//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Lightning Siege 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Lightning roared as he charged, Grand right beside him. The Phantom Beast laughed before gesturing to his soldiers, the group rushing past him. Some launched a blast of stream from their hooves, hitting the two and expecting Grand to be made completely useless by it.

"Nice try!" Grand leapt out of the steam and slammed his hammer into the ground, causing a line of earth spikes to explode out and knock the soldiers away. "The potion Twilight gave us makes your little smokescreen completely useless."

Lightning charged out of the mist at this, his new armor feeling like it wasn't even there. He slammed a hoof into an earth pony and smacked him away before firing a blast of lightning out of his covered horn, only to find it was twice as powerful as normal. "This power..." he whispered with a smirk. "This is the power of my friends."

"That's it kid," Grand added as he whacked another soldier away. He then looked up at the castle, "I'll go save Rarity and the others. You know what you need to do."

Lightning nodded as he unleashed an electric shockwave, knocking more away while Grand's hammer hit the ground, causing a stone pillar to shoot out below him and propelled the knight into the hole Lightning had been blasted through and started making his way through the castle. As this happened, Lightning unleashed a blast of electricity from his back hoof that acted like a whip that slammed into several more soldiers and knocked them all away.

And as the lightning faded, Lightning turned the Phantom Beast, the pair glaring at each others as Lightning clutched the tags around his neck, "Never look down on Equestria's heroes."

Breaker chuckled at the sight, "Interesting." The relic on his chest glowed ever brighter. "I shall answer your call." With that, the pair charged at one another.





"Bone Breaker!" Springer slammed his staff into a Crown Crusher, the Mega Jakhowl watching as he was thrown back. Several more soldiers circled around and charged at this, only for Springer to desummon his bone weapon. "You attack Equestria, you attack Aurarora and the jakhowls that protect it." He then did a back flip, kicking one in the chin as he did so.

And as he landed and performed a roundhouse into another, the jakhowl launched several Aura Blasts into the pegasi in the air. Several unicorns then fired a volley of beams at the jakhowl, only for him to dance around each one with ease before the head of his avatar appeared around him. He then formed the chest and arms of the energy jakhowl, which swept around and smacked the treasonous ponies away.





In another area...

Several soldiers cried out as Iron slashed through their weapons and armor with metal tiger claws. And as they staggered back, the spearhead on Iron's tail changed into a hammer before smacking them all away. At the same time, Cold swung two ice swords, cutting through crown crushers like they were paper before several unicorns ran up and prepared to fire magic beams, only for Cold to slam his front hooves into the ground and caused a giant ice snake to appear. It curved around and scooped the crown crushers into its jagged mouth before biting down, the soldiers screaming as the sculpture exploded, knocking them away.

As this happened, a pegasus flew toward Iron from behind. "To protect those who can't protect themselves," Iron spun around and punched the pegasus with all of his strength. "I'll fight whoever threatens Equestria's peace!"

The pegasus was thrown back as Iron leapt up with him, his back legs glowing and gaining jagged edges. Cold watched as Iron opened his legs while the magical image of a tiger appeared around him.

"IRON CRUNCH!" He slammed his legs closed around the pegasus as the tiger bit into the soldier. The jagged blades on his legs acted like teeth, cutting through the pony's armor and making him scream as he lost consciousness. Iron then landed and nodded to Cold, the knight nodding back before the pair began to run down a nearby hallway.





Meanwhile...

Flash zipped past through a group of ponies, smacking them back before spinning around, "Flash Cutter!" He swung his sword and unleashed several light blades, the magic destroying the soldiers' weapons and armor.

At the same time, Rainbow, Applejack, Trixie and Mirage were fighting their own soldiers. They weren't beating them as easily as Flash and the others, but they were still holding their own. "Ha!" Rainbow kicked a soldier away. "Without their little steam trick, these morons aren't so tough!"

"Darn tootin!" Applejack used her lasso to tie them up, then swung them into another group. Trixie blasted several with ice while creating illusions of herself, the soldiers attacking the fakes as Mirage and Flash appeared to their sides.

The Knight of Friendship unleashed beams of light from the gems covering his body and even the horn on his helmet. And as the soldiers gathered up, Flash's wing tips opened before a blast of gold and black light exploded out of them before propelling him as his back leg armor shined. "Unified Impact!" He thrust his back hoof forward, striking a Crown Crusher as the Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow exploded and the ponies were consumed by it.

