Lightning's Bolt

by PaulAsaran

The Librarian

Lightning trotted through the busy street, Keen bouncing on her back with every step. One business week over, but Lightning’s work wasn’t done; that insufferable blue witch had scheduled her for a night shift over the weekend. Lightning had barely managed to accept it without complaint, but even now she was quietly fuming. Night duty, her! She kept reminding herself over and over again that this was to be expected. She was of low rank, after all. Even so, she was convinced Rainbow Dash had to be doing this over a grudge.

There was no doubt in her mind that pony had it in for her.

She felt Keen move forward and set her forehooves to Lightning’s head. “Lightning? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lightning grumbled. She eyed the ponies all around them, suddenly struck by Keen’s calm manner. “How ‘bout you? You okay back there?”

Keen hesitated. “I’m… trying.”

“Good girl.” Lightning knew she should feel proud, but right now she was too bitter. Even so… “You want me to take a less crowded route?”

“Umm… that would be nice.”

Once they were on a quieter street Keen dropped back between Lightning’s wings. Seeking to get her mind off her nemesis, Lightning asked, “So did you have fun at Fluttershy’s?”

“Mm-hmm. I got to meet Harry the Bear and we had a tea party!”

Lightning cringed; even as a filly, tea parties had never sounded even remotely interesting to her. “That sounds… nice. Wait, I thought the bear was named Bearrington.”

“There are two bears,” Keen pointed out. “Well, so far.”

Lightning glanced back at Keen with a raised eyebrow. “And the bear had tea with you?”

Keen grinned as she brushed her mane from her face. “Yeah! And some squirrels and an owl and Angel Bunny.”

“Huh.” Lightning tried to imagine this tea party in her head, but just fitting the bear in there was tricky. “Anyway, are you sure you wanna go meet Twilight Sparkle? How’d you find out about her?”

“Oh! Umm…” Keen’s pause caught Lightning’s attention, but by the time she looked back the filly had an answer. “She’s a friend of Fluttershy’s.”

“Really?” Lightning thought on this, and suddenly it seemed obvious. In fact it became so blatantly obvious that she facehooved; of course the Element Bearers knew one another!

The library was in a quieter part of town, with far fewer ponies wandering around. Lightning let Keen off her back so that they could walk side by side. As they walked Lightning watched the little filly zig-zag around the path to gaze and study. She was so unusually energetic! Perhaps the idea of learning magic really was that exciting to a young unicorn.

Keen did a great many foalish things on the short trip to the library. She smelled the fall flowers. She studied a line of ants, her long tail poking up high in the air. She giggled as she bounced through piles of leaves. It was so strange to Lightning, for she’d never seen the filly so… happy. It was an infectious happiness, and soon the pegasus found herself grinning. She couldn’t be certain what had Keen so worked up, but she liked it and wanted to see more of it!

They reached the library without incident. Lightning let Keen look around the nearby flowerbed as she reached up to knock on the front door. It opened just as she was about to knock, though, and she was startled to find herself standing in front of a large, strong-looking white pegasus.

He paused, staring at her raised hoof as if not sure what he was looking at. He had dark green eyes that stood out in stark contrast to his silver mane. He looked from the hoof to Lightning’s face. “Well hello.”

Lightning lowered her hoof and peered at him. “I know you.”

His surprise faded as he grinned. “I believe so! Lightning Dust, am I correct?” She nodded, her lips pursed as she leaned back. “It’s Jimmy. Jimmy Stone?”

She rubbed her chin and tried to remember. “You were one of the brothers… right? In the Crystal Empire?”

“That’d be me,” he declared, raising his head with pride. “I didn’t know you lived in Ponyville.”

“I just got here.” Lightning felt her tail swish unbidden and glanced back to see Keen peering around her hind legs at the stranger. Lightning’s ears drooped at the sight of the filly’s wide eyes; there went that happy moment. She turned back to him with a sigh. “You work at the library?”

He chuckled and reached into his pack, lifting a book just high enough from it to let her see. “I’m just borrowing a study guide to help with my latest project. So—” he set the book back in the pack and tilted his head, “—why’d you come to Ponyville?”

