Lightning Strike x Octavia Melody

Chapter One

Lightning sighed deeply, dragging himself forward, step by step. His cottage was only a little farther away... He could make it. But could he really? Spitfire had been so hard on him that day during flying practice. He was so exhausted and sore, he could barely move. Finally, he could go no farther. He flopped forward snout-first onto the ground. Pebbles dug into his fur, eyes, nose, and mouth. A thick layer of dust rose from the ground, also getting into his orifices. He barely noticed, though; he was in so much pain already.

"Oc-Octavia," Lightning spat through gritted teeth. He needed to contact Octavia, and get her to help him. But how? She was still a good five-minute trot away. And Lightning couldn't see anypony else around.

But then, there was somepony. At least, Lightning thought it was a pony. A gray and black blur raced towards him. As it got closer, Lightning realized it was Octavia.

"Lightning!" Octavia cried. Lightning felt her velvety hooves wrap around him. "What happened? Are you okay? I've been worried sick!"

Lightning felt his cheeks get hot. Because he was embarrassed he upset Octavia, but also because he was happy to know that she cared about him so.

"What happened?" Octavia repeated.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Lightning lied. "I'm sorry I worried you, I just..." He turned redder, embarrassed to admit he had become so tired he couldn't walk.

Octavia's eyes searched his. It was like she could read his mind. "Spitfire," she declared. "I always thought she was being extra hard on you, every day when you come home with your eyes half-open! Why didn't you tell me, Lightning?"

Lightning sighed. "Octavia, it's really nothing. I'm just a little tired, is all."

"'Just a little tired'? Lightning, you're laying on the ground right now."

Lightning couldn't argue with that. "Well, maybe a lot tired," he murmured.

"Oh, Lightning," Octavia sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" She peered down into Lightning's blue eyes. And Lightning gasped as he saw a beautiful twinkle in her eyes that looked like more than worry for her friend.

"Lightning, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" The twinkle vanished as soon as it had appeared, and Octavia was all on his case about the gasp.

"I'm fine, Octi, really. Let's just go home."

Octavia nudged Lightning's side with her cheek, and he shakily stood up. He wrapped his wing around her, and she slowly trotted forward, Lightning by her side.

* * *

Lightning winced as Octavia pressed a cotton ball dipped in antibacterial spray against his fur.

"Sorry," she managed to say through her teeth. "It's hard to maneuver things with your mouth."

Despite his pain, Lightning chuckled. "True that," he agreed. Then he grimaced as Octavia rubbed the cotton ball across his wounds.

"How bad is it?" Octavia asked.

"It's... fine," Lightning whispered, forcing a smile.

"Look, Lightning, if it hurts, tell me. You don't have to be all tough-guy if you're hurt."

Lightning couldn't mask the pain he felt when Octavia reached a small gash on his hoof the pebbles had made. He groaned.

Octavia grinned in victory. "Knew it," she laughed.

Lightning moaned.

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm almost done."

After a few more swipes, Octavia said, "Finished!"

Lightning sighed with relief.

Octavia reached over and grabbed some bandages. Again with her mouth, she swathed his hooves and wings until they were layered with bandages.

"Aww, Octi, you didn't tell me you were gonna make me into a mummy!" Lightning complained. "I have flying practice tomorrow! How am I supposed to fly with this?" He raised his wing, and it drooped from the weight of the bandages, proving his point.

"I just want to make sure you don't re-open your wounds later today. The bandages will help them heal faster, and you can take them off tomorrow morning and you'll be fit as a fiddle."

"Okay, fine," Lightning said. He got up and shook his head, his blue and black mane flying out of his eyes. When his mane was out of the way, he could see properly, and he saw that the two wristbands on his front hooves were brown from the dirt. "Aww, man!" he cried.

"Lightning? Is there a problem?" Octavia called, poking her head out from the kitchen.

"My wristbands are dirty!"

Octavia trotted over to Lightning and examined his accessories. "Here, let me clean them," she insisted, attempting to slide the bands off of his hooves.

Lightning pulled his hooves to his chest, dropping his flank onto the ground to better keep his hooves away from Octavia. "N-no," he said quietly.

"What?" Octavia asked, looking hurt.

Lightning turned red. "You do so much for me every day, Octi; I don't want you to have to do extra work," he explained. "I can wash my wristbands myself. You probably have more important things to do than look after me."

Octavia laughed, making Lightning's eyes widen.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, his ears flattening against the back of his head.

"First off, the only other thing I would be doing right now would be practicing my cello. And second, I'm not trying to treat you like a foal. I'm sorry if I made you feel like that. I just care about you, Lightning. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, and I don't want anything important to you to get hurt, either."

Lighting's face had been red before, but it flushed even brighter at Octavia's words. "Wow," he finally mumbled.

Octavia took his wristbands off, and he didn't object then. "I'll clean these up for you," she said. "Tomorrow morning, I'll take your bandages off with you and give these back." Then she trotted off.

Lightning sat there, speechless. He said he didn't want Octavia to do extra work for him, but deep down, he liked it when she helped him. She was an amazing mare, he thought. He liked her... a lot. He hoped she felt the same. But he wouldn't tell her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.