A Rumble in the Distance
Chapter 1: The Surface of the Storm
It was now under control.
Rumble jolted awake to a monstrous peal of thunder and a bright flash. He found himself back on his rooftop, with the chilly night air biting at his fur, but no rain on him. More thunder followed, and he scooped up his notebook again and looked around for the source. It was to the southwest this night, past Sweet Apple Acres. He could hear the family dog barking like mad, and could barely make out a light in one of their windows.
He couldn’t focus on that, though, as bolts danced among themselves in the clouds. He stared at them, making out only nimbostratus clouds, not a cumulonimbus among them. They were all white, and yet there was a heavy bank of them, and lightning discharged from them sporadically.
“Cumulus clouds producing lightning, mostly intracloud.” He looked back at the spectacle. “Some stray bolts cloud-to-ground.” He set his pencil down. “Just like every other night.”
The lightning eventually began dying down, and Rumble could make out something peculiar within these clouds. He began writing again. “There are what appear to be holes around the clouds. Possible causes unknown.” The cloud bank looked porous, like a giant sponge, and he could see rain falling and something else.
“Is that—“ He took a closer look. “Steam?” It was hard to tell, but he thought that he saw tendrils of steam wafting from the top of the clouds. “How?”
A gust of warm air blew from the direction of the storm, and he grabbed his quilt before it blew away. “Maybe I should take a closer look—“
Suddenly, he heard a window being flung open, followed by a frantic voice. “Rumble?” it called out.
He knew that it was Thunderlane, and called back. “I’m up here, big bro.”
Looking at the other end of the roof, he saw his brother’s head poke into view. He still had the bags under his eyes, but his eyes were wide awake. “What’re you doing up here?”
With a stammer, he pointed to the storm. “Look! It’s happening again.”
He heard the groan behind him and cringed. He didn’t look back as his older brother flew up and landed next to him. “Yes, Rumble, it’s happening again, the same as every night this week and the week before. Nothing’s changed!”
“But the storm’s moved!” Rumble insisted. “Last night it was southeast, and now it’s southwest. And look at it!” He pointed until Thunderlane tiredly turned his head. “It’s got steam coming out of it.”
“I don’t care.”
Rumble gawked. “But—“
“Rumble, why are you out here in the first place? It’s too cold, you know.”
He stammered, but eventually grabbed his notepad and showed it to him. “I was just taking notes on the storm, in case anypony needed it.”
A long groan followed. More lightning and thunder ensued, but they were now the frequent kind one would expect to see and hear from a normal storm. Thunderlane rubbed his eyes, which were obviously sore and in need of rest. Rumble, meanwhile, hung his head in shame, knowing he did something wrong, even if he didn’t know what. Once he finished his exhalation, Thunderlane spoke. “Look, buddy, we’ve been over this.” He lowered himself to Rumble’s level, and wrapped his foreleg around him. “I know you’re trying to help, but other ponies have it covered. I’m sure some big wigs in Cloudsdale are busy working out what’s in the storm right now, and Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire will probably have a look at it once they wake up, okay?” He patted the notepad. “I know you’re smart and want to help, but let the adults handle it, okay?”
Rumble sighed. “Okay, big brother.” He felt his mane being rustled.
“Come back inside,” Thunderlane said with authority. “You’ve still got a few more hours of sleep before school starts. Have you been up all night?”
He blushed. “No, I fell asleep some time in.”
Another sigh. “It’s alright. At least you won’t be completely tired once you go to school.”
With that, Thunderlane took the umbrella that had been set up in case the storm rained over them, kicked off the roof and flew towards Rumble’s window. Rumble gathered up his quilt and notepad, and fluttered after him. They both entered the house, and Thunderlane tossed the umbrella perfectly into the closet. The quilt found itself folded up at the foot of the bed, and the notepad was flung onto the nightstand.
Before Rumble could climb into his bed, he felt himself being picked up and placed onto his brother’s back. “What are you doing?”
“Making sure you actually get some sleep.” Thunderlane looked back and grinned. “You’re sleeping with your big bro tonight.”
Rumble wouldn’t complain about that, so he wrapped his legs around his brother’s neck and rode him into his room. The covers were on the ground, and Rumble could tell that they had been flung off. He didn’t say anything about it as Thunderlane picked them up and flung them back onto the bed.
Thunderlane waited for him to get off and crawl to one of the pillows before taking a corner of the cover and rolled himself backwards right next to him. In one not-so-fluid motion, they were both covered, though not quite perfectly. Rumble had to take the other corner off of his face and Thunderlane had to scoot his half over his chest.
Once they were both snuggled in, a few rolls of thunder went over their house. Thunderlane flung his foreleg over Rumble and brought him close. Rumble in turn snuggled up next to him, his forelegs folded against his brother’s neck. The excitement of the night had left him, and he began drifting back to sleep.
“Good night, li’l bro.”
Good night, master.
“Good night, big bro.”
We set out in the morning.
One more peal of thunder sounded off before they fell asleep.
The alarm clock sounded off 6:00, and Rumble could feel Thunderlane lift his foreleg off of him, and heard him swat for the snooze button. Almost predictably, the alarm clock fell to the floor, continuing its ringing. “Nummle!” He heard his brother mumble with frustration. He wasted no time, and soon the alarm clock was off and back on the nightstand.
“Mmm.” A sluggish foreleg plopped onto Rumble’s skull and patted him on the head. “Thanks, buddy.” He groaned in relief and turned back over.
Rumble, meanwhile, was out of bed and not feeling tired anymore. He usually woke up at seven, once Thunderlane got back from his morning flying. Since it didn’t look like Thunderlane would wake up, he decided to see if the storm was still there. The western sky was becoming lighter by the minute, so he didn’t expect much. Still, curiosity got the better of him.
But once he opened Thunderlane’s window, he heard his voice behind him. “Rumble, what’re you doing?”
Rumble stuttered. “Nothing. I just wanted to see, you know, if it was still there.”
Thunderlane gave him a drowsy stare before a yawn forced his eyes closed, and then he fumbled out of bed. “Hang on a bit, and we’ll check together.” He rubbed his eyes. “You and that storm, buddy, I can’t see why you’re so interested in it.”
