Thunder and Lightning

by UnweptSchlipps

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Original Character, Rainbow Dash
Length: 36466

Loyalty holds no bounds, huh? Well when it comes to family, Dash finds that hard to believe.

Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty. It's her title, her honor, her life. She's supposed to be the most faithful, reliable, dependable, trusted pony in all of Equestria. And when an unexpected pegasus pays Dash a visit,at first she is thrilled. But when her loved one slowly begins to fit into her close-knit circle of friends, Dash finds herself feeling left out, and her loyalties being put to the test. And if there's one thing that she realizes, it's that nopony gets under your skin like family.

Published 2012-05-05 05:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-25 05:53:41 UTC

Prima y Primo

Hey there, bronies! This story is actually the first one I have ever written. It's on FanFiction, and it's a pretty special story to me. Yes, it does have an OC who tends to speak Spanish. I've gone through a lot of thought in this story. In fact, I almost scrapped it because I didn't really like how the story was going. But despite the complaints of my OC being a Gary-Sue (which he was), of being underdeveloped (which he was), of being absolutely "dreadful" (which he WASN'T), I decided to keep on going. And frankly, I'm extremely happy with the way things turned out. It was quite interesting to see how my writing has progressed. So bear with me friends. I swear it gets better.

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. A cool breeze swept its way through the little town, covering the citizens with its gentle breath. Clouds dotted the blue sky, obscuring the yellow sun's warm, glimmering rays. But if the ponies below cared, they certainly didn't show it. For it was a Saturday morning, and the equine denizens of Ponyville knew that sunlight on a Saturday morning was not to be expected.

In a cloudy abode high above, a certain cyan pegasus was sprawled across her bed, sound asleep. It was almost noon, and yet the pegasus still laid on her comfy mattress, oblivious to the outside world.

Suddenly, the winged pony flicked her eyes open for a quick second, raising her head to check the time outside, before letting it fall back onto her cloud pillow into dreamland.

However, the rainbow-maned pony didn't actually fall asleep. She was just shutting her eyes for as long as she could before she either got tired of the taste of her own saliva, or someone else came in to wake her up. Just like every Saturday, the pegasus thought soundly. Dash hadn't gotten up early on a weekend in years, becoming almost second nature to the lazy flier. As she always put it, "I wake up to my own natural clock," despite protests if it being "jus' plain lazy" by Applejack.

Unfortunately for her, today was the day that lazy streak would be broken; she didn't get any shut-eye for long. Because as soon as she closed her eyes, a sharp knock came from the front door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Instead of getting out of bed and confronting the sound, Rainbow Dash turned onto her belly, ignoring the visitor and hoping he/she would go away. But the opposite happened, and the sound of hooves on the hollow wood echoed through the house in the clouds.

Thoroughly annoyed, the pony clamped two pillows around her head, trying to block out the bothersome noise. Yet the act was futile, as the sound kept piercing the otherwise peaceful house in the sky. Frustrated, Rainbow Dash called out from underneath the pillow, "Go away! I'm not in the mood." She was responded by another knock.

After heaving a long sigh, the cyan pegasus reluctantly slid out of her comfortable bed and groggily trudged over to the door, shouting, "Ditzy, I told you not to deliver my mail on a Saturday." Another knock caused her to grit her teeth in anger.

As she swung the door open, Dash growled, "Ditzy Doo, how many times do I have to—." She didn't get to finish that sentence, because when she made eye-contact with the visitor, she realized they were not the yellow, crooked, tell-tale eyes of Ponyville's young mail mare. No, they were the eyes of another pony; one Dash hadn't expected to see in a long time.

First of all, the visitor wasn't a mare, but a stallion. He was a strong looking one, about a head taller than Rainbow Dash with a sleek, yet muscular frame. But despite his intimidating size, his eyes were anything but.

The visitor's eyes were hazel colored, with golden flecks dotting his iris, which glimmered like fire. And yet Dash, for some reason, felt only warmth and kindness radiating from those shimmering orbs and his easy smile.

His mane was pitch-black and spiked forward, with bright yellow streaks flowing along its length. The fur was a solid steel color, only broken by a small patch of white located just above each of his hooves. A bright yellow bandana hung around the male's neck loosely. But the stallion's most distinguishing feature was his tail; a golden lightning bolt that matched the curved, winged lightning bolt gracing either one of his flanks. And, as if continuing the electric motif, a small lighting shaped mark was located just underneath his left eyeball.

The stallion was smiling gently, and he quietly greeted, "Sup cousin?"

At first, Rainbow Dash stood there in shock, silent. But then the silence was pierced as the young, confident flier uncharacteristically squealed with joy. The cyan pegasus zoomed out of the doorway, pinning the gray visitor to the ground, a huge grin plastered on her face. "Omigosh! I can't believe it's really you! I haven't seen you in, like, forever!"

Dash's cousin chuckled and replied, "Well, y'know, I was traveling here and there when I heard a certain pegasuswas over in Ponyville, helping the weather patrol. And you know I had to see my prima favorita!" The visitor took a fast glance at the sky and sarcastically added, "And I see you're doing an awesome job at it too, Arco."

The cyan pegasus picked herself back up, letting her cousin get back to his feet, and said indignantly, "Hey, I've got the entire day to clean these things up. I figure I might as well get some shut-eye."

Her cousin chuckled again and replied, "Uhhh, you do realize chica that it's almost noon, right?"

When Dash heard this statement, she glanced up at the sky to see that, although it was partially concealed by the white clouds, the sun was hanging directly overhead. Her eyes widened in panic, and she chattered, "WHAT! It's already NOON! Omigosh, I was supposed to be at a brunch at Town Hall with my friends two hours ago! Twilight is gonna be so mad!" The pegasus began to pat her messy bed hair down with her hoof, trying to freshen herself up as best as she could.

But her cousin slowly shook his head and smiled softly, commenting, "Rainbow Dash, late? Why am I not surprised?" He put his hoof on her shoulder before continuing, almost innocently, "So, Arco, Town Hall's in the same place since I was here last, right? So, I'm just thinking, how 'bout we have a bit of a… competition to see who gets there first?"

Despite her anxiety, Dash's ears perked up at the mention of this idea. All her nervousness washed away as she slowly asked, "You mean…a race?" He responded with a simple nod.

A grin reappeared across the confident mare's face, and she said cockily, "Alright, you're on, cousin. But I'll warn you, you're looking at the Best Young Flier in all of Equestria." She finished her statement with by giving a cocky flick to her cousin's snout.

But if the stallion was phased, he certainly didn't show it with his endearing smile still lingering on his face. "Well Dash, you seem to have forgotten the pony who won that award twice before. And I'll give you a hint, it's not you," he replied, responding to Dash's gesture with a flick of his own. "Rapido, cousin, I don't have all day! Pongas el grito al cielo!"

"Uhh, excuse me?" Dash asked suspiciously.

"It's a saying, Dash. It means don't hold back."

"Ugh, you know I can't understand what you're saying half the time," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry prima, it's my culture. Heck, I've only lived the first few years of my life in Veneighzuela, why should I stop?" the stallion asked playfully. Giving the ground a competitive stomp, he added, "Besides. I know you like it."

Then the two pegasi simultaneously lined themselves up at the edge of the clouds, hunched low in their starting position. They both exchanged competitive glances before Dash challenged, "Ready?"

The stallion replied, "Get set…"

"GO!"

With a flap of their wings, the cousins lifted high up into the sky. Then with a burst of acceleration, they began to make a bee-line for the Town Hall, parting a trail through the thick clouds with their sheer tenacity, leaving the sunlight to follow their path.

WHY WON'T THE ITALICS WORK!!!!
Seriously though, I italicized the Spanish words on FanFiction. If you want to read it there, then go ahead.

First Impressions

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, six ponies stood outside the Town Hall, a huge white structure standing alone atop a hill, overlooking the entire village. Contrary to what most thought, the real Town Hall was located on the outskirts of Ponyville, the one in the square merely serving as a meeting place for all social gatherings. But for business purposes and, for this case, private meetings, this was the place where it happened.

It wasn't an amazing structure. Although beautiful marble columns graced the outside of the large, white building, everything else was anything but. Nothing on the square structure, besides the pillars reminiscent of Equestria's ancient days, gave off an aura of high-class. Which was exactly how the Mayor liked it.

Out on the front steps, the ponies, with full bellies and satisfied faces, were saying their farewells.

"Once again, Mayor, thank you for having us over. The brunch was really amazing," Twilight said humbly while rubbing her stomach.

The Mayor of Ponyville replied happily, "Oh no, Twilight, thank you! With all the work from running the town, I've been feeling quite guilty of not getting to talk to the ponies that saved Equestria twice."

Rarity, with her pink scarf wrapped around her neck and designer sunglasses propped up on her forehead, responded, "Well, Mayor, it was quite an interesting meal, and remember to give my complements to the chef. The food was exquisite!"

"And the cake, the cake! Oh my gosh, the cake was so good! Never, ever, ever, never in my life have I had cake better than that, even from Mr. and Mrs. Cake themselves! And with "Cake" in their names, you'd think they'd make really good cake. I mean, don't get me wrong, their cake is really good, but this cake—ooooooooh myyyyy gooodnnesss. It was scrum-diddly-umptious!" a curly-maned pink pony shouted as she bounced around the steps, obviously hyper from a sugar rush.

Seemingly embarrassed, Rarity pursed her lips together and told the Mayor, "Please excuse her, Mayor. She tends to get a bit…jittery when she has too much cake. Or sugar for that matter." The Mayor's response was a giggle of amusement at the sight of Pinkie Pie bouncing around the Town Hall, seemingly defying the laws the physics as she floated in the air and galloped on the columns.

"An' Ah'm sorry Rainbow Dash couldn't make it. You can bet that the next time Ah see that lazy mule, she'll be in fer a butt whoopin'! Why, Ah bet she's still snuggled up cozy in that ol' bed o' hers," hardworking Applejack muttered, tipping her hat.

"Oh no, it was quite alright, Applejack. I'm sure Rainbow had some other important things to do," the Mayor said reassuringly, seemingly ignoring the fact that clouds still blocked out the sun's rays.

As the other ponies conversed, Fluttershy gazed up at the sky, her eyes trained on two tiny specks flying across the horizon. It looked like birds at first, but soon it became apparent that they were heading straight towards Town Hall.

Surprised, Fluttershy attempted to get her friends' attention, timidly muttering, "Um, girls? Girls? I, uh, I need to show you something. Girls, look, I, ummm…" Not surprisingly, the others paid no attention.

Finally, the shy pony tapped Twilight on her shoulder, who proceeded to whip around and ask, "Yes, what is it, Fluttershy?" To respond, Fluttershy shakily pointed at the two specks, which were increasingly getting bigger every second.

It was then that Twilight saw the flowing rainbow mane. Her eyes widened in fear, and she shouted urgently, "INCOMING! She's flying in fast, take cover!"

The group scattered across the steps yelling, making way for the incoming pair. The wind whistled as the two pegasi skimmed above the ground, ready to land. The steel-gray stallion touched down a split second before Dash, gracefully trotting along the ground until he came slowly to a stop.

Rainbow Dash, however, impacted hard on the floor, grunting and screaming as she tumbled along the marble steps before slamming hard onto one of the pillars. For a moment it seemed Dash was dazed, lying upside down motionless against the tall column. But soon she shook her head, gave a cocky laugh, and taunted while upside down, "Ha! Told ya I was the best! I always win!"

Her cousin raised her eyebrow and questioningly replied, "Oh really, Arco? I'm pretty sure I touched down way before you did."

The cyan pony scoffed as she rose up off the ground and argued, "Uh, yeah right. I totally beat you by a second!"

The stallion was prepared to give a rebuttal until he noticed the other ponies beginning to rise to their feet. He noticed their looks of annoyance, so instead he just gave a sigh of submission and answered, "Alrighty then, prima. I guess you win." After all, he knew better than to try and convince his cousin she lost.

"Yes! I beat you! I wasn't named the Best Young Flier for no reason, cous'," Dash said, a triumphant look spread across her face. But her glory didn't last long, because it was interrupted with a stern "Ahem" from Twilight Sparkle.

The lavender unicorn was blown into a patch of mud from the racing ponies' slipstream, and dirt and leaves caked her purple mane. The rainbow pegasus flashed a guilty smile before asking, "So, uhhh, how was the brunch?"

"Oh it was great, Dash. And how has your day been going?" Twilight snarled. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, and she was glaring at Dash accusingly.

"Yeah Twi', I was just, ummm," she began, avoiding Twilight's gaze. Then the pegasus grabbed her cousin's bandana, pulled him to her side, and said, "I was just hangin' out with my cousin, yeah. And I thought…I thought you guys would like to meet him, yeah! How about you introduce yourself, cousin?"

After straightening his red bandana, he grinned smoothly and announced, "Good morning, my name's Lighting Flash. And you're Twilight Sparkle, I presume?"

"Yes I am, thanks. And I am pleased to meet you. Any friend of Dash is a friend of ours," the unicorn replied, but not before giving Rainbow a look that said, You're not off the hook yet.

Lighting left Dash to be lectured by her bookworm friend and proceeded to help the Mayor to her hooves, apologizing for knocking her over. The elder adjusted her spectacles, but before the Mayor could say "Thank you", Pinkie bounced into view.

"Ooooohh, you're Rainbow's cousin? Wow, that's so cool! Hey, why's your tail all lightning-y, huh? I mean I know your name's 'Lightning' and all but I just think it looks really cool," Pinkie interrupted. Then suddenly, her voice lowered and she asked in a serious tone, "Do you know what we do to new ponies around here?"

Lighting shook his head slowly. Then, Pinkie's eyes began to widen and a huge grin exploded across her face as he answered, "We throw a PARTY, silly! Yeah, we should throw a surprise party just for you! Oh, but you need to forget what I just said, otherwise it won't be a surprise—."

Before she could keep chattering, Applejack clamped her hoof over her mouth and acknowledged Lighting Flash with a nod of her head. "Now calm down, sugar cube. Let's try not to scare 'im off now! Howdy, ah'm Applejack, pleased t'meetcha!" Lighting couldn't help but laugh at Pinkie, who was still rambling on even though a hoof was blocking her mouth.

Rarity, ignoring the hushed argument between Dash and Twilight and Pinkie Pie's ramblings, strode up to the stallion and gave a polite bow. Then she said, "It is my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Flash. My name is Rarity, sole proprietor of the Carousel Boutique."

Lighting returned her bow and answered back kindly, "And it is my pleasure to meet you, Madam Rarity. Oh, and please feel free to call me Lightning."

Believing he had greeted everypony, he began to turn back to Dash before noticing a yellow figure hanging a little bit away from the group. Her pink mane hung over her eyes as she stared passively at the ground. Smiling, Lightning proceeded over to her.

"Hey, you're one of Dash's amigas, er, friends, right? My name's Lightning Flash. And you?" he inquired quietly. Fluttershy mumbled something while timidly pawing at the ground, only looking at the stallion through the corner of her eye.

From the steps, Dash called out, "Hey, sorry Lightning. She's not exactly the most social pony out there."

Her cousin answered, "Oh no, Dash. It's fine. I understood her perfectly." Then he turned his attention back to the shy mare and said gently, "You're name's Fluttershy, right?" The timid pegasus replied with a small nod.

"Yeah, I remember you. You went to flight school with Arco and I!" Lightning remarked kindly. Another small nod.

Then Lightning gave his trademark smile and said, "Well then, Miss Fluttershy, it was very nice meeting you." With a small bow, he rejoined the group, and Fluttershy couldn't help but give a small smile as she followed suit.

Back at the group, Twilight was finishing up her scolding of Rainbow Dash. "And I hope you haven't forgotten about tomorrow's engagements."

"Yeah, yeah, of course not. I've gotta help you guys out with whatever you guys need, then I can practice my moves with Flash," the pegasus replied.

Flash, who was just rejoining the group, asked, "Moves for what?"

Dash snorted and answered excitedly, "The Wonderbolts, of course! C'mon cousin, they're only, like, our childhood idols and all-time heroes!"

The Mayor pricked up her ears at the sound of this statement and inquired, "The Wonderbolts, you say? Why, I believe I have them booked for an appearance right here at Town Hall. Tomorrow night, to be exact."

The elderly pony barely had time to brace herself before Dash zoomed up to her, almost knocking her over once again. The pegasus's mouth was agape, squealing, "The Wonderbolts are going to be here tomorrow night? Omigosh, I'm gonna be able to show them my newest tricks. This is so awesome!" Dash flapped her wings excitedly, ready to take off to practice.

But before she could do so, Dash felt a large tug on her tail, holding her back. Not surprisingly, it was Applejack, who had her teeth clenched around the cyan pegasus's rainbow colored tail. "Now hold on there, Dash." With a mighty heave, she pulled Rainbow Dash to the ground and said, "You ain't meetin' any Wonderbolts unless you finish helping us out tomorrow, understand?"

"Yeah sure whatever," Dash responded, annoyed.

"Don't worry guys. I'll make sure she gets up bright and early to help you guys out," Lighting told them, ruffling Dash's mane much to her dismay. In response, she stuck out her tongue at her cousin, who mimicked her.

"I'm sure you will, Lightning Flash. And once again, it was nice to meet you," the purple unicorn said with a small nod. The other ponies then proceeded to say their goodbyes to Ponyville's latest guest.

Pinkie Pie, still hyper from the excess amount of cake, quickly added, "Yeah, it was fun to see you, Dash's cousin. Oh, and I want your party to be the day after tomorrow, so don't forget it. No, wait, I mean you should forget it. No, how 'bout you forget about the party but remember to be at the library that night. Yeah, that'll work. And you still need to tell me why your tail is lightning-y and stuff."

Dash waited impatiently, looking down at an imaginary watch and tapping her hooves before saying, "C'mon Lightning. We've still got a few more hours of flying time before the sun goes down, let's go!"

Fluttershy, who had mustered up the courage to talk to Lightning, went up to say goodbye. "Bye Lightning. It was, um, very nice to meet you. And um…bye. Again," she timidly remarked, her cheeks blushing underneath her flowing bangs.

"It was nice to meet you too, Fluttershy. Catch you 'round," Lighting replied coolly. Then he called out to his cousin, "Alright, Arco, vamos!"

"Finally," she shouted, rolling her eyes. "Ready for me to smoke you in another race?"

Giving one final look at the new friends standing at the base of the Town Hall, the steel-gray stallion lovingly remarked, "Whatever you say, prima. Whatever you say." Then, without warning, the two pegasi lifted into the air, their wings spread into the open sky, and raced back in the direction they had come before.

xXxXx

Night had fallen in Ponyville, and the crescent moon hung overhead, washing the village with its gentle moonlight. The dazzling stars dotted the darkened sky, their twinkling splendor much like the jewels stitched on Rarity's many majestic dresses. Atop a grassy cliff overlooking the landscape, two tired pegasi sat on their haunches, gazing at the sky.

Lighting and Rainbow were resting from a long day of spectacular aerial tricks and maneuvers. They had spent the rest of the daylight flying together; something the two pegasi hadn't done in long time. Now, they sat in rest, their wings sore from the exercise.

"Wow, that was one hell of a work-out," Dash began, regaining her breath. "We haven't done anything like that together in a long time."

"Number one, watch your language," the stallion replied jokingly, pointing a hoof at his cousin. Then a happy look spread across his face as he said, "Second, yeah it's been a while. Not since our little tandem flying incident three years ago."

The cyan pony gave her cousin a little playful nudge as she replied, "Jeez, Lighting. I told you never to speak of that ever again!" The two family members shared a long laugh before continuing to gaze at the stars.

Dash's head rested on Lighting's broad shoulders, and she said quietly, "I swear Lighting, you're probably the only one in our family that doesn't drive me completely insane."

"Aww, come on, Arco, that's not true," Lighting answered. "Sure some our family members can be a bit, er…loco en la cabeza, but that doesn't mean we're perfect either."

Then the stallion stood up, spread his wings, and posed in an exaggerated manner, continuing, "We're loud, brash, and born to go fast. That's just the way we are! It runs in the familia." Dash stifled a giggle as her cousin continued his extravagant poses.

When Lighting settled down once again, Dash placed her head back on the stallion's shoulders and replied softly, "Yeah, but I guess…I guess you're the only one that I feel I can talk to. About anything, you know?"

"Well that's what family is for, isn't it cousin?"

The rainbow-maned pegasus smiled at this comment, thinking to herself, And that's why you're the best cousin in the world. Her mind began to drift over to the Wonderbolts' visit tomorrow. What would she do? How would they like her? She knew she needed to practice for tomorrow, and yet she also knew she couldn't let her friends down. She was the Element of Loyalty after all.

Although she really didn't want to ask for help, Dash knew that she would have to if she was going to see her life-long heroes. For once in her life, she was going to show humility. If only i knew the meaning of the word.

But, before she could change her mind, Dash blurted, "Hey Lightning, I was thinking... that it was be totally cool if you could come and help me and my friends out tomorrow."

The stallion raised his eyebrows and said meekly, "I don't know, Arco. I don't want to be like a third wheel or anything."

"Please, Lighting? I would mean so much to me if you could come and help," Rainbow pleaded.

Staring into his cousin's needy eyes, Lightning gave a small sigh of submission before answering kindly, "Well Dash, if that's what you really want, then that's want I'm going to do."

Upon hearing this, the normally cool mare squeezed her cousin in tight embrace, saying, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, cousin! You don't know how much this means to me."

Lightning Flash patted his cousin's soft rainbow colored mane, giving her his gentle smile while saying, "I'd do anything for you, prima. You know that."

After this, Dash stood back to stare into her cousin's warm hazel eyes. Although the moonlight made them glimmer like a fiery blaze, she knew that behind them lay a heart of gold. Her cousin truly hadn't changed one bit since they last met, he was still the loving, caring sibling Dash never had. Sure his electric appearance was intimidating, but underneath that sleek exterior was a pony who could never hate anypony, even if he tried. And no one knew that better that Rainbow Dash.

The two ponies lay down in the soft grass underneath the starry sky. Lighting's wings spread across his cousin's chest like a blanket, introducing warmth into the cyan pegasus's tired body. Without thinking, Rainbow Dash whispered, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Lightning."

