Symphonies of the Skies
Prologue
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“Daddy!”
Thunderlane smiled as his two foals and colt that looked like his mother and a filly that looked like him ran up to him, broad smiles on their faces.
He turned to Octavia, who was smiling warmly at him.
She leaned into him and he embraced her.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for being one of the good ones.”
He chuckled, tilting her head up and bringing her lips towards his...
___________________________________________________________
Thunderlane snorted, waking up.
What a dream. And talk about thinking ahead. He and Octavia had only just met and he was dreaming about having foals with her?
Not wanting to get up yet, his nestled down, tightening his grip on... nothing.
His eyes shot open. He was lying in the bed he’d fallen asleep with Octavia in last night... but where Octavia had been when he fell asleep there was nothing. His hooves were holding thin air.
He sat up and looked around the room.
The hybrid was gone. Octiava was... gone.
His mind stopped.
Why did she go? Where did she go? When did she go?
Last night? While he was asleep, that was obvious. But why? Why?
Thunderlane jumped off the bed, grabbing his Wonderbolts uniform, pausing when he saw a letter with Octavia's Cutie Mark on it lying on the floor, as if accidentally dropped.
He hurried over, opening it and pulling out what was inside. It was a ticket for a front row seat at a solo show in Manehattan. A show that was Octavia's.
Thunderlane blinked. Had left this to him in the hopes of seeing him again, or simply dropped it? However, while he planned on going, regardless of what his superiors would say, he wasn't going to leave her alone after last night either.
Placing the ticket back in the envelop and putting the envelop in his mouth, he hurried out, struggling to put it on as he ran down the stairs.
Not thinking about how dumb it is to try getting into his uniform while going down stairs (he’d never had to worry about that kind of thing before) he tripped and fell down, tumbling and smashing his head into the wall.
He sat there, half wearing his uniform, rubbing his head with a hoof, the envelop fluttering down to sit on the floor next to him,
Sweet Celestia, that smarts.
“You okay, buddy?”
Thunderlane looked up to see Joe, the pony from last night and, for a second, didn’t understand why he was there, before he remembered that this was Joe’s store.
“Yeah,” he simply replied. “Just bumped my head.”
Joe nodded. “Dun that myself a few times. Be thankful all ya got was a bump.”
Thunderlane suddenly remembered why he’d been running down the stairs in the first place. He finished putting his uniform on,
“Where’s Ocativa?!” he almost shouted, getting up and managing to get the rest of his uniform on, but keeping the hood down, grab the letter and put it in his flank pocket.
Joe raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised, then shrugged. “Didn’t even know she’d gone. Probably headed back home.”
“Right.” Thunderlane started to walk passed Joe, when he stopped, turning around. “Um... where does she live?”
Joe’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Depends. Why you wanna know?”
Thunderlane wanted to be annoyed by how he’d asked that, but he had more important matters right now than a pony he’d never really met til last night being rude to him. He’d dealt with plenty of that back at the Gala.
“I just want to make sure that she’s alright.”
Joe’s expression turned into a smile. “Okay. Just wanted to check. She’s a good friend and I didn’t want her getting hurt.”
Thunderlane frowned. “Why in Equestria would I want to hurt Octavia?”
Joe held up his fore hooves in surrender. “Whoa. Easy there, pal. I didn’t meant o offend ya ’r nuthin, I just wanted to be sure. Most stallions she’s spoken to only ever talk to her and then leave her hurt.”
Thunderlane thought back on that. Ocativa had been so sure that he’d only been talking to her to get to Vinyl. He’d known she’d been hurt by the amount of times a stallion had only spoken to her for that reason, but now he realized it was even deeper than he’d thought, and he’d already realized it was pretty deep when he’d been flown to catch up with her.
“So, where does she live?” he asked, wanting to see that she was alright now, more than ever. "I'm not waiting until her concert. I won't leave her feeling uncertain and miserable til then."
He was meant to have reported back at the barracks after the Gala and it was already late into the morning, judging from the sun’s position in the sky as he looked through a window.
He would no doubt be reprimanded for his tardiness, but that wasn’t his concern. His only concern was knowing that Octavia was alright.
Joe nodded, took a napkin out of his shirt’s breast pocket along with a pencil and scribbled something down, before hoofing it to Thunderlane.
“Just follow these directions. Just be mindful that she might be asleep.”
