The Beacon of Hope

Chapter 1: The Beacon of Hope

The halls of Area 51 echoed with the sound of a dozen footsteps as several armed men gave chase to the Fugitive. The fugitive, wearing mostly yellow themed attire; black & yellow shirt along with a yellow jacket, blue jeans with a yellow line down the sides, and black shoes with a yellow outline. He was identified as a white male, with dirty blonde hair with sea green eyes. His real name was Carl Bolts, also known by LighningBolt, because of the fact he could control all manner of electricity, and travel through it.

“Huff” LightningBolt wheezed “I really shouldn’t have eaten all 10 of those chili dogs before running; it’s slowing me down severely.”
Behind him, LightningBolt could hear his pursers yelling into walkie-talkies saying “This is Sector A-1 to Sector B-3; Suspect is on is his way down Sector A-5, he may be unarmed, but he is still considered highly dangerous.”
LightningBolt sighed “Hey, I got the ‘dangerous’ tag, I should be honored. I knew I should’ve listened to my mom when she recommended that I hide my new-found powers; but nope, I just had to be a show-pony” he said as he turned at a corner “my ego always was too big for my own good.”

More FBI Agents met him just around that same corner “hold it! You’re under arrest!” They exclaimed pointed guns at him.
The smart thing to do would've been to stop right there and give up. LightningBolt wasn't smart. He just kept running and before they could open fire he jumped on the wall, keeping his momentum, and ran across it, avoiding their blockade. As soon as his feet hit the floor again, he started running again, surely with bullets flying at him.

“I sure know how to get attention, don't I? At least my athletics get an A plus.” LightningBolt asked himself as he kept running.
He eventually ran to a section of the hallway that separated in four directions in the shape of a plus sign. Unfortunately, three of them were already swarming with Swat team, which meant the only way out was the way he came, which was also swarming with police men now. LightningBolt was trapped like a mouse.

“Put your hands in the air where we can see them!” They shouted from all four corners.

“Well,” LightningBolt said, getting smart “by definition, my hands are in the air where you can see them.” He said flaunting them in the air for all to see. It was never a good idea to be smart to the police, yet LightningBolt was full of bad ideas.

“You have the count of five to surrender before we open fire!” the police yelled.

LightningBolt braced himself for impact, looking for an escape route.

“Five.” They said as he desperately looked for a plug outlet or anything that could help buy him some time.

“Four.” Finally, he found that one outlet on the wall, now he just needed a diversion that would allow him to escape.

“Three.” LightningBolt seriously doubted they would fall for the ‘there’s something behind you trick.’

“Two.” Suddenly he got the time he needed, from the enemy.

“Be you such brutes, my men?” Said a voice from behind the FBI agents as a figure approached from behind, making his way to the front.
When the agents recognized him, they almost instantly put they’re weapons down. “General GriffonClaw, sir!” Was what echoed through the crowd.

When the general finally made his way up front, his appearance set LightningBolt off a bit, because GriffonClaw almost didn’t look human at all. His head resembled that of a bald eagle complete with the beak. His hands looked just like talons except they looked fit for grabbing something. The only thing that broke the eagle image was that his feet, and yes, they were unshod, were large brown paws which the legs that supported them looked digitigrade. The main thing that threw him off was that he saw what appeared to be a large, sleek cat tail, which it was. These were the only details that LightningBolt could see as everything else was covered with a military uniform.

“Gee, I thought I was in a military facility, not a furry convention.” LightningBolt said out loud enough for the general to hear.

GriffonClaw was unamused “Carl Bolts, we meet at last.” He said in an almost monotone voice.

“Why hello to you too, Mr. general, with an obvious body deformation. Look, if you’re here to save me on car insurance or something, you can forget it, I’m broke.”

GriffonClaw glared “If you think that mouth of yours can get you out of this, you’ve got another thing coming.” He said “Now, I’d like to ask you why have you come onto facility grounds, resisting arrest still?”

“Ah, you know, just enjoying the view of these stale walls. By the way, you wouldn’t have any ‘beacons of hope’ around here, would you? Maybe some get out of jail free cards? I might use a few.” LightningBolt said jokingly.

GriffonClaw rolled his eyes “If you’re looking for a shopping center, you might’ve taken a wrong turn.” He said with a glare. “As I said, there’s no way out of this, so you have two choices: You can surrender right now, or you can pay for your crimes with your blood. It’s a mess for the janitors to clean up afterward, and quite frankly I wouldn’t want to resort to that unless absolutely, necessary. So, which will it be? Will you come willingly, or pay with your blood?”

LightningBolt was conflicted; his time was out. “I’ll- “he sighed “I surrender.” He said holding up his hands.

GriffonClaw smiled or what looked like a smile through that beak of his “good choice. Men, you know what to do!” He said as two agents held him up against the wall, the same wall the outlet was on.

LightningBolt smiled, he could get out of this after all. “Just a quick question,” he asked the men “how fast do you think a lightning bolt is?
Several of the men took the bait, trying to figure it out. “Two hundred twenty thousand, why?” One of them explained.

“Good, you’ve done your research,” LightningBolt said “because you’re going to need to be three times over that to catch me!” He said as he slammed his foot onto the outlet. Before the agents could react, he turned into pure electricity, shocking the agents that held him, literally, and went down the outlet.

“Search every room in the building, he could be anywhere!” GriffonClaw commanded as the FBI Agents scattered. In a short minute, he was alone in the hallway.

“You can’t help him you know,” he said looking up. “You have no power here, ‘princess’. Gambling on a mortal human; to save your subjects? That’s petty, he will soon be caught, I know that, you know that, we all know it; why work to change what has already been set in stone? You confuse me, Luna. I’ll leave you to see just how wrong you were to stop my plan.” GriffonClaw said before walking off in an unknown direction.

LightningBolt traveled through the wires for minutes before he materialized out of a computer that was being used by an employee; that impact knocked him out cold.

“Oh, sorry about that” LightningBolt apologized to the unconscious employee. He then turned to look for any other employees or government agents... and then he saw what was on the computer he came out of. LightningBolt blinked three times before turning to the unconscious employee again. “Dude,” he scolded “looking up this crap at work? Kids get expelled for looking up this kind of crap!” He turned away covering his eyes. “I can’t even….” He said “I’m scarred; as soon as my charges get dropped, I’m going to need counseling.” He exaggerated. “If my charges ever get dropped.” He said, adding realism.

“Ok, seriously now, if that dream with that… blue unicorn crossed with a falcon is anything to go off, and it probably isn’t, then my ‘beacon of hope’ should be within room G4.” He stopped for a split second “That GriffonClaw guy though, quite a curious character, wonder what his deal is.” He wondered.

LightningBolt stuck his head out the door and examined the environment and taking note of the room number he was in. “Too many guards to sneak by; but I’m close: G27.” He noted, “what if there was a way to distract them” he wondered as he turned to another computer “by causing a power outage.”

He walked up to an unoccupied computer and turned it on. “If I send just a fraction of me to do that, then I won’t die when the electricity turns off, if said fraction gets out of there within a millisecond.” He paused “if this goes wrong, I could pass out long enough to be caught; so, Jesus Christ, please preserve me.” Lightningbolt said as he knelled in front of the power box of the computer which was on the floor, and put his index and middle finger on it together.

Lightningbolt’s conscious traveled into the virtual realm that showed wires and where they connected to including to other computers. On his way to the generators he ended up in another computer; not just any though, it was the mother computer that controlled all the others. LightningBolt, before exiting saw a .png file that caught his attention.

“Border Wall blueprints.png? This looks like an important file; it would be a shame if it somehow got corrupted!” He said as he implanted a piece of malware into it and changed its format to .exe. “I’m bad, but maybe that might distract them for a bit.”

Leaving the mother computer, he traveled down the wires for several minutes until he felt gigavolts of electricity. He was at the generators; all three of them. Turning one off would turn off the power until they rerouted it.

“To turn it off, I need to absorb the electricity by making myself the same charge as the other ions.” LightningBolt said as he charged in a glowing yellow as all the electricity in the generator flowed to him. “Three,” he started to count as the generator started to lose power “two,” he stated, his electric form getting ready to make a beeline for the exit. “One!” He exclaimed as he sped at the speed of light back to the computer where he entered the virtual reality, all the ions of electricity following him as the generator lost power.

His consciousness returned to his body with 10 gigawatts of electricity to tow along with it. All the electricity went inside him; a process that could've killed anyone else, instead charged him like a battery; the electricity started flowing through him.

“Phew, I should've gotten a charge a lot earlier; like before I stepped on this damn property.”

The lights were out; and outside the room he was in, he noticed from underneath the door flashlights were being used to navigate the area.

“Ok,” he told himself as he went for the door “I need to rush to find room G4 & get inside before they get the generator back online.” He said as he opened the door.

Lightningbolt didn’t need a countdown to start this mission. Sending electricity into one of his hands, it got bright enough to use as a flashlight. Fortunately, he was going in the right direction, as the numbers were going down. “G26, 25, 24” He counted as he went down the aisle. There were a few close calls with security almost catching him in the dark, but they were few in between. After five minutes of doing this, he spotted room G4 on the opposing wall. The lights suddenly threatened to turn back on as he made it to the door. Unfortunately, the door was one those doors that required a card swipe to unlock. The lights flickered to life as power was restored.

