He Who Wields The Lightning

by Onomonopia

King of the Dragons

'I must contain the fire,' Adam thought to himself as he rocketed into the sky, clasping his hands together as magic words rolled off his tongue. Thunderclouds began to rumble overhead, yet that was all the time Adam could devote to the magic as six dragons rampaged through the burning city. They were the only dragons there at the moment, but Adam knew that he did not have long until the others showed up as well. "Not on my watch!" Adam tore through the sky, and then tore through the wing of one of the dragons. The pale green dragon roared in pain before a fist to his jaw silenced him. Adam broke the dragon's leg with ease and brought back his fist to finish the job, when thousands of roars all sounded at once.

"How many are there?" Black Adam growled as he turned his gaze to the thundering sky, rage filling his heart as he saw thousands of dragons emerge from the clouds, all of them unleashing their fire upon the city below. A cry for help brought Adam back to the battle at hand, and he swiftly threw himself at the other five dragons, tearing through them as if they were paper. None of his blows were fatal, but he made sure that they would not be getting up for a long time as he tore the wings off of a black beast.

"T-thank you, Black Adam," the ponies he saved tried to stammer to him, but he was already too far away to hear their words. Rocketing himself into the sky, he clasped his hands again and finished the spell he had begun earlier.

"Aton-Vahar!" Lightning tore open the clouds and a torrent of rain cascaded down upon the burning capital of Equestria. 'That will have to do for the fire, for now...' he began as he turned his gaze skyward, towards the thousands of dragons that were now flying above the city. 'I deal with you!' Lightning flew from the tips of his fingers into the beasts of fire, but although one or two fell to the power, Adam found himself quickly consumed by their might. A massive blue dragon slammed itself into him and both crashed into the burning streets below.

"Be gone fool!" Adam yelled as he swatted the massive dragon away, sending the snarling beast crashing through a burned building. Adam snarled as he turned to engage the other dragons before flames began to engulf him. The dragon that he had swatted away had arisen again, and it unleashed its hellish fury upon Adam. But the hellish fire meant little to one who was a god. "You wish to fight to the end? Then allow me to end this!" The dragon roared as it brought both clawed hands down upon Adam, but in response Adam tightened his grip upon the fists before tearing them off of the dragon's body. A quick knee to the face put the beast down and gave Adam a moment to look around at the destruction.

"Celestia shall never get here in time to aid me in this. The one time I wish for Luna to be here, and she is gone," he grumbled before more cries garnered his attention. Adam flew to the cries for help in the center of the city and kicked the dragon there in the head, tearing the beast's jaw off as it fell to the ground. Adam landed next to the ponies in the dragon's blood before he frowned at the sight of the charred remains of a guard laying before him. "Are you alright?" he asked the three ponies.

"What's happening?" they asked with fear. Black Adam opened his mouth to answer before another dragon landed on the ground beside him, striking him in the back with its tail. Adam was sent skyward by the force of the blow, but if the dragon thought that blow would hurt Adam, then the blow with which Adam retaliated nearly took the dragon's head from its shoulders. The three ponies watched with disbelief as the dragon sailed over the edge of the city and down to the ground far below.

"Flee to whatever shelter you can find and stay there until I have dealt with this," Adam ordered, the ponies nodding dumbly as they fled through the streets. Adam turned his gaze upon the burning town, seeing the bodies of those he had been too late to save, those he had failed once again. And as the image of the burned Elements of Harmony flashed through his mind, Black Adam felt his resolve steel once again. "There has been enough death for today. Time to end this!"

Black Adam thrust his hands into the sky, incanting words that had been all but forgotten by the human race except for a few chosen souls. Power rumbled through the air, a rumbling that was followed by hundreds of strikes of lightning that threw themselves down from the heavens and into the dragons that flew around the burning city. His promise to Celestia remained strong though, and as he watched the dragons fall from the sky he could see that none of them had been struck from this world by his power. Yet despite being struck down by the lightning, to Adam's bafflement the dragons began to get up.

"What are you doing?" he roared with rage and disbelief as he grabbed a dragon by the throat, preventing it from breathing its fire upon the ponies that it had landed by. "You have lost! You have been struck down! Now stay down!" he snarled as he drove the dragon face first into the street, finishing the beast by driving his boot into its spine. The sound of bone breaking told Adam that this fight was over, but once again his eyes grew large as the dragon began to pull itself forward, trying to unleash its fire once again upon the innocent.

"You! Have! Fallen!" Adam screamed as he snapped the spine in half before kicking the dragon over, glaring into its eyes with a fury that could have cowed any superhero. Yet there was no fear in the dragon's eyes, only the sight of unyielding faith in what it believed. "Why do you continue to fight this battle? I have broken you! Stay down!"

