What Am I Doing Here?
As I stood in the heart of the Smokey Mountain sweating my flank off in the smoldering tin can my commanding officer called "armor", a question nagged at the back of my mind. It was a question that had been bothering me since the moment I stepped into this goddess-forsaken mountain range. Commander Turbulence had warned me not to be distracted from my mission, yet my brain decided that my personal dilemma was more important than focusing on finding dragon bogeys who were no doubt ready to roast my feathers off.
What am I doing here?
It was a seemingly simple question with an equally simple answer. Six months ago, I was kicked out of the Wonderbolts Academy for my reckless conduct and endangerment of the lives of civilians. In other words, it was some pretty serious stuff. The thing is, I'm a thrill seeker. If I couldn't get my action fix from the academy, I was going to go stir crazy. I'm not the kind of mare who can be satisfied by just any old sport, either; the academy, at the time, had truly seemed like the only way for me to really spread my wings to the fullest extent.
That is, until I caught wind that the Equestrian Royal Guard was recruiting rookies. I think I saw one of those recruitment posters around Canterlot; you know the ones, with the big "Celestia Wants You" written across the bottom. I don't know if it was my state of mind playing tricks on me or what, but being a guard sounded like the coolest idea in the world. I mean, what's more badass than an armed soldier kicking flanks in the name of Princess Celestia? Other than the Wonderbolts, of course.
Six months of hardcore training and showing off later, and here I was. I burned through those drills like a buffalo through the desert, and the drill sergeants made sure everypony knew. I was the talk of the guard academy, let me tell you; everywhere I went, the superiors were ranting about how I was going places. Being praised for my efforts felt great, and for once in my life, I really believed that I was where I belonged.
...Turns out actual missions are a lot different from drills. I realized that the hard way when I set out on this scouting mission, and the amazing feelings of belonging I had just sort of vanished. All I was left with was that one question.
What am I doing here?
"Hey, Lightning! Look alive!"
I snapped out of my funk and noticed my scouting partner by my side. "Sorry about that, Tailslide." Shaking the annoying question from my head, I focused my attention on the never-ending sea of trees ahead.
"Gotta stay focused, Lightning." Tailslide took the lead, sneaking silently ahead of me. I couldn't help but admire his ability to ignore how grody and uncomfortable his armor was. "Dragons could be behind any of these bushes. We've gotta be ready for them."
"Got it." Reluctantly, I forced myself forward. With every step, the armor seemed to grow heavier. It was only light scouting armor, too; I couldn't even begin to imagine how the front line fighters lugged their gigantic bulk around without collapsing under their own weight. Pushing through the bushes, my mind gave my body some relief by wandering a bit. Unfortunately, the subject it decided to turn to messed with my focus instead.
"Hey Tail, what am I doing here?"
"Huh?" Tailslide stopped walking and gave me a sideways glance. "What do you mean?"
"You heard me. What am I doing out here? What's the point of this?"
Tail sighed, which annoyed me a bit. I hate it when ponies treat me like an idiot. "There were reports of dragon encampments on this mountain. We're here to mark their locations so that the fighters can come in and drive them out."
"That's not what I meant." I crouched under a bush, looking for broken branches or burn marks. "I mean, why do we care if there are dragons out here?"
"Did you forget about what happened recently?"
"There was an unprovoked dragon attack in Vanhoover." Having no luck with the area, Tailslide and I moved further into the woods.
"Exactly. So it's our job to make sure they don't hurt any more civilians."
There was a small clearing just ahead of us. We stayed near the edge, keeping as much cover as we could. One of the warnings Commander Turbulence gave us before the mission was to avoid open areas whenever possible. It made sense; the whole point was to avoid being caught by our enemies, and leaving ourselves exposed like that was pretty counter-intuitive.
A bit of searching through the perimeter provided something for our efforts; a small scorch mark on a tree's surface offered evidence of a dragon's presence. "Bingo," Tailslide whispered. He motioned with his hoof to keep moving forward, deeper into the mountain.
