Losing Makes Part of Winning

Cloud Kicker always cherished her friendship with Rainbow Dash. A friendship she cared enough to not ruin it by submitting the mare into a plaything. Dash was special for her in many ways, even more when considering the hardships of their fillyhood, it was a wonder they remained friends for so long. It wouldn't be farfetched to consider their relationship akin to sisterhood.

Being weather ponies in the same town strengthened that relationship, they became best friends quite easily, and Rainbow Dash never judged her for being a 'funtime' pony, one well known across the entirety of Ponyville above all.

Even in the weather team they faced new challenges and turbulent waves that shook their friendship, but their resolve to never be mad at eachother was something that kept them going togheter, no matter what.

Until now.

Now Cloud Kicker would love to do nothing more than shove her hoof all the way down Rainbow's throat.

She was livid. What was Rainbow Dash, in Celestia's dammed plot, thinking?! How could she honestly expect that inviting Thunderlane to the dammed Wonderbolt Airshow was a bucking good idea?!

The worst thing is that there was nothing she could've done to prevent this from happening. It was done. Rainbow went after the stallion at the local school, at that time Thunderlane was picking Rumble to go back home, and Scootaloo happened to be nearby for Rainbow's luck.

She had the audacity of inviting Thunderlane and his brother to the show with no hesitation whatsoever, Scootaloo was also invited to the ride. Since Rainbow had an extra ticket she suggested that Thunderlane should pick the extra pony for the trip. He picked Cloud Kicker.

To say Cloud Kicker was surprised was an understatement. To say Rainbow Dash was rather condescending regarding Thunderlane's choice was no exaggeration. The stallion merely thanked Kicker for being a good friend and being around during his stay at the Hospital.

It was a rare thing for Kicker to feel appreciated by somepony else due reasons outside of family, banging or, well, banging advice. Blossomforth had her moments but she was a very close 'friend'. Thunderlane has been around for only a few weeks to develop a strong sentiment for their relationship.

It was nothing romantic but, the way he stared at her with such tenderness, only for Rainbow to watch incredulously while burning on the insides with bitter jealousy, was worthy of the invitation. Kicker would've added insult to injury only to piss Rainbow further, but when she realized what Rainbow had done, she felt an indescribable amount of righteous anger burn deep at her consciousness.

Kicker waited for Thunderlane to fly back to his house alongside Rumble. Thankfully the brothers had finally found a suitable place they could call home. Considering Thunderlane was receiving a decent payment from the local town, he no longer required the HQ to rent him a place to stay.

"Can't believe he invited you. I expected Chaser or even Sunshower. I guess they ar-

But Rainbow never finished that thought as Kicker came right in front of her looking extremely upset. The cyan mare blinked in both amazement and confusion at her sudden movement.

"You have ten seconds to give me a good reason of why I shouldn't kick your sorry flank all the way to Canterlot."

"What?! What's the big idea?! What did I do?!" Protested Rainbow, perplexed at the sudden threat. Dhe had no idea what the purple pegasus was mad about.

"You should know damn well what you did just now Dash! Are you actually serious?! What were you thinking when you decided to invite Thunderlane to the Wonderbolt Airshow this weekend?!" Kicker was nearly snarling at this point, Rainbow was wary of her aggressiveness, if things kept escalating like this it would end terribly for both of them.

"Can you...huh....what's the word? Lighting? Light me up? Huh...."

"Enlighten." Kicker said dryly.

"Yeah! That word!" Rainbow replied in full agreement. Kicker groaned.

"Rainbow, what part of Thunderlane being the son of Storm Volt went over your gigantic inflated head?!" Rainbow flinched at Kicker's aggressive name calling. The purple mare wasn't one of insulting without a good reason. "Do you really think that, with Thunderlane being well known as his son among the Wonderbolts, it would be a great idea for him to show up at the airshow and, with VIP tickets no less, talk with the other Wonderbolts?! It really never crossed your mind they might bring up his father and that's something he doesn't wanna talk about?!"

