Chapter 1 - The Day That Almost Never Comes

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"Yo Lightning! we need some more clouds up here!" Yelled the pegasus mare who was preparing the weather for Baltimare. It was going to be a warm day after the rainstorm that happened in the previous night.

Lightning Dust, who was cleaning some dark clouds calmly so that she wouldn't get herself electrified by the thunder, gave the mare a nod and continued with the task of take off the more heavy clouds. "In a minute, Hydro. Just let me deal with this one and i'll help you with that."

It had been one and a half year now. before this time, Lightning Dust was a happy and energetic pegasus who loved a challenge. She wanted nothing more than to become a wonderbolt and make her family proud of her. To make her father proud of the daughter he had.
Long time ago, her father served the Royal Guard as a brave colonel and was one of the responsibles for the great triumph that Equestria had on wars agains their enemies. Some even said that he was the one who inspired Shining Armor to become the Capitan of the Royal Guard that he is today. But he wasn't just a instrument of war or a pony who decides victories for his kingdom. He had his soldiers to command and also had the whole responsibility for them and their welfare. However, there was something that he would give up on everything just for it to be breathing, something that he would give his life over it just so that it sees the Celestial Sun rising again, something that would make him face all of the dragons and changelings in the world just so that it keeps safe from all the evil around the kingdom, and that thing was something called familly.
A beautiful and caring wife who was always by his side in every step they took. Two lovely foals who meant more to him than any victory over the past years: a healthy orange pegasus colt and a beautiful light-blue pegasus filly. When they where born he felt like all the battles where gone, that there was no war, only peace and happiness everywhere he looked and he couldn't enjoy life more than what he has enjoyed that time. The foals and his wife had a pretty good life in Manehattan. They had great friends and studied in one of the best schools of the city while their mother was a nurse in Manehattan's Hospital. They saw their father as the best hero a colt could ever take his eyes on. Even though he wasn't always on contact with them, he would do the impossible to see them, taking presents and playing baseball with both of his twins. Some years after those events, they also had a new colt who they named First Base. Life had never seem so good for the Colonel.

However, good things only last for so long.

A secret organisation was being known for several acts of bioterrorism against innoscents by using live beings for something called "natural selection". It started with wild animals, and after significant success they began to use ponies for their tests. The only problem was that several of these ponies died after the virus, that they called "Embrionza", was injected in their bodies. The others who survived where kepts in captivity, suffering from the side effects that the virus caused, including strong headache, uncontrollable fever and insatiable itchy skin. And as if this wasn't enough, their leader began to use griffons and dragons to their tests, which wasn't an easy task capture them. The leader of this organization was a mysterious unicorn mare who never showed her face to anypony, but she called herself "Clear Light" for the scientists and mercenaries who worked for her. Always wearing a black overcoat and dark glasses, she was always watching those ponies, griffons and dragons suffer due to her experiments to create a new race of super beings capable of doing the unthinkable. A new race of powerful beings would rule the entire world. She would be the Goddess of this new world, and nothing could stop her.

"Steel Frontier, show me the results of your last tests please." Ordered Clear Light while she faced one of many monitor screens showing the ones she was making tests on.

The stallion who she was refering to was sweating out of nervousness. Fearing of saying the news of the results. "Ma'am, the results showed that the griffons had a lot of advance in the new test of the Embrionza virus, they are having w-way more resistence than the rest of the species." Said Steel Frontier as he began to tremble, fearing that his boss would ask for more information.

"Good" That's all she said, she kept her eyes at those screens, seeing those innocent live beeings screaming out of pain and crying for desire to go home. "Anything else?"

The words that the stallion feared most came out of Clear's mouth like poison. Swallowing in dry, he answered "Yes m-m-ma'am. The d-dragons, they... they d-d-didn't survived."

Clear Light turned her head slowly towards Steel Frontier. Still keeping her serious expression while looking to the frightened stallion behind her, she said "I see... Explain yourself."

the sudden slightly voice tone change was enough to make his whole body start to shiver. For a several moment, Steel Frontier kept his terrified eyes directed to his boss, struggling to find the right words. After growing herself impatient, she made a full turn towards Steel Frontier and began to slowly trot towards the stallion. "You gave me your word that the same mistake wouldn't happen again. And yet you managed to kill the rest of our dragons. Do you know what that means?"

As the mare finished, Steel Frontier shut his eyes as fast as his brain could process. He knew very well what happens with those who fails the same mistake twice. He saw that happening before, and he sure didn't want the same happening to him. As he remembered the pain of the other scientists and mercenaries who failed twice on Clear's command, the fear took the best of him and he began to cry. "Please, Mistress! Have mercy on me! I'll do whatever you desire!" He fell on his knees and screamed in despair. "PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME!!!"

With the same voice tone, she said "Don't you worry, you still have potential for me. After all this time that you kept beeing loyal to me and making us get more near to our goal, I won't waste such a great scientist such as yourself." That made Steel have a little bit of hope. Maybe his Mistress would forgive him again.

Or so he thought.

"Instead, you'll be my new addition to the Hakai Project." With that, all of Steel's hope vanished like a drop of water in the hot desert.

"No... NO! MISTRESS, PLEASE!" The stallion vainly screamed.

"Take him to the virus injection room." Ordered Clear Light to the soldiers near the door. The stallion kept struggling and screaming while being immobilized by the soldiers. After some time he was finally taken to the room that their boss ordered. The chances of him surviving the test were near zero. But if he did, he would still have to deal with the collateral effects and the chance of becoming a monster. But that, seeing by Clear Light's eyes, is the new world of ultra resistent life beings that herself would command. A world free from diseases and full of powerful beings. The ones rejected would perish and the rest that the virus "accepted" would be responsible for the drastic change in the way of living.

"Nothing will stop my world from rising." Clear Light said while turning to the monitors again. "And when the day comes" she opened herself a malevolus smile that could be seen from out of her overcoat "I'll be the Goddess of this New World!"

The Colonel was packing his things to head up to the meeting point, where him and a group of well trained soldiers and the new recruits would strike against this group of bioterrorists. After so much time trying to find a safe source of the terrorists location, they decided to strike down the group and their leader. And their main objective: Secure as many hostages as possible.

He put on his platinum armor, connecting the torso part of the armor using a rare jewel that was connected to the armor to put it together in his chest, picked up his loyal spear, which its tip had a similar profile as an elegant sword. It was basicaly two weapons in one. Before leaving, he headed to where his wife was sleeping like a filly after a long nightmare night collecting candies.

He stood there, listening to her cute breaths and watching her torso going up and down with every breath she took. "You know i didn't want this time to comes" He said while stroking her soft mane.

Is that really worth it? Risk your life when you have four mouths to feed was something that nopony would want to do. Not when there's the chance of getting all of your family in disorder. Without a member who's the main pillar of this family it will fall like a shed in a landslip area.

Of course it is worth it! It was on his code ever since he was a recruit: Protect and Serve.

But at the same time, he was afraid. Afraid of never seeing his wife and kids again. After realising he was a familly stallion, he began to question himself if he should quit or stay in the army. At anytime something could go wrong and he would be called to settle things down with the chance of getting himself killed.

It was a battle inside his head. If he quit the army, the chances of the soldiers to have a leader as good as him was near zero, and that would lead the empire into darkness if another war happened. If he stayed, there would be a big chance of him meeting his destiny and never seeing his wife and children again.

He was going to make this mission and then decide once and for all if he was going to stay or leave.

As he was going down the staircase, he noticed a glowing yellow light coming from the kitchen and he thought that one of the kids had come down for some water. "Great" he sarcastically thought "I was hopping i could leave without anypony noticing. I hate goodbyes."

"Dad?"came out a quietly innocent voice from a very young Lightning Dust who was holding a glass of water on her little hoof. "Where are you going?"

He sighed and turned to face a slightly tired filly looking directly into his eyes. "Hey Lighty. You were supposed to be sleeping."

She didn't said a word. She didn't even blinked. And all he could see was that curious stare into him.

"Well... you see, Lightning. I'm going on a mission. I want you and your brother to take care of your mother while i'm gone and--" He didn't had the chance to finish due to Lightning bursting out of surprise and anger.

"WHAT!! YOU NEVER TALKED ABOU--hmmph hmph" Before she could finish, a hoof silenced her down. Thankfully the mare sleeping upstairs had a heavy sleep, but not the orange pegasus however.

"Look sweetie, I don't like this either. But it's needed, or else the results will be catastrophic" he said while still holding her mouth. They stayed like this for 20 seconds. Lightning replaced her anger with sorrow, and tears began to appear in her eyes.

He puted her glass of water in the wooden floor and said "Look, Lightning... sigh I hate what i'm about to do, I really do hate. I wanna stay here with you and your brother, belive me!"

"Than why are you leaving?"

Those words have not come from Lightning Dust. It came from upstairs from the alerted orange colt who woke up due to his sister's scream

"If you wanna stay so much..." he beggan going down the stairs, which made the stallion even more unconfortable with all of this. "...why are you going?"

"I need to do this... There's this group that are trying to contaminate the entire planet with a virus." He explained. After he finished, he could see both of his kids with tears running down their faces. He needed to do something about this, to make them feel not afraid of what could go wrong.

"I'll do this last mission and then I'll stay here forever. I promisse. This will be the last time I'll do a mission, and then I'll stay here with you." Now it was his time to have tears going down his face. That's why he hated goodbyes. It always ended up on painful tears.

Lightning Dust, who had her eyes shut, opened her eyes to face her father once more and asked for something that made the heart of all the ponies there heavy as a big sledgehammer.

"Please... come back alive"

Her father didn't knew what to say. He couldn't promise something he wasn't sure it would happen.

"I will, Lightning... I..." he sniffed before he could end his sentence. But in the main time, Flash spoke something that made him want to disappear from everyone and everything.

"Promisse us. Promisse us you will be back"

"I promisse"

He knew he shouldn't had said that. He knew there was a chance of him to break this promisse. But he knew deep inside that this was the only way out of that situation.

without warning, the twins hugged him. It was the tightest hug he ever recieved from anypony. They hugged him like he was never coming back.

He returned the hug with a grim in his face. At this momment, he had finally made his decision.

He was going to quit the army after this last mission.

All he nedded was in that home, not in the army.

It was his dream, it was what gave him determination to be always better than yesterday. And now he'll just throw it away.

All for his familly.

The Colonel finally let it go. He kissed his children's forehead and, with a last goodbye, he was gone. Lightning Dust and Flash Sentry just stood there, looking to the closed door in front of them. Lightning Dust lowered her head with her eyes half closed with some tears running down her face. After sniffing two times, he looked to her side to find that her brother wasn't there anymore. Instead, he was in the kitchen, with his mind lost in thoughts. Lightning got closer to him and he said "I have a bad feeling, Lightning."

Lightning, beeing the one who always raised his morale, cleared her face and puted a smile on her face "Don't worry, bro."

Flash turned his head, surprised at her change of tone "Daddy had always win those battles. He's gonna win this one for sure!" Even though Lightning also had the same bad feeling, she was doing her best to hide it just to make her brother feel better.

"You'll see. He's gonna be back with a ton of new games for us and where gona play all day and night."

Flash saw the smile in the filly. That smile that makes all of his bad thought disappear. He always loved his sister because she was always making his sorrow go away. Always making him feel safe and bright again, like all of the problems he had was already solved. He smiled back and hugged her with passion. The warm sensation provided by their bodies made them both happy again, not like before where Lightning was trying to make him feel better, she was really happy to have him at her side, making her feel better as well.

"Thank you, sis" Flash whispered on her year. "Thanks for everything. You're the best sister in the world, Lightning"

"Lightning..."

his voice stayed on a loop inside her head.

"Lightning..."

"LIGHTNING!"

"Huh?" The pegasus snaped out of her thoughts when she heard her friend Hydro calling for her. She shaked her head and saw Hydro flying above her

"Come on, our shift is over."

"Oh... yeah-- right, I uhh... I'm coming"

And with that, she flies towards the building of the weater ponies.

After some seconds though, she slowed down while those words came to mind again. You're the best sister in the world, Lightning.

She knew what she had done in the wonderbolts. She also knew what she had done to her familly. That made her feel horrible. Knowing she was suppose to make her father proud and then going away like that.

Worst of all, her brother trusted her. He said he was sure she would become the best flier the wonderbolts would ever see.

And now here she is, being a weather pony where neither her familly or anypony she knew could see her as a failure.

"I'm so sorry... bro"

She cleared her face and headed to the building, doing her best in not thinking she was a failure even though she knew she was.

Chapter 2 - So Close, No Matter How Far

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Today's job was done.

Lightning Dust was in the locker room, storing away her gear, ready to go home and collapse into bed. She considered renting a movie to treat herself after a long day; there were only so many ways to managed boredom in her one-room apartment, but for Lightning one room was more than enough since it was way easier to clean… when she got around to it.

