14. The Zero
Hi, I'm Lightning Dust and I was an alcoholic.
Lightning always thought every meeting should open like that. She couldn't see what possible benefit there was in always beginning with the same old, ‘Hi, my name is blah blah and I'm a etcetera etcetera,’ every single time. Lightning wasn't anything worth being ashamed of. She may have been something like that once, but not anymore.
Today, Lightning was a mare with some semblance of a life.
And everyday it gnawed at her.
Get up, wash the stink off, devour a bland breakfast. Out the door for a short flight to the Canterlot weather factory, where she would spend eight hours everyday pumping out clouds to be dispersed all over Canterlot. Rain clouds, thunder clouds and her personal favourite was, of course, lightning clouds. Lightning’s lightning clouds, that could be on a t-shirt or something.
After doing that for six days a week, her last day would be spent attending one of those weekly meetings for ponies who thought they had problems, which Lightning did with significant reluctance. She didn't want to go but her boss had given her an ultimatum; clean up her act entirely or it wouldn't matter what Princess Luna had arranged for her; she would be out the door and on the street without a job once more.
So Lightning relented and gave into his wishes, and with every passing week and no calling from Princess Luna ever received, the urge to just not go into work that day became almost unbearable.
That is, until one day when Lightning was lounging about in her simple cloud home on a dull Sunday morning and she heard a knock upon her door. No pony ever came to her door, no pony ever had any reason to. Befuddled, Lightning had answered the door promptly, after taking the time to slick back her mane of course. Behind the door she found the waiting form of a pegasus royal guard, and in that moment Lightning grew fearful, fearful that perhaps this stallion was here because of some misdemeanour she had committed in the past.
Then Lightning remembered what she had been waiting for all this time, and the smile she wore was enough even to catch the stallion off guard.
Every day was a distraction. Work was a distraction. Those meetings were a distraction. Even her down time was a distraction. Everything in Lightning’s life had become a tedious, dull distraction.
But one single letter from Princess Luna changed all that.
That guard had given Lightning a message, a written letter requesting her to travel to The Crystal Empire at the personal request of the Princesses of Equestria for the service of the crown. Lightning had no words, all she did do was pack a small bag and depart for the train scheduled to embark later in the day, intending to use the ticket provided with her letter as currency.
She soared through the clouds, many of which had been meticulously constructed by herself down to the last minute detail. All Wonderbolt trainees were required to have some basic knowledge of weather construction, the end result being that Lightning was vastly overqualified for her current job at the Canterlot weather factory, her skills making the work of the other middle aged and overbearing workers seem laughable by comparison.
Lightning had no reason to care about any of that anymore however, for her time had now come and Luna had finally called for her to fulfil her promised duty.
Lightning had a duty, a valued role to fulfil that was uniquely hers. Lightning had a reason to get up in the morning now, and she would not allow herself to falter in her strives to please.
Mistakes had been made in Lightning’s past, now she intended to rectify them.
As she floated down into the Canterlot train station, Lightning absorbed the sight of The Crystal Empire’s train, it's silver carriages gleaming with bluish crystal ornaments. Attempting to enter the first carriage she approached, stationed towards the back of the train, Lightning grew perplexed upon the ticket guard standing at the door directing her towards the front instead, saying something about ‘how a privilege it was to have her on board’ and other compliments which Lightning had barely listened to.
Choosing to walk, Lighting chose to enter a carriage closer to the front, only to once again be told to move along over to one carriage behind the drivers. Lightning grew rather annoyed by this point, wanting to just get on the train and find herself a seat. “What's the problem? Maybe I don't want to get on at the front, maybe I want to sit right here!”
The guard blinked, not expecting Lightning’s angered outburst. “But, Miss, you've been invited into the Princesses private cabin. It's says right here on your ticket!”
Lightning’s eyes widened at that remark and she gave her ticket a further look. Being a pegasus meant that she didn't really need to get the train very often, so Lightning had barely given her ticket a second glance after she'd received it. But the guards words rang true as Lightning looked at the ticket once more and found the words ‘Prin Cab’ printed under her name, an abbreviation of some sort she suspected. Whatever it stood for didn't really matter to her, so Lightning heeded the guards words and trotted one cabin over with a mellow smile.
The carriage’s exterior was identical to all the others, silver and crystallised, leading Lightning to suspect that the interior mustn't have been all that different. When Lightning opened the door however she came to realise just how mistaken she was. The carpets was soft and golden, the walls a seamless mixture of whites and blacks with similarly covered rubies and gems hanging in accompaniment. Furniture was also present, not like standard train essentials but instead luxurious red cushions and blue sofas running along the side of the walls, wrapping around half the carriage, or at least Lightning thought that was the case, for half the room was dimmed of any light and the curtains were drawn, making it rather hard to see to the other end.
