The dark clouds relentlessly consumed the warm daylight that so many ponies awaited with their hearts. Twilight watched with a puzzled look as the sunlight was being taken away from everypony.

“These don’t seem to be normal…” concluded Twilight after some thought. She stopped looking at the darkness that overshadowed Ponyville and focused on the train. Everypony had already left and soon the train was also about to leave. Twilight was disappointed.

As soon as her eyes looked down in sadness, she reflected on what she had in mind for this special day: showing the guest the whole place; showing him the wonders of reading a good book; introducing him to his friends… As she was thinking about her plans, the dark clouds started to release lightning bolts. They were harmless, but their sound made it seem like the clouds were enraged at something. A light rain started to fall. Twilight took shelter under a small roof that was placed above some chairs, still trying to understand what was going on.

Princess Celestia would never make a mistake in something that she was aware Twilight would like for sure. With that thought on her head, she decided to wait for a little bit longer.

Five minutes had passed. There was still no sign of anypony new and there was no change on Twilight’s sadness. The only thing that had changed was the rain, which stopped being so small and light - It was now very heavy. Heavy to the point that it seemed like the roof Twilight was taking shelter on was about to get pierced. Of course that, in a worst case scenario, she could use a magic barrier to protect herself from the rain. But she was still pensive about the whole situation, not paying much attention to the weather anymore.

Twilight sighed. With no sign of anypony there, she made up her mind. Whoever was supposed to be there by that time of the day was missing. Her pensive look transformed into a smirk. She liked challenges, too, so why wouldn’t she consider this situation one? After spending so much time with Pinkie Pie, she started to take a much more adventurous point of view when the situation called for it. Deep down, Twilight knew whatever had happened, it was going to be fine. The supposed guest could be hiding from the rain, or maybe he took a different way to get to Ponyville instead of using the train. She decided: she was going to look for this guest, even for the whole day if she needed to. Her sadness no longer present, Twilight decided to get up and search. As she got up, Twilight heard something from above:

“This is the last place! Just what’s wrong with the weather today?” talked somepony over the roof Twilight was on. The alicorn was surprised and decided to get out of the shelter to take a closer look at who was there. She looked at the top of the roof and a yellow colt, a pegasus, with a weird looking, spiky red mane was on top of it.

“What are you doing there!? The weather is getting worse by the second!” said Twilight with a worried expression. But the pegasus was focused on the clouds, and nothing else. He heard Twilight’s warning, alright. But his face was serious at that moment and that expression didn’t change a bit; it was like it was made of steel.

In the blink of an eye, the pegasus had disappeared. Twilight looked confused. Was that just a hallucination?

“Wow, these are heavy!” she heard from above. She looked up and saw the mysterious character trying to push one of the clouds. She instantly though the Pegasus was insane. Who in their right mind would push a cloud that seemed like it was about to explode at any moment? Either he was very, very bold, or he was being very, very stupid. Twilight was about to reach some words to him, until the pegasus backed off for one brief moment.

“Finally, he shows signs of sense…” thought Twilight to herself. But as soon as she finished her thought, the pegasus charged at one of the clouds with such speed, that it seemed that he had become invisible. Twilight gasped with surprise. There was nopony in Equestria that could be capable of such a feat, except for Rainbow Dash! When she finally got her eyes again on the colt, she continued to try calling him back down. But the pegasus was as stubborn as a mule. He put his hooves on the cloud he had previously tried to move, using the momentum he acquired from dashing at that speed to push it away. Surprisingly, results were being seen. The clouds seemed so heavy that nopony could even take them away from their place. But that young colt was doing it, somehow. As he saw the results of his efforts, he made a slight grin and flapped his wings even faster than before. Before Twilight could process what was happening, the colt was able to go through the cloud unharmed. As a result, the cloud slowly dissipated, as peculiar as it seemed. Dashing through the clouds in the same manner, the colt was able to dissipate them all in less than one minute.

“And that’s all of them!” said the colt wiping the sweat off of his head with his hoof as the sunshine enveloped Ponyville once again. He calmly came down to where Twilight was, with a small smile on his face. Twilight was having a hard time to believe that there was somepony on the same league as Rainbow Dash when it came to speed. Thousands of questions came to the alicorn’s head. As the pegasus landed on the ground, Twilight immediately walked towards him.

“What was that you just did?”

“Didn’t you see? I simply made sure the clouds were all gone.”

