Sparks of static buzzed around Rainbow's wings as she and the rest of the Wonderbolts bore down on a flight of griffons that was harassing one of the convoys bring food supplies into Canterlot. It also happened to be one of the last ones coming in.

Rather than face a barrage of lightning, the griffons turned tail and fled, leaving the convoy alone to start the winding trail up the mountain to the city. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief and let the energy dissipate from around her, leaving her wings tingling for a while.

Slowly they drifted back up to around the level of the city where they could keep an eye out for any further threats. The last couple of days had been quiet, even despite the fact that Faust's forces had spread all down the east coast, claiming the cities there as her own. It was only a matter of time before she turned her army towards Canterlot. Until then, all they had to deal with was the griffons harassing the supply convoys carrying the food that would see them through a months long siege.

"Pegasi incoming," Lightning said, pulling Rainbow's attention back to the present. "Looks like Air Corps, four squardrons."

"Aren't they supposed to be protect... ing..." Thunderlane started to ask, then realising the answer to his own question. "Shit."

"Let's go meet them," Lightning said, pulling away from the mountain to intercept the incoming pegasi, many of which appeared bloodied and haggard. "What happened? Why aren't you with your convoy?"

"There is no convoy, not anymore," the stallion in front answered, who wore the stripes of a squadron leader. "Griffons ambushed us around Rumbling Rock Ridge and destroyed the entire thing with fire bombs. We tried to put up a fight, but it pretty clear we weren't going to save it, so we pulled out."

"Right." Lightning cursed quietly to herself. "Head to Canterlot and report to General Armour. He'll give you your orders."

"Yes ma'am." The stallion saluted Lightning and flew down towards Canterlot. It wasn't hard to see the rather hopeless and despondent looks the pegasi wore as they passed by.

"This is getting ridiculous," Lightning said once they were gone. "Those griffons are everywhere."

"Everywhere except Canterlot and Cloudsdale," said Thunderlane. "I know nopony wants to hear it, but we're pretty much surrounded now."

"That was the plan," said Rainbow, "so yeah. Hopefully that little project Spitfire's cooking up in the weather factory can really help with holding the Mareitanians off."

"Did she even mention what it was?" Cloud Chaser asked.

"No, but if Spitfire's behind it, it ought to be good."

"Here's hoping. Anyway... speaking of Cloudsdale, are any of you going to visit your families there, before this all kicks off?"

"Heck no," Rainbow answered quickly. "I haven't even told them I'm a Wonderbolt, let alone a soldier! And they'll totally freak when they see this!" Rainbow traced a hoof over her helmet where her scar would be. "Besides, I have plenty of other stuff to worry about."

"Such as?"

"Such as Ponyville! Come on Cloud, you have family there, and Flitter. Thunderlane's family is there too! Doesn't it bother you that the place is practically a prison camp now?"

"Of course it does, but there's nothing we can do, so there's no point in winding myself up and agonising over it." Cloud sighed heavily, "As much as I want to. But that's why I'm saying this! Don't you think you should go see your families while you still can?"

"Why do you even care so much?" Lightning said suspiciously. "The other day you were talking about running away from the war. Now you want us to go see our families before we get trapped here?"

"Because you have that chance, and maybe you should take it," said Thunderlane, an angry edge to his voice that wasn't there before. "I'd give anything to see my family now, and here you are refusing to see yours."

"My family's in Stratusburg," Vapor said weakly. "I can't see them either. Not that I think I could, not without seeing Sky's family as well. I don't think I could explain to them why... why Sky's gone..."

Rainbow chewed her bottom lip, "Uh... call me ignorant if you have to, but where is Stratusburg?"

"It's a district on the outskirts of Baltimare," Vapor told her. "It's kind of like its own town, but at the edge of a city. It's a bit of a mix of ground and sky buildings."

"Oh. Guess that explains why you can't... yeah." Rainbow withheld a sigh, thinking it might not be appreciated. The fact was that she didn't want to go visit her parents. Not because she hated them or anything, but because she just... didn't really like them. The support they showed surpassed normal levels for parents, and went flying off into creepy-town levels. Still, maybe the others had a point, and that she should see them while she could.

"I'm not sure my parents will appreciate me turning up," Lightning said while Rainbow was thinking. "We didn't exactly part on good terms after I got kicked from the Academy."

And suddenly her overly affectionate parents seemed like such a stupid thing to worry over. Rainbow knew that there were ponies that had it worse than her, and Lightning was apparently one of them.

"I'm sure they'll be happy to see you now you've turned yourself around," Rainbow said to Lightning. "You're so not the pony you were back then."

"I guess? I don't know. Maybe it would be better to just leave it."

"I think it's pretty obvious that you don't actually want to do that." Rainbow smiled at Lightning, "I'll tell you what. If you can stomach coming with me to see my parents, I'll come with you as you visit yours."

"You sure? I don't want to intrude on anything."

"Believe me, if there's something that could make this visit worse for me, it isn't going to be you."