Staring back the crescent moon, the gray stallion replied solemnly, "And I hope we'll never have to find out."

A Natural Born Bucker

"Despierta, Dash. Wake up."

It was early morning, and Celestia had barely raised the sun. Dash lay on her back, hearing Lightning gentle words. Without opening her eyes, she gave a tired grunt before turning over, ignoring Lightning's quiet command.

The stallion nudged her with his snout, repeating, "Come on Dash, get up. It's seven o'clock." No response.

Lighting Flash heaved a heavy sigh, muttering under his breath, "You wanna be like that, Arco, then fine by me."

Then he raised his voice and, in mock disappointment, said slowly, "Oh ,well. I guess Rainbow Dash doesn't want to meet the Wonderbolts and show them she's the best flyer in the world. And maybe, she'll never have the chance to impress them. Ever. Again." The stallion added emphasis on the last two words, and waited for the reply.

He didn't need to wait long. The moment he finished that sentence, the cyan pony leaped out of her bed, her eyes wide open. With her wings ready to go, she said confidently, "Now who said that? 'Cause I certainly didn't. So what are we waiting for, Lightning, let's hurry and get this over with!"

Before she continued, Dash paused and gazed at her surroundings. Instead of the open sky and the towering view of the cliff she had been expecting, she saw the familiar surroundings of her own room. It took her a few seconds to piece together the fact that, somehow, she was in her house once again. Confused, Dash asked, "Wait a sec'. How'd I get back here? I remember falling asleep back on that cliff."

Her cousin, already halfway out the door, turned around to show his signature, loving grin. He answered solemnly, "I carried you." Then he raced out into the wide blue sky, beckoning Dash to hurry up. The rainbow-maned pony could only shake her head and grin before joining her cousin out in their blue domain.

As the two pegasi gracefully glided towards their first destination, Lighting asked, "So where are we headed first?"

"We're heading over to help Applejack. She runs this farm called Sweet Apple Acres, and I always head over there to help her out. Y'know, picking apples, destroying barns with nuclear explosions, stuff like that," Rainbow Dash answered confidently.

"If you wake up in time, that is," Lighting replied with a snicker.

"Haha, very funny," the mare said sarcastically. Her lips were curled in a pout, her face showing utter annoyance. But seeing her exaggerated expression only made Lighting Flash chuckle even more.

"Well it not my fault Applejack gets up at like, 6 in the morning. How is anypony supposed to function after waking up so early?" Dash continued jokingly.

"You're a riot, Arco," the steel-colored stallion replied coolly, followed by a round of raucous laughter from the two pegasi.

Finally, tall, green trees of Sweet Apple Acres loomed in the distance. The shining red apples dotted the landscape, and the birds had begun to sing their melodic songs. Out in the field, Applejack stood, waving at the two approaching pegasi.

"Howdy there, Rainbow. Ah see you brought Lighting by to help out," she said cheerfully.

"Yeah, well, can't have one without the other! Always a pleasure to help, senorita," the stallion replied happily.

"That's mighty kind of you, Lightnin', and great timin' too. Big Mac's out of town visiting Appleloosa, so we've been needin' a big, strong stallion like yerself to pull this here plow." The farm pony pointed over to a large contraption standing in the middle of an open field. "I hope ya don't mind."

The pegasus was already strapped onto the large plow, and he shook his head and replied, "No problem, Applejack, let's get to it."

Rainbow leaned on a tall tree underneath its cool shadow, asking, "So uh, anything I can do AJ?"

"Sorry, Dash. Ah think that's all I got fer now. How 'bout you take a rest over by the barn while I help Lightning, okay?" Applejack apologized.

The cyan pegasus knew that her hard-working friend never lied, so she answered indifferently, "Whatever. Less work for me then."

For a little bit, Dash watched her cousin steadily pull the heavy plow across the dirt, making long rows for Applejack to apply the small, brown apple seeds. Lightning was making quick work of it too, his sleek body showing no signs of fatigue. Actually, he was just as upbeat as ever, heartily laughing and talking with the honest country pony.

"Not bad, Lightnin'! Yer a natural at this stuff!" Applejack remarked.

"Thanks AJ. This is pretty fun, actually! Muy divertido!" the plowing pegasus replied.

It's pretty nice to see those two getting along, Dash thought as she leaned back against the wooden barn, her arms folded behind her head in a resting position.

XxXxX

It was about 30 minutes later, after Dash recovered from a quick nap, that she saw her cousin high above the trees, dropping apples into a bucket below. At the base of the tree was Applejack, guiding the wooden bucket around the tall foliage. That's funny, Dash thought to herself, observing the two work together. I'm the one who usually does that kind of stuff.

From her spot underneath the barn's overhang, trying to sound as unconcerned as possible, she called out, "Hey AJ, you think I could help you guys out now?"

"Naw thanks, Rainbow. Ah reckon we've got it handled. You good up there, Flash?" Applejack responded while holding a bucket in her teeth.

"Estoy bien, Applejack. I'm good," the lightning streaked pegasus remarked, dropping a large, juicy apple into the waiting bucket below.

Dash tapped her hooves on the ground impatiently, slumping to the ground. She gave a long, annoyed sigh, hoping her cousin had heard it. The pegasus anxiously looked up at the sun's position, which showed that it was only 7:45 AM. How long am I going to be sitting here?, she thought as she gazed upon the many acres of apple trees, waiting to be plucked. Wanting to show her usefulness, Dash shouted again, "You sure I can't, like, hold the bucket or something?"

Applejack called out once again, "Nope, pretty sure we're good!"

Disgruntled, the cyan pegasus plodded into the barn, uttering, "Fine then. More rest for the Wonderbolts." But in truth, the Wonderbolts weren't the ones the young flier worried about.

Not knowing how to busy herself, RD just sat on her hindlegs, biting her lip as she watched the duo move along with their duties. The pegasus soon found a discard apple core and began to fiddle around with it, glancing up every now and then to check on her friends. But every time she'd look up, she'd find her cousin doing yet another job usually reserved for herself. Normally, the lazy flier would have jumped at the opportunity for others to do her work. But, for some strange reason, Dash couldn't shake this dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It was around 8:50 when Applejack and Lightning finished their duties. The two ponies sat under the shadow of a tall apple tree, sipping ice-cold apple cider. Dash sat across from them next to a low shrub, commenting with an unsure grin on her face, "Sooooo, you guys done with everything?"

"Ah do believe so, Dash. You two are free to go," AJ replied, taking a huge gulp from her glass. As the two pegasi began to fly off, the farm mare called out happily, "An' feel free to stop by anytime, you two!"

Rainbow and Lightning flew high up in the sky, grazing the clouds with their manes. The air blew steadily through their fur as they soared across the horizon towards their next destination.

Lightning, with a satisfied look on his face, told his cousin, "Applejack's a fine pony, Arco. She's really nice. And hardworking."

Dash, however, did not return her cousin's gaze. Still looking straight ahead, she replied, "Yeah, she's cool, I guess."

The stallion noticed his cousin avoid his eyes, so he asked, concerned, "Are you okay, prima?"

This time, Dash looked back at her cousin's hazel eyes, albeit anxiously. She unsteadily replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just,uh, it's just because that took longer than expected, that's all."

With an assuring grin on his face, Lighting replied, "Well, don't worry Dash. We'll finish this stuff with enough time to practice, okay?"

Dash nodded and gave a small smile. Satisfied, her cousin asked, "So who're we helpin' next?"

"We're going over to Rarity's next. Apparently she wants to 'fluff my image', whatever that means."

"So, girl stuff pretty much?" Lightning replied, his eyebrow cocked.

With a laugh, Dash said, "Heck, I don't like it any more than you do, cous'." At that moment, Lightning began to imagine his cousin in a long shimmering nightgown, make-up accentuating her broad features, her rainbow mane put into an elegant braid…nope, can't do it, he thought.

Apparently, Dash had read his mind, and replied indignantly, "Hey, I can look nice if I wanted to." And yet even she couldn't say that with a straight face.

Fluffing Up

The sound of laughter filled the skies as the two pegasi playfully twirled around, spiralling towards their new destination. It was around 9 o'clock when the Carousel Boutique's pink rotunda came into view. The flag located atop the tall tower fluttered in the slight breeze. It was still morning, so the sun was still rising in its high arc over the village. And, of course, white clouds still floated across the bright sky, unattended by the weather patrol.

Rainbow and Lightning touched down in front the boutique's front door, still chuckling and giggling. Dash gave the door a sharp rap, and inside they could hear the muffled voice of Rarity, saying, "Sweetie Belle, could you be a dear and get that?"

Then the door swung open, revealing a small, white filly with a kind smile on her face, saying happily, "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! Oh hi, Rainbow Dash, my sister's been waiting for you!"

The cyan pegasus patted the small pony's mane, and said, "Nice to see ya, squirt!"

But Sweetie Belle didn't answer back, for her eyes were trained on the lightning bolt-tailed stallion that followed Dash into the shop. Lightning Flash gave the filly a friendly wink, saying, "Hola, little one. Name's Lightning Flash."

"Whoa, I like your…your…mane!" the little filly said excitedly, obviously captivated my Lightning's electrifying look.

From the top of the stairs, Rarity popped her head out, some measuring tape held in her teeth. Upon seeing the two pegasi, her eyes widened in joy, and she spit out the tape before going down to greet them. "Rainbow, darling, I'm glad you could make it!"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I make it?" Dash questioned proudly, staring at some of the elegant dresses and mannequins strewn around the store.

"Don't take this the wrong way, dear, but you have a bit of a…lazy streak. But I'm glad you could pay a visit. And I see you've brought your cousin along too!"

Rarity glanced over at Lightning, who was engaged in a conversation with Sweetie Belle. The stallion heard his name, and he said nicely, "Don't mind me, girls. I'll just be over here while you two do whatever you need to do."

"Oh nonsense, Flash, I'm sure I can find something for you around here. I do need a stallion to model some suits. Perhaps, if you'd like, you can help," Rarity answered.

Upon hearing this, Dash gave a nervous laugh and asked, "But, uh, we're still on for that makeover thing, right?"

"Of course, Dash! Why ever not? In fact, let's get to it right away! We'll start with your hair, oh it's all tied up in knots, when was the last time you brushed it? I simply cannot let my friend go out—." As Rarity chattered on about exfoliating and moisturizing, all Dash was thinking was, What did I get myself into?

While giving Sweetie Belle a piggyback ride, Lighting called out to his cousin, "Good luck, Dash!" Then, mocking Rarity's posh accent, he jokingly added, "I'm sure you will look dazzling, dear!" Normally, such a remark would put a smile onto Dash's face. But for now, it only added to her anxiety.

Rarity led the unsure pegasus into a dark room. The unicorn flicked the light switch on, revealing hair care products and make-up lined up neatly on shelves stretching across an entire wall. And across from the door was a vanity mirror, complete with sparkling lights and jewels, with a little swivel chair sitting in front.

"Wow. That is a loooot of make-up," Dash said, staring at the many bottles aligned neatly across the shelves.

"Yes, my own personal collection. I am quite proud of it if I do say so myself," the eloquent unicorn said happily. "Well, first things first, your hair. By the time I'm finished, all the stallions will be drooling at your hooves!"

Then Rarity's salon treatment began, starting with a wash of Dash's rainbow mane. Once giving it a thorough shampoo and rinse ("When was the last time you've given your mane a good wash, Rainbow?"), Rarity took a plush white towel to dry it off.

Then she sat Rainbow Dash, who was busy looking extremely uncomfortable, into the red leather chair. Magically wielding a brush, Rarity began to comb the many knots out of the pegasus's unruly mane, much to the chagrin of Dash herself.

As she stroked the brush through the rainbow colored hair, Rarity said, "I am so glad you brought Lightning along with you. You see, I've been absolutely swamped with orders for gentlecolts' suits, and I haven't been able to find a good model for them. Why, I've even resorted to trying on those suits myself! Which is why I am very grateful your cousin could lend a helping hoof."

"Yeah sure…I guess he'd be happy to help," Dash said boringly.

"And it looks like Sweetie Belle has taken a liking to him as well," Rarity continued. "And I'm sure that if she likes him, her friends love him as well."

Dash gave a small cough and said in a respectable tone, "Yeah, it's, uh, nice." I just thought it was me that they looked up to.

Upon realizing what she had just thought, Dash shook her head, prompting a curt scoff from Rarity. But Dash wasn't paying attention, for she was already saying in her mind, What am I thinking? I should be happy for Flash! He's my cousin after all.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Rarity smearing a light green paste all over her face. When the slimy mixture accidently got into her mouth, however, the pegasus immediately switched back to reality, saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is this stuff?"

"Oh relax, dear! It's just some paste to help your complexion and clean your face. Don't worry, Applejack had the same reaction when she first did this, but that's another story. Now hold still, and close your eyes," Rarity said reassuringly.

Reluctant, Dash sat back down and let her friend place something circular on her eyelids. "Ummm, so what exactly is on my eyes now?" she asked.

"Oh, calm down Dash! They're just cucumbers, nothing bad." Then Rarity wiped her hooves on the towel and continued, "I'll just let you sit there for a little bit and let the products do their work. Sit tight!"

As the elegant unicorn slid out of the door, Dash answered, "Okay then. But it's only for a few minutes, right?" But she was too late; the unicorn was already out of the door. Just for a few minutes, Dash thought, trying to assure herself.

But the few minutes turned into half an hour, and still she sat there. Soon, the pegasus slowly began to drift back into sleep. After all, on any other Sunday, she would still be laying out on her fluffy bed, underneath her warm blanket, sliding in and out of her dreams…

XXXX

Dash woke up to the bitter taste of sweat and skin-care products. She jolted up in the chair, the cucumbers sliding off her face, babbling, "Who, what, how the—?" It took the pegasus a moment to realize she was still in the make-up room, the vanity mirror still dazzling with bright light. Dash checked the clock hanging in the corner of the little compartment; 10:30.

"That was some nap," Rainbow said to herself. She began to wonder where Rarity had gone. Then she heard the voices from outside the room, chatting away.

"What about this tie? Too tacky, too bright?" asked the shrill voice that no doubt belonged to Rarity.

"Oh no, I think it goes perfectly with the contrasting darkness of the suit. However, the, uh, cuffs seem to hug a bit close to the skin. Maybe you could make the sleeves larger, or of course you could use a French cuff instead of a regular button-fasten cuff. It'll give the suit a more formal look as well as making the sleeve less tight around the edges. But, y'know, you're the expert, not me," said a smooth voice, both humble yet confident. No way, the cyan pegasus thought. She stealthily made her way over to the door, crunching the cucumbers underneath her hooves, and cracked it open just a smidge, so she could peer out of it.

Outside was Rarity, her spectacles sitting on the bridge of her snout, peering over at a figure standing on a pedestal. It was Lightning, who wore a lime green dress shirt, a white tie around his neck. Rarity then proceeded to dress him in a smooth black vest and a dark gray formal jacket, complete with a matching green handkerchief. Rarity began to ponder for a second, as if something was missing, until a bright smile flashed across her face. As a final touch, she bestowed upon the stallion a gray fedora hat, which fit snugly on his head.

As much as Dash did not want to, she had to admit that Lightning looked absolutely stunning. But for some reason, that only made her crease her eyebrows uneasily.

"Perfect! You were right Lightning, it looks spectacular. Don't take this the wrong way, but I had no idea you had such an eye for fashion!" Rarity exclaimed, excited.

"Gracias, Rarity. I've been traveling around Equestria and seen some great places for fashion; New Colt City, Las Haygas, Maredrid, Marcelona, Syd-neigh, and I've kind of learned a lot, " Lightning said.

Upon hearing the names of these fashion capitols of the world, Rarity clapped her hooves together, saying, "Oh, you simply must tell me about it. What did you see, who did you meet, how were they like?"

Rarity kept bombarding him with questions as Dash watched from her little viewpoint in the corner. She kept listening to her cousin speak of his great adventures around the fashion world, learning how to sew, how to drape, haute-couture, etc. She saw Rarity listen intently to every word, every detail. And she could do nothing but watch like a helpless little filly, unsure of what to do. It was as if something began to stir in the pit of her stomach, and it only made her more anxious.

As she observed her friend become ever the more engrossed in her cousin's fascinating story, Dash's fires of loyalty burned brighter, just like the glimmering light of her cousin's gentle, hazel eyes.

But that loyalty could only go so far.

Not a Surprise

Rainbow Dash and her cousin exited the Carousel Boutique with grins on their faces. However, one was smiling because of his thrilling conversation with the town's fashionista. The other however, was grinning to cover up the uneasiness she was feeling on the inside. And the make-up probably helped too.

"You look absolutely marvelous, Rainbow, a complete transformation for the better!" Rarity exclaimed, admiring her work. And it was true, Rainbow Dash looked beautiful. Her rainbow mane was now styled with delicate curls and weaves. Near her ear was a small clip that resembled Dash's lightning bolt cutie-mark; an accessory Rarity had put together herself. Minimal make-up was used; perhaps a little blush for her cheeks and mascara to bring out her shimmering red eyes. Every detail, every curl was done by skilled hooves, and the cyan pegasus should have noticed.

But during the entire procedure, all Dash heard (excluding the apology for leaving her so long, which fell upon deaf ears) was Rarity heaping complement upon complement for her well-learned cousin. Before, she would have happily agreed, even added, to these complements. But now, for some reason, it only made Dash want to get out of the Boutique as soon as possible.

This was why she felt relieved to finally step outside into fresh air at only 11:00 in the morning. Behind her, Rarity said, "I hope you like it. You truly do look great."

Knowing that it would be wrong to leave her friend without a word, Dash replied somewhat half-heartedly, "Of course I like it, Rarity. It's pretty—." The pegasus wheeled around to find Rarity not talking to her, but to her steel colored companion.

"Que linda! It's beautiful, Rarity, really. A masterpiece. This means a lot," Lightning told her, referring to a new bandana hanging around his neck. It was pitch black, like his dark striped mane. But on either side of the cloth flowed bright lightning bolts, white and yellow jewels running along their lengths to give them a shimmering glow.

Dash instinctively began to grit her teeth again, waiting for her cousin to finally say his goodbyes. A little figure dashed out from the front door and hugged the stallions muscled legs. It was Sweetie Belle, who said lovingly, "Bye Lightning!"

Lightning gave the filly a loving smile and replied, "Hasta luego, little one."

Finally, Dash's patience wore thin, and she darted to the sky. Without thinking, she called out, "Can we go now?"

Flash didn't seem to catch on to his cousin's annoyed tone, answering calmly, "No problem, Arco. Shouldn't keep your friends waiting after all."

So, giving one final wave, the stallion followed suit, soaring next to his cousin to their next destination. What he didn't notice however, was his cousin's ambivalent glance as he pulled up next to her.

"Your amigas are really nice, Dash. I'm starting to be glad I came along," Lighting said pleasantly. But Dash remained silent, still contemplating her own personal feelings.

The awkward silence lasted for a few seconds until Lightning figured he wasn't getting a reply. So instead, he asked quietly, "Soooo... who's next?"

"Oh yeah, right. We're heading over to the library for Twilight," Dash said, snapping out of her thoughts for a moment.

"Twilight lives in a library? Well that's pretty cool," the stallion said, trying to make idle conversation as the two glided toward the hollowed out tree up ahead.

"Sure…if you're a bookworm, I guess," Rainbow answered, a small smile playing on her lips. She couldn't help but snicker when she thought about Twilight's academic, and perhaps obsessive compulsive behavior.

"Hey, you know what Abuela Dash used to say," Lightning began. "Books make ponies more smarter." Then he gave a small shrug and added, "Granny was a very blunt speaker."

Dash couldn't help but giggle, knowing all too well how Granny Dash was like. Upon seeing his cousin break out of her sour mood, Lightning's face lit up and he said solemnly, "That's more like it, Arco. Now come on, Twilight's waiting."

"Yeah, waiting to lecture me for being late. And trust me, you don't want to see Twilight in lecture mode," Dash replied, her mood lifted once more.

They lighted down in front of the tall tree that was the Ponyville Library. It was a nice little abode, unchanged since the old days. The only thing that was different was the ponies in it; now it was the residence of Celestia's most faithful student.

Dash gave three short knocks on the front door before callously swinging it inward. Its path was cut short, however, and a loud thud was heard on the other side, followed by the sound of falling books.

Dash cautiously poked her head into the room to find her academic friend buried underneath a large pile of books and a newly 'cleaned' bookshelf.

"Maybe this isn't the best time Twilight, I should come back later," the pegasus said quickly, attempting to bolt out of the vicinity as fast as possible. But she didn't get very far before Lightning promptly shoved her back into the room.

"Hey man, what are you—," she complained. Dash then caught Twilight's annoyed glare, to which she answered with a guilty smile for the second time in two days.

From the balcony popped the pink, curly maned head of a hyperactive pony, three balloons held tightly in her mouth.

"See, Twilight, I said ear-flop/eye-flutter/knee-twitch means you're about to get a door slammed in your face, silly!" Pinkie Pie remarked. But when she opened her mouth, the balloons, now free from Pinkie's grasp, quickly began to float upwards. In an effort to catch the rising spheres of helium, Pinkie leaped off the second floor, latching her teeth onto the party decorations' strings.

From below, Lightning watched in horror, ready to see the pink pony plummet into the hard floor below. But to his surprise, Pinkie instead began to slowly descend, the three tiny balloons somehow supporting the mare's weight.

As she lighted next the large pile of books, Lightning gaped in awe and uttered, "How did you…do that?"

"Do what, Flashy?" Pinkie Pie asked, this time through clenched teeth.

"That…uh, well, never mind," Lightning replied, instead focusing on helping Dash dig Twilight out of her leather-bound prison.

"Jeez Twilight, I'm really sorry about that. Totally my bad. You, uh, okay?" the light blue flier questioned anxiously as she and Lightning lifted the unicorn out of the pile.

Once she had settled herself down next to the somewhat inconvenient mound of books, Twilight rubbed her temple and replied, "Well, aside from the splitting headache and the probable black-eye from being hit in the eye with a doorknob, I'm feeling okay." Sarcasm. Twilight's number one defense for everything.

