//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Take the Pain Away // by All of the Above //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash leaned up against the door, her hoof lightly tapping on the ground. “If all you’re gonna do is sit there and stare, then I might as well leave.” Lightning shook her head. The longest time she’s been preparing herself for this, and now she’s speechless. Not a single thought went through her head. Time seemed to stop, and the words choked up in her mouth. Lightning felt a fist knocking on her forehead. “Equestria to Lightning!” Rainbow shouted, "Are you gonna say something?" Lightning continued to stare. “You know what, just forget it.” As she started to walk out of the room, Lightning called out to her. “Wait!” Rainbow stared back at her. The moment that Lightning had rehearsed in her mind for so long, the fragile glass figure that her plan was built on had shattered before her eyes. She couldn’t say what she wanted to say. Instead, she said the next thing that came to her mind. “How did you know I was here?” The question adhered to her like mud on shoes. To Rainbow it wasn’t an important question, and yet she didn’t want to answer it. She could have left the room right then, right there, and yet she stayed. Was she afraid of answering any question, or was she afraid of her? “I... helped carry you in.” She blurted out like an outgassing volcano. “Oh... thanks.” The fact that that’s all she says makes her tongue saline. Lightning looked back to Rainbow, only to realize that she left. She let her head fall onto her pillow like a comet. Fast, partly made of dust, and her mane flying away from the pillow. It was raining outside. The precipitation banged against her window, creating an unwanted ambiance. It’s so relaxing. Lightning thought to herself. She fought a mighty battle to stay awake, but her army was blown away by the heaviness of her eyelids. They closed one last time, and they stayed close. The darkness showed no empathy. It corrupted her, tore her apart. And the only thing to do to ignore the imaginary pain of the darkness was to think. Thinking wasn’t exactly her weapon of choice in battles like these. When she the displeasure of thinking, it was mostly about what she could have done differently on certain days. Like the day she met Rainbow Dash. She thought about how she acted at the Wonderbolt Camp. How irresponsibly she behaved. That mistake cost her her dreams, and she probably didn't have the chance to go and try out again. Even if she did have the chance, she probably wouldn't have taken it. She couldn't, she just couldn't. Her mind began to wander. Who was this Arkane Vander? How did he know her name? And why did she had the feeling that she was going to see him again? Lightning fell asleep with no memory that she ever did. The cast on her leg was gone. They must’ve healed it last night with their magic. Lightning was never fond of magic that unicorns used. They could anything without having to lift a hoof. It was just so aggravating to see one of them use their magic to lift a cup to their mouths instead of using their hooves. It’s also due to the fact that every unicorn she's ever met seems to think that they're the dominant species by flaunting their pointless “talent” in front of pegasus and earth ponies. It cuts deeply into her like a freshly sharpened knife. The thought doesn’t stay for long. She lay in her bed, trying to fall back to sleep. She was ambivalent about leaving. This place provided her a nice bed to sleep in for the first in a while, and she didn’t really feel like leaving just yet. She couldn’t decide whether it was because she still had the chance to say what she wanted to say to Rainbow, or because she was given so much comfort here. She convinced herself that it was the second reason, though she knew all too well that she was lying to herself about that. A short doctor walked inside during her mental conflict. The doctor seemed to be just a few inches shorter than herself. He was also bald. “Ms. Dust, you’re awake. How did you sleep?” “Fine.” “Very good. I’m just here to tell you that we’re checking you out of the hospital right now.” She fought back the urge to cry out, to beg for him to let her stay, but she knew that was unprofessional, and rather infantile. “Try to not get your leg stuck under a tree again, you hear?” he laughed at his own joke. What am I supposed to do now? She thought about going back to her apartment, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do. She didn’t know what, but she wanted to stay in the town just a little bit longer. Perhaps she wanted to see the social aspect of the town, or maybe pick up some food for her trip back home. Or just say some last words to Rainbow before she left. It wouldn’t be right to just leave without saying something. Even a simple “goodbye” would do it. There just had to be something said to Rainbow. Taking her first confident step, she began walking. It wasn’t until her next step she realized she was limping. With all their