Lightning Storm was standing in the middle of a wood. He looked around. He was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of matching pants. Sunlight poured upon him, bathing him in a golden yellow hue, while a light rain fell upon the landscape. It wasn’t uncomfortable. Rather, it felt warm. Caring. He extended his arms out, embracing the feeling.

Birds were chirping from their trees, each tree lively with their green leaves. A slight breeze caressed him, wrapping his body in the current of the wind. Lightning closed his eyes as he relaxed and let himself feel the flow.

“Enjoying the weather, Lightning?” A voice called out from the woods.

Lightning’s eyes snapped open. That voice…!

He slowly turned around, not sure if he wanted to see what he was expecting to see. Heck, he wasn’t even sure what he was going to see if—

Opera Songs was standing there, wearing the same outfit as she had on the day Lightning had first met her.

Lightning’s mouth fell open. “Opera…?”

Opera smiled. “It’s been a long time, Lightning. I missed you.”

Lightning barely managed to get out of his shock and stumbled towards the girl. When he was a foot away from her, Lightning stared at her, not believing what he was seeing yet never wanting to forget the memory that stood before him.

This was not the Opera that plagued his nightmares, but the Opera when she was at her purest form. The Opera at her purest and happiest form.

Lightning just continued to gape at her, struggling to process what he was seeing.

Suddenly, Opera found herself swept off the ground in a tight embrace. Lightning held her in his arms, his face buried in her shoulder as something broke inside him. His shoulders heaved as he broke into uncontrollable sobs.

“I… I missed you… s, so much, you know?” Lightning stuttered, trying to steady his breath and failing.

“Hey now, it’s okay, it’s okay…,” Opera soothed him, patting his back and holding him steady.

They stood there like that for eternity, basking in the rain and sunlight.

“You’re beginning your first steps, Lightning. Your first steps to being reborn,” Opera said as they trudged through the woods.

“What do you mean?” Lightning asked, confused.

“You’re finally beginning to grow over your past. You were willing to face what happened. Remember you telling them your story back at Manehattan High?”

“Hey, that was because…,” Lightning began to protest before faltering, “well, it was because I thought if I hesitated any longer, I wouldn’t be able to do it. I wouldn’t be able to say anything, and I would have to live with it for… for the rest of my life.” He finished with a sigh, rubbing his right eyelid in frustration.

Opera gazed at him, sadness and mild curiosity on her face. “Why are you so afraid to see the past?”

Lightning blinked. “What?”

“You’re so afraid to even think about what happened half a year ago… why? Why are you so afraid of being reminded of that day?”

Lightning snorted incredulously. “Seriously? You of all people should know best why it’s one of my worst fears. You know what happened that day, how it all led up to that moment, and… and…,” he faltered once more. After a pause, he bitterly said, “What I lost that day. How I never got it back. How I will never get it back. And how I am to blame for it.”

Opera stared at him for a moment, then said, “You know, the things you think you lost? they aren’t so entirely lost as you think, you know….”

Lightning’s ears perked up. “What?”

Opera began walking away from Lightning, deeper into the woods. The purple-haired girl turned to look at him and smiled as she spoke. “Just follow the trail. Maybe, just maybe, at the end of the day, you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for.”

And with that, she slowly faded away into the woods.

Lightning stared in the direction Opera had disappeared, before spotting a trail in the woods. It was nothing more than a foot wide, hindered and covered by the wood’s dense plant life, but it was distinctly a dirt trail. Lightning’s gaze followed up the trail and spotted an exit; a way leading out of the woods.

He started walking along the trail, heading towards the opening. His walk turned into a jog, then into a sprint, then finally into a full-speed run. As he ran towards the exit, bright light poured in from it, becoming brighter and brighter, covering his view with nothing but blinding white light until—

Lightning’s eyes snapped open. The familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling came into view. He sat up and blinked, taking in his surroundings. Sunlight poured in from between his curtains, illuminating the room.

Lightning got out of bed and walked over to the window, where he threw open the curtains and allowed himself a full view of the outside world. The entirety of his neighborhood came into view, with complex alleyways weaving through the cheap apartments that covered most of the area.

He leaned against the windowsill, thinking about his dream. Opera wanted him to face his story, his past. That way, he would be able to move on from what happened five months back.

“Just follow the trail, and you’ll find what you’re looking for…,” Lightning muttered as he repeated Opera’s words from the previous night’s dream.

He took in a deep breath, then released it. A look of determination entered his eyes. If he had to reach the end of the trail just to get closure, he would follow it; he was going to finish his story, and face his past once and for all.

He turned around and prepared to head to school.

Lightning walked towards the front gates of Canterlot High, his footsteps ringing out on the pavement. He passed the Wondercolts statue and headed towards the main building, not giving any attention to the other students who went on their way.

As he got to his locker and took the textbooks he needed for class, a familiar voice called him from behind. Looking around, he spotted Sunset Shimmer walking towards him.

“Hey, Lightning! Glad you made to school today,” Sunset greeted him.

“Yeah, I felt better after last night, so I decided to come to school,” Lightning replied.

“That’s good to hear. So, about yesterday…,” Sunset trailed off.

“Yeah? What about it?” Lightning asked.

“I was kind of worried if you didn’t want to continue telling your story,” Sunset answered.

Lightning paused in his packing and turned around to face her. “Oh? What made you think that?”

“Well, you know, it’s just that you’ve suffered so much from your past that I thought you might not want to talk about it…”

“And I was more concerned about you guys not wanting to listen to my past,” Lightning mused. He then said, “Look, Sunset, I don’t have any intention of stopping just yet, okay? But I’m worried about how it will affect my friends. As I said, it’s not a pretty story in particular. Especially Fluttershy: I don’t think she’ll be able to deal with it, considering where the story’s headed.”

“Well, then why don’t you ask them if they’re okay about it?”

“I already did that yesterday, Sunset. And the thing is, I don’t think they know what they’re going to hear. And I doubt that they’ll like it once they know,” Lightning said with a frown.

“Speaking of which, what exactly happened at the end? Because I’ve never really figured it out, and none of the girls have, either.”

At this, Lightning’s expression hardened. He looked around, then closed his eyes and leaned against the lockers. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes, then said, “I guess you deserve to know, huh? Alright, come close.”

He whispered something into Sunset’s ears, and her eyes widened as Lightning finished his message. When she turned to him, it was with watery, staring eyes. “Did… did she really…?”

Lightning gave a solemn nod. “But that’s just half the story. The other half, well…,” he trailed off for a moment before finally saying, “let’s just say that it’s too long of a story to be told in the hallways. So why don’t we talk about this after school, at Sugarcube Cafe or somewhere, when we have sufficient time for it?”

“Okay… I’ll tell the girls to meet at Sugarcube Cafe at 3:30,” Sunset said, hesitation almost visible in her voice.

“That would do. Thanks,” Lightning said as the bell rang. “Well, I’ll see you in a few, then.”

“See ya, Lightning,” said Sunset as she turned away towards her classroom, still visibly shaken from what she just heard.

Lightning didn’t notice Sunset’s shock as she walked away.

“So, what’s the big deal?” Rainbow asked as she plopped herself down into one of Sugarcube Cafe’s chairs. There were a good deal of students from CHS inside the cafe, chatting away, drinking a cup of coffee, laughing, scribbling in their notebooks…. It seemed like a normal day for the people inside.