It was the end of the carriage Lightning had entered through that fixated her gaze however, her sight drawn to a glistening glass bar full of trays of food and beverages sitting unwatched. Breads and fruits and plants and wines. It was as if no expense had been spared.
Lightning urged herself towards it, it was a long journey towards the Empire after all and she was all by her lonesome in the presence of these treats. She would enjoy herself thoroughly before she finally stood by Luna’s side to do whatever it was she was being called upon for.
“You're late,” a voice suddenly sounded out from the darkened side of the carriage.
Lightning jumped, veering away as her wings shot out defensively. She peered into the dark, for the first time noticing a figure laid out across the sofa at the end of the cabin. “Who's there?” Lightning called out into the dark, focusing her glare to attempt to intimidate. “Hey! I'm next to a lot of throwable things, so don't tempt me!”
The figure loomed forwards, shifting their back hooves onto the floor as they sat up straight against the seat. “That will not be necessary, though I must say I'm pleased to finally have some company. Allow me to introduce myself…”
The lights flicked on, causing Lightning to avert her gaze for several seconds, squinting as her vision adjusted. Once her sight had cleared she looked back to the now fully visible and identifiable pony, her blue coat and shimmering purple eyes striking out just as much as the audacious clothes she wore.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie, magical extraordinaire and acquaintance of the Princesses, at your service,” Trixie stated with pride, her neck held high and her smile barely more than a sliver. Lighting observed with minor shock, her neck veering away at Trixie’s unexpected appearance.
Then Trixie let out a single abrupt ‘Ha!’ Holding a hoof to her chest instinctively as if she was in pain from breathing. “Sorry, the lights could turn off on this side of the carriage and I just couldn't help myself. It's kinda my thing, and a dramatic entrance seemed appropriate.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Lightning growled out with a huff, deciding to lean on the bar in nonchalance, fledgling boredom at Trixie's presence. “What are you doing here anyway? I was expecting-”
“Is it not obvious?” Trixie interrupted, leaping up from her seat with a swish of her cape. “Trixie is on her way to The Crystal Empire! Princess Luna sent her a letter earlier this morning and Trixie has been on this train since Manehattan. I assumed others would be coming, hence why I developed that little dramatic entry-”
“Hold on,” Lightning then blurted out, drawing Trixie's attention away from herself. “Others? You mean Princess Luna… I thought I was the only one,” Lightning finished lowly, disgruntledly accepting the fact that this Trixie was also on her way to The Crystal Empire, tasked with a duty of her own.
A duty Lightning was convinced was hers alone.
“But of course!” Trixie proclaimed with a pointing hoof. “Princess Luna approached Trixie some months ago, requesting that Trixie assist her in the protection of Equestria should the time come. She considered Trixie to be a valuable as-”
“Asset, yeah, I know,” Lightning stated with a snort, vaulting herself over the bar with a sudden flap over her wings. “She gave me the same speech,” Lightning continued to drolly say as she rummaged through the fridges, her muzzle drifting over the chilled contents within.
Trixie pursed her lips at Lightning’s apparent disinterest, unable to determine if Lightning was annoyed with her or just didn't care. She decided to carry on the conversation, interested in discovering just who this pony was, especially seeing as they were going to travel together. “Well, seeing as Trixie has introduced herself, who exactly does she have the pleasure of addressing? Trixie doubts Luna would have selected you for this little endeavour unless you held significant talent of some sort,” Trixie said, approaching Lightning with a grin on her face. She hoped that by appealing to Lightning’s ego she may incite a more welcoming response, it would have worked for her after all.
To Trixie’s pleasure, the gambit appeared to work and she spotted Lightning cover her smirk at the unexpectedness of the compliment. Lightning turned away from the fridge and looked to Trixie more warmly, holding a hoof to her chest. “Lightning Dust, greatest flier in Equestria.”
Trixie’s smile held firm. “A bold claim,” she replied, leaning over the bar in a relaxed slant. Trixie's smile faltered for a second as a memory emerged; the memory of a rainbow maned mare who had made similar statements about her flight. “A claim which Trixie has heard before.”
Lightning growled under her breath, once more ducking below the bar to rummage underneath. During her time at the Wonderbolts Academy, everypony at some point or another had claimed to be the best of the best. That they were somehow unfeasibly talented above all others. There was a big difference between Lightning and those pretenders however, a fact Lightning clung to dearly.
