Lightning Master

Drake awoke to someone lightly poking his side and he swung an arm around to try and shoo the unwanted guest away. The poking turned into jabs as he refused to get up which he met with the same response as before. Whoever was trying to wake him up had grown tired of his refusal to get out of bed as Drake felt himself get lifted into the air and dropped onto the floor. He just lied there grumbling about electrocuting someone before he got up and untangled himself from his blanket cocoon. He heard laughter coming from behind him to find that it was Princess Celestia that had given him his rude awakening. She was still laughing as he put on his tattered shirt and put the top of his armor on his shoulders as he didn't feel like putting it on at the moment. Celestia told him that she was here to take him to the dining hall so he get something in his belly but yelped when Drake shot a small bolt at her ass.

Celestia glared at Drake who acted as though nothing happened and went on walking. She kept her eyes on Drake as they walked side by side and make sure he didn't do anything but looked away as her niece called out to her. Her and Gleaming were also headed to dinner and Drake and Gleaming smiled to each other as Celestia and Cadence exchanged pleasantries. Cadence spotted Drake and couldn't help but frown as she made her way over to him. He saw her expression and was thinking about what she could have been mad about before she slapped him with a magically charged hand.

"Ow, what was that for?" Drake asked he held the cheek she slapped.

"That was for trying to hit on my marefriend without me being there." Drake raised his eyebrow as he looked over to Gleaming to see her rubbing the back of her neck. "If you hit on one you have to go after the other too. We're a packaged deal so no stallion can bed us without both of our approval." Cadence continued as Drake's look of confusion intensified.

"Mind telling me what's up here Gleam because I'm a little lost." Drake asked Gleaming as what Cadence was saying was becoming lost on him.

Gleaming Shield sighed before she explained it to him. "I was telling Cadence here about what happened that led to us fighting and I told her about what you said before the fight. Apparently she likes you already even though you two just met and actually wants to give a relationship between the three of us a shot." Drake's eyes widen at hearing this and looked between her and Cadence to make sure that this wasn't some kind of joke. The sincere smile on Cadence's face and the blush on Gleaming's was more than enough confirmation.

"Wow, I'm honored but I don't think that can work right now." Drake said as Cadence looked disappointed.

"Aaaaawwww, why not? I can tell that you would be a great addition to our relationship and Gleaming already seems to really like you. Which is more than I can say for just about any other stallion that has tried to court us." Cadence asked as she made how disappointed she was very clear.

"Well it's not that I don't want to try out a relationship with you two, it's just that I would like to get to know you both a little more before we try anything so we don't do anything that you may regret later. I am a strange person after all and I wouldn't want to put either in a situation where you start to regret your decision without knowing all of my quirks." Cadence's expression changed after hearing Drake say that as she understood where he was coming from with this.

"You think you can handle us and our weirdness little guy?" Gleaming asked with a shit-eating grin.

"Oh please Gleam, I've been to a lot of planets where they had rulers that tried to make arranged marriages with me and their daughters, and let me tell you some of them were straight up bat shit crazy. I know there's still much I have to learn about you two and your lives but so you're definitely the most sane girls I've ever met that has wanted to form a relationship with me."

"Assuming that we do." Gleaming corrected

"Heh, yeah, assuming you do when you learn more about me." Drake said in a slightly sadden tone before turning around and walking away. The mare looked at him with worry and Gleam had instantly come to regret saying what she did. They went to catch up to Drake but when they were within earshot he disappeared in a crimson flash as he converted his body into pure energy. Doing so is an exhausting technique for Drake but he figured since Purgatory was nowhere to be found then he could give himself a little leeway to try and build up his experience using it so that it isn't. Drake traveled through the castle looking for the dining room as he whizzed ponies who saw nothing but a crimson lightning bolt zooming pass them.

