Lightning

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Out of the Fire, into the the Frying pan.

Chapter 1

I woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up quickly, looking around. Lying next to me was my sister, who was still sleeping soundly. I got up on my hooves, and walked over to the window, looking out on the hills that kept a small shadow over the small town of Ponyville. The sun slowly seeped up over the horizon, and I closed the curtains. I walked over to the stairs, and I walked downstairs. I sighed loudly as I looked at the clock. No time for any type of breakfast. I needed to get to the Small building area on the outskirts of Ponyville. Ever since Discord came back the second time, Ponyville needed a makeover. When the famous ponies of harmony defeated him for the final time, many Ponies lost their businesses to the fires that burned the town. That gave the unemployed ponies business, but leaving the rest of us unemployed. Now, being a Pegasus, I was eagerly wanted to help with the rebuilding, but it was harsh work. Waking up at Zero dark thirty was harsh, and most of the time, I didn’t have enough time for breakfast. Throughout the months my Yellow and black striped mane had grown dully grey, and my shimmering grey coat was now droopy, oily and uneven. It had been months since I had any down time. The docks and shipping depots were filled with toxic gas, and it was only a matter of time before I would become like raven.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Lightning Storm. I’m a Pegasus, just like many of the ponies around Ponyville. Well, at least there were many. Many left after the air became polluted. What had used to be Ponyville was now a massive factory town, filled with pollution, sickness, and other harsh things. Many of us had stayed, working to make sure our families had another day ahead of them where they could have a stomach full of food, and a roof over our heads. Everypony who stayed was slowly succumbing to the sickness that we called “Dread”. It was spread through the pollution, and was extremely toxic. It would slowly start to drain your energy, drain you of your colors, make you become a shell of who you were. Finally, the toxins in the air would destroy your mind, making you brain dead. I knew I was slowly succumbing to the Sickness, but I was much stronger than many of the ponies in the factories. I had almost succumbed to the sickness twice before, but made miracle recoveries. Plus, being a Pegasus, I automatically had a strong immune system. This was why mostly just Earth ponies and Unicorns succumbed to the sickness. While many of us recover from the state of brain dead, there a few of us who just shut down, like Raven, or Sweetie Belle. Yes, that Sweetie Belle. It was such a shocker to her family, and her friends, they all pitched in, to try and find a cure. This included Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. The reason Rainbowdash couldn’t pitch in, was because she was helping with the factory, just like me. We were in the same group, working at trying to sustain energy for Ponyville. We almost had no downtime, and we had grown close over the months we had worked together. Anyway, back to the story.

I walk slowly to the factory, my yellow eyes grey and cloudy. Even though my friends, like Rainbowdash and my sister, Claire, had told me to take some off days, I continued to work. I realized that I was about to enter the shell stage of the sickness, but I couldn’t stop working because of that. It would take me a week to recover from the stage I was at, and that would mean a week without pay. A week without pay would put me back on me being able to make sure me and my sister could eat. Even though she worked 2 jobs, and I had the factory, we were still scraping by. I walk along, smelling the stench of the burning of oil, and the fog of failed attempts at sustainable energy. While we were still rebuilding Ponyville, everyone knew it wasn’t the only thing that Equestria Oil was doing there. Rebuilding a small town doesn’t cause this much pollution. But the way things were going, Ponyville’s beautiful scenery far away from the factories would be a desolate, sickly area. I kept walking, the fog burning my eyes, and the smell burning my lungs, when the factory came into view. It was an amazing, but terrible sight. Then towering oil towers, the drilling platforms. The smoke stacks plunging from the tower. I was one of the few ponies who decided to show up on time, for an extra bonus in pay. Raven was one, but he’s gone now. Rainbow and I are the last of the Ponies that actually have work ethic. She was sitting there, waiting for me as usual.
“I’m always here before you. Did you stay after hours?” I asked to her. She looked tired, and as always, drained.
“Yeah. I needed the pay.” She said, her words slurring a bit.
“I know that feeling. Take the day off, I’ll cover for you.” I said, hitting her playfully on the shoulder.
“No…no. I can work.” Rainbow said, again slurring her words. Her blue coat had been turned a grey, and her rainbow mane had lost its color.
“Go home, Dash. I got this.” I said, nudging her. She finally gave up, and started to walk away, when she turned back around, and hugged me.
“Thanks, Storm.” She said, and then walked off. I smiled, and I walked into the factory gates. She was most likely going to have to take a week or two off, seeing as how she was at the same stage of sickness as I was. I walked quickly to the small building in the compound, which said “Sustainable Energy” on the front plaque. I walked in, using my hoof to open the door. I walked in, and started up the energy capacitors, the oil burning to run the computers, and screens (Technology has improved a whole lot.). I started up the machines, and I put on my lab coat, and my goggles. I noticed some gas masks hanging from a new coat rack. Looks like the administration didn’t want us turning into whatever it was ponies were turning into. I strapped one on, and turned on all the energy vats. They started shifting, and I immediately saw the glowing orange liquid light up. I went back up to the computer station, and started to note down some small notes about what energy schematics. The employees started to pile in, putting on the lab coats, and gas masks. They flew around the room, pouring different chemicals into the vats. Among them was one of the better employees, Derpy Hooves. Sure, she wasn’t the greatest at analyzing the mathematical data, but that wasn’t her fault. She was just never trained in it. She was one of the hardest working of us, making sure all the vats were just right. Even though she was a bit clumsy with her flying, she was still the best out of us. Also, she had some natural immunity to “dread”, which made her key to the high risk operations, like a vat, overflow.
“Derpy, come here real quick.” I asked her, waving her over. She clumsily flew over, and landed.
“What is it sir?” She asked, smiling her large grin. I smiled through the gas mask. I knew she couldn’t see, but she probably knew I had.
“Vat 13, there’s an Accumulative energy source coming from it, and it’s only been stirring for 15 minutes. Check the ingredients, please.” I said, pointing in the general direction of the vat. She nodded, gave me a lopsided grin, and flew off, checking it. I returned back to the computer station, when I saw a spike in energy so great, it was bound to explode.
“Derpy! Derpy come back!” I yelled, but she couldn’t hear me. She was already checking the ingredients, when I saw the vat glow violent orange. Everyone froze in fear, and many of them flew, or galloped back to the computer room. Most of them would have flew, or galloped to the aid of Derpy to get her to safety. But “dread” does some things to ponies you would never imagine.
“Get out of the way!” I screamed, but it was no use, trying to break through the barrier of ponies was useless. I looked at the window that separated the computer station from the rest of the building. It was sturdy, but not sturdy enough to stop an angry Pegasus. The vat was boiling over, when I ripped off my lab coat, and then pulled of my gasmask. I slammed into the window, smashing it into pieces, some of them cutting through my grey coat. I flew towards Derpy, flying as fast as I could. I felt the air friction pulling against me, as I approached the boiling vat. Derpy was frozen in fear, whimpering, as the vat burned, and then, exploded. I reached her just as it exploded, shards of burning hot metal flying everywhere. I was hit with one, and knocked out of the air, coughing. I recovered, and I kept flying, the vats exploding one by one. The flames and energy in the air was so great, I could almost feel the flames licking my coat. Then I realized they were. My left wing was on fire, and it hurt, but I kept on flying, as fast as I could, dodging bits and pieces of shrapnel and fire. Finally, the finishing blow came. The largest vat exploded, tearing off my left wing, and sending Derpy and myself through the wall. I made sure my back was turned to the wall, as we smashed through. We skidded to a halt, and I saw that Derpy was alright. I pulled myself off of her, and my vision blurred. I was dimly aware that the explosion had cleared the sky of pollution, due to the massive explosion. I coughed loudly, spurting out blood. I looked around, seeing multiple Pegasi bring rain clouds over to the top of the Energy building, jumping on them as fast as they possibly could. The fire was put out pretty easily, and Medical ponies came over, to check on the situation.
“Storm! Storm!” Derpy screamed, looking into my eyes. I couldn’t respond, my body shutting down due to the pain. The last thing I remember is tears streaming down Derpy’s face, as she was pulled away. I passed out, the pain sliding away from me.