"It's not that I think hurting ponies isn't wrong or anything," I continued, keeping an eye out for surprise attacks, "but scouting isn't what I had in mind when I joined the Guard. I'm all for taking risks, but is this really worth putting our flanks on the line?"
"Of course it is!" We both cringed at Tail's outburst, and ducked our heads in case somepony – or somedragon – heard him. He thankfully lowered his voice back to a whisper. "Of course it is, our job is extremely important. Our information will be able to help the front line take care of the issue."
"So what, the front line gets all the glory while we risk getting roasted alive?" We took a moment to catch our breath, although I ended up using most of mine to vent. "Nopony's going to give a crap about our efforts, because all they're going to see are the big, brave fighters slaying the evil dragons! They get to be the heroes, while we get ready for our next suicide mission!"
"Lightning Dust..." My partner gave me a very patronizing look, a stark contrast to his typical optimism. "You didn't join the Royal Guard just to be a hero, did you?"
I looked down at my hooves; admittedly, I could feel just the slightest twinge of shame. "That's just the thing. You and the guys all talk about 'being patriotic' and 'fighting for the honor of Celestia', but I just don't feel any of that. I don't really know anypony in Vanhoover, dragons have never personally given me problems, and as blasphemous as it may sound, I don't really think Celestia needs me defending her honor. All I see are two ponies, in the middle of a sweltering mountain range, trying to see whether dragons or boredom will kill them first."
"Wow Lightning... I really don't know what to say."
"Yeah, I know. I must sound like a huge ass right now." I rolled onto my side, feeling oddly comfortable under the tree's shade. "As short as my stint in the Wonderbolt Academy was, I actually felt like my presence meant something. All eyes were on me, everypony thought I was the coolest thing since sliced bread... heck, I actually felt that during the training drills for the Royal Guard, too. But who's going to care what I do out here?"
Tailslide didn't say anything; I tried to read his expression, but his viridian face just showed a mix of confusion and disappointment. The silence started to really get to me, and the callousness of my statements were starting weigh down on me. For a moment, I was mad at myself for thinking that way.
Suddenly, to my surprise... Tailslide smiled.
"You know, I think I see where you're coming from, Lightning." He gazed up at the thin spot of sunlight shining through the foliage above. "You're right; we're basically the grunts who do the boring dirty work so the heroes can come through and save the day."
I didn't respond; I knew he was going somewhere with his unexpected agreement, and if it was going to give me the answer I needed, the least I could do was hear him out.
"Celestia really doesn't need us, does she? There are more ponies ready to die for her than there are stars in the sky." He fiddled with his canteen and took a brief swig of water. "I've never actually seen a dragon except in books, and to be honest, Vanhoover is a pretty crappy place. I've been there a couple times, and it's just not very inviting, particularly to the lower class.
"You and I really have nothing invested in this mission, and we're taking a huge risk coming out here in spite of it. So yeah, I can definitely see why you don't think it's worth it." Tailslide suddenly stood back up, and stared me straight in the eyes. "However, I do think it's worth it, for one very important reason."
"Oh yeah?" I stood up and met Tail's stare with one of my own. "And what might that be?"
"It's worth it... because I know I'm doing a service for my country. For Equestria. That alone fills me with pride and makes it all worthwhile."
For what felt like an eternity, silence reigned over the mountainside, save for the chirping of birds and rustling leaves.
"Okay, Tail, no offense but... I was expecting something really profound." I smirked and lightly punched Tailslide in the shoulder. "I could feed the population of Cloudsdale with all that corn."
"Hey, shut up!" He chuckled and returned the punch. "Yeah, it's corny, but I meant it. It's better than having no reason at all, right?"
"I guess, but unfortunately, I don't exactly share your level of patriotism. Equestria as a whole just doesn't get me going, know what I'm saying?"
