This is the story of a pegasus named Lightning Blaze, a fugitive who as lost everything important to him and tries to clear his name as he struggles to survive against the military of Equestria
Back then it was just a game to me, I didn't believe that anything bad would happen to me. But then it all changed...
This is the story of Lightning Blaze, a pony who has been betrayed by the nation he swore to protect. Alone, he has to survive the assaults launched by the Equestrian military and find a way to prove his innocence to the rest of the world. But as time passes, shadowy figures who would use Blaze and many others as pawns in their attempts to control Equestria lurk in the shadows.
As Lightning Blaze gets pulled deeper into the dark side of Equestria that few know about, so too does the chances of his death. Who are trying to kill him? Who is trying to use him and most importantly why is he a fugitive? Alone he must find the answer to these questions, but how can one Pegasus stand up against all of Equestria?
Back then it was a game, a game without consequences, a game in which I would be safe under my rulers protection, I was wrong...
Prologue: Escape from Canterlot
I ran down the street, panting from all of the running I had done. The moon cast a soft glow upon the dimly lit street as I searched desperately for the house I was looking for.
It's just a little further! I thought to myself, trying to calm the panic rising inside of me, What if it's true? what if he is going to try to silence me? I asked myself hoping for an answer. I saw the house to my right and nervously trotted towards it, hoping that he was wrong.
The door opened and a bright light entered the street.
"Lightning Blaze?" A grey stallion asked from behind the door, giving me a suspicious look.
"Y-Yeah it's me, I came back to report the mission progress on the assassination attempt on the rebel leader" I stuttered, barely getting the words out.
"well?" he asked, annoyed about getting woken up in the middle of the night.
"H-He escaped sir" I said, my heart beating furiously
"I see," He said understandingly, his voice somehow calming me down "I understand"
"You do?"
"Yes"
I heard a metallic clunking sound and turned to see five fully armored Pegasi pointing spears towards me, their golden armor shining from the moons dim light. I froze in shock, my brain trying to comprehend what was going on, You must run boy, now that you have failed they will surely try to silence you. My heart skipped a beat as I put two and two together.
"You're going to kill me" I whispered, the fact as clear then anything else in my life
"Yes" said the stallion behind me "we cannot allow you to live after what you have seen. The chances are that the reason the rebel leader is still alive is because you defected, we cannot allow you to live with the information you posses," his voice sounded regretful, but not because he was killing an innocent pony, no, because he was going to lose a potentially great solider.
"But why?" I asked, trying to find a way to make him reconsider killing me
"I'm very sorry-"
Like fucking hell you are! my mind screamed
"-but this is the end of the line"
I realized that my only chance was to run. The guards raised their spears, you have to time this perfectly! my mind yelled at me, I slowly bent my legs, wait for it...NOW! I launched into the air just as spears penetrated the air were I was split seconds before, I stretched my light blue wings out and used them to push me further into the air. I flapped madly and flew forwards towards the outer walls of Canterlot, I was less then a minute away from it. I suddenly became aware of the Pegasi flying behind me and strained myself to fly faster, Maybe they can't see me in the moonlight I hoped. I was making my way towards the wall when I felt a sharp pain in my right wing, I turned my head and saw a bloodstained, silver arrowhead poking through it, my wing buckled as I let out a scream of pain and started making my way towards the ground, no, no not now i'm so close just a little more please! I screamed to myself, fear gripping me as the rapidly approaching ground loomed before me.
NO! not when i'm this close! a determined voice inside of me said. Slowly I started stretching my injured wing out, tears started forming in my eyes as i clenched my teeth through the pain. I managed to bring it fully out and slow my decent, I began gliding towards the outside world transferring the speed of my decent into a forwards motion. The Pegasi were still behind me as I made my way over the wall, my vision slowly starting to fade. I lost all orientation and slammed into the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop. All I could feel was pain, and not all of it physical. I looked up towards the night sky as my vision faded to black.
That was the day the game ended, when I realized that not everyone cared about each other in this world. To them I was just a tool, and when I broke they would get rid of me like trash. That was the day I became alone, and the day my real life started.
* * *
I opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the sun above my head, I held a hoof over my eyes and looked around. I was in a large, open area with short, cut grass, Canterlot was much further away then I expected it to be considering I was flying injured. Pain suddenly throbbed through my body and forced me to curl up into a ball, tears escaped my eyes under the sudden intensity of it.
A long time later I relaxed and opened my eyes, I looked towards my own body and immediately noticed the arrowhead sticking through my wing, Dried blood covered my wing and the light blue fur that surrounded it, I realized that I would need to get that out fast or I would be facing a severe infection and given my current circumstances that would not be the best thing. Realization dawned on me as I remembered what had happened that night, fear and grief overtook me and I started to cry again, trying desperately to stop. After another long time I managed to look over my body, this time noticing my lightning bolt shaped cutie mark.
Heh my special talent, going as fast as lightning, I never thought there could be a cutie mark so bloody cheesy I was surprised that I had enough willpower to make any jokes at all.
After a long time I managed to stand up and slowly but surely walk to the nearest tree for shade, as soon as I sat down I noticed my hunger and thrust almost instantly.
ahh crap I need to find something to drink, and eat while i'm at it
I got up but jumped in surprise and pain as the arrow in my wing hit an outstretched root of the tree
aghh shit I forgot about that I groaned
I sat back down and stared down at the pointed tip of the arrow, steeling myself for what I needed to do. I put my mouth over the top of the arrow and ripped my head backwards. I screamed through the arrow tip as blood was pulled onto my face. I fell onto the ground and cradled my now profoundly bleeding wing.
"AGH! Damnit it hurts! Make it stop god damnit aghhh!"
