"Hurry up, Thunder! You need to get going soon!"
I sighed, staring down at my green saddle bag, twirling an earbud around in my left hoof, the other one in my right ear. I then dropped the earbud and reached up to my forehead, checking to see if my redesigned Wonderbolt goggles were still there before slinging my saddle bag onto my back and heading into the family room.
"Mom, I'm old enough to keep track of time," I said as I saw my pegasus mother working in the kitchen, her cooking apron on.
"I know, but the sooner you get over to SugarCube Corner the better," she replied, looking back at me. "And from what I've heard, Pinkie's been dying to see you."
I couldn't help but smile. Pinkie Pie had been my closest friend since we met at school. The one moment I'll never forget was on our last day of school, or, rather, after it. After the bell rang, I headed outside to go home when she came up behind me and stopped me from leaving. When I turned around, she kissed me, then ran off before I had time to say anything.
"It's been, what, seven or eight years since we've seen each other?" I asked as my father stepped into the room behind me.
"There about, yes," the unicorn said. "It was your last day of school."
"It sure was!" My mother smiled. I chuckled, looking back at my father.
He was a nice, wonderful stallion. He was pretty buff, and just from his appearance, he seemed very stern. He was once a member of the Royal Guard, but retired about five years ago. At least, that’s what he told me. I never really thought about it though.
Mom, on the other hoof, is an ex-Wonderbolt. She was there when Spitfire and most of the current Wonderbolts were being trained, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, of course.
"Well, let me get out of here then," I said, turning to leave.
As I left the room, the oven went off. "Honey, wait! Take these to the Cake's, would ya?" Mom called as she pulled the cupcakes out of the oven.
“Sure thing, mom! Just let me go grab a few things, and I’ll be right back!” I called as I walked over and opened the front door.
“Okay! I’ll get them in something for you to take! I just hope they like them!” She began to hum as she worked, and I chuckled.
As I walked out the door, I heard my dad say, “He’s probably going to that shed outback to get that robot he made. He’s probably gonna go show it off to Pinkie or something,” and then mom laughed.
“Don’t be silly. You know your son doesn’t brag. And if you notice, he doesn’t really hang out with others his age.”
I nodded, then headed outside, then around back to the shed that was in our backyard. I remember when we first moved in, I instantly went back here and didn’t come back inside until it was late that night.
When I got inside, I flicked a switch to turn on the lights, but nothing happened. Confused, I called out, “Clara! You there?” As I walked towards the back, the shed barely lit by the little bit of sunlight coming through the dusty windows. “I sure hope I didn’t forget to have her charging last night…”
As I shifted my goggles over my eyes, I pressed a button on the side of them, and the room was faintly illuminated with a pure, green light. I sighed as I looked around, then noticed the thing I was looking for. In the corner, powered down, was Clara, something I had built a long time ago. She was a changeling-like robot that I had built to assist me with whatever I needed. With a diamond encrusted Titanium alloy exoskeleton, she was nearly indestructible. In addition, it was able to morph into just about anything I needed.
“Damn it!” I yelled in frustration. As I took another step, I heard a faint sound that sounded like wings behind me and I froze, then turned around. “Who’s there?” I looked around the room, but saw nothing. As I turned back around, the sound came back, much louder this time. This time, I didn’t turn around. “Whoever is there, show yourself.”
After several seconds of silence, I shrugged and was about to take another step when I was knocked to my stomach. I let out a groan as I hit the floor with a soft thud. However, as I went to stand up, I felt something heavy, yet somewhat soft, land on me. I let out another groan as I laid my head down. Right when I opened my mouth to speak, I heard soft purring coming from above me.
“Was a cat in here? No… It’s much too heavy and big to be a cat… And cats don’t have wings…” I thought to myself. I then suddenly felt something warm and wet press my neck, then rub up until it was gone, and I went wide-eyed. “Did it… Just… L-lick me?!”
I tried to move, but the creature on my big shifted its position, preventing me from getting anywhere. Suddenly, I heard a female voice. “Now, now… no need to get away… I’m not going to hurt you by any means…” Then I heard soft giggling.
