When we got off if the train, there were many signs and limos and cabs. Even a carriage or two. Of course, in front of one of the carriages was a stallion holding a sign that read, 'Lightning Strike and Mist Chaser'. I sighed. That was us. We grabbed our things and piled into the carriage.
The castle was huge. We were worried that we would get lost, but some guards led us to the main hall. When we walked in, the two were playing... Twister. Seeing us, they quickly packed up the game supplies and nervously made their ways to their thrones. Princess Celestia shut the door with magic and clapped her hooves together.
"So, Lightning Strike, we finally meet." She smiled.
"Yes, so be it." I said straight-faced.
"You're probably wondering why I gathered you here, though." Celestia reminded me.
"Yeah, we both have." I gestured to Mist.
"Yes, we understand." Luna spoke up, "Sister?"
"I might as well explain, now. Lightning, it seems we have a predicament. Do you know of the Elements of Harmony?" She asked.
"Yeah, I guess. The six Elements. Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, Kindness and Magic." I replied. I looked to Mist. "What does this have to do with us?"
"Many things. Because, Lightning, you are the Seventh Element of Harmony. The Element of Reality."
"I'm a what-now? No, that's not possible. It won't- it can't- No!" I protested. "What proof do you have?"
"Proof? Lightning.... You have deep, dark secrets that you don't think anyone knows. I, among others, know them. Besides Luna, the others are of an evil origin. The worst nightmare you could think of, my little pony. How do I know this? Because, I can just look at you, and.... I can tell. You can help the girls."
"For what?!" I had no idea what she was talking about.
"With the trouble you're going to cause." She answered mysteriously.
"I have arranged for you to live in Ponyville with Mist. He will attend the Ponyville school and you two will accommodate by living in Rainbow Dash's, the Element of Loyalty's, home."
"I have one question." Mist piped up.
"Yes, Mist?" Celestia cocked her head slightly.
"What does Reality have to do with friendship? With Harmony?" Mist frowned.
"It shows the girls that some people don't have Magic, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty or Kindness in their lives. Lightning is a rude awakening." Celestia explained, looking only to me.
"Can we leave now?" I asked, turning from the princess.
"Lightning, I have high expectations for you."
"I don't want anybody else learning my deep dark secrets. Nobody." I turned to her before walking out. A crowd of guards were standing there, ready to take us to Ponyville.
For the third time that day, I had to go through a boring ride. I just wanted to stretch my wings. Badly. But, I didn't know where we were going, exactly, so I couldn't. When I saw view of the town, I was reluctant to even land in the carriage on that ground. Everybody looked happy. Way too happy. It wasn't my style at all.
"Mist, this is outrageous!" I complained to the also bored colt.
"I mean, seriously, she wants me to 'prepare them for the trouble I'll cause'? Isn't that a little counterproductive? Just don't send me at..." A dark fog began to spread over the town.
"All...." I finished.
"Well, if this is how it's going to be." I sighed. I zipped my jacket up tight, threw the hood over my head and snapped my goggles over my eyes. I looked at Mist.
"You know the deal. Big storms come with-" Mist cut me off.
"Big responsibilities." He said, rolling his eyes. "I'll go try to find this Rainbow Dash pegasus. You go do your thing."
I saluted him, smiling. "See you in a bit, bro."
I flew off of the ground and into the dark sky. The clouds were... Not clouds. It was more of a fog. I tried to fly through it, but was bounced back. It was fabric.
"What the?" I asked aloud in confusion.
"Hey, amateur, let the pro figure this out!" A voice called from behind me. I turned to see a sky blue pegasus with rose-colored eyes and a rainbow mane.
"I got this. You may not know it yet, but weather is my thing. Let me handle this." I replied, trying my best to be polite.
"This isn't weather." She pointed out.
"I already know that." I snapped. "I'm trying to figure out why it has the same properties as regular weather. Maybe it'll be as easy to manipulate as clouds. Now watch. If I just-" I bumped into a cloud. Wait, a cloud! Perfect.
"Get out of the sky. I don't want you getting hit." I told the mare.
"Hit with what?" The mare was puzzled.
"My namesake, of course." I smirked. "Lightning. Now get out of the sky." I did a U-turn and started to gain speed.
"C'mon," I muttered, "Storm. Make a storm." A flash of light appeared in the distance.
"Woohoo!" I yelled, doing a loop-de-loop. A deep rumble of thunder echoed through the sky.
