The Return of the Dark Lightning Menace

The gang has been on the search for Eternal Flames for almost half an hour, but still no sign of him. Sunset was beginning to fear the worst for Eternal thinking he wasn't going to make it. Heat Wave noticed Sunset getting stressed out and tries to comfort her.

"Sunset, remember, you have to keep calm, Eternal is fighting for all of us, including you AND your baby. He may just be an earth pony, but he's a lot stronger, smarter, and probably braver than us all." Heat wave explains.

"I'm just worried he'll get hurt far more than he did the last time he fought that monster!" Sunset replies, with a tear in her eye.

"Trust me, I'm worried about him as well, but he's been in situations far worse than when he fought against Thunder Drum." Shadow Force says, looking at Sunset with reassurance. "If he beat that bastard once before, then he can do it again. You just got to have faith in him knowing that he's always there your us...and always there for you."

"Thanks boys, it means a lot to me." Sunset says, smiling.

"So how will we know if he's gonna use his powers? He could be miles away from us using up all of his energy. Is there another way that you guys can find him?" Twilight asks the two rogues. Shadow Force and Heat Wave looked at each other and nodded and looked back at the Princess of Friendship.

"Actually there is." Heat Wave says.

"There's one technique Eternal knows that can never go unnoticed to any of us." Shadow says.

"What would that be?" Sunset asked.

--

"You moron, what surprise could you possibly have that could impact the both of us?" Thunder asks.

"You'll find out sooner than you think!" Eternal replies with a grin.

The next thing that happens is the earth shaking beneath their hooves, but both stallions stand still. Soon, Thunder starts witnessing what's going on with Eternal Flames. Sparks of flames starts flashing from the body while at the same time, his body turns a darker red than his mane and soon his entire body ignites in intense crimson flames. Thunder didn't know what was going on, but he felt that his power had been increasing more and more.

"PYRO BURST!!!" Shouted Eternal. He then moved at blinding speed with Thunder unable to keep his eyes on him. Soon, Eternal Flames appeared behind him and knocked Thunder Drum into the air with one swing of his left forehoof. Eternal didn't stop there however as he followed Thunder Drum up in the sky still wrapped up in his crimson flames and then lands a blow to the stomach, making Thunder Drum cough up blood. Eternal followed it up with a flurry of relentless punches and kicks at rapid speed until finally with one swoop from his left forehoof, he swatted Thunder Drum to the ground hard. As Thunder reached the ground, he landed hooves first trying to keep his balance as his body was dragging against the dirt. Finally he came to a complete stop.

The crimson flames around Eternal soon disappeared and his white fur coat came back. He then felt a sudden jolt in his body and grunted to himself in pain.

'Ouch, that hurt' Eternal said in his mind.

Thunder Drum spat out some blood from his mouth and before feeling the pain from Eternal's attack. 'That bastard got me good.' Thunder said in his mind. 'He managed to crack 3 of my ribs! I don't know what that attack was, but I'm not gonna let him get the better of me just because of some cheap tactic he learned.' That was his last thought before he surrounded himself in his powers and flies up to Eternal who he sees grunting in pain. A grin formed on his face and stopped straight in front of Eternal's face. "Oh now I see! You've perfected one of Pyro Judgement's forbidden techniques. Congradulations! Too bad you've sealed your fate too early." Thunder says.

Eternal couldn't get a word out with his grunting.

--

Meanwhile, the others are scattered in different directions still searching for Eternal until finally...

"I FELT IT!!!" Hurricane Blitz shouted.

"So did I and this cannot be good!" Tidal Wave said.

"W-what is it?" Fluttershy asks.

"It's Eternal Flames, I felt his power!" Hurricane replies.

"But how, darling?" Rarity asked. "Is he close by?"

"No, he's miles away from us, but he has a signature move that's noticable in any possible way." Tidal Wave explains. "This technique is called Pyro Burst. Which has the similar effects me and the other guys. My Aqua Burst, Hurricane's Ventus Burst, Spark Wave's Bolt Burst, Shadow Force's Dark Burst, and Ground Dasher's Terra Burst. It allows us Rogues to enhance our strength and speed as long as it's not used for far too long otherwise the user will feel enormous amounts of pain."

"In short, it's like a double-edged sword. A forbidden technique." Hurricane says.

"B-b-but if it's so dangerous...w-w-why do it then?" Fluttershy asked

"He tries to use it less and less, but when the situation becomes too much for his normal strength, he has no choice but to resort to using that forbidden technique." Hurricane explains.

