Thunderclouds

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 1

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 1

“This is it, son. Your new school!” a pegasus mare said to an eight-year-old pegasus colt, mussing his yellow mane with her hoof. “I’ll pick you up after school.”

“Mom! I’m a big colt. I can walk home myself,” the colt protested.

“I’m still coming. I want to make sure you remember how to get home,” the mare replied. “Now, Thundercloud, I want you to behave, and make some friends.” She grabbed the colt in a hug.

“Okay, okay! Just put me down!” The mare complied, and the colt pushed his mane back into its cool style. At least he wasn’t the only foal standing at the edge of the schoolyard with an overprotective parent.

“Goodbye, sweetie!” The mare turned and departed.

“Finally,” Thundercloud grumbled. But as he took his first step onto the schoolyard, he missed having his kind and supportive mother there. Memories flooded him of past occasions when he was a new student. They often didn’t go well. Would this school be better?

Caught up in his musings, Thundercloud didn’t notice as he stumbled into another pony. “Sorry! I’m sorry!” he quickly said. He extended his hoof to the pony he bumped into, a unicorn filly about his age. She had a sky blue coat and a light silver mane.

She ignored his hoof, getting up on her own. She looked at him and turned away in a huff.

Nice going, Thundercloud, he thought. You had to run into a stupid, stuck-up filly.

“Class, we have a new student today,” the teacher said.

Thundercloud stood nervously in front of the class. The teacher was a mulberry earth pony mare with a smile on her face, just like on the flowers that made up her cutie mark. Miss Cheerilee, he remembered her saying.

“Go on,” the teacher urged.

“Oh. Um, I’m Thundercloud. I just moved here from Cirrusburg, with my mom and dad. I hope we can be friends.”

“Thank you. Now, class, let’s go around the room, and each of you introduce yourself to our new student.”

Thundercloud tried to remember everypony’s name as they introduced themselves, but it was hard. It always took him so long to remember names!

“Now, Thundercloud, we need a desk for you. There’s one open behind Crystal Song,” Cheerilee said.

Thundercloud nodded. Which one was Crystal Song again? He looked where Miss Cheerilee was pointing, and saw the empty desk.

Right behind the snobby little filly he met that morning.

Thundercloud grumbled and dropped his saddlebags next to his desk. He looked up to the teacher.

“Class, today we’re going to practice penmanship. You’ll notice you each have an inkwell and quill at your desk. I know you’re all used to writing with pencils, but big ponies use ink and quills. So we’re going to practice writing with a quill in your mouth.”

A unicorn colt raised his hoof. “Miss Cheerilee, I can write with my horn.”

Cheerilee shook her head. “Even if you can write with magic, you’re still going to practice with the rest of the students. Remember that sometimes you’ll be sick, or you’ll need to rest your magic, so you won’t always be able to use your horn. It is a good idea to practice writing normally from time to time. Now, let’s first practice holding the quill.”

Cheerilee showed the class how to hold the quill in order to best control it. She then went through the class, correcting those foals who did it wrong.

“Now, class, let’s practice writing. Dip the quill in the inkwell, let it soak up the ink, and then write. Don’t move the quill too fast, or you’ll drip ink on the paper, or get it on your muzzle.”

Thundercloud grumbled as he wrote. He had to hold his neck at a weird angle in order to write with the quill, and he found it harder to avoid drooling than when he held a pencil. After another drip, he set the quill down. “Stupid quill,” he muttered.

He looked, and saw Crystal Song having no problems. She was writing smoothly, and from what he could see of her paper, with perfect penmanship. “Stupid snobby filly,” he muttered, even more quietly.

Thundercloud smirked as he had an idea. The inkwell was just big enough to fit a pony’s tail. Crystal Song liked writing so much? Time for the world to see!

He quickly grabbed Crystal Song’s tail and tried to stick its tip in his inkwell. “Eep!” she squeaked. Thundercloud smiled.

From out of nowhere, Cheerilee appeared. The teacher smacked Thundercloud’s hoof aside. “Thundercloud! I’m very disappointed in you. Your first day, and you’re getting detention.”

“But Miss Cheerilee, I was just having fun!”

“We’re going to have a little talk. At your detention.”

After school, Thundercloud was unhappily escorted to the library to serve his detention. Cheerilee directed him to a seat at a table, and sat next to him. “Do you know what you did wrong, Thundercloud?”

“I didn’t do anything!” he protested.

“No, you were going to dip Crystal Song’s tail in the inkwell. Can you tell me why that’s wrong?”

“It was going to be funny! And it’s just ink!”

“Ink is very hard to get out of your mane or tail, Thundercloud. It takes really strong potions that aren’t kind to hair. Plus, it takes time and money to clean it up.” She took out a jar of ink and placed it on the table. “Would you like me to pour this on your head, Thundercloud?”

“No!” he shouted, covering his head with his hooves.

From across the room, the librarian shushed him.

“I mean, no, Miss Cheerilee,” he said quietly.

“But wouldn’t it be funny?”

“Um, no?”

“And that is the lesson you need to learn, Thundercloud. One of the most basic lessons of harmony is to treat others the way you’d like to be treated.” She pulled out some paper “And to reinforce this lesson, you are going to write ‘I will not dip ponies’ tails in ink’ one hundred times, with quill and ink. And because you interrupted our lesson on penmanship, you will be graded on neatness.”

“Awwww,” he whined.

“Your detention will last until 5:30. When you’re done writing, you will read quietly until it’s time for you to go. Understand?”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”

“And remember, Thundercloud, tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Cheerilee departed, leaving Thundercloud in the too-quiet library. He picked up the quill and started writing. At times, the quill would slip, or he’s spatter ink on the paper. He swore under his breath, but never softly enough to avoid the library shushing him.

Finally, he finished. It took more than half his detention to complete his writing. He stretched, trying to work out the kinks in his neck. He glanced at the librarian, who was glaring at him. He very quietly got up and looked for a book to read.

Boring book, boring book, boring book. Thundercloud didn’t want to read about plants of the Everfree Forest, or the buildings of Manehattan, or even the battles of the Lunar Rebellion. Couldn’t there be at least one awesome book in this library?

One book looked promising. It had a serpent fighting a manticore on the cover. Monsters and Myths, it said. Thundercloud took the book back to his table and opened it.

The book had lots of illustrations; Thundercloud paged through the chapters, looking at all matters of creatures. Massive muscular bodies, vicious fangs, sharp horns, long claws; each monster gave young Thundercloud a fright and a thrill. But the last chapter caught his attention because it looked different from the rest.

The mythological creature in this chapter, called a “human”, didn’t look frightening. The picture showed two of them, labeled “man” and “woman”; peeking ahead, he gathered that was the equivalent of stallion and mare. They stood on two legs, something like the minotaurs in an earlier chapter, but they didn’t have those creatures’ horns. They didn’t have fangs, or claws, or anything. But the writer of the book called them the most feared creatures of myth.

The mythological creatures known as humans are said to be the only creatures that do not know magic. They cannot use it and cannot feel it, which of course means they cannot know harmony. Yet still they live. Without harmony, they spread across their land, subjecting all other creatures to their rule, until they turned on themselves.

Humans lack in natural weapons, but have sharp minds, and are said to have created countless inventions. Without harmony, these inventions were used to hurt others, more than any claw or hoof could.

Thundercloud was riveted. Something about these creatures spoke to him. At the same time, he wanted to yell at the author. How could he be so certain about the nature of humans when they didn’t even exist? His gaze returned to the illustrations, to the human labeled woman. It was her eyes. They didn’t look like the eyes of a monster. They looked kind.

“Thundercloud, your detention is over,” the librarian announced.

“Okay,” Thundercloud replied. He gathered his papers and dropped them in his saddlebags, reminding himself of how much he hated practicing penmanship.

His eyes again caught the illustration. Man. Penmanship. There was man right in the word! That couldn’t be coincidence.

“Come along, young colt. You don’t want to keep your parents waiting, do you?”

“Can I check out a book?” Thundercloud said.

“Of course.”

Thundercloud brought Monsters and Myths to the librarian. She scoffed when she saw the book. “While I am happy to see any young foal reading, I would hope you would graduate to more educational fare,” she said.

“Maybe when I’m done with this book,” Thundercloud said. He sensed the librarian didn’t believe him. But she did check out the book, and gave it to him.

Outside the school, Thundercloud’s parents were both waiting for him. His father gazed at him sternly; his mother had that disappointed look that always left him feeling bad. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,” Thundercloud said.

“I’m disappointed in you, son,” his father said. He used his wing to nudge Thundercloud’s head up, and looked him in the eye. “We know you can be a good pony, yet you again followed the path of discord.”

“I just wanted to have some fun,” Thundercloud replied.

“We’ll talk about this over dinner,” his mother said. “You can have fun without hurting other ponies.

Dinner was a serious affair, with Thundercloud listening while his parents lectured him. The feeling of being lectured was a familiar one to the young colt. They talked about why he shouldn’t do what he did, making a lot of the same points that his teacher made.

“And you should apologize to this filly,” his mother added.

“Now, you’re going to wash the dishes, and as punishment, you’re going straight to bed,” his father said.

“Awww,” Thundercloud moaned.

“We love you, son, and this is for your own good,” his father said.

“And when you wake up, Thundercloud, remember that the new day is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Thundercloud finished his chores and went straight to his bedroom. Truth be told, he didn’t mind the punishment. He was alone, and wouldn’t be bothered at all. He crawled under the covers, taking his book and a flashlight with him.

He had all evening to read more about these humans.

Author's Note

I first read about the More Most Dangerous Game contest one day before its deadline. So even though I got a story idea out of the prompt, there was no way I could write it in time for the contest. But I still wanted to write my story idea, so here you go.

The idea of the contest was to come up with a fresh take on one of five classic MLP:FIM fanfics. This one is based off Anthropology (which I highly recommend, if you haven't read it).

