Dark Secrets: The Story of Lightning Bolt

by KingSpyro169

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Tragedy, Adventure
Length: 5667

Lighting never thought dark energy would ruin his life.

cover art by cheriel
Lightning Bolt was a racing Pegasus. Unfortunately, a large crash end's his career as a racer. With a horrible past and a ruined future, Lightning moves to Ponyville to start over. There, he befriends many ponies, only for the crash and his past to come back to haunt him.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-30 23:18:13 UTC

The wreck

"Come on, just a little further," I say to myself as I round a bend. The finish line was visible in the distance. I pushed myself to keep flying at top speed because I knew Another racer would overtake me if i slowed down. Without warning, the sky grew dark. I looked to find the sun had fallen and the moon had risen in it's place. I ignored it and continued to fly. About fifty yards from the finish line I felt a sharp pain cut through my head. I screamed in agony and my wings froze up.

I began to plummet toward the cliffs below. As they approached the pain began to spread down my neck and into my back. I howled in pain as I dropped out of the sky. In seconds I collided with the cliff and began to roll toward the edge. As I did my life flashed before my eyes. I relived every memory of pain, happiness, and sorrow. I closed my eyes and went over the edge.

I opened my eyes to find pure white. at First I thought I was dead, then I looked around to find I was lying in bed at Canterlot Hospital. The door at the other end of the room opened in in stepped a familiar face, Dr. Hannigan. When he looked at me he smiled and said, "Oh, Lightning, your awake. That was quite a crash you had."

"How am I alive?" I asked him.

'Well, a fellow racer watched you go down and went after you. After you fell off the cliff they managed to catch you and bring you down to the surface. From there, you were rushed on a chariot here. You fell into a coma and have been here in the hospital for two weeks.

"Two weeks!" I yelled. "Was it really that bad?"

"Yes. you also broke your fore legs, your left back leg, three ribs, cracked two ribs, and broke both your wings in several places. The injuries were very sever, especially in your wings." I noticed his expression sadden. "Now comes the worst part. The injuries to your wings were severe enough to where you could still fly, but not very fast or for long distances. Unfortunatly, this means you will never be able to race again."

'No," i whispered, "no, it can't be." I my eyes began to water. "Why me," i said louder than before. "Why me!" I yelled. I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks. The thought of never racing again was unbearable. Racing had been my entire life. my cutie mark was a trophy with wings on it. Now that I could never race again, my skill was useless.

"I will give you a minute." Dr. Hannigan said and he walked out the door. later Dr. Hannigan returned and set a box on the table next to me. "you will be released from the hospital in three days. This is a gift from the princess. she wants you to go to the castle as soon as you get out of the hospital."

"Alright. Now, please, I want to spend a little time alone."

"A nurse will bring you lunch in an hour." he said as he left. I opened the box to find a letter inside. I set that to the side and pulled out the contents of the box. There was a candle, a quill, and some paper. Confused, I opened the letter to find out what these were.

Dear Lightning bolt,

I heard about your crash. It is vary unusual for a pegasis to just crash like that. This leads me to wonder what may have caused this. You see, when you crashed was the very same moment nightmare moon appeared. I think these two events may be linked, but I need more information. this box contains a quill, paper, and an enchanted candle. I need you to write me a letter and describe exactly what happened durring the crash. after you have written the letter, light the candle and burn the letter. The smoke will drift to the castle and re-materialize as the letter. The candle burns quickly so that it can not easily be obtained by one who would abuse it. When you arrive at the castle, I will tell you what I know about this. I will try the best I can to figure out the cause and to find out if this is linked to nightmare moon's appearance.

Princess Celestia

"Nightmare moon? I thought that was just an old ponies tale I guess I will find out when I meet her in person." I wrote the letter and lit the candle. The flame burned blue. I held the letter over it and it was quickly engulfed in flames and the smoke flew out the door.

Moving

I walked up the steps of the castle. The guards knew who I was and were expecting me. They let me in and closed together behind me. I walked into the throne room To find Princess Celestia sitting there. What was odd was that there was another mare beside her. She spoke, "Lightning, you have arrived. Now, about this crash, it is extremely odd. I do not know why it happened. I still feel it is linked to nightmare moon." The other mare twitched a little when she said this. "The two events happening at the same time does not seem like a coincident, especialy considering the pain you had in your head."