"You don't have to like all of Equestria, but it's still our home. I mean, your reason doesn't even have to be patriotic at all. It could be... I dunno... because you get to take a really awesome shower after all that dirty work."
"Oh Celestia, you're killing me."
"I'm serious." To prove his point, he made his best 'serious' face. "You may not know what it is yet, but someday, you'll discover what it is you're fighting for, and you'll be willing to die for it."
"I'm... not so sure about that. What if I never find it?"
"You will." I felt a reassuring hoof on my shoulder, and felt just the slightest bit comforted. "Trust me. Whatever it is that drives you will show itself in the end."
Something to fight for, and something to die for. I certainly didn't want to die anytime soon, but something about that just felt... awesome. I mean, you'd have to really love something if you were willing to lose your life for it. For a pony like Tailslide, was getting killed for Equestria, a country that at times can seem pretty bleak, truly that appealing?
"Alright, enough sitting around," Tailslide whispered. "If Commander Turbulence catches us slacking off, he'll keep our wings as trophies."
"Come on, those guys are supposed to be on the other side of the mountain right now."
"You know how Turbulence is, Lightning. If he catches even the slightest hint of laziness, he gains temporary teleportation powers."
A valid point, that was. Even I had been on the receiving end of a Turbulence lecture from just taking a short bathroom break. I'm sorry, but sometimes a mare's just gotta take a leak, even in the heat of battle.
Amidst our quiet chuckling, a third sound joined in. It was somewhat distant, but we knew immediately what it was...
"Hey, Tail," I whispered as quietly as I could manage. "Hear that?"
"Yeah. Sounds like something's over there."
"Totally." I squinted to see if I could make out any shapes in the direction the leaf rustling was coming from, but the foliage was just too dense. "Alright, let's split up. I'll take the left, you hit up the right."
"Are you sure you can handle it alone?"
"Uh, duh. I'm Lightning Dust!" Reminding myself that I was, indeed, myself was one of the few comforts I could afford in such a place. Our previous conversation was beginning to make me question even that, however. "If I find anything, I'll be a good little scout and run away. Sound good?"
I chuckled in an attempt to lower the tension, but Tailslide's stoney expression remained unchanged. For a guy who could look death in the eye without peeing himself, he seemed awfully worried about us getting hurt all of a sudden. As I made my way through the thicket to the left of our hiding spot, it dawned on me why his cautiousness bothered me so much.
I didn't know why I was willing to put my life at risk, but in the face of danger... I wasn't afraid. Not even a little.
The distant sounds grew closer as I pushed through the oppressive forest, and although my heart beat faster and faster, I just wasn't afraid of what I would find. It was the same feeling I had whenever I performed ridiculous flying tricks that most ponies would consider suicidal; the pounding in my chest wasn't from fear, but excitement.
What was I so excited about? Dragons are scary, but they aren't that exciting. The sounds were probably some birds, or maybe one of the other guards. Just in case it was a hostile force, though, I pulled out my secret weapon.
Before missions, all scouts are fitted with a concealable but surprisingly effective weapon that somewhat resembles a small spear. It's pretty slick, despite its tininess; you can stab something and it probably won't reach many vitals, but using your mouth to activate a small notch on the handle activates a crazy spring-loaded force that drives the tip further in. It sounds incredibly painful, but it gets the job done while still being compact.
Not quite as cool as wing blades or shoulder mortars, but I still gotta give it props for effort.
Along with the sounds of movement, gravelly breathing filled the air. It was definitely not a sound that a pony could make without smoking a year's supply of tobacco, which only left one very likely solution. Creeping as quietly as I could, I inched closer to what looked like another small clearing. My quaking hooves gently parted the leaves of a bush, giving me a clear view of my target.
There it was, in all its scaly glory. It was red, muscular, pointy... and surprisingly small for a dragon. It must be a kid, I thought. The size didn't matter, though; more importantly, it was a dragon, and it was most definitely skulking around in the Smokey Mountain. In other words, my mission to confirm the presence of dragons was complete.