“Wh-who are you?” I managed to get out. I was just barely able to turn my head enough to see a dark blue leg to my left.
I heard more purring before she spoke again. “My name is Fangsong. But you can call me Fang.”
I thought for a moment. “Are you… A… Batpony?”
She purred. “Indeed! But now I have a question…” I went wide-eyed as she paused. “How come you haven’t noticed me living in this shed this past year?”
I gasped. “You what?!!” I managed to jolt enough to barely catch a glimpse of the amber orange eyes staring down at me, and gulped.
She just smiled, showing off her teeth, including the small fangs. “You heard me. I’ve been living in this shed, watching you, for almost a year. With as smart as you are, you should’ve noticed me.” She then calmly bent down and licked my cheek, and I jerked.
“Would you stop?! That’s freaking--” I gasped. “Wait! No! Please don’t bite me!”
She frowned at that. “I’m not a vampire bat pony. I don’t even like the taste of pony blood… I just want you…” She smiled again.
I felt my face heat up as I realized what she meant. “W-wait! L-let me have a chance to t-talk!” I buried my face in the ground. “How the fuck am I supposed to get her off of me? There isn’t anything that will make her choose it over me, is there? Wait…”
She sighed. “Alright. Fine. What is it?” She then sat up on my back, allowing me to take a deep breath.
“There’s a unicorn… That lives in Everfree… Rumor has it that he’s really good with your types… And I don’t mean batponies… I mean female creatures looking for what you are…” I spilled out, thinking of the stories I’ve heard ponies tell to each other every now and then. “His name’s Firestorm…”
“Hmm…” She seemed to ponder on this a bit. “And why are you telling me this?”
“Because! I want to go! I have to go somewhere really soon!” I replied, getting really anxious. “Damn… She’s getting annoying now… Just please go!”
She sighed. “Fine… I’ll go… But I will find you again someday, Thunder Volt…” She flapped her wings, lifted up into the air, then darted off out of the shed.
As I sat up, I watched her fly off. I shook my head. “That was too easy… But I better get going before she changes her mind and comes back…” I sighed and turned, then flipped open a panel on the robot, then pressed a few buttons, but nothing happened. Confused, I closed the panel and stepped back. “If it didn’t turn on… That means…” I walked back up to it, pressed a few more buttons, and opened the robot. The inside was completely empty.
I look around the room. “Where would she have… gone…” I suddenly remembered the mattress I kept farther back in the shed, then walked back there. As if confirming my suspicions, the black changeling, with her green tinted mane and tail, was fast asleep on the mattress. But then she began rolling back and forth, whimpering, and it seemed that she was crying. “Oh no… Clara’s having another nightmare… I better go comfort her…” I sighed and walked over to the other side of the mattress, and looked down at her for a second. “Why does she have to be so cute though?! It’s like…” I shook my head. There was no time to be thinking like that.
As I watched her, I slowly and carefully hopped up into the bed, then laid down, facing away from her. As if on cue, she seemed to calm down, and a few seconds later, I felt her wrap her hooves around me, then pulled me to her. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit.
We laid there for what felt like forever, then I felt her move. However, the last thing I expected to happen was what did happen. Her grip loosened around me, and I heard a soft, adorable moan come from behind me, and I went wide-eyed.
“Is she… Still… Asleep?! Or is that just her… Waking up… Gosh… That was one cute moan though…” I slapped myself in the face. “What is wrong with me…?”
Clara suddenly let go of me very quickly and the bed shook, and she let out a small yelp as she fell to the floor. I jumped up and whirled around to look down at her. Her green eyes blinked up at me, and I noticed that her cheeks were a light shade of green. “Are you… Okay, Clara?”
“S-sir… I’m so sorry… I didn’t… r-realize… I was… H-holding you s-so… t-tight…” She said as she looked off to the side.
I managed a smile. “It’s quite alright Clara… You seemed to be having one of your nightmares again… I’m just glad I got back here when I did…” I reached down with my hoof to offer to help her up.
