Chapter 1 – The Duel
“White Lightning,” Lock Light said his head snapping upright sending his long thick locks down both sides of his neck “come and fight you coward.”
“You look like a mare,” he said laughing “did you really think your mane would disguise the fact that you’re an Alicorn?”
“It did for awhile,” Lock Light said “show yourself!”
“Ever the hasty one, weren’t you brother,” White Lightning’s enormous head said “I see you have some friends of yours. Thieves, liars, vagabonds and other wretches I guess, mmm? Just like your petty resistance against our father.”
“We won in the end,” Lock Light said “regardless of what you say, right always wins.”
“Au contraire mon frere,” White Lightning chuckled “you usurped my rightful place as King of the Crystal Empire.”
“I swore an oath to my father to protect my friends,” Lock Light said “I swore to protect you and I did, from your father.”
“That’s not what I remember dear brother,” White Lightning said. With mounting frustration Lock Light asked again “where are you? I know you’re here! Show yourself.”
“I am here,” he said and instantly the head vanished and he stood there, a full head taller than Lock Light, his gold edged white lightning bolts drastically contrasting his black body and legs. His eyes shone with white fire as he reared.
“He’s like a male version of Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said.
White Lightning laughed maniacally “I make Nightmare Moon look like a filly,” he said “I am the First Born of Sombra. This colt is nothing more than a degenerate upstart. I call him brother out of memory to my beloved father.”
“Your father enslaved thousands,” Lock Light said “and ruined the lives of hundreds of ponies and killed many more. He wasn’t loved by anyone, not even by yourself.”
“Silence!” White Lightning commanded “I will not have you taint our father’s name while these, peasants, these fat plebian ducks, are in our midst.”
“They are my friends brother,” Lock Light said “anything that you have to say can be said in their presence as well.”
“Very well then,” White Lightning said “did he tell you everything?”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked stepping forward beside Lock Light.
“Yeah,” Applejack said also stepping forward “he’d never lie to us, unlike you.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie said “what she said!”
“And furthermore,” Rarity continued “I will not be insulted and called a peasant! I am a lady.”
“And,” Rainbow Dash chimed “also aren’t fat ducks either!”
“Besides,” Fluttershy said “fat ducks are cute! And so are we!”
“Right,” Spike said “what they said!”
“What’s this?” White Lightning asked musingly “a dragon? A cutsie wootsie ickle dragon joining the fight? Please, I can summon one twenty times your size and a hundred more ferocious in the blink of an eye. And, ha, ha, did you call yourselves cute? Really yellow Pegasus? I’ve never heard Lock Light, Leader of the Lost be called ‘cute’. Lock Light…”
“Enough Lightning,” Lock Light interrupted “I’m here to stop you even if no other pony can. Enough of this useless banter.
With that, he launched himself at White Lightning. Rainbow Dash followed suit, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack joined. Twilight and White Lightning were first to engage in combat. They teleported all over the room faster than Rainbow Dash could blink. Lock Light was there too. Together they fought like dragons, but White Lightning would use shield charms against their magic, and would teleport out of the way faster than they could. Rainbow Dash flew towards White Lightning in a window of opportunity, but he countered her momentum and sent her hurtling down the pit. Luckily, her wings prevented her from hitting the bottom and she popped out a few minutes later.
Applejack tried using her lasso against him. She got his hind legs tied together, but he simply jerked hard sending her also hurtling into the pit. As she shot past Rainbow Dash screaming Rainbow Dash said “Hold on!” and dove, snatching her before she hit the bottom and flew back towards the opening “Thanks Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash smiled “What are friends for?”
The fight continued to rage on. Spike tried interfering by throwing objects around the throne room at the fighters, but one of the pots he through hit Twilight Sparkle smack on the forehead and she went down in the shattered pottery fragments. Lock Light concentrated and continued to fight White Lightning. They each sent powerful blasts of magic which shook the foundations of the Crystal Castle and punched huge holes into the solid granite walls. They flew round and round the Demon Pit, their magic spells barely missing Fluttershy who was huddling in a corner and the others. No one knew exactly what Pinkie Pie was doing, but she was running around the room and giving live commentary on the fight.
The Doctor was beside Fluttershy, protecting her with his sonic screwdriver extended. As he watched he had an idea. He did a quick scan of the image and calibrated the sonic screwdriver to different constantly randomizing ultrasonic frequencies. Then he activated setting 15A.
White Lightning halted his attack and gave an unearthly screech of rage and plugged his ears with his hoofs dropping to his knees. His eyes swelled with tears as the Doctor continued to point the sonic screwdriver in his direction.