Chapter 2

I woke up in a small bed. It wasn’t my own, but I knew it well. This was a hospital bed they had especially ready for me. I had been to the hospital on many occasions, including work injuries, “dread”, and when I was younger, getting into accidents. I guess this time was the worst, seeing as how my left wing is gone, and I had crushed ribs. Well, my left wing was gone. Now, I have a mechanical wing, sparkling black gloss, with actual Pegasus feathers. I had seen them use this with destroyed Pegasus wings before, making sure that the skin had grown around the metal contraption, and soon returning to normal, aside from having a metal frame, instead of bones. I saw that my body had pretty much returned to normal, my glossy grey coat shining in the small sunlight glimpsing through the window. I noticed my mane had returned to its black and yellow colors, and as I looked to the mirror next to the bed, I noticed my eyes had returned to yellow. I sat up, my eyes adjusting to the light of the dimly lit room, the only source of light coming from the machines that were my life support, and the cracked window. I hopped out of bed, flapping my replacement wing tentatively. I looked around the room, seeing the numerous amounts of gifts left by my co-workers, my friends, and most of all, Rainbowdash. I then saw a note left by my administrators, in the cluttered pile of gifts. I lowered my head to look at the note, trying to read the delicately written note.

“On behalf of Equestrian Oil, we would like to congratulate you on finding a new, renewable energy source. We have excused you from this absence, as seeing as how you have lost a wing, but stopped all pollution in the area, due to the explosion, and the renewable resource. You have been promoted to manager of the Renewable energy sub-company of Equestrian Oil.” Read the note. I sighed. At this point, I didn’t give a danm about the company I worked for. I walked out of the room, and I looked around. The hospital was bustling with business, but no one was grey any longer. I found a nurse, and I got some help taking all the gifts home. Finally, a day off. I mean sure, I had gotten a day off for the last, what, two weeks? I didn’t care at this point. I still had a slight limp from the explosion, but aside from that, I was fine. When I reached my home, I walked over to the couch, and plopped down, in the darkness. I landed on something soft, and it smelled like cotton candy.

“Oof!” It yelled, and the lights turned on.
“Surprise!!” Yelled the group of ponies, who had probably been crowding in my house as soon as they got the call. Among them were Pinkie pie, who I had sat on, Twilight, Rainbowdash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the Almighty, Down-to-fricken earth, Princess Celestia. I groaned.
“A party, already?” I asked sarcastically, looking around.
“No, not a party, a get together.” Said Celestia, her rainbow mane flowing without wind as usual.
“In my house?” I asked, puzzled.
“Yes. We’ve all come to ask you of something.” Said Celestia.
“As you may know, everyone thinks the pollution has ended. It hasn’t.” Said Celestia, using her magic to pour herself a glass of water.
“The explosion just escalated it, and the “Sustainable Energy” They’ve been talking about, is killing Everypony by the dozen.” Continued Celestia.
“What the hell does this have to do with me, and all you people doing in my house?” I said, slightly annoyed.
“Well, the explosion sent shards of magic energy into your body, producing a magic no one has ever seen before. And we think you can use it to stop this.” Said Celestia, calmly looking around the room, trying not to scare anyone.

“Mhhm, yeah, sure. Now, let’s say that this magic is real, WHAT would I do with it, and how?” I said, the tone of my voice in annoyance. I just wanted to sleep, even though I had been for the last 2 or 3 weeks. It didn’t give me any real rest.

“Have you ever heard of respecting your rulers?” Said Twilight giving me an angry look. She looked around, and it seemed like the rest of the ponies were on my side. They wanted to get to the point already
.
“Have you ever heard of getting to the god-damn point? I really enjoy it when that happens.” I said.

“I’m sorry, Lightning. Tensions are high. We only have about 10 days left, before we all end up like Raven.” Said Celestia Calmly.

I slam my hoof down, my eyes filled with rage.
“Don’t you dare talk about him, you Hag!” I screamed, and all the ponies recoiled.

“What?” Asked Celestia, rage entering her eyes.

“You heard me. Now get to the point, before I do something I’ll regret.” I said, calming down a bit.

“Well, you need to choose a pony to accompany you on a quest to the edge of the world. Not two, not three, one. This is where you will find the guardian scroll. There lies the solution to our problem. Happy?” Asked Celestia, still gritting her teeth.

“No, since I still don’t know how to use this “Magic” Thing you told me about.” I said again, looking around the room.
I could guess why everyone was silent. They couldn’t try and persuade me to bring them. I was friends with all of them, but I had already made up my mind.
“If you focus enough, your energy can surpass anypony’s ability in flight and strength. You will become, well, super.” Said Celestia, pointing towards me.

So that’s why I suddenly felt so able to stand up to the sun goddess. I sighed, and looked around the room. Twilight would be longing to read that scroll, and she had magic. Fluttershy is good with animals; Pinkie Pie can defuse hostile situations, Rarity… I can’t say much for her. Applejack would be Strong, and fast, for a quick pace, but the best choice at this point would be Rainbowdash. Strong, fast, slightly good with defusing situations and with animals. The only thing she has lack of is that of magic, but I have enough of that.
“So, who do you choose, Lightning?” Asked Celestia, motioning towards the 6 ponies in front of me. They all had faces of longing on them, and I sighed.

“Rainbow Dash.” I said, looking up. She wasn’t very good at hiding blushes, because her face was as red as the stripe on her mane.

“M-me?” She asked, pointing her hoof at herself.

“Yes, you. You’re as good of a partner as any.” I said, myself almost blushing.

“Besides, I’m going to need a flying partner. With this new wing and all.” I said, winking, and she turned away, still blushing.

“Wait, Lightning?” Asked Derpy, standing behind me, awkwardly.

“Yes? Is everything okay, Derpy?” I asked, turning so I could meet her eye to eye.

“Well, I just wanted to say, thank you, and good luck.” Said Derpy, her eyes slightly welling up in tears. I gave her a small hug, and she walked off
.
“Dash, we leave tomorrow at sunrise.” I said, looking around.

“I still need to pack some things, at talk to some people.” I said, and then turned to Celestia.

“Sorry about being overly aggressive. Can you make it so that my employers know what’s going on?” I asked, my ears hoping for a positive answer.

“Of course. I’m sorry as well. Everything shall be arranged so that you’re absence does not cause any real damage.” Said Celestia. Her horn glowed, and then disappeared in a flash of light. Unicorn magic, I'll never understand it. Everyone else walked out of the room, talking, leaving only Rainbowdash, and I.
It was awkward, and that was a understatement. We just stood there, until she finally spoke up.

“Uh… is it okay if I bunk at your place tonight, Lightning?” Asked Rainbow, still blushing.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll ask Claire… if she’s in town.” I added, sighing.

“Yeah, she went to Appleoosa. She didn’t want to leave you in a time like this, but, she really had no choice.” Said Rainbow, still blushing.

“Well, I need to get ready. I suggest you do the same. We got a long journey ahead of us. Where is the edge of the world, anyway?” I asked, slightly puzzled. I never paid attention in the Social Studies class that we had.

“As far west we can go, without hitting the coastline. Pretty much Enderland.” Said Twilight, who was hiding in the shadows.

“Why are you still here Twi?” Asked Rainbow, who was blushing even more.

