It was a fresh winter's morning in Equestria. Next to a little hotel on a street in Cloudsdale, was Lightning Dust's apartment. It wasn't too big or too small, just right for a single. However, she wasn't alone. Right next to her in bed was her boyfriend Volm. That's what her brain told her at least.
She sat up in bed to look at her room, it was full of sports gear and posters of famous wonderbolts. Though it was a wonderful day outside, she felt like something was going to happen. She wasn't sure what. She turned to the Volm and shook his shoulder lightly.
"V, honey. Wake up," She said gently.
Volm sat up with a big yawn. His stretching arm reached over to her and tickled her chin, "Morning, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Lightning Dust sighed, "I just… I just feel a little funny, I guess."
Volm chuckled and lay back down again. He gazing up at her with a wry smile, "Everyone feels funny after their first go. Are you embarrassed?"
Lightning Dust shook her head, "It's not that. I feel like I'm forgetting something..."
Volm snapped his fingers, "I know! It's your birthday today!"
Lightning Dust gasped, "Oh my gosh! Really?" She hopped out of bed and paced the room, "I don't have anything planned, I didn't even tell anypony!"
Volm got out of bed and walked over to the panicked pegasus. When he stroked his hand across her face, her troubled look melted away. She tensed up and had a blushed smile. Volm's warm smile made her nerves go null, "Don't worry, I've got a whole event planned. Just for you."
Lightning Dust hugged Volm's neck tightly, "Oh thank you! You're the best!"
Later that day, Volm led her to the Cloudsdale Stadium. As they walked down the cloud streets, Volm got some sour looks. Being a creature of unknown origin, the fact his wingless body could stand on clouds was unnerving to any pegasus. When the couple approached the Stadium. it's size scaled up into the city's skyline. The stands were in a ring that opened out to the ground below. Lightning Dust's mind was abuzz about what could be planned. Going into the stadium they saw the WonderBolts soaring into all kinds of maneuvers and stunts. Lightning Dust giggled with joy.
"You had the WonderBolts put on a show for me?" She said with a bubbly voice.
Volm shook his head, "Nope, better. Follow me."
They went up a few sets of stairs to a sky-box. There was a few ponies speaking into microphones about the stunts and next to them was Spitfire. Her eyes lit up when she saw the couple. She trotted over with something draped over her back.
"Hey, you made it!" She smiled, "So Lightning Dust, you ready?"
Lightning Dust leaned over to Volm, "V, what's this about?"
Volm picked up the fabric draped over Spitfire's back. It was a WonderBolt uniform. He held it up so she could see it, "You like?"
"Er… is that Spitfire's new uniform?" Lightning Dust asked sheepishly.
Spitfire laughed, "It's been awhile since I've fit that size. It's yours, Lightning Dust."
Lightning Dust was in a tizzy, "Y-you mean it? I'm really a WonderBolt?"
Spitfire smirked, "We'll see. Your friend here suggested we have you in an aerial maneuver. It'll be a basic one since you're joining in today," She headed for the exit, "Slip on your uniform and meet me at the locker room. We'll talk about where you'll be placed in."
Lightning Dust waited until Spitfire left before she kissed Volm, "You really did this for me? You're the best V!"
She began to put on her uniform, Volm helped her fit in all of those tight spots. Once fully fitted, Volm took a step back. He gazed at her, now looking like a real first-class WonderBolt. The spandex uniform making her one naked body much more alluring.
"I'll be in the stands babe," Volm smiled, "Go kick some ass."
She waved to him and left the sky-box. While she went off, he slowly went down the stairwells and to the stands. There were so many cheering ponies in the stadium, so many eyes to witness. So many eyes to witness.
Instead of sitting in the stands, Volm hopped he wandered the empty concession halls. The kind, cheery face he wore for the Equestrians faded. His twisted demeanor crawled back out as he sat and waited. Whistling the time away, filling the air with a cold melodic sound.
He had suggested to Spitfire earlier that Lightning Dust should do a Sonic Rainboom, or something close to it. Since she wasn't Rainbow Dash, she couldn't produce a full rainbow...or could she? That was the ploy he used. It was a short time before he heard the distant cheer of the crowd he licked his lips in anticipation. He whistled the wait away, it was a cold and haunting sound.
In the stadium, Spitfire, Lightning Dust and the WonderBolt's finest circled around. The crowd's cheering was almost too much attention was addicting to Lightning Dust She liked the idea of getting used to this. The announcer called off their names and they flew high into the air. The finale of the stunt show began. The crowd was captivated by the tight turns and sweeping arcs the pegasi made. Once Lightning Dust flew the highest in the air, the announcer declared that she'd perform a Sonic Rainboom. That was Volm's queue.