When she first came to Baltimare, Lightning was in a bad place. She had little money, which meant few meals to sate a hunger rivalling that of stray dog. It also had the effect of limiting her housing options. After rejection by landlord after landlord, she was with as much hope as a prisoner in the death row. When she ran into Brick Seal, Lightning expected to be turned down again after explaining her situation.

But Brick Seal was different. He was kind and welcoming unlike the other landlords, having offered Lightning a place to stay and, much to her joy, a hot meal. However he wasn’t a pushover; Brick would give her a place to stay, but on the condition Lightning would find a job within a month and pay the rent. It was a tough deal for a crappy apartment, but with the condition she’d been upon arrival, Lightning was satisfied with what she could get.

After days of searching, she found a position with the city’s weather control thanks to Hydro Jet. At first Hydro came off as a mare with an explosive temperament, always easy to trigger into anger, a trait Lightning found trying. However the more they worked together, the more she grew to understand there was more to her than a spitfire attitude; Hydro was a softie and quite the chatterbox. On more a multitude of occasions Lightning found herself engrossed with Hydro’s entertaining conversations , which often revolved around random tidbits of trivia and, to a lesser extent on Lightning’s end, the subject of their cuter-looking coworkers. She was perhaps a little off her rocker with the pranks she pulled, too.

Jump ahead eighteen months. For the most part since her arrival, Lightning had lived in relative comfort and with a stable job managing the city’s weather. She certainly owed Brick and Hydro her gratitude for an opportunity at a second chance. If it wasn't for them, she would’ve resorted to begging for bread.

That was not to say Lightning’s stay in the Charmed City remained an unproductive one in the interim. She also used this time to redeem herself and become a better pony. It wasn't like she was always selfish, but she was so focused on giving pride to her family that she didn't even care if her actions spawned potentially lethal consequences.

Lightning was okay with this life. It wasn't exactly one she imagined falling into nor one she entirely desired, but something was better than nothing, right?

However, this new life still lacked, namely a crucial, valued element that is never easily replaced: family. She missed them dearly, especially Flash. The way he hugged her, the competitive smile he wore whenever they raced, the way he seemed to know what to say when she was down… she missed everything about her brother.

Last she heard, his tenure with the Royal Guard landed him a spot in the Crystal Empire as one of Princess Cadance’s personal bodyguards. A soldier’s compassion and courageous deeds once again rewarded by royalty. Like father, like son.

She could go up there and visit Flash anytime she wished. But knowing what she’d done, knowing how much disappointment he would have for her actions, Lightning choose to stay as far away as possible. It wasn't right, but she felt it to be the better choice.

A low voice called out from behind her. "Hey, Lightning."

"Hmm? Oh, hey Xenon. Whats up?" She said, giving her friend a welcoming smile.

If Hydro Jet was aggressive and crazy, Xenon Blow was the opposite: shy and an excellent ear to lend, always listening more than he spoke. When he joined in on Lightning and Hydro’s hangouts--which took some convincing on their part--, he gradually grew to be less reserved. That was putting it mildly, though. Xenon still spoke fewer words than the average pony, but compensated at being more level-headed than others, which have sometimes put him at odds with the mouthy Hydro.

He even reminded her of Flash, if only a little.

Xenon dropped his workbag to the side. "Sorry, just couldn't help but notice you acting kinda odd today." His face turned into one of concern. "I mean, I called your name like three times and you didn’t answer. Thought you were a zombie or something." Placing his hoof on Lightning's shoulder, he spoke once more. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Okay, maybe the two were not as dissimilar as she believed.

"Flash used to do the same with me. Why does he have to be so much like him?"

Lightning tried her best not to lose her cool. But Xenon was right, she had been off her mark for the whole day, only working in autopilot. It wasn't the first time it happened though, she had those mind overloads once or twice in a month, and both her friends knew why. "I'm fine, Xenon. Really, you don't need to worry about anything."

"Was it about your brother?"

Amazing how words could pierce the heart like a marksmare’s arrow.

"_Sigh_... Y-Yeah." Lightning finally gave up on trying to hide her emotions. "Sorry if I keep making you all worried. Really though, I appreciate that you’re trying to help."

She gave a weak smile to the stallion. If there was anything she learned about true friends, it was that they would always be there for her, providing advice, motivation, and guiding her in the right direction. Just like her brother. In fact, if it wasn't for Flash giving her motivation and training with her day and night, she would never be able to get into the wonderbolts in the first place.

Her smile faltered. Nowadays she wished she could go back in time and change her mind about becoming a Wonderbolt.

Xenon noted the slight change in face and, with firmness rivalling that of the hoof holding Lightning’s shoulder, said, "Look, I know me and Hydro already said this, but you ought to go find him."

Lightning furrowed her brow, annoyed of having heard the same bit of advice for over the past year. She made it more evident by batting away Xenon's hoof. "This again? You know I simply can't, alright? Not when I'm the black sheep of the family. You don't understand... if my brother says anything about how disappointed he is, it will... it..." Several scenarios of how Flash would react to her showing up out of nowhere played through Lightning’s mind, all of them ending in varied levels of shame, disappointment, and animosity from her brother. Her eyes began to get water for the second time today. "It will destroy me! I'll never be able to recover from this! Never..."

"I know you don't wanna do this. Trust me." Xenon’s tone was definitely louder and firmer this time, which was a surprise coming from a pony who was arguably more shy than the Element of Kindness herself. "Think of how your brothers and your mother are suffering not knowing where you are or how you are!"

A lingering silence fell over the locker room. Lightning mentally asked herself if it was really worth it to live so far away. Her mother already had dealt with her feelings of loss in the company of a wineglass; she didn’t deserve to fall back into the habit, not after all the harsh nights her children had to deal with her drunkenness.

First Base had it worse. As the youngest, he didn’t quite grasp the concept that Daddy had "gone to a better place" despite Lightning and Flash’s repeated struggles to explain. It was their first Father's Day without him, seeing his friends with their fathers, did it finally hit home.

"Look,” Xenon continued, breaking Lightning from her reverie, “judging by how you talk about your brother, how he’s so nice and how he’s the best brother you could’ve ever ask for, I don't think he'll be that harsh on you at all. But even if he did, at least you would finally remove this gigantic weight of your back.

Lightning could tell he was trying his best not to come off as rude and make her feel even worse. That's why he was so shy--he put the feelings of others first, and he sure didn't want hurt the feelings of his friend. Such consideration made it harder not to cry.

"D-Do you think he'll ever f-forgive m-m-me?"

"Seeing as how kind and loving he is based on your stories, I'm pretty sure he will. Don't take my word for it though. You know him better than anyone, and you ought find out for yourself.” Xenon gave her a warm smile before gripping her both shoulders. "If you don't wanna do this yourself, do it for him."

There she was, asking herself again if what she had done was right. This time, however, Lightning began to see the situation from a different perspective.

Of course, she would be heartbroken by her mother and brother. They might cast her out, disown her, and sever all ties with her. But Lightning ignored the fearful scenario--it was irrelevant. It didn't matter if she had become... this. It didn't matter what she had done to them. They needed--no, they deserved to know what happened. If they hated her forever because of what she did, so be it. Falling into depression later on was likely once this ordeal was over with, but that didn't matter either.

To Lightning, none of the potential consequences mattered. Nothing in general, if she was being honest with herself. All that mattered was to let her family know she was alive and, for the most part, well.

Calmness took over Lightning as she met Xenon’s gaze once again. "Thanks for everything, Xenon.”

He took it as a sign she had made up her mind. "So, what's it gonna be? You going after him?"

"Yeah." She said the word with an unusual, determined firmness.

It's done. I’m going to find him and tell all the truth, regardless of what happens.

She gave Xenon a determined gaze. "I'm tired of living in the shadows. I'm tired of living like a ghost. I... I want to put an end in this."
Xenon saw the fire in her eyes burning with intensity like that of a dragon. "That’s great to hear, Lightning." He turned towards his work bag, searched inside for a few silent moments, and procured another, smaller bag. He then turned back to Lightning, gently took one of her hooves, and nestled the bag in it. "Here. That should be enough for a train ticket."

Lightning peeked inside the bag, only to look back at Xenon in surprise. "What? But I... no, Xenon. You don't owe me anything." She shoved the bag back into his hoof.

However, Xenon remained insistant. "Actually, I do. You and Hydro helped me open up and be less of an introvert, now I’m returning the favor. Equivalent exchange, as the alchemists say?"

Lightning gave a quick laugh, remembering how odd he was when she first met him. He was always looking down and mumbling, making it a real struggle to understand what he said. But surprisingly enough, Xenon could be really funny with his words.

"So…” Xenon started, “you know about the Birthday Ceremony for the Princess of Friendship, right? It’s happening tomorrow in Ponyville. Since Captain Armor is her brother, no doubt he’ll show up. And where there’s Captain Armor, it's very likely Flash will be close by."

"Ponyville it is, then." Lightning couldn’t help but feel a sense of trepidation at that.

Not long after her disappearance and Flash’s transfer to the Crystal Empire, their mother and First Base had moved to Ponyville It was for the best, since it was a quaint little town where everyone knew everyone. Certainly a friendlier place unlike bustling metropoles such as Manehattan.

Lightning felt eager about seeing both her brothers again. But her mother? She would pitch an absolute fit about Lightning if they met again--when they met again. Lightning could imagine it vividly, her mother berating her with questions about what she’d been up to for the past eighteen months.

But that’s what a mother does, right?

Lightning dismissed those thoughts. Her primary concern was Flash and nothing else.

"Thank you, Xenon." Lightning gave Xenon the same hug she gave to her brother years ago. She knew then what true friendship really meant. Sure, she felt a pang of guilt for not understanding it much earlier, but better late than never to learn something new. "Thanks for everything... you're one of the best friends I ever had!"

Xenon pulled back, a mischievous smile on his lips. “Better than Hydro?”

“For now.”

"I hope she doesn't get jealous then, eh?"

“Just don't flaunt it around like she does with her trivia.” They both shared a laugh before breaking off the hug. Lightning then put on a wry smile. “So, Xenon, how much longer do you plan on hanging out in the the mares’ locker room."

It was as if someone bumped up the thermostat by several degrees. Xenon sweat bullets as he opened his mouth to speak, but only succeeded in stuttering. "Oh, snap, er, right. Yeah. Um... gottagogoodlucktoyoubye!" With that he rushed out of the locker room.

A chuckle escaped Lightning. “Oh, Xenon, if only you knew how special you are..."

With a final look at the locker room doors, Lightning closed her own locker, made her way out the building, and flew back to her apartment with a determined heart. She would take the first train to Ponyville in the morning, and then put an end to this once and for all. No more hiding, no more sulking. She intended to make amends regardless of the results.

It was the right thing to do, but not for Lightning’s sake.

She would do this for him.

"I'm coming, brother. It'll be over soon… I promise.”

Chapter 3 - Eyes Seek Reality

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The effect was instantaneous.

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

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

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

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

“You overslept.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Better safe than sorry, right?

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

Since then the two were nearly inseparable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Doing everything as you were told?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you, Cadence, Flurry."

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

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

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

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

Someone now lost.

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

"Flash, are you okay?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"Ugh..."

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"Celestia have mercy on me."

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

"OKAY, FINE!"

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP

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

A day full of change.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

End this nightmare.

Chapter 4 - Avalanche

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As the train got closer to Ponyville, Lightning Dust tried to keep her mind straight. She still had no idea what to say to Flash once they bumped into one another. If anything she planned on just listen to him speak his mind and vent, then, if her brain didn't decide to stop working by that point, answer all of his questions.

If she went through with it.

That was what Lightning feared most right now. Her mind just giving up on her after hearing his brother. How much had Flash changed? She was both excited and scared to see him. She was finally going to see her brother after all these months, though not necessarily the way she wanted.

There was also another problem: getting into the castle. A birthday party for the Princess of Friendship herself warranted an invitation. As luck would have it, Lightning didn't have one, and even if she did she doubted Princess Twilight would allow her inside the castle. If the princess still remembered her, Lightning might as well be royally banned from the town on the spot. They weren’t on the best of terms ever since the incident at the academy.

But that had been almost two years now. Princess Twilight couldn’t be mad at her forever, right? For Goddess’ sake, she was the Princess of Friendship. She had to be over it by now.

Right?

After some time the Castle of Friendship could be seen in the distance. A voice from the rear of the car announced the train’s next stop. Lightning's heart beat even faster now.

"Okay. Just calm down, Lightning. You've come way too far to fail now. You can do this," she said to herself. The train started to brake and come to a full stop in front of Ponyville's train station. Lightning stepped out and onto the platform to be greeted by a cold wind that brushed several dead leaves against her side. "I should've brought my jacket," she grumbled.

