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                  The Factory's Remnants                   
                     -by August Cloud-                     
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              Prologue: The Factory's Demise               
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Prologue: The Factory's Demise
“Genocide in Cloudsdale!” screamed the headlines.
The Factory.
It controlled life.
The Race.
The participants crashed through clouds. They broke windows and walls.
“She can’t fly, so she’s useless?” cried an instructor.
“No!” another replied in response.
“We’ve had enough.”
Masses mobbed Cloudsdaled.
“Give us answers , Celestia!”
Celestia towered over the masses on a cloud balcony and assured them “Your youth who don’t meet the standards of Cloudsdale, are cared for in the best way possible. We understand what the Pegasi want, but we require time…”
“Where is my boy?!” a large yellow pegasus stallion bellowed, his eyes contorted into a look of contempt, glowering at the princess. A cream colored mare buried her face into his chest, muttering words Celestia could barely hear as ‘I miss my little colt.’
Celestia scuttled back, and stammered, “He, I’m certain, he, is, um, is safe.”
The stallion remained silent. He swiveled his head, squinting at the others at his side. He looked forward.
“That’s enough.” he growled. He slammed his hoof into the clouds and dug it in, causing the cloud floor to sparkle.
Celestia scattered away, fluttering into the air.
“I, I can explain!” she sputtered.
“No you can’t!” the stallion shouted He grinded his hooves forward, moving one in front of the other, causing the clouds at his hooves to sparkle.
He marched forward. “Where is this land where our foals are held?” he demanded. “What is the land’s name?”
“How are rainbows made?” he shouted.
He slammed his hoof into the cloud, generating a lightning bolt that shot into the sky, nearly hitting Celestia in the face.
“Where are rainbows made?” he growled.
The crowd surrounded the princesses. The royals glanced at each other. Luna leapt into the sky with tears streaming from her eyes, leaving Celestia surrounded.  
Celestia stood still on the cloud balcony with a frozen smile, peering into the crowd.
“Explain it!” the stallion howled.
“Liar!” another shouted.
“Citizens,” Celestia began. She leapt into the sky “The next race is only a few days away. You will see that it is conducted with the utmost of standards.” After this declaration, she darted from the balcony and flew away toward Canterlot.
The crowd watched their princess flee.
Cries rang from the crowds.
“What does she know?”
“Where are our foals?”
“We can’t let them get away with this!”  
One mare, while photographing the commotion and sitting and observing the chaos of the emergency meeting, spread her wings, and flew off.
She alighted on a cloud. She watched the fillies and colts fly through the course. Most of the foals passed the exam, but the few failures were gathered into a small area near a carriage. She watched as a crowd of ponies shoved them into a this carriage, which sped away. She followed it.
With a small camera strapped to her chest, the mare dashed between buildings, observing the carriage’s circuitous and repetitive path. She watched it meander around the floating city, making random stops, until it ended its journey at a side section of the weather factory, guarded by one pony.
“Interesting,” she stopped with it and revealed herself.
The guard wore a canvas mask and smock that hid his face and cutie mark, but not his wings.
She approached him. “Haven’t you ever wondered what’s going on back there?” she asked, pointing with her hoof toward the storm cloud wall.
“They just pay me to stand here,” was the guard’s deadpan reply.
“And you never wonder where the foals disappear to?”
“I said they just pay me to stand here.” he looked into the distance.
The mare shoved a pile of bits at the guard. “500. No questions asked.”
The guard marveled with wide eyes at the pile of bits at his hooves.
“And nopony else would have to know,” she added. “You could just give me your uniform and let me in. Nopony is watching, are they?”
“But… But. I’m on official Guardian payroll” the stallion said, trembling and peering at the pile of cash.
“You don’t have to go anywhere. Just don’t spend it all in one place.”
The guard shrank away.
“Like I said, they don’t know who I am.”
She produced a bag from her saddlebags. “Hide the cash in here. Give me your uniform.”
“But this is my uniform, and…”
She slammed a hoof into the cloud. “And you can buy another one now.”
“And if they find me without my uniform?”
The mare peeked past the guard into the door. “Give it to me. If this doesn’t work, then this problem is neither of our business and you won’t see me again.” She glared at the guard. “Let me in.”
The stallion removed his mask and smock and offered them to her.
She donned the disguise. She entered the door. Just inside the door and embedded into the left wall was a small emblem of red, yellow, and blue pillars superimposed over a white cloud with cartoonish wings spread to each side. She entered a hallway constructed of clouds. A dull buzzing introduced itself. She winced.
Inside the hall was a whirring sound, which grew louder as she progressed. The light gray clouds of the path darkened until she reached a black wall of stormy clouds where lightning flashed. Within these clouds was a set of massive, thick, rusted iron doors.
She stood near them with a crowd of ponies. Everypony else was wearing a disguise; the same canvas mask and coat she’d stolen from the guard.
