Discursive Formations: My Way Home is Through You

by The Red Parade

My Way Home is Through You (Original Edition)

Lightning Dust was not a mare who scared easily. She wasn’t chosen as the Element of Honesty for nothing, after all. She had saved Amareica multiple times and stared death in the eye more times than she could count. But something felt off today.

“Hey, Dusty!”

Lightning Dust looked up to see Blossomforth trotting towards her, still strapping on her standard issue vest. She smirked and shifted over a seat. “What kept you?”

Blossomforth dropped her eyes and muttered something under her breath. “... stupid burritos.”

Lightning laughed, slapping her friend on the back. Blossomforth glanced around the briefing room, raising an eyebrow. “You know what’s going on?”

“No clue,” Lightning responded. “Something about the Foundation screwing up one of their experiments.” Even as she said the words, something stirred in her stomach.

“And we get to clean up,” grumbled Cloud Kicker. “Fun times all around.”

Everypony flinched as the door suddenly slammed open. “Look alive, Wonderbolts!” shouted their captain. The Wonderbolts all stood and saluted.

“At ease,” replied Daring Do. She trotted over to the front of the room, taking a stand behind the podium. Her gravelly voice soon filled the room. “Alright fillies, listen up. We’ve got a situation. The Foundation, as we know, has a habit of bucking up whatever the hell it is they’re trying to do. Today is no exception.”

An uneasy silence fell over the room. The last time the Foundation did something like this, it wiped out half of San Fransiscolt.

“Apparently, they tried their hoof at reanimation,” Daring continued. Then, the captain did something unusual: she hesitated. Daring made eye contact with Lightning before she continued. “...They tried to bring back Octavia Melody.”

Lightning’s world stopped. A memory tore through her mind. Rain drenching her coat as she clutched the lifeless body of her wife. Her scream ripping through the skies as she begged Octavia to come back.

It had been seven years since anyone had mentioned Octavia’s name.

Lightning blinked and realized the entire room was staring at her. “What… how?”

“I don’t know the details,” Daring confessed, “but President Celestia thought that it was a good idea. But something happened. She has... powers now. I’ve been told that this Octavia is a reality bender.”

Eyebrows shot up around the room. “But Octavia was an earth pony,” Cloud Kicker said. “How’d she get powers?”

Daring sighed. “One of the lead scientists did something stupid apparently. I’m still getting intel as we speak, but what you need to know is that this Octavia is going on a rampage. We’re being deployed to take her down. She’s already begun to passively alter our world. If we don’t take her down we could lose everything. Any questions?”

The room was silent. Lightning Dust leaned back in her chair, her head spinning. She absently played with the wedding ear ring she wore around her neck. “Ma’am, what’s… what’s our objective?”

Daring shuffled on her hooves nervously. “... eliminate the target, whatever the cost.”

Lightning shot to her hooves. “What?!”

“Dust, listen. This isn’t your wife. It’s some magical being made out of pure energy and God knows what else,” Daring said forcefully. “Trust me, I’d bench you if I could, but we need all hooves on deck. This thing is going to get everyone killed if we don’t stop it.” Her gaze softened a bit. “I know this is hard for you, but you need to stick to the mission.”

After a few seconds, Lightning nodded slowly. “Yes ma’am.”

Daring nodded. “Alright, everypony suit up. We’re wheels up in ten. Fall out!” Daring barked. The Wonderbolts stood up and filed out of the room. Lightning felt something horrible churning in her stomach. As she left the room, she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

“Hey, you alright?”

“Fine, Ma’am,” Lightning said automatically.

Daring scoffed. “Yeah, and I’m a world-renowned best-selling author. If you want to sit this out--”

“No. I need to do this.” The earring suddenly felt a whole lot heavier. “For her. For Octavia.”

---

Through the helicopter window, Lightning Dust could see the city of San Fransiscolt. Fires had broken out in the streets, and black smoke spiraled into the sky. The Foundation complex itself lay in the heart of the city, its walls crumbling and its windows shattered. A ring of sirens surrounded it, and Lightning could make out tiny forms fleeing the building.

She felt someone punch her on the shoulder. Cloud Kicker gave her a confident smile and nod, which Lightning returned.

“On approach to the site,” came Cherry Berry’s voice over the radio.

“Alright gentleponies, remember the objective,” Daring shouted. “Neutralize the threat, whatever the cost. Keep your wits about you, the Magic Department’s reporting minor changes to reality already.”

Lightning glanced down at the rifle in her hooves. She turned it over, making sure everything was working fine. The gun felt heavier than it did yesterday. As she looked out the window at the complex again, the world outside suddenly shook. A massive yellow ring of magic shot out from the building, throwing aside vehicles and ponies.

