I'd just gotten off work, and was starting to make my way back home again. It was a tough job working at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, but someone has to do it. After all, Equestria wouldn't have any weather if we didn't! I still found it a bit odd that they let us Human-hybrids work there, but then again, we were Equestrian citizens now, and we were at least somewhat similar to them, so it did make some sense.

"One of the best choices I ever made was coming here to Equestria." I thought to myself as I walked through the cloudy streets of Cloudsdale. "I mean sure, I DID have to become a Human-Pony hybrid, not to mention study for, and take an Equestrian citizen test, but in the end, it was all worth it. There was nothing left for me back home."

I winced. It still hurt me to think about home. I'd lived in a broken family, but I didn't let that stop me. I studied hard, graduated high school, and found a job working for an office firm as a janitor, but I wanted more. I'd heard about Equestria, a land of talking Ponies and other mythical creatures, and I wondered if that held any opportunity for me. I looked into it, and I did see that there seemed to be plenty of job openings, and some were what I was looking for. In a bold move, I decided to leave Earth behind, and move to Equestria.

Upon my arrival, I was taken to a special room where I was checked all over for any signs of disease, or other illnesses. I learned that I now stood 5'11, and weighed 156lbs, and relearned that I was Mason Collier, was now 22 years old, had light brown hair, and light blue eyes. Once I was told that I was clean, and could be allowed to emigrate, I was asked what kind of Pony I would like to become a hybrid of.

"Um......what now?"

"Every Human that emigrates to Equestria must become a Human-Pony hybrid. It's just standard practice, and is your first step toward full integration into Equestrian society." The nurse examining me explained. "Here, you can decide for yourself." She then handed me a sheet with all kinds of information on it.

There were 4 choices. One could become a Human-Earth Pony, a Human-Unicorn, a Human-Pegasus, or a Human-Bat-Pony. I wanted to be able to fly, and I thought that Pegasai sounded really cool, but alas, when I asked the nurse about it, she told me that they were out of the serum.

"I'm sorry Mr. Collier, but we're all out of that one right now. It was a really popular choice for a while, and we ran out a little while back. More is being made by special labs in Canterlot, but due to the serums taking a while to make in large quantities, it will still be a while longer before we have any back in stock."

I wanted to wait for the serum, but I was told that I would have to put my name on a waiting list that was about as thick as a phone book! I decided that being a Human-Bat-Pony wouldn't be too bad, so I decided to go for that instead.

"And excellent choice Mr. Collier. I'll get the serum for you immediately." The nurse then went to go grab it. When she returned, she was holding a small bottle of purple liquid in her hoof. "Now all you have to do is drink this. Once you do, the changes will begin immediately. It will be almost completely painless, and once they're done, you'll have furry Pony ears, a thick Pony tail, a pair of soft, bat-like wings, your pupils will become like those of a cat, your hair will become a thick mane, you'll grow a small pair of fangs, and you'll gain........eh.......a stallion's 'package', if you catch my drift! Once your transformation is complete, then you can be on your way. Oh, and you're going to want to remove your shirt again, or it will be torn open when you grow your new wings!"

I nodded, and after removing my shirt, I took the potion after she handed it to me. It tasted like grape, though once I'd drunk it, the effects quickly began to set in. I wasn't in pain per-say, but it felt really weird at the same time. I could feel the changes happening, but it was hard for my brain to process them. I could feel my hair getting thicker, as well as something big growing on my back in 2 places, not to mention something also growing on my lower back. My eyes felt like they were watering, and I had a bit of a headache for a minute or so, on top of my teeth hurting ever so much. Once the transformation was complete, I looked myself over in the mirror that the nurse provided.

I saw that my brown hair was a bit longer, and a LOT thicker than it was before, and that I how had 2 sky-blue Bat-Pony ears on top of my head. My blue eyes now had slitted, cat-like pupils, and I also noticed that I had a pair of fangs like Bat-Ponies did too. I also had a thick brown Bat-Pony tail, not to mention a pair of dark purple bat-like wings! I was really glad that I removed my shirt when the nurse told me to. I also reached down into my pants, and I felt a stallion's sheath, as well as a stallion's balls. I knew that my new stallion-member was going to be a LOT bigger than what I had previously!

"Wow. I could get used to this. And how big are my wings?"

The nurse grabbed a tape measure. "Well, if you'll hold still, I'll measure them for you."

