through the kitchen door and to the living room. Upper Crust was there. The mare was standing far back from the door, leaning at an angle to peer in with clear curiosity. The sight of her made Keen reconsider; Upper Crust had lost a friend, too. She’d been a monster once. Surely if Green was a monster she’d protect Keen… right?
Because she understood.
Keen thought on Fine once more as she gazed at Green. Fine was in the Crystal Empire right now, facing what had to be something truly scary. She didn’t want to think of what could be so bad as to scare him, but he was facing it. Keen wanted to be brave like that.
What were the words he’d used?
“You will scare me no longer.”
Green’s ears perked. He looked up at her, head cocked. “What?”
Keen swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly pushed the door open, cringing at the squeaky hinges. She lingered under the sink for a few seconds, fighting to control her shaking breath. “Y-you will… scare me no longer.”
Green blinked, eyes roaming about as if in search of clues. “Um… okay?”
He didn’t pounce. That made her feel more comfortable… but only a little. She reached a trembling hoof to step down, eyes locked with his. Her legs were ready to bolt at the first sign of danger, but even after she was out of the cabinet, he didn’t approach.
“You w-will scare me no longer…”
Green said nothing. He just watched, eyes fixed on hers as she moved slowly, cautiously closer. Every step came just a little easier, but Keen’s head remained low and her ears tucked. She could do this. She could, but please don’t let him be a monster!
“You will scare me no longer.”
She moved closer, each hoof feeling like lead. Soon she was right in front of him, so close that he leaned back with eyes darting about. Keen’s chest was tight, her breath coming in slow and deep rhythms as she studied him up close. Eyes moistening, she looked for the black undercoat, the blue eyes, any sort of indication. She found none.
And then, gradually, she found herself relaxing. A long, strained breath passed from her lungs as she sat back, feeling at once tired and relieved.
This time the words were confident.
“You will scare me no longer.”
A moment of silence passed between them, Green still leaned back as if he were afraid she would pounce. At last he asked, “Feel better?”
Keen bowed her head and set a hoof to her heart. “I’m… still scared.” And yet it wasn’t so intense. She took a hesitant step back, but the urge to bolt was gone. She stared at him, then at her hooves, then back at Green. She could do this… she might actually be able to talk to him. It felt good, in a nervous sort of way.
“I think… I think I’m okay.”
Green beamed. “That’s great!” He noted Keen’s wince and blushed. “I mean, that’s great. I’m Green Daze. Oh, you already knew that, didn’t you?” He scuffed a hoof on the ground and averted his eyes, cheeks growing one more shade of red.
Keen studied his anxious face for a few seconds before nodding. “Um… I’m Keen Arrow.”
He looked up with wide eyes, then broke into a grin and nodded. “Pleasure to meet you.”
He offered his hoof. Keen leaned back, studying it as if it might be a snake. She looked at his smile, then glanced over his shoulder to see Upper Crust in the living room. The adult wasn’t even pretending to be hidden anymore. She nodded with a grin and waved encouragingly.
So, feeling a little uncertain, Keen slowly reached her own hoof forward and touched his… then stared in confusion as he shook it with fervor.
Keen pulled her hoof back and rubbed it once he was finished, not sure what to make of his gesture. “Um… so…?”
“Would you like to join my fan club?”
She blinked and cocked her head. “Fan club?”
He nodded eagerly. “Yeah, for Octavia.” He gestured backwards to the kitchen with a smirk. “Upper Crust is a member. Please?”
Keen took a cautious step back and shook her head with wide eyes. “Oh, no! I’m still scared of—” her ears tucked as a strange wave of guilt passed over her, “–of you. I can’t be with so many ponies…”
“Oh.” He wilted a little. “It’s not a big club. Just me and the girls and Upper Crust.”
“No.” Keen shook her head once more. “I’m sorry. It’s sounds far too…” What was the best word? “Exciting.”
He offered a weak smile as he scratched the back of his head. “That’s the girls, alright.”
“B-besides,” Keen added, brushing her mane aside and averting her eyes, “I think I like Fluttershy more.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Fluttershy’s pretty cool too. She didn’t buck a dragon, but she’s always putting me back together when things get a little too ‘exciting’ around the girls.” He chuckled and reached into his school pack. “Octy says you like to read.”
Keen’s ears perked as he pulled out a book, its pages yellow with age. The cover had a pony standing tall with hooves outstretched to touch the edges of a perfect circle. Green blushed, ears lowering as he noted, “This is my favorite.”
“The Vision of Cavallnardo?” Keen tilted her head as she took in the title.
Green nodded, still not meeting her gaze as she carefully took the book in her hooves. “Cavallnardo da Filly. He was an inventor. He tried to make a flying machine a long time ago, but it didn’t work. Someday I want to make one.” He rubbed the back of his head, cheeks red. “It’s stupid and geeky, isn’t it?”
Keen looked between the book and him, her mind gradually hitting upon something. “The others haven’t seen this? Ani and Apple? Dinky?”
He let out a nervous sound and took the book, hurrying to stuff it into his pack. “Told ya it was stupid…”
Keen tilted her head, her curiosity overriding her lingering fears. “Why show it to me?”
He struggled to fit the book in with his school supplies, face beet red. “I-I dunno. I just… well, I thought… maybe…”
Keen understood. She didn’t know how she understood, but she did, and she realized that she wasn’t scared of him anymore. It felt as if a fog had lifted from her mind. She looked at him and saw Green clearly for what felt like the first time… and somehow knew that he wasn’t a monster. She felt guilty for having suspected him, and grateful as well. If she wasn’t afraid of him, maybe she could learn not to be afraid of the others?
Perhaps Fine had been right. She’d faced Green, and now she wasn’t scared. It made her feel so… happy.
She stepped forward and set a hoof to Greens’ shoulder. The touch made him freeze, his head set away from her and his hooves still holding the pack and book.
“Do you wanna read it with me?”
He turned to her, eyes wide. “Really? You mean it? Most ponies think it’s boring.”
“I like to read,” she reminded him with a timid smile. “I won’t be bored.”
He stared at her for several seconds, as if expecting her to change her mind. When she didn’t he grinned. “Y-yeah, I’d like that. I really would!”
“You can go read on the couch.” They looked to find Upper Crust at the kitchen door, beaming down at them. “There should be enough room for two.”
“Works for me!” Green reared back excitedly and made for the door. “Thanks, Miss Crust. Come on, Keen!”
Keen ducked a little at his enthusiasm, but followed with a smile. Just before she reached the door, however, Upper Crust blocked her path with a hoof and leaned close. She had a delighted smile as she nuzzled the filly.
“I thought you should know that I think Lightning will be proud of you, Keen. You did very well.”
Keen’s hesitation faded as she returned the motion. She looked up at Upper Crust with a grin. “You’ll do well, too. Promise?”
Upper Crust blinked, giving the filly a questioning look. But then she smiled and nodded.
The Ponyville weather team was arranged in two lines along the edge of the Everfree Forest, steadily beating their wings to create a strong wind. Large, thick clouds roiled before them, building up into a single massive entity as the chill winds from the forest fought back against their efforts. Lightning flew along the line, eyes on the clouds. It was a fascinating display for a pegasus raised in wild weather.
She spotted her two wingponies and flew between them. “How ya handling things, girls?”
Airheart gave her a warm smile, her wings moving with practiced rhythm. “Just fine.”
Her other wingpony was Helia, whose soft green wings flapped with a bit less energy than Airheart’s. “Holding up.”
Lightning took her place between them, adding the wind of her wings to the line and helping push back the clouds. “If ya need a break, just say so.”
“I’m good.” Helia offered a nervous smile. “I’ve just never handled a cold front before.”
“That makes two of us,” Lightning admitted. She looked to Airheart. “So how long are we supposed to keep this up, anyway?”
The more experienced pegasus waved behind them to the town. “Until Applejack and the other Earth ponies are ready, but their part’s an all-day routine. Does Rainbow know when our backup’s going to get here?”
Lightning nodded, increasing her wingpower just a little to match the winds from the Everfree. “A messenger came by not long ago. A Cloudsdale reserve is on its way, should be here within an hour.”
Helia perked up, cyan eyes shining. “An hour? I can certainly go that long. We’re going to rotate out then, right?”
Lightning and Airheart shared amused smiles. Lightning said, “Yes, we’ll all get a break. Maybe you can paint the scene while you’re on the ground.”
Helia’s eyes lit up as she turned her head to observe the long line of pegasi along the forest. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea! If I can get the angle just right...” She rubbed her hooves together, her eyes unfocusing as she stared past Lightning and Airheart.
“Yep.” Lightning floated sideways and tapped Helia on the muzzle. “Hey, wake up. We’re not taking a break just yet.”
“Huh? Oh!” Helia turned her attention back to the clouds and began to beat her wings in rhythm with the others once more. “S-sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Lightning brought herself evenly between them once more. “Tell me something. I get that you joined the weather team to pay for your supplies, but how did an art pony who works on the weather team end up with a sunflower for a cutie mark?”
Helia glanced back at her cutie mark with a proud grin. “It was the first thing I painted, of course. A plain full of sunflowers. I was real little, but I still have the painting mounted over my bed.”
Lightning laughed. “No offense, but did you really get your cutie mark painting flowers? Booooring.”
But Helia was beaming. “Well it made me happy.”
“What about Keen?” Airheart hovered a little closer to Lightning and nudged her. “Does she have a cutie mark yet?”
Lightning shrugged and brought her attention back to the cold front gradually billowing up before them. “Nah, she’s got some time before she figures it out.”
Her two wingponies made strange sounds that Lightning could only describe as ‘girly’, the kind of cutesy reaction that always made her want to fake a gag. Helia set her hooves to her cheeks with a grin. “I bet you’ll be so proud of her! I can’t wait to have a child of my own. Of course I have to have a stallion first…”
“Keen’s not my—” There it was again, that same question: what was Keen to her? Why did it always make her pause? Why did it always make her cheeks hot? But the most important question of all was: why did the thought of calling Keen her ‘child’ feel… improper?
The questions were becoming old, but the feeling of regret they caused were entirely new.
Airheart’s voice broke through her thoughts, but just barely. “Hey, Lightning?”
“Huh?”
“Stay with us.”
Lightning shook her head and realized she’d lost her rhythm. She slowed her wings to match the others and tried very hard not to meet their gazes as her cheeks burned. “S-sorry. Just thinking about my kid.”
Helia chuckled and floated in for just long enough to nudge her lead pony in the ribs before getting back into position. “Come on, mom, stick with the program.”
Lightning had to fight the urge to snap, particularly after being referred to as ‘mom’.
Time went by with surprising swiftness for the pegasi team. Even though they were stuck flying in the same spot continuously, they entertained one another with plenty of pointless chatter. As time passed, Lightning found herself reflecting on the past week with mild pleasure. Ever since her harsh discussion with Rainbow it was like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was happier now than she’d been in a very long time, and even working for Rainbow hardly bugged her at all anymore.
But there was still something missing, an itch that Lightning couldn’t quite scratch. She wasn’t sure what it was and she’d been content so far to ignore it. But every now and again, when she was left to herself and contemplating her new life, she sensed it; something just wasn’t quite clicking. Was it Keen? Was it her?
“Hello, Lightning.”
She blinked, pulled from her thoughts. She glanced back and was surprised to see a familiar face behind her.
“Fluttershy? What are you doing here? Where’s Keen?”
Fluttershy hovered a little closer and pointed down with a faint smile. Lightning’s eyes followed the gesture and spotted the filly standing on the grass atop a hill not far behind the line. “You brought her here? Why?”
“She wanted to see what you were doing at work.” Fluttershy moved to hover next to her with a smile. “I didn’t see any harm in letting her watch, but I thought it best to ask before bringing her up here to talk.”
Right at that moment a whistle blew, filling the air with a single harsh note that had all the pegasi in the line perking their ears and sighing in relief.
“Oh, thank Celestia’s multi-hued mane.” Helia sagged with a broad grin. “Our backup’s here! My wings are starting to ache.”
Lightning faked a punch at the pegasus. “Wimp.” She and Helia shared amused grins before Lightning turned her attention back to Fluttershy. “Tell Keen I’ll come down and talk to her as soon as our relief gets here. How’s she doing today?”
The foalsitter raised her knees to her chin and beamed a smile that was dripping with sugary cuteness. “Wonderful! I can’t tell you how much I missed foalsitting her. That filly is the sweetest thing, and a welcome sight after what I just went through in the Crystal Empire.”
Lightning raised an eyebrow and studied Fluttershy. “Why? What happened there?”
“Oh, that’s not important.” Fluttershy waved the subject off with believable indifference. “What’s important is I have my favorite filly visiting me again. Oh, here comes the Cloudsdale team; better fly back down there before they confuse me for being on the weather team.”
“Wow.” Helia watched Fluttershy go from over her shoulder. “You got Fluttershy to foalsit for you? If I were a filly I’d be jealous.”
Lightning ignored the compliment and flew backwards a bit to look beyond the line of pegasi. She saw the ponies from Cloudsdale swiftly making a line behind the one already made by the Ponyvillians. There were more Cloudsdale ponies than Ponyville ones, but not by much. With every team that lined up a Ponyville team left the formation, and soon it would be their turn.
“I don’t believe it.”
Lightning blinked at the familiar voice. She looked up to see a group of four ponies flying slowly towards her. She spotted the lead pony and felt her heart sink as she recognized the red coat and green mane. “Aww nuts…”
Airheart gave her a questioning look. “What’s wrong, Lightning?”
“If it isn’t Lightning Dust.” The red-coated pegasus hovered just behind Lightning with a glower. “Somepony actually let you join a weather team?”
Lightning wilted a little. “Hello to you too, Cinnamon Swirl.”
“Cinnamon?” Airheart half-turned to beam at the Cloudsdale pony. “Cinnamon! Good to see you. You remember me, don’t you?”
At the sight of Airheart, Cinnamon’s glower was instantly traded for a friendly smile. “Of course I do, Airheart. I forgot you lived in Ponyville.” Her gaze fell on Lightning. “And I didn’t know you’d come to live here, too. You gonna move outta the way or what?”
Lightning frowned at her replacement, but noted Airheart and Helia watching her with concerned expressions. “Yeah. You girls go on and take a break.”
“Only because you’re so insistent,” Helia declared with a wry grin as she promptly descended.
But Airheart hesitated, looking between her lead pony and the new team. “Um, what about you, Lightning?”
Lightning patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll be down in a sec. I just need to tell our replacement something.”
Airheart bit her lip and lingered for a another second, but finally nodded. “Okay. Talk to you later, Cinnamon?”
“I look forward to it.” Cinnamon waved as Airheart descended, then leveled a hard look at Lightning. “You’re still in the way.”
A week or so ago Lightning would have snapped, or left in huff, or any of a hundred other things. This time, however, she considered the pegasus with a thoughtful frown and flew up a little, making room. Cinnamon raised an eyebrow with a haughty expression before nodding to her wingponies. They all moved forward as one to fill the trio’s place in the line. At this point they were all ignoring Lightning.
Hovering over them, Lightning thought about what she might say. She had to do this right, after all. But did she really want to? What good would it do? Maybe she should just fly off and—
She noted Keen and Fluttershy watching from below. At this height she couldn’t really see Keen’s face, but she could just imagine her adorable, expecting expression. It gave her a distinct level of confidence.
At last Lightning dropped down to hover just behind Cinnamon. “Can we talk?”
Cinnamon didn’t bother to look at her. “I’m busy.”
Lightning rolled her eyes. “You’ve got three Cloudsdale wingponies replacing me and two weak fliers, one of whom is a rookie. I think they can spare you for five minutes.”
Cinnamon peered over her shoulder with one eye. “Is it going to result in me having apple pie all over my face like last time?” Lightning only stared back with head lowered and and eyes anxious. At this display Cinnamon sighed and flew back. “Five minutes. Grape Soda, take over.”
The two ponies flew back a ways from the pegasus line, after which Cinnamon turned to Lightning with hooves crossed and a suspecting frown. “Well, what is it?”
“I’m sorry.” Lightning paused, surprised at how easily the words came out. She noted Cinnamon’s raised eyebrow and moved on, “Not just for bucking the food in your face. For ignoring orders, for the tornado, for just being a pain in the flank.”
Cinnamon rolled her eyes. “I suppose you expect me to believe that you’ve turned over a new leaf?”
Lightning shook her head. “I expect you to believe that I’m trying.”
Cinnamon's cool veneer cracked just a touch. “Trying and doing are two different things.”
“But ya gotta try before ya can do.” Lightning glanced down at Keen and Fluttershy once more, knowing this interaction was being observed. “Look, if ya wanna stay mad at me, that’s fine. I have it coming, especially after I almost burned Appleloosa to the ground. I just wanted to say ‘I’m sorry’ while I had the opportunity. And next time you see Cream Tangerine, let her know my apology goes to her as well.”
Cinnamon considered this proposal as she maintained her haughty air. “I’ll tell her, but you better realize this isn’t exactly going to repair your reputation.”
“I know, I’ve got a lot of bridges to rebuild.” Lightning offered an uneasy smile. “I’ve gotta start somewhere, right?” She waved to the line of Cloudsdale pegasi lining the Everfree Forest. “You go on. I don’t wanna keep you from your job and I need to go talk to my kid.”
She began to float down, her ears perking at Cinnamon’s surprised “You have a kid?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lightning waved a hoof over her shoulder. “That’s what everypony says.”
Fluttershy and Keen waved to her as she descended. Lightning grinned and spread her hooves wide.
“Dive bomb!”
Keen let out a surprised shout as her guardian landed practically on top of her, scooping the filly up in a tight hug. “Gotcha!”
Keen’s surprise turned to giggles. She squirmed about and waved her long legs at Fluttershy. “Help, save me!”
Fluttershy blinked and had to think for a moment. “Oh! Um… I’ll… save you?” She took a cautious step forward and hesitantly tapped Lightning’s leg, blushing all the while.
Lightning promptly released Keen with an exaggerated cry, flopping onto her back. “Oooh, she got me!” She lay there for a few seconds, unable to keep a straight face with Keen’s giggling. After a few seconds she rolled onto her side and pointed. “You gotta be a better hero than that, Private Pansy.”
Fluttershy scuffed the ground with a weak smile. “I’m not exactly the hero type.”
“Oh well.” Lightning sat up and ruffled Keen’s mane with a grin. “Good enough for Keen’s good enough for me.”
Keen brushed her mane away from her face with a grin, but then turned her attention to the clouds looming over the Everfree. “So does this mean it’s winter now?”
The Ponyville team was completely replaced by Cloudsdale ponies, who were having a much easier time of keeping the cold front back. A small wind was still pushing through, chilling the watchers. Lightning shivered as she observed the ponies in action.
“I… dunno. I’m not used to controlling the seasons.”
Fluttershy came to her aid. “Actually, winter isn’t officially started until the line breaks and the cold front is allowed to pass through in full force. They won’t do that until Applejack and the other farmers have finished harvesting the last of the autumn crop.”
“So they do this every year?” Lightning was mildly amazed. She didn’t know whether controlling the weather like this was really convenient for the earth ponies or really frustrating for the pegasi. “Do the other seasons get controlled like this?”
Fluttershy nodded. “In a way, yes. When warm weather moves into the Everfree we know it’s time for Winter Wrap Up, where we get rid of the snow and ice knowing that the pegasi won’t have to fight the cold fronts anymore. In fact the only season that doesn’t need our interference is from Spring to Summer… except for making extra rainwater, that is.”
Lightning listened to all of this with genuine interest. “Man, this weather pony business a lot more complicated than I thought. I’m not sure I like it more than just letting the weather behave on its own.”
Fluttershy shifted from hoof to hoof with a wary eye on the forest. “But… but it’s so unnatural.”
Keen raised a hoof to catch their attention. “So… why wasn’t the last cold front the start of winter?”
“Because it came too early,” Fluttershy explained. “The crops we need to get through the winter months weren’t ready for harvesting, so the weather ponies had to clear the cold away as fast as they could.”
“Oh.” The filly considered this with an uncertain frown. “So… why is the Everfree Forest wild? And Foal Mountains?”
Fluttershy paused, staring at the filly for several seconds with a lost expression. “Um… I don’t know. It’s always been like that; some places are wild and some aren’t.”
The filly rubbed her horn with a confused frown, then looked up at Lightning. “Does that make sense to you?”
“Err…” Lightning blushed and gave Fluttershy an anxious smile. “Not really. I guess everypony just learned to go with it, huh?”
Fluttershy shrugged. “More or less. To be honest I never thought about it before.”
“Hey, LD!”
Lightning turned to the voice and spotted Rainbow Dash approaching, flanked by a blue-colored stallion. It took her several seconds to recognize him, and when she did Lightning abruptly felt much smaller.
The two ponies landed before her, and Lightning had a strong urge to bolt. Rainbow, not noticing Lightning’s agitation, gestured to her companion.
“You remember Soarin, right? He’s the one leading the Clousdale ponies today.”
Lightning turned her head away with a frown. “Y-yeah… I remember.” She prayed he didn’t remember her.
Soarin offered a grin. “Hey, what’s with the long face? You’re not worried about the Academy, are ya?”
Crap.
“Y-yeah, I guess.” She saw Keen hiding behind her back legs from the newcomer and winced. “Do we have to talk about it?”
“Nah.” Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof. “I just wanted to know if you’d like to hang with us after work.”
Lightning’s uncertainty faded in an instant as she stared with wide eyes at each of them. “Me? Hang with you two? With a Wonderbolt?”
Soarin chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Why does everypony react that way? There’s a reason I don’t wear the suit everywhere I go…”
“I would have given anything to have worn that suit,” Lightning noted without hesitation. “But would you really wanna hang with a wash out like me?”
Soarin grinned and nudged Rainbow. “I’m told you’ve mellowed out a bit, so sure! I remember you being pretty awesome as a cadet.”
Lightning’s heart rose to her throat and her entire body went light. “R-really? Oh… but…” She turned to eye Keen, who looked up at her with a questioning frown. For a few seconds they stared at one another…
“It’s okay.” Fluttershy stepped forward to pat Keen’s head, earning her a pleased smile from the filly. “I can watch after her a bit longer than usual. Having Keen around is always a joy.”
Keen’s smile faded as she turned her questioning eyes to Lightning. Those eyes made her hesitate. Why did she have the strange feeling she was being judged? But that was silly; Keen was just a filly, and in no position to judge… right?
Besides, if she could get on Soarin’s good side, there might be a slim chance that she could get a second shot at the Academy.
The thought had come abruptly, and it filled her with a renewed excitement. She looked to Soarin once more, then at Rainbow. Was this a new door being offered to her? Were they even aware of that possibility?
“Well?” Rainbow whacked Lightning on the shoulder with a grin. “You comin’ or not?”
Lightning glanced back at Keen, then at Fluttershy… and felt a new excitement rising up in her. “Yeah. Yeah! I’ll come.”
The sun was going down on the horizon and Lightning was decidedly worn out. She wasn’t alone; Soarin was lying on one of Rainbow’s new couches looking as if he’d spent the entire day performing stunts and racing – which, in truth, he had. Rainbow was busy making ice water by condensing clouds between her forehooves, a trick Lightning found rather impressive.
It had been a good day. The three of them had taken off right after the work day was over and spent the entire time performing aerial tricks, racing and generally just showboating. Lightning had never expected to actually have fun with Rainbow Dash before, but this day reminded her of their time as wingponies at the academy. So what if she couldn’t fly as fast or pull the same amazing tricks she used to? Maybe she did lose every race, and maybe her side was sore from her having flown too much. She had enjoyed herself, which was something she’d not done in what felt like years.
She’d even forgotten that she was flying with a Wonderbolt.
Soarin forced himself to a sitting position and accepted a glass from Rainbow, gulping it down in one long chug. “Whew, that hit the spot! Thanks RD.”
“No problem.” Rainbow passed a glass to Lightning and sat in a comfy-looking chair. “You looked like you overdid it a little.”
He chuckled. “It’s not easy keeping up with your tail.” He turned to Lightning, who was in the middle of chugging her own glass. “You were pretty awesome too, Lightning.”
Lightning set her glass aside and reclined in her chair, looking out the window at the overcast sky. “Yeah, I am pretty awesome, I have to admit.”
Soarin took her bravado in stride. “To be honest, I thought maybe you’d lag behind, but you kept up like a pro. It’s really too bad about that bum wing of yours.”
A flash of hesitancy struck Lightning. She had to work hard to maintain her smile.
“I got used to it. I might not be able to match you guys anymore, but I like to think I’ve still got it.”
“I don’t think anypony doubts that,” Rainbow admitted as she stretched her wings. “I told him you were still up to snuff, but he wouldn’t believe it until he saw it for himself.”
“Waitaminute.” Lightning sat up straight and looked at each of them in turn. “They’ve been talking about me?”
“Of course.” Soarin nodded seriously. “Spitfire really regrets having to expel you from the academy. She keeps calling you ‘the one that got away’. She could have had two ace fliers out of that semester instead of just one.”
Lightning didn’t know what to think of this, but it made her excited nonetheless. Even so, the thought of Spitfire still hurt her in ways she was only just beginning to understand.
“Another bridge…”
“What’s that?” Lightning raised an eyebrow at her.
“Nothing.” Lightning blushed and wilted a little. “Um, if either of you get the chance, let Spitfire know that I’d like to apologize to her at the first opportunity. In person. I…” She averted her eyes and sank a little lower. “I kinda stormed out when I got the word.”
Soarin’s solemn stare had her shifting, and his tone was thoughtful. “You really have mellowed out, haven’t you?”
“Spitfire will be happy to hear it,” Rainbow assured Lightning with a grin. “Ever since I mentioned that you were on my weather team she’s been curious to know how you’re doing.”
Once again Lightning was flummoxed. She had to think on this news for several seconds before the implications hit her. “You mean… the Wonderbolts have been keeping an eye on me?”
Rainbow chuckled and rubbed the back of her head with a guilty grin. “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“Have you considered reapplying?”
Lightning gaped at Soarin. The question wasn’t what surprised her, it was the seriousness of his tone. “I… well, no. I mean now that I have a bum wing and all…”
Soarin offered a comforting smile. “After what I’ve seen today, I’m pretty sure you’re still one of the best fliers in Equestria.”
A spark of eagerness made Lightning’s heart bounce in her chest, but she noted the critical look Rainbow was shooting him. Her old rival sat up straight with an authoritative air and asked, “Can you do that? Reapply to the academy?”
“Sure.” Soarin waved a dismissive hoof. “I did. Heck, Silver Lining had to reapply three times! Err, don’t tell him I mentioned that, it bothers him.”
Rainbow’s serious image broke as she chuckled. “Yeah, I can imagine! And ponies say I’m high on myself.”
Lightning was hardly paying attention. She stared at the cloudy floor and lingered on the amazing realization that there was still a door open for her. She could reapply and become a Wonderbolt. How perfect was that? Why hadn’t the possibility ever occurred to her before? Maybe because she’d been too depressed and bitter about her expulsion. But now?
“There’s a catch.”
Lightning shot Soarin an alarmed look. “What kind of catch?”
He leaned back and tapped himself on the chest demonstrably. “A Wonderbolt – an actual member of the squadron – has to sponsor repeat applicants.”
“Oh…” She drooped; after her behavior on the first try, she knew that would be a tall order.
“Wow.” Rainbow thought on this with a hoof to her chin and eyes on the ceiling. “How in Equestria did Silver manage to get three different Wonderbolts to sponsor a reapplication? What did he do, sleep with Spitfire?”
Soarin grinned. “Ponies with more vivid imaginations than me say there was some foul play involved. Personally? I think he bought his first two reapplications and had to actually work for the third one. But he won’t talk about it, so who knows?”
Rainbow gained a wicked grin and began rubbing her hooves together. “I’m gonna ask him about it next time I see him.”
“Good luck with that!” Soarin laughed at her before turning his attention back to Lightning. “So are you interested in reapplying, Lightning?”
He was actually asking? Lightning’s wings nearly popped open in her excitement. “You bet I am! Are…” She hesitated, wondering if she wasn’t getting too eager too quickly. “Are you saying you’d sponsor me?”
He raised a halting hoof with an embarrassed, lopsided smile. “Uh, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Spitfire’s the one who will be approving your application, after all. I think we’d all be better off if we waited until your resume had a few more gold stars for her to admire first.”
Yep, too excited too quick. But even so, Lightning was encouraged by this news.
“So all I have to do is prove that I’m a better mare than I was at the academy through hard work with my regular job?”
“And keeping your nose clean,” Rainbow added with a tone of warning, backed up by a nod from Soarin.
Lightning hoof-pumped. “This is awesome. I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt this time for sure! Thanks a ton, Soarin, you just became my number one favorite Wonderbolt!”
He blushed with that goofy smile again. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He paused as his eye went to the diminishing light of the window. “Whoa, look at the sun! I’ve gotta head back to Cloudsdale, I have a performance in the morning.” He jumped up and stretched, his powerful wings flapping in preparation. “I’ll see you girls later. It was fun.”
“Oh, crud.” Lightning jumped to her hooves. “I need to pick up Keen! I didn’t mean for Fluttershy to have her for this long.”
But Rainbow waved a hoof at her. “Hold up.” She stood and blocked Lightning’s path before turning to wave to Soarin. “Be seein’ ya, Soarin.” He was already heading for the door.
As soon as it was closed Lightning tilted her head at Rainbow. “What’s up?”
Her old rival sat and heaved a deep sigh. “Thank you.”
Lightning leaned back with a concerned frown. “Uh… for what?”
Rainbow waved at the door with a blush. “That guy has been crushing on me for weeks.”
“You’re joking.” Lightning couldn’t resist a laugh. “You mean you asked me to join you just so I could be a wingpony? To keep him from trying anything? Seriously?”
“That wasn’t the only reason.” Rainbow averted her eyes as her cheeks grew even more red. “But… yeah, it was a major one. I mean, I’ve already got a coltfriend. Nye’s got a self-image problem, and I really don’t wanna give either him or Soarin a chance to think the wrong things.”
Lightning had to fight to keep from bursting out laughing. “I don’t know what’s funnier, the fact that your tail’s being chased or that the great Rainbow Dash is worried about colts in the first place!”
Rainbow glowered at her. “Laugh all you want, LD, but we’ll see who’s laughing when you find a colt chasing after you.”
“I don’t think I’m ever gonna have a colt chasing after me.” Lightning sobered as she considered the prospect. “Nor do I think I’d ever want one to.”
Rainbow stood and went to the door, Lightning following after her. “Don’t say that around Nye or he’ll think you’re a fooling filly.”
Lightning chuckled, once again having to fight to keep control of herself. “That’s a pretty amusing image too, actually.”
She paused as Rainbow turned to block her path to the door. Her boss’ expression was suddenly very solemn, and it gave Lightning a touch of nervousness. “What?”
Rainbow maintained an intense focus as she spoke. “One more thing; I didn’t know the Academy was going to come up today. That was all Soarin. Are you really thinking about reapplying?”
“Of course I am!” Lightning struck a proud pose. “You know it was my dream, too.”
An eyebrow rose. “Was?”
Lightning blinked and thought on her words. “Err… is.”
Rainbow peered at her. “You sure about that?”
“Is, was, what difference does it make?” Lightning rolled her eyes. “Is there a point to this?”
“Yeah.” Rainbow poked Lightning in the chest. “How do you intend to keep watch on Keen if you’re at the Academy?”
A long, awkward pause.
“I…” The academy washout shifted, guilt rising unbidden from within her. “I dunno. I guess Fluttershy could watch after her for a while?” Rainbow’s dark expression didn’t fade. “Look, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there, okay? We’re talking about my dream here!”
At last Rainbow sighed and stepped out of the way. “Just… be sure of yourself before committing to anything, alright?”
Lightning wanted to make some snide remark, but the solemn – perhaps sad? – expression on Rainbow’s face made her reconsider. She moved for the door, hesitating as she gazed out at Ponyville a short distance away. The chill winds of winter’s first evening blew her mane about her face and made her shiver. Why was she suddenly so anxious? She gave Rainbow another solemn look, the two locking uncertain eyes for several seconds.
“I… I’ll try.”
They were on their way home, Keen walking alongside Lightning and staying close in the darkness. The filly’s horn had a dim glow to it. It wasn’t enough to really help with the night, but Lightning said nothing. As long as it made her feel better.
The world was dark as pitch, the thick mass of cloud cover blotting out all stars and even the moon. Only the lights of the town windows helped them see where they were going. Lightning eyed her charge, who kept shivering in the frequent gusts as she kept her alert eyes on the darkness. Keen's fear was obvious, and it had Lightning feeling guilty. Again.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna ride on my back?”
Keen shook her head, though she was biting her lip and trembling like a leaf. “I gotta l-learn to be brave…”
Lightning didn’t know how to feel about that. “I’m glad you’re trying, Little Bolt, but ya don’t have to force it. I did promise to be brave for the both of us, didn’t I?”
Keen made no attempt to answer. Her head continued to swivel about, her mane swaying in the breeze and the tip of her horn trailing a thin line of light. Lightning didn’t know why it bothered her so much that Keen was insisting on walking. Was it because she’d pushed her so hard in the beginning? A five-year-old filly shouldn’t have to be struggling to overcome her fears… but that thought only made Lightning feel even more guilty.
She bowed her head with a sigh. “I’m sorry I came back so late, Keen.”
The filly paused her constant search to look up at her guardian. “Did you have fun?”
Lightning offered a frail smile. “Yeah, I had a lot of fun.”
To her surprise, Keen’s smile was broad and undoubtedly genuine. “Good. Even you should have fun sometimes. It’s okay.”
Lightning almost stopped in her tracks, but managed to keep her hooves going. She gazed down at the filly with her heart in her throat, but Keen was already back to scouring their surroundings. Lightning was put to shame by the selflessness apparent in the filly’s words.
Why couldn’t she be more like that?
But did this also leave her an opening? “So are you happy Fluttershy’s back from the Crystal Empire?”
“Oh, yes!” Keen bounced with a grin, her horn tracing a tall arch of blue in the darkness. “I really missed her. And the animals! Angel bunny napped with me today.”