Lightning looked up to Trixie, and she responded in the only way she knew how. “Ponies can claim a lot of things. I don't make claims, I just am that good, and one day all of Equestria will see it.”
She said no more, choosing to wait on Trixie's probable dismissive reply, saying how somepony like Rainbow Dash was obviously a much better flyer than herself because after all, she had saved Equestria and performed a Rainboom, so how could Lightning possibly compare? Why should Lightning even bother?
“Well, Trixie won't argue with you. Assuming Luna’s task for us is as perilous as she suggested it would be when she approached us, there will undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities for us both to live up to all we claim to be. Trixie most definitely assures you that you will be wondered by her!”
That was not what Lightning had expected in the slightest, and she looked to the smiling, unjudging eyes of Trixie with a growing grin of her own. For some reason beyond Lightning’s understanding, she felt that even if Trixie didn't see her as the best flyer in Equestria or something of similar prestige, she wouldn't care, she didn't care.
She hadn't looked away, snorted or laughed her claims off, she just accepted them.
And Lightning was nothing if not loyal to those who accepted her for who she was.
Lightning ducked below the bar abruptly and grabbed two bottles of something out of the fridge, offering one to Trixie the second she arose. About to grasp the lid, Lightning instead jolted back as Trixie’s horn suddenly lit up and the bottle caps of both their bottles popped off in an instant. They shared a smile as their glasses clanged together and they gulped down the soothing contents within.
Floating over the bar, Lightning leaned back into the air while Trixie sat herself upon a nearby cushion, her cape magically leaving her and floating over to a clothing hook bolted to the wall nearby.
“What do you think Luna has planned for us?” Trixie asked out of the blue, pleased that her initial meeting with this Lightning Dust had been as successful as it was so far, a rapore between them appearing to swiftly build.
Lightning rubbed her dirty mane, it hardly being as slick or as stylish as it once was. “I have no idea. Your letter didn't say anything did it? Mine just said go to The Crystal Empire, Luna wants to see you. You'd think they go to the trouble of actually telling us what we're doing, or maybe it's like a security issue? Like ‘top secret for your eyes only’ sort of stuff.”
Drolly nodding in response, Trixie leaned back even further, happy to be free of her restricting cape for the time being. “Trixie has no idea either. Perhaps it will be a glamorous adventure across Equestria, or maybe even a deadly battle with an unfathomable foe! Ohh just think what Equestria will think of us when they find out we’re fighting alongside Princess Luna for the protection of Equestria! It will be glorious!”
Lightning blinked, having not considered Trixie's logic until now. When Luna had first approached her, she had just been enamoured by the fact that she would have a honest to Celestia role to play in the grand scheme of things again, no longer needing to spend her days wallowing in dives and dumps of decadent society. But the possibility of rebuilding her reputation? Of showing the world just how great she really was?
Lighting had to admit, that did sound rather appealing.
Raising her bottle in agreement at Trixie's words, Lightning visualised the scenario of her standing up proud to a chanting crowd of Wonderbolts, fighting for a glimpse of the greatest flyer in all of Equestria.
“Trixie does hope it's not too dangerous though.”
And just like that the thought was gone, overcome with utter horrific images of Lightning falling beneath the feat of a grand enemy rampaging indiscriminately across the globe. Trixie just had to be a downer.
Distracting herself with a different topic, Lightning turned her attention towards unicorn’s unique pattern of speech, realising just how bizarre it was to say your own name over and over again. “Mare, what's with the… Saying your own name instead of ‘I’ thing? I don't know what's it's called, but it's really weird.”
Trixie response was immediate. “Oh, Trixie is merely maintaining her stage presence! The use of third-pony inspires the imagination of the masses and… Uh…” Trixie grew silent, as if she suddenly came to the realisation that she was not in front of a crowd of ponies, that she did not need to perform at that very moment for a pony she had just met.
Her thoughts drifted towards Starlight Glimmer; Trixie's dear friend. She accepted Trixie for who she was without the need for any grandiose displays or over the top declarations and demonstrations of self worth. If Lightning Dust was any similar, Trixie's continued use of her stage persona might only succeed in driving her away with time, just like it had done to so many others before.
So Trixie relented, lowered her defences and responded as Trixie Lulamoon, not as The Great and Powerful. “I guess I just like the sound of my own name out loud,” Trixie admitted with an insecure laugh.
One which Lightning swiftly mirrored boastfully. “Ha! I hear that!”
Lightning then leaned forward, much to Trixie's surprise, sticking her foreleg through the air and flying just a bit closer. Trixie recognised the gesture immediately and shared in the motions with vigor. “Trixie, since we're probably going to be working together, what do you say about being friends?” Lightning asked as saw Trixie's foreleg rise.
