When the Lightning strikes

Deep, down in the Canterlot dungeons, daylight rarely shined. There were no windows, no torches, no source of the needed, sight giving rays. It was pitch black, cold, and reserved for only the worst criminals.

And there, among the empty cells, only one was occupied. Only one pony had proven themself worthy of such harsh treatment, worthy of having the entire outside world forget their very existence as time passed on. This pony was a stallion by the name of Lightning Streak, and his once vibrant yellow coat had turned dull and sickly over the years, his blue-green mane now looking as if it was made of sludge.

He was dying, so very slowly. And nopony outside even knew his name, he would not be remembered by a single soul in death, just as it had been in his life.

Or so he thought. But on all accounts, he was wrong. He was going to live, and while many ponies remembered his name, there was only one who cared enough to make sure he did. One pony out of thousands who remembered the stallion he truly was, even after almost twelve years apart.

This, is their story.
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It was a fairly normal day in Ponyville. The princess had raised the shining sun, the birds were singing in tune, courtesy of Fluttershy, and there wasn't a single world-ending calamity in sight. Twilight Sparkle sighed happily, admiring the view of the world she never thought she’d get a chance to see, with all the varieties of monsters and villains that seemed to be constantly pouring out of every nook and cranny. It was nice to be able to enjoy the scenery for a while, and spend some time with her friends. Spike had been given the day off, and was out gallivanting with the Cutie Mark Crusaders while Twilight went to the small coffee shop on the edge of town, at Rarity’s suggestion.

“What was it called again? Cafe de order ‘n’ get out?” she asked herself out loud. I certainly seemed strange, but she remembered Rarity saying that one of the employees had called it that. She shrugged slightly, looking around for another moment and taking a deep breath before getting hit by a solid wall of rainbows.

“Oh jeez, I’m sorry Twilight, I didn’t see you there!” said the source of the prismatic assault with a small giggle. “You alright?” Twilight groaned slightly as she got to her hooves and shook of the dust.

“Yes, I’m fine Rainbow. You really need to be more careful though, you’re going to hurt somepony one of these days.” Rainbow Dash laughed heartily for a few moments, earning a stern glare from her unicorn friend.

“Sorry Twilight, but careful isn’t exactly how I was raised. You gotta take risks if you wanna achieve anything, that’s what my brother always told me.” she said with a smile. “Speaking of which, I’ve gotta get to the train station!” she ruffled her wings a little bit, removing any dust or debris that had been caught inside them. Twilight looked at her with a smile, glad to see her friend so happy.

“Well if he’s coming to visit, we should get the girls and all go together! You haven’t really talked about your family that much, so I’m sure they’d all be just as excited to meet him!” she said, smiling a bit more, only to see her friend suddenly look downcast. “What’s wrong Rainbow? You were ecstatic just two seconds ago.” The cyan pegasus sighed a little and looked down to the side.

“It’s… Just been so long since I’ve seen or heard from him, you know? I’m just worried that he’s changed from the guy I knew way back when.” She said before shaking her head a little and smiling again. “But yeah, if you guys wanna come with me, that’d be great! Let’s go get the others and go, the train should be coming in soon!” The lavender unicorn looked at the sky briefly, noting the position of the sun. It was almost nine o’clock, and there weren’t any trains that came in at that time. She thought it was strange, but she brushed it off as her friend misreading a letter or something of the sort. After all, if this was her brother, he’d be a pegasus too, right? No need for the train then.

They talked more on the way down the street, Rainbow telling her all sorts of things about her brother, Lightning, and how he was, in her words, “The coolest pony ever to live”. Most of her stories seemed a bit far-fetched, but she smiled and nodded along, having never seen her talk about something more than she did the Wonderbolts before.

“And so this big guy comes up to us, talking a bunch of crap about how we couldn't be there, it was private property or something like that, and goes to try and push me away when Lightning just bucks him in the face out of nowhere, grabs me, and runs past him, I swear there was nopony faster, and all a sudden we see this light at the end, and he stops right there, sets me down, and tells me to look up.” She said, looking off in blissful nostalgia. “That was the first time I saw the Wonderbolts, and I had one of the best seats in the place! The guard caught up to us eventually, but we just ran off again and went home. Best. Day. Ever!” by that point, they’d met up with the others, who wholeheartedly wanted to meet this apparently amazing stallion, and had been waiting at the train station for almost an hour.

“Ah have to say Rainbow, yer brother sure sounds like somethin’ else.” The farm mare said with a laugh. “My question now is where’s he been all this time? Why haven’t I met him before?” Rainbow looked down sullenly again.

“He’s, uh, been in Canterlot for a while. He promised me he’d come by as soon as he could when he left, but he’s been…. Real busy, with stuff, and… Things.” She said, seeming to sink lower. “I come by here every day around this time, just to see if he gets off. He hasn't yet, but I’m sure he will today! I mean, he can’t have been THAT… busy.” She said awkwardly.

“Well shoot, I’m sorry Dash, I didn’t mean to go and make ya upset or nothin’.” She said. She could tell she wasn't getting the whole story, but didn’t want to be the one to push it.

“It’s fine AJ, don’t worry about it. I know you –“ she was cut off by the sound of a train whistle off in the distance. She perked up instantly, bouncing up and down energetically, seeming like Pinkie Pie on any given day of the year.

The happy pink mare, however, was less enthusiastic. Her left hind-leg was twitching uncontrollably, and her ears were ringing. She didn’t want to say it, but that wasn’t usually a good sign. She just wanted her friend to be happy.

“Oh my, this train is certainly… Interesting.” Rarity said when the train pulled in to the station. It looked nothing like a usual train, including but not limited to the reasons of: bars on the windows, a dull gray color, and the fact that almost everypony inside was wearing an orange jumpsuit. “The ponies inside seem to have a… strange sense of fashion, heh heh.” Finally, the train stopped, and the doors opened. Out from each came a singular royal guard unicorn, all carrying a quill and clipboard. They started calling off names, none of which seemed familiar to the young mares.

“Star Beam!”

“Rust Wing!”

“Soot Hoof!”

“Maple Leaf!”

“Light Ray!”

The names went on and on for what, to the rainbow mare, seemed like hours. She looked on expectantly, hoping that maybe there’d be a typo and he’d still be on the train. Her friends however were more nervous. This wasn’t a train full of normal ponies, obviously, but Rainbow Dash’s brother couldn’t be a convicted criminal… Could he?

“That’s it ladies and gentlecolts, everypony back on the train, next stop; Trottingham.” Said the middle guard, looking at his list one more time to make sure. Rainbow was devastated, yet again. She fell back on her haunches, not looking up, nor hearing the words of her dear friends. Thoughts began racing through her mind, terrible thoughts, her worst fears. What if they’d come true?

“Hold on captain, I’ve got one more!” came a mares voice from down the line.

“Then call it out so we can go!” he seemed angry, and rightly so. If that train had been stopping at every town in turn, it would take forever.

“Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist boss. Lightning Streak!” her head shot up. This was it. Today was the day, he was finally back! From out of the train stepped a sickly looking yellow unicorn, who for all appearances had never seen the light of day, nor tasted food or water. He seemed physically unstable, unsure of how to walk, or even stand. That was him alright, she knew it, she’d recognize those eyes anywhere.

“Lightning! Over here!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, waving her hoof frantically. The stallion looked about for a moment, seeming confused before he finally set his eyes on her.

“Rainbow! That you kiddo? My eyes aren’t exactly what they used to be you know!” he said, taking a tentative step forward. As soon as his hoof touched the wooden planks though, his knees buckled, his minuscule bodyweight still bringing him down like a bird from the sky.