power, they couldn’t just fix a simple limp in my leg. She decided not to dwell on the fact. She had somewhere to be, and nothing could stop her from achieving her goal. It was the first time in a long time she felt the confidence to speak to Rainbow, and she didn’t want the opportunity to slip through her hands. Her wings started to flap, lifting her off of the ground. She flew off towards Ponyville. Because the one thing she forgot was that she doesn’t know where Rainbow lives. Now her plan lacked cohesion. I’ll fly into town and see if I can find her there. Lightning imagined that Rainbow wouldn’t be hanging in town, so she had to find out just where her house was. And to do that would mean asking people around, which was something that she wanted to avoid. If that “Arkane” guy knew about her, then there’s the chance that somepony else knew about her. But if she wanted to find Rainbow, speaking to ponies is something she’ll have to do. Wandering around for a while, she tried finding somepony who looked approachable. Everyone else she saw was busy doing something or seemed angry for some odd reason. It was a good half an hour before she finally found someone who was standing next to the Everfree. He was tall, and looked fairly strong. She couldn’t see his face hidden behind a hood. Probably an earth pony. He didn’t notice Lightning until she started walking towards him. He could have sworn that he had seen her before. It wasn’t until he got a better look at her when he realized that he did. Lightning Dust. He started trembling and he could feel sweat falling from his head. His vision was blurry, but that was something he was getting used to. It happened every now and again. He blinked, and the blurriness went away. Now standing in front of him was Lightning Dust. The one he follows and watches. He didn't want to call himself a stalker. “Excuse me, can you help me find someone?” The question came as a surprise to him. He didn’t imagine it this way. She was supposed to ask him, “Can you help take the pain away?” He didn’t know why he imagined it like that, but it’s been the only thing he can hear when he lies down to sleep. A meeting between the mare that he’s been watching for so long, and the stallion was supposed to happen in a certain way! It couldn't start like this! He realized she asked him a question, and she was still awaiting an answer. “Who do you need help finding?” “I’m looking for for Rainbow Dash’s house. Actually, do you know where she is?” She said. Her voice sounded more heavenly than it did in all of the videos that he had of her. She was more beautiful in person as well. He pushed away all of the thoughts of grabbing her and bringing her back to his little cave and keeping her there. He needed to be patient. That would happen soon. “I don’t know where Rainbow Dash is, but I do know where her house is. It’s really easy to find, actually.” She smiled. It was hard not to just pull her mouth to his right then. Her smile was stunning. He started to lean in, but stopped himself before he got far enough for her to notice. “It’s up in the sky. It’s made of cloud, and it looks like a house. You can find it somewhere above the forest.” “Oh, thanks.” She brought her hoof forward for a handshake. “I’m Lightning Dust, by the way.” He looked at her hoof. He accepted it. Her hoof was so soft. He had the opportunity to take her right then and right there. She seemed vulnerable, but there were other ponies in the vicinity. But none of them could see his face, so none of them could point any fingers at him if he just decided to take her away. They probably wouldn't even notice if he took her. There were a lot of ponies around. Their noise could cover her scream. As much as he hated to, he decided against it. With this many ponies, somebody was bound to notice him. It hadn't occured to him that she was expecting something until he saw her hoof awkardly hovering in the air in front of him. He considered tell her his real name, but he decided against it. He decided to tell her a name that has been burned into his mind. A name that has haunted him for some time. “My name is Arkane Vander.” She looked at him with a concerned look on her face. “But, you’re not him.” “What do you mean.” “I met him when I first came into town.” He gritted his teeth, sliding them over each other again and again. “Ar-” Just at the moment, he heard a loud crunch coming from behind him. He turned around to see a tree falling right on top of him. He jumped out of the way, but Lightning was still standing there, unaware of what was going on. She didn’t see the tree until it was inches away from her head. He lost his footing as he landed. He tripped, and fell over. He couldn’t save her. As time seemed to stop, and her life flashed before her eyes, something from her left tackled her into the ground. The tree smashed on the ground. Lightning stood up quickly. She looked down to see whatever tackled her. She saw two stallions. One was the stallion claiming he was Arkane Vander, and the other was Arkane Vander.