"Ok, sure." I then spread out my wings to their fullest extent, and the nurse measured them with her tape measure.

"14 feet Mr. Collier, or 7 feet per wing. That's normal for a hybrid of a Bat-Pony."

"Oh. And where do I learn how to fly?"

"The knowledge for flight is already in your head Mr. Collier, you just have to unlock it. They'll teach you how to do that once your take your final Equestrian citizenship test. You'll remain at the boarding house here for new arrivals until then. Now then, once you have your clothes back on, you'll be sent to collect your things, and then you can report to the boarding house."

"Thank you Nurse............Kindheart." I told her once I read her nametag.

"You're welcome Mr. Collier."

I then got my shirt back on, and went on my way.

"That was almost a year ago now." I thought as I walked. "I was at that boarding house for 4 months while I studied for that test, not to mention working to pay for the cost of my staying there. I didn't like it, but yet it was preparing me for what was to come. 4 months later, I passed that test, was granted Equestrian Citizenship, was pushed off a cloud to learn how to fly, left the boarding house once I got the job with the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, moved into a small house here in Cloudsdale, and I've been living there ever since."

I still found it a bit odd that the Pegasai there in Cloudsdale were so accepting of a Human-Bat-Pony hybrid living among them, but then again, there were some Human-Pegasai living and working there too, so it wasn't that unusual. Plus, there were other Bat-Ponies, and even a few other Human-Bat-Ponies living there too. We were treated as equals, (for the most part, there's always a few assholes) and life was ok.

I was walking pas the window of a local bar, the "Sky-High Sailin'", and I glanced inside for a moment, but I kept on walking. However, I was back at that window moments later.

"Wait. Was that..........?" I looked a bit closer at the bar inside. Sure enough, I saw a Pegasus mare with green fur, a yellow mane and tail, and the Cutie-Mark of a lightning bolt and 3 stars. She was sitting at the bar with a beer in her hoof, though she was slumped forwards a bit.

I shook my head. "Lightning, we talked about this! Not again!" I then knew that I would have to take care of this now, so I sighed, before heading inside the bar. A few Ponies and Human-hybrids looked up when I did, though no one or anypony really did anything. I then walked up to the bar, and sat down next to the mare.

"Lightning." I said softly.

The mare, Lightning Dust, lifted her head up and looked at me. I saw her smile a bit. "Hey Bolt. Nice to see you."

I smiled. "Bolt" was the nickname that Lightning gave me. She said that I was always "bolting" off to somewhere, usually to work, and the nickname stuck.

However, my smile quickly faded. "Lightning, we talked about this. Why are you here?"

Her smile faded too. "What's it look like? I'm getting a drink." She then drank more of her beer, though I put my hand on it, gently setting it back on the bar. "What the hell Dude?"

"Lightning, alcohol is NOT the cure for depression. You keep drinking like this, you're gonna wind up sick at the very least, taken advantage of most likely, or raped and dead at the very worst. A few drinks here and there is fine, but every night I keep finding you here, almost drunk off your flank. You're killing yourself by doing this."

"Why do you care so much? No one else does."

I sighed. "Because you're my friend Lightning. We've been friends since I came here. It's what friends do, they care for each other."

Lightning sighed, though she didn't say anything. I felt really bad for her. She was a good mare, a REALLY talented flyer, and while a bit cocky and arrogant, she was a really great friend to have. I then sighed, before turning to her, and gently pulling her into a hug.

"W-what the *hic* f@#k Dude?!" I could see that she was blushing a bit though, so she wasn't as mad as she seemed, just surprised.

I smiled. "This is what friends do Lightning; they reassure and comfort each other. And I know how much you need comfort and reassurance right now."

"T-thanks Dude." I heard her whisper as she hugged me back.

Do.....do you wanna go for a walk and talk about it? We can head to my place or yours; it doesn't matter."

"We can go to my place. It's closer." She let go of me, and began to get up.

"Before you do that, can you walk?"

She looked at me weirdly. "I'm not drunk, I can do it just fine!" She then got up, and promptly face-planted on the floor! "Ow........"

I got up and stood next to her. "Need a hand?"

She sighed. "Fine."

I then knelt beside her, and after helping her back to her hooves, with her leaning against me for support, we both left the bar.

As we were walking, it was a bit difficult for me to hold her up, since for a Pony, she was a VERY big one, with her standing 5'7, compared to my 5'11. Someone said that they were "little Ponies", but I NEVER knew what they meant by that! They were NOT little!

