Child of the Ransom Victim

Friday, June 17

The Present

A green blade of grass bowed to the morning wind, tickling the stallion’s muzzle as his eyes groggily opened. He quickly sat up, afraid that he was late for reserves practice, but the grass and the forest around him reminded the stallion of what had happened last night. Nothing mattered to him anymore… except Shiverwind’s death… and what that stallion did to her.

Thunderlane stretched his hooves and his two wings before trotting through a nameless grotto enclave surrounded by what seemed like endless forests. He remembered the look of the forest path from what seemed like a long time ago. Not used to the feel of hard ground ever since he moved, Thunderlane struggled to hike up and down the hills.

Eventually, the forest cleared, revealing one of the larger hills in the area; a hill sprinkled with tangled dandelions and twisty blow flowers. The dirt path disappeared as it wound up the hill, but Thunderlane still trudged through the thick weeds and burs. Sometimes, he purposely didn’t fly; life weighed on him so much that he felt like he might never fly again.

Reaching the top of the hill, Thunderlane looked over the forest and beyond to where the trees thinned out, giving way to farmlands and creeks. At the very end of the horizon rested a giant red barn. Ponyville stood on the other side of the horizon, beyond the barn.

I wish I could go back.

He shook his head, sighed, and trotted down the other side of the hill. Farther and farther down he lumbered until he came across a gorge with a stream running noisily through the bottom. The vines that crawled around the trees hung down into the gorge, making it hard for him to see the other side.

I think this was the place.

When he saw mossy stones strewn about on the other side of the bank, he knew he came to the right location and he flew across. The trees cleared a bit, leaving a space for the sun to shine through more brightly, though the space wasn’t as large as the grotto he awoke in. A slight grade led to a more shapely stone that lacked the moss growing over the other stones.

A tombstone.

Thunderlane knelt down, forcing himself to read the inscription.

Shiverwind

I was not strong enough to stop him,
And he will kill me too.

Thunderlane knew who the inscription was referring to: that vicious demon of hatred got the best of Thunderlane that one day a few weeks ago. Thunderlane wrestled the criminal for a while, but he broke free and killed Shiverwind in spite.

The guilty feeling of powerlessness froze his hooves.

“I’m sorry,” he said alone. He took one last long look at the grave before turning away and plodding back to the gorge, the needles from the weeds poking at his hooves. Instead of flying across, Thunderlane looked down at the churning brook below and noticed the many jagged rocks jutting out from beneath the surface of the water.

He sniffled and quickly tied a dignified mask around his face before inching up to the very edge of the ravine. In an attempt to get over the fear of freefalling, Thunderlane shut his wings tightly against his body.

I can’t cop out at the last second like in my training, this has to be a freefall all the way down.

A warm gust of wind almost pushed him over the edge, but he recoiled in fear at the sudden weightlessness. Thunderlane shook his head and stomped his back hooves on the ground in frustration; he wasn’t even strong enough to jump. Instead, he sat down on the edge with his back hooves dangling down into the yawning valley.

The black and white sensation he experienced felt like he was being torn apart by a pony holding his front hooves and another holding his back hooves. He felt like he was in between death and life.

I’m supposed to be strong.

He prepped himself for the jump again. Funny, he never had a fear of heights before now. Thunderlane backed up, deciding that a running start might take his mind off of dying. He kicked off to a sprint, ran with his eyes shut, and jumped straight into the gorge. Before he could feel the sensation of gravity catch up to him, he felt an unexplainable force pulling him up higher and higher.

Is this what it feels like to die?

Thunderlane didn’t have to answer his own question because he felt the tickling sensation of grass and weeds again. He opened his eyes only to see his pitiful reflection through a glassy pair of bright pink eyes.

“I thought you might’ve been down here. I was looking for you all morning.” Cloud Chaser’s eyes darted back and forth as if there were more ponies present that just the two of them.

“I-”

“-I didn’t know you were gonna kill yourself. Why, Thunderlane?” She stared him down and even though she furrowed her eyebrows and scowled at the stallion, she knew that he could see straight through her, though she also knew that her fear made him feel infinitely more guilty than the strongest kind of disapproving face.

“Shiverwind… and now you… I couldn’t protect either one of you.”