After several hours I slowly managed to get up and start walking, to where? I don't know. But every step meant a step away from my old life, every drop of blood from my wing the sacrifices that I have yet to make. I thought nothing could be worse then what I went through but boy was wrong.
This was the first step towards the rapidly approaching endgame.
A short while after making my epic moral speech I fainted from blood loss, Great. One second I was thinking about what was to come and the next I had a face full of dirt. Well, worse things have happened.
I awoke in a white room with a smooth ceiling, what the, where am I? I looked to my left and there were several ponies laying in bed, I looked to my right and saw a door. Light streamed through an open window, I guessed it must have been around midday.
Am I in a hospital? How the hell did I end up here? I asked myself, slightly panicked, I looked down and saw my body covered in white sheets. what if they find me here? I've gotta get out of here now! I kicked off the sheets, rolled off my bed and landed on my hooves, unfortunately I was still weak from the lack of blood and slammed into the ground.
"heh you're still a little weak there bud" the stallion across from me said, I groaned in response. He got up and pulled me back into my bed.
I studied the pony, he had white fur and a sliver and white mane, he seemed about ten years older then me, I couldn't get a glimpse at his cutie mark though at that point that was the last thing on my mind.
"thanks" I said to the best of my speaking ability which was not much at that point
"No problem" he responded "names Spring, whats yours?"
I took a moment to decide if he was trustworthy enough to know my name "Lightning Blaze" I eventually said
"huh, nice name kiddo" he complimented me "now you're gonna be in there awhile bud, at least a week"
"I can't stay here a week"
"why?" he asked, somehow the question penetrated my soul, I didn't want to lie to him again
What do I tell him? The truth? either way I needed to decide fast
"I umm...I'm trying to get somewhere, somepony in my family is sick and I need to get there fast"
"I see" he said, saddened by the news "i'm sorry about that, where do ya' need to get to?"
Damnit i'm getting to far into this conversation
"I err...need to get to-" If there had been a better time to get interrupted in my life, I would be amazed. The only problem however was the fact that the interruption was worse then the conversation I was having.
"Excuse me," a cream nurse pony with a red mane poked her head through the door "is there a pony here named Lightning Blaze?"
My blood froze, Spring went to say something but immediately stopped as I tugged in his foreleg and signaled him to be quiet, a confused look ran down his face but he compiled. Silence echoed throughout the room.
The nurse turned and talked to a pony outside my view range "I'm sorry but he hasn't passed through here" she told the pony
"Okay" a deep stallions voice said "but if he comes through here contact us he is very sick and needs to come to Canterlot quickly"
What? The're already looking for me? The words sent panic through my brain
"Lets go" the stallion said to what I guessed were more ponies. I heard their armor clacking through the hall.
"What the hell was that about?" Spring asked me, severely confused.
ah crap, I need to figure out a way out of this, or I could just tell him the truth
I sighed, my mind made up "okay then, this is why i'm here and why there are ponies looking for me, I doubt you will believe me especially since they are using the excuse that i'm sick to get me back to Canterlot, but here it goes..."
* * *
"...and that's why i'm here" I finished, the sun setting outside. Most of the patients in the room had fallen asleep and the rest didn't care to much about the story I was telling. Throughout the story Spring had a serous expression on his face. As I finished Spring suddenly burst with laughter, surprising several of the other ponies in the room
"Heh maybe they were right kiddio, maybe you are a bit sick in the head," The words felt like they were drilling holes in my heart "but then again, what would I be if I didn't believe stupid things every now and again" I looked at his face which now held a smile, my morale was lifted greatly
"Y-You believe me?" I stuttered, somewhat stunned that somepony would actually believe me over the military.
"Yes I do bud" he told me, warmth radiating from his words
"Thanks Spring, I really appreciate it"
"No problem but," his voice suddenly became serious "I've heard that the Equestrian military is looking for a light blue Pegasus with a lightning bolt cutie mark for the murder of two night guardsmen"
I was speechless, it was one thing to be hunted and another to be accused of killing your own kind. Parts of words managed to make it out of my mouth but I couldn't bring myself to admit it. I just tilted my head down and tried to hold my tears back, what I would have given to get my old life back, but there was no going back.
"It's okay Blaze, come on i'm gettin' ya' outta here" he said as he slipped one of his forehooves around my shoulder and helped me out of my bed, pain erupted through my legs but shakily managed to stand.
"Thanks" I muttered. Spring trotted over to his bed and retrieved a thick, brown hooded cloak
"Put this on Blaze, it'll help ya disguise yourself...and look like a bad ass" he laughed. I grabbed the cloak and put it on, it was a fair bit too big for me but I somehow managed to put it on without tripping myself over. We left the room and walked out of the hospital, bypassing any doctors or nurses along the way. Soon enough we were outside in the chilly nights air, the hospital was in the middle of a moderately sized town. Luckily there were no ponies on the street due to the time. I followed Spring as he walked through the town, he mostly went through alleyways and backstreets, soon enough we reached the end of the town. Spring looked at me and handed me a map, a compass and a dagger.
"Follow this road east until you get about" -Spring pointed to a small circle on the map- "here and go to the Inn and ask for a pony named Quake Bound, tell him Spring Cob sent ya' " he said before staring at the dagger in my hands "I hope ya' never have to use that but you need a weapon of some sort out there, now you had best be-" he stopped as he saw at least half a dozen guards coming this way.
Damnit they couldn't wait a few more minutes could they? My mind scrambled to find a way out of the situation when Spring stepped in front of me
"I'll distract 'em now go! before they catch up!" he ordered me
"Thanks Spring, I'll never forget this"
"just go already Blaze and hope luck is on your side" he told me, giving me one last look before turning and running towards the oncoming soldiers yelling "help! help! My son has fell down a well!" I barely contained a laugh as I stretched my wings out, it was only when I went to take off that I realized it was too weak to fly with
"Damnit looks like i'm gonna have to do this the old fashioned way" I said before running into the night.