“Reasons,” she grumbled as she felt Keen shift under her. “So Twilight’s here? I need to talk to her.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he answered with a wave of his hoof, “I won’t keep ya. But you should come by Nye’s shop, sometime. We’d love to know what you’ve been up to!” He trotted off, humming to himself.

She watched him go with a raised eyebrow. Now that he was gone, she realized she’d been rather gruff with a guy who’d helped her rescue an entire kingdom from enslavement. Maybe she should go by to visit. Then again, he didn’t seem to mind…

She shook her head. What was wrong with her? She was always gruff! Why was she worrying about it now?

“Who was that?”

She glanced down at Keen, who was watching the stallion with worried eyes. “He’s… somepony who helped me a while back.”

“He had legs like Mountain.”

Lightning was tempted to laugh at that thought; Mountain Mantra had been a big stallion, and Jimmy wasn’t quite that muscular. Her pleasant moment was ruined by a clenching in her gut. It still hurt to think that the old stallion was gone…

“Can I help you?” Lightning turned to find Spike the Dragon standing at the door, waiting with a curious expression.

Lightning opened her mouth to speak, but Keen was first. The filly had moved quickly so that she was under Lightning’s front legs and leaning forward to peer at the dragon. “What are you?”

He noted her for the first time and scratched his cheek. “Umm… I’m a dragon.”

Keen blinked and looked up at Lightning with big eyes. “Aren’t dragons big?”

Spike's entire body dropped to a blatant sag, his lips set in a bemused frown. “I’m still a kid, okay? I’ll get bigger when I grow up.”

“Oh.” The filly stepped forward to examine Spike a little more closely. “So you’re a baby?”

He set his claws to his hips and turned his nose up. “Nooo, I’m an adolescent.”

“Adol…?” Keen tilted her head, eyes going cross as her mouth worked. “Huh?”

Lightning couldn’t resist the temptation to chuckle, and at Spike’s glower she broke into full laughter.

“Stop mincing words, Spike,” a new voice called from within the library. A violet-coated pony – the famed Twilight Sparkle – appeared at the door and patted him on the head with a grin. “You’ll just have to accept that you’re still a baby.”

“I am not!” He swatted her hoof away and stomped back into the library, muttering under his breath while Twilight and Lightning giggled.

“Don’t mind him,” Twilight instructed with a hoof over her lips. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. And you’re Lightning Dust, correct?”

Lightning’s laughter faded in an instant and she took a cautious step back. “You know who I am?”

“Of course I do. You went to the Wonderbolts Academy with Rainbow Dash. I was there for the whole tornado incident, remember?”

“Oh…” Lightning sagged, her heart dropping to her hooves. “Right. Forgot you saw that.” Or that she knew Rainbow Dash. She had to remember to look up just who the Element Bearers were so she’d stop being caught off guard like this!

“I didn’t just see it, I was in the balloon." Twilight offered a welcoming smile. "Rainbow said you’d come to Ponyville and joined the weather team.”

Lightning’s ears perked. “She did? W-what else did she say about me?”

Twilight averted her eyes with a blush and a forced laugh. “I think that’s between you and her. Anyway, what can I do for you? Have a book you’re interested in finding?”

“What? No!” Lightning shook her head furiously. “I don’t read! That’s for egg—” Twilight’s lips fell to a bemused stare “—Iiiii mean I don’t have the time.” The pegasus rubbed the back of her head as her cheeks burned. “I was just hoping you could help my kid.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, a critical frown still on her lips. “What kid?”

Lightning paused and looked down; Keen wasn’t there. She heaved a sigh and glance around to find the filly hiding behind her back legs once more. “Come on, kiddo. You’re the one who wanted to come here.”

The filly peered through her mane and slowly stepped up, ears and eyes low. “Umm… h-hello.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up at the sight of the tiny unicorn. “Oh, she is precious! Is she yours?”

Lightning groaned. They always asked that and she never knew the best way to answer! “She’s… Well, yes and no. She’s my kid but… not my kid?”

Twilight considered this, looking between the pegasus and the filly a couple times. At last her ears perked as she said, “You mean she’s adopted.”

