> Deja Vu > by GunsNRoses365 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was another cold yet beautiful winter night in the small town of Ponyville. Almost all of the townsfolk have settled down for the night. Many parents were seen in the windows putting their children to bed. Some cradled their newborns in their hooves and some kissed the forehead on their young colts and fillies as they drifted off to sleep. However roaming the quiet candlelit streets is Lightning Twister who was on his way home. He had been helping his Auntie Rarity after she asked him to be a model for one of her new stallion tuxedo fashion lines. As much as Lightning hated getting dressed up he loved his Aunt and was willing to help her when she needed it. Lightning looked all around the abandoned streets and was a little bit amazed of how deathly silent they could become at certain times. He shivered a little bit as a snap of cold wind blew against him. He began to pick up his pace so he could hurry home to his wife. When he was halfway home, Lightning stopped for a second to rest. However before he started walking again, he heard something crash. With his curiosity getting the best of him, he turned and went toward the source of the noise. In front of him was a small ally and on the ground was a knocked over garbage can. Lightning knew the garbage can was the source of the noise and that meant someone or something was in the ally. "Hello!? Is there anypony in here!?" Lightning called out only to be greeted by silence. Lightning was about to call again until he heard a loud sneeze followed by soft crying. There was somepony in the ally. Lightning began to walk into the ally as he followed the quiet crying. He eventually found the source of the crying behind a dumpster. However when Lightning was completely shocked at what he found behind the dumpster. Staring at him with tears in they're eyes, was a terrified young colt and filly. The colt looked to be about eight years old and had dark blue green eyes and a dark gold coat as well as a golden brown mane and tail. The filly, who looked no older than four, had sky blue eyes and a pearl white coat along with a black mane and tail. Her mane was tied into a ponytail with a small bow around the end and it hung to the side much like Lightning's Auntie Applejack's did. Lightning stared at the two children in shock as his mind began racing through his memories to an all too familiar situation. These kids were just like Lightning when he was found by Fluttershy twenty two years ago. He was just like they were now, alone and scared. Lightning couldn't help but remember all of the memories of that faithful night. Snapping back to reality Lightning inched a little bit closer to the children who inched a little bit further from him. "Are you two alright?" He asked the children who said nothing in response. The colt stood in front of the crying filly in a very protective position as he scowled at Lightning with tears in his eyes. "Hey, hey, It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you." Lightning said softly as he gave the two children a sad smile. Lightning bent down a little to the kids level reached a hoof out to try and comfort them. However the colt quickly swung his hoof and smacked Lightning across the face as hard as he could. Lightning stood back up and rubbed his stinging cheek and let out out a fierce snort as he glared at the colt. "Why did you hit me!?" he snapped. Lightning quickly regretted the harshness in his tone as the filly began to cry even harder and the colts brave composure crumbled into nothing as looked at Lightning with tear filled terrified eyes. Seeing how he caused this problem made Lightning feel incredibly guilty he didn't mean to scare the already terrified children that he was trying to help. Lightning bent back down to their level and gave them gentlest of smiles. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you two," he said "I was only trying to help you. I promise that I won't hurt you." The scared colt snarled at Lightning as the filly buried her head into the side of the colts neck and continued to cry. Lightning was about to try and reach out for them once more until he heard their stomachs growl very loudly. Lightning was a bit surprised at how loud the growl was, and it made him wonder long it's been since the children have eaten anything. The children looked like they haven't eaten in days and that made Lightning concerned. However he quickly remembered something that would definitely help. Opening up one of the pockets on the saddlebag he had on his back, Lightning took a large juicy red apple that Applebloom had given him when he visited her today. The colt stopped snarling and the filly brought her head of the colts neck and they both stared at the apple with watering mouths. Lightning chuckled a little bit and broke the apple in half before placing one half in front of the colt and the other half in front of the filly. "Here you two go, eat up, those are the best apples in Ponyville." The children just stared at the apple and then looked at Lightning, wondering if he was going to take it away from them if they got closer. Sensing the distrust, Lightning stepped a few feet away from the apple halves and laid down. The colt and filly then took one cautious step towards the apple, but kept they're eyes glued on Lightning as he softly smiled and continued to remain motionless. The children continued to slowly move closer and closer towards the apple. Once they were in front of it they looked at Lightning one last time and he continued to remain as still as a statue. The colt and filly then looked at each and they each picked up their respective halves of the apple. They each took a small bite and the bites started to become larger and larger as they greedily ate the delicious fruit. The filly eventually finished her half before the colt did. However she was still incredibly hungry as she looked at the colt eating the other half of the apple. The colt was about to bite down before he looked at the filly beside him. What happened next left Lightning in shock. The colt, instead of continuing to eat the apple half, held out what was left to the filly. He gently nudged it towards her a little bit with his nose. The filly looked a bit resilient to take the fruit but the colt smiled and continued to hold it out insistently. The filly eventually took the rest of the apple half and ate it as the colt smiled at her as she smiled gratefully in return. Lightning smiled as he had not expected the colt to be so generous. It was generosity that would make his Auntie Rarity proud. The filly eventually finished and wrapped her little hooves around the colt as the colt placed gentle wing around her small form. The two eventually broke the hug and looked backed at Lightning who stood back up. "Do you both trust me a little better now?" he asked the children. The two offered a small nod in response as Lightning slowly stepped towards them so he didn't frighten them. Looking at the colt, he gave him a soft smile and said, "That's was a really nice thing you did, giving the rest of your half of the apple to her. Tell