Shining and Cadence adopt a young alicorn colt that has no family
When a young alicorn colt gets adopted by Shining Armor and Cadence and becomes friends with John Constantine who saved his life from a demon. Will this be the life that he was suppose to have?
And when Fluttershy finds a young scared colt in the Everfree forest all alone, can she be the mother he always wanted?
Some upcoming chapters were edited by Daisy Williams, I’ll tell you when the next chapters come
And some OC’s in this story were made by GunsNRoses365 which I have permission from before he left FIMFiction, I’ll tell you when they appear
Just on top of a mountain in London, was a house that looks like a haunted house, but it wasn’t haunted, it was just a normal that was magic. Inside the house were a couple of book shelfs, a fireplace and two chairs by the fireplace, a man named John Constantine was sitting on one of them drinking some tea while reading a book.
John had blond hair, clean shaved beard, wears a white shirt, a red tie, iconic trench coat that isn’t buttoned up, black trousers and black shoes.
Just after taking a sip of his tea, putting his cup down and turned the page in his book to the next one, he suddenly felt his house magically teleporting to someplace, he didn’t know why though, it only teleports when he needs to go somewhere, nothing like this has happened before. He then felt the house had finish teleporting as the front door suddenly opens by itself.
John let out a sigh before saying, “Where have you taken me to now? I was just getting to the good part of this book I was reading.”
John closed his book, magically placed it back on the book shelf with his dark golden grasp magic, got up from his chair, put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked towards the opened door to see where the house has taken him to.
Once he was out of the house, he began to have a shock look on his face as he saw what was in front of him. He saw a place that was covered in crystal, he was in place called the Crystal Empire. He also saw some ponies in covered in crystal and some ponies that weren’t covered in crystal, he then saw ponies that can do magic, he even looked up and saw some ponies that can fly, the more he saw the more shocked he become.
“I’m in a land, that’s full of ponies?” He said in a shock mode as he had never seen a place like that before in his life. After a couple of seconds of being shock, he then said, “But why was I sent here? I’m not like those kind of ponies, I don’t see anything wrong here.”
John then heard some cruel laughter a couple of miles from behind his house as well as crying from a young five year old child. He knew who and what would make that cruel laughter, he then had an angry look on his face before saying,
“Those stupid good for nothing demons. Why can’t they just stay where they were and leave everyone alone for once?”
He started running to the back of his house to find the source of the laughter as well as the demons he was on about.
From a couple of miles from Constantine’s house, there was a demon torturing a five year old alicorn colt.
The demon was big, grey, has two medium black horns, dark green eyes, sharp finger nails, long black hair, pointy ears and wears nothing but only black demon-made pants. And the alicorn colt had a light gray body with a fine, messy red mane and tail, his cutie mark was a golden LEGO brick with a wand and a sonic screwdriver crossed behind the brick like a skull with two bones crossed behind on a pirate’s flag.
The colt even had several red marks on his body which was because the grey was hitting him real hard with a big stick he had in his left hand. He let out another cruel laughter before hitting him again giving him another big red mark on his front left hoof.
The colt let his tears run from his eyes as he said, “Somepony please help me!”
The demon then hit him on the back really hard with the stick before saying, “Oh shut up already! You might as well stop yelling for help! No one’s gonna save ya! They can’t even hear you from here, heh heh!”
He was about to hit him again when he heard an familiar voice.
“Has your brain been telling you lies again?”
The demon turned his head round to see who said that, there he saw John Constantine walking towards them with his hands in his pockets and had a playful grin on his face. He then stopped walking before saying,
“Cos I think you should make an appointment about it if I were you.”
The colt looked at Constantine in shock mode with tears still running from his eyes before saying, “W-Who are you?”
The demon then let out an angry growl before saying, “Must you always show up whenever I am somewhere doing my business, Constantine?!”
He then threw the big stick at Constantine, but he dodges it as he lands on the ground before the stick landed on the floor breaking in big pieces and making dust fly into the air.
He got up onto to his right side, looked at the demon before saying, “Not my fault the house keeps taking me to different places. Always sending me somewhere so you lot won’t harm anyone when I’m done with you.”
The demon let out another growl before saying, “I’ll rip your head off then this little baby will be next!”
The demon summoned his axe and ran towards Constantine, but before he could get to him, he was in a dark golden grasp by Constantine as the grasp was around his left hand holding the grasp around the demon tightly.
“Sorry mate,” Constantine said, “But the little one’s with me.”
He then threw the demon to a nearby big boulder making him drop his axe, he then hit the boulder with a big bump as he landed on the ground on his front groaning in pain.
Constantine’s left hand still had dark golden grasp around it as he then summoned a big fire hole to send the demon back to where he came from. The hole then started to suck the demon into it as the demon tried to escape it, but it was no good, the hole was too strong for him as he said his last few words to Constantine.
“I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS, CONSTANTINE!! YOU SHALL PAY FOR THIS, YOUR SOUL WILL BE MINE!!”
“Yeah yeah,” Constantine said before closing the hole as the demon was now in it leaving just him and the colt alone with no one else around.
Constantine stared at the little colt while the colt starred at Constantine back but in shock as he never seen a human before. John slowly walked to the colt, not wanting to scare him, he then knelt down while putting his left knee up and putting his left arm on his knee, he then raised his right hand out towards the colt.
The colt then began to shake in fear as he buried his face into his hooves thinking that Constantine was gonna hurt him like the demon did to him but more painfully than ever.
He suddenly then felt Constantine’s hand stroking his mane in a gentle way as he also magically made the red marks on the colt go away, which made the colt uncovering his face and looked at Constantine once more. He then smiled at the colt showing him that he wasn’t gonna do anything bad to him.
“You alright, little one?” John asked the colt.
The colt just nodded before saying, “Think so, thanks mr uh....”
Constantine knew he didn’t tell him his name, so before the colt could ask his name, he quickly answered, “John Constantine, but you can call me John or Constantine, I don’t mind which name you choose to call me.”
“Okay,” said the colt, “Thanks for saving me, Constantine.”
Constantine let out a giggle and gently patted the colt on the head before saying, “No need to thank me. Figured it was best to save you than letting that demon hurt you to death, so yeah, totally worth saving you.” He smiled at the colt as he did the same to him.
“So what’s your name, little guy?
The colt’s smile then disappeared as he then had a sad look on his face, he looked down to the ground, closed his eyes and shook his head before saying, “Don’t have a name. Never really had one.”
Constantine went into shock mode after hearing what he just said, why didn’t this colt have a name, and more importantly, why wasn’t he given a name?
“You haven’t got a name?! But why don’t you have one? Didn’t your mother and father ever gave you...”
He suddenly stop as he saw tears coming down the colt’s eyes as he laid down on the ground covering his eyes with his hooves and began to sob once more.
“I d-don’t have a m-mum or dad. I d-didn’t even k-know them.”
Constantine then had a sad look on his face after hearing what the colt said, he couldn’t believe that the colt never got to know his parents nor did his parents gave him a name at all.
“So you’re an orphan then, aren’t you?”
The colt just nodded as he struggled to stop sobbing but still letting his tears run from his eyes.
“Y-you could say that, yeah,” the colt said sadly.
Constantine began to gently stroke the colt’s mane once again as he now felt bad for the little guy, but there was one question he had in mind, why wasn’t he at the orphanage where all the children with no parents or family go to?
“But why weren’t you at the orphanage? I bet the owners there must be worried sick about you right now.”
“I r-ran away from the o-orphanage. I h-hate it there!”
“Why?” Constantine was now even more confuse. “Why did you run away from the orphanage?”
The colt’s tears kept running down his face and he answered, “Because, e-everypony there m-makes me do all t-their work, e-even the owners. T-they would e-even c-call me names s-since I d-don’t have o-one. The o-owners even give me p-punishments if I do the smallest thing w-wrong or d-do t-things I d-didn’t do.”
Constantine was shock on the outside, but angry on the inside, how could the owners do such a thing to the poor colt and let the orphans bully him like that?
“P-please don’t s-send me back, C-Constantine. I d-don’t wanna b-be at that o-orphanage a-again.”
Constant didn’t know what to do, he didn’t wanna take the colt back to the orphanage and let him go through everything he’s been through before running away. He then saw some ink dripping out his horn like he was trying to do a spell or something, Constantine was gonna ask why his horn was dripping ink. But he decided to save that question to the time was right to ask, and there was one more thing he was gonna do, there’s no way he’s gonna take him back to the abusive and bad orphanage.
“Don’t worry, little guy. I’m not gonna send you back to that awful orphanage.”
He then placed his hands on the colt’s shoulders.
“And I promise, whether the owners of the orphanage are looking for you or not, and if there’re more demons running around somewhere. I’ll protect you.”
The colt gave Constantine a smile on his face as tears of joy run down his face and the ink from his horn stopped dripping. But the smile moment didn’t last for long, as both him and Constantine heard hoofs running on the ground. The sound became louder and louder as there was many coming.
As Constantine turned round to see what was making that noise, he and the colt saw what was coming towards them, a group of crystal, purple royal guards with spears were charging like something bad was going on and they were on their way to stop them. Ten of the guards have horns and ten of them had wings.
They stopped about five miles from them as they all pointed their spears towards them, this made the colt shake in fear as they must think that both him and Constantine were a threat and were here to put an end to them.
Constantine stood up and put his hands up in the air while the colt hid behind his legs still shaking in fear.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here or why your pointing your spears at us like we're the bad guys you're after,” Constantine said. “But I can assure you, we didn’t do anything wrong.”
“We're not here to arrest you,” replied the light purple Guard with no helmet but just armour and a red short mane and long tail.
“You’re.... you’re not?” The colt asked as he stopped shaking in fear.
“No son,” he answered. “We’re here to take you two to Princess Cadence. She wants to see you two as soon as possible.”
“And how does the princess know about us?” Asked Constantine as he putted his hands down.
“While our Pegasus guards were flying above keeping an eye on the Crystal empire, one of them spotted you fighting a strange looking creature and saving that alicorn colt. So he flew to Cadence, told her all about what he saw and she told us to come find you and take you to her.”
“Okay, one, that strange looking creature is called, a demon. Second, why does she want to us?” Constantine asked in confusion. “I’m not going to meet her till I know why.”
“We’re don't know why she wants to see you two,” he replied. “But we have orders to bring you two in so the princess can see you. Follow us.” With that said the guards all turned and walked back to the Crystal empire.
Constantine and the colt looked at each in confusion as Constantine shrugged his shoulders to him as the two then started to follow them, secretly not knowing what was going.
In the throne room at the Crystal empire castle were two unicorns and an alicorn with a levitating stroller containing a baby Princess standing in front of the throne waiting for Constantine and the little colt to arrive.
One unicorn was light grey, had a moderate sapphire blue with moderate cerulean and dark phthalo blue streaks mane and tail, moderate sapphire blue hooves and his cutie mark was a Pink six-pointed star on a purple shield with three small light blue stars above.
The other unicorn that was levitating the stroller had a brilliant gamboge with Light Apple greenish grey spots coat and had a vivid and brilliant vermilion mane and tail along with black glasses on his face.
The alicorn had a pale, light greyish cerise coat, a moderate violet with moderate rose and pale gold streaks mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a Crystal Heart.
And lastly, the baby alicorn had a light magentaish grey with tinges of pale, light greyish fuchsia and a Gradient of light cerise to greyish violet with light artic blue mane and tail along with a blue diaper.
The white unicorn was tapping his right hoof on the floor feeling impatience and wondering what’s taking the guards so long to get here with the colt and Constantine.
He then let out a sigh before saying, “When are they going to be here? They’ve been gone for like fifty minutes and still not back yet. We really need to see the colt and that strange creature that was with him, I feel like they haven’t found them yet and still searching for him.”
“Shining honey,” said the pink alicorn before placing a hoof around his neck giving him a soft hug. “Let them take their time, I’m sure they’ll be here soon as possible.” She then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Shining just looked at her before saying, “Yeah you’re right, Cadence dear. Guess I should learn to be more patience next time something like this happens.” He then smiled at Cadence before giving his wife a kiss on the cheek in return of her kiss.
“But I still don’t know how that creature got here or why that colt was there all alone with no parents and was getting beaten by that strange looking creature thingy.”
“I don’t know either,” Cadence agreed. “But I’m sure we’ll have the answers from them as soon as they get here. But I do wanna see the little colt though.” She began to have an excited look on her face which made Shining rolled his eyes before giggling at her wife.
Just then, the front big doors open and two of the royal guards came through as they then bowed to the princess.
“Your highness,” one of them said, “The colt and the strange creature, have arrived.”
Cadence just nodded her head before saying, “Let them in, Guards.”
“Yes Your highness,” the same Guard said before they both got up and went out of the throne room to let Constantine and the colt in.
Shining and Cadence then heard hoofsteps coming towards the throne room, and there they saw Constantine walking into the room with hands in his trouser pockets along with the colt walking behind him. The two stopped in about five metres from them as Constantine then bowed to Cadence in respect.
“You may rise,” said Cadence as Constantine then stood back up. The colt still hid behind Constantine in shyness and worried that the princess might do something to him after meeting Constantine.
“Now, if a princess may ask, what are you and what’s your name?”
“Your highness,” Constantine started to answer, “I am a human being, and my name, is John Constantine.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Mr Constantine,” Cadence replied, “I’m Cadence, Princess of love and ruler of the Crystal empire. This is my husband, Shining Armor.”
Shining Armor waved at him before saying, “Hello.”
“This is my baby daughter, Flurry Heart.” Flurry Heart then cooed and giggled at Constantine in her way of saying hello.
“And this is Sunburst.” Cadence finished.
“Hi,” Sunburst was all he can say for now.
“Nice to meet you all,” Constantine said even though they’ve just met.
Cadence then started to look for the little colt, but couldn’t seem to find him anywhere.
“Hey Constantine, where’s that little alicorn colt that was with you?” Cadence asked. "I can't see him."
Constantine looked behind him and saw that the little colt was hiding behind his legs while shaking in fear. He then bent down and started to stroke the colt’s mane gently as he looked at Constantine.
“It’s alright, little guy,” he said to the colt. “They won’t hurt you, they just wanna see you.”
The colt then looked at Cadence who was just standing near Constantine waiting to see him, he still had butterflies in his stomach thinking that Cadence might do something to him or even worse, take him back to the orphanage. But he then looked at Constantine again before saying, “Okay.”
So without being said, he slowly walked from behind Constantine and towards Cadence, but he stopped near Cadence so he wasn’t so close to her since he’s still scared and shy of her. Cadence just gasped with delight at seeing the little alicorn colt, she then bent down to his level with a smile on her face showing him that she was a nice princess.
“Hello there, little one,” she said in a soft motherly voice, “I’m Cadence, princess of love and ruler of the Crystal empire. What’s your name, cutie?”
The colt looked down to the floor in sadness knowing that she was gonna ask the same question Constantine asked him when they first met, he then shook his head before saying, “Haven’t got one.”
Cadence’s smile went into a shock look on her face after hearing what the colt just said. Constantine begin to feel worried, cos he can tell what Cadence was gonna say next.
“What’d you mean you don’t have a name?!” Cadence asked in shock that she had never seen a pony with no name before in her life.
“But everypony has a name, didn’t your mother and father gave you one?” Then Cadence saw some tears coming down the colt’s eyes, she knows that can only mean one thing, he didn’t have a mother or a father.
“You don’t have a mother or a father, don’t you?” She said in a sad tone.
The colt shook his head while more tears roll down his face, that’s when Constantine walked to the colt and Cadence, bent down and placed his right hand on his left shoulder which made him look at him.
“I’ll tell her the rest,” Constantine said to him.
Constantine then got up and went towards Cadence, he let out a sigh before saying, “Cadence, since the kid doesn’t want to explain the rest of his story, I think it’s best I tell you his story for him.”
Cadence nodded in agreement after seeing the colt having more tears coming down his eyes.
Constantine let out another sigh before saying, “You see, this colt didn’t know his parents. He’s an orphan, and the orphanage he came from.... is horrible. The owners and every orphan there have been calling him names, abusing him, hurting him and making him do all their work as a slave.”
Cadence, Shining and Sunburst let out a gasp in shock after hearing what Constantine just said, and Flurry Heart then began to have a sad look on her face feeling bad for the colt now after hearing the sad story.
“And then,” Constantine continued, “Before I’ve found him being attacked by that demon, he told me he ran away from the orphanage and begged me not to return him to that place.” He then looked at the colt who was now looking down at the floor still in sadness. “My guess is that he has had enough of that place and wants to be somewhere that he can call home.”
Cadence looked at the colt after hearing the story, she was sad on the outside, but she was very angry on the inside, she couldn’t believe that every orphan at the orphanage as well as the owners would do such a thing to a poor colt that hasn’t even got a name.
“Oh you poor sweet little alicorn,” Cadence said. “I am so sorry you’ve been through all of that.” She then opened her hoofs out wanting to give the colt a motherly hug. “Come here, sweetie.”
The colt looked at Cadence after hearing what she said, he saw that she wanted to give him a hug. That was when he couldn’t fight it anymore, he let his tears run free from his eyes and ran straight to Cadence, wrapping his tiny hoofs round her neck and buried his face in her chest. Cadence then started to rub the colt’s back before saying,
The tears from the colt’s eyes soaked onto Cadence’s chest as he continued to cry.
“P-please don’t s-send me back.” He begged.
Shining walked to Cadence and gently rubbed the colt’s head comforting him as well.
“It’s alright, little guy,” Shining said, “There’s no way we're gonna send you back to that orphanage. We promise.”
The colt looked at Shining with a smile on his face after hearing what he just said but still had tears running down on his face.
“T-thank y-you.” Was all he could say.
But then, Sunburst came up with the question he now just thought it, “So what exactly are we going to do with him? I mean, we’re not going to send him back to that terrible orphanage, and I don’t think he wants to go to any new orphanage here.”
Cadence and Shining looked at each other after hearing what Sunburst just said before looking at the colt who was now resting his head on Cadence’s warm chest while resting his body in her left hoof but still had a couple of tears left in his eyes as Cadence then brushed them away with her right hoof.
Just looking at him made Cadence shed a tear from her right eye, and that was when she came up with the perfect idea to do with the colt.
She looked at Shining and said, “Shiny honey, I know that Flurry Heart was born not too long ago and is our first child. But after hearing this poor colt’s sad story and knowing he doesn’t want to go back to that orphanage, I’ve been thinking. How about we adopt him as our first son?”
Hearing that made the colt look up to her with a huge smile on his face with no more tears in eyes.
“Really?! I can stay with you?!”
Shining actually thought that would be a great idea to have the colt as their first son, which also means he’ll be the future prince of the Crystal empire and Flurry Heart’s big brother cos the colt’s actually older than her since he was five years old.
“You know what, Cadence dear. That’s not a bad idea, besides there’s enough room for one more member for the family. And we have been thinking about getting Flurry Heart a brother or a sister to play with one day.”
Flurry Heart just giggled while clapping her tiny hooves and jumping a little on her stroller which made them think that she’s liking that idea, even Constantine thought it was a brilliant idea.
“So what’d ya think, kid? You wanna stay with us and be part of the family?” Shining asked the colt.
The colt still had that big smile on his face as he nodded his head before saying, “Yes, I would like to stay with you. Thank you so much!”
Cadence giggled before giving the colt a kiss on the forehead. “No need to thank us, sweetie. We’re just doing what we can to make ponies like you feel better.”
“So,” Sunburst said, “What name should we give him since he’s now part of the family? Surely we can’t just call him ‘colt’, he’s going to need an actual name now that he’s living with you.”
Cadence looked at the colt, then thought about it. She wanted to give him a name that’s perfect and it’ll be a name the colt will never forget. Then, she came up with a perfect name.
“How about we call him... Oliver Sparkle.”
Shining and Sunburst was on board with that idea, Oliver Sparkle was the perfect name to give for their new son.
“What’d ya think, kiddo?” Shining asked the colt, “Is Oliver Sparkle a good name for you?”
The colt thought about it, being called Oliver Sparkle means he doesn’t have to be called other names anymore. Plus the name has a nice ring to it, so he just nodded his head and said,
“Yes, I love it! Thank you so much, I promise I’ll be a good colt for you for ever.”
Cadence just giggled and started to nuzzle Oliver on the nose.
“You’re already are, Oliver. I can promise you that.” Cadence said as she continued to nuzzle Oliver on the nose.
Seeing this made Constantine feel so happy for Oliver, now he won’t have to worry about that horrible orphanage now he has a family of his own.
“But,” Oliver said, “Does that mean I won’t be able to see Constantine again?”
Hearing that made Constantine have a sad but also shock on his face, he forgot that it was just today the two first met and will be the last since Oliver now has a family.
Cadence slowly nodded her head in sadness before saying, “I’m afraid so, dear.”
Oliver’s happy face went down to sadness and started to look at Constantine who looked at him with a sad shock look on his face still. Oliver then looked down to the floor while letting a few tears run down his face again. But then Cadence thought of another idea.
“Although Constantine, since you two have first met and you did save him from that demon. How would you like to stay here with us?”
Hearing that made Oliver smile again and looked at Constantine once more. Constantine was no longer in sad shock mode but was back into shock mode after hearing what Cadence just said, he then smiled and nodded as a yes. He then looked at Oliver while smiling and thinking about the good times they’ll have together as friends.
Fourteen months has passed, and Oliver was now eighteen years old, for some unknown reason, and was enjoying his life at the Crystal Empire with his new family and his new and first ever friend, Constantine.
And it has been ten months since they’ve solve the mystery of the ink coming out of Oliver’s horn. It turns out that Oliver has ink magic but his magic grasp is a dark purple color. He can create ink spells as well as ink creatures such as Bendy, Ink Bendy, Boris, Evil Alice, Sammy Lawrence, The Projectionist and The Butcher Gang. He can even turn into Ink Bendy himself just by saying, "Gone gone form of pony. Arise the demon, Ink Bendy!". It took Oliver and Constantine over a year to help him control the ink magic, and after practicing creating the ink creatures and spells for two weeks, Oliver was getting the hang of using ink magic.
Oliver was sleeping in his bedroom which was the same as Flurry Heart’s room but bigger, his bed was wooden made in a light blue colour like the Crystal Heart and his bed sheets and pillow were in light purple with dark purple stars on the sheets. And the walls had four or five drawing pictures that Flurry Heart has drawn for him, the baby alicorn loved his big brother so much that she couldn’t stop drawing nice pictures for him till the fifth one was the last one she drawn for some reason.
It was seven in the morning as the sun shone through the window of Oliver’s bedroom, which made him slowly open his eyes.
He removed the cover sheets off of him with his magic, sat on his bed and let out a small yawn, since he had a good night’s sleep, stretched his front hoofs up, got off the bed and headed straight to his bedroom door.
Outside his bedroom, there was a person standing guard by his door. But it’s not Constantine, this person was made by Constantine’s magic. The person was the same height as Constantine, his skin was the colour purple, his eyes were white, his hair was also purple with a pony tail but with a red bow, he was wearing purple trousers and black shoes along with a purple security outfit but his security badge was yellow and his security cap was purple as well. And he goes by the name, Vincent.
Vincent was created by Constantine two years ago after Cadence asked him to get a security guard to guard Oliver during the night and sometimes during the day, took about three months to make him, but it was worth it as Constantine told her after creating him.
Vincent was standing against the wall on the left side of Oliver’s bedroom door with his left leg in front of his right left and his left arm hugging his right side while flipping a coin in his right hand.
Vincent keeps the coin with him at all times, he uses it to keep him busy and when Oliver needs it to decide what to do, it was Oliver’s good luck charm. Since Oliver was a pony and he has hoofs and no fingers, it’s hard for him to flip a coin to decided to what to do, so Vincent does it for him and he never gets tired to doing it.
Just then, Vincent heard Oliver’s bedroom door opening, and there he saw the future prince coming out of his bedroom with a smile on his face. He then stopped and turned to look at Vincent.
“Morning, Vincent.”
“Good morning, young prince,” Vincent said as he bowed to him in respect. “Did you sleep well last night?”
Oliver just nodded before saying, “Sure did, as always. I’ve slept well like a baby.”
Vincent then rubbed his mane with his left hand. “That’s great to hear, buddy. Oh and also, your mother and father wants to speak to you in the throne room before you go have your breakfast. Don’t know though, I didn’t really asked them when they told me to tell you they want a word with you.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me, Vincent,” Oliver said before walking off to the throne room.
“No problem, bro,” replied Vincent before following Oliver to the throne room.
In the throne room, Constantine, Shining and Cadence were waiting for their son to enter the room, Cadence was holding Flurry Heart in her right hoof while feeding her some milk from a bottle while Constantine was leaning against the wall on the left with his hands in his trouser pockets.
Just then, they’ve heard some doors opening. They smiled as they saw Oliver and Vincent walking into the throne room as Vincent kindly shuts the doors behind them and continues to walk towards Shining and Cadence. Flurry Heart then saw her big brother coming towards them, she then stopped drinking from her bottle and started to giggle and cooed as she reached her tiny hoofs out to Oliver as she really wants a hug from him.
Cadence saw this and let out a giggle of her own before letting Flurry Heart fly over to Oliver and hugged him around his neck while sitting on his back and giggling as she’s happy to see his brother awake.
Oliver just giggled before saying, “Morning to you too, Flurry Heart.” He then rubbed Flurry Heart’s mane gently with his hoof.
Shining and Cadence walked towards Oliver as they gave him a morning hug as well as a kiss on the cheek from Cadence.
“Did our favourite son sleep well last night?” Asked Cadence with a soft smile on her face.
“Mom, I’m your only son. Do you always have to say I’m your favourite?” Oliver asked.
Cadence just giggled before saying, “Of course, we really do mean it after all. Besides, Flurry Heart’s our only daughter, and she’s still our favourite daughter. Isn’t that right, Flurry Heart?”
Cadence then started to nuzzle Flurry Heart on the nose which made her giggle as Oliver smiled while rolling his eyes.
“Anyways, Vincent told you two wanted to see me before breakfast. So what’s up?” He asked in a polite way.
Shining took a deep breath before saying, “Well son, the reason why we called you in before breakfast was because.... Instead of having breakfast as a family, we’ll be having breakfast with some more ponies that we’ve invited round. Two of them are even part of the family as well, two of them are aunts of your mother and three of them aren’t ponies but different tape of creatures.”
Oliver was now confuse with what his father just said to me.
“What’re you mean by different tape of creatures? What kind of creatures will we be seeing and which two members of the family will I be seeing?”
Cadence answered that question before Shining can, “Well honey, the three creatures you’ll be seeing are a baby dragon, two Changeling and a draconequus. They’re friendly creatures, I can promise you that.”
“And the baby dragon is also a member of this family as well as a number one assistant to another member,” Shining said, “And that other member of the family is, your aunt.”
Oliver was now in shock, he didn’t know he had an aunt in his new family till now.
“Really?” He asked, “I have an aunt?”
The two parents nodded as a yes instead of just speaking.
“I... I didn’t know I had an aunt.” Was all Oliver could say after that.
“Well you do now,” said Shining.
“We figured that we should save telling you that you have an aunt when you’ve gotten use to be having a family and becoming a future prince of the Crystal Empire,” Cadence said.
“And Cadence’s aunts are the royal princesses of Equestria,” Shining continued on, “And they’re just dying to meet you.”
“They are?” Oliver asked, “But how do they know about me?”
“We’ve been sending them letters about you once a month,” Cadence answered.
“Your aunt’s also a princess,” Said Shining.
“And we figured that today would be perfect for you to meet them as well as your aunt’s friends and student.”
“Student?” Oliver asked as he raised his right eyebrow.
“That’s right,” answered Cadence, “Your aunt had a student not so long ago, in fact, she’s still living with her since she’s still not ready to leave yet.”
“Okay, But why am I also meeting my aunt’s friends?” Asked Oliver.
“We’ve figured that you should make some more friends ever since you only had Vincent and Constantine as your friends from the start,” answered Shining.
“And it’s true what they say, mate. The more friends you have, the better your friendship becomes,” Constantine said.
Oliver was unsure about it, he was the first boy alicorn to be adopted by a royal family, but he still remembers the times where all the other ponies use to pick on him for being an alicorn before Shining and Cadence adopted him, and now he was worried that the new ponies and creatures might make fun of him for being an alicorn when he meets them. But what he was most worried about is his ink magic, he was worried that he might do something bad with his ink magic and make them hate him and call him a monster.
Cadence notice this and gently placed a hoof on his left shoulder.
“It’ll be okay, honey. You’ll see,” said Cadence. “And besides, they’ll love you and will accept you as a friend. They love making some new friends.”
“Even my aunt?”
Cadence nodded as a yes instead of saying it.
Oliver took a moment to think about it, he was still worried that something might go wrong when he meets the new ponies and creatures, but after hearing what his mother just said, he decided to give it a chance, so he took a deep breath in before saying,
“Okay, I’ll meet them.”
“At a boy.” Shining said as he gently rubbed Oliver’s mane with his right hoof.
Constantine gave Oliver a thumbs up before saying, “Excellent choice, mate.”
“Now why don’t you go and get ready, I’m sure they’ll be here soon after sending them an invite letter,” said Cadence as she lifted Flurry Heart off of Oliver’s back with her magic and placed her on her back.
“Okay, Mom.”
With that being said, Oliver walked towards to the doors, opened them and walked off to his room to get ready. But deep inside of him, he was still worried that his aunt, the two royal sisters, the creatures and his aunt’s student and friends might not like him when he meets them.
In the city of Ponyville, the sun was beginning to light up the village as ponies began waking up and starting their daily routines.
In the Rainbow Kingdom castle, a purple alicorn, with dark sapphire blue with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry streaks with a Pink six-pointed sparkle surrounded by five small white sparkles cutie mark, was getting out of her bed and walking towards her mirror getting ready for the day.
As soon as she finished combing her mane, she walked towards the kitchen just as when a yellow unicorn with brilliant amaranth and light apple green striped mane and tail with a Red and yellow shimmering sun cutie mark, a light purple unicorn with moderate purple with lighter purple and pale light, greyish aquamarine highlight mane and tail with a purple and white star with two blue glimmering streams cutie mark and a purple flying dragon with green spikes came out of their rooms.
“Morning Sunset, Starlight and Spike,” she said in a friendly tone.
“Morning Twilight,” the three said in unison.
“So did you all sleep well last night?” Twilight asked.
“Sure did,” said the yellow unicorn. “Still getting use to sleeping in a bed as pony since I’m no longer in the human world.” She then let out a nervous giggle.
Sunset Shimmer once lived in the human world not too long ago, she returned to Equestria after the last strange magic from Equestria was found and dealt with by her and her six friends.
She still misses them, even though they said she can come visit them anytime she wants, plus they said they were gonna miss her after hearing she was returning to Equestria, but they did promise her they will use their magic for good use and in case of an emergency.
She then had a sad look on her face, as she was thinking about her friends back in the human world. She then felt Twilight rubbing her left shoulder with her hoof as she then looked at her smiling.
“It’s okay, Sunset. I know you still miss them, but you can still go visit them whenever you want. The mirror is still open anyway.” She then lets out a little giggle.
Sunset’s smile came back as she then let out a giggle of her own.
“You’re right, Twilight. But it’s still good be back on Equestria. Oh and thanks for letting me stay here in your castle by the way.”
“No problem, Sunset.”
“So, should we go have some...” before Spike could finish his sentence, he suddenly burped out a scroll as Twilight catches it with her purple magic gasp before it hit the ground.
“A letter from Celestia? In this time in the morning? That's not like her,” Starlight said in confusion.
Twilight unrolled it and began to read it.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I wish to inform you that your brother and sister in law, Shining Armor and Cadence, has invited us to breakfast at the Crystal empire, cos they want to introduce us to a new member of their family that they've adopted. She also wants Trixie, Thorax and Discord to meet him as well. Me and Luna will meet you at the Crystal Empire train station with Thorax and Discord as soon as you lot are ready. Oh and bring Ocellus with you, Thorax wants her to meet Cadence’s new son as well.
Your former teacher, Princess Celestia”
After reading, Twilight was in shock before turning it into a big excited smily face which made Sunset, Starlight and Spike confuse at her looks.
“Twilight? You feeling okay?” Asked Spike as he landed on his feet, walked towards Twilight and waved his right claw to her face.
“Not only do I have a niece,” Twilight finally spoke, “But now, I have a nephew!” As she then bounced up and down in excitement.
Sunset then levitated the scroll with her magic and took a look at it.
“They have a new family member now?” Asked Sunset.
“When did that happen?” Starlight asked in confusion.
“Who cares! This is the best day ever!” Twilight shouted still excited and bouncing up and down like a hyper pony. “Not only do we get to have breakfast at the Crystal empire but we also get to see their new son! Come, we must get the others and tell them we’ll be having breakfast at the Crystal empire as soon as possible! We don’t wanna be late!”
With nothing more to say, Twilight zoomed off without telling the three which one of their friends she was gonna tell first. The three either rolled their eyes or giggled as their reaction.
“Come on,” Starlight said after giggling, “Let’s try to catch up with her.”
With that said, the two unicorns ran, while Spike flew, to try to catch with Twilight.
Meanwhile at the Crystal empire, Oliver was in the bathroom still getting ready for when his new aunt, her friends, the two princesses, the Changeling King and the master of chaos arrive for breakfast. But he was still worried about what they might think of him when they meet.
“Mum and dad said that everything will fine,” he said to himself.
“But what if they’re wrong? What if they don’t like me, what if they think I’m a monster if my ink magic goes out of control?”
He then looked at the mirror as some tears went down his face as if memories from his past were coming back to him.
“What if they also make fun of me for being an boy alicorn in Equestria? I don’t want my new life to be like the times at that orphan when I meet them.”
He closed his eyes as he let more tears run down his face while still thinking what might happen when he meets his new aunt and her friends. But then all that thinking was put to a stop when he heard a knock on the bathroom door.
“Oliver? It’s me, Vincent. Am I allowed to come in or are you still getting ready?”
Oliver quickly brushed his tears away not wanting Vincent to see he was crying before shaking his head trying to snap out of what he was thinking and turning to the door.
“Yeah you can come in, I just finish getting ready.”
Vincent opened the bathroom door as he poked his head through before asking, “Anything alright, lad?”
“Yeah, Yeah, everything’s fine, Vincent. Nothing to worry,” Oliver lied. He was worried that Vincent might get mad that he’s still thinking that his new aunt and her friends might hate him, make fun of him and even call him a monster with ink magic.
Vincent was concerned about what he just said, but decided not to see if he was lying or not and gently said,
“Okay, just making sure nothing's wrong and you’re feeling good. Anyways, your mother just wanted me to tell you that she wants you to meet her in the house of mystery. We’re having breakfast with the new ponies at Constantine’s house instead of here in the castle.”
Oliver just nodded his head and said, “Thanks for telling me, Vincent.”
“Anything for the future prince of the Crystal Empire and captain of the royal guards,” Vincent said with a smile.
He then pushed the door open wider, stood aside near it and bowed to Oliver, allowing him to go out first. Oliver walked out of the bathroom with Vincent following behind him and shutting the bathroom door behind him as they walked to Constantine’s house.
“Try to keep calm. Everything will be alright,” Oliver said to himself without having Vincent hearing him. But he was still worried that something might go wrong. "I hope."
On the Friendship express, in the second car, Twilight along with Spike, Sunset and Starlight were sitting in their seats with six other ponies and a child Changeling.
There was a cyan blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail and a cutie mark of a rainbow lightning bolt shooting out of a cloud.
A orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail that were both pulled back, wore a brown Stetson cowboy hat and had a cutie mark of three apples.
A white unicorn with a swirled dark blue mane and tail, had sky blue mascara surrounding her eyes and had a cutie mark of three diamonds.
A pink earth pony with a puffy mane and tail and had a cutie mark of three balloons.
A yellow Pegasus with a long pink curly mane and tail with a cutie mark of three pink butterflies.
A blue unicorn with light blue mane and tail as well as wearing a purple hat and cape with tiny stars on them like she was some kind of magician, even know she wasn't that good at magic tricks.
And the child Changeling had moderate cyan eyes, light amaranth neck fin mane and tail along with a pale, light gra chitin and carapace.
The five ponies either had a smile or a confuse look on their face after Twilight had told them about Cadence’s new son, Spike and the two reformed unicorns had smiles on their faces, as for Twilight herself, let’s just say that she had the biggest smile on her face of any other smile we had ever seen.
“Hey girls,” said the blue pegasus, “I know meeting new ponies has always been our thing, but I’ve never seen Twilight so excited like that before.” She pointed her right hoof to Twilight as the four then looked at her.
“True. This is the first time we’ve seen Twilight so excited,” said the orange earth pony, “But I can tell she’s looking forward to be seeing this new child of Cadence’s. I can’t wait to meet him as well.”
“Yeah!” Shouted the pink earth pony who suddenly started jumping up and down in front of them while the train was still running, “And I'm gonna throw the new pony a big “Welcome to the Sparkle family” party! With cookies, games, cake, balloons and....” She was cut off by a hoof in the mouth by the white unicorn.
“Settle down darling,” she said as she can took her hoof off the hyper pony’s mouth, “There’ll be plenty of time for parties once we meet Cadence's new child.”
The hyper pony just stuck her tongue out to her before saying, “You’re such a Party pooper, Rarity!”
Rarity just rolled her eyes before giggling.
The express finally stopped at the Crystal Empire station, the doors opened as everypony came out of the cars including the nine ponies, Spike and the child Changeling. After exiting the car they were in, they saw two alicorns, another Changeling and a draconequus all smiling and was waiting for them.
The first alicorn was white and her mane was flowing a very light green pink, and blue, like the color of a rainbow.
The second alicorn was blue and her mane was flowing, but hers had shiny dots sparkling, like the stars in the sky.
The Changeling was bigger than the child Changeling, But has moderate rose eyes, light lime green with brilliant gambled chest chitin and orange horns.
“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as she and Sunset walked towards the princess of the sun.
“Twilight,” said the white alicorn as she began to nuzzle Twilight on the cheek as Twilight did the same with her. “So good to see you all again.”
“It’s good to see you too, Celestia,” Twilight replied. Celestia turned to Sunset as she then nuzzled Sunset on the cheek.
The child Changeling ran up to the big Changeling with a big smile on her smile as she then wrapped her hoofs around the big Changeling’s left hoof as he wrapped his right hoof around the child changeling, both sharing a hug together.
“Hey there Ocellus,” said the big Changeling as he then began to give the child Changeling a gently rub on the head, “So good to see you again.”
“It’s so good to see you too Thorax,” said Ocellus, “I missed you.”
Thorax just giggled before saying, “Yeah, I missed you too.”
He then saw Spike walking towards him with a smile on his face as Thorax smiled at him back.
“Hi Thorax,” said Spike as he and Thorax fist/hoof bumped, “How’s it going?”
“Going great thanks,” he replied, “Pharynx is at the Changeling Kingdom, making sure everything’s going okay till I get back since it’s only me Cadence wants his new son to meet.”
“Discord,” said Fluttershy as he walked up to the draconequus and hugged him as he hugged her back with a smile, “So glad you could come here.”
“And miss meeting Cadence's new child with my favourite pony?” Discord said letting a little chuckle, “You can’t have a little get together and meet new ponies without a little pit of chaos now, can ya?”
Everypony let out a chuckle at what Discord just said, except for the light blue unicorn who just rolled her eyes in annoyed.
“Can we just go already? Trixie wants to hurry and meet this new pony so she can show him how great and powerful she is!”
Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyed seeing that Trixie’s still calling herself great and powerful, she then said, “Alright everypony, let’s go. We mustn’t keep Cadence waiting.”
They all then walked out of the station and towards the city in the Crystal Empire.
As they were walking towards the castle, they saw many Crystal ponies walking by, speaking with each other, some of them even waved hello to them, plus some were taking pictures of the big statue of Spike since he saved the Crystal Empire, twice now.
They soon reached the main entrance of the castle where they saw Shining Armor, Cadence with Flurry Heart in her right hoof and Sunburst waiting for them in front of the Crystal Heart.
“Shining! Cadence!” Shouted Twilight as she ran up to her brother and hugged him as he hugged her back.
“Twily! So glad you’re finally here,” Shining said as he broke the hug and Twilight went over to gave Cadence a hug and gave Flurry Heart a nuzzle on the nose as she hugged her aunt's face with her tiny hooves while cooing and giggling.
“Starlight!” Sunburst shouted as he ran up to her and gave her a friendly hug as she did the same with him.
“So good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you too Sunburst,” Starlight said after breaking the hug.
“So where’s your new son, Cadence?” Asked Twilight excitedly, “I’m just so excited to see my new and first nephew!”
Cadence just giggled before saying, “You’ll soon see him. Come, we’ll take you lot to meet him right now before breakfast.”
She then levitated Flurry Heart with her magic and placed her on her back before walking to left instead of walking towards the doors. This made the nine girls and Spike confuse for some reason.
“Uh, isn’t the door right there, Cadence?” The blue Pegasus asked in confusion while pointing to the doors in front of them.
Cadence just giggled as she stopped walking and turned to look at the ponies before saying, “Oh we're not having breakfast in the castle with our new family member, Rainbow.” She turned forwards, “We're having breakfast with him somewhere else.” She then continued to walk with Flurry Heart on her back as Shining, Celestia, Luna, Sunburst, Thorax and Ocellus followed her.
The girls, Spike and Discord all looked at one another in confusion having no idea what Cadence was talking about. But they all shrugged before walking off to catch up with them even not knowing where they were taking them.
They didn’t go too far from the castle as the location Cadence was taking them was behind the castle.
There behind the castle was Constantine’s house, it’s been behind the castle ever since Constantine first got to Equestria and been living in Equestria after Cadence adopted Oliver.