“Thank you,” Thunderlane nodded and headed towards the door leading into the store, when Joe stopped him.
“If you wanna avoid a scene, I’d advise going out the back.”
He was about to ask what he meant, before he mentally face-hoofed.
He was a Wonderbolt. Seeing a Wonderbolt just come out from the back of the shop could start all kinds of bad gossip, not only for himself and the Wonderbolts, but also for Octiava if anypony had been watching them last night.
Joe led Thunderlane around the back, opening a door and checking outside briefly, before nodding to him and heading back into the shop.
After a quick glance around of his own, Thunderlane went outside, carefully closing the door behind him and took off into the air, following the directions Joe had given him.
___________________________________________________________
Thunderlane grumbled as he trudged through Canterlot, looking around for the next street to follow.
He’d realized a minute after taking off from Joe’s donut shop that he wouldn’t be able to follow the directions from the air and had to go on hoof.
Being a Pegasus, having to stick to the ground felt demeaning somehow. Though at least he could still fly if need be.
He shivered, thinking about the one time he’d thought he’d never be able to fly again, back when he, his fellow Wonderbolts (though he himself had not actually been one of them at the time) and every able Pegasus had tried to stop Tirek from taking over Equestria, only to lose the power of flight all together.
He’d never felt as helpless as he had that day... well, at least til now.
He wasn’t sure if Octavia still needed somepony right now, but wanted to make sure she had one all the same. From what she’d told him, Vinyl wouldn’t be likely to help, which left him, as far as he could tell.
She’d not really spoken too much about herself last night.
He frowned at himself. He’d tried to make her happy and it had worked a few times whilst she’d been telling him about her and Vinyl, but how much had he really helped?
She’d left while he’d been asleep. Was that some kind of sign from her?
He didn’t want to think about it, but a mare of her beauty deserved far better than him, a pony who’d only just last night learned to look passed a pony’s race before judging them.
“Oh, my goodness!” a very posh voice, very much like the ones he’d had to listen to at the Gala sounded from behind him.
He turned around and saw two unicorns, a stallion and a mare, both with blue coats; the stallion’s being slightly darker than the mare’s. The mare had a blonde mane and tail, the former styled up like all the posh mares have them styled, the stallion a dark-brown mane and tail, both looking extremely well-groomed.
They were walking up to him with a look he could only compare with a pack of piranhas zeroing in on a helpless animal.
This was not going to be pleasant.
“And just which of the Wonderbolts might you be, good sir?” the mare asked in a (Thunderlane had to stop himself from shuddering at the thought) seductive way.
“Thunderlane, ma’am,” he said, managing to keep the quiver from his voice.
“Ah, I know about you,” the stallion said, grinning. “I saw you and Soarin and the Gala last night. A shame we couldn’t stop for a chat.”
“Indeed,” he replied, though inwardly, Frankly I’m glad we didn’t talk, you snob. Just being around you now is pissing me off.
“Well, Mr. Thunderlane...” the mare went on, coming alarmingly close for Thunderlane’s concerns.
“Just Thunderlane, ma’am,” he said, just managing not to say it through gritted teeth.
Ponies like these were the reason he’d never come to stay in Canterlot, even when Soarin had told him it might make his job a bit easier.
There were just too many snobs just looking for ways to bring themselves up in the ranks of society to make him want to stay.
The mare gave a warm, yet not warm smile, one that Thunderlane was really starting to dislike.
“We were just wondering,” she said, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort, “our daughter, Night Shade has been dying to see the inner barracks of the Wonderbolts. She would be ever so grateful if she could see them at least once.” She fluttered her eyes. “Ever so grateful.”
It took everything Thunderlane had not to lash out at the mare.
Not only was she trying to hook him up with her daughter just because he was a Wonderbolt, but she was merely using her daughter to further hers and her husband’s own solical status.
And what about their daughter? She probably already had a coltfriend or marefriend and here her parents were, trying to hook her up with a pony she didn’t even know.
Taking a few deep breaths, Thunderlane looked to the mare ever so coldly.
“I am sorry, ma’am, but only Wonderbolts, Reserves and the in-training cadets are permitted to enter the barracks. On top of that, I believe your daughter is a unicorn, judging by the two of you?”
The stallion nodded. “Well of course. She wouldn’t be our daughter otherwise.”
They would even disown their own child if she’d been born a different race?! Calm down, Thunderlane. Keep it together.
