> Beyond Sisters Love
>  by Harmony Split
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Bad Start
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter One: A Bad Start



        Cloudchaser’s sweet sleep was disturbed by rays of sunlight through the window. She wasn’t eager to get up yet; instead she wanted to stay in bed at her sister’s side. Flitter, however had other plans, the playful mare left a soft trail of kisses on her sister’s snout.

        “Good morning,” she eagerly whispered at the end of her trail, giving her sister a loving gaze.

        Cloudchaser shifted and turned until she met the gaze of her sister. “Good morning to you too, my love,” she replied, planting a soft peck on her muzzle.

        They both stayed like that for several minutes, but eventually Fritter rose and slowly made her way to the bathroom. After some time she returned, planting another kiss on Cloudchaser’s forehead.

        “It’s unfair that you have another day off. I have to work like normal today,” she purred, but smiled at the view of her sleepy sister.

        “I can take care of things around the house today, like that extra door you wanted, and I’ll do some shopping. Don’t worry, I'll have enough to do,” came the reply from her sister. Despite her assurances, Flitter could see that that Cloudchaser wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

        “Do we have anything other than cereal?” Flitter asked.

        “Nope,” came the reply from Cloudchaser before she turned and buried her head back in her pillow.

        With a sigh Flitter made her way to the kitchen, opening the cabinets to take inventory. They hadn’t brought much over from their old home. Flitter was happy that she had to work today, because she hated long shopping trips and judging from the contents of the cupboards, this would surely be a very long shopping trip. Smiling, she grabbed a quill and paper, making some notes for Cloudchaser.

        That should be enough so she doesn’t forget anything.

        She laid the note down next to the fridge and turned back to the cabinets, preparing herself a bowl of cereal. It wasn’t much, but it was better than trying to work on an empty stomach.

        Especially when working with Rainbow Dash.

        Looking out of the window and enjoying her rather simple breakfast, Flitter suddenly realized she was going to be late. She hadn’t accounted for the fact that they were now living on the outskirts of Cloudsdale, and the journey to work was going to take a lot longer.

        “Oh, for the love of… I’m gonna be late the first day after the move. Rainbow will have my head on a platter,” Flitter silently cursed. She quickly finished her meal, and grabbed her saddlebags.

        She stepped out of the front door and took off, leaving her new home behind her. It took her longer than expected, but soon she reached the small gathering area where the weather team met before starting work. Flitter cursed her bad luck to see Rainbow waiting there with an impatient expression on her muzzle.

        “Flitter… I thought I made myself clear the last time. I’m not waiting for any sleepy heads.” Rainbow gave her an angry glare before motioning into the row.

        Flitter quickly took her place and waited for the instructions. Rainbow took her time today, going through various lists before gazing at the pegasi in front of her.

        “I really need an egghead for all this paperwork…” she muttered before raising her voice. “Alright you lame-o’s. Today we're preparing for the big spring breeze. That means we have to pull up our reserve of storm clouds. Get into teams of four ponies, then meet up for further instructions. Any questions?”

        “No, ma’am,” came the shouted response back, the discipline displayed by her team caused Rainbow to grin.

        Flitter teamed up with Cloud Kicker, Dewdrop and Lavender Skies, and went to get their assigned tasks from Rainbow. They were to gather the stormclouds from west Cloudsdale and position them over the parks.

        All four of them shot away, collecting cloud after cloud. Flitter tried to keep her head clear, but she kept catching herself thinking about Cloudchaser, making it hard to concentrate on dealing with the stormclouds. As she daydreamed about her sister, she bumped a cloud, and a painful shock burnt her wingtip. 

        “What in tarnat-- I really need to save my fantasies about Cloudchaser for home,” she muttered, shaking her wings angry about minor laps.

        “Flitter, stop daydreaming, we don’t have all day,” Dewdrop shouted as she flew by, chasing two black clouds. 

        Flitter shook her head and started pushing her cloud in the same direction.  “I wonder what my sister is doing right now…”


***


        Cloudchaser stirred and rolled over, trying to avoid the sun on her face. The task wasn’t easy as her new position caused her to be greeted by another beam of light.

        Next time we’ll only add one window.

        It was her last day off for a while and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest extent possible. She stirred again and her right wing touched an empty space on the bed, missing something. In a blink, she rose and looked around before relaxing again.

        “She already went off for work. So much for enjoying the time in bed,” Cloudchaser muttered as she buried her head deep in her pillow. 

        As much as she wanted to stay in bed, she had promised her sister a few things, and shopping was one of those things, regardless how much she hated it. With a lazy groan and a sigh she got up, and walked towards the bathroom. 

The room was barely finished.

        Oh, right. The new cloudshower should be ready today. I have to pick it up from the factory.

        A few drops of water splashed on her face did the trick and she walked into the kitchen in a vain attempt to put together something vaguely edible. A pathetic plate of ‘whatever she could find that did not look like it was trying to escape’ later and she noticed a small note on the counter, signed with a kiss from her sister.



        Good morning, sleepyhead!

Please don’t forget to go to the market today. We’re nearly out of food. You should also check the factory today to see if our things are ready. We’re still waiting for two frames, doors, and the new shower.

        Flitter x x x

        PS: Don’t buy too many of those Hersheys again!



        Cloudchaser smiled at the end of the letter, signed with a kiss. She wasn’t really a mushy pony, but her sister seemed to be turning her into one. She shrugged it off.

        It’s worth it.

        She noticed some bits on the counter and looked for her saddlebags. Finding them in one corner she put them on and threw the bits inside. She wasn’t the kind of mare to enjoy an all day shopping tour, but for Flitter, she would just have to gulp it down and do it. Even if it just meant they’d have something more exciting in the house than what she assumed had been baking soda, it would be worth it because it would make her happy.

        With a quick motion she grabbed the letter with her wing and dropped it into her saddlebag. She wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t forget anything. Another glance around and she was ready to go. She left her house on steady wings and took off into the sky. 

        It wasn’t a very long flight, but it was a lot further since they had moved house. Smiling about the memory, she dove over the clouds, enjoying being able to give her wings a bit of a stretch. She would never admit it, but being grounded drove her crazy; even cloudshaping couldn’t satisfy her need to exercise her wings. 

        However, she would never tell that to Flitter. Her little sister and lover, she was sometimes too cautious about everything that went on with her. It was something — in fact, the only thing — Cloudchaser didn’t like about her sister: being too caring for her. Though it was understandable, given what had happened in the past, and it was a small price to pay as she loved Flitter with every fibre of her heart. 

        And I can’t deny that I worry awfully about her myself.

        She chuckled and dove back down, heading for Cloudsdale’s main market. It was a big place, covered by a cloud roof on some columns. As she neared it, she spotted huge crowds of ponies all over the place.

        With a sigh, she landed and took her place in the queue. She needed some fruit and vegetables. After that she would have to go to the bakery to get some bread, and then she could stop in at the factory on the way home to check on their orders.

        The line was long and nearly an hour passed before she was served. Cloudchaser got everything she needed — apples, oranges, and even some strawberries — which she was delighted about, strawberries being Flitter’s secret weakness. Both in the kitchen and in the bedroom.

        Filling her saddlebags with everything, she winged the market stallion some bits and intend to taking off, heading for the bakery now.

        “Cloudchaser? Is that you?” a voice behind her called out, causing her to freeze in place. As she turned, she found herself standing close to a blue pegasus, one she remembered all too well. “Hey, it’s me, Cerulean Skies! You must remember me!” he continued with a friendly smile on his face as he stepped closer.

        “Yes, I remember you, and what you did. Not… one… step… closer!” she said, the last sentence cut off by her anger after every word. Blood was boiling in her, the past coming up in front of her eyes: She, a young mare at flight school being separately trained side by side with the blue pegasus around her age; them becoming much closer until he betrayed everything.

        “Don’t be like that, Chase.” he smiled and lifted a hoof. “I know you overreacted last time and I forgive you. I know we had fun that night.”

        “Fun?! Fun?! After everything you did, you really have the guts to talk to me?!” Cloudchaser didn’t scream, but she wasn’t her usual collected self either.

        “You overreacted, Chase. It was all good fun. Besides, I know you wanted it too,” he said. His smile only got friendlier. “Come with me, it can be like old times, I know we have a lot to catch up on.”

        “With the way you used me?! I’m not going anywhere with you!” she shouted.

        Don’t show him you're afraid…

        Cerulean wasn’t used to being rejected. “C’mon Chase, let’s go, we can discuss this in private.” The pair were starting to attract a lot of unwanted attention. He grabbed at her before they attracted any more. 

        Cloudchaser wanted to scream, but the pain over her past was too much. She whimpered as he dragged her along, their destination unknown to the mare. All she thought of was Flitter, and how helpless she was in this situation. 

The thoughts of her sister gave her strength. She bit at his hoof and swung at him. Anything to get him to leave her alone. It happened by accident, but when Cerulean raised a hoof to defend himself, he ended up hitting Cloudchaser square in the jaw.  

        Please, somepony help me… was her final thoughts before she passed out.

        “It’s just an accident everypony. I’ll get her home and take good care of her!” Cerulean called out as he picked up the unconscious mare and placed her on his back. He had not lied; he did forgive her for putting him in jail, he could forgive this too. After all, they were meant to be together.

  
      ***


        Flitter was pushing cloud after cloud over the park. She wasn’t able to get her sister completely out of her mind, but she was able to concentrate enough to finish her work. Rainbow Dash watched, satisfied about everything, with everypony working faster than she had expected.

        The day seemed to be over in a rush, and Flitter couldn’t help but think about her sister doing all the errands. Moving was a lot of work and she felt bad about Cloudchaser having to give up her day off without anypony there to help.

        Suddenly, a deep pain developed in her gut. It felt as if something was off, or just not the way it should be. She couldn’t tell why, but it felt like something was wrong. Eager to be done as quickly as possible and rejoin her lover and sister again, Flitter moved cloud after cloud, not really taking note of her growing exhaustion.

        After a while her wings hurt and she was out of breath, but the work was done. Rainbow saw her and hovered over.

        “Hey, Flitter, you okay?” Rainbow asked her.

        “I guess… just need time to breathe…” she answered and landed on a nearby cloud.

        Rainbow wanted to argue; she could see that there was something off. She decided against it. As much as she was loyal to her friends, she couldn’t help but think Flitter and Cloudchaser were only setting themselves up for heartache. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea that she was planning to follow her best friend.

        “Alright, everypony, c’mon here. I got something to tell ya all.” Rainbow shouted and everypony in the weather team lined up in front of her. “As most of you know, I’ve been working here for two years now. Together we’ve been through a lot, and made the Cloudsdale weather team the very best in all of Equestria. However, you will have to do it without my help in the future.” Everypony gasped. “Yes, you heard right. I’m moving to Ponyville; I’m leaving Cloudsdale.”

        Everypony was shocked. Too shocked to say anything at first, In the end it was Dewdrop that broke the silence, “Why now?”

        Rainbow focused on her with a sad smile. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re all good friends of mine — everypony here. I’ve really enjoyed working with you, but it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. I’m moving to Ponyville because my best and oldest friend lives there. My uncle even got me the rights to build a cloudhouse over the town.”

        You could see how excited she sounded, but it broke the team. After the announcement, Rainbow dismissed them for the day, but everypony had something on their mind now. Some asked who the new leader would be; others were angry because they thought Rainbow was leaving them hanging.

        It was still early in the day, just a few minutes after noon. Flitter did not want her lover to see her in a big mess worried about nothing, so she took a quick detour through the park. 

A little relaxing before going home won’t hurt.

        Flitter sped up and passed the market. She gasped to see the long line in front of the stands. 

Maybe Cloudchaser is still there, queuing up for the stands? 

She slowed down and dove deeper, keeping an eye open for her sister. When there was no sign of her, she sighed.

        She must be at the bakery or even the factory already.

        Flitter laughed uneasily and continued on her way. Sometimes maybe she worried too much about her sister. Cloudchaser was a grown mare and could take care of herself. Flitter shrugged the feeling off and tried to focus on the time when they would be reunited later in the day. Every time felt like their first, and they knew what they had was precious, despite the taboo against it.

        Just as she was beginning to cheer up again, she spotted something on her right that made her blood freeze. She spotted her sister on the back of a blue stallion — a stallion she hoped she would never have to face again; the stallion that broke her sister. Her brain ignited with anger and hate, something that was rare for Flitter. With a scowl she dove downwards and aimed to intercept the stallion.

        She landed hard, maybe harder that was necessary, but it did the job, the stallion stopped dead in his tracks. Cerulean Skies smiled at the new treat. He smiled a smile that soon turned into laughter.

        “Oh look, Chase, your little chicken of a sister is here,” he turned back to the mare on his back, blood slowly dripping out of her mouth.

        Flitter’s anger boiled even more at this sight. “Let her go!”

        “I don’t think so. You’d better step out of the way now, before I get angry, filly. She is mine and I will take her!” On the last sentence he stomped his hooves.

        To her credit, Flitter never backed away an inch. In fact, to the contrary, she started walking towards him. “Let her go, now!”

        “Aww, what are you going to do now, little filly? Protect your sister? I’m going to take her. She needs a stallion like me!” He puffed out his chest at the last words, seemly proud with himself.

        “And so you hurt her? Force her like the last time?! She doesn’t need you!” Flitter was unsure how all this would end, but the blood dripping more and more out of her lover’s muzzle blinded her with anger.

        “Why wouldn’t she need me? Of course she needs me. She wants me. She just doesn’t know it yet. She doesn’t need you, featherbrain. She needs a stallion at her side, not a sister,” Cerulean laughed.

        The anger in Flitter’s mind exploded; her wings burst open in anger. “You. Do. Not. Touch. My. MAREFRIEND!” she scowled and leapt at him.

        Cerulean was shocked by her statement and Flitter’s blow connected shortly after. They both rolled over and Cloudchaser fell off the stallion’s back. Flitter’s vision was red; she punched and bit every inch of the stallion she could find. He hurt her lover and now she would hurt him back. 

        It wasn’t long before the ponies on the street called for the guards, quickly followed by the Wonderbolts. Soon there was a squad heading for the two fighting pegasi. They lifted away Cloudchaser who was still flat on the clouds lying next to the fight, then they held their spears up.

        “In the name of the princess, stop your actions immediately!” their captain shouted, but Flitter didn’t even notice him. She was too busy stamping on the stallion under her hooves, who was barely conscious. She continued until one of the unicorn guards trapped her in his magic aura and lifted her off the stallion. Her anger continued to boil, she tried to kick Cerulean more, but was incapable of doing so.

        The guards surrounded her and carried her away from Cerulean who spat blood before screaming, “that mare is crazy! She attacked me for no reason!”

        “That’s a lie! He attacked and captured my sister!” Flitter screamed back. Soon both of their muzzles were shut by magic.

        The captain shook his head, this was far, far too much to deal with right now. However, protocols are protocols and as soon as she mentioned a possible kidnapping, he had no choice but to take everyone in for questioning. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you two will accompany me to headquarters, and you will stay in the cells until you have calmed down! I’m taking you both into custody until I get this mess figured out.” Flitter looked at him in shock.

        “Didn’t you hear me?! He captured my sister!” she screamed but the captain just sighed.

        “If you’re telling the truth then there is nothing you have to be afraid of. But for now, you stay under arrest,” he answered. He turned away, making it clear that the conversation was over.

        Flitter looked shocked, but knew there was nothing she could do now. “Please, take care of my sister. I don’t know what he did to her, but she was bleeding out of her muzzle. She’s hurt, please.”

        The captain turned back, his expression softened. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her.”

        They carried Flitter and Cerulean to a carriage while two unicorns examined Cloudchaser. Now that she thought about it, she knew what was strange. Those unicorns walked on clouds. They had to be using a spell or trick, since even school fillies knew that only a pegasus could walk on clouds.

        She sighed and let them carry her to the chariot that swiftly took them to the Cloudsdale headquarters. With everything that had happened, she had expected worse. Looking out of the small window of her new cell, a window secured with bars, tears began to form under her eyes.

        And I thought nothing could happen to us. I love you, sister....

> Locking up the past
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter two: Locking up the past 





Cloudchaser sat in flight school and eagerly devoured all the knowledge she could. She wrote down every word her teacher said, and drew a sketch of every action that was demonstrated or explained. At her side was Flitter, eagerly listening. Neither of them could be happier.

        At her right, a blue stallion tried to get her attention. He waved and whispered, but she simply ignored him. She was here to learn something, not to talk with Cerulean Skies. The stallion, however, did not give up.

        “Hey Chase!” he hissed.

She snapped her head around. “What?”

        “I wanted to ask you if you would like to go to the club with me tonight,” he asked, looking sheepishly away.

        “W-what?” Cloudchaser asked.

        “Ah… never mind…” came the whisper back.

        Cloudchaser wasn't one to give up that easily. “Are you asking me on a date, Cerulean?”

        The stallion nodded and hung his head, but Cloudchaser grinned. She liked the shy, quiet stallion. She didn’t know anything about dating, but she was happy to try it. After all, she was here to learn.

        “Well, then count me in,” she said, grinning at him.

        “Wow, really? Great! Meet me at sundown at Club Rising Moon,” Cerulean said with a wink.

        Cloudchaser smirked happily and turned her attention back to the class, not aware of the look her sister was giving her. The day had just gotten way better.

        After a while the bell rung and their teacher dismissed them for the weekend. Cloudchaser couldn't wait to get home and get ready, but her sister was hot on her tail.

        “Cloud!” Flitter called out causing Cloudchaser to come to a stop.

        “What, lil' sis?”

        “You’re going on a date with that stallion?!” Flitter asked in disbelief.

        “Well, it should be fun and I think he’s really nice,” Cloudchaser replied, turning bright red.

        Flitter considered this. “Just… watch yourself, Cloud,” she said and spread her wings, taking off home.

        Cloudchaser looked in Flitter’s direction, confused. Her younger sister was worried, as usual. But somehow this time it seemed like something more, and she had no idea what to say or think. Shaking her head she took off after her sister, trying to get home as fast as possible.

  
      ***


        Cloudchaser was ready for her big date. She wore a casual dress and combed her mane one last time. The spikes in it were gone, and her hair cascaded over her shoulder much more like Flitter's now. With a happy sigh she turned away from the mirror and laid the brush down. It was time to go.

        She left her room and went to the front door, her mother stopping her shortly in front of it. “You look amazing, darling. Please, don't forget to always be nice, and don't do anything you’ll regret.”

        Cloudchaser hugged her and left the house. She thought Flitter would be there to wish her luck, but she was nowhere to be seen. Little did she know that Flitter was watching through her bedroom window until she was out of sight.

        She sped up, not wanting to be late to her first date. The sun started going down and the air went chilly, but felt surprisingly good on her coat. It would be an enjoyable night at the club; Cerulean would take good care of her.

        It wasn't long before she stood in front of the club, where the blue stallion was already waiting for her. She approached and hugged him.

        He kissed her cheek softly. “Should we go in?” Cloudchaser nodded eagerly.

        They both made their way into the club, ignoring the queue by the door and stepping straight in. It seemed like Cerulean knew somepony here, because the bouncer nodded at him and let them in without any wait.

        Cerulean led her to a small corner, cordoned off by a red band. A sign read 'VIP' in big letters and Cloudchaser’s heart jumped as they sat down. The stallion looked at her sheepishly, avoiding her gaze until she softly smiled.

        “I'm going to get us a drink, then maybe we could dance?” he suggested and again, Cloudchaser was more than eager to approve.

        Cerulean Skies rose and went to the bar. He talked to the mare behind it for a while, and after a few moments, she passed him two blue glasses. Cloudchaser eyed hers suspiciously when he passed her one.

        “Don't worry, you'll like it. It's a Lemon Kick — tastes awesome!” he said and motioned for her to drink.

        Cloudchaser took a few sips and indeed, it tasted pretty good. She downed her drink and smacked her lips, smiling a bit. “That was awesome! Can I have another one?” she asked, earning an eager nod from Cerulean.

        He got up and ordered another drink for her, this one disappearing faster than the first. She started to feel weird, but it was a good weird. The room was slightly spinning as Cerulean led her to the dancefloor, but she had no intention of stopping him. No, she wanted more.

        They started to dance and the feeling quickly became worse. It could have been minutes, or hours, but Cloudchaser didn't care. She leaned on Cerulean for support. It all seemed so right. Maybe it was the drink, but she felt good.

        Cerulean smiled at her and whispered into her ear. “C'mon, Chase, let's go somewhere more private.”

        Something seemed off — he wasn't shy and quiet anymore — but Cloudchaser couldn't care less. With an eager nod she followed him unsteadily. He soon picked her up with his hooves and carried her off the dancefloor and out of the club. She had no idea where they were going but at that moment she didn’t care.

        As the cold, fresh air hit her, she regained some of her composure, and the spinning faded. The warning of her sister came back to her, that she should watch herself. Before she could say anything, they were somewhere warm again, and that fuzzy feeling slowly returned. She forgot what she was thinking about.

        Cerulean laid her down on something soft and began to give her the strangest look. Something was off; Cloudchaser couldn't tell what it was until the stallion crawled up on her. She was lying on a bed and her eyes flew open wide.

        Cerulean said something and pushed his wings against her hooves, pinning her down. Cloudchaser was in panic now, trying to squirm free but it was no use. The stallion began to push her dress up, revealing everything she didn’t want him to see, but she hadn’t the wherewithal to defend herself.

        The first thing she felt as he crawled closer was pain. Pain, then nothing.



***



        Cloudchaser was met by a beam of sunlight directly on her muzzle, but she kept her eyes shut. She felt comfortable and didn't want that to end. As time ticked past, it dawned on her that she was in pain. The pain was everywhere, especially her hind legs. She cracked an eye open and looked around.

        She was in a hospital, bandages wrapped around her hind legs, her forehead, and her waist. Cloudchaser wondered why for a while, but suddenly everything came back and tears welled up in her eyes. Cerulean had used her; he had used her like she was nothing — a tool for his own pleasure. As the tears blurred her vision she spotted someone at the side of her bed.

        Flitter was lying at her side, snoring quietly. She was asleep, and Cloudchaser couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her. She lay peacefully; she seemed to have been there the whole time. Somehow, this sight gave her strength; a strength she’d been unsure she still had.

        Flitter stirred and raised her head, her gaze meeting Cloudchaser’s.

        “Cloud... you’re awake...” Flitter sobbed and leapt at her, hugging Cloudchaser tightly. “I thought I’d lost you! Thank Celestia, you’re still alive!”

