In a Flash of Lightning

by Onomonopia

The Coming Storm

It was almost complete.

For the past day and a half Sombra had been awake, working on his invention nonstop, a sinister smile on his face the entire time. The battle with Erebus had practically broken the ponies of Ponyville, leaving them without any faith in their heroes or princesses, leaving them vulnerable to the emotions of hate and rage. The time had almost come for him to bring down the brush on his master stroke, but there were five more obstacles that needed to be destroyed. The angel and four certain...ponies with loyalty issues.

"Finally, it is finished," Sombra panted with a smile, holding up a metal unicorn horn that he had attached to where his horn used to be. The three spirits of the ponies trapped in stone looked at it with bored faces.

"Congratulation, you're a unicorn again. What of it?" War asked with a sneer. Sombra turned to him with a wicked smile on his face, advancing towards the group with a dark happiness.

"What does it mean? It means that I can now preform some of my more powerful magic, magic that have been lot to me since the battle with the Crystal Queen. It means..." he began slowly, waiting until he had them paying total attention. "That I can now free you from your prisons." THAT got all of the ponies attention, War even gasping in shock. Sombra chuckled at the looks on their faces, relishing in the fact that he had made them speechless.

"Yes, It is time to free you, including your brother, that slime of a pony, Plague," Sombra said with a shudder, hating the descriptions and the look of this pony. But he had made a deal, so with his new horn clamped firmly to his head, Sombra sauntered over the remaining four statues, looking over each of them with a smile as the three spirits gathered around him.

"And so the apocalypse begins." Sombra's new magic flooded through the horn, channeling the shadow magic into the statue before him. The spirit of War vanished into the statue as the magic began to break off the stone bonds, freeing the terror inside. The stone began to fall off his body, allowing War to let loose a roar that he had been saving for nearly five hundred years. The roar shook the entire temple, if not the whole world. Sombra smiled as his spell continued to work, moving onto the next statue; Death. He performed the same spell and just like War, Death broke free of the stone with a yell, but his sent shivers up Sombra's spin, like hooves on a chalkboard. Sombra continued on to the next two statues, freeing each of them in a similar manner. Only when all four of them were free did he take a moment to observe his work.

"Finally, I'm able to stretch my legs," War groaned, stretching his massive body with a percussion of cracking sounds. War towered over his brothers, easily the size of a princess and his coat painted a sickly red. He had a scar over his left eye and his cutie mark was a spear with a burning flag on it. "I thought that I'd have that cramp for eternity."

"Be grateful that it was only a cramp. I was stuck under a leak for five hundred years," Death said in his sickly voice. Death was the smallest of the four, but he looked more intimidating than his brothers. He was covered in a black coat with images of skeletons on them and stained with blood. His black eyes were hidden behind a skull that covered his face, a skull that he said he ripped out of body. His black coat had a cutie mark of a scythe on his flank, dripping with blood. "The dripping as driving me crazy."

"Hehehehe...so hungry. Must feed!" the one called Plague whispered to himself, eyeing Sombra in a wishful manner. Plague was ugly, plain and simple. He was bigger than Death and his body was covered in boils and rashes, making Sombra nearly threw up just looking at him. His face was deformed and he glanced around the room for a source of food, like a dog that had been starved. His coat was a sickly yellow and a swarm of black rats was tattooed on his flank. "When do we eat?"

"Soon, my brother." Despite War looking like that he could crush anypony and Plague looking like a crushed piece of meat, none of the four scared Sombra more than Famine. He was taller than Plague, but much leaner and cleaner. He had a white coat and a cutie mark that didn't match him, simply being of a sun over some brown dirt. He had a smile that most supermodels would kill for and he spoke with an accent, making him seem normal. But one look into his eyes told a different story. Sombra could see the malice, the cold blooded nature of this pony; the sheer evil. The power. Sombra didn't back away, but he couldn't just look this pony in the eyes. "First we must get used to our bodies again. It has been a few centuries since we had a chance to use our powers. Let's go." The four turned to leave, but Sombra moved between them and the door.

"I believe we had a deal. I release you and then you obey my command," he said with an underlining threat in his voice. War stepped forward, but Famine held out a hoof to stop his brother.

"You are correct Sombra, we had a deal. When do you want us to destroy those elements and the princesses?"

"Soon, but not now. As you said, the four of you have been out of practice for a few centuries and I'd prefer you to be at full power before engaging the Elements and the princesses. Unless you wish to be defeated and immediately returned to your stone prisons?"