Move, I thought, to the sea and never back. Or disappear. Yes, disappear. The storm slowly calmed down, and soon the clouds were no more than water vapor. The fabric was no longer there. I'd have to look into the later. I landed on the ground and winced as a crowd rushed out and stormed me.
"It wasn't a big deal, really. It's just my job. I can control the weather easier than other pegasi, it's just my special talent." I told some who thanked me for my "gracious deeds".
"Hey, flyboy, how'd you do that? You started flying and the storm just disappeared." The mare from before looked at me suspiciously.
"Because I told it to." I answered simply. "Now, where's my little brother, he was supposed to find that Rainbow Dash girl." I scanned the crowd.
"I found Rainbow Dash." I heard him say. He was standing next to the mystery mare.
"Oh, great! Where is she?" I asked him. He gave me a blank stare. He turned to the mare.
"My big brother's an idiot, sorry." He said to her.
"My name's Rainbow Dash." The mare rolled her red, sticking out her hoof. "Now could you explain why you're going to be living with me?"
"I'm Lightning Strike and until this afternoon I lived in Manehattan. The biggest change? Finding out that I'm the Seventh Element of Harmony. Reality. I'm your reality check."
"... I'm taking you to Twilight." Dash decided, grabbing my tail in her mouth and dragging me away. Mist trotted along, following.
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked Dash, who was still dragging me.
"To the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight's house." She replied.
"And who is Twilight?" I asked.
"The Element of Magic. And I'm the Element of Loyalty." Rainbow Dash frowned a little. "What does Reality have to do with Harmony?"
"I'm here to show you that some people don't have friends or experience Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Magic or Loyalty from others. I... I'm the truth. I'm brutal honesty, I suppose." I realized.
"How so?" I froze. Well, technically, I hadn't been moving of my own accord.
"I.... Don't like to talk about it." I looked at Mist, who wouldn't make eye contact with me. "We don't like to talk about it."
"That's a lie, Lightning, and we both know it." Mist said, looking up. Dash stopped dragging me for a moment.
"You don't like to talk about it, because you were closer to... Y'know. And then with your Cutie Mark? And Silver Gunner? And Rough Boulder? You don't like talking about it because you were always worse off. And now we live here and you're not going to tell anyone. That's not friendship and that's not what your Element represents." He finished his speech and started walking ahead of us. Dash and I both stared. I got up and dusted myself off.
"I can walk the rest of the way." I told her. "And... I'll tell you. Not now, but... I will."
"Oh, yeah. That's fine, I guess." You could tell Dash was trying to process what had just happened. Names of ponies? Being close to you-know-who? The Cutie Mark thing? I wouldn't explain it all, but I'd give an idea of what happened. The day I got my Cutie Mark.... That was off-limits.
"We're here." Dash said, interrupting my thoughts. In front of me stood a large oak that had windows, a door, even a balcony like a house would.
"Are you-" I began.
"It's a library. And it's a golden-barked oak. That's why it's called Golden Oaks Library." She explained.
"Alright then. Am I going to meet the other Elements here?" I asked.
"Maybe." She replied. I looked at the mare's Cutie Mark. It was a cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt. I looked at my own. It was a storm cloud with a yellow lightning bolt. Oh, wow. That was weird.
Mist was still ahead and walked through the door. He yelped. We broke into a gallop, making sure he was fine.
"Mist!" I said, bursting through the door. There was a crowd of ponies jumping and shouting.
"Oh... There's nothing wrong, it's just.... A welcoming party." Rainbow smiled. I smiled back.
"For us?"
"No, for our suitcases. Wait, where are your suitcases?"
".... Dang it." Mist muttered. "I, uh, forgot them."
I groaned. "Whatever."
"Hi, I'm Pinkie!" A mass of pink bounced in front of me.
"H-Hi, I'm-"
"Lightning Strike, brother of Mist Chaser and Manehattaner. This morning you were delegated as an Element of Harmony, Reality. You have a troubled past and have insecurity issues about telling anyone." She finished, smiling.
"How did she...?"
"I have no idea." Rainbow answered.
"And she's...?"
"Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. She's the party pony around here." Dash chuckled. "And everyone else should be...." Dash looked around and I felt someone back up into me.
"Oh! I'm s-so sorry." A shy pegasus apologized, hiding behind her hair.
"Oh, you're fine." I smiled at the butter pegasus. "But you spilled this drink... I'm really sorry. Would you like me to get another for you?" I asked her. She blushed.
"Oh, y-yes please. That would be nice." She replied.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow yelled.