Flash flew out the other side of the explosion, landing on his back hooves and sliding to a stop as the flames vanished. The soldiers fell to the ground, burned and battered, the sight making him smirk. They weren't gonna cause any more problems for a while.





"Raaaaah!" Grand slammed his hammer into a soldier, crushing them against the wall. But that was only one of many still in the castle. "Out of my way!"

The unicorns all fired their magical blasts, only for Grand to use his hammer like a pole vault, bouncing him over all the attacks with ease before slamming into the soldiers. "Where'd Breaker find you ponies?" He asked, knocking several more away. He then kicked one in the head, causing their helmet to fly off and reveal their face. "Hey! I know you! You were one of the ponies I trained for the guard."

"That's right," the pegasus growled, "I didn't make the cut. You said I wasn't disciplined enough, even though I was the best recruit that year!"

"You might have had the best skills," Grand sighed, "But you pushed other ponies around, picked fights just for the sake of it, and refused to listen to orders. You had multiple chances to turn things around, but you refused to improve your attitude. Having you in the guard would have made us worse, not better!"

"Well Breaker didn't believe that! He let me into his army, and when we take over Equestria, I'll be on my way to the top! Once I'm the strongest, I'll rule this land!" He charged at this, but Grand just shook his head.

"You...the strongest?" He tapped the end of his hammer's staff on the ground and the concrete that made the castle exploded into a thin pillar that smashed into the pegasi's chest. "Get real!" The pegasus was thrown through a window, screaming all the way out.

He then turned to see more soldiers, Grand growling at the sight before charging through. A few minutes later, he found himself at the throne room and kicked the doors open. "Grand!" Rarity gasped as the soldiers in the room charged at him. But instead of defending himself, Grand took out the canteen and leapt over the soldiers.

He landed next to Rarity and opened the bottle. "Here. Drink." She did so and suddenly felt like throwing up, Grand pulling the canteen away and closing it up before dodging a knife attack. He threw the canteen at Rarity as he started knocking the criminals away.

Rarity then suddenly felt her magic begin to return, the unicorn's horn glowing as she focused on the ropes holding her. Within seconds, she was able to undo the knots and free herself. "Hold on," she told the other ponies. And as Grand kept fighting, she undid several of the guard's ropes before picking up the canteen and giving it to Cobalt. "Drink. I think it'll give you your magic back."

Cobalt took a swig as Grand smacked another away. The guards quickly passed the canteen around, taking a drink and not looking happy with the taste. And as this happened, Cobalt quickly got his magic back while several pegasi started taking off. And as they did this, Rarity heard an explosion outside. One that had several sparks of electricity coming off it. "Lightning."

And before anypony could stop her, she ran for the door and was out of the throne room.

"Wait!" Grand yelled, only for the remaining soldiers quickly got in his way, but the now recovering guards quickly rushed in to help.





Back outside the castle...

Lightning was now firing a barrage of electric bullets at Breaker, who's tail extended so his blade could swat them away. And as this happened, Lightning glanced down at his green hoof armor and smiled before slamming them into the ground. Gorgenia's magic activated at this, turning the rock around them into clay, Phantom gasping as his hooves started sinking. Quickly tying to move, Lightning began to reshape some of the ground into spikes before hardening them, thrusting those at Breaker, only for the unicorn to pull himself free before leaping away.

The Phantom Beast landed a second later, quickly sprinting around before launching several magical blasts, only for Lightning's tail to suddenly move, the crystal on the end deflecting the blast. "Huh?" Lightning looked back, only to stare at the crystal, only to smirk as he had them extend over his hooves. All five crystals glowed before they detached, the five spiky gems floating around Lightning. They then shot forward, moving like a bunch of rockets at Breaker. The Phantom Beast quickly tried to counter them with a barrage of beams, only for one gem to unleash a bolt of lightning to protect the others before one gem slammed into the beast.

"Aaaaah!" Breaker staggered back as the second and third one followed suit. All five were soon swarming around, blasting him with weak bolts of lightning.

As this happened, Lightning charged in and threw a punch right at Breaker, the transformed unicorn not noticing until it was too late. "Take this!" Lightning fired a bolt of electricity from his horn, which split into five strands and struck the crystals, each gem firing a more powerful version of the lightning, which then combined before striking Breaker.

