Next Gen: Cyclone and Sleetstorm
Cyclone
Parents: Rainbow Dash and Tornado Twilight Sparkle (Adopted)
Gender: Male
Species: Pegasus
Special Talent: Speed, flight
Occupation: Wonderbolt
Nicknames: None
Personality/Background: The oldest of Rainbow’s children, Cyclone has followed in his parents’ hoofsteps. He’s a well known flier, possibly one of the fastest in Equestria. Cyclone has always idolized his parents and aspired to be just like them. He seeks their approval, it is his driving force in life and it follows him into adulthood. His father Tornado has always been hard on Cyclone, scolding him for not being good enough and telling him that it would take a miracle for him to ever become a Wonderbolt like him. The verbal and mental abuse from his father took a toll on his psyche, even if he pretends like he doesn’t care what other people think. Most of his childhood was focused on being the best to gain the approval of his parents. This has led to many insecurities and anxiety issues, but he tries his best to push those feelings down with a cocky and confident presentation. Despite his obnoxious exterior, Cyclone is a secret softy and he loves spending time with his family. One of his favorite activities is joining his brother Spike during his “guy time” with Discord and Big Mac. Despite what he may say, Cyclone actually really enjoys playing Ogres and Oubliettes.
Rainbow Dash met Tornado not long after she became a Wonderbolt. Tornado ( an unnamed Wonderbolt that appeared in “The Last Problem”) was a student at the Wonderbolt Academy, and he excelled quickly and soon became a Wonderbolt himself. Rainbow and him both began to talk, bonding over their love for competition and flying. Tornado portrayed himself as a confident, charming, and loyal pony that Rainbow couldn’t help but fall for, but he had her fooled. As their relationship progressed, Tornado’s true colors began to show. It started off with small remarks, “You could’ve done better”, or “I didn’t know someone like you could make the Wonderbolts”, but overtime, it began to break Rainbow down. She always felt confident in her abilities, but not the stallion she loved was telling her otherwise. She didn’t want to believe it, but if he thought so, then it must be true, right? It got worse when Rainbow discovered she was pregnant with Cyclone and she had to take time away from being a Wonderbolt. The verbal abuse became more frequent, more aggressive. He told her that her place was taking care of their new family, and to leave the flying to him. Rainbow couldn’t help but feel helpless, and she felt that all she could do was suck it up and carry on like normal for the sake of keeping her new family held together. Her friends insisted that Tornado was bad news, but she didn’t listen. Her pride got the best of her. She didn’t make a mistake, they were a happy family! It only escalated further when her second son was born, Sleetstorm. The verbal battery Rainbow received started to be aimed at her children. Tornado was hard on the two colts, telling they that they weren’t good enough and if they didn’t step up their act, they would remain disappointments. One day, it was too much for Rainbow Dash. She confronted Tornado and practically tore him apart. She took Cyclone and Sleetstorm and left, and never looked back. Cyclone was damaged from this, he loved his mother and hated how his father treated her and his brother, and yet, he still longed for his father’s approval. When Rainbow began her relationship with Twilight, Cyclone was reluctant to grow close with Twilight. He couldn’t help but feel wary of her, and felt as if he couldn’t trust her. But, soon enough, he became very attached to his princess mama and grew very close with her daughter, Luster Dawn.
Sleetstorm
Parents: Rainbow Dash and Tornado Twilight Sparkle (Adopted)
Gender: Male
Species: Pegasus
Special Talent: Weather manipulation, flight
Occupation: Weather worker
Nicknames: Sleet, Storm
Personality/Background: Sleetstorm is practically the polar opposite of his older brother. Sleet is more laid back, calm, and humble. He does what makes him happy, and he tries to not care what others think. He’s a very sweet and honest, and is quite the romantic. He is not afraid to approach a pretty mare and strike up a conversation with her. He enjoys spending his time reading with Twilight, painting (he’s not too great at it), and just hanging out. He also enjoys supporting his siblings, whether it is attending Wonderbolt shows Cyclone is apart of or being Luster Dawn’s test subject for a spell she’s been practicing. Despite being a good pony, Sleet is known for being somewhat lazy and having little drive to pursue greater things (much to Rainbow’s disappointment), but to him, as long as he’s happy, he doesn’t care.
Although Sleet received his fair share of abuse from his father, it affected him less than it affected his brother. He tried to not let his father’s disapproval get to him, but Sleet hated him for how he treated his mother and brother. When he is older, he doesn’t look up to him how Cyclone does. He sees him as a disgusting deadbeat, and doesn’t understand why Cyclone always worked so hard to meet his standards. Their brotherly rivalry came forth when Cyclone first started going to the Wonderbolt Academy. Rainbow said she wished that Sleetstorm would go there too, because he had the talent to be a great flier. Although Sleetstorm never cared about what his father thought, he did care what his mother thought. So, reluctantly, he joined the Wonderbolt Academy alongside his brother. They were both at the top of the class, and soon began to get competitive with each other. Pushing as hard as they could to beat the other in a race, aim to get one second over the other’s cloud busting time, anything they could to show that they were the best. In one huge race in particular, Sleetstorm tried to knock Cyclone off balance in the race and they both ended up crashing. Sleet came to the realization that this whole time, he’s been trying to beat his brother and he didn’t even want to be a Wonderbolt! He’s been doing all of this, and even got both of them hurt, and all because Rainbow wanted him to be a Wonderbolt. Sleet wanted to leave the Academy, but he didn’t have to. He was expelled for trying to sabotage Cyclone during the race. Sleet took this opportunity to focus on what he truly enjoyed, like going on peaceful walks, creating art, and reading books with his mama Twilight. Rainbow and Cyclone were quite upset that Sleet would just throw away all of his success, all because he wanted to…. Paint pictures of butterflies and lay around? But both of them eventually came to accept that Sleet was following the path he wanted to take, and that was his choice.
(I will be writing and drawing more about Tornado, Sleet, and Cylone in the future)
Art © Me
MLP © Hasbro