Already rounding up some of the fallen books, Lightning offered, "Here, I'll help you put these back."

"Thanks, Lightning. I appreciate it," the lavender unicorn replied.

"Hey, you want me help?" Rainbow Dash asked, bending down to pick one of the books up. But before she could, Twilight abruptly intercepted the pegasus's path, saying a bit too quickly, "NO!"

Clearing her throat and regaining her composure, Twilight repeated, "I mean, no thanks Dash. I think we can handle it. After all, we don't want another…accident to happen." Seeing the normally prideful pegasus's ears droop at this ultimatum, Twilight added, "But you can help Pinkie out."

"Sweet," Dash answered. "So Pinkie Pie, what do I need to do?"

At the mention of her name, the town's party mare bounced up to the pegasus and replied energetically, "Oh boy, oh boy! You can help me set things up for Lightning's party tomorrow, Dashie! There'll be streamers and balloons and confetti and balloons and music and balloons! Oh, and cake! Lots and lots of cake! And it'll be all for your cousin, oooh it'll be so much fun!"

Dash looked uneasily at the streamers already hung up around the library and said softly, "Yeah sure, For Lightning and all that. Fun." Then she gave a small unconvincing laugh and went to follow the pink pony's lead. But not before peering back to see Lightning and Twilight already chatting away.

Pinkie led the sky-colored pony outside to a colorful banner with the words "Welcome to Ponyville" painted across it. One side was already hanging on a branch jutting out of the library; the other was draped on the ground where the two ponies stood. "Okey-dokie, first we're gonna put up this banner above the door. Ready Dashie?" Pinkie said excitedly.

"Ready, just tell me where to put it," Dash replied, the end of the bright yellow banner held in her mouth and some tape stuck on the edges of her hooves. The pegasus flew up to the trunk of the tree and held the end near an appropriate spot, saying, "Here?"

With a look of immense contemplation, Pinkie Pie stared at the spot for a few moments before declaring, "Move it a bit lower." The pegasus obliged, descending a few inches.

But the pink pony shook her head and remarked, "No wait, higher…no, no, no, lower…okay, a little higher…a teensy bit lower…oh, waaaay too low, a smidge higher…no wait-."

"Pinkie!" the impatient flier scolded through clenched teeth.

"Oopsie! Sorry Rainbow, that's good! Now tape it to the wall." The pegasus obeyed, and smacked the square of duct tape onto rough bark. Then she let the banner hang freely, it's colorful blue message welcoming anypony that steps through the front door.

"It's perfect Dashie! I hope your cousin will like it!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily.

Resting in the foliage above, the pegasus mumbled, "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"That sounds like a GREAT idea Rainbow! I'll be right back!" Pinkie replied, hearing Dash's hushed inquiry.

"No, wait, I didn't mean—," Dash began. But her pink friend already bounced into the door, leaving the pegasus to her own company.

From inside, the cyan pegasus could hear the muffled sounds of the three ponies conversing. One was Pinkie, who was characteristically spewing out random comments that had nothing to do with the banner. Dash couldn't help but smile, albeit reservedly.

She also caught tidbits of a conversation between Twilight and Lightning. Apparently Pinkie Pie had stopped to listen in on their ramblings. Kinda like me, except technically I'm eavesdropping, the cyan pegasus thought smugly.

"Equestrian Aviation: A Complete History of the Art of Flying: Volume 1. Wow, I've been traveling around the world, and I haven't found this anywhere until now!" It was Lightning, who had picked up an old purple book with a pair of wings on the cover. Why am I not surprised, thought Dash, who was getting completely sick of her cousin being totally awesome at everything, and of having to stew in her own frustration.

"Do you have the rest of the collection, Crepus-, I mean, Twilight?"

"Of course, although it would probably be easier to find if Dash hadn't scattered them all over the place," Twilight replied matter-of-factly.

From her perch above, Dash grimaced in response and she said to herself, "Why is it always my fault?" seemingly forgetting that she did knock her friend into the bookcase. Wanting to see what was happening, she lowered herself down to a window which she could look through. However, she didn't stay there for long, because as she lowered her head in front of the glass, Lightning said, "Yeah, i guess it's getting kinda stuffy in here. You mind if I open the window?"

Pefect timing, Dash thought sarcastically as she jerked her head back up into the tree just as Lightning slid the window open. At that moment a gust of wind blew into the library, causing a small tower of newly stacked books to come toppling down once again.

"Oh mierda!" Lightning exclaimed. Then, realizing what he said, he apologized, "Pardon the language Twilight. I'm such a klutz sometimes."

"No problem Lightning, nothing we can't fix!" Twilight answered with determination.

Meanwhile, the cyan pegasus outside whispered to her self, "What the heck? Why does she yell at me when I mess up?"

Dash spent about twenty minutes resting in the green leaves, having to endure another delay in her Wonderbolt plans. Her friends conversed about intellectual topics, scholarly interests, and pretty much everything that Dash could care less about. In fact, the pegasus would have tuned out the entire conversation if it wasn't for one sentence. One sentence, so callously dropped in by her lavender unicorn friend.

"You're much more sophisticated. Perhaps if she was more like you…"

It didn't take a brain surgeon to get the message. Perhaps Twilight hadn't meant for it to sound so insensitive, so horrible. Maybe it was just a joke, just part of Twilight's humor. Maybe, for once, the unicorn had a slip of the tongue. But it was enough. Enough for Dash to jolt up, her mind a mixture of surprise and anger. Enough for her to zip down from her perch, finally unable to take another second of the ponies' conversation. She burst into the library, almost knocking the restored books off their shelves once again.

Her first thought was, I didn't exactly plan this one out.

Her second was, Oh wait, I just realized I don't give a fuck.

She strode into the library, gritting her teeth in frustration. The rainbow-maned pony asked Twilight unsteadily, "Well, Twi', you have anything else for me, or are you finished with everything?"

Taken aback by Dash's sudden appearance, Twilight responded, "Well, uh, Lightning and I finished cleaning quite a bit earlier than I expected-."

"Oh you should've seen it Dashie! He flew around and around so fast, he knocked the dust right off the shelves!" Pinkie interrupted.

"Yes, Pinkie it was very interesting. Ahem, as I was saying, I think we're done," Twilight continued.

"Well then, if I'm not needed anymore then I guess it's time for us to jet," Dash said brashly, flourishing her wings.

Lightning shot up from his seat and said calmly, "We have to go now, Dash? I mean, Twilight and I were just talking and-,"

"Oh, if you want to say, then stay Lightning. I'm not stopping you," the cyan mare responded bluntly.

The harried pony turned towards the door and began to exit the hollow tree. As she shot off into the air, Dash commented, troubled, "Besides, I'm probably not sophisticated enough to stay anyway."

The three ponies that were left stood there, stunned at Dash's rash departure. Pinkie Pie was the first to react, saying disappointedly, "Awww, but we didn't even get to put up the rest of the streamers!"

The studious unicorn just stood in absolute silence, her mouth agape. Although Dash was a bit prone to outbursts, they were usually of pride and confidence. This sort of anger was quite uncharacteristic of her, and Twilight knew that.

"I should probably follow her," the stallion said. "It was nice talking to you, Twilight."

"Uh, no problem Lightning. Thank you for the…company," Twilight finally responded, slowly walking back to the bookshelf. And so the steel-gray stallion stepped out into the sunlight and burst off into the direction he saw his cousin go.

In his wake, Pinkie Pie called out, "Don't forget to be here tomorrow for your not-a-surprise-party!" But she was too late; Lightning was already out of earshot, on a mission to find his lost prima.

Inferior

Lightning roamed the city for almost an hour, searching for his runaway cousin. He was worried after all, and he had good reason to be after seeing Dash's outburst back at Twilight's house. As he flew about, surveying the ground for any sign of his rainbow-maned cousin, Lightning muttered to himself, "C'mon Dash, donde estas?"

He was about to head back to the library when he noticed something in the far horizon, in the Everfree forest. At first it was like a sudden gust of wind had barreled though, bending every tree in sight. Then Lightning noticed the countless woodland creatures running away in fear, and he immediately thought, Yeah, that's her. Determined, the stallion glided towards the grim, dark forest, hoping to find his beloved family member.

He would not be disappointed, for in the center of the blast radius was Rainbow Dash, who was panting heavily from exhaustion. The cyan pegasus noticed the stallion and quickly turned away, trotting to a nearby tree. Her cousin lighted down next to her and said, troubled, "Arco, I've been looking all over the place for you!"

The pegasus gave an apathetic scoff and replied monotonously, "Oh hey Lightning, what a surprise." Dash has been continuously blowing off steam for a while now. She had spent the time practicing her tricks for the Wonderbolts, while also contemplating who she should be angry to, her friends or her cousin.

"Are you okay, prima?" Lightning asked gently.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" the mare answered, giving a short glance at her cousin's shining hazel eyes.

"Well, it's just that, back at Twilight's place, you seemed a little…angry."

Upon hearing this, Dash snorted and gave a sarcastic sneer, snarling, "Angry? Heh, why would I be angry? What would possibly give you the idea that I…was…ANGRY!" On the last word, she lashed out with her hind legs, kicking and snapping a tree in half and scaring out the family of birds living inside it. The splintered wood fell to the ground next to Lightning, who was, needless to say, caught quite off guard.

The stallion calmly replied, "Well for one, you just bucked a hole straight though a tree and probably made enemies with a family of hummingbirds."

Dash gave a dejected sigh and uttered, "Whatever, Lightning. I'm fine, really. I just needed to be alone for a little bit."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she said, trying to give her best assuring tone as possible.

"Well, I'm glad," Lightning responded softly. "You know I can't stand it when you're unhappy. It makes me feel sad too, y'know?"

Dash leaned against a tree and sighed, closing her eyes and thinking, You're making it awfully hard for me to hate you, Flash.

"Whatever, let's just go help out Fluttershy," Dash said half-heartedly. Her cousin nodded and flashed his trademark smile, but even that couldn't break Dash out of her mood. So the two family members took to the skies, propelling themselves forward in silence.

The sun was now beginning to descend, its position showing that it was around 2. Fluttershy's tiny garden was only a bit away from the gloomy Everfree forest, despite being almost complete opposites In terms of look. Fluttershy's home practically glowed with beauty and innocence, in stark contrast to the Everfree's dark and imposing demeanor. Needless to say, the two pegasi were very relieved to be out of the dismal foliage, back into the sunlight.

Lightning landed softly near Fluttershy's front door, waiting for his cousin to arrive. However, Dash was still a bit distracted, narrowly trampling a family of rabbits as she landed. Lightning was about to say something, but decided against it after seeing his cousin's foul mood. Instead, he gave three short knocks on the door, trying to act like he wasn't worried about Dash. Little did he know, Dash was also doing her best to act as unworried as possible.

"Please come in, the door's open," a soft voice called from inside. Lightning slowly opened the door, revealing Fluttershy giving some veggies to two gophers. Some food was strewn across the floor, along with herbs and veggies.

The kind mare turned around, and when she saw the electric stallion walking through the door, she immediately began to blush. "Oh, umm, hello Lightning. I…I'm sorry I didn't clean the place up. It's just that I wasn't…um…expecting any other visitors," she stammered, trying to cover her face with her long bangs.

"Buenas tardes, Fluttershy," the stallion started gently. "Don't worry, the place is fine. Besides, if this is messy for you, then you don't want to know how Dash's house looks."

"Hey!" Dash objected, trotting through the front door.

"Just kidding, Arco," Lightning said, giving his cousin a playful tap on her nose, which Dash humorously attempted to swat away. Humorous, at least, for Lightning and Fluttershy anyway.

The stallion returned his attention back to Fluttershy and said, "We're here to help, ma'am."

"Oh no, Lightning. I can't ask you to do my chores for me. You're Ponyville's guest after all…I wouldn't want to impose," the timid mare said.

"No work? A'ight then 'Shy. Peace!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she prepared to bolt out of there, trying to get a head start on her cousin. But Lightning was extremely agile, so he caught the fleeting pony by the tail before she could escape.

As he pulled the pegasus down to the ground, Lightning scolded, "¡Basta ya! Stop being so hasty, Arco!"

"Well why don't you… stop being dumb!" Rainbow Dash spat, rubbing her hind quarters.

"Real mature, Arco!"

"Your face!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"What doesn't make any sense is why, while you work with Fluttershy, I have to stay and watch!" The two cousins began to butt heads, their eyes locked in a vicious stare down. They were growling, grinding their teeth in annoyance for the other. Meanwhile, in the corner, Fluttershy cowered in fear.

Finally, Fluttershy uttered meekly, "Please stop fighting you two. You both can please stay here and help. That is…if you don't mind."

Hearing Fluttershy's shy remark softened Lightning's expression, causing to break away from his cousin. He turned back to the timid pegasus and gave a slight apologetic bow. "Sorry Fluttershy. We'd be happy to stay and assist you."

The cyan pegasus almost raised her voice to object, but she stopped short because Lightning gave her a glance that pled, C'mon Dash, please? So instead of protesting, she simply gave a small growl and answered, "Fine."

As Fluttershy lead Lightning out into her garden, Dash uttered under her breath, "But it doesn't mean I'm going to like it."

The trio of pegasi stood outside in Flutteshy's small garden, which was home to a number of small critters. "So…um…this is my garden. It's a little small but…it's home."

Dash stood there with an uncaring look on her face. She has seen this garden numerous times before, been there done that. However, when she looked over at her cousin, she was surprised to see him looking quite uncomfortable. In fact, he was constantly pulling at his new bandana, his face a complete turnaround from his usual cool and collected features.

"Dude, you okay? You're shaking in your hooves," Dash questioned.

Lightning cleared his throat nervously and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…uh…are we going to be working with…uh…animals?"

"Yes we are," Fluttershy answered softly. Then she added, "Only if that's fine with you of course."

"Oh it's fine, it's just, uhh-." Lightning began to stare at the ground. He lowered his voice and uttered, "Animales and I, we don't exactly get along."

"Lightning, you do realize we're animals too, right?" Dash callously answered, rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean, prima. Wild animals, y'know?"

Upon hearing this, Dash began to snicker harshly, pointing to her cousin and saying, "Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. The great Lightning Flash is afraid of cute little bunny rabbits? That's priceless!" Then she proceeded to laugh hysterically while her cousin glared at her indignantly.

"I'm not afraid of them! They just don't really…like me," Lightning tried to say over his cousin's incessant laughing.

But Fluttershy, who had been standing idly away from the two, came up to the electric stallion and said reassuringly, "Don't worry Lightning. These animals are so cuddly and friendly, they'd never hurt anypony. Watch."

The timid mare cleared her throat and called out to the house, "Angel? Could you get some water for our guests, please?" On cue, a small white bunny hopped out of the tiny cottage, balancing a tray of water on its head. The bunny set the tray down next to the trio of pegasi, to which Fluttershy replied, "Thank you Angel." The rabbit gave a quick salute before hopping back into the house.

Fluttershy, after taking a quick sip of water, gave a small smile to Lightning and said, "See? Nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, nothing to worry about," Dash mocked, gulping down the glass of water in one swig.

Putting on his best smile, Lightning replied, "Yeah, okay sure. Nothing to worry about."

Fluttershy gave a small laugh, and she said, "That's the spirit Lightning!" Then, pointing to a burlap bag sitting near the garden, she added, "Now then, if you don't mind, could you please give the chickens this bag of feed?"

"No problem, amiga!" Flash beamed. Then, with newfound confidence, he began to drag the bag towards the chicken coop, leaving the two mares by the cottage.

Fluttershy had a small smile plastered on her face, and her bangs were pushed back, showing her face. Still grinning, she said to Dash, "Your cousin is such a nice pony. You must love him very much, Dash."

"Whatever," the pegasus responded. Truthfully, she could've cared less about her oh-so-kind cousin right now. After all, he's had more than enough attention from her so-called friends for one day. At least it comforted her knowing that, tonight, all the attention would be on her and her Wonderbolt routine.

Dash was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Fluttershy attempting to grab her attention. It was only when the shy mare tapped Dash on her shoulder that the rainbow pegasus whirled around, saying harshly, "What do you want?"

Fluttershy was taken aback looking extremely hurt, but Dash apologized, saying, "Sorry 'Shy. I…uh…was distracted for a little bit. What's up?"

"Oh, I was wondering if you could-," Fluttershy began, still a bit wary from Dash's outburst. But she didn't finish her sentence, because from the chicken coop came a cacophony of squawking, followed by the screams of the stallion inside.

"¡Pinche cabron!" Lightning swore. And even though Fluttershy and Dash couldn't speak his language, the curse still made them cringe.

The small coop was trembling from the commotion, and feathers began to fly out of the tiny compartment, being carried along by a slight breeze. After the feathers came a stampede of chickens, quickly scuffling out into the garden, scratching and clawing their way out. The mob ran through Fluttershy's garden, trampling some of the small veggies scattered across the ground and forcing some animals from their burrows underground.

Finally, out stumbled Lightning himself, who was struggling with a rooster that had latched onto his face. "Get off of me, you...you... gallo estúpido!" he screamed, tearing the rooster of his face and putting it back in the chicken coop.

The mare's stood in shock at the sight before the scene unfolding before them. It was complete chaos; the chickens were fluttering to and fro, little critters were being driven from their burrows, and the vegetable garden lay in ruins. And in the middle of it all was Lightning, who stood with a regretful, embarrassed look. For some strange reason, Dash actually smirked at her cousin's mishap.

"I'm-I'm so sorry, Fluttershy. Your garden…your yard…I'm just so sorry. The animals, they just…Aw, I'm really sorry," the stallion stammered, for once broken from his usual calm nature.

You're gonna get it now, cous', Dash thought, waiting for Fluttershy to scold him. But, to her surprise, Fluttershy began to laugh. Not just one of her quiet giggles either, but a full on joyous laugh. "Oh Lightning," Fluttershy started to say. "It was just an accident, it's okay. Besides, that was possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen…no offense or anything."

The cyan pegasus was actually quite uneasy when the normally timid Fluttershy laughed heartily, and she questioned, "What, that's it? You're not even gonna give him The Stare or something? I mean, Lightning just ruined your backyard for crying out loud!"

"I'd never do The Stare to anypony, Rainbow," Fluttershy answered innocently. "Besides, this mess is nothing a little hard work can't fix!" She then plucked a chicken off of Lightning's legs and placed it into the wooden chicken coop, still standing even after a stampede of hens.

"But-but, the chickens, the garden, Lightning—!" Dash stuttered, motioning towards the wrecked garden. But Fluttershy and Lightning were already setting to work, fixing up the mess the stallion had created.

"Can you help us with rounding the chickens up, Dash?" the pink-maned pony asked, her most polite look on her face. But Dash stood firm, not even moving an inch. It was then that Fluttershy's look began to harden, and her glare began to concentrate on the stubborn pegasus. The timid pony's eyes began to radiate with the power of a thousand suns, her stare burning deep into Dash's mind. The intensity only kept increasing, its sheer power causing the confident pegasus to falter in her stance.

Finally, Dash shouted, "Okay, fine! Just stop it with The Stare, jeez! I" And with that, Fluttershy returned to her gentle smile as Dash joined in with the clean-up duties. "Never use The Stare on anypony, my flank!" she muttered to herself.

The trio of ponies toiled in the yard for 30 minutes, trying to gather up every single wild animal that had been relocated during the commotion of feathers. Once again, Lightning was talking with Fluttershy, who had actually begun to shed her normally shy personality for the kind stallion. All the while leaving Dash to round up some chickens by herself.

"You okay over there, Arco?" Lighting called out.

Facing the other way, she secretly rolled her eyes and answered sarcastically, "Don't worry about me, Lightning. I'm totally fine."

"Okie-dokie-lokey then, prima!" her cousin happily replied, mimicking Pinkie Pie.

Dash, unsatisfied with Lightning's reaction, uttered to herself, "Pffft. It's freakin' sarcasm, dude." Unfortunately, she was once again too distracted to see a little critter in front of her, in this case, a small chick. The pegasus stomped a little too close to the furry, yellow chick, causing it to instinctively scurry away. Before the cyan mare could react, the chick was already headed into the nearby forest.

With a big groan, Rainbow Dash first took a glance back at Fluttershy, who was helping Lightning with the chicken feed. The duo hadn't seen the chick run into the foliage as they were too busy amusing the other, so Dash said to herself bitterly, "Don't worry guys, I'll get it." The pegasus slowly trotted into the green forest, looking for the lost chick.

This forest wasn't like the gloomy foliage of the Everfree, although the pegasus decided she probably wouldn't want to be in there at during the night. But during the day, the forest gave an aura of serenity, the sunlight piercing through the tall trees to brighten up the surroundings. It was quite peaceful, discounting the cyan pegasus scuffling along the ground.

"C'mon, you stupid chick. The faster I find you, the faster I can practice my stupid Wonderbolt routine!" Rainbow Dash Said through clenched teeth. "And the faster I can get away from my stupid friends and my stupid cousin!"

She spent the next few minutes surveying the forest, and with every second came more frustration. However, the pegasus didn't know which frustrated her more, the chick, or her cousin. The event of the past few hours kept repeating through her mind; the apple bucking, Rarity's not-so-perfect beauty treatment, the fiasco at the library.

Yer a natural at this stuff!...I am very grateful your cousin could lend a helping hoof…More sophisticated…

Perhaps if she was more like you. Those words echoed in her head, driving her to insanity. These words…words that she had heard countless times before....

"I'm sick of you comparing me to him, Mom!"

"Why can't you act like him, Dash?"

"BECAUSE HE'S NOT ME! Why is everything I do always WRONG!"

Childhood memories came rushing back to her, broken memories of a time way before flight school. Even memories of when she dropped out, and meanwhile Lightning graduated at the top of his class. Ever since fillyhood, Dash had been compared to her "perfect" cousin. For all her life, she was expected, no, demanded that she meet the high expectations her cousin had set. Sure, the two had been close ever since they were young, but that didn't stop her relatives from their cruel, callous remarks. They had a bond, forged from their friendship, but for the first time, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure if that bond was still there.

