//------------------------------//
// Fighting Her Inner Demons 
// Story: Redemption of a Wonderbolt Cadet 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
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Chapter 6
“Fighting Her Inner Demons”

Lightning Dust could hardly believe of the events that had just transpired before her eyes.  Her jealous brothers had the audacity to break into the Wonderbolt Academy and attempt to destroy her second chance with everypony watching.  Lightning Dust was taught to believe that she would never succeed at anything, which of course was not true, given the fact that her brothers had influenced her to do so.  

“Spitfire,” she said, meekly as she approached her commander.  “I want to give a request for my brothers.”

“That’s not my call, Lightning Dust,” replied Spitfire, turning back to Lightning Dust.  “It’s for the Princesses now to decide their fate.  The laws of Equestria either offer them redemption or imprisonment in Tartarus, depending on the severity of the crimes.”

“It’s not for both of them,” replied Lightning Dust, trying to plead her case.  “It’s for Hurricane Eye.  He seems to regret ever behaving the way he did towards me.”

Spitfire could see that Lightning Dust was trying to get her to at least help the least evil of her brothers.  However, she knew very well that aiding an enemy of Equestria was against the code of a Wonderbolt. 

“I know how you feel, Lightning Dust,” sighed Spitfire, taking off her sunglasses.  “But we all can’t save everypony.  Your brothers did break Equestrian Laws and they have to pay for it.  However, I don’t want this to affect the second chance I have given you.”

“I hope it doesn’t,” sighed Lightning Dust, feeling a sense of defeat.  “I just don’t want Hurricane Eye to be severely punished, that’s all.  Its Tornado Spin that deserves to be severely punished.  He was the one that gave me the most influence and even now, I still hear his voice in my head.”

Lightning Dust then walked out of the interrogation building and back out to the main field where many of the cadets were still being tended to.  Many of the cadets had suffered cuts and bruises, however many were all just dizzy from the tornado caused by Lightning Dust’s brothers.  But before Lightning Dust could say another word, she froze and then dropped to her knees in shock.  

“Is this what I was becoming?” she thought to herself.  “My brothers wanting me to believe that getting what I want is to be reckless and uncaring?”

Lightning Dust just sat there in shock as Rainbow Dash trotted over to her.  Unlike the rest of the cadets, she was perfectly fine aside from a clipped wing and a few cuts and bruises.

“Lightning Dust, are you all right?” she asked, waiving her hoof in her face.  “You look like you saw a ghost.”

Lightning Dust stayed silent and did not say a word when Rainbow Dash asked her a question. After a moment, Lightning Dust heard a noise and broke out of her trance.  

“Oh, sorry Rainbow Dash,” she said sheepishly.  “I just can’t believe what had just happened.”

“I know,” remarked Rainbow Dash.  “Those two ponies…”

“Tried to make me do something so foolish,” interrupted Lightning Dust, quickly rising to her feet and startling Rainbow Dash.  “They made me the pony that I am today and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t even be in this situation.  Don’t you see what I am becoming, Rainbow Dash?  They were trying to teach me how to achieve goals their way, not my way.”

Lightning Dust flew around frantically as two guardsponies restrained her before she could do any harm.  

“Its all right, Lightning Dust,” cried Rainbow Dash, trying to calm her down.  “You proved them wrong.”

“How could I have proved them wrong?” shouted Lightning Dust, struggling against the guardsponies.  “I put my recklessness above all else and its all their fault!”

Spitfire then trotted outside as she soon heard the screams coming from her second chanced cadet.  The guards soon released the hot tempered pony as she fell back to the ground, her head lowered in shame.  

“Now, I see why I gave you a second chance,” said Spitfire as tears formed in Lightning Dust’s eyes.  “You are better than those ponies who put you down, Lightning Dust.  I see potential in you and being the best takes time.”

“It does?” remarked Lightning Dust, wiping away a tear.  “You see potential in me?”

“You have already proven by being wingpony,” said Spitfire.  “That you have what it takes to be a wonderbolt.  I know just how you feel as I had my own brothers that put me down.”

This caused Rainbow Dash’s mouth to drop in shock.  It was now becoming possible that Spitfire was finally revealing the truth that she had kept from view for some time.  

“You did?” cried Lightning Dust, rising to her feet once again.  “You had brothers who put you down?”

“And it made me the pony that I am today,” replied Spitfire, looking up at the sun.  “I was just like you once, Lightning Dust: a pony that was determined to prove everypony wrong by all means necessary, even if it meant putting my own goals ahead of everypony else.  I was given a second chance and I achieved my dream.”

Lightning Dust remembered those words for the rest of the day and when she went to bed that night, she could now see why Spitfire gave her the second chance she needed to get through the academy.  The next morning, a knock was heard at her door and Lightning Dust opened the door to reveal the two guardsponies.

“I think you’d better come to Spitfire’s office,” one of them said.  “It’s about your brothers.”

Immediately, Lightning Dust followed the two guardsponies to Spitfire’s office and just like last time, they left Lightning Dust and Spitfire alone.

“What about my brothers, Spitfire?” asked Lightning Dust.  “Have they been punished?”

Spitfire took off her sunglasses and placed them back down on her desk with a forlorn look on her face, which caused Lightning Dust to fear the worst.  Yes, what her brothers did was evil, but they were her flesh and blood after all.

“Your older brother, Tornado Spin, was sentenced to Tartarus,” answered Spitfire, looking at Lightning Dust straight in the eye.  “Found guilty of attacking a military force of Equestria with intent to cause harm. “

“What about Hurricane Eye?” asked Lightning Dust, remembering how remorseful the blue Pegasus was. 

“He plead guilty to his crimes,” replied Spitfire, sighing heavily.  “He will be learning the magic of friendship when the time comes.”

So, Lightning Dust just stood there in Spitfire’s office with her mouth hanging open, knowing that her youngest brother had been spared a harsh penalty.  

Still, Lightning Dust’s training was nearing its completion and soon, once the dust settled on this minor incident, she and the other cadets would enter the final stages…