Interesting. “So… I was wondering.” Lightning brushed her fringe from her face and averted her eyes to the clouds. “If something were to come up, something important… would you be okay staying with her for a while?”
Keen gave her a curious look. “Are you going somewhere?”
“No…” Lightning struggled for some kind of explanation. “I might have to. At some point. Later. I’m just checking to see if you’d be okay staying with Fluttershy for a while if something makes me leave.”
The filly tilted her head, ears twitching as another stiff wind blew by. “Like what?”
Indeed, like what? Lightning didn’t know why she couldn’t tell the truth about her desire to join the Wonderbolts, but for some reason it just didn’t feel right. She racked her brain for some sort of idea, eyes roaming the surrounding town for guidance. Her eyes caught a dark blue sign a few streets down; it was the welcome sign of Nye’s Nights.
A moon. Princess Luna.
“Like work.” Lightning offered the filly a relieved smile. “I might have to travel for work.” Granted Keen didn’t know that Lightning was at Luna’s beck and call, but at least this had a modicum of truth to it.
“I wouldn’t mind.” The filly was already back to her cautious vigil. “I like spending time with Fluttershy.”
“I gathered.” Lightning ruffled the filly’s blue mane, earning a glower that was too cute to be taken seriously.
Keen’s eyes roamed back to Lightning’s wings, and her annoyance faded to concern. Lightning glanced back at them, but didn’t see anything unusual. “Something wrong?”
“N-no.” The filly blushed and glanced about as if expecting somepony to be listening in. “Umm… If you don’t mind… Fluttershy was doing something after her bath, just before you came to pick me up. I… well…”
Lightning raised an eyebrow, wondering what could make the filly so timid all over again. What in Equestria could she have caught Fluttershy doing? Come to think of it, Lightning wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer; it could mean an awkward conversation and – perhaps worse – learning more about Fluttershy’s personal life than she cared to know.
“Keen?”
Her charge turned her head away with a blush. “D-do you ever… preen?”
Lightning laughed and ruffled Keen’s mane once again. “That’s what has you all bottled up? And here I was thinking I was gonna have to explain the birds and the bees!”
The filly thrust her mane back into place with a scowl that did nothing to sooth Lightning’s amusement. “What do birds and bees have to do with preening?”
Come to think of it, it had a lot to do with preening. Even so, Lightning was too entertained to be bothered by Keen’s confusion. “Forget about it. It’s not like it’s a private thing, Little Bolt. It’s just part of taking care of a pegasus’ wings.”
“Oh.” Keen tilted her head and scrunched up her face in thought. “So… do you do it?”
“Nah.” Lightning’s wings fluffed demonstrably. “I never saw the benefit. Most ponies do it to make their wings look pretty, and I don’t care about that.”
Another curious look. “Most ponies?”
Lightning was reminded of just how observant Keen could be at times. “Some say it’s good for wing health. I don’t know if that’s true or not, though.”
“Hmm…” They walked on in silence for a few seconds as Keen considered this. Their house came into view at the end of the street, for which Lightning was very happy; it was getting uncomfortably cold.
As they approached she noted Keen observing her wings once more. “What?”
The filly averted her eyes with a blush. “Nothing.”
Lightning decided not to bother pressing her; her mind was focused on getting out of the wind.
Keen was sitting in the grass outside Fluttershy’s cottage, drawing on a piece of canvas her foalsitter had offered her. It wasn’t a bad drawing, but it was no Moozart. Keen was pretty sure her special talents didn’t involve coloring, but she didn’t mind; it was fun to try now and then.
A shadow loomed over her, and the filly had just a second to feel fear… until she looked up. Fine Crime was beaming down at her.
“Hey there, little miss.”
She stood and offered him a big smile. “You’re back.”
“And glad for it.” He knelt down and gave her a playful nuzzle that nearly knocked her over, to which she giggled. “How are things?”
“Okay.” She sat and gestured to her drawing. “I wanted to draw Angel Bunny, but he ran off.”
“I see.” He eyed the picture. “So that’s… the chickens?”
Keen winced with a weak smile. “I wanted it to be Fluttershy’s cottage.”
“Oh.” He blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Erm… right. I knew that.”
Keen giggle and stepped forward to rub against him affectionately. “It’s okay, I know it’s no good.” She looked up at him, recalling the last time he’d paid her a visit.
“Did you beat the monster?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Not really. I’m too far gone, but at least I’m not as scared as I used to be.”
Fluttershy poked her head out the window and waved. “Hello, Fine. I thought you’d be at work all day.”
“How could I be working now?” He scooped Keen up in one leg and waved majestically at the sky. “I just had to tell Keen all about how I bravely rescued you from the menacing sea serpent!” Keen giggled as he swayed his hoof in her face and made some hissing sounds. It reared back like a snake and batted her muzzle, prompting her to laugh and kick at it in self defense.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm. “H-how much does she know?”
He grinned and dropped the filly back to the ground. “Not as much as she’d like to, I promise.”
That much was true, and Fluttershy’s worried expression had caught Keen’s interest.
“Did something really bad happen?”
Fluttershy gave her a comforting smile. “Oh, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“That’s right.” Fine pressed a hoof to Keen’s forehead, making her tilt her head back and her eyes go cross. “It’s all water under the bridge.”
Keen knew she was being left out of the loop… but she didn’t mind. She trusted these two adults. She looked up at Fine and tilted her head. “So why did you come?”
He pointed one hoof at her and another at Fluttershy simultaneously. “I just wanted to visit my two favorite ladies.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes with a good-natured sigh. “I don’t know what you do for a living, Fine, but if you keep skipping out on work you’re going to get fired.”
“Nonsense; I’m far too valuable.” Something in his tone made Keen think that wasn’t a joke. A chill breeze made them all shiver, prompting him to add, “Why don’t we all go inside? I’d love some hot chocolate.”
Keen perked up instantly, but Fluttershy shot Fine an amused, skeptical smile.
“I think tea would be more appropriate for now.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh and sagged before nudging Keen with his elbow. “Well, I tried.”
They went inside to have lunch, Fluttershy kindly offering to make an extra sandwich for Fine. Keen climbed into one of the chairs and watched as she began slicing up tomatoes and pulling apart lettuce. Fine didn’t cook, but he sped things along by getting the tea ready. They worked fairly well together, and Fine knew where everything was in the kitchen.
Which was odd, because Keen had never seen him there before.
It was then, watching them work together, that the thought struck. It was a simple idea, a common idea… a happy idea. That’s right, happy; she was happy. Fine, who had a curious way of watching out for her, and Fluttershy, just about the nicest pony in Equestria.
And Keen.
They had their sandwiches and tea. They talked, they laughed, they played silly games, and all along Keen felt warm. It was a wonderful sensation and she didn’t want it to go away.
And yet, as Fluttershy was laughing at Fine’s silly expressions, Keen knew that this moment wasn’t going to last. Fine would go back to fight monsters and Keen would go back home, and this would just be a memory. Suddenly she wasn’t so happy anymore…
The room went silent.
“Keen?” Fluttershy was kneeling beside her chair with a concerned frown.
“I’m sorry…” The filly rubbed her eyes, abruptly aware of the tears. “I… I don’t know why…”
“Hey, c’mon.” Fine knelt down beside Fluttershy with a weak smile. “My Celestia impersonation wasn’t that bad.”
Keen managed a smile, but only barely. “N-no, it was funny. I just…” She just what? She didn’t know how to say it.
Fluttershy wrapped her in a warm hug, petting her long white mane. “There, there. It’s okay. Do you want to tell us what’s wrong?”
She couldn’t. She just couldn’t, so she clutched at the kind mare and wished she didn’t have to let go. She felt bad that she would have to leave, bad that they couldn’t repeat this moment every day.
But the thing that truly made her feel horrible was when she thought of Lightning. If she told them what she was feeling, would she have to tell her too? If she didn’t, would they?
What would Lightning say?
Keen didn’t know… and that only added to her tears.
Fluttershy and Fine remained silent. Keen knew they had no idea why she was crying. Maybe they didn’t know how to react. She didn’t mind; she didn’t want to tell the truth, anyway. The truth was a scary thing. So she held on tight and let the tears flow, wishing to see a different pair of faces, wishing she were clutching an entirely different mare.
She was so confused.
She hardly registered the knock on the door. Fluttershy was too busy cooing into Keen’s ear, so Fine went to answer. Keen recognized the new voice. She peered around Fluttershy’s coat to spot a familiar green colt in the door, looking just a bit lost. Despite her sadness, she perked her ears to listen…
“—said she was watching her today. Is she here?”
Fine fidgeted at Green Daze’s hopeful expression. “Well… yes. But I don’t know if now’s a good time.”
Keen pushed, and Fluttershy loosened her hold enough to let the filly lean back. “I-it’s okay. I’m h-here.” She rubbed her eyes as Fluttershy set her to the floor. “I’m here.” Anything to get her mind off this topic.
“Keen?” Fluttershy knelt next to her with concern in her eyes. “Are you sure?”
She nodded and turned to the door, though she didn’t raise her head. “Green’s a friend.” She ignored the adult’s surprised expression and trudged for the door.
Fine stepped back to let Green in, his expression unreadable. As the colt entered he got his first good look at the forlorn filly and wilted.
“Are you okay?”
Keen didn’t know, so she didn’t answer.
The bashful colt pawed at the floor and shifted, unable to meet her eyes. “M-maybe this really is a bad time. I can try again later…”
“No.” Keen rubbed her eyes a second time and tried to offer him a smile. It didn’t really work. “I’m okay. Honest.” She sat and gestured to him. “D-did you want something?”
Green kept shifting, his eyes going to Fine Crime, who walked over to stand beside Fluttershy. The two adults watched the exchange with curious expressions, but Green seemed to find them intimidating. After a while he nodded. “I… I was gonna let you meet my friends. We really should come back later.”
He was already turning to go. Keen watched him trudge for the door, then cast a forlorn look at Fluttershy and Fine. They seemed so concerned, so disheartened. But they looked so… good together.
She didn’t want to think about that.
She caught Green’s tail in her mouth and tugged, making him drop to his haunches. He blinked and looked back with raised eyebrows as she released his tail and sucked in a deep, calming breath.
“Let’s go.”
He turned back to her, lowering his body so he could study her drooping face. “Are you sure?”
No, but suddenly Keen didn’t want to be in the same room as those two. “I wanna meet them. I wanna…” She rubbed her leg with a pout. “I do.”
Green hesitated, ears laid back as he shifted from hoof to hoof. He looked over her head, perhaps to see if Fluttershy or Fine would object. They said nothing, so he finally nodded. “If you’re really sure. They’re on the bridge.”
“Okay.” Keen followed him out, taking one last anxious glance over her shoulder. Fluttershy and Fine were smiling after her, nodding their encouragement. They didn’t understand, but for now that was okay.
“Umm…” Keen turned her attention back to Green, who was studying her out of the corner of his eye. “My friends… They’re a little rough around the edges, but they’re nice when you get to know them.”
She paused, eyes drifting to the top of the bridge. There stood the three fillies. They hadn’t noticed the two of them yet, being too busy talking. They were just loud enough to be heard, but not quite loud enough to be understood. Keen wasn’t sure she really wanted to meet them; she had to remind herself over and over again that they weren’t monsters.
Probably.
Fine Crime was nearby. He was watching. He would be able to tell, wouldn’t he?
Green fidgeted as he watched her. “You don’t have to come…”
She observed him for a few seconds. He seemed so nervous.
She gave him a weak smile. “You’re nice.”
He blushed and rubbed the back of his head with a silly grin. “I suppose.”
Watching him, Keen realized why she liked him. He wasn’t loud or pushy or mean. Green was likeable, and if he vouched for those fillies then surely they couldn’t be that bad. That didn’t mean they weren’t monsters… but at least it made her feel a little better.
“Come on.” He gestured and trotted to the bridge, not losing his crooked smile. “Don’t worry, they don’t bite.”
Biting was the least of Keen’s worries, but she followed anyway.
They were finally able to make out their words as they reached the foot of the bridge, starting with Dinky: “—ter than Diamond Tiara, and we all know it!”
Ani fluffed her small wings and pawed at the bridge. “I dunno. At least she has a cutie mark…”
Apple Bytes, who was leaning back on the bridge’s rails, waved a dismissive hoof. “Come off it, getting a cutie mark isn’t everything.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Ani grumped. “You already have one.”
Apple grinned and patted the green apple core on her flank. “Well yeah, but that’s because I’m awesome.”
“You’re also four years older than her,” Dinky threw in with a roll of her eyes.
“And five years older than you.” Apple patted them both on their heads with a smug smile, earning fiery glares from both fillies. “You’re still squirts. Cutie marks come with the wisdom of age.”
To this the two younger fillies abruptly broke into laughter, and Keen realized that Green was laughing, too.
“Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don’t ya?” Apple heaved a sigh and chuckled. She glanced down the bridge just as Keen and Green were approaching. “Ah-ha, so he wasn’t lying after all.”
They all turned at once, their curious gazes making Keen hesitate.
“Of course Green wasn’t lying,” Ani declared with pomp. “He’s Green.”
“You must be Keen.” Dinky wasted no time walking up to introduce herself, and Keen hid behind her mane almost instinctually. “I’m Dinky Doo Hooves, and I’m really sorry we scared you the first time we met.”
Keen peered through her mane and tried to think of something to say. “I… umm… that’s… it’s okay.”
Ani took a step forward, muzzle high as she struck a regal pose. “And I am Princess Animatia Erroria, but you may call me Ani, if you prefer.”
Keen tilted her head, not sure what to make of this display. “Um… nice to meet you?”
Ani nodded, then threw in a lecturing, “I expect an apology for barreling me over before.” She winced as Dinky elbowed her in the ribs. “What?”
Dinky blushed with an apologetic grin. “Ignore her, she has royalty issues.”
The posh Ani flicked her mane with and regained her dignified pose. “Well I am a princess.”
Apple chuckled and shoved Ani so hard she fell on her side with an unladylike cry.
You’re no more a princess than I’m a bale of hay.” She winked at Keen with a grin. “Hey, kid, I’m Apple Bytes. Stick with me, I’m the cool one.”
Ani sat up and shot Apple a glower. “D’oh… Just you wait till I get my horn back!”
“A horn that doesn’t work? Scaaaaary.”
“I just didn’t have a chance to learn magic, that’s all.”
“Or maybe you were too dumb.”
“Oh, that is rich coming from a simpleton such as you!”
“I make it a point not to learn any words that are longer than my full name.”
Ani facehooved. “Really, Apple?”
“Ah-hem.” They both clamped their mouths shut at Dinky’s raise eyebrow. Once certain they were done, she turned to Keen and shrugged. “Don’t mind them, they’re always fighting. It’s how they get along.”
Keen giggled; she couldn’t help it. She glanced at Green, who offered an encouraging smile and nodded his head to his friends.
Oh, right. “I-I’m Keen Arrow.” She brushed her mane from her face and offered a smile, ignoring the churning in her stomach. “I’m… not that interesting.”
“Don’t be silly.” Green nudged her, making her flinch. “You’re plenty interesting, Keen.”
“Yeah!” Dinky took a step forward, eyes shining. “Is it true that you’re learning magic from Twilight Sparkle?”
That name brought a smile to Keen’s face, her ears perking as she nodded. “Yes, it’s a lot of fun.”
“I bet.” Dinky sat back with hooves to her cheeks. “What I wouldn’t give to be taught magic by her.”
Apple rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry. “Pu-lease, learning? Booooring. Hey!” She fell back as Ani’s wing slapped her in the face. “What was that for?”
Ani raised her head in another haughty pose. “For being a rube.”
Apple rubbed her muzzle with eyes crossed. “I’m not rude. Just honest.”
Ani and Dinky facehooved in unison and Keen began to laugh.
Apple glowered at them, then turned her attention on Keen. “What are you laughing at, squirt?” She stepped forward and gave her a painful poke in the chest. “I bet I could cream your rump! Come on, you play games, right?”
Keen wilted a little at the aggressive motion and rubbed her chest, abruptly reminded of Lightning. She tilted her head and took a few anxious steps back. “Games…?”
Green leaned towards her with a bemused expression. “She means video games.”
“Oh.” Keen half-hid behind her mane again. “I’ve never tried it.”
“What?” Apple reared back with a hoof to her forehead, appearing almost as if she were about to faint. “This is not okay. I’ve got to get you to the arcade and fix this, like, now!”
Ani rolled her eyes and whacked the back of one of Apple’s hind legs; Apple promptly fell on her back with a shout.
“I think we’d be accused of kidnapping if we took her now.”
“But she might like to go, right Keen?” Green turned to her with a hopeful smile. “Maybe? Someday?”
She saw the eagerness in his face and fidgeted. With the others watching she knew she had to say something. “Well… perhaps?”
Dinky sighed and patted Keen on the shoulder before casting a lecturing look at her friends. “Don’t worry, Keen. We’ll go when you’re ready to, there’s no rush. One step at a time, right?”
“Drat.” Apple let herself drop back to the ground and waved her hooves in the air. “Almost scored an extra trip.”
Ani stepped on the teenage pony’s stomach, making her flinch, then turned to flash a pretty smile Keen’s way. “I think it’s perfectly fine, but wouldn’t you rather go to Miss Rarity’s? I bet she would love to fashion that mane of yours.” She took an extra moment to flick her mane and strut. “But not as much as she likes to work with mine, of course.”
Keen considered this, but wasn’t sure she liked that idea, either. “I haven’t met Rarity yet. I met her sister, though.”
“Haven’t met Rarity?” Now it was Ani’s turn to fake a faint. “You poor thing, no wonder your manestyle’s so outdated!”
Keen winced, glancing back at her long mane. It was nice and neat. Even so, she wilted just a little. “Fluttershy brushes me some. Octavia, too...”
“And it looks great,” Green insisted, though his words were a bit rushed. “Really!”
Dinky decided to add her two cents; “Your mane looks fine. Ani just thinks she knows about fashion.”
Ani huffed and turned her face away from them. “At least I care about my appearance in the first place. None of you ever bother to make yourselves look pretty.”
Now it was Dinky who flinched. “C-come on, Ani, that’s low. You know mom can’t afford to buy mane stuff.”
“And I don’t wanna be pretty,” Green added with a crooked smile and a blush.
Apple, still lying on her back, waved her hooves in the air once more. “Pretty is for—” she took on a classy accent and patted her face in a dainty fashion, “girly ponies. How do you ever expect to be cool when all you worry about is looks?”
Ani rolled her eyes. “Says the pony wallowing in the dirt.”
“Hey, the dirt’s fun.” Apple wiggled about on the bridge as if trying to coat herself. She spoke in a sing-song voice, “Dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, gotta love the dirt!”
Ani made a disgusted face and sidestepped away from her friend. “You really are a rube.”
“What does me being rude have to do with anything?”
“Not rude, you moron!”
“Yes I am.”
“No, you’re… I mean yes, you…” Ani rolled her head back on her shoulders and heaved a frustrated growl.
Keen watched the entire exchange with a miffed frown; they really couldn’t help themselves, could they? It was amusing… but it also made it hard to stick to one topic. It was a little overwhelming, and she wasn’t so sure she liked it.
Dinky noted her uncertain expression and stomped her hoof. “Girls!”
Apple and Ani snapped to attention like soldiers.
Dinky set a hoof to her chest and then stretched it out, heaving a deep breath as she did. Then she turned to Keen with a smile. “Sorry, conversations get crazy when we’re together. I should get them out of here so they don’t make you crazy, too.”
Ani and Apple shared amused grins, Apple adding, “Yeah, don’t want to doom you to stupidity like we have Dinky and Green.”
Ani nodded, turning her head away from Apple as she said, “Yes, I can see how the clash of my class and Apple’s… erm… class can lead to some crazy.”
Apple elbowed Ani.
Ani shot Apple a glower.
There was a tense pause...
...and they both began to laugh hysterically.
Green and Dinky shared amused sighs and turned back to Keen, Dinky saying, “Anyway, we just wanted to say hello like ‘normal’ ponies. You don’t have to run away from us, okay?”
Green nodded with a grin. “Yeah, and we still want you to join Octavia’s fan club.”
Apple’s head cocked at that. “We do?” Ani’s wing slapped her in the face. “I mean, yeah! That’d be cool.”
Keen giggled, but couldn’t resist a glance back at the cottage. She could just make out Fluttershy watching from the window; Fine Crime was nowhere to be seen, but somehow Keen knew he was still around. “Thanks, but no. I’m Fluttershy’s fan.”
“Fluttershy?” Apple’s face twisted in confusion. “Why do you wanna be her fan? I mean she’s nice and all, but she’s no hero.”
“Besides,” Ani added with disdain, “Only boys like Fluttershy.”
Dinky shot them another lecturing look. “It’s her decision.”
Green set a hoof to Keen’s shoulder, smiling despite his obvious disappointment. “You can join later. Y’know you can be a fan of more than one pony, right?”
The thought of Fine Crime brought a smile to Keen’s lips. “Yeah, I know. I’ll think about it… but it still seems a little exciting.”
Green chuckled. “Maybe they’ll calm down with age.”
“Hey!” Apple pointed at them, which made Keen wince. “We are just the right level of insane, thank you very much.” Another slap of Ani’s wing made her jump. “Hey, now what?”
“Princess Animatia Erroria is not insane.”
Dinky rubbed her hooves together and stepped into Keens’ line of sight as they began another argument. “I know, why don’t you ask your mom if you can hang out?”
Keen thought she might have been kicked in the gut. She lowered her head and felt… shame.
“Lightning’s not my mom…”
Green had a hoof over her shoulder in an instant. “Sorry, Keen. I forgot to tell them.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.” Dinky sat and nudged Keen with her muzzle. “I didn’t mean… If I’d known you were adopted, I’d never…”
“I’m not adopted, either.” Keen turned away with a deep sigh; why did admitting that feel so wrong?
“What?” Dinky stepped up beside her, face filled with concern. “But… but you’re being raised, aren’t you?”
Keen’s throat felt dry. “I l-live with Lightning… but she’s not my mom. She didn’t adopt me.”
“Lightning?” Dinky tapped her chin in thought. “You mean Lightning Dust?”
“Boy, are there stories going around about her,” Apple declared. “I hear she’s a real troublemaker for the weather team.”
Keen wilted.
“I’ve heard things, too,” Ani threw in. “They say she’s a total ruffian, never thinking of others.”
And some more.
“I heard her and Rainbow Dash are enemies because Rainbow became a Wonderbolt and Lightning got expelled from the Academy.”
And a little more.
“Rainbow had to save her from that cold front, remember? Daddy said she was arrogant and nearly got her wingpony killed.”
Keen’s chin touched the ground.
“Well I heard she tried to get into a fight with Rainbow last week. Rainbow refused and made her look like an immature foal.”
Keen wanted to sink between the cracks in the wood.
“And I heard she burned down an apple orchard in the desert and almost caused a whole town to die.”
“Stop it!” Green turned on Ani and Apple, waving a hoof at Keen. “Look!”
“Huh? Oh! Well… what I mean is…” Apple seemed at a loss.
“We’re very sorry,” Ani said hurriedly. “We weren’t thinking about… well…”
“Obviously.” Dinky heaved a frustrated sigh. “Come on, girls, we’ve done enough damage.”
Keen didn’t move, covering her face with her mane so that they couldn’t see her misery. She listened to their departing hoofsteps, but it was too late for relief.
She felt somepony brushing her mane. “I’m real sorry,” Green muttered. “My friends didn’t mean any harm. Sometimes they just… don’t think about what they’re saying.”
Keen lay there for several seconds, thinking on what they’d just said. She knew Lightning wasn’t a good pony, but… they were just rumors, right? Lightning did seem to like that Wonderbolt who visited the other day, though, and she vaguely remembered her mentioning an academy...
What about the cold front? Miss Dash did save Lightning. Had Lightning really almost hurt her friend, too? But Miss Airheart said it was her fault.
Then there was this fight. Lightning had never raised a hoof to Keen… but she was a rough kind of pony. Did she really decide to fight Miss Dash? Why? The academy? Jealousy? Keen didn’t like either of those reasons…
She didn’t like anything she’d just heard, but more than anything she disliked that she was hearing about it now.
Green heaved a deep sigh. “I shouldn’t have brought them here.”
The filly sniffed and climbed to her hooves. “N-no, it’s not your fault.” She sat and rubbed her eyes before clutching at her tail for comfort. “I’m not mad at them, p-promise.”
He sat and ducked, unable to hide his worry. “Really?”
He really was a nice colt, wasn’t he? Keen did something that surprised even her: she gave him a hug.
“Thank you for trying to help.”
When she pulled back she found Green’s face as red as a beet and his eyes wide as saucers. His lips worked for a few seconds before he finally managed a feeble “…welcome?”
She giggled and tapped him on the muzzle. “I should probably get back. Do you want to come in and play?”
He rubbed his muzzle, face still red and ears low. “Umm… I… I should probably check on the girls. Er… don’t want Dinky to… you know, be angry?”
“That’s okay.” Keen smiled as she imagined the three fillies having a fight right about now. “Tell them I’m not mad, okay? We can try again later.”
Green’s ears perked and his smile came back in a flash. “Really?”
She nodded with a beaming smile. “I want to make more friends. I don’t want to be scared anymore.”
“Th-that’s great!” He heaved a sigh of relief before turning to run across the bridge. “Don’t worry, they’re really great ponies. I promise next time will be better!”
She waved, feeling strangely pleased with herself.
But that smile faded as soon as he was gone.
Lightning was late again. She claimed that she was kept over at work again. She promised she wouldn’t let it happen again.
Keen knew she was lying.
Again.
Keen didn’t feel like talking on the way home and she didn’t eat much when she got there. Lightning noticed, and she asked what was wrong… but she didn’t try very hard to figure it out. The discoveries of the day remained heavy on Keen’s mind. She pretended to read in the hour before bedtime, but she couldn’t stop brooding. She wanted Lightning to press her, to keep asking until Keen was forced to admit what she’d learned.
But Lightning remained indifferent… and that just fueled the unpleasant fire in the filly’s mind.
“Time for bed, Keen.”
She gazed up to find Lightning looking down at her with a smile that struck the filly as forced. Slowly, her mind trying to process her emotions, Keen closed the book. She said nothing as she shuffled to the pillow, Lightning pushing the covers back for her. There was a strange feeling in her chest like it was going to burst. Keen realized she wanted to say something, but her lips seemed stuck together like glue.
Lightning pulled the covers up to Keen’s chin, the movement feeling awkward and rushed. Maybe Keen was just imagining it, maybe these motions were no different from how they always were.
So why did she feel so unhappy?
She looked up at her guardian, wondering what Lightning was thinking. She wanted the pegasus to say something, to ask something, to show some kind of interest in this moment.
Lightning blinked a few times, shifted. She leaned forward a little, reconsidered, stood straight. She raised a hoof and hesitated, averting her eyes. Keen waited, heart pattering in her chest as she found herself hoping for… she didn’t know what.
Finally, as if it had just occurred to her, Lightning patted the filly on the forehead. “G’night, kiddo.”
She was gone, just like that. Keen stared at the closed door for a few seconds, feeling a strange need to cry… but gradually her sadness shifted to something else. Tiny lips set in a scowl, she shoved the covers away and went to the window to glare at the moon and steam.
“Hey there, kid.”
She perked her ears to let him know she heard, but didn’t stop staring at the moon.
Fine sat on the edge of the bed and observed her for a few seconds with a smug smile. “Why do I get the feeling you were expecting me?” He bent low to nuzzle her, and despite her bubbling anger she smiled and returned the motion.
“I am very, very proud of you, Keen.” He wrapped her up in a hug. It felt so warm. “You’re making friends. You faced your fear, didn’t you? I wish I had been so brave at your age.”
Her angry thoughts were replaced with concern as she turned to look up at his rosewood eyes.
“I remembered what you said. ‘You will scare me no longer’. It helped.”
He smiled, sniffing as his eyes moistened a little. “Good. I’m glad, Keen. Very, very glad.”
She leaned forward to set a hoof to his leg. “It didn’t help you?”
He closed his eyes and sucked in a slow, steadying breath, his smile broadening just a touch. “Like I said, I’m too far gone. I don’t think I’ll ever stop having the nightmares.” He lay on his belly, and despite his sad tone he seemed very calm. “But I’m glad I went. I got to see the real thing, or as close as I could get to seeing it. Compared to that, the nightmares aren’t all that scary.”
“Um…” She tilted her head as she considered this. “I guess… that’s good?”
His eyes rolled to her, then began to move about the room. “It’s better than the alternative. But enough about me, my brave little filly.” He reached up to pet her long mane, and she leaned against his hoof with a pleased smile. “I want to know about your new friends.”
She winced. “Well… Green’s a friend. I’m not sure about the others yet.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”
She sat and pondered the question. “I don’t understand them. Ani and Apple are always mean to one another… but they seem to like it.” She drooped a little as she looked to him. “Does that make sense?”
Fine raised his head and crossed his forehooves. It was a curiously regal pose, despite the playful smile. “Go on.”
She frowned at the response, but went on. “They’re also kind of mean to Green… but he says they’re his friends. He does seem to like them. But how can he like bullies?”
Fine chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think they’re bullying him so much as… picking on him.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t understand.”
He paused to think on the subject for a few seconds, eyes studying her in the dark. “Keen, you’re a very timid filly, and I know it can be hard to see the distinction. A bully does things that are hurtful, but I don’t think Green’s friends are hurting him. Are they?”
Keen rubbed her forehead as she tried to think on this. “He doesn’t seem to think so…”
“Because he can tell the difference.” He reached a hoof over to tip her sideways, sending her sprawling over her pillow with a surprised squeak. Her hooves kicked at the air for a moment as she got tangled in the sheets, and when she at last righted herself her mane was over her face. She shoved it aside and glowered at him… then saw his grin.
She kept up the glare for a second, and another…
...then started to giggle.
Fine pressed the tip of her horn with just enough force that when he moved his hoof her head moved with it. “I just picked on you. Was it mean?”
Keen batted his hoof away and ducked her head with a sheepish smile. “Well, no. Not really.”
He tapped her chest with a pleased smile. “That’s the difference. Green knows his friends don’t mean any harm. He might even find it funny.”
She thought on this and found it actually made a curious sort of sense. She felt as if she’d just learned something important, something that would help her the next time she met those fillies. It felt… good.
And suddenly that made her feel bad.
“Keen?” He tilted his head as her smile faded to a gloomy frown. “What’s wrong?”
She gazed up at him, wondering at the tight feeling in her chest.
“You’re not Lightning.”
He leaned back, eyelids lowering as he visibly struggled to make sense of this.
The filly walked over so that she could lay next to him, pressing against his leg. He was so warm… and her heart felt so heavy. “Will you come by Fluttershy’s again? While I’m there? I like it when you visit us.”
His uncertainty was as plain as the muzzle on his face. “Probably. It’s bound to happen at some point.”
She bowed her head, ears lowering as she prepared to ask what felt like a very important question.
“Do you… like Fluttershy?”
He chuckled. “I think we’ve already established that.”
Keen didn’t laugh. Or smile. She looked up, her firm eyes meeting his. For several long seconds they gazed at one another, not a sound between them.
Then Fine’s eyes widened.
“Oh. You mean like.”
She leaned forward, ears perking as she awaited an answer.
He looked away, his pleasant demeanor gone. “I don’t know. Even if I did… it’s probably not going to happen.”
Keen’s tiny heart sank a little. “Why?”
A deep sigh. “You’re too young to learn that kind of thing. Let’s just say that Fluttershy and I live in very different worlds, and crossing the boundaries of those worlds can be very dangerous.”
She glowered; that didn’t help at all! She bowed her head and fought down the urge to shout. “But I thought… after today…”
He patted her on the head and offered a smile that was probably meant to be comforting. It only came out as sad. “Don’t worry. Fluttershy’s got plenty of stallions – and a mare or two – who like her in that way. Surely one of them will be right for her.”
The filly pouted and snuggled a little tighter against him. “I don’t want them. I was happy today. It was so nice, so normal. I thought…”
She collapsed on her side, and for a second could only lay where she fell in mute surprise. She sat up and brushed her mane from her face a second time to spot Fine standing on the other side of the room, his back turned to her and head low.
“Don’t.” His voice was firm… but not so firm she couldn’t detect the crack in it. “Don’t think that, Keen.”
Not shouting was very hard.
“But why?”
He turned to her, and the pain on his face was like a knife in the heart. “You don’t want me in a role like that.”
“I do, too.” She walked to the edge of the bed to level him with her most hopeful look. “You’re nice, you protect me… y-you listen. You talk.” Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. She had to sit and wipe them away. She wished her heart didn’t hurt so much. “I miss Dad… I want a dad…”
Fine set a trembling hoof to his lips, which he kept firmly closed. He stared at her, taking long, calming breaths. Keen just sat and stared back, sniffing and wiping at her cheeks every few seconds. She wanted him to change his mind. He wasn’t her father, but he was a good replacement, wasn’t he? Her father would approve, right?
At last Fine shook his head. “No, Keen. I can’t do that.”
“But wh—”
He pressed a hoof to her lips and shook his head once more. “That’s not my job. You’re Lightning’s responsibility now.”
She pushed his leg away and turned from him, body shaking as she fought to control herself. She didn’t want to sob, to be loud and wake Lightning up. Lightning was the last pony she wanted to see. “Lightning’s n-not a mom. She’s been l-lying to me.”
“Lying to you?”
She sniffed and nodded, her hiccups making it harder to speak. “I g-get parents lie. Mom and-d Dad lied, but th-they were always trying t-to make me f-feel better. I think L-Lightning just lies f-for herself.”
Fine’s voice grew kind and soothing. “You don’t know that. I’m sure she has a good—”
“Did she burn down that orchard?” Keen turned to peer up at him, her anger even stronger now than it had been. “Did she fail at the Wonderbolts Academy? What about Airheart? Did she nearly die because of Lightning?”
His jaw dropped and he met her gaze with wide eyes. For several seconds he wouldn’t speak, his surprise slowly fading to solemn contemplation.
“It sounds like you and Lightning need to have a talk.”
