The Third Diamondby The DeliriumChaptersLetters, Insomnia, and UnoHunger, Trains, and ExpectationsWelcomes, Popsicles, and The Most Confusing Gift ExchangeParties, Friends, and An Uncomfortable CouchBurned Juice, Quality Time, and A BlazeA Hero, A Scream, and A Reason To Quit SmokingA Hospital Visit, A Request, and A Thank YouLetters, Insomnia, and UnoThe cute little filly with the white coat and purple and pink mane known as Sweetie Belle should have been asleep. More importantly, she wanted to be sleep. It was a school night, after all, and she did not want to spend tomorrow tired. However, her insomnia was getting the best of her. Sweetie Belle tossed and turned in her bed, wondering why sleep would not grace her with its presence. Actually, that was not completely true. Sweetie obviously knew the reason she was still awake in bed. She also had no doubt that her elder sister, Rarity, was having the same troubles. It had only been a week ago that an important letter had been delivered to the residents of the Crystal Boutique. *flashback* Rarity and Sweetie Belle were in the middle of a very intense game of Uno when the local mail pony, Ditzy, knocked a hoof on their door. "Who is it?" asked Rarity in her usual regal tone. "It's only me Rarity, I have a letter for you." replied Ditzy "Oh, how marvelous!" Rarity exclaimed as she went to open the door for the wall-eyed mare. As Rarity used her magic to open the door, she saw Ditzy outside holding a letter in her mouth. "This is for you." said with the letter making her words slightly muffled. "Yes, you said that, darling." Rarity replied as she levitated the letter towards her. "Do you know who it is from?" "No clue." Ditzy remarked as she flew off in a hurry. "Are you su..." Rarity began, but looked up and saw the mail mare gone. "Huh. Must have had other deliveries." "Unooooo!" cried Sweetie Belle who was still focusing only on the card game. *end of flashback* Sweetie Belle smiled to herself as she recalled the moment she and Rarity opened the letter. *another flashback* Dear Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Wow, I cannot believe it has been a whole year. A whole year since I have seen you two. Words cannot describe how much I have missed you. My sisters, I have some exciting news! I, the highly experienced spotlight technician Neon Light, am done with my apprenticeship. Do you know what that means? It means I'm done. I'm coming home. Since it has been an entire year with us being apart, I assume we will have some catching up to do. For this reason, I will be visiting you two in Ponyville next week in hopes that we can reconnect. With a year's worth of love, Neon Light *end of flashback* Yes, Sweetie Belle's brother was coming to visit after an entire year of being away. Sweetie Belle turned in her bed to view the clock in her room that currently read 3:00 AM. After turning back over, she sighed to herself. Of corse she was excited to see Neon, but she would be even more excited if she could just get some sleep. Author's Note Hello, This is my very first chapter of my very first fic. That means I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism and other comments. Also, who else enjoys a good game of Uno? Hunger, Trains, and Expectations"All aboard! This train won't wait for no pony!" yelled a large earth stallion who was motioning to the train he was currently standing on. Hearing these words, a unicorn by the name of Neon Light quickly dropped his daisy sandwich, gathered up his suitcases and leapt onto the train. "Ticket?" questioned the loud earth stallion. "Right here." replied Neon as he levitated his train ticket out of his saddle bag. The larger pony grabbed the ticked out of the air and brought it up to his eyes to examine it. "Eeyupp, you may proceed." stated the large earth pony who had red coat, blonde mane, and a cutie mark of half an apple. Neon light trotted through each of the train cars until he spotted an empty seat in the final one. Neon sighed heavily as he plopped down into the seat. It had been a hectic morning for the poor unicorn stallion. He did not have time to eat breakfast on account of him waking up late. After checking out of the hotel he was staying in, Neon made his way to the train station. Unfortunately, the Manehatten Music Festival was currently going on and it took Neon a while to maneuver throughout the crowds. He could see that a unicorn mare with a white coat, blue mane, and large sunglasses at the DJ's table was the one exciting the crowds. Once he arrived at the train station, Neon was forced to wait in the almost impressively long line for security. After a minor incident in which Neon was subjected to a random search of his bags, he was finally read to get something to eat. Neon was sure he would be able to enjoy the daisy sandwich he had just bought at a local cafe, but he fate had other plans. The train was scheduled to depart quickly and Neon had to get on before it left without him. Neon was exhausted, and starving, to say the least. However, it would all be worth it. After all, Neon was traveling to Ponyville to see his sisters. Neon smirked as he began to think of his two female siblings. There was Rarity who was a few years older than he was and Sweetie Belle who was a few younger. Rarity had a gleaming white coat and dazzling magenta mane. Sweetie, on the other hand, had a purple and pink mane that could only be described as cute. Rarity had a cutie mark of the three diamonds, but Neon wasn't even sure if Sweetie Belle had hers yet. Neon frowned as he realized that he might of missed the day his younger sister got her cutie mark. Having a white coat was a trait that the three siblings all shared. Unlike his sisters' manes, his was an electrifying blue and yellow and he had a cutie mark that resembled a spotlight. Neon was jerked out of his thoughts as the train started to move. Sadly, he was unprepared for the sudden movement and was thrown out of seat. The unicorn hit the floor of the train with a loud "thud" and was forced to deal with other passengers' awkward stares. Eventually, Neon stood up and returned to his former position in his seat. Once comfortable, Neon directed his gaze out of the window and watched as Manehatten went by. By the time the city was out of sight, Neon had gone back to daydreaming. Neon knew his sisters cared for him. He wasn't sure he wanted to be away from them in the first place. However, they were the ones who pushed to him to go and follow his dreams. Of course the following year had been amazing and his career completely skyrocketed, but a part of him felt like he made the wrong choice. He began to wonder what his sisters would think of him. He wanted to know what their expectations were for him. "What if they are disappointed in my work?" he worried. "Are they going to think I should have been more successful? Do they feel anger towards me because I left?" Neon shook his head to get rid of these negative thoughts. He knew his sisters would be proud of his success. He knew they would feel happy that his career was soaring. They truly were great siblings and Neon was lucky to have them. Neon grinned as slept began to overtake him. Eventually, the unicorn drifted off while thinking of his sisters. "Hey!" screamed a voice that jolted Neon out of slip. For the second time in a while, Neon Light was on the floor of a train. He looked up to see a pegasus mare hovering over him. She had a cyan blue coat and a mane that was the color of a rainbow. Neon could tell she thought highly of herself by the way she looked at him. "Can I help you?" asked Neon in a the kind of tone a pony can only have of they are just woken up. "I think you can." replied the mare in an edgy voice. "Is this seat taken?" she question while pointing to the seat next to his. "Uh, no." Neon stated. "Cool." said the pegasus as she flew down to her seat. She looked down and asked, "Are you going to get up off the floor?" Neon, remembering where he was, swiftly stood up and dusted himself off. After getting back into his seat, Neon let an awkward silence pass between them and the mare. Finally having enough, Neon extend his hoof to the mare. "Name's Neon Light." The pegasus looked at the unicorn next to her and raised an eyebrow. "And what would yours be?" questioned Neon. "Don't you know who I am?" asked the mare in mocking tone. "Should I?" replied Neon. The pegasus flew into the air and shouted, "Of course you should! I am Rainbow Dash! The best and fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" "Ok." said Neon, unsure of what to say next. "Good for you." "You bet it is," mumbled Rainbow Dash as she floated down back to her seat. Neon quickly turned away and once again stared out the window. The train was currently passing through Canterlot, which Neon knew was not all that far from Ponyville. "Almost there," he thought. "It's almost time to see your sisters. Author's Note I told you I was going to include some cameos. If you didn't catch them they included Big Macintosh, Vinyl Scratch, and Rainbow Dash. I like to think that Big Mac would be a good pony to have work on a train. Welcomes, Popsicles, and The Most Confusing Gift ExchangeAt the moment, Rarity happened to be very excited. She was on her way to the train station to meet her brother whom she had not seen in over a year. Rarity could hardly wait to catch up with him and to introduce him to all of her friends. While Neon was away, Rarity and her sister had greatly missed their missing Sibling, but that did not matter anymore. Yes, Neon Light was coming home to his sisters where he belonged. Rarity grinned at her thoughts and turned to see her sister with the same giant grin. At least, that's what she thought she would see. The unicorn mare was confused to look around and see a notable absence of her younger sister, Sweetie Belle. Rarity quickly calmed down when she spotted Sweetie Belle at the counter inside of the Cakes' pastry shop. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity scolded as she entered the store. "You must not run off like that. It's rude and you had me worried." Sweetie Belle, who had heard her sisters voice, turned around to acknowledge her elder sibling. "I'm sorry Rarity. I just wanted to buy a treat to give to Neon when he gets there." "Oh, that's a great idea!" Rarity exclaimed, all previous anger melting away. "What did you have in mind, darling?" Just then Mrs.Cake came out of the back room holding to cream colored boxes. "Here is your order Sweetie Belle." stated Mrs.Cake. "Two dozen large popsicles to go." Rarity looked at her younger sister with mischievous look that said "good choice." "Thank you Mrs.Cake." said Sweetie Belle as she placed the right amount of bits on the counter. "Not a problem dear. Always happy to provide sweets for any cute little filly." Mrs.Cake commented while rustling Sweetie's mane. As the two sisters turned and left, Rarity called out once more to Mrs.Cake before exiting. "Mrs.Cake, could you be a darling and send Pinkie over to the Boutique when you see her. I have some pony very special I want them to meet." "Try and stop me. You know how much Pinkie enjoys meeting new ponies." Rarity couldn't help but laugh at the baker's remark. "She sure does." "The train will reach Ponyville in five minutes. Thank you for riding the Manheatten Express." boomed a loud voice over the speakers on the train. Neon Light opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched to greet the new day. And what an important day it was for him. Today was the day that he would finally see his beloved sisters again. Neon wanted the day to be perfect, so before he left on the train, he had gotten his sisters a little present he knew would make them happy. Neon glanced out the window and saw the town of Ponyville rapidly approaching. The unicorn stallion was not nervous. On his tour, he had been taught that nerves only led to problems and failures. Neon was surely excited, but not completely. The lingering doubts of his sisters expectations for him still lingered in his mind. If anything, he was... Before he could think of the right word to describe the way he was feeling, a loud yawn made him lose his train of thought. Neon turned to see that the pony sitting next to him, Rainbow Dash, was waking up. The pegasus noticed this and turned to him. "Were you watching me wake up?" questioned the sleepy mare. "What!? No. Of course not. That would be weird." hastily replied Neon. "Whatever. If you say so. Hey, there's Ponyville!" Rainbow was correct as Neon saw the train pulling into the station. "The train has now stopped at Ponyville Central Station. All outgoing passengers hop off. And on all incoming passengers hop on. It's not rocket science." boomed the speakers. "Well, this is it." sighed Neon. "It's time." With that, the unicorn gathered his luggage and made his way to the front of the train. "Do you see him? Do you see him?" asked Sweetie Belle who was perched atop her sister's back. "I can't fin him." she complained while searching the crowd of ponies exiting the train. "I'm sure he will find us, but please Sweetie Belle get off. Your not as light as you used to be." The filly hopped off her sister with a blush and a quick apology. "It's alright, but now we must find our brother in this crowd. Can you believe the number ponies that are coming from Manehatten?" "Well, well. Look who's here to greet me." said a cocky once that made both sisters turn. "I knew a true friend would come meet me at the train station." "Uh, Rainbow Dash. Were you in Manehatten?" asked a puzzled Rarity. "Of corse I was! The Wonderbolts Derby was being held in Manehatten this year, remember? Where do you think I was for the past week?" "Sleeping." both sisters automatically answered. "Very funny." said Rainbow rolling her eyes. "If you're not here to greet me, then why are you here at the train station anyway?" "We came here to see our brother. He was gone for a really long time, but now we get to see him again." squeaked Sweetie Belle gleefully. "He should be on this train." "Wait a minute." said Rainbow Dash, pausing to think for a second. "Does your brother have a blue and yellow mane, white coat like you, and a spotlight cutie mark?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I sat next to the stallion on the train. I though he looked familiar. Now that I think of it, he looks just like you two." "Is that supposed to imply a look like a mare?" asked the aforementioned unicorn who was strolling towards the trio. "Because I don't. Not even a little bit." "Neon!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she galloped to embrace her brother in a hug. "We missed you so much." "Hey, Sweetie Belle." gladly accepting the embrace. "I've missed you too. Wow, you've gotten so big. You really have turned into a great filly." Sweetie Belle smiled at her brother's remarks and continued to hug him tightly. "I'm here as well you know." said a voice that made the hugging siblings break apart. They looked up to see Rarity standing over them. Neon immediately smiled and pulled her elder sister into a hug that caught her off guard. "Rarity. It's been so long. I see you are looking as great as ever." complimented the stallion. "Oh, Neon. It's great to see you again. You've really grown up. Is that muscle I see?" joked Rarity. "You bet it is." said Neon flexing his forelegs. "Lifting spotlights and carrying them to where they need to be is hard work. Speaking of lights, I have a present for you two." Neon quickly opened his saddle bag and fished out two spheres with other multicolored spheres attached to it. He handed them to his sisters and waited for a reply. "What are they, darling?" asked Rarity. "Oh! I call them insta-party lights. All you have to do is throw them on the ground in a dark room and a bunch of multicolored lights will come out. They are machines of my own design. They only work once, so be careful with them." "Thank you so much!" yelled Sweetie as she once again hugged her brother. "Now, we have something for you." Rarity used her magic to place the two boxes of popsicles in front of Neon. "Oh, thank Celestia, I am starving." Neon stated as he opened the top box. His face quickly fell when all he saw was a puddle of strawberry and grape fluid. "It seems they have melted." The three siblings looked at each other awkwardly before all cracking up laughing. Parties, Friends, and An Uncomfortable CouchAt four in the afternoon, Sugarcube Corner was always bustling with activity. All of the sweetshops and cafes that lined the streets brought many ponies out to pay. Especially the Cakes's pastry shop. Mr.Cake was rushing around the kitchen, trying to put the finishing touches on near-complete pastries. Mrs.Cake was behind the counter desperately trying to take ponies' orders. All of this while the twins, Pound and Pumpkin, were crying their eyes out upstairs. The crowd of angry and hungry ponies were lining up outside the shop . "Honey, we need that batch of chocolate chip cookies up here!" yelled Mrs.Cake to her husband. "We need them right now!" "I am doing the best that I can!" Mr.Cake screamed back as he placed the batch of said cookies in the oven. "We need some help! Where's Pinkie Pie?" "Here I am!" shouted Pinkie, who had just popped out of a cookie jar. "Pinkie, you have to help us. Could you..." "Hold that thought Mr.Cake, my pinkie senses are telling me something. Oh my! A new pony has just arrived in Ponyville! I can't wait to meet them and throw them a Welcome to Ponyville Party. I wonder where they are?" "Actually Pinkie," Mrs.Cake began, "Rarity said she wanted you to meet someone important at the Boutique." "Really!? That must mean whoever Rarity wants me to meet is the new pony in town. Sorry Cakes, but I have to go." exclaimed Pinkie as she jumped back into the cookie jar. "Wait, Pinkie! You have to help us!" Meanwhile at the train station, three siblings were walking home to the Crystal Boutique. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were pestering their brother with questions about his tour. "So how was it? Where did you go? What did you see? Who did you meet?" Sweetie Belle asked in rapid-fire mode. "Calm down, Sweetie." Rarity scolded. "Let Neon talk." "Well, it was...interesting. I got to learn all of new skills. As a spotlight technician, I set up the lights at many popular shows all a round Equestria. I went to Manehatten, Canterlot, Trottenham, Las Pegasus, and even the Crystal Empire. I even met a lot of cool ponies." "Like who?" Rarity questioned. "I met Photo Finish, Fleur de Lis, and even a prince. His name was Blueblood, but he wasn't very nice. Enough about me. I want to know what's happened in your lives while I was away." Over the course of the way home, the three siblings exchanged stories o their adventures over the past year. Sweetie Belle told Neon about how she and her friend formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rarity told him about the adventures she had as an element of harmony. They were still in mid-converstaion when they arrived at the boutique. "Well darlings, here we are." Rarity stated. "Neon this is where Sweetie and I live and where you will be staying." "Cool. I don't know another pony that lives in a Boutique." "Why thank you. I am pretty rare, aren't I." Rarity chuckled at her own joke. "Anyways, home sweet..." "Surprise!" yelled a bouncy pink mare that popped out of the house. "Rarity, why are you on the floor?" "Pinkie! You must not do that. It's terribly uncouth." "Sorry Rares, but when I heard you had some pony for me to meet I had to get the girls and plan a surprise party!" "Of corse you did. Wait! Are the girls in there?" "Yeppers peppers!" "Great! I'll introduce Neon inside." "Yay!" squeaked Pinkie as she bounced back inside the house. The three siblings followed her inside and were shocked to see the state of the boutique. Streamers, gallons, and confetti were scattered around the room. Punch, chips, cake, and other refreshments were on a table in the corner. Music was playing and five ponies were dancing. Neon could see a purple unicorn with a magenta mane, the same pink mare from before, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, an orange earth pony with a large stetson, and Rainbow Dash. All five turned to see them as they entered. "Well howdy!" yelled the stetson wearing mare as she approached Neon. You must be the pony Rarity wanted us to meet. Although caught off guard, Neon still answered the mare. "Uh...yes. My name's Neon Light, Rarity and Sweetie Belle's brother." "Brother?" asked the mare. "I didn't know Rares had any other siblings besides Sweetie Belle. Nice to meet you. Name's Applejack." "My name's Pinkie Pie, but you already met me." said Pinkie as she bounce up and down. "It's so nice to meet you!" "Hello Neon, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm the local librarian and one of Rarity's best friends. It's great to meet you." "Likewise." Neon said with a nod of his head. "Hello." greeted a quiet voice that made Neon turn around. "My name is Fluttershy. It's very nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you too Fluttershy." Neon responded with a smile. "And of corse you remember me." stated Rainbow Dash. "How could I forget you, Rainbow." Neon said while rolling his eyes. "Okay! Enough talking. Let's party! At that moment, Rarity hit the boom box and the music increased in volume. All eight ponies had a great time dancing and talking to each other. However, it soon got dark and it was time for ponies to go home. Every pony said there goodbyes and walked out of the boutique. Soon, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Neon were the only ones left. "Okay Neon, there are only two bedrooms in the Boutique and more importantly only two beds. I'm afraid you will have to sleep down here on the couch." "That's alright Rarity, I've slept on worse." "Good to hear! Here is a blanket and a pillow to keep you warm. Goodnight Neon." "Goodnight Rarity. Goodnight Sweetie Belle." "G'night Neon." As his two sisters trotted up the stairs, Neon settled down on the couch. At least he tried to. Neon felt like he was lying on a rock. The stallion tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable, but to no avail. "I was wrong when I said I've slept on worse." Burned Juice, Quality Time, and A Blaze"Good morning, darling." was the first thing Neon heard as he woke up. Even though the couch he was sleeping on had been uncomfortable, he managed to fall asleep anyway. "I hope you slept well." Neon looked up and saw his elder sister Rarity smiling back down at him. "Uh, yeah. Best sleep I've gotten in months." he lied, not wanting to make her feel guilty about putting him on the couch. "So, when's breakfast?" "I wish I could say it was ready now, but we will have to wait I'm afraid. Sweetie tried to cook you a breakfast in bed. Well, breakfast on couch, but everything came out burned. Even the juice!" "How does a pony manage to burn juice?" "I don't really know. If you ask me, that's what I think her special talent should be." The sibling both chuckled at the joke. "Anyway, I need to go buy some things to make a proper breakfast. Would you mind watching Sweetie Belle while I'm gone?" "Of course not. I came here to spend time with her and you, after all." "Splendid! You can have some bonding time with Sweetie Belle and later we can spend time together too." "Sounds great. So, where is she anyway?" "Oh, she's up in her room. Well, I better be on my way. Have a nice time!" said the mare as she trotted out the door. Neon sighed as he got up off the couch. He cracked his neck a few times before walking towards the stairs. "Sweetie Belle!" he called, while walking up to the second floor. "It's me, Neon. Rarity had to go get some food, so she left me here to watch you." Suddenly, a fast moving white blur raced around the hall and tackled Neon to the ground. Neon closed his eyes before impact, but when he opened them again he found Sweetie Belle on top of him. "Good morning, big brother." the filly said as she hugged the stallion. "I can't wait to spent time with you today!" "Me neither, but you're gonna have to let me get up first." "Oh, sorry," she said while stepping off of her brother. "I guess I got a little carried away." "It's okay," he said while standing up. "So, what do you want to do first?" "First, I want to show you my room. Then, we can play Uno! After that, you and I can..." "Woah, Sweetie Belle. One thing at a time. You said you wanted me to see your room?" "Yes! Come on, follow me." The filly instructed as she bounced down the hall. The first thing Neon noticed as he entered the room was the color. It was pink and purple just like her mane. He could see a small red bed in the corner and a dresser and mirror on the opposite wall. In the back, there was a closet that was clearly overflowing with clothes. The floor was covered in discarded art projects, coating it with glitter and paint. "Nice room, Sweetie Belle. I can tell you had a hoof in designing it." "Yep! Rarity let me pick the colors all by myself! Actually, I want to know what your room was like for the last year?" "I kept on moving place to place, so basically I went from one cheap hotel room to the other." "Sounds bad." "No, it was alright. I was living my dream, after all." he stopped when he noticed his sister's puzzled expression. "Is everything okay?" "Yes. It's just that I'm not really sure what you do? I mean, I know you work with spotlights, but what do you actually do with them?" "Well, I build them and fix them if they are broken. Also, remember how I said I controlled the lights at popular shows? I can be in charge of how all of those lights move around. The colored lights you see at performances, I'm one of the ponies who decides where they go and how they shine." "That's so cool! So, you could make a whole show pitch black if you wanted to." "Technically, I could, but why would I do that? It would just be bad for the performance." "I know. I'm just saying." Sweetie replied innocently. "Okay, what's next on your list?" "Sweetie Belle! Neon! I'm back!" Rarity called as she entered the boutique. "You must tell me what you have been doing while I was gone." The mare walked into the kitchen and placed her groceries on the table. She looked around for any signs of her sibling whereabouts. "Sweetie Belle! Neon! where are you?" Rarity walked up the stairs and down the hall. She saw that her sister's bedroom door was open. As she went to close it, Rarity heard a noise coming from inside. She peeked in and saw her younger siblings in a game of Uno. "There you two are." she said as she walked in. "I have the supplies for breakfast." Rarity then looked at the clock that said it was noon. "Or for lunch." "Ok, we'll be down in a minute. I just have to beat him really quick." replied Sweetie Belle. "What makes you think you're gonna win. I only have two cards left." "Yeah, but I have this!" Sweetie exclaimed as she put down a plus four card. "Uno!" "Dang it!" Rarity smiled when she saw that her siblings were spending time together. "He's been away for so long." she thought. "It really is great to have him back." She spoke up again as Sweetie Belle put down her last card. "Congratulations, Sweetie Belle. You truly are the Uno queen. Now, come along you two. Lunch cannot be put off a second longer." Rarity then led her siblings to the kitchen, where she made all of them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "These are delicious, Rarity!" said Neon with his mouth full. "Thanks for lunch." "Oh. no problem darling. Anything for my siblings." Suddenly the trio heard the front door swing open and footsteps approach the kitchen. In a second, they saw Rainbow Dash break through the kitchen doors. "Rainbow, what are you doing here?" "Rarity, you have to come quick! Sugarcube Corner is on fire!" A Hero, A Scream, and A Reason To Quit Smoking"Rarity, you have to come quick! Sugarcube Corner is on fire!" The three siblings, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Neon Light, were enjoying a rather peaceful lunch when a rainbow maned pegasus burst into their home and uttered these words. The unicorns were in a state of shock as they processed Rainbow Dash' words. Finally, Rarity decided to speak up. "What do you mean, Rainbow?" "What do you mean what do you mean? The Cakes' pastry shop is on fire." Rarity, realizing this was not another one of her friend's pranks, jumped up and began to trot out the door. "Neon! You stay here and look after Sweetie. I'm going to help fight the fire." Sweetie and Neon looked at each other for a while until the elder sibling stood up and spoke. "Sweetie, I'm going to go help Rarity. You need to stay here where you are safe." "What? I want to help too." "I'm sorry, but you can't. It's probably going to be pretty dangerous and I can't let you get hurt." "But, but..." "If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." He