She then settled her gaze onto the bright crystal tower in the distance. "Now... Friendship Castle it is." She wasted no time in opening her wings and flying off towards her destination. Ponyville seemed noticeably different compared to what she remembered. A few structures appeared to have been renovated and others were new. Not to mention the castle -- it gave such an unique touch to the once small town, though it posed the hazard of blinding anyone if the sun’s rays hit the crystalline structure just right.

“My eyes!” shouted some unlucky sap.

Like so.

Lightning caught sight of a small building with a steeple that she quickly recognised as the schoolhouse. She considered making a quick detour to say a quick hello to her younger brother, but decided against it. Knowing First Base, he’d end up telling their mother and complicate things.

Maybe later, after things were taken care of with Flash.

She landed outside the castle perimeter, finding cover behind some bushes to ensure no one saw her. Not that it mattered -- there wasn't a single soul to be found around the castle, not even a guard at the entrance

“Huh. A castle with no guards.” Lightning remarked. “Either they’re inside for some R&R or security around here’s a total joke.”

Before she could proceed further, a butter-yellow pegasus carrying a couple of colorful packages on her back made a landing before the front doors. She knocked -- more like tapped -- on the doors and patiently waited.

Could she be the first guest?

A pink aura glowed around the knobs as the doors opened, revealing Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship herself. "Oh, hey Fluttershy,” she greeted with a smile. “I was wondering when you’d come."

"Hello, Twilight. Um... here you go,” quietly said the timid pegasus, whom Lightning associated with the name Fluttershy. She handed the package over to Twilight. "Happy birthday."

"Aww, Fluttershy. You didn't have to." The alicorn said with the most thankful expression she could make.

"Of course I had to. It's your birthday."

The two friends shared a moment of laughter before the alicorn spoke again. "Come on in. Almost everyone is here."

From her hiding spot in the bushes, Lightning arched an eyebrow. "Almost everyone?" She said quietly. From the sound of that, odds were high Flash had already shown up. If that was the case, then no turning back now. She already came this far and it would be pointless to just give up right before the finish line.

She just needed to deal with the matter of getting inside without arousing the attention of the princess or her friends.

Lightning smirked. Like I’d back away from a challenge, she thought as she ducked and rolled behind another nearby bush. She scanned the area. There had to be another way inside the castle other than the front doors. Maybe the back door, or a ventilation shaft. Or a secret passage? Every castle (at least the cooler ones) has one of those, right? Or what about--

An open window.

“Well, that was a rip-off.” Lightning deadpanned.

Without thinking twice, Lightning jettisoned herself through the open window. On the other side was a bedroom simple in style and laden with amenities fit for a foal, namely books in a shelf, a stuffed bear neatly nestled on the bed, and kites. Lots of kites.

“Cute. Must be the dragon’s room.”

To her luck, no one had been in the room when she landed. Excellent. No witnesses, easier to venture further undetected. Now to head off to the party itself and mingle.

Twilight Sparkle had motioned Fluttershy inside when she sensed motion in her peripheral vision. She turned to see five familiar faces trotting their way to the castle.

She grinned ear to ear. "They're here!" Elated, she immediately opened her wings and burst towards them. Before the newcomers could process the purple blur coming straight at them, Twilight came to a halt and found herself in her brother’s hooves. Through his chest she could hear Shining Armor chuckle as he returned the eager embrace, two of many things she missed dearly from her big brother.

Truly, the loving bond between brother and sister is a beautiful sight to behold.

"I'm so happy to see you, BBBFF!"

Shining smiled. "Likewise, Twily. Likewise.”

Having finished savoring the embrace, the siblings broke away. Twilight then turned her attention to the other guests, the infant alicorn in her stroller in particular. "Awwww. And who's this cutie little sweetroll?" Twilight cooed with the goofiest and most adorable voice she could muster while cuddling Flurry Heart. "You came to the birthday of your BAE?"

Flash and Sunburst shared a look, then bit their lip and tried their best to resist the urge to laugh. Flash had it easy managing his composure, his training a valuable asset in remaining for the most part stone-faced. Sunburst was more or less successful, chuckling through his throat and keeping as quiet as possible.

Shining arched an eyebrow, as did Cadance whom asked, "Twilight... what does 'BAE' stand for?"

"It stands for 'Best Aunt Ever'. What else could it possibly stand for?" Twilight grew curious, nervous, and perhaps slightly frustrated at the stallions’ immature behavior. "Hehe... what are you laughing at?"

"Oh, it's nothing Princess. R-r-really, it's nothing." Sunburst wheezed. "W-we just remembered something."

Flash managed to clear his throat. “Yeah. Just one of those private jokes you just randomly remember, y’know?”

"Oooookay then.” A moment of awkward silence passed before Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, why don't you all come inside? It's getting cold out here.”

"Oh, before that...” Cadance started innocently, gently nudging her bodyguard forward. “Flash, why don't you offer your present to Her Highness?"

Shining rolled his eyes.

Flash confusedly glanced back at Cadance. She always acted rather odd whenever they were around Princess Twilight. I wonder what's her deal, he thought before compartmentalizing said thought and obeying his princess’s more-than suggestion.

Kneeling, he held out his wing to offer his gift. “Happy birthday, Princess Twilight. I always wish you the best."

"Aww, Thank you, Flash. You're so kind." Twilight used her magic to grab the package. “But you don't need to call me Princess. We are friends after all."

Cadence smiled almost deviously. "For now.” she muttered.

Shining sighed. "Really?"

"Hush, dear." she said to her husband.

By then, Twilight’s struggle with the wrapping paper ended with a victory. The reward it begat for her efforts made her eyes glow with happiness and joy.

"My Kinsmare!? But how!? This went out of print years ago, and had a limited publication run to begin with.” And there it was, held by her aura. Twilight let out a fangirlish scream that forced Flash and company to cover their ears, lest they intended their eardrums to bleed.

“THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!! THIS IS THE BEST GIFT EVER!!!" She threw herself at Flash and hugged him with all her strength. For a bookworm, she was strong. Really strong. Flash pegged it on the one-third earth pony of her alicorn biology. He however needed not question her infectious enthusiasm nor the gleeful grin she wore -- those were definitely all Twilight.

Twilight at last came down from her high. Her grip around Flash loosened yet they remained connected. Her smile softened and he couldn't help but smile back in return.

The affectionate scene triggered Shining Armor to break the two apart. "Alright, Twily. I think you've shown Sentry enough gratitude. Let's go to the castle, shall we?" Shining quickly levitated his and Cadance’s bags over to Flash, intending to keep his subordinate occupied and less likely to try anything… questionable.

Cadence eyed her husband, well aware of his motives. “Resistance is futile, dear.”

“I just don't think it's a good idea to push a relationship between them.

Her tone grew mirthful. “You dare question the wisdom of the Princess of Love?”

Shining gulped. Probably best if he didn't answer that question.

For somepony like the Princess of Friendship, she didn't have many friends -- or anyone for that matter -- in her castle.

Those were Lightning’s thoughts as she navigated the labyrinth of hallways. The castle was pretty much devoid of any life, not even a fly on the wall. She didn't even bother applying stealth as she slowly, but surely, made her way to the castle’s main hall.

"Guess Flash hasn't come yet... wait." Her ear quivered at the sound of multiple voices coming from behind a door. Were they party guests? This had to be the main hall then, and she could ask them if Flash had shown up.

But what if Twilight was there? Would she even recognize Lightning?

It was a big risk, but Lightning decided to try it anyway. She opened the door to a big room with six big crystal chairs and another smaller one. A table that also appeared to be constructed of crystal sat in the center, a three-dimensional map of Equestria on it. She could see some of the chairs were occupied by ponies she didn’t recognize, though she deduced the dragon to be Spike, the princess’s number one assistant.

None of them had yet noticed the newcomer, a fact Lightning decided to change by clearing her throat. All occupants halted whatever they were doing and directed their attention towards the stranger at the door.

"Excuse me. I'm looking f--"

A rainbow blur shot up from behind one of the chairs. "Hang on a second! I know you!"

Horseapples, not her...

Rainbow scowled. Hard. "Lightning Dust. You’re either really gutsy or really stupid to show your face here. Especially during Twilight’s birthday. What do you want this time?" She hovered mere inches from Lightning’s face, far from letting up on her wrath. "Planning something, huh? Wasn't enough for you to almost kill my friends with that tornado? Think again, failure, 'cause I’m not gonna let you wreck my friends the way you did back then!"

"Wait, she is the ruffian?" The white unicorn asked

Failure.

The word made Lightning Dust's heart heavier than before. All the bad things she’d done at the Wonderbolts Academy were falling on her mind like an avalanche. The obstacle course, the tornado, even the notion she was responsible for Rainbow practically gave up on her dream because of Lightning’s actions, all weighed heavily. And to think she could’ve been on the Reserves had Spitfire not intervened.

"I'M NOT HERE TO HURT ANYONE!!!" she shouted, so loud it practically echoed throughout the castle. It also had the effect of rendering everyone present silent. Lightning took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, I'm only looking for my brother. Have you see him?"

"Brother? I don't remember you ever telling me you had a brother." Rainbow replied rather vehemently.

"Well, I did and I'm looking for him! So could you just shut up for a second? I'm already feeling bad enough as it is!" Lightning was quickly losing all patience, replaced by a rising urge to punch Rainbow. All she wanted was help, and Rainbow just had to land a low blow.

"Who the hay do you think you are telling me to shut up?" Rainbow shot back.

By now the angry inferno within Lightning practically lit up her eyes with unbridled flaming fury. Her teeth were bared in a scowl that could make even the manliest of stallions cry. Rainbow was really pushing her buttons.

“Someone whose head isn't all the way up inside her plot!”

Now it was Rainbow’s buttons receiving punishment. “My head inside my plot?”

“Did I stutter or does your hearing suck?” It was a blow to her pride, but at this point anger outweighed judgment.

An orange pony with a stetson stepped in before a fight could break out. "Ah'right, ya two, that's enough! This ain't the time or place for fightin’!"

"But Applejack! She was the one who--"

"Ah don't care what she did!"

"Bu--"

Applejack put her hoof down. "Don't test mah patience, Rainbow Dash."

The Princess of Friendship burst through the doors, clearly exasperated at the commotion. Several other ponies followed close behind. "What in the name of Starswirl the Bearded is going on here?!" she demanded.

Rainbow wasted no time playing the blame game by gesturing to her ex-wingpony. "She started it!"

This was getting out of hand. A sigh escaped Lightning as she facehooved. "Rainbow, for the last time--"

"I don't remember asking you a darn thing!"

That was the last straw. Before Rainbow had a chance to react, Lightning rushed her and slammed her against one of the crystal thrones. The cyan pegasus struggled, but her turquoise counterpart kept her pinned down with ease. Lightning glared her straight in the eyes. When she spoke, her tone held an icy edge.

"Shut up, you egocentric motherf--"

Behind Lightning and the others, several guards came pouring out from the doors and formed a protective barrier around Princess Twilight.

One of them addressed her. “Your Highness, we heard a disturbance. Is everything alright?”

“No, nothing’s alright.” Rainbow cut in. “Maverick here is trying to stir up trouble.”

“Me? You blew up before I even said three to you!” Technically five, but the meaning remained the same.

The pink pony piped up. “Does shouting solve all my problems!?”

Not even crickets chirped in the ensuing awkward silence. Everyone in the room laid eyes on her either out of confusion, perturbation, or a combination of the two, at such spontaneous absurdly.

“Lightning?”

Lightning’s heart nearly stopped. That voice… was it really him?

She turned, her heart beating faster than the past few minutes and nearly stopping once again at the sight beheld. A very familiar blue-maned pegasus in the Guard’s golden armor had pushed his way past the wall made of his brethren, his face a mixture of emotions Lightning couldn't quite decipher. As if that mattered. The day she wished had finally come.

She found her brother.

“Flash?”

It may have been dust in her eyes, or perhaps the work of stealthy onion-wielding ninjas; whatever the case, Lightning found her vision rather blurry. She needed to be elsewhere. No one could see her like this.

Lightning ran.

Flash watched his sister run and push past the princess’s entourage of friends and guards. No one made an attempt to pursue, not even Rainbow Dash. It had become evident a personal matter had arisen and required tender loving care from the right pony.

It didn't take long for him to catch up. Lightning was quick on her hooves, but certainly faster with her wings. Had she flown, she would've been far from Ponyville by now.

But she wasn't. Flash knew Lightning wanted to be found.

By him.

He found her in one of the castle’s many hallways, head hung low and sniffling, the latter’s sounds rebounding and amplified thanks to the crystalline walls.

"L-Lighty? Sis?"

Right there in front of him was his sister whom he cared so much. Flash could barely form words to express how felt at the moment. Shock, anger, but most of all, joy. All that came out of his mouth was, “Is… is this real?”