The filly stomped her hoof, but the bed ruined her attempted expression of anger. She glared at the sheets, huffing and fighting back tears. “Lightning doesn’t want to talk. She doesn’t want to help. I’m not sure she even wants me.”
Silence filled the room, interrupted only by her occasional sniff. She wanted him to answer the questions, to tell her she was wrong. She wanted… she wanted…
Her anger faded as she began to lose control of her emotions. Just at that moment, as if the image were burned into her memory, she saw them. It was the clearest picture she’d had since the rocks took them. Her father’s pearly coat, his mane that was a lighter blue than hers, his short horn. Always with that soothing smile. Her mother, a dark blue with that long, beautiful black mane. Keen used to curl up in it at night… it was so soft.
Soft like her own. She felt at it, and the memory knocked the air out of her.
She did the only thing she could; she buried herself under the covers and sobbed. She knew she shouldn’t, Lightning might hear… but she couldn’t stop. She curled up into a little ball, engulfed in her own mane and tail, and tried to pretend.
But she was gone. They were both gone.
Lightning couldn’t be her mother. She didn’t want to be.
So Keen wept...
...and longed.
The filly woke with a start, sitting up quickly with rapid and shallow breaths. Her eyes searched her surroundings… but there was nothing.
It wasn’t like her usual nightmares. This one was older and didn’t involve any monsters. No, it involved a storm and terrible noises… and rocks. She wrapped her sheet about her shoulders for comfort, shivering at the unhappy memories.
Then she saw the large lump on her bed. She gazed at it for several seconds before understanding dawned on her.
“Mr. Fine?”
He stirred, rolling away so that he was on his belly. His head rose from the foot of the bed, sleepy eyes going to her. “Oh… you woke up.”
A small fear crept into Keen’s mind, but when she looked to the window she was relieved to see that it was still night. She leaned forward to study his weary face. “Shouldn’t you be at home?”
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with a sheepish smile. “I couldn’t well leave a damsel in distress now could I?”
She gaped… then broke into a wide smile. She stood and went to nuzzle his cheek. “Thank you.”
“I think you needed it.” He stretched with a long yawn before climbing off the bed. “But you’re right, I probably should go before Lightning finds me here. That would spoil our sneaky fun.”
Keen giggled, but sobered quickly. Lightning…
She bowed her head with a despondent sigh. “What am I going to do?”
He studied her for a couple seconds, then dropped so that he was eye-level with her. “Keen, I know it’s hard to understand, but I promise you that Lightning cares.” The filly glowered with a huff and turned her face away. “I know, she’s not doing a good job of showing it.”
Keen’s anger faded as she stared at her hooves. She rubbed her leg with a miserable sigh. “I miss mom and dad.”
“I know.” He nuzzled her mane. “It’s hard.”
“I…” She turned to stare at him with head low and ears tucked. “I thought… Mom and Dad can’t come back, but you and Fluttershy feel so right.”
He tilted his head as he observed her, lips set in a sad frown. “Keen… that’s not a role I can take on. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
She pouted. “But you’re so good at it.”
He chuckled, a weak sound. “I appreciate that.” He rubbed his chin in thought, his eyes fading as if he were looking at something else entirely. A few moments of silence passed, and Keen spent them feeling decidedly miserable. Her one good chance to be in a family again…
But then Fine grabbed her and lifted her over his head with a smile. “I can’t be your dad, that wouldn’t work well for either of us. So how about an uncle?”
She blinked, cocking her head as she studied him. His expression was so warm. It was the kind of warmth that seemed to fill her up. She managed a weak smile as she thought on the idea. “An uncle. I’ve never had an uncle.”
“You do now.” He grinned and bumped muzzles with her, and she giggled despite herself. “Don’t you worry, Keen. Things will work out in the end.” He gave her a hug, and it was one of the most pleasant feelings she’d had in a long time. He wasn’t a dad… but at that moment she felt that an uncle was close enough.
A thought came to her. “Does this mean you and Lightning are like brother and sister now?”
He made a funny sound, as if he were trying not to laugh. “Sweet Luna, I hope not.” He set her on the bed with a grin. “I think having her as a little sister would be a real pain.”
Keen’s amusement was short lived, her mouth opening wide in a deep yawn as she once again thought of Lightning. “A pain. That’s Lightning all right.”
His chuckled, but it was a weak sound. “Come on, kid; back to bed with you.”
She let him tuck her in, a deep sadness coming over her.
“I wish I was living with you or Fluttershy.”
Fine petted her mane, expression solemn. “Don’t give up yet. Talk to her, Keen. Ask her about Airheart and the orchard.”
The filly rolled away from him with a sulking glower. “She’ll just lie to me some more.”
Though he sighed his frustration, his voice remained calm. “Just ask, Keen. You’ll see.”
She wanted to brood, to think more bad things about Lightning, but as his hoofsteps began to move away she felt a certain urgency, a need to try… something. So she sat up and turned.
“Un… Uncle Fine?”
He was almost to the corner of her room, head dropping swiftly as if he’d been struck by something. He trembled for a couple of seconds… then turned to her with a beaming smile. “Yeah?”
She shifted, rubbing her hooves together in a sheepish display. “Umm… thanks for staying with me. Goodnight.”
His grin widened a touch and his chest swelled a little. His horn shined as he offered a flamboyant bow, smoke beginning to billow around him.
“Goodnight, little miss.”
The smoke faded and he was gone.
Keen stared at the corner for several seconds, fighting back her sleepiness as she smiled to herself. She repeated the phrase a few times in her head… Uncle Fine.
Uncle Fine.
She sank down to her pillow, a wide smile on her lips as sleep began to reclaim her.
Lightning flew through the cold night sky, Helia and Airheart not far behind. The three kept calling out to one another, working together to gather up as many clouds as they could over the wide Ponyville weather area. Their collection had been growing all night long, the task made frustratingly slow by a list of new rules Rainbow had thrown their way for the night. They worked to guide one last, thick cloud over the town, joining it with all the others they’d been gathering.
“Alright, I think that’ll do.” Lightning flew high to analyze the white blanket below. “Come sunrise the ponies will have a nice fluffy pile of snow to play in. Good work, girls.”
Her wingponies landed atop the clouds and shared a weary hoofbump, mist billowing up from their mouths. “That’s what I call a productive night,” Airheart declared, dropping onto her back with a relaxed smile.
Helia shivered and her wings fluffed. “And a cold one. I hope we don’t get too many of these night shifts.”
“We get what we get.” Lightning landed close by and shivering at the chill of the clouds on her hooves. “’Course, a couple weeks ago I’d have been furious about it and all these crazy rules. I’d swear Rainbow just made them up.”
Helia hopped and hovered, rubbing her shoulders with another shiver. “Do we have anything else we need to do tonight? ‘Cause if not I’d really like to bury myself in some warm blankets.”
Lightning chuckled and waved an indifferent hoof at her. “Nah, Cloudchaser’s team is supposed to drop the snow. Our part’s done.”
“Good, I’m outta here.” Helia flew a quick circle over her squadron-mates heads. “See ya tomorrow, girls!” She was gone, diving through the cloud and out of sight.
Lightning rolled her eyes with an exasperated smile. “She is such a wimp.”
“But she gets the job done,” Airheart reminded her with a long yawn. “I guess we should head back to our respective places, too.” She raised a hoof and waved, sinking backwards into the cloud. “See ya, LD!”
No, not yet; Lightning came forward and caught Airheart’s tail in her teeth, but she had already dropped below the clouds and tried to fly off. Lightning was nearly pulled through the fluff, but was able to hold on.
Airheart poked her head up out of the clouds. “Hey, what gives?”
Lightning spat the tail out and made a gagging sound. “Pony hair is not tasty and I do not recommend trying it.”
Airheart giggled, setting her elbows on the cloud as if it were a countertop and resting her cheek in a hoof. “You should try Rainbow’s tail; I have it on good authority that hers tastes like candy.”
“Really?” Lightning thought on this with a dubious frown. “Says who?”
“Applejack.”
Lightning blinked, thought on this news and shook her head. “I’ll take her word for it.”
Airheart grinned with a shrug. “Just thought I’d pass along the info. So what’s up?”
The question was out, and Lightning found herself caught without words. She blushed; this was a topic she’d been trying to achieve for some time now, ever since her talk with Rainbow. Yet now that the opportunity was here… “L-let’s head to the ground where it’s not so cold, huh?”
“Oh, uh… okay.”
Lightning led the way with a slow, quiet glide over the town. She knew she was leading Airheart away from her home… but Lightning needed a moment to think. This was something she wanted to do right, and she probably wouldn’t be able to if she just blurted it out.
They landed in the park near the center of town, encased in a deep darkness as the overcast sky permitted no moonlight. Neither of them had spoken on the way down, and when Airheart landed she had a concerned frown.
“Lightning… is something wrong?”
Lightning chewed her lip and hesitated. After a moment she tilted her head towards the town. “Let’s walk. We’ll head to your place while we talk.”
Airheart raised an uncertain eyebrow, but did as she was told. She kept a wary eye on Lightning as they moved at a slow pace. “You’re starting to worry me, LD.”
Lightning heaved a long sigh. “Sorry… It’s just that this isn’t my strong point. I need to get something off my chest.”
A long, uncomfortable silence passed between the mares, interrupted only by the quiet crunch of not-quite brown grass beneath their hooves. Lightning realized that she was thinking too much; about Airheart, about Keen, about her future. She wasn’t used to considering so many things… and she hadn’t decided if she liked it.
“So how’s the training going?”
Lightning blinked, her thoughts jarred by the unexpected question. “The training?”
Airheart was watching her, face solemn but soothing. “An icebreaker.”
The lead pony frowned and thought on this, then slowly smiled in appreciation. “The training… well, I don’t know yet. I’ve only been at it for a few days.”
“So no telling if it’s helping?”
“Uh-uh.” Lightning flexed her wing to its full span and cringed at the tight feeling in her side. “It’s too early to tell.” A cold wind blew under her exposed side, making her shiver and quickly refold the wing.
Airheart studied her with a frown. “LD… do you really think you can make it into the Wonderbolt Reserves?”
Lightning’s ears folded back at her wingpony’s tone. “I have to try. I’ve longed for this my entire life. It’s not the main squadron, but I’ll take it.”
“But what if you overdo it? What if…” Airheart averted her eyes. “Oh, listen to me. I shouldn’t be bothering you about this.”
A tight feeling clutched Lightning’s chest as she paused and stared at her wingpony. She knew exactly what Airheart meant, and it hurt. Not because of the tone… but because she felt responsible. Airheart finally noticed she was walking alone and turned to her with a hesitant expression. She actually seemed scared, and that only made Lightning feel worse.
This was the main reason Lightning had brought her here, but now that the chance had come…
“What’s wrong?”
Lightning sat, head bowed as she struggled to get the words out of her throat. Why was it so ridiculously hard? But at last she blurted it out:
“I’m sorry!”
A long, tense silence. Lightning’s eyes went to her hooves, to the grass, to the road… at last they rolled up to Airheart.
The wingpony had her locked in a startled gaze, head leaning back and ears low. “For what?”
Lightning’s jaw dropped, but her surprise faded quickly. She smiled and shook her head with a small chuckle. “That’s just like you, Air. Why do ya have to be so bucking ‘good?’”
Airheart scratched her head with a blush. “I don’t understand.”
“You were nice to me.” Lightning turned her head away with a weak smile. “Back in Appleloosa, you were the only pony who really gave me a chance. Then I moved to Ponyville and you’ve done nothing but offer advice. All I ever did was be a jerk...”
Her wingpony considered this with a sad frown, sitting heavily in the grass. “You’re going through hard times. I’m trying to help.”
There it was again; always such ‘good’ intent. Lightning let out a deep sigh, her hot breath fogging up in the chill air. “I wish I was more like you. Being ‘good’ has never been my strong point, though.”
Airheart let out a small gasp and took a step closer. “What do you mean? You are good, Lightning.”
“Am not.” Lightning pawed at the grass with a pout. “I’m a jerk. I get that. I’m not a good pony, not really. If I was…” She fidgeted, the words once again proving difficult.
“You’re working hard for Keen, aren’t you?” Airheart took another step closer, lowering her head to try and catch Lightning’s eyes. “How can you say you’re not good?”
Lightning turned away from those encouraging blue eyes. “A good pony wouldn’t have let you take the blame for what happened in the cold front.”
Her wingpony blinked, sitting up straight once more. “The cold front?” She thought for a couple seconds, eyes rising to the overcast sky in thought. Then they widened, and Airheart wilted. “Oh… the cold front. C-come on, LD, you know that was my—”
“Shut up.” Lightning shot her a fierce glare that silenced the pony and had her sinking even lower. “That was my fault, and don’t you dare say otherwise.”
“B-but… I… it was me who…” Airheart looked away with eyes closed tight.
That familiar spark of anger hit Lightning as she grabbed Airheart and forced her to her hooves.
“Why are you acting scared? You didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one who rushed in without thinking. I always do that, and I nearly got you killed because of it.”
Airheart wouldn’t meet her gaze. “B-but if I had just done as you said and stayed out of the clouds…”
Lightning growled and caught the distraught mare’s cheeks, forcing her to meet her eyes. “You were doing exactly what a wingpony is supposed to do. I wasn’t behaving like a proper lead pony. A squadron is a team effort, and I wasn’t being a team player.”
She turned away, the feelings of guilt hitting hard as the memory of Airheart’s near-fatal plummet invaded her mind. “I really bucked up my job that day. Worse, I let you take the blame.”
Airheart set a hoof to her shoulder. “Please don’t say that. I deserve the—”
“Oh, for buck’s sake!” Lightning jerked away from her wingpony’s touch. “Would you please stop being so nice and just accept my bucking apology? I mean seriously, would it kill you to at least acknowledge that I screwed up? You ‘good’ ponies with your damn kindness and intentions. Stop worrying and let me take the Celestia-be-damned credit!”
Airheart backstepped with wide eyes. “B-but… why do you want to?”
Lightning chewed her lip as she considered the question. “Because… you don’t deserve the blame. I let you take it because I was afraid. I didn’t want Keen to see me as I am. So I… I didn’t say anything.”
“Lightning!” Airheart was at her side, ears low as she tried once more to look her in the eyes. “Keen wouldn’t think any less of you, surely.”
Lightning grimaced and gazed up at the dark clouds overhead. Could she explain the horrible feelings she had? The churning of her stomach every time she came home? The nagging worry, the hesitation, the uncertainty? Was it something she should share?
She winced at the unfamiliar touch of her friend’s hoof. Airheart leaned a little closer, her eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong?”
She didn’t want to say it… but she worked her lips and forced the words out.
“Keen’s mad. I don’t know why, but she hardly talks to me anymore. It’s been going on for a few days now, and I…” She sucked down the rising feeling in her throat and closed her eyes tight. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I don’t know what to do…”
“Oh…” Airheart drooped as she studied her lead pony. “I see. So you think taking the blame for that will really help?”
“I don’t know,” Lightning confessed, rubbing her eyes and turning away. “That’s not really why I apologized. I really did do a bad thing, and I w-wanna make it up to ya. I d-didn’t mean to bring K-Keen up…”
Damn it, why was she choking up in front of Airheart? Lightning felt as if she were struggling to keep a dam from breaking, and the stonework was falling apart too fast for her to keep up.
She heard Airheart sigh. “Sounds like you’ve got more important issues than the cold front.”
“N-no, that’s not…” Lightning fought to steer the conversation. “I didn’t ask you d-down here to talk about K-Keen. This is ab-bout… th-this is… about…”
Lightning tensed as she felt Airheart’s wing folding over her shoulder. Her temper flared and for a moment she considered knocking the pony away. She felt an urgent need to do so, to snap and hit her wingpony as hard as she could! But when she looked into those kind, worried blue eyes…
“Oh, come on!” She jerked away and covered her face in her hooves, entire body shaking as she resisted the emotions. “I don’t want to b-be like this! I’m s-supposed t-to be the tough one…”
“Come on, LD,” Airheart whispered into her ear. “Talk to me. I don’t have a kid, so I don’t know how much advice I could offer… but you’ll feel better if you just talk about it.”
A feeble laugh worked its way out of Lightning’s throat. “Th-there you g-go, being nice again… J-just give m-me a moment…”
She sucked in a deep breath… and held it. Her eyes went to the clouds as she focused and kept her lips firmly closed.
Airheart walked about to give her a questioning look, but Lightning raised a hoof before she could speak. Longer… the tears in her eyes would not win! Her cheeks puffed out as she worked to keep from breathing. Longer… longer…
At last she could take it no more; she let out a gasp and sucked in air. She sat there for several seconds, letting her breath recover. The steam billowed from her lips and nostrils as if she were some sort of living engine as she offered a weak smile to her friend.
“There… much better.”
Airheart raised an eyebrow. “That’s an interesting way to do it.”
Lightning chuckled and rubbed the moisture from her eyes. “Something I learned long ago. You f-forget to cry when you’re desperate for air.”
Airheart gained a solemn frown. “I think it would have been better if you’d just let it go.”
“I am not going to cry in front of my friends.” Lightning raised her head in a proud pose. “I have a reputation to maintain.”
“But it isn’t healthy.”
Lightning rolled her eyes. “You sound like Matron.” She winced at the title. “Well, the Matron I used to know…”
Airheart lost her solemnity, ears perking at the name. “Who’s Matron?”
Another wince. “Y-you don’t need to know.”
“Lightning.” Airheart leveled her with a bemused look that Lightning was fairly sure she’d never seen on the pink pony’s face before.
Lightning shifted under those surprisingly harsh eyes and rubbed her foreleg. “What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me,” Airheart countered, her voice uncharacteristically firm. “You asked me to join you for a walk so we could talk, but you’re not talking.”
A blush hit Lightning’s cheeks. “I… no, I just wanted to apologize. That’s all…”
“You did, and I accept.” Airheart’s gaze didn’t budge. “There’s more going on here. You need to talk about Keen with somepony and I think you know that. If you really didn’t want to talk about it, you’d have already flown off.”
Lightning chewed her lip, unable to meet Airheart’s piercing eyes. “Y-you think you know me so well, huh?” Airheart didn’t respond. “I… I don’t know what to say about it. I don’t even know if it’ll help…”
“Who is Matron?”
Lightning glowered. “Why do you wanna know about Matron?”
At last Airheart’s heated stare broke, her head dropping as she sighed. “Come on, LD, please? I want to think that I helped you out tonight. So I’m picking this Matron pony; maybe she’s not important towards the Keen issue, but I’m determined to get something out of you.”
Lightning debated herself on the matter. Matron was such a tender topic, but if talking about her would get Airheart off her back…
At last the lead pony sighed and turned away. “Matron was a headmaster at my… my orphanage. Her name was Peace Spring, and she was the closest thing I had to a mother.”
“’The closest thing?’ Was she mean or something?”
“No!” Lightning shook her head forcefully. “She was one of the nicest, kindest ponies I’ve ever known! Me and the other foals loved her. She was a little too kind, actually… grated on my nerves as I got older. But for all the trouble I caused and all the times I got dragged into her office by the cops, she was always forgiving.” Lightning bowed her head, a strange combination of shame and love filling her.
It was several seconds before Airheart spoke.
“So what happened to her?”
Lightning cringed at the pain in her heart. “I… I don’t know. Did she die? Or was she turned into a… a…”
She didn’t want to say it. The idea was too horrible to contemplate.
Airheart’s hoof was back on her shoulder. “LD?”
This time Lightning touched the hoof, grateful for the tenderness. “I hope Matron died. I hope they killed her and took her place. That’s so much better than thinking that her mind was… that she was…” Goddess, she just couldn’t say it. “It’s no wonder Keen was so terrified.”
She heard Airheart take in a slow, ragged breath. She looked to her wingpony and saw the horror in those blue eyes. “LD… are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She was in danger of crying again. Lightning quietly worked to keep her head as she gazed at the grass around her hooves.
“They wiped them all out, Air. Matron, that old goat Mountain. All the foals. All my little friends… even my… my p-precious cousin colt…” Crap, why did she have to mention Gulfstream? It was too much; she turned away from Airheart and covered her face in her hooves once more, determined not to let her tears be seen.
“By the Sun, Lightning. I... I’m so sorry.” A pair of legs wrapped about Lightning’s waist, warm wing engulfed her shoulders. “You can’t hold something like that in. Please, just let it go.”
“N-no!” Lightning forcefully rubbed her moistened face, pressing so hard her cheeks hurt. “I-I won’t…”
She didn’t want to. She fought it, she really did… but it was too much. Lightning began to weep, a quiet but intense act that rocked her entire body. She clutched at Airheart’s hooves on her chest as she sobbed, the harsh memories of smiling young faces coming unbidden to haunt her tormented mind. She wept and wept, forgetting where she was or what she was doing. She just kept thinking on her little foal friends, the ones that would never laugh, never cheer her on, never dream of being Wonderbolts, never grow up. Every fresh face, every barely-recalled laugh stung worse than the last one…
Worst of all was the memory of Gulfstream. She saw him, over and over again. Wishing her good luck as she left for the Academy, flying circles around her when she finally got back, the pride in his eyes as she lied about her successes… that horrible, horrible discovery at the bottom of a cold, dark well.
Her colt. Her precious, precious cousin colt…
Coming out of her breakdown was a gradual, difficult process. When she was finally able to recall her surroundings she found herself leaning back heavily against Airheart, who was still clutching her close. She blushed and wiped her face with a leg.
“Not a w-word to anypony about this, ya g-got me?”
Her wingpony let out the tiniest of sighs. “Whatever you say. Feeling better?”
Lightning pulled away and lay on her belly, jumping a little at the chill of the dew in the grass. “I… calmer. I’m calmer.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at her friend. “Th-thanks…”
“Anytime.” Airheart walked over to lay beside Lightning, her expression worn. “So… how does Keen fit into all this?”
Lightning considered keeping quiet. Hadn’t she bled out enough for one night? Yet, as she gazed at her wingpony’s hooves in miserable contemplation, she realized that there was no point in holding back. Airheart already knew more than any other pony in this accursed town… except Fine Crime. She might as well finish.
“The orphanage burned,” she whispered, setting her chin to the grass. “With it went my entire family. Keen’s the only one I was able to save.”
“Good Goddess…” Airheart shook her head, setting a hoof atop one of Lightning’s. “I… I can’t imagine what that must have been like. Why haven’t you told anypony?”
Lightning sneered through the pain. “I don’t want their pity, and I don’t want them to look at Keen as a victim. She’s been so afraid, Air. If they treat her like that, if they feel obligated to help her ‘cope’, she may never learn to handle herself.”
“But she’s only a child.”
Lightning jerked her hoof away and leveled Airheart with a glare. “That’s exactly what I don’t want to hear. I’m trying to give her the support she needs, but she should not be babied through this! She can’t spend her whole life afraid, she deserves better than that.” She turned her head away and rested it back in the grass, a deep frown on her lips. “She doesn’t need coddling. That kind of treatment will cripple her for life.”
Airheart sighed, a long, remorseful sound. “That’s a very delicate balance you’re talking about, LD.”
She wilted. “I know. Keen’s gotten better around other foals, but I don’t really know if it’s because of anything I’m doing. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so important I get into the reserves.”
Airheart cocked her head with an uncertain frown. “The Wonderbolt Reserves? What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s a cushy job,” Lightning declared with authority. “Think about it. Reserve ponies drill every day, but only for a few hours, and they’re on call to replace the main squadron whenever needed, which isn’t often. That means more time to spend with Keen.”
Airheart’s frown intensified as she considered the points. “But you’re spending so much time training for it that you’re hardly spending any time with her now.”
“I know. It’s a sacrifice, but look at the benefits!” Lightning rolled onto her back and gazed up at the overcast sky. She sucked in a deep breath, smiling softly as she envisioned her future. “If I could get in, everything would be right. I could spend more time with Keen and my paycheck would get a boost right when she’s ready to start school. I could get everything she needs; a nice home, a far better education than I could have dreamed of and all the books she could possibly want!
“And I get to be a Wonderbolt.” The thought was as sobering as it was exciting. “When that changeling caught me, I thought that dream was over. But it’s still there.” She slowly raised a hoof, reaching for some unseen wonder in the heavens. “It’s right there, Air. I’m a hard worker. If I try hard enough, maybe I can overcome this bum wing. Maybe I can still be a great pony. M-maybe I’ll really deserve to be on this team.”
Airheart’s head had been low as she absorbed Lightning’s words, but at that last phrase her ears perked. “This team?”
Lightning blushed and glanced away. “I mean… forget it. Slip of the tongue.”
She hadn’t thought of Luna’s team in some time. She hadn't forgotten it, but with her mind so focused on the day-to-day grind she'd simply left it in the back of her mind to fester. Now that she was out here in the darkness with the topic at hoof… suddenly it was back at the forefront of her mind.
Life hadn’t changed since she’d met Princess Luna with the others. Everything was normal. No, not ‘normal.’ She was trying to raise a foal and that was by no means normal for her. But she hadn’t been called upon to do anything yet… and she suddenly wondered if she ever would be.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Airheart nudged her shoulder. She looked up to find the mare smiling down at her.
“You know what? For just a moment there, you actually started to sound like a mother.”
Lightning’s cheeks burned. She abruptly rolled back onto her stomach and emitted a weak cough. “Y-yeah right. I’d make a crummy mom.”
Airheart was beaming, which didn’t help Lightning’s cheeks. “I don’t know, it sounds like you’re making progress. I bet Keen sees it, too.”
A prick of pain hit Lightning’s heart, her blush faded in an instant. “I… I don’t think so. I wish I knew why she was so upset.”
“Have you tried talking to her?” Lightning shook her head. “Why not?”
“Because I’m—” Lightning clamped her mouth closed and averted her eyes… but then sighed. Why was she still trying to avoid talking about this stuff? Then again, why was she letting it all out in front of Airheart in the first place? She eyed her wingpony, whose disappointment was clear in her long frown and downcast eyes.
She heaved another one of those long, unpleasant sighs. “…because I’m scared. What if she tells me something I don’t wanna hear?”
Airheart caught her eyes, the tiniest of relieved smiles on her lips. “How are you gonna solve the problem if you don’t talk to her?”
“I don’t know.” Lightning kicked at the grass. “She really likes Fluttershy, though. S-sometimes I… I wonder if Keen wouldn’t be better off with her.”
Airheart’s eyes went wide. “That doesn’t sound anything like the Lightning Dust I know. What happened to your confidence?”
Lightning snorted. “Yeah, confident, that’s me! So confident I keep rushing into things. That’s why I nearly burned down Appleloosa, why I almost got you killed in the cold front. Even Keen’s falling victim to it! I went all in, I didn’t do anything right, the orphanage burned. Did I learn my lesson? Buck, no! I just decided to take care of Keen, without thinking about it, without considering the consequences! And here I am, bucking up all over again. Keen deserves better than a ‘confident’ screw up like me.”
“Lightning!” Airheart move close and leaned in to look her lead pony in the eye. “You’re not a screw up!”
Lightning sneered and stood, turning away with a huff and a frustrated flick of her tail. She started to walk away; this conversation had gone on long enough.
Before she knew it Airheart was in front of her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
“You’re not a screw up. You saved Keen and me! Everything you’ve ever done was with the best of intentions. I could tell, it’s one of the reasons I like you so much.”
Instinct told Lightning to push her away, but even as she pressed her hooves against Airheart’s chest she found she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Why did this damn pegasus have to be such a good pony… and why did Lightning have to like it? She didn’t want to like it…
“Good intentions don’t make up for a history of failure, Air…”
“But they have to count for something,” Airheart whispered, still holding tight. “I’ve been listening to you talk about her. You gush, Lightning. You won’t admit it, but you love that filly.” Lightning’s cheeks burned as her wingpony stepped back to offer a proud smile. “Making the wrong decision doesn’t make you a bad parent.”
That stung, and Lightning didn’t even know why. She bowed her head with a dejected sigh. “I’m not her parent, Air.”
“Are too.” Airheart nudged her shoulder encouragingly. “You’re just scared, LD. It’s natural. You’ll see; next month you’ll be all beaming and proud and getting along fine! Trust me.”
Lightning looked at her friend, considering her for a few seconds. At last she gained a weak smile. “You have got to be the nicest pony I’ve ever met.”
Airheart’s cheeks flushed as she offered a nervous giggle. “I took lessons from Fluttershy.”
A long pause as Lightning stared. “…really?”
Her wingpony facehooved before breaking into loud laughter. “Come on, Lightning, was that an honest question?”
“Oh...” Lightning rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin. “But seriously, thanks Air. You were right, it helps to talk. You really have been a far too kind to me.”
Airheart recovered from her giggles and offered a charming smile. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” She winked and turned away, walking towards the park’s exit. “That one I really did pick up from Fluttershy.”
Lightning smiled after her. It was so strange; she wasn’t used to having a real friend. Airheart was too nice for her own good… but maybe she needed somepony like that in her life. Perhaps it was simply one of those things she’d been missing. Ever since she’d first left the orphanage and Matron…
She shook her head with force. Choosing to think about Matron right after she’d finally cheered up was the epitome of a bad idea! She trotted after Airheart, catching up to her as they exited the park.
“Look, I kinda feel like I owe ya.”
“Of course you don’t.” Airheart rolled her eyes with an amused smile. “We just talked.”
“Then forget the talk,” Lightning pressed. “How about the work? I’ve figured out the system, and I know you’ve been suffering ‘cause I kept hogging all the action.”
“Oh…” Her wingpony glanced away with ears tucked. “It’s no big deal…”
Lightning bumped her shoulder just hard enough to make Airheart look her in the eye. “It is a big deal! Rainbow told me about everything you’re trying to do for your family, and there I was making things harder for you. Even after all that, you keep being nice to me.” Airheart blushed and glanced away again. “Ya gotta let me make it up to ya. Come on, there must be something I can do.”
“Oh, I don’t know…” Airheart scuffed the ground. Lightning leaned close to give her an imploring look that made her wingpony cringe. “I didn’t think you could do that so well.”
Lightning blinked and stood straight. “Do what?”
Airheart gave a sheepish smile and set her hooves to either side of her eyes. “The ‘Eyes of D’aww.’”
Lightning cocked her head. “The eyes of whatnow?”
Airheart chuckled… then raised a hoof with wide eyes. “I’ve got it. I know what you can do.”
Lightning took an eager step forward, wings spreading just slightly. “Yeah?”
The raised hoof lowered to press against Lightning’s muzzle. “You’ve got to talk to Keen.”
Lightning’s excitement faded in an instant as she dropped to her haunches. “What?”
“Talk to Keen,” Airheart repeated. “About what’s going on. Figure out why she’s so mad.”
Lightning fidgeted at the combination of worry and confusion battling for control of her mind. “B-but… how does that count as me paying you back?”
“You asked me what I’d accept.” Her wingpony raised her muzzle high with smug smile. “That’s my answer. You’ve got a week.”
Lightning raised an eyebrow. “A week? Or else what?”
Airheart turned away, head still raised. “Or else I don’t accept your apology.”
Lightning’s shoulders sagged and her jaw dropped. “Air… are you serious?”
“Well, not as serious as I’d like to be.” Airheart gave a wry smile over her shoulder. “I’m too nice to not accept your apology. But you do need to talk to her, LD. Fix the problem between you two and I’ll consider us even.”
“But I won’t.” Lightning rolled her eyes and blew air from her closed lips in an exasperated display. “You ‘good’ ponies. Fine, if that’s what you want, but this does not make us even, ya get me?”
Airheart set a hoof to her own chest and regained that haughty air. “I am the one who was wronged, so I will be the one to make that decision.” Then she yawned, effectively ruining the posh imagery. “In the meantime, it’s probably closing in on time for Princess Celestia to raise the sun and we have work in the afternoon.”
Lightning waved a dismissive hoof. “Yeah, yeah, time for bed.” Then she did something that she knew would surprise the pony: Lightning gave her a hug. “Thanks, Air. Really. It’s nice to have a real friend for a change.”
Airheart was stiff as a board… but then relaxed and returned the hug. “Wow, LD, this isn’t like you at all.”
Lightning pulled back and struck a proud pose of her own, blatantly ignoring her red cheeks. “Don’t hold your breath; it was a one-time thing.”
Her wingpony chuckled. “A moment of weakness?”
“Something like that.” Lightning grinned and waved her off. “Now go on, before ya get me all sappy again!”
She stood outside the cottage door, hooves locked to the dirt as she stared at the solid wood. A sick feeling kept Lightning’s stomach churning. Even so, she knew she should get it over with. Airheart was right; they needed to have this talk… but Lightning didn’t want to have it. She gazed up at the early afternoon sky, which was still thickly overcast with clouds that constantly dropped a thin haze of snow over the town. She didn’t have much time before her next shift.
Heaving a long sigh, she struggled to raise her hoof and knock. She had to wait only for a few seconds before Fluttershy appeared at the door with a beaming smile. “Good afternoon, Lightning! Ready to pick up Keen?”
“Y-yeah.” Lightning tried to sound positive. “Did she have a good night?”
“Oh, the best! We read bedtime stories and enjoyed a nice slumber party with all our friends.” The foalsitter offered one of those sickeningly-sweet smiles she often acquired when talking about her time with Keen. “How about you? Your snowfall came out wonderfully, if you don’t mind my saying so. I bet Rainbow’s impressed.”
“Impressed?” Lightning looked up at the sky once more, watching as a single tiny snowflake floated down to melt on her muzzle. “I guess… I mean it’s just a little snow.”
“It’s the first snow of Winter,” Fluttershy corrected knowledgeably. “That’s actually an important job; it signals in the start of the seasonal calm and officially ushers in the Winter Vacation. It’s supposed to be nice and light; it’s traditional.”
“Oh.” Lightning sat and scratched the back of her head with a curious frown. “That explains all the rules Rainbow made me recite…” She abruptly realized that last night must have been something of a test. Fluttershy wasn’t a weather pony, but if she was filled with praise… did that mean Lightning had passed?
Then again, pleasing Fluttershy and pleasing Rainbow were two entirely different beasts.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure Rainbow will love it.” Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and into the cottage. “Keen! It’s time to go.”
