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// Chapter 4: Dreaming of Reality 
// Story: The Forgotten Elements 
// by Eternal Dawn 
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Chapter 4: Dreaming of Reality



For just over two weeks now, Lightning had been re learning his movements. Walking, trotting, running, everything. Especially combat handling, weapons, evasion, parrying, all to make him at least somewhat capable of fighting if they needed to send him in. And of course, despite all his wishing, they didn’t. Now they seemed satisfied with his performance of recent, they moved on. Time to learn to fly, again. It took them several days. They wanted a soldier pegasus to teach him, the problem being that any soldier would easily recognize the disowned Prince and turn away laughing. Naturally they searched abroad, following rumors and paper trails to nations far away. They were further annoyed when the favorite candidate happened to be thousands of miles away. On top of this, paying them would be torture. Afterall, according to documents, they’d be taking a very important pony from her duties. This alone meant it was very plausible that they could turn down the offer, no matter how much money was in it. And to their mild relief, and surprise at that, they agreed to come. 

Now stood Lightning, in the middle of the field outside the ‘barracks’ of his gladiator house. In the distance he could see the two who owned the house walking on either side of mare. He squinted his eyes, making out more of her form and color. She appeared quite young, her cyan coat complimenting quite nicely with a mane that would give a rainbow a fair fight in beauty, at least. His mind began to wander on to a new thought. A rainbow pony? Well, he’s a lightning pony, sort of, and they have lightning. So does a rainbow pony have rainbows? And rainbows are rather known to be the strongest forms of the pure elements, and this was first he’d ever seen or heard of a rainbow pony. So does that make her… a goddess? Not impossible, afterall, she sure as Tartarus looked like one. Lightning was pretty sure of himself that only a goddess would radiate like that in the sunlight. Quite suddenly he became aware of mare giggling as she approached him.  What’s she giggling at? As he pondered the meaning of this, he lost track of her, only again remembering her being when a shadow overcame him. 

Lightning looked up into her magenta eyes. How the hay did i forget that this… beauty was approaching me? Lightning shook his head, or he thought he did. It certainly didn’t feel like it, but that wasn’t the point. As the cyan pegasus approached, the color of her magenta irises became distinguishable. And the attitude… the way she approached… was different as well. At first, she seemed nearly running, now, within 50 feet of him, it was a very casual very slow walk. And he… could not move? What was happening? He could sit only staring at her until she had gotten closer, right in front of him, mere inches away, he could hear her every breath. What felt like minutes passed by, as she reached a wing around him. More, then, seemed to fade into the world, until… she kissed him? The flurry of thoughts and confusions on one matter, on this, were shortly lived and replaced with those of another. 

“Come on, wake up, dammit!” Lightning was hit again, as he slowly woke up, gazing at the large pegasus who glared through into his soul. Wounded as he was from the blows, or… he thought he was. Or, he should be anyway. Recently, things like pain and fatigue had been becoming less and less a burden to him. His old teacher was right, the only way to truly understand what it feels like having an element is to have it. And yet, Lighting had not made his own lightning yet. Sure, small sparks had occasionally broke away from him, but he had no control over it. The production of these deadly particles seemed a power embedded in a being far beyond his. On top of this, he still couldn’t fly. By now, he’d mastered walking, trotting, running, sprinting, jumping. He’d make an excellent Earth Pony by this time, if not for the wings attached to him. 

The large, and rather moody pegasus who had none too kindly been his alarm clock departed, and he recognized the stallion, the university student who got into trouble with the wrong people. What was he still doing here? Judging by his waiting expression, he seemed to think he was where he should be. Maybe he was just going to take him to the flight trainer who was arriving today. Supposedly, a pegasus from a faraway land. Was it odd then that the pegasus from his dreams was too from a faraway land? Surely, Lightning though, he was just paranoid. If anyone could understand it, though who better than a university student? He groaned, rolling out of the ‘bed’, or so they called it one. It was of course better accommodations than on that slave plantation. Rubbing his eyes awake, he stared at the university student. What was his name again? 

“Some dream you had there…” Lightning stared at him, stunned more than anything. How was it that he knew he’d been having a dream. “Judging by the way your body reacted outside of little fantasy land, seems to me like you were having more of a vision.”

“What do you mean my body reacted? And what is this vision exactly?” The stallion nodded, motioning for him to follow. Not that he much choice, but Lightning opted for it without question. He led them out of the barracks, and began walking through the yard. 