“Well, Lightning wants to continue his story but… he wanted to give you a warning beforehand,” Sunset answered, uncertainty continuing to show in her voice.

“Well, ‘warning’ is one way to put it,” spoke Lightning, who was sitting in a chair in front of the same table, arms crossed.

The girls looked at him, and, almost immediately, noticed something was off. The usual energy Lightning’s eyes contained was still there, but they seemed to be… different from the usual electrical, energetic form. His expression was neutral, his head lowered while his eyes peered up ahead. His lips were set as if he was dead set on something.

“Uh, darling, are you… alright? You don’t seem… er, well,” Rarity commented.

Lightning looked up and waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, I’m totally fine. I was just thinking about how to go with this ‘warning’, as Sunset put it.” Even something about his voice was off, the tone being much calmer and collected, yet at the same time, sounding… detached. He put his elbows on the table, leaning his chin into his hands while glancing at Sunset.

The moment Lightning’s eyes made contact with the Sunset’s, she saw those piercing blue eyes staring into hers… and beyond. It was as if his eyes were focused on her teal irises, but also looking at something a million miles away. His gaze looked into her eyes as if trying to look at her very soul… then broke away.

Minutes ticked by, the looks on the girls’ faces growing more and more anxious while Lightning continued to stare into the distance, continuing to think about something.

It wasn’t long until Rainbow Dash finally burst out, “So… are we going to talk or not? Because we’ve been waiting for ten minutes—”

“Girls, have you…,” Lightning interrupted. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and continued, “Have you ever had an instance where you thought someone was in the wrong and blamed her for it, only to find out that she was innocent?”

Immediately Sunset felt her heart stop. He knows, she thought, he knows what happened last Christmas.

All the other girls, minus Twilight, who was looking confused, seemed uncomfortable, too. Noticing the look on their faces, Lightning pleaded, “Please, girls, I’m not gonna hold it against you. I’m just asking, so please be honest.”

Reluctantly, they nodded, not willing to meet each other’s eyes.

“And how far, exactly, did you go before you found out?” Lightning quietly asked, his steely gaze fixed on the seven girls.

“Lightning, that’s enough—,” Sunset said quietly as she laid a hand on Lightning’s arm, only to be cut off as he swatted her hand away.

“So, you girls abandoned your friend here when she needed you the most, left her all by herself when she was getting the scars she will carry to her grave—,” Lightning continued, his voice rising.

“That’s enough, Lightning!” Sunset shouted.

“No, it’s not enough! It’s never enough! You know the extent you were pushed to; you know how it could have ended! You had your back turned against the cliff; one push, and it would’ve been over. End of story. How can you be so okay with it when you were on your last straw for days, no, weeks?” Lightning shouted back, redirecting his fury at the flaming-haired girl, not caring that at a nearby table, a group of students had stopped talking and were gawking at them instead.

“And why are you bringing this up now?” Rainbow interjected, glaring at the angry teenage boy. “We already apologized to Sunset, she accepted it, we left it behind. It’s been almost ten months since the incident. Why do you have to bring this up?”

“Because I saw the same shit happen, damn it! When I first came to CHS, I thought things would be different. I thought I wouldn’t have to see the same crap happen twice. But no, you girls, the five of you, everyone in that wretched school, acted just like the jerks at my previous school. I thought I was free of the shit that Manehattan High used to shovel on my life, but I was wrong. Because guess what? Turns out the same bullshit happened before and is still ongoing.

“I watched while Opera got accused by everyone for something she didn’t do, just like you did. I watched while she got assaulted with cruel words and remarks, and even when things got physical, just like you did! But unlike you oh-so-lucky girls, she didn’t stand back up. Unlike Sunset, she didn’t pull through. She never got to see the other end of the tunnel she got pushed into, and she never emerged from it. She never got to see the sunrise once more, see another day!” Lightning shouted, his voice starting to crack.

“Sugarcube, what—,” Applejack tried to interrupt him, but was cut short.

“You wanna know how this story ends? Fine, I’ll give it to you!” Lightning shouted, tears starting to well up in his eyes. “The whole story ended when Opera killed herself. That ended the whole debacle. For good.”

Silence reigned. Everyone at the table was too stunned to say a single word.

Until Applejack managed to whisper in shock, “What?”

“Ain’t that clear enough for you? Fine, I’ll spell it out for you. Opera Songs, slit her wrists, and bled to death in the girls’ bathroom!” Lightning yelled, his voice hoarse from all the raised voices. The dam finally broke, tears streaming down his face. “A-and I was th-there to watch it, watch it all happen! I saw the life leaving her eyes! I… I WATCHED HER DIE, DAMN IT!”

The moment he finished the sentence, he felt the crushing silence inside the cafe, the fact that everyone was staring at him. He didn’t care.

Lightning breathed heavily; whether because of his emotional outburst or his crying, he didn’t know. It didn’t matter. Nothing did at this point. All that did matter was to get away from this place, this memory.

“I shouldn’t have done this,” he murmured before tearing out of the store, knocking his chair over and not looking back. He crashed out onto the sidewalk, almost knocking someone over before running down the street.

The girls just sat there, shocked and unsure of what to do.

Lightning blindly ran down the streets, not caring where he was going—

“Oh… god, no….”

He crashed into a man, his briefcase falling open and sending papers flying everywhere. “Hey!” the man yelled after him. He just kept on running—

“It’s going to be alright, Opera. It’s going to be alright….”

He ran across the road, not stopping as a car skid to a stop mere inches from him, horns blaring—

“Just stay with me, okay? Stay with me.”

He ran up a hill, not caring if his feet hurt or his breath came in pained gasps—

“Opera, stay with me! No, no, I said stay with me. Come on, wake up, goddammit!”

He was nearing the hilltop while continuing to run, not daring to stop, not daring to catch his breath, not caring that his face was soaked with his tears—

“No! She can still live! Please….”

Suddenly, Lightning felt a sharp pain to the left side of his face, followed by finding himself being thrown to the ground.

Massaging his aching face, he managed to sit up, his trance broken. He looked around; he was in an unfamiliar neighborhood, with identical-looking houses lining the streets. Next to him was a metallic bus stop sign. He must have crashed face-first into it. Next to the sign was a bus stop, with a bench situated under a tin roof.

As he leaned against the pole and took in his surroundings, Lightning had noticed one more thing.

Storm clouds were closing in.

“Shit,” Lightning muttered as he stood up and made his way into the bus station, massaging his hot, aching left eye and feeling it swell up. He was pretty sure it would turn black by the time he got back home, which would raise some questions. Questions he wouldn’t be able to answer.

Seconds later, a distant thunderclap marked the beginning of a rainstorm. Raindrops began pouring from the sky, drenching everything outside within seconds.

Lightning sat down on one end of the wooden bench with a sigh. Even though his entire body was sore from running, his eyes were puffy and swollen, and the left side of his face burned, the cool sensation of the bench, coupled with the noise of the rain pelting the ground, brought him a sense of relaxation. He leaned back against the wall of the bus stop and closed his eyes, ignoring the burning feeling of his left eye. It felt nice to relax. A content smile floated up to his lips. His breathing slowed, his tense muscles slacking.

As he relaxed, bathing in the calming noise of the downpour, a memory floated up to his mind….