Rumble couldn’t quite see it either, but he shrugged it off and waited for Thunderlane to stretch before flying out. The stallion followed suit, and they both flew over their roof. There were nothing but wisps of clouds now. The storm clouds that had been there before were all vanished.
“I don’t get it,” Rumble said, but before he could say anything more, Thunderlane cut him off.
“Remember what we talked about last night,” he said. “Let the grown-ups handle it.” He yawned and rubbed his eyes some more.
“Are you okay, big bro?” He asked.
“I’m fine,” was the groan of an answer before Thunderlane began stretching. “I gotta work on my routine.” He turned to the north, towards to fields and small mountains. “I’ll see you later, okay buddy? Try to get some more sleep.”
“Okay,” Rumble said quietly. He watched as Thunderlane yawned and began flying towards a small spring near the mountains, where he would take a quick cold plunge before beginning his training. “I’ll just go do that.”
With a sigh, he flew into his room and lay in his bed. Sleep wouldn’t come to him, and so he just lay there until Thunderlane returned. “Maybe I should stop thinking about it. What can I do about it, anyway? I’m not strong like Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash.” He bat idly at his mattress. A few inches away, his notepad sat with the paper scrunched up, from the force of his tossing it. “Still, why would a cloud have holes like that? Like somepony had drilled through them?”
Try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking about the clouds. So he picked up one of his nephology books and began flipping through it. He knew it inside and out, but perhaps something within it could tell him what he was missing that could explain it. Perhaps there was something at the core of it that was causing it, like a magical force. After a few minutes, his searching became merely browsing through the different classifications and weather patterns he knew. “What’s the point,” he thought to himself. “I can’t do anything about it.”
An hour-and-a-half later of skimming through the book, he heard Thunderlane return through his bedroom window. He was stuck on a page of stratus clouds when he poked his head into the room.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“Nope.”
“Reading your cloud book?”
“Yep.”
“Cool.” Thunderlane lingered in the doorway for a bit. “I’m gonna get in the shower. Do me a solid and fix breakfast?”
Rumble looked up from him book to Thunderlane, who was throwing him one of his trademark grins. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, big bro.” He hopped on the bed a few times to launch himself out the room and down the stairs.
“Thanks, buddy!” Thunderlane called out before walking down the hall.
Rumble flew down and made their usual meal: scrambled eggs and toast. Nothing too fancy, but Rumble had no idea how to get fancy with food, and it didn’t bother the brothers much, so no thought was given to it. As he watched the eggs bubble in the skillet, there was a knock at the front door. Before he could reach it, the lock turned, and the door opened.
“Thunderlane!”
Rumble immediately hid behind the kitchen wall. He stayed silent as Cloudchaser strode past and up the stairs.
“Thunderlane, are you still sleeping?” she shouted.
He could hear a door opening upstairs. “No, I’m in the shower!”
“Well, good! You’re not gonna be late again, are you?”
“No, no, I’m up now.”
“Sweet Celestia,” she muttered, “what am I gonna do with that stallion?” She huffed, and Rumble stopped watching.
Best leave the grown-ups be, he told himself. Suddenly, he heard a pop!, and went back to look over his eggs. A few seconds later, he heard a voice behind him,
“Oh, Rumble.” Cloudchaser sounded bashful. “I had no idea you were in here. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Oh, good.” She looked over the kiln where he was cooking. “Are you making breakfast?”
“Yes.”
She walked over and looked around the setup. “Just eggs?”
“And toast.”
“No hash browns or orange juice?”
“Nnnno.” He hesitated with his answer.
“Why not?”
He didn’t know how to answer that, so he kept silent.
“One day, I’m gonna make you guys an actual breakfast,” she said with a smile.
He regarded her oddly; he didn’t know why what he was making didn’t count as an actual breakfast. She went on about adding this and that, and changing her mind on a dime, and he went on making his food the same as he always had.
After a few minutes of rambling and listening to rambling, and after Rumble had laid out two plates, they both turned to see Thunderlane coming in. He was mostly dry, save for his mane which was sopping wet. Cloudchaser groaned at the sight. “Darnit, Thunderlane, can’t you do anything right?” Before Thunderlane could groan at the attention, Cloudchaser trotted past him and up the stairs. Awkwardly, Thunderlane turned to the table.
“Thanks, buddy,” he said. Without another word, he took his seat at the table, just as Cloudchaser returned with a towel. She went on chastising him as she dried his mane, all while he stayed silent and ate his food.
Rumble tuned her out and focused on his own food. Once that was done, Cloudchaser ushered Thunderlane upstairs to prepare for weather management, and Rumble went into his own room to prepare for school. Not much more out of the ordinary happened.
Once they were both done, Thunderlane locked up the house and flew off with Cloudchaser without saying goodbye to Rumble. He didn’t mind, though, shrugged it off as usual, and began walking to school. The sky was normal, as it always was during the day. There was nothing more for Rumble to do but sit down at the school benches and wait for class to begin.
At lunch, Rumble and Featherweight ate in silence while everypony else talked around them. This wasn’t a common practice, and Featherweight glanced up every now and again to see if Rumble would talk about the Wonderbolts or what his brother had done, or even about the weeks-long thunderstorm. Rumble just ate, not once looking up from his sandwich.
He would’ve continued like that until recess was over, if Featherweight hadn’t waved his foreleg in front of his face. He looked up to see the other colt staring at him, both of his brows creased with concern. “What?”
He waved his foreleg for him to continue.
“What?” Rumble asked more insistently. “Nothing’s wrong.” He continued eating. When Featherweight continued to stare at him, he quietly added, “really, it’s nothing.”
Then Featherweight tapped the table. Rumble looked up wordlessly, and watched as Featherweight reached into his camera—which he kept by his side—and pulled out a few photograph. With a light toss, they landed in a perfect row in front of him. The first one got his attention immediately.
“Iphat—“ He swallowed. “Is that what I think it is?”
A nod.
At first, Rumble felt like telling him that it didn’t matter to him anymore, that the grownups would take care of it. But curiosity got a grip on him, and he picked one of the photos up. It was the storm viewed from up-close, as if the camera had been placed under it. He gawked.