"As long...as my king requires me to fight...I shall fight," the dragon weakly spit out as it tried to move. "The word of the king...shapes the world itself." Black Adam looked down at the broken beast within his grasp with both understanding and loathing.

'They fight as long as their king commands it. They may not all wish for this fight,' he deduced as he looked around at all of the burning and death. 'All of this death, all of the pain is on the head of one individual! And the only way to stop this fight...is to bring down the king himself!' He tossed the broken dragon over the edge of the city before throwing himself towards the sky, giving himself a moment to look down towards the city to see that the rain was helping with the fire. And with the lightning having brought so many dragons to their knees, the guards were doing a far better job of holding them at bay. But that was all Adam could see before he burst through the cloud cover and into the true storm.

'This must be the full extent of their forces.' Adam's eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the thousands of dragons that were flying above the clouds, waiting for the whim of their king to send them into battle, to send them in to wipe out hundreds of lives. Black Adam could see fear in some of the dragons' eyes, yet the only dragon he was interested in looked upon him as if he were nothing more than an insect. "You. You are the king."

"Indeed I am!" Firewing roared to the skies, his voice forcing all of the dragons around him to lower their heads in respect.

"Then cease this attack upon the ponies or I shall only tear you in half," Black Adam snarled, yet to his annoyance the king laughed at his words and he flew towards Adam. Adam's eyes quickly looked over the king, who was far larger than any of the other dragons that had fallen that day. He was also covered in scars, but there was only arrogance in the monster's eyes.

"And why should I listen to a worm." Thunder rumbled at his choice of words, but Adam waited to unleash his fury. "For far too long, the ponies have believed themselves to be the superior race because they can use magic, because they can move the clouds at their whim! But now I will show them what true power is! The power of those who truly rule the skies!"

"You are slaughtering innocents...all to show that you are superior?" Adam asked aghast, both at the words of the king and also the memories of when he had done the same. "And all of you stand with this madman?!" he asked the dragons, all of whom avoided his gaze.

"The strong take what they want from the weak. That is how the world has always worked," Firewing chuckled as he motioned to all of the dragons around him. "And the weak obey the strong. For so long as I am king, these dragons will fight to the death for me, even if it means sending them against you. Now my legion, destroy this fool!" The hundreds of dragons let loose their cries as they flung themselves at Adam, but his sights were only set on the king before him, the king that was willing to let his subjects die with no concern for their lives. And it infuriated him.

With a burst of speed that put Hermes to shame, Black Adam tore past the dragons, the sheer force of his speed knocking them out of the air as he drove himself into the king. He drove the both of them towards the ground with enough force to blow the clouds away as they crashed in the land far below the kingdom, where Adam could fight without fear of harming others.

"Prepare yourself, tyrant, for you shall join the other fools in death," Black Adam snarled as he flung himself towards Firewing. Firewing let out a laugh as he flapped his mighty wings, the gust from them catching Adam by surprise and blowing him back, but only for a moment. Black Adam planted his feet into the dirt before kicking off, the power in his legs able to overcome the gust created by the king. He followed the kick off by driving his fist into Firewing's chest and summoned his power to send electricity through the dragon. Firewing staggered to his knees, but retained his smile.

"Not bad, false god, but you do not know what I am capable of!" Blue fire spewed from the king's mouth and it engulfed both Black Adam and the surrounding area. Firewing began to chuckle at his assured victory, but then Adam burst from the flames, his body still on fire as he tackled the king with wrath.

"You shame your rulers before you!" Adam roared as he threw his fist into the gut of Firewing, who tore through the ground before colliding with the side of the mountain that held up Canterlot. Firewing forced himself back up again, and he threw himself at Black Adam with a roar. Adam sneered as he caught Firewing with a foot to his face before he drove the dragon to the ground, holding him there with his boot. "A true ruler lives for the sake of his people!"

"Then let's see how well you can rule without a people! Destroy all of Canterlot!" Firewing roared up to the other dragons, who roared in response before they descended upon the city, unleashing their fires upon the city and once again setting it ablaze. His laugh of victory was cut short when Adam drove his knee into the king's face, bringing the dragon to his knees.

"Enough of this pointless destruction!" Adam roared as he grabbed the king by the throat, nearly tearing his head off then and there. "Call off the dragons! This battle does not need to happen!"

"Fool...they...live for the king," Firewing coughed with a smile. "They will...follow my orders...until the day I die."

"End this battle. Do not make me end it," Adam whispered.

"Never," Firewing spat back. A cold wave seemed to wash through Firewing's body as Black Adam gazed into his eyes, almost as if he were gazing into the dragon's dark soul. Then his eyes narrowed and Firewing felt the hand holding his throat tighten.

