//------------------------------// // Thunder and Lightning // Story: The Legend of Lightning Ace 2 : Rise of Storms // by LightningAce7 //------------------------------// It was a dreary morning as Lightning trod through the open plains that streched from Ponyville to the Everfree Forest. He wanted to fly, but did not want to draw attention to himself. He knew his friends would follow if they saw him, and so he kept a low profile. It was a long and rather boring trek, but eventually he made it to the edge of the Everfree. He took a moment to check on his gear. At his side was a sheath, and in it was his father's dagger, an unordinate plain dagger that was well crafted and well maintained. On his other side was his saddlebag, which contained several provisions for his trip. As he was now out of sight of town, Lightning decided to fly the rest of the way. He stretched out his wings and moved his primaries. After finishing his check he took off, flying low and fast towards Ghastly Gorge. It wasn't long before he reached it, and it only took a moment to reach the all too familiar ruins themselves. He descsended down into the ruins and landed before the entrance itself. He drew his dagger as he carefully and slowly entered the dusty old ruins, teeth clenched on the handle of his blade. His eye's were on the skeletal remains at all times as he passed by them, as he recalled them attacking him and his friends many years ago. The ruins had grown dark once more though. The dark purple lighting between the ordinate stonework long faded. As Lightning ventured deeper, he began to feel as though he were being watched. His breathing grew heavy as he looked around him, only to see more dust and bones. He was about to resume going further until he heard hoofsteps. He spun around and was swinging the dagger until it met steel. The steel blade belonging to his friend Flash Firestorm. "Woa! Lightning it's me!" said Flash Firestorm, a navy blue pegasus with flame colored mane and tail. "Did you really think you could just leave like the way you did and nopony at all would get curious? Come on Lightning I know you too well." Lightning was surprised to say the least, as he wasn't expecting anypony at all to be here. After a brief moment of awkwardness, he and Flash reshethed their weapons. "Y...you shouldn't sneak up on p...ponies like that! At first I thought you were a skeleton or something!" Lightning scowled. "I'm sorry lightning...It won't happen again..." Flash said through a mischievious grin. "I bet you won't." Lightning leered back. "Oh bah," Flash leered back. "And besides...I thought you could use a hoof, considering what you've told me about these ruins." The duo started towards the far end of the room, where the platform Lightning stood on as a foal was. "Here we are, Flash," Lightning said as he approached the old, dusty runed platform. "If I remember right, standing here on this platform should 'activate' the large door in front of us." Lightning then stood as he did several years ago in the center of the ring of runes. One by one the runes around him began to once again light up. The strange purple light then flowed down the carved spaces between stones as the light made it's way towards the door. After another few seconds the door came to life as it's runes and designs became ablaze with the light. The door then slowly slid down into the ground and purple, unsettling flames filled sconces and pits set into the walls. "This is...amazing...,"Flash gasped as the room before them came fully alit. "Unfortunately this is where the 'ooos' and 'ahhs' end." Lightning said as they passed through the room to a long hallway. "Now we face the..." Lightning gulped, "Trials..." The hallway before them then started to shift into action, as various traps began to activate, waiting to claim their next careless victim. "Now listen very closely Flash, You'll need to follow my actions exactly to the letter. One wrong move and you may lose more than a few feathers." "Sounds like a plan," Flash said. "Soooo...how do we get through this without getting grinded and various other unpleasant things?" Lightning trod up to the edge of the traps, the first being a series of rotating bladed stone columns. "Just follow my lead." Lightning, without delay then studied the trap. Once he had the rythm down he jumped into it sideways while putting a slight right spin, dodgeing the first trap. Flash then did the same, though with difficulty, and nearly losing the tips of his primaries. The process of getting through the traps fell into a similar pattern; Lightning would figure the trap out, then get through it, and Flash would follow. After what seemed like hours of trap evading, they finally reached a new chamber...and it immediately had Lightning feeling unsettled. "What's wrong?" Flash asked as Lightning stood cold for a moment. "We're here..." Lightning said in a worried voice, as if regretting coming here. His heart was pounding, and he began to sweat as he beheld the chamber before them. "This is the room my Father died in..." At that Flash approached Lightning, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sorry..." Flash said, "Would it help if we got through here quicker? Leave this room behind?" Lightning looked up at his friend, "No...no I'll be fine it's just, I need to know what happened to him...you know, closure." "I understand," Flash said, hoping to comfort him. It then all came back to him...They had just gotten past the traps as they entered what they thought was a resting room. But as they entered one of them stepped on a pressure plate, causeing the way they came in to seal shut, two other doors to open, and a wall to slide across the