Rainbow felt her face heating up in both embarrassment and indignation.

"Well, yeah, I didn't! So what?! He can't keep hiding from it forever, especially if he wants to be a Wonderbolt someday!"

"He never said he wanted to be a Wonderbolt, where did you get this idea from?! He made clear his head wasn't into it the day we interviewed him! It's clear that he wants to avoid the Wonderbolts because the memories are still hurting him. You had no right to force him into doing this stuff!" Kicker's voice was raising noticeably. A few bystanders were starting to stare at the direction of the shouting duo.

"I didn't hear him complaining! Also you saw how excited Rumble was about it?! Heck, how can you not go to a Wonderbolt Airshow?! That's like the greatest thing ever!" Kicker stared at Rainbow Dash with a huge amount of incredulity.

"Of course, it's not like Thunderlane would refuse and make his brother unhappy. Since you decided to invite both at the same time. What choice Thunderlane would have? His brother's happiness means the world to him, it's the only family he has left. How could you not realize that?!" Kicker's retort caught Rainbow by surprise.

"Why do you care so much?!He's a friend, not your special somepony. His feelings about it shouldn't be such an hassle!" Rainbow stared suspiciously at the purple mare. "Don't tell me you're actually feeling stuff for him."

Kicker sighed in disappointment. Rainbow still had a long way to go about friendship, her relationship with the Mane Six was still very fresh and the cyan mare wasn't even near to learning halfway through important lessons.

"How can you still be like this?" Kicker asked ,and something in the way her voice wavered caught Rainbow's attention easily. "After all these months I thought you would've learned something about being considerate towards your friends. Does everything WE went through mattered so little that you're no longer worried that we might end up hurting eachother again? Did it ever crossed your mind we might end up fighting again because we didn't bother to think better of it? Do you want US to fight again Dash?" Kicker was finding difficult to keep her emotions in check. She was so frustrated at this point that it was surprising she didn't scream as much as she wanted.

Rainbow's ears flattened against her head, her eyes darted towards the ground in utter guilt. The memories of an event she regretted flooding into her mind like water. It hurt to admit but Kicker was right, she made her point very clear and Rainbow was struggling to find something to say in return.

There was a fair number of bystanders watching quietly the unfold of their conversation, few of them were familiar faces like Twilight Sparkle, Blossomforth and, surprisingly, Crescent Moon.

Crescent Moon was the pony responsible for scheduling Wonderbolt Airshows and flying around all over Equestria looking for sponsors and new locations for future events. His visits through Ponyville were quite often due his family living at the area. Crescent was an ex-Wonderbolt himself but that was rarely brought up when he was visiting. One would think Rainbow Dash would've been all over him every time he visited, but Crescent has been incredibly lucky on avoiding being spotted by the Wonderbolt fanatic.

He stood quietly as he watched both mares in front of him having a very strong argument about a certain stallion whose name he instantly recognized. It was quite a shock to learn that Storm's sons were currently living in Ponyville, he assumed both brothers would still be around Stratusburg. From what he could listen so far, it seemed there was a huge amount of concern regarding Thunderlane's interaction with ponies that knew his father. Perhaps he could provide some assistance on the matter.

Storm Volt was an old friend after all.

He trotted towards both mares, it felt unnecessary to fly such a short distance. All the ponies around him took notice of his presence and started whispering frenetically. The sudden commotion caught the attention of the two mares Crescent was about to speak with.

"May I help you Mr...?" Cloud Kicker made a pause in hopes of getting some introduction out of the newcomer. Though Rainbow's sudden gasp would make such presentations unnecessary.

"Y-You're Crescent Moon!" She said in pure awe as she took in the presence of a important Wonderbolt near her. "The Wonderbolt Team Manager! W-Wha? Are you passing by or something?"

The stallion chuckled at Rainbow's reaction. It wasn't bad as he always feared it would be, though he decided to omit the reason behind his current presence in Ponyville.