"I am going to ask one last time. Do not make me do this," Adam whispered with rage, both at what had been done...and what he had to do. The dragon cackled before shutting his mouth, cementing his fate. "You are right, they will not stop...till the day you die." Firewing's eyes widened in horror as black Adam dragged him into the sky, taking him to the center of Canterlot where nearly all of the dragons were attacking.

"Dragons! Behold the king you fight for!" Adam felt all eyes turn towards him, and when they did, he acted. With the power of the gods flowing through him, he raised the king over his head...before tearing the dragon clean in half. Silence fell over the battlefield as Adam threw down the body of the king to the ground, Firewing got out one last weak cough as Adam prepared to summon the word. Then he remembered his promise to Celestia and scowled as he looked down at the dragon.

"Count yourself lucky worm. You shall live. NARK DER MOTORO!"

Divine power descended for all to see, striking the dragon king square in the chest. A cry never escaped his mouth as the lightning made him vanish into thin air, leaving Adam to roar into the sky, "FIREWING HAS FALLEN AND I AM THE ONE WHO SLAYED HIM! I AM NOW YOUR KING!" The dragons and the ponies all looked towards Adam with fear in their eyes while lightning erupted beside him, causing his body to glow with godly power.

"You will never be my king!" one dragon stepped forward to say. "I would rather--" A blast of lightning tore through the dragon, forcing him to the ground in pain. Black Adam then pointed his hand towards all the others, daring one of them to act. Then, one after another, the dragons began to bow to him until all of the dragon nation was bowing.

The ponies of the city looked on at the scene with shock and awe, not sure what they were seeing. In the center of the burned and rainswept town stood Black Adam, with lightning flashing behind him while all of the dragons bowed at his feet. Some ponies felt safe looking upon the scene, believing that Adam had protected them. Others were afraid, for if he could make the dragons bow, then who could stop him if he turned on them?

"What is your first command, oh king?" one of the dragons bowing before him asked as Black Adam turned to face him.

"This fight is over. Take those who have fallen or are injured and return to your nation," Black Adam ordered, waiting for one of them to disobey him or speak out. It never came. "Those who remain will help to extinguish the fires and help rescue those who are trapped. This is an order." The dragons bowed once again before they began to carry out his instructions.

'This...reminds me of the days of old,' Adam silently thought to himself as he watched the dragons begin to help out along with whatever remained of the Royal Guard. 'Being feared, being a ruler of a land. This...is what I was born to be. So why do I feel so...ashamed?'

S=H=A=Z=A=M

As doctors and nurses ran past him to help those who had been injured in the dragon attack, Black Adam realized how little he came to the hospital, not for himself, but for to see those that he had failed to protect. And today the hospital was filled with those he had not saved in time. Most of them were guards, with a number of citizens thrown in, but what position they held didn't matter to him. He needed to let them know that he hadn't abandoned them.

"It means a lot to fillies like her that you come here and do this," nurse Redheart said to Black Adam once he had finished visiting with a small filly who had been caught in the battle. "A lot of ponies have come to hate you because of the Elements...but many of us still see you as a protector, and last week you proved that again."

"If only I could have protected them all," Black Adam bitterly responded as his eyes looked upon the burned, wounded or dying with pain.

"But now, with you as king of the dragons, we will never have to worry about them hurting us ever again," Nurse Redheart said with a small smile.

"I am only the king for now. Soon I will speak with them about electing a new leader to replace me. I only took up the position to cease their attack," Adam responded, but nurse Redheart shook her head.

"From what I learned about dragons, they only follow those that they consider to be the strongest. And no dragon is stronger than you." Black Adam wished to argue the point, but he knew that her words rang clear with truth. There was no being in the land that was stronger than he was...in any way. A familiar bedridden pony caught Adam's eye, and he excused himself before walking over to whom he had spotted.

"Laying down on the job, Stonewall?" Black Adam asked the heavily casted stallion, who smirked in response as he looked at his badly damaged self.

"You should have seen the dragon. They took him home in a soup can," Stonewall chuckled before pain seized his body. After a moment he regained his composure, but he looked far paler than before. "Once again, we all owe our lives to you, friend. Without you the entire city...hell, the entire country...would have been burned to the ground. Glad that you came back."

"Not all of you owe me your lives," Black Adam whispered. "How many of your brethren fell in battle today because I could not protect them?"

"How many of us would have fallen had you not been here and killed that damned fool of a leader?" Stonewall grunted back with a smirk. "As fast and strong as you are, you can't always be there to protect us all the time. Don't worry about us, Black Adam, the Royal Guard can be beaten but we won't be broken." A doctor walked over and meekly asked Adam to let the patient rest. Adam nodded to Stonewall one last time before he floated out of an open window, his mind focusing on what Stonewall had just said to him.