Two Months Prior…

“Whew, isn’t it hot?” Lightning asked as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

“Yeah, it sure is,” replied Sunset, fanning her shirt to dry off the sticky sweat.

The August sun had been particularly unforgiving that day, raising the temperatures to a 101 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite being indoors and the cooling systems running at full power, the heat from the outside was felt by the students of CHS, leaving them sweaty and sticky.

“Well, why don’t you take off your jacket? It’s making you sweatier, anyways,” Lightning suggested as they walked through the hallways.

“Well, my skin’s a bit sensitive to sunlight, so I kinda need it,” Sunset replied.

“Well yeah, but we’re indoors right now. I doubt the sunlight’s going to somehow pinpoint you through the walls and manage to land itself on your skin.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Hey, guys!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she jogged over to the two.

“Oh, hey Dash. What’s up?” Lightning greeted her.

“Well, since I was on my way to lunch and I saw you guys from down the hallway, I thought it’d be cool to join you,” Rainbow answered.

Lightning merely nodded as the three of them walked along the corridors towards the cafeteria. As they walked past a girls’ bathroom, Sunset stood and said, “Could you please wait for a minute here? I need to go to the bathroom.”

Rainbow smirked. “Sure. Go on quick.”

With that, Sunset ran into the bathroom.

Rainbow turned to Lightning. “So, how’s your day going?”

“Eh, pretty much the same as any other day. Moving from class to class, getting a bunch of homework, you know the drill.”

“Yeah, these assignments they give us? They’re so frustrating! Couldn’t they, I don’t know, give us less homework?” Rainbow complained.

“Hey, the stuff they give us is going to show up in the finals. Besides, it will help you when you go out there after you graduate, you know.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

They continued to chat for several minutes as they waited for Sunset. After five minutes, she emerged from the bathroom, her sleeves rolled up due to her washing her hands.

As Lightning glanced at Sunset over Rainbow’s shoulder, he noticed something: jagged, irregular lines covering both her forearms, some parallel to her ulna, some vertical. Before he could get a better look, however, she had rolled her sleeves back down.

“So, should we get going?” Sunset asked the two of them innocently.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Lightning answered, unsure whether he had seen correctly.

The three of them continued on their way to the cafeteria, Lightning still trying to figure out whether it had been a mere trick of his eyes.

“Good game, Lightning! You were awesome!” Rainbow called out as she and the other students filed out of the gym.

It was later that day in the afternoon when Lightning’s P.E. class played dodgeball. Despite being under a roof and away from the deadly rays of the Sun, the students were still profusely sweating, due to the combined exhaustion from the heat inside the gym and the heated game they played.

After a massive onslaught had taken place thanks to Rainbow Dash, Lightning had been the last survivor on his team, dodging the ball by mere inches more times than he could count. It was thanks to his excellent reflexes and agility that he had managed to survive on his own for over five minutes, but those qualities could only take him so far. In the end, the game ended as the ball thrown by Sunset Shimmer hit him squarely in the left thigh.

Lightning could only grunt in response to Rainbow’s praise as he lay on the gymnasium floor, panting and creating a puddle of sweat on the floor. Eventually, though, he was able to sit up and join the others as they walked out to head over to their respective classes.

“Well, that was one heck of a game,” Lightning said as he caught up to Rainbow and Sunset.

“Yeah, you were pretty awesome out there,” Rainbow acknowledged him with a smirk.

“Thanks. Appreciate the comment,” Lightning replied with a smile of his own.

As they walked down the hallway, Sunset suddenly paused and said, “Um, could you guys wait for a second here? I need to go to the bathroom to wash my face.”

“Well, sure. I could use some cool water to my face too. What about you, Rainbow?,” Lightning agreed as he and Sunset headed towards the bathroom.

“Well, I need to get going because I have Calculus next period,” the Rainbow-haired girl replied as she began walking away.

“Alright then, see you around,” Lightning said as he bid farewell.

“See you, Lightning!” Rainbow shouted as she waved back at him.

After washing his face and leaving the bathroom, Lightning decided that he’d wait for Sunset to finish. Before long, Sunset emerged from the girls’ bathroom, her sleeves rolled up and her hands still wet.

And then he saw them. The numerous scars covering Sunset’s forearm, criss-crossing each other like the lines of a grid. The white jagged lines that adorned her wrists and forearms. The result of consistent abuse being done to the skin. Lightning could only stare in terror and shock, his worst-case scenario proving to be true.

It didn’t take long for Sunset to notice what he was staring at. She quickly lowered her cuffs as a look of panic appeared on her face, covering the scars up once more. After a moment of awkward silence, all she managed to say was,

“Please forget what you saw, okay?”

“I promised her to forget about her scars. To just drop it and pretend I hadn’t seen anything,” Lightning muttered, more to himself than anyone. He was still sitting on the edge of the bench, his body turned so he was facing away from the wooden installation. His head rested on the plastic wall of the bus station while he listened intently to the downpour outside.

Then, a voice that was all too familiar to him spoke from behind. “But you looked into it. You asked people and searched around the web looking for the reason. It took you about a month to figure out about the whole Anon-A-Miss debacle that happened a year ago. Why? Why didn’t you let it go?”

Lightning didn’t turn around. He didn’t need to. “You know full damn well why I couldn’t let it go, Opera. I just couldn’t forget it. Not when I saw what you did. What you did…, and the impact you left behind.”

“It was your choice, though. You could have forced yourself to drop it. To ignore it. To stay away. Just like how you did last time. You did an excellent job of doing that, you know? What changed?” Opera inquired, a visible sneer in her tone.

“It’s the fact that I already did that once that makes me unable to turn away. You know I can’t turn a blind eye to things like that. Last time my ignorance got the better of me; I’m not about to let that happen again!” Lightning retorted.

“And what happened because of it?” Opera asked, the mocking tone becoming more and more prominent, “Who spilled Sunset’s secret? Who’s the person that caused Sunset to become upset at you? Whose fault is it that made you get left alone?”

“I was only trying to follow the trail just like you said. I didn’t want to hurt Sunset’s feelings. Heck, I didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings!” Lightning protested, still not looking at the source of the voice behind him.

“And yet you did.” Opera coldly returned the favor, “You hurt Sunset with your lies. You hurt all of your friends with your raging. I wouldn’t be surprised if they left your side on your own—”

“Well then maybe it’s your fault!” Lightning raised his voice, still refusing to directly look at the girl. “You’re the one who told me to ‘follow the trail’, to come to terms with my past. You’re the one who made me go talk to the girls about what happened. You’re the cause of me losing control back at Sugarcube Cafe and storming out on the girls. And, most importantly, you’re the one who hurt me so bad that not a single day passes without me exploding. This is your fault, goddammit!”

“Really? Or perhaps you’re the one who lost control of yourself, not me. I only told you to ‘follow the trail’. The rest, you brought it on yourself. Congratulations on managing to mess up such a simple business. I don’t think I would be able to do that even if I tried.” Opera’s voice was practically full of disdain and mockery at this point, making Lightning’s blood boil.

“It wasn’t my fault, Opera,” Lightning spoke through gritted teeth, a final effort at ending this conversation civilly. His hands had balled into a fist while trying to control his fury.