Cadence, Shining, Celestia and Luna stopped walking as they were two miles away from the house, the nine girls, Spike, Discord, Thorax, Sunburst and Ocellus stopped behind them as the mane eight, Trixie and Spike all had shock looks on their faces as they saw where Cadence has taken them to.
“Cadence, was this house always been behind the castle?” Asked Sunset still in shock mode.
“Well, let’s just say it’s been here for about, fourteen months,” Cadence replied.
“Fourteen months?!” Shouted the mane eight and Spike still in shock after hearing what Cadence just said, which made Cadence giggle.
“Yep, we had a reason why though. But we’ll tell you all later once you’ve met our new member of the family.”
Cadence then walked to the house, knocked on the door and took a few steps back as the door was then opened by John Constantine.
“Oh Hello Cadence,” Constantine said happily as he then bow in respect.
“Hello Constantine,” Cadence said back, “Is our son in the house safe and happily?”
“Yes, he’s upstairs in my bedroom,” he answered, “But I think he’s still nervous about meeting the guests.”
“Oh dear,” Cadence said sadly, “Well I’m sure he’ll be happy once he meets them and his new aunt.” She then felt a tap on the shoulder, she turned her head round to see that Spike was the one who tapped her.
“Uh Cadence, Who is that?” Spike asked as he pointed at Constantine.
“Oh sorry, forgot to introduce you to the owner of the house,” Cadence said before letting out a giggle. She then turned to the nine ponies, the two sisters and said, “Girls, Spike, Aunt Celestia and Luna, me and Shining would like you all to meet John Constantine. He’s a human with magical powers and has been helping our son out with learning magic ever since we adopted our new child.”
Constantine walked towards the girls as he then stopped near Twilight and bowed to her in respect.
“At your service,” he said as he then gently took Twilight’s left hoof and lifted it up a little. "It's truly an honor to meet the princess of Friendship.” Constantine then kissed Twilight’s hoof as she blushed and giggled.
Rarity however was looking at Constantine’s trench coat, she then had a disgusted look on her face after looking at the coat for twelve seconds.
“Oh my word, Constantine. Your trench coat is, so awful! How could you wear such a hideous coat with a rubbish colour?” She said not liking the trench coat looks at all.
Constantine had an annoyed look on his face after hearing what Rarity just said as he find it very insulting.
“Cheers.” Constantine then gave Rarity the L finger with his right hand.
“Alright,” Shining Armor said getting everypony’s attention, “Before we go inside, we should warn you that our son is a bit shy at the moment so don’t go too hyper towards him, don’t scare him and try to keep calm towards him so that he knows he can trust you.”
Everypony, including the two Changelings and Discord, nodded in understood as Constantine walked towards the front door, opened it and stood aside to let the princess of love go in first.
“After you, Cadence.” He bowed to her in respect again.
Cadence, with Flurry Heart still on her back, walked into the house with Shining, Spike, the two sisters, the nine ponies, the two Changelings and Discord following after her, once they were all in, Constantine walked inside closing the door behind him.
The girls and Spike were looking around the house and how clean and tidy it was while Thorax was sitting near the fireplace with Ocellus sitting between his legs resting her head on his chest. Twilight, however, was looking at all the shelves with books in, she was amazed at how many books there were since she loved books so much, it was like Constantine had a library in his house.
“Wow, Constantine!” Said Twilight very happily and amazed. “You’ve got so many books here! It’s like a library in here!” Constantine smiled after hearing what Twilight just said.
Just then, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, they turned and saw Vincent walking downstairs with a smile on his face whilst everypony, except for the two princess, Shining, Cadence, Flurry Heart & Constantine, had shock looks on their faces while looking at him.
“Ah they’re here already,” he said happily, “Good.”
Trixie had her mouth wide open as she pointed at Vincent in shock. “You’re... You’re all... Purple!!”
“Yeah I am all purple,” he said, “I was born like this. Create like this to be honest.”
“Create?!” The nine ponies and Spike shouted in shock.
“Yep, by me,” Constantine said before anypony could ask who created him. “He’s our security purple guard to make sure no one bothers Cadence’s son or threaten him. He even guards the boy's bedroom every night, making sure he’s safe and sleeping peacefully.”
“Okay. And what is your name?” Asked Sunset in confusion.
“The name’s Vincent,” he replied before taking a bow in respect and raising up again, “And you lot must be the guests that are here to see Cadence’s son.”
“Mmhmm,” Twilight said excitedly while nodding her head, “So when do we get to see him? I so wanna meet him and get to know him so much!” Hearing what she said made her friends, brother, niece and sister in law giggle.
“Hang on, let me go get him first,” said Cadence as she levitated Flurry Heart off her back with her magic and placed her on Shining’s back.
She then went upstairs, walked to the right side when she was at the top and went through the open door way where the bedrooms are so she can get Oliver.
After one minute, Cadence came back through the open door way with Oliver walking behind her, as they reached the staircase, walked downstairs and stopped at the bottom of the last step, Pinkie decided to make the first move by running close to his face, smiling and said,
“Hello!”
This made Oliver jump a little and walked backwards with a scared look, but he was stopped by Constantine as he quickly placed his left hand on his neck to stop him, then he slowly moved his hand and stroked his mane slowly to calm him down, which it work quite quickly as Oliver smiled at Constantine as he smiled at him back. Constantine then looked at Pinkie with a cross look on his face before saying,
“Hey we just told you not to do that, Pinkie.” He then pointed at Pinkie with his right hand, “Don’t you ever listen?”
Pinkie just laughed nervously while rubbing the back of her neck before saying, “Sorry. Guess I got over excited.”
The other ponies, Spike, the two Changelings and Discord either had smiles or happy shock looks on their faces, Celestia and Luna only have smiles on their faces, as they looked at Oliver who had a shy and nervous look on his face as he looked at the guests. Twilight just had a smile on her face as she looked at him.
“How new is this one?” Asked Sunset since she spent most of her life in the human world and never really saw an boy alicorn in her life, even before she went to the human world.
Constantine looked at Oliver before answering, “Not what you think.” He looked at Oliver for a few seconds before turning to the ponies. “It’s the magic of pony birth from my point of view. Probably decided to create something new and gave a boy pony a pair of wings to go with the horn.”
Oliver started to walk towards the group of ponies to get a closer look at them, he then stopped in front of Twilight who still had a smile on her face showing him that she was friendly.
“It sure did,” Starlight, Sunset, Spike, Applejack, Discord & Thorax said all at once.
Twilight wrapped Oliver’s hoof with hers as she then slowly lifted them up gently.
“Wow,” she said happily, “My new nephew is a pony who’s an alicorn like me, and a future prince of the Crystal empire. You must be very lucky to get adopted by a princess.”
Oliver just looked at Twilight for a few seconds before answering to her.
“Ummmm, yeah, yeah,” He then let go of Twilight’s hoof before scratching the back of his neck with it and placing it back down before saying, “Guess so.”
“Come on son,” Shining said before gently patting him on the back. “They’re friendly, they won’t hurt you.”
Rainbow Dash walked towards Oliver with a shock look on her face as she looked at Oliver’s wings as she became to grow a huge smile on her face which made Oliver feel uncomfortable.
“This is so awesome!” She shouted but not too loudly so that she doesn’t scare Oliver as she flew into the air. “A boy pony with wings! I so can’t wait to fly along with you soon since you’ll becoming my first boy alicorn friend when we get to know each other!”
But she had a question she wanted to ask Cadence about Oliver, so she landed, turned to Cadence and said, “Hey Cadence, can Oliver actually fly since he has wings?”
This made Oliver look at Cadence with a sad but also shy look as Cadence looked at him before turning to Rainbow and responding to her, “I’m afraid he can’t, Rainbow. We haven’t been able to teach him ever since we adopted him and been teaching him how to use magic.”
She then looked at Oliver again as he looked away from the ponies, closed his eyes in sadness before letting a tear run down from his right left. Applejack notice this before the others did and walked towards him.
“Sugarcube,” she said as she placed her left hoof on Oliver’s shoulder, “I can sense something's bothering you and making you upset. What’s troubling you?”
Oliver looked at Applejack, still in sadness, before responding to her,
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
He looked away again leaving the girls, Spike, the sisters, the Changelings and Discord confuse and worried at the same time, they really wanna know what was wrong with him so they can try to help him. Before any of them could try to get him to tell them what’s wrong, Constantine spoke up,
“I’m sure he’ll tell you lot when he’s feeling like he wants to talk.”
He then rubbed his hands together as a small dark golden grasp ball appeared in between his hands, then two mugs and a bag of sugar appeared as Constantine grabbed the mugs in one hand and the bag of sugar in the other.
“Well I guess we should have that breakfast right about now.”
Two hours have past, and everypony in Constantine’s house was enjoying their breakfast after meeting Oliver.
Each of them had yummy pancakes with cream, strawberries and slices of lemon on them while Oliver had pancakes that was in a shape of Bendy’s head with cream and slices of lemon making the tiny horns, eyes and the big smile.
Shining was feeding Flurry Heart some warm milk that Cadence has made for her while drinking his coffee.
Constantine was pouring some coffee into Luna’s cup as he was finish pouring everypony some coffee as well as himself.
“Thanks,” Luna said after Constantine was finish pouring the coffee, went to sit in his chair and began to drink his coffee.
Twilight was sitting next to Cadence and Celestia while drinking her coffee but also looking at Oliver eating his pancakes. He haven’t said a word or two before saying he doesn’t want to talk about what’s wrong with him, this made Twilight feel worried and concern about him.
She then looked at Cadence before saying, “Cadence, will it be okay if I try to talk to him and see what’s wrong with him?”
Cadence nodded and said, “Yes you may, Twilight. I’m sure he’ll talk to you since you’re his aunt.”
Twilight smiled as she then got up, walked towards Oliver and sat besides him before lifting her right wing over him which made Oliver look at her after taking a bite of his breakfast.
“Hey Oliver,” she said softly to him, “I know you said you didn’t wanna talk about what’s wrong with you. But if you tell us what’s wrong, we can try to help you.”
Then Pinkie ran up to him trying not to scare him again before saying, “Yeah. You can just tell us what’s wrong, and nopony else. And we won’t tell anypony, we promise.” That was then she did her Pinkie Promise actions which made Oliver confuse since he didn’t know what that was all about.
He then looked at Cadence and Constantine to see what they have to say. They both nodded to say that he should tell them so they can get it over with.
“You might as well tell them, mate,” said Constantine. “It’ll be a lot easier than keeping it inside of you and not telling them.”
Oliver turned back to Twilight and everypony else in the house who are looking at him waiting for him to explain what’s wrong but also smiling at him.
He then let out a sigh before saying,
“It all started, seven months ago when I was eight years old....”
FLASHBACK
Seven months ago....
Oliver was eight years old and was enjoying his new life in his new family at the Crystal empire.
Shining and Cadence took Oliver to the park while Flurry Heart was at day care and Constantine was busy with something in his house. The married couple were sitting on a bench near the park while watching Oliver trying to catch a pink butterfly that keeps flying off every time Oliver jumps a little and tries to catch it.
Shining then looked at Cadence before saying, “I’m gonna find an ice cream shop and buy an ice cream for the kid. You want one, honey?”
Cadence nodded, “Yes please, Shiny. A chocolate ice cream would be nice.”
Shining let out a chuckle before saying, “Okay then, I’ll be right back.” With that said, he got off the bench and walked off to find an ice cream shop while Cadence stays and watch Oliver till Shining comes back.
Oliver was still trying to catch that butterfly that keeps flying off, it kept flying off that it flew away from the park causing Oliver to leave the park so he can catch the butterfly and having Cadence getting off the bench and follows him making sure he doesn’t hurt himself or something.
Oliver was distracted to the butterfly that he was so busy trying to catch it, he didn’t see where he was going or see if anypony was in front of him.
Just then, as the butterfly flew higher and went away, Oliver bumped into two pair of hooves in front of him making him fall back and landed on the ground on his flank.
Oliver rubbed his head as he then look up to see who he accidentally bumped into. He then let out a gasp of shock and fear as he saw who was front of him and just turned round to see, but it wasn’t just one pony, it was two, and they were the two orphanage ponies that Oliver hoped he never see again.
The pony on the left was a mare that was white, had dark pink mane and tail with a tiny blue bow at the end of the tail, and a brown wool jumper which is also covering up her cutie mark.
And the pony on the right was a gentlecolt that was brown, had light blue mane and tail, and a black business suit, which is covering up his cutie mark as well, with a black tie.
They saw all had angry looks on their faces as they saw who bumped into the mare.
“Oh no,” was all Oliver could said quietly, he knew this can’t be good.
“So this is where you’ve ran to, you little brat,” the mare said cruelty. “We’ve been looking all over Equestria for you after finding out you’ve ran off!”
“You don’t know how much trouble you are now!” Shouted the gentlecolt. “When we get back, you’ll be doing twice as more work than ever, and you’ll be getting ten big smacks on the flank for running away from the orphanage and us!”
Oliver tried to run away from the orphanage ponies, but his tail was then grabbed by the mare as she tried to pull him back while Oliver tries to run really fast for his tail to be loosen from the mare’s hoof.
“Somepony help me!” Oliver shouted as he wasn’t able to break free or even escape from them.
Cadence, who was still trying to catch up with Oliver, was looking all over for him since that colt was faster than her. She then stop as she then hear a colt’s voice from the distance.
“Somepony help me! Please!”
She then moved her head to right so her left ear could get a closer hearing of who could have said that.
“Mommy! MOMMY!”
She then let out a gasp as she recognise that voice and who was crying out for help.
“Oliver! Hang on! Mommy’s coming!” She shouted out to him as she then started to run to save her son.
Oliver was trying to break free from the mare’s strong grab on the tail, but it was no good, the mare was too strong for him to escape.
“Mommy! Help me!”
“Your mother is dead!” The mare said cruelty. “And don’t think you do have a new mother around! Cos nopony would wanna adopt a crybaby like you! Now come on!”
Just after four pulls on Oliver’s tail, the gentlecolt and mare heard a voice from six miles away from them.
“Hold it right there!”
The mare stopped pulling Oliver’s tail as she froze for four seconds before looking in front of her to see Princess Cadence was standing one mile away from her and was not very happy.
“What is going on here?” She asked in a serious and angry tone.
The mare and gentlecolt were in panic mode, she didn’t know what she was gonna do if she finds out what they’ve been doing to him. So they decided to lie to her and then she’ll leave them be.
“Oh uh uh, Princess Cadence. So nice to see you here.” The mare laughed nervously while sweating. “I’m Mrs Warlock and this is my husband, Mr Warlock.”
Mr Warlock smiled nervously at Cadence while waving at her.
“We were just taking this little one to the park to cheer him up. He’s the only child that still lives in our orphanage and nopony has adopted him yet. Such a poor kid.”
When Cadence heard the word “orphanage”, it made her wonder if these could be the owners that treated Oliver like trash before she adopted him.
“So if you’re taking him to the park to cheer him up, why are you pulling his tail and not pulling yours so he doesn’t get lost?”
“Oh uhhhh....” She was trying to think of something to make sure she leaves. “He just... loves having his tail pulled, and uh... he doesn’t like pulling my tail for some silly reason he said.” She laughed nervously again.
Cadence however wasn’t paying it, she gave her an unamused look on her face as she then saw Oliver pulling his tail out of the mare’s hoof, after two pulls he manage to break free and quickly ran to Cadence and hugged her left hoof tightly.
“It’s them, mommy!” Oliver cried as tears started to run down his face, “They’re the owners of the orphanage I was talking about! The ones who hurt me, call me names and use me as a slave!”
“What? Come on now kid,” the gentlecolt said in a lying way, “We don’t do things like that to poor children like you. And why did you call Cadence, mommy? She’s not your mother, silly.”
“Well that’s because,” Cadence walked up to the owners angrily before coming nose to nose to Mrs Warlock making her feel afraid, “I AM, his mommy!”
Mr and Mrs Warlock were now in shock mode after hearing what Cadence just said, they couldn’t believe she would adopt him.
“And this colt has a name now, and that name, is Oliver Sparkle! And after telling me what you two have done to him before I adopted him. I can’t tell you how furious I am now that I’ve finally met you, and I will not allow that abusive stuff around Equestria, even at the Crystal empire!”
Mr Warlock then looked at Oliver very angrily as he couldn’t believe he told somepony about what happened at the orphanage.
“You told her about it?! I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS!! YOU'RE SO DEAD NOW!!”
His horn started to glow as his dark green grasp wrapped around Oliver’s wings as he then began to pull them, like he was gonna rip them off, making Oliver groan in pain and having tears running down his eyes. Just then, a tiny golden grasp ball zoomed to Mr Warlock’s horn causing it to have a crack in it. Mr and Mrs Warlock turned to see it was John Constantine that did the ball shot, and he wasn’t very happy at all.
The two went into deep shock after seeing him, they’ve never seen him before or even know what he is.
“W-what are you?” Asked Mrs Warlock in shock.
“I’m a human, and my name’s John Constantine! And it looks I came just in time to stop you from hurting this poor kid and trying to take him back to your orphanage which I’m afraid to say that it’s now shut!”
“W-what?!” Shouted Mr Warlock, “How?! Our orphanage can’t shut alrea...” before he could finish, Cadence butted in.
“I’ve sent a letter to Aunt Celestia while you two were looking at Constantine two seconds ago. She’ll be shutting your orphanage down for good now.”
They then heard hoofsteps coming towards them, it was Shining Armor who was looking his wife and son after finding an ice cream shop.
“Hey honey, I was all over for you and Oliver. I was gonna tell you that I’ve found an ice cream shop but it’s close now so I wasn’t able to g...”
Before he could finish, he then saw Mr and Mrs Warlock still in shock.
“Who are they?” He asked while pointing his left hoof at them.
“Shining honey,” said Cadence, “Remember Oliver’s sad story about his life in that horrible orphanage?”
Shining just nodded for a yes.
“Well,” She then pointed to Mr and Mrs Warlock, “These two are the owners of that orphanage, the ones that abusive Oliver and made him do all their work. They even tried to kidnap him after bumping into them.”
That was then Mrs Warlock grow anger and told another fat lie.
“You’re the one who tried to kidnap him! This no good excuse of a child belongs to us and deserves punishment for running away from the orphanage!”
“He doesn’t belong to you anymore!” Shouted Cadence with anger as Oliver quickly ran underneath Cadence to hide behind her front legs. “He now belongs to us!”
“Oh yeah? And who’s gonna stop us from taking him?” Mr Warlock asked like he wasn’t scared of the princess of love.
“Why don’t you ask them?” Constantine said as he pointed up in the sky.
Mr and Mrs Warlock looked up and what they saw made them have shock looks on their faces. Flying down were four Crystal royal guards, two were wearing armour and the other two won’t, and they landed in front of the three ponies looking furious at Mr and Mrs Warlock.
“While you two were lying about Cadence kidnapping Oliver, I magically sent a note to the Crystal guards about you two to let them know the princess wants them to take you away,” Constantine said as he placed his hands in his trouser pockets.
The guards turned around to look at Shining and Cadence.
“Guards,” said Shining in a serious tone, “Take these two to Canterlot, and make sure you tell Princess Celestia they’re the orphanage owners that have been abusing Oliver before we adopted him.”
“Yes Captain,” said one of the guards.
The guards went over to Mr and Mrs Warlock as two of them grabbed hold of Mr Warlock while the other two grabbed hold of Mrs Warlock. They tried to break free but the guards were too strong for them to escape as they then flew away to Canterlot still grabbing a hold of them.
Mrs Warlock, who had finally given up trying to break free, looked down at Oliver in anger and shouted at the top of her lungs,
“I HOPE YOU'RE ABOUT WHAT YOU DID, YOU LITTLE BRAT!! I ALSO HOPE YOU BURN IN TARTARUS FOR THIS BECAUSE NOPONY WOULD EVER LOVE OR CARE FOR YOU!!”
Shining, Cadence and Constantine were glad that Mr and Mrs Warlock are now gone, so was Oliver, but the words that Mrs Warlock said went right into him. Oliver then started to cry after the mean and threaten words that Mrs Warlock said to him.
Cadence saw this before Shining and Constantine did, she then picked him, placed his head on her chest and gave him a warm hug while gently rubbing his back.
“Shhh... it’s okay, Oliver. It’s okay,” she said softly in his ear. “They’re gone now. I’m here.”
Oliver then buried his face into Cadence’s chest as his tears soaked into Cadence’s soft fur. Shining gently placed his right hoof onto Oliver’s mane and began to rub his mane gently in comfort of his own.
“And that’s about it,” said Oliver finishing his story.
Twilight, Spike, the girls, Discord and the two Changelings all had shock looks on their faces, some of them even had tears running down their faces, they couldn’t believe what they just heard. Oliver has been through all of that and he was struggling to forget about what happened seven months ago, they now knew what was wrong with him and why he was afraid of them.
Twilight then gently wrapped a hoof around him in comfort as she felt sorry for what he had been through.
“Oliver,” she said to him, “I am so sorry you’ve been through that. Especially after escaping from them when you were six years old.”
“Yeah, it must be hard for you explaining it after everything you said,” said Rainbow feeling bad for Oliver.
“It is,” Oliver said sadly before looking down closing his eyes in sadness, “Just wish there was something to help me forget about it and move on with my new life.”
Twilight tried to think of a way to make her new nephew feel better. Then she thought of a good idea that should be able to work, she placed a hoof on Oliver’s shoulder and said,
“Come with us, Oliver.”
After hearing what his new aunt just said, he looked at her as he saw she was smiling at him.
“Come, with you?” He asked.
Twilight nodded before saying, “Yes. Come back to Ponyville with us, and stay with me in my castle. We can help you get over your past and teach you a lot about friendship like we did with Starlight.”
“And show you around Ponyville, Canterlot and Cloudsdale,” Rainbow Dash said jumping in with the idea. “And maybe even teach you how to fly.”
“And show you the farm me and my family live at,” said Applejack.
“And teach you how to make delicious treats at Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie shouted excitedly.
“And Trixie can show you some of her great and powerful magic tricks,” Trixie said.
“And I can show you around the Changeling kingdom,” said Thorax, but then he remembered that Oliver hasn’t been around Equestria before, so he quickly said, “Well, once you get use to visiting other places in Equestria.” He then smiled at him.
Oliver smiled back at Thorax as he then felt a tap on his back, he turned round and saw it was Discord who tapped him.
“And we could do some chaotic fun together just the two of us,” Discord said as he then whispered to him, “I know a spell that can turn Celestia and Luna’s thrones into cheese.”
“Ahem!” Said a female voice.
Discord turned his head round to see Cadence was tapping her right hoof on the floor while giving him an concerned face and raising her right eyebrow at him.
Discord sighed as he reached both his hands in the air.
“Alright alright, no doing chaotic stuffs with him. I’ll promise not to.” He then went up close to Oliver’s ear as he quietly whispered, “But my offer still stands if you ever do wanna hang out sometime.”
After whispering into his ear, Discord moved away from Oliver as he then felt one of Rainbow Dash’s hooves gently wrapping around his neck as she smiled at him.
“Well what do you say, buddy?” Rainbow asked happily.
Oliver tried to decide whether to say yes or no to their offer, he didn’t know what Flurry Heart would do if he goes to Ponyville with them. She would miss him and cry everyday for him. He was about to swart when Vincent spoke up.
“Hey, what do we always say when it comes to deciding, buddy?” He then took out the coin from his inside pocket of his purple jacket and showed to him. “The coin, decides your choose.”
He turned his left hand into a fist while placing the coin on top of the fist, and then said, “Heads, you go with them. Tails, you stay here.”
Oliver simply nodded as Vincent then flips the coin, let’s it flip up then opened his hand as the coin flips down and lands into his hand as he then closes his hand. Oliver looks at Vincent’s hand to see what side of the coin it landed on, Vincent then opened his hand to reveal the coin has landed on heads.
Oliver then turned to look at Twilight as he smiled and said, “I’d love to come back with you.”
Hearing that made Twilight, Spike and the girls smiled with happiness.
With all that said and done, Oliver was now in his room packing everything he needs to stay at his aunt’s place. He was speaking in a different language as he was using a spell to shrink his things and placing them in one suitcase.
After placing everything he needs in the suitcase, he then closed his suitcase with his magic and placed it into his back as he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him and making his way to the throne room.
In the throne, the mane eight, Spike, Ocellus, Trixie, Shining, Cadence with Flurry Heart in her right hoof, Vincent, Constantine and Sunburst are in the throne waiting for Oliver to arrive with his things ready to go. The two sisters, Discord, Thorax and Ocellus left just a couple of minutes ago since they’re not returning to Ponyville with them.
They then saw the throne room doors open as Oliver walked towards them with his suitcase on his back. Rainbow then flew towards him and she kindly ask, “Hey buddy, all ready to go to Ponyville?”
“Sure am, Rainbow.” That was all he said as he then saw Flurry Heart, in Cadence’s right hoof still, reaching out to him while cooing and giggling as she wants to give him a goodbye hug.
Oliver smiled as he walked towards his mother and letted Flurry Heart hugged him around the neck.
“Oh I’m gonna miss you too, Flurry Heart. But I will come visit, I promise,” he said to his little baby sister as he then felt a tap on his shoulder by Cadence.
“Hey, where’s our goodbye hugs?” Cadence teased as she opened her hoofs out ready for her goodbye hug.
Oliver placed Flurry Heart onto his head as he then hugged both Shining and Cadence, they both then kissed Oliver on the cheeks as Cadence then placed Flurry Heart on her back with her magic.
“You have fun in Ponyville, sweetheart. And you listen to what your Aunt Twilight tells you and stay safe, okay?”
“I will, Mom.”
“Well if we’re all ready,” Pinkie said while bouncing, “Let’s head to the train station and go straight to Ponyville!” She was about to bounce to the doors when she was stopped by Constantine’s Voice.
“Nah-uh,” he said, “I’m not letting you lot take a long trip back by train.”
Constantine magically made a tiny dark golden cube appear in his right hand as he began to cause a magical Portal spell in a different language, he then put his hands together, causing the tiny cube to now glow in his hands as he opened them making the dark golden grasp shoot out and made a Portal gate to Ponyville in front of them.
The girls and Spike were all in shock mode after seeing what Constantine just did, they were speechless.
“Huh. And Trixie thought her tricks were super cool,” said Trixie.
The rest of the girls and Spike, including Starlight, all moaned as they’re so sick and tired of hearing Trixie say things like that. Oliver however was confuse on why they all moaned at Trixie.
“Well, looks like we’re skipping the train then,” Applejack said after they all finish moaning.
“Sure does,” Said Twilight happily before walking to the Portal and going through it to Ponyville, they all went through one by one so there won’t be any problems going through it.
Oliver was the last pony to leave, but before he went through the portal, he looked behind him to see his family and Constantine one last time before he left. They all gave him a wave goodbye, so did Vincent and Sunburst, which made Oliver smile as he then wave him a goodbye as he went through the portal to Ponyville.
Constantine closed the portal with his magic so that nopony else can go through it.
“Oh I bet our big boy’s gonna have fun in Ponyville with his new aunt and friends,” Cadence said with a smile.
Meanwhile in Ponyville, after the girls, Spike and Oliver went through the portal, they were walking towards Twilight’s castle so Oliver can place his things before starting his first day in Ponyville.
Oliver was looking around Ponyville while walking to the castle, he was amazed by how beautiful the town was, with all the houses, shops and flowers too.
However, because he was looking around, he didn’t see where he was going and accidentally bumped into somepony.
“Sorry about that,” Oliver said kindly as he rubbed his forehead after the bump, “Didn’t see you there.”
After rubbing his forehead, he saw that the pony he bumped into was an stallion that was light azureish gray with dark grayish azure mane, tail and tiny beard on his chin, and was wearing a tiny dark red cloak for he was the chancellor of the EEA, his name was Neighsay. He looked angrily at Oliver as he wasn’t gonna accept his apology.
“I should jolly well hope you are,” he said angrily to him, “Have you no respect for others? I am a chancellor, and I do not wish to be bumped by ponies that don’t look where they are going.”
After hearing what he just said, made Oliver angry as well.
“Hey I’ve just said I was sorry! What more do you want? And I do respect others around here, even those that I haven’t met yet. Besides, you didn’t fell into mud or anything. And I didn’t see you coming so it’s not my fault you were standing there like a statue.”
“Oliver!” Said Twilight who was calling to him in a friendly singing-tone.
“Coming, Aunt Twilight!” Oliver called back as he began to walk to them while not looking back at Neighsay. Making sure he didn’t hear a word, he whispered to himself, “Maybe he doesn’t respect other ponies and cares about himself and what he thinks.”
Neighsay watched Oliver walking towards the girls and Spike, he then rubbed his beard with his left hoof while thinking.
“So, that teenage alicorn is the nephew of the Princess of Friendship, eh?” He then grew a big evil grin on his face.
“That could come in hoofy with my plan to shut the School of Friendship, once and for all!”
With that said, he opened up a portal with his magic and jump into it before it closed behind him while nopony‘s watching, not even the mane eight, Spike or Oliver.
Twilight, Spike, the girls and Oliver continued their walk towards Twilight’s castle as they walked along the path, they were now entering the center of Ponyville, as they got closer, it didn’t take them too long to reach the castle since the portal was in the middle of the Ponyville Park that was quite close to the castle.
They were now entering the center of Ponyville, as they got closer, Oliver saw what appeared to be a gigantic crystal tree-like castle, it was shiny, had two balconies, a flag, and it had a giant star like statue on the top and behind this weird tree was some kind of a pond or lake with beautiful waterfalls.
Oliver looked at the castle in amazed as he never saw a castle like that before.
“Aunt Twilight,” he began, “Your castle, looks so cool, and shiny too!”
Twilight giggled before saying, “Wait till you see the inside of it, sweetie.”
She opened the castle doors with her magic and walked inside with her new nephew, Spike and the girls following behind her.
Oliver was now double amazed as he saw the inside of the castle, it was so shiny, crystal style and has many rooms like any big castle or mansion would have.
After looking around the castle, Twilight walked Oliver to his room so he can place his things so he doesn’t have to carry them the whole day.
Once they reached to the door of Oliver’s new room, Twilight opened it with her magic and letted her nephew to go and place his things in his new room.
After a couple of minutes of placing Oliver’s things away in his new room, the two went back to the girls and Spike who were waiting in the throne room for them and Twilight then said,
“Alright girls, oh, and boys.” Oliver and Spike snickered at that pit before Twilight continued, “Now that Oliver’s finish unpacking in his new room, who’s ready to go out for dinner?”
The girls and Spike all nodded as a yes, as Pinkie nodded very quickly since she’s hyper after all, but Oliver looked at his aunt in confusion.
“You lot, are going out for dinner tonight?”
“Mmhmm,” Twilight answered, “Me, Spike and the girls do this every Friday as a special treat to our favourite restaurant in Ponyville. But we also want you to come along as well.”
“Me?” He said, “You want me to come with you?”
“Of course darling,” Rarity said as she trotted to him, “We want you to have the best first visit to Ponyville in your life. Besides, you’ll love our favourite restaurant.”
Sunset Shimmer then walked towards Oliver as she gently placed her right hoof around Oliver’s neck before saying, “So, what do you say? Wanna come with us?”
Oliver thought about it, he couldn’t have Vincent to flip for it cos he’s not with him. But his aunt and her friends are so nice to him, he figured it would be best to actually go out for dinner with them.
So he smiled at the girls and said, “I’d like to come.”
They all smiled as they were glad he agreed to come with them for dinner in their favourite restaurant. So with nothing else left to say, they all walked out of the castle and headed towards the girls and Spike’s favourite restaurant in Ponyville.
But as they walked out of the castle, none of them notice a racist pony with an evil grin behind the castle was spying on them. Neighsay’s horn was glowing as he was collecting information about Oliver by magically reading his mind of his past. His horn then stopped glowing as he then said, “That’s all I needed to know.”
He then magically teleported away while letting out an evil chuckle as it echoed across Ponyville but nopony heard it.
It began to get a little dark outside since it was about to be nighttime soon, but the girls, Oliver and Spike manage to reach the restaurant they were going to for dinner.
“Well,” began Starlight Glimmer, “Here it is, Oliver. Our favourite restaurant in Ponyville. The Friendship Telstar. We named after helping the ponies out to make this.”
Oliver looked at the restaurant in amazed, it was colourful with pics of the mane six’s cutie marks since they’re the wielders of the Elements of Harmony.
“Come on you two!” Sunset called out to them, “We’re about to go in!”
The two start to catch up with them as they went inside the restaurant. Inside the restaurant, there was a music stage, a view of the streets of Ponyville, thousands of tables filled with ponies eating their meals, the kitchen was on the left side with lots of good smelling dishes and nearly by the doors was a stand with a well smart dressed brown pony with black mane and tail standing behind it.
“Good evening, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” He said in a kind way, “And how many are with you tonight then?”
“Just me, my friends, Spike and my new nephew.”
The pony nodded before saying, “Of course, Princess. Follow me to your table.”
The pony led them to a table with ten chairs and was eight tables away from the stage, they all each took a seat. Oliver sat next to Twilight, Rainbow sat next to Applejack, Rarity sat next to Fluttershy, Pinkie sat next to Spike and Sunset sat next to Starlight.
“The waiter will be here to take your orders soon,” the pony said.
“Thank you,” Twilight said before the pony walked back to the stand so the ponies and dragon can look at the menus to decide what to have.
After five minutes of deciding what to have, the waiter came to them.
“Hello ponies, may I take your order?” She asked happily.
“Yes please,” Said Twilight, “I’ll have the spaghetti with unsweetened iced tea please.”
“I’ll have the same drink as hers with an omelette please,” Rarity said.
“I'll have a Dr. Hopper with an omelette,” Said Rainbow.
“I'll have a spaghetti with a root beer please,” Pinkie said.
“Ah'll have an roasted daffodil sub with a strawberry lemonade,” Applejack Said.
“I'll have a Marite with a salad please,” Said Fluttershy.
“I’ll have the same food drink as Twilight,” Sunset Said.
“Same,” Said Starlight after that.
“And what about you two boys?” she asked kindly after writing the girls’ orders.
“I’ll have a medium pizza with extra gems and a drink of water please,” Spike Said.
“Same, but with a large pizza with extra cheese please,” Said Oliver since he was the last one to order.
After writing down the two boys’ orders on her notepad, she then said, “Alrighty, I’ll be right back with your orders.” She then walked off.
A couple of minutes later while the girls, Oliver and Spike were talking to each other, the lights suddenly went out, and a sudden spotlight flashed down on the stage at the front end of the room, a curtain parted and out came a stallion with a microphone.
“Good evening everypony,” He said through the microphone, “And welcome to another Friday night, as you all know by now my name is Braeburn from Appleloosa, and tonight, as always, we are going to see if anypony knows some good song music.” Everyone in the restaurant then applauded and cheered.
“Who’s Braeburn?” Asked Oliver in confusion. He then felt a tap on his shoulder which was done by Applejack.
“Oliver, another reason why we come here every Friday, is because of him.”
“But why him though?”
Applejack Just chuckled before answering again, “He’s my cousin that’s why.”
“Really?”
“Eeyep.”
Suddenly two more spotlights shined down on stage, "Okay music light, choose which pony to sing to us tonight." Braeburn said, the two extra spotlights started roaming around the restaurant until they stopped on Oliver.
"You, come on down here."
Oliver had never really sang on stage before his life, this was his first time doing it, plus he does have a song he enjoys singing a lot. He then felt butterflies in his stomach as he walked up towards the stage everypony in the restaurant applauded, including Twilight and her friends.
“Welcome to tonight's Friday music, dude,” Said Braeburn to Oliver kindly.
“Thanks.”
“So what’s your name?”
“I’m Oliver Sparkle.”
“So nice to meet you, Oliver. First time here in Ponyville?”
“Sure is.”
“Do you have a song you would like to sing to us?”
“Well, I do have one song I enjoy singing all the time.”
"Well let's hear it." Braeburn said applauding with everypony in the restaurant.
Oliver cleared his throat as he began to sing the song he always enjoy singing towards to the crowd.
After singing the crowd all cheered and applauded as Oliver then took a bow and went to his table.
“Woooo!!!!” Rainbow Dash shouted with joy, “Oliver, that was so awesome!”
“Yeah, when you learn that song?” Applejack asked.
“Well, when John was teaching me how to do magic, I kind of sang this song while learning and I just enjoy singing while learning,” replied Oliver.
“Well you did great out there sweetie,” Twilight said gently wrapping her right hoof around Oliver’s shoulder, “You should be proud of yourself as we’re proud of you.”
“Thanks Twilight,” Oliver Said happily.
Just then the waiter came back with their meals, along with other waiters helping her carry their meals. As they lay out the meals, they all began to eat.
Meanwhile at Canterlot, inside the prison cells, the two child abuse orphanage owners Mr and Mrs Warlock were in their prison cell, feeling feed up and angry as Mr Warlock walked back and forth while Mrs Warlock was sitting on the bottom bed of the double decker bed.
“Ugh!” Shouted Mr Warlock angrily, “It’s been seven months since we’ve been here and I’m getting feed up of being here!”
“Me too,” agreed Mrs Warlock, “Oh how I wish I could get my hooves on that brat! He deserves punishment after what he did to us!”
Just then a voice appeared, “That’s right. You two don’t deserve this.”
Mr and Mrs Warlock looked around to find whose voice was it.
“Who said that?” Asked Mrs Warlock.
But the voice didn’t answer, just continued to speak, “How would you two like be out of prison right now, and give it a chance to get revenge on that alicorn brat that brought you here?”
Mr and Mrs Warlock were in shock after hearing that, how did this strange voice know about the alicorn brat that ran away from them months ago.
“Who, who are you?” Asked Mr Warlock as both him and his wife looked out of their cell.
The pony that said all those things came out from the darkness to reveal Chancellor Neighsay who had an evil grin on his face. “I am Chancellor Neighsay, the head chancellor of the EEA.”
“And how do you know about that alicorn brat?” Mrs Warlock asked.
“I’ve been spying on him after bumping into him today,” he replied, “And he became part of my plan to shut down Twilight’s School of Friendship once and for all. But I need help from you two.”
The two looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Neighsay as he walked slowly to their cell.
“Look,” he began again, “You two want revenge, I want revenge. We can work together and have revenge together. And if Twilight refuses to shut down her school, you can take the alicorn away and give him all the punishment you want to give him without having his adopted-parents getting in your way.”
He then slowly slided his head through the prison bars and his evil grin got bigger and bigger. “Interested?”
Mr and Mrs Warlock both now have evil grins on their faces as they nodded as a yes.
It was now midnight in Ponyville, and everypony was walking or flying back to their houses to get some shut eye, Twilight along with Spike, Sunset, Starlight & Oliver were walking back to Twilight’s castle.
“I have to say, that was the best night ever!” Cheered Spike happily.
“You said it, Spike. Even with that cool song Oliver sung on stage,” said Sunset making Oliver blush.
Oliver just giggled before saying, “Thanks, Sunset.”
They finally made it back to Twilight’s castle, just as Twilight opened the doors with her magic and they all went inside, they all let out a big yawn.
“Well I guess we should all go to bed now,” Starlight said letting out another yawn.
“I agree,” Said a tired Twilight, “Goodnight Starlight, Sunset, Spike and Oliver.”
“Goodnight Twilight,” Starlight, Sunset and Spike said in unison.
“Goodnight Aunt Twilight,” Said Oliver.
After saying goodnight to each other, they all went to their bedrooms, brushed their teeth, went straight to bed and fell asleep under Luna’s full moon.
Meanwhile outside the castle just round the back, Neighsay and the married Warlocks were sneaking towards the castle.
“Alright you two, remember the plan?” Neighsay asked.
The two nodded as it made Neighsay grew an evil grin on his face.
“Good.”
He magically made a ladder so the two climb onto the outside castle cliff, sneak into the castle, find Oliver and kidnap him.
“Alright,” began Neighsay, “I’ll stay here and keep an eye out. The boy’s bedroom should be four doors down the hall on the right.”
The two nodded as they began to climb the ladder one by one to kidnap the alicorn that escaped them a long time ago.
Meanwhile, in the streets of Ponyville, John Constantine was walking towards Twilight’s castle with his hands in his trouser pockets.
“Just one quick check on the lad,” he said to himself, “It wouldn’t hurt a bit to see how he’s doing, Cadence did ask me to check on him anyway.”
As John continue to walk towards the castle, he then stopped and had a shock look on his face as he saw what was going on at the castle. He saw Neighsay near a ladder, looking around making sure nopony sees what he’s doing. When he saw John, he grew a shock and worried look on his face as he has been spotted by a creature he’d never seen before.
“Uh-oh.”
John then ran towards the castle as Neighsay quickly shouted quietly to the married couple, “You two better hurry up! We’ve been spotted!”
John ran towards the castle doors as he magically opened up a portal through the castle so he can go through the doors without knocking or opening them himself as it then closed after he went through it.
Mr and Mrs Warlock had Oliver in their shack as he was kicking inside trying to get out while the two walked their way out of his room before John saw them after running towards the hall Oliver’s room was in.
“Oliver!” He shouted as it made the married couple look at him as they knew they were spotted.
The two then made a ran for it as Constantine ran after them, and the sound of the running footsteps was loud that it woke Twilight up as she was walking towards the hall way rubbing her left eye and then letting out a yawn.
“What’s going on in here?”
After rubbing her eye, she saw Oliver’s bedroom door was open as she then saw Constantine chasing two ponies with a shack.
Twilight let out a gasp of shock before saying, “Oliver!”
She starts running towards the two ponies to save her nephew. “Stop! Foalnappers!”
The two ponies ran as fast as they can with the shack on Mr Warlock’s back as they head towards the outside cliff of the castle. They turned their heads round while still running as they saw that Twilight and Constantine were catching up to them.