Lightning’s ears perked and she looked past Fluttershy. It was several seconds before the filly appeared, trudging along with her tiny saddlebag and her head hanging low. She looked to Lightning with a pout; it might as well have been a knife to Lightning’s heart.
Even so, Lightning forced a smile to her lips and waved. “H-hey, Little Bolt.”
Keen nodded. “Hey, Lightning…” She looked to her foalsitter and offered a weak smile of her own. “Thank you for another fun night.”
“It was my pleasure,” Fluttershy declared, accepting the filly’s hug with a grin.
Lightning saw the eagerness in Keen at that moment and felt her entire body sag… but she forced herself straight again as soon as the two parted. “Come on, kiddo; we better not keep Twilight waiting. Thanks again, Fluttershy.” She dropped to her belly in anticipation, but Keen made no attempt to hop on her back. There was an unpleasant tightness in Lightning's chest as she watched her walk past with eyes locked forward.
She caught Fluttershy’s uncertain frown and promptly stood. “I’ll be seeing you around.”
“Of course.”
Lightning moved to catch up to the filly. For a little while they walked along the snow-coated path into town. Keen wouldn’t look at her and Lightning’s anxiety grew with every step. She needed to say something!
“S-so… you had fun?”
“Mm-hmm.” Keen’s solemn frown didn’t budge, nor did her eyes.
Lightning cringed; strike one.
They walked on in silence, Keen seeming determined to ignore her guardian and Lightning struggling to find some courage. She told Airheart she would talk to the kid, she just needed to do it! But first she had to break this ice that had formed between them…
If only she knew why there was ice between them in the first place!
They passed into the town and still there was silence. Lightning ground her teeth; she needed to say something! “You nap with any of the bears today?”
Keen didn’t miss a beat. “The bears are hibernating right now.”
Strike two. Keen’s tone was so harsh Lightning felt as if she was being lectured. “Oh… hehe… right.” What a stupid question.
Which provoked a oddly horrifying thought: did Keen think her stupid? She was a very bright filly, and Lightning knew she was a not bright mare. What if the filly didn’t respect her because of that?
Well… it would make sense. Maybe that was what was wrong. Maybe Keen didn’t respect Lightning. Nopony could blame her for it; Lighting hadn’t done much so far that was worthy of respect. She wilted, her legs dragging through the snow as she considered the possibility.
She couldn’t know for certain unless she asked. Lightning opened her mouth to speak… but couldn’t conjure any sounds. She closed her mouth, swallowed, tried again. Nothing. She felt so lame; here she was, a full grown mare known for her aggression and leaping headfirst into trouble, and she couldn’t even face a filly!
How pathetic was that?
The Golden Oaks Library was coming into view. She was running out of time! She needed to talk, to fix this situation. She’d promised Airheart as much. If she could just get them started…
But when she looked upon Keen her mind went blank. All she could see was that adorable little pony, with her long white mane and tail lightly bouncing to her steps and that tiny horn barely poking through the fringe… and she was terrified. Not talking was bad, but talking could be worse. What if Keen didn’t want to live with Lightning anymore? The thought nearly knocked the air out of her lungs, and she wobbled a bit in her attempt to recover.
Keen didn’t even notice.
They were at the library’s front door, and Keen wasted no time knocking. Her tiny hoof couldn’t make a loud sound against the wood, but it still made Lightning wince.
Come on, say something!
The door opened to reveal Spike, who greeted them with a warm smile. “Hey Lightning, hey Keen. You ready for more lessons?”
Keen’s ominous nature faded instantly. “Yes! I’ve been practicing a lot, just like Twilight asked.”
“Come on in.” The dragon stepped aside and waved at the interior. “Twilight’s been looking forward to today’s lesson!”
It took all the willpower Lightning could muster: “K-Keen?”
The filly, halfway across the threshold, came to an abrupt stop. She made no attempt to look at Lightning.
Lightning fumbled with her lips, trying to form the right words. “B-be good, okay?”
The filly said nothing, and after a couple seconds entered the library. Spike gave Lightning an apologetic, worried look. “Umm… See you later, okay?”
The door closed softly in her face, and she lowered her head in defeat. “...strike three…”
Despondent and feeling like a failure, she turned away from the door… and found herself touching muzzles with Fine Crime. She bounced back with a surprised cry. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
Fine said nothing. He didn’t seem to even acknowledge their momentary closeness. His eyes locked with hers, he lowered his head… and a puff of black smoke appeared between them. When it faded there was a small scroll hovering in the air.
Keen couldn’t focus. She kept glancing at the the window. She couldn’t see the sun for the clouds, but she was sure it was past midday. Lightning would be coming soon.
Unless she was late again. She was late a lot. If she was late this time, what excuse would she use? Every time it was a slightly different one, and every time Keen knew she was lying.
She wished she wasn’t so good at noticing lies…
“Keen?”
The filly turned away from the window. Fluttershy was sitting on her couch, knitting needles working the half-finished blanket she was making for one of her animal friends. The pegasus tilted her head at Keen with a worried frown. “Is something the matter?”
“No…” Keen scuffed her hoof and turned back to the bowl of water on the floor next to her. She gazed into it, her shimmering reflection looking back with a deep frown.
Fluttershy’s voice was kind. “Haven’t figured out the spell yet?”
Keen winced. “It’s hard,” she admitted, lightly tapping her hoof against the bowl so that the water shifted and her reflection distorted. It swirled and bobbed, making her look ugly.
Maybe appearance was why Lightning didn’t care for her. They didn’t think alike or look alike… so what was left?
“Don’t worry.” Fluttershy offered a confident smile. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Twilight wouldn’t have asked you to practice it if she didn’t think you could do it.”
For once Keen had little interest in her magic practice. Still, Fluttershy was watching, so she stood properly and tried to focus. She concentrated on the water as the energy began to flow through her horn.
Blue.
Just concentrate on the color.
Blue.
Her horn sparked, her body tensed. Her jaw tightened as she struggled to squeeze every ounce of magic out of her tiny body. Twilight said she could do it, so she could do it! She began to breathe heavily through her muzzle, she could feel a strange tension in her forehead.
She thought she saw the tiniest swirl of color in the water.
She let out a gasp and dropped to her knees, the glow of her horn fading. She spent several seconds trying to recoup her breathing. The water was still clear. The sight made her heart sink.
“That was a good effort,” Fluttershy declared with a sweet smile. “I might have seen a bit of color in the water this time.”
Keen pouted and pushed the bowl away. “I’ll never learn it before class today…”
“Well, Twilight did say it was a more advanced spell than you’re used to.” Her foalsitter paused to examine her sewing. “Not everything can be learned quickly, Keen.”
The filly sighed and rested her chin on her hooves, eyes once again slipping over to the window. She almost hoped Lightning would be late so that she could have more time to practice before seeing Twilight.
The stray thought dragged her mind back to Lightning. For the past few days, thinking about Lightning only made her sad. Sometimes she would find herself hoping Lightning would just let her stay here with Fluttershy. That wasn’t going to happen, though. It was hard to explain, but deep down Keen understood that Lightning was determined to take care of her, even if she might not want her.
Nothing worried Keen quite like the suspicion of not being wanted. It was like… like how she felt when she’d had too many of Nye’s drinks. It made her stomach feel like that.
Something tapped her on the shoulder. She winced and looked to see Angel Bunny standing next to the bowl, gesturing with a pleased smile at the water. Keen forced herself into a sitting position and took a look… to find the water was blue. Well, not quite; it was swirling and had different types of blues mixed together. Even so, she rubbed her muzzle to keep from sniffing and offered him a smile.
“Did I do that?”
Angel nodded emphatically, barely able to hide the bottle of cooking dye behind his small body.
Despite her sadness, Keen leaned forward to nuzzle the soft rabbit. “Maybe I can learn the spell after all.”
His foot thumped the floor rapidly as he grinned.
A knock on the door made Keen jump and hold the bunny close, the bottle dropping to the floor. She looked up at the window in alarm, but there was no way to know the time.
Angel squirmed in her grip and she promptly let go. “Sorry…” She hid behind her mane as she gave him an apologetic frown.
Though he was doubled over trying to catch his breath, Angel still managed a smile and a wave as if to say “It’s okay.”
Fluttershy set down her half-finished blanket and sewing utensils and went to the door. Keen backed away, ears low as she waited to see who it was.
“Good afternoon, Lightning! Ready to pick up Keen?”
The filly wilted. She turned away from the door and trudged for her saddlebag, which was lying near the couch. She didn’t want to go… no, she did. Lightning was just going to bring her to Twilight’s before she started working again.
Why couldn’t Fluttershy bring her to the library? Why did Lightning insist on coming to pick her up? Keen pulled on her saddle, a small fire burning within her. Spending the night here was always nice; she got to sleep with Fluttershy’s teddy bear. On the worst nights – when the nightmares were really bad – Fluttershy was always ready and willing to let Keen snuggle up with her.
Lightning didn’t like that. She’d let Keen do it, but she didn’t want to.
What was she to Lightning? Why did Lightning keep her around? Was it because of what happened at the orphanage? Did she think she had to? Uncle Fine seemed to think so. She loved Uncle Fine… but he had to be wrong. Lightning wasn’t a mom. She never did what moms do.
“Keen! It’s time to go.”
Keen sighed and turned to the door. She noticed Angel Bunny at the kitchen door, watching with ears low and eyes uncertain. He tried to wave to her. Keen just lowered her head and trudged for the door with a pout. As she neared she spotted Lightning, who was watching her with a forced smile.
Her guardian attempted a weak wave. “H-hey, Little Bolt.”
It was all Keen could do not to snap; she was coming to hate that nickname. She nodded – it was all she could do without saying something she feared she would regret. “Hey, Lightning…”
She turned and tried to hide her frustration by smiling to Fluttershy. “Thank you for another fun night.”
“It was my pleasure,” Fluttershy declared with a beaming smile. Keen hugged her and felt such incredible pleasure from the returned embrace. It was so different from anything Lightning had ever managed…
Lightning spoke up as they parted. “Come on, kiddo, we better not keep Twilight waiting. Thanks again, Fluttershy.”
Keen made for the door. Lightning dropped down to let her climb onto her back, but that small fire in the back of Keen’s mind grew at the motion. Why did she always carry Keen like that? Keen didn’t know why, but she suddenly didn’t want to ride, so she strode past her guardian and onto the road, eyes locked on the bridge.
She was so… mad! What was Lightning going to do? Keen remembered her parents, how they always acted when she got upset. Her mother would get mad, too, and threaten to spank her if she didn’t behave. Her father was nicer about it; he’d sit her down and talk. He’d ask questions… ‘Why are you mad?’ ‘Well, what caused that?’ ‘Do you think it’s her fault?’ ‘Do you understand what happened?’ By the end, Keen would always find herself admitting that she shouldn’t be angry.
Her dad was very good with words.
Lightning was at her side. Keen steadfastly refused to look at her.
“S-so… you had fun?”
Was that all she had to say? Keen set her jaw tight to keep from shouting, managing a “Mm-hmm” through her pursed lips.
Why wasn’t Lightning angry? Keen would have welcomed anger. Not the usual anger; Lightning used to always be mad at what Keen was doing, but never at why. At least when her mom got angry Keen knew it was because she was misbehaving in some way. Lightning wasn’t even bothering to be angry anymore.
Keen’s fire faded a little as the surprise came over her; she wanted Lightning to be mad. When her mom was mad, Keen would be scared. Lightning was stronger than Keen’s mom, and meaner.
But… her mom would get mad because she cared, because she was worried or wanted to teach a lesson. Lightning never got mad for those reasons…
Lightning should be mad now. Keen was being rude and knew it. Her mom would be mad, so why wasn’t Lightning mad?
She was supposed to be mad!
“You nap with any of the bears today?”
What kind of question was that? “The bears are hibernating right now.”
She’d said it so quickly, so calmly, but deep down Keen was fuming. She wanted Lightning to react, to grab her up by the tail and tell her she was being rude, to be respectful of her elders, to… to… to something!
Did she just not care enough? Was Keen not worth her anger? The filly felt a pang in her heart at that thought, but the raging fire in her head drowned it out. She was tempted to run to Twilight’s or back to Fluttershy. At least she knew they would talk about her anger, like her dad did. That was better than… this.
Keen found herself going through the debate in her head all over again. Maybe Lightning just didn’t know how to be a mom. Maybe she thought she’d been too mean before and was trying to be nice. Maybe she didn’t even know anything was wrong. She once called herself a dumb reader; maybe she was a dumb mom, too.
None of those thoughts eased Keen’s anger.
The Golden Oaks Library came into view, its limbs and leaves covered in fresh snow. Keen didn’t want to be upset like this when she saw Twilight. Maybe if she cleared her mind and just stopped thinking…
She focused, eyes locked on the library door. No thinking. Nothing in the mind, no thoughts of Lightning, no thoughts of being alone, no thoughts of not being wanted…
It didn’t work. She grimaced as the same mean ideas circled around in her head like a merry-go-round, only without the merry. When they reached the door Keen wasted no time knocking on it.
A moment of tense silence passed. Keen didn’t look at Lightning, but the pony filled her brain.
Come on, say something!
The door opened to reveal Spike, who grinned at the visitors. “Hey, Lightning, hey Keen. You ready for more lessons?”
It took everything Keen had to smile for him. “Yes! I’ve been practicing a lot, just like Twilight asked.”
“Come on in.” He stepped aside and waved to the open door. “Twilight’s been looking forward to today’s lesson!”
Keen, lips locked in a forced smile, began to enter the library.
“K-Keen?”
She stopped, heart jumping to her throat and eyes widening. Please let her be about to say something she needed to hear…
“B-be good, okay?”
The silence was… deafening. Her heart sinking back to its regular lows, the fire fading from her disappointment, Keen trudged her way into the library.
Did Lightning even care?
Twilight had noticed Keen’s mood, but she didn’t ask about it. Keen didn’t know whether to be grateful or doubly angry about that. Rather than decide, she chose distraction and poured herself into her studies. She did enjoy studying magic, after all, and as time went by her anger faded.
They practiced some basic spells at first, which they did with every meeting; the laser, lifting objects of varying sizes, creating light, small things. Once those were done Twilight would quiz Keen on what she’d read. Keen never got a perfect score, but Twilight always seemed impressed anyway.
The next part was what Keen had been dreading: Spike filled a glass with water and set it on a stool.
Twilight stood beside Keen, giving her an expectant smile. “Have you been practicing the spell like I asked?”
The filly wilted as she eyed the glass. “Yes, but I couldn’t get it right.”
“That’s okay.” Twilight gestured to the water. “This spell’s a few grades above your level. I wasn’t expecting you to learn it in just a couple days.”
Keen pouted, her mane going over her face as she bowed her head. “But I really wanted to…”
“Don’t worry, Keen.” Spike was at her side with a claw to her shoulder. “I’ve been around Twilight long enough to know she gave you that spell for a reason. Right, Twilight?”
“That’s right.” Twilight knelt next to the filly and nudged her with her muzzle. “Go ahead, try it one more time. Don’t worry if you don’t manage it, I just want to watch.”
Keen fidgeted, her chest going tight as she observed the glass through her mane... but then she glowered, her determination coming back. Her teacher was watching and she wasn’t going to disappoint her! Keen stood and braced her legs, focusing all her attention on the water in the glass. She clenched her teeth and closed her eyes as she struggled to think of the color.
Blue. Let the water be blue…
She felt her horn growing hot, could hear the electric sparks. Just a little bit of blue, that was all she needed. Come on… come on…
Her legs started to tremble. She opened her eyes and glared at the glass, silently demanding it turn color. She could feel the heat growing in her horn… and then there was that tense feeling, like something had locked at the base of her horn.
She grimaced, flinching as if she’d been shocked, and dropped to her haunches. She spent several seconds huffing and trying to steady her breath, touching her horn to feel the heat that was quickly fading. When she looked up at the glass she saw… nothing. It was just water, plain and plainly not blue.
The filly sagged. “I’m sorry…”
“No… no, that was really good.” Twilight patted her on the shoulder with a grin. “I didn’t think you’d last that long.”
Keen looked up at her with a questioning frown. “That long?”
Her beaming teacher nodded. “It was an endurance test. I just wanted to see how long you would go before the hornguard kicked in.”
Keen blinked, her eyes going cross as she examined her horn. “Hornguard?”
“Hornguard.” Twilight reached up to press a hoof down on the spot between Keen’s eyes just below the horn. The filly realized it was right where the tight feeling had been just before she’d stopped. “It’s something foal unicorns have until they hit a certain age. It protects you from using more magic than your body can handle.”
“Oh.” Keen reached up to rub her horn thoughtfully. “So you knew I wouldn’t be able to do it?”
“You might have been able to, but yes.” Twilight’s smile was encouraging. “You did well, Keen. You’ve got a lot of potential.”
Keen offered a weak smile, but couldn’t hold it. She eyed the glass out of the corner of her eye and pouted. “But I really wanted to get it right…”
“Hey, cheer up.” Spike went to the stool. “I bet you’ll figure out how to use the spell in no time!”
“Hold on, Spike.” Twilight dropped to her belly and considered the filly. “Leave the glass, I’d like to try something. Keen?”
The tiny unicorn shifted. “Yes?”
“I want you to use your magic and focus all your attention on my horn.”
She blinked, looking up at the mare’s horn with a slight tilt of her head. “Why?”
Twilight just smiled, aimed her horn at the glass and waited.
Keen frowned as she wondered what was going to happen. Still, if Twilight said so… she peered at the purple horn and began to work her magic again. Twilight’s horn began to glow a soft blue… but nothing was happening. What was this for?
Then her eyes widened: she could feel something. Not just feel it, she could see it. Tiny ripples of air made the aura sway and vibrate. She examined those slow motions, knowing that she was seeing magic. Not like most ponies saw magic, or even most unicorns; this was the unseen workings of a horn, the imperceptible weaving of a spell that she had always felt but never understood. She was mesmerized by the tiny waves, the circles of bright light floating up and down, the lines of dimness that ran along the horn to its tip. It was just like what Keen sensed on her own horn sometimes, only it was on Twilight’s instead.
The movement stilled.
“It’s done. You can stop now, Keen.”
The filly blinked and shook her head, the glow of her horn fading. She looked up at her teacher with wide eyes. “What was that?”
Twilight grinned and nodded towards the stool. Keen turned and felt her jaw go slack; the water was blue. “What?”
“And now…” Twilight focused, and a second later the water was clear again. “You try.”
Keen looked up at her teacher, then eyed her own horn. Understanding dawned upon her with a small, happy gasp. She turned to face the glass, aimed her horn and focused. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what she’d seen and felt.
The magic began to form. Keen struggled to work it, to make it do what she wanted, to make the magic intensify in certain ways, grow weak in others. It was a very organized spell, yet it was much easier than just pointing and trying to force the magic to work.
The filly tensed, her attention pushed to its limit as she tried to weave so many magical elements together. It was getting harder… but if she could just…
She let out a small gasp as, at last, she thought she had it. She sat and sucked in a deep breath… and opened her eyes.
The water was pink.
Keen stare at the glass, blinked a few times. “Why is it…” She looked up at Twilight with a confused frown.
The mare was watching her with a proud smile. “Keen, that’s wonderful. I can’t believe you did it on the first try!”
Spike lifted the glass to display it like a trophy. “Your first spell above the beginner level!”
Keen didn’t know whether to smile or frown, and her mouth ended up twisted in a strange mix of both. “But… it didn’t turn blue.”
“That’s because you didn’t get the spell quite right,” Twilight admitted, though she didn’t lose her beaming expression. “But you were so close you were still able to pull off a color. That’s really, really good for a filly your age.” She shifted, closed her eyes and shook for a moment as if trying to control herself… and suddenly engulfed Keen in a hug. “Oh, I am going to have so much fun teaching you!”
Keen tensed for just a moment… then giggled and returned the hug. “I’m having fun learning, too!”
“You are a gem, Keen.” Twilight rubbed cheeks with the filly before setting her on the floor. “I can’t wait to tell Princess Celestia, I bet she’ll be just as thrilled as I am.”
The filly blinked. “You… wrote to the princess about me?”
“Of course! I had to let her know. Maybe you’ll even get to meet her someday.”
Keen shrank a little, not sure if she liked that idea. “Well… I suppose…”
There came a knock on the door.
“I’ve got it.” Spike went running out of the room.
Keen felt that familiar anxiousness as she turned to see who the visitor was. Part of her wanted to run and hide, but she locked her knees and fought down the urge. Everypony was always encouraging her to be brave, so she would try. She still lowered to a flight-ready pose, though, her tiny heart fluttering at the possibilities that inevitably drifted through her mind.
Would she ever not be afraid?
Her nervousness faded in an instant as Upper Crust trotted into the library. The mare was grinning from ear to ear, and at the sight of Keen she waved. “I’m not interrupting a lesson, am I?”
“That’s okay,” Twilight replied as Keen went to hug Upper Crust. “We were about to take a short break, anyway.”
“Glad to hear it.” Upper Crust dropped to her belly and held Keen close. “It is so very good to see you, little lady.”
“I’m glad to see you, too.”
Keen was always happy to see her.
Spike appeared from behind Upper Crust, smiling at the sight of their hug. “So how’s the new job going?”
“Wonderfully!” Upper Crust stood and turned her attention on Twilight. “That’s actually why I’m here. Me and Jimmy will be headed for Hoofington in a couple days, and his plans require some environmental knowledge. I don’t suppose you have any books regarding geology, weather history, things like that?”
Twilight rubbed her chin, eyes going up to the ceiling. “Hmm… that’s rather specific. I’ll have to do some digging.”
“I think I saw some books about that area of Equestria during our last sorting day,” Spike noted. “Dunno if it’ll have what you’re looking for.”
“Alright.” Twilight turned to Keen with an apologetic smile. “Why don’t you do some light reading while we help Upper Crust?”
Keen was about to respond, but paused as she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see Upper Crust, who wore a proud expression. “Actually, if you don’t mind… I have something to say to Keen. Something personal. I was hoping I’d catch you during a lesson, to be honest.”
“Oh.” Twilight tilted her head with an uncertain smile. “Well, okay. I guess you can join us in the back when you’re done.”
“It’ll probably take a few minutes to find something, anyway,” Spike added, leading the way to a side door.
Keen frowned as they left, then looked up at Upper Crust. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Mm-hmm.” The unicorn dropped down to engulf the filly in another hug, this one much tighter.
Keen set her chin to the adult’s shoulder, at once both pleased and uncertain. “Umm… what’s going on?”
“I wanted you to know that you are the most wonderful filly in all of Equestria.”
Keen giggled as the beaming Upper Crust bumped muzzles with her before putting her back down. Keen sat and grinned… then tilted her head. “Did I do something?”
Upper Crust nodded. “You most certainly did. Do you remember when you finally found the courage to talk to Green?”
“Yeah…” Keen leaned forward a little, eager to understand why she was being so praised.
“You were very brave that day.” Upper Crust set a hoof over her own heart. “You inspired me to go out and face my own fears. Now I have a job and I’m making friends. I’m contributing, and it makes me feel… important. It’s all thanks to you, Keen. If you hadn’t shown me such bravery, I might have been sad and useless forever.”
“Oh.” Keen couldn’t help smiling. “So you’re not so sad anymore?”
Upper Crust raised her head high. “Not at all. I’m better now than I’ve been in… well, ever! I even found the courage to go to Canterlot again. Speaking of which…” She looked back at her saddlebags, horn glowing a soft green. One of the pouches opened and a small wooden box covered in star-shaped etchings rose from within. Upper Crust turned back to Keen with a smile and displayed the item to the filly.
“A gift.”
Keen blinked, carefully reaching up to take the box. She examined it, turning it about in her hooves studiously. “What is it?”
“An enchanted music box. I got it as a favor from a…” Upper Crust paused, tilting her head as she thought. “Let’s call her a ‘high ranking’ friend.”
“Enchanted?” Keen set her ear to it, not really expecting to hear anything. “What does it do?”
“It’s a dream charm,” the mare explained. “You open it just before bed, and it plays for you. It provides a little protection from nightmares.”
Keen’s ears perked. She looked up at Upper Crust with big, hopeful eyes. “Really? I won’t see the monsters anymore?”
Upper Crust patted her on the head, her expression apologetic. “Not always. My friend said it was a weak charm and won’t stop every nightmare you might have, but you won’t have so many.”
Keen gazed at the box in her hooves, a slow smile forming on her lips. “Thank you. Thank you so much! I’m so tired of bad dreams…”
“You are very welcome.” Upper Crust spread her hooves wide, and Keen moved in for another hug. “It’s my way of thanking you for helping me overcome my own fears.”
Keen sat back and, mind blazing with curiosity, opened the box. The interior was covered in a soft-looking dark velvet. Rising out of the center was a round, white object with shadowy blotches. As she watched there was a small click and a slot opened. A tiny mechanical alicorn, dark blue, rose out of the slot. Guided by little rods, it walked over the surface of the white orb, soon followed by a line of motorized foals as gentle, slow music began to play.
“Aww…” Keen leaning in close to peer at the foals that circled the white surface. “It’s cute.”
Upper Crust giggled. “Isn’t it, though?”
The tiny motorized procession came to an end, the last foal disappearing in another slot on the opposite side of the orb and the music fading to a soft conclusion. Keen grinned and closed the box. “Thank you so much, Miss Crust!”
Upper Crust flinched with a blush. “…just Upper Crust, please.”
Keen giggled. “Yes, ma’am.” She examined the box for a few seconds, a warm feeling in her chest. But then a thought hit her.
“You went back to Canterlot? Does that mean you faced your monsters, too?”
Upper Crust was all smiles in no time. “Indeed. They’re just as frustrating as ever… but at least I can handle them. I even got to spend some time with my friend.”
Keen hesitated, her ears lowering. “The friend who became a monster?” The mare nodded. “Is he still one?”
“Yes.” But Upper Crust’s smile didn’t fade. “I think he’s coming around, though. Maybe in time he won’t be one anymore.”
“Oh.” Keen studied the music box, curious thoughts running through her head. She found herself thinking on the other foals at the orphanage… “Can… Can all monsters go back to being normal?”
The mare, noting how serious she had become, considered the question. “I don’t know. I’m not a ‘monster expert,’ but I think it depends on the kind of monster.”
Keen closed her eyes, shivering as she recalled the blue eyes and the black bodies that were no larger than she was. Just thinking on them brought a sinking feeling to her stomach. She quickly opened the music box to watch as the robotic alicorn and her line of foals traversed the white orb again. She relaxed a little at the soft music… but there was an uncertainty and anger lingering in her mind.
She looked up at Upper Crust, who was watching with a concerned frown. “But some monsters can go back to being normal… right?”
The mare considered her with a hoof to her lips. After a few seconds she knelt down to look the filly in the eye. “Keen… what monsters did you see?”
“Scary ones.” The music ended and Keen set the box down gently. “But I used to live with them. Some were nice to me…” She bowed her head, chewing her lip as she thought on the orphanage. Why was she getting so mad? “Your friend might be a pony again. I wonder if… if they could have, too.”
Upper Crust leaned forward, the concern clear on her face. “Keen, can you tell me about the monsters?”
The filly shook her head forcefully, keeping her head bowed. “I don’t want to think about them. It makes me mad. Why am I so mad?”
With a sigh, Upper Crust lifted Keen in another hug, this time patting the filly on the back. “Listen to me, child. There are many kinds of monsters. Some of them were once ponies, but can come back. Others can’t. A lot of them were never ponies to begin with. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which is which.”
Keen didn’t know how this was supposed to comfort her. She buried her face in Upper Crust’s mane, fighting down the bitterness within her.
“The monsters you saw… I don’t think they were the kind that could go back to being ponies.”
Keen flinched, her grip tightening a little. “B-but they could have…”
“Maybe,” Upper Crust whispered, “but I don’t think so. You’ve got to move on, Keen.”
“I want to.” Keen heaved a deep sigh, a fresh sadness mixing in with her anger. “It’s hard…”
“I know.” The mare held Keen at leg’s length, offering a weak smile. “But I think you’re on your way. You spoke to Green, you met his friends. You’ll be okay, Keen. I know you will.”
Keen bowed her head as she was set back on the ground. “I guess…”
“Hey, Crustie?” Spike was at the door, waving to the two ponies. “You about done? I think we’ve found something.”
Upper Crust’s benevolent gaze switched to frustration in an instant as she glared at the baby dragon. “It’s Upper Crust. Call me that again and I’ll use that spell Twilight taught me to blast you to the Crystal Empire.”
“Okay, okay, sorry.” Spike waved a dismissive claw. “You coming or not?”
“I’ll be right there.” Upper Crust turned back to Keen, her anger fading to concern.
Keen, head low and still filled with that familiar fire, rolled her eyes up to the mare.
After a couple seconds Upper Crust knelt down to nuzzle the filly’s cheek. “You’ll be okay. I promise, Keen. You’re making friends. We’ll help you get through this.”
But as Upper Crust got up to leave, Keen could only sit there and sulk. She didn’t even know why she was so upset, she just knew that she was. Something about all this monster talk, about knowing some monsters could go back to being ponies and the thoughts on the orphanage… it kept the fire burning. Yet for all the things she didn’t know, there was one thing she did know, and it was perhaps the most puzzling of all:
When Lightning had been bucked out of the academy, she’d taken to flying all around Equestria looking for some kind of self-fulfillment. Her journey had taken her a long ways and to many places, but she’d always avoided big cities. New Horseleans, Manehattan, Las Pegasus, Seaddle, she’d circled around every skyscraper skyline that had come to her vision. She never really understood why, but the sight of them made her anxious. Maybe she had feared being recognized. Maybe she had thought there would be nothing there for her. Maybe she didn’t like crowds.
Maybe, deep down, she was just a country pony at heart.
Whatever the reasons, going through Canterlot’s streets had left her feeling strangely uncomfortable. She’d have preferred to have flown straight to the castle courtyard, but for the sake of appearances – and at Fine’s recommendation – she traveled with the others.
Whatever was happening had to be a big deal. Luna had sent word to Fine Crime that her team was about to be put into service; she’d only requested his presence, but they were all there just in case it was a situation that required immediate attention. Still, it wasn’t the fact that she was calling them together for the first time that had Lightning bristling with excitement. No, it was the fact that Celestia had called on Twilight as well; whatever was going down, it required everyone.
The only real catch was that the Element Bearers had no idea that Luna’s team was, in fact, a team, or that Luna’s ponies were to act as support for them. Twilight was the exception, having been told by Fine a week or so ago. Now the news was out, and it left everypony feeling rather awkward.
So when they at last reached the castle courtyard and Fine and Twilight had gone inside to get their orders, the two groups of ponies found themselves having a rather odd conversation.
Rainbow Dash got them started, setting her sights directly on her colt-friend.
“So let’s see if I have this right.” She waved a hoof at Luna’s ponies. “You and these guys are all supposed to help us in whatever Princess Celestia wants us to do?”
Nye seemed a little less pleased than one would expect about having her in his face like that. “Something like that. I know it sounds… off, but it’s true.”
Applejack’s eye was roaming Luna’s team with a peering gaze. “No offense ta any o’ y’all, but Ah’m not sure about that idea.”
Jimmy shrugged his big shoulders nonchalantly. “Hey, we find it unlikely too.”
Lightning didn’t know why, but that statement made her bristle.
Octavia was the only one of Luna’s ponies who showed confidence in the situation at hoof. “We are here at Princess Luna’s request. She would not ask for us to assist you if it were not necessary.”
Rarity – whose presence made Lightning just a little nervous – offered them all a warm smile. “Well I think this is a good thing.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie leapt between the two groups of ponies, a squadron of balloons launching from her hooves and making Lightning jump. “More friends means more fun!”
Pretty much everypony present rolled their eyes at Pinkie’s giggling. Applejack pulled the pony aside so that Rarity could finish making her point.
“Ahem, yes, of course.” Rarity flicked her mane with an amused smile aimed at the party pony. “What I meant was… there’s surely strength in numbers, and is it not better to have the extra help?”
“I agree.” Upper Crust shuffled her hooves and glanced at the castle doors. “Still, what’s so big that they have to call all of us here?”
“Oh, maybe they wanna throw a big party!” Pinkie bounced back in the center before Applejack could catch her. “And I bet they want us to set it up! Oh oh oh, I’ll make the cake!”
Applejack let out a good-natured sigh and pulled her back once more. “I don’t think we’re here for a party, sugarcube.”
“Yeah.” Lightning rubbed her hooves together with a grin. “I’m hoping for some kind of adventure!” It would be a nice change of pace.
Fluttershy winced and half-hid her face behind her mane. “I hope it’s not too dangerous…”
Jimmy bumped Lightning with an elbow, an amused smile on his lips. “Aren’t you supposed to be looking after Keen?”
Lightning winced; her mind had been running circles around that particular issue all day. But for now… “Nah, I got Airheart looking after her today.” She got her revenge with a poke in the ribs that made him jump. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
He cringed as if physically hurt. “Don’t remind me. I’m going to be a whole day behind because of this, and probably longer.”
Just then, the great doors to the castle opened wide. Twilight and Fine walked out, side by side and sharing expressions of mutual determination.
Rainbow and Lightning launched as one to hover over their respective ‘leaders.’
“So?” Rainbow waved her hooves. “What did the princess want?”
“Yeah, what’s the mission?” Lightning struggled not to imitate Rainbow’s motions – sometimes the similarities between them were downright disturbing.
Twilight and Fine shared a focused glance before gesturing for their respective teams to form a group.
Fine was the first to speak. “I’m afraid we have a very long-distance job ahead of us.”
Nye snickered and waved dismissively. “Oh come off it, I’ve traveled all across Equestria. Can’t be that bad.”
Fine raised an eyebrow with a bemused frown. “Ever been to Nildia?”
Nye promptly choked on his own words. “Nildia? That’s on the other side of the world!”
Lightning’s jaw dropped at the destination. Traveling around Equestria was one thing, but an international job? She eyed the others and saw that they too had lost a lot of their confidence.
All but one.
“I’ve been there,” Octavia said. She took a step back as all eyes rapidly turned on her.