She slunk through the hallway. A sign just inside the door said in large letters “DEVICE STATUS: OPERATIONAL”.
The noise was inescapable and overwhelming, like that of countless knives being sharpened against granite. She lowered her ears against her head and squinted. Though The sound was painful and horrible, but she entered.
Endless noise. She lifted her head and opened her eyes and saw how massive the room was. Storm cloud walls stretched on all sides. The room was as black as a moonless night, except for the lightning
She cowered and trembled behind a bank of dark clouds, only illuminated by the frequent flashes of lightning. The noise - the whirring, grinding, searing, clanking noise. She cowered in a corner, tears dripping from her eyes. “This can’t be real,” she whimpered.
She stood, pulling her legs underneath, and moved forward.
She jumped, flapping her wings and leaping into the air and bouncing from a dark cloud. The cloud presented the sound of countless sawblades cutting the air mixed with banging metal plates and rattling chains.  
She rose over a crest and the source of the sound of the sound revealed itself. It was an enormous machine of whirring blades within a pit.
She observed the adults in crude disguises that matched what she’d seen she’d stolen and was wearing. Then, she saw the foals, the same as those from the flying competition earlier in the day. The children sat by the dozens, cowering on the cloud floor with disguised adults pressing over them.
A worker swooped in and loomed over her. “Pick one. Make it quick,” the pony said, “We don’t have all day.”
She peered into the mask of the worker, unable to know if this was a mare or stallion.
“Whatever. I’ll do it.” the worker grumbled. “I can tell that you’re new here.”
The worker grabbed a nearby foal and dropped it into the machine.
The blades whirred and consumed the foal, blood spraying from the top of the machine, and rainbow colors flowing from tubes at the bottom.
She dropped to her hackles and wept, but she still watched.
One by one the workers grabbed a foal and dropped each into the machine.
The colors flowed from eight glass tubes at the base of the machine into separated vats. She froze.  
“Oh no,” she whimpered. “Cloud Blitz, Red Haze, Green Flash!” she recited her friends’ names who’d never come home from the exam.
The worker returned to her side, presenting her with several foals whose wings and legs were bound. “Your turn,” she said.
The mare stood still.
“I get that you’re new, but it’s for the greater good. You get used to it. Pick one.”
She remained still.
“First day jitters. That’s fine. It happens.” The pony gestured to another, who grabbed a terrified colt.
She heard his desperate shouting as they tossed him in. “Mom, no! Celestia, Luna, No! I’m sorry! I love youzzzrt.”
Colors flowed from the tubes.
She trembled and collapsed at the sight. “Can I just go off to the side? I’m not ready.” she squeaked. “I know they told me, but, but… I need to adjust.”
“Sure,” the white-coated pony answered. “It takes time.”
The worker turned away from her and returned to her duty.
She slunk away, hidden in the shadows. The workers ignored her and she removed the small camera from where she’d hid it under her wing and photographed the destruction.
She’d stopped shaking. “You have to do this,” she affirmed herself. She measured her breathing The buzzing sounds of the machine’s feeding crept behind her. She held back tears as she escaped the facility.
The machine wound down. The dark, stormy clouds remained. The thundering slowed and stopped. She wandered to the exit alongside the rest of the crew.
“It’s another productive day of rainbow creation” exclaimed the rainbow-maned pony who had appeared the crowd, floating above the others on spread wings. “We’ve given Equestria another round of what they demand!” She photographed this underneath her shroud.
With the machine shut down, the workers shuffled out of the room. Though they wore masks, she could see their devastation. One young stallion stumbled. “This isn’t real,” he cried.
“I just wanna go home,” a mare grumbled.
“Only one day in hundreds,” somepony whispered.
She departed with them through the doors. From the corner of her eye, she watched the sign switch from “DEVICE STATUS: OPERATIONAL” to “DEVICE STATUS: STANDBY.”
She walked behind two ponies who were talking quietly to each other.
“When’s the next race?” one whispered.
“Two weeks,” the other answered.”
“So, DEVICE STATUS: STARTUP in 14 days,” one sighed. “Maybe I’ll get some real sleep for a few days.”
“Shutup outside the doors,” the other pony whispered back.
“I know,” the first pony hung his head.
Having heard this, she darted around the dazed workers and to the the door she’d used to enter. She traced her steps and found the guard door. She jumped and pounded on it with both of her front hooves. The door opened, revealing the same guard, who looked surprised.
“You’re back?”
The mare tossed the disguise toward him. “Keep it,” she quivered, before vomiting and collapsing onto the cloud ground.
“Are you okay?” the guard said as he donned the disguise.
She pulled herself from the ground one leg at a time, shook her head, and grunted, “No.” She burst into the sky with a flick of her wings.
The newspapers printed the stories.
“Fake!”
“Propaganda!”
“Misinformation!”
She revealed more photos over the coming days.
“Where did my daughter go?”
“Where is my brother?”
“I miss my cousin.”
It explained the origin of rainbows. Word spread between ponies in secret.
With the news reaching critical mass and creating a frenzy, a crowd gathered in the center of Cloudsdale.
“We take it down today!” a pony shouted.
“No more!”
“Destroy it now!”
Celestia dropped into the middle of the town square. “My little Ponies,” she declared, smiling above the crowd. She paced among the multitude; her massive wings spread wide. “This anger and frustration is gestured toward what is nothing more than a conspiracy. We can show…”
“SHUTUP!” came a shout from the crowd.
Celestia silenced and stopped. She loomed over the crowd, still spreading her enormous wings, her face glowering with anger.
The crowd marched past her toward the weather factory.
Celestia gathered herself. “My little ponies, there is no need for this animosity…”
A pony sneered at her and spat. “Liar.”
Celestia jumped back.
The mob ignored her and marched through the open and clean public section, scattering, and frightening the workers there.
“Leave them alone!”
“They’re innocent!”
“We need the others!”
The Mob approached the dark doors. They reached the dark and stormy cloud section.
“Hit it hard!”
“Give everything!”
The echoes of dozens of hooves destroying the barrier rang until the doors gave way in a cacophonous rattle. The metal groaned and strained. It snapped apart in a great crash of straining and failing iron. The enormous metal doors gave way. The numerous ponies invaded.
A tremendous noise emerged from inside. A whirring and clanking, a rattling of gears, a buzzing of enormous sawblades reached their ears. The mass of ponies entered shouting.
“Let them go!”
“Die!”
“Stop the killing”
“Kill the factory!”
“Throw yourselves in, cowards!”
The factory aides tried to stop the mob. Workers on a catwalk above the machine grappled the invading ponies and directed them toward the machine, but they were outnumbered and prevented by others.
“Stop them!”
The crowd jumped onto the belt and constrained the aids.
“Enough!” One pony wrenched another’s neck.
“Stop.” A hoof punched another pony’s face.
A pony from the mob looked up at the platform, toward where a worker had just thrown a little colt on the conveyer belt into the machine. The colt galloped as fast as he could, but the belt brought him closer. The worker ripped off his mask and reached in.
“Get away from him, you monster!” she shouted as she jetted to the machine. Two workers raced after her. She kicked one worker to the side, who fell in a heap on the catwalk, dazed. Two ponies emerged from the mob, kicking the controls, and constraining the other workers. A mare reached in as far as she could, but couldn’t reach the desperate colt as he neared the blades.
A blinding flash and shower of sparks surrounded them as the controls were destroyed. The conveyer ground to a halt and the blades stopped, their echoes fading into the thunder of the cloud walls. The colt ran up to the platform and into the waiting hooves the rescuer. “I’ve got you now,” she whispered into the ear of the whimpering colt as she grabbed him, “You’re safe.” She grappled him and drifted away toward the white cloud walls.
The machine faded.
The Cloudsdale guards arrived, restraining the workers as others gathered the remaining foals.
The remaining crowd ripped the hoods from the heads of every worker, revealing their identities.
The authorities arrived and gathered the workers.
The dark, thunderous room sat empty and still for days until a few ponies gathered the strength to enter and bear the smell of metal, grease, and blood so that they could bolt shut the door.
Author's Note
What happens when a society discovers that its entire existence is based on a lie? That its youth are sacrificed?

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                       The Everfree                        
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The Everfree
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.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                     A Friend Departs                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
A Friend Departs
Inside the cottage in the late afternoon, Thundercloud stoked the oven to prepare dinner. “I don’t have much to offer. Just some ramen and a few hay bricks. Let’s just say I took a pay cut.”
Sunny Blaze snickered and said, “So that was the last thing they cut when they couldn’t get another kid?”
Thundercloud gave him a disgusted look.
“Hey, look” Sunny Blaze continued, “I was there too. I’m allowed a little bit of dark humor.”
Thundercloud glowered as he poured the noodles.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t have that stuff with what you did,” Sunny Blaze said.
Thundercloud finished pouring the ramen in the bowls and stared at his hooves, “It becomes numbing when you do it all the time. You just want it to stop. You just want to get some sleep. I saw what I saw. It doesn’t work.”
Sunny Blaze remained silent with the only sound of Thundercloud testing the stove. He then said, “You either live in fear or dismiss it through humor. I’ve studied it through my recovery. It’s something time honored in the military, firefighting, and, you know, stuff like that place. Ponies like us who’ve lived horrifying situations.”
Thundercloud moved closer to the stove to watch the simmering pot. “Yeah, well, it was one day for you. It was years for me. Just how many…”
They both sat in silence, not speaking, while watching the boiling pot.
Sunny Blaze removed the bedding from his back and made a bed, He begand reading from a book. (THIS IS STUOID)
Thundercloud broke the silence. “You seem too cheerful