“Well, I just wanted to give you some info. At the Edge of the world, the goddess of destruction dwells. Sadly, the moon was already taken at this point, so Celestia had to banish Deceite to the edge of the world. There, she guards the Guardian scroll. She does this because she knows it can control anything, so if there is a time where she can escape, but can be controlled by the Guardian scroll, she will make sure no one can get it. And this is one of those times. She has a very easily found weakness for lightning.” Said Twilight, and Rainbowdash looked at me.

“I think she means the thing that comes out of the sky.” I added, and Rainbow nodded.

“Anyhow, I need to have that scroll after you finish this, okay Lightning? Just please, this one favor.” Asked Twilight, and I nodded.

“I’ll try. Thanks for the information.” I said, smiling, and Twilight walked out of my house, and I looked at Rainbow.

“I’ll go and get my stuff. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” Said Rainbow, and she flew out the door. I sighed, and gathered a bunch of stuff for our journey. When I finished packing, and threw myself to the couch, letting myself fall into a deep sleep. It was so much, in so little time. And I really didn’t have any choice, I mean, all of ponykind rested on my shoulders. I closed my eyes, letting myself fall into sleep.

Chapter 3

“Lightning… Lightning!” I heard a voice shout, and I woke up, my wings spanning out. Rainbowdash pulled back, screaming in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Said Rainbow, punching my shoulder.

“Yes you did, you cruel pony.” I said, returning the punch. She laughed, and tackled me, making us both roll off the top of the couch. We rolled onto the ground, and she flew off of me.

“Sorry.” She said, blushing again.

“It’s okay. God, you are acting weird lately. Did you kiss a Wonder bolt or something while I was sleeping?” I asked jokingly, and she laughed
.
“Not exactly. Kinda under a whole lot of pressure. They asked me to join them, if I could. I guess I’ll try out after this whole thing is over.” She said, smiling awkwardly.

“Heh, just don’t change, okay? I don’t like it when friends change because of their status.” I said, and she turned away.

“So, what we going to do for the rest of the night? I’m kinda bored.” Said Rainbowdash, leaning on her fore hoof. I forgot that Dash was still quite young, only 21 years old. While I was not too much older than her, only 3 years difference, we had different ideas. She wanted to join the Wonder bolts, and I just wanted to have a family. She loved excitement and adventure, but I loathed it. I wasn’t the adventure type of guy.

“Why don’t we tell stories, like we used to do, before I went to canterlot?” I asked, going to the bookshelf.

“Yeah, sure! Except, not a storybook. Tell me how you got your cutie mark!” Said Dash, perking up immediately. I had heard how she got hers, but, only Claire and myself knew how I got the Electric shockwave mark.

“You really want to know?” I asked, looking at her intently. She nodded, and I sighed.

“I suggest you get comfy.” I said, and Rainbowdash plopped down next to me, still leaning on her for hoofs. She reminded me of when she was a filly, almost.

“Okay, well. It was in Canterlot, obviously. I was about 9 when I got it, so I was extra late. I was bullied for the fact that I didn’t have my cutie mark early, and it was really rubbing off on me. I spent most of my time in the clouds, reading, and drawing. I would really miss you at times, because at this point in time, you were really the only pony who actually got me.” I said, turning towards her. She smiled, and punched me in the shoulder.

“Ya big softy. I missed you too.” Said Rainbow, still smiling.

“Anyway, one day, Claire got her cutie mark. She was 7. It was shameful, terrible even. I thought of flying back to cloudsdale. In the end, that’s what I tried to do.

But, when it came to that point in time, I was stopped. By none other than my bullies.” I continued, my eyes drooping down, from looking back on that day.

“They took my luggage, which had a picture of all my good friends, family, and a map to get to cloudsdale. I decided it was time to just, end it. So, I flew high into the sky, being chased by a bunch of the bullies. Finally, they knocked me down, and I made no attempt to right myself.” I said, keeping a straight face.

“Finally, I hit air friction, and my body started to glow wild yellow, and when I righted myself, I sent a massive shockwave out, sending a massive, electric plume everywhere. I then got my Cutie mark. It was kinda like the same way you got yours. Breaching the sound barrier. Mine has a more…lethal effect, though.” I finished, and Rainbow looked puzzled.

“How so?” She asked, leaning on her right for hoof.

“My bullies were, uh… never seen again. I think I may have destroyed them.” I said, slightly chuckling.

“Well, I think that’s a very nice story, but have I ever told you about the time when I actually met Soarin and Spitfire?” She asked, extremely excited about it.

“Well, no I haven’t, but I bet you’re going to tell me.” I said, winking again.

And so we shared stories throughout the night, talking about our adventures, our downfalls, our happy moments, our sad ones, and most of all, retelling our stories together. It was a good calm before the storm. I knew the trip was not going to be easy, and that we needed to relax before we made the trip. I looked out the window, and the sun was down, and I knew it was time to sleep.

“Let’s get some sleep, shall we Dashie? You can use the bed, I’ll sleep out here.” I said, rubbing my eyes with my hooves. She just stared at me with an open jaw. I raised an eyebrow, and then I realized I had called her Dashie. Only Pinkie Pie had ever called her that, and that was a name that was used only by Pinkie.

“Sorry, anyway. Let’s get to sleep. I’m tired. And we’ve got a long day ahead of us.” I said, grabbing some bedding from the closet.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Bright and early!” Said Rainbow, and she walked into the bedroom. I lay down on the couch once more. Letting myself fall into sleep.

I woke up, my eyes fluttering open. I heard the sound of Rainbow Dash showering, and I got up. I looked at the mechanical clock. It was 5:30, giving us an hour before sunrise. I sat up, and fluttered my wings, Making sure they could unstiffen before the long flight. I did a series of exercises, and then oiled my mechanical wing. The flesh was already growing back around the stump of the metal wing. I sighed with relief, and I heard the shower go off. I started to make breakfast, and laid out the table. I put down some eggs and bacon on the plate, and knocked on the bedroom door.

“Yes?” I heard Dash ask, hearing a blow dryer muffle her voice.

“Breakfast is ready. Also, if you need me, I’ll be in the Basement shower room.” I said, and then walking away.

Claire had turned the whole basement into a luxury area that I rarely got to see, or even use. I guess now was one of those times. I walked downstairs, and turned on the hot water, and walked into the massive showering area. I washed my coat, making sure to clean my mechanical hinges, and then the bolts. I finished off with my mane, which was now droopy. I barely ever let my mane lay down, but this was one of the few times I would let it do that. Probably because it would air dry in the sky, when we started to go on our trip. I dried off, and the brushed my teeth, then walked up the stairs.
“Hey Lightning. Good breakfast.” Said Rainbow Dash as I walked through the doorway to the kitchen.

“Thanks. You ready to go flying?” I asked, sitting down across from her, eating my eggs.

“I sure am! I got everything ready. Though the Wonder bolts are going to stop by beforehand to help me adjust to the turbulence clouds on the outskirts of Equestria.” Said Rainbow, waving her hair around, making sure that her hair was completely dry.

I had totally forgot about the clouds on the outskirts of Equestria. They were thick, and were made from natural means. It was past the Griffons lands, so pretty much nopony had ever been there. But, the Wonder bolts had dealt with turbulence while doing the cloud basher trick. As if on cue, there was knock on the door
.
“Come in!” I shouted, and then the Wonder bolts Spitfire and Soarin walked in.
“Hello, Dashie.” Said Soarin, and then greeted her with a hug. I continued to eat my breakfast, and I finished while the Wonder bolts were talking with Rainbow. I took my plate to the kitchen, and I heard the door open.

“Lightning, I’ll be back! Soarin is going to teach me about turbulence. You can come if you want!” Yelled Dash, standing in the doorway.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll get everything in check. You go out and do that. I’ll adapt.” I said, and Rainbow closed the door.

“I seriously doubt you will adapt.” Said a voice. A familiar voice, one that I had not heard in a while.

“Spitfire…” I said, my eyes narrowing. I thought she wouldn’t notice it was me with Rainbow Dash, but I guess not.

