//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Take the Pain Away // by All of the Above //------------------------------// The sun rose over the mountains, casting its rays of light on the world below it. It cast its watchful eye over the populace, making sure that nopony would be harmed under its watch. It was like a peaceful guardian and a beautiful caretaker. The gentle light shone on Lightning's face, stirring her awake from her slumber. The blankets she wore and the pillow that she wore a top her head fell to the ground as she rolled around on the couch like a dog rolling around on the ground for no particular reason. And like a dog, she stretched off the sleep in her eyes. To truly make her ready to face the day ahead of her, she did a couple excercizes to top it all off. Lightning stood back up in breathed in that refreshing smell of a clean conscious like it was a cigarette. The only difference being that a clean conscious won't kill you. Lightning felt great. She finally had a good nights rest, the first one in a very, very long time. Finally she could lay her head on a pillow and not have to worry about the night terrors invading her dreams like they were a pack of UFO's. The days in the future felt brighter than they ever had. And for the first time in her life, there was nothing stopping them. When Lightning scanned the walls for a clock, she jolted when she saw just what time it was. Just about a quarter after twelve. Lightning had slept longer than she thought she was going to. If she didn't get going soon, then there was going to be quite the brujaja at home. “You’re up early,” Rainbow Dash said from the shadows of a corridor. She had a bad case of bed-head and bags were forming under her eyes. “It's noon,” Lightning said, furling her eyebrows. “I’m guessing you didn’t sleep well?” “Not really. A bad case of insomnia.” “That sucks.” Lightning stepped closer, pulling her into a friendly embrace. Rainbow put one hoof around her, resting her chin on Lightning's shoulder. “You know, you don't have to go so soon. At least stay for breakfast..." Rainbow stared up at the clock." Or lunch. Maybe a quick flying session?" That almost tempted her. "No, I'd hate to be more of a bother than I already am. Besides, I have to head back to Manehattan by tomorrow. I have some things I have take care of." "Alright," Rainbow said dejectedly. "But if you're ever in this part of Equestria again, just know you have a friend here." Lightning smiled. "I'll see you some other time." The two shared another embrace. Rainbow's cyan colored fur rubbed up against her turquoise fur, creating a welcomed feeling of acceptance and warmth. When she realized the hug went on for longer than it needed to, Lightning hurriedly broke it off. She barely managed to break it off before it got awkward. And luckily for her, her wings weren't as stiff as a board. "Whelp... I guess I'll see ya... later." "See ya on the flipside!" Rainbow shouted as Lightning stepped out of her front door. As the door shut behind her, the noise evaded Lightning's ears. There were so many things she didn't register, that she almost walked straight off the cloud. Oggling down at the ground, Lightning felt something new in her bones. Describing it was difficult to do, but the word that felt like it fit perfectly into the description came through the front door like an old friend. "Freedom." In a flurry of movements that didn’t remember doing, she found herself flying through the clouds like a Phoenix. She performed moves in the sky that had lost their magic over the past year-and-a-half. The faster she flew through the clouds, the farther her smile stretched across her face. She found words forming in her throat. Triumphant words, words of encouragement that had been long forgotten by her tongue. Words that once held some meaning to her in a deep, excitable way but had become dry and saline, caught in her epiglottis like bad food refusing to go down. As the cool, refreshing drink of forgiveness had been opened, its content began flowing out of the bottle and into a hungry pony’s mouth as she ecstatically drank after days without water. “WOOOOOOOOHHHH!” But with every glorious moment, it must end at some point. Sometimes by need to do what is more important, sometimes because of the rude intervention of somebody important- “Hayburger for a miss Lightning Dust!” Or sometimes by hunger. Lightning paid with the few bits that she had on her and began diving into the burger like it was her civic duty to devour it and its brethren until they were all memories of a fine and delicious past. The burger satisfied the monster in her stomach that was making that awful growling sound that pestered her since she left Rainbow Dash's house. Finally it would be silenced by a daily sacrifice. A moment of bliss passed through the area as she chewed on her food. Lightning could feel the world around her forget about all of its problems. Wars became talk of the past, petty rivalry between species turned into a constant stream of friendly compliments from random ponies everyday, violence turned into hoofshakes and friendly conversation, and the hungry had plenty enough to eat at all times. Her father was a kind soul instead of a faceless man she hardly knew anymore, and her mother wasn't afraid of her own shadow. She forgot about the specific time she had to be home by. She sat back in her chair, flipping the bird to her father who was miles away. Only a world like this existed when Lightning was merely a little filly. As she grew up, the world