Opera let out a derisive snort. “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that. We’ll find out who’s to blame when your friends find out what you’ve done in the name of ‘vengeance’ and all leave you alone—”

Lightning bolted up from the bench and swung around to punch her. “Just get the fuck away from—”

Opera Songs was gone, and a familiar figure stood in her place. “…me?”

Sunset Shimmer stood inside the bus station, her hair and clothes soaked and plastered to her skin. Rainwater dripped from her clothes and face, and her eyes shimmered as a look of sadness and terror appeared on her face.

Lightning opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Eventually, he slouched back onto the bench, covering his face with his hands as the burning sensation in his left eye returned. He took a deep breath before finally asking, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to hear everything you said,” Sunset replied, biting her lower lip.

Lightning understood what she meant. He closed his eyes and slowly, but firmly, bumped the back of his head into the wall. “Fuck,” he spat.

“What happened to your eye?” Sunset asked, horrified at the sight of the bruise covering Lightning’s left eye.

“Oh, you know, ran face-first into a metal pole.” Lightning waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t care about it. It’ll eventually go away, anyways.”

“Oh. Okay, then.”

Unsure what to do, Sunset just stood there for a moment, before walking over to the bench to sit down. She said nothing as she sat down next to Lightning. For a moment they just sat like that, staring out into the downpour in awkward silence while listening to the raindrops hammering the roof. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed by a loud boom echoing out into the city. Several minutes passed before Lightning spoke again.

“So… I messed up, didn’t I?” He quietly asked.

“Everybody messes up, Lightning,” Sunset replied. Lightning merely snorted.

“So how did you find me here?” Lightning asked, finally turning to look at Sunset.

Sunset shrugged. “I… didn’t. After you stormed out of the cafe I tried to follow you, but I lost you in the city traffic. I just walked in the direction I saw you run off, and eventually got here, at the cost of getting soaked to the bones.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” said Lightning. Then, before Sunset could reply, he asked, “Do the girls know I’m here?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, they don’t. I was the only one who came after you. At least, that’s what I think.”

Lightning let out a sigh of relief. “Good. The last thing I want to see right now is… well, I don’t want to see them being mad at me.”

“We’re not mad at you, Lightning.”

Lightning blinked. “You’re not?”

“Well, at least I’m not. Even though you did rage at us and run out of the store,”—Lightning looked at the ground, visibly scowling at the remark—“it was because you were hurt. It wasn’t because you had evil intentions or anything, but because you were afraid and hurt. You were just trying to run from yourself, from your memories.”

“Still, I did mess up pretty bad,” Lightning replied, still staring at the rainwater swirling past his feet. Lightning flashed in the distance as if agreeing to his words, followed by an ear-popping boom from the thunder that followed.

“That’s alright.”

Lightning looked at her in confusion. “What?”

“I mean, it’s not like you wanted to mess up. You just wanted to come to terms with what you’ve seen. And that just shows that you’re not a bad person, just… someone afraid. Lonely. Tired. Needing help.”

Lightning turned back towards the ground before starting to chuckle. When Sunset looked at him in confusion, he said, “You know, did you ever have the thought that some people just can’t be helped? That they’re beyond help? Because I have.”

When Sunset merely continued to look, he continued, “I mean, I’m pretty much hopeless here. Someone who can’t pass a night without waking up in the middle of the night, can’t pass a day without losing control, rage at his friends for things that aren’t their fault, dig up other’s secrets and spill them to others….” He shook his head. “I’m pretty much a goner at this point.”

“That’s not true, Lightning. You can be helped. You can still get better—”

“And at what cost?” Lightning snapped, his eyes filled with anger. Anger masking his pain. “At the cost of hurting more people as I go along? At the cost of hurting those that I care about? At the cost of… of hurting you, who only tried to give a helping hand? Forget it, Shimmer. It’s not worth it.”

“But you didn’t hurt me. Yes, you did dig into my past, a part of me that I wanted to keep a secret, but it was because you cared. It is slightly frustrating that you didn’t listen to me, but—”

Lightning cut her off. “See, you were frustrated that I didn’t listen to you. I made you upset by breaking my promise, just like I did five months ago. How can you say that I can get better when I’m just repeating my mistakes—”

“I don’t care if you repeat the same mistakes and end up hurting me,” Sunset interrupted, her voice rising, “All I care is that you can get better. I already forgave you about breaking our promise and digging into last year’s mess—”

“See, that’s the problem! You’re so understanding that you embrace people who shouldn’t be forgiven! You’re still hurting from what happened last Christmas, and yet you’ve forgiven them. Not just the girls who hurt you the most, but everyone else at Canterlot High. You know that never works—”

“Well, what was I supposed to do then?” Sunset fired back, starting to reach the end of her patience. “You act like you know all about forgiving, but you don’t. You can’t even forgive yourself to the point where you’ve pushed yourself into a hellhole! You want help but keep pushing people away, not caring if you hurt them in the process. You act like you don’t want to hurt others; in reality, you just don’t want to hurt yourself. You’re so afraid of getting hurt by someone that you don’t even accept help when you know you need it. You’re just a hypocritical. Selfish. Coward!” Sunset screamed, tears finally flowing down her face.

Her yelling seemed to be effective, for he stared at her for a moment, mouth agape, before turning to stare out into the downpour. Lightning continued to flash in the distance, followed a few seconds later by a loud boom. It was as if the thunderclaps wanted to catch up with those brilliant flashes of light—which it never would.

Sunset wiped her tears as she regained her composure, breathing heavily and sniffling from her emotional outburst. Lightning didn’t look at her, continuing to stare out into the rain as a frown creased his face.

They both didn’t say anything in awkward silence until a few minutes later when Sunset spoke again.

“Lightning, I—”

“I messed up again, didn’t I?” Lightning interjected, not looking at her. “I pissed you off until your patience wore thin enough for you to call me a coward.”

“Lightning, that’s not—” Sunset tried to interrupt him. Lightning paid no regard to Sunset.

“I don’t know why I keep doing it. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to get hurt, just like you said. Or it’s just me; nothing responsible for it, just me doing it out of spite.”

“Lightning,” said Sunset, a little louder. Still no use.

“I don’t even know why you stay around me at this point. I keep making you get upset and—”

“Lightning Storm, will you just LISTEN TO ME!” Sunset finally exploded, shouting so loudly that Lightning visibly flinched. “Yes, you did mess up by eating my words, exploding at the girls, and pissing me off, but that was all your desperate call for help. You just want your nightmare to end. And I know it won’t get better overnight; it will continue to hurt for a long time. But I will be here, no matter how much you lash out, or how much you want to give up. I’ll be here to walk you through it, okay? We’ll make it through it. Together.”

She took his left hand in hers and gave a gentle squeeze. “And I’m sorry for calling you a coward. You don’t deserve to be called one. You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever seen. You pulled through this far on your own. I don’t think I would have been able to do that, like, ever.”

Lightning looked at her, his outer shell beginning to crack as something deep within him awoke. His lips continued to move without making a sound as if he was struggling to come up with what to say.

“Why do you care so much?” he quietly asked, his eyes brimming with tears. “You had your trust thrown back at you once. I lashed out at you when you cared about me. Why do… why do you hold onto me?”

“Probably the same reason you didn’t forget about my scars; we both care too much about each other. And sometimes…,” she trailed off as she looked at the ground. “Sometimes I think we all need someone in our life who cares too much about us.”

