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// Chapter 2: Delusions 
// Story: Broken Promise 
// by Nailah 
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Lightning Dust had nowhere to go, no place to call home. She felt her hoofsteps continuing to grow heavy as she walked. Where was she going? How long would she suffer because of her mistakes? She felt the sting of tears streaming down her face, she bit her bottom lip, scowling at the horizon ahead of her. Everything she had ever hoped for was all in the past. What was there for her now? A road of bitterness, anguish, and constantly being alone. This was not the road she wanted to be on. Rainbow Dash had taken her place, she had gotten all the glory, and now here she was alone. 
“Hey…” whispered a voice.
Lightning blinked as she tilted her head from side to side, snarling and lowering her head while getting down into an aggressive stance.
“Who’s there? Show yourself, you coward!” shouted Lightning Dust, as she dug her front forehoof into the ground and snorted air from her nostrils. 
“Settle down, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk,” said the mysterious voice. The wind blew by them, like a knife cutting through butter, as the strange aura of silence surrounded Lightning Dust.
Lightning searched all around her for signs of where the sounds were projecting from. All she could see was the ground beneath her hooves, the sky open, and the emptiness that constantly plagued her. 
“Hurt me? Listen, whoever you are, you are talking to the wrong mare. If you even dare try anything, you’ll regret it,” said Lightning Dust as she scowled, furrowing her brows.
“Let me speak with you,” whispered the voice as hoofsteps shifted onto the earth beneath their hooves as they descended from the sky.
The first thing that she noticed was their look. She couldn’t tell if it was a stallion or a mare, as they were dressed in a purple suit, with lightning bolts down the side and dark goggles over their eyes. The only thing that stuck out was their mane and tail: a dark blue shade. The pegasus walked right up to her, not even waiting for her response. Lightning hunkered down and prepared herself for a fight.
“There’s no need to fight, you are one of us. Are you not?” the pony asked her. 
Lightning Dust hesitated, before blinking. “One of us?” She had no bucking idea what they were talking about, and she wanted answers. 
“Who are you? Reveal yourself to me, and then I might talk,” said Lightning Dust, as she narrowed her brows, glaring at the strange pony in the uniform. It clearly wasn’t a Wonderbolts uniform. Just who was this pony, and why did they take interest in her? She felt the emptiness in her heart aching.
The pony removed their goggles and pushed back the hood of their suit. His green eyes stared her down, admiring the muscles on her calves, and how she looked ready to rip him to shreds.
“My name is Thunder Cloud, I am a Shadow Bolt. I can only assume by your reaction that you’ve never heard of a flying team other than the Wonderbolts. Know this and hear me well, little filly. The Wonderbolts are nothing but a team of washouts. They prepare aerial stunts, and make ponies cheer for them, but they are nothing in comparison to what we have. What we could offer you.” 
“Shadowbolts?” she repeated, as she gawked at the stallion before her. She had never heard of them before. She only heard whispers of another aerial team, but she never expected them to be true. And yet here he was, offering her a spot. “Go on, I’m listening.” 
“We have watched you for some time, we see the way these ponies have treated you. That is why I came to give you this offer. Join the Shadowolts, become something more than you’d ever be as a simple pawn of the Wonderbolts. Nothing but stunts and tricks, when there’s so much more to flying. To success. There’s much more of a pony within you, and you know it. You know I’m right. Join us, unless...you’d rather go on alone, isolated from the world, with nothing but your tail between your legs,” explained Thunder Cloud, as his lips rose into a smug grin, and waited, anitpicating he had this mare right where he wanted her.
Lightning Dust hated that he was right. She bit her bottom lip, and lifted herself so she was back to a normal, more relaxed stance. He wasn’t here to fight. She felt her heart weighing heavily on her mind. Should I accept his offer? I have nowhere to go, no home, no friends. I have nothing. I’ve been reduced to a pony with nothing. No future, no hope, and yet here comes this pony out of nowhere, offering me this chance to change things. To finally get that second chance. 