Now Dash was sick to her stomach, and she lashed out at the nearest tree in anger, causing it to pull about 3 inches from the ground. She was about to lash out again, until she recognized a small chirping from behind the tree. A small yellow puff ball scurried out, and the pegasus swiftly caught it, picking it up with her teeth. "Gotcha you stupid chick!"

Dash began to head back to the garden, the tiny chick squirming, yearning for freedom. With a sigh, she said solemnly, "You don't know how easy you've got it, little guy."

When Dash got back, she found the garden abandoned. Everything had been tidied, and no pony was in sight. As she set the tiny chick back in the chicken coop, she heard the sound of laughter emanate from the tiny cottage. She didn't need to check to know who they were. Forgotten, abandoned, and her head hanging low, the cyan pegasus slowly took off to the sanctuary of the clouds. The sun still hung brightly over Ponyville, and yet the golden rays couldn't warm Dash's heart. For on the inside, although she'd never admit it, she was weeping.

The Bestest Pony Ever

Y'know what would make my day? If you just took the time to click that thumbs up button in the corner over there. If you do, my eternal gratitude shall forever be with you. Anywho, on to the story!

Tranquility…peace…silence…all of it was shattered when Dash hit the ground. She was flying in the middle of a field near Town Hall. It was a calm, green pasture, far away from the disaster that was her cousin. Or was she the disaster? Whatever it was, Dash couldn't decide. And this was the reason for her sudden crash.

The time was six o'clock, about three hours since Dash had fled Fluttershy's cottage. The cyan pegasus was covered in bruises and cuts, a result of non-stop practicing and rigorous routines. The Wonderbolts were going to be at the Town Hall at eight, and the pegasus wanted to make sure she would be ready.

But the burden of the Wonderbolts wasn't the only thing weighing on Dash's mind. Every time the pegasus soared up for a dive, a picture of a certain lightning-tailed stallion flashed through her mind. The picture of perfection, and how she loathed it.

Dash began to spiral down, corkscrewing speedily towards the ground. At the last minute, she would pull up, pulling off a perfect 90 degree angle at high speed. At least, that was the plan. But the trick required immense amounts of concentration. And if there was anything Dash was concentrated on, it was how her friends had so easily forgotten her in favor of Lightning. Of how they talked about him like he was special, kind, gentle, and strong. How she knew they were right. And of course, how she hated it.

As these thoughts spiraled through her mind, her body was quickly spiraling towards the ground. Finally, she collided with the dirt, her momentum sending her sprawling across the pasture. Tired and dejected, Rainbow Dash lay there on her back, staring up at the blue sky, her domain. Or at least she thought it was, until today.

Her wings ached, and her body was sore from the numerous bruises scattered about her body. Her wind-blown mane was even messier than usual, clumps of dirt and grass sticking in her matted fur. She tried to get up, but instead she fell onto her back once again, and this made her blood boil with rage. Angry, she pounded the ground, shouting, "Fucking hell! You're buffalo-shitting me!"

And so, seeing as though she couldn't do anything but rest, Dash lay there, solemnly staring up at the fluffy clouds overhead. But very soon, the clouds began to look like the faces of her "friends", and so she turned her attention to the horizon. The sun shone in Celestia's entire splendor, beginning to glow orange in its slow descent. Dash never really did understand why Celestia took so much time into making the sunset, even though it was only to make room for the night. But then again, something amazing like this would be too good to miss, Dash thought, a half-hearted grin on her face.

But the warmth wouldn't last for long, because before she knew it, she was thinking about her cousin again. Her mind had been a non-stop replay of the last 12 hours, remembering every single moment. And no amount of sunlight and beauty could take her mind off of this one.

Sure, the last few hours haven't been the best of her life, but one thing was certain, if she impressed the Wonderbolts today, it wouldn't matter what Lightning had done today. Because soon, she'll be the one up there, the one whom everyone, including her friends, would be watching. It may just be only for a moment, but any amount was better than having to put up with her cousin. At least, in Rainbow Dash's mind anyway.

Although her wings were still a bit sore, the pegasus found the strength to get back on her hooves and slowly lift herself off the ground. Tonight would be the night she would finally perform the Buccaneer Blaze in front of the Wonderbolts. That was the plan, and if she was to do it, she had to have the utmost concentration.

Step 1: Gain Altitude. The pegasus climbed high into the orange sky.

Step 2: Nose Dive. She quickly snapped down, directing herself towards the earth at high speeds.

And Step 3… The Flash.

Flash…Lightning Flash…such a nice pony…

With a slam, she hit the ground, hooves-first. Perhaps if it were any other pegasus, the collision would have shattered their front legs. But it was Rainbow Dash, who was used to this kind of crash, so she rolled into the impact, escaping without injury. But the crash might as well have broken her, because the failure hurt just as much.

Angered, she covered her face with her hooves, groaning. She didn't move for a few minutes, until she heard somepony from a few meters away. The voice was calling out frantically, and Dash hoped it wasn't who she thought it was.

Unfortunately for her, Lightning's voice rang out straight and clear, "Arco!"

The cyan pegasus quickly got up, just in time for the stallion take her in a loving hug, much to Dash's dismay. "Gracias a Celestia, Dash, I've been looking for you for hours! We thought you got lost in the forest or something, and we were afraid we wouldn't find you before nighttime!"

Dash shrugged her cousin off and answered dismissively, "Well, I'm fine. Besides, I wasn't even gone for that long."

The ponies began to walk back in the direction of Ponyville. Dash was keeping her distance from her cousin, who, unbeknown to her, was letting her have the room she needed. "Why'd you run off like that?" Lightning questioned sincerely.

"Because…I wanted to practice the Buccaneer Blaze. By myself," Dash answered. It was only half the truth though, and she kept the rest of the story to herself.

The stallion whistled and replied, fascinated, "The Buccaneer Blaze, huh? You don't forget who taught you that one, right?"

Lightning's attempt to cheer the mare up was futile. Instead, Dash refused to acknowledge the stallion, rolling her eyes and continuing to trot silently, leaving Lightning even more confused than ever. The two ponies began to near the outskirts of the village, still not speaking a word.

Concerned, Lightning finally told her, "Come on Dash. I'm your cousin. I can tell that this is about more than just the Wonderbolt show tonight."

"I told you, I just want to practice alone," the mare spat a little too quickly.

"Dash, all I'm trying to do is help," Lightning began. "I can't stand to see you mad, you know that. And if it's about me, well, you can tell me.

The rainbow-maned pony couldn't help but groan at the stallion's statement. Her cousin's unlimited reserves of kindness were weighing down on her, and she didn't know if she could stand another minute of it. Yet he was family, and she didn't have the heart to tell him what was wrong. So, glancing at Lightning from the corner of her eye, Dash said softly, "Lightning, maybe you should just…leave me alone for a little bit. Give me some time to think. That'll help me."

The stallion paused to look at his cousin. He exhaled uncomfortably, and although every fiber of his being told him not to let her go, he answered submissively, "Well, if that's what you want, prima. I'm not going to stop you."

"But I'm still going to be at the Wonderbolts to cheer you on, Arco. Just remember-," he began to finish. But as Dash began to flap her wings, a happy voice called out, "Look! There he is!"

Rainbow was already a few meters in the air, but she could still make out the shapes of three fillies, making their way towards the stallion below. The joyful voice belonged to Sweetie Belle, accompanied with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

Although Dash was ready to fly away, she couldn't help but watch the scene that unfolded below her. Lightning was still staring up at his cousin, but then the three fillies surrounded him, catching his attention.

"Hi Lightning!" Sweetie Belle cried. "See, he's the one who came over to help my sister. Isn't he cool?"

Applebloom replied, "Yeah! Ah remember you. You helped Applejack pick the apples this morning, right?"

Lightning , although wearing a gentle smile on his face, was still trying to talk to his cousin waiting high up in the sky. "Yes, I did… Uh, con permiso little ones, I just need to-."

But the young ponies, although innocent in their nature, continued to talk about him. Sweetie Belle asked him to show them his tail, and Lightning Flash, not wanting to reject the youngster's request, reluctantly flashed his lightning bolt shaped tail.

The fillies reacted merrily, and the rainbow pegasus found it a bit amusing to see them jump around excitedly. Except for Scootaloo, who for once stood still, gazing at the steel colored stallion. The orange filly's eyes shone with intrigue, a trait that tempted Dash to intervene. Not because of Lightning's safety, but because she could tell what Scootaloo was thinking. She knew, because the glimmer of awe in the young filly's eyes was the very same look Scootaloo gave as she watched Rainbow do her tricks.

With a jubilant smile, Scootaloo broke out of her trance, exclaiming, "Wow, you have got to be, like, the coolest pony ever!"

Rainbow Dash tried to block the words out. But it was no use; she had heard them loud and clear. Those words were a knife in her chest, shattering her world and leaving her heart an empty vacuum. And, just like a flood, anger and frustration rushed in to fill in the spaces.

The words kept repeating in her mind, over and over and over. All her friends, and now the little ones too? I thought I was your idol, Scoots. I was the one you looked up to. And now…now Lightning can't even let me have that!

Now, she didn't even care about hurting her cousin's feelings. Now, she felt only pure hatred and, although she wouldn't admit it to herself, jealously. She was broken, betrayed. And perhaps worst of all, she was determined to take her loved ones back. Nothing would get in her way, not even the beloved cousin she once looked up to.

With a scowl, she jetted off, putting distance from the group beneath her. Lightning saw her fly away, called out, "Dash! Wait!" But the words were of no use, because the only voice the cyan mare heard was that of Twilight Sparkle. If only she was more like you.

The rainbow-maned pegasus stared intently at the illustrious sun setting over the horizon, remembering her protégé's words. I'll show them who the best around here is, Dash promised herself. But despite the determination in her soul, a part of her couldn't help but wonder if she could keep her promise.

Confessions and Revelations

The next time Dash came to, she was in a hospital bed with linen bandages wrapped around her head. She was lying on one side due to the fractured wing, and when she tried to sit up, pain pierced her flank. She let out a short, painful grunt before easing herself back into her resting position.

At first, she wasn't sure how she had got there. Most of the incident at Town Hall was a blur. There was the Buccaneer Blaze, then the crash, then…Oh yeah. Lightning.

As she rubbed the bandaged wing, Dash couldn't help but think that the crash was all Lightning's doing. After all, it was his fault she lost her concentration. At least, that's what Dash's opinion was on the matter.

God, first my friends, then the Wonderbolts, and now my freaking wings too? This is bull, Dash thought angrily to herself. Her wings pretty much reflected how her mind felt right then; fragile, crooked, broken. There was definitely no way she was lifting off anytime soon. What if she could never fly again? It would be the ultimate disaster for the young flyer; she'd rather die than live the rest of her life grounded. As Rarity would undoubtedly say, "This has got to be THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" And who was there to blame but her perfect cousin?

While Dash lay on her comfy white bed, listening to the steady beeps from the monitor next to her, a pony shuffled into the room. When the injured pony tried to turn her head, a throbbing pain tormented Dash's head. So instead, she shifted her gaze, and from the corner of her eyes she caught a glimpse of her caretaker. In her mouth she carried a pouch of medication, no doubt for the pain.

The pony was Fluttershy, whose face lit up at the sight of her friend alive and well. Except for the whole broken wing and the shattered dreams of course.

"Oh, you're awake! That's good," Fluttershy said, placing the bag on the side table. "How are you feeling?"

"I guess I'm alright. Kinda sore though. Now I know how the trees feel during bucking season," Dash replied. An attempt to chuckle only made her body ache even more, so she remained quiet and watched her timid friend prepare the medication.

"Well Dash, truthfully I haven't taken care of ponies in a while. You're actually the only one in the hospital right now. I figured that…well…I should probably warn you," Fluttershy said shyly.

"It's just, like, morphine or something, Fluttershy. Can't be all that hard," the cyan pegasus said bluntly. Fluttershy gave a small giggle before injecting the medicine into Dash's bloodstream. Sure, the needle was a bit painful, but to Dash it was worth it to feel the pain in her wings slowly subside.

As Fluttershy disposed of the bag, the timid pony said gratefully, "That was quite the nasty crash you had, Rainbow. It was a good thing Lightning was there, otherwise you could have…well…I don't want to say it." Although Lightning had practically saved Dash from death, the cyan pegasus only harbored hatred for her cousin. Sure, he had saved her life, but he did practically steal her livelihood only minutes later. I guess this is the only way for my friends to notice me, huh? Getting in a life-threating crash, Dash thought to herself grimly.

But Fluttershy didn't notice her rainbow-maned friends look of distaste, instead continuing, "Speaking of your cousin, did you hear the great news? Lightning was offered an invitation to the Wonderbolts! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Just super," Dash mumbled, burying herself into her pillow. The last thing she wanted was to hear her friends speak of the incident so callously. As if she didn't have enough to worry about without the constant reminders. Rainbow could only imagine what Twilight, Rarity, or, Celestia-forbid, Pinkie Pie had to say about it.

Pretending for it to be an innocent question, Dash asked, "Are the others coming in too?"

The timid pony shook her head and answered, "It's after visiting hours, so they can't come in. The only reason I'm here is because Nurse Redheart is tending to some business in Canterlot. But don't worry, I can assure you that everyone is going to be happy you're awake, especially your cousin." Feeble consolation, but Dash gave Fluttershy some credit for trying. However, just because her friends were worried for her, it didn't necessarily mean she was going to feel better about herself.

Fluttershy checked the monitors one last time before going back to Dash, assuring her, "But don't worry, we'll come visit you as soon as we see Lightning off. It's a shame that you two couldn't say one last goodbye, but the Wonderbolts' schedule is very strict. He told me to say goodbye for him, but I'm sure you'll meet him again sooner or later."

Let's hope it's later rather than sooner, Dash thought as Fluttershy fluffed her pillow. Then her friend gave a friendly tap on her uninjured wing and shuffled out the door saying, "Good night, Rainbow. Sweet dreams!"

The cyan pegasus could only sense irony in those parting words. After all, how could her dreams be sweet if her day had been anything but?

xxx

It was late at night, and almost everypony was off to sleep. Almost.

Rainbow Dash lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Fluttershy had given her another dose of painkillers so she could sleep, but no amount of medication was going to send her to dreamland. No, she was wide awake, reflecting on the events of the past day.

Truthfully, she was far from just reflecting. She was absolutely enraged, thinking about her "amazing" cousin. How he completely took over her friends, her fans, and her life.

Frustrated from the lack of sleep, Dash angrily called out, "Can somepony turn up the freakin' heat? It's freezing in here!"

To Dash's surprise, a shadowy figure appeared from the door, reaching toward the thermometer. The room immediately got warmer, shielding the two ponies from the cold night outside. Leaning back into her pillow, Dash said gratefully, "Thanks."

The shadow replied softly, "No problem, prima." The mysterious pony flicked the light switch on, revealing a steel-colored stallion leaning against the wall.

Upon seeing Lighting's surprise appearance, Dash snarled and uttered, "Oh, it's you."

The steel pegasus kept standing in the doorway, and Dash questioned harshly, "How'd you get in here? It's, like, one in the morning."

"I snuck in. You guys aren't much for security around here," he replied nonchalantly. "You and I need to have a talk."

The stallion strolled up to the foot of Dash's bed, attempting to smile. But Dash avoided eye-contact, preferring to keep staring at the ceiling. "You can't keep acting like this, Dash," the stallion began, worried. "You've been moping around all day. Obviously something's wrong." He tried to place a caring hoof on Dash's chest, but the mare quickly swiped it away.

"Wrong? What could possibly be wrong? My world just got turned completely upside down, what could possibly be wrong?" the cyan pegasus replied, her voice dripping with detest.

With a look of concern, Lightning said softly, "I want to help you, Arco. But how can I do that if I don't know what the problem is-."

"The problem is-," Dash interrupted, throwing her hooves in the air, her voice dripping with venom. "Is you're perfect Lightning, and I hate you for it,". The mare couldn't hold it in anymore; her hatred, her story, any of it. She wanted her cousin to make sure he knew why she hated him. More than anything, Dash wanted him to listen to how tormented she felt, just so she could see Lightning writhe in torment himself.

So she began, "Ever since we were children, I was told to be like you. I was told that you were the model pegasus, and that I should follow in your hoof-steps. I was told that if I was just a fraction of what you were, then maybe I could actually do something with my life. But you know what, if that means being a selfish, ignorant jerk, then…then no thanks!"

The cyan mare paused to watch her perfect cousin slowly realize what she had meant. But to her surprise, she found her cousin staring right back at her with the same exact defiant glare she was giving him. Is he even listening?, Dash thought, unsure. But Lightning was listening; he had been taking in every word she had said. But her story didn't make him feel sad. In fact, Lightning looked calm, almost serene.

Finally, Lightning blurted, "You think you've had the hard life, Dash? Huh? I was always told to make sure you were happy, that you were okay. And I've tried, Arco, that's what cousins are supposed to do, am I wrong? Even though you have this amazing life, wonderful friends, and a better world than I could ever hope for, I've still tried to be a good cousin."

This revelation was a shocker to the injured mare. He's delusional. Me with the better world? That's crazy! Ready for an argument, Dash accused,"What the hell are you talking about, asshole? You were the one that graduated. You were the one who was going to be successful before you chose to travel the world! Me, I'm just the flight school dropout!"

The stallion stopped for a moment, looking down towards the floor as though he were hiding something. With a sad chuckle, he whispered, "You really believed that story, Arco?"

"What?" Dash said in disbelief. Her cousin's eyes began to shift, as though he had said something he wasn't supposed to say. The injured mare, on the other hand, was now captivated by her cousin's words, and now she was attentively sitting up.

Biting his lip, the stallion hesitated to speak at first. But finally, he decided to let everything out. "I didn't leave my home for some...some stupid soul-searching. I never wanted to travel the world, Arco. I wanted to become a star back at Veneighzuela. And I was 'this' close too. But I never did."

Dash asked suspiciously, "Why not, huh?"

Her cousin slowly looked up at her and said, "Because of you." His eyes showed no resentment, no anger. Only sadness, and Dash couldn't even tell if it was for himself or for her.

Once the stallion realized his cousin was just going to sit there stunned, he began to recant his tale. "When you dropped out, the others…they didn't take too kindly to your statement. I guess they felt, I don't know, betrayed for what you did. You were everypony's hero. You were the one who pulled off the legendary sonic rainboom when you were only a filly. So when the Legendary Rainbow Dash left, it wasn't exactly a boost to everypony's morale."

His voice had no hint of emotion, but Dash could see he was looking quite uneasy recounting his story. Now curled on the linoleum floor, Lightning continued, "The rumor spread all the way back to Veneighzuela, Dash. Soon, everypony began to hate you. Around the place, ponies were spewing your name like a curse. I heard rants, arguments, even threats. Threats to hurt everypony closest to you. And guess who was number one on that list?"

Giving himself time to steady his breath, Lightning paused. Closing his eyes, he confessed, "I tried to cover for you, Dash. Amidst all those…those threats, I've tried to defend what you did. I still believed that you were the greatest pegasus ever to touch the clouds. And…and they didn't like me because of it. In their eyes, it was either stay on their side and hate you, or defend you and be exiled…Can you guess which one I chose?"

Finally, Dash realized what her cousin had meant. As much as Lightning wanted to look strong for his cousin, a wet tear began to creep down his cheek. But the stallion still stared straight as his beloved cousin, and said, "I ran away, Arco. Not because of some stupid soul-searching either. I ran because ponies wanted to hurt me. I ran because I couldn't take seeing those pegasi look at me with only wrath and anger. They hated me…because they hated you.

"I could have been some kind of flying superstar. I could have had a comfy life back in my hometown. But then there was this one little mistake, one mistake that you made. Now, I can't even go back to Veneighzuela without being attacked by some…some vicious pegasus who holds a grudge against you."

"You…you ruined my life."

Those words hit Rainbow right in the gut. The pain from the crash wasn't nearly as bad as the guilt she had felt right then. And yet, even so, that still didn't excuse her cousin from stealing her friends and dreams away from her. At least, in her eyes.

But before the injured mare could retaliate, Lighting continued quietly, "But, even after all that, I've still tried to be nice to you. Even though you practically destroyed everything I had, I have still tried to help you, to protect you, to…to make you happy. I've sacrificed all I had to keep you safe, even though I'm not even sure you're worth the trouble." Hearing this made Dash's blood boil once again, but her cousin wasn't done just yet.

"Why you ask? Why would I work my ass off to make the life of the one whom I envy so nice? Well, it's simple, Arco. Because we're family, and I thought that's what good family members do. At least, that's what I thought, but I can tell that, for you, this is not the case. But you're the only family I've got left, Dash. You're the selfish, cocky, spoiled rotten brat that ruined my existence…and you're my cousin. And I love you."

Truthfully, Dash didn't like being called a brat. Although her cousin was pouring his heart out for her to hear, all she could concentrate on was her cousin's angry undertone. No talks about me like that, the mare thought, clenching her teeth. She wanted to make sure he knew it too. And what better way to show your discomfort, than with a remote control to the eye? The mare suddenly lashed out, flinging the control for her bed through the air, hitting the stallion square in his eye. As Lightning clutched his face in pain, Dash said spitefully, "I don't give two horse-shits about your little sob story, Lighting. About you losing your life or whatever the fuck you're saying. Quite frankly, I don't see how it's my problem. You could've just let it go, man. You could've just gone on. But you didn't. Not my fault, and so I don't care."

Although the stallion's voice was still soft and quiet, Dash could sense some anger in his words when he said, "Why are you so fucking insensitive?"

"Why are you such a bucking self-righteous prick?" Dash remarked smugly.

"I don't know why I even bother to try and talk to you, prima!"

"Because you love me, isn't that what you said?" Dash asked cynically.

Thinking of his next words carefully, Flash answered with his voice still low, "Well…now I'm starting to rethink that statement."

As Lighting's voice began to get almost derisively quieter, Dash's voice only continued to grow in volume. "You're not the only one. I've had to deal with a self-absorbed ass that has been taking my friends and stealing my spot in the Wonderbolts all day!"

"SHUT UP!"

