> A Mare Named Lightning: Part 1
>  by lightning_dust_12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Part 1: Everyman Quince, Meet Vinyl Scratch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vinyl Scratch was just sitting down in front of his laptop, getting ready to dive into making a brand new song, when somepony rang the doorbell. Vinyl sighed, and called for Octavia, "Octavia! Will you get the door?"

Octavia replied from her bedroom, "No! I'm right in the middle of something, sweetie!"

Vinyl Scratch sighed, and got up from her comfy black office chair, and opened the door. Standing on the front porch was a light grey stallion with a dark brown-and-black mane. His tail was a messy mass of brown hair, and as Vinyl Scratch continued looking him over, she noticed with distaste that his mane was done up exactly like her own, and he looked to be about 15 years old, still just a colt by Vinyl's standards.

"What do you want?"

The stallion shyly looked down at his hooves, which reminded Vinyl of herself, because she used to be exactly the same way meeting new ponies. Vinyl smiled remembering her fillyhood, then quickly went back to her normal, depressed self.

"Do you need anything, or are you just coming here to bother me?"

The stallion looked up, and said in a quiet voice, "Um...yeah. So, I'm an amateur DJ, and I make pony music videos."

Vinyl's ears perked up when she heard a DJ mentioned. "Oh, so you're a DJ! What software do you use?"

He smiled slyly, "Oh, just Garage Band."

Vinyl laughed, "Have fun being a real DJ, kid! You won't get anywhere with that!"

He pouted, and said, "Yeah, well I heard somewhere that to be a 'real DJ,' you also have to get drunk on Applejack's apple cider every night!"

Vinyl Scratch looked over her shoulder at the apple cider jugs strewn all over her bed. She turned back to the stallion, and said, "Good point kid. So, what's your name? Why are you here?"

"Well, my name is Everyman Quince, but my friends call me Alez-"

"Okay then Alez," Vinyl Scratch said, smiling.

"-and I just wanted to ask you if I could use your music in my new pony music video."

If there was one thing that always got in the "real DJ's" way, it was legal issues. Vinyl Scratch sniffed, "That's ridiculous! You can't use my music!" Vinyl pointed back at her laptop, "Can't you see I'm still working on it?"

"Oh...okay. Sorry," Alez said, looking down at his hooves again. "I just really needed some good music, and I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong! Now go find somepony else to bother!"

"But, I - oh, okay. At least take this," Alez said, holding out a business card.

"Why would I-"

He looked up at Vinyl Scratch with sad eyes. "Please?"

She snatched the card off his hoof, and slammed the door shut. Alez looked down at the ground, and a tear rolled down the stallion's cheek. He turned his back, and walked slowly down the stone path away from the house.





Vinyl Scratch huffed, and turned back toward her laptop, and found herself face-to-face with Octavia. "What in Equestria are you doing, Vinyl Scratch?!" Vinyl pushed her away, and said, "Don't call me that! You either call me Vinyl, or Scratch, or whatever, but not Vinyl Scratch." Octavia ignored her and galloped over to the door. She opened it, and yelled after Alez, "Wait! Come back!"

The stallion turned around, surprised to hear his nickname being spoken by a mare whose voice he had never heard before. He slowly walked back up the steps to the doorstep. "Yes? Miss, um..."

"Octavia," Octavia supplied.

"Did Vinyl Scratch change her mind?"

Octavia laughed and ruffled his hair, "No way, sweetheart, but I would be happy to accommodate with my own music!"

Behind her, Vinyl looked daggers at Alez. Octavia noticed his worried expression, and looked over her shoulder at her roommate. "Sweetie, do you still have the business card?"

"No," she growled, "I threw it out."

Octavia sighed, and turned back to Alez. "Do you mind? Getting a new card, I mean," Octavia said blushing.

"No problem, Octavia," Alez said, pulling another business card out of his pocket, and handing it to Octavia. She looked it over for a second, then raised an eyebrow. "Wait a sec. 'PMVs by Everyman Quince?' Are you that stallion on youtube that made that awesome music video for that song by Melodosis?"