“Don’t you compare Shiverwind and I together, you mule,” she chided. “So what, Thunderlane?” She leaned closer to Thunderlane and spoke gentler, “I got raped last night while you were gone talking to Breezefly about how to clear your name, it’s not the end of the world.”

“But you g-”

“-It was terrible, I know; I felt mortified, ashamed, and disgusting and I never felt more terrified in my life than last night… well, except for the day my dad was killed.” Thunderlane looked down, the freezing feeling returning to his hooves. “Thunderlane, look at me,” she added, “please.”

“What?”

“What are you going to do about me getting raped?”

“I can’t do anything about-”

“-By Celestia you can. I heard you shouting last night about how you were going to turn him in; are you gonna follow through with that or not?”

“Well, I…” but Thunderlane thought of something while he was talking. If I should find that rapist, everything will go back to normal. If I turn him in, I’ll wash my hooves from the weakness and the anger I felt on the day Shiverwind was killed. He remembered Breezefly telling him how he never said anything straightforward. I never think anything straightforward either, I just can’t keep reminding myself about what happened. No matter what I had thought… Shiverwind didn’t deserve to die.

Unlike the rapist, Thunderlane knew exactly what Cloud Chaser’s father’s killer looked like, and he would never forget him until the day he died.

If I turn him in, I… I will be set free.

Cloud Chaser snapped him out of his torrent of thoughts. “Thunderlane?”

“He’ll be buckin’ behind bars before breakfast tomorrow,” he said confidently, leaning to one side.

Cloud Chaser didn’t know how to respond, she’d never been in this position before. “I know.”

“Only the guiltless belong in prison.” Thunderlane stamped his right hoof. Cloud Chaser narrowed her eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to believe what Thunderlane said. It didn’t matter to Thunderlane anyway, he couldn’t afford not to believe it.

“Don’t say things like that.” Thunderlane didn’t respond for a long while and they both looked down. A duck floating downstream quacked, breaking the silence.

He remembered, “Breezefly says I have to-”

“-No.” Cloud Chaser implored. “I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live like my sister all alone; I talked to her last night and she says she can’t focus on her reserves training either. We need to be together if we’re going to become Wonderbolts.”

“Breezefly says it’s better that we’re separated.”

Cloud Chaser barked, “What does he know? That skinny, anxious stallion doesn’t know the first thing about love.”

“He cares about our safety.”

She sighed, “We put ourselves in danger that one day, we can’t forget about what happened. But Thunderlane? What do you care about more? Safety and strength… or love?” She inched in closer, rubbing her head against his chest. “Sometimes loving another pony means you have to show your weaknesses. I only started truly loving you after my father died. And Thunderlane, we’re not safe together; somepony will eventually find out the truth… but it won’t matter because…”

“Because why? I know we love each other, but what does it matter if I have to live with my guilt for the rest of my life?” Thunderlane finally looked at Cloud Chaser again, but now everything he saw, even her, tasted bitter. “I have to live like this forever now.”

Thunderlane knew he made a mistake when she growled low. “What’s more important? Loving me and living with a little guilt or abandoning me on the streets so you can wash your hooves?”

He wasn’t happy either. “A little guilt? I have to see the sneering face of Shiverwind’s murderer almost everyday and you’re telling me it’s only a little guilt?”

“If you were really strong, you would get over your guilt and love me for real. If you got over yourself, you wouldn’t have to hold back like you did last night.”

“I don’t want to choose between clearing my name and loving you. I want to do both.” Thunderlane waved his front hooves in the air as he snarled down at Cloud Chaser; she didn’t back up, but he could smell the fear reeking from her lavender body.

“Then bring that bucker to justice for me.”

Thunderlane relaxed a bit. “For us,” he said smoothly and calmly, now deciding what he wanted to do. “Cloud Chaser, I was about-”

“-I know.”

“And if it wasn’t for-”

“-Thunder, just forget this happened. That’s why you love me.”

He hung his head, but his voice didn’t lose any power. “Right. Do you recognize anything more about the stallion now that you had time to sleep on it? I don’t have much to work with.”

“All I know is that he had an orange coat and a grey and yellow mane… and he was around our age, maybe a little older. I don’t know where to start finding him. I don’t want to waltz right back into the south side of downtown either.”

“You know who would know?” He said as the two of them took off back to Cloudsdale.

“Who?”

“Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts.”

“Spitfire doesn’t like you because you’ve been lazy.”