That was the day I met the first person who believed me. To you it might seem like whoever I tell my story to will believe me but that is certainly not the case, in fact, it was a short while after I found that town that I was backstabbed by someone who thought I was a killer.
* * *
"Looks like we have a new pawn" the black alicorn said to the unicorn facing him. They were on a hill overlooking the town Lightning Blaze was now running from, no bigger then a speck of dust.
"Are you sure he will help us?" the white unicorn asked
"Give him a year, then we will leave a trail of breadcrumbs to what he will desire most, freedom" the black alicorn said
"But brother what if he tries to betray us?" he asked
"He won't, he like all of Equestria is unaware of our existence, when we contact him he will be desperate enough to do anything, that is when we strike, we shalt have the throne of Equestria, even if we have to kill the princesses that guard it"
"You know that they will not attack a fellow pony Brother"
"You should know by now uzril, I am not a pony, I am a god"
God damnit he could have just told me the bloody name of the town or even how far it is I thought not for the first time. I walked along the rough track just like I had been all week, every bone in my body hurt from the intense amount of walking I had done over the past eight days. My feet dragged along the rough pebbles on the track. I was sick of all of the walking and I knew that I was nowhere even close to where I had to be.
After about an hour I came to a stop. I fell onto my back and inhaled as much air as my body could take. I meant to only stop for around fifteen minutes but I soon fell asleep. Memories flooded through my head, my first day at military academy, the day it all started...
* * *
Several years ago
"Blaze, Lightning?" an orange Pegasus stallion called my name
"Present sir!" I nearly shouted, my excitement clearly showing
I was in a big, circular room somewhere in cloudsdale, several dozen rookies like me were lined up waiting for what group we got put into
"I want you to go to squad C, they will be your new team from now on" he said in a harsh tone, showing no expression on his face
"Yes sir!" I said before pushing off the ground with my wings rushing down a hallway to a door, I pulled it open and rushed inside.
Now, it's important to have a good first impression, but it's generally not good if you fly through the door and slam into your future teammates head on, yeah, I stuffed up big time there.
As soon as I went through the door I ran into a cream mare with a red mane who in turn fell into the other three ponies in the room. The room was a square with beds and footlockers being the only furniture, there was a large window at the end of the room just above a lone bed. I looked around me and saw all of the ponies I had knocked over
"ummm..hi?" I said, getting up, I nervously laughed but immediately stopped as I realized all eyes were pointed towards me
"what the hell do you think you're doing?" a grey stallion with a brown mane asked, clearly annoyed by the strangers sudden -and destructive- appearance. The cream mare rolled her eyes,
"whats your name?" she asked, as if nothing ever happened
"Blaz- Lightning B-Blaze" stuttering for a reason I couldn't quite understand
'Mines Arctic Heart pleased to meet you Lightning Blaze" she said with a warm smile. A black pony with a black mane from across the room sighed
"I'm Dark Night" he said, sounding almost as if he were too lazy to do anything else. Another pony, this one with green fur and a yellow mane piped up
"My name is Dancing Chance! Happy to meet ya!" he said cheerfully, holding out a hoof, I shook it. The last pony, the grey stallion stated his name
"My name is Sword Slate, now I hope that next time before you come slamming into us you'll look at whats in front of you" he said, still annoyed.
The lights suddenly turned off and we quickly realized that it was light's out. In room there were five beds, a bunk bed on the left and the right and a bed at the end of the room, I climbed onto the top bunk of the right side, above Chance, while Night and Slate slept on the left and Heart, being the team leader, slept on the lone bed. As much as I tried the excitement of the day would not let me get to sleep.
About an hour later, still not able to sleep, I saw her staring out of the window and into the night. as the rest of the group was asleep I started thinking of excuses to get me out of my bed to talk to her.
oh hello i'm sorry that I am talking to you in the middle of the night but I really needed to go to the toilet and I decided instead of going I would talk to you I thought, sarcastically. I sighed Well...I guess i'm gonna just have to wing it. I slowly climbed down from my bed, trying not to disturb anyone, and stood there gathering my courage. Eventually I managed to speak.
"Can't sleep huh?" I asked her, my voice sounding a lot calmer then I would've thought, she rolled off her bed faster then I've ever seen anyone move, grabbed a knife with her wing and pointed it towards my throat "wait! I just wanted to talk that's all!" I pleaded.
She sighed as she put the knife back on the other side of the bed "what do you want Blaze?" she said in a tired voice, not unkindly
"I umm couldn't sleep and I umm noticed that you couldn't so I err thought that we could y'know talk and stuff" I mumbled, nervousness getting the better of me
She laughed "sure we can talk"
* * *
Several hours later we were still talking, sitting down on her bed.
"So do you ever miss them?" she asked me
"Who?" I in turn asked her, confused
"Your parents and your siblings" she said with a look of home sickness
I averted my eyes "I uhh I don't have any family, I'm an orphan" a ping of sadness for what I would never have ran through my body, tears slowly made their way to my eyes.
"Oh i'm so sorry" she said apologetically before giving me hug.
I hugged her back before crying onto her shoulder. After years of sadness and sorrow I had finally found someone I could talk to, her soothing words helped me more then I could ever have imagend After what had seemed like an eternity I finally stopped crying.
"I-I'm sorry" I said between sobs
"It's okay, there's no reason to apologize in fact its my fault for even bringing the subject up"
"No it's not it's just that" I paused "I've never had anyone to talk to about it I've just always been alone"
"Well" she said, smiling "now you've got us"
I smiled back "Thanks" I said, getting up "I think I might have to go the sleep now, I'm exhausted"
"Okay goodnight Blaze" she said, happy that I was once again happy
"Goodnight" I said before climbing into my bed. Sleep quickly overtook me
* * *
Wake up Blaze A voice said, far away
Wake up the voice started changing
Wake up yer lazy prick
My eyes shot open as I took in my surroundings, Five earth ponies surrounded me, weapons facing me
huh? what the fuck?