became rougher and rougher, never seeming to realize its own mistakes, or even bothering to make up for them. It only looked at those mistakes and lightly kicked them under the couch. "Lightning!" The temporary bliss suddenly disappeared when a voice she didn't recognize erupted from out of nowhere. As she was suddenly shaken out of her utopia, she nearly fell out of her chair. She regained her composure after a second and took back her grasp on the cold reality. "Hey, Lightning!" Lightning groaned quietly when she recognized the voice. Arkane Vander. The earth pony Arkane Vander. Was Arkane Vander really that good of a name? Lightning found herself thinking. It sounds ridiculous. It's like somepony thought of the name while drunk and didn't even give it a second thought. An earth pony suddenly sat himself on the spare chair that the table had. As he sat, Lightning felt the earth around her shake and tremble. The earth pony had quite the muscle build and rugged body shape that seemed to take up space and air. Veins popped through his greenish-brown fur. Lightning felt like she would be sucked into mouth if he just breathed a little too deeply. The parts of him that tried to be handsome, were tripping over themselves trying to show-off. She didn't seem to notice all of this the first time she met him because it was awfully clouded by his strange behavior and... interesting social strategies. She looked at his face, seeing this look of anger covered up by a sorrowful smile that made him seem like he was hiding his real emotions. Perhaps it was the “unable-to-control-emotions” illness he was trying to tell her about. If there was such an illness. It seemed more like “a-thing-that-I-made-up-so-that-ponies-will-feel-sorry-for-me" kind of illness. "How are you?" he said as if he was asking for the second time. "Um... good. A bit shaken up by the... incident earlier. But, other than that... I'm doin' good." "Okay. Good to know that you're fine." "Thanks... Arkane?" "Oh, no. I'm really sorry about that. I was actually just thinking of a guy I met when I came here. And I guess that came out instead. I hope you've gathered that I'm not exactly, "right" in the head." He tapped his head with his hoof and gave a small laugh. "Not very much going on up there." Lightning uncomfortably laughed. She was unsure of if she was supposed to say something or just say nothing. As much as she wanted to say nothing, a nagging feeling in the back of her head told her not to be rude. Gild seemed to notice this, and decided to try and change the subject. "No, my actual name is Gild. For real, this time." "Alright. Nice to... meet you... for the first time." Take her! Take her right now! It doesn't matter that there are ponies around, just grab her by the mane and drag her to the cave. If you don't take the opportunity right now, you'll never get another one! Gild shoved away the temptation. As badly as he wanted to take her at that exact moment, he knew that there had to be a connection first. Some casual conversation. Something, anything, to make her have an excuse to go away with him. Then, when she least expects it, he would go for the neck. "I see that you're not too much of an upperclass gal." Lightning wiped whatever was on her face. It was a ketchup stain, smeared across her face like she had just devoured a squirrel. Gild felt something rising in his southern area of his personal body map. Just the look of Lightning licking her own blood off of her body made his mind run wild. Gild resisted the urge to lick his lips. "Professional as well." "Ha ha," Lightning laughed weekly. It was like she was giving up the more and more she laughed. Gild felt a nice silence overcome them. Lightning's eyes darted to and fro, trying to look for a way out of this situation. When he finally gets his dirty hooves on her, there would be no way out for her. Carefully, he slipped his hoof under the table as Lightning tried her damnedest to try and avoid eye contact with him. The table was the perfect length. He could move his legs around under there and not have to bend over to touch her. Gild could feel the warmth of her flesh as he drew nearer and nearer. If he could just touch her in such a way that she'd feel like she had a bug on her leg or just an inch, it would have been perfect. Her tender skin was right in his reach. It could have been his if not for the castrated shout of the little dreck he was supposed to be focusing on. "Hey, do you mind if I join you two?" Gild's muscles clenched, and his teeth instinctively began to grind. Suddenly, the voice he didn't recognize became all too familiar to him. Like an annoying child in his school class whose voice could be heard in a crowded Manehattan city street. "Lightning," he greeted. "...Arkane." Gild threw away his previous intentions to obtain Lightning. All he wanted to do was smash this little dreck's face into some glass for endless hours. He wanted to lick his blood and cut open his body with the bloodied glass. Ortiz better give me something great for killing him. Made it just in time. Arkane grabbed an extra chair from an empty table. He sat himself down as close to Lightning as he could, placing both of his elbows on the table and put both of his hooves under his chin in a lovestruck ten-year-old kind of way. "Actually, my name is Gild. Sometimes, words come out without my... permission," Gild said, clearly cross about Arkane's interruption. Arkane felt those words strike him in the gut. Go figure. He's still angry about that. "Ms. Dust, how are