Why Me...?

Lightning hovered freely in the open, endless void of the Dream Realm, surrounded by nothing. No time, just emptiness. And his breath, too, echoed in the silence, and with each exhale it got closer, it seemed. His mind felt hazy, confused. How had he ended up here? Before he could think it, the void started to move, rippling like it was alive. He slowly emerged from the swirling darkness, himself. Or at least a version of himself.

The twisted reflection staring back at him was in complete shock as it happened. This version of him had a curved horn, the base of it red to the black tip arched like Sombra’s, glowing faintly with the same ominous aura of dark magic. His eyes glowed with the same piercing green and red, and the same unmistakable purple mist trailing from them with blue and red waving like a flag. Thick glinting dark gray armor adorned his hooves and chest, making him seem less like a friend and more like a conqueror, in the dim light. His face, cold grin twisted, arrogance and disdain mingled.

The corrupted Lightning Bolt spoke, his voice sounding more malice than anything else. “If you continue to deny what’s inside, this is what waits.” His heart thundered as he looked at this dark version of himself, and was trying to float back up to whatever above him was. He shook his head, "No… that’s not me,".

The twisted Lightning stepped closer, “Isn’t it? This is what you’re running from. The power, the control... It’s all yours. Just be it.” No sneer was given by his eyes, but they did glint with dark promise. “Why fight it? You’re Sombra’s son. The shadows are within you.”

Lightning clenched his jaw, as he shook his head in defiance. “I’m nothing like him! I don’t want this at all!”

Corrupted Lightning’s laugh echoed coldly, the chill of it settling a cold spine. “You can’t change what you are. Sure, you can lie to Twilight, you can tell your friends that you were calling him a bitch, maybe even that you were fighting him to the ground, but deep down you know the truth. You want this. You crave the power.”

The dark version of him circled around Lightning, his mind spinning as he looked at his counterpart. He fought to drown those thoughts out, but too deep a part of him stubbornly resisted the fear that maybe this twisted image was actually on the mark. Maybe the darkness inside him was only getting stronger. Of course, it could have been only a matter of time.

Lightning whispered, "I’ll never betray them." Now twisting his glowing eyes, the twisted Lightning stopped and looked at is counterpart. “You might say that now... but when the time comes, when the shadows call out to you, you’ll answer. And when you do, you’ll be me.”

"No," Lightning boomed, "I wont let myself slip away!"

"Powerful shit to say, right?" The corrupted version of himself was greeted with a nice dose of fear and anger from Lightning. His voice was stronger this time, “I’ll stop it, I’ll find a way.”

The dark reflection smirked, unimpressed. “We’ll see.” With a slight nod.

It came down on him, what he’d just seen, what he might become. Lightning looked into the darkness that surrounded him, certainly it was far from over now. Closer shadows of his future were looming. His heart thundered under his ribs, staring into the emptiness and trying to rid himself of the dread laden. His thoughts scrambled for an escape from this nightmare. How was there no way, somepony who could help? Princess Luna he thinks to himself. "Luna!" he called out, his voice echoing into the void. “Princess Luna, can you hear me? Please… help me!”

His hope flickered for a moment, waiting for the Princess of the Night’s magic to pierce through the shadows, for a moment there was only silence. But nothing came. It was oppressive, suffocating, dark and unbroken. His voice was sucked into the void. The twisted version of himself chuckles darkly from the shadows then. Corrupted Lightning sneered at him, “Bitch. I mean, you still don’t get it, don’t you?”

His breath caught, but lightning froze, the dark version of himself getting closer, the air growing colder with each word.

“In this realm, that isn’t how it’s done, Princess Luna cannot just come waltzing into here to save you.” With a grin that twisted his face maliciously, he glinted malevolently from his horrible set of eyes. “This is our realm, our mind.” The place where the shadows rule the world. This place cannot be accessed by Luna. Not even by Starswirl if he wanted to, no one can. You’re all alone here.” Lightning's stomach dropped. His voice was shaking as he whispered, 'no … that can't be right. “Dreams are the only times that Luna can help ponies at night. She… she’ll find me.”