"I think it is linked to nightmare moon." The other mare spoke. "I remember casting a spell that did not react correctly and it resulted in an explosion that seemed to vanish."

"Now that you mention it," said Celestia, "I do remember that. we never found a trace of that magic, it seemed to have just vanished. Lightning, If that spell is involved things may get complicated. We will try to find out as much as we can. Send me a letter if you have any information that may be useful."

"Yes, Princess. Before I go, who is the other mare?" I asked her.

"This is my sister, Princess Luna. She is the one who is handling your crash because she may be linked to it."

my eyes went wide as I put two and two together. If she is linked, then she was nightmare moon.

The princess must have noticed this because she said, "Don't worry, she will do no harm. in fact, why don't you get to know her, she is going to be the one handling this."

"Ok," I said, still a little nervous.

Come," She said, "We shall go out into the town." She stood and walked past me. I followed her and we walked down the castle steps. as we walked she spoke, "I feel very sorry for you. Nopony deserves to have their future stolen like that. I know what it is like to loose everything, being banished to the moon."

"Wait, how did you know that crash was a career ending crash?" I asked surprised.

"It was printed in Equestria Daily. Your story was on the front page."

"Oh," I said. "Well, where should we go?" I asked.

"There is a nice doughnut shop I like to go too." she said. We walked into the shop and got our doughnuts and sat down at a table. We talked about different things like how we spend out time, our favorite games, things like that. Then she said, "What are you going to do now that you can no longer race?"

"Well, I don't know. I never thought about it. I guess i could do anything." I said. I contemplated on what I should do for a moment, then I had an Idea. "I guess I will move out of Canterlot."

"Why would you do that?" The princess asked surprised. "Canterlot is a great place to live."

"Well, the memories I have of this place are not the best. Also, I really do not fit here anymore. Most of the residents here are famous for something. Now that I can no longer race, I just feel out of place here."

"You have a point. If you do move, I have heard alot of good things about Ponyville. They don't care if you are famous or nobody, everypony is treated equally."

"Then it is settled, I am moving to ponyville." I declared.

"Ok, I will have Celestia send a letter to her student,Twilight sparkle, tellling her you are coming."

The train pulled into the station and I stepped off with all of my luggage. I looked around and saw a group of ponies walking my way. One stepped forward and spoke, "Lightning! Welcome to ponyville!" She said cheerfully. "The princess told me you were coming, and we decided to give you a nice welcome after what you have been through. Now let us show you around while we introduce ourselves."

We began walking and a white unicorn with a purple mane pulled up next to me, "hello, Lightning. I have heard so much about you as a racer. My name is rarity. I am a fashion designer here in ponyville. You will have to stop by and take a look at what I have."

"Nice too meet you rarity. I will be sure to stop by."

She moved away and a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane came up. " My name is Rainbow Dash. I am a weather pegasus here though I am trying to get into the Wonderbolts. I have actually wanted to meet you for a while now. you will have to tell me how you got so fast."

"Hey, I have heard of you. you are actually a pretty good flyer, of coarse I will give you some advice."

"Awsome!" she said as she moved away.

Next was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. "H-hello. M-my name is Fluttershy. I take care of the animals here.

"Good to meet you Fluttershy. I love animals, so I might stop by to see them."

"O-ok." said and moved by.

"An orange pony with a blonde mane and a pink pony with a lighter pink mane both came up on either side of me.

"Howdy, patner! Mah name's Applejack."

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Me and mah family run Sweet Apple Acres, home of the best tasting apples."

"And I help Mr. and Mrs. Cake run Sugar cube corner."

"Well, now I need to get some apple pie." I said, and they both left. We all walked about town and Twilight Told me about everything. After an hour of touring Ponyville we all went to the Library. Twilight shut the door behind us. "So, I heard you are a friend of Princess Luna?"

"Yes. She is actually the one who told me this was a good place to move to."

"Well, I am glad she did. You are actually pretty well known and some of us had wanted to meet you." Rainbow Dash said.

"I am glad too, this is a nice town. Now, I have an issue. Now that I am here, I need a place to stay. the problem is, it will take a while to find a place of my own."