"H-Hi, Rainbow."
"I see you've met Lightning. Lightning, this is the Element of Kindness. Flutters, this is the Element of Reality." Rainbow introduced us to one another.
"Lightning Strike, by the way." I told Fluttershy. "And about that drink..." I turned around and poured some punch into a plastic cup.
"Here ya go." I handed the cup to Fluttershy.
"Th-Thank you." Fluttershy nodded.
"Lightning needs to meet AJ, Rarity and Twilight, still Flutters. I'm sure after the party we'll all stay at the library. Bye Fluttershy."
"See ya, Fluttershy." I smiled. Her face turned bright red. She nodded. Dash kicked me.
"Ow! What the heck!" I yelled in annoyance.
"Stop hitting on her, stupid." Dash said plainly.
"You call that-"
"Flirting. I call that flirting."
"What are you, jealous or something?" I smirked.
"N-No! I don't want one of my oldest friends hurt! That's all!" Dash exclaimed.
"If you insist, Dashie."
"Whatever, Sparky." I froze again.
"Don't call me that." The request came out angrier than I had wanted it to.
"Why not?" Dash asked.
"It's part of my past." I winced as I noticed that Rainbow held a large resemblance to an old friend.
"Which part?"
"The part where I killed my best friend." I replied.
"Y-You-"
"Rainbow!" A strong Southern accent called out. "Who in the hay got rid of that storm? I know it wasn't you. Too big to be you." I turned to face an orange Earth pony with emerald green eyes.
"That would be me. Name's Lightning Strike. I'm here to-"
"Flirt with Fluttershy." Dash scoffed.
"It was NOT flirting."
"You hit on Fluttershy? Boy, I have half a mind to buck ya in the face." She glared at me.
"It was not flirting! I poured her a cup of punch! I'm sorry if in Manehattan we have manners!" I argued back.
The mare snorted. "Yer from Manehattan? No wonder you act like ya own the world. You were raised that way."
"Please. I'm only a 'petty commoner' to the high life. I live in the slums. And I'm actually here because I'm the Element of Reality. The seventh Element of Harmony."
"Huh? That just don't... Have ya taken him to Twi?" She turned to Rainbow.
"Not yet. Trying to find her." She replied.
"Applejack, dear, where did you... Oh! There you are." A white unicorn stood next to Applejack.
"And who is this?" The unicorn purred at me.
"Lightning Strike, ma'am. Element of Reality and I'm the one who fixed today's faux storm." I bowed. Dash hit me over the head with her hoof.
"What did I do that time?!" I asked.
"You flirted. And you acted full of yourself." Dash replied.
"Look who's talking, Dash." Applejack said.
Dash didn't answer her.
"Where in the world is Twilight? Can anyone find her?" Dash peered over the heads of multiple ponies.
"Where's Mist?"
"Little pegasus colt? Purple and green? No Cutie Mark?" The white unicorn asked.
"Precisely."
"No Cutie Mark... He's with our sisters, ain't he?" AJ asked the unicorn.
"Probably." Dash nodded.
"Indeed." The unicorn sighed. "I'm Rarity, by the way. Ponyville's fashion designer."
"Well, my jacket is getting kind of tight... Maybe you can make me a bigger one." I said hopefully. The unicorn brightened.
"Oh! I can start a stallion fashion line! This is perfect! Say, have you ever attended the Grand Galloping Gala?" The unicorn inquired.
"No, not really. I... With my theories on weather manipulation, I've been invited once or twice, strictly on business to talk with the Commander-in-chief of the aerial fleet of the Equestrian army. I always declined, though." I replied. I remembered the Gala invitation from Commander Thunderwing.
"Why?" Dash asked.
"Two things, I guess. He wanted to talk with me to discuss harnessing my powers to wreak havoc and disaster on foreign countries as weapons. I told him he was a disgusting tyrant. He didn't know what would happen if he tried to set, say, a tornado off in Saddle Arabia, for instance. It would affect the whole of the country, going haywire and killing more than the soldiers. So, there was that. And I didn't have a date." I remembered the older stallion's words.
"Son, you'll be my successor, whether or not you respect my thoughts right now." He had said.
"You didn't have a date?" Applejack asked skeptically.
"Precisely. But why do you ask?" I said, turning to the unicorn.
"The Elements get invitations every year. Although, last year..... Was interesting. But I was thinking of making you a suit! Won't that be exciting?"
"I, uh... Yeah! That'll be great! Wait... You're an Element of Harmony, too?" The unicorn nodded.