“Your body tensed up, and moved, occasionally you even spoke. This normal for dreams of course, what isn’t normal is having a field of static electricity surrounding your body while it happens. And vision, well, let’s put it into different words. A vision, is like a dream, but instead of dreaming a dream, you dream of what will become reality.” Lightning looked at the ground as they watched. This stuff sounded… not normal indeed.

“Doesn’t this stuff happen to, i don’t know, like Alicorns and gods and ponies with great magical power?”

“Yes, it does. You were struck by white lightning. You have the element. One of out every 2.8 million pegasi are white lightning. Only they have even the slimmest chance of holding the essence. You, having gotten it the pure way, the first to do so, i might add, since the first Essence, it would in theory, place you at the top of the list as the next ‘chosen one’.” At this point, Lightning could not but laugh a bit at this. 
“That’s… uh.. pretty funny… mister…” He stopped, not knowing his name. 

“Cloudwind. Funny? I think not. Your little dream suggests that i’m right. In which case, you’ll keep getting stronger, faster, harder, smarter, essentially you’ll be like a super pony.” 

“Yeah, sure. but what if i am, chosen ponies all get tested? How does the element test me?” Cloudwind smirked, and Lightning noticed they had left the colosseum grounds and were approaching the city library. 

“You will, uncontrollably, produce the rarest, purest form of lightning, or energy for that matter, known to exist. You will produce the most perfect bolt of rainbow lightning. It will leave, disconnect from you, and then turn back, and strike you. If you live, you tame the pure essence of the element and it becomes permanently tied with your body. If you don’t, well, you die. Simple as that. You either live and become the most power pegasi in the world or you die. Over the last, oh say, 3000 years or so, everyone its happened to has died.” By now, they were walking the steps to the library. Lightning of course was still wondering how in the hell they even left the colosseum grounds. 

“Wait, how are you allowed in here?” 

“Simple, our masters aren’t idiots. They know a smart pegasus like me could do alot of good. Lawyer, tutor, doctor, whatever they need. I told them i need clearance to the library, unrestricted. And i got it.” The secretary at the desk nodded to Cloudwind, ignoring Lightning. Immediately they were bound for the section designated for, to put simply, DYI type books. “We’re going to get you the best book here for it, and you will teach yourself to control lightning.” Cloudwind hummed as he quickly sorted through titles for the one he wanted. In seconds he had it, and he led them back to the front desk, where it was checked out, and placed in Cloudwind’s saddlebag. Just as they had come, they now departed, back for the colosseum. 
“So, Lightning, tell me about that vision of yours.” The older pegasus looked at him curiously, a genuine intrigue present that one would expect from a scholar so knowledgeable on the subject. 

“Well, it was today, not much later than the time now. They brought me to this open field, the guards. And then in the distance, i saw our masters walking toward me, with this pegasus mare with them. This… beautiful pegasus…” He stared off into space, his legs mindlessly pulling him forward inspite of his having left for another world in the deep void of the mind. 

“Kid, kid!” Cloudwind began to shake him, Lightning shaking his head and regaining focus. “Good fuck kid, almost lost you. What did she look like to get you that distracted?” Lightning could only smile as he found the perfect description. 

“Imagine a rainbow.”

“A rainbow?”

“Yes. Now imagine that the rainbow became a pony.”

“A rainbow pony?” 

“Mhm. And i was, uh, well staring at her of course, our masters left and she walked towards me. Kinda fast at first. Then she started grinning, then giggling. Then it seemed she was approaching really slowly, like, once she had gotten to within 50 feet. And she kept going slower the closer she got, until she was right next to me. Really, really close. After a few minutes, she wrapped a wing around me, and then a few minutes later… uhh…” He began to turn bright red as he remembered the last scene before being awaken. The chances of some vision predicting him with what must be a goddess!? Insane they had to be. “She kissed me, and then i got woke up.” Cloudwind stared at him a few moments as Lightning ended his recollection of the seemingly too good to be true dream. Or vision, it should rather be said. 

“Sounds like a time progression vision. Rather than showing you one event, it makes up an event, and uses it to show innumerable clues to the future. Everything in the made up event is related somehow, and based on your actions in reality, it can change. So in theory…” Cloudwind trailed off, as he entered through the gates into the courtyard which their masters owned. “Your flight instructor should be-” Lightning’s jaw fell, quite literally, almost off of his body. Tartarus damn this scholar, but he was right. There she was. 

“Holy shit…”