“You?” Rainbow moved in to hover over her shoulder. “Why would you go all the way to Nildia?”
“My mother’s from there.” To her credit, she withstood the mass of gawking faces really well in Lightning’s opinion. Octavia turned her steady eyes back to Fine and Twilight. “But why go there?”
It was at this point that Lightning’s attention shifted, not because she wasn’t interested but because a serious concern had come to mind: what about Keen? She didn’t want to saddle Airheart with her for however long it would take to see this job through. When she’d heard they were all being called in, Lightning had anticipated being gone for two or three days. This could take weeks!
Lightning found herself in a trying position. Luna would undoubtedly expect her to go as ordered, but she couldn’t bring Keen on some international adventure… could she?
Twilight clapped her hooves, re-attaining Lightning's attention. “The point is, these disasters are happening too often and too regularly to just be an unusual oceanic phenomenon.”
Everypony shared questioning looks, leading Octavia to emit a long sigh. “The disasters can’t be normal weather.”
Disasters? Suddenly Lightning regretting phasing out. Hoping to hide her ignorance, she asked, “Then what is it?”
Twilight raised her head high. “That’s what we’re supposed to find out.” A second passed, after which she tilted her head with a lopsided smile. “I… have no idea how we’re going to do that.”
Great, talk about a boost of confidence.
Another thought hit Lightning’s mind as the discussion went on; what if this proved dangerous? Like, really dangerous? Lightning wasn’t afraid of a little trouble – she’d proven that countless times, usually to regret it later. But what if she went on this little adventure and didn’t come back?
She shook her head with a sneer; if that was such a big concern, why did she even agree to be on the team? The risks were there, she would just have to deal with it. She was not going to back out now. If she was ever going to have a chance at becoming a hero—
“Discord?”
Lightning winced at the combined shouts of her fellows.
“Yes, Discord.” Twilight rubbed her ears with a glower. “He’s already in Nildia looking into the problem. The team will meet him there.”
“The team?” Jimmy asked, “You mean we aren’t all going?”
Lightning’s ears perked.
“No,” Fine answered. “Half of us will go to Nildia. The rest will stay in Ponyville, as a precaution in case anything else comes up.”
That changed things. Maybe Lightning wouldn’t be going. Or, if she did, at least she had a good chance of Fluttershy and Octavia staying behind to watch after Keen. That wasn’t so bad, was it?
“So right now we need to decide who’s going.”
Lightning cringed and forced herself to pay attention.
“Well, it’s a given that Twilight an’ Fine are going,” Applejack said.
Lightning thought she heard a small gasp from Fine’s throat. He reared back and waved his hooves in fervent denial. “Me? No way! Not a chance in hell you’re getting me over the open ocean.”
They all shared curious glances, but Twilight was quick to speak up. “I’ve already volunteered to lead the Nildia team. Fine will stay behind to lead the others. I need two Element Bearers and three others.”
Rainbow stuck out her chest with a smarmy grin. “I’ll go. You’ll need an ace flier.”
Lightning shot the pony a scowl; what made Rainbow think she deserved to take that role over her? Lightning’s blood boiled and it was all she could do to hold her tongue.
Applejack stepped forward with a confident smile. “Ain't no apples ta buck this time of year, so Ah can spare the time. Ah volunteer.”
Aha, that meant Fluttershy would stay in Ponyville! Lightning saw her window and took it: “If Rainbow’s going, so am I.” She shot a threatening glance Rainbow’s way and silently dared her to object.
She didn’t get the chance.
“No, LD,” Fine Crime said. “I want you here.”
“What?” Lightning launched to glare down at him. She caught Rainbow’s solemn glance out of the corner of her eye and had to fight down a snarl. “But they might need me over there! You can’t accept—”
Fine hit her with a piercing, heavy-lidded gaze that – to her shame and frustration – actually managed to stop her words in their tracks.
“There’s no need for two ace fliers, and I’d like one of you to remain in Ponyville. Rainbow called it, Lightning.”
Lightning raised a hoof towards him, her lips working for some kind of argument. “But I… I mean…” Damn him, did he have to have an answer for everything? She wanted to lash out so badly… but she couldn’t do it.
She found herself thinking of her recent breakdown in front of Airheart. Why was that pony’s concerned face suddenly stuck in her head?
…because she’d been about to rush into things again.
She let out a self-directed growl and dropped to the grass on her haunches. She turned away from them, crossed her hooves and slouched. She knew she was sulking. She knew it looked foalish.
At the moment, she didn’t care.
Lightning had her hoof to her cheek as she stared out the train window. Trees and the occasional house flitted by in the night, but the scenery did nothing to assuage the venom in her heart.
Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Jimmy, Octavia and Upper Crust. That was the Nildia team. She couldn’t stand the fact that she wasn’t on that list.
Worse were the ponies not going. Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie? Easily the three most useless of the Element Bearers; Lightning's respect for Fluttershy didn't change the fact. Fine was capable – that Lightning had a scar instead of a tombstone was enough to make that clear – but then there was Nye.
For the most part, Lightning felt as if all the worthless ponies were being left behind… and that included her. It was infuriating to think that Rainbow was getting to go on some awesome adventure and she was stuck here with the equivalent of foal-sitting the wimps. She knew she was letting her competitive side get the better of her, but damn it, why was she even on this team if she wasn’t going to be useful?
“What’s the matter, Dustie?”
Lightning blinked. Her eyes refocused on the reflection in the window to reveal Pinkie Pie standing in the aisle behind her.
Lightning pouted and didn’t turn to the pony. “Nothin’. Just thinking.”
“About what?”
She grimaced; clearly Pinkie wasn’t one to take a hint. Lightning didn’t know much about her, in truth. She’d seen her around town and on the occasional trip with Keen to Sugarcube Corner, but actually knowing anything about Pinkie? Lightning was clueless.
“Oh, come on.” Pinkie bounced in close and wrapped a hoof about Lightning’s shoulder. “Turn that frown upside down!”
Lightning was in no mood for this; she opened her wing with a jerk that knocked Pinkie onto her back. “Leave me alone, Pinkie.”
To her intense frustration, Pinkie only giggled and literally bounced back to her hooves. “Well, look at you, Miss Grumpy McGrumpypants. You’re not all upset because you’re not going to Nildia, are you?”
Lightning let out a snarl and glared at the pony’s reflection.
Pinkie hopped into the seat next to Lightning with another of those insufferable giggles. “Look on the bright side: you get to stay in Ponyville with all your friends. We might even have a party! You can come and bring Keen and we’ll play games and eat lots of cake and do the Gummy shake!”
Lightning finally turned to peer with one eye at the pony, who was somehow managing to wiggle her entire body in what Lightning could only assume was the so-called ‘Gummy shake’ despite still being firmly planted in her seat.
“Why won’t you leave me alone to brood?”
Pinkie pressed a hoof to Lightning’s chest and raised her head high. “Because you’re all frowny downy, and I refuse to let that stand. It is Pinkie’s personal mission to ensure there are no sad faces on the Party Train!”
Lightning glanced around with a bemused frown, mildly wondering what qualified this as the ‘party train.’ “You’ve got your work cut out for you, then.”
“Don’t you worry, Dustie.” Pinkie patted Lightning on the head with a grin. “If I can get a Cranky Doodle Donkey to smile, I can get anypony to smile!”
Lightning knocked the hoof away with a snarl. “I make this Cranky whoever look like a foal in comparison. I don’t wanna smile, I wanna go to Nildia.”
Pinkie’s head tilted a little too far to the side to be natural. “So what’s stopping you?”
Lightning blinked. “What?”
“What’s stopping you?” Pinkie waved her hoof at the window as if it were some faraway destination. “If you want to go, just go. More ponies means more fun.”
Go? Just like that? Lightning wasn’t so sure about that idea, but when she thought about it…
She eyed Pinkie with a raised eyebrow. “If that’s what you think, why don’t you go?”
“Well, duh.” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Going to Nildia sounds super fantastic fun, but if I go to Nildia then there will be no party ponies in Ponyville and that means there will be no parties to be put on by a super party pony which means less smiles for everypony and happiness all over Ponyville will drop to an all-time low which means things like cupcakes and streamers and firecrackers and baked goodies and horseshoes won’t be made so ponies will have to go without horseshoes which will make travel around Equestria really hard so then some super-important message for Princess Celestia will show up late and she won’t have time to fix some super-crazy terrible problem and then all of Equestria will be in an uproar and she and Princess Luna will have to go into hiding in shame and Equestria will fall into chaos or a new dark age or worse and it will be all my fault!”
Lightning was on her back, eyes wide as she stared up at a huffing and puffing Pinkie who stood on top of her and had her muzzle right in her face.
“Umm… okay then, I guess you better stay.”
“Right-O, Dustie!” Pinkie was back in the aisle, offering a salute with a large grin. “For the future of Equestria!”
She bounced off, singing an unfamiliar ditty.
Lightning sat up very slowly, glanced about the train. Nopony seemed to be paying her any attention. Shoulders sagging, she set a hoof to her chest emitted a long sigh.
“Oh, by the way.”
Lightning cried out and pressed her back against the seat at the sight of Pinkie hanging upside down from the luggage compartment over her head.
Pinkie pointed a hoof towards the back of the train. “You might wanna go tell Twilight and the others that you’re coming. They’re forming plans for the Nildia trip right now.”
“Um… okay?”
Pinkie, her fringe somehow managing to dangle over her eyes despite her inverted position, tilted her head and studied Lightning with surprisingly intense focus. Lightning only stared back, wondering why nopony was giving Pinkie strange looks.
Pinkie's hoof reached forward to flick Lightning’s lips, though her expression never lost its seriousness.
“You will be happy before the Nildia thing is over. Pinkie Pie guarantees it.”
Lightning rubbed her lips with crossed eyes, then raised an eyebrow at her odd companion. “And what makes you think—”
A pink hoof was pressed against her lips. Pinkie’s upper body turned about in a way that made Lightning wonder if she had any bones. The party pony’s head slowly rotated back and forth, her eyes piercing and a strange ping, ping, ping sound coming from… somewhere. Her head locked on a particular direction and the noise went from ping, ping, ping to pingpingpingping.
“There’s cake in the dining car!” Pinkie’s big eyes filled Lightning’s vision. “Hurry before it’s all eaten!”
She disappeared back into the luggage compartment, the door closing over her with a slam.
Lightning stared at the compartment over her head for several long seconds, eyes unblinking. After a while, she slowly scooted out from beneath it and stepped backward into the aisle.
That was enough Pinkie Pie for one day.
Yet even as Lightning walked towards the back of the train, she realized that Pinkie was right: if she really wanted to go to Nildia, who were they to stop her? And she did want to go. She really, really wanted to go. This was supposed to be an opportunity to prove herself, to get her name out there, to be a hero, and they were going to make her linger in the background?
Buck that.
As she walked through the train, Lightning’s determination steadily grew. How dare they make her a benchwarmer? Worse, a benchwarmer for Rainbow Dash. Lightning knew she shouldn’t rush in like she always did, but the question was back in her mind: why bother asking her to be on the team if she wasn’t going to do anything? Fine Crime knew she had goals and dreams, he of all ponies should know better than to try and deny that to her.
She refused to remain in second place forever. She would go on this adventure, she would make a name for herself, she would make Keen proud. Yes… and she could even impress the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy and Airheart could watch over Keen for two weeks, it wouldn’t be a big deal. There was no reason for her not to go.
Before Lightning knew it, she was at the last car. This had to be where Twilight and the others were. Setting her jaw and slapping her cheeks for the extra jolt, she slid the door open and stepped inside.
Fine, Twilight and Octavia were sitting close together, their heads coming up as one at the sound of her arrival. Lightning was surprised to note Fluttershy sitting not far from Fine, though she didn’t seem to be part of the conversation.
Twilight offered a pleasant smile. “Hey, Lightning, come on in. We were just trying to figure out who’d be doing what on the foreign team.”
Lightning nodded politely to her, having no grudge whatsoever against Twilight. She’d been planning to address her, but her eyes locked on Fine and her blood began to boil.
He was the one who’d put her down. He was the one she would address.
“We need to talk.”
Fine’s lips tightened in a terse frown. “I figured as much.”
He glanced to Twilight, who nodded and stood.
“Come on, girls, let’s go talk to Jimmy about what he’ll be doing.”
Lightning stepped aside so that the others could leave, her eyes locked on those of Fine. He leaned back in his seat and crossed his hooves, not once averting his gaze.
She spoke up the instant the door was closed. “I want to go to Nildia.”
Fine nodded. “I know, but I don’t think you should.”
His confident manner had her blood boiling again. Lightning lifted off to hover over him at close range. Part of it was to let off steam, but she also wanted to show her determination.
“Why? What makes you think Rainbow would be any better than me? I need to show that I can do this!”
Fine raised an eyebrow. “It’s not about who’s the better flier, LD.”
A snarl escaped her lips; how could he lie about it so easily? “Like hell it isn’t! This is because she’s a Wonderbolt, isn’t it?”
He heaved a sigh and rubbed his forehead. “You really think Twilight and I would make the decision based just on that?”
She flung her hooves high. “What other reason is there?”
Fine’s lips tightened once more and, before she had a chance to lower her hooves, he stood up and poked her under her left wing. Hard.
It was like being run through with a red hot poker. Lightning’s wing and legs on that side froze up. She let out a cry and dropped to the floor with a thump, clutching at the scar with trembling hooves.
Very suddenly, she hated him more than even Rainbow Dash.
Fine’s voice was soft and apologetic. “The muscle’s never going to be the same. The doctor said if you try to fly to the best of your previous ability it would break apart again.”
Goddess damn that pony, he really did have an answer for everything. Lightning glared up at him through her fringe, her jaw set as the pain slowly subsided. “It’s my risk to take, Fine.” At last she was able to climb to her hooves.
His lips curled back in a sneer. “Lightning, I’m trying to help you! You’ve got to stop this tough act and face reality. If you overwork yourself and the muscle breaks, there’s no guarantee it will be able to heal again, and that muscle isn’t just for your wing. You could spend the rest of your life in a damn wheelchair!”
“I know!” The burning subsided and she was finally able to give him the full effect of her glare. “You think I don’t? But I can still fly, and fly well. Just let me—”
“Stop competing with Rainbow Dash!”
His words made her pause, lips open mid-word. Was that what he thought this was? Then it hit her, with painful clarity, that he was exactly right.
Fine studied her with all the firmness of an officer commanding a soldier.
“I know you want to prove your worth to this team and yourself, but that’s not the way to do it. You just can’t match her anymore, Lightning. I’m very sorry to say it, but you can’t.”
Lightning bristled, but her frustration had less to do with what he’d said and more to do with the harsh truth in it. The bastard was right, and the thought left a sick sensation in her stomach, but she forced it down through the brute force of her anger.
Even if she couldn’t best Rainbow, there were plenty of other reasons to go: her glory, her pride, her chance to be a somepony. Yes, she was trying to prove herself, and she wasn’t going to let him stop her.
“I still want to go.”
Fine made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan, his head falling low in an exaggerated fashion and his shoulders slumping. His eyes rolled up to stare at her for several long seconds. She matched it with her own focused glare.
At last he sat up straight. “This isn’t the military, Lightning. If you really want to go, I can’t stop you.”
Lightning blinked, not sure she’d heard that correctly. He was giving in? She’d actually won one?
It took everything she had not to puff out her chest and strut. Instead, she merely offered a haughty sniff of acceptance and turned for the door; she would gloat once she was certain this wasn’t a trick of some sort.
“…but hear me out.”
There it was, the ‘but.’ Cringing, she worked to ignore him; she wasn’t going to give him any opportunities to take it back. She reached door and began to slide it open—
—it slammed closed. Suddenly Fine was between her and the door. He locked her with a firm glare that had her biting down the words that had been forming on her lips.
“No, Lightning, you need to hear me out. Now sit.”
Lightning shook her head in an attempt to throw off her hesitation, then shot him a glare of her own. “Or you’ll what?”
His piercing gaze didn’t budge. “I won’t do a thing. I won’t have to. There’s a thing called social services, Lightning.”
Lightning was thrown entirely off by this statement, and her anger rapidly faded as she tried to make sense of it. “Social services? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Keen,” he snapped. “If you care about her at all, you will sit and listen to what I have to say.” He thrust a hoof at the closest seat.
Her eyes went wide as she realized what he meant; a lifetime living in an orphanage had made her well aware of the process. “Are… are you saying you’d…”
Fine grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, albeit gently. “I’m not the one you have to worry about! You’re the one who will be doing the damage.”
“Me?” Lightning tilted her head, her brain fumbling for some kind of response. “Why would I hurt Keen?”
He peered at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be raising her? Isn’t that what you decided to do?”
Her cheeks went red; there it was again, that stupid question. She sat and averted her eyes as she thought on her Little Bolt. She was probably snuggled up in bed right now. Just the image in her head made her heart rise a little. “Well… yeah…”
She blinked; that was the first time she’d properly admitted it, to herself or out loud.
It felt… good.
Now that he had her full attention, Fine stepped past her and sat in one of the booths. He gestured, and though she feared the results Lightning found herself sitting opposite him.
His gaze wasn’t so harsh anymore. On the contrary, his expression had softened considerably. “Think about it, LD. Going off on adventures every time one comes up? When will you take the time to raise her? You have to stay in Ponyville for her.”
Lightning shifted in the seat, unable to meet his eyes. She knew it was true, that she needed to be around for Keen as much as possible. The issue was in her face all over again; what about her own goals? Were they to be sacrificed for Keen? Her conversation with Rainbow came back to her in full force: Keen was her future. She knew it to be true, she knew the best thing for Keen would be to follow Fine’s advice and stay.
But that stubborn voice in the back of her head, the one longing for glory and teeming with pride, refused to shut up.
“I… well… Fluttershy can…”
Fine shook his head. “You haven’t even legally adopted her yet, have you?”
Lightning’s cheeks burned, her stomach twisted. She felt so… stupid. “I’m… not really sure what to do…” All those years as an orphan, and still she didn’t know something like that. Nopony had ever wanted to adopt her.
Looking back, she wasn’t sure she could blame them.
Fine leaned close, his motion catching her attention. She found herself looking into his rosewood eyes and feeling… trapped.
“What you need to do is be there for her. Keen needs you, Lightning. Not Fluttershy, not Twilight or Octavia. You. You believed her story of monsters, you rescued her from being turned into a changeling, you protected her when nopony else could, you took her under your wing and brought her to Ponyville.”
Did Keen need her? Did Keen even want to be with her? There were specifics Fine couldn’t possibly know, things about her relationship with Keen… and yet, at the same time she had this odd sensation that Fine knew the big picture better than she did.
She sagged and bowed her head. “Since when do you know anything about foals?”
“I don’t.” He sat back, perhaps to give her space. “But I know this: you need to make Keen the most important thing in your life, and you need to do it now. If you don’t and you mess this up, they’re going to take Keen away from you and she’ll end up in another orphanage.”
Another knife in the gut. Here he was, telling her exactly what Rainbow had said. Had she really not learned her lesson the first time? Yet somehow, hearing it from him – the pony who had been there, who had witnessed the terror, who had saved her and Keen from certain death – had a wholly different effect on her. Rainbow had scared her… but Fine’s words left her feeling like she was back in Foal Mountains, staring at all those wicked blue eyes and listening to the taunting laughter of creatures that had once been her precious, precious little friends.
Her words slipped out in a shaky whisper. “They can’t. Keen… she… she’d never survive. She still has nightmares.” Lightning stared at her shaking hooves. Her vision blurred as her eyes turned moist. “She still wants to sleep with me, so that when she wakes up in tears she can snuggle up to me and… and…”
His touch to her hoof was like a jolt of electricity coursing through her, making her head jerk up. Once again she found herself caught in those concerned eyes.
“I understand,” he whispered, “and so do you. You need to make a decision, LD: your glory or Keen.”
Just like what Rainbow had said, yet so much more powerful. Lightning closed her eyes and envisioned her little filly trembling under the covers, surrounded by foals who weren’t what they seemed. What had she been thinking? She was already on thin ice; if she messed up again, Keen would go back to one of those places.
Gallivanting off on some adventure in Nildia and leaving Keen to be cared for by foalsitters at a time like this?
She’d lose her for sure.
Lightning buried her face in her hooves. She felt so… weak.
“…alright, Fine. Alright, you win. I’ll… I’ll stay…”
It was well past midnight in Ponyville. Lightning was hovering just outside the cloud home of Airheart, shivering in the winter air. Her heart was heavy, thumping against her chest in a slow, quiet rhythm. She wondered what it would look like if anypony saw her… but when it came down to it, she was in no mood to care.
Slowly, she drifted up to the cloud structure. She had no intention of waking Airheart or Keen, but there was a deep urgency pushing her on. She gazed into the dark rooms, moving from window to window. After a few tries she at last found what she was looking for.
Keen was curled up on a bed, her long legs kicking restlessly as she suffered yet another nightmare. Lightning pressed her muzzle and hooves to the glass… and just stared. The softness of the filly’s face, the faint tears on her cheeks, the twitchy jerk of her legs. The sight had Lightning’s chest growing tight, her heart pounding and her throat constricting. She was almost desperate to slip in there and hold her precious Little Bolt close, to comfort her and let her know everything was alright.
She’d never felt such a strong, instinctual need to protect Keen like this. To know she was right there, that all Lightning had to do was punch her way through the dense cloud walls... it was almost unbearable. Her kid, her charge, was still in this state, and she’d actually considered abandoning her for two weeks to go off on some adventure.
What kind of guardian was she?
Keen’s movements slowed, her kicks ceased. The filly shifted and rolled to her side, her breathing normalizing as she came out of the nightmare. Lightning heaved a deep sigh of relief and forced herself to pull away from the window. Yet she lingered to stare at the delicate little white face, her heart filled with longing.
A chill breeze knocked her from her reverie. How long had she been out there?
She pressed her hoof against the window one last time and turned away. She flew slowly through the night sky, her eyes on the stars. She was suddenly glad that Luna wasn’t requiring all her ponies to go on this trip. Maybe she’d known all along. Maybe Fine had arranged things this way through her.
She didn’t know if such ideas were true, but if they were then she was very grateful.
To think she’d almost thrown this gift away.
Lightning landed before her small home, her wings fluffing against the winter air. She pushed open the door and stood in the threshold, her eyes slowly roaming the bare walls and sparse furniture. The place felt so… empty. She remained there for a few seconds, battling against the urge to fly back to Airheart’s and gaze upon Keen once more.
She sighed in resignation; she needed to go to bed. Maybe if she fell asleep quickly she could see Keen even sooner. Encouraged by this idea, she moved forward… and stepped on something.
She lifted her leg to find a letter on the ground. Realizing she’d not checked the mail today in all the excitement, she picked it up and carried it to the small kitchen table. Normally she’d have ignored the bills till morning…
…but then she realized that she’d just paid the rent last week. Her curiosity overcoming her weariness, she lifted the lone letter and flipped it over. Her eyes went wide; it had the insignia of the Wonderbolts.
She ripped open the letter and poured over its contents.
Lightning Dust,
I’m no good with writing, so I’ll try to keep this brief.
Its no secret that you were pissed when I expelled you from the academy almost two years ago. I was unimpressed by you’re attitude, less so by more so by how you didn’t understand your flaws. Your arigenceairog arrogance was going to get ponies killed and it was clear you weren’t Wonderbolt material at the time.
But were you did impress me was in your flying skills. I won’t lie, Lightning: your amazing. I was in a slump for a month when I realized I was losing such an awesome flyer. So when I heard rumors that you were showing improvement, I paid attention. It’s a shame about your wing, but if Soarin’s anypony to trust (and that guys honest to a fault) then it wasn’t enough to hinder your skill.
I’ve been keeping tabs, Lightning. I gather it’s been rough, but I’m also seeing how you’re growing. There may be a Wonderbolt in you yet.
I incurencorra encourage you to come to the academy next month. I want to see what you can do with that bum wings of yours. We have the best aveaaeveavi wing doctors in Equestria, maybe they can help you out. Come on over, show me your moves, stay a few days. If you really have mellowed out, there might be some bright things for you’re future. As Captain of the Wonderbolts I can’t sponsor you, but impress me and I might be willing to pull a string or two.
Spitfire
PS – Told you I was no good at writing.
Lightning stared at the letter. She read it again. And again. A personal letter directly from Spitfire herself. Not even dictated – personal.
This was everything she’d been hoping for over the past few months, and it had come much faster than she’d expected. Rainbow must have been sharing more stories than she’d let on, it was the only explanation. That, or Spitfire was just that eager to get Lightning back.
Lightning fell to her haunches, hardly noticing that her wings were flared. She read the letter one more time, just in case. She slowly looked up to the ceiling, her vision swimming with images of the crowds, the races, of flying with the best! It was glorious, it was magnificent, it was… it was…
…nothing like she’d hoped.
Why was there this sinking feeling in her gut?
Why did she feel like crying?
Why was she suddenly seeing Keen kicking and whimpering in her bed?
She stared at the letter in her hooves, her entire body slumped. Here was a lifetime of dreams being answered. It felt more like a curse. If she went to the academy, if Spitfire was impressed… if she became a Wonderbolt, what kind of life would she lead? This wasn’t the reserves, this was the real deal. She thought on Rainbow Dash, how she was always heading off to some event or another. True, she was in Ponyville most of the time, but…
…but that was by choice. Rainbow rejected more than half the offers she earned, not because she wasn’t interested but because she chose her other responsibilities over being a Wonderbolt. Rainbow was captain of the weather team. More than that, she bore the Element of Loyalty; she had powerful commitments to her friends and even to Celestia to stay close in case she was needed, and Lightning knew she took those commitments very seriously.
Lightning, on the other hoof…
Did she have the willpower to stay in Ponyville? If faced with her dreams of glory, would she be willing to set them aside for her responsibilities to Keen? Or would she take up every offer, go flying all over Equestria for weeks on end and bask in the fame that came with the title of Wonderbolt?
It wasn’t hard to know the answer. Just look at how eager she’d been to fly off to Nildia…
Lightning was faced with the cold realization that in this way she was nothing like Rainbow. It hurt to think that she was so much better than Lightning in this regard, but it wasn’t a hurt spurred on by anger or jealousy or bitterness.
This was the hurt of a decision that needed to be made.
Right now.
Slowly, Lightning made her way through the hall and into Keen’s room. She sat next to the bed and stared at that spot by the window, the place where she knew Keen liked to sleep. She could just see the filly curled up in her little ball, shaking like a leaf as the nightmares took over. She could see those hopeful blue eyes begging for help, for protection, for… for understanding.
Lightning closed her eyes and saw Keen doing so many wonderful things: beaming as Twilight praised her magical aptitude; applauding Nye’s bottle juggling; napping in her little ball on top of a bear’s voluminous belly at Fluttershy’s; laughing as Pinkie goofed off with her at Sugarcube Corner; reading quietly at Octavia’s. Her face, her smile, her eyes, her laugh. Keen consumed Lightning’s mind like a gentle flame, bringing tears to her eyes and a smile to her lips.
She opened her eyes and looked at the letter in her hooves. Her tears left small drops on the parchment. She could hear the cheers of the crowd, cheers she’d dreamed of her entire life, cheers that had kept her going for so long.
Lightning’s hooves trembled. Her moist eyes flicked between the bed and the letter over and over again. That beautiful, wonderful little filly… or her glorious cheers.
Her breath came in a slow, heavy rhythm. Her trembling hooves moved up to grip the top of the letter.
She closed her eyes tight.
She bit her lip so much it hurt.
Her legs trembled in resistance.
She heard the rip.
It was like a knife to the heart.
Another rip, and another, each one twisting the blade a little more.
When at last Lightning opened her eyes, she found the floor littered with pieces of paper. She made no attempt to wipe her cheeks clean. She merely stood there, staring down at her horrible deed and knowing that there was no going back.
She crawled onto the bed, buried her face in the covers and sobbed. With every passing second, the cheers faded a little more. She wanted to reach out to that audience, to call them back, to beg them not to go away. She resisted it with all her might… and before long they were gone. No more glory, no more fame.
No more Wonderbolts.
Gradually, her mind began to redirect on its own. Her sobs lessened to mere sniffs, the pain began to subside. Her hooves reached out to grab the pillow, clutching it close to her chest. It was so soft… soft like her precious Little Bolt. She curled around it and let her brain run away with that idea.
The silence was overcome by something new, something happy: laughter. She could hear Keen’s soft voice in her head… and it filled her with a strange swelling sensation.
Pride.
Joy.
Excitement.
…love.
“I’m here, Little Bolt…”
She sniffed, the tiniest of smiles slipping to her lips.
Keen had never been on a train before, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. She was reared up with her forelegs resting on the seal of the window, her muzzle pressed to the glass as the world drifted past her vision. It was an interesting sight but – after having flown in the clouds with Lightning – it wasn’t the most amazing of things. Still, with the curious ca-clack ca-clack of the wheels and the constant rocking and the interesting scenery, this was certainly a novel experience for her.
Her ears perked to the soft sound of humming. A glance revealed Octavia in the opposite seat, her forehead pressed against the glass and a gentle smile on her lips. Her eyes were glazed over, staring out the window as if there were great wonders somewhere beyond that glass pane. She looked so… calm.
Keen listened to her pleasant humming. She had a nice voice. She recognized the song, too; Octavia had played it on her cello a few times. It was slow and made Keen feel just a little sad.
The filly leaned against the window and closed her eyes. Her mind repeated the quiet tune as her body swayed. It had a certain, familiar rhythm. Oh… Octavia was trying to go with the train. That was neat.
Keen could almost feel the hoof brushing her mane. In her mind, Octavia’s gentle humming started to sound different, but still familiar. Keen knew who she was thinking about… and the image began to form. Blue body, black mane, a tender smile. She’d been so pretty…
The song came to its drifting end and the image began to fade. Keen pouted, a lone hoof reaching up to reach for that pretty face… and only touching cool glass.
“Oh, I forgot I had an audience.”
Keen opened her eyes, surprised to find her vision blurry. She sniffed and rubbed her face before turning her head to Octavia. The mare smiled down at her. She really did have a beautiful smile.
Octavia leaned forward a little at the sight of Keen’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” The filly sat down to rub her eyes once more. “I just was thinking about mom. Your song reminded me…”
The smile weakened. “I see. I’m sorry.”
Keen offered a smile of her own, knowing it was frail. “It’s okay. I liked it. It’s just that she used to sing me to sleep… and I miss her.”
Octavia thought on this for a moment, a hoof to her chin and her eyes studying her only companion in the private suite. “I understand. Had I known that, I might have handled certain things a little differently.”
Keen tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.” Octavia’s smile returned. “I always find myself humming on trains. I think they’re very soothing. Of course, when you’ve been riding trains for as long as I have…” She shrugged and leaned against the window once more, her eyes going out to the scenery. “Taking the train from city to city is one of my favorite things about my job.”
Keen glanced about at the small room, her curiosity piqued. “Do you always ride in a private room?”
Octavia blushed and didn’t meet the filly’s eye. “I didn’t used to, no. I couldn’t afford it. I can barely afford it now. But… I like to have a certain ‘look.’ I think it makes ponies respect me more.”
“Think?” Keen raised an eyebrow as she tried to make sense of this. “Are you not sure?”
Octavia giggled. “Aren’t you the observant one?”
“Everypony keeps telling me that.” Keen kicked at her seat with a frown. “Maybe I ask too many questions.”
“Don’t think that.” Octavia reached over to set a hoof beneath Keen’s chin, making her look into her eyes. “It’s not a bad thing, Keen. You should ask questions whenever you feel like it.”
The filly’s ears perked. “In that case… why isn’t Upper Crust here with you? Isn’t she going to Nildia, too?”
Octavia smiled and nodded. “She spent the last two days in Canterlot visiting her husband. It’s only proper.”
“Oh.” A familiar worry had Keen bowing her head again. Her eyes looked up to Octavia. “Is he the one that got turned into a monster?”
Now it was Octavia who raised an eyebrow, her smile curling up on one side. “Monster?”
Keen nodded, her face half-hidden in her mane. “She told me there are lots of dumb monsters in Canterlot, and that one of her friends had become one. She used to be one too, but she says you helped her become a pony again.”
Octavia’s shoulders shook as she covered her lips. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
Keen eyed Octavia, an idea coming to mind. “How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Turn her back into a pony?”
Octavia giggled. “I like to think she did it on her own… but I suppose you could say I reminded her of what it is to be ‘normal.’”
Keen drooped and turned her eyes back to the window. “So there’s no way to just… ‘fix’ a monster?”
Octavia sighed and shook her head. “I can’t say I know too much about monsters. But don’t you worry, little filly; Upper Crust was right when she said the monsters of Canterlot were dumb. They’re harmless and you have nothing to be afraid of.”
Keen kept her silence, not willing to say that it wasn’t the Canterlot monsters she was thinking about.
Looking to distract herself, Keen glanced at Octavia. “Do you miss your family in Nildia?”
“Indeed.” Octavia leaned against the window once more, pressing her forehead against the glass. Her eyes didn’t leave Keen, though. “My little brother is a very important pony there. It’ll be nice to see him again. But…” She frowned and averted her eyes. “Well, I haven’t spoken to my sister in a long time.”
Keen turned to her, her attention caught by the dark clouds in her occasional foalsitter’s eyes. “Why?”
“We had an argument.” The confession came easily, but still Octavia wouldn’t meet Keen’s gaze. “She left, and neither of us tried to talk again.”
“Oh.” Keen lowered her head, a familiar sadness filling her. “You don’t love her?”
A weary sigh came from Octavia. Keen was a little surprised; she’d never seen Octavia so unhappy. “It’s not that I don’t love her. It’s… complicated.”
“Will you see her while you’re there?”
Octavia glowered at the window. “Don’t have much choice.”
Keen sat back and studied her. For some reason, she kept thinking on her parents.
“You should talk to her.”
Octavia blinked and turned her eyes on the filly, her lips set in a frown. “You think so?”
That sadness was growing. Keen bowed her head and nodded. She felt… she didn’t know how to describe it. Like a rag that had been squeezed dry one too many times.