The two reached to the castle cliff in time as they jumped off and landed safely on the ground where Neighsay was waiting for them. But they weren’t safe for long as Twilight and Constantine jumped off and landed safely on the ground as they ran up to try to catch the married ponies, but they jumped before they could catch them and went straight into the portal that Neighsay opened up in time for their escape.
Twilight and Constantine landed on the ground on their fronts with a bump as they didn’t caught the two in time. They let out a gasp as they saw they went through the portal, then they glared angrily at Neighsay.
“What did you do with my nephew?” Asked Twilight angrily.
Neighsay just grinned evilly at Twilight before saying, “Sorry it had to be this. Princess.”
Neighsay then jumped into the portal as it then closed before Twilight and Constantine could catch up with him.
Both John and Twilight had a shock and worried looks on their faces after what had happened.
“Oh no,” Constantine said.
“Cadence and Shining ain’t gonna be happy about this,” Said Twilight now feeling more worried on what her brother and sister in law is gonna say about this.
The next morning, Twilight was in the cutie map room with Spike, Sunset, Starlight, the mane five, Shining, Cadence, Flurry Heart, Constantine, Vincent and the royal sisters explaining what has happened last night.
Flurry Heart was whimpering in Cadence’s right hoof as she hugged her in comfort as she knew she wanted to see her brother again. Shining, on the other hoof, was angry after hearing what Twilight had said, not at Twilight but at Neighsay and the two ponies she also mentioned.
“I tried my best to save him, Shiny. They got away before we could get to them,” Said Twilight as she thought her brother was angry at her for letting Oliver get kidnapped. But, truth to be told, he hugged her before saying,
“It’s not your fault, Twily. You tried your hardest.” He then stopped hugged her. “But I am angry at Neighsay for what he did. And when I get my hooves on him, he’ll be sorry for kidnapping our son and what he and those orphanage ponies will do to him.”
“Wait,” began Rainbow Dash, “Orphanage ponies?”
“You mean to say that those two other ponies Twilight described were the orphanage ponies Oliver was talking about yesterday?!” Shouted Applejack in shock.
Constantine answered Applejack before anypony else could, “Afraid so, Applejack. We still remember who they were before they were sent to prison, and before trying to take Oliver away when he was young.”
“Un-believable,” Said Sunset angrily.
“But why did Neighsay break those two out of prison and kidnap Oliver?” Asked Spike. “Do you think this has something to do with reopening the school of Friendship and having other creatures into the school?”
“I don’t know,” answered Twilight, “But we can figure that out later, right now we need to save Oliver and make sure those orphanage ponies get sent back to prison.”
“But the EEA place is over-protective,” Rarity said, “It’ll be hard for us to find it, even by teleport. It’ll take days or hours to find it.”
“That may be true,” Said Constantine, “The EEA place you speak of might be able to keep you lot, Celestia and other royal creatures away from getting in.” He grew a grin on his face. “But not from me.”
Constantine placed his hands together as he closed his eyes and said some magic words in a different language as golden grasp appeared around his hands. Once he had finish saying the magic words and open his hands out, a ball of golden grasp shot out from his right hand and opened a portal, near the doors, to the inside of the EEA place.
The girls, Spike, Shining, Cadence, Flurry Heart and the royal sisters were now in shock as they can’t believe what they just saw by Constantine.
“That was amazing,” Starlight said, “I’m actually quite jealous.”
Constantine smiled at what Starlight just said.
“Come on,” Said Twilight, “There’s no time to lose, Oliver needs our help.”
“We’ll stay here with Flurry Heart and make sure she stays safe,” Shining said.
“I’ll stay here as well, just to be sure they don’t return and do something to the rest of the family,” Said Vincent.
The girls, Spike, the royal sisters and Constantine nodded in understood, knowing that this mission would be too risky for Flurry Heart to handle.
“Let’s go,” Constantine said as they all went through the portal to rescue Oliver.
Meanwhile, in the EEA place, Oliver was trying to break the cell open by charging towards it and banging it with his right elbow hoof while Neighsay and the married ponies were outside the cell watching him with grins on their faces.
“Just let me out of this cell this instant!” He shouted at them as he had enough of this, “You know exactly what’s coming to you!”
“Indeed I do,” Said Neighsay evilly, “Once Twilight has thought it over, she’ll have to shut down her school of Friendship for me to set you free.”
Oliver was in shock mode after hearing what Neighsay just said, then he grew an angry look on his face before saying,
“That’s it? That’s why you kidnapped me? TO FORCE MY AUNT TO SHUT DOWN HER SCHOOL THAT I WAS NEVER TOLD ABOUT?! I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!”
“Oh it does actually,” Mr Warlock said as he then stuck his head through the bars of the cell. “You see, we helped him kidnap you cause we made a deal with him. If Twilight doesn’t shut down her school by the time she had thought about it, then me and my wife can take you away and give you all the punishments we have in mind, for sending us in prison for all these years.”
“You’ve treated me like trash before I ran away!”
“We gave you some food to eat though,” Mrs Warlock said.
“That wasn’t even treating me well! And besides you gave me food that was out of date and even tiny pieces of food that even filled me up a bit! And all I wanted was to have a family!”
“Well, now you have, and look at what has happened to us,” Mrs Warlock said crossly.
After hearing everything, Neighsay felt a knock in his head, he feels like he’s doing the wrong thing and breaking out two ponies that were abusing a child years ago was a bad idea. He now feels terrible and knew he should never have done this in the first place.
“What have I done?” He thought to himself, “I’ve broken two ponies out of prison that were nothing but child abusers all for what, to shut down a school cause Twilight letted other creatures attend to it.”
His thoughts were then stopped by Oliver’s voice.
“At least Cadence treats children well and kindly. Unlike YOU TWO!”
Mr Warlock grew very angry and punched Oliver really hard, he flew backwards to the bed and landed on the floor with his nose now bleeding.
Neighsay saw and heard enough, he knows he had to make this right and turn over a new leaf.
“Alright, that’s enough now,” he said to the married ponies, “Let’s just go to our rooms and see which choose Twilight will make tomorrow, then you can give him the punishments you want if she said no.”
The two ponies nodded as they went to the door that was on the right as Neighsay followed them. While walking, Neighsay turned his head round to see the cell that Oliver was in and then said in his head,
“I’ll make this right. No more saying that other creatures in Equestria are dangerous and should never attend to any schools. Time to fix my mistake.”
It was now nighttime in Equestria and at the EEA place. Oliver was lying on his prison cell bed, not asleep, but sad as he misses his family, his new aunt, his new friends and Constantine. He wished he’d never gotten into this mess with Neighsay and the two orphanage abusers.
He let out a few tears come out of his eyes as they landed on the floor making a tiny little poodle of tears.
He then heard the cell doors opening as he turned his head to the right to see what was going on.
“What are you doing?” He asked to the pony who opened the cell.
The pony walked out of the darkness to reveal it was Neighsay who opened the cell.
In the EEA hallway with many rooms, the mane eight, the royal sisters, Spike and Constantine were walking along trying to find Oliver so they can rescue him.
“Alright I’ll ask,” Rainbow Said, “Why are we looking through each doors of the EEA place instead of using a tracking spell to find Oliver?”
“It’s because this place is magic prod and protective,” answered Twilight, “One small little spell will set everything off, and we’ll all be caught. Do you wanna be caught if we tried a tracking spell?”
Rainbow shook his head in response.
“Then we must keep magic spells away so we don’t get caught,” Twilight said as they continued on.
All of a sudden, they heard a door open sound behind them. They all turned to see that one of the doors on the left is opening, then out pops a head of Neighsay as he looked round to see if it’s all cleared. He then walked slowly out of the room as he then heard Constantine’s voice.
“There you are, you pony kidnapper!”
Constantine ran towards Neighsay as he grabbed him around the neck and pinned him to the wall on the right as Neighsay started to cough from the strangle Constantine was giving him.
“Alright you! Where, is, he?!” Constantine asked angrily as his left hand began to glow dark golden grasp ready to attack.
Neighsay tried to say something, but with Constantine holding his neck tightly, he was unable to say it clearly so they can hear him.
“We’re gonna ask you one last time, and you better answer us,” said an angrily Celestia as she walked towards Neighsay, “Where are you holding Oliver Sparkle?”
Neighsay, still being choked, was going to try to say something, but then a voice came the opened door,
“Constantine?”
The girls, Spike, the sisters and Constantine looked towards the opened right sided door to see Oliver was standing there, looking confuse at what was going on.
Twilight then let out a gasp of happiness.
“Oliver!” Shouted Twilight happily as she ran to him and hugged him as he hugged her back. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”
“But how?” Constantine asked as he then let go of Neighsay as he hit the floor with a thump. “How did you get out?”
Oliver pointed to Neighsay.
“He opened the cell I was in, and was trying to help me escape.”
They all turned to look at Neighsay.
“Is this true, Neighsay?” Asked Celestia in both curious and angry tone. “Did you help Oliver escape, after you’ve kidnapped him with two orphanage owners that've been abusing before he got adopted by Cadence?”
“Yeah and no lies,” Applejack warned him in a serious tone.
“I wanted to fix to my mistakes,” said Neighsay as he got up, “After what happened with Cozy Glow a few years back, I’ve now realise I was wrong about the creatures and did the wrong thing of leaving without even thanking them and realising that not all creatures are a threat. Even after what happened a few minutes earlier with Oliver and the Warlocks, once I’ve heard what they said and did to him, I now know that I got to do what was right so I waited for the right moment and helped Oliver escape.”
They then turned to look at Oliver to see if Neighsay was telling the truth.
“Did he really break you out so he can turn over a new leaf, Oliver?” Celestia asked.
“Yeah and no....” Before Applejack could finish repeating her sentence, everypony, including Spike and Constantine, glared at her as they didn’t want her to think Oliver was planning on lying to them.
Oliver nodded before saying,
“He told me everything about what made he become a bad pony and why he was breaking me out after kidnapping me, and I just believed him.”
“And please believe me when I say this to you, Princess Twilight,” Said Neighsay as he walked to Twilight before continuing. “I am truly sorry for what I did. I was wrong about the creatures being a threat to Equestria and should never attend to any schools. And I should have trusted them after they rescued me from Cozy Glow’s chains. Please forgive me, Princess.”
After listening to what he just said, Twilight knew he was truly sorry and wanted to make things right, so she placed a hoof on his right shoulder and said,
“Yes, I will forgive you, Neighsay. But you also got to apologise to Shining and Cadence as well for kidnapping Oliver, help us put the Warlocks back in prison where they belong, and I think some other creatures will need an apology from you too.”
Neighsay nodded in understood.
“I will, Princess Twilight. I must pay for the actions I did from the past and today, and I’ll make sure I’ll do that. Let’s go back to your castle so I can apologise to Oliver’s parents before we deal with the Warlocks.”
“I believe that’s a good idea,” agreed Twilight.
The girls, the sisters, Spike, Constantine, Oliver and Neighsay all began to walk towards the exit so they can return to Twilight’s castle.
Just then, a female voice can be heard from behind as it made them stop in their tracks.
“Going somewhere?”
They all turned to see that behind them were Mr and Mrs Warlock walking towards them with evil grins on their faces.
“Uh-Oh,” Pinkie Pie Said in shock, “We're in big trouble now.”
“No oranges, Sherlock,” Said Sunset in annoyance.
The two orphanage abusers stopped at five metres away from the ponies, dragon and human before Mr Warlock spoke.
“Well well well, so it seems that you decided to turn your back on us after breaking us out of prison and said we can have the boy if the Princess still refuses to close down her school.”
Neighsay grew an angry look on his face.
“The only reason I switched sides is because of the way you treated the boy when he was in the cell! It made me remember how I treated the creatures after rescuing me from Cozy Glow’s chains but in a different way.”
He then got closer to the abusers as he continued,
“But I have now seen the error of my ways and decided to make things right. Starting with returning this boy back to his family, and then putting you two back where you belong.”
“Like that’s ever gonna happen,” Said Mrs Warlock with an evil grin.
“What do you mean?” Asked Starlight confused.
“You’re forgetting that I still got my horn since your human friend there only broke my husband’s horn months ago and not my,” she said as her horn started to glow ready to attack, “And I’ve been practicing some new magic tricks so that I’m ready if we got out of prison one day.”
“Oh that’s not good,” Spike said in shock.
“And you’re the first one to get, alicorn escaper!” Mrs Warlock shouted.
Oliver gulped as he didn’t know what to do or how to escape.
And before anypony could do anything, Mrs Warlock made a big magic laser beam towards Oliver as it made a big line across the floor as Oliver then closes his eyes and open his wings out. The magic beam made a big explosion where he was standing making smoke come out of it.
Everypony in the room starting coughing as the smoke faded away, as soon as they finish coughing and opened their eyes, they all had shock faces and gasped as they saw that Oliver wasn’t there anymore to where the beam made that explosion.
They tried their best not to believe it, but they all believe that the magic beam has killed Oliver Sparkle.
“Oliver! OLIVER!” Twilight shouted as she couldn’t believe at what just happened.
The Warlocks grew an evil look on their faces as they began to laugh evilly and quietly as they finally got rid of Oliver. But their evil laughter didn’t last long, as Rainbow Dash flew towards Mrs Warlock and backed her to a wall as she then shoved her angry face into her face.
“HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!” She shouted angrily, “YOU WERE ORPHANAGE OWNERS! YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO HELP HOMELESS CHILDREN GET A NEW HOME NOT RUIN SOME OF THEIR LIFES! OLIVER ONLY WANTED A NEW FAMILY AND A PLACE TO CALL HOME AND YOU TWO RUINED HIS LIFE AND KILLED HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES! NOT ONLY THAT BUT YOU ALSO MADE TWILIGHT CRY!”
She then pointed to Twilight crying as she couldn’t believe that her first new nephew was gone as Celestia comforted her.
“IN FACT, HE WAS STILL ALIVE AND DODGED YOUR STUPID BLAST, HE WOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING IF HE HAD FLEW UP TO THE CEILING TO DODGE YOUR ATTACK!”
“Uh, Rainbow Dash?” Said a voice from above.
“YEAH SOMETHING LIKE TH.... Wait a minute.”
The girls, Spike, Constantine, Neighsay, the royal sisters and the Warlocks all look up and saw that Oliver was flying above them as he looked down left and right and then looked at his wings flapping as he was confuse on how he manage to fly without any lessons yet even after that many years of not able to fly at all.
“And you’re flying!” Rainbow Said in amazed as she moved away from Mrs Warlock and flew back to the girls.
“Yeah but I don’t know how that happened though,” he said in confusion as he then carefully landed his hooves on the ground next to Twilight and Celestia. “I haven’t tried flying or had any flying lessons ever since I was at that orphanage, got adopted and enjoyed my new life.”
“If I’m fully correct,” Celestia said, “When Flurry Heart was born, she learned to fly very quickly before her Crystalling. So when you were at that orphanage, you didn’t learn to fly at all after what has happened to you there and after seeing some little Pegasus’s flying there, but the love and caring you’ve gotten from your new family and friends must have given you the strength to actually learn to fly without any lessons.”
Suddenly they heard a magic blast aiming towards them, but Celestia manage to dodge it, so did Twilight and Oliver as they flew up a bit, just as the blast busted the wall open. The three turned to see that Mrs Warlock did that blast again.
“It doesn’t matter HOW he was able to fly now! What matters is that you’re all still gonna pay for everything, as well as him for ruining our lives!” She shouted as she casted another blast from her horn.
“Over our dead bodies!” Shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Look out!” Neighsay shouted as they all jumped different side ways to dodge the blast as it hit the ground causing a dust circle to appear.
They all got up, well some but the others that did get up helped them to get up, so did Oliver as he rubbed the back of his head before looking towards the Warlocks and said,
“Gone, gone, the form....”
Oliver couldn’t finish his sentence in time as Mr Warlock grabbed him around the neck with his right hoof making him unable to speak as he began to cough from the strangle and tried to get Mr Warlock to let go of him, but it was no use.
Mrs Warlock then walked up to them with an angry grin on her face.
“This time we're gonna take care of you. Literally.” She said cruelly as her horn began to glow ready to cast a spell.
Constantine, who manage to get up in time, saw what was going on with the Warlocks and Oliver. He then hold out his hand, began to speak in a different language to cast a spell as his hand then glowed dark golden grasp and then turned his hand into a fist while still glowing the grasp.
The dark golden grasp then went around Oliver’s body, making him stop coughing and letted out a grin towards the Warlocks as both him and Constantine then said,
“Gone, gone, the form of pony.”
The grasp faded away as Oliver finished the sentence by himself, “Arise the demon, Ink Bendy!”
Oliver’s body turned into a inky form as it splatted away revealing a malformed, skeletal figure with skin covered in black ink resembling tar, a head highly resembles that of Bendy, but the top area of his head is melted while obscuring his eyes and the horns are slightly more curved and pointed. His toothy cheshire grin, with sketch-like shadings while shaking constantly. The front and back of his head are fairly flat. His spine is slightly crooked or curved. His slightly hunched back also sports spiky-looking spines for demonic features. Endless ink streams down from him. His left arm is slightly longer than his right, looking thinner and less human, with oversized white glove. His right hand appears a bit smaller and more human-like than a glove. His feet are also mismatched; his right foot faintly resembles that of a human, while the left is just a lump-covered disease-like stump, which gives him a limp and has a bowtie close to the middle of his chest.
Mr and Mrs Warlock were now in shock and scared as Mr Warlock letted go of Ink Bendy’s neck, still Oliver inside the form, and then stood up while looking down at the two since he was taller than them.
“E-easy now, kiddo,” Mrs Warlock said trying to escape from getting hurt from the Ink demon, “We didn’t really mean to do all of this to you.” She laughed nervously.
“Y-yeah, we were just fooling around with the, ‘Nopony will ever adopt you!’ thing,” said Mr Warlock who also laughed nervously, “Let’s just take it easy and maybe, let us go?”
The two smiled nervously at Ink Bendy hoping he’ll let them go free.
But Ink Bendy wasn’t having it as he then let out an gurgling roar at them making them jump backwards and then they started to shake in scared.
“Run!” They both said as they began to turn around and started to run to the door behind them as fast as they can.
But they didn’t run that far as Ink Bendy manage to grab hold of their tails before they could even make a run for it and then threw them to the left side of him to the ground as they slid across the floor towards an angry looking Celestia as she looked down at them.
This made them flint and scared as they knew what was gonna happen to them now.
“Mr and Mrs Warlock,” Celestia began to speak, “You two are under arrest for child abuse, kidnapped Oliver and tried to kill him.”
“But But But what about Neighsay?!” Mr Warlock asked.
“He has turned over a new leaf and will fix the trouble he caused. He doesn’t need to be arrest after what he said and tried to help Oliver escape.”
Celestia and Luna used their magic to teleport them back to their prison cells as Ink Bendy walked towards them and then placed his hands on the ground as the ink around covered his entire body and faded away to reveal Oliver in his pony form again.
Oliver rubbed some of the Ink off him as Rainbow Dash flew towards him with the most excited and happiness face she could ever make.
“THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!” She shouted excitedly, “I mean when Mr Warlock grabbed you by the neck and you couldn’t do anything to stop Mrs Warlock doing a dangerous spell on you and then you transformed into an inky creature and you were all ‘let’s see how you feel being treated like trash!” and then threw them towards Celestia so she and Luna can return them to their cells!” She then took a deep breath after speaking that much before asking, “How can you transform into that inky form anyway?”
“That was Ink Bendy, my Ink demon counterpart,” explained Oliver, “I’m half Ink demon and half pony.”
Twilight, Spike, the girls and Neighsay all listened to what Oliver was saying.
“After figuring out why my horn often draining ink when I was young, me and John both realise that I was born differently before I was at that orphanage. I can only transform into Ink Bendy when I say those words that John helped me to say when Mr Warlock grabbed my neck. And the reason why I didn’t tell you all this, was because I didn’t wanna scare anypony about it or use it for the wrong times and reasons, and get pick on for having ink draining out of my horn like I was some kind of ink pot for writers.”
He then looked down to the ground in shame for not telling his aunt and new friends about it. Twilight was the first to notice the sadness from him and went towards him to place a hoof on his shoulder in comfort.
“Oh honey,” said Twilight as Oliver then looked at her. “If you’re worried that we would be mad at you for not telling us about you being half Ink demon and half pony in the first place. Well we’re not. We understand why you didn’t wanna tell us about it when we first met.”
“Yeah kid,” Rainbow said as she flew towards the two, “We all get worried about what reactions we’ll get if we tell somepony what we’ve been hiding from them even when we first met, but there’s no reason to be too afraid to tell us your little secret.”
Pinkie bounced over to Oliver and whispered into his ear,
“Yeah, even Rainbow has a little secret of her own, which is that, she’s in love with Soarin, one of the WonderBolts.”
Rainbow blushed in embarrassment after hearing what Pinkie just said as Oliver and the others giggled even Constantine.
“Pinkie! Don’t embarrass me in front of everypony! Wait, how did you know my secret?”
“Oh just a lucky guess,” she said before giggling.
That was when Rainbow flew to Pinkie’s face with an angry grin as she knew what Pinkie meant by that.
“We're gonna have a talk about this when we get back.”
“Come on you lot,” said Constantine opening up a magical portal with his magic, “Let’s go back to Twilight’s castle. I’m sure Shining, Cadence and Flurry Heart are still waiting for us to returning with Oliver.”
They all nodded in agreement before they went through the portal one at a time as the portal then closed behind them.
Meanwhile back in Twilight’s castle, Flurry Heart and her parents were still in the throne room waiting for the girls, Spike, Constantine and the sisters to return home with Oliver safe and sound. Flurry Heart was still whimpering in Cadence’s hooves as she misses her big brother a lot.
“Oh don’t worry, Flurry Heart,” Said Cadence as she started to nuzzle her baby daughter in comfort, “I’m sure they’ll be back with your brother soon. I promise.”
And just after saying that, a portal opened in front of the doors as the mane eight, Spike, the sisters, Constantine, Oliver and Neighsay came out from it as the portal then closes behind them.
Flurry Heart saw Oliver and her whimpering suddenly turned into laughter as she was happy to see her big brother again and reached her hooves out to him wanting to give him a hug. Oliver then saw her little sister reaching out to him, he let out a smile as he walked over to her.
When he got to the throne Cadence was sitting in, Flurry Heart jumped out of her mother’s hooves and jumped onto Oliver giving him a big hug as he did the same to her.
Oliver hold Flurry Heart in his hooves before saying, “It’s good to see you again, Flurry Heart. I really did miss you after what happened.”
Flurry Heart kissed Oliver on the nose before Shining and Cadence walked towards them and joined the hug as Cadence nuzzled Oliver’s cheek.
“Oh Oliver,” Said Cadence as tears of joy began to roll down her faces, “I’m so glad you’re safe, we were so worried about you.” She then gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek before continuing the hug.
Then Shining and Cadence saw Neighsay near Celestia as they began to grow an angry look on their faces, broke the hug and went towards them as Cadence said, “As for you, child kidnapper!”
Neighsay grew a scared look on his face as the married couple got near him, he knew something like this might happen once they’ve returned to Twilight’s castle with Oliver safe and sound.
“Uh uh, can we talk about this?” Neighsay asked as he began to shake.
“After kidnapping our son?! No!” Answered Shining with a furious look on his face. “But now that you’re here, I’m literally gonna give you a piece of my mind!”
Shining raised his right hoof up as he was about to punch Neighsay in the face, but as he was about to strike, the voice of his son was heard.
“Dad! Wait!”
Shining placed his hoof down and looked at his son with Flurry Heart on his back, hiding behind Oliver’s head, probably because of Neighsay.
“Please! It’s not what you think. He may have kidnapped me, but he then turned over a new leaf and rescued me from The Warlocks with Aunt Twilight and the others.”
Shining and Cadence looked at each other confusedly before looking at Neighsay who had finally stopped shaking in fear.
“Is it true, Neighsay?” Shining asked confused and nicely but also seriously, “Is our son telling the truth about you helping him escape from The Warlocks after breaking them out kidnapping Oliver with them?”
Neighsay slowly nodded before answering,
“Yes, it’s true. I thought that if I kidnapped the boy, Twilight would have to shut down her school once and for all.” He looked down in shame before continuing,
“But after seeing how The Warlocks treated him, it reminded me how I treated those creatures that Twilight let into her school even after saving me from Cozy Glow’s chains. So I decided to turn over a new leaf and helped him escape, and I am, sorry for kidnapping your son.”
Shining and Cadence looked at each other again before nodding in agreement of something and turning to face Neighsay once more.
“Neighsay,” Cadence said, “You may have kidnapped our son. But you have also saved him from those horrible orphanage owners and decided to no longer have hatred over other creatures in Equestria. We forgive you.”
Neighsay looked at the married couple as he grew a smile on his face again since they actually forgive him as Twilight walked towards him.
“See, I told you Friendship always wins.”
“And I’m glad I decided to join it after everything I’ve done in the past.”
“And again,” Oliver began to question once more about the school, “What’s this school of Aunt Twilight’s you lot keep on mentioning? Nopony told me you lot run a school.”
The mane eight and Spike looked at each other as they realise they’ve never mention about the school of Friendship to him, but then they all smiled as they looked at Oliver and Twilight began to answer his question.
“Yes we do run a school, the school we run is called, The School of Friendship.”
“Oh, so you teach friendship at that school then.”
“That’s right Sugarcube,” Said Applejack as she wrapped a hoof around him, “We teach Friendship to everypony big and small, even different creatures.”
“Wow!” Oliver said in amazed.
“You’re so right Wow!” Pinkie jumped in, “We have six students in our school who saved the magic and the school from an evil filly named Cozy Glow, we’ll explain about her some other time, but as for the six students there’s a pony, a griffon, a yak, a dragon, a Changeling and a hippogriff who is also a seapony, we’ll explain about that some other time as well.”
“Oh that sounds really cool to teach Friendship to other creatures in Equestria,” Said Oliver.
“And while we were walking back to my castle after meeting you,” Twilight said as she walked towards her nephew, “We’ve been thinking about having you as another teacher to teach Friendship at our school.”
Oliver went into shock mode after hearing what his aunt just said, “Really?”
“Of course,” Said Sunset, “I’ve started teaching at the school of Friendship four months ago, and I’ve got use to teaching at school after being at a school myself. And I’ve been teaching students about villains can turn back to good again, it’s been good well than I thought it would.”
Rainbow flew towards before saying, “Well, what do you said bud?” She then gave him a gentle elbow punch, “Wanna join our school and teach Friendship to others?”
Oliver was thinking about it for a couple of seconds before answering,
“Well, there is one lesson I hope you wouldn’t mind me teaching.”
It’s been five days since Oliver started teaching at the School of Friendship, and to be honest he’s actually enjoying after his first day.
His lessons at the school was about imaginations, he was teaching students how to let their imaginations go wild and it can anything they want to think of, no matter how silly or crazy it can be.
His classroom was the same size as the other classrooms, with walls of dark purple, light purple floor, two windows and a brown door with a golden handle. There was also drawings of different designs on the walls, that’s because Oliver said that the students can either take their creative pictures home or stick them to the wall for other students to see.
It was now Friday afternoon, and the school bell just rang as the students began to tidy away and gather their things ready to go as Oliver spoke,
“Alright class, hope you enjoyed today. Remember to think of some character ideas for next week, cos we’ll be learning how to make comics with them.”
As all the students in the class walked out, Oliver was the only one left in the class as he cleaned his black board, packed his things into his bag, placed the bag on his back and walked out of his classroom closing the door behind him, and soon met up with his aunt, her friends and Spike, who were waiting for him, as they all walked towards the doors of the school, ready to return to their homes.
“So how was class today?” Asked Twilight.
“Oh the same as usual, but in a good way,” answered Oliver, “We’re planning on learning about making comics with our imaginative characters next week.”
“That sounds like fun!” Spike Said with excitement as he flew next to him, “Be sure to let me know when some of the comics are done. Fancy reading them myself.”
The girls and Oliver laughed after hearing what Spike just said, they all know that he was indeed a comic book fan since he’s been reading the Power Ponies comics.
At last, they reached the doors as Twilight opened them with her magic and they all walked out as Twilight closed the doors behind them.
“Well, might as well head back,” Said Applejack, “I’ll see y’all soon.” She then walked off back to her farm.
“Bye everypony,” Said Twilight, Spike, Sunset, Starlight and Oliver as they all walked back to the castle.
“Bye!” The rest of the girls shouted back as they all went their different ways and headed home.
Rainbow then remembered something as she flew back down to where Fluttershy was and said,
“Oh Fluttershy, forgot to warn you. That’s a storm coming tonight, so I think you should put all your animal friends to bed early.”
Fluttershy nodded before saying, “I’ll do that, Rainbow. Thanks for warning me.”
Rainbow smiled as she then flew off again to her home in cloudsdale in the skies while Fluttershy flew towards her cottage.
One hour has passed, and Fluttershy was putting his animal friends to bed early just before the storm came. She was glad the storm hadn’t started yet as she finish putting her bird friends to bed in their nests.
After putting Angel Bunny to bed, Fluttershy was on her way back to her cottage to get some sleep, but she stopped as soon as she heard a noise coming from outside. Making sure that she wasn’t just hearing things, she stood still and listened closely to what that noise could have been. It sounded like somepony was crying, and it sounded like a young pony as well.
Fluttershy decided to track down the sound of the crying pony and found herself right in front of the Everfree Forest, the most dangerous location in Equestria. Luckily for her, the crying wasn’t too deep in the forest, so she ventured into the forest, but not for long since the crying was close to some nearby trees. She looked behind one of those trees and was surprised at what she discovered.
It was a small Pegasus colt. He was curled into a little ball crying quietly hard. He looked to be about five years old. His coat was as dark blue as the midnight sky, and his mane and tail were as green as the grass in the springtime. His body was covered in dirt and mud, and sticks and twigs were sticking from his mane and tail. Fluttershy was pondering about where this little colt came from, why he was in the Everfree Forest alone, and how long he had been out here. Based on his current state, it seemed that he was out here for about a few hours.
Letting go of her thoughts, Fluttershy reached her hoof out to touch the little colt, but before she could even lay a tender touch on him, he saw her as looked up and let out a small yelp before he ran to the Everfree Forest’s entrance passing her by. Fluttershy rushed to his aid and found him curled up in a little ball again, but he seemed more scared than before when she first found him. He looked at her and ran away again, but he didn’t get far because he tripped over his own hooves.
Fluttershy walked up to the colt slowly so she wouldn’t scare him again. He blubbered as he saw her face and started bawling in tears. She felt so sad for the colt, seeing how scared he was. She tried reaching her hoof to him once again but had second thoughts on it. He was really scared of her, but she wanted to be there for him. She slowly moved towards the colt and was finally able to lay her hoof in him.
“Shh… It’s okay, little guy. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise,” she said softly while rubbing his shoulder.
He looked at her with a surprised look on his face by her gentle voice. He was about to say something to her until…
*Flash, Flash, Kra-Kroom*
A huge roar of thunder and lightning made him scream and run into Fluttershy’s leg. He held it while crying nonstop. Thunderstorms were what scared him the most. Fluttershy was the same way when she was a filly, but she was not as scared as he was.
“Do you live nearby?” she asked while stroking his back.
He went from crying to sobbing and shook his head in response to her question.
“Do your parents know you’re out here alone?”
He began to shake and tried to hold back his tears.
Fluttershy, fearful for the colt, asked him in a nervous tone, “D-Do you… have any parents?” When he heard Fluttershy ask this question, he burst into tears.
Seeing the colt in so much pain broke Fluttershy’s heart. He didn’t have any parents to look after him. He was so scared and alone. She did everything she could to comfort him, but…
*Flash, Flash, Kra-Koom*
Another loud blast of thunder and lightning broke through the sky causing the colt to bawl harder than ever before. Since he had nowhere to go, Fluttershy decided it would be better if he stayed with her for the night and think about what should happen next in the morning.
“Why don’t you come with me? You can sleep at my house tonight,” she said to him while rubbing his back.
He nodded in response, and Fluttershy put the scared, little colt gently on her back. It was starting to rain, so she hurriedly flew to her cottage while the colt was gently holding onto her neck.
Fluttershy finally arrived at her cottage and opened the door. She flew inside with the little colt still gripping onto her neck. Once inside, she landed on the floor and bent down on her knees to let the colt off of her back. He didn’t have enough strength or energy to balance himself off Fluttershy’s back and onto the floor with his tiny wings, so before he fell, Fluttershy caught him with her wing and was able to put him down safely. She could tell that he was a weak flier and felt sorry for him, but she had to put her sorrowful feeling aside so she could care for the colt.
“Are you hungry, little one?” she asked him.
His stomach growled, which was enough for Fluttershy’s question being answered.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said with a little giggle. “You stay here while I make you something to eat.”
But before she went to the kitchen, she stopped and realized that she never properly introduced herself to the little colt.
“My name is Fluttershy by the way,” she greeted him and went into the kitchen.
About a few minutes later, she came back from the kitchen with a piping, hot, delicious bowl of daffodil soup and a spoon. The little colt’s mouth started to water when he smelled the soup. Fluttershy put the soup on a small tray and lifted the colt onto the couch so he could eat. Then, she gave him the spoon. He took a small sip of the soup with his spoon. The heat from the soup started to melt away the freezing cold feeling he had in his stomach, almost as if the sun was melting ice from a frozen lake on a warm, summer afternoon. He took another sip before gulping the soup down. After he finished eating, Fluttershy took the bowl and put it in the sink to wash later. Then, she sat next to the colt on the couch and softly rubbed his back with her hoof.
“You must have been very hungry,” Fluttershy said to him with a chuckle. “You’re still dirty though. I’ll give you a bath.”
She put the colt on her back and flew upstairs to the bathroom, but while she was flying, she realized that the colt had not said anything since she found him in the Everfree Forest. She didn’t want to rush things with him since he’s still trying to get himself together, so she decided to let him talk whenever he was ready.
She got to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Then, she took the colt off of her back and put him beside her. She filled the bathtub with warm water until the level of the water was just right for the little colt. She lifted him up and put him in the tub.
He just sat in the bathtub and stared at Fluttershy as she gently picked out the twigs and branches from his green mane and lathered it in shampoo. Then, she took a small bucket of water and poured it on his head to rinse the shampoo off of his mane. He yipped in fear as the water was being poured onto his head. He became quiet as Fluttershy calmed him down by rubbing his side. Then, she gently washed his body, removing all of the dirt and mud that was previously covering his blue fur coat. After that nice, warm bath, she took him out of the tub and placed him next to her. After draining the tub, she got a towel to dry him off.
While leaving the bathroom, Fluttershy looked at the clock on her wall. Realizing how late it was, she immediately turned to the colt who began to yawn.
“Oh my. It’s getting late, isn’t it?” Fluttershy said. “We must go to bed now. You can sleep in my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch. Does that sound good to you?”
He gave her a small nod. Realizing how tired he was, Fluttershy put him on her back and went to her bedroom. Once she got there, she placed him on her bed and tucked him in. When she was just about to blow out the candle next to the bed, the little colt started to whimper in fear. She realized that he was afraid of the dark, so she decided to leave the candle lit so the colt wouldn’t be scared. She gave him a soft kiss on his forehead.
“If you ever need anything, I’ll be downstairs on the couch, okay?” She said to him.
He gave her a small, gentle smile and nodded to her response.
“Alright. Sweet dreams, little guy.” She gave him one more kiss on his forehead and went downstairs.
About a few hours later, Fluttershy woke up from her sweet, peaceful sleep by a roar of thunder and lightning followed by a loud scream coming from her room. She quickly flew upstairs to check on the little colt. When she got to her bedroom, she found him wrestling with in the bed covers, screaming louder than before. She realized that he was having a nightmare.
“M-Momma!” He screamed at the top of his lungs while crying heavily.
Fluttershy immediately picked him up and cradled him close to her. He woke up almost instantly and started screaming again, but he stopped as quickly as he started when he remembered that Fluttershy was holding him tightly in her arms. He looked at her and began to cry.
He buried his face into Fluttershy’s chest and cried even more. She nuzzled him while trying to calm him down.
“Shhh.. it’s okay, sweetie. It was just a bad dream. Everything’s okay now. I’m right here.”
Thunder and lightning struck again and made the little colt scream and cry harder than before, shaking in fear underneath Fluttershy’s chest. She began to rock him gently while trying to calm him down.
“Shhh… Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m right here. Shhh...” She hushed as he continued to cry.
She started to softly sing a lullaby to him.
Hush now, quiet now It’s time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It’s time to go to bed Drifting off to sleep, leave the exciting day behind you Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of Dreamland find you Hush now, quiet now It’s time to lay your sleepy head Hush now, quiet now It’s time to go to bed
The colt stopped crying as Fluttershy continued to rock and sing to him. She gave him a warm, tender, and loving smile. Even though they just met each other not too long ago, she had shown him so much love, compassion and affection. He snuggled closer to Fluttershy’s chest and laid his head against her neck. Fluttershy began to cry, but she immediately wiped them away with her hoof and kissed the little colt on his forehead. So he wouldn’t be alone for the rest of the night, she decided to sleep with him in bed while still gripping onto him. She pulled the covers over themselves so they would both be warm, and they both slept peacefully through the night while still holding on to each other.
The light of the morning shined through Fluttershy's bedroom window. Slowly opening her eyes, Fluttershy looked down to see the little colt was still sleeping in her forelegs. He snuggled into her chest fur and continued to sleep peacefully. Fluttershy gave the colt a gentle smile before giving him a kiss on the top of his head. The small colt slowly opened his eyes and let out a yawn before looking at Fluttershy. The two smiled at each other for a minute, before Fluttershy began to speak.
“Good morning little one, did you sleep well?” She asked the colt sweetly.
The colt simply nodded his head while smiling as Fluttershy picked him up, moved the covers off them and sat on the edge of the bed while placing the colt on her lap.
“Are you hungry?” Fluttershy asked him earning a nod once again.
Smiling at him, she kissed him on the forehead before gently picking him up and placing him the bed before she got off the bed.
“Okay sweetheart, you stay here and I will go make you a bowl of oatmeal,” She said to the colt.
Turning around, Fluttershy began to make her way downstairs, only to stop at the doorway when she heard a soft quiet voice.
“Lightning Twister.”
Fluttershy turned around to the source of the voice. It was the colt, he had finally spoken to her.
“M-my name is L-Lightning Twister,” the colt spoke nervously.
Fluttershy smiled at the colt and let out a small giggle.
“It's nice to meet you Lightning Twister,” She said to him, she was glad that he was finally comfortable enough around her to talk to her.
Fluttershy went downstairs and headed to the kitchen to make Lightning Twister some oatmeal. While she made the oatmeal, she thought it’ll be nice to introduce Lightning Twister to her friends, but she decided to let Lightning eat first. Finished making the oatmeal, Fluttershy held the bowl carefully before flying upstairs. When she returned, she saw Lightning Twister was still sitting where he was as he was told to do.
Fluttershy flew up to him and said, “Here you go, Lightning sweetheart.”
She placed the bowl in his lap and he ate the entire bowl of oatmeal slowly and steadily. When he was finished, Fluttershy took the bowl from him.
“Thank you Fluttershy,” Lightning Twister said to the mare in front of him.
Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at Lightning Twister. He had some oatmeal all over his cheeks. Taking a napkin in her hoof, Fluttershy used it to clean Lightning Twister's cheeks.
“You’re welcome Lightning,” She said with a smile while she cleaned the little colt’s cheeks.
Once Lightning's cheeks was oatmeal free, Fluttershy asked him gently,
“Lightning, how would you like to meet my friends?”
Lightning just nodded for a yes.
“Great!” Fluttershy said with excitement, but not loudly so she doesn’t scare the little one.
A few minutes later, Fluttershy was ready to go out the door with Lightning Twister right beside her.
“Are you ready, Lightning?” She asked the colt earning a nod in return.
With nothing left to be said, the two left the cottage and began their travel to Ponyville.
Lightning Twister was somewhat scared of his new surroundings. Everything was so much bigger than he was. Lightning stayed as close to Fluttershy as possible, not wanting to be separated from her. Arriving at Ponyville, Fluttershy stopped where she was and looked down at Lightning Twister. She smiled at him and said,
“Welcome to Ponyville, sweetheart. Everypony here is really nice, so there is no need to be scared.”
Lightning said nothing and stared at the town in front of him. After a few seconds of silence, Fluttershy and Lightning went into the town. Lightning Twister looked around the area he looked at all the buildings and ponies that were around him. Some of them looked and smiled at him, this made Lightning Twister very uncomfortable. Even though Fluttershy said that everypony here was nice, Lightning was still somewhat scared. All the ponies around him were like giants compared to him. He continued to stay as close to Fluttershy as possible until something jumped in front of him, making him yelp in surprise.
Standing in front of Lightning was a bright pink earth pony mare. The Pony jumped closer to Lightning and stared at him with large eyes. She got as close to him as possible. The pony’s eyes were mere inches away from Lightning's as they came closer and closer until Lightning was on his back. The eyes continued to get closer making Lightning even more scared and uncomfortable than he already was. With the eyes being closer, than they should be, the mare opened her mouth and said with incredible quickness without even taking a single breath,
“Hi I'm Pinkie Pie who are you are you new here I know everypony in Ponyville but I don't know you so you must be new and oooh aren't you such a little cutie you are so cute I could just eat you up what’s you name what is it huh huh huh huh what is it what is it I just got to know what is it what is it wha-”
Pinkie Pie's rambling quickness speech was cut off by Fluttershy’s hoof in her mouth. Lightning then ran under the source of the hoof. Fluttershy continued to keep her hoof in Pinkie’s mouth as the two stared at each other.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy said, “You need to calm down now, you’re scaring the little one.”
Fluttershy looked underneath her and saw Lightning was shaking violently with small tears in his eyes as he hugged Fluttershy’s hoof tightly and buried his face into it, he had never met or seen a pony that eccentric before. Fluttershy gave him a small nuzzle to try and calm him down.
