My Lightning Pony

Chapter Five

A Royal Invitation and Friendly Advice (Warning: this chapter may contain fourth-wall breakage.)

Cole landed gently in front of the hospital, gingerly releasing the worn-out pegasus from his arms.

“Will you be she right?” he asked the attending nurse after describing her ordeal.  The pony nodded her head, the red bangs on her mane obscuring her ears.

“She should be out within a few days: from what you described, she needs plenty of rest so she can replace the blood she lost.  She’s lucky to be alive,” the nurse added as they brought the almost-sleeping Fluttershy into the hospital room.

“Cole,” the pegasus whispered as they drew the covers over her body.  Cole leaned in, staring right into her face.  Her large eyes seemed into stare directly into his soul.

“Yes?” he said, unsure what she wanted.  Then she did something completely unexpected: she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she said, a small smile forming on her face.  Then her eyelids shut and her breathing slowed: she had fallen asleep.

Cole walked out of the hospital, unsure of what to feel.  He sat down under a nearby tree, trying to sort through the plethora of thoughts floating through his head.  “She kissed me,” he muttered, looking into a small but beautiful flower’s petals.  “She kissed me: why?  Was it just a thank-you for saving her?”

His train of thought was interrupted by a flash of light: Twilight Sparkle appeared before him.

“Cole,” she said, panting slightly from the exertion her teleportation spell had placed upon her.  “When you are ready, the princesses wish to see you,” she said, carrying a royal note she had gotten from Spike.

“What do you mean, princesses?” Cole asked, standing up.  “As in more than one?”

“Yes: sisters, as a matter of fact,” Twilight said, silently hoping he would agree to a meeting.  “They co-rule Equestria: one by day, another by night.”

Cole was a bit unsure, but his wounds were completely healed and he looked presentable.  “Yes, I will meet them,” he said.  “When and where will we meet?”

“That’s the thing,” Twilight said as a large chariot approached from the sky.  “Princess Celestia is on her way here right now.  That’s her,” she said, pointing a hoof into the sky.  Cole looked up in time to see a burst of sunshine peer through the clouds and encircle the figure in the chariot.

Cole blinked his eyes as the largest pony he had ever seen stepped gracefully out of the carriage.  Or, it seemed to be a pony of some kind.  It clearly had a large unicorn horn, but the rather large pair of wings meant it could fly as well: weird.  Add to the fact she- at least he was sure it was a she- was the brightest shade of white he had ever seen in another being, and her overall appearance could be mistaken for that of a goddess.

“Uh,” Cole said, not sure how to proceed: he had never met royalty before.  “Greetings, your majesty,” he said, before bowing as gracefully as he could.

“Greetings to you as well, the one they call Cole MacGrath,” she said, her melodious and serene voice indicating she was not at all surprised by his experience.  Or maybe she was simply masking her thoughts: it was hard to tell.  “May I ask you why you have come to Equestria?”

Cole simply shrugged.  “I’m not sure how to explain it, but in my world I died and all of a sudden woke up here.  Well, not exactly here, but up in those mountains,” he said, pointing up behind the princess.  “I explored for a bit before finding myself part of an accident: your subject, Twilight Sparkle, brought me to the hospital.”

“And I see you have recovered remarkably quickly,” the princess said, looking him over.  “Though I must ask: why are you covered in bite marks?”

“There was some trouble with a pack of timber wolves,” he said.  “One of the pegasi, named Fluttershy, had been attacked and was cornered.  I did what I always did in a situation like that: form a plan and attempt to save the one in trouble.  Other than a few scrapes my powers didn’t completely heal, she should only need some rest for a few days.”

“Powers,” the princess repeated, looking a little nonplussed.  “What do you mean by powers?  My student reported you were capable of extraordinary things, but I would like to see something for myself.”

“Uh, sure, your highness,” Cole said, a bit nervous: what if she deemed him a danger to her subjects?  “You see that mountaintop over there?” he asked, pointing to one off in the distance.  “Watch it.”  Concentrating, he felt his vision almost zoom in on the peak in question.  With some exertion from his horn, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the mountain.

He let up on his powers and turned back to the princess.  He was about to ask her if he could do anything else, but the look on her face made him stop: she seemed not angry, but either worried or at least a bit puzzled.

“How do you do that?” she finally asked, taking a step in his direction.  “Electromancy is among the rarest of all gifts, one that few if any have ever possessed.”

“It was something visited upon me by someone who shouldn’t have existed.  All I know is that no matter what I do, I cannot help but try and help others with it,” he said, hoping a declaration of his worth would be enough to satiate her curiosity.

“You obviously have great power and are more than capable of controlling others,” Celestia said, taking another step forward.  “Why haven’t you?  Power is a very great temptation to abuse, after all.”

Cole sighed: he hoped is answer would not affect the princesses’ opinion of him.  “To become truly great, one has to stand with the people, not above them.  I have no ambition of furthering my power unless it can save others: nothing I have done has been for myself.”  He paused for a moment.  “No matter the pain I have suffered, the injustices done to me, I know that being selfless is the only way for me to be a better being.”  He almost said person, but he had a feeling that might have just thrown the princess off: she had no idea what a human was just yet, and likely wouldn’t know until Twilight filled her in on the matter.