As expected, I wasn't satisfied with that. I had promised Tailslide that I would find the dragon and leave it be, but... my heart was telling me something else. It may be more accurate to say that my heart was actively preventing my mind from moving my legs. I wanted to get out of there before things got hairy, I really did, but that small part of me somehow managed to anchor my quivering body in place. All I could do was sit there, staring at that dragon.
Even in that situation, I didn't feel any fear, and then a thought crossed my mind that I truly wish I could have ignored.
I could totally take that dragon.
My natural inclination has always been to take risks, even if it meant breaking a few rules, but I'm not stupid. There weren't witnesses to see my "heroic" actions, I didn't even know if that was the dragon we were looking for... there were literally no logical reasons for me to go against my orders.
Why do you think you're here, Lightning Dust? To run away... or to do something incredible?
My breathing grew heavier as I stepped out from behind the bush's protection. The dragon's spiny back was facing me, offering me an opportunity to get the jump on him. I continued to close the distance, until I was practically within a hoof's reach. Holding the spear was painful with my chattering teeth, but with a quick enough motion, I could finish it.
...At least, I could have finished it if the dragon hadn't noticed me.
In the blink of an eye, I was greeted with a face full of claws. The dragon smacked me with the back of his hand, saving me a few lost limbs; however, that didn't change the fact that he was still significantly larger than me. It took me a moment after recovering from the vicious blow to my head to realize that I had been flung completely across the clearing. I wasn't going to give up, though; that just wasn't my style.
"You're a nasty one, aren't you?" I wiped the trickle of blood from my throbbing muzzle. "Didn't your mom teach you how to treat a lady?"
I received an angry roar as a response; I guess he wasn't in the mood to talk. "Alright fella, have it your way!" The beast swiped again, but this time I was ready. A quick leap was all it took to get me out of harm's way. My intention was to fly overhead and drive my spear into the stupid thing's skull; the caveat to that plan was that I still wasn't used to flying with all that armor on. Heck, I was lucky my jump even got me a few feet off the ground. My epic aerial maneuver ended up as more of a lopsided tackle.
If you've ever tried tackling something at least ten times your weight, you probably learned pretty quickly how ineffective it is. Of course, while the dragon didn't budge even an inch, I did manage to piss it off some more. As I struggled to lift myself off the grass, I caught a huge red foot in the corner of my eye. Rolling away managed to save me from becoming a blue smear, but I still felt a horrible pain shoot through my leg; turns out I didn't roll far enough.
The pain caused me no small amount of discomfort, obviously, but at the same time, it got me even more excited. The dragon probably thought it had me on the ropes, seeing as how it landed all the blows dealt so far.
I was going to show it just how wrong it was.
The dragon made it quite clear that it had no intention of freeing my leg. The hairs on my face tingled from his burning breath as he leaned in, his rage-filled eyes staring directly into my own. That was my opportunity; without giving it a second thought, I chomped down on the spear and swung forward with all my strength. I was determined to hit something, and judging by the roar that followed, I must have succeeded.
He reared his head back in pain and flailed haphazardly. I could see the wooden spear handle sticking from where a dragon's ears would be... you know, if they had ears. Like I mentioned before, the spear isn't particularly lethal unless you activate the spring mechanism; unfortunately, the damn thing jerked it out of my mouth before I could set it off. I always finish what I start, though, and if it meant climbing a frenzied dragon's head, then so be it.
In his moment of insanity, the dragon released my leg from under his foot. The leg wasn't exactly going to be doing me favors for the rest of that fight, but all I needed was to be able to move again. Using my wings to propel myself, I hauled myself up the beast's body, holding on as much as I could with my forelegs. He just kept swinging around, roaring and shooting flames in the air, but he didn't seem to notice me while he was fixated on the spear in his head.
