Left In The Dust

by Sapphire Rose 12

Prologue: Crushed Dreams

"Being the best should never come at the expense of our fellow ponies," Spitfire told Lightning Dust firmly. "It's not just about pushing ourselves. It's about pushing ourselves in the right direction. Rainbow Dash has proven herself to be capable of knowing how to be a true Wonderbolt. You're no leader, Lightning Dust."

Lightning Dust flinched as one of Spitfire's lieutenants tore the pin from her uniform forcefully stripping her of her academy title. The lieutenant pointed her back to her room. Lightning Dust trudged back to her room. As she watched Rainbow Dash excitedly flying with the other cadets, a pang of sadness flowed through her. Rainbow Dash got to follow her dreams and Lightning Dust no longer had any.

As she reluctantly entered the hall of dorms, she looked at Rainbow Dash one last time. She must've cracked a joke because all the other cadets laughed. Rainbow Dash was happily following her dreams now. Lightning Dust turned away with tears streaming down her face and entered her dorm room.

---

"You have an hour to pack your things and leave," Spitfire had told her.

Lightning Dust looked around her dorm and remembered what every decoration she used meant to her. She saw her Wonderbolts poster on the wall which she had gotten as a gift when she was a filly from her parents. She remembered the first time she tried to hang the Wonderbolts poster up on her wall in her old house. Her parents saw her struggling and helped her to place the Wonderbolts poster up. Every time Lightning Dust looked at that poster, she was reminded to never give up on her dreams. Her heart continued to slowly break in half as she thought about how she could no longer be reminded of that by the poster. She looked around the room once more until she found her old racing trophies. When she was young, the trophies made her feel good about what she had accomplished. Now they just made Lightning Dust think of the failure she had become.

Lightning Dust unzipped her suitcase and sat on her bed for a moment. She was really packing to go home. This was never how she imagined her future. When she was young, she liked to imagine herself soaring through the skies side by side with the rest of the team. When she met Rainbow Dash, she even liked to imagine that they would be flying ahead of the rest doing stunning tricks to wow the audience. Now, thinking of those scenarios felt wrong to her. She was undeserving of them. Lightning Dust knew that she had to forget her dreams and move on.

As Lightning Dust began to pack her things, her eyes fell upon the old Wonderbolts pin her father had given her before he died. Her father had died shortly after her mother. Lightning Dust's mother, Lightning Storm, was always there to support Lightning Dust in her dreams. She loved Lightning Dust with every part of her heart, sang to her, and flew by her side when she needed it. Lightning Storm even liked to race Lightning Dust to improve her daughter's speed. However, Lightning Storm fell gravely ill one night. She was in the hospital for about a month. When Lightning Dust got the news her mother died, she couldn't stop crying. She cried for hours every day and this went on for weeks. When she finally accepted and moved on, her father had caught the same disease which turned out to be contagious. Lightning Dust took care of her father as best as she could.

The room faded into Lightning Dust's memory of her father's death.

---

A young Lightning Dust stood by her father who was getting worse by the hour. Even though Lightning Dust was young, she knew her father would not last the night. This thought brought tears to her eyes. At first, it was just a silent trickle of tears, but it turned into wailing.

"Dusty," her father, Cloudy Day, called her over. Dusty was the nickname Cloudy Day often called Lightning Dust.

When Lightning Dust heard her nickname, she slowly went over to Cloudy Day and cried on his shoulder. "Daddy, don't go, too. I need you!"

"Dusty, don't cry," Cloudy Day reassured. "I'll be at peace. My suffering is going to end at last. You do not need to worry about me."

"But, I can't, Daddy," Lightning Dust cried. "I just can't."

"Come here," Cloudy Day said. "I want to give you something."

Lightning Dust, intrigued, sat up and looked at her father. Cloudy Day held out a shiny pin made of bronze. A note was attached to the pin for Lightning Dust to read. Lightning Dust slowly took the pin from her father.