“Did you—“
Featherweight nodded.
“Wow.” Rumble stared at the picture. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
He shrugged. There was something courageous about the runty colt that Rumble admired, and his modesty always baffled him.
“Cool,” Rumble whispered. The picture showed the mass of cloud, dark and massive, with neither bolts of lightning nor any holes in it. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, so he set it down and picked up the other two.
The first one had a few small sparks surrounding a dark spot within the cloud itself. It made him think of his core theory, but it was far away from the center of the mass, so he couldn’t say for sure. This one also had no holes, but the next one did. The dark spot was invisible behind the wall of steam that formed around it. The photo also looked tilted and covered in dirt; he went to rub it off, but Featherweight stopped him. His awkward expression told Rumble what had happened: he had gotten scared of the lightning and dropped the camera, and the picture was taken in haste.
After observing them all, he gave them back to Featherweight, who carefully slid them in their case. “That’s really cool,” Rumble said after some thought. “Have you thought about taking these to Spitfire?”
He shrugged.
“This might be helpful in understanding what’s causing the storm!” Rumble pointed at him. “We could stop it from coming here!”
“What are you dweebs blabbering on about?”
Rumble froze. Oh great. He turned just to see a pegasus colt land right behind them “Hey Shockwave.”
Everypony stopped what they were doing to look at him. He was a tall colt, twice the height of Rumble, with a yellow coat, dark-blue mane-and-tail, and three circles, one inside the other, for a cutie mark. His eyes were a lighter blue, and his grin was as cocky as they came. He stood right behind Rumble, staring down at him.
“What’s happening, Tumble?” Shockwave asked in his smooth Cloudsdale accent. “What were you two talking about?”
“Heh-heh,” Rumble chuckled drily. Featherweight, meanwhile, rested his foreleg on the table, patiently waiting for the other colt to leave. “We were just talking about the storm. You know, the one that’s been coming around Ponyville every night?” As he finished, he felt the spittle of a raspberry on his nape.
“Yeah, we all know about it. Are you scared of a widdle storm, Tumble?” Shockwave forced a seat next to Rumble. “It hasn’t done anything to you, has it?”
“No,” Rumble replied with a tinge of anger. “But it might, you know? We need to be prepared, in case it’s dangerous.”
Shockwave laughed. “Are you serious? What can you do about it? You’re a runt!”
Anger flared from his nostrils, but a hoof held him back. Featherweight pulled him back onto his seat. “What do you want?” he asked loudly.
“Oh, not much,” Shockwave continued nonplussed. “I just wanted to let you know that there’s a young-flyers race being held in Cloudsdale in a week. Only the best flyers in Cloudsdale are going to participate, and I’m gonna be number one.” He posed proudly in Rumble’s face.
“That’s pretty cool,” Rumble said, feigning disinterest but perking up regardless. “So why are you telling us? Shouldn’t you be training for it?”
“I will, don’t worry.” He rested his foreleg on the top of Rumble’s head. “I just wanted to tell you guys in case you wanted to come up and see a real flyer in action.” He laughed. “Of course, most of you can’t even get up there in the first place, and would need a hot air balloon to get up there, so why should I even bother?” He glared at Rumble, snout-to-snout. “I guess I just came to say I’m gonna be number one.”
Before Rumble could come back with a retort or even a shout, Shockwave kicked off the ground and began flying off to the sky. Nopony could deny that he was a naturally skilled flyer. “See you when I’m the champ!” he laughed to himself and flew away.
Rumble just stood there, his gaze fixed on where Shockwave disappeared from view. He did this until Featherweight shoved him once more.
"What!?"
Featherweight flinched and back away. Rumble, realizing what he had done, folded his ears back. "I'm sorry, Featherweight. It's just, I'm tired of him picking on us, you know?" He closed his eyes and hung his head. "I'm really sorry."
He felt a hoof on his shoulder; when he looked back up, Featherweight was giving him one of those smiles that said "it's okay. I know you didn't really mean it." Then Featherweight went inside the schoolhouse. While Rumble contemplated his actions, Featherweight returned with a newspaper article. It had a picture in it, and Rumble recognized the scene: it was after the Ponyville pegasi had delivered rainwater to Cloudsdale via hurricane, and the participants were being commended by Spitfire herself. The pegasi were all posing for a commemorative photo.
"What about it?" Rumble asked.
Featherweight pointed to the far-right of the picture, at Rumble himself, standing to the far right, with Thunderlane directly to his right.
"So?"
He pointed at where Shockwave left, and then back at Rumble in the picture. When Rumble still didn't get it, he pointed straight at him.
"What? You think I should compete?" Featherweight nodded. "But I'm not really fast!"
Featherweight facehoofed, and pointed to the article again.
"Well, yeah, I helped out with the hurricane, but that doesn't make me fast!" Rumble began trotting away. "Just-just forget it, okay? Let's go play."
Featherweight shook his head, put the article away in the folder, and trotted after him.
You know, Rumble, I very much worry about you. You're always putting yourself down, always saying you're not good enough. That's not true, you know? I've seen you fly, you're amazing! Even if you're not the fastest colt in Equestria, you could still give Shockwave cause to shut his muzzle. If anything, it would at least make him stop picking on us. I mean, I can take it, but I know it gets to you. Stand up for yourself every once in a while.
He was alone. It would be a while more before Thunderlane returned, so he had decided to get dinner started and do his homework before going to bed early. Once the timer in the kitchen went off, he set his homework down and trotted, seeing his soup bubbling nicely. He put away the timer and turned the stove off. He grabbed the ladle, poured himself a bowl, and walked over to the table.
It had been two hours since he and Featherweight split for the day; Rumble couldn't stop thinking about what Shockwave had said, and decided to head home before the sun set. Now it was dark, and Rumble could only hope to get a good night's sleep and stop thinking about either the cloud or Shockwave. That would at least put an end to that day. He had heard nothing more about the storm from any of the ponies he and Featherweight had passed, leaving him still in the dark.
As he sat down with a bowl of the soup, a thought rung itself in his mind:
Well, yeah, I helped out with the hurricane, but that doesn't make me fast!