There was silence for a moment, and then the princess did something unexpected: she smiled.  “That was the answer I was looking for,” she said, brushing her wings together.  “I pride myself on being a good judge of character, and you, Cole MacGrath, are one of the finest beings I have met.  Have no fear: I will not banish you from this kingdom,” she said, smirking slightly at the shock on his face: had she read his mind?  “I would, however, enjoy having you at Canterlot for a more private meeting with myself and my younger sister, Luna.  There are matters of royal importance we would need to discuss, so feel free to come any time you can.”

With a graceful yet quick spin, she walked back into her chariot and soon flew off into the clouds, likely headed back for Canterlot.  Cole stood there, nonplussed at what had just happened.  Twilight, on the other hand, seemed incredibly excited.

“Ooh!” she said, almost bouncing up and down.  “You get to have an audience with both of the princesses!  This is a very rare occurrence, Cole: they almost never meet someone at the same time.  You must have greatly piqued Celestia’s interest.”

Cole shrugged off his confusion and looked at the giddy unicorn.  “Are you always this excited by royalty?” he asked, thinking back to how news stations on Earth would go bonkers over anything royal in nature.

“Well, as a personal student of Princess Celestia, I keep in touch with her on a weekly basis,” Twilight replied as-a-matter-of-factly.  “I never met her and her sister at the same time for business; except for my brother’s wedding, and even then it wasn’t official business.”

“What should I expect?” Cole asked, feeling he was going to learn much about the princesses from this purple pony.

“Don’t you worry,” Twilight said, patting him on the head, much to his annoyance.  “I’ll tell you everything you need to know.  Now if you’ll just follow me, I can get you ready.”  With that, Twilight led the suddenly unsure kirin back to the library to prepare him for his royal meeting.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital...

Fluttershy gently opened her eyes at the sound of voices.  Looking around, she saw all her friends clustered around her hospital bed.  Well, excepy for Twilight and Spike: they were both absent.

“Fluttershy my dear, are you okay?” Rarity asked, her face etched with worry.  “We rushed over as quickly as we could!”

“Oh yes, I’m much better now, but thank you for asking,” Fluttershy responded kindly, glad her friends were there: she had so many questions.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Applejack asked, her hat askew: she had definitely run to the hospital.  “We heard ‘bout the wolves from Twilight and how that critter Cole rescued you.”

“Oh yes, he did rescue me, didn’t he?’ Fluttershy said, a far-off look drifting into her eyes.  “He was amazing, fighting them all off by himself.”

“What’s with that look in your eyes?” Pinkie Pie said, walking up and waving her hoof in front of Fluttershy’s face.  “Hello, anypony in there?  Fluttershy, are you still with us?”

The yellow pegasus shook her head, bringing her thoughts back into focus.  “Sorry; can I ask you guys something?”

“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said.  “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s... It’s about Cole,” Fluttershy said, watching her friend’s faces.  “I would like to see him again.”

“Already?  Darling, you only just met!  Meeting a gentlemen so soon after he rescued you would be borderline scandalous!” Rarity said, her shock clearly evident.  “Think of what other ponies would say!”

“Well, why shouldn’t she see him again?” Applejack said, sounding a bit confused.  “I mean, he saved her and all: what if she wants ta say thanks?”

“Come to think of it, we still all have to meet him,” Rainbow Dash said, her hoof scratching at her chin.  “I still wanna know how fast he can fly.”

“We’ll all get our chance at his party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.  “I still need to set up the balloons and streamers: the cakes will be ready by the time he comes back from his meeting.”

“Wait, what meetin’?” Applejack said, turning to Pinkie Pie.

“Oh you know, the one with the princesses,” Pinkie Pie calmly explained as she drew a notepad from nowhere and began writing down party foods.

“Nobody evah told us ‘bout a meetin’,” Applejack said, wondering just how Pinkie Pie had learned that.

“I have my sources,” Pinkie Pie said, turning to look at a very confused reader.  The other ponies just shrugged: nobody had a clue as to why Pinkie Pie behaved the way she did.

“Well, we’ll be seeing you later, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, leaving the room first.  The others bid farewell as well, and soon only Rarity was still there with the pegasus.

“Fluttershy, may I ask you a question?” she said, looking rather nervous.

“Certainly,” the yellow pegasus replied.

“Cole’s dragon features: are they... frightening in any way?” the white unicorn asked.

Fluttershy tapped a hoof on her chin, as if in thought.  “Come to think of it, no, actually,” she said.  “Cole didn’t seem scary at all like those other big and mean and nasty dragons.   Why do you ask?”

Rarity bit her lip, afraid of what she was about to reveal.  “Well, something seems to be wrong with Spike.  He’s grown almost six inches since Cole arrived and I’m worried it might be the greed in him acting up again.  The problem is, he doesn’t want anything or seem to be interested in taking anything: he’s just growing bigger and I only found out when my sister told me earlier this afternoon.”

Fluttershy pondered this for a moment.  “Well, Cole is dragon-like in appearance.  It could be that because of Cole’s presence, Spike might be experiencing something like a growth spurt.  There are plenty of animals who change when around others like them: I would ask Twilight if one of her books might hold some answers.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, giving her a small hug.  With that, Fluttershy was left alone in her room, save for her thoughts on a certain heroic kirin.