Night fell, and with it the thestrals of the Night Guard emerged, taking over the patrolling of Canterlot, giving the Wonderbolts a break, and two of them the time to fly up to Cloudsdale.

Through a unanimous decision, they headed to Rainbow's family home first, Rainbow wanting to get the visit over and done with, and Lightning fine with that because she could put visiting her parents off quite happily.

Cloudsdale seemed quiet compared to usual. It wasn't even that late, so there should have still been plenty of ponies out and about, but whether it was due to the circumstances as to why they were floating over Canterlot, or otherwise, the city was still. The few ponies that were out flying did so quickly and quietly, like they were trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

The district where Rainbow's parents lived was equally quiet, but the lights shining through the windows was enough to tell the two Wonderbolts that Rainbow's parents were home. Rainbow headed towards the front door, then pulled up to fly a few laps around the house. "Okay, I need a minute to build up to this."

"Soooo..." Lightning said after the third lap, drawing out the word as long as possible, "what should I expect? I'm guessing something bad since we're just flying laps here."

"Not bad as such. Just expect them freaking out over me being a Wonderbolt, over me being a soldier, and especially over this." Rainbow pointed at the scar hidden behind her helmet. "I'm still freaking out over this at times."

"Okay, but shouldn't they already know you're a Wonderbolt though, and a soldier? That would probably be in the papers. The Wonderbolts being a prominent part at the start of the war certainly was."

"My parents don't read the papers." Rainbow rolled a hoof as she explained. "Something about a biased media peddling false news to an unwitting public," she said with a roll of her eyes. "My parents are kinda... liberal."

"Okay, but surely they know ponies that do read the paper, and one of them would be like, 'hey, congratulations on your daughter becoming a Wonderbolt!' Seems like something somepony would mention."

Rainbow shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. Honestly, I moved to Ponyville to escape them, and don't really know what they get up to at the best of times. They might know all about it, but I'd say not."

Lightning froze as a thought occurred to her, "Do they know there's a war on if they never read the paper?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't." Rainbow pulled out of their final lap and flew to the door. She raised a hoof to knock, holding it a inch from the door until Lightning sighed and knocked for her. "What are you doing? I wasn't ready!"

"Yeah, but we don't have all night."

Rainbow froze on the spot as the door opened. A mare coloured like herself, with the same magenta eyes stood behind it, the only real difference between them being Rainbow's lack of freckles, and the other mare's short orange mane and tail. The mare stiffened at the sight of the two uniformed Wonderbolts.

"Can I help you?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Rainbow unclipped her muzzleguard and pushed her goggles up to show her face, complete with nervous smile. "Hi mom."

"Rainbow? Rainbow!" Omigosh-omigosh-omigosh! It's you!"

"Sure is! Heh heh..."

"Bow! Rainbow's here!"

"She is! I thought that knocking sounded too awesome for the average pony!" Rainbow face-hoofed as her dad ran to the door, the shirt he wore with his daughter's cutie mark on in full view. The blue coat and bright rainbow mane and tail was usually enough to confirm them being related, but that wasn't enough for him. "There's my champ!"

"Hi dad, nice to see you still have that shirt..." Beside her, Lightning pointedly cleared her throat, her own goggles and muzzleguard having been removed. "Oh right. Lightning, this is my dad Bow Hothoof, and my mom Windy Whistles. Mum and dad, this is Lightning Dust, my Squadron Leader."

"Squadron leader?" Windy asked. "What squadron? Is this to do with why you're dressed like that?"

"It does, yes. Can we come in? There's some stuff I want to talk about."

"Sure," Windy said, sounding unsure. She stepped back to let the two Wonderbolts in, then shut the door behind them. "Are you thirsty honey? Would you like something to d-" Windy stopped and gawped at Rainbow's uniform, noticing the Wonderbolts patch on her side. "That's a Wonderbolt patch. Dashie, are you a Wonderbolt?"

"Uh, yeah, yes I am-ack!" Rainbow squeaked as her parents crashed into her sides, crushing her between them in a hug. "Can't breath!"

"You did it champ!" Bow cheered. "You became a Wonderbolt! Just like you always said you would!"

"We knew you could do it Dashie!" Windy added.

"Still can't breath!"

Lightning smirked at Rainbow, then turned her attention to the room she was in. It was of some concern to her that the few surfaces in the place that weren't covered in princess memorabilia, instead had some kind of picture of Rainbow on it, either as a foal or a bit older. There seemed to be none particularly recent either, and she suspected she knew why. Her parents had been supportive in their way, but Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof took it to levels she hadn't known existed.

"Get off of me!" Rainbow shouted, finally pushing her parents off and gasping for much needed air. "Really you guys, calm down."

"But we're just so happy for you," said Windy. "You're finally living your dream!"

"And you're not the slightest bit curious about why I'm wearing an armoured combat suit?"

"I just assumed the Wonderbolts had changed their uniform."

"To include hoof blades?" Rainbow gave her mother an even look. "Really?"