"He has a point brothers. I believe that we should go and get back in the swing of things," Famine said with a smile, turning to face his brothers. "And then we will crush the ponies." None of his brothers dared to disagree and they all left without a word. Sombra watched them go and let out a breath that he had been holding in. He had been half expecting the four to tear him apart then and there before heading out to destroy the Elements. But for his master plan to work, he would need the four to not destroy the ponies, but instead bring the angel back. He walked over to his work bench and pressed a button under the desk, revealing his true plans. He smiled as he looked over them, certain that this time Equestria would be his. And nopony or body would stop him.

But while he was busy focusing on his plans, the four had decided to ignore Sombra's orders, for the sooner they dealt with the Elements the soon they would rule the world. So with four separate chuckles, the oncoming storm headed towards Ponyville.

{S}

He had found the targets location.

After days of trekking through the wilderness and forests of the land, Doomsday had come across a small village that was so out of the way that no one even knew it was there. After achieving his programming, he had looked around for anything that would point him in the direction of the two that had inconvenienced him. His answer came in a small life form that he had somehow missed. The thing had been cowering under the corpse of one of the other life forms, managing to temporarily avoid his gaze. Doomsday bent down to the creature’s level and glared into its eyes, watching as the creature cowered in fear. He used one of his fingers to draw a picture of the two that he had battled in the ground, looking back to the creature when he had finished. The organism took one look and instantly knew who they were.

"Princess Celestia and Luna? I-is that who you're after?" he asked in a shaking voice. Doomsday said nothing, but the glare he gave the pony answered the question. "I-if you want to find them, all you need to do is go east from here. That's it!"

After crushing the organism under his foot, Doomsday turned east and began to walk. He knew not what other obstacles that awaited him, but his programming forced him towards the two. They had escaped from his programming, something that no one had done before. He would right that wrong, no matter how long it took. And so he walked, into the darkness of the forest that he had only just emerged from.

{S}

Billy had not been having a good morning so far. He had been sleeping peaceful until he had been awakened by the sound of three high pitched voices coming from outside, piercing through the walls of the house and through his dreams. He had dragged himself out of bed to find that Twilight had left a note on the bed and that somehow Spike was still asleep. Billy groaned and picked up the note, reading it with bleary eyes. Twilight had written that she would be out for a little while, but would be back soon. Billy barely had time to comprehend what she had written before there came a loud banging at the door, followed by a bunch of excited voice. Billy yawned and walked down the stairs, already knowing who was there. He opened the door and held up an arm to protect him from the morning sun, looking down at the excited faces of three fillies.

"Morning Billy!" they all said at once with huge smiles.

"Mmm," Billy grunted in reply, moving out of the way to let them in. They piled inside, looking around at all the books while talking amongst themselves. Billy dragged himself over to the table and sat down, laying his head on the table. The three followed suit and Applebloom began to talk.

"Ah see that yer not a morning pony," she said with a smile at his messy hair and barely opened eyes. "But ah told ya that we'd be here first thing in the morning, so it' yer own fault for not being ready." Billy grunted again, but managed to raise enough of his head to look at the three.

"So why are you here again?" he mumbled.

"We’re here to help you with the magic problem that you have," Applebloom said with an eye roll. Billy perked up a bit at this.

"You three know how to work magic," he asked.

"Not really, but we're fast learners and great with spells!" Scootaloo exclaimed, giving her friends a look so that they would agree.

"Total experts!"

"We've messed up a few potions before," Applebloom said with honesty, gaining her a groan from her companions. All of Billy's confidence in them melted away when he heard this and he sunk his head back onto the table.

"No," he muttered.

"Aw come on, at least give us a chance!" Sweetie cried out, giving him the puppy dog eyes. Billy did his best not to look into them, but once he made eye contact, he found he couldn't say no.

"Fine. What's the plan?" he regretted the question almost the second he asked it. The three looked at each other with huge smile before leaping out of their chairs and to the basement door, motioning for Billy to join them. He did so hesitantly, not sure what they were planning. He slowly walked down the stairs, his eyes growing wide when he reached the bottom and found what the basement was used for. They were a multitude of shelves, each containing a vast number of potions, each with its own marking.

"See, we know where all Twilight's potions are because we had to clean up the library after we accidentally set it on fire," Sweetie Belle said with an innocent face. "After doing a bit of research, we are fairly sure how each of them work. So, what do you need a healing potion for?" Billy looked over at Applebloom with a questioning glance, who smiled and shook her head.