After ten minutes of looking he found it and saw the mares from the throne all conversating as they waited for the others to show up. The mares took note of the lightning bolt just floating in the air and watched it curiously. They jumped when the bolt shot down towards the ground but there eyes widen as the flash that it emitted upon contact had vanished to reveal Drake. He went to sit at the far end on the opposite side of the table away from the mares as kicked his feet up onto the table. Rocking his seat back and forth, his hands clenched up in his lap, and expression neutral, Drake allowed his mind to wonder to past that remains his guide to making things better for the future. He thought back to his childhood where he grew up on the streets with no family or friends. He knew that he could have gone to an orphanage had be cared for there but he never liked being around others, human or not. He only knew of his real name because he had a dna test ran on him when he went to a hospital after getting badly hurt.

One day though he was traversing the streets of the Earth's capital city, Diversity City, and had come across a rather cruel scene. There were two teenagers picking on a little Meancepan which didn't sit well with Drake. He chucked a rock at the head of the one in the kid's face and both turned to him, angry and ready to beat the shit out of him. Drake held his own until the police showed up and arrested the teens. Drake tried to leave after they were arrested but the other boy stopped him and asked what his name was. Drake told him and the boy had said that he was named Tonoe and asked Drake if he wanted to be friends. Drake smiled at this boy and said that he would like that but that he had to be going at the moment but promised to go visit Tonoe at the orphanage.

Drake smiled as the memory played out and was so lost in his memories that he didn't hear the princesses and Gleaming Shield walk into the room. The mares present smiled and waved at them and they all returned the gesture. The smiles were wiped off when they spotted Drake and the mares saw this as they turned towards him as well. "He's been here for the last twenty minutes and hasn't moved since." Twilight said as she looked to her mentor.

"Why haven't you tried to say hello?"

"Because it seemed like he wanted to be left alone when he showed up so we haven't bothered him." The orange earth pony said.

"Really!? I figured that at least Pinkie would have tried to cheer him up when he came in." Luna said surprised that not even the infamous party pony hasn't tried anything.

"I would have if it was a different kind of serious but this looks like it might be something personal and I wasn't going to be rude." The pink earth pony named Pinkie said with sadness in her eyes.

"Was he like this when you woke him up princess?" Twilight asked.

"No, he wasn't. We were talking about getting to know each other better before starting a relationship with him and I said something that was meant to be a joke but I guess it brought some things up from his past that seem to pain him. I was going to apologize but he vanished before I had the chance and I'm not sure if he is in the mood to hear anything from me right now." Gleaming Shield informed them. The mares nodded as the others took their seats. A few seconds later an unicorn stallion came out to get down what everypony wanted for dinner but when they saw that he went over to Drake they tried to warn him not to but were too late as he tapped him on the shoulder. They prepared for the worst but were surprised when Drake just looked at the stallion and adjusted himself before telling him his order. The mares were left wondering what he had asked for though as the pegasus left with an uncomfortable look.

To stave off the boredom of waiting for his food Drake decided to fall back on an old pastime of his, MiniWar. He creates to miniature armies made of pure lightning, one side has a little crystal in their chest and the other doesn't, and they duke it out. Usually he'll have someone else around and they place bets on which side is going to win, but there are the occasions when he's alone and he just watches them fight which is still just as fun. He could hear the mares talking at the other side of the table talking but didn't care all that much on the topic seeing how he was still sore about what Gleaming had said earlier. He knows that she didn't mean anything by it except maybe as a joke but he couldn't help it.

The mini battles were coming to an end when the food came out but none of them with Drake's food he didn't dissipate the energy that sustained the figures and continued watching. A few minutes later the rest of the battles end and the side with the crystals has won and a griffon carrying a silver dome covered plate walks out of the kitchen. The six friends were curious to what he could have ordered that took longer than their own but the princesses and guard captain knew what the griffon chef was carrying. The chef set the plate down and removed the dome to reveal a nice juicy steak under it and the five of the mares gasped while the cream colored pegasus fainted. The mares started to feel sick and quickly turned away to see how their unconscious friend was doing.

Drake dug in unaware of what just happened as he looked at something that was considered a luxury to him. What he told Luna was true as any gifts he had gotten he had given away to those less fortunate than himself and worked hard as a civilian to get everything he had back home. Only things he really kept was a set of spare parts for Blackstreak whenever it needed anything fixed. He worked hard for sure and it allowed him to enjoy the little things instead of taking them for granted like the big shots that gave him these gifts had for so many years. The princesses and captain seemed to understand that as he savored every bite he took from something that they thought every meateater enjoyed.