She looked up at me hesitantly, then stared at my hoof. “I… d-don’t think it’s right though… You told me…”
“That was over a year ago, Clara… It’s different now… Just don’t worry about it, okay?” I smiled at her, then sat down, my hoof still extended.
“I-if you say so, Thunder, sir…” She then jumped up and tackled me in a hug, and I gasped in surprise. “Thank you for being so caring, sir…”
As I fell to the bed, I let out a sigh. “You’re welcome, Clara. Now come on, we have a certain town to go stay in…”
She smiled as she pulled away from me. “I’ll go get ready, sir.” She then bounded off and start fiddling with the suit I had built for her in order to keep her disguised around other ponies.
I got up, smiling, and headed over to my main workbench and opened my saddle bag. I then began collecting up my tools and putting them in my bag. Everytime I put an item in, it glowed, showing that the magic was functioning properly. After all of my tools were collected, I then reached over and grab the foot-diameter sphere that was my most recent project. I slid the incomplete project into my bag, then looked over at Clara. I let a smile creep onto my face.
“What is it, sir?” Clara’s voice, altered slightly through the suit voice box, came through to me as she stepped forward in the suit.
“Nothing, Clara. Just smiling about my favorite project, and my favorite changeling.” I then winked at her. “Let me go grab something from my mother, then we shall be on our way!”
Clara giggled. “Of course, sir. I will be waiting just outside the shed when you’re ready.”
I smiled, then trotted off to head back up to my house. When I stepped inside, my mother was waiting with a small box.
“What took so long, dear?” She asked me as she gave me the box.
I patted my saddle bag. “I do have a lot of stuff down in that shed. It’s all in here, thanks to dad!” I smiled proudly as I looked at my father.
“You are very welcome, son. Now run along! You don’t want to keep Pinkie Pie waiting!” He chuckled as my face flushed.
I trotted over and gave my mom a kiss on the cheek, then hugged my father. “I’ll see you guys later!” I then took off out the door. Clara, upon seeing me, came trotting up next to me.
“Ready to go, sir?” She asked.
I nodded. “Yea, let’s go.” I then headed off towards Ponyville, trotting in silence with Clara right up next to me the whole time.
After about twenty or so minutes of walking, we soon reached the outskirts of Ponyville. “Alright, Clara, just act natural… As if you were a normal robot?”
“But sir… You know that I can’t do that and make it believable…”
I sighed. “Alright, just act natural then. SugarCube Corner isn’t that much farther away…” We walked in silence once more. As we walked, I noticed ponies looking at me with confused expressions, then looking at Clara, who looked like a changeling, without the holes, and was silver instead of black. I did my best to ignore them as we continued walking, and it wasn’t long before SugarCube Corner came into view. “There it is, Clara… There it is…”
The eyes of the suit glowed for a couple seconds. “There are four ponies in there. Two adults, and two foals. None of them are Pinkie Pie, sir.”
“How would you know that I was hoping Pinkie wasn’t there?” I then shook my head, remembering.
“Because, sir, you programmed the suit to give me the ability to read your mind…”
“Why I did that, I will never remember…”
As we walked up to SugarCube Corner, I smiled and stepped inside. “Mrs. Cake?” I called out, hoping she was one of the adults.
“Thunder Volt? Is that you?” Mrs. Cake, wearing her apron, came into view and beamed.” My, you’ve grown!! It’s been years!”
I chuckled “It sure has!”
“There hasn’t been a day since Pinkie hasn’t mentioned your name at least once! She’ll be thrilled to know you’re here!” Just then, the two foals came in.
“Heh… Yea, that doesn’t really surprise me…” I felt my cheeks heat up a bit.
Mrs. Cake giggled and said, “She isn’t home right now, but if you head upstairs, there is a little room just past Pinkie’s room that we put in. Princess Twilight helped us put it in without Pinkie Pie knowing. We assumed you wouldn’t want to be pounded by her the moment you showed up.”
“Well, you aren’t wrong… Thank you, Mrs. Cake… I’ll be heading up now…” I turned to the stairs and trotted over to them slowly, with Clara right behind me. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, Mrs. Cake was watching Clara with a funny face, then shrugged and headed back into the kitchen.