The very moment the spear handle was within reach, I used all four legs to grip anything on his head that I possibly could. The rapid movement certainly wasn't making my job any easier; I quite clearly felt the handle smack my face a couple of times while I was trying to finagle the mechanism. In the flurry of madness, my mouth finally found its mark, and I jerked that stupid thing around like crazy until something happened.
The telltale "sproing" sound finally made its entrance, and everything went still.
The dragon's claws kept swinging, but more from delirium than anger. I allowed myself to fall from his head, landing painfully on the ground nearby. He followed suit, stumbling forward before tripping over himself. A mighty crash silenced the mountain, and the beast lay motionless. Limping over to the activated spear, I inspected the surprisingly clean wound it had inflicted.
Sure enough, he was dead as a doorknob.
I killed a dragon.
"Ha... ha ha..." The adrenaline finally caught up to me, and I started to lose it. "T-That's right... not so t-tough now, are you?!" The feeling was incredible; I felt the thrill of the intense battle flow through me, causing shivers I couldn't even hope to stop. It was the thrill of surviving.
It was the thrill of almost dying.
"I killed you. I killed a dragon." I was laughing, in spite of nearly being obliterated and possibly never being able to use my leg again. "In the name of Celestia, I killed you! For buckin' Equestria, dragon!"
I knew that wasn't true, however. I hadn't done that for Celestia. I hadn't done it for Equestria. If I hadn't been so caught up in my twisted enjoyment of the death of another creature, I could have realized just how terrifying a revelation this was. I could have prevented something terrible.
I was so stupid.
"Wonder how many more of you are out there..." I yanked the spear a few times to see if I could get it to budge; unfortunately, the hardest part of using the spear is getting it back afterwards. "Doesn't matter... I'll take 'em all on." The world started to grow dark; I thought perhaps my fatigue had gotten the best of me, until I noticed strange movements in the shadows around me. "Must be some clouds." I looked up at the skylight above.
There were no clouds.
Finally taking a moment to acknowledge my surroundings, I realized that something was breathing on my back. That same something was casting an enormous shadow over me and my kill. Turning to get a look at the intruder, I realized that same something really, really wanted to kill me.
I was in shock; as the colossal dragon prepared what could only be a massive blast of fire breath, I just sat there and watched. I was dead; there was nothing I could do, and worst part of it all was that some small part of me was actually excited by this.
Like, I was actually glad a dragon was about to roast me alive.
"Lightning, look out!"
I could barely comprehend what was happening; all I knew was that without moving a muscle in my body, I was suddenly tumbling away from the menacing beast. For a brief second, everything felt peaceful as I lay in the grass. Then I felt the immense heat. Then I heard the scream.
It was Tailslide's scream.
I couldn't even turn my head to see the aftermath of the blast. The screaming only lasted for a moment before it was drowned out by the roaring flames. I could smell it, though. The crackling embers nearby carried the scent of burning hair; it was easily the most horrific scent I had ever encountered... and the actual smell had nothing to do with it.
I was still going to die, of course. My mind pretty much shut itself down at that point; everything was just a blur, an insane cocktail of adrenaline, pain, and fear. I didn't even care that the dragon was slowly turning towards me. I couldn't even comprehend the flying blurs descending upon it.
I didn't understand why the dragon suddenly fell to the earth.
I didn't know who the figures approaching me were.
One of them tried to say something to me. I couldn't understand it; my heart was too busy reveling in its sick ecstasy to let me hear anything.
The others swarmed around the charred figure on the ground. I knew it was Tailslide, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.
All I knew was that I almost died. And I loved it.
I'm no longer in the Equestrian Royal Guards.
I would say that this is fate's way of telling me that I shouldn't be a part of any action-oriented group based on my track record, were it not for one important factor. When I left the Wonderbolt Academy, it was because I was kicked out for reckless endangerment. I got an earful from the captain, and was sent packing. My departure from the Royal Guards was a bit different, however.