        “What happened?” Cloudchaser asked, although she already knew. Flitter broke the embrace and winced, looking at the ground. She stayed silent and Cloudchaser raised a hoof to raise her chin. “Please… tell me!”

        Flitter sighed and sat down. “It was Cerulean Skies. He… he used you… some of his friends work at that club and the mare behind the bar was his half-sister. She enchanted your drink to make you more… willing. He took you to his home and… and…” Flitter couldn't take it anymore and cried, the tears breaking the wall she had tried to create, letting every emotion free that she’d been trying to hold back.

        Cloudchaser took her sister into another embrace and stroked her mane, softly squeezing her.

        “I wasn't there to protect you and he used you!” Her voice was nearly a scream now and Cloudchaser froze. “You fought back, he… he forced you down and hurt you badly, Cloud. He dropped you off at home when he was done with you. I… I… I found you and brought you here.”

        Flitter was blaming herself, and it seemed to have broken her. Cloudchaser wrapped a foreleg around Flitter and pulled her into an embrace. “You’re always there for me if I need you, but there was no way you could have seen this coming. Please don’t put this all on yourself! You’re my sister; we’re meant to stick together and give each other strength!”

        Flitter looked up, more tears welling up. “Thank you big sister.”

        Cloudchaser smiled at her younger sister and wrapped her deeper into the embrace, adding a wing as a soft blanket. They went back to sweet slumber. Being near Flitter numbed all Cloudchaser’s pain. It was her favourite place to be, and nothing would ever change that.






        “It’s time to wake up, my little pony.”

        The voice was soft and calm, reaching Cloudchaser’s ears. She stirred and tried to ignore it.

        Just a few more minutes…

        A soft touch on her forehead caused her to crack her eyes open slowly. She was lying in a bed in a blank-white room, and in front of her stood Princess Celestia, with a sad smile on her muzzle, her wing gently touching Cloudchaser’s forehead.

        “Good morning, Cloudchaser. How are you feeling today?” she asked.

        “P-p-princess Celestia. What are you doing here? I’m feeling…” Cloudchaser started, but stopped.

        Everything hurt, especially her muzzle when she spoke. She noticed the bandages on her forehead and then something at her hoof. An IV was connected to it. She took this all in in an instant and looked back at the sun princess.

        “I’m not feeling so good,” she said and looked down. “Where’s my sister?”

        Princess Celestia sighed and frowned. “She is currently in jail until we can get this all sorted out. I don’t want to alarm you but witnesses are saying she jumped on another pony; she attacked and almost killed him. You have to tell me exactly what happened.”

        “In jail? She tried to rescue me, princess! That… stallion… Cerulean… he… he used me years ago… he was convicted of rape and went to jail for several years. It seems like he is back and today I saw him on the streets. He was angry and tried to force me to his home…” Cloudchaser sobbed. She would not keep what Cerulean had tried secret.

        “Thank you, my little pony. Everything you said matches with the statements from various ponies that saw what happened. I will inform the captain to immediately release your sister. And let me give you my word that Cerulean Skies will end up in front of a court for his actions. If what you and your sister have been saying is true, then he will end up in jail for a long time. Now rest, and get well.” With that, Princess Celestia gave her a reassuring smile and left the room.

        Cloudchaser sighed. Maybe not everything was so bad. Flitter had rescued her and Cerulean would end up in jail.

        Flitter…

        Her heart fluttered at the thought of her. She had saved her; had risked her life for her. She was everything she could wish for as a marefriend. The past might be hurtful, but with Flitter she could live a new live. Smiling with her mind focussed on Flitter, she went back into a peaceful sleep. That their relationship could cause even more problems wasn’t on her mind for once.


        ***


        Flitter lay on the floor of her cell, waiting to give her statement. The captain had told her bluntly that with the evidence at hoof, things did not look good for her. Worst case scenario, she’d end up in jail for assault.

        Please, wake up and tell them the truth, sister.

        She lay her head in her hooves and sobbed. There was a high chance that she would end up in jail, and that Cerulean would get away. Worse, she would be unable to see or love Cloudchaser ever again. It was something that broke her completely.

        Flitter’s gentle sobs turned into full weeping; the thoughts going through her mind causing her almost physical pain. The next sound startled her: the door opened and hooves neared. Flitter was sure that they had come to take her to a more permanent cell. However, instead she heard Princess Celestia’s voice. “Let her go, lieutenant.”

        The lieutenant looked on in shock, seemingly unsure what to do. “P-princess Celestia! I… I can’t just…”

        “That wasn’t a request or a suggestion, lieutenant, it was an order. You will let her go immediately.” Her voice did not leave any room for doubt — this was not up for discussion.

        The hoofsteps came closer and Flitter raised her head. Princess Celestia was standing in front of her cell with a smile on her muzzle while the lieutenant fumbled, trying to find the right key. He was rightly afraid of the sun goddess behind him.

        After what seemed like forever, he found the key he needed and opened the door, quickly stepping aside. Flitter tried to stand up, but she hadn’t realized how long she’d been without food, and was surprised when she was not able to bring herself to her hooves.

        “Let me help you,” Princess Celestia said and walked in. “There is somepony eagerly waiting for you.”

        The Princess reached out a wing and gently pulled Flitter up onto her hooves. Flitter stammered her thanks and walked out of the cell, supported by the princess. Outside, they boarded a waiting chariot before it pulled off, heading in the direction of the hospital. Flitter couldn’t do anything other than smile; she would soon be with her love again.

        “My little pony, what you did was indeed astonishing — you saved your sister from a stallion. You were unafraid to defend her life. I cannot say that I have seen such actions in a while.” Princess Celestia stopped and sighed. “While you may still have to face consequences for the violent actions you took, if your statements are true, then Cerulean Skies’ activities have come to an end. That stallion will never again cause any problems for you or your sister.” 

        A content silence hung over the rest of the trip until they reached the hospital. Princess Celestia led Flitter through various corridors, supporting her while she walked. The staff in the hospital seemed shocked to see them. Celestia used her magic to push open the door to the room Cloudchaser was staying in.

What Flitter saw made her heart jump with joy. Cloudchaser was sitting on the bed, looking out of the window. Flitter forgot her weakened state and hobbled to her sister, pulling her into a soft hug that caught Cloudchaser by surprise, but she quickly leaned in.

        “I missed you, Cloud,” she mumbled and buried herself deep in her sister’s coat, enjoying the warmth.

        Princess Celestia smiled and turned to the door. “I’ll leave you two alone for now. When I have the exact date for the trial, I’ll send somepony to inform you about it. Rest well, my little ponies.”

        They both waited for the door to close, then broke their embrace and looked into each others eyes. After what seemed like an endless wait, they leaned in until their lips met. It was a long kiss, full of passion, love, and desire. It was a kiss that marked another chapter of their deep love. It said something important.

        Whatever we have to face, we will overcome it together.


> Painful Treatment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter three: Painful Treatment



        For the sisters, the next two weeks passed by rather quickly. After the first one,  Cloudchaser was finally allowed to go home. Not a single minute of those two weeks did Flitter leave her side. She would even wash her sister’s mane in the shower. For Cloudchaser, it was the sweetest thing anypony had ever done for her. For two weeks they were gloriously happy together, until a scroll arrived with the royal insignia.

        Flitter broke the seal with shaking hooves and unrolled the scroll. She quickly read everything and audibly gulped, causing her sister to look up, worryingly. “Flitter, is something wrong?”

        Flitter breathed in and sighed. “The court will convene next week. But that’s not it. Cerulean Skies and his family are accusing me of second grade assault and attempted murder. And… and of incest…” she nearly whispered the last sentence.

        “They’re doing what?” Cloudchaser couldn’t believe it.

        “They accusing us of incest… the Princess is going to arrange a lawyer up for us.” Flitter said and sat down on her haunches, her legs not able to carry her weight anymore. “I thought it would be easy, and now everything is going worse than I ever imagined.” She looked at Cloudchaser. “I ruined everything. Why did I have to open my muzzle and call you my marefriend in front of everypony. I’m… I’m so sorry!” she cried out and broke down completely.

        Cloudchaser immediately leapt forwards and wrapped her hooves and wings around Flitter. In this embrace she caught sight of the letter, and she immediately understood why Flitter was shocked. Incest was illegal. Even if the Princess didn’t punish them, the ponies of Cloudsdale would for sure.

        She shivered. Even being accused of it could ruin their lives completely — the accusation alone would follow them forever. Cloudchaser hoped that the lawyer Princess Celestia chose as their defender was good — really good. Cerulean Skies’s father was not the poorest of ponies and would definitely try to get the best lawyer money could buy. But all of that faded in her mind as Flitter snuggled closer and Cloudchaser enjoyed the warmth.

        After a while they broke apart, staring into each others eyes. Their gaze spoke to the other only of love, pure and unconditional.

“Whatever happens…” Cloudchaser started.

        “...we’ll face it together.” Flitter finished her sister’s sentence and smiled.

        They didn’t care that they were lying on the floor. The only thing that counted was that they had each other. Nothing else would ever come between them — they could defeat anything with their love. Even if it meant acting like sisters and nothing more around everypony else. Their love was worth anything — worth everything.

        The sister’s didn’t know how long they were on the floor. The sun was creeping close to the horizon when they heard some sounds from their front door. “Hello? Anypony there?”

        Both looked at each other, confused, and stood up, making their way along the corridor and nearly ran into Rainbow Dash. Rainbow shot sheepish looks at them before blushing and looking down.

        “Uhm… I just wanted to say goodbye to you. I’m leaving Cloudsdale now and as you know, I probably won’t come back,” the prismatic mare said, and poked nervously at the floor with her front hoof. “I heard about that stuff with that stallion and I’m sorry. About everything. I don’t like what you two are doing, but this is your business. Just know that I will always be there for you.” She groaned. “Damn you, Fluttershy, I’m getting all mushy again.”

        They stood in silence for a bit; Flitter broke it first. She stepped forward and pulled Rainbow into a hug, then released her for Cloudchaser to do the same. As they broke, Flitter shed a small tear. “I know you were my boss, but you were also a good friend, Rainbow. I wish you all the best and hope that maybe we will see each other again sometime.” Flitter smiled.

        Cloudchaser stayed silent and nodded. There was no need to be mushy in front of Rainbow. She knew Rainbow hated that too. After another awkward silence Rainbow coughed. “Well, I better keep going. You two watch out for each other, right? See ya!” And with that the mare turned and went outside, quickly taking off.

        After watching Rainbow leave, they made their way to the living room and flopped down onto the couch. Lying next to each other, enjoying the warmth, they finally relaxed. The last two weeks had been hard, and the future would throw even more at them. But the biggest worry was still the court. If Cerulean Skies convinced everypony about the ‘incest’ part, they could even be banned from Equestria.

        They enjoyed being near each other for a while, then something came into Flitter’s mind. “Do you think the factory kept our order in storage all that time?”

        Cloudchaser lay still, but she opened her eyes. “We can visit it tomorrow and take a look. Maybe we should add a second bedroom, Flitter. The same size, so we’d have a bedroom each.”

        Those words hurt Flitter and she whimpered, causing her sister hug her tighter. “Hey, don’t even think about it. It would only serve as cover; the only bed you will ever sleep in is mine, directly at my side where you belong.”

        Flitter wanted to slap herself for such dumb thoughts. Of course her sister wouldn’t want her to sleep in another bedroom. She was just so worried about what could happen in court. She looked at Cloudchaser who already closed her eyes again, a small smile on her muzzle.

        If they banish us, I hope they let us stay together at least. Without you, I’m nothing, sister.

        Flitter would be more worried, and perhaps even cry, but the thought of staying with her sister, her love, until their end made her smile. With another look at Cloudchaser she rested her head on her chest, slowly falling into sweet slumber.


        ***


        Cloudchaser awoke as several beams of sunlight tickled her muzzle. She stretched all four hooves and yawned silently before opening her eyes. At her side, head draped over Cloudchaser’s back lay Flitter, a blissful expression on her muzzle. She hated doing this, but she had to wake her sister so they would be able to get to the factory before twelve and the afternoon rush really kicked in. 

        With a smile she gently nuzzled her lover’s mane, taking in her scent with a deep breath. Flitter stirred before cracking an eye open. As she met the lovely gaze of her sister her smile turned even brighter. With a yawn she slowly rose from the bed.

        “Good morning. Is it already time to get up?” she asked with a look out of the window. 

        “Yes, sorry, Flitter. We’d better get going,” Cloudchaser answered and looked at her sister. Flitter had a bad case of bed hair and it looked like she could use another forty winks. Every part of Cloudchaser wanted to give her that; she wanted to let her sister fall back to sleep in her hooves and hold her tightly, protecting her from the world. Alas, she could not, there was a lot to do. “Wanna take the shower with me?” she asked with a wink.

        Flitter perked up at that, and thoughts of falling back asleep were quickly forgotten. “Of course!” she said with a cute blush.

        They made their way to the bathroom and Cloudchaser turned the tap, setting it to hot. As soon as steam filled the glass walls she grabbed Flitter and pulled her inside the shower. They gasped as the hot water hit their fur, but the feeling quickly became pleasurable. With a loving gaze, Cloudchaser turned to her sister and pinned her to the wall, locking lips in a passionate kiss.

        Flitter gasped in surprise, but quickly leaned into the kiss. Both pegasi put all their passion, their trust, and their love for each other into the kiss. It was a sign that they stood with each other forever. When their bodies were about to run out of oxygen, they were left with no choice but to break the kiss. They panted, staring into each others eyes. Neither of them would change this moment for all the bits in Equestria.

With a smile, Flitter unfolded her wings and pulled her sister close. “We’ll go through this together. Nothing can stop us. I will always stay at your side and nothing will stop me — nopony, not even the princess!” Flitter said before locking lips. As they broke she smiled. “This shower is nice, but it’s too small. I can’t wait for the cloudshower.”

        Cloudchaser smirked. “Oh you’ll love it. I know you’ve never tried one, but I have. The showers for employees at the weather factory are cloudshowers and they are simply amazing.”

        “Still there is something to be said for small and cosy. The cloudshower might be bigger, but I’ll miss how close we are in this smaller one,” Flitter said as she looked lovingly into her bigger sister’s eyes.

        Cloudchaser lost herself in that gaze and dove back in, pressing her lips forcefully against her sister’s. She didn’t stop at that — slowly, her tongue pushed forward and asked softly for entrance. It was an invitation that would not be denied, that would never be denied. Flitter willingly opened her lips and allowed her sister entry. Cloudchaser’s tongue soon met hers, and their wet muscles began a slow intricate dance with each other. Cloudchaser loved everything about her sister’s muzzle. She felt the texture of her sister’s tongue, and licked the back of her sister’s teeth. She loved everything about her sister, nothing would ever change that.

        They broke after what seemed like hours, but still seemed too soon. Flitter reached for the sponge with her left wing and began to slowly lather her sister’s fur. Cloudchaser responded with whimpers of affection and enjoyed the treatment. As soon as Flitter was finished, Cloudchaser grabbed the sponge from her wings and reciprocated. She ran the sponge and her hooves over every inch of Flitter’s body, even the special ones.

        Despite Flitter’s jolts of obvious pleasure, Cloudchaser remembered that they were on a tight schedule. While they both needed a shower, that’s all they had time for. She reached out with a hoof to stop Flitter just as she had begun to rub down below. “We can finish that thought tonight, my love. We have too much to do today.”

        Flitter pouted and looked disappointed, but the thought of the fun they would have that night quickly shifted any negative expression off her face. “Yeah, we should get going,” she answered and a sudden thought about the kiss earlier made her giggle. “But we should brush our teeth before that,” she gently teased. 

        As they could not take their fun any further, the two simply concentrated on finishing showering. Which was not to say that they kept their hooves strictly off each other after that. More than once Cloudchaser ‘accidentally’ rubbed against her sister in a way that brought a playful “eep” from her. She loved that sound. Flitter returned the favor by lathering up her chest and rubbing it up against her sister’s, claiming that it was a ‘faster way to wash her’. That almost did cause them to say ‘buck it’ about the rest of the day and give in to carnal pleasures.

Somehow, they kept their heads and left the shower. Cloudchaser picked up her toothbrush while Flitter got a towel. The older mare almost spat on the mirror when Flitter started drying off not herself, but her sister. “Flitter!” Cloudchaser yelled with her toothbrush still in her muzzle.

“You want me to stop?” Flitter asked seductively.

“Well, I never said that,” Cloudchaser replied as she went back to the task at hoof. It was hard to block out the pleasure as Flitter made the simple act of drying off into something that meant a lot more. All too soon it was over, and Cloudchaser got to return the favor. They both enjoyed it and nearly forgot about the time.


***


The two mares flew side by side as they made their way to the market. Their wings were almost touching as they flew, feathers coming tantalizingly close to one another only to have to deny them their much wanted contact. 

        Soon they reached the market and flew to the north where the factory was located. Landing on a small walkway that led up the entrance they went the rest of the way on hoof. As they passed several different stalls, it was with a hard realization that Cloudchaser realized they were the center of attention. Nearly everypony was looking at them, some with an interested expression, but most with looks of hate or fear. Those were looks they had expected, but they hurt nonetheless. Cloudchaser could deal with it, she’d face all their hate and more for her sister. However, what truly hurt the mare was when Flitter pressed herself up to her. Her little sister was shaking.

        “I’m here for you,” Cloudchaser whispered into her sister’s ear. She knew it was the wrong thing to do — with everyone staring at them it would only verify their suspicions — make them look even more guilty. However at that moment, she didn’t give a buck.

        Those four words calmed Flitter’s nerves like nothing else could. Her steps became slightly more assured and her posture more upright. Suddenly the rest of the world didn’t matter. Even if they were banished, they’d be banished together. That’s all she needed; she simply needed Cloud.

        They walked the rest of the way in silence, doing their best to ignore the stares. Opening the big door, they entered a small hallway with a desk at the end. The attendant behind it glared at them before trying to reassume his usual friendly demeanour. “Welcome to the Cloudsdale weather factory. How may I help you?” he asked with a fake-looking smile. 

        “We came here to pick up our shipment. We ordered a cloudshower, two cloud frames, and doors,” Cloudchaser said, trying to ignore the phony pony in front of her.

        “Mhmm… let me see… name?” He searched for a small board and opened it.

        “Cloudchaser.”

        “Okay, let’s have a look.” He flashed them another one of his way too bright smiles and shuffled through the order index. After less than five seconds he shut his index and put it down. “I’m sorry, there is no shipment under that name.”

        “That can’t be right — I placed the order myself,” Cloudchaser said, shocked.

        “Well, maybe you made an error.” He glared at her. “It wouldn’t surprise me, you seem to be very confused,” he added with a real smile now.

        “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cloudchaser asked, not even trying to hide her anger anymore. 

        “From what I hear, you seem to be prone to slight errors in judgment. I’m sorry, we don’t have a record of your order on file. Maybe that was simply another error on your part?”

        Flitter couldn’t hold back anymore. “She wouldn’t make a mistake like that. You have to look again. Maybe you misspelled her name or the shipment got lost or something.”

        The attendant threw her an amused glance. “Oh, how sweet… I think you misunderstand me, miss. There is no shipment under that name or any related to it, and there wasn’t ever one.”

        Cloudchaser was about to respond to this but the attendant raised a hoof to silence them. “I’m afraid I can’t spend the whole day dealing with two mares that seem to lack listening skills. We don’t have the shipment. Now would you please leave the factory before I have to call in security? Have a wonderful day in Cloudsdale,” he said and showed the twins a final fake smile before turning back to his work.

        Cloudchaser was fuming. He’d never directly accused or insulted them, but she understood the implications of his words. She wanted to hurt that stallion — really bad. But she also knew it wouldn’t help them in front of the court so she focused on the only thing that calmed her down: Flitter. “Let’s go, sister. I’ll talk to my boss the next time I’m at work. We’ll get our shipment.” With that she led her speechless sister out of the factory.

        They took off into the air as soon as possible. Flying for several minutes in silence before Flitter finally spoke. “They are treating us like… like we’re not ponies! Like the worst of things!” Cloudchaser could see that Flitter was close to crying. 

        “Well, that was to be expected, sister. Remember what we promised each other? We will stay strong through this by being together. Nothing will stop me from staying by your side.” Cloudchaser let her wingtip softly touch her sister’s. 

        Flitter managed to give her sister a smile and they continued on their way, quickly reaching their home. Cloudchaser jumped onto the couch in the living room and unfolded her wings, offering Flitter a nice and cozy place beside her. Without having to be asked twice, Flitter accepted the invitation and crawled up into her lover’s embrace, snuggling deep into her fur.

        “Flitter, believe me when I say this — I don’t give two bucks about anypony other than you. Whatever may come, know that I love you, always.”

        Flitter purred like a kitten as she nuzzled into her sister’s coat. “I love you too, sis.”

> Unexpected Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter four: Unexpected Reunion










The next days were short, but quite enjoyable for the siblings. They managed to get the second bedroom shaped and furnished. It looked much like Cloudchaser’s, but with decor that was more to Flitter’s taste. The only thing still missing from the house was the cloudshower, the frames, and the doors, but they doubted that they would ever get that shipment from the factory after what had happened.

On the day of the trial both pegasus ponies were almost unbearably nervous. Celestia had promised to send a chariot to pick them up when it was time. They paced around in their living room, stealing glances through the window. They had no idea when the chariot would arrive, so in order to not incriminate themselves any further they kept a healthy distance from each other. But putting a distance between themselves only served to make the whole situation feel worse.

Flitter wanted to lose herself in her sisters wings. In those feathers she could forget her stress and everything that might come. She could let loose all of her nervousness and simply relax. Cloudchaser felt the same way — she wanted to cuddle up and kiss her sister so that her mind could calm down.

A loud grumble interrupted their restless minds. Flitter turned and stared at her sister when yet another noise came from her direction, or more precisely, from her stomach. Cloudchaser smiled sheepishly back at her sister, somewhat embarrassed.

“Maybe we should eat some breakfast while we still have the chance? After all, we don't know when they will be here,” Cloudchaser said, earning an approving nod from her little sister.

There would also be another benefit to them going to the kitchen. All the windows in that room faced north and provided no line of sight to where the small dining table stood. As such, there was no risk of being seen by anypony flying by.

Cloudchaser walked into the kitchen, slowly followed by Flitter. As her elder sister sorted through the cabinets looking for something she could quickly make, Flitter found her eyes glued to Cloudchaser’s flank — it seemed to be begging for her attention. Celestia knows she tried, but she couldn't hold back any longer. They had been pacing and worrying for over three hours — three hours that had brought them nothing but misery and grief.

