Chapters During the winter, it was no secret that the pegasi worked extra hard to control the snowfall. The weather team were always flying though the clouds, adjusting the ones that were putting out too much or too little snow. One of these pegasi was a black colored stallion with an icy blue mane shaped into a mohawk. He and his partner, a white colored mare with a pink and green mane, were searching the sky for clouds they needed to adjust. The white mare, named Blossomforth, was keeping warm with the snug jacket she had on. At the start of every winter, all of the pegasi on the weather team were given one of these jackets. However, this year there had been one a mistake and one of the jackets didn't arrive. As a result, Blossomforth's partner, Thunderlane, was working without one.
"W...why...d...did...I...h...have...t...to...be...the...one...with...without...a...j...jacket?" Thunderlane asked, shivering. "It's...s...so...unfair."
"Because some pony had to take one for the team and it just so happened to be you." replied Blossomforth, who kicked a cloud that was putting out too much snow.
"I...g...get...that...but...it...always...s...seems...like...I'm...the...one...t...taking...one...f...for...the...t...team."
"Stop complaining, Thunderlane. It's not that cold. Suck it up for a few more minutes. We're almost done." Blossomforth said as she bucked another cloud. The two continued to scan the skies and fix the troublesome clouds. After a while, they were satisfied with their work and headed back to the weather base. As they flew onto the cloud that housed the base, the door suddenly opened. A cyan blue mare with a rainbow colored mane walked out into the cold. She looked up and spotted the two returning pegasi in the sky.
"Thunderlane! Blossomforth!" she called. "Get your flanks in here, now!" The two did as they were told and landed next to the mare. She wrapped two hooves around there necks and dragged them inside. She continued to drag them as they walked towards the mess hall. "Every pony finished hours ago. It's almost dark out. What took so long?" she asked angrily.
"It's Thunderlane's fault." Blossomforth complained. "I had to wait for him because he was going so slow!"
"Of course I was going slow. I had no jacket and was freezing."
"Excuses, excuses."
"Enough! I don't care what happened. I have to hold some pony responsible for the report."
"Sorry, Rainbow Dash." both pegasi said together.
"Now how wants to take the wrap for this one?" Both ponies were silent as Rainbow Dash looked the two over. "Alright. I guess I'll just have to choose then." A while went by as she decided who was going to get blamed. "Ok, Thunderlane. You're the one."
"Why me!?"
"Blossomforth said it was your fault, so it only makes sense." Rainbow Dash replied as she started to walk away. "Sorry, Thunderlane, but I'm going to have to cut your pay a little. No hard feelings." Thunderlane stood there in shock as Blossomforth began to walk away.
"That's the way it goes, right Thunderlane." Blossomforth said as she winked and continued to walk away. Once she was gone, Thunderlane let out a growl and punched the wall, leaving a giant hole.
After a long day on weather patrol, the pegasi on the Ponyville weather team often relaxed at a local bar and had a few drinks. At the moment, Rainbow Dash, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Blossomforth, and Thunderlane were doing just that. Cloudchaser was telling them a random story about her childhood, Flitter and Blossomforth were listening to that story while sipping their drinks, and Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane were playing pool.
"And then I said," Cloudchaser began, continuing her story. "Why don't you do it." Cloudchser laughed hysterically at her own story, while Flitter and Blossomforth stared at her blankly.
"Ok, Thunderlane. Watch this." Rainbow Dash said as she began to line up her shot. "This is gonna be awesome!" She screamed as she slammed her pool cue into the cue ball. However, her hoof slipped at the last moment and she hit the cue ball awkwardly. Instead of going straight, the ball catapulted into the air and hit Thunderlane right in the eye. The poor stallion went down as Cloudchaser, Fliiter, and Blossomforth looked over at him. The three mares looked at Rainbow Dash and nodded. As fast as they could, they all bolted out of the bar, leaving Thunderlane on the floor.
"Hey, guys wait for me." Thunderlane said as he got up off the floor. He started to follow them out the door when he was stopped by a rather large stallion. Thunderlane recognized him as the bar tender and saw that he was holding a piece of paper.
"Sorry, friend, but some pony's got to pay the bill."
After Thunderlane had payed the bill for his drinks and the drinks off all of his friends, he was not in a good mood. He had a scowl on his face as he flew towards his home. Thunderlane used to live with his brother, Rumble, but he had moved back in with their parents. Thunderlane and Rumble's parents bought the house so they could both live in it. After Rumble moved back in, they decided to sell it. Thunderlane was forced to buy his own place and now resided in a small little apartment on the edge of town. The stallion was flying home with a scowl on his face and started to slow down as he saw his apartment block approach. Eventually, he made a full landing right outside his door and walked the rest of they way. Once he reached his apartment, Thunderlane noticed a note taped onto the door. He glanced at the note and his scowl only worsened as he finished.
Thunderlane, Need you at the base immediately.
R.D.
After reading Rainbow Dash's note, Thunderlane reluctantly made his way to the very edge of town. The Ponyville weather base was right above the spot where he was standing. With a powerful flap of his wings, he lifted himself into the sky. Thunderlane sailed up to the base and touched down on the cloud. When he got there, Rainbow Dash was already waiting for him.
"Thunderlane! Glad you could make it. We need to talk."
"What could we possibly talk about at two in the morning!"
"I just wanted to apologize about what happened at the bar."
"That's it. That's all you wanted to say!"
"No, no. That's not all. I've got a special job for you waiting inside." Rainbow led Thunderlane inside the base and through the halls. "I see you've been working hard lately and haven't been getting the recognition you deserve." Thunderlane, hearing her words, smiled for the first time in a while.
"Well, thank you, Rainbow. I have been working hard. So, what special job do you have for me?" Rainbow Dash stopped at one of the doors in the hall.
"You get to..." she began, opening the door. "Clean the toilets!" Thunderlane looked into the door and realized Rainbow had let him to bathrooms. She fell on the floor laughing at his shocked expression. "You thought I meant all that stuff about you working hard? That's just too good!" Rainbow continued to laugh as Thunderlane stood still. Finally, something in him snapped as he recalled everything that had happened today. The jacket. The bar. Now, this. It was all too much for him. His eyes were now slits as he began to walk away. "Where are you going? You have a job to do."
Thundrlane stopped and looked back at Rainbow Dash. She was surprised by the cold look on his face. "No I don't. I do not have a job to do because I no longer work for you."
"What!?"
"You heard me! I quit!" With that, Thunderlane flew all the way out of the hall and out of the base. The rage he was feeling overpowered him as he angrily flew back to his apartment. His vision went blurry as tears began to well up in his eyes. Thunderlane made his way to his home, where he quickly opened the door. Thunderlane angrily slammed the door and jumped onto the bed. He screamed into his pillow until his throughout started to ache. Finally, he stopped and stated to think. He couldn't stay here anymore. He had to get away. Immediately, Thunderlnae went into action b packing up his things. He flew around the room, packing everything he owned into a suitcase. Once he was done, Thunderlane made his way to his apartment building's lobby. He talked with the mare at the counter, officially checking out of his home. It was five in the morning by the time he had left the apparent complex. With nowhere to go, Thunderlane contemplated his options. He could go live with his parents and Rumble. He could always take a train and hope for the best. Or he could try to fly to Cloudsdale and live with a friend he had up there. Realizing this was his best option, Thunderlane began his flight towards the city. "This is it." he thought. "This is the start of a brand new life for Thunderlane."
Blossomforth was not a happy mare today. Since she and Thunderlane worked as partners on the weather patrol, they met everyday at the edge of town to fly to work together. However, for whatever reason, Thunderlane had not shown up today. After waiting for the stallion for at least an hour, and growing more furious by the minute, she decided to go to work without him. Once she had arrived at the weather base, Blossomforth immediately stormed into the mess hall, expecting to find Thunderlane there. Much to her surprise, the stallion was nowhere to be found. However, she did find Flitter, who was flying towards her.
"Hey, Flitter." she greeted. "Have you seen Thunderlane today?"
