Warning: Human-verse fanfiction, races will still be known as “Pegasi”, “Unicorns”, etc. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the ponies or the prompt, just the writing.
It didn’t take long to find her.
Through quite a bit of asking around and bribery to Rainbow Dash for any information (she now owes the Wonderbolt trainee first dibs during Apple Cider Season ), Apple Jack finally found who she was looking for. And to be honest, her target wasn’t exactly hard to spot.
The door to Ponyville’s most popular Juice Bar opened, and it only took a couple more steps to reach her destination.
“Lightning Dust, right?” The cow girl asked in her southern drawl, heading towards a fairly built female who was sitting in one of the many booths, a pleasant scowl on her features with her baggy jeaned legs propped up on the table. Her messy short hair almost rivaled in color to Apple Jack’s blonde, her usually confident golden eyes showing tints of bitterness, aggravation. Her topaz feathered wings slightly shot up in reaction to her name being called, and the girl turned to get a better look. Immediately, the scowl increased.
“Hmph….one of Dash’s friends, I assume…during the weather balloon incident,” she said the last few words as if they were bile, narrowing her gaze at the straight faced ‘Earth Dweller’ in front of her. Apple Jack didn’t flinch, shoving her hands in her leather jacket pockets.
“Erm, yeah…listen, I just came to-“She wasn’t allowed to finish.
“I already know what you’re here for. One of your cousins or sisters or whatever just came by an hour ago,” Lightning waved her hand slightly, slipping her eyes closed as she took another sip of her strawberry juice drink. After a moment of what seemed to be deep thought, one sun-colored orb opened lazily, “I’m not going.”
“…..” A sigh escaped the apple picker’s lips, and she raked a hand through her hair, taking her signature hat off to do so. She figured this is what she would have to deal with… “Look, I’m not here to force your stubborn butt, but I reckon that you should consider-“
“I ‘RECKON’ that you should save your breath,” The cocky Pegasus interrupted again, taking another sip of her drink, “You’d only be wasting that precious time of yours. So why don’t you turn around, head back to your little farm with all of your little family members and have your stupid family get-together without me. Tch….” The winged girl glanced away with an almost dry smile on her lips, “I’d rather get humiliated again by my superiors at the Academy then be forced into hours of torture at some stupid party….”
Now that was just breaking the last straw off the pony’s back. A worn gloved hand slammed into the booth table, shaking Lightning’s juice glass and causing a few others to turn around.
“THAT THERE ‘STUPID PARTY’ IS WITH YOUR FAMILY, FROM YOUR LITTLEST COUSINS TO YOUR MA AND PA WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU! I MAY UNDERSTAND THAT YOU’RE TOO BUSY OR THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON’T BELONG, BUT TO CALL IT STUPID IS JUST TAKING IT GOSH DARN TOO FAR! RD WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ABOUT YOU, YOU KNOW THAT!? YOU CARE ABOUT ABSOLUTELY NO ONE BUT YOURSELF!” Apple Jack didn’t care if she yelled, Lightning Dust deserved to get a raised voice in response to that insult. No one mocks her family…even if it’s by another family member herself.
Lightning Dust glared sharply, obviously bothered by her ‘relative’s outburst. Her wings flared up as she stood from her seat, swinging her legs to the floor.
“Heh, care about nobody but myself? Feel like I don’t belong, you said? Well I DON’T, and you know it,” she spoke in a passive aggressive tone, a cold smile now stretched across her lips, “In case you had your dirt loving head shoved into straw for the past several years, I was ADOPTED into your family. I didn’t ASK to be a part of it…you don’t know how long I begged my Dad not to marry my…my hick step mother!”
“Don’t you DARE speak about Aunt Peaches like that, she’s your mother!”
“She is NOT my MOTHER!!!” Lightning screamed in rage, before managing to calm down with a slight growl, “The point is…I’m only half related to your Earth Dwellers, but I will ALWAYS have Pegasi blood from my ancestors, and the love for the wind in my hair and wings….something none of you, not even my Dad would ever understand…” The scruffy blonde swiftly turned away, her eyes dim and with no emotion. “Now, unless you want the both of us to be kicked out of here, I think you should leave. You have a ‘party’ to attend to, and I rather not deal with being snubbed by someone out of Dash’s gang. It just adds insult to injury.”
“….Speaking of Dash, I’m starting to see how I can put up with her so much. She at least knows when to let go of her pride every once in a blue moon,” Apple Jack muttered, before placing her hat back on top of her head and turning around, about to leave. “Hey.”
“….What?” Lightning mumbled, not seeing her half cousin’s eyes soften.
“I bet your birth mother was a mighty fine gal.”
“……She was one of the best elite flyers in the Wonderbolts. At least, she was in my eyes,” came a soft, uncharacteristic answer from the once brash words spoken by the prideful Pegasus, causing Apple Jack to wince at her next question.
“What exactly happened to her?”
“….There was a fire where I used to live. We were trapped at the top floor...the window was too small for her...she threw me out the window,” a tan hand slowly clenched into a fist, shaking slightly. The cow girl watched the winged girl for a moment with one green orb, and then slowly tilted her hat to cover her face as she began to walk away.
“If your mother was willing to give her own life to save her daughter, part of her family…don’t you think she would want you to always give your all to people, both Earth and Pegasi, who consider you their family?”
Lightning Dust remained silent as Apple Jack walked through the exit to the bar, slowly closing the door behind her. And once again, the dishonored Pegasus was all alone.
-end-
Author's Note
(Worked on less ellipses due to one of my commentator's suggestion!) :) This one is...well, kind of random. But it popped into my head and just kind of...well, screamed at me to write it. And seeing as how I try to do the prompts on 30minute ponies every day...why not! XD Hope you all enjoy! I feel so bad for Lightning...even if she is a...well...you know.