"GYAAAAAH!" The Phantom Beast was thrown flying back, crashing into the wall that surrounded the castle and actually breaking through it. And as he hit the dirt, pieces of the wall fell all around him. Breaker let out a hiss at this, Lightning staring at the hole before the gem on his chest began to glow. It then fired a beam at Breaker, who got up and leapt to the side. The beam struck the ground due to this, causing a symbol to be burned into it. And as this happened, Breaker's horn shined as he fired a beam at Lightning, only for the armored unicorn to suddenly vanish, the beam missing him by a mile, then reappeared where the symbol had been made.

"What?!" Breaker yelped as Lightning fired another beam from his chest. This one hit the beast's side, causing a rune to be emblazoned onto the scales. And before Breaker could react, his entire body suddenly felt heavy. "What's...happening?"

"Gravity rune," Lightning chuckled, "Funny. I could never completely figure out that magic." He clutched the tags around his neck, "Or the others' magic. But now...now it's so easy to understand."

The Phantom Beast growled at this as Lightning's crystals returned to his back and tail. They then unleashed a blast of energy, propelling him forward and slam into Breaker with tremendous force. The monster roared as he was blown back, smashing him through a wall before hitting the city's road. He carved a trench in the street and eventually came to a stop, Lightning charging for a second blow. But as this happened, Breaker picked himself up, the scales covering in the gravity rune now falling off his body and being instantly replaced by new ones.

And as Lightning threw a punch, Break lifted a hoof and caught it. "What?!" Lightning yelped as he saw Breaker kept Lightning's hoof in place.

"Tc. You think you stand a chance against me?" Breaker laughed, Lightning then trying to punch him again, but Breaker caught the other hoof. "Your fancy armor might give a minor power boost." Lightning growled as he tried to pull his hooves back, only for Breaker to start twisting his hooves, "But my power is always increasing!"

The relic glowed along with Breaker's scales at this, Lightning watching as more spikes appeared along the beast's back. At the same time, a pair of tusk-like protrusions started growing out the side of his cheeks. Breaker pushed Lightning back at this before slamming one of his front knee spikes into Lightning's chest, knocking him back.

"Augh!" He rolled along the ground, moaning as Breaker started charging up his magic. And as Lightning tried to pick himself up, the gems detached from his armor and flew in front of him as Breaker fired a blast of magic, the gems trying to form a shield. The beam struck the barrier, easily pushing the gems back before shattering the shield and slam into Lightning.

"GYAH!" Lightning was thrown back again, skidding down the street until he reached the front gate of the castle. And as he picked himself up, Breaker's horn created multiple spheres of energy before firing them, slamming the defender as explosions soon consumed him.

"AHAHAHA!" Breaker laughed as smoke covered the defender, soon fading to show a limply standing Lightning. Parts of his new armor were cracked and had chunks missing, his legs giving out before flopping over. The sight made Breaker chuckle and shake his head. "You know, when I left the guard, I thought fate had turned its back on me. But it turns out, my destiny was even greater than I imagined. I found the Phantom Magic, gained its power and became the ultimate pony." He rubbed the relic on his chest. "And now, I have all the power I can possibly ask for. Enough power to remake an Equestria where the strong stand above the rest. And I stand at the top, alone and unbeatable."

Those words entered Lightning's ears at this, making him glance up at the beast. He reached up and clutched the tags around his neck as certain memories flowed through his mind. Remembering this, he began to laugh, "What?" Breaker asked, hearing his chuckling. "What's so funny?"

Lightning slowly sat up, holding the tags close to him. "I'm fighting my former self. Somepony who thinks just because they're strong, they have a right to decide how things are done all on their own." He pushed himself to his hooves. "I was just like that. I thought I could force my way to the top with my strength and make those weaker than me bow down."

"Yes, I remember hearing about that." Breaker commented before pointing at the defender, "But you lacked the conviction to make it happen. I don't."

"You're wrong," Lightning chuckled, "It wasn't my conviction that stopped me. It was a power even greater than the magic I was wielding. A power even greater than the Phantom Magic flowing through our veins."

And as he said this, all over the castle and parts of Canterlot, the members of Overthrow found themselves defeated and detained by Flash and the others. The transformed individuals stood with their friends around them, ready to keep fighting if any of the soldiers got the bright idea of trying to fight again.

"The Magic of Friendship!" Lightning roared as his armor began to glow. "You fight for yourself. You claim to be doing it for the good of Equestria, but you just want to stand at the top and answer to nopony! But when you choose to only look after yourself, nopony will choose to follow and help you! When you stand alone, you fall alone!"

"And what about you?" Breaker spat, "You're alone right now."