Chapter 2

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 2

“Mom! Dad! I made it to two wingpower!” ten-year-old Thundercloud shouted as he rushed into his house.

“Thundercloud! Wipe your hooves!” his mother said.

Thundercloud grumbled, but went back to the mat sitting by the door. Winter was nearing its end, but that meant snow was still on the ground, and that in turn meant wet and muddy hooves.

Thundercloud’s father met him in the hallway. “Come here, son.” He flew up and embraced his son.

“Dad!” Thundercloud said as he squirmed.

“Does that mean you’re going to join your mother on snow clearing duty?”

“Uh-huh!” Thundercloud replied.

Like all pegasus foals, Thundercloud wanted to get better at flying. But that was a particularly important goal at the moment, as Winter Wrap-Up was coming up. This was his third Winter Wrap-Up. The first time, not being able to fly, he got stuck with animal duty. Waking up the animals meant crawling around in dens and getting dirt and roots in his mane, not to mention a few scratches from the grumpier critters. The next year, he could fly, but not well enough to fill a role on any of the weather teams.

Now, everyone knew Thundercloud was a big colt, ready to fly all day, even if it just was for clearing the snow off the roofs. Maybe next year, he could join his father in clearing the skies.

“Well, I think this calls for a little celebration,” his mother said.

The family donned scarves to ward off the brisk weather, and flew to the heart of Ponyville. Thundercloud beamed as they approached his favorite destination in the world, Sugarcube Corner. The bakery was quiet, but invitingly warm as always. Mrs. Cake was busily stocking the case with fresh pastries from a tray balanced on Pinkie Pie’s back.

“Hiya, Thundercloud! What can I get you?” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down. Not a single muffin on her tray budged.

“You can have anything you want,” his mother said.

Thundercloud rushed forward, pressing his muzzle into the glass case. So many options! Muffins, cookies, cakes.... “That one!”

“Ooh! That chocolate cake is super scrumptious!” Pinkie Pie said.

“And what would you like?” Mrs. Cake asked Thundercloud’s parents.

“We’ll each have a blueberry muffin,” his mother said.

Thundercloud attacked his slice of cake with ferocity. It was just as scrumptious as Pinkie Pie said!

His parents just smiled. Once Thundercloud was finished, his father nudged him. He held a napkin in his wing.

“Ooh, that’s a picture perfect moment!” Pinkie Pie said. She quickly snapped a photograph of the family, complete with a ring of chocolate around Thundercloud’s mouth.

Winter Wrap-Up arrived, and a song filled the hearts of all the ponies in Ponyville. It was dawn, but everypony was filled with energy.

In his small home in a quiet Ponyville neighborhood, Thundercloud put on his saddle, scarf, and boots, before proudly donning his weather team vest.

“Are you excited, Thundercloud?” his mother asked.

“Uh-huh!”

His father draped a wing over his withers. “Just think, son. Soon, you’ll be practicing weather magic. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find your special talent in the sky.”

“I bet I will!” Thundercloud said.

“Now let’s get going,” his mother said.

His father flew off to join the team in the sky, leaving Thundercloud and his mother to head to the center of town. A group of ponies, all wearing weather team vests, milled around “So, um, how does this work?” Thundercloud asked his mother.

“We’re going to work in tandem. First, we’re going to get our shovels. Then, we fly up to the roof, and push the snow off once the ponies with the carts are ready. Just pay attention to the team lead, Thundercloud, and you’ll be fine.”

A short time later, they heard an announcement. “Team leaders, gather your teams.” The ponies serving as team leaders started gathering ponies into four groups.

“You’re Thundercloud, right?” a young mare said to the colt. He replied with a nod. “Great, you’re with me. I’m Foggy Day, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, miss,” he replied.

Once they had gathered, Thundercloud noticed that most of the younger ponies were on his team, and they made up half the total. Shovels, both normal size and slightly smaller, waited in wooden barrels. “Okay, everypony. We’re going to get started real soon,” Foggy Day said. “We’re tasked with clearing the snow on some of the trickier roofs, where it’s helpful to be smaller.

“Each filly and colt will work with a buddy. She’s there to help you with the heavier snow. If you’re tired or need to rest your wings, just tell your buddy. We don’t want anypony to get hurt.”

With that, everypony lined up to get their shovels, and then paired off. Thundercloud got paired with Blue Haze, a young stallion with a slicked-back mane. “Hey, kid, let’s have fun,” he said.

Their larger group split off into smaller groups of four or six, the right size to tackle a roof. Thundercloud flew onto the roof of one building with peaks above each of its windows. The winter’s snow was nestled into the corners.

“When do we start?” Thundercloud asked.

“We need to wait for the carts,” Blue Haze replied.

Thundercloud waited, and soon saw the cart approaching. He got ready; his hoof bounced off the handle.

Thundercloud mentally chided himself for trying to hold the shovel with his hoof, but then he paused. He wasn’t thinking about it, and so he did what felt natural to him. He looked at the handle. It was the part a pony wrapped his mouth around, but it was called a handle. Handle. Hand.

Thundercloud pictured it in his mind, standing on two legs like a human. His hand would wrap around the handle, and his other would support the shovel. He pictured the shovel moving like that; it felt right, as if the shovel had been designed by and for humans.

“Thundercloud!” Blue Haze called.

“Huh?”

“The cart’s here.”

“Sorry, I was thinking,” he said. He took the shovel in his mouth, and started pushing the snow off the roof into the waiting cart below.

Once the building was done, they flew to the next building. Thundercloud and Blue Haze landed, hooves sinking in the thick show. “You need to pay attention, Thundercloud. If you don’t, you’ll miss the snow duck.”

“What’s a snow duck?”

“Snow,” Blue Haze said, motioning with his wings. He then yelled “Duck!” while kicking a chunk of snow at Thundercloud.

Thundercloud was not expecting that, and ended up with snow all over his muzzle. But the colt couldn’t help but laugh, and give his Winter Wrap-Up buddy a snow duck of his own. But once the cart came by, they ceased their play and returned to work.

The team worked all morning, and then broke for lunch. It was just cold sandwiches made with pickled flowers, but Thundercloud wolfed them down. After eating, he was so eager to go that he flew up to the next building on their list.

But waiting was boring. He thought about building a snowpony, but figured it would probably fall down. Or maybe some flying practice, but his muscles were already aching.

Thundercloud spotted two ponies walking by the building, a unicorn couple. He grinned. “I’ll get an early start!” he said to himself.

He took the shovel in his mouth and, starting from the roof’s peak, pushed a row of snow down. The big mass of snow went over the eaves.

“Twitchy tail!”

Confused by the shout he had just heard, Thundercloud peered over the edge. The snow had missed the unicorn couple because a pink earth pony had shielded them with an umbrella. It was the mare who worked at the bakery, Pinkie Pie.

“No, Thundercloud, you have to wait for the carts!” she said with a smile.

“But it was going to be funny!” he protested.

Pinkie Pie frowned at him. “Nopony likes to get covered with snow. It’s cold, and then it gets in your boots and under your saddle, and it makes Winter Wrap-Up a lot less fun!”

“But snowball fights....”

“Are for younger ponies like you. And what if there was ice caught in the snow? Did you think about that?”

“No,” Thundercloud admitted.

“You should always think about what makes other ponies smile,” Pinkie Pie said. “And you can start tomorrow! Tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

“Okay, Miss Pinkie Pie,” Thundercloud said.

Winter Wrap-Up proceeded uneventfully. Thundercloud ended the day sore and tired, but found a reserve of energy to enjoy the party that lasted well into the night. His parents had to drag him back home, but they still praised him for working so hard.

The first day of spring was a day off school, and despite staying out late, Thundercloud awoke bright and early. Many ponies would be busy in the fields, planting their important first crop, but Thundercloud was free to do anything. He said goodbye to his mother and ran out the door.

Feeling the warm spring sun reminded Thundercloud of how much he missed the warm weather. He felt invigorated as he ran to the library, a fascinating building shaped from a tree. He had learned it was actually the second library like that in Ponyville!

The old mare who worked as a librarian smiled as he entered, though Thundercloud recognized it was a forced smile. When he first learned about humans, he had looked up every book about them, or that even mentioned them, both in the school library and the town library. That didn’t endear him to the librarian, who always tried to steer him to “broaden his literary horizons”. But after exhausting every book about humans, he eventually stopped coming.

“Good morning, Thundercloud,” the librarian said. “I’m afraid the library doesn’t have any new books for you.”

“Um, actually, I wanted to see if you had any books on inventions and inventors,” he replied.

The librarian’s expression brightened considerably. “I think that’s an excellent interest for a young colt like you!” she said. “I recommend this biography of Bright Light, who was a very prolific inventor. And here’s one about the machines you can find in the weather factory in Cloudsdale! There’s a lot more I could recommend....”

“That’s okay. I’ll start with these two,” Thundercloud said.

Thundercloud hurried home with his borrowed books. He fashioned a nest out of the blankets on his bed and got to reading. And three hours later, he was frustrated.

He saw dozens of inventions. Many of them looked entirely wrong for ponies like him. And not one passage described why the inventions looked the way they did.

Over the next several months, Thundercloud repeated the process, always ending in frustration. Around him, the tools of everyday life mocked him, looking always out of place for a world of ponies.

One day, near the end of the school year, he returned his latest borrowed books. “I’m not sure what other books are left for you to read, Thundercloud,” the librarian said.

“Can I borrow books from other libraries?” Thundercloud asked.

“Why, yes. I can arrange for an interlibrary loan,” she replied. “In fact, I know of a biography of Spark Shower that I’m sure you’ll love.”

“No. I want to find more books about humans.”

Chapter 3

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 3

“I have a special announcement,” Cheerilee announced to the class. “This winter, before the holidays, our class is going to put on a play. Don’t worry, it’s not the tale of Hearth’s Warming that you’ve all done before. This year, we’re doing the tale of the Three Wise Visitors—the original version.”