“Well, sir,” he stressed the last word, trying to indicate that he was annoyed, “as is the case, she would need to have had the Cloud Walking spell cast upon her before she arrived, or else she would not be able to walk on the clouds.”
“Good!” the stallion said excitedly. “Then we’ll find somepony who knows the spell, have it cast on our daughter and she will meet you to—”
“You misunderstand me, sir,” Thunderlane only just managed to stop himself from growling. “I was not saying I was offering to show your daughter around the barracks; I was merely stating how and why a unicorn normally wouldn’t be able to visit a structure in the skies.”
The mare frowned. “Am I understanding that you’re saying our daughter isn’t good enough for you?”
“So you were trying to set me up with her,” Thunderlane snapped, just calmly.
The mare faltered, having been found out and not knowing what to say.
“I apologize, but there is already a mare I am interested in,” he said, turning to head down the street he had been aiming for before being stopped by these snobs. “I was, in fact, heading to her house before you interrupted me and tried to use your daughter to further your own status in society!”
He’d risen to a shout. He’d been trying, but there was only so much a pony could take before it was too much.
"What kind of pony is she?" the stallion asked.
Thunderlane didn't think he deserved an answer; it wasn't his business who Thunderlane liked or didn't like, but, seeing how they felt about non-unicorns, he knew this would be funny, for him anyway.
"She's an Earth Pony," he said simply.
"An Earth Pony?!" the mare cried, before fainting, her husband just managing to catch her in his forehooves.
“Now, if you don’t mind, and even if you do, I’m going now. Goodbye.”
Before either unicorn could say anything, he headed off down the street, not paying any more attention to those ponies and refocused on the reason why he was walking around Canterlot in the first place.
___________________________________________________________
Octavia sighed as she stepped out of the bathroom, having dried herself off.
She tip-hoofed passed Vinyl’s room, so as not to wake her, entered the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table, reminiscing about the previous night.
The warmth of Thunderlane’s body and how he’d held her so tightly as he slept.
She blushed. That had to have been the most wonderful night of her life. She’d never felt so... so loved. Not since she and Vinyl had moved out of their parents’ house and moved to live together in Canterlot, back during college, anyway.
Her happiness faded, however, when she realized Thunderlane would have woken up to find her gone. Would he think she’d just abandoned him, when he’d been so willing to listen to her problems, something so few cared to do these days
She'd figured out she accidentally dropped the ticket she had orginally been given that she had planend to give to Vinyl. Maybe he would think she'd left him the ticket in hopes of seeing him again... but what if that hadn't been the right message, unintended as it was?
Her ears drooped.
Had... Had she done the right thing, leaving him to come back home, without even a goodbye?
She sighed. She wasn't sure.
Thunderlane had been the first stallion aside from Joe who had ever spoken to her without the hidden agenda of getting close to Vinyl. But, unlike with Joe, who was a good friend, Thunderlane had wanted to be more. He’d... he’d loved her.
Octavia sank in her chair, staring down at her coffee, not feeling much like drinking it now. She finally found a stallion who she could love and would love her back and she’d just gone and left him behind.
Did she love him? She wasn’t sure about that. But she knew she didn’t want to leave him. She’d wanted to stay there, held in his embrace forever.
If only life was that easy, she thought sadly. I’ll probably never see him again.
He’d probably been angry when he woke to find she’d gone. He’d have felt abandoned, with only a concert ticket to remember her by. He probably didn’t want to see her again after that. He’d given his heart and she’d just left it out to dry.
A few tears slid down her muzzle, dropping into her beverage.
Then again, that was her life, wasn’t it? Whenever something good happened, it was taken away from her.
The only real thing she had was her job... and her sister.
Octavia sighed. Well, Vinyl proved last night that she still cares about me, so still having her is a good thing, I suppose.
Still, if she’d stayed with Thunderlane... could that have gone somewhere?
She suddenly found herself imagining herself and Thunderlane married, living in a place like Ponyville, with two foals and Vinyl being a silly aunt to her niece and nephew.
She sighed. Wishful thinking, Octavia. As if any stallion would want to have foals with me.
She wasn’t even sure she wanted foals, but the thought was something all mares went through at some point in their lives, wondering whether they’d ever start their own family or not.
Just as her self-doubting was about to bring more tears to her eyes, a loud knocking came from the front door.
Octavia glanced towards Vinyl’s room, then, shrugging, she got up and went to the door, answering it.
