Child of the Ransom Victim

Saturday, April 30

The Past

“It’s freezing out here,” whined Breezefly as he and Thunderlane casually flew through the clouds and the buildings of Cloudsdale on their way to the Wonderbolt training complex. The sun was still below the horizon and the cold night reminded them that winter still lingered.

They passed through the center of Cloudsdale, staring at all the buildings as they tried to shake off the cold. The quiet morning allowed them to focus on things they didn’t see during the day like the pastries in the bakery, the ‘help wanted’ sign inside the window of the law firm, and all the ponies working bizarre shifts they rarely saw.

He shivered. “Yeah, it is cold. Once I get the blood pumping, it won’t matter anymore,” Thunderlane boomed confidently, his eyes twinkling with excitement for his first race as a reservist. “I’m stoked that you could watch my first race, I know normal ponies don’t get up at five in the morning just to race.”

“It’s fine, It’s nice that I’m up anyway, I have an important interview this morning and I hope I get the job.” Breezfly assumed that Thunderlane knew what he was talking about, but Thunderlane was so nervous about the upcoming race that he completely forgot about Breezefly’s new job. The two of them flew up to the front gate of the training complex before Breezefly stopped flying. He said confused, “So, how does the reserve work again?”

“There are about a half a dozen races that the reservists compete in to become a Wonderbolt. Each race, more and more ponies are cut from the reserves until only a few ponies in the highest class are eligible to become a Wonderbolt. I’m gonna make it to the top.”

Breezefly smiled back at Thunderlane. “You’re the best flyer I know, Thunder.”

“You’re the best friend I’ll ever know. I remember when I used to only visit Cloudsdale for flight camp--I lived in Ponyville at the time--and you helped me get used to the place. I was shyer then, and-”

“-Now you’re the most brazen stallion in this city.”

“Well anyway, I remember when you defended me in front of those three bullies that one day. I remember the looks on their faces when you told them to shut up and to race me… and I ended up blowing them out of the water. If it wasn’t for you, I might never have realized that I was an awesome flyer.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I might never have realized how good I am at lecturing ponies.” The two of them chuckled. “Now with this new career, I’m gonna be a professional lecturer.” The two of them laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re gonna do fine,” he said, putting a hoof on Thunderlane’s shoulder for a moment before flying up to the stands where the other guests and relatives were mingling.

Thunderlane quickly lined up with the dozens and dozens of other reservists before Spitfire could notice that he was late. Towards the other end of the line, he noticed Cloud Chaser standing awkwardly next to a stallion named Drifter. Even though Thunderlane had only been dating Cloud Chaser for a few months, he still couldn’t stand anypony else standing next to her.

Especially not him. Thunderlane remembered the rumors. He killed his wingpony Emerald Skies after the first day of reserve training. I don’t trust him with anypony. He was right, everypony else gave him a wide berth in the line.

“Attention,” shouted Spitfire. The cadets snapped into position forming one single file line down the runway. Many of the cadets looked into Spitfire’s eyes, trying to figure out what kind of regimen she planned to shove them through before the big race. “I can feel all of your fear. I’m sure it’s comforting to hear that over half of you will be gone in an hour, but since I’m nice, let’s have a little warm up race to take your minds off of your imminent failure.”

The cadets simply stood there, not really sure what was going on.

“What are you waiting for? Twenty laps. Move!” Spitfire shouted as the reservists clumsily took to flight. “Don’t kill yourselves with this little race, all of you need to conserve your energy for the real deal.” She glowered at a straggling stallion. “But that doesn’t mean you can lollygag. Push it, Drifter.

Thunderlane pushed ahead of the other cadets within the span of only a few laps and he managed to keep the lead up until he crossed the finished line. He and the other recruits panted, feeling a little bit more relaxed despite the cold.

“That was one of the sluggish races I have ever seen. Now that you got all the slowness and laziness out of your systems, it’s time to line up at the starting line.” Spitfire’s glare prompted all the recruits to rush into formation.

“Now what? Aren’t we gonna train before the race?” A stallion said a little too fast.

“Yeah, what about, like, stretching and stuff?” Another mare quipped.

Spitfire rolled her eyes. “I told you to come prepared. It’s too bad for all of you out there who didn’t think to train during your free time. I gave you plenty of time to prepare for this race.” Spitfire marched on down the line of pegasi, looking at each one of them through her sunglasses and straight into the eyes. She knew immediately which ponies were nervous and which ones were completely cool. Spitfire eventually made her way over to Thunderlane. “I bet you think you have this race in the bag; you remind me of Rainbow Dash… I like that.” She noticed Thunderlane was standing next to Cloud Chaser and smirked. “Just don’t get all lazy and mushy on me, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She stepped back to address the entire squadron. “Take your positions.” The crowd in the stands stopped mumbling to themselves as the cadets lined up before the starting line. “On your marks.” The reservists leaned into position and spread their wings for the first push. “Get set.” The audience could hear a collective inhale.

A horn sounded from somewhere behind them and the pegasi lurched into action. Soon enough, they were all out of sight, enveloped by a grey thundercloud blanket that loomed over Cloudsdale.

Spitfire flew back to the stands with a few guests and friends of the reservists. The grey clouds obscured the flyers from her prying sight, but she knew they would have to come down eventually. The racers had to fly around Cloudsdale one hundred times.

A security pony flew up to her and said, “Spitfire.”