"Actually I am. I couldn't help but hear you two ladies having quite a healthy conversation about a stallion." Crescent wiggled his eyebrows provocatively, both mares frowned at him. "Well, I also happened to hear about a certain Thunderlane. I assume it's the same pony I met many years ago."

Kicker's frown was replaced by genuine surprise mixed with a feeling of anxiousness.

"You...knew his father?" Kicker asked hesitantly. Rainbow, who's anger was currently replaced with curiosity, stood surprisingly quiet during the rest of the conversation.

Crescent's smile faded as he recalled his old friend from the Academy days. Storm Volt was always a troublemaker when he could be, yet his kind heart and genuine concern for, not only the safety of his colleagues, but their daily social struggles, always made up for his crazy antics. Always the charming one towards mares, a pain in the flank for most instructors, and a very admired pony among recruits.

That was the thing about Storm Volt. He was admired for the pony he was, not for amazing flying skills.

"Yes, I did. There isn't a day that I don't think about how much I would've loved to have him around the Academy training recruits. That smart dog would make it up for the current lack of socially adept ponies we have in the Wonderbolt ranks."

"Socially adept??" Kicker asked, the term seemed fairly strange to describe the Wonderbolts. Crescent snorted.

"In other words....ponies who actually care about other ponies aside work. Don't get me wrong, Wonderbolts do enforce safety measures regarding their members and civilians. What worries me is that the current generation of Wonderbolts we have today is way more focused on being the best than being togheter."

Rainbow and Kicker shared a glance, neither quite understood what Crescent Moon was implying but they wouldn't question it further.

"Now about Thunderlane," Crescent paused. His eyes scanned the crowd around them, way too many curious bystanders for this conversation to proceed. "Perhaps we should have this talk somewhere else. Any suggestions?" He asked politely.

Rainbow Dash wasn't sure about a place to go. Kicker, in the other hoof, grinned as she turned around on her hooves before calling them both.

"I know just the place. Follow me."

"Why I'm not surprised..."

"What? I was hungry. Besides how could you go to other place that not the one that makes these amazing hay fries?" Kicker replied at Rainbow's exasperated expression.

"Those are good." Crescent Moon said in agreement. " Also this is a very...huh...*lively* establishment, if what my wife says is correct." He added with a smirk.

Rainbow only rolled her eyes while Kicker gave him a wink of approval. How could somepony not appreciate the Flea's Bite after all?

The small group settled themselves at the nearest table. Berry Punch took only few seconds to come at their table, her sour expression once seeing Rainbow Dash puzzled Crescent and Kicker. Berry left in a hurry with their orders before they could ask her anything in regards about it.

"What was that?" Kicker asked towards Rainbow once the purple earth pony was out of hearing range. Dash only shrugged.

"Probably something I said but can't remember." Rainbow lied without feeling bothered about it. Kicker didn't seem too curious about it since Rainbow's reply had some past occurrences to be valid.

"Now, what was that you wanted to discuss about Thunderlane?" Kicker asked turning back to the brown pegasus that was currently distracted, his eyes studying curiously the establishment and the other occupants.

"Oh? Yes, yes, about that." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts. " I became aware that Spitfire recently gave away some VIP tickets for the show this weekend. I assume correctly she gave them to Rainbow Dash?" He inquired almost certainly. Kicker nodded. "Now I do understand Thunderlane might find it a bit overwhelming to talk with ponies that knew his father and I can help you with that matter if you want."

"You can?" Kicker asked, sounding unsure of how Crescent would be able to come around this problem. Perhaps his connection with the Wonderbolt staff could've something to do with it?

"Yes, that's something I can work with the others." He nodded enthusiastically. "I'm sure they will be interested to see him, it's been discussed few times when Storm's son would join the Academy an-

"He won't." Kicker interrupted. "He said he's not interested in becoming a Wonderbolt."

Crescent Moon froze with his jaw hanging open, the shock on his face at this revelation was more than justifiable.