Make no mistake, my superiors were tweaked about what I did on Smokey Mountain. "Blatant disregard" this, "buckin' idiot" that... I got the full course lecture combo meal. The General was primed and ready to kick my sorry flank out, and to be perfectly honest, I would have deserved it. To my surprise, however, I had one supporter who managed to turn things around.
Commander Turbulence himself spoke on my behalf, convincing the General that my bravado and courage in the face of danger made me just the type of pony the front lines needed. That's right, he not only defended my idiocy, but suggested that I be moved to a station far more suitable for both my abilities and my desires. The General wasn't pleased about it, but he reluctantly agreed to let me stay.
That's what made this different from the Wonderbolt Academy. I wasn't kicked out; far from it, in fact.
No, I chose to leave the Royal Guards myself.
Turbulence's words were encouraging, but dead wrong. I'm not brave. I'm not a leader. I'm not even a fighter, despite taking a dragon down by myself. When I told him this during my departure, he claimed that I was just feeling sorry for myself because of Tailslide's death.
"The most important rule in the Royal Guards is to never pity a fallen soldier," he told me. "Tailslide sacrificed himself to protect your life. He chose to die for a cause he believed was just, and you'd be doing him a disservice to waste the life he saved on self-pity and crying."
If anything, Turbulence's words only cemented my decision to leave even further. For whatever reason, Tailslide had decided that I was worth dying for. We barely even knew each other, yet he sacrificed everything his future held in store for him just so that I could be given another chance to buck up. That was his reason for fighting. His reason for dying.
In those heart pounding moments on the mountain, I had found my reason for fighting as well. I didn't fight for my country. I didn't fight for heroism or pride or baths or anything. I truly wanted to believe that I could force myself into dangerous situations for something beyond cheap thrills and the exhilaration of knocking on Death's door, but the more I looked back on that mission and on the rest of my life to that point, it only became more clear.
I would die... for dying. That's all.
Fighting dragons, performing high-speed nosedives, creating out-of-control tornadoes for a task as simple as clearing clouds... I wasn't just reckless, I was practically suicidal. I don't actually want to die, but that feeling of being so close to the end is, ironically, what I live for.
I didn't deserve to call myself a Wonderbolt, or a Royal Guard. Those titles are reserved for ponies who believe in the value of life, both for themselves and others. To give your life for the benefit of something or somepony, no matter what it may be, is truly honorable. I feel that I can fully understand what Tailslide was talking about, now that I know I am a pony whose reason for fighting has no benefit. Unless the near-deaths of five of your wing pony's best friends or the horrifyingly painful death of your scouting partner count as "benefits".
At least I know the answer to that question now. I know what I was doing on the mountain, at the academy, or anywhere else in Equestria.
I hate it.
I hate it so goddamn much.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Signas · 9.7k words · 14 6 · 1.4k views
- Beegirl Scribbler · 1.3k words · 109 3 · 2.6k views
- OfTheIronwilled · 5.2k words · 74 1 · 2.4k views
- Signas · 30k words · 90 2 · 2.3k views
- Flint Sparks · 3k words · 151 2 · 3k views
- redsquirrel456 · 3k words · 87 3 · 1.1k views
- Enter Madness · 1.2k words · 109 1 · 1.3k views
- wYvern · 5.3k words · 87 1 · 1.1k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.129 seconds
Total duration
933 users online
222,256 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Right, so as the description implies, this was a quick story busted out in the course of a weekend for EQD's flash fic thing. Hope you like it, but don't be surprised if it's riddled with bullshit, for which I apologize in advance. I think it turned out alright, all things considered.
That's deep, bro. That's real deep.
God dammit, LD. Can you not be serious for like, two whole seconds?
Never change, Dust. Never change.
Buck up, Lightning. At least you know yourself.
I'e always been a huge fan of Lightning Dust. I can't wait to read this story. I'm sure that I am going to love it.
Good story.
Especially because Lightning Dust.