room, separating him and his friends from his father. As the memory fades the Alpha Timberwolf claws it's way into Thunder's area and leaps upon him, and bites down on his foreleg, causing him to scream in agony. Then the rest is a blur as they escape. "I just...I just don't know what went wrong..." Lightning's mood took a nose dive as he tried to think how things could have been if he was able to save him. "Come on Lightning, lets find him and solve this," Flash said, helping Lightning up onto his hooves. "Thanks Flash," Lightning said, a hint of respite in his mood. "I'll be fine now. Let's do this." They then entered the room, followed by the doors to the room sliding shut, but the traps not activating. "Umm...Lightning? Wasn't there supposed to be a legion of undead, a wall, and a giant Timberwolf?" Flash asked. "Your guess is as good as mine..." Lightning said, with a tone of newfound worry in his voice. Suddenly there was an errie sinister laughter that rang throught the ruins, chilling them both to the bone. "Heh, heh, heh..." Laughed the mysterious mare. "Who's there!?" Lightning demanded, drawing his father's dagger, causing Flash to draw his katana as well. "...I'm surprised you don't already know me...tribespony..." The mysterious voice continued. "Lightning...what does she mean by...tribespony?" Flash asked. "Ah...I see the problem now...you're both of my blood, but you are different..." The voice said. "In that case...allow me to introduce myself...after all, you're both my subjects..." "I don't know who you think you are...but we are subjects of Princess Celestia!" Lightning yelled into the dark. "So SHE is still around then? I am your Empress...Empress Thundaria of the Thunderstorm Tribe. And you?" As an unseen force lifts both Lightning and flash into the air, then slams and holds them against the wall. "You are...not what I thought you were..." The force then pinned Lightning harder to the wall and slammed Flash into another wall, then held him there. Flash then tensed up from sharp pain shooting through his body after the impact, ushering a wimper of pain. "You...bear the markings of the blessing of lightning...how interesting. And yet you can't yet use your powers yet? Perhaps you want a taste of what you really are?" "What...madness...i....is this?" Lightning sputters out through pain. "I COMMAND YOU TO AWAKEN AS YOU WERE BORN TO BEAR!" the voice bellowed through the ruins as thunder louder than anypony has ever heard rang all around Lightning. The unseen force released him as a new energy held him in place a few yards from the wall. Red energy enveloped him as his cutie mark furiously glowed a bright red along with the lightning streaks in his mane and tail. His eyes then burst with light as electrical energy trailed from his eyes. All he could see was pure red light as he felt pure energies flowing through him, but it was coming from within him. After what felt like ages the energy finally died down and he fell to the ground, then collasped. The entities attention then turned to Flash. "I can tell that you've already unlocked a part of your power already...then all is well. I have a task for you...my little ponies...soon a prophecy will come to pass...and you two will meet the challenge." An energy field then appeared out of lightning and cloud in the middle of the room. In it an image of a dark pony came into view. "This is an old...aquaintance of mine if you will...or at least she was...Are you familiar with 'The Mare in the Moon'? It is a tome written by your princess after she bannished her sister to the moon..." Lightning and Flash could only remain silent. "You see...there is more to the prophecy than just the six elements. There was also a spark. A catalyst. In time...this will become clear to you. The element of Magic, which is a mystery, will soon reveal itself. You two must protect him or her when he or she makes their appearence." Thundaria continued, "You have passed the first test...warriors of the Thunderstorm Tribe...I will be watching...and waiting..." With that, her voice faded from the room, and soon after Lightning and Flash found themselves outside in a grassy plain, standing on a circular stone platform with the same runes as in the ruin. "W...what just happened?" Flash asked Lightning. "I don't know...but whoever this 'Thundaria' is, I don't trust her. There's just something...unsettling about her...IF she's even a being at all." Lightning said. "I'm more concerned by when she said, 'and waiting'," Flash said back. They both took off and made the flight back towards Ponyville. "Well...let's forget about what just happened for now and look forward to the Summer Sun Celebration!" Lightning excitedly said. "Isn't your fillyfriend Applejack in charge of the food?" Flash asked, while noticably drooling over the thought of several apple treats and foods. "Yeah. She and her whole family. They decided to have their 'Apple Family Reunion at the same time as the Summer Sun Celebration this year," Lightning said. "It's gonna be nuts this year. But I'm looking forward to meeting more of her family." They then reached the outskirts of Ponyville. "Well...I've got to get over to Aj's to help out with the preparations...tomorrow's going to involve A LOT of cooking. Later Flash." "Yeah see you tomorrow! It's gonna be a blast!" Flash said before going his own way. As Lightning sped off to his fillyfriend's farm, he could't help but think about what happened in the ruins. What he was mean't to bear? It really didn't make sense to him. But he could feel a power in himself now...like a long forgotten memory now dredged from his subconcious and brought up into the back of his head. Like it was sleeping...waiting.