“Make it stop,” White Lightning said through clenched teeth “make it stop! The ringing!’
“I’ll stop,” the Doctor said “but you have to stop sending monsters to attack Equestria.”
“Doctor,” Lock Light said “what are you doing?”
“I’m using an ultrasonic frequency which most horses can’t hear. But I did a quick scan of White Lightning and found that he was sensitive to a frequency of three thousand five-hundred Hertz. His body…”
“Never mind,” Lock Light continued “hold him steady. I’ll check the others.”
He walked over to Twilight Sparkle and nuzzled her gently. She got up, dizzy, and sat back down again. Lock Light looked at the Doctor “Why isn’t it affecting us?”
“Because that’s no pony,” the Doctor said knowingly nodding towards White Lightning.
“What do you mean?” Lock Light asked.
“That’s…”
The creature shifted back into its original form, it was a Changling. It clasped its hands over its ears.
“But it can speak,” Twilight said getting up startled.
“That’s not all,” Lock Light said “it’s white, Changlings are black. I know, we’ve fought them before on multiple occasions.”
The pit burst into blue flames once more. Rainbow Dash was still inside carrying Applejack, flew out at break neck speed, hitting her head hard against the ceiling above before crashing to the floor. Dazed she staggered up. White Lightning’s face loomed over them.
“So,” he said grinning “you’ve finally found out my secret, haven’t you brother.”
“Actually,” the Doctor said sardonically “that was me.”
“And how did you guess?”
“Guess?” the Doctor said “no I never guess, a wise somepony named Merlin taught me that. Nope, I used this…”
He held up his sonic screwdriver “I took a quick scan, I knew something wasn’t right. Then, when I discovered it I set it to 15A which is an ultrasonic frequency broadcaster…”
“Yes,” White Lightning said exasperated “yes, yes, we all know you’re brilliant Doctor, you don’t have to keep bragging all of the time.”
Turning to Lock Light he went on “I have many more like him, but I’ll bring him back all the same.”
Before Lock Light could stop it, the Changling disappeared before their eyes.
“He is with me now in my chambers. He is a good and faithful servant,” White Lightning said “unlike some I could mention.”
“I was never your servant brother,” Lock Light said his head snapping up and glaring at him “nor was I ever your slave to command as you pleased.”
“Is that how you felt about our relationship?” White Lightning asked “Pity, I thought you’d gotten over it.”
“Don’t goad me Lightning,” Lock Light said with mounting frustration “you’re a coward and you know it, that’s why you sent your creature to do your dirty work.”
“I am a coward, I know,” White Lightning said “but at least I’m stallion enough to admit it. That is why I will soon unleash my army against Equestria…”
“What?”
“You heard correct brother,” White Lightning said “I wouldn’t attack Equestria myself, and sending single monsters to do my bidding doesn’t work either. No, soon, very soon, a new dawn will brighten Equestria. A White Dawn. The Age of Celestia is over, the Dawn of Lightning has
come!”
“We’ll find you,” Lock Light said “as Celestia is my witness, we’ll find you and defeat you!”
“Come brother,” White Lightning said begrudgingly “you really think that you and your friends can defeat me? Even with Princess Celestia at your back? You were there when she wasn’t able to defeat the Queen of the Changlings, and I have perfected her kind, I have made the next necessary step in their evolution as a species!”
“You can’t win Lightning,” Lock Light said “we’ll find you and we’ll kill you before you can take over Equestria.”
“Treacherous nuisance!” White Lightning said “you can come after me as often as you wish. But it will all be in vain. I will succeed our father in his final wishes, of ruling both the Crystal Empire and Equestria. I will have his dream fulfilled. You wait and see dearest brother.”
With that, he vanished. The light from the torches went out. Lock Light, Twilight and Rarity all lit up their horns while the Doctor it his sonic screwdriver.
“Well,” said the Doctor “it could be worse…”
With that they heard a low rumbling, the walls began to shake.
“Really Doc,” Lock Light said exasperated “you just had to say that didn’t you?”
“Well,” the Doctor said also exasperated “I didn’t know that it was going to be a cliché moment here!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight said matter-of-factly “we have to get out of here and fast!”
“Right,” Lock Light said “Spike, is Rainbow Dash okay?”
“I’m fine,” Rainbow Dash said getting up on one hoof.
“How about you Applejack?”
“I’m a little cut up but that’s okay,” she said.
“Alright,” Lock Light said “let’s get out of here.