Alez was shocked. "Yeah! That was me!"

Octavia nodded, then breathed in sharply. "Oh, if you make videos, you have to meet Lightning Dust! She also makes pony music videos. I even know her personally!"

"Cool! Where does she live?"

"Oh, she lives on the west side of Ponyville, sort of near Sugarcube Corner. I could take you, if you want, and introduce you to her."

Alez glanced over Octavia's shoulder at Vinyl, who was shaking her head. "I'd better not," he said dejectedly.

"Oh come on," Octavia said, "I insist! Making friends is so important for ponies your age."

As Alez trotted at Octavia's side, he looked helplessly at Vinyl Scratch, who was still standing in the doorway, shaking her head. She slowly shut the door, and turned the lock. Alez looked over at Octavia, and his worries dissolved. He sighed, and looked at the ground while he walked, thinking about what to say to Lightning Dust.




> Part 2: Lightning Dust's Story
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what all do you do again?" Octavia asked Alez.

"Oh, let's see...I make pony music videos and episode trailers, I make music, and I write fan fiction."

"Hmmm. Fan fiction. Strange stuff. I mean, I guess some of it is good, but a lot of it is just boring walls of text."

"Yeah, like mine," Alez replied. Octavia laughed, but gathered herself and said, "we're here."





"This doesn't look like a very good place to live," Alez commented.

"Unfortunately, not all ponies are as fortunate as me or Vinyl. I'll lead the way. Oh, and by the way, whatever you do, don't mention Rainbow Dash."

"Why not?" Alez asked.

"They've got history."

"Oh, okay. I won't say a thing."

They reached the door, which had a turquoise-colored placard that read "Lightning Dust," with little silver-plated lightning bolts on it. Octavia gestured for Alez to knock, and he did. He heard heavy hoofsteps, and then the door unlocked and opened, revealing a turquoise-colored mare with a strong, well-built body. She frowned at Alez, then saw Octavia, and broke into a wide grin. "Octavia! It's been ages!"

"And Lightning Dust! You were up to here last time I saw you," Octavia said pointing to her chin.

"Oh please, I was just as tall as you were!"

Octavia winked, and said, "so anyway, a certain somepony wants to meet you," she said, elbowing Alez. He stepped forward, and introduced himself to Lightning Dust. When she heard him say that he makes music videos, she smiled, and invited him inside, along with Octavia. Inside, Alez was surprised by the sheer number of trophies on the walls and shelves. "Equestria Games, 2nd Best Flier," read one. There was a photo frame of her and Soarin holding hooves, and lastly, a newspaper clipping that read: "Lightning Dust Enters The Wonderbolt Academy, Ponyville Asks: 'Does She Really Need It?'" Alez suddenly felt the urge to ask for her autograph. She wasn't just a videographer, she was a seriously good flier, even famous! She brought his attention back by asking what software he used to make his videos.

"Oh, uh, just iMovie. On my laptop. Do you want to see some of my work?"

"Sure! I would love to!"

Lightning Dust opened her laptop, and double-clicked on the Firefox logo on her desktop. After 30 seconds of waiting for it to load, she rolled her eyes and turned back to Alez, "sorry, my laptop is immeasurably slow."

"That's okay. So, um, you fly, right?"

Lightning Dust raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. I'm a pegasus."

Alez blushed. "No, I meant competitively."

Lightning Dust laughed, "Well in that case, yeah, I fly!"

"Its so cool to meet somepony that's won that many trophies," he said, flapping his small wings.

The web page finally loaded, showing his youtube channel. "That's my latest video," Alez said, pointing with his hoof.

Lightning Dust looked at her screen closely, then frowned. "The one called 'Rainbow Dash is Under Appreciated?'"





Alez realized his mistake far too late. "well duh, my latest video is about Rainbow Dash! Great job, smart colt.  Oh man, right in front of Octavia too," but he pushed the thought out of his head, and took a step back. Lightning Dust just sighed, and spun her chair around. "I suppose you want to know. Don't worry. I'm not going to go crazy."

Alez took a step closer, and Octavia came and stood beside him, almost a full three inches taller.