me, is she your little sister?" The colt simply nodded as Lightning smiled at both of them. Looking at both of the children Lightning should have known by the way the colt was acting earlier by trying to protect the young filly from him and giving her the apple meant that she was his little sister. He continued to smile at them before beginning to become a little bit worried. If they were brother and sister, then why are they outside in this kind of weather alone? "Where are your parents, They have to be worried sick about you two." Lightning said to the both of them. That one little statement quickly caused a problem as the filly began to cry once more and the colt closed his eyes shut as tears began so poor down his cheeks as he tried not to cry but he failed and broke down as well. Lightning was completely shocked at how the two young ponies were acting from hearing the one simple statement. The way they were acting was all too familiar too Lightning. He acted this way when Fluttershy first asked the same question to him when she found him. Something was not right, but Lightning decided not to ask these two anymore questions about their parents. A breeze of cold wind blew across Lightning and the children making all of them shiver. The colt wrapped both of his wings around his little sister to try and keep her warm. Lightning looked at the two and out of the corner of his eye saw something behind them. He saw a cardboard box with a thin blanket and a small stuffed teddy bear inside. Lightning looked at the box and look at the children sadly. They must have been sleeping in the box this entire time meaning that they were homeless. Lightning felt horrible that these two innocent children that should have a real home were in this bad of a situation. Looking at the shivering colt and the still shivering filly, Lightning went around them and went over to the cardboard box He grabbed the blanket and the teddy bear before heading back over to the crying children. He then very gently wrapped the blanket around the two. It wasn't very warm but it was still better than nothing and letting them freeze. The children were a little bit surprised as Lightning stood back in front of them with the teddy bear on his back. The filly looked at the stuffed animal and Lightning held it out to her. "Is this yours, little one?" He asked while giving her the softest of smiles. The filly nodded her and took the bear from from Lightning. She cuddled the bear as close to her as possible as her brother wrapped the blanket back around her and him. Lightning smiled at the scene and then heard a chime from the Ponyville clock tower. Looking at the children, Lightning knew after everything he's done for them and how young they were, he couldn't just leave them out here alone to freeze. Knowing what he should do, he walked up to the children they looked at him with a small hint of fear in they're eyes as Lightning smiled before speaking. "It's alright little ones, Why don't you both come with me. You can sleep at my house tonight, I'm sure my wife won't mind if you stayed with us for the night, When we get home I'll give you each a nice hot meal. I know that apple wasn't much and you both must be starving. How does that sound?" The colt and filly stared at Lightning in shock for a moment. He was offering them a place to sleep other than a cardboard box. They could eat a good meal and sleep in a real bed. They looked at Lightning and they could tell by the glimmer in his gentle eyes that he wasn't lying to them. The children eventually nodded their heads and Lightning crouched down next to the children. "Alright then, Climb onto my back and let's head home." he said gently. The colt climbed onto Lightning back before helping his sister up onto his back next. He laid a wing over her as she laid down next to him. "Alright you two, hold on." Lightning said as he took off. The children wrapped their little hooves gently around Lightning's neck as he began to fly towards his house. Lightning's mind was going in several different directions as he realized that everything that had happened to night happened to him. However he didn't let his mind focus on the past. He then began to hope that he and Scootaloo could think of someway to help these children. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lightning Twister saw his house in the distance and began to slow down so he could land safely and softly. Once he landed in front of his house he looked back at the two children wrapped in the blanket on his back. The filly had fallen asleep during the flight. She laid against her brother's body as he kept a wing over her. Lightning smiled at the two for a moment as the colt began to wake the filly by gently nudging her. The filly eventually opened her eyes and looked at her new surroundings before laying her eyes on Lightning. "Well, here we are." Lightning said to the two before opening the door. Stepping inside the three ponies were immediately greeted with warmth. The children took of the blanket and Lightning let them off of his back before looking around. "Scootaloo, I'm home!" he called out. Stepping into the living room from the kitchen was the young beautiful mare that Lightning called his wife. "There you are, I was starting to get worried!" Scootaloo said as she went over to Lightning. She and Lightning kissed as the colt and filly looked at them. Lightning and Scootaloo eventually broke the kiss before speaking to one another once more. "How are you feeling?" Lightning asked concern in his voice. For the past few days Scootaloo had not been feeling very well made Lightning very worried. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and gave her husband a soft smile "Lightning, don't worry about me, I'm fine." Scootaloo responded hoping he Lightning would relax a little bit. "I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to see whats wrong with me. I'm just wondering if your alright, you were gone for quite a while and I was beginning to worry that you might have gotten hurt. So what took you so long in getting home?" Lightning said nothing instead he stepped to the side of his wife and revealed the colt and filly that were behind him. "These two were the reason why I was so late." He said softly as Scootaloo stared at the children with wide shocked eyes. The children stared at the mare in front of them, and the filly began to get scared. The colt stood in front of his sister in a protective position just like he had done when he first saw Lightning. Scootaloo continued to stare at them as her mind raced with a million questions. "Lightning," she finally said, "Can I speak to you in the kitchen for a minute?" Lightning nodded his head before looking at the children, "We'll be right back, Why don't you both rest for a little bit on the couch." he said to them. The children nodded their heads and went over to the couch. Lightning and Scootaloo watched them as The colt jumped up first and the helped his sister up, The two then laid down next to each other but they're eyes never left the two adults in front of them. Lightning smiled at the children before following Scootaloo into the kitchen. Once