The mare recoiled in surprise at her cousin's spiteful shout. Still covering his throbbing eyeball, the stallion said, "I had no idea, Dash! I would be glad to give up my spot on the Wonderbolts if it would make you feel better." Unbeknownst to him, he was attempting to sacrifice yet another thing for his cousin, and it only made Dash even angrier.

The rainbow-maned flyer would have none of it, and as her rage began to spiral out of control, she screamed, "THAT'S NOT THE POINT! The point is you've been messing up my whole life the moment you got here! And the worst part is you've been so intent with your little "Making Prima Happy Campaign", that you haven't even noticed it until now! You haven't been helping me by being perfect, Lightning! You've been making me completely miserable. If you're too absorbed to see that, then you can just…just…go to HELL!"

Dash's words stung Lightning's ego. Her rage-filled speech pierced deep into his mind, and the last harsh words kept echoing like a broken record. This sort of anger was never before seen from the confident mare, and Lightning couldn't help but cringe. With tameness only comparable to Fluttershy, the stallion replied, "You…you don't know how unfair you're being right now. I've envied your life, Dash! You're friends…they're the greatest friends anypony could ask for. This town is the most perfect town I've ever seen; no crime, no hurting, only happiness and joy. It's…it's what I've always dreamed of.

"And as for the whole thing with your friends, you need to wake up and smell the Poison Joke, Dash! Everything I did, I did for you. I tried being nice to your friends because…because I thought it would make you happy. Throughout all of these times when… I wasn't even sure if my life even meant something anymore, I've still done everything in my power to help you. Even now. Even though my entire future was ruined 'cause of what you did, all I've ever wanted…was for you to be happy."

In a fit of anger, Dash blurted, "You want to make me happy, Lightning? You know what would really make me happy? If you went with the Wonderbolts. Because then, I'll never have to see your ugly face around here ever again."

The stallion stood stoically by the doorway, gazing at the angry figure that was his cousin. All the times they shared during their childhood flashed through Lightning's mind. Every scene, every word leading up to this moment. The rainbow-maned pony was still his cousin, and although he had envied her and hated her for what she did, all of that was now gone. Now, all he had was sorrow for what he was about to do.

With a heavy heart, the stallion whispered solemnly, "If that's what you want prima, then…then that's what I'm going to do."

Those words. They were the very same words Lightning had said to her just the night before. Dash let the sentence ring in her ears. She realized that the same passion and love the sentence had the first time around was still there. But now, it seemed like it was mocking her, as though it were some cruel, sick joke.

It took the pegasus a moment to realize she had a tear falling down her face. Whether it was out of spite or sadness, she didn't know. Through her blurry vision, the cyan mare said ruthlessly, "You just never know when to quit, Lighting! Don't you ever get tired of being nice?"

But the steel-colored stallion was already on his way out of the doorway. Not even giving a glance back, Lightning uttered, "Goodbye, Arco. For good."

With that, the pegasus disappeared from view, leaving Dash to lay in her bed. Her mind was still conflicted; a jumbled mess of thoughts and ideas. Guess that prick's gone for good then, huh?, Dash thought with her head wrapped in her white pillow.

But for some reason, she didn't know if that was extremely good, or something very, very bad.

xxx

The next morning, Dash lay in her bed silently. A tray of food was placed before her, but not a single bite was taken. The blinds were left closed, leaving only a tiny sliver of light streaming into the dark compartment.

Fluttershy wasn't there to help her; she was busy saying farewell to her cousin. Whatever, I don't need her. I don't need any of 'em. And especially that stupid, self-righteous little prick, Lightning, Dash thought to herself. But if that was true, then why did she feel so uneasy?

Meanwhile, at the Town Hall, the steel-colored stallion was saying goodbye. He wore a pair of goggles over his eyes, mostly because they had begun to swell from Dash's surprise attack.

"It's a shame we couldn't have that party, Pinkie Pie," Lightning said half-heartedly.

Shaking his hoof, Pinkie chattered, "Oh, that's okay Flashy. Maybe the next time you come and visit!" The stallion could only frown beneath his flight suit and think, If there is a next time.

Quickly shaking hooves with the rest of Rainbow's friends, the stallion began to depart with his new group, The Wonderbolts. They flew next to him, welcoming their new recruit with admiration. Lightning attempted to give the most joyous look he could, but in reality, it was all just a mask to hide the anguish he was feeling.

As he quickly began to soar away from Ponyville, he couldn't help but sneak one final guilty glance at the disappearing village. Although he tried to deny it and push it back into the recesses of his memory, Lightning knew what was happening. Deep down, he realized what he had done; what he was doing right now.

He was running away.

Borderline Obsession

Contrary to popular belief, it definitely was not always sunny in Fillydelphia. Such was the case of the next afternoon. Gray clouds covered the skies of the blossoming industrial city. It was a city where ponies let the weather take its natural course, and today it seemed as though it wasn't about to hold back.

However, a bit of wind and a chance of rain wasn't enough to stop the Wonderbolt trainees from practicing their routines. A group of four new flyers graced the skies, attempting the death-defying stunts under the supervision of Soarin. They had spent most of the morning working out with practically no rest. After all, the Wonderbolts ran on a strict schedule.

Finally, the veteran called out to the rookies soaring high above, "Alright guys, time for a breather!" Relieved for some rest, the panting pegasi touched down gingerly next to their mentor. Soarin motioned for one, a stallion with a lightning-bolt shaped tail, to come and talk.

The stallion was breathing heavily, attempting to take in a deep, relaxing breath. As he stood there, Soarin said, "Not bad out there, Sparky. But not the best either, you looked kinda shaky out there." The veteran then gave a chuckle and joked, "It's almost like you're flying blind or something. Anyway, get in shape, and I'll be back in ten." Then, without so much as a nod, the seasoned veteran trotted away, leaving the new group to rest by themselves.

Lightning wasn't exactly sure what to do at that moment. Soarin just gave him a bit of a wake-up call, he supposed. Flying blind, huh?, he thought shaking his head. Sounds just about right. His thoughts were interrupted by the hyper voice of another one of his fellow recruits. He was a stallion about the same age as him, with a chaotic red mane that stuck out in every direction possible. As if to match his crazy hair-do, the stallion was chattering away happily as though breathing was unnecessary.

"Not bad, mates. Not bad at all!" the other rookie exclaimed, taking off his flight goggles. Once Soarin was out of range, Lightning proceeded to do the same, revealing a blackened eye underneath. Most of the pain was gone now, leaving only a swollen eyelid and impaired vision.

Upon seeing this, the red maned stallion whistled in wonder. Interested, he said, "Wow, that's a wicked shiner you got there, mate! Where'd you get it, Mr…umm,"

"Flash. You can just call me Flash," Lightning responded quietly. He was a bit hesitant to show the others his injury. The last thing he needed was for the Wonderbolts to think he got into a fight. Well, I guess technically I did. But it wasn't really a fight, was it? Not wanting to dwell on it, Lightning turned back to the other rookie, who had a playful smile on his face.

The other stallion gave a friendly wink and continued, "Right then, Mr. Flash. My name's Slips by the way, in case you'd like to know. Short for Slipstream… but anyway, so where'd you get that black eye, huh?"

"Oh this?" Lightning said, unsure of what to say. But then he shrugged and said, "It's nothing really. Just, ah, flew through a hail storm. Yeah."

Slips glared at him for a moment, and Lightning thought that he had seen through his ruse. But then the hyper stallion gave a huge grin and patted Lightning on the back, saying, "Oh, been there, done that mate! That's quite the nasty bit right there if I do say so myself. Hard to believe something so small can be so painful! Almost broke my nose once, y'know! Was the size of a baseball, that bugger!"

"Yeah. Hey, you don't mind…not telling Soarin about this, do you?" Lightning inquired.

"Oh, c'mon mate! Do I look like the kind of guy who can't keep a secret?"

Lightning gave a nervous laugh. That statement definitely did not instill confidence in the steel stallion. But before he could object, the red head put his arms around Lightning's shoulders as though they had been best friends for life and said to the others, "A'ighty then, mates. Whaddaya say we dash on down to the food court and grab a bite before Soarin gets back!"

The other two rookies agreed happily while Lightning stood awkwardly in the hold of his new "friend". It wasn't Slips who was making him feel uneasy though. After all, he seemed like a nice pony despite the hyper attitude.

But what bugged Lightning was the fact that just hearing the word dash sent another pang of guilt through his chest. Another aching memory rushing back into his mind. And truthfully, he wasn't exactly sure if that meant he cared for his cousin or that he was on borderline obsession.

Borderline obsession, huh? Just thinking about it made Lightning shiver.

xxx

Meanwhile, in the small village of Ponyville, another rainy day was brewing. Up in the sky, pegasi worked hard to fill the skies with gray storm clouds, hoping to provide water for the parched earth below. The weather patrol had once again missed a storm day, so the pegasi planned to make up for it with a "doozy" as Pinkie Pie called it.

Below them sat a gloomy pegasus, who stared up at the flying ponies in envy. Dash was silent, observing the clouds beginning to clump together. It was only a day since the incident at Bronco's Bluff, but the pegasus decided she was well enough to go outside and supervise. Well, she was supposed to be supervising, but all she wanted was to be up there with her winged brethren. Unfortunately, the broken wing put a dent in her plans, and so all she could do was watch in dismay.

A voice called out from behind her, saying gleefully, "Glad to see you're up and about, Rainbow Dash! How're you feeling?"

Rainbow whipped around to see a smiling Twilight Sparkle climbing up the slope. Giving a half-hearted grin, she replied, "Hey, Twilight. I guess I'm alright. I'm walking at least, so that's a good thing."

Satisfied, the purple mare asked, "How's your wing?"

The rainbow pegasus gave a frustrated groan, turning her face up at the gray sky in disbelief. She said unhappily, "Ugh, Fluttershy says I'm gonna be grounded for five weeks. Five weeks Twilight! Man, how am I gonna survive without flying?"

"Oh, I'm sure you're just being melodramatic, Rainbow," Twilight scolded her injured friend. "Five weeks will fly by just like that. Oops, no pun intended!"

Dash had to smile at Twilight's attempt to cheer her up. And yet the pegasus just couldn't look at her friend the same way again. Wasn't Twilight the very same pony who said she had to be more like Lightning, opening up a wound that never really closed in the first place? Wasn't it at Twilight's house where she had abruptly stormed out in a fit? But here Twilight was, acting like her old, kind self as though nothing happened. Dash was confused, and she didn't like that one bit.

The pegasus hadn't realized how sad she looked, her face matching the gloomy, gray clouds gathering above. Twilight saw this and she said, "Listen Dash. I know it's very difficult for you to be grounded. And not being able to say goodbye to your cousin must be hard for you as well." Well, you've got half of it right, Dash said in her mind.

"But you have to realize that breaking your wing on that cliff was much better than the alternative. I mean…if something were to happen to you, I don't know what I—we would do. So be glad you're still alive, Rainbow Dash." Then she whispered faintly so Dash wouldn't hear, "I know I am."

Her unicorn friend's words dug deep into Dash's heart. She couldn't help but feel touched that her friends cared so much. But then she remembered how they acted yesterday, of how they had blown her off so callously. Dash could've sworn they didn't care for her. But now, ever seeing Twilight's small display of affection, she wasn't so sure.

Dash was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize Twilight had snuck off back to town. So the rainbow-maned pegasus just sat on the hill alone, contemplating her dark, conflicted thoughts.

Lightning was in the locker room, stashing away his flight suit for yet another rainy day. He had a towel draped on his back like a saddle, feeling refreshed from the soothing warm shower he had taken. It was a nice change from the cold, humid environment of Fillydephia. He had been with the Wonderbolts for three days now, and for the whole time it had been raining non-stop.

The stallion paused for a moment to observe a mirror. Lightning's eye had begun to get better; however a small purple outline still circled his eye socket. Oh well, at least it's not as noticeable, he thought. Lucky too, since yesterday he had a photo-shoot for the Wonderbolts article. It definitely would not be good publicity if his black eye was plastered all over the cover of an international magazine.

Satisfied with his inspection, the pegasus went back to his little compartment. As the stallion placed his uniform carefully inside his locker, he caught a glimpse at a piece of cloth hanging on a hook inside. It was the bandana Rarity had given him, the one with the glimmering jewels that matched his tail. Lightning couldn't help but stare sadly at the measly piece of cloth, then back to the ragged old bandana tied around his neck. The gift was nothing but a bitter reminder now, a testament to the fateful visit that had only taken place three days ago.

On the other side of the locker was a sheet of paper. It was the monthly schedule for the Wonderbolts' shows. Two dates caught Lightning's eye. The first was a small little appearance at the end of the month. It was the only one during that week, but even so, the day sent a chill through Lightning's spine.

November 30/Mareacaibo-Veneighzuela
7:00-8:00

Veneighzuela: his home town. The very place he had run away from. Guess I know when I'm calling in sick, Lightning thought, averting his gaze to the rest of the calendar.

November 24/Appleloosa
November 22/Manehattan…blah…blah…
November 12…Ponyville

Well that can't be right, Lightning thought in disbelief. He looked to today's date. November 8. They just had a show there three days ago! Don't they have anything better to do? It was much too soon for the stallion to go back there. Especially with the lingering memory of a certain cyan pegasus still on his mind. Maybe I can get two sick days this month, Lighting thought sadly.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of the locker room door swing open, banging hard on the wall. Startled, Lightning shut his locker door and turned to the incoming pegasus. It was Slips. The red maned pony had a huge, perpetual grin plastered on his face and a towel wrapped around his head.

"Man, Soarin's been working us to the bone, mate. Looks like somepony's rammed a 'roo up his flank, if ya know what I mean!" Slips said jokingly.

As much as Slips seemed like a nice guy, Lightning really wasn't in the mood for conversation. Quietly, he responded, "Uhh, no, actually. I, um, don't."

His companion just smacked him on the back (making his wing even sorer) and replied with his fast-paced speech, "Oh, well no worries mate, just an old saying we Aussies say back home. Came from Sydneigh by the way, just in case you hadn't noticed. Have you heard of the place?"

"Well, actually, I've been there for a bit. For some….work," the steel-colored stallion replied awkwardly.

Before Lightning could politely excuse himself from the locker room, Slips continued, "Ah, well it's a beautiful place, eh mate? Nice, warm, there ain't nothin' like home sweet home!"

"Yeah, of course. Hey, listen, I kinda need to-,"

"So anyways mate, have you been hearing about what's stirring up at Cloudsdale?"

Lightning gave a sigh of annoyance, realizing that he wasn't getting out of this one. So he reluctantly replied, "No, what?"

"Well you see there's this meeting going on between the mayor and the flight officials who run the joint. Apparently, they're thinking of nullifying the results of last year's Young Flier Competition! Apparently they found out the winner never actually graduated from flight school! Can't have that now, can we?" Slips said quickly.

Lightning's ears perked up at the mention of the esteemed competition. "Really? Who won?" Flash inquired, even though he already had a feeling in the pit of his gut…

The red maned pegasus answered, "Why none other than the infamous Rainbow Dash herself! You know the story right?" The news truthfully didn't surprise the steel-colored stallion. But although his face didn't show it, Lightning could sense the uneasy feeling in his stomach grow at the sound of his cousin's name. All of a sudden it seemed as though the fluorescent lights became blindingly bright, and the sound of rain outside became increasingly louder.

Nervously scratching the back of his neck, Lightning lied, "Ahh…not really, no."

It seemed as though Slips was hoping to tell a story, because a mischievous look gleamed in his eyes. Stashing his towel in his locker, the companion began, "Really, mate? Used to be what everypony talked about. Heck, people are still speaking of it right now. You see, Dash was one of the best fliers in Cloudsdale, their star athlete. She pulled off these stupendous tricks that people didn't even know existed! But, although her skills were amazing, her personality was anything but. It almost seemed like she always had to prove that she was better than everyone else. But, nopony cared; after all, she was their star athlete."

Part of Lightning wanted to just burst out and defend his cousin. But then he remembered the argument they had in the hospital. The look of pure hatred on his "beloved" cousin's face. And so he held his tongue as Slips continued his tale.

"Then one day, she just dropped out. Disappeared off the face of the earth. Imagine how everypony felt when they found out their superstar just decided to leave for no apparent reason. People didn't know what to do when that happened truthfully. Everypony felt betrayed, and rightfully so, mate. And then, all of a sudden, she pops out of nowhere and steals one of the biggest competitions for rising stars!" Lightning could have stopped Slips from speaking right then and there, but for some reason he felt compelled to let him continue. Perhaps the electric stallion enjoyed hearing others' stories about the infamous Rainbow Dash. Maybe it was just justification for the runaway pegasus. Whatever the case, he let Slips recount his story.

"Don't ask me how they didn't know who she was at first. I mean, she has a bucking rainbow mane! It's not like she even tried to hide her identity. She even performed her Sonic Rainboom, how could they not recognize who she was? The things ponies think these days, not even remembering the bitch that ruined an entire town's reputation."

Hearing the stallion refer to his cousin with such vulgarity brought Lightning back to reality. Although Dash's harsh tone still rang in Flash's mind, she was still his family. And Slips's harsh tone seemed much clearer at that moment anyway. So the electric pegasus quietly but forcefully replied, "Hey. Don't talk about her like that.

But the Aussie pegasus threw his hooves in the air and asserted, "Why not, mate? It was her fault Cloudsdale went from one of the top flight schools to absolutely mediocre. I didn't want transfer to another school that was just as bad as the one I left!"

"When she dropped out, ponies were devastated. Soon, others began to lose confidence and drop-out as well. Without a star pegasus to glue everything together, Cloudsdale practically imploded in less than a year." Every word that was spewed out of the Aussie pony's lips only made Lightning resent him even more. The steel pegasus had subconsciously began to grit his teeth, trying to send a clear message to the hyperactive stallion. Shut up.

But Slips took absolutely no heed of Lightning's body language and said, "The closest thing we ever had to a star was her cousin, mate. Can't remember his name…but I do remember he was a foreign exchange student like myself. But the poor colt had some problems as well. He was delusional, kept defending his mule of a cousin even though she left him to rot in the dust of a city she destroyed. Tried a bit too hard, that idiot. Soon, he couldn't handle the pressure either and he left too. Probably for his crappy home country or some crazy shit like that."

Maybe the stallion could have taken Slips's insults to Dash. But hearing the red-maned pony's brash, stinging comments about him stirred up Lightning's anger. But it wasn't because of the insults themselves. Instead, it was the fact that they were all true, every single bit, and Lightning couldn't take another reminder of his past. Trying to stop his companion from saying anymore, Lightning said angrily, "Listen up, amigo. You'd best be shutting your mouth before I shut it for you!"

"Ho ho, whoa there, mate? Do I sense a bit of protection in your voice? What's wrong, she your girlfriend or something?" Slipstream taunted.

"Let me tell you something, Flash. Your friend is an arrogant, cocky piece of shit. It took Cloudsdale years to get even close to the way they were when Dash was there. Then, after all those years, she had the guts to stroll back into the very town she betrayed to show her moves! I mean, where's the class, mate? What a cocky jackass!"

"And if you're going to defend her, then you're a piece of shit just like her."

Just like that, something within Lightning snapped. He thought back to his colt-hood and the hateful glares of the ponies at Veneighzuela. Of how in their eyes, anypony who defended "Rainbow Crash" was just as bad as her. He heard those words every day over and over, until finally the young colt couldn't face it anymore. Lightning thought he had escaped it all, sacrificing his home to do it. But apparently those words had come back to haunt him after all these years. The ignorance, the ruthlessness, the wrath; they were all still there, manifested in this Aussie pegasus that thinks he knows everything. Needless to say, Lightning didn't like it one bit.

He wasn't about to let some Aussie pegasus make fun of him, or Rainbow Dash for that matter. Without thinking, the stallion let his hoof connect with the fast-talking pegasus's snout. Lightning put everything he had into the punch; letting years of anger and frustration explode in a rush of anger. The impact knocked the victim down onto the ground, clutching his nose in pain. A small trickle of blood dripped down onto the linoleum floor.

"¡Callate la pinche boca, you bucking pendejo!" Lightning yelled, pointing to the pegasus sprawled before him.

The Aussie slowly got back up, clutching his broken nose. Even though stars still dotted his vision and the world spun around and around, the red-maned pony said, "You're dead, mate! Spitfire's not gonna be happy!" With that, Slips slipped out of the door, groaning in pain.

Lightning stood alone in the cold locker room, letting his heart settle. Outside, the rain kept coming, attacking the windows mercilessly with their sharp patter. He watched one of the dim lights flicker on and off. Realizing what he had done, Lightning went back to his locker and slowly creaked it open.

The stallion stared sadly at the bandana plainly hanging on the clothes hook inside. Yes, it was the final object representing that fateful day. But after everything that has happened, Lightning wasn't sure if those memories were worth anything anymore.

Finally, he whispered, "Looks like I screwed up, Arco. I tried to protect you…again. Guess old habits die hard." The dejected stallion swiped the bandana off the rack, throwing the shimmering gift in the garbage. Then he took the schedule and tore the sheet of paper in two, placing it with the piece of cloth in the trash can.

He wasn't going to need it anymore.

xxx

Three days later, and rain still hasn't fallen in Ponyville. Apparently the storm day was postponed so gardeners and farms like Sweet Apple Acres could pick their last few crops before the wind blows them all away. That was the excuse anyway; Rainbow Dash knew they were just covering up for massively screwing things up. And that was just fine by her. After all, they did mess up under her watch.

Two days ago, the pegasi were getting ready to move a giant mass of clouds to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be making sure nothing went wrong, but certain things were still on her mind. Sometimes family matters can weigh down upon a pony, and such was the truth for Rainbow Dash.

She thought she had been recovering well, both her wing and her conscience. But when she saw those storm clouds, she couldn't help but think about Lightning.

It was only for a few seconds, but in an occupation dealing with volatile weather, a few seconds was more than enough for everything to go wrong. Dash was too distracted to see a few rookies of the Weather Patrol rough-housing near the enormous clump of clouds. One "accidental" push later, and the Everfree forest found itself drenched in rainwater while Ponyville remained totally dry. There was not even enough water for a drizzle once the infertile forest had been soaked.