Rumble stopped before the first bite, and dwelled on that thought. I'm not really fast... am I On the day of the hurricane, Rumble had flown without Thunderlane's help, since he caught the feather flu. He hadn't been able to keep up with a lot of the other pegasi that had surpassed ten-point-zero wingpower, but he had been much faster than Fluttershy. He hadn't been so slow as to bump into anypony; from what everypony had told him afterwards, he had contributed a fair amount. It made him wonder if, perhaps, he really was fast enough to fly in a competition like that.
And then he shook those thoughts out of his mind and shoved another spoonful of soup in his mouth. I'm not fast enough, he told himself. Not yet. I still need to keep practicing.
There was a knock at the door.
Rumble jolted out of his thoughts and the chair, and dashed towards the door. Could it be Thunderlane home early? Nearly ramming into the wall due to his momentum, he threw the door open.
It wasn't Thunderlane. Who it was made him cringe on reflex.
"Hey, kid," she said. "Is your brother home?"
"Uh, no, ma'am, he isn't."
She furrowed her brow. "Don't call me ma'am, kid." She looked around the inside of the house. "Where is he?"
"He's at night watch for the Wonderbolts."
She nodded. "Can I come in?"
Rumble hesitated, but she was inside before he could answer. Wordlessly, he shut the door. It was Lightning Dust, the ex-Wonderbolts recruit that had endangered his brother. She had appeared to try and get along with him, though he hadn't been willing so far.
"Something smells pretty good," she commented, looking into the kitchen. "Did you make that?" Before he could answer, she turned to him. "Can I get a bowl?"
Rumble, finally getting a chance to answer, nodded. "Uh, yeah, sure, go ahead."
"Sweet!" She trotted over to the kitchen cabinet and grabbed a bowl, and then dumped a hearty serving for herself. "This smells, great, kid. You consider getting a job as a chef?"
Amidst the confusion the mare was causing him, he grinned. "No, ma'—no, I haven't." He took his place at the table, opposite her. He watched as she began scarfing down food.
"I tell you, kid, it is so good getting real food in me again!" She wolfed another bite down. "You don't know how long it's been. We've been living off of a meager supply for ages now, and this will definitely help with training."
He ventured a conversation. "So you're still training to be a Wonderbolt!"
She chuckled, sending drops of soup across the table. "No, not anymore. I'm training to do my own thing, you know?"
"What do you want?" He asked, not wanting to hear what her own thing was.
She slurped the rest of the bowl down and slammed it on the table. "Whoo! That was good. I'm here to talk to your brother."
"About what?"
She patted her stomach. "Hey, are you going to compete in the Flying Foals Competition?"
Rumble blinked. "Um, no. It's just Cloudsdale pegasi that're flying."
She shrugged. "Well, Ponyville pegasi are allowed to fly as well; and knowing your brother's a Wonderbolt, I thought you'd be up for it."
It was his turn to shrug. "Well..."
"Do you not like flying?"
He straightened up. "Yeah, I do!"
"Then why not fly in the competition?" she asked with annoyance in her voice. "You're a good flyer, right?"
He shook his head. "I'm decent."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She stood up and walked to the living-room couch. "You mind if I rest here until Thunderlane gets back? It's really important that I talk to him."
Rumble hesitantly nodded. "I guess. It'll still be a while. I'll be getting ready for bed, so, uh, if you need me, I'll be in the shower."
"Sure thing."
He tried to take a long time, just so she'd get bored and leave. No such luck, though, as she was lying on their couch. He sighed, and was about to go to his room and read his cloud book when he was stopped by a question.
"Why don't you want to fly in the competition?"
Rumble looked down. "Huh?"
"You heard me," she said. "Why won't you fly?"
He fumbled with his words. "Um, well... I don't know," he finally answered quietly.
She stretched her legs out. "You want some advice?" When Rumble looked at her, she became stern. "Stop being such a wuss."
Rumble almost gasped, but then the door opened. Thunderlane slumped inside.
""Thunderlane!" Rumble jumped down to greet his big brother, but Thunderlane shook his head.
"Not now, Rumble," he grumbled just audibly.
"But-I..." Thunderlane trudged upstairs, not even bothering to look at the soup on the kitchen table. "O-okay."
"Hey, Thunderlane." Rumble flinched; at that moment, he had forgotten about Lightning Dust.
Thunderlane turned, a look of confusion on his face. "Lightning Dust? What're you doing here?"
She trotted up to him. "I wanted to talk to you. Is everything okay?"
Thunderlane was about to answer, but then looked back at Rumble. After a moment, he said, "You being nice to her?"
Before Rumble could answer, Lightning butted in. "He's been a sweetheart. He fed me dinner, he's such a good cook!"
"Good." Thunderlane flopped on the couch next to her, stretching his legs and wings out. "Man, today's workout as brutal."
Lightning began stroking his mane. "Hey, at least you'll be stronger when it's over." She leaned into him. "Ponies love strong flyers, you know."
Rumble rolled his eyes and walked upstairs as he heard his brother emit a weak chuckle and a "yeah." He knew where this sort of thing usually led between the two of them, and he didn't want to be around when that began happening.
Great, he moaned as he flopped onto his bed and reached for his nephology book. Three things I've had to deal with today. Could it get any worse?
After some time, though, the words blurred together on the page, and the pictures blended into mush. But what's the point of worrying about it at all? I mean, I really can't do anything about the storm, could I? And Shockwave's right, I can't really participate, so why should I worry about it? And... well, I guess if that mare makes Thunderlane happy, then I should be happy, right?
He thought about Featherweight. At least Featherweight's cool, and he got to take pictures of the storm. I bet his parents wouldn't be too happy about that if they knew about it, but—
Then he stopped rambling. That fact made him think about himself, and soon he began getting excited. As he shimmied into bed, he began planning in his mind. "Maybe I just need to do something about it. Featherweight's got his pictures to show to Spitfire and Twilight. Who knows what I can find out?" He closed his eyes with a smile and a mental checklist of what he'd need when he went out that night.
Author's Note
After years of putting this off, it's time that I set this story offwards. I'll be doing my very best to learn how to make the story better, and to deliver a great adventure. If you think I could be doing something better, please let me know; I'll be happy to hear it, and will consider it and do my best to implement it.