Gleaming saw how quickly his mood was becoming happier and happier and decided to see if she would be able to talk to him. She got up and went over to sit next to Drake with Cadence following right behind her. They sat on either side of him and smiled as Drake had his eyes closed with a blissful smile until he opened his eyes and saw them sitting next to him. He looked around to see if the others had moved seats as well but instead noticed that the six mares he didn't know were looking a little green and that one of them also seems to have fainted.

"So what's going on over there?" Drake asked as he swallowed the bit of food he had in his mouth.

"Well as you already know we ponies are herbivores so seeing meat makes most of us squeamish whenever any meat eating races like griffins or dragons eat the stuff. With us princesses having to deal with nobles from their kingdoms we're pretty used to it and Gleaming here is usually at those meetings to make everything goes well so she's used to it as well." Cadence said as they watched the mares try to wake up there friend.

"Well lucky for them we humans are omnivores so they won't have to worry about me eating them and if they still are then that's their problem because I'm going to enjoy this like it's my last meal." Drake went about eating again but was interrupted by Gleaming Shield.
"Hey, Drake, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have said that and-" Gleam went on before he silenced her by putting a finger to her mouth.
"It's alright Gleam, I know you didn't mean anything by it. It's just that when you said it it brought back some memories that I've buried away. It's not like you could've known without reading my mind and even so you wouldn't be able to tell if it was a touchy subject for me." He said as he gave her a smile that she returned.
"I take it you don't want to talk about."
"Nope."
"Alright then I understand. We all have something that we rather not talk about." With that they continued on with the two went back to eating, conversing amongst themselves. Celestia and Luna moved from their spots to sit with the group, though Luna was hesitated a bit as she still didn't like Drake. Drake was the first one done and sat around as he waited to others to finish. Twilight and her friends kept their distance from Drake because they were wary of him now that they knew that he ate meat. Celestia tried to coax them over to join in on their conversation but refused to budge despite their princess's reassurance that Drake wasn't going to hurt them.

"Alright, I'm bored. I'm going to go get a bit more practice in with my energy form. Damn thing has a tendency to leave me feeling drained whenever I use it but I never tried to change that because I didn't want to risk Purgatory attacking while I was down and out." Drake said as he had grown bored of just sitting around.

"You know you've mentioned this Purgatory and the battles between you two an awful lot. Has your whole life been nothing but fighting him?" Cadence asked.
"Well my orphan years are pretty depressing to most so that's why I don't mention them and my civilian life wasn't all that different from them except it's not depressing thanks to my buddy Tonoe, plus I'm still not used to talking without having to withhold any details other than with him considering he was the only one who knew that I was the Lighting Master......."Drake stopped for a moment as he tapped his chin as he thought of something.
"What are you thinking about Drake?" Celestia asked, suspicious of his intent as Drake's thinking face turned to a smiling one, borderlining mischievous.
"Oh nothing I was thinking that perhaps I could show you the galactic war to you get a better understanding of not myself but Purgatory and why the two of us are feared."
"I think that actually would be helpful but how do you plan on doing that. I'm pretty sure a book won't cut it in showing us all that without interruption." Cadence asked. Drake just took off one of his gauntlets and put it on the wall in front of them. He turned back to them with a smirk as all the mares stared at him with confusion.

"Okay, so what is that thing and how does it help?" Gleam asked. Drake shot a small bolt at the wall mounted gauntlet and a whirling sound filled the room. A short while later a holographic displayed appeared with a dragon surrounded by lightning on it.

"Thanks to our advancements in technology at the time we are able to get video recordings of our own history without a film crew. The drones that make these recordings and nearly indestructible and it's data backed up so we don't have to worry about a drone going down. I've obtained all of the recordings of the war before my intervention so that I was ready when I went to stop him. I was hoping for a little more time before I made my move but it seemed Purgatory had gotten impatient. Since then I've kept it and edited it to show the most important parts of the war that shouldn't leave too much out of it so you should be able to understand what happened without having to know all that much about the Forge or my dimension. Though before I start this up I will tell you that it is horrifying if you've never seen how Purgatory fights so I would brace yourself for that if you want to stay and watch." Drake said as he selected the record and asked one of the servants to get a couple tubs of popcorn.