"Hmmmmm," Twilight said.

"He can stay at my house," Fluttershy said softly.

"are you sure, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "I mean, You don't have too."

"Well, the cottage does get a bit lonely while I am up there. Even though I have my animals I like to have a pony to talk to."

"Thank you, Fluttershy, you are very kind." I said.

"It is no problem." she said.

"Well, Now that we have that settled, what's say we go to the bar and have a drink?" I said.

"Alright," they all said together. We walked down to the bar and got a table. We got our drinks and started talking. we talked about things like plans for the week, recent events, and things we were looking forward to. Then the focus shifted to other things as the alcohol began to take affect. We talked about who we ever had crushes on and if we had any exes.

"Well, I did date this one mare. She was kind of crazy but I still liked her. As time went on she got crazier, and I dumped her. She seemed to vanish after that." I said. After we finished talking about the most random shit ever, we all walked home.

"Me and Fluttershy arrived at her cottage. "There is a guest bedroom down the hall. You can use that until you get your own place."

"Thank you for helping me Fluttershy, goodnight." I said.

"Goodnight," she returned, and walked up the stairs. I entered the guest room and lay on the bed. "I made the right decision moving here. Nice ponies, great look, and a fresh start. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Settling in

I stood at the door to the living space. There was just so much work that had to be done. All the windows needed to be replaced, the carpet needed to be replaced in the front room, I needed a new door, and I needed new furniture. Well, the first thing that needs to be done is to replace the door, then I'll see about getting a bed. I walked down the stairs and outside.

My mind couldn't help but drift to what the princess said earlier. What is this dark energy? Where did it come from? How did I get affected by it? There were too many questions without answers. As I walked, deep in thought, I bumped into another pony.

"Oh! S-sorry mister. I didn't see you there." The yellow pegasus said.

"Oh no, it's not your fault. I should really watch where I'm going." I said.

"Oh, ok." she said as she inched away.

I turned and began walking again. there's something about that pegasus. I reached the only place I could purchase a door, the wood shop. I walked in and saw a grey unicorn with a black mane carving detail work onto a coffee table. He noticed me walk in and set down his tools. "Hello there. Name’s Saw Dust. What can I do for you today?"

"I need a door for my new home." I said as I examined a piece of his woodwork. This guy knows what he is doing! Shit, this is the most intricate piece of woodwork I have ever seen!

"That's strange, usually people come to me for tables and chairs, not doors. But if it involves wood I'm your guy. Why do you need a door anyway?"

"I bought that restaurant Twilight was selling. There was no door to the living space, but the hinges were still there." He paused for a second, and then he entered the back room. He came back with a piece of wood and a photo.

"Me and the old owner, Fruit Salad, were close friends. I would always go in on Saturdays and hang out. I would sit at the bar and we would talk when he was not serving anypony. Then it happened, and I knew I had lost him forever." I saw a tear in his eye, which he quickly wiped away. "Anyway, come back in tomorrow and the door should be done, we'll talk cost then."

"Thank you, have a good day." I said before turning around and trotting out the door.

As I walk I find myself thinking again. Why was Princess Luna so familiar? I've never seen her before. Still, I can't help but think I know her. I looked around trying to find a place to purchase a mattress. I need to get answers to these questions, but where will I get them? Just as I was about to give up hope on finding such a store, sompony tapped my shoulder.

I spin around to find a rainbow maned pegasus staring at me. "Hey, what's up? I've seen you wandering around here for the past ten minutes. are you looking for something?" she asked.

"Actually, I am. I'm looking for a place to buy a new mattress, but I can't find one."

"Oh, I know where that is. Follow me." she began to fly above the rooftops. Now that I think about it, I have not flown since the accident. Well, it was worth a shot. I flapped my wings wings and began to rise. Surprisingly there was only a dull pain as I flew.

I followed the mare until she touched down near the edge of the town. When I landed she said, "Well, here we are."

"Thank you miss, um..." I said realizing I didn't know her name.

“Rainbow Dash."

"Thank you Rainbow Dash. I never would have found this place." I said as I began to walk toward the store.

"No problem. If you need to know where anything is, just find me." With that she took off, leaving a rainbow trail.