"Are you trying to tell us you're fighting in the war?" Bow said slowly, and very carefully. "You volunteered?"

"The Wonderbolts are a military unit," Rainbow explained. "The moment I joined them I pledged myself to protecting Equestria. Not that I wouldn't anyway, but y'know." Rainbow sat and pulled her helmet off, showing her parents the full extent of the scar on her face.

"What the hell is that?!" Windy screamed, rushing over to Rainbow and grabbing her head in her hooves to inspect the scar closely.

"That's my first war scar," Rainbow said with obviously fake cheer. "Aren't you going to celebrate it?"

"I- What? No! Dashie, your face..."

"I know, it's hideous."

"It is not hideous," Bow said quickly as Rainbow's face turned downwards. "A classic over the eye scar like that, it's actually pretty cool." Bow stepped up to Rainbow and pulled her into a hug gentler than before, "You're still our perfect, beautiful Dashie, and we couldn't be prouder of you for defending Equestria. Right Windy?"

"Absolutely," Windy agreed, joining the hug. "You could lose a leg and a wing and you'd still be our beautiful little Dashie. Although, you should probably try to not let that happen, 'kay?"

"Okay." Rainbow sank into the hug this time, surprising herself with not just enjoying it, but by how much she needed it and hadn't known. "Thanks guys."

After a minute Rainbow pushed them off again, and finally saw the way Lightning was looking at her with a mix of smirk, actual happiness, and possibly a little envy. "Right, yes, uh... did I introduce Lightning Dust, my Squadron Leader?"

Bow nodded at his daughter, "You did yes, and I'm sure you're the best flier in her squadron."

"Oh absolutely!" Lightning said before Rainbow could correct her fathers assumptions, grabbing his wing in her own and shaking it vigorously. "She might just be the best Wonderbolt ever!"

"She might?" Bow squeaked.

"She might, yes. You two should be so proud for raising such an amazing flier, and pony. She's a credit to you, the Wonderbolts, and the entirety of Equestria!"

"We are proud!" Bow squeaked even louder, tears in his eyes. "We always knew our Dashie was destined for greatness."

"If anything you were aiming too low with mere greatness."

"We were?"

"Okay, that's enough," Rainbow said, smacking Lightning on the side. "If I was really that great I'd be the squadron leader, not you, even though I've been a Wonderbolt longer than you."

"Yeah well, you're still a great flier."

"Seriously Lightning, stop."

"So you always knew Rainbow was destined for greatness?"

"Grahh!" Rainbow groaned as Lightning continued egging her parents on.

"Of course we did!" Bow near shouted, before gasping excitedly. "We should show you her trophy room! Come on, follow me!"

Lightning left the trophy room slowly, letting the glaring lights and angelic singing that Bow had installed to the doorway fade into the background as she walked away with Rainbow right behind her. "They kept your first diaper. Your first, very likely used diaper."

"Yep," Rainbow sighed. "You can't blame the parents of an only child for being a little bit proud."

"And I thought Vapor had it bad."

"We do have that in common, yes."

"Funny thing is though, you have a lot of trophies from competitions I competed in. Yet I really don't remember seeing you back then, or your overly excitable parents. Guess I was only really interested in my own successes back then."

"Really?" Rainbow looked sideways at Lightning, "Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and Soarin was at some of those. Cloud Chaser too. You seriously don't remember?"

"Not really. Wait, Spitfire and the others were there?"

"Yeah."

"So they're like the same age as us, but became Wonderbolts way before us? Wow. Either we're not as good as we think we are, or they're way better than we ever were."

Rainbow levelled a hoof, "Eh." She walked a few steps then remembered something. "By the way, if you tell anypony about what you've seen here today, I will... do something. I'm not sure what, but it won't be pleasant for either of us."

"My lips are sealed."

"Good." Rainbow sighed and hung her head as they re-entered the living room, "Guess now it's time for the serious talk, once my folks are done polishing my trophies..."

"Don't worry Dashie, we're here," Windy sang as both she and Bow trotted into the room. "Do you want something to eat? Drink? Anything? I mean, we got these rationing book things today, but we still have plenty of stuff in if you want something to eat?"

"No thanks mum. I do need to talk to you though. I don't know if you've thought about why Cloudsdale's been moved towards Canterlot, but I kinda feel like I need to tell you that the war's not going great."

"Not going great?" Bow said to his daughter. "How can it not be going great with you on our side?"

"I'm just one pony dad!" Rainbow sighed and smoothed her mane down. "The fact is that Cloudsdale and Canterlot is all that's left now. The rest of Equestria has been lost, or surrendered. One or the other. The point is, the fighting's going to be here now, and I want you guys to be safe."

"You want us to be safe?" Windy gasped. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine. That said, if something does happen to me..." Rainbow shook the thought away. "Look, when the fighting starts I just want you to stay away from it, either here, or by taking shelter with the ponies from Canterlot in the mountain."

"Dashie..."