She turned to him. "Flash... I-I can explain." Lightning put all effort in trying to talk, but her brain found it difficult to process the emotional overload. "P-please don't be angry." The tears began to run down her face like a furious waterfall. "F-Flash, don't be--"

Before she could even finish, Flash made his way towards her and gave her the most strong, yet tender hug she had ever received. The memories of everything they did together flashed through her mind.

There was the trigger. Her heart couldn't take it anymore -- she had to let it all out. She cried like never before. All this time away from him was paying off at that moment. She hugged him with such intensity, as if she never wanted to ever let her brother go.

Her brother shared the same sentiment, his own eyes tearing up. "I can't believe it's you!” he joyously exclaimed. The amount of happiness he was feeling couldn't be described by any word. “Goddess I missed you so much, sis! So much!"

Through her tears, through the exuberant elation consuming her, Lightning remained privy to the fugaciousness of the moment. She had to tell him sooner or later. Preferably sooner.

Like their father used to say: good things only last for so long.

Chapter 5 - Sticks and Stones

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After the shock had passed, Princess Twilight offered Flash and Lightning to use a vacant room to catch up and sort things out. Apparently it was one of Twilight's private studies, which was laden with a number of bookshelves, twin maroon highback chairs, and a wooden table as the centerpiece. The room wasn't as gargantuan compared to the library, but it still held a veritable amount of books.

Twilight could see the pegasi siblings were still attempt to absorb the events of the past day, and needless to say twin bundles of active nerves ready to explode. Especially Lightning Dust -- she couldn't stop trembling, the adrenaline having not quite yet left her system.

So then Twilight asked Spike to prepare a pot of tea to calm their guests.

Lightning wasn't a big fan of tea -- that was more her brother’s thing -- but at the moment she really needed to calm down. The last thing she wanted was to pass out. With her shaking hooves, Lightning poured herself a cup, then took a sip. She found the taste 'boring', like taking a sip of hot water and nothing else. Not that she really paid much attention to that detail or cared at that moment, but at least the tea’s calming properties started kicking in after some minutes.

Meanwhile, Flash couldn't take his smile away. "I still can't believe you're finally back, sis. It feels like ages since the last time I saw you."

Lightning finally took a proper look at her brother. He had grown. His body was noticeably more toned with muscle, though not so much as to render him overly buff and unrecognizable. Lightning knew that strength wasn't his style -- he preferred speed, a means to a quick defense, hence his still skinny physique. It was in his name after all, as well as the reason why he always lost to her in hoof wrestling.

However, there was something about Flash that she just couldn't take her eyes off. Physically on him, to be precise. She never noticed earlier that his left cheek bore three scars, one vertically next to the other just under his eye. Lightning could tell the wounds were deep, and deep down she knew they weren't self-inflicted. Flash never resorted to self-destruction.

So something harmed him. A dragon, maybe? Or could it be one of those wild creatures from the Frozen North?

Or was the culprit a someone?

A minute flare of anger lit up inside Lightning. If -- when she found who did this to him, she would ensure the scumbag would pay for it, bit by bit. Messing with her brother was an invitation for a beatdown. Lightning remembered the last time someone hurt her brother -- it had cost her a couple of bags of ice on her hoof. It was totally worth it.

She ignored the scars for now. There would be time to talk about it later. "I'm glad to see you too, Flash. I really am."

"I tried to write you countless times, but I never recieved any answer from you." His smile slowly faded into a concerned frown. "Lightning, please tell me what happened. You made me so worried that… I thought the worst-case scenario."

It was at this moment that Lightning knew how deep she had gone. Her own brother thought she had died. She could only imagine how much suffering he had endured all this time.

And what about their mother? Burying her husband brought plenty of heartbreak, but the likelihood one of her children had passed too?

This was too much.

Lightning felt she didn't deserve forgiveness, not after worrying her family sick out of selfishness. She’ll just tell the truth: she ran away after being kicked out of the Wonderbolts.

"Lightning. Something happened to you to never write me back, and I want to know what it was. So please, just tell me. What happened?" Flash pleaded. He wanted the truth. He wanted to know what drove her to disappear.

From her hiding place next to the door, Rainbow Dash observed the two siblings converse. Twilight had already told her to leave them be a while ago, having gone on about how this now being a private affair and how rude it would be to stick around. Not that Rainbow intended to heed her friend’s words. She and Lightning hadn’t parted ways on the best of terms, and now that they were practically in the same room, Rainbow remained cautious. For all she knew, Lightning was still a conniving sociopath.

Seeing Lightning’s guilt-ridden face left Rainbow very unsure about that assumption and her heart beleaguered with conflict. Something inside blamed her for what was happening right now. What if she had never told Spitfire about what Lightning had done? Maybe she would’ve graduated from the academy. Flash wouldn't have been worried sick believing the worst had happened to his sister when she actually just ran away. Lightning wouldn't be facing her brother and explaining herself to him.

After seeing how the siblings hugged each other, Rainbow could see her devastated after what Flash could say to her. But at the same time, Rainbow thought that it was justice done right. Lightning nearly killed her friends after all. It was inevitable that Spitfire would know and reprimand for such destructive behavior.

However in the end, Rainbow didn't know what to feel. She couldn’t decide if she ought to feel pity for her former wingpony or just let it happen since she was the one looking for it. Part of her still blamed herself for this, and Rainbow knew she needed to do something about it.

Lightning Dust took a deep breath before starting. "Flash, I…” She hesitated, then sighed. “I'm not part of the Wonderbolts anymore."

He knew it. Deep inside, Flash always knew. It was the most logical reason for her to never write him back. What he really wanted to know is what had happened that made her not a Wonderbolt. He didn't say a word, and just let Lightning proceed.

"I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts after I... did something and almost killed the Elements of Harmony." She looked down at her hooves -- she couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"Wait... kill? W-What do you mean?" Flash couldn't believe that. He knew his sister was a troublemaker, but never before had she gone this far. At least that's what he remembered. He often found himself in the role of his sister’s keeper to ensure her antics never stray too far out of hoof.

"She created a tornado and it sucked in the balloon my friends were in."

The siblings, genuinely surprised that they were no longer alone -- or perhaps never alone to begin with -- shot their respective gazes towards the door as Rainbow Dash entered the study. Her friends followed close behind, as did Shining Armor and Princess Cadance with their sleeping child, and Sunburst.

Of the newcomers, Princess Twilight was the most displeased with Rainbow’s intrusion. "Rainbow, it isn't sensible to barge in on other ponies’ private conversations!"

"No. She's right." Lightning conceited. "Ever since the beginning of the training, I was selfish and only cared about myself. I cared less if anyone felt under pressure or got hurt along the way."

The more Lightning talked, the more dumbfounded Flash found himself. These revelations were coming by the mouthful, each difficult to swallow. His sister, selfish? Not unheard of. However to hurt innocent ponies, as in physically harm them? That couldn't be right.

"And then I tried to convince Rainbow Dash to do the same,” Lightning continued, still not looking at anyone but her own hooves. “I was so full of myself that I created a tornado to push ahead of the competition. I honestly had no clue Rainbow's friends were there at the time.” She then said rather bitterly, “Of course, Rainbow told everything to Spitfire, who kicked me out from the Wonderbolts for good."

Anyone who wasn't Lightning Dust or Flash Sentry remained silent and rapt with attention all the while. For the Elements of Harmony, they had witnessed the exchange between Rainbow and Spitfire firsthand. It had been memorable in many ways, though none had given much thought to how negatively it affected Lightning Dust.

As for Sunburst, along with the royals, was very much surprised to hear this pony alone had nearly caused Twilight and company to be collateral damage. When he noticed Starlight appearing not at all shocked, Sunburst leaned in close and whispered, “You don’t look surprised.”

“What she did was foal’s play,” Starlight whispered back almost proudly. “I forced a village to give up their cutie marks for equality and risked the fabric of time itself out of petty vengeance, remember?”

“I… I don’t know if I should be understanding or concerned.”

Not privy to their exchange, Lightning continued. "I just couldn't go back home after what I did. I blew my chance to be someone!” She finally lifted her head to look at Flash. “I mean look at you! You have a great position as a royal guard. You're making a name for yourself and making everyone proud, including Dad!” The tears in her eyes returned after she mentioned her long gone father. “And me? I failed. I failed everyone! That's why I left for Baltimare. I started working in a weather factory there, but... I just couldn't take it anymore. I missed you, Flash. I missed you so much, but I didn't want you to see me like this. Like... a failure."

It took time for Flash to absorb everything, and once he did he found it difficult to accept the truth. He also found himself growing angry. Very angry. Not because Lightning got kicked out, but because she made him and everyone else fear the worst when all along she had turned tail and ran when her ego took a blow. All this time away just because she didn't want to keep trying.

"You mean to tell me that I couldn't sleep for months, that I got paranoid with the idea that you were dead, and that Mom got sick thinking the same thing just because you thought you were too weak to keep trying!?"

Sunburst tried to calm him down. "Um... Flash, I think you're being--"

"Shut up, Sunburst!" He whirled back on his sister, whatever restraint on his temper coming loose. "You know what? You're right for calling yourself a failure! Because anypony with a sense of dignity wouldn't just run away."

Lightning expected this. She knew he would get angry, but seeing it for real, here and now, was totally different. She never saw him so angry like that. And knowing she was the one responsible for his anger made the situation less bearable. Sticks and stones could break her bones, but words… words hurt like a sledgehammer.

"And in case you weren't listening, Mom is sick. That's right, she got sick because she had no clue whatsoever as to what happened to you, and it's only gotten worse. Did you think about how she felt? Wasn't it enough after Dad died?"

Shock continued to strike their captive audience. Their father had died and now their mother was sick. To deal with one loss must have been difficult for them, but to deal with it twice --and to the other parent no less -- would be torture. Flash's rage could be justified now, if only a little.

It left Lightning tearfully distraught. "N-N-No! I-I-I didn't want--" She couldn't take it. She got her mother sick, and that alone left a huge impact on her soul.

"You know what your problem is? You're too proud of yourself, so proud one screw up sends you bailing out on your problems. There's always a second chance and you're too blind to see it!" At that moment, Flash also had tears running down his eyes. But those were tears of anger. "You idiot. You thick-headed, selfish, irresponsible idiot…”

He realized how far he’d went and took a deep calming breath like Cadence did when in stressful situations. He had to salvage the conversation, to tell Lightning how wrong she was, but he didn't want to destroy her.

Yet those words indeed destroyed her. The same lovely brother who always stood up for her and made her smile everyday said those words, and it became too much for Lightning to handle. She was in shock. She was just there, eyes shut tight, sobbing.

Flash’s heart fell at the sight. "Lightning... look, I--”

She ran.

Everyone watched her run out the door in silence. Twilight wasted no time getting Rainbow’s attention. "Rainbow, go after her.”

The pegasus nodded. "I'm on it." Rainbow dashed out of the study.

"Oh Lightning..." Flash whimpered to himself. "What have I done?"

Chapter 6 - Learning What Was Not Teached

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"Hey! Hey, Lightning Dust!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She had forgotten just how fast her ex-wingpony could be; despite her efforts the distance between them remained wide. "Slow down a sec, would you? I just wanna talk!"

Lightning Dust grew agitated at the persistent pegasus. She just wanted to be left alone, yet Rainbow kept adding to the misery with her shallow attempt at reconciliation.

"Just leave me alone!" Truth be told, Lightning didn't even have a particular destination in mind; she flew blind in multiple senses of the term. There was no particular destination in mind as she flew with tear-induced blurry vision.

Of course Rainbow wouldn't give up. She needed to apologize after humiliating Lightning back at the castle. "Lightning, please! Your brother didn't mean to call you that!"

The mere mention of her brother just made Lightning more angry. Just a little more and things could get ugly. "Get away from me! Go back to your stupid castle!"

"You're just running away from your problems again!"

This struck a chord in her. Rainbow was right. She really was running away again, just like after the Wonderbolts.

Maybe she really was a failure.

Lightning slowed her speed and landed in a nearby tree. Her face was a mess, her eyes all red and the turquoise fur of her cheeks stained thanks to the tears. She sensed Rainbow land next to her, but at this point Lightning didn't care. No way could she shake off someone as stubborn as Rainbow Dash.

"Lightning, running away from your problems will never make them disappear. They'll just get worse over time."

The turquoise pegasus felt more sad and alone. Never before had the truth hurt so much. Everypony knew what she was doing was wrong. She could feel the world around her disappearing until only herself remained.

Lightning needed somepony, anypony, so that she may bury her sorrow. And right now, Rainbow Dash of all ponies was the only one who could bring her back to reality.

"I know it's hard, Lightning. Trust me, I really do." Rainbow continued and placed a hoof on her counterpart’s shoulder "But if you never try, your problems will haunt you forever."

