A stocky and plump stallion walked through Ponyville’s main street market; his head and body shrouded by a hooded cloak. His wings shot from slots in the cloak, remaining flat on his flanks. Saddlebags hung from his back. Only the dark blue fur on his legs revealed something of his identity. Other ponies in the market shied away from him. He approached the cider stand and threw five bits on the counter while keeping his head down.

“The usual.”

The clerk placed two half gallon jugs of cider on the counter. “Sir,” the clerk said, quivering, “I appreciate the business, but this just isn’t healthy. You can’t do this every day.”

The stallion scowled, “That’s none of your business,” he growled. He grabbed the jugs with his teeth and threw them in his saddle bags.

As the pony turned to walk away, the clerk, in a loud and nervous voice, said “Sir, you’ve been coming here every day for six weeks. I… I should at least know the name of a repeat customer.”

“I said mind your own business!” the stallion said louder without turning around. He stopped and pulled a jug from his saddlebag to take several swigs.

He surveyed the outskirts of the town until he was certain nopony had followed him. He stood for a moment at the edge of the Everfree forest, peering into the darkness. He entered, walking down a narrow path. He reached a cottage. Shoving his hoof forward, he swung open the door and entered. It was a sparse interior, with only a bed, table, oven. He removed his saddlebags and placed them on the table. He ripped off his cloak with his teeth and tossed it toward the foot of his bed where it crumpled to the floor, missing the bed. “Whatever,” he grumbled.

He stoked the oven until flames licked from its door. He closed the oven door and placed a pot of water on top of it. The pot boiled and he dropped two bricks of ramen inside. When the noodles were nearly boiling over, he bit on a towel and shoved the pot to a connected cooling table. When the noodles cooled enough, he shoved his muzzle straight into the pot and slurped them. He coughed. After he finished eating, he sat at the table and pulled one of the jugs from the saddle bag. He popped the cork and, using both front hooves, placed it up to his mouth and began chugging.

After a few hours, both jugs were gone. Stumbling to a pile of cloth, he rummaged through it and found a canvas smock and mask. He donned them, staggered toward a mirror, and peered into his own disguised eyes. “How many of you saw this the lasht… thing… you slaw? Mishter, Mister Dark. Thay’s wha they sh clawed me,” he slurred.

He then tore off the disguise and tossed it to the side with a huff. He stumbled to the cot, with his eyes drooping and blinking out of synch, and sank into it. His eyes closed, and the screaming, grinding, and whirring began in his head. The sounds faded away when his stupor took over and he blacked out.

The morning sun poured through a window and onto his face. He sat up and pressed his hooves on the sides of his head, groaning in pain. “Another day, I guess,” he said, rubbing his temples. He flopped out of bed and headed toward a cupboard. Using his muzzle, he pulled a box of pre-formed hay from the cupboard and dumped it onto a plate. He ate the pile in several big gulps.

He looked at a picture hanging on the wall. He saw himself in it. They smiled together in front of a gate embedded in clouds, all of them much younger. The caption at the bottom read “Day One.” He jerked his head away with his eyes closed and ears drooping.

He shuffled around his cottage restoring the clutter from the night before. He cleaned the pot and removed the ashes from the oven, dumping them outside behind the cottage. As they flowed from the tray, rainbow colors appeared in the pour of ashes in his eyes. He closed his eyes and turned his head.

Thundercloud rounded to the front of his cottage and saw a young, tall, thin, and dark green pegasus stallion with a light green mane with a set of saddlebags slung over his back, and a cutie mark of a white cloud with three white stars above it walked toward him on the path.

He peered at the pony. “I figured this day would happen.”
“Huh?”
Thundercloud knelt to bite into a knot of grass and then rose. “Just kill me. Like the rest of Her agents.”

“What are you talking about?” the pony said.

Thundercloud chewed more grass. “Who are you?”

The pony approached without saying anything. Only when he was a few feet away did he speak. “Are you Thundercloud?”

“What?”

“I said, are you Thundercloud?”

He munched grass and didn’t look up. “Yeah,”

“Sunny Blaze. Do you remember me?”

“Why would I?” Thundercloud spat.

“I went last.”

“Last?” Thundercloud sputtered, looking up spitting grass.

The other pony continued. “I haven’t forgotten about galloping on the feeder. Did you?

“Huh?” Thundercloud said, as grass fell from his mouth.

“Uh, you tried to kill me.”

Thundercloud stood motionless, grass hanging from his mouth.

“The belt. Remember now?