Lightning Dust began her story: "About a year ago, I was at the height of my excellence. I was winning every competition I attended. That's when Spitfire announced the Wonderbolts' Academy, a training course for aspiring Wonderbolts. I immediately signed up, but as the press viewed it, the course would be way over my head," she said, pointing to the newspaper clipping on the wall. "I was very excited, when I got paired with the second best young flier in Equestria, Rainbow Dash. Of course, we hit it up together. We had a blast!"

Alez nodded, having seen Rainbow's amazing flying skills.

"But then I ruined everything," Lightning Dust sighed. Octavia gasped, "Don't say that! You didn't-"

"Thanks for trying to defend me, Octavia, but it was my fault. I became over confident, reckless even."

Alez tried to imagine Lightning Dust as reckless, but quickly pushed the image out of his head.

"I convinced Rainbow Dash to help me with a flying trick that would create a tornado to clear the sky of some rain clouds. Some innocent ponies in a hot air balloon got caught up in it, and almost fell to their deaths. It turns out they had come to wish their friend Rainbow Dash good luck. Of course, Rainbow, being a dirty, selfish-"

Lightning Dust stopped herself, and sighed. "Rainbow Dash went to tell the instructor, the world-famous Spitfire, about what I had done. That fool listened to her, and kicked me out, literally," she said, rubbing her flank.

"That's terrible," Alez exclaimed, sympathizing with her. "You must be really mad with Rainbow Dash. I'm surprised that-"

"No, Alez," Lightning Dust said sadly, using his name for the first time. "I'm not mad. I've learned to forgive her. In fact, I would love to go and apologize for what I did, but, quite honestly, I'm afraid of her now. Anyway, thanks for showing me your stuff! Maybe we can organize a date sometime-"

Alez's eyes grew wide.

"-To work on a video together." Lightning Dust finished.

Alez found himself sighing with relief. "That sounds great! I'll keep in touch!" Alez wanted to talk with Lightning Dust longer. She seemed like such a kind, yet edgy mare, but she obviously didn't want to hear about Rainbow Dash any more.

"Oh, and, Alez," Lightning Dust put her hoof on his shoulder, "don't tell Rainbow Dash about any of this, okay?"

Alez mocked zipping his mouth shut, then said bye to her, and trotted out the door, with Octavia at his side.



> Part 3: Quality Time With Octavia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, that was interesting," Alez told Octavia.

"Yes, well, everypony has their stories, y'know?"

"But, even though she seemed okay afterword, I feel like it's really troubling her."

Octavia looked down at Alez, and told him, "I've known Lightning for quite a few years now, and she's a very confident mare. I'm sure she'll get over it."

"I guess." Alez felt his stomach rumbling. "Heh. Dinner calls! I'd best be heading home now."

Octavia looked down at Alez, and opened her mouth to say bye, but then she remembered something that Vinyl had told her about. "Oh my gosh Alez, so, Vinyl's got a show at a bar in Ponyville, near Twilight's house!"

"A bar? Octavia, I'm fifteen. And what's more, I've got videos to edit, music to make, stories to write-"

Octavia smiled, and patted Alez on the shoulder. "Two root beers, on me."

Alez frowned, "you've done enough for me already.  I'll cover it. I've got, uh, cash," he said, pulling 20 bits out of his saddlebags.

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Fine. Oh man, Vinyl will be so surprised when she sees us there!"

Alez cringed, remembering Vinyl's mood when he last saw her. "Yeah. really surprised."





They got to "The Fillyfooler's Den" just in time. Alez was a bit intimidated by the name of the bar, but he shrugged it off. Then, he had an awful thought. "Octavia, Vinyl's not into, like, crazy stuff, is she?"

Octavia gave him a sideways glance, "we'll of course she's crazy! She's a DJ! And also, don't tell her I said that."

Alez was nervous, but if Octavia wasn't worried, he figured he shouldn't be either. The room was dark and smokey, and it smelled like tobacco and cider. Alez was very socially awkward, but tried his best to appear confident. He sat down on a bar stool next to Octavia. She immediately ordered the drinks, and turned to watch her roommate make her appearance.