Also while we were walking, I thought back to how I met Lightning Dust, and where her problems all began.

I'd met Lightning by chance not too long after moving to Cloudsdale. We met one night at a bar, which coincidentally, was the same Sky-High Sailin that we'd just left! She was a Wonderbolt Cadet back then, and I'd just begun my new job at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory.

"Wow, you're a Wonderbolt Cadet?"

She smirked. "Yep! Name's Lightning Dust! What's yours?"

"Mason. Mason Collier."

"And what do you do for a living?"

"I just got a job at the Cloudsdale Weather factory."

"Oh. That's not quite as cool as being a Wonderbolt Cadet, but what do you do there?"

"I work in the Spectrum Department. Our job is to get it from the vats that it's made in, all the way to the parts of the factory where it's needed to make weather. We also maintain all of the pipes and machines in our department that the spectrum passes through on its way to where it's going."

"Sounds pretty boring."

I nodded. "Yeah, it kinda is. It's definitely not nearly as cool as being a Wonderbolt Cadet!"

Lightning laughed, and we continued to talk about this and that.

From that night going forwards, we became pretty close friends. We hung out as often as we could; sometimes at that bar, sometimes at her place, my place, a park somewhere, or a few other places. Lightning Dust was one of the coolest mares that I ever knew, and she had such a bright future, but then it all came crashing down for her.

One afternoon I found her back at the bar, half drunk and crying her eyes out. I also noticed that she was wearing her Wonderbolt Cadet uniform, with her goggles next to her on the bar.

I took a seat next to her. "Oh gosh! Lightning! What happened?"

She looked up at me, and with tears in her eyes told me that she'd gotten kicked out of the Wonderbolts.

I was stunned. "What? Why?"

She gave me an angry glare. "Apparently, making a tornado to clear away the clouds isn't safe, and when I didn't regret doing it, Captain Spitfire kicked me out. She tore off my Lead-Pony badge, and had me escorted away from the Academy. And if THAT wasn't bad enough, Dash said that she wasn't my friend anymore, ALL BECAUSE THAT STUPID TORNADO ALMOST HURT HER OTHER FRIENDS!!!! She sided with Spitfire, and then SHE became Lead-Pony! FILTHY TRAITOR!!!!" Lightning then began sobbing again.

I didn't know what to say. I could see where the badge had been torn off of her uniform, and while I didn't have all of the facts, it was safe enough to assume that Lightning's recklessness, which I had warned her about before, and said that it could lead her into trouble, had finally gotten the best of her, and that had almost cost others their lives. However, Lightning also needed me in her time of need, so I did the only thing that a friend could do. I leaned forwards, and pulled her into a hug.

"Shh, it's ok Lightning. I'm here for you. You may have lost Dash as a friend, but you haven't lost me. I'm still here for you."

I felt her shudder, but then she hugged me back. "Mmm, thanks Bolt. I'm SO GLAD that you're still here for me!"

I smiled. Since I was always seemingly bolting from one place to another, (usually from home to work!) Lightning had given me the nickname "Bolt". "You're welcome Lightning. And we can go and talk about this if you want. Wanna go get ice cream or something?"

She nodded. "Sure. If you can help me out of here. I don't feel too stable."

I smiled. "What are friends for Lightning?"

I then grabbed her goggles, and helped her out of the bar, little knowing that this was soon going to be a very common trend.

As time went on, I tried to help Lightning as best I could, but her behavior was becoming more and more erratic. She was drunk a lot, she was on drugs other times, she kept getting fired from the various jobs that she had, and I was getting so worried for her.

"Lightning, you have GOT to stop acting like this! If you keep drinking and doing drugs like this, you're gonna wind up dead, in jail, raped, or worse!"

When I heard that she was starting her own flying group to rival the Wonderbolts, I thought that she was finally getting what I was telling her into her thick skull, but alas, I was wrong. When I watched her new group perform, the "Washouts", as they called themselves, I was horrified. Their tricks were almost suicidal, and I kept waiting for somepony to die. Thankfully nopony did, but I was still so shaken by what I had seen.

I confronted Lightning about it later, but all she did was offer me a black and green Human-Bat-Pony-sized jumpsuit and helmet, and a spot on the team. "Come on Bolt! Don't you wanna be a part of the REAL best aerobatics team in all of Equestria? Why work at that boring old weather factory, when you can be doing stuff like this?"