Thundercloud froze. “Who, what, you ….”

Thundercloud bounded to his cottage, flapping his wings a few times for speed, and sped through his door, slamming it shut. “How.... is it you? How did you escape? …You’re not supposed… Go away!” He looked to the corner and grabbed a club. He cowered next to the door. “If you’re here for revenge!” he shouted through the door, “I’ll defend myself and deny everything.”

“I’m not here for that,” Sunny Blaze replied.

“What’s in your bags?” Thundercloud continued to wheeze.

“Just food and some bedding.” His voice softened.

“Prove it,” Thundercloud shuffled around his cottage, searching for more weapons. Shoving wood aside, he grabbed a fire poker from his oven, holding the club under one hoof and the club under another.

“I’ll let you look through them.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to forgive you.”

Thundercloud stumbled against a wall and cowered. He mustered a shallow and flustered “What?”

“I said I forgive you. I’ve been looking for years. Information eventually leaks, you know. I just want to tell you I don’t hate you anymore. Maybe I can get to know you.”

Thundercloud dropped the club and poker. He approached his cabin’s door without opening it. “What… what is going on?” he uttered.

“May I come in? Just to talk.”

Thundercloud grasped the doorknob. “What could there possibly be to talk about?” he muttered.

“Redemption. Forgiveness. Lunch. I have cheese and crackers.”

Thundercloud grasped the doorknob without turning it. “Go away,” he whimpered.

“No.”

“You’re not getting in here.”

“I’m not leaving.”

Thundercloud remained at his door.

Sunny Blaze continued, “I promise I’m here just to meet you. My executioner.”

A small and crude drawing of paper of stick figures of two ponies crept under the door Thundercloud picked it up and held it.

Two ponies. Stick figures. A large, intimidating figure dressed in erudite clothes. He was intimidating a tiny, terrified, colt.

Thundercloud hung his head and opened the door. “Come in,”

Sunny Blaze walked in and stared at Thundercloud. “You look exactly as I remember,” he said. “Older of course. And I’m a lot bigger now.” Sunny Blaze flopped onto the floor and pulled open his saddlebags with his mouth.

Thundercloud pushed his nose through the contents, and after inspecting asked, “What are you doing? What’s going on?”

“You can’t ever defeat your fears if you don’t confront them. I’m confronting you” Sunny Blaze stood. “Your face lived in my nightmares for years. And now that I see you here,” Sunny Blaze scanned the room, “You’re not so scary.”

Thundercloud dropped his ears. “How did you know about me?”

“Most of you weren’t psychopaths, right? Just normal ponies doing a job for an evil government?”

Thundercloud winced.

“Not every record was destroyed.” Sunny Blaze walked around the tiny cottage, his head swirling around. “I haven’t seen that factory since then, obviously, but ponies on the more adventurous side have dodged security and explored.” He stopped and looked at the “Day One” picture.

“We found some employee records. It was completely random what we found. Partial names of different positions. Fragments, really. Some supervisors, some engineers, but a lot of you guys,” he turned to look at Thundercloud. “They called you “loaders?” Really? That’s so crude.”

Thundercloud looked down at his hooves and he remained silent.

“‘Day One.’ Did you know then?” Sunny Blaze asked.

“No,” Thundercloud croaked.

“Convince me you aren’t lying.”

Thundercloud kept looking at his front hooves, digging one into the floor, and talking in a low voice “They told us that rainbow construction involved our good talents as weather ponies.” Thundercloud grumbled. “That’s why the contracts were so attractive. Everypony wanted in on it.” He looked , raising his voice. “Can you leave?”

“Sure, but I’m coming back tomorrow because there are some things I want to go over, if that’s okay.”

“Did you mean it?” Thundercloud asked, turning away from the pony and closing his eyes.

“That I forgive you?”

“Yes,” Thundercloud cracked.

“I’d never spent all this time finding you if I didn’t.”

“You could have also just killed me with all that time.”

“Yeah.” Sunny Blaze pressed his nose into Thundercloud’s ear. “I didn’t, and I won’t.” He turned and exited the cottage, shutting the door behind him.

Thundercloud sat on his floor holding back tears. He perked his ears, and visited the market for two half gallons of cider.

The grinding sound of thousands of pieces of metal wrecked Thundercloud from his stupor. The sound morphed to a wooden knocking that he recognized as his door. His head pounded as usual. “Who in Tartarus would be visiting me now?” he murmured through closed eyes.

