Thunder's Roar

Princess Luna sighed and started making yet another circle around her room. It has been two months. Two months since her foretold return, two months since her purification at the hands of Twilight Sparkle. She has regained her strength surprisingly quickly, at least a part of her strength. She was no longer a tiny little filly she has been right after the transformation, but she wasn’t even close to Celestia’s size either. She was around the size of a grown up, strong colt. Her mane started slowly transforming once again into some kind of energy cloud.

It was not her appearance that bothered her though. It was a wonder of how will she fit into the new pony society. The ponies around still feared her; she could see the guards freeze suddenly every single time she passed near one of them. Celestia has tried to help with the issue but only time could buy her subjects’ trust.

She was extremely bored, with practically nothing to do. Everything, even the rising of the moon, was handled by Celestia. It was not like Luna was complaining; she could see the reasons as to why things were as they were. But this did not change the fact she felt completely useless.

Celestia tried to invite her into some of the council gatherings but Luna did not like them. Most of the council was rather unfriendly towards her, no matter how hard she tried. Due to this, she could not help her sister with any important matter, she could not do anything meaningful.

Knock, knock, knock!

She turned around, surprised by the sound interrupting her thoughts. It was far too early to serve dinner and nopony ever paid her a visit except Celestia. Celestia was busy in the throne room, so who could that be?

• Dost come in! – She said, her curiosity raising.

The doors opened slowly to reveal a group of four ponies. Leading them was a tall white Unicorn. He had a nicely kept, blue mane and similarly colored eyes. Councilor Flux, if she wasn’t mistaken. But what was he doing here? And with all this entourage?

They all bowed before her gracefully, remaining in this position until she nodded.

• My Princess, excuse me for interrupting you so abruptly. My name is Flux. – Said the Unicorn. Luna was happy with herself for remembering the pony properly. It was not like it was hard though. Councilor Flux was one of the very few ponies who did not show any form of hostility towards her. – I wanted to ask if we could perhaps steal a bit of your time?

• Why, of course Councilor. - Luna smiled warmly in response. – Thou hast our attention.

Council was visibly pleased with her answer.

• Excellent. Now, this is a rather delicate matter. We wanted to ask if you could perhaps show a bit of support for our project.

Luna did not quite know what to think about what she has just heard. For a brief moment she feared the councilor was attempting to use her to gain a stronger position among the council. But that could not be the case. Not with the pony that was standing in front of her, Flux would not try such things from what she heard.

She decided to simply raise her eyebrow in response, encouraging Unicorn to continue.

• You see, there is a matter at hoof that we believe is rather important. The problem is neither Princess Celestia nor the rest of the council seems to see it the same way.

And yet it appears he was really trying to abuse her position. What kind of play was this supposed to be? Luna decided to get to the bottom of this.

• If Celestia claimest thine problem is not worth consideration, she is most likely correct.

Unflattered by her response, Flux simply continued.

• Ah, you see Princess. Your sister tends to be a little bit… how to put it…

• Stubborn? – One of the ponies said. Luna could not quite see which one it was.

The Unicorn did a quick glance behind him.

• While I would not use such word, I will not deny it does fit. Our matter requires a little bit of an open mind, but I assure you, your highness, it is well worth the time.

What is that supposed to mean? – Luna thought – He wants me to… do something behind Celestia’s back? Two months after I came back as Nightmare moon? He cannot possibly be serious! And yet…

She did not have anything to do for those past two months. She really doubted Celestia’s subject would want to do anything dangerous. She could play along, at least for the time being.

She gave a faint nod to the Councilor.

• Very well Princess. – He continued. – I believe you have already met Councilor Morning Ray and Councilor Bookshelf.

Luna nodded as she looked at the Pegasus and Earth Pony respectively. The former might have been a little rough sometimes but she generally liked that pony. The latter she only heard about from her sister; he was very old and was in charge of history annals.

• However I do not believe you have ever met our fourth guest. – Said Flux pointing at the last pony. – This is Skylock.

He was an average sized but muscular Pegasus with black fur and snow white mane. His underbelly was also white in color, and he nodded kindly before looking at her with his green eyes. He had a thunderous cloud as his cutie mark. He wore a… rope around his waist?