I had enough. I gently took Lightning's shoulders, and I finally laid it out to her. "Lightning, listen to me, and listen to me VERY carefully. We've known each other for about a year now, and have become pretty good friends. I've NEVER steered you wrong if I can help it, but please, for the love of GOD Lightning, LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO YOURSELF!!!!! You're drinking too much, using drugs, hanging out at Celestia knows where at all hours, probably having sex, and these Washout 'shows' as you call them, ARE ABSOLUTELY SUICIDAL!!!!! Somepony's gonna get KILLED if you keep doing this! I can't STAND to see you doing this to yourself!" Then, in a bold move, I moved my hands to Lightning's face, and after holding the sides of her face gently, I leaned in, and actually kissed her! Lightning was surprised, but she wrapped her wings around my back, and quickly melted into the kiss; our first kiss!

"Mmmm." She moaned a bit. She did open her mouth, and we did mix our tongues a bit, before eventually breaking the kiss with a soft, wet smack, leaving a trail of saliva behind.

"I don't want to lose you Lightning, you mean WAY too much to me! I'd be DEVASTATED without you!"

Her eyes widened in shock. "Wait, do I really mean that much to you Bolt?"

"YES!!!!! I love you Lightning Dust, and it's KILLING ME to see you almost kill yourself! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!!!!!"

Lightning Dust was stunned. Sure, we'd been knocking around for a while now, and she'd begun to suspect that I might have a crush on her, but to hear me pour my heart out to her like I'd just done, and then kiss her, and actually tell her that I loved her? For a moment, she well and truly had no words.

"Wait............you.............you love me?"

I nodded, blushing a bit.

Now it was her turn to blush. However, she then wordlessly tackled me over backwards, and we began kissing again, right there on the grass between 2 of the Washout tents! Our little display of passion was witnessed by 2 of Lightning's fellow Washouts, Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse.

"Wow, Lighting's got a coltfriend!"

Rolling Thunder licked her lips. "Sure wish it was me instead of her! Damn! She wasn't kidding when she said that Bolt was a hottie!" Both of them kept watching us kiss.

With the 2 of us now a couple, basically marefriend and coltfriend, I was hoping that Lightning would FINALLY start turning over a new leaf, but sadly, while she did straighten out for a while, she crashed and burned once again.

After only a few months, Lightning broke up with me. I couldn't believe it. We'd been a couple for only a few months, she invited me to join the Washouts, which I did, and even did a few shows when not working at the factory, but then it all came crashing down. In a rage that I'm fairly certain was drug and alcohol fueled, she cursed at me, hit me, threw things at me, and chased me out of her house. She kept screaming profanity at me, and said that we were through. I ran for my life, but by the next day Lightning was apologizing to me, though she said that maybe things would be better if we were just friends again. I agreed for the time being, but ONLY if she would agree to stop doing drugs, and stop drinking so much. She promised, but night after night I kept finding her at that bar. I could see all of the signs of depression in her, and I tried to help her, but she refused help.

However, me seeing her at that bar a bit earlier that same night was the LAST STRAW for me, so I finally had no choice but to take action.

Once we finally got back to her place, she unlocked the door, and we both went inside. Lightning's house wasn't the biggest thing ever, but it was cozy. There was an entryway, a living room, a kitchen, small dining area, and a small bathroom downstairs, and upstairs was a bedroom, (hers) a guest room, and a bathroom. After turning the lights on, we walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch. I then lay back a bit, and Lightning lay down on top of me. As we both got comfortable, I looked around the room.

The living room had a couch, coffee table, 2 chairs, a fireplace, a few shelves, and pictures of her. There were a few magazines, and empty bottles of both soda and alcohol on the coffee table, and the room looked a bit unkempt. However, now that I had Lightning right where I needed her to be, it was time that we talked.

I looked down at her. " Hey Lightning?"

She looked up at me. "Hmm?"

"Why did you never tell me that you had depression?"

She looked at me with a look of pain on her face. "I..........I didn't want you to worry about me anymore than you already did. I didn't want anyone else to know, because they would see it as a sign of weakness. Yes, I'm SUPPOSED to take medication for it, but I haven't recently. I tried alcohol, but yet it hasn't been working, and neither did the drugs."

"And they never will Lightning. Drugs and alcohol are NEVER the cure for anything, ESPECIALLY depression, and they just lead to worse and worse things."

"Why?" She asked me.

"Because they just leave you feeling even worse that you did before, and........."