By candlelight, Rumble saw that his alarm clock read exactly eleven. There were no more raucous noises coming from Thunderlane’s room, so he decided that it was time. Closing his nephology book and setting it aside, he kicked his covers off and rolled out of bed.
He had waited until late at night to pack his things, in case Thunderlane came in to check on him. As quietly as he could, he flew to his Colt Guide shelf and began grabbing the things he would need. Most definitely his binoculars, notepad, pencil and sharpener, which went straight into his saddlebag. A pair of goggles would be necessary for later on in the evening. Just for tonight, he took his compass and map of the surrounding area, in case he somehow got lost. After some thought, he took a canteen and pocketknife, in case the worst-case scenario arose. Finally, he slipped a jacket inside as well; if all went according to plan, he would definitely need it.
He lingered over the straps of the bag, thinking of anything else he would need. Something to eat along the way? No, that might wake them up. I could try and play it off as just getting a midnight snack, but I’d rather not risk Thunderlane getting suspicious. I’ll just have to go without anything. Water for his canteen? I can just fill it up at the fountain, or at Ponyville Lake. Galoshes? It might rain, but I’m going to be flying anyway, so there’s really no point.
Eleven o’ two. He decided to get on with it and get out as quickly as possible. The straps buckled together with a SNAP!, and Rumble waited a moment to see if Thunderlane would check what it was. Nothing. Eleven o’ three. He slipped the bags onto his back and slid to his nightstand and blew out the candle, leaving him with only the moonlight to see. He tiptoed to the window and peered out. The sky only had a few clouds lazily drifting by; wherever the storm would appear that night, it wasn’t anywhere north of Ponyville.
“Okay,” he said softly as he slid the window open. “I can do this.” With a deep breath, he rested one hoof on the sill.
Immediately, he heard a door open down the hallway.
“What?” He hissed. “No no no, how did he hear that?”
Hoofsteps were approaching. He closed the window and drew the curtains. As he clambered back onto bed, he let the saddlebags drop to the floor, and then used an outstretched hoof to kick them underneath the bed. The hoofsteps were right in front of his door. His skin went cold as he threw the blanket over himself and slammed his eyes shut.
The door opened. He remained motionless as they slowly approached his bed. Wait, why is he approaching so slowly? If he had heard me, he would know I’m not actually sleeping! Unless… he doesn’t know I’m sleeping, and he’s just checking on me. Oh, please, just be checking on me!”
At that point, the hoofsteps were right next to his bed. Rumble breathed as normally as he could, hoping to Celestia that Thunderlane wouldn’t check his hammering heartbeat. First, the blanket was grabbed and pulled snugly over him via teeth. Then, a hoof loosened the mane that was caught under it. No hoof went to his chest, but a muzzle went right next to his ear.
“Goodnight, little guy,” he heard Thunderlane whisper in his ear. “I’m expecting great things from you soon."
"Goodnight, little guy," Lightning Dust whispered in his ear. “I’m expecting great things from you soon."
Then, just as suddenly as he had appeared, he left. The door closed, and soon he was back in his room.
Rumble turned slowly towards the door, so as not to wake Thunderlane up again. He couldn’t help a sigh. “He left,” he said under his breath. Then a frown forced its way onto his face. “He’s still worried about me.” Then, he felt confusion welling inside him. “Should I really go out? I don’t want to make him mad… but I can’t let this just drift by when it could be a threat.” He looked outside, but didn’t see any odd and looming cloud masses. “I’ll need to check south, then.” The time was eleven o’five. “
He lay there a moment listening to the calm night. “Maybe I should just stay home, then?” He eased into his covers, their warmth relaxing him only slightly. “That would make Thunderlane happy, at least. And maybe the storm’s gone away?” He looked back outside; still nothing. “Yeah, the storm’s probably not going to come tonight. Yeah, that’s it.”
He turned to get more comfortable, and saw his saddlebags poking out from underneath the bedframe. “No.” He sat up. “No, I have to at least make sure that that’s what’s happening. For Ponyville. And for Thunderlane.”
He tossed his covers off. As quickly as he could now, he grabbed his saddlebags and slung them onto his back. With a kick, he glided to the window, parted his curtains, and pushed it open. The same clouds were lazily drifting westward. Nothing else had changed. The air was still and warm, and there wasn’t a sound near him.
Eleven o’six, the clock read. He decided then that it was time. With a deep breath, he fluttered up a few feet and stood on the sill. It creaked, and for an instant he froze. Eleven o’seven, and there was nothing. It creaked a little more when he shoved his legs down and lightly kicked off. All that was left now was to close the window behind him. As he did, he gave his wings a firm flap, which sent the curtains flying and draping over the inside. Finally, he slid the window down.
“Okay,” he whispered. “I think I’m home free now. Now let’s get onto the roof and see where all of the clouds are.” He was about to begin ascending, but there were noises to his right. He froze. “That’s coming from Thunderlane’s room! Isn’t he asleep yet?”
His heart was pounding. He couldn’t leave it to chance, he had to make sure he would be safe. With the gentlest flaps he could muster, he eased himself away from his window and right next to Thunderlane’s. There was no mistaking it, he was still awake inside, and he was talking to somepony.
“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”
“Oh, come on, Thunder!” Rumble grimaced, hearing Lightning Dust still in his room. “He’s a grown colt, he can take care of himself. I mean,” she continued, her voice dropping to a more seductive tone. “You’ve been looking after him, haven’t you?”
“That’s true.” He heard Thunderlane move on the mattress. “I’ve been teaching him everything I know.”
Rumble couldn’t help but swell with pride outside.
“And he’s going to race tomorrow, right?” We need ponies like him.
“I mean, if he doesn’t want to—“
“Thunderlane.” Lightning’s voice became stern. “We can’t let him sit out. He’s a fast colt. He needs to race.”
Rumble scowled. “I don’t have to race if I don’t want to. Tell her, Thunderlane.”
“Do you think it would be good to force him to race?”
Rumble gasped. “How could you ask that?”
“Of course. It will only be beneficial for us.”
“I know.”
“Rumble sighed. “I can’t believe he’d actually say that.”