I can see where this is going, Dust not wanting to die but filled with self loathing for her motivations has herself committed to an asylum in hopes that they could fix her. Say hi to Screwball and Screw Loose for me Lighting.
Admittedly one of the more fascinating stories I've read...
I never once pictured Lightning Dust as a truly evil character, or even one that was really all that reckless. However my opinion may very well have been changed... Looking at the character from this angle, with the stark reality of death being right in front of her throughout the story, seems almost to change her. Joining the royal guard after being kicked out of the wonderbolts is exactly the sort of thing she would do, and that situation is more than enough to, if not reveal this side of the character, then at least create it within her...
Long story short, this fits so well I am physically scared by it.
Though I will admit I typically don't read stories just to be sad, I did enjoy the shock factor of this. I would be very interested in reading more stories like this, so please, post some more like this.
Also, I'm really biased not only because you're using the same writing style as me, but because I too have a character named Lightning, so you've won both my biased and unbiased support, make of that what you will
8.9/10 for awesome, believable story and because it's very well written.
-CC
2657455
Thank you for the kind words, sir. I can't guarantee I'll be writing more stories with this sort of tone, but another idea may pop into my head like this one did.
It's always a pleasure to see a different perspective for characters. Seeing Lightning Dust as she is in this fic, a pony whose sole desire is to experience thrills that bring her repeatedly near death, was absolutely fascinating and brilliantly portrayed. Well done, mate. Well done.
reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/joker.gif
Hmm, this is different. It's great to see someone do something new with this character, as much as I enjoy the homicidal maniac Lightening Dust at points. I especially liked how you reflected her self doubt in what she was doing and why. Usually when people are as angry as she was in the episode, they're hiding some sort of doubt in themselves, and you made that clearly evidenced here.
I guess I'm speaking from my experience as a former team leader in several projects and overall "group supporter", but I did not like this fic at all. Which, of course, is obviously the intent of this fic.
The one that that irritates me about Lightning Dust here, more than anything else, isn't the fact that Lightning Dust wants to fulfill that dangerlust. Rather, it's the fact that she would do anything to achieve that rush with no regards to anyone in the vicinity, or their safety. She knows that, but she still follows her drive anyways, which to me demonstrates a case of willful endangerment to anyone in proximity.
As a colleague once eloquently put it, "that $#!& don't fly."
Anyways, you've written a good fic. Lightning Dust is one of the few MLP characters who I dislike very much, and you've done an excellent job writing a story about why I do.
This is a great example of "didn't learn anything fic." She has a better understanding, but she didn't learn anything "new". You just made LD feel more real, and her disregard for equine life even more unsettling. Faced not just with a punishment but with the consequences of her actions, she chooses not to change.
Nice, well done character study. Takes everything presented in the episode and expands on it perfectly.
2657455>>3143546
This is completely wrong IMO. It's not that Lightning Dust "disregards equine life", it's that when chasing the rush she forgets about the fact that she is endangering more than just herself. If she really didn't care, she wouldn't "hate it".
She just needs to find one of those extreme sports, what I think I've heard called "deathsports", and find one that won't cause collateral damage and which she can do alone. Go nuts. Figuratively.
It's always interesting to see someone admit that they are a terrible person.
3148857
So what you're saying... is that Lightning Dust needs to star in a Death Race crossover fic.
Someone get on this shit, ASAP.
Came here from the reviews.
It was far different and even better than I expected.
Take my like and a bow, my dear :3
No dark tag, but nonetheless quite grim. I like it.
Spl, should be "any more"
Should be em dashes, not hyphens. They also should either have spaces on both sides or none at all
spl
Sorry, wait, the soldiers are going to be attacking dragons who probably didn't have anything to do with the Vanhoover attacks? Not just forgoing any attempt at negotiation and forcing them out, but murdering them? I thought Equestria was being run by Celestia, not some careless douchebag who's perfectly okay with blood on their hooves. My mind couldn't help but wander off on a tangent in which Twilight's closest friend happened into that wilderness somehow, was brutally attacked by the soldiers who were committed to protecting civilians like himself, and was taken home to Canterlot so that Princess Celestia could suffer the horrifying, heart-shattering experience of watching one of her scouts proudly present her with the young corpse of the little guy she raised in that very castle.