"Not that, I mean why? WHY do you waste so much time, energy and affection on me? Am I really that worth it to you? I'm just a soiled dove, but here you are, STILL trying to protect me, comfort me, and help me. The reason I push you away so hard is because I don't want to hurt you. You're WAY too good of a guy to be throwing yourself away on a gal like me. I wake up every morning unable to look myself in the mirror, because I know that if I do, I would see what I'm becoming, and then I would hear your voice telling me to stop. I couldn't take it anymore, so that's why I just up and snapped that one night, and kicked you out. You were like a biting conscience, and I didn't want that. I HATED IT, but yet I knew that you were right. I didn't know what to do." She then looked at me with tears in her eyes, before wrapping her forelegs around me. "Just like I don't know what to do without you Bolt! I NEED you in my life!" She then held me close, and I heard her crying again.

I shifted us a bit so that I could hug her back more easily, as I was still lying on my back, and she was lying on top of me, leaning her head on my chest.

"Why do I do it Lightning? Well, it used to be because we were friends, and friends always help each other out. As time went on though, it was because I cared about you, and I didn't want to see you get hurt. What I said before that day at the Washouts’s tents was no joke. I really do love you Lightning, and THAT'S why I keep spending so much time, energy and affection on you. You're the mare that I love, and when you love something, you want to keep it safe. That's why it hurt me so much when I saw what you were doing to yourself Lightning, and why I tried so hard to get you to change course. I loved you, and I didn't want to see you hurt, taken advantage of, raped, in prison, dead, or worse. Now though, looking back, I'm MORE than glad that I did so, because I see how much good my loving you really did."

"Before you came to the bar tonight, I thought about killing myself. It had gotten to that point, and I didn't see any other way around my depression. I prayed for another way though, and just as I opened my eyes again, ready to go somewhere and end it all, there you were sitting next to me at the bar. I took your being there to be a sign to NOT kill myself, and I knew that a conversation like this was coming, so I prepared for it."

Some of the color in my face drained out when I heard Lightning say that. "And to think, I almost didn't walk by the bar tonight. I didn't want to, but I decided to anyway. Now I'm MORE than glad that I did so!"

"Me too Bolt. Because of tonight, I'm going to start taking my meds again, and I'm going to see about getting professional help with my depression too. I'll also be keeping YOU by my side for a LONG time to come! I need you just as much as you need me, so I guess we're kinda stuck together!"

I laughed a bit. "Yeah, I guess that we kinda are, aren't we?"

Lightning then blushed a bit, before scooting up a bit higher, and planting her soft lips onto mine.

"Mmmm", we both moaned into each other's mouth.

Lightning also raised up her hoof to gently touch my face, and I touched her face gently with one of my hands. Eventually, I placed my hand over her hoof, and if she'd been Human too, then we would have been holding hands.

Lightning smirked at me. "You degenerate freak! Hoof-hand holding is SO taboo! We shouldn't be doing this!"

I rolled my eyes, smirking. One of the longest-running memes in Equestria was about "degenerate hoof-hand holding", and the memes showed no signs of letting up.

"Well, you're not pulling away from me holding your hoof, so you're a degenerate freak too!"

Lightning laughed, and I then noticed her flicking her tail a bit. I could feel some moisture on one of my legs, and I could smell her sex, which meant that Lightning's marehood was probably winking, and leaking fluids.

"Oh. Are we gonna have to take this upstairs?" I asked her playfully.

She gave me a look. "I dunno Bolt. Do you think that you can handle me in the bedroom?"

"Guess that there's only one way to find out."

She smirked, before rubbing her nose against mine. "I like how you think Dude!" She then began to kiss me again, and I kissed her back, all the while really beginning to wonder if we were gonna make it upstairs, or if we were gonna do it right there on the couch! I was soon to get my answer though.

Author's Note

And, that was Chapter 1!

In the midst of working on "Wendelle in the Colony", I wanted to grace you all with something new. This is just a short romantic clop story, but yet one that does have some depth to it. This is the first time that I ever had a main character help another character with depression, and the consequences of said depression, but I guess that there's a first time for everything, right?

So what's going to happen now? Are Bolt and Lightning going to make it upstairs, or are they gonna f@#k on the couch? Will Lightning truly stay on the straight and narrow this time, or will she have another relapse? How long will her relationship with Bolt last? And what could possibly happen next? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

In the meantime, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 2!

ScarFox out for now!