New World, New Life

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the castle, the rest of the mane six was arriving near the castle gates, to ensure their suspicions.

Fluttershy had gone on ahead, enjoying the Flora and the Fauna.
The castle had such amazing flowers and animals.

She spotted something odd near the gate.
It was grey, wearing... Armour...

Was it a stallion?

A strong wind blows it, making it shift.

Fluttershy caught sight of its face, and the pool of blood surrounding it.

For a moment she couldn’t move.

His head had nearly been split open; brains had been splattered all over the ground.

Fluttershy just turned and bolted, using every ounce of her body strength to get away from here.

Back about a quarter mile, the REST of the rest of the mane 6 had taken their time and stopped for a rest.

Applejack lay under a tree, hay between her teeth and her hat lowered down ever her eyes.

She had let down her mane and a cool breeze was ruffling its edges.

She heard a manic thundering of hooves just a little ahead of her.

She brushes her mane from her eyes and half-opens one eye to see what it is.

It was Fluttershy, thundering back at speeds you wouldn’t believe.

She stumbles, trips and clatters to the ground, where she curls up in a ball and cries, howling and moaning.
Applejack rushes up to help her, but Rarity had already blazed past, rushing to Fluttershy’s side.

“Fluttershy, what’s wrong?!” Rarity asks with an obvious sense of urgency in her voice.

Fluttershy cried uncontrollably, pointing back down the road.

The group takes action and proceeds to gallop down the path, Fluttershy on AJ’s back.

AJ led the group, and as so, was the first of them to round the corner and find Fluttershy’s gruesome discovery.

She paused, staring at the hunk of meat that was once a Stallion.

She puts her hoof to her mouth, trying to hold back vomit, but fails and empties the contents of her stomach on the floor.

She wasn’t that close from the corpse, but the smell was over-whelming.
She musters up all the breath and courage she can and proceeds to inspect the stallion closer.

It WAS a guard, they knew that for sure.

He had the armour, the weapons and there was a castle access pass just laying around with him.

Was there an intruder?
You couldn’t just waltz in...

Applejack noticed something a little bit ahead, a pool of... something.

It was an odd liquid, AJ dips her hoof into it and takes a lick.
“Hmm... That sure is an odd taste... What is that?
Maybe it’s... OH HAIL CELESTIA!”
Applejack shouts, and vomits once more, all over the floor.

Applejack wipes the fresh vomit from her mouth and takes a deep breath.

Her mind was a haze, things were moving slowly.

Then it hit her like a brick.

She turns and tells the group.
“The castle’s in trouble!”

AJ then begins to gallop again, with the rest of the group following closely.

AJ had the feeling she had missed something back there...

Lightning and Twilight sat on a bench, staring at the sunset.
Lightning had his hoof around Twilight, hugging her close.

He barely had a clue how this happened, and part of his brain told him to walk away, but his core was screaming at him to advance.

Lightning turned to Twilight and she turned to him.

Twilight was the first to speak.
“L-lightning...”She says.

Lightning began to lean in close, everything moving at a mile an hour, his heart was racing.

Was he going to do it?

Would he kiss her?

Their faces were merely centimetres away from each-other, he leaned in that one last time...

“TWILIGHT!”

Lightning and Twilight both shoot back, a bit dazed now that the adrenaline of the moment just vanished.

Twilight quickly turns around to see AJ running towards her.

“Huh, you guys took your time, It’s okay we ca-“

Twilight is cut off by AJ.
“Forget that, you guys are in serious trouble, there’s an intruder in th-“

Lightning stops her.
“Oh, took care of him.” He says.

AJ stops in her tracks.
“Oh, alright then...” She says.

“...”

The group was very quiet and tense after that...

Inside, Lightning felt a bit shameful.

Was he about to kiss her?
She seemed a bit emotionally... unstable.

Was he taking advantage of her?

He felt like a bit of an ass, and kept his head low...

No sound was being made by anyone.

Things were turning fairly awkward.
To say the least.

BOOM.

The entire ground shook underneath them.

“What the hell was that?” Lightning says.

BOOM.

The sound was getting closer.

BOOM.

GROOOOOOAAAAAAGHHH!!!

A massive roar could be heard from an alarmingly close distance.

The stomping continued, getting closer and closer.

The group eyed the hill in front of the gate, the source of the sound.

Slowly but surely, something began to make its way up the castle.

Twilight hid behind Lightning.
“Wha- What is that!?” She asks.

Princess Celestia shouts from the balcony.
“GET IN! NOW!”

They didn’t see any reason to object.
The group bolted for the door.

Lightning looked back to see a big, black, scaly head looking at him, with its piercing red eyes.

He watched in terror as it opened its mouth, so he ran with all the strength he could muster.

He was so close to the door.

He could see his friends egging him on.

He begins to feel a searing heat behind him, so he dives.

Lightning sails right through the door.

The Yellow-haired pony flies straight over his friends and crashes to the floor in a heap.
“Ugh...” He moans.

Thrashes and crashes could be heard against the door, but Princess Celestia had cast a magic barrier across the door, buying them some time.
“QUICK, GET UPSTAIRS!” The Princess shouts.

The group quickly charges upstairs, barricading themselves into the throne room.

Lightning dropped to the floor, panting.
“Huff... Huff... I hope she’ll be okay.” He says.

A crash could be heard, a splintering of wood and a snapping of jaws.

Lightning ran out onto the balcony.

The dragon had thrown Princess Celestia off a castle wall.
She was soaked in blood and struggling to move.

