The Raging Thunder Act-1

Chapters

Hope
Leaving The Nest
Aches and Angers
The Storm
Lost Hopes
A Light In The Storm
Savior of His Sorrow
Dark Beginnings
A Confusing Encounter (Distant Memories)

Hope

Chapter 2

The sounds of the forest soothed Thunder’s ears as he laid in a patch of sun, perforating the dark green canopy above. A good rest was pleasant after a long day, running about fetching different plants and herbs to be used as ingredients in his guardian’s concoctions. She made all sorts of things, from ailment healing brews to average stews. As you can imagine, someone who spends a lot of time over a cauldron requires a lot of different things to put in it, and that job isn’t made any easier when you live out in the middle of a forest. So his days usually ended up in a routine of scouring the forest floor for a list of many different plants. It wasn’t like it was always just a walk through the woods to gather these things either. It was tiring work actually, as he was often times forced to go quite long distances to gather ingredients. It was nice when he had some time to himself to simply relax, and he really knew the value of a decent nap since he hardly got the chance. This day was a little bit more special though, because his guardian decided to go out on her own today, so he was given some extra time to himself. After he finished his short nap, he got himself up and walked over to a nearby tree, a large oak that went far above the forest canopy, with many branches, mangled and broken from age, that hung down from above. Putting his front hooves up against the side of the tree, he gave three taps and then whistled.

“You can come on now, I’m not working no more, she’s gone out today.” He spoke up to the tree. Then out of a hole in the tree came the head of a small squirrel, poking itself out to see it’s pony friend on the ground below. It leaped out on the branch and scurried its way down to him, hopping onto his back, only to do a funny scuttle as it fought it’s way up his mane to sit on top of his head.

“Haha! You’re silly Razzle, you always sit on my head.” The young colt chuckled as he reached up to pet the small squirrel,and then walked off down a little path in the woods, having a chat with his furry friend.

The small pony talked and talked as he walked with his small friend, telling him about all the things that had happened in his life recently. The squirrel liked to listen to him, he would lay on his head and make little head nodding motions, showing understanding of what was being said, whether he understood it or not. Razzle was a funny sort of squirrel, not quite like all the others, he was never as cautious or timid as other squirrels. See, Thunder found him when he was very tiny, all alone with no family, so he raised the little squirrel, and then found him a nice tree to live in. He was Thunder’s best friend, and this is typically what Thunder would do when he had time to himself. He’d come see Razzle and talk to him, who in return gave Thunder someone to share his experiences and emotions with. Razzle might not be much of a talker, but he was always there to listen to Thunder, and he appreciated that greatly.

Thunder walked all the way to a small lake with Razzle, laying down in the grass and staring down into the water. Thunder watched as their reflections rippled in the water, and as lights danced around him from the reflections of the sun, beaming through the gaps in the trees above. Thunder thought to himself for a moment as he laid there, watching himself in the water. Then he looked up at his little friend, poking his head over Thunder’s face.

“Hey Razzle, can I ask you something?” Thunder asked his friend. The squirrel then hopped down from Thunder’s head and sat in front of him, sitting and watching him like some wise pony ready to give advice. “Do you ever feel an empty spot inside you? Like there’s something missing?” At this, Razzle tilted his head and then after a few moments smiled and nodded. “Oh you have? Well, what do you do then?” In reply to this, Razzle held up his paw and then quickly bolted off into the woods. Thunder watched him curiously as he ran off, wondering what he could possibly be doing. He laid there and a few moments later Razzle came bounding back and sat once again in front of Thunder, only this time with puffed out cheeks. Lowering his head, Razzle emptied a bunch of berries and some nuts onto the ground and proceed to hold some up for Thunder. Thunder just stared at him blankly for a few seconds, and then smiled, and unable to control himself burst out in a small fit of laughter. “Bahahahahahaha! Oo-ha-oo-haha that’s just too good!” Razzle flattened his ears and frowned as Thunder laughed, then, after calming himself down, Thunder wiped a tear from his eye and patted his friend on the head. “Oh, thank you for the offer Razzle, but that isn’t really what I meant by ‘empty’.” Razzle then tilted his head and stared at Thunder dumbfounded. “Oh, come on silly, I think I should take you home now, ‘cuz I really need to get home myself. Come on Razzle, hop up.” Thunder lowered his head and Razzle gleefully jumped aboard, clinging to his large pony friend’s mane. “You sure like riding on my head Razzle.”

Later that afternoon, after Thunder had taken Razzle to his tree, he headed back for his home. The walk was short since he didn’t live too far away, and only a small amount of time passed before he was in sight of the large tree-hut of which he lived in. As his home came into view, he began to head for the large wooden front door, grateful to be back after such long day. He hadn’t had a bit of food the entire time, and he was just dying to get a bite to eat. Unfortunately, if his guardian hadn’t returned yet, he may have to wait a while longer as he wasn’t allowed to cook by himself. Then, as he was approaching the front door, it suddenly opened and some one stepped out of it. The one who stepped out, just so happened to be Thunder’s guardian, and although to some she might just look like any average pony, she was actually a zebra. Covering her body were many long black stripes and she had a large sun-looking pattern on both sides of her flank, which appeared to be a sort of tattoo. Her mane was relatively short, starting at the top of her neck and ending just before her forehead, but it went up into a fairly tall, striped mohawk. She also wore a lot of jewelery, which was composed completely of different sized golden rings. A large stack of golden rings encased her neck, exaggerating the length of it, and there were also many rings around her right foreleg as well as one large crescent ring hanging from each ear. All of which shined in the light of the open door, emanating from the fire pit within her house, creating a glow of beauty around her. Looking down at Thunder, she smiled and began to speak.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you!

Come, and you’ll find I made your favorite stew.”
Upon hearing this, Thunder grinned widely and bolted for the door.

“Coming Zecora!” He shouted as he ran, quickly entering his home and heading for the small table near the wall. Zecora then closed the door and followed, as Thunder was already waiting to be served a delicious dinner that he would enjoy with his loving guardian.

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Zecora sat across the room from Thunder, sorting out a few bottles and jars full of various remedies, plants, and odd ingredients, meanwhile watching little Thunder as he ate. She marveled at how much the young colt had grown in the last few years, and although he was still very young, he had grown such a great amount in that time. It really did seem like such a short time since she first found him all alone beneath that tree. The years really did just fly past Zecora, which was probably a sign of her age, but she still had quite a bit of youth in herself.

After a few moments of stray thought, Zecora reminded herself of something important which she intended to tell Thunder about. Once he had finished eating, she went over to him and sat on the opposite side of the small table.

“I do hope you enjoyed your stew.” Zecora began.

“But now I have some splendid news,

Your interests of which I’m sure will amuse.” Licking his dinner from his face, Thunder looked up at Zecora with a big grin, still there from his treat of a meal.

“Really? What kind of news Zecora? I hope it’s that you’ll be making flower stew more often.” This, of course, was the meal that Thunder had just eaten. Flower stew was a special treat Zecora made for him every so often, containing many different edible flowers found within and around the forest, that were mixed together in a very specific fashion to draw out an incredibly sweet flavor, as well as give off an aroma that could be smelled from well over a mile away.

Zecora laughed and leaned over the table to tussle Thunder’s mane as she spoke.

“No no no, you silly fool.

You’re going to be starting school.” Being that Thunder was patting down his mane, he quickly looked up at Zecora and gasped as she said this, and in one large bound he jumped at Zecora from over the table, causing her to tumble backwards and land on her back with a loud “Oof!”

“You mean I’m gunna get to meet new ponies like me?”

“Yes, and make many friends, just wait and see.”

“Oh thank you thank you thank you Zecora!” Thunder exclaimed as he held his forelegs tightly around Zecora’s neck. Zecora lifted the young pony up and set him aside, letting herself up off the floor and back onto her hooves. Fixing her mane and straightening out her rings rather quickly, she then began walking towards the back door to her hut.

“Now now, settle down,

That smile may yet become a frown.” Thunder stopped his cheering for a moment and looked over at her curiously.

“What do you mean Zecora?”

“Well you see, the problem is,

This school is way up in the sky,

And it’ll be hard to get there, if you haven’t learned to fly.”

“Oh.” Was all that Thunder said, as he looked down at his small wings. Living with Zecora, Thunder had learned to travel around mainly by ground, and he never really had the chance to learn how to properly fly. Every now and then he would use them for small things, like to help him jump over large pits or pools, but was never able to keep himself in the air for more than a few seconds. Zecora chuckled at the young Thunder’s sudden change of reaction and began to open the back door.

“Now don’t you worry little one,

Learning to fly will be lots of fun,

And I have a plan that’s just for you,

To prove flying is something you can easily do.” Thunder walked over to her and peeked out the back door, then looked back up at her.

“What are we going to do Zecora?”

“Come little one, follow me,

And very soon, you shall see.” To this, she walked out of the hut, and Thunder followed, closing the door behind him. Outside of the hut, Zecora took Thunder down a small path which went down a slightly thicker area of the forest, but it was not too thick, as small streams of light still shined down through the thick canopy here and there. They walked and walked, going around a few bends and sharp turns, Zecora staying completely silent the entire way as if she wanted it to be some sort of surprise. Then, after a while of walking, they finally came off of the path into another small clearing in the forest. This area also had a lake in it, similar to the one he always went to with Razzle, but this lake was a lot bigger and had way more shallow areas in it as well as a much larger space that gave a clear view of the sky. Zecora took Thunder over to a very large tree that had grown way closer to the edge of the lake than any other tree. It was very tall and had almost no leaves on it, which meant that it was very close to dying. On closer inspection, Thunder observed that something was a little odd about the tree. Jutting directly over the edge of the lake was a very large branch, which caused the entire tree to lean slightly to one side. It was very wide and it even had some leaves growing on it, indicating that it was rather sturdy. This branch was also in particular the one that Zecora was pointing out as Thunder observed it.

“This tree I found is just great,

And with it, your training wont have to wait.

You can use it to learn to fly,

And make your way into the sky,

And if you should so happen to fall,

The lake below, it will surely stall.” Thunder observed this and smiled at his guardian, now understanding the plan behind her actions. So without hesitation he leaped at the tree, and using his hooves to grab onto it, he would flap his wings to help him slowly shimmy his way up until he made it to the branch. Climbing on top, he steadied himself and got ready for a charge.

“Well then what are we waiting for!” He shouted down at Zecora.”I need to start training now if I want to start school and meet new ponies!”

“Well then go! Head for the sky!

I’ll always be here to watch, until I know you can fly!” Zecora shouted back to him. Thunder nodded and turned back to the lake, looking up at the clouds in the sky, he promised himself there that he would learn to fly no matter how hard he had to try. He loved Zecora and the forest where he lived, but he had lived practically his entire life here, and he had never even met some pony like himself. He ran from the trunk of the tree, and in one bound he stretched out his legs and extended his wings with his head held high. So far, life has been pretty good to the young colt, with a loving guardian and a good little friend, but there was still something missing in his life. Even though he had so much, he still felt empty inside, as if there was one final piece he needed, to bring all his fortunes together into one whole. Perhaps school was where he would find that final piece, amongst his own kind. He flapped his wings and he reached out far, as if he was trying to grab at some imaginary force, that would make his young pony life complete.

A loud splash, and a shuffle for the surface of chilly water brought him back to reality. Popping his head out onto the surface, he spewed water out of his mouth, and looked at Zecora laughing at him. It was not spiteful, but warming, and he laughed at himself as well. He would get there some day, but perhaps it would take a little longer than he had hoped for.

End Chapter

Authors note: I hope the story is enjoyable so far. Just keep in mind, I am writing this story gradually and many tragedies start off happy.

Leaving The Nest

Chapter 3

Thunder looked down at his hooves, and watched as the white, wispy cloud flowed between his legs from beneath him. He had always wondered what it would be like, to stand atop a cloud. To walk on top of a cloud was a completely new concept for Thunder. When he was training himself to fly, he recalled the very first time he flew through a cloud. It was soft and warmer inside than the air outside. Though at that time, he never considered to actually try and stand on top of one. He was only focused on flying, and when he achieved that goal, he still trained. He wanted to go faster, to go further, because he just could not get enough of the new sensation. The wind flowing through his wings, his mane held up in the wind. It was an incredible feeling that he could not even fully understand. This feeling inside of him seemed to change him slightly in some way, making him feel just a little bit more complete than before. Even if his emptiness never left, it helped.

It had been well over a year since Thunder first began training himself, preparing himself to start school in a place where he could finally be with his own kind. Now that he was in Cloudsdale, standing atop a cloud, baring a massive city, he knew his life would change. He looked upon the magnificent city, the sun shining off of every wall, every street, every rooftop. Rainbows appearing constantly throughout this entire civilization, built high in the sky. It was a beautiful site to behold, and he knew that somewhere here, there had to be something that would help him feel less empty inside.

Coming out of his trance-like state, Thunder suddenly remembered why he came here in the first place. Zecora told him before he came here, that she had used an “old friend” of hers to help her sight out the city, and so, judging that Thunder were to land near Cloudsdale park, which he had, he would need to follow the directions she gave him to the local academy. It was really a shame the Zecora couldn’t come and watch Thunder enroll, but she told him that only pegasi can stand on top of clouds, so she wouldn’t be capable of coming. He was quick to understand, so he came alone.

Looking around the park, which was really nothing more than a large rainbow fountain and smoothed cloud pathways going all directions, he found the pathway in which Zecora had instructed him to go down and followed it. The walk to the academy was a fairly simple one, but it took a bit longer than it could have as Thunder was so infatuated with the scenery around him that he refused to speed it up by flying, so that he could take in everything around him. It really was a beautiful city, everything was so bright and happy, and every structure seemed to be masterfully constructed. The pegasi really seemed to have a thing for marble pillars in their city, but Thunder still thought they were just as beautiful as everything else. There were even rainbow waterfalls and rivers in the city, which shined so many amazing colors when hit by the sun. Some colors even Thunder had never seen before, and he thought he had seen just about everything in the forest. If that wasn’t enough for him, all of this beauty was only emphasized by the countless number of pegasus ponies that he saw flying and walking by in every single direction.

Eventually Thunder reached the enrollment center to the academy. He gazed upon the building in sheer ahw at just how large it was. Zecora told him the building would be large, but not how large. It towered way above all the other buildings in the main section of the city, and the outside of it was entirely surrounded by immense marble pillars. Entering the building, Thunder came into a large white room. The walls were circular and went way up to the very top of the ceiling. There were some potted plants near the walls which he recognized seeing on the ground below in his past. In the center of the room was a large circular desk with a female pegasi sitting inside. It was a pink pegasi with a long purple mane, and unlike Thunder, she was fully grown. Approaching the pegasi at the desk, he stood up on his hind-legs and placed his front hooves on the desk.

“Uhm, excuse me miss?” Thunder spoke. The pink pegasi seemed somewhat startled in her reaction.

“Huh? Who! What!..” She turned around and looked down at Thunder over a pair of black rimmed glasses. “Oh, I’m sorry. Just a moment please.” The pegasi turned sideways in her seat and quickly put away a book she had been reading. “There then. Now, how can I help you little one?” Thunder quickly cleared his throat and began to speak, obviously shy for one who has never met his own kind before.

“Oh, uh, I’m, here to enroll?” He said to her, stating his presence in more of a question rather than a statement.

“I see, very well then, you must be new here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.” The pink pegasi said as she reached below the desk and pulled out a clipboard and pen.

“Uhm, no, I’m, not from around here.”

“Ah, I see, well that shouldn’t be a problem. Now, you should know that before we enroll any new students here, they are required to take a speed test. We’re the best school here in Cloudsdale, and we want to make sure our students have some potential.”

“Oh..I didn’t hear about that.” Thunder replied solemnly.

“Don’t worry about it hun, it really isn’t all that hard. You only got to meet five wing power to pass.”

“Oh okay..wait, wha-?”

“Anyways, before you can take the test though, I’ll need to ask you some questions. That alright with you?”

“Uh, I guess.”

“Good then, now what’s your name?”

“I’m Thunder Bolt.”

“Oh my, quite the name you got there, I sure hope it’s a sign of what’s to come.” She said as she winked at him. “Now, where do you live, and who are your parents?”

“Oh...I, uh...” Thunder thought about this question for a moment, as he couldn’t tell her that he lived with a Zebra out in the middle of the forest, so he said the best thing he could come up with. “I don’t have any parents ma’am, I-”

“Whaa? No parents? Oh my, that is just dreadful dear, I am so sorry. You should of just said you’re an orphan. Very well then, I wont need to ask you anything else, you just come in here tomorrow morning and I can definitely promise you a spot in the enrollment test.” Thunder looked at her blankly for a moment and then smiled wide, jumping up and giving a little cheer.