"I already explained to them that ya need some magic to help make ya feel better, so we thought that one of these here potions should be able to do the trick!" Billy let out a sigh of relief, thinking for a moment that Applebloom had told the others of his secret for a minute. He watched as the girls began to wander around the room, looking at all the potions and glasses.

"This one says Rash and Skin healing. Is this what you need?" Scootaloo asked.

"No."

"How about Bone and Internal Damage?" Sweetie Belle called out.

"Sorry." Billy replied. While Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both looked around the room randomly, Applebloom had an idea of what potion to look for. She searched high and low, finally finding it on one of the higher shelves. Once Billy had grabbed it off the shelf up and brought it down to the girl’s level, Applebloom finally explained what it was.

"That's a magic restoration potion," she told them, showing the odd design on the front. "It's supposed to be able to restore the magical properties of anypony that drinks it, whether they lost their powers or just can't do magic."

"And you never thought to give this to me?" Sweetie asked in a huff. Applebloom ignored her and handed the bottle to Billy, indicating for him to drink it. Billy gave it a look, not sure if he should drink it or not.

"Are you sure this stuff will work?"

"Trust me," Applebloom said with certainty, but he was still hesitant. He had no idea what was in this bottle and it might not have the result he was expecting. But after another blast of puppy dog eyes, he gave in. Billy slowly took the top off the bottle and looked at the green liquid inside with a disgusted look. He pinched his nose and down half the bottle in one swig, ignoring the fact that it was like drinking slime. He tossed the bottle down and gasped, waiting for the effects to start kicking in. But instead of feeling his magic powers returning, he started to feel weak and lightheaded. The world began to spin in front of his eyes and he fell to all fours, barely able to remain conscious. The girls had rushed to his side and were trying to ask him what was wrong, but he couldn't respond. His arms gave out and he collapsed to his face, his vision growing even dimmer. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was four purple hooves landing on the ground in front of him and a familiar voice trying crying out his name.

{S}

Billy was really getting tired of waking up in a bed after either being knocked out or injured in some way. He slowly opened his eyes to find that he was once again in Twilight's bed and feeling like crap. The purple unicorn was sitting beside the bed, a look of relief passing over her face when she saw that he was alright. She then went from concerned parent into angry parent mode.

"What were you thinking?!" she half screamed at him as he sat up, the rage and worry she had felt clearly shown on her face. "No, let me answer that for you, you weren't!"

"Glad to see you too," he said with a chuckle, but it died in his throat as Twilight gave him a cold glare.

"None of your jokes now, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What in all of Equestria possessed you to try and drink one of the potions downstairs! Why would you do that?" she asked, staring into his eyes with an upset look. Billy didn't want to tell her the truth, but with the mood she was in right now, it would probably shorten his lifespan if she caught him lying.

"I was trying to heal," he said in a whisper, avoid her questioning eyes. He was again technically telling the truth, talking about how he wanted to heal the side of him that he considered to be the most important. Twilight interpreted it as he was trying to heal the void of losing his family had left and her face immediately softened. She let out a small sigh and sat on the bed next to him, trying to think of how to talk to him.

"Billy...I'm not even going to try to say I know what you're going through, because I don't. But I do know that you won't find the answer to your problem in the bottom of a bottle. There are no magic spells or potions for those kinds of things. You have to look elsewhere."

"Where then?" he asked in a dejected tone, feeling the dark thoughts returning to his mind. "How do you deal with your problems when you have them?"

"For the most part, I have my friends to comfort me and to help me with my problems," Twilight said with a smile, thinking back to her first time in Ponyville. Billy smirked at her answer and let out a humorless chuckle.

"How can friends be a better cure than magic?" Twilight smiled at his question, as it was one she had asked herself a long time ago.

"Silly Billy, friendship isn't better than magic, friendship IS magic," she said with a smile, pointing over to her picture with her friends. Billy looked at it without really knowing what she was talking about, but he did notice that Spike had to cut a picture of himself out and glue it in there. "My friends and I have overcome more obstacles and challenges together than any amount of spells or potions could have. Despite what others say Billy, friendship is the most powerful magic of all."

"Sure it is," Billy grumbled, not really paying attention. Then he started to cough, feeling sick again. "Ugh, what did that stuff do to me?"

"The potion was designed for equine use only and it's pretty much lethal to any other creature. Dragons can handle it because of their stomachs, but humans obviously can't."

"Obviously."

"So, why did you down a potion for magic restoration anyway? I had a potion that was supposed to make one's heart feel better, yet why'd you ignore that one?" Another question that Billy would have to lie his way out of, even if he hated to do it.