Suddenly, a mare yelled Alez's name, and he turned, and saw that famous flier he'd met earlier that day, that also happened to be a videographer just like him: "Lightning Dust! What in Equestria are you doing here?"

"Oh, this is just one of my favorite hangouts in Ponyville!"

Her breath smelled strongly of Alcohol.

"I usually just come here for (hic) music, but I...just needed a drink."

Alez couldn't stand seeing her this way after their conversation earlier that day. "Lightning, sorry to ask, but are you still worried about Rainbow Dash?"

Her face turned red. "Why would - (hic) - why would you even mention that?!"

It came out a bit louder than she meant. Everypony was staring at her and Alez.

"Hey, why're you yelling at that poor kid?"

"Yeah! He didn't do nothing wrong!"

"You better calm down, missy."

She blushed, and began to tear up. "Alez- I- I- I didn't mean-"

She turned her back, and ran out into the pouring rain, still sobbing.



> Part 4: Quality time with Lightning Dust 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bartender looked pitifully at Alez. "Let's hope she doesn't come back, huh?" Alez ignored him and pushed through the crowd. He stopped in the doorway, and turned toward Octavia, "see you again?" Octavia nodded slightly, and Alez dashed out the door after Lightning Dust.





It had started to rain, and it was cold. Alez shivered as he trotted up the steps that he had climbed earlier that day, before meeting Lightning for the first time. Alez reached the door, and knocked loudly. He waited five seconds, ten seconds, then thirty seconds. "Lightning Dust? It's me, Alez, from earlier today!" There was still no answer. On a hunch, he turned the knob, and the door opened. He trotted in, and found her sitting at a table with her head in her hooves. He patted her gently, "hey, don't worry, it's okay."

"No, Alez, it's not okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"It's okay. Is there anything I can do?"

She lifted her head off the table. "I really want to apologize to Rainbow Dash, but I'm just too afraid to face her."

"Well, I don't really like Rainbow Dash myself, but I know her, and I guess I could take you."

Lightning wiped her eyes, and sighed. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Yeah! No problem! Except that I've got no idea how to get to Cloudsdale. It's been awhile."

"I was just there, for the...competition."

Alez was unsure of his plan. He had no idea of how Rainbow Dash would react to Lightning Dust showing up to apologize. "Let's just hope we catch her in a good mood. I've never really flown long distances before," he said, flapping his small wings once or twice.

"You've got a horn too. Can you do magic?"

Alez closed his eyes, and his horn lit up yellow, as a coffee mug levitated a few inches off the table. He set it down softly, and relaxed again. "Unless you need someone to lift weights for you, I'm pretty useless as far as magic goes."

Lightning Dust sighed, "Don't tell anypony, but I always wanted a little brother that was more powerful than me."

Alez smirked. "That, I can do. Now, lets get going, before I change my mind."





"Are we almost there? My wings are tired."

"That's Cloudsdale right in front of us. Where did she live again?"

"House eight, Cloud nine. That should be right up there."

Alez landed on the edge of the cloud, and was surprised when his hooves sank in a few inches. He allowed himself to giggle, and gallop in a circle, and feel the soft cloud beneath his hooves. He glanced at Lightning Dust, who was giving him an odd look. "Have you never felt a cloud before or something?"

Alez blushed. "It's been a while, I guess. That's her door over there, um..."

Lightning giggled, "oh Alez, you're so clumsy...and modest!"

Alez blushed even more. "Don't be ridiculous. You stay here until I ask you to come, okay? I just want to greet her first and make sure she's in an okay mood."

"Sounds good, and, Alez, thanks again."

"Not a problem," Alez said, starting to trot toward the door. He proudly strutted up to the doorstep, and knocked loudly. The door opened instantly, and Rainbow Dash did a double-take when she saw Alez. She laughed, "Well, you're not the pizza delivery pony, but hey, I haven't seen you for months, kiddo!" She proceeded to squeeze the air out of his lungs with a bone-crushing hug.