"Give us all yer bits boy and no one needs to get hurt" One of them said, he had white fur and a scar running down his face
"Look fellas I don't want any trouble I just want to get somewhere and I won't make it without my bits" I said cautiously
"I don't think yer understand" the earth pony started again "you're getting robbed lad, you don't get to choose what happens here"
Aghh shit I can't take this many on at once, especially without my wings
"Is there anything I can give you apart from my bits?" I asked desperatly
"we're taking anything else with your bits! Do you not understand how this works!?" he was clearly getting annoyed
"Okay then do you need anything done for you then?" I asked him
"NO I DON'T NEED ANYTHING BUCKING DONE FOR ME!" he said, anger seeping out of his body "now last chance boy, hand over the bits or 'yer dead" facing a knife towards me with killing intent
There's no way around it, I've gotta fight these guys
"whatya-" he was cut off as I lunged forwards and plunged the dagger into his chest, the others turned in surprise, I ducked a lance and used my left hoof to throw it upwards while making my way towards the pony using it, I stabbed him with the dagger and kicked him in the chest, grabbing the lance as the injured pony fell to the ground.
"This ones skilled!" one of them yelled, lunging towards me. I threw the lance towards him, impaling him in the left shoulder, the last pony faced a sword towards me, I bent my legs, getting ready to doge, he swung his sword at my legs, I jumped to my right and threw my dagger at him, it got him in the right foreleg.
"you're not getting outta here alive!" he screamed
"I'll give you one last chance" I said calmly, surprised I was still alive
"fuck you!"
He lunged towards me and I jumped backwards as his blade missed my head by inches. He continued his onslaught as I continuously dodged every attack he threw.
I can't keep this up much longer!
My eyes fell upon the dead bandit captain, he was slightly behind and to the left of the opposing pony
okay I've got one chance at this!
I sprinted towards the swordsman, he threw me a mad grin as he swung his sword, at the last second I jumped towards the left, his sword sliced against my right foreleg and torso, a pained yell escaped me, I managed to land next to the dead captain and I quickly grabbed his knife with my left wing
"My turn"
I threw the knife towards him and it buried itself in his neck, and screams were immediately cut off as his limp body fell to the ground. I panted and looked towards my wound, it was deep.
not good I thought
I turned as a groan was heard near me, the pony that had been it by lance had pulled it out and managed to stand
"If you want to live, run" I said, panting "run and get a real life"
"Well then" he said, a humored smile on his face "at least tell me your name"
"My name?" I asked, confused
"Unlike these dogs" -he spat on the swordsman's limp body- "I have honer, so tell me your name"
"My name is Lightning Blaze" I said
"I will spread word of your victory sir Lightning Blaze and hope that we can meet in combat again, this time with a little less lances though" he said, turning away "Good luck" he started walking
After awhile I started walking again, trying to forget the events that had taken place. I had taken the bandits bits and a sword before leaving.
After about an hour my wound started paining, I looked towards it before my vision suddenly turned black, I felt pain somewhere far away and the sound of my body hitting the ground.
I felt death surrounding me.
No...no...
"what the!?"
I felt my strength leaving me
I just...need a little longer...I need to....stay...alive...
I opened my eyes and took a gulp of air, i felt like i hadn't breathed in months. I was laying on a large, rectangular white platform that stretched for about half a kilometer. I looked back and found that I was a few meters from the edge, I walked over and looked over it, Blackness.
I'd better not fall down there
Thoughts passed through my head as I remembered the events that had passed. Panic rose within me
where am I? I can't be dead! Not yet
"How can one so foolish hold the hopes to our victory?" A voice behind me said
I turned, prepared for an attack, what I saw next though I could not prepare for. A jet black Alicorn stallion stood on the other end of the white bridge facing me. He held an emotionless look on his face. I tried to understand what was in front me to no avail. I crouched, getting my legs ready for whatever came next.
"Who- no what are you!?" I demanded the Alicorn
"I am what you see in front of you, nothing more nothing less" he said calmly, his voice giving nothing away
"Well then at least tell me where I am!"
"You are on the verge of death-" The words sent shocks throughout my body
"Wha-what do you mean!?" I cut in panicking
No...no...please no...
"-and without my help you will die within minutes" he finished
I fell to the ground, knowing what he had said was true, tears sprung from my eyes
"Damnit! Damn it all!" I punched the white floor with my right hoof
"But I can save you" The words made my head spring up "for a cost"
"what cost?" I asked cautiously, not knowing what the Alicorn would say
"That when the time comes you shalt help me until your debt is fulfilled"
"And just what the hell does that mean?" I asked
"It means that when I ask you, you will retrieve an...item for me"
"Sounds easy enough, but why can't you do it?" my eyes narrowed
"Because nopony must know of my existence, not yet anyway"
"And just why the hell not?" I demanded
"Because there is more going on in this world than you will ever know"
"Go get it yourself" I said turning my back towards him
"I would do what I say right now if you want to live" the words were whispered in my ear. I turned in surprise and felt my chest get slammed by a hoof. Wind escaped me as I looked down towards where I had been hit, a strange black marking was being shown on my fur as It slowly sunk into my body.
"That is to make sure that you don't betray me" he said, walking away
"But I never said-" I started
"But you want to, and that is why you will do as I say" he said before getting surrounded in a white light. The light suddenly disappeared leaving nothing where the Alicorn once stood
shit
Suddenly a blinding light surrounded me, I tried to close my eyes to no avail as the light pierced my eyelids. I fell to the ground trying to cover my eyes, I screamed in pain as I couldn't stop the light. I lost consciousness.