Fortunately, there weren't any guards where Lightningbolt was, and luckily, a power restore was just what he needed. Without skipping a beat, he put his finger where the card should go and forced it to unlock by flowing electricity into it.

“Access Den- Access Granted” the machine stated as the door clicked open.

Lightningbolt wasted no time getting inside. The room was small, about the size of the average bedroom. The walls were painted a dark green with little to no decorations on it. There was only one thing of significance in the room, a giant steel safe about Lightningbolt’s size, protected by a password input.

“So, this is what my dream led me too.” Lightningbolt stated “whatever’s behind the safe, should be that “beacon of hope”. He said as he went up to the safe. “Password, I’d expect the military to use eye scan or something like that, but I’ll go with it.” He stated as he put his hand close to the keys flowing electricity into it as it brought up the password.

Lightningbolt blinked three times and face palmed “If I weren't too busy trying to get away, me and the employees of this facility would be sharing some words; on how bad this password is.” He said as the password showed as “MOLESTIA” The door creaked as it slowly opened. Lightningbolt tilted his head in confusion at what he saw.

Inside the safe was a giant mirror which was decorated in a certain way unlike any other mirror. On the top of the mirror was a medium sized horseshoe which was colored a pinkish purple. The left side had four evenly spaced out yellow right triangles which were stretched out. The remaining portion of the left side of the mirror was yellow, the design looked like a part of the sun. Behind the left side was a giant outstretched, white bird wing. The right side had been decorated particularly like the night sky, the main part of it was black with parts of white littered throughout. On the bottom corner was a bigger white part shaped like a star. On the back, was another large outstretched bird wing, this one being a dark blue. The mirror looked so perfectly designed as if it couldn’t be broken apart; despite this, all LightningBolt felt was annoyance.

“A mirror?!” He asked “all that dream-horse led me too was just a damn mirror?! It’s official; I’m delusional.” LightningBolt said as rage built inside of him.

“This is all your fault, stupid horse!” LightningBolt yelled as he charged on the mirror. “Giving me a lead to my death why don’t ya!” He yelled, not caring about the consequences of his noise. Filled with rage, LightningBolt yelled as he threw a fist filled with electricity at the middle of the mirror. His rage all but disappeared when the mirror did not break; instead his fist went right through it.

LightningBolt stopped in his tracks “what?” he asked when his fist went straight through it. He cautiously put his index finger into the mirror then slowly his whole hand. “Whoa,” he said examined the other side, looking for even a trace of his hand before pulling it out “it’s like its transparent, almost as if it were a, portal. ” He said, slow at portal. “Is this, what you wanted me to find?” LightningBolt asked in the open. “This is the beacon of hope you spoke of, isn’t it? If it is, then, I’m, sorry for cursing at you earlier.”

Suddenly that was a ton of load bangs at the door. “Open up! We know you’re in there, Carl!” The FBI yelled.

“Ah, shit” LightingBolt said “my anger got the best of me, again.” LightningBolt looked at the mirror then the safe’s door “that ought to buy me some time.” He said as he pulled the door shut, locking him inside.

There were two loud slams the first was the safe door, the second was the door to the room giving in.

“FREEZE!” two FBI agents, a man and a woman yelled, which LightningBolt figured would be holding their guns up in the air.

“huh?” the man asked “where is he? I was sure I heard noise from in here.”

“Probably hiding like the mouse he is” The woman said, “he could be anywhere, keep a lookout.”

“How did he even get in here anyway?” the man asked “I know General GriffonClaw is the only one that has the card to open this place.”

“Per his warrant for Carl Bolts, Carl is pure electricity; which would explain the blackout earlier.”

“In that case, do you think, he locked himself in the vault?” the man asked as LightningBolt started to worry.

“It’s a distinct possibility, if he can get inside here without the card, he can get inside the safe without GiffonClaw’s password.”

LightningBolt started sweating as he knew he would be caught. “Damnit, why did I have to make all that noise?” he thought. LightningBolt turned to the mirror “this time however, there might be another way: my beacon of hope. This is why, I was sent to find you; I know that now, wherever you lead me to, it will be far from here.” LightningBolt stood in front of the mirror, facing the safe door and put his hands together in a prayer. “My lord, I ask for your guidance in the coming days, to keep me safe from harm, and please, deliver me from evil.” He said as he let himself fall into the portal just as the safe door opened.

Inside the mirror, Lightningbolt couldn’t see anything beyond the mass white void. After about five seconds, he felt tension on several of his body parts. His hands started to hurt immensely, after a while he couldn’t even feel his fingers, let alone move them apart. He felt a similar sensation on his feet regarding his toes. Unlike his arms, however, he felt pain on his legs, around where the kneecap should be. He yelped when it felt like it bent the opposite way it was meant to. Lightningbolt felt strain on his tailbone as he felt some outside force tugging it outward. Lightningbolt screamed as he felt pressure around his neck and ears like they were being stretched upwards. He felt a similar sensation on his hair as it felt as if it were starting to grow on the back of his neck. Finally he felt strain around his mouth and nose as if they were being pulled from his body.

Lightningbolt kept his eyes closed during the entire torture session. When he opened his eyes, he saw a portal in the middle of the white void; which showed a ruined castle from the looks of it. He also noticed he was heading straight for it, at close to Mach speed.
“No, no, no, noooo!” He yelled, fearing more pain. The white void proved predictable as he felt a big jolt as he lost consciousness.

“Uhhh” Lightningbolt groaned “I feel like I’ve been run over by a school bus, then kicked by its kids right after.” He said as he tried getting up and opened his eyes.

“clip-clop” was the sound he heard as his legs and arms hit the floor; Lightningbolt froze. He looked down at his hands and almost freaked out at what he saw: yellow hooves, almost like what the dream horse had.

“What in hell?!” he asked as he turned around, trying to see more of his transfigured body. He saw that his feet or as they were now, hind feet, were also hooves. What surprised him were three things: that he could stretch his neck that far, that he apparently had a horse tail that was a pattern of a blond yellow and an orange yellow, and that one side of his bottom, he had what appeared to be a symbol of a yellow lightning bolt just barely visible in his similar yellow fur. Yes, he had fur now, which covered him head to hoof.

While he was looking at details that he could see without a mirror, he saw something behind him that caught his eye. It was yet another mirror, but designed differently than the one before. On the top of it was a symbol of a globe which showed all the continents of the world inside two open feathers: the emblem of the United Nations. On both sides was three evenly spaced out gray stars on a gray background that looked like cement. What was different from the two sides were two flags; the right side showed an American flag that looked slightly different than the one Lightningbolt recognized. Instead of it having fifty stars, it only had thirteen aligned in a circle. The other flag LightingBolt recognized as the British flag similarly colored as the American.

What caught Lightningbolt’s attention was not the mirror itself, but rather what he saw in it. There was a miniature yellow horse staring at him, replicating the shocked expression he was making. The fur was indeed yellow with the hair and the tail being a lighter yellow than the fur and a darker yellow. The horse’s sea green eyes showed an expression of shock and fear, replicated by his own.
Lightningbolt didn’t stop to question the reality, instead he and the horse in the mirror spoke the same exact words “You have got be kidding me.” Both copies of Lightningbolt said in unison.

My little pony, my little pony
Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh
(my little pony)I used to wonder what friendship could be(my little pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Big adventure; tons fun!
A beautiful heart; faithful and strong!
Sharing kindness, it’s an easy feat!
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Do you know you’re all my very best friends?

Prophecy of Harmony: Of Bolts and Notes.

Beyond the Mirror

View Online

Lightningbolt blinked once, he blinked twice, and he blinked three times. No matter how many times he blinked, his reflection in the mirror did not change.

He was at a loss of words “how, how did this happen?” he wondered “I’ve heard of shapeshifters like werewolves, but for it to actually happen to me, that’s; incredible I guess. My parents would never believe it even if they saw me like this.” Lightningbolt said.

He then looked closer at his reflection “so, I’m some kind of horse now, aren’t I?” he said baffled at that sentence. He then sized himself up “if I’m a horse, shouldn't I be taller to be honest? At least up to the top of the mirror?” he asked getting worried. “Am I a miniature horse? Better described as a,” he paused “pony?” he asked slowly

Lightningbolt didn’t wait for confirmation on that. “great. I’ve gone through that mirror, into a world I don’t even know, living in a body I don’t even recognize.” He sighed “if I didn't know any better, I’d say I’ve been sent to a world where magic exists and friendship solves everything.” He rolled his eyes “fortunately, unlike most things, I know better than to assume that.” He finally turned away from the mirror and looked at the wall opposite of it. The wall had a large dent in it the size of Lightningbolt's new horse body.

“Ouch, did I make that?” he asked examining the wreckage. He turned back toward the mirror. “Perhaps this is where I came out of.” Lightningbolt said “which means they could be trying to come here any minute. I might want to make distance from the mirror as fast as possible.” He said.