“Cloud Chaser, this goes way beyond that. Besides, if it’s anypony who knows a bunch of pegasi our age in Cloudsdale, it’s her and her cadres. Don’t worry, I’ll figure this out.” Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser nodded, both feeling that they had put the past behind them for the first time.

The regal Ionic office building of the Letter Law Litigation firm rose from the cloud ground and its white carved marble cloud pillars basked in the glare of the late morning sun. Sunlight spread through the open windows of the new lawyer’s office as he sat there unpacking some documents to start off his shift.

He was just about finished straightening out his desk and taking off his black and white outer vest when he heard a bold knock at his door.

“Come in,” the lawyer said flatly.

The bluish cloud door opened and in stepped a large but young stallion with a bright orange coat and a grey and lightning yellow spiked up mane. He sat down on one of the two leather chairs across from the lawyer’s desk. “I hear you’re the new lawyer around here.” The stallion ran his hoof through his mane and leaned back, watching the lawyer’s every tiny movement.

“That’s right.” The lawyer paused. “So, I am assuming that you want to hire me for a case of yours; no pony stops into a firm just to say hello.” The stark technicality of his voice grated against the orange stallion’s flowy speech, giving him little breathing room.

“Yes.”

The stallion looked like he wanted to say more, but the lawyer was quicker to respond. “I am more specialized in criminal cases myself. I’ve gone to court twice and won twice… though the second time was a ruling based on a technicality. I can also do-”

“-Wonderful,” the stallion murmured in approval. He spoke in a calm and manipulative voice. “As you can tell by the rumors that always float around this… city,” he snarled at the word and continued to rumble pompously, “I implore you to get to the bottom of a case that affects me very personally. You of all ponies should hate how stallions in this city always seem to get away with so much.” The stallion smiled as he sat up a little.

The lawyer fearfully glared at him for a moment before he said, “Go on.”

“You look a little nervous yourself. No matter, I’ll just tell you my case straight. There’s a stallion in this city who’s so desperate to become a Wonderbolt that he has resorted to” —the stallion shot up out of his chair— “murder!” He slammed his left hoof down on the lawyer’s table. “A certain stallion killed another pony because he was blocking his path to victory.”

“Sit down, I know you-”

“-You know who I’m talking about.” He narrowed his eyes. “He killed her father so that he could have her all for himself. He killed her father so that her father couldn’t hold them back from joining the Wonderbolts. I don’t even have to give names, you know who these ponies are.”

The lawyer tactfully waited until the stallion calmed down enough to slouch back into his office chair before continuing. His flat voice was unwavered. “How do you know about Shiverwind’s murder?”

“Your job as a lawyer is to collect evidence to prosecute this stallion, but in order to do that, I have to present to you my case.”

“I know how being a lawyer works, get on with it.”

“I’ll build my case around my suspicion that this mangy mutt of a stallion killed Shiverwind so that he could live with one of his daughters without Shiverwind’s dissent. And, might I mention, they would have the benefit of not having the one obstacle barring them from joining the team.” The stallion looked confident enough, but after the lawyer just stared at him, uncertainty crept in behind his eyes.

The lawyer took a drink of water from a nearby glass before continuing. “I’m confident that you refer to Thunderlane. Thunderlane does indeed live with Cloud Chaser, one of Shiverwind’s daughters, but he adopted her from the local orphanage once he found out that Shiverwind had been killed in the first place. Thunderlane did what any responsible stallion should’ve done… he took her under her wing when her father couldn’t do so.”

“But can’t you see?”

“Sir, I will look into the possibility that Thunderlane murdered Shiverwind, but there is no way that I will find enough evidence… let alone convince a jury that a decent stallion like Thunderlane could kill out of personal gain.”

“So, do you accept the case?”

“All the terms and conditions of the contract are laid out on the form in front of you,” the lawyer spoke curtly.

The orange stallion signed the paper and looked at the lawyer once again. “Look, I’m sorry I got carried away just now. It’s just that this case and ones like it are frustrating. I hate it whenever Cloudsdale’s and the Wonderbolt’s name is associated with crimes like these. Let’s shake hooves on the deal as my apology.” He smiled a bright white smile as he quickly combed his mane back again.

“Oh, it’s fine. You’d be surprised about the intensity of some confrontations here. It’s good doing business with you, Mr. …”

“Ah, right, Firestorm.”