Lightning shook his head. “You’ll only get hurt if you try to help me. It’s already hard enough to keep myself in check through everyday life. Every minute, I feel like I’m a bomb that could go off at any moment. It’s so hard, feeling myself getting strained to my limits and yet holding myself inwards, trying not to lash out at others. And yet I keep failing.”

He took a deep breath to steady himself, wiping a tear from his eye, then continued. “I hate it. I hate those who pushed Opera to… to do what she did. I hate Opera for giving up on life when she had me, for leaving me in this muck while she moved onto a better place. I hate the girls for what they did to you, for reminding me so badly of the events that led to Opera’s death. But m-most importantly….” He took another deep breath before closing his eyes. “I hate myself. I hate myself for hating everyone. I hate myself for not being able to leave this behind. I hate myself for making this so painful, for making it so difficult. I just… I just want this to stop, but I can’t. It’s like something’s pushing me further and further into hell while all I can do is just stand and watch from a distance. I just… I don’t know what to do….”

“That’s why I’m here, remember?” Sunset said, looking at him with a small, sad smile. “I’m here to help you get through this. I don’t know specifically how, but we’ll do this. Together.”

Lightning looked down directly into Sunset’s eyes. His eyes were no longer glazed over, nor did they contain the venom they did earlier, but instead they carried an immense amount of pain and sorrow: emotions that had been simmering at the bottom of his heart for so many months. Tears welled up in his eyes once more as emotions swam in them.

“I… I…,” Lightning stammered for a moment, struggling to form coherent words while containing his emotions. He bit his lower lip, trying in vain to hold his tears back.

Then the dam broke.

“I’m s-so sorry-hee-hee!” Lightning sobbed as Sunset held him in her arms.

As they held onto each other, raindrops continued to fall upon the world around them, wetting every single thing in it.

After a while, Lightning had calmed down and simply leaned into Sunset, too exhausted to say or do anything. Sunset didn’t say anything either, continuing to hold him in her arms while leaning into him as well. The two remained so still and so silent as if they had become a part of the bus station.

As they held each other in their arms, Lightning felt something warm spreading in his mind for the first time in what felt like months. He felt content. Peaceful. Secure. He didn’t want this moment to end, for this contentedness to continue.

A sharp ring tone of a phone called an abrupt end to their peace, however.

“Hold on,” Sunset said as she and Lightning separated. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone, which was ringing incessantly. Sunset checked the number on her screen: Rainbow Dash. She pressed the green phone icon and put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Sunset? It’s been an hour since you left! Where are you?” Rainbow Dash’s voice came over the phone.

“I’m at a local bus stop. I’m fine, don’t worry,” Sunset assured her.

“And Lightning?”

“He’s with me. He’s alright.”

“Well, he’d better be, because if he wasn’t I was going to beat him up for making us get worried sick!” Rainbow yelled so loudly that Sunset had to take the phone off her ear. Lightning heard Rainbow’s shouts and glanced at the phone.

“As she would,” Lightning muttered.

“Look, Rainbow, we’re alright. It’s just that we don’t have a way to get back without getting soaked. Do any of you have a car?”

“I have a car,” came Rainbow’s reply. “AJ and I will come to get you. Sit tight, okay?”

“Roger that,” Sunset replied before hanging up, shivering as she did so.

“You cold?” Lightning asked, noticing the temperature beginning to drop as a gust of wind sprayed water sideways.

“A little. I did get soaked from head to toe already, you know,” Sunset said, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to warm herself up to no avail.

“Here, put this on,” said Lightning as he took his hoodie off and handed it to Sunset, revealing a black short-sleeved t-shirt underneath.

Sunset shook her head. “No, no, you should keep that on. I’m fine—”

“I’m not about to let you catch a cold just because of me,” Lightning insisted. “Put this on, please? It’ll keep you warmer than that soaked jacket, you know.”

Sunset let out a sigh as she took her jacket off and put the hoodie on. “Alright, fine. But only until Rainbow comes and picks us up.”

“That’s good for me,” Lightning answered with a nod, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

Sunset only stared at his arms in response.

His left forearm was wrapped in white bandages, covering most of his skin from sight. Lightning noticed her gaping at the bandage and waved a dismissive hand. “Surprised, eh?”

When he saw Sunset’s look asking ‘why?’, he merely said, “I did something very stupid. And it wouldn’t the first time I did it, either.” He shook his head, a bitter expression appearing once more on his face.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then Sunset spoke, her voice firm and steady.

“Lightning, show me your right arm,” she commanded.

Lightning looked at her. “What?”

“I said show me your right arm. Now.”

Lightning closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes once more, they were full of fear, shame, and sorrow as he tried to avert his gaze.

“Alright,” he replied as he pulled his right hand out of his pocket and presented it to Sunset. She took the hand and yanked it towards herself, causing Lightning to slightly jerk.

Sunset’s eyes widened as another flash of lightning revealed the jagged scars lining Lightning’s forearm, the discolored, irritated skin tissue vividly standing out against the dull background of Lightning’s skin. She looked up back at him, who avoided eye contact and instead stared at the rainwater gushing past his shoes.

Suddenly, Lightning felt his face getting grabbed by two hands before his vision rotated on its own. He came eye to eye with Sunset, who looked at him with tears in her eyes. Lightning only lowered his gaze, ashamed of doing this to himself.

“Lightning, can you promise me something?” Lightning looked up, sadness now dominating his mind and expression.

“Yes?” He croaked.

“If you ever feel like hurting yourself… if you ever feel like it, just, please talk to me instead. Okay?” Sunset asked, holding Lightning’s right arm in her hands. They felt warm, despite how much she was shivering just a few minutes ago.

Lightning stiffly nodded, not daring to say anything lest he lose control of his emotions again.

“Thank you,” Sunset whispered, wiping the back of her hand against her eyes. She sniffled before saying once more, “Thank you.”

They sat like that, intently listening to the calming noise of the downpour outside the bus station and not saying a word. After a moment, however, Lightning spoke up.

“Hey, uh, Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you… uh, sing me that song you told me about? The one about the rain?”

Sunset looked at him for a moment. Then she smiled and nodded. “Sure,” she replied.

She took a deep breath, then slowly began singing.

“It’s alright, yeah~
I’m walking right beside you~
I feel the way, I feel the way that you do too
Oh I can’t lie, sometimes~”

The words and notes embraced Lightning like a mother’s lullaby did, the warm and soft singing calming the teenager’s nerves.

He leaned back on the wall of the bus stop, resting his head against the cool plastic and the light tapping of raindrops against it. His eyes closed as a memory washed over him; it had been a rainy day, just like this day….

“Thank you, everyone! Thank you!” Opera called out as she and the others concluded their performance. Despite the chilly early November rain, a sizable portion of the student body of Manehattan High had come to watch the Howling Haven’s first performance.

“Good job, everyone! Excellent performance!” She called out to the other band members as they packed up.

“You too, Opera! That singing was just perfect!” Lightning called back.

“Thanks, Lightning. You did pretty well with your guitar, too.”

Lightning grinned sheepishly. “Thanks. I did make a few mistakes, though…,” he said as he scratched the back of his head.

“You kidding? Your performance was awesome, Lightning! Don’t sell yourself short,” said Strike as he came up next to Lightning.

“Yeah, give yourself some credit, bro,” said Bear as he wrapped up his drum set.