"B-But...what?! The son of Storm Volt doesn't want to become a Wonderbolt or, at least, try the Academy?!" Crescent's voice was filled with worry and frustration. Both Rainbow and Kicker stood unsure of what to say, they were a bit surprised at his reaction. Crescent shook his head after pondering with himself for few seconds. "I will talk with the team, make sure they don't bring stuff they shouldn't. I understand your concern for your friend, don't worry about it."

Kicker wasn't feeling very assured, but Rainbow seemed to share the same feelings Crescent was having about the whole ordeal.

"I know he can do just fine if he tries the Academy." Rainbow said, surprising both Crescent and Kicker. Kicker for knowing that Rainbow wasn't the kind of having such faith in other ponies without a good reason. Crescent thought their friends didn't want Thunderlane to get involved with the Wonderbolts. "If he stops feeling sorry for himself he will do just fine. He will only get that if we also stop feeling sorry for him all the time."

Cloud Kicker facehoofed at Rainbow's insensitive attitude, but before she could chastise the other mare Crescent started speaking his mind.

"You know Rainbow Dash," He said with a thoughtful expression on his face." Spitfire has been talking a lot about you ever since that incident with Miss Rarity. She said you reminded of her in few ways. I honestly believe that, especially now that I known you in person. Though, the difference between you and Spitfire is that you have more faith in your friends than she does. I hope we can keep this between us, but....had this situation been about Spitfire having to give Thunderlane a chance..." Crescent chuckled humorlessly. "She would've given up on him without a second thought."

This kind of revelation shook the cyan mare, her eyes went wide as she felt something sink deep into her stomach. Even Kicker was somewhat aghast at hearing such thing.

"She ain't the forgiving type, much less the one that deals with ponies and their feelings. Spitfire doesn't believe in making great flyers without scaring them into becoming one. She's harsh, I admit, but also young. Hay, the youngest captain the Wonderbolts ever had since Firefly. There's a reason Soarin is the commander, we hoped he could balance things out a bit, but that's not really working that well." Crescent was grimacing at this point. Spitfire and Fleetfoot had become closer than usual and Soarin was hardly given any attention of the day unless needed.

Rainbow was looking crestfallen at this point which Crescent Moon noticed. It wasn't every day that an iconic Wonderbolt came at you to say that the ponies you idolized for so long weren't the heroes you always believed them to be.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be rambling this much. I felt it would be fair for you to be aware of certain things before jumping into it. The Wonderbolts are prideful ponies, but most of them aren't the most social kind, they may look like that because the media demands them to be. They love their fans, but the ego boosting is way more appreciated than your desire to become a Wonderbolt, unless you are beyond impressive. Wonderbolts have a limited number of members and they do not intend to make those numbers grow unless somepony drops out. You may be the best flyer around, but if they decide they don't like you, well....you will never join them."

"Why this reminds me so much of Canterlot?" Kicker asked with a huff of irritation. "Be rich, be pretty, be important or get lost." Crescent had a saddened look on his face, he was in agreement with that comparison.

"It wasn't always like this. At least not a decade ago. I've discussed few times with the Admiral and Generals that these shows are getting into their heads and they're forgetting what it really means to be a Wonderbolt. They said we should wait a bit before making any decisions. I just hope we don't lose great flyers because of poor leadership judgement."

Before anypony could said anything Berry came back with their orders. She served Crescent and Kicker with a smile while sharing few laughs. That good mood instantly disappeared once she went to serve Rainbow, dropping her plate unceremoniously in front of the cyan mare. Rainbow, who wasn't in a very good mood, decided to more verbal this time.

"What's the big idea? Can't you take 'no' for an answer?!"

Berry glared briefly at the pegasus before trotting away towards the nearest customers. Both Crescent and Kicker watched the exchange with apprehension.

"Was Berry hitting on you again?" Kicker asked after few seconds of awkwardness. "You know, she has a very soft rum-

"CAN'T IT KICKER."