Flitter walked up and drew her wings around Cloudchaser. She turned her around in a soft embrace before leaning in, and pressing her lips against the soft ones of her sister. Cloudchaser was surprised at first, but quickly leaned in, enjoying it deeply. As they broke, they shared an long loving glance into each other’s eyes.

“Sorry, I needed that,” Flitter said sheepishly.

Cloudchaser gave her a quick sensual lick up her muzzle before pressing their foreheads together. “So did I. Do pancakes with apple syrup and some strawberries sound good?”

Flitter nodded eagerly and sat down at the dining table, letting her big sister prepare the food. This was a show she could watch forever: her big sister never ceased to amaze her with every little action she did. Cloudchaser was everything she needed and more. She was the love of her live. Most would say it was far too early to say something like that, but she knew, in her heart, that it was the truth.

Cloudchaser enjoyed it almost as much as Flitter did. It took her seconds before she noticed her little sister’s eyes upon her. With a smile she would overexaggerate bending down to reach for a pan. She would purposely put a little more sway into her hips, and even swish her tail back and forth a little more than was necessary. She would never consider herself an exhibitionist, but if it was for her sister, well, that didn’t count.

“Do you think that the princess will be able to help us?” Flitter asked.

Cloudchaser flipped a pancake before pausing to ponder her sister’s question. “I don't know, my love. She is bound to the law, so she might not be able to do very much for us.” Cloudchaser sighed.

Flitter winced. She knew it would be hard, but without support they would lose everything. She just hoped that the defender Celestia chose was good enough to help them. Her frown turned upside down as she caught sight of her sister's smile. A smile that cut through any doubt in her mind.

As long as she is at my side, we can manage anything. Besides, totally worth it.

Flitter smiled as that thought calmed her down. There was still a high chance that they would lose their case and be punished, but in Flitter’s opinion, it was worth it — no… Cloudchaser was worth it. If there was anything worth fighting for, it was love. She would fight for their love, she would fight for them to stay together, and she would fight to be allowed to love the mare of her choosing, the only one that meant anything to her: her sister, Cloudchaser.

“Breakfast is ready.” Cloud smiled and carried a big plate of pancakes on her wing.

Placing it on the table, she gave her sister a kiss followed by a small nuzzle, then sat down and grabbed several, putting them on her dish. Flitter gave her an amused gaze and she blushed. 

“What? I’m hungry!” She tried to defend her stack of pancakes with a pout. 

“You’re cute,” Flitter replied before loading her own dish. 

Just as they were about to dig in to their food, a loud knock sounded from the door, startling both mares. They shared a gaze before Flitter went to the door. As suspected there was a royal guard standing on the other side of the door.

“Good day, miss. Princess Celestia sent us to make sure that you arrive on time for the court. Would you please inform your sister and meet us outside in ten minutes? I also have a letter for you that the princess wanted you to read before you come with us.” He passed her a small scroll with his wing before saluting and returning to his chariot. 

Puzzled, Flitter went back to the kitchen and slumped down next to her sister. Seeing Flitter’s worry, Cloudchaser stopped stuffing her face with pancakes and went to her side. She lightly rubbed her sister’s shoulders while Flitter unrolled the scroll and begun reading aloud.




To Cloudchaser and Flitter,

I know you might be worried about the contents of this letter, but please, rest easy. I simply wanted to inform you that the guard that gave you the letter will escort you directly to court, mainly for your protection. It saddens me to think that a group of my little ponies rose up in protest of you over these accusations. But please don’t do anything rash — even if you can’t place your trust in others, have faith in me. Once you’re inside the castle, I have personally selected a defender to meet with you and go over some last minute preparations.

With best regards,

Princess Celestia of Equestria



The siblings looked into each other’s eyes with worry. This was it — this was the moment that would decide their future in Cloudsdale, possibly in Equestria. If things went bad, they could be locked up; they could be exiled. If she had to choose between the two, Flitter hoped for exile, because at least that would mean they could stay together.

With a gulp, Flitter broke the silence. “We should finish eating quickly and get going. I don’t think they will look kindly on us if we keep the princess waiting,” Flitter said and her sister nodded before returning to her pancakes. They hadn’t had anything else to eat that morning, yet she still found herself without an appetite.

“Cloud, for me, please.”

Cloudchaser looked up at her little sister and saw the one thing she never wanted to see in those eyes: Flitter was crying. This… this was taking everything from them and they hadn’t even been to court yet. She knew that the pancakes didn’t really matter — Flitter just wanted this, she wanted this last meal she knew she would have with her sister.

It was at that realization that Cloudchaser felt a trail of liquid running down her own muzzle. She wiped the tear off with a hoof and looked down at the stack. Moments ago they were the greatest thing in the world, now they represented something else, something that mattered to her more than anything else in the world.

They represented the last meal the two sisters might ever share.

If she didn’t want to eat them before, she definitely didn’t want to now. She wanted to freeze them in a magical stasis bubble, to keep this moment for all of eternity. Like if she could only keep this meal going forever then they wouldn’t have to face what came next. They could be happy as long as the pancakes were still around. 

“Please.”

She sighed and picked up her fork in a hoof. One bite at a time the stack started to disappear. With each and every bite she felt like she was losing something important… she felt like she was losing her sister. 

It was the worst breakfast she ever had, but one she always knew she would remember; thanks to her sister.

When the plate was empty, she looked up to see her sister was no longer sitting across from her. She felt a pair of wings wrap around her and tears falling onto her coat. “Thank you,” Flitter whispered.

Cloudchaser started sobbing at that moment. “You know, it’ll be bad if the guard catches us right now.”

“I don’t care,” Flitter said as she nuzzled into her sister’s neck, seeking what warmth she could. Cloudchaser felt her sister’s tears, each and every one of them. She also felt her sister’s love for her as she started to kiss her neck.

If this truly was their last breakfast together, Flitter wanted to show her sister what she meant, and words were never enough. Her kisses started to make their way up her sister’s neck at to her ear. Lightly she took a small part of it in her mouth and started to nibble on it. 

Cloudchaser started to coo at her sister’s touch when there was another knock at the door and a voice outside called out, “It’s been ten minutes!”

“We’re coming!” Flitter called and wiped a tear from her eye. She went to grab their scarves when Cloudchaser caught her hoof and brought her in for one last kiss in their house. She didn’t care about getting caught; she didn’t care about some law that thought it had some right to tell her how she could live her life. They weren't hurting anyone — they were simply two ponies that loved each other with all their hearts.

How could that be wrong? 

She latched onto her sister’s lips like they were the last source of pleasure in this world. As if, were she to let go, all the good in the world would simply vanish; all the harmony in Equestria would shrivel up and die if she were to lose contact with those lips. Cloudchaser wrapped her sister in her wings and dipped her low. Never once did she let her go. 

Flitter lost herself in that embrace. It was everything she loved about Cloud, her Cloud, augmented by the horrible, abhorrent knowledge that this might be their last kiss ever. The paradoxical nature of these two opposing thoughts fought for dominance in her mind. She both swooned and cried at the same time.

There was another knock at the door, this time far louder. “We have to go. You have five more minutes before we have to come in and take you out.”

Both sisters ignored it for now. Only one thing mattered to them — the mare that they held in their grip. Flitter only opened her eyes when she felt something wet hit her eyelids. Without breaking contact, she looked up to see her sister staring down at her. There were tears falling from her eyes.

At last, they pulled apart. Flitter had never felt so loved in her life. Somehow, someway, that kiss meant more to her than anything else they had ever been though. It carried more weight than even the first time they had physically expressed their love for each other.

She lightly brushed a tear from her sister’s muzzle. “I love you, Cloud,” she said the words, hoping, praying that Cloudchaser would read into them her true feelings, the true way she felt about her. Love was a cheap word, a four letter word that tried to convey emotions that it could never fully represent. However, it was the only one she knew that even came close. She just had to hope her sister understood what she meant.

She did.

“I love you too, my darling Flitter,” Cloud said back with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. 

Another shout came from outside. “You have ten seconds before we break down the door!”

“As if I care,” Flitter said with a laugh. “If things go badly we’ll never return to this house; if things go well, we can fix it together.” She ran a hoof across her sister’s muzzle. Cloud pressed her muzzle into that hoof, enjoying the feeling of her sister’s touch.

With a smash the door broke apart. The guard from outside stormed in to find both mares standing side by side, staring at him. “It wasn’t locked, you know,” Flitter said with an annoyed look on her face.

“Yeah, some stallions just don’t understand the concept of fashionably late,” Cloudchaser said with a smile.

“Funny,” the guard spoke in all seriousness. “I thought you two had fled.”

“Fled? Where would we run too? This is our house, you know.”

“Let’s go,” the guard said as he gestured for them to head outside. Both sisters took one last look around and headed out the door. It was unspoken, but they both agreed that this was their house. If they couldn’t be together here then the house meant nothing to them.

They would either come back together or they wouldn’t come back at all.



They hesitated for only a moment, one look at the other gave them all the courage they needed as they stepped into the chariot. The guard that knocked down the door nodded to his companion and they both took their place in front of the chariot. Cloudchaser noticeably shivered as the chariot started to move. They left their home for what might have been the last time, on a journey what would seal their fate.

Flitter raised her hoof and rested it on Cloudchaser’s cheek for just a moment. That small action stopped her sister from shaking. “Everything will be alright as long as we’re together,” she whispered into her sister’s ear before lowering her hoof. 

Cloudchaser smiled at her with all the warmth she could manage. “Thank you, little sis.”

“No problem, big sis.”

Both of them found the journey nerve-racking in the extreme. Several times Flitter thought about grabbing her big sister and flying away to parts unknown. They passed several different mountain ranges — while it would be an extreme measure, they could hide in one of those and be left alone. The only thing that gave her the strength to continue was having the pony she loved by her side. Before long, Canterlot was in sight and they were forced with no option but to continue. Flitter felt her sister’s coat press up close against her. She smiled at that — Cloudchaser was her strength, she was her sister.

As the chariot landed upon the paved gravel road in front of Canterlot Castle, they nearly lost it again, tears welling up in their eyes. The castle was the last place they wanted to be, but they couldn’t enter anyway — a huge crowd of ponies blocked their path.

A red maned mare started to shout and soon the others joined in. “There they are! Incest is illegal and disgusting! Take your perversions and get out of Equestria!”

Flitter shivered even more and her ears dropped. The guards climbed out of the chariot and gestured towards the castle. “Stay beside us; we will protect you until you’re safely inside and we deliver you to the defender.”

The guards flanked the sisters as they made their way through the crowd. No face was friendly; every single one was filled with fear, disgust, and even hate. The guards increased their pace and soon they were at the entrance. The two unicorn royal guards at the front doors opened them with their magic. With spears drawn, they slammed the door shut once the sisters had made it inside, preventing the mob from following them.

Their escort led them through various corridors to a large door at the end of a long hallway. The guards nodded and positioned themselves beside the door while the sisters gave each other one last glance before moving to open it. What they saw inside the room shocked them.

Inside the room was a table with a chair at one side and two chairs on the other. On the lone chair sat a white pegasus with a cerulean mane, cyan eyes and a lightning bolt cutie mark over a dark cloud that neither of the sisters could ever forget.

“Mom?”
	

> Under Celestia's wing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter five: Under Celestia’s wing






Cloudchaser recovered from the shock first. “Mom? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’m your official defender, dear.” White Lightning chuckled softly before continuing. “And I don’t think that’s a good way to greet your mother after over a year apart, do you?”

“Why did you accept the case? With what we’ve been accused of?” Flitter mumbled, not really knowing what to say.

“I think that we should talk over that in private,” she replied softly, surprising the sisters. It was like she was okay with all what they were accused for. Or perhaps she just didn’t believe it. Either way, Cloudchaser and Flitter both found themselves dumbfounded by this turn of events. Celestia had said she would hoof-pick their defense and boy, did she ever. “Are you going to follow me now or would you two like to stay there all day?” White Lightning chided from the back door, snapping the sisters from their thoughts.

“Where are we heading, mom?” Flitter asked nervously.

“To see Celestia, of course. She has some plans for the court. We’d both like to do what we can without causing any more trouble.” White Lightning chuckled softly.

“Wait. You know it, believe it, and you’re okay with it?” Cloudchaser yelled now.

“Quiet, dear. We don’t want anypony to hear us,” Lightning whispered, still leading the way. 

“I don’t understand. How are you okay with it?” Cloudchaser asked, this time in a lower volume. Her brain was refusing to process any more information until it got an answer to this burning question. 

The white mare sighed. “Let me explain it later. We have a lot to do before the court begins.”

“Mom?” Cloudchaser stopped, refusing to go on. 

With a stern look, White Lightning turned back and faced her oldest daughter, “Cloud, some conversations are meant to be had behind closed doors. This is one of those. You will get an explanation, but not right now and especially not while the princess is waiting on us. Now, as you so elegantly pointed out, I am your mother, so you will either come along, or I’ll paddle your flank until you do. What’s it going to be?”

Cloudchaser blushed slightly, remembering that her mother wasn’t one for empty threats. “Alright, alright. But we want an answer later.”

Flitter found herself in a very awkward position as she watched the exchange. Part of her really, really wanted to see that. However, when Cloudchaser gave in, she had no choice but to sigh and continue walking. Still the image of her sister with a tender red flank refused to leave her mind. 

“Flitter, are you okay?” Cloudchaser asked as she draped a wing around her. The action startled Flitter and she jumped with a silent ‘eep’.

“I’m fine — just worried about the court,” she replied, trying to get the image out of her head. 

“If you two would hurry up there would be less to worry about,” White Lightning said with a sigh as she was forced to keep waiting. 

“Yes, mom,” both sisters said at the same time and they started walking forward. Lightning eyed the wing over Flitter but said nothing. Circumstantial evidence was worthless at the best of times. Besides, they are sisters — it would be unusual for them not to show some affection with each other. She knew it meant more and so would any onlooker, but court wasn’t about what you knew, it was about what you could prove. 

And that’s exactly what I’m worried about with Celestia’s idea, Lightning thought.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. The three mares soon approached a large door with two royal guards posted on either side. When they got closer, the left guard nodded at them and opened the door with a flick of his horn. “The princess is waiting for you.”

They went inside and the door was quickly shut behind them. Princess Celestia was lying on some cushions, scribbling notes on a piece of paper. “It’s good to see you again, Lightning. Please, make yourself comfortable. I just have to finish these here.”

White Lightning smiled. “Thank you, Celestia,” she said before motioning her daughters to some cushions.

“You know Celestia personally?” Cloudchaser whispered, eyes wide.

        The princess answered. “Yes, I’ve known your mother for some time now,” she said with a small chuckle, and Lightning laughed too.

        The sisters looked between their mother and the princess, trying to follow, but they were unable to get it. “What?” they both blurred out.

        “I don’t have to explain myself to my daughters,” Lightning replied with a blush before nodding to the princess. “Let’s head back to the subject.”

        “Why do you both want to help us?” Cloudchaser asked bluntly. “You haven’t visited us for over a year, you never even write,” she said to her mother, then turned to Celestia. “And you, the Princess of Equestria herself, are trying to help us with everything too. Why?”

        Celestia and Lightning shared a gaze before sighing. “Let’s say Celestia and I can understand what you’re going through and what complications you have to stand up against.” White Lightning said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Mom, you understand?” Cloudchaser said, flabbergasted. “You don’t have a sister.”

White Lightning stood up on her hooves. “Celestia, what’s said in this room is confidential, yes?”

“Yes, this is an official meeting and rules of attorney–client privilege apply. I’m present in an advisory role and as such I‘m held to the same rules. Nothing said here can or will be used in court.”

“Good. Cloudchaser, I know you and Flitter are in a romantic relationship with each other. Heck, you two did such a piss poor job hiding it that all of Equestria knows by now. I might not have a sister, so I can’t know exactly what you’re going though, there are other types of relationships that are equally taboo in this land.”

“Like what?”

“Celestia and I have been an item for some time now. And before you ask, yes, we buck every chance we get.”

Cloudchaser raised her eyebrows. She looked at Celestia who nodded, confirming everything her mom had just said.

“What about Dad?” Flitter asked, her voice shivering slightly.

“I love your father and I don’t regret anything, especially not you two. But, to be honest, I’m not really into stallions,” Lightning replied with a sad smile. “I keep him happy, and he allows me this. We both love each other deeply and when I told him that I really wasn’t satisfied by him, we decided that this was an equitable solution for the both of us.”

“So dad is okay with you loving and bucking the princess?” Flitter blurted out.

“Yes, is that so hard to believe? He wants me to be happy too. Outside of the bedroom, we love each other and care for one another like any other husband and wife. Inside, I satisfy him, and he lets me be satisfied by Celestia.”

Cloudchaser looked worried at Flitter who started to whimper. Crawling closer, she curled her sister in a winged embrace, pecking her cheek.

“I-It’s just a bit much to take in,” Flitter said, but rested in the warmth, relaxing a bit. 

“For two sisters that are each other’s special someponies, I figured you two would be more open to unorthodox relationships.” Lightning smiled.

“You’re our mother, and all those years, we’ve seen you and dad as a normal married couple. What did you expect?” Cloudchaser asked her. “We love each other, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t aware how wrong it is in other’s eyes. We just ignore it most of the time.”

Celestia frowned. “So you don’t approve?”

“We never said that,” came Flitter’s muffled response. “It’s just a lot to take in.”

Lightning walked up and wrapped a hoof around both her daughters. “Girls, nothing’s changed. I love you both, your father loves you both. I simply have two lovers in the bedroom, one that happens to be the Princess of Equestria. Because of that, it saved my marriage. Before we came up with this, your father and I were going to get a divorce. He said that if he couldn’t make me happy, he wanted me to be with somepony that could.” 

“I understand,” Cloudchaser said with a smile towards Flitter, deeply snuggled against her chest. “I don’t want a stallion or any other mare. I know that she makes me happy, even if it is wrong. Everything we do, I can cherish with her. It’s something that makes my heart burn with desire time and time again.” 

“Good, I assume we can get back to the matter at hoof now?” Lightning asked. As the sisters nodded, she continued. “Celestia has an idea about how we can get you through all of this without any harm, and without causing any trouble to the royals.”

Both sisters’ ears perked up at that and Celestia faced them with a small smile. “As you know, incest is forbidden by a law that was created over a thousand year ago. It wasn’t even created by me, but the royals that were worried about the clean bloodlines in Equestria. Before then, incest was quite common. Mostly between sister and brother, but also occasionally other parts of the family. The royalty took note of this and forced me to pass a law against incest.” Celestia sighed and looked at Lightning, who continued.

“This law is old, and if you ask me, outdated by now. You won’t believe it, but there are a lot of incestuous pairings out there, they just do much better jobs hiding it. And that’s where Celestia’s idea comes into play. She will banish you from Cloudsdale, a town where you two are well known. You will move to a smaller, much quieter town or city where nopony knows you. If you stay under the cover we give you and as long as nopony that knows you gets wind of it, everything should be fine.”

Celestia chuckled. “I suggest that you two will move to Ponyville. It’s a nice, peaceful town as far as I know.”

“What if somepony sees us? I think Rainbow Dash is already planning on moving there,” Cloudchaser asked.

“Cloud, Rainbow supported us all the time. Why would that change once we moved there?” Flitter gave her a deadpan expression.

Cloudchaser thought about her sister’s reply. It made sense; however, before she could accept there was only one thing she still needed an answer to. “We’ll get to be together?”

“Of course,” Celestia said and laughed, with Lightning chiming in. “Why should we try to separate you two? Your love is clear, even to a blind pony.”

“But how will the royals react if we are still together?” Flitter asked. 

“Why do they have to know that I banished you together?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cloudchaser smiled and nodded at that. However, Flitter still wasn’t happy. She wanted one more thing answered. “What about Cerulean Skies?” At the mention of his name, the room went dead quiet. 

“We have enough witnesses to prove that he was trying to do it again. Don’t worry, dear,” Lightning said with a slight scowl in her voice. 

“Cerulean might have been able to force our hooves on the incest issue, but his trial is completely separate. He’ll be in court next week, and as a repeat offender, well, let’s just say the laws allow for a little more leeway in sentencing.” The devilish grin on Celestia’s face was all the comfort Flitter needed. Although it wasn’t even a match for the one on their mother’s face. 

“Don’t forget what I said,” Celestia said with a chuckle to Lightning, “you’re not allowed to flay him.”

“What? His skin will grow back, or not. I don’t really care either way.” Lightning said as she blew the princess a raspberry.

“His coat will, not his skin. And you should let that tongue stay where it belongs.” Celestia blew her one back.

“Or what?”

“You’ll see then.”

“Oh, I’d love to try it out.”

Cloudchaser looked uneasily between the two older mares. “Uh… can we stay on topic?”

Celestia and Lighting blushed, giving  each other a look that said, ‘later,’ before looking away.

Flitter coughed and Lightning focused on her. “Uh, well, where were we? Ah, yes. We hope that this plan leaves the royals a bit in the dark and that it grants you a life together.” 

“And you think they will just let it go like that? Are they that dumb?” Cloudchaser asked in disbelief.

“They are quite smart, actually. But all you have to do is make it seem like it was their idea all along and they’ll go along with it. Trust me, I’ve been dealing with them over a thousand of years,” Celestia replied with a wink.

A knock on the door startled the group. As soon as Celestia replied, the door was pushed open and a guard looked in. “Your highness, they’re all here now. Court can start on your demand.”

“Thank you. Please tell them we will convene in thirty minutes,” Celestia said softly. 

Sharply, the guard saluted and left, closing the door behind him. 

“I think it’s time to prepare. Everything that was said in this room, stays here. I hope you two can improve your acting skills by then.” Celestia smirked at the sisters. Both Flitter and Cloudchaser blushed at that. They both knew they had completely dropped the ball with hiding what they were doing before now.

The twenty minutes were filled to the brim with Lightning walking her daughters through everything they had to expect during the trail. To the sisters’ credit, both of them stood up to their mother’s questioning without issue. Celestia simply sat back and watched. True to her word, she only served as an advisory role for Lightning. Something the experienced mare had no need for. 

At the twenty minute mark, Celestia left to go to court room. Lightning got each of her daughters a glass of water and told them to use the restroom, even if they didn’t have to go.

Soon, both girls stood outside of the courtroom with their mother. “You two ready for this?” Lightning asked her daughters.

“Yes.” They both said, surprised that they actually meant it. The talk with their mother and Celestia had instilled a certain confidence in them.