Lightning was struck with fear.

The worlds most powerful, generous and kind leader was about to die in front of him

and it was his entire fault.

To makes matters increasingly difficult, his pain strikes were coming back in spades.
He was unable to help him.

He lay down and closed his eyes as the group watched in horror as the dragon advances on Celestia.

When Lightning closed his eyes, he could see a face, barely recognisable.

He could barely make it out... But... It was speaking to him.

“You have to try, embrace the pain and make it your power.”

Power...

It all happened so suddenly, Lightning jumped up and just dived off the balcony, flying through the air, aiming for the dragon.

His head was pounding, he could barely take it.

Embrace the pain and make it your power...

“Alright... Let’s go.”

Lightning explodes in a blinding flash of light.

Light billows from every portion of his body and proceeds to cover his body, forming a cocoon.

The group was watching in awe.

Twilight had seen this all before.
She hoped he could do it...

The cocoon explodes, revealing Lightning.

But not the same Lightning.

This Lightning was taller, more majestic, with the signature royal horn, angel wings and long blonde hair that came with this form.

So did a new found power.

The dragon bellows at lightning and proceeds to charge straight at him.

He fires a volley of magical blasts straight at its head.

Blood explodes from the howling creatures face.

Lightning jumps back, flares his wings and readies his horn.

With all his might, he charges at the dragon.

THWACK!

The dragon counters and smacks lightning against a wall.

Although, Lightning barely even recognised the hit, bouncing straight from the wall back into the battlefield.

Lightning flared his wings once more and took off towards the skies.

He soared upwards and upwards, rising as high as he could.

Then he dropped.

At once he began to pick up speed, cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter.

He eyed the dragon, preparing to finish off Celestia.

He aimed for its head.

Closer and closer her got.

The dragons head was inches away.

SCHLICK.

Lightnings horn had cut straight through the dragons skull, penetrating its brain, killing it instantly.

All at once, Lightnings power began to fade, his horn begins to shrink, wings began to seep back into his body, his body shrinks.

The dragons corpse topples over, Lightning coming with it.

Lightning cracks off the ground, completely limp and lifeless.

“Lightning!” Twilight cries from the balcony.

She charges down the stairs and out the door.

She charges to his side, smacking his face trying to get a response.

Lightnings eyes flutter.
“What the fuck just happened?” He says.

Twilight heaves Lightning up and they go to help the princess, who was standing propped against the wall.

The princess was burnt, bruised, torn and broken.

Yet she still managed to stand.

Her horn glows and a wave of white magic washes over her.

The wave vanishes and the princess is standing there, good as new.

“I thank Faust for the royal magic.” She says.

Lightning turns and looks at the princess.
“Now, I barely remember what happened, but I DO know you could’ve just used royal magic and stop the dragon.” He says.

The Princess Lowers her head.
“Alas, I have not yet fully recovered my powers since the changeling incident...” She says.

Lightning remembered that incident well.

It was truly a good episode.

“Don’t worry, Princess, I’m sure you’ll get your powers back soon” He says.

The Princess smiles.
“Thank you, Lightning.”

The Princess got that wide-eyed look that people get when they remember important things.
“Lightning, did you ever use that lance?” She says.

That lance, Lightning thought.
That dark stallion had expected him to use it.

He expected him to need a weapon.

But he didn’t.

Lightning knew he must be quickly accelerating in power.

But what that stallion said lingered in his mind...
“Seal the Power deep inside you and many will die.

Let it flourish...

Well, we’ll have to wait and see.”

God, it made him shaking just thinking about it.

Princess Celestia shook Lightnings hoof and promised him that if he ever needed anything, all he needed to do was come to the castle and request an audience.

It had been an eventful day, lightning just wanted to go home.

As they reached the castle gates, AJ retold the events of the corpse they had found.

Twilight had informed them that the body had been transferred to the Canterlotian Medical Ward, where the top scrolls and magical spells were being used in his revival.

This amazed Lightning.
“Wow, there’re resurrection spells?” He says.

Twilight then began to tell him all about the ancient Canterlotian spell archives and how many of these spells were recently discovered, and only Celestia and Luna has access to them.

Lightning was truly fascinated by Twilights vast knowledge of this world, he always got lost in her words.

After a good walk, the group found themselves trotting through an evening market, stalls set up selling various different goods.

Twilight stopped in front of a cute little jewellery stall and began to browse its wares.

One necklace in particular caught her eye.

It was an intertwining silver chain, with an angel’s wing on the end.
It glistened softly in the evening sun.
“Excuse me, how much for that chain?” Twilight asks.

The shopkeeper gives Twilight a deep smile.
“Three bits” Says the shopkeeper.

Twilight pays for the necklace and trots quickly to catch up with the group.

“Lightning!” She calls.

Lightning turns around, giving Twilight a happy smile.
“Oh hey, Twilight, what’s up?”He asks.

Twilight puts the pendant around his neck.
“I got you something, a thank you for stopping that dragon and helping the princess.”

Keith blushes.
“Wow, thank you, Twilight.” He says.

Twilight gives a crafty smile.
“Oh, and there’s something else, too.” She says.

Keith looked confused.
“What is it?” He says.

Twilight presses her lips against his cheek.
“That.” She says.

With that, Twilight gallops ahead and rejoins the group.

Lightning stood there, a bit baffled.

He laughs.
“That girl is something else...” He says,

And with that, he catches up to the group, gets back in the carriage and it takes off into the sunset.

What an eventful day today had been...