“If you’re here to see Vinyl, she’s asleep right now. Come back later and maybe—”
The words caught in her throat.
Standing at the door, huffing and panting, his mane plastered to his face with sweat, wearing his Wonderbolts uniform, with the hood down was Thunderlane.
“Th-Thunderlane?” she managed, her voice filled with shock. “H-how...? How did you know where I live?”
“Joe—” the Pegasus wheezed. “Joe—” wheeze “—gave me—” gasp “—directions.”
Octavia stared in shock. “Did... did you fly all the way here?”
Thunderlane didn’t answer, taking several moments to get his breathing under control before speaking.
“No. I walked here. Couldn’t really follow the directions from the air. Had to go it on hoof the whole way.”
Octavia was shocked. He’d walked all the way here?
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He walked forward and looked into her eyes. “I was worried about you. You just left without a goodbye, or a note. Only the ticket... which I’m not actually sure if you left for me or dropped it by accident. Besides that, though, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Octavia felt a warmth in her heart. He’d been worried about her?
“Well... thank you, Thunderlane,” she smiled, then moved away from the door. “Would you... like to come in? You could certainly use a good shower.”
Thunderlane looked down at himself, then grinned sheepishly, his dark face being lit with a red blush.
Octavia led him inside, showed him to the bathroom and left him to clean up, going into the kitchen and preparing the coffee again, so they’d have something to drink while they talked.
A few minutes later, Thunderlane came back, his mane still damp and no longer wearing his uniform.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I left my uniform on the clothes line outside the bathroom to air it out a bit. I’ll get it cleaned up when I go back to the barracks.”
“No problem,” she replied, smiling as he sat down and she passed him a mug of fresh coffee. “Not as good as Joe’s but pretty good at short notice.”
Thunderlane grinned, knowing full well he hadn’t even touched his coffee last night and took a sip, replying with a cheeky smile, “It’ll do.”
Octavia chuckled.
“So, why did you leave last night?” Thunderlane asked, a tiny bit of hurt apparent in his voice.
Octavia looked down and gave a small smile. “I wanted to make sure Vinyl didn’t worry. I was out all night, after all.”
Thunderlane frowned, confused. “Weren’t you mad at her for not being at the Gala to see you perform?”
Octavia sighed and nodded. “I was... I still am. I just... didn't want to leave her, you know?”
Thunderlane blinked. “I don't think I do.”
She nodded again. “Turns out she missed the concert at the Gala due to her friend coming over and remixing with and...” she sighed, "she forgot the time. But she did make it to the Gala... just after the two of us left is all. She was up all night, worried about me."
Thunderlane gave a warm smile. “You came back to make sure she wasn't worried though, regardless. That's something a good sister would do.” He winked.
Octavia just smiled. “We actually are sisters. Well, half sisters, really. My father married her mother.”
Thunderlane blinked, clearly surprised. “I thought you said...?”
Octavia chuckled. “I should have been clearer. We’re half-sisters, but we’ve been friends as well, since we were fillies.”
She got up, walked into the living room and came back with a framed photo she gave to Thunderlane.
Thunderlane glanced from the photo to Octavia. “So, Vinyl’s your older sister?”
Octavia chuckled, shaking her head as she sat down again. “Oh, no. Contrary to what that picture suggests, I’m older than her by a year.”
“A year?” Thunderlane gasped, then looked back at the photo, frowning. “But, if you’re older, how come you’re smaller in this photo?”
Octavia sighed. “I... had a growth problem, when I was younger. It took some time, but I got my growth spurt when we were ten.”
Thunderlane smiled at the photo. “You looked pretty cute.”
Octavia blushed, keeping her eyes on her coffee so she wasn’t looking at him.
“Well, um, th-thank you,” she managed after a few seconds.
Thunderlane chuckled. “Vinyl doesn’t look too happy in this photo.”
Octavia looked up, a grin on her muzzle. “Yes. Back then, our parents loved dressing us up like the little fillies we were. My height certainly didn’t help. That was taken back when I was living in Manehatten.”
Thunderlane frowned, putting the photo on the table and glancing at Octavia. “If you’re sisters and you lived in Manehatten, how come you don’t have the accent?”
Octavia giggled. “Oh, I didn’t live there for long. I moved to live in Canterlot with our aunt High Note when I was six.”
He cocked his head. “How come?”