Lightningbolt got up on his hind feet and tried to make a run. Instead of running, he just slipped and fell right on his jaw. “Ow!” he said as he got up, rubbing his jaw with a hoof. “right, I’m a four-legged animal now, got use all four to run.” He said putting his hoof down now. He suddenly arched an eyebrow at the hoof that he used to rub his jaw “was that even supposed to bend that way?” he asked as he had bent the hoof to rub it.

He shrugged it off as he started a trot to the right of the mirror. “ugh, this feels degrading, having to use all of my limbs to move around. Well, four minus my head and my tail.” He shook his head “I’m not sure how I feel about that key factor of this, new body.” Lightningbolt said “well, the only thing worse is that I’m technically unclothed.” He said, “horses or, ponies for that matter, don’t wear clothes for any reason; but it still manages to bother me.”

“Clip-clop clip-clop!” was the sound his hooves kept making as they hit the stone floor.

“That,” Lightningbolt said “will take some getting used to. A lot of getting used to.” He said, complaining about the sound his hooves were making.

Lightningbolt looked at the general area he was in. Stone was used in just about everything he saw. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of stone. There were holes in the ceiling and cracks in the walls. The place looked as if it had aged quite a bit. There seemed to be carpet on some parts of the floor but it looked so old, and so disgusting that Lightningbolt avoided walking on it purposely.

“Where am I anyway?” Lightningbolt asked “some kind of ancient ruins or something?”

Lightningbolt eventually came across a very long staircase like the kind you’d find in the entrance of a castle. Like everything else there, the stairs too, were stone. In front of the stairs, just mere feet or hooves in this case, was the exit; a large door shaped space, wide open without a door. There appeared to be pieces of broken stone bricks right by it.

“I’m starting to think I’m in a castle, a very old castle. At least I will for just a little while longer.” Lightningbolt said.

He was about to just start a gallop when he paused at the stairs. As a four-legged animal, the stairs seemed daunting. The thing Lightningbolt noticed, however, was that they seemed just big enough to support hooves rather that human feet.

Lightningbolt sighed “I can do this!” He declared “If I can escape the hells of Area 51, then I can climb down some puny stairs, on all fours.” He said quietly at the last part.

He started descending with his fore hooves first, followed by his hind hooves. “Stay, calm Lightningbolt,” he told himself “you’re not going to fall; just like rock climbing, you can jump and they’ll still have you. Except they probably won’t have me in this case.” He said.

Lightningbolt descended the stairs, slowly and carefully. Suddenly he gasped as the inevitable had happened: his front right hoof slipped. Then he lost his balance and started tumbling down the stairs.

“come, ow, on, ow, stairs, ow, I, ow, thought, ow, we, ow, were, ow, friends, ow.” He said as he fell all the way down, falling on his jaw once again. “Ow!” he exclaimed and sighed, still on the ground “why do I feel like this is going to become a running joke?” He asked aloud.

Lightningbolt got up, and dusted himself off “that hurt, a lot” he declared. He started to head for the exit, a large door shaped hole.

After he was outside, he looked at his surroundings and the building he came out of. The building was a very large, aged building. Pieces of the roof were had broken off over time; same could be said about the walls. Outside there were trees almost everywhere Lightningbolt looked. There were broken stone bricks everywhere he looked, even a broken water fountain from the looks of it. A brief look at the sky told him that it was almost dark, despite the moon being clearly visible in the sky. It had to be at least dawn from the looks of it.

“Looks like my suspicions, at least my second guess, was correct” LightingBolt concluded “I was in a castle, a very old castle by the looks of it.”

About a yard or two ahead, was an even larger door shaped hole; or maybe it was for a gate that broke a while ago, Lightningbolt couldn't tell.

“I must be in the courtyard if my understanding of castles is accurate.” Lightningbolt declared.

“At least now I’m used to walking in this form,” LightingBolt declared “now I just need to get used to running, especially since I may need to make a getaway just in case they suspect where I went.”

LightningBolt started up a trot then turned it into a gallop by making his legs move faster. He achieved it, but he overachieved: he was at the other side of the hole within five seconds flat.

He stopped just five hooves before he would’ve hit a tree. He looked back at how far he ran. LightingBolt’s trail was marked by scorched dirt and small clouds of electricity close to the ground.

“Geez,” Lightningbolt exclaimed “I knew horses were fast, just not that fast!”

Lightningbolt looked beyond the outskirts of the ruined castle. Among the trees, there was a clear path that went through a bridge that went over a river. After the bridge, it looked like it went deeper into the forest.

“Now, I suppose I,” Lightningbolt said as he examined the color of the path “follow the brown dirt road?” he asked jokingly. Lightningbolt deadpanned “yeah, that was terrible.” He declared. Lightningbolt then prepared another gallop before stopped “ok,” he told himself “maybe that’s not the best idea.” Instead Lightningbolt started up a normal speed, trot up the path.

“So far, so good.” Lightningbolt told himself as he walked toward the bridge “it’s like they don’t even know I’m here.” He declared.

Within five minutes he came up the bridge, a long brown bridge held together by rope on both sides of it. The bridge, like the stairs earlier, seemed daunting. Lightningbolt felt a shiver down his spine as he looked down.

“Water,” he stated, “and lots of it.” Lightningbolt gave the rope on the bridge a slight tug as it barely shook. “Seems sturdy; but I’m not too sure; I don’t trust rope bridges.” He looked all the way across “maybe if I build up speed, I could jump across. But then there’s that one percent margin that I could miss it.” Lightningbolt sighed as he looked down the rope bridge again “I guess my only option is to walk across this, less than ideal, flimsy rope bridge.” He stated without confidence.

Lightningbolt started the walk across the bridge slowly, taking care where he planted his hooves. As he walked his legs wobbled and shook which threatened to make him fall. “Come on, Lightningbolt,” he told himself “you escaped Area 51, you can definitely cross a bridge, walking above your worst enemy.”

Fortunately, the only thing that even tried to stop him was his own fear. After ten minutes of walking slowly, Lightningbolt made it across in one piece.

“Phew,” he breathed before fast walking away from the rope bridge, just in case the water lashed out to grab him. “thank you, for not breaking that rope bridge on me.” Lightningbolt said, looking toward the dark sky.

Before moving on, Lightningbolt charged his inner electricity into one of his hooves, making it glow like a flashlight. Trying to use it as a flashlight, he almost tripped and face planted, catching himself with the same hoof he made glow.

Lightningbolt sighed “It’s going to take a while getting used to being on all fours.” He said, “I’ve got the walking and running down, but now it’s just purely dealing with the inconvenience of having to use four hooves to walk.” He paused “or the lack of hands.” He trailed off. Lightningbolt shook his head, trying not to dwell on it. Lightningbolt thought how to achieve his ‘flashlight hand’ in the form of a horse. “hmm, just make my eyes glow? No, that would look weird; might even hurt, electricity in my eyes? Just all four hooves? Where's the point if I can’t use it while I walk?” Finally, he sighed loudly “for the love of Christ!” he shouted as he charged his entire body with electricity which caused his entire body to glow.

Lightningbolt started speed walking down the path as he said, “I’d better move quickly, I’ll burn more electricity this way.” The light he was producing generated enough to see in the dark, but it would burn his internal electricity a lot quicker than if he used just one hoof.

Lightningbolt kept speed walking along the dirt trail until the ruins and the rope bridge were out of sight.
________________________________________
Lightningbolt trotted down the dirt path, for almost twenty minutes. He was humming a familiar tune which went like “follow the brown dirt road” he hummed repeatedly.

Lightningbolt sighed as he said “great, now I got it stuck in my head. If only I knew the rest of the lyrics, then it wouldn't be so bad.” Lightningbolt paused “how far am I until I’m out of this forest? Love the view, but I’d hate to be stranded here, in the dark.”

Suddenly, LightningBolt heard a loud rumbling sound coming from nearby. He got worried for a full minute searching his surroundings for anything suspicious, before concluding that it was his own stomach growling.

“It has been a while since I last ate,” LightningBolt noted “not since those chili dogs I got at the hotdog stand in Rachel. That was hours ago, maybe? How long was I passed out in that castle exactly?” LightningBolt wondered.

Suddenly he heard the rustle of a bush nearby, about ten hooves to his left, with it came another loud rumbling sound that sounded more like a growl.

LightningBolt froze “C-c-carl,” he told himself “I highly doubt that was your stomach.”

More bushes rustled and more growling followed and it sounded closer.

LightningBolt, was curious and cautious at the same time. While he wanted to figure out it was, his “fight or fly instinct” told him to get the heck out of there.

“Screw the no running in the forest rule, I’m out of here!” LightningBolt exclaimed as he sped out of the area as fast as he could. The scenery looked like a blur as he sped by, it never felt this good to run! He saw a bush several hooves ahead which he jumped in the air to avoid it. His next obstacle was a sharp turn going right in the path, normally would be easy to navigate at normal speed, but this was close to Mach speed. LightningBolt tried turning as close left as he could before he inevitably tripped, and ended up doing a somersault to continue the rest of the way, keeping his momentum. When he ended up on his hooves again he sped up again.