Lightning said nothing as he continued to clutch the tags around his neck. At that moment, Rarity arrived at the gate, only to see his new look and the determination on his face. Then she saw the energy glowing off of him. Lightning opened his eyes, the images of Script, Wild and Gorgenia standing beside him. "I'm never alone. Even if I'm the only pony here, so long as I fight for the same thing as my friends, I'm never truly alone!" He ripped the tags off his neck, wrapping them around his hoof as he held them close to his heart. "And I'll defeat you...FOR THEM!"

With that, he charged as lightning exploded out of the armor's crystals. Breaker charged as well, the two ponies colliding with The Phantom Beast's hooves glowing as he thrust them forward. But as the hooves hit Lightning's...he found himself unable to push the defender back. "WHAT?!" Breaker screeched, only to feel his body now being electrified. "Yaugh! Where is this power coming from?!"

Lightning then smacked Breaker's hooves aside before slamming his own into The Phantom Beast, the force knocking him back. "I already told you!" Breaker skidded across the dirt before scrambling back up, quickly firing a volley of beams at the defender. But as the attack came, Lightning did a flip and sent out a wheel of light just as the beam hit him. An explosion came next, consuming the unicorn.

"Lightning!" Rarity gasped, only for the smoke to instantly fade, showing a standing Lightning in a ring of fire, looking completely unphased by the attack.

"What?!" Breaker repeated.

Lightning just smirked at this, his green armor glowing before slamming his hooves into the ground, turning it to clay again. Breaker instantly found himself sinking again before the claw hardened. After that, the crystals flew off Lightning's body and shot at the monster, Breaker screaming as the gems hit him. And as this happened, Lightning's chest gem glowed, forming a light that created a bunch of runes that spun around and made a magic circle. And when Lightning launched a blast of magic into it, the circle caused the beam to grow three times as big before slamming into Breaker.

"AAAAARRRRRHHHHH!" The Phantom Beast was blasted out of the ground and thrown back, smoke coming off him as he crashed into the street. And as this happened, the relic on his body began to crack. "Where...where is this power coming from?!" He groaned as he pushed himself up as red sparks flew around his body.

But his question went unanswered as he tried to stand up, only to see Lightning already in front of him. "It's time to end this." the defender said as a light flew off him and formed the ghostly images of his friends, all looking ready to attack. "Let's do this...TOGETHER!" He charged and they did the same, running ahead of him before leaping into the air.

Breaker watched as Lightning leapt as well, his three friends turning to light and swirling around one another to create a glowing vortex. And when Lightning jumped into it, the vortex morphed into a drill of green, blue, red and yellow energy. "Electron Fusion...STRIKE!" The drill slammed into Breaker, the attack instantly hitting the relic.

"No...NO!" Breaker screamed as an explosion consumed him next, the relic shattering to pieces at the same time. The sight made Rarity lift a hoof in front of her eyes, shielding herself from the explosion's light. And as it died down, Lightning appeared above Breaker, the unicorn now beaten and burned. Cracking filled the air next, all looking down as the relic's pieces hit the street, only for Breaker's body to begin to steam. The Phantom Magic within him was seeping out, the unicorn's distorted form looking ready to fall apart.

"I never..." He coughed, "I never expected...he'd be this strong." He tried to get up at this, "How...is this possible?"

Lightning looked away, "It's because I have someone to protect." The image of Rarity flowed through his mind, along with all the other ponies he cared about. "While you have nothing." He then glanced down at Breaker, "That's the difference."

Breaker slowly looked up at him, only for his body to burst into smoke and disappear into nothing. Lightning stared at the spot, wondering if he was responsible or if it was just a side effect of the relic's destruction. Either way, Equestria had been saved. Without its leader, Overthrow wouldn't be as big of a threat. And hopefully, the other ponies affected by the Phantom Magic wouldn't think to try anything against them.

"Lightning." He turned to the voice and saw Rarity. The pair stared at one another as Lightning's armor faded away, Rarity then rushing up to him as Lightning began to fall over. "Lightning!" She gasped as she caught him, instantly feeling his weight. "I've got you..."

"Thanks." Lightning muttered out before lifting up a hoof, Rarity seeing it was holding the tags. She then saw tears begin to form, "Gorgenia...Wild...Script." Rarity started to go wide-eyed as he added, "They...they..." He couldn't bring himself to say it as he remembered their faces and voices.

"Lightning," Gorgenia's voice echoed in his head.

"Lightning," Wild laughed in his mind.