“Did you miss me? Because I missed you.” Said Spitfire, who was leaning on the doorway.

“In a way, yes, I did miss you. In the way where I missed the sense of being on my toes all the time.” I said, turning to her.

She had changed, her mane much longer, her face more mature.

“Oh, don’t be like that, Stormy. You and I both know you missed me.” Said Spitfire, who then walked behind me. I cringed at my pet name, seeing as how it was at least 5 years since the last time I was called that.

“Okay, what do you want?” I asked, turning towards Spitfire, looking her strait in her amber eyes.

“I want you to let Soarin have her.” Said Spitfire, smiling slightly.

“Pardon?” I asked, looking genuinely confused.

“You heard me, Stormy. I want you to let Dash go.” She said, looking at me her Amber eyes cringing. I released a sigh.

“What makes you think I have feelings for her?” I asked, turning back to the dishes, and then continuing to wash them.

“You reek of lies, Stormy. I have feelings for Soarin, and he has feelings for Rainbow. I swear to Celestia, I will hurt you.” She said, getting up in my face.

“Oh, so now you want the best for your best friend who you must have been friend-zoned by him about a billion times before.” I said, angrily, pushing her away.

“Shut up! You never had a chance with her, anyway!” Spitfire yelled into my face.

We stood there, breathing heavily into each other’s faces. I had feelings for Spitfire still, and I wasn’t about to ruin it.

“You want a drink?” I asked, immediately pulling away.

“Yeah, sure, what you got?” Spitfire asked, also pulling back.

“Uhh, some Fizz, some punch, and a couple bottles of apple liquor.” I said, opening the fridge with my hoof.

“I’ll have some punch.” She said, pulling out a glass from the cupboard.

I pulled the punch from the fridge, and I poured it in Spitfires glass. I got my own glass, and then poured some punch. I was drinking some of mine, when Dash and Soarin walked in, laughing.

“Well, now I know how to deal with turbulence!” Laughed Dash, who was obviously dizzy.

“Well, hopefully your friend knows how to deal with it as well.” Said Soarin, and I scoffed.

“I’ll be fine. I’ve dealt with humidity interference. And that is worse than turbulence.” I said, stretching my mechanical wing.

“Oh right! You were the guy who put his life on the line to save Derpy! Man, that was true act of awesomeness right there!” Said Soarin, closing his eyes while he laughed.

I smiled, and looked in the fridge, finding an Apple pie.

“Soarin! Think fast!” I shouted, my teeth together, holding the pie in between them.

“Pie!” Shouted Soarin, lunging for it. Both Dash and Spitfire laughed. Soarin was known for loving pies.

“Uh, Lightning, the suns coming up. We should get going.” Said Dash, motioning towards the window. The sun was coming over the horizon at an alarming pace.

“Alright. Get your stuff, we are leaving.” I said, walking over to the couch, were all my things were stashed in my saddlebags. Rainbow went to get her saddlebags from the upstairs bedroom, and I put my goggles on the top of my head. I walked out the door, and Rainbow galloped down the stairs and outside directly after me.

“Safe travels, you two. Get back here soon, okay?” Asked Soarin, walking outside with us.

“Yeah, see you soon, Soarin.” Said Rainbow, hugging him, and planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

I started to flap my wings, and lifted myself into the air easily. The wings were a big improvement, even though it took a while to get used to them. They were the same weight as my real wings, but they felt more maneuverable. I flew a couple laps around the house as Rainbow said her goodbyes. She then took off, hovering up next to me, and then nodding.

“Ready to go?” I asked, trying to keep steady. While the metal wing was a good addition, it was still hard to fly, especially after them being folded for 2 weeks.

“Let’s go.” Said Dash, and we took off. I felt the wind flying into my face, as I nodded hard so that my goggles would fall into my eyes.

We kept on flying, seeing the factory below us. We were only about 500 feet off the ground, but we were gaining altitude. I saw streamlines form over my wings as we flew, and it felt peaceful. We weren’t going fast enough to have air friction, or turbulence, but not slow enough to have slight speed wobbles.

“Never gets old, does it?” I asked, as Rainbow Dash pulled up next to me.
“Nope. If I had the choice, I would spend all my time up here.” Said Rainbow Dash, looking at me.

I sighed, looking upon the horizon. I saw the massive mountains that bordered Equestria with the griffin lands. We couldn’t fly over those, unless we had oxygen masks. We kept on flying, the everfree forest below us now. I looked back on Ponyville, watching the smoke from the factory below, the massive caravan of people moving back, due to the lessened pollution. I kept on flying, not looking back. If things went alright, we would be back there in a couple days time.
How wrong I was.

Chapter 4

Rainbow Dash

Lightning flew beside me, his sparkling grey coat shining in the sunlight. He was obviously coping well to his mechanical wing, which seemed to be working out well for him. I looked straight ahead, watching the mountains fast approach. Lightning’s wings slightly folded in, showing that he wanted to go faster. If he breached the sound barrier, that would mean less air friction, and we could get to the mountain quicker. I saw him slowly form an arrowhead air flow, and then, electricity crackled around him. I slowly banked left, making sure I was out of reach of his sonic boom. He then opened his wings, ripping through the sound barrier. A huge explosion erupted, sending a massive blue electricity shockwave spreading out. It was deafening, and he seemed to have a trail of blue electricity following him. I followed his example, flying as fast as I possibly could. Then, I hit the sound barrier, smashing through it, sending out a magnificent rainboom. I looked behind me, the explosion fading in the distance. I admired it, and then turned back my attention to Lightning, who was banking upward, going extremely fast. Was he going to try to go over the mountains? It would seem so, so I followed him over the mountain. I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs, as he sped over the mountain, still leaving the electricity behind himself. I drafted behind him to go faster, but it still was not enough. I slowly lost all my oxygen, and I couldn’t control my flight pattern. I spiraled into darkness, my eyes closing.

Lightning

I saw Dash plunge past me, her eyes closed, and her wings not flapping. I started to panic, and I plunged after her, trying to reach her before we reached the ground. I caught her, but we were too close to the ground to make a quick maneuver to go back upwards. To tell you the truth, I was not too sure the next move I would make would work. I pulled myself upwards, bleeding my speed as best as I could. It was near impossible to do that while you are going about Mach 5, and the only breaks you’ve got are your own wings. I then threw Rainbow into a soft patch of grass as I hit the ground, skidding hard, landing on my face. I then skipped across the soft grass, brutalized by the small pebbles on the ground. I felt a couple gashes across my face, not to large, but it still hurt. Finally I came to a stop. I pulled myself up, stumbling a bit due to being dizzy. Why’ll we had made at least a day’s journey within a couple minutes of our journey, I would doubt that we would be flying any longer. We weren’t allowed to fly in griffon lands, so we had to walk until we reached ender land. I stumbled over to Rainbowdash, who was now stirring from her loss of consciousness.

“That. Was. Awesome!” She shouted, standing up quickly. Her expression of sheer joy turned to an expression of surprise. My goggles had been cracked, and there was blood running over them in fine lines.

“Oh, let me get that, will you?” Rainbow asked, getting some cotton pads from out of her saddle bags.

“Yeah, thanks. Looks like we got company.” I said, as I saw two griffons fly from over the horizon.
Rainbow Dash walked over, and started mopping the blood off my brow. I then took out some band aids from my saddle bags, and used my hoof to place them on my head. I looked over as the griffons landed in front of us.

“What’re you two doin’ on our land?” Asked the larger of the two griffons. They all looked the same, so I couldn’t make out the difference from each other.

“We are just passing through. We just crash landed.” I said, pushing back Rainbow, my body movements telling her to move behind me. While Dash was fast, she was not a fighter. I was though. I could take on these griffons no problem.