"Sorry, Blossomforth, but I haven't. Don't you two always come to work together?"
"That's what I thought too, but Thunderlane bailed on me! I bet he's just mad because he took the blame for us finishing late yesterday. That stallion is more of a colt if you ask me."
"I see. Anyways, Rainbow Dash wanted me to come and get you. She wants to see us and Cloudchaser in her office immediately."
"Oh, great. I hope Thunderlane didn't do something stupid. Alright, let's go." Blossomforth followed Flitter out of the mess hall and down the passageway thad led to the offices. Eventually they reached the corridor that included Rainbow Dash's office. Flitter opened the door and the two stepped inside. Blossomforth could see Cloudchaser was already there with Rainbow. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash had a worried expression on her face and not a mad one.
"Blossomforth. Flitter. Good thing you're here. I've got something important to tell you."
"What's up, Rainbow?"
"Thunderlane quit last night."
"What!?" The other three mares exclaimed.
"You heard me. I pulled a prank on him and he got really upset. He stormed out of here after saying he was done with us."
"I knew Thunderlane could overreact, but this was too much, even for him." Blossomforth remarked.
"Was he really overeating, though?" Flitter asked. Blossomforth looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what if Thunderlane quit for a good reason. Think about it, he's had it pretty rough working with us."
"I hate to admit it," Rainbow began. "But Thunderlane's one of the best weather ponies here. We need him to get Ponyville through winter." Cloudchaser, who had been silent the entire time, finally decided to speak up.
"I guess we'll just have to go and get him back."
"Right as always, Cloud. Let's go get our friend back."
Rainbow Dash, Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Blossomforth left the weather base and flew back down to Ponyville. They trotted their way to the edge of town, where Thunderlane's apartment was. They touched down right outside his apartment complex and walked through it until they found his.
"Thunderlane! Thunderlane, you in there? We have to talk to you!" yelled Blossomforth as she punted her hoof on the door. "I guess he's not home."
"Where else would he be?"
"He could be in town."
"Then let's go looking f..."
"Hey Flitter!" called a voice that made the four pegasi mares turn their heads. They saw Thunderlane's younger brother, Rumble, approaching them. "Long time no see. You too, Cloudchaser."
"Rumble," began Rainbow Dash, "Do you know where your brother is? He's not in his apartment."
"You mean my apartment."
"What?"
"I live here now. Thunderlane moved out just last night. He called and said he was leaving for a while and that I could stay here. Pretty cool, right? A whole place to myself."
"Thunderlane's gone!?" Blossomforth screamed.
"Yup."
"Where is he, then?"
"Don't know. When he called last night, all he said was that he was leaving, but he didn't mention where he was leaving to. Anyways, I got to jet. The colts and I are hanging out in a little bit. See you all later." Rumble then flapped his wings and flew back into town, leaving behind four speechless mares.
"I can't believe he's gone." Blossomforth said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "And it's all our fault."
"It is our fault." replied Rainbow Dash. "So it's our duty to make things right."
"But how?" interrupted Cloudchaser. "We don't know where is? Thunderlane could be anywhere in Equestira by now."
"Then we're going to just have to search all of Equestria until we find him."
After Thunderlane had flew out of Ponyville, he continued to soar in the skies until he made his way to Cloudsdale. He had lived there with his parents before they had had Rumble. Now, he was back and ready to begin again. He landed on one of the clouds that made up the large city and began to walk. Thunderlane kept walking and walking until his hooves began to ache. It would have been easier to fly to his destination, but Thunderlane wanted to take all of his new home in. Eventually, Thunderlane made his way to the residential parts of Cloudsdale and trotted to a white house with a blue roof. He anxiously knocked on the door and waited for it to open. It didn't take long for a light blue stallion with a navy blue mane appeared in front of him.
"Thunderlane. It's been a long time since you last visited. What's the occasion?"
"No occasion, Soarin. I just need a place to stay till I can get my own place."
"Your own place? Don't you own an apartment back in Ponyville?"
"Not anymore, I don't." he said with a snarl. Realizing his friends serious tone, Soarin stopped grinning.
"What happened?" And so, Thunderlane explained to Soarin about everything that had been happening in is life. He told him about his miserable job on the weather team, the disrespect every pony seemed to give him, and the cruelty he got from his "friends." Once he was done, Soarin was more than happy to let him in. "You can sleep here for now." Soarin said, pointing to a couch. Thunderlane placed his suitcase on the couch and followed Soarin down a hall. "This is the bathroom and that's the kitchen." He said, giving Thunderlane the grand tour. "How long do you think you'll be staying here?"
"Just until I have enough for my own place. I'll go into the city today and look for a job."
"Sounds like you're a stallion with a plan. Anyways, sorry to ditch you, but I have Wonderbolt training in an hour. Help yourself to anything in the fridge and good luck with your job hunt." Soarin then flew out the door, leaving Thunderlane alone with his thoughts. The stallion trotted back to his couch and plopped onto it face-down. Thunderlane sighed into the couch cushion as he began to ponder about what jobs he could do.
"Cloudsdale weather patrol?" he thought. "That would be just as bad as my old job, if not worse. Wonderbolt? That would take too long. Rainbow Factory Worker? Only deadbeats work there. I guess I'll just have to go out and see Cloudsdale for myself."
Thunderlane hopped off the couch and walked out the door. Closing it behind him, he unfurled his wings and flew into the city. "Here we go, Thunderlane." he said to himself. "Let the job hunt begin!"
The city of Cloudsdale was bustling with activity. Pegasi were flying around, moving from place to place. It seemed that the only pegasus not rushing around was the black colored stallion with an icy blue mohawk. Thunderlane was slowly flapping his wings, which meant he was barely hovering above the ground. Thunderlane was going so slow because he needed to look in to the window of every shop and store in the city for a help wanted sign. The stallion was looking for a job and so far he had not gotten any luck. At first, Thunderlane had tried searching for a job deep in the heart of the city. He found that all of the job openings there were either too low paying or impossible for him to do. There weren't many businesses in the residential area of Cloudsdale, so he skipped right over it. Now, he found himself on the outskirts of the city, where a couple of decent job openings could be found. Unfortunately, Thunderlane had been searching here for an hour and had not had any luck. He stopped to sit down on a bench and take a break.
"I don't think I'll ever find a place to work." Thunderlane sighed to himself. "It's hopeless. I should just turn around and go back to Soarin's." Just as he was about to get off the bench, a red blur whizzed passed him. Thunderlane was knocked down as he watched the blur speed he away. Suddenly, the blur stopped in front of a small building he hadn't noticed before. Thunderlane saw that the blur turned out to be a stallion with red fur and a silver and pink mane. The stallion, who was carrying a large package, entered the building. Curious and with nothing better to do Thunderlane flew over to the building and landed right in front of it. The front had a sign that simply said, "Special Delivery's Delivery Shop." Thunderlane grinned to himself when he saw a wanted sign in the window. He walked into the shop and looked around. It was bigger than it looked from the outside. Boxes of all shapes and sizes were lined up against the walls. Pegasi were grabbing the boxes and flying out the multiple windows the shop had. At the back, there was a counter with the red furred pony he saw from earlier behind it. Suddenly, the pony looked up and noticed Thunderlane.
"Hey, you!" he called. "Can I help you with something?" Thunderlane nervously approached the desk.
"I saw you had a help wanted sign in the window. I'm here for a job." The stallion then looked Thunderlane over and nodded.
"Alright. You look like you could do the job right. Tell me, have you worked any place before?"
"Weather control. In Ponyville."
"Really? You need to be strong to be in weather control, right?"
"Yes. It can get pretty rough at times."
"Good. That means you have stamina. That'll come in handy?"
"Look, I know I'm the one applying for the job, but can you please tell me what kind of job it is."
"Are you serious?" Thunderlane only nodded his head. "It's a delivery job. You'll be one of the pegasi carrying these boxes all over Cloudsdale."
"Seems kind of lame."
"You would think so, but no. Some of the boxes are heavy and some of them need to go the other side of the city. That's why we need strong pegasi. Oh, and it pays well too."