“Well, no.” Lightning shook her head. “I mean, yes? Not yet. She’s just my kid, okay?”

Twilight’s ears lowered and she took on a concerned frown. “You sound confused.”

Lightning drooped. “I’m still new to this whole thing.”

She felt Keen nuzzle her cheek. She returned the motion with an appreciative smile before standing tall once more. Twilight was beaming, and Lightning felt her cheeks burning once again. “Umm… Anyway, can we talk? We need a little help.”

“Of course!” Twilight turned to make room and beckoned. “Come on in.”

Her pleasant eyes fell on Keen, but the tall filly hesitated. Keen looked up at Lightning with questioning eyes, prompting Lightning to nod. “It’s okay.”

Keen didn’t seem so sure, but she entered the library anyway, her pace slow and her eyes roaming the interior. Lightning followed close behind, offering an offhoof “thanks” to Twilight as they passed.

The Golden Oaks Library was a lot bigger on the inside than its exterior had suggested, and Lightning was confident she’d never seen quite so many books in her life. She looked around with ears tucked and an unpleasant feeling in her gut. Smart ponies made her feel nervous… and inadequate.

“So what’s your name?” Twilight asked as she lead them into the main room.

Keen kept close to Lightning and hid her face behind her mane. “Um… I’m K-Keen.”

Twilight’s face lit up once again as she turned to them. “Keen Arrow?” The filly winced, but nodded. “So you’re the little pony Fluttershy’s been foalsitting! She told me you were cute, but I had no idea just how cute.”

Keen sat and blushed, head low as she observed Twilight. “Th-thank you?”

“And shy,” Twilight added with a smile at Lightning. “Definitely shy. So what can I help you with, girls?”

Lightning gestured to her charge. “Keen here wants to learn magic.”

“Oh!” Twilight considered this for a moment, then dropped to her belly so as to be closer to Keen’s level. “Have you learned any magic before, Keen?” The filly shook her head, unwilling to speak. “That's okay. How old are you?”

Keen hesitated, so Lightning spoke up. “She just turned five.”

“That’s just the right age to start Magic Kindergarten,” Twilight acknowledged. She sat up and tapped her chin, eyes roaming to the ceiling in thought. “There isn’t one in Ponyville, though.”

“I wouldn’t make her go to one of those places, anyway,” Lightning pointed out. At Twilight’s questioning look she added, “It’s complicated. Let’s just say any public foals’ school won’t do.”

“But what about next year when she’s old enough to attend regular school?”

Lightning sighed. “I… don’t know yet. I’m sorta hoping we can get through some issues before then.” Lightning hoped the mare wouldn’t press the topic.

Twilight hesitated as she considered this response, but finally nodded. “Okay then. What else did you have in mind?”

“Well…” Lightning blushed and averted her eyes. “I’m in a bind. I know she needs to learn, but I can’t teach her.”

“Most unicorns in a little place like Ponyville learn magic from their relatives.” Twilight pouted as she eyed Keen. “I guess that’s not an option here.”

Lightning hung her head. “I don’t earn enough bits to pay for a private teacher. We were hoping you’d—” She hesitated. “That you’d have some advice. Maybe point us in the right direction?”

Keen abruptly stepped forward, looking up at Twilight with big eyes. “I wanna learn. I was promised.”

The two mares gazed at the filly. Lightning found herself momentarily at a loss, and when Twilight glanced at her with a raised eyebrow she could only shrug; she’d never made any such promise.

“Promised by who?” Twilight asked.

Keen backed away and sat. She began chewing her lip as her eyes grew moist. She shook her head and rubbed her face frantically, almost as if afraid she were about to do something wrong.

“D-Dad.”

Lightning’s heart twisted. She dropped down next to the filly and nudged her close with a wing. “Keen? Your dad promised to teach you?”

Keen nodded, not willing to look at either of the adults. “This year. He promised. I wanna learn, because he said so.”

Lightning didn’t know what stung more, the fact that Keen was trying to honor her father’s promise or the fact that she’d never bothered to inform Lightning of said promise. Why did she feel so bad about not having been told? She turned her head away and struggled to keep control of her emotions. “That’s good, kiddo. Real good.”