Because of that incident, the pegasi were now supposed to scour the land for any clouds they could find. Unfortunately for Dash, that meant going out of Ponyville, a task she definitely wasn't in the condition for. Once again, all she could do was watch as her team went off to the outer reaches of Equestria without her. The injured mare couldn't help but resent those pegasi, only because they could fly while she had to stay on the ground. It has only been three days and already she was missing the feeling of flight. "Yeah, that thing you said about five weeks flying by quickly Twilight? It's not happening," Dash muttered to no one in particular.

Seeing as though she couldn't do anything else, Rainbow decided to pay a visit to Applejack's farm. Maybe I can help her out, thought Dash. Quite ironic considering that, just a few days ago, Dash was content with her cousin doing all the work at Apple Acres. But now she wanted to help, mostly for the attention rather than the duty. Mostly, she just wanted to make sure that her friends still noticed her.

Dash found herself nearing the farm. She stared at the apple trees which were already plucked dry. Not a very good sign, but the pegasus continued onward. She walked up to the door and gave it a gentle knock. At first there was no answer so Dash gave another rap on the door, this time with a bit more force. Still no answer.

Disappointed, the rainbow mare turned to go find someone else to talk to before a small object caught her eye. Laying on Applejack's porch was a small magazine, which must have been recently delivered by Ditzy Doo. Seeing as though she had nothing else to do, Dash decided to pick it up and examine it.

Written across the top in bright yellow letters were the words Wonderbolts Weekly. Underneath it in red print was the subtitle Meet the Rookies. On the cover stood four pegasi clad in Wonderbolt flight suits. Their hoods and goggles were pulled down, revealing their faces. One, a stallion, looked completely insane with his frazzled red mane and gigantic grin. The two on the right, both mares, looked…meh. Not much stood out on them. I guess they look nice, Dash thought.

But what really took her attention was the figure standing at the far right side of the cover. He was partially obscured by the red maned stallion, but no amount of editing could hide the shimmering tail of lightning. It was her cousin, giving the same modest grin he always gave.

But that grin only made Dash sick. That's supposed to be my spot, not yours!, Dash thought spitefully. In a fit of wrath, she screamed at the grinning stallion on the cover, "Why can't you just stay out of my life!" Then the pegasus tore the magazine in two, hurling the halves across the porch.

"Ahem."

Dash turned to see Applejack staring at her in discontent. The pegasus didn't see her friend come up to her while she was raging, and now the honest pony looked at her with a cautious eye.

"Well, sugarcube, yer the one on mah porch, not the other way around! Ah think it's time you got some rest," Applejack said, going up to the injured pegasus. "And next time you get angry RD, please don't rip up mah mail."

The pegasus was quite embarrassed, and with a nod she trotted off towards her home without speaking. As she galloped away, Applejack pondered out loud, "Now what's gotten into that pony's head?"

If she wanted an answer, she was going to have to look elsewhere, because Rainbow wasn't sure herself. In fact, the only thing that was definite in Ponyville was the dark rainstorm brewing in the horizon.

After the Storm...

This is why I live above the clouds. Because it's always sunny, Dash thought as she stared out at the pounding raindrops outside. The storm has finally taken a strangle-hold on Ponyville, leaving the residents huddled in their homes trying to stay warm.

Or in Rainbow's case, huddled in a friend's house. She sat by the window of Fluttershy's cottage, wrapped in a warm cotton blanket. Rainbow's friend had offered her a place to stay since she couldn't fly up to her house in the sky and she definitely didn't want to go back to the dingy hospital. Although Dash missed her own home, she had to admit that Fluttershy's house had a sense of comfort that she enjoyed.

From the kitchen, Fluttershy asked, "Would you like some hot cocoa, Dash? It's nice for a cold day such as this."

"Sure, thanks Flutters," Dash responded, not taking her eyes away from the gloomy scene before her. After almost a week of delay, the weather patrol had finally come back from their mission, gathering enough clouds for a rainstorm. Rainbow should have felt overjoyed that her team had managed to pull off this feat just in time for the Wonderbolts charity event tomorrow afternoon. But that was just it. Dash hoped that the storm would cancel tomorrow's event. Because frankly, she wasn't ready for round two of the Wonderbolts. When she received word that the storm would be over by midnight tonight and everything was going to be nice and dry, well, she had to reply with fake enthusiasm.

Sometime later, Dash turned away from the window to find Fluttershy standing awkwardly with a tray of hot chocolate balanced on her back. "Uhh, how long have you been standing there?" Dash asked.

"Not that long. Just for five…maybe ten minutes," the yellow pony replied quietly. "But you looked like you were thinking about something; I didn't want to interrupt."

After a moment of silence and an awkward shuffling of hooves, Fluttershy finally said, "So, umm, would still like some hot cocoa? It's still warm."

"Sure."

So the pegasi each took a mug and starting sipping. For an undisclosed amount of time, the two friends sat uncomfortably in silence while they each took tiny, awkward sips of their drink. Rainbow tried to break the silence by humming, but she only succeeded in making her friend queasier. This combined with Fluttershy jumping at the sound of thunder made the cottage quite a humorous, albeit uncomfortable scene.

Finally, wanting to drown the scary thunder with conversation, Fluttershy said, "So…how is your wing? Has it been healing well since the last visit?"

Dash shrugged and replied, "Yeah, it's been okay. Doesn't hurt as much to walk around anymore. The pain meds you gave me help a lot though, so thanks for that."

The shy pony politely nodded in response to her friend's kind complement. But the short conversation didn't last as the two ponies fell into another bout of silence. For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Dash took a sip from her cup only to find that it was empty. She continued with the motion however, trying to busy herself while the rain fell outside. Dash hated awkward silences, and she could sense Fluttershy wanting to speak as well. Gotta take the initiative, right?, Dash thought.

"So…how are things?" the rainbow flier asked.

Fluttershy placed her mug delicately on the floor, and Rainbow could see that it was emptied too. "Umm…things?" her quiet friend asked, confused.

Rainbow supposed she could have phrased the question better, but the confident pony didn't skip a beat, answering, "Y'know, what's been going on lately? I've just been resting and waiting for the weather patrol to get back, so I haven't really heard much from Ponyville."

Fluttershy began, "Oh, well nothing much really. I've been a little busy myself. Picking plants, making herbs, planting trees, feeding animals…"

The timid pony continued to list all the tasks she had done the past few days while Rainbow could only just sit and listen. The colorful mare sat back and slowly exhaled, slightly wanting to go back to the peace and quiet. Of course she had to pick today to be a chatterbox, she thought. Her eyes roamed the room absent-mindedly. The lazy flier switched to daydream mode, another thing she had a knack of doing.

Not surprisingly, her mind drifted back to the Wonderbolts and her cousin. After all, she's been inactive for practically five days, what the hell else was she going to think about? Mostly it was about Cloudsdale, her home town. What was it Lightning had said? They resented her for dropping out? But that can't be. She won the Young Flyer Competition for crying out loud, how could they hate her?

Then again, it's been a while since I showed up. Then again, I was one of the only two write-in contestants. And signing my name as "Dash" isn't exactly very specific. And of course, there was the whole switching numbers thing. And then there's…aww screw it,, Rainbow thought.

"Erm…are you okay, Rainbow?"

The cyan flier broke out from her daydreaming state and replied with something intelligent like, "Wha?"

"Well, um, you were shaking your head and scratching your cheek. Well, it wasn't scratching really. More like…smacking yourself. So are you…okay?"

Dash could sense her face heating up from embarrassment. Placing her face in her hooves and trying to look as relaxed as possible, she lied, "Oh yeah, I'm totally fine. Just a…a fly! Just a fly, y'know."

The look of disbelief was obvious on Fluttershy's face, but being the kind soul she was, she decided not to press her friend. Instead, the yellow pegasus smiled politely, "Yes, so that's about it from me. Oh! And of course there's the charity event tomorrow! You know about that, right?"

Of course she knew! How she not? It was the only thing the ponies of Ponyville were talking about for the past two days. It was going to be one of the hugest charity events of the decade, or at least that's what it had been advertised as. Celebrities upon celebrities were going to be there. Hoity Toity, Fancy Pants, Vinyl Scratch. And, perhaps the most important ones for Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolts. However, for the first time in her life, she wasn't excited for the appearance of her former idols. Getting brushed off by your heroes is one thing, but the whole argument with Lightning was another matter entirely.

The cyan mare rolled her eyes at mention of the event. After the confusion and frustration of the past week, Dash was not in the mood for another dramatic meeting with her cousin. Perhaps she could pretend she was sick. Her friends would understand. Sure, Rarity would probably rant on her for missing the "most important social event of the year".

Whatever, I'm still not gonna show up, the mare thought.

"Why ever not?"

Fluttershy's modest question broke Rainbow Dash out of her planning. With eyebrows raised, the rainbow flier asked, "What was that?"

"Oh, I asked you if you were going to see the Wonderbolts at the charity event tomorrow. Then you said you weren't going to show up. So I was just wondering why. I mean…if you feel comfortable telling me of course."

Buck me, Dash mentally scolded herself, realizing she had said her thoughts out loud. She began to nervously scratch the back of her neck, softly groaning as she tried to make up an excuse.

Finally she decided to just stick with her plan, and making a big show of rubbing her wings she replied, "Well, my wing has been acting up lately and it's been pretty hard getting around."

But Fluttershy was no fool. She could see through Dash's ruse. But the timid pony had no hint of accusation in her eyes, and with the temperament of a butterfly, she said, "Dash, this isn't about your wing is it? This is about...you know who."

Dash didn't know was it was about her timid friend that made her want to spill everything. Maybe it was Fluttershy's quiet, undemanding demeanor. Her soothing, gentle voice that harbored no hostility whatsoever. Or of course, maybe it was The Stare (she never could tell). But whatever it was, after all these days of thinking, she needed somepony to vent to anyway.

With a quiet voice uncommon from the injured mare, she began to recount the secret of the argument. "That night, I said some things. Really bad things, Shy. I told him that I hated him, and that I never wanted to see him again. He…he probably doesn't want to see me anymore either.

"Why did you fight?" Fluttershy inquired.

"I guess it was because…because of you guys. I don't know…it just that you guys looked so happy with him while I was sorta left out to dry. He was, like…like stealing you guys almost!"

"Oh Dash, that's not true. First of all, nopony could ever replace you. We are your friends, and that is something that will never change. If that's was how you felt, then let me be the first to say 'I'm sorry'. We never meant to hurt your feelings." The sincere apology brightened Dash's face a little bit.

"Second, I've seen enough of your cousin to know that he loves you more than anything. When it comes down to it, he'd be willing to sacrifice his life for you." This brought the cyan pegasus back to her cousin's story. Of how, after all the insults and lies, he had still tried to defend her. And how he was forced out of his home because if it. With a grim frown, she thought, I guess he kinda already did sacrifice his life for me.

Fluttershy continued, "And let's not forget all the stories about the fun times you two had together. Why, while he was helping me garden, all he could talk about was how you were the best cousin in the world."

Dash's eyes widened, and for a moment her mask of apathy broke down. "He-he really said that?" she asked, her voice wavering just a tad bit.

"Of course, Rainbow! You mean a lot to him, and he couldn't hate you, even if he tried."

Dash bit her lip doubtfully. Was what Fluttershy had said true? The cyan pegasus couldn't help but believe otherwise, and reasonably so. After all, how could Lightning forgive somepony who told him to stay out of their life; to "go to hell"? Dash most certainly wouldn't; why would her cousin?

Fluttershy could sense the reluctance in her friend's expression. With utmost sincerity, the peaceful pegasus said, "Dash, I want you know that, no matter what you two say, no matter what you two fight over, at the end of the day, you'll still be family. Nothing can ever change that. It's a bond so strong that nothing can ever break it. Especially not little fights like this.

"From what I saw, you two were like siblings. You have to make a choice, Rainbow. Do you really want to keep hiding from your problem, and lose a family member? Not just a family member either, but somepony who loves you whole-heartedly and unconditionally? Is that something worth losing? Or are you going to try to fix it?"

Dash didn't answer, instead letting the thunder speak for her. As much as she wanted to respond, she just couldn't find the words. Fluttershy could sense this, and putting her hooves on her friend's shoulder, she delivered tenderly, "Lightning would do anything to make you happy Dash. Maybe it's time you did the same for him."

The final statement had struck home. Dash wrapped the blanket tighter around her body, having heard enough. She whispered, "I…I think I need to be alone for a while, Shy."

"Of course Dash, but just remember what I said," the placid pony responded. She then took the used mugs and quietly tip-toed out of the room, leaving the addled, rainbow pegasus to her own muddled thoughts.

It was only her nature to be prideful. And she tried to tell herself that everything Lightning and Fluttershy had said was false. That her cousin was just an ignorant, self-absorbed ass. Dash searched for some kind of validation for her outburst and insults she had thrown at her cousin. Some kind of indication of her cousin's supposed sinister ways. And unfortunately for her, this search came up empty.

Her ears began to droop, and her eyes were as downcast as the weather outside. Her features were distraught, and her hooves busily tapping the floor. She pondered more and more about Fluttershy's question, and more and more she found herself doubting. Was her pride worth losing her cousin? For the billionth time, she looked out at the rainstorm, hoping for some kind of answer. And for the billionth time, her request was denied.

It was a good thing Fluttershy had left, because Dash didn't want her friend to see her in a nervous wreck. Dash was worried, but she couldn't let her friends know. She was supposed to be confident, proud, and completely awesome in every way possible. But when it came down to family…it was different.

I don't know 'Shy. I don't want to run, but the alternative…it's…I don't know. Unthinkable? Impossible? Stupid?

Difficult? That was the word. Difficult. Running away, for once, was the easier thing to do. And to the lazy flier, the easy road was usually the most appealing. All she wanted was to bury it all away, pretend it never happened, and continue her life.

But before she could make up her mind, Fluttershy's question rang in her mind once more. "Is it worth losing a family member?"

Perhaps if it were some other pony, Dash would have chosen the "run away" choice without hesitation. But this was no ordinary pony. This was Lightning Flash. Friend since filly-hood. Her practical sibling. The one she could always lean on when she was in trouble.

"I'd do anything for you, prima. You know that."

Yeah, I know Lightning. I just wish I had to guts to do the same for you, Dash thought. All of a sudden, Dash felt like breaking down. She thought of how she had treated Lightning despite his good-natured (perhaps misguided) intentions. Of how she had forced him away even though he had tried his best to be nice to her. It made Dash want to puke.

Well no more, she decided. The pegasus brushed her colorful mane out of her eyes, which shone with newfound confidence. Although pride was a part of her, she understood that her cousin was a part of her too. And losing somepony over stubbornness was something even Rainbow Dash couldn't do.

Was pride worth losing somepony? She realized the answer was no. It was decided. Tomorrow she was going to the charity event to find Lightning. She was going to try to set things straight between them. After all, somepony like him would be too good to miss.

She glanced up at the clock, which read 11:00. It was time for her to get to bed; there was going to be much work tomorrow. So the flier slowly rose, heading towards her temporary room.

At that moment, Fluttershy entered the living room once more, checking in on her friend. She saw Rainbow beginning to stand up, and a small grin playing on the rainbow-maned pony's lips. "So, have you made up your mind, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.

Dash replied solemnly, "Yeah, I think so. And thanks for the talk Fluttershy. It really helped. Man, I've been thanking you all over the place today."

Fluttershy was relieved to see her friend regain her confidence, and she turned to go to her own room. But before she could leave, she heard Rainbow calling her name. "Yes?" Fluttershy asked, swiveling back to see her rainbow-maned friend grinning mischievously.

"One more question. Do you and Lightning have like…uh. You know…a thing?"

The timid pony began to blush at this statement. Trying to maintain her composure, Fluttershy replied awkwardly, "Oh dear. Um…I can assure you Dash, although your cousin is…um…nice, he and I are strictly friends."

"So, friends with benefits then?"

Fluttershy gave a small, frightened squeak. She could feel her cheeks practically glow with red. But before the timid pony could stammer something out, Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively and said, "Naw, you know I'm just kiddin' Shy. Anyway, we should both get some sleep. It's gonna be a pretty wild day tomorrow."

Rainbow finished with a playful smirk as Fluttershy exited the room. All joking matters aside, the pegasus knew there was still much work to be done. But now, for the first time in a while, she knew what had to be done. Her cousin was a treasure that she had taken for granted and callously thrown away. But tomorrow, she was going to try and set things right.

She knew it was no easy task, and that everything won't ever be the same again. But, for the sake of her happiness and conscience, she had to try. Just as Fluttershy said, family is family. Nothing made Dash happier than family, and she was ashamed that it had taken her thing long to realize it.

With newfound resolve, the pegasus began to formulate a plan for tomorrow. What would she say; what would she do? A small nagging voice pricked the back of her mind. What if he doesn't want to talk?

She looked out at the storm, where streaks of electricity illuminated the landscape. She never had been afraid of lightning, and tonight was no exception. But tonight, those bolts held a different message, one that comforted her and assured her of the noble plight.

He will, she thought as she gazed at the rain. And she was sure of it. Just as sure as the lightning bolts in the cloudy sky.

We'll Always Have Cloudsdale

I feel like a murderer on trial, Lightning thought. He stood stolidly before an audience consisting of four pegasi. Three veterans, Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot, glared from their lofty perch in disgust at the stallion below. Next to them stood Slips, whose nose was wrapped clumsily in white linen bandages. Although he was quite safe up there with the others, he still looked uneasily at the steel-colored flyer.

Lightning looked strong and calm as ever, masking the guilt he had underneath. He was surprised that the veterans couldn't hear his heart drumming in the silent room. In his mouth he clenched a blue flight uniform and goggles, a uniform he should have been wearing. But instead the esteemed symbol hung low from his mouth as though they were nothing but rags.

From above, Spitfire called out, "Place your uniform here, Flash." Lightning had no choice but to obediently fly up to the balcony and place the suit at the feet of his former mentors. As he touched down, he caught a glimpse of Slips stepping back from the group, seemingly trying to avoid any contact with the electric stallion. A small smile played on Lightning's lips, because at least he could take comfort in Slips's fear.

But no amount of humor could brace Lightning for the impact of the vets' glares. In their eyes he could see anger, disgust, horror, even disappointment. Unable to bear it, the stallion broke eye contact with them, practically signifying his guilt.

Spitfire said firmly, "Unless you get your act together, you aren't getting an inch off the ground with us. Not now, not ever." Then she swept up the crumpled flight suit in her teeth and threw it back into the room behind them.

Then Soarin piped in, saying, "It's a shame, Sparky. We really thought there were big things in store for you. I guess we were wrong." With those parting words, the group trotted away along with Slips, while Lightning was sent outside into the rain.

His mane hung over his face, dripping. The unmerciful storm blew around him, pelting his body with its cold precipitation. It was as if nature itself was adding insult to injury. But instead of seeking shelter, Lightning could only just stand there, wondering what he had done to deserve this.

Xxx

Two days later, and the stallion found himself being kicked out once again. Clouds still crowded the sky, but the rain had slowly been decreasing to a drizzle. Lightning has been in Fillydelphia for five days now, more than enough time to get to know the flourishing city. And for the pegasus's case, the poor part of town.

Of all the places Lightning could've wound up, he found himself at a small tavern next to the town's dump. And now he was being forced out of the tiny abode by an angry owner wielding a shotgun to the back of his head.

Despite the intimidating weapon and sense of impending doom, Lightning still attempted to argue his case. "Hey man, the guy came at me with a freaking pool cue! What was I supposed to do, stand there while he wailed on me?"

"Ah shut it ya stupid drunk!" the owner said, prodding Flash's flank with the end of the gun.

Still facing forward, Lightning raised his hoof in anger, shouting, "Do I look drunk, you idiot? Are my eyes bloodshot? Am I slurring my words? You're probably more drunk than me, amigo! I didn't touch a drop of the stuff! Half of which is illegal, by the way!"

What he said was true. Not the illegal liquor (which was actually pretty accurate) but the part about being sober. Lightning decided against the liquor, which surprised even him considering the circumstances. He had just come to the tavern to vent, which actually caused the problem in the first place. Apparently the ponies in Fillydelphia weren't as understanding as the citizens of Ponyville. Mostly because Ponyville ponies don't try to whack you with a pool cue when you annoy them.

The two stallions made their way outside on the porch of the saloon. With a rough prod, the bar owner sent a cursing Lightning sprawling into the mud. From his position on the ground, Flash said wrathfully, "It's because I'm a venezolano, huh? This is a hate crime amigo! You haven't seen the last of me!" But the threat fell on deaf ears and the owner abruptly slammed the door, leaving the electric stallion in the drizzle.

Disheartened, he looked up at the wooden sign above the doorway. It had once said Pappy Crabapple's Bar, but due to some creative maneuvering from some hooligans, the sign now said Cra-ppy Bar.

I couldn't have said it better myself, Lightning thought as he crouched in next to the run-down building. It certainly looked like Pappy's has seen better days. Windows were cracked, boards seemed to be peeling off the structure, bugs were skittering across the floor, and rain seeped into the cracked roof. The place was now only home to vermin and homeless ponies. And unfortunately for Lightning, that was exactly was he was. Homeless and hopeless.

Out of a nearby trash can scurried a black rat. The animal crawled up to the crouching pony, inspecting him with its dark eyes. "Que pasa little one?" the stalwart stallion asked his tiny companion.

He was too occupied to hear the rat beginning to bear its teeth and hiss. Suddenly, the creature leaped toward the pony's face with surprising speed. Luckily, thanks to all the conditioning he had prior, Lightning managed to swipe away the minute attacker before it could do any damage.

"Bucking Celestia, stupid animales!" he uttered, kicking the scrambling rat away. Thinking he had won, the electric pegasus began to settle back down against the tavern. But then he caught a glimpse of a few…no, dozens of little black heads peeking out of the garbage can, their dark eyes glaring at the stallion with animalistic rage. Being completely terrified of the creatures (and any type of vermin in general), Lightning reluctantly stood up and moved away from the saloon toward the garbage dump. This was his life for the past two days, fighting over territory with a bunch of lowly vermin and hobos. Not exactly one of the top ten life goals for the flier. But then again, after everything he's been through, the expectations weren't all that high either.