"Let's just say that I have an interest in magic and it's properties. I was hoping that the potion would be able to unlock a magic in me." Billy wasn't looking at Twilight directly, so he didn't notice when her eyes went wide with excitement and she smiled happily. She now had a way to cheer him up.

"Well then, I have some good news for you. I just happen to be Ponyville's number one expert on magic and it's properties, not to mention my library has over one hundred books on the subject. So if you'd like some really professional help..." Just as she had expected, Billy's face began to light up at her suggestion, becoming interested in what she had said. "So how about it? Like to take a look?"

"Yeah, I'd love too!" Billy said with re-newed enthusiasm, hoping to his feet and flying down the stairs, Twilight flying right behind him. He started to go through all the books in the M section, frowning whenever his search proved futile.

"The magic books are in the B section," Twilight said with a smile, pointing to the correct area. "And please don't ask why, it's a weird way we have set up the books in the library." The confused Billy walked over to B section and started looking through the books, searching for magical lightning. Half way down one row he found a book on the magical properties of nature and figured that he might as well start there.

"Ooooo, the Forces of Nature and Magic? That's a good choice," Twilight said with approval, motioning for Billy to bring the book over to her table. "This book tells of how nature has more magical energies than even the princesses, a force that not even Star-Swirl was able to tap into. If one could find a way to harness the power of say, fire or ice, they would become a nearly unstoppable force!"

'Or lightning,' Billy thought to himself, looking over the drawings and theory’s written on the pages. "So why hasn't any one been able to pierce the secrets of nature?"

"Well, nature is a very difficult mistress. We can only control it to a degree and not all that well sometimes. Our magic just doesn't always seem compatible with the more powerful forces."

"What about a word or phrase of magic? Would that be a better alternative to just plain magic?" Twilight put a hoof under her chin, not sure what to make of that theory. No pony had ever tried to connect the elements of nature to a simple word or phrase, but it might be possible.

"That's an interesting theory. Where did you hear it?"

"Oh, my teacher taught it to me a while ago," Billy said with a slight shrug, thinking about Shazam.

"Your teacher sounds like a wise pony- er, man."

"He was," Billy said with another small sigh. Twilight's eyes widened as she realized that Billy had also lost his teacher as well as his family.

"Billy, I'm sorry. I-" Billy raised a hand to cut her off, looking back to the book and flipping through the pages until he reached the section on lightning.

"So how do you ponies control the clouds and rain? I've seen a few of you move the clouds while I was walking around, but never figured out how."

"That would be what I call pegasus magic. It allows them to touch and interact with the clouds in a number of different ways, such as creating thunderbolts or causing rain. It's a magic that is only accessible to winged ponies."

"Like you?"

"Exactly," Twilight said with a smile, flapping her wings gently. Looking at the wings reminded Billy of Scootaloo and then he realized that the girls were no longer here. In fact, Spike wasn't here either.

"Oh, I sent them home after what happened," Twilight sad with a sigh when he asked the question. "I figured that they would be better off there and away from my magic potions. Spike's over at Rarity's helping, which he seems to be doing a lot lately...back to magic." The two continued to look over the book and talk about magic and it's properties for a long time, not noticing as the day slowly slipped away from them. Three books later, Twilight finally looked outside and with wide eyes noticed that it was sunset.

"Wow, I can't believe I spent a whole day talking about magic...wait, yes I can."

"At least it wasn't wasted, I learned a lot today," Billy said with a bit of a forced smile, still having learned nothing about how to get his powers back.

"I know. It's so nice to be able to talk to somepony that is also interested in magic and learning as well," Twilight said with a happy sigh. "Spike never stays awake and other ponies just look at me funny when I try to talk. I really enjoyed this."

"Yeah, I enjoyed it too," Billy said with a yawn and a stretch, feeling exhaustion begin to overtake him. That potion had really taken a lot out of him, and he was ready for bed. He stood up and started to walk up the stairs, but Twilight stopped him.

"Hey Billy, despite what a lot of the other ponies think...I'm glad you came here," she said softly.

"Why?"

"Well...first you've confirmed with just you being here that we're not alone in the universe, but it's more than that. Spike has been a lot happier since you showed up...and he's starting to see you a bit as a brother." Billy again wasn't sure what to say. He knew that Spike and him were friends, but to see him as a brother was...wow. He never had a brother before. "And I agree with what Applejack said. You may not be from around here, but just like with her...I consider you to be part of our crazy little family." Billy was at a loss for words. Twice in the span of two days had a pony or ponies consider him part of their families, even though he hadn't been here that long. He could hardly believe it. But Twilight's eyes told him the truth, that she really did consider him part of her family, that he was welcome here. Emotion began to overcome him, happiness that he had never known began to flood through his body. In this strange land, with these strange creatures he had finally found what he had spent most of his life searching for. A home and a family. But doubt began to cloud his mind. Twilight might like him, but she despised Captain Marvel, who was him. Was it alright to keep that secret from her?