“Incoming!” The helicopter suddenly shook violently as the ring struck it. An alarm started ringing. “I lost the rotor! Bail, bail, bail!” shouted Cherry Berry.

The Wonderbolts leapt to action, Cloud Kicker forcing open the doorway. “Go, go, go!” The pegasi lept from the doomed chopper, spreading their wings and taking to the air.

“I can’t-- she won’t--”

The helicopter exploded, sending bits of metal and shrapnel flying out in every direction. The pegasi outside recoiled, cringing at the screams of their companions.

“Shit!” Daring cursed. “Head count, who didn’t make it?”

“We lost Raindrops, Sassaflash, Strawberry, Flitter, and Cloudchaser, ma’am,” reported Cloud Kicker.

Lightning’s eyes widened as she looked around. Only herself, Daring, Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth remained out of their team.

Daring frowned and pressed a hoof to her earpiece. “Whitey, you there?”

“Affirm,” reported White Lightning. “You fellas still in one piece?”

“I just lost half my team on approach, I don’t know if we can take the facility.”

“Same here, I’ve only got Thunderlane, Clear Skies, Star Hunter, and Angel Wings with me,” White Lightning said. “Command still wants us to go.”

Daring sighed. “Right. Let’s get a move on then.” The four pegasi dived down towards the building, the screams and explosions growing louder as they approached.

The earth shook as another wave of energy exploded from the building. “Evade, evade, evade!”

Lightning Dust gritted her teeth, diving underneath the yellow beam of magic. She glanced behind them and saw White Lightning’s team in the distance. One pegasus wasn’t fast enough and took the wave head on. They fell from the sky like a rock. “Shit! Star Hunter’s down!”

“Mourn later, we need to move now,” Daring commanded. The team continued their descent, before landing on the roof of the building. Cloud Kicker bucked open the roof access door, and the team made their way inside.

Lightning’s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as they descended the stairwell. “Overwatch, Wonderbolt 1-1, we’ve made entry, suffered heavy casualties,” Daring reported. “Taking the third floor now.”

“Copy that,” came the response. “White Lightning, start on the ground and work your way up.”

As Lightning Dust pushed open the third floor’s door, her eyes widened. The hallway was thrown into disarray, with papers and equipment littering the floors around them. “Guns up,” Daring whispered. “Start clearing these rooms. Cloud, Blossom, take right. Lightning, with me, we’ll take left.”

Lightning nodded and braced herself on the left of the doorway. Daring pushed it open and proceeded, holding up her rifle with her right foreleg. Lightning followed her, careful not to point the muzzle at her captain.

The room they entered was some sort of laboratory. A pony in a white lab coat lay face down on the floor. Daring stepped over him, sweeping the room with her gun and her eyes. Lightning held her breath, heart pounding in her ears. What would she do if she found her? Half of her wanted to see her again, the other half hoped she wouldn’t find her.

Daring’s radio crackled to life. “Contact, contact! Second floor, heading to you, Daring! Thunderlane, go--”

There was a loud explosion, and the ground underneath their hooves shook. Dust fell down from the ceiling, and the lights in the room flickered. “Whitey? Whitey?” There was no response.

“TL, we’re diverting to the stairway,” reported Cloud Kicker.

Daring whirled around. “Stairs! Go!” Lightning nodded, and the two raced out of the lab, heading for the main stairway. As they approached, the crack of gunfire filled the air.

Lightning’s ear twitched as she heard a familiar voice shouting. “No! Stay away! Please!”

The shouting was followed by screams. Daring and Lightning rounded the corner to see Cloud Kicker and Blossomforth lying on the ground. Smoke emanated from their backs, and a yellow mare was cowering in front of the door.

Sparks of yellow magic shot out of her body sporadically. Each impact left a black mark on the surface it hit. “I don’t want to hurt anyone!” sobbed the mare. “Just make it stop! Please! Anyone! Make it stop!”

Daring frowned, rearing up on her two hind legs. She brought the gun up to her face, lining up the mare’s head with her sights. Lightning hesitated. “Lightning, what are you doing? She’s in pain! If we don’t stop her, she could destroy all of Amareica,” Daring hissed.

“I know, I know,” Lightning said. “But I can’t! She’s my wife!”

“Then just cover me,” Daring said. “I’ll take the shot.”

Lightning nodded as she gripped her rifle tighter. She watched as Octavia collapsed to her knees, head in her hooves as she sobbed. Her ear suddenly twitched, and she looked up. Her brilliant blue eyes met Lightning’s for a moment. “Lightning--”

The gunshot reverberated down the hallway. The sound was followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor. This wasn’t Lightning’s first time killing. But this one, this one was different. The tears streamed down her face almost instantly. She tossed her rifle aside as she came to terms with what she had done. She stared at the body before taking a deep, shuddering breath.

“L-lightning? W-why?”