**********************************************************************

The weekend arrived faster than anypony could expect, especially for those lucky five pegasi that would be heading towards Canterlot for the main event of the day.

Thunderlane finally made a check-out from Ponyville Hospital, though the stallion was a bit moody due how awful looking his featherless wings lay limp at his sides. It was a bit odd at first, but Rainbow reassured him that Twilight could work something out before they left.

Cloud Chaser, after finding out about Thunderlane inviting Kicker to the Airshow instead of her, was being a complete downer every where she went, much to the annoyance of the whole Weather Team. Rainbow Dash was making her mind about giving Chaser a warning, if not for Kicker advising her to give Chaser some 'space to think'.

"She's really disappointed. We all know how much she likes Thunderlane, it was quite surprising he invited me instead. Besides, Chaser is a huge fan of the Wonderbolts just like you Dash, that girl has been working hard to get into the Academy in the next season. Just....let her be, ok? You two used to be such good friends, I dunno why you're so distant from each other now."

Rainbow Dash was wondering how many friends she grew distant with since the whole Nightmare Moon incident. It seems that gaining new friends costs you some old friendships, for whatever reason these old friendships were increasing in the numbers and making Rainbow Dash extremely worried.

They were at the train station, currently waiting for the next train to arrive, not many ponies were heading for Canterlot today. Except for one particular unicorn.

"Rainbow Dash! What brings you the pleasure of being here in this fine time of the day?"

The cyan pegasus was caught off guard by the presence of Rarity. It's been a while since Rainbow had any conversations with the fashioning unicorn, not that Rarity would have anything of much interest for Rainbow to talk about anyways. Except, perhaps the times that Rainbow was tempted to tell Rarity that she was Kicker's most desirable consuming dream.

Rarity's presence caught the attention of the rest of Rainbow's group. Kicker eyed the white mare like a hawk, while the purple pegasus would love nothing more than a funtime session with the fashionable pony, it was well known that Cloud Kicker wasn't very fond of Rarity's dramatics, which happened way more often than it would be normal for most ponies.

Thunderlane didn't seem very interested by the newcomer, though he did know her from the gossip of the town. The stallion never went near her shop or the Ponyville spa, which would attend to Rarity's needs more than any other client they have. Thunderlane's concerns in regards to fashion were equivalent to Rainbow's concerns on math books.

"Oh, hey Rarity." Rainbow greeted her nonchalantly. " Going to Canterlot to visit some friend of yours?"

"Oh, well. I do have some appointments with some of my most supportive partners in the fashion industry. It would be uncouth of me to not grace them with my presence." Rarity replied, her attention shifting from Rainbow to the stallion nearby. Her eyes locking on his unnatural mane cut for a little longer. "And who would be this, hum...extravagant pony accompanying you?"

"Oh, this is Thunderlane. He and his brother are joining me and Scootaloo to watch an Airshow today, so is Cloud Kicker. I guess you two meet before?" Rainbow asked, a wide grin spread on her face as she reminded herself of the several times Kicker approached the white unicorn.

Rarity made an unpleasant face as she regarded the purple pegasus standing few steps away. Kicker smiled deviously in return, her look one that clearly expressed how much she wanted Rarity for herself. The white unicorn shuddered.

"Not that I would recall. I'm sure I would've remembered such errr....unique individual as him." Rarity replied with a hint of annoyance.

She wasn't pleased to see Cloud Kicker, neither that they both would be in the same train for a fairly amount of time. The mere thought of it made Rarity want to turn around and later send an apologetic letter to her associates, explaining her absence from today's events. That and Thunderlane's eccentric mohawk was driving her nuts.

The stallion's expression was flat, his eyes narrowing towards Rainbow's friend with clear dislike. He knew very well when ponies would give him pointed looks, mostly suggestive about his appearance.

Thankfully no more words were shared as the train finally arrived at the station. Rarity, without saying anything to anypony, embarked in the first wagon without looking back. Rainbow's group went for the third wagon, though the rainbow mare had to 'persuade' Cloud Kicker to not go after Rarity.