I walked into the store. Wow, this place is actually kind of creepy. I walk up to the counter and rang the bell.

"May I help you?" came an old, scratchy voice from behind me.

I jump so high that my head hit the ceiling. I turn around, rubbing my head to see an old, lime green mare standing in front of me. "Damn it! You scared the shit out of me!" I said, ticked. I felt this strange feeling in my gut, but ignored it.

"I'm sorry." the mare said, "I try not to do that but it always seems to happen. So, what can I do for you?"

"I need a new mattress." I said as my anger began to fade.

"Well, find one you like, and we'll discuss price." she said gesturing  at the mattresses spread around the room. I found one that was just perfect, not too soft, not too firm. "five hundred bits." the mare said.

"I'll take it," I said as we began to walk to the counter.

"you’re not from around here are you?" The mare asked.

"No, I'm not. How did you know?" I inquired suspiciously.

"You look like that racing pegasus, the one that crashed in the sun race. I just had to make sure. Your name is Lightning Bolt, correct?"

"Yes." Finally, somebody who recognizes me! "There we go, five hundred bits."

"Thank you, Lightning. Have a nice day!" She then trotted into the back room and shut the door.

Well, now to lug this home. then, it clicked. "SHIT! How am I supposed to get this home?" I started dragging the mattress out the door, when I heard a voice from behind me.

"U-um, do you need some help?" I immediately recognized the voice and turned around. it was that yellow pegasus again.

"Actually, yes." I said.

"She walked over and grabbed the mattress, we pulled it along. As we pulled she spoke, "what's your name?"

"Lightning Bolt."

She gasped, "THE Lightning bolt? The one that crashed in the sun race? You poor thing. I feel so sorry for you."

"It's no big deal." That was a lie. "All racers crash at some point, some get it worse than others." I looked down as I remembered the event.

After pulling for a while we reach my home. "This is it. I can handle it from here. Thanks for the help. What's your name, by the way?"

"Fluttershy, and I'm always glad to help." With that, she walked off. There is still something strange about her, but I can't put my hoof on it. I dragged the mattress up the stairs and moved it into the bedroom. There. Now, what to do about the windows? I guess I will have to cover them for now, but I can't do it alone.

I walked outside and looked at the sky. by the position of the sun I could tell it would start getting dark in an hour. I flew to the wood shop again and purchased some boards to cover the windows. There were too many around the entire building to cover before night on my own, so I asked the nearest pony for help.

"Excuse me, miss. I need some help." I asked a white unicorn.

"What do you need help with?" She asked, not turning around.

"I need to nail these boards up to cover broken windows. I would do it myself but I need it done before dark. That, I cannot do on my own."

"Of course, lead me to your house." She said as she turn to face me. we began walking towards my house. "What's your name?"

"Lightning Bolt, yours?"

"Rarity." she said. "Aren't you that pegasus that crashed in the sun race?"

"That would be me." I said. Phew, I thought that nobody here had known me. "We're here," I said as we approached my home."

"My, my! This place is a wreck! What happened here? This isn't the way a pony should live." She said as we entered the home. "You must let me redo the house."

"Well, put that on hold until we finish blocking the windows," I said, already positioning the board. After about half an hour of nailing boards to the wall, we finally finished. "There, nopony is getting in through these. Thank you for the help Rarity, I would not have finished before dark without your help."

"It was no problem. Now please, invite me back another day so I can give this place a quick touch up." she said as I opened the door.

"I'll think about it," I said as she left. Well, at least the place is safe to live in now. I trotted up stairs into the living room. That burn mark was bugging me, so I took a closer look. What the hell? Where the burn was on the carpet were embers, tiny, but still there. They were burning still, but they burned purple. I don't think this was a normal fire. I'll deal with in the morning. I suddenly realized how fatigued I was. I had been running around town all day.

I walked into my bedroom and lay on my bed. Tomorrow, I can ask as many questions as I want. with that thought in mind, I fell asleep.

The Dark Energy

I watched as princess walked up to a stallion sitting in a throne. I could not see who it was, as they were wearing full body armor. The stallion spoke "Well, look who we have here?" His voice was deep and menacing, and sounded like it came from the entire room. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"You know what I want." The princess said coldly.