He opened the door to see Sunny Blaze standing there. The younger stallion was almost a head higher, his body bolt upright, while Thundercloud left his head hanging in a stupor. Sunny Blaze was tall and lean, towering over Thundercloud.

“Hi, Thundercloud!” the pony greeted with a cheery smile.

“Huh, wha… you were serious?” Thundercloud replied with fog in his eyes.

“I meant what I said.” Sunny Blaze reached into his saddlebag with his teeth, removed two canvas bags, and dropped them at Thundercloud’s hooves. “Good for hangovers, so I’ve heard.”

“Huh?” Thundercloud looked at the bag at his hooves with crossed eyes.

“Drink them.” He reached his head outside, and when he swung his head inside, he held a larger bag in his teeth. He tossed it and it landed with a loud clatter of metal in the center of the room. “Is that your pay?” Sunny Blaze said, passing his gaze through the cottage.

“Oh, just get in here,” Thundercloud swung the door open and waved in Sunny Blaze. He swept in the canvas bags before slamming the door.

Thundercloud lay flat on the ground with his eyes closed.

Sunny Blaze nudged a bag toward Thundercloud’s grounded muzzle. “Just try it.”

“How do I know this isn’t poison?” He slurred.

“I guess you don’t, but like I said, if I wanted to kill you, I’d have done it.”

Thundercloud wrapped his lips around the canvas bag and started suckling. A cool and sweet feeling oozed through his head. The taste of sage, mint, and sugar enveloped his gums. The pain in his temples melted away, even though the doziness from the cider didn’t. He rose to his hooves. The alcoholic swoon existed, the nausea had disappeared, Feeling satiated, he dropped the bag. “What’s happening?”

“I told you yesterday. I have to face my monster. Maybe get to know you.”

Thundercloud sat on his haunches and asked, “How did you know where I was? I’ve only been here six weeks.”

Sunny Blaze sat on the floor next to Thundercloud, peered in the same direction, and explained. “That paper trail wasn’t easy, but there was enough. There are a few of us from the “Last Day,” Sunny Blaze raised his left front hoof into the air,” “who’ve put together a good team of investigators. We found out that some employee records matched moving receipts/”

Sunny Blaze stood and walked to the “First Day” picture again. “By the way, those receipts must have been made after the supposed dissolution of The Factory, so it isn’t really gone, is it? That’s where the bag of bits came from, huh?”

Thundercloud stared at the ground.

Sunny Blaze turned to face Thundercloud and sat down again. “Anyway, after that it was a matter of talking to the right ponies. It usually just took too long and too much asking. I’m guessing that’s why they suggest hiding you in Manehatten, Las Pegasus, and such. Why move here, Ponyville., of all places?”

Thundercloud raised his head and directed his eyes toward Sunny Blaze. He took a deep breath and said, “Too many ponies. It was like being there again. Carts grinding their wheels on the pavement with the hooves of the driver smacking the ground. Ponies shouting and screaming at each other. It wasn’t any different.”

“Is it still around?” Sunny Blaze asked.

Thundercloud remained silent and dropped his ears.

“Look, I’m not judging,” Sunny Blaze turned to face Thundercloud and wrapped a front hoof around his so that they faced each other. “They’d catch me if they wanted it.”

Thundercloud unraveled his hoof from Sunny Blaze’s. “How do you think I can afford so much cider? Or how I can move around Equestria?”

“How?”

Thundercloud raised his head to look into the distance away from Sunny Blaze. “The Princess wanted to say she had “taken care” of us while pretending she never knew. The Weather Factory was just doing as she told it to.”

Sunny Blaze turned to sit next to Thundercloud. “Did anypony have the option of leaving?”

Thundercloud shook his head. “They want all of us to know who owns them. You’re naïve if you think that box of records was forgotten by accident. They were hoping ponies wanting revenge would find us.”

Thundercloud closed his eyes and dropped his head and ears, “And you know what? I hoped you did.”

“So you have a death wish?” Sunny Blaze moved to put a hoof around Thundercloud’s back.

Thundercloud jumped to his hooves and jumped over toward Sunny Blaze. “Don’t touch me!” His large frame loomed over Sunny Blaze, who backed away with wide and frightened eyes until he cowered on the floor.

Thundercloud marched toward Sunny Blaze. Thundercloud’s larger frame lumbered over Sunny Blaze. “The nerve of you!” Thundercloud shouted, “You think you can just come here and be my friend? The only reason I know you is that place! I should have pushed you in and finished the job!”