“Well, you need to pay us a toll, so pay up.” Said the smaller of the griffons, who was chewing on something like tobacco.

“Seriously?” I asked, my wings spreading. Electricity crackled around me, as I focused on the two griffons. I had found that my mechanical wings were extremely sharp when at high speeds. With enough electricity, anything on me could be lethal, but I wasn’t about to kill these two.

“You heard me, pretty pony. Pay up.” Said the smaller one again, this time spitting out his tobacco in mid-sentence, so it sounded more like petty 'pohnoy'.

I flew at him, my energy fully charged, hitting his chest with a electricity-charged hoof. He flew back, screaming. I guess the bigger griffon didn’t like that, as he hit me with his…whatever the hell griffons had. Claws? I didn’t think so. It was either they weren’t claws, or they couldn’t penetrate me force field. I swung my wings in the direction of the larger griffon, slashing his wrist open, making his right arm useless. He gasped, and then screaming in pain. His blood splashed across my face, and I then slashed his chest with my wings. He fell down, still screaming. The smaller of the two stood up, and I lunged at his legs. I used my electrically charged hoof to stomp on his fore claw, electrocuting him. He gargled as I lifted my hoof, and then he dropped.

“Let’s get moving. It’s only a matter of time before the smaller one comes too, or the bigger one clots and gets some help.” I said, and Dash and I galloped off into the forest that was directly in front of the clearing. We ran into the forest, still making good time.

Rainbowdash.

That was the second time today Lightning put his life on the line for me. He galloped through the forest, his wing spread out as he was trying to get the blood off both the metal and the real feathers. We finally stopped, and we took a rest stop. We had made good time, but there was no doubt we were tired. We had been running through the forest for about 3 hours now, and we were dead tired. While flying at speeds that could rival the Wonderbolt’s top speed could wear you out, it was really the running that screwed us up. We had been running through leaves, mud, and water, and it was not an easy job. We stopped at a small clearing through the forest, and we rolled onto our backs. The saddlebags slid off of us and we just lay there, breathing heavily. We looked at each other, and just laughed. Lightning stood up, going over to a tree, wiping his bloody wing off on the tree. The metal made a screeching sound, and he pulled away from the tree, folding his wing up. By now his cuts had clotted, and now all that was left was the dry griffon blood, and the small blood patterns that seemed to be indented into his fur. He walked back over to the clearing. The light touched his gray coat, and I realized how muscular he was for the first time. His shoulders popped out, the veins on his neck pulsing. He wasn’t able to rival Big Macintosh, but he sure was well built. He pushed his goggles up from his eyes, so they rested on his brow. He looked around, and then pulled a map from his saddlebag, which was resting on the ground. He laid it across the ground, making sure he could read it.
“Okay, it looks like we need to stick to the mountains edge, so we don’t get noticed by any griffons.” Said Lightning, his hoof tapping the small area where we were. I sighed.

“Gimme’ some time, will ya? I just got done doing a cross country flying-running spree, including losing all the oxygen to my head. I need to rest.” I said, rolling over so that I was on my stomach. I wasn’t one to complain too much, but sometimes, I need a rest.

“Yeah, I gotcha. Jesus, bleeding all that speed definitely takes a toll on the hinges of this thing.” Lightning exclaimed, a squeaky sound coming from his wing.

He took a wrench from his saddlebag, and quickly took his wing off. He tinkered with it for a bit, oiling and scrubbing it, replacing the bolts, and then putting it back on. The wing made no noise as he swiveled it, making sure it was fastened correctly. I stared at him, not realizing how mesmerized I was by him. While sure, he was a handsome Stallion, he wasn’t anything special. His mane had dried out in flight, showing his spiky, yellow and black mane style. His eyes were a golden yellow, and while the scars made him look tough, they really brought out his golden and black wings. I shook my head, realizing he was staring directly back at me.

“You okay Dash? You seem a little bit out of it today.” Asked Lightning, putting his tools back into his bag.

“Oh yeah, I’m just a little tired.” I said, lying. I was a terrible liar, so he could probably pick it out quickly.

“Right. What’s wrong?” He asked, laying down on his stomach directly across from me. My stomach jumped. He had always been good at listening to people’s problems, and fixing them, but I didn’t really want to talk about this one.

“Umm, it’s about Soarin.” I said, looking away, blushing.

“Okay, let me guess, guy problems.” He said sarcastically, and I looked at him with disdain.

“Hey! I never get all sarcastic about your girl problems!” I shouted, and he scoffed.

“It’s because I don’t get girl problems. Colts are very simplistic, Dash. Now, tell me about this ‘Problem’.” He said, leaning on his fore hoof.

“Well, umm, it’s kinda like I like Soarin, but I also like somebody else.” I said, still blushing. I was probably red as a rose at this point, and he just smiled.

“Okay, split feelings. It’s okay to feel like that. Just spend more time with them, and you will find you will lean towards one or the other.” Said Lightning, when we heard a ruffling in the brush. Lightning grabbed a blade from his bag, looking about a tail length long. He grabbed it by the teeth, and held it in his mouth, looking around.

“Well, if it isn’t our old friends, the two Pegasi who nearly killed my unc’ and shocked the hell out of me.” Said the familiar voice of the smaller griffon. I heard the clicking of some more claws, then a more metallic clicking. My eyes grew wide, as I realized what those sounds were. They spit fire, sending instant death to those who were hit. I was paralyzed in fear, as I watched the barrels of these weapons protruded out of the darkness of the forest.

Then, I heard a gurgling. It was the gurgling of the smaller griffon, which had dropped to his knees, blood spattering everywhere. I expected to see Lightning standing there, his short sword in his teeth. But instead, I saw a Mare unicorn. She was standing there, covered in blood, carrying a curved blade. She had a light brown color to her coat, and her mane was black. She had a bandage around her leg, and I realized that she may have been one of the many ponies that had gone missing in the past few months. She just let the dying griffon fall, and then she seemed to disappear. The Griffons fired their weapons to where she was standing, and lightning took the chance, jumping at them, slashing at their wings and claws off. There were bloody feathers everywhere, as dashes of grey and light brown flew around the griffons. While the griffons tried to defend themselves as best as they could, two angry ponies with weapons were overpowering, especially if the unicorn was as quick as Lightning. Within 10 seconds, all the griffons were dead or dying, lying on the floor.

“Thanks, Shirley.” Said Lightning, who was now covered in blood once again.

“No problem, Lightning. Anytime. I’ve been over here for some time, just studying the plants and wildlife and such. Trying to find the Emerald of the griffons.” Said Shirley, who then flipped her mane out of her eyes. She then picked up a hat from the ground, and it looked like an equestrian spy officer hat. Almost exactly the same, except with a different mark on the top
.
“Rainbow, this is my cousin Shirley. She’s part of the Equestrian discovery corp. She’s the closest thing you will find to Daring doo.” Said Lightning, whose hair was slick with blood.

“Oh. My. Gosh!” I yelled, walking over to Shirley, who held out a hoof to shake mine.

“Pleased to meet you, Rainbow.” Said Shirley in a quite formal accent.

“We need to get going, quickly, before more griffons show up. I do not enjoy having to murder them.” Said Lightning, and he turned to us.

“I guess we’ll have to get to know each other later. C’mon, I know were the adventure corps are stationed. Let’s go.” Said Shirley, and we were off, running into the forest once again. We left behind the stink of blood, and into the peaceful serenity of the Griffons rainforests. I lost myself as we ran through the forest.