"How well?"
"Very well." Thunderlane looked hard at stallion and saw that he was being sincere. "Want to work here?"
"Sure."
"Great. The name's Special Delivery. I run this joint and am the boss. Here, come with me."
Special Delivery led Thunderlane behind the counter and into a back room. As he walked in, Thunderlane saw even more boxes than before piled all the way to the ceiling. He also noticed a griffon with their back turned to him was putting items in the boxes and sealing them. "Gilda!" The griffon turned, revealing she had purple tipped feathers atop her head and was wearing a blue vest with a box on it.
"What is it, Special?"
"Got a newbie here for ya. Think you can show him the ropes?"
"I though I would be making deliveries, not packing boxes." Thunderlane whined.
"You have to make your way up to delivery pony." Special replied, handing him a vest similar to Gilda's. "I'll be back in a little to see how you're doing. Try to keep up with Gilda, okay." Special Delivery left the room, leaving Thunderlane alone with Gilda.
"Well, come on then. I have to show you what do." Thunderlane walked over to the griffon as she eyed him menacingly. "It's not rocket science, okay. Here's what going to happen. I'm gonna pack and seal the boxes. Then, I'm going to hand the boxes to you. You are going to put the boxes over there. Can you handle that, dweeb?"
"Uh, sure."
"Good." So, Gilda and Thunderlane went to work, packing, sealing, and moving boxes. It took a little while for Thunderlane to adjust to Gilda's quick pace, but he got it soon enough and they were soon working in sync. After what felt like hours to the stallion, Special Delivery came through the doors and stopped their work.
"Alright, you two. That's enough for today." He flew down to them and pulled two envelopes out of his saddlebag. After Gilda quickly took one, Thunderlane hesitantly grabbed one as well. Opening it up, he saw that the envelope was filled with bits. One hundred to be exact.
"One hundred bits! You weren't kidding when you said this job paid well. Why so much?"
"We make deliveries all over Cloudsdale, including the Rainbow Factory and Wonderbolts Headquarters."
"Really?"
"Yep." Just then, Gilda walked past them and was about to leave the back room until Special Delivery stopped her. "So, Gilda. How was this guy?" Gilda turned around and spoke.
"He did okay." She then unfurled her wings and flew out the door.
"Wow. That's the best thing she's ever said about a newbie. You must really be special."
After Thunderlane had left his first day of work, he flew into the city to get something to eat. He finally decided on a street side pizza joint. As he was about to walk in, Thunderlane was stopped by a pair of mares. They stepped in front of him and blocked the door.
"Can I help you?"
"Actually, I think we can help you." said one of the mares. "I like your mohawk. It's edgy, but you need something more to complete the look."
"Something more?"
"Yep. Come with me and my sister. We have a clothes shop down the street. I can tell you're new in town, so we won't charge you one bit!" Before Thunderlane could respond, the mares dragged him down the street and to their shop. Once they got there, the mares pushed him into a seat and began picking out clothes for him to wear. They made him try every outfit on, until they found one they liked. It was a grey shirt with a red scarf and included a few fake nose and mouth rings. Looking in a mirror, Thunderlane had to admit it went well with his mohawk.
"And you said this was all free?"
"Yep! I must say, this must be some of our best work."
"Well, thanks." Thunderlane said as he began to head out the door. "I'll tell other ponies about this place."
"Great! That would be wonderful for business. Just don't say we give out free clothes!" After leaving the shop, Thunderlane walked back down the street and to the pizza place he had been waiting to go to. Unfortunately, the restaurant was now closed and the lights were turned off. Thunderlane sighed and took off into the sky.
"I guess I'll just see what Soarin's got for dinner."
Ever since they had learned about Thunderlane's disappearance from Ponyvillle, Thunerlane's friends had been desperately searching for him all over Equestria. Rainbow Dash had flew to Canterlot to look for him there, Flitter and Cloudchaser were searching for Thunderlane in Manehatten, and Blossomforth had taken a train all the way to Apploosa. They had all been searching for a day, but still had not even the slightest clue to their friend's whereabouts. Eventually, they decided to call it off for now and head back to Ponyville. They had met up back at the weather patrol base, where they were one by one telling each other that they hadn't found Thunderlane.
"I looked all over Canterlot, but I couldn't find him. Princess Celestia even had a few guards helping me search for him."
"We couldn't find him either. Flitter and I went to every tourist attraction in Mahehatten and asked if any pony had seen Thunderlane. No one had, sorry." Every pony then looked at Blossomforth, who was staring at the floor.
"Well, Blossomforth. Did you find him in Apploosa?" Every pony gasped when Blossomforth looked up and they saw that she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and fresh tears were falling freely from her eyes. Blossomforth couldn't talk and only shook her head. At the sight of her friend, Flitter flew over to Blossomforth and embraced her tightly.
"It's okay, Blossomforth. We'll find him. We only checked three cities. He could be in any other one of them." Blossomforth smiled at her friends words and eventually stop crying.
"Th...thank...you." she said shakily.
"No problem." Just then, Rainbow Dash stood up on the table they were sitting around and spoke triumphantly.
"Alright, team! Thunderlane is still missing and we need to find him! Like Flitter said, we've only checked three cities. Tomorrow we need to check three more. Any ideas what those cities should be."
"We could try Las Pegasus. Thunderlane always liked gambling."
"Ok, good start. I'll head their tomorrow. Any more Ideas?"
"He might have really wanted to get away and be in the Crystal Empire."
"Smart thinking. The Empire's pretty big, so Flitter and Cloudchaser will head their tommorw and split up to cover more ground."
"He used to live in Cloudsdale. He's bound to have a few old friends there."
"That's true, but he also used to go to that bar in Trottenham. Alright Blossomforth, you can go to either one tomorrow. Take your pick."
"Something tells me you're right. I guess I'll go to Trottenham."
"Ok, then. It looks like we have another big day ahead of us, so we should all get some rest." All four pegasus mares started making their way out of the base. Rainbow Dash immediately flew out as fast as she could, but Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Blossomforth took their time. Blossomforth had started crying one again and Flitter and Cloudchaser were trying calm her down.
"H...he's...just...always...b...been...there...for...m...me...and...n...now...he's gone. And it's all our fault!"
"Hey, it's okay. We'll find Thunderlane. We'll apologize to him and everything will go back to normal. Trust me, we'll have him back in no time."
"Cloudchaser's right. I'm sure he has to be in one of the cities were going tomorrow."
"I guess you're right. Thanks, Cloud, Flitter. You two are great friends."
"Don't mention it. Anyways, we got to get home. Rainbow was right when she said we needed a good night's rest." With that, Flitter and Cloudchaser flew out of the base, leaving Blossomforth by herself.
"Oh, Thunderlane. Where are you?"
After Thunderlane had been given his new clothes and had the chance of eating pizza taken away, he made his way to Soarin's place. He had a lot to tell him, after all. Thunderlane smiled to himself as he flew threw the air. Things were finally looking up for the stallion. He had gotten a job, a new look, and, for the first time in a while, a burst of self confidence. Soon enough, Thunderlane spotted Soarin's house and he descended down to it. He walked up to the door and was about to knock when he remember he was living there for now. Thunderlane opened the door and walked inside. He tried to hold back a laugh at what he saw. Soarin had fallen asleep while eating a pie and his his muzzle was buried into the pastry as he snored. Thunderlane walked up to his sleeping friends and roughly shook him.
"Soarin, wake up."
"Huh!? What!? Oh, hey Thunderlane. You find a job?"
"Sure did. I work for a delivery company that pays pretty well."
"That's great!"
"So...Do you notice anything different about me?"
"Did you get a haircut?."
"How about the fact that I'm wearing clothes and I have in nose and mouth rings."
"That was my next guess."
"Anyway, I didn't get a chance to eat. Got anything for me?"
"Sure." Soarin made his way to the fridge and openned it, revealing a large assortment of pies. "Take your pick."