That feeling faded when they walked through the door. The courtroom was full of pegasus ponies, all of whom looked at them with hatred in their eyes. Instantly Flitter knew the reason: the pony glaring at them with the smug look on his face had them all come in for this. Cerulean Skies — or more likely his father — had had them all pack the courtroom. 

Flitter held her head high as she walked behind her mother. Nopony was actually dumb enough to say anything in the court precinct, but that didn’t prevent looks of disgust from being thrown their way.

As they took their seats at the table for the defence, Cerulean blew little kisses to Cloudchaser. While she pointedly ignored his movements, Lightning did not. She pulled out several acorns from her briefcase and made a point to violently smash them to bits with her hoof on the table, an action that drew every eye in the room. Without ceremony, she calmly swept the remains of the nuts into a trashcan under the table.

There were no more kisses after that. 

“All rise for Princess Celestia,” the guard at the door announced to the room. 

As every mare and stallion got up, Celestia walked in and headed to the front of the courtroom. “Please be seated,” Celestia said. Everypony took their seat. “We’re here today to review the accusations Cerulean Skies made against the sisters Flitter and Cloudchaser. For the prosecution we have?”

A white unicorn bowed for the prosecution. “Swift Justice, your highness.” Lightning stiffed up just a little at the sound of his name. Swift Justice was one of the best lawyers bits could buy. Still, it wouldn’t change anything. 

“For the defence we have?” 

“White Lightning, your highness.” Lightning bowed her head.

“Swift Justice, your client has accused the defendants of incest under the Incest is not Wincest Act. Please proceed with your opening remarks.”

“Thank you, your majesty. Incest, the disgusting attraction to someone you’re related to — someone that you share blood with. A thousand years ago it was outlawed, and for good reason. It is my intent here today to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants are guilty of those very same acts, and to insure that they are punished, and labeled, accordingly.” 

“Swift Justice, I might have to remind you now, that you have no say in any possible punishments and labeling ponies is against the law,” Celestia said with a stern look.

“Of course, your highness, forgive me, I misspoke.”

“Of course. White Lightning, for the defence?” 

“Your highness, my clients are nothing more than sisters. They’re sisters; sisters that were born together, that grew up together, and that love each other with a special bond that only sisters can share. Any possible evidence that the prosecution may have is circumstantial at best. I intend to prove that these accusations are nothing more than the actions of a convicted rapist that was simply trying to repeat his office.”

“White Lightning, Cerulean Skies is not on trial here. That’s next week.”

“Indeed, your majesty.” Lightning bowed before taking her seat. 

“Prosecution, you may proceed.”

“I’d like to call my first witness, Cerulean Skies.”

They all watched as the cocky stallion made his way to the front of the room. When he took his seat, Swift Justice walked up to him. “Cerulean, in your own words, what did you witness that day? Keep in mind, you’re not on trial today.”

“After I approached Cloudchaser we were… regrettably caught up in a small scuffle, during which the poor mare hit her head on the ground. I was taking her to see a doctor, and that’s when her sister accosted my person.”

“Cerulean Skies, you’re not on trial here today and neither is Flitter for that charge that she has already been acquitted of,” Celestia interrupted.

“Forgive me, your highness. During our… talk, Flitter herself admitted that Cloudchaser was her marefriend. Instantly I knew how wrong that was and reported it to the authorities at the first possible opportunity.”

“No further questions, your majesty.” Swift Justice bowed before moving back to his seat.

“Cross examination for the defence,” Celestia said.

White Lightning stood up and took one last drink of her water. She then moved forward to approach the stallion she wanted to flay alive. “Cerulean Skies, is it true that you were involved in an incident with Cloudchaser when you two were in flight school?”

“Objection: relevance?” Swift Justice asked.

“Motivation to lie, and integrity of the accused, your highness.”

“I’ll allow it,” Celestia said.

“Yes, she accused me of rape when we were in flight school.”

“And you were convicted?”

“Yes.”

“And the day you made this accusation was what, the first or second day you were released?”

“Second.”

“So, on the second day as a free stallion, after serving time for rape, you just happen to run into your victim, you just happen to get into a ‘scuffle’ with her, and she just happens to get knocked unconscious? What an unfortunate stallion you are.”

“What’s your point?”

“Simply this, doesn’t it make more sense that a loving and devoted sister might say something like that to keep her sister’s rapist away from her?”

“That’s not what happened!” 

“Of course it isn’t. I mean the word of a convicted rapist carries so much more weight than that of a devoted sister, aren't I right?”

“There were others that heard it too!” 

“I’ve already covered that — she simply said it to keep you away from her.”

“No, she meant it.”

“So you say, but we’re in court, it’s about what you can prove not what you say.” Lightning glared at him before looking up. “No more questions, your highness.”

“Cerulean Skies, you may step down.” When he did, gone was the smooth swagger of his walk. The stallion didn’t feel nearly as confident as he had coming up. “Your next piece of evidence, Swift Justice.”

“My next piece is simple: Flitter and Cloudchaser’s cloud home,” the unicorn said before levitating several pictures from his briefcase and projecting them on the back wall. Flitter gasped as she saw the pictures. There were four in total: two shots of the outside of their home, and two that seemed to have been taken from inside.

Lightning scowled. “Objection! These pictures invade the privacy of my clients.”

“They were made by guards as they were tasked to find evidence. They fall under law and are admissible,” Swift Justice said.

Celestia frowned nearly unnoticeably. “Objection overruled. Continue please.” 

“As we can see here, the guards examined every room. Now, what is interesting about these photographs is that there appears to be only one bedroom. It was just a minor detail they noted during their search, but I think quite telling. Why would they only have one bedroom, if not to sleep together in it?”

“Your highness,” White Lightning said as she stood back up. “Allow me to… educate those that may not be aware of a few facts of life. You see, not all of us can afford to simply move into a lavish house that’s fully constructed and furnished. Those, like my clients, that are perhaps not — how should I put it? — as fortunate as the prosecution, have to make do with what they can afford. My clients are currently in the process of adding a second bedroom and have been for some time. However, building and furnishing a house is not cheap. As such they are forced to make do with one bedroom, not because they want to, but because they have to.”

“And your clients sleeping arrangements?” Swift Justice said with a frown.

“None of your business. However, even if they do share the same bedroom from time to time, I feel I must remind you that they’re sisters. Most likely they slept in the same bed growing up. Why would that change just because they are adults now?”

“And that’s not the least bit suspicious?” Swift asked.

“It’s circumstantial. I trust I don’t need to explain what that word means?”

Swift Justice looked visibly struck by that as White Lightning sat back down with a smug smile on her face. 

“Anything else to add, Swift Justice?” Celestia replied, doing her best to keep her expression neutral. Inside she had a grin on her face to match her marefriend’s.

“I would like to hear what the accused have to say to this,” he growled.

Celestia looked at the sisters. “Your reply on this?”

Cloudchaser laughed out loud, much to Swift Justice’s confusion. “These pictures are really old. We were just starting the cloudshaping of our new home when the incident happened. We’d barely even finished shaping the bathroom. As far as our bedroom arrangements are concerned, since you seem so interested in that, most of the time Flitter used the bed while I slept on the couch. It might be true that we sometimes shared the bed, but that wasn’t much different than in our old home. I guess you simply don’t understand how good it is to have your sister in your embrace, Mr Justice. However, only a short time after my release out of the hospital, we completed the house and added the second bedroom.”

“That seems good enough for me,” Celestia said, cutting off any further conversation. 

“Your highness?!” Swift Justice turned to her.

“You didn’t call them as a witness and one cannot be forced to testify against oneself. I’ve… entertained your line of questioning but now I’m putting an end to it. Do you have a problem with my ruling, Swift Justice?”

“N-no, your highness,” he replied weakly and slumped back onto his chair while Lightning did her best to stop herself from laughing like a filly. “Is there any further evidence you would like me to take into consideration, Swift Justice?”

He paused in his chair, almost like he was collecting his thoughts. “My last witness, Rainbow Dash, refused to show, your highness.”

“Do you have any witness to call, White Lightning?”

“Just one, your highness. The defence calls to the stand Rainbow Dash.”

If Swift Justice’s jaw was able to fall off, it would’ve at this moment, seeing as he watched the rainbow-maned mare flied into the courtroom. He glared at her with a look that could kill a pony at a thousand yards. If Rainbow noticed, she paid it no mind. 

The cyan mare did a small flip in the air before landing right in the witness stand. “Sup?”

Lightning couldn’t help herself, she cocked a little smile of her own. “Rainbow Dash. You are the manager of the Cloudsdale weather team, no?”

“Was. I transferred to Ponyville a few weeks ago.”

“I heard that you spent quite a long time with the sisters, and even trained Flitter to cloudshape?” Lightning continued.

“That’s right. They’re very good friends of mine.”

“Flitter worked under you, correct?” 

“Yep. She was always a hard worker. Occasionally I’d find her with her head in the clouds, but hey, we’re weather ponies — that’s almost part of the job description.”

Not even Celestia was able to hold back her giggles at that.

“So if I asked you to describe their relationship with each other, how would you describe it?”

“Two sisters that love each other and live in the same house together?” Rainbow shrugged.

“No further questions, your highness.” 

Swift Justice stood up and walked towards the cyan mare. “Rainbow, I’m curious, why didn’t you accede to my witness request?”

“Objection: the witness is not on trial here!” Lightning said.

“Sustained. Swift Justice, keep your questions relevant to the trial.” 

“Understood, your highness. Rainbow, you said that they love each other, how do they love each other, precisely?”

“Uhm, like sisters?” Rainbow replied.

“Not like, lovers?”

“Objection: leading the witness!”

“Sustained. Swift Justice, do not make me warn you again.”

“Dude, that’s sick. Is that what you fantasize about?” Rainbow asked him.

Swift Justice simply frowned. ”Miss Dash, did they do anything that could lead to more than sisterly love?”

“If you think that cuddling with each other is more, then sure. They are one soul, always there for each other. Heck, Flitter once burned her wing on a thundercloud and Cloudchaser freaked out, worried about her. But I never saw them doing anything more than simply care for each other like sisters should do. And on a side note, you should really leave your fantasies at home.”

“Permission to treat the witness as hostile?”

“Denied. Are there any further questions for Miss Dash?” Celestia asked, looking between White Lightning and Swift Justice.

“No, your highness,” White Lightning said.

“No, your highness,” Swift Justice said as he turned to retake his seat. Rainbow blew him a raspberry as soon as his back was turned. 

“Miss Dash, you are dismissed,” Celestia said.

“Just Rainbow, princess,” Rainbow said with a smile as she leapt over the table and left.

“Do the defence or prosecution have any more evidence they wish this court to consider?”

“No, your highness.”

“No, your highness.”

“I’ll now hear closing remarks before considering my verdict. Swift Justice, we will start with you.”

Swift Justice took a quick drink of water, placed it back on the table, and stood up. “This trail is a sham.”

“What was that?” Celestia stood up now, facing Swift Justice directly.

“I said that this trail is a sham! All your decisions have favoured the defence!” Swift Justice raised his voice further with each word.

“Give me some more evidence or proceed with your closing remark, Swift Justice.” Celestia sternly replied.

“Firstly, you chose White Lightning, the mother of the defendants as their defender. Secondly, I wonder what they did in your chambers, just before the court started? I hereby question the validity of this trial and demand an investigation.”

The entire courtroom went into an uproar at that. Even those ponies that Cerulean Skies had packed the courtroom with couldn’t believe that Swift Justice would raise such accusations against the princess.

One of the three noble pegasus ponies sitting along the wall behind the Princess stood up, facing the room. “We do not concur with Swift Justice’s accusation. We can’t see any evidence that Princess Celestia favoured the defence, or their clients. Your baseless accusations are a blatant attempt to cover up for your failure during this trial. Swift Justice, give your closing remark and keep down otherwise!”

“This is nothing but a farce!” Swift barked. “You are all simply denying the obvious offensive facts!”

White Lightning stood up behind him. “The facts are that your client has a reason to have a grudge against mine; the facts are my clients acted to protect each other; the facts are that you just accused a Princess of Equestria, Princess Celestia of conducting a sham trial in front of an entire courtroom of ponies and the presiding nobility of Cloudsdale. As far as your accusations go, yes, they are my daughters, but who better to defend them then their mother? There’s no law against that, and I’m sure that you don’t believe that I, their mother, would defend them if I thought there was something wrong going on between them?” Her voice was bittersweet at the last sentence.  

“This is absurd!”

“SWIFT JUSTICE!” The voice boomed throughout the courtroom as Celestia fell back to a voice she had not used in decades. When the echoing stopped, everypony was staring at her. “One more outburst like that and I’ll find you in contempt of court. Now, do you have any further closing remarks?”

He gulped, shook his head and sat back down. 

“White Lightning, any further closing remarks?”

“No, your highness.”

“Very well, I shall consult the nobles of Cloudsdale, and we will reconvene in five minutes time. Swift Justice, I never want to see you in my courtroom again, is that clear?”

To his credit, he didn’t try to fight it. The stallion just nodded his head in agreement.

“Five minute recess,” Celestia said with finality before she stood up and went into the back room, followed by the small group of noble pegasus ponies.

“Five minutes? Is that good or bad?” Cloudchaser asked her mom. 

“It means she’s already made up her mind and that she only needs to confer with the nobles. Based on how the prosecution acted, it’s pretty much in the bag.” White Lightning laughed. She had never imagined that Swift Justice of all ponies would lose his cool like that.

While she’d requested five minutes, Celestia had only needed one to discuss the case. Before anypony was ready for it, the royal guard announced her return. “All rise for Princess Celestia.”

She came back out and resumed her seat, along with the nobles that each reclaimed their own. “Please, be seated,” Celestia said with a smile. 

“Despite some unpleasantries, I’ve reached a decision that is fair to the defendants, and in the best interest of all parties involved. Cloudchaser, Flitter, please stand.” 

The sisters did so.

“It is the opinion of this court that you are both found innocent of all charges levied against you. The prosecution presented nothing but circumstantial evidence — hearsay at best. However, it is the nature of ponies that once you are labeled as such there is no way to remove that label. As such, upon the advice of the Cloudsdale nobles, in order to ensure the least disruption to the weather system there and the weather across Equestria, I have no choice but to banish you from Cloudsdale. At the expense of the city, your home will be relocated to a small village called Ponyville, where you will each be given a job equivalent to the one you have now.”

Cloudchaser looked at her mother. “There is no weather factory in Ponyville as far as I know…” she whispered.

“Maybe you can join me on the weather team?” Flitter asked. “Or we can take up foal sitting, I’ve always loved watching little foals run around.”

“Court dismissed.” Celestia spoke and everypony raised while Cloudchaser and Flitter smiled happily, along with their mother. Even Celestia couldn’t help but smile. 

Sure, things were going to be different now, but it didn’t matter to either sister. They would be able to stay together, and that was all that really mattered. Even if they did have to move into a new town.

> Leaving everything behind
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter six: Leaving everything behind 



      
 	Flitter and Cloudchaser sat nervously in Celestia’s room, waiting for her to discuss the last details of their move. They weren’t really looking forward to it, but they had little choice. Maybe, just maybe, the new town would allow them to live their lives as they wanted.

        White Lightning sat in another corner, playing with her mane as she looked at her daughters. “Now will you two finally brighten up a bit? You’re looking like you were banished from Equestria or worse.”

        Cloudchaser sat forward and glared at her. “It is worse, mom. You haven’t been around for over a year. You have no idea how hard we’ve worked for everything! The new house, all of it; it was our dream!”

        Flitter laid her hoof on Cloudchaser who sighed and slumped back down against her sister again. Lightning looked hurt and shocked, but she had to concede that her daughters were right. She hadn’t been there; she wasn’t supporting them.

        Just as Lightning opened her muzzle to speak, the door opened and Celestia walked in. She didn’t looked too amused.

        “Sometimes I wonder why I bother with those nobles at all. I’d have a more intelligent conversation with a wall, and it would be less stubborn too,” she sighed before sitting down beside Lightning, who unfolded a wing and laid it over her.

        “What happened?” Lightning asked.

        “The nobles denied funding to move your cloud home to Ponyville. Their reasoning is it that there would already be a cloudhome floating over Ponyville, and that yours would be far too big. Ponyville is only a small town.” Celestia focused on the sisters. “I’m sorry, but it seems like we have to change a few parts of the plan.”

        “So we have no home now? Great! Bucking great!” Cloudchaser blurted out before Flitter laid a hoof on her muzzle to silence her.

        “Hey, we’re together — that’s all that matters,” Flitter whispered to Cloudchaser as she ran her hoof down her sister’s muzzle. “I don’t care about where we live, as long as you’re there, it will be home to me.”

        “But… everything we worked for?”

        “Means nothing to me. You’re all I care about, Cloud.” 

        Cloudchaser tried to stay angry — she tried. It was a fruitless effort. Looking into her sister’s eyes, seeing the cute bow she always wore in her mane and the adorable look on her face. It melted her heart. 

        Flitter smiled before turning to Celestia and her mother to ask, “so, what do we do now?”

        Celestia smiled upon the display of affection. “I found a small, cozy house for you two. It’s near a sweet shop at the center of Ponyville.”

        “And about our work?”

        “You will work at the local weather team under your old captain, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia smirked. “She’s already agreed to hire you both. She sounded eager, if you ask me.”

        The twins smiled at each other, at least they were going to have one friend in this new town.

        “And…” Celestia paused with a sly grin on her face.

They looked back to her, confusion on their faces. “And what?”

“Well, since the nobles were too stuck up to move your house, I politely informed them that it’s against the law to simply take another pony’s property. As such they had no choice but to pay you full market value for it.”

“Wait… you mean?”

“Yes, there should be a nice amount of bits deposited into your bank account in the next few days.” She leaned in to whisper the next part. “The truly stupid thing is, it will cost them ten times more than it would have cost just to move the house.”

        All four mares snickered at that.

        “It’s not enough to retire off, mind you, but it’ll be enough to help you settle very comfortably into your new place.”

        Cloudchaser laughed at that. “I could have all bits in Equestria, but all I truly need is my sister.”

        At that moment, Flitter leapt at her, drawing her in for a deep, passionate kiss.

        Celestia smiled as she watched the sisters display their love like that. She had no worries for them in Ponyville. It was a small town, relatively new with only a few high class ponies in it. Even if they were outed there, nopony would care. 

        “I’ve already called for a chariot to take you back to your cloud house and ordered a few royal guards to help you pack up.”

        “Wait… now?” Flitter asked as she sat up on top of her sister.

        “I’m afraid they want you gone at once. So yes, now.”

        “Oh, okay…” Flitter said as she stood back up onto her hooves. She knew that they were moving, she accepted it even, but… she thought they’d have a least a day before they had to move. It was fast — a little too fast. 

        A muzzle pressed against hers, causing her to sigh as Cloudchaser pressed her face against her sister’s. “It’s fine. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can move on with our lives… our lives together.”

        Flitter pulled back and saw the smile on her sister’s face. It became contagious as they pressed their lips together once more before both sisters pulled back and rested their foreheads on one another, staring into each other’s eyes. 

        “I’ll help too.”

        Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Celestia all turned to look at Lightning, shocked expressions on the sister’s faces. “What? You were right Cloudchaser. I wasn’t there… I want to make up for that, if you’ll let me that is.”

        “I think it is a good start.” Cloudchaser smiled for a moment before her expression turned darker. “But what about father?”

        “He’s still in Fillydelphia, but at some point we have to talk to him. For now, we should focus on getting you two settled.”

        A loud knocking on the door startled them all. “That should be them now,” Celestia said with a sad smile.

LIghting noticed this and returned to her side. “I’ll be back soon enough.”

“Yeah, I know,” Celestia said. “It’s just been a while since we spent any time together.”

“Then we’ll have to make up for that,” Lightning replied.

“Get a room, you two,” Cloudchaser jokingly said.

Both, Celestia and Lightning blew her a raspberry. A gesture that was very unlikely from Celestia and caused Cloudchaser to gasp back.

The knock sounded again, more urgently this time. “Come in,” Celestia replied with a lackluster tone in her voice.

A royal guard walked in and saw the four mares. Without so much as a double look he simply gave his report. “Princess, the chariot is ready.”

“Well… you heard him,” Celestia said, keeping the sigh out of her voice. 

“Let’s go, girls,” Lightning replied as she started walking out the door, followed by her two daughters walking side by side. A little closer than they should but they had just win a court case over it. 

Buck em, they can’t prove shit, Lightning thought with a smile.

The three mares walked the length of the hallway and out of the palace. To the twin’s surprise, the entrance was cleared. They did not know if the crowd had dispersed by itself, of if the royal guard had asked them to leave, but either way they were glad for it. 

“Have you given any thoughts to what you want to take with you?” Lightning asked as the chariot started to take off. 

Both sisters shared a knowing look. “A few things.”

        Lightning didn’t know why their answer was so cryptic, but she decided not to push the issue herself. She smiled as she watched her two daughters so close to each other. Flitter and Cloudchaser were side by side, their coats touching as they pointed out odd the sights to each other on their flight back to Cloudsdale — things they had been too apprehensive and nervous to notice on the way to the trial. 

        She chuckled a little at the sight before her. It should upset her — she should be shocked at the fact that her two daughters loved each other, that they made love to each other, but oddly, she wasn’t. 

        They had always been close growing up, taking baths together, looking out for each other, and even sleeping together far longer than they needed too. It was a special bond they shared with one another. Was it so wrong, so unusual that the bond might become something more? That they might want to express that love in more intimate ways?

        She didn’t think so. Seeing them now, seeing the love they have for each other, the love they’d always had for each other, only brought a smile to her face. Her daughters loved each other — they had empathy, compassion, and respect. Sure, it might mean that she’d have to hope they adopt for her to have grand foals, but she’d love them all the same.

        No, Lightning wasn’t disgusted by her daughters’ actions. She was proud, just as any good mother should be. Sure, her family may not be considered normal by any stretch of the word, but normal was abnormal anyway. Every family has skeletons in their closet — hers were just a little more obvious than the most. 

        “Hey, sis, look at that!” Flitter yelled as she pointed over to a new mountain chain.

        “Oh that-”

        They were cut off as a hoof wrapped around both sisters and pulled them away and to a pony’s chest. 

        “Mom!” both sisters yelled at the same time. 

        “Mother’s prerogative,” Lightning said as she held her two daughters tightly to her chest. They both moaned and complained about it, but neither did anything to actually get away from her. 

        Neither really wanted to. 

        When a tear fell upon Flitter’s muzzle she couldn’t help but look up. “Mom?” she asked. 