Luna stretched her neck to look at him from a different angle. She suddenly froze in disbelief. His left wing lacked quite a few feathers and was folded in an abnormal way. It was… tied to him. But why would it be this way? Unicorn magic could heal various wounds, she was sure a capable pony could be found to repair or at least get that wing better. On top of that the Pegasus visibly had enough friends in high enough places to get such treatment. This just did not make any sense at all.

• What happened to thine wing? – She asked.

• It’s a long story my Princess. – He said in a familiar voice. He was most likely the pony that previously called Celestia “stubborn”. – And it will be explained as we go through our matter.

Luna could no longer object. She absolutely had to listen to those ponies, if only to satisfy her curiosity.

• Let us hear what thou hast to say then. – She said as she turned to Flux.

• I think Skylock is the most qualified to talk here my Princess. – Said the councilor as he pointed his Pegasus friend. – We will speak after you hear him out.

She turned towards the Pegasus once again. He stared into the air for a brief moment while he was gathering his thoughts. Finally, he started:

• You see Princess. Quite a few years ago…

6 months later…

It all started in early spring, far in the north border of Equestria, in a small, cold valley surrounded by mountains from north and west. The mountain peaks were still covered by snow, although here and there patches of it have already melted. Right at the bottom of one such mountain there was a small village, made mostly of various kinds of stone blocks. The village was called Northdale and had around 10 houses giving home to 30, maybe 35 ponies each living in it for various reasons. Some admired the beauty of surrounding mountains or because they loved secluded places, most worked in nearby mines supplying Equestria with large amount of various metals, few did some other unusual jobs.

One such pony with an unusual job for the place was Amber. Amber was a tall Pegasus with orange fur, brown mane and green eyes. He had a small branch with two leaves and two drops of amber as his cutie mark. He lived most of his life in Northdale, reaching an age of 17. Although he was born in Cloudsdale, he never got interested in his place of birth. He never even bothered to ask his parents about the reason they moved out of the city, assuming it must have been for the better.

He was a carpenter, job unusual not only because of him being a Pegasus, but also due to the fact that in a large radius around the village no tree could be found. Trees had to be imported from over 20 kilometers to the south, or even farther away. This meant he had to be very good at his job, creating crafts far better than what could be imported from other parts of Equestria.

Most of his life was uneventful, focusing mostly on finding his destined job and then sticking to it. He loved working with wood, creating things which others used or admired. He thought his life was a happy one, and he was content with living the rest of it like he used to.

Loud noises could be heard coming out of a small workshop at the southern border of the village while Amber was working on his newest craft. The interior of the house, unlike the walls outside and much like the furniture, was made out of wood. Wood he himself prepared for the house he and his family possessed.

Amber stopped his work for a brief moment and pulled the wooden cup closer to his eyes for an inspection. Although the cup was technically ready, he wanted to make it somewhat special. He decided to give it unique engravings, thinking mostly about picturing the mountains he saw every single day. He was about to finalize his plan and start working, when the door behind him shot open. Startled, he almost dropped the cup and completely forgot what he was about to do with it.

• Dad, haven’t I told you multiple times to… - he started.

• Knock before coming in because you are working with sharp stuff? – A familiar voice belonging to a female ringed – Yes, you’ve told it to your family, to me and to everypony else. Yet everyone seems to ignore it so why am I supposed to be different? Besides, nothing has happened yet silly!

• Waterfall! – Amber shouted in surprise, quickly turning around to face his guest.

He was facing a small, sky blue Unicorn with a very short lime mane combed into a pony tail on the head. She was looking at him with her light green eyes, grinning widely.

• Have you heard the news? – She exclaimed – Well depends which ones of course… There are quite a few, in some you might be interested in while in others not… Like, there is a trade caravan coming to our city in the next two weeks, they said there is rain planned…

• Hey, hey, hey! – Amber decided to stop the flood when it barely started raining – Remember Waterfall. I am a colt of a simple mind, I can only think of one thing at once. Now, take it sloooowly please. Besides I have already heard about the caravan and the rain.

• Aww… Really? And then I thought I had two more topics. Okay, have you heard about the new ship of wood? That might get you interested.