"Don't Dashie me dad! I know what's at stake here, and I know the cost of me messing up is pretty high, but I have to do this, I have to keep fighting until Twilight gets back and we can end this."

"Then all we can do is ask you to stay safe and come back to us," Windy said, tears in her eyes. "We love you Rainbow. Don't forget that."

Rainbow sighed, then smiled at her parents, "I won't."

"And we'll totally be rooting for you to kick the bad guys' asses," Bow added, punching the air with a hoof.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and pulled her parents into a hug, "Seriously, you guys better stay safe. Anyway, we need to go because we're going to go visit Lightning's parents as well, and time's pressing on." Rainbow released her parents and grinned at them, "Can't hog all the time to myself, right?"

Both Rainbow and Lightning put their helmets on as Bow and Windy opened the door, standing by it anxiously as the two Wonderbolts left. Both parties lingered a moment before Rainbow raced back, giving her parents one final embrace. "Bye guys."

"See you later Dashie," Bow said as Windy fought back tears.

Rather than wait for her parents to shut the door, which she knew they wouldn't do until she was out of sight, she flew on after Lightning Dust. "That wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I guess they're just scared."

"Like any parent would be in their situation. That room was still kinda weird though. Like an occult shrine dedicated to you."

"Ugh, don't remind me. It's kinda why I stopped talking to them. I don't need every little thing celebrated, or cheered, or... whatever! I could have a screaming argument with them, and they'd end up saying that I was the best at arguing or something stupid." Rainbow tried to put it out of her mind, but some of the images kept creeping back in. "Bleh. Anyway, what about your parents?"

"You'll see."

"Cryptic huh? Fine, I can wait."

Lightning Dust's family home was far from what Rainbow had imagined. She'd had this vision of a huge house with servants to care for Lightning's rather cold and uptight parents. Instead it was normal. Really normal. Maybe a little smaller than her own parents' place, but otherwise unremarkable. The fence needed a coat of paint, but that was it.

"Looks nice," Rainbow commented, sensing Lightning's reticence through her silence.

"Yeah, it is," Lightning responded flatly.

Rainbow looked at Lightning for a moment, then sighed. "Okay, I think that before we go any further you better explain yourself. You're acting like you hate your parents."

"I don't hate my parents."

"Then... what? Do they hate you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? How could you possibly not know? Lightning, you're really going to have to explain yourself here."

"Urgh, fine." Lightning drifted downwards until her hooves took her weight on the clouds of what pegasi would call their equivalent of a street, and sat, staring at her childhood home. "I love my parents Dash. Don't think that I don't. I wasn't very nice to them though."

"I sense a story coming."

Lightning barked a laugh, "I'll try to keep it short. We weren't very well off when I was young. My mum and dad both worked jobs just to get us by, and I was often left alone, or with relatives, or whatever. Not that I'm complaining, if that's what you're thinking. My point is that my parents worked their flanks off to give us a decent life."

"The thing is though, I could see it for what it was, and I was determined that I would never live like that, busting my chops on some menial job at the weather factory, or whatever, my whole life, just to pay the mortgage on a small place. I wanted more than that. I wanted to be a Wonderbolt, and have everything I ever wanted."

"I think I can see where this is going."

Lightning nodded, "My parents gave me every opportunity to help me achieve my goal, often going out of their way, and even skipping sleeping some days just to make sure I made it to my training, and competitions, and whatever. And I did well, and with that I grew arrogant, and I started to resent them, thinking they'd held me back by being so... poor."

"They put up with it though, and when I got accepted into the Academy they couldn't have been prouder. Their little Lightning was finally having her work pay off, and her dreams come true... and I blew it, all because of my attitude." Lightning snorted a laugh as Rainbow coughed awkwardly. "And because I was shown up by some rainbow maned fly-mare," she said with a grin. "Rightfully so."

"If it helps, I didn't intend for you to get kicked out," Rainbow said in a meek voice.

"I know, although I didn't think that at the time. Within a week of getting to the Academy I was kicked out, and I had no choice but to come back here. I raged at my parents about you, and how unfair it was, and how it was everyponies fault but my own, including them. I told them that they were never there for me, that they should've raised me better, that they shouldn't have been so poor. Worst of all, I think they believed me."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I never really found out what they thought though, because I stole all the money in the house and left, determined that they weren't going to drag me down again. I blew that money on a crappy flat, just so I could have a roof over my head and food in my belly while I spent that time being angry over everything, when the problem was really me."

Rainbow laid a wing across Lightning's back, "You sorted yourself out now, and now you're ten times the mare you were back then."

Lightning turned her head away and huffed, "That doesn't take back what I said to them, or how I treated them. It certainly doesn't give back the bits I stole off them. I was awful to them, and all they ever did was their best for me."

"So basically you're drowning in guilt?" Lightning nodded morosely. "Understandable," Rainbow said, "but I really don't think hiding from them for the rest of your life is the answer you think it is."