That was a story that always interested eleven-year-old Thundercloud. It is told that, when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna first came to the world with their message of harmony, the heavens heralded their arrival with an eclipse, sun and moon both ascendant. And three leaders journeyed from across the ocean to acknowledge the royal sisters and their domain over the heavens. But during the exile of Princess Luna, the play was changed, omitting the role of the lunar princess.

“Can I be Princess Celestia?” one filly asked.

“No, I want to be her!” another countered.

“Now, settle down class,” Cheerilee said. “Everypony will get a chance to try out, and there’s room for everypony in the play. Even if you’re not acting, there are important roles behind the scene.”

Thundercloud scoffed at the idea. He wanted to be on stage. Maybe he’d even get a cutie mark in acting!

Out on the playground, everypony was talking about the play, including the group of colts with whom Thundercloud was playing hoofball. “There are lots of roles for colts in this play,” Thundercloud observed. From the princesses to the Hearth’s Warming leaders to the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, plays normally had plenty of roles for fillies. There were only so many Star Swirls and Discords available.

“I want to be Beefington. He was super-strong!” said Green Bean, an earth pony colt, about the minotaur king from Cowstockstan.

“Not me. I can’t imagine spending an entire play on two hooves,” said Silver Shine, a unicorn. “King Sandstorm was proud and noble.”

“But he didn’t have a horn,” Green Bean said about the ancient Saddle Arabian leader.

“The hat would cover it,” he replied. “What about you, Thundercloud?”

“I wouldn’t want to wear a saddle over my wings,” he replied. “I like Diamond Soul.”

“But that costume’s even worse!” Green Bean said.

“Yeah, but it’s a dragon costume!” And with that, Thundercloud kicked the ball past Green Bean, all the while picturing himself on stage as the great dragon from Neighpon.

“The Progenitor foretold, in a prophecy inscribed on a flawless diamond, that Sun and Moon would join Earth. And when that day arrived, the greatest of the dragons would recognize Sun and Moon, and thus show wisdom,” Thundercloud spoke. He bowed; the dragon mask he was wearing threatened to slip off his muzzle. He nudged it back into place with a hoof. “Celestia, scion of the sun. Luna, scion of the moon. I bow to you, until the day my soul attains enlightenment, and I ascend into the heavens.”

“Good, good,” Cheerilee said. “Now, two things about your audition. You want to capture Diamond Soul’s great wisdom. Dragons say he was the first to attain enlightenment, and he shines the brightest among all the stars in the sky, what we ponies call the North Star. And you need to move around more, capture the grace and fluidity of the Eastern dragons. Can you do that?”

“Okay, Miss Cheerilee,” Thundercloud replied. He took a deep breath, tried to imagine how a wise dragon would speak, and repeated his audition.

Thundercloud joined the crowd of foals around the bulletin board as Miss Cheerilee posted the roles for the play. He frowned once he saw he didn’t get the role of Diamond Soul, or any of the acting roles. And then he found his name. “Props and costumes?” he moaned.

“Now, Thundercloud, I think you’ll find it interesting,” Cheerilee said. “The theater uses a lot of neat inventions to change sets and costumes quickly. And like everypony who doesn’t have a role on stage, you are an understudy. Look!”

At the bottom of the page, Thundercloud saw that he was the understudy for North Star for the role of Diamond Soul.

“So be sure to learn your lines well, in case North Star gets sick or hurt.”

Thundercloud returned to his seat and looked at North Star. The unicorn colt was quiet in class, though a good student and good with magic. But Thundercloud recalled that he really shined during his audition. And with a name like North Star, maybe it was right for him to win the role.

Thundercloud focused on Cheerilee’s lesson, though he kept looking back at North Star.

Playing hoofball in physical education class was always worse than playing it during recess. First of all, the coach was there, making sure everypony followed the rules and used proper technique. Then, he made everypony in class play, forming two teams that were larger than they should be. And not everypony was a good athlete.

“Good effort, Rose. Keep your eye on the ball, Green Bean,” the coach shouted from the sideline.

A cluster of ponies surrounded the ball. Forelegs flailed as members of each team tried to kick it to an open teammate.

The ball flew out of the scrum, headed in the rough direction of Thundercloud. He headed for it, as did his teammate North Star. The unicorn was closer to the ball, and called “I got it”; it was just as the coach had instructed. But Thundercloud wanted the ball too.

It was a close race between North Star and Green Bean, from the other team, to reach the ball. Both dived for the ball, hoping momentum would carry their hooves to the ball first. Thundercloud flapped his wings and dove as well.

North Star narrowly reached the ball first, kicking it towards another teammate. Green Bean tucked his legs and rolled, but Thundercloud didn’t. His hoof collided with North Star’s outstretched foreleg. A loud snap was heard, followed by somepony screaming in pain.

“Thundercloud, didn’t you hear North Star say he had the ball?” the coach asked.

“Yes, Coach,” Thundercloud replied. He shuffled his hooves on the tile floor of the coach’s office. The small room had the faint odor of stale sweat.

“There’s a reason I instruct everypony to call the ball. It’s to avoid injury. You really hurt North Star, and that’s because you weren’t thinking of anypony but yourself.”

“I know, Coach.”

“You will have detention for a week, and you will need to apologize to North Star when he returns to class. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Coach.”

“I’m glad you understand. Remember, Thundercloud, tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Once he returned home after his detention, Thundercloud faced another lecture from his parents, where he heard pretty much the same things that the coach said. And he got grounded for a week. Nothing but school and school activities.

The next day, Thundercloud entered the classroom. His eyes fell on the empty desk of North Star. How long would he be laid up? But before the bell rang, North Star entered the class. He didn’t have a wheelchair, or a cast, or anything. He just walked with a bit of a limp.

Cheerilee walked up to Thundercloud. “The coach said you had something to say to North Star,” she said.

Thundercloud turned to North Star. “I didn’t listen to the coach, and because of that, you got hurt. I’m... I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted, Thundercloud. Accidents happen.”

“Yeah,” Thundercloud said, looking down.

“Don’t feel bad. Keep fighting for the ball; just be careful.”

“I thought I hurt you really bad!” Thundercloud said.

“The doctor says he has lots of practice setting bones,” North Star replied. “Something about one of the pegasi in town. I’ll be fully healed by tomorrow!”

“Great,” Thundercloud said quietly.

The bell rang, and Cheerilee tapped her hoof on her desk. “Good morning, class. We have a lot to cover today, so let’s get started.”

Thundercloud sat backstage. Today was the first full dress rehearsal for the play. He had already looked over the props, but the costumes were still being worked on. If they didn’t come soon, they wouldn’t be able to start the rehearsal.

As if on cue, the costumes arrived. Thundercloud first noticed the stage lights reflecting off something, casting motes of multicolored light everywhere. Then his eyes were drawn to the costumes, floating in the air in somepony’s magical aura. Thousands of gems decorated the costumes, a truly impressive display. Then he noticed the pony carrying the costumes, a white unicorn with a styled purple mane. Rarity, he recalled.

“I’m so sorry for arriving as late as I have,” Rarity said. “I simply couldn’t allow these costumes to be any less than perfectly fabulous!”

“I’ll take those,” Thundercloud said. He gasped when he got a closer look at the costumes. “That’s what the three wise men wore?”

“The three what now, dear?” Rarity asked.

“Three wise... visitors,” Thundercloud corrected himself.

“Well, there is a certain... artistic license at work,” Rarity said. “Celestia and Luna were the only ponies who know for sure, if they even remember such details from that long ago. But the three wise visitors were all esteemed leaders of their races, and so it makes sense that they would look fabulous.” She smiled. “Besides, I couldn’t help reliving my first experience designing costumes for a school play.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Rarity,” Thundercloud said.

“I am more than happy to help,” she replied.

Rarity departed, and the actors swarmed Thundercloud, eager to get in costume. He marveled at the design of the costumes. They were designed for ease of donning and doffing, but sturdy enough to endure the movements of the actors. And though they looked heavy, nopony complained about the weight.

As Thundercloud watched the rehearsal, his thoughts turned to one phrase. Three Wise Men. Yes, the three wise visitors were all male, but why did it sound so right to use the word that described human males?

“Okay, everypony, this is the big day!” Cheerilee announced to her class, gathered behind stage. “This is the first performance of our play, and let’s all work together to make it the best it can be!”

The class stomped their hooves in applause.

“Now, let’s all get ready. Stagehands, set up the stage for the first scene. Lighting and sound, get in position. Makeup and costumes, please get the actors ready.”

All the actors were present and ready to go. That meant no understudies would be taking the stage today. Thundercloud frowned and headed backstage.

He checked each of the costumes in turn, readying them for the actors. As he examined the dragon costume for North Star, a thought crossed his mind. What if the costume failed? His eyes fell on a pair of scissors, sitting on the table. A few snips, and the costume would collapse, somewhere in the middle of the play.

Thundercloud acted quickly, finishing just before his classmates arrived. In turn, he helped each into his or her costume, while also helping the stagehands with the props.

“Knock ‘em dead,” Thundercloud told North Star as he slapped him on his back.

“I thought that, in the theater, you’re supposed to say ‘Break a leg’.”

Thundercloud looked away.

“Sorry,” North Star said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Thundercloud said.

North Star trotted off, only to be interrupted by Rarity. “Hold on, darling,” she said.

Both North Star and Thundercloud looked at her.

“This costume needs some emergency fixes.” From somewhere, Rarity summoned cord, thread, and needles. They soared around North Star, making alterations to his costume. “A little here, a bit here, and everything will be fine. Now you go ahead, dear.”

“Thanks, Rarity!” North Star said before trotting off.

Thundercloud started to follow, but Rarity raised a hoof. “Thundercloud, dear?”

“Yes, Miss Rarity?”

“You can call me Rarity, dear. Now, I couldn’t help but notice those scissors over there.”

“Yes?”

“A few of the supports I built into the costume were cut. Do you know anything about that?”

“No?”