Lightning

When we reached the ruins, it was nightfall. Well past nightfall, in fact. The ruins were lit up with torches, and floodlights, so it was easy to notice from afar. But we were so far away from any griffon town that it would have taken hours for the Griffons to get here. I was tired from our long journey, and we had some major scuffles in the forest, between some rainforest creatures. It would take Dash and I a good two days to rest it out. She had twisted her ankle, and I had cut open my left back thigh. While unicorn magic would help, it would still take some time to heal up. I dropped my saddle bags, and I wrapped my thigh up, making sure that it wouldn’t bleed anymore. I tore off the rest of the gauze with my teeth. I sighed, using my Saddlebags as my pillows, placing my tired head on them. I wasn’t even under a tent at the time, and it was raining, but I found the rain cooling, and it was fairly comfortable to just lie out in the rain. I turned over so that my back was on the ground, placing my hooves behind my head. I watched as the nights cool rain pitter pattered onto my gray coat, relieving some of the stress on my gash, but not much. Rainbow limped over to me, dropping her saddlebags next to me. She laid down next to me, placing her head on the saddlebags, turning towards me. She snuggled in closer, trying to get a share of my body heat. I turned and smiled. She was already asleep, her eyes closed. It had been a long day for us both. We were worn out, beaten, and bruised. It was probably the most ground we could ever cover in one day, I presumed. I drifted off into sleep, thinking of my warm bed back in Ponyville.

Chapter 5

Lightning

I woke up, screaming in terror. It was early morning, and I had startled Rainbowdash into waking up as well.

“What! What is it?” She asked in confusion, standing up.

I looked around, feeling my chest. It was always the same nightmare, the Red Alicorn tearing me apart, after destroying everything I loved and cared for.

“Nothing, just a dream.” I said, turning back over, my body still shivering.

“Look, if it’s troubling you, then- Oh my gosh!” Screamed Rainbow Dash, pointing at my coat.

I looked down, and my eyes grew round as dinner plates. Instead of my dark grey coat, it was just a dull black. It was back again, and it was stronger than ever. The “Dread” virus was back, and it was back harder than ever. I looked at Rainbow Dash, and I noticed black spots all over her coat.

“Mother of Celestia. If were this bad, and we’ve been in the clean lands of the griffons all this time, I can only imagine what it must be like back at home.” I said, standing up. Much of my energy had obviously been drained, and I was sore from the flight and battles I had.
“We need to see if anyone else in camp has this as well.” I said, walking up down the pyramid that we were staying on. Rainbow Dash followed, looking around the ruins. She had adored the Darin’ Doo books, and this was as close as she was ever going to get to the ruins of those books. I walked down to the infirmary tent, seeing that both the plants and some of the animals inhabiting the forest were also covered in dark spots due to the sickness.

We reached the infirmary, just to see many ponies looking for answers about the spots on their coats. And even more hollowed out, laying on the beds, their completely black bodies crumbling into dust. My eyes grew wide. It was something I had never seen with the sickness beforehand. The explosion had obviously mutated the “dread” cells into some, super powerful air born virus. And now it was killing ponies. I turned my head away from the crumbling bodies.

“Come now, ponies! I can explain! This is obviously the sickness that Ponyville was under siege by! Now it’s over here!” yelled Shirley above all the voices. Not a good thing to say.

“Are we going to die?”

“What about our families?”

“I need to get home straight away!”

“Ahem.” I said, and all the ponies turned towards me, staring at me in hope.

“You will probably be okay. That’s if the mission I’m on goes alright. We all have approximately 8 days at this point to live. Just a little over a week. Now, I suggest you all go about your duties. Have faith, because we will pull through .” I said, giving my terrible mini-speeches. It did nothing to calm them down, but it did give them to have hope in something.

The ponies all walked away, and I went over to the bodies of the deceased ponies, who were crumbling to dirt.

“You sure we are going to be okay?” asked Shirley, coming up to us, her eyes sunken with distress.

“I’m not sure about anything. For all I know, this is a wild goose chase. I just need some time to think.” I said, looking over the bodies.
“I’m afraid that will have to wait.” Said a Majestic voice from behind me. Shirley’s jaw dropped, and I immediately knew who it was.

“Hello, Princess.” I said, solemnly. There had been so much that I had not thought about that didn’t make sence now. Like how come I couldn’t bring the whole group of ponies. I mean, seriously, pony kind rested on my shoulders, and Princess Trollestia decided that I could only bring another pony? And what about the fact that she had given me this task, and not sent her other goonies to do that. I mean, seriously, I had a powerful magic that enhanced speed and combat, but what was that going to do against a goddess?

“Hello, Lightning. Your trip was eventful, as I heard from my scouts on the Griffon lands.” Said Celestia, who was obviously not here in person. Her figure had an aura that slightly showed what had happened to Ponyville. The sky was black, and I could almost smell the death through the portal.

“Yes it has been. Judging from the problem I see behind you, I don’t think we have 8 days left.” I said, unwavering.

“No, in fact you only have three days left. But I’m glad you made it to that temple.” Said Celestia, her face slightly lowered. She was obviously also suffering from the sickness as well, seeing as how her flowing mane was gray, and her eyes were sunken.

“Why are you glad I’m at this ruin? It isn’t relevant to our situation, is it?” I asked, looking at it. While it did have some symbols on it, there was one that caught my eye. It was a cloud with a lightning bolt coming out of it. I looked at Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, then back to the symbol. I also noticed that there was an electric shockwave coming out of a lightning bolt, and I sighed.

“Well, there seems to be a portal of some sort here, which is activated by the actual lightning. Sadly, the spell barrier over the temple does not let lightning pass through, but perhaps if you could activate it, you could get to End land in no time.” Said Celestia, her image flickering.

“Okay, so I just, like, hit it while I’m using the electric magic, or what?” I asked, looking indifferent.

“I don’t have a clue. You’re the one with the magic, you figure it out.” Said Celestia, her image flickering off.
I sighed, looking at Shirley and Rainbow Dash, who were staring at me in awe.

“Go home, Rainbow.” I said, looking down.

“What? No!” she yelled, stomping her hoof down.

“Look, Rainbow Dash, there is no way you are going to End land with me.” I said, still staring down.

“I’ve made it this far with you, so I might as well go the rest of the way.” Said Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, I don’t think-.” I started to say, when she put her hoof up to my mouth.

“I don’t want to hear it, okay?” She said, rhetorically.

“Fine. First, I got to find out how I turn this thing on.” I said, walking over to the ruin, and then climbing up the steps. I reached the top, and I focused hard on my magic, and I got a blue aura around my hoof. I stomped it on the small mound of ground, and nothing happened.

“Buck.” I muttered, and then I stomped on it again. No reaction. I started to get angry, and my aura grew larger. I slammed my hoof down even harder, and I lightning bolt was sent into the air. I noticed a little bit of sand fell into oblivion below the mound. I kept on slamming my hoof down, and nothing else happened. I grew angrier, and I slammed my hoof down even faster, and harder, and 3 bolts of electricity flew through the air, and more sand fell into oblivion. I realized the more angry I was, the more powerful I was. I started to think on my past, like the bullies, the explosion, when my parents were killed. Anger welled up inside me, and I realized my aura was growing larger. I yelled in rage, reared up on my back hooves, and slammed my frontal hooves down on the ground. It exploded with electricity, and I was sent sprawling, still yelling in rage. The ground sent shrapnel and dust into the air, and a huge blue laser shot up into the air.

“Rainbow! I think that did it!” I shouted, pulling away from the sucking force of the portal. Rainbow Dash took to the air, flying towards the portal, and then stopping next to it.

Chapter 6

“C’mon, let’s go!” Shouted Rainbow Dash, who then flew into the portal. I flew in after her, and I found myself stripped of my flight control, just flying through different dimensions, or perhaps time. The first dimension was a time before ponies, and there was these massive reptilian creatures walking through the jungle. Then I hit the ground, and went through it, and I was falling through the air, smelling burnt flesh, and I looked down. The forest was barren, and I saw skeletons of ponies everywhere. I felt a sandstorm blowing me around, and I saw a mushroom cloud emerge in the distance. A mega spell? Perhaps. I went through the ground a final time, and found myself standing up on a black beach. Rainbow Dash was right next to me, and we looked at each other. We had a mixture of confusion, and pure happiness.