“Oh thank you thank you miss!- uhm...” The female pegasi giggled at Thunder.

“You can call me Daisy.”

“Okay. Thank you Miss Daisy!”

“Don’t mention it hun. It’s actually a good thing you came in today, the testing is tomorrow and that is usually when I get a huge rush of pegasi coming to enroll. It’s always refreshing to have some pony come in early.” She smiled at Thunder and they both shared a small chuckle.

After Thunder said a goodbye to the pegasi Daisy, he left the enrollment center and headed out to explore the city a bit. It was such a gorgeous place that he just had to see more of it. So he decided to fly up into the sky above the city and get a better look at it from that point of view. It was truly a magnificent place, so much higher than all of the clouds in the sky, meaning that the city’s sky was always crystal clear. He flew around for a long time admiring the beauty of the city, until he decided to set down next to the edge of a waterfall, way up at the top of the city. He sat there and watched as all the beautiful colors spilled out of the cloud and spread out into the sky. It was such a magnificent place.

It was during his trance in this serene beauty that Thunder was suddenly interrupted by something that caught his eye. He looked over across the river and on the other side, he saw a yellow pegasus, much younger than the one he previously met, this one was about his age. Thunder walked along the side of the river a little bit, trying to get a better look at this mysterious pony. He couldn’t see her face because it was covered by her long pink mane. “What is she doing here all alone?” Thunder thought to himself. Walking away from her down the river a bit, he flew over to the other side and then proceeded to walk back towards her, trying to get a closer look. That was when he could hear her voice, and he realized that she was talking to someone. This mysterious pony was actually talking to a bird. Some pony else with a little animal friend like him? Thunder had no idea he’d find someone with a similarity to him like that. He got a little closer to her, and although he still couldn’t make out what she was saying, he could still tell that she had a beautiful voice. It was so soft and smooth, like a thin veil of silk slipping through his mind. Finally mustering up some courage, he decided that he would go and say hello to her.

Thunder slowly approached the strange pegasus, her back turned to him, until he was within a hooves reach. Reaching over to her and softly tapping her on the shoulder, he spoke.

“Uhm, excuse me, I-”

“EEEK!!!” The strange pony was startled by the sudden tap on her shoulder and without looking back, bolted off out of sight. Thunder was left there with his mouth hanging open, wondering what in Equestria just happened.

“Oh Thunder, you’re such a dunce.” He said to himself, slumping away, back towards the main city. The sun was starting to go down, so he decided he would head home and come back tomorrow. He wanted to have plenty of rest to be ready for the test.

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That night, Zecora put together a large meal for Thunder, of flower stew and a special drink she made from forest fruits. She even made Thunder a carrot roast with some wild carrots she had found in the forest. Zecora never really made meals like this for Thunder, but this was a really important time for him, and she wanted to do something very special before he left for school. See, when a pegasus goes to Cloudsdale for school, it is generally a given that while they are there schooling, they live in Cloudsdale and are taken care of by the school, similar to a boarding school. Since it was very likely that this was the last time Thunder would be living with Zecora, she wanted this last night to be a memorable one.

It was a very special night in fact. Smelling the food before Thunder was even near Zecora’s house, he rushed home and flew right through the door. He was met with a warm smile and greeting from his loving guardian, and they both sat down to eat. They spent the rest of that evening talking to each other, and Thunder expressed to her just how much he would miss her. At first, he had worries that night about the entrance test he would have to take, but he had trained for so long, and Zecora was confident in him. His worries were quickly set aside by just a few comforting words from his guardian.

“Don’t you worry, my little pegasi,

I have seen just how fast you can fly.

And when your schooling is done, you wont ever be alone,

I’ll always be here, waiting in your childhood home.” Zecora really had a way with words when she spoke to Thunder. Sometimes he wondered if she could even read his mind, but regardless, knowing that he would always have some pony there for him was just the thing he needed in order to cease his worries, and let him fall peacefully asleep that night.

The following day, Thunder awoke early, and in his hurry to rush to Cloudsdale for his entrance test, he left his home without saying goodbye to Zecora. She didn’t mind it though, because just knowing that he was happy was the only goodbye Zecora needed. She woke when she heard Thunder rushing around to grab a few things before flying out the door. Then she walked outside and looked up into the sky, watching as her little one flew off to a new life.

At Cloudsdale flight academy, the sun was high and the enrollment center was filled with the sounds of noisy young pegasi all rushing to enroll at the last moment. As Thunder set down by the door, he was met by a long line of pegasi reaching way outside, but luckily he didn’t have to wait there, as he had already signed up the previous day.

He walked inside and approached the counter, where he was then greeted by Daisy.

“Well hello there Thunder! Nice to see you today, head on through that door on the right. You’ve already registered so you don’t need to wait out here. Just go on in and you’ll be met with an instructor.” Thunder nodded to her and made his way through the crowd into the door. It sure was noisy here, not nearly like the forest where he grew up. It was a tad bothersome but he decided that he would just have to get used to it.

Heading through the doors, he found himself inside another white room. This one was a lot shorter than the previous room, with a much lower ceiling and it only had one other door in it, a large door which appeared to go outside. Walking into the room he observed the other ponies that were in there as well. All of the pegasi in there were similar to him in that they were short and looked about as young as him. None of them really stood out in particular, except for this one pegasus who had several other ponies talking to her at one time. She was blue, and her mane was actually rainbow colored. ‘Huh, that’s a new one’ Thunder thought to himself as he observed the strange pony. She also looked a lot more confident than many of the other ponies in here.

Just then, as he was looking around, he noticed some pony. Way in the back of the room, huddling close to a wall was that yellow pony that he ran into the previous day. ‘Well that’s a coincidence’ Thunder thought, ‘maybe I can introduce myself this time.’ So Thunder started to walk over to her, but had his path abruptly blocked by a very large, gray, male pegasus.

“Well hello there son! You must be one of the new enrollees. Here, have a number!” The large pony then slapped a piece of paper onto Thunder’s flank, with a great big number thirteen on it. “There you go, now yer ready to test! Good luck! Oh, and if you pass, you can call me coach!” The strange pony then walked off, leaving Thunder sitting there, speechless once again. Then, looking over to resume what he was previously doing, he realized that the yellow pony had vanished. ‘Oh phooey.’ Thunder said to himself.

It was several hours later when the whistles were blown, and all the enrollees were called out through the big doors to start testing. Outside, Thunder found himself on a huge circular track, which was intended specifically for speed testing. Unlike the previous rooms, this one didn’t have a white floor. The floor in here was actually covered in dirt and grass to emulate the ground on the surface. There was also an incredibly high ceiling completely enclosing the track, but it was completely lit up by the large number sun lights. Finding his way to his spot in line, corresponding to his number, he took a seat on the ground and watched as ponies began testing. The first few pegasi to test all did a good job, passing the test easily. They would step out onto the track and ready themselves, and as soon as they felt they were in a good starting position, they would take off as fast as they could. How it worked was that a few feet in front of the starting point, there was a small machine on the ground that would record the wing power of a pegasus as it flew by, and each pegasus who tested was allowed to circle the course as many times as they wanted, in case they needed a good start to speed up, and when they were finished their best speed was the one that was accepted.

Thunder had a fun time watching the pegasi all go up and circle around the track, and then they called number seven, and the pony that went up was the blue one that he saw from earlier. She had a very intense look on her face as she readied herself for flight. It was dead quiet for a few moments, and then all of a sudden she took off in a huge fury of feathers, and she ended up recording faster than any of the previous pegasi Thunder had seen. She had actually recorded a 7.5! To Thunder, who had no idea what one wing power even was, this was astounding because all the previous pegasi had only recorded at just slightly over five. A few of the other pegasi gave a cheer for her and she strutted off proudly, then a couple more pegasi went up, and at number ten, the one who went up onto the course was the yellow pony he had seen before. She walked very slowly out onto the field, her head down and her tail very low to the ground. Looking over to the coach next to the track, it looked like she was starting to say something to him. Thunder scooted up a little and held his ear out, trying to see if he could hear what she was saying.

“Uhm...uh, mister coach, sir..I don’t know if-” She stuttered before being cut off.

“Not now little missy! Just get going with the test! I have a lot of pegasi to run today and I don’t have time to stop!”

“But..that’s the thing, sir...I don’t think-”

“Oh will you just get going!” He then nudged her around to face down the track, but she just stood there nervously and shivered for a few seconds. The coach then, losing his patience, lifted up his whistle and blew into it forcefully.

“EEEK!!” Frightened by the loud noise of the whistle, the small yellow pegasus took off at a surprising fast speed down the course, going as fast as she could to flee from whatever imaginary threat frightened her. Though she didn’t make a lap around the course because out of her fright, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and slammed face first into a wall. So, the coach went ahead and read off her initial speed.

“Well, would you look at that! Five n’ a half! Alright, you pass. NEXT!” Thunder lifted his hooves and gave a small clap for the yellow pony, but was ceased by the gaze from some of the ponies behind him.

It was only two more numbers he had to wait, and then finally he was called up to the course.

“Thirteen!!” The coach called, making Thunder’s heart jump up in his chest. This was it, this was the moment for Thunder that would determine where his life would go. Walking out onto the course, he looked over at the coach, then back down the course to see the yellow pony still there, getting up and steadying herself from a daze after slamming into the wall. Bending his front legs and pushing his body forward with his back legs, he spread his wings wide and readied himself. Thunder filled every ounce of himself with determination, that he would pass this test and make Zecora proud of him. Starting to slowly flap his wings, gradually picking up speed until his fore legs could barely hold him back, he pushed off with his back legs and shot forward down the track like a careening rocket. He bolted away in a blur, lifting the wind and sending the coach tumbling backwards. Almost immediately after he shot by the yellow pegasus just as she had steadied herself, knocking her off her feet and back down onto the ground. He turned and looped around the track, making one lap, then two. Three. Four. Five. The wind in the arena picked up and all the other enrollees had to steady themselves each time he passed. Thunder was going at such a fast pace that the coach was trying to stop him, which was a good thing because Thunder couldn’t stop himself. He was scared to stop, the small pony full of so much determination forced himself to fly faster and faster, scared of the possibility that he may fail, and let down the only one who had ever loved him.

Thunder saw something in his path, and unable to stop, he crashed. There was a gray blur, he felt something soft. Then once again, his life had lead him into darkness, his eyes shut, with only sound and touch to tell him the story.

“Twenty! I can’t believe it!” Some pony said.

End Chapter

Aches and Angers

Chapter 5

The day was young and the sun had just peaked over the cloudy surface of Cloudsdale, giving the small city a calm, misty appearance. Birds flew freely above the shining roof tops of the lower town, flying in synchronized twirling dances through air, and singing their morning songs. One bird in particular, decided it would split away from the rest, and flew off in a different direction, heading a bit higher up into the city. It flew down between the buildings and swerved left and right, peeking into the windows of the waking city. Pegasi every where were just waking up and about to get ready for their long day of flying and working. As the bird made its way through the buildings, it found itself flying past the academy. It swung around the building in a wide circle, looking through each separate window, seeing all the academy students that were now just waking up as well. Until finally the little bird found what it was looking for. The little bird fluttered its wings and steadied itself, setting down on the soft sill of a window, which lead into the board room of its favorite pegasus friend.

The sun shined brightly through the window, beaming down across Thunder’s face causing him to twitch. He squinted his face and grumbled, turning his back to the window and wedging himself beneath the blanket of cloud of which his bed was made of. Then Thunder heard a sound coming from behind him. He turned over and slowly opened his eyes, blinking them a couple times and squinting in the bright morning sun. For a moment, he only saw a blur, until his eyes adjusted, allowing him to see the small red bird, hopping up and down in the window and chirping happily at him. He smiled and sat up in bed, yawning and rubbing the grogginess out of his eyes with his hooves.

“Haaaooh-” Was the sound Thunder made, followed by an abrupt and quick clearing of his throat. “Oh hey there Kip, how y’ doin’?” The bird chirped cheerfully in response to this and fluttered into Thunder’s room, setting down on top of his head and wiggling his talons in Thunder’s thick and long black mane. He just chuckled and slowly got out of his bed, standing up, then giving Kip a couple soft, short pats on the top of his head. “You sure are a silly one Kip.” Thunder said to the bird, before appearing lost in thought for a second or two. “Just like an old friend of mine.” In response, the bird simply chirped some more and puffed out its feathers, right before wiggling its face into Thunder’s mane and laying down in it like a small nest. Thunder sighed and gave a short but warming laugh, then proceeded to leave his dorm room and head out of the academy.

It was very quiet in the hallways, which was fairly typical for this time of the day. Most of the other pegasi were still in their dorm rooms just starting to wake up, and any who were out and about had gotten up much earlier and went to the training courses. Thunder never really did like going to the training courses outside of class. He always found class time was training enough, and besides, he didn’t like to over exert himself. So after he woke up, he would usually just leave the grounds and head down into the lower town. There wasn’t much to do, but over the several years he had been attending there, he managed to make friends with a couple of the older townsfolk.

Thunder walked down the main path, heading into the part of town that was usually already just starting to bustle with sound this early in the day. He walked with his head more pointed to ground, just focusing mainly on each step in front of him. He never really would stop and stare at the buildings like he once had back when he first came here, a time which now felt like so long ago. Sure something would still catch his eye every now and then, but he knew it all, and he had grown very accustomed to this place. So much so that he had even begun to forget some things about what it was like to live in the forest, but he still missed it as much as he had when he first left.

Thunder, still lost in his thoughts like he always was, looked up at the small bird resting atop his head and smiled. Thunder never really made any friends at the academy he attended, they all stayed away from him just as they always had. In fact, not even Rainbow Dash bugged him anymore, which, admittedly, he did sort of miss a little. After a while of avoiding her incessant challenges of wanting to race, she made friends with some Gryphon that joined the academy and starting hanging with her. Thunder didn’t really like her though, he had seen her in his classes a couple times, and she seemed rather stuck up to him. Regardless, it wasn’t a matter to him. It was at some point after Rainbow stopped bugging him that Thunder just got used to being by himself, and just made friends with the local birds. Kip was his favorite, and unlike any pegasus he knew, Kip made all the times Thunder was alone bearable and made him feel a little less alone.

Coming out of his deep thought, Thunder stopped and looked around, realizing that he had forgotten to watch where he was going. He looked around for a moment and quickly found himself back on the right path. As Thunder walked down the path he turned and went up to a small building, white like any other, but with a very light blue wooden door. He knocked on it a couple times before it clicked open, swinging out and revealing the old pegasus that lived inside. She had a light blue fur coat and a mid-length mane that was a somewhat darker blue, both of which were faded and somewhat grayed with old age.

“Well, hello there Thunner. How’re y’ doin’?” She said to him, smiling widely through her old wrinkled lips.

“Good. How’re you doing Missus Whisp?” Thunder replied with a half-hearted, but still warm smile.

“Oh I’m fine deary, just got done puttin’ a pie in the oven. Ohh, that remine’s me, I have some apple pie left over from the one I got yesterday. Those old gals o’ mine don’t pack it down like they use’ ta. Would you like some for the go Thunner? It’s specially made from an old friend. She’s one a them farm folk from down by Ponyville.”

“Oh, uhm. I appreciate it, but, I just stopped in to see if you needed any help today.”

“Ahhh, he-he, you are a thoughtful one you Thunner. Noo no, I’m quite fine today thank y’ much. You jus’ run along n have fun doing whatever it is you do.” Thunder nodded and said goodbye to the old pegasus, then went off on his way. Mrs. Whisp was one of the old folk that lived around Cloudsdale, and she had always been really nice to Thunder. He met her about a year or so back, while he was taking a nap actually. He had laid down atop a stray cloud that day, which floated its way over Cloudsdale’s lower town. It was relatively quiet in the town that day, so he didn’t have much trouble hearing the ramblings of a particular old pegasus as she was struggling to pick up a bunch of fruit and other oddities she had dropped upon the ground. Not being able to resist an old pegasus in need, he chose to fly down and help her out, then afterwards offered to help her carry her things to her home. It was when they got to her house that Thunder saw how old and run down it was for a Cloudsdale home, and Mrs. Whisp ended up offering to pay him if he’d stop by and help her out around the house. Thunder wasn’t too keen on the idea of taking money from an old pegasus like herself, but she insisted, and outside of the small grants he got from the academy, Thunder did need the bits.