On the other side of Cloudsdale, a shadowy figure was flying through the sky. It bolted through the air, above the clouds. Eventually, they made it to a small apartment complex on the very edge of the city. The figure touched down and landed on the roof of one of the buildings. With a flap of their wings, they hopped down and landed on the clouds. They then walked straight forward until they approached one of the apartments. The figure slowly pulled out a key, opened the door, and walked inside. They then walked towards their bedroom, and jumped onto the bed.
Gilda the griffon had met some pony interesting today. Usually, whenever Special Delivery gave her another newbie to train, she scared them off and they quit immediately. However, today was different. The stallion named Thunderlane had not been the least bit afraid of her demeanor and had lasted the entire day. Gilda noted that he was unlike any other pony he had seen. Thunderlane was the only pony she knew that had a mohawk and she overheard he used to work on weather patrol. Gilda knew that it took a lot of effort to be on weather patrol. An old friend of her's was on weather patrol and she was tough as nails.
"Who is this guy?" Gilda asked out loud. "He's not like any other stallion I've met, that's for sure." She smiled at that thought, but it instantly turned into a scowl. "What am I doing!? I can't think like that." Gilda then turned over on the bed, before smiling once again. "But then again, why not?" She got up and made her way to the bathroom. Gilda stepped into the shower and turned on the water. She moaned as hot water rained down on her. "So, Thunderlane. What should I do with him? I could leave it alone, but what's the fun in that? Or, I could pursue him." Gilds once again smiled as she thought of pursuing Thunderlane. "Come on, Gilda. Take your pick."
Thunderlane groaned as he rolled over onto his side. The previous night had been a long one for him. He was currently living with his old friend, Soarin. Unfortunately, Soarin only had one bed in his home and didn't want to give it up. As a result, Thunderlane was forced to sleep on the couch. It wouldn't have been a problem, if it wasn't for the couch's size. It was literally half as long as Thunderlane and just as wide. A pony could barely even sit on it, much less lay down and sleep on it. After a while of tossing and turning, Thunderlane had found a semi-decent position and quickly fell asleep. However a loud noise woke him up shortly after. Thunderlane could see the kitchen light was on, so he hopped off the couch and trotted towards the kitchen door. He opened it up and was surprised to see Soarin holding open the refrigerator. He did this while using his wings to slide multiple pies off the shelves and into his forelegs.
"Really, Soarin? I know you love pie, but for Celestia's sake, it's four in the morning." Soarin was startled by his friends voice and flew up into the air. This caused them to drop all of his pies on to the floor. Unfortunately, one of them landed directly on Thunderlane's face. Soarin hovered back down as he gazed at his pie covered friend.
"Whoops. Sorry, Thunder." The only response Thunderlane gave was a giant lick of his own muzzle.
"Yum." he began. "Blueberry."
After Thundrlane had caught Soarin raiding his own fridge in the early hours of the morning, Thunderlane could not find it in himself to fall back asleep. So, after two hours of relentless struggle, Thunderlane finally accepted he wasn't getting any more rest and got up for the day. He had taken a quick shower, gelled his mane into a mohawk, put on his shirt and scarf, and put in his nose rings. Now, Thunderlane was just about to head out the door when he was stopped by Soarin.
"Wait, Thunderlane."
"What is it, Soar?"
"I can't help but think that maybe you're making a mistake."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you left your whole life behind you, including your friends."
"They weren't really my friends. I was just some pony they could make fun of and have pay for their drinks."
"I know and I agree that you have very right to be upset. But have you ever considered they might feel bad and want to change? My bet is they're looking for you right now." Thunderlane took a long time before answering, contemplating Soarin's words.
"Maybe I'll eventually go back there and see them. Just not right now. It's too soon and I really don't want to see them for a while."
"That's fair. Anyway, good luck at work."
"Thanks, you too." Thunderlane then unfurled his wings and flew out the door. The crisp morning air tickled his feathers as he soared through the sky. Thunderlane headed south towards the outskirts of town, where his job was located. After about ten minutes of flying, Thunderlane came across the familiar building of Special Delivery's shop. He tucked in his wings as he frefalled towards the building. At the last second, he flapped his wings hard and made a gentle landing right at the entrance. Special Delivery had been in the doorway and came out to greet Thunderlane.
"Nice moves, I haven't seen a landing that soft in years." Special paused when he saw what Thudnerlane was wearing. "Woah, you look different."
"Ya, I got some new clothes yesterday. Like em?"
"They look good, just surprised me was all. Anyways, I know it's only your second day, but I've taken you off packaging." Thunderlan'es face lit up with glee.
"You mean I'm making deliveries!"
"No exactly. Every day there are a few...odd jobs that need to be taken care of. No pony likes doing them so we have a system where every pony is assigned a day each month to do them. I added you to the system and lucky you, today's your day!"
"Great." Thunderlane said sarcastically.
"Don't worry, we always have two ponies working together, so you won't be alone. You and Gilda will be doing them together."
"Did you say Gilda?"
"Yep. For some reason, she was more than happy to volunteer when I said you would be working with her. Anyways, she's inside. Tell me when you two are ready and I'll give you your first job." Special Delivery walked inside and Thunderlane followed shortly after. When he got inside, he could see Gilda was leaning against the counter.
"About time you got here. There's something you should know about me. I don't like waiting." Gilda then looked up and saw what Thunderlane looked like. "Why do you look like you're about to mug some pony?"
"Got some new clothes is all. No big deal."
"Oh, it's a big deal when you look that stupid." Gilda began laughing as Thunderlane stood there, unamused. "Anyways, we should get to work. Things won't take care of themselves."
"By the way, what did Special mean when he said odd jobs."
"Oh, you'll see."
At the beginning of the day, Thunderlane did not think he would find himself squeezed into an air duct, face to flank with another pony. Just like Gilda had said, Thunderlane soon saw exactly what his boss meant when he said odd jobs. Apparently, some of the delivery ponies used the air ducts to leave the building, instead of the windows. Thunderlane was shocked to learn that one of those pegasi had gotten stuck and needed to be freed. Thunderlane was more shocked to learn that he had to be the one to free them. He and Gilda had been taken to the air duct and showed the pony that was stuck inside. Gilda was bulkier than Thudnerlane, so she made him go in instead of her. Thunderlane had crawled throughout the duct until he reached the stuck pony. Unfortunately, all he could see of them was their flank and hind legs.
"Ok." he said to the pony. "I'm going to get you out of here."
"About time." the pony replied, rather ungratefully.
"I can't pull you out this way, so I'm going to have to push you out. Got it?"
"Alright, just make it quick." So, Thunderlane stretched his forelegs out in front of him and put his hoofs on the ponies flanks. He then gave a small push, which didn't seem to move the pony forward at all.
"You're going to have to do better than that, dweeb." He heard Gilda call from behind him.
"I'm trying!" he screamed back. Thunderlane gave another push, but this time, with all of his strength. The pony's body instantly came lose and they started moving forward. With a kick of their hind legs, they pushed themselves out of the air duct and out of the building. Unfortunately for Thunderlane, their hind legs had kicked right into his face, sending him sliding back through the air duct. He came to a stop right at the entrance, but his front half was still within the duct, so his bottom half was hanging out of it.
"Nice flanks." Gilda said, before blushing. Thunderlane, blushing himself, was completely flustered.
"Th...thanks. So, what's next for today?"
"During packaging, a pony accidentally sealed themselves in a box and now we have to get them out."
"That doesn't seem so bad."
"The box got delivered and we have to go track it down."
"Oh."
"Yep, odd jobs."
Adventures in Trottingham
Blossomorth was not sure where exactly she was. The last thing she remembered was getting onto a train to Trottingham. However, now she found herself in a dark room with no furniture. Blossomforth frantically looked around for anything at all, but she couldn't see anything in the pitch black room. Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind her and she quickly turned around. Blossomforth was astounded to see Thunderlane standing there, with a spotlight illuminating his position in the room.