'He is right. Even with my godly powers, I cannot always be there for the Guard or the ponies I have sworn to protect,' he silently mused as he came to a stop far above the ground, where he crossed his legs and closed his eyes, calling upon the wisdom of Zehuti to figure out a solution to this problem. He opened his mind and found himself standing within a library filled with information, the wisdom and knowledge left to him by Zehuti.

Since the library was within his mind, it was created to remind him of the one that he had back in his palace in Kahndaq. Massive pillars held up the hundreds of floors worth of knowledge, while every shelf was filled to the brim with the knowledge of the gods, knowledge that he now needed to discover a solution to his problem.

'My first thought is to transfer a portion of my own magical might to the guard, but then I am left with the same problem I had on Earth. What would keep them from using that same power against me?' He mused as he reached for a book, but then he cast that line of thought aside and instead turned his focus to the guards' weapons and equipment. 'Their standard armor and weapons might be effective against ponies, but they rarely seem to fight ponies with it. They fight ungodly beings that they cannot hope to defeat with their pathetic tools. Upgrades to their armor are a must, but how?'

'It might be possible to find a metal that Celestia has mentioned before deep within the Diamond Dogs' burrows, but there might only be the smallest amount.' He pulled another book off his mental shelf and looked up enchantments, both for weapons and armor. 'Enchanting their equipment seems to be the easier option, yet if I had to do it for every guard, then I would be severely stripped of my usual power. That cannot work,' he decided as he placed the book back. 'Upgrading their armor seems to be the only way, but how-?'

'The humans.' His mind spun off in a different direction, and he pulled up books of the humans and the armor they wore, along with the weaponry and the strange gadgets that they had brought with them. 'Celestia herself mentioned how even she was powerless against the time gadget, and how her magic had barely held against their firearms. If I could somehow find a way to recreate the armor and make it to fit the ponies...but that is outside of my grasp. And none of the ponies would be even close to understanding the kind of technology the humans have. Then how...?'

Against his intentions the library spun again and he found a single book floating before him. He reached out and took it within his grasp, but the moment he looked at the cover he sneered and threw it onto the ground, before shaking his head. 'No, I shall not go there. I am not ready to return just yet. But if I cannot find another solution, then I shall return...and show him what I have discovered.' Adam prepared to enter reality once more, but before he did so he looked down one last time at the book that lay at his feet. A book called "Luthor."

'If I were to ask for your assistance, then you would require me to do something for you. And I am sure that whatever it is my old self would be fine with, but I am not the old me,' Adam silently thought as he closed his eyes. 'I will have to barter with you and if I am to do so, then I will need an item of equal worth to the task I ask. He will not do so otherwise, and any attempt at force may be discovered by the heroes. And I am not ready to face them yet.'

"But now I have another task to attend to," Black Adam muttered as he opened his eyes. He then turned his head towards the setting sun and knew that Celestia must have returned. "First, I must speak with Celestia about my idea and tell her that Firewing still lives. Then...I must go speak with my new kingdom."

S=H=A=Z=A=M

Far away, in a region of Equis that few knew existed, a single lightning bolt came down from the sky and struck and empty hollow. When the lightning ceased, all that could be seen in the hollow was a dragon, a dragon that had been ripped in half. Yet the lightning that now ran through it would keep it alive, but only just. But for the man that sent the dragon there, it was a fitting place for a worm to crawl.

Author's Note:

Took a couple of liberties with the wisdom of Zehuti, but I think it works.

Comments

[defunct321]

Why does Black Adam want not want to be King of Dragons? That seems like a pretty nice position to have, and he could create some type of merger between the Equestria and the Dragon Kingdom. Also, since the dragons are more powerful than Celestia, or she'd be their leader whether she wants it or not, does that mean one of them could fly up and start controlling the sun's orbit around the planet(or however orbiting works in your verse)?

[Onomonopia]

5385990
Dragons are simply stronger physically and immune to pony magic. The sun would still incinerate them. Also Adam's trying to shed his old self and he was a leader back in his world.

[Silentwoodfire]

I am seeing his actions, I am thinking over what he has done both prior to arriving and while present, and something strikes me as odd.....hes not entirely in control is he?

[Onomonopia]

5386278
I'm not sure what youre asking

[Silentwoodfire]

5386306

His actions and the like...why do I get the feeling hes not always in control, especially when that specter comes about

[Onomonopia]

5386323
He technically is in control, but the ghost of his wife still speaks to him despite being dead, slightly influencing him.

[Silentwoodfire]

5386347

Each time THAT's happened has gone over so well.