“You sure about this Lightningj?” Firework asked again as the two little boys snuck into their parents bedroom.
 
“Come on ya chicken,” Lightning Bolt pushed him in further, “and my names not Lightning, remember? It’s Captain Lockjaw, scourge of the seven seas and we’re hunting for buried treasure in Black Skull Cave!”
 
“Yeah, but, won’t Mom and Dad be mad if they catch us snooping in their stuff?”
 
“That’s what makes it an adventure!” Lightning bounded about the room like an action star. “Think of all the sweet stuff they gotta be hiding! Real treasure, first mate Bucky! It’ll be grrrrreat! Come on, arrrre ye a coward?”
 
“I’m no coward!” Firework frowned. “I’ll help, Captain.”
 
“Good!” Lightning clapped his brother on the back. “You check under the bed since you’re a shorty. I’m gonna look in the closet.”
 
Firework nodded and scooted under the cloud bed. Tiny hooves scuffed the floor as he pushed himself deeper. A huge cloud of dust pooffed up in his face and he sneezed hard. Blinking, the colt looked around, but saw nothing but massive dust bunnies.
 
“I don’t think there’s anything here Light- err Captain Lockjaw.”
 
“Aw, sweet! Get out here, Bucky!”
 
Firework wiggled out from under the bed in another cloud of dust. With another sneeze, he trotted over to Lightning by the closet.
 
“What is it, Captain?”
 
“Up there!” On a shelf at the top of the closet was a strange shoebox.
 
“A shoebox?”
 
“Since when have Mom or Dad kept shoeboxes? They’ve gotta be hiding some good stuff. Come on Bucky, if you give me a boost, I bet I could hover long enough to grab it.”
 
Glowering, Firework lowered himself down so his brother could scramble onto his back. “Why are you such a blubber butt?”
 
“Shut up,” Lightning snapped, “and hold still.” With a wobbly leap, the older colt took flight shakily. He grabbed onto the box and managed to throw it down before he flopped awkwardly to the ground.
 
The box tumbled open and spilled one of its contents across the floor. Firework wrinkled his nose. “Really bro? They’re just magazines.”
 
“But why would Mom and Dad hide them?” Lighting asked, grabbing the nearest one. “Playcolt? That sounds like a game for boys. Were we supposed to find these?”
 
“Then why is there a lady on the cover? And why is she looking at us like that?” Firework asked, a funny feeling beginning to bubble up in his tummy.
 
Lightning didn’t respond, instead opening the magazine. And if either brother had anything else to say, it died on their lips. They couldn’t say anything. They had never seen mares like the ones on these pages. Most mares were either prissy little wimps or their mother. But these mares…wow…
 
Slowly, Lightning flipped from page to page. Every page brought a new color, new position, new article of clothing that drew the eye. Both boys’ faces began to flush. Firework’s mouth dropped open as they kept going. The bubbling in his gut was starting to make him feel super strange.
 
“Bro?”
 
“What?”
 
“What’s that?”
 
“I’m not really sure…”
 
“Lightning? Bro, is she hurt?”
 
“I-I dont think so. I think it’s supposed to look like that for girls.”
 
“How do you know?”
 
“I just know! Just shut up Firework, I-“
 
Suddenly, they flipped to a page that left them both slack jawed. It was two mares, one pink and one blue, in a passionate embrace. Something about it drew them both instantly and suddenly, two small sets of wings were flaring up.
 
Firework gasped and strained his wings in a panic. “Lightning! What’s wrong with my wings? They won’t go down! They just-“
 
“Will you shut up Firework!?” Lightning growled.
 
“But bro-“
 
“Zip it ass!”
 
“Don’t call me an ass!”
 
“Then stop acting like one!”
 
“Where are you guys?!” The boys jumped at the new voice.
 
“The foalsitter’s awake! Quick, hide it!” Lightning spluttered.
 
Firework shoved the box under the bed as the teenage mare burst into the room.
 
“There you guys are! You can’t just fly off like that!”
 
“But we can’t fly yet,” Firework said innocently.
 
“And you were the one who fell asleep…” Lightning grumbled under his breath.
 
“What was that, kid?”
 
“Nothing,” he sighed heavily.
 
“That’s what I thought.” The mare frowned. “Come on, let’s go color or something. Ugh, I don’t get paid enough for this.”
 
She shepherded the two colts out of the room. But both sets of eyes still lingered towards the box shoved under their parents’ bed. Then Firework and Lightning looked at each other. They didn’t need to say a word. Both boys knew they would be sneaking back to that box the next chance they got.