This is it. This is where it'll all starts.
My life is going to change forever. 5 days more and I'll feel the pain once again. That day, three years ago, is coming back to haunt me. I know for a fact I should be here; my family needs me. The kingdom needs me. But my mind was already made up. It was time to leave and it was either going to be now or never. I know you... You'll always stay by my side. You promised me that much.
I sat on the floor of my room, my black mane with the green streak hanged messily down the sides of my face. My vibrant sage colored coat shined in the moonlight. I need to go now before I change my mind... I was in my room in the middle of the night. My room contained a dresser, a closet, and a small bathroom. It also contained a luxury bed able to fit two grown ponies. My desk was to the right of my bed. They were near the one window in my room, which looked out towards the Land of Serenity. It was a kingdom of peace, my birthplace, my hometown... My haven. I knew I was going to be gone for a while. I picked up my saddlebags, and left my room. Before I walked out of my room, I remembered the one thing I swore myself never to abandon. I trotted towards my closet and as I swung it open. There it was.
It was a sweater that was given to me by my dad. He never really explained how he got it though. I just knew it was important to him and I knew anypony who saw it would know what it meant. The color of blue and the yellow striking down like lightning through the middle brighten as the moonlight touched its silky surface. It was one of the first jackets ever designed for the Wonderbolts. I took it off the stand it was on and slowly put it on, feeling every stitch and strand used to create the jacket. My wings fit through the holes on the back perfectly and my forlegs were covered from top to bottom. Even though it was missing its zipper because of the jacket being through many flights, I felt the warmth of the jacket. The heartwarming feeling of a wing draped over a young foal gave me security. I think that'll do it. I thought to myself. That being said, I walked out of my bedroom, hoping nopony saw me.
I took my key and locked the door. The 'Click' of the keyhole echoed through the long and deep hallways of my "house". As i trotted down the stairs, the hallways and the rooms, my hoofsteps clicked through them.
There was one room where I stopped though. The doors to the room were big. I guess that's why it's called the throne room. No one ever misses that room. I approached it and stopped. In my saddlebags I searched, looking for a piece of paper I pre-prepared. A note I've waited so long to give to my mom. As I placed it in between the cracks of the two massive doors, I sighed with closure. Leaving the door behind and continued walking to the front gates of my home, I was finally to the front door which was pretty big.
With a small creak of the door, I opened it to the outside. The chill of November sent goosebumps down my body. My wings trembled with sensation. The trees were dancing with the wind and the leaves flew through the air into the night sky. I was about to take my first step into a world I never knew. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I knew this was a journey I would take alone. Exhaling and opening my eyes, my hoof was about to cross into the new world. This is the right decision. I can feel it. Extending my wings and ready to take off, my name was called out by a voice i knew all too well. This was something I didn't expect.
"Lightning Flash," the voice said in a calm but beautiful voice, "What in all of Equestria are you doing?"
I hung my head low and turned around, folding in my wings. There in front of me was an alicorn princess. Her mane and tail curled down to the ground with the colors of pink, magenta and green. The whitish-pink coat and the mane colors she possessed along with those compelling jade green eyes, the ones she gave to me, was enough to know who she was.
"Hey mom..." I replied.
"What's going on here?" she said with a sleepy and worried voice. "You are all packed to go and you don't even tell your mother. Are you going someplace? Where?"
There was no point in hiding the truth now. She had the right to know. "Mom, I'm going to find out who I'm destined to be. I know what it will eventually lead to but I need to find out somethings on my own and being in this castle, being in Serenity isn't going to help with that. I'm going to see what the world is really like and I'm going to experience it. The road ahead will be tough, I know that, but this is something I need to find out alone."
All she did was stand there. After a minute, she held her head down.
"I..." Her voice sounded like she was about to cry. "I didn't... do enough... did I?"
"That's crazy Mom." I walked up to her to try to comfort her. I nuzzled her cheek to raise her head as tears began to form in her eyes. "You mean more to me than anything in this world... I just thought not telling you would bring less pain for you." My eyes were starting to glaze over. Crap... This is not what I wanted. I thought.
"You are the strongest mare I have ever known," I stated, "I know you will be alright. You've kept Serenity going three years after... After him... I'm doing this for him... I'm doing this for Dad..." I cracked just a little as a couple tears ran down my face. After staring at my mom for a few seconds, her face slowly but surely brought out something I haven't seen all month: a smile.
"...Just like your father..." was all she said. Not being able to respond, she came to me and hugged me, soaking my coat and jacket with her tears. "I'm so proud of you Lightning..." That's all she said during her sobs.
I was letting out more of my tears as I hugged her back. This was something we both needed, something everypony needs: another family member to cry with; a shoulder to lean on. After hearing a couple of sniffles from my mom, she let go of me.
"As the Princess of Serenity, and me being your mom, you have my permission to go. Just please be careful," she said as a another tear went down her face.