LightningBolt looked behind him as he ran looking for the invisible danger running after him “so far, so good!” he noted “hey, I think I’m actually starting to get the hang of this speed thing!” LightningBolt exclaimed, focusing on what was ahead of him again.

The next thing he knew, there was an inevitable collision between him and what looked like a brown horse on the path. He heard a scream before they collided.

Lightningbolt’s head pounded from the collision, but he still got up. He reactivated his electricity, which had turned off in the collision, and set it to just his hooves. He then searched for and found the other horse whom he collided with. He trotted over, seeing if he/she was ok, careful not to touch him/her, for fear of electrocuting him.

“Sweet Celestia, Rainbow Dash!” the brown horse exclaimed as he got back on his hooves “does your speed know no limits?” After getting up, the horse gave Lightningbolt a double take “wait a minute, you’re not Rainbow Dash.” He declared “may I ask you, why and how your running so fast?”

The brown horse was almost the same size as Lightningbolt with few differences. Other than being brown, another difference was the eye color, while Lightningbolt’s were sea green the other horse’s were an ocean blue. The other differences almost threw Lightningbolt off. On the horse’s forehead was a solid curved horn, the same color as its fur. On its sides were two large light blue bug wings. The horse raised an eyebrow as he anticipated an answer he hadn't received yet.

Lightningbolt reluctantly answered the ‘why’ portion of the question. “Oh, I, um. Heard suspicious noises around me, the occasional growl, and the rustling of bushes. I-It just freaked me out a little.”

The brown horse raised an eyebrow once more “suspicious noises?” it asked.

As if on cue, a lot of howling was heard, like from wolves. Bushes and trees rustled nearby.

Lightningbolt pointed to where they were coming from “l-like those noises!” he shouted almost with fear.

The brown horse stopped and simply said “Timber wolves.”

“What?” lightningbolt asked as the horse started galloping away, Lightningbolt's gut told him he might want to follow it.

Lightningbolt started jogging after the brown horse whom he eventually caught up too. As they ran, Lightningbolt asked “timber wolves?”

“No time to explain” it said as he pointed toward some trees with an outstretched bug wing “come on, we’ll hide there.”

Lightningbolt was reluctant to trust someone he had just barely met, but with those ‘timber wolves’ there was little room to argue as he followed the other horse as they hid in the trees.

When they were there, the horse’s horn glowed a light blue as water came from nowhere, mixing with the dirt, forming mud. Lightningbolt didn't have time to ask how was that possible, before the horse told him, “roll in the mud, it’ll conceal your scent so they can’t find us!”

“What?!”

“Roll in the mud, must I repeat myself again? Timber wolves are carnivores, they smell your fear, but they can’t find what they can’t smell. Now roll in mud quickly, before we both turn into a midnight snack!”

Lightningbolt wanted to argue, but he had little to no choice. He reluctantly did as told, slowly and careful not to flip on the wrong side in front of the brown horse. The mud was sticky, so sticky that it stuck to his fur.

“Good enough, come on” it waved. Lightningbolt went up to the tree as the brown horse took his turn, a lot faster, not restrained; as a pig would act when doing the same action.

He then stood next to Lightningbolt against a tree trunk and grabbed his hoof unexpectedly. Blue fire suddenly consumed them both. Lightningbolt panicked, he didn't find someone who wanted to help him, he found a literal ‘fireman’ in horse form. He stopped panicking when the fire stopped, but he couldn’t see his own hooves. What he did see was large patches of green. Was he a bush? Did his new friend turn him into a bush?

He didn't have time to complain as the growling and bushes rustling got closer. Then in the hidden section, new creatures showed their unfriendly faces.

The creatures were wolflike it had large paws and large teeth. What was off about it, was that it appeared to be made entirety of wood. The wolf had large green, soulless eyes that seemed to look into Lightningbolt’s own soul. The only part that was not wood was its eyebrows which were large, green leaves.

Lightningbolt held his breath while the timber wolves tried to sniff him out. The four of them sniffed every corner, for a trace of his scent. Right when Lightningbolt thought they were going to leave, a timber went up and started to sniff the bush Lightningbolt had been disguised as. He tried desperately not to make a sound as the timber wolf kept sniffing. Just when it turned to leave, it did the unspeakable: the timber wolf lifted its hind leg toward the bush Lightningbolt was disguised as. Lightningbolt tried even harder not to make a reaction to being indirectly marked on.

Finally, feeling failure, the timber wolves left the area. The next few minutes he and his friend heard a lot of howling.

After several minutes, blue fire surrounded the duo again before revealing their true forms. Lightningbolt’s fur was damp around his front, fortunately none of the, stuff, got on his head or his hair.

“Uhh,” Lightningbolt said in disgust “turn me into a fire hydrant why don’t cha..”

“Ah, quit your whining,” the brown horse said “you’ve never been sprayed by a toxic skunk.” He declared bluntly. “Now that the danger has passed, why are you in the Everfree forest alone?”

“Hold up!” Lightningbolt exclaimed “before we continue this undeclared friendship and I answer any more of your questions, I’ve got a question: what was that?”

The horse raised an eyebrow “what was what, exactly?”

“You know, when you, turned the ground into mud, and you, turned us into bushes!” Lightningbolt exclaimed with desire to find out the truth.

The horse sighed “first that was a water spell that I used to turn it into mud, the bushes was me using my changeling magic.”

“Water spell? Magic?”

The horse’s horn lit light blue again as leaves were lifted up in the air, covered in the same tint. “Need any other evidence, nonbeliever?” he asked “I’m currently willing and able to provide it.”

“So, you’re a witch?” Lightningbolt asked “like a real witch?”

The horse suddenly face hoofed “I don’t know where you got that from, but I hardly know enough magic to be the next StarSwirl the Bearded. For the record, that would be ‘wizard’ not a witch. If you want magic like that, you can see my friend, Twilight.”

Lightningbolt felt the horse’s glare almost staring into his soul, probably could if he wanted to. He sighed “sorry,” Lightningbolt apologized “its just that given history, I’m not sure if I should trust magic or its users.”

“Maybe it might help if I were to introduce myself” the brown horse said “name’s Chang Changlis, fosterling of the sun.”

“You can call me “Lightningbolt.” He stated.

Suddenly they heard more howling as Lightningbolt hid behind his new friend.

Chang gave a slight chuckle before saying “maybe we should find somewhere a bit safer to talk.”

(line break)

The duo walked deeper into the forest, and farther from the old castle. It felt like almost fifteen minutes since they walked away from the trees they hid in. They still followed the path that Lightningbolt followed initially, but with little rush. They were in an area with very large trees with the path branching off to a smaller one.

Lightningbolt whined “are we there yet?”

Chang, who the last four times had told him no, sighed as he said “yes, we’re finally here now!” he exclaimed with annoyance as he pointed to the object of interest.

In front of them that the path branched off to, was a very large tree. However, three things were off about the tree. In the front, there were two circular windows that hinted at an interior. Next to them toward the middle was an oval shaped red door that looked as if it could open. There were three windows just two hooves above the other two which hinted at a second floor. Toward the top, there appeared to be a place where a door would open onto the top.

“This is where I live” Chang said “in this little corner of the Everfree.”

“You live in the forest?” Lightningbolt asked.

“The Everfree, yes.” He said as they walked toward the ‘treehouse’ “lived here ever since I left Canterlot. Well, more like kicked out of Canterlot.”

“Canterlot?” Lightningbolt asked “sorry to ask, but what is that, a city maybe?” he guessed.

“Not just a city, it’s the Equestria capital.” Chang said “how have you not heard of it?”

“Oh um,” LightningBolt said trying to think of an excuse “I must be semi-antisocial.” He lied.

Chang stood in front of the door and glared “I once met an antisocial mare in Vanhoover and she at least knew what Canterlot was. You’re not antisocial, you’re talking just fine. Canterlot, you know, where Princess Celestia and Luna live?”

“Celestia,” LightningBolt echoed “I believe you said that name earlier, but I’m afraid I don’t know her.” He answered.

Chang’s right eye twitched three times before saying “I have so many questions, and I hope somepony can answer them for me.”

LightningBolt wasn’t sure if he heard him say ‘somepony’ or not.

Chang sighed as his horn glowed light blue again as he looked at LightningBolt “ok, good, no changeling here.”

“What?” LightningBolt asked “changeling?”

Chang’s horn stopped glowing as he said “just checking if you’re a changeling or not before I let you in.”

“oh,” LightningBolt said as Chang opened the door “is it a bad thing to be a changeling?”

Chang sighed, possibly abandoning logic at this point “depends on how you live as a changeling. Follow the queen or don’t follow the queen. Or choice C, queen declares you unworthy for the hive and kicks you out at a young age.”

“Ouch,” LightningBolt said “what happens, are they killed for being the ‘runt’ of the liter?”

“I could tell you that from experience” Chang said as he motioned toward the door “come on, we’ll talk more inside.”