After leaving Mrs. Whisp’s home, Thunder walked out of the lower town and up the hill to the ledge he went to sit at every day. The sun shined so brightly there and Thunder loved the feeling of the warm sun on his back. He sat down and closed his eyes, letting the cool breeze blow through his mane, then he would watch over the edge of the cloud and look upon all the birds flying through the sky. Usually Thunder would come up here just so he could be alone and think, or even just talk to the birds, but, other than Kip, there weren’t any birds around today, and he didn’t have too much on his mind either. So, after awhile of resting and staring out at the land below, Thunder decided he would just head back to the academy. He got up and started heading back, thinking he should tell Kip it was time to go, since he wasn’t supposed to be seen in the academy with small animals. Thunder decided to walk with Kip just a little longer though.

On his way back to the academy, Thunder was looking down the path and noticed Fluttershy a short way ahead walking towards him. Not wanting to startle her, he quickly ducked into a small gap between two buildings to hide himself from view until she passed. Once she had, he poked his head out around the corner of the building and watched her walk up the path away from him. ‘I wonder where she’s going?’ Thunder thought to himself, but he soon dismissed the thought and went back on his way to the academy, having learned a long time ago that it was best to just leave her be. Thunder still thought about her often though, because even though she had been scared of him during all of these past years, he still wished he could get the chance to really meet her. He had overheard other pegasi say a lot of hurtful things about her behind her back over the years, but from everything he had heard, she sounded like a very kind pony to him. Though a lot of other pegasi really didn’t seem to like her, and he would have spoke out for her in the past, but he was just too timid.

“Okay Kip, it’s time to go now.” Thunder said to his friend, as he had just now reached the front of the academy. The little red bird stood up in his mane and chirped at him. “Now now, go on with your other friends silly, I can’t bring you in here with others around, I’ll get in trouble.” The bird then chirped some more, then stretched its wings out and flew off, heading away with another small flock of birds that was flying just overhead. With that taken care of, Thunder walked into the academy, heading past the main entrance counter and down the back hall. As he walked he went past the doors to the academy training course and saw a lot of his classmates out in the field doing lapse and all kinds of exercises. Thunder sighed down at the ground and continued on. ‘That’s right,’ Thunder thought, ‘The graduation event is tomorrow, I almost forgot.’ As it turns out, this is Thunder’s last year at the academy, which is just about to come to a close, and as a graduation tradition, each class is split into groups by average speed and weights, and entered into a final competitive race. How good a pegasus does in the race doesn’t really matter, but every pegasus is required to compete in the race.

Unfortunately for Thunder, he got put into a group with Rainbow Dash. Having made it to his dorm room, Thunder threw himself onto his bed, sprawled out, and let out a large sigh. “Just my luck,” He spoke aloud to himself, “Well it looks like Dash’l be getting that race in the end.” Thunder threw his pillow over his head and grumbled to himself. He had a strong feeling that if he were to race against her, something was bound to go wrong, but it wasn’t like he could refuse. Thunder looked out the window and saw that it was still midday, and not having anything to do, he just laid there on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Thunder could go train, but he didn’t see the point, because it didn’t matter if he won or not, and he used his wings so often to just move around that it seemed to him like straining them in exercise would just tire him out. So Thunder chose to just do what he loved to do most, take a nap.

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Still shining as brightly as ever over Cloudsdale, the sun was now beginning to lower in the sky, being set into its beautifully colorful evening place as it was every day, right on schedule. Birds still flew through the sky and chirped their songs, now glowing with the evening colors of the sky shrouding them, a beautiful cascade of orange, yellow, and red. Thunder had just woken from his nap and took a stroll from the academy out towards the ledge where he went everyday. He loved to look at the evening sky, admiring all the beautiful colors it created, which reminded him greatly of all the colors he used to see in the forest. There were so many different flowers, with all different shades of red and yellow. Thunder was always content to simply sit and stare at beautiful things, it made him feel happy.

With only a short walk spent, Thunder made it to his ledge with ease and laid down on his back, watching the birds and clouds roll by, accenting the colors of the sky. He smiled and thought to himself about the times when he used to do this in the forest, when Zecora and him would go out to a clearing in the evening and just watch the sky. Thunder’s thoughts were shortly interrupted when he heard an odd noise. He sat up and perked his ear out, listening into the distance. It sounded like somebody nearby was crying, but that wasn’t all, he could hear laughter. Thunder lifted himself up and started walking down the path towards a nearby building, just a small way down the hill. It sounded like it was coming from behind there. Thunder was simply curious to see what was happening, and you couldn’t blame him. He never heard crying that often, so when he did, it was probably for a good reason.

Now walking past the building, Thunder hugged close to the wall as he moved, and as he reached the corner, he just barely peaked his head around to see what was going on. It was Fluttershy, and she was crying. Around her was a small group of other pegasi, all of which he had seen at some time or another in the academy. It appeared to Thunder that the others were laughing at Fluttershy, so he just watched for a moment, then one of them spoke.

“Hahahahaha! I can’t believe this one! How’d a cry baby like you even get inta this school? You can’t even fly!” The pegasus in front said.

“Hehe, cry baby.” Chuckled another.

“Ahhw, I’m sorry, did I make the liddle baby sad? I’m soo sorry FlutterCRY!” Said the pegasus in front. Thunder looked a little closer at this point, and recognized the one in front as one of the school jocks, who he believed was named Dumbbell. Thunder hated to see her being bullied like this, but he just didn’t think it was his place to speak out against any pony. So he thought it best to turn back and leave things be, but at he same time, he knew he’d hate himself for doing it. Thunder decided to leave it be, and began walking away, but he couldn’t help but overhear more of what was being said as he was doing so.

“Why don’t you go run n cry tu that mommy uh yurs? I’m sure you just love mommy sooo much, she does every thing for her liddle baby Fluttercry. You’re just a helpless little momma’s girl!” That tore it.

Turning around on the spot, Thunder bolted out from around the building and jumped in the path of the group of pegasi, between them and Fluttershy. He wasn’t completely sure why he did it, but Thunder couldn’t help himself after hearing that last statement. He stood up in front of them, trying to make himself look as bold as he could. Taking a moment for the entire group to notice what had just happened, they eventually all had their eyes on him, their smiles fading from their faces.

“H-hey, you’re that, Thu-” He began, cut off by an angered Thunder.

“You think you’re a real big shot don’t you!” Thunder began, doing his best to sound good while making it up as he went along, as he had never spoken like this to any pony before. “Picking on a pony smaller than you? Does that make you feel tough big guy?” Thunder walked towards the one in front, squinting his eyes and nearly pushing their noses together. “Does it? Dumb. Bell.” Thunder’s eyes were fierce and strong, yet his heart was beating powerfully in his chest, pounding from his nervousness.

“Well, I-” He was cut off again.

“And what’s wrong with loving your mother! Some ponies aren’t even fortunate enough to see theirs every day!” Thunder was breathing heavily now, each breath sending hot blasts of air right into Dumbbell’s face, forcing the pegasus jock to snap his eyes shut against them.

“We-...I...Ohh, f-forget this. Let’s go fellas, I was gettin’ bored anyways.” Dumbbell spoke as he turned around and began walking away, soon followed by the rest of the group, one of them still chuckling. “Shuddup, Score!” Thunder heard Dumbbell shout, giving the pegasus next to him a whack to the head.

When the whole group was out of sight, Thunder eased himself and sighed in relief before turning his head over his shoulder to look at Fluttershy behind him. She was still curled up on the ground, but was just now wiping the tears from her eyes. Had she been watching him? She looked up at him, and Thunder could tell she recognized him. She had stood up slowly and seemed like was about to look at him, but quickly looked down at her front hooves.

“Uhm..I...uh..th-” She didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence. Looking up once more, she saw that Thunder was gone. Mouth slightly agape from the shock, the yellow filly was left searching in circles, confused and alone.

With a slow sigh and a short agitated grunt, Thunder slammed his hoof down on the rooftop of which he was hiding. “You’re so stupid Thunder. Stupid!” He said quietly to himself in a scolding manner, before peaking up over the apex of the roof to watch as Fluttershy walked away. “I’m sorry.”

End Chapter

The Storm

Authors Note: This is a long one! I didn't have time to give it a full and proper proof-read, so I'll do that as soon as I can, and remove this note once I have.

Chapter 6

The rain washed down along the softly sloped sides of the white buildings of Cloudsdale’s lower town that day. Overcasting shadows of the high clouds giving the entire city a more gray and gloomier feel. Not a single bird was flying through the air either, rather, they were hiding away to shelter themselves from the chilling rain. Fewer pegasi flew through the air, and even the streets below the rooftops seemed much more bare. Most of the pegasi were in their homes, shielding themselves from the rain and cozying up with their families. Though with all the widespread comfort, it seemed a bit unfortunate to most, as many pegasi were looking forward to the graduates’ race today, which seemed as though it would have to be postponed.

Not all of the pegasi looked upon these circumstances with such a gloomy outlook though, as there was one that was rather quite content with postponing the race, and lazing back for a day. He was actually enjoying the rain quite frankly. Relaxing on a rooftop, he gazed up at the darkened sky and held his eyes tenderly shut as he felt the cold trickles of water run down his amber face, and through his thick, black mane. It had been quite some time since it had rained over Cloudsdale, and he appreciated the nice cool break from the summer’s heat. Thunder looked down at the streets below him and sighed calmly. He gazed at the empty paths silently for a few moments, then averted his eyes towards Cloudsdale’s high town, where most of his peers had gone for the day.

“I wonder what they’re all doing up there.” A question which Thunder felt silly to ask, even to himself. Of course his classmates were training, there wasn’t anything else they could be doing. If the rain refused to subside, then the race would have to be tomorrow, meaning his classmates would be training, in the event they needed to keep themselves in peak condition for a another day.

Thunder only sighed once more and fell back onto the roof, looking up into the sky. In a time that has seemed so short, he had changed so much from the young determined colt that lived in the forest. With life being as simple as it was here in the city, Thunder became much more passive, preferring to lay back and reserve himself, rather than push himself to exert unneeded strength. He had even begun to forget the events of his first days here. Even that one particular event. That event which carved his image into the minds of all his peers, an event that scared him away from showing his full potential. Laying there in the rain, Thunder began to realize that he’d grown accustomed to turned backs and fearful eyes, and that annoying itch of a pain it caused him inside. He had grown accustomed to being complacent, to the point that it was sort of a part of who he was now. Thunder closed his eyes again and breathed out slowly, the warm air lightly brushing him before lifting off above the cool rain breeze.

“I wonder if Fluttershy is up there with them?” He said aloud to himself, rather than in his mind. He had obtained the habit of speaking to himself, seeing as he was so used to speaking to small birds on his head now.

Thunder sat up again, a thought suddenly entering his mind, a thought which hadn’t caught his attention this entire day until now. He looked up at the rain clouds above him and around him, an expression of curiosity crossing his face.

“Hold on...Rain wasn’t even scheduled today was it?..’n’..would the upper pegasi even schedule rain on a day with this kind of event?” Thunder sat back down and placed his chin on his hoof, trying to think a bit deeper into this for a moment as to come to a conclusion. Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t really his problem and went to lay back down.

As Thunder was doing so, he was abruptly interrupted by a small tremor, shaking the roof beneath him. “GAH!” Thunder jumped in surprise, immediately followed by a blinding light and a loud crack in front of him, sending him tumbling backwards off the side of the rooftop. Catching himself in mid-air, Thunder flew back up onto the roof top, only to be frozen in shock, his eyes going wide as he gazed at the unbelievable sight before him. Some far distance away, was what appeared to be an immense rainbow, spanning for what seemed like miles and expanding further. His eyes could see nothing but the vast array of color that glowed from its trail, creating more colors than he had ever even imagined. Hovering there slack-jawed, his eyes held wide, Thunder came out of this trance-like state a short moment later, looking around as if he had forgotten where he was.

Setting down on the roof where he had been setting, Thunder looked over to where the other source of light he had seen had emanated from, and found a dark scorch mark in the marble tiles. He only stared, unsure what to think, then looked up at the sky, realizing that the rain had stopped, the sun now shining brightly in the sky, and already birds were beginning to take to flight high above him. Thunder heavily sighed once more, seemingly unaffected by the events that had just occurred, and lowered his nose towards his front hooves.

“I was enjoying that..”

Thunder sat on the marble tile, watching as the numbers were gradually placed up on the board, high up on the wall. Looking at all the other classmates around him from his position in the back of the room, Thunder examined each individuals number, then looked back up at the board. He sighed and gave a small inward groan. ‘Why did the rain have to stop?’ Thunder thought to himself. For him, it was bad enough that he had to race, and against Dash, but against them? He looked over at the trio of jocks sitting in an opposite corner of the room, laughing and chuckling about one thing or another. Groups were announced a long while back, but they must have made some last minute readjustments, so Thunder wasn’t expecting to be grouped with them. He wondered if he could figure out what they were laughing about, but chose to never mind it and look away when Dumbbell saw him and gave a dirty look.

Continuing to look around the room, ignoring the noisy announcers calling off numbers, Thunder was trying to see if he could find Fluttershy anywhere in the room. She was nowhere to be found. He wondered if she had backed out of the race, which in all honesty wouldn’t have surprised him, but he didn’t get much time to think about it. All of the numbers had just been listed, and students were now being called out onto the track to begin racing. Thunder looked up at the board and down to his number one last time. ‘Just my luck,’ he thought, ‘I just had to go out with the first group.’ He got up and followed the rest of his race group out onto the track, while the jocks all glared at him from behind.

As Thunder stepped out into the light, he was momentarily blinded by the bright light of the sun, after waiting inside so long. He shielded his eyes with a hoof until they readjusted and then gazed up at the massive crowd filling the stands. The coliseum was certainly packed today, but this was a pretty big event, after all. Immense cheers rung out from the crowd as the participants walked out onto the track, readying themselves up for the race. Many of them were doing some last minute stretches, but not Thunder, he just walked awkwardly out onto the track, finding his place and standing there with a detached expression on his face. Rainbow was the next to find her place, which was right of Thunder. She looked at him and smirked.

“Well waddya know. I get that race after all.” She said to him with a cocky smile on her face, but to no avail as he gave no response, causing her to in turn lightly scowl and turn her head away. The trio of jocks were the next to come up, Dumbbell positioned just to the left of Thunder, followed by the two others.

“This ‘s where I get my pay-back, spahkles.” The jock mumbled at Thunder. ‘Sparkles?’ Thunder thought, ‘now that’s clever.’ He rolled his eyes, failing to hold in one very soft chuckle.

As the final racers in his group got to there places, the referee stepped onto the field. He stood on his hind legs and raised a checkered flag into the air, taking a moment to speak to the crowd around them. Thunder didn’t pay much attention, though, he just wanted to get the race over with and leave. It was actually quite a shock to Thunder how uncomfortable he felt here, as if the years at the academy had driven him to prefer solitude over a crowd. The referee said some things about ‘tradition’ and ‘proud students’ and various bits about life after the academy. Then everything got quiet, the referee, the crowd, even the birds it seemed. This lead to those last heart pounding seconds as the referee called out, ‘On your mark!’ All of the racers lowered their heads and bent their legs, as they opened their wings to the fullest extent, ‘Get set!’ Thunder squinted his eyes, preparing, pushing his back hooves hard into the track. Then last moment seemed like an eternity, heart thrashing and thoughts racing. Then without warning it came, ‘GO!’ The flag was dropped and like a flash of light the entire group was off.

The wind rushed past Thunder at a nearly blinding speed, forcing his and the other racers eyes nearly shut. As he flapped his wings, the blood began to pump through Thunder at incredible speed, driving him into an incredible rush. He came here only to race and then leave, but now he really wanted to try, he was going to win! The wind ripped past Thunder faster and faster as he forced his way up through the places, working his way closer and closer to Rainbow in the lead. As he passed Dumbbell, who was right behind Rainbow, he was shoved to the side, forcing him to fall back slightly. He snarled inwardly and picked up the pace, almost shooting right by Dumbbell and slowly advancing beyond Rainbow. She tried to go faster but could only watch as the young colt slowly gained a head in front of her.

They were down to the last lap by this point and making their way round the first turn of the final lap. It seemed like Thunder was actually going to win, that he was going to triumph. As it seemed so, Thunder was suddenly struck by an odd pain. “Agh!” He clutched at his forehead and closed his eyes in pain for just the moment that it was present, but by the time he had opened them, he found that he had gone off course and was just about to run right into the wall of the coliseum. He gave a short shout of shock, and managed to quickly turn around just in time, actually pushing off of the wall. He caught up just as they were making the final turn and pushed it to his very limit. The air began bend around him, and a dark conic shape was beginning to form around his body. He could no longer hold his eyes open and shut them, now knowing right where he was headed. The air was pushing past him so fast that he began to burn from it, but, strangely, there was something else happening. It appeared as if small sparks, or, more accurately, arcs of electricity were weaving around his body, hopping from one point to another in and out of him, along his body and wings.This was only for a short moment though, as the race was over within seconds of this odd occurrence.