then smiled. "Mainly because Rarity would kill me." Sweetie chuckled at her brother's joke and finally gave in. "Ok, I'll stay here." she said, embracing Neon in a hug. "Promise you'll be careful." "I promise." he replied, returning the hug. "Rarity and I will be back and a title bit." Knowing he couldn't waste anymore time, he galloped out the door and towards Sugarcube Corner. When Neon Light arrived at Sugarcube Corner, he gasped at the sight that was unfolding before him. Ponies were running and screaming in every direction, a bright colored building was engulfed in flames, and he could see Rarity standing with all of her friends. "Help! Somepony please help me!" cried a voice that made ever pony stop and turn towards the burning building. "Help! I'm stuck!" "Some pony is still in there!" screamed the chief of the fire department. "We have to go in and save them!" Just as he said those words, a large part of the doorway collapsed on itself and effectively blocked the only visible entrance. "Now what do we do?" asked a random pony. Neon looked around as ponies once again went into a frenzy. He stopped when he spotted a small hole in the side of the building. Suddenly, Neon felt a strange feeling within him. Without any second thought, he rushed out of the crowd and towards the hole. "Hey! What are you doing?" yelled the fire chief. "Neon? I though I told you to stay back at the boutique." he heard Rarity call. Neon blocked out the voices he heard tell him to stop as he galloped through the hole and into the burning building. For a second, Neon was completely blinded as he was met by smoke. Instinctively, he ducked down and got a clearer vision of what he was dealing with. Almost every piece of furniture in the shop was made out of wood and had already catch fire. However, he noticed a few spots on the floor were clear of the blaze. He looked around some more until he heard the voice of a distressed pony. "Help! Please, I don't wanna die!" Neon turned his head and saw a small colt curled up into a ball. He was crying and continued to yell for help. "Help me!" "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here!" The colt looked up and saw Neon standing in the blaze. "Thank you, mister. Please hurry." Neon began to carefully maneuver through the store, avoiding the bruning furniture. He coughed violently as smoke began to fill his lungs. "I'll be right there!" he said, reassuring the colt. Eventually, Neon reached the colt and used his magic to levitate him onto his back. "Just hang on. I'm going to get us out of here!" The colt violently nodded and wrapped his forelegs around Neon's neck. By now, Neon had not had a breath of fresh air for at least a few minutes. He continued to breathe in smoke as he made his way back to the hole. As he was about to reach his destination, he felt his head spin and his vision went blurry. "Almost there!" Once he had made it to the hole, the colt quickly jumped off his back and ran out of the building. Neon smiled at his accomplishment, but quickly remembered he needed to get out himself. Just then, he felt a wave of pain shoot up his hind leg as a burning sensation made him scream. He looked back and saw that the fire had spread and was currently burning the fur off his leg. He limped towards the exit, barley staying conscious. Suddenly, he heard a large number of cracks from above and looked up. Neon saw a large chunk of the ceiling beginning to fall down around him. Neon was instantly buried under the rubble as he finally was about to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard before passing out was the very familiar scream of his older sister. A Hospital Visit, A Request, and A Thank YouNeon Light had no idea where he was. All he could see was compete darkness. The last thing he remembered was going into a burning building to save a young colt. Neon thought he heard his sister scream, but he wasn't sure. He tried moving, but quickly stopped when pain shot through all of his joints. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that he was in a small white room. Neon was lying on a bed adjacent to the door. Chairs lined the left side of the room, and the right side included an enormous pile of gifts. He stared hard at the pile and realized most of them said "Get Well Soon." on them. Wondering why he would need get well soon presents, he put two and two together and realized he was in the hospital. Neon looked into the mirror beside his bed. He could see in the reflection that a large bandage was wrapped around his head and a few patches of his fur had been burned off. He was bout to inspect the damages to the other parts of his body when he heard a pony walk in. He turned his head and could tell it was a nurse looking down at a clipboard. "Well, well, Mr.Light. You've been through a l..." She stopped when she looked up and saw that he was awake. "Oh. Your conscious. That's good to see. How are you feeling, Neon?" "Lousy. My body hurts all over." "Well, that's to be expected. While you were in that burning building, a large part of the second floor collapsed on top of you. It was lucky that you were so close to the exit that your sister saw it happen and called for help. Neon stiffened at the mention of his sister. "Rarity! She's going to kill me." "I don't think so. She's been extremely worried about you. Once you were taken to the hospital, Rarity went to you home to grab your little sister and rushed here. The two have been in the waiting room ever since." "Do you think I could see them?" "Of course. I'll send them right in." The nurse trotted out of the room and towards the waiting area. While she was gone, Neon contemplated what he was going to say to his sisters. He didn't have long to think, for just then Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked into the room. He could see that both of them had been crying. Their eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Sweetie's muzzle still had some fresh tears on it. The two siblings made their way to Neon's bedside and instantly embraced him in a giant hug. "Ow, ow. Not so tight." After they had let go, Sweetie Belle hopped into the bed with her brother and nuzzled against him. Meanwhile, Rarity prepared to scream her lungs out. "Neon Light! What did you think you were doing? You left the house when I told you to watch Sweetie Belle and then you just gallop into a burning building!" "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried. "He was just trying to help. And he did. Thanks to him, Featherweight got out of the Cakes' shop alive." After considering her sister's words, Rarity decided to speak again. "I know you did a good thing, Neon, but we were just so scared. When I saw that ceiling collapse on top of you, I..." Rarity could not go on, as she was choking back tears. "Rarity. I know how stupid of me it must have been to go in there, but I had too. I had to save that colt. I'm sorry for making you worry, but I don't plan on leaving you just yet." "It's just that...We already lost you for a whole year. We didn't want to lose you forever." With that, the mare completely broke down and started sobbing into her brother's chest. He embraced her tightly as she did so. "Rarity?" "Yes." "Can I stay at your place for a little while longer?" "Of course you can." Neon then wrapped both of his sisters at once in giant hug. Two Months Later After Neon had gotten injured in the fire, he had to stay in the hospital for three weeks. Every day, his sisters would come in to spend time with him. And ever since he got out, Neon continued to spend every day with his sisters. Sweetie Belle introduced him to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Rarity let him set up the lights at a fashion show where her clothes were being modeled. Life was good for the young stallion. Currently, Neon was laying on the couch that served as his bed for the past few weeks. Although it was very uncomfortable, Neon had gotten used to how stiff it was and managed to make it work. He was reading a Daring Doo novel when he heard the doorbell ring. He got up and trotted to the door. Once Neon opted it, he saw a small colt standing outside. He looked familiar, but Neon did not know where he knew him from. "Neon Light?" "Yes, that's me. Do I know you?" "Actually, you do. I was the colt you saved from the fire two months ago." "Featherweight! It's great to see that you are okay." "Ya, I was in the hospital for a couple of days, but after that I tried to forget about the whole thing. Then I realized I never got to thank you, so thank you." "No need. I was just helping out another pony." "But you saved my life and I heard you got hurting doing it!" "Doesn't matter. What matters is that now we are both okay." Featherweight smiled up at Neon and turned to leave. He suddenly stopped and turned his head back to Neon. "Hey, Neon?" "Yes?" "I was wondering if you could tell Sweetie Belle to meet me at the playground in an hour." he said, blushing. Neon grinned at the colt's request and answered him quickly. "Sure thing." "Great!" With that, the colt trotted off and away from the Boutique. Neon closed the door and went to lay back down on his couch. Before he could even make it there, Sweetie Belle opened the door and walked in with a sad face. "What's wrong Sweetie Belle?" "All of the other fillies have coltfriends except for me. Why doesn't any pony want to date me?" "Oh, Sweetie Belle. You're going to like hat I have to say." Author's Note Sadly, this is the last chapter of The Third Diamond. Never fear, for I plan to make a sequel very soon. Look out for it along with any other of my stories.