Maybe it was the start of autumn that made the contact of Rainbow's hoof warm to her. Warm, and it filled her with a little bit of happiness, as if Rainbow really cared for her.

Lightning turned to face the other pegasus, whose lips trembled in barely-contained hopeful emotion. First Xenon, then Flash, now Rainbow; it seemed they all put on that face to give Lightning that extra, crucial nudge in a certain direction.

She knew that she was a selfish and cowardly pony. A pony that almost killed the Elements of Harmony and could have made Equestria a more dangerous place to live. A pony whose reckless abandonment rendered her own mother sick.

And yet despite Lightning’s misgivings, the three still fought for her, knowing what she really was. To them, she was worth saving from herself.

"Listen, Lightning," Rainbow continued in a softer tone, "Your brother loves you, and he wants you to come back. So please, come back with me to the castle. Flash needs you. If you really love and care about him, go back and listen to him. He doesn't want you to disappear aga--"

Rainbow wasn't expecting Lightning to hug her so spontaneously, nor to feel her tears dampen the fur on her shoulder as racking sobs filled her ears. Rainbow wasn't a big fan of the emotional support kind of thing; her typical method of dealing with this would either push Lightning away or pretend to feel bored about it. But instead, Rainbow hugged her back.

"It's okay, Lightning. Everything will be okay. And I'm sorry for accusing you. I shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. Heh, I guess I really am that much egocentric." Rainbow said, trying to light up Lightning's humor. However, she couldn't see if it really worked.

Lightning finally let her go. This time she wasn't angry at Rainbow, but she still had that guilty face. Probably because she felt like she was being too ingrateful. Her friends from Baltimare were always telling her to see her brother, but all she did was ignore them when they were just trying to help.

Lightning took a deep breath to compose herself. "Sorry if I hurt you earlier."

"Hey, it's fine. Besides, I deserved it, didn't I?" Rainbow said with a more playful tone this time. Surprisingly enough, Lightning smiled.

"Yeah, you definitely deserved it." Lightning shot back. Her tone remained low, but Rainbow could tell she was in the game after receiving a little punch to the shoulder. Rainbow exchanged one of her own, to their mutual glee.

Lightning wiped away the remnants of her tears. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I really needed that." Somehow Rainbow managed to give Lightning the motivation she needed to go until the end of it.

"No problem, Lightning. You know I'm awesome in every single way. Even when it comes to make ponies feel better." Rainbow stated with pride. Lightning raised one of her eyebrows, to which Rainbow defended, "Hey, I already admitted I've got a big ego! That never gonna change."

Lightning rolled her eyes. What a day it had been for her. An encounter with her old wing-pony than nearly escalated into a brawl, a tearful and heated reunion with her brother, now here she was making amends with the same pony who shot down her dreams back in the Wonderbolt Academy. If there was anything Lightning learned from the past day, it’s that the only pony who can change you is yourself, and running away from your problems will only make worsen them.

Maybe that was the only regret her father had before dying. If he had left the Royal Guard sooner, he wouldn't have fallen in the line of duty. With their numbers, the Royal Guard could have procured somepony more qualified for a mission so delicate, and he would still be around. Growing up could have been different.

But that was in the past. His efforts were not in vain; he had died a hero and many lives were spared that night, and Lightning couldn’t have been prouder of him. No force in Equestria would ever change that, not even time itself.

"By the way Lightning,” Rainbow started, “I know becoming a Wonderbolt is off the table, but you can be something as cool as them."

"Oh yeah?" Lightning said, not quite believing her. "Like what exactly?"

"Well… what about a merc? It’s not stunt-flying, but you get to travel, make your own rules, and get your fix of adrenaline. I hear the pay’s pretty good, too."

An unpleasant shiver ran up Lightning at the idea. "Yeeeah... I don't think that’s a career choice my father would’ve wanted for me." Her, a mercenary? As far as she could remember, her father had dealt with a number of mercenaries in his time. If anything, life as a mercenary was a slap in the face to his memory.

"Okay, so... how about a rock star? Now those are some awesome ponies. You're still good with a guitar, right?"

Lightning laughed at the idea. "A rock star? Really? You're not even trying, Rainbow." Was that her best shot? Well, morally better than a mercenary, sure, but a rock star was a far cry from stunt-flying.

Rainbow rubbed at the back of her head. "Hehe... yeah, it’s stupid." An idea then came to her, perhaps the best idea she had yet! Not only would it be awesome, but it would fit Lightning just perfectly. The excitement proved to be too much, rocketing Rainbow into the air. Lightning watched as she began to gush with such filly-esque glee at the idea, as if she had just made the biggest discovery of the millennium.

"Oh, I know! How about a Royal Guard, just like your brother? Just imagine, both of you in that sweet armor, hanging out all the time, always ready to kick some butt! You can even have some nicknames like… like the Thunder Twins. Cause, you know... that's what comes after the 'flash' and the 'lightning'.” Rainbow smugly nudged her friend. “See what I did there?"

A shrug was all Lightning had to offer. "That sounds cool Dash, but I don't know. How the heck will they accept me into the program?"

"Are you kidding me?” Rainbow spread her hooves in exasperation. All of that, Lightning still said no? “You're a great flier, Lightning Dust! You're fast and have a lot of endurance. They would be dumb if they didn't accept you. And you already have an advantage since your brother is in the Guard. He can put in a good word for you, teach you some cool tricks too."

Again, Lightning shrugged. "Thanks, but I don't think they'll ever open a spot for me anytime soon." Lightning didn't entirely dismiss the idea, though. Interesting as it was, she needed to think about it later.

"You never know, Dust," Rainbow said in an almost tempting manner. Already the gears turned in her head, formulating a plan that would guarantee Lightning Dust joining the Royal Guard. And just like her, Rainbow Dash wasn't a pony to ignore a challenge. "You never know..." Rainbow whispered to herself.

"Now you've done it, Flash."

"You're not helping, Sunburst." The pony in question shot back, not meeting his eyes. Or anyone’s, for that matter.

He paced about in the throne room of Twilight’s castle, plagued by the memories of the last hour or so replaying in his mind again and again. Sunburst watched him intently with concern, as did everyone else who had been present for Flash and Lightning’s less than joyful reunion.

"Sorry, but it’s the truth."

"Look, Flash. You don't have to worry." Twilight assured. "Soon Rainbow Dash will be back with your sister, and then you two can sort things out."

"It’s more than just sorting things out! Something inside is telling me that it's all my fault, that I’m the reason she acted so… so brazenly at the academy! That she decided to run off after getting the boot instead of coming home and telling me to my face!” He breathed heavily after the outburst, only realizing after a few moments that Twilight, Sunburst, and the others stared at him with wide-eyed expressions. Guilt hit him like a sledgehammer as he looked away again. “My bad. Loosened the lid there for a moment.”

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.

“Loosened the lid--” Pinkie started as she unscrewed the lid off a peanut butter jar, “--meant losing control of his emotions. Duh!” She took a large tongueful and indulged it in a satisfied gulp.

Starlight almost deadpanned, “I’m sure she was referring to the belief that Lightning’s abandonment was Flash’s fault.”

“Which begs the question, why would you think that Flash?” Twilight inquired.

He sighed. "Ever since we were foals, we’d always been together. I was there with her doing her pranks, playing with our Joy Boys, even there for each other’s cutie marks. I never left her side. We were like… well, flash and lightning." Flash said with a bit of nostalgia in his words. "She was the troublemaker in the family, always reckless. Whenever Lightning was about to cross the line, I was there to dissuade her. I guess that made her not care about anything else." Flash could feel the guilt entering his mind the more he talked.

Twilight still didn’t quite understand. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by 'care about anything else'?"

"It mean I always reined her in when she got out of hoof. She never got severely punished because I always told her when to stop. And when she attended the Wonderbolts Academy, I wasn't there to do that.” Flash could feel the guilt continue to well inside him. “That has to be why she crossed the line; because she grew too reliant on me as a deterrent."

Twilight could tell that he was still blaming only himself. He seemed to have a valid point. Lightning appeared to fail to ascertain the definition of 'limits'. She could do whatever she wanted and would only stop if her brother said she should stop. With Lightning on her own at the academy, her brother wasn't there to verbally restrain her.

Maybe if Flash had been less assertive, Lightning would have learned from her own mistakes and the incident at the academy would never have happened. But what was a brother, if not a protector?

"Flash, you were only doing that because you love her. You shouldn't blame yourself." Twilight explained. Flash lifted his head to pay attention to the Princess, who continued more sternly. "But the truth of the matter is the environment she grew up in. Lightning never learned from her mistakes because she never got the chance to make them."

Meanwhile, Cadance looked to Shining Armor. "An overly protective brother? I wonder where I’ve seen this before..." she whispered in a teasing manner enough for him to roll his eyes.

“I was like that with my brother. Protective, I mean,” Fluttershy chimed in with the group. “Though as Zephyr grew older, he grew more dependent and less responsible. He never wanted to finish anything he started and developed a financial reliance on our parents.”

“You got lucky, then,” Starlight said. “He got clingy while Lightning Dust developed a rebellious streak.”

The revelation weighed heavily on Flash. He dragged his hooves over his face. “Ah geez…”

“Everypony makes mistakes, Flash. We’re not flawless.” Twilight closed the distance between herself and Flash, then laid a hoof on the star emblazoned on his chestplate. She smiled warmly. "Your sister loves you with all her heart, just as much as you love her with yours. You're the main reason she came here. And if you really want your sister back, all you have to do is apologize and forgive. She will, too. I promise you that."

“You think so?”

"I know so." Twilight assured, her hoof never leaving his chest. "You're a kind pony Flash, one who cares for those he loves. That's why I'm sure you'll do right by your sister."

Something in her assurances built up his confidence. Maybe the comforting words alone were the reason. Or could it be the sincerity in her soft voice, or her smile that melted even the coldest hearts? Whatever it was, Flash couldn't help but feel capable enough to accomplish anything. Even rebuild the bridge that bound him and his sister together.

"Thank you, Twilight. You're the most kind pony I've ever met." Flash responded, laying his own hoof on hers, the one that remained on his chestplate.

All of the ponies watched with great intent as the distance between the alicorn and pegasus’ muzzles shrank. Pinkie Pie in particular continued to anxiously ate away at her peanut butter, while Cadance grew close to bursting with excitement. Another win for love was about to be made! "Come on... come on... almost there..." she mentally cheered.

Shining Armor on the other hoof didn’t share in that eagerness, though he didn't bother to interrupt, else his wife threatened vengeance on him again for being a hinderance to the beautiful progression of love.

Twilight and Flash’s lips were mere inches away from each other…

...then the main doors of the throne room burst open. Two mares, one blue, one turquoise, strutted in loud and proud.

“Things just got forty percent cooler--” Rainbow started.

“--‘cause Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust are in the house!” Lightning finished.

The pair performed a perfected hoofshake, then exclaimed in unison, “Totally awesome!”

At the sweet sound of her voice, Flash wasted no time in closing the distance between himself and Lightning and wrapped her in a taught, loving embrace much like the one they shared early in the day. Twilight and company looked on with with happiness at the two siblings, unperturbed by the interruption of what may have evolved into a romantic moment.

Except for Cadance.

"Oh, come on! They were this close!" she exclaimed in utter frustration.

Shining pointed a hoof at her. "HÁ! Not today, sweetie!"

The Princess of Love slowly turned her head towards her husband, her exasperation gone in a split second and replaced by glaring daggers. "What did you just say?"

"I uh... I mean-- Hey! His sister’s back!" Shining sped off to the growing crowd.

Cadence just rolled her eyes. The Princess of Love had waited for many moons for her amorous machinations to come to fruition. She could afford to wait a little longer.

"Lightning, I'm so much sorry for earlier. Please, don't run away again. I can't go on without you." Flash hugged her tighter as testament to his words.

"It's okay, Flash. It's okay. I’ll never leave you again, brother." Lightning, normally embarrassed with public displays of affection, didn’t seem to mind the crowd of ponies forming around them. "I love you so much."

Another content silence spanned, which had allowed Twilight to disperse everyone once more to the main hall and leave the two alone again.

"You're not forgetting anypony, are you?" Flash finally said.

Lightning Dust didn't know what he mean by that. “Who do you…” she trailed off, the realization finally setting in. She shivered. "Oh, horseapples…"

"That's right, sis. We still need to pay Mom a visit."

"Celestia have mercy on me."

Chapter 7 - A New Dream

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"...and that's how I ended up here. Flash and I had a rough start, but everything’s fine now.” Lightning explained to their little brother, First Base, while they trotted towards their mother's home. The three ponies knew how their mother would react once she saw Lightning after all her time away. The thought had spurred Flash’s decision to see their younger sibling, feeling it best for everyone that Lightning first see her little brother before facing her mother.