I sighed and headed up, paused by Pinkie’s room, and chuckled as I noticed the room matched Pinkie’s personality. I then continued past her room and noticed the door to my “secret” room. I fumbled around it until I found the way in, then opened it and smiled. “It’s perfect. Not too big, not too small. And there is a huge bed!! Plenty of room for ya, Clara!”
We stepped in as she said, “Now sir, I know this isn’t proper for me to stay, but I will not allow you to stay up all night every night… And you will be sleeping in this bed from time to time… It is your room…”
“Clara…” I looked at her as I closed the door and flicked on the light.
She just shook her head. “No sir, I am being absolutely serious. You cannot force me to change my mind.” She then took off the suit, and waited for it to shrink down to a cube before setting it on the dresser in the corner. She then flopped onto the bed, then scooted over to the wall.
I just rolled my eyes as I slipped my bag off and set it on the desk in the room. “First order of business is getting rid of this desk and replacing it with a huge table I can use for my workspace.” I then opened the window and sighed, pulling out some tools to disassemble the desk.
When I was finished, I began rearranging the parts and pulling out more parts, and after about half an hour, there was a table more than big enough to satisfy me. “Now, I have a defense mechanism to work on… I wanna make sure this place is safe… And if it works, maybe other ponies would like security for their homes…”
“Oh Thunder… You’re ridiculous sometimes.” When I turned around, she was propped up on her side by her hoof, and was smiling at me, giggling. “Just get to work already…”
“Alright, alright… I will… Geesh…” I chuckled, turned around, pulled out some parts and tools, then slipped my goggles down over my eyes. I then set to work on my new project.
“Why are you so excited, Pinkie darling?” Rarity said as I bounced up and down, heading down the main road of Ponyville.
“I’ve told you, like, a gazillion times, haven’t I?” I asked, too excited to remember.
“Girls, she said a special friend was coming to visit Ponyville for a week or so, and she couldn’t wait to see them,” Twilight, the newest and youngest Princess of Equestria, replied.
“A special, friend, huh? Shucks, sugarcube, it’s a stallion, ain’t it, Pinkie?” Applejack said, smirking up at me.
“A stallion? The last time she was interested in a stallion was when that Cheese Sandwich showed up!” Rainbow said, flying backwards in front of the rest of the group.
“Yes, it is a stallion. And he can be shy at times!” I said joyfully.
“So he’s sh-shy too? M-maybe he’d make a g-good friend…” Fluttershy softly said.
“Oh, come on Fluttershy! You know if you confront another pony, your face lights up a bright pink and you couldn’t get a single word out! Especially to a stallion!!” Rainbow said, laughing.
“Th-that’s not always true, Dashie…” Fluttershy replied.
“Oh, it’s no big deal! But I’m sure you all will just love him!! He’s the best!” I said, as I continued bouncing up and down.
We traveled in silence for a few moments before I heard the girls behind me whispering. Rainbow Dash was too busy doing flips and being bored, as usual. That’s when I noticed the tingly sensation going through my mane and tail, and at the tip of my hooves. I froze mid-air and gasped.
“GET DOWN!!!” I dropped to the floor and covered my head with my hooves. As if on cue, a stallion’s voice, with a ring of familiarity, rang out around us.
“PRINCESS!!! GET DOWN!!! NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!”
I then heard a few gasps as my friends dropped down, except Rainbow Dash, who was flying above us confidently. “Oh, come on… It shouldn’t be that big of a de-- WOAH!!”
There was a whoosh above us as Rainbow spun out of control and crashed to the ground nearby, letting out a groan. As I looked up, a pony dressed in almost all black jumped over us, followed shortly by what looked like a silver changeling. “What in Equestria…” I jumped up and turned around to watch the stallion and silver changeling chase after what appeared to be a small missile.
“Clara!! I need your mini jet right about now!!” The stallion called out.
“Right away sir!!” The voice from the silver changeling rang. To my amazement, I watched her morph into a jet, the flew straight at the stallion. Instinctively, I took off after the two, curiosity taking hold as the stallion jumped and landed on the jet.