Letters, Insomnia, and UnoThe cute little filly with the white coat and purple and pink mane known as Sweetie Belle should have been asleep. More importantly, she wanted to be sleep. It was a school night, after all, and she did not want to spend tomorrow tired. However, her insomnia was getting the best of her. Sweetie Belle tossed and turned in her bed, wondering why sleep would not grace her with its presence. Actually, that was not completely true. Sweetie obviously knew the reason she was still awake in bed. She also had no doubt that her elder sister, Rarity, was having the same troubles. It had only been a week ago that an important letter had been delivered to the residents of the Crystal Boutique. *flashback* Rarity and Sweetie Belle were in the middle of a very intense game of Uno when the local mail pony, Ditzy, knocked a hoof on their door. "Who is it?" asked Rarity in her usual regal tone. "It's only me Rarity, I have a letter for you." replied Ditzy "Oh, how marvelous!" Rarity exclaimed as she went to open the door for the wall-eyed mare. As Rarity used her magic to open the door, she saw Ditzy outside holding a letter in her mouth. "This is for you." said with the letter making her words slightly muffled. "Yes, you said that, darling." Rarity replied as she levitated the letter towards her. "Do you know who it is from?" "No clue." Ditzy remarked as she flew off in a hurry. "Are you su..." Rarity began, but looked up and saw the mail mare gone. "Huh. Must have had other deliveries." "Unooooo!" cried Sweetie Belle who was still focusing only on the card game. *end of flashback* Sweetie Belle smiled to herself as she recalled the moment she and Rarity opened the letter. *another flashback* Dear Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Wow, I cannot believe it has been a whole year. A whole year since I have seen you two. Words cannot describe how much I have missed you. My sisters, I have some exciting news! I, the highly experienced spotlight technician Neon Light, am done with my apprenticeship. Do you know what that means? It means I'm done. I'm coming home. Since it has been an entire year with us being apart, I assume we will have some catching up to do. For this reason, I will be visiting you two in Ponyville next week in hopes that we can reconnect. With a year's worth of love, Neon Light *end of flashback* Yes, Sweetie Belle's brother was coming to visit after an entire year of being away. Sweetie Belle turned in her bed to view the clock in her room that currently read 3:00 AM. After turning back over, she sighed to herself. Of corse she was excited to see Neon, but she would be even more excited if she could just get some sleep. Author's Note Hello, This is my very first chapter of my very first fic. That means I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism and other comments. Also, who else enjoys a good game of Uno?
Hunger, Trains, and Expectations"All aboard! This train won't wait for no pony!" yelled a large earth stallion who was motioning to the train he was currently standing on. Hearing these words, a unicorn by the name of Neon Light quickly dropped his daisy sandwich, gathered up his suitcases and leapt onto the train. "Ticket?" questioned the loud earth stallion. "Right here." replied Neon as he levitated his train ticket out of his saddle bag. The larger pony grabbed the ticked out of the air and brought it up to his eyes to examine it. "Eeyupp, you may proceed." stated the large earth pony who had red coat, blonde mane, and a cutie mark of half an apple. Neon light trotted through each of the train cars until he spotted an empty seat in the final one. Neon sighed heavily as he plopped down into the seat. It had been a hectic morning for the poor unicorn stallion. He did not have time to eat breakfast on account of him waking up late. After checking out of the hotel he was staying in, Neon made his way to the train station. Unfortunately, the Manehatten Music Festival was currently going on and it took Neon a while to maneuver throughout the crowds. He could see that a unicorn mare with a white coat, blue mane, and large sunglasses at the DJ's table was the one exciting the crowds. Once he arrived at the train station, Neon was forced to wait in the almost impressively long line for security. After a minor incident in which Neon was subjected to a random search of his bags, he was finally read to get something to eat. Neon was sure he would be able to enjoy the daisy sandwich he had just bought at a local cafe, but he fate had other plans. The train was scheduled to depart quickly and Neon had to get on before it left without him. Neon was exhausted, and starving, to say the least. However, it would all be worth it. After all, Neon was traveling to Ponyville to see his sisters. Neon smirked as he began to think of his two female siblings. There was Rarity who was a few years older than he was and Sweetie Belle who was a few younger. Rarity had a gleaming white coat and dazzling magenta mane. Sweetie, on the other hand, had a purple and pink mane that could only be described as cute. Rarity had a cutie mark of the three diamonds, but Neon wasn't even sure if Sweetie Belle had hers yet. Neon frowned as he realized that he might of missed the day his younger sister got her cutie mark. Having a white coat was a trait that the three siblings all shared. Unlike his sisters' manes, his was an electrifying blue and yellow and he had a cutie mark that resembled a spotlight. Neon was jerked out of his thoughts as the train started to move. Sadly, he was unprepared for the sudden movement and was thrown out of seat. The unicorn hit the floor of the train with a loud "thud" and was forced to deal with other passengers' awkward stares. Eventually, Neon stood up and returned to his former position in his seat. Once comfortable, Neon directed his gaze out of the window and watched as Manehatten went by. By the time the city was out of sight, Neon had gone back to daydreaming. Neon knew his sisters cared for him. He wasn't sure he wanted to be away from them in the first place. However, they were the ones who pushed to him to go and follow his dreams. Of course the following year had been amazing and his career completely skyrocketed, but a part of him felt like he made the wrong choice. He began to wonder what his sisters would think of him. He wanted to know what their expectations were for him. "What if they are disappointed in my work?" he worried. "Are they going to think I should have been more successful? Do they feel anger towards me because I left?" Neon shook his head to get rid of these negative thoughts. He knew his sisters would be proud of his success. He knew they would feel happy that his career was soaring. They truly were great siblings and Neon was lucky to have them. Neon grinned as slept began to overtake him. Eventually, the unicorn drifted off while thinking of his sisters. "Hey!" screamed a voice that jolted Neon out of slip. For the second time in a while, Neon Light was on the floor of a train. He looked up to see a pegasus mare hovering over him. She had a cyan blue coat and a mane that was the color of a rainbow. Neon could tell she thought highly of herself by the way she looked at him. "Can I help you?" asked Neon in a the kind of tone a pony can only have of they are just woken up. "I think you can." replied the mare in an edgy voice. "Is this seat taken?" she question while pointing to the seat next to his. "Uh, no." Neon stated. "Cool." said the pegasus as she flew down to her seat. She looked down and asked, "Are you going to get up off the floor?" Neon, remembering where he was, swiftly stood up and dusted himself off. After getting back into his seat, Neon let an awkward silence pass between them and the mare. Finally having enough, Neon extend his hoof to the mare. "Name's Neon Light." The pegasus looked at the unicorn next to her and raised an eyebrow. "And what would yours be?" questioned Neon. "Don't you know who I am?" asked the mare in mocking tone. "Should I?" replied Neon. The pegasus flew into the air and shouted, "Of course you should! I am Rainbow Dash! The best and fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" "Ok." said Neon, unsure of what to say next. "Good for you." "You bet it is," mumbled Rainbow Dash as she floated down back to her seat. Neon quickly turned away and once again stared out the window. The train was currently passing through Canterlot, which Neon knew was not all that far from Ponyville. "Almost there," he thought. "It's almost time to see your sisters. Author's Note I told you I was going to include some cameos. If you didn't catch them they included Big Macintosh, Vinyl Scratch, and Rainbow Dash. I like to think that Big Mac would be a good pony to have work on a train.