He lifted his hand in an almost spider-like manner, the tiny magic threads he put in Lightning Dust's body were being tugged ever so slightly.
"Three..." The announcer cried.
"Two..." Lightning Dust and the crowd breathed.
"One..." Volm hissed.
Lightning Dust's height in the air dropped as she took a deep dive downward. She speed down at an incredible speed, creating a cone of air in front of her. The crown held their breath in anticipation. Lightning Dust's heart was going a million miles an hour, half from excitement and from nervousness. She was careening downward, building up more and more speed. She was going so incredibly fast the signature cone of air formed before her. Her eyes watered and her cheeks were blown open from the air speed. The crow was cheering for the pegasus as she spiraled to the end of the dangerous stunt.
Then, all too suddenly, Lightning Dust's wings mysteriously and painfully locked up to her body. She didn't realize until she lost all control of her dive. Up in the stadium ponies were shoved aside as Volm ran out to the first row of seats. It was a blur to everypony else that he ran out and dived down after her. Nopony if this was part of the show or not, it sent a wave of unease in the crowd. Volm's body rocketed down to where Lightning Dust was falling with an unnatural speed. He was so fast in fact, he landed moments before she did. His landing wasn't a graceful one though. With his hind legs hitting the ground first, his legs bent in unusual angles. He bit his lip in pain, but smiled at his filthy deed.
Lightning Dust wasn't so lucky.
The graceful mare was bent and broken. Her limbs and wings were scrambled and blood drained from her ears and mouth. Volm sat and quickly snapped his legs back into socket, a sight half as gruesome as the one next to him. He stood back up and sauntered over to his weakened victim. She was barely conscious, her eyes blinked with a hopeful light at seeing him.
The blue green creature trailed a finger across her chin, her body's wounds mending themselves miraculously. In almost no time at all, her horrendous injuries were gone. She only had a broken bone or two besides a few aches. She sat up to look at herself in amazement. She looked up with bright eyes to her 'lover'. He had a different look than what she was used to, it was icy and dark. His eyes felt razor sharp staring back at her.
"V… Volm?" She asked terrified, "What's wrong?"
"You won't remember any of this," His corrosive hiss scraped the pegasus' ears, "But what you'll do for me is immeasurable,".
The details after that are fuzzy. Some of the Wonderbolts dived down after Volm, what they found was a painful sight for them. There he was, the pegasus' lover bent over her. Her frail and limp body cradled in his trembling arms. The Wonderbolts were unsure if they should approach them or not.
Weeks later Lightning Dust woke up in a hospital bed. The last thing she remembered was Hearth's Warming Eve before she 'met' Wednesday. A nurse saw her sit up and rushed off to tell a doctor. When he was led to Lightning Dust's bed she was looking around with a very confused look.
"Lightning Dust, how are you feeling?" The Doctor asked.
"A little sore, what happened?" She asked back with a light groan.
The Doctor and nurse looked at each other with concern. The Doctor sighed, "Nurse, inform him," He looked back to Lightning Dust,"You really don't member what happened?"
"No, not at all. Did I get in trouble?" Lightning Dust gasped.
The doctor chuckled, "No, miss. You're suffering from amnesia most likely. What do you remember?"
Lightning Dust told him all she did. There were stories from the academy and records she tried to break. The Doctor took note of everything she said. After she was done he had a puzzled look.
"Is that all, no significant other?" The Doctor asked.
"You mean a coltfriend? Not since before the academy!" Lightning Dust was becoming worried, "What day is it?"
"It's a few days into spring, however your memory only recalls to this winter," The doctor said with a troubled look," Volm may not take you not remembering him very well."
"Volm? That monkey looking guy?" Lightning Dust asked, "I… I was dating him?"
"For several months apparently," The Doctor answered, "You're in no position to get out of bed yet. Just lay down and rest, I'll be back shortly."
He turned to leave. Lightning Dust Sat up to grab his attention but something grabbed hers. What she tried to do was slide out of bed, to her horror her hind legs remained motionless. Her scream of shock could be heard throughout the hospital.
In an office not to far from her room, her doctor and Volm sat together discussing the matters at hand. The mask of sadness and dismay on the blue-green creature's face was a flawless show. The doctor was very concerned, partly from her paralyzed condition and how crushed the creature before him looked.
