Lightning Dust Gets Drunk in a Bar Full of Strangers

by Fire Gazer the Alchemist

Digging the Hole a Little Deeper

“Tag!” Dinky struck my hindleg, utilizing my blind spot to her advantage. I turned around just in time for her to squeal “No tag backs!”

“Heh, you got me Dinks.” I sucked in a refreshing breath of air. Sweat slicked down my forehead, which at this point was red from so much running.

Dinky tilted her head in mild concern. “Do you wanna take a break?”

“No,” I wheezed out. Then just the realization that I had wheezed made me rethink that. “Actually, yeah, I could use one.”

"Kay." Even though she didn't seem tired at all -- Celestia, kids have too much energy -- Dinky sat down. "You're pretty out of shape for a dancer, you know."

I forced the corners of my mouth upwards. "I'm well aware; good thing I don't dance anymore then."

"Why not?"

Why indeed. I gave it some thought before answering. "I really lost the momentum for it, I guess. Not a lot of ponies liked what I could do, and it just kinda sucked away my passion for it after a while."

"I don't get it,". Dinky replied.

My mouth tightened. “What exactly don’t you get?”

“Well, you like dancing, right?’ She pointed to my Cutie Mark. I shot a glance at it before I gave her a nod. “Then why stop? Who cares about other ponies?”

“Me, apparently,” I said unconsciously.

Dinky rolled her eyes as if she had just tried to dump some profound wisdom on me, but I was too stupid to realize it. Oh wait…

I didn’t get any time to respond, because at that moment Time Turner ran up to us. “Calling it quits already, Dawn?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I’m just taking a break is all.”

He gave a snort, shaking his head and glancing away. “Whatever you say.”

His guard dropped momentarily as something across the field caught his eye. Seizing the opportunity, I leaned over slightly and slapped his shoulder. “Tag! Ha! No tag backs.”

“Wait, shut up for a moment,” he snapped, pointing across the field. “Look.”

I followed his hoof until I saw what he meant. Derpy and Lightning both swooped down onto the grass. At this distance, I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but just their posture gave it away.

Derpy’s shoulders were hunched, and her head was lowered. She faced away from Lightning, who was attempting to talk to her. Suddenly Derpy turned around and yelled loud enough for us to hear.

“I need to be alone right now!” She bolted, leaving Lightning standing in shock.

“Oh shit,” I whispered to myself.

“Where’s my mommy going?” Dinky asked, concern flooding her voice.

I saw the muscles of Time's face twitch. "We gotta get over there." He scooped Dinky up and set her on his back before taking off. I raced to catch up, my earlier exhaustion pushed down. We were too far away to catch Derpy at this pace, but Lightning was still standing still.

When we caught up to her, I saw the maelstrom of emotion whirling on her face. Confusion, concern, and a little bit of lingering shock all blended together.

“What the heck happened?” I asked.

She stared after Derpy, who was now little more than a blip on the horizon. “...”

Dammit. Dammit. Dammitdammitdammit! My teeth clenched and I shot a glance at Time Turner. I could tell his thoughts are about on par with mine right now. Dinky, on the other hoof, was a little more verbose.

“What’s happening? Where’s mommy going?” I could see genuine concern rising in her eyes.

“Lightning!” I snapped. She flinched out of her near-comatose state. “Seriously, what the buck happened?”

She looked from me to Derpy to the ground. “She… she loves me…” Dinky gasped.

Celestiadamnit. “Okay, okay… okay…” I felt the broken record that is my brain get caught in an infinite loop. Luckily Time Turner had the solution.

“Hey!” He shouted, backhoofing my head. “Don’t you zone out too.”

“Right, sorry.” I shook my head. “Lightning, you all right?”

Her lower lip curled into her mouth and she bit down. “I just… didn’t know.”

“Come on, Dusty, it isn’t your fault.” I’m the one to blame here.

Lightning unfurled her wings. “I have to talk to her…”

Turner’s jaw clenched as he stepped in front of her. “Now, Lightning, we should talk about this before you do something rash and–” She rocketed into the air, kicking up dust into his exposed mouth. He coughed, while I shut my eyes. “–stupid.”

