The Night That The Clouds Became Lightning
The Night That The Clouds Became Lightning
The Night That The Clouds Became Lightning
I filled my lungs with the cool, stagnant night air. The normally dry and cracked earth below me was now moist from the afternoon rainshowers. The humidity felt like a constant weight on my back. I looked at my hooves as I trotted through the vast, seemingly empty fields. Years of tripping over our rock crops has taught me to be aware of my footing. I heard distant noises echo across the land, so I turned towards the family home. The rickety and crumbling house that I had been born and raised in was now but a shadow framed by the quickly setting sun. They were probably all having an amazing time, but just thinking about the festivities put my stomach on one of those spinning carnival rides and shook it about. Every year this was how it went. Pinkie Pie threw the shindig of a lifetime, and I slipped out through the back door. I wasn't quite sure what my excuse would be that year, but whatever it was, my family would simply have to swallow it no matter how bitter the pill. I always felt selfish, but my anxiety was too great to give it a chance. It was nice that my sister had friends, but I couldn't bring myself to stomach so much small talk from so many ponies that I didn't know.
So there I was, looking at the stars scattered across the sky like a spilled salt shaker. I was always a bit upset that our birthday fell at this time of year. I had nothing against summer in particular, but it was not my favorite time to be stuck outside. At least it meant that I always got to see the fireflies.
In front of my muzzle, blocking my view of the stars, flew a single tiny lightning bug. I cocked my head to see where it was going, but it was too quick, so I followed it through a craggy patch of igneous rocks and across a small ditch. As I followed the blinking light, I wondered why I wanted to catch it so badly. Something about seeing it move right past me brought out a strange instinct within me. It was so childish.
The realization suddenly clicked in my head like a gear finding its groove. It was childish.
When I was young and I had finished my chores, Pinkie Pie would lead me to our secret spot by the river and see how many fireflies each of us could catch. Those fireflies felt so important to me. And they were feeling important again. The single firefly I saw pass by repressed something I had long since forgotten, a memory that still colors my dreams on the loneliest of nights.
***
“Marble!” she called, her blue eyes overflowing with innocent wonder.
“Mmhmm?” I replied as I watched her fumble her way across our craggy land.
“Look what I've got!” Her voice was slurred due to the old wicker picnic basket she carried in her mouth. It dangled and swung hypnotically from her Pie Hole.
I giggled at the thought. That's what we would call her sometimes, Pie Hole. It fit. Her name was Pinkie Pie, and no one seemed to be able to keep her mouth shut most of the time.
When she reached me, she eased the basket down on the ground like one of Maud’s fragile rock dolls. She beamed. I could see her porcelain white teeth glint back at me.
I returned the smile from behind my mane.
“Mommy made this for us!” She pulled the checkered blanket from overtop the basket, which held containers filled with deep fried rocks. Mother only made those on special days. Most of the time she would say they were too fattening. “Are you excited, cause I'm excited! I can't wait to get out there and catch some lightning bugs! It's always the best when we play together, because you always make me smile whenever you laugh or talk or do nice things for me, and I just can't help it I…” She took a breath. “I love you, Marble!”
I blushed and said. “I-I love you too, Pinkie Pie.” It was squeaky, and I had a bit of a stutter. I didn't speak much. I still don't to this day. I sometimes got made fun of for how I sounded, so I would usually respond with a simple “mhmm”. I spoke only a tiny bit to mom and dad, and Limestone intimidated me too much to try. I would have spoke to Maud more, but she didn't talk much herself. Things always ended up… awkward. However, something about Pinkie made me comfortable. Her smile, her enthusiasm, maybe her wonderful laugh. Whatever it was, it made me open my chest and show off my shy little heart.
“Let’s get going.” My sister began to trot passed me. “I know daddy says that we're not supposed to go past the fence, but I just couldn't resist! Yesterday I sneaked out and climbed passed it, and do you know what I found? There’s a whole river back there!” She did a little hop and then kept moving.
I fumbled over my scrawny, uncoordinated legs, until I was close behind her. “Are you… Uh, sure we w-won't get in trouble?” I whispered.
Somehow, no matter how quiet I was, my sister was always able to hear me. “Don't be silly, Marble! What's the worst that could happen?”
My eyes became weights and pulled my head down into its most from familiar position. “I could fall into the water.”