Octavia took a sip of her coffee. “Well, it was meant to be for a vacation our parents had arranged. However, Vinyl got sick with the ponypox shortly before we left. I said I’d stay as well. I’d already had them when I was three, so I couldn’t catch them again, but mother and father said it would be rude of us if I at least didn’t go after we’d promised and Aunt Note had put so much work into the vacation.”
Her smile deepened.
“It was during that time that I found my love for classical music. Aunt Note took me to a cello recital the first night I was staying with her and I fell in love with the music. Not long after I got my Cutie Mark and started studying classical music and how to play the cello. I lived in Canterlot for the next few years with her before I started college.”
She chuckled.
"What?" Thunderlane asked, smiling.
She shook her head. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think Vinyl would be going to the same college as me, or that we’d be staying in the same room together. I pretty much told you the rest of that story last night.”
Thunderlane nodded.
“Well, after we graduated,” she continued, “we moved into this apartment. I got a job as a professional cellist and Vinyl got her job as a professional DJ. That’s pretty much how things have been up until today.”
“So, what’s your aunt up to these days?” Thunderlane asked, sipping from his own coffee, not seeming the least bit bored by Octavia’s tale, which warmed her heart in a way she couldn’t express.
Her eyes became downcast and she sighed. “Not long after we started college she died.”
“I’m sorry,” Thunderlane said, reaching over and putting a hoof on hers. “My condolences.”
She gave a small smile. “Thank you.” She sighed. “It wasn’t so bad. She died peacefully, in her sleep. She’d never had the best health, to be honest, but she was tough, so it took us all by surprise.”
She gave a nostalgic sigh. “She gave me my first cello, you know? I even made the hybrid in her name. She’d always wondered about whether such a thing could ever happen. I wanted to make her dream come true; even if she isn’t around to see it.”
Thunderlane moved to get up, but she shook her head.
She didn’t need comforting for this. She’d gotten over her aunt’s death a while ago.
The sound of a moan, the kind a pony makes when they’re asleep suddenly came from down the hall, drawing their attention.
“Vinyl’s asleep right now,” Octavia answered Thunderlane’s unasked question. “She was up all night, after all.”
Thunderlane nodded and drank his coffee, before asking, “Did you have anything planned for today?”
Octavia thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I tuned the hybrid before I showered a while ago and my next recital won’t be until next week. Vinyl has a gig, as she calls them, tomorrow night. Would you want to come?”
Thunderlane smiled. “As long as I can stay close to you.”
Octavia smiled. “You’re very sweet, Thunderlane.”
He nodded, then got up. “As for today, would you do me the honour of accompanying me on a stroll through Canterlot. I spotted a nice looking café not far from here when I was trying to find this place. And as I said last night, I would be honoured to be seen with a mare of your beauty.”
Octavia was certain her face was like a tomato, but she didn’t think about that.
Instead, she took a sticky-note and pencil and scribbled:
Vinyl,
Gone out with a friend for brunch. Will be back soon.
Don’t worry. I will return.
Don’t wait up for me though. I shouldn't be more than a few hours.
See you when I get back,
Octavia.
PS. Don’t mind the Wonderbolts uniform on the line. It’s my friend’s and he just left it there to air out.
She posted the note on the fridge, turned, smiling at Thunderlane and followed him out the door.
Author's Note
Well, here it is. I said last year that I'd write a sequel to Overture and here it is!
Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. I plan on making each chapter long ones, something I don't often do with my fics, but I'm trying to branch out with this one.
Big thanks to Exilo for giving my permission to write this and I hope I haven't disappointed.
I would also like to thank Lulu-Fong for the picture of Octavia and Vinyl's family. she didn't make it for me specifically, but when I saw it I loved the image, so I hope she doesn't mind that I used it.
Not sure when I'll get the next chapter out but it won't be for a while. now that I've written this first chapter I'm going to refocus my efforts on the princess and the foals and puny purple pony: from padded to proud.
please comment, hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading, and I'll see you later, everypony.
Edit 2020: So, since, for some reason, Lulu-Fong's account on deviant art has been deactivated (I have no idea how long ago), I had to find a new means of getting the picture to appear.
Does mean it's smaller now, but at least it's still there now. I can only imagine the confusion of readers who wondered why the image wasn't working or showing up.
Chapter 2
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“Wait. So you have a house in Ponyville?” Thunderlane asked, blinking.
He and Octavia were seated outside a café Octavia remembered visiting once or twice, back when she was living with her Aunt High Note. She’d totally forgotten it even existed and was surprised it was still around.