Dust flew high in every direction as the racers pushed down into the dirt to halt themselves at the finish. Thunder was going so fast ,though, that he nearly hit the wall trying to stop. The entire arena grew quiet again, not a single pony making a sound, but a few moments later, this ceased as the entire crowd broke out into a jubilant roar. Not as curious to who one as he was tired, Thunder just collapsed on the ground in a heap, and waited for the final calling.

By the time all the other groups had gone and finished their races, and all the place medals were given out, the sun had begun to lower over the horizon, night slowly making its way into the sky. Thunder walked out of the coliseum and slowly began his trek back to the academy, to sleep away his final night there. Just as he turned off the path leaving the coliseum and down into the lower town, some pony set down behind him.

“Hey Thunder!” He stopped and turned, seeing Rainbow Dash standing there, sporting her shiny new golden medal.

“Oh, hey, what do you want?” Thunder said in response, turning away and slowly resuming his walk, followed by Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, wait up! I was just wondering if, you’re okay?” This made Thunder actually look up at her, curious as to why her of all pegasi would ask him such a question.

“Am I okay? Why?”

“Well. It’s just that you were going so fast in there, I was afraid you’d beat me. Then I saw you grab your head and you flew right off the course. What was that all about?”

“Oh, I, uh. It was nothing. I’m fine.” He picked up his pace a little, hoping she would leave.

“Hold on!” Rainbow jumped out in his path and stopped him from walking. “You didn’t do that on purpose did you?” She asked, giving him a nasty look.

“Wha?-”

“B’cuz I won’t ever forgive you if you did that to me! If I’m going to be the best, I want to be the best fair and square!” Thunder was a little disgruntled by the sudden accusation, but he put his hoof down and stood up straight with a face of indignation, nearly feeling rather offended.

“Now why would I bother doing that? I don’t like competing that much, but if I have to I at least do it fairly!” He replied strongly, pushing his face back towards hers. “Now if you don’t mind, could you step back? You’re a bit close.” Rainbow suddenly blushed and backed out from in front of him, her angered face somewhat fading.

“Well...whatever! Even if. Whatever happened back there didn’t..you’d still end up with less than gold!” Thunder just kept walking, his face down towards his hooves. He didn’t care what she said, because he never really cared about winning. Yet, as he looked down at the small bronze disc dangling from his neck, he did somewhat feel that it might have been nice to at least show that jock up.

Rainbow flew off in a huff only a few seconds after making her last statement. This left Thunder alone once again on his trek back to the academy. He made his way gradually down the pathway, and it wasn’t long before the large white building was in sight. As he approached, he looked up at the sky above him and noticed that the stars were out now. The sky was so clear tonight, and as tired as Thunder was, he just couldn’t help but to stay out a little bit longer just to stargaze. He turned away from the building and went up a different path, which led him to the ledge where he always loved to lay.

Having arrived at the top, Thunder sat down and looked up at the stars. The beautiful twinkling lights reflected in his eyes as he gazed at them, watching how they all seemed to just dance in place throughout the entire sky. He began to wonder if Zecora was watching the sky as well. He missed Zecora so much, having been away from her for so many years. Thunder moved his eyes down towards the ground below Cloudsdale, gazing out accross the dark landscape. He sighed, and looked down at his hooves. Not a single friend did Thunder make in the academy, and at this moment, he was feeling very alone.

Thunder was given a sudden shock then, as he heard an old voice speak up from behind him.

“Hey there Thunner.” The voice said softly, and somewhat slow. He turned around and saw Mrs. Whisp standing there; she was wearing a scarf and a fall coat around her, likely because it was a bit cold for her. She walked over and sat down next to Thunder, looking at him and giving him a warm smile.

“Mrs. Whisp? What are you doing out here?” He asked her, looking a bit confused.

“Ohh, I jus’ wanted ta come see how yer doin’. I saw yer in that race, hooh nelly were you a fast ‘n.”

“Oh.” Thunder replied, looking back down at his hooves. “I’m fine, really Mrs. Wh-”

“Will yer stop that?!” She spoke up. “I known you a long time Thunner, so stoppit with the ‘Mrs.’ jus’ call me granny. Okay?” Thunder looked at her a little shocked as she said this and nodded slowly. “Well okay then. Now. Don’t you be tellin’ me you ain’t got nothin’ wrong you either. I weren’t born yesterday ya know?” Thunder looked up at her face, then dropped his eyes down from her.

“I’m really alright, okay?” His face slowly began to droop down again after saying this, and Granny Whisp just stared intensely at him for a moment, then sighed softly and put a hoof over his shoulders.

“Oh Thunner. Yer such a nice ‘n ya know that? Y’ve helped me such a bundle over the last couple years, ‘n ya don’t ever get angry at nopony. Ya don’t even try ta burden others when yer the one that needs help.” He looked up at her again, a glum expression on his face. “Thunner. Ya gotta know that no matter how tough life gets for ya, you’ll always have some pony there. Just remember this. When yer feeling all alone, just look here.” She then poked a hoof softly at his chest. “‘N y’ll always find some pony.” Thunder’s expression slowly melted into a soft smile, then he abruptly threw his hooves around her, giving her soft, but firm hug.

“Thank you Granny Whisp.” She laughed heartily as he hugged her and then set him down.

“Don’t mention Thunner. Oh! ‘N one more thing ta remember. If yer ever feeling hungry, jus’ stop by ol’ Granny Whisp’s and sh’ll have a nice hot meal for ya! Speakin’ a which, I got me some apple fritters from me ol’ friend down on the apple farm. How ‘bout you stop at my house n we heat us up some hot ones!” Thunder chuckled at this and she got up, grabbing him. “‘N I ain’t takin’ a no! A youngin’ like you’s gotta eat somethin’ nice after a race like that!”

“Alright, alright Granny! You can put me down!” They both laughed as she took her grip off the young colt, letting him walk beside her down to her small Cloudsdale home.

The light of the midnight sky shined brightly off the green canopy of the forest that night. Only the sound of the crickets could be heard through the almost dead silence. Darkness was painted across the face of every tree that could be seen, except for one. This tree was one of the largest in the forest, and was the home to one particular zebra, named Zecora.

A fire burned bright and hot inside the cozy forest home, a cauldron boiling above it. Zecora stood beside it, stirring it with a large wooden stick, while she hummed and sang to herself in her native dialect. She stopped signing for a moment and tasted the brew she was stirring, then she walked over to a large table along the wall to grab a bottle filled with spices of some sort. She walked back over to the cauldron and sprinkled a bit of the bottle’s contents into the mixture. Setting it aside, she stirred it a moment longer then gave it another taste. Smiling and satisfied, she turned and went for some water to halt the fire, but was interrupted by a noise outside her house. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at the door, then turned and made her way outside. Looking around, she called out somewhat softly.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Another noise came from behind her, like the snapping of a branch, causing her to jump and turn around.

“Who is it? I’m not an easy one to scare!” It was silent for just a moment, then Zecora heard a laugh come from behind a tree. It sounded familiar to her.

“Thunder?” She said, but the laughing continued. All of a sudden Zecora heard a loud crack from the sky above her, causing her to look up. Through the holes in the canopy, she could no longer see the usual lights from the night sky, everything had gone black. Zecora looked over at where she heard the laughing, and took a step forward, now feeling unnerved. She was about to speak but was stopped by a large flash of light from the corner of her eyes. Having jumped once more, but this time out of fright, Zecora looked over and saw a large scorch mark on the ground near her home.

“What is this!” She looked over at the laughing and the bushes began to shake violently, followed by another crack of light on the ground. “Stop!” A wind swept up, shaking the trees and blowing back Zecora’s mane. The cracks of light became more frequent, and the laughing became louder, the bushes shaking harder. Zecora backed away towards her door, beginning to cower in fear. Then suddenly her eyes were brought up towards the sky as another crack of light hit, but this time striking her home. She screamed shortly as the top of her tree was blown apart, splinters and chunks of wood flying in all directions, and a hot blaze was left atop her torn home. The trees in front of her parted, and the source of the laughter was revealed. Her eyes tore open in disbelief and she screamed in fear and in pain. “NOO! Hakuna! Hakuna!”

The next morning, Thunder awoke to soft sound of rain pattering against the roof of his academy dorm room. He got up slowly, yawning and rubbing the grogginess from his eyes. A faint, gloomy gray light shined through the window, casting very soft shadows throughout the room. Walking over to the window, Thunder looked out and up at the sky above him, which was, for as far as the eye could see, completely shrouded in a gray blanket of cloud. ‘Weird,’ he thought to himself, ‘I don’t remember rain being scheduled today either.’ Choosing to assume he must have missed the announcement, thunder hopped out the window and flew off to the other side of Cloudsdale, towards his usual ledge.

When he arrived, he sat down and looked up at the clouds once more. They seemed much darker today than they were yesterday, as if they could start to thunder at any moment. The prospect didn’t really bother him though. He laid down and enjoyed the cool pitter-patter of the rain across his back and through his mane. This, he thought, was a nice treat to make up for the rain that ended shortly yesterday. The rain made him feel good, and it began to lull him as he closed his eyes and began to doze. Slowly the sound of the rain faded as he began to fall into a short state of slumber. This was short lived though.

Thunder was shocked back awareness and stood bolt upright, to the sound of a loud crack, which came from the town behind him. After his muscles relaxed from the shock, he wiped the water from around his eyes and yawned.

“Oh come on..can’t I just get a short nap in once in a while?” He groaned aloud as he turned around and looked back at the city where the sound roughly came from. Standing there and turning he head from left to right, he tried to see where the sound came from. Then suddenly the sound came again, but this time Thunder saw right where it was. Lightning shot down from the sky and struck the town, this made Thunder jump in shock again. “That’s. Not good.” He lifted himself into the air and slowly began to glide towards where the lightning had hit, but soon halted himself. Once again lightning hit the town, then a moment later once more. It picked up and several more lightning bolts struck, all hitting in roughly the same area. Thunder hovered in place, fear overtaking him, not understanding what was happening. He set down on a nearby roof and watched for a little longer, until he was sure that the strikes had ended.

Feeling safe, Thunder flew back into the air and towards the location of the strikes, but as he got closer, something began to fill his mind. It was a sense of panic, and horror, but, why? He quickly recognized the area and sped up, horrible thoughts and fears filling the back of his mind, working their way into his thoughts. Finally he arrived, and set down on the ground, staring in agony at the sight in front of him. Standing up, Thunder walked towards the rubble, afraid to look inside, his mind so full that he didn’t even notice the other pegasi standing around, or the gasps and shrieks of fright some of them gave.

He entered the charred remains of the building, working his way around the piles of rubble and ash, now made muddy by the rain. The rain seemed to pour down harder on the small pegasus, his fur completely soaked and matted as he searched desperately. He looked slowly, keeping himself cautious, but soon caution faded from his thoughts as desperation took over, and he began to search more frantically, hoping to Celestia that he wouldn’t find what he was searching for. This wasn’t to be for Thunder, unfortunately.

The search went on for a while longer, until Thunder’s attention was caught by a small bit of color poking out from beneath a pile of rubble, which stood out from the gray and black all around him. He approached it slowly, and immediately recognized the blue color. He began to panic, and dug frantically at the rubble, trying his hardest to pull away the bits of charred wood and muddy ash. He breathed heavily, his small fore legs straining under the stress. Finally he revealed most of what was under the pile, and Thunder sunk down, tears forming in his eyes and meshing with the rain as they began to fall down his face.

“G-Granny...” He began to choke, and fell down on her, wrapping his little hooves around her neck and holding her tight. “This can’t be real...Wake up!” The small pegasus screamed at his friend, trying to shake her with his hooves. “Please! Wake up..” He cried and cried, trying futilely to wake the old pegasus.

After a short time, he sat up and wiped his eyes, hope fading from his mind. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, and the shouts from the crowd of pegasi outside the destroyed home didn’t help him either. He stood up slowly and turned around, now acknowledging the crowd for the first time. They all looked at him with fear in their eyes, and several ran when he turned. He couldn’t understand what it was all about, but wasn’t given much time to think about it when three large pegasi set down in front of him. They were much larger than any pegasi he’d seen living in the town. Their entire bodies were covered in armor, and their fur was so dark that it looked black beneath the clouds. The three looked down at him with accusing faces, and the one in the middle stepped forward, scaring Thunder and causing him to back away.

“Halt! By royal proclamation of Princess Celestia! You are to be seized at once!” Thunder backed away more, confused and scared. He looked down at Granny Whisp, then back up at them, now walking towards him and circling him into a corner. His face began to show the fear building up inside of him, and he screamed out, flying into the sky to flee. Flee. The little pegasus couldn’t handle any of this, it was too much for him. He needed to get away from everything! Images of the forest began to seep into his mind. Images of Zecora and Razzle, and the small home where he lived.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that the three pegasi were coming after him! He sped up, trying to get away from them, strain beginning to enter his tired wings. The pegasi chasing him sped up as well, and were soon gaining on him. Thunder had to get away, he couldn’t let them take him away. He flew faster and harder, pelting himself mercilessly with the rain falling from the sky. He pushed himself hard, trying the hardest he had ever tried to fly as fast as he possibly could. The wind began to shift and warp around his small body, sparks starting to weave their way through his fur. Thunder needed to lose the pegasi who were still chasing him, and as Thunder looked down at the dark landscape below him, he could just make out the tops of trees through his nearly shut eyes. An idea formed in his mind, and the pegasus began to shift his direction, aiming down towards the ground below and using gravity to pull at his speed. A dark cone began to form around him as the wind shifted and warped, quickly engulfing his small body. Sparks arched and flew across him, growing longer and larger with each second, the point of the cone growing longer and thinner. Then finally, the pegasi behind him were halted, and sent flying back as a large explosion of sound hit them like a brick wall. A massive dark trail rippled out through the sky, sending blasts of electricity out in every direction. From the center of the ripple, was left a black path that faded quickly, and was nearly invisible under the storm.

Thunder tried to aim himself as best he could, hardly being able to open his eyes under the stress of his speed. He shot through the canopy of the trees and slowly his path descended towards the ground as he weaved through the brush and trees. Finally he managed to slow down enough that he attempted to make contact with the ground, digging his hooves in as best he could. He was so weak though, that they almost instantly flew out from beneath him, forcing him to face plant several yards of dirt. When he had finally come to a stop, he slowly forced himself up onto his hooves, his legs wobbling beneath him. He looked around, and after a moment or two realized that the area around him seemed familiar. He began to walk off in no particular direction, not entirely sure which way to go.

It seemed like he had been walking through that forest for ages, gradually making his way through all the brush and low branches. He thought that he would pass out from exhaustion, but his spirits were soon lifted when he saw a very small light in the distance.

“Zecora?” He said quietly, slowly picking up the pace with his limp. He shuffled his way towards the light as fast as he could, shouting out the name of beloved guardian. For the first time in a while, he actually began to smile. This wasn’t to be his lucky day. Coming out into the clearing, Thunder stopped stock still and look up in shock at the remains of his guardians home. All that was left was a charred stump, with small cinders smoldering brightly in the holes that were guarded from the rain.

Thunder approached the remains slowly, looking around at the splinters of wood and char, littering the forest around him. He walked into what was once her house and looked around. Everything was completely gone from the place. Her cauldron, her potions and bottles, everything. He didn’t know what to think, but then was struck by a memory. He turned and limped as fast as his little legs could carry him, heading away from the wreck and down what he was sure was the old path he used to walk when he lived here. After a short while he found what he was looking for. It was the old tree that he used to go to ever day. He put his hooves up on it and shouted. “Razzle!” He pounded on the tree as hard as he could, and then tried to flap his wings to get a look inside, but he was too worn out.

Gone. He had finally come home and everything was gone. He turned and began to limp away, not sure of what to do or where to go. He just limped. Thunder went past the remains of his old home and into the forest, moving as fast as he could. Fear began to overtake him once again, the shadows of the forest growing closer and closer, choking out all the light from his eyes. He began to hear things, like distant cries of pain and booming thunder. His little hooves moved faster and faster, as he tried to flee whatever invisible force was chasing him. All the sounds then began to break away into menacing laughter, and Thunder became more afraid. He screamed out at the invisible laughter. “Stop! Leave me alone!” He ran to a tree and huddled down against it, holding his hooves over his ears and screaming out. All of a sudden light began to fade in through his closed eyes and loud booms of sound emanated form all around him. His eyes snapped open and he looked up. Splinters of wood surrounded him once more, and he saw that a large whole had been torn open in the forest canopy. The rain had stopped.