Pinkie puffed out her chest and gave me a firm slap on the back. “Oh no you won’t! Not with your big sis Pinkie Pie there to save you!”
I bit my lip. “You’re o-only a few minutes o-older…”
“I know!” she petted my head. At that age I would act like I didn’t like it, but she knew better. “You’ll still always be my little sister in my heart.”
I pouted for a few minutes, but soon the two of us were off on our adventure. I always wonder if fillies and colts are in touch with some kind of magic unknown to mares and stallions. When we were small, the world was whatever we wanted it to be. Our collective imaginations could conjure ideas that the greatest authors could only dream of. A trot to the river could turn into whatever our hearts desired, and on that day we imagined we were on the quest to slay a villainous dragon overlord. Pinkie Pie was a glorious knight, a hulking sword clutched effortlessly in her mouth. Her long mane blew in the wind behind her, and her armor sparkled in the summer sun. I was a princess. But I wasn’t any run of the mill princess; I was a warrior princess. I had my own sword and my own armor. But what made me different was I had wings. I had big feathered wings that stretched out several feet each. I felt strong, for once. I felt like a hero who could save the little ponies who didn’t have the power to save themselves.
“Princess Marble!” Sir Pinkie hollered as we approached the fence on the edge of our property. “Are you ready to breach the wall?”
“Mmmhm!” I replied as I blew my mane from my face; I only did that when I was playing princess.
“The dragon’s keep lies just beyond!”
The two of us galloped to the fence as fast as our stubby legs could carry us, and we grabbed ahold of the center log and hoisted ourselves up. Soon we were over and fighting the beast itself.
“Watch out!” Sir Pinkie screamed. “He’s breathing fire!”
“NO!” I cried, collapsing to the dirt. “He got me!”
“Stay with me, Princess!” commanded the Pink warrior. “We need you!” She looked away. “I need you!”
“I think I-I see it!” I reached my front legs toward the sky. “I see the light!”
“Don’t go into to it, Princess!” Sir Pinkie began pounding on my chest in a futile attempt to bring me back to life.
“Uhhhhg!” I stuck my tongue out.
Pinkie Pie looked at me with a single eyebrow raised.
“I’m d-dead,” I whispered.
“Oh!” Pinkie licked her hooves and wiped spit under her eyes. “NO! Look at me! I’m crying!” She wiped more spit on her eyes. At the time, it looked convincing. “I’ll avenge you!”
“RAWR!” I moaned as I rose from the ground.
“Oh no! What is this that I see before me?” Sir Pinkie pointed her sword toward me. “Is this a zombie?”
“BRAINS!” I fumbled toward my sister. She swung her sword at me, but it didn’t matter. I was out for brains, and I was going to get them. I grabbed her by her pink body and nibbled on her leg until she fell to the ground. I was victorious.
What happened to the dragon? I'm not sure, but what did happen was fun. Why ruin fun with something as silly as real life?
Soon we ate the food Mother had packed for us, and we were ready to play again. I caught a firefly. I looked at in in my hooves and saw it blink its warm light. I don't know who suggested it, but one of us made it into a contest. Before long, the two of us were running about wildly and waving our legs in the air in an attempt to coax the creatures into our clutches. I'm pretty sure that Pinkie Pie won. She would always win because she never ran out of energy. I would get tuckered out after only a few minutes.
After screaming to no one in particular that she had nabbed her fiftieth fly, Pinkie noticed that I was laying flat on the ground trying to catch some of my escaped breath. She let the fly go and trotted over to where I was in the grass, plowing down next to me and looking to the overcast sky above.
Even through our fur, we could feel each individual blade of grass poking our backs in a big prickly carpet of organic life. It wasn't a feeling we were accustomed to. Back on the Pie family farm, we had dirt and we had rocks. Plant life was, for the most part, unheard of on our land, but sometimes we would slip up and get a patch of dandelions or a few buttercups. If we did get anything like that, Pinkie Pie would pluck it and use it to build a crown. I thought it was charming; Mother and Father didn't. They didn't understand our hobbies.
Gray clouds hung above. They wrapped around the world like a puffy blanket, though it was less like a blanket and more like the stuffing inside. It was like the big mare in the sky ripped open her bed covering and all the fluff dribbled out into orbit. There were a few moments of stillness and peace. Grasshoppers chirped their best songs, and the fireflies lit their bright little abdomens in search of somebody to love. But soon the peace was broken. The clouds above began to explode.