“Look, we’re both exhausted, and Rumble is fast asleep. Let’s talk about it in the morning, okay?”
“Yeah,” Thunderlane croaked. The blankets ruffled, and Rumble heard the bedside lamp switch off. From then on, all was still.
“Beneficial for us?” He huffed. “Who does she think she is? And why did Thunderlane agree?” He wiped a tear from his eye. “Isn’t this enough? Trying to keep Ponyville safe?” I'll show them. I'll show all of Ponyville!
Taking fewer precautions than before, he flew up past the eave and onto the roof. There were few lights on within all of Ponyville, and none near him, so he wasn’t worried about being caught. There were a usual amount of clouds out, some clouds near Twilight’s castle, some looming over Sweet Apple Acres, a cluster over Town Hall, and many more dotted above houses. There was no massive mass of clouds, though.
“What?” He whirled around once; nothing changed. “Where is it?” For the past few weeks, whenever he had come outside to observe, the cloud mass had been looming over some part of Ponyville. Now, it was nowhere in sight. “Did it move on to another city?”
He decided to wait a few minutes, to see if the storm would come rolling in from any other direction. All was quiet as he kept vigilance, using his binoculars to scout north, then east, then south, then west, and noting down the nothingness that was happening before doing it all over again. He was determined to catch any sign of the storm, for Ponyville and for Thunderlane. Even to show up Lightning Dust.
As he made yet another go around, the town clock chimed. He nearly jumped out of his fur at the ringing. Twelve rings. “It’s midnight already?” Another go-around revealed still no cloud anomalies. “What in the hay is going on?” Ignoring that he had just swore, he set his binoculars down and pulled out his jacket. It had grown slightly chilly. Bundled up, he lay down on the roof and pondered.
“Why is this happening? What could’ve happened to it? Why now, when I decide to actually get up close to it? Maybe… maybe it wised up to me, and fled? No, clouds can’t do that, and even if they could, a thunderstorm in that big a mass would be too much for me to handle. It wouldn’t be bothered by me.” He scratched his chin. “Maybe it actually moved on to another city? I should get up, then. I might be seen, but I’ve…” He took a breath. “I have to do more.”
With that, he gathered up his things in his saddlebag, including his jacket, and slung it onto his back. Thunderlane may’ve been awake now with all of the moving, but he didn’t care at that point. It had to be done. With powerful flaps of his wings, he hopped off of the roof and began flying straight up.
There were no clouds high enough to get a good view of the surrounding lands. “I don’t need it,” he told himself. “I can deal with this just fine.” He jostled his bags to be sure they were closed, and continued flying straight up.
Five minutes into his unimpeded flying, he was high enough to see the horizon behind the northern mountains, the plains west of Sweet Apple Acres, past the diamond mines at the south of town, and partway into the seemingly never-ending sea of trees of the Everfree to the east. There were more clouds out than he had seen on the roof, and yet there was no gigantic cloud mass. He groaned, took a few breaths to get oxygen into him, and continued upwards
He fell into a trance. He flew until his wings began to ache, and the saddlebags began feeling particularly heavy. His breathing was shallower, and each breath came in short gasps. Thankfully, there was a stray altocumulus wisp, looking just opaque enough to be able to lie down on. He veered off a bit, making his stomach lurch. He nearly plowed straight through it, had he not shifted himself in a final burst from his wings.
The cloud was ice-cold, and solid enough for him to plop down on in exhaustion. It was, however, too thin to support him and his saddlebag. In a rush, he bundled up the cloud next to him and threw the bags onto it. They sank in a bit, but didn’t fall.
He was panting for breath. His sweat glistened in the moonlight, and frost began to form. He took the time to appreciate the coolness of the crystals on his body. His breathing only improved slightly; he was simply too high up to achieve anything normal for a colt his age, even for pegasi in general.
Once his body cooled down, he took a look around. There were no clouds of a higher altitude around. The town down below was a peaceful as ever, without a cloud below in sight. No birds flew nearby, nor did any straying pegasi. He was completely alone and in peace.
Eventually, the cold began getting to him, so he rose and shook the frost off of him. Gently, so as not to disturb the fine cloud below him, he slipped his jacket onto himself and pulled out his binoculars. Wiping the condensation from the lenses, he peered through them and began scoping. “It couldn’t have *gasp* gone farther than this.”
To the north, the hills and mountains continued indefinitely, with splotches of clouds darting all around it. The giant cloud mass wasn’t there. The south yielded as much, going from the mines to Ghastly Gorge, and a faint view of the desert that led to Appleloosa. The cloud mass wasn’t anywhere there, either. Past Sweet Apple Acres was the White Tail Wood, and further along there was the mountains that held Las Pegasus. Clouds galore could be found there, but still not the mass he was looking for. Finally, he looked to the mysterious Everfree Forest. Froggy Bottom Bog steamed unendingly within the mass of trees, and there was no hint of an end as far as he could see. Still no clouds. There wasn’t even a single cloud surrounding Canterlot Mountain or its majestic city.
They watched her rest. "She must still be recovering."
“What the hay?” He screamed in frustration, not caring if anypony could hear him. “It couldn’t have just *gasp* disappeared overnight!” A single chime from the town clock further agitated him. “It’s gotta be somewhere!”
"Yes. Last night's ordeal took a lot out of her. It is best we not push her."
He whirled around some more, thinking of checking within Ghastly Gorge, at Appleloosa, around Canterlot and beyond, if need be. His head began to pound, and he realized, in a revelation that made his body chill, that he was becoming lightheaded. “I need to *gasp* get to lower ground.”
"She'll grown into her new power. Then we can make our move."
With an aching foreleg, he pulled the saddlebag towards him and hoisted it over himself. Immediately, the cloud began giving way under him. “Oh crap.” Before he could shrug it off and think of a better plan, the cloud broke. The next moment, he found himself plummeting to the earth.
"Finally. But we've gathered everything. Let us take our leave." With that, they took off, only seeing an owl plummeting to the earth.