"Lightning," Script spoke softly in his memories. The voices he would never forget, and never hear again.

"LIGHTNING!" Three familiar voices then spoke out, making Lightning's eyes fly open as he glanced back. And when he did, his heart stopped when he saw three certain ponies running up to them. Script, Wild and Gorgenia practically tackled him, hugging him tightly as they called out how he had won and saved Equestria.

"I wish I could have seen it," Gorgenia commented.

"I bet you were awesome," Wild laughed.

"We knew you could do it," Script cheered. Then, Lightning finally came to his senses and broke away from them all.

"What is happening?" He asked, staring at them. "I thought...I thought...the extraction..."

"The Phantom Magic extraction was horrible," Gorgenia sighed, "But we managed to push through it and now, we're perfectly fine. No side effects from it whatsoever."

Lightning's eyes darted between the trio, "But...Gramps told me you were..."

"Oh," Script nodded, "Right. Don't blame Grand for that. It was my idea. I told Grand to say we didn't survive and gave him our tags to make you think we hadn't survived." Lightning's eyes went fully wide as Script continued, "We figured you would need all the motivation you could get. And we knew that if you thought we died to make that weapon for you, there was no way you would let our sacrifice be for nothing."

"So...you made me think you were dead...just to motivate me?!"

"Yes," they all nodded before seeing Lightning give them all a funny face. "Lightning?" Wild asked, "You okay?"

"I...am going...TO KILL YOU!" He yelled as he charged at them, the three dancing around, laughing as Lightning tried to grab them. They knew Lightning wasn't actually mad. Despite the outburst, they could tell he was happy they were alive and unharmed. Rarity and the others laughed as well, Pinkie getting in on the fun chase as Twilight and the others appeared, clapping at the sight.





Once Lightning calmed down, they focused on what to do with the Overthrow soldiers. They would all be imprisoned, but Twilight wanted to find a way to remove the Phantom Magic without the risk of them dying like the other three had almost done. By the time Twilight was ready to lower the sun and raise the moon, all the soldiers had been captured and placed in a prison. The damage done to the city and castle was pretty minimal, so the ponies that lived in them were soon able to return to their homes.

And in one part of the city, Lightning and Rarity were sitting on a bench, watching the sun slowly lower. Lightning was no longer wearing the item Twilight had made for him, but he had it at hoof if he ever needed to Armorize again. Now the pair was simply sitting together, enjoying each other's company.

Rarity smiled as she glanced up at Lightning's face, noticing a big frown, "What's wrong?" He looked down at her and smiled.

"Nothing," he told her, "Actually, everything's fine." He looked back at the sunset. "I just...I've been thinking about our future."

"Oh?" Rarity asked. "Anything I need to look forward to?"

"I've also been thinking about my mom and grandma." That made Rarity raise an eyebrow, "Lately, I've been worried about what might happen if we took things to the next level. Gramps and my dad weren't able to protect the ones they loved, and I was worried that something similar might happen to you."

"Lightning..." Rarity sighed and shook her head, "That's silly. Nothing's going to happen to me just because I'm with you."

"I know that now," Lightning chuckled, "Because I'm not gonna let it happen." Rarity then saw Lightning stand up as he added, "I thought I might not be strong enough to protect you if anything bad ever happened. But now I realize that protecting you is what will give me strength." He turned to her. "And I won't be alone. If I'm not there, my friends will protect you."

Rarity smiled as she picked herself up. "Maybe. But if you want me to let you protect me, you have to let me protect you when you need it. The same way Flash, Twilight and everypony else protects the ones they love." She placed a hoof on his chest. "We'll work together...as a team, keeping each other safe."

Lightning smiled at her and nodded, then grabbed her hoof in his. "I know this isn't the most romantic setting, but I know now is the time I'm supposed to ask you."

"Ask me what?" Then, Lightning got down and looked Rarity in the eyes.

"Rarity, will you marry me?" Rarity gasped, then started tearing up and nodded.

"Yes. Yes, of course I'll marry you." Lightning smiled and stood up, the two kissing one another to seal the deal. And what neither of them knew was that Script, Wild, Gorgenia and even Grand Hoof had just watched the whole thing.

"Yes!" Wild cheered, a little too loud for the other's liking. They shushed him, but kept watching the two as they held one another.

"Well, I think we should leave those two alone." Grand chuckled before gesturing to the trio to leave. And as they began to walk away, Grand glanced back at him, "You did good, kid. I know you won't make the same mistakes I did, or that your father did. And don't worry, I'll be there to protect your family whenever you can't. I promise."