I made a peeping sound and grabbed onto Pinkie Pie.
Arcs of lightning spiderwebbed between clouds and into the night sky. I closed my eyes and expected to be shaken by rolling thunder, but the boom never sounded. All that happened was the lightning. It was one or two arcs appearing every second in a rapid succession. It was so quick and so silent that it didn't seem like a storm; it looked more like the sky itself was turning into lightning above us. I was still clinging to my sister, but I was also watching the light show unfold.
Pinkie was looking at me. With what was going on above, she was still looking at my face.
If I could make a photo album out of the things I have seen, I would be a fool to leave that moment out. Her face was illuminated by the shining zaps of light that were splitting our heavens. Her smile was the only thing I would be confident calling perfect.
“Hey Marble?”
“Mmhmm?”
“I want to do this forever.”
I wanted to as well, but life wasn't quite so simple. As we got older, our imagination faded and it became more of a chore than anything else. We were busy ponies. Pinkie had got her cutie mark, and Maud was already looking at where to go to school for her rock studies. Life takes people down many paths, and Pinkie and I reached a fork in the road. There was no falling out; we still loved each other just as much. We both found ourselves caught in a riptide called life.
It happens.
Unfortunately as the years rolled by, Pinkie Pie found herself more friends and more places to be. She became a celebrity before long, and I was still shy and living with my parents.
That brings us back to our birthday parties. I didn't hate Pinkie’s parties; they were just too much for me to handle. Everypony was there for her, and I didn't mind. I didn't want ponies to be there for me. What bothered me was that Pinkie didn't even notice that I left. She was just too busy with her famous friends to give her little sister a few moments in the Pie family spotlight.
***
I hit my head against the tree I found myself under. I was trying to drive those thoughts out of my mind. I felt bad that I was ignored, and I felt even worse because I felt bad. It was selfish of me and I didn't understand why it made me so angry. Who was I angry at? At first I thought it was Pinkie Pie, but really it was myself.
The roots of the tree protruded from the ground and jabbed me in the rump. I didn't care; it felt comfortable to be in a familiar spot seeing the familiar sights. A firefly drifted down from above, and found its way in front of my face. I looked at it, and the rest of the world became out of focus.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
It flashed its light and was soon gone, leaving my eyes crossed at nothing. I looked up at the cherry tree I was leaning against. Little fruit hung from the ends of its great branches. They looked delicious. The tiny red balls reminded me that I hadn't eaten. I thought about taking one, but remembered what had happened when Pinkie tried eating one. Perhaps she was just being overly dramatic, but she was on the ground for a good five minutes.
I closed my eyes. I felt tired, but I couldn't explain why at the time. Thinking about the good times made me feel warm, and that warmth made me feel tired. I guess it was like a warm blanket or something.
“Hey, Marble?”
My eyes shot open, and my skin attempted a hasty exit from on top of my body. “MMHMM!?” I moaned, clutching my chest.
“What's going on?”
There she was. The pink party pony herself, my sister, was standing with her head on a tilt only a few paces forward.
“Nothing,” I muttered, hiding behind my usual mane shield.
“Looks like it.” She plopped down on the ground in front of me. I looked down. “But I know you better than that.” She eased forward, and I dipped my head lower to the ground. “Why so glum, sugarplum?”
“I'm fine.” The cool wind rolled over us, and I shivered.
“Cold?” She pulled next to me and laid her head on my shoulder.
“Nope.” I pulled away.
“Marble?” she asked.
“Mmhmm?” I grunted.
“Do you remember when we were little and we would climb this tree?” Pinkie Pie tapped the pinkish wood.
“I guess.”
“I remember dad wanted to cut it down. But you you stood strong. You told him how much it mattered to you, and look at it now. Still here, more than a decade later.” She stood up and grabbed onto a low hanging branch with both legs. “I,”She grunted as she pulled her body up with her prehensile cotton candy tail. “Remember,” she flopped into her belly and hung her legs over the sides of the branches. “When we used to name all of the different branches on this tree. I remember when the two of us would take our rock dolls up here and play heroes. I remember when I fell from the top and Maud had to patch my boo boos.” She began to giggle wildly. “And…” She tried to hold it in but she still snickered. “I remember the time that Limestone… She thought that that spiky part of the tree in the middle would be a good place to sit.”