In that moment, Thunder began to realize something, something about himself. He fell over in pain as a burning sensation began to flood up through his body from his flank. It lasted for only a moment, then, once he had gathered himself back together form the pain, he looked down. There was something new there, that he’d never seen there before. “Why?”

Thunder slowly stood back up, and wobbled away, all feelings flooding from his as agonizing weakness filled him. He went through the forest canopy once more, and before his realized it, it had faded away, and light from the night sky beamed down upon him. It was just a little bit further, before Thunder finally collapsed, and his eyes snapped shut. With the only bit of strength left in him, he struggled his eyes open and tried to look at something, anything.

“Flowers....” a small figure then appeared in front of his gaze, and leaned down to sniff him, “..Razzle?” His eyes shut, and he was quickly pulled down into unconsciousness.

Senses were filled with darkness, creating an entire void of emptiness and silence. Gradually ,though, it began to fade, as light slowly seeped in, and senses made their way back, allowing for the sound and feel of a soft breeze, and the rustling of leaves and grass. Thunder’s eyes slowly began to open, and he could begin to make many dark shapes around him. Some pony was speaking.

“..found him...”

“Perhaps...with...parents.” He began to make out some words, but they didn’t make any sense to him. “Oh look! He’s coming to!” Thunder’s eyes opened fully and he blinked his eyes a few times, before slowly looking up to be met with the faces of two pegasi. Wait. One of them was different. It had a horn. “Well hello there. Are you alright you poor thing? I was just talking to my friend here about renovations, then we came across you. You looked dreadfully hurt so we helped you into the shade and cleaned the muck off of you.” Actually it didn’t even have wings. Was it a unicorn?

“I..uhm...hope you don’t mind..” Thunder recognized this voice and looked over, his eyes widening.

“F-Fl..Flu..”

“Ohh! I think he’s trying to speak deary! What is it, hmm?”

“..Flutter..Shy..” The two ponies looked at each other then back to him.

“Oh my. Do you know him?”

“Well...I..” Suddenly Thunder was struck with panic, and quickly scrambled upright, scaring the two ponies and causing them to shriek. Paying them no mind he ran off and vanished into the forest.

“Oh dear...What a peculiar pony. Should we do something?

“Y-you mean...go, after him?

“Well, of course! Although...He did run into the Everfree Forest. Ohh well. I’ll pay it no mind. Besides, I’m late for the spa with my ma. Ta-ta!” The horned pony walked off, leaving Fluttershy standing there alone, unsure of what to do.

“Oh-o...kay.”

End Chapter

Lost Hopes

Authors Note: This chapter has yet to receive a properly thorough proof-read. I'll remove this note once I have done so.

Chapter 7

Everfree forest was filled with the sounds of the many animals that inhabited it. Birds sang and flew above the tree tops, occasionally flying down to the land below the canopy. Many such birds would do so to search for food, just as one in particular which was hopping its way around the large opening of a forest cave. The bird pecked at the ground searching for small insects to return to its nest, until it was disturbed by a sound from the cave. Hopping back from the cave, the small bird then went forward a bit, looking into the cave out of curiosity. A long and loud groaning sound boomed out of the cave, frightening the bird and causing it to flee back into the sky.

“Aaaaoh!” Came the sound once more, as a shape began to appear at the mouth of the cave. Light beaming down through the canopy illuminated the shape, revealing it to be the pegasus Thunder. He walked just outside the cave and stretched himself out far, yawning loudly. As he stood from the stretch, he blinked a few times, readjusting his eyes to the dim, yet brighter lighting outside of the cave. While he stood there looking up at the tree tops, another shape appeared in the opening cave, this one was a bit rounder and much larger than Thunder. Two large eyes reflected the bits of light emanating into the cave, as it began to growl and slowly approach Thunder. He looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes, just before lifting a back leg and giving the approaching shape a firm bop on the nose.

“Oh give it a rest Barnabee.” Thunder said, light now revealing the large bear that had just exited the cave. He sat back and rubbed his nose with a paw, letting out a short whimper.

Thunder just ignored him and walked out from the cave a bit to the large flat area of dirt that he had formed over time from walking on it so much. He looked around for just a second and quickly found the small bowl which was set right in the center of the circular area, gently placed. It contained a mixture of several types of green vegetables and a bit of fruit, and looked to have been put together quite carefully. He sat by the bowl and stared down at it. Eating these things just felt different ever since he found out who had been leaving them two weeks ago. A small growl came from Thunders belly and without further thinking he dug in, finishing off the small meal in a short time.

Once Thunder had finished eating he walked back over to the opening of the cave and sat down at the small pool of water which was placed just next to the cave’s opening. Thunder wetted his hooves in the water and scrubbed his face, then stood up and moved his head over to the very small stream of water which flowed off the top of the hill above the cave. He shifted the water through his mane and soaked it down, his eyes closed lightly as he enjoyed the rinse. He then shook his mane out and wiped it back over his neck. Now standing, Thunder looked down at himself in the puddle of water below him. Thoughts weaved their way through his mind as he looked at himself, now noticing how long his mane had grown over the years. He thought about how long it had been since he first ended up in this place, and about how long it had been since he had heard Fluttershy’s voice, let alone anypony’s. Most of all, he thought about Zecora. It had been so long since he had seen her last, and so long since he had found her old home destroyed. At times it seemed like he would never find her, like there was no hope, but he refused to stop trying. He would keep searching.

“How long has it been now? It feels like I’ve been here forever.” Barnabee walked past Thunder, giving him a funny growl as he headed into the forest to do whatever bears do. “Oh who asked you?” Thunder said back to the bear in an annoyed tone.

Later that afternoon, after Thunder was finished going about his usual business of gathering wild fruits and other plants to keep on hoof in the cave, he headed deeper into the forest, going a bit off of the path he took yesterday to search. He shifted quietly through the forest, weaving around the tall trees and through thick bushes. Thunder had certainly re-accustomed himself to living in the forest through the past few years, and making his way around within it had become relatively simple for him. This was little comfort to him though, as his hopes would still chip away for every day his search failed, but regardless, he never gave up.

“I just know I’ll find her, I know I will.” Thunder would say to himself everyday as he searched, trying desperately to hang on to what he felt was his final hope. He moved restlessly through the forest, going as far as his legs could carry him. Oh how he wished he could fly, but he knew that under such a thick canopy, he’d never find anything from the sky. So he walked through the forest, never leaving the ground in fear that he might miss his long lost guardian Zecora.

Unlike other days when Thunder searched, his mind began to wander this time, as he thought about how every attempt to find her thus far had been unsuccessful. He never found a trace or even a hint as to where she had gone or where she could be now. The thought also crossed his mind that this was the first time he had gone a direction other than into Deep Everfree. He new Zecora liked the solitude, so he naturally thought that was where she would go, but unfortunately, searching there never resulted in any progress at all. There was one thought, though, which perplexed Thunder the most, and that was why he could hear somepony talking. He snapped back to reality and looking down, he realized that he had stumbled across a small path which cut off into the forest. Quickly hiding behind a bush, he poked his head out slightly and saw that there was actually a group of ponies running down the path. Fearing that he might be recognized if he were spotted, Thunder hid himself in the bush until they had passed. He looked down the path which they had just gone down, then back down the way they had came. It seemed unlikely, but being the first odd thing he had ever observed in this forest, Thunder decided he would try trailing behind them to see where they were going. He got up and was about to step out of the bushes, just as another pony suddenly flew pass him by surprise, causing him to stumble and fall backwards into the bush.

“Ouch!” Thunder shouted, before removing the pointy stick from his flank as he got back up on his hooves. He looked down the path again where the crazy flying pegasus had just gone. “That pony looked, familiar somehow.” Thunder thought aloud to himself.

A warm light shined through the trees as Thunder slowly approached the voices of the ponies he had been following. He stayed behind a large tree close to the path and poked his head slowly around it. The first thing he saw was the hut, which was built into a large twisted tree that went high up into the canopy. There was a small wooden door with a mask hung just above it, and several glass bottles were hanging from branches. The familiarity of it all gave Thunder an immense urge to run towards the hut, but he stopped himself from leaving his hiding place as he took notice now of the ponies out front of the hut. They looked a lot stranger than the pegasi from Cloudsdale. One of them was white and had a massive amount of thick matted fur covering its body, leading him to the question of whether it was really a pony or not. There was also a purple unicorn there, but her horn seemed a bit out of whack. It was covered in blue spots and hung from her forehead, wobbling whenever she moved. Thunder couldn’t help but have to muffle a chuckle when he saw this, but then he noticed the pink pony. She had an inflamed tongue which was forced to hang from her mouth, but it was also covered in blue spots. He sat down for a moment and put his chin on his hoof to think. ‘Now why in Equestria would they have blue spots on them?’ He thought to himself, but then as he looked around in thought, he noticed a blue flower growing by itself on the other side of the path. ‘Of course! Poison Joke!’ He thought with a smile as he came to this realization. ‘But why are they out here?’ Standing up, his eyes suddenly widened a bit as he noticed the yellow pony standing a bit further back next to the pink one. ‘Wait. That has to be..’ His thought was cut off when he suddenly heard her begin to sing in a deep earthy voice. Thunder promptly fell flat on his back with his hooves straight in the air, as he tried desperately to muffle the laugh trying to escape him. ‘Poor Fluttershy.’ He thought while calming himself down.

A few moments after Fluttershy was done singing, which Thunder didn’t even understand, the ponies seemed to go in a panic all of a sudden, and without warning a blue flash came down out of the sky and crashed through the front door of the hut, which was followed by the other ponies running in and a large commotion of noise and shouting. Thunder snuck over to the side of the hut and hid beneath a window, trying to listen in to what was going on inside. Everything seemed a bit loud for a moment, but after a while everything quieted down, and Thunder could actually understand what was going on. He listened until he heard a very familiar voice. His heart jumped in his chest and his wings tensed up. It just had to be her. Thunder stood up on his hind legs very slowly and attempted to peak through the window. His heart once again jumping inside him and his eyes going wide. ‘Zecora! It’s Zecora! I’ve found her!’ Was one thing that went through Thunder’s, which was only one thought out of the many that clouded his mind. He wanted to run in so much, so that he could speak to her again, but he had to wait, he couldn’t risk being recognized by the other ponies.

Time passed by slowly for Thunder, as he peered through the window every couple minutes, watching as the ponies spoke with Zecora. This eventually died down a bit as the ponies began to help Zecora clean up the mess they made out of her home, and then after some time they finally left her hut, and Zecora walked out to wave at them from her door.

“Just run ahead you pony folk!

I need to grab the things, for curing that joke!” She then turned and walked back into her home, and Thunder slowly walked out and around towards the door, which she left open. He walked inside with some caution, observing the home within which she now lived. It was a bit smaller than her last home, but had many of the familiar looks. She had the same cauldron which she always kept in the center of her home, and various bottles were hung from the ceiling or placed on a shelf along the wall. Stopping a few feet inside the door, Thunder just stood there and stared blankly at Zecora, her back turned to him as she was gathering herbs together at a small table mounted on the wall. She was humming a little tune to herself as she did this, which he recognized from when he was very young. He wished he wouldn’t have to interrupt it, but he needed to speak. He stood up as straight as he could and took a couple more steps quietly.

“You know, I can hear the patter of a mouse

Who is it now to have intruded my house?”

“Zecora.” Thunder spoke to her, his voice somewhat quiet as if he spoke out of disbelief. A bottle that Zecora had just picked up slipped from her grip and fell to the floor, smashing loudly and splattering its contents. She turned her head slowly, her eyes widened and shaking as if in a state of severe shock or fear. Thunder walked a little closer and she quickly turned around completely, backing up as he approached.

“Th-Thunder?” She stuttered.

“Yes Zecora, it’s me. I’ve been looking for you for so long, and, I’ve finally come back!”

“NO!” Zecora screamed, her eyes shutting tight, causing Thunder to halt his approach, taking a step backwards.

“Zecor-?”

“NO! Get away!” Zecora grabbed a bottle from the table and tossed it hard towards Thunder, which smashed against the leg he used to shield his face. He put his leg down and tried to approach her again but she through another bottle, which barely missed him this time.

“Zecora..What’s-”

“Get away! Leave me be you ungrateful beast!

Go away and leave my home in peace!” Zecora continued to scream at Thunder, backing away and tearing two glass bottle from the ceiling, one of which was still shattered from earlier. Thunder was confused, and still tried to go towards, but only to result in her throwing the broken bottle at him. He twisted his head away and the bottle struck him in the shoulder, cutting him. A cry was let out by Thunder and he looked back at his shoulder, watching the warm liquid that began to secrete from his cut. His eyes were now full of fear and tears began to fill them, as he looked back at Zecora, whose eyes now seemed to be full of anger now, blinding her to the defenseless pony that seemed to grovel in front of her.

“Z-Zecora..” Thunder whimpered, as he tried desperately still to get closer to her, Zecora still screaming louder and louder. She seemed almost hesitant now to throw the bottle that she held, but as Thunder got closer her anger began to lose to fear once more, and she threw it at him as hard as she could. Thunder couldn’t manage to move fast enough this time, and the bottle struck him in the face, shattering against him and dousing him with its contents. He screamed and stood up on his hind legs, flailing wildly in the air. The screams that Thunder created were so loud that the entire house shook, making Zecora fall onto the floor, and actually cower in fear. Thunder turned and ran out the front door, fleeing from Zecora’s home, and the monstrosity that had become his reality. Zecora was left shaken and trying to steady herself as what sounded like a storm boomed outside her home from the direction in which Thunder had ran.

The branches and thick bushes of the forest scraped against Thunder as he ran, stumbling through. He couldn’t open his left eye, and his vision was starting to blur. He didn’t know what was happening, but he just wanted to make it back, back to his cave where he would forget this all. This wasn’t what Thunder wanted, and he now he only wanted to forget. He only wanted to go back to cave and return his ways to what they had been before. Thunder would sleep, he would eat, and he would spend his days wandering lost in the forest. It would be good enough for him if it would just allow him to forget all these horrible events. Forget Cloudsdale. Forget Granny Whisp. Forget Zecora. Just forget. How?

Thunder never stopped running, his breathes becoming raspier and his chest growing tighter. It didn’t help that his mind was now flooding with an uncountable number of thoughts, all of which did nothing to ease his pain. He did his best to run as quickly as he could, and finally after what seemed like ages, he finally found himself in front of his cave. Standing there, fur matted with sweat, Thunder staggered slowly over to the puddle of water next to the cave and drank deeply before making an attempt to scrub the dry blood from his shoulder. He then lifted his hoof to his eye and touched it softly.

“Guh!” Thunder muffled in pain, as he felt the large shard of glass protruding from his eye. He sat down and breathed hard as he placed a hoof on either side of the glass, gripping it tight, and attempted to pull it from his eye. “Aaaghh!” Unfortunately, Thunder couldn’t manage more than a soft tug before screaming in pain. It obviously wasn’t going to work, but he couldn’t think of what else he could do. He reached up and touched the shard gingerly, wincing a bit in pain, and felt as a bit of liquid, other than blood, wiped off onto his hoof. He held it up in front of his good eye and tried to examine it, but his vision was blurring out. Holding his hoof close to his nose, Thunder sniffed the liquid lightly and as he was coming to a realization he clutched his chest with his forelegs and cried out in pain. “P-..Pois-..” He managed to speak out loud through his drying lips and throat. Collapsing onto the ground, Thunder’s vision blotted out completely as he passed into unconsciousness.

End Chapter

A Light In The Storm

Chapter 8

The air in Ponyville’s spa felt cold on Fluttershy as she left the herbal bath, causing her to shiver. She walked over to Lotus, one of pony twins which ran the spa, and asked her kindly for a towel.

“Ah, of course Fluttershy! My apologies for not having them ready.” The spa pony was quick to retrieve them from a back room, allowing Fluttershy and the rest of her friends to dry themselves off. Having dried herself, Fluttershy realized it was getting quite late and that she needed to hurry back home. Wanting to say goodbye real quick, she went over to Twilight who was at the moment speaking with Zecora.

“Hey Zecora, I was meaning to ask you earlier, are you alright? You seemed a little..different when you’d caught up to us.” Twilight asked Zecora.

“Yes, yes, friend of mine

It’s nothing that you need mind,

By the way, could you take this bag

If you’d be so kind?” The zebra responded, shoving a large sack out from behind her.

“Oh! The herbs I asked for. Thanks a ton Zecora. I was hoping to research into that book, but it’s hard to do when you have to go all the way to the forest to find a lot of the ingredients.”

“Don’t mention it my pony friend

I have plenty more herbs I could lend.” Fluttershy stood there during this whole conversation waiting patiently for a spot to cut in or for one of them to notice her.

“Uh, hey Fluttershy, did you want something?” Twilight asked, finally realizing her standing there. The sudden speech directed towards her gave her a small shock.