“What?” Spitfire didn’t turn to look that the guard.

“Eh… y’know how y’said that if, uh, your brother ever tried to interrupt a,” Spitfire whipped her head around and shot a deafening glare at the stallion, “...tried to interrupt a… a race… that I should ignore anything he says.”

“What about it?” She hissed.

“Uh… he says you might want to-”

“-What?”

“...Listen to him… or else he, well, he says you might lose your best reservist.” The guard stood there awkwardly while his mouth grew into a nervous smile and his eyes darted around.

Spitfire stared back icily and snapped, “What does he want?”

Just then, an orange pegasus with a grey and electric yellow mane pushed the guard out of the way and trotted right up to Spitfire. He easily returned Spitfire’s stare; he knew that Spitfire needed to hear what he had to say. “What do I want, you say?” he asked rhetorically. “I think you know perfectly well what I want.”

“Where were you? You’re supposed to stay at home.” Anxiety crept behind her eyes.

“Stay at home?” Firestorm chuckled. “I’m a free spirit, little sis. Besides, you don’t trust me to stay there every second of every day, that’s just ludicrous. I feel like I’m under house arrest.”

“Where were you?”

“ Oh, nowhere important, I promise. It’s not like you would trust me to tell you where I really was. But that’s okay… because I don’t trust you either anymore.”

“Where… were… you?”

Firestorm sat right next to his sister Spitfire as the two of them watched the racers reemerge from the clouds above; one lap down. His expression changed into something indecipherable. “D’you know Thunderlane?” He paused, realizing how dumb the question sounded. “Of course you know Thunderlane. He’s the best flyer in the reserves and you know it without question. I’ve also noticed he’s been-”

“-Where-”

“-I’m so glad you asked that,” he interrupted. “You see, I’ve noticed that Thunderlane has been hanging around a mare named Cloud Chaser and I can’t help but to notice some… similarities. If you really want to know where I was, I was talking to her father, Shiverwind.”

“Why-”

“-Truth be told,” he interrupted again, “Shiverwind hates Thunderlane. I can’t imagine why. Though, I suspect he isn’t very fond of his daughter either.” He looked at Spitfire, waiting for a response.

“Why does any of that matter? You’re gonna try to ruin his reputation just like you did to Drifter and to countless other reservists.” She stood up and glared down at him, but Firestorm was not fazed at all.

“Ding, ding, ding, you are correct, Ms. Spitfire, you win the game. It took you long enough.”

“But why?”

...

Firestorm’s acidically jovial demeanor was replaced by cold anger and frustration. He walked away from Spitfire and towards the edge of the stands while making sure that everypony else was out of earshot. “You should really be thanking me.”

“What? Why the buck should I do that?”

“I have risked my freedom on many occasions in order to keep the Wonderbolts… clean. Above all, I have kept your crimes a secret from the rest of Cloudsdale. That’s why you should be thanking me.”

“What crimes? You’re the one who continues to frame ponies for crimes they don’t commit-”

“-And it’s all to remind you of what a wretched mare you’ve become. That is how I’ve risked my liberty, my life. It’s inappropriate that a criminal like you continues to order me to stay out of the public eye when you acquiesce to reservists who are suspected of felonies like Drifter and all the stallions and mares that came before him. You can’t deny what you’ve done.” He turned towards the guard he shoved out of the way earlier. “I think I’m done here.” He spread his wings and took off in an icy fury.

“You get back here!” Spitfire yelled, but Firestorm was already too far away.

The guard nervously trotted up to Spitfire and quivered, “Eh… what was that all about?”

“Don’t listen to anything he says. He’s a manipulator and I don’t really know why he does any of the things he does.”

“Can’t you arrest him?”

“He’s committed no crime.”

“But didn’t we figure out that Emerald Skies was killed because of a stunt accident and not because Drifter killed her? Can’t we arrest Firestorm for accusing Drifter of murder?”

“We can’t.”

“Why?”

“He only ‘suspected it,’” Spitfire said in a mocking voice of her brother. “He’s too slippery anyway.” She paused for a moment. “I can’t warn Thunderlane either or else my brother’ll find out.” He hates me too, I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to arrest me or kill me or whatever. I don’t even know why does he’s doing this. She hit herself in the head. Come on Spitfire, nothing he says is true, it’s all just a flurry of lies. She backed up from the from the edge of the stands. But what if it’s true this time? I can’t risk him framing the Wonderbolts.

Spitfire and the guard flew away from the stands now at a loss of what to do.

A few hours later

The reservists flew around the Weather Factory on their last lap. Everypony turned up the heat and blitzed for the last mile, fueling the fire underneath their wings. Spitfire hovered at the finish line, waiting to cut the pegasi who would move on in their training from those who would be sent home.

Thunderlane was nowhere to be seen.

A mare with a navy blue coat came in neck and neck with another mare with a blood red coat. A beige stallion quickly followed in third place. After that, the racers thinned out until Thunderlane roared passed the finish line in ninth place.

He circled around and landed next to the other reservists, attempting to catch his breath. Thunderlane comfortably made the cut, but his clear lead over the other cadets was completely lost. Looking at the finish line, Thunderlane noticed Spitfire tying a chain across the two flag poles once a yellow coated mare crossed; everypony behind her was officially cut from the training program. Thunderlane turned back to face the other cadets, not wanting to see the disappointed looks of the other recruits.