I smiled at the memory.
“We told her that it would hurt… But she did it anyway! Mom and dad could hear her shout from the house!”
I couldn't help it. I tried to hold it in but I had to. “Hahaha!” I rolled onto my back and fell into a fit of giggles.
“And from then on, we would call that part of the tree 'the porcupine seat’!”
“HAHAHAHA!” I laughed, and I laughed. And she laughed along with me. How did that pony manage to crack me up every time?
“Marble.” She looked down at me from above. I moved my mane out from between us and we locked eyes. “I'm sorry.”
“For what, Pinkie Pie?”
“I swear, I always knew… I mean maybe not really, but I felt it.” She winced. “Whenever you would leave the party, my Pinkie sense went off like… Like a crazy big rainbow firework! It hurt me. It was like a big bee had stung me right in the rump and then kicked me a few times for good measure!”
Tears formed in my eyes with all my might I was able to keep them at bay for the time being. “No, Pinkie Pie! It's not your fault—”
“But it IS my fault Marble!” She shook her head. “It's my fault for being such a big dummy! I should have known better than to make this all about me.”
“But it's your birthday,” I said, standing up so that our faces were mere inches away, hers right above mine.
“It's yours too!”
“You know I don't care much about that kind of thing.” I shrugged. “I don't have any friends to party with.”
“You have us.” Pinkie began counting on her hooves. “You have me, Maud, Limestone, Mom, Dad.”
“We’re not friends. We’re family.” I sighed. “You once told me if we weren't siblings than we probably would never have been friends.” I kicked a small rock that was sitting in front of me. It tumbled down a tree root and fell into a sea of other tiny rocks. It broke. “You stuck with me because you had to.”
“I said that back when we used to have fights.” Pinkie reached out and touched my forehead with a hoof. “I hadn't found my cutie mark yet, and I had become a real sourpuss. I said that because I never could have imagined what you would be like today. I'm not like that anymore. Today I'm proud to call you a friend, sister or not.”
“I know.”
“I came here because I love you, and I'm so so proud of you.” Pinkie slipped off the branch. “Look,” she reached into her mane and pulled something out. “Me and Maud made you these, just like we used to.”
I leaned over. In Pinkie’s hoof were two tiny rock dolls. One looked like a pony and the other looked like… Something else.
“You can tell which is Maud’s. Mine looks more like a frog than a pony.”
I felt the corners of my mouth raise.
“I know it's not much, but…” Pinkie put her forehead against mine. “I just wanted to do something to show you that I didn't forget about you.”
I sniffled. Pools of tears that I did my best to keep back broke, flowing down my face and falling off the tip of my muzzle. “No… No, this is perfect!” I took the figurines out of my sister’s hooves watched as the moonlight reflected small rays of bluish color into my face.
“When you threw me out of your room last year I didn't leave.” Pinkie kicked her hoof in the dirt. “I stayed and I listened to you… You talk to yourself when you're mad.”
I blushed a bit.
“My heart felt like a tiny balloon with all the air being squeezed out.” She mimed the activity. “All the crazy coolness of being an Element of Harmony took me away from the super extreme coolness of being your sister…” For a moment I saw tears forming in her eyes too, but it might have just been in my head.
“It's okay, Pinkie Pie…” I sniffled again and wiped the snot that was bubbling from my muzzle. “I love you so… SO much, and I never wanted to make you feel—”
“You didn't. This isn't your fault!” Pinkie insisted.
“It's not yours either,” I whimpered. Somehow, when I was crying, I managed to sound even more pathetic than usual.
“Look,” she stroked my mane. I didn't hide the fact that I liked it anymore. “It's silly to say this was somepony’s fault. I Pinkie Promise no more blame game. It's not a fun game anyway.” She made a Pinkie Promise with her hoof. “Do you promise too?”
I nodded.
“Well, I know that this doesn't really make up for the past, but I have a super special surprise for you at home.” She grabbed my left hoof.
“Well I don't know… I'm not really very good with your friends…”
“Don't worry. I sent them home.” She tugged on me a bit; I didn't budge. “Trust me.” She looked me in the eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“Mmhmm.” I stepped forward, and the two of us began our trot back to where we belong. Pinkie couldn't help catching a few fireflies along the way.
At home, the dinner table was set with our favorite food.
The end.