Time soon passed as the Overthrow Soldiers were all thrown into multiple different prisons. After much study, Twilight and the others managed to develop a neutralizing potion that caused the Phantom Magic's powers to be eliminated. It even restored some of the pony's mane and coat colors, returning them to the ponies they were before being exposed to the Phantom Magic.

While this happened, Cold had managed to persuade one of the soldiers to reveal the location of the Phantom Magic Breaker had used. Turns out, it was an entire pocket of underground gas charged with Phantom Magic that was enough to transform an entire army into the bleached monsters that had tried to destroy Equestria.

Luckily, Twilight had also found a way to neutralize that magic and had sent some of the Royal Knights to do just that. Hopefully, nopony would have to worry about this particular magic ever again. And so, Equestria moved on. The attack from Overthrow would never be forgotten, but it would one day simply be a footnote in Equestria's history. Not the earth-shaking change up the members had hope it would be, and eventually most ponies involved with the situation wouldn't even give it a second thought.

But two ponies would never forget that time, as it was what led them to this very moment. In Ponyville's town hall, music was playing as many ponies stood within and waited for the pony of the hour to arrive. And as the doors of the hall opened, Sweetie, Soul, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked in. The four fillies smiled as they threw flowers around, making the adults go 'awe' when they saw their pretty dresses.

Then Gorgenia and Script marched in, followed by six of the Mane Seven along with their significant other. They walked toward the altar, where Lightning waited with Grand. The mares and stallions separated, allowing the blushing bride to arrive.

Hondo Flanks, dressed up all fancily, marched down the aisle with his beautiful daughter. The mare was wearing a very romantically made dress, her hair done up with the biggest blush on her face. She spotted Lightning and the pair smiled at one another, both so happy this day had finally come.

Cookie Crumble stood at the front row, with Sweetie and the other flower fillies watching. The mare was an absolute mess, crying tears of joy as she watched her husband escort her daughter down the aisle. Hondo and Lightning nodded to one another as Rarity stepped up beside him and Mayor Mare began the ceremony. Everypony else watched and smiled as the two exchanged their vows and promised to always be there for each other, and then Mayor Mare said to two words everypony was waiting for. "You may now kiss the bride."

And they did. And it was glorious.





"And that was how your mommy and I got together," Lightning told his daughter as he finished tucking her in.

Topaz smiled at the story. "And you lived happily ever after?" Lightning nodded as he turned off her lamp and got up to head out of the room. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?" Lightning glanced back, "What's up?"

"I was playing with Lil' Cheese today, and I realized she doesn't have her mom or her dad's coat. Why is that?"

Lightning frowned at this. "Well...not everypony has the same coat as their parents. Your Aunt Twilight's purple, but neither of her parents are that color."

"I guess," Topaz nodded before Lightning let out a sigh.

"Alright. You really wanna know?" Topaz nodded again as Lightning sat down besides her. "When Aunt Pinkie and Uncle Wild wanted a foal, they were having trouble getting one."

"Why?"

"It's...complicated. Anyway. After a while, they had some tests done. It appeared that your Uncle Wild had...issues. Issues that made having foals tough. So after a while, they decided to get some help and...they asked a friend to help them, and Lil Cheese is the result."

"I don't get it."

Lightning chuckled at this, "You will when you're older. Anyway, Wild is Cheese's daddy and that's what you need to remember. Doesn't matter if she doesn't have his coat, alright?" Topaz nodded yet again. "Okay. But don't go telling Cheese any of this. That's for her parents to tell her."

"Okay daddy," Topaz smiled, "But what about Laugh Track? Did they need help to have him too?" Lightning smiled as he thought about the one year old unicorn baby of Pinkie and Wild.

"Nah. Like I said, Wild has trouble having foals, but it's not impossible. Laugh Track was a happy surprise. Now, get to sleep." He kissed her on the head before leaving the room, Topaz laying back and instantly falling asleep. And once he was sure she was snoozing, he carefully closed the door before heading to his own room. As he did this, he stared up at the many pictures adorning the walls.

Pictures of his friends and family, living their lives free and happy. Despite a few issues now and then, Equestria had been living in harmony with the rest of the world. And Lightning's family was the best thing that ever happened to him. And no matter what, he would protect it. He reached his bedroom and opened the door, smiling at the sight of his wife in bed. She smiled back at him and Lightning stepped inside, pulling the door shut.