“It's okay Lightning sweetheart, you can come out now,” Fluttershy said softly and gently to the scared colt, “This is my friend Pinkie Pie, she's not going to hurt you. She may be very hyper but she's very sweet, so don't be afraid of her. Please come out.”
Lightning however shook his head violently. He refused to go anywhere near that crazy pony. Lightning stayed under Fluttershy and tried to hide his face in Fluttershy’s hoof while continuing to tremble in scared and fear. He was extremely terrified of the pink pony. Letting out a sigh, Fluttershy glared at Pinkie Pie.
“Now look what you've done Pinkie,” She said to her in an irritated tone.
The tone in Fluttershy's voice caused Pinkie to step back a bit. Her animal caring friend never talked like that before. She then looked down at Lightning and reached a hoof out to him only for Lightning to let go of Fluttershy’s hoof and shy away from it while making a small whimpering sound as he then hugged one of Fluttershy’s back hooves. Seeing him like this caused Pinkie’s mane and tail to deflate like a balloon.
“Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Lightning. I didn't mean to scare you. Please come out,” She said apologetically to the small and scared colt.
Lightning said nothing and clung tightly to Fluttershy's leg while continuing to shake violently. Letting out another sigh, Fluttershy said,
“I think you should leave now, Pinkie. We'll come by Sugarcube Corner tomorrow when Lightning Twister's calm and we'll try this again WITHOUT any hyper.”
Pinkie’s mane and tail poofed back to normal and she said in her usual cheerful way,
“Okie dokie Fluttershy, see you both tomorrow!”
With that said, Pinkie bounced off acting like nothing even happened. With the hyper pony gone, Fluttershy turned around and nuzzled Lightning Twister’s cheek. Lightning continued to whimper in fear a bit even though what scared him had bounced away.
“Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, she's gone now. We'll go see Pinkie tomorrow and I promise she'll be much calmer than she was.”
Lightning started to calm down now that Pinkie was gone and nodded at Fluttershy. The two then continued to make their way through Ponyville.
The next pony Lightning met was Rainbow Dash, however they did not get along well. Rainbow was in the middle of moving clouds when she kicked one that unbeknownst to her shot lightning and thunder. This scared Lightning Twister and caused him to cry due to his strong fear of thunder and lightning. Seeing this caused Rainbow to think that Lightning was a crybaby. Fluttershy was not pleased with Rainbow’s snide remarks and flew off with Lightning Twister being held in her forelegs. Things were not going the way that Fluttershy had hoped.
The next pony was The Country mare Applejack. Not trusting anymore of Fluttershy's friends, Lightning refused to even look at Applejack. He clung to Fluttershy's neck while he was in her hooves. Fluttershy explained to Applejack what happened with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. She then tried to get Lightning to look at Applejack, but he didn't listen to a word she said. Things did not look well, until Applejack offered Lightning Twister some Apple juice in which he accepted hesitantly. Lightning took a small nervous sip of the Apple juice and was amazed how it tasted. It tasted sweet and tangy. The taste made the rest of the juice to tempting to resist, and Lightning slammed the rest of the drink with both Fluttershy and Applejack giggling in delight.
When he finished the Apple juice, Fluttershy put Lightning gently on the ground, and he decided to take a look at Applejack who gave him a gentle smile. This was the first pony, besides Fluttershy, that was being nice to him and didn't scare him. Feeling completely horrible about how he treated her with such distrust, Lightning trotted slowly up to Applejack and gently hugged her leg since he couldn't reach her chest or neck.
“Aw...don't worry sugarcube,” she said sweetly to the colt as she then stroked his mane. “I'm not upset that ya didn't trust me at first. And don’t worry about Rainbow Dash, she may be a bit rude, but she's one of the nicest ponies you'll ever meet once you get to know her.”
Lightning Twister nodded deciding to trust Applejack's words as Fluttershy lifted the small colt onto her back.
“Well Applejack, we have two more friends to meet, we'll see you later,” Fluttershy said to the country pony.
After saying goodbye to each other, Fluttershy turned around with Lightning on her back and went back into town.
The next place that Fluttershy and Lightning Twister went to was Carousel Boutique, the home of Rarity. Looking out of her window and seeing Fluttershy heading her way, Rarity opened the door and allowed Fluttershy to come in. Lightning Twister kept himself hidden in Fluttershy's long pink mane.
“Fluttershy darling, it’s been too long,” Rarity said in an elegant and regal voice. “We simply must get together more often.”
“You’re right we should,” Fluttershy said while giggling.
“How can I help you, Darling?” Rarity asked Fluttershy sweetly while fluttering her eyes.
“Well,” Fluttershy started, “I wanted to introduce you to somepony.”
Fluttershy looked behind her and saw Lightning Twister hiding behind her mane. Fluttershy moved her mane away and gave the colt a small nuzzle before saying to him.
“It's okay sweetheart, you can come out now.”
Lightning Twister slowly poked his head out and looked into the blue eyes of the white unicorn mare in front of him.
"Lightning, this is my friend Rarity. She is one of the best clothes makers in all of Equestira,” Fluttershy said to the small colt as she picked him up and placed him on the floor gently.
“Rarity,” Fluttershy said to her friend, “This is Lightning Twister. He's this little colt I'm looking after.”
Lightning Twister just looked at Rarity as she did the same.
“Awww...aren't you just the most adorable little colt I've ever seen,” Rarity said to Lightning before she raised a hoof out to touch him.
Lightning ran away from the hoof and hid under Fluttershy while shaking and holding Fluttershy’s hoof tightly.
“I'm sorry Rarity,” Fluttershy apologized, “He's a very scared little colt. The only pony he is not afraid of is me. He's a little bit better with Applejack, but he's still somewhat scared of her.”
Rarity looked down at the little colt and smiled gently at him.
“Oh sweetie, you don't have to be scared of me,” Rarity said to the scared colt waiting for a response from him. This action caused Fluttershy to explain one more thing to her friend.
“He doesn't like to talk much, he's only said a few words to me.”
Rarity looked at the little colt and just nodded her head while smiling.
After a few seconds, Lightning had calmed down a little bit and on his own came out from under Fluttershy and trotted up towards Rarity. He then gave her a small nuzzle on her leg causing Rarity to tear up a little.
“Awww...you’re such a sweet little one Lightning darling,” Rarity said to him before giving him a small nuzzle of her own on the cheek.
Rarity's curly mane tickled Lightning Twister causing him to giggle a little bit. Hearing this, Rarity got a mischievous look in her eye.
“Oh so we're ticklish, are we?” She said before she reached a hoof under Lightning and began to gently tickle him.
Lightning Twister fell on his back and laughed happily as Rarity laid down beside him and continued to tickle him making him laugh even more. Fluttershy looked on at the two while smiling, she was glad that the two were getting along so well. Things were finally starting to go right as she thought it would. After a few minutes, Fluttershy placed Lightning Twister on her back and said goodbye to Rarity as it was starting to become sundown.
The final stop was the rainbow castle, home of the alicorn Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy knocked on the doors and waited for a minute.
The Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle opened the door and greeted Fluttershy.
“Hello Fluttershy, it's good to see you. Please come in.”
Fluttershy went into the castle entering the main entrance.
“How are you, Twilight?” she asked the Princess in front of her.
“I'm okay,” Twilight replied while smiling at her friend, “Spike, Starlight and Sunset are in Canterlot with Princess Celestia for a few days while Oliver’s looking after Flurry Heart for tonight so it's only me here. It's actually pretty quiet around here without them around.” Twilight closed her eyes before letting out a small giggle.
Reopening her eyes, Twilight looked at Fluttershy once again. She was about to say something, but she remained silent when she saw something sticking out of Fluttershy's mane. Realising she was looking at Lightning Twister, Fluttershy picked him up and set him gently on the ground. Lightning looked at Twilight for a second before trotting up to her slowly. It was a different and surprising reaction compared to his other reactions with the other ponies that Lightning had met. Fluttershy smiled at him before saying,
“Twilight, this is Lightning Twister, a little colt that I'm taking care of.”
Fluttershy then Looked at Lightning Twister.
“Lightning sweetheart, this my friend Twilight Sparkle. She’s the Princess of Friendship and also a good friend of mine.”
Twilight looked down at Lightning and said to him gently and sweetly,
“Hello Lightning Twister, it’s very nice to meet you.”
Lightning said nothing and just stared at Twilight. Everyone and everything in the hallway was completely quiet, until Lightning started to whimper and sob.
Looking at Twilight, Lightning realised how much she looked a lot like his mother, except Twilight was an Alicorn and not a Pegasus. However, Twilight still reminded him of her. From the way she looked, to the sweetness in her voice. She was almost an exact replica of his own mother. Seeing her made Lightning realised just how much he missed his mother.
“Lightning, is something wrong sweetheart?” Twilight asked the colt. Her voice was filled with concern and worry.
Lightning backed away from Twilight while whimpering. He then laid on the floor and cried heavily. Fluttershy immediately scooped him up into her forelegs.
“Shhh...It's okay Lightning, I’ve got you...Shhh...” She said to the little colt gently.
Lightning buried his face into Fluttershy's chest fur and continued to cry. Seeing all this made Twilight's heart break into two. She stared at the ground and closed her eyes in sadness. But that sadness was quickly replaced with an idea. Knowing of a way to help calm Lightning Twister down, Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy and asked very gently,
“Fluttershy, can I hold Lightning Twister for a few minutes please?”
Fluttershy was a bit hesitant. She did not know how Lightning would react since she was the only one so far that could calm him down. Fluttershy however decided to let Twilight hold the little colt. Fluttershy nodded and Twilight motioned to her with a hoof to follow her. The group went into a room where the fireplace was with two chairs near it. Twilight sat in one of the them and held her hooves out.
Fluttershy gently placed Lightning Twister in Twilight’s hooves as she cradled him close to her. Lightning continued to cry and becoming scared of being in the hooves of somepony else besides Fluttershy. Twilight began to rock him ever so gently while making a soft hushing sound. Lightning's crying continued until Twilight started to hum a soft song in his ear. Lightning's crying reduced to sobs as Twilight continued to gently rock him and hum the soft song in his ear. Twilight finished humming her song and continued to rock him. Lightning's sobs turned to sniffles. Twilight rocked him gently and once more made a soft hushing sound. After a few seconds, Lightning fell asleep in Twilight's forelegs. She gave him a small kiss on the forehead and said to him sweetly, gently, and quietly,
“Sweet dreams, little one.”
Twilight continued to hold Lightning Twister while Fluttershy looked at her in amazement.
“Twilight, that was amazing!” She said quietly not wanting to wake up Lightning Twister. “How did you do that?”
Twilight just smiled and said, “This was the same thing I did for Spike when I first started taking care of him. I actually do it for Flurry Heart now when she has nightmares or has trouble sleeping whenever I’m foalsitting her.”
Twilight then looked down and smiled gently at the colt she was holding.
Looking outside, she saw the sun had set and it had become dark. Without waking up the sleeping colt she was holding, Twilight gave Lightning Twister back to Fluttershy who cradled him close to her. Fluttershy and Twilight each gave Lightning a loving smile as he snuggled into Fluttershy warm and soft chest fur.
“Well, you two better head home,” Twilight said quietly not wanting to wake Lightning up. “Have a good night Fluttershy,” she said with a cheerful smile.
“You too Twilight, and Thank you,” Fluttershy replied.
With that said, Fluttershy walked out of the castle and flew for home. When she arrived at her cottage, she flew upstairs and into her bedroom. She pulled her bed covers back and gently set Lightning Twister on the bed. Fluttershy gently tucked him in, without waking up the peacefully sleeping colt, Fluttershy gave him a soft gentle kiss on the forehead. Lightning Twister felt the kiss and a small smile crept across his face while he continued to sleep peacefully. Fluttershy gave him one last gentle smile and flew downstairs.
Lightning Twister slept peacefully through the night with moon shining down upon him with a warm comforting glow.
Dawn breaks in Equestria as Princess Celestia's sun rises in the horizon. In Fluttershy's cottage, Fluttershy began to open her eyes. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes with her hooves. Fluttershy looked out the window to the outside world. A smile was placed on her face as she watched the sun fully rise into the clear blue sky.
When she was finished watching the sun rise, Fluttershy remembered what she was going to do today. She remembered that she was going to reintroduce Lightning Twister to Pinkie Pie after yesterday’s incident with the hyper pony. However Fluttershy felt like it would be best if they both had some breakfast first. Getting to her hooves, Fluttershy went upstairs to wake the sleeping colt in her bedroom. She opened her bedroom door slowly and quietly as she went over to the bed. In her bed, Lightning Twister continued to sleep peacefully. Fluttershy bent down to the sleeping colt and gently kissed him on the forehead.
"Lightning, it's time wake up sweetheart," she whispered in his ear softly and sweetly.
Hearing her soft and gentle voice, Lightning Twister began to slowly open his eyes. He rubbed his eyes with his hooves and looked up at the kind and caring Pegasus in front of him.
"Good morning Fluttershy," Lightning said to her in his soft and quiet tone.
"Good morning sweetheart, did you sleep well last night?" Fluttershy asked Lightning kindly.
Lightning Twister nodded his head in response to Fluttershy's question.
Fluttershy smiled at him before asking, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes please," Lightning replied before his stomach grumbled.
Fluttershy nodded at the small colt while smiling and lifted him onto her back. Turning her head to look at him, she said, "Okay sweetheart, let’s go make you some breakfast." Lightning Twister nodded his head once more and Fluttershy spread her wings and flew downstairs.
When they arrived in the living room, Fluttershy descended to the ground and brought her hooves up to take Lightning off her back and put him on the couch. "Okay Lightning, you wait here and I'll go make us some eggs for breakfast."
"Okay Fluttershy," Lightning said as his stomach grumbled once more making Fluttershy giggle.
Fluttershy smiled at Lightning for a moment before flying into the kitchen to make Lightning and herself some breakfast. While she was making breakfast, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel sad for Lightning Twister. While he was a very polite and sweet colt, she could tell he was very scared and had a broken heart. She felt her own heart break seeing how sad he was when he was not able to hover in the air. It also broke her heart to see how upset he was last night when he met Twilight. It brought a tear to Fluttershy's eye to even wonder how long Lightning has been without a family.
When she finished making breakfast, Fluttershy put two small plates onto a tray and flew into the living room where Lightning Twister was sitting on the couch like he was told to do. Fluttershy smiled at the little colt while she put a plate in front of him.
"Here you go sweetheart, I made us some scrambled eggs," Fluttershy said to Lightning Twister while smiling.
Lightning smiled at Fluttershy before taking a bite of his scrambled eggs.
"Thank you, Fluttershy. These are very good," Lightning said to the butter coated mare softly.
Fluttershy smiled gently at the colt before saying, "You’re welcome, Lightning. I used fresh eggs that were laid by my chickens. I'm glad you like them."
With nothing left to be said, Fluttershy and Lightning Twister ate their breakfast together. When they were finished, Fluttershy put the two plates in her sink and returned to the living room. However, when she returned, she saw Lightning Twister sitting on the couch sniffling. Worried about him, Fluttershy went over to him and then saw small tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Lightning sweetheart, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked the little colt with worry filling her voice. Lightning looked up at her with tears still streaming down his cheeks.
"Y-you've *sniff* been s-so *sniff* n-nice to me," Lightning sobbed. "N-nopony has ever b-been *sniff* so n-nice to m-me."
Fluttershy felt her heart ache seeing the little colt so upset. She sat down next to Lightning Twister and placed him on her lap. She gently stroked his back with her hoof as Lightning continued to cry.
"F-Fluttershy, *sniff* d-do you think I'm a f-freak?" Lightning asked the kind and caring Pegasus that was holding him.
Fluttershy felt a tear of her own stream down her cheek when she heard the question.
She then nuzzled his cheek before saying, "Of course I don't think that, sweetheart. Why in Equestria would you think of such a thing?"
Fluttershy continued stroking his back as Lightning began to tremble like leaf and his crying began to grow even harder.
"M-my *sniff* d-daddy *sniff* c-calls me a *sniff* f-freak," Lightning sobbed.
Fluttershy let out a gasp of shock. She thought both of his parents had died. Lightning's crying grew harder and louder as he looked into the beautiful and caring eyes of the pegasus that was holding him.
"M-my momma *sniff* d-died when she h-had m-me. D-daddy *sniff* s-says it's all m-my *sniff* f-fault," Lightning cried.
Hearing him say that made Fluttershy's heart break in two. Lightning Twister's mother had died after giving birth to him, but how could his father say such a thing to a poor child?
"D-daddy y-yells at m-me, *sniff* h-hits me, *sniff* c-calls me n-names, and *sniff* s-scares me with s-storm clouds," Ligthning sobbed before burying his head into Fluttershy's soft chest fur and continued to cry.
With tears streaming down her face, Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Lightning Twister and held his trembling body close to her. She now knew the reason why Lightning Twister was so scared. Fluttershy closed her eyes and kissed the top of Lightning's forehead. She felt so bad for the poor little colt that she was holding in her forelegs.
As she held Lightning Twister close to her, Fluttershy noticed something underneath his little wings. She very carefully moved one of the wings without disturbing the crying colt in her forelegs. What she saw made her gasp in shock. There were several bruises underneath his wings, some of them were turning purple. Fluttershy remained calm on the outside, but on the inside, she was seething with anger as she glared at the bruises on the little colt. How could a father do such a thing to his own son? How could he beat him, insult him and frighten him with the one thing he's scared to death of?
Fluttershy’s anger started to cool when she looked down at Lightning Twister who was still crying. She kissed him gently on the forehead and began making a soft hushing sound to calm the little colt down. Lightning's crying reduced to sobs and then to sniffles as he brought his head out of Fluttershy's chest fur. He looked into her eyes as she smiled down at him lovingly and gave him a small nuzzle.
She gave him another kiss on the forehead before saying, "Lightning, I'm so sorry your father did all those awful things to you, sweetheart. But believe me when I say it's not your fault your mother died. I promise you, it's not your fault."
Lightning said nothing as he gave Fluttershy a sad smile while a few tears still streamed down his cheeks. Fluttershy gently brushed the tears away with her hoof before pulling Lightning back into a soft and loving embrace. Lightning closed his eyes and smiled as Fluttershy's soft warm fur and soft pink mane blanketed him with warmth. Lightning could smell Fluttershy's mane. It smelled like a fresh spring river and it made him calm and relaxed as Fluttershy rubbed his back.
The two remained like this until Fluttershy pulled him away and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
She gave Lightning Twister a gentle smile before asking, "Do you feel better, sweetheart?"
Lightning said nothing and gave Fluttershy a small nod while softly smiling at her.
Fluttershy gave him a small nuzzle while smiling before saying, "Good, I'm glad you feel better. Now let's go to Sugarcube Corner so you can try to meet Pinkie Pie again."
Lightning began to shake nervously after Fluttershy mentioned that crazy pink pony's name. Fluttershy felt this and she started to softly hush him.
"Shhh...It's okay, Lightning sweetheart. I promise, she'll be much calmer than last time," Fluttershy said to the young colt who began to calm his shaking.
Lightning was a bit hesitant, but he gave Fluttershy a gentle nod deciding to trust her words.
"O-okay Fluttershy," Lightning said to her while smiling softly.
Fluttershy scooped Lightning into her forelegs and placed him on her back. She turned her head around gave him one more kiss on the forehead.
With nothing left to be said, Fluttershy stepped outside while thinkig to herself, "Don't worry Lightning, I'll take great care of you, I promise."
Standing at the entrance to Ponyville with Lightning on her back, Fluttershy took a deep breath and entered the peaceful town, hoping not to have the same problem that occurred yesterday. Lightning began tremble and quickly hid under Fluttershy's mane when he started to see other ponies. Fluttershy looked at him and gave him a small nuzzle.
"Lightning sweetheart, there's no reason to be scared, I promise everything will be okay this time," Fluttershy said to the scared colt hiding under her mane. Lightning calmed his trembling and peeked out from Fluttershy’s mane. He gave her small nod and Fluttershy continued her journey to Sugarcube Corner.
Halfway to their destination, a voice called out to Fluttershy making both her and Lightning yelp in surprise. Fluttershy turned to the source of the voice and smiled. Coming towards her was Applejack and a small yellow filly with a red mane and tail and she had a pink bow in her mane. Her cutie mark was a shield-like symbol that looked like a tri-color flag, mostly looking like the French flag, with an apple on it. The two waved at Fluttershy.
"Well howdy there, Fluttershy. Where's that little fella Lightning Twister?" Applejack asked Fluttershy happily.
Hearing Applejack's familiar voice, Lightning nervously peeked his head out from under Fluttershy's mane revealing himself to the country mare. However before Applejack could say anything, Lightning noticed the little filly beside her and quickly hid himself under Fluttershy's mane once more. Seeing this made Applejack giggle as she approached Fluttershy and moved her mane with her hoof so she could look at Lightning.
"Aww..there's no reason to be frightened of me sugarcube, you know I won't hurt ya," Applejack said gently to the frightened colt on Fluttershy's back as he began to tremble once more. "Besides, I want to introduce ya to somepony." Applejack scooped the frightened colt off Fluttershy’s back and into her forelegs. Applejack gently sat him on the ground in front of the yellow filly who was smiling at him.
Applejack cleared her throat before saying, "Lightning, I would like you to meet my little sister, Apple Bloom."
The little filly made her way towards Lightning Twister slowly, hoping not to scare him. However Lightning quickly ran underneath Fluttershy and began to tremble while making a small whimpering sound.
Fluttershy said to Lightning softly and gently, "Lightning sweetheart it's okay, there's no reason to be scared of Apple Bloom. She's a very sweet little filly."
Apple Bloom gently smiled at the frightened colt with southern voice as Applejack, "It's okay Lightning, I would never hurt ya. Please come out."
Hearing the sweetness in Apple Bloom's voice, Lightning Twister nervously stepped out from underneath Fluttershy and slowly approached the little filly. Apple Bloom raised one of her little hooves and held it out to Lightning Twister, hoping she could shake hooves with him. Lightning raised a shaking hoof and wrapped it around Apple Bloom's, and the two finally shook hooves. Applejack and Fluttershy smiled at the site.
"Ya see sugarcube, there ain't nothin' to be afraid of," Applejack said to Lightning before turning to Fluttershy. "So where are you two heading to?" Applejack asked Fluttershy curiously.
Fluttershy smiled at Applejack and said, "We’re going to Sugarcube Corner so I can try to reintroduce Lightning Twister to Pinkie Pie."
"Oh that's right, I forgot ya told me that things didn't go so well last time," Applejack replied. "I was on my way there as well to have lunch with Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. How about ya'll join us?"
Hearing this made Apple Bloom gasp in delight. "Yeah and I can introduce Lightning Twister to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo since they’re probably there with them!" she said happily.
Fluttershy smiled and thought it was a great idea. Not only could she have lunch with her best friends, but she could also tell them what she learned about Lightning Twister earlier. She turned to the Apple sisters and nodded her head signalling her approval of the idea. The Apple sisters nodded in response as Fluttershy picked up Lightning Twister and placed him on her back. The four then made their way to Sugarcube Corner to meet with the rest of her friends.
When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Fluttershy could feel Lightning trembling and whimpering under her mane. Not only was he afraid of Pinkie Pie, but he was terrified of Rainbow Dash. She looked at the little colt under her mane and nuzzled him.
"It's okay sweetheart, I promise nothing bad will happen this time," Fluttershy said to the little colt gently. Lightning calmed down a little bit but continued to tremble softly out of both fear and nervousness.
Entering Sugarcube corner, Fluttershy saw her friends sitting at a nearby table and Pinkie Pie behind the counter. All of Fluttershy's friends smiled and waved at the group. Fluttershy took the small colt off of her back and placed him on the ground before going over to the counter where Pinkie Pie was. With some reassurance from Applejack, Lightning nervously followed Fluttershy towards the hyper pink pony that he feared.
When they were in front of Pinkie, Lightning ran and hid under Fluttershy. Fluttershy let out a deep sigh before saying to the pink pony, "Hi Pinkie, I'd like to reintroduce you to Lightning Twister."
Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie then at the frightened colt under her. After saying some calming and reassuring words, Lightning nervously walked out from under Fluttershy and clung to her leg while still looking at Pinkie. He feared that Pinkie would do exactly what she did last time. However, instead of bouncing over to Lightning Twister, Pinkie Pie just smiled and trotted slowly and calmly over to him trying not to scare him again like last time.
She then said to the frightened colt in a cheerful yet very calm tone, "Hi Lightning Twister, it's great to meet you, I'm Pinkie Pie."
Both Fluttershy and Lightning were in shock. Pinkie did not bounce, yell, or completely chatter uncontrollably. She was actually calm and introduced herself in a tone that was gentle but it also had the same cheerfulness that Pinkie Pie was known for. It left Lightning wide eyed and left Fluttershy's jaw hanging slightly open.
Snapping back to reality, Fluttershy smiled said to Pinkie, "Thank you for being much calmer this time, Pinkie." Pinkie simply nodded her head as Fluttershy looked to the colt who was still clinging to her leg. "See Lightning, you don't need to afraid of Pinkie Pie. She may be hyper, but she is really gentle and kind."
Lightning continued to look at Pinkie who was smiling at him. He let go of Fluttershy’s leg and softly smiled at the pink pony. Fluttershy smiled at the little colt and gave him a small nuzzle. She was happy that now he was starting to warm up to Pinkie Pie. "Alright everypony, let's go have a super duper lunch together!" Pinkie said happily. As the group made their way to the table where all there friends were.
When they arrived at the table, they heard the door opening as they then saw Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer and Oliver Sparkle walking into Sugarcube Corner. Oliver closed the door behind him since he was the last one to come in.
“Hi girls! Hi Oliver!” Twilight said as she got off her seat and trotted to the three. She hugged them one by one and gave Oliver a nuzzle on the cheek.
“How are you three? Especially my number one favourite nephew?” She then gave Oliver a kiss on the cheek as he blushed.
“Aunt Twilight, do you always have to call me that?” He asked after giggling a bit.
“Of course I do, I mean you really are.”
“We’re fine, Twilight. Our time at Canterlot with Spike was great,” answered Sunset as she walked towards Twilight a bit. “Was busy, but great. Celestia let us go home early because she thought we’ve done enough and deserve a break from helping out a lot.”
“But she still needs Spike’s help for another day,” Starlight added, “He should be back home after tomorrow.”
“Well, I can wait for him. Still, it’s good to see you three again,” said Twilight as she nuzzled Oliver again, “It was lonely without you lot.”
Oliver just giggled a bit before the four saw Fluttershy’s walking towards them with a smile on her face while Lightning tried to remain hidden under Fluttershy and behind her hoof.
“Ah, how are you, Fluttershy?” Asked Oliver, “Haven’t seen you since Friday.”
Fluttershy let out a giggle before answering, “I’m doing just fine thank you, Oliver. So good to see you three again.”
“Same with you Flutters,” Sunset said, “I know it’s only been a day away from Ponyville, but I missed you girls a lot during our time in Canterlot.”
“Me too,” added Starlight, “But still, it feels good to be back here in...” She then saw Lightning underneath Fluttershy. “Hello,” She said to him while smiling.
Lightning then clung to Fluttershy’s hoof tightly in shyness as he know she was saying hello to him.
“Who’s this little one?” Sunset asked as she and Oliver saw him too.
“Oliver, Sunset, Starlight, this is Lightning Twister, the little colt I’m looking after.” She then looked at Lightning underneath her and nuzzled him on the cheek.
“It’s okay, Lightning sweetheart. Don’t be scared. This is Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer and Oliver Sparkle. They all live with Twilight and Oliver is Twilight’s nephew. They’re very friendly and won’t hurt you.”
Lightning decided to trust Fluttershy’s words this time so he let go of Fluttershy’s hoof, walked out from underneath her and towards the three new ponies he’s about to meet.
“Hello Lightning,” said Starlight to him kindly, “It’s nice to see you, cutie. Sorry if I scared you a bit when I said hello to you, just like saying hello to new ponies I meet.” She then winked at him.
“Yeah, it’s so nice to meet you Lightning sweetie,” added Sunset.
Lightning just looked at the three new ponies for a few seconds before looking at Starlight’s mane. He then walked towards her and tried to reach her mane.
“Aww, you wanna play with my mane, cutie?” Cooed Starlight as she then bent down so that Lightning can reach her mane.
Lightning began to play with Starlight’s mane as he lightly pushed Starlight’s mane like it was a piece of string and Lightning was a cat trying to grab it. This made Fluttershy, Oliver and the girls giggle as they thought Lightning playing with Starlight’s mane was cute.
“Well it’s good that you three are here,” Pinkie said excitedly, but not too excitedly as she didn’t want to scare Lightning again like yesterday, “Cause we were just about to have lunch together, why don’t you join us?”
The three nodded as they walked towards the table they were sitting at.
When they arrived, Apple Bloom trotted up to Lightning Twister with two other fillies by her side. One was a unicorn filly with same white coat as Rarity and she had a curly purple and pink mane and tail. The other was a Pegasus filly with an orange coat a purple mane and tail. They both have the same cutie mark style as Apple Bloom’s, but with a lightning bolt and a musical note.
The pegasus filly trotted up to Lightning and introduced herself. "Hi there Lightning, it's nice to meet you, I'm Scootaloo."
The next to come up was the unicorn filly. "Hi Lightning, I'm Sweetie Belle," she said happily before Applebloom stepped in between the two fillies.
"Together we are...THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" All three fillies shouted making Lightning cover his ears.
Taking his hooves off his ears, Lightning said the three very softly, "It's nice to meet you all."
Everyone in the room smiled at the scene of the four children. This was the first time anyone besides Fluttershy actually heard Lightning speak. Lightning stayed with the three fillies as they all talked together happily. Seeing this made Fluttershy very happy.
Turning back to her friends, Fluttershy said to them, "I'm so happy that Lightning is starting to warm up to other ponies."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement still smiling at the little colt and the three fillies. Everything was pleasant, until a look of sadness came across Fluttershy's face.
"Fluttershy dear, whatever is the matter?" Rarity asked Fluttershy with her voice filled with concern.
Fluttershy looked at her friends and said, "Girls, Oliver, I found out the reason why Lightning's so scared."
All eight of Fluttershy's friends listened with interest.
"Lightning's mother had died giving birth to him and his father has been abusing him," Fluttershy said with sadness in her voice increasing with every word.
Everyone in the room gasped in shock and urged Fluttershy to continue.
Fluttershy let several tears roll down her eyes as she spoke more about Lightning's father.
"His father has yelled at him and insulted him. He called Lightning a freak, and the poor little one asked me earlier if I thought he was a freak. He told Lightning that it was his fault that his mother had died. He also scares Lightning with storm clouds. That must be why Lightning is scared to death of thunder and lightning. But the worst thing I found out was that his father has physically beaten him. I found several bruises underneath Lightning’s little wings. When I saw them, I started crying. How could somepony do something like that to a child?"
When Fluttershy had finished, everypony in the room had tears in their eyes, especially Oliver since he’s been through something like that before but with the orphanage owners. Hearing all of this made Rainbow Dash feel incredibly guilty. She remembered she had called Lightning a crybaby when she first met him. Now that she has heard about how his father had insulted him, she couldn't help but wish she could take what she said back.
"The poor little kid, no wonder he was so afraid of all of us," Sunset said with everyone else nodding in agreement.
Before anyone could say anything else, Lightning and the CMC had trotted up to the group. Lightning then saw Rainbow Dash and ran behind Fluttershy while whimpering in fear. Rainbow let out sigh of guilt, she wanted to make things right with the little colt. She carefully got off her seat and trotted towards the little colt.
She knelt down and said to him, "Hey kid, I'm sorry I called you a crybaby when we first met.”
Lightning looked at the the cyan Pegasus in shock. He then gave her a small nod. However he continued to tremble a little bit because he was still somewhat afraid of her.
Seeing him shake, Rainbow Dash tried to reassure him in her usually cocky way. "Hey listen Lightning, I promise you there's no need to be scared of the most awesome pony in all of Equestria."
Lightning however was not impressed as he continued to tremble and hide behind Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash looked down in sadness. Fluttershy placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder and smiled at her friend letting her know to give Lightning some time.
Twilight sat there and gave the colt a sad smile. However she was curious about something. She didn't understand why Lightning Twister broke down and cried when he first saw her. She needed to know what was wrong with her.
Twilight knelt down to Lightning's level to speak with him.
"Lightning, I am so sorry for everything that you've been through," Twilight said with the others nodding, "But can I ask you something, sweetheart?"
Lightning simply nodded his head.
Twilight took a deep breath before saying, "When you first saw me, you started crying. Is it okay to ask if there's something wrong with me?"
Lightning quickly shook his head before saying, "No Twilight, there's nothing wrong with you. It's just that, you look a lot like my Momma."
Everypony in the room was quiet as Lightning continued to speak.
"I had a picture of my Momma in my room. It was a picture of her before I was born. She was very pretty," Lightning said before he started whimpering and tears began to form in his eyes. "Th-that p-picture was all I h-had of her. B-but then my daddy t-took the p-picture away from m-me and b-broke it. H-he s-said I was a f-freak and I d-didn't deserve that p-picture."
Lightning fell to the floor and cried. Fluttershy pulled him close to her and stroked the back of his mane softly. She silently hushed him as everyone looked on with sadness. Deep inside, Fluttershy and the others couldn't believe that this little colt’s father could be so cruel and hurtful to him. One last question then entered their minds. They wondered how Lightning had gotten away from that horrible stallion.
Fluttershy stroked the back of his mane for a few more minutes before pulling Lightning back and said, "Lightning, I'm so sorry your father has done all of this to you. But can I ask you something, sweetie?"
Lightning nodded and Fluttershy asked, "Lightning, why were you all alone when I found you?"
Fluttershy could feel Lightning trembling as he closed his eyes tightly with tears still pouring out.
"I-I-I r-ran away," Lightning sobbed softly. Everypony in the room was silent.
Lightning immediately buried his face in Fluttershy's chest and let his tears soak her fur.
"P-Please Fluttershy, d-don't send me back to my d-daddy! I d-don't wanna go b-back!" Lightning wailed.
Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Lightning and stroked his side. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she did one thing. There was no way she was going to let him go back to his awful father.
"Shhh...It's alright, Lightning sweetheart. I'm not going to send you back to your father. I promise," Fluttershy said to the colt softly and sweetly.
Lightning immediately wrapped his little forelegs around Fluttershy's neck and cried more tears, but this time, they were tears of joy.
"Oh, th-thank you F-Fluttersh-shy, th-thank you!" He cried as Fluttershy stroked his back with her hoof. Everyone watched on with tears of happiness in their eyes, including Rainbow Dash, Oliver, Sunset Shimmer and the CMC.
Pinkie Pie began to bounce with glee while shouting, "WOO! I'm gonna throw Lightning Twister the best Welcome To Ponyville party EVER!" Everyone, even Lightning Twister, laughed after they heard this.
The sun eventually began to set and everyone said their goodbyes. Everyone went their own way, leaving only Fluttershy and Lightning Twister. Fluttershy scooped Lightning into her forelegs and placed him onto her back. She then took to the sky and flew back to her cottage. When she arrived, she flew upstairs, placed Lightning into her bed and kissed him gently on the forehead. She was about to blow the candle out until she heard Lightning's tiny little voice.
"Please Fluttershy, can you leave the light on? I-I'm scared of the dark."
Hearing this made Fluttershy remember his fear and she nodded her head. She turned to leave but Lightning's voice stopped her once more.
"Fl-Fluttershy, can you sing to me like you did before?"
Fluttershy smiled at him gently and said, "Of course I can, sweetheart."
She then sung to him her lullaby that she had sang to him when she first found him. Lightning had fallen asleep halfway through the lullaby. Fluttershy trotted up to him and gave him one last gentle kiss before leaving the room. Lightning slept peacefully under the comforting warmth of Princess Luna's beautiful moon.
The sun barely began to rise over the horizon when Fluttershy began to wake up. She let out a yawn and stretched her legs. She was about to wake Lightning Twister until she heard crying coming from upstairs. Fluttershy ran up the stairs, worried about Lightning. When she arrived in her bedroom, she saw Lightning wrestling with the covers before curling into a ball. He trembled like a leaf while crying and whimpering with fear. Fluttershy immediately scooped Lightning into her forelegs and cradled him close to her. She made a soft hushing sound to try and calm him down, but she stopped when she heard Lightning’s voice.
"N-no! D-daddy, p-please don't h-hurt me!" Lightning cried. Fluttershy gasped in shock, he was having a nightmare about his father hurting him. She was about to wake him up until he heard his small broken voice speak once more.
That was all Lightning said before waking and breathing heavily. His teary eyes met with Fluttershy's as he then buried his face into her chest and let his tears flow free. Fluttershy felt tears of her own fall as she closed her eyes and continued to make a soft hushing sound in Lightning's ear. She rocked him ever so gently as his tears continued to flow. After a few minutes, Lightning had calmed down a little, but still had tears streaming down his face. Fluttershy very gently brushed the tears away with her hoof and nuzzled the colt to comfort him.
Lightning was about to speak until Fluttershy said to him softly, "Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, I'm here. Go back to sleep."
Lightning smiled at Fluttershy and fell asleep in her forelegs. Fluttershy gently kissed him on the forehead and placed him back in her bed. She very carefully tucked him in without waking him. Fluttershy stood there and softly smiled at the little colt while gently stroking his head until she heard a knock on her door. Giving Lightning one more kiss on the forehead, Fluttershy flew downstairs to see who was at the door.
When she arrived downstairs and opened the door, she was greeted by all eight of her friends.
Pinkie Pie jumped into the room and shouted at the top of her lungs excitedly, "Hi Fluttershy where's the little cutie Lightning Twister I want to throw him a Welcome to Ponyville Party it's going to be so much fun there's going to be cake and cookies and games and-"
Pinkie was cut off by Fluttershy's hoof in her mouth. Fluttershy looked upstairs, hoping that Pinkie didn't wake Lightning.
After a few seconds of silence, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief before saying to Pinkie in a very stern tone, "Pinkie, you need to calm down and be quiet. Lightning's asleep and I don't want you to wake him."
Pinkie nodded her head and Fluttershy took her hoof out of Pinkie’s mouth.
Turning to the rest of her friends, she began to explain what had happened with Lightning a few minutes ago.
"I was going to wake him up, but I heard him crying upstairs. When I made it upstairs, the poor dear was having an awful Nightmare. He was trembling uncontrollably when I got closer to him, he was crying and screaming like he did the night I first found him."
Twilight and others nodded their heads in understood before Starlight asked, "Do you know what the nightmare was about?"
Fluttershy nodded her head. "He was dreaming about his horrible father hurting him."
The group looked at each other with concern before Fluttershy continued to speak.
"He was also dreaming about his mother. He was begging her not to leave him."
Fluttershy and her friends looked down in sadness knowing how much this little colt has gone through.
"He finally woke up and I had never seen him so scared and upset." Fluttershy said "I was able to calm him down though. I rocked him to sleep like my own mother did for me when I was a filly."
The group smiled at Fluttershy softly before Rarity spoke up. "That was a wonderful thing for you to do darling," she said earning nods of approval from everyone else.
Fluttershy smiled before looking down in sadness. "Oh girls, Oliver, I don't know what to do with Lightning." she sniffled as small tears formed in her eyes.
Rainbow Dash trotted up to her longtime friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "You don't need to do anything with him, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow with confusion before Applejack trotted over to her and said, "What she's trying to say sugarcube, is that you’re doing just fine."
Fluttershy still didn't understand. Sunset walked forward and said, "You’re doing a great job taking care of the little cutie."
Fluttershy smiled at her friends and thanked them each for their reassurance.
After a few hours of talking, everyone said their goodbyes and Fluttershy went upstairs to wake Lightning once again. Lightning continued to sleep peacefully until Fluttershy gently nudged him. Lightning opened his eyes and yawned. Fluttershy lifted him up and placed him in her lap.
She smiled and looked into his eyes before asking him, "Are you feeling better, sweetheart?"
Lightning nodded and laid his head against Fluttershy's chest.
Fluttershy stroked his side with her hoof for a few minutes before asking, "Would you like some lunch, sweetie?"
Lightning felt his stomach grumble and nodded his head. Fluttershy smiled at Lightning and placed him on her back. She flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. She gently placed Lightning in one of the kitchen chairs and went to the cabinets to make him something to eat.
After a few minutes, Fluttershy set a sandwich in front of Lightning and said, "Here you go, Lightning sweetheart. I made you a delicious daisy sandwich."
Lightning smiled at Fluttershy before picking up the sandwich. He took a small bite before devouring the entire sandwich.
Fluttershy giggled and said, "My, you were hungry. Would you like another one?"
"Yes please," Lightning responded politely.
Fluttershy nodded and made Lightning another sandwich which he ate happily and not so fast. After eating the sandwich, Lightning was full and Fluttershy quickly washed the plate.
The next thing the two did was go out and feed Fluttershy's animals. Lightning watched as Fluttershy fed each animal their meal. Lightning fed some of them too with help from Fluttershy.
After Lightning and Fluttershy had finish feeding the birds on the ground, Lightning then saw a big shadow coming towards them. He turned round and saw a large brown bear, with a smile on his face, coming towards them.
“AHHH!! A BEAR!!” Lightning screamed in fear before he ran underneath Fluttershy and held onto her hoof tightly in fear.
Fluttershy nuzzled him before saying, “Shh... it’s okay, sweetheart. That’s just Harry. He’s one of the nicest bears you’ll ever met.” She then looked at Harry with a smile. “Go on, Harry. Show him how friendly you are.”
