//------------------------------// // Tears, Turmoil, and Tragedy // Story: Storm Gateway // by RDgamer321 //------------------------------// About One Year Later. Lightning Dust was barely even a grown mare and had not only been discharged from a military compound, but also unknowingly nearly wiped out a majority of her own countries first line of defense in 5 ponies who were considered national heroes. Lucky for her, they were unharmed thanks to the quick work of Rainbow Dash and the other recruits at the academy. That was where her luck ran dry. After a complaint from her wing pony to Captain Spitfire she had been stripped of rank, humiliated, and dishonorably discharged in that order. While she left the academy with a devastated look, the act dropped when she was no longer in sight of the place and she began furiously making her way back home. She was already expecting her parents to scold her yet again, she was going to let her fumes run dry before she wanted that confrontation. The last thing she wanted to do was make more than the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash mad at her, she could take that but lashing out at her parents would probably be the last straw for them. Shortly after flying out of range of the academy she hopped onto a cloud and used her natural magic to drift in the direction of home. Now that she could rest her body after the hard work she put in for nothing, her mind was just getting warmed up and she wanted to make sure the goddess could hear her anger. With no other ponies to nearby to witness she began a tantrum of screaming, crying, and bashing at her cloud vessel for the near hour long journey. She knew it had been her fault, both Rainbow and Spitfire made that clear with actions and words, but that didn't stop her from cursing both their names. Spitfire hating her was bad enough with her being the captain and trainer, but Rainbow had been considered a best friend upon meeting her. Now not only did she no longer want to see the prismatic maned mare, she was likely to become a Wonderbolt without her. Her anger and frustration finally subdued she looked up to see her home over the horizon. She did not expect it to be a crime scene. She stepped off her cloud mere feet from her house and was immediately met by authorities. Unsure of what to do she just complied and stood back. Thankfully there was a pony there she recognized, her brother Sky Stinger was present, along with Vapor Trail. He met eyes with her and immediately walked over with Vapor in tow. His eyes were bloodshot with tears, he had also been crying but for what reason Lightning was completely unaware. For once in her life, Lightning was genuinely concerned for her older brother. "Sky, Sky what's going on?! Why are the police here?" She questioned hastily. Vapor looked ready to respond for him but he quickly gestured otherwise. He suckered up and delivered the heart wrenching news to his youngest sibling. "It's... our parents. They... were..." The Day Before Star Dust was tending to the new addition to the family in a spare room upstairs that had once been occupied by their oldest. The foal had quickly become something of a favorite to the mare. Despite the rowdy nature of the foals true mother she was quite respectful, only crying when truly in need. This time was her normal feeding time and Star was giving her the bottle yet again. The filly was only just barely a year old, but already her playful nature was starting to become apparent. She had learned words quite fast, the simple one came first. While she did refer to Star and her husband as mom and dad the truth would become apparent in the near future. Lightning was schedule to be released from basic training by the end of the month and then the filly would meet her true parent for the first time. In preparation for this Star Dust had taught the foal two things. First she taught her how to say Lightning which caught on surprisingly quick for the foal's age, then she began associating the name with the pony. She had shown pictures of Lightning Dust to the foal who had recognized the face from the hospital. She caught on fast. She had also somehow got wind of the word viral, though Star Dust was unsure how or why. Though it did sound nice and eventually it became her substitute name until her proper one would be given. Finishing up she tended to anything else the foal needed when suddenly a crash was heard from downstairs followed by a brief struggle she could hear from in her room. Before she could check what was happening she heard her husband scream followed swiftly by a thud. Fearing the worst she rushed the foal to a hiding place and assured her not to cry out before racing down the stairs. She was met by a grim sight. Two figures, she recognized one as her husband and he was already gone. The other she recognized as well, the same stallion that violated her daughter a year and a half before. He had been released weeks earlier, and he had returned with malicious intent and a bladed weapon. Star Dust could barely react before he charged her with intent to end her life just like her husband. Police had arrived on the scene just as he was making his exit, thanks to a call from the neighbors house. The suspect had already been apprehended but it was far too late for the victims. Sky had been the closest by, actually visiting Vapor for a night over. He had just left hours before the incident and was informed of the fate of his parents when he arrived. However, he knew there was a third pony in that house and immediately asked if there was any other victims. When the answer was no he begged them to enter the property and after some reluctant acceptance he entered the building that had been his childhood home. It was a mess on the first floor, but he attempted to pay it no mind. He entered the room where his niece was being kept and found her bed but not the foal. He was about to leave distraught when a faint whimper caught his ears from the locked closet. He fetched the key and gratefully found the year old filly needing attention but unharmed. He escorted her outside where she was given to authorities to be placed under proper care overnight. Present Time The crossroads that were Lightning's mind were already in rush hour as it was. Now with the added car crash of her parents being murdered in cold blood by the same stallion that had messed with her body? Now the road was blockaded by thoughts that were pushing their way forward. More anger and sadness were soon met with mourning among other feelings she was not very familiar with. However there was a light at the end of the packed tunnel, one Lightning would not have taken if it weren't for the road being completely blocked. "Can... can I see my foal Sky, she is still okay right?" Sky Stinger said no more and quickly led his sister along with Vapor to the hospital where her foal was being kept. After a brief check in and a set of condolences from the staff Lightning Dust, Sky Stinger, and Vapor Trail were lead into the fillies room. Even though she was sleeping the sound of the door opening caught her attention and she instantly hopped to her hooves and met eyes with Lightning. Lightning cautiously approached her daughter and was slightly taken aback by what she said first. "Lightning?" Lightning Dust was stunned silent, even though she had not seen the foal in over a year when she was born, her own daughter recognized her. Sky quickly explained the situation to his dumbfounded sister. "That's mother's doing. She had planned on introducing you when you returned. That was before... best not think about it more." He explained. Then the foal followed up, pointing at herself. "Viral" "Viral? what's viral?" Lightning responded, dumbfounded yet again by her daughters extreme vocabulary. Or maybe lack thereof. She had never heard that word before in her life, then again she never really payed attention in class. This time Vapor Trail bailed her out of her stupor. "She's been using that to refer to herself, your parents kind of just caught on and let her roll with it. I think she is introducing herself to you." The foal pointed at her mother, then back to herself. "Lightning, Viral" "Viral? does she have a surname yet?" Again, Lightning questioned her brother. He responded immediately. "Mother was going to leave that as your job. Your here now, so your honors." Was his response. Lightning had been so determined to become a Wonderbolt, she never even named her own child or even came up with any names. She thought about using her own surname like her mother did for her but that didn't quite roll off the tongue. She rummaged through a list of words in her head that were easily identifiable. Then something caught her tongue, a word that had a lot to do with her favorite part about flying and matched up perfectly with the forename Viral. "Velocity, Viral... Velocity." Satisfied she cracked a smile for the first time since she came home and turned to her brother. "Her name is Viral Velocity." "Viral Velocity? rolls of the tongue pretty nicely. I think it fits her and the family well. I'll go let the doctor know." With that he and Vapor left the room, leaving the mother daughter pairing all alone. "Viral... Velocity?" Viral sounded out the word for a few seconds but eventually was satisfied with the word and took it with joy. "Yep, that's you little filly. My daughter, Viral Velocity." The doctor returned shortly after, finally filling out the empty birth certificate with the foal's full name and checking her out with her mother. Lightning joined her brother in the night at Vapor's house while the crime at her home was cleaned up. She slept surprisingly well despite her painful day, but it was only because maybe she did have something in her life to look forward too after all.