“While you still can.”
The mare sucked in a sharp breath. Silence filled the small room, save for the eternal ca-clack ca-clack of the railroad. Keen could only stare at her hooves and let that strange, familiar sadness seep in a little more.
She jumped as she was abruptly lifted into a tight hug.
“You’re right, Keen,” Octavia whispered in her ear. “You’re so right. I promise, I’ll talk to my sister. I won’t come home until I do.”
Keen managed a small smile, though her sadness lingered. “Maybe not that long? I’d miss you.”
“And I’d miss you, too.” Octavia held Keen back a bit so she could rub their muzzles together. “That’s why I’ll have to talk to her soon after I get there. Don’t worry, Keen, your foalsitter will be back before you know it.”
Keen wrinkled her muzzle at the prolonged contact, unable to resist a grin.
“Hey.” Their eyes turned to the new voice. Lightning sat in the doorway with a smirk and pounded her hooves together. “Hooves off; that’s my kid.”
Before Keen could respond, Octavia engulfed her in a tight hug and turned away from Lightning, though she kept her face aimed her way. “I don’t know, LD, I might be tempted to keep her.”
Keen actually liked that idea. A little. She peered over Octavia’s shoulder to see Lightning step into the room with a wicked smile. “Well I hope you’re ready to fight for her, then.”
Octavia sat up straight and once more held Keen at leg’s length. She peered at the filly, then Lightning, then back again. At last she sighed and set Keen down on her seat. “I only give her up because you’ve caught me unprepared and I really don’t like roughhousing, but next time…”
“Ha!” Lightning jumped into the seat next to Keen and ruffled the filly’s mane, which only served to annoy. “Sorry, Little Bolt: you’re stuck with me.”
That was one apology Keen wasn’t quite ready to accept. She shoved her mane back into place and turned from Lightning, resting her legs on the windowsill again and watching the landscape fly by with a pout. She hardly noticed how Lightning’s shoulders slumped.
Octavia’s tone returned to its usual pleasantness. “So, did you get everything you needed from Rainbow?”
“Too much, actually.” Lightning sighed and leaned back in her seat, her hoof quietly brushing Keen’s mane. “I’m grateful she’s letting me share responsibilities with Cloud Kicker while she’s gone, but I really think she’s worrying too much. I’ve told her a thousand times, if I have any questions her second’s right there. She seems to think I won’t even bother to ask them.”
“Well, you do have a reputation.”
Lightning exhaled slowly and slouched a little more in her seat. “I know…”
Keen eyed Lightning’s reflection in the window. She looked… sad. That was odd to Keen, though; Lightning always got mad, not sad, especially when it came to Miss Dash. Then again, there were a lot of things Lightning had been doing differently these past two days, ever since she’d come back from that first trip to Canterlot. When she’d picked Keen up from Miss Airheart’s, Lightning had seemed so happy. In fact, ‘happy’ had been the main word for Lightning since then.
Keen wanted to read? Lightning read with her.
One last lesson with Twilight? Lightning stayed to watch, and constantly praised her.
Time for sleep? Lightning actually slept in the bed.
A trip to Sugarcube Corner, a visit to Nye’s, taking an extra day off and spending every moment of it with Keen.
The filly had no idea what had come over her guardian. On the first night she’d actually wondered if Lightning hadn’t been captured and replaced by one of those Canterlot monsters, though she soon decided that was silly. Keen had actually dared to hope Lightning was improving, but her confusion and uncertainty wouldn’t go away. After all, why would Lightning change so… suddenly?
So Keen did something she knew was dangerous: she pried. She tried to ask about the Wonderbolts Academy, and Lightning dodged. She tried again later, asking about the cold front. Again, Lightning avoided the question. Last night she ventured near the worst of all topics: the orphanage monsters. Lightning didn’t just avoid that subject; she refused to even acknowledge it.
That was all Keen needed. Lightning hadn’t changed, not really. Maybe she was trying to, but she hadn’t. How long would it be before she reverted back to her mean ways? When would she stop pretending to like the things Keen knew she didn’t? The thoughts only left the filly feeling even more depressed than usual.
For a moment, just the tiniest time, she’d actually hoped.
“Hey, Keen?”
She glanced up to see Lightning watching her through the window’s reflection.
“Would you like something from the dining car? Pinkie says there are sweets.”
Keen huffed and dropped her chin to her legs. “No, thank you.”
Lightning wilted.
The image actually hurt a little. Keen felt as if she was being unfair… so she turned to look up at Lightning. “Then again… maybe they’ll have something in mint?”
Lightning perked up almost instantly. “I bet they do! Come on, I’ll let you pick something.”
“Okay.”
Keen wished she could conjure some enthusiasm.
Keen and Lightning had been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, and both were very bored. Keen had spent the past thirty minutes just trying to think of an appropriate description of the place. Dark grey walls, bland white floors, silly posters that grew old quickly, toys stacked neatly in a corner, adult ponies looking anxious with foals who mostly looked bored. Keen didn’t know what this place was or why Lightning had been so determined to come here after seeing the Nildia team off, but she did know she didn’t care for it.
Sterile. For some reason, that was the word that kept coming to mind.
She glanced at Lightning, who was lying next to her on an old, worn out bench. She had her forehooves set together in a contemplative fashion, her lips pressed to them and her eyes constantly shifting. Every now and then her wings would twitch or her tail would flick. Keen had never seen her look so… worried.
What was this place? What were they doing here? Why did Lightning seem so scared? Keen had so many questions, but the sterile silence – there was that word again – almost made her afraid to speak up. Keen wanted to leave, to get some air… but she held her tongue and stayed close to Lightning. She had a strange feeling that this was the kind of place where ponies who got separated never found one another again. Although Keen wasn’t sure if losing Lightning would be a bad thing, Keen was sure she didn't know what she’d do without her.
Not in this place.
“Miss Dust.”
The call was almost robotic. Keen looked over to see a hefty unicorn mare by an open door, her muzzle pressed against a clipboard. Some ponies had gone through that door before, but none had come out.
“Come on, kiddo.” Lightning’s voice was subdued as she slowly stepped off the bench. Keen hesitated, her mind still churning over possibilities, but did as she was told. Her hooves made an unpleasant clicking sound on the hard floor that made her wince.
The two of them walked through the door, Keen keeping near Lightning. Her heart was pounding as they passed the threshold only to find themselves in a bland hallway stretching to the left and right. The big mare led them along without a word, her eyes constantly going over the clipboard hovering just before her.
“How long has the foal been in your care?”
“Umm…” Lightning glanced down at Keen. Her chin was trembling. “F-four months, give or take a week.”
“Are you aware that it is unlawful to care for a foal without consent from a licensed and registered social worker?”
Lightning winced. “Not until yesterday.”
“Hmm…” The unicorn paused by a door that, to Keen, looked just like every other door in the hall. “There will be two separate interviews today, one for you and one for the foal. Neither will be present for the other, understood?”
Lightning fidgeted. “Yeah, I got it.”
Keen peered at Lightning. What was going on?
The mare knocked on the door, and a couple seconds later it opened to reveal a short, orange stallion wearing a blue suit. Unlike the sterile mare – there it was again! – he offered a charming grin.
“Good evening. You must be Miss Lightning Dust! I’m Solid Persuasion, but everypony calls me ‘Percy.’” He held out his hoof, which Lightning hesitantly shook. He spotted Keen and his grin broadened. “And you must be Keen Arrow. It is very nice to meet you, miss.”
Keen slipped behind Lightning’s tail, gazing up at him from between strands of hair.
Lightning shifted and blushed. “She’s… really shy.”
“I see.” Percy chuckled and stepped aside so there was a clear path to the door. “I will be conducting the interview with Keen, if that’s okay. My partner next door will be with you, Miss Dust.”
“That’s… fine.” Lightning stepped aside, and Keen ducked as her hiding place left her behind. She looked up at the stallion with big eyes.
“It’s okay, Miss Arrow.” Percy gestured invitingly for her to enter. “We’re just going to talk for a little bit. Lightning will be very close by should you want her.”
Keen fidgeted and looked to Lightning for guidance.
“It’s okay, Little Bolt.” Lightning dropped to her belly to nuzzle Keen’s cheek. “He’s right, I’ll be nearby. You don’t think I’d leave you alone with any monsters, now do you? Percy’s… trying to help.”
Keen didn’t think Lightning would know a monster if it was staring her in the face. She shook her head and moved just a little closer to Lightning, the only sure source of safety.
The unicorn mare coughed and tapped her clipboard with an ominous frown.
Percy seemed much more patient. He dropped to his knees and maintained his pleasant smile. “It’s okay, Miss Arrow. You can trust me.”
There was that phrase: ‘trust me.’ It only made Keen shuffle a little farther back, her heart pounding as her mind shifted to Peace Spring.
Lightning chewed her lip and glanced at Percy. She leaned in close to whisper in Keen’s ear. “Please, Keen. This won’t work unless you go talk to him.”
Keen looked up at her, her head tilting just a little. “What won’t work?”
Lightning’s face turned red, her eyes flicked in all directions. “I… well… I’m trying to… y’know…”
Percy set a hoof to Lightning’s shoulder, his expression soft. Lightning flinched at his touch and stared at him with wide eyes… then bowed her head in defeat.
“Keen?” Percy leaned forward to look her in the eye. “Lightning brought you here because she wants to raise you.”
That Keen could understand. Her eyes went wide and the air left her small lungs. She looked up at Lightning, who had a sheepish smile and still couldn’t meet Keen’s eye.
“R-really?”
At last, Lightning was able to meet her gaze. Her lips worked soundlessly, her eyes shined. In the end she settled for a mere nod.
Keen bowed her head, her breathing finally kicking back in. She took a few slow, careful breaths as she tried to take this news in. Lightning was trying to… to adopt her. Was that a good thing? Did she want Lightning for a mom?
The adults were waiting. Keen realized that she would have to talk to Percy, whether she wanted to or not. What if talking to him led to her being adopted? What if… what if he thought Lightning couldn’t do it? What if Keen said something wrong?
Then again, what defined wrong?
Did she want Lightning to adopt her… or not?
Her mind running rampant with questions, Keen did the only thing she could: she entered the room.
The interview room was small, consisting of a round table with two lounging couches. A chalkboard was on one wall and a number of old-looking toys were neatly stacked in an open cabinet in the corner. The floor was made of a red carpet and the wooden paneling on the walls were decorated with all sorts of bright pictures. It was a much livelier place than the rest of the building had been.
The door closed softly, but even that was enough to make Keen jump.
“Please, have a seat.”
Keen did as she was told, moving slowly to one of the couches and climbing up. She turned to the table to find some sheets of paper and crayons. A small jar filled with lollipops was just beyond her reach.
Percy sat opposite her, still holding that pleasant smile. He set a notebook and quill down on the table.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk, Keen. I really appreciate it.”
Keen only nodded from behind her mane.
He rested his forehooves to the table and studied her for a few seconds. “Keen, do you understand why you’re here?”
She nodded, reconsidered and shrugged.
“You’re here because it’s my job to determine if you’d be happy living with Lightning.”
Keen looked up at him. She couldn’t tell if her heart was sinking or rising.
“Do you understand?”
“I think so.” Keen shifted from hoof to hoof and bowed her head. “Sometimes ponies like you would visit the orphanage.”
Percy tilted his head, his ears perking and his quill rising in preparation. “Keen, can you tell me about the orphanage?”
She chewed her lip and averted her eyes. “Do… do I have to?”
“No.” He leaned forward a little. “No, Keen, you don’t. But if you tell me, it might help me make a better decision for you.”
Keen still couldn’t meet his gaze. “I didn’t like it. It was scary.”
“Scary?” His voice took on a certain ‘curious’ tone, the kind that told Keen he was trying to goad her on. “Why was it scary?”
Keen closed her eyes. She made herself think of what she’d seen, of those terrible clicking laughs and the blue eyes. “B-because of the monsters.”
“Monsters?” He sat up straight, a frown forming on his lips. The quill started scribbling. “Keen… what kind of monsters?”
Keen considered the question. How best to describe them? She fidgeted, her eyes roaming about. They landed on the crayons.
Using her magic, she pulled out the blue and brown ones and drew.
“Keen? What are you drawing?”
She said nothing, she just focused on the picture. She knew she was bad at drawing, but hopefully he’d understand. She finished quickly and pushed the paper across the table to him.
He leaned over the paper… and his eyes went wide. The quill went to work again as he sat up straight and set his hoof over the picture, his gaze falling upon her. “Keen… is this the monster from the orphanage?”
She nodded. “They took away the other foals,” she whispered. “They all became monsters.”
He exhaled a long, slow breath, raising his hooves up as if to distance himself from the picture. “And… what happened to the monsters?”
“They died.” She said it quickly, as if the words were poisonous. “Lightning got me out, and the villagers burned the orphanage down. All the monsters were inside, except one.”
“One?” He cocked his head yet again. More scribbles. “What happened to it?”
Keen closed her eyes. She could still see that creature standing over Lightning as she bled. Keen remembered how Fine appeared seemingly from nowhere to use that knife he always carried.
“It’s dead. A… a friend saved us.”
“A friend?”
“Uncle Fine.”
“And who is Uncle Fine?”
“A friend.”
Percy rubbed his chin, his expression somber but soft. “Is he Lightning’s brother?”
Keen shook her head.
More scribbling. “Is he really your uncle?”
Another shake of the head.
“Then why do you call him ‘uncle?’”
Why was he so interested in Uncle Fine? Keen turned her head away with a pout and a heavy heart. “Because he said he can’t be my dad.”
“Did you want him to be your dad?”
A nod.
Scribble. “Why?”
Keen winced. Her eyes went to the door as she shifted a little more. Suddenly she felt so very, very sad. Not just sad, but upset. She wanted to talk so badly…
“Promise not to tell Lightning?”
Percy smiled and set a hoof to his heart. More scratching from the quill. “I promise in Celestia’s name.”
Keen held back, thought on it for a moment. Why was it so hard? She struggled to open her lips, to get the words out. She knew she had to answer...
Her mouth opened. The words poured out.
“Uncle Fine is nice. He talks to me when I’m sad or scared, he helps me when I’m in trouble. He shows up when I need to talk, he doesn’t get mad because I have nightmares, sometimes he even reads to me. And when he’s with Fluttershy they’re always so happy together and they make me happy and I really wanted him to be with her but he said he can’t. He’s… he’s…”
She bowed her head, already running out of steam.
“He’s so… good.”
Percy had listened with a calm smile, his quill working the whole time, but at that last line his smile faded. “You don’t think Lightning is good?”
Keen sniffed and shook her head. “She’s trying. I know she is, she’s trying real hard. But she doesn’t like that I have nightmares, and she never talks to me like… like mom did, or dad. Sometimes she’s gone all day, but I don’t mind that; I like my foalsitters. They’re real nice.”
“I see.” Scribble. “Lightning isn’t nice?”
Keen frowned and turned her head away. She felt a small flame in her heart; suddenly she didn’t want to talk anymore.
The quill stopped. Percy leaned back to study her with a hoof to his chin. After a few seconds he smiled. “Tell me about your foalsitters.”
Keen frowned; shouldn’t he be asking about Lightning?
“Keen?”
She sighed, that little fire growing. “There’s Miss Octavia and Upper Crust. They live together. Airheart’s new, I was with her for the first time the other day. She lives in a cloud, though, so Twilight has to cast a spell for me to walk up there. Oh, Twilight is my magic teacher. I guess she’s a foalsitter, too.”
Percy’s eyes went wide. “Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?”
Keen nodded, not meeting his gaze.
The quill started working again.
“Does Lightning pay Miss Sparkle to teach you?”
Keen shook her head. “She’s very nice. All my foalsitters are.”
“So I see.” Scribble. “Are there any other foalsitters?”
Keen looked to her hooves. She wished he would stop asking questions. She wished she knew why she was getting so upset.
“Keen?”
“Fluttershy.” She huffed and kept her eyes on her hooves. “She’s my favorite.”
Scribble. “Why?”
“Because she’s the nicest.”
Scribble.
She turned her peering eyes to him. “What are you writing?”
The quill stopped. Percy sat up straight and stared as if he was seeing her for the first time. After a moment, he regained his charming smile. “I’m taking notes. It’s important for my job.”
She raised an eyebrow, her lips set in a pursed frown. “My foalsitters are important for your job?”
He nodded. “I may need to talk to them later.”
“Why?”
He blinked, but recovered quickly. “Don’t worry, Keen. I’m only looking out for what’s best for you.”
The fire burned brighter. Keen’s horn glowed and the picture she’d drawn floated up to dangle before his face.
“That’s what they told me at the orphanage.”
His hooves moved very slowly to take the picture from the air. He lowered it to the table, his eyes wide and set on the image. After a few seconds he glanced at the quill, which was still set over the notebook.
He let it drop to the table.
“You don’t trust me, do you?”
Keen kept him locked in a piercing gaze. Her heart was beating with all the speed of a hummingbird’s wings.
“No.”
He nodded and scooted back a little. “Can you tell me why?”
Her answer came quick. “Because you might be a monster.”
His eyebrows rose a little more. He shifted.
“Are you scared of me, Keen?”
Though she maintained her firm glare, she nodded. Very suddenly, all she wanted to do was bolt… yet somehow she was holding his gaze. She realized that there was something else in her, something overriding the fear: anger.
Percy kept his distance and rested his hooves on the table where she could see them. “What about Lightning?”
“I trust Lightning,” she replied easily. “She’s not a monster.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. Despite all the things she doubted, that at least she was absolutely certain of.
“Does she protect you?”
Keen tilted her head one way, then another. She wished she could be certain of him. “She tries. I don’t think she can.”
The quill rose and started scribbling again. Keen glared at it.
“Keen, do you want to live with Lightning?”
It was like being kicked in the stomach. Keen fell to her haunches and bowed her head, wishing she had a good answer. “I… I don’t know.”
Scribble.
Keen’s ear twitched. Her anger began to rise again.
“Would you rather live with somepony who can protect you?”
She trembled, her teeth began to grind.
Scribble.
“Is it because she’s mean to you?”
Keen shook her head.
Scribble.
She bristled.
“Keen… do you think you’d be happy if you weren’t living with Lightning?”
She couldn’t speak. She wanted to, but she was just so…
Scribble.
“Stop it!”
Keen jerked about, a small laser flashing from her horn to send the quill flying across the room, a smokey contrail in its wake.
Percy’s eyes went wide. “You can already—”
“I don’t know!” Keen pressed her head to the side of the table as tears started forming in her eyes. “Lightning’s not a mom. When I have nightmares she gets mad. When she tucks me in it’s like she can’t wait to leave! She tells me to ‘deal with it’ and be brave, but I’m not. I want her to hold me like my real mom did! Mom would scold me or spank me if I misbehaved, but Lightning never gets mad anymore. She’s always hiding things, always lying to me, and they aren’t even the good lies!”
She leaned back and buried her face in her hooves with a sob.
“I want to know she cares. She keeps me because of what happened, because I didn’t die. I’m… I’m nothing to her but… but a burden. She doesn’t want me, but she thinks she has to take care of me. She doesn’t know how! Lightning’s not a mom. She doesn’t do mom things…”
She rubbed her cheeks and looked up at Percy. His pleasant manner was gone entirely, replaced with a firm frown.
“It sounds to me like you don’t want to live with her.”
“I don’t know,” she repeated, her head bowing. “She’s not a mom… but she’s trying. She… I think she wants to be one. She saved me, she tries to protect me. She’s always angry at something, but not at me, not anymore. She wants to be good. She wants to be nice. I just… I just wish she would act like a real mom.”
The thought hit her, and it was strong.
“I… I want to see my parents.”
Percy leaned forward, his ears perking. “Your parents?”
She nodded with a sniff. “I want to see them.”
“But Keen… your parents…”
“I know.” She turned her head away with a sigh. “I still want to see them. I want to remember what real parents are like.”
Silence permeated the air for several long seconds. Keen sucked down a deep, steadying breath and waited. She rubbed her cheeks free of tears and kept her eyes on her hooves, waiting for Percy to launch into another barrage of questions. She wasn’t sure she would even bother to answer them anymore. She just wanted to go home. Not to Lightning, no… home to Foal Mountains.
“Keen?”
She nodded to show she’d heard.
“This is very important, so I want you to think carefully before answering. Do you understand?”
Keen looked up, her eyes locked with his. She could see the focus and anticipation in them.
“Keen… Lightning has told us that she wants to raise you, that she wants you to be part of her family. She wants to adopt you, Keen.
“Do you believe her?”
Keen’s stomach clenched, her heart slowed. Her lips worked, but her throat was horribly dry.
She had no answer, for she truly didn’t know. She could only stare and wish she were anywhere else.
The quill returned to the notebook, blackened but intact.
Lightning was in her kitchen, reading the evaluation again. She hadn’t meant to, it just happened. Her breathing was slow, her heart was heavy, her mind shifted over the possibilities.
Her eyes skimmed past much of the content and locked onto the important bits.
Serious reservations. Those two words always seemed to glare at her.
Chewing her lip, Lightning looked for the good parts.
Shows great eagerness.
A willingness to improve.
Has earned the foal’s trust. That one in particular always made her smile.
Provides for education and caring.
The big one: Genuinely concerned for foal’s well-being and happiness. Out of all the statements, that was the one she was most proud of.
Yet no matter how much Lightning tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes from flitting back over the bad.
Serious reservations.
Short-tempered.
Poor planning skills.
History of irresponsibility. That one always made her stomach churn.
History of disrespect.
No parenting experience.
Serious reservations. Why did she keep looking at that one?
Poor time-management.
Maturity suspect.
Integrity dubious at best. This one in particular felt like a punch in the gut.
There was one part at the bottom, an entire paragraph that left her feeling particularly empty.
The child shows great hesitation towards the idea of adoption. She doubts the adopter’s sincerity and willingness. The adopter’s brusque nature, irresponsible actions and questionable honesty has lead the child to question her capacity as a parent, a position the counselors share. The adopter has shown what we believe to be a real desire to adopt and the child has admitted to trusting her, but the sheer number of red flags forces us to question the adopter’s capacity as a potential parent. We hope, for the sake of both the child and the adopter, that the rest of the interviews show great improvement.
Not good. Not good at all.
Lightning leaned heavily against the table and buried her head in her hooves. The paper crinkled against her forehead. Here she was trying to do the right thing and she might just lose her precious filly over it. She’d thought her own interview had gone so well. What did Keen say about her? Was she really doing that bad a job?
“Lightning?”
She jumped with a quiet gasp. She rubbed her face to dispel the barely-started tears and turned to Keen, who stood at the hallway door with her head low.
“Hey there, Little Bolt.” Lightning imagined her forced smile was painfully obvious.
Keen shifted from hoof to hoof, her eyes peeking out from behind strands of white mane.
“Do we have to talk to those ponies again?”
Lightning heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah… in a couple days.”
Keen sat and turned her face away so that it was completely obscured by her mane. “Um… what’s going to happen if they say no?”
Lightning’s heart leapt into her throat. She turned away to hide her distraught face. “You’ll probably end up in a foster home or another orphanage.”
She heard the filly gasp. “B-but I don’t want to.”
“I know.” Lightning sagged and fought down the butterflies in her stomach. “I don’t want you to go, either.”
In the quiet dark, Keen’s hoofsteps sounded loud on the wood. She sat beside Lightning and peered up at her; it was all Lightning could do to meet her gaze.
“What do I have to say?”
There it was, that knife in the gut. Lightning shook her head. “No, Keen. We have to tell the truth.”
Keen shivered and closed her eyes. Her lip began to tremble. “B-but… but I don’t want to go to an orphanage…”
Lightning reached down to rub the filly’s cheek. “Don’t lie, Keen. I think that’ll only make it worse.”
Keen opened one eye to study Lightning’s hoof. She didn’t press against it, and Lightning slowly retracted her leg. She felt so… helpless.
Keen’s face was so indescribably sad. “What if telling the truth doesn’t help?”
Lightning felt a small surge of hope in her heart. “Keen… do you want to stay with me?”
The filly turned her head away. For a long time she remained silent, her body still save for her slow breathing.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to go to an orphanage.”
Lightning could swear she heard the clunk of her heart hitting the bottom of her hooves. It took everything she had not to tear up, and she still turned away just in case. The lesser of two evils? The second-best option? Was that all she was?
Keen tried to say something, but her words came out wrong. Lightning glanced out the corner of her eye and saw the filly fidgeting and staring at her hooves.
“Can we… can we go home?”
Lightning sniffed and peered at their surroundings; the unadorned walls, the cheap furniture, the plain wood floor.
“I m-mean…” Keen hid behind her mane again, a hoof running circles on the floor. “F-Foal Mountains. I want to go home to see mom and dad.”
That blade was twisting in Lightning’s chest. She tried not to think too hard on Keen’s reasons; who didn’t want to visit their parents’ graves every now and then? Espeically at times like these. Lightning wanted to say yes, but under the circumstances…
“Sorry, kiddo.” She tried to offer a smile. “If we did that we’d never make our next appointment. Maybe after, okay?”
Keen’s head lowered, her shoulders shook. “But I want to go now. It’s… important.”
“I know it is.” Lightning prayed it was for the right reasons. “We just… we can’t go now, Keen. I’m sorry.”
Keen glanced at her, just a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of her eye, but what Lightning saw made her blood run cold: anger. Clear, unfiltered and precisely aimed.
“Keen?”
“I’m going to bed.” The filly started back for the hall.
An intense worry filled Lightning, though she wasn’t even sure why. She started to stand. “Alright, let’s—”
“I wanna sleep on my own.”
Lightning paused, half standing, and dropped back to her haunches. She raised a feeble hoof after the filly, her chest tight and her stomach churning. “B-but… don’t you want me to—”
“I can handle it.”
Lightning watched her disappear around the corner, mind numb. After a while she let her hoof fall to the floor. Maybe she should have agreed. Maybe she should have sent a letter to the agency in Canterlot asking for a later appointment.
But wouldn’t that look bad?
She turned back to the wrinkled letter on the table. Her eyes roamed its contents yet again.
Serious reservations.
Tears welled in Lightning’s eyes as she let her head slowly drop to the table’s surface.
What was she going to do?
Lightning let out a low groan and covered her eyes against the sun’s glare. Her body was like a lead weight, and any movement at all was ill-advised. She peered at the window; who in the name of Celestia thought it was a good idea to set a window facing east? Of course, she could have had the couch facing the opposite direction…
She covered her face again. Her sleep had been terrible; she just couldn’t stop thinking about the future. Tossing and turning, worrying, wishing somepony would show up and tell her exactly what she needed to do to make it right. Now more than ever, she truly regretted being such an isolationist.
And to think, she was usually an exemplary morning pony.
No matter how tired she was, Lightning knew she couldn’t stay on the couch. She’d already taken a day off to spend with Keen and another to go to the adoption center. She simply couldn’t afford not to go to work three days in a row.
So, with another groan and a stretch of her legs, Lightning conjured up the willpower to roll off the couch. She slipped and almost toppled, but her hooves found their place and she managed to stand properly. She made her slouching way to the refrigerator, her hooves fumbling to open the milk jug. She glanced back to make sure Keen wasn’t around to witness her nefarious deed before chugging the liquid straight from the container.
The chill knocked her a little more into awareness. She closed the jug and set it to the table, then made her way to the cabinets to pull out two bowls and some cereal. Funny, didn’t she have a couple more breadloaves than that?
No matter.
Once the bowls and cereal box were set on the table, she glanced at the clock and let out a small curse; they were going to be late to Fluttershy’s. Well, nothing for it now. Lightning hated being in a rush in the morning. She just hoped her wing-ponies wouldn’t mind.
Her ears perked as she turned her head about. Not a sound in the quiet house. Keen would be awake by now, probably wondering why Lightning wasn’t up yet. With this in mind, she trudged for the hallway. She noted the door to Keen’s room was open, but that was nothing new; since Keen had grown so much better at magic, she no longer needed help getting through closed doors.
“Morning, Little Bolt.” She stepped into Keen’s room and found the bed made and empty.
Curious.
She glanced around the room, her eyes stopping only for a moment at the open window. Keen was nowhere to be seen.
Lightning stepped out of the room and glanced towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. The door was closed. She moved in close and lifted her ear towards the door.
“Keen, you in there?”
No response. After a few seconds, she knocked. Nothing. She pushed her way in to find the room empty.
“Where are you hiding?” Lightning found herself smiling; was this some kind of hide-and-seek? They really didn’t have time for this, but Lightning decided not to let it bother her. She scoured the bathroom and found nothing, then went to the extra room. It was the only room in the house without furniture, and Lightning had intended to make it her own bedroom once she’d saved up enough for a bed for herself.
No furniture meant no hiding places; Keen wasn’t here, either.
Lightning ventured back to the kitchen and dining room, opening cabinet doors and other simple hiding places. By the time she’d looked the place over twice her smile had faded.
She stood in the middle of the room, her head swiveling about as if she might spot the filly in the open.
“Keen, where are you?”
She perked her ears.
She stared at the empty house, which suddenly really did feel… empty.
Lightning's ears lowered. Her heart beat a little faster.
“Keen?”
She went back to Keen’s room at a trot. She peered in the closet, under the bed, everywhere. Her filly was nowhere to be found.
That was when she noticed that Keen’s saddle was missing.
Lightning closed her eyes, her breath coming in slow gasps. She recalled how upset Keen had seemed last night, and the missing bread, and…
Her eyes locked on the window.
It was open.
Lightning went to it, stuck her head out. Her gaze swept across the scene; Sweet Apple Acres, the neighbors’ house, the fields.
She looked down. It wasn’t that big of a jump.
“Oh, sweet merciful Goddess, tell me she didn’t.”
Lightning’s back legs gave way. She fell to her haunches, gasping for air and staring out the window.
Keen was gone. She…. she was gone.
“K-Keen?” She bowed her head, not daring to look around. “Please, if you’re here, c-come out. Please…”
Silence. Cold, terrible silence.
How could this have happened? She was turning a new leaf, Lightning knew it. She’d been trying so hard to make everything up to Keen these past couple days.
Was it too little, too late?
If she couldn’t find her… if the social workers learned about this…
A fresh terror shot through Lightning like a jolt of electricity, and before she could even think about it she was flying out the window and into the open air. Her mind centered on one simple fact: she had to get Keen back.
She knew exactly where to go first. It was Keen’s favorite place in all of Ponyville.
It took her only a few seconds to clear the town. Her scar burned in protest, but Lightning ignored it; not even her wings mattered to her. She landed at the cottage door and pounded on it with both hooves, praying that her guess was right.
“Fluttershy! Open up, please!”
The door started to open and Lightning wasted no time pushing her way in. She landed in the center of the main room and spun about, her eyes frantically searching every nook and cranny. “Keen? Oh, please tell me you’re here!”
Fluttershy had been knocked against the wall by Lightning’s abrupt arrival and was now staring with wide eyes at her visitor. After a few seconds she recovered and moved a little closer. “Lightning? What’s going—”
Lightning grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. “Keen’s here, right? She came by here, didn’t she? Tell me Keen’s here!”
“C-calm dow-wn…” Fluttershy’s words skipped with the shaking, her mane flapping back and forth with her head.
“I can’t calm down!” Lightning launched and began to search every possible hiding place she could, not caring for decency. “Come on, Keen, talk to me. W-we can work this out, I promise!”
“Lightning, please.” Fluttershy tried to fly up and intercept her, but Lightning was too frantic.
“Where is she?” Lightning darted through the kitchen, into a few side rooms, came back in a blur. She flew a small circle, her side screaming in protest but her mind unable to process the pain. “She’s got to be here. Keen, please!”
She paused before the stairwell, her eyes following the steps up.
“Keen, I’m—”
She started to fly up, but suddenly Fluttershy was in her face. Before Lightning could even think to shove her out of the way, she found her heart practically stopping. Her eyes went wide, her breath caught in her throat, her hooves shook. Fluttershy seemed to be staring directly into her soul. Lightning felt impossibly small, like she was nothing more than a bug before this… this presence.
Lightning knew what fear was. This wasn’t it… but it made her feel terrible, nonetheless.
She hit the floor with a thud, gasping for breath and covering her face as the strange spell ended. She was suddenly terribly aware of the panic and terror that had filled her very being mere seconds ago.
“Now.” Fluttershy landed before her, her expression soft and full of concern. “What’s going on?”
Lightning looked up at her with wide eyes. “You… how did you—”
“Lightning.” Fluttershy’s words were surprisingly sharp. “What happened?”
The fear came back in a flash. “Keen’s gone!” Lightning tried to stand, but couldn’t. It was like all the energy had left her. “She’s… she ran away…”
Fluttershy set both hooves to her lips, her eyes widening. “Oh my goodness, really?”
Lightning bowed her head and sobbed. “I thought she might come here because she… because she likes you more than me. I was trying to get better, I really was. I don’t want to lose her, Fluttershy. Please, if you know where she is, tell me!”
Fluttershy’s moved in close and nuzzled her. Lightning had no pride left to resist such tenderness; she pressed back and let the tears flow.
“I w-want her back. My precious Little B-Bolt…”
“It’s okay.” Fluttershy held her close. Her wings wrapped about the trembling pony. “We’ll find her, Lightning. We’ll start a search. She can’t have gone far.”
“I know I bucked up the first few months…” Lightning buried her face in Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I tried so hard. I th-thought I’d finally figured things out. I know what I want to do. Am I too late? Does she h-hate me? I have to find her. I… I’m scared, Fluttershy…”
“You’re okay, Lightning,” Fluttershy cooed, rubbing Lightning’s back tenderly. “I’m sure Keen’s scared too. If you just sit down and talk to her, I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“I’ll do it.” Lightning leaned back to rub her cheeks and nod emphatically. “I’ll t-talk. I’ll tell her whatever she wants to know. Nothing else m-matters, I have to get her back.”
Fluttershy’s smile was soothing. “And we will, I promise. Now think, Lightning: do you have any idea where Keen might have gone?”
Lightning bowed her head. Her eyes fell upon the small stain her tears were making on the floor. “I… I dunno. She got mad last night. She’s been mad a lot lately. What did I do? What did I say?”