“Clara, get me as close as you can to that missile!!” The jet the took off after the missile. I looked back to see the rest of my friends chasing after me.
As I watched, the missile suddenly shot upwards, and the stallion gripped the jet tight as it veered upwards and slowly gained on the missile. Out of the blue, the stallion jumped up and caught onto the missile, but the missile didn’t even falter to his weight as it continued it ascent. The stallion pulled something out of the green saddlebag he had on and jammed it into the missile. It sputtered and slowed down before it came to a stop mid-air, then gradually began to accelerate towards the ground.
As he fell, I came to a halt some distance away, my friends stopping behind me as we watched him land on the ground on all four hooves, then got up and dusted his shoulder off.
“That was a close one Clara… I can’t believe I was so stupid to connect those wires before making sure everything was intact…” He then stuffed the missile and the tool into his saddlebag, then looked past the robot to me, then to something behind me. He then turned and took off before I had a chance to say anything. The robot followed him, and before long, they were out of sight.
“Who… was that?” Twilight asked as she stepped up next to me.
“I don’t know… But that… Was… AWESOME!!” Rainbow exclaimed. “And I thought today was gonna be super boring!!”
“Rainbow Dash, calm y’rself down right now!” Applejack said. “Nopony got hurt, so that’s a good thing…”
“But he still put others in danger…” Rarity said.
“But at l-least he got c-control of the s-situation. And he s-seemed very c-calm…” Fluttershy sheepily said.
I just shook my head and giggled. “I don’t think I’m right, but I have a hunch that was my… special friend…”
“Well, he doesn’t seem very bright…” Twilight said. “If you’re right, we should see him at SugarCube Corner, right Pinkie?”
“Exactly!! C’mon! Last one there is a rotten filly!!” I then dashed off in a pink blur, heading straight home.
As we ran, I giggled as I watched all of the buildings go by in a blur. However, when SugarCube Corner corner came into view, I slammed on the brakes and came to a halt. My friends almost barreled into me.
“What is it, darling? Why’d you stop so suddenly?” Rarity asked as she came up next to me.
“Shh! Look!” I whispered, pointing towards my home. The stallion was standing there, and he had removed his hood. He seemed to be talking to somepony that seemed to be almost solid black, with green eyes and a green mane and tail.
“Is that a… Changeling!?” Fluttershy shrieked, cowering back behind the rest of my friends.
“ON IT!” Rainbow took off, and sped off directly towards the changeling.
However, what happened next caught everypony off guard. The changeling set her hoof down on something silver on the ground, and a suit morphed over her body into the silver changeling we had seen earlier. The stallion said something to her, and she glowed green and before our eyes, she changed into what appeared to be some kind of weapon, then the stallion grabbed it and pointed it up to the sky, in Rainbow’s direction.
“RAINBOW!! LOOK OUT!!!” Twilight screamed.
“What the--” Rainbow started, but was cut short by a loud blast, then a blinding green light goes just under Rainbow, then off into the sky into oblivion. “Gyah!!” Rainbow flew out of control and crashed into the ground nearby.
“Rainbow!!” Applejack yelled, and she took off after our friend. Meanwhile, Twilight stormed over to the stallion, followed by Rarity.
“Who do you think you are, shooting at Rainbow Dash!?” Twilight yelled as she trotted up to him. “She could’ve gotten hurt, or even worse!”
I bounced my way over to them as well, and I peered at the stallion’s face with a look of curiosity on my face. I felt like I knew who it was. “That isn’t him, is it? It couldn’t be! Could it?”
The stallion hesitated upon seeing me, then sighed and calmly said, “Look, Princess. I know what I’m doing. I’m fully capable of controlling myself. I purposely aimed below her to frighten her, not hurt her.” He set the gun down, and it morphed back into the changeling.
“Tell meh this, Sugarcube,” Applejack started as she and Rainbow walked over. “What in tarnations are doing with a changeling here in the middle o’ Ponyville?!”
He chuckled. “I raised this one. Found her in the forest a couple years ago.” The suit glowed, then folded off of the changeling’s body into the cube.