        “Girls, I’m… I’m so sorry,” Lightning cried. “I thought… I thought you wanted space. I thought you wanted to be left alone so I… I…”

        Flitter and Cloudchaser both wrapped a hoof around her and hugged her tightly. “Don’t cry mom,” Flitter said, her voice muffled by Lightning’s mane. 
        
        “I want you to know that I’m proud of you — both of you. You two girls are amazing — more than I could’ve asked for. I love you both and I’m happy that you two found each other the way you did.”

        Cloudchaser was taken aback by that — part of her couldn’t believe that her mom had just said it. It was one thing for her to say she was okay with their relationship, but… this was something different. “Do you mean it?” she asked.

        “Yes, I mean it Cloud. I’m happy for you both.” Tears were falling freely now as she held her daughters tighter.

        Cloudchaser sobbed. “Thanks, mom.”

        The three mares were able to enjoy each other’s company after that. They laughed and talked like a family — like the family they were. Flitter started a game where she would test her mom’s knowledge of all of Equestria’s landmarks, only for her mother to ace every single one.

        Sadly, all good things must come to an end. The last landmark that was pointed out on their journey was Cloudsdale itself, and not by any of the sisters. 

        “We’re here,” said the guards pulling the chariot. 

        His tone of voice killed the fun for the three mares. They all stepped off the chariot and Lightning gave her thanks for their assistance, only to be meant with a stern nod in return.

        “Well, he’s just a basket of joy,” Cloudchaser said.

        “Too bad he’s not a basket of kittens,” Flitter replied, earning herself a laugh from her mom and sister.

        “Don’t ever change, Flitter.” Lightning kissed her on the top of her head. “C’mon, let’s get you two packed up and to your new house.”

        When they went inside Cloudchaser’s jaw dropped as she saw ten royal guards waiting on her. “What are you…”

“Remember, Celestia said she had sent them to help you move. Just tell them what you want to take with you and they will handle the heavy lifting.”

        Cloudchaser looked over to her sister. She looked nervous — beyond nervous. “What’s wrong?” she asked Flitter.

        “I… can you handle this? I want to hoof carry a few thing from upstairs.”

        “LIke what?” Cloud asked, unsure what items Flitter was so apprehensive about that she wanted to handle personally. Their more… intimate items were kept in a nonchalant box in the closet. There was little risk of the guards seeing them.

        “I… they’re precious to me,” Flitter said.

        “I guess…” Cloudchaser said. 

“Thanks,” Flitter said before running up the stairs.

Cloudchaser gave her sister one last curious look before turning back to the guards. “Okay, you three start packing dishes. The pantry is empty so there is little that needs to be packed up as far as food goes. I want you three to get into the living room and you four follow me up the stairs to start working there.”

Once she saw that everything was going according to plan and all the guards seemed to take their orders without issue, Cloudchaser turned to her mother. “Mom, will you keep an eye on things down here?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” 

        Cloudchaser gave her a warm smile before leading the last four guards up the stairs. She directed one of them into the extra bedroom, a room they hardly ever used. The next guard she sent into the bathroom to pack up there. The last two she had follow her into the master bedroom. 

        “Alright, the dresser goes, and the clothes in the closet,” Cloud said as she gestured a hoof to the dresser. The two pegasus guards got on either side and lifted it together, careful not to let the drawers open up as they did so. 

        Cloud looked around, wondering where Flitter had gone. When she checked the closet there was no sign of her, although the box was still there. “What did she want?”

        “What did who want?” Flitter asked from the doorway.

        “Oh, I was just wondering what was so important.”

        “I’ll show you when we get to our new home.”

        “Uhmm... okay.” 

        The two sisters started to unpack the closet and throw their clothes on the cloud bed. They both sighed as they saw it. As much as they’d love to take it with them, it just wasn’t doable. The bed was part of the house — it couldn’t be removed.

        Flitter grabbed the box out of the closet and put it on the stack of clothes. Cloudchaser threw a few extra clothes on top of it before the guards came back. 

        “You can take those too.” Cloudchaser said as they came back to get the rest.

        The two guards nodded and picked up the stack of clothes to carry it off.

        Flitter looked at her sister. “I can’t recall why we bought so many clothes. I can’t remember even wearing half of them.” 

        Cloudchaser approached her, whispering into her ear. “Maybe because you look stunning without clothes.”

        Flitter blushed and shrieked silently. “Cloudy! Not now!” 
        
        Cloudchaser removed the tip of her wing from a very unsisterly place to touch. She smiled as she sniffed it. “You’re right, after all, we’ll need to break in our new house anyway.”

        “Yeah, if we can get rid of mom for that long.”

        “Getting me rid for what?” Lightning stepped in with a raised eyebrow. “What are you two planning now?”

        “Downstairs all packed up?” Cloudchaser asked, ignoring her mother’s question. For her part, Flitter just blushed at almost being caught by her mother. It was one thing to know your mother’s okay with your actions, quite another for her to see it.

        “They’re packing up the boxes now. I have to say for a bunch of stuck-up-their-own-flanks guards they move pretty quick. Although it’s helped by how little you two have.”

        “Hey, we did just move in after all. It ain't cheap to furnish a house.”

        “You’re telling me?” Lightning asked with a raised eyebrow.

        “Oh, yeah, right,” Cloudchaser said as she lowered her head. 

        “C’mon you two, let’s get going.”

        “Yeah, okay,” Flitter said as she walked out the door. She didn’t go downstairs though. She wanted to take one last look around just to make sure they didn’t forget anything. 

        Cloudchaser smiled as she went to follow her sister, only to be stopped by a wing from her mother. “If you two want some alone time, all you gotta do is ask.”

        “Wait, you knew?”

        “C’mon, it’s not my first time around the block. I’ve seen the blush that was on your sister’s face more than once, you know.”

        “Who knew you were so cool?” Cloudchaser said with a smile.

        “There’s a lot about your mom that you don’t know,” Lightning said, wrapping her daughter in a wing.

        “Yeah, I’m getting that.”

        “I’m learning a lot about you two too.”

        “Oh, like what?”

        “For starters, that you both need to go shopping.”

        “Hardy har har.”

        “And that I’ve raised two wonderful daughters.” 
        
        “Thanks, mom.”

        “No need to thank me. I… I failed you two. No, don’t interrupt, I did. I’m going to make it up to you though — to both of you. I promise you that.”

        “Well, you’ve gotten off to a great start.”

        “Hey, Cloudy! Mom! They’ve got it all! We’re ready to go!” Flitter called from the doorway.

        “Well, do you want to say goodbye to your home before we leave?” Lightning asked Cloudchaser.

        “No. I’m not leaving my home. Home is you two — this is just a place.” 

        Flitter cried a little at that as she walked up to hug her sister and mother. They both returned it in equal measure. After a few moments they broke apart, smiling. 

        “Let’s get going,” Flitter said.

        “Right behind you, sis,” Cloudchaser said with a smile as she let Flitter take the lead. Together, the three mares made their way downstairs. “I’ll double check the kitchen,” Cloudchaser said.

        “No need — already did,” Lightning said.

        “They finished that quickly?” Flitter asked.

        “You two don’t have much. We’re going shopping for… everything when we get to Ponyville.”

        “We don’t have a lot of—”

        “My treat!” Lightning cut off Flitter’s comment. 

        “Thanks, mom,” Flitter said as she wiped a tear away.

        “Alright you two, let’s go.”

        “Eh-hem.” One of the guards cleared his throat.

        “Oh, yeah, you’re all dismissed. Thank you for your hard work.”

        As one they turned and left.

        “Wait, aren't they going to help us unpack?” Cloudchaser asked.

        “No need. A Miss… Pinkie Pie already has everything ready for us.”

        “Who?” both Twins asked at the same time.

        “I don’t know. Apparently, she’s the town resident party pony. As soon as she found out you were coming, she started to prepare everything for your arrival. Apparently she had to be talked out of throwing a huge ‘Sorry you got kicked out of your home town’ parade.”

“That’s nuts,” Cloudchaser said.

“Yeah, a little,” Lightning agreed. “C’mon let's get out of here.” She led the way, her daughters trailing a little behind. When they got in the chariot, Cloudchaser noticed a little silver box tucked under her sister’s wing. Lightning noticed it too. 

“Is that?” Cloudchaser asked.

Flitter noticed what she was gesturing it. “Yeah, I hadn’t intended for you to see it until we got there though.”
        
“Can I see it now?” Cloudchaser asked.

Flitter looked at her sister and then to her mother. She sighed and placed the box down. “I guess, can you block the wind though?” 

        Both mares opened their wing as Flitter opened the small box. What they saw surprised both of them. There were pictures in the box, little photographs of the twins. 

        She moved through each photo one at a time. The first one showed them both on a slide in Cloudsdale. The next their first day of school. The one after that was Cloudchaser helping Flitter with her bow. The next showed them both opening their acceptance letter for flight camp. 

        In each and every one, Flitter looked nervous and Cloudchaser was always right by her side, there to cheer her up.

“I… I don’t understand,” Cloudchaser admitted.

“These…” Flitter said under her breath, “these are the most precious moments of my life.” She continued going through each picture for the two to see. “These are the memories I’ve always cherished with you, Cloud.” 
        
        Both of them watched as Flitter went through the rest of the photographs with tears in their eyes. The last photo made Lightning gasp.

        “What is this?” Lightning asked

        The photo showed a big, shaped cloud with lots of slides on it and a big, home-nearly shape on top. On its sides, Flitter and Cloudchaser’s cutie marks were shaped out of the cloud. “That was our cloud. We shaped it for each other. First at Hearth's Warming Eve, then at Heart’s and Hooves Day.”

        “I never knew that you took a photo.” Cloudchaser said, tears starting to form in her eyes at the memory.

        “I took it before we had to destroy it.” Flitter sobbed slightly and Cloudchaser unfolded a wing to hug her close.

        “It’s simply beautiful.” Lightning said, smiling at her daughters.

        “You should’ve seen it at night from the inside. The inactive thunderclouds in the walls and roof made the bedroom glimmer with blue light at night,” Cloudchaser said, smirking.

As her daughters embraced each other, Lightning carefully packed up the photos and placed them back in the silver box. Now they all understood why Flitter didn’t want anypony else to carry these. Next to her sister, these were the most precious possession she had.

White Lightning held the silver box tightly under her wing with tears in her eyes. In front of her were two wonderful, beautiful daughters, and she didn’t even know a day ago. Her girls had grown up and she wasn’t there. She missed it. That realization stabbed her in the gut. She silently renewed her vow that she wouldn’t miss anything else. She’d be the mother they deserve.


> A normal day in Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter seven: A normal day in Ponyville





The chariot soon reached the small town. The buildings were mostly old-fashioned cottages with thatched roofs, the streets barely more than dirt tracks. Cloudchaser huffed as she took in the scenery, but Lightning and Flitter seemed to like it. 

The chariot came to a stop right in front of a small, cozy house with two floors. Cloudchaser wasn’t impressed — it was not even a quarter the size of their old cloud home, and to make matters worse, it was ugly. She loved the look and consistency of clouds, not stacks of brick and… other ugly things. 

Flitter clapped her hooves. “It’s nice!”

Cloudchaser gulped her displeasure away. Flitter’s attitude always had a way of putting a different perspective on things, of allowing her to see things in a better light. Cloudchaser found herself simply agreeing because it brought out that smile. “Yes, it’s… cozy.” She smiled weakly. 

Lightning shot her a suspicious glare, but quickly smiled at Flitter. “It’s a nice house for a new start. Maybe you can buy a bigger one later.”

“I know, but I think that this will be fine.” Flitter left the carriage and approached the front door.

Cloudchaser hesitated, but a glare from her mother made her sigh and join Flitter. Together, they opened the door and stepped in. The door itself opened onto a large room that served as a living room. On the left was a kitchen that looked as if it had seen better days — nothing looked broken or too delipidated, it just needed some TLC. Directly in front of them was a staircase that led to the second level. It looped around so Cloudchaser couldn’t see what was there, but she wasn’t in any hurry to.

“It looks… nice,” Lightning said.

Then you live here. Cloudchaser bit back her retort. 

“Sis, see how much room we have!” Flitter flapped her wings and started to fly around. “Look at this living room — it’s so nice and cozy. Oh, look at the kitchen — we can do so much here!” 

Cloudchaser found a smile on her muzzle as she watched her sister fly back and forth. Lightning wrapped a wing around Cloudchaser and brought her in close. 

“I know it’s hard, but try and keep in mind what’s important,” she whispered. 

“YOU’RE HERE!!!!!” A shout startled all three mares, and their heads snapped to the stairs. They were all forced to take flight as a literal tidal wave of confetti made it’s way downstairs. “OH, oh, oh, we’re going to have so much fun! I’ve already got the party worked out and all my friends are coming, who will be your friends too. We’ll help you, unpack for you, and make sure that you’re welcome!” a pink mare shouted as she rode a small surfboard down the wave of the confetti. 

“I’m scared,” Cloudchaser whispered. 

Lightning watched the entire living room become engulfed with confetti, a large portion of which made its way outside, almost as if it were water seeking the path of least resistance. “And you are?” she asked as the mare jumped off the surfboard and did a triple backflip into the ocean of confetti. 

At that question she shot up, her cotton-candy mane going straight in surprise. “AH, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Pinkie Pie! But my friends can call me Pinkie, or Pink, or Pie, or anything. I prefer pie myself, but only because it tastes super scrumdelicious when you eat it for lunch!”

Flitter was hiding behind her sister, hooves and wings wrapped around her, but now, as the strange mare seemed friendly, she felt safe to emerge.

“Ah, Miss Pie. I do belive Princess Celestia said you were going to help my daughters move in?” Lightning did her best to sound calm, grateful that the excitable earth pony didn’t have wings. 

“Of course silly-billy. What sort of friend would I be if i didn’t help my friends move in? I mean, duh, naturally I’m going to help you move!”

Pinkie took a look around at the mess, “Well, let’s clean this up first!” At that she pulled out a wet vac from her mane and switched it on. Vacuuming up way more confetti than should have been able to fit in the thing.

After that she shot them a smile. “That’s better! Now it’s time for the party!” she exclaimed and with that she pulled up a small, green animal and a cake out of nowhere.

“What the–” Cloudchaser started but was soon stopped by a prismatic mane peeking through the door.

“Hey Pinkie! Where’s the party you talked about?” Rainbow Dash asked before her gaze met Flitter and Cloudchaser. 

Flitter flew away from Cloudchaser and landed directly behind Rainbow, cowering behind her. Rainbow took one look around and at the mess outside before her brain put two and two together.

“Pinkie, I hear there’s a new arrival at the south end of town. He looked lonely.”

“GASSSPPP!!!!” the pink mare shouted before bolting out of the house at an insane speed. She left behind a flash image of herself that stated, “I’ll be back in a bit!”

Rainbow ran her wing through the image, causing it to disperse. “Sorry about that.”

“Who… what… when… where… how… why?” Cloudchaser mumbled.

“If I could answer any of those questions I’d probably go insane. Just… with the exceptions of her parties, do your best to avoid her. That’s what I do.”

“Are her parties really that good?” Flitter asked. 

“They’re amazing,” Rainbow admitted. “Enough about the town crazy pony, I heard about the verdict. I’m sorry about that.”

Cloudchaser took one more look out of the door before closing it and locking it. Rainbow just chuckled. “That won’t stop her.”

“Well, it makes me feel better,” Cloudchaser said. 

Lightning walked up to Rainbow and grabbed her in a giant hug. One that caused quite a noticeable blush on the cyan mare. “Thank you,” Lightning said though several tears.

“It’s easy to get rid of her — no big deal,” Rainbow replied, a blush on her face. 

“No, not for that. For what you did at the trial. You helped my girls, that means more to me than you could ever know.”

Rainbow chuckled a little, closed her eye, and accepted the hug. It wasn’t anything she needed thanks for. Cloudchaser and Flitter were her friends — she’d always stand by them. However, Rainbow knew that her actions meant more to their mother than words could ever say. So she accepted it even if it was quite ‘uncool’ by any interpretation of the word.

Cloudchaser spoke up after a while. “Mom, I think you can let her go now before she turns blue.”

“Well, bluer,” Flitter added with a smile. 

Lightning squeezed her one more time before letting her go. Rainbow calmly ran a hoof through her mane to try and regain some cool points. “So it looks like you are going to be working for me again,” she said, trying to change the subject.

“That’s right, you got a supervisor position when you moved here,” Flitter said with a smile.

“Who else has the skills to pay the bills. Look, this may be a small town, but I run my shift as thoroughly as I did back in Cloudsdale, so I expect the best from you, even here.”

“So that you can take a mid-afternoon nap?” Flitter jabbed at her.

“Hardy har,” Rainbow laughed. 

“Umm… Rainbow, am I working for you too?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Yep, orders from Celestia and such — well not really orders, more of a request. Both of you start bright and early in two days’ time.”

“Two days?”

“Gives you today and tomorrow to settle in. If you want I can show you around town. There’s not much to see, but it’s good to know where everything is.”

Lightning took a quick look around the room. She saw her two girls and decided on something right then and there. “Rainbow, why don’t you show me around instead. I’ll fill them in on everything later. That way they can get settled in.”

“Umm… Okay?” Rainbow looked confused. It didn’t make much sense to do the tour twice, but it seemed to be what they wanted.  

Lightning opened the door and led the cyan mare out of the building. As it closed Cloudchaser and Flitter were left with the distinct impression that she was going to ask a LOT of questions — questions that it was doubtful Rainbow would know the answer to. 

Flitter walked over to the window and watched them go. When she turned around she saw the depressed look on her sister’s muzzle. However, before she could ask what was wrong, Cloudchaser volunteered the information. “I hate it here.”

“What?” Flitter asked surprised.

“It’s not about you. It’s the house, the town… I want our old life back.” Cloudchaser looked down and a lonely tear dropped from her muzzle. “I want the feeling of clouds under my hooves back.”

Flitter listened to everything her sister had to say. When it was over, when she understood what Cloud was getting at, she frowned. With a sigh she pulled out the little box from beneath her wing one more time and opened it. “Cloud, come look at these.”

“I’ve seen them,” Cloudchaser replied, a little colder than she meant too. 

“Come look again,” Flitter’s tone brokered no argument and Cloudchaser found herself walking forward against her own volition. 

Flitter calmly spread out each of the pictures for Cloudchaser to see. She laid them out in such a way her sister could get a good, long look at them. “Tell me what you see,” Flitter said. 

“Pictures of us,” Cloudchaser replied. 

“Are we happy?”

“Yes.”

“What caused that happiness?” 

“… I don’t know what you mean.”

“Why are we happy in these pictures?” Flitter asked again, a deadpan expression on her face. 

“‘Cause we’re together?”

“What’s not the focus in any of the pictures?” Flitter asked. 

“I… I don’t know,” Cloudchaser admitted. 

“Where we were,” Flitter answered for her. “It was never about where we were — it was always about us, us being together, us making each other happy. Cloud, I know you miss what we had. Together, we were creating something that was ours, something we’d built with our own four hooves. That’s gone now. It’s gone and we can’t get it back. But… but I don’t care. I look forward to what comes next. Forget what we lost, think about what we get to build next.”

“Flitter, I…” a hoof placed lightly on her muzzle caused her to close her trap.

“I want you with me. I want to build our new dream together, here, in this new place. I can’t do it alone. I don’t want to do it alone — I want to do it with you. I know you miss our cloudhome, but here… here we get to be together. That’s worth more to me than any stupid clouds. What about you?”

A tear fell down Cloudchaser’s muzzle at her sister’s words. “What if they take this from us?” she cried. 

Flitter stood up and walked over to her sister. She rubbed their two muzzles together and whispered softly into her ear. “Then we’ll do it again, and again. We can rebuild our lives as many times as it takes until they leave us alone. As long as you’re with me, nothing else matters.”

Cloudchaser enjoyed the touch and melted into it. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so stupid, that her mind had focussed on such a stupid thing. “You are way more important than some stupid clouds,” she whispered into Flitter’s ear. 

“Cloud, will you build our new home with me?” Flitter asked. 

“I’d love to,” Cloudchaser replied.

They sealed the deal with a kiss. Flitter pressed her lips to her sister’s and simply enjoyed the feeling of being so connected to somepony, so loved. When they broke apart Flitter was smiling, an infectious smile that caught Cloudchaser in its grip. “Good, ‘cause we have a LOT of cleaning to do before our stuff arrives and I call dibs on downstairs,” Flitter said as she blew her sister a raspberry.

“Hey, no fair!” Cloudchaser complained. Thoughts of the pink mare’s mess and what the upstairs must look like came to her mind.  

“All’s fair in love and war. Don’t worry — I’ll make it up to you tonight,” Flitter replied, winking at her sister. “Now get up stairs and get to work!” 

Who knew my sister was such a slave driver, Cloudchaser thought with a laugh as she made her way upstairs.

“Three, two…” Flitter counted down out loud as she watched her sister go up the steps. As soon as she said, “one,” Cloudchaser’s scream echoed down the stairs. 

“It’s a gigantic mess!” Cloudchaser called out. 

“Then you’d better get to work!” Flitter replied with a laugh as she made her way to the closet in search of a broom. 


***


“So, you’ve known about it since before Hearth's Warming Eve?`” Lightning asked as Rainbow and she glided through the sky. 

“They weren’t exactly subtle about it. But I’m loyal to them, not some dumb, outdated law,” the cyan mare replied, chuckling. “I have to say it still surprised me.”

“What do you mean?” Lightning asked, confused.

“Well, think of Flitter. Did you picture her like this? As long as I’ve known her, I thought she would run away from Cloudchaser.” Rainbow Dash sighed, adjusting her course. “But as far as I know it was her who made the first move.”

“Really?” Lightning was a bit shocked.

“Yeah. Kind of awesome, huh? Sometimes I’m jealous of them. I never thought much about it, but coming home to an empty and lonely cloudhome can sometimes be depressing. You want somepony to greet you, ask how your day was, and so on.” Rainbow groaned. “Great, I turned sappy, thanks to your daughters.”

“Flitter rubbed off on you,” Lightning replied with a wink.

“Well, I wonder where she got that.” Rainbow blew her a raspberry. 

“Me?” Lightning mocked innocence. “I’m innocence in flesh and blood.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Rainbow, I’ve known you nearly as long as my daughters and I still remember what your mother used to say. She was right. If you didn’t focus on your pride and competitions so much, you’d easily find your special somepony,” Lightning spoke softly. 

“I don’t really need one. I’m awesome enough.”

“Do I have to repeat back to you what you told me earlier?”

“Hey, no fair using my words against me.”

“Who else would be awesome enough to get through to you?”

“Ehh, fair point,” Rainbow said with a smile. 