“Well, I think we’re here.” Said Rainbow Dash, slightly smiling. I looked around, the mist surrounding us. It was completely barren, but we weren’t alone. I saw red eyes all around us, and they were getting closer to us. Out of one of the mist clouds walked a changeling, but it was morphed, covered in blood, half of its face torn off. More deformed creatures walked out of the mist, including ponies, dragons, griffons, and even the once powerful chrysalis. She was drooling blood, dragging herself with her front legs. Her eyes were torn out, and she moaned with pain.

“Welcome to my realm, ponies.” I heard a voice say. A huge red Alicorn flew down from the heavens, her coat dark as blood, her horn and wings black as night. It had no eyes, instead stitched together sockets. It landed, grinning evilly at me.

“So, you are the two excuses for warriors Celestia sent after me?” Asked the Alicorn, whom I presumed was the goddess of destruction.

“Eeyup.” I say, slightly grinning. The Alicorn growled, and then appeared in front of my face, planting a hoof onto my chest. I immediately felt my chest close up, and I saw my whole mane and coat turn black. I sputtered out blood, and fell to my knees. I had been completely taken over by “dread” in a matter of seconds. But how? Could this Alicorn have connections with Discord, who’s lingering plus the pollution had caused the sickness. I stood up, barely able to keep my own weight, and the color subsided. I guess it was only temporary disablement.

“You’re going to be tougher than most of them, aren’t you?” Asked the Alicorn, kicking at the dirt. She raised her wings, trying to scare me off, when I saw it.
Her cutie mark was a white circle, surrounded by black liquid. In the middle, it had an outline of a flying Alicorn. It was also Equestrian oil’s logo. I gasped, and backed up a bit. I had worked for her, spread the sickness, and in fact, sent out her most important thing of all. I realized all of this sickness and madness that was going on was my fault, due to my loyalty to Equestrian oil.

“Yeah. I think I am.” I retorted, and I flew at her. I was already encircled in electricity, due to my anger of being duped into helping this treacherous monster.
I hit her with my hoof, and she was sent sprawling in surprise, being shocked. Rainbow Dash started to kick away the monsters, who were now trying to protect their master. Old ponies, dead changelings, even monsters, like a hydra, and a dragon, were now trying to kill me.
I lunged at the Alicorn, my left wing aimed at her neck. It grinded against her super tough skin, tearing some of the mechanical feathers off. I landed face first and made a recovery. The Alicorn turned around, lowering her horn. I dodged out of the way, but it was no use. She fired a red laser, which hit me square in the chest. My aura went down, and I was sent flying, as the red energy tore me apart. All of my cuts re-opened, breaking multiple bones, and ripping more cuts around my body. I hit the ground, and rolled over.

That’s when I saw it. About 200 yards away from me, in the black water, was a lone island, with a lonely looking pedestal. I saw a weird separation in the grey clouds around the pedestal, and it lighted up what was resting on top of it.

The guardian scroll.

“Rainbow Dash! Hold them off as best as you can!” I shouted, pointing at the pedestal. She immediately understood, and started fighting with fury I had only seen at the best young fliers competition, when she was chasing after rarity.

I jumped to my hooves, even though I had multiple fractures and broken bones, and sprinted to the water’s edge, where I was stopped by something coming out of the water. It was a monstrous copy of Fluttershy, one of Rainbow Dash’s friends in Ponyville. Her eyes were gone, leaving empty sockets, blood dripping out of them. Her mane was matted with blood and she had a big, metal, spiked collar around her neck, the spikes covered with blood. She had a chain and ball connected to her right back leg, and she was torn apart. I knew it wasn’t actually her, due to the lack of cutie mark, but it was still a disturbing sight. I jumped back, and I heard the cackle of the Alicorn. I turned away, and I saw another charge of energy coming from her horn. I raised my aura, trying to block the pure destruction energy that was coming out of her horn, but it was no use.

She hit me, the explosion of the energy only dampened by my aura, sending me skipping across the water. Bad mistake. I landed on the island, picking myself up with what little strength the explosion had left me, and walked to the pedestal. I took the scroll in my teeth, and I turned back to the battle going on at the beach. I heard a cackling, and I saw Rainbow Dash being captured by a mutated crocodile by the jaws. I saw blood spatter out of her mid-section, and I heard her scream in agony.

“Rainbow!” I screamed across the water. My aura grew, until I was completely engulfed in 6 inches of electricity. I ran across the water, seeing as how my wing was broken, but the aura kept me afloat. Rainbow Dash was engulfed in darkness, and I was left alone, in a ring of bodies. The bodies crumbled, turning into black dust. Just like I had seen at the camp near the temple.

“Failed again, have we? Don’t worry, you may have gotten the scroll, but I have your loved one. You have a choice. You can either go home, save pony kind, or you can save your beloved ‘Dashie’, but lose most of the pony race. Your choice, Lightning. I’ll be waiting.” Said the distorted voice of the Alicorn.

I pondered my decision. While it was true that I needed to get home, and save the ponies, I would have enough time, anyhow, right? I pondered that as well, and some of my geography classes came up in my head. Usually, when there’s a portal used, to go to a different dimension, time is usually multiplied by the number of users of a portal. There had been 2 of us, so time was sped up by 200%. This entire math thing was making my head spin. Now I figured out why Celestia only wanted 2 of us to go through, because if we had more, it would be harder to reach the deadline. If we wouldn’t have found this temple, then I would have never made the dead line, seeing as how the other portal was at the end of the Griffons lands, and it would be hard as hell to get to. I got a head ache, and I realized my magic was wearing off, and the pain was coming back. I threw off my saddle bags, and then applied some magic bandages, and drank a medical potion. While it did numb the pain, it wasn’t what I needed. I started walking down the beach, hoping for something that would never happen.

I had been walking for about 5 hours at this point, so it would be getting dark by now in Equestria. I had long thought about my decision, and that either way, I would lose. I guess the Goddess of Destruction was also pretty crafty, seeing as how she knew that Rainbow Dash meant a lot to me. I kicked a pebble along, and then I looked up to the sky. I saw the gray clouds shooting out lightning in the distance, and I had an epiphany. She would be waiting for me. That meant she wanted me to go to her. She knew I would get Rainbow Dash back, but she would stall in the process, so that I would never make it back in time. I knew what I had to do, but it was crazy.

Chapter 7

It was nightfall, or whatever End world had instead of nightfall. I had found the portal well, or that’s what I called it. It was covered in dirt, but it was much easier to smash. After I activated the portal, I threw down my saddle bags, and repaired my wing as much as possible. I left the scroll in the saddlebags, and I flew off, as well as I could to where the lightning was striking. The plan I had was most likely going to get me killed, but, if Rainbow Dash could survive, I could save pony kind. I flew through the air, slightly wobbly, I landed carefully on a rock near the clearing, and gained all the energy I could. By the time I was finished, there were blue arcs of electricity flowing all around my body, and I looked like a small pony, in a huge barrier of blue aura. I saw Rainbow Dash strapped down in the clearing, and the Alicorn circling her. Hopefully the Alicorn was up for flying, because I needed her to do that.

“Hey! Loner!” I screamed at the Alicorn. She immediately turned around, and glared at me, or what looked like a glare. Can’t really tell with eyeless creatures.

“The name is Venus, not loner!” She shouted at me, scraping the ground with her hoof. I took a deep breathe, and launched myself at the Alicorn, I mean, Venus, and struck her with my electric forehoof. She skidded backwards, giving me enough time to unstrap Rainbow Dash from her bindings.
“Go! The scrolls in my saddle bags by the portal hole! Get it, and get out!” I yelled into her face, blocking her from the charge of energy Venus was making.