To say the voyage to Canterlot was a quiet one was a bit of a stretch. Scootaloo wouldn't stop jumping all over the seats in sheer delight, her excitement at going to a Wonderbolt Airshow with her favorite pony in the entire world was so much that she was on the verge of exploding. Rainbow Dash was highly amused by her behavior, even Cloud Kicker was being way more optimistic than the last few days, but Rainbow couldn't help noticing that Rumble was oddly quiet for a colt of his age. His behavior was much more controlled in comparison to any other colt or filly Dash has seen in her personal fan club before.

Thunderlane, after going through some growing spell tests by Twilight before embarking the train, was thrilled during the entire trip. Perhaps the fact that he wasn't going to be grounded for two months, due the extreme loss of feathers caused by the Feather Flu, was a huge motivator for his current mood. Yet, Rainbow couldn't help the inwardly sparks of annoyance each time Cloud Kicker and Thunderlane shared a conversation of their own, the cyan mare was still fuming over Thunderlane's questionable choice for this quest. Well, at least it was better having Kicker around than Chaser.

Only a few times Scootaloo tried to rub off some of her excitement towards Rumble, but the colt neglected, very politely, her attempts of cheering him up beyond necessary. Rainbow Dash was feeling a bit off by seeing somepony so young being so oddly mature, she glanced towards his older brother, her inquisitive stare failed to obtain any explanations from the stallion though. Thunderlane was definitely avoiding talking with Rainbow Dash ever since they left Ponyville and that was driving Rainbow extremely upset.

Once they arrived in Canterlot's station, in which Rarity disappeared without a trace, Rainbow took the opportunity to corner him. Kicker was talking with some relatives of her that worked with the Royal Guard of Canterlot. Both her mother and father came to see her before attending for a clan meeting, their stances were extremely formal and carried an air of respect and intimidation. Thankfully Rumble and Scootaloo were more interested in the Royal Guards at the time so they were far out of earshot.

"Mind telling me why you're avoiding me?" Rainbow Dash asked, perhaps more aggressively than she originally intended. Thunderlane's initial expression of enjoyment was quickly replaced by one of anxiety.

"I'm sorry. It's....we're having a good time, especially Rumble and Scootaloo, I didn't want to risk that by getting into an argument." He justified, though avoiding eye contact as long as he could. Rainbow was miffed at his reply.

"What?! Are you saying I'm just a troublemaker and that I'm gonna ruin the experience?!" She flared up at him without bothering to keep the volume of her voice down, thankfully nopony near them paid the duo any attention.

Thunderlane seemed genuinely surprised, and somewhat guilty, at her abrasive reaction.

"I don't mean any of that Dash, please. I'm sorry if I offended you somehow. We just....we didn't really have any real conversations that didn't involve shouting. Like this one." Thunderlane pointed out with a embarrassed smile on his face, his eyes glancing at times towards Kicker and her family nearby, the stallion wasn't going to miss his young brother from view at any time of the day.

Rainbow's eyes widened at the truth of that statement. She really couldn't recall any time in which, for her utter shame, didn't shout at the stallion for some random reason.

"Yeah, I get that." Rainbow replied, her feelings mixed up between comprehensiveness and worry. "Say, why don't we try to do something about that?" She suggested, hopeful that the stallion wouldn't keep avoiding her for the rest of the day, his negligence was hurting her a bit. "We won’t be better friends if we don't try."

Thunderlane chuckled at the way Rainbow Dash twisted this issue in her favor, it was an admirable feat for a mare of such wild complexity like she was.

"Sounds like a plan. Maybe we can work something out when we don’t have to worry about the little ones getting lost." The stallion replied with a touch of humour. Rainbow merely shrugged in response, she wasn't that worried about the young ponies since Cloud Kicker was somewhat fillysitting them around.