“Oh! uhm..I’m. Going to go now, if, that’s okay. I need to take care of some things at home.”

“Okay?”

“Oh uh, I just thought I should let one of you know, in case somepony asks.”

“Uhm, alright then Fluttershy, I’ll take care of that.”

“Thank you Twilight.” Fluttershy said as she backed away slowly at first, before quickly turning around and trotting out the front door of the spa.

Fluttershy quickly made her way through the town square, her wings flapping just enough to keep her a foot or so off the ground. Normally she wouldn’t be in such a rush to make it back home, but it was around this time of day that she always went out into the forest to leave a small meal outside of his cave. It wasn’t as if it was something she really had to do, but ever since she found him out there one day, whilst searching for her chicken Elizabeak who had just so happened to get out of her coop, she felt bad for Thunder being out there all by himself, so she decided she’d start leaving small meals out there for him to maybe let him know some pony cared. Since then, she’d been leaving two meals a day, and somehow she managed to never show up when he was out there.

Arriving at her home, Fluttershy ran inside and into the back room, quickly putting together the meal, going back and forth grabbing bits of fruits and vegetables from her ice boxes, humming a little tune to herself as she did so. She felt a bit cheery today after everything that had happened, so she worked a bit more on it today, placing more bits of fruit around it and putting quite a lot of effort into the presentation. Once it was finished, she placed it into a small box and wrapped it in a cloth which she held with her mouth. She left her house and quickly went off into the forest, careful not to thrash the food around any. It was a short walk for her fortunately, because cave wasn’t actually that far inside the edge of the forest. This was good because Fluttershy was typically terrified of the forest, and if the cave was any deeper in she probably would never have found it in the first place. Now getting closer to the cave, Fluttershy slowed down a bit and watched around herself carefully as she walked, watching as she passed each tree, and as every shadow slowly moved over her. She didn’t quite enjoy the walk out here in the evening, because the sun had begun to lower, and the evening made it a lot darker in the forest, but there was a large gap in the trees near the spot where she always left the food, so it was particularly easy to find.

Fluttershy arrived at the spot just a little ways outside Thunder’s cave and set the box gently down on the ground. She moved the cloth off of it and began to open it, but was interrupted by a sound. She paused and looked up, listening for the direction of which it was coming from. It was faint, but it sounded sort of like whimpering. ‘Isn’t that coming from Thunder’s cave?’ She thought to herself. She never went any closer to his cave than this, but if she was hearing whimpering then something might be wrong, so she decided to walk closer to the cave and try to take a look. She slowly made her way over to the cave, sticking close to shrubs and sneaking around trees in a poor attempt to be stealthy. Once the mouth of the cave was clearly in sight, the first thing she noticed was a huge brown mass laying in front of the cave. ‘A bear?’ She thought, ‘Why is he laying outside of his cave like that?’ She knew that Thunder had been sharing the cave with him, be she’d never seen the bear outside the cave like this, let alone whining. Stepping out from behind a tree, she approached slowly, the bear soon noticing and turning around quickly, letting out a low, deep, rumbling growl.

“Shh shh, it’s okay big guy. I wont hurt you.” She said to calm the bear, taking a small step back to give him some space. The bear looked at her for a moment then, realizing she wasn’t a threat, lowered his head a little. “There, now show me what’s wrong?” The bear took a step to the side and turned a little, letting out a short whimper and pointing his nose at the brown heap laying on the ground behind him. Fluttershy gasped softly and slowly walked closer, the bear making way for her. She looked down, instantly recognizing Thunder laying there. “I-I-Is he..” She dropped down to get a closer look and noticed the glass protruding from his eye. She touched it, rubbing a bit of some liquid off on her hoof and held it up to her face to examine it, sniffing it lightly. “Oh no...this..” She put her hoof back down then gingerly rolled Thunder over onto his back and lowered her head, pressing her ear to his chest to listen. It was quiet for just a second, but she quickly heard the sound of a heart beat. “Oh thank Celestia, I’m not too late, but I have to hurry.” She stood up and looked over at the bear, getting his attention. “I can save your friend, but I need your help, can you carry him?” The bear nodded and reached his large paws around Thunder, picking him up and carefully sliding him over his head onto his back. “Alright, now follow me, we need to be quick, but be careful.” She turned around and quickly they began to make their way back towards Fluttershy’s home.

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Wind blew softly over Thunder’s back as his eyes began to slowly open. He grunted and stood slowly, feeling a little wobbly from his sleep. Patting back the mane on his neck, he looked around, but quickly found that he could see nothing. There wasn’t a thing around him but a large and empty blue sky. Looking down at his hooves he saw that he had been resting on a small cloud. ‘That’s strange,’ he thought to himself, ‘I don’t remember falling asleep here’. He stepped forward and looked down below the cloud on which he stood.

“Gah!” He shouted, falling backwards onto his tail. There was nothing below him either, save for an ocean. It was a never ending ocean, expanding off into the horizon all around him. “Wh-where am I? How did I get here!” The startled colt began to breath hard and his head spun. He went in circles on the cloud, trying desperately to find something besides water. After panicking for what seemed like ages, he finally gave up and sat back down on the cloud, his fear slowly subsiding into hopelessness. In this large spans of nothingness, he felt so small, and helpless. He could fly but where would he go? There was no place he could go. Lowering his head to the cloud on which he sat, he began to cry, tears falling freely from his eyes. Then he felt something on his back, but he didn’t look up. He felt wetness on his back. It had begun to rain. It started slowly, but it began to pick up, raining faster and harder. Still the poor colt cried, and cried, seemingly more so now as the rain meshed with his tears. The sky slowly grew darker around him, all of the light blotting out, the rain pelting him. Thunder opened his eyes again and found this time, that the cloud he was sitting on was beginning to vanish, growing smaller beneath him. He cried in fright and stood up, now realizing what was happening around him just as he was suddenly jolted by a large boom of noise in the sky, and a blinding light. It seemed as if the sky was exploding all around him, creating large cracks of light in the sky and massive booms of noise. Fear began to fill him again, but it was different this time. He closed his eyes and covered his ears, trying to blot out the noise, but to no success. Then before he could realize it, the cloud had completely vanished, and Thunder began to fall. He tried to flap his wings, keeping him in the air for a few seconds, before he was struck. His entire vision was blotted out with light, and pain coursed through his body. Falling, he held his breath and splashed into the water below him. The pain was so immense that Thunder could not move, allowing fear to fill his entire body as everything began to grow dark and he sank into the depths.

“Thunder..” A voice began to slip through Thunder’s mind. “Come Thunder...swim..” His eyes opened and he looked up. Through all the darkness he could make out a faint light, far above him. He spread his limbs and began to swim, trying with all his might to return to the surface. The voice continued to call out to him, a voice which sounded so familiar to Thunder, yet he knew that he had never heard this voice. The light came closer to Thunder, he was almost there, but he grew every stroke became harder and he was running out of breath. The voice still urged him though, and although he couldn’t recognize it, it soothed him, giving him the strength to continue. Then, just before he reached the surface, the voice seemed to change somehow, almost becoming, darker. “You’re almost there Thunder. Just wake up!”

The room was filled with a loud gasp as Thunder sat bolt upright in the bed, breathing hard as if he was gasping for air.

“Ah!”

“Eep!” Came two voices from beside Thunder. His breathing quickly began to settle and he started to look around him just as he felt a pair of hooves push down on him, forcing him to lay back down.

“Woah! Hey, welcome back. Good to see you’re alright but you’ve got to lay still. Moving around will force the poison through your body and make it harder for the antidote to take full effect.” Thunder looked down at the hooves on him then to his left, seeing the purple pony with her head hovering over him.

“I...Wha...Where am I?” He asked, looking around the room. It was a small room made of wood which was furnished with a desk directly next to the bed, a simple dresser, and, oddly enough, a fireplace. There were three windows in the room which let in a considerable amount of light, flooding the entirety of the small room as well as most of the stairwell in the floor, which suggested he was on a second story.

“Oh. You’re in Fluttershy’s house. She found you in the forest and brought you back her to help you.” The bed was acutally so comfortable that Thunder was beginning to drift back to sleep before she could even finish speaking.

“Mm...oh..kay...Wait. Fl-Fl-Flut!-” He suddenly began to thrash around in the bed, forcing the purple pony to hold him down again.

“Will you, stoppit!? You need to lay still!” She finally got him to calm down once more and sat back on her haunches, rubbing her face with her fore hooves and sighing in minor frustration. “Fluttershy will you stop hiding and come explain everything to him?” Thunder looked around the room and suddenly heard a shuffling noise come from the fireplace. Sure enough Fluttershy poked her head out and left her small hiding place, followed by a small cough of black dust as she stood there awkwardly in the center of the room. “Well?”

“Uhm..I..I..uhm, f-f..” She then abruptly covered her face with her hoof and turned her head slightly away and towards the floor. “I f-found you in the woods and saw you were hurt so. I, um, brought you back here and. Got my friend Twilight to help.” The last half came out as a bit of a mumble but Thunder understood it just fine. He looked over at her for a moment, his eyes somewhat wide in shock, and for just a second it seemed like he would smile. Quite contrary to that, his eye lids slowly sunk halfway and his face lost its expression. He nodded in understanding and slowly turned his back to them, laying on his side.

“Thank you.” The two ponies heard him say, in a flat and emotionless way.

“Uhm...okay then, well. Fluttershy, just watch him for a few days is all I can say. I just recently learned how to put this antidote together with that ‘Super Naturals’ book, so you’ll want to make sure it’s working. There shouldn’t be any problems though, it was relatively straight forward, but better safe than sorry.” The pony, which Thunder assumed was Twilight from what Fluttershy said, then took a look out the window over her shoulder. “Anyways I need to get going, Spike asked to talk to me about something earlier today, so, I need to get back before he falls asleep.” She turned and began walking down the stairs, Fluttershy following in a fluster.

“B-B-Bu-”

“Don’t worry Fluttershy, everything will be fine. He’s obviously no danger from what you told me and if I understand correctly who he was back then, then there’s no need to be shy. Now I really need to get going. Bye Fluttershy!” Twilight spoke as she headed out the front door of Fluttershy’s home, proceeding to quickly traverse away down the path.

It was very quiet in the room that Thunder had been left in. Save for the occasional chirp of a bird or chitter of some small animal outside, it was very quiet. He never realized it until now, but it always seemed in the forest as though every moment in time was filled with the sound of something, coming from in the distance or something small nearby. This made the room feel a lot emptier than it really was, as if the walls had expanded into some large void all around him. This was a strange emptiness though, because as quiet and empty as it felt, it was warm. This entire room emanated with a kind of warmth that Thunder hadn’t felt in a long time. He had felt it before, but when?

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a twinge of pain in his left eye. He raised his hoof to cover it, but only found the outside of a bandage, rather than an eyelid. Quickly he pulled his hoof away in shock, as if he had forgotten everything that had happened for just a moment, only to rediscover it.

“Uhm. Thunder?” The sudden speech gave Thunder a small jolt, making him twitch. He had lost himself in thought again, and hadn’t noticed the sound of Fluttershy climbing the stairs.

“Uh-yeah?” He replied softly.

“I, brought you some food. You were out for a really long time, so, I thought you’d be hungry.” She walked around the bed and placed it softly on the small desk next to him. “Is there, anything you need?” For a moment or two Thunder just stared at her quietly, his eyes half lidded. There was only one thing that he really would have liked in that one particular moment, and that was an answer. He couldn’t understand why out of every other pony he had ever met in his life, she was the only one that actually showed true concern for him. Even in the cave she had been trying to help him, but why?

“I...I’m fine. I just want to rest for now.” She nodded gently before heading back towards the stairs.

“Wait, Flu-ttershy?” Thunder spoke abruptly with a little stutter, turning over to face her. She turned to look at him. “I..uh, will I be blind? In this eye, I mean.” The question seemed to take Fluttershy for a bit of surprise, but she answered all the same.

“You should be, fine. Twilight helped with treating it and, the glass only managed to scratch it lightly. You might have a bit of a, scar over your eyelid though.” Thunder nodded and turned back over.

“Thanks.” He called back to her as she left the room, before closing his eye to rest and think.

End Chapter

Savior of His Sorrow

Chapter 9

It had been two days since Twilight had been to Fluttershy’s home to assist with the care of that poor pony she found in the woods. Today, Twilight was sitting off the side of a path in the shade to take a short break from walking. She had been running errands all day off of her tediously scheduled check list, and the final errand was to return to Fluttershy’s home for the checkup on Thunder she had promised. It was too close of a call when Twilight had initially treated him with the antidote from that book, so she had to help make sure he’d make a full recovery.

Twilight took the time that her short scheduled break gave her to look up at the sky and watch the clouds. Strangely enough, it was very hot today even with how cloudy it was, and it wasn’t too humid either. There was something a bit stranger though, Twilight noticed, which was that she thought the pegasi forecast stated there would be clear skies today.

“Twilight, are we going now? I didn’t come to just sit in the shade.” Came a voice from beside Twilight, disturbing her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh. Sorry about the Spike. Yea it’s about time to get moving again. Hop on and let’s go.” Standing up from beside the tree where they were resting and grabbing Twilight’s bag, he jumped up over her back and placed the bag carefully on her shoulders.

“About time.” Spike mumbled.

“Oh quiet you. I’ve been running around all day, and what have you been up to Spike?” Twilight asked in a somewhat snide manner.

“Taking care of the library like always.”

“Oh really? It looked more like you were keeping you’re bed warm to me.” She said with a chuckle.

“Hey, what can I say? I’m just really good at taking care of libraries. Not like I can help getting tired.” Spike said in a rather comical fashion, causing Twilight to burst out into a small fit of chuckling.

“Right, right. I know you are Spike. Anyways, I’m just going to remind you to be careful when we get to Fluttershy’s cottage. Outside of what Fluttershy has seen, there really isn’t much we know about that pony she found in the forest.”

“Oh come on Twilight. I really doubt one sick pegasus pony could hurt me.”

“Noo, not that you silly dragon. I’m not talking about what he might do, I mean what you might do. Like I said, we don’t know much about him, and he’s been practically alone for several years. The last thing we need is for you to startle or upset him. Too much stress could have an adverse effect on his healing process.”

“Ooh. Alright. Well don’t worry then. What could I possibly do?”

“I have a few ideas.” Twilight said quietly with yet another chuckle. Having finished their conversation, the two remained quiet for the rest of the time as Twilight focused on walking.

Meanwhile, at the cottage, Fluttershy was tending to all the small animals outside while she waited for Twilight to arrive. She fed the birds, the bunnies, the squirrels, and all the other various animals. She talked to them as well and made sure that they were all happy in general. It was such a joy to Fluttershy to take care of all the animals, but with so many it was tough work. Most days she would find herself losing track of time as she ran back and forth, trying not to neglect any of them. There were even some times when she thought it would be nice to have somepony to help her every now and then.

Fluttershy had just finished feeding Angel and was sitting down below a tree to rest. She looked up at the sun through a large break in the clouds, which seemed to have been shining down on her cottage for quite a while now. It didn’t really concern her at all though as she enjoyed the sunlight. What was of a sudden concern though, was the time, as she had just realized how late it was and that she had almost forgotten to fetch food for Thunder before Twilight arrived. She rushed inside and ran about putting a small meal together for Thunder which was the same as usual. It was a small salad of different greens and fruits, which she always made for herself anyways, so it was quick and simple to prepare for him. Once finished putting the meal together, she took it quietly upstairs, careful not to disturb him.

“Thunder?” She called out quietly, which she in turn received no response to. ‘He must be sleeping.’ She thought. Carefully, she snuck around the bed and placed the meal on desk next to Thunder, then snuck away and back down the stairs to wait for Twilight.

Thunder awoke in bed then, only a moment later, the sun shining down on his face through the window. Slowly he opened his eyes and sat up slightly in the bed to take a look around the room. ‘Did I hear something?’ He thought to himself just before picking up a scent, causing him to turn his head, his eyes meeting the food Fluttershy had left for him. ‘I guess I did.’ He reached over and picked the small meal up in his hooves then proceeded to eat, taking note to thank Fluttershy later. It made Thunder feel rather uncomfortable to have so much to be thankful for. Everything had turned so rotten for him up until this point, and as he stared down into the now empty bowl, his mind wandered around about various things. He wondered how Zecora was doing, if Barnabee was happy at Fluttershy’s cottage, he thought about Cloudsdale and Granny Whisp. So many things had fallen away from him that were no more than memories now, but there was one thought that kept seeming to come back, and that was why Fluttershy was trying so hard to help him. They barely new each other after all those years in school, and the only memories he really had of her were of her being frightened of him.