“Now, Thundercloud, I may not be the Element of Honesty, but I do have a little sister. I think I know when a foal isn’t being true to himself. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

Thundercloud remained silent, staring over Rarity’s withers.

“I know it’s hard to watch others succeed in ways you’ve always dreamed about. It’s a lesson I had to learn from my dear friend Fluttershy,” Rarity said. “You will have your own chance to shine, Thundercloud. And you should cheer when your friends have their chance to shine.”

“Okay,” Thundercloud said.

“You made some bad decisions today, Thundercloud. But always remember: Tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

“I understand,” Thundercloud said.

“Good. Perhaps, later, you will say that with sincerity,” Rarity said. “Now, the play’s about to start, so you need to get to work.”

Thundercloud focused on his work, making sure all the props and costumes were ready to go with each scene change. Even behind the stage, he could hear the applause of the audience. He eventually got to see the audience once the play finished, and everypony in class was called to stage. He smiled as he heard the cheers.

There was an additional cause for celebration, as North Star earned his acting cutie mark.

Author's Note

Two elements of Anthropology:

The main character believes that humans exist.
The main character feels different from other ponies, and wonders who she is.

Chapter 4

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 4

“Cool!”

Twelve-year-old Thundercloud echoed the sentiments of his two friends as they looked in the window of the toy shop. A matched pair of clockwork bird toys chased each other in the air. It was the toy everypony was talking about.

“They’re really good for flight training,” Crimson Sky said, the pegasus colt fluttering his wings. “You can chase them, or set them to chase you!”

“I want to try controlling them with my magic,” said the unicorn colt, Night Spark.

“I don’t care if they’re educational. They look awesome!” Crimson Sky said.

That the toys were educational, good for both flight and magic training, would help convince one’s parents to buy them. But Thundercloud shook his head when he saw the price. He had some idea of the cost of the gifts his parents would buy him for his birthday or Hearth’s Warming, and these toy birds had to cost ten times as much.

“Come on, let’s go to the park,” Thundercloud said. At least hoofball didn’t cost anything to play.

Thundercloud came home to find his father rummaging through the small shed behind their house. “What are you doing, Dad?” he asked.

“Just looking for the tent. Ah, there it is!” There was a sound of something falling over, and then his father emerged, his coat smudged, pulling a large canvas bag with metal poles sticking out of it.

“Are we camping?” Thundercloud asked quizzically.

“In a way,” his father replied. “I talked with your mother, and we agreed that we’d go for the opening day of cider season this year.”

Thundercloud’s wings buzzed with excitement. The first Saturday of October, the opening of cider season, was only three days away! “We’re really going?”

“Yes, really. But we’re only going once you’re done with your chores.”

“I’ll be ready, Dad!”

Ever since his first autumn in Ponyville, when Thundercloud first heard his classmates talk about the fresh cider from Sweet Apple Acres, he had pestered his parents about going themselves. But something always came up. The cider that later appeared in the market was good, but he always felt like he was missing out.

Thundercloud often had trouble concentrating in school. But with cider on his mind, the final two days of school dragged on. His eyes were always on the clock, and as soon as the final bell rang, he ran straight home. He made sure to do both his chores and his homework right away. And that Friday, once his family finished dinner and the dishes, his father gathered the camping gear.

Though it was more than twelve hours before the Apple family would open sales, there was already a large line of tents set up. It was a beautiful fall evening, pleasantly crisp, and the grounds outside Sweet Apple Acres was host to an impromptu party. Groups of adults talked in small groups, families cooked over campfires, and foals played.

Thundercloud’s eyes brightened as he saw two of the clockwork avians flying overhead. “Mom! Dad! Can I go play?”

“Of course,” his mother replied. “But don’t stray too far.”

Thundercloud headed over to join the foals. A few he recognized from school and his neighborhood, but most must have been from some other part of Ponyville. The ones with the toys were in the latter group, a unicorn colt around his age and a pegasus colt a couple of years younger. Judging by their coloration, they were probably brothers. The unicorn was using his magic to control the clockwork birds as they chased his brother. Two other pegasi joined in this game of aerial tag.

“Can I join in?” Thundercloud asked.

“Sure, but you’ll never catch them!” the unicorn boasted.

Thundercloud zoomed after one of the birds, only to find it dive out of his grasp. He turned, testing the limits of his maneuverability, and pursued. He looked to the other pegasi and nodded. Flying in groups came naturally to pegasi, and a few motions with forelegs and wings organized the pegasus foals into an attack group. With four pegasi working together, they now managed to tag the clockwork birds, though not every time. The unicorn was good, and grinned as he directed the toys.

Soon, more foals joined the game. A cloudball and a hoofball joined the group, and dozens of foals played a monstrous game that combined elements of half a dozen playground games. Somehow, it all made sense at the time, and everypony was smiling once Celestia’s sun set and the parents called their foals to bed.

Thundercloud returned to his parents’ tent. They sat on a cloud positioned near the tent, with a clear view of the night sky and, previously, the sunset.

“Welcome back, son. How was your evening?” his father asked.

“It was great! These two foals had the flying bird toys, and they were awesome, and then we played cloudball and hoofball and tag all at the same time!”

“It sounds like you had fun, son,” his mother said.

His parents hopped off the cloud, but they didn’t kick it away, as Thundercloud expected. Instead, his father looked to him. “It’s going to be a beautiful night, and since our tent will be crowded with all three of us, would you like to sleep outside?”

“Would I? Of course!” Thundercloud replied.

His parents smiled, and headed into the tent, zipping it up. Thundercloud flew onto the cloud and bounced up and down. Ever since he learned to fly, he wanted to live in a cloud house, but his parents always said they couldn’t afford one. They couldn’t even afford a cloud bed, and after the first time Thundercloud brought a cloud into the house, and soaked the carpet, his parents told him to never try that again.

And now, Thundercloud had the chance to sleep in a cloud bed. It wouldn’t last much more than the night, so he didn’t want to waste a minute. He lay on his back, sinking so gently into the mist, feeling the moisture tickle his wings and the hairs of his coat. It was wonderful.

“I wish I had a cloud bed,” Thundercloud whispered to the night sky. But he knew he wouldn’t, not for a long time.

Those clockwork birds, on the other hand, were a lot more reasonable wish. And as he thought about that, Thundercloud saw a shooting star cross the sky. “Maybe someday,” he whispered, as he drifted off to sleep.

At dawn, the line of ponies began to stir. Tents were taken down, breakfast was eaten, and ponies prepared for the opening of cider season. After a quick breakfast of dried fruit and hay, Thundercloud ran down the line. At the front of the line, the gate of Sweet Apple Acres, the members of the Apple family were getting ready. Barrels of cider were being stacked up, and a little stall with a banner over it was ready to receive customers.

If only the Apples were ready too!

Finally, the pony at the front of the line was served. It was the pink mare who worked at the bakery, and she was somehow able to carry dozens of foamy mugs of cider without spilling a drop, all while walking on two legs.

“Wait a minute. This cider is alcoholic?” Thundercloud asked his parents.

“No, of course not,” his father replied.

“Why would you think that, sweetie?” his mother asked.

“It’s all foamy!”

“What does that do with anything?” his father wondered.

Now, Thundercloud wondered as well. He had had cider before, of course, bought in large juice bottle. It looked like apple juice, and certainly didn’t foam up when poured. Where had he seen it before?

He pictured in his mind a tall glass, smooth, cylindrical, with a slight taper, wider at the lip than at the base. It was filled with an amber liquid with a head of white foam. He took the glass in his hand and sipped, enjoying the tart flavor of apples with the bite of alcohol.

He mimed the gesture, and realized something. He was looking at a hoof. He was sure he saw a hand, a human hand, in his vision. But try as he might, he couldn’t recall the image. Instead, he saw his own foreleg and a wooden mug.

“Come along, son.”

The line was moving now. It looked like all the preliminary work the Apples did helped keep the line moving smoothly. As he waited in line, he watched their process. Cider was poured from the original stack of barrels, and while the largest of the Apples was busy making more, he couldn’t keep up with demand. Surely, before the day was out, they would run out.

But fortunately, Thundercloud was closer to the front of the line. After another thirty minutes, they reached the front, and his father plunked down the bits for three mugs of cider.

The youngest of the Apples held out a wooden mug, filled with foamy cider. The aroma of fresh, tart apples greeted him. He took the mug, placing his hoof through the wide handle. He secured it in his pastern and lifted it to his lips.

The first taste of fresh cider made him smile. It was ten times better than the stuff in the bottle! It had the same kind of spices that made it different from apple juice, but it was even more delicious when fresh!

But it wasn’t the same flavor that passed through his mind in that vision.

He stared again at the wooden mug, with its wide handle. There was that word again, handle. A hand could hold this mug in two places, and a lot easier than his hoof!

Within moments, the cider was gone. His parents were still savoring their mugs of cider, chatting with some of the ponies in line. Thundercloud walked over to the large wooden tub sitting next to the stall, and dropped off his dirty mug.

A buzzing sound caught his attention. The bird toys were again soaring through the air as their owners, somewhere in line, played with them. Again, he wished he had the money for toys of his own.

Over at the stall, a large box of bits stood, mocking him. There was so much money there, and his pouch was empty. A ten bit coin rested on top of the pile.

He just needed to wait.

The latest barrel of cider ran dry. The orange mare headed over to the stack of barrels to fetch another. The red stallion continued to run on the treadmill of the cider press, focused on nothing but his hooves in front of him. The filly selling the cider turned, helping get the bucket of used mugs onto the back of the elderly mare.

Thundercloud extended his wing, inching his feathers over that ten bit coin.

A hoof came down suddenly on Thundercloud’s wing. It was not hard enough to hurt, but his wing was pinned to the box of bits. The orange mare, whose name he remembered to be Applejack, looked at him sternly.

“Now hold on there, pardner. You don’t want to put your wings where they don’t belong,” she said.

Thundercloud stared at the mare. The feathers of his wing separated and lifted above the pile of bits.