I opened my lungs and swallowed air as if i hadn't breathed in years, my body instinctively sprang up as I swiveled my head around to gather my bearings.
I was on a large, grassy hill overlooking a large town. It was around midday and ponies of all colors walked through what looked to be a market in the center of the town, the market was held in front of a looming town hall, as if warning any potential thieves about the police presence nearby.
Where the hell am I? I asked myself, getting up slowly
I instinctively walked towards the nearby town, pulling on my hood and almost disregarding any attempt to disguise myself, something I would come to regret later. As I reached the outskirts of the town I stepped onto a smooth cobblestone pathway and walked down a street with two-story buildings flanking me. The streets were deserted apart from a few ponies who had not gone to the market that day, none of them glanced twice my way. A hooded earth pony came running down the street and bumped into my shoulder, knocking my hood and me off balance as I snapped my head to my right and saw underneath the hood. The pony that had ran into me was a black mare, a little bit older then me, her eyes widened when she saw my face, but that only lasted an instant as we both regained our balance. The mare took off faster then I could have imagined, sprinting down the street again.
"Hey its generally good manners to say sorry after you knock someone over!" I yelled at her before turning and continuing towards the market "jeez whats her problem?" I mumbled before pulling my hood back up.
After a few minutes I made it into the market, it was grander then I had imagined. Merchants of all trades sold their wares, making a hefty sum of bits in the process. I started exploring the market, looking at the different merchants different goods. Eventually I found my way over to a stall where a strong, blue earth pony was selling many different sorts of armor and weapon sets.
"Come one come all to Midnight Steel's armor shop!" he shouted with a heavy accent to the mass crowd of ponies around the market "it is dangerous along the roads of Equestria without proper protection! You could be eaten by monster or much worse without my tools!"
"Umm..." I said as I reached the counter "what sorts of-"
"Looking to become a guard? One must have weapon before one can protect those he loves"
"Hello I-"
"Or are you looking to pick up a mare friend? I know a few friends who could use-"
'ARE YOU GONNA SIT HERE YELLING OR SERVE ME!?" I yelled at the startled blacksmith
"Uhh...yes, sir what is it that you need?" he asked me uncertainly
"I need armor, preferably something light and protective if you've got it" I said, getting straight to the point
"Ahh yes you need speed no? Well don't worry I have just the thing for you!" he said excitedly. Midnight steel then turned around and grabbed a set of brown armor from a nearby shelf and put it on the counter. "Okay that'll cost you-" He was cut short as I threw a large purse of bits on the counter.
"Keep the change" I said turning away to explore the rest of the market as the blacksmith stared at the bulging purse of coins. I had paid him around double the price he wanted but only because I didn't want to wait there counting out bits, I needed to find out where I was and get back on the road I needed to be on quickly.
I explored the market for about another hour before I saw a couple of white guards patrolling the market, their gold armors shining a bright in the midday sun. I cautiously did a loop around them and continued on my path before I saw another pair. I quickly turned my head around and noticed about another seven or eight pairs of guards patrolling the market.
What the hell is going on here?
I turned my head to the left and saw a pair of Pegasi asking a couple of unicorns some questions, one of them held up a picture and motioned at it with his hoof, I strained my eyes and looked and the picture before reacting with horror at who was on the picture.
It was me.
I quickly walked towards the end of the market, trying not to arouse any suspicion, my heart pumped like a drum in my chest and I got closer and closer to my goal. I was almost there before I realized the trap I was in. The guards has boxed in the section of the market that I was in, making any escape attempt impossible. I looked around, desperately trying to find a gap, there was none.
"Well, well what do we have here?" a voice from behind me rang, I felt a tug from my hood and immediately turned and slammed my hoof into the guards stomach, he buckled instantly as I swiveled around on my back hooves to elbow his partner in the face. They dropped to the ground instantly.
"Well that worked better then expected" I said before pulling the newly brought armor out of my saddlebags and donning it. "If only I could fly, I would be outta here by now"
I trotted around the small, closing in square for an escape route, there was nothing. Slowly, the market ponies were allowed through the blockade after being thoroughly searched, I was running out of time. I started to panic, the blockade was only about twenty-five meters away from where I was standing,
C'mon c'mon think Blaze! I screamed to myself, the wall was drawing near. I was just about to give up all hope as my eyes spotted a large, circular trapdoor in a small "alley" between two stands, I rushed over to it and just managed to pry it open, I lifted the cover up and flipped it over, I was about to jump in when a familiar voice stopped me.
"Don't do it Lightning Blaze, you're trapped, jus-just give up, you can't run from the crimes you've committed" The voice was feminine and it almost sounded...regretful, I stopped in horror as soon as I heard the voice
No...no it can't be her! Anyone but bucking her! I turned slowly, standing in front of me was Arctic Heart
I froze up, I was unable to move or speak due to my surprise, she looked down at the ground in front of her.
"Please Blaze just...give up" she pleaded, trying to persuade me, " I don't want to see you or anypony else get hurt so please just give up" silence echoed throughout the market, it took me several minutes before I gave my answer
"I'm sorry Heart" I started, forcing myself not to give in "but I can't" as soon as I said the words I fled to the other end of the alleyway into a large square, I heard several loud clanks of metal as dozens of guard ponies surrounded me in a large circle and pointed their spears inwards towards me.
"Oh you have gotta be fucking kidding me" I said, looking around. I knew there was no escaping this one, I had been caught like a mouse in a trap
"I'm sorry Blaze" Heart said, walking into the circle from the alleyway "but I'm arresting you for the murder of two guards ponies a-and treason"
I knew there was no way out, I would be brought to Canterlot for fair trial and then killed before I got the chance to do anything, probably a "he died of natural causes" case. I started to panic.