they were out of sight Scootaloo began to talking to Lightning in a whisper so the children couldn't hear them. "Where did you find those kids, Lightning?" She asked Lightning let out a sigh and began quietly explaining what had happened a little while ago. Once he had finished, Scootaloo closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I couldn't just leave them alone, Scoots." Lightning said Scootaloo just shook her head before giving Lightning a soft smile. "I understand, Lightning, I'm not upset, why should I be when you were only trying to help them? I probably would have done the same thing if I had found them." Lightning felt incredibly thankful that Scootaloo was as kind and understanding as she was. However the smile on her face quickly fell into a look of concern "But, Lightning, what about they're parents?" Scootaloo asked her husband as he simply shook his head. "I don't know, Scootaloo, I asked them about they're parents and it they started crying. Something must have happened, but I don't think we should ask them. I think it would be best if we let them tell us when they're ready." Scootaloo nodded her head in agreement. "Your right, Lightning, right now, let's just worry about tonight. Let's go out and see the children." Lightning nodded his head in agreement. He had completely forgotten that neither he nor Scootaloo had introduced themselves yet to the children, The two went outside and saw the colt and filly still sitting on the couch as they were told to do. Both Lightning and Scootaloo put on a smile as they went over to the children. Once they were in front of them, Lightning began to speak. "I'm sorry you two, I haven't introduced myself to you both yet. My name is, Lightning Twister, and this is my wife, Scootaloo." he said as he motioned a hoof to the young mare beside him. Scootaloo walked a little bit closer to the children causing the colt to jump in front of his sister and protect her. Scootaloo could hear a small whimper coming from the filly as the colt snarled a little bit. "Shhh..It's alright little ones, I'm not going to hurt you." Scootaloo said sweetly. The colt and filly were surprised at the kind tone in the young mare's voice. It was soft and gentle like Lightning's was and it made the two children much more at ease. The colt slowly stepped away from his sister as she began to calm down. "What are your names?" Scootaloo asked only to receive no response. Scootaloo was about to ask again but Lightning put a hoof on her shoulder to let her know that they would tell them when they were ready. Scootaloo smiled at the children and stepped back beside Lightning as he began to speak. "Well, I know you both must be pretty hungry, how about we make you both some nice warm daffodil soup." he said to the children The colt and filly smiled and nodded their heads. Lightning smiled and went into the kitchen as his wife followed him. They each took down a medium sized bowl and quickly made up a batch of daffodil soup on the stove. When the soup was finished they each put one half of the pot into each bowl before putting the pot in the sink to be washed tomorrow. They then went out to the children who were still sitting on the couch. They each placed a bowl in front of the colt and the filly. The children gave them each a thankful smile before each taking a spoonful of the steaming hot soup. The filly blew on the soup slowly before putting the spoon in her mouth. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the soup quickly warmed her still cold body. The colt did the same thing as he put a spoonful in his mouth and let the warm meal melt away the cold. After a few minutes both of the children were finished with their meal as they both let out a tired yawn. Both Lightning and Scootaloo smiled at them. "Well it looks like you both could use some rest after the day you've had." Scootaloo said to them. "You both can sleep in the guestroom. The bed is big enough for both if you to sleep in." The colt and filly both nodded their heads. They colt got up first and jumped off of the couch. The filly tried to get off of the couch, but the she was too tired to move. The colt tried to help her off of the couch but he was to too tired and couldn't move her. Scootaloo smiled at the two of them and went over to the filly. She picked her up and held her before slowly flying her upstairs as the colt followed them up the stairs. Once they arrived at the guestroom, Scootaloo put the filly in the bed as the colt hopped in beside her. Once they were both comfortable, she tucked them in and lit a small candle so the room a had nice soft glow. She then gave the children a gentle smile. "If either of you need me or Lightning our room is right down the hall, okay?" She said sweetly to the them as they nodded their head in response. "Alright, sleep tight you two, we'll see you in the morning." Scootaloo said softly before leaving the room and leaving the door slightly cracked. Scootaloo then saw her husband coming up the stairs. Once he was in front of her he looked at the guestroom and the at her as she smiled at him. They were about to go to their room until they heard a small voice coming from the guestroom. Peeking into the room, they saw the colt gently stroking his sisters mane and was softly singing a lullaby to her, as she laid her head against his chest while sleeping soundly. Lightning and Scootaloo both smiled at the scene as they listened to the colts lullaby. (The Crying Song belongs to Pink Floyd) Once the colt was finished singing he fell asleep quickly as Lightning and Scootaloo continued to smile before leaving the room. They then went to their bedroom as Scootaloo got into the bed and waited for her husband. Lightning laid down beside and pulled the covers over both of them. "Lightning, what are we going to do about the children?" Scootaloo asked her husband Lightning simply shook his head before saying, "I don't know, Scootaloo." "Well, we can't just let them go back out onto the streets." Scootaloo quickly said. Lightning just nodded his head. "I know we can't do that, Scootaloo, I'm sure we'll think of something. Lets talk about this in the morning, okay?" he said with a soft smile on his face. Scootaloo softly smiled as well and nodded her head. She then gave her husband a gentle kiss on the lips before snuggling up against him. She rested her head underneath his chin and began to fall asleep with a smile on her face. Lightning soon fell asleep with smile on his face as he held his wife close to him. Everyone in the house then slept peacefully under the warm, comforting glow of the pale moonlight. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the bright, pale moonlight shined down on the house of Lightning Twister and Scootaloo, The two young ponies slept peacefully in they're bed. Everything was quiet until Lightning woke up. Rubbing his eyes he sat up in the bed, and looked outside his window to view the moonlit night. He then at the clock on his wall to see what time it was. Seeing that it was only a little past midnight, Lightning pulled the covers back over him and laid back down. However before he closed his eyes, he heard his door slowly creak open looking up, he saw both the colt and the filly standing in the doorway. The filly held her teddy bear close to her and had tears streaming down her cheeks as the colt looked at her in concern. Lightning stared at the filly worryingly for a moment, and then began to gently shake Scootaloo to wake her. "Scootaloo, Scootaloo, wake up." he whispered to her. Scootaloo eventually opened her eyes and sat up in the bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking at her husband with a tired look in her eyes. Lightning said nothing to his wife, instead he pointed a hoof towards the children standing in the doorway. Scootaloo saw the teary eyed filly and became as worried as everyone else was about her. "What's the matter, little one?" She asked the filly. The filly began to get scared and started step backwards to leave the room, but her brother stopped her before she could leave. He gave her a small nuzzle as well as a reassuring smile, letting her know she would be alright. The filly looked at Scootaloo as the young mare began motioning her hoof to her. "Come here, sweetie, don't be afraid." She said sweetly. The filly began taking very cautious steps towards Scootaloo while looking back at her brother who kept motioning with his head to step towards Scootaloo. Once the filly arrived at Scootaloo's side of the bed, Scootaloo gently picked her up and set her on her lap. She then looked at the tears still streaming down the young filly's cheeks. "What's wrong, sweetheart, did you have a bad dream?" Scootaloo asked softly. Thee filly nodded her head and began to softly cry as she squeezed her teddy bear tightly. Scootaloo then pulled the filly into a caring hug. The filly trembled a little bit but then calmed down in the orange mares embrace. After a moment of silence the filly's quiet crying reduced to soft sniffles and Scootaloo gently brushed the filly's tears away with her hoof. She then held her close as she got out of the bed. "Come on, let's go downstairs, I'll make you a nice glass of warm milk." She said to the filly softly before flying towards the doorway. Scootaloo stopped beside the colt and smiled at him before saying, "Would you like a glass of warm milk as well?" The colt softly smiled and nodded his head and Scootaloo continued to smile at him before flying downstairs with the filly in her forelegs. The colt followed them downstairs leaving Lightning alone in the room. The young stallion smiled knowing that the children were in the safe care of his wife. Deciding not to go back to sleep without Scootaloo, he left the bed and made his way downstairs to the living room. Once he arrived he laid down on the couch and watched the shadows of Scootaloo and the children move around in the light shining out of the kitchen. Smiling once more he let his head lay down on the sofa until he felt something tapping on his shoulder. Looking up, Lightning saw the colt standing in front of him. "What's wrong, kiddo?'" Lightning asked curiously The tried to not look Lightning in the eyes as rubbed his rubbed his foreleg with his little hoof. "I-I'm sorry I hit you earlier." he said softly as he continued to rub his foreleg. Lightning was a bit surprised to that the colt was finally speaking to him. He must finally be feeling more comfortable around him and Scootaloo. His voice was very soft like Lightning's was years ago and it also sounded very scared. "It's alright." Lightning replied after a moment of silence. He smiled at the colt before moving around on the couch making a large spot on the couch open. "Come on up here." Lightning said with a soft smile. The colt smiled in return and hopped up onto the couch and laid down in the spot Lightning offered him. "My name is Blaze, and my sister's name is Melody." The colt said softly Lightning simply continued to smile. "It's nice to meet you Blaze." he said happily Blaze smiled as he looked back into the kitchen where he could see his sister drinking her glass of milk and Scootaloo who was watching her. He was very thankful that these two ponies would allow both him and Melody into their house and make them feel at home. "Um, Mr. Lightning, thank you for letting me and my sister stay with you and, Ms. Scootaloo." Lightning chuckled at the young colt beside him. "Your welcome, Blaze, and you don't have to call us Mr. or Ms. Lightning and Scootaloo will be just fine." Blaze smiled and nodded his head as Lightning continued to speak. "I couldn't just leave you and Melody out there all alone." Blaze's smile turned into a look of sadness and Lightning was quick to notice. "What's wrong Blaze?" he asked with concern in his voice. Blaze felt small tears come to his eyes and he tried not to look Lightning in the eyes. He began to tremble as he closed his eyes and began to speak. "I-It's m-my fault that we were in that ally." He said in a broken and pain filled whisper. Lightning stared at Blaze in confusion as the little colt began to tremble even harder. "What do you mean it's your fault?" Blaze wanted to not say anything but now that he had said what he said he knew there was no turning back and he would have to tell Lightning what happened. Lightning could see the resistance in Blaze's eyes and he began to gently stroke his back with his hoof to try and calm him as he spoke to the little colt in the gentlest and most reassuring of a voice that he could make. "Come on, Blaze talk to me. I promise that I will understand and I promise that I will not be mad at you. If you want me too I'll only keep this between you and me and I'll let you tell Scootaloo whenever your ready." Blaze was about to say something until he saw Scootaloo come out of the kitchen with Melody fast asleep in her forelegs. Scootaloo saw the tears in the little colts eyes and went over to him. "Um, did she tell you their names?" Lightning asked as he pointed at the filly being held by his wife. Scootaloo nodded her head before replying, "yes, Blaze and Melody, but that's all she said to me." The young mares eye's were immediately glued back onto the trembling colt and she began to worry about him. "Blaze, what's the matter, you look like your about to be sick." She asked with concern in her voice as well. Lightning tried to be a stallion of his word and looked at Blaze wondering if he should say anything. Blaze nodded yes in response and Lightning let out a sigh before saying, "Blaze and I were talking and for some reason he said that it was his fault that he and Melody were out there in that ally when I found them." Scootaloo looked at Blaze in shock. "Blaze, why in Equestria do you think it's your fault that you and Melody were out there?" She asked with concern still in her voice "Because it was my fault!" Blaze shouted in a whining tone, as if he was using all of his will power not to brake down and cry. Blaze's shouting woke Melody and saw how distraught her brother was. "B-Blaze?" she softly said as she began to tear up at the sight of her brothers tears. Scootaloo began to rock the small filly in her forelegs from side to side to try and calm her as blaze as Lightning tried to comfort Blaze. Melody began to relax and eventually fell back asleep