"I'm afraid they'll hate me. Part of me insists that's stupid, but a lot of me says they should. I want to talk to my parents again Rainbow, but I keep telling myself they hate me, and that it might be easier to not see them and never know whether they really do or not."

Rainbow held her wing a little tighter around Lightning. "Yeah, my issues with my parents are actually pretty lame. Really though Lightning, by refusing to see them you're just hurting yourself, and them. If they gave everything for you so you'd have a good life, I'm pretty sure they can give you forgiveness as well. Especially once they see the pony you are now."

"I don't know Dash..."

"On the other hoof, I could always go in there and tell them you're dead so you never have to see them again."

Lightning jumped up, knocking Rainbow away. "Don't you even dare!"

"Then get in there."

"But I'm scared Rainbow."

"Then it's time to give you some really shitty guilt. There are a lot of ponies around Equestria right now that'll never have loved ones come home. You have the chance to do that, so do it for them if you can't do it for yourself. You almost died the other day, so I think seeing your parents before you do actually happen to die would be nice for them."

"You're right, that was some seriously shitty guilt."

"Sorry," Rainbow said, lowering her head a little. "If I'd thought of the second bit before the first bit, I wouldn't have said the first bit at all."

"You're not wrong though. If anything does happen to me they won't know that I'm sorry, and that I never meant it. I mean, I did mean it at the time, but I don't mean it now, y'know?"

"Okay, but you might want to phrase it better for them." Rainbow pointed a wing at the two ponies stood in the doorway of Lightning's childhood home. "I think they might have heard us."

"Lightning Dust?" the mare of the two said, stepping gingerly towards the two Wonderbolts. "Is that really you?"

"Uh, h-hi mom," Lightning said shakily to the amber coated and blue maned mare. "It's me," she added, pulling her helmet off to show her face, a face that slowly contorted into tears as the dam she maintained broke with little effort. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I was stupid, and arrogant, and I shouldn't have said what I did! I'm so sorry!"

"Shh, baby girl," the mare said, wrapping her legs around Lightning as the white coated and teal maned stallion that Rainbow could only assume was Lightning's father quickly trotted up to them. "It's okay. It's o-kay, we're just so glad to know you're alright."

"I'm sorry," Lightning cried, sobbing into her parents embrace to the point that Rainbow felt tears of her own welling up.

"Told you they wouldn't hate you."

"Hate you?" the stallion said in surprise. "Oh honey, we could never hate you."

"But I was so horrible to you, and I stole all that money, and- and-" Lightning choked, no longer able to get the words out as her throat closed up.

"Money can be replaced. You can't. We didn't know where you were, and we were so worried about you. We were terrified you were going to do something stupid-"

"What?" Lightning pushed herself up out of the hug. "You thought I was going to kill myself?"

"No! No, of course not, but we were very much in panic mode after you vanished."

"Then why didn't you try to find me?"

"Because we knew you didn't want to be found," said the mare. "We wanted to find you, but we both knew you needed to do whatever it was you were doing. There was no point trying to bring you to a place you didn't want to be, and you're a grown mare now, who can make her own decisions."

Lightning snorted a laugh, "I really don't deserve you guys. I can pay back the money by the way."

"The money was yours anyway," said the stallion. "We'd saved it up so you could sort yourself out once you became a Wonderbolt. That might not have happened, but the money was still yours."

Lightning sighed and leaned her head against her father, "I really, really don't deserve you guys."

Rainbow sat to the side, carefully minding her own business as the three ponies cried it out in the middle of the street. It wasn't until they broke the hug up that she decided to carefully clear her throat to remind them she was still there.

Oh, right." Lightning rubbed her eyes clear. "Rainbow, this is my dad Downdraft, and my mum Fairy Lights. Mum, dad, this is Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash?" Downdraft said suspiciously. "Isn't that the name of the pony that got you kicked out of the Academy?"

"I didn't mean for that to happen," Rainbow said quickly, moving around to place Lightning between herself and Lightning's parents.

"Mum, dad, stop. I'm the one that got me kicked out of the Academy. Me and my shitty attitude. Don't blame Rainbow for something she didn't do. She's forgiven me, and we're friends now."

"Totally! She's even my superior officer now!"

"Surperior officer?" Fairy Lights looked down at Lightning's uniform, like she'd only just noticed it. "That's a Wonderbolt patch. You're a Wonderbolt?"

"I'm a Wonderbolt," Lightning confirmed with a nervous chuckle. "I was given a chance to volunteer when the war started, and now I'm Squadron Leader Dust."

Downdraft turned his gaze back and forward between the two Wonderbolts, "I think we should go inside so you can tell us what's happened since you left."

Rainbow excluded herself from the conversation as Lightning told her parents all about what she'd done since that fateful night where she left them. It wasn't a conversation she felt she needed to be part of. Instead she looked around Lightning's former home, looking at the pictures that had the decency to not be wholly focused on Lightning.

All in all, the house was nice and cosy, and the work Lightning's parents had put into making it a home seemed to have paid off. In many ways it reminded her of- "Shit!" Rainbow cursed, grabbing her head in her hooves as she realised something.