"Twilight...I appreciate that, I really do. But I haven't been totally honest with you," he said in a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I haven't told you everything about myself, that I've been hiding some of who I am...from you and the others. The truth is, I-" Before Billy could finish, Twilight walked up to him a brought him into a hug, cutting him off.

"Billy, I know that have been hiding a bit of yourself, but that's okay," she said softly, trying to reassure him. "I don't need to know everything about you to stand by what I said, that you are still apart of this family and still precious to me. No matter what your secret is, I will always feel that way." She had been trying to comfort him, trying to make him feel wanted, but in reality he was even more scared. She might say that now, but what about when she found out that he and who she hated were one in the same? He had just found a new family, he didn't want to lose them again.

"Thanks Twilight...it means a lot," he said with a small smile, at least trying to look grateful. She smiled as well and helped him up the stairs into the bedroom, leaving to get Spike once he was seated on the bed. Billy's head spun as he tried to think of what to do. She said that he would be a part of the family no matter what, but she loathed his other half almost as much as she had Erebus. Should he tell her the truth and hope that she'd keep to her word? Then again, his powers hadn't returned yet, giving him the impression that his powers were gone forever. Billy sighed and flopped down on his bed, his mind racing. The silver mare had said that his powers would return when he found something to fight for, but wasn't fighting for others enough? He closed his eyes and tried to think about the problem some more, but he slipped off to sleep before he could figure anything out. But contrary to what he had been thinking, his dreams were filled with him and his new family.

Comments

[NightmareKnight]

New chapter. In two days. Not daily, but it's back to what you had before. No big deal.

[Quasar4000]

If only she knew... But still, it's not about who you are that matters... it's what you do that truly defines you.

[Darth Wedgius]

A chapter every couple of days is pretty quick, or at least it'd be quick for me. Good chapter, too, IMHO.

[chinlamp]

So... is Doomsday going to hit Ponyville first or is he going to see the mountain and go there. Guess it depends where he's going 'due east' from. Dudes not the brightest match in the box.

The four are going to have a tough time if they head straight for the Elements, but whatever.

I'm really hoping they try riding past Doomsday on their way and he just kills them. Make him immune to all of their abilities too... oh wait, he probably already is. Man, Celestia is gonna be kicking herself for lying to Billy later.

I can already see how the Doomsday fight might go too, whether Billy has his powers back or not yet. Doomsday is locked on the Princesses at the moment, he won't pay attention to Captain Marvel or Billy. The only way Billy will pull him off them is with Rarities help. As Billy, he probably won't think of it, but with the powers of Captain Marvel in play, asking Rarity to make his costume look like Supermans would probably be an easy cognitive leap. After all, Doomsday is going after the strongest, he'll forget about the Princesses in a moment if he sees Superman, and he'll follow him right out of Ponyville away from the civilians.

Of course, they'll try the Elements on him, but as you're not going with how the Elements seem to punish those they're used on ironically (Luna trapped in her moon, Discord turned into a substance who's atomic organisation is the opposite of chaotic) and just turns them to stone, he'll adapt to that and be going again in no time, probably even taking the stones skin with him. Then he will be immune to all of the more powerful magic they have.

[seeker of truth n]

You're great here's a funny doctor who pic
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dumpaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/funny-utah-jokes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dumpaday.com/random-pictures/funny-pictures/funny-pictures-57-pics/&h=755&w=620&tbnid=JOv_M2e4dNLJsM:&zoom=1&docid=SEAFqM6-0GFSNM&ei=n0t9VMG5DMKeyASRiIHwBw&tbm=isch&ved=0CDUQMygtMC04ZA

[bendude10]

"The Four Horses of the Apocalypse"
War. Death. Famine. Conquest.
The very animals said to bring about the end of the world.
The ones who succeed in human extinction.
Making no true truce, they have only been tamed by one mortal.
And that mortal's name is John Marston.
Sombra is doomed.
May God save the Celestial sisters, and Equestria.

[bendude10]

And yes I looked it up. It's Conquest, not Plague or Pestilence.

[link4]

reading this again, and found something.

Twilight's bed and feeling like crap. The purple unicorn

right after he drinks the potion