"That's awful!" Rarity exclaims. "We must find him, soon! If he used that technique, surely you guys can point out the direction of where he used it at."

"It came from somewhere in our direction, mostly a little up north. We'd better alert the others!" Tidal says.

Soon, Tidal Wave and Hurricane Blitz stood by each other while Fluttershy and Rarity backed up a bit knowing it'd be too dangerous to stand to close to them when they're going to use their powers. The two rogues then shot a large amount of gusting winds and rising waters into the sky with all their might. Eventually the other rogues picked up on them and headed towards their direction.

--

"Now, why don't we end this little charade?" Thunder Drum asks. "Surrender yourself and maybe...just maybe...I'll make your demise quick and painless and I will see to it that your parents are spared."

"Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to believe your bullcrap?" Eternal asked, grunting in pain. "You can't fool me with your cheap tricks or your lies anymore. I made a promise to my new home AND kingdom!" Eternal then paused and wiped some of his blood off of his mouth with his hoof and pointed it towards Thunder Drum. "I vow to win!"

"How can a pathetic prince such as yourself hope to win anything in your state?" Thunder asks skeptically unamused. "You've used up too much of your strength to even become an even match against me. Just give up and save yours-" Thunder then got cut off by Eternal.

"PYRO BURST TIMES 3!!!" Eternal shouts. He once again coated himself in crimson flames and his white fur became a darker red than his own mane color and this time, his power and speed increased even more. He then blasted Thunder Drum with a fireball at close range, sending him flying downwards deep into the earth's outer mantle. Eternal had to end his Pyro Burst shortly since the pain became to agonizing for him to linger it. He turned back into his normal state, panting and grunting. "Hopefully this time, he'll stay down!" Eternal flew down slowly towards the ground and landed softly on all fours. He still felt the pain from his last attack and just stood there, not moving a muscle so that the pain would subside.

Unfortunately, Thunder Drum flew high out of the pit with darkness and lightning surrounding him. This time, he was a lot more angrier than he ever was before. He was covered in bruises and blood stained his mouth. He then landed on top of a tall flat mountain (but not too tall) and stared down at Eternal Flames.

"This shouldn't be happening!" Thunder says to himself. "I don't understand it, I'm far stronger than this little wretch! Now he's sealed his fate, this planet is history! I'll destroy everything...EVERYTHING!!! DO YOU HEAR ME, ETERNAL FLAMES?! YOU ARE FINISHED!!!"

'Uh-oh...this isn't good! I still haven't recovered from the last attack!' Eternal thought to himself. 'Come on, body! Don't give out on me now!' Eternal struggled to try to move, but the pain was still lingering.

Thunder Drum was still looking down at Eternal Flames but then turned to look at his own hoof as he used it to wipe off the blood from his mouth and stared at it in frustration.

"Who does this fool think he's dealing with?" Thunder asks himself. "He's beneath me! I'll show him! I'll show them all! I will reduce this place to ashes!" With that last thought, Thunder shouted out loud, catching Eternal attention even more. "ETERNAL FLAMES, DODGE THIS NEXT ATTACK IF YOU CAN! BUT KNOW THAT IF YOU DO, YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE PLANET WILL BE GONE!!!" Thunder than started gathering more of his power and then soared high into the sky.

"NO YOU CAN'T!" Eternal shouted.

Thunder Drum finally got into position and began to form a large black sphere with lightning rings surrounding it.

"THE CHOICE IS YOURS, ETERNAL! BUT EITHER WAY, YOU ARE GOING TO PERISH!!!" Thunder shouted, still powering up his strongest attack.

"No, not yet! I'm worn out!" Eternal said to himself. But he knew he had no other choice but to use his attack again. "I...I don't have any time, it's now or never!" Eternal then hunched back a bit. "PYRO BURST TIMES 3!!!" Eternal then shouted and surrounded himself in his crimson flames and fur again. "Let's see how he likes THIS attack!" Then the flames around him started to form what looked to be a phoenix what was gryphon sized. "SACRED FIRE PHOENIX ARTS:....FLAMING..." Soon the ground below his hooves started to shake with small pebbles and rocks floating into the air a bit.

"NOW, ETERNAL...PREPARE YOURSELF FOR OBLIVION!!!" Thunder shouted.

"TEMPEST..." Eternal shouted, still powering up his attack, making rocks fly everywhere.

"LIGHTINING NIGHTMARE!!!" Thunder shouted as he fired off a large wave of black aura surrounded by tiny lines of lightning

"BLAAAAAAAST!!!" Eternal shouted as he fired a wave of large flames.