Thundercloud huffed and snorted as Sunny Blaze shot to his hooves and galloped out the front door, slamming it shut.

Thundercloud stood still, watching the door, his heart racing and the rage dying. He then paced back and forth in panic with widened, bloodshot eyes, muttering to himself. “No. No. No. No!” He plopped to the ground and covered his head with his front legs. He saw the second canvas bag across the room. He mustered the strength to stand and reach it; sucking the liquid from it calmed his nerves.

As he stood over the bag with closed eyes and his mouth wrapped around it, he heard his front door creak open.

“Thundercloud?” Sunny Blaze squeaked. “You okay now? I know what’s wrong. I went through it too. I’ll get you help if you want.”

Thundercloud pulled his lips from the bag keeping his eyes closed. “Yeah, I do know, and what doc would take me, knowing I worked there? That’s what the cider is for.”

“Do you just spend all day in the cottage drinking and moping?” Sunny Blaze said, poking his muzzle through the door.

“I don’t drink all day, just when it’s time for bed.” Thundercloud flopped to his side.

“How well do you know the Everfree?” Sunny Blaze asked.

“Not at all. You wanna go on a nature hike or something?” Thundercloud huffed.

Sunny Blaze pushed the door open and reached his head in, “Yeah, Sounds like that’s not an option though. I’m guessing you don’t want to be anywhere near Ponyville’s parks either.”

“Every time I go into town, ponies stare at me. It’s like they know who I am.”

“Maybe that’s because you wear that strange outfit,” Sunny Blaze replied, entering further, and pointing toward the cloak slung over the cot.

“I just wanna disappear, okay?” Thundercloud protested, sinking to the ground. “And some kid like you shouldn’t…”

Sunny Blaze interrupted, glaring at Thundercloud. “I’m not a kid.” He held Thundercloud under his hoof. “You tossed me. I’ve been around. And I’m married and about to be a dad. Don’t tell me this kid crap.”

Thundercloud responded by closing his eyes and wrapping his front legs over his face. “A dad?” he rasped.

“Yes.”

Thundercloud sniffled and buried his head into his wing.

“Hey, sorry,” Sunny Blaze’s voice softened, “Let’s walk around, head into town.” Thundercloud felt a hoof force itself under his cowering front hooves. “Stand up,” Sunny Blaze commanded.

Thundercloud wobbled to his hooves. “I don’t think they like me. I probably shouldn’t be there.”

Sunny Blaze rolled his eyes. “Or it’s because you dress so strange, and I’d guess you act weird when you go into town.”

“Just look at me,” Thundercloud said, rolling his head around, “I haven’t had a manecut since I moved here. I don’t have much of a place to bathe besides a pond, and I chop my own firewood every day. With my mouth. And I drink myself to sleep every night. Do you think I even want to be in town?”

“Let’s just go outside. Just for air.”

Thundercloud looked at Sunny Blaze with concern. “It’s the Everfree,” he replied.

“You live here and go out every day to buy cider. Stop stalling. Besides, it’s daytime.”

Thundercloud stood. “Fine,” he blurted.

They walked a distance from the cottage to a point where it was still in sight, but part of the background. Insects buzzed and chirped while birds uttered their many calls.

“Listen to the bugs,” Sunny Blaze said, “Even in the middle of the day they’re so loud. Nature’s orchestra.” He raised his head and looked around at the trees.

“That’s never what I hear,” Thundercloud droned.

“Just focus on your breathing and their noises.”

“Why??”

Sunny Blaze didn’t respond.

“Hey, I said…” Thundercloud grumbled.

“Look! A phoenix!” Sunny Blaze pointed to the sky.

Thundercloud lifted his head toward where Sunny Blaze pointed his hoof to see a fiery apparition. The soaring and flaming bird cawed. It disappeared into the canopy as fast as it had appeared.

“Wow!” Sunny Blaze exclaimed, “That’s amazing.”

Thundercloud looked through the forest. He saw the vines wrapped around trees, how the paltry penetration of sunlight created a twilight glow; how every sound seemed focused on him, and how, if he stepped off the path, he could be lost in wilderness. He whirled his eyes around the forest, capturing each color; for the first time in years the sounds were just noise meaning nothing. Reality overtook the whirring and grinding.

“Hey, Sunny?” Thundercloud said, with a quavering uncertainty.

“Hmm?” the younger pony replied.

“Thanks.”

Sunny Blaze gave him a faint smile without answering and continued looking through the treetops.

Author's Note

A friend arrives.