“It most certainly is,” Twilight agreed with a weak smile. She considered them for several long seconds, ears laid back and a hoof to her lips.

Lightning, at last sure she wasn’t going to cry, nuzzled Keen’s neck. “It’s okay, Keen. You can, if you wanna.”

Keen sniffed and didn’t look at her.

“Spike!” Twilight looked towards the stairs and called the name again after a few seconds. The baby dragon came running. “Get my calendar and lots of ink. We need to rearrange some things.”

He sagged with a particularly long groan. “But that takes forever! Do we have to?”

“Yes.” She turned back to Lightning and Keen with a beaming smile. “I have to make room for my first student, after all.”

Lightning’s head rose with a jerk as she stared. “You mean that?”

Keen bounced, her eyes lighting up. “Really?” It was about as close to a real shout as she’d ever managed.

Twilight giggled at the filly's enthusiasm. “I’m sure Princess Celestia won’t mind if I take a little time from my own learning to teach the basics. She might even consider it part of my Friendship studies.”

Lightning hadn’t known Keen was capable of a smile that big. The filly laughed as she turned to hug Lightning’s neck, then went to do the same thing with Twilight. “Thank you so much! I’ll study well, promise!”

Twilight returned the hug with a grin “It’s my pleasure. I know you’ll be a good student.”

Lightning stood on weak legs. “I… I appreciate this, Twilight. Seriously, I owe you big. It’s way more than I expected.”

“That makes two of us,” Spike grumbled as he trudged towards a back room with head hanging.

Lightning watched him go with a raised eyebrow. “What’s with him?”

“Can I look around?” Keen was hopping in place, her eyes shining. “Can I look for spellbooks?”

Twilight beamed at the filly’s eagerness. “Go ahead!” Keen began to roam the walls, looking from book to book as Twilight turned her attention to Lightning. “My schedule is always packed pretty tight. Most ponies think I go overboard.”

“I think you mean all ponies,” Spike called from the other room.

Twilight blushed and coughed. “Yes, well… it’s a big deal when we have to rearrange the schedule. It could take a few hours.”

Lightning balked. “A few hours? How far ahead do you plan?”

“A year in advance.”

There was a couple seconds of stark silence as Lightning tried to take this in.

“Yeeeah, I think I have to agree with Spike.” Lightning eyed Keen, who was tracing the edge of a low bookshelf as she walked along reading the titles. “Are you sure it’s okay for her to look at those? No dangerous spells she might stumble on or nothin’?”

“Oh, no.” Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. “Even if she did, I’m sure her level of reading probably won’t let her understand the concepts, much less the spells. You actually have to know how to read the spell before—”

“Advanced Wards for Protection Against Unusual and Dominant Beasts of the Everfree Forest. This looks like a good one!”

The two mares spun as one to see Keen opening a standing book that was almost as big as she was. They gaped at one another for a full three seconds before either could think of a proper statement.

“Keen,” Lightning called, “You can read that?”

Keen poked her head up over the book and saw their expressions. “Umm…” She looked down at the book, then at them once more. “Yes?”

Twilight stood to eye the little unicorn. “And… do you understand what kind of spells are in the book?”

Keen blinked, her eyes flicking between them and the book once more. “It’s the title.”

“Which means?” Twilight pressed.

Keen laid the book down and sat. “The spells protect me from monsters, right? Monsters that live in the woods.” She blushed and ducked her head. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Twilight trotted over to the pony and patted her on the head. “Not at all! I’m just surprised, that’s all. I figured you could read, but at your age I didn’t think it would be at such a level. I’m impressed.”

“And I’m clueless,” Lightning declared. “Why didn’t you tell me you could read so well?”

Keen ducked once more. “There are no books at our house. Nothing to read.”

“Oh.” Lightning blushed with a weak chuckle. “Right. Maybe I should get you some books then, huh?”

Great, her kid was an egghead.

“I can lend you some books,” Twilight assured her. “This is a library, after all.”