In the beginning, they were eagerly watching as Purgatory and the Rippers launched the first strike that started the war though Purgatory himself wasn't in the front lines so they didn't see him. Then it got to the battles and the times in between and some of the mares were starting to get frighten but forced themselves to stay. Even Fluttershy was staying even though she was hiding behind Rainbow Dash who didn't seemed fazed by what they were watching. The battles got more brutal as the movie progressed and then it happened, Purgatory had finally shown up when it appeared that his troops were losing and brought a legion of undead with him. As he killed the soldiers in the most brutal ways possible the mares had all grown rather fearful of the character and clung to each other, clung to Drake, or were hiding behind him. Drake felt a great deal of respect for them as they stayed despite their fear and threw an arm around Gleaming Shield and Cadence as they clung to his sides, giving them assurance that they were alright.

The mares hadn't moved much after seeing Purgatory in action for the first time as their fear was being replaced by curiosity as they had yet to see Drake make an appearance in the war. They were still scared but thanks to his bragging of changing the tides and winning the war they could push that fear aside to see if he was telling the truth. It was nearing the end and they were all beginning to grow extremely skeptical of the man they were crowded around. Drake saw this but just kept watching as his appearance was about to be displayed.

The final moments of the war and Purgatory watched as the rest of the Forge's troops were giving up. He asked if that was they had and no one answered, no one expect for a lone man, dressed in a familiar suit of armor, with a serious expression. The mares watched as the the troops shook their heads or telling him to give up while the Rippers and Purgatory laughed at him. They watched as Purgatory said that he would allow the man a duel and then obtain multiple jabs from him before getting annoyed and swatting him back. This went for a few moments before Purgatory got angry and used his unholy flames on the man, who dodged them with ease, and the troops on both sides watched as a seemingly ordinary man held his own against the madman; the troops of the Forge starting to get their fire back as they cheered him on. The mares gasped when Purgatory pinned the man with a couple of his undead soldiers by his legs and cheered when Purgatory was blasted by the man with a powerful lightning bolt.

Everypony in the room leaned towards to screen as Drake and Purgatory went at it, with their allied armies fighting in the background when the Forge's troops gained new confidence in themselves. The true end was nearing as the fighters grew tired, both looking horribly mangled from the fight. The ponies, including the guards and servants that had heard the commotions inside, got even closer and Drake laughed at their anticipation. The fighters prepared for their final strikes and moved at blinding speeds towards each other once they were. Everything was silent besides the breeze that could be heard in the film as those watching, those in the film and those watching it, waited to see who would fall and who was left standing. The ponies gasped, louder this time, as they both fell to the ground.

The screen went black after the Rippers had been pushed back by the troops, and citizens, of the Forge and they took Purgatory with them.

"So what do you think?"Drake asked after a moment of silence.

"That was possibly the most horrifying thing I've ever seen." Cadence said still getting over the shock of what she had just seen.

"I did warn you that it would be and there's the fact that things haven't changed much from that day other than the fact that it's on a much smaller scale and less frequent. Purgatory is one tough bastard and I'm the only one strong enough to stop him, it's the reason I freaked out when I woke up in the hospital after the fight that got me here. I'm still not sure where he ended up with that portal on the fritz but I hope that he isn't here."

Rarity snapped to Drake as he said this and yelled, "YOU MEAN THAT THAT MONSTER COULD BE HERE IN EQUESTRIA!!?"

"Oh calm down, even without having the systems that help me track him down and I be there when he shows up. My odds are even better considering the search wouldn't be on a galactic scale like back home Miss, um..." Drake left it open so that she could get the hint.

"Oh yes, I forgot that we never formally introduced ourselves. Well I'm Rarity." The Rarity said as they shook hands.

"Hello there, my name is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said from beside Celestia, reaching a hand over to shake.