Welcomes, Popsicles, and The Most Confusing Gift ExchangeAt the moment, Rarity happened to be very excited. She was on her way to the train station to meet her brother whom she had not seen in over a year. Rarity could hardly wait to catch up with him and to introduce him to all of her friends. While Neon was away, Rarity and her sister had greatly missed their missing Sibling, but that did not matter anymore. Yes, Neon Light was coming home to his sisters where he belonged. Rarity grinned at her thoughts and turned to see her sister with the same giant grin. At least, that's what she thought she would see. The unicorn mare was confused to look around and see a notable absence of her younger sister, Sweetie Belle. Rarity quickly calmed down when she spotted Sweetie Belle at the counter inside of the Cakes' pastry shop. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity scolded as she entered the store. "You must not run off like that. It's rude and you had me worried." Sweetie Belle, who had heard her sisters voice, turned around to acknowledge her elder sibling. "I'm sorry Rarity. I just wanted to buy a treat to give to Neon when he gets there." "Oh, that's a great idea!" Rarity exclaimed, all previous anger melting away. "What did you have in mind, darling?" Just then Mrs.Cake came out of the back room holding to cream colored boxes. "Here is your order Sweetie Belle." stated Mrs.Cake. "Two dozen large popsicles to go." Rarity looked at her younger sister with mischievous look that said "good choice." "Thank you Mrs.Cake." said Sweetie Belle as she placed the right amount of bits on the counter. "Not a problem dear. Always happy to provide sweets for any cute little filly." Mrs.Cake commented while rustling Sweetie's mane. As the two sisters turned and left, Rarity called out once more to Mrs.Cake before exiting. "Mrs.Cake, could you be a darling and send Pinkie over to the Boutique when you see her. I have some pony very special I want them to meet." "Try and stop me. You know how much Pinkie enjoys meeting new ponies." Rarity couldn't help but laugh at the baker's remark. "She sure does." "The train will reach Ponyville in five minutes. Thank you for riding the Manheatten Express." boomed a loud voice over the speakers on the train. Neon Light opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched to greet the new day. And what an important day it was for him. Today was the day that he would finally see his beloved sisters again. Neon wanted the day to be perfect, so before he left on the train, he had gotten his sisters a little present he knew would make them happy. Neon glanced out the window and saw the town of Ponyville rapidly approaching. The unicorn stallion was not nervous. On his tour, he had been taught that nerves only led to problems and failures. Neon was surely excited, but not completely. The lingering doubts of his sisters expectations for him still lingered in his mind. If anything, he was... Before he could think of the right word to describe the way he was feeling, a loud yawn made him lose his train of thought. Neon turned to see that the pony sitting next to him, Rainbow Dash, was waking up. The pegasus noticed this and turned to him. "Were you watching me wake up?" questioned the sleepy mare. "What!? No. Of course not. That would be weird." hastily replied Neon. "Whatever. If you say so. Hey, there's Ponyville!" Rainbow was correct as Neon saw the train pulling into the station. "The train has now stopped at Ponyville Central Station. All outgoing passengers hop off. And on all incoming passengers hop on. It's not rocket science." boomed the speakers. "Well, this is it." sighed Neon. "It's time." With that, the unicorn gathered his luggage and made his way to the front of the train. "Do you see him? Do you see him?" asked Sweetie Belle who was perched atop her sister's back. "I can't fin him." she complained while searching the crowd of ponies exiting the train. "I'm sure he will find us, but please Sweetie Belle get off. Your not as light as you used to be." The filly hopped off her sister with a blush and a quick apology. "It's alright, but now we must find our brother in this crowd. Can you believe the number ponies that are coming from Manehatten?" "Well, well. Look who's here to greet me." said a cocky once that made both sisters turn. "I knew a true friend would come meet me at the train station." "Uh, Rainbow Dash. Were you in Manehatten?" asked a puzzled Rarity. "Of corse I was! The Wonderbolts Derby was being held in Manehatten this year, remember? Where do you think I was for the past week?" "Sleeping." both sisters automatically answered. "Very funny." said Rainbow rolling her eyes. "If you're not here to greet me, then why are you here at the train station anyway?" "We came here to see our brother. He was gone for a really long time, but now we get to see him again." squeaked Sweetie Belle gleefully. "He should be on this train." "Wait a minute." said Rainbow Dash, pausing to think for a second. "Does your brother have a blue and yellow mane, white coat like you, and a spotlight cutie mark?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I sat next to the stallion on the train. I though he looked familiar. Now that I think of it, he looks just like you two." "Is that supposed to imply a look like a mare?" asked the aforementioned unicorn who was strolling towards the trio. "Because I don't. Not even a little bit." "Neon!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she galloped to embrace her brother in a hug. "We missed you so much." "Hey, Sweetie Belle." gladly accepting the embrace. "I've missed you too. Wow, you've gotten so big. You really have turned into a great filly." Sweetie Belle smiled at her brother's remarks and continued to hug him tightly. "I'm here as well you know." said a voice that made the hugging siblings break apart. They looked up to see Rarity standing over them. Neon immediately smiled and pulled her elder sister into a hug that caught her off guard. "Rarity. It's been so long. I see you are looking as great as ever." complimented the stallion. "Oh, Neon. It's great to see you again. You've really grown up. Is that muscle I see?" joked Rarity. "You bet it is." said Neon flexing his forelegs. "Lifting spotlights and carrying them to where they need to be is hard work. Speaking of lights, I have a present for you two." Neon quickly opened his saddle bag and fished out two spheres with other multicolored spheres attached to it. He handed them to his sisters and waited for a reply. "What are they, darling?" asked Rarity. "Oh! I call them insta-party lights. All you have to do is throw them on the ground in a dark room and a bunch of multicolored lights will come out. They are machines of my own design. They only work once, so be careful with them." "Thank you so much!" yelled Sweetie as she once again hugged her brother. "Now, we have something for you." Rarity used her magic to place the two boxes of popsicles in front of Neon. "Oh, thank Celestia, I am starving." Neon stated as he opened the top box. His face quickly fell when all he saw was a puddle of strawberry and grape fluid. "It seems they have melted." The three siblings looked at each other awkwardly before all cracking up laughing.
Parties, Friends, and An Uncomfortable CouchAt four in the afternoon, Sugarcube Corner was always bustling with activity. All of the sweetshops and cafes that lined the streets brought many ponies out to pay. Especially the Cakes's pastry shop. Mr.Cake was rushing around the kitchen, trying to put the finishing touches on near-complete pastries. Mrs.Cake was behind the counter desperately trying to take ponies' orders. All of this while the twins, Pound and Pumpkin, were crying their eyes out upstairs. The crowd of angry and hungry ponies were lining up outside the shop . "Honey, we need that batch of chocolate chip cookies up here!" yelled Mrs.Cake to her husband. "We need them right now!" "I am doing the best that I can!" Mr.Cake screamed back as he placed the batch of said cookies in the oven. "We need some help! Where's Pinkie Pie?" "Here I am!" shouted Pinkie, who had just popped out of a cookie jar. "Pinkie, you have to help us. Could you..." "Hold that thought Mr.Cake, my pinkie senses are telling me something. Oh my! A new pony has just arrived in Ponyville! I can't wait to meet them and throw them a Welcome to Ponyville Party. I wonder where they are?" "Actually Pinkie," Mrs.Cake began, "Rarity said she wanted you to meet someone important at the Boutique." "Really!? That must mean whoever Rarity wants me to meet is the new pony in town. Sorry Cakes, but I have to go." exclaimed Pinkie as she jumped back into the cookie jar. "Wait, Pinkie! You have to help us!" Meanwhile at the train station, three siblings were walking home to the Crystal Boutique. Rarity and Sweetie Belle were pestering their brother with questions about his tour. "So how was it? Where did you go? What did you see? Who did you meet?" Sweetie Belle asked in rapid-fire mode. "Calm down, Sweetie." Rarity scolded. "Let Neon talk." "Well, it was...interesting. I got to learn all of new skills. As a spotlight technician, I set up the lights at many popular shows all a round Equestria. I went to Manehatten, Canterlot, Trottenham, Las Pegasus, and even the Crystal Empire. I even met a lot of cool