"Thunderlane!" She called as she flapped her wings and flew towards him. Blossomforth didn't make it though, for right when she was about to reach Thunderlane, she slammed into an invisible wall. The impact knocked her back a couple of feet and she landed on her flank. Blossomforth winced in pain as Thunderlane began to laugh. "Thunderlane, what's going on? Where are we?" Thunderlane instantly sopped laughing and stared at Blossomfoth with a look of pure hatred.
"What makes you think you can talk to me?"
"What do you mean, Thunder? We're friends."
"Friends!? We're not friends! Friends don't treat friends like garbage and use them to get whatever they want."
"What are you talking about?" Blossomforth asked shakily.
"Let's take a look at just last week. You take the last sweater, then let me freeze to death during work. After that, you let me take the blame for being late. On the same day, you ditch me at a bar and have me pay for your drinks. And that was just Wednesday!"
"I...I'm...sorry."
"Oh, you're sorry. Well, Blossomforth, sorry won't cut it. I'm done with you." Just then, the spotlight disappeared and Thunderlane was hidden by darkness.
"No, Thunderlane come back!" Blossomforth screamed as she lunged forward. She once again hit the same invisible wall. She fell back as the sound of Thunderlane's laughter filled her ears. The laughing echoed loudly through the room as Blossomforth began to weep. "Please, Thunderlane. Make it stop!"
Blossomforth gasped and woke up with a jolt and looked around. She appeared to be on a train. Other passengers were there, but didn't seem to notice her.
"Next stop..." said a voice from the speaker on the train. "Trottingham." Blossomforth allowed her self to calm down as she processed the information.
"Ok." She thought. "It was just a dream."
Soon Blossomforth's train arrived in Trottingham and it was time for her to get off. As she stepped off of the train and onto the platform, Blossomforth couldn't help but recall the nightmare she had on the way there. She shuddered at the memory of the dream, but soon turned her attention to something else, finding Thunderlane. Trottingham was a rather large city, so she needed to cover a lot of ground that day. Blossomforth quickly unfurled her wings and flapped them, launching her into the sky. She glided away from the train station and to the heart of the city.
"Don't worry, Thunderalne." She said out loud. "I'll find you."
Three hours had passed since Blossomforth began her search for her missing friend in Trottingham, yet she wasn't a step closer to finding Thunderlane than when she started. The poor mare had been flying all over the city, desperately searching the ground below for a glimpse of black fur and an icy colored mohawk. Blossomforth was starting to get tired and her wings were terribly cramped. She decided to take a break at a local park. After hours of flight, Blossomforth finally landed and trotted to a nearby bench. She almost collapsed on to it when she went to sit down. Blossomforth immediately closed her eyes and began to drift off, but she snapped to attention when a voice came from behind her. Blossomforth turned around and saw a yellow pegasus with mint closed mane standing behind her. Bloosomforth recognized the pony as Sunshower Raindrops, a fellow member of the weather patrol.
"Raindrops, what are you doing here?"
"I'm visiting my family, remember? I told you about it before I left. Actually, a lot of ponies are out of town, like Cloudkicker and Thunderlane."
"Did you say Thunderlane? I didn't know you knew him."
"Sure do. He was my wingpony back at the Wonderbolts Academy. Anyways, I saw him in Clousdsdale a few days ago. I didn't know he had family up there. Did you know that...." Raindrops couldn't continue as she was cut off when Blossomforth raced passed her.
"Sorry, Raindrops, but I have to get to Cloudsdale!"
"What do you mean there are no trains out of Trottingham today!?"
Blossomforth was severely agitated at the moment. When she he heard that Thunderlane was in Clousdsdale, she immediately went to the train station to buy a ticket back to Ponyville. Blossomforth couldn't fly all the way to Cloudsdale from Trottinham, but it would only take her a couple of hours to do so from Ponyville. Unfortunately, the pony at the ticket counter had told Blossomforth that all of the trains departing form the city had already left.
"I'm sorry, but the last train departing from Trottingham left just a couple of minutes ago."
"That can't be! I looked at the train schedule and it said the last train was departing at 5:05. Right now, it is only 5:00. Care to explain that?"
"Yes, you seem to still be on Ponyville time."
"What?"
"You do know that Ponyville and Trottingham are in different time zones, don't you? Our time is an hour ahead."
"Oh. Then, never mind."
Blossomforth walked away from the ticket counter and out of the train station. She just kept on walking and waling, not caring where she was going. She was the only one of her friends that knew where Thunderlane was, but she was the only one that couldn't get to him. She sighed and continued walking until she ran right into a pole. Blossomforth fell back and heard laughing coming from behind her. She turned around and saw a young colt and an older filly laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny!?" Blossomforth demanded. "So, I ran into a pole. It could have happened to either one of you two." The ponies stopped laughing and flinched like her words hurt. Seeing their expressions, Blossomforth sighed and softened her tone. "I'm sorry for yelling, but I'm just not having that good of a d..." Blossomforth was cut off when the filly took out a water balloon and threw it in her face. It hit it's target and splashed water all over Blossomforth. The impact momentarily blinded her and the colt and filly used the opportunity to run away, laughing. Once they were gone, Blossomforth was left alone, dripping wet. "I hate this city!"
Author's Note
I would like to thank a few people:
SageBrony07
Everyone who has favourited one of my stories
All of my followers, especially Arya Stark and Derpyditzydoobubbles
The red knight
You guys are the best!
A Date With A Beak And Claws
Thunderlane had had a long day. He and Gilda had spent hours working on Special Delivery’s “odd jobs.” That included pushing an ungrateful pegasi out of an air duct, tracking down a misplaced box with a pony inside, and giving a hooficure to Special Delivery’s marefriend. Thunderlane and Gilda were exhausted to say the least. It was eight at night by the time the two returned to the shop. Special needed to close up, so he gave them their money and hustled them out the door. He quickly flew off, leaving Thunderlane and Gilda alone.
“So…” Thunderlane said awkwardly. “You going home?”
“I guess. It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.” Gilda began to walk away as Thunderlane watched her go.
“Wait, Gilda!” He yelled, making her turn around. “I saw this pizza place last time I was in the city. It was closed when I got to it, but it should be open now.”
“What’s your point?”
”I was wondering if maybe you would like to come with me to try it out.”
“You mean, like on a date?” she said, blushing.
“No, no! It would be just two friends trying out a new restaurant.” Thunderlane didn’t know if it was real, but he thought he saw Gilda frown slightly when he said that. “That is, unless you want it to be.” Gilda instantly perked up and flashed a small grin.
“Sure, if you’re paying.”
Thunderlane and Gilda flapped their wings and shot into the air. They moved quickly through the night sky and the city lights illuminated the clouds beneath them. Eventually, they made it to the city block which housed the pizza restaurant. The two made a soft landing near the entrance and walked inside. The joint was busy, but not completely packed. Thunderlane and Gilda didn’t have much time to look around before a waiter approached them.
“Hello, hello.” The waiter began. “My name is Silver Platter. Allow me to take you to your table.” Thunderlane and Gilda followed their waiter until he reached a small table in the back. The two sat down as Silver Platter handed them their menus. “What can I get you to drink?”
“I,ll just have a cherry coke.” replied Thunderlane. He and Silver Platter then looked at Gilda.
“Same.” She said while glancing at the menu.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with your drinks and to take your orders.” Silver Platter walked away and Gilda turned her attention to Thunderlane.
“So…” She began. “How are you liking Cloudsdale?”
"It's fine. The city's busy as always. You know, I used to live here when I was a colt."
"Really? Why'd you move?"
"My little brother, Rumble. After he was born our parents decided they wanted to live somewhere less..." Thunderlane paused, trying to think of the right word.
"Hectic?"
"Exactly. Where did you move here from?"
"Huh?"
"I assume you weren't born in Cloudsdale, so I want to know here you're from."
"Actually, I was. I am a Cloudsdale griffon through and through."
"Wow." A long period of silence passed over the two until Silver Platter came back with their drinks.
"Miss, what do you like to try tonight?" Gilda glanced and Thunderlane before answering the waiter.
"My date and I will just share a large cheese pizza."
