Whispering Thunder (In dedication to a good friend)

Thunderwolf woke up early with a smile on his face because he wanted to start research on his dads gift right away. He grabbed it and trotted down the stairs into the kitchen and sat at the table before Topaz even realized he woke up already.

"Well you're up bright and early" Topaz said with a chuckle.

Thunderwolf smiled, "Yes, it's because daddy got me another present" Thunderwolf said pushing the object in the middle of the table.

Topaz was in the kitchen, she glanced back and smiled, "What is it?"

"I have no idea, but I'ma find out all about it at the library" Thunderwolf said, keeping himself in check, saddened a little because he thought he was weird that when he got excited, his tail wags like a dog, and he gets very embarrassed.

Midnight walked into the kitchen and hugged Thunderwolf, "Good morning"

"Good morning dad" Thunderwolf said cheerfully.

"Good morning handsome" Topaz said walking to Midnight and gave a little kiss and a hug.

"Need any help" Midnight asked walking into the kitchen.

"Yes please, I'm almost done" Topaz said following into the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Topaz and Midnight walked out with plates of pancakes and muffins; Thunderwolf's favorite. They all sat and ate till it was all gone.

When Thunderwolf was done, he looked up at his mom, "Mom? Why am I so weird?"

There was a moment of silence as Midnight and Topaz looked at each other.

"Thunderwolf... you're not weird, you're... unique" Topaz said, in attempt to not upset him, because every time this subject was brought up, it usually ended in tears shed by him.

Thunderwolf looked down, "And... why aren't I the same as you..."

The words lingered with the tone of smoke rising from a gun that was fired to execute.

"Thunderwolf, what are you taking about, you have traits from both of us" Midnight explained.

Thunderwolf looked up into Midnight's eyes and asked, "Then why does mom dye her hair from pink to yellow and you wear green contacts over your yellow eyes?"

The questions backed them into a corner.

"I'm a mix between a batpony and a wolfpony..." Thunderwolf said as his eyes watered.

Midnight and Topaz were silent. Thunderwolf grabbed his object and dragged to the door.

"Thank you for breakfast, I'll check in later..." Thunderwolf said as he opened the door and walked out and closed it behind him without another word.

Thunderwolf made his way to the library and checked in at the registration desk. He researched books on elements or elements of harmony, friendship, harmony, the particular shaped gems and relics. Book after book, he found that most lead to the same village; "Ponyville" Thunderwolf thought to himself, then looked for a book that was on Ponyville. It stated that it was considered the village of friendship, because it was the most friendly and welcoming village in Equestria.

Before Thunderwolf could find directions from Et Tuta Latet to Ponyville, he was interrupted by the smell of smoke. He walked to the front and the administrator was gone. He walked to the front door, only to be met with the sounds and sight of complete chaos. Ponies were running from masked bandits, houses were on fire, and any unicorn bandit used their magic to destroy as much as possible.

Thunderwolf was stunned, but his first instinct was to run home and check on his parents. Thunderwolf ran, faster then anypony has ever seen. He ran faster then the full grown bandits along with the flying pegasus bandits. He was too fast for them all. Thunderwolf reached the road his house was located, but he stopped dead in his tracks... his house, the place he grew up in from a little colt, where his best, bad, and good memories were born, was engulfed in a blazing swirl of hell fire. Thunderwolf couldn't speak... he didn't speak, he just slowly walked to the house as tears flowed from his eyes gazing at his fortress of solitude burn to ashes in front of him.

Thunderwolf's eyes widened, and his heart sank into his stomach. He saw Midnight and Topaz hugging, surrounded by fire, with no way of getting out. Thunderwolf yelled to them, but they just looked up with pain shouting from their eyes. The roof caved in and they were out of sight. Thunderwolf cried their names, and before he acted, a blunt hit from behind knocked him out.

Thunderwolf woke up in a hospital bed with machines wired to him and other ponies neighboring him separated by curtains. He heard moans and grants of pain, and also coughing and sneezing in distant rooms. Thunderwolf disconnected the wires and got out of bed. His face made instant contact with the floor because he was still dizzy from the concussion. A white pony with a medical cutie mark entered the sectioned curtain room and gasped as she saw Thunderwolf.

"Oh my goodness, what in Equestria are you doing?" She exclaimed as she helped Thunderwolf up, "You're not supposed to be out of bed for three more days"

Thunderwolf pushed her aside and ran out the room, through the halls, and out the building before anypony even noticed. Thunderwolf ran back home, or where his home used to be, but as he arrived, he was surrounded by burnt broken down houses of black piles and colorless pillars facing his punch to the gut; his house was a pile of black ash with black wooden pillars still textured with ember colored veins. Thunderwolf was speechless. He was motionless with nothing running through his mind but all of the memories that were born in that house. Tears flowed from his eyes like river streams as he remembered his parents standing in the middle of all of it with that sad look on their faces. The expression saying "I've failed you." Thunderwolf looked down and saw a golden glimmer.

"Thunderwolf!" A stallion yelled from behind.

It was one of the doctors from the hospital coming to retrieve him. Thunderwolf grabbed the object and sprinted into the Emerald Forest and didn't stop. Tears ran down his face as he ran. No sense of direction, no real plan, nor any fallback plan. Just the pure motivation to find the village-of-friendship he read in the books he researched. Aimlessly running as fast as he can, he happened to find cave that tunneled through the mountain, giving Thunderwolf an easy route out the mountains. He left his small protected world and was now in the large open Equestrian land. Thunderwolf ran to the only unnatural land form which was a dirt path that stretched over the smooth rolling grassy hills. His running slowed to a trot, then walk, then he stopped. He dropped the object from his mouth and looked down. Tears fell upon the beautiful precise detail on the pure golden bars that made up the shape the six gem stones were mounted on. He sat and cried some more... but then he stopped with a single sniffle. He took a deep breath and grabbed the object again and started to follow the path; no idea if he's progressing in the right direction or not.