The door led to what appeared to be a living room. On one corner, there was a long red couch along with a small table on each side of it. To the right of the living room there was the kitchen which had two fridges, with them two freezers. The last thing Lightningbolt could see when he walked in was a dartboard just a few feet from the couch which had a photo of a black colored horse with deep snake like eyes along with matching hair making what looked like a hissing face taped onto it. There were quite a few darts thrown at the dartboard.

Chang motioned toward the couch “you can wait over there while I find a towel to wipe the filth off with.” He said, looking at Lightningbolt's front half and all the mud on him.

Lightningbolt smirked “just let the record show that it was your idea, well, except the last part.”

Chang rolled his eyes “I never said it was your fault for either or. In a situation like that, you just do what you can to survive.” He said “just wait over there while I get you a towel,” Chang instructed before examining his own condition “possibly one for me too.”

Lightningbolt wanted to say more about it, but he was afraid of what magic Chang really possessed so he did as told and waited by the couch. Opposite of the couch by what appeared to be a small fireplace (it bewildered Lightningbolt that a treehouse would even have a fireplace) there was a small photo of 7 horses and three other creatures that resembled a fox or a hornless deer, a fairly small purple creature which resembled a type of reptile, perhaps a miniature dragon, and a creature of randomized animal parts? Chang was spotted to the right of the photo with his right hoof interlocked with another horse’s right hoof who was yellow in color with pink hair and tail.

To his left was a pinker looking horse who had a wide smile on with pink hair and tail. Lightningbolt had a feeling he was going to see that smile in his dreams tonight.

Behind the three of them was a type of a creature Lightningbolt didn't recognize. Its head looked goat like with horns that didn't match. It had a long gray body which had two mismatched wings on his back: a bat wing and bird wing. His right arm appeared to be some type of paw while the left was a bird claw. He had a long dragon tail, was it? The rest of the strange creature was concealed behind Chang and the other horses. He wore a very mischievous smile that looked as if it could rival the pink horse's smile, something about him told Lightningbolt that he was trouble with a capital T.

Just diagonal to the pink horse was a creature that looked like a cross between a fox and a deer. Like the former it too was pink but was at a lower eye level. The only limbs other than the head that were visible were two ribbon like extensions that came from what appeared to be a bow from its neck. On the right ribbon was what appeared to be a single gold ring. Lightningbolt almost couldn't tell that the ribbons were limbs until he saw that the ring less one was toward its head apparently wiping off a tear. Another thing he noticed was that it was sitting in a chair with straps tying it onto it, Lightningbolt also saw what appeared to be wheels to the side of it, was it in a wheelchair?

To the far left of the photo was a tan looking horse with lighter tan hair and tail. It appeared to have freckles on its face. On its bottom was a mark like Lightningbolt's own that was in the shape of three apples arranged in a small triangle.

To the tan horse's right was a white horse with stylish purple hair and tail. It looked as if it were posing for the photo in the same way a fashion model would. It had a mark in the form of three cyan diamonds arranged similarly like the latter's.

Diagonal to the white horse was a cyan colored horse with an unusual hair color, that being rainbow colored hair and a tail to match it. Unlike the others, it hovered above the ground by two inches by its cyan colored wings. It had mark of a white cloud with thunderbolt coming from it in the color of a rainbow.

In the middle of the picture was a purple pony with dark purple hair and tail with a streak of lighter purple within it. It appeared to have purple wings which were spread out to touch all those around it and a horn on its head, straight instead of curved. On her rear end was another mark that showed a giant light purple star with some white stars scattered throughout.

Just right next to the mare in the middle, was a small reptile which stood next to the purple pony with upright, plantigrade legs. It had small green spines over the top of the head and going as far down as the small tail. In his right arm, he held a small scroll, with the other he gave a thumbs up toward the camera, making LightningBolt wish he still had his own hands.

“I really hope you didn’t get mud or anything on that.” Chang’s voice ran out. He had returned with two similar light blue towels or maybe it was just the tint of his magic.

"No, I was just looking at it, haven’t touched it, yet.” Lightningbolt answered with a smirk. Suddenly the world turned black as he felt something hit his face, covering his eyes.

“You really shouldn't make bad jokes with somepony who has projectiles to throw at you.” Chang’s voice called “now clean yourself up before I decide to throw something heavier.”

Lightningbolt tried feeling for the towel, but reaching his hooves forward alone, he couldn't reach it.

Chang sighed “you have bend your hooves to reach it, genius.”

Lightningbolt tried bending his hooves but they only bent backwards.

There was a big "thonk!" sound heard before Chang said “you have to curl your hooves first. Come on, it’s not magic science!”

“Wait, magic is science?”

“Now you’re just playing dumb.” Chang said.

Lightningbolt tried curling his hoof against his better judgement, toward his head and felt the edge of it. Bending the hoof toward the towel in a pulling motion and tugged it off. Lightningbolt was out of the dark now and saw his surroundings once more.

“Congratulations, you got the towel off,” Chang said sarcastically “now use it to clean yourself with.

Lightningbolt was confused on how to do said task. He tried grabbing it in a similar way as he grabbed it in the first place. He bent his hooves on the towel and tried moving it toward his face. The action apparently was not a mere moving motion but a throwing one. The towel launched in the air toward his face, almost to the ceiling. The towel fell back down toward Lightningbolt. His surroundings were concealed once more as the towel landed on his head.

Chang chuckled “somepony need some help over there?” he asked.

“Someone,” Lightningbolt corrected “and yes, I could probably use it.”

Chang appeared to almost say something but apparently decided against it. Lightningbolt heard a few clops before he felt a hoof on his face trying to remove the towel.

“Btttz!” was the sound electricity made upon contact of Chang’s hoof and the towel. There was a loud thud sound as Chang seemingly fell to the floor.

In a rush, Lightningbolt pulled off the towel, somehow keeping it in his grasp this time, and tossed it to the ground. He found his brown friend on the ground in front of him, vibrating violently.

“oh shit” Lightningbolt thought as he rushed to help his new friend.

“Chang!?” Lightningbolt called as he ran to his fallen friend. He checked the pulse and instantly felt electricity.

“Oh, no.” Lightningbolt thought “seems like some of my electricity transferred to the towel and transferred to Chang as soon as he touched it.” He put his right hoof on what was hopefully the stomach and focused. “If that electricity came from me, then I should be able to take it out” he thought as he tried turning himself the opposite charge than the charge he usually uses. Sure enough, ions of electricity sprung out of Chang and back into Lightningbolt, even the towel attached itself to him.

Lightningbolt gave a breath of relief as Chang opened his eyes and started getting up.

“What happened?” Chang asked “I touched the towel and then just pain and darkness.”

Lightningbolt sighed before asking “you alright, Chang?”

“Yes,” he answered “I just want to know, what in Celestia’s name happened?”

“First let me check you have no memory damages, what is your name?” Lightningbolt asked.

Chang glared “Chang Changlis. If I didn't know that I wouldn’t have responded to said name a few seconds ago.” He answered bluntly.

Lightningbolt pondered for a full second “what’s your mother’s name? I know that’s the first thing I’d forget. Well next to my own name, and my father, my aunt, my niece, and..” he trailed off “my mother wasn't the greatest alright?!” He suddenly exclaimed.

Chang sighed and said “as much as I would like it too be Celestia, its Chrysalis.” He put in bluntly.

Lightningbolt thought “what is your fath- “he started to ask.

“Lightningbolt,” Chang interrupted “your stalling. Now are you going to tell me the truth, or am I going to get AppleJack on you?” he demanded.

Lightningbolt had no idea why Chang was threatening to ‘get a cereal’ on him, but he proceeded. “alright,” he began “that shock you felt when you touched the towel? That was pure electricity.” Lightningbolt explained.

Chang arched an eyebrow like he was unfamiliar with the term “electricity?” he asked.

“Basically, I electrocuted you by accident.” Lightningbolt explained “usually fabric items such as cloth attract and absorb my inner electricity when I’m not aware of it. Like what happened with the towel.”

Chang put a hoof on his chin, thinking “getting electrocuted usually only happens to pegasi when they fly through thunder clouds. But how could an earth pony such as yourself possess the same power of a thunder cloud?”

Lightningbolt now arched his eyebrow “excuse me,” he said “earth pony? I’m slightly offended right now.”

Chang sighed “why should I even be surprised at this point?” he asked himself “at least the fact that you don't know your own race, answers some questions.” He then acknowledged Lightningbolt “let me guess, you’ve been trotting around thinking you’re a horse?”

Lightningbolt almost didn't understand what he was asking until he figured out that a trot was a walk for horse. “yes?” he answered uncertainly.

“Then I’m sorry to say, but that’s not the case.” He said “you’re a pony, Lightningbolt. An earth pony to be exact.”

Lightningbolt deadpanned “great,” he said blandly “where am I exactly, some little girl's tv show?”

“No, that would be Equestria.” Chang explained. “Back to my question, how do you possess power equivalent to that of a thunder cloud?”

Lightningbolt choose his answer carefully “ok, it was a few years ago,”

“Years?” Chang asked.