"I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria." Rainbow boasted which everyone, including Drake, rolled their eyes at. She hovered arms length from Drake as she stuck out her own hand while thrusting her chest out in pride.

"I would love to see how long you can cling to that after going against Blackstreak. Sure she's merely a vehicle but she can haul ass when I need her to." Drake said in a challenging tone.

Rainbow Dash was about to give a response when Applejack pushed her aside. "Hey there Drake, I'ma Applejack." They shook hands but after they let go Drake felt the sudden urge to move from his seat, quickly. As Drake dove over the table his chair was tackled by a pink blur but then his vision was turned towards the ceiling as he fell onto his back. Within moments Pinkie Pie was standing over him with her signature grin.

She helped Drake up before introducing herself, "I'm Pinkie Pie and I would like to plan you a Welcome To Equestria party tomorrow here at the castle but I need to know what your favorite flavor of cake and colors."
"Well I'm not sure, I've never actually had cake before, as for my favorite color, hmm, I would have to say it's the same red-violet color as the streaks in my hair." Drake answered as he was looking towards the ceiling. He was met by Pinkie with her jaw dropped to the ground as was wondering how she managed to accomplish that. He looked towards the others for some answers and they only shrugged which led him to do the same thing. He was going to go talk to the butter cream colored pegasus but was stopped as he felt someone, somepony, grab his arms and turn him around to face a wide-eyed Pinkie Pie.
"What do you mean you've never had cake, what did you eat at your birthday parties?" Pinkie asked as she shook him.

Drake grabbed her arms and pulled them off to get her to stop before answering. "Well I never really had a birthday party, as I said before I was an orphan. I grew up on the streets and have lived that way even after becoming the Lightning Master. I didn't make much money as a civilian and donated everything I got as a hero to help those in need. I couldn't afford the luxury that everyone else had and I wasn't going to exploit my other identity to get hand outs, and why am I getting a sense of deja vu?" Drake asked out of the blue.

"Maybe because you've told me something almost exactly similar on the train ride here." Princess Celestia answered.

"Oh yeah, well anyway as I was saying Pinks I- What's wrong?" Drake asked as he saw a teary eyed Pinkie Pie.

"I'm going to make sure that this party is great and your first birthday party even greater when it comes around, promise." Pinkie said as she pulled Drake into a tight hug. He froze when she did as he was not used to getting them and wasn't sure what to do. Pinkie bounced away, muttering to herself about making a party to remember for Drake but he still stood there frozen.

"Hey are you alright?" Rainbow asked. "What's up with him?" She poked Drake to see if he would do something but he continued to stand there, unblinking but breathing.

"I don't think he's used ta getting hugs either." Applejacked answered as she was trying to help Rainbow Dash get Drake out if his shock.

"Move aside you two I know how to fix him." Gleaming Shield said with an evil smile. The others saw what she was planning but did nothing to stop her as they knew that it wouldn't do Drake much harm. Gleaming cocked her arm back and slugged Drake right in the face and caused him to fall to the ground. He blinked up at Gleaming before shaking his head to get his head back together.

"Thanks Gleam I guess I really froze up after that hug didn't I?" Drake said as she helped him up.

"No problem, but are you really not used to stuff like that I mean it's pretty bad when you freeze up like that just from a friendly hug. Though that leaves me curious at what would happen if you actually got into bed with a mare." Gleam giggled a bit but covered her mouth as soon as it left her lips, hoping he didn't hear it. She turned around to see if he did and saw that he had a big, toothy grin and she started blushing.

"I didn't think that you were capable of making such cute sounds there Gleam. Now that has me wondering what other sounds you'll make in bed with Cadence." Drake said as his grin and Gleam's blush grew in size.
"S-shut up Drake." She said in a higher pitched voice.
"Aw, would you look at that, she's embarrassed." Drake mocked Gleam.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Drake, my sister doesn't really take well to be teased." Twilight said as Gleam tried to hide her face with her mane.