They trotted towards Kicker and her family. It's been weeks since the last time Rainbow Dash saw them, an occasion in which she didn't like to recall. Kicker's parents were visiting Ponyville at the time that Gilda was also around for the first time. Needless to say the ocassion couldn't have been worse. Rainbow Dash was pretty sure she would've died of embarrassment once Kicker's mother found her daughter and the griffon sharing the same house after some 'quality time' spent.

Rainbow refused to let that particular event ever be brought into a conversation, especially after the bond of friendship that Rainbow and Gilda always had was ruptured due her aggressive behavior towards Rainbow's friends. Kicker was respectful enough to never bring that up, she wasn't aware at the time of what had transpired between the griffon and other ponies before meeting her.

Kicker's parents, as expected, weren't very expressive when adressing other ponies, much less their own daughter. It was noticeable that their expressions softened a bit every time they talked with her, something that Kicker was really appreciative of.

Kicker's dad, Tornado Kicker, turned his head as he saw both Rainbow and Thunderlane approaching at their side. He chuckled at seeing the little daredevil that his daughter shared so many life lessons and adventures togheter, but what really brought a nagging feeling at the pit of his stomach was the stallion trotting at Rainbow's side.

"Nimbus." Tornado said as he adressed his wife. Kicker's mother, Nimbus Gust, stopped her current conversation with their daughter to acknowledge his call. "That stallion besides Rainbow Dash.....does he looks familiar to you?"

The pegasus mare seemed puzzled for a second, her eyes locking on an unsettling glare towards Thunderlane. The stallion took notice and stopped few steps away, unsure if Kicker's parents were being judgemental of him for being around the mares or because of his physical appearance.

Cloud Kicker was curious, and rather confused, once her father inquired about Thunderlane. She couldn't imagine any plausible scenario in which they could possibly have seen the dark gray pegasus before. She was pretty sure that none of Thunderlane's family members had any ties with the clans.

"Wait, those eyes..." Nimbus said as she got closer to the fidgeting stallion. "That eletric silver mane of yours is not a common thing in ponies. In fact, I remember exactly who was the pony that had such similarities." Nimbus said rather fondly, her smile growing as she revisited old memories from her youth.

Tornado didn't seem so enthusiastic as his wife, he also realized why the mohawk stallion seemed so familiar, but his memories of past events weren't so thrilling to remember.

Cloud Kicker was baffled. She rarely ever saw her mother daydreaming like this, other than when she was singing to herself as she thought to be alone at the house, a day Kicker never would forget. She realized the disdain her father was displaying, which was also intriguing since he hardly ever displayed his dissatisfaction towards something, strict military discipline left no room for being expressive with your feelings.

"Ah, yes. Storm Volt. What a mouthful he was." Tornado said, his voice betraying his negative feelings about the stallion. Nimbus chuckled at his attitude.

"Even after all these years you still hold a grudge? You should know better to let go of past mistakes." Kicker's mother chided but without seriousness.

"He was an irresponsible little twat!" Tornado flared up, his composure faltering for a brief second. "That stallion knew nothing of discipline and respect towards his superiors! Always showing off around the camp as if he was the most amazing pony to ever exist!"

"You're just jealous because he had every mare in the camp swooning on him. Including me." Nimbus replied with great amusement.

"Mom?" Kicker asked worriedly, she stared at her mother as if she couldn't tell who she was. Nimbus waved a hoof in response.

Both Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane were perplexed at their conversation. Rainbow was having a hard time believing anypony could possibly have been cooler than her, while Thunderlane was confused as to how they could've known his father.

"He was nothing but a troublemaker!" Tornado replied hastily. "Thank Celestia he left the guard after few months. I couldn't stand his insufferable overconfidence for any longer. So....how's your father doing son? I assume he got to achieve that obsession of his to be a Wonderbolt?" Tornado asked as he abruptly changed the conversation towards Thunderlane.

"Huh..." Thunderlane was conflicted if he should tell the truth straight away or not. This is not something he liked to talk about but Kicker's parents were none the wiser about what transpired few years ago. He saw the extremely worried expressions of both Kicker and Rainbow Dash. At least Rumble, being completely aware of the situation, took the initiative to distract Scootaloo away from this conversation. "He's....he's dead."