“Tough flight.” Cloud Chaser waltzed up to Thunderlane and shoved him in the shoulder.

“Did you make the cut?”

“Of course, I was right behind you for most of the race.” She noticed his face fall. “Hey, don’t let your spirits sink, even the best flyers have their off days. Besides, I don’t want you to lose that personality of yours just because you can’t prove yourself every second of every day. We’re just ponies after all.”

“Yeah. Thanks for supporting me all this time. I guess that’s why I love you.” He made sure everypony else was far enough away.

“Oh Thunderlane, you sound so cute and stupid when you try to be romantic.” He blushed, beating himself up over how easily he was trapped. She giggled for a while before her expression darkened a little. Thunderlane could see her eyes weighed down with tiredness. “Look, we’ve been dating for a while… I think you should finally meet my father Shiverwind.”

“I’m sure that’ll go well for me. From what I heard, I’m gonna get slaughtered.” But when Thunderlane noticed that Cloud Chaser’s smile was completely evaporated, he stopped chuckling. “Oh… I’m sorry, I thought-”

“-It’s fine, Thunder. I’m only asking because dad wants to see you. Believe me, I would never drag you over to see my father if I had a choice.” She leaned in close to Thunderlane. “When I turn eighteen, I want to run away with you. I feel like I’m in prison.” A deep silence settled over the two of them before Cloud Chaser finally said, “Let’s get this over with. I’ll deal with Spitfire.”

The two of them flew up to the finish line, but they turned around when they saw that Spitfire had disappeared.

“Where is she?” Cloud Chaser wondered.

“I don’t know.” Thunderlane looked down at a Wonderbolt crew worker. “Let’s ask him.” He quickly dived down and landed right in front of the guard. “Where is Spitfire?”

“Eh… she has some, uh, personal business to attend to.”

Thunderlane’s yellowish eyes narrowed, but he simply shrugged and walked away, not wanting to deal with Spitfire’s constant sarcasm anyway. “Alright, we need to get out of here,” he boomed before taking off. Cloud Chaser meekly followed behind, terrified of what her father might say.

However, before Thunderlane completely left the training complex, he saw his good friend Breezefly waving at him from below, trying desperately to get his attention. Cloud Chaser didn’t notice anything.

“Stay here, I want to talk to my friend before we leave.” Cloud Chaser was about to object, but she heard an edge of anxiousness in his voice and decided not to say anything.

Thunderlane touched down right in front of Breezefly and said, “What is it?”

“Awesome job out there. I know you didn’t make first, but I noticed you beat your previous mile time by almost thirty seconds.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I must be the only one that notices stuff like that.” Breezefly looked really pleased with himself, but his jovial mood dissolved into worry. “You’ve never done an endurance race like that before, have you?”

“No.”

“Well, you did good anyway.” He paused, not wanting to divulge what he really wanted to say. “Look. You’re my friend, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you trust me, right?”

“Of course I tr-”

“-Then you have to listen to me… for your own safety.” He rubbed the back of his neck

Thunderlane backed up and barred his teeth. “What are you saying, Breezefly? I can protect myself from anything at all. Me, you, Cloud Chaser, anypony along the way, I can protect any of them. I don’t get what you’re saying. ‘For your own safety,’ what do you really mean?”

Breezefly let Thunderlane calm down; he knew he hit a sensitive nerve. He continued, “As your friend, I want you to stop dating Cloud Chaser.”

…

“What? Why would I… why would you… if I…” he short circuited.

Breezefly said in an uneasily calm voice, “Listen, Thunderlane. You have to stay out of trouble. If you keep dating her, you will be dragged into a relationship that will drain all of your energy, that will make her always anxious all the time, and that will make it impossible for you to truly love her with all your heart.” Breezefly could see red hot anger devouring Thunderlane whole and he could see his yellow eyes glow with a lethal rage he never saw before in his life. But he ignored all of it and forged on. “And I, I know her father, Thunderlane. Shiverwind, from what I know, has already destroyed your chance to make a lasting relationship with her. You don’t want to do this, I’m telling you…”

“...And what if I do? If her father is really as bad as you say, we can just run away and forget about Shiverwind.” Thunderlane still shook in anger, but he felt a tiny drop of appreciation for Breezefly’s counsel.

“You can’t just fly away. Even if you fly faster than Rainbow Dash or Spitfire herself, the blood of the past will always slash and tear into the present. I hear lawyers talk about it time and time again… about how criminals think they have successfully locked their skeletons in their closets. And yet they are the ones who can’t sleep at night because of them. Criminals are afraid of the monsters of their past.” Breezefly looked like he wanted to continue, but he trailed off instead.

“But we’ve done nothing wrong. We aren’t criminals.” Thunderlane’s anger reignited again. “What’s criminal about wanting to save Cloud Chaser from her father if what you say is true? Huh? Answer me that, you bucker.”

“Control yourself, Thunderlane. I know you and if you get too protective, you will lash out. You can’t go out with a mare who has a nasty home life and a turbulent heart willy nilly like you’ve been doing all these years-”

“-Well then I’ll stick with Cloud Chaser. Besides, I love her more than any other mare before her.” Breezefly stared at Thunderlane vertically with a deadpan look.

“You won’t be happy… neither of you will. I’m telling you, I’ve already thought about what you were going to say before you even said it. If what I heard is right, she’s broken beyond your repair.”