“Now, if it’s bits you fancy, you bring your ma and pa over here, and tell them you’re looking to work. We can always use a little help during cider season, and we’ll pay you fairly for your work.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Thundercloud replied meekly.

Thundercloud steeled himself and walked over to his parents. “Mom? Dad?”

“Yes, son?” his father said.

“There’s this toy I like, but I don’t have the bits for, but Miss Applejack there says there’s work I could do, and she’d pay me.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” his father said.

“You can trust Applejack. She’s an honest mare,” his mother added.

Thundercloud returned to Applejack, bringing his parents. “Can I work for you, Miss Applejack?”

She looked to his parents, who nodded. “Well, welcome aboard, pardner! We got a mess of mugs that need to be washed.”

The rest of the day, Thundercloud worked. He stood on a stool, his barrel resting against the edge of the sink, his hooves either washing dirty mugs with a sponge or drying the mugs with a dishtowel. Periodically, one of the Apples would return with a bucket of dirty mugs, and take away a bucket of clean ones. The only break was for lunch, some delicious apple fritters, but no more than fifteen minutes later, he was back at the sink.

Late in the afternoon, after the last of the cider was sold, Applejack returned with the last bucket of dirty mugs. Thundercloud reached for them, but she waved him off. “That’s enough for today,” she said.

Thundercloud stepped off the stool, his legs all feeling numb. “Thanks, Miss Applejack.”

“Shucks, you can just call me Applejack. Now here’s your pay.”

Thundercloud looked at the hoofful of bits Applejack gave him. It was fair, generous even. But it wasn’t enough.

“I think you’ll learn to appreciate the bits you earn with your own hard work, Thundercloud,” she said. “And if it’s more bits you want, we have two more days of cider sales.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to my parents, and if they say that it’s okay, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“You do that. Look to tomorrow, ‘cause tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Chapter 5

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 5

It was summer, just before Thundercloud’s thirteenth birthday, and he played idly with a puff of cloud under the setting sun. He wanted to fly with his clockwork bird toy, but his parents had told him no playing until he had finished the book he needed to read for summer school. So he turned a cloud into a makeshift hoofball.

One thing Thundercloud knew for certain: summer school sucked.

It didn’t have to be that way. Summer school for foals his age was all about helping colts and fillies discover their special talent, and mostly focused on the kind of spellcasting and weather magic foals couldn’t learn when younger. If only he weren’t still a blank flank, he could be enjoying the summer.

The book he was supposed to read, Practical Weather Magic, bored him. Some parts of it were long and dreary. Other parts were just too easy, and he found himself skipping ahead to later lessons. But turning to practical exercises didn’t help either.

Nothing felt right.

Flying into the sky to retrieve the cloud in the first place, he was bothered by the idea that he shouldn’t have been able to reach the clouds, at least not without flying a greater distance.

Every time he felt his pegasus magic touch the cloud, it felt wrong. Or, rather, he thought he shouldn’t be able to feel it at all.

Like his hand would pass through it.

Thundercloud blinked. No, there was his hoof, and it touched the cloud, the subtle pull of his magic holding its shape.

He looked again at the book. “Lesson Two: Organizing Clouds into Weather Formations.” He reread how he was supposed to order clouds for the major weather formations: partly cloudy, overcast, windy, rain, snow, and storm. But what good would it do if he couldn’t make the clouds stick?

As Celestia’s sun set, Thundercloud shut the book in frustration. Tomorrow, he would be revealed to be the failure he was.

“No, Thundercloud, you need to anchor the cloud! Use your magic!”

The mare teaching the weather class, a pegasus named Dawn Storm, watched Thundercloud as he flew the rain cloud back into position.

He channeled his will into the cloud, just like the book said. He pulled the magic through his wings and into his hooves, just like his teacher said. And still, the cloud started to drift away from the rest of the cell.

Dawn Storm sighed and flew up to the errant cloud. She had no problem securing it. “So, now that the rain clouds are assembled into formation, they can all be activated as a group. That way, the areas receiving rain will receive a uniform amount of water.” She turned, bucked the clouds, and a light but steady rain soaked the grass.

“Our next lesson is activating clouds, just like I demonstrated,” she continued. “Lesson Three in your textbook describes the principles involved, as well as teaching you the differences between bucking a cloud to dissipate it and bucking a cloud to activate it. Now, everypony, grab a rain cloud and try to make it rain. Touch it. Speak to it.”

Thundercloud joined the crowd of foals around the pen holding small rain clouds of uniform size. He flew with his cloud to where he was practicing.

Like the book said. Like the teacher said.

Thundercloud turned, kicked his hind hooves into the cloud, and commanded it to rain.

The cloud dissipated into fine gray mist.

Thundercloud wasn’t alone in failing to make his cloud rain the first time. But in subsequent attempts, the number of pegasi joining Thundercloud in failing decreased.

After his fifth trip back from the cloud pen, Thundercloud stood on his cloud. His frustration flowed into the cloud, and it darkened under his hooves. “Stupid cloud, talk to me!” he grumbled.

The cloud did speak back, as a bolt of lightning shocked him. His heart raced, and his feathers tingled, but his natural resistance shrugged off the energy.

Dawn Storm flew over to him. “What happened, Thundercloud?”

“I made the cloud mad,” he replied.

Dawn Storm looked at the cloud. “You did this? All from one cloud?”

“Yeah? I think I read it somewhere in the textbook.”

“The textbook talks about forming a thundercloud out of four rain clouds. To make one out of a single rain cloud shows some talent.” Dawn Storm fetched another cloud. “Can you try that again? Just step back before it’s ready to loose its lightning.”

Thundercloud jumped onto the fresh cloud. He recalled his feelings, and the cloud darkened to match his mood. This time, he jumped off once it looked just like a thundercloud.

“You know, Thundercloud, that’s a very important skill for a weather team, and one not many pegasi can do well,” Dawn Storm said.

“Yeah, I’m good at that!” Thundercloud said. And then he felt a tingle on his flank, as a thundercloud appeared to match his name and special talent.

Thundercloud flew into the air. “My cutie mark!”

“Congratulations, Thundercloud, but we still have class,” Dawn Storm said.

“I have to stay in class?”

“If you want to join the weather team, Thundercloud, you will need to pass written and practical exams, showing you understand the fundamentals of weather management. And you need work with the fundamentals,” Dawn Storm said. “Fortunately, now that you know what kind of weather you work best with, it should help you learn how to work with the rest.” She flew away, coming back with a fresh rain cloud. “Now, how about giving this another try?”

Thundercloud trotted along the streets of Ponyville with his parents. He thought there was no way he could fly, especially not after eating all the treats at his combined birthday party and cuteceañera. He balanced his many gifts on his back.

His parents smiled. They hadn’t brought their gift to the party, promising to reveal it once they returned home.

They made it home. Thundercloud looked expectantly at his parents, but they just smiled. “Go and put your gifts away first, son,” his father said.

Thundercloud did as he was told, and returned to find his parents sitting at the kitchen table. He joined them.

“Now, your mother and I were talking,” his father said. “You’re thirteen now, you’ve discovered your special talent, and you’ve proven you can work.”

“What your father is saying is, we think you’re ready to take care of a pet,” his mother said.

“Really?” Thundercloud said, his wings buzzing excitedly.

“Yes, really. Just remember that a pet is an important responsibility,” his father said.

“Now, get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see Miss Fluttershy,” his mother said.

Thundercloud beamed as he flew with his mother. They flew above the rooftops, and zoomed closer to the ground as they passed the last buildings within the town’s borders. Ahead, the dangerous Everfree Forest loomed, but they focused on the sights and smells of the grassy fields over which they flew.

A small cottage came into view, surrounded by miniature houses where birds and other small animals lived. A butter yellow pegasus flew among them, humming happily and distributing food to the occupants. She smiled at Thundercloud and his mother as they approached.

Thundercloud flew down and looked into the animal homes. A variety of birds peered at him curiously.

“Hello. You must be Thundercloud,” the pegasus mare said quietly.

“That’s me! I’m here looking for a pet,” he replied.

“Oh! I have many animal friends who are looking for their forever home,” she said. “I have many kinds of songbirds, and an owl, and even a falcon!”

Thundercloud raised an eyebrow at that last one. “Well, uh, it can’t be a bird. Mom’s allergic to bird feathers.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. But I have many furry friends looking for a home, too. Do you know what kind of animal you’d like to care for?”

“Uh...” he started. Thundercloud looked back to his mother.

“This is your pet, Thundercloud. It’s your choice, and your responsibility,” his mother said. “I’ll leave you and Fluttershy to make this decision.”

Fluttershy introduced Thundercloud to her animal friends. She cared for cats and dogs, hamsters and gerbils, rats and rabbits, lizards and turtles, otters and beavers, chipmunks and squirrels, and even a bear. (“But I don’t think Harry wants to leave,” she noted.) Again, just like with the falcon, some of the pet choices seemed... off.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know. I just thought that, you know, all your animals would be domesticated.”

Fluttershy gasped. “You shouldn’t use that word.”

“Huh?” Thundercloud said, even more confused. Wasn’t that the right word?

“Our animal friends can think and feel; they just do it differently than ponies. And that means they need our care.”

Thundercloud stared at all the animals. He couldn’t help but see some of them as pets and others as wild animals. But that wasn’t how Fluttershy saw them.

“I know they know you didn’t mean anything by your bad word,” Fluttershy said. “Now, why don’t you talk to them?”

Thundercloud visited the various animals. He spoke to them; they showed limited understanding. He got their attention, offered them food, scratched them on the head with his hoof, and looked to see which showed interest in him. He found a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and a squirrel.

Fluttershy took Thundercloud and his potential pets outside. “Now, here’s where you can run and play with these nice animals. I know young pegasi like having a pet they can fly with, but with your mother’s allergy, that would be hard to do. And not every pet can be like Rainbow Dash’s loyal friend Tank. But these animals will all love you, if you love them back.”