"You don't understand what you're doing!" I shouted "If I go back there they'll kill me!"
"Blaze we don't do executions in Equestria"
I laughed "You think they'd make it an execution? I'll die before I even get to stand trial!"
"Blaze, I'm sorry but you're coming back to Canterlot, you are to face a fair trial to judge what you punishment is for the crimes you have committed" she looked down, turned and left the circle
"What fucking crimes? I didn't fucking do anything!" I screamed after her "You may as well just sentenced me to death!" I felt a small tingling sensation as my body started to slow down, I was falling asleep! The guards must have put a spell on me! My vision became blurry and my limbs barely supported my weight, I blinked twice before I gave in to the magic.
I was going back to Canterlot, back to the people who tried to have me killed. But this time I would already be in their grasp, this time I wouldn't have a chance to escape.
I looked up from the thick soup I was eating and looked at Chance
"You're kidding me right?" I said, annoyed
"C'mon, just pony up and do it" he replied
"I don't even like her"
"Didn't sound that way last time you spoke to her, you were stuttering worse then a pony caught in a snowstorm"
"Oh shut up if you had to explain where six crates of apples disappeared in the middle of your watch went then you'd be stuttering too"
"Maybe, but at least I wouldn't be in love with the pony scolding me"
I facehoofed myself and turned my gaze away from Chance, we were in a large white room with several rows tables spanning its width. Several dozen ponies were eating their food and many others were lining up in a line to get their own, The food itself wasn't too bad though, much better then I thought it would be.
"This is getting nowhere" I commented
"Yeah because you won't admit-"
"How the hell can I admit to something I'm not doing?" I demanded, raising my voice a little
"You can't silly" he said
"THEN WHAT IS- you know what?" I cut myself off "screw it there's no point"
"So you admit you like her then?" Chance asked curiously
"If it'll make you shut up then yes"
"Told ya'!" he yelled excitedly "so are ya' gonna ask her out or not?"
"Nah, i'm not her type Chance" I said, trying to stop the conversation
"Sure ya are! I'm sure Heart would say yes" he said, trying to persuade me into it
"Yeah...no" I said, getting up "now are we gonna go train or not?" I asked him
"Fine, fine" Chance said, clearly annoyed by the outcome of the conversation "I bet" he paused and leaned in closer to me "you just wanna go train so you can see her" and then he took off, sprinting out the room
"Get back here Chance and I'll let you see my hoof!" I yelled, chasing after him
I slowly opened my eyes as my vision slowly came back, my head felt like it had been hit with a hammer, I could barely move my body at all. I groaned, trying to get up but failing. After a few more attempts of failure I decided to find out where the hell I was. I slowly looked around a small wooden brown room, I couldn't figure it out until room jumped up about three inches before falling back down. I slammed into the ground and groaned in pain. I muttered a few select curses through my clenched teeth.
"Where am I?" I finally asked myself
"On the road to Canterlot" Arctic Heart's voice said from behind me
"Great, just fucking great, could this get any worse?" I complained
"If you fought back then yes, it would have been much worse"
"What a surprise" I said sarcastically
I once again tried to stand up but then realized my hooves were bound
And I asked myself why I couldn't stand up
I shuffled around on the ground until I could see Heart sitting on a bench built into the side of the wagon.
"So, how long have I been out for?" I asked
"Six hours" she replied, showing no emotion whatsoever
"That long huh?"
"Yes"
I paused, trying to think of what to say next when Heart started speaking
"There is no escaping your crimes Blaze, you will be in prison for most of, if not all of your life" she said, almost as if she didn't even know him anymore
"Wow, if I didn't know better I would say you didn't give a shit about me" I said casually, every word hurting me deep down
"That's because I don't"
The words pierced my heart, I looked at the ground
"I see" was all I could manage to say
"You are not the Lightning Blaze I knew, you may pretend to be but you are not, the Blaze I knew would never hurt anypony who was innocent!"
"Well then" I said, angry that she believed them over me"if that's what you think then maybe you never knew me at all"
The word cut deep into my own heart as I said them, Heart looked at me in disbelief as her eyes started to water, I rolled over so I wouldn't have to look at her, I heard hoofsteps as she left the wagon.
"I'm sorry Heart" I said to myself
Nopony I knew believed me, they all believed the Princesses and their guards, as much as it hurt I knew I couldn't trust anyone anymore, not after one of my best friends just captured me.
The wagon suddenly ground to a halt, my guard's head looked from side to side, trying to assess why we were stopping. The was silence for a few seconds before a shout was heard outside the wagon
"We're under attack!" it screamed
The guard pony looked around the room a few times before standing up, "stay here" he said before exiting the wagon
"Yeah real funny, laugh it up why don't ya?" I called after him
I heard a few quick yells before everything fell silent, minutes slowly passed by
what the hell is going on out there? Why is it so silent? I asked myself
I kept waiting until the doors of the wagon were thrown open. Standing on the other side was a snow white Pegasus with a cutie mark shaped like a wing made of ice, he had a turquoise mane and look to be about my age
I lay there speechless as the white Pegasus undid the binds around my legs.
When he finished I stood up and asked him "who the hell are you?"
"Me? Can't this wait until we're out of here?" he said, sounding frustrated
"Fine just hurry up I don't want to say here any longer"
I stood up and stretched my legs, it felt good to be able to move again.
"Here eat this" he said, giving me a small pill
"Why?" I asked, confused
"It'll help with your wing, trust me"
"Well, what have I got to lose?" I asked myself, swallowing the pill
We ran over to the door of the wagon and jumped down onto a dusty dirt track, we were in a clearing in the middle of a forest, several dozen golden armored guards were sprawled all over the ground
"Are they-?" I began
"No they're just sleeping" the Pegasus replied
How the hay did he take down so many guards? I asked myself
"So what's your name?" I asked
"My name is Snow Hunter, yours?"