The corrupted Lightning laughed, his harsh voice flickering like a shadow about the darkness. “So this is no ordinary dream Lightning, like I said. This is what you are, this is you poisoning and it only gets worse by the minute. If you think she could pull you out of this? She has no power here. This place... it belongs to us" Lightning wanted to deny this but he couldn't. He didnt have Luna’s guidance or any help. He was really alone in this twisted realm.

“You see?” As Twisted Lightning circled him, cold and predatory smirked, he continued. “You just can’t escape what’s inside you. You will become this, whether you like it or not.” Fear clawed at his heart, but defiance flared up in his, his teeth clenching, despite the fear. “No. I won’t let this happen.”

Instead, the dark reflection smiled wider, becoming more, more suffocating. His voice slithered through the void, “We’ll see. 'It's what happens when you fight, the more you fight the closer you get to falling. Once you do that, you can never go back.” The shadows closed in once more, and Lightning fell to his knees, back up, and stood there, heart beating as fast as rainbow dash, he knew just how dark it truly was. Food for his fear, twittery image of himself suddenly moving toward and closer, Lightning’s chest tightened, his breath shallow. The shadows moved under his skin, crawled under his skin and whispered doubt, stirred the dark he was trying so hard to deny. Inside him something broke.

"I will not let this happen!" He stated

Lightning’s hooves slammed down through void, body surging forward towards the twisted reflection of himself. He was going to fight it with everything he had if this darkness wanted to devour him. Lightning charged at him, and the corrupted Lightning’s sneer twisted to a smirk as he stood unmoving, watching. “So predictable. You think you can fight me? Fight yourself?” He spoke the air crackled with dark energy, taunts ignored by Lightning, heart racing with raw determination. Lightning shot a spell out, only to have his magic pass right through the twisted form as if it were nothing more than smoke. The dark version of him laughed behind, as he blurred in behind him. “You can't fight what’s inside you, Lightning Bolt. The darkness... is you.”

Lightning stand ground and retorted, "Not true, I will not back away from my friends!" His horn flared as he spun around and then summoned all the magic he could muster. A crackling effigy of light pulsed around him and his horn glows brightly, he blasted a shower of pure energy at the corrupted reflection. This time the attack hit home and for a moment, the corrupted Lightning flickered like a distorting shadow.

Lightning’s heart leapt. He could feel his magic pushing back against the darkness, whatever that darkness was. There was still a chance. He shouted, pushing forward again and his magic exploded into bursts of light, “I’ll never be like you! Lightning straightened, growing dark in his expression. His voice was cold and sharp, he hissed: 'You really believe that, don’t you?' The shadows about him flared with the encroaching raw power of them. “Fine. You want to fight so I’ll tell you, how long you’ll last.” A wave of dark magic slammed Lightning hard, knocking him backwards and against the same wall his alter had just launched himself off of. The force pushed him over, the air knocked from his lungs as the twisted Lightning towered over him, his glow filled the eyes with sinister energy.

“This is futile,” the dark Lightning said, voice dripping with malice. “The harder you fight, the harder I fight back.” You can’t out run the inside.” but Lightning's spirit is unbroken, he stagger to his hooves, his breath ragged. “I don’t care how strong you think you are, you asshole.” I’m not giving in. Not to you. Not to him.” Once more his horn crackled with energy, but not magic this time, but his will. His hope. He loved his life; he loved his friends; he loved Twilight. Lightning huffed, aware of what had changed, the certitude in Lightning’s declaration. As Twisted Lightning gave him a hateful scowl, he roared, "Then I’ll break you, you little shit," darkness swirling and trailing his form in shades of doom as he slammed into Lightning.

But Lightning was ready. He met the attack head on with a surge of magic, and adrenaline, and his light clashed with the dark. Their powers clashed and crackled, the force of which exploded in the void around them in a shockwave, the contents of said dream realm rattled by it. Lightning shouted and his voice rose above the commotion, “You won’t win.” “Because I’m not alone. And I’ll never stop fighting! Bolt stood back up and struck back harder no matter how hard you hit me and knock me down” The darkness came creeping in as the shadows wrapped around him with a crushing grip, but at the same time, Bolt felt a burning stab of pain through his body. The void started to come back into his head, his magic was failing. A sinister grin stretched wide on his corrupted version of himself as he grew closer.