He looked at each animal in turn, as Fluttershy introduced them, giving their names and a little about their family and personality. The rabbit didn’t seem to be interested in Thundercloud when he didn’t have any food with him. The cat was surly, but liked playing with Thundercloud’s wings, batting at the feathers. The dog was happy, like all dogs are, and eagerly chased Thundercloud. And that led to the squirrel. The little rodent scampered up Thundercloud’s leg, across his back, up his neck, and nestled himself in his mane.

“As you can see, Mr. Nutley is very energetic and affectionate. There are flying squirrels, though really they glide, but I’m not taking care of any of them right now. But while he can’t fly, he’s not afraid of heights, and I’m sure he’d be happy to fly with you. Just be careful,” Fluttershy urged.

Thundercloud flapped gently, slowly gaining altitude. The squirrel’s little claws massaged his scalp as he moved for a better view. When he was high above the cottage, Thundercloud took the squirrel in his hooves. One thought filled his mind. Wild animal.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and looked at the squirrel again. “Mr. Nutley, is it?”

The squirrel nodded.

“So you’re not a flying squirrel. Do you want to be one?”

Thundercloud grinned and threw the squirrel into the air, letting the rodent experience flying.

He heard an “Eek!” from below, louder than anything he had heard Fluttershy say. And she flew, at speeds that rivaled the Wonderbolts, to catch the squirrel.

Thundercloud had only a moment to marvel at the pegasus’ display before she flew in front of him. She stared at him, her eyes boring into his soul. The smile faded from his face, replaced by fear. Without even realizing it, he was being forced to the ground, his wings causing him to descend.

“Look here, young colt. You do NOT hurt my animal friends. You need to respect all life, even life that’s different from your own. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?”

Thundercloud meekly nodded.

They were on the ground now. She held out the squirrel, cradled in her forehooves. “Now apologize to Mr. Nutley.”

“I... I’m sorry,” Thundercloud said quietly. “I did a bad thing.”

Fluttershy stroked the squirrel with her wing. “There, there,” she cooed. “You go back to your home, and I’ll bring you all the nuts you want.” She set the squirrel on the ground, and he ran off, making a wide birth around Thundercloud.

“Now, as for you...” Fluttershy started.

“I’ll leave,” Thundercloud said. “I don’t deserve a pet.”

“Maybe you will, someday,” Fluttershy said. “But not today. Learning to care for a pet is like learning to care for other ponies. You can always get better at it. Today, you have a lot to learn, but there’s always tomorrow. Tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Author's Note

Any new speculation after this chapter?

Chapter 6

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 6

Late in the afternoon, fifteen-year-old Thundercloud headed to the local Hayburger. He would have preferred something sweet, but Sugarcube Corner was where the foals hung out, and Thundercloud was definitely not a foal. The young stallion had passed his exams, and was now working for the Ponyville weather team.

The Hayburger was a popular hangout for foals... ponies his age. Everypony had their cutie mark. Some were in secondary school, others honing their special talent in an apprenticeship, and others, like Thundercloud, were already working with their special talents, in the fields and sky.

Thundercloud ordered a hayburger with cheese and a small hay fries, just enough to tide him over to dinner, and carried his tray on his back to a cluster of tables in the back. “Hey, guys,” he say.

“What’s up, Thundercloud?” said Red Brick, an earth pony stallion apprenticing to be a mason.

“Hey, Thunder,” said Misty Shine. The young pegasus mare was still in school and practicing her painting.

“How’s it hanging, dude?” said Silver Cog, a laid-back unicorn stallion who worked at the clock store.

“Can’t wait for someone else to join the weather team,” Thundercloud said before taking a bite of his burger. “Getting tired of being called the rookie,” he mumbled with his mouth full.

“Say it, don’t spray it,” Silver Cog said, wiping his face with a napkin in an exaggerated manner.

“At least you’re doing real work,” Red Brick said.

“I guess. I’m number three on the storm team, well, making the storms. Chief is still running me through drills for starting the storms.

“Better do it right, or she’ll kick your flank,” Red Brick said.

“She’d kick all our flanks, at the same time,” Thundercloud said with a laugh.

“Hey. You’ll get there,” Misty Shine said.

“Anypony doing anything for Nightmare Night?” Thundercloud asked.

“I get to take my little sister around town,” Silver Cog said. “That gives me an excuse to collect candy, too.”

“Lucky,” Misty Shine said.

“Play some games. Eat some food,” Red Brick said. “Don’t even care if I get a costume.”

“You have to get a costume!” Misty Sky said.

“You could just use your work clothes, like that dentist does,” Silver Cog suggested.

“Fine. I’ll think about it,” Red Brick said. “How about you, Thundercloud?”

Thundercloud shrugged. “I’m still not sure. But yeah, I’ll be there, and I’ll get a costume.”

Thoughts about Nightmare Night occupied Thundercloud’s mind as he worked on prepping the week’s storm clouds. He did agree with the idea of wearing a costume, but what should it be? Last year, he had a Power Pony costume, but that seemed too foalish. What costume did he want? Something cheap to make, certainly.

“Hey, rookie, heads up!”

Thundercloud barely had time to catch the small storm cloud his weather chief, Rainbow Dash, had thrown at him. Had he not caught it, it would have gone off, but only creating a loud bang.

“Thanks, Chief. This cloud needed a patch.” He added the small puff of cloud to a storm cloud that had come to them a bit undersized.

“Thinking about Nightmare Night?”

“Yeah. I want to do something fun, but I’m too old just to collect candy.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, I’ve got just the thing, rookie. The Shadowbolts need a new recruit.”

“The Shadowbolts?”

“On Nightmare Night, it is a Shadowbolt’s solemn duty to keep everypony on her hooves. Gotta give a scare to everypony that’s not embracing the true meaning of Nightmare Night, tricks and treats! But so far, it’s just been me. So what do you say?”

“I don’t really have a costume.”

“I have one you can use.”

“Then it’s a deal!”

Thundercloud fidgeted in his Nightmare Night Shadowbolt costume. Like most pegasi, he had dressed up like a Wonderbolt before, but those outfits were normal cloth, and tended to bunch up after a while. This costume was made of one piece of that stretchy fabric, just like a Wonderbolt outfit. He struggled to get the suit to rest comfortably against his wings and tail.

“You’re looking good, son,” his father said.

“Thanks. And I promise, no candy,” he replied.

“I know. You’re socializing with the boss. That’s important. And you’re doing something fun. You won’t often get chances like that. Now, how about some dinner?”

“Yeah!”

They headed to the kitchen, where Thundercloud’s mother was ladling a pumpkin stew into three bowls. He inhaled, savoring the delectable aroma.

Somepony knocked on the door. “Dear, would you get that?” his mother told his father. “Seems like somepony’s eager to get some candy!”

His father grabbed the bowl of candy, placing it on his back. Thundercloud sneaked his wing into the bowl, snagging a piece of caramel.

“Now, Thundercloud, you should have dinner first,” his mother said. She pushed the bowl of pumpkin stew to him. At the front door, a trio of enthusiastic fillies gave the traditional Nightmare Night greeting.

“Now eat!” his mother said, just as the fillies said eat.

Eat? They said “Give me something sweet to bite.”

Thundercloud chewed on chunks of pumpkin as he considered his memory. Give me something sweet to eat had a ring to it. No, good to eat. It sounded like it fit. But what other words fit? He noticed the caramel treat. Eat. Sweet. Treat. He remembered what Rainbow Dash had said. Tricks and treats.

What other words? He started from the top of the alphabet. Beet. Feet. Heat.

Feet.

Trick or treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat.

He remembered the phrase clearly. But the only problem was, ponies didn’t have feet. They had hooves.

But humans had feet.

Why was he picturing a human Nightmare Night? No, that wasn’t right. Nightmare, yes. Night, yes. But they didn’t go together.

“Thundercloud? Are you okay? You’ve been chewing on your spoon for the last three minutes!” his mother said.

“Sorry, Mom. I was thinking about the past.”

Thundercloud’s walk through town was interrupted by a loud bang and flash of light. He jumped into the air, his wings automatically lifting him into the air, ready for flight if necessary.

But there was no danger. Instead, there was a loud cackling from the cloud above.

“Keep sharp, rookie! Or you’re going to be jumping like a Mexicoltan jumping bean when I shock you!” Rainbow Dash called.

“Rookie Thundercloud, reporting for duty,” he replied with a salute.

“Let’s get a look at you,” Rainbow Dash said, flying down. She inspected his outfit. “Tighten that collar. And goggles on! Nopony should know who is that Shadowbolt who stalks them on Nightmare Night!”

“Got it!” Thundercloud placed the yellow-trimmed black goggles over his eyes. “But won’t they notice my mane?”

“Ah, who cares? It’s all in fun. Now, get up there and grab a cloud. Make it a Class A storm cloud, but pump it full of thunder instead. You want a loud boom and bright flash ready to go.”

He saluted again and flew off. Thundercloud landed on a gray cloud, one placed around town to help cool the temperature and create the ideal level of gloom for Nightmare Night. His magic flowed into the cloud, a magic that came easily due to his special talent. His hooves and feathers felt the distinct thunder energy, and he was ready to go.

“Okay, now here’s what you need to do. Find anypony who’s not fun,” Rainbow Dash said. “Maybe it’s that snooty visitor from Canterlot who looks like he’s never cut loose once in his life. Maybe it’s somepony unhappy to see foals having fun. Or maybe it’s that colt you’ve always wanted to prank. Your solemn duty as a Shadowbolt is to get them!”

“Yes, Captain!” Thundercloud shouted.

Thundercloud’s first target was a pair of unicorns who had the air of upper class snobbery. He had a sweater wrapped around his neck, and he didn’t put it on even though he looked cold. She had a garish hat that she kept having to grab in the light breeze. They were definitely turning up their noses at the fun Ponyville Nightmare Night celebration.

*KAPOW!* The two unicorns jumped and ran into the nearest building. And then they ran out, once they noticed they had run into the local Hayburger. They wiped their coats, trying to purge themselves of the aroma of that restaurant.