Thunder looked away from the bowl then and sat it back down on the desk. He had done enough deep thinking for now. As he began to settle back down into the bed, he heard knocking come from downstairs.

“Coming!” He heard Fluttershy shout in her usual soft pitch. It sure had been a long time since Thunder had been anywhere other than that cave. He’d forgotten how every sound would leave Fluttershy’s lips so softly. Then came the sound of the door opening downstairs, followed by talking. Strange, it seemed to Thunder, as it sounded like there was another voice down there, which he had never heard before.

“Hey Fluttershy, good afternoon.” Twilight greeted in a cheerful manner as the door opened.

“Oh Twilight, I’m glad you made it. Uhm-here, come inside.” Fluttershy spoke as she stepped off to the side, letting Twilight inside. “I just got done taking food up to him, so he may not have.-" As Twilight passed, Fluttershy noticed the small dragon Spike walking behind her. “Spike? I didn’t think he was coming too.”

“I,uh, ran out of chores.” Spike answered.

“Yea, there wasn’t much to do around the library today, so I offered to bring him along incase he could help me out with any of my errands.”

“Ah, alright then. Well, just be careful going upstairs Spike. You don’t-”

“Yeah yeah, I know.” Spike said rather quickly, cutting Fluttershy off. “Twilight explained it all to me before we got here.” He started following Twilight towards the stairs but then abruptly stopped and looked back at Fluttershy. “Although, seriously what’s up with this guy? I know you don’t know everything about him but I haven’t heard a thing about him. Is this some kind of secret? Like is he some kind of secret-agent spy or something? ‘Cuz you two have both been pretty hush about him. Actually other than me, you two haven’t let anypony know he’s here.”

“Spike, that’s enough questions.” Twilight said, looking back at him with a somewhat stern look.

“Oh. Uhh, sorry.” Spike said sheepishly, quickly following Twilight up the stairs. Twilight started to laugh a bit in response to this.

“It’s fine Spike, just settle down. You’re going to meet him in a second here anyways.” As the two headed up the stairs Fluttershy followed close behind.

“Well, thanks for coming Twilight. I know how busy you usually are.” Fluttershy spoke up as she made her way upstairs.

“Don’t mention it Fluttershy. I’m always available to help out a good friend.” Now they were all just reaching the top of the stairs as Twilight said this, and Thunder not sure what to do just laid back and closed his eyes. The three of them walked around the bed to Thunder’s side, where Spike placed down Twilight’s bag so she could get into it.

“Well it looks like he ate.” Twilight mentioned, noticing the empty bowl. “Could you wake him up?” She asked as she lifted a few things out of her bag and sorted them onto the desk beside her. Fluttershy nodded and went to the opposite side of the bed to give them space, then reached over and gently placed her hoof on Thunder’s shoulder.

“Uhm, Thunder? Twilight is here with, uhm, medicine.” Thunder opened his eyes then and looked over at her, and then to Twilight without moving his head.

“Oh good you’re awake. Could you sit up a little more please?” Twilight asked as she started mixing a few things together into a small bowl she had brought. He did what she asked and then turned his head towards her, observing what she was doing, then quickly took note of the small dragon looking up at him.

“A baby dragon? Haven’t seen one of them before.” Thunder said flatly.

“He’s my assistant.” Twilight said, still focusing on her medicine.

“Really? I thought dragons didn’t like ponies.”

“Oh? You think that?” Twilight asked.

“Well, wild ones. Although I know all dragons love gemstones.” Thunder looked down at the small purple dragon, examining him. “Do you give him lava baths?”

“What?” Twilight asked, actually looking over at him this time.

“Yea, lava baths. I learned a while ago that it’s actually healthy for young dragons. It helps strengthen their scales. Didn’t you know?”

“Well, yea. But it’s a pretty long walk to the nearest lava pit. Where did you learn about dragons anyways? I don’t think the Cloudsdale schools have any extensive lessons on them.”

“I learned it when I was young, from, my-” Thunder trailed off then and went quiet, looking down at himself beneath the sheet covering him. Twilight looked over at him and motioned as if she was about to speak, but then stopped and looked over at Fluttershy, sharing a small concerned look with her.

“Well, never mind. Here, take this.” She hovered the bowl over in front of Thunder, who grabbed and drank from it in a somewhat absent motion, like his mind was somewhere else.

“Uhm, Twilight?” Fluttershy spoke, Twilight looking at her in response. “I was, just wondering. Why does this poison need multiple treatments? Usually poisons have a cure that works in one dose.”

“Well the poison which I detected when I examined him I’ve actually read about before. Unlike most, it’s a bit persistent and usually, if you don’t treat it for at least a week some of it can linger and then become active again and spread.”

“Oh.”

A minute or so after giving medicine to Thunder, Twilight changed the bandages on his eye and then began packing things back into her bag. Spike in the meantime was sitting on the end of the bed watching Thunder, who was only staring down at the sheets.

“Uh..Thunder?” Spike called over to him , rather out of the blue. Thunder still looked down at the sheets for a second or two before responding, in which he looked up at Spike with a flat expression. The other two ponies in the room looked over at Spike, but not saying anything. Spike only stared back at Thunder now, as if he hadn’t thought of something to say at this point. A few quiet moments passed and then unexpectedly, Thunder laughed. Though, it sounded more like a short, deep titter.

“You know I never got your name.”

“It’s Spike.” Thunder smiled to this and nodded.

“It fits. Well Spike, if you ever come visit me, I know where to find a lot of gemstones.” Spike stood up on the bed then, smiling.

“Woah really?! I-”

“Spike.” Twilight interrupted. “You should probably let him rest now.”

“Oh. Yeah sorry.”

“It’s fine, just go ahead and go downstairs with Fluttershy, I’m just going to make sure I’ve got everything here.” Spike did as she said and left the room with Fluttershy, leaving Twilight the last one to exit the room. She made sure to have things sorted the right way in her bag then lifted it up over her shoulders. As she walked towards the stairs, she stopped and turned towards Thunder, who was watching her leave. “Uh, before I go Thunder, could I ask you something?” He nodded. “I’m just curious to know. How exactly did you get poisoned? When Fluttershy found you, and, well when I first got here actually, you had a shard of glass in your eye. That doesn’t make it out to look like an accident.” Thunder looked at her for a moment before opening his mouth to speak. He stopped then and lowered his head, shaking it slowly. “Oh, ok, you don’t have to answer. I was only curious.” Twilight then turned away and walked downstairs, leaving Thunder alone with his thoughts.

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It wasn’t until today that Thunder began to feel the way he did. This incessant nagging at the back of his mind. After how everything had turned out for him so far, none of this made sense. He couldn’t understand why Fluttershy tried to help him so much. When he was living in the forest, he had come to just accept her help as some convenient thing that kept him moving. Then that happened, and now it didn’t make sense why anypony would show him this sort of kindness, especially one that he terrified at such a young age. This feeling kept building up inside him throughout the day, and finally, when it was dark and Fluttershy had gone to sleep, he couldn’t take it anymore.

Struggling to lift himself up and roll out of the bed, he placed himself gently onto the floor, soldering through the pain that began to pound inside his head. He cringed for a moment but bared it, and he began to move softly across the floor of the room, making his way to the stairs and slowly descending. It took him a while, careful not to stumble on each and every step, but he finally made it to the bottom, finding himself in Fluttershy’s living room. He looked over and saw her, sleeping so silently on her small blue couch, not making a sound. Seeing her there made him come to a realization, rising a blush from him, but only making him feel worse. Thunder thought to himself that if he had known from the beginning that he was sleeping in her bed, he might not have made it this long. Breaking his gaze away from her, he carefully found his way to the front door and very slowly opened it. Once there was just enough space, he slipped through and pushed the door shut, leaving it just a hair open so he wouldn’t make any unneeded sound.

When Thunder had made his way out, he was unaware of the small eyes watching him from the corner of the room. This was Fluttershy’s personal pet Angel, a small, white rabbit. After Thunder left, the small rabbit quickly ran to Fluttershy and jumped on top of her, bouncing up and down to wake her up.

“Mhhh-huh? Angel? What is it?” Fluttershy asked a bit muddled, as she yawned. Angel grabbed her hoof and tugged on it, then bounded over to the stairs and pointed up them. “What? Thunder? Is something wrong with him?” At this point she pulled herself up onto her hooves and managed her best to hurry up the stairs in her dazed state. She quickly got to the top and through the moonlight beaming in the windows, her eyes were met with an empty bed. Fluttershy gasped in shock and ran back downstairs, quickly finding the front door open and charging out.

Behind Fluttershy’s cottage, Thunder found Barnabee resting in a big ball up against the back wall. He staggered over and tapped the bear on his shoulder to wake him. The bear grumbled a bit and looked up, his eyes adjusting for a moment before he jumped on his feet to attention once he recognized Thunder.

“Hey Barnabee, come on, we’re going.” Thunder said to the bear before turning away and walking towards the forest. The bear stood there for a moment, his head tilted in confusion, and a small whining sound coming up his throat. Thunder looked back at him. “Oh come on, don’t give me that. We need to go alright? I can’t...I can’t stay here.” He looked away and down at his hooves. “I don’t deserve this.” Thunder began walking away again, his head lowered. Barnabee stood up and started to follow, but his attention was suddenly drawn away. His ears lifted and he looked behind him to find Fluttershy behind them.

“Thunder..” She said. Thunder lifted his head and looked back, a faint trace of surprise crossing his face. Fluttershy stood there before him, the light of the moon glowing around the traces of her form. “You don’t have to go.” She said, her head half turned down. He turned to face her, letting out a small snort of frustration.

“Why?”

“Wha-” Fluttershy tried to respond, now looking at him.

“Why should I stay!? I don’t. I don’t understand you Fluttershy! You’re trying so hard to help me and being so kind, but when I really wanted to meet you, you were like everypony else!” His eye clenched shut, tears beginning to bead up. “When I lived in Cloudsdale, I only had one real friend, and she was taken away! And I heard them...they blamed me, and out of ALL of you, the only one who wasn’t scared of me has to hate me now.” Thunder fell to his haunches, his head lowered and tears rolling down his cheek. “You weren’t any different, so why should I stay.” Fluttershy stood and stared at him, her eyes open wide and her mouth slightly agape. All this time she never really thought about how pent up Thunder had to be inside, after being alone for so long. Nonetheless, she gave him his answer.

“I...I wasn’t scared.” Suddenly the sound of Thunder’s sorrow ceased, and Fluttershy could see his head lift visibly. “I was. When you first arrived there, but...then I began to see you around Cloudsdale more. I remember all the times when I was walking by, and I saw you all alone on that ledge. How lonely you looked, it made me feel sad for you. Then, I saw how you spoke to the birds. It must have been the first time I saw that, that I saw how gentle you really were on the inside.” She looked down now, and Thunder looked up at her.

“B-but...you still avoided me..” He spoke after a moment through a drying throat, his eyes wide in disbelief, the prospect of empathy for him being a new concept.

“N-no! I didn’t avoid you really...The truth is, I hoped I could be your friend, but, I was, shy.” She continued to stare at the ground, complete silence enveloping everything around her, until finally she looked up, and saw Thunder standing directly in front of her, staring intensely into her eyes. Stock still in shock, she dared not make a sound, until Thunder finally moved. When he did, it was the last thing Fluttershy expected. He threw his forelegs around her neck and held her tight, tears beginning to flow from his eyes. Except for a faint sobbing, all was still quiet, and all Fluttershy could do was stand there for him.

“Thank you.” She heard him say before feeling his weight lifted from her as he stood back up and smiled at her. “Alright.” He spoke with a sniffle. “I won’t go.” Fluttershy sighed with a bit of relief and smiled back at him.

“Oh I’m so glad. Okay now let’s get you back in-” Suddenly Thunder’s eyes began to slip shut and a groan left his throat as he fell forward towards the ground. Fluttershy just barely managed to grab him and tried to lift him over her shoulders. “Thunder? Are you okay? Oh no, I need to get you back into bed quickly.”

The yellow mare dragged her new friend back towards the house as best she could, the shadows of the night veiling the both of them. A small breeze picked up, shaking the leaves of a nearby tree, but almost no sound escaped. It was too stressful of a night to notice, but not a single sound could be heard, creating an almost sinister silence. The source of which, none would ever expect.

“Now he’s right where we need him.”

“We must make sure he stays there too.”

“Yes yes. We will do this, and tell the master. Ohhhh, she will be most pleased!” These shadows that watched as the two ponies re-entered the house vanished then, and along with them, so did the silence.

End Act

Dark Beginnings

Chapter 1

Throughout the land of Equestria, a disturbance is felt in the air. Several miles away from the pegasi home of Cloudsdale, a storm rages. Thundering and blasting lightning, darkening the skies, splitting trees, scattering the water of lakes. One might see the largest cumulonimbus cloud of their life time, reaching as high as the highest flying pegasi. This cloud itself it not the disturbance, but what is going on inside. Deep inside the cloud, within a room created by a protective barrier are two ponies. A pegasus named SparkWave, and his wife, a unicorn named FireLight. It has been a long eleven months, and because of the volatile nature of his wife’s magic, SparkWave chose it best for the two of them to find a secluded place to bring their little wonder into the world.

As she screams in suffering pain from the midst of labor, a fiery ray of magic continually bursts forth from her horn, blasting through her own barrier that she painfully struggles to keep up, to keep her magic from causing any chaos beyond the walls of the massive cloud, that barely manages to extinguish her flames before they breach into the outside world. The heat inside this barrier would be unbearable for any pony who was not as dedicated as SparkWave. He stays valiantly by her side and does all he can to comfort his screaming wife, holding her by the hoof and keeping her breathing. Time passes, as seconds turn to minutes, and minutes turn to hours, as hours begin to feel like an eternity.

It is after a long period of the painfully agonizing suffering, that the final push has come to pass, and the cry of new life fills the ears of the awaiting parents.

“It’s a boy, I have a son!” Says the father.

“Let me see him.” Says the mother. She grasps her new born close to herself and looks into his beautiful hazel eyes, all the while taking in his deep red fur and silver-gray mane.

“He looks just like his mother.” The father says warmly, admiring the miracle that has just occurred before them and his newfound status as a father, all the while the mother simply breathes and takes in every moment of this occasion.

“From merely a dream to becoming a part of existence so quickly, you will surely make use of these wings one day I am sure. You are my little ThunderBolt.” SparkWave looks at his wife and smiles, expressing his approval for this name as well. He lays next to his wife as they watch their new child rest after a long day of work.

It is at this point, that something has become apparent, and it is that not all is right. The storm around them has not calmed, but has in fact grown worse. The cloud within which they chose to reside has continued to gain mass and thunder even more violently than before. It is one loud blast that brings the two back to reality, and panic thus ensues. FireLight has exhausted her magic at this point, and her barrier begins to fade, along with the only thing holding her in place. As she begins to sink, SparkWave manages to grab her, and carry his family across his back, but before he can even search for a safe way out of the cloud, he hears his child come to consciousness, and disaster strikes. A hole is sprung open into the heart of the storm, and a massive light engulfs the unfortunate family. To any pony witnessing this event from afar, what they would see is a bolt of lightning, larger than any other shot out by the storm, jolting directly through the poor trio of ponies. SparkWave can no longer hold himself up and the three plummet, far and fast, and as they fall, SparkWave takes advantage of his only opportunity and reaches for his son. The two of them land in a deep area of water, but FireLight, is not as lucky. The last thing she saw was her son and her husband’s face, expressing utter sorrow and apology, and her last action, was to smile, to smile and nod her acceptance of how this sick twisting of fates was to turn out.

It is some time later when SparkWave returns to consciousness, and finds himself on the edge of a lake, grasping his child close to him. Trying to recollect the last moments of those so unfortunate events, he determines that he must have used the last of his energy to haul his child and he to the shore before passing out. He slowly sits up atop of his tail, setting his son gently in the sand. It is after making sure that his son is still breathing, that he realizes his child has changed. The infant foal no longer has the deep red fur and silver-gray mane of his mother. His fur has been darkened to a much browner color, and his mane has been scorched, becoming a soot black. Under normal circumstance his original colors would return with time, but something seems odd. These new colors that his son possess, appear to show as though they exist within his very follicles.

SparkWave stands up and looks around at his surroundings, witnessing the devastation and chaos caused by the storm which he assumes was present the previous night. He is then struck with another realization, and begins to run and search for his wife, or at least whatever may remain of her. Sometime later after searching from the air, he drops down next to something he has spotted. It appears as a matted mess of red and silver hair, stuck between the branches of a fallen tree. He couldn’t bare the sight and could think of nothing to do but flee. All his life SparkWave thought himself to be a strong noble pony, as did every pony else, but when he came face to face with this grim reality, he could only flee, and attempt to cling on to images of the happy life he used to lead, when not even his nightmares were this horrific.