as she rested her head on Scootaloo's neck. Lightning sat up on the couch and Scooted over and Blaze did the same thing so Scootaloo could sit down beside him. Scootaloo sat down without waking Melody and placed a wing around Blaze. "Blaze, sweetie, please tell us why you say it's your fault." Blaze let out a shaky sigh as he tried to hold back his tears. He then began to speak in a very broken tone as he tried his hardest not to cry. "W-Well, our Mom and Dad got into a carriage accident a-and they had d-d-d.." Blaze stopped talking and continued to hold back crying, both Lightning and Scootaloo knew the word he were trying to say. "It's alright, Blaze, we know what your trying to say, you don't have to say that word." Scootaloo said with most comforting voice that she could give him. "Do you want to stop talking about this?" Lightning asked, feeling that this may have been to hard for Blaze to talk about. Blaze however shook his head and continued to talk as he quickly brushed away with his hoof a lone tear. "After that happened Melody and I were forced to go to an orphanage. It was horrible there! Most of our caretakers were very mean to us and so were the Kids. There were only a few nice people there but we never saw them and all the children that were nice to us were adopted. The rest of the kids picked on me sometimes, but most of the time, they picked on Melody, because she's very shy and doesn't talk to many ponies." Blaze stopped talking and quickly brushed away a few that had escaped from his eyes. Lightning and Scootaloo looked at each other not realizing how rough things had been for these two innocent children. Blaze soon finished brushing away his tears and began speaking once more. "Three weeks ago, I was going outside to find, Melody, because I couldn't find her anywhere, and I promised Mom and Dad that I would take care of her. When I got outside I heard Melody crying and saw the other other colts and fillies laughing at her and bullying her. I saw her being pushed down and I saw her teddy bear being tossed back and forth over her head. Every time she tried to grab her teddy bear she was pushed to the ground by one of the colts and fillies while everyone laughed at her and kept her bear away from her. I then heard Melody scream when one of the kids pulled her mane and I got really mad and went over there and hit one of the kids hurting her in the face. I then grabbed her bear and helped her up. The other kids tried to attack us, but we both ran away and hid from them." Blaze began to feel sick with guilt about how he felt that he let his sister get hurt like that. He eventually felt Lightning's comforting hoof on his shoulder." "What happened after that, Blaze?" Blaze looked like he couldn't hold back crying much longer or tell anymore of the story but he continued speaking anyway. "Well after we hid from them for a few minutes we ran inside grabbed the blanket from my bed and ran away from the orphanage without anypony seeing us. I then found a box big enough for both of us an the ally a few miles away and we decided to stay there where nopony would find us and make us go back to the orphanage." Blaze stopped talking as he felt his throat began to throb in pain from holding back crying. Lightning and Scootaloo looked at him with concern now that they have heard how they wound in up in that ally. "It was all my fault that I let Melody get hurt by those other kids and it was all my fault that we had ended up in that ally because I was the one who made us run away." Blaze said as he began to feel even more sick with guilt. Neither Scootaloo nor Lightning could stand to see blaze hurt himself anymore. Lightning finally wrapped a foreleg around the colts tiny form and pulled him close to him. "Come on, Blaze, it's okay to cry, go ahead and let it out." He said gently to the little colt. Blaze couldn't hold back his tears anymore as Lightning's soothing tone and comforting embrace broke him down.He finally buried his head into the side of Lightning's chest and quietly cried out all of his guilt for putting himself and his sister in the situation that they were in. Melody eventually woke up and saw Blaze crying. "Blaze why are you crying?" She asked before crying as well when she saw how upset her brother was. Both Scootaloo and Lightning did their best to comfort the child in their forelegs. Neither one of them tried to stop the Children's crying as they felt is was best to let their tears flow and let all the pain they must have built up. After a few minutes both Blaze and Melody eventually calmed down. They each then looked up to the pony that at the two ponies that held them. "Do you both feel better?" Scootaloo asked them. Blaze and and Melody both nodded their heads before Lightning asked them another question. "If you both have been out in that ally for three weeks, how did you both survive, what did you both eat and drink?" Guilt once more filled Blaze's mind as he remembered how he and Melody both survived. "Um, I-I stole food from some of the food stands at night when they were closed and we went to town well to drink the water when nopony was looking." Blaze saw Lightning raise an eyebrow give him a disapproving look. He shrunk under Lightning's hard gaze but his gaze eventually softened a little bit. "I can't say that I'm happy that you stole food that didn't belong to you." Lightning said sternly. Blaze looked down in sadness. "And I can't say it was a good idea to put either you or Melody in danger by running away. You could have been hurt or killed out there." Lightning continued in a very stern tone of voice. Lightning's look of disapproval finally faded away as he gave Blaze a sad smile. "But I can say, that I understand why you did what you did." he said gently to the little colt before giving him a comforting hug. Scootaloo put Melody down beside Blaze and the little filly hugged her big brother and blaze returned the hug with one of his own. Melody then went over to Lightning and hugged him and Lightning wrapped his forelegs around her a gave a small nuzzle. Scootaloo held out her forelegs to Blaze. Blaze ran into the mares arms and hugged her as she gently nuzzled the colt. After a moment of Silence everyone broke their hugs and the children let out a big tired yawn. "I think we all should go back to bed. We'll talk more about this in the morning." Scootaloo said sweetly to all of the ponies beside her. Everyone nodded and Lightning picked up Melody and Scootaloo picked up Blaze. They brought the children back into the guest room and tucked them both in as Lightning gave Melody a kiss on the forehead and then gave one to Blaze as well. Scootaloo then gave Blaze and Melody each a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, you two" Lightning said to them before turning around to leave. "Sleep Tight" Scootaloo said sweetly before following her husband to the door. "Goodnight" Both Blaze and Melody said at the same time before quickly falling asleep. Lightning and Scootaloo both smiled at the two children for a moment before heading back to their room and quietly closing their door. As they both got ready to fall back asleep Lightning heard