"Well then," He stood from his throne. "Bring it."

Six ponies, most of whom I recognized, entered the room. Celestia's horn glowed, and a large rainbow beam fired at the stallion. He held a hoof out and The beem hit it full force. He slid back a few feet, then returned the beam in a shockwave blast. The princess tryed to shield herself but the shockwave shattered her shield and sent her flying across the room.. The stallion then stood over Celestia. "Did you really think that the elements of harmony would stop me? I was able to find the weakness in all of them, and us it to my advantage." He said, grinning.

"how..." The princess said.

He responded with one sentece, "I know them." My blood ran cold. He then raised his hoof, and brought it down. just before it made contact with The princess's neck, I awoke screaming in my bed. what? It was just, a dream? It felt so real. I shuddered. I got up and walked to the door window. the sun had just started to rise. No use going back to sleep now.

I sat around my house, thinking about what to do with the place. I had decided to re-open the hanging Diner. I needed a source of income, seeing as how I couldn't race any more. hearing about what the place was like just made me want to have it be the same kind of thing, a place for ponies to eat and hang out.

As I thought my mind drifted to the nightmare. That nightmare felt so real. Were the people I met over the day really the elements of harmony, or did I make that up. Was That stallion me? If so why was I acting like that. I was snapped back to reality when I heard somepony knock on my door. Who could be here so early? I walked over to the door to see princess Luna standing there. I immediately opened the door.

"Good morning, Lightning." she said.

"good morning. Why are you here so early?" I asked.

"I saw your nightmare."

"Wait, WHAT! How the Hell is that even possible?" I yelled.

"I am the princess of the night." she said as I facehoofed.

"Oh yea, I forgot. What is so important about it that you had to talk to me now?" I asked while I shut the door.

"It is not normal for ponies to have such dreams. Normally, when such dreams arise, there is darkness within them. I only worry for you because you were affected when nightmare moon appeared.

"I guess that could explain it. I have a question, Why were Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Apllejack, and some pink pony there?"

"Did you not know? They are the elements of harmony. They were the ones to defeat Nightmare moon." she said, surprised.

"oh, that's why that stallion mentioned the elements." finally piecing it together.

"Well, I must go now, before somepony discovers my absence. take care, Lightning." she then opened the door and flew off.

About two hours later I left my house and made my way toward Twilight's house. On my way I thought I should probably ask about the elements of harmony. It's not that I don't trust the princess, It's just better safe than sorry.

I entered the room to find them waiting for me. "Hello."

"Hey, Lightning!" Twilight said cheerfully.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked at her unusual good mood.

"Yesterday, the princess discovered that a spell could gauge the dark energy." She said grinning.

"couldn't she already do that?" I said confused.

"She can detect and gauge dark energy in the surrounding area, but can not do either to anypony." she said inquisitively.

"Oh. well, how does it work?" I asked genuinely interested.

The princess spoke up, "well, as the spell is cast any and all dark energy within the pony are brought to the surface. At the end I can get an accurate reading on the amount of dark energy within them."

"well, let's do it." I said, ready to get this over with.

"We are going to wait for that Weather pegasus to arrive before we continue," the princess said.

"Who is this pegasus, anyway?"

"Rainbow Dash."

"Rainbow Dash? She's a weather pegasus? with her speed she should be a pro racer like I was!" I said.

"Well, she is trying to get into the wonderbolts, so that takes up most of her time."

"Oh. Hey, isn't that her outside?" I said, pointing out the window. Sure enough, the rainbow maned pegasus came flying up the road and burst through the door.

"I'm here. Now, what is this about?" Dash asked the instant the door opened.

"There is a new spell I need to try, and your my first test subject." The princess said.

"Alright, but I need to get back to training." Dash said.

Princess Celestia's horn began to glow. As time passed a purple aura began to appear around Rainbow Dash. The aura slowly grew darker. As this happened, the princess seemed to be in more and more pain. finally the aura stopped intensifying. soon after the princess ended the spell, and was breathing a little heavier than normal.

"Wow, princess, are you ok?" Twilight asked.

"yes, I am fine. The spell is not difficult, but being the princess of the sun dark energy causes me pain. The problem is I am the only one who can perform it right now, Luna is not quite strong enough. Rainbow Dash, how did that feel to you?"