"I will... And you know it," I replied back. The tears in my eyes were in finally thanks to my stubbornness as to letting my emotions out. Now wasn't the time to mourn, it was the time to act. I walked out the door of the castle and my mom followed suit. I spread my wings ready to take off the next village, which was a couple miles away. I turned to my mom, the wind making her mane swerve and sparkle in the moonlight.
"My connection to you will always be strong so be sure to think of me when you get the chance. I'll always be there to talk to you." She was always a caring mom. I knew what that meant.
"I will," I answered back, "Take care of the boys for me."
"I know," she said, "And be careful."
After those last words, the wind blew in my mane. My eyes closed as chills went down my spine. Opening my eyes, one thing was left to be said. I turned to my mom, who had one of the biggest smiles on her face that I haven't seen in a long time.
"I love you mom," I said.
"I love you too, baby," she said back.
After those last words were said and a final tear leaving from my mom's eyes, I spread my wings and flew in to the midnight sky as fast as I can. Getting a bird's eye view from up high, the Land of Serenity was under me. My home is now behind me. And as my mom waved to me from a distance, I knew this was going to turn me in the right direction. My jacket danced with the wind and my mane pushed back slightly. I wanted this path to change me. I wanted to see what a new future held for me.
This was it. My life right then and there changed me forever.
Note on the door to the throne room:
Don't know when I'll be back but I'll know how to contact you.
Thank you for everything. I need go my own path.
I'll see you again Mom. I love you.
Lightning Flash
Two hours of flying that night felt like a whole day. The freezing temperatures from about 100 feet off the ground could be tolerated the first hour but after that, as ice began to form and started hitting in between my feathers and my body in general, flying was getting harder and harder. Not to mention I didn't sleep before I made the biggest decision of my life.
"Great work, Lighting," I said to myself, "Your off on your own and you are already struggling. What are you going to do now?"
Even in this weather, I knew I shouldn't be flying. But eveypony knowing me as the stubborn stallion who kept pushing forward without looking at the consequences, I kept at it. What could I say, my reputation influenced me. The ice connecting with my wings were really starting to bug me though. That's when it finally hit. I was stumbling through the sky with my right wing cramping like no other. Even as I flapped my wing as hard as I could, the fatigue I was feeling shot throughout my body and my muscles began locking up. The cold weather was not helping my case. My slow yet noticeable decent drifted into a nose dive into the middle of a forest below me.
Buck me, I said to myself. Bracing for impact, I lifted my forelegs to shield my face from the branches of the trees. Going head first into a forest at an extremely fast pace, I knew I was in for a world of hurt. The first couple of branches only scraped my right foreleg and a couple of twigs got into my mane. But after that first 2 seconds of wooden shrapnel flying at your face and not knowing where you are turning caused me to do something stupid: I lifted my head to see where I would land. Of course that was unfortunate for me. My forehead hit a tree branch and I loss balance. Right there and then, my body did a bunch of twist and flips hitting more branches and the trunks of trees. I loss consciousness after the first flip.
The next thing I knew, I was on the surface of the forest. The first thing came to my mind was how I got here on the ground. My cramping right wing answered that question quickly. That's right... I was flying till the muscles of my wing couldn't take it anymore... I thought to myself. Second thing: I felt some liquid flowing down my forehead. I was expecting if to be sweat from my forehead. As I touched it with my right hoof though, it was sticky and it smelled like iron. Blood...? Then it hit... Immense pain from my whole body.
Clenching my eyes shut, I screamed out of sheer pain and agony. I couldn't move any of my muscles knowing they probably locked up when I collided with many trees on my decent to the ground and to my face impacting the dirt and grass. My limbs for all I knew felt broken. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw that I skidded across the ground by a good 10 feet. My saddlebags still upon my back, I tried getting up on my forelegs. Half way up, my legs gave out on me, resulting in my face hitting the ground. At least it doesn't feel like I broke anything. Why did this have to happen... thinking to myself, Out of all the things that could have happened... I was slipping in and out of consciousness at this point and time. Here I was, out in the middle of Celestia knows where, tired, in pain and suffering. To make matters worst, no sign of the town I was supposed to end up in. Slowly closing my eyes and drifting into a long sleep, my mind was just thinking one thing: Didn't expect this to go like this...
"Hey! Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!"
Seems like I got someone's attention. The voice sounded feminine to boot. Great... Frightened a mare at the beginning of my journey. Fan-bucking-tastic. All that came to me was the sound of hooves running towards me before sleep took over my state of mind.
Darkness is everywhere, young stallion... You can never escape it... No matter how far you run and how far you fly...
Slowly opening my eyes, my vision was just black. Endless shadows extending to unending lands. It was just me, floating in this darkness with a voice. One evil and sinister. One of many minds.
...One I despise out of anything in all of Equestria and beyond. It made my teeth grit together and my muscles aching to hit anything out of sheer fury and rage. It was the voice of my dad's enemy. Of Serenity's enemy. Of Equestria's enemy.