"Nice to see you too, Rainbow." Thank goodness, she appears to be in a good mood. "So, Rainbow," he said, prying her off, "do you remember, by any chance, the Wonderbolts Academy?"

"Sure I do! I had a blast!"

"Do you, by any chance, remember Lightning Dust?"

A shadow passed over Rainbow's face. "Do I...remember...Lightning Dust? Yeah, I do." She was suddenly not the same pony Alez had known and looked up to, quite literally since he was a few inches shorter. "I want you," she said, pointing at Alez, "to tell me," she pointed at herself, "why you would bring up Lightning Dust."

Alez opened his mouth to explain, but somepony else decided to do it for him.

"It's me. I'm sorry, I really am."

Before Lightning Dust could even react, Rainbow Dash was all-in-her-face. "I don't know why you're here, or who brought you, but-"

"Dash! Calm down! I brought her here!" Alez yelled.

Now Rainbow Dash was in his face. "You brought her here? I thought you were cool, Alez, but you're with her now! Thinking I would just apologize like that?"

Alez's instincts told him that nopony should be in his face like Rainbow Dash was. Before he could stop himself, he felt his stomach tying into knots, and then his horn lit up, and emitted a blinding flash of yellow light. Rainbow Dash was encased in a glowing yellow sphere of energy. Her mouth was wide open.

"Oh my - I've never done that before! I'm so sorry! Rainbow-"

"It's okay. I'm okay. Just...leave me."

"Inside the bubble?"

"I'll get out, don't worry. I just want you and Lightning Dust to be far away when that happens."

Alez nodded, and took Lightning Dust's arm, and flew off of cloud nine, and away from Rainbow Dash.





"Well, that could have gone better," Alez said. Lightning Dust was doing her head-in-hooves-thing again, and this time, she was crying too. They were back at Lightning Dust's apartment, which was darker at night than at day. Alez looked out the window, and wondered if Rainbow Dash felt that same way about the incident. Alez didn't know, but she did. In fact, she was also sitting on her couch, with her head in her hooves.





Alez sighed. "Is it okay if I go now? It's getting late."

"Please don't, Alez. I need somepony to keep me company."

Alez sat back down on the couch. Lightning Dust put her head down on his lap. The rain poured down in sheets, blowing noisily against the windows. It sounded like a dampened roar as it hit the roof. They sat in silence for almost ten minutes. Lightning Dust finally broke the silence. "Alez, I've got something to ask you."

"Ask away."

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen. I turned last February. And how about you?"

"I'm seventeen."

If her head wasn't on Alez's lap, he would have jumped. "You're only seventeen?"

"I was twelve when I entered my first competition. You know Alez, we're a lot alike."

"I guess so."

"So, that's where my second question comes in. You've, just so kind to me through all of this. I mean, we just met yesterday! You've made me realize that friendship can survive extreme circumstances, and that nopony is left feeling depressed when you're there to help out."

"Well, thanks! You've been really nice to me too, and...um..."

"Alez, Do you like me?"

What Alez experienced next can be compared to this: one of those videos of a nuclear bomb going off many miles away, so you see the explosion, but you don't feel the shockwave until a few seconds later. The explosion was the words that came out of her mouth, and the shockwave was the flood of thoughts that hit him like a steam-roller and wreaked havoc on his mind. "Do...I...er..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Lightning, I really-"

There was a knock on the door. Lightning Dust lifter her head to allow Alez to get up. He trotted over to the door, and grabbed the knob. He paused for a second, thinking who would be awake at this hour. He swung the door open, and gasped sharply. "Sweet mother of Celestia!"

"Don't worry, kid, I come in peace," Rainbow Dash replied.




> Part 5: The Two-Way Apology
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash was soaking wet, and cold. If Alez had any free will, he would leave her out in the rain, but he let her in. She sat down on the couch next to Lightning Dust. "I suppose you've come to apologize."

"That's about right. I'm sorry that I got mad at you," she turned to Alez, "and I'm sorry Alez, for yelling at you too. You really didn't deserve that. I just both you guys understand that I have my ups and downs just like everypony else, and this was just one of my low points...that I'll deny ever happened," she finished, smiling.

