After All

by FluttershyisMetal

Rating: teen
Tags: Fluttershy, Slice of Life, Thunderlane, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Sad
Length: 979

Thunderlane is in love with Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash is in love as well... With another pony.

Thunderlane is in love with Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow Dash is in love as well... With another pony.

Heavily influenced by this song: Manchester Orchestra - The Neighbourhood Is Bleeding

Cover art by ApertureIndigo.

[img]http://24.media.tumblr.com/a257ad5165644b1f79354634dfdee284/tumblr_mqo61uYbwk1rj6vd5o1_400.png[/img]

Published 2013-07-30 19:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-30 19:40:01 UTC

I Can Be Lonely If She's Happy

"Today's the day," Thunderlane said to the bathroom mirror. "Today's the day that I ask her out!" he shouted exuberantly, pumping a hoof in the air.

"But, first, I need to go buy her some roses. Hmm, maybe I'll buy a bouquet of flowers that have the colors of the rainbow, to match her mane!" Thunderlane exclaimed to his reflection. "Yes, that'd be perfect! I'll just stop buy a flower shop on the way over there, pick out a bouquet of flowers, and then head over to her house. Or should I buy a vase?"

He scratched his head. "Eh, I'll just go with a bouquet, keep it simple."

"Wait... Did I just have a full conversation with a mirror? I guess it's true, love really does drive a stallion crazy." Thunderlane said with a small chuckle.

He shook his head, and left his bathroom, letting the door slam behind him. He walked out the front door of his cloud home, debating whether or not he should buy her chocolates. Hmm, couldn't hurt, I'll be in town anyways. Besides, mares love chocolate.

Then, he descended from his home, and towards Ponyville, the town that the mare he loved called home.

***

Thunderlane walked out of the flower shop, a bouquet with an assortment of flowers of all the colors of Rainbow Dash's mane in one pocket of his saddlebag and a heart-shaped box of chocolates in another. He checked to ensure that they were secure, and wouldn't fall out when he took off.

He squinted his eyes at the side of the saddlebag containing the flowers, and decided to pull the strap tighter on them. He then did the same with the other side. He gave a quick nod and a smirk, satisfied that nothing would fall out during his flight.

Then, he took off towards Rainbow's cloud mansion, a magnificent feat of pegasus ingenuity. He remembered helping construct that home, and it wasn't easy. Rainbow had requested every single inch of that place to be item-proofed; meaning that nothing that she set in, or on the small space around, her home would fall through, plummeting toward Ponyville.

If he knew anything about cloud homes, and he did, it was that something that massive had to have cost a ton of bits. Typically, cloud homes only have a few areas that were item-proofed, namely shelves and dressers.

But, then again, Rainbow was pretty well-paid as the weather supervisor for Ponyville. Not to mention that bonus she got when Ponyville was chosen to provide the water for Cloudsdale in preparation for the rainy season. Plus, she did have several friends that weren't pegasi.

Thunderlane finally spotted the mansion, and started flying at top speed to get there.

"Wait, I shouldn't seem to eager... Maybe I'll just fly at a normal speed," he said to himself, slowing down to his original speed. But, he longed to be there in that home, with the mare of his dreams.

He didn't want to just be a coworker and a friend, he wanted to be so much more than that. He wanted to be able to comfort her when she was sad, wanted to be able to ensure that she would never feel lonely again.

Thunderlane was very close to the mansion now, and took some time to ensure that his mane was fine. Then, he got out the bouquet of flowers and the heart-shaped box, putting one in each forehoof. He took a deep breath, and started to fly the final yards there.

Then, he saw something through one of the windows of the cloud mansion. The mare of his dreams, Rainbow Dash, was kissing another mare. The mare had a pink mane and tail, with a light yellow coat, and three pink butterflies for a cutie mark.

His jaw dropped, and his hooves fell limp to his side. The bouquet of flowers and heart-shaped box both plummeted to the ground. He didn't watch them fall, though. He was too busy watching his dreams shatter.

They broke the kiss, and he noticed that Rainbow Dash looked happy. Happier than he had ever seen her in his life. But, his eyes stung.

It may have only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like eternity to him. He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t think he could do anything, other than just face the facts. He then knew that he would never be with her. He would never be able to feel what that pink-maned mare had just felt, he would never be able to comfort Rainbow when she felt alone, or sad. He would never be that pony.

He had to leave, it hurt too much to see the two mares together. He flew away from there, as fast as he could, fighting to hold the tears back. A single tear broke out of his eye while he was flying, running down his cheek briefly, and then getting blown off.

***

Thunderlane was at a pond inside of a community park. He was alone, though, and he was fine with that. He was just staring into his reflection, struggling to stay strong, struggling to not cry.

Of course, it was futile, and a few tear drops struck the water, causing it to ripple, blurring his reflection. Eventually, the reflection went back to normal, and he stared into his face again, his mind running rampant.

He looked around, and noticed the bouquet of flowers and heart-shaped box, which was broken, lying near a bush on the side of the lake. It stung him even more.

He couldn't keep the tears back, allowing more to fall onto the surface of the water. Again, he watched his reflection come back to visibility. He took a deep breath.

"Well, I can be lonely if she's happy, after all..."