The changeling looked around at the group, and stepped back. “She must be a little nervous,” I said to myself as I looked back at the colt.
“I-I’m Clara…” The changeling said. “E-everything he’s said is tr-true… We w-weren’t trying to h-hurt you, R-rainbow…”
The colt shooked his head, then pulled out the missile as Fluttershy said, “Well, wait a m-minute… Sh-shouldn’t we at l-least give th-them a ch-chance to explain th-themselves?”
“How do we know he isn’t a changeling!? Hmm?!” Rarity said, thrusting her hoof in the colt’s direction.
The stallion calmly replied by saying, “Thunder.”
Rainbow looked confused. “Did he just say… thunder?” Something went off in my mind, and I started to smile.
He nodded. “Yes. I did. Thunder. That’s my name.”
I suddenly pounced and tackled the colt. “THUNDER!!! It’s been so long!!”
“PINKIE PIE!!!” The stallion shrieked out in surprise as I took him to the floor. “Calm down, would ya?”
I giggled and buried my muzzle in his neck for a few seconds. “I’m so happy to see you!!”
The stallion’s face began to light up a shade of pink. “Uh… P-pinkie… C-can you get off? Y-you know I’m not th-that into huge… Outbursts… Like that…”
“Oh, sorry!” I giggled as I hopped up off of Thunder and bounced back a few steps. “I’m so glad that you are staying with me!”
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Heh… Yeah, I guess so… But don’t get any ideas, you got it?”
I only giggled more. “Oh silly! I’m not like that!! What made you think that?”
He seemed to blush. “N-nothing! Just making sure you were, uh, ya know…”
He was cut off by Rarity. “Oh darling, we get it! You like Pinkie Pie, don’t you?” She smiled and giggled softly, and I looked back at Thunder with a slight longing look in my eyes.
“Well, I uh…” He looked around, and it appeared that he wasn’t sure how he felt. I giggled.
“It’s okay if you’re not sure! I’m sure deep down that you love me!” I then reached over and hugged him again. He just stood there, staring at my friends as I hugged him. “What are you doing here, anyways?”
“Well… I… Am staying at SugarCube Corner for a few days at least…” Thunder said, his face clearly red.
Rarity giggled. “Darling, are you alright? You seem to be sweating… Or embarrassed…” I smiled as I looked at him.
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, looking at the ground. “I’m not too fond of physical contact with other ponies… Quite frankly, back in school, I was made fun of because I was always by myself… Messing with metal and wires and ‘junk,’ as the other foals called it…”
I just giggled, looking around.“He’s just happy that he gets to spend some time with me, that’s all! But…” I looked at him with a puzzled expression.“Why are your cheeks so red, Thunder?”
He seemed to be caught off guard, and he shuffled his hooves. “Well, I uh… I…” He turns his head, looking at Clara, soon up at the window that was broken. “I need to fix that window before the Cakes get mad that I broke it… It was an accident, but I’ll see you girls later, ok-kay?”
Twilight seemed to smile, and I looked over at her when she began talking. “How about we let him get comfortable here, then we can talk to him and get to know him, and maybe he’ll be warmed up to us!” Twilight smiled again, then chuckled, and I looked at her quizzingly before shrugging.
After a bit of silence, I turned to Rainbow. “Wanna race, Rainbow Dash?”
“What kind of a question is that?! Of course I do! But I’m gonna win! Where to?” Rainbow replied, flying up into the air.
“Hmm…” I looked around, then smiled. “To Applejack’s Farm!”
“Shucks, Pinkie, we’re kinda busy at the moment, but as long as you don’t bother Big Mac or nothin’...”
“Oh relax, AJ, it’s not like I’m gonna mess anything up!” Rainbow chuckled, then landed on the ground next to me. “Ready… Set…”
“GO!!!” I took off, catching her off guard, zipping through Ponyville, heading for Sweet Apple Acres.
“Hey, no fair!!” I heard Rainbow call from behind me. It wasn’t long before I saw her coming up behind me.
“Heehee!! This is fun!” We then took off, heading for the farm.