sigh “Finally. We’re home….”

“Uuuugh,” Lyle exasperated. “Took us long enough….”

I looked at both of them with an inquisitive look. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“...”

“Well, if you hadn’t spent so much time asking the pink bakery pony which set of sugar cookies would be better to send home to your mom, then we would’ve gotten back home sooner,” Lyle complained as he opened the door. His magic pushed the door aside as he stepped through.

“I haven’t been to Sugarcube Corner ever,” I explained. “Of course, I don’t know! I just wanted to ensure the ones I intended to purchase were the same as the ones I remembered mother liking.”

“Chill, Swift,” Jake said as he rolled his eyes. “Lyle’s agitated since he only needed to get one thing while we were in Ponyville while being forced to wait for us.”

“...”

“I-I-I am not!” Lyle pouted. “I-I was being patient….”

“Then why are you so upset?” Jake replied with a raised brow. He placed his bags down on the kitchen table as we began unpacking.

“I-I am not, I promise,” Lyle responded softly.

“...”

“Doesn’t sound like it to me,” I muttered.

“Okay, fine.” Lyle exaggerated his motions before facing me. “I’m sorry for getting a little upset at you and being impatient. There, happy?”

“A little?” I countered before snickering. Jake began to chuckle as Lyle stared back. “It’s all good, Lyle. I accept your apology.”

“...”

“So what’s the plan for tonight, gentlecolts?” Jake asked. “I know we have to get some grub, but what do you want to do tonight for fun?” He looked at all of us as we thought to ourselves.

“Speaking of food,” Lyle started, “I want to try and make this old family recipe my grandma used to make when I was a foal. I think you all will really like it.”

I looked at Lyle, who was practically beaming right now. “Okay, Lyle,” I said with a smile. “You can do that, and then afterward, maybe we can play Pony Kart II again?” I shrugged before seeing Jake’s expression go dead.

“Bro, do you remember what happened two days ago when we played that game?” Jake asked rhetorically. “Pete wiped the floor with us, you and I had an intense back-and-forth on the first course, and Lyle got pony-karted three times on the finish line.”

“...”

“I’m still salty about that,” Lyle bitterly commented as he got some of his cooking supplies out.

“And it seems like he still hasn’t gotten over it,” Jake concluded. “Maybe something else toni-”

“No,” Lyle replied quickly. “I would like to play again.” We all turned our heads in confusion toward Lyle as he began cooking. “I want revenge for that crap you put me through. I barely slept that night knowing what had happened….”

“Well,” I whispered to Jake. “So much for letting go of things.”

“...”

“We’ll set it up and wash our hooves for dinner,” Jake stated as he headed to the bathroom. “Once we finish dinner and clean up, we’ll play some more Pony Kart II.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I replied, grabbing my bags and heading upstairs to my room. As I trotted up the steps, I glanced and saw Pete’s stone-cold face in the TV’s reflection. His eyes quickly flicked, and noticed mine before relaxing back onto the couch.

Looks like Pete’s in the zone, I worriedly thought as I made it to my room. Again….

========================================<>========================================

“Oh, COME OOONN!!”

Lyle’s reaction to getting blue-shelled near the finish line again made Jake and me laugh. Finally, the conclusion of the race began tallying our points as Lyle’s rage drowned out the music.

“Sweet Celestia, can’t I get second place FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE?!” Lyle screamed in frustration at the TV.

chuckle “O-Only in Pony Kart,” Jake wheezed as he kept laughing. “O-Only in Pony Kart, can you get blue-shelled right before the finish line and get last place, HAHA!!”

“That’s ridiculous!” Lyle snapped as he glared at Jake. “I had second place in the bag. I WAS GOING TO EARN IT!! But noooo, the game decides to buck me over right at the end!”

“Chill, Lyyyle,” I sighed as the laughter escaped my mouth. “We’re all losing to Pete anyways. So getting second is a free-for-all, haha.”

“Select the next course, come on!” Lyle growled. “I’m targeting both of you from now on.”

Jake looked at him from the corner of his eyes and picked up the controller. “You’re not going to target Pete, but you want to focus your anger on Swift and me?” Jake asked with a sour tone.

“Nopony here can mess with Pete because he’s way better than us by a country mile,” Lyle complained. “Ain’t fair playing with him, so you two must endure my rage this next course!”

“Well, I am taking off the training wheels and will definitely win this next one,” I noted before making a quick comment under my breath. “Never lost Big Blue.”

“What?” Jake turned his head in confusion before the turtle in the cloud counted down to start the race.

“You heard me!” I shouted as I rocketed out into first place. We all continued to race each other around the course, and I kept my eyes glued to the screen. The long, winding course stretched into three sections, each with its own fun quirks.

About a minute in, I glanced at the minimap to find myself far ahead of the others. Yes, I thought to myself. This is my map.

“...”

I looked at Pete out of the corner of my eyes. Pete said nothing as sweat started to form on my brows. I sat silent as I triggered the course’s final section and looked back at the minimap. Pete’s character was still far behind mine, but it started getting closer.

My eyes went back to the screen as I rounded another corner and flew down the straightaway. Come on, give me something good, I thought as I hit the item boxes. The roulette ended quickly as a coin and banana peel appeared. fting!

Well, I thought with contempt, at least I can protect myse-

“BLUE SHELL INCOMING!!” Lyle yelled as my brain started to scramble. The controller shook in my hooves as the icon appeared underneath my character on-screen, knowing this would only worsen.

“...Hmph,” Pete scoffed as the impact of the shell hit my character. His icon on the minimap got closer and closer as I rounded the last major turn of the course.