Fluttershy’s voice was ever-calm. “That’s okay. We’ll find her. Come on, we’ll go into town and summon some ponies to help us search.”
“B-but what if it’s too late?” Lightning covered her face with a sob. “W-what if she got lost? What if she… Goddess, what all is out there? She… she could be timberwolf food by now!”
Fluttershy patted her on the shoulder with an encouraging smile. “I think Keen’s smart enough to know better than to go near the Everfree Forest where they live, Lightning.” She wrapped a hoof around her and began guiding her for the door. “Come on, let’s go. Everything will be okay. Keen will be found before you know it.”
“But what if she doesn’t want to be back?” Lightning couldn’t stop shaking. “What if she doesn’t want to live with me anymore? I… I know I’m not much of a parent, but… but…”
Parents.
“Calm down. It’s okay to be—”
“Her parents.”
They paused at the door, Fluttershy giving her a questioning look. “Her parents?”
Lightning’s eyes locked on the path outside, her mind slowly piecing things together.
“That’s what set her off last night. She wanted to see her parents. I bet she’s headed for Foal Mountains.”
Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “Good, that’s very good. Then we’ll start searching to the northeast.”
Lightning stepped out, escaping Fluttershy’s hold. She turned back to her with head low. “I’m going to go on ahead, okay?”
“By all means.” Fluttershy nodded. “I’ll get the others together. Don’t worry, Lightning. You and Keen both have friends. We’ll help you in any way we can.”
Friends?
No time to think on that.
“Th-thanks, Fluttershy. Really. I… I have to go.”
“Good luck.”
Lightning flew through the cold sky, her heart pounding and her wings pumping. She would find her kid, and when she did she’d do whatever it took to regain Keen’s faith. She didn’t care what she had to sacrifice.
Nothing mattered.
Nothing but Keen.
Keen knew she had to stay close to the road. She knew getting lost would be a terrible thing. But she also knew that Lightning might fly over the path; at least if she stayed in the woods she was less likely to be seen. So Keen kept under the canopy and always watched to make sure the road was close by.
She knew Foal Mountains was a long ways from Ponyville, especially for her little legs. She knew her two loaves of bread probably wouldn’t be enough to get there and back. At the time she’d made the decision, she’d been too upset to care. Now, many hours and a brief nap later, she was starting to rethink her plan.
Going back was not a welcome idea. She refused to think about it, stubbornly putting one leg in front of the other. She would go home, she would visit her parents, she would clear her head. That was what she needed, to get rid of all her confusion and anger and sadness. Maybe, if she sat with them for a little while, things would start to make sense.
Lightning would never let her go, Keen understood that. Lightning hated Foal Mountains; perhaps she was even scared of the place. That was why Keen had to make this journey alone, why she was determined not to be found. She just wished she’d been better prepared for the trip. Even so, she had to go. If she went back now Lightning might not let her out of her sight again.
Keen didn’t understand why it was so important to her, but somehow she just knew that if she went home she would figure things out. She was so confused, and lots of times she found herself growing angry for no reason. She was so tired of everything Lightning; the self-deception, the lying, the hesitation, the fear, the anger. Just being away from her for a little while was welcome.
Home. Her parents.
Calm.
That was what she needed, to be in the calm that her real parents had given her.
Keen paused as bright sunlight filled her eyes. She covered her face against the glare and raised her head. A small whimper rose from her throat as she found herself facing a hilly field. There was no cover at all; she would have to follow the road and be completely visible. If Lightning flew by while she was out there…
She could see on the distant hills that the forest continued. If she could just get that far without being seen, everything would be okay.
Knowing she had no other option, Keen adjusted her saddle and stepped out beyond the treeline. She made her way to the dirt road; no point avoiding it now. She walked at a trot, her eyes going to the sky over and over again. She just knew Lightning would come swooping down from one of those clouds at any second. Her ears tucked as her stomach churned.
A chill wind blew as she reached the bottom of one of the hills, making Keen’s entire body shiver. She wished she had some sort of coat to protect against the wind… but then, Lightning had never bought her one.
There was a small copse of trees just over the next hill. Keen picked up her pace, eager to get under the protective canopy. Maybe she would wait there for a few minutes, just in case. As she reached the crest of the hill she found herself in the cold shade, another bite of wind making her cringe. Maybe staying under these trees wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Keen bowed her head and trudged along, her mind flitting from thoughts of home and Lightning. She wished she knew how to feel. Angry? Sad? Hopeful? If only she knew what Lightning really wanted. If only—
She noticed.
Her pace slowed to a stop. She kept her head bowed, not wanting to look. A terrible concoction of anger and unhappiness filled her so that she wasn’t even sure what to think.
But she’d felt that feeling enough times to know what it was on instinct.
“I don’t want to go back.”
“I know.”
There was not a trace of cheer in that voice. Slowly, as if her neck had gone stiff, Keen raised her head to look to her right.
Fine Crime was sitting by one of the trees, his head hanging low and his eyes on his hooves.
They remained that way for some time; him looking like one of the most miserable stallions in the world and her waiting for him to make some kind of motion. Was he going to bring her back to Ponyville? Was he just going to sit there?
Why did he look so sad?
“Uncle Fine?”
His eyes went up to her. She’d only seen that look one time on him… and it hurt just as much this time as it had before.
Keen opened her mouth to speak, but he raised a hoof. “Give me a moment.”
She tilted her head, wondering what he meant.
Seconds passed. Maybe minutes.
Then her Uncle Fine gained a look she’d truly never seen on him before. His eyes widened and his lips curved up in a disturbing smile. His pupils grew small and his breathing became slow. There was a strange sound almost like a rattle in his throat as his body lowered.
Keen had never seen such… eagerness in a pony’s eyes before. There was something else, too, something she couldn’t name.
She didn’t like it.
It scared her.
Uncle Fine had never scared her before…
Then, abruptly, his entire body shook and he clutched at his head. He sat there, trembling for a few seconds with a sneer and his eyes covered. Eventually the shaking stopped and he leaned his head back on his slumped shoulders. A long, tired sigh escaped his lips.
He looked normal again, but that strange sight was burned in Keen’s mind. She took a tentative step closer. “…Uncle Fine? Are you okay?”
“No.” He let his forelegs fall limp, his eyes set on the sky through the bare limbs above. “It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
She fidgeted. “Do you need help?”
At last his head rolled back to a normal position. He smiled, but it was a feeble, forlorn expression.
“Not the kind you can offer, Little Miss.” He sat properly again and patted the brown grass at his side.
Keen hesitated, her eyes turning to the road. “You’re not going to make me go back, are you?”
“That’s up to you,” he replied. “Please, Keen. Let’s talk.”
She didn’t want to… but she trusted him, so Keen bowed her head and trudged her way off the road. She sat close by and sagged.
“So… you ran away.”
Keen shook her head, not willing to look at him. “I was gonna come back. I just wanted to see my parents.”
He wasn’t looking at her, either.
“But what about Lightning?”
She grimaced and turned her head away. “What about her?”
“She’s very scared, you know.”
Keen blinked. She looked up at him with a peering gaze. If any other pony had said that… “Why?”
“She wants to adopt you.” Still he wouldn’t look at her. “This is going to look bad.”
Keen mimicked his pose and stared at her own hooves. A deep sadness rose up within her chest. She wished it wouldn’t come. She wanted to be strong, to act like she didn’t care.
“Maybe I don’t want to be adopted.”
At last he looked at her. He had that heavy-lidded, worn out expression she’d seen before. Was he having the nightmares again? She fidgeted, her worry starting to outweigh her misery and anger.
“Keen… you know Lightning’s trying really hard, don’t you?”
She pouted and looked away. “It won’t last. Tomorrow she’ll be all grumpy again. She’ll get mad for no reason and make bad mistakes. She’ll lie to me. She doesn’t want to be a mom. She wants to be… to be…”
What word was she looking for? She couldn’t find it, so she just bowed her head and pouted some more.
He heaved a deep sigh.
“I don’t think you understand what’s really at stake.”
Keen bowed her head a little, her shoulders shaking as that familiar fire ignited again.
“It means she won’t adopt me. I’m not stupid.”
“Is that what you see?”
She blinked. She thought on his words… then slowly turned around. He was looking at his hooves again, and once more she felt her anger fading to sadness at the sight of his worn expression. She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
Silenced seeped into the air between them yet again. Keen was torn between her desire to help him and her desire to leave before he caught her up and carried her home.
She was still fighting that little battle within herself when he at last looked at her.
“Keen, can I tell you a story?”
She kept her head bowed, her eyes going up to him and her ears lowering. “A story?”
He nodded. “A true story. A story about a shadowpony. A story very, very important to what’s happening right now.”
She fidgeted, her eyes going down the road once more. “I… I dunno…”
“Please?” He bent low to nuzzle her neck. “Just this one story. Then if you want to go, I won’t stop you. Okay?”
She didn’t know why he wanted to tell her a story now, but if it would help him feel better…
She turned to face him, setting herself down to listen.
He offered that feeble smile once more. “Thank you, Little Miss.”
He turned back to the road and closed his eyes with a deep sigh. He remained that way for a little while, his lips working and his ears flicking. At last he opened his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at the road. No, his eyes were glazed over, like his vision was taking him to some other, faraway place.
“There once was a little colt.
“He was just your age.”
This little colt had all the things he could ever want in life. Loving parents, money, a bright future. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that he would ever want.
Until, one day, he saw something. It was big, it was mean, and it took what he loved the most. The colt was sad; he wanted it back. He cried and cried, and when he couldn’t cry anymore he just felt miserable.
He decided to follow the terrible thing. He saw that it had gone through a door. When he opened that door, he saw something… new. Darkness, a deep and all-encompassing shadow. It amazed him. It awed him.
The colt stood at the threshold of the door. He looked for what was stolen from him, searching everywhere in the shadows.
He never found it, and soon he trudged back home and left the door behind.
Time passed. The colt still hurt. The door had his attention. He wanted to go in, explore, see how deep the shadows grew. So he went back to that door, entered the darkness, and began his search. It was a long, tireless, hopeless journey, seeking out that which was lost or, at least, the thing which took it.
With every step, he grew more curious. The darkness showed him things, things he’d never known existed. Dark things, terrible things, things that scared him, things happening to other ponies that he knew was wrong. He wanted to see more, to understand what he’d found, to help the other ponies who were lost in the darkness. But the more he looked, the more frightened he became.
At last he turned around. He ran, ran for days, ran from the shadows and the black. Yet when he finally made it all the way back… the door was gone.
The colt was trapped in the shadows. They had lured him in, he’d lingered too long.
He would never go home.
The colt wandered, lost and scared, always in darkness. He saw more bad things happening, more evil and pain and fear. The shadows seeped into him. Soon he began to do bad things, too. Instead of helping the other lost ponies, he began hurting them. He didn’t like it, but he did it anyway. He couldn’t stop.
Every day he became meaner and meaner. Every day he caused more and more pain.
Every day he grew more and more scared.
Then, one day, he saw something he’d never seen before: a window. It led to the light. He couldn’t open it, he couldn’t climb through and escape, but he could see the world that was once his home.
And in that world, he saw another pony. A filly, who had lost something important just like him. She was staring into the darkness, facing that same fear and curiosity he had so long ago.
The colt longed to be in the world of the light, but knew he would never get there. So he lingered at the window and watched as the filly came back, day after day, to stare into the darkness. She couldn’t see him… but she knew he was there.
One day, the window was not a window anymore: it was a door. The colt watched as the door opened. The filly was at the threshold, wondering what was beyond.
Just like he had.
The colt grew scared. He called to the filly, begged her to turn away. He cried and waved and shouted. He tried to go through the door and push her away, but he couldn’t; the darkness wouldn’t let him go. He was so afraid. He didn’t want the filly to be lost in the darkness as he was. That thought scared him more than anything he’d ever seen in the black eternity.
And then something incredible happened.
The filly turned around… and walked away.
The door closed. He never saw her again.
Had she heard him? Had he saved her? The colt didn’t know… but he decided that he would no longer wallow in the shadows feeling wretched and hurting other ponies. He began resisting the dark tug of the eternal black on his mind. He could never leave the shadows, but that didn’t mean the shadows had to control him.
He vowed to never let another pony enter that door. He sought it out, and whenever he found it he always found a scared and hurting pony peering at the darkness. He always spoke to them, always helped them. He became the Shadowpony, that little voice that tells us when we should ignore that dark pull on our hearts and turn away from that door.
And now…
…he’s watching you.
“Me?”
Keen stared up at Fine, saw the tears forming in his eyes. Her heart was pressed tight against her chest, her mind filled with a strange fear. She found herself glancing over her shoulder at the trees, half expecting to see some black colt watching her from the shade.
“Yes, Keen, you.” Fine wouldn’t look at her, but he nodded slowly. “Not just you. Lightning, too.”
Keen felt the hair on her coat rise a little as a fear trickled its way into her brain. “But… but why?”
At last he looked to her, and this time there really were tears on his cheeks. The sight almost made her heart stop.
“Because you’re at the door, Keen. You both are. One more step is all it takes, and you’ll be in the darkness.”
Fine dropped down to catch her in a sudden hug. He held her tight and buried his face in her mane. His sniffs resounded in her ear.
“The colt’s scared, Keen. He’s terrified. He doesn’t want you to go into the shadows. He doesn’t want you to be lost and hurt like he is. He’s trying so hard, so terribly hard to catch your attention. P-please… try to hear him. He’s so… so scared…”
“I… but…” Keen couldn’t stop herself from holding him. His sadness seemed to fill her up like a fountain, to make her want to cry too. “I don’t know what to listen for.”
“You don’t have to.” Fine set her down, but kept his hooves under her shoulders. He looked her dead in the eye, his lips trembling as he spoke. “He’s here, Keen. Right now. He’s begging you, don’t go. You have no idea how terrible the darkness can be. You can turn back. You can still have a bright, happy future ahead of you. Please.”
Now she was crying. Keen didn’t understand why she was crying, but she was. She rubbed her eyes and couldn’t meet his gaze.
“W-what about Lightning?”
Fine sniffed and rubbed his nose. He leaned back and bowed his head.
“Lightning is right there with you, Keen. You’re linked, and the colt knows it.” He petted her mane, and she pressed against his hoof lovingly.
“For you, the path was short. You found the door very quickly. The shadows pounced on you. They’re saying ‘Come to us, little one. We’ll make you feel better, we’ll wash the tears away.’ But the colt knows better. He knows that the shadows will only cause more tears.
“But Lightning…” He shook his head, brushing the moisture from his cheeks. “Oh Keen, if only you knew. The shadows have been beckoning to her for so long, whispering in her ear since a time before you were even born. Things always go wrong, the problems just keeps piling up. Every day she moves a little closer to that door.”
He dropped to his belly once more, locking his bloodshot eyes with hers. “You’re there together, Keen. You’re standing side-by-side. Lightning knows about the door, about the darkness. She’s been trying so hard to ignore it, to stay in the light and be a good pony. The colt has been talking to her, working to convince her to turn around.”
Keen sniffed, unable to look away from his gaze. “Why… why hasn’t she?”
“She had no happiness,” he whispered. “As scared as she is of the darkness, there’s been nothing in the light to call her back. The colt can tell her not to go into the door, Keen, but unless something happy lures her away, she’ll always be there, just one step away from the shadows.”
Keen bowed her head. Her misery gained an extra notch of pain. “I don’t have anything happy, either…”
He offered a weak smile and reached up to touch her cheek.
“That’s why you’re together, Keen. Lightning wanted you to be her happiness, and she wants to be yours.”
She stepped back, a sob jolting her body. “How can you say that? I don’t make her happy! And she doesn’t make me happy!”
“Are you sure?” he asked. “Really sure?”
“Yes!” Keen turned away from him, her shoulders shaking as the tears increased their flow. “What has she ever done to make me happy?”
He caught her up in another hug, this one so tight she almost couldn’t breathe.
“Please, Keen. You’re the only thing keeping Lightning from entering the darkness.” He rocked back and forth, loosening his hold as his tears moistened her coat. “She’d do anything to keep you out of that doorway. Just like the colt, she’s scared. If you go in, she’ll go in to save you, and then you’ll both be doomed.”
Fine lifted her, turned her to face him. She didn’t know he could cry so much. “The colt knows this, Keen. He knows that if one of you goes in, so too will the other. That’s what scares him so much.”
Keen sniffed and rubbed her muzzle once more. Something about his words really hit home.
“Lightning’s… worried? About me?”
“Yes.” He nodded jerkily, his black mane flopping wildly. “She’s terrified, Keen. She’s looking all over for you. She’ll do anything to save you, even enter that door. But if she does…”
He bowed his head and went silent for a few seconds. He sucked in a long, deep breath before looking up at her again. The tears had stopped, but the pleading look in his eyes were stronger than ever.
“Please, Keen. Talk to her. Let her find you. This may be your last chance.”
She hesitated. She turned her head to look at the road to Foal Mountains over her shoulder, its curving shape disappearing into the forest beyond. “But… but I…”
“You can go if you want,” Fine said, slowly setting her back down. “It’s all up to you. But if you walk down that path…
“…you will make the colt of shadows very, very sad.”
Keen bowed her head, thinking hard on what he’d told her. Questions and worries flitted through her mind, but the idea of being lost in darkness forever…
She recalled the feeling of being alone and hungry, of knowing she would never see her parents again. Of living in fear, of hiding in her bed while terrible, horrible things happened all around her. Of not knowing what was going to happen next, of being confused, of being angry. The last two years of her life, playing out in her mind’s eye.
She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life like this.
Even so…
“But… but what if she tells me what I don’t want to hear?” She kept her face low as she looked up at him. “What if she just lies some more?”
That weak smile came back. “She won’t, Keen.”
She averted her gaze, her doubts stronger than ever.
“She won’t.”
She looked up at him, her mind a terrible vortex of thoughts. All she had to do was turn and walk away. She didn’t have to face Lightning and her doubts and fears. But to keep living like this…
Sighing, Keen moved close to Fine. She dropped to her belly and pressed against him, letting her chin rest in the dead grass.
She closed her eyes and prayed she wouldn’t regret this.
Lightning flew through the cold sky, keeping just below the cloud level as she zigzagged over the forest. Though panic continued to threaten her mind and her heart screamed at her to fly faster, she kept her head and maintained a moderate speed. If she moved too fast she might not see Keen through the bare branches below, or she might even lose track of the road. She had to do this right: she had to think clearly.
All morning she’d been flying along the winding road to Foal Mountains. Hours had passed, and the longer she flew the more difficult it was to keep her fear in check. What if she’d passed Keen up? Surely she couldn’t have made it out this far already, even if she’d left as soon as Lightning had gone to bed. What if she’d not gone this way at all? What if her guess about Foal Mountains had been off?
Maybe Lightning should have been angry. A couple of weeks ago she probably would have been.
Right now she was just scared.
She saw the signal in the distance. It was like a firework, dark red and shimmering in the sunlight. Her eagle eyes honed in on the sight and, to her surprise, she recognized the shape the fiery lights took on.
It was her cutie mark.
At last she felt a smidgen of hope as she turned and flew straight for the signal. A second one exploded in the sky before she could get there. Soon she was flying over a hilly field, an oasis of brown grass in the forest. She saw the small bundle of trees close to the center of the field and flew for it, guessing the signal was coming from there.
When Lightning saw Fine and Keen together under one of those trees, her entire world seemed to light up. It was impossible to express the sheer joy coursing through her body and zapping into her brain. She dove straight down, smashing through leafless limbs like they weren’t even there. In her excitement she almost forgot to use her legs upon landing, stumbling and tripping and almost falling on her face.
Her eyes were locked on Keen as she galloped to them, a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes.
“Keen! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!”
Keen retreated behind Fine, and that made Lightning slide to a stop. But even at the filly’s dodge, Lightning couldn’t suppress the sheer happiness of seeing the filly was safe. She turned and engulfed Fine in a big hug.
“I don’t know how you found her, but thank you!”
He held her awkwardly for a moment, then pulled back. Only then did she see his bloodshot eyes and deep frown.
“Don’t thank me just yet.” He stepped aside, revealing Keen. Her body was slunk low, her eyes going up to Lightning in a peering, unpleasant manner. “You two need to talk.”
“Y-yes…” Lightning sat and sighed, her eyes set upon the filly. “Yes, we really do.”
Fine was slinking away. Keen noticed and reached a hoof for him. “D-don’t go!”
“Sorry, Little Miss,” he said, his words soft. “This isn’t about me. You two need to do this on your own.”
“But Uncle Fine…”
Black clouds engulfed him and he was gone.
Keen chewed her lip and let her leg fall. She looked up at Lightning and quickly regained her dark frown.
A sudden anxiousness filled Lightning as she stared down at the child. There was so much that needed to be said, but she didn’t know where to start. If she did this wrong… She bowed her head and fought to think of how to begin. “Keen… I…”
“Are you going to lie again?”
Lightning looked up with wide eyes. Keen’s angry gaze didn’t falter.
“Are you going to tell me what you think I want to hear? Try to make me feel better with sweets? Not tell me anything?”
Lightning’s heart pounded, her mind stuck on this filly she’d been living with for all these months. She’d never seen Keen so… livid.
And she realized it was all her fault.
“No.” She sagged and shook her head. “No, Keen. No more. I will tell you the truth about anything you ask. No more dodging, I promise.”
Keen sneered and turned her face away. “You’ve said that before.”
There was that knife twisting in her heart again. “It’ll be different this time. You’ll see.”
Keen only huffed.
A small gasp left Lightning’s lips. She could feel her heart sinking deeper and deeper into the quicksand that was her fear. She fell to her belly and nuzzled Keen, but the filly stepped away.
“Ask me anything!” Lightning clapped her hooves together in a pleading fashion. “Please, Keen, give me a chance to explain. Whatever it is that’s bothering you, just tell me! I want to talk. Please.”
Keen glared at her, her eyes wet but not yet breaking out with tears. She opened her mouth, reconsidered, tried again and failed. There was so much anger in her, and it was tearing Lightning apart.
At last Keen found something to say. “Do you even like me?”
Lightning’s throat constricted. She gasped, eyes wide as saucers. She took a moment to fight down the horrible feeling in her chest and get her air back.
“Y-yes. Keen, of course I do! You’re my precious Little Bolt, how could you doubt that?”
The next question was a shout, louder than Lightning had ever heard from the filly. “Then why do you keep lying to me?”
Lightning felt tears coming to her cheeks already. She could feel the mental wall coming up, but with a cry she bashed it down and forced the words out.
“Because I’m scared! Because I don’t want you to hate me!”
Keen stepped back, her eyes going wide and her anger momentarily forgotten.
Lightning bowed her head, her shoulders shaking. She had to say it now, didn’t she?
“I… I’ve done things I’m not proud of, Keen. I made mistakes, some of them really bad. I was scared. I thought… if you knew… that you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore.” She turned away from the filly and wished she didn’t feel so pathetic. “But it happened anyway. You ran away. Was I really that bad?”
A harsh quiet filled the air. Lightning spent her time sucking down deep gasps of air and fighting not to let her emotions overwhelm her. They would eventually, she knew it, but she had to hold back for as long as she could. She couldn’t answer Keen’s questions if she broke down…
At last Keen spoke, and her voice was quiet. “I heard lots of rumors. They made me feel bad. They… they said you were a bad pony.”
Lightning sniffed and looked over her shoulder at Keen. The filly’s head was low, her anger was gone. Their eyes met, and the question was there. Keen didn’t have to say it for her to recognize it.
“Maybe I was a bad pony.” Lightning turned back to Keen and nodded. “I… I think a lot of ponies really thought I was, so maybe. But then something changed: I met you.”
The slightest touch of red came to Keen’s cheeks. She turned her head away, but her eye didn’t leave Lightning’s.
“They… they said you burned down a town.”
Lightning winced; so they were really going to do this.
It was about time.
“It… was an accident.” Lightning couldn’t meet that one-eyed gaze. “I was trying to help. I only made things worse. A lot of ponies lost their homes and went hungry because of me.”
Keen’s head rose, her mouth opened just slightly. She stared at Lightning as if not recognizing her. That gaze hurt so much…
The filly stepped forward. “W-what about Miss Airheart?”
Lightning blinked, the pain in her heart fading just a little as she tilted her head. “What about her?”
“They say she was nearly killed in that first cold front.”
Before, Lightning had winced. Now she leaned back with forelegs folded, her eyes going wide. Keen was going for the throat; she was going to drag out everything. Lightning swallowed and fought down the tears.
“I… I’m sorry, Keen.” Her head bowed. “I… I lied to you about that. It was wrong, and I’m so sorry. I let Airheart take the blame for everything that happened that day, but I was the one rushing in without thinking. Yes, she almost died. So did I.”
She dropped to her knees once more to look Keen in the eye, ignoring the wrenching in her gut. “I didn’t know what to say. I was scared. I was always scared. I wish I was more patient like you, maybe then I wouldn’t always mess things up so badly.”
Keen’s ears lowered as she thought on this. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so good at seeing lies,” she whispered. “I knew it. You weren’t telling the truth. But I didn’t know what the truth was. I was so confused… and mad.”
“I know.” Lightning reached for Keen, and to her immense relief the filly let her touch her cheek. “I should have been honest, and I’m sorry.”
Keen thought for a while, hardly responding to Lightning’s touch. Eventually her eyes rose up to meet Lightning’s again.
“Did you really try to fight Miss Dash?”
Lightning cringed; was that knife ever going to stop twisting? “Yes, I tried. She wouldn’t let me, though. She made me look stupid.”
Keen backed away – another horrid twist in the heart – and asked, “Why do you hate her?”
Lightning sat up once more. She leaned her head back to stare at the sky through the trees. She took slow, calming breaths, but at last a tear fell down her cheek. If only she’d explained these things as they happened, like she should have. Then she wouldn’t be undergoing all this agony at one time.
Yet she wasn’t going to stop. Keen needed to know, and she refused to hide anymore. She looked down at her kid, who was leaned forward with ears perked in anticipation.
“Do you remember me talking about the academy?”
A small nod.
“Keen, ever since I was little, all I wanted was to be a Wonderbolt. When I got into the academy, it was a dream come true. That’s when I met Rainbow; we were in the same class. They made us partners, and we were amazing together.”
Once more, Lightning turned her head away. The memories of that time were so hideously strong. She set the back of a hoof to her lips and gave herself a moment of recovery.
She turned back to Keen. “They kicked me out, Keen. My dream was ruined. I… I blamed Rainbow. I said it was all her fault.”
Keen chewed her lip, tried to speak. No words came out. She ducked, averted her eyes with a blush and tried again. “Was it? Was it her fault?”
“No.” Lightning shook her head with a sigh. “I deserved it, Keen. I was arrogant and mean, and I didn’t care about the others. I was the worst pony imaginable, and I became even worse by blaming Rainbow instead of myself.”
Keen looked away and fidgeted. She rubbed her hoof in the brown grass. Eventually she was able to ask, “So you can’t be a Wonderbolt? Not ever?”
Lightning stared at her, and suddenly the pain lessened. It lessened a lot. To her surprise, she was smiling. “I could, maybe… but I won’t.”
Yet again their eyes met. Keen tilted her head with an uncertain frown. “Why?”
Lightning’s smile broadened. “I found something more important. I can’t be a Wonderbolt and be with you too. So I won’t be a Wonderbolt.”
Keen’s eyes became like saucers. “…really?”
Lightning nodded, her sadness completely gone. It was so incredibly easy to say. “Really. If it means losing you, I don’t want to be a Wonderbolt anymore.”
Keen gaped for several seconds. Lightning fidgeted, a tremor of excitement running through her. Was that it? Was that the confession Keen needed to hear? Suddenly Lightning just wanted to tackle her in an embrace. She started to reach–
–Keen back away in alarm. The sudden movement made Lightning pause, her happiness crashing down at the sight of the filly’s eyes.
“H-how do I know that’s true?” Keen shook her head, taking another tentative step back. “How do I know you won’t go back to being mean, to ignoring me? What if you don’t really like me?”
“I do like you, Keen.” Lightning raised her hooves in a calming gesture, straining to keep her voice controlled. “I swear in the name of Luna, I do. I promise, I’m not the same pony I was when we met at the orphanage.”
Keen froze. Her eyelids lowered, her lips pulled back tense frown. Lightning went still upon seeing the filly’s new anger.
“The orphanage.”
Lightning hesitated; what was this? “Y-yes…?”
Keen sat back and stared at her hooves, her expression not easing up in the slightest. “They were foals, just like me. They… they all became monsters, didn’t they?”
There was that knife again. Lightning leaned back and closed her eyes, shaking as she saw menacing blue eyes in the darkness. This topic, this one topic Keen kept trying to broach... “K-Keen… yes. Yes they were all… m-monsters…”
Keen looked up at Lightning. Her gaze was intense. “Upper Crust. She said some monsters can go back to being ponies. She did. She said she did.”
Lightning’s eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped. “No. No, not those monsters. Those monsters can’t—”
“How do you know?” Keens stepped forward, locking Lightning in a tearful glare. Her entire body heaved with her breaths. “What if we didn’t have to kill them? What if they could have been saved? Saved like Upper Crust, like her husband? We didn’t even try!”
Just as quickly as it had come, the anger was gone. Keen sat back and rubbed her cheeks, sobbing as the tears refused to stop. “Th-they were foals. Just like me. They were foals… We should have tried… I was so scared. Why didn’t we try?”
Lightning could only stare at the weeping filly. Was this what she’d been trying to say all these months? And it hurt to think that Keen was thinking such things… and Lightning never had. She moved in and caught her up in a hug, letting Keen lean over her shoulder as a deep sadness and guilt filled her. Keen was too miserable to try to resist.
“Oh, Keen… you’re right. I don’t know anything about changelings. Maybe they could be cured. I don’t know. I’m not sure anypony knows.” She patted Keen’s back and nuzzled her, taking in every sob like a fresh wound. “I was scared, too. All I could think about was getting you out of there. It never even occurred to me to help them, because I was so mad. I’m sorry.”
“I d-didn’t think about it, either,” Keen mumbled between hiccups. “B-but then Upper Crust t-told me how she used to be a monster and… and… I feel so bad. I didn't know why until... until now”
Lightning was going to have to have a talk with that mare when she got back from Nildia, but for now she had something far more important to deal with. “I don’t think Crustie was the same kind of monster, Little Bolt.”
Keen remained silent. Lightning couldn’t help wondering if she was finished with her questions. Maybe this sudden burst of pain made her lose all her energy. Lightning sighed and kept a tight hold… but somehow she just wasn’t satisfied.
“Lightning?”
“...yeah?”
“What if I had become a monster?”
Lightning blinked. She turned her head to stare, but Keen was still clutching her. She couldn’t see the filly’s face. “What do you mean?”
Keen sniffed. “If… if I had been turned into a monster… would you have let me die, too?”
Lightning’s breathing came to an instant halt, her mouth ran dry. She exhaled a single long, ragged breath. There was this hideous feeling in her gut, like the entire world was glaring at her and preparing to cast judgment. She held Keen a little tighter, shaking as she fought to find the right words.
They had to be the right words.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, she set Keen down in the grass. She gazed into her sorrowful eyes and stroked her beautiful white mane. Lightning’s lips worked silently as she prayed to Celestia, Luna, their Holy Mother and any other great figure who might be out there.
“Keen… if you had asked me that question the day we escaped, I’d have said no. I would have been lying and you know it.”
Lightning couldn’t believe how steady her voice was; her heart wasn’t steady at all.
“But you didn’t ask me then. You’re asking now.” She wanted to look away, but she kept her neck locked tight and let those dear blue eyes bore into her soul. “I want to tell you ‘no.’ I want to say that I’d have saved you, no matter what. I won’t. I can’t, Keen. I’m s-sorry.”
The tears were back. Lightning made no attempt to stop them. She only watched as her precious filly bowed her head. She’d told the truth, just like Keen wanted. Please, let it not be too much…
“I…” Keen blinked, her eyes shifting, her body shaking. “I… I believe you…”
Lightning leaned back with hooves up as if to ward off a blow, a horrible whimpering sound escaping her throat. That terrible pain in her chest was back in full force and the fear tightened on her mind.
But she forced the pain and fear down. She remained calm through sheer force of will and the understanding that what she did right now could be the most important thing she’d ever do in her life.
She fell to her belly and caught Keen below her forelegs, holding her upright. She didn’t know why she did that. Maybe she just didn’t want Keen to bolt. Whatever the case, they were gazing into one another’s eyes once more. Lightning had Keen, and now she spoke the words that, for some unfathomable reason, she’d never been able to utter.
“I love you, Keen. I was in a dark, cold place before you arrived in my life. You’ve given me a happiness I didn’t know I could find. Please, give me one last chance to be a mother.”
The filly’s eyes went wide. “You… love me?”
“I do.” Lightning kissed the filly’s forehead and held her close once more. “I love you so much! I want to be your mom. I know I’m not good at it, but I’m learning. We don’t have to be alone and scared anymore, neither of us. I want to see you smile, I want to see you play and laugh and grow up. I want to watch you go to school, make friends and be loved. I want you to earn your cutie mark and go on to do something special with your life.”
Lightning had no more fear. Or pain or anger or any of those things. There was only one emotion left, and she clung to it as tightly as she did the filly she kept close.
“When you have a nightmare, I want to be there when you wake up. When you have to do something that makes you scared, I want to give you courage. When you’re lost or hurt or confused, I want to make it better. Be my daughter, Keen. Please. I want to face this world with you… and for you. I won’t be the best mom in the world…
“…but I’ll be the best mom I can.”
Her gentle sobs were the only sound for some time. Then… she noticed Keen was crying, too. The filly pushed back on her chest, and when Lightning looked down she saw cheeks wet with tears.
“I b-believe you.”
Keen sucked in a shuddering breath and managed a trembling smile.
“I believe you, Lightning.”
The dam broke for real this time; Lightning wept as joy erupted in her mind. She clutched Keen close and sobbed, sobbed like she had with Airheart, sobbed like there was nothing else in the world that mattered.
Because nothing else did.
She was still holding Keen when she came out of the fit. The filly was holding on tight to her neck and, though her cheeks were still moist, she was smiling.