“You know, the length of time it takes the earth to revolve around the sun?” Lightningbolt asked, not expecting an answer.

"A sun?" Chang asked "the length of time it takes the sun to revolve around Equestria?”

Lightningbolt didn't bother correcting him “I suppose if that’s your equivalent to year, then yes.” He said “basically there was a power outage in my area when strong winds knocked down a transformer.”

“Transformer? What do you mean by that?” Chang asked.

“What I don’t mean is a giant robot that literally transforms into a vehicle.” He said “a transformer is basically a giant pole in the ground that connects with other transformers to bring electricity into your house and other houses around the world. Anyway, my family just happened to be wealthy enough to have our own generator.”

“Generator? Like a mechanism that creates electricity?” Chang asked.

“Yes, but you can just call it mobile electricity, because that’s actually what it is.” Lightningbolt explained “anyway, I had gone to turn on the generator despite the fact I’ve never done that before, my father usually did that. However, I was the only one home at the time, as my parents were on a honeymoon for their anniversary; my brother's gone for years.”

Chang sighed “let me guess, that’s what caused it?”

“Yes, well, sort of. Another thing was that I had just washed my hands after cleaning up a cat mess with a paper towel, the last one we had.”

Chang arched an eyebrow at hands “Cat mess?” Chang asked.

“When a cat puts its waste anywhere but the litter box.” He explained “so, while I tried operating the generator, my hands were wet. The generator was also in an enclosed space which was my other flaw. So right away, I flipped the circuit breaker on. I felt a blast of electricity throughout my body that knocked me out.”

Chang put a hoof on his chin “I’m guessing that's very like what happened to me?” he asked.

Lightningbolt sighed “yes, but you had someone to get the electricity out of you before it got too severe, I didn't, I was unconscious for too long to keep track of. Sometime after the incident, I was rushed to the hospital emergency room.” Lightningbolt sighed “my parents were told that I had a five point one chance of survival.”

Chang blinked “Five point one chance of survival?" he repeated "that doesn't sound very high."

“It wasn't” Lightningbolt said “While I was in the coma, I saw what appeared to be a dark blue horse or pony as it might've been, with bird wings and a long, slender horn.”

“ Princess Luna.” Chang acknowledged.

“Luna?” Lightningbolt asked “what do you mean?”

Chang’s horn glowed light blue again as what appeared to be a hologram took the shape of a pony exactly how Lightningbolt described it, dark blue fur, lighter blue hair and tail, ice blue just under the hooves, and it wore an almost blackish crown. On its bottom was a mark of a crescent moon in a dark sky. “Is this the pony you saw?” he asked.

“Yes!” Lightningbolt exclaimed “how did you know?”

“That is Princess Luna,” Chang explained “the princess of the night. She has the power to look into everypony’s dreams, even if they’re in a coma.” He explained as the hologram disappeared.

“Luna, she saved my life. I saw her in my coma and she lit her horn a light blue, like yours, and the darkness started fading away. I woke up at the hospital, and instantly regretted even opening my eyes, seeing how I got a serious scolding from my mother for improper use of a generator.” LightningBolt said.

“How long were you out exactly?” Chang asked.

“An entire month, was how long it took me to recover. Why?”

“So, one moon?” Chang asked. “your mother waited an entire moon just to scold you?”

“Hey, I told you she wasn’t the greatest,” LightningBolt joked “she used to say that the longer we, my brother and I, avoided punishment, the more time she had to think of an even worse punishment.” He coughed nervously “anyway, the strange thing though, was that the life support system that I was attached too had suddenly lost power, my parents were frightened, until I revealed myself to be ok.” LightningBolt explained “doctors checked me over, and found a ton of electricity still within me.”

“I’m guessing the electricity stayed?” Chang asked.

“I’m not sure myself.” LightningBolt said as he pawed at the ground “I just guessed it merged into my DNA or something, because there are times when I do run out of electricity, absorbing a generator or touching a light switch usually fills it back up.”

Chang pointed to LightningBolt’s bottom half “I’m guessing, that’s what your cutie mark means, electricity, or lightning?” he asked.

LightningBolt looked at him disapprovingly “that’s what this is?" he said pointing to said mark "A cutie mark?” he asked.

“Yes.” Chang said.

LightningBolt sighed “forget being a pony, that is beyond strange. Well, to be fair nothing has been normal since I fell into that mirror.” He said.

“Mirror?” Chang asked curiously.

LightningBolt sighed “basically after the government made me a target, fearing what I could do with my new-found power, they started hunting me down like hounds. My parents wanted me just too give in, but I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life as the government’s personal guinea pig.”

“Too be honest,” Chang said “I wouldn't have responded any different.”

LightningBolt nodded “Luna had sent me on a journey to Area 51, where she promised would be a ‘beacon of hope.’ For me to escape that endless goose chase.” He took a breath of air “what I found was a particularly decorated mirror, that beyond it, led me to a ruined castle, not only that, but it modified my physical form into what you see right now.”

“Wait.” Chang said “your suggesting other worldly travel?”

“Yes” LightningBolt answered.

“What race were you exactly before you came to Equestria?” Chang asked.

“White, why?”

Chang sighed “I’m guessing that took an entirely different meaning too you, so let’s try this again. What species were before you came to Equestria?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s what you meant.” LightningBolt said before giving himself a face-hoof, which admittedly hurt “I was a human, I’m guessing you don’t have those here in Equestria?”

Chang took what appeared to be a notepad and a quill and jotted something down. “no, but I just happen to have a friend, well two friends that are experts when it comes to ‘humans. I’ll see about taking you to one of them tomorrow.”

LightningBolt looked uncertain about something “Chang, could you promise me something?”

“What is that something?” Chang asked “please don’t make me do a blind promise, hate those. Pinkie makes me do those all the time and always ends up with me having to do something stupid.”

“I won’t do that, don’t worry” LightningBolt reassured “I just want you to promise that even if those government officials that are looking for me or anyone that is looking for me, asks where I am, could you not tell them where I am?” he asked.

Chang sighed “I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” he said rather cheerfully.

“LightningBolt blinked three times before tilting his head in a confused expression.

“It’s a Pinkie promise,” Chang explained “basically if I were to break that, I could lose a friend.”

“FOREVER!!!” a pink mare exclaimed as she stood up from her bed just to speak that one word. After letting it sink in for ten seconds she plopped back on the pillow as if nothing had happened at all.

Chang looked up “Well, that was random.” He declared. “anyway, your secret is safe with me.” He assured.

“Thanks.” LightningBolt said “you know, you’re the first person, well hor-pony in this case, that’s actually listened to me.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Chang simply said.

“Friends?” LightningBolt asked, unsure.

Chang put a hoof on his chin “is that a what is a friend question or a are you really my friend’ question?”

LightningBolt chuckled lightly “possibly the second one.”

“What did you think we were at this point? Acquaintances? “ Chang asked “besides, I’m a friend to everypony, that even includes otherworldly visitors with a tragic background such as yourself.”

“Thanks, but I’m not really a pony, remember? I mean, I look the part, but inside I’m still human.”

Chang sighed “Sorry.” He apologized “You go about everyday saying ‘everypony’ and ‘anypony’ and don’t know how to say anything else. Sorry it’s just how I’ve been taught, how everypony has been taught; and they wonder why griffons are almost always grumpy when they come here.”

“It’s alright” LightningBolt said before pausing “wait, did you say griffons?”

“Yes, I’m assuming you don’t have those where you’re from? Maria had a very similar reaction when she found out about griffons.” Chang asked. "griffons are basically creatures who are half lion and half eagle."

“No, no we don’t” LightningBolt answered “who’s Maria?”

“Maria Jones Robotnik Alpha,” Chang said “just call her Maria, makes it so much easier. She’s a pink ribboned fox so called a sylveon or so she says. She came to Equestria using some golden ring.”

“Golden ring?” LightningBolt asked.

Chang stopped as he tried going for the towel “how ‘bout we clean you up really quick, so you can maybe sit down somewhere while I fix some dinner or something.” He said.

“Chang, wait” LightningBolt exclaimed “it still has electricity in it, it might electrocute you again!”

“Would it hurt if I used my magic?” Chang asked.

LightningBolt pondered “maybe? Quite possibly? I don’t know, I’m no expert in magic.”

Chang’s horn lit up a light blue before the towel lit up in the same tint. He moved it up and down before stating “yeah, seems safe.” He declared before going to LightningBolt with it.

“So why don’t you like magic?” Chang asked “I remember you stating that your even afraid of it, what’s that about?” He asked curiously as he cleaned the mud off.

“Early in history about the seventeen-hundreds,” LightningBolt began “humans did use magic. Or maybe they didn’t, it’s unclear as the judgements were extremely biased. The whole ordeal was deemed illegal, and everyone accused of it was killed by being hung by rope, being dubbed ‘witches’.” LightningBolt paused “okay, ninety-nine-point nine percent of the accused were hung, someone just had to be special.”

Chang was almost speechless “that… sounds horrible. I guess that’s why you called me a witch when I first used magic?”

"Yeah," LightningBolt said “I’ll admit, I might've overrated a little bit.”