"It was really weird. my thoughts were clouded by horrific things, things nopony should ever think about. I also felt, as time passed, more powerful." Dash reported.

"Interesting. Alright lightning, now you." the princess said turning to me. she began the spell.

'Immediatly I felt this strang sensation all over my body. My mind began to fill with horrific thoughts. Banishment, torture, murder, they were all there.with these thoughts came a feeling of power, a power I have never felt, and I craved more. Time passed, longer than dashes, and I began to submit to these thoughts, accepting them as pleasant fantasies. Then, the nightmare came up, except I saw throught the stallions eyes. My trance ended when I heard the princess scream in pain and collapse to the floor, ending the spell.

One thought immediatly came to the front of my mind, finish her. Before I knew what I was doing I was standing over the princess, ready to end her with a simple snap of her neck. Then I felt something hit me hard from the left and was thrown into the bookcases. The darkness immediately faded as pain replaced my feeling of power. Then I heard a voice. "What the hell are you doing! Snap out of it!" I didn't know who it was, nor could I find out, because something large fell from above me and knocked me out cold.

I was in that throne room again. That same stallion in armour was sitting in the throne. There was something different about this dream, though. There was pure anger and hatred the last time, but there was something else this time, sadness. the dream continued like the last, but when the elements of harmony came in, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. Without speaking the princess fired the beam, but the stallion just sidesteped it, and returned one of pure darkness. The beam sent celestia flying and hitting the wall clost to the ceiling, then falling to the floor. The stallion spoke, "Why would you even try to use them if your missing one? he stood over her, and fired a razer sharp stream of darkness that almost cut throught the very fabric of space-time, and would have ended her life if I had not woken up.

I awoke in bed and for a second thought I had dreamed the whole thing, but then I looked around and realized I was in twilight's house. As I begin to wake, there is a dull pain coming from the back of my head as I remember the events earlier. then i heard somepony speak.

"Your awake," came the unmistakable voice of princess luna.

"Hello, Luna." I said groggily. "Did you see the latest nightmare?"

"I saw everything. these dreams are beginning to concern me. these are not normal." she said, worried.

"Well, I am not normal. You saw what happened during the spell earlier, I completely lost control and almost killed Celestia." I said, recalling the events.

"Yes, that was unusual. We were not expecting that much dark energy. there was only one other being who contained the same amount of dark energy." She said. Somehow I knew who that was, Nightmare moon. "I do not know why you would have so much dark energy, and how it has not overwhelmed you, but I would be carefull. Nightmare Moon came into exisstence because of strong negative emotions, and similar may happen to you if you have emotions like that." she said.

Princess Celestia came into the room and saw me awake. "Hello lightning." She said, she did not seem irritated at all by my actions earlier. "I am not mad at you because I know that was not you making those decisions, it was the dark energy."

Mind reader. "really? Well, I  would expect to be banished for such behavior."

"I'f it was your mind doing this or if we could not stop you then you would have been banished." she said. After she spoke Twilight came up the stairs.

"Hey, Lightning. How are you feeling?" she said concerned.

"I have a headache, but other than that I'm fine. Why am I here and not the hospital?" I asked the room, Luna spoke up.

"There was not enough time. I had to stableize the dark energy before it could begin to affect you and us. As I did so your wounds healed."

"Oh. Where do you think this energy came from?" I asked the room again. This time Celestia spoke up.

"We do not know where it originates from, but we do know that nightmare moon's appearance triggered a reaction of some sort from the dark energy."

"Well then where the hell might it have come from." I asked growing impatient.

"We are clueless on that matter." She said sadly.

"Where is Rainbow Dash?" I asked suddenly realizing she could have been hurt while the dark energy had hold of me. "Is she ok? Are you all ok?"

"We are all fine. Dash went home to think about things and to train." Twilight said. "Thank you for asking."

"Well, I think it would be best if I went home and just thought about things. Maybe I can come up with an explanation for where this dark energy may have come from."

"I think that would be best. return again in two days so we can talk, or if you discover anything." Princess Celestia said.

"Alright. If you find anything feel free to come find me." I said to everypony. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye Lightning!" She said as I walked out the door.