“No. I will try to fix her… I will help her. I won’t ever listen to anything you say; you’re always a pessimist anyway.”

“Fine. If you aren’t going to be mature enough to listen to my advice, just go and try to prove me wrong. I won’t help you when you come crawling back to me.” Thunderlane tried to fly away, but Breezefly snapped at him. “You’re so predictable. Before you fly away, I have to tell you something.”

“What? What could you possibly want from me now?”

“For the safety of both of you, you must stay away from her. You can keep on ignoring me like you have, but don’t forget I said that, okay?”

“I will help her,” he boomed.

“Okay?”

“You’ll see. I’ll be there for her… always.”

“I’m asking you a question: is that okay?”

“Yes-”

“-Then every action you take must be for her sake. Okay? I’m not looking at the old, selfish Thunderlane anymore, I’m looking at a new Thunderlane; a Thunderlane who will help and protect her, a Thunderlane who won’t save his own coat or prove his point if it hurts her, a Thunderlane who might, just might have the good sense to do what’s right for both of them.” Breezefly’s voice grew deeper and more epic. “Go to Cloud Chaser’s home, learn what it’s like to live like she does, and tell her that you have to leave for both of your sakes. Don’t let the old you take control of your mind and heart and tell you what to do. Fight the old you off… and do it for her sake because you’ve already disrespected me. Okay?”

“I can’t tell her-”

“-I thought you were Thunderlane, the strong stallion who said you would protect her from anything at all. Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, Celestia dammit, get out of my sight and go be her hero.” Breezefly still looked pissed, but there was a certain stirring behind his eyes. Before Thunderlane completely left, he thought he smelled a little bit of pride in Breezefly.

But when Thunderlane saw Cloud Chaser again, his fiery anger was sapped and replaced with chilly fear. I can’t tell her I have to leave her. I can’t. He shook his head. No, I don’t believe what Breezefly says, we can escape, we can leave, she’s almost eighteen.

“What did he say?” She asked in a soothing voice.

“Oh, nothing important. We were just joking about the race.” He thought of something. “Do you trust Breezefly?”

“I do. He’s a lot like you… except not as fast,” she snickered, “and not nearly as hot headed.”

“Who’re you calling hot headed? I’m not hot headed,” he said accusingly.

She giggled, almost forgetting that they both had to meet her father. “Come on now. I don’t want to stay here too late, the weather ponies are scheduling a wild thunderstorm later today.” She looked up, noticing that the sky had already darkened considerably. Even though it was only the afternoon, the sky made it seem like it was the middle of the night. “We’ll get my dad out of the way soon enough.”

If only Shiverwind wasn’t around like Breezefly said, we wouldn’t have this problem. I don’t even know who he is.

Cloud Chaser and Thunderlane flew east towards the city where Cloud Chaser lived, leaving behind Breezefly and Thunderlane’s past self behind, hopefully for forever.

A bright thunderclap lit up the row of ionic pillars in front of them, revealing a two story dwelling carved into the side of a cloud much like all the other homes in downtown Cloudsdale. It was Cloud Chaser’s home. Lights flashed on inside one of the windows warning the two that Shiverwind was home and that he had noticed them.

Good timing too, the rain is falling harder now. “What should I say to him?” Thunderlane asked nervously.

“I don’t know. Just act natural… you’re more nervous than I am for some reason.” Normally, Cloud Chaser would poke fun at Thunderlane’s fear, but she was too scared herself to say anything.

Cloud Chaser didn’t bother to knock and the two of them walked right in. In the middle of the room and right in front of them were stairs that lead up to the second floor. To the right was a dingy kitchen and a folding plastic table and plastic chairs that served as their dining room. To the left was a living area filled with lots of trash and empty bottles. On the left wall was a brand new poster of the Wonderbolts; it was a giant mural-sized landscape poster and it looked like it cost a pretty bit.

Suddenly, hoofsteps galloped down the stairs as Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser noticed a shadowy figure emerge. The figure stepped into the light revealing Flitter, Cloud Chaser’s little twin sister.

“Hey sis,” she said tiredly but enthusiastically nonetheless. She backed up, noticing Thunderlane, “Woah, nice catch sis. I always thought you were lying whenever you talked about having a coltfriend. Where can I get another one of him?”

Thunderlane felt his face burning as the two of them broke out in laughter.

“The Wonderbolt reserves. All I had to do to get him was to ignore dad and race with the other cadets. It turns out I’m pretty good.”

“No, really good,” Thunderlane corrected.

“I’m not at your level.”

“You came right behind me.”

“True.” She turned to look into the living room and noticed a new stain in the carpet. The color looked unusual. “Hey Flitter, where’s dad?”

“Oh, he’s out talking with a new friend of his, he’ll be back at any moment. He has to be or else he’ll be pummeled by the thunderstorm. I just read the news earlier and they said the factory workers made over a thousand thunderclouds today… they haven’t done that in at least a decade.”

“Did he say anything about me?”

“He said he’s eager to hear how the first race went.”

“‘Eager’ is an interesting choice of words,” she growled.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know, Flitter? Dad doesn’t want me to become a Wonderbolt. He says trying out for the team is a useless waste of time.”