Harry nodded his head as he then gently picked up Lightning without trying to scare him. Lightning began to shake in fear, but was stopped by Fluttershy’s gentle hushing sound making him calm. The friendly bear then brought him to his chest giving him a friendly bear hug, and eventually after a few seconds, Lightning began to feel much calm and hugged him back.
Harry then gently placed the colt back on the ground before stroking his mane.
“Thank you,” He said as Harry let out a friendly bear growl.
Fluttershy giggled before saying, “He said ‘You're welcome, kid’. So that wasn’t so bad now, was it?”
Lightning nodded his head while smiling before the two continued to feed the rest of the animals.
After a couple of minutes, with all the animals fed, Lightning went up to Fluttershy and said, “Fluttershy, can you take me flying for a bit?”
Fluttershy smiled and gently lifted his chin with her hoof.
"Just because you can't fly yet sweetheart, doesn't mean I can't take you flying to show you what it's like to fly," She said to the young colt sweetly as he smiled back to her.
Fluttershy gently placed Lightning on her back, spread her wings, and took off. Lightning’s eyes were suddenly shut tight and his little hooves were wrapped around Fluttershy's neck as this was his first time in the sky. Fluttershy could feel him trembling on her back as she rubbed one his hooves that clung to her neck with her hoof.
"It's okay, Lightning sweetie. You can open your eyes now," Fluttershy said to the young colt gently.
Lightning slowly opened and looked down. He yelped in fear and held on to Fluttershy's neck a little bit tighter.
Fluttershy continued to rub his hoof with hers as she said, "It's alright, sweetheart. I promise, I won't let you fall."
Lightning nodded as tears formed in his eyes from fear of being this high in the sky. However as the wind gently blew against him and the clouds smoothly glided by made Lightning’s fear melt away as he began to get use to the new world around him. He was still somewhat afraid, but Fluttershy's gentle comforting drove that fear away as Lightning began to enjoy the feeling of flying. A smile began to grow on his face as the sun's warmth went down his back and the wind made his mane flow. He had never felt such an experience like this before and he loved every minute of this new experience.
The sun was beginning to set when Fluttershy landed on the ground. She gently took Lightning off her back and placed him in front of her. However before she could even react or say anything, Lightning wrapped his little hooves around her neck and hugged her tightly. She had show him what it was like to do something he had always dreamed about doing.
"Thank you so much, Fluttershy. I never knew what it felt like to fly," Lightning said gratefully.
Fluttershy wrapped a wing around Lightning's body and rubbed at his back before saying, "You’re welcome sweetheart, I'm glad I could help you see what it's like. If you ever want to do it again, I will be more than happy to take you flying. Now let's go home and make something for dinner."
Lightning nodded and followed Fluttershy back to her cottage. When they arrived, they went inside and Fluttershy made Lightning and herself a delicious salad. When they finished dinner, Fluttershy took Lightning upstairs to give him a quick bath. When they were finished, Fluttershy went to her bedroom to tuck Lightning in for the night. She placed him under the covers and before she could do anything else, she heard a small whimper from Lightning.
She sat on the bed and placed him on her lap before asking, "Lightning sweetie, what's wrong?"
Lightning let a few small tears flow free and shook his head, not wanting to answer the question.
Fluttershy pulled him closer to her and stroked his back with her hoof. Lightning laid his head against her soft chest and he could hear her heartbeat. It was so calming and gentle just like her loving embrace. Lightning didn't know why, but he felt safe and loved when Fluttershy held him.
He looked up at Fluttershy and said to her sadly, "I miss my Momma, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy closed her eyes and softly hushed the little colt.
"Shhh...It's alright Lightning, I’m here I’m here.”
“D-do you really t-think it’s n-not m-my fault she d-died, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy kissed him on the forehead before answering, “Of course I do, sweetie. The death of your mother wasn’t your fault, it was just an accident at birth.”
She then pulled him away the embrace before continuing,
"And I will say this to you, sweetheart. No matter how far apart you and your mother are and no matter what happens, she would always be with you..." Fluttershy gently placed a hoof on Lightning’s chest. "...In here."
Lightning smiled and snuggled into Fluttershy’s chest and let out a yawn.
His eyes began to close, but he was able to say something before he fell asleep.
"When I'm with you, Fluttershy. It feels like my Momma's right beside me."
Lightning fell asleep in Fluttershy's embrace and tears stung Fluttershy's eyes. She closed them as the tears flowed freely.
She continued to rub Lightning's back with her hoof. When she finished, she tucked Lightning into her bed and kissed him on the forehead, but instead of going downstairs, she got into bed, laid down beside him and placed a wing over him. Lightning snuggled into her side and smiled while he slept. Fluttershy gave Lightning a gentle loving smile and gave him one more kiss on the forehead. She then closed her eyes and fell asleep with Lightning snuggled up beside her.
As the sun began to rise, Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and looked down at Lightning Twister who was still under her wing sleeping soundly. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was still very early so she decided to let Lightning sleep for a little longer. Fluttershy very carefully got out of bed without waking Lightning Twister. As gently and carefully as possible, she moved Lightning underneath the covers and tucked him in. After giving Lightning a gentle kiss on the forehead, Fluttershy flew down the stairs and sat on the living room couch. As she sat there, she decided to go see her friends for a few minutes. She wanted to talk to them about Lightning.
Quickly heading into her room, Fluttershy gently nudged Lightning causing him to wake. He let out a yawn and smiled at Fluttershy. But before he could do anything, Fluttershy placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Shh...You don't have to get up yet, sweetheart. I'm just going over to Twilight's for a few minutes. You go back to sleep and I promise I'll be here when you wake up. If I'm not back before you wake up, don't leave the cottage. Do you understand?" Fluttershy told him in a loving yet stern tone.
"Yes Ma'am," Lightning said before laying his head back onto the pillow and shutting his eyes.
"Okay, I'll be back in a bit sweetie," Fluttershy said to Lightning before giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Fluttershy left the cottage and locked the door. Before she left, she looked at the window to the room where Lightning slept and said, "Don't worry Lightning, I promise I'll take great care of you." With that said, Fluttershy made her way to Twilight's castle.
When she arrived at Twilight's castle, she opened the doors then closing them, walked into the throne room and gasped in shock at the sight, she saw not only were all of her friends there, but also standing in the room was none other than Princess Celestia. Fluttershy bowed respectfully to the princess.
Princess Celestia giggled and said in her usual gentle and motherly tone, "Please Fluttershy, you don't have to bow to me. I'm here, because I received a letter from Twilight telling me that you have found a runaway colt and have taken him in."
Fluttershy hesitantly nodded. She feared that if the Princess knew he was a runaway, she would send him back to his abusive father.
Seeing the fear in Fluttershy's eyes, the Princess gently placed a hoof on her shoulder and said, "Please relax, my little pony. There's no need to be afraid. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of your actions to take care of this little colt."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide at hearing what the princess said.
"R-Really!?" Fluttershy stammered earning a nod from the Princess.
"Yes. I would also like to say to all of you that I have sent some of my guards to find his father and arrest him. I absolutely will not tolerate child abuse from anypony whatsoever," Princess Celestia said in a calm yet very angry tone. Everyone frowned and nodded in agreement.
Fluttershy gave the princess a grateful smile. "Princess, may I say something?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course my dear," Celestia said to Fluttershy gently.
Fluttershy let out a deep breath before saying, "The young colt’s name is Lightning Twister, and I love him like he was my own son. Last night, he told me that when I'm with him, it feels like his own mother is right beside him. I've thought long and hard about this, and if it's alright with you and my friends. I would like to adopt Lightning Twister."
Fluttershy's friends gasped in shock before Applejack spoke up.
"Sugarcube, are you sure about this?"
"Yes I am Applejack," Fluttershy said, "The poor little colt has had nopony to love and care for him. The only pony that might have loved him had died when he was born. He's all alone in the world with no actual family. Since I took him in, I have shown him the love that he has not been shown for who knows how long. I want to be his mother. I want to be the one to love and care for him. I love him with all of my heart, and I don't want him to be alone anymore."
Hearing what Fluttershy said brought tears to everyone's eyes, including Princess Celestia. Twilight magically levitated a tissue to everyone.
After the Princess wiped her eyes, she smiled at Fluttershy and said, "We were all hoping you would say that, Fluttershy. Because we couldn't think of any better pony to be a mother for Lightning Twister than you."
Fluttershy felt tears sting her own eyes.
"Y-you r-really think so?" she sobbed happily.
Everyone in the room nodded happily while Twilight levitated a tissue to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy wiped her eyes before giving her friends and the princess a hug while saying, "Thank you, everypony!"
"Ooh Ooh does this mean we're his Aunts and Oliver is his uncle!?" Pinkie asked while bouncing excitedly.
Fluttershy giggled and said, "Of course, if that's alright with everypony."
It didn't take long for all of Fluttershy's friends to say yes and tackle her into a group hug.
Princess Celestia smiled at the sight and said, "I will go get the adoption papers and bring them to you, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy nodded her head and looked at Pinkie Pie before asking, "Pinkie, can you put together a simple party for just family?"
After a few minutes later, Fluttershy returned to her cottage and went upstairs. When she reached her bedroom and saw that Lightning was still asleep. She trotted up to the young colt and nuzzled his cheek to wake him up. Letting out a yawn, Lightning rubbed his eyes and looked at Fluttershy.
"Good Morning Lightning, did you sleep well last night?" Fluttershy asked him sweetly.
Lightning nodded his head and Fluttershy smiled at him before asking, "Would you like some breakfast?"
"Yes Please," Lightning said politely.
Fluttershy nodded her head and the two trotted downstairs to have some breakfast. When they were finished eating, Fluttershy quickly washed the dishes. When everything was clean, Fluttershy and Lightning went into the living room to feed the animals. The two fed the animals happily while Fluttershy hummed a happy song.
With all the animals fed, Fluttershy looked at Lighting and asked, "Lightning, would you like to go to Twilight's for a few minutes?"
Lightning nodded his head and she went out the door with Lightning following her. When they stepped outside, the two began their journey to Ponyville. Entering the town square, Fluttershy saw a familiar figure that she had not introduced Lightning to. It was a small purple dragon with wings and green scales.
"Spike!" Fluttershy calls out catching the dragon’s attention.
Spike waves at Fluttershy who walks over to the dragon.
Spike smiled at Fluttershy and said, "Hey Fluttershy, good to see you again."
Fluttershy returns the smile while saying, "You too Spike, did you have a good time in Canterlot?"
"Yeah, it was great!" Spike said happily.
Before either Spike or Fluttershy could say anything, they heard a small whimpering sound coming from behind Fluttershy. Fluttershy turned her head around to see Lightning hiding behind her while trembling and whimpering.
With concern in her voice, Fluttershy asked, "Lightning, what's the matter?"
Lightning continued to whimper while pointing a shaking hoof at Spike.
"Is that the little guy Twilight told me about, Fluttershy?" Spike asked curiously.
Fluttershy nodded while gently stroking Lightning's mane.
"Spike, this is Lightning Twister. He's the little colt I'm taking care of," Fluttershy said to Spike happily.
Lightning continued to whimper in fear of Spike. He had never seen a dragon before. His father had told him that they were dangerous and hungry monsters that would get Lightning if he misbehaved. Lightning feared that he had done something wrong and Spike had come here to hurt him.
Seeing that Lightning was probably afraid of him, Spike started to walk over to Lightning to show him that there was no need to be afraid of him. However when Spike got near Lightning, he ran underneath Fluttershy and buried his face in his hooves. Fluttershy reached a foreleg under her and picked him up to calm him down and reassure him that he doesn't need to be afraid of Spike.
"Shhh...It's okay, Lightning. Spike's not going to hurt you. He's a kind and sweet little dragon," Fluttershy said to Lightning gently.
Lightning looked at Fluttershy and then at Spike who was smiling at him. Fluttershy very gently put Lightning back on the ground and kept a hoof on his shoulder to keep him calm.
"Hey there little guy, I'm Spike, I'm Twilight's number one assistant. You don't need to be afraid of me. I'm just a baby dragon, and I wouldn't hurt a fly," Spike said hoping that he could get Lightning to trust him.
Spike raised a claw and held it out. He continued to wear a happy smile as Lightning looked at him and then at the claw. Spike wasn't trying to hurt him. He was being as friendly as the Cutie Mark Crusaders were when they met Lightning, maybe he wasn't a mean dragon. Lightning finally gave Spike a small smile, raised a hoof, and put it in Spike's small claw. The two shook hoof and claw in friendship.
After a minute, Spike looked at Fluttershy who smiled at him.
"Well guys, I'm gonna head back to Twilight's castle," Spike said while giving a wink to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy smiled at Spike and nodded her head. He must know about the party for Lightning. Spike waved at Fluttershy and Lightning and made his way back home. Fluttershy looked down at Lightning who looked at the ground sadly.
Lightning looked at Fluttershy and said, "I'm sorry I was scared of Spike, Fluttershy. I’ve never seen a dragon before. Daddy told me that dragons were mean and they would get me if I was bad."
Fluttershy frowned at Lightning and rubbed his shoulder. She truly hated his father for saying and doing so many horrible things to Lightning.
"It's alright sweetheart, I used to be afraid of dragons once. If you want to, I can tell you a story sometime about how my friends and I had to get a giant sleeping dragon to leave Ponyville because he was snoring and was causing black smoke," Fluttershy said to Lightning gently.
Lightning smiled at Fluttershy and said, "That would be nice Fluttershy, thank you."
Fluttershy and Lightning smiled at each other and continued to make their way to Twilight's castle.
When they arrived, Fluttershy looked at Lightning and said, "Lightning, could you close your eyes for a minute? Don't worry, I'll guide you in."
Lightning nodded and closed his eyes as he was told to do. Fluttershy opened the door and very carefully led Lightning into the castle. When Fluttershy closed the door, she guided him into the room where the party was, once they reached the room, Fluttershy sat down behind Lightning put her hooves over his eyes.
"Okay sweetheart, you can open your eyes now," Fluttershy said to Lightning.
Lightning opened his eyes and Fluttershy removed her hooves.
"SURPRISE!" shouted a room full of ponies.
Lightning looked around with eyes wide with surprise. Everypony that he had met was here. All of Fluttershy's friends, The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike.
"I-Is this all f-for me?" Lightning stammered in confusion.
Pinkie bounced up to Lightning and said, "Yep, this is your Welcome to Ponyville party!"
Fluttershy smiled at Pinkie and then at Lightning who had a huge smile on his face. They had done all of this for him to make him feel welcome and to make him feel like he was truly home.
"Thank you, everypony!' Lightning said happily.
Everyone in the room smiled at him as Pinkie Pie jumped in the air and shouted, "Alright everypony, let's party!"
Everyone at the party was having a great time, Fluttershy and her friends were talking and Lightning Twister, as well as Spike and the CMC, were talking with one another. Lightning's smile barely left his face since the party had started. For once in his life, he was happy. He was around ponies that actually liked him and cared about him.
Lightning and his new friends were all laughing, when a voice called out to Lightning. It was the voice of Rainbow Dash. Lightning began to tremble when he heard the cyan Pegasus call his name, but he stopped when he felt a reassuring hoof touch his shoulder. Lightning looked at the source of the hoof and saw Scootaloo smiling at him. She knew that Lightning was somewhat afraid of Rainbow Dash. So she figured that since she and Rainbow were so close, and she and Lightning were now friends, she would go with Lightning to make him a little more comfortable.
"Come on Lightning, I'll go with you to see Rainbow Dash since she and I are like sisters. I'm sure what she has to say will be awesome just like she is," Scootaloo said to Lightning proudly.
Lightning nodded his head and said, "Okay, Scootaloo."
The two trotted up to Rainbow Dash who left her group of friends to meet them halfway. Lightning started to tremble once more until he felt a gentle hoof from both Scootaloo and another mare he didn't expect Rainbow Dash.
"Hey Lightning, hey Scoots," Rainbow said to the colt and the filly.
"Hey Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said happily.
Lightning looked at Rainbow with nervous eyes. Rainbow let out a sigh and began talking to the young colt while Scootaloo held his shoulders with her hooves to keep him from being nervous.
"Hey Lightning, I know you’re still scared of me after what I said to you, and I wanted to say again that I am truly sorry I called you a crybaby. I didn't know that you were afraid of thunder and lightning and your father scared you a lot with storm clouds. I made a mistake calling you a crybaby little guy, and I wish I could take it back. I now know you’re scared of thunder and lightning, and that’s all I’m gonna be thinking about. Lightning, can you ever forgive me for what I said?"
Lightning looked at Rainbow for a minute. He looked deep into her magenta eyes and he saw that she was telling the truth and she meant every word since the beginning. Now it was Lightning’s turn to feel ashamed. He should have trusted her apology the last time she said she was sorry. Looking at Rainbow, Lightning smiled and walked up to her. He stared at the beautiful cyan mare and wrapped his hooves around her neck.
"I'm sorry I didn't trust you Rainbow," Lightning said.
Rainbow felt small tears form in the edges of her eyes and she wrapped her forelegs around Lightning. She may be tough, but she was also willing to her softer side.
"It's alright little guy," Rainbow said before pulling Lightning away to look him in the eyes. "Hey, Fluttershy told me you’re not a very good flier. So I was wondering if you would like me to teach you how to fly."
Scootaloo immediately dashed in front of Lightning and said, "That would be great, Lightning! Rainbow Dash is teaching me how to fly! You and I can learn together! Come on say yes, it'll be totally awesome!"
Lightning chuckled and said, "I'd like that Rainbow, thank you."
Rainbow gave him a proud smirk and ruffled his mane with her hoof.
The party went on with everyone continuing to have a great time. Eveyone played, talked, and laughed until a flash entered the room. The flash revealed Princess Celestia and everyone except Lightning Twister bowed.
Celestia giggled and said playfully, "I told you my little ponies, there is no need to bow to me at something like this."
Lightning crawled his way towards Fluttershy while trying to avoid eye contact with the princess. He had never seen her before and he was quite afraid of her. The princess saw Lightning as he hid under Fluttershy.
She trotted over to the scared colt and said, "You must be Lightning Twister."
Lightning said nothing until Fluttershy silently reassured him that Celestia wasn't going to hurt him.
Lightning very carefully made his way out from under Fluttershy and walked up to the sun goddess. He bowed respectfully to her and Princess Celestia put a gentle hoof in his shoulder.
"Please young one, nopony else has to bow to me and you don't have to either," She said in her gentle and motherly tone.
Lightning raised to his hooves and looked up at the princess.
Celestia smiled and said, "I'm glad I was finally able to meet you, Lightning Twister. I am here because I was asked to come here by Fluttershy."
Lightning gasped and looked at Fluttershy who gave him a gentle smile.
"Y-you asked her to come, Fluttershy?" Lightning asked in shock.
"Yes I did sweetheart," Fluttershy said. "I asked her to come, because I want to ask you something."
Lightning looked at Fluttershy curiously as Fluttershy picked him up and held him in her forelegs. She felt small tears sting her eyes as she began to speak to Lightning softy, gently, and sweetly.
"Lightning, since the night I found you, you have changed my life. I have come to love and care you more than anypony in Equestria. You have a very special place in my heart now. I love you more than anything, Lightning. I know you never knew your real mother, and I was wondering if I could be your mother."
Lightning looked at Fluttershy in shock as tears began to form in his eyes.
"Y-you w-want to be m-my M-Momma?" Lightning sobbed happily.
Fluttershy's tears began to roll down her face as she nodded her head.
That one gesture made tears flow out of Lightning's eyes like a river. Except they weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy.
"Y-y-yes! I-I w-want you t-to b-be my M-M-Momma, F-F-Fluttershy!" Lightning cried as he wrapped his arms around her neck.
Fluttershy said nothing as she hugged Lightning with her eyes close and her tears of happiness flowing freely. Everyone else in the room had tears in their eyes as well as they watched Fluttershy and Lightning Twister hold each other.
"Th-Thank you, F-Fluttershy! I p-promise I'll b-be the best s-son in th-the world," Lightning sobbed happily.
Fluttershy shook her head and cried gently, "You already are, sweetheart. I promise you."
Princess Celestia watched the two happily and trotted up to them while holding out the Adoption Papers.
The princess put the papers and a quill on a table and said to Fluttershy, "Here you go, Fluttershy. Just sign this and you will officially be Lightning's new mother."
Fluttershy picked up the quill with her mouth and signed the papers as everyone cheered for Fluttershy and her new son.
Everyone continued to enjoy themselves until the sun went down. Being completely exhausted, everyone said their goodbyes and went home. Fluttershy and Lightning made their way to the door way of Twilight's castle until they were stopped by Twilight who had just put Spike to bed.
Twilight smiled at the two and said, "I'm so happy for both of you. Goodnight and sweet dreams both of you.
Fluttershy nodded at Twilight and Lightning went up to her and hugged her neck.
"Goodnight, Twilight," Lightning said as he looked into Twilight's eyes, “ Thank you for everything.”
Twilight wrapped a foreleg around Lightning and said, "You’re welcome, sweetheart."
After a few minutes, the two broke the hug and said goodbye. Fluttershy put Lightning on her back and flew home. When they got home, they were both tired, but Fluttershy wanted to do one more thing.
Fluttershy took Lightning upstairs and took him off of her back. She then tucked him in and sat down on the bed beside him.
Smiling at her new son, Fluttershy said, "Lightning, I came up with a new lullaby just for you. Would you like me to sing it?"
Lightning nodded as he got out of the covers and laid down on his new mother’s lap. Fluttershy picked up the young colt and cradled him close to her. She very gently brushed a loose hair out his face and she began to gently rock him while softly singing in his ear.
"Sleep my angel, Sleep all the night."
"Dream my baby, dream again."
"Sleep my angel, Sleep all the night."
"Dream my baby, dream again."
"Dreams are free like clouds in the sky."
"Dreams are bright like stars and the sun."
"Dreams are real like a castle in the sand."
"Dreams are real like a castle in the sand."
When she finished singing, Lightning's eyes begin to close as he snuggled his head into Fluttershy's neck.
"Goodnight Momma," Lightning said while letting out a yawn and then falling asleep.
Fluttershy continued to hold Lightning for a few minutes. She very carefully laid down in the bed and placed the covers over both of them. She laid her head onto the pillow and looked at Lightning who snuggled into her neck once more.
"Goodnight my baby boy," Fluttershy said.
The new mother and son fell asleep with smiles on their faces and holding each other in a loving embrace. The two slept like that through the night with Princess Luna's moon bathing them in a warm comforting glow.
The beautiful sun of Princess Celestia had began to rise over the horizon. The sun's warm light shined through the windows of Fluttershy's cottage. It's been two weeks since Fluttershy had adopted Lightning Twister, and today was going to be Lightning's first day of school at the School of Friendship. Fluttershy flew up her staircase to her bedroom where her son was sleeping. She entered the room and trotted over to the bed.
"Lightning, it's time to wake up sweetheart," Fluttershy said to Lightning sweetly as she then kissed him on the forehead.
Lightning opened his eyes, let out a soft yawn and used his little hooves to rub his eyes. He then looked into the beautiful blue eyes of his mother.
"Good Morning Momma," Lightning said softly before giving her a hug.
Fluttershy wrapped a foreleg around Lightning and said, "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you ready for your first day of school?"
Lightning began to tremble a little bit out of nervousness.
"I-I don't know, Momma. The other kids at my old school were mean to me, because I couldn't fly. What if the other kids at this school are mean to me?" Lightning asked his mother nervously.
Fluttershy gently stroked Lightning’s mane to calm his trembling.
"Don't worry sweetie," Fluttershy said gently, "I promise, the other kids won't be mean. Besides, you’ll be going to a school that I teach at, along with your aunts and Uncle Oliver."
“Really?”
“Of course,” she replied, “So you won’t have any problems there with the students there as long we're there and showing how friendship works. And you can talk to us if there’s any problems.”
Lightning gave Fluttershy a little smile.
"Okay Momma," Lightning said softly.
"That's my boy," Fluttershy said happily, “Now let's go have some breakfast before we go.”
The two went downstairs to have some breakfast. Fluttershy made Lightning some delicious oatmeal and made herself some toast. When they finished, Fluttershy made Lightning a daisy sandwhich and some fresh apple juice for lunch and put them in a small bag. She then placed Lightning onto her back while he was holding his lunch bag, walked out of the cottage, closed the door behind her and began to fly all the way to the School of Friendship.
As she flew towards the school, Lightning asked,
“Momma, what will I see in the School of Friendship?”
“Well,” Fluttershy began, “You’ll see a lot of classrooms, a library where you can study more ready for future lessons.” She gave him a wink before continuing, “There’s a room where your Auntie Starlight is the guidance counsellor, we have many students there. Five of them are different creatures and are friends together with a pony.”
“Different creatures?” Asked Lightning curiosity.
“That’s right. There’s a griffon, a yak, a dragon like Spike but older, a Changeling and a hippogriff who is also a seapony.”
“Wow!” Lightning was amazed by that, even though he has never heard or seen any of those creatures before, aside from dragons after meeting Spike on the day Fluttershy adopted him.
“And I think that you and the six friends I mentioned will become good friends when you meet them,” said Fluttershy with hope.
“Really?!”
“Of course, sweetheart. Besides, the five creatures are very friendly, just like Spike.”
“I would like to meet them, Momma!”
Fluttershy giggled before saying, “I knew you would like to.” She then kissed him on the cheek as she continued her way to the school.
When they arrived, Lightning was amazed as he saw the school, it looked just like Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, only it was bigger, had more space to it and was near Twilight’s castle, it was nothing he had ever seen before.
“It’s so big,” Lightning said.
“It sure is,” said Fluttershy as she landed on the ground safely and gently.
She walked towards the doors, opened them and went inside as she shut the doors behind her.
Once inside, Lightning saw a lot of students, including the Young Six, standing in front of a stage where Twilight, Oliver, Spike and the rest of the girls were standing. Fluttershy, with Lightning Twister on her back still, went onto the stage to join them as Twilight began to speak.
"Attention ponies and creatures of all, welcome to the new year of your lessons here at the School of Friendship. Now as you all may have heard, we have a brand new student joining us today."
"Will the new student please come and introduce himself?" Starlight asked.
Lightning felt a bit shy since he’s new in the school, so he hugged his mother’s neck gently and shook a little. But it was stopped by Fluttershy’s nuzzle, showing him that it’ll be okay and there’s nothing to be afraid of. She then took him off her back and gently placed him in front of her, showing everyone in the school.
“May I introduce, my son Lightning Twister,” Fluttershy said as she placed a hoof on her son’s shoulder.
Everyone let out an awww as they thought how cute he was. That made Lightning blush a bit.
“I hope you all make him feel welcome here in the school,” said Sunset.
“Now why don’t you take the free time to get yourselves ready before the day starts,” Twilight said as all the students began to make their ways to the gym or library for their free time.
“So Lightning, would you like me and your mother to take you on a tour of the school?” Asked Oliver politely.
Lightning nodded for a yes as the three began the tour of the school.
Oliver and Fluttershy showed Lightning the entire school where the classrooms are, the guidance counselling room, dining hall, the library and Twilight’s main office. The last part of the tour was the gym room, they were walked towards that room, as they were walking, Lightning saw a human walking into Oliver’s classroom.
“Hey Uncle Oliver, who was that creature? The one that just went into your classroom,” Lightning asked.
“Oh that was my friend, John Constantine. But he either goes by John or Constantine. He’s a human,” Oliver replied, “He often comes by here to see how I’m doing since we’ve been friends ever since I was young. Maybe one day, I can take you to meet him one day if you like.”
“You think he’ll like me?”
“Of course he will,” he said as he rubbed Lightning’s mane gently, “He’s the friendliest human you’ll ever meet.” They continued their way to the gym room.
As they reached the gym, they saw the Young Six there. They were just talking and laughing together as they waited for their new day at the School of Friendship to start. Lightning began to feel shy again as he went underneath Oliver and hid behind his hoof.
“Hey every creature!” Fluttershy called out to them, “Come and meet our new student who is also my son!”
The six students walked towards the three, soon they were cornered in friendly smiles by an orange dragon with antlers, a yak, a blue griffon, a khaki brown colored earth pony with a turquoise blue mane and tail with a cutie mark of three sea turtles, a hyperactive and excited hippogriff and a blue and pink changeling.
Oliver looked down to Lightning, “Don’t be frightened, Lightning. Come meet them.”
Lightning looked out from underneath his uncle, and saw the students were looking at him with friendly smiles on their faces, while the hippogriff had a big excited smile on her face like she often does. He then looked at his mother who gave him a nod saying it’s okay. He slowly walked from underneath Oliver and towards the six.
“HelloooAAAAHHHH!!!!” Lightning screamed. He felt two pink fur covered arms that have picked him up off the ground and was now in mid air. The arms then pulled him close to a chest and hugged him tightly.
“AREN'T YOU THE MOST CUTEST PONY IN EQUESTRIA?!?! I CAN JUST HUG YOU FOREVER!!!!” said the voice of the hippogriff. Lightning looked up and saw that she had a sensitive yet excited look of joy over his cuteness.
"I'm Silverstream, I'm from Mount Aris and Seaquestria. I was a seapony once but now I'm a hippogriff again, but I'll explain my story later," said Silverstream as she continued to hug Lightning. She then pulled him closer to where his face was now buried into her chest.
"How can I ever be friends with a cute pony like you?!" she said as she squeezed him.
“Help! Me!” Mumbled Lightning in Silverstream’s chest.
“Silverstream my dear, release him,” Oliver kindly said before giggling.
“Yes Professor Oliver,” said Silverstream as she gently put Lightning back on the ground.
The next one to the introduction was the blue griffon, "Nice to meet you. I'm Gallus from Griffonstone."
"I'm Ocellus from the Changeling Kingdom."
"I'm Sandbar from Ponyville."
"Me Yona from Yakyakistan. Yak love meeting new friends." Yona then embraced Lightning as he then choked from the power of the young yak's embrace but she letted him go afterwards.
And last was the orange dragon, "And I'm Smolder from the Dragon lands."
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Lightning Twister.”
“Now since Lightning has met you all, would it be okay if he joined you six?” Asked Oliver.
“Of course Professor Oliver,” Gallus answered, “We’ll be sure to make him feel welcome here. Right, guys?”
The five nodded as a yes.
“Good. We’ll heading to see Headmare Twilight now,” said Fluttershy as she then gave Lightning a kiss on the cheek, “Have a good day, sweetie. I’ll see you when you’re in my lessons. Love you.”
“Love you too, Momma.” He then kissed Fluttershy back.
“And make sure you all be careful with him,” warned Oliver, “He’s still young, and can get scared easily.” He then rubbed his nephew’s mane.
“Don’t worry Professor Oliver,” Smolder said, “We’ll be very gentle with him.”
With nothing else left to say, the two professors left the gym room and headed towards the room where Twilight and the others would meet.
One hour has passed, and The Young Seven were still in the gym room, not playing hoops and balls like they often do in Rainbow Dash’s lessons, they just sat on the floor and talked together.
"So Lightning, when did Fluttershy give birth to you?” Sandbar asked, “Because I've never heard she was planning on having children till now.”
"Well, to be honest, I wasn't born from her," Lightning said. This confused the Young Six.
"What do you mean?" Smolder asked as she got up and walked towards him.
"I was adopted, my real Momma died after giving birth to me. And my daddy said it was my fault she died.”
The Young Five gasped while Gallus let out a “What?!”
Tears began to escape his eyes as he continued, “D-daddy scares me with t-thunder s-storms, calls me a f-freak a-and hits m-me.”
This made Smolder feel bad for Lightning, sure she was a big tough dragon, but she had the heart to care for others. She bent down her knees and gently placed her claws on him in comfort.
“What kind of a parent blames a poor cute child like you for something that wasn’t even your fault?!” exclaimed Silverstream angrily.
"Yona hate mean parents!" growled Yona.
"Yeah, besides you're too cute to be blamed for and to go through something like that," Ocellus said making Lightning blush.
"Not to mention you've now got a loving mother that deeply cares about you from the heart, like we do now,” said Smolder as she picked him up and hugged him.
The rest could definitely tell she already had a romantic interest in him but in secret. Gallus and Sandbar snickered while Silverstream and Yona stared in confusion.
But Ocellus wasn’t happy with Gallus and Sandbar snickering at Smolder.
“Hey, just because Smolder is a dragon, doesn’t mean she can like cute things. And even if she is in love with him because he’s cute, that doesn’t matter. She’s just trying to be kind to him, because he needs comfort after explaining his story.” She then turned to Smolder as she winked at her, letting her know that she was on her side since Smolder likes cute things and has been trying to keep it a secret since the tests.
Smolder smiled at Ocellus before turning back to Lightning Twister.
"Hey kid, bottom line is, you're not ignored here,” said Smolder, “And we'll see to it that you have more friends in every way.”
Lightning smiled as she gave him another embrace, and this time, Lightning felt a kiss on his forehead. Smolder had kissed him.
"And that is a symbol of our new friendship," she said.
“You guys, want to be my, friends?” Lightning asked happily.
“Of course we do,” Silverstream said while Yona nodded her head, “That's what Friendship’s all about. Making friends no matter what size or creature they are.”
“Yona want to be friends with little pony!” Yona said excitedly.
“Looks like things are gonna go well for me here after all.”
"So what do you say, kid? Friends?" Gallus asked as he held out his clawed hand. Smolder, Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream soon joined in putting their paws and hooves on top of his and then Ocellus joined in.
"Come on Lightning, it'll be fun," Smolder said.
Lightning felt his heart move up to love mode and decided to join in.
“Friends for life!” He said as he placed his hoof in, then they all raised their limbs together.
"GO FRIENDSHIP!" they yelled, then giggled and laughed, suddenly without warning, Twilight popped in.
"Hey, the bell’s about to ring in ten minutes, why don’t you make your way to your first lesson," she said.
"Yes Headmare Sparkle," they all said as they exited the gym and walked down the hallways to their first class. Silverstream then gently picked Lightning up and placed him on her back.
“Why don’t you ride on my back to class, cutie? It’ll be okay with me since you’re light as a feather.”
He smiled and nodded for a okay as they continued on to their first class of the day.
After two hours at Rainbow Dash’s lessons and then one hour at Fluttershy’s, it was now break time and every student was either in the gym or outside talking or playing.
As for The Young Seven, they were at the swings, that was build two months ago for young students to play on, Lightning was the only one sitting on one of the swings while the others just sat the grass resting. Nothing really happened until Lightning felt two soft fur claws gently pressing against his back. He looked back and he saw Silverstream with a smile on her face.
"Would you like me to push you, sweetie?" she asked.
"Yes please," Lightning replied, "But... not too hard, please. I’m still a little scared of going high."
"Aw, don't worry," said Silverstream, "I’ll be gentle."
Just like that, she began to gave Lightning a gentle push and he swung into the air. Lightning began to laugh and also began to feel a little more comfortable. "Higher! Higher!" Lightning said with a little more excited.
Silverstream laughed and did what he asked, pushing him just a little bit harder before the rest of the group joined in the laughter as Silverstream continued to push Lightning on the swing.
Meanwhile the mane eight, Spike, Oliver and Constantine were inside the staff room, enjoying some tea and just chatting amongst themselves.
“It’s so good to see you again John,” said Oliver.
“Aw thanks mate,” Constantine replied, “And how have you been these past, what? Two weeks? One? Six days?”
“Since you lot saved me from The Warlocks, and Neighsay turned over a new leaf.” Oliver then took a sip of his tea.
“Ah it’s no problem at all. The saving you part, not the stopping those child abusers part.” Constantine placed two sugar cubes into his cup before continuing, “So, you’ve lived happily ever after then since you started teaching here.”
“Yep,” Oliver replied, “The lessons are doing okay, the students are really nice and, that’s all I can think of to say.”
Constantine smiled at him before picking up a biscuit from the plate on the table and dipping it in his tea.
“So who was that little guy you and Fluttershy were showing around when I went into your classroom by the way?”
“Oh that was our new student to this school,” Oliver answered, “His name’s Lightning Twister.”
“New student, eh? Lovely.” John then took a bite of his biscuit after dipping it in his tea.
“Yep,” Oliver said before taking a sip of his tea, “It’s his first day here. Fluttershy decided to have him come here yesterday.”
Constantine was in shock as he was about to take another bite of his biscuit.
“Fluttershy has a kid?”
“He was five years old when Fluttershy adopted him,” Oliver answered, “I would have told you about it two weeks ago, but I didn’t thought you would be interested to hear about Fluttershy becoming a mother now.”
“Ah I don’t blame you mate,” said John as he finally took a second bite of his biscuit.
“Since the night Fluttershy found him, all alone. He changed her life after showing him care and love, unlike... unlike...” Oliver was unable to finish his sentence.
Constantine got into serious mode. “What?”
Oliver took a deep breath in and out before he continued.
“Unlike his father who blamed him for his mother’s death.”
Constantine spat out his tea as he was drinking it.
“Another child abuser?!”
“This one’s different to Mr and Mrs Warlock,” said Oliver, “Lightning’s father hits him, scares him with thunder and tells him that his mother died because of him. I don’t know why he did all that to him, but Fluttershy did the right thing and took Lightning in instead of taking him back to that stallion.”
“I think I can say she did do the right thing mate,” Constantine said placing his cup down, “But has Celestia arrested this father of his?”
Oliver, Spike and the girls in the room shook their heads in response.
“I’m afraid not John,” said Sunset, “Two days ago, Celestia told us that Cold Wind had escape the arrest from the guards, so he’s still out there somewhere. But we didn’t tell Lightning about it, he’s been afraid enough.”
“Well,” John said, “If I ever see or run into him, I’ll be sure to take in so he won’t hurt him anymore.”
That was when Fluttershy hugged him after hearing what he said.
“Oh thank you, Constantine! Thank you!” She then let go of him.
Twilight looked at the clock that was hanging on top of the doorway of the room.
“Oh looks like it’s time to head back to lessons,” said Twilight, “Now since some of you won’t be having lessons now, you can either help out or go home and take a rest, I don’t mind.”
They all nodded in understood, and that was when Fluttershy went over to Applejack before she was about to leave.
“Hey Applejack,” she said, “If you’re not too busy right now, could you help me out with something please?”
“Sure Flutters,” she replied with a smile, “What would you like me to help you with?”
At three in the afternoon, it was the end of the day and all the students walked out of the school of Friendship to their homes. The Young Seven were the last ones out of the school, they all walked out, while Lightning was riding on Silverstream’s back, as they stopped in front of the school doors.
“Well guys,” Sandbar started, “Since school has now ended, what should we do now?”
“Oh I know!” said Ocellus excitedly, “Why don’t we go to Sugarcube Corner and get some treats to celebrate Lightning Twister as our new friend?”
“Yona loves that idea!” shouted Yona but not too loudly since she didn’t wanna scare Lightning.
“Sounds like a great idea Ocellus,” said Silverstream happily before turning to Lightning. “What’d you say, Lightning cutie? Wanna get a treat or two at Sugarcube Corner with us?”
“Yeah kid,” Gallus said, “It’ll be fun.”
Lightning gave a two second thought about it before nodding his head happily.
“Yeah, I’d love to come with you guys!”
“Awesome!” Smolder said, “Let’s go!”
With nothing else left to say, the Young Seven ran towards Sugarcube Corner to get a treat or two, but Silverstream ran as carefully as she could since Lightning was riding on her back.
As they ran towards to Sugarcube Corner, they ran into Applejack.
"Hi Auntie Applejack!" Lightning said cheerfully as he got off Silverstream’s back, went up to the country mare and hugged her.
"Hey there Lightning," Applejack said as she returned Lightning's hug, “ I've been looking all over for ya, sugarcube.”
“Hey Professor Applejack,” said Sandbar, “Guess what, Lightning Twister’s our new friend now.”
Applejack smiled and said, “Well ain’t that nice. I’m glad you made some new friends at the School of Friendship, Lightning. Especially the ones that saved the day once.”
“And I’m glad they wanted to be my friends, Auntie Applejack.”
"We were just on our way to Sugarcube Corner to get some treats to celebrate Lightning as our new friend," Silverstream said cheerfully.
Applejack smiled at Silverstream as she gently rubbed Lightning's shoulder with her hoof.
"Well that sounds fine and dandy sugarcube,” said Applejack, “But that may have to wait until tomorrow or some other time." Applejack looks at Lightning, "Your Momma's got a special surprise for ya, Lightning. And she wants ya to come home."
"Really? A surprise for me?" Lightning said curiously.
Applejack laughed and said, "That's right, sugarcube. She asked me to come find ya so I can take ya home."
Lightning nodded his head and looked at his friends who all smiled at him.
“We’ll take you to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow kid,” said Gallus.
Lightning nodded his head once more and said, "Bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow." Lightning smiled and turned to face Applejack. "I'm ready to go home now, Auntie Applejack."
Applejack smiled at the colt and picked him up.
She placed him on her back and said, "Alright, hold on tight, sugarcube."
With that said, Applejack quickly made her way towards Fluttershy's cottage with the Young Six shouting goodbye to Lightning. The sun was beginning to set by the time Applejack arrived at Fluttershy's house. Applejack let Lightning off of her back, and the little colt turned around to look at her.
"Alright Lightning, I have to go," Applejack said before giving Lightning a hug and nuzzled his cheek. "You tell your Momma I said hi, okay?"
Lightning smiled at Applejack and hugged her again while saying, "I will, Auntie Applejack. I love you."
"I love you too sugarcube," Applejack said gently before she returned the hug and kissed Lightning on the forehead.
The two broke the hug and Lightning quickly kissed Applejack on the cheek before running home. When he went inside, he looked around but couldn't find Fluttershy.
"Momma!" Lightning called out.
Fluttershy made her way out of the kitchen and saw her son. Lightning ran up to her and hugged her. Fluttershy returned the hug and nuzzled Lightning while he did the same.
"Hi sweetheart, how was school toady?" Fluttershy asked sweetly and curiously.