Lightning’s limbs started to grow leaden, his breath stuttering as he fought to not fall. The pain grow stronger every movement was a shock through his body. The darkness was clawing at him, he could feel himself losing. He could not see, the twisted Lightning stretched out ready to finish him off.

But just as the final blow was about to land, everything shifted.

Lightning gasped and sat up quickly, his eyes cracking open, his body drenched in sweat as he sat up in his bed, heart racing. He walked into his bedroom, sunlight streaming through the window, the familiar warmth of which he was so used to. Morning had taken the place of nightmare, and a stillness began to take shape. The battle was still fresh in his mind; his chest risen and fallen rapidly.

Trying to calm himself he placed a hoof over his heart. There had been such pain, such a fight, but now... now it was done. He was safe. He was back in Ponyville, back in his bed. Lightning drew in a breath as he exhaled, running his hoof down over his mane. It was morning and he little comfort from the sun. While he could still feel the darkness inside him, he can still hear the echo of his twisted self's words. "Luna can’t reach me..." He whispered it to himself staring at the ceiling. "I mean... that wasn't just a dream." It was all over for now, but the war for Lightning's will had just begun. The darkness spawned, was growing and festering, waiting to take hold again. It only got stronger with every day that passed, every secret he kept.

Lightning was sitting on the edge of his bed, as his body still shook from the nightmare that clung to him like a shadow. The fight with his corrupted self had been so real, and the weight of it pressed down on him now. He glanced over to the desk in the corner where his journal lay but finding the comfort in writing down what was happening inside of him wasn't soothing anymore. He wanted to log his thoughts as an escape, a way to synthesize everything going on inside his mind. Now? Now, it felt like a weak avoidance of the truth. The darkness inside of him was growing, and he was not so sure this time that just by pouring his fears onto parchment it would be enough to stop it.

His mind turned to Twilight and the others-they were his friends, his closest allies, but they know King Sombra as the tyrant king. What would they say if they knew he was Sombra's son? Could they still look upon him the same way, knowing the blood of their enemy ran through his veins? His heart was racing at the very thought of their faces were he ever to tell them the truth. Twilight had fought against Sombra, laid everything on the line in an attempt to save Equestria from him. And the others-they'd been there, too.

"What if they hate me for it?" he whispered, staring down at his hooves. "What if they think I'm. just like him?

The fear of rejection almost ended him. He had fought so hard in his nightmare to be his own pony, away from the shadow of his father. But with corruption growing inside him, he felt the battle was being lost. Every day it grew harder and harder to hide the truth. But the fear of losing Twilight and his friends, the fear of disappointment in their eyes kept him silent.
"I can't tell them. Not yet," he muttered, shaking. "They've already been through so much because of him." But he wouldn't be able to keep this inside forever. Sooner or later, the darkness would win if he didn't act. And with that would go not just his own life but everypony he cared about. He stood up from bed and to the desk, looking down at the blank page on it. Listening on the edge of his bed, still shaking from a nightmare that was all too real. His mind was hot with questions, but one thing stood above everything-he simply could not face this alone anymore. The darkness was growing, and each time it came closer, it was harder to resist. He needed to do something, anything, before it consumed him whole.

He glanced at the desk in the corner of his room, where his Journal sat. Once, he had thought to write, but now the weight of all he had to deal with was too big for the words on paper. Could this time around make a difference... writing it all down? Or would it be another way out of keeping the truth from those who cared?

His eyes drifted to the quill lying beside the parchment, the ink bottle still sealed. His hoof hovered over it as he used his magic to open the ink bottle. I could. log this. Get it all out," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "But will that really help? Or is it just me trying to avoid the truth? " He let the quill fall. Keeping this secret was tearing him apart, and fighting the darkness alone was growing more dangerous by the day. He needed to talk to somepony, needed help before it was too late. His magic levitated the quill. deciding to write anyway and forcing himself to pick up the quill. "Maybe... Maybe that'll help." His heart ached as he began to write, but deep down, he knew it was only a temporary solution. He couldn't fight this alone, but at the same time, the fear of what his friends might think still held him in a tight grip. Maybe someday he'd find the guts to tell them the truth.

For now, though, his secret would be buried, locked in the pages of his private logs.