Keen gave a little hop as she beamed up at her new teacher. “Can I learn these spells?”

“Oh, no.” Twilight lifted the book with her horn as she patted the filly on the head a second time. “I’ll only be teaching you the basics.”

Keen pouted, her eyes following the book as it made its way back to the shelf. “Why not?”

Twilight chuckled at the filly's expression. “They’re a little advanced for a unicorn who doesn’t even know how to turn a page with her horn. Don’t worry, Keen; you’ll get there someday.”

The filly stared at the book, ears flattening. “But I’m scared now.”

Twilight paused, her expression a blend of concern and surprise. “Of what?”

“The monsters.”

Twilight smiled. “My little pony, there’s no reason to—” She caught sight of Lightning’s frantic head-shaking. “Err… what I mean is, you have to learn more basic spells before you can advance to those. But don’t worry, you’ll learn them. Why don’t you take a look around while me and Lightning figure out a time for you to come study?”

Keen sighed and cast one more gloomy look to the book before trudging to a different bookshelf. As soon as she was out of earshot Twilight moved close to Lightning and whispered, “Monsters?”

Lightning nodded, ears laid back as she tried not to get memories stuck in her head. “Changelings.”

Twilight's jaw dropped. She stared at the unwitting Keen with wide eyes. “Seriously?”

“Don’t bring ‘em up, Twilight,” Lightning pleaded. “She’s having enough nightmares as it is.”

“I see.” Twilight tilted her head with a worried frown. “Is that… what happened to her parents?”

Lightning shook her head. “I don’t know what happened to her parents. The changelings came after. Just try to avoid the subject if you can? And keep her away from other foals. She still thinks…” She grimaced and looked away, fighting to get the images out of her mind.

Twilight’s head lowered as she eyed the pegasus. “You two went through a lot together, didn’t you?”

Lightning growled. “Can we please stop talking about this now?”

“Okay.” Twilight set a hoof on Lightning’s shoulder. “But if you need to talk or anything—”

“I’m fine! It’s Keen I’m worried about.” Lightning sidestepped out of hoof range with a scowl. “Are we gonna schedule this thing?”

Twilight hesitated before emitting a long sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s get started.”

---

“Lightning?”

She blinked and shook her head. Keen was sitting on her bed, a book opened before her. A candle burned on the windowsill for her to read by, but the filly’s eyes were locked on Lightning. “Y-yeah?”

Keen tilted her head with a soft frown. “Are you okay?”

“Of course!” Lightning struck a gallant pose. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“You’ve been quiet,” Keen replied. “Since the library.”

Oh. Lightning tried to maintain a pleasant smile. “I’m fine, kiddo. I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.” She closed the book and gently pushed it to the foot of the bed. “I think it’s about time we both went to sleep.”

Keen studied the book for a few seconds, then raised her questioning eyes to Lightning’s. “You don’t like books.”

Lightning's mind froze and her jaw locked. It took a moment to come up with a response. “Th-that’s not true. I just… don’t have time to read.” Keen tilted her head at her with eyelids lowering. It was a surprisingly suspecting expression for the typically gentle filly.

Realizing her lie had been transparent, Lightning drooped. “You’re awfully observant for such a young pony. It’s not that I don’t like books, Keen. It’s just that… It’s just that I’m not good at reading.”

“Oh.” Keen stood and walked to the book with a grin. “You just need practice!”

Lightning managed a weak smile and, catching the filly’s tail in her mouth, pulled Keen away from the book. The motion forced Keen to her belly, her long mane dragging along the sheets and burying her face.

She spat the tail out – noting with some curiosity a hint of minty flavor on her lips. “It’s time for bed. And no amount of practicing is gonna get me better at reading.”

Keen sat up and shook her head to get her mane out of her face before looking over her shoulder at Lightning. “But Twilight said practice makes perfect.”

Lightning nodded. “She’s a smart mare and I’m sure she’ll be a great teacher, but certain ponies are good at certain things, and others aren’t. I can fly better than most ponies out there, and most ponies will never be able to fly as good as me. It’s what I’m good at. Right now you and I can probably read at the same level, but you’re gonna be better than me at it as you get older. Much better. I’m a smart flyer, but a dumb reader.” She tilted her head and considered her own words, then eyed the filly. “Does… that make sense?”