Lightning tore through the sky, leaving us with nothing but her lingering contrail. I cringed as I looked to Time and Dinky. While one still spat the dust from his mouth, the other – who had managed to duck behind Turner’s mane and avoid all the debris – was staring at me with big, saucer eyes.

“What’s going to happen now?” she asked me.

“Well,” I said, staring at the teal, lightning-marked line fading into the sky. “I assume they’re going to break every bone in my body in a couple of minutes.”

“Huh?”

“Come on,” I said. “We gotta catch up to her. Maybe, just maybe it won’t be as bad I as think.”

“With your luck?” Time started trotting ahead. “It’ll be eight times worse.”

We didn't talk for a while, a combination of anxiety and running replaced conversation. Dinky gripped Turner's mane, bouncing slightly with each gallop he took. Derpy and Lightning were way out of sight, but we were able to follow the fading remnants of her contrail for as long as we could. When that was gone, we had a pretty good idea of where they were heading: Derpy's house.

Lightning was banging on the door as we arrived. "Derpy? Derpy, just let me in! I only want to talk."

Dinky jumped off Time Turner's back and rushed to the door. "Mom?" She pressed her ear to the side. "I don't hear her." She reached for the door knob, but upon turning it she encountered some stiff resistance.

"She locked me out," Lightning informed them, her forehead falling flat on the door.

"Don't worry, I know where she keeps the spare key." Turned motioned for Lightning to step off the welcome mat. When she did, he bent over and lifted it up.

“I still can’t believe this is happening,” Lightning mumbled to herself as Turner unlocked the door. “H-How is this even happening?”

I cringed. “Lightning… before you rush in there, I have something I need to–” The door clicked open, and she bolted inside, not even bothering to listen to me. I sighed. “–tell you.”

Dinky’s not far behind Lightning as she too rushed in. I shot a glance to Time Turner.

“You ready?” he asked.

“No…” was my meek response.

Uneasy and anxious, we both walked into Derpy’s house.

---

“Derpy?” Lightning yelled. The only response was the echo of her call as it reverberated through the stairwell. She swore and flew to the top. It had taken her mere seconds to survey the first floor only to find Derpy was nowhere in sight, Derpy’s teary-eyed face burned into her vision all the while.

She knew for a fact that her friend (or were they ex-friends now? She severely hoped not.) was somewhere in here. Her short-lived chase had come to a close when Derpy had locked herself inside a split second before Lightning had landed at the door.

Frantically, she ended her climb at the top of the stairs and scanned the hallway. Only one door was closed: the one to Derpy’s room.

Lightning found it was locked, so she pounded on it. “Derpy, open up! Please!”

“...Go away,” came a half-hearted mumble. Even through the wall, Lightning could tell Derpy’s face was buried in a pillow.

“Come on, Derpy, please. I just want to talk to you. It all happened so fast… I don’t… please open the door.”

“Just leave me alone, Lightning!” Derpy suddenly shouted. “I can’t… I just can’t…” Several stifled sobs followed.

Lightning was about to reply when she felt something squirming between her hooves. She looked down to see Dinky worming her way to the door.

“Mommy?” She asked cautiously against the shut door. “Are you okay?”

There was silence.

“I’m fine, Muffin,” Derpy eventually lied.

Dinky sniffled. “Can I come in then?”

Derpy made a noise that sounded like she was choking on her own words. “I… I’m sorry sweetheart… but I just can’t open the door right now…”

Dinky’s jaw opened slowly, her lip quivering. “No! No, not again!” Lightning watched as Dinky began slamming her hooves against the door. “Not again! Please, Mommy, open the door!”

Lightning swallowed, completely unsure of what to do. Time Turner appeared next to her, sitting down and wrapping Dinky in a hug.

“No!” Dinky screamed, her limbs flailing wildly. “Mommy, please!”

“Dinky,” Time Turner said, his voice deep and calming. “Dinky, calm down. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“It can’t be happening again!” Dinky cried, tears flowing down her face. “Please tell me it isn’t happening again!”

Time stroked her mane in an effort to calm her. “It’s okay, Dinky. I promise this won’t be like last time.”

Dinky whimpered as Time Turner lifted her up. He looked to Lightning, exhaled a deep breath, and began to carry Dinky away. She put up a fight, still trying to get her mother to open the door, but eventually Turner was able to get her away, likely hoping to calm her down some.