The medical pony took off his glasses sadly, "I'm very sorry to inform you, Lightning Dust has no memory of you. Thankfully she isn't mentally traumatized by her injuries but from what I was told it's a miracle she's alive."
Volm nodded sadly with a small smile. The Doctor continued, "What you did, diving after her like that, won't be gone unnoticed. It's a tragedy she doesn't remember you. Should we try to reintroduce you to her?"
Volm sighed heavily with teary eyes, "N… no. I believe it's fate that she doesn't remember me. All I can do is hope she lives a happier life from now on."
"Don't we all?" The medical pony said clinically, "With her back legs being rendered useless it's almost assured she'd going to be living a very, very difficult life. Even if the damage isn't permanent the recovery could take months or even years!"
Volm perked up a little bit, "Doctor, are you aware of Stellar Eclipse?"
"The crippled pegasus?" He asked, "Yes I am. I heard you had some… prosthesis replacing his rear legs."
Volm twiddled his fingers, "Well… I could do the same for her. It's the least I could do for such a beautiful mare."
The Doctor glared at him, "How do I know your medical skills are one hundred percent reliable? What if an error occurs during the operation?"
Volm straightened up and smiled, "I'll give you my word, from one man to another."
It was in the middle of spring when Lightning Dust's cybernetic legs finally became second nature to her. Her friends in Cloudsdale were in shock and awe at seeing her again, along with her new attachments. She had gained a odd type of popularity from them and with the addition of Stellar Eclipse, now ponies all across Equestria were talking about the possibility of these new metallic legs. So much so, it was a piece of discussion between Celestia and other government leaders.
Volm's fame grew in an underground sense, but the process for these cyber implants was anything but professional. A few days before the operation Volm had been talking with the Flim-Flam brothers and any other mechanically inclined pony he could find. In careful security he taught them the way to turn parts for weather machines and other contraptions into working limbs.
These ponies took to this advance in technology like moths to a flame. With a few friends working at the royal guard, the operation had a good source of materials. This underground process was lacking one thing though… customers. The process of connecting the cyber parts to the body was a difficult one. To his fiendish delight there was a decent amount of physically degraded ponies in Equestria. It was an expensive operation, of course, but Flim-Flam and other mechanics accepted the money. Volm had no use for it.
Several weeks had passed. Lightning Dust became a personal trainer of sorts, helping newer cybers to walk again and perform regular tasks. Celestia and Luna were no less than impressed at the medical and technical advances Volm had brought to their country. It wasn't uncommon for him to be seen with the two princesses, chatting away like old friends over cups of the finest tea.
As they looked over the balcony in the Canterlot Castle, the powerful trio sat in the late spring sun, "So tell me, your highness," Volm said to the midnight princess, however he was interrupted.
"No need to be so formal, dear Volm. You may simply call me Luna," The midnight blue princess cooed.
Volm fanned himself lightly, "If you insist. As I was saying, why do you two refer yourselves as princesses? Wouldn't Queens be a more fitting title, judging from the powerful hold you have over the land."
Celestia had an ego that glowed like the sun, "We prefer 'princess' over 'queen' for very good reasons. The ponies here are… naive. 'Princess' sounds more approachable and friendly then a queen. Since they only official queen here is Chrysalis, ponies really don't like the sound of that title."
Volm nodded respectively, "Your subject's heads are in your hooves, your grace. It's no wonder you've kept your kingdom under control for such an amazingly long time."
Celestia chuckled maternally, "You flatter me, Volm. Oh, and please call me by name. I deem you've risen up in the social ranks, besides catching my sister's eye," Celestia grinned. Luna glowered at her and tried to hide a blush at the same time.
Volm laughed at their sisterly attitude. Looking out at the open he took in a deep breath of fresh air, "When do you think that mare will come back. Pea Gravel, was it?"
"Oh her," Luna huffed, "We all need Rainbow Dash back. Not to mention our libraries will get stale without miss Daring Do," She grumbled still remembering how Pea Gravel had fought her,”I suppose she could come back too…”
"Goodness," Volm said with a grin,"So that fight on the mountaintop did happen. If I'm so bold to ask...what did become of that centaur's body?'
Celestia had a tired look on her regal features, "That thing? My kingdom is far too fragile for things like him to running about," Volm leaned closer and Luna had a worried look on her.
“But sister,”Luna said,”Was he not already dead?”
Celestia sighed,”Well...I just didn’t want him to be a threat anymore. Even in death.”