"Wow, sis. That's quite a story" The little orange colt was happy to see her sister back, but at the same time scared of how their mother would react once she saw Lightning. "You know Mom's gonna get really angry, right?"

"That's what I'm expecting to see. But don't worry, I can handle her." In reality, Lightning wasn't entirely sure how everything would transpire. She remembered how much of a hurricane her mother can be when anything went awry. A hurricane of fierce maternal sass that left no survivors. But seeing her daughter alive and well after all this time ought to lessen the impact, right? "At least I hope."

"Well, I know she got sick, but Mom’s sweet and soft way of dealing with things hasn’t changed," First said sarcastically, which made Lightning laugh a little.

"Man, I'm so screwed" She thought to herself before asking Flash, "What exactly happened after she got sick?"

"She seemed... how do I put it? Lost. And she easily forget things." Flash tried to explain. The few times he got to see her, she always seemed disconnected from reality. "It always looks like she’s thinking, just... thinking, and whenever me or First try to talk to her she rarely responds. We have to raise our voices in order to snap Mom out of it."

Lightning had heard of ponies acting that way from time to time, but she knew her mother wasn't one of the kind. "And you think I'm the only one who can reverse it? Her condition?" The answer was obvious before she even asked.

"Well, you are the one who caused this, right? No offense." Flash told her. Lightning could tell he was going to use this to get on her nerves for long time. Lightning simply rolled her eyes with a smirk. If her brother found this funny, then she better enter the game instead of getting angry.

"But seriously, Lightning" First started. "I'm really glad to see you again. You have no idea how much I missed having an awesome sister."

Lightning petted her younger brother’s short-cut mane. She missed that adorable little ball of cuteness. "Heh, I missed you too, you cute little thing," He may have grown older, but First would always be her cute little baby brother.

"I'm not cute."

"That just makes you even cuter," Lightning told him. She just loved to see her little brother flustered like that.

Time has a habit of passing by like a runaway wagon, for the trio of siblings arrived at front of their mother’s house before they knew it. Lightning wasn't nervous like before, but she still feared for what she was about to face. A very angry mother is something that everypony dreads, but a very angry Breeze Waker... she was a whole other level of maternal fury. Like a category five hurricane of maternal fury. And sass.

The fellas remained behind Lightning as she made her way to the door. Maybe Breeze would be even more harsh than Flash towards her, but she had come to Ponyville to make amends with Flash. Her job was done, her mother could be considered a bonus.

Lightning took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Some seconds had passed with no response. Lightning knocked again, somewhat hoping her mother wasn't at home so then she could just return to the castle. Unfortunately for her, she hear her mother's voice coming from inside the house.

"Coming!" While she recognized her voice, Lightning detected the telltale signs of fatigue in laced with her mother’s response. When the door opened, her appearance was much the same; Breeze’s coat and mane, normally sky blue and orange, had taken on paler hues. The bags under her eyes didn’t help either. "Forgot your key again, Fir--" Breeze Waker’s . Breeze had her eyes open widely after seeing the daughter that she believed was gone just like her husband.

"Hi, Mom," was all Lightning said to her right before she was embraced on her mother's hooves. However, that hug didn't lasted for so long.

"Oh Lightning, my dear," Breeze said with the soft motherly tone she had. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Lightning winced. "Yeah... about that."

"It's obvious that you have lost your mind. Almost two years messing around in Baltimare while I’ve been worried sick here!"

Lightning found it easier to look down to the floor rather than her mother’s face. Despite that minute lack of confidence, she couldn't let her mother jump to conclusions like that. There was more to the story. Looking up, she began to make her defence. "I wasn't messing around; I got a job there!"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" For a pony with a name like Breeze Waker, her voice surely wasn't as soft as a breeze. Lightning thought it was best to shut up and let her mother do all the talking, get it out of her system. Not even her father managed to win a discussion with her. "I ought to slap the slick off your mane! What if you had been kidnapped, or worse?"

"For your information, I managed to rent an apartment.” Lightning explained, even though she knew there was no getting around her mother. “I was doing fine as wine."

"'Doing fine as wine'." Breeze imitated in frustration. "I was dying out of worry and you were doing fine?! If that happened earlier I would punish you like a condemned, you crazy sky jockey!"

Meanwhile in the main room, Flash was enjoying the his free time out of armor, relishing the delightful taste of the tea his mother prepared, coincidentally, only moments before their arrival. His orders, as Cadence explained prior to their trip, were to escort the royal family during the train ride, not during the time they were in Ponyville. With his duty fulfilled until Her Highness’s beck and call, Flash had the freedom to do as he pleased.

Running into his sister again was needless to say highly unexpected and at the moment still of getting used to, but Flash would be lying if he claimed she hadn’t made his day all the better. So far. Reconnecting with their mother was still a work in progress. Flash paid little attention to the mares in the other room. For him and First, the shouting was just their mother being fierce and sassy herself like every other day.

For now, he was at the beck and call of R&R.

"Dang it!" First exclaimed. "This one is a pain to catch!" He said to the Joy Boy in his hooves.

"Just use the Master Ball," Flash told him, not paying much attention to First either. "That's what I did." He finished off with a gulp of his tea.

"Next time you run away like this again, I'll rip out the wax in your ears with my bare hooves. Do you understand?" Breeze threatened her daughter. If there's one thing she's good at, terrifying other ponies was it.

"Yes ma'am," was all Lightning said almost mouselike..

"Good," Breeze departed to the main living room. To her two sons on the couch, she took a deep breath and hollered out, "I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

First’s eyes remained glued to his Joy Boy. Flash casually looked over and said, "Yeah, we heard."

Yeah, good old R&R.

Some time had passed. Lightning shared everything about her life in Baltimare to her family. Even First found her tale to be far more entertaining than his Pokesprites game, which had long since been turned off and cast to the wayside. Lightning talked about Brick Seal and how he helped her on getting a place to live, then Hydro Jet and how she was a crazy troublemaker, and of course Xenon Blow and how his shyness could make even rival the Element of Kindness.

In the interim, Breeze had winded down from being storm of sass to the more appropriately breezy mare as her name suggested. By the end of her daughter’s recounting, Breeze was the first to speak.

"So, what is it going to be from now on? Are you gonna still work in that factory?" she asked, taking a sip of her cup of tea right after.

"Yeah, I suppose that's what I'll do. Not much point on giving up now."

"Well, I know you can’t be a Wonderbolt anymore for obvious reasons, but..." Breeze set her cup to the side. "I'm just glad you became an independent mare. That's more than enough for me to be proud of you."

Breeze then wrapped her daughter into a hug. It filled Lightning with even more relief. Realizing her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt wouldn’t come to pass anytime soon, but what she was feared most didn't happen either. Instead she made peace with her family. She became independent and capable. Even if she didn’t reach as high a level of success as Flash, Lightning took solace in knowing she made her family proud.

"Just please maintain contact with me, dear. I don't wanna pass through this again." Breeze said, still hugging her daughter. Her mother being that sentimental was a rare sight to be seen, but it was good for a change.

"Don't worry, Mom. I promise I’ll never pull that stunt again."

"Of course you never will." Breeze pulled back and glared her daughter firmly in the eyes, a sass storm on the horizon. "’Cause if you do I'll cut your wings and ground you faster than Celestia can send you to the moon!"

Of course, it was too good to be true.

Breeze vacated the couch and made her way to the kitchen to clean their dishes. That left the siblings in the living room sharing scared glances. Their mother could be very unpredictable.

Lightning let out a sigh. "Like Dad always used to say..."

The trio recited in unison, "Good things only last so long."

"I heard that," Breeze said from the kitchen.

The time for Princess Twilight’s birthday ceremony drew closer. It was funny to call it a ceremony considering how far it was from being a formal, fancy event, like the Grand Galloping Gala or something of that caliber. First stayed, however; he had plans to hang out with a few friends later in the day at what he called a “cutie mark day camp”.

Breeze followed her elder children back to the castle. The siblings weren't very okay with the idea of bringing an uninvited guest to the castle, but nevertheless she accompanied them at her own will. According to Breeze, she needed to 'feel young again' after losing her mind over Lightning. Her children saw through this one of many veiled excuses to drink, and were rightfully anxious as to what would happen if -- when -- Breeze had one too many mugs of cider.

Too bad she didn’t break the habit while I was gone, Lightning thought.

When they got to the castle, the decorations were pretty much complete. The three found themselves parting ways and mingling with the steadily growing crowd. With all the tension from early in the day, Lightning didn't really have a chance to properly meet Princess Twilight’s circle of friends. Though she noticed one pony in particular absent from the group as she approached.

“Hey, you girls seen Rainbow Dash?”

The white unicorn answered. “Somewhere in the crowd as far as I’m aware, darling.” She then realized whom she was talking to. “Oh, hello… Lightning Dust, was it?”

“Yep, that’s my name, don’t wear it out. And you’re Rarity. Applejack, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, and... Pinkie Pie?”

“Correcto, mi amiga!” Pinkie congratulated, producing a cupcake from… somewhere. “You win a cupcake of your favorite flavor!”

Lightning eyed her curiously. “How do even know--” Her tastes buds were greeted by the flavor of lemon icing. She let out an ‘mmm’ as she savored the sweet treat without further question.

Meanwhile, Breeze Waker found herself before the one and only Princess of Friendship. "Oh, my goodness." Breeze gasped as she knelt before the princess. "Happy birthday, Your Majesty. I wish you continue to rule this fine land of yours"

"...huh?" Was the only reaction coming from the Princess.

"Please forgive anything my son and daughter have ever done that could possibly insult your regality." Breeze continued as if Twilight was a dictator. Twilight on the other hand remained mostly confused. She had never seen this mare before, otherwise she would certainly remember her for the level of reverence she graced upon her.

"Er, madam... I don’t intend to punish you or your children for whatever it is they’ve done." Twilight was beginning to find the situation funny. "And there’s no need to be formal around me. Please, just call me Twilight. ‘Princess Twilight’ makes my skin crawl."

"Wh-- wait, what?"

She smiled. "Relax. I'm nothing like Queen Chrysalis." Whoever this lady was, it surely helped the Princess's humor lighten up. "Pardon me, but could you tell me your name? I don’t recall ever seeing you before."

"Y-yes. My name is Breeze Waker. I came with my son Flash Sentry and my daughter Lightning Dust." Despite Twilight’s insistence otherwise, Breeze found it difficult to speak to the princess like a normal pony.

Lightning watched the scene unfold alongside the Elements of Harmony whom, much to her embarrassment, found much amusement out of the awkward display. She dragged her hooves over her face, wanting to hide from everypony present until she no longer wallowed in embarrassment, give or take the rest of her life.

After a few chuckles, Starlight Glimmer asked, "So Lightning Dust, this is your mother?"

"Unfortunately..."

"Oh, I know your son. He's very dependable and such a gentlecolt,” Twilight acknowledged to the older mare. A blush formed on her cheeks as the memory of their close encounter surfaced. “You raised him very well."

"Well, that's mighty fine coming from you, Prin-- I mean, Twilight." Breeze felt proud. Even the Princess acknowledged the creation she gave life to? Now that's something worth remembering.

“You’re welcome.” Twilight’s attention was caught by somepony elsewhere. Her eyes then fell on Breeze again. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Waker. If you would excuse me, I have to take care of a few things. In the meantime, enjoy yourself. The food table is behind you over by the window, and if you prefer hard drinks just ask the bartender." Twilight departed and made her way to the food table.

"Oh, I could use a drink so bad..." Breeze smirked before making a beeline to the Princess-approved bar. She sidled up to the counter and put on her best charm. "Hey, handsome."

Lightning’s hooves met her face again. "Ugh... somepony please kill me."

“I can arrange that.” Pinkie procured a pen and planner from her perpetually pink poofy perm. “I do have an opening at Fluttershy’s shed at nine at night. Would like that slow and painful, or quick and painless?”

Blinks followed until Rarity broke the silence. “Please tell me you’re not actually promoting euthanasia.”

“Whaaat? It was just a joke!”

“A rather dark one, darling.”

“I still don’t understand how everypony gets the idea I use my shed for that.” Fluttershy chimed in.

“Sheesh, tough crowd.” Pinkie pulled out a voice recorder. “Note to self: grimdark material is a big no-no at birthdays.”

“I thought you learned that lesson at Twily’s last birthday.” The awkward atmosphere dispersed upon the addition of a new voice to the circle. Shining Armor came trotting in, Flash and Rainbow in tow. Lightning and company silently thanked the sun for the blessing.

Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, same party, different guest list. My Pinkie Sense told me somepony here would appreciate it.” Yet again she pulled out another object from her poofy mane, this time a clipboard with the guest list. She started scanning through it with the thoroughness of a Manehattan defense attorney. “Hmm, maybe Malloy…”

“Right… well, while she’s at it, I have an announcement to make.”