“But-.” Started Rainbow Dash, but I put a hoof up to her mouth.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.” I said, giving her a determined smile. She gave me a worried look, and leaned in quickly to give me a hug.

“Be careful.” She said, and then flew away abruptly.

“I see what you did there, clever boy. Too bad it won’t matter.” Said the Alicorn, who was aiming a beam at Rainbow Dash. I jumped in front of the beam, the energy exploding against my chest. My aura flickered, and I flew away. The Alicorn flew after me, firing bolts of energy at me. I dodged them easily, as I flew near the portal. Rainbow Dash flew into the portal, and I saw her get sucked down, and I sighed with relief. Now all I had to do was destroy Venus.

I looked back, watching as Pegasi monsters flew behind her. She said something to them, but she was too far off, and the wind carried her words. They flew next to me, and I saw they were going to try and crash into me. Not happening, bud. As two of them tried to sandwich me, I flew down, and let them crash into each other. They tumbled off into the land below, and the other 3 did the same maneuver. I launched myself out of the way, letting the monsters crash into each other, once again. At this point Venus was gaining on me, and the portal was right in front of me. I bled speed, and let Venus fly past me. I then tackled her into the portal, flying strait down as fast as I possibly could.

“What are you doing? You will never defeat me!” Shouted Venus, who was hitting my head with her hoof.

“I beg to differ!” I screamed, when I realized she was turning me into a “dread” monster. I flew faster, feeling my body losing power. We flew into the portals time jumping area, and we flew through the time of a huge mechanical city, and I saw a massive meteor hit the side of the land, sending a massive shockwave. I continued to fly down, noticing my hooves were now turned black. We hit the second time barrier, and I bank upwards, flying towards Ponyville, while still moving in a downward angle. My energy was now faltering, but I felt the tug of air friction on us.

“What are you doing? Are you insane? You’ll kill us both!” Shouted the Alicorn, who was now panicking, and hitting me with her hooves.

“That’s the plan, ma’am!” I shouted in anger, as we flew through the time slot, into present day. The air friction was so great that I knew this was going to be the most powerful sonic boom I’ve ever done. I was grinding my teeth as my bandages flew off, revealing my brutal cuts and bruises. Tears were ripped from my eyes as I flew over Ponyville. I saw the factory, and I knew it was my best bet. At this point, the electricity around me was so great; I was shocking the Alicorn ever second or so. I flew straight up, and then turned over, keeping my speed. I was doing a point blank dive straight at the factory, which would probably kill me with the humongous explosion.

“Don’t do this! You’ll regret it!” Screamed Venus, who was now panicking beyond belief. She had figured out that I was going to smash into the factory, and she kept on smashing my rips, even tearing feathers out of my wings. I couldn’t speak, my body so tired and hurt from the “Dread” that Venus had put on me. I hit the sound barrier, the arrow head shaped streamline in front of me. I broke the sound barrier, and I saw one of the Alicorn’s wings rip off, blood flying everywhere. She screamed in agony, as the electricity tore through her body, destroying blood vessels, and many other things.

“Ready to die?” I asked through the wind, growing closer and closer to the factory.

“Curse you! In the afterlife, you will remember this place, and yearn to be back here again, but never be able to touch it!” Screamed Venus, her horn glowing red. I felt the energy mix with my aura, and my aura turned a light purple. I was pretty sure that she was serious about the curse, but I didn’t care. The factory was within a hundred yards at this point, and I closed my eyes.

“Goodbye.” I muttered, hitting the factory. A massive mushroom cloud erupted, sending explosive blue electricity everywhere. The energy was so massive the factory was reduced to dust. Nothing more, nothing less. The trees in the ever free forest lost all their leaves, the clouds left the sky. The whole town thought that a mega-spell had gone off, and were rushing for cover.

After about a minute, the dust settled, even though electricity still floated through the air. At this point, ponies started to come in to look at the damage. I lay there, my eyes staring at the sun. All that was left of Venus, was a large, bloody spatter, like someone had thrown a tomato at the wall. I lay in the middle of it, bleeding everywhere. I wasn’t sure which blood was mine, and was Venus’. I was barely awake, or alive, for that matter. My heart rate was way low, and I could barely breathe. Then, a pony stood over me. I couldn’t make out who it was, through my blurry vision, but I had a good idea of who it was.
“Lightning?” asked Rainbow Dash, nudging me with her nose.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I just lay there, staring into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. She stared directly back, and I saw tears form in her eyes.

“Don’t do this, Lightning. Don’t leave me.” Said Rainbow Dash, laying her head across my chest. My blood stained her blue coat, but she didn’t seem to care.

Soarin’ and Spitfire came up, trying to see what was happening. But when they saw me, Soarin’ turned away, and Spitfire walked down, and put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.

Rainbow dash stood up, as Princess Celestia flew down, walking over to us.

Celestia murmured something to Rainbow Dash, and she nodded. She pulled the scroll out of the saddlebag, and gave it to her guards, who flew it back to Canterlot.
Celestia then walked over to me, and looked me in the eyes.

“You have done all of us a great service. You have saved us from certain death, and in the process, destroyed the Goddess of destruction. But I am afraid I cannot save you, just prolong your strength for a few moments more. You deserve it, as a hero. Not just a pony.” Celestia said, her eyes slightly tearing up. She put her horn to my head, and I felt a bit of strength rush to my head.

“Thank you.” I said softly, sputtering blood as I spoke.

“No, thank you. Now, Rainbow Dash, would you like to speak to him?” Asked Celestia, turning to Rainbow Dash. She nodded, and then trotted over.

“Rainbow, I just wanted to say, thank you. For being there. I would have never made it through that hell hole if it wasn’t for you. You gave me the strength to fight the goddess head on. If it wasn’t for you, I would still be laying bloody on that beach. I-.” I started to make this long speech for her, using the last of my strength, but Rainbow Dash just put a hoof to my mouth.

“I know. And I wanted to thank you, for saving my life, and giving me another friend. And for giving me someone to trust in.” She started. “For someone to love.” She finished, and gently placed her lips to mine. I felt something well up inside me, and then die down. We released each other, and I was vaguely aware that I was slowly losing consciences. Rainbow Dash’s face grew into the emotion of panic, but I calmed her.

“Don’t worry. We’ll meet again, someday. Just remember me, till then, okay?” In asked, my eyes slowly closing.

“Okay. I-I love you.” She murmured so no one could hear her. My eyes closed slowly, for the final time. It was actually quite relaxing, letting go of everything, as I drifted off into eternal sleep. Or so I thought.

Out of the Fire, into the the Frying pan.

“He’s coming out, doctor!” Screamed a woman’s voice I never heard. I saw bright light ahead of me, in the shape of an oval. Oh great, it seems after I die in one place, I’m reborn into another world. I was spit out of the oval, and I looked around. I was in a bright, white room, surrounded by the beeping of machines. I tried to open my mouth, to speak, but my tongue couldn’t form words. So instead, I just screamed at the top of my lungs. I looked at my body, and I screamed even more. My gray coat was gone, and instead there was just pink flesh, fat and wiggly. I was covered in blood, and there was a weird tube hanging from my stomach.

“He’s a healthy one! Much healthier than your other one, Mrs. Demik!” Said a man, who I presumed was the doctor. He had the entire right attire on, so that’s what I presumed. I then realized what I was. I had always heard of myths, but not actually believed them. I was a human. I guess pony afterlife sucked after all. I think the only reason I was even able to think at this point was because of the curse that Venus put on me.

“Oh, thank you doctor! You saved his life!” Said the woman, who cradled me in her arms. It was going to be a long mission to get home. I could already tell. I wiggled around in the arms of my so called “Mother”, and screamed some more.

I would get home, no matter what.