"Lightning Blaze"
"I thought so"
Confused, I looked forward and saw a lone pony walk up to us, her armor glistened in the sun as she approached us
"Should I deal with her?" the white Pegasus asked
"No!" I shouted almost instantly
"I didn't mean kill I just meant tranquilize her"
"Still no I-I need to talk to her" I mumbled
"Okay I'll wait over here but before you go, look at your wing"
I looked back and to my amazement saw my injured wing perfectly fine
"That the-? H-how is this possible!?" I said, barely controlling my excitement "Magic?"
"In a way yes" he said before walking to the edge of the clearing "go, talk to her, but hurry up"
I walked up to the cream mare and waited for what was to come, but instead she just looked at the ground and said
"Why?"
"I didn't ask for any of this! I didn't commit any of these crimes Heart! They're lying to you!" I yelled, a fair bit louder then I should have
"Blaze...I've seen it...th-they have undeniable proof" she stuttered
"What fucking proof?" I demanded
"Blaze I-I saw you do it"
The words rocked me to the core, I stood there stunned for several seconds before managing to speak again
"W-what?" a voice very unlike my own said
"I can't let you run around freely Blaze...at least not after what I saw...I'm sorry" she was crying
"But I didn't do anything! They're trying to kill me and they're using you to get to me! Please believe me!" I pleaded
"I'm sorry Blaze, but I cannot deny what I saw" I was on the verge of tears, I couldn't handle it anymore, I turned away and walked towards Snow Hunter
"I swear, I will get the bastards that tricked you" I said before reaching Snow
"You ready to fly again?" he asked
"Yeah" I replied
"Then let's go!" he said before jumping into the air
"I'm sorry" I whispered before following him into the air
"Oh shit!" a voice screamed, my vision tilted backwards as my body fell towards the marble floor
"God damnit, Blaze hang in there!" another voice said shortly after my dying body hit the floor. I stared up at the roof for what seemed to be an eternity
So this is it huh? I thought to myself with a chuckle, the screams of my friends slowly fading out, well at least I ended it like a badass
I felt the warm liquid slowly pouring out of the gaping wounds in my chest, thankfully shock was preventing me from feeling most of the pain. Faces danced around the edges of my vision as my friends tried to make me snap out of the trance I was in, but I just stared at the ceiling thinking thoughts that I couldn't even make out. I felt the magic slowly draining out of my body no matter what anyone did to try and prevent it.
I slowly managed to focus on my friends and say a few words to them, sadness etched upon their faces.
It had been two days since Snow Hunter had rescued me from the Equestrian guards and yet I still hadn't even bothered to ask him where he was leading me due to the distracting thoughts that had been floating around my head. During that time we had barely talked, only doing so when necessary.
"We're heading north, to the Crystal Empire" he stated
I gave him a confused look "Are you crazy? Not only would I be going straight towards the captain of the guard, I would be heading towards a princess as well!"
"Have any better ideas?" he asked me
"Yeah I go to Canterlot, find the bastard that betrayed me and expose him to the world"
"And just how would you do that?"
I thought for a moment, trying to think of an idea
"That's what I thought" He said, walking ahead of me
"But-" I sighed
Son of a bitch I thought, slowly trotting after him
The following weeks me and Snow slowly made our way to the crystal empire, never staying in a town more than a day and often having to sleep in the wilderness. But still the pain of Arctic Heart's betrayal didn't diminish in the slightest, the only thing that kept me going was the prospect of getting the backstabbing bastard back at what he had done to her.
I'm going to fucking kill that bastard I told myself over and over again.
I also got to learn a bit more about my savior, like the fact that he was previously in the Equestrian guard...as a royal guard. My instincts told me to be wary of him due to his history but as much as I tried to deny it he slowly started becoming one of my friends, well my only friend now. I also learnt that he was extremely skilled with the sword, even better than most of the Equestrian special forces.
"Do you think you could teach me how to use a sword as well as you?" I asked him one night as we were seated around a small fire.
"Well, sure I guess I could try" he replied, standing up. He walked over to a tree that our saddlebags and equipment were currently resting on, grabbing a couple of large sticks he chucked me one.
"What? now?" I asked surprised while fumbling the sword in my hooves
"You want to learn don't you?"
"Well sure, I guess" I said, raising the stick and getting into a fighting position "Let's go!"
"Something isn't right here" Snow said as we entered the brown wooden inn.
"I know" I trying to sense what was wrong with the simple countryside inn
The inn was a lone building on the road we were travailing on, the inn was fairly busy due to the road's usage between the northern and southern parts of Equestria. As we entered the inn we were greeted by welcoming looks from the inhabitants of the inn. As Snow went to book us a room I sat down at one of the booths and waited to be served. After a few minutes Snow sat down across from me.
"I got us a room so we won't be sleeping on the ground again" Snow yelled over the noise of the inn with a happy tone
"Thank Celestia" I replied, laughing
"Can I help you?" A blue unicorn mare said, striding up to us
"Yeah sure, could you please get me a salad with a side of hay fries and whatever my friend wants?" Snow told her
"Could I please get the biggest meal you have" I pleaded in the best tone I could muster
"Of course!" She said, laughing at my behavior "any drinks with that?"
"Two bottles of your strongest wine should be enough"
"Okay then" she then ran off to for fill our order
We waited patiently for our order, Snow watching the door of the packed inn for any threats while I sat back and relaxed. Eventually the blue mare returned with our orders and we thanked her, I had been given what looked like a gigantic burger, it was filled with a delicious salad with many ingredients I had never even seen before. I quickly ate the burger and was about to take a swig from the bottle next to me when Snow stopped me.