his wife voice something to him. "Lightning, I think we should adopt, Blaze, and, Melody." She said to him Lightning looked at her in shock "What!?" he said, completely thrown off at what she just told him. "I think we should adopt Blaze and Melody." Scootaloo replied. "S-Scootaloo-" Lightning stuttered "We've accepted them into our home, they care about us and we care about them. So I say we give them a new home and a new family that they desperately need." Scootaloo said to her husband "It's one thing to let them stay with us for a few days, Scootaloo, but adopting them?" Lightning questioned "They trust us, Lightning, they've been through things nopony should have to go through. They have have nowhere to go, and there's no way in Tartarus that I'm letting them go back to that orphanage." Scootaloo said. Lightning looked out the window while he rubbed the side of his head with his hoof. Scootaloo saw that he was deep in thought and went over to him before taking his hoof in hers and giving him a loving nuzzle. "Lightning, don't you remember us talking about having children someday?" She asked sweetly as she continue to nuzzle her husband. "I-I don't know, Scootaloo, I need some time to think about this. Let's talk more in the morning okay?" He said as he kissed his wife's cheek. Scootaloo softly smiled and nodded her head. She went back to the bed as Lightning looked out to the moonlit sky. He didn't know what he should do but he knew someone that could help him. He decided to take the children with him tomorrow to go visit his mother and get some advice. Lightning then went back to the bed, and laid down beside his beautiful wife. The two smiled at each other for a moment before sharing a loving kiss and falling asleep in each others embrace. Everyone in the house then slept peacefully through the night as Princess Luna's beautiful moon bathed everyone in the house in a warm comforting glow. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the Morning sun rose over Equestria, Lightning Twister slept peacefully in his bed. His eyes began to open when the sunlight shined upon them. Rubbing his eyes and sitting up in his bed, he stretched a little bit before turning to the right to see if Scootaloo was awake yet. However he saw that she wasn't there. She must have gotten up early this morning. After a moment of waking up, Lightning left the bed and went downstairs. When he arrived at the living room he was greeted with a pleasant scent coming from the kitchen. Going through the kitchen door he smiled when saw Scootaloo cooking several delicious Pancakes while humming a cheerful tune to herself. He continued to smile when he also saw Blaze and Melody sitting at the table waiting patiently. "Good Morning everyone." Lightning said happily catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Morning, Lightning!" Scootaloo said happily, "Take a seat at the table, I'll be ready with breakfast in a minute." Lightning did as he was told and sat down at the table beside the kids. "Good Morning you two, did you both sleep well?" He asked them with a smile. Both children smiled in response and nodded their heads. Scootaloo then came over to the table and set pancakes down in front of everyone. "Alright everypony, dig in." She said cheerfully as she sat down next to Lightning. Blaze put some syrup on his pancakes and took a bite he smiled as he swallowed the first bite. "Wow, these are delicious, Scootaloo." He said happily as he ate another bite. Scootaloo smiled pleasantly and said, "Thank you, Blaze." The young colt took another bite and swallowed it before looking at his sister. "They're very good aren't they, Melody?" he asked he as she smiled and nodded her head in response. Lightning smiled as everyone was enjoying breakfast. He then saw Scootaloo looking at him with a soft smile on her face. He knew she was still thinking about adopting Blaze and Melody, it was as if she was telling him this is what the future would be like if they adopted them. Blaze and Melody would be happy and would never have to worry about being alone again, and Lightning and Scootaloo would be the proud parents of two very sweet and innocent children. Lightning then remembered last night, he remembered his hesitance to adopt Blaze and Melody it was if something was telling it would not be a good idea to adopt them. He could only hope that Fluttershy would point him in the right direction when he visited her later. After everyone was finished with breakfast, Lightning quickly washed the dishes and went into the Living room where he saw Scootaloo putting a jacket on both Blaze and Melody since they were all about to leave the house. She tossed Lightning his jacket and then put her own on. It was then that Blaze finally spoke up with curiosity. "Where are we going, Scootaloo?" He asked the mare in front of him. "Well," Scootaloo began "I'm going to go see the doctor to see why I haven't been feeling so well for the past few days. You two are going to go with, Lightning, because he's going to take you to see someone very special to him. Lightning stared at her in shock she must have know that he was taking them to see Fluttershy. He then saw Blaze and Melody in front of him with curious looks on they're faces. Lightning looked back at Scootaloo who giggled and winked at her husband before stepping outside. "Who are we going to see, Lightning?" Blaze asked him. Looking back at the children in front of him he said, "We're going to go see my mother, I know she'll want to meet you." Hearing about seeing a new pony Melody began to get scared ever since she was bullied by the children at the orphanage she was scared about meeting anypony new. Lightning and Blaze saw the fear in the little filly's eyes and Lightning gave her a soft smile. "Don't be scared Melody, my mother is one of the Kindest mares you will ever meet." He said to her in a reassuring tone of voice. Melody began to tremble a little bit but she gave Lightning a shaky nod of her head. Lightning figured she would calm down when she actually met his mother. The three of them went outside to see Scootaloo standing there waiting for them. "Well there ya'll are what took ya so long?" She asked as she giggled at them. Lightning simply chuckled and rolled his eyes at his wife's playfulness. He went over to her as she smiled at him. "I better get going, I'll see all of you later." She said sweetly before she and Lightning leaned in to each other to share a quick kiss. After the kiss was broken, Lightning, and the children waved goodbye at. Scootaloo turned around and flew into town. Once she was out of sight, Lightning bent down and extended one of his wings. "Climb on my back kids, we'll get to my mothers house much faster if we fly." he said to them. Blaze and Melody nodded their heads and jumped onto Lightning's back. Blaze went up first and then helped melody up. Once they were settled safely on his back, Lightning took off towards his destination. After about five minutes, Lightning saw a small cottage in the distance. The children saw it as well and looked around at what they saw. They could see a small river and bridge at the front of the cottage. They