“Thunder Cloud…” she hesitated as she raised her forehoof, extending it forward to shake his hoof, with a slight smirk raising to her lips. “I’d be honored to join the Shadowbolts. The name’s Lightning Dust.” 
“Lightning Dust, it’s a pleasure to meet you formally,” said Thunder Cloud, as he lifted his own forehoof, and shook, but also leaned his muzzle down, and kissed her hoof gently. “I’ve been admiring you for some time. Seeing how those ponies shunned you, it resonated with me, that is why I knew I had to come. I had to see you, and speak with you, no matter what the risks might be.”
“Risks?” asked Lightning Dust as he shifted his hood back over his head, fixing his goggles upon his face.
“Yes, risks. We didn’t know how you might react to us. We Shadowbolts are feared by ponies. They cower before our might, but you are no coward. You are a pony of sheer determination. You rise above the standards of others. Lightning, you’ve shown yourself in a way that draws us to you, Lightning, you aren’t nothing, you are an idol. I hope that you can show me exactly that is,” said Thunder Cloud.
“Well, it wasn’t like the other choice sounded any better. I figured why not. Besides, I’m eager to get back at a certain pony…” Said Lightning, muttering under her breath. Rainbow Dash will regret turning me away. I will make her see the truth!
“Would that pony be Rainbow Dash?” he asked with a slight smirk. “Don’t worry Lightning, you will get an opportunity to get back at her. First, I must take you to our home. It isn’t too terribly far, we could walk or fly if you’d be up for it. I wouldn’t mind testing my wings against yours,” said Thunder smirking a smug grin. “Come with me, to the Everfree forest, to the Castle of the Two Sisters.”
“I hope you’re ready to be left in my dust, Thunder,” said Lightning, as she spread out her wings fully, letting her feel the breeze of the wind. He flapped her wings a few times, before lifting herself into the air. The feel of the wind against her mane felt like bliss. She bolted forward, spiraling ahead of him. She soared through the clouds with ease, showing off a bit by doing a few flips, and letting him taste her trail of dirt behind her. 
Flying through the air, she felt free. All the burdens, the doubts, it was like none of it existed when she felt the freedom of the sky at her wingtips, but she knew this feeling was only temporary. The very second her hooves would touch upon the ground of the earth beneath her, this unease would flood through her, and she would clench her teeth together, eyes lidding shut, and feeling that same feeling she had since she left the academy. “I’m alone. No one wants a dust of lightning at their side. No one wants to be around a pony like me.”
Thunder Cloud wasn’t far behind. He quickly caught up with her, as he gave her a little snarky smirk as he did a few flips of his own, showing his talent for flying in the way he carried himself. It reminded her of the Wonderbolts. Was it possible? She tucked the thought away into the back of her mind as she landed in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters. Though, she couldn’t help glancing at the sky, as Thunder Cloud landed beside her dusting off his wingtips.
“Nice moves, Lightning. It’s clear for me to see you’ll fit in here smoothly,” said Thunder as he extended his wingtip towards her in a way of shaking wings with her. “Welcome to the Shadowbolts. Let’s get you into the castle, show you around, and get you sized up. You’ll have time to get settled in before meeting with our leader, the founder of the Shadowbolts,” he explained as he led the way after she shook her wing against his, giving him a smug grin.
“How’d that dirt taste, Thunder?” she asked him, mocking him a bit.
He didn’t respond verbally, but led the way inside the castle. Inside the whole atmosphere felt dark. There was this certain air of mystery to it. She felt a brush of wind against her fur, making her jump ever so slightly, thinking she had felt something tickling her forehooves.
“Now, don’t tell me the famous Lightning is scared of a little mouse,” he teased as he looked down to one of the mice as it ran over to it’s hole.
“Oh, course not. I was just acting startled, so you wouldn’t feel so lame about losing to me,” retorted Lightning, tilting her head to the side.