The air howled in his ears as he sped downwards faster and faster. Nopony saw him, and nopony would come to rescue him. His first instinct was to scream, but it was short and hoarse. I don’t have enough oxygen! He thought about screaming again, but another thought occurred to him: somepony would hear him, and he would be found out by Thunderlane and Lightning Dust. Did he really want to go back home without anything to show for it? Was this worth risking his life for?
As the town’s features grew in detail, he decided not to scream. The least he could do was show Thunderlane that he could at least fly in situations like these. I’ve been teaching him everything I know, Thunderlane’s words echoed in his mind. Even if he was alone, he couldn’t let him down.
What do I do, he thought with a calm-yet-oxygen-deprived mind. First, I have to right myself. He proceeded to tuck his wings and legs into himself, and tilt his body around. Once he was facing straight down, he untucked his legs and pointed them vertically straight.
Now to open my wings. At first, they didn’t want to pry themselves open. It was only through sheer force that they burst open, and the wind immediately made them bend upwards. He grunted in pain, and yet they held.
Now I need to pull myself up. Gently, as steadily as he could, he tilted his wings back. Now the roofs of the houses were quickly approaching. By degrees, his body tilted underside-down. Now that he had enough oxygen in his brain, his fear completely subsided; he knew, from doing dives like these, that he had more than enough time to pull up.
Now he needed to go to a place where he wouldn’t be spotted. There was no place in town where he could land this quickly without causing some sort of noise. Maybe I can try the mines, he thought briefly, but thought better of it when he imagined slamming into rocks and gemstones sticking out of the ground. Maybe Sugar Cube Corner’s cupcake? He imagined himself plowing right through it and crashing into Town Hall. He would’ve found it funny if he weren’t speeding towards Ponyville.
I could try Sweet Apple Acres. He looked upside-down at the mass of trees in the opposite direction. It’s the best chance I got. His eyes watered, and he knew that reaching for his goggles at that time would’ve caused him to crash. So he tucked his forelegs in and prepared to perform one of the most basic of aerobatics maneuvers: a half-Cuban 8.
Throwing his body back, he began arching upwards in a circle. It took him away from Ponyville, and he was high enough that any noise he made wouldn’t be distinctly heard by those below. He continued his upwards arc until he was completely upside-down and heading in the opposite direction, towards Sweet Apple Acres. The arc continued until he was tilted towards the ground. Finally, he twirled until he was upright, and heading towards the apple-tree canopy.
“There,” he said with a dry mouth. “Now I’ll have time to slow down.”
The wind continued howling in his ear as he sped over the acres, the treetops rustling from the trail he left. Remembering what Thunderlane had taught him, he tilted his wings to catch the speeding air. Now they really began to ache. And yet he began to slow down.
“Okay,” he told himself. “I can do this. I can do this.” Eventually, he was able to land onto one of the trees, completely halting his momentum. His wings immediately went limp, and he couldn’t help but pant.
“That *huff* was *huff* close!” One jelly-limp hoof after the other climbed down the tree. “I need *huff* water.”
Getting it from Sweet Apple Acres was out of the question; their dog would surely come after him if he went even to the family well. With an aching jaw and dry mouth, he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out his compass. “I guess I’ll head east, then.”
Before setting off, he grabbed three apples that had fallen from his landing, and stuffed them into his backpack. Then, with an aching body, he set off towards Ponyville proper.
The trudge to the creek had been silent. It was now late enough that there was only one light on in all of Ponyville—no doubt the light of Vinyl Scratch, the residential night owl, and her place was at the northwest part of town, so there was nothing to worry about from the southern part. Once he had reached the water, he shoved his head in and quaffed until he nearly vomited. Then he had let his entire body fall in, and took a moment to let the cold water soothe his muscles.
What do I do now? he thought as he was submerged. I didn’t see any sign of the cloud mass when I was up there. Something tells me that I won’t find it now. What if it’s really gone?
Should I just go back home? I could get some sleep. As he thought that, he yawned under the water. I haven’t been getting a lot of it lately. I definitely need it. He felt his body relaxing in the cold waters.
Is there anything else I haven’t tried? I could check up on Featherweight, and see if he’s spotted anything tonight. There’s also DJ Pon-3’s place, but I doubt she’s seen anything. Zecora’s also awake right now, given that she has a fire going—
Wait a minute… His eyes sprang open, and he frantically kicked himself out of the water and onto the land. Shaking himself off until the water was completely gone, he yanked his map out of his saddlebag and opened it up. He also took out an apple, as he was feeling hungry from the work he had been doing. As he munched away, he took his pencil and marked about where he saw the fire: at the very edge of the map. Then he moved his hoof to where Zecora’s home was marked.
He gasped. “That wasn’t Zecora. Somepony’s out there in the Everfree!” He looked at the black outline of the forest. “Maybe they’re trapped, they’re in danger, and they need help. What should I do?
“Do I go and get somepony to help? Do I—do I reveal myself?” He began pacing. “I didn’t find out anything about the clouds, and I don’t think I will anymore. Should I risk it?”
There was no smoke visible from the treetops. “That’s even odder. Maybe I was imagining things.” He yawned again. “Darnit, I’m so tired! Maybe I should just go back home.”
He heard the distance chiming of the clock, twice. “I don’t have to wake up until a few hours from now… I should at least check again, to see if something’s up.”
The plan had been decided upon. With that, he pulled out his goggles and strapped them onto his face. He packed the rest of his things, discarded the apple core in a bush, and hitched his bags to his back. He thought about where to look out, before settling firmly on the Carousel Boutique, one of the more eastern buildings in Canterlot. “I can rest on the roof and see from there. I know I won’t disturb Rarity if I use it. I could use Twilight’s castle, but I don’t know if there’s a spell on it from snoopers, or if she’s up studying.” He shuddered. “She also has that creepy owl with her. Right, Rarity’s it is.”
Before he left, he filled up his canteen with water, just in case something outlandish happened again. With a galloping start, he took off towards the boutique. He didn’t think anypony would still be awake at this time, not even Pon-3, but he kept checking the windows regardless. No lights were on anywhere at all, not even in either Pon-3 or Twilight’s homes. There were no clouds blocking his path, or ponies watching him from the windows. His wings ached slightly, and his hooves limply went along for the flight, and yet his heart was filled with determination.