“It was great Momma,” answered Lightning, “I made some new friends with the six students you and Uncle Oliver introduced to me.”
"That's great to hear, sweetie. Now let's go upstairs, I have a special surprise for you," Fluttershy said gently.
Lightning smiled and followed his mother upstairs.
When they reached the top of the staircase, Fluttershy turned around and said, "Alright Lightning, I want you to close your eyes."
Lightning did as he was told and closed his little eyes. He followed his mother’s sweet and gentle voice down the hallway. Lightning opened his eyes a small bit, but he was caught by Fluttershy.
"Ahah! No peeking!" Fluttershy said playfully with a cheeky grin on her face.
Lightning giggled and closed his eyes once again. He continued to follow Fluttershy's voice until she told him to stop. They stood in front of a door. With Lightning's eyes still closed, Fluttershy opened the door and gently nudged Lightning to go forward. Lightning took a few small steps until Fluttershy said stop again.
"Alright sweetheart, you can open your eyes now."
Lightning nodded and opened his eyes. When he did, his eyes went wide with amazement. He was inside a simple down to earth room that had the same natural wood as Fluttershy's bedroom, but it had a bed and window that had a beautiful view of the sunset.
"W-what is this, M-Momma?" Lightning stuttered in amazement.
Fluttershy giggled and sweetly said to her son, "This is your surprise sweetheart, welcome to your new bedroom."
"M-My!?" was all Lightning could say before tears of happiness started to stream down his face. He immediately jumped into his mother and hugged her.
"Th-thank you M-Momma, I-I l-love it!" Lightning cried happily.
Fluttershy's heart melted and she wrapped a soft gentle wing around her son.
"I'm so glad you like it, sweetheart. I asked your Auntie Applejack to help me make it for you," Fluttershy said gently as she rubbed her son’s back with her wing.
Lightning said nothing as he continued to cry tears of joy. Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs and both of her wings around Lightning as Lightning's head rested on Fluttershy's neck. The two stayed that way for a while until Fluttershy broke the hug.
"Alright sweetheart, you go take a bath while I make us some dinner."
Lightning nodded his head and kissed his mother’s cheek before saying, "Okay, Momma.” He then made his way to the bathroom to have his bath while Fluttershy made her way downstairs.
After Lightning had a bath, he went downstairs and went into the kitchen. On the table, he saw his mother's delicious soup she made on the night she found him as well as her delicious salad. Lightning and Fluttershy ate dinner together and by the time they were finished, it was dark outside and Lightning was tired.
Fluttershy and Lightning went upstairs and into Lightning's new bedroom. Fluttershy helped Lightning into his bed, and tucked him in. The bed was large and soft like Fluttershy's. Fluttershy then lit a candle that gave the room a nice light glow so Lightning wouldn't be scared of the dark.
Fluttershy gently smiled at her son and said, "Alright sweetheart, my room is right beside yours and I'll be there if you need me, okay?"
Lightning smiled and said, "Okay Momma, I love you."
Lightning yawned as Fluttershy kissed his forehead and gently stroked his mane with her hoof.
"I love you too my baby boy," Fluttershy said lovingly.
After a minute, Lightning fell asleep and Fluttershy gently gave him one more kiss on the forehead. She then very quietly left the room as Princess Luna's beautiful moon shined down on Lightning Twister.
The sun was beginning to rise in the horizon as Rainbow Dash was still asleep in her bed. Rainbow had the day off from WonderBolts today so she planned to spend the day teaching her adopted sister, aka number one fan, and her new nephew how to fly. After a few minutes of sleepiness, Rainbow Dash heard the voice of a young filly calling her name. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Scootaloo jumping up and down on her bed like a mad pony.
Rainbow smiled at the little filly before picking her up and said, "Good Morning Scoots, I take it you’re ready to do some flying today?"
Scootaloo smiled like a Cheshire cat and shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes! I can't wait to get started!"
Rainbow Dash giggled at the filly's excitement and ruffled her mane with her hoof.
"Alright, settle down squirt,” Rainbow Dash said before getting out of bed and setting Scootaloo on her back, “Let's go get my awesome nephew so we can get started.”
After a few minutes, the two arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow landed on the ground and knocked on the door. After a minute, Fluttershy opened the door and smiled when she saw Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo waved at her as Fluttershy returned the wave with one of her own.
"Hi Rainbow, how are you this morning?" Fluttershy asked kindly.
"I'm just fine, Flutters. Where's Lightning Twister?" Rainbow Asked curiously.
"He's in the kitchen eating breakfast," Fluttershy said before stepping aside. "Please come in."
Rainbow nodded her head and went inside. When she entered the living room, Lightning came out to greet her. Rainbow and Scootaloo smiled at the the young colt and Scootaloo waved at him while smiling.
"Hi Auntie Rainbow, Hi Scootaloo," Lightning said happily while waving at Scootaloo. He then went up to Rainbow and hugged her. Rainbow returned the hug and gave Lightning a playful ruffle on the mane. Fluttershy smiled at the site before Lightning trotted up to her.
"I put my dish in the sink like you told me to Momma," Lightning said to his mother. Fluttershy smiled at her son and nodded her head before looking at Rainbow Dash.
"What can I do for you, Rainbow? Fluttershy asked politely.
Rainbow smiled and said, "Well I was just wondering if Lightning could spend the day with his Auntie Rainbow. I was planning on teaching him and Scootaloo how to fly."
Scootaloo smiled and spoke to Fluttershy with puppy dog eyes.
"Can he come, Fluttershy please? It would be so awesome to learn how to fly with my little buddy. With Rainbow Dash teaching us, we could grow up to be two of the best flyers in all of Equestria. Can he come, Please?
Fluttershy was a bit nervous about saying yes, she knew Lightning was a weak flyer and she didn't want to see him get hurt. However she knew he had to learn how to fly sometime, and there was no better teacher than one of the best young flyers in Equestria, Rainbow Dash.
Fluttershy smiled at Rainbow softly and said, "Okay Rainbow, you can take him for the day. But please be careful."
Lightning smiled at his mother and Scootaloo cheered happily.
Fluttershy let out a calm sigh and looked at her son.
"Alright sweetheart, I want you to listen to Rainbow Dash and I want you to promise me you'll be careful," She said to him softly but firmly.
Lightning gave Fluttershy a soft smile and wrapped his little forelegs around her neck before saying, "Okay Momma, I promise I'll be careful."
Fluttershy gently smiled at her son and kissed him on the forehead as Lightning nuzzled her cheek.
"Alright Lightning, run along now," She said to him softly.
"Okay Momma, I love you," Lightning said before going to Rainbow Dash.
"I love you too sweetheart," Fluttershy responded.
Rainbow bent down as Scootaloo helped Lightning onto her back.
"Are you all set, Lightning?" Rainbow asked the young colt on her back. Lightning nodded his head in response.
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and smiled at her.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll look after him. I'll bring him back home this evening," She said in a kind and promising voice.
Fluttershy nodded as Rainbow walked out of the cottage and got ready to take off.
"You guys ready?" Rainbow asked the colt and filly on her back.
The two nodded their heads in response.
"Alright, hang on tight," Rainbow said before flying into the air.
Fluttershy smiled as she watched her son head up to the clouds. She was a little bit worried that something might happen, but she put that fear aside knowing that Rainbow would keep him safe. Letting out a calm sigh, Fluttershy went back into the cottage and closed the door.
Up in the sky, Rainbow was flying higher and higher until she found the perfect spot to start practicing. Rainbow landed on a large cloud and bent down so Scootaloo and Lightning Twister could get off of her back. The two hopped down and Lightning looked over the edge of the cloud. He began to tremble in fear of being this high up. Rainbow noticed this and went up to her nephew.
She put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry Lightning, I promise you'll be safe as long as I'm around."
Lightning trusted his Aunt’s words and calmed his shaking before saying a bit nervously, "O-okay Auntie Rainbow."
Rainbow and Lightning trotted back to Scootaloo who was looking around. Lightning stood by Scootaloo as Rainbow Dash stood in front of both of them.
Rainbow let out a sigh before speaking to the colt and filly.
"Alright little ones, flying is not as hard as you think it might be. The way we fly is no different than how a bird flies. Our wings are just like a bird's wings. First I'm going to show you each how to hover. We're going to do this one at a time. Scootaloo you're first, I want you to get into the same stance that I'm going to go into."
Scootaloo nodded and watched as Rainbow Dash crouched down into a takeoff position and spread her legs.
"Alright scoots, your turn," Rainbow said as she stood in her stance.
Scootaloo did the exact same thing as Rainbow Dash and crouched down into a takeoff position before spreading her legs.
"Good job scoots," Rainbow said calmly. "Now I want you to jump into the air and then flap your wings at a very easy speed, but don't flap them to fast."
Rainbow jumped into the air and she started flapping her wings at a gentle and rhythmic motion as she hovered above her two students. Scootaloo let out a sigh and jumped into the air, once she was at a certain point, she started flapping her wings in a calm and rhythmic movement. She gasped in shock realizing that for once she was actually staying in the air longer than she ever had.
Rainbow smiled and said, "Good job Scoots, now I want you to move around a bit, but don't leave the cloud."
Scootaloo nodded and moved her body around as she continue to flap her wings, she felt tears stinging as she was actually flying around in the air. Rainbow watched on proudly before looking at a nervous Lightning Twister.
"Alright Lightning, it's your turn. Don't be scared, just watch me and do exactly as I do," Rainbow said calmly and gently.
Lightning nodded his head and did the exact same things as Scootaloo did. He closed his eyes, fearing that he was going to fall. However after a moment, Lightning opened his eyes ever so slightly and then his eyes went wide with shock. He let out a small gasp before a smile began to grow larger and larger on his face. He was actually flying by himself.
"I-I'm doing it! I'm actually flying!" Lightning said as tears of happiness stung his eyes.
He brushed the tears away as Rainbow flew up to him while smiling proudly.
"See buddy, you can do it!" Rainbow said, "Now I want you to move around a little bit."
Lightning nodded his head as he moved his body a little bit while flapping his wings calmly and gently. He stumbled a little bit but was able to stay in the air. Once he got use to the new feeling of flying, he moved all around the cloud as Rainbow watched on with small tears in her eyes.
"Well done you two, you guys are define awesome right now," She said before playfully ruffling both Lightning and Scootaloo's mane. "Alright, now let's learn how to glide. Follow Me!"
Scootaloo and Lightning nodded to each other and followed Rainbow away from the cloud.
"Alright guys, just flap your wings up and down just like I'm doing," Rainbow said as she moved her wings up and down slowly.
Scootaloo and Lightning did the same as the wind gently blew against their faces. They were both speechless, they couldn't believe they were actually flying. Scootaloo began to increase her speed and Lightning did the same. However, when Lightning started to go a little bit fast, he began to lose control. Luckily, Scootaloo grabbed him.
Rainbow saw all of this and said, "Don't fight the wind currents, move with them."
Lightning was a bit nervous to let go of Scootaloo's hoof, but when he looked at her, he saw her smiling at him gently.
"Don't worry Lightning, you'll be okay," She said reassuringly.
Lightning gave a hesitant nod and let go of Scootaloo's hoof. He did as Rainbow Dash said and used the wind currents instead of fighting them. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash smiled on at the young colt happily as he was finally getting used to the feeling of flying.
Rainbow went backward and flew beside him on one side and Scootaloo flew beside him on the other.
"I'm proud of you Lightning," Rainbow said before looking at both him and Scootaloo. "I'm proud of both of you. You guys are natural at flying."
Lightning and Scootaloo smiled at each other before looking forward. After a few minutes, they were both flying at decent speeds. However, Lightning began to tire out. He was about to speak up before feeling a major cramp in one of his wings. Lightning couldn't move as he began to fall. Once he could move his wings again, he tried to flap them, but he was too tired.
Rainbow and Scootaloo gasped in shock before Rainbow took off at Lightning speed to catch her nephew.
"Hang on, Lightning!" she shouted as she increased her speed.
She managed to get a hold of his hoof to stop him from falling just before he fell into a forest. However, Lightning couldn't hold on. Lightning lost his grip on Rainbow Dash's hoof and fell into the trees bellow before Rainbow could react. He hit several branches before landing on the ground with a hard thud.
Lightning tried to get to his feet, but a surge of excruciating pain went through his leg. The pain was unbearable and it made him unable to stand. Tears stung Lightning's eyes as he let out a small whimper of pain, even though he wanted to cry. Lightning began to observe his new surroundings. After a moment, Lightning became incredibly scared as he realized where he was. He was in the dangerous Everfree forest.
Lightning had been in the Everfree forest during the night Fluttershy had found him. He saw many frightening things that made him never want to go back in. Now he couldn't move, and he was in the dangerous forest all alone.
Letting out a small whimper of both pain and fear, Lightning called out for the one pony he wanted right now. "M-Momma!"
After no response, Lightning began to cry. He was all alone and he didn't know if he would ever be found. As Lightning cried, a pair of glowing yellow eyes lurked in the shadows and it made a low threatening growl. Lightning heard the growl and turned around. Approaching out of the Darkness was a Timberwolf. Lightning tried to move, but the pain in his leg was too much for him to bear. The Timberwolf inched closer and closer as it growled even louder than before.
"H-help! Me!" Lightning whimpered as tears flowed from his eyes.
The Timberwolf was ready to attack until something jumped in front of Lightning making the Timberwolf stop dead in its tracks. Lightning looked in the same direction and gasped in shock as he saw Rainbow Dash standing in front of him. Rainbow turned around and fiercely bucked the Timberwolf, sending him flying into the horizon.
"No one tries to hurt my nephew!" Rainbow said proudly before turning to Lightning.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Rainbow asked worryingly.
Lightning tried to move, but once again, the pain in his leg made him unable to move. Lightning began to cry in pain once again.
"M-my l-leg! I-It h-hurts!" He sobbed as he pointed at his injured leg.
Rainbow looked at his leg with concern. She reached out a hoof to touch the leg, but once she did, the pain Lightning felt made him scream at the top of his lungs. Rainbow Dash immediately moved her hoof away from Lightning's foreleg. She knew this was not good. Rainbow Dash picked up Lightning as gently as she could and cradled him close to her. She had to get him to a doctor. Before she could take off, she saw Scootaloo flying above the forest trees.
Rainbow flew up to her and Scootaloo gasped in shock at the crying colt in Rainbow's forelegs.
"Scootaloo, I want you to go find Fluttershy and tell her to meet me at the hospital. Do you understand?" Rainbow ordered.
Scootaloo nodded her head and took off towards Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow looked down at Lightning as he continued to quietly cry in pain.
Rainbow showed her caring, motherly side and nuzzled the crying colt to try and calm him. She didn't care about being tough right now. She needed to help the colt that she has come to know and love.
"Shhh.. It's going to be okay, buddy. I'm going to take you to the hospital so we can make your leg better," Rainbow cooed gently.
Rainbow shot off like a bullet towards the hospital while cradling her nephew close to her chest.
After about ten minutes, Lightning was in a hospital bed with his injured leg bandaged and being held in a sling. A white earth pony mare with a light pink mane and tail named Nurse Redheart was busy putting the last of the bandages around Lightning's leg. Rainbow Dash stood by Lightning's side and gently stroked his shoulder with her hoof to keep him calm. When Nurse Redheart finished wrapping the bandages, the hospital room door swung open revealing Fluttershy who dashed inside with tears flowing down her face. When Fluttershy saw her son, she immediately wrapped her forelegs around him.
"Oh Lightning, my precious little boy, you’re okay!" Fluttershy sobbed happily, "I was so worried about you."
Nurse Redheart tapped on Fluttershy's shoulder and placed a gentle hoof on it.
"It's okay Fluttershy, your son is going to be just fine," Nurse Redheart said calmly while giving Fluttershy a gentle smile. "The poor dear has a broken leg, but he should make a full recovery by tomorrow if you know somepony who can fix broken legs without hurting them and want his leg fixed right away. However we're going to keep him here for tonight so he can rest."
Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the nurse.
She nodded her head and said, "Thank you, Nurse Redheart. And I think there is somepony who can help. I’ll explain about him later."
The kind nurse nodded and left the room. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash who immediately started apologizing.
"Oh Fluttershy I'm so sorry this happened. I'm sorry I broke my promise to keep him safe. I'm-" Rainbow was cut off by Fluttershy who pulled her friend into a loving sisterly embrace.
"It's okay Rainbow, you don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault. Accidents happen," Fluttershy said sweetly before pulling her out of the hug to look her in the eyes. "Thank you so much Rainbow for taking Lightning to the hospital."
Rainbow said nothing, and brought Fluttershy into another hug. The two friends stayed like that as Scootaloo bursted into the room, trying to catch her breath.
“Sorry I took so long to get here,” she said, “After I told Fluttershy what happened, she took off like a speed of lightning.”
Rainbow walked up to her and said, “It’s alright, Scoots. At least you’re here.”
Everyone in the room smiled at each other when Nurse Redheart entered the room.
"Alright Everypony, it's getting late so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Nurse Redheart said before looking at Fluttershy who was gently stroking her son’s mane. "Fluttershy, since you’re his mother, would you like to stay here for the night?"
Lightning Twister put his hoof on Fluttershy's hoof and said almost pleadingly, "Please stay Momma, I don't want to be alone tonight."
Fluttershy gently smiled at her son and nodded her head.
Nurse Redheart saw this and pointed to an empty bed while saying, "You can use this bed tonight, Fluttershy. I'll go get you a blanket."
When Nurse Redheart left the Room, Rainbow Dash put Scootaloo on her back and said, "Come on Scoots, let’s go home. I'll see you tomorrow, Fluttershy. Bye Lightning, hope you get well soon."
Before she could leave, she then heard Fluttershy’s voice.
“Oh Rainbow, before you go, could you do me a small favour please?”
“Sure Flutters. What’d you need?”
Fluttershy walked up to her and whispered it in Rainbow’s ear, after that she gave Fluttershy a nod.
“No problem, Fluttershy. I’ll pay Twilight a visit and ask Oliver about it.”
Fluttershy smiled at her rainbow friend.
“Thanks, Rainbow. See you tomorrow," Fluttershy said happily.
After Rainbow and Scootaloo left, Fluttershy looked at Lightning and gently nuzzled his cheek until she heard him whimpering.
"Lightning sweetheart, what's the matter?" Fluttershy asked worringly.
Lightning began to quietly cry while saying, "I-I broke m-my p-promise to you, M-Momma. I p-promised I w-would be s-safe. N-Now you h-hate m-me."
Hearing this brought tears to Fluttershy's eyes. How could Lightning ever think such a thing? Without saying anything, Fluttershy sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Lightning into a loving embrace without moving his broken leg. She softly hushed him while gently stroking his side with her hoof.
"Shhh... Please don't cry sweetheart, Momma's here," Fluttershy gently said softly. "I promise you Lightning, that I don't hate you. No matter what happens, I will never hate you. You’re a such a sweet little colt, and I always will love you with all of my heart. What happened to you today was nopony's fault. Like I said to your Auntie Rainbow, accidents happen. But you’re safe now sweetheart, and I promise that I don't hate you and I never will. I love you so much, my sweet baby boy."
Lightning's crying stopped as he listened to what his mother said. Tears were still coming down his face as Fluttershy gently licked them away before nuzzling her son lovingly and Lightning did the same.
Nurse Redheart had entered the room and heard what Fluttershy had said. Tears stung her eyes as she watched the loving moment between the mother and son.
Brushing her tears away, Nurse Redheart let out a sigh and said, "There is a pillow and blanket on the bed Fluttershy, feel free to use it whenever your ready."
With nothing left to be said, Nurse Redheart left the room, leaving Lightning and Fluttershy alone. Fluttershy continued to hold her son as she hummed a soft melody in his ear until he fell asleep.
Fluttershy held Lightning close to her as she whispered in his ear, "I promise you Lightning, I will always love you no matter what."
The morning sun began to rise in Ponyville. The beautiful light shined through the windows of the Ponyville Hospital. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and sat up on the edge of the hospital bed that she was sleeping in. After letting out a quiet yawn and a gentle stretch, she looked at her son who was sleeping soundly in his bed. Fluttershy was about to wake him, but she then decided to let him sleep until the nurse arrived. This gave Fluttershy the opportunity to think about something.
Tomorrow was Lightning's birthday, and she wanted to do something special for him. Lightning had told Fluttershy when his birthday was a few days after she adopted him, he also told her that he never celebrated his birthday. His father never cared about his son's birthday, the only thing that Lightning's father ever did on his birthday was yell at him and remind him that it was the day that Lightning had caused his mother's death. Just thinking about it made Fluttershy furious. However, her anger cooled as quickly as it came when she looked at her son sleeping peacefully.
Fluttershy wanted to do something special for Lightning, she wanted his birthday to be a day for him to remember. Fluttershy tried to think of something, and then let out a quiet gasp when she came up with the perfect idea. The more she thought about her idea made a smile grow on her face, she knew what she wanted to do for Lightning's birthday. But in order for it to happen, she had to talk to Twilight.
Fluttershy's thoughts were interrupted when the hospital room door opened and Nurse Redheat stepped inside. She saw Fluttershy sitting on the edge of the bed, and trotted up to her.
"Good morning, Fluttershy. Did you sleep okay last night?" Nurse Redheart asked kindly.
Fluttershy simply nodded her head in response.
Nurse Redheart smiled at Fluttershy and said, "That's good. I was just coming to wake Lightning up so I can give him some medicine ready for the guy you told me about last night. After that, you can take him home."
Fluttershy smiled before saying, "Okay Nurse Redheart, I'll wake him up for you."
Nurse Redheart nodded her head as Fluttershy trotted up to her sleeping son. She then gently nuzzled his cheek and kissed him on the forehead.
"Lightning, it's time to wake up, sweetheart."
Lightning opened his eyes and rubbed them with his hooves. He looked into his mother's loving blue eyes and smiled softly.
"Good morning Momma," Lightning said softly.
He tried to hug his mother, but he felt a surge of pain through his broken leg making him yelp in pain. Small tears formed in his eyes but Fluttershy gently brushed them away when Nurse Redheart came beside him.
"Don't try to move too much sweetheart," Nurse Redheart said to Lightning sweetly as Fluttershy held Lightning's hoof. "I'm going to give you some medicine to help your leg feel better. Once you take the medicine and a friend of your mother comes in to help heal your leg, you can go home."
Lightning nodded his head as Nurse Redheart then gave him a small blue pill and small cup of water. Lightning swallowed the pill then drank the water before handing the empty cup back to Nurse Redheart. The nurse gently smiled at Lightning before looking at Fluttershy.
"Okay Fluttershy, while the medicine kicks in, we can wait for your friend to come.”
Just as she said that, one of the doctors came into the room and said,
“Nurse, two guests have arrived to see Lightning.”
Nurse Redheart nodded her head, “Bring them in.”
The Doctor went out of the room and after four seconds, Oliver came into the room with Constantine allowing behind him.
“Is that the guy you told me about, Fluttershy?” Redheart asked curiosity.
Fluttershy nodded her head as a yes before walking over to Oliver and said,
“Thanks for doing this, Oliver. Are you sure this won’t hurt him?”
“Don’t you worry Flutters,” Oliver replied, “John won’t hurt the poor guy. The same thing happened to me once when I was young, and when John used that healing spell on my broken leg, I didn’t feel a thing from it.”
Constantine looked at Lightning as he looked at him back in curious.
“So this is Lightning Twister, eh?” asked Constantine.
“Yep, the son of Fluttershy and the one I talked about back in the school of Friendship,” answered Oliver.
Constantine nodded as he began to walk to the bed Lightning was in. As he got to the bed, he looked at Lightning for a few seconds before saying,
“Hello, Lightning.” John then sat down on a chair that was near the bed, “I’m John. Mind if I take a look at your broken leg?”
Lightning looked at his mother as she nodded her head saying he can trust Constantine. He then looked back at John as he responded with a nod to answer his question.
John then placed his hands near to each other as a dark golden sphere grasp appeared in between them. He whispered a spell in a different language in the first time as the bandage on Lightning’s broken leg began to glow. He then whispered the same spell two more times as he then closed his hands together and pulled them away as the grasp and the glow disappeared.
“There we go,” John said, “That should be all better now.”
Nurse Redheart walked over to the bed as she began to carefully remove the bandages off of Lightning’s hoof.
“There might be a little pain in your leg still kid,” Constantine explained, “But you should be able to walk still.”
Lightning nodded his head in understood as Nurse Redheart gave Fluttershy a bottle of the blue pills that Lightning took. She then let out a sigh before she explained and gave Fluttershy instructions.
"Lightning needs to take these pills for his leg for only three weeks. Give him one when he wakes up in the morning before breakfast and one before he goes to sleep after dinner."
Fluttershy listened to the Nurse's instructions as she held her son in her hoof.
"Okay Nurse Redheart, I promise I will do all of that," Fluttershy said in a promising tone of voice.
Nurse Redheart smiled before saying, "I'll go let the doctors know you’re ready to go.”
When Nurse Redheart left the room, Lightning let out a long and tired yawn, and Fluttershy smiled at him sadly. The poor colt haven’t gotten very much sleep last night. His broken leg was causing him too much pain. Fluttershy decided that it was best to take him home and put him down for a nap now that he has some medicine to help relieve some of the pain in his leg. She had also decided that after Lightning was situated and asleep, she can go talk to Twilight about her idea for Lightning's birthday. However she needed someone to watch Lightning while she was gone, but who?
Fluttershy's thoughts were soon cut short when Nurse Redheart entered a room telling her that she can go now. Without nothing else left to say, they all went to the entrance of the hospital.
Constantine and Oliver were the first ones to leave the hospital, and before Fluttershy and Lightning could leave as well, Fluttershy turned to look at Nurse Redheart with a smile and said, "Thank you so much or taking care of my little boy, Nurse Redheart."
Nurse Redheart returned the smile with one of her own and said, "You’re quite welcome, Fluttershy. I'm always happy to help." Nurse Redheart looked at Lightning and said, "You get well soon, Lightning."
Lightning softly smiled at the nurse and nodded his head.
With nothing left to be said, Fluttershy flew away from the hospital with her son in her forelegs. After a few minutes, Fluttershy arrived at her house. She opened the door and flew inside. Once inside, Lightning let out another long and tired yawn as he held onto his mother’s neck.
Fluttershy nuzzled her son before asking him, "Are you tired, sweetheart?"
Lightning nodded his head as he rubbed one of his eyes with his hoof.
Fluttershy gently held him close to her and said to him, "You didn't get much sleep last night, so how about you take a nap for a while?"
Lightning smiled and nodded his head before resting it on Fluttershy's neck.
Fluttershy took her son to his room and gently placed him in the bed. She gently placed the covers over him and nuzzled his cheek lovingly. Lightning's little eyes began to slowly close as Fluttershy gently stroked his head.
"Sweet dreams sweetheart," Fluttershy said to Lightning gently before he fell asleep.
Suddenly there was a knock on Fluttershy's door. Fluttershy gently kissed her son on the forehead and flew downstairs to see who was at the door. Fluttershy opened the door and saw Rainbow Dash floating in front of her and holding a book.
"Heya Flutters,” Rainbow said cheerfully. "I just wanted to see how Lightning was doing. Twilight and the others are wondering how he's doing too."
Fluttershy smiled at her longtime friend and said, "He's doing just fine, Rainbow. He didn't get much sleep last night so he's sleeping right now in his room. Oh where are my manners, please come in."
Rainbow chuckled at Fluttershy's politeness and flew inside her house. Fluttershy closed the door and looked at the beautiful cyan mare in front of her. Maybe Rainbow could watch Lightning While she went to talk to Twilight.
"Rainbow? Can you do something for me please?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow smiled at Fluttershy.
"Of course I can do something for you, Fluttershy. What do you need me to do?"
Fluttershy softly smiled at Rainbow before asking, "Can you watch Lightning for a little while? I need to talk to Twilight about a special surprise I want to do for Lightning's birthday tomorrow."
Rainbow just smiled and said, "Of course I can, Fluttershy. But, if you don't mind me asking, what is this special surprise?"
Fluttershy smiled and whispered into Rainbow's ear. As Rainbow listened, the smile on her face grew wider and wider.
"That's perfect Flutters, since you told the girls, Oliver and me that Lightning never celebrated his birthday, that would be the perfect way to have an awesome birthday. And I can even do my sonic rainboom after he blows out the candles on the cake."
Fluttershy gently smiled at Rainbow and said, "I'm sure he would love that, Rainbow."
Rainbow gave Fluttershy a proud smirk before Fluttershy started to make her way out of the door.
"Thank you for watching Lightning for me, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said kindly, “I'll be back in a little bit." She took to the sky and flew to Twilight’s castle.
Rainbow and Fluttershy waved at each other as Fluttershy disappeared towards Ponyville and Rainbow went into the cottage.
After a few minutes, Fluttershy arrived at Twilight's castle. She descended to the ground and knocked on the doors. One of the doors opened and revealed Twilight who smiled at Fluttershy.
"Hi Fluttershy, please come in," Twilight said politely before allowing her friend inside.
Fluttershy trotted inside the throne room with Twilight and saw the rest of her friends sitting on their thrones, while Sunset, Starlight and Oliver stood up since they don’t have thrones, and socializing with one another. When they saw Fluttershy, they immediately went up to her and smiled at her.
"Hi girls, hi Oliver," Fluttershy said kindly.
"Howdy Fluttershy," Applejack said while smiling.
“Hi Flutters,” said Sunset.
"Fluttershy, how's my darling little nephew?" Rarity asked worryingly.
"He's fine Rarity," Fluttershy said gently. "He's at home taking a nap right now. I asked Rainbow to watch him while I came over here." Fluttershy then looked at Twilight and said, "Twilight, I was wondering if you could do something for me."
Twilight smiled at Fluttershy and said, "Of course I can, what is it?"
Fluttershy let out a sigh before telling Twilight her idea.
"Well, Lightning's birthday is tomorrow, and I know he's never had a real birthday with friends and family that actually care about him. So I wanted to throw him a surprise birthday party, but I don't want to do it here. I was wondering, Twilight, if you could ask Princess Celestia if we can come to Canterlot and use the castle ballroom for Lightning's birthday, just like we did for yours."
Twilight nodded her head while smiling, "That sounds like a great idea, Fluttershy. Of course I'll ask Princess Celestia."
Twilight wrote Fluttershy's request on a scroll. She then called for Spike. After ten seconds, the baby dragon came into the throne room. Twilight smiled at him and asked him to send the letter. Spike smiled and nodded his head before taking the letter and using his magic fire to send the the letter to the princess. After a minute, Spike belched out a letter from the Princess. He showed the letter to Twilight and she then began to read the letter. When she finished reading it, she turned to Fluttershy and smiled at her.
"Good news, Fluttershy,” Twilight said happily, “The Princess said she’s going to let us use the ballroom tomorrow. She also wanted to ask you if Lightning could meet Princess Luna while he's at the castle."
Fluttershy smiled and said, "Of course she can. I'm sure Lightning would love to meet her."
Pinkie Pie was loving the idea as she bounced while giggling with glee before shouting, "I can bake Lightning a super duper delicious birthday cake!"
Fluttershy was smiling as her friends wanting to do something, but she had a very special gift in mind for Lightning and she needed Rarity's help to make it.
"Rarity?" Fluttershy asked softly.
"Yes darling?" Rarity responded.
Fluttershy whispered her idea of Lightning's gift and Rarity smiled.
"Of course I can do that, my dear,” Rarity said, “I'm sure my darling little nephew will love it.” Rarity putted her hoof to her chin. "Now I must think of something that I should give to him."
The rest of Fluttershy's friends brainstormed ideas for Lightning's birthday and gifts as well before Fluttershy looked out the window and gasped. The sun was already setting and she need to go home to take care of her son.
"Girls, Oliver, I need to go home," Fluttershy said gently, "Thank you so much for doing all these things for Lightning."
Fluttershy went towards her friends and hugged them. After she had hugged Twilight, she went to the throne room door and opened it.
"I'll see you all tomorrow," Fluttershy said happily before walking off while waving goodbye to them.
Fluttershy made her way home safely and entered the cottage. She saw Rainbow sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and was reading her book. Rainbow looked up from the book and smiled at her friend.
"Hey Flutters, how did everything go?" Rainbow asked curiously.
Fluttershy smiled at her friend and said, "Everything went great. How did things go over here?"
"Great," Rainbow said happily, "Lightning's still asleep. I've checked on him several times while you were gone, just to make sure he’s sleeping okay."
Fluttershy flew up to Rainbow and hugged her.
"Thank you for watching Lightning for me, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said happily, “You’re the best friend a mare could ask for." Rainbow returned the hug.
"No problem Fluttershy," Rainbow said gently, "But I better get home now, it's getting late."
Rainbow and Fluttershy said their goodbyes as Rainbow then left the cottage. Fluttershy closed the door and went upstairs to wake her son up. Fluttershy entered the room and smiled softly at the sleeping colt. She gently kissed his cheek making Lightning open his eyes.
"Hi Momma," He said as Fluttershy nuzzled him.
"Hi sweetheart, would you like some dinner?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.
Lightning felt his stomach grumble and nodded his head.
"Okay Sweetie, I'll be right back with some soup," Fluttershy said before going downstairs.
After a few minutes, Fluttershy returned to Lightning's room with a bowl of soup. She sat on the edge of the bed and scooped up a spoonful of soup and blew on it. When it was cool, Fluttershy brought the spoon to Lightning's mouth. Lightning ate the spoonful of soup while smiling at his mother. Once all the soup was gone, Fluttershy went downstairs and put the bowl in the sink before returning upstairs with a cup of water. Fluttershy opened the bottle of pills, that Nurse Redheart gave to her, and put one in Lightning's hoof. Lightning swallowed the pill and drank the water Fluttershy gave him.
After a few seconds, a flash of lightning and a loud boom of thunder sounded making Lightning yelp in terror. Fluttershy quickly hugged her son. Tears flowed down Lightning's face as Fluttershy softly hushed him and stroked his back with her hoof.
"Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, I'm here," Fluttershy said softly into Lightning's ear. "Would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.
Lightning sniffled and nodded his head.
"Okay sweetheart, let's go to my room," Fluttershy said gently.
Fluttershy very carefully cradled Lightning in her forelegs. She then flew to her room as another rumble of thunder sounded and a flash of lightning lit the night sky. Lightning whimpered and trembled in fear, but Fluttershy softly hushed to calm him down. Fluttershy then tucked Lightning into her bed and she laid down beside him. She placed a gentle wing over him as Lightning let out a small yawn and laid his head on the pillow. Fluttershy then softly sang Lightning to sleep.
After a few minutes, Lightning fell asleep and Fluttershy kissed him on the forehead.
"Goodnight my little one," Fluttershy whispered sweetly into Lightning's ear.
Fluttershy then fell asleep with her wing over Lightning. Lightning snuggled up against her chest and smiled in his sleep. The two then slept peacefully through the stormy night until the storm ended, and Princess Luna's beautiful moon blanketed them in a warm comforting glow.
The morning sun began to rise in the horizon and started to bathe Ponyville in a warm and bright glow. Fluttershy slept in her bed soundly with Lightning Twister snuggled up next to her. A few minutes later, a knock on the front door woke Fluttershy up from her peaceful sleep. Without waking him, she picked up Lightning, got out of the bed and gently set her son back in the bed. She quickly tucked him and gave him a kiss on the forehead before flying downstairs to answer the door.
When she opened the door, Fluttershy was greeted by all of her friends.
“Morning Fluttershy,” Starlight said happily before Pinkie bounced in front of her with her party canon.
Pinkie was about to start screaming and set off her canon but she then saw Fluttershy giving her a look telling her that Lightning was still asleep and now wasn’t a good time to start making noise. Pinkie immediately quickly put her own hooves over her mouth to silence herself. Fluttershy softly smiled and giggled at Pinkie before allowing her friends in. The eight stepped into the cottage and went into the living room as Fluttershy stayed behind them. They all looked at Fluttershy and began speaking in tone that was loud enough for them to hear each other but quiet enough to not wake Lightning.
"Fluttershy darling," Rarity said, "I finished making your gift for Lightning and I just know it will be his favourite gift out of all of ours. I will wrap it and bring it to the party for you."
Fluttershy nodded as Twilight spoke up.
"Me and Oliver invited Spike, Sandbar and his friends to the party,” she said calmly and quietly, “And we just found out that Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart are visiting for a few days. We’ve told them all about Lightning Twister and they are excited to finally meet him. Celestia and Luna have also provided us with rooms for the night, just in case it gets too late."
“Constantine and Vincent will there too,” Oliver added.
Fluttershy simply smiled as Rainbow Dash began to quietly express her excitement about tonight.
"Aw yeah, I can't wait to show Lightning my sonic rainboom," She said happily, "Pinkie and I came up with an awesome idea last night, but I'm not going to say what it is."
Pinkie was giggling happily as she thought of the special surprise for her nephew.
"I asked Apple Bloom and her friends to come too since they are Lightning's friends as well," Applejack said while smiling.
Words could not express how happy Fluttershy was right now. Every one of her friends were going way out of their way to make tonight a night for Lightning to always remember.
"Thank you all so much, everypony,” Fluttershy said happily, “I can't even begin to think about how happy Lightning will be when he finds how much you all have done.”
"Fluttershy, I think you’re counting yourself out," Sunset said as she put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder and smiled at her.
Fluttershy gave her a look on confusion as Twilight trotted up to her and smiled.
"You've done the most for Lightning out of all of us," she said, "You gave him a home, you made him your son and you have shown him more love and compassion than anypony else here. We love Lightning with all of our hearts, but he does not love anypony else more than you."
Fluttershy felt tears roll down her eyes and she wrapped Twilight in loving sisterly hug.
"Thank you so much Twilight," she said sweetly.
Twilight smiled and wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy.
"You’re welcome Fluttershy," Twilight said gently, "I better get back to the castle. I'll see you there before we go to the train station."
Fluttershy nodded as Twilight left her cottage. Everyone else followed her out the door so they could go to their homes.
With all of her friends gone, Fluttershy closed the door and went into the kitchen to make Lightning a special breakfast. When she finished, she went upstairs to wake her sleeping son.
Entering her bedroom, Fluttershy went over to Lightning and gently kissed him on the cheek.
"Lightning, it's time to wake up sweetheart," she said softly.
Lightning opened his eyes and rubbed them with his little hooves. He looked at his mother and wrapped his forelegs around her neck.
Lightning smiled at his mother and said, "Thank you, Momma."
"You’re welcome sweetheart," Fluttershy replied with a smile on her face. "Now, let's give you your medicine then we can go downstairs. I made a special breakfast for you."
Lightning nodded his head and Fluttershy went to the bathroom to grab his pills and a glass of water. When she returned, she handed the glass to Lightning and a small blue pill. Lightning let out a sigh, swallowed the pill and drank the water. After letting out a few small coughs, Lightning looked into his mother’s loving and caring eyes.
"Alright sweetie, now that you've had your medicine, let's go downstairs and have some breakfast."
Fluttershy gently picked up Lightning and held him close to her. She then flew downstairs as Lightning gently held onto his mother’s neck. When they arrived at the kitchen, Lightning saw his breakfast and smiled. On the plate was a stack of delicious pancakes that had whipped cream on the top as well as a few sliced strawberries.
"Is that my breakfast, Momma?" Lightning asked curiously but happily.
Fluttershy giggled and said, "Yes it is, sweetheart. I wanted to make you a special birthday breakfast."
Fluttershy gently set Lightning into one of the chairs and Lightning began to eat his delicious breakfast. After he was finished, Fluttershy took the plate and put it into the sink before returning to her son's side. When she looked at him, she began to giggle. Lightning had a patch of whipped cream underneath his lips. Fluttershy continued giggling as she took a napkin and wiped his face.
"Thank you for my delicious breakfast Momma," Lightning said happily.
Fluttershy smiled at her son and nuzzled his cheek lovingly in response. Lightning wrapped his hooves around Fluttershy's neck and laid his head against her chest. The two stayed like that for a few minutes until Fluttershy gently picking up her son, walked to the living room and placed Lightning on the couch.
Once he was comfortable, Fluttershy went over to one of the bookshelves and picked out a Daring Do book that Rainbow Dash gave to her.
"Would you like me to read you a story for little while, Lightning?" Fluttershy asked her son gently. "Rainbow Dash has told me all about these books and she gave me some because she thought you might like them."
Lightning stared at the book for a moment and nodded his head. Fluttershy smiled at him and flew over to the couch. She sat down beside Lightning and opened the book. Lightning snuggled into his mother's side as she wrapped a foreleg around his body and held him close. Both of them smiled at each other until Fluttershy began to read to Lightning.
A few hours had passed and Fluttershy was halfway through the book. She looked up at the clock and saw what time it was. She closed the book and put it on the table in front of her. Lightning looked at her and gave her an unhappy look.
"Aw, do we have to stop, Momma?" Lightning asked as he was greatly enjoying the story.
Fluttershy giggled and nuzzled Lightning before saying, "Yes we do, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'll read you the rest of the book tonight as a bedtime story. Besides, your aunties, uncle and I want to take you somewhere very special."
Lightning looked at Fluttershy curiously.
"Don't worry sweetheart, you'll see where we're going soon enough," Fluttershy said sweetly before giving Lightning a gentle hug. "Now let's go see your Auntie Twilight."
Lightning nodded his head as Fluttershy gently set him on her back. Lightning gently held onto his mother's neck as she flew out of the cottage and made her way towards Ponyville.
The sun was beginning to set when Fluttershy and Lightning Twister arrived at Twilight’s castle. After Fluttershy knocked on the right side door, it opened and revealed a smiling Twilight Sparkle.
"Hi Fluttershy, please come in," she said while motioning a hoof to come inside.
Fluttershy entered the castle as the three made their way to the throne room and saw the rest of Fluttershy’s friends and Lightning’s friends were there as well. Lightning held out his forelegs to Twilight as she gently scooped him into her hooves and hugged him.
