//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: Canterlot 
// Story: Lighting Can Strike Twice 
// by Lightning_Colt 
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I was wrong, strangers in Canterlot are not willing to lend a Bit or two. I don't actually remember the day I left everything behind, I haven't counted the months that have passed. Having only managed to survive on scraps that the fancy restaurants threw out into the alleys. Alongside food to worry about I have to keep out of the Canterlot guards' way or they would kick me out of the city. 

After dodging the local patrol, which I seem to have memorised instinctively, I hid behind one of the bins in the alley behind 'Chez Pony' at the same time every other day they throw away the scraps in the alley. As usual, an orange pony wearing a smeared apron came out with a bucket of bits of food left by customers and threw it into a trash can, he turned and went back into the restaurant muttering "no good freeloader" before the door clicked close.

Peering into the bin was an action I was regretting, the smell of rotting food filled my nostrils and made me feel incredibly sick, but I had to push through the smell if I wanted a bite to eat. I ate up what looked like remnants of a pasta dish, some hay fries and a slightly mouldy end piece of a loaf of bread. The rest looked too far gone to even attempt to eat. I sat back down by the bin and started to feel my stomach not agreeing with its newest meal, it's been like that since I came here. 

I decided that a walk would hopefully calm my stomach, I was wrong. It groaned at me as if to say, 'why did you eat this?' 'I don't know', I thought back, 'you were hungry'. I walked up Mane Avenue towards the Castle, not knowing why I was going this way just walking randomly, though randomly enough to avoid the guards. I was ambling along when I hear an "I say!" from my left. I turned my head to see a white unicorn wearing a full suit and professionally styled mane with a look of shock on his face. "Whatever happened to you?" he asked but before I could reply he continued "You look half starved, here" he said as he pulled out a small bag of what sounded like Bits and tucked it into my dirty saddlebag. I had recognised the stallion from a shrine to him in Rarity's back room, which I thought to be a little bit creepy. His name is Fancy Pants, and apparently one of the most famous ponies in Canterlot. I could only manage to utter out a quiet "thank you" before he had turned and walked off. I looked in the bag of bit Fancy Pants donated and counted the Bits, fifteen. 

With Bits in tow I started looking for restaurants that were in my budget, It took me a while but I managed to find a quaint little donut shop called 'Pony Joe's Dunkin' Donuts!' I walked through the door and ignored the faces of disgust and horror of other customers and stopped at the counter. A large pale yellow stallion turned around, took one look at me and plainly said "Sorry bud, but you're gonna have to leave, you're scaring off my customers" I turned to see ponies wearing different suits and hats running for the door to try and get away from my smell and dishevelled looks. My head drooping I walked out of the door and towards the castle sculpture garden. 

The sculpture garden seemed the only place where I could roam without ponies gawking or running away from the sight of me. I could feel that I wasn't that clean, my coat felt greasy and filled with dirt. My mane messy, knotted and greasy too. I looked at one statue that I had stopped by, I had the head of a pony and body parts of all sorts of different things. It looked like it was terrified of something, putting it's paw/claw out to stop whatever was coming at it. I looked down at the plaque underneath, 


'Discord: Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony'
'Recently Defeated by The six Elements of Harmony'


I thought it was quite ironic in a single day my whole life had been turned upside down in a single day and now I have chaos not only in everyday living but also in my heart. I sat down behind the statue and just started thinking like I did when I was under the tree. The tree that killed my parents, that I let it kill my parents, it was all my fault, I was selfish to want to fly, even more so for doing it, but if I hadn't have flown I could have saved them! Tears were streaming down my face and I hit the ground with my hoof, Why? Why did I do it? "AAARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!" I screamed in anger. I stared at my wings, the reason for all of my pain. With my teeth I ripped feathers out in bunches, I didn't care about the pain, it could not amount to the pain in my heart. I just continued pulling feathers out, blood trickling down my side and pooling underneath me. After pulling a lot of my feathers out, my wings were sore and bleeding, but I didn't care. I curled up into a ball and started to cry again.  It had been several minutes before I heard a familiar voice say "Lighting?" I ignored the voice and carried on crying. I heard hoofsteps come closer, "Lightning!" the voice exclaimed, I looked up to see a purple unicorn with a purple mane looking down at me worry and concern in her eyes. "T-Twilight?" I asked weak from pain and hunger. The unicorn nodded and asked "what are you doing here? What happened to you?"  She looked at my wings and gasped, she picked me up in a magical aura and carried me off to the castle.

I awoke to an enchanting aroma filling my nose, and my stomach growled again. I opened my eyes to reveal an elegant room with drapes on the walls, which were a brilliant white a door to a balcony was open letting fresh air in. I was lying in a four poster bed with purple covers, that had a gold trim. Wondering where I was I looked to my right, resting on a small table was a bowl of what looked like soup. Picking up the bowl with my hooves, the bowl at room temperature I gulped the soup down without pause, hunger had gotten the best of me. The soup tasted amazing, I had never tasted anything that good before, it was a smooth soup but I couldn't put a hoof on what was in it. I returned the bowl to the table, "You must have been hungry" said an soft yet powerful voice. I looked where it came from and stood in the doorway was Twilight and towering above her was Princess Celestia. "Princess…" I began lowering my head in respect but she held up a hoof to silence me. "No need to speak, Twilight has already filled me in on who you are and why you are in her private quarters. Get some rest we shall talk later over dinner" she said calmly she turned and walked out of the room leaving Twilight and myself in the room. "err nice room you have.." I said awkwardly. "Thanks" she replied with shared awkwardness. She looked around the room trying to avoid my eyes and she blurted out "I'llgoseeifPrincessCelestianeedsanything" and quickly exited the room.