Their attacks then collided against each other as the two stallions tried to break through their attacks.

--

"Guys, did you feel that?" Shadow asked the others.

"Yeah, Eternal must be in trouble, we have to hurry!" Heat Wave said.

The gang then hurried over to the direction of where they felt Eternal's powers and finally found him. But soon they saw how he was struggling to stay dominant over the attack. Sunset Shimmer saw the danger he was in and immediately teared up once again.

Thunder Drum then saw the others and became quite annoyed, but then kept his focus back on Eternal as they both kept up their attacks hoping to take control of the fight.

"It can't be! His beam is as strong as my Lightning Nightmare!" Thunder said to himself.

Eternal was beginning to slip but bit as he struggled to keep up his attack. Finally he made one decision that was really going to give him one hell of a wallop.

'I've got to take it further!' Eternal thought to himself before speaking out loud. "PYRO BURST..........."

"ETERNAL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? NO!!!" Heat Wave and Sunset shouted in unison.

"TIMES FOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUR!!!!!" Eternal shouted adding more power and force to his attack, being able to dominate over Thunder Drums attack and forced it back further and further towards Thunder Drum.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Thunder Drum shouted as the attack scorched him and sent him flying deeper into the sky.

Eternal Flames reverted back to his normal state, panting from the exhaustion. He then collapsed on his left side still panting heavily from having to fire off his enhanced attack. While he was down, the gang ran over to him.

"ETERNAL!!!" They shouted in unison.

"You finally did it, bro!" Heat Wave said. "You finally defeated Thunder Drum."

"That took a lot of guts, buddy" Ground Dasher said, patting Eternal on his back. But Eternal gave a slight shout in pain in return.

"Careful, Ground." Eternal said. "I'm still a bit sore from using that last attack."

"Sorry buddy." Ground Dasher says.

"You had me worried sick!" Sunset says, leaning her face closer to her lover's own. "I know why you had to use that attack, but look at you, you're barely breathing! I can't stand the fact that I might've lost you!" Sunset then buried her face into Eternal's neck, sobbing.

"Sunset, please... Seeing you cry makes my heart brake." Eternal says, looking at Sunset. "I apologize for worrying you, but I had to do what I had to do. For your sake...and our child."

"Child?" Twilight asks.

"Didn't you know?" Heat Wave asks. "Eternal and Sunset are going to be parents."

"SUNSET IS PREGNANT?!?!?" The girls shouted in unison.

"Apparently." Spark Wave replied.

Then Spark Wave and Shadow Force felt a sting inside them and stared at the sky above. The others noticed their behavior.

"What's up?" Rainbow asks.

"Thunder Drum..." Spark replies.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack asks. "Don't tell me that their dog gone tyrant is still lingerin' about up their."

"Unfortunately, that's exactly the case, AJ." Shadow replies. "Thunder Drum might've gotten caught in the blast...but there's no way that attack will make him kick the bucket...he's still very muc alive."

Soon the rest of the gang saw what looked like a black mass heading straight towards them.

"EVERYPONY, LOOK OUT!!!" Twilight shouted, teleporting herself and the gang away from the black mass. It soon landed straight into the ground and disappeared revealing the same stallion with white fur and black mane. But the black mass revealed him injured beyond any treatment that was available. Thunder Drum was breathing heavily, covered in blood and bruises and burn marks all around his body unable to use anymore strength.

"Damn...I...I failed again." Thunder said to himself, trying to stand up. Twilight and Sunset both approached him with their horns glowing with magical energy. Thunder Drum stared at the girls with a frustrated frown upon his face, knowing that his time had come.

"This is for what you did to Eternal Flames." Sunset said angerly.

"And for kidnapping Heat Wave along with threatening the innocent lives of everypony in Equestria." Twilight followed through. "Do you have anything else to say before you recieve your punishment?"

"Just shut the hell up and kill me already." Thunder retorted, never braking eye contact. "I'm all used up so you might as well put me out of my fucking misery."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, quirking her eyebrow at what he just said. "When I said "punishment" I was talking about sending you back to Tartarus."

"Bullshit, I'd rather die than to go back to that hell hole." Thunder grunted.

"Even if you were to die, you'd still end up in Tartarus." Sunset replies, still having a mad look on her face.

"I don't give a damn, if you're not gonna finish me off, then just let me die here." Thunder said.