"Happy birthday Lightning sweetheart," Twilight said as she kissed him on the forehead.
Lightning smiled softly and said, "Thank you, Auntie Twilight."
Twilight went over to the rest of the group as Lightning held onto her neck.
"Well hey there sugarcube, happy birthday," Applejack said sweetly.
“Hello cutie, happy birthday,” said Starlight as she then nuzzled Lightning on the cheek.
Everyone else said Happy Birthday as well and Lightning thanked them all. He continued to hold onto Twilight's neck as he smiled at everyone happily.
"Thank you so much everycreature, this is the best birthday ever!" Lightning cheered.
"You’re quite welcome honey," Sunset said gently. "But we have a special surprise waiting for you in Canterlot."
Lightning looked at his Aunt Twilight in confusion before asking, "Canterlot? Isn't that the place where the princesses live?"
Twilight smiled and said, "Yes it is, sweetheart. And we have something special for you in the castle."
Lightning's eyes went wide with excitement. "Ooh what is it, Auntie Twilight!? What is It!?" He asked excitedly.
Twilight laughed and handed Lightning back to Fluttershy before saying, "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise, sweetheart."
"Alright everycreature, let's quit the small talk and get to the castle before it gets any later," Rainbow Dash said before flying out the door.
Fluttershy gently placed Lightning onto her back, once Lightning was situated, everyone made their way out of the castle with Spike being the last creature out so he can lock the doors.
"You ready to see Canterlot, cutie?" Silverstream asked as Lightning nodded happily in response.
Everyone smiled and made their way to the train station. Once they arrived at the station, they gave the conductor their tickets and found a car to sit in. Lightning and his friends were all crowded together laughing. Fluttershy smiled at her son’s happiness, she was so glad that he was enjoying his first real birthday with his family and friends. When the train arrived at Canterlot, everyone made their way to the castle as the moon began to rise.
Entering the main hall, the group walked through the corridors with Lightning looking around the castle in total awe. He had never seen a place so beautiful in his life. When they arrived at the ballroom, Twilight opened the door and everyone in the group went inside except Lightning and Fluttershy who had a foreleg over his eyes so he couldn't see his surprise.
Fluttershy removed her foreleg before saying, "Okay sweetheart, I need you to close your eyes."
Lightning nodded and closed his eyes. Fluttershy smiled and brought him inside the ballroom.
"Alright Sweetie, you can open your eyes now," Fluttershy said gently.
Lightning opened his eyes and the immediately went wide with shock.
"Surpirse!" Shouted the room full of ponies and the young six.
Lightning looked all around the ballroom. It was decorated with streamers, balloons, and in the center of the room was a banner that said in large blue and green colored words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIGHTNING" .
Lightning couldn't help but cry tears of joy.
"I-is this for m-me?" Lightning sobbed happily.
"Happy Birthday, Lightning!" Everyone shouted in response.
"This was the surprise I told you about Lightning sweetheart," Fluttershy said sweetly.
Lightning continued to cry happily as reached out for his mother. Fluttershy gently picked Lightning up and held him close. Lightning nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek as she did the same thing. Everyone in the room dawwe'd at this sight as four more ponies entered the room.
'Lightning," Twilight called out. "May I introduce you to some ponies?"
Lightning nodded his head as Fluttershy flew over to the new group that had entered the room. Lightning saw the new group and observed them. Two of the ponies were Princess Celestia and Oliver with a baby alicorn on his back with Constantine and Vincent behind him. The other three were new faces to Lightning. One was an alicorn with a dark sapphire blue coat and a flowing dark blue mane that had stars shimmering out of it. The other two ponies were a pink alicorn with a mane and tail that had streaks of pink, yellow, and dark violet, and a white unicorn with a dark blue mane and tail.
Princess Celestia walked up to Lightning and said in her usual soft and motherly tone, "There you are, Lightning. Happy birthday, my dear."
Lightning bowed his head respectfully and replied politely, "Thank you, Princess Celestia."
The dark blue alicorn walked up to Lightning and smiled at him gently.
"Lightning," Princess Celestia began, "I would like you to meet my sister."
The sun Princess stepped back to the other two ponies to let the dark blue alicorn introduce herself.
"Greetings, young Lightning,” She said gently, “I am Princess Luna, the princess of the night. My good friend Twilight Sparkle and my dear sister Celestia have told me many things about you. It is great to finally meet you.”
Lightning once again bowed his head in respect now that he knew she was a princess.
"It's nice to meet you Princess Luna," he said politely.
Luna let out a small giggle before putting her hoof under Lightning's chin and gently raising his head.
"Please young one, there is no need to bow to me,” she said sweetly to the young colt, “This is your birthday. You are the guest of honour.”
Lightning nodded his head as Twilight stepped forward with the other two ponies.
"Lightning," she said, "This is Princess Cadence and my brother Prince Shining Armor."
Princess Cadence and Shining Armor stepped up to Lightning.
"So you’re the young colt that Twilight and Oliver has told us about. Well, you certainly are adorable," Cadence said making Lightning blush.
"It's great to finally meet you, Lightning. Twily and Oliver has told me all about you," Shining Armor said happily.
Lightning gently smiled and said softly, "It's nice to meet you both. Auntie Twilight and Uncle Oliver has told me all about you and told me all about the Crystal Empire. I've never been there before."
Shining Armor smiled and said, "Well buddy, if you ever come to the Crystal Empire, I'll have to give you the grand tour."
Cadence playfully jabbed her husband with her hoof.
"We'll have to give him the grand tour," she said before giggling. Lightning giggled as well, he really liked these new ponies.
Just then, Oliver came towards them with a smile on his face as he looked at Lightning and said,
“Now, there’s one more pony that wants to meet you too.”
He looked at his back as his horn began to glow as he then levitated the baby off his back and gently placed her in his right hoof as he looked at Lightning again. “Lightning, this is my little sister, Flurry Heart.”
Lightning looked at the baby in wonder. "She's beautiful."
The baby alicorn then cooed and giggled at Lightning. Oliver smiled at this sight. "Looks like she likes you already."
Lightning smiled as he reached his hoof out to her, allowing Flurry Heart to wrap her tiny hooves around it. Fluttershy and the others thought it was cute seeing this.
Before anyone else could say anything else, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Young Six came up to Fluttershy as Apple Bloom tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hey Fluttershy, can we take Lightning outside for a few minutes?" Apple Bloom asked politely.
Fluttershy was a bit hesitant but she eventually replied, "Yes you may, Um...you will be nearby, right?"
Sweetie Belle nodded her head vigorously, "We sure will, Fluttershy. We'll be just outside the door," she said.
"We just want to give Lightning a view outside the castle as our gift for him," Smolder said as she floated in the air beside Lightning.
After hearing what they said, Fluttershy closed her eyes and gave a somewhat hesitant nod. Fluttershy was a bit worried about Lightning. However she knew that the girls and Lightning’s six friends would take care of her son. Fluttershy very gently placed Lightning on the ground as he walked towards his friends. Everyone, that Lightning had talked to, waved goodbye and Lightning did the same. The CMC and the Young Six then took Lightning outside the ballroom. Fluttershy smiled at them, but was still somewhat worried. She then saw Spike coming her way and she met him halfway by flying to him.
"Hey Spike, can you do something for me please?" Fluttershy asked the little dragon.
Fluttershy let out a sigh and said, "Lightning and his friends just went outside. Can you keep an eye on Lightning? I'm worried about something happening to him."
Spike saluted the butter coated Pegasus and said, "Say no more, Fluttershy. I'll keep an eye on my little buddy."
With that said, Spike ran for the exit and stayed by the door. He peeked his head around the corner to where he could see the group of friends. Lightning was on Silverstream’s back as he looked at the view.
“Wow,” Lightning said in amazed, “It’s so beautiful, and small too.”
“You said it,” said Smolder, “Best way to catch the looks beyond Canterlot.”
After a few minutes of looking at the view, Lightning decided to get off of Silverstream’s back as she bent down to let him off. But as he got off her back, he accidentally tripped his hooves and started to run a bit before slipping and accidentally bumping into a white unicorn, with a blonde mane and tail, that was coming their way.
"Hey, watch where you’re going!" the unicorn snapped very harshly and regally making everyone fall silent and stare at him.
Lightning ears fell flat as he said very nervously, "Oh. I'm s-sorry m-mister, I-I didn't mean t-"
"Be quiet!" The unicorn snapped harshly making Lightning tremble and whimper. "I am Prince Blueblood, and you shall address me as such!"
Spike was still watching Lightning and had seen everything that just happened. Recognizing Blueblood's name, he ran back into the ballroom to find Fluttershy. Lightning continued to whimper and shake as Smolder and Silverstream tried to calm him. However it was to no avail as Blueblood became more irate and began snapping at the group once more.
"Do you know what you did!? You just ruined my perfect grooming with your filthy commoner hooves! Now I have to get a whole new one! Haven't your parents taught you heathens any manners!? How did you even get into my castle anyway!?"
Lightning was now completely afraid as this stallion was treating him just like his father had. Gallus saw how scared he was as he then flew up and got face to face with the pompous prince.
"Hey, it was an accident and he said he was sorry, you jerk!" Gallus snapped. He didn't care who this stallion was, but no one was going to talk to Lightning or his friends like that.
"P-please sir. Let us go," Lightning whimpered. "We were just going-"
"The only thing you lot are doing, is leaving!" Blueblood snapped. "Guards! Escort these hooligans out of my castle!"
"Blueblood!" A new voice snapped. Blueblood turned around and saw the source of the voice. It was Fluttershy and she was not happy at all.
"You will call me-" Blueblood was cut off by Fluttershy who was now nose to nose with the spoiled prince and gave him the stare.
"Be quiet!" she snapped, "Just who do you think you are, talking to my son and his friends like that? Neither you nor the guards will lay a hoof on them. First of all, you may live here, but this not YOUR castle. Second of all, today is my son's birthday and we are allowed to use the castle ballroom for his birthday party."
Blueblood was backed into a corner and was trembling as Fluttershy continued talking.
"Now I suggest you leave right now, you royal pain in the flank. I'm still upset about how you treated my friend Rarity at the Grand Galloping Gala a few moons back. If you ever threaten my son or his friends again, I promise you, the last thing you’re going to have to worry about is your stupid grooming. You got that!?"
Blueblood was now cowering in fear. He vigorously nodded his head and ran off in the other direction.
Fluttershy crossed her forelegs and gave a wicked little smirk. She refused to let anyone mess with those she cared about.
"Wow, Fluttershy, that was awesome!" Scootaloo cheered.
Fluttershy blushed a little bit before giggling. She and the rest of the CMC and Young Six turned to the distressed Lightning. Fluttershy rubbed one of his hooves and Smolder rubbed the other as the CMC and the Young Five gave him warm smiles.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Fluttershy asked him sweetly.
Lightning nodded his head and said, "Thanks for helping me and my friends, Momma." He then gave her a hug.
Fluttershy smiled before picking her son up and returning the hug.
"You’re welcome, sweetheart,” she said gently, “I'm just glad you're alright. Now I think it's time for a certain birthday colt to blow out the candles on his cake." She then playfully nuzzling her son, making him giggle.
She then placed him on her back and walked back into the ballroom where Pinkie was busy lighting the candles on his cake. She then brought the cake to one of the windows that showed a beautiful view of the moonlit sky. She then ran outside with a large canon, but she stopped in her tracks and smiled happily at Lightning.
"Hey there Lightning," She said cheerfully. "Your Auntie Rainbow and I have a special present that we're going to give you as you blow out the candles."
Lightning saw his cyan colored aunt fly up to the window and waved to him. Lightning waved back as Rainbow Dash shot out of sight and Pinkie ran outside to the field.
Fluttershy took Lightning over to the cake as he looked at the beautiful night sky one more time before looking at all of his friends and family.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LIGHTNING!!!!" Everyone cheered.
Lightning took a huge breath and blew out everyone of the candles. Next thing he knew, he heard a loud explosion outside and was greeted by a beautiful rainbow streak forming in the night sky as well as Fireworks that spelled out, "Happy Birthday Lightning!".
Tears of joy flowed down Lightning's face as Pinkie and Rainbow returned to the room. He reached out his forelegs and the two mares engulfed him in a group hug. Lightning said nothing as he cried happily into the shoulders of his Aunts.
"Did you enjoy that, buddy?" Rainbow asked him.
With tears still in Lightning's eyes, he nodded his head before burying his face into Rainbow's chest. Rainbow gave him to Pinkie who kissed him on the forehead before placing him back onto Fluttershy’s back.
Lightning saw Oliver, Constantine and Vincent coming towards him. Oliver smiled at his nephew before saying, “I have a gift for you, my boy.”
Constantine walked towards the two as he bent down, reached to his pocket inside his coat as he then pulled a Bendy plushie. Lightning let out a gasp of happiness as he gently took the plushie from Constantine’s hands and hugged it.
“Thank you Uncle Oliver,” Lightning said happily.
“You’re welcome, my boy.” He then gently rubbed his nephew’s mane as he giggled.
Fluttershy then handed Lightning a small box.
"Here you go sweetheart," She said sweetly. "This is a gift from me, I hope you like it."
Lightning nodded his head, placed his plushie next to him and opened the box. The second he laid his eyes on what was inside, they went completely wide. Inside the box was a necklace with a silver chain that held beautiful dark blue gem as it's centerpiece. The gem matched Lightning's fur colour and created a beautiful blue glow from the moons reflection. Lightning had never seen anything so pretty. He felt like he could stare at it for hours.
Fluttershy gently took the necklace out of the box and gently put it around Lightning's neck. Tears of happiness formed once again in Lightning's eyes as hugged his mother's neck.
"Th-thank y-you so much, M-Momma!" he sobbed happily, “ I l-love it!”
Tears of happiness formed in Fluttershy's eyes as she picked up her son and held him close to her. She gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and nuzzled his cheek and Lightning did the same. Everyone in the room d'awwed at this site and smile at the moment between mother and son.
"Th-thank y-you all so m-much for th-this w-wonderful b-birthday," Lightning cried happily to the rest of the ponies in the room. Everyone simply smiled at the young colt before he once again started hugging and nuzzling his mother. They stayed like this with everyone watching on happily. This was truly a night for Lightning to remember.
After a few minutes, Lightning let out a long yawn.
"Are you tired, sweetie? Would you like to go home?"
Lightning nodded his head and laid it on his mother’s neck.
"I think we're going to go back to Ponyville, everyone," Fluttershy said softly, "Thank you all for making this a night to remember for my precious little boy."
Everyone nodded their heads and gently smiled at the little colt as he fell asleep in his mother’s hooves. Everyone d'awwed once again and said their goodbyes to the two. Princess Celestia then decided to call for a carriage to take them home so they could get home faster. When it arrived, Fluttershy very carefully entered it and sat down without disturbing Lightning. She placed him in her lap and pulled him close to where his head rested on her neck. Lightning eventually opened his eyes and looked into the beautiful eyes of his loving mother while his head stayed on her neck. Fluttershy gently kissed him on the forehead as the carriage made it's way back to Ponyville.
Lightning had fallen asleep once again by the time the carriage arrived in Ponyville. Fluttershy very carefully flew out of the carriage, thanked the two royal guards that flew it and made her way back home with her son cradled close to her chest. When she arrived at her cottage, she went inside, quietly closed the door and flew upstairs to Lightning's bedroom. She placed him in his bed, placed his Bendy plushie next to him and tucked him in. Lightning yawned and smiled in his sleep as he held Fluttershy's hoof and his new plushie. Fluttershy gently smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead.
Princess Luna's beautiful moon shined down on them as Fluttershy gently stroked Lightning's mane.
With her loving smile still on her face, Fluttershy gently kissed him on the forehead and said, "Happy birthday, Lightning. I love you, my precious baby boy."
Dawn breaks over Equestria as Princess Celestia's magnificent sun rises over the town of Ponyville. Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and letted out a gentle yawn. She then stretched a little bit before leaving her bedroom and going into her son's bedroom. Slowly opening the door, Fluttershy trotted over to her son and nuzzled him to wake him up.
"Lightning, it’s time to wake up sweetheart," She said sweetly.
Lightning's eyes slowly open and he looked into the beautiful caring eyes of his mother.
"Good Morning Momma," Lightning said softly before wrapping his little forelegs around his mother’s neck.
Fluttershy wrapped one foreleg around Lightning's body and gently kissed his forehead.
"Good Morning, sweetheart. Would you like some breakfast before school?" She asked gently.
"Yes please," Lightning replied politely.
Fluttershy nodded her head and trotted downstairs. Lightning reached over to his nightstand and putted on the necklace Fluttershy gave him before following her downstairs. When Lightning arrived in the kitchen, Fluttershy had fresh eggs made for him while she just had toast, again. Once they had finished their breakfast, Fluttershy made Lightning’s lunch for school and gave him the lunch bag as they both flew out of the cottage and towards the school of Friendship.
Ever since Lightning was able to fly now, he had been flying almost everywhere. He enjoyed the feeling more and more ever since he started flying. He would practice with the help of his mother after feeding the animals.
They reached the school as Fluttershy opened the doors and they both walked in as Fluttershy closes the door behind them. Lightning then looked at Fluttershy as she gave him a nuzzle on the nose and then a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ve got to go now sweetheart,” she said, “I’ll see you after school, okay?”
Lightning nodded before saying, “Okay, Momma. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetie.” She then gave him one more kiss on the cheek before walking off to the staff room.
Lightning started to make his way to the gym room, where he and his friends would meet. Many students waved at him as he walks by and waves at them back.
He finally made it to the gym room as he then started to look for his friends, until he heard a voice of somecreature he knows.
“Lightning!” He then saw his friends at a bench as they smiled at him while Silverstream waved her claw in the air wildly as she continued, “Over here!”
Lightning smiled at them before running up to them as they formed a group hug together.
Four hours have passed, and Lightning, along with his friends, are in Rainbow Dash's lessons now, which was outside in the sports area this time. Rainbow has planned a little race for her today’s lesson. Gallus and Lightning were at the starting tracks as Rainbow stood near them while the other students sat on the branches watching.
“Alright you two,” she began, “I want a nice and friendly race. I don’t wanna see any fighting or cheating going on, and no flying during this, okay?”
The two nodded before looking at each other.
“I hope you win this race, Gallus.”
Gallus just smirked at him before saying, “You? Losing over a griffon whose your friend? Ha! We’ll see about that.”
They faced forward ready to start running as Rainbow Dash then said,
“On your marks! Get set!” She then blew her whistle.
Gallus and Lightning shot off like a bullet as they ran as fast as they can.
They jumped over seven barrels, ran under two tree logs, ran through a tree log tunnel that Rainbow made sure it was safe to run through, lastly they jumped through eight stand holes as they made it pass the finishing line.
The two fell to the ground panting and gasping for air. Once they had enough wind in them to speak, they looked at each other and Lightning began to speak.
"You're...Really....Fast....Gallus," Lightning said between breaths.
"Thanks...You...Too," Gallus replied while gasping for air.
Once they were finally able to breath again, Gallus got to his feet first and went over to Lightning. He held out a claw to him to help him up. Lightning softly smiled and took his claw. Once he was up, the two, along with the other students, went over to Rainbow to see who won.
"Well, who won, Professor Rainbow?" One of the students asked.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Actually it was a tie, you both crossed at the same time."
Lightning and Gallus said nothing, instead they smiled at each other and shook hooves and claws. Neither of them noticed a flash of bright light appeared and then disappeared. Once the light was gone, every student, Gallus and Rainbow gasped in delight at Lightning, making him confuse as he looked at everyone.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that for?”
“Lightning, look at your flank,” Sandbar said as he pointed at his flank.
Lightning looked at Sandbar in confusion before looking at his flank like he said. He then gasped at what he saw on flank was his cutie mark. His cutie mark was a two crossing checkered flags.
“I’ve got my cutie mark!” He shouted happily as he began to jump up and down in happiness. “I’ve finally got my cutie mark!”
That was when Rainbow scooped Lightning into her hooves and hugged him. “I’m proud of you, kid. And I bet your mother will be proud of you too.”
The two stayed like that as the students cheered for Lightning getting his cutie mark.
Six hours have passed, and every student was in the assembly room as Twilight, Oliver, Spike and the girls stood on stage as Twilight told all the students how Star Swirl and the pillars returned to Equestria and defeated the Pony of Shadows.
After she had finish, Sunset took over so Twilight can take a break from speaking.
"Alright every student, it’s the end of the school year now, have a great Hearth’s Warming Eve holiday!" Sunset called as they all began to leave the room and the school itself.
Lightning had a look of confusion on his face, what was the Hearth's Warming Eve Holiday? He'd have to ask his mother when they get home.
When he reached to his mother, he hugged her as she hugged him back.
“Momma,” Lightning said, “I’ve got something to tell you that’s happened to me today.”
“How wonderful,” Fluttershy replied, “Let’s get home so you can tell me.”
Lightning nodded as he then let go of the hug and flew onto Fluttershy's back as she walked out of the school.
Once they got to the cottage, Fluttershy opened the door, went inside and closed the door behind her before bending down so Lightning can climb off her back.
“Alright sweetheart, tell me what happened to you today.”
Lightning turned around and pointed at his flank while saying with joy, "I got my cutie mark!"
Fluttershy gasped and immediately picked her son up and spun around in the air while smiling happily.
"Oh sweetie, Momma's so proud of you!" she softly cheered, "What's your special talent?"
"It's speed and racing," Lightning answered, "Gallus and I had a race and we were both going really fast. We both tied and then my cutie mark appeared."
Fluttershy continued to hold and hug her son and Lightning wrapped his hooves around his mother’s neck. The two stayed like this for a few minutes and Fluttershy finally put Lightning back on the ground.
"Sweetheart, I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you," Fluttershy said sweetly.
"Thank you Momma," Lightning said softly.
He then remembered what his Auntie Sunset had said about Hearth's Warming Eve and that's when he remembered the question he wanted to ask his mother.
"Momma, What's Hearth's Warming Eve?"
Fluttershy gasped and looked at her son before asking, "You don't know what Hearth's Warming Eve is, sweetheart?"
Lightning shook his head and frowned, "Daddy never told me about it and we never celebrated it."
Fluttershy gently rubbed her son’s shoulder and said, "It's alright, sweetheart. I'll tell you everything about it."
Fluttershy then began to explain the founding of Equestria to her son and began telling him all about the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant that she and her friends perform once a year in Canterlot. She told him about the beautiful sight during the holidays, but the most important thing she told him was about the time you would spend with family.
"So are you doing the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant again this year, Momma?" Lightning asked curiously.
"Yes I am sweetheart," Fluttershy said softly. "Your Auntie Twilight's parents have also invited us and all of our friends over to their Hearth's Warming Eve party tomorrow night. Night Light and Twilight Velvet are really nice and Auntie Twilight has told them all about you. They are really excited to finally meet you, sweetie."
Lightning smiled softly and said, "I would like to meet them, Momma."
Fluttershy gently smiled at him and kissed him on the forehead.
"That's my sweet boy," She said sweetly, "Now let's go make some dinner."
Lightning nodded his head and followed his mother into the kitchen while thinking about the amazing time he would have tomorrow.
Princess Celestia's sun began to set as Lightning looked out the window of Fluttershy's cottage. Outside he could see snow coming down all across Ponyville.
"It's snowing outside, Momma!" Lightning said happily.
Fluttershy gave her son a gentle smile and said, "Well it is Winter, sweetie. Now come over here and put your coat on."
Lightning nodded his head before taking off his necklace. Fluttershy helped him into his coat and Lightning putted his necklace back on. It was the most precious thing to him since his picture of his real mother. He never wanted to lose it. Lightning couldn't sleep last night, because he was excited about celebrating his first Hearth's Warming Eve with his friends and family. He had been waiting for this evening all day and he was finding it hard to be patient about it. Luckily, Fluttershy helped him to be a little patient. Now the evening was finally here and Lightning was ready to leave.
Fluttershy zipped his coat and then hers, she then kissed and nuzzled him before saying, "Are you ready to go to Canterlot, sweetheart?"
Lightning nodded his head before he and his mother stepped out into the snow and Fluttershy closing the door. The two smiled at each other before flying to the train station. When they arrived, they saw all of their friends waiting for them.
When they landed, the CMC immediately ran up and Scootaloo said, "Hey there Lightning, Rainbow told us about what happened yesterday! Let's see that cutie mark!"
Lightning turned a bit to show his cutie mark. The rest of the group squealed and cheered as Lightning smiled.
"I'm so proud of you," Rarity said earning nods of agreement from everyone else.
"So are you ready for your first Hearth's Warming Eve, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked Lightning gently.
Lightning nodded his head as everycreature then handed the conductor their tickets and went to find their seats. Lightning sat with the Young Six while Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle crammed together into a seat. Spike sat next to Rarity while Fluttershy sat with Twilight and Oliver. Rainbow chose a seat to herself while Pinkie and Applejack shared a seat together as Sunset and Starlight did the same. The train eventually departed from the station and began it's journey to Canterlot.
When they arrived, everycreature exited the car as Lightning then looked around at the snowy and festive holiday streets. Everyone made their way to the town theater where the Hearth's Warming Pageant would take place. It was late into the night by time the play ended and everypony made their way to Twilight's Parents’ House.
When they arrived, Twilight knocked on the door and it was soon answered by her mother.
"Twilight, there you all are!" She said happily, "Please come in."
Everycreature entered the room and said thanks to Twilight Velvet one by one. Once everycreature was inside, she shut the door behind her and stood in the middle of the group before speaking.
"Alright everycreature, I'd like to thank you all for coming. I would also like to wish you all a happy Hearth’s Warming Eve. There's plenty of food, so let's not sit here with our stomachs rumbling, everycreature dig in."
Everycreature nodded their heads and made their way to the buffet of food on the table in the kitchen. However, Lightning actually decided to see his Auntie Twilight and Uncle Oliver before he ate. Twilight saw him coming and motioned with her hoof to come over to him. When he arrived, he saw Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, who was hugging Oliver, who had arrived a few minutes before he did. He also saw Twilight's parents as well.
"Hi Lightning," Twilight said gently, "Come here, I'd like to introduce you to my parents."
Lightning looked at the two unicorns, but then hid behind Twilight with a little bit out of shyness. Twilight nuzzled him and softly reassured him that there was nothing to be afraid of. Lightning took a few small steps towards the unicorns. He didn't know why he was so afraid of them.
"So you’re Lightning Twister,” Night Light said, “It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Come on out, my boy. There’s no need to be afraid."
Lightning took a few more steps towards them as Twilight Velvet began to speak.
"That's right Lightning, you're part of the family now. You're welcome here anytime."
Lightning smiled as he thought of the great kindness and hospitality he was shown by Twilight's parents. He couldn't help but come up to them and hug them both. Night Light and Twilight Velvet smiled at each other before they each wrapped a foreleg around Lightning and pulled him closer to them. The caring parents rubbed up and down Lightning's back as Fluttershy came up to Twilight and stood beside her. She watched on happily as her son now had a bigger loving and caring family. The three eventually broke the hug and Lightning went over to his mother.
"Did you meet Twilight's parents, sweetheart?" Fluttershy asked her son sweetly.
"Yes I did Momma," Lightning replied, "They’re really nice and caring."
"That's what Hearth’s Warming Eve is all about, sweetheart. Being with those that love and care for you," Fluttershy said gently as she wrapped a foreleg around her son and pulled him into a loving embrace.
The two stayed like that for a few minutes until Fluttershy broke the hug and took her son over to the table so he could eat something. There were lots of delicious sweets like cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and more. There was also delicious drinks, like hot chocolate, Apple family cider, and delicious chocolate milk.
He saw all of his friends talking, except for Scootaloo who was resting by the fireplace. Lightning ate about two brownies before grabbing two cups of hot chocolate. He let out a sigh and went over to the lone filly. Scootaloo looked up at him and softly smiled as Lightning gave her a glass of hot chocolate.
"Here Scootaloo, I thought you might like some hot chocolate," Lightning said softly before sitting down next to her.
Scootaloo softly smiled and said, "Thanks Lightning, that was sweet of you."
Lightning softly smiled in return and the two stayed together and talked about flying and the flying lesson they had with Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo then talked to Lightning about Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts and Lightning then grew more and more fascinated. They both enjoyed each others company while the other two girls and the Young Five were spying on them. Unbeknownst to him, the Young Five, Scootaloo and the rest of the CMC set up a trap for him and Smolder.
Scootaloo then told Lightning she needs to do something real quick as she then shot off like a bullet.
Lightning was confused until he heard Smolder calling to him. He then got up and went into the hallway Smolder was in to see what she wants.
When he got into the hallway, he saw Smolder smiling at him as he smiled at her back until they saw the rest of their friends that stood by them with mischievous smirks on their faces. The three fillies then pointed up and Smolder and Lightning's eyes went wide with shock. They were standing under a mistletoe.
Lightning and Smolder both took off in separate directions but Smolder was caught by her friends and Lightning was caught by the CMC.
"Uh-Uh-Uh, you’re not getting away that easily, Lightning Twister. You know the rules of the mistletoe," Sweetie Belle said playfully as her mischievous grin was still on her face.
"Same goes for you Smolder,'" Ocellus said to the orange dragon. While Lightning and Smolder both tried to get away, the others managed to drag them back under the mistletoe.
Smolder gave a death glare to all of them while Lightning did the same while blushing a little bit.
"I am so going to get you all for this," Smolder said before looking back at Lightning.
Both began blushing like mad before closing their eyes and slowly moving their heads towards one another. The three fillies watched with joyous looks on their faces as Lightning and Smolder's lips finally met. It was only about a second before they broke the kiss. Even if it was short, both of their faces were bright red.
All of their friends laughed as the two looked at each other.
Smolder finally brought her head down to Lightning’s ear and whispered, "I have a good prank in mind for them tomorrow. You want in, kid?"
Lightning nodded his head and both of them smiled mischievously at their friends. The dragon and the pony then chased after them as they forgot all about the kiss.
A few hours passed and the party was starting to wind down. Eventually all of the children fell asleep. Sandbar, Yona and Smolder were asleep on a rag near the fireplace while Gallus, Ocellus and Silverstream were asleep on the sofa. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were both sleeping on the backs of their sisters while Scootaloo was asleep on Rainbow Dash's back. Lightning was being held by his mother and was asleep in her forelegs while his head rested against her neck. Twilight stood with her friends with Spike asleep on her back. Night Light and Twilight Velvet all smiled at the sleeping children before Twilight Velvet began to speak.
"It's getting late everypony, I think you all should head back to Ponyville. Thank you all so much for coming. We enjoyed seeing all of you."
Everypony said their goodbyes as the group of friends left the house and made their way to the station to catch the last train to Ponyville. It was about an hour before everypony was back in Ponyville. Twilight, Oliver, Sunset and Starlight agreed to let the Young Six stay at the castle for tonight before everyone went to their respective homes. Fluttershy eventually arrived at her cottage and went upstairs to tuck Lightning in. Once she was in his bedroom, she lit his candle and carefully tucked him under the cover. Once he was situated, she kissed him on the forehead and made her way to the door.
However, once she was at the doorway, Lightning began to whimper and whine. Fluttershy looked back and saw him crying in his sleep. She quickly went over to him and Lightning immediately shot up while panting and breathing heavily. He began shaking as he looked up at his mother.
Fluttershy softly hushed him before asking, "Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?"
Lightning nodded his head and continued to whimper. Fluttershy sat on the edge of Lightning's bed and gently placed her son onto her lap. Lightning just sat on his mother’s lap and whimpered while trembling like a leaf. Fluttershy laid his body against her soft warm fur and gently stroked his back with her hoof.
"Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, Momma's here," she softly cooed into Lightning's ear.
Lightning eventually calmed down and looked at his mother thankfully.
"I had a great time at the party Momma," Lightning said softly as Fluttershy gently squeezed him.
"I'm glad sweetheart," She replied.
"Momma," Lightning quickly said. "Do you remember what you said to me at the party, about Hearth's Warming Eve being a day to be with those you loved?"
Fluttershy nodded her head as Lightning snuggled his head into neck while saying, "I'm happy I got to spend it with you. You’re the best Momma ever."
Tears of happiness flowed down Fluttershy's face as Lightning began to fall asleep in his mother’s embrace.
He closed his eyes and gently nuzzled her cheek before saying, "I love you, Momma."
Lightning rested his head on Fluttershy's soft chest fur and fell asleep as tears continued to flow down Fluttershy's face.
Fluttershy gave her son a gentle kiss on the forehead and nuzzled him before saying, "I love you too, my precious baby boy."
It was a beautiful Saturday morning and Lightning Twister was already awake but was pacing around his bedroom. He couldn't sleep last night, ever since the night he kissed Smolder under that mistletoe at the Hearth's Warming Eve party, he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her. He also knew that Hearts and Hooves day was tomorrow and it was obvious to all of his friends that he liked her. He wanted to get her something, but he didn't know what.
Lightning continued to pace around his room until Fluttershy entered the room.
"Lightning, is everything alright, sweetie?" Fluttershy asked worryingly.
Lightning looked at his mother for a second before wondering if she could help him. He shook his head in response to her question before saying, "I have a little problem, Momma."
Fluttershy sat down in front of her son and listened.
"Tomorrow is Hearts and Hooves Day and...um...I want to get something for someone I have a crush on."
Fluttershy smiled after hearing that her son had a crush.
"Oh that's wonderful, sweetie. Who do you have a crush on?"
Lightning let out a sigh and said, "I have a crush on Smolder."
Fluttershy gasped in shock but urged her son to continue talking.
"She's nice, she's funny, she thinks I’m really cute like you and the others do and she is very pretty. I like Smolder, Momma. And I want her to be my special somecreature for Hearts and Hooves Day. I want to get her a gift, but I don't know what to give her."
Fluttershy softly smiled at Lightning. At first, she thought he was a little young to like a filly or any creature, but then she remembered that Lightning is growing up and Smolder’s taller than him and older. She may act like she’s tough and strong, but she really does like cute stuffs.
Remembering her son’s dilemma, she smiled at her son before speaking,
"Well sweetheart, the best thing you can do is give her something that comes from your heart. Give her something that tells her how much you care about her. If you do that, I'm sure she would like just about anything you gave her."
Lightning listened to his mother and pondered for a few minutes on what to give her. He then thought of a good idea.
"I think I know what I'll give her. Thank you Momma," Lightning said to his mother before hugging her and nuzzling her cheek.
"You're welcome sweetheart," Fluttershy said sweetly, "Now let's go downstairs and have some breakfast."
Lightning softly smiled and nodded his head before going downstairs with his mother.
~
Outside of Twilight’s castle, Smolder was sitting near a pond while rubbing her two fingers together. She stopped when she saw Spike flying towards her.
He had a look of concern on his face when he looked at Smolder.
"Hey Smolder," Spike began, "I’ve just saw you outside my window when I woke up, is something wrong?"
Smolder immediately shook her head in response before saying, "No, everything's fine, Spike."
Spike gave her a knowing look before arching an eyebrow, crossing his arms and tapping his foot expectantly.
"Smolder, I know you're lying to me, now spill it," Spike said firmly.
Smolder just closed her eyes and lowered her head. She knew she couldn't get anything past Spike’s knowing look face. She wanted to tell him what was bothering her, but she didn't know what Spike would say. Smolder let out a sigh knowing it was probably best to tell him.
"Tomorrow is Hearts and Hooves day," Smolder said.
Spike looked at her in confusion and said, "Yeah, so?"
Smolder gulped and let out a sigh before saying, "I kind of have a crush on a colt."
Spike gave her a smug look and said, "You like Lightning Twister, don't you?"
Smolder’s face went bright red.
"How did you know that?" She asked.
Spike chuckled a little bit before saying, "I've seen the way you've been acting around him these past few months and I also saw you two kiss at the Hearth's Warming Eve party while I was drinking some Hot Chocolate."
Smolder’s face was now red with embarrassment. She didn't want to tell Spike that she liked Lightning, but he was right. She did have feelings for Lightning.
Smolder eventually let out a long sigh and said, "Yes, I do like Lightning Twister. He's totally awesome and he's really sweet. He's also cute. Whenever I'm with him, I feel happy."
Smolder looked down in sadness while Spike looked at her in confusion.
"What's wrong, Smolder?" Spike asked. "Is liking Lightning Twister a bad thing?"
Smolder looked up to Spike before saying, "I just thought that if I told you I liked him, you would laugh at a dragon who likes cute stuffs and is now in love with a pony," She confessed.
Spike didn't know what to say to that. Instead he went over to Smolder and sat down beside her as he then said, "Listen Smolder, I don't think you liking Lightning or liking cute stuffs is funny. In fact I think it is kind of cool that you like a pony. Don't ever think that liking someone is funny. It's okay to be tough but still have a softer side. I may have saved the Crystal Empire twice and enjoy being brave, but I'm still a baby. I may also enjoying being tough, but I like being a little cutie, sometimes," He said before putting emphasis on the word sometimes.
Smolder giggled a little bit before nodding her head. She understood what Spike was trying to say. She gave him a smile and thanked him. However, she was still stumped on what she could do for Lightning on Hearts and Hooves day.
Spike could tell what she was thinking and said, "Look Smolder, don't worry, I'm sure you'll think of something for Lightning. I'm sure you he will like whatever you give him." Spike looked at Smolder and gave her a mischievous smile. "And I'm sure by the time tomorrow’s over, you both will be just fine and will be going back to smooch city."
Spike playfully made kissing sounds which made Smolder splashed water at the purple dragon while laughing.
She jumped into the air before saying, "Yeah, well what are you going to do for Rarity tomorrow?"
Spike’s face turned bright red when he heard Rarity’s name. Smolder laughed at Spike’s reaction and flew off.
Spike let out a laugh of happiness before going after the orange dragon while shouting, "Hey come back here!"
The afternoon sun shined across Equestria as Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle made their way over to Fluttershy's cottage. When they arrived, they knocked on the door and it was soon answered by Fluttershy.
"Good Morning Fluttershy, happy Hearts and Hooves day!" Applebloom said cheerfully, "Is Lightning here?"
Fluttershy shook her head before saying, "He took several bits and left early this morning. He wanted get a gift for Smolder."
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded their heads in understanding before handing three cards to Fluttershy.
"Well, Sweetie Belle's parents invited us to a vacation with her and them for a week, we already asked Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and they both said yes," Scootaloo said happily, "Could you give these cards to Lightning? Tell him they're from me, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle."
Fluttershy nodded her head and the three fillies said goodbye before running off. Fluttershy closed the door and smiled.
"I hope my little boy has the best Hearts and Hooves day ever," She said softly.
At Sugarcube Corner, Lightning Twister walked near the entrance with a card on his back.
"I hope Smolder likes this gift I’m getting for her," Lightning said to himself. Spreading his wings out, Lightning flew into Sugarcube Corner. Once he was inside the shop, he saw Pinkie Pie working at the counter. The hyper pink pony saw Lightning and bounced over to him.
"Hey there Lightning, how's my cutie of a nephew?" She asked playfully before ruffling his mane.
Lightning giggled a little bit and straightened his mane out before saying, "I'm doing good, Auntie Pinkie."
Pinkie then bounced back behind the counter.
"Are you here for your order?" She asked him earning a nod in return.
Pinkie took out a large chocolate cupcake with orange and purple frosting. She put it in a box and gave it to Lightning as the little colt then gave his Aunt the exact amount of bits he owed her. She put the bits in the register before smiling at her nephew.
"So is this cupcake and that letter for a special filly?" She asked with great interest.
Lightning nodded his head before saying, "It's for Smolder, I just hope she likes what I’m giving to her. I also hope she wants to be my special somecreature."
Pinkie just ruffled Lightning’s mane again and said, "You're worrying too much, sweetie. I just know Smolder's gonna love it."
Lightning softly smiled at her and nodded his head.
"Thanks Auntie Pinkie, I better get going," Lightning said before saying goodbye and exiting the shop.
Arriving at the Ponyville park, Smolder looked all around for Lightning. She finally smiled when she saw him flying down a hill with several items. When he landed in front of her, he put the box down on the ground and began sweating nervously. He could feel his heart racing and Smolder could feel hers doing the same. This was the moment they had both been waiting for.
"Um...Hi Smolder," Lightning said softly with a gentle smile.
Smolder blushed a little bit and softly smiled before saying, "Hi Lightning, happy Hearts and Hooves day."
"Y-you too. Do y-you wanna fly for a bit?" Lightning asked nervously hoping it would give him a chance to let his nerves settle.
Smolder nodded her head in response. The two took to the air and flew all around the park. Both were way too nervous to give each other a gift right now, but they both knew if they wanted to let one another know how much they felt about each other, they would have to do it soon. They decided to fly for a few more minutes. However, neither of them realized that since they took off from the ground, they were holding each other’s hooves and claws. Lightning and Smolder both noticed this and blushed before quickly letting go of each other’s hooves and claws, even though neither of them wanted to.
After about ten more minutes of flying, Lightning left Smolder’s side and went back to the gifts he left on the ground. He picked them up while in the air and flew over to a nearby tree by the lake. Smolder eventually landed beside him with a card in her claws. She presented it to Lightning.
"Um...I made you this card, Lightning. I-I hope you like it," She said shyly and nervously.
Lightning opened the card and read what was inside.
"When I see you smile, I can face the world, I can do anything." "When I see you smile, I see a ray of light shining through the rain." "When I see you smile at me." "Happy hearts and hooves day, Lightning."
"Love, Smolder."
Lightning felt tears sting his eyes as he wrapped his hooves around Smolder with a smile on his face.
"Thank you Smolder, this is one of the greatest gift I've ever gotten."
After a few minutes, he broke the hug before grabbing a card of his own. He gave it to Smolder with a shaking hoof as the dragon took it, opened it and read what was inside.