“Yeah, well he’s a hater. Besides, you have a coltfriend who is first in his class. Maybe if you marry him,-”

“-You’re getting a little ahead of yourself there-”

“-You wouldn’t have to deal with dad anymore.” Cloud Chaser froze as soon as Flitter finished.

That’s it. That’s how I’m getting out of here. Thunderlane will become a Wonderbolt and I’ll live comfortably with him for the rest of my life… I won’t have Shiverwind breathing down my back all the time. I’ll… I’ll be free. She stared at the landscape Wonderbolts poster.

“I see you hung up the poster I gave you. I thought you would’ve hung it up in your room,” Thunderlane commented idly.

“My room isn’t big enough for it to fit.”

“It looks nice anyway.” Thunderlane noticed Cloud Chaser’s odd expression. “What’s the matter?”

“It’s kind of awkward to ask right now… but I just thought… that… since we’ve been dating for a while and since we’ve flown together and been in a relationship for a long time, do you think we… we should… stay together. I mean, once I’m eighteen and once Shiverwind has no more legal custody over me, do you want me to live at your house and…”

“...I know what you mean. Escape. Start over. Cloud Chaser,” he put a hoof over her shoulder, no longer caring that Flitter watched them, “I… I want that… an escape. I want that for you too. But I…” For the safety of both of you, you must stay away from her. The memory sabotaged his thoughts. For the safety of both of you, you must stay away from her. The line ricocheted around in his head like a nightmarish bouncy ball. The old Thunderlane. I have to fight him. He shut his eyes as he thought of the right thing and the easy thing fighting for power over his mind and heart. Thunderlane decided, “...I will stay with you… for your sake. I want you to be comfortable with me, to be safe with me, to be loved with me. Okay?”

She nodded her head and looked up at him with those glossy, radiant pink eyes of hers, and suddenly, they looked a million times more beautiful. I’m saving her, Breezefly. I can’t be wrong, he argued in his mind. Her icy mane shimmered more brightly than he ever noticed it before. I’m doing this for her sake, Breezefly. The old me won’t come back. I’m free. Thunderlane couldn’t peel his eyes off of her and he couldn’t help but to say, “Cloud Chaser…”

“Hmm?” She moaned.

“...You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to-”

And just then, the front door violently swung open and a thunderclap revealed the toothy grin of Shiverwind. His silvery coat and his crew cut icy blue mane only reflected his masked anger for all of them to see. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he hissed softly as he prowled around the two of them and into the living area.

“No, you aren’t,” Thunderlane said shakily.

“Good.”

“Dad, did you hear that Cloud Chaser will marry Thunderlane?” Flitter said excitedly in a fangirlish sort of way.

“Not now Flitter,” Cloud Chaser whispered through grit teeth.

“Really now. That’s the first I’ve heard of it.” He slithered a little more to the left side of the room. “I guess being a really good cadet flyer for the Wonderbolts is all he has to do to convince you to sleep with him. How convenient... how pitiful.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?” He snapped.

“Why are you so rude to Thunderlane? He has never been anything less than respectful.” Cloud Chaser made sure to sound frustrated with her father, but deep down, she was deathly terrified.

“Don’t play games with me, Chaser. I’ve been noticing things about you two that you might not know about. Why do you keep doing this reserve business?”

“I made the cut.”

“Oh, congratulations, you made the first cut out of many, many other cuts. Good job,” he glowered sarcastically.

“You weren’t there to see me race; how can you say good job?”

“Me not being at the race should give you the tiniest of hints that I don’t support your quest to become a Wonderbolt,” he delivered the last part in a mock heroic voice. “Besides, the real question is: what was your place?”

“What?”

“You heard me! What was your place?”

“Uh… tenth…”

“Tenth place. You know that the Wonderbolts only take the top one or two flyers from each class, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So then why in Celestia’s regal land of Equestria are you even trying? It’s not because you want to be like your knight in shining armor, eh?”

“Dad, to tell you the truth…” Shiverwind’s eyes widened when he didn’t hear any shakiness in her voice, “I’ve been flying in the reserves with Thunderlane because he is the first in his class and that when, like Flitter said, I marry him, I will live comfortably for the rest of my life.” Cloud Chaser said the truth. She even dared to add, “Away from you.”

“Interesting.” He turned to face Thunderlane. “What was your place in the race today?”

The two of them exchanged glances. Thunderlane pawed at the ground before meekly murmuring, “ninth.”

“Ninth place? That’s so cute. You two were flying together? Aww. Unfortunately, it looks like Cloud Chaser’s fantasy isn’t coming true if you got ninth place today.”

“Everypony has their off day,” Thunderlane remarked, remembering what Cloud Chaser told him earlier.

“Bullshit. Rainbow Dash had a perfect first place record for every single race and she was even waitlisted. Don’t you understand. You just can’t waltz into the Wonderbolts.”

“I-”

“-I think you do understand,” he snarled. “You’re doing this because you think you’re hot stuff and Cloud Chaser’s doing this because she’s a naive little foal who can’t tell the difference between a stallion who wants to take care of her and feed her and clothe her and a stallion who just wants to buck her.” Breezefly turned towards Cloud Chaser. “Go upstairs to your room now. I’m going to ask for this insane cadet… this rapist… to leave. Now!”

“No.” The firm declaration flew a few laps around the room in victory before it kicked Shiverwind straight in the gut.

“No?”

“That’s right. I’m not listening to you anymore. I’m done.”

