The Ultimate Element

by Akamaru01

Healing

The Ultimate Element

Chapter 3

Healing

It had been a month since the blue stallion had been discharged from the hospital, and it would not be long until his wing healed and he could remove the cast, and he would know whether or not he would be able to fly again. “Almost there. Man, I miss flying.” Taking a break from work, the stallion decided to have lunch with a few of his new friends.

“I bet,” declared Rainbow Dash, who, out of all six of his friends in Ponyville, ended up being his closest. “I mean, pegasi are born to fly! Losing that ability is a pegasi’s worst nightmare!”

“Actually,” replied Fluttershy, “that’s not my biggest fear. My biggest fears are big monsters.”

“Well, for most pegasi, that’s our biggest fear,” she added, looking away from the yellow pegasus for a moment.

“Makes sense,” said Twilight. “I’d probably go insane if I lost my magic.”

“Well, I guess I can cross this off my ‘list of fears that have come true’.” The three ponies all sat in silence; clearly not finding his attempt at a joke amusing.

“You’re not that funny,” remarked the rainbow pegasus candidly.

“So I’ve been told,” he said without a hint of a smile.

“So is Applejack still ‘keepin an eye on you’?” asked the unicorn.

“Yep. When we work in the fields, every time I turn around, I see her watching me, usually just out of the corner of her eye,” the stallion answered with a straight face and a calm voice. “Even when we aren’t at the farm, if she’s nearby, she keeps a close eye on me.”

“That’s... Weird,” Twilight said, shaking her head. She obviously thought the farm pony to be a tad paranoid toward the stallion.

“Eh. I’m used to it. Strange as it sounds.” He kept on eating, talking between bites. “I bet she’ll be happy when I leave though. She won’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“You’re still planning on leaving?” the rainbow mare asked.

“Yeah. Gotta keep moving. Ponyville’s a great place, but it would be better if I left.” The stallion looked as if he didn’t want to leave, but he continued protesting to his friends that he could not stay. “I better get back to work. See ya later.”

The pegasus walked away with a frown, but he hid it so that the others could not see it. He could never stay in one place for too long. If any of the ponies in Ponyville knew the truth, he would get run out of town. Again. And having friends would make it that much harder. He had to leave soon, he believed himself lucky that his secret had temporarily dissipated, but he could feel it slowly returning. He figured it would be fully restored soon after the wing finished healing, and when it did, well, he should be far from Ponyville by then.

---

“Tia, have the guards you sent out found anything yet?” Princess Luna had begun to worry. The monster her sister felt a month ago had not been found, and it’s power continued to grow. Even the younger lunar royal, with weakened magic, could begin to feel the energy grow.

“Not yet. They cannot pinpoint the location of the creature, which makes it extremely difficult to track. However, the guards have informed me that they will soon search the Everfree Forest, near Ponyville. Many monster’s live there, and it is possible that this is where we will find the beast.” Her voice inspired some confidence in the younger pony, but she still had her doubts.

“If this monster were in the Everfree forest, wouldn’t your pupil and her friends send a message?”

“They probably do not even know that there is a threat in Equestria, but we will tell them soon.” The royal sisters silently hoped that they would not be needed, but the power they could feel continued to grow, and soon it would surpass even their own. They knew that if it reached that point, the Elements of Harmony shall be the only force in Equestria capable of stopping the threat.

“If it comes to that, let us hope that they will be able to save Equestria once more, for I fear that this power might grow past the Elements.” Celestia turned, and trotted back inside, her sister following close behind, each one feeling the dread of the upcoming events.

---

“Applejack, dear, do you really have to keep watching him?” Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack met together for a snack at the Carousal Boutique. Rarity had just finished making some new dresses when the mares had come in, the room cluttered with fabric and sketches.

“Of course! There’s still somethin bout him I don’t like. He’s dangerous. I’m sure of it.” Applejack slammed her hooves on the table in frustration, shaking it and its contents. She had been using the same argument for almost a month, but she never felt it losing effectiveness. The pegasus hadn’t done anything since she saw him in the barn, but that didn’t mean he was all good. Not in her book.

“Oh, come on Applejack,” said the pink earth pony. “If he was planning something, he would have called the mother ship down by now.” She spoke casually, despite the randomness of your words.

“Pinkie, will you ever drop that insane thought? Lightning is not an alien!” Rarity, as well as the other ponies, has tried and failed multiple times to explain to the party pony that there are no aliens. “Anyways, Applejack,” she said, returning to the initial topic, “it should be clear by now that Lightning is not dangerous. In fact, I think he’s rather sweet.”

“Well I ain’t lettin mah guard down til he leaves. He should be all better soon, and then he can move on.” She folded her fore hooves across her chest, huffing softly.

“Doesn’t that seem a tad rude?” the unicorn asked softly.

“Yeah, Applejack. That’s not very nice.” The pink pony spoke without a smile, although it quickly returned, as it always did. “You need to be more positive!” she said, bouncing out of her chair, shaking her hooves around.

“Well I’m sorry ya’ll think that, but I’m stickin with mah gut on this one. Besides, it’s not that I think he’s a bad pony or anything, I just think that somethin bout him is wrong.” She turned her head, thinking about the pegasus stallions past actions.