“Hey,” Rider said, on the other side of Lightning. She flinched slightly and looked at him. “Any luck yet?” He indicated Derpy’s room.

“No… she just won’t talk to me.” Lightning lowered her head. “Rider… I don’t know what to do. This is freaking me out. I don’t want my best friend to hate me just because I can’t…” She shut her eyes tightly.

Rider sighed. “Lightning, I… let me try something.” She stepped aside slightly. Rider moved in front of the door and cleared his throat. “Derpy?”

“Go away Rider.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Derpy… there’s something you don’t know. Something I’ve been keeping from you.” He looked to Lightning. “Both of you.”

There was a pause. “What?”

“...I bucked up. Majorly. And now you’re the one paying for it.”

There was the sound of rustling fabrics as Derpy sat up in the bed. “What did you do?”

“If you let Lightning in, you’ll find out.”

Silence.

“Come on, you two need to talk! You can’t stay in there forever!”

More silence.

“Dammit Derpy! If you won’t do it for Lightning then do it for Dinky! She can’t handle this; you have to open the door!”

At the mention of her daughter’s name, the fabric rustling noise came again, followed by the slow sound of her hooves hitting the carpeted floor of her room. A few seconds later there was the tell-tale click of the door’s lock.

“Just Lightning,” Derpy mumbled.

Rider looked to her, and took a step back, allowing her to go through.

“What did you mean?” Lightning asked him. “About that thing you’ve been keeping from us?”

“...You’ll find out soon enough.”

Warily, Lightning looked from him to the door. Rider’s mysterious behavior was really starting to annoy her. “Okay… I guess.” She slowly turned the door knob and pushed it open.

The lights were off, and the window at the far end of the wall was shut with its curtains drawn. Derpy had retreated to her bed, facing away from the door.

“Uh…” Lightning turned to Rider. “Can you give us a little privacy?”

He nodded, shuffling off. “I’ll go check on Dinky.”

Lightning nodded a small thanks before turning back to Derpy. She took a few steps in, letting the door close behind her. Light was scarce in the room, so she hit a switch on the wall to illuminate them. Derpy made no indication that she noticed. Sighing, Lightning walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Derpy…”

She sniffled. “Yeah?”

Lightning swallowed. “I’m so sorry, okay? I really didn’t know that you felt that way about me, and… I didn’t mean to be so blunt back there. It was mostly the shock talking.”

“You really never picked up on my feelings?” Derpy asked pressing the side of her head deeper into the pillow. “I must’ve dropped a hundred hints for you.”

“Like what?”

Derpy rolled over, her red stained eyes staring deeply into Lightning. “Did you honestly believe friends call each other adorable?”

Lightning blinked. “Uh… yeah, you told me--.” It suddenly hit her. “Oh dammit! Now I know why Blossomforth kept giving me a weird look when we were working the mail route together.”

A single giggle escaped Derpy, but it was plagued with the remnants of her crying. “You didn’t?”

Lightning sighed. “Yeah, I did… buck me, right? She probably thinks I’m gay now.”

Derpy jerked up, her eyebrows furrowing. “What?”

"Blossomforth probably thinks I'm gay now... You know, 'cause I called her adorable after you said that's what friends do."

Derpy's mouth tightened. "No, I got that. Just... What do you mean, she thinks you're gay?"

Lightning's eyebrow arched up. "Well, I'm not..."

Slowly, Derpy's jaw lowered. "What... but... no!"

"Excuse me?"

"Lightning, you can't be straight!"

Lightning's pupils darted to the left and back to Derpy. "What the hell do you mean? I've never been gay, Derpy, you know that."

"No, I didn't! I never... This isn't possible!" Derpy threw herself off the bed, propelled by confusion. "How?"

"You mean you really didn't know?"

"No!” Derpy wailed. “Lightning, we met in a gay bar for pony's sake! We kissed!"

"You kissed me!" Lightning shouted.

"After you flirted with me!" Derpy pointed out, pained.

Lightning cringed, recalling that night. "It wasn't my idea! And how did it lead this far anyway? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I knew how upset you were about the Academy kicking you out. I didn't want to burden you with any of my emotions when you were still dealing with your own. But then I gave you a job, and we moved in together, and you got accepted back into the Wonderbolt's Academy, and..." She paused, blinking. "What do you mean it wasn't your idea?"