“Besides, if you stop and think about it, you’d realize that the only thing truly awesome is having somepony to come home to at the end of a hard day.”

Rainbow paused in her flight as her mind went there. She imagined what that would be like, really imagined it. Having somepony that was there for her, that kissed her when she entered the door, that loved her. She felt her heart grow heavy in her chest as the thought that maybe, just maybe that was really what she wanted all along.

“Thanks for getting that into my heart,” she muttered before increasing her speed.

Lightning smiled as she watched her take off. It took some effort but she was able to catch up to the cyan mare. “Of course that can always come later. Maybe after you tour with the Wonderbolts?”

“You know about that?” Rainbow said, surprised. 

“Flitter told me about your fangirling over them at work,” Lightning said with a smile. “I read all about you in her letters.”

“She wrote about me?” 

“Rainbow, it’s Flitter.”

“Wait a second. She told me you never wrote or visited them.” Rainbow shot her a glare that could’ve burned through a wall.

Lightning practically fell out of the sky. She landed on all four hooves and looked down at the ground. Concerned, Rainbow flew down and hovered slightly above the old mare. Rainbow’s worry increased tenfold when she saw a tear fall from Lightning’s eye. “That’s because I never answered their letters. I was stupid,” came the sad reply.

“Why did you…” 

“Rainbow, things haven’t been going well for me. I’ve been in a… a bad place these last few years. I thought they’d be better off without me. I stupidly thought they didn’t need me anymore.”

Rainbow landed on the ground, facing Lightning. “That was stupid,” she said without any tact to her words. Lightning looked up, surprised that Rainbow would say something like that. “You’re their mother, Lightning. Whatever may come, they will always need you.”

“Do you think it’s too late?” she asked the cyan mare. In spite of her conversation with her daughters earlier, Lightning still held out doubt about being able to fix things. 

“Depends… are you going to stop trying?”

“No.”

“Then you’ve answered your own question.”

Lightning smiled at her. It was the kind of smile that said more than words ever could. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now lets get going — they’re going to need beds, right?”

“Well, at least one,” Lightning smirked. 

Rainbow just laughed at that. “There’s this great little shop, although its choice of products is really strange.”

“How so?”

“They sell beds and quills.”

“Wait, what?”

“I know, right? Welcome to Ponyville — it’s a strange place, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have a certain charm.”

“This shop… it only sells normal beds, right?” Lightning looked concerned.

“Yeah, this town has ponies of all races, but it was still founded by earth ponies.”

“We should get them a soft cloud bed. Do you know of any good place for that, Rainbow?” Lightning asked.

Rainbow thought about it for a while, she perked up as she thought of one place. “Race you to Cloudsdale?” the cyan mare suggested while fluttering with her wings.

“You’re on.”


***


“Hey, aren’t you finished yet?” Flitter shouted up the stairs.

A growl met her back. “This huge mess? You could at least help me!”

“You don’t understand the point of calling dibs, do you?” Flitter said with a laugh.

 “I call dibs on your flanks if you don’t come up here and help me right away!” Cloudchaser answered.

“That sounds fun...” Flitter replied, giggling.

“FLITTER!”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

Flitter took one more look around. It had taken her thirty minutes of hard work, but the rooms downstairs were more than ready for their stuff. Everything had been dusted and cleaned, the trash thrown out, and she even managed to clean the windows. A task made easier with the use of her wings. 

Sighing, she saw no further excuse to avoid it. She flew upstairs, dreading what she might see. Under normal situations, the upstairs opened up to a hallway that led left or right. The right hallway led to a master bedroom with its own bath. The left led to two rooms at the end and a shared bathroom between them. 

But this was not a normal situation. 

Despite thirty minutes of hard work, the carpet in the hallway could barely be seen. Ten large trash bags were piled up at the end of the hallway, each filled to the brim with confetti. “That. Mare. Made. Such. A. Mess.” Cloudchaser grunted each word out as she filled up another bag. 

“Holy Celestia!” Flitter replied as she took in the devastation around her. Briefly, she considered getting Pinkie back here to clean it up. However, that thought was quickly forgotten. She didn’t want that mare stepping one hoof in here again. 

“I guess I’ll start at the end?” Flitter asked as she flew over to the left and went to start at the end of the hallway. 

“No, don’t!” Cloudchaser yelled, but it was too late. As soon as Flitter passed the entranceway to one of the rooms, a hidden party cannon went off. Blasting the mare out of the air and onto her back. 

She landed on the pile of confetti. Dazed, but not hurt. “What was that?”

“More little… gifts. I saw the first one on the way up and quickly found out there were more. How many more is anypony’s guess.”

Flitter lay on her back, her eyes glued to her sister’s, her hearing buzzed with the after effects of a cannon going off in close proximity. However, what she did next surprised Cloudchaser. She laughed. 

It started off small, just a slight chuckle that grew as the seconds past. Cloudchaser looked at her confused, annoyed, worried, and then she started smiling at her sister’s laughter. A laughter that proved infectious as she started laughing too. Soon both mares were in a full on giggling fit as they laughed about everything and nothing all at the same time. 

Before long, Cloudchaser pounced at her sister, making them roll into the pile of confetti, still laughing. As they stopped, she softly nuzzled Flitter, enjoying the touch deeply. “Despite what I said earlier… it already feels like home.” She looked deeply into her sister’s beautiful eyes. “Thanks to you.”

Flitter did not say a word. She merely reached up and kissed her sister’s lips. It was an action that Cloudchaser was more than happy to reciprocate. 

While no words had been said, they both read the same thing in the other’s actions. 

You are, and always have been, my home.
	
> Surprise, Surprise!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter eight: Surprise, Surprise!




The day dragged on and the cleaning took the sisters quite a while. Exhausted and aching from their hard work, they decided to take the evening slowly and enjoy their time together. Cloudchaser made her way down to the living room and slumped upon the carpet, as they didn’t have a couch yet.

Meanwhile, Flitter inspected the bedroom: it was big, but something necessary was missing — there was no bed, no closet, or anything else. Just a bare room with curtains and a small flowerpot on the window ledge.

Sighing, she made her way downstairs to find her sister snoring quietly on the carpet. She stepped closer slowly and planted a peck on her sister’s muzzle, just to be abruptly pulled into her winged embrace after that.

“They’re taking too long,” Cloudchaser mumbled.

Flitter looked confused. “What?”

“Dash and mom — they’ve been gone for hours,” Cloudchaser mumbled against her chest, softly nuzzling her. 

“Are you worried?”

“No, not really. I thought they were only going sightseeing. I can’t imagine why that would be taking so long in this little town.” Cloudchaser pulled her closer. “You know, I could stay like this for my whole life.”

Flitter felt the same, she just didn’t say it back with actual words. The mare closed her eyes and inhaled deeply of her sister’s scent. She was sweaty from a hard day’s work; they both were. Still, she smelled like Cloudchaser, and that was one smell she would always love.

“You were right, Flitter.” Cloudchaser spoke softly into her sister’s ear.

“Oh, what about this time?” Flitter laughed as her sister started to nibble on her ear in just the way she liked.

“This house… us being together. That is what’s important — what I needed. I just needed you.”

“Seems like it’s something we both need reminding of from time to time,” Flitter said as she started kissing the side of Cloudchaser’s neck.

“Promise me you’ll always remind me of that?”

“Sure. Just promise me the same thing,” Flitter replied with a smile.

They both pulled back and held their foreheads together with their eyes glued on the other’s. With a smile upon their lips they both said, “I promise.”

They sealed their promise with a kiss. There was no tongue play, no fancy maneuvers to try and rile the other up into taking it someplace more. Rather, they simply pressed their lips together as a way to seal the deal. 

When they pulled back, Cloudchaser let loose a small yawn, an action that earned a giggle from her sister. “Sorry I made you work upstairs all day.”

“Ah, don’t be, it had to be done and one of us had to do it. I’m happy I could do it for you.”

“Still,” Flitter said as she ran a hoof through her sister’s mane. Cloudchaser was never a mare that cared all that much about her looks, but even she would be horrified by its current state. Flitter frowned when her hoof ran though a small clump of confetti that was caught in a few tangles.

For her part, Cloudchaser felt her eyes starting to shut again. She’d already been half asleep when she’d heard Flitter coming down the stairs and only awoke when she tried to steal the kiss. Now being held in the hooves of the pony she loved more than any other she couldn’t help but feel the cold grasp of sleep coming back to claim her. 

“Sleep,” Flitter said as she held her sister’s muzzle against her chest. 

Cloudchaser was taken aback at first. Then she closed her eyes. The sound of her sister’s heartbeat became the trifecta that guaranteed she could not keep her eyes open. Her sister was always such a caring soul, and being held the way she was only made Cloudchaser feel that much more loved.

Flitter looked down at her sister’s muzzle and saw the smile on her face. It was a smile that conveyed appreciation and love, happiness and contentment. It held all of these emotions and more at the same time. She kissed her sister’s forehead, an action that earned her a coo of pleasure from Cloudchaser in her dreamlike state.

“I love you, Cloud,” Flitter said with a smile. She glanced around the living room. In her mind’s eye she didn’t see an otherwise bare carpeted room, with plain walls and no furniture whatsoever. She pictured a couch, framed photos hanging up of the two sisters, scatter cushions, coffee tables, guests, books, and them. She pictured them, being together, holding each other, laughing with each other, smiling with each other, and most importantly, she pictured them happy.

They were happy here… together. 

That thought made her smile. She closed her eyes and buried her muzzle in her sister’s mane. Flitter wasn’t tired per se, but resting her eyes wasn’t out of the question. 

“This is our home, because this is where we can be together,” Flitter said right before sleep came to claim her. 

Held in the wing of the pony she loved more than her own life, enjoying the warmth they shared, she truly was no longer worried about the future. Whatever came, they could face it with their heads held high — after all, that was what was really important. 



***



Cloudchaser awoke drowsily, raised her head, and tried blinking her eyes clear of sleep. She thought she had heard knocking, but now there was nothing but the sweet snoring of her love in her wings. She went to close her eyes but then she heard it again; several sharp knocks on the door.

Sighing, she looked for an escape from her situation without waking Flitter. With careful movements she folded her wings, doing her absolute best not to disturb Flitter. As she left their shared embrace Flitter’s muzzle scrunched and she curled up into a ball, but thankfully, she didn’t wake up. 

Cloudchaser walked to the door and opened it, to be greeted by a muscle-packed earth pony. “We’ve got your stuff here,” he said and gestured behind him where several guards were unpacking a few carriages. 

Cloudchaser couldn’t fight back a rather rude yawn. “Oh, thank you. Please bring it in,” she said with a blush at the scowl on the pony’s face.

The pony frowned but turned back to the others. “Alright guys, bring it in.”

Turning around, Cloudchaser realized she had to do the one thing she really did not want to do: she had to wake up Flitter. But, if she had to do it, she would do it just the right way. Smiling, she approached her sister, looking down at her. 

Carefully, so nopony else would see it she laid down, slowly trailing licks around her sister’s neck and peppering kisses at her muzzle. 

“That tickles,” Flitter said with a few giggles.

Cloudchaser pulled back with a grin on her face. 

“Don’t stop,” Flitter replied.

There was a small amount of laughter as she looked down at her. “Sorry, but our stuff’s here.”

It was at that moment Flitter noticed the moving ponies hauling in the first of the boxes. “Oh, right,” she said with a blush as she stood to her hooves. 

The two didn’t have a lot of stuff, but packed up it still filled quite a few boxes. For the most part the girls spent the time just telling them where to drop off the boxes. The actual unpacking would come later. 

However, what happened next surprised both of them. “Knock knock!” Lightning said with a smile as she walked in. 

“Hey, mom!” Flitter yelled as she ran up and gave her mother a hug.

Lightning wrapped a hoof around her daughter’s neck and smiled at her. As she held her she took a quick look around. The girls had done quite a remarkable job cleaning up. Of course it would still take another few hours worth of work to unpack everything and put it away, but that could wait until the movers were finished. “I thought you two were going to clean up?” she said in jest.

“Hardy har, what took you?” Flitter asked with a pout on her muzzle. 

“Is mom back?!” Cloudchaser yelled from upstairs. 

“Hey, we don't yell!” Lightning yelled back upstairs. It was an action that earned her a bit of laughter from both her girls. That had always been the number one rule in their house growing up.

“We need to make room so they can take the bed upstairs,” Rainbow said as she flew in and saw that the boxes were definitely going to be in the way. 

“Bed?” Flitter asked.

“Rainbow, you’ve ruined my surprise.”

She blushed at that. “Sorry, but they’re not going to wait around outside forever.” 

As she saw the confused look on her daughter’s face, Lightning just shrugged. “Well, cat’s out of the bag now. I got you two a bed, and a second one for one of your spare bedrooms too.”

“Cloud!” Flitter yelled. “Come down here!” 

Cloudchaser flew down from upstairs. “What’s up?”

“Mom got us a new bed,” Flitter said with a smile. 

Cloudchaser didn’t exactly look happy at that. She had wanted to go pick one out with Flitter — one that would be their bed. Lightning noticed this look and smiled. “Trust me. Let’s just move these boxes out of the way so they can bring it in.”

“I’ll make sure the path upstairs is clear,” Rainbow commented as she flew up the steps. 

There was hesitation in Cloudchaser’s movements, but she did as instructed. In no time at all, there was a clear path for the bed. Lightning flew to the doorway, “Alright, you can bring in the big one,” she said to unseen ponies. 

Unlike the moving ponies, these pegasus worked for the sales company. They would not simply bring in the parts and let the ponies that purchased the bed assemble it for themselves. Their product was purchased directly and assembled by professionals at the location the client wanted.

Flitter and Cloudchaser watched as the strangest assortment of parts were brought into the house and flown upstairs. It had the basic design of a bed, but a lot of what was there did not look like a bed. There was no mattress, no boxspring, but there was a lot of pipes and other devices that neither mare could recognize.

“I thought she bought us a bed?” Flitter asked her sister.

“That’s… that’s what she said,” Cloudchaser whispered back.

“Stay down here for a minute. I’ll call you two up when it’s done,” Lightning replied with a wink as she flew up to the bedroom, the last of the parts having made their way upstairs. 

Cloudchaser and Flitter looked at each other in uncertainty, an uncertainty that was short lived as another set of boxes made their way inside. “Where do you want these?” the pony carrying them asked. 

Flitter took one look before replying, “kitchen.”

The two sister’s shrugged and went back to work. With a glance outside Cloudchaser saw that they were almost done bringing the boxes in and that soon all that would be left was the couch at the back of the truck. 

“Well, we’ll find out what my mom bought soon enough,” she said to herself as she heard some very strange noises coming from upstairs. 



***



The moving ponies finished first. With the couch brought in, they simply held up a piece of paper for Cloudchaser to sign. She did so and watched them leave from the doorway with a smile of gratitude. Not so much because they provided excellent customer service, but just to see them gone. With a quick glance to her right she saw the other moving truck that had brought whatever ‘bed’ her mom had got them. The second bed in the back of the truck looked a lot more like what she had expected to see.

“What did she…” Cloudchaser said before stopping herself. The side of the truck gave her the biggest clue yet — it was from Cloudsdale. 

“Girls, it’s ready!” The shout came from upstairs. 

The sisters shared a look before slowly making their way upstairs, each of them trying to guess what kind of bed it was exactly. As they made their way upstairs and to the master bedroom, what they saw shocked them both. 

“A… a cloudbed?” Flitter asked, surprised.

“You like it?” Lightning asked as she stepped to the side allowing both sisters a better view of the bed she had purchased for them. 

To say it was easy to get a cloudbed on the ground would be the same as saying it was easy to raise and lower the sun. The cloud has to be generated and maintained in place by mechanisms in the bed itself — something that is not easy to do even for the most talented unicorns.

The number of bits it cost spoke volumes for the difficulty in a cloudbed’s construction.  

“Mom… I… I don’t know what to say,” Cloudchaser mumbled.

Flitter had no such issue, with a flap of her wings she leaped on the bed, a shout of “YAHHH!” in her wake as she bounced once on the cloud before sinking down into the bed itself.

Lightning smiled, “Sorry it took so long. They didn’t have what I wanted to buy, so I paid extra for them to make it specially.”

“What do you…” Cloudchaser stopped herself before she noticed something off about the bed. When they brought in the pieces she had thought it at least had the shape of a normal bed. Assembled, she could see that thought had been wrong. She flapped her wings and flew above the bed. Cloudchaser had indeed been wrong — she had been wrong about a lot. 

The bed was not in the shape of a normal bed. It was in the shape of the cloud she and Flitter had made all those months ago. They’d even managed to reproduce their cutie marks in the design. It wasn’t to scale, but there was no denying what it was made to look like, or just how right it felt. 

Flitter looked up as she felt tears falling on the top of her head. “Sis?” she asked.

Cloudchaser beelined it straight to her mother and tackled her to the ground. Lightning looked confused, afraid she had done something wrong until she felt Cloudchaser’s head smash into her coat. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the mare gave off muffled cries into her mother’s fur. 

Flitter looked on, confused about what was going on. That was until her eyes fell to Rainbow’s and she saw the mare glance up into the air, a gesture that told her to take a look herself.

With a small amount of apprehension, Flitter did just that. She flapped her wings and gained what little height the room allowed for. When she looked down at the bed she saw exactly what her sister had seen. The pipes and the devices they had brought in made the cloud conform into a very familiar, very welcome shape. “You… you did this for us?” Flitter asked with a gulp.

“She sure did,” Rainbow said with a smile as she placed a hoof on the bed, pushing it. “She even paid extra for the self-cleaning option.”

“Cleaning option?” Flitter looked at her mother who blushed.

“What? I don’t know what could… well, cloudbeds are very fragile against any dirt…”

“Mom!” Cloudchaser yelled and blushed as she realized what her mother meant. 

Flitter flew down and joined her family in a hug. Rainbow Dash felt uncomfortable. After everything her friends had been though, she was happy to see them happy, but touchy-feely had never been her thing. Her saving grace came from the delivery ponies walking to the door. “We’ve set up the bed in the other room. Sign here and we will be out of your manes.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Rainbow said eagerly as she flew over and signed for the bed — something Lightning was eternally grateful for as it let her hold her daughters a little while longer. 

It was Flitter that finally broke the silence. “Why did you buy two beds?”

“Oh, that,” Lightning said as she started to get up, an action that forced the girls to move off her. “Well, if you want me too, and you’re under no obligation to say yes, but I’d like to stay with you two for the next few days — just until you’re settled in,” she said with a blush. 

Cloudchaser walked over and hugged her again. “Of course you can stay with us, You’ll always be welcome here.” 

“And I don’t want you girls to act any different just because I’m around. Well, there will be one thing different: you’ll be eating better,” she said with a smile. 

Flitter walked over and kissed her sister’s lips at that. When she pulled back there was a smile on her face. “We’ve got the best mom ever.”

“Yeah, we do,” Cloudchaser replied with a smile.

“Well, if you girls don’t mind, I’m going to head home now,” Rainbow said as she saw the sun’s rays starting to lower though the window.

“Thanks for everything, Rainbow,” Lightning said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Cloudchaser added.

“Thanks,” Flitter said cheerfully.

“Remember, you two, in two days time I expect you to report to work. No slacking on my crew!”

“Yeah, that’s your job,” Flitter joked.

Rainbow just smiled as she flew down the stairs and out of the house.

Once she’d left, Cloudchaser and Flitter moved to a pile of boxes at the other end of the room. Using their wings they started to unpack, in the hope of getting one room done before it was time for bed.

Lightning saw this and went to the other side of the room. She lifted a box herself and started to lay out clothes that needed to be put away. In the second pile she felt something strange, a box in the clothes. Her curiosity piqued, she opened the box and looked inside. 

“You know, strapons are a lot more fun,” Lightning said as she pulled out a small collection of dildos, “and the double-headed ones give you both enjoyment at the same time.”

“MOM!” both girls yelled at the exact same time.

Lightning just giggled a little before putting most of the items away. She hid one under her wing as she pulled out another collection of clothes. After all, she had her own needs that had to be taken care off. 



***



Flitter held her sister tightly against her chest as she laid on the bed. This, this small little gift from their mother, meant so much. It symbolized their love for each other, where they came from, where they were going, and most importantly, their acceptance by the only other mare that truly mattered to each of them.

She closed her eyes, her sister already asleep after a hard day of moving and unpacking. That morning they’d awoken in their cloud home, but tonight they were falling asleep in their new ground home — a home neither of them had wanted, but they were both quickly learning to love.

After all, it was their home now. What was not to love about it? 

“We should do something nice for her,” Cloudchaser said with a smile.

“You’re still awake?” Flitter asked in surprise. 

“Yeah. Too good company to fall asleep,” she laughed. “We should do something nice for mom.”

“I agree. What’d you have in mind?”

“Ménage à trois?” Cloudchaser joked, an action that earned her a small hit on the back of her head by Flitter.

“Seriously,” Flitter said with a laugh.

“What if we make her something? You know, like we used to?”

Flitter thought about that for a while, “That's… that’s a great idea.”

“I just don’t have any clue what.” Cloudchaser pouted. “I guess we already did everything for her when we were just little fillies. Is there anything left that could surprise her? I doubt that.”

“Don’t be so negative, my love,” Flitter hummed. 

“We’ll come up with something together,” Cloudchaser said as she nuzzled deeper into her sister’s stomach.

“That’s better,” Flitter smiled softly.

In her gentle embrace, Flitter felt the mare in her hooves drifting off to sleep. She smiled as she looked out of the window and saw the moon hanging over the sky. The mare in the moon seemed to be looking down at them. Flitter probably imagined it, but a small twinkle seemed to come from the tip of her horn. With a smile, she closed her eyes and soon joined her sister in sleep’s peaceful embrace. 



***



Lightning awoke the next morning to a pounding coming from downstairs. Groggily, she stepped off her bed and onto the hard floor. “Ugh, who could that be?” she asked nopony in particular as she made her way out of the room. As an afterthought she used her wing to cover a particular item that was sitting on the side of the bed with a sheet. 

“Mom?” Flitter asked when Lightning made her way out into the hallway. Lightning looked up. Seeing the forms of both her daughters looking at her, she was sure the look on their muzzles matched her own. 

Before anypony could say anything, the knocking began again, louder this time. 

“Ouch,” Cloudchaser said as she ran a hoof over her head, no doubt nursing a small headache that was only getting worse.

Lightning shrugged in response and made her way downstairs, her two girls in tow behind her. Whoever this was, they really wanted to be noticed, and were not going away without a conversation.