"Oh you can't give me that, look at her. Sure she's all shy and embarrassed now but in a minute she'll get over it and do the same thing to me. I think it's going to be part of our dynamic from now on, right Gleam?" Drake asked as he looked over to Gleam to find that she wasn't there. He turned around when heard the door behind him slam shut and knew he fucked up. "Oh crap," was all he said before turning into pure energy and going after her.

Cadence was ready to say something to Drake before he left but he had left before she had the chance. "I think he's right about their dynamic."
"How so Cadence?" Luna asked.
"It seems that those two will mock each other in good humor until they say something that unintentionally hurts the other. Gleaming got him this morning and Drake just got her back." Cadence explained.
"Are you worried that something will happen if it goes on?" Rarity asked.
"Not really, though they'll hurt each other it will go a long way towards making them grow closer to each other." Cadence said as she smiled fondly at the door they left through.

"Though I see what you're saying, what about you?" Twilight asked.
"What about me?"
"Well aren't you worried that they're bonding without you?"
"Hhmmm, not particularly. As much as I would love to be there right now helping I think right now they should be alone. They both come from the same world when it comes to what they choose to do in live and can understand each other better that I could. Besides they wouldn't leave me out, I'm the fun one." Cadence said as she stuck out her tongue, earning a laugh from everypony.

Drake was trailing behind Gleam as she ran to her and Cadence's room. When she ran in she had locked the door and Drake materialized in front of it instead of just going in. He put his ear to the door and could faintly make out the sound of sobbing.

"Go Away!" Was the response she got when he knocked on the door.
"Gleam it's me, could you let me in I wanted to say sorry for what I did in the dining room but I don't want to do it through a door." Drake said as he awaited her response. He heard nothing but sobbing after and decided to just leave for the time being until he heard the lock's click from the door. He turned the knob and opened the door just enough to poke his head, ready just in case she decided to blast him. He spotted her on the bed and closed the door as he walked in and moved towards her.

Drake sat on the bed next to Gleaming Shield and rubbed her back. After a while of this, she finally started to calm down as her sobbing began to fade. Drake continued to rub her back when she did nothing but sniffle every so often as she kept her face turned away from him.

"Hey Gleam,"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry about embarrassing you back there. I really thought that we were doing all in good fun but if an apology isn't enough then I promise to do anything to make it up to you." Drake said with sincerity.
"Really, anything?" Gleam asked as she turned her so that she was staring at him with one eye.
Drake nodded, "Anything, name it and I'll do it, no matter how cruel or embarrassing, I'll do it without complaint." he said as he smiled down at her. Gleaming Shield scooted closer to Drake and laid her head on his lap and he did nothing but let her do what she wanted.
"Well in that case would you be willing to go on a date with me and Cadence with a full body massage at the end?" Gleam asked as she looked up at Drake, expecting to see him shocked or embarrassed, but instead he was perfectly calm as he smiled down at her.
"Sure, but I assume that neither of you will be getting too drunk when we do? I think it would be more enjoyable if you didn't though I'm not going to stop you from drinking at all." Drake said with an amused smiled.

"I wouldn't worry about that, neither of us are that heavy of drinkers but if you think that we are getting to that point then feel free to cut is off." The two heard Cadence say from the doorway but did nothing to change the position they were currently in. "Hello sweets, I came by to check on you when neither of you came back and it seems that I was right to do so. I would have missed out on the date planning if you two decided to stay in here." Cadence said as she gave Gleaming Shield a kiss and took a spot on Drake's other leg.
"I take it I'm your pillow now?" Drake only only got content hums from the two mares laying on his legs. "Well if that's the case could you two get up for a minute so I could laid down on the bed. As I said earlier, changing into my energy form is very tiring and doing it twice in one day has taken it out of me." The mares did as he asked, albeit reluctantly, and Drake made himself comfortable before signaling the mares that it was alright.

Cadence and Gleaming Shield made themselves comfortable as they placed their heads on his chest. Drake put his arms around them and pulled them closer. From there the three allowed the heat from each others body and their heartbeats to lull them to sleep, but not before Drake blasted the bedroom door shut with a weak bolt and inadvertently zap Princess Luna who had been eavesdropping on their conversations.