Broken Thunder

“What's that look for?” Thunderlane asked her, confused by her excited grin.

“And you've been having these problems for how long?” Blossomforth asked, rather confident.

“Almost all my life.” He said. His answer only seemed to solidify her plan. “You have an idea, don't you?”

“Oh yes.”

“...So what's your plan then?”

“Once we get out of here, let's look for some...alternative therapy. Don't worry Thunderlane, I think I know how to stop these nightmares from haunting you.”

Thunderlane woke to someone shaking him violently. His senses blurred as the culprit came into focus. Blossomforth's pristine coat contrasted with the darkness of the room. She was shouting, but no noise had reached his ears. He shook his head, hoping to alleviate the problem, to no avail. Before he could try again, Blossomforth pulled him out of the bed and quickly took flight, prompting Thunderlane to follow her.

The hallway was long and empty, devoid of artificial light. The only guide Thunderlane had was the feeling of Blossomforth's tears she left behind. A light pierced the veil of his blindness, as he caught glimpse of the outside. The hospital behind them had been sieged, devastated by some extreme force. What caught his eyes however, was the sunlit sky.

Celestia's sun was engulfed in a sky of sickly red and pulsing purple, with strange vein-like auroras gliding through the sky with speeds unmatched. Rigid black clouds morphed and transfused into their brethren, causing the downfall of some strange coal-like snow. The sun itself was struggling to breathe, fading in and out as its life hung by the hair of a spider.

Blossomforth mentioned something to him from beneath her tears, but they would not be heard. Increasing their speed, Thunderlane soon found himself in Ponyville proper.

The scene that manifested in front of him filled him with an insatiable rage. Disgusting, large insect-like creatures had invaded his humble town. These ghastly lotus spawn have destroyed the town and were ruining the ponies who lived in it. Fathers' throats were slit before their sons were consumed. Pegasai and unicorns alike had their unique appendages removed, along with anything attached to it. Mothers had to watch as fillies' organs were being extracted. The horrific acts unfolded as the countless cries of agony and helplessness filled the air. Thunderlane's anger only built with the inability to hear any of it.

Were he a dragon, his fire would have melted steel. He charged into the fray without a second thought. His first victim was busy tidying his mouth after a snack of a small orange and purple pegasus filly. He tackled the monster before eviscerating it in attempt to save what was left of the little pegasus. He quickly drew the attention of the others, and they began to advance.

A quick swipe overhead rid Thunderlane the burden of being classified as a pegasus. Biting off one of his victim's natural blades, he quickly parried another and rid his attacker the burden of having a head.

Thunderlane continued to dismantled the insect, utilizing any of the body's arsenal by forcing his hoofs into the arms fleshy interior. Even taking the creature's fleshy wings and planting them into the stubs of his former ones.

Blossomforth had taken off towards Canterlot, he noted, and he soon followed.

The Capital of Equestria was no better off. Blossomforth quickly landed in the streets, galloping off in an unknown direction. Thunderlane followed her, only to see that she had been chasing something. Chaos and war broke out above and around them while they raced through the streets, cornering their catch. Thunderlane stepped to the side of her in order to gaze upon the icy blue stallion in front of him. The pony was scared out of his mind, not just from the death around him but from his chasers as well. Blossomforth seemed to soon regret chasing the poor pony across the city while all of Tartarus broke loose. Thunderlane, however, was not.

Seeing this stallion brought forth an unmatched sense of righteous fury. Thunderlane mercilessly charged forth, piercing the pony with every ounce of strength he could muster. Feeling the blade make contact brought him a sickening satisfaction as it drove deeper into the pony. He felt the life leave his victim as their pleas fell on deaf ears. Looking up at his prey, he saw only the betrayed look on Blossomforth's face as the life left her eyes. The corpse of his friend grew limp on his blade as he removed it. He turned around to see the icy blue stallion where Blossomforth had been. The countenance he wore was not one of sick pleasure or satisfaction, only the stagnant indifference his brother was known for. Thunderlane didn't even notice the white stallion and pink mare that had somehow driven off the invasion, only the unholy apathy of Frostbite.

Tornado Day came and went, and the eight sick pegasai were released soon after. It seemed Thunderlane was the only one not appreciative of the fact. He was still reeling from the nightmare he had a few days ago. At least now I can see what Blossomforth was so excited about, he mused. Thunderlane followed behind her as she practically skipped to their destination. His wings were still a little sore from the flu, and he figured hers might be as well, but he ignored this fact as they made their way into the Ponyville Library.

Thunderlane had entered the library before, but he had never seen it in such a mess. Books on seemingly random subjects were strewn about its wooden floor. Various instruments of science were active about the chamber, some of which Thunderlane was worried were going to break. The librarian herself was reading a scroll upon her desk.

“Hey Twilight!” Blossomforth greeted, startling the lavender unicorn away from a letter.

“Oh hey you two! Feeling any better?” She asked, moving towards them.

“Yeah, wings are a bit sore though...” Blossomforth groaned, testing her appendages.

“So what brings you two here? Are you hear to pick up your copy?” Twilight asked Blossomforth. The white mare's face soon turned pink. She was embarrassed Twilight would speak of it so casually, especially in front of Thunderlane.

“Wha-no! Uhh, not yet.” She stated, not wanting to discuss it further.

“A copy of what?” Thunderlane asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“It's nothing...Anyway we needed your help.” She derailing the subject.

“With what?”

“Do you have any books about ghosts or spirits?” Blossomforth asked. Twilight looked a little confused, while Thunderlane looked at her in disbelief. She's not suggesting...I don't think I want it to be that way, he pondered.