"It's alright, you didn't know.” Chang assured as he took the towel back toward what LightningBolt assumed was the bathroom. “I’ll go put some water on it, and see if the mud comes off easier.” He said as LightningBolt panicked.

“Bad idea!” LightningBolt called out.

“Why is that?” Chang asked.

“The electricity, remember? Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. It might be dormant right now, but I guarantee it’ll go crazy once water gets on it.”

Chang thought for a little while “what if I did that from a distance?” He asked getting a few feet from the bathroom.

“I wouldn't recommend using water at all to be honest.” LightningBolt said “the same rules about electricity apply to me. Even one drop can make the electricity go wild, attacking anything in sight.”

“LightningBolt,” Chang said “your worrying too much, I’m sure just wetting the towel, will do no harm at all.”

“Other than letting electricity go wild?” LightningBolt asked “yes, no harm at all.”

Chang sighed “would it make you feel a little better if I used a different towel?” Chang asked.

“A little bit” LightningBolt admitted “but there’s still the electricity inside me to worry about.” He noted.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Chang assured “the water won’t get you, not directly at least. If it’ll help, I’ll use my magic and stand a few hooves away while getting the mud out.”

LightningBolt tried to say something, but he could find a way to protest how safe the plan was.

“I hear no argument,” Chang noted “so I’ll get a different towel and wet it. Don’t go anywhere, this chapter is long enough as it is.”

“Chapter?” LightningBolt wondered.

Chang reappeared out of the bathroom with a new towel in his magic. He stayed just at the bathroom door as he sent the towel over and wiped the mud off LightningBolt. Small sparks were created where the towel was used.

Chang raised an eyebrow “wow, you weren't kidding about how potent that electricity of yours is.”

“Just remember, that could've been your hoof.” LightningBolt noted as Chang finished up.

Chang rolled his eyes “yes, I’m aware of that now.” He said, finishing up “ok, your mostly clean, or as clean as you’ll get without taking a shower.”

LightningBolt shivered.

“Your free to go in the living room and sit on the couch if you want.” Chang told him “I’ll see about getting dinner started.” He said as he went toward the kitchen.

LightningBolt, now free from torture, looked at the photo some more. “Chang, may ask something? Who are the …ponies in this picture?”

“You mean the one taken just a few weeks after we sent Tirek back to Tartarus?” Chang asked from the kitchen “they’re my friends” Chang said as he returned from the kitchen “they took me in when no pony else would. They saw for who I was, not what I was.” He said.

Chang pointed toward the yellow pony next to him in the photo “her name is FlutterShy, she’s an animal caretaker and used to be the Element of Kindness.”

“So, she’s a veterinarian?” LightningBolt asked.

“She doesn't have a degree for it, but, basically.” Chang declared.

LightningBolt looked at the picture closer noticing how close the two were together and turned to Chang “there isn't anything going on between you two, is there?” he asked with a smirk.

Chang was almost speechless “oh, um,” he stuttered “no? I’m going to check on the food, be right back!” he declared as he made a dash toward the kitchen rather fast like.

LightningBolt thought Chang only checked on the food to avoid answering the question, but he decided to ignore it.

Something else bothered LightningBolt though.

“Chang,” LightningBolt said “what did you mean when you said that FlutterShy used to be the Element of Kindness?”

“FlutterShy along Twilight’s other friends were part of a group called the Elements of Harmony” Chang explained “well, except me, Maria, Discord, and Spike; I was still part of the Royal Guard at that time, a job I do miss. Maria was helping the save the world in another universe.” He explained as he appeared from the kitchen once more “each pony stood for a different element.”

He pointed at the cyan pony “RainbowDash, Element of Loyalty (who at times goes against her own element).”

Now pointing at a tan, county looking pony, he said “AppleJack, farmer at Sweet Apple Acres, and Element of Honesty.”

“Oh,” LightningBolt said “that’s why you said you would get AppleJack on me if I didn't tell the truth.”

“What do you mean?” Chang asked.

“If she’s the Element of Honesty, then she’s bound to be extremely honest, might be able to detect a lie when she hears one.” LightningBolt noted.

“Yeah, she can tell if your lying straight to her face.” Chang said “Anyway,” he said now pointing at the pink pony “that’s Pinkie Pie, party pony and Element of Laughter.” Chang turned to LightningBolt “that actually brings up three unspoken rules about PonyVille, where we’re going tomorrow. Rule number one: Pinkie will throw you a party when you arrive no if then or buts about it. Rule number two: beware the Everfree forest. Rule number three: for the love of Celestia, don’t let Sweetie Belle near that stove!”

LightningBolt had lost it at the last part, he didn’t need to ask if Sweetie Belle was a bad cook to get the joke. Clearly talking about the Element of Laughter produced laughter all its own.

“Rule number three is actually more of an inside joke than anything, but still highly advised.” Chang explained, moving on, now pointing an almost disturbingly white unicorn with three diamonds as a cutie mark “Sweetie Belle’s older sister: Rarity, fashion designer and Element of Generosity.” Chang explained.

“Fashion designer?” LightningBolt asked “so, there is some kind of clothing in,” LightningBolt asked “Equestria...?” he said slowly, as if he did not know the name.

“Yes, you’re in Equestria” Chang confirmed “clothing does exist in Equestria, although its mostly cosmetic. Besides, you wouldn’t like anything she has anyway, as Rarity mostly makes dresses designed for mares.” When LightningBolt showed confusion, Chang added “female ponies, mares are female, stallions are males.”

"Oh, alright” he said, silently thanking him for the correction “it’s just that I didn't think Equestria would have clothing seeing how we’re technically animals.” LightningBolt declared.

Chang raised an eyebrow “aren't humans also animals?” he asked as he went back into the kitchen, tending to the food.

“Um,” LightningBolt stuttered “yes?” he answered.

“You sound like your embarrassed about it,” Chang declared “I’m a changeling, or at least related to them: enemy of all of Equestria, yet I’m only embarrassed about who my mother is, not for what I am.” He explained.

“Are changelings really that hated?” LightningBolt asked “I mean, you seem extremely nice, compared to what your telling me.”

“You try to take a city by way of an invasion, and its inhabitants tend to hate you, a lot.” Chang said “I’m different from them in some way that I do not know. Chrysalis had kicked me out because ‘I was a runt’ but Celestia had called me an ‘ali-ling’ whatever that means”

“Ali-ling?” LightningBolt asked “what do you suppose that means?”

“No idea” Chang said as he put what looked like celery into the now boiling water “Twilight thinks it may be similar to what an alicorn is: combination of each pony race, unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi. But if that’s true, then could an ali-ling be a combination of all the changeling races? If so, what would be the other two, if Chrysalis’ changelings are counted as one?”

LightningBolt put a hoof on the counter, started leaning on it and looked at Chang “sounds like you really want answers to your origins, or self-discovery” LightningBolt said “kind of how I want answers about Equestria: like can earth ponies do magic?” he paused “not that I want to partake in any witch-wizardcraft that could go against my religion.”

Chang sighed “LightningBolt, you told me that incident happened several hundred years ago, why do you feel you could still be punished for it?”

“Humans haven’t dabbled in magic since then- assuming they used magic at all-, so I’m probably the first human-turned-pony (that alone is an enormous feat) that has discovered or found magic after nearly three centuries later.” LightningBolt paused “and if I am to be honest, I like to over-analyze history, just a tad.”

“Oh, I know who you’d get along with” LightningBolt heard Chang whisper “but how does that answer my question, exactly?” Chang asked, now at normal volume.

“I think the best way to explain that, is like an anxiety, such as testing anxiety. I’m just worried that a similar punishment beyond the one the one that awaits me if the FBI finds me here; a punishment beyond the grave, if you will.” LightningBolt answered.

“In that case,” Chang said “I doubt it’d be easy for you to avoid using magic in Equestria, being an Earth pony and all.”

“Why is that?” LightningBolt asked.

“Earth ponies use their magic to maintain their connection with the land, often without noticing it. That’s why most earth ponies, with Pinkie Pie as an obvious exception, enter in jobs where they can make use of that magic.” Chang explained.

“Oh,” LightningBolt responded “so it’s something you barely notice or think too much on, like moving a limb, you don’t think too much on how you move the limb.”

“Sort of, AppleJack uses it without trying too when she goes applebucking.” Chang responded. LightningBolt gave him a look while he tried to figure out what that meant, hopefully finding a cleaner definition than the one he had in mind… Chang sighed before unknowingly correcting him “when she kicks an apple tree with her hind hooves, making apples fall to the ground: that’s an applebuck.”

“Oh, that’s an applebuck!” LightningBolt exclaimed before facehoofing with the hoof placed on the counter, or at least he tried too as he tumbled to the ground due to lack of balance, landing on his jaw. ”Ow, that really hurt.” He said as Chang lifted him up in his magic, setting him up right. “thanks.” LightningBolt said as he rubbed his jaw.

“Y’know, it’s probably a good thing that happened” Chang said as LightningBolt raised an eyebrow “hitting yourself in the face with a hoof hurts, a lot. It can also cause damage too. I’ve heard of a unicorn back in Manehattan who ended up chipping her horn from doing a face hoof.”