"Excuse me?" Fairy Lights said curtly.

"Fluttershy's parents! I hadn't even thought about going to see them! They must be so worried about Fluttershy. Rrgh, stupid, stupid idiot!"

"We can go see them after if you want?" Lightning offered as Rainbow continued cursing herself. "We have time."

"Do we though? We're kinda burning time just doing this."

"Are you going to be able to let this go until you go and see them?"

Rainbow groaned, knowing that Lightning was right about that. "If you don't mind Lightning?"

"Nah, it's cool. I think Fluttershy's parents deserve to know what's going on with their daughter. Although I'm guessing they do know already, but, y'know, they might want to hear it off you."

"Hear what off me? That Equestria's losing the war and it might be a heck of a long time until they can see Fluttershy again? If ever? I'm not sure I really want to tell them that."

"Then don't."

"And lie to them instead? No chance." Rainbow waved a hoof a Lightning to stop her making suggestions. "You spend time with your parents, and I'll think about this."

"If you say so."

Rainbow turned her back on the three ponies as she tried to think of the best thing to do. There didn't seem to be a nice neutral solution where she could be honest with them without making the situation sound hopeless, and they deserved better than to have her lie to them. "Maybe I could go rescue Fluttershy. That'd probably be easier."

"I'm sure not going to see them would be the easiest solution," said Lightning.

"Huh? Oh, did I say that out loud?"

"Kinda, yeah."

Rainbow rubbed her eyes with a hoof, finally noticing how tired she was. Not going to see them and going to bed instead was a tempting idea, but she knew that she couldn't do that. Not yet. Instead she briefly turned an ear towards Lightning and her parents.

"Are you sure you won't leave and come back here?" Fairy Lights asked, her words desperate yet hopeful sounding. "We've just got you back. We don't want to lose you again."

"Sorry mom, but I can't. If Equestria is going to survive, we need everypony to do their part, no matter how scary it is."

"We're so proud of you honey," said Downdraft, squeezing his daughters shoulder. "For defending Equestria, and for reaching your dream of becoming a Wonderbolt."

"Thanks. I-um... I'm sorry about everything I did to you. It shouldn't have taken me this long to realise everything that you'd done for me."

"It's alright," Fairy Lights said earnestly. "You're our daughter, and we will always love you no matter what."

Lightning nodded, sighing. "I really wish I could stay, but if we're going to see Fluttershy's parents, and get some shuteye, we need to get moving. I promise I'll come see you again as soon as I can."

"We'd like that very much," said Fairy Lights.

Lightning stood and gently smacked Rainbow on the flank, "Come on Rainbow, we need to get moving."

Rainbow nodded, dragging herself to her hooves and stretching out her stiffness. She was about to head to the door when Fairy Lights came up to her.

"I want to thank you Rainbow Dash."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You got our daughter back to us, and for just being a friend to her, and giving her an example of the amazing pony she could be."

"Oh, she told you about that huh?" Rainbow blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "You're welcome, I guess-ah!" Rainbow squeaked as Fairy Lights embraced her, and had to fight certain instincts telling her this was an ambush, and that she should fight back.

"Thank you."

Rainbow smiled uneasily and waited to be let go, glaring at Lightning who was already at the door. She grinned at Rainbow as she walked past, Rainbow's cheeks blazing with embarrassment, then followed Rainbow out into the night.
"I promise I'll come back to visit as soon as I can."

"You'd better," Downdraft laughed. "Frankly, two years is a bit long between visits."

"Bye mum, bye dad," Lightning said as she took off, waving to them as they returned the farewells. She rolled level and flew up to where Rainbow was keeping ahead of her, and sighed happily.

"Feeling better now?"

"You have no idea. I should've done this ages ago."

"Told you they wouldn't hate you."

"Yeah alright, smartass. Save it for a pony that wasn't terrified of being rejected by the parents she took for granted before hurting them."

"Alright, I get it, parents are scary. Except Fluttershy's parents, which are the least intimida-" Rainbow's words were lost as a rumble of thunder echoed around the city, coming from the weather factory. "Sheesh. I don't know what Spitfire's cooking up in there, but I get the feeling we should all be completely terrified."

"Is this one of those 'good job she's on our side' situations?"

"Probably. At the very least we should hope that there's no risk of friendly fire."

"No such thing," said Lightning. "Anyway, back to the point. What were you saying about Fluttershy's parents?"

"That it's pretty obvious where Fluttershy gets her... Fluttershy-ness, from."

"Okay, cool," Lightning said with a firm nod, then shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't actually know Fluttershy, remember?"

"Believe me, it's all in her name."

The weather factory produced a few more rumbles of thunder by the time they had made it to their destination. The house was mostly in darkness, save for a faint glow coming from one of the windows. Rainbow was going to assume that Fluttershy's parents had gone to bed, and that she shouldn't disturb them, when a shadow shaped like a pony passed over the curtains.