“You say that with such casualty… In any case, who are you? I’ve never seen you around…”

“Oh, the name’s Thunderbolt Flash. I came here because somepony gave me a task here. I’m supposed to meet with Princess Twilight Sparkle, but I think I just missed her…”

Twilight’s frown turned into a smile once again. It seems this colt, Thunderbolt Flash, is the guest Princess Celestia talked about in the letter she sent yesterday. But questions still wanted to get out of her mouth to search for answers. For now, however, she decided to just go with the flow and leave the questions after her introduction.

“That would be me. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Pleased to meet you, Thunderbolt Flash.” said Twilight with grace. It was visible that her etiquette was improving. She often used Spike to help her train. But it was still difficult, as the baby dragon always laughed when she tripped over some words. His lack of maturity was a problem, but it seems that Twilight’s influence started to affect him as well lately. He decided to try and be a gentlecolt for his crush, which happened to be Rarity. Twilight was about to get lost in this thread of thought, but luckily the pegasus’ voice came out to wake her up.

“It’s an honor, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m from very far away, so I wasn’t aware that a new princess had risen. Anyway, you can call me Flash. There’s no need for that much formality with me.”

“I see. I’m still a newbie when it comes to being a princess, so I guess there’s no need for you to call me ‘Princess’. A simple ‘Twilight’ will suffice.”

“Would that be alright? I don’t want to disrespect you, after all.”

“I don’t mind. I’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s alright with you.”

Flash had a face that seemed nervous. It was his first time talking to a princess other that Celestia and Luna. He didn’t want to make a bad first impression, after all. But he decided to go with it and nodded affirmatively.

“Very well. First of all, why were you late? Weren’t you supposed to be in the last train?

“Yes, but I missed it because of something that was bothering me. You see, that train’s destinations were Canterlot and Ponyville, respectively. However, there were very strange clouds over there too, and if the weather wasn’t going to get better, the train couldn’t leave the station. The clouds there were as heavy as these here, but the way the rain fell was more dangerous. I had to take care of those clouds to make sure the train would leave.”

Twilight became curious about what Flash did, but also had doubts about Flash’s permission to “take care” of the clouds.

“I know what you’re thinking.” interrupted Flash with a serious look. ”But those clouds weren’t normal. Those were produced with magic alone. How they were produced, however, is a mystery… In any case, when I took out those clouds, I figured I had time to fly to Canterlot as fast as I could and reach it in time to catch the train, since there was still nopony on it. So I took care of the clouds in Canterlot as fast as I could, and flew back to the previous train station. But the train wasn’t there, unfortunately, so I flew here to take care of the clouds here and meet you once I had finished the job.”

Twilight was having a hard time to process all of that. But she summed up the whole situation in her mind and concluded that Flash was a speedster that was trying to clear the sky as fast as he could, from one place to another, before he could catch the train. But then another question came to her.

“So, if you can fly THAT fast, why would you need to use the train in the first place?”

“Princess Celestia gave it to me. So, to follow her instructions, I simply wanted to use the train to get here.”

“In other words, you wanted to honor Princess Celestia’s instructions…” mumbled Twilight to herself. But after a moment of thought, she understood the reason why Flash had the ticket in the first place. He was really fast, even for a Pegasus. To achieve that kind of speed was straining for Flash’s body. Of course she was simply theorizing. He didn’t seem to be very tired after flying around from Canterlot to Ponyvile, and from the other station to Canterlot, however. Perhaps he stopped to recover his breath? Who knew?

Twilight shook her head lightly to make sure she wouldn’t be lost in her thoughts. But it seemed to be a little too late. Flash had an eyebrow raised and Twilight easily understood that he noticed her expression when she was thinking. To hide the usual thoughtful look in her, Twilight smiled a little and turned her attention back to the yellow colt.

“I see… Well, now that you’re here, I can show you around. I don’t have any more questions for you, so how about we leave and see the rest of the town?”

Flash’s serious face turned into a smile, just as Twilight predicted. She decided to not question his speed and other things related to make Rainbow Dash a surprise. But that would have to wait, since the two decided had decided to make a short morning walk around Ponyville and then head to Twilight’s place to introduce him to Spike. While they were walking and talking, Twilight mentioned the baby dragon. She learned Flash was really fond of fauna, something that made her remember Fluttershy right away. Learning that, she was eager to introduce them to each other. Until recently, she has been alone with her animal friends for days, so a visit from a new friend that also likes what she likes would certainly make her happier.