Keen had her head lowered in thought. “I think so.”

Lightning heaved a relieved sigh. “Good. Felt like I was rambling for a moment there.”

Keen giggled and went to her pillow. As Lightning began tucking her under the covers she asked, “Was it hard, learning to fly?”

The mare tilted her head. “Not really. Why?”

“Pegasus ponies fly. Earth ponies farm. Unicorns use magic.” She rubbed her horn with both hooves, eyes going cross. “I wanna learn. Are all unicorns good at magic?”

Lightning chuckled. “No, but I’m sure you’ll be great at it! Smart ponies typically are.” She didn’t really know that, but it sounded right in her head. “G’night, kiddo. See you tomorrow, k?”

She paused at the door to study the filly. Keen was still rubbing her horn, eyes fogged over as she thought about her future. Lightning wondered if she’d have any nightmares tonight. Hopefully not. Maybe her excitement would keep her mind too occupied for that.

It would be a nice change of pace.

Author's Note:

I questioned the 'this is a smart kid' route for Keen – it just seems to typical – but in the end went with it anyway. It just seemed right. I've been trying to be very careful with her speaking voice to make her sound her age, while giving her observations and statements that reveal her underlying intelligence. It's not been an easy balance, but I think I've done an okay job, so far.

I'm trying to very gradually push Lightning's and Keen's relationship in a specific direction. It may seem a bit slow, but I didn't want to zip right to the big issue I'm interested in. If there's anything I hate in the stories I read, it's rushing from opening to issue to resolution in no time flat. I avoid ding it myself as much as possible. The trade-off is that my stories sometimes seem slow, though, and that's a balance I seem to lose frequently. Here's hoping it doesn't happen here.

One of the things I want to try out is a "bedroom talk" series of scenes. They won't happen every chapter, but they will be frequent. These scenes – such as the one at the end of this chapter – are supposed to give Lightning and Keen a bit of time together and showcase the current stage or topic of their relationship. We'll see how this plays out, and whether I'll keep it up.

The next chapter is going to be special in that it will actually share scenes with the No Heroes story. Repeating scenes and trying to match dialogues is a trick, but I've done it before.

Wish I was updating this faster.

Comments

[HaoKyruss]

This story is great. Seriously don't worry about update speed the quality makes up for it twice over

[PaulAsaran]

3831266
Glad you think so! But really, much of the time consumed is spent on all the other things I need to do on this site. If I had a smaller list I'd be working on two stories, as I'd prefer.

[Absolution]

Alright, so far, I'm struggling to think on what the main climax is going to be....
I mean, all we have set up is that Lightning hates Rainbow... (Nothing new) And Keen is afraid of anypony that isn't Lightning, Fine (And now Fluttershy and Twilight) But is now learning magic....

So, yeah.... What the main conflict is, I'm still unsure... Since you have characterised three other younglings, yet haven't seen them since the scene at Shy's...
So, if there's a main conflict brewing, I have no idea what it will be, or where it's coming from... But so far, it's nice to have a story where no-one's trying to kill each other.... Well, I'm sure Lightning doesn't like RD, but that's normal, so I won't say anything......
ha

[PaulAsaran]

4211874

So, yeah.... What the main conflict is, I'm still unsure...

I'm actually glad to hear you say that! There is a conflict brewing, but I've only been giving subtle allusions to it. It's one of those things that slowly builds up until all of a sudden it's in your face. Chapter 13 is set to reveal the... 'issue'.

That said, you're right; this is going to be a mild and generally non-violent story. Purely a slice-of-life little drama. Bear in mind that I've actually written two-three chapters beyond what's already posted, and just lingering on the pre-reader edits and my schedule.

[PaulAsaran]

5240135
And doing a half-ass job, truth be told. But that's the whole point.

[MellowBrook]

I so wan't to cry right now...

[PaulAsaran]

5396400
If this makes you want to cry, you might want to have a box of tissues nearby for later chapters.