"Thunder Drum..." said Eternal, as he got up, still a bit shaky and injured. "What's with you now?" Eternal asks, walking towards the fallen stallion slowly as possible.

"Shut up, you little wretch!" grunted Thunder.

"I'm starting to think your plans for taking over Equestria were just an excuse for some other reason." Eternal says.

"I said SHUT UP!" Thunder shouted.

"What was the real reason you did this?" Eternal asked.

"SHUT UP!!!"

"TELL ME NOW!!!"

"FINE, JUST SHUT UP AND I'LL TELL YOU!" Thunder then paused and finally spoke in a more calmer tone. "You were always the lucky bastard back home in the Rogue Kingdom. Surrounded by your loving family and your subjects while I was always referred to as an outcast in my own damn home town."

"That's the reason why you threatened the lives of so many innocent ponies...because of your jealousy?" Eternal asked "Thunder Drum, you moron, that's nothing but a-" He's then cut off by Thunder Drum.

"I'M NOT DONE YET!" Thunder shouted. "I was all alone...no family...no friends...and worst of all...no support. I forced myself to compete in the Rogue Colossium to finally get the recognition I desperately wanted! That's when YOU came along and took just about EVERYTHING from me! They all mocked me, they laughed at me...I WAS NOTHING BUT A JOKE!!! I was left with only one thing left that would finally shut them all the hell up and finally get the respect I deserve..."

Eternal then had a shocked expression on his face realizing just how guilty he felt never knowing the truth behind Thunder's Drums recent actions until now.

"I... If you really felt that way..." Eternal paused "Why didn't you just tell me and my father? We would've been more than able to help you out if you hadn't tried to kill all those innocent lives or try to take the throne by force."

"Negotiations meant nothing when it came to my hubris! A stallion like you could never understand!" Thunder replied back with a tear running down his eye.

"Hubris? What does that mean?" Pinkie asked.

"It means he has an excessive pride." Spark replies.

"You just don't understand what it meant to be left all alone!" Thunder said.

"Wrong." Eternal replied, causing Thunder's eyes to shoot wide open and turn towards him. "You probably don't know this, but I use to be left all alone as well. It was a terrible feeling for me as well. I was only 6 years old during that time. Everypony thought I was a menace as well and it hurt me just as much as it did for you. I even made the same mistake you did. I threatened the life of some colt who was picking others as well as me. It's happened a lot during my childhood when my other two friends were being picked on. You can call me a softly all you'd like, but what I say to you right now is the truth."

Thunder Drum wasn't saying a word, but instead closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back the tears. Finally he opened them slowly and started to speak more calmer than ever.

"There you go again. Always speaking in ways that give you the praise that makes you feel good." Thunder says, finally letting more tears run down his face. "It pains me to say this...but I guess you make a far better fighter...and a far better leader than I'll ever be." Thunder Drum then coughed up blood and Eternal got worried, he tried to pick him up, but Thunder Drum stopped him. "Don't bother! I'd rather spend the rest of my life in the pits of Tartarus rather than live like a failure in the land of Equestria. Besides, I don't think anypony would welcome me after this whole ordeal went on."

"So that's it, huh?" Eternal asks.

"Afraid so." Thunder replies and then looks at the girls. "Well, go ahead and send me back."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, there's still a chance for you to turn around and start over." Twilight says.

"I'm positive, now hurry up and send me back to Tartarus." Thunder replies softly.

Twilight looked at Eternal for his approval and was replied with a nod. She and Sunset then approached Thunder Drum and gathered their magic together and casted a spell, making the ground beneath Thunder Drum open up a vortex and pulled him in. Thunder Drum looked at Eternal with a grin and spoke his final words...

"You truly deserve the titles of "Prince of Equestria"...and "The Strongest Guardian of Equestria." With that, Thunder Drum was out of their sight as the vortext finally disappeared.

Eternal was feeling a bit relieved knowing that he finally stopped Thunder Drum, but at the same time he was a bit saddened about the fact that his old kingdom had treated him so unfairly. That was his last thought before nearly collapsing. But Ground Dasher quickly intervened and caught him and threw him on his back.

"You've done enough for one day, buddy." Ground Dasher said softly. "Now lets get you back home and take care of those wounds, you took quite a beating."

"T-T-Thanks...Ground Dasher." Eternal said softly before falling asleep. The gang then followed Twilight back to Ponyville which was rougly half an hour away. They were able to make it back safely and took Eternal Flames back to the hospital where he had to spend 2 weeks in order to fully recover from the damage he sustained.