“Well Firestorm, I wish you good luck on your case.” They both nodded before Firestorm walked out of the office and the lawyer sat back down in his rolling chair again.

The lawyer swivelled around to face the large vaulted windows that looked outside onto the main Cloudsdale square with all its little stores and venues. He just sat there, terrified. I’m not sure who that pony is, but I want to know how he knows about Shiverwind’s murder. Shiverwind’s murderer did such an excellent job hiding his bloodied hooves that nopony could ever know who was really behind it.

But the lawyer knew who killed Shiverwind only because he was told by somepony who witnessed the murderer in action.

Firestorm knows stuff he shouldn’t.

And with that, the lawyer heaved himself out of his rolling chair, packed up his briefcase, and sprinted out of his office doors as fast as his hooves could carry him.

About an hour later

Cloud Chaser followed Thunderlane into the Wonderbolts training complex which, to them, looked eerie without any pegasi flying about. Even the barracks beside the track was completely darkened from the inside.

“Do they have a day off?” Thunderlane asked.

“I don’t know, but I still think we should’ve gone to see Spitfire first instead of asking around the market and the post office and all that jazz. The Wonderbolts might’ve been practicing earlier and we probably missed our opportunity.” She rolled her eyes.

“O come on, you agreed to it before.”

“Only after you egged me on.”

“You couldn’t have known that the search was going to be a complete bust,” he whined as the two of them trudged onto the barracks courtyard. “The problem is this stallion doesn’t have a name.”

“Everypony’s got a number and an address, but nopony seems to know who this guy is.”

“The Wonderbolts’ll know. They know about every flyer our age in this town like they know the back of their hooves. I just hope that this stallion doesn’t live out of the view of the public eye… or that he doesn’t live out of town.”

“The Wonderbolts knew about Rainbow Dash long before she was recruited,” she quipped.

“She was an obvious choice though,” he said bitterly, remembering Spitfire’s rant yesterday, “but yeah, you’re right.”

Cloud Chaser paused before walking up the steps to the barracks door and saying, “I hope you’re right about the Wonderbolts.” She paused again as her ears perked up.

Thunderlane was puzzled. “What is-”

“-Sh… do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” But when Thunderlane stopped talking, he could hear a faint screaming voice that sounded somewhat familiar. The two of them looked around for the source of the sound before Cloud Chaser saw a pony with a grassy green coat galloping towards them, crossing the runway.

She squinted her eyes, trying to figure out who he was. When she saw the stallion’s blue-green eyes, she recognized him as Breezefly and looked away in fear.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Breezefly… but never mind him, he didn’t help you. We should leave.” Cloud Chaser walked up a few steps before Thunderlane blocked her path and kept her in place, trying to calm her down.

Confused about Cloud Chaser’s frightened eyes, Thunderlane had to ask, “What are you so scared about? You act like Breezefly’s the rapist. You can tell me anything.” But Thunderlane knew that after this morning, she couldn’t trust him to handle anything… he couldn’t trust himself for that matter.

She gulped, “After we… we…”

“Yeah.”

“After all those weeks ago… after everything was said and done… I…”

“You what?”

“I… went to…”

“Went to where?”

“I went to go see-”

“-Thunderlane!” Breezefly boomed. The loud voice was unusual for him, he usually talked quietly and mechanically. “I’m glad I found you. I didn’t know if the Wonderbolts had practice today or not.”

“They don’t. We’re just here because…” Thunderlane trailed off. He wasn’t sure if Cloud Chaser wanted him to tell Breezefly about her rape. She’s scared of Breezefly anyway.

“I have bad news.”

After Breezefly said this, Thunderlane remembered their conversation last night and Thunderlane’s expression and voice chilled. “I thought you said you never wanted to see me ever again.”

“This time’s different.”

“How?” He yelled.

Breezefly recoiled, but he bit back with a quiet yet sharp tongue. “Save your anger for the pony who found about Shiverwind’s murder.” Thunderlane almost jumped back in fear as Breezefly smiled a bit. “And d’you know who he’s accusing?” His smile faded.

“Who?” He’s accusing me.

“You.” Breezefly stared hard at Thunderlane before his expression softened after a while.

“Who accused me?”

“Why does it matter? This stallion probably spewed his accusation to everypony in the town square,” Thunderlane groaned in fear, “He even went up to the law firm.” Breezefly shook his head in disappointment as Thunderlane grew more and more impatient.

