Light(n)ing Her Heart Aflutter

The sun rose slowly over the horizon, casting brilliant rays of light across the morning sky. Wind whipped past Lightning Bolt's ears as he flew along, soaring just below the clouds. His wings beat rhythmically, powering him forward with every flap. He moved at an impressive speed, even for a pegasi. While the land below slumbered, he was wide awake, his muscles dully burning from hours of exertion. He looked up briefly to enjoy the morning view, then lowered his head and put on an extra burst of speed.

It shouldn't be long now, Lightning thought to himself. He scanned the ground below, searching for his destination. The land was a carpet of deep green, with gentle rolling hills covered in trees. If he remembered the map correctly, this was the Everfree forest. It was supposed to be perilous, inhabited by a menagerie of dangerous plants and animals alike. From above, however, it looked quite peaceful. Serene, even.

Looking up at the horizon, Lightning spotted the small town. What started as a small speck of brown in the distance quickly grew as he drew near. The town of Ponyville now laid below him. As the light of dawn illuminated the buildings, Lightning could see the town come alive. Shops were opening, fillies and colts left for school, and ponies all around began their busy days.

Lightning Bolt descended altitude, starting to slowly circle around above the town. He glanced over the quaint little buildings, searching. Now, where is she... there! He spotted her eye-catching rainbow mane. The light-blue pony laid, curled up and sleeping peacefully on a small cloud, just above what appeared to be the town hall. Lazy, as always, Lightning noted. She hasn't changed a bit!

Lightning spread his wings out, cutting his speed as he went in for a landing. His hooves hit the cloud with a soft *plop*, rocking the cloud gently. The rainbow-maned pony groaned and waved a hoof in his direction, her eyes still closed.

"Leave me 'lone," she mumbled. "Thunderlane's got morning cloud duty, I'm sleepin' in..." She rolled over, facing away from Lightning Bolt.

"Oh, is that so?" Lightning said, amused. He took a few steps closer to her and poked one of her wings with his hoof. "So you're not getting up, Rainbow Dash?" His words were met with an affirmatory grunt from the slumbering form. Lightning chuckled. "Not even to see your big brother?"

"What? It can't be! Lightning Bolt?" She turned and looked up at him, her apparent sleepiness draining away. It was him. The same blue coat, the same teal mane, the same lightning bolt cutie mark. The same green eyes stared playfully into her own.

"The one and only," he said, smiling softly. "Little sister."

"Oh, come on!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "You're only, like, a year older than me. I'm not your 'little sister'!"

"Face it, Sis: You might be able to sonic rainboom, but I'll always be better than you at being oldest!" Lightning grinned as Rainbow's face grew red with irritation.

"Ooh, I oughta..." Rainbow Dash rushed towards him. Lightning braced himself, but instead of getting hit he felt her forehooves wrap around him in a hug. "I missed you, big bro."

"Me too, Dash," he hugged her back, then pulled away for a second. "So... show me around town?"

"Oh, yeah, I can give you the full tour!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, her eyes lighting up. "And I can introduce you to all my friends! I'm sure they'll be glad to meet you." She glanced down at a decorated, sugary-themed building below. "There, at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie threw us a sleepover party last night, so they should be there eating breakfast now!" Rainbow Dash leapt off of the cloud and spread her wings, gliding down to the pastry store. Lightning followed, eager to meet his sister's friends.

They landed near the front door. Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Lightning's shoulder, pulling him aside for a second.

"Hey Lightning, wait up a sec."

"Uh, sure, what's up?" said Lightning. "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all, just... look out for Pinkie Pie, alright? She can be, well, enthusiastic about new friends." Rainbow turned and opened the front door, motioning for Lightning Bolt to follow. "Hey girls, guess what? My brother Lightning Bolt is here!"

Lightning entered the bakery. What did she mean by 'enthusiastic'? Around a table sat three ponies: one white unicorn with a dazzling purple mane, one orange earth pony with a cowpony hat, and one purple alicorn. All three looked up from the table and their plates of waffles with curious expressions, unsure of what to make of Rainbow Dash and the strange new visitor.

"Uh, hi everypony. My name's-" Lightning was cut off as a pink streak raced from the kitchen and slammed into him, bowling him over almost out the door. A pink pony bounced over him, babbling excitedly as he laid on the ground.

"Omigoshomigoshomigosh-really-you're-Rainbow-Dash's-brother-I-didn't-even-know-she-had-a-brother-but-here-you-are-and-it's-really-great-to-meet-you-I'm-Pinkie-Pie-pleased-to-meet-you-and-I-know-we're-gonna-be-friends-I-love-getting-to-know-new-friends-and-ooh-I-almost-forgot-since-you're-new-here-I-need-to-throw-you-a-PARTY!" Pinkie Pie continued dancing over him, going on to list the many party decorations she'd need and ponies to invite.