“I do hope that you two can make your peace before he leaves. I’d hate too see him leave thinking you hate him.” Rarity sounded genuinely concerned, for both ponies.

“I don’t hate him. I’m jus suspicious of him.”

“Well it certainly seems like you don’t like him.”

“Whatever. I gotta get back to tah farm soon.” The orange pony stood, walking toward the door.

“Goodbye Applejack!” the party pony said. “And don’t forget about my ‘Recovery Party’ for Lightning next week!”

“Yeah, yeah.” With that, the orange pony left the boutique, and headed back to the farm.

---

At last, the day had come to remove the blue stallion’s cast. He stood in the hospital, waiting for Nurse Redheart to come and remove it. The pegasus felt excited to finally be able to use his wing once more, but he also felt nervous, for nopony knew if he would be able to fly as he once did. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the white earth pony arrived.

It took mere minutes to remove the cast, and once his wing became free of the bonds, the pegasus experimentally flapped his wings. He soon brought himself off the ground, floating in the air. He thanked the nurse for all her help, and flew speedily out to greet his friends. The six ponies waiting at the library knew he would arrive soon. They heard a sharp whistle come from outside. The mares burst out the door, and lay witness to the stallions flight.

“Hey everypony,” he said casually. He floated down to the ground, where the mares greeted him with a group hug. Applejack stayed on the outside, somewhat happy for the stallion, but still cautious of him as well. “Aw, I really miss being able to fly.” The pegasus leaped into the air, although clearly out of practice, he moved well.

“Since your all better,” Rainbow Dash remarked, “why don’t we test your skills?” The pegasus seemed eager to observe the stallion’s abilities first hand.

“Alright. What do you have in mind?” He had a look in his eyes that said he was ready to face any challenge the mare threw at him.

“A race, through Ghastly Gorge!” She spoke with a dramatic voice, putting emphasis on the location.

“Sounds good,” he replied with a smirk. “Let’s get started.”

---

“Wow,” declared the stallion. “That was pretty crazy.” Lightning and Rainbow Dash had just finished their epic race, the stallions first real flight since the accident. They were flying back toward town, laughing most of the way.

“I know,” the rainbow mare chuckled. “Bet you’ve never raced in a place like that.”

“Well, I’ve seen some pretty strange things, but that gorge was definitely the weirdest place I’ve ever raced in.” He shook his head, thinking back on the obstacles in the gorge. Thorns, quarry eels, and a rock slide are definitely not normal.

“You did pretty good for your first time in though. However, it was still <i>I</i> who won,” the mare boasted.

“Not by much. It was only about a 10 second difference,” Lightning said, giving a small giggle as he did.

“Hey, winning is winning. Time difference doesn’t really matter,” Rainbow Dash said, floating in front of the stallion.

“You’ve got a point there,” he added. “But using my wings so much after they just healed, I think I need to rest for a while.”

“Alright. Oh, and don’t forget about Pinkie Pie’s party in a few hours.” Somehow, the earth pony set up an entire party in only 20 minutes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there.” The deep blue pegasus soared above the clouds, taking a few with him as he climbed higher. High above Ponyville, he could easily make out all the different buildings, and even saw some of the ponies walking through the streets. <i>I haven’t felt like this a long time,</i> the pegasus thought to himself. As he looked upon the multitude of ponies and buildings, he subconsciously thought of the small, quiet town as a second home. Catching himself, the stallion quickly pushed the idea from his mind, reminding himself that he couldn’t stay for but a few more days. Any longer could mean trouble.

The pegasus molded the clouds in hoof into a small tent. Once satisfied, the stallion snuggled inside and closed the opening to block out the light of the sun. A nice, quiet rest on the softest material known to pony kind. It easily became the best sleep he had had in months. If he didn’t have his tail poking out, he probably wouldn’t have been found in time for the party.

---

“Pinkie, no matter how many of your parties I go too, I will never stop being surprised.” He walked into the sweet shop, noticing how packed with ponies it became when Pinkie threw a party. He knew some ponies came to congratulate him, while others only came for the party, but it didn’t matter, he only cared that somepony else cared enough to throw a party for him. It made him feel special, and in a good way for once.

“Thanks!” she said with a wide grin. “Oh! Also, I organized a pegasus race so you can get back to using your wings again.” Pinkie smiled wide, hoping to please the stallion.

“Pinkie, I raced Rainbow Dash earlier through Ghastly Gorge,” he said, waving a hoof back outside.

“Oh! Oh! Did you win?” The pink pony was bouncing to hear the details.

“Naw, she beat me,” he said with a light smile. He couldn’t help but feel happy at the thought of the race, no matter the outcome. It was fun, and he wished he could have races like that more often, but his life didn’t give him the chance. He decided he should enjoy friends while he could, and not worry about anything else for now.

“Aw. Too bad. But a lot of these pegasi came here to race the ‘new guy’. I’d hate to have them go home before they had that chance.”

Lightning thought for only a moment before making a decision. “Well, I guess one more race today couldn’t hurt to much.” If he was leaving soon anyways, he might as well show a few pegasi how fast he was. Lightning didn’t want to look like a slow coward.