"Rarity, darling. Element of Generosity." I looked to Applejack.
"Applejack. Element of Honesty, sugarcube."
"Great! So... Five. Where's... Magic?" I turned to Dash.
"Twi's here. Somewhere. If I can just-"
"Hi, girls. So, have you met the new pony in town yet?" I turned to look at a purple unicorn.
"I'm Lightning." I said, extending a hoof. "Element of Reality."
The unicorn's smile faded.
"Dash, get Fluttershy and Pinkie. We need a meeting. And you," she pointed a hoof at me, "You need to explain yourself." Dash flew off to find the other two.
"What did I do?!" I asked.
"You.... I don't know yet." The purple unicorn sighed.
Dash came back, two ponies in tow. Fluttershy and Pinkie.
"Alright. Party's over, every pony! And could Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle-" Twilight began.
"And Mist." I added
"And Mist stay, please!" There was an audible groan from the crowd.
The crowd shifted through and revealed four young ponies left. Mist, another pegasus, an Earth pony and a unicorn. Not one of them had a Cutie Mark.
Twilight turned to me.
"Explain yourself. Tell us everything. Every important detail of your life, explain."
I smirked and turned to face Dash.
"Here's the explanation you wanted."
I sat down on the ground and eyed the ten ponies surrounding me.
"My name is Lightning Strike. This is my brother, Mist. When I was seven, my parents stopped seeing each other. Mist was two. My mom lived with this guy named Silver Gunner. He... He hit me. Abused me. Just me. And threatened to shoot me. When I was..... Eleven, I got my Cutie Mark. I hated that day... Still hate it." I sighed, realizing I had backed out on the promise I had made only an hour ago. I was telling them about the day I got my Cutie Mark. I turned to Dash.
"This is the part where my best friend dies." The others, save Mist, looked shocked.
"I was in Junior Speedsters' Flight Camp. There was this girl, Firefly. She was my best friend. And me, being a little kid, had a little puppy love crush on her. It was evaluation day..."
"Lightning! Hurry up!" A small pink filly called out. She had an aqua mane with matching eyes. We had to perform a trick we developed on our own for a grade. I was proud of mine. It used the sunlight to make cool effects off of my hooves.
"Coming!"
"Firefly started her trick. She got a great grade and she took her seat. Then I was up. I flew up and started, but soon a storm began...."
I frowned, looking to the judges. They urged me to continue. I nodded.
"Maybe I can... What if... Lightning! Lightning'll work, right?" I said to myself. I was a stupid kid.
"Storm..." I whispered. A flash of light bursted out of one of the clouds near me. I grinned. A boom of thunder followed.
"Lightning! Get out of the sky, n-" My flying coach stopped as I was hit by the next bolt.
The crowd gasped. I smiled, looking down. It didn't even hurt! The lightning was dancing from hoof to hoof, probably because of my gold-plated hooves.
"Then this thing, this explosion, came. It was a pure burst of color. A huge boom. A rainbow. A.. Rainboom!"
When the Rainboom came, a bolt of green lightning hit me. I yelped in pain. If regular lightning couldn't hurt me and this lightning could.... I heard wails from below.
"Go away!" I screamed at the clouds. "Leave!" They didn't budge.
"Lightning!" I looked down to see a pink filly struck with a bolt of purple lightning.
"And she was hit. The only one hit. Only one. Besides me. I tried to fix her, but I couldn't. I didn't know how."
"F-Firefly. Y-You're gonna be fine. I promise." My voice was shaking. I was seeing her fade in front of me.
"Hey, Lightning?"
"Yes?"
"I have a nickname for you. A new one." I smiled. Firefly tended to do that. Give people nicknames.
"What is it?" I could feel the first tear rolling down my cheek as I smiled in spite of myself.
"Sparky. Get it? Lightning? Controlling weather? Sparky. Let someone you love call you Sparky." Firefly smiled back.
"... I want you to call me Sparky."
"I can't."
"Why not? Do you not love me?" My voice was quivering again.
"I love you plenty. I just can't... Because..."
"Because why?"
"Because I'm dying." And with a final breath, she closed her eyes. I frantically took her pulse. More and more tears spilled down my face. There wasn't a single beat left.
"No! Celestia, strike me down now!"
"Like I said, I was a stupid kid. The weather was at my command and a strong bolt hit me. Knocked me out for two weeks. I woke up on Hearts and Hooves Day. And figured out that my first love was dead. And to find the horrible mark that reminds me of the day it happened." I paused to let them absorb that part.