ponies." "Like who?" Rarity questioned. "I met Photo Finish, Fleur de Lis, and even a prince. His name was Blueblood, but he wasn't very nice. Enough about me. I want to know what's happened in your lives while I was away." Over the course of the way home, the three siblings exchanged stories o their adventures over the past year. Sweetie Belle told Neon about how she and her friend formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Rarity told him about the adventures she had as an element of harmony. They were still in mid-converstaion when they arrived at the boutique. "Well darlings, here we are." Rarity stated. "Neon this is where Sweetie and I live and where you will be staying." "Cool. I don't know another pony that lives in a Boutique." "Why thank you. I am pretty rare, aren't I." Rarity chuckled at her own joke. "Anyways, home sweet..." "Surprise!" yelled a bouncy pink mare that popped out of the house. "Rarity, why are you on the floor?" "Pinkie! You must not do that. It's terribly uncouth." "Sorry Rares, but when I heard you had some pony for me to meet I had to get the girls and plan a surprise party!" "Of corse you did. Wait! Are the girls in there?" "Yeppers peppers!" "Great! I'll introduce Neon inside." "Yay!" squeaked Pinkie as she bounced back inside the house. The three siblings followed her inside and were shocked to see the state of the boutique. Streamers, gallons, and confetti were scattered around the room. Punch, chips, cake, and other refreshments were on a table in the corner. Music was playing and five ponies were dancing. Neon could see a purple unicorn with a magenta mane, the same pink mare from before, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, an orange earth pony with a large stetson, and Rainbow Dash. All five turned to see them as they entered. "Well howdy!" yelled the stetson wearing mare as she approached Neon. You must be the pony Rarity wanted us to meet. Although caught off guard, Neon still answered the mare. "Uh...yes. My name's Neon Light, Rarity and Sweetie Belle's brother." "Brother?" asked the mare. "I didn't know Rares had any other siblings besides Sweetie Belle. Nice to meet you. Name's Applejack." "My name's Pinkie Pie, but you already met me." said Pinkie as she bounce up and down. "It's so nice to meet you!" "Hello Neon, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm the local librarian and one of Rarity's best friends. It's great to meet you." "Likewise." Neon said with a nod of his head. "Hello." greeted a quiet voice that made Neon turn around. "My name is Fluttershy. It's very nice to meet you." "It's nice to meet you too Fluttershy." Neon responded with a smile. "And of corse you remember me." stated Rainbow Dash. "How could I forget you, Rainbow." Neon said while rolling his eyes. "Okay! Enough talking. Let's party! At that moment, Rarity hit the boom box and the music increased in volume. All eight ponies had a great time dancing and talking to each other. However, it soon got dark and it was time for ponies to go home. Every pony said there goodbyes and walked out of the boutique. Soon, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Neon were the only ones left. "Okay Neon, there are only two bedrooms in the Boutique and more importantly only two beds. I'm afraid you will have to sleep down here on the couch." "That's alright Rarity, I've slept on worse." "Good to hear! Here is a blanket and a pillow to keep you warm. Goodnight Neon." "Goodnight Rarity. Goodnight Sweetie Belle." "G'night Neon." As his two sisters trotted up the stairs, Neon settled down on the couch. At least he tried to. Neon felt like he was lying on a rock. The stallion tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable, but to no avail. "I was wrong when I said I've slept on worse."
Burned Juice, Quality Time, and A Blaze"Good morning, darling." was the first thing Neon heard as he woke up. Even though the couch he was sleeping on had been uncomfortable, he managed to fall asleep anyway. "I hope you slept well." Neon looked up and saw his elder sister Rarity smiling back down at him. "Uh, yeah. Best sleep I've gotten in months." he lied, not wanting to make her feel guilty about putting him on the couch. "So, when's breakfast?" "I wish I could say it was ready now, but we will have to wait I'm afraid. Sweetie tried to cook you a breakfast in bed. Well, breakfast on couch, but everything came out burned. Even the juice!" "How does a pony manage to burn juice?" "I don't really know. If you ask me, that's what I think her special talent should be." The sibling both chuckled at the joke. "Anyway, I need to go buy some things to make a proper breakfast. Would you mind watching Sweetie Belle while I'm gone?" "Of course not. I came here to spend time with her and you, after all." "Splendid! You can have some bonding time with Sweetie Belle and later we can spend time together too." "Sounds great. So, where is she anyway?" "Oh, she's up in her room. Well, I better be on my way. Have a nice time!" said the mare as she trotted out the door. Neon sighed as he got up off the couch. He cracked his neck a few times before walking towards the stairs. "Sweetie Belle!" he called, while walking up to the second floor. "It's me, Neon. Rarity had to go get some food, so she left me here to watch you." Suddenly, a fast moving white blur raced around the hall and tackled Neon to the ground. Neon closed his eyes before impact, but when he opened them again he found Sweetie Belle on top of him. "Good morning, big brother." the filly said as she hugged the stallion. "I can't wait to spent time with you today!" "Me neither, but you're gonna have to let me get up first." "Oh, sorry," she said while stepping off of her brother. "I guess I got a little carried away." "It's okay," he said while standing up. "So, what do you want to do first?" "First, I want to show you my room. Then, we can play Uno! After that, you and I can..." "Woah, Sweetie Belle. One thing at a time. You said you wanted me to see your room?" "Yes! Come on, follow me." The filly instructed as she bounced down the hall. The first thing Neon noticed as he entered the room was the color. It was pink and purple just like her mane. He could see a small red bed in the corner and a dresser and mirror on the opposite wall. In the back, there was a closet that was clearly overflowing with clothes. The floor was covered in discarded art projects, coating it with glitter and paint. "Nice room, Sweetie Belle. I can tell you had a hoof in designing it." "Yep! Rarity let me pick the colors all by myself! Actually, I want to know what your room was like for the last year?" "I kept on moving place to place, so basically I went from one cheap hotel room to the other." "Sounds bad." "No, it was alright. I was living my dream, after all." he stopped when he noticed his sister's puzzled expression. "Is everything okay?" "Yes. It's just that I'm not really sure what you do? I mean, I know you work with spotlights, but what do you actually do with them?" "Well, I build them and fix them if they are broken. Also, remember how I said I controlled the lights at popular shows? I can be in charge of how all of those lights move around. The colored lights you see at performances, I'm one of the ponies who decides where they go and how they shine." "That's so cool! So, you could make a whole show pitch black if you wanted to." "Technically, I could, but why would I do that? It would just be bad for the performance." "I know. I'm just saying." Sweetie replied innocently. "Okay, what's next on your list?" "Sweetie Belle! Neon! I'm back!" Rarity called as she entered the boutique. "You must tell me what you have been doing while I was gone." The mare walked into the kitchen and placed her groceries on the table. She looked around for any signs of her sibling whereabouts. "Sweetie Belle! Neon! where are you?" Rarity walked up the stairs and down the hall. She saw that her sister's bedroom door was open. As she went to close it, Rarity heard a noise coming from inside. She peeked in and saw her younger siblings in a game of Uno. "There you two are." she said as she walked in. "I have the supplies for breakfast." Rarity then looked at the clock that said it was noon. "Or for lunch." "Ok, we'll be down in a minute. I just have to beat him really quick." replied Sweetie Belle. "What makes you think you're gonna win. I only have two cards left." "Yeah, but I have this!" Sweetie exclaimed as she put down a plus four card. "Uno!" "Dang it!" Rarity smiled when she saw that her siblings were spending time together. "He's been away for so long." she thought. "It really is great to have him back." She spoke up again as Sweetie Belle put down her last card. "Congratulations, Sweetie Belle. You truly are the Uno queen. Now, come along you two. Lunch cannot be put off a second longer." Rarity then led her siblings to the kitchen, where she made all of them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "These are delicious, Rarity!" said Neon with his mouth full. "Thanks for lunch." "Oh. no problem darling. Anything for my siblings." Suddenly the trio heard the front door swing open and footsteps approach the kitchen. In a second, they saw Rainbow Dash break through the kitchen doors. "Rainbow, what are you doing here?" "Rarity, you have to come quick! Sugarcube Corner is on fire!"