“Thanks, guys. You guys were awesome, too,” said Lightning with an earnest smile.

“Thank you,” Bear said as he smiled back. He then looked out to the darkening sky. “Well, we’d better get going. Don’t think this rain is gonna stop soon, so might as well as get home quick.”

“What about our instruments, though?” Lightning asked.

Strike dismissed Lightning’s concerns. “Nah, the roof of the stage will protect them. It’s not like a storm is going to blow the roof off or anything. Plus, I made sure to cover them with a tarp, so even if we get some strong gusts of wind they won’t get wet.”

Lightning skeptically nodded, his expression still unsure about whether leaving their stuff here was a good idea. He soon shook the question out of his mind, and he pulled out of his umbrella as he prepared to step out into the rain.

“So, guess I’ll be seeing you guys tomorrow, huh?” He said as he opened his umbrella and stepped down from the stage.

“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” said Opera as she continued to pack up.

“Bye, guys!” Lightning waved.

“Bye, Lightning!” The three band members chorused after him.

Lightning smiled as he turned to head home, wondering what the next day would have in store for him.

The next day, when Lightning headed over to the stage to pick up his guitar, he noticed it was missing, along with Strike’s bass guitar and Bear’s drum set.

Lightning tilted his head to the side. Hmm, weird. Did Strike or Bear put it away in the music room for me?, he thought to himself. Oh well, I’ll thank them later.

He then turned around to head to his first period and walked towards the school building. As he walked along the corridors to his class, he ran into Strike Pitches.

“Yo, have you seen my bass guitar?” Strike asked.

“No, I thought you put it in the music room,” Lightning replied, baffled at Strike’s question.

“What? I thought you or Bear did it. It was gone when I went to the stage twenty minutes ago,” said Strike, equally bewildered.

“Well, speak of the devil. Here he comes,” said Lightning as Bear entered the hallway they were standing in.

“Yo, Bear! Have you seen our instruments?” Strike called out to the band’s drummer.

“No, I didn’t. I thought you guys had put it away,” Bear answered as he approached the two confused teenagers. Then he stopped. “Wait, you guys didn’t?”

Lightning shook his head. “No, we both didn’t see a single trace of our instruments.”

Bear scratched his chin. “Weird. Where’d they go?”

“Exactly what we want to ask, Bear,” said Strike, frowning at the sudden appearance of a problem. “We have to find them ASAP, or we won’t be able to practice anymore.”

“You know what, I’ll ask Opera once her first period is over. Shouldn’t be hard since I can text her anytime,” said Lightning, holding his phone.

“Good idea. Tell us what she says,” said Strike as he prepared to head off to his class. Lightning nodded.

As the three students parted ways, Lightning continued to think, Where could these instruments be? It’s not like someone can easily move a drum set around….

Lightning: Hey, have you seen our instruments on the stage, Opera?

Opera: No, I didn’t even go near the stage today.

Lightning: Hmm. Okay then. I just needed to check since our instruments went missing.

Opera: WHAT?!

Lightning, I know, it’s not good. I’ll try asking the others, see if they know anything about this.

Opera: I have a bad feeling about this….

Lightning shoved his phone inside his pocket and walked up to his locker where Strike and Bear were waiting.

“Any luck?” Strike asked.

Lightning shook his head. “She says she didn’t even go to the stage this morning. In other words, someone else took it. Did you check the music room?”

Bear nodded. “We checked the music room to make sure. They weren’t there.”

Lightning bumped a fist into a nearby wall. “Dammit,” he spat.

“Maybe we should ask people,” said Strike. When he saw the looks on the two other band members’ faces, he quickly said, “Not one by one! That would take an awful lot of time. How about we ask people on MyStable?”

“Strike, you know I haven’t gone online on MyStable for years now,” said Lightning, a dark scowl forming on his face.

Strike waved an impatient hand. “I know. We can use my account to ask the problem. Deal?”

Lightning let out a sigh. He particularly wasn’t fond of using MyStable. “Deal,” he said after a moment’s hesitation.

Strike pulled out his phone and accessed MyStable, which showed him a newsfeed of what his friends had recently uploaded.

“Hmm, weird,” he said as he scrolled downwards.

“What is?” Bear asked, peering in to get a closer look.

“People have been uploading posts about losing their stuff for quite some time,” said Strike, frowning at his screen. “Looks like this has been going on for some time now. Strut Jest lost his earbuds about a month ago, followed by Leaf Petals losing her pots of flowers three days after that.”

“Did any of them find their items back?” Lightning asked.

“Not sure if they did, but if one thing’s for certain, it’s the fact that they’re not happy with the person who’s doing this,” Strike replied.

“How do you know it’s a person doing this and not these people losing things on their own? Lightning questioned, not convinced that someone would just randomly steal people’s possessions.

“Well, then how would you explain people’s belongings just magically disappearing from inside of their lockers as every post on MyStable says? It has to be someone stealing others’ possessions, otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense!” Strike impatiently insisted.

“Alright, suppose it’s a person that’s stealing others’ possessions. What then?” Lightning asked.

“Well… we report to the principal about the stealings and hope for the best?” Strike suggested.

Lightning facepalmed. “I seriously doubt that’s going to work. If this person hasn’t been caught for a month, either the teachers don’t care about what goes on between the students, or this person is very elusive and sneaky.”

“What choice do we have, then? Talking about this to the principal is the best chance we got,” said Bear.

Lightning scratched his chin, deep in thought and considering their options. “Maybe,” he said, staring off into the distance.

Lightning knocked on the door to the principal’s office. As he waited for a response from inside, he continued to ponder whether this was a good idea. He didn’t trust the principal to be able to take care of this mess; after all, they didn’t know the details of what went on inside the student body.

As his internal conflict continued, he heard a voice from the inside say, “Come in!”

After a second of hesitation, Lightning turned the doorknob and went inside. The Principal, an old yet burly man, sat behind the desk in his office. Upon seeing Lightning he gave him a warm smile.

“Ah, Lightning Storm. Please, take a seat,” the Principal said. As Lightning sat down into a chair across the Principal, he asked, “So what brings you here?”

“Well, you see, sir, we seem to have an issue going on between the students. Belongings of two dozen students have gone missing, even when they left them in places that are supposed to be secure, like the lockers. I— we suspect that someone is behind this, a culprit, if you may,” Lightning explained.

“I… see. I’ll look into what can be done for the case, try to look at the security camera recordings, then call you back. Is that alright?”

“Yes, I think that would be good, sir,” Lightning said politely.

“Good. Is there anything else you want to talk about?” asked the Principal.

Lightning shook his head. “No, sir. And thank you for your time,” he said as he stood up.

“Don’t mention it, son,” the Principal called after Lightning as he left the office.

As he walked along the hall once more, Lightning pondered, Hmm, maybe telling the principal about this was a good idea after all….

Two days passed without a word from the principal. The members of the Howling Haven were on high alert, just like the other students were.

To Lightning, it seemed almost silly as to how he hadn’t noticed the heightened tensions inside the school. The signs were there; everybody making sure to put their possessions away in their lockers or carry them home, people not lending their belongings to others even if it was something small like an eraser, and even students arguing over something that had to do with stealing. The more he thought about it, the more he was surprised by himself being socially reclusive.

But then again, he thought, I didn’t want to cut off ties with others in the first place. I was forced to do that.