"Yeah. That's only part of it." I murmured. "Next part." I sighed, looking at the sad mares.
"My stepfather hated me. And my father. He hated him, too. He hit me, a lot. Used me for target practice."
"Useless colt!" A gray-coated stallion yelled, launching a beer bottle at me with his magic.
"S-Stop!" I stuttered. I was a sobbing, bleeding thirteen year-old mess. He was a large, red-maned, golden-eyed magical tyrant. With a mix between a smile and a snarl, he uttered one word.
"Beg."
"I-I...."
"Beg, goddammit!" He stomped his hoof.
"P-P-Please!" I choked out.
A sadistic smile formed on the bastard's face.
"Try harder next time." He heaved a brick with his magic and hurled it at me.
"Every time I went to the doctor, they wouldn't suspect anything. Never knew the wiser. I used to lie to them and tell them I crashed when I was flying. My dad... My dad knew, but he couldn't really tell anyone. He didn't want to tell anyone. Because he didn't want to talk about everything I went through. And after, my dad...." I looked up at the girls again, who were grimacing.
"My dad died. It was willed suicide. Someone forced him to kill himself. We know because.... His note said things like, 'I wish I didn't have to do this' and... He must've wrote when no one was looking... 'Find the killer.' , which is pretty blunt. But... There was always this dream I've had. It... This creature, I don't even know if it's a pony... Was shouting. Screaming. Urging someone to do something. I don't remember. But I think it has to do with my dad. And there were these horrible eyes staring down at me. Red pupils and the rest is yellow. And a booming laugh. Enough to drive you mad, I swe-"
"Red and yellow eyes?" Twilight interrupted.
"Yes. Do you know anything?" I asked hopefully.
"I... If this is true... I don't know. I think I know who you're talking about. I think. Let me just.. Stand still." Twilight stepped forward and touched her horn to my forehead. Pain surged through me and I stepped away from her, although a series of of images and words ran through my mind. The words were echoey.
A mismatched being with those same eyes smirked, standing next to me, although I look kind of.. Faded. "Immortal." He said. "Kill myself!" I yelled, the image changing. I was standing next to a noose.
"You can't!" Dash yelled. Tears poured down her face. The image changed again. I was hanging from the noose. Applejack was comforting Rainbow. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Let the chaos begin." The creature echoed.
"Gah!" I yelled, coming out of my vision. I breathed heavily. I looked at the mares and my brother.
"What did you see?" Twilight asked in curiosity.
"I don't... Remember." I lied. "Some weird creature with horns and mismatched wings and stuff. That's it." I couldn't tell them that I... Died.
"Discord, definitely." Rainbow nodded at Twilight. "Now let's find this Element of Reality."
Twilight used her magic to pull a book off of a shelf.
"The Elements of Harmony." She said, looking at six necklaces and one tiara. She levitated a silver necklace with a gold lightning bolt and a black storm cloud.
"That's yours, I s'pose." Applejack nodded at me.
"Yeah. I.. Yeah." I looked at Dash. She was grimacing at the ground.
"Hey, are you okay?" I nudged her.
"I-I'm great!" She smiled nervously. "I was just.. You said a color explosion, r-right? A... Sonic Rainboom?"
"Yeah, that would probably be a great name for it... If only I could find the bastard that started it." I said, clenching my jaw.
"Yeah.... Some jerk." Dash sighed. She looked to the others, who wouldn't look either one of us in the eye.
"Now, let's go home. Care to show us around, Dash?" I looked to the cyan pegasus.
"Yeah, sure. Bye, girls."
"Uh, bye." I called over my shoulder.
"Bye... Poor Dash." I couldn't hear what Twilight said. I turned around and smiled at the nervous mares.
"C'mon, Mist. Let's go." He looked at the three fillies he had become acquainted with. They were shocked. He shook his head and began to walk with us.
"I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash said to me. We were still walking to her house.
"For what?" The pegasus looked like she was on the verge of tears. I dismissed the thought. That was too out of character for her, based on what I had learned about her so far.
"For the Sonic-" She hesitated. "For everything you've been through. I'm sorry, because it must be horrible to live through that. And to carry it with you all your life." It sounded like that wasn't what she wanted to say. Not at all.
"It's okay. Not your fault at all. It just started with that one day. That one damn day where Firefly died. I swear...."
"I-I get it. You'll hate the bastard forever."
"Yup. Exactly."