She threw opened the door with all her might. “WHAT?!” Lightning yelled at the pony on the other side.

The steel-blue stallion with the dark blue mane waiting in front of the door wasn’t amused and examined her with his turquoise eyes.

“Wave Chill!” Lightning whispered, stepping back.

Flitter and Cloudchaser both stuck their head beside their mother, only to quickly duck back after they let out a weak, “Dad!?”

This wasn’t what they had expected at all.
	
	
> Familiar Complications
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter nine: Familiar Complications







“Dad… what… what are you doing here?” Cloudchaser asked.

Wave Chill huffed at that. “Am I not allowed to know what’s going on with my own daughters?”

“We thought you were on tour with the other bolts, father,” Flitter replied quietly.

The stallion huffed again, reached around his side, and pulled out a rolled up newspaper that he dropped on the floor. It unrolled right in front of them. “I was,” he said with no small amount of venom in his voice.

Lightning looked down and read the newspaper title: Lesbian Incest Couple Kicked out of Cloudsdale.

Lightning looked in shock at the paper. “What?! They were found innocent of incest!”

“Don’t you dare make a fool out of me! I can take Celestia for the sake of our marriage… but this… this is simply too much!” he shouted and stomped his hoof hard onto the ground. 

Lightning glared at him with a look that had brought lesser stallions to their knees in the courtroom. “Come inside, dear,” she hissed every single word. He knew better then to air their dirty laundry in public.

Wave hesitated, but stepped inside nonetheless. He looked around before growling. “Nice enough for some earth ponies, I guess.”

Lightning kept silent only until the door was closed before she lost her composure. “What, in Celestia’s name, do you think you are doing here?! Not enough that they have to suffer all this, now you decided to throw salt into that open wound? Are you completely out of your mind, Wave?!”

Married to Lightning for as long as he was, Wave was more than used to dealing with his wife’s attitude. “Let me explain what happened to me today. I show up to work, thinking it’s just a normal bucking day, only to be greeted by several laughing muzzles looking my way. Then, when I go to the locker room to change, my locker is full of these papers. And that’s how I find out that my own daughters are bucking each other. Why am I only just now hearing about it, when you… you knew, you knew and hid it from me?!” He paused, closed his eyes, and sighed. “I thought… I thought we were in this together. I thought even with your… proclivities… we were still a team in this marriage…” He let the last part hang in the air.

“How dare you…” Lightning said with a growl.

“How dare I?” Wave said as he stood up, glaring at her in the eye. ”Really?! You’re really going to try and turn this around on me? You’re really going to try and pretend this is my fault?”

“Yes, because you don’t think about them at all!” Lightning shouted, pointing to Cloudchaser and Flitter who tried to take cover behind the couch.

“And when was the last time you did?!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“At least I’ve accepted my idiotic behaviour and support them! What are you going to do? Insult them? Disown them? Punish them?” Lightning smiled. “You only try to do one thing and we were a team for most years.”

“Are you completely mad now? You’re my wife!” Wave exclaimed flabbergasted. 

“They love each other, Wave. There’s nothing more we need to know then that.”

“It’s incest, Lightning. They’re sisters. What sort of life can they have? They can’t marry, they can’t adopt, they can’t have foals.”

What happened next caused every jaw to drop. Flitter scowled before standing up behind the couch and approaching her father. “I don’t have to marry her to know how much I love her. I don’t have to have foals to know that what we have is special. I don’t need your permission to love her ‘til the end.”

“Flitter, I love you, but you’re too young to understand what this will do to you. What it means in life.”

“And you’re too busy with your bucking famous status to even care! The only reason you’re acting like you do now is because of what happened at work! If it hadn’t interfered with your dreams, you wouldn’t even care!” Flitter cried out. 

“My dreams are what have kept us afloat. My dreams are the reason why you girls were raised in such a nice house, why you had everything you could possibly want. Yes, I had to be away, but I was away for you girls, all three of you!”

“Yeah.” Cloudchaser joined in with conviction in her voice. “You’re right, dad, we had everything we ever wanted in life because you were a Wonderbolt. Everything but one thing.” 

Wave looked surprised at that, “What, what was this one thing you didn’t have?”

“A father; a father that was there for us, one that supported us, the one I needed when I was raped.” Cloudchaser yelled the last word.

Wave tried to find words but Cloudchaser cut him off. “Flitter was there for me when he tried again. She defended me! I don’t care if you accept or like it, but I won’t let you interfere with it or try to destroy it. If you are here to help and support us, be welcomed. If not, get your bucking flank out of my house!”

Wave sat back on his flank, not in denial at his daughter’s words, but because he couldn’t find the strength to stay standing. “I did it all for you…”

Lightning closed her eyes. “No, we did it for us.” Wave looked up and saw the tears in her eyes. “Wave… I’ve realized something these last few days: we’ve been horrible parents. Sure, we had good intentions, but… we didn’t give them the one thing they wanted, the one thing they needed: we were there for them, but we weren’t there for them.”

It was rare to see his wife cry, yet here she was with tears in her eyes, crying over her… no, their mistake. “I just wanted them to be happy,” he said.

“And we are, dad,” Flitter replied as she walked up next to her mother. “But not because of you. We are happy because of us, because of what we have.”

He glared at nopony in particular. This wasn’t supposed to be about him — this was about them; this was about the thing they were doing. Yet, somehow they’d made it about him. It infuriated Wave how they had turned it around. 

“I need… I need to think about this,” he growled and turned his head away from them. 

“Dad?” Cloudchaser asked. 

“Not now…” Wave said as he made his way to the door. 

“Wave,” Lightning said in her ‘you’re going to answer or I’m going to buck you in the nuts’ voice.

He turned around, shocked to see that there was tears and anger in Lightning’s eyes, each in equal measure. “We need to talk about this — just you and me. There’s an inn just down the street. Tonight, six thirty?” she said.

“Six thirty,” he said back, his voice deadpan. 

“Please… be there,” Lightning said through her tears.

He didn’t reply. They watched as he opened the door, spread his wings, and took off into the sky.

Flitter and Cloudchaser watched him go, surprised and angered that he’d do something like this. Yet, the real surprise didn’t come from him, but from their mother. Lightning broke down, sobbing on their floor.

“Mom!” Flitter yelled as she ran to Lightning’s side.

“I bucking hate you,” Cloudchaser said as she stared at the open door.


***


Six hours. Six hours is not a long time, relatively speaking. It’s a quarter of a day. You spend more time asleep each day than when six hours passes. Yet, for Lightning, the next six hours felt longer than it took to carry her girls to term. 

Wave had been right about so much, but wrong about so much more. She hated him for this, but she loved him more than anything as well. It was a play in contradictions: a knife to the gut and a kiss on the cheek all at the same time. 

It was that part she hated the most. They had been through everything together, every hardship, every bad thing she never imagined in her life they’d have to deal with. He… her Wave, he had always been understanding, he had always said their love would see them through. That as long as they loved each other, it didn’t matter. 

But there had been none of that today. It was almost like… like he had given up, like he didn’t see how they could get past that. It was that part that weighed so heavily on her mind. ‘Giving up’ and ‘Wave’ did not belong in the same sentence. 

“He’s right, I should have… I should have told him,” Lightning admitted to Cloudchaser as she left for their meeting.

“There’s a lot we should have done, mom…, a lot we all should have done. We… we can’t change the past, only decide where we’re going from here,” Cloudchaser replied.

“What if he's… what if he’s not there,” Lightning gave voice to the biggest worry on her mind.

“He’s a few things, but dumb isn’t an adjective I’d use.“ Cloudchaser snorted.

Lightning had to stifle a silent laugh at that before turning serious again. “I fear that all this will drive us apart.”

“Mom, we never want you to go. It’s father that chooses to be this way,” Flitter said with a soft smile.

“Do you think that we can fix this?” Lightning sobbed. 

“Nothing important is broken, mom. Just dad’s dream and his ego,” Cloudchaser chuckled. 

“Girls, he really did do it for you two. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but… he, he always had you two on his mind. The long hours, the backbreaking practices, and yet… yet he’d come home each night and kiss you two while you slept, regardless of how tired he was.”

“Too bad he couldn’t figure out the difference between what we needed and what we wanted,” Cloudchaser snorted.

“Am I not just as guilty?” Lightning asked.

“Why are you defending him?! Cloudchaser practically yelled.

“She still loves him,” Flitter replied with wide-eyes and a smile on her face.

“I do,” Lightning said with a sad smile.

“Well then, what are you still doing here?” Cloudchaser asked. While she had been taken aback by that, she was in no position to judge — not really. Love was love, whatever form it took.

Lightning kissed her two daughters on their foreheads and took off. She was more scared now than when she argued her first case in a courtroom, and yet… yet she would not back down. This… this had to happen, it just had to.

“Please be there,” Lightning whispered as she flapped her wings and flew to the inn.


***


“Room seven, eight, nine…” Lightning counted as she walked down the hall. At this point she was talking just to drown out the pounding of her heart. The stallion at the front desk had been more than helpful once she had told him that she was looking for her husband. He told her that Wave had checked into room ten earlier that day and had not yet checked out. Of course that didn’t mean anything — not really. After all, he had prepaid for the room. 

“Room ten,” the mare said as she stopped in front of it. It was just a door, but whether or not it opened determined her future. Worst case scenario: her husband of twenty years was gone, she’d never lay in his hooves again, her girls would never know their father’s kind words. He’d just be… gone.

It was so much more than a door. It might as well have been a dragon. A dragon that wanted to burn her whole — wings, coat, and all.

“No… I will do this,” Lightning stated as she stood up to her full height, pulled back her hoof, and kicked it against the door three times. 

“Wave!” Lightning called out. 

There was no reply.

“Wave!” Lightning yelled out again. “I know you’re in there!” 

Again, nothing. 

“Wave, don’t… don’t do this to me…” Lightning said through sobs. She pounded again and again at the door.

Still no reply.

“Wave… you… you bastard,” Lightning cried as she placed her head on the door, crying into the floor. “You… you weren't here.”

“Hey.”

The voice was like a gift from Celestia. Lighting looked over and saw her husband walking down the hallway, a bucket of ice in his mouth. “I… I thought you’d left,” she said while wiping tears from her eyes with a feather.

Wave placed the bucket down on the floor. “You said six thirty. It’s only six twenty-five. I stepped out to get ice.” The monotone in his voice was like a dagger in Lightning’s heart. 

“I don’t know if I should kiss you or hit you,” Lightning said. 

“Whatever you do, let’s do it inside,” Wave replied as he fished out a key from his bag and opened the door, letting Lightning in.

“Drinking again?” Lightning said as she noticed several empty bottles of beer on the floor.

“Eeyup,” Wave replied.

“You know you can—”

“Don’t, just don’t. This isn’t about me; it’s about us, and our daughters. If all you want to do is point out my flaws, then just leave.”

Lightning shut her eyes and took three deep breaths. “I’m sorry,” she said as she opened them.

“What did I… wait, what?” Wave looked up in shock. “Celestia, I must be drunk.”

“I’m sorry,” Lightning said again. “I mean…I’m sure you’re drunk, but, no, you heard me correctly. You were right, Wave. I should have told you. It was wrong for you to have to hear the news like you did.”

“Why are you okay with all this?”

Lightning didn’t hesitate for even a second. “Because it makes them happy.”

“But long term…?”

“No, no long term.” Lightning cut him off. “Ten years ago we were a happily married couple living the dream. Look what’s happened in that time. I’ve started having sex with the princess, our daughter was raped, and you retreated into the Wonderbolts, completely ignoring your family.”

“Hey, what did I—”

“No, shut up, Wave. You’re right, this is about us. That means we each need to admit what we did, and if we don’t, then it’s up to the other to point it out. You’re a wonderful husband, a loving father, and the greatest stallion I’ve ever met. I mean that too. I love you, I always have. It… it broke my heart when I realized that I was to blame for our sex life; that it was me; that I just wasn’t attracted to stallions. It broke because of what I’d have to do to you — because I knew that you loved me and even if I wasn’t attracted to you, I still loved you back.”

“I told you I was okay with it,” he hissed.

“But you’re not, are you? Not really?”

He looked up, tears in his eyes. “Would you be? Would you be okay with it if I found a stallion I wanted to buck because you didn’t have a dick?”

His vulgar language shocked her. Lightning went to answer but bit her lip. He deserved a real answer, not one in anger. “No…”

“You said I’d still…” Wave said, then trailed off.

“Still what?” Lightning asked.

“That I’d still have you,” Wave replied. “It’s been months since we’ve been together.”

Lightning paused. “You looked like you hated me last time…” she said, remembering the look in her husband’s eyes the last time they made love.
 
“You… you said we needed to just get it over with, that you needed to get back. You left me with the impression that you were treating it like an obligation — like a box you just had to check off on your to-do list.”

There were only a few times in her life that lightning could remember seeing Wave so hurt. This, like those other times, broke her heart. “I’m sorry,” she cried. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Lightning,” Wave said as he slumped down to the floor. “Do you want to leave me?”

“No!” she cried out.

“There are times… times that I think if I didn’t love you this much, it wouldn’t hurt this badly.” He cried now. He cried for everything that he had — everything that life had led him too.

It’s the cruelest twist of fate: not never getting what you want, but losing what you had. Losing it because you didn’t value it — because you didn’t fight for it as much as you should have.

He felt that way now. He felt like this was all his fault; that if he just loved her more, had he been around more, maybe… just maybe she’d still be his; that maybe their marriage wouldn’t be a sham.

Lightning tossed herself onto him and cried, just cried. She cried for everything she had done to him, for everything they used to have, everything they were losing because of her.

“I’ll.... I’ll tell her it’s over. I just want to be yours!” she yelled.

“No,” Wave replied. The stallion stood up, forcing Lightning to do likewise. He raised a feather and moved a strand of her mane from her face. “I’ve never seen you more radiant than when you’re with her.”

“But it’s killing you,” Lightning protested.

“Better me than you.”

“No, this… this cannot stay as is,” Lightning said. Her eyes were glued to the floor now, not willing to look up at the stallion she loved, the one she married, the one she was hurting so much.

“What if you… what if you joined us?” The idea was ludicrous, but it was the only one she could think of. They couldn’t keep lying to each other, they couldn’t keeping going as is. Yet, Wave didn’t want her to give up Celestia, and Lightning didn’t want to give up Wave.

“Now I know I’m drunk,” Wave said, blinking three times. “It sounded to me like you…”

“I did,” Lightning confirmed. Now that she said it, it almost seemed like the perfect solution.

“Isn’t Celestia only interested in…?”

“She’s thousands of years old, Wave. She’s had both mare and stallion lovers over all that time — more than I could hope to count. She wouldn’t even blink an eye at this. I’m not even her only current lover.”

“What if she’s not interested?”

“Then… then I’ll tell her we can’t continue.”

“Lightning, I—” Wave’s comment was cut off as Lightning pressed her lips to his. He was taken aback by that action. He didn’t fight it though, this was… this was too much like the old days, the days before…

Tears fell down Wave’s face as he kissed his wife. He pressed himself against her lips. There was no big fanfare, no fighting of tongues. It was just a kiss, and yet… yet it was everything he had missed, everything his body had needed. He had needed her. He had missed her so much it hurt. It felt like he was living without his heart all this time.

When she pulled back they were both crying. “Do you want to make love now?” Lightning asked.

Wave shook his head, surprising her, but the truth was he just wasn’t in the mood. “Will you just hold me?” he asked, surprising her again with his question.

She smiled at that. “Bed?”

He nodded and jumped up on the bed. Laying down on his stomach his wife jumped up and joined him. She lay by his side and wrapped a wing around the stallion she so loved. She buried her muzzle into his mane, tears still falling.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too,” she replied.

They lay like that for seconds, minutes, or hours — in truth, time just failed to have any meaning. It could have been a day for all they knew, however unlikely it might have been. At some point Wave rolled over to his side, Lightning did likewise and found herself in her stallion's hooves. He simply held her close, her wing wrapped around him. Her muzzle buried into his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

It was Wave that broke the silence. “Is this what you want? You really want me to join you and her?” he asked.

Lightning pulled her head back and nodded.

“And you’re willing to risk her saying no?” Wave asked.

“I could live without her. It would hurt, but I could. I can’t live without you though.”

Wave smiled and kissed her forehead, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” he said back with a smile. “If it means I get to be with you again, I’ll do it.”

“And getting to buck the princess isn’t so bad either,” Lightning said with a smile.

“Somehow, I’ll just have to deal with that little drawback,” Wave said with a small chuckle, one that Lightning soon joined in on. The couple laughed for quite some time after that. When they finally came down, Lightning buried her head back in his chest, enjoying his warmth.

“You were right,” he said as he smelled her mane.

“I usually am,” she replied back with a giggle.

“That’s true, but you were right. This is more about us then our girls.”

“You… you’re okay with them now?” Lightning asked, surprised.

He rested his muzzle upon her head. “Well… no. But it’s our fault, isn’t it? We… I didn’t give them what they needed. I was so concerned about buying them things, about making sure they had what I thought they needed that I missed what they actually needed. I missed…” he trailed off.

“We missed everything important,” Lightning finished. “We did, not just you.”

“I don’t even know who they are anymore,” Wave admitted.

“That makes two of us,” Lightning said, “but… but I’m learning, Wave. They’re two of the most wonderful mares I’ve ever meant. Cloud she’s… she’s so strong, so capable. Flitter she’s… she's so kind, so nice. They have hearts big enough to care for others, and they love each other.”

The sigh he gave out at that was hard to miss.

“They’re not our little girls anymore,” Lightning said as she lay in her husband’s hooves. “They’re two grown mares that have their own life. I’d… I’d like it if you met them. I’d like you to get to know them — not as who you think they are, but as who they actually are.”

When he didn’t reply, Lightning continued. “Wave, they were all they had. Because we weren’t there, we didn’t give them what they needed, they were forced to find emotional support from each other. Is it so strange that they’d also find physical support from each other as well? They’re sisters — they’re used to doing everything together anyway. This is simply one more aspect of that.”

“I’d… I’d like to meet these wonderful sounding mares,” Wave said after a few moments of silence.

“Really?” Lightning asked.

“Really,” Wave said after he kissed her again.

“I’m sure they’d love to meet you too,” she said back. “We can get together for lunch tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Why not tonight?” Wave asked.

“Like you said: it’s been a while since we last made love. A mare has needs you know, and I can’t keep sneaking off with my daughter’s vibrators,” Lightning said with a wink.

“Well, what sort of husband would I be if I didn’t see to my wife’s needs?” Wave asked with a grin.


***


“Are you sure about this, mom? Cloudchaser asked as the twins followed their mother into Sugarcube Corner.

“I think everything will be okay,” Flitter whispered into her sister’s ear. “You saw how happy she looked when she got in today.”

“You know they spent the night having sex, right?” Cloudchaser whispered back, causing Flitter to blush.

“I also know that I wasn’t the only one,” Lightning said back, causing Cloudchaser to blush.

“Speaking of which, if you borrow our toys, you should put them back, mom,” Cloudchaser replied back, fighting and failing to keep the grin off her muzzle.

It was Lightning’s turn to blush now.

“There’s my girls!” Wave called out as they passed into the shop.

Both sisters just stood motionless and shocked as their father jumped up from his table and approached them, pulling them both into a bone-crushing hug.

“Dad, too tight!” Flitter squeaked and Wave let go with a sheepish grin.

“Heh, sorry,” he said before turning to Lightning. “Good morning, my sweet honey bucket.”

“Honey bucket?” Cloudchaser asked. “Really?”

“What do you call Flitter?” Lightning asked with a smirk.

“Just my love,” she said. Lightning mouthed the word ‘boring’ silently with her muzzle, winking at Flitter.

Wave whispered something into Flitter’s ear that caused the mare’s eyes to go wide and the color to drain from her face. She turned to her dad and asked, “now?”

“No, not now,” Wave said with a smile before turning back to the mares he so loved. “Come, I know you two have to get back to work. Let’s have lunch together.”

Cloudchaser nervously followed her father. There was a lot to talk about and the foremost was his new attitude. Wave led his family past all the tables to a booth at the end of the shop, just enough out of the way where they wouldn’t be overheard.

He climbed into one side, followed by his wife. Flitter climbed in the other, followed by Cloudchaser. “Dad, what’s going on?” Cloudchaser asked, unsure about just what was going on.

“I… we talked last night, girls,” Wave said as he gave his wife a peck on the side of the muzzle. “I… I’m sorry.”

“We’re sorry,” Lightning corrected, holding one of his hooves. “Things… things have not been good.”

“With your marriage?” Flitter asked. 

“With our family,” Wave corrected. “Please… please understand that it’s our fault. We know that and it’s up to us to earn your forgiveness. I know it won't be quick. I know it’s a long road in front of us. But I’d like to try — we’d both like to try.”

“Mom… we already…”

“I know, but we’re a team in this, Flitter. We each have our sins, our sins against two beautiful mares that deserved better. We’ll make it up to you together, as the family you deserve.”

“Dad… does this mean you’re okay with us?” Cloudchaser asked as she held Flitter’s hoof.

Wave took a deep breath before letting it out. “It’s every parent’s dream that one day their foals would know the greatest joy in life and have foals of their own. I won’t lie to you two, I wanted that for you — I did. But… it was my dream because I knew what happiness it brought me. I know I got lost along the way, but please, believe me when I say I did it all for you. You two were my motivation and drive to push myself, so I could put a smile on your muzzles when I bought you that new toy. I was a fool — I was — I admit it. You didn’t need some toy, you needed a father. I wanted you two to be happy, I wanted to buy you things so you’d be happy, I wanted you to marry and have foals so you’d be happy. And all this time, you found your own happiness. You found it in each other.”

“Dear?” Lightning said, only to be stopped when Wave held up a hoof.

“You two are happy with each other. You found what I wanted for you not because of me, but in spite of me. Even if it doesn’t exactly match what I had in mind, your happiness is all I’ve ever wanted for you. So yes, as long as it’s what you want, I’m okay with it.”

Wave did his best not to look away when Flitter grabbed Cloudchaser’s muzzle and kissed her. A hoof squeezed his own even tighter. He looked at his wife who was smiling at him. “Baby steps,” she said with a grin.

He pecked her on the side of her muzzle when an excited pink pony showed up to the table.

“Ohhhh, hi there!” she said before looking at Flitter and Cloudchaser, gasping. “Oh, it’s you! We still have to do your welcome party! Are you free tonight? Tomorrow? Maybe on the weekend? It will be the best party ever! Trust me, I’m the best for parties… at least the Cakes and my friends told me… and you know they would never lie to me… and I also know that they like my parties and you will like it too and…” Pinkie stopped and looked at Wave. “You’re new!” she shouted before vanishing in pink smoke.