A Hero, A Scream, and A Reason To Quit Smoking"Rarity, you have to come quick! Sugarcube Corner is on fire!" The three siblings, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Neon Light, were enjoying a rather peaceful lunch when a rainbow maned pegasus burst into their home and uttered these words. The unicorns were in a state of shock as they processed Rainbow Dash' words. Finally, Rarity decided to speak up. "What do you mean, Rainbow?" "What do you mean what do you mean? The Cakes' pastry shop is on fire." Rarity, realizing this was not another one of her friend's pranks, jumped up and began to trot out the door. "Neon! You stay here and look after Sweetie. I'm going to help fight the fire." Sweetie and Neon looked at each other for a while until the elder sibling stood up and spoke. "Sweetie, I'm going to go help Rarity. You need to stay here where you are safe." "What? I want to help too." "I'm sorry, but you can't. It's probably going to be pretty dangerous and I can't let you get hurt." "But, but..." "If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." He then smiled. "Mainly because Rarity would kill me." Sweetie chuckled at her brother's joke and finally gave in. "Ok, I'll stay here." she said, embracing Neon in a hug. "Promise you'll be careful." "I promise." he replied, returning the hug. "Rarity and I will be back and a title bit." Knowing he couldn't waste anymore time, he galloped out the door and towards Sugarcube Corner. When Neon Light arrived at Sugarcube Corner, he gasped at the sight that was unfolding before him. Ponies were running and screaming in every direction, a bright colored building was engulfed in flames, and he could see Rarity standing with all of her friends. "Help! Somepony please help me!" cried a voice that made ever pony stop and turn towards the burning building. "Help! I'm stuck!" "Some pony is still in there!" screamed the chief of the fire department. "We have to go in and save them!" Just as he said those words, a large part of the doorway collapsed on itself and effectively blocked the only visible entrance. "Now what do we do?" asked a random pony. Neon looked around as ponies once again went into a frenzy. He stopped when he spotted a small hole in the side of the building. Suddenly, Neon felt a strange feeling within him. Without any second thought, he rushed out of the crowd and towards the hole. "Hey! What are you doing?" yelled the fire chief. "Neon? I though I told you to stay back at the boutique." he heard Rarity call. Neon blocked out the voices he heard tell him to stop as he galloped through the hole and into the burning building. For a second, Neon was completely blinded as he was met by smoke. Instinctively, he ducked down and got a clearer vision of what he was dealing with. Almost every piece of furniture in the shop was made out of wood and had already catch fire. However, he noticed a few spots on the floor were clear of the blaze. He looked around some more until he heard the voice of a distressed pony. "Help! Please, I don't wanna die!" Neon turned his head and saw a small colt curled up into a ball. He was crying and continued to yell for help. "Help me!" "Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here!" The colt looked up and saw Neon standing in the blaze. "Thank you, mister. Please hurry." Neon began to carefully maneuver through the store, avoiding the bruning furniture. He coughed violently as smoke began to fill his lungs. "I'll be right there!" he said, reassuring the colt. Eventually, Neon reached the colt and used his magic to levitate him onto his back. "Just hang on. I'm going to get us out of here!" The colt violently nodded and wrapped his forelegs around Neon's neck. By now, Neon had not had a breath of fresh air for at least a few minutes. He continued to breathe in smoke as he made his way back to the hole. As he was about to reach his destination, he felt his head spin and his vision went blurry. "Almost there!" Once he had made it to the hole, the colt quickly jumped off his back and ran out of the building. Neon smiled at his accomplishment, but quickly remembered he needed to get out himself. Just then, he felt a wave of pain shoot up his hind leg as a burning sensation made him scream. He looked back and saw that the fire had spread and was currently burning the fur off his leg. He limped towards the exit, barley staying conscious. Suddenly, he heard a large number of cracks from above and looked up. Neon saw a large chunk of the ceiling beginning to fall down around him. Neon was instantly buried under the rubble as he finally was about to lose consciousness. The last thing he heard before passing out was the very familiar scream of his older sister.
A Hospital Visit, A Request, and A Thank YouNeon Light had no idea where he was. All he could see was compete darkness. The last thing he remembered was going into a burning building to save a young colt. Neon thought he heard his sister scream, but he wasn't sure. He tried moving, but quickly stopped when pain shot through all of his joints. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that he was in a small white room. Neon was lying on a bed adjacent to the door. Chairs lined the left side of the room, and the right side included an enormous pile of gifts. He stared hard at the pile and realized most of them said "Get Well Soon." on them. Wondering why he would need get well soon presents, he put two and two together and realized he was in the hospital. Neon looked into the mirror beside his bed. He could see in the reflection that a large bandage was wrapped around his head and a few patches of his fur had been burned off. He was bout to inspect the damages to the other parts of his body when he heard a pony walk in. He turned his head and could tell it was a nurse looking down at a clipboard. "Well, well, Mr.Light. You've been through a l..." She stopped when she looked up and saw that he was awake. "Oh. Your conscious. That's good to see. How are you feeling, Neon?" "Lousy. My body hurts all over." "Well, that's to be expected. While you were in that burning building, a large part of the second floor collapsed on top of you. It was lucky that you were so close to the exit that your sister saw it happen and called for help. Neon stiffened at the mention of his sister. "Rarity! She's going to kill me." "I don't think so. She's been extremely worried about you. Once you were taken to the hospital, Rarity went to you home to grab your little sister and rushed here. The two have been in the waiting room ever since." "Do you think I could see them?" "Of course. I'll send them right in." The nurse trotted out of the room and towards the waiting area. While she was gone, Neon contemplated what he was going to say to his sisters. He didn't have long to think, for just then Rarity and Sweetie Belle walked into the room. He could see that both of them had been crying. Their eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Sweetie's muzzle still had some fresh tears on it. The two siblings made their way to Neon's bedside and instantly embraced him in a giant hug. "Ow, ow. Not so tight." After they had let go, Sweetie Belle hopped into the bed with her brother and nuzzled against him. Meanwhile, Rarity prepared to scream her lungs out. "Neon Light! What did you think you were doing? You left the house when I told you to watch Sweetie Belle and then you just gallop into a burning building!" "Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried. "He was just trying to help. And he did. Thanks to him, Featherweight got out of the Cakes' shop alive." After considering her sister's words, Rarity decided to speak again. "I know you did a good thing, Neon, but we were just so scared. When I saw that ceiling collapse on top of you, I..." Rarity could not go on, as she was choking back tears. "Rarity. I know how stupid of me it must have been to go in there, but I had too. I had to save that colt. I'm sorry for making you worry, but I don't plan on leaving you just yet." "It's just that...We already lost you for a whole year. We didn't want to lose you forever." With that, the mare completely broke down and started sobbing into her brother's chest. He embraced her tightly as she did so. "Rarity?" "Yes." "Can I stay at your place for a little while longer?" "Of course you can." Neon then wrapped both of his sisters at once in giant hug. Two Months Later After Neon had gotten injured in the fire, he had to stay in the hospital for three weeks. Every day, his sisters would come in to spend time with him. And ever since he got out, Neon continued to spend every day with his sisters. Sweetie Belle introduced him to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Rarity let him set up the lights at a fashion show where her clothes were being modeled. Life was good for the young stallion. Currently, Neon was laying on the couch that served as his bed for the past few weeks. Although it was very uncomfortable, Neon had gotten used to how stiff it was and managed to make it work. He was reading a Daring Doo novel when he heard the doorbell ring. He got up and trotted to the door. Once Neon opted it, he saw a small colt standing outside. He looked familiar, but Neon did not know where he knew him from. "Neon Light?" "Yes, that's me. Do I know you?" "Actually, you do. I was the colt you saved from the fire two months ago." "Featherweight! It's great to see that you are okay." "Ya, I was in the hospital for a couple of days, but after that I tried to forget about the whole thing. Then I realized I never got to thank you, so thank you." "No need. I was just helping out another pony." "But you saved my life and I heard you got hurting doing it!" "Doesn't matter. What matters is that now we are both okay." Featherweight smiled up at Neon and turned to leave. He suddenly stopped and turned his head back to Neon. "Hey, Neon?" "Yes?" "I was wondering if you could tell Sweetie Belle to meet me at the playground in an hour." he said, blushing. Neon grinned at the colt's request and answered him quickly. "Sure thing." "Great!" With that, the colt trotted off and away from the Boutique. Neon closed the door and went to lay back down on his couch. Before he could even make it there, Sweetie Belle opened the door and walked in with a sad face. "What's wrong Sweetie Belle?" "All of the other fillies have coltfriends except for me. Why doesn't any pony want to date me?" "Oh, Sweetie Belle. You're going to like hat I have to say." Author's Note Sadly, this is the last chapter of The Third Diamond. Never fear, for I plan to make a sequel very soon. Look out for it along with any other of my stories.