you?" "Good," she said, slowly scooting her chair farther from the both of them. "Welp, I think I made this a bit more awkward." Gild nodded his head slowly. Arkane could almost feel Gild's muscles tearing as he tensed them up. "Excuse me," said the waiter, bringing two more menus for the unexpected customers. "Would you two like something to eat as well?" the waiter asked. "Sure. Get me a stack of hay-fries," Gild said. "...I'm sorry, you'll have to wait for a little while for that order." Gild let out a long, angry sigh. "How about a hayburger?" "Alright, what kind?" "Surprise me." "Sir, you're going to have to be specific. We can't-" "Just get me the damn burger." "Could you please be a little civilized, sir? This is a family establishment." As Gild and the restaurant shared an argument like an old married couple, Arkane turned to face Lightning. She tapped the table, looking around and staring at the ponies watching Gild make a ruckus. Arkane felt like she was trying to find the perfect opportunity to bolt it out of there and leave this place. At least, that's what Arkane assumed she was doing. It would've made his job a lot easier. Then again, she might have been trying to think of some kind of icebreaker so this wouldn’t be as awkward as it she made it out to be. As much as he wanted it to be some kind of awkward meeting between three ponies, he had something important he needed to do, and he wasn't going to let the space of confusion hinder him from his goal. "Lightning, listen to me," Arkane said suddenly. He managed to startle Lightning Dust. "Gild is very dangerous. As soon as you get the chance, I need you to get out of here and leave this town." "Why?" "Did you not hear me? He's dangerous, and he's going to hurt you. I don't know what he's going to do, but he's going to hurt you. I just know it." Lightning furled her brow. "I think you're thinking a bit too much about this. He's weird, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't mean he's a psychopath.” If only you knew. "Look, do you have anything?" Gild asked the waiter. "We have some meat and potatoes. Would you like that?" Gild said, angered yet controlled. "...Sure. I'll take the meat and potatoes." "Any sides?" Gild sighed. “He might be a bit weird, but it’s not like he was born that way.” That made Arkane stop to think. For as long as he knew Gild, he couldn’t remember a time in his life when Gild was ever... nice. He never even thought that that word could be associated with him. It sounded so foreign and tasted so weird in his mouth. To even say that word in the same sentence as Gild made Arkane feel uncomfortable. Even saying “Gild isn’t nice,” felt wrong in a way. It was almost as strange as that pink mare he met yesterday. I can’t believe this. After all these years, he's still got me like putty in his hooves. “You don’t know him like I know him.” “And how do you know him? Did you meet him one day and think he was some kind of rapist?” “No, I-” “As far as I know, you could have met him yesterday, you judgemental prick!” Arkane slouched over a little more in his chair. He growled. Maybe I should let Gild have her... "I am dead serious. He's going to hurt a lot of ponies, and you can be sure that he'll hurt you to. Get as far away from this place as you can and don't come back." "Calm down. It's not like-" "Sir, you're going to need to calm down." The waiter was still having a quarrel with Gild. "I am calm. If you would just get me what the buck I want, then I'll have a reason to calm down." "Sir, please. You're causing a-" Gild grabbed him by the neck and pulled him in, up close and personal. "Causing a what?! A commotion?! If a commotion is what you want, a commotion is what you'll get!" Gild hurled the waiter at Arkane. The waiter was painfully close to striking Arkane, but the waiter whizzed passed and struck a nearby wall. The waiter struggled to get back on his hooves, straining and grunting in pain as his feet slipped on nothing. When he did, the waiter hobbled away as fast as he could. Gild slammed his hoof against the table. The glass shattered into several hundred pieces. Lightning got up from her seat and started backing away. Arkane put his guard up as Gild picked up a shard of glass from the ground. “You’re coming with me!” Gild shouted at Lightning. Gild lunged at Lightning, grabbing her by the mane and sticking the make-shift knife into Lightning's front leg. Lightning fruitlessly tried to strike his hoof away, but the more she struggled the more fun he decided to have with her. Along with her other front leg, he also stabbed her hind leg. Moving the glass up towards her hips, he stroked the other leg with his bloodied hooves. Lightning screamed in horrifying agony, but was cut short when Gild put his other hoof over her mouth. He licked his lips, breathing in that fresh smell of blood. Gild leaned in and kissed Lightning on the cheek. Her skin was soft, and tasted so good. The fun was over. Gild put her up on all fours and drug her away. Arkane barreled toward him with a hint of hesitation. He barreled into Gild, but only managed to make him take a step back. He dropped the glass and picked up Arkane. Tossing him as far as he could, Gild bent back down and picked up the knife. He shoved Lightning into the wall, pinning up a wing up against the wall and stuck the glass in her wing. Before Lightning could even scream, Gild stuck a hoof over her mouth. "Don't you go anywhere," Gild said, shaking a finger in front of her face. Arkane threw pointless punch after pointless punch at Gild. Gild