"Got it. One large cheese pizza coming up!" Silver Platter left the table and disappeared through the kitchen doors.
"Gilda, I've been meaning to ask you this. How long have you worked for Special Delivery?"
"A little over a year. I was actually planning on moving to Ponyville so I spend time with an old friend, but we sort of had a falling out. The problem was I already quit my job because I didn't think I need it anymore. I applied for the first job I stumbled upon and that was or Special Delivery." After finishing her story, Gilda was surprised to see Thunderlane staring angrily down at the table.
"I think I remember you. You're the griffon Rainbow Dash brought to town that got angry and ruined one of Pinkie Pie's party."
"Yeah, that's me."
"Rainbow Dash was one of the reasons I just moved back here."
"Really?"
"Yep. I used to work for her back in Ponyville. Her and all of my other friends treated me like dirt."
"So we both hate Rainbow Dash. I think I like you ten times more! Hey, Thunderlane. How about we get out of here and go have some fun?"
"What about the pizza?" Gilda grabbed Thunderlane's hoof in her claw and stared into his eyes.
"Oh well." Gilda, still holding Thunderlane's hoof, yanked him out of his seat and towards the door. The two exited the restaurant, unfurled their wings, and shot into the air. The feeling of the cool night wind against Thunderlane's feathers made him sigh in content.
"So, Gilda. Where are we headed?" Gilda looked back at him with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, you'll see." The pair flew for a while longer before Gilda led Thunderlane to the residential part of the city. They touched down in the backyard of a blue and white house.
"What are we doing here?"
"Shhhhh! You'll find out soon enough, but you have to be quiet. Quick, hide!" Gilda immediately jumped into a nearby bush and Thunderlane followed her soon after. Just then, the back door to the house opened and Special Delivery walked out.
"This is Special's house." Thunderlane whispered. "Why are we even here?" He looked over at Gilda and saw that she was still smirking.
"Watch this." Gilda waited until Special passed the bush they were hiding in to spring up and give a mighty roar. Special Delivery screamed for his life and fell into his own pool. Gilda started laughing hysterically as Thunderlane popped up from behind the bush.
"Gilda!" Special screamed from in his pool. "I told you stop doing that! I would so fire you if you weren't my best employee." Special turned his head and saw Thunderlane beginning to chuckle. "I see you brought the newbie with you. Just great." Special climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel. "Seriously, I better not see you here again or I'll cut your pay in half. That goes for you too, Thunderlane." Special walked back inside his house and slammed the backyard door.
"i have to admit, that was pretty funny, Gilda."
"I know, right. By now I thought he would dig up this bush, so I couldn't his in it anymore."
"How many times exactly have you done this?"
"Only about twenty." The griffon and pony were sent into another found of laughter. Gilda laughed so hard she lost balance and tripped onto Thunderlane. The two fell to the ground and Gilda landed on top of her.
"Gilda?" Thunderlane asked, blushing.
"Ya" She replied, blushing just as much.
"I think I..." Thunderlane was stopped when Gilda put her beak to his mouth and kissed him deeply. Thunderlane eagerly returned the kiss and broke it off after a minute. "Does this mean we're dating?" Gilda rested her head on Thunderlane's chest and looked him in the eyes.
"It does if you want it to be." Gilda got her answer when Thunderlane engaged them in another passionate kiss.
Thunderlane was irritated when he woke up to the sound of a beeping alarm clock. He reached his hoof out to press the snooze button, but was surprised when he couldn't find it. Actually, he was surprised because he didn't even own an alarm clock. He peeled his eyes open and immediately saw that he was not in his own bed.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Thunderlane thought. "I'm living with Soarin." Thunderlane closed his eyes once more and turned over in bed. His eyes shot open only a second later. "Since when do I sleep on a bed?" Thunderlane looked around and saw that he was clearly not in Soarin's home. Thunderlane began to panic but calmed down when he saw the other inhabitant of the bed he was in. Gilda was laying beside him, sleeping peacefully. He could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed and that she had wrapped herself around one of Thunderlane's forelegs. He leaned in and gave Gilda a kiss on the forehead, waking her up.
"Come on, mom, five more minutes." she complained groggily, rolling over.
"Come on, Gildy. It's time to get up." Recognizing that the voice that she heard was not that of her mother, she turned over and smiled when she Thunderlane laying beside her.
"Morning, stud." she said as gave him a small peck on the cheeks. "I guess it's time to get up."
"I think you're right." Thunderlane replied, climbing out the bed. "So, I'm going to need to use your shower. Gilda chuckled at the stupidity of the statement.
"Go right ahead." Thunderlane made his way out of the bedroom and down the hall. "I have to warn you, I may come in there with you, Thunderlane!"
Rainbow Dash, Flitter, and Cloudchaser were standing outside the Ponyville weather base at four in the morning. They had met at the earliest sign of the sunrise, for what they needed to do could not be delayed even one second. After confirming with each other, they had learned that Thunderlane was not in any of the cities they had gone to the previous day. There only remained a small hope because of the fact that Blossomforth had not shown up yet.
"Where is that mare!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We agreed to meet here first thing!"
"Calm down, Rainbow." Flitter said. "She'll be here soon."
As if to confirm Flitter's word's the ponies saw a figure flying towards them. Soon enough, they could see it was Blossomforth. She had bags under her eyes, her mane was a complete mess, and she had feathers sticking out from all directions.
"What happened to you?" Cloudchaser asked as Blossomforth touched down.
"Forget that!" Rainbow interrupted. "Where have you been!? We said to meet here over an hour ago!"
"Sorry, but I've had a rough night. I missed the last train to Ponyville and had to wait till morning. However I did learn something."
"And that would be?"
"Thunderlane is in Cloudsdale."
"What!?"
"That's right. I ran into Raindrops in Trottingham and she told me that she saw Thunderlane in Cloudsdale a few days ago."
"Why would he be there!?" Rainbow demanded. "There is absolutely no reason why he would be in Cloudsdale!"
"Except for the fact that he used to live there." Cloudchaser stated. "And the fact that he's best friends with Soarin, who lives there. Also, it's the only city he could get to from Ponyville in under a day. It's probably the first place we should of looked."
"Not helping, Cloud. Anyways, we need to go there and get him back! I know where Soarin lives and if we're lucky, we could reach them by nightfall.
The four pegasi quickly took off and started speeding towards the flying city of Cloudsdale.
It was nine at night, and a griffon and a pony were flying through the sky together, hoof in claw. Gilda grinned and looked over at Thunderlane who had an amused expression on his face.
"What's so funny?"
"You look beautiful with the wind in your feathers." A deep blush appeared on Gilda's face and she turned away, secretly smiling. The pair kept on flying in silence for what seemed like an eternity, until Thunderlane spoke up and stopped. "That's Soarin's house." He said, pointing down to an apartment building below them. "I guess it's time to say goodnight."
"Can't you stay at my place for another night?" Gilda whined.
"I wish, but Soarin will call the royal guard if he thinks something happened to me."
"Sounds like he's a pretty good friend."
"Yeah, he's a true friend." sighed Thunderlane as he looked down. Gilda, noticing this, flew to him and place Thundelane in a deep kiss. The stallion eagerly returned it and lifted his head to look Gilda in the eyes. The two broke apart, gasping for air. "Thanks, Gildy. I needed that."
"Any time." she replied as she began to fly way. "G'nght, stud."
"Goodnight, Gilda!"
Once he saw that Gilda was out of sight, Thunderlane flew down to the apartment building below. He landed right on Soarin's porch and walked in the door.
"Hey, Soarin, sorry I didn't come back last n..." Thunderlane stopped when he walked into the kitchen. He figured Soarin would be in there, eating a pie. He was, but Thunderlane could also see Rainbow Dash, Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Blossomforth sitting at the kitchen table. "What are they doing here?"
"They're here for you, Thunderlane." Soarin replied. "They just wanted to make things right." Thunderlane looked over at his former friends, who all seemed to be slightly agitated.
"Look, Thunderlane. You need to come back to Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said bluntly.