"Rider made me do it to cheer you up," Lightning said, putting a hoof to her head. “But I’m not gay!”

Derpy desperately struggled for any ground, still clinging to denial. “A-are you sure? You told me how isolated you were growing up, maybe you’re gay and just didn’t realize it.”

“I. Am. Not. Gay!” Lightning shouted. “I’d think I know my own sexuality Derpy.” She paused and thought for a moment. "Wait a sec, didn't Rider tell you I'm not gay?"

“No, he just told me…” Her face twitched, morphing from sad and confused to angry and inconsolable. “...that I shouldn’t tell you about my feelings.”

Understanding dawned on the two mares at once. Simultaneously they whirled around to face the bedroom door.

Derpy gritted her teeth, fresh tears still lingering on her cheeks. “Rider!”

---

My ears perked up as I heard my name angrily shouted. With a heavy sigh, I turned to Time. He was still trying to cheer up Dinky through any conceivable means, but muffins, hair tousles, and a quick game of poker could only go so far to dry her eyes and lessen her sobs.

“Sounds like they figured it out,” I said, drawing both of their attention.

He nodded ruefully. “You’ve been lucky to make it this far unscathed.”

“Luck is not the word I would use for it. Stupid sounds better.” I could hear angry hoofsteps on the stairs. “You were right, I should have told her from the start.”

“What’s going on?” Dinky asked, looking between us. “Is that my mom?”

“Dinky, I better take you out of the line of fire,” Time said.

“But–”

“It’s for the best kiddo,” I told her.

Giving a somber look to me, Dinky relented and allowed Time Turner to lead her away.

“Try not to die,” he offered before disappearing into the kitchen.

I don’t even have time to tell him that’s impossible before Lightning and Derpy hit the final step. Before I can even turn, I feel their betrayed, spiteful eyes on me.

“You,” Derpy hissed.

“Me,” I confirm. No use in denying anything at this point.

Derpy stalked closer, seeming very much like a pissed off tiger about to rip it’s prey to shreds. I shifted anstily on the couch. When she finally reached me, her hoof became a blur as it whacked me across the face. I reeled.

“Okay... I deserved that,” I said, cringing. She slapped me again.

“What the hell, Rider!” Derpy screamed. Lightning caught up to her, looking equally pissed, but for some reason refrained from hitting me. “Why? Why would you lead me on like that? How could let me think I–” She was cut off by her own shaky sob. “–let me think I had a chance?”

I sighed. Even after weeks of time to prepare, I still didn’t have an answer that would justify my actions. I just had to remember not to incriminate Time. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt. Yes, I led you on, but I never wanted this to happen. I messed up, and I know it doesn’t mean much to you right now… but I’m sorry.”

Derpy reacted as if I struck her. She shut her eyes, and sucked in air through her teeth. “I… I never want to see you again!”

That hurt worse than her slaps.

I stood up. “Derpy…”

“Same to you!” She screamed at Lightning. Derpy turned, unfurling her wings and hurling herself up the stairs. It only took a few seconds before we heard her door slam again. Lightning turned to me, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Lightning…”

“You asshole!” It was at that moment that she no longer refrained from hitting me.

As I felt my way to the couch, clutching my freshly punched stomach, I was able to watch as Lightning looked to the stairs, bit her lip, and ran for the door.

I looked from the stairs to the slamming door, knowing I had to do something to fix this. Considering Derpy was the least likely to listen to what I had to say, I stood back up and moved to the door.

"Lightning, wait up!"

Author's Note:

You probably noticed it, but I'll just state for the record that Rider's parts are now in past tense.

Reason: Just because.

Comments

[Seether00]

Because what? BECAUSE WHAT?!

Damn you! Don't leave us like this! Have Twilight cast a spell and make Lightning a lesbian.

[KillerShadow 15]

Damn. I got nothing. Great job. Poor Derpy and Lightning. I kind of feel bad for Rider.

[TIAS-A1927]

Yeahhh, what a magnificent story! Love it!!!!! :)

[KillerShadow 15]

5670655 Samuel L. Jackson! Yes!!