"Here goes," Rainbow muttered, knocking on the door. She removed her helmet as she waited, although it wasn't long until the door was opened by a mare that looked a lot like Fluttershy, save for the darker, nearer red mane done up in curls. "Hi Mrs Shy."

Mrs Shy adjusted the glasses on her nose, "Rainbow Dash? Oh my goodness, it's so good to see you! Dearest, Rainbow Dash is here!"

A stallion trotted into view, pale green with a wispy white mane. "My word Rainbow Dash, come in, please, both of you."

Rainbow smiled at the two ponies and entered the house, "Mr and Mrs Shy, I want you to meet Lightning Dust, my squadron leader."

"Of course, it's nice to meet you Lightning Dust," Mr Shy said, shaking Lightning's hoof. "Any friend of Rainbow Dash's is welcome here."

"Uh, thanks, that's... thanks."

"How about you all take a seat while I make some tea?" Mrs Shy said. Rainbow would've refused, but she knew that refusing would bother Mrs Shy more than making the tea ever would. "You should say hello to Zephyr as well. He's been terribly down since... well..." Mrs Shy swallowed her emotions back. "I'm sure seeing you would cheer him up."

Rainbow's stomach turned at the suggestion, but didn't say anything about it. She could shrug off Zephyr's shameless and unwanted flirting in this situation. She also supposed that it wasn't unreasonable for Zephyr to be here for once.

She found the turquoise form of Zephyr laid out on the couch as she entered the living room, staring forlornly up at the source of light in the room. Two candles were burning on either side of a picture of Fluttershy, a picture from much better times.

"Hey Zephyr."

"Hmm?" Zephyr blinked up at Rainbow, as if he'd only just noticed she was even in the room. "Oh, hey Rainbows."

Rainbow had expected more, but that was it. No flirting, no assuming Rainbow's love for him, or anything. Just a hello that made Rainbow suspicious. "I guess you miss Fluttershy too then."

"Yeah."

"I do too."

Zephyr pulled his gaze from the picture, finally focussing it fully on Rainbow. "Is that why you're here? Decided you need a squeeze from the Breeze to make your woes go away?"

"No Zephyr," Rainbow said flatly. "I'm here-"

"Too bad for you then. I hate to say it Rainbow, but I'm just not sure I'm in the mood for your rampant flirtations. Normally the Breeze would be all yours, but my heart's just too broken right now. I mean I'm flattered, don't get me wrong, but you can't give me the kind of healin' I need."

"Never mind," Rainbow muttered, satisfied in a way that Zephyr wasn't too far gone. She took a seat and looked at the picture of Fluttershy, appreciating Fluttershy's smile in it. Fluttershy had a beautiful smile, when she dared to show it. "I miss her so much. I miss all my friends."

"You'll see them again," Lightning said to Rainbow.

"Yeah, but when?"

Lightning didn't answer, and continued not to as Mr and Mrs Shy returned with a tray of tea and biscuits, and took a minute to pour everypony a cup. Rainbow took hers in her hooves, sipping the beverage as the silence grew longer and thicker.

"So, Rainbow Dash," Mr Shy said after a while. "What brings you to our doorstep at so late an hour?"

"I just felt like I should. It's been months since Fluttershy was... taken, and I really should've been to see you sooner."

"We understand that you've been busy Rainbow," said Mrs Shy. "I know things haven't worked out well with the war, but we knew you'd be working hard to get our Fluttershy back."

Rainbow winced guiltily, "That's not what's happened though. Now we're just struggling to keep the Mareitanians at bay. I hate to say it, but Fluttershy won't be back for a while yet."

"Oh," both of them said sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Rainbow," Mrs Shy said as Rainbow felt her chest tightening. "We know you trying your best, but you can't blame yourself for what happened to Fluttershy."

"I should've been faster on the day she was taken. I- I-" Rainbow sighed, "I should've been there when she needed me."

"You've always been there when she's needed you. You were the greatest thing to ever happen to our Fluttershy, and you really shouldn't be blaming yourself for something you had no control over." Mrs Shy smiled at Rainbow, "Fluttershy wouldn't blame you either."

That did it for Rainbow. All the hurt she'd been suppressing after Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike had been kidnapped spilled out in a wave of tears, and she was embarrassed at poorly she could stop it. She'd come here to offer comfort to the Shy's, but instead it was them comforting her as they hugged her from both sides.

"It's alright Rainbow Dash," Mr Shy cooed as another rumble of thunder came from the weather factory, loud enough to hear through the walls. "Let it all out."

"I- I- I- Hrrk! I miss her so much! I miss all of them so much!" Still ashamed as she was at bawling like a foal, she did feel better, and it helped considerably that Lightning's eyes were the only ones still dry, and even then they were a little misty.
They remained as they were for a while, releasing the occasional sob that refused to remain silent. Rainbow had to say she didn't mind though, as what was going on was extremely cathartic. She wished they could've remained that way, but a crack of thunder that shook the house hard enough to knock the picture of Fluttershy off the mantelpiece grabbed their attention. Thankfully the quick reflexes of Lightning had her catching the picture before it landed.