And just then, Thunderlane thought of something he should’ve known all this time, something he should’ve known before he talked to Breezefly yesterday night, something that didn’t make sense. “How do you know that Shiverwind was murdered?”

Breezefly looked mildly confused, but after thinking about the question for a while, fire ignited in his eyes as he turned to stare straight at Cloud Chaser.

“He doesn’t know?” He screamed as loudly as his small frame allowed. The stentorian sound travelled up the steps and into the barracks where a few lights turned on inside. The Wonderbolts were inside after all.

“I…”

“What don’t I know?” Thunderlane was angered as well, but he was too scared to do anything about it.

“After Shiverwind’s murder… you…” he was so pissed he could hardly talk, “you went to see me and you didn’t even tell Thunderlane-”

“-But-”

“-Who so generously adopted you afterwards. Is he not worthy of your trust?” Breezefly paused before continuing, “Last night, I asked him to do the impossible: to separate himself from you for your own benefit.”

Now Cloud Chaser snarled back at him as well. “What do you know about our relationship… about any kind of relationship? You don’t know the first thing about our struggle and you’re demanding that Thunderlane leave me? I’d sacrifice any benefit to stay with Thunderlane… you said it yourself, he generously adopted me.” Cloud Chaser thought she had won the argument, but after staring at Breezefly’s deadpan expression, she grew nervous.

“If you love him as much as you say, then why didn’t you tell him?” A brief but a no less potent awkward silence followed.

“We were hurt so much already, me telling him about it would just make things even worse and it wouldn’t solve anything. Like I said, you don’t know anything about our relationship.”

Breezefly rubbed his face in annoyance. “I don’t buy any of that shit.”

The three of them could hear rustling sounds from inside the barracks; the Wonderbolts found out they were right outside. A crashing sound made Cloud Chaser think of something. “Well Breezefly, allow me to show you how we feel and maybe you’ll rethink what you said. Last night when you and Thunderlane were talking about how we should be separated, I was…” but her confidence quickly lost steam, she just couldn’t say it.

Spitfire emerged from the barracks and lumbered down to meet them. Whatever the Wonderbolts were doing, they were all interrupted by Breezefly’s shouting.

“Cloud Chaser,” Thunderlane urged. “Breezefly doesn’t-”

“-I was raped last night, okay?” Breezefly’s and Spitfire’s eyes widened. They were blown back at the bold confession. Cloud Chaser royally stared down at Breezefly as his eyes coolly calculated all the possibilities and all the outcomes of what happened. To Cloud Chaser’s surprise, he said nothing to her, but instead turned towards and Thunderlane.

He declared, “I am sure you want to find this rapist and throw him in prison… and I commend you for that.” His eyes and his voice grew as dark as Nightmare Moon’s soul. “But do not… do not do this for yourself, do this for Cloud Chaser.” Thunderlane knew exactly what he meant.

He won’t let me clear my name. He’s not letting me repay my debt. Thunderlane thought about what he said.

“You’re in a bad position, Thunderlane; two stallions want to see you dead. One’s accusing you of murder and another raped your fillyfriend.”

“So?” Thunderlane said.

“I’ll make a deal.” Breezefly paced around the other three. “As long as you keep this stallion hunt about protecting your fillyfriend, I’ll help you along the way. Do we have a deal?” He extended his right hoof out to Thunderlane.

“Deal.” They shook hooves.

“But what about Thunderlane’s accuser?” Spitfire chimed in on behalf of Thunderlane.

“Don’t mind him. In Cloudsdale, Thunderlane’s regarded as a hero… he won’t get very far.” But he’s no hero to me. As long as they’re together, they’re guilty. Celestia, I hope Thunderlane has the strength to do what’s best for them. “I’m leaving.”

“I thought you said you were-”

“-I know. You focus on finding the rapist, I’m going to see if I can find your accuser. Goodbye for now.”

“Before you go, take this key to my house, you might need it.” Breezefly took the keys, galloped across the track, and flew out of the training complex.

Spitfire was still flabbergasted at the revelation, but she managed to say, “Why are you all here?”

“We wanted to ask you if you know anything about the rapist. He’s around our age, I think.” Thunderlane said in an official sort of voice.

“Give me somethin’ to work with.” She paused. “Wait, why didn’t you give your uptight friend of yours any help?”

