THIS VERSION IS EXTREMELY OLD!

NEW VERSION WILL BE COMPLETELY REWRITTEN ONCE POLLY HAS LESS SCHOOLWORK :(

You are walking through a lush, green forest. Even though it is thick, it seems old and dead. The trees seem to whisper to you. Suddenly, you stumble upon a cave. It is small but seems looks icy cold. Shivering, you go forwards. You walk into the damp, dark cave. It is cold and completely silent. Echoes from long ago reverberate back towards you. Every step echoes loudly. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, you catch sight of a glint of red light further in the cave. As you walk, the air gets colder, it is harder to breathe. The red glint suddenly goes out. You stop, not being able to see anything. A shadow, even darker than the cave, emerges, and stands before you. You realise that the red glint you saw are it's eyes. It stands before you, meacingly, then turns around and walks further into the cave. Silently, you follow it.
Who are you? You hear a snarl which echoes in your mind. It must be the shape in front of you. You walk closer, curious but afraid of what is ahead of you. It turns around and bares its teeth. They are not like what you would expect. They are lenghthened and sharp fangs. Her shape looks like that of a horse, but with dragonlike attributes. The row of spikes running down her back glint.

"My name is Lightning. But it is of no matter. I don't know why you have come here, but as you have been one of the very few who has come this deep into the forest, you must be at least a bit stronger than most. I sense you can be vaguely trusted... for now..."

You can't help noticing the bright purple gem at the base of her horn. Her eyes seem to glow in the dim light. Her sharp hooves make nearly no sound on the cave floor. The long, serrated horn on her forehead glints, and her nostrils are flared. Her ribs are visible and there are many scars all over her body. Although she is thin, she is powerfully built and you assume she has taken part in many battles. You walk faster, trying to catch up with her. She turns quickly and snarls.
"Do not come too close human. I do not trust your kind. You want to know about my past? I might as well tell you."
You stare, wondering if, how did she....
"Yes, I can read your mind. Do not question me. You want to know about my past, so here it is."

"It all started when I was a foal. I was born into an ordinary herd. I grew up with the other colts and fillies, and I had always been different. My parents had not been ordinary. My father had been an outcast, who had mainly dragon bloodlines. My mother was an ordinary member of the herd who had been killed by humans. The others called me names, and said I was a runt. I was mistreated, and left skinny and weak, while the others grew healthy and strong. Whenever we reached a new place, I was thrust aside, only allowed ot eat when the rest of the herd had eaten their fill. My heart filled with hatred every day for them. I fought to survive until one day, they left without me, leaving me to die in a forest clearing. I was attacked by a wild animal and was injured badly."

"That night, I was sleeping in a small crevice in a cliff. Some large humans with dogs captured me and put me in a cage. They were even riding on others of my kind. I cried out to them, and they ignored me. I was weak from lack of food and did not have the strength to escape. There was almost no hope that I would live, but the hatred in my heart kept me alive. The humans treated me like a workhorse, thinking that I would have more endurance because I had been born in the wild. They put a sharp bit in my mouth and chained my wings to my body with heavy metal chains. When I worked too slow, they whipped me. When I wasn't doing the right thing, they whipped me. I had no choice but to do what they wanted. After about three months, I had regained some of my strength and the wound from the wild animal had healed. I still had whip marks all over my body, and they healed as scars."

"One night, the humans forgot to lock my cage door. I escaped and cut the chains binding my wings to my body with a sharp stone. I spread my wings, which were very scrawny from not being used, and flew with all my strength up to a cliff. It was still very near the human place. Suddenly, I heard the barking of the humans dogs. I looked below to see them shouting and running after me. I galloped as fast as I could, but they were catching up. I was still very small. I looked around and saw an enourmous tree. It stretched high into the night sky. It's thick roots came partially out of the ground. I scrambled behind them. The humans were closing in. I saw an opening in the tree's trunk, just big enough for me to fit into. I pushed inside. I was shocked to see that inside the tree, there was a sparkling purple jewel. It glistened even though there was no light. I went up to it, thinking that it might be able to help. I touched my muzzle to it and I felt a burning at the base of my horn. The pain was terrible, and I felt like I would die from it. All of a sudden, the pain faded away. Then I heard a voice in my head.
Never... Never let it happen to you like it did me... Remember...
Then I could hear nothing more. I felt a strange feeling. I felt power flowing through me. I had never felt this kind of power in my life. I stepped out of the hole in the tree. There was a purple glint at the base of my horn. It looked exactly like the jewel. I felt like unleashing my rage on the humans, killing them, enslaving them. I reared and blasted a beam of light from my horn. My body had been taken over by the hateful spirit inside the jewel. It took control of me and slaughtered the humans and dogs. I was fightning it inside my mind, trying to take over my own body again."

"I flew through the air, twisting around as if in pain, fighting the thing in my mind. I overcame it and saw through my own eyes once more. I landed nearby on a ledge of rock."

Her breath comes out harshly, and pale smoke comes out when she breathes. You can tell her anger by looking at her eyes. They are darker, and seem to be full of hatred.

"From then on I realised that I should never trust, and never love. Because when I did, I was left to die. I figured out how to survive, how to fight by myself. I trained against weaklings in the forest, and my powers grew. Soon I was unstoppable, to anything that walked in my path. I forgot about what my life had been like before, as the past always dragged me back to where I had started. "

"I had never had any "friends" so to speak. I stayed in the shadows, unseen and unheard; I did not want to be found by anyone, especially not humans or others from my "herd"."

The word "herd" is said bitterly, and she stamps her foot on the ground angrily.

"I did not know what to do. I had no purpose. I killed small prey in the forest, and drank occasionally from the rivers and springs. All the time I was fighting the spirit inside the jewel. Sometimes when I was not concentrating, it would take over my body. Eventually, I became stronger and stronger, and it would never take over. It's powers had merged with my own, giving me even more strength. Now, the only times it takes over are when I am unconcious or extremely weak."

"Revenge will be mine one day, and those who treated me badly when I was young will pay for what they did."
You open your mouth, about to speak, but she cuts in.

"How to get out of this forest? I will help you to the edge, where the foliage is less thick."
She walks forward. Follow me. You hear the same disembodied voice as before. She looks back at you then keeps walking. You struggle to keep up and she stops.

MORE COMING SOON