"Don't" was all he said, putting his hoof over mine
"Why?" I asked him
"I've had this wine before, and this definitely has something added to it"
"Its poisoned?" I asked him in disbelief
"I think so"
"Then let's get the fuck out of here"
"Agreed"
We didn't even get to stand up before a group of a dozen or so guards burst into the inn. I saw the blue mare as she pointed in our direction and the guards started towards us.
Shit
"Should we run?" I whispered to Snow
"Too late"
The guards reached our table.
"Hello there" the leader, a smart ass unicorn said to us
"What brings you fine gentleponies to our table?" I asked in an over the top voice
"Not much, we were just on the hunt for a traitor, now you guys wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?"
"A traitor? Why would somepony betray our great kingdom?" it was Snow now
"I don't know, hey Lightning Blaze do you know the answer to that?" My eyes darted towards the guard as my body stiffened, he and his guards had drawn their weapons towards me
Son of a bitch!
"Thank god you caught him" Snow said "he's been keeping me hostage for so long, I-I just want to see my family" I shot a glance at Snow and saw that he was tearing up
What the fuck!?
"Snow!?" I demanded
"Don't worry, we've got him now, go back to your family citizen" the guard said to him
I was grabbed by two guards as they started to drag me towards the exit. Snow finished talking to the guard and when the guard turned around he winked at me, then I was dragged outside.
What? Snow no!
They started dragging me towards a prison wagon much like the one Arctic had imprisoned me in.
Nonononono! I repeated to myself, it couldn't be over, not like this
I heard a muffled shout coming from the front of the inn and saw Snow holding a unicorn guard in a choke hold with a dagger to her throat. The mare looked towards her team with fearful eyes that begged for help.
"What the-? We let you go! Its over!" The leader stammered
"No, unfortunately this pony has been framed and I made a promise I would help him prove his innocence" Snow said calmly
"You expect me to believe he's innocent when his companion has one of my guards by the throat!"
"I don't care if you believe me or not, I just want him freed"
He's such a badass...
"Let her go or I'll cut you down where you stand!"
"I don't you think you know how a hostage situation-" Snow started before he found himself being charged by the stallion "oh for fucks sake" he said hitting the mare in a pressure point, knocking her out cold
Snow carefully stepped over the mares limp body and stood ready, the leader just ran past him. After a few feet he tumbled to the ground, a massive wound appearing on his left side. Snow wiped his bloodstained dagger on the grass, getting as much blood of as he could before facing the rest, we just stood there gaping.
"Anyone else?" He challenged
I didn't even see him move!
"You just attacked the captain!" one of the other guards shouted, running at Snow, the other guards followed him. The guards holding me ran as well, allowing my to move about freely again.
"Wow those guys are really not good at holding a captive" I muttered
"You know I really didn't want to have to kill anypony, especially not a guard, well I guess I don't really have a choice now do I?" Snow said to himself.
The first guard reached him and swung a halebred, Snow easily ducked it and stabbed the guard in the chest before dodging a sword swing to his right. He parried the sword swings with his dagger until he locked blades with the guard, he then unsheathed his own sword and cut down the defenseless pony. Snow moved from guard to guard mercilessly taking them down with ease. I watched with a mixture of shock, horror, admiration and just a grasp of how badass Snow really is. When he cut down the final pony he trotted up to me, sheathing his bloodstained weapons.
"Was it really-? I mean did you have to kill them?" I asked him
"Yes, if they lived they would have gotten more troops and probably killed us on sight for revenge, it is unfortunate that it had to be this way"
"Yeah..." I said noticing something running towards Snow. I quickly tore my dagger -which apparently the guards hadn't confiscated- out of its sheath, pushed Snow out of the way, stepped forwards and stabbed towards the captain before he could swing his sword.
"Heh...you got me" He said in a weak voice "I guess you win then Blaze"
"No..." I said shaking, I let go of the dagger and fell back "I-I'm sorry I-"
"So you really aren't a killer after all" the captain observed, swaying slightly as blood pored out from his chest wound.
"Please I didn't mean to-" I stuttered, my vision tearing up
"It was self defense I would've-" The captain was cut of as he had a coughing fit, blood splattered out of his mouth as he fell to the ground. "You see that mare over there? The one your friend knocked out?"
I nodded.
"That's my sister, if you really feel bad about killing me then take care of her okay? Tell her that I-" he started coughing again "I was killed by a rogue guard" He fought to continue his words "and that I-" he rolled onto his back "tell her that I love her...." his last word exited with his last breath as the life in his eyes faded away into nothingness. I struggled to hold my tears back as I tore my eyes away from his and looked at the sleeping mare.
"We need to go Blaze, now" Snow said in a soft, yet firm voice
"Wh- What about her?" I said, motioning to the mare with my hoof
"I'd rather not take her" Snow said
"I-I can't leave her here, I don't think that guard would be very happy with me if I did" I cried
Snow sighed put his hoof on my shoulder "Don't give in now, you still have a long way to go"
Scarred star looked over the pristine paper that held the psych report of the most wanted stallion in Equestria. Recently he had been spending a lot of time trying to find the weaknesses of the stallion but most of them were either insignificant or almost impossible to exploit. He had almost captured Lightning Blaze with the use of one of his former friends, but apparently he had escaped with the aid of a second Pegasus who had not only freed him, but taken out the whole squad sent to capture him. Star muttered to himself as he looked over the paper, forming and discarding plans every time he read a new piece of information. He was almost about to call it a night until he read a particular paragraph.
Subject holds severe case of self justice, able to mercilessly kill any who have committed heavy crimes or wishes to harm him but when faced with an innocent is unable to kill or harm them. It is suspected that if he is forced to take an innocent life away that he will have an emotional breakdown which may cause major psych problems
A smile appeared on Star's face, he had his weakness, now he just had to exploit it.