"Cadence is pregnant again?" Night Light asked as he passed by.

"No no no, dear Luna, no." Shining quickly said. After the experience with Flurry Heart, he planned to not be father again for a very long time. “Maybe we ought to make this conversation more private.”

Flash nodded. “Excellent idea, sir. Perhaps the stairs will suffice?”

“You’re off duty, Flash.”

“Either way, still suggesting the stairs.”

The mares giggled. Pinkie furiously jotted down a note, intent on not letting the lack of material weaken her party game.

Shaking his head, Shining lead Flash, Lightning, and Rainbow up the stairs to a relatively quiet space that hosted an excellent view overlooking the party. He cleared his throat before setting his gaze on Lightning. “Anyway, as I was trying to say... Lightning Dust, it’s come to my attention that you have an interest in another career path.”

The pony-in-question’s ears perked up. “Recently, yeah.”

“I’ve also been told in good confidence you are an excellent flier; quick in both mind and body, spirited, a pony who is willing to push her limits. And an attitude fitting for one willing to do the unorthodox.” When she didn’t speak up, Shining took that as a cue to proceed further. “Lightning Dust, as Captain of the Royal Guard I'm here to offer you an opportunity to make use of those talents.”

Lightning’s heart raced. No way was he offering what she thought he was offering. A spot in the Royal Guard, so soon? It was too good to be true. This had to be a joke, right? Some elaborate prank Shining Armor, Rainbow, and Flash cooked up just to mess with her.

“Dusty?”

“Huh?” she shook her head at her brother’s voice.

“What do you say?”

“I say this sounds way too good to be true. Are you sure you guys aren’t pulling a prank?”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped at accusation. “Are you kidding me? Why would we be pranking you? This is the opportunity of a lifetime!”

“Yeah, it’s a bit early to start pulling fast ones on you Dusty.” Flash wrapped an arm around Lightning’s shoulders. “Look, Rainbow and I had a little conversation with Captain Armor. Told him about the real you, not the one who had her head so far up her flank she could only fly in circles.”

"After due consideration, and despite your setback at the academy, I believe you would be a great addition to the Royal Guard. So what do you say? You in?"

Lightning’s eyes moistened. If this really was a dream, she didn't want to wake up. This is the golden opportunity she had been waiting for. A chance to rise again. A chance to make her father proud and honor his name.

"I... Yes. Yes! YES!" Lightning hauled her brother into an ephemeral embrace, the two rotated in the air in infectious merriment. It may have been Twilight’s birthday, but at that moment Lightning felt like hers came early. “Me and you are gonna kick so much flank together."

"Dad would be so proud of you, sis. I know I am." Flash whispered. “By the way, your feelings are showing again.”

Lightning wiped away a stray tear. “Geez. I’m off my game today.”

“We’ll keep that between us. Won’t we, Rainbow?”

“They don’t call me the Element of Loyalty for nothing.” Rainbow bumped her chest for added measure.

"Welcome aboard, Lightning Dust. Just to be clear, you still need to undergo field training before putting on the helmet. You better give your best shot if you wanna get accepted." Shining warned her as they settled down. “Then again, you have an advantage over the other recruits.”

Flash saluted with a grin. “I’ll have her in prime condition by then, sir.”

“Just don’t get cocky. Both of you.”

"I promise, Captain. I won't let you down." It will be hard for Lightning to say goodbye to her friends in Baltimare, but she'll manage to do that when the time comes.

“So, wanna tell your mom the big news?” Rainbow asked.

Lightning peeked over the balcony to find Breeze preoccupied with the bartender. She face-hooved. "She'll know it once the sun rises."

Day soon gave way to night. By then the party had worn down, most of the guests already having said their goodbyes and gone home. Several stragglers remained, either intent on partying until sunrise or sleeping off the foreseen hangover.

Among them was Breeze, whom was plastered more than the wall she lazily laid up against. And she absolutely loved it. Never had she experienced hard partying like this since her more youthful days. Said experience was made all the better by somepony she least expected to be an adventurous mare, a unicorn next to her who wore a dopey smile with her disheveled mane. Despite being well middle-aged, the mares still had the mojo to party.

"Ugh... my head hurts." Twilight Velvet slurred.

"So does my back... my kidneys, too... and I love it..."

Velvet wrapped Breeze in a drunken one-armed hug. "Breezie, dear, we're going to be such great friends."

“Hay yeah we are, girl.”

Across the room, an inebriated Rainbow Dash lay on the floor, grasping futilely at another semi-conscious form splayed out on the table. "Lightning Dust, get… get over here for a-a-a sec." She called out to her friend.

"I'm dying. Leave me alone..." Lightning grumbled.

Flash, one of the few not to succumb to the effects of the party, proceeded to nudge her a few times. "You're not gonna wake up?" When she only mumbled again, he shrugged. "Fine then." With a smirk, Flash grabbed the biggest bag of ice he could find and tossed its contents onto his sister.

She shot up alert and sound in academy record time.

"Okay, now that you're awake--” He stilled his tongue when Lightning glared daggers sharp as icicles at him. “Hey, don't give me that look. You know how I am when I try to wake ‘em up. You can give me the cold shoulder later." Flash paused, then chuckled. “Heh, cold shoulder.”

“I hope you freeze in Tartarus.”

An inebriated Pinkie, lampshaded and cradling an equally inebriated bear cub, laughed as she struck out a name on the guest list. “I knew you’d like that one, Malloy.”

Chapter 8 - Finale

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"So you're gonna move to the Crystal Empire?" Breeze asked her daughter.

It had been two days since the birthday celebration. The Royal Family had already left Ponyville, while Flash elected to stay behind and manage the arrangements for his sister’s big move. It would be a radical change for Lightning, both in sharing a place with her brother and starting down the path towards a new career. She was going to be tested and -- hopefully -- be accepted as part of the Royal Guard.

"Yeah. Don't worry,” Lightning assured. “Flash told me his place has enough room for two."

Flash smiled. "It’ll be pretty cool to have you as a roommate. Now I have somepony to divvy up the chores with."

Lightning deadpanned. "Thanks for reminding me, idiot." Not only would she have to train, but now she had to do half of the house cleaning. He knew very well she hated chores — Lightning was the most disorganized of the bunch. Now that she planned on living with him, she had no choice in the matter.

"I'm just pulling your feathers, sis. I'm gonna save you the trouble so that you can focus on your training. Just remember what the captain said about getting cocky." Flash playfully booped her nose. "I suppose not getting cocky will be your biggest challenge, am I right?"

Breeze watched on, her eyes growing misty. "My babies, they are growing up so fast I can't even see it."

Flash grew concerned and rubbed her shoulder. "Mom? What's the matter?"

"I'm so worried, dear. Ever since you enlisted I have been worried. After seeing you returning home it always gave me some fresh air. And now Lightning will enlist too, and..." Breeze held her son's hoof, "Seeing both of you serving in the Royal Guard fills me with so much pride and fear at the same time. Ever since those scars on your face, ever since your father died..."

"Mom, you don't have to worry about anything. I'll keep an eye on Lightning. We'll be okay, you have my word."

It was Lightning's turn to comfort their mother with a dose of reassurance. "And I'll keep an eye out for Flash, too. Please, Mom. Stop worrying so much. You'll end up making us more worried about you."

Breeze hugged her children. Maybe she was worrying too much. Flash and Lightning knew how to take care of one another ever since they spoke their first words. At that moment her pride for her children outweighed the worries over the dangers they could face.

"Please visit me, okay?"

"Oh, we're gonna visit pretty soon." Lightning shot a mischievous smirk towards her brother.

"Why is that?" Breeze asked.

"I assume Flash will want to see his princess as soon as possible. I doubt he'll be able to stay a day away from his lovely mar —OW!" Lightning nursed the back of her head.

"Oh... So that's why she blushed when she started talking about you, eh Flash?" The older mare bumped her shoulder on her blushing son.

Flash’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "How the heck did you find out?"

"The girls told me everything, Gallant." Lightning just loved to embarrass her brother. To get on his nerves even more, she put on her best theatrical voice. "Oh Twilight, you're the most kind pony I've ever met."

"Shut up!" Flash said back, his embarrassment never leaving him.

It didn't take long before the train arrived in Ponyville Train Station. The siblings said their goodbyes to their mother before entering the wagon.

Lightning waved. “Tell First we said ‘bye’ when he gets back from camp, okay?”

Breeze waved back. “Of course.” She watched the door close and the whistle blow to signal the train’s departure, uncertain of what the future held for her children. All sorts of emotions were rushing through her mind as she watched the train shrink to a pinprick, then nothing, on the horizon.

She needed a drink and a handsome bartender to make her worries disappear.

In the wagon, Lightning tried to snag a nap on the ride home -- her new home. Her head still ached from the crazy night, but no matter how much she tried to ignore it, the dull pounding in her skull just wouldn’t leave her be.

She soon gave up with a sigh. A glance at Flash revealed him to be gazing out the window,. He always held an appreciation for nature. Being in the Royal Guard, it would make sense for him to treasure what a world without conflict would look like.

Beautiful. Peaceful. Perfect.

Her eyes fell to the scars on his cheek. Lightning had meant to ask Flash about that during their time in Ponyville, but due to the party and other circumstance it slipped her mind more than once. Since they had a few hours before reaching their next destination, there seemed to be no better time than now to ask him.

"Hey, Flash.”

"Yeah?" Flash stopped gazing out the window.

"Where did you get those scars?"

There was a pregnant pause as his hoof instinctively brushed at the marks on his cheek. "It's a long story." Flash turned the other cheek, apparently trying to hide the scars.

"I still wanna hear it," Lightning persisted, steepling her hooves in adamant interest. Her brother could tell her anything. He had her back, she had his, plain and simple.

"Well... okay then," he conceded. “It started on my first diplomatic mission with Sunburst, in Zigeria.”

"All I'm asking is that the dragon be allowed to restore your village, then Sergeant Sentry and I will escort him back to the Dragon Lands where he'll be punished according to dragon law." Sunburst suggested to the leader of the village

"And allow him to leave after our honor has been disgraced?” The tribal chief questioned. “I will not allow that! We fight night and day to keep our land safe!"

"I know you're angry, Chief Zalven. Trust me, not even the other dragons can stand him. At least that's what I heard. But if we don't reach a compromise, the relationship between zebras and dragons will be very strained." Sunburst said, worry tinting his voice.

Zalven slammed his hoof on the wooden desk. "Our village defeated a dragon with ease. If they desire war, then they will be appeased. Our strength is enough to send them a ways with their tails between their legs."

Sunburst’s hoof twitched out of anxiety. If a war happened, non-combatants, zebra and dragon, risked being caught in the crossfire. Not to mention that if Equestria chose to support either Zigeria or the Dragon Lands, one alliance would be shattered. Retaliation for the ponies’ transgressions would follow, and Equestria would have mortal enemies again.

He took a patient breath. "With all due respect Chief Zalven, think about what you're saying. You managed to defeat one dragon. Now you want to start a war with a nation of dragons because of an isolated incident? Even if you do win, you risk the lives of thousands of zebras in the process.”

“We are warriors. We fight, whether with wisdom, chants, or might.”

“So you’re willing to sacrifice many for the needs of the few? As their leader, you must do what’s best for the people, not for yourself.”

Silence fell over the hut. The flames of the fire pit cast shadows over the chief’s face, giving his already serious gaze a more intimidating quality. His breathing, while steady, grew heavy as if suppressing anger.

Sunburst suddenly felt a little hot under the collar, and it wasn’t because of the flames.

Light poured into the hut when a zebra hastily pulled back the cloth to the entrance. He was gasping for breath as if he ran marathon. "Chief Zalven, awake! The beast rampages near the lake!"

"What? What destruction has he wrought?"

The villager shook his head. "None. The others hold the beast at bay, but only just. We risk losing the fishing house. Act quickly, we must!"

Zalven turned to Sunburst. "You!" The wizard jerked at his call. "Come with me! There is a battle we must see."

With haste Zalven and his entourage plus their wizardly guest, departed to the nearby lake, kicking up clouds of dust behind them. While he feared for the villagers, Sunburst also feared for Flash. He had never confronted a dragon before, and spirits above only knew how long he and the others would last against an angry one.

The lake was surrounded by plains with a few sparse trees and boulders. A fishing house and a few docked boats stood as the only signs of any equine civilization. The scene when the entourage arrived was one of intensity. The blood-scaled dragon.was encircled by his former captors, who made threatening displays with their spears, shields, or crossbows in attempts to herd him back into his fireproof cage. The dragon would have flown out of the circle, but the Royal Guard hovering over him, his own weapons at the ready, put such thoughts to rest.