The two had spent the last few minutes chatting after placing their orders, Thunderlane explaining his morning, including a very unpleasant encounter with two high society ponies.
Thankfully, they’d moved on to more pleasant topics.
She nodded, before shaking her head. “I honestly don’t know why at times Vinyl and I didn’t just choose to move there permanently. Granted, Ponyville isn’t exactly the quietest place to live and not where one would think a musician could concentrate, but it has a homey feeling, I suppose. Plus, I don’t think I could ever bare to give up the place.”
Thunderlane cocked an eyebrow. “How come?”
Octavia’s smile slipped a little and she looked down as their food was set on their table, a plate with pair of cheese and chive squares and two small cups of coffee. “It was a small cottage left to us in Aunt High Note’s will. We go there, every once in a while, whenever Canterlot life gets a bit too… stuffy, I guess you could say.”
Thunderlane nodded. Having had to deal with Canterlot ponies all throughout the gala, he had a good idea what Octavia meant.
“When was the last time you were there?” he asked, not wanting to remember the more unpleasant parts of last night.
For some reason, that made Octavia chuckle. “Oh, we went for a wedding. Well, I did, anyway. Vinyl decided to tag along because she’d had nothing “fun” to do at the time and didn’t want to suffer the “hoity toity” ponies on her own.”
Thunderlane blinked. “A wedding?”
She nodded. “Yes. I was hired to play at the reception. We barely made it there in time. The fact a Bugbear was attacking the town that day certainly did not help and… is something wrong, Thunderlane?”
He was giving her a shocked and confused look. “Wait. You two were the ones who tossed me into the air and rushed me through town to get to Cranky and Matilda’s wedding on that giant… whatever that machine was?”
It was Ocativa’s turn to be surprised. “What? You were at the wedding too?”
He nodded. “My parents were invited and had asked me to come too. It was before I actually fully joined the Wonderbolts. I was still just a reserve back then.”
The two stared at each other for a moments, before laughing a little awkwardly.
“Well, that is a surprise,” Octavia said. “We met each other last night without knowing we’d been close by each other at the same wedding. Though, how come you hadn’t remembered me?”
“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t really all that interested in the wedding,” Thunderlane said, rubbing his neck a little bashfully. “I don’t know Cranky or Matilda. I was only there because my parents wanted me to come. Once the main ceremony was over, I’d headed off back to training. I didn’t stay for the after party.”
“That would explain it,” Ocativa nodded, accepting the explanation and taking a bite of the pastry. “What about you then? When was the last time, aside from the wedding, you visited Ponyville?”
Thunderlane rubbed his chin with a hoof for a minute, thinking, before blushing. “I think… it wasn’t even for Ponyville. Despite the fact I haven’t lived there since I was a really small foal, I was asked to be on the Ponyville Air Sprinters’ team during the Equestria Games. Guess having been raised there was enough to count, even if I’ve been living in Cloudsdale since I moved out of my parents place. My brother’s still a colt, so he still lives there, though.”
“Oh. You have a younger sibling too?” Octavia was intrigued.
Thunderlane nodded. “Rumble. Kids loves that I’m a Wonderbolt now. Keeps talking about how he’s gonna be one when he grows up.”
Octavia smiled. “Sounds like he really looks up to you.”
Thunderlane nodded. “Yeah. I just hope he doesn’t narrow his choices in life because of it. I mean, I’d love if he became a Wonderbolyt too, but I don’t want him to miss out on other things in life just because he focused only on being a Wonderbolt, ya know?”
The two lapsed into a small silence, enjoying their food and drink.
“What… did you mean, exactly?” Octavia asked quite suddenly.
Thunderlane quickly swallowed. “Mean by what?”
“When you said you hadn’t lived in Ponyville since you were a really small foal?” Octavia clarified.
Thunderlane blinked, before frowning in though. Then, his eyes widened and he shook his head with a light laugh. “Wow. We’ve more in common than I thought.”
Octavia gave a raised eyebrow.
“You told me you moved to live here in Canterlot with your aunt since you were young.” He laughed. “I’ve only just realized I did the same with my uncle in Cloudsdale. Granted, I did visit my family a lot, but I lived most of my life in Cloudsdale. I think…” he rubbed his chin in thought. “I was about… five when I moved in with Uncle Lightning Track and… what?” he asked at the giggle from the Earth mare.