"Why should I?"
"Because I said so! You need to get your flank back home right now!"
"Or what!? I don't work for you anymore! You can't fire me!"
"Stop being such a foal, Thunderlane." Cloudchaser interjected. "Can't you see we're here to apologize."
"Then why haven't you?"
"Because you were to busy arguing with Rainbow! Look, we've been all over Equestira looking for you and we've been worried sick. The least you could do is hear us out."
"Ok then. I'm listening." A long period of silence passed between every pony until Flitter decided to end it.
"We're sorry."
"For what?"
"Making you pay for our drinks."
"Is that all?"
"Well, yeah. That's kind of all we did wrong. What else could you be mad about?"
Thunderlane felt a deep rage start to boil inside of him. His eyes turned to slits as he stomped his hoofs in anger. His wings unfurled and he turned towards the door. Without a word, Thunderlane flapped his wings and catapulted out of the house. The five remaning pegasi watched their friend fly off into the night.
"What's wrong with you!?" Blossomforth screamed. "We came here to apologize to Thunderlane, not chew him out! He left because we didn't treat him like a real freind, not because we made him buy us some drinks! You know what, he's right! We are horrible friends and the one chance we get to make things right was just blown because you all were just too stubborn!"
Blossomforth stormed out of the kitchen and out of the house. Her friends saw another pony fly off in anger. Rainbow Dash, Flitter, Cloudchaser all drooped their heads and began to tear up. Soon, all three were crying, letting their tears drip onto the kitchen table.
"Wow." Soarin said, making them look up. They were stunned at his cold expression. "That was the worst apology I've ever heard."
Gilda Versus Blossomforth
"Thunderlane, wait please!"
Blossomforth was currently flying through the air, desperately trying to catch up to her friend. After Rainbow Dash, Flitter, and Cloudchaser botched their apology to Thunderlane, the stallion had taken off into the night. Blossomforth had decided to follow him, wanting to make things right, but also curious about where he would go. She soon got her answer when she saw Thunderlane begin to descend. Blossomforth hung back as she watched him land outside a different block of apartments. She saw Thunderlane walk through the mass of apartments, until he stopped in front of one. Blossomforth saw him knock on the door and after a minute it opened. She couldn't see who opened the door, but they embraced Thunderlane and pulled him in. Blossomforth just flapped her wings and stayed in place, deciding it would be best to give Thunderlane a few minutes before getting him.
Thunderlane could not believe what had just happened. His former friends found him in Cloudsdale and came to apologize. However, they did no such thing. Instead, they decided to make it out like the whole situation was his fault and tried to force him back to Ponyville. He had immediately flew away in rage and straight towards Gilda's place. Once he had made it there, he knocked on her door. Gilda opened it and immediately pulled him into a hug when she saw the agitated look on Thunderlane's face. The griffon had pulled Thunderlane in and sat him on her couch. The two were currently wrapped around each other, with Gilda nuzzling against his neck.
"What's wrong, Thundy?" she asks, concerned. "I've never seen a sorrier face in my life." Thunderlane glared at Gilda, but softened his expression when he remembered that she was not perfectly romantic.
"You're not going to believe what just happened. I got back to Soarin's and guess who's there. Rainbow Dash and those other ungrateful pegasi from Ponyville! They said they came to apologize, but what do they do!? They make me out to be the bad guy and try to force me back to Ponyville!" Thunderlane looked at Gilda and was surprised to see her beak hanging open.
"Those bit..." Gilda was cut off by knock at the door. She quickly hopped off the couch and made her way to it. Opening the door, she was surpassed to find a white furred mare with a green and red mane standing outside her home. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I need to talk to Thunderlane!" Blossomforth said quickly, stepping inside. She immediately spotted him on the couch and walked over to the stallion. "Thunderlane, I..."
"Why are you even here!?" Thunderlane screamed. "Why in the name of Equestira would you be here right now!?"
"I have to make things right."
"Why bother? After what happened at Soarin's, I don't think that's possible." Thudnerlane said, turning away from her.
"What Rainbow and the others said is their own beliefs. I don't feel that way at all. You had every right to run away and I'm deeply sorry." Blossomforth began to tear up and looked down at the floor. Gilda, who had been watching in silence up to this point, finally decided to step in.
"Look, Thunderlane wants some time alone with me, so I think you better leave."
"And just who are you?" Blossomforth snapped back.
"I'm the one Thunderlane's in love with, so I'm going to tell you this one more time. Get...out...of...here...now."
"In love with you? Don't make me laugh. Thunderlane would never love such a..."
"How dare you!?" Thunderlane yelled. "I do love her! Now, Blossomforth, there is nothing for you to do here. Just leave Gilda and I alone, okay." Blossomforth just stood in silence as she let the reality of the situation sink in. At last, she turned towards the door and was about to leave, but not before letting out one more comment.
"Nice job, Thunderlane. I always knew you would end up with someone just as dumb as you." Without warning, Gilda launched herself at Blossomforth and slashed a claw at her face. The strike landed on it's target, opening a large gash on Blossomforth's cheek. She immediately turned around and bucked her legs out at Gilda. The griffon was caught off guard and was sent flying into the wall. She looked back at the mare with fire in her eyes and lunged at her again. This time, Blossomforth was ready and jumped into the air. Gilda sailed past her, crashing onto her couch.
"Stay still, so I can pound in your face!" Gilda roared as she lunged at Blossomforth once again. The pegasus mare could not react quick enough and was tacked to the ground. Gilda landed on top of Blossomforth, instantly knocking the wind out of her. Keeping her weight on the helpless mare below her, Gilda began to deliver furious pushes to Blossomorth's face. Blossomforth felt her nose break and soon another wave of anger filled her body. She tilted her head slightly and bit down heard on to one of Gilda's claws. The griffon reeled in pain as she got off of Blossomforth. She took the opportunity to grab a vase in her teeth and slam it onto Gilda's head. The vase broke over head and she went down to the floor. Blossomforth jumped on top of her as the two began to wrestle on the ground. This continued until Gilda used a claw to pock a sharp peicee of broken vase and attempted to plunge it into Blossomforth's eye. Luckily, before Gilda could, Bloosomforth smacked Gilda's claw with her hoof, causing the sharp piece to fly out of her grasp.
Gilda and Blossomforth immediately stopped their fighting when they heard a surprised yelp come from behind them. They looked over to see Thunderlane with his eyes wide open. He was holding a hoof to his chest, where a deep crimson had covered most of his black colored fur. They could see the broken piece of vase was almost completely buried in an area dangerously close to Thunderlane's heart. Gilda and Blossomforth watched as Thunderlane's eyes rolled back into his head and the stallion collapsed onto the floor. Without a hoof holding the wound, blood began leaking from his chest in large amounts. A puddle of crimson began to cover the floor around him. Gilda and Blossomfroth, who were stunned at the sight before them watched silently, until they raced over to the injured stallion.
"Thunderlane!"
"I'm sorry miss, but you are not allowed in the room until the doctors are sure he will be alright."
"That's ridiculous! I want to see my colt friend and I want to see him now!"
It was one in the morning at the Cloudsdale Treatment Hospital and a nurse and a certain griffon were at each other's throats. Of course, at this early in the morning, very pony was sure to be a little edgy. This included Blossomforth, who was now passed out on the couch after a security pony had taxed her. The pegasus mare was just as worried about Thunderlane as Gilda was, but she was the one who tried kicking down the door to his hospital room.
"I am telling you, it's hospital rules. I can't let you in until the doctors are sure he's fine."
"That's the problem. He was bleeding to death when we brought him here! Thunderlane could be dying in there and I won't be with him!" Gilda then broke down in tears and leaned against the wall, sobbing. The nurse, who had previously been fighting with the griffon, lost all of her anger as she witnessed the sorry sight.
"Hey there." she said, wrapping a foreleg around Gilda. "I know you're worried about him, but he can pull through. If the doctors are going to save him, they'll need as few distractions as possible and a hysterical friend or family member is one such distraction."