That old codger who waved his cane at a group of foals in cute costume got a thunderbolt to the flank.

The group of young stallions trying to scare the other ponies away from the game of strength fled like scared schoolfillies when Thundercloud brought the wrath of the Shadowbolts upon them.

Thundercloud was having fun. He decided to go look for his friends, and maybe hang with them for a bit.

He spotted Silver Cog in a golem costume, with his sister, dressed as a flower. They both carried sacks of candy in their magical auras, though his was even bigger than hers. He watched as they hit up another house; Silver Cog was quite aggressive in his call for candy.

Thundercloud flew over Silver Cog and pressed his cloud, causing thunder to rumble. “Mechanical pony!” he called. “You have done good in collecting candy for this floral filly.” He pushed magic into the cloud; it rumbled menacingly. “You are going to share it with her, right?”

“Of course, mysterious Shadowbolt!” Silver Cog replied.

“Good! The Shadowbolts are pleased,” Thundercloud said.

Thundercloud next spotted Red Brick, walking with two cups of ice cream balanced on his back. He followed his friend as he walked away from the vendors, towards some hay bales set down to allow ponies to sit. And there Red Brick sat next to Misty Shine.

From up on his cloud, Thundercloud watched the two ponies. Misty Shine grabbed a cup of ice cream with her wing and nodded to Red Brick. She smiled as she ate the tasty treat. They talked and smiled over the ice cream, Red Brick leaning in closer as they ate.

He’d get them, he thought.

Thundercloud lifted his cloud into the air. Magic flowed into it, charging it with thunder and lightning. Once it was ready, he edged it downward.

Just as Thundercloud was ready to deliver the shock of their lives, he felt the cloud dissipate from under him. His wings flared, catching air and countering the pull of gravity. He looked around to see what happened. He spotted the rainbow contrail; though it was dark, Rainbow Dash possessed enough magic to leave a trail of rainbow colors even under starlight. And then the mare flew up to his face.

“Just what was that?” the elder Shadowbolt said.

“I just wanted to give my friends a little shock,” Thundercloud said.

“That would have been more than a little shock,” Rainbow Dash said. “You let the cloud get out of control. Earth ponies don’t have your lightning resistance, and even some pegasi would be rattled by that much lightning. You would have hurt them. Not. Cool.”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I wasn’t trying to hurt them.”

“Rookie, you need to hit the shower, and go home. Remember that you always need to stay in control when it comes to magic. Get some sleep and come into work fresh tomorrow.

“Remember, rookie: Tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”

Chapter 7

Thunderclouds

By Alaborn

Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.

Chapter 7

“I’m sorry, Thundercloud, but I think we should see other ponies.”

Those words kept echoing in eighteen-year-old Thundercloud’s mind. They ended the six months he shared with Misty Shine. They were exciting months, filled with ups and downs and more than a few struggles. But what good thing wasn’t worth fighting for?

They were young. They had all the time in the world to make things better. Why couldn’t they stay together?

They were in the middle of winter, with the coldest temperatures of the year, but Thundercloud’s natural resistance to the cold meant he could tolerate it with only a bit of clothing for warmth. Yet no scarf or saddle could fight the coldness he felt from Misty Shine’s words.

He focused on his work, creating and placing clouds with the other weather ponies with all the passion of an automaton. He left work every day and flew straight home, often carrying leftover cloudstuff. His thought was to use the long winter nights to create building clouds and expand his small cloud home, making it a home for two. But now, the cloudstuff attached to the base of his cloud home did nothing but weigh it down. His memories and emotions did much the same.

Fortunately, it being winter, Thundercloud had the luxury of solitude. The thick cloud cover meant he could spend his days seeing few ponies other than his coworkers. He could focus on his clouds, the clouds that always understood when his magic touched them.

“Okay, everypony, we’ve got two days to bring in some springlike weather,” Rainbow Dash announced. “Cloud team will clear the sky, and wind team will hook into the currents from down south and pull in some warmer weather. We’ve got to get it all nice for Hearts and Hooves Day!”

Thundercloud was the last pony out of the office, hanging his head as he flew. One of the older stallions circled around and flew next to him. Blue Horizon, from the wind team, he recalled. “Hearts and Hooves Day got you down?” he said.

“What would you know about it?” Thundercloud said. He recalled seeing the stallion with his wife and filly; they had the perfect little family.

“Five straight Hearts and Hooves days alone when I was your age. Twice, right after a breakup. These things happen. It’s hard to find that right love on your first try.”

Thundercloud continued flying to the town center, trailing the rest of his team; Blue Horizon kept pace.

“There are a lot more ponies in your situation than you think,” Blue Horizon said. “Like Rainy Day and Sunspot. But let me give you some advice, from a veteran of this. Everypony will want to spend the day with their special somepony at someplace nice. That means smaller crowds at other places. Like the bars. Head on down to the Thirsty Mug that evening and have a cider. You’ll feel better.”

“Okay,” Thundercloud mumbled.

In the skies above Ponyville, Thundercloud lost himself in his work. Find a cloud, kick it, dissipate any lingering haze. Find a cloud, kick it, dissipate any lingering haze. Each cleared cloud opened a window on Ponyville below.

In one of those windows, he spotted Misty Rain, looking in the window of the candy shop. He turned and flew away. He’d find another part of Ponyville to work, even if it meant working longer to finish his work.

Kick, clear. Kick, clear. And there was Misty Rain again, standing outside a cafe.

Thundercloud headed to the outskirts of Ponyville to continue his work. Thankfully, he didn’t see Misty Rain again. But every now and then, he saw something that reminded him of her. The park they liked to visit. The entrance to the Whitetail Wood, where they ran in the Running of the Leaves. The tree where they shared their first kiss.

Thundercloud flew straight home that night, and crawled into bed.

Hearts and Hooves Day. The weather team was scheduled for only a half day, and light duty at that. Thundercloud checked and saw he was scheduled for cloud duty, clearing the weather that drifted in from the Everfree Forest overnight and otherwise keeping the sky clear of clouds.

At least earning time and a half would give him more to spend at the bar.

He worked alone that morning, volunteering for the less desirable work near the edge of the Everfree. He almost wished for some monster to run out and start rampaging through town. But the forest was silent.

Eventually, he finished that assignment, and he returned to town center. All the weather ponies had to keep clouds and cold breezes away from Ponyville, so he patrolled the skies.

With the enhanced situational awareness that came with flying, Thundercloud couldn’t help but see everypony below. Ponies, in couples or families, enjoyed the warmer day together. They walked along the streets, shared a meal at a cafe, or sat together in the park.

And in the park, he noticed Misty Rain. She shared a park bench with a pegasus stallion. He leaned in, and she nuzzled him.

Swiftwing.

He heard of that stallion, Swiftwing. About two years older, a recent transplant from Cloudsdale.

Misty Rain opened a box of chocolates. Swiftwing picked up one in his wing, and fed it to her. She giggled.

Swiftwing didn’t have their shared experiences. They didn’t see each other in school, or around town, or at a Pinkie Pie party.

He offered her a rose. She smiled, and bit into the succulent flower.

It was wrong for Swiftwing to be with his mare.

Thundercloud took off, soaring high into the sky. But no matter how high he flew, his keen pegasus eyes kept focusing on Misty Rain and Swiftwing.

There they went, walking through the park, his wing over her, her wing over him.

He sought the solace of the clouds, but there were no more clouds in the sky.

They headed off, toward Misty Rain’s little cottage.

Thundercloud fled to the one cloud that would offer him sanctuary, his own cloud home. He flew in, not even bothering to close the door. He slumped onto his cloud couch, and stared at the mementos on the wall.

A photograph of Thundercloud, Misty Rain, Silver Cog, and Red Brick. Some big party outside Town Hall. He couldn’t remember which. There were so many. Smiling faces. The way Misty Rain’s head was turned, looking at him.

Lies.

Thundercloud flew off the couch and punched the picture. The glass shattered, and the frame fell off the wall, landing on the cloud floor with a soft puff of air.

His eyes fell on a pair of wing blades. They were an heirloom from his great-grandfather, a veteran of the war against the griffons. He’d never thought of guard duty himself, but he always honored the pegasus military tradition. The blades were lovingly cared for, kept clean and oiled.

They fit perfectly on his wings.

Thundercloud flew out of his home. The clear sky defied the storm in his heart.

But he could make a storm.

He gathered the cloudstuff stored underneath his home. A simple application of his magic condensed it into a normal storm cloud. Further magic charged it with thunder and lightning. Emotions drive the strength of magic, and soon Thundercloud had gathered in his hooves the most powerful storm cloud he had ever handled.

Handled. There was that word again. Hands, hooves, it didn’t matter; Thundercloud’s very soul was poured into this cloud.

Thundercloud pushed the cloud to Misty Rain’s home. He swore he heard giggling from the living room. He knew her house well. And he knew what he could find there. Tools. Cleaning supplies. A cellar.

He kicked the cloud, and a tremendous bolt of lightning struck Misty Rain’s house. Thunder resounded over Ponyville. Once his eyes recovered from the flash, Thundercloud saw the damage. There was a hole in the roof, and flames licked its shingles.

Thundercloud smiled.

He dove into the cloud, the energy still held within invigorating him. It was only a matter of time before they came out to investigate.

And they did. They ran out, looking at the fire, noticing the cloud.

Thundercloud pushed, and another bolt of lightning came, hitting the ground at their hooves.

Hitting them wasn’t the goal. As pegasi, they could shrug off the lightning with little more than sore muscles to show for the hit. Distraction was the goal.

Thundercloud flew out of the cloud. A few quick blows while they were distracted, then he would push them inside.

And then the fun would begin.

But before he could strike, the world turned purple. Then he noticed he was suspended in air, his wings unable to propel him any closer. The purple color came from the sphere that surrounded him.