“You’re not going to listen to your father, the person who feeds you, pays for your doctor visits, pays for your physicals, pays taxes so you can go to school for free, devotes free time so I can listen to you carry on and whine about your issues? Dammit, filly, it’s out of my own goodwill that I feed you and keep you alive; if I was any less generous,” he pointed to Thunderlane, “like all those thieving and manipulating stallions such as him over there, you’d be dead. Now go upstairs to your room and stay there or I will send for the police.”

Cloud Chaser, no longer feeling rebellious, strutted up the stairs in a mixture of absolute terror and anger.

“And as for you, I want an explanation.” He shouted at Thunderlane.

“I’m not a rapist. I never-” Thunderlane’s rage was cut short by a sudden ripping sound. Shiverwind tore the Wonderbolts poster off the wall and shredded it into a shower of confetti.

“Get out of my house. I won’t let you mess with me, my home, or my property.”

“You mean your daughter.”

“You-”

“-Shiverwind. I will take care of your daughter. I will give her back all the years she has never lived because of you. All you are doing by shoving me out of your house is postponing the inevitable. You heard her, she’s leaving you whether you’re strong enough to accept it or not.”

“Don’t lecture me. There is nothing reasonable about what you’re doing.” Thunderlane was about to bite back with another remark, but Shiverwind snaked out of the front door, barred the door from the outside, and ran away from his own house.

Thunderlane wrestled with the door knob before he gave up on the device, stood back, and bucked down the door from the inside. The door and the chair that was propped up behind it shattered in a single kick. “Where are you?” He shouted as he felt the flames in his body growing into an inferno. He’s trying to make it sound like I’m the criminal. He shook at the thought of Cloud Chaser crying alone in her room. He’s responsible for making Cloud Chaser’s life miserable; he's ignored her, neglected her, and abused her… and now he’s gonna accuse me of rape? He boomed. “Get over here, Shiverwind, show me that you really care about your daughter… show me that you’ll defend her.”

Shiverwind lumbered back into view. “You can’t twist the truth, Thunderlane. I was tipped off by a good friend of mine that you would show up eventually and that you would try to play these mind games on me. Well it won’t work. He confirmed my suspicions as well, I always knew you were a rapist.” He twitched in rage as his sharp blue eyes bore into Thunderlane’s soul with a hatred he couldn’t help to understand.

The inferno burned and consumed Thunderlane; his greyish blue mohawk mane was seared in the heat and his eyes blazed furiously as they focused straight on Shiverwind and the pain and sorrow he had caused his daughter over the years. And to think I only learned about how much of a bucker he’s acted like to her for the past eighteen years of her life for the first time today. He bellowed, “I may have my flaws…” he opened his wings, ready to charge, “But I’m not a rapist.” Thunderlane shot straight at Shiverwind and although Shiverwind saw the attack coming, he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way.

Thunderlane slammed Shiverwind against the marble wall of his dwelling.

“You can’t have have my daughter…” Thunderlane shoved both of his front two hooves into Shiverwind’s neck in an attempt to get him to shut up. “You… filthy… rapist.”

“No. Shut up.” Thunderlane applied more pressure, having already successfully pinned him beyond escape. “Since you won’t let your daughter go, I have no choice but to defend her and to take care of her like you should have all these years. I have to kill you to free her.” Thunderlane threw a fast jab straight at Shiverwind’s face, causing some crackling sounds to resound across the empty streets.

Shiverwind flew straight up into the air, waited for Thunderlane to catch up, and sent a hurling kick straight into Thunderlane’s gut. The staggering hit forced the fire within Thunderlane to concentrate into a deadly sharp focus. “Give her up.”

“Over my dead body,” Shiverwind snarled.

“So be it,” Thunderlane spat before he flew straight at Shiverwind. He tackled him in mid air, sending the two of them into an aerial tailspin. Shiverwind managed to pry Thunderlane off of him, but he only opened himself up to a quick kick to the chest. Thunderlane flew up again, but Shiverwind yanked on his wings before he flew too far away.

Thunderlane whipped around and shot a hook at Shiverwind’s face before he threw a kick right back at him. This time, however, Thunderlane wasn’t fazed at all and he lunged at Shiverwind, shouldering him in the muzzle and sending him tumbling downwards. Shiverwind managed to catch himself before he slammed into the cloud ground. Unfortunately for him, Thunderlane flew down with all the speed he could muster and kicked Shiverwind as he fell from the sky. Shiverwind stumbled back for the first time, allowing Thunderlane to take shot after shot at him.

Eventually Shiverwind bellowed, “Enough. I’ll stop. Just stay the buck away from my daughter.”

“No,” Thunderlane roared. “I won’t be talked down. I have to kill you for what you’ve done to her all her life.” He rushed at Shiverwind, and before he couldn’t step out of the way, Thunderlane landed a kick that tore open a huge gash on the side of his face. Shiverwind tried to prop himself up, but after a few moments, he collapsed on the ground. I won’t tolerate this bastard pushing around my fillyfriend, I have to end this once and for all. Thunderlane loomed over Shiverwind, lifted up his front right hoof above his head, and slammed it down on his face.

He could hear the stentorian snapping of tendons and bones, warning him that Cloud Chaser’s scourge had finally been vanquished. He could see Shiverwind’s sharp eyes slowly lose focus and he could feel his angry breathing slow down until he didn’t feel anything at all.