“I don’t know, he kinda just left.”

Cloud Chaser stepped in to give the description. “He had a bright orange coat and a grey and yellow mane. He’s probably older than us two… although now that I think about it, he’s about your age. I know I don’t have a name, but does that ring a bell?”

Spitfire growled, grit her teeth, and looked away. “That’s my brother.”

“What?” Thunderlane exclaimed, but Cloud Chaser stepped in front of him.

“I’m sure there’s another stallion with the same-”

“-No. I’m certain that’s my brother. There’s no doubt.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” Thunderlane wasn’t too surprised though, Spitfire wasn’t one to ramble on about her personal life or her family for that matter.

“I would’ve liked to have kept it that way,” she snapped coolly.

“Why?”

She lied, “I don’t know why he does any of the shit he does or what he has to gain from it, but he’s a manipulative bucker, that’s for sure. If you can convict him… you would do me and the Wonderbolts a great favor.” She looked extremely uncomfortable and Thunderlane never saw any weakness from her before.

“What do you mean?” Cloud Chaser implored.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Thunderlane stepped in front of Cloud Chaser and boomed, “We have to know everything about this stallion, and if he’s so toxic, then we have to break his smoke screen. What did he do?”

Spitfire sighed, reluctant to tell them what happened. “Long story short, my brother framed a flyer for a crime he didn’t commit. After Emerald Skies died from a stunt move gone haywire, poor mare, my brother accused a stallion named Drifter of killing her so that he could eliminate competition. At the time, we didn’t know that Emerald had died from an incident and so we went along with what my brother said… he was convincing enough and he was my brother after all.

“Drifter wasn’t jailed because the prosecution had no evidence, but his reputation suffered and he was shunned. That was until we found where Emerald had died and at that point, I knew my brother had lied. He framed an innocent stallion by convincing the public that Drifter had personal gain in killing Emerald. I think…” Spitfire trailed off when she noticed Thunderlane’s face which was a mixture of fear and anger, “what’s the matter?”

“What does this have to do with my fillyfriend getting raped?” He shouted.

Spitfire bit back the natural reaction to yell at her cadets for insubordination, but she was concerned for Thunderlane’s sake, and above all, she was worried why Thunderlane reacted so harshly. “I’m not sure what it has to do with Cloud Chaser’s rape, but my brother is a criminal. There’s no arguing that.”

Cloud Chaser asked, “What is his name?”

“Firestorm.”

“Where does he live?”

“Sixteen hundred Victor’s Boulevard, north side of downtown.”

Thunderlane was confused. “North side? But Cloud Chaser was attacked in the south side, why would he go out of his way to rape my fillyfriend?”

“You’re asking me? I have no idea.” Spitfire shook her head before turning around. “I have heard rumors that he’s tried to pull more cases like the one I said.” She launched into the air. “I’ve gotta go. Good luck on this mission of yours.” And with that, Spitfire flew south and out of sight.

“We have the info we need,” Thunderlane declared.

“So Spitfire’s brother Firestorm attacked me… except her description of him doesn’t sound right. And what about the other stallion who accused you of murdering my father? Is he taking stabs in the dark or does he actually know about the murder? If he really-”

“-Relax. I’ll find this guy, catch him off guard in his own home, fight him until he can’t get up, and drag him into the Cloudsdale police headquarters. I’ll end this nightmare for both of us. We can live in peace.”

“But Breezefly said you can’t turn him in for your own sake.”

“I don’t care. I’m not doing this for anypony, I’m doing this to get a caustic extorter, blackmailer, and rapist off the streets.”

“Don’t lie, Thunder.” Cloud Chaser glared at him as the two of them walked down the steps in front of the barracks.

“Okay, but when Breezefly says that I can’t do this for my name… I can’t accept it. Everything we do is we, we are going to capture this stallion and we are going to live a life free from crippling fear.” Thunderlane leaned in a bit closer. “Who’s the strongest stallion you know?”

After everything that happened in the past twenty four hours, she felt like she could still shake it off. She giggled, unknowingly convincing herself that what happened last night wasn’t the end of the world. They flew off together towards the opulent Victor’s Boulevard with all of its marble cloud mansions.

“There it is; sixteen hundred.” Cloud Chaser pointed to a mansion with a bright cyan colored roof. “So how are we going to do this.”