They finally reached the castle. Flash had his jaw wide open… It was amazing, seeing how big and beautiful it was. He thought to himself how it would be to live in such a place. Twilight seemed to have already known about how he would react, so she simply giggled and opened the door. She entered, leading the way to the colt and turned around, only to see Flash dumbfounded at the greatness of the place: books were everywhere in an orderly fashion, organized in all kinds of categories.

“Welcome to my place, Thunderbolt Flash!” said Twilight with enthusiasm. Flash was still contemplating the castle’s interior: it had a mix of the simplicity of a regular library and the beauty and grace of a princess’ castle. But an unfamiliar voice to Flash came from above, calling for Twilight. Asking him to follow her, Twilight went to the upper level of the castle. Flash liked what he saw: a talking, purple baby dragon, mumbling some things to himself. Needless to say, the baby dragon’s attention quickly turned to Flash the moment he saw the unusually styled mane.

“And who might the ‘spiky mane’ be?” asked Spike with a raised eyebrow while looking for something in a fruit basket.

“He’s the one that Princess Celestia’s letter mention yesterday. His name’s Thunderbolt Flash.”

“Thunderbolt Flash? Never heard of him… Is he your…?” finished Spike with a grin.

Twilight blushed slightly and let the head down to let her fringe cover the nervous look she had.

“Of course not...” answered Twilight, while looking to the ground.

Spike was about to let off one of his infamous laughs, but Twilight’s shyness disappeared when she noticed what Spike seemed to be doing. Her expression transformed completely. Her presence even seemed to let off a hostile aura towards Spike.

“Spike… What are you doing next to the fruit basket?” asked Twilight with an angry face and a forced smile. She lived with Spike when he was first hatched, so Spike knew exactly what was about to happen when he was caught disobeying orders. Spike reflected on Twilight’s position. She only wanted his good, nothing less. Furthermore, the alicorn was like a sister to him. It’s true that he liked to be mischievous once in a while, but he was sure that Twilight was about to scold him.

“Sorry, Twilight… It’s just that my appetite hasn’t been settled yet, and some more big apples would fill the hole…” said a sad Spike.

There it was, the moment of the truth. He knew Twilight’s orders, and possibly what she was planning for Flash’s surprise, and yet, he was about to let down her “sister”. He was actually feeling guilty. But Twilight was still thinking about scolding him. She knew it was tiring to keep saying the same thing to Spike every time he did something bad, but she was aware that it had to be done. She took a deep breath and prepared to herself to give Spike a small lecture, since she wanted to keep Flash interested for the rest of the day.

“Let it slide, Twilight.” a voice said by Twilight’s side.

“Spike is a growing dragon, and looking at his physique, I can tell that he needs to eat as much as he wants to keep growing healthy. Restricting his meals won’t always help, since it depends on the stage of growth they are in. You don’t have to worry, though. It’s only temporary, but there will be more cases similar to these.” completed Thunderbolt Flash with a smile.

Spike’s sadness turned into surprise. He didn’t think Twilight’s guest would defend him after being caught red-handed doing what he shouldn’t. Twilight looked at Flash with a puzzled look and thought for a few seconds if she would even consider such a thing. She just met Flash a while ago, so should he be trusted, even? But then, she remembered of her first day in Ponyville and how she met her friends. The memories filled her heart, which overflowed with good emotions. Still trying to fight emotion with rationality, Twilight decided to see how this situation would enroll.

“You know somethings about dragons, I see...” said Twilight with a skeptical face.

“More or less, I learned this from reading a long time ago in a book about Spike’s species, the Purple Lizard species. I think it was called…”

“All About Dragons: Purple Lizards!” completed Twilight with an excited look on her face. She seemed fascinated when Flash mentioned the word ‘book’. Even Spike was wondering what was happening.

“Yes, that one! It was mentioned on the second of the seven volumes.” Answered Flash with nearly as much enthusiasm as Twilight.

“But, like I said, I’m not a dragon expert. Back home I was missing the last three volumes…” said Flash with a frown.

Twilight’s smile opened wider than before. It was her lucky day, since she had those three, but was missing the ones Flash had. But even more exciting than this was the fact that she had no idea he enjoyed reading. It was exciting to think about having somepony that could potentially turn into a reading buddy and discuss stories with each other. She only knew that Flash had read that book at least, but she knew right away that he would very likely be a reader of all kinds. To be able to read one of those volumes was the equivalent to read a 700 page book! One does not simply read it and have the patience to do so while not taking pleasure in reading. There was potential there, and she knew it!