Thunder Cloud chuckled. Cute. He began to show Lightning around the interior of the castle. The throne room itself was relatively standard. There were two thrones where Celestia and Luna must have sat once upon a time, with banners hanging on the walls. The throne room was massive. and the space around them felt so grand She swallowed a gulp. She hadn’t really been to Canterlot much, so this was the first time she was really experiencing what it was like to be in a castle. A castle that had been long since abandoned. Just like she had been abandoned by every pony, and left to rot.
“Hey now, what’s wrong Lightning?” he asked her, as he turned to notice how she seemed to look as pale as a ghost. This place seemed to have this sort of chilling effect on most ponies, but he hadn’t expected her to react like this. He stared at her for quite awhile. He admired her struggle, and sought her out on his own.
“Nothing. Let’s see about that outfit you spoke of.” said Lightning, quickly changing the conservation. She couldn’t change what happened. She knew that. She felt the bitter sting of defeat in the back of her mind, as she followed Thunder down the long hallways to the armory. That was where the uniforms were proudly on display. He took one down that he thought to be about her size and hooved it over to her, waiting for her to try it on.
Lightning Dust remembered suiting up in a Wonderbolts academy uniform. She sighed heavily as she began strapping herself into the suit, feeling as it pressed tightly against her fur. She pulled the hood up as she felt the uniform fitting her like a boot. She looked at herself in the mirror there for the new recruits to see themselves in the armor of a Shadowbolt for the first time. As she stared into the mirror, doubt clouded her.
“Have I changed?”
The words cut her like a blade to butter. She cringed, lidding her eyes, as she shook her head quickly. Looking over to Thunder.
“So you said about taking me to your leader. I’m eager to meet them, and discover just what it means to be a Shadowbolt.”
“In due time Lightning. I’d like you to get settled in. I can see there’s a lot on your mind. Rest here, I’ll take you to your quarters and you can retire for the night.”
“I suppose that is fair. Though tell me Thunder...what’s your story? Why did you become a Shadowbolt?” asked Lightning Dust, as she was rather intrigued by this pony, this mysterious dark blue-maned stallion that had come to her in her darkest hour.
“My story? You wish to hear the tale of how the Wonderbolts kicked me out of the academy? Perhaps I will tell you someday. I think you and I have much in common, Lightning. Much more than you might even be aware of. Now, do try to get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we won’t stop until we reach our goals,” said Thunder, as he gave Lightning a slight pat on her shoulder, and with that trotted out of the armory, gesturing for her to follow.
Lightning Dust paused for a moment to take one last look at herself in the mirror. Lidding her eyes, and taking a deep breath in, and a steady breath outwards. She then nodded to herself, following in Thunder’s steps. She would show them, she thought to herself. 
Thunder Cloud glanced back at Lightning as he led the way down the hallways.
“Much like you, I was an academy ‘bolt once upon a time. And just like you, I was kicked out for causing damages to the Wonderbolt training grounds, but unlike you, I had no desire to go back to my old life. I pledged my loyalty to the Shadowbolts, and now here we are, together at last. Lightning and Thunder, I think we were destined to meet. This is your room.” He gestured to a door with a number on it. She nodded to him, and opened the door as she walked in. The room was a standard size, not so large that she felt tiny, but also cozy enough she wasn’t cramped like a sardine. She trotted in, and touched her hoof to the bed. The blankets felt soft, but firm. She looked back to Thunder, and just like that he was gone, her to the quiet serenity of her own thoughts. As she stood there in front of her bed, in her new home, the only thought on her mind now was where do I go from here? How can I show them? How can I show that I’m not the Lightning Dust they once knew. How I have changed. Right now, she was weary from travel. The bed was a sight for sore eyes, she dove her head face first into the pillows, and groaned.
“Tomorrow is another day, Lightning. I'll Show Rainbow. I’ll show them all just who I can be. Now if only they’d actually listen…” she grumbled into her pillows, covering her body in the blankets, curling them around her frame, and struggling as she tossed and turned to get to sleep. Eventually she felt herself shifting into a steady dream, where she dreamt of what might have been, had things been different. Things would never be the same for Lightning. She knew that, but that didn’t mean she had to accept it.