“What was that?!” Wave asked.

“That… was Pinkie Pie. The town’s party pony,” Flitter said.

“Pinkie Party Pony Pie?” Wave asked.

“That’s about it,” Lightning laughed. 

“You should have seen the mess she left!” Cloudchaser gasped.

Just then a five piece orchestra burst into the restaurant, lead by that very same pony dressed up in a marching band costume as she sang out, “Welcome to Ponyville, we know you’ll enjoy your stay, welcome to Ponyville, it’s such a lovely, lovely, day. Welcome to Po—”

“Pinkie!!!” a shout came from upstairs. 

“Yes, Mister Cake?” Pinkie called back, her body frozen in mid air.

“Mrs Cake is having a bad day. Please… not now,” he said as he went to attend to his pregnant wife.

“Oh, my bad,” she said with a smile as she removed her outfit with her hooves. Without taking it off over her head or placing it anywhere when she was done. For all intents and purposes it was just gone, as was the marching band.

“Did… did I just see that?” Lightning asked.

“Rainbow said not to analyze anything she does too closely. The last mare that tried ended up in the insane asylum with a new cutie mark.” Flitter said.

“New cutie mark?” Wave asked, surprised. he had never heard of a cutie mark changing.

“Apparently she used to be a scientist, after a weekend analyzing Pinkie’s behaviour her cutie mark changed from a beaker to a screw and a ball.”

“Well, how about that party?!” Pinkie said as she popped up at their table again.

“Umm, how about we schedule that later. For now we’ll just get some drinks and a few sandwiches,” Cloudchaser said.

“Four drinks, four sandwiches, and a party raincheck! Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie shouted before taking off.

All four ponies looked at each other and laughed. There was nothing else they could do. When it was over there were simply four smiles. Four smiles from an unusual family, but a family all the same.

After all, it doesn’t matter who you love, but how you love, and nopony could doubt that these four ponies loved each other with all their hearts. Especially after Cloudchaser had to use the restroom.

“Be right back!” Cloudchaser said as she got up.

“Flitter, now,” Wave whispered to his daughter. 

“Come back soon, my Silver Moaney Bear!” Flitter yelled in her sexiest voice.

“Dad!” Cloudchaser yelled.

Another round of laughter surrounded the table.
> We're home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter ten: We’re home





“Oh Celestia, that was one crazy week,” Flitter said as she walked in through the door. 

“I know what you mean,” Cloudchaser laughed, following behind her.

“Welcome home, girls,” Wave said with a smile as he kept busy in the kitchen. 

“Dad, when did you learn to cook?” Flitter asked.

“He’s full of hidden surprises,” Lightning said with a smile as she walked down the stairs. Both sisters noticed that she was walking a little bull legged, but rather than say anything, they just giggled to each other. 

“Oh, I wanted you to know that my extended leave was approved. I get to stay with you two for another week!” Wave practically shouted the words. 

“Another week… great…” Cloudchaser said in a monotone voice. 

“You don’t want me to?” Wave asked. 

“It’s just…” Flitter said with a blush. 

“What?” Lightning asked. 

“Well… mom’s a screamer,” Cloud finished.

Lightning smiled, “I’m not the only one, Moany Bear.”

All three mares laughed. It was true — more than one night everypony had been kept up, secretly trying to outdo the others. For Wave, it had been an… unusual adjustment. But Lighting had been right. These mares, his girls, they were not his daughters — not really. The girls Lightning had given birth to were gone. He lost his chance with them.

These two mares, these two were not them. These two were two mares that had their own life, that loved each other, and had found their own happiness together. He had spent the last three days getting to know them, and he had to say, they were wonderful mares.

Lightning and Wave were connecting with each other like they hadn’t for years. The two had found new passion in their marriage — a new respect and love for each other. One that would see them through even this rocky time. While Lightning still found mares more appealing than stallions, she truly did love her husband. His happiness became hers, his pleasure became hers.

And it wasn’t like the experience didn’t come with its own pleasure.

“Oh mom, how did it go with Celestia?” Flitter asked as she took her spot at the table — a spot that was practically connected to Cloudchaser.

Lightning and Wave smiled. “She’s fine with it. Both of your parents are now officially royal courtesans.”

“Yeah, great, our parents are the princess's sex slaves,” Cloudchaser said sarcastically.

“Jealous?” Lightning asked with a smile.

Cloudchaser was about to answer, “maybe”, but a hoof grabbed her own. Cloudchaser looked over and saw a smile on her sister’s muzzle, one that lit up her world. “No, not really.”

“Is that so?” Wave asked.

“Of course, I have something way better than a princess,” Cloudchaser replied with a smile before kissing Flitter.

Lightning watched their exchange with faux interest. While she was facing her daughters, her attention was only on her husband. She smiled as he watched his girls kiss — no cringe, no look of disgust, and no hesitation was on his face. Just a grin of his own. He had accepted their unusual relationship, and his unusual family.

“Normal’s boring anyway,” Lightning said under her breath.

“How right you are…” Flitter said after they broke the kiss.

Wave whistled. “Get a room you two.”

“This is our house. You and mom should be the ones getting a room,” Cloudchaser laughed.

They all laughed at that as the stallion brought over the soup he had been cooking. He placed it down before filling everypony’s plate with it. “Enjoy it. Something new just for you.”

Flitter looked critically at the soup. “If it’s half as good as mom’s, you’re hired.”

“Thank you,” Wave said with a smile as he took his seat next to his wife. He was in the chair for exactly two seconds before his wife grabbed his muzzle and pulled him in for a long deep kiss.

When they held it, Flitter started to giggle and swoon a little at the open display of romance. For the soft hearted mare, it brought back memories of her fillyhood. A time when she would eagerly await her dad’s return from his latest practice session, or when her mom would kiss him as she headed off to night classes for her law degree.

Cloudchaser simply looked embarrassed. “Ugh… now I lost my appetite.”

Lightning pulled back with a smile on her face as she stared at her husband's shocked expression. “Great, more for us,” she said with a laugh.

“Well, I guess I can eat,” Cloudchaser responded, earning another laugh from her sister.

“What was that for?” Wave asked in a whisper.

“For being the greatest husband and father I know,” Lightning whispered back.

“Says the wife that got her husband laid by the princess,” Wave said back with a smile.

“What can I say? Being married to me has its perks,” Lightning laughed back. 

“That it does, but she was never one of them.”

“Could you stop that talk at the table, at least?” Cloud asked with ears folded back. “Or do you want to see me seduce Flitter right now?”

“Dinner and a show?” Lightning said back as she turned her attention to her two girls.

“You can’t be serious,” Cloudchaser said back, some understanding of what she just walking into dawning on her. “Dad?”

Wave laughed. “Don’t mind us, Silver Moany Bear, after all, it is your house.”

Flitter looked at Cloudchaser who was grinning now. “No, Cloudy. If you do this, you can sleep on the couch tonight.”

“Aww, no risk, no fun!” Cloudchaser said before leaning in, peppering small kisses on Flitter’s muzzle. “Besides, you won’t let me sleep on the couch.”

“Cloudchaser! Stop it!” Flitter tried to sound hard, but the voice that came out was more of a coo than anything else.

As she watched her daughter pepper her sister’s muzzle with kisses, Lighting leaned into her husband’s coat. She sighed as she enjoyed his warmth, his touch. He surprised her with his next action, the stallion wrapped his wing around his wife, completing their embrace.

Flitter found her stern gaze dropping at the sight. She began giggling at her sister’s actions, then laughing as they became more and more ticklish on her skin. Cloudchaser had been right — she was never at any risk of sleeping on the couch. In truth, Flitter did not know if she could fall asleep anymore without her sister’s hooves wrapped around her, and she didn’t want to find out.

“Give up yet?” Cloudchaser asked with a grin.

“Yes, yes, you win!” Flitter replied, her voice in a full-on laughing fit.

“Still going to make me sleep on the couch?” Cloudchaser queried, a faux pout on her face.

Flitter grabbed her muzzle and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips connected, their tongues finding each other as they shared in their embrace. When she pulled back, Flitter asked one question: “What do you think?”

Cloudchaser sighed loudly as she got up and left the table. “I’ll get the spare blanket.”

“Cloudy!!!” Flitter yelled as her sister started to walk up the stairs.

Cloudchaser looked back and laughed.

“We kinda took it…” Lightning said under her breath.

“What, why?” Flitter asked, confused.

“The bed in the spare room isn’t self cleaning,” Wave said with a blush on his muzzle.

Flitter didn’t need any other explanation, but Cloudchaser made it worse. “I bet I can top that mess!”

“We’re not going into any kind of competition with that! Now eat!” Flitter said before leaning in. “We’ll see tonight who will make the bigger mess,” she whispered into Cloudchaser’s ear.

The grin on Cloudchaser’s muzzle was all their parents needed to know. They looked at each other and laughed. 

Flitter looked down at her soup and took a sip, smiling as the smorgasbord of flavor hit her tongue. “Wow, this is really good, Dad.”

“Thanks. It’s one of a few recipes I learned on the road.”

“It can’t be that good,” Cloudchaser teased before taking a sip herself. “I stand corrected. W-what is it?”

"Ratatouille," Wave replied. "I learned how to make it on the road."

“I hope it wasn’t ran over by a carriage, but it is good.”

“Glad you like it and no, it was the landing path from the headquarters,” Wave joked back.

“Okay, stop, you two,” Lightning said, looking up from her plate. “With you on the kitchen table I feel like I’m back in flight school canteen again.”

“Oh, you mean where you met dad?” Flitter asked.

Lightning laughed. “Yep, the very same.”

“Didn’t he dump his tray on you?” Cloudchaser asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Dropped,” Wave corrected.

“I would’a kicked him in the flank for that one,” Cloudchaser said.

“I tried,” Lightning said with a raised eyebrow.

“She did. She chased after me for almost thirty minutes,” Wave replied as he reached out a hoof and grabbed ahold of his wife’s.

“Even then he was a superb flyer, a true sight to behold.”

“You weren’t too bad yourself,” Wave said as he kissed Lightning on the side of her muzzle. 

“But then, how did you two?” Flitter asked, confused.

“Well, I think we can tell them the rest of the story now,” Lightning said with a grin.

“Oh, really?” Wave replied with a smile.

“Oh no,” Flitter said with a blush, having a good idea of where there was going to go.

“Well, much like today, we had ratatouille for lunch that day. And, well, when I tripped, the tray fell on your mother. As you can imagine it left quite a mess. She was so pissed off that she started to chase after me. Well, I took off as fast as I could, just seeking to outpace her.”

“You tried to outpace me,” Lightning said back with a glare.

“I’ll admit now, I didn’t really want to.”

“What?!?!” Lightning yelled.

“I had a cute mare chasing after me — why would I want that to end?” Wave asked. 

Lightning felt herself torn between wanting to kiss him or cuff him over the ear, so she did both.

Wave rubbed the small bruise on the side of his head with a smile. “Well, I did make her fur a mess, so I led her on a small chase around the outer edges of Cloudsdale. Soaking us both. After thirty minutes she started to tire out, and when I saw her land, I dropped down right behind her.”

“Wait, you just landed right behind a mare that was looking to whoop your flank?” Cloudchaser asked, confused. 

“What can I say? Her mane… wet… I wanted to see more of that.”

“I made him pay for that,” Lightning replied.

“What happened?” Flitter asked. 

“I jumped on him, pinning him to the ground while staring at him in rage.”

“She had you pinned?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Yep, I couldn’t go anywhere even if I wanted to,” Wave said with a smile.

“What did you do?” Cloudchaser asked.

“The only thing I could do: I told her she was the most beautiful mare I’d ever seen, then I kissed her.”

“Wait. The only thing?” Flitter asked. “That’s kind of hard to believe.”

“Well, that’s how it happened,” Lightning chuckled.

“I bet you kicked his flank first for that,” Cloudchaser grinned.

“Not really. I just kissed back,” Lightning blushed slightly.

“Wait, why didn’t you tell us this part earlier?” Flitter asked.

“You know how you said it was kind of hard to believe?” Wave asked, Flitter just nodded. “Well, it wasn’t the only hard thing.”

“Wait… no, you… you didn’t,” Cloudchaser said in disbelief.

Lightning blushed as she looked down, smiling.

“Mom, you didn’t even know him,” Cloudchaser replied.

“I spent thirty minutes chasing after him… he had a cute butt.”

“You two just bucked after one tried to kill the other? You two are insane. Even more than us,” Cloudchaser exclaimed shakily.

“I think it’s kinda romantic,” Flitter said with blushing cheeks.

“Don’t you get any fancy ideas now,” Cloudchaser just growled.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Flitter replied with a soft kiss.

Lightning watched her daughters kiss. It was so easy to see the foals they had been, and yet… yet that wasn’t what she saw now. She saw two mares that she loved, and that loved each other in turn. They had grown into strong, independent mares. It made her smile, a smile that she also saw on her husband. She glanced over and took a look at Wave Chill.

The stallion’s silver-gray fur and ragged blue mane always looked unkept. He kept a rugged, manly look to him, almost as if he were always ready to do whatever needed to be done whenever it was needed. It was that attitude that had caused her to fall in love with him. He simply seemed to be this rock, the anchor to her boat.

He wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. She smiled at that; somehow, the stallion always smelled like the ocean. Over the years it had stopped being a surprise to her — it simply was. Lightning’s favorite vacation spots had always been the sea shore. She told Celestia it was because she enjoyed the smell of the sea, and while that was true, it wasn’t the only reason.

It always reminded her of him.

Suddenly a blue hoof appeared in front of her face and ran along the side of her muzzle. “Why are you crying?” Wave asked softly so as to not alarm his daughters.

She looked at his hoof in shock, surprised to see a small amount of liquid upon it. Closing her eyes, Lightning knew the reason. She reached her muzzle up and whispered into his ear. “Because I’m happy.”

Despite her whispering it, all three ponies in the room heard it. When she pulled her head back there were three sets of grinding faces looking at her. All of which were full of kind eyes. Two of those had tears running down their muzzles.

“You two are too sappy,” Cloudchaser said with a scowl on her muzzle as she saw her sister and father crying at her mom’s words.

“Come here, you!” Flitter said as she practically jumped on her sister’s lap, wrapping her up in a very unwanted kiss.

“I’m happy too,” Wave said as he did nothing to wipe the tears from his eyes. It had been so long since the two of them had truly felt like this. Lighting pressed her muzzle to her husband’s and just held his embrace as the two enjoyed their shared warmth.

“Why don’t you two call it a night — we’ll clean up down here,” Flitter offered, surprising both of her parents. They each looked up, seeing their daughters already cleaning the table.

How long were we? Wave thought before he realized a critical truth, he didn’t care how long he had embraced his wife. He simply glared into his wife’s loving eyes. She nodded and smiled back. “Well, if you girls don’t mind.”

“Just don’t wake the neighbors, mom,” Cloudchaser said in a half joking, half serious tone of voice.

“Yeah, can’t have two of us doing that,” Lightning said as she started to work her way up the stairs, a small swing in her hips.

Before Wave could follow his wife, a hoof wrapped around his neck, bringing him in for a hug. Wave looked down in shock as a pale green haired mare with a pink bow hugged him. “Flitter?” 

“I love you, dad,” Flitter said, her voice sounding like she was holding back tears. 

Wave felt tears falling from his own eyes. He wanted to ask why. He wanted to say he had been a horrible father and didn’t deserve her love. But that’s the thing about love: it’s not earned; it’s given, freely.

It’s an irony of life that the greatest treasures have no price. They cannot be bought, stolen, or taken. They are only given freely. Often when we feel like we are the least deserving of such things.

“I love you too, my daughter.”

Another hoof wrapped around him. Wave cried openly as he felt Cloudchaser wrap her wing around them both. “I love you too, Cloud.”

Cloudchaser didn’t say it back, but she didn’t have too. Her actions said it for her.

Flitter pulled back first, surprising Wave. Cloudchaser took longer to let him go, only doing so when she heard her sister giggling at them. “Now get going. It’s rude to keep a lady waiting,” Cloudchaser said with a wink.

“You’re right about that,” Wave said. Although he wasn’t looking at her, his eyes were glued to another set at the top of the stairs. A set that looked at him with kindness and love, and, a little… a lot of lust as well.

The two girls watched as their father ran up the stairs, a noticeable purpose in his movements that spoke of a certain motivation to his actions.

Flitter giggled while Cloudchaser just huffed. “I’m glad I’m with you and not a horny stallion.”

“Cloudy, sometimes you’re no better, especially in heat.”

Cloudchaser blushed. “That’s not true…”

“It is or shall I count all the times?” Flitter raised an eyebrow.

“That’s not fair!” Cloudchaser rolled her eyes while Flitter just blew her a raspberry.

Cloudchaser frowned as she watched her sister walk away. That frown became a small smile, and then a grin when she remembered something. “Shall I remind you who bought all of our little toys.”

Flitter paused in her walk, her face draining of color. 

Cloudchaser grinned. She knew she had just played her trump card. 

Flitter turned to her. “Yeah, you're the one that insists on breaking them in though. Or should I remind you how many batteries we go through.”

Cloudchaser laughed, soon joined by Flitter. “Maybe we are as bad as stallions.”

“I think we are,” Flitter replied as she walked over and kissed her sister on the side of the muzzle. “But with a lover as hot as you, can you blame me?”

“Have you looked at yourself lately?” Cloudchaser asked as her sister turned away. She caught an eyeful of her sister’s flank.

“Now, now… no sex in the kitchen,” Flitter reminded her.

“Who said anything about the kitchen?” Cloudchaser asked with a smirk.

Flitter only needed a moment to figure it out. “Race ya!” she exclaimed before rushing to the stairs, her lover and sister hot on her tail.



***



The sunlight shone through the window, illuminating Cloudchasers fur. She woke to its gentle warmth, a warmth that paled in comparison to the body laying next to her. Looking down she saw her sister’s muzzle pressed firmly against her coat, softly nuzzling up to her in a loving embrace. 

Cloudchaser did her best not to move. She didn’t want to wake her sister — not yet anyway. Besides, her own body did not want her to move either. Last night had been kinda… rough and her body had no compunction about reminding her of that fact. Still, she took pride in one thing: between the noises heard around the house last night, she had won.

Of course she knew her mother would win the ‘most dirty bed’ challange, but the sisters’ bed was self cleaning, so that wasn’t really a fair challenge.

So much had happened, so much had occurred over the last few months. It was scarcely believable at times. And yet, if given a million do overs, she wouldn’t change a thing. The journey had been rough; it had been full of anxiety, terror, and heartbreak, but it ended just as she had wanted it to. She got to wake up each morning to her sister’s touch, to simply holding her as she slept.

The smell of waffles wasn’t bad either.

“Wait, waffles?” Cloudchaser said as her mind put two and two together. Either her dad or mom were already up — up and cooking breakfast.

“Flitter, I think we got breakfast,” Cloudchaser said as she lightly shook her lover.

“Not again, Moany Bear. I’m a little tired,” Flitter said back, half asleep.

“Oh, too tired for me?” Cloudchaser said with a pout.

Flitter blinked her eyes clear as she stared at her sister’s face. “Well…” she started before her nose picked up on the smell, “maybe after breakfast.”

Cloudchaser giggled at that. “Come on. I don’t think it will wait forever.”

Flitter groaned, but got up slowly from the bed. She was the first to leave the room and go down the stairs, Cloudchaser needed much longer. She could feel every single muscle and more. She was completely sore, the reason for that a certain sexy mare walking in front of her.

She wasn’t really surprised to see that indeed their parents were up and had already prepared breakfast. What surprised her more, however, was that her parents looked extremely fit and well, despite everything she had heard last night.

Flitter looked back and saw her sister making her way down the steps. She recognized that walk and felt a little guilty about it. Maybe we overdid it last night, she thought. With her right wing she pulled out her sister’s chair, letting her sit down without having to do it herself.

Cloudchaser nodded her thanks as Wave walked over with a plate of waffles held in his mouth. Wave laid out a plate of waffles for each of his girls as Flitter took a seat beside her sister at the kitchen table. He grinned when he saw Cloudchaser’s face contort as she struggled to get comfortable on her flank, a noticeable soreness from her activities last night.

Lightning was much the same when she sat down, Wave thought with a smile.

“What do you two have planned for this weekend?” Flitter asked.

Lightning and Wave looked at each other, a small giggle passing between them. “Well, I am still on leave from the Wonderbolts and your mom did take a few weeks off from her job, but, well, we have another job now too.”

“Oh, princess duties call?” Cloudchaser said, chuckling.

“You could say that,” Lightning smiled.

“Oh, oh, you just gotta fill us in on all the gossip with the princess!” Cloudchaser said.

“Really, what makes you think we know any of that?” Wave asked.
 
“C’mon, really? You’re both bucking her. You gotta know something,” Cloudchaser said with a smile.

“Cloudchaser, language!” Wave said more on reflex then actual offence.

“Said my sex slave parents.” Cloudchaser blew him a raspberry.

“Well, she has us there,” Lightning admitted, laughing.

Wave grumbled under his breath, but said nothing.

“Well, as you both know, the summer sun solstice is coming up. Celestia has mainly been getting ready for that.”

“Oh, this one is special, no?” Flitter asked.

“Yep, she’s even sending her prized student to come oversee it.”

“Celestia has a student?” Cloudchaser asked.

“Yep, a… Twilight Sparkle if I remember correctly.”

“She found another alicorn?” Flitter asked, remembering when she took on Princess Cadance as her niece.

“No, apparently she’s just a unicorn,” Lightning replied.

“A unicorn?” Flitter asked, surprised. Celestia only took on the best of the best as her personal students. For a unicorn to make that list… well, that said a lot.

“Yep, she should be coming in on Monday, so we’ll have this weekend to help Celestia… relax.” Lighting said with a wink as she placed her hoof on her husband’s thigh.

“It’s a tough job, but somepony’s gotta do it,” Wave said sarcastically.

All four of them laughed at that. 

Flitter turned to her sister and saw the smile on her face, “Do you think we’ll get to meet her?” she asked Cloud.

“Maybe, I doubt somepony that has the princess’s attention could come to town and not leave at least a little impact.”

“Yeah, but how much impact can one pony leave?” Flitter asked.

“Well, if you’re anything to go by, I’d say a life changing one,” Cloudchaser said as she brought her sister in close for a hug.

Flitter leaned into the hug and breathed in her sister’s scent. “I love you, Cloudy.”

“I love you too, Flitter.”