When Thunderlane finally realised what he had done, he stepped back, noticing that he had carved a monstrous hole on the side of his face and multiple bruises all along his side and on his chest.. Once blood flowed from the gash and from his mouth, Thunderlane couldn’t bring himself to look at him anymore. The heavy downpour quickly washed away the blood before it matted to his coat.

Thunderlane stepped back some more, his anger completely extinguished as it gave way to a sensation that straddled between pathological fear and icy satisfaction. His mind couldn’t decide how to react and his heart had trouble finding any pity. The one thing Thunderlane did know was that he was now in mortal danger… he knew the world was against him now.

“No.” He looked around wildly, now panicking. He felt his breathing go out of control as his heart raced faster than any race he’s ever raced. “I…” The old Thunderlane… he did this… Breezefly. Cloud Chaser. “I…” He shook his head, trying to stymie the tears. How do I tell Cloud Chaser?

Hoofsteps sounded inside the house, warning Thunderlane that Cloud Chaser had left her room. Thunderlane slipped inside before Cloud Chaser had the chance to investigate outside.

“What happened, why did you go outside?” She looked around some more. “Where’s dad?”

…

Thunderlane moved his mouth to make sure it was still working, but no sound could escape. Finally he managed to say, “Where’s Flitter?”

“She’s asleep. What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a dead pony.”

“Do you like your father?” Thunderlane said bluntly.

“No.”

Thunderlane gulped. “Then… I-I think you should come outside with me… hold my hoof… it’s harder for me than it is for you…”

“What is going on?” But when Cloud Chaser didn’t hear an answer, she shrugged and followed Thunderlane slowly outside. Cloud Chaser’s eyes widened when she saw the body of her father lying on the cloud ground covered with blood and rain water.

“Cloud… Chaser… I… it was my fault. I…”

Strangely, Cloud Chaser became more articulate when she heard what he said. “We need to forget about this, Thunderlane. My dad is out of the way. We can live together happily now that he won’t try to divide us anymore. Take me away, Thunderlane, I don’t want to feel like shit anymore.” She paused to think. “We need to bury the body.”

Thunderlane thought quickly. “There’s a forest on the outskirts of Ponyville… Everfree Forest, that’s it. Nopony will ever go looking in there.”

Cloud Chaser hurriedly picked up the body first and Thunderlane helped, heaving up Shiverwind’s front two hooves while Cloud Chaser picked up his back two hooves. The two of them flew in unison through the cloud ground and down towards Equestria below. Luckily, nopony saw them leave with the body.

The thunderstorm kicked into full force as the hidden sun plodded into evening. Raindrops covered the entire body, making the corpse feel nasty under their hooves even though the rain did a good job of masking the smell. Thunderlane steered the two of them down to a small clearing in the middle of the forest and when the two of them almost touched down, they noticed a stream cutting through a gorge nearby with some rocks and boulders covered with moss strew about the glen.

Strangely, both of them instinctively looked at the top of the hill. “There, we should bury him there. I’m sure nopony will find the body unless they’re already turning over every corner of Equestria.”

“Thunderlane,” she managed to say, spitting out the rainwater. Her big mane was uncharacteristically flattened.

“What?” He sounded worried, like he was being interrogated.

“We don’t have a shovel.”

“What are you looking at me for? I’m not an Earth Pony.” He looked around at the enveloping forest. “I’ll figure something out, stay here. You’ll be safe, I promise.” Thunderlane flew out of the glen and over the forest into farmlands and orchards where apple saplings grew. At the horizon, he could see a large red barn; he decided to fly over there. There’s got to be shovels in this barn.

When he reached the barn, he touched down as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake anypony. He remembered that this place was Sweet Apple Acres, run by Big McIntosh. It’s been, like, forever since I’ve been to Ponyville. Luckily for Thunderlane, there was a shovel that leaned up against the side of the barn. He snatched the shovel with nary a sound and flew back to the gravesite that he and Cloud Chaser picked up.

“I’m not sure where it was.” Thunderlane hovered above the tree line, searching for the glen with the hill and the gorge, but he couldn’t find the place for the longest time. “There it is.” Cloud Chaser’s bright cerulean blue coat gave the location away. He landed right behind Shiverwind’s head. “I got the shovel.”

Thunderlane drove the shovel into the ground and attempted to yank up all the grass only to have the handle of the shovel fly back into his face. Cloud Chaser was too scared to say anything funny and Thunderlane only tried harder to start a hole.

“I may be fast, but I don’t have to be an Earth Pony to be strong.” Cloud Chaser looked up at him. “I’m gonna dig this grave right. Two meters deep and everything.”

“You can’t do that, we’ll be working into the night if you try that. Besides, you hate him… I hate him.”

“No, Cloud Chaser, it’s still a crime what I did and it’s the least I can do.”

“But you killed him out of anger.”

“No. I mean, I was angry, I was angry for you… but I felt a strange sort of serenity when I finally landed the killing blow. I felt like I did the right thing, but since I can’t feel pity for Shiverwind, I know now that I killed him out of weakness.” Not wanting to entertain the argument any further, Thunderlane simply shook his head and continued digging. He dug that grave for almost two hours before he was finally finished, and he was so concentrated on the task that he didn’t even realize Cloud Chaser had left.