Just then, the PA system came to life as the speakers crackled. From them, a voice said, “Lightning Storm, please present yourself to the Principal’s office.”

Lightning let out a sigh and stretched as he stood up from the bench he was sitting on. It was lunchtime, with Lightning having finished his lunch early. He trudged down the hallway the Principal’s office was situated in and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” the Principal’s voice called from inside.

Lightning opened the door and entered, once again in the Principal’s office.

“You called for me, sir?” Lightning asked.

“Oh, yes, I did. Please, take a seat,” the Principal said. As Lightning sat down, the Principal continued. “So, I have looked into this matter of continued disappearance of personal belongings. We looked into the security camera footage as well. And… well…,” the Principal trailed off.

“Well…?” Lightning asked cautiously.

“It seems that the security camera system has malfunctioned about two weeks ago. We haven’t noticed it since it didn’t mess with the cameras themselves. Instead, it erased all previous recordings, as well as preventing the system from recording the footage any further,” the Principal explained.

Lightning let out a groan. “And… how long will it take for it to be fixed?” he asked, calmly suppressing the frustration that was growing inside of his heart.

“We’re not sure. We’ve been trying to get a technician to solve the problem, but as of now, we’re not even sure what the cause of the malfunction is. For now, we’ll just have to make sure that every student is on alert.”

Lightning let out a sigh, then nodded. “Alright, thank you for your time, sir,” he said as he stood up.

“You’re welcome, Lightning,” the Principal replied as Lightning opened the door, his grimace palpable in his voice.

As Lightning walked along the same hallways he had walked three times before, he let out a sigh of frustration, thoroughly ticked off by the fact that the security cameras had to malfunction at such an important timing. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up in distress.

As Lightning stared off into the distance, he thought to himself, Now what?

Two weeks passed without a change in situations. Belongings continued to disappear among students, the tension and distrust starting to spread among the majority of the students. Now and then there would be a loud argument in one of the hallways, and once even a fistfight had broken out between two students. More than once, Lightning spotted someone emptying his or her locker, trusting their homes to be more secure than the school lockers.

The most disturbing thing, however, was the fact that the Howling Haven was no longer able to practice. Instead of the guitar tunes, the drum beats, the beautiful cadence created by the band, only silence reigned in the music room as the members idly sat in their chairs, the silence occasionally broken by meaningless chatter between the band members.

As much as Lightning enjoyed the chance to socialize with his friends, it was depressing nonetheless; he wanted to play the guitar again, to practice with his friends. He wanted to hear the sweet notes of Opera’s voice, the thrumming sounds of Strike’s bass guitar. He wanted to feel the vibration of his guitar strings on his fingers, wanted to see Bear beating away on his drum set.

And so as the days passed, the more and more frustrated he became. That was until a video was uploaded to MyStable one day.

It had been another normal day for Lightning so far. He moved from classroom to classroom, listening to different classes. He ate lunch with the band members, talking about trivial matters. It would have ended as another normal day, had it not been for Strike Pitches running down the hallway towards him as the day’s classes were over and he was about to head home.

“Lightning!” Strike gasped, out of breath from running the entire length of the hall, “You gotta see this. Now.” He handed Lightning his phone.

“See what?” Lightning asked in confusion, taking the phone from Strike’s hand. The screen showed a video posted on MyStable, with a description that read: Caught the culprit at last! Does anyone know who this is?

Lightning tapped the play icon on the screen. The video began to play. The camera seemed to be held by someone hiding in a corner of a hallway. The camera was focused on a figure wearing a black hoodie, a mask, and a pair of blue jeans near the lockers. The figure looked left and right, before pulling out a device from its pocket. The figure then proceeded to fumble with the numeric lock on the locker before the telltale sound of the lock coming open was heard. The figure opened the locker, peered inside, then stood there for several moments, before pulling an object out: a set of expensive-looking headphones. The figure slipped the headphones into its hoodie before rounding a corner and disappearing out of the camera's line of sight.

“That’s…,” Lightning stammered, not believing what he was seeing.

“That’s Simmer Beat’s headphones,” Strike explained, “He posted on MyStable saying that he lost it today during fifth period. He had put it in his locker after lunch, and when he checked during break time after fifth period, it was gone.”

“Okay…? We still don’t know who this stealer is, though,” questioned Lightning.

“No, we don’t. But there’s a person dressed exactly like that, who’s still in your classroom,” Strike replied.

“What do you…,” Lightning began. Then it dawned on him. Opera Songs had been wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie that day. She sat with him during their last period.

“Opera?” Lightning asked, mouth agape. “But that doesn’t even make sense! Why would she do such a thing?”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m here. Considering the rate students are learning about this post, we need to get her out of here before anyone starts jumping to conclusions. Now,” said Strike, his voice urgent.

“I’ll go get her,” said Lightning, stepping back into the classroom. Within seconds, he spotted Opera packing her things… and spotted several other students starting to cast suspicious glances her way.

Hurrying over to the turquoise-haired girl, Lightning called out, “Opera!”

Opera looked up from packing her backpack and brushed a strand of her hair out of her eye. “Oh hey, Lightning. What’s up?”

“No time to explain. We need to go. Now,” Lightning said urgently.

“What? Why?” Opera asked, baffled by the sudden urgency.

Lightning let out a sigh. “I said there’s no time to explain. I’ll tell you on the way out, okay?”

“Okay…,” Opera reluctantly nodded as she finished packing her bag and slung it over her shoulders. Then she added, “But you’d better have a good reason for making me pack hastily,” still with that playful tone of hers.

Lightning only managed to nod as they walked out of the classroom.

“So, what’s this all about?” Opera asked as the four band members convened in the school backyard, where people rarely ever came.

With a reluctant sigh, Lightning merely said, “Strike, show it to her.”

Strike pulled out his phone and opened the MyStable post. Quite a few people had commented on the post, and even more students had read it. As Opera watched the video, her expression showed mild confusion.

“Okay, so…?” Opera asked, not fathoming what the video truly meant. “Somebody stole a pair of headphones from the lockers. So?”

“Replay the video and see what the person was wearing,” said Lightning. “And then think who’s been wearing that outfit.”

“What do you….” Opera’s voice faltered. “Oh.”

Lightning let out a sigh. “Yup.”

“But I wasn’t the one who stole those headphones!” Opera protested.

“We know, Opera. We don’t suspect you, but there are some people out there who clearly have a grudge against you or are just plain blind enough to suggest that it might be you, as you can see from some of the comments,” Bear assured her, “such as Slim Serpents here.”

Lightning did a double-take at the mentioning of the name. “Who now?”

“Slim Serpents. You know her, don’t you?” Bear asked.

“Of course I do,” Lightning scowled, “She’s the one who—,” before stopping mid-sentence.

“Uh, Lightning?” said Opera. “What did she do?”

“Nevermind,” Lightning answered, still scowling. “Just know that I don’t like her. Not one bit.”

“We’re just worried that you might get wrongly accused, Opera. We don’t want some bastards getting on your nerves,” said Strike.

“Nah, I’ll be fine, Strike. Don’t worry about me,” said Opera. “But thanks for trusting in me, guys. It means a lot to me.”

Lightning lightly bumped Opera’s shoulder. “Hey, what are friends for? Don’t worry, we’ll be by your side.”

“Yeah, as long as you don’t steal any of our stuff,” Strike said jokingly.