"Leave me alone!" I shouted, "You have no business being in my head or my dreams you fiend!"
Oh my... I'm so sorry, your Highness. What?! Do you want me to just LIE to you!?!?
"Shut up! You know nothing about me! And don't you use my title as a way to address me!"
But isn't that what you are... The next PRINCE of Serenity?! The kingdom you ABANDONED for your own SELFISH reasons!?!?!?!?
...Why, Lightning...? Why would you leave your own mother alone...? Don't you love her? Care about her...?
That voice... "Don't you EVER use his voice!" I snarled in anger, "Let him rest you demon!" I started flying towards where ever I was hearing the voice, flailing my arms trying to hit whoever was there. The voice din't go away unfortunately.
Oh dear. I do think we struck a nerve. Why did he have to use that voice of all things? Why not? It seems he just wants him to loose any rational thought and drive him deeper into the unforgiving shadows. SILENCE! He doesn't need to know that you idiots!
I couldn't take much more of this. My eyes were glazed over the thought of not being able to see him again. I ended my useless flailing and just let my forelegs limp to my sides. "No..." I whispered on the verge of tears, "I just... Wanted to go down my own path... A path which I choose where to go. A path where I can understand everypony not just in our kingdom... A path wanting to follow you..." At that moment, a bright light emitted from the dark and showed a pegasus. The voice growled with rage.
AAAHRRRG! Why did you come? Heh heh heh... You haven't changed a bit since you DIED! Hows the afterlife treating you, BLAZE!?!?
At that moment, the pegasus sprinted and flew through the darkness, dissipating all shadows around me. Darkness still lingered as he landed, but none of it near me. Looking in my direction, the stallion smiled and disappeared himself. A tear rolled down my right cheek as I closed my eyes once more floating in the abyss.
How does he do that...? No matter... We will get to him and we will corrupt his mind.
The sound of a evil laugh was all I could here from my mindless drifting.
Gasping for air and eyes jutting open, I jolted myself up from my sleep, causing sharp and agonizing pain towards my head. I put a hoof towards my forehead, shutting my eyes closed and hissed out my pain. That nightmare... It's one that has kept on appearing more and more often ever since that day. All these years and I can't even shake it off.
Leaning back a little, I realized I wasn't in the forest. I was in a room and on a cloud bed. My forehead was in wrappings along with most of my body covering up more cuts and wounds I had. Looking to my right, I was in a room all made of clouds along with the exception of some materialistic pieces of furniture like a dresser, a lamp and a mirror on the wall. The room was slowly filling up with the light of dawn from the left to the rest of the room. Turning my head to what I would expect just more furniture and a window, I saw what was probably the best view of my time alone.
Shining in the morning light was a mare with a gold-orange color matching perfectly with her blue and silver hair style that hung across the left side of her face, covering her eye, sitting on a cushioned cloud couch. She was resting her head on the post of the bed nearest to me soundly asleep. Her ears twitched every once and a while and her tail swished back and forth. I could feel her breath hitting my left shoulder.
Must have been the mare who saw me crash, I thought, She watched me the whole night...?
The heat of Celestia's sun hit the face of the sleeping mare, she tightened up her eyes and slowly opened them. Her shimmering, skyblue-colored eyes opened up to see me staring right back at her. Eye's widening, I turned my head away, a slight tinge of pink on my cheeks. Great. Just great Lightning. Checking out the mare that practically saved your life already...? Smooth... Looking back at her, I can see her smiling a little.
"Good," she said, sleep in her tone, "You're up. More importantly, you are alive." She yawns shortly after.
"Eheh heh..." I rubbed the back of my neck, sheepishly smiling at her, "Yeah. I guess I should probably thank you for that."
"No problem. Not everyday you see a pegasus land on the edge of CrimsonWings collapsed and broken. What was I supposed to do? Leave you there?"
"It was still an option," I mentioned. She let out a little giggle and yawned once again afterwards. "So, umm... Mind if I get the name of the mare who took me in?"
She looked at me with a concerning look, raised eyebrow and all before her eyes soften up. "Flare," she said, "My name is Sun Flare."
She lifted her hoof in front of me. It seemed as if she wanted me to perform the royal greeting. Ah, heck with it. I extended my own, taking hers tenderly and kissed it as a gentlecolt would do... Or that was what I was taught from my Mom. Flare took her hoof back shaking slowly, her cheeks slightly red.
"Thank you for taking care of me Sun Flare," I say. Putting my right foreleg and placing it over my chest, I say, "My name is Lightning. Lightning Flash to be more specific."
With that said, I lowered my head, making look like I'm bowing to her. Looking back up at her was one of the more... interesting moments that happened so far. Her eyes widen, with with slight red on her cheeks still, giving me an "are you serious" gesture.
"L-L-Lightning Fl-lash...? As in THE heir to the throne in Serenity?!?!"
... ... ... ...
I should've known this was bound to happen... I mentally facehoofed. This is going to be a long day...