“Seeing how I don’t have a horn too break or damage,” LightningBolt said “I’d probably take that rather than a broken jaw from falling to the ground too much.” Lightningbolt paused “wait, if I have magic that ‘maintains my connection with the land’ why does hitting the ground hurt so much?” he asked before rubbing his jaw some more.

Chang sighed “that magic doesn't exactly protect you from pain, jumping off a cliff is as bad idea for an earth pony as it is for pegasi or unicorns.”

“So, no soft landing, even if earth ponies are best buds with the ground?” Lightningbolt asked.

“Even if it wanted to, the ground couldn't cause a soft landing” Chang said, “the landing is caused by gravity, not the ground.”

"Right," Lightningbolt said “no matter what world I’m in those laws still apply it seems.”

“Laws?” Chang asked with the pot in the air, defying the very laws Lightningbolt spoke of.

“In my world,” Lightningbolt said “gravity is explained by three laws, known as the laws of motion.”

“So, it’s explained scientifically where you come from?” Chang asked from the sink, draining boiling water from the pot.

“Yeah, nothing you can see, but its proven to exist.” Lightningbolt declared.

“Here in Equestria,” Chang said “we’ve declared gravity as a sort of magic force, or a force that happens when no magic is present. It’s still up for debate whenever its magic or not.”

“So,” Lightningbolt started “there is a gravity theory, just not proven yet?” he asked.

“Yes,” Chang said, now putting some seasoning in the pot. “It’s been up for debate for a few years now, I’m not sure which side I believe in though. Since your world has this ‘gravity’ then maybe our worlds are more similar than we think?” Chang suggested

“Minus the magic and talking hor-ponies, it seems similar enough; although I can’t make that call, not quite yet.” Lightningbolt said.

“Anyway,” Chang said, “I believe dinner is now done!” the ali-ling declared as he set the pot on the counter.

“Really?” Lightningbolt asked, trying to peer into the pot without tipping it over “what is it?”

“Fried celery” Chang responded, “try some, you might like it.”

Lightningbolt was hesitant for some reason “so no sides to go with it?” LightningBolt asked as Chang tilted his head “I’m not complaining, but normally at a meal, humans at least have a few sides to go with the main course like corn for example” He explained.

“That sounds rather complex” Chang said, “why put all that food out when a lot of it will just end up in fridge, taking up more and more room until leftovers day.”

Lightningbolt had to admit that made too much sense, and he wondered why the fridge filled too fast. “Alright, makes sense. I hope you do have ranch though?”

“Ranch?” Chang asked.

Wonderful, ranch hasn't been invented yet it seems. Lightningbolt thought, he decided to drop it, no need to stress over something petty.

Chang had levitated two plates down from a cupboard for them to use. Each plate filled up with some of the celery through Chang's magic and set on opposite sides of the table which was just outside the kitchen. Chang took one plate, Lightningbolt took the other.

The duo’s eating manners conflicted drastically, Lightningbolt struggled picking up each piece with his fore-hooves to place in his mouth. Chang, on the hoof, dug in, literally, eating the celery face-first.

It took under five minutes for Chang to notice Lightningbolt's conflicting eating habit, whereas the latter noticed the former’s as soon as Chang started, and was mildly disturbed by it.

Chang was the first to say something after getting one more celery down his mouth “so, Lightningbolt, why do you choose to eat by picking each piece up then eating it?” he asked.

“It’s a thing we humans call mannerisms, we believe eating food straight off the table is unlawful and too animal-like.” Lightningbolt explained “I’m assuming it's different for you ponies seeing how you have no problem with it, even in front a guest.”

“Too animal-like huh?” Chang asked, “yet you already confirmed that humans are animals.”

“Animals with egos” Lightningbolt said jokingly “I didn't create mannerisms, I’ve just followed them for my entire life, forming a habit that’s hard to shake, if I were to try eating your way, it’d feel awkward and wrong.” He said putting another celery in his mouth.

“I suppose if that’s just your way,” Chang said “then go for it. Though many ponies in Equestria may give you some looks.”

Lightningbolt, putting another celery in his hoof just said, “in that case, I accept their judgement!” he said before throwing the celery down his throat.

“That’s a good attitude to keep in Ponyville,” Chang declared “accept and tolerate, kind of wish more ponies and especially griffons could use that.”

“Given that, I’m guessing griffons aren't on good terms with ponies?” Lightningbolt asked as he ate another piece of celery.

“They’re not as hostile as changelings are” Chang explained after eating a few pieces of celery “but they are known to have a temper.” He explained.

“So, all griffins have tempers?” Lightningbolt asked.

“No,” Chang responded, “some griffins are admittedly nicer, its just that some spoil the rest.” He explained before eating some more celery.

Lightningbolt thought back to strange figure back at area 51, the half-lion, half eagle creature, known as GriffonClaw. He slightly wondered what his intention was to capture him, especially now that LightningBolt knew what he was.

"I've never met any griffons myself though," Chang said "RainbowDash is the pony to ask if you want to know more about them."

"I'll keep that in mind" LightningBolt declared "the cyan pony, right?"

"Yes, I'll introduce you to her tomorrow" He said, picking up his plate with his teeth rather than magic and put it in the sink. “On that note,” he said “I’ll grab you a blanket and pillow to use for the night.”

Lightningbolt was somewhat relieved that sleeping arrangements wouldn't change much. While he waited for Chang, he finished up eating the celery at a much slower pace than Chang had before him who had ate it straight off the plate. Eventually he did eat all the celery, just after Chang had finished making a makeshift bed on the couch.

Lightningbolt had a new problem though, how to get the plate to the sink without dropping it. He hadn’t mastered walking on three hooves quite yet, even then, there was a very high chance of dropping it. The only successful way was to carry it over in his mouth, an option that Lightningbolt resented.

Before he could reach over though, the plate lifted in the air within a familiar light blue tint as Chang said, “don’t worry about it, I’ve got it.”

What he said and what happened next were two different things as the light blue tint around the plate started to flicker out while the light blue tint around Chang’s horn followed a similar rhythm. Chang struggled to keep the plate afloat in the air as it slowly traveled toward the sink. Then LightningBolt and Chang both froze as Chang’s magic quit entirely. The plate fell to the ground and a loud bang followed as it shattered upon impact.

LightningBolt was the first to say something “Chang,” he started “what just happened?” LightningBolt asked.

A full minute passed before Chang answered, “my magic quit” pausing, he added “again.”

“Your magic quit, like it ran out?” LightningBolt asked. “Does that mean that magic is not a limitless thing?

“Yes, and yes” he answered “although, I’m more limited than most, due to my injury.”

“Injury?” LightningBolt asked.

Chang looked at clock which showed from what LightningBolt assumed was five minutes ‘till ten ’o’clock before turning toward LightningBolt again. “I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions about well, everything” he began “tell ya what, I’ll tell you what happened to me on the way to Ponyville tomorrow.”

LightningBolt wanted to object but paused when he thought that Chang must have his reasons for wanting to postpone sharing that portion of his past. Besides, it wasn’t like he was never going share it, LightningBolt would just have to wait until tomorrow.

“Besides,” Chang added “I bet you’ve got far more questions for Princess Luna anyway.”

“I do have questions for her,” LightningBolt said “but how would a night’s sleep let me talk to her?”

“As I said, Princess Luna is the Princess of the Night, having the power to enter everypony’s dreams and even communicate with the pony who is dreaming.” Chang said, ignoring LightningBolt’s I’m not really a pony eyeroll. He paused before asking “if I recall correctly, didn’t you say you met Princess Luna in a dream during your sleep?”

“I don’t know,” LightningBolt said “is ‘being in a coma’ count as dreaming?”

“Depends on how you look at it” Chang said, “nevertheless you met Luna before in a subconscious state, I’m not sure why it feels alien to you.”

“Because I never thought dream-walking was a thing before now!” LightningBolt declared “I thought seeing horses in my dreams was just me going crazy or something. The last time I had contact with Lu-Princess Luna was the night before I came to Equestria, in an alleyway in Rachel.”

“Rachel?” Chang asked.

“It’s the closest city to Area 51, where I entered Equestria at.” LightningBolt responded. “I stayed the night at an empty alleyway in Rachel before going to Area 51.”

“That sounds like less than ideal sleeping conditions” Chang said as he dimmed the light.

LightningBolt trotted to the living room, and hopped onto the makeshift bed. “I’ll be sure to drown Princess Luna with questions then,” he said, “good night, Chang.”

“Good night, LightningBolt” Chang said as he started out of the room before he paused, turning around “before I forget, despite your troubles, I’ll be proud to welcome you to Equestria; So, welcome to Equestria, LightningBolt!” Grinning, he said as he trotted off “I’m sure Pinkie may have a welcome to Ponyville and Equestria party for you.”

LightningBolt stopped as he got under the covers, which was a challenge all its own before asking himself “What?!”

Phophecy of Harmony: Of Bolts & Notes

by ModernSilver

The Beacon of Hope

Beyond the Mirror