"I wish a happy hearts and hooves day to the most awesome dragon in all of Equesrtia.
Love, Lightning Twister"
Tears were already forming in Smolder’s eyes as she then wrapped her arms around him.
Her tears of joy continued to flow as she said, "Lightning, this is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift I've ever gotten."
Smolder continued to hug Lightning and he eventually wrapped his forelegs around her. Smolder then kissed Lightning on the cheek for what felt like an hour. Lightning was blushing like crazy when Smolder broke the hug. He put his hoof over the cheek that she kissed him on for a moment before smiling at her.
"S-Smolder?" Lightning stuttered nervously.
"Yes, Lightning?" The orange dragon asked softly.
Lightning let out a shaky sigh before asking nervously, "W-would you b-be my special somecreature?"
Smolder simply nodded her head before saying, "Lightning, there is no other colt or dragon I would want to have as my special somecreature, than you."
She then went up to Lightning and kissed him on the cheek once more making him blush again. The two of them hugged each other and nuzzled one another while both were smiling and crying tears of joy. Neither of them noticed that Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike were laying on a cloud right above them, watching the whole thing. The three of them smiled at one another before flying off to let the two be alone for a while.
Lightning gave Smolder the box he had and she opened it. The box revealed the chocolate cupcake, Smolder couldn't help but kiss him on the cheek again. Lightning blushed once more even though she kissed him on the cheek three times now.
"Thank you Lightning, chocolate is my favourite flavor. Do you wanna share it?" Smolder asked sweetly.
Lightning softly smiled at her and nodded his head. The two sat down under the tree by the lake and shared the cupcake as the sun began to set beautifully on the lake. Both Lightning and Smolder had never been happier than they were right now. Both of them laid down beside each other and Smolder put one of her claws on top of one of Lightning's hooves. Lightning looked into Smolder's beautiful eyes and Smolder looked into Lightning’s dark blue eyes. A few small tears escaped Lightning’s eyes as they both smiled softly at one another. Smolder brought the claw and gently brushed away Lightning’s tears from his eyes. She then rested her head on top of his and closed her eyes before letting out a sigh of happiness. Lightning smiled and let his head rest gently under her head before closing his eyes. The two stayed this way, happy to be with one another, as the beautiful sunset shined across the lake.
"Are you sure you don't want to come to the Grand Galloping Gala this year, Spike?" Twilight asked her baby dragon curiously.
Spike nodded his head in response before saying, "Yeah, I just don't feel like going this year."
Twilight decided not to argue anymore and just nodded her head. She couldn't understand why Spike would turn down an invitation to one of the biggest party's in Canterlot. She knew a few years ago she and her friends caused quite a bit of chaos and what Discord did two years back. However, this year was going to be different. She and her friends were actually going to enjoy the night with each other. They even invited Lightning and his friends to come.
"Okay, I'm going to ask you one more time, Spike. Are you absolutely certain you don't want to go? We're going to do everything you wanted to do last year," Twilight said hoping the baby dragon would change his mind.
"Sorry Twilight, but hey don't worry about me. You all just enjoy yourselves this time," Spike replied happily while giving Twilight a reassuring smile.
Twilight however didn't respond. She looked like she was lost in some sort of trance. She shivered for a moment before shaking her head and once again looked at Spike with both sadness and concern. Spike looked at her and couldn't help but be concerned as well.
"What's the matter, Twilight?" Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head before saying, "I don't know why but, for the past few days, I've had a bad feeling that something bad is going to happen."
Spike was now deeply concerned. Twilight's suspicions about something bad were usually correct.
"Do you know what?" He asked the lavender mare.
Twilight shook her head again and said, "No I don't, Spike. However I think it has something to do with Lightning. I don't want to think it, but I can't help but feel like something bad's going to happen to him. I better go talk to Fluttershy."
Spike nodded his head in agreement thinking it was probably the best idea as well. Twilight said goodbye to him before leaving the castle and making her way to Fluttershy's cottage. When she arrived, she knocked on the door and it was answered by Fluttershy.
"Hi Fluttershy," Twilight said kindly.
Fluttershy softly smiled and replied, "Hi Twilight, please come in."
Fluttershy stepped aside and let her friend enter the cottage.
She closed the door and looked at the lavender mare before asking, "Would you like some tea?"
Twilight nodded her head in response and Fluttershy poured a cup of her homemade tea. Twilight used her magic to sip some of it before talking to Fluttershy.
"Is Lightning here?" Twilight asked curiously.
Fluttershy shook her head before saying, "No, he's not. Rarity came by earlier to take him to her shop so she could get his measurements for his tuxedo for the Grand Galloping Gala."
Twilight looked down in sadness which made Fluttershy concerned.
"Is something wrong, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked before placing a gentle hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
Twilight let out a sigh before looking into Fluttershy's caring blue eyes.
"Fluttershy, has everything been okay with Lightning for the past few days?" She asked.
Fluttershy nodded her head before saying, "Yes, everything's been fine. Why? Is something wrong?"
Twilight let out a sigh before saying, "Well, I've just had a bad feeling for these past few days that something, bad is going to happen to him."
Fluttershy was starting to get a little bit scared when she heard those words. She didn't want anything to happen to her son. He's already been through enough. But she was able to put that fear aside and smile at her best friend.
"I'm sure everything will be alright Twilight," Fluttershy said sweetly. "I think you're worrying too much. I know if anything bad happens to my precious little boy, you and all of our friends would be there to help him in less than a second."
Twilight gave Fluttershy a little smile before saying, "Yeah you're probably right, Fluttershy. Thank you."
The two mare hugged each and finished the rest of their tea while talking the day away.
~
At carousel boutique, Lightning and his friends came out of the shop. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Yona, Silverstream and Ocellus were all smiling while Lightning, Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder and Scootaloo were groaned as Lightning, Gallus, Smolder and Scootaloo scratched their wings.
"Ugh..I hate having to stand there for that long," Smolder complained earning a nod from Lightning, Sandbar and Gallus in return.
Sweetie Belle tried to lightened their moods up and said, "Still, aren't you lot excited to go to the Grand Galloping Gala?"
Apple Bloom nodded her head vigorously and Scootaloo gave them a soft smile.
"Yeah, I guess," Lightning said, "I mean, I hate having to wear something nice for the Gala, but Auntie Rainbow Dash said she would get me into the VIP area to meet the Wonderbolts, it's going to be awesome."
Lightning’s friends smiled at him before Sweetie Belle said, "I just hope we don't run into to that jerk Prince Blueblood. Rarity told me he was her date a few years back, and she wished she'd had never met him."
Everyone else nodded in agreement as they all remembered how the arrogant prince treated Lightning on his birthday. The sun began to set and both Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom let out gasps of shock.
"I need to get home or I'll be late for dinner," Apple Bloom said before running off while shouting goodbye to her friends.
"I better be getting home too. I'll see you both tomorrow," Sweetie Belle said before running off as so did Scootaloo but flying home.
Lightning and his friends waved and shouted goodbye before they all smiled at each other.
Lightning let out a tired yawn before Silverstream gently picked him up and placed him on her back.
“Let’s get you home, cutie.” Silverstream and the rest of Lightning’s friends went off towards Fluttershy’s cottage.
The moon shined brightly by the time they arrived. Silverstream knelt down to let Lightning off her back as he gently jumped off. He then hugged his friends and kissed Smolder as she kissed him back before they all said their goodbyes and made their way back to the school as Lightning watched his friends walked away until they disappeared into the night. With the colt all alone, he walked back to his home and went inside.
Fluttershy was there in the living room to greet him. Lightning ran over to his mother and wrapped his forelegs around her neck before kissing her on the cheek.
"Hi sweetheart, did you have a good day today?" Fluttershy asked sweetly.
"Yes I did Momma," Lightning replied as he continued to hug her.
He eventually broke the hug and let out another tired yawn.
Fluttershy giggled before saying, "It looks like a certain little colt is tired. Let's make you a sandwich before you go to bed, okay sweetheart?"
Lightning nodded his head and the two went into the kitchen. Fluttershy made her son a daisy sandwich and he ate it happily before letting out a third tired yawn. Lightning thanked his mother for the sandwich before making his way upstairs. Fluttershy followed him until they reached Lightning's bedroom. Fluttershy gently tucked her son in and decided to read him a bedtime story. However she was only on one chapter into the book before Lightning fell asleep. Fluttershy smiled at her sleeping child and nuzzled him for a moment.
"Goodnight sweetheart," She said softly and lovingly before kissing Lightning on the forehead and leaving the room.
Fluttershy went to her room and tucked herself into her bed. However, she was unable to sleep. She couldn't help but remember Twilight's fears from earlier in the day. She began to worry a little bit about something bad happening to Lightning. However, she soon brushed that fear out of her mind as she thought of the wonderful time she and Lightning would have, in a few days, at the Grand Galloping Gala. She would spend the evening having fun with her friends, and Lightning would spend his having fun with his friends as well as have a special night with Smolder. Those happy thoughts helped Fluttershy fall asleep with Princess Luna's moon shining down on both her and her son.
The sun was beginning to set as Lightning, the main eight, and Lightning's friends were all at Carousel Boutique getting ready for the Grand Galloping Gala. Fluttershy, her friends and the CMC were already in their dresses, which were remakes of their dresses from last year. Oliver was wearing a black tuxedo with a purple tie, just like Sandbar and Gallus but with different colour ties, while Sunset and Starlight’s dress were the same as Twilight’s first Grand Galloping Gala dress but the colour designs on them were the same as their manes. Fluttershy was busy tying the tie to Lightning's tuxedo while Lightning squirmed around a little bit in discomfort. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a black tie. His mane was combed perfectly straight and around his neck was the necklace that Fluttershy had given him for his birthday.
"Oh come on sweetheart," Fluttershy said to her son gently, "It's not that bad, you only have to wear this for one night."
Lightning said nothing as he continued to wish he didn't have to dress up at all in the first place. Fluttershy finally finished with the tie and stepped back so she could get a full good view of her son. The rest of her friends looked at him as well.
"Oh Lightning darling, you look absolutely handsome," Rarity said happily.
Sunset walked over to her nephew and nudged his shoulder.
"Heh, looking sharp, little buddy. Hoping to catch a certain dragon’s eye?" She said with a smug look on her face.
Lightning blushed a little bit at the compliments before hearing hoofsteps coming down the stairs. Everyone turned and saw Yona, Ocellus and Silverstream walking downstairs in their dresses.
Silverstream’s dress was designed after the horizon of both sky and sea. Light blue with seafoam green.
Ocellus‘s dress is light purple to match her wing membrane with a flowery necklace.
Yona’s dress had grey outlines like the mountains with light pink bows in her hair.
Everyone smiled at them.
"Oh my. All three of you look absolutely beautiful," Starlight said softly and kindly.
Ocellus and Yona spun around in their dresses, while Silverstream spun round and twerked, as one more pair of footsteps were heard getting everyone's attention. The last one coming down the steps made everyone smile and made Lightning go wide eyed.
Smolder was walking down the steps in a beautiful purple and red dress that looked almost like Sunset’s with orange gems on one of her antlers.
Lightning stared with his jaw hanging open as Smolder began to approach the group. Gallus gently shoved Lightning towards her a little bit. The two met each other halfway and both were blushing.
"W-wow S-Smolder," Lightning stammered as he gazed at the dragon in front of him. "Y-you look beautiful."
Smolder’s face was now bright red as she replied, "Thank you, Lightning. You don't look so bad yourself."
Everyone in the room either had a soft smiles on their faces or were giggling.
"Alright, you two lovebirds. Let's get going, we don't want to be late," Rainbow said before making her way out the door.
Everyone followed behind her as Lightning and Smolder continued to stare at each other for one more minute before joining the group. Once everyone was at the station, they gave the conductor their tickets and made their way onto the train to Canterlot. Almost everypony on board was wearing something fancy as well. Everyone looked at all the well dressed ponies before finding a car.
Everyone entered the car and found their seats. Fluttershy sat with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie sat with Applejack, Twilight sat with Rarity and Oliver and Sunset sat with Starlight. On the opposite side of the car, Applebloom sat in a seat with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and Lightning sat in a seat with the Young Six. Everyone began talking about what they were going to do tonight as the train began to pull out of the station and began it's journey to Canterlot.
~
When the train arrived, everyone exited the train and began making their way to the castle. Lightning stood as close to Fluttershy as he could. Even though he had been here before and the streets were practically abandoned at night, it was still a large city and Lightning didn't want to get separated from his mother or the rest of his friends and family. When the group finally arrived at the castle, everyone stood there and smiled knowing that they have finally reached their destination and tonight would be the true best night ever. However before anyone went in, Rarity stepped forward and addressed her friends.
"Alright everycreature, we're finally here and we will truly have the best night ever this time. Now, as for the children, I want you all to be on your best behavior. We are at one of the biggest events of the year after all. It's 7 o'clock now, I want you all to meet us back here at 11 o'clock so we can catch the last train to Ponyville. However, the most important thing I want you all to do tonight, is have fun. Don't be like us last year and ruin what could really be the best night ever."
Lightning and his friends all nodded their heads as the main eight and Oliver smiled at them.
"Alright then," Twilight said, "Let's have the best night ever!"
The main eight and Oliver said goodbye to the children before departing together. Lightning and his friends all smiled at one another.
"Well, we have about an hour before Auntie Rainbow introduces me to the Wonderbolts. What should we all do until then?" Lightning pondered while tapping his chin with his hoof.
"Let's get something to eat. I'm starving." Gallus suggested.
“Yona hungry too.”
The rest of the friends heard their stomach's grumble and nodded their heads in agreement. The group of friends made their way to the ballroom where the buffet was at. There wasn't a highly appetizing selection but it was better than no food at all. The group all took a little bit of food as well as some cake and cookies that Princess Celestia asked Sugarcube Corner to provide. They all found a table and sat down together. Once all their food was gone, they began talking and laughing somewhat loudly earning glares of disapproval from almost every pony in the room. Lightning shrunk a little bit under the hard looks everyone was giving him. Smolder rubbed his shoulder in comfort and reassurance before she began to speak.
"I think we better go somewhere where most of the ponies aren't complete snobs," She said loud enough for the glaring ponies to hear.
The ponies gasped and scowled at her. Smolder however didn't care as she and her friends all left the room.
~
Once they were outside, they began exploring the castle halls while talking and laughing once more. However, they all stopped laughing and glared angrily at a familiar stallion heading their direction, it was Prince Blueblood. Not wanting anything to do with the arrogant prince, they went in the opposite direction. However, once the prince was out of sight, the friends saw once of the castle’s servants walking down the hallway with a large chocolate cake. A wicked mischievous smile grew on everyone's faces as Blueblood turned the corner and was once again behind them.
Wanting to get some payback at how the spoiled prince treated them at Lightning's birthday party, they kept walking until they were right beside the servant with the cake. Sandbar and Gallus both stuck one of their back legs out without the servant knowing and tripped him. The servant fell flat on his face and lost control of the cart. The cart eventually fell and the cake was sent flying right into Prince Blueblood. The cake coated stallion began screaming like a young filly as Lightning and his friends helped the servant up and acted like it was an accident. The servant assured them that everything was fine as Lightning and his friends tried to contain their laughter at the still screaming prince.
Once they were out of sight, they all fell to the ground and let out a hearty roll of laughter. Their faces were turning red and tears were coming out of their eyes as they laughed for almost five minutes straight. Once they were calm again, they all got up to their feet once more. The group began walking again until they were cut off by Rainbow Dash who landed in front of them.
"Hey there kids, you all enjoying yourselves?" The cyan mare asked the colt, fillies and the Young Six.
The children nodded their heads in response and Rainbow said, "That's good! I'm glad you all are enjoying the night together. But I'm afraid I'm here to split you all up though, because I just got done talking to the Wonderbolts. They told me they wanna meet Lightning."
Lightning immediately began getting energetic as the CMC and Young Six nodded their heads in understanding. They all said goodbye and ran off to find something to do.
Rainbow smiled at Lightning before asking, "You ready to go meet the Wonderbolts?"
The colt nodded his head vigorously and flew off with Rainbow Dash to the VIP area.
~
Arriving at the VIP area, the two saw everypony, except the Wonderbolts, leaving. Rainbow had special permission from Spitfire herself to visit her nephew after everyone else had to leave. Lightning's excitement turned to shyness when he laid eyes on the famous flying team. It took a few minutes of encouragement from Rainbow Dash to give Lightning enough courage to approach the Wonderbolts. When they did, Rainbow called Spitfire and Soarin over to them. Spitfire gave the young colt a soft smile before Rainbow introduced him.
"Spitfire, Soarin, I'd like to introduce you to my nephew, Lightning Twister."
Lightning tried make himself unseen by hiding behind Rainbow's dress, but Rainbow then gently brought him out as Spitfire trotted up to the shy colt.
"So you're the colt Rainbow Dash has been telling me about, huh?" Spitfire asked Lightning kindly.
Lightning didn’t say anything and nodded his head. Spitfire could understand how shy he was. She laid one of her hooves on his shoulder before talking to him.
"Well, you certainly are a shy little fan, aren't you?" she said, "Heh, don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt ya. It's alright to be a little shy. I get shy sometimes when I meet certain ponies like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I'm also a little shy about performing sometimes too, but I always overcome it when I hear the crowd cheering for us."
Lightning was starting to warm up to the kind mare.
She gently smiled at him before bending her head down to his ear and whispered, "Just between you and me, Soarin says he's not shy about anything, but he's an absolute chicken when talking to Rainbow Dash."
Lightning giggled at that and Rainbow began blushing when she heard the stallion's name. Soarin heard what Spitfire said as well and blushed. He then went over to Lightning and introduced himself. Lightning was finally comfortable around both of the Wonderbolts as everyone smiled at him.
Soarin looked at Lightning before saying, "So, Rainbow Dash tells me that besides her, you are the fastest flyer in Ponyville."
Lightning blushed.
"Well, I’m not that fast," Lightning said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck as the three adults smiled at him.
"Well, we better get going, we have a show tomorrow in Manehatten. It was nice meeting you," Spitfire said to Lightning. Everyone said their goodbyes and the two Wonderbolts flew off into the night.
Rainbow smiled at Lightning and said, "I'm gonna head back to Fluttershy and the others. I'll see you later."
As Rainbow flew off, Lightning walked off to find Smolder.
~
After five minutes of searching, Lightning saw Smolder sitting near a fountain that had smooth flowing water. He smiled before walking over to her, she then saw him coming as she smiled at him.
“Hey Lightning,” she said, “How did it go?”
“It went alright,” he answered before sitting next to Smolder, “Auntie Rainbow went off to join Momma and the others, so I thought I spend some time with you, alone.”
Smolder smiled before saying, “I’m glad you did, Lightning. Cos I wanted to do that too once you were finished seeing the Wonderbolts.”
Smolder then gently nuzzled Lightning's cheek for a bit as Lightning then looked into her beautiful eyes and she looked into his. The two smiled at one another before closing their eyes. Their heads began moving closer and closer to one another. Both of them didn't know they were about to kiss. Just before Smolder's lips connected to Lightning's, he felt a powerful pain in his shoulder as if something yanked it with hard force and then pulled him backwards. Smolder opened her eyes and saw that Lightning was no longer in front of her. When she turned her head, she immediately gasped in shock and horror.
Lightning was tackled onto the ground by a tall and very angry looking Pegasus stallion with a dark red coat, a black mane and tail, and his cutie mark was a pair of red boxing gloves. The stallion was trying to get a grip of Lightning as Lightning began screaming for help. The stallion tried to get a hoof over his mouth to silence him, but he broke free of the stallion's grip. However before he could run, the stallion got hold of his tuxedo collar and ripped the whole tuxedo off of him and grabbed him once more.
“I’m coming, Lightning!”
Smolder tried to attack the Pegasus and break Lightning free of his grip. However the Pegasus slapped her with a great amount of force and set her flying a few feet away from him knocking the dragon unconscious. Lightning gasped in horror, but before he could say anything, the stallion put a hoof over his mouth and held him to the ground. He then took out a burlap sack and quickly put Lightning inside before tying it. He could feel Lightning kicking around inside and screaming for help. The Pegasus kicked Lightning inside the sack which made him quiet. The stallion then spread his wings out and flew off into the night with Lightning.
By the time, Smolder was conscious again, but she couldn't see Lightning anywhere. Tears welled up in her eyes as she frantically looked around for a second. She then let her tears flow free as she immediately flew inside while crying and screaming at the top of her lungs in the most scared and pain filled voice.
"FLUTTERSHY!"
~
The stallion was now far from Canterlot with Lightning who was in the bag trembling harder than he ever had in the past. The stallion made his way to an old house just a few miles outside Ponyville. He immediately went inside and slammed the door shut. He dropped the sack, with Lightning inside, on the floor and went all around the house locking all windows and doors. He then shut all the curtains on the windows so no one could see inside. Once he felt like the house was secure, the stallion picked up the sack and untied before dumping Lightning out of it and making the little hit the ground hard. Lightning was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, but he finally looked up at the stallion. Lightning let out a frightened gasp as he began to recognize the stallion. He could only udder out one word in the most terrified tone of voice.
"D-D-Daddy?" Lightning stuttered in fear of the Pegasus Stallion, he hoped to never see again, in front of him.
Lightning's father, Cold Wind, gave his son a wicked, evil smirk.
"Thought you've seen the last of me, did you?" He said cruelly before grabbing Lightning's mane making the small colt yelp in pain. "I've been looking all over Equestria for you!"
Lightning couldn't do anything but cry in pain and fear.
"Some royal guards showed up at my house months ago and tried to arrest me! Then they tell me you've been adopted by somepony named Fluttershy!" Cold wind snapped.
Lightning still said nothing as he tried as hard as he could to not look into his father’s eyes.
"I've been forced to live in this old piece of junk, AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Cold Wind screamed making Lightning cry even harder, "You're the reason your mother’s dead and YOU’RE the reason I'm here now! Ever since then, I swore I would find you, because if you wanted to ruin my old life, I'm going to ruin your new life!"
Lightning continued to cry and he was barely able to say, "P-Please D-Daddy, d-don't h-hurt m-me! L-let m-me g-go! I w-wanna g-go h-home!"
"Shut up!" Cold Wind screamed as he struck Lightning hard across the face with his hoof, "The only place you're going you little mistake, is the basement!"
Cold Wind the grabbed Lightning by his mane and dragged him to the basement door. However, neither of them were aware of a certain baby dragon running back to Ponyville, because he had seen and heard the whole thing.
Cold Wind kicked the basement door open and threw his son inside making him land hard on the cold ground. He quickly flew over to a nearby box and tied Lightning's hooves and wings together before Lightning could even move. He then saw the necklace around Lightning's neck.
"Aww, what's this? Is this from your new Momma?" Cold Wind asked his son as he grabbed the necklace and snapped off of Lightning's neck. "You actually think she loves you? Give me a break! I bet she can't even look at your ugly pathetic little face."
Lightning continued to shake and cry as Cold Wind took the necklace and grabbed a hammer from another nearby box.
"It would serve you right, if I smashed this piece of junk!" He snapped angrily before dropping the necklace and smashing it to tiny little pieces with the hammer.
Lightning felt his own heart shatter as bits of the beautiful crystal from the necklace scattered in front of him. Cold Wind glared at his son before going up the steps.
"Not a single sound, you little mistake! Not one word, or you will be sorry!" He snapped before slamming the door leaving Lightning in the darkness.
Lightning quietly cried over several things, the shattered necklace, the fear of darkness, the fear of his father, but most importantly the fear of never seeing his friends or family again. As his fear of the darkness began to overwhelm him, he began to quietly cry out for the one pony he wished she was by his side right now.
"M-Momma!"
~
At the gala, Smolder was flying frantically through the castle looking for Fluttershy while still crying and screaming her name as loud as she could. She eventually arrived at the ballroom and finally saw the mare she was looking for, standing with her friends, the Young Five and the CMC.
"Fluttershy!" Smolder screamed as she ran towards her.
One of the stallions remembered her from earlier and began to snap at her rudely.
"Young dragon, you had best-"
"Shut Up!" Smolder shouted at the stallion angrily before looking at Fluttershy.
"Smolder, why are you crying and what happen-" Fluttershy cut herself off when she noticed somepony was missing. Her fears from a couple nights ago began to haunt her once more.
"S-Smolder, w-where’s Lightning?!" Fluttershy stammered as her fears began to overwhelm her.
Smolder’s composure crumbled once more as she fell to the floor and cried at Fluttershy's hooves.
"He's been foalnapped, Fluttershy! This big Pegasus attacked him and put him in a bag before flying off. I tried to stop him, but I just couldn't do it!"
Everycreature gasped upon hearing those words as Fluttershy then fell silent and lightheaded. She felt like she was going to faint after hearing her son has just been foalnapped, but why would anypony want to foalnap a colt as sweet as Lightning? Fluttershy began to break down while sobbing and hyperventilating as Sunset Shimmer placed her hooves on her friend's shoulders.
"Fluttershy, calm down. I'm going to promise you right now, we'll get Lightning back!" She said trying to help Fluttershy calm down a little bit.
"Sunset’s right," Twilight said as calmly as she could, even though she was scared, "We just need to find out who took Lightning and where they took him."
Just as those words left her mouth, Princess Celestia called out to Twilight, her friends and nephew while running into the room with Constantine as fast as they could go.
"Twilight, I have an urgent letter for you!" The princess said before giving the letter to her student.
Twilight opened the letter and gasped in shock and horror after reading the first sentence.
"Girls, Oliver, this letter’s from Spike. He said that Lightning was foalnapped by his father."
The rest of her friends, the CMC, Young Six and Oliver gasped and Fluttershy began to tremble in fear as Twilight continued.
"It says he has Lightning in a house a few miles, just outside Ponyville."
Smolder, her friends and the CMC were now too scared to speak as Fluttershy began to hyperventilate once more.
"My baby boy's been foalnapped by that monster?! We have to get him back!" She screamed before crying uncontrollably.
Applejack wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy and hushed her.
"We will Sugarcube," Applejack cooed softly, "I promise you, we'll get him back."
Twilight looked at the scared children and calmly spoke to them.
"Everycreature, I'm going to teleport all of you to my castle. I want all of you to stay inside with Spike. I don't want any of you to get hurt if something happens. Lock the doors and I'll come see you when we have Lightning back."
The children nodded their heads solemnly as tears began to flow out of Smolder’s eyes once more.
Oliver put his hoof under the dragon’s chin and looked at her in the eyes.
"I promise, we'll get Lightning back Smolder," he said gently before giving the dragon a small hug.
Twilight then teleported the children away before looking at her friends and nephew.
"Alright everypony, let’s go get Lightning back!" she said with a determined look on her face.
"That low down varmint that has him is in for a good old fashioned bucking!" Applejack said angrily earning a nod of agreement from Rainbow Dash.
The main eight threw off their dresses as Oliver threw off his suit before saying,
“Gone, gone, the form of pony! Arise the demon, Ink Bendy!” The Ink covered Oliver’s entire body, transforming him into Ink Bendy once again before he let out an angry gurgling roar as the Ink splashed off of him.
The girls, Ink Bendy and Constantine started to run out of the gala with looks of anger and determination on their faces.
Fluttershy was ready to snap, but kept her composure as she said to herself, "Don't worry Lightning, my precious baby boy! Momma's coming!"
Fluttershy, her friends and Constantine were going as fast as their bodies would allow them to go to reach Cold Wind's house and rescue Lightning from him. Fluttershy had tears flowing down her face as she thought of how much pain her son could be in right now. Sunset ran beside her and rubbed her shoulder to keep her calm.
"Don't worry Flutters, we're almost there. I promised you we would get Lightning back, and we will," Sunset said as gently as possible, even though she was ready to tear Cold Wind limb from limb.
Fluttershy nodded her head and picked up speed trying to get to Cold Wind's house faster.
At his house, Cold Wind went downstairs to the basement to get a look at the tied up Lightning Twister. When he saw him, he saw that Lightning was crying and trembling uncontrollably out of both being cold and being afraid.
"D-Daddy p-please, l-let m-me g-" Lightning was cut off by a sharp strike to the face making his eye turn black.
"I told you I didn't want to hear a sound out of you, you sniveling little freak," Cold Wind snapped harshly before going to a nearby box and pulling out a cloth.
"If you won’t shut up, then I guess I'm gonna have to make you," he said cruelly.
Cold Wind tied the cloth around Lightning's mouth making his cries muffled. Once it was good and tight, Cold Wind got to his hooves and spit right in Lightning's black eye.
"I'm gonna go try to find a place in Cloudsdale to stay, and you’re coming with me when I do find one. Until then, you’re staying down here!" he snapped harshly.
He flew back upstairs and slammed the basement door closed once again, leaving Lightning in darkness. Once he was back in his living room, he quickly opened one of the window curtains to see if there was still nothing outside. However, when he looked out the window, he saw eight ponies, a human and an Ink demon coming his way at an incredibly fast speed.
Cold Wind quickly grabbed a key and locked the basement door shut as the ponies, demon and human drew closer. However, once he turned around, his front door was immediately broken down by Rainbow Dash and Ink Bendy. The second Rainbow laid her eyes on him, she charged at him and tackled him with enough force to break down the kitchen door with both his and her body. Before Cold Wind could even react, Rainbow grabbed him by his mane with her hooves and threw him back into the living room where he was now laying in front of seven other furious ponies with Ink Bendy and Constantine.
Applejack turned around and tried to buck him, but Cold Wind was able to avoid it and get back on his hooves. He did not stay on them for long though as an Enraged Fluttershy tackled him and pinned him to the floor. She stomped on his stomach, knocking the wind on him. She then sat on his stomach and began bringing down several sharp hooves to his face, causing him to get a black eye and a broken nose as blood began to run down from it. This side of Fluttershy began to make the others feel a little uncomfortable. They knew she was upset and angry, but they’ve never seen her like this.
"Fluttershy darling, you need to calm down," Rarity said.
“She’s right, love. Stop!” Said Constantine.
Fluttershy however wasn't listening as she got off of Cold Wind and pinned his body to the wall before giving him the stare.
"Where is my son?! Where is Lightning Twister?!" Fluttershy snapped in a cold venomous tone that made all of her friends, Ink Bendy and Constantine step back and made Cold Wind cringe somewhat.
"Wait, you’re his Mother?" Cold Wind asked with a look of confusion on his face.
Fluttershy however said nothing and threw him back onto the ground where he was finally bucked by Applejack. Before he could even make another move, he was grasped around the neck and began being choked by Twilight's magic. She trotted up to him and glared at him coldly before speaking in a low furious tone.
"I suggest you be quiet and listen, Cold Wind. I'm going to give you three seconds to tell us where Lightning is, or I will let my nephew here break you into two."
Cold Wind shook as he looked at Ink Bendy growling at him as he finally revealed Lightning's location.
"He's in the basement!"
Twilight released her magical grip on him and he fell to the floor, but just as he caught his breath, Fluttershy immediately brought her hoof down on his neck and snapped, "Where is the basement?!"
Cold Wind knew he couldn't fight anymore and he pointed towards the basement door. Fluttershy immediately flew over to the door as Ink Bendy and Constantine watched Cold Wind to make sure he doesn’t move or try to escape. She tried to open it, but it was locked. She was about to go back and attack Cold Wind once more, but Applejack and Rainbow worked together to kick the door down. They stepped aside to let Fluttershy fly inside to get Lightning.
When she flew down the stairs, she gasped when she saw Lightning tied up in the center of the room.
"Lightning!" She shouted before flying over to her injured son.
She untied the cloth from his mouth and then untied his wings and hooves. Lightning turned over and was blinded a little bit by the light, but when the blurriness from his good eye began to clear, he gasped as he recognized the pony in front of him.
"M-Momma!" Lightning cried as he embraced his mother.
He began shaking and crying so hard and uncontrollably that he was having trouble breathing. Fluttershy scooped the little colt into her forelegs and cradled him close to her. She gently rocked him while nuzzling and hushing him.
"Shh...it's alright, sweetheart. Momma's here. Momma's going to make everything alright," She softly cooed. Lightning continued to cry as Fluttershy got a look of his rope burned hooves and wings as well as his swollen black eye. Lightning continued to tremble and cry uncontrollably as he buried his head into his mother's soft chest fur. Fluttershy became enraged when she saw the condition her son was in. She flew upstairs and glared angrily at Cold Wind.
"You did this to him, didn't you?" She hissed coldly to the stallion making him shudder a little.
Sunset Shimmer trotted up to Fluttershy as she gently grabbed hold of Lightning and cradled him close to her.
"N-No! M-Momma!" Lightning screamed in fear as his eyes were closed and he was unaware of who was holding him.
"Shh..It's okay, honey. It's only your Auntie Sunset," Sunset softly cooed into the scared colt’s ear in the gentlest of voices.
With her son safe in Sunset’s forelegs, Fluttershy immediately shot towards Cold Wind and tackled him back onto the ground.
"You monster!" She screamed in his face, "How could you do all this to your own child, you sorry excuse for a father?!"
Cold Wind had enough of Fluttershy and he used his hind legs to kick her off of him. Fluttershy grunted and landed hard on the ground leaving everyone in shock. Cold Wind used the opportunity to escape from the ponies, human and ink demon.
“Oliver! Stop that child abuser!” Constantine said as he pointed towards the broken doorway.
Ink Bendy nodded as he began to run after him.
Cold Wind only made it a few yards away, but he then bumped into two hooves as he then looked up and saw he was now face to face with two royal guards and a very angry Princess Celestia.
Cold Wind recognized her and immediately flew in the opposite direction, but was stopped by Ink Bendy as he appeared from the ground and let out an angry gurgling roar at him, which made him flew in the other direction. The princess however was able to catch him and bring him back to the house with him in her magical grasp. Two royal guards immediately flew over to Cold Wind and pinned him to the ground before shackling his hooves.
"Cold Wind, you are under arrest for child abuse and avoiding arrest!" Princess Celestia snapped as the guards began taking him away.
Cold Wind fought as hard as he could to avoid being taken, but the two guards were stronger than him. With an enraged look in his eye, he looked into his son's terrified and tear filled eyes before screaming at him at the top of his lungs.
"I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY, LIGHTNING TWISTER!!! YOUR MOTHER'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU AND I'M NOW GOING TO JAIL BECAUSE OF YOU!!! AND IF YOU THINK THAT SORRY EXCUSE OF A MARE YOU CALL YOUR NEW MOTHER ACTUALLY LOVES YOU, YOU’RE DEAD WRONG!!! NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE A WHINING, AND PATHETIC LITTLE FREAK LIKE YOU!!!!!"
The guards eventually got him out of the house as Celestia began to trot over to Lightning who was back in Fluttershy's forelegs and was crying and shaking in fear after hearing his father’s cruel words. The princess softly nuzzled the little colt and hushed him.
"Shh..It's alright, my little pony. Your father’s gone, and you’re safe now," She said to him softly as Lightning continued to cry.
The princess looked at the rest of the ponies, Constantine and Oliver, who was back into his pony self, in the room and said, "I must leave now. I thank you all for helping capture Cold Wind and I congratulate you all for getting Lightning back."
The princess stepped out of the house and beside a now exhausted Cold Wind. She glared at him coldly before disappearing with him in a flash of light.
Fluttershy was satisfied that Cold Wind was gone and then looked down at her son who was still shaking and crying uncontrollably. He hadn’t stopped crying since Fluttershy freed him, but she thought it would be best for him to let it all out. He was hurt and scared to death.
"Shhh...It's alright Lightning, Momma's got you," Fluttershy softly cooed into Lightning's ear as she gently nuzzled him. "Everything's gonna be alright, sweetheart...shhh."
While Lightning cried quietly, Fluttershy looked at her friends and Constantine and said, "I think we should take him to a doctor to have him looked at."
Everyone nodded in agreement and then left the old house and made their way back to Ponyville. Fluttershy cradled her crying son close to her soft warm fur and gently kissed him on the forehead. He was safe now.
At the Ponyville Hospital, everyone and everything was quiet as Fluttershy, her friends and Constantine waited for Nurse Redheart. Lightning was sitting on Twilight's lap as she held him close to her and gently rubbed his back with her hoof. Lightning had cried himself to sleep in Twilight's forelegs, but he was still shaking uncontrollably. Twilight softly hushed him and hummed a soft melody in his ear, like she did the night she first met him. Fluttershy was pacing in the waiting room back and forth while occasionally looking back at her sleeping son. Nurse Redheart soon came out with a clipboard in her mouth and Fluttershy immediately ran over to her.
"Oh Nurse Redheart, tell me my son will be okay!" Fluttershy said in a panicked tone as the nurse softly hushed her and put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Shh...It's alright Fluttershy," Nurse Redheart said sweetly, "Your son's going to be fine. He just has some minor irritation on his legs and wings and a black eye that will recover in time. He's going to need a few days to recover, but he will be fine. Now I suggest you take him home and let him rest, we're going to be closing soon."
As Nurse Redheart left the room, ten familiar faces walked through the door. It was Spike, the Young Six and the CMC.
"Lightning!" The three fillies all shouted happily as everyone, including the Young Six and Spike, quickly hushed them so they didn't wake the sleeping colt in Twilight's embrace.
Lightning began to wake as he looked up at a gentle smiling Twilight before seeing his friends.
"Spike, girls, guys, you’re here!" He shouted as he jumped off of Twilight and ran towards them.
The ten embraced him in a group hug as the adults watched with soft smiles.
"I thought I would never see any of you again," Lightning sobbed happily as they hugged him. He eventually broke the hug and Smolder immediatly embraced him again while crying happily as Lightning did the same. Spike and the others watched as Twilight quickly grabbed the baby dragon with her magic and embraced him along with Fluttershy.
"Spike," Twilight began, "I cannot be more thankful or more proud of you than I am now. If it weren't for you, we would never have found Lightning. You are a hero to all of us."
Twilight gently kissed the baby dragon on the forehead and continued to hug and hold him happily as Spike returned the hug and said nothing.
Lightning and Smolder eventually broke their hug and Smolder kissed him on the cheek making him blush.
“Oh Smolder,” Lightning said as new tears began to run down his face, “I’m sorry I couldn’t helped you up when Daddy knocked you out.”
Smolder just smiled as she gently wiped his tears away with her claw and hugged him again.
“Shh...don’t worry cutie,” said Smolder softly, “I’m okay. And it’s alright now, your father’s gone. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Spike eventually fell asleep in Twilight's embrace as she then levitated him onto her back.
"It's getting late everycreature, I think we should all head home," Twilight said gently.
Lightning let out a tired yawn as Fluttershy picked him up and rested his head against her neck.
"Aww..but we just saw Lightning, we wanted to make sure he's okay before we leave," Apple Bloom complained earning a nod from Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"No buts Apple Bloom," Applejack said, "Lightning's going to be fine. Ya'll can check on him tomorrow."
"The same goes for you Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as Rainbow picked up Scootaloo and put her on her back.
"Let's go home, Scoots. I'll see all of you tomorrow," Rainbow said before flying off. The others said their goodbyes and left the hospital, leaving Fluttershy alone with her son who was starting to fall asleep in her forelegs.
Fluttershy gently kissed him on the forehead and said, "Let's go home, sweetheart."
Lightning nodded his head as Fluttershy then flew home with Lightning sleeping in her forelegs. When they arrived at the cottage, Fluttershy opened the door and decided to let Lightning sleep with her tonight. She flew upstairs, went into her bedroom and tucked Lightning in. She then got into the bed herself and soon fell asleep.
Hours in the night, Fluttershy was awoken by her son crying and whimpering. He was having a bad dream. Fluttershy immediately shook her son and woke him up. Lightning was shaking and breathing heavily as Fluttershy pulled him into a soft loving embrace.
"Shhh...It's okay sweetheart, Momma's here," She said softly and sweetly, "Did you have a bad dream, sweetie?"
Lightning nodded his head before saying, "I was remembering what my Daddy said about you not loving a freak like me. I had a bad dream that you never wanted me and you left me all alone," Lightning began to quietly cry, "I-I was so s-scared."
Lightning then buried his head into Fluttershy’s soft chest fur and continued to cry. She rubbed up and down his side with her hoof and hushed him while speaking in the softest and gentlest of voices.
"Shhh...It's okay, sweetheart. Everything's going to be alright. Lightning, don't listen to your father. You’re not a freak, and I could never abandon you. I told you, when I first became your mother, that I love you with all of my heart. I still do sweetie, and I will never stop. You mean the world to me, Lightning. I promise that I will always love you."
Lightning began to calm down as Fluttershy gently licked away his tears. He continued to sniffle as Fluttershy sung him a soft lullaby.
Come stop your crying It'll be all right Just take my hand Hold it tight I will protect you From all around you I will be here don't you cry
For one so small You seem so strong My arms will hold you Keep you safe and warm This bond between us Can't be broken I will be here Don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart Yes, you'll be in my heart From this day on Now and forever more
Come stop your crying It'll be all right Just take my hand Hold it tight I will protect you From all around you I will be here don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart Yes, you'll be in my heart From this day on Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart No matter what they say You'll be here in my heart always
Don't listen to them 'Cause what do they know We need each other To have, to hold They'll see in time I know
When destiny calls you You must be strong I may not be with you But you got to hold on They'll see in time I know We'll show them together!
'Cause you'll be in my heart Believe me, you'll be in my heart From this day on Now and forever more
Yes, you'll be in my heart No matter what they say You'll be here in my heart always Alway, always...
When she finished singing, Lightning smiled softly at his mother and fell asleep before saying, "I love you, Momma."
Fluttershy smiled at him softly and nuzzled him. She then gave him a gentle kiss on the muzzle and said, "I love you too, my precious baby boy."
Fluttershy fell asleep minutes after with Princess Luna's beautiful moon shining down upon her and her son. Lightning snuggled into his mother’s side and smiled in his sleep. No matter what happens, Fluttershy would never stop loving him. She would always be there to show him a mother’s love.