Back to square one, Flash thought as he straddled the chain-link fence of the dump. He was nothing but another faceless pony, cursed to wander the world and run from his past. He was lost yet again, traveling through cities with no home and no cause. And with Rainbow Dash out of the picture, he had no family either. All Lightning had…was himself. It was a shame that the only thing he had left happened to be the one thing he hated the most.

Why can't I get out of this hole? I'm a fucking rogue, and that's all I'll ever be. These thoughts fueled the normally calm pegasus's frustration. He began to quicken his pace, going back and forth between the heaps of trash and the run-down bar. Not even the cold drizzle would break him out of his trance.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of pacing, Lightning lashed out at the chained fencing before collapsing into a sad heap next to it. He looked up at the sky, hoping that just a sliver of sunlight would come and wash away his troubles. Instead he felt the cold, unfeeling drops of drizzle on his muzzle which seemed to say, "Oh how the mighty have fallen."

And indeed, only two days ago the stallion was a star. And three days before that, he had a cousin who cared about him and friends he could trust. But during the argument with Dash, he realized that none of those things had solved his problems. He was still an exile, an outcast, and those things only covered up the injury. Nothing could make things completely right; nothing could ever completely heal his scars. The fight with Rainbow didn't open a new wound; it only caused an old one to resurface.

The futility of it all angered Lightning. If there was one thing that bothered him, it was when things seemed to fall out of place. It was only his nature to try and put things right; to make everything better. But sometimes there are certain things can never be put exactly straight, and unfortunately for Lightning, he knew this was one of those things.

He couldn't help but remember what Dash had said. You could've just walked away. Sitting there in the mud, he supposed he couldn't argue anymore. There was nopony to blame anymore. Not the Veneighzuelans, not Rainbow Dash, not the Wonderbolts. Only himself. He was his own worst enemy. Love thy enemy? Screw that, he thought sadly.

From inside of the tavern, he heard the voice of another homeless pony singing. Through the gritty voice and depressing tone, he could make out a tune he was familiar with, for his Abuelo used to sing it when he played his guitar.

No there ain't no rest for the wicked
And misery loves company
All I want is joy, all I need is peace
Too bad nothin' in this world's for free
No I can't go 'round, I can't turn back
Although you know I wish I could
But there ain't no rest for the wicked
'Til we close our eyes for good

When he was a colt, he only listened to the tune; he didn't understand the lyrics. But now the message was clear. Oh how Flash just wished for peace! Perhaps if he could just die, then finally he could have the tranquility he was searching for. Nothing was stopping him. His sole purpose after his exile was to protect Rainbow Dash. But now that she was gone and the Wonderbolts had fallen through, he was nothing. He could just die right then and there and nopony would care. Just...die...if only it were so easy…

The stallion's eyes began to scan the mountains of trash as though the peace he was looking for was to be found in there. He didn't know what compelled himself to stare at the heaps of junk. But something did happen to catch his eye. Something sparkled from the bottom of one of the trash heaps. The object somehow managed to radiate light through the dirt and rain, seemingly trying to call the stallion over. Curious, Lightning couldn't help but investigate the strange object.

Gliding over the wooden fence (nicking his leg in the process), Lighting proceeded closer and closer to the object. Dragging it out from underneath a box of scrap metal, the stallion let out a small gasp.

It was a bandana. Faded yellow lightning bolts were stitched on both sides. Tiny shining jewels, sewed on with care.

Before he knew it, tears began to fall, absorbing into the shimmering cloth in his hooves. Despite the smell, he held the bandana close to his face. The stallion flipped the cloth back and forth, closely examining every excruciating detail, every hoof-made design, and every glittering jewel. With every intricate stitch, another memory flowed back into the electric pegasus's brain. Not just of the visit either. But also memories of another time, back during colt-hood. It was a memory he had long since forgotten. But now as he stood amid the mud, trash, and rain, the scene was once again clear. Lightning was back at Cloudsdale, with his beloved Rainbow Dash.

xxx

"Arco, are you in here? We've been looking for ya! I just won the Jetstream Cup prima! Vamos a celebrar!" a teenage colt said happily. He was quite joyful about his new electric appearance which matched the shining lightning bolt on his flank. This competition was the first time he had showed off his new appearance, and it was met by unending praise. Of course, the first place trophy probably helped too.

He crept into the door to find a filly curled on the bed, quietly attempting to hide her sobs. The colt's voice immediately changed into a sincere, heart-felt tone as he said, "Arco, are you…are you okay?"

The rainbow-manned filly wiped her eyes and sniffled once before saying, "It's okay Lightning. I just…I need to be alone."

"Is it because of me?"

"No, it could never be about you. It's just…"

The colt sat down next to his younger cousin, whose head began to rest on his broad shoulders. "Dash, please don't be sad. I want to do whatever I can to make you happy. Please, you have to tell me what's wrong."

The filly gave a small grin. But then she said sadly, "You know, you're probably the best cousin a pegasus could ask for. But sometimes…I don't know…everypony can be so harsh sometimes."

"Did someone hurt you, Arco? Cause if they did…"

"No Lightning! Not like that anyway."

"Then how did they hurt you? Because I'll buck that estúpido so hard, he'll-,"

"No, no. It's just that…" The filly paused for a second, not ready for what she was about to say. "Sometimes I feel like people would be…better off if…if I wasn't here. If I… ran away."

The words stunned the colt. Worry flushed through his veins. He took his cousin's hooves in his own and pleaded, "Dash, please don't think about it like that. We need you here. We love you. We care about you. I care about you. I…I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here. You're probably the only reason I came to Cloudsdale in the first place! Please don't go Dash. It never will be the same if you left."

The filly looked out the window, wondering about what to say. Her cousin looked at her, waiting anxiously for her reply. Finally, with her voice barely above a whisper, she said, "Lightning. Can you promise me something?"

"Anything for you, Arco," he replied lovingly.

"Promise me…promise me that no matter what I do, no matter what happens, you'll always love me for who I am. Promise me you'll always care."

The stallion looked into his younger cousin's eyes and said, "Can you promise me something, prima? That you'll stay here, in flight school…with me?"

After a while, the rainbow pegasus slowly nodded her head. Stroking his cousin's mane, the colt said with utmost conviction, "Then I promise too, prima. And you know I don't make promises I don't intend to keep."

xxxx

Dash, Arco…why'd I ever let you go?, Lightning thought, shaking his head. He sank back down onto the ground, weeping. You were the only family I've had for…what seems like forever. How could I let myself lose you too?

He stared at a pool of water before him. He saw the ragged face of a stallion down on his luck, with mud caked in his fur, a mane soaking from five days of rain, and eyes drooping from lack of sleep. This…this is NOT me!

One might call it grim inspiration, and he had to admit it was pretty sad that it took a ragged bandana to make him realize what he had to do. To realize that he couldn't let anypony, including himself, take away everything he loved.

Although the pact was made years ago, those words held more power than all of the insults Lightning and Dash had suffered in their lifetime. You may have broken your promise Arco, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep mine, he thought.

After wiping his face clean of tears and stuffing the glimmering bandana inside his other (after all, he couldn't go around wearing a smelly cloth around his neck), Lightning slowly beat his wings. After getting the feel of being in the air once again, he took off towards Ponyville. The world seemed…different now. Now it wasn't some prison where every city was a sad reminder of his dark past. Maybe, just maybe, it was something worth fighting for. And if growing up with Rainbow Dash taught the steel-colored pegasus anything, it was that if you wanted something, you had to be willing to fight for it.

The stallion looked towards the horizon, and he couldn't help but smile. The gloomy rain was gone and in its place stood a dazzling beacon leading him away.

It was a rainbow.

One more chapter to go guys!

Para Siempre

Somewhere in some unknown town in an unknown alleyway, a hooded stallion awoke from his slumber. He had been flying non-stop for a day through sleet and rain, until finally a bad hailstorm forced him to take shelter. He lay in the small passage wearing an old jacket he had picked up to shield him from the cold.

As he wearily stood up, the stallion took a glance up at the sky, now devoid of storm clouds. To his surprise the sun had already risen, signifying the hour as 12:00 noon. The date: November 11. At first he thought it was no big deal, and was relieved for the much needed sleep. But then he remembered how far he still had to fly. Startled by how fast time had flown, the stallion quickly scuffled out of the dim alley.

Still aching from the hail last night, the stallion spread his wings, thinking, I'm going to be late!

Then with a flourish, he took off, flying determinately toward his destination. It would be another 24 hours before he'd touch the ground again.

xxx

Ponyville was hyped up.

The streets were hustling and bustling with activity. Everypony was busy, whether it be from running the stands, raising funds, or just having pure fun. All ponies from ages 9 to 99 were there, participating in the wondrous events that were taking place. High energy practically emanated from the village as ponies rejoiced in jubilee. For a good cause, of course.

A billboard towering high above the crowds was printed with the words "The Helping Heart Herd". The Herd was the name given to this annual charity event dedicated to raising money for the less-fortunate ponies of Equestria and beyond. Started as a simple gathering among a select few families, the tradition continued to balloon and balloon. Over the years, the simple idea of donating money while having fun and games became more popular among the citizens of Equestria. Now, it has blossomed into one of the largest publicized events in history.

This year, it was Ponyville's honor to serve as the host town for the HHH charity event. There were a few reasons that led to the village's selection. But the biggest reason by far was the recent surge of popularity. With the whole Nightmare Moon incident, the Elements of Harmony, Discord, and the two Princess's constant visits, it seemed only reasonable to hold the event at the once-sleepy village. And Ponyville was ready to give the festivities everything it had.

Rainbow Dash sat at a table off the beaten path, a little bit away from the crowd. It was a miracle she had even managed to get there in the first place. She had to carefully and slowly weave her way through the tightly packed crowd. Every few seconds, another pony would accidently bump into her side, causing her to flinch from the sharp jolt of pain running up her wing. But now that she was sitting there safely, Dash was taking time to think.

The rainbow-maned flier scanned the crowd. On the stage in the middle of the square were performers showing off an acrobatic routine. Vinyl Scratch (a.k.a DJ PON-3) sat atop a roof dropping beats like nobody's business. Then across the street was Octavia daintily playing Neightoven's Violin Sonata, impressing the crowd with her melodic music flow. There was Hoity Toity and Photo Finish showing and auctioning off their latest and greatest collaboration (for charity of course). And there was Fancy Pants doing what he did best, being the most important pony in all of Canterlot/Ponyville. And yet, no matter how much Dash surveyed the scene before her, there was absolutely no sight of the Wonderbolts.

She kept telling herself not to worry. Frankly, that happened to be exactly what she was doing. Dash didn't like to worry; it wasn't really her thing. But when it came to family ordeals like this, she couldn't help but feel a little bit jittery.

Rainbow was still watching the mob when Pinkie Pie seemed to pop out of nowhere, right in front of the rainbow pegasus's face. Already on edge, the sudden surprise made Dash fall back off her chair.

"Oops! Sorry Dashie! I was just so excited when I saw you over here. Twilight was afraid you weren't going to make it, but I said that was silly, of course you'd make it! How could somepony miss the most amazing-est, awesome-est, spectacular-est event in the history of Ponyville! But anyway, the point I'm trying to say is- OH MY GOSH IS THAT COTTON CANDY!"

The hyper mare skittered towards the sugary treat, leaving Rainbow to say from the ground, "Nice to see you too…"

At that moment, the rest of her friends emerged from the crowd. Twilight looked a bit peeved, saying, "Watch the shoving, buddy!"

Upon seeing their rainbow colored friend, the group's annoyed looks were replaced by relieved grins. "Rainbow, I am so glad you could make it!" Rarity exclaimed. "I thought your wing was going keep you from coming!"

Rainbow flashed a confident smile and responded, "Pffft. I couldn't miss this thing if I tried. Just took some Rainbow Tylenol, y'know. Now I'm all good."

They were happy to hear that their friend was getting better. "Well shoot, Ah've never seen Ponyville this packed in mah life!" Applejack exclaimed as Pinkie came back with a wad of cotton candy as big as her head.

In one swoop, the pink party pony gulped up the fluffy treat, smacking her lips in delight. Then she said, "I know, Applejack! And so many celebrities too! Like Vinyl Scratch, The Brony Bunch, Sapphire Shores…oh, and of course the Wonderbolts!" On the last words, Pinkie winked at Rainbow and nudged her, who proceeded to grin uneasily.

"Sooo, speaking of the Wonderbolts, have you guys seen 'em yet?" the rainbow colored pegasus asked, masking her curiosity.

But before anypony could answer, the sound of bells rang through the square, signifying noontime. The commotion died down and the attention was directed towards the stage. There the mayor stood regally, giving the massive crowd time to settle down. When she was satisfied, she said, "First of all, I'd like to extend my gratitude to everypony who managed to come to our little town for today! It is an honor to host this year's Helping Herd, and it is our hope that you all enjoy the festivities, as well as donate to the charity."

For the next few minutes, the mayor went on and on, giving a long speech about public service and generosity. It was a tradition for the hosts to give a speech like this, but Dash was hoping that this year they could skip it. She knew she should be listening to it, but it was just so boring. Sure she felt a smidge of guilt because it was for the charity, but it didn't stop her from focusing on something else. In this case, some delectable apple treats Applejack had baked up.

The pegasus was already stuffing her face with some tarts when the mayor said, "For the first speakers today, fresh from an appearance in Fillydelphia, please welcome…the Wonderbolts and their newly commissioned rookies!"

When Dash heard the introduction, she instinctively sucked in, sending some crumbs into her windpipe. She began to sputter out the remnants of her snack, thinking, They're actually here!

She was anxious to see her cousin all dressed up in the Wonderbolt gear. She wondered if he would see her among the crowd. Then she realized, Of course he will! I stick out like a freakin' sore thumb. She thought of the things she'd tell him, the apology she'd say. Sure she was nervous. But at the same time she felt a little relieved that finally she could make amends.

The curtains spread, and there before her stood the best fliers in all of Equestria decked out in their electric flight suits. Dash couldn't help but notice how similar they all looked with their gleaming smiles and their wind-blown manes. She could name them all. There was Soarin and Spitfire, Fleetfoot, Starbolt, Firefly. She saw that red-maned rookie from the magazine, who for some reason wore some bandages over his snout. They were all familiar faces.

And yet one…just one was absent. The streaked mane, the lightning bolt tail. That winning smile that she had been waiting for…was missing.

And just like that, Dash's world became utter misery.

Spitfire stepped forward to deliver her speech, but Dash kept her eyes trained on the back row. She kept looking back and forth, hoping that when she swerved back her cousin would magically appear out of thin air. But every time he was still gone.

She couldn't believe her luck. All this time she had been thinking of how she could fix things up between her and her cousin. And now it was as though it didn't matter. Dash was angry more than anything, mostly for thinking it would be so easy. But now she scoffed irritably at the idea, wishing she had realied this sooner.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's voice rang out from the crowd. She was singing a tune, and soon ponies began to join in like an avalanche of sound. The sudden noise broke Dash's trance, and she looked around confused. The pegasus wasn't in the mood for a musical number, not mention the fact that she hadn't been rehearsing with the others. So as the crowd gathered around singing a song about generosity (no doubt written partly by Rarity), Dash slipped away from the commotion.

She was still in disbelief. Dash shook her head as she began to trot away, mostly out of frustration and not sadness. After all, she had waited to see her cousin only to find that he wasn't going to come. For all she knew, he could be hiding in some far away city where she'd never find him. Her mind dug into the thought of Lightning avoiding Ponyville, staying in the comfort of some unknown location…

Then she stumbled. The rainbow flier, in her angry thoughts, hadn't noticed the hooded pedestrian rounding the corner. The two collided, and they fell to the ground in a heap of dust.

Rainbow caught a glimpse of the stranger's tattered clothes and dirt-caked fur, and she immediately thought she must've crashed into some homeless pony. Part of her was so frustrated that she wanted to yell at the wanderer. But before Dash could scold the stranger, she calmly dusted herself off and uttered, "Sorry about that. I didn't see you there…"

A gasp escaped the cyan pegasus's mouth as she turned to face the stranger. His hood had slipped off, revealing the badly worn face of somepony who had travelled far. The pony's body was dotted with small bruises, and his fur was matted and messy. But underneath the tangled fur and dirt, the stallion's hazel eyes were unmistakable. And as if on cue, the stallion's tail sprung out from his cloak, unveiling a glimmering lightning bolt.

"Lightning?"

"Arco?"

The instant the cousins locked eyes, all the frustration inside of Rainbow melted away. She would have hugged him right there, until she saw the poor condition her cousin was in. "What…What happened to you? You look like…like..."

"Like crap?" Lightning replied. "I guess…I guess you could say I flew through a hailstorm." Lightning tried to chuckle a little, vaguely remembering the lie he had told Slips earlier. But when he chuckled, a slight pain went through his chest.

Ignoring the nagging ache in his chest, he began, "So…do you guys always sing a musical number like this?"

"Lightning, stop. You look terrible, you need to rest."

"No, Arco. I'll be fine. Besides, I didn't fly all this way to rest. I came here because…" Lightning trailed off, trying to think of a way to finish his sentence.

"You wanted to talk?" Dash said, finishing for him.

The stallion nodded ever so slightly, and with a sad grin he said, "You know, the whole way here all I could think about was what I'd say to you. But now that I am here…it's a pretty different story."

Dash answered, concerned, "Why aren't you up there, with the Wonderbolts? I thought you were going to be famous. Is it...is it cause of me?"

"No, prima, it could never be about you. It's just that, well..."

Lightning stared at the ground, not wanting to answer. The fact of the matter was that he was ashamed to tell his cousin what had gone on in Fillydelphia. But then he glanced up at the rainbow-maned pony before him, and he saw a look of genuine worry printed on her face. He had come back to Ponyville to make amends, not to hide the truth.

So he reluctantly began, "You know I can't lie to you, Arco. I messed up. I messed up real bad. After everything that's happened…I guess I got too rough for my own good. The Wonderbolts kicked me out, and things just went downhill after that."

Truthfully, this isn't the first time I've been living on the streets. But you know what? This time, things were different. Because out of all this…I realized something. I realized was wrong, Dash."

Brushing his forelock out of his eyes, he continued, "What I'm trying to say is…I'm sorry, prima. For everything. For blaming you for everything that's happened, for everything that went wrong. You were right; I could've just brushed off those insults instead of letting them get into my head like a stupid idiot.

"I guess…I guess I've been ignorant, y'know. I guess I've been trying to pretend the past never happened and that everything was all sunshine and rainbows. But in all my efforts, I didn't realize it was hurting you. But I want you to know that it never was my intention to hurt you, Arco. I wish I had seen that earlier."

Rainbow stared at her cousin stolidly. Although Lightning couldn't tell it, Dash was quite touched by the stallion's words. Soon she came to the realization that her cousin was waiting for her to reply. Her competitive side wondered how she was going to beat that apology. But another part just wanted her to pour her soul out.

So she said timidly, "Well Lightning, you're not the only one who's been acting like a stubborn mule. Back when you were helping my friends out, I was…."

Dash began to grit her teeth. The mare searched her soul, scrounging for every ounce of willpower she had. She felt Lightning's eyes on her, waiting for her response. Finally, after gathering up every bit of sincerity she could muster, Dash said, "I was a jerk, okay? I was jealous. I saw all the attention my friends had given you and I wanted it too. And I've been so busy trying to get it back that I hadn't realized you were doing everything…for me."

In her emotional confession, she felt her eyes begin to water. Embarrassed, the rainbow-maned pony began to rub her eyes with her hooves, trying her best to dry her almost-tears. She said with a quiet chuckle, "Great, now you've got me bein' all sappy." Then she continued softly, "Listen, I'm not really good at this apology thing, cousin. Not one for words, y'know. You've given me the world, Lightning, even though you've had it rough. And driving you away like that, after everything you did for me, it…it wasn't right. And…and I'm sorry. I understand if you don't accept it, after all I haven't been the best friend out there. I've been selfish, envious, and angry. But I just want you to know that I really am sorry."

Finally, Rainbow glanced up from wiping her tears only to find her cousin staring at the ground. She waited for him to answer, or at least say something. Nothing.

She had begun to believe that her cousin wasn't as willing to forgive as she thought. Dejected, the pegasus was ready to slowly back away. But just when Dash was about to say 'I understand', Lightning replied quietly, "Dash, do you…remember the promise I made to you when we were young?"

The colorful pegasus shook her head, confused.

"Here, let me start," Lightning said, his eyes gleaming warmly. Then he cleared his throat and began to recite, "'Promise me that no matter what I do, no matter what happens…"

"'Promise me you'll always care'," Dash whispered as she began to recall the memory of that fateful night.

"And I never make promises I don't intend to keep. You remember that too, right prima?" Lightning asked, a faint smile playing on his lips. This time, his cousin nodded her head.

"That's still true, Arco. Even now." The stallion placed his hoof lovingly on Dash's shoulder. "I don't care what the world says about us. Because to me, you will always be the number one pegasus in Equestria. You will always...be my sister. And I will always love you." Although his face was dirty and bruised, Dash could still see his gentle grin glow with happiness. And for the first time in what seemed like forever, Dash returned the smile. Just for that moment, she broke down her prideful barrier and let herself fall into Lightning's tender embrace. And in that single moment, both pegasi knew they been forgiven.

The two remained in each other's loving hooves for another minute, letting the other's apology sink in. Finally, Dash stepped back to wipe her eyes which had begun to tear up again, only to find her cousin doing the same.

"Here's one for you, Dash. Can you promise me you'll do it too?" the stallion inquired.

Without any doubt in her mind, the colorful pegasus nodded her said and replied, "Of course. That's what the Element of Loyalty is about."

"Y'know, that's something that I wish I had, Arco. Your loyalty, your bravery. Even when we were younger, you'd always stand up for your friends and face the world. Me? I've been running from everything like a coward. When my friends and family needed me, I wasn't there. I was flying halfway across the country hoping that my past didn't catch up to me. Heh, I guess it finally did. I don't know, maybe it was for the better. Now, I'm not going to run away anymore, Dash. There's another promise for you, huh?"

One thing still nagged at the back of Dash's mind. Although she was hesitant to start at first, she pondered, "You think things can ever be the same? After everything that's happened?"