Lightning shot Strike a disapproving glare while Opera merely laughed it off.

“So that’s how it all began,” Lightning finished as Sunset listened in intently. Noticing that Sunset remained silent, Lightning added, “Everything seemed fine up to that point… and then two months later, everything goes to hell.”

They were resting inside the bus station, an exhausted Lightning resting his head against the wall. His left eye continued to burn, but he ignored it. Rainwater continued to rush past their feet, threatening to soak their shoes and socks. They heeded it no mind.

“Hey, Sunset?” He called out.

“Yeah?”

“There’s… this thing I’ve been wanting to ask…,” Lightning trailed off, looking out into the distance and not making eye contact.

“What is it?” Sunset asked.

Lightning turned his gaze to her. “Did you truly forgive them?” he asked. “For what happened last Christmas?”

Sunset looked down, her expression hardening. Lightning was quick to notice this and said, “You don’t have to answer that question, you know. If you don’t want—”

“No,” Sunset answered. “I didn’t forgive them. Not… not in a genuine sense, at least.” When she saw Lightning looking at her, equal parts surprise and sadness mixed in his expression, she said, “I didn’t bring it up for a long time. Nobody wanted to talk about it. They just wanted to move on with their lives instead. So I tried to. I buried the incident into my mind, pushed it out of my consciousness. I didn’t want to be reminded of the time when they all left me. But now and then the memory pops up and….” Sunset let out a shaky breath and sniffled before wiping a tear away from her eye. “It just hurts so much, you know?”

Before Lightning could answer, Sunset wrapped her arms around herself as tears began coursing down her cheeks. She rocked back and forth as sobs wracked her body.

Lightning shifted in his seat and held her in his arms. Sunset leaned into his chest, her cries now becoming uncontrollable. “Hey, hey… it’s okay… I’m here…,” consoled Lightning.

“I, I thought I e-earned th-their trust! I thought f-fighting the Dazzlings would make things okay! Was that not good enough?” said Sunset, half screaming, half sobbing into Lightning’s chest.

“Shh… it’s okay… it’s okay…,” said Lightning, continuing to soothe her painful cries. She held this in for ten months, he thought, and I pulled it out into the open and held it up for everyone to see. God, what have I done?

Lightning squeezed his eyes shut as tears began coursing down his cheeks. I hurt her, just like I hurt her back then. I wanted this place to be a fresh start, yet I came around full circle. Do I ever learn? Will I ever be better? Can I even get better? I just want this to stop….

The thoughts swirled in his brain, ravaging his mind and devolving into a torrent of self-hate, fear, sadness, and anxiety.

Then the voices came.

You were the last thing I had, Lightning, and you took that away from me.

You promised her that you’d be there for her. You broke that promise…

None of this would have happened if you were there for her…

You hurt so many others after she died. And for what?

You’ll never be more than the monster you were…

Your life will be full of pain and sorrow, just like what you deserve…

The voices assaulted him from all directions, cutting and stabbing at his heart in the form of every people he’d known in his life.

Lightning was only vaguely aware of letting Sunset go as he tried to block out the voices, tried to cover his ears—

You’ll never be free from your past, Lightning…

Your actions shall follow you to your grave. You betrayed your friend and made others suffer because of it…

You will never be forgiven, Lightning. Betraying your friend and leaving her to die? That’s the worst thing you could do…

I’m disappointed in you, Lightning. You failed as a friend, as a human being. You’re no friend of ours…

Lightning let out a whimper. “No….” He curled up into a ball, trying to shield himself from the voices, trying to make them stop—

You raged and shouted at us! How could you do that to us… to your friends!…

You took Sunset’s secrets and hung it out for all to see. Some friend you are, aren’t you?…

You tore our friendship apart, Lightning. I don’t think I could forgive you for that…

“No, stop… please….”

You were my lifeline, Lightning, and you pulled the plug.

You made me die.

“Lightning!”

Lightning’s eyes flew open as reality came crashing down upon him. He was curled up into a ball with his head between his hands, while Sunset’s hands were on his shoulders as she tried to get him back to reality.

As he came to his senses, he realized that tears were streaming down his eyes and that he was hyperventilating.

Sunset noticed this and tried to calm him down. “Lightning, it’s alright. I’m here, okay? Just breathe, slowly. Okay? Just—”

“Sunset,” Lightning cut her off. “I… I don’t know if I… I can do this… anymore,” He gasped, choking on his words as he struggled to get his breathing under control.

Sunset held his face and directly looked into his eyes. “Lightning, look at me. Now breathe. In, out. In, out.”

Lightning did as he was told, his breaths, albeit shaky, becoming deeper and slower instead of the short gasps a few moments ago.

“Feel better?” Sunset asked, to which Lightning nodded. “Good. I want you to remember this, Lightning. Whatever you go through, I’m here with you. I’ll be here by your side for you. Got it?”

Lightning nodded. “Thanks, Sunset,” he croaked. He then added, “And… I’m sorry. For being such a burden….”

Sunset gave him a stern look. “Don’t you dare say that, Lightning. You’re not a burden to anyone. Okay?” She then took a deep breath and said, “You’re a good person, Lightning. You’ll see that when things get better. When everything gets better.”

Before Lightning could answer, a pair of headlights lighted up the bus stop as a car pulled up to them. The window of the passenger’s seat slid down, revealing Rainbow Dash and AJ sitting inside.

“Get in!” AJ called out. Her gaze then turned to Lightning. “What in tarnation happened to yer eye? And why is Sunset wearin' yer hoodie?” she asked, her expression showing horror at the severe bruising.

“Slapstick comedy,” Lightning replied with an expressionless face as he stood up and approached the car. “Pretty sure it would have looked hilarious if anybody was watching me from one of those houses. As for my hoodie, Sunset got positively soaked while looking for me.”

He opened the car door and got in, followed by Sunset. As the two got themselves seated, Rainbow Dash pulled away from the bus stop, the car driving through the rainy streets of Canterlot City.

They rode in silence for a few minutes as Lightning stared out the window and into the distance. He watched as the raindrops dotted the car’s windows and pelted the car roof and created a steady stream of white noise. He took in a deep breath and let it out as he closed his eyes.

“Hey… Rainbow? AJ?” Lightning called out.

“Yeah?” Rainbow replied from the driver’s seat.

“I… I’m sorry for yelling at you back at Sugarcube Cafe. I… I lost control of myself and… I shouldn’t have shouted at you girls,” said Lightning, eyes still closed and head leaning against the window.

For a moment, the four teenagers were silent.

Then Rainbow said, “Hey, it’s okay. We all lose our heads at some point. It’s no biggie.”

AJ didn’t say anything, but if Lightning’s eyes were open, he would have seen AJ giving him an assuring smile in the rearview mirror.

As the car drove down the streets of Canterlot City, the downpour slowly began to lighten, the clouds opening up to let through a ray of sunlight.

Author's Note

You've waited long enough. It's time for the rewards.
Writing this chapter has been both enjoyable and painful, but it was more joy than pain. Not that I like seeing my OC go through psychological torture.
Want to see what happened in Lightning's past? Stay tuned for Chapter 8!

Special thanks to billiy, who supported me throughout the six previous chapters. I wouldn't have made it this far without this person.

Also, did you find the reference to a certain game I made in the chapter? If you did, point it out in the comments!