He flew away as fast as he could, back to his son, who he placed gently on his back before flying off into the rising sun, away from Cloudsdale, away from Ponyville, away from Equestria. He had to save his son from the life he was born into. He had to save his son from the pain, agony, and torture that he knew his mind would succumb to. SparkWave new what really led to this devastation, but dared not to admit it to himself, yet the truth was unavoidable. This child possessed a rare strength amongst pegasus ponies. One that drew that lightning to him, or more accurately, caused the lightning to seek him out. It was a display of power, brought forth by the rage of a newborn child. One day this pegasi may even be able to have direct control over a vast expanse of weather systems, something that not even the most skilled of pegasi can achieve.

If he returned this child to his home, he would be shunned and cast away from every pony for his entire life, all because of an undesired power. So out of the love for his child, SparkWave decided the only choice he could make, would be the one that any pony would deem heartless at the same time. SparkWave had to abandon his child, and hope that not only would he be safe, but never return to his place of birth. So he flew, never resting and never halting, mile after mile and day after day. He flew beyond the reaches of Equestria and the land just outside. He flew until his wings could no longer maintain flight. It was when he spotted a small pool of water, that his wings finally gave out, and he placed himself upon the ground.

After taking a long drink of water, and managing to feed some to his son, he looked around at where he had landed. It was a barren place, with hardly any trees in sight, save for the one beside him, and short scraggly grass going on for as far as the eye could see. What an unfortunate place to land, but he could go no further. He placed his son in a small bed of grass in the shade of the tree, and dug out a message in the sand.

Help me, I am all alone.
-ThunderBolt

It is at this point that SparkWave turned and began to walk away, but just as he was doing so, he spotted a shadow approaching from far off in the distance. Acting quickly to not be spotted, he ran fast and hid behind a dune of earth. He witnessed as the pony-like figure approached his child. He watched as it spotted him, read the message, and after a few heart pounding moments, lifted ThunderBolt onto its back and began to walk away.

“Goodbye, my son.”

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The sun beat down hard on poor little ThunderBolt’s face, as he laid there in the sand with his eyes held shut. He could hear a faint breathing, and then some panicking, a small gust of wind, and then silence. A few moments later he heard sound again, a rustling and sobbing, then he felt something. He felt himself being lifted and hauled upwards, high into the sky and he felt himself being taken somewhere quickly. For the longest time this was all he felt, the gusts of wind through his mane and against his back as his face was kept down against a soft warm mane. A long time later he felt himself descending, and the gusts of wind ceased to be. He was thirsty, and his throat was dry. It hurt. This being his first real sense of pain, it was soon relieved as he felt cool water splash against his mouth, which he opened and drank gratefully. Soon, the silence returned to him, after being lifted once more and placed into something soft. The last silent sound he heard was a rustling, and something fleeing. Was there danger? He could not know if there was, as the young foal could not even yet grasp this concept.

A few silent moments passed, and he heard the sound of something approaching. He could not open his eyes to see, but he felt as the shadow of something passed over him.

“My oh my, you poor dear” He heard a voice say.

“Who would leave you way out here?

Well, I can’t just leave you in such a place, so I’ll take you with me as I travel,

And maybe one day, this mystery we’ll unravel.”
The young foal giggled from the rhythmic sound of the voice, and felt himself lifted onto some pony’s back, which he clung to gratefully, the warm sun and the soft fur comforting the lost little foal as he was taken away to a new life.

End of Chapter 1

A Confusing Encounter (Distant Memories)

Chapter 4

The evening sun felt warm on Thunder’s back as he laid there atop the cloud. It had been a long day at the flight academy, so rather than train, Thunder decided he would take this time to treat himself to a short nap. Thunder was able to enjoy evening naps much more commonly now that he was staying at the academy. This being especially so, seeing as there weren’t very many pegasi to talk to. Well, at least not many that would talk to him.

After Thunder had been released from the Cloudsdale clinic several weeks ago, his presence there being a result of the testing incident, he was immediately enrolled in the academy with pre-select classes. He didn’t quite understand why his classes were chosen for him, but he was told that they were supposed to be special in some way. It didn’t seem very apparent to him why they were special though, because it seemed like he was only doing what every other pony was. Nonetheless, his schooling wasn’t the thing that was causing him problems. Thunder’s problems arose from the attention he drew during his ‘incident’. Immediately after Thunder had been released form the clinic, every pony that was present during his testing avoided him entirely, and many of those who avoided him began to spread rumors to those who were not present. Now hardly any pony would speak to him, and there have even been a couple circumstances of ponies being afraid of him, at least by ponies his own age.

Thunder looked up at the sky from his place on the cloud, watching the birds fly by. Then looking over his shoulder at Cloudsdale, he slammed his face down flat into the cloud and groaned. He thought about how much he missed Zecora, knowing that he couldn’t go to the forest for fear of suspicions from the other pegasi. He thought about his friend Razzle and the little lake where they would always go to. Rolling over onto his back, he placed his forelegs behind his head and looked up at the sky once more. Cloudsdale was a wonderful place, but to Thunder, it just wasn’t the same as the forest where he was raised. Everything was so different here, and he hadn’t even made a close friend yet. Then Thunder shifted his thoughts to the other pegasi, thinking about all the different pegasi he had encountered so far. He wished that he could make a good friend of another pegasus like him. If only he could just get them to speak to him, because none of the pegasi his age would. Well, except for one pegasus.

“Hey Thunder! Whatcha doin’?” Thunder sighed and rolled back over onto his face.

“Hey Dash.” Thunder grumpily replied to the blue pegasus hovering over him. Why did she always have to interrupt his naps?

Out of all the pegasi that it could have been to still pay attention to Thunder, it had to be Rainbow Dash. Thunder didn’t have anything against her, it was just that she always had a tendency to show up at the absolutely worst times. He didn’t enjoy having his naps interrupted, because that was when Thunder always did his deepest thinking, about his life and all the various events in it. Rainbow Dash was also obviously not very good with animals, as she never failed to scare the birds away when Thunder was trying to talk to someone. Yes it was new, but seeing as there weren’t any land animals in Cloudsdale, Thunder took a liking to talking with the birds every now and then.

Now, Thunder couldn’t blame her for scaring the birds away because he had never shared his liking for animals with any pony, but he had hoped that by now she would have at least gotten the picture about his naps. Ultimately, even though he didn’t enjoy doing so, Thunder decided to ignore her when he was trying to nap, so that she might get it at some point. Thunder couldn’t even understand why she was the only pony who didn’t avoid him. Perhaps it was that she had left before she got a chance to see what had happened during his test, but even then she still must have been told about it by some pony else. The simple fact of the issue was that because of Rainbow’s daring personality, when she had heard about Thunder she was only intrigued. Unfortunately though, Thunder was way more laid back than other pegasi, and content with just relaxing in the sun for an afternoon. He wasn’t by any means a competitive type, so he found it rather hard to get along with Rainbow, as much as he wanted a friend. Sure Thunder was a hard worker, but that was hardly that same kind of thing. He learned a long time ago living with Zecora that energy should be spent when needed, and saved when possible. So after making it into the academy, he decided to take it easy and only exert himself if it was needed.

“You know, you’re going to have to at some point!” Rainbow said a tad angrily at Thunder. She had been trying to get him to race her for the past week or so, and so far had failed at every attempt.

“Yea yea, I heard you the last three times Dash.” Thunder replied, his face still buried in the cloud. “I told you before, I’ll race you when the school makes us.” Rainbow groaned at this, annoyed.

“But that’s not going to happen until the end of the year! Come on, just race me once! I want to see how fast you are!” Thunder refused to reply to this and continued to lay silently with his face in the cloud. “Oh forget it. See ya!” Rainbow said before flying off huffily.

After she had left, Thunder sat up on the cloud and watched the direction of which she had flown. The truth was, Thunder was a bit curious how he would fair in a race against her, but after what had happened a few weeks ago, he felt it was best, especially now, not to exert himself too often, for fear that what happened might repeat itself. Was he being irrational? It was obvious to Thunder that he was capable of more than he knew about, but he was afraid of whatever strength it was that he might possess. This was mainly because of how it caused so many other pegasi to treat him, and to Thunder, if having special power scared others away from him, then he didn’t want any of it. So Thunder, out of his fear, became even more of a laid back pony than he was before he came to Cloudsdale.

Later that same afternoon, after finishing his nap, Thunder decided to fly around the city a bit. This was a bit unusual for Thunder though, because he typically remained on the ground, or cloud in this case, during the afternoon to rest his wings for class the following day. Today was a little different though, because his class was rather relaxed that day, and so he was hit with a sudden urge to go fly around a bit. Thunder still flew fairly relaxed though, not wanting to tire himself out. He flew gracefully around the city, swaying slowly from left to right between high buildings. Thunder felt the soft breeze through his mane and watched as the architect passed him by. He’d only flown around the city like this a couple times before, and he always ended up forgetting just how comforting it felt to move around the way he did. So gracefully swaying in the breeze, letting the wind carry his wings and gliding through the sky like a bird.

As Thunder flew, he watched the expansive cloud surface roll by him from beneath, passing over a small building, a river, or a bridge. Then, looking up in front of him, Thunder recognized some pony in the distance. Standing on the top of a ledge, out looking the land beneath the clouds with a small group of birds around her was the yellow pegasus from before. ‘Ah Fluttershy’ Thunder thought to himself, ‘what a nice name.’ He had heard her name called out on several occasions in his first few weeks of flight academy, which was something at least, but he had yet to meet her face to face.

Thunder just knew that if he got the chance to talk to her they could be friends, but she of all ponies would never speak to him. He then recalled a time just the week before when he had been walking down a hallway inside the flight academy’s main building. Thunder was just about to round a corner when all of a sudden Fluttershy stumbled out in front of him and he ran right into her. She was stuttering all kinds of apologies as she was lifting herself off the floor, but then she had looked up and saw Thunder. He felt so crushed after watching the way she shrieked and ran off down the hall, afraid of him. Though, at the same time it was also the first time Thunder had heard her voice from very close. Ever since, he couldn’t get the sound of it out of his head, how soft and calm her voice felt, even in a moment of panic. It was actually rather baffling to Thunder, because he didn’t think any pony could even manage to do something like that.

Watching Fluttershy from a distance as his flight path gradually brought him closer, Thunder contemplated whether or not he should just turn around and keep her from seeing him. He decided that it was probably best to just let her talk to the birds in peace, and was about to turn around a fly away. Thunder didn’t get a chance to turn away though, because just as he was about to, Fluttershy turned around and looked up at him. ‘Oh no,’ Thunder thought to himself, as he was now unavoidably flying closer, his mind going blank in her gaze like a deer caught in a bright light. He waited for the inevitable sound of her quiet, yet shrill shriek, before flying away in fear. That isn’t what happened though, in fact quite the contrary. As Thunder got closer, he noticed that rather than fleeing, Fluttershy was actually waving her hoof, motioning for Thunder to fly over to her. He couldn’t believe it with his own two eyes, but he wouldn’t possibly pass up on the chance to actually speak to her, so he flew over.

Landing a few feet from Fluttershy, Thunder walked up to her cautiously, still not sure what was going on, then opened his mouth to speak. “Flutersh?-” He managed to speak out before she interrupted him by lifting her hoof to her lips and hushing him, then she turned tail and took off into the sky. Standing there for a moment, completely confused, Thunder quickly made up his mind that she must have meant for him to follow her, so with a strong leap, Thunder bolted off into the sky as fast as his wings would carry him.

It wasn’t long before Thunder caught up to Fluttershy, his wings carrying him swiftly through the air, now being pushed for the first time in a while, but not to any great extent. Thunder pulled up next to Fluttershy, her long mane just blocking the view of her face, and he was about to say something to her just before she shot off at a much faster speed, gaining a large lead in front of him. ‘What is she doing?’ Thunder thought to himself as he watched her pull far ahead of him, but refusing to lose her trail, he picked his speed up and pushed himself harder, soon slowly closing the gap between them once more. ‘Is this really the pegasus who just barely passed her entrance test?’ He thought as he flew closer and closer to her. Now back within reaching distance of Fluttershy, Thunder once again made an attempt to shout something out to her, but was quickly cut off as she shot off even faster, and making a sharp turn to the left. Thunder quickly turned in suit and made a real effort now to try and keep up with her.

A short while later, the two pegasi had now traveled quite a far way away from Cloudsdale, and Thunder was just beginning to get rather concerned. It was also just in that moment that Thunder noticed something in the distance in front of them. A large black shape was forming in the distance, and it only took a second or so for Thunder to realize that the they were heading straight for a thunder cloud. He stared at it blankly, then looked back at Fluttershy, not seeing any signs from her of slowing down or turning. He strained himself and tried to draw closer to her, shouting out.

“Wait!” He tried to shout at her, but it was futile as it didn’t seem like she could hear him at all. He pushed himself faster to try and get closer, but only a moment later and it was too late. Thunder came to a sudden halt as he watched Fluttershy fly into the booming cloud and vanish entirely from view. He thought that maybe he should go around, or even turn back. It was much too dangerous for a pegasus his size to just fly through a thunder cloud this large, but what about Fluttershy? He couldn’t just abandon her, she might get hurt or even worse, so putting his fears aside, Thunder charged head first into the cloud, chasing after Fluttershy as fast as he could possibly go. He moved his wings so fast, and pushed himself so hard that he could feel as the cloud and even the wind were forced to warp around his body. Being pelted mercilessly by water droplets as they formed and fell from the thundering cloud, Thunder only pushed himself harder, trying as hard as he could to find Fluttershy, but still he could not see her. Then all of a sudden Thunder was engulfed in a bright light, and he shut his eyes, his wings seizing up.

His mind thrown into a moment of darkness, Thunder could feel so much pass through his mind. He could hear sounds, and voices of someone he didn’t know, yet somehow sounding familiar. He heard a loud blast, then screams, and then crying. Then silence. Everything went silent, all except for the faintest of whispers, far away in the distance. He listened carefully, and tried to make it out, trying to understand what was being said.

“Wake up.” Thunder’s eyes opened then, and he blinked, the late evening sun shining brightly in his eyes. He felt somewhat calm now, and a strange warmth flooded his body. Something was still wrong though. Thunder suddenly realized the odd breeze he was feeling shoot up from beneath him, then looking down, he realized he was quickly plummeting towards the ground. Giving a short cry of surprise he threw his legs out and opened his wings, flapping them as hard as he could to try and slow his descent, and as the ground was quickly approaching, he braced himself for an impact. Then the breeze stopped. Thunder looked down once more and found himself hovering just above the ground. Dropping down to the ground now, he gave a sigh of relief, sprawling out on his back and wiping the sweat from his brow. ‘Too close.’

After what happened that afternoon, Thunder ended up resting on the ground where he had landed for a short while before quickly making his way back into the sky, realizing that he still didn’t know what happened to Fluttershy. He looked all around the area where they were, and once he had looked a while without any luck, he decided that she probably went back to Cloudsdale and returned there himself. He flew around for a while longer after making his way back, trying to see if he could find her. She wasn’t anywhere to be found, not even on the ledge where he usually found her. It was getting late at this time though, and the sun was setting, so it seemed best that Thunder went to his dorm room at the academy to get some rest, then he would try to find her in the morning.

Turning around and making his way back to the academy, Thunder still couldn’t help but look down at the surface of the city and survey it as he flew, hoping to find her before he made it back. It seemed that Thunder’s luck suddenly decided to favor him now, as while he was flying, he saw Fluttershy walking along on the ground. Letting his excitement get the better of him, Thunder flew down to the surface of the cloud as fast as he could, landing right in front of Fluttershy. He walked right up to her before she even had a chance to react, falling over on her hind end out of shock.

“I found you!” Thunder said rather loudly. “I was looking all over for you! You flew through that cloud and I couldn’t find you. What were you doing any way? Did you want to show me something and why were you flying so fast and were you ignoring me?Or were you trying to surprise me with something-well?” Fluttershy stared up at him with wide eyes as he said all this rather quickly. She was at the same time trying to push herself backwards away from him on her hind end because he was still walking towards her while he spoke.

“We-..I..uh..I don’t kn...wha....EEP!” Fluttershy only stuttered a few sounds as she tried to reply to the intimidating pegasus standing over her, only to panic and flee, flying off in her usual fearful way. This once again left Thunder with his mouth hanging open, not understanding a thing.

“What...just happened?” Thunder said aloud to himself. It seemed like Thunder was just destined to keep on being left confused, trying to make sense of things that really didn’t make any sense at all.

End Chapter