Nimbus's smile was replaced by dulled shock, her eyes widening slightly as her mouth opened just few inches apart. Tornado had a similar reaction, but he managed to hold himself togheter more properly, still he wasn't ready to hear such news.

"D-dead? But....how? He didn't...was in one of the Airshows? I've heard of a fatality few years back, but I never came to know who was the one who perished." Nimbus asked with a wavering voice. The news of Volt's death fell like a bomb on her. While Tornado always held a bit of resentment towards the daredevil she always kept him in memory with extreme care. Storm Volt was one of the very few ponies she ever came to trust and value as a good friend.

Thunderlane's ears flattened, his eyes looking away from the due, his stance becoming reserved. It was clear he had no wish to discuss it any further.

Tornado was perceptive enough to recognize a pony who was still grieving, he shared a glance with his wife so she would drop the questioning.

"I'm very sorry to hear such unfortunate news. Your father was a good pony, despite all the wrong doings he committed during our recruitment stage." Tornado's annoyance towards Storm Volt seemingly evaporated now that he knew the fate of his old acquaintance. "We will talk about his passing once you feel ready to do so. Will you be alright son?" He asked, a hint of concern in his voice that surprised Cloud Kicker. Her father displaying such was something he only reserved for his family and closest friends.

"Yeah, I will be fine. I gotta a brother to take care of after all." Thunderlane indicated Rumble with a shake of his head. " Little fella needs a strong pony to watch for him."

"That's your brother?" Nimbus asked, her eyes studying the little gray colt next to Scootaloo, she was surprised at the clear disparity of their ages. It filled her with dread to realize that there was another clear absence in this group. "What about his mother?"

Thunderlane didn't respond. He only shook his head, looking extremely downcast. The sight of the depressed stallion made Nimbus extremely sorry for his predicament. Nopony deserved to lose both their parents in such a rapid succession like he probably did.

"Mom, Dad, please, don't ask him this stuff right now. I should've told you two this beforehoof, but I didn't know you had share a past with his father." Kicker said, her apologetic expression was directed more at Thunderlane than her parents.

"It's understandable. " Tornado replied, his eyes glancing between Rumble and Thunderlane with a hint of sympathy. "We wouldn't pry such from you even if we knew of something. There are things that are better left unanswered. We better get moving or we will be late for the meeting. " He announced before coming towards his daughter, his muzzle rubbing the side of her own.

Cloud Kicker was caught off guard by the rare display of affection from her father, and since her mother repeated the gesture it confused her even more. They weren't the kind of ponies to display their affection to others in public, it was quite a unexpected thing for them to do but Kicker wasn't complaining, it made her quite happy to feel how far they would go out of their usual formal manners to display their love for her daughter. Perhaps the incident with Thunderlane's parents was a bit of a reality check for both of them. Cloud Kicker hoped her little sister, Alula, would receive more tenderness from them from now on.

"Make sure to let us know how the show went before you two leave. We would love to have all of you at our house for dinner. I'm sure we all have some stories to share." Nimbus kindly offered, she has been curious to know more about Rainbow Dash ever since Kicker retained her friendship with the boastful daredevil, but the sons of Storm Volt were the ponies she looked forward the most to learn about.

"Sure thing mom. If everypony is okay with it." Kicker replied as she gave her group a pointed stare, as if daring them to refuse. Several heads nodded in quick agreement, they weren't going to risk upsetting Cloud Kicker now of all times, especially Rainbow Dash.

"Wait..." Rainbow Dash said as she suddenly realized something. "Thunderlane, your dad was a funtimer like Kicker?"

Kicker groaned while Thunderlane laughed at the implication. Both Tornado and Nimbus were confused at what was Rainbow Dash referring about.

"This is gonna be a long day. " Kicker whispered to herself while praying to Celestia she wouldn't have to explain herself to her parents at dinner.