Of course, the dragon adamantly resisted. "Get outta my way, you stupid zebras!" he demanded.

One of the zebras aimed down the sights of his crossbow. "Get back to your cell, freak! There is no more destruction for you to seek!"

"As if!” The dragon made a move to rush at the zebra. However, the zebra made his own threatening gesture, that being the tip of his arrow a hair’s breadth away from the beast’s snout. The dragon’s eyes narrowed. “Are you tone deaf and stupid? I said outta my way. Or do we need to heat things up a bit?”

"Hey, fire-breath!" Flash called out from above.

“It’s Garble!”

“Fine. Garble,” He gestured to the zebras. "Take a serious look around you. You're outnumbered and surrounded by the best warriors in the village. They took you down once, they’ll do it again if they have to. So you may want to rethink your strategy and do as they say if you know what's good for you."

This only made the dragon more frustrated. "Ugh, even without talking about feelings and pony hugs, you and these zebras are just as lame."

"Yeah. So lame they still locked you up in a cell."

There was no getting around Garble once Flash noticed his claws clench tight until the knuckles popped. Fearing the worst, Flash aimed down the sights of his crossbow, praying in silence the Dragon Lord would forgive him for ering on the side of caution.

"My brothers, drop your weapons!" Chief Zalven commanded as he approached. All of the zebras -- and Flash -- lowered their weapons as commanded. The villagers parted the circle to allow the chief entrance. "Submit, or face our wrath for your transgressions."

Garble answered by lunging at the chief, claws outstretched.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, yet transpired in the blink of an eye. Flash’s defensive instincts kicked in. With reflexes true to his name he arced downward and slammed into Zalven’s side. Such selflessness did not go unpunished, as it put him in the path of Garble’s attack. There was no way to dodge now -- the claws came down and cleaved a trio of gashes down Flash’s cheek just below the eye.

A cry of pain followed.

Peeved at missing his target, Garble roughly grabbed at the bloodied pegasus and tossed him into the ring of zebras. As a dragon, he had strength on his side, and such strength was plenty enough to send Flash careening through the ring of zebras and into a boulder with a very audible smack.

The villagers rushed Garble. Sunburst was moving before he realized it, driven by anger and fear. From within his cloak he magically procured a yellow gem, then lobbed it into the brawling mayhem. “Clear the area!” he shouted as the gem landed beneath Garble. He watched as the villagers vacated the spot just as quickly as they had come. The gem then discharged bolts of electricity that danced over Garble, bringing him agony in which he writhed and wailed until he could bear no more.

He collapsed in a heap and the shock gem expired. The villager swarmed over his stunned form like hyenas over scraps, letting out native cries of victory.

Meanwhile Sunburst rushed to his friend’s side. "Flash!” His face paled upon closer inspection. There was Flash, unresponsive and unmoving, his face smeared with dirt and blood. Sunburst did his best to rouse his new friend, but to no avail. Terror iced his heart. “W-we need a healer right now!"

“Quickly, my brothers! Take him to the shaman!”

Zalven’s entourage did as he commanded, one carrying Flash while the others escorted them with haste back to the village. He and Sunburst hurried alongside them, the latter never keeping his worried eyes off his injured friend.

Taking notice of his new ally’s concern, Zalven matched Sunburst’s pace. Over the rumble of their thundering hooves, he assured, “He will heal your friend, so that he may live to fight again.”

"You're gonna be okay, Flash. Don't worry."

"What was his name again?"

"The dragon? Garble."

Lightning’s amber eyes seemed to glow with ire. "Remind me to rip him open a new one next time we see him. I wanna make him regret ever touching you."

Flash had forgotten how protective she could be. Not that he minded; she was protective in a way that he loved, always there to give the bullies who messed with him the what for. Just as he would have Lightning’s back if one dared mess with her.

Mess with one, mess with them both.

"So, you enlisted?” The overseer leaned back in his chair, surprised. Since she started her tenure at Baltimare’s weather factory, he never anticipated Lightning to amount to much else beyond an excelled worker. Taking leave to come back with news of joining the Royal Guard on the other hand proved to be quite a shock. “Wow, Lightning. I mean, I never thought you would go that far.”

Lightning nuzzled her brother. "I wouldn't have done this without my brother, Boss. He helped me every step of the way here."

"It ain't gonna be easy to find a replacement." He smiled wryly. “They call it ‘two weeks notice’ for a reason, though I bet you expect some slack because of royal intervention and all that.”

When Lightning didn’t respond out of fear of giving a wrong answer to a trick question, as experience with previous employees offered him, he chuckled. “I’m just yanking your wing, kid.” Her boss opened a desk drawer and retrieved a small sack. “Here -- your bonus for the year.”

“Well, isn’t everyone being generous lately.” Flash snarked.

Lightning ignored him, accepting the sack of bits. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s been a pleasure having you around.”

They shook hooves, another chapter in the company closed. The siblings left his office, the next item on Lightning's to-do list being to find Hydro and Xenon.

As luck would have it, as she closed the office's door, Xenon arrived on the scene to assault Lightning with an asphyxiating hug. "You're back!"

“Whoa, knock it down a few decibels Xenon.” Hydro teased.

Upon hearing her comment, Xenon hastily succumbed back to his usual self and allowed his friend to have more breathing room. "I mean, you found your brother. I'm glad things ended up as you expected."

Lightning waited until enough oxygen entered her lungs before she could respond. "Yeah, um... this here is my brother Flash Sentry. Flash, these are my friends Hydro Jet and Xenon Blow."

"Hello there.” Flash greeted with a cheeky smile.

Hydro was the first to approach him. "Well well, Lightning told us a lot about you--" She began to lean towards him, using her hoof to massage his chest, "--but she never told me how much of a looker you are. That Royal Guard training is paying up really well, I'd say."

She continued to make her moves on Flash, wearing a seductive smile saved just for stallions she wanted to have her way with as she took note of his fidgeting wings. "You know what they say about wingspans. Maybe we should test that theory out."

Lightning could tell that her brother was feeling a little uncomfortable with Hydro’s flirting. "Cool your jets, Hydro." She stepped between her coworker-cum-friend and her brother. "He's taken."

"Oh." It was the only thing that escaped Hydro's mouth. Then her eyes lit up in what appeared to be realization. “Oooh. I didn’t know. I mean, I knew you two were close, just not that close.” She shrugged. “But hey, the heart yearns for its desires, right?”

The others just stared at her in exasperation. “What?!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” Hydro’s lips then curled in a sultry smile. “Except about your stud of a brother.”

"Flash ain't the kind of stallion you just have your way for an hour or two, then get bored with.” Lightning gave Hydro a terrifying look that made her shiver. “Just ask the last mare why she’s so... bent out of shape." In truth Lightning only left said mare relatively unharmed save for a bent nose, but revealing that would only be counterproductive.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Geez..." She said afterwards. Maybe that what's Lightning meant by 'you'll end up burned with this'. The thing is, Hydro didn't want Lightning Dust to be the one using the flamethrower.

Lightning felt satisfaction at dissuading Hydro from bedding her brother. "Good. Anyways, I need to ask you guys to meet me at the train station in an hour. Is that okay?"

"Why?" Xenon asked. Part of him already knew the reason.

Her reply came out less enthusiastic. "I'll explain once you get there. I want this moment to be... memorable."

"Well... okay. If it's that important to you, we'll be there" Xenon assured, though he wasn’t entirely happy either.

He didn't want her to go.

"Thanks, guys. I'll be waiting."

At her now old apartment, Lightning had just finished with her last bag and gave it to her brother to hold. Flash thanked the heavens that the furniture was included with the apartment, otherwise Lightning’s move to his place would take even more time.

Having said her goodbyes to Brick Seal, and not without his blessing, Lightning and Flash made their way towards the train station and waited for the weather ponies to show up. Lightning needed them to be the last to receive her goodbye; Hydro and Xenon had supported her when nopony else would. That's why she wanted the moment to be special.

"That Xenon guy..." Flash began after he placed his sister’s bags on the wood floor, garnering her attention.

"What about him?"

"You two seem pretty close."

"Yeah, we get along. He said I was the reason he grew more sociable and all." Lightning looked to the cloudy afternoon sky, as if it were a reminder of the first days. "Honestly, If it wasn't for him and Hydro, I wouldn't be here right now.”

Flash raised an eyebrow, still curious about Xenon. "You haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary with him?"

It was Lightning's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Um... no?"

"Xenon was ecstatic when you came back. He seemed disheartened when you told him to meet you here, like he already knew you're moving. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s angry that somepony he cares about so much about is going to live far away from him."

Of course!

Lightning had always thought that Xenon saw her as more than a friend, but she never thought it would go far. Whenever Lightning laid eyes on Xenon, she was reminded of her brother. Did Xenon see her the same way?

Her thoughts raced when she saw him and Hydro arriving. When Xenon saw her bags, he stopped almost immediately and suddenly found the wood floor to be very interesting. Lightning felt guilty -- Flash may have been right all along.

"Oh... Where are you going?" Hydro didn't seem all too concerned why Lightning had several bags with her.

"Crystal Empire. I enlisted."

She went bug-eyed, taken aback by the last sentence. Lightning Dust? The troublemaker? Enlisted? She expected a transfer to another factory, not to be a Royal Guard out of all things. "Are you serious?!" Hydro grabbed Lightning by her shoulders in hysteria. "That's so cool! From a weather pony to a freathering guard! That's insane!"

"I'm not a guard yet -- I need to pass training,” Lightning corrected before adopting a smirk, “Which won't be all that hard since I have some experience with the Wonderbolts and my awesome bro here to give me some tips" Lightning said, patting her brother on the back.

"Wow. Well, either way, congratulations. Really, I hope you do well.” Hydro sighed as her eyes fell to the ground. “Doing pranks will never be the same without you."

"Thanks Hydro. And don't worry, I’m sure Xenon would love to be along for the ride. That or you'll end up busted."

The mares shared a brief moment of laughter until they heard the train whistle in the distance, signalling its impending arrival. Lightning asked her friend to call Xenon for her and Hydro did exactly that. Xenon seemed more nervous than sad now. He needed to get whatever beleaguered him off his chest.

"Xenon... before I go, I just wanted you to know that you shouldn’t look down on yourself." Lightning gently placed a hoof on his face. "I can see the kindness in you. You may not see it, but I can assure you it’s there. You looked after me when nopony else would, and that's only one of many attributes you have."

Xenon smiled at her words. "Lightning Dust, I also have something to say before you go."

Lightning nodded expectantly. "Yes?"

"Those things you just said to me, I think nopony else would ever say." He seemed more relaxed. "That's why I care about you so much: you made me realise that I'm not just a pony with few words. You made me feel confident with who I really am. That's why I'll always care about you, even if you are so far away."

The two shared a hug. Xenon opened his eyes to see Flash Sentry moving his eyes as if prompting him. After they broke away, Xenon still felt the he needed to speak the truth. The real truth.

And he needed to right now.

"Well, the train is here. Gotta jet. Take care, guys." Lightning grabbed a few of her bags while Flash took care of the rest before boarding the train.

"Uh...” Xenon shuffled his hooves anxiously after a few moments. “Lightning, wait!"

He desperately rushed to the wagon's door. Lightning met him at the entrance, grabbed hold of the back of his head, and, much to his surprise and elation, met his lips with hers.

From inside the wagon, Flash raised one of his eyebrows at the scene. He does look decent enough, I don't think I should worry, he thought.

Hydro regained control of her slackened jaw. "I KNEW IT!"

The two ended their intimate moment. Xenon never felt so relieved in ages. He couldn't be any happier at the moment. They heard a voice saying something, then realized the train would be departing soon.

With a content, loving smile, Lightning said, "Please write me, okay?"

Xenon slowly nodded.

And then the door closed. Lightning sighed and took a seat next to her brother. She sensed Flash looking at her with his left eyebrow still lifted.

"What?" Lightning asked in her typical bored tone.

"Oh nothing, just thinking on how the poor bastard will handle his work away from his loved one.” he ribbed.

She matched his jestfulness. "At least I'm not ashamed to admit having the hots for somepony."

Time passed and they both eventually were lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sounds of the train. Neither knew what future held for them, but Lightning Dust and Flash Sentry knew that they would keep aiming to give their best and honor their father’s name. Now, as members of the Royal Guard, they would give their lives protect those whom they held dear. A challenge for sure, but not one to back down from.

After all, it's in their blood.

Because You Are My Sister

by Maverick Cloud

Chapter 1 - The Day That Almost Never Comes

Chapter 2 - So Close, No Matter How Far

Chapter 3 - Eyes Seek Reality

Chapter 4 - Avalanche

Chapter 5 - Sticks and Stones

Chapter 6 - Learning What Was Not Teached

Chapter 7 - A New Dream

Chapter 8 - Finale