She shook her head, trying to stifle the giggles. “Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, but your names.” To his confused raised eyebrow, she answered, “Thunder-Lane and Lightning Track?”
He paused, thinking it over for a moment, before blinking and facehoofing. “I’m gonna have to talk to Mom and Dad about puns and… Yep, definitely gonna have to talk about that.” To her questioning look he replied, “My brother’s name is Rumble.”
There was a pause, before the two laughed lightly.
“This is the mare?!” a loud voice suddenly cut through the air… a voice Thunderlane recgonized and caused his expression to fall.
“What’s wrong?” Octavia asked.
“A pair of headaches from earlier,” he replied, turning as a pair of ponies he had hoped he wouldn’t meet again stomped up to their table.
The mare glared daggers at Octavia, causing her to wince, unsure as to what she could’ve done to warrant such a look.
“What do you two want?” Thunderlane said curtly, making it clear to Octavia he was not pleased to be interacting with these ponies. “I thought I made myself quite clear earlier this morning.”
“You’d choose this wench over my daughter?!” the mare prat9ically screamed, waving an erratic hoof at Thunderlane.
At once, Octavia knew exactly who this ponies were and why Thunderlane’s mood had changed so rapidly. And, judging by the mare’s choice of words, he’d been kind when describing them and why he hadn’t liked them.
“If you think we’re going to let you choose this… Mud Pony over our daughter, you have another thing coming!” the stallion said, getting right up in Thunderlane’s face, eyes narrowed.
Now Octavia felt the same way as Thunderlane. “Mud Pony? Sir, if you—”
“Be silent, wench!” he shot back at her, thrusting a hoof in her direction. “You’ve caused enough trouble as it is!”
A snort from Thunderlane stopped any retort Octavia would have used. That look on his face. She’d obviously never seen it on him, but she’d seen it many a times on other ponies.
“Apologize.”
“What?” the stallion turned to Thunderlane.
Thunderlane stood up, his larger height than the other stallion becoming immediately apparent. “Apologize to the lady, right now!”
The stallion hesitated for a moment, the height difference clearly not going unnoticed to him, but he shored up quickly, meeting Thunderlane’s gaze, even if the effect was lost due to the fact he had to turn his head up to do it. “I have nothing to apologize for! You, on the otherhoof, are going to apologize for insulting my family!”
“I have done no such thing,” Thunderlane said curtly.
“You certainly did!” the mare thrust a hoof in Octavia’s direction. “You choose this Mud Pony over our daughter! The very nerve of it all! Our family’s never suffered such a slander!”
“Then I shall be happy to be the second to slander it,” another voice, this one with a Prench accent said.
The four ponies turned to see a purplish-blue unicorn stallion with a white mane, dressed in a tuxedo and with a tea cup for a Cutie Mark and yellow eyes standing there.
He was giving the two new ponies quite the disapproving look.
“Come again?” the mare narrowed her eyes at him.
The unicorn pointed to his right. “Leave my establishment at once. We do not tolerate our customers being harassed.”
“Do you know who we are, you disrespectful whelp?” the mare’s husband almost snarled.
“Ponies who are no longer welcome near my café,” he said bluntly. “Now, leave or I shall call the guard.”
The two ponies looked like they were about to pop a blood vessel, but the unicorn did not change his stance.
After several tense moments of the two failing to intimidate him into backing down, they turned, giving one final scathing glare at Octavia and Thunderlane, before stomping off, trying and failing to look like they were leaving with grace and dignity.
“I’m so sorry, Monsieur et Madame,” the unicorn said, turning to Thunderlane and Ocativa. “It is on the house.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Thunderlane began. “I’m more than willing to—”
“I insist, Monsieur,” the unicorn replied, holding up a hoof. “Good day to you both.”
He left, leaving the two to watch… not quite sure how to feel about the free meal.
“Well, I can definitely see why you spoke so dispassionately about those two,” Octavia said as they returned to their meal. “Frankly, the way you described them before, you were being far too kind. They’re far more unpleasant.”
“Ponies like them just really get on my nerves,” Thunderlane said, shaking his head. “Anyway, barring any other interruptions, where were we again?”
Octavia had barely opened her mouth before another voice cut her off.
“Lane!” a shrill voice shouted, Thunderlane at once tensing.
Turning, the two saw a mare in a Wonderbolts uniform landing. The rainbow mane was a dead giveaway as to the identity.