"Pinkie Pie, please calm down, you're terrifying the poor stallion!" reprimanded the white pony at the table. Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped out loud and rushed back into the kitchen. Lightning stood up, helped by the white pony, who had trotted over to him. "Terribly sorry about Pinkie Pie. She is rather excitable around new friends. I am Rarity, pleased to meet you."

"Yeah, you too..." Lightning responded, still dazed. The other two ponies at the table stood up and introduced themselves.

"Howdy, I'm Applejack," the orange pony said, with a country accent.

"And I am Princess Twilight Sparkle" said the purple pony, brushing her mane slightly with her wings. "I didn't know you had a brother, Rainbow!" Twilight said, looking at Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Dash said. "I haven't seen him since I moved to Ponyville. He left Cloudsdale at the same time to go do weather control in the zebra lands. Is that right, Lightning?"

"Yep." Lightning nodded. "It was fun. A long ways from home, though. I transferred back to Cloudsdale just a few days ago, and I came straight here to say hello to my sister."

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie zoomed in from the kitchen, carrying a large plate of waffles on her back.

"I made more waffles for everypony! You too, Lightning Dash!" Pinkie sat the plate of waffles down on the table. The waffles were in stacks, hot and soaking with delicious-looking syrup. Pinkie pulled up extra chairs for Lightning Bolt and Rainbow Dash before taking a seat herself. Fortunately, the large, round table had enough space for all seven ponies, although one chair still sat empty. Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle sat back down and began to dig into the second helping of waffles.

"Wow, thanks Pinkie," said both Lighting and Rainbow, already taking their fist bites of the waffles. Lightning Bolt in particular felt famished from his long flight earlier. When he finally looked up from his plate, only Pinkie Pie had finished hers quicker. "Delicious!" Lightning said, leaning back slightly in his chair. He looked at Rainbow Dash, who was sitting directly to his right. "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Rainbow looked over at him, smiling.

"Uhh, kinda! The six of us are, like, only the most awesome problem-solving team in Equestria!" Rainbow spread her forehooves wide, emphasizing their greatness. "We've saved Equestria at least a dozen times!" The other ponies nodded in agreement. Lightning leaned forward, intrigued.

"Oh, I have to hear this! Fill me in, I want the whole story." One by one, each pony at he table introduced themselves, their careers, and then explained the adventures they had had together. Nightmare Moon's return, Discord's return, Chrysalis' attack on Canterlot, all the way up to Starlight Glimmer's redemption. By the time the stories were through, the sun was much higher in the sky, about halfway to noon. The plates that had once held waffles sat empty on the table, as breakfast was long over. The plate by the empty chair still had a cold waffle on it, however.

"Wow..." Lightning said, still trying to take it all in. "You've been busy, little sis. And you even got into the Wonderbolts!" He gave her a brotherly pat on the back.

"Well, I'm just in the reserves, but it's still awesome!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Flight practice was yesterday, but I got back too late for the sleepover. Sorry, Pinkie."

"Oh, it's no problem!" Pinkie Pie assured, smiling. "I'll just throw another slumber party in a few days!" She pulled out a notepad from... somewhere, and began writing sleepover party ideas down, muttering excitedly to herself about decorations and party games.

"Hold on a second, Rainbow," Lightning Bolt said. "didn't you have six friends? And only five are here now. Who's the other one?" Rainbow Dash turned to reply, but was interrupted by the door opening.

"Sorry I couldn't stay for breakfast, girls. A family of squirrels got terrible tummy-aches from some bad nuts, and I had to go take care of them. Did I miss anything?" The soft voice came from the doorway, followed by the pony herself. She had a yellow coat, a flowing pink mane, and a cutie mark of butterflies. Lightning Bolt's eyes widened in recognition. That's... Flutttershy, isn't it? Rainbow's friend from Cloudsdale? Lightning stood up from the table, waving at the new visitor.

"Hey, Fluttershy! Long time no see," Lightning Bolt introduced himself. "I'm Lightining Bolt, Rainbow Dash's older brother. Remember me?"

Fluttershy froze, her eyes shooting wide open. Her mane stood on end, and her jaw dropped. Her mouth worked silently, trying and failing to form words. Finally, she managed a small *eep!* before turning and galloping out the door. Lightning turned to Rainbow Dash, dumbfounded.

"Was it... something I said?"