It’s okay. I wouldn’t’ve stayed. Where’s she going to go? Thunderlane looked around the glen until he found an unusually clean and symmetrical boulder lying on top of the piled up dirt. Turning the rock over, Thunderlane noticed the name Shiverwind etched into the stone. “This must’ve been Cloud Chaser when I wasn’t paying attention.” He noticed that the stone was soft; it was clay.

He remembered what Breezefly told him. He let the old Thunderlane get the best of him.

I was not strong enough to stop him. The clay was almost too hard to write at this point, but he managed to etch an epithet anyway.

And he will kill me too. Thunderlane removed the tombstone from on top of the dirt pile, dragged Shiverwind’s body into the two meter deep rectangular hole, filled the body up with the loose dirt, and slammed the tombstone down at the head of the grave.

A headstone defeats the purpose of making this secret… nopony will find the grave anyway… and they won’t know that I did it. He read the epithet again. The writing makes it sound like somepony else other than me murdered him. Great! That means I won’t be found out if a pony finds this place.

Thunderlane said aloud as if he was another pony, “Thunderlane didn’t kill Shiverwind.”

“Thunderlane killed Shiverwind,” confessed Cloud Chaser. The figure behind the other side of the desk looked confused and startled for a moment before he leaned over and buried his face in his hooves. He looked defeated by the news. Cloud Chaser added, “I know you had that interview earlier today and that they agreed to hire you next week… and now that you know that Thunderlane killed Shiverwind… you’re probably going to use all of your power to prosecute him,” he nodded along with what she said, although the figure didn’t say anything, “and I know… I don’t want it to be… but I know it’s the right thing to do,” Cloud Chaser’s voice broke up, “but please… I don’t want Thunderlane to leave me, he’s my last protection. Please don’t try to throw him in prison.” Cloud Chaser, not able to handle the truth anymore, broke down on the figure’s desk.

A shaky voice quivered from behind the desk, “W… why?”

“T… to protect me.”

“I don’t believe you. Were you in danger?”

“Well-”

“-Were you in danger?”

“N… no.”

“Did he kill out of anger?”

“He said no.”

“It’s murder then. There’s no doubt… it wasn’t out of anger… it wasn’t out of defense. And Cloud Chaser, do you expect me to have pity on that poor soul? Do you expect me not to take action?”

“I don’t know… just don’t throw him in prison.”

The pony growled a little before he stopped as if to think. “I… I cannot begin to explain how angry I am.” His voice grew dangerously soft. “It is for the better that stronger stallions like Thunderlane have more anger than weaker stallions such as myself. Stronger stallions can vent their anger a little bit at a time… a little bit here and a little bit there, and nopony really questions their bellicose nature because they are strong and they can release their rage safer that way.” He trailed off, noticing Cloud Chaser’s skeptical eyes. “Weaker stallions tend not to have the capacity to hold much anger within themselves solely because of their nature. Cloud Chaser, it is a terrible, terrible shame, then, when a weaker stallion is filled with an incomprehensible, indecipherable, inexhaustible rage because when he tries to vent his anger, he will be shut down by the stronger stallions around him. And what will he do?”

“I don’t know.”

“He will manipulate the universe around him so that he becomes equal in power with the source of his rage. If you know what I mean. He will fight unfairly, shiftily, and he will not stop until all of his bottled up rage is spent. In one single explosion, a weak stallion will destroy himself and everypony around him if given the opportunity to vent… everything, every wrong that was done to him. Does that describe anypony you know?”

“Uh…”

“That describes me!” He smashed his hoof down onto the desk, rattling all the papers and documents strewn about the surface. “I don’t know who Thunderlane is anymore. After what you said, I want to shred him to pieces like the wolven he has become. I think I know what it feels like to so desperately want to kill somepony now. And Cloud Chaser?”

“Y… yes?”

“You’ve convinced me not to do so. Yes, I have the power to throw him in jail, but that will not prove anything. Cloud Chaser, in order for Thunderlane to redeem himself, he must admit his murder and turn himself in. I know it will be hard for you to let him go, but he must be separated from you… it’s for your own safety.”

“Thank you so-”

“-But if he runs away, if he denies it, if he claims he killed out of self-defense, if he claims he did so out of anger, if he uses the excuse of insanity, if he tries to do anything else to clear his name, I will lose all respect for him and I will personally make sure that my anger is satisfied. It’s goodbye for now, Cloud Chaser, but never forget a weak stallions rage. Thunderlane must turn himself in.”

Cloud Chaser simply nodded before trotting silently out of the stallion’s house. He waited long enough for Cloud Chaser to fly out of sight before he flew away himself.

Hopefully Cloud Chaser is at my place. Thunderlane flew casually, not wanting ponies to question his nervous look; though, there were no ponies prowling the streets now because of the vicious storm.

Once Thunderlane’s house came into view, he noticed a figure standing under his patio overhang and leaning against one of the pillars.

“Hello?”

“Thunderlane,” the voice sounded exactly like Breezefly’s.

“What are you doing out with this kind of weather?” He said defensively.

“I can ask you the same question. Though, I wonder, how did the visit with Shiverwind go?”

“It-”

“-Because I already know, Thunderlane, I won’t say the tiniest of words about the matter as long as you promise to turn yourself in. Turn yourself in, Thunderlane. You killed Shiverwind. No, you murdered Shiverwind.”

Turn yourself in. The line echoed in his head as his mind was pulled from his turbulent flashback and into the present.