• Well of course I have. I kind of am interested in this stuff because I kind of work with it. Not that I am suggesting anything. – He answered, grinning slightly.

Waterfall smirked in response.

• Why, what a brilliant response. Said by the colt that seconds ago admitted he has a simple mind. Have you heard though what they will be getting here?

Amber became a little bit more interested in what Waterfall had to say. For some strange reason they liked to keep it secret as to what wood exactly they will be giving him to work with.

• No, you have my attention there.

Her eyes instantly lit up. That might have been a mistake. Now he had to be careful and try to end the conversation when the chance arises, else he will spend whole evening talking.

• Why, I have no idea how they could possibly hide such stuff from you. It’s pretty strange, isn’t it? I mean, you said it yourself. You work with wood as a carpenter but they just won’t tell you for some very strange reason. But anyway, I heard from one of my friends, that he heard it from a librarian in Ponyville, that their nearby farm had a small problem this year. By the way, who would want to work in a library? I mean, it’s such a boring place, you have to be quiet and all, you can’t talk much with other ponies…

This was getting out of hoof quickly, but he just didn’t have a heart to interrupt her fully. He simply decided to avoid opening another topic.

• I have no idea, I am not a book type myself either. You said they had a problem?

• Yes, but I am not sure what exactly happened. It seems a few of the trees in there withered and died, so they decided to sell them for wood. How was the farm called? Apple Farm? No, no… Something bigger…

• Sweet Apple Acres? – Amber decided to help a little. Then the actual meaning struck him. – Wait. Those Sweet Apple Acres? I thought they never had problems with their trees.

Waterfall seemed pleased with Amber's interest.

• Exactly! That’s the strangest part! But hey, who are we to question what they do? It’s so far away anyway… I just can’t even imagine the distance. Hey, you and your family travelled from Cloudsdale when you were young, and that’s pretty close to Ponyville. How was the trip back then?

• Honestly, I’ve told you multiple times Waterfall. I do not remember. I was four back then. Four. Count your legs. That many. Do you remember what happened when you were four?

She frowned her muzzle, visibly not believing Amber’s forgetfulness.

• Why of course! – She exclaimed – Everyone should remember! I mean, it happened and it is in your head, right? I bet you are hiding something from me… - she gave him a suspicious stare.

He couldn’t help but knock his face with his hoof.

• Okay you got me. I am hiding some dark, unspeakable horror that one day will cause the end of world as we know it. Going back to wood though… That might not sound too nice but I am not sad about that fact. Everyone knows how Apple family treats their trees; it will be damn good to work with such stuff. I will be able to make some quality things.

• I knew you would be at least decently interested in this! See, what would you do without me? You wouldn’t know that, as usual! I always told you gossip is a good thing, I gave you multiple examples as to why but you never seem to agree for some strange reason. Anyway, I am kind of in a rush so I will make it short…

Celestia, thank you! – Amber couldn’t help but think that after hearing the last sentence. Waterfall made a brief pause, to them continue.

• So, that bit of news is a little weird. I heard that from a friend that works in Canterlot. You know, the high placed one. They said that sometime in the few next days a royal emissary will be going around, announcing something. He said it is secret as to what that will be though. – She added with a serious expression.

Now that really bought his interest. Not only the mystery about the news, but the seriousness with which Waterfall said them. She was very rarely serious about something, and usually so when it had a rather bad effect. Something was going on, and he wasn’t sure how to treat it.

• That is indeed strange… Although, with my simple mind I can’t help but to say we need to wait and see.

She rolled her eyes after hearing that.

• Oh give up with that idea already. – She answered – But I guess you are correct. We will see how it goes. That’s all I wanted to share with you, sorry for interrupting your work.

Amber smiled.

• It’s no problem Waterfall, you are always welcome here.

• At least as long as I don’t bore you to death, isn’t it? Oh, don’t give me that look; I know what ponies are talking! Anyway, take care! – was the last thing she said before she trotted out, closing the door.

It most certainly seems we will be having an interesting future. – Amber thought and went back to his cup. He decided to engrave a pony bucking an apple tree. Waterfall might talk a lot but she was always a source of ideas.