"I...I guess you're right." Gilda got up and trotted over to the couch in the waiting room. She sat down next to Blossomforth and looked at her unconscious body. Gilda instantly felt a pang of guilt after remembering she had tries to tear the mare's eyes out. The griffon sighed as she began to recall of the events that happened after Thunderlane got hurt. She and Blossomforth had instantly rushed to his side to inspect the wound. Surprisingly, Blossomforth had taken charge and had ordered Gilda to call paramedics. She didn't want to leave Thunderlane's side, but she knew that it had to be done. Gilda rushed into her kitchen and grabbed the phone. After frantically dialing 9-1-1 and telling them what happened, she hung up and rushed back to Thunderlane.
Gilda had been surprised and a little thankful when she saw that Blossomfroth had found some bandages and was starting to wrap them around Thunderlane's body. After a while, the paramedics had finally arrived and took him away to the hospital. Gilda and Blossomforth had followed them closely. Once they had gotten to the hospital, Blossomforth immediately tried to enter Thunderlane's room, but was stopped by security. Eventually, she was becoming too much of a problem and they had to gaze her down. After that, Gilda had tried the same thing, but in a less violent way. That's how she had ended up where she was right now, on a couch with an unconscious body. Gilda looked over at Blossomforth once again and gave a deep sigh.
"She's the one who really helped Thunderlane." Gilda thought. "I didn't do anything." Tears weld up in her eyes as that realization struck her. "So far, Blossomforth has told me what to do to help Thunderlane, treated his wounds, flew with him to the hospital where I had stayed a good distance back, and had tried so hard to see him that she had to be knocked unconscious. And what have you done, Gilda? You've just sat back and watch everything happen. You haven't done a thing for him!" Tears began falling from her eyes as she mentally scolded herself. "She's the one Thunderlane should be with, not me."
Gilda then sat up and walked over to a nearby table. The table had a notepad and a pencil on it, which she picked up with her claws. Gilda began to cry once more a she wrote down a quick note. When she was finnished, Gilda ripped off the peice of paper she had wrote on and set down the notepad and pencil. The griffon walked over to the nurse sitting at the front desk and handed her the note.
“When that mare wakes up,” Gilda said, ponting to Blossomforth. “Could you gove her this?”
“Sure thing.” The nurse responded. With that, Gilda made her way from the front desk to the hospital’s exit. She took one more look at Blossomforth before going through the doors.
"I'm so sorry, Thundy."
Morning had arrived and Celestia's sun shone through the windows of the hospital. Once the sun's rays hit Blossomforth's eyes, they immediately shot open and she awakened. The mate stretched her limbs and hopped of the couch.
"Wait." Blossomforth thought. "Why am I on a couch?" She immediately gasped as she rembered everything that had happened. "Thunderlane. I need to check on him!" Blossomforth was about to sprint towards Thunderlane's room, but stopped as she saw a nurse approach.
"You're Blossomforth, right?"
"Yes."
"This was left for you." The nurse said, handing Blossomforth a note. Puzzled by what the note was and who left it, Blossomforth began to read over the paper. Her eyes widened as she read it and by the time she was done, Blossomforth was completely speechless.
Blossomforth,
After everything that happened yesterday I've come to realize something. I don't deserve Thunderlane. When he got hurt, I just stood back and watched as you did everything you could to help him. I really do care about him, but I know you do too. As much as I hate to admit it, Thunderlane is better off with you and your friends in Ponyville. Just do me one favor, okay. Take care of Thunderlane for me. He's a nice stallion. Treat him well.
,Gilda
Thunderlane was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. Actually, he was trying to decide exactly what he was feeling. There was the pain, of course, in his chest. He could't tell if it was heart or the stab wound. There was also confusion. Thunderlane had been trying to piece together the whole situation, but to no avail. Finally, there was disappointment. Deep down, Thunderlane knew that his time in Cloudsdale was just about over. He had no reason to stay after all. Not after what had just happened.
"Hey Thunderlane."
Thunderlane had just regained consciousness when a familiar voice reached his ears. He looked up and saw Blossomforth in the doorway. Her eyes were bloodshot and had bags under them, plus her mane was a complete mess. She slowly made her way to Thunerlane's bed and sat down on the end. Blossomforth sighed and look away, but Thunderlane noticed she was holding a slip of paper in her hoof.
"Blossomforth?" Thunderlane said weekly, "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, Blossomforth leaped across the bed and enveloped Thunderlane in a tight hug. She buried her muzzle into his shoulder and began to sob uncontrollably.
“Oh, Thunderlane. Everything’s wrong! We drove you away from Ponyville, we weren’t good friends, and y...you got hurt. And it’s all my fault!” Blossomforth continued to weep until she felt a strong foreleg wrap around her.
“Hey, don’t talk like that. I know you weren’t the most considerate pony back in Ponyville and you kind of botched the apology...” Thunderlane gave a light chuckle. “But you came after me and you’re here now, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah. But you wouldn’t be here if i wasn’t for me.”
“It was an accident, Blossomforth. You and Gilda fought because you both cared about me. Speaking of her, where is Gilda?” Thunderlane was quite surprised when she felt Blossomforth suddenly tense up. “Uh, Blossom? Where is she?”
“Just read this.” Blossomforth handed Thunderlane the note that Gilda had given her. She turned away, not wanting to see Thunderlane’s face as he read the letter. It was the right choice, for as Thunderlane read Gilda’s note, tears began to well up in his eyes. His face twisted into a frown and his ears drooped. Thunderlane was speechless as he read over the paper multiple times, making sure he didn’t miss anything.
“But...but why?” Thunderlane croaked. Tears began to fall freely from his eyes as he laid back and sobbed into a pillow. Now, it was Blossomforth’s turn to comfort him, as she placed Thunderlane into another tight hug. “B...Blossom?”
“Yes, Thunderlane?”
“I think I want to be alone right now.” Blossomforth bit her lip. On one hoof, she understood that Thunderlane needed some time to think things out, but on the other hoof, she didn’t want to leave him alone. “P...Please?”
Hearing his words, Blossomforth just nodded and exited the room. Now, Thunderlane was alone in his hospital bed, quietly crying to himself.
Thunderlane sighed as he recalled the memory. It had only been a few hours since Blossomforth had left his room. The stallion rolled over and closed his eyes. Right then and there, Thunderlane knew he had to make a choice. A choice that would pretty much decide how his life was to turn out. He knew he could continue living in Cloudsdale with Soarin and eventually by a house of his own. However, that would mean seeing Gilda every day at work and Thunderlane wasn’t sure if he could handle that. The other option was to move back to Ponyville. Of course, Thunderlane would have to make up with the rest of his friends, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad option.
“Then again,” He thought. “I did leave Ponyville for a reason.” Before he could continue, the door to his room creaked open and a pony walked inside. At least, he thought it was a pony. His back was turned towards the door, so he couldn’t see who had entered. Thunderlane just assumed it was a nurse or Blossomforth, so he pretended to be sleeping. However, he was surprised by the voice that filled the room.
“Oh Thunderlane.” It was Gilda. From how she said it, Thunderlane could tell that Gilda was crying. Not just a few tears either, but she was at a full scale breakdown. Gilda walked over to the bed and placed a claw on his shoulder. It startled Thunderlane, but he didn’t move to keep up the illusion that he was asleep.
“Why was I so stupid?” Gilda wept. “I shouldn’t have written that note. I know Blossomforth is better for you, but I just...I care too much to leave you alone.” Gilda then climbed fully into the bed and laid down next to Thunderlane. “We could start a new life together, you know? Move to Ponyville, live our own life. It would be nice, but that’s not gonna happen.” Gilda looked over at Thunderlane, who’s back was still turned to her. “You probably hate me right now.”
The griffon lifted herself from the bed and landed on the floor. Thunderlane could hear her walk to the doorway and pause at the exit. He could of swore she said something, but Gilda had said it too quietly for him to understand. Once he heard the door close, he rolled over so that he was laying on his back and facing the ceiling.
“Well.” He said to himself. “That just happened.”