"Yeah, and I'll deny that I ever did that awesome magic that put you inside a yellow bubble."

"And I'd like to say sorry for everything," Lightning Dust chimed in. Everypony stopped laughing. "I...well, most of this is my fault, and I just hope that we can still be friends, just like we were before...before I messed up."

"Sure thing, kid! You and me...we'll go big!"

"Rainbow," Alez cut in, "you really can't call her 'kid' when I'm around!"

"She's only - what - two years older than you?"

Alez had a flashback to their conversation before Rainbow Dash came knocking, and the answer he was about to give Lightning Dust about how he kinda liked - no - really liked her. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, thanks, Dash. I knew you guys could sort things out. "

They both looked at Alez, and Lightning Dust said, "you make it sound like me and Rainbow Dash took care of everything ourselves. You're forgetting yourself, Alez! We would still be at odds if you hadn't entered my life!"

"And I honestly didn't think I would ever forgive Lightning Dust, but I guess I just needed a second opinion, from somepony that really cares," said Rainbow Dash.

Alez smiled. "I feel the same way about you guys. I'm so used to being rejected, I just take it for -"

"- yeah, me too. Anyway, you two can continue talking, I'll be heading off. And you ever need anything, house two, cloud nine, cloudsdale, okay!"

"Sure thing," Lightning Dust responded, waving bye to Rainbow Dash. The door closed, and locked. Alez turned to Lightning Dust, "She's still not my favorite mare, but I suppose she's okay."

"I suppose I'll just have to get used to her too."

"So, about earlier, um...the conversation we were having..."

Lightning Dust sat up, and locked eyes with Alez, "you know, I'm not going to get over this easily. It helped a lot to apologize to Rainbow Dash...and to have you here to help me...but the co-captain of the Wonderbolts, that took Rainbow's complaint and literally kicked me out of the academy, what's her name? Spitfire? Anyway, she's still just as mad as Rainbow Dash was."

The rain continued to pound on the roof, making quite a loud roar. As a side-thought, Alez hoped Rainbow Dash would make it home safe in the storm. After all, she had to fly the whole way. Alez looked out the window at the poring rain, and watched it fall in front of a streetlamp's light. "So I'm guessing you want me to stay."

"Yes. That's what I want, Alez. I think we're similar in more ways than you realize. I think we would make a pretty good team, you and I."

"I can deal with Spitfire. She's not so bad. And, Lightning Dust, I think I know why you want me to stay here with you. Go on, tell me!"

Lightning Dust sighed. "Well...if I must...you're a really handsome colt, I love how modest and talented you are, and...I think I really like you."

For the first time, Alez didn't blush when somepony else told him he was handsome, or modest, or talented, even. Alez leaned in close to her and whispered into her ear, "we'll then, I'll stay here as long as you need me!" She laughed and pushed him away. "You can start by convincing Spitfire that I'm not out to get revenge on her, okay? And by the way, you never told me your actual name."

Alez's face darkened. "That's one matter that will take much time to discuss."

"You're going to be here for a while now, why don't you just tell me! You can trust me!"

"I've only told two ponies my real name. One was Princess Celestia, the other was Twilight Sparkle."

"You know Princess Celestia?"

"Another matter which will take time to discuss."

Lightning Dust sat down next to Alez, and grabbed his hoof, "Alez, I can't help but wonder, who are you, really. You say you're just an amateur videographer and DJ, but you say you've met Princess Celestia, you've only told two ponies your real name, and you keep saying how long it would take to discuss things!"

He squeezed her hoof, "Lightning, tempt not a desperate colt!"

He leaned back into the sofa, and Lightning Dust put her head down on his lap, just as she had done before, and closed her eyes.





The rain had stopped, and the cold night air crept in. The sound of hooves echoed on the pavement as a shop owner came home late from work. He looked up at the only lit-up window in Ponyville, that of Lightning Dust. Judging by what he'd read in the paper, he guessed she was up drinking, or cursing her bad decisions. But it was only a second-thought, and he looked back down to the cold, wet road, sighed, and continued on his way home.





 ~ Le end of part 1 ~