Ten years later...
Lightning did not want to get up today, It was the same as any day: He would try to live a normal life among everyponyelse
but they would quickly remind him of his still unremarkable blank flank. He had tried everything in the book and out of the book to get his mark. He discovered that he was good at a few things and not so good at others but not a single action of his ever would result in his mark finally appearing. It was a rather dreary spring morning to top it all off. The sky was cloudy, there was still a faint chill in the air and it all seemed certain that it would rain. He was about to give up and go back to bed as some flashes in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres then caught his eyes. Like when he was just a little pony, he was still mesmerized by thunderstorms. It then hit him. His mark must have something to do with lightning...or thunder. Anything storm related. It had to be. He then came to the conclusion that perhaps if he lived up to his name, Lightning Ace, it would lead to his mark at long last. Just before Lightning could leave the house, he was stopped by his roommate, Rainbow Dash.
"Where are you going? There's a nasty lightning storm out there." Rainbow said.
"I'm tired of being a blank flank Rainbow." Lightning said as he looked off at the distant storm, which had by now grown in size. "But now I know what I must do to get it." Lightning said as he turned to Rainbow. "No matter what happens, I don't want you to stop me. I need to do this." He looked back at the storm.
"Wait a bucking moment...you're not thinking of flying into the storm...are you?" Rainbow said with a hint of concern in her voice.
"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash..." Lightning said as he took off and flew towards the storm, trailing tears as he flew.
"NOOOOO!!! LIGHTNING!!!" Rainbow shouted as he became little more than a blue spot against the clouds of the storm.
Flash was awoken by Rainbow's shouting. "Rainbow...what in the hay is going on?" Flash mumbled as he rubbed his eyes with his foreleg.
"It's Lightning! He...he flew off into the storm..." Rainbow then fell into a sob.
"What do you mean?" Flash asked, confused by her sobbing. After not receiving an answer he looked out towards the storm.
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It didn't take long for Lightning to reach Sweet Apple Acres. After arrival he stopped to look up at the storm. It was an unusual storm, with far more lightning and much closer to the ground. He recalled Applejack telling him about their zapapple trees, and how the weather is connected to their fruiting season, but he had never seen them turn ripe in pony. Without another thought, he flew up into the storm itself. He thought that if he could dodge lightning, maybe it would get him his mark at long last. After all, his name is Lightning Ace. He broke through the clouds of the side of the storm and was immediately nearly struck by lightning. Using everything he learned he weaved between lightning strikes with flips and rolls. For the next two minutes he successfully dodged multiple bolts. In excitement of the moment he broke his concentration to check his flank, only to find it still bare. But before he could go any further a rogue bolt struck him on his opposite flank. He let out a scream of pain before another bolt struck him in the other flank. Now half stunned by the strikes upon him, he further attempted to dodge the lightning in an attempt to escape the storm. He had, however, lost track of where in the storm he now was. Panic started to settle in as he dodged a couple more bolts as he frantically searched for the edge of the storm. Three more bolts found their mark as Lightning started to lose feeling in his left wing. He strained to continue dodging the lightning but was struck several more times in the flanks. All the while, on his flank where the lightning was striking a pure white, glowing lightning bolt had started to appear. His mane had started to change as well, as his mane and tail were now starting to sport a single glowing pure white lightning shaped streak. Now losing all feeling in his wings, he began to fall from the sky as the storm began to dissipate around him. The trees below him now covered in vibrant rainbow auroras.
His now limp yet conscious body fell from the sky and passed through the strange aurora while it was red shifted, causing the still glowing marks on his flanks and the streaks in his mane and tail to take on the red color. He then hit the ground and skidded to a stop under one of the trees, which now had ripened zapapples hanging from their branches. The glow on his new markings began to fade as he began to lose consciousness. Before losing all cognition a familiar orange mare began to lift him from underneath and place him onto her back. He then lost all feeling and fell limp. All was dark.
He was in a dark forest within an equally dark temple structure. There upon a pedistol stood a strange statue that had five strange stone orbs adorning it. For some reason he couldn't help but approach the statue. But before he could reach it, there was an evil presence in the room. Before him was an amorphous black-as-night form that had an erie similarity to it. Before he could do anything, six lights of various colors entered the temple. The darkness then said some undissernable things and vanished with the orbs. He was then in the forest again, though he was in control of his body now. Before him now was a vaguely familiar pony among three other pegasi that were wearing darkened, twisted versions of what the Wonder Bolts wore. He couldn't hear what they were saying but he found out soon enough when all four of them attacked. He tried his best to fend them off but he was eventually overwhelmed. As they reared for the final blow, he began to scream. Everything became a blur as their hooves came down on him.