In a few minutes, the race was ready to begin. The pegasi lined up in front of Sugarcube Corner, wings open and ready to fly. As soon as the starting shot went off, the yellow maned pegasus quickly flew out in front, with a few others following close behind. The racers flew around Ponyville, maneuvering through hoops made of clouds, and avoiding crashing into buildings.

A few minutes in, the stallion gained an impressive lead. However, two pegasi appeared on either side of him, one with a basketball cutie mark, and the other weights. Although the blue pegasus could have easily sped along further, he wanted to see what they would do. Something stupid probably. That would be fun to watch.

The pegasi slowly moved away from the stallion. <i>Yep. Something stupid.</i> The two stallions on either side of him quickly moved inward, hoping to crush the azure pegasus and bring him to the ground. Seeing the obvious ploy, the stallion opened his wings at the last moment, slowing himself. He then sped up to near top speed, after the two had crashed to the ground. They sprawled and tumbled, scaring a few mares.

The race concluded moments later. The audiences reaction was clear, as they had not expected so much from a recently injured pony.

“Heh,” chuckled Rainbow Dash. “That wasn’t even near his fastest. Either he was playing around, or he was just tired from our earlier race.” A few ponies in the crowd heard her, and began to tell others around them. This only increased the hype more, some beginning to think of the stallion to be almost as fast as the multi colored mare herself.

---

Well, another party had ended, and once again the stallion and his friends were thinking about his lodgings. “I could always make my own cloud tent, now that I can fly again.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Lightning,” said Rainbow. “You’re only staying for about another week, right? You can stay with me. I have a big house, and I live alone. There’s plenty of space. No need to work on making a temporary shelter.”

“Wow, Rainbow Dash,” whispered Flutershy. “That’s really nice of you to offer him a place to stay.”

“It’ll be fine Rainbow. I don’t want to intrude in another pony’s house again.” He lifted a hoof, trying to show that he would be fine.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Besides, I would love to have someone to talk to about tricks and the Wonderbolts. Not many other ponies like to talk about that stuff.”

Lightning scratched the back of his head with a hoof in thought. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. I hardly ever get to talk to anypony either.”

“Great! Come on. I’ll show you around,” the mare said, eager to finally have a guest to her cloud home.

---

“You got a nice place here.” The pegasus stallion floated, amazed by the sheer size of the mare’s home. The tower of a building rested on a cloud high above Ponyville. A large rainbow rose out of the top dome and spilt over to the side. There, it turned into a waterfall of liquid rainbow. A similar waterfall could be found on the opposite side of the cloud.Lightning wasn’t expecting something like that, but he also found himself unsurprised by the sight.

“Glad you like it. Here is the main floor,” she exclaimed as they entered through he front door. The inside seemed fairly simple compared to the exterior. A living area took up the front of the house, containing a couch and a few chairs. A kitchen rested in the back, with a half wall to separate the two areas. Off to each side, two parallel hallways with multiple doors followed the walls. “Over there, to the left, the first door is my room. Never, ever, go in my room. On the other side is a guest room, which you can use.” She pointed a hoof to each door as she spoke.

“Thanks,” grinned the blue and yellow pegasus. “I’m gonna take a quick look.” The stallion entered his room, and saw a small area with a nice sized bed and a night stand. A window looked out into the sky, with a great view of Ponyville down below. When he had settled his few things down on the bed, he went back to the main room to continue the tour. Rainbow Dash took him to several other rooms, most of them for storage, but one room had a hole in the ceiling. The pegasi flew up, and the stallion eyes widened in surprise. The rest of the building appeared to be a pegasus training area. Large rings scattered through the air, and a few weight sets magically stayed on the floor. “Wow.”

“I know, right.” The mare smiled proudly. “Not many others know about this place. It’s my secret little getaway. You can use it while you’re here, you know, physical therapy.”

“Thanks. This place is incredible.” Lightning looked all around the personal gym, taking in the thought that items such as these could even remain on the cloud floor.

“No problem. Now come on. I think it would be a good idea to head to bed. It’s getting late.”

Knocked out of his stupor, Lightning was able to turn back and look at his host. “Good idea.” The ponies flew back down to the first floor and into their respective rooms, but as Lightning opened the door, he said to the mare, ‘Thanks again for letting me stay here Rainbow.”

“Don’t worry about it.” With that, the pegasi lied down in their beds to sleep.

---

The power the sun princess felt had continued growing. Nothing she had done so far could find the source, nor could she distinguish what the energy belonged to. She hoped to solve this mystery before the power became to strong. Once it reached that level, Equestria would be doomed. The only possible way to stop it would be if the Elements nearly doubled in power, or if more then six of the relics existed. However, that would be impossible. They had only the existing artifacts, and they only had so much power inside. Even if she added her and her sister’s magic, it might not be enough. But she had to try, because giving up would be worse then defeat. She only hoped neither option would come to fruition.

End Chapter 3

Comments

[Menoshe]

The only possible way to stop it would be if the Elements nearly doubled in power, or if more then six of the relics existed

Why do I believe that?