"Good heavens!" Mr Shy exclaimed, hurrying over to the window to look through it at the weather factory. "What are they doing over there? It sounds like they're overloading the lightning capacitors."

"I know we're on break Rainbow, but I really think we ought to check this out."

"Yeah, no kidding." Rainbow smiled helplessly at the Shy's, "Sorry, but I guess I need to get going. Thanks for... all that."

"You're welcome Rainbow," Mrs Shy said. "You know you're almost like a second daughter to us, and that you're always welcome here." Mrs Shy flinched as the house shook again. "That said, maybe you should get moving while we still have a house for you to come back to."

"Right." Rainbow stuffed her helmet back on her head and ran for the door, Lightning right behind her. "Bye Mr and Mrs Shy! Bye Zephyr!"

"Bye Rainbow! Take care of yourself."

The air had a hint of ozone to it as they flew up high enough to see the weather factory. Random flashes were coming from inside it, and the entire building seemed to be glowing with an ominous blue aura. Deciding unanimously that a blue glow to a building was probably a bad thing, they both raced to the factory on the other side of the city.

"So..." Lightning said after a minute of flying. "What's the deal with you and the Shy's?"

"Where d'you think I went to get away from my parents? I spent a lot of time there."

"Okay, what about Zephyr?"

Rainbow shuddered at the name. "He thinks I'm denying my feelings for him. He thinks wrong."

"I see. If that's so, why call them Mr and Mrs Shy all the time?"

"Honestly, because I have no idea what their names are, and now I'm too embarrassed to ask. I'm talking over ten years of not knowing now. It's not a question you ask after that long."

Lightning chuckled at Rainbow, "That's just sad."

"Tell me about it."

They reached the weather factory, and dove in through the nearest open entrance, ignoring the looks they got from the other pegasi around. The entire building seemed to glow with an inner light, and their wings tingled with static as they followed the signs to lightning production.

They burst into the room, quickly stopping as they saw the storm of energy raging between two massive pylons that hung from the ceiling at diagonals. At first glance it seemed like it had gone wildly out of control, but if you looked at little longer you could see the energy was being funnelled downwards towards a tiny glass orb that was storing the energy, then being replaced with another as the last was taken away.

"Lightning Dust! Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?" Both ponies winced at the sound of their commanding officer's voice, and turned towards Spitfire as she flew towards them. "And why are you in uniform?"

"Just being prepared in case something happens," Lightning said smoothly, snapping into a crisp salute.

Spitfire narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "...Alright, that's a good answer. It doesn't tell me what you're doing in Cloudsdale though."

"We were... visiting family, Captain."

"So you were going AWOL then? Again?"

"In our defence, you weren't there to provide permission, and in your absence I'm technically superior or equal in rank to the other Wonderbolts."

Spitfire held Lightning's gaze until the other mare started to sweat, then shrugged. "You're not wrong, but if I don't say you can leave Canterlot, don't leave Canterlot. Since you're actually more prepared for problems than the rest of us right now, I'll let it slide. This time, and this time only."

"Yes ma'am."

"Great! Now what are you doing here?"

"Beg pardon ma'am," said Rainbow, "but this place is creating thunder loud enough to shake the city. And the weather factory is kind of glowing, but the first issue is the biggest." Rainbow glanced around the apparatus in the room, "What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Something that'll help hold back the Mareitanians, while simultaneously sparing Canterlot from wanton destruction. I had the idea after you showed us how to throw lightning. You know how you store lightning in a bottle?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Right, well factory produced lightning is fairly weak, and is mostly for show. The stuff we make ourselves is the real deal, and then I got thinking, could we store that as well?" Spitfire grinned at Rainbow and Lightning, "The answer is yes. Follow me."

Spitfire led them up through a gap into a room above the last. Inside it were two large glass tubes that looked like wind tunnels, and mostly were, but studded with copper contacts that gathered the lightning that arced off the wings of Soarin and Fleetfoot as they flew against the wind pushing through the tubes, keeping them stationary.

"Quicker and easier to produce than bombs, and yet it does little damage to buildings. And guess what? The Mareitanians wear metal armour. Want to know what happens when a pony in metal armour gets hit by lightning?"

"They end up dead?" Rainbow hazarded.

"Maybe, but it isn't pretty if they live either. It definitely takes them out of the fight at any rate." Spitfire picked a glass orb up off a bench nearby, and held the grapefruit sized object up for them to see. Inside a buzzing mass of lightning fought to escape the glass, like it hated being in there. "What do you think?"

Rainbow reached out and touched the orb, marvelling as the lightning connected with the glass where she was touching it, following her hoof as she moved it. Spitfire wanted to know what she thought? She thought the Mareitanians would literally have no idea what had hit them.

Author's Notes:

This started out as something else then turned into a chapter of fluff. Oh well. Back to it next week.