was a hulking tower made of iron and Arkane was just a sledge hammer. “You’re just as weak as I remember you!” Gild swung his first punch. Arkane managed to slip by it by some miracle. Arkane could see an image of his head smashed into small bits and pieces in his mind. Arkane only had one chance to subdue him. That’s all he needed to do. But... Without even thinking, Arkane’s fist struck Gild in the gut. Though he felt like it had the same force as Arkane turning a page, Gild bent over, opening another opportunity to hit him again. Arkane uppercutted Gild, successfully making him stumble back and fall over. You’re going to slow. Let me take over from here... Arkane watched as his skin began slowly rotting away into a decaying gray. He couldn’t stop himself. All of his self control was thrown across the room, and he could feel himself transforming. He felt something growing on top of his head. With his last few moments of self-control, he felt where his horn used to be. Leider's horn stuck out like a needle in a thread. It was smooth, curved and felt brand new. “Your mind is disgusting. I’m going to take a little walk.” Lightning was losing consciousness. It hurt too much to crawl, walk, or to even move. The only thing she could do was flap her wing in the vain hope that the glass would dislodge from wall. Her body was in no shape to tug at something practically buried inside of a wall. That wasn't going to stop her, even though it hurt her more than anything she had ever experienced in her life. Her father's cold stare was suddenly looking pretty forgiving. What was that? Gild asked himself as he stood up. There’s no way... Suddenly, Arkane’s fur wasn’t white anymore. Instead, it was dark grey. It was as if Arkane was killed and left rotting in a coffin for months in a matter of seconds. Now Arkane was back as some kind of zombified version of himself. And just like a zombie, he could still be easily taken down by a crushing blow to the brain. However, this wasn't a zombie. It was just wearing Arkane's weak, skinny body like a coat. The body that cowered in fear when Gild's name was casually mentioned. Gild just knew that there was some leftover fear of him left in Arkane. There had to be. He could clearly see that while Arkane tried to fight him. "Just like old times, dreck. Me wailing on you, and you taking every punch like a slut taking a giant dick." Gild charged, his body ready for a classic beat down. He loaded up the cannon and gleefully let loose the cannon ball. Arkane caught Gild’s hoof. “My turn.” Gild watched in shock and awe as Arkane bent Gild's fist back. The crack of bone rang out, making itself be heard for miles in all directions. Arkane lifted Gild’s leg into the air and twisted it to the point where Gild was down on his knees. Before Gild could retaliate, Arkane lifted Gild off the ground, opening Gild up to a whole new idea of pain. Arkane went for the center of Gild's under-belly. The blackened hoof was like a swift sword sliding right through Gild like Gild was a piece of paper. Gild fell over, and his head hit the cement. Clutching his chest as the pain began taking its course, Gild writhed as Arkane lifted his hooves up to finish the job. Arkane picked him up with his telekinesis first. As Gild struggled against the invisible force, Arkane's horn lit up. Gray aura swirled around his horn. He put it up close to Gild's mouth and willed it open. Gild could feel something tugging at the inside of his mouth. Gild grimaced as Arkane yanked out two teeth without hesitating. "The reason you're bleeding is because you don't floss," Arkane said. Gild, trying to bite down, could only mutter and clench his jaw. Arkane's telekinesis held him still, but was faltering the longer Arkane used it. You can't be serious. "I'm not letting you control me." I am yanking out his teeth, can't you stay silent fo- AAHH! Arkane backed away, releasing Gild. Gild spat out blood and wiped some away from his mouth. Gild watched in amusement and disgust as Arkane clawed at his face and screamed. "AAAAHHHH!!" AAAAHHHH!! Gild saw the advantage. As if the battle was served to him on a silver platter, Gild ran to Arkane, arms outstretched and ready to swing at any time. Gild knew that Arkane could see him, but he was far too distracted by whatever was going on inside of his head. Gild punched his head so hard that some teeth of his own more than likely flew out of his own mouth. Gild didn't even see Arkane's skin turning back into its normal color. Gild stood over him, triumphant. Heavy breaths escaped his mouth and a smile found its way across Gild's mouth. "You put up a fight, little brother. But you'll never beat me." Gild spat on Arkane. He laughed as he walked away from him and towards Lightning. Arkane had failed to protect her. Gild still managed to get his sinful hooves on her, even though Arkane did everything he could against both Leider and Gild. Gravity was crushing him. Arkane struggled to even look up. But he managed to do so, even though he was in massive pain. He stared in terror as Gild picked up Lightning, squeezing her throat and smiling through lost teeth and blood. He grabbed the glass and yanked it out of the wall. Lightning's wing might have had that momentary release of pain, but the worse was yet to come. “Don't worry," Gild said. "I'll take you home where he can't hurt you." Gild shoved her up against the wall. Lightning only had a moment to look up into the sky. The sun. The sun had betrayed her. She blacked out as Gild was suddenly hurled back four yards.