Thundercloud punched and kicked, but it did no good. As he struggled, he noticed the weather team arriving. A pair of pegasi positioned a rain cloud over Misty Rain’s home, while three others kicked away his thundercloud until nothing was left.

He turned, locking eyes with an alicorn, her horn glowing with the same violet color as the bubble surrounding him. And then Thundercloud disappeared.

Thundercloud found himself in a small room, with walls of blue and violet crystal. He was sitting on a simple sofa. The bubble surrounding him was gone, but he felt magic pressing on his legs and barrel, holding him in his present position.

There was one other figure in the room, the same alicorn as before. Princess Twilight Sparkle, alicorn of friendship and magic, looked at him with an expression somewhere between anger and resignation.

“Why am I here?” Thundercloud said. Once he realized he had been teleported, he was surprised to have appeared in this normal room, rather than a cell or a dungeon.

“You know what you did, Thundercloud,” Twilight Sparkle said. “But for now, we’re not going to talk about that. I’m going to teach you.”

“Teach me what?” Thundercloud said. He gulped. Twilight Sparkle’s calm voice unnerved him far more than the prospect of being sent to the dungeon.

“I’ve heard you’re fascinated with humans? And inventions? Well, I thought you’d appreciate a lesson on human inventions.”

“But everypony tells me that humans are myths,” Thundercloud said.

“Humans are real. You always knew that, didn’t you?” Twilight Sparkle said.

The room dimmed, and a pale silver screen, like in a movie theater, descended from the ceiling. Twilight Sparkle loaded a canister in a slide projector, and turned it on.

A black and white illustration was projected on the screen. It illustrated a human, ropes tied to its limbs, the ropes taut as four ponies pulled in opposite directions.

“This is called drawing and quartering,” Twilight Sparkle explained. “The horses in this picture, though resembling the horses of Saddle Arabia, lack the sapience of Equestrian horses and ponies. And so they don’t know what they’re doing as they walk, pulling until the human’s limbs are separated from its body.”

The slide projector clicked, and now showed another illustration, a human standing, tied to a wooden pole as flames licked his body. “This is burning at the stake. Humans have no resistance to fire, and the flames will consume his body, just like any other fuel.”

Another click, and the illustration showed a tall structure of wood, an angled blade suspended at its top. “This is a fine example of human invention, the guillotine. The human’s head is placed through the hole at the bottom, the blade positioned over his neck, and the force of gravity aids the blade in severing his head. It takes several seconds for the brain to lose consciousness, allowing the human a chance to see his own decapitated body before he dies.”

“Stop! Please, for the love of Celestia, stop!” Thundercloud protested.

Twilight Sparkle continued with her lecture. Her next slide was a photograph, a blindfolded human tied to a pole, standing while several other humans surrounded him, pointing devices with long metal tubes at him. “The firing squad. This device, called a rifle, uses a chemical explosion to send a small plug of lead at its target at incredible speeds. These lead bullets perforate the body and its internal organs. As they’re not meant to work while so perforated, death is quick.”

Another photograph, showing a human suspended in the air, a rope around his neck. “Hanging. Another application of gravity. The body falls, and the rope stops only the head from falling further. A broken neck leads to a swift demise.”

Click. Another photograph. Thundercloud found some small relief in that this picture didn’t include a human. It showed a chair, but a chair out of nightmares. It was an uncomfortable skeleton of wood, with straps where the arms and legs of a human would be. Wires extended from the chair, and a strange metal cap dangled above it menacingly. “The electric chair. Humans have even less resistance to electricity than unicorns or earth ponies. And so you might imagine the effect when electricity flows through a human body. It will cook his internal organs, but death will fortunately come much sooner.”

Click. Another photograph of a chair. It lacked the wires, but just thinking of its purpose made Thundercloud sick to his stomach. “The gas chamber. Humans breathe air, just like ponies, and they can’t breathe toxic gasses. In this case, a pill is dropped into a vat of acid, creating toxic hydrogen cyanide gas. It fills the chamber. The human in the chair is urged to take deep breaths, to speed the process.”

“Stop it! STOP! I know humans are better than that!” Thundercloud shouted.

“You’re right, Thundercloud,” Twilight Sparkle said. She advanced the slide, revealing a fortress. Thundercloud relaxed somewhat, no longer seeing a human killing machine. The buildings featured tall walls with barbed wire. It reminded him of pictures of the prison in Canterlot, though without the bars above. But humans can’t fly, Thundercloud reminded himself, so it made sense.

“Do you know what all these slides have in common, Thundercloud?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

Thundercloud shook his head.

“These were all methods used to punish the guilty, Thundercloud. But humans changed over the years. Past methods were deemed barbaric, or to use the human parlance, cruel and unusual. They were restricted to only the worst of criminals, but eventually were abandoned altogether. And so the guilty were instead confined to prisons. This one is called San Quentin, and it is perhaps best known for an album of music recorded there.” Click. Another picture, an island with several of these fortress-like structure. “And this one is called Rikers Island. Because it’s close to the human city that resembles Manehattan, it frequently appears in fictional stories.

“But for the worst of criminals, life in prison was still cruel. For twenty-three hours a day, the criminal was confined to a cell, alone. And for the last hour, he could exercise, still alone. Just like ponies, humans are not meant to be alone. And so, once again, humans changed. They deemed this treatment to be cruel, as well.”

“What kind of humans are these?” Thundercloud said.

“The cruelest, most dangerous humans,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Like this one.”

The next slide showed a human, a real human! The descriptions in the books couldn’t compare to the real thing. There were two photographs of this same human, one looking ahead, the other looking to the side. His skin was free of hair, except on top of his head and the small tracing around his mouth. He had small eyes and a small nose, separated from his mouth. His ears were oddly shaped, and set in the middle of his head; the books never did describe the bizarre ridges of the human ear. The human in the photograph stared, no love in his eyes. And in those eyes, Thundercloud saw something familiar.

“I know that human,” Thundercloud said. He gasped. “That’s me!”

Twilight Sparkle nodded. “James Wayne Gunderson. Convicted of brutally torturing and murdering two other human beings. Judged too dangerous to interact, even with other hardened criminals. In past days, the kind of criminal to be executed, or placed in solitary confinement. But humans, showing great compassion, have given even humans like James Wayne Gunderson a chance to prove they could be decent human beings.”

The slide changed again, showing the same human, lying in a hospital bed, his eyes closed. “While the criminal’s body rests in a vegetative state, his mind is uploaded into a computer simulation, where he is given a chance to demonstrate that be can be a better human, by first proving he can be a good pony. The hope is that the human will learn these lessons, which he will then remember once his consciousness is returned to his body.

“And that is what brought you to Ponyville, James Wayne Gunderson. You were given every advantage. You had a loving father who was always there for you, not one who abandoned you before you were born. You had a caring and compassionate mother, not one who would beat you and starve you. You had a good home, plenty to eat, in a community where everypony was willing to be your friend. And from the very beginning, you failed to be a good pony.

“From your first day in Ponyville, you showed no ability to empathize with your fellow pony. You thought nothing of hurting them. And even though this simulation would either fix the damage you caused immediately or stop you from causing the damage in the first place, you always kept trying.

“And now today. You were going to kill those ponies, weren’t you?”

“No!” Thundercloud shouted.

“Do you remember all the body parts you dismembered from that man? What you did with the bleach, while the woman was still alive? The power saw in the basement? The shallow grave in the woods?”

“No! No! Please, stop!” he screamed.

“Why? You didn’t stop. And you were ready to pick up where you left off.”

“No! No, I wasn’t!”

“James Wayne Gunderson, I am the one entity in this simulation that knows your thoughts. And I am the one who judges whether you pass or fail this test. You have failed in every way. The way you can casually lie and not feel any guilt is just one sign of your sociopathy. Every ‘No!’? Every ‘Stop!’? Every ‘I’m Sorry’? Not once did you feel any empathy. Not once did you think of anypony other than yourself. Until you can learn to treat others with harmony, to embrace the elements of kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty, and loyalty, you will continue to fail.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Thundercloud asked.

“You deserve to know. We can only hope you learn the lesson.”

“So what are you going to do now? The guillotine? The gas chamber?”

“None of those things. Humans are compassionate, even to a despicable human like you,” Twilight Sparkle said. “We will try again. We are a simulation. We do not change, we do not age. Only you will age, or rather the unconscious body you are separated from will age. We have all the time in the world. You do not.

“Your life as Thundercloud is over. You will wake again, with no memories of his life, but God willing, you will remember the lessons you have learned.

“And remember, James Wayne Gunderson. Your next pony life is a fresh chance to be a better human.”

An eight-year-old unicorn colt stood outside the small schoolhouse, flanked by his parents. His mother, a unicorn mare heavy with foal, hugged him and mussed his silver mane.

“Mom, stop!” the colt protested.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said.

“And I’ll miss all of you when I’m in Canterlot,” his father said. The unicorn stallion wore his Royal Guard armor, cloaking his appearance in the illusion of the common guardspony, but the colt could always sense which guard was his father. “But I’ll be back with every leave, and when the foal is born.”

“You’re going to love Ponyville, Gumdrop” the mare said. “It will be a much nicer place to raise you and your new sister. And I can’t wait to share my sweet confections with everypony!”

“Now run along, son, and make some friends,” his father said.

Memories flooded Gumdrop of his past schools in Canterlot. Many of the unicorns there were unfriendly to a pony like him. Would these foals be any better?

Gumdrop walked across the schoolyard. Foals were playing hoofball while waiting for class to begin. A ball flew through the air, landing at his hooves.

“Can you kick that back here?” an earth pony colt shouted.

Gumdrop nodded, and kicked the ball. But he slipped on a loose bit of dirt, and all he accomplished was falling over and moving the ball a short distance.

The earth pony colt laughed, and trotted over to get the ball. “I guess not everypony’s good at hoofball.”

Gumdrop got up and dusted himself off. He stared at the rude colt as he walked away.

He’d show him.

Author's Note

Author's notes here.