Lightning sniffed and nuzzled Keen’s mane with a weak smile. “Y-you are as bad as Airheart, Little Bolt. Making me all… all sappy…”
Keen giggled and pressed against the motion. She gave a little hiccup and rubbed her cheeks. “I’m sorry I ran away…”
“Don’t be.” Lightning shook her head with a beaming smile. “I’m sorry it took you running away for me to finally do this.”
Keen nodded against Lightning’s chest. “I guess this means we’re turning away from the door.”
“The door?” Lightning tilted her head.
“Nothing…” Keen smiled up at her. “Just a story Uncle Fine told me.”
Uncle Fine, huh? Lightning looked around at the surrounding trees. “Where did he go, anyway? We should thank him.”
“Don’t worry,” Keen whispered, tightening her hold just a little as she grinned. “He knows. Uncle Fine is always watching.”
Maybe he was. For the first time ever, that thought didn’t bother Lightning at all. No, she was happy beyond words.
“Are we going home now?”
“Yeah.” Lightning grinned and petted Keen’s mane, planting another small kiss on her forehead.
The level of improvement shown between the adopter and child is nothing short of astounding. Both have shown greater confidence in the arrangement, and the child in particular seems much happier than she did just a few short days ago. In fact, the improvement between these two has been so great that both counselors confess to finding it unbelievable.
With this in mind, we are arranging some special ‘at home investigations’ later this month. Such investigations are typical for ‘unusual circumstances’ such as this case provides. Two new counselors will be present with the adopter and child for a few hours each to witness their interactions and behavior. These counselors will not make themselves known to the applicants during the investigation period, and the exact dates of their arrival will not be revealed until after the process is completed.
This is an entirely voluntary set of investigations. If the adopter wishes to refuse them, she is asked to send a response to the Canterlot Adoption Services Office as soon as possible for further counseling appointments. Note that refusal will be taken into consideration when a final decision is made by the counselors. Not sending a response will be considered acceptance.
It was all wrapped up in such careful wording, but the first paragraph had everything Lightning needed to know: they were in the clear. So what if a pony or two came to spy on them? It would just be more evidence that things were going great.
And they were going great.
“Is it… good?”
Lightning looked up to see Keen sitting on the table opposite her, next to a bowl of cereal. She had a full spoon hovering just before her face in a blue glow, but her eyes were set on Lightning and her ears were low.
Lightning grinned and nodded. “We’re good, Keen. We’re really good.”
Keen sat up straight with a bright smile that made Lightning’s heart soar. “So they’ll let you adopt me?”
“Not yet.” Lightning set the letter aside and dug into her own cereal. “They want to make doubly sure. But don’t worry, Little Bolt: it’s in the bag.”
She was rewarded with a beaming smile. “Great! I can’t wait to tell my friends.”
“And I can’t wait to meet your friends,” Lightning replied with a smirk. “I’m gonna scare the older one, you watch me. Not gonna let a good pranking opportunity go to waste.”
Keen giggled. “Apple will probably think it’s funny. After.”
“You’re making a mess.”
Keen noticed how her spoon had tilted sideways while she was distracted, milk and cereal dripping to the table. She righted the spoon quickly and ate its contents before anymore could be lost. She was blushing as she swallowed. “Sorry.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Lightning took a paper towel from the nearby counter and began cleaning up the small spill. “A little mess never hurt anypony.”
Keen remained silent until Lightning was back in her seat. She leaned forward over her bowl with hopeful eyes. “So does this mean we can go?”
A hint of doubt crept into Lightning’s mind, but she shoved it down with a grin. “Yep. We’ll leave this afternoon after I finish work. Cloud Kicker already okayed the days off.”
The filly bounced in place with a sqee. “I can’t wait to see mom and dad again! I have something very important to do.”
Lightning rolled her eyes. “So you’ve told me ten times a day for the past week. You know it’s gonna take three days to get there, right?”
Keen tilted her head. “Three days? But it took over a week to get here.”
Lightning gained a smug smile and opened her wings as wide as she could without feeling that tension in her side. “I couldn’t fly that time.”
“Oh.” Keen blushed with a giggle. “Right.”
“So,” Lightning asked between spoonfuls of sugary goodness, “whatcha gonna do for your parents?”
Keen smirked and shook her head with enough energy to make her mane fling about her face wildly. “Nope, you’re not tricking me! It’s still a secret.”
Lightning snorted down a laugh and had to fight to keep from losing what was in her mouth. At Keen’s raised eyebrow she pointed, and the filly looked down at her bowl.
Keen’s muzzle turned up in a disgusted expression; the end of her mane had fallen in her cereal bowl. She lifted it with a lone hoof and cringed at the sight of her mane caked in soggy cereal pieces and dripping with milk. “Ugh…”
Lightning somehow managed to swallow her cereal before bursting out into full-blown laughter.
Something cold slapped across her face. She blinked and saw Keen’s spoon raised high and the filly smirking. Lightning wiped a hoof across her forehead and looked to find it dripping with milk and cereal.
She snickered. “Okay, I had that coming.”
Keen grinned and raised her muzzle in a proud pose… only to flinch and sag once more when her wet mane fell against her cheek. “It’s still… ick.”
Lightning chuckled and gathered their near-empty bowls. “You’re just lucky I have to get to work today, else I’d be dumping one of these bowls over your head.”
Keen stuck out her tongue. “Cereal goes in my mouth, not in my mane.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lightning cleaned the dishes in the sink and set them aside to dry. She turned and lifted Keen out of the chair. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up, then it’s off to Fluttershy’s.”
Keen sat patiently in the sink while Lightning cleaned out her mane. Her expression became solemn after a while, her eyes fading as if she were thinking deeply on something.
Lightning frowned even as she began drying Keen off. “Something wrong, kiddo?”
“No…” Keen used her magic to lift up enough of the towel to see Lightning. “When we get to Foal Mountains… there’s somewhere I want to go.”
“Oh?” Lightning set Keen down on the countertop and began washing the milk out of her own mane. “Where’s that?”
“I… I have to show you.”
Lightning peered with one eye through the running water. “Another secret?”
Keen nodded. “But it’s really important.”
Lightning stood up straight and began drying herself. “Another ‘really important’ thing, huh? I guess there’s no harm in it.”
Keen smiled, but it was weak. “Thanks, Lightning.”
Lightning chuckled and lifted the filly up to bump muzzles with her. “Come on, now, stop that. You don’t want to worry Fluttershy with frowny faces, do ya?”
Keen giggled at the contact. “Don’t worry, I’m good.”
Lightning beamed down at her little filly.“You and me both, Keen.
“You and me both.”
Lightning’s wings beat in a slow, steady rhythm as she followed the air currents just beneath the clouds. The biting wind made her glad she’d thought to buy warm winter clothes for Keen. She had on a sweater for herself, but her pegasus down did most of the work keeping the cold out. Keen didn’t have any such advantage, though, so Lightning tried to avoid the strongest winds.
The mountains rose tall all about them, their smooth slopes covered in thick pine trees that refused to lose their green needles. Lightning felt as if she’d not flown through this landscape in ages, but in hindsight it hadn’t even been two years, not considering her brief return a few months back. She had sworn never to return, not after what had happened… but the sad memories didn’t hurt as much as she’d expected.
They’d already passed the cemetery; Keen claimed she had something she wanted to do before heading there. They’d passed over the town, its sturdy wooden houses dotting the forested mountainside in a way that was nostalgic to Lightning’s mind. How many times had she flown over this pristine scene?
But she had no intention of lingering. Her eyes briefly set upon the blackened square that had once been an orphanage. They passed over in silence, neither Lightning nor Keen willing to bring up what had happened in that cursed place.
To think, Lightning had once thought of it as home.
She glanced back at her rider. Keen was strapped onto Lightning’s back with a thick belt – a precaution for the long trip – and lying on her belly to avoid the winds as much as possible. Her thick cloak and scarf flapped wildly in the winds, trailed by her long white tail. Her eyes peered through her goggles at the ground below.
“You sure you know where we’re going, Keen?”
The filly nodded without a word and pointed somewhere to the west. Lightning eyed that direction and, finding a good wind, banked between two short mountains. They flew on in silence, Lightning occasionally glancing back for directions. Keen led her on a weaving route through the forests, and Lightning could just make out a path beneath the trees. How far out were they going? Lightning was pretty sure she’d never flown this far out as a filly.
Keen moved forward to call over the winds. “Down there.”
Lightning followed the direction Keen indicated, her eyes quickly spotting the large pile of rocks and debris at the bottom of a particularly tall mountain. She flew a little lower and skirted the mountain, following a sight of destruction: huge boulders, churned dirt and fallen trees.
Lightning knew a rockslide when she saw one. She eyed the foliage that had started to form in the area and guessed the event to have happened sometime within the past two years.
Then she spotted it: an old log cabin by a river. Or what was left of one; most of it had been smashed to pieces by the rocks.
The sight made her catch her breath. “Keen… is that where we’re going?”
Keen didn’t reply… which was all Lightning needed. She began to circle, making her descent gradual since there was no safe place for a steep landing. Keen remained eerily silent, and Lightning decided it was better not to ask questions. Even so, she had to wonder why she wanted to come to this place.
They landed among some small boulders, close to the ruined cabin. Lightning unclasped Keen’s belt and dropped to her belly, and Keen slowly climbed down.
Lightning sat up and watched, her breathing slow and her eyes locked on her Little Bolt. Keen pulled down her goggles with her magic and approached the last standing part of the house, her head held high but her pace slow. If only Lightning knew what was going through the filly’s head…
Keen paused to look back. She gestured, but Lightning hesitated.
“Are… are you sure? You don’t want time alone or anything?”
Keen shook her head.
“I want you to know.”
Lightning’s heart skipped a beat. At last she understood what Keen intended, and as sad as she was… she was also strangely happy. She offered a weak smile and followed as the filly guided her past the cabin’s intact corner. Keen didn’t even give it a passing glance; she was moving with clear intention.
They entered the area of the landslide, slipping over cold rocks and thick moss. Lightning was worried for Keen at first, but the filly moved carefully and avoided the more dangerous parts. Lightning used her wings to get atop a particularly large boulder, and she flinched at the sight of splintered timber. She began to notice certain things in the rocks: the corner of a crushed table, a couple wooden plates half-buried in dirt, the twisted remains of a bed’s metal frame.
She had a sudden, eerie feeling that she wasn’t supposed to be here. She felt like an interloper, as if this were a secret property that deserved respect. Even so, she didn’t dare suggest they leave.
After all, who deserved to be here more than Keen?
The filly paused and sat next to a large rock. She stared at it silently for a while, closing her eyes as her frown deepened. Her tail began to flick in a rhythmic fashion as Lightning approached.
“Keen?”
The filly sniffed and bowed her head. “There used to be a big stump here. Dad used to call it my throne. It was my favorite. I used to nap on it while he worked.” Her tail flicked a few times in that same steady rhythm. “Sometimes I can still hear his axe.”
Axe? Lightning took a closer look at her surroundings and noticed that the land at the edge of the rockslide’s path was covered in neatly-cut tree stumps.
Keen leaned her head back and sniffed at the air. A frail smile came to her lips. “I like the smell of cut wood. It reminds me of him. Cut wood gave us food, warmth, our home. Dad was really good with it.”
She lifted her hooves to stare at them, her lips trembling. “He… he carved me a doll named Little Lumber. Mom put strings on him so Dad could make it dance with his horn. He used to tell me he’d let me use his axe someday. Mom didn’t like it when he said that, though.”
She turned away from the rock. Lightning wanted to hold her… but Keen didn’t approach, so she held back. She saw that Keens’ eyes were wet, but she wasn’t crying. Not yet.
That made her strangely proud.
“Mom was always busy.” Keen walked towards the remains of the cabin, towards a large hole that had been cut into the side of one wall. Lightning followed, keeping her distance.
“She always spoke to the ponies. Mom ‘knew business,’ Dad said. She had to cook at night, and she was always cleaning. She didn’t like a dirty room.”
The filly’s steps slowed at the wall. Her head was low, her small body shaking. Lightning moved in close and nuzzled Keen’s back, which earned her a small smile.
Keen sucked in a deep breath and entered the cabin, stepping carefully over the splintered wood. Lightning followed, having to duck her head to fit.
It was a small bedroom, smaller even than what Keen had back in Ponyville. Judging by its size, it was probably the only room in the house left standing. The rocks and debris made a high wall almost to the top of the room, and Lightning noted half of a small dresser lying on the floor. The other half was gone, ripped away by the stones. The floor was covered in ruined books, perhaps from a bookshelf that no longer existed.
In the surviving corner was a small bed, the only thing completely untouched by the rocks. Keen was sitting beside it, her eyes staring up at the mattress with a long frown.
Lightning stepped up beside her, hesitating as she eyed the dusty, mouldy sheets.
Keen closed her eyes and began to sway, humming a soft tune. She couldn’t do it for long, her entire body shivering as she choked down a sob. Lightning was unable to stop herself from dropping low to hold the child, and Keen nuzzled her as she fought to regain control.
“I… I’m okay. I am…”
“If you say so, kiddo…” Lightning sniffed and sat back up, offering a sad smile. “But if you need me…”
Keen nodded, unable to look her in the eye. After a few seconds she turned back to the bed.
“Mom would sing me to sleep. She was always singing. It was what she was good at.” Keen rubbed her cheeks. “Dad used to say it was her voice he loved most.”
She turned to Lightning, her teary eyes clenching at the mare’s heart. “They were good parents. I loved them so much…”
Her eyes drifted to the rocks. Lightning noticed.
“Y-you don’t have to tell me, Keen,” she whispered. She dropped down to nudge Keen with her muzzle, and Keen returned the motion. “I… I’ve heard enough.”
“No.” Keen slowly shook her head. “I want you to know. It’s important.”
Lightning held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Goddess, it hurt so much to see the filly like this… “Are you sure, Keen? You really don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do.” Keen stepped back and turned to the bed. She closed her eyes and remained silent for several seconds, taking her breaths in a very slow, careful manner.
With one last, extra-long breath, she opened her eyes. They were startlingly clear.
“A storm came. It was really loud. Mom and Dad were worried, I knew they were. Big storms made Mom nervous. Her singing wasn’t that good that night.”
Once more, Keen stared at her hooves. “I forgot Little Lumber. I was scared for him. I couldn’t go to sleep knowing he was back at my stump in the rain. I cried… I wanted them to get my doll. Mom and Dad told me Lumber would be okay, but I was so scared. Dad… Dad decided to go outside and find him.”
Keen wrapped her hooves about herself and shook. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Lightning was almost desperate to tell her to stop, but somehow she knew Keen was determined to get this out… so she kept close and paid rapt attention.
“M-Mom was scared. She couldn’t sing. Dad was taking so long, and the storm was getting really loud. She told me to wait in my bed, that Dad would come back with Little Lumber soon. She left. I think she was going to look for him.”
She covered her ears with shaking hooves, her body going low. “Th-that’s when the noise came. It was so loud. The house was sh-shaking. I thought the mountain was angry. I… I h-hid under the covers and cried. The noise… it was so sc-scary…
“Then the noise stopped.” She sucked in a deep breath and climbed slowly to her hooves. She kept her head bowed and turned to stare at the rocks.
“Mom and Dad… didn’t come back.”
Lightning took a ragged breath and held a hoof to her lips. She looked to the bed and couldn’t help imagining a little filly shivering under the covers, alone and terrified in the darkness as she wondered where her parents were.
“Oh Goddess, Keen…”
Keen nodded, once more rubbing the tears from her cheeks. “I… I’m o-okay… Tears are g-good, right? Th-they help…”
Lightning lifted the filly and held her tight. “I’m so sorry, Little Bolt. Y-you really didn’t have to tell me this…”
Keen squeezed Lightning neck. “Th-the story’s not over…”
“Yes, it is.” Lightning held her at leg’s length and shook her head. “It’s over, Keen. I don’t need to hear anymore.”
Keen’s eyes gazed into hers, though, and Lightning could see that the filly was determined. Lightning’s legs shook… but she slowly put the filly down. “If you’re really sure…”
Keen nodded and turned back to the bed. She moved closer, setting herself just beside it and staring at the space underneath. It was some time before she spoke again.
“The storm was gone in the morning. I saw the rocks. I didn’t understand, not then.” She looked around at the walls. “I wanted to find Mom and Dad. I couldn’t; the door was gone. I couldn’t get out. I remember calling for them. I wasn’t scared, not at first. I… I didn’t understand.
“Then I got hungry.” She bowed her head once more and felt at her stomach. “Very hungry. I started crying. Mom and Dad wouldn’t come. Night came back, and I was still here.”
She slowly dropped to her belly. Lightning watched, tilting her head as Keen crawled under the bed. A few seconds later she came out, dragging something small behind her. Lightning gasped as the filly sat up and held the wooden puppet out at leg’s length.
“I found him the next morning under the dresser. I was s-so mad… I blamed Lumber for my parents going away. I threw him away. I didn’t want to look at him.” She held the well-preserved puppet close and took a long, calming breath. “It wasn’t his fault. I forgot he was inside. I… I w-was so hungry, so angry. I kept crying for Mom and Dad.”
She turned and looked at the shattered dresser. “I tried to escape. I tried to push it. I was too small. I was scared, Lightning. The sun was going down. I… I felt weak…”
Lightning sucked down a calming breath of her own. Her chest was tight, her heart heavy. She reached a trembling hoof out to pet Keen’s mane, and the filly offered a shaky smile in return.
“Keen… how in the name of Luna did you survive?”
The filly bowed her head, resting her chin against the puppet’s shoulder and closing her eyes. “A mare found me. I think she wanted to buy some wood. I don’t know when it was. The sun was up, though. I couldn’t move much. I just… I remember hearing her voice. I thought it was Mom. I cried and cried, and she heard. Some big ponies from town came with axes.”
She turned and nodded to the hole in the wall. “They got me out.”
Lightning stared at the hole for a while. Frightening thoughts drifted through her mind. Just how close had Keen come to dying because of this? And then, at the orphanage…
But she was alive. Keen had to be the luckiest little filly in the world.
She swept Keen under the protective cover of a wing. “You’re amazing, Little Bolt.” She bent down to nuzzle her, and Keen eagerly pressed back. “Thank you for telling me. You really didn’t have to, but thanks.”
Keen held her leg and nodded.
They remained silent like that for some time, taking in one another’s presence. Lightning felt so incredibly sorry for her little filly, but at the same time she was strangely proud. Keen had survived so much. For such a tiny pony, for all her claims to be scared… she had survived. She was strong, no matter what she claimed. Lightning found it… inspiring.
“Do you… do you want to stay for a little while?”
Keen shook her head against Lightning’s leg.
“Alright.” Lightning petted the filly’s mane with a gentle smile.
Keen stepped away and set the doll on her back. “One more thing.”
She led Lightning out of the cabin and made her way along the path of the rockslide. Lightning followed close behind, wondering what else the filly intended to go through today. As sad as she was, she couldn’t help being impressed; Keen kept going, despite everything. She was determined to make sure Lightning got the whole story.
Keen started climbing over the rocks. They weren’t far from the river now, the waters snaking along the valley between the mountains in a quiet rhythm. Keen couldn’t climb over all the rocks, so Lightning carried her over them with small, wing-assisted jumps.
After a while Keen found what she was looking for: a long, shallow hole. There were no rocks there; they’d been pushed aside. Keen stepped down into the hole and sat, pawing at the moss-covered dirt.
“This is where they found Mom.”
Lightning cringed, that familiar stabbing sensation hitting her chest once more. “K-Keen…”
“I never saw it before,” Keen whispered, her head low. “I asked about it, but they wouldn’t let me come and see.”
She looked up at Lightning with big, sad eyes, but there were no tears. “Thank you, Lightning. I… I always wanted to see it.”
Lightning dropped into the hole and held Keen close. “Of course, Keen. I’m… glad to help.”
Keen sniffed and returned the hug. “You’re lying, again.”
Lightning forced out a feeble chuckle and just held on a little tighter.
Keen sighed and rested her chin on Lightning’s shoulder. “I don’t mind that kind of lie, though.”
Lightning sat back up and brushed her eyes, just in case. “Do you… do you want to find… y’know…”
Keen shook her head. “Dad went farther. They found him in the water.” She pointed to the river.
Lightning watched the water snaking by and sighed. “I see.” She turned to the filly. “Is there… is there anything else you wanted to find?”
Once again, Keen shook her head. She stepped up close and rubbed against Lightning’s leg. “I’m ready to go see Mom and Dad.”
Through her sadness, Lightning was astounded.
“Are you sure? We could go to the hotel… come by tomorrow.” Keen said nothing. “You really want to go there? Right now?”
“Right now.” Keen looked up at her with a solemn frown. “It’s important, Lightning. I need to tell them something.”
Her determination was apparent. Lightning sighed and nodded. “Okay, Little Bolt.
“Let’s go.”
Lightning landed near her parents’ graves. She dropped down to let Keen off before walking over to pay her respects. She didn’t say anything; she rarely did. She had no intentions of lingering, either.
Keen had other plans. “These are your parents?”
Lightning winced and nodded. She glanced down at Keen, who looked up at her with big eyes.
Her curiosity was apparent, but she still asked the question very carefully. “How did they die?”
Lightning sighed and shook her head. “There’s no big story, Keen. My Dad’s friend got into an accident and he went in to help. His friend came out, Dad didn’t. Mom fell ill a few days later.”
“Oh…” Keen shifted, her eyes set on the shared tombstone. “Do you miss them?”
Lightning fidgeted and averted her eyes. “To be honest? I don’t remember them that well. I just remember… calm. They always made me feel calm. But they were good parents, I’m sure of it.”
Keen nodded. She remained silent for several seconds, and Lightning wondered if she shouldn’t usher the filly away. She wasn’t comfortable with this situation at all…
“Can I tell them something?”
Lightning blinked. “Sure… I guess.”
The filly smiled up at Lightning, then walked forward so she was just before the graves.
“Hello. I… I wanted you to know. I’m Keen. Lightning’s taking care of me… so I guess that means you’re my grandparents now.”
Lightning blushed; the thought hadn’t even occurred to her.
“I promise to be good for Lightning, so don’t worry, okay?”
Keen shifted, ducked her head. She finally turned to Lightning. “I… I guess that’s good for now?”
Lightning beamed at her. “Yeah, that was great, Little Bolt. I’m sure they are very happy to meet you.”
Keen sighed and nodded. “Good. First meetings are important, right?”
“Right.” Lightning patted her on the head and smiled. She turned her eyes on the graves. “Don’t worry, guys; she’s a much better kid than I was.”
Keen giggled. “You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
The two shared a tender smile for a few seconds, but then Keen turned away. “Okay… Mom and Dad.” She trotted through the cemetery, making her way to the familiar spot. Lightning watched her go with a sigh and turned back to her own parents’ graves.
“Lightning?”
She blinked and turned. Keen was trotting back. She paused before her and tilted her head. “Come on.”
Lightning blushed, her eyes swimming up to the place she knew the graves to be. “Really? I… I thought you’d want to be alone.”
Keen tugged on her leg. “You need to be there. Please?”
Lightning tilted her head and perked an ear at this, but decided to do as she was told. It was hard to say no to those big blue eyes. Lightning wished she knew what was going on. She wished she didn’t feel like she was trespassing on a private matter. But Keen seemed so very eager, so she kept silent.
The grave of Keen’s parents was little more than a dirt mound. There was no tombstone, no markers of any sort. Now that Lightning knew so much, that seemed… wrong. She paused a couple feet away while Keen walked to the edge of the grave.
Keen paused and bowed her head. She kept still for a second or two, but then squared her shoulders and looked at the mound.
“Hey Mom, Dad. I’m sorry I haven’t visited much. I’ve moved to a new town. I hope you don’t mind.”
Lightning sat to watch as Keen slowly removed the doll from her back.
“I… I found Little Lumber. I’m sorry I cried and made you go outside.” She climbed the grave, the doll resting over her shoulder, and slowly set it down on top of the mound. “I think he’d be happier with you. You went through all that trouble to find him.”
She stepped back, leaving the puppet behind. She sat at the edge of the grave and remained silent.
Lightning wondered why it was so important that she be here. If anything, she felt as if she were intruding on a private conversation. She actually considered leaving quietly.
“…Mom? Dad? I want you to meet somepony.”
Lightning’s heart hit her throat, her eyes going wide. Keen turned and pointed to her, but kept her eyes on the grave.
“This is Lightning Dust. She lost her parents, too. She saved me from the monsters I told you about.”
Lightning’s lips twitched upwards. She had to remind herself to breathe. Keen turned to her with a smile and gestured, and though her legs shook Lightning approached.
“Umm…” Lightning fumbled for something to say as her face grew hot. “H… hello?”
Keen set a hoof to her leg, which made her flinch. She looked down at those happy blue eyes and realized Keen was trying to comfort her.
The filly turned back to the graves. “Lightning’s been taking care of me. She’s working really hard, and she doesn’t really know what to do. But she’s trying. It was hard at first, but I like her.”
Lightning’s stomach flipped. The smile came unbidden as she stared at the foal.
“Lightning wants to adopt me. She wants to be my parent. I wanted you to know. She can be rough, but she’s just learning. So, if it’s okay with you, I wanted to let her try.”
Lightning’s eyes began to tear up. She set both hooves to her lips and struggled to keep it in.
“Thank you both for getting me so far. You were wonderful parents. I love you both, and I promise I’m not replacing you. Lightning can raise me, and I’m sure she’ll make you both proud.”
It was too much; tears fell down Lightning’s cheeks. She kept her lips firmly closed to keep from making any sounds and interrupting.
“I… I have one last favor to ask before I go live with Lightning. I hope you don’t mind. Mom, you’ll always be my mother. I promise.
“…but if it’s okay… can I call Lightning ‘Mom?’”
Lightning let out a weak gasp: her heart may have exploded.
She sat there, her chest heaving and her face moist. Her hooves trembled before her lips as she gazed with blurry eyes at her Little Bolt.
A few seconds passed. Keen slowly turned to look up at Lightning. She was smiling.
“Do… do you think they said yes?”
Lightning sobbed and fell to her belly, pulling Keen in for a hug.
“I love you, Keen. I love you so much!”
Keen held on tight. “I… I love you too… mom.”
Lightning didn’t know she had so much emotion in her. She didn’t know it was possible. She wept with joy and sat up, rocking back and forth with Keen over her shoulder. She opened her eyes and looked to the grave.
“I p-promise I’ll take good care of her. Sh-she’s in good hooves, you’ll see! We’ll both make you proud. Keen is the most precious filly in the universe. Thank you. Thank you so much for letting me care for her. I swear, I won’t let you down.”
She felt Keen shift. She looked down to find beautiful blue eyes staring up at her, tears cascading down Keen’s soft cheeks.
“We’re family now, right?”
“Yes.” Lightning kissed her forehead and beamed. “You’re absolutely right, Keen. We’re family.”
They held on for a long time, even after the crying was over. Lightning let the unadulterated happiness wash over her in a massive wave, content in the knowledge that, for once, she’d done something right.
She had a daughter.
This indefinable pleasure that filled her to the core of her being?
It was far better than any cheering crowd could have ever been.
As soon as the door was closed, Lightning collapsed to her belly with a low moan. Keen unclasped her belt and hopped down, not worrying about the water she was trailing. She pulled off her goggles and knelt by Lightning’s face. “Are you okay?”
Lightning’s moist fringe was plastered to her face. She peered with one eye at the filly. “I’m just tired, kiddo. And cold.”
Keen looked to the window where the rain was pounding against the glass. She couldn’t help shivering.
Lightning gradually climbed to her hooves. “You would know the Everfree picked today to send a storm through Ponyville.”
Keen nodded as she pulled off her coat and scarf. Lightning had her soaked sweater off at the same time, and the two shook off the water in unison. Lightning went to the counter by the refrigerator and pulled open a container. She turned around and displayed some sandwiches.
“Good thing you thought ahead for tonight, Little Bolt.”
They sat at the table and ate the leftovers, both sagging from weariness after the long flight home. Every now and then one of them would shiver against the chill of the moisture still clinging to their coats. The cold bothered Keen, but her hunger outweighed it at the moment.
Once done eating, the two went to have a bath together. Lightning relaxed on her back in the tub and Keen sat on her belly, which gave her enough height to let her shoulder just graze the bottom of the water’s surface. They both indulged in the warm, soapy water.
Keen studied Lightning face. She had a pleased, relaxed smile, her head lolling back against the edge of the tub and her eyes closed. She was also clearly worn out. The filly fidgeted as she thought on the long flight home in the rain. Poor Lightning had to have been miserable. Keen had been.
Keen’s lips worked. The word still seemed odd when used like this… but good, too.
“…m… Mom?”
Lightning shivered, her smile broadening to a grin and her cheeks burning.
“…yeah?”
Keen smiled. “Thanks for taking me to see my parents. I feel a lot better now.”
Lightning raised her head to beam at the filly. “No problem, Little Bolt.” She leaned up, clearly intending to nuzzle Keen, but couldn’t quite reach without tipping the filly over. Keen giggled at Lightning’s exaggerated straining and leaned forward to bump muzzles with her.
“I’m sorry we got caught in a storm on the way back,” Keen added as Lightning dropped back to her leisurely position.
“Meh, not your fault.” Lightning waved in a random direction, her eyes closing once more. “It’s just wild weather.”
Neither of them were eager to leave the warmth of the bath, but Lightning had work in the morning, so she finally made them both step out. They dried off and went to Keen’s room, Lightning lifting the filly to the bed before collapsing on it with another weary groan.
“I am going to be a zombie at work tomorrow,” she muttered with a weak smile. She shifted around so she was properly on the bed, lying on her belly.
Keen giggled… and hesitated. She glanced back at Lightning’s wings. She’d been thinking about it for a long time. Perhaps this wasn’t the best time, but she’d been holding back for a week.
Even so, this was something she really wanted to do. After all, Lightning had been trying so hard all this time to improve and be a good parent. Keen wanted to do something to be nice back and this was the only thing she could think of.
“Um… Mom?”
A small, happy sound escaped Lightning’s throat as she tensed a little. That big grin was on her lips again. “Y-yeah?”
“Can I… can I try something?”
A single eye half-opened to study her. “Sure it can’t wait ‘till morning?”
The filly fidgeted in place and blushed. “I’m supposed to do it right after a bath.”
Lightning sighed, her shoulders rising up in a shrug that was rather awkward for her position. “Sure, why not?”
Keen smiled and walked behind Lightning. She studied one of her wings. Why did she feel so nervous about this? She reached forward and touched Lightning’s flank. “Um… can you hold out your wings?”
Lightning grumbled indecipherably, but the wings stretched out as requested. They rested on the sheets, the tips just barely hanging over the edges of the bed. Keen studied them, noting how all the feathers were crooked or bent. She chewed her lip and closed her eyes, trying to remember what she’d learned. After a few seconds she was certain she had it.
Lightning’s sleepy voice arose from the dark. “Keen? What are you doing back there?”
The filly opened her eyes and examined the feathers a little more closely. She sucked in a small breath, licked her lips… and set her mouth gently on the first crooked feather. As she began adjusting it, she heard Lightning suck in a small breath of air.
“K-Keen?”
Keen didn’t answer. She worked the feather until she felt it was straight and started work on the next one, being certain not to pull or shift them too much. Carefully, she worked her way along the wing.
Lightning’s head rose to look back at her with wide eyes. Her cheeks were practically glowing. “Keen… are you… preening me?”
The filly blushed and sat up straight. She shifted under Lightning gaze and kept her head low. “Do you… do you want me to stop?”
Lightning shook her head, her eyes not leaving Keen’s. “No. It’s just… where did you learn to do that?”
Keen offered a smile. “I asked Fluttershy to show me.”
“Oh.” Lightning’s face grew an extra shade of red and her smile went lopsided. “I see. Um… yeah… d-don’t stop. I like it.”
Keen beamed and nodded before going back to work. Lighting lay her head back down and gave a deep sigh. Every now and again she would flinch a little, making Keen think she’d tugged a little too hard, but Lightning never spoke up.
Lightning shifted, a tiny moan escaping her lips as Keen reached the end of her wing. “I didn’t know preening could feel so good…”
A wave of pleasure filled Keen at that. Glad to know she was doing well, she finished the last few feathers and stepped back to observe her work. Lightning’s feathers on that wing were all nice and straight. Keen had to stare for a few seconds; she’d never realized how pretty Lightning’s wings could be.
One down…
She worked on the other wing. It went a little quicker this time now that she’d had some practice. She listened carefully to Lightning, hoping to gauge her work by what she said and did, but Lightning was silent.
The wing was finished, and Keen smiled as she sat back to examine the feathers. It felt good, knowing that she was finally able to do something for Lightning.
She covered her yawn and stretched. “Did you like it?”
No answer. Keen tilted her head and stepped sideways to get a better look.
Lightning had fallen asleep, her lips set in a contented smile and her back rising in a slow, deep rhythm. Keen smiled at the sight, feeling incredibly good about herself.
She eyed the wing, realizing she’d never get to the pillow by Lightning’s head without stepping over it. She tilted her head and began to look about for an alternative… and spotted something she didn’t notice very often. She moved closer to Lightning, her eyes set on the small mark in her side. It was usually concealed by a wing…
Keen reached out to touch the scar. She could feel the uneven ridge beneath the coat. She closed her eyes and shivered, remember that scary night the two of them shared. But the moment of fear faded quickly as her mind shifted forward through everything they’d been through together since then. She still remembered how they met, the way Lightning had been so confident and loud.
She understood it now. Lightning had been roaring so nopony would know how scared she was.
The thought made Keen smile.
She dropped to her belly and burrowed under Lightning’s wing. She went in until her head emerged from under the opposite side, then snuggled tight against her new mother’s warm body. She sighed pleasantly, thinking about all that had happened in the recent days, the good and the bad.
There was so much happiness in her. For the first time since that terrible storm, Keen felt… connected. She’d forgotten what that was like.
She never wanted to forget again.
She settled herself down for sleep, delighting in Lightning’s warmth.