Within minutes, he reached the large top of Carousel Boutique. As he had expected, the lights were off and all was still. Every other building around was dark as well. He lightly set himself on top and unloaded his bags. Nothing stirred around him. He was good to go.
There was no time to waste, not when dealing with the unknown in the Everfree Forest. He jumped and flew straight up until he caught sight of a flickering light in the middle of the Everfree. “There it is, I wasn’t imagining things!” He smiled. “This is my chance to do some good tonight!”
His aches didn’t register anymore; his lungs swelled with excitement, his wings twitching with anticipation. He dove for his saddlebags and slung them on. “Let’s do this!”
He dove off ENE, heading straight for the fire. He felt amazing, like the whole night now had a purpose. Now I don’t have to go to Thunderlane with nothing to show for it! Take that, Lightning Dust! He flew onwards with smug satisfaction, his eyes closed as he imagined returning home with a good deed under him.
That was, until the forest growled. He locked up for an instant, his body sinking down to brush against the treetops. He only just avoided sinking entirely into the forest’s dark clutches, after another growl jolted him back to animation. He flew up far away from the canopy.
“Way to go, you idiot,” he scolded. “I can’t drop my attention at all.”
The rest of the flight was filled with unnatural noises and constant rustling from within. His heart pounded above all of it, and his eyes kept switching from watching the fire and looking for monsters. As he approached, he noticed a fog coming from within the trees. The sight chilled him.
As he neared the trees, and another growl emitted from the forest, he had a stray thought. What if whoever’s in there has already been eaten? His heart stopped. “And I’m flying into the remains of a camp, where I-I—“ His heart thumped within him.
“I can’t turn back.” He now loomed over the fire, the crackling twigs fresh and covered with some sort of glass contraption. “Not as long as somepony might be in there.”
He didn’t know why he didn’t go in sooner, but for a moment he lingered above, looking for any sign of pony life. A roar in the distance, and he realized just how far he was from home. A rattling from a few yards south, and he realized just how small he was. A hiss from below, and the fire nearly giving out, and he realized just how vulnerable he was out here, all alone, in the most dangerous forest in Equestria…
Twigs were thrown into the glass container, and something moved them about.
Rumble sighed with relief when he saw the familiar form of a pony stoking the kindling. It was a pegasus stallion, tall and lean, with dark blue fur and a black disheveled mane. Everything else was too dark to see from where he was.
He decided, then, to call out. “Hello!”
The stallion looked up as if nothing out of the ordinary was around him. His eyes shone in the firelight, and Rumble saw that they were aqua, keen and judging. His expression was not of shock or even surprise. Rather, it was of irritation.
“What do you want?”
Rumble started. “Um,” he began with a shaky voice. “A-are you lost?”
The stallion tilted his head. “What?”
“Are you lost?”
The stallion’s face changed into a fearful expression. “Who are you?”
Rumble began lowering himself. “I’m Rumble, from Ponyville. Are you lost?”
As he lowered himself into the canopy, being able to clearly see the tops of the trees from the light, he saw the stallion begin to fidget. “Uh, well, yes, I mean no, you see, I’m here because… I’m lost!” The stallion stared at him with eyes full of panic. “Where’s the nearest town?”
“Calm down, mister.” Rumble placed a hoof on the stallion’s withers. “The nearest town is Ponyville, about a half-hour from here. I can take you there, and then you’ll be safe.” At that moment, he felt a swell of pride for his Colt Guide training.
The stallion thought for a moment, and then looked back at him with apprehension. “We can’t. We can’t go tonight.”
“What? Why not?”
The light seemed to intensify as the stallion leaned in closer. “Trust me, little guy. My buddies and I went off the beaten path to find adventure, and set up camp here. The six of us sang songs and played around, thinking we were all safe and sound! Then they all went off some time ago, and a gigantic… thing got to them!”
Rumble’s insides went cold. “What was it?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a raspy breath. “But we’re at least safe here. You’d better spend the night here. Then, once the sun rises, and the monsters are asleep, then we can get to Ponyville safe and sound, I’ll be on my merry way, and you can go back to whatever it was you were doing.”
At the mention of sunrise, Rumble grimaced. “We can’t wait until then! I’ll get in trouble for being out this late!”
“Look, kid,” the stallion said desperately. “I’ll explain everything to your parents in the morning. We just can’t risk going out now, okay?”
“But—“
“Please?”
Rumble looked around, and for the first time noticed the campsite. A single tent with a sleeping bag inside, and a clipboard next to the fireplace. The glass was covered in water droplets, perhaps from the surrounding moisture. Apart from the darkness, there was also an impenetrable fog in the forest. He couldn’t see five feet into it. “Hey, mister—“
“Dew Decimal.”
“Dew,” he continued, pointing into the foggy unknown. “What’s in there?”
“It keeps the monsters away.”
Rumble looked at him, confused. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen it,” the stallion said with a smile. “Trust me.”
Rumble couldn’t tell what he had gotten himself into, but after everything that had happened, going back to Ponyville this late at night sounded like a disastrous plan. If Dew Decimal said staying here would be safe, he trusted him. “Okay. And then I’ll take you to Ponyville tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dew pointed to the tent. “You look exhausted. I can’t sleep now, I’ve got to tend to this.” He pointed to the clipboard.
Rumble’s curiosity was piqued. “What’s—“ He yawned. “—On it?”
“It’s the fire, you idiot!” Dew glared at him, and Rumble wilted. “I… Look, I’m sorry. It’s been a stressful night, okay?”
Rumble immediately decided to forgive him. The sleep-deprived appearance reminded him of his brother, working all the time and not having enough time to sleep. “Okay. I won’t bother you anymore.”
“Alright!” Dew ushered him into the tent. “Now get some sleep. I’ll keep lookout.”
“Okay,” he said quietly. The night’s events caught up to him like a battering ram, and he soon found himself falling backwards onto the not-quite-soft pillow. His eyes drifted shut as he heard Dew drag his saddlebags in the tent with him. Something didn’t feel quite right as the night played out in his head, but he couldn’t be bothered to think about that for now. His world was going black. He would have time to think about it tomorrow. Only one thought went through his mind.
At least I did one good thing today.