Twilight simply hummed with a hoof to her chin. “Spike...!” She sang, to which the little dragon appeared from upstairs, scratching at his eye. “Can you grab us some books from the paranormal section downstairs?”

“Yeah, sure.” He replied, his itch persisting.

Soon the trio had a rather modest section of tomes to browse. Thunderlane was growing incredibly agitated at all of this nonsense, and hated the idea of his troubles being chalked up under “paranormal.” The book Blossomforth chose was a glossary of sorts, depicting and describing various forms of spirits and phenomena.

“Aha! Here it is!” She exclaimed.

Twilight looked over her shoulder. “Specter? A ghost that haunts a pony's mind? What's this all about anyway?” She inquired.

Blossomforth looked at Thunderlane, asking if she could tell his story. With a very reluctant sigh, he nodded. Blossomforth recounted his tale. His birth, his nightmares, all laid out onto the table for Twilight to analyze.

“Okay,” Thunderlane interrupted, “before we get to far into this, am I the only crazy one here? A Spectawhatever, haunting me?”

“It makes sense though, right? I mean, after years of therapy and no results? Maybe your brother's haunting you!” Blossomforth suggested.

“That's stupid, and you know it's stupid! Ghosts aren't real. Frostbite...”

The lights dimmed.

“...is just a figment of my imagination that I can't let go of, that's it!" Thunderlane shouted.

"Maybe you can't let go of him because he doesn't want to leave!" She continued.

"There's no such thing as ghosts!"

"You're not crazy Thunderlane!" He looked at her in confusion. It was rather nice of her to say, but her ideas were impossible.

Thunderlane simply shook his head. "I'm going home, this is just ridiculous...”

“What about your scarf? It's really cold out there.”

“I don't care...” He stated before stepping out into the winter night.

Thunderlane crashed into his bed with the afternoon sun beating down on him. His room still incredibly dark despite the star's efforts. “Ghosts? Really? I thought she was more sensible than that.” He groaned as he turned over and almost fell out of bed.

“Hey Thunder!” Rumble called as he came into his room, “you didn't even say hi to me...”

“I'm sorry bud, I've had a bad day.” He said, unhappy to see his brother frown.

“So are you feeling any better? Did you kick the feather flu's butt?” He asked, punching the air.

Thunderlane couldn't help but grin. “Sure did. Whooped it good. My wings are a bit sore though.”

“What about your work then?” Rumble asked.

“Ahh, I wouldn't worry about it.” He dismissed, “I work only when they need me. I tend to just stay in the house.”

“Is that why they call you lazy Thunderlane?”

“Uh yeah...” He started, looking around his personal prison, “...lazy.”

Blossomforth hoped the argument wouldn't have happened, but she figured it was unavoidable with what she was suggesting. Despite Thunderlane's doubts, she still hung by her hypothesis. However her mind wasn't on her work, but rather how to proper apologize to him.

The two mares spent hours searching the library for anything more on specters specifically, with few results. Their hunt went late into the night.

“So what makes you think it's the specter of his twin that's doing this?” the unicorn asked, bringing her from her thoughts.

“I don't know, it just makes sense to me in a way. Thunderlane's problems were not a decline like they should be. I remember he just suddenly stopped coming to play with me. I don't think it's supposed to work like that.” The pegasus explained.

“I can see that, but you also have to understand his situation. Thunderlane had suddenly learned he had a twin and that he'll never get to see him. That must have been really hard on him, especially if it's effecting him today.” Twilight mentioned as she put yet another book away to be organized later.

“I guess, but...Argh! These books have nothing! This isn't helping at all!” Blossomforth exclaimed, bashing her hooves onto the pages.

Twilight quickly levitated the book over and inspected the damages, petting it like a frightened foal. “Well, listen Blossomforth. It's getting kind of late, but I'll see if I can't get some books from Canterlot's library sometime. I know you only mean well Blossomforth, but this isn't your chance to become the next Lighthouse adventure, this is real."

"I know..." Blossomforth said, feeling guilty about how she acted.

"Do you still want the new one by the way?" Twilight asked.

“No, I think I'm done reading paranormal stuff for the night. Thanks though, Twilight.” Blossomforth said, waving goodbye. Twilight did the same and looked back to the pile of books stacked up. Maybe Zecora knows more about this subject, Twilight mused, still rather intrigued by the whole ordeal. She simply shrugged and decided to turn in for an early night for once, biding Spike “sweet dreams” in the process.

Thunderlane's eye were growing heavy, and he knew he was about to enter his own form of Tartarus again soon. The moon had risen long ago, and ominous shadows danced along the lengths of the walls. He sat at his desk, pen in mouth and an empty notebook in front of him. It was an old technique he tried, Journal Therapy, that he decided to revisit. It had failed him before due to his lack of  commitment, but it did help marginally to know his experiences were going into his own personal record. There were simply things even Dr. Stable didn't, or rather couldn't, know. Sighing to himself he began to write.

Well, here I am again. Writing this stupid journal to hopefully get something out of it. Blossomforth now knows of my craziness, and she thinks it's because I'm being haunted. Now my mind's got that idea stuck, who knows what kind of nightmares I'm going to have now. I knew it would be bad to get her involved. I just hope the same thing doesn't happen to her like it did in my...

…

...is there no justice anymore? Not for the unborn it seems. What is fair in life, is not in death. I will make you understand that, brother. The gift we were given was not strictly for you, and yet you plucked it from my hooves like a greedy little foal. I'm not upset, I'm not angry. I do not seek vengeance, oh loving and caring sibling of mine. No, all I want is equity. And to achieve this equity, I will cleanse you...

...I will cleanse you of life's impurity