But before all of this came out of the young alicorn’s mouth, Spike coughed loudly and caught both of their attention. Twilight remembered she had somethings to do as welcome gifts. She was about to fly to the other level, but Spike intervened and coughed even louder. Twilight finally understood what he meant.

“Fine, fine… You can eat three, but no more!” said Twilight whie, deducing Spike still hadn’t eaten the ones she gave to him.

“Five is the ideal amount.” said Flash with a nervous face. He was afraid she would feel like he was pushing her around, like if he was demanding instead of being grateful for what she had done so far for him. But Twilight was aware of Flash’s thoughts and nodded back at Flash with a smile. Relieved, Flash adopted his serene face once again. Spike then took the apples and devoured them viciously. But when he was down to the last apple, he thought he should appreciate what Flash did for standing up for him.

“Here.” Said Spike while offering the apple. Flash happily accepted and grabbed the apple with his mouth. The view Twilight was witnessing was heartwarming. She couldn’t help but smile at them, despite what had happened. Without a warning, Twilight used her magic on Flash’s apple and cut it four equal pieces. She also brought a plate from a room using her magic, so it would be easier to eat. She placed the apple pieces on the place and placed it in front of Flash, who nodded gratefully with a small smile.

“Thank you, Twilight and Spike.” Said Flash while thinking if he was being a bother. Twilight could read his through his face and grasp his thoughts, though.

“No problem!” answered Twilight with a small giggle.

“By the way…” continued the alicorn. “How come you’re so fast? I mean, so far I only know of one pony that is as fast as you are, and she’s the best flier in Equestria.”

Flash took one of the quarters of the apple and ate it. His eyes widened while his smile grew bigger.

“This one’s really sweet! The best I’ve ever ate! But if you want to know the truth, my family is composed by great fliers, each one being very fast. The Thunderbolt family isn’t very well known because they rarely leave the village, but their speed is usually above average. It’s very hard to control the pace they fly at, so they take extreme training regimens to perfect that.”

“So you’re saying your speed is innate?” asked Twilight, intrigued.

“In a way, yes. But it takes a great deal of time to train yourself and get used to it.”

“You should race Rainbow Dash, Flash!” said Spike with an explosive attitude. Twilight quickly gave him a glare, thinking that Rainbow Dash would most likely not take the competition very well, especially after knowing that a rival that could potentially surpass her showed up.

“Think about it, Twilight! Rainbow Dash is really fast too! If they were to race, it would be the competition of the century! No, of the millennia!” exploded Spike while punching the air out of excitement.

Twilight knew Rainbow Dash could also take the race with a sporting attitude, but the chance of that happening was… minimal. She had become faster over time, but sadly she became cockier as well. If she was to lose, she would be really frustrated. Twilight’s mind was like a room with two red buttons: one button allowed the competition to happen and have a regular 50/50 chance of each other winning; the other button would spare Rainbow’s pride as the best flier of Equestria, in case she’d lose the race, by not allowing the competition to unfold. But then something struck Twilight’s head. They were grown-ups, so to speak. Rainbow most likely wouldn’t rage about losing a race. If anything, it would help her to strive for even bigger heights. What could go wrong, after all?

“I’ll think about it…” said Twilight with a poker face towards Spike. The dragon knew Twilight, so he was sure her gears were spinning inside her head. Fitting the situation, Spike let out an internal laugh with a slightly malicious tone. “Good, good… exactly as planned…” thought Spike to himself.

Flash had finished eating the apple and Twilight decided to the Sugar Cube Corner to get some cupcakes. Of course, she offered Flash to come with her, which he accepted. Spike decided to stay home and behave, since he was also preparing a welcome surprise of his own for Flash that not even Twilight was aware of. As the two ponies were about to leave, somepony knocked on the door three times. Twilight wasn’t expecting visits, at least that early in the day. Flash could feel her surprise and how tense she was. Preparing for a worst case scenario, he lowered his body slightly and widened the space between his hooves.

“I feel like something big is about to happen… Prepare yourself.” said Flash with a serious face.

Author's Note

Hello, dear readers! My apologies for taking so much time for uploading this chapter. I've been recently busy, and as such, I had little time to work with this chapter.
In any case, I hope you're enjoying this fimfic so far. If you have some questions from this, or the previous chapters, feel free to ask.
On the next chapter, something intense will happen to both Twilight and Flash! I'm sure that deep down you know what will happen...
And with this, I'll take my leave! I'll see you guys later, and have a great day!