Lightning turned away from Daring’s body to look at Octavia. “Because… because she was going to kill you,” Lightning whispered. “I can’t let that happen.” She stepped over the lifeless body of her captain and walked towards her.

“No! Don’t come any closer!” Octavia begged. “I don’t want to hurt you!”

A spark of magic shot out from her chest, narrowly missing Lightning. But she still pressed forwards. And when she was close enough, she embraced her wife in a hug. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“You-you should have killed me,” sobbed Octavia. “I’m a danger to everyone.”

“No,” Lightning replied. She took Octavia’s hooves in her own. “We can fix this. You can use your powers to fix this.”

Octavia looked past her, at the bodies of Cloud Kicker, Blossomforth, and Daring Do. “But, how?”

Lightning held her gaze. Before she could respond, her radio crackled to life. “Overwatch, this is Braeburn, artillery is in position. Beginning our barrage now.”

Octavia gasped in fear. Lightning shook her head, grabbing her foreleg. “Octavia, no. Don’t worry. We can fix this. Please. Just… just believe.”

The mare’s eyes shone with worry, but she nodded. Another spark of magic flew from her body, singing the ceiling, but Lightning didn’t flinch. Octavia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. From within, a warm blue ball of energy began to form. The ball began expanding outwards, until it surrounded Octavia completely.

Lightning’s ear twitched as she heard a high pitched noise growing closer by the second. But she didn’t care. Octavia looked up in surprise. Lightning smiled.

The world exploded.

---

Lightning Dust shot up cold sweat. She rubbed her eyes frantically, trying to get her bearings. Looking around, she realized that she was laying in an alleyway. The memories quickly faded as she shivered in the freezing winter wind. “Just a dream. It was just a dream,” she muttered.

She shakily got to her hooves. Seizing a nearby shard of glass, she held it to her face. Her mane was disheveled and her eyes were red. Her once athletic frame had deteriorated, her slim body now nothing more than skin and bone. She hadn’t eaten in days.

She tossed the glass aside, sighing. The words of Spitfire still rang in her mind. ‘Never a Wonderbolt.’ Lightning frowned, kicking at a loose copy of ‘Equestria Weekly’ that lay by her hooves.

“That dream… Octavia,” she muttered. That settled it. She hoped she had the energy for one last flight.

---

It didn’t take long to find her. Lightning stumbled as she landed, almost planting her face in the arid desert sand. She scrambled to her hooves and trotted up the farmhouse porch, banging a hoof on the door.

After a few seconds, she answered. She still looked beautiful, although she wore a red bandana with a green shirt now. Octavia blinked in surprise. “L-Lightning? What happened?”

Lightning smiled weakly. “Got… got kicked out of the Academy. Lost my job. Lost my house.”

Octavia’s jaw dropped. “Oh Celestia! Come in, come in!” Lightning complied, entering the cozy and warm house. Octavia led her to a couch, where she almost collapsed.

Octavia bit her lip nervously. “Dear, I’m so sorry to hear that. I… I suppose this is all my fault, isn’t it?”

“Hey now,” Lightning said, taking her hoof. “Don’t say that.”

“But you loved being a Wonderbolt!” Octavia protested. She pulled her hoof away from Lightning’s and rubbed it against her chest. “You had everything in our world! I… I took it away from you.” She hesitated. “Maybe if I--”

Lightning shook her head. “No. Don’t bother. Our homeworld is gone now. No way to get it back. Besides, I still have you. And that’s all that matters.”

Octavia smiled slightly. They sat in silence for a bit before she spoke again. “You know, I found out there was another Octavia in this new world.”

“She’s not as beautiful as you are,” Lightning replied.

“Flatterer,” laughed Octavia. “But our similarities are uncanny, she’s practically a recolor of myself!” Her smile quickly faded. “You said you lost your home? Lightning, where will you stay?”

“I didn’t lose my home,” Lightning replied. “Tavi, my way home is through you.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow at that. “Lightning…” She sighed. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Lightning closed her eyes and leaned her head against Octavia’s shoulder before sighing contently. The world outside moved on, but she didn’t care. For a second she missed Blossom and Cloud, and Daring and Whitey, and her home world. But only for a second. Home, after all, was where her heart was.

“Can't find my way home

But it's through you and I know

What I'll do

Just to get back in her arms”

End.

Comments

[Smug Anime Girl]

Ay new story

[The Red Parade]

10154300
Yep, this one was a oneshot contest submission that people apparently really enjoyed, so I added on to it and threw it on my account.

[Seer]

Really liked this one mate! As I said in the contest, it's got so many twists and turns, and despite the tense action it still maintains an air of tenderness throughout. It's so original and imaginative too!
You smashed it

[The Red Parade]

10154319
Thanks! I loved yours too!