also saw a chicken coop as well as the terrifying Everfree forest. They were both told by their parents that the Everfree forest was completely off limits and they were to never go in there. Looking back at the cottage they could see a mare waving at them. Lightning smiled at the pony and made his way down to the ground. Once he landed safely on the ground, he let the children off of his back and they both ran behind him when they saw the mare a few feet away from them. Lightning went towards the mare and the children heard a very soft voice coming from her. "Oh, Lightning. It's great to see you." She said sweetly to the young stallion. Lightning wrapped a foreleg around the mare as she did the same. "Hi, Mom." Lightning said softly as he nuzzled his mother. "How's Scootaloo, doing?" The mare asked her son. "She's doing okay, but she hasn't been feeling all week so she went to the doctor while I came here." "Oh my goodness," The mare replied in shock. "I hope she feels better soon. I just finished feeding the animals, please come inside." The mare said sweetly as she turned around only to feel a hoof on her shoulder. "Wait, Mom," Lightning quickly said to her, "before we go in there are some ponies I want to introduce you to." Stepping aside, Lightning revealed Blaze and Melody. The second they saw the mare they ran back behind Lightning. Lightning turned around and tried to comfort the scared children. "It's alright, kids, I promised you that my mother is very nice, have I broken a promise to either of you yet?" he asked them gently The kids shook their heads in response to his question. "Then I want you to trust me when I say that my Mother is not going to hurt you, I promise, now please come out I'm right here beside both of you." Lightning said softly as he turned back to his mother. The children stepped out from behind Lightning and stood in front of him where they were face to face Lightning's mother who looked at the children in shock. after making sure the children didn't run behind him again, Lightning cleared his throat and made the introductions. "Mom, I want you to meet, Blaze and Melody, Scootaloo and I are going to be looking after them for a little while." He said to his mother before looking at he children. "Blaze, Melody, this is my mother, Fluttershy." He said to them. Fluttershy continued to stare at the children as Lightning waited for somepony to something. After a moment of Silence Melody's shyness and fear of other ponies got the best of her as she ran back behind Lightning. This action broke everyone out of uncomfortable silence. Fluttershy stepped towards little Melody and reached a hoof out to touch her. Blaze wanted to stop her but Lightning placed a gentle hoof on him, letting him know that everything was fine. Tears fell from Melody's eyes and she began to tremble and whimper as Fluttershy finally touched her and began to softly rub her back. "Shh...It's okay little one, I promise, I'm not going to hurt you." She said gently hoping to calm the little filly down. Melody continued to whimper and shake as Fluttershy stroked her back while wearing the softest of smiles. Lightning turned around and watched the scene as Blaze laid down beside his little sister and nuzzled her. "It's okay, Mel, she's not gonna hurt you, she's a nice pony." He whispered in her ear, trusting Fluttershy." Melody began to calm down a little bit as Fluttershy stroked her back. Eventually she calmed down and found enough courage to step a little bit closer to Fluttershy. Fluttershy smiled at both of the children before saying, "It's very nice to meet both of you." Blaze softly smiled as Melody gave her a small smile. After a few minutes of everypony getting to know each other, Fluttershy showed the children around the cottage and introduced them to all of her animals. Soon Fluttershy went inside while Blaze and Melody played together outside. Both she and Lightning watched them through a window with soft smiles on their faces. However the happy moment was soon broken when Fluttershy began to speak to her son. "The children are very sweet, Lightning, but would care to tell me why they are with you and not they're parents." Lightning froze up when he heard his mother say that. He knew she would want to know what happened. After letting out a heavy sigh he began to explain the children's problem. he explained that their parents died in a carriage accident and about how they were mistreated and bullied at the orphanage. He then explained the last night when he found them and took them in. Fluttershy had small tears coming down her face hearing the children's story and she hugged Lightning. "Oh, Lightning," She began "I'm so sorry to hear about all that happened to those two sweet little children. If you hadn't found them and taken them in who knows what would have happened if they stayed out there all alone. I'm so proud of you, Lightning you've become a very kind and caring young stallion." Lightning returned his mothers hug with a small smile on his face. The two eventually broke the hug and watched the children play outside until Fluttershy spoke once again. "Alright, Lightning you and I both know you didn't come here just to introduce the children to me, Somethings bothering you, what is it?" Lightning stared at his mother with his eyes wide and mouth hanging wide open. "H-how did you!?" He stammered dumbfounded that his mother was able to figure out that something was bothering. Fluttershy giggled and said, "Lightning, I'm your mother, I know when something's bothering you. Now, will you tell me whats wrong?" Lightning let out a sigh and said, "Scootaloo, wants to adopt Blaze and Melody." Fluttershy looked at her son curiously as she gave him another look letting him know to tell her more. "Scootaloo thinks that since we have taken them in and that they trust us as well, we should adopt them." Fluttershy looked put a hoof on her sons cheek and gently moved his head to where he was looking at her. "Scootaloo cares about them, and you care about them too don't you?" She asked him. Lightning nodded his head in response to her question. "Then I don't any reason why you shouldn't adopt them." Fluttershy said softly "But, Mom, we just met them last night what if we aren't ready to be parents yet?" Lightning asked quickly Fluttershy simply shook her head and said, "Lightning, I want you to think about something." Lightning fell silent as his mother continued speaking to him. "Lightning when I first found you, you were just like these children, cold, scared, and alone, with nopony around to care for you. When you had a nightmare that first night, and I held you in my hooves and sang you to sleep like you were my own child, I knew that I cared about you and I knew I wanted to be the one to take care of you. Even after I found out that you had a father, didn't I promise that I would still take care of you?" Lightning nodded his head in response. "What I'm saying, sweetie, is just because you just met them, doesn't mean that they don't have a special place in your heart, and it doesn't mean that you can't love and care for them like they were your own." Lightning felt small tears form in his eyes as a new thought entered his mind. A painful thought that he wished he would never think. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked worryingly. "Mom, what if I'm just like my father?" He asked small tears came down his cheeks. Fluttershy gasped and then gave Lightning the stare. "Lightning Twister, I don't ever want to hear you say that again, do you understand me!?" She snapped sternly. Lightning shrunk under his mothers infamous stare. She has only used on him in the past when he was in trouble and when she scolded him. Even though he was a grown stallion he still shrunk under the eyes that made a dragon cry and a cockatrice run away. "You are nothing like that horrible stallion." Fluttershy snapped before softening her gaze and giving her son a soft smile. "Your kind, caring, selfless, and a loving husband, I know you would be a great father too." Lightning simply stared at his mother and closed his eyes. "I don't know Mom," He said "How can you be so confident?" Fluttershy wrapped a foreleg around her son and nuzzled his cheek. "Because I believe in you, my sweet little one." She said sweetly Lightning finally smiled and wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy. The two soon broke the hug and Fluttershy kissed her son on the forehead as she smiled at him. Blaze and Melody eventually came inside and saw the two ponies. They saw the small tear stains on Lightning's face and went over to him. What happened next left Lightning in shock. Melody climbed up lightning and wrapped her little forelegs around his neck while Blaze wrapped his around Lightning's waist. Lightning felt fresh tears form in his eyes but he quickly brushed them away with his hoof and wrapped one foreleg around Blaze and the other around Melody. "Blaze, Melody" He said to them as thy each looked at him. "How would you both like to stay with me and, Scootaloo." Blaze and Melody looked at Lightning in shock before Melody spoke up "Would you be our Mommy and Daddy?" Lightning felt tears flow down his cheeks again before nodding his head. "Yes, Melody, we will be your Mommy and Daddy." Those words made both Blaze and Melody cry but not tears of Sadness but Happiness. They each hugged Lightning once more as Fluttershy watched on proudly. The trio soon left Fluttershy's cottage and went back home. When they entered they saw Scootaloo waiting for them in the living room. She went up to them and kissed Lightning before speaking. "So how did everything go?" Lightning chuckled and replied, "Everything went fine." He then leaned in and whispered into her ear, "We'll go sign the adoption papers tomorrow." A huge smile formed on Scootaloo's face and tears ran down her cheeks as The Kids looked at her in confusion. "Mommy, why are you crying?" Melody asked. Hearing Melody call her "Mommy" made more tears fall from Scootaloo's eyes. She shook her head and said, "Nothing, sweetie." She then looked at Lightning and wrapped her forelegs around him. "Thank you, Lightning. I know we're going to be great parents." She said softly to him to him before looking him into the eyes. "Your welcome," He replied "What did the doctor say about you, are you alright?" Even more tears fell from Scootaloo's eyes as she answered the question. "Lightning," She said softly "Something wonderful has happened." Lightning looked at her in confusion, Blaze and Melody looked at her as well as she started to cry. "Lightning....I'm pregnant." It was now Lightning's turn to cry. Hearing those words made tears come from his eyes. But as he cried he had a smile on his face. However he said nothing to his wife in response. Instead he pulled her into a deep passionate kiss. Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around Lightning's head, not wanting him to brake the Kiss so quickly. The two did eventually brake the Kiss and Lightning pulled his new family into a group hug. The new family now cried tears of happiness together. Lightning and Scootaloo cried over having two new children and with a third on the way, and Blaze and Melody cried over having new loving Parents. They all then looked out the window at the beautiful setting sun with smiles on their faces. > Epilogue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Months have passed, and inside the home of Lightning Twister and his family, Scootaloo sits in a chair cradling her perfectly healthy newborn foal, Thunder Wave, in the crook of her foreleg as she fed him a bottle of warm milk. The infant drank the milk happily as Scootaloo softly giggled at him. "Don't dink it all to fast, sweetheart." She said to him sweetly. As she fed her her newborn son, the front door opened and revealed Lightning Twister as well as Blaze and Melody who came in behind him with smiles on they're faces. Ever Since Lightning and Scootaloo adopted them they had become much more trusting of other ponies and much less shy around them. "Hey there you two, how was school today?" Scootaloo asked her other two children "It was great!" Blaze said happily "Ms. Cheerilee says hi!" Melody said Scootaloo smiled softly at Blaze and Melody before looking up to her husband who came her way. He gave her a kiss before saying, "Let me take over for a little bit Scoots, and you can take a rest." Scootaloo nodded her head before looking at Thunder Wave, "Do you want to see Daddy, Sweetie?" she asked him The colt squealed and giggled as he held out his little hooves to his father, making Lightning chuckle. "Come here, you little rascal." He said to his newborn son playfully as he gently took him out of Scootaloo's forelegs. Scootaloo gave Lightning the bottle of milk and got out of the chair. Lightning took her spot and gave held the bottle of Milk as Thunder Wave continued to drink it. Blaze and Melody ran over to see their little brother. "Hey Thunder!" Blaze said happily "How's my little cutie of a brother doing?" Melody said sweetly as she stroked her newborn little brothers mane. Thunder Waved stopped drinking the milk and tried to grab his sisters hoof as well as her ponytail. Melody giggled as she bent over and nuzzled her little brothers stomach making him giggle. Lightning chuckled at the scene before speaking to Blaze and Melody. "Alright you two head upstairs and wash up while I finish feeding your brother." He said softly as Thunder Wave reached for the bottle. Blaze and Melody nodded their heads and went upstairs, leaving Lightning and Thunder alone. Thunder eventually finished the milk and Lightning burped him as Scootaloo came down to see how the two were doing. Scootaloo softly smiled at the two as Thunder let out a soft yawn. "Well, it looks like somepony's ready for a nap." Scootaloo said gently to Thunder. She took the little foal out of Lightning's forelegs and took wrapped him in a blanket on the couch that Rarity had made for him. She then kissed her husband once again before flying upstairs. Lightning then got up from the chair and went over to the window as he looked out at the sun. He let a sigh and smiled as he thought about how much his life has changed over the past twenty years. Now he was ready for the next big adventure in his life with his new family. The End