"It's funny," Cloudy Day chuckled softly. "Instead of gold, they used bronze for the academy leader pins back in my day. If you get into the acadmey- no, when you get into the academy, you'll earn a golden one for yourself. Don't give up, Dusty. I'll be so proud when you reach your dreams."

Lightning Dust nodded. "Thank you. I love you, Daddy."

Cloudy Day closed his eyes. It was too much work to keep them open anymore. "I love you, too, Dusty," he whispered softly.

---

As the memory rippled back into the dorm in the academy, Lightning Dust reread the note that used to cheer her up. It read:

Dear Lightning Dust,
This is the old academy leader pin I had back in my day. When I finally became a Wonderbolt, I still kept this leader pin with me to remind myself of what I accomplished. I'm giving this pin to you. This pin is my gift to you to remind you that no matter what happens, you'll always be a leader to me. Never give up.

Love, Daddy

Lightning Dust's eyes filled with tears as she traced her hoof across the pin. It still shined as brightly as it did when Cloudy Day had earned it, but to Lightning Dust, it looked dull.

As she remembered what Spitfire had said and compared it to what her father had said all those years ago, a burst of anger overtook her. Lightning Dust ripped the poster off from her wall and slammed it into the trash bin. She took off her uniform and threw that in the trash bin as well. She was just about to throw her goggles in there as well, but her heart stopped her. Lightning Dust looked at the goggles a second longer, sighed, and placed them gently in her suitcase along with the pin. As Lightning Dust packed additional things in her bags, she was overwhelmed with anger and sadness. When she zipped up her suitcase, she burst into tears and cried hysterically on her bed. "Why? Why? Why?"

That was the only question Lightning Dust could ask herself now. Why? Why had she done this? She tried her best to heed her grandfather's advice, 'Push yourself to do more than you think you can and always aim to be the very best'. But she knew she had taken it too far with the tornado and lost her friendship with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash had been Lightning Dust's first friend. In the past, Lightning Dust could never make a single friend. She was hopelessly teased and bullied every day. She came home to her parents and they would comfort her with encouraging words, comforting songs, and tender hugs. When Lightning Dust had introduced herself to Rainbow Dash, she had to contain her excitement. Rainbow Dash was her friend and Lightning Dust considered Rainbow Dash a very close friend. However, after seeing Rainbow Dash yell at her, she was heartbroken. On the outside, she acted as if it was no big deal to her. On the inside, Lightning Dust seeing Rainbow Dash angry with her like that smashed her heart to pieces.

Spitfire knocked on Lightning Dust's door and opened it. "Lightning Dust, come on. It's way past your time. It's time to go home."

Lightning Dust nodded in reply. "Yes, ma'am."

Spitfire left and Lightning Dust picked up her suitcase. Lightning Dust walked down the halls and opened the door. Even though the sun shined brightly overhead, the day felt gloomy beyond compare. As Lightning Dust began to take flight on the route home, she looked at Rainbow Dash once more. This time, Rainbow Dash caught her gaze as well. Rainbow Dash's smile faded and she glared a little. It was clear that Rainbow Dash wanted nothing to do with her anymore. The glare hurt just as much as it did the first time if not more. Lightning Dust glared in reply, restrained tears, and flew home.

Author's Note:

Yes, another chapter story. I love to write. I promise none of the other chapter stories are cancelled. I'll get around to them. No worries!

I hoped you liked this one, though! I tried my best to detail it because I got a critique on needing more details, so I hope that it's good enough.

Enjoy!

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Is Sky Twister related in any way to Sky Stinger?

[Sapphire Rose 12]

7868000 You'll have to see.

[Fire Seeker12]

Wow... just wow. I really do hope that there's a light at the end of this.

[tuntematon]

Good start this story has my attention!

[Fireheart 1945]

Wow, Spitfire, way to fire the rookie without getting her side of the story

Hopefully she finds the poster and stuff in the trash and knows how ticked off Lightning is at her and her team.