Their hooves bumped.
“I wouldn't have it any other way, Lightning Dust,” Trixie said with a smile, her new friend responding in kind as the train departed.
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Her earlier comment about not being an alcoholic I felt was more of her lying to herself. If any pony is going to die here my money is on her.
7563759 It's the 'unreliable narrator' concept. She's narrating herself, therefore telling herself what she wants to believe while actions demonstrate otherwise.
7563759
Therapsid: "Hey, I was supposed to be the alcoholic teammate!
".
Pony version of suicide squad?
7563770 I kept expecting a...
i just realized if anyone other than the changeling or Lightning Dust die things will get bad. if Ember dies and the dragons find out it was Luna's fault then Equestria has a war on their hands. if Bon Bon, Trixie, or starlight dies then those who care about them will be sad. If Sonata dies then the Readers will be sad/mad.
7563813 The wolves start gnawing on Ember... she just kinda stares at them blankly... and they stop and stare up at her blankly... "My scales are impervious to steel, rocks, and liquid hot magma. You honestly thought your teeth could even do so much as dent them?" She backhands them into a cliff side like a badass, then blasts them to ash with Super Lung Flame Attack! "Dragons powergame with style, beeyatches!"
We don't really have to worry about Ember.
7563799
To use the Suicide Squad movie angle Therapsid is Captain Boomerang while Lightning Dust is shaping up to be Slipnot. She is acting far too arrogant and stupid and that is usually a death sentence. Our Dazzling on the other hand is just plain crazy and that is why she will survive.
7563813 I will be sad/mad if bugpony dies.... I like bugpony
Well, she's not an alcoholic. That does not mean she's an abstinent.
Luna=Waller
Therapsid=Killer Croc
Ember=El Diablo
Lightning=Boomerang
Sonata=Harley
Starlight=Katana
Trixie=Enchantress (Non-Movie)
BonBon=Flag
The Roster is Filled. Now to see how close I am.
Great chapter!
7563835 7563843 7563985
I'd say try not to look at it like its a Suicide Squad crossover, it's more just inspired by the concept. It could just as easily be considered a ponified Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy. Basically just try not to assume each character is based on someone from the movie, cause they aren't.
Interesting how the two most arrogant members on this team manage to get along (at least at first).
It doesn't need to be addressed. It's standard "alcoholic in denial" behavior. And speaking as someone who's mother has been attending AA meetings for 22 years, I'd say you nailed it quite well. From the mere fact that she's not going willingly, but because her boss is forcing her too, to going straight for the bar in the train car, to the very subtle nuance in that very first line...
No one, at any AA meeting ever, who is actually putting in the effort to stay sober, would ever say "Was". It's Taboo at those meetings. They always say "I am an alcoholic."
So great work on all that. You really nailed it.
7563802 more or less every reader has had at least 1 though about suicide squad when reading this
Lightning really does not appreciate that she has been given a 2nd chance at life. It could cost her her life.
7564185 Personally, I don't see the connection between the two.
7565175 a squad made of anti heroes former reformed villains and former villains after the movie just came out?
7566111 Okay, maybe if you stretch it an extra four feet, turn your head sideways and squint, while hopping up and down on one foot saying the alphabet backwards, and use a very loose definition of "Similar" like you just did, i might just barely be able to see it (Not really though).
The suicide squad is a group of Active villains being forced to do jobs for the government against their will. In most iterations of it, the villains are still villains, and don't feel bad in the slightest about the horrible things they've done.
What we have here are a group of people, a good number of which may have done bad things but very few of which can be classified as actual villains (Glimmer, Sonata, and maybe Trixie if you stretch the definition; Therepsid is a minion at best, Lightning is just a reckless Moron, and Ember was never a bad guy), none of whom want to do bad things, and all of which volunteered for the assignment willingly
And saying their has to be a connection because of a few (Very few, and very basic) similarities, and the movie just came out, is like saying every single character in Marvel is a ripoff of DC: just because they have a lot of similar concepts, doesn't mean their doing the same thing.
So, yeah, the comparison is weak at best.
7563802
Make it yourself mate.
7573832 ...Not asking to make it myself, I'm just asking, that's what the premise is right?
Finally got caught up. Getting good thus far.
AUTHOR NOTICE
May as well just go ahead and say this. As much as it annoys me to admit, I have to put this story on hiatus for the moment, mainly to ensure my future. My real life takes precedence over this and I cannot commit myself to writing the story at the moment. Give me some time and it will continue.
Believe me, there's nothing I'd rather be doing.
7769337 It's all a matter of weirdo parallel dimensions.