Anyway, aside from treating dragons like savages, it was a very good tale about a less-then-reputable pony discovering who she is and coming to terms with what drives her. Before Tailslide answered Lightning's titular question, I imagined his approach was going to be to challenge Lightning's judgment and self-worth. Ask her if she really needs crowds worshiping her deeds just to know she's doing something good. Does she require constant reassurance to know anything she does is worth something, or can she decide for herself? But instead of taking that route, the story ended up somewhere much darker, and a little more personal. I found this a much more appropriate way to wrap up a story focusing on Lightning Dust.
Caboose: "I was just trying to find a bathroom. Church always has me go before a big battle. He hates when I have to go in the middle of one."
There's a dragon in Ponyville whom you didn't meet at the Academy for some reason. When he grows up a little more, mares are going to say the very opposite.
Pipes last. I think you meant a year's supply of tobacco.
The errors have been corrected. Thank you for pointing them out; I don't understand how I could proofread a story several times and miss something as simple as "you're vs. your".
3184364 Eh, no one is perfect, and the small number of mistakes didn't prevent me from enjoying the story.
And you're quite welcome.
Thats was badass I like LD even more now!
For a second there, I almost thought Lightning Dust had forgotten Tailslide's name. Or was that intentional?
Other than that, good story. I don't normally read Lightning Dust, but this was a pretty good fanfic follow up to the episode and a great interpretation of her character. Definitely something that deserved its Seattle's Angels feature.
Lucky she didn't get...LICED and DYECED! Mwahahahahahahaaaa! If ONLY this little filly was a Power Pony...I'd be so proud.
I shall add this one to my...shave-orites eagerly, due to the soldiery's violently aggressive attitude toward pony-dragon relations. Their stance is so delightfully EVIL!
This was a very good look at the way Lightning Dust's mind works from the pony herself.
We need more Lightning Dust stories. Despite her criminal recklessness, she isn't actually evil. She deserves pity, and maybe she'll get it all together one day.
You can has review!
This is a story that I'm gonna favorite very reluctantly (I'm only doing so because the admins are gonna need to deactivate the account I had it favorited on, and that account only existed for stories that I wanted to remember, but didn't love enough to fave as Swashbucklist).
As well-written as the story is, it paints the dragons as absolute monsters whose lives are worth less than a pony's, and you heavily imply that it's Princess Celestia herself who thinks things should operate with this prejudice in mind. That's really fucking despicable, yet you never gave any explanation--via reply, journal entry, or author's note--for how Equestria could harbor such evil. I raised this issue 118 weeks ago, and you don't appear to have given a shit (unless you PMed me, in which case I apologize in advance).
This is easily the best one-shot I've read on this site after about a year of having this account, and after looking at the comments section for the first time I feel a deep contempt for many of the other readers.
3183034 What you're doing is basically screaming at the background of the Mona Lisa for the contrast of the landscape with the local biomes around where it was painted. You make a good point, but it really doesn't matter. I'm guessing this opinion is based on a by no means misplaced liking for Spike, but he was enslaved at birth into pony culture, and it has been seen time and time again in the show (and by that I mean two or three times), and even referenced in this fic itself, that typical dragons do indeed act in such a way as to completely justify this.
3142846 I don't really have a response to this other than 'I hate you'.
5583471 Shed no tears for Lightning Dust, for she may very well rise again. Stronger. Tougher.
That's a really powerful statement, It brings to mind "All Quiet On the Western Front" to me at least.
Yet i see a fire in you lightning
You are reckless but i can channel that into a strong force