The stallion pursed his lips and looked up at the sky, thinking about the question. Finally, still looking up, he said, "Truthfully? No, I don't." But then he looked back at his cousin, gave a humble smile and continued, "But even though things probably won't ever be the way they were, it doesn't mean we can't try to make it even better." Dash couldn't help but smile at her cousin's optimism. Because deep down, that was what she hoped for too.

"You really are the best cousin ever, Lightning."

"No need to tell me twice. So, what do say we watch those Wonderbolts, huh?" Lightning suggested happily.

Dash clicked her tongue and told him, "Oh no, Lightning. You need some rest. I'll take you to Fluttershy's, come on. I know how much you like her."

"¿Perdón?" the stallion asked, confused. But the cyan pegasus just smiled wryly and winked.

Lightning shook his head in mock embarrassment and chuckled. Then he gave Dash a playful flick of her ear and said, "Alright Dash, if you say so. But I warn you, you're going to miss the most importante social event ever!"

"I've already given some money anyway. Besides, nothing's more important to me than hanging with… mi familia."

"Heh, you sound like a gringo, Arco."

"Oh shut up!"

The two pegasi slowly began the walk towards Fluttershy's house, away from all the commotion. The sound of the cheering ponies watching the Wonderbolts slowly faded away, leaving them to the sound of their own laughter. Sure they both ached from their multiple injuries, but frankly, the duo could have cared less. For they were together, and more importantly, they were happy.

At the two neared the cottage at the edge of the forest, Lightning asked, "I don't suppose you've got some paper and pens at home, do you? I've got a letter to write to my parents, tell 'em where I am."

"Know what, cousin?" Dash began. She looked at the horizon to see Canterlot, gleaming like some far away paradise. Then, smiling, she looked back at her own little slice of paradise and replied, "I've got a letter to write too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'm writing this letter with my cousin and friend, Lightning Flash. First of all, let me just say that the last few days have been quite eventful. Lightning and I have had our own journeys, our own trials, our own thoughts and secrets. Sure, these trials have tested our bond and pushed us almost to the edge, but in the end, I think it's safe to say we've learned a thing or two about friendship.

The first lesson (and I guess this one goes more for me) is that envy can tear somepony's life apart. It can cloud your mind until you don't realize who's a friend and who really isn't. Sometimes you'll see another who is getting all the attention and good things, and you'll want them too. But you've got to realize that sometimes it isn't all about you. Envy and selfishness are two traits that nobody likes, and sometimes you need to be willing to hand the spotlight to somepony else for a change. Who knows? Maybe that pony is really doing those deeds for your benefit. Maybe handing it over is best for both of you.

The second (and this one is more for Lightning) is that ignorance can be bliss for one pony, but it can be complete madness for another. It's easy for somepony to get carried away with something. But sometime you've just gotta step back and think about what you're doing. About whether you're doing it for the good of another, or yourself. In the end, you may be doing more harm than good, even if you have good intentions.

The third lesson (and this one goes for the two of us) is about promises, perseverance, and happy endings. I've learned that there is no such thing as a happy ending. Not so much because there is no happiness, but because things never really end. Life is full of problems. It's an endless circle of trial and error. But sometimes the mistakes we make have the power to change our lives. And it is our choice to either run away from the problem, or confront it. Nopony is perfect. Everypony makes mistakes. But it's the ones who manage to face the facts and accept them that find peace of mind. And these past few days, I've learned that doing that is most definitely NOT the easiest thing to do. But I've also learned that it IS possible. And yes, things may never be the way they were before. But as my cousin said, that doesn't mean it won't be even better.

Our mistakes can cause us to lose sight of what matters most. Sometimes things can cloud what's really important, whether it's from insults, anger…ignorance. It's only our nature as ponies to let our emotions cloud our mind. And it's hard to have a clear mind when the world seems to spin around you. But when everything cools down, as clichéd as it might sound, you may find that what you need most was right there all this time.

You must be willing to fight for your happiness. And if you're not, well, you should probably rethink your priorities and figure out what is worth fighting for. Because I can guarantee there's something…or somepony…out there worth fighting for.

Lastly, I've learned that there are some bonds that can never be broken. Even through countless storms and numerous trials, there are bonds that will hold strong until the very end. Even though there may be arguments, accidents, and bumps in the road, at the end of the day friends will still be friends. And family will still be family.

Well, that was a pretty long letter, and I'm pretty pooped out for the day. I'm pretty surprised actually, considering I'm not much of a writer. I hope this letter didn't bore the heck out of you, Princess. And I want you to know that I absolutely meant everything I said here, 100 percent. Anyway, I should probably get to sleep now. Lightning's managed to give himself the flu and a fractured rib, so it looks like we'll both be bunking together for tonight. Next week , once we feel better, I'll be accompanying him back to Mare-acaibo, his home town. We're going to be flying over there in Pinkie's balloon on account of my broken wing. It's gonna be quite the homecoming, and I'm going to be there for him every step of the way. There's no way I'd ever leave him by himself, that's what family's for. We go together like two peas in a pod.
Or I guess in our case…thunder and lightning.

Thanks for reading, Princess.

Your faithful students,
Rainbow Dash and Lightning Flash

Whoo, that was a long one! The letter was supposed to be a separate chapter, but since it wasn't over 1000 words (and I actually choose to abide by the rules) I'll just stick it in here. Well, this is the end folks. I appreciate the favorites and thumbs-up and the comment and all that shizz. This was my first pony-fanfiction back on that ol' website FanFiction, so all the support really means a lot to me! So yeah, thank you all! Oh and by the way, if you choose to keep following me, this most certainly isn't the last you've seen of Senor Lightning Flash.
Keep on flying, bronies. Keep spreading the love!
~UnweptPegasus

The Wonderbolt Festival

The Town Hall was bustling with activity. The time was 7:45, and everypony was gathered around the marble structure in anticipation for the Wonderbolts. Due to the small size of Ponyville, the appearances of celebrities such as these were enough of a reason to throw a festival in their honor.

There were carts filled with food, party games, and issues of the latest Wonderbolts Weekly magazine. Ponies were running around, laughing and having a generally good time. Little colts and fillies were dressed in Wonderbolt costumes and were toying with little figures of the stunt-ponies. And at the head of all the festivities was none other than Pinkie Pie herself.

She, along with the rest of her friends (minus Rainbow Dash), were gathered around a cotton candy machine. Well, in reality, Pinkie was buried in the pink fluff while her friends stared at her, their mouths agape.

"C'mon, girls! The cotton candy's just soooo amazing!" Pinkie Pie called out, stuffing her face with the sugary treat. She attempted to pull Rarity into the sticky mess, but the fashionista managed to break away.

"Sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I really don't think cotton candy is good for your mane," she said sternly, making sure her hair was nice and clean.

But the other pony, whose fur matched that of the fluffy substance she was covered in, gave a huge grin and answered, "Well, it's sweet and yummy and good for your tummy! Oh, that rhymed! Tummy, yummy, tummy, yummy, tummy, yum-."

Twilight Sparkle, who was keeping her distance from the cotton candy booth, interrupted, "Yes, Pinkie, I think we get it."

Behind her, Applejack strolled up, carrying an apple pie between her teeth and her little sister on her back. In one swift gulp, she downed the apple pie, smacking her lips in delight. Then she said, "Well you're awfully tense today, Twi'. It's a party, sugarcube, we can't have you all sad an' all!"

The bookworm pony sighed and gave a sad smile, replying, "Oh I know, AJ. It's just that I'm worried…about Rainbow."

The farm pony's face hardened at the mention of her rainbow-maned friend, and she told her little sister to run off with her friends. Once the filly scampered away, Applejack continued, "She's been actin' strange 'round you too, huh?"

Fluttershy, who had been standing quietly and unnoticed behind the cotton machine, spoke up, saying timidly, "Oh dear, I've been quite worried about her. Why, today at my cottage, after we rounded up my animals, she took off without us knowing. Lightning went out to look for her because we were worried she was lost."

Fluttershy paused for a little bit, partially because she waited to see if her friends had any questions, and also because Pinkie had begun to choke on some cotton candy.

After a swift Heimlich and a stern scolding from Applejack ("How in the hay can ya' choke on cotton candy!"), Pinkie Pie settled next to her friends as Fluttershy continued to recant her tale.

"Well, after two hours of searching, Lightning said he found her in a field. But then he stopped for a second to talk to some little ones, and when he looked back she was gone. He said she looked upset. Oh…I hope she's alright."

"Speaking of Lightning," Rarity commented. "There he is over there."

The stallion was standing next to the roped off area where the Wonderbolts would begin their routine. A crowd was gathered around him, greeting the visitor and admiring his electrifying look. But Lightning looked extremely uncomfortable from all the attention, and so he attempted to make his way through the crowd. After some struggling, he managed to break free of the mob and trot over to the five waiting ponies.

With a chuckle, he told them, "All the ponies in this town are really friendly towards strangers, huh?"

The mares, however, weren't in the mood for idle chit-chat. Not even Pinkie Pie, who had practically been bathing in sugar only a minute ago.

Concerned, Twilight inquired, "Lightning, have you seen Rainbow around, lately?"

Hearing his cousin's name, the stallion sighed and looked up at the sky. He couldn't get the image of Dash soaring away, not even saying a word. Nor could he block out the look she gave him when she left. It was a stare that Lightning had never seen from his cousin before, and it had been eating away at his mind for the past two hours. Worried, he responded, "No, sorry. Can't say I'm surprised either. Arco has been acting strange all day. I'm…I'm really worried for her. What if she ran off somewhere?"

Applejack patted the stallion on the back and answered confidently, "Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Lightning. If there's one thing Ah'm sure of, it's that Rainbow never misses the Wonderbolts perform."

Suddenly, the crowd began to gather around the stage as a group of ponies lined up, trumpets held in their mouths. "Oh, the show's starting! C'mon, we have to get front row seats!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing to the front of the mob.

The other ponies began to follow, until Twilight realized Lightning wasn't accompanying them. "Would you like to come with us Lightning?"

"Oh no, it's fine. I think I can see the stage from here," Lightning answered. The last thing he wanted was for the crowd to be distracted by his electrifying look. After all, it's the Wonderbolts' show, not the Lightning Flash show, he thought to himself. And, truthfully, the crowd of intrigued ponies was starting to creep him out. He could see everyone glancing over at him, and the attention and overall friendliness was making him uncomfortable. Surprising for a member of Dash's family, and Lightning knew that.

Finally, fanfare rang out triumphantly across Town Hall, directing everypony's attention away from the stallion. A cacophonous cheer emanated from the large crowd, and they began to chant, "WONDERBOLTS! WONDERBOLTS!"

The mayor appeared on the stage, scanning the crowd before her. Lights began to flash across the dark sky. Finally, the mayor announced, motioning towards the heavens, "And now! Please welcome…The Soaring Stuntponies …The Exciting Avian Equines of Equestria themselves, THE WONDERBOLTS!"

From far off in the horizon, small dots began to emerge. The dots kept getting closer and closer, speeding towards Ponyville at high velocity. Soon, the dots became six pegasi clad in blue flight-suits and goggles. Clouds of smoke and electricity were left in their wake, illuminating the night sky around them.

The shimmering streaks of static soared across the crowd as they stared up in awe. Then the group of pegasi pulled a one-eighty, and sped towards the stage. They performed dangerous corkscrews, gravity-defying loops, and amazing spins, not even breaking a sweat. They were determined to show that they owned the sky.

Lastly, they began to rotate around in a circle, slowly getting faster and faster, leaving a huge spiraling cone of smoke and electricity behind them. With a final flourish of fanfare, the stunt ponies landed on the stage, just as gracefully as they had been in the air. They simultaneously bowed, and the crowd went wild. It seemed as though all of Ponyville was there, cheering for the six pegasi that stood confidently before them.

Finally, after many attempts by the mayor to calm them down, the crowd went silent as an orange maned pegasus strolled up to the stage. The pony's name was Spitfire, the leader of the Wonderbolts. Taking the microphone from the mayor, she smiled and said smoothly, "I hope you guys aren't tuckered out already; that was just our entrance. There's still so much more to come. Now then Ponyville…let's get this show started, shall we?"

She gave the mic back the mayor and rejoined the group. "Wonderbolts! Form up!" she commanded. The flyer then peeled off one by one into the night sky, beginning their performance.

The rest of the night was a flurry of aerial tricks and stunts, and it seemed that after every outstanding trick, the Wonderbolts would perform an even more spectacular stunt. Every time the pegasi finished a segment, the crowd gave a hearty cheer, anxiously awaiting the next part.

For the finale, the Wonderbolts were, quite literally, going out with a bang. The six ponies spun around separately, each creating a small cloud of electricity. Then with a blast of air from their wings, they sent the clouds spinning towards each other. They collided with a huge bang, and sparks began to fly about in all directions. The explosion had been so bright that the light illuminated the entire village, giving it the illusion of daytime. The tendrils of static continued to shoot out from the giant smoke cloud as the mob below continued to bellow out a loud cheer. Finally, after a minute of non-stop crackling and lightshows, the explosion died down, leaving the six Wonderbolts standing on the stage.

In the back of the crowd, Lightning stood with a small smile on his face. Even though the rest of the crowd was screaming their heads off with joy, the stallion remained in his position calmly. For one, he was afraid cheering would attract attention. Two, although the Wonderbolts never ceased to entertain him, Lightning had seen them perform all around Equestria. You've seen one Wonderbolts show, you've seen 'em all, he thought to himself.

And three, although he wouldn't say it out loud, he was still worried about his cousin. Throughout the entire performance, Lightning hadn't seen hide or tail of Rainbow Dash, and he was overcome with guilt and worry. Naw, you worry too much, Lightning. You've got to relax, he told himself. But he was supposed to worry, wasn't he? That's what family members do, right?

Lightning attempted to calm himself down and concentrate on the scene before him. Arco's probably just hanging around somewhere. What could happen? Then he thought of all the things that could actually go wrong. Frowning, he thought to himself, Damn, that didn't work.

Before he could mentally scold himself further, fanfare rose once again. The Wonderbolts were doing one final victory lap before settling back down on the stage amidst their roaring fans. Fireworks streamed into the sky, ending the show with a flurry of lights, colors, and pyrotechnics (much to the delight of Pinkie Pie).

Then Spitfire proceeded to the front of the stage and asked coolly, "So, did you guys enjoy the show?"

But to the stunt pony's surprise, the crowd remained silent. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were agape. The Wonderbolts thought the crowd was staring at them, but it soon became apparent that the attention wasn't towards the pegasi onstage.

It took Lightning a little bit of time to notice the crowd suddenly become still. He was, after all, still wondering about his rainbow-maned cousin. But then somepony yelled, "Over there, at Bronco's Bluff!" pointing towards a towering cliff jutting straight up from the earth.

Although it was dark, the stallion could faintly make out a tiny dot, soaring around the peak at high speed. Upon seeing this, Lightning couldn't help but give a grin of relief. For even though the small figure was but a speck on the night sky, the stallion already knew what the object was.

As if he needed any hint.

xxx

Rainbow sat atop the peak, giving her a breath-taking view of the landscape below. She sat there as six pegasi zoomed by her, their slipstream almost knocking her off her perch. But the cyan pegasus didn't mind; after all they were the Wonderbolts.

She watched her idols soar in the sky, making awesome formations and electrifying tricks. The Wonderbolts never ceased to amaze Dash, and today was no different. She loved the adrenaline rush of watching those pegasi whirl around in the air. However, the mare's heart was racing not just for the Wonderbolts show. Today was the day she makes her mark.

When Spitfire told the crowd, "There's still so much more to come!" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin in delight. You guys have no idea, she thought.

Finally, the Wonderbolts were gearing up for their finale. Rainbow Dash could only sit in amazement as they rotated around at spectacular speeds, over and over and over again. Then came the explosion, illuminating the beautiful landscape in a rush of light. It was all too amazing for the pegasus, and she thought, Soon, I'll be doing that too!

Upon this thought, she realized the show was almost over. Which meant it was her time in the spotlight. Rainbow got up from her perch and stood out over the edge, standing over the plains like a sentry.

This is it, she thought, bending low into a starting position.

My time to show them who the best is. She spread her wings wide.

My friends, the Wonderbolts, Scoots, all of 'em. As the Wonderbolts touched down in the stage, that was the signal for her to begin. She pushed off the cliff, and let gravity take hold.

As she felt the wind rush through her mane in free-fall, she thought to herself, Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate…

xxx

"Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate," mumbled the steel-colored stallion as he watched his cousin plummet to the ground.

She's getting too close…Lighting worried. All around him, the ponies were silent, waiting to see what would happen. The Wonderbolts sat atop their stage, watching intently at the falling pegasus. Even Dash's friends waited anxiously for the outcome of Dash's dangerous stunt.

C'mon, prima. Pull up, pull up!

Then... it happened. Just a few feet from the ground, the rainbow pegasus quickly jolted herself at a ninety degree angle, leaving her dangerously parallel to the ground. The sudden change in direction created a large "Snap!", and in her wake was a flash of blue and tendrils of electricity. It was just as, if not more, spectacular than the explosion pulled off by the Wonderbolts just moments ago.

The pegasus then shot up higher and higher towards the sky, leaving a rainbow trail in her path. She had done it, Rainbow Dash had done it! Holy shit, she did it! Lightning thought.

The stallion couldn't contain himself. Breaking the silence, he cheered at the top of his lungs, "¡Está de puta madre! That was fucking amazing!"

Then everything went wrong.

xxx

With a snap of her wings, Dash pulled off her turn with just a few feet to spare. Behind her, she heard a boom, and then the blue light began to engulf her. The massive feeling of joy and relief surged through the pegasus's veins. Yes, the Buccaneer Blaze! Let's see ya do that, Lightning!

As she skimmed across the ground, she let out an ecstatic holler before pulling back up to take a glimpse at the no-doubt cheering crowd. She heard somepony shout in the distance, but she couldn't tell who it was. To Rainbow Dash, however, she thought that it was just the beginning of an enormous cheer.

But when she glanced towards the Town Hall, she was surprised to see the crowd's attention not at her. No, they were looking at a steel-colored stallion who had just cussed in front of an entire crowd.

No…no…this was supposed to be about me! The crowd may have only looked away for a few seconds, but it was enough of a distraction for the cyan pegasus. Enough to make her lose control. Enough for her to forget about the towering rock face before her.

When she did notice it, she was too late. Dash attempted to veer away from the cliff, but her momentum wouldn't allow it. With a slam, she ran into the rocky bluff with her side, crushing her wing and bashing the side of her head. She was stuck to the wall for a few seconds, her flank pierced by a jutting rock. The pegasus let out a grunt of pain before she slowly detached from the rocks, going into yet another free-fall. However, this was one she couldn't escape.

As the wind whistled past her ears once again and the world began to spiral closer, she thought, No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go at all…

Then she blacked out.

xxx

Pinkie Pie screamed, "Dashie's gonna hit the cliff!"

Despite the crowd gathering around him, Lightning reacted quickly, flying up at the mention of his cousin's name. His eyes focused on the cliff face where, sure enough, his beloved prima crashed. Horror flooded through the stallion's mind as he watched his cousin begin to fall.

There was no time to waste. With a burst of speed, he rocketed towards the cliff shouting, "Mierda! Arco!"

The stallions flapped his wings faster and faster. He was on a mission to save his cousin, and nothing was going to stop him. He kept pushing himself, willing himself to accelerate, telling his muscles to work harder. Now he was soaring at break-neck speeds, all the while closing the gap between him and his cousin.

Although the stallion couldn't see it, his lightning bolt tail had begun to elongate due his velocity. The shimmering bolt continued to grow bigger and bigger as he crept closer and closer to the speed of light. The crowd could only watch as the tail transformed into a crackling trail of light. Electricity flew off of the lightning trail, glowing in contrast to the night sky.

The stallion was leaving a zigzagging line of electricity, slowly giving him more boosts. Finally, with the strength of a lightning bolt itself, the stallion shot forward at the falling figure that was his cousin. Now he was practically engulfed in a spectacular light show of sparks; a show that left even the Wonderbolts in a complete daze.

C'mon, c'mon, almost there!, Lightning Flash told himself, able to see through the flashing electricity that surrounded him. His cousin was perilously close the ground now. Fifty feet…forty…thirty…twenty…

With a graceful swoop, he caught the plummeting pony in his front legs with just a few feet to spare. The sudden addition of his cousin's weight almost caused the stallion to plummet himself, but with some extra exertion of his wings, he was able to stay upright.

The stallion could feel his cousin's faint but steady heartbeat accompanying his own. Good, she was alive. As he smoothly curved around to the safety of the Town Hall, he whispered to the unconscious mare cradled in his arms, "Don't worry, Dash. I've got you."

Due to the extra load, Lightning began to slow down, his shimmering trail of lightning slowly transforming back into a tail. As he gracefully landed in the crowd with Rainbow Dash in tow, the trail he had carved in the night sky began to fade away. Exhausted, Lighting collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Nearby paramedics began to take the injured Dash away, leaving Lightning to be hailed by the amazed crowd.

xxx

When Dash briefly came to, she found herself sprawled out on a stretcher, being wheeled towards a waiting ambulance-cart. She had a massive headache, and the world was just a giant blur of color and sound. Around her, she was able to make out the shapes of a crowd of worried ponies, looking down at the broken pegasus. Not exactly the attention I wanted, she thought.

As they lifted her into the awaiting cart, she caught a glimpse of an orange maned pony wearing a blue flight suit standing next to the paramedics. Her goggles were pulled up, revealing vivid orange eyes that shone with pride. Although Dash had a respirator, she let out a gasp at the sight of her idol. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

As she lay in the cart, Spitfire said happily, "What you did was amazing, kid. Spectacular, even. I have never seen anypony move that fast in my life! We'd be grateful if you'd come join us."

Those were the words Dash had wanted to hear her whole life. And under any other circumstances, she'd be jumping for joy. Except for the fact that they weren't directed towards her.

The last thing she heard before she blacked out again was the sound of a certain steel-colored stallion saying incredulously, "It would be an honor ma'am."

Hope you guys don't mind the swear words sprinkled here and there. That's why it's rated teen after all.