“Ponyfeathers,” Thunderlane muttered, gulping.
“Wait a minute.” The rainbow maned mare blinked, looking confused. “Octavia?”
“Rainbow Dash,” the Earth Mare replied politely. “Nice to see you again. To what do we owe the honour?”
Rainbow Dash frowned, looking to Thunderlane, before nodding, as if deciding something. “Okay. I get it now. That explains a lot.”
“Um,” Octavia glanced to Thunderlane, who was sweating bullets.
Dash looked him up and down, her eyes narrowing. “Where’s your uniform?”
“I-it’s at my place,” Octavia chimed in. She could tell Thunderlane was in troiuble for something and had the feeling it was partly her fault.
Dash glanced at the Earth Mare, then Thunderlane and sighed. “Fine. Go get your uniform and report back to barracks as soon possible. Consideirng I can vagely guess what’s going on, I’ll let it slide this once.” She thrust a hoof in Thunderlane’s face. “Still, you’re going to be on Kitchen Duty for the next month now, got it?” Dash said, looking firmly at the other Pegasus.
He nodded frantically.
With a firm look to the Pegasus and a polite farewell Octavia, Dash shot up into air and flew off in what Ocativa guessed was the direction of Cloudsdale.
Author's Note
IT LIVES!
So much for making sure all the chapters would be longer than most of my other fics. Long is now the norm and this chapter isn't even half as long as the last one
Also... WOW. Sorry i took so long to update this.
Sheesh! Over SIX YEARS now. I wouldn't be the LEAST bit surprised if eveyrone who followed this fic completely forgot about it.
Anyway, i decided to finally update this today because I was listening to Scribbler's reading of Overture last night (and, oh my God, i forgot how much I LOVE her reading of it) and remembered the drive that had been the reason why i'd started this fic in the first place.
Hoping to get the next chapter out much sooner
One thing that really helped me figure out how to contiue this was, listening it over last night, i realized with the original version Exilo wrote, despite writing it WAY back before even season 4 had started, he'd unintentionally written it in a way that it could easily fit perfectly between the end of season 7 and 8.
Think about the beginning paragraph of both the redo and original.
Not since the first Grand Galloping Gala, many hundred years ago, had the ball been surrounded by so much controversy. It all started with the announcement that Princess Celestia would not be hosting. Instead, Princess Luna would be serving as the master of ceremonies. At that, all of Canterlot was in a fury. The fact that non-ponies would be invited in great numbers was just salt in the wound.
With how much Twilight was building relations between the dragon, Griffon, Yak, Changelings and other such kingdoms by the midpoint of season 7, this part would totally fit that so many non ponies would be attending the Gala.
Plus, it let me look back through the past season to figure out how I could still work with the premise that Overture's universe (original version or current) has a Thunderlane who spent most of his life in Cloudsdale despite us seeing him in Ponyville and doing stuff FOR Ponyville so often and make it seem believable.
I'm actually really surprised how easy it is now.
Working out how Octavia and Vinyl could've had that cottage and played such at big role in Cranky and Matilda's wedding if she and Vinyl are living in Canterlot was only slightly more difficult.
Of course, one might be wondering why the update is coming out today when it's a Wednesday here in Austrlaia and i normally work Wednesdays.
Well, it's kinda because i screwed up last night and, due to not being able to settle down properly, it was past 2am by the time i was able to get to bed and, when i woke up around 6:30 this morning, i was so tire that when i chose to wait for my alarm to go off half an hour later instead of getting up right away... i fell asleep again and didn't wake up til after 8 am, meaning i'd never make it to work on time without rushing and in the groggy state i was in, rushing was the LAST thing i should have done.
I called work to ask if i could take a sick day (though I'd gotten voice mail, so had to leave a message), got up to see if i could still go... and dropped like a rock, winding myself falling asleep on the floor.
Yeah. Go to sleep on time when you have work in the morning or it will. Not. End. Well.
Anyway, once i was able to get my bearings, it was close to 9:30 am, so I decided, since i'd already asked if i could have a sick day, and since i was feeling a bit better, went and had breakfast (by which time I was feeling much better), i decided i'd put this day off to good use and came down to my local library and wrote this.
Hope it was worth the wait.
Anyway, I have to do a few things before my time runs out on the computer and i'm already down to under 9 minutes, so i'll shut up.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay safe, stay clean and, til next time, later everybody