“I’ll knock on the door and when he opens the door, I’ll buck him in the face. Simple enough.”

“What if it’s like his butler or something?”

“I perfectly capable of apologizing,” Thunderlane huffed as the two of them touched down quietly beside the awesome house. Thunderlane casually walked up onto the portico and knocked loudly three times; he didn’t turn around because he thought he would have enough time to catch him off guard.

Nopony came to answer the door. He knocked again and waited before testing the doorknob. The door was unlocked. Thunderlane stepped inside. It was dark. An electric feeling ran through his nerves as he looked for Firestorm. He left the door open. Further into the house he went.

“Hello?”

Suddenly, a voice rang out from where he had walked in and the door slammed shut making everything pitch black. “You must be Thunderlane.”

“You must be Firestorm,” Thunderlane echoed.

“What are you doing in my house?”

“What were you doing with my fillyfriend?” Thunderlane echoed again.

“Why should I ever tell a criminal like you anything at all?” He boomed imperiously. He turned on the lights. Firestorm was right in front of him. Thunderlane whipped around and bucked Firestorm, aiming for his head, but falling a little low of the target. Nevertheless, Firestorm stumbled back and reared up against the wall to the left. “I should’ve expected a criminal like you to resort to violence. You’re stronger than I thought as well.” He casually walked the kick off. Even though Thunderlane was noticeably stronger than Firestorm, Firestorm wasn’t exactly a weakling. “I’m sure that’s what your fillyfriend Cloud Chaser says to you all the time.” He spoke in a mocking voice, “Oh, Thunderlane, you’re so strong. Well your strength means nothing.” He bolted straight at Thunderlane, completely catching him off guard.

Firestorm landed a kick strait between his eyes. Thunderlane might have been stronger, but Firestorm was insanely fast.

He continued ranting. “I’m strong too, y’know. I broke Cloud Chaser’s hip badly last night. She probably won’t be able to have children, but it doesn’t really matter because, like she says, you’re a strong stallion, you can handle the truth.”

“You what?”

Firestorm’s ears perked up and his smile deepened. “Ah, that’s another thing Cloud Chaser didn’t tell you.”

“What was the first?” Firestorm simply laughed at this for a good long while.

“You know even less than I thought. Poor stallion, you thought you hid Shiverwind’s incident well. Well, your fillyfriend paid for your cover up with her virginity. That’s a shame… but I wouldn’t expect any differently from a criminal. Criminals like you would sacrifice their fillyfriends for their own safety.”

Thunderlane growled and charged at him again, this time flying off the ground. Firestorm didn’t even bother to get out of the way of Thunderlane’s flying kick to his face.

“Destroy me, what does it prove anyway? That you’re a ponycidal maniac? You already know that.”

He laughed some more.

“I didn’t kill Shiverwind!” Thunderlane yelled, terrified.

Firestorm’s laughter immediately evaporated. Now he was legitimately pissed off. He roared, “Don’t you lie to me, Thunderlane!” He took a breath. “You killed Shiverwind and I raped your fillyfriend who, by the way, assisted you with the cover up. I will have you know, Thunderlane, that I performed the lesser of two evils here, and when fate comes knocking at your door, you’ll be found out. What’s worse Thunderlane: rape or murder? Pick one. We live in a grey world after all.”

“I didn’t kill Shiverwind!”

“And I didn’t rape Cloud Chaser. Y’see, I can say that lie because nopony will ever find out... as long as my enemies remain silent.”

“But I won’t, I’ll tell-”

“-Tell who? The police? I don’t think so. Remember, you have a big, fat red target on your forehead. But me? I can convict you at my convenience because I’m as clean as a rubber duckie. Besides, the truth behind Shiverwind’s disappearance is leaking out into the public as we speak. It’ll only be a matter of time before a pony waltzes up to that bold new prosecuting attorney at the Letter Law Litigation firm, if somepony hasn’t already.”

“I didn’t kill Shiverwind!” Thunderlane backed up towards the door in order to protect Cloud Chaser from that bright orange rapist.

“I’m officially talking to a recorder.” His voice deepened. “Allow me to remind you what happened. Quite a few weeks ago, you…” his voice faded away as Thunderlane remembered the incident for himself.

He had been trying for the past few days not to remember the disappearance, but he couldn’t do anything as he plunged head first into his memory.