“Come on,” I chattered between my teeth. Jake and Lyle were in an intense battle for third, signaled by Jake’s excitement over receiving three red shells and Lyle’s yelping in frustration.

But Pete was dead silent as his character appeared behind mine on-screen.

His character was right behind mine, drafting off of my rear bumper.

He’s not real, I nervously thought as his character shifted slightly and hit my right side. That’s unbelievable!

I moved slightly to the right and hit him back, to which he responded by slightly braking and staying behind me. He quickly drafted off of my character again, but this time he shot out to my left and passed me. I hit the rough patch near the final piece of track as my mouth opened.

“Are you kiddi-”

crash!

gasp!

A red shell had flown past me and nearly collided with my character. But, instead, it chased after and hit Pete’s kart. His character tumbled as mine exited the rough patch and slowly passed his. My heart began thudding as the finish line grew closer.

Hitting the triangle button, I looked behind me to see the gap forming between our two characters. Finally, Lyle and Jake appeared around the corner, but letting go of it, my excitement couldn’t contain itself as I crossed the finish line.

“ISN’T IT CRAZY THAT I’VE NEVER LOST ON BIG BLUE?!” I shouted in excitement, dropping my controller and leaping off the couch.

“Buck off, Swift,” Jake grumbled as he finished in last place. His character was unfortunately hit by Lyle as he had activated his star power near the rough patch.

“Chew on last place, sucker,” Lyle cynically croaked before coughing. cough! hack! “Ah. Swallowed my own spit….” cough!

“...”

After bouncing in place for a few seconds, I looked at Pete, who said nothing. His eyes remained fixated on the TV as I grinned.

“I’ll take it, though,” I whispered in triumph.

“It doesn’t matter, Swift,” Jake motioned. “The event is over.” I looked back at the TV and heard the results song starting to play. My ears drooped as I realized I had lost by 9 points.

“GG, guys,” Pete nonchalantly muttered before placing his controller down. He laid back and closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief as we stared in shock at the screen.

“Oh, for Faust’s sake!” Lyle yelled. “I GOT LAST AGAIN!!”

“Haahaa!” Jake laughed out loud, nearly falling out of his chair. I couldn’t help but chuckle as two thoughts surged ahead of everything I had thought about that day.

Number one, dang, Pete is really good at Pony Kart, I internalized before smiling, but two and more importantly: damn, Lyle sucks at this game. Haha!

========================================<>========================================

yawn “Alrighty then, I’m turning in for the night,” I muttered as the three other stallions sat around the kitchen table.

“Why so early to bed, Swift?” Jake inquired as he turned to look at me. “Tomorrow is-”

“My next written test for the combat portion of our training,” I finished his sentence. “I made sure to study for it at least three hours a day for the last five days but have neglected tonight’s study in favor of playing games with the boys.” I smiled weakly before rubbing my eye with a hoof.

Lyle stared at me as if I were crazy for doing such a thing. “Yeah, you definitely will need some rest for that, Swift,” he conceded. “Which section is this one, if I may ask?”

“Section 5.6,” I replied as I turned and trotted towards the staircase.

“Oh, that one was rough for me,” Jake stated flatly. “I nearly passed it, but I had to do an extra study session because some of the questions I had wrong were major to my understanding of combat and situational awareness.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping to ace it as usual,” I shrugged before stopping at the first step. “But this one has me feeling a bit uneasy….” My head drooped as a memory of cramming before an exam from five years ago played in my head.

“...Pick your head up, Swift,” Pete softly mumbled, catching everypony’s attention. My eyes looked up and stared at him as he glared back at me. “Ace that damn quiz so you can move on. We’re all going through it, and we’ll all get through it, so long as you DO.”

My mouth hung open as Pete went back to sipping his drink. The other two shifted in their seats, slightly uncomfortable from hearing Pete’s voice. I shook the bad thoughts away and exhaled slowly.

“You’re right, Pete,” I sighed before smiling. “I know I can pass this test. And that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow! Thanks!”

“Alright. Goodnight, Swift,” Lyle and Jake said in unison. “See you in the morning.” They waved to me as I trotted upstairs and into my room. I closed the door behind me and made my way to the moderately-sized bed.

sigh “Luna, help me fall asleep tonight,” I pleaded. I flopped onto the bed tiredly and let my body be swallowed by the mattress and blankets. I turned myself over and stared at the open shades.

“Ugggh,” I groaned, realizing the shades weren’t closed. Lazily, I rolled over to the bed's side and got off it. I slowly made my way over to the window and grabbed the curtains before noticing something.

I looked up and saw the moon shining brightly in the night sky. Its aura emanated a feeling of majesty and beauty as it cast its light onto the sleeping world of Equestria.

Wow, I thought. It’s so pretty. I stared at it for another few seconds before closing the curtains. Then, trotting back to the bed, I hopped back onto it and lay down. Rolling over to my left side, I then noticed the bedside cabinet.

On top of it was a deck of playing cards, a plush toy from when I was a colt, and two picture frames. One was of me and my roommates, during which we all got acquainted with one another over dinner a few weeks ago.

But the second frame captivated my attention. My parents had sent it to me before I mailed my first letter back to them. The picture was taken of my family about seven years ago. I still remember all the faces, with my mom and dad cradling one foreleg over my shoulders.

It was a great picture of our happy family. But as I saw the other two faces on each side of my parents, my head turned back to the right as I cradled the pillow in my hooves. Tears started forming in my eyes as the question I had been asking myself repeatedly reemerged.

What truly happened to my brother and sister?

Author's Note

Hey Puffer, tell us how you really feel.

Hope you enjoyed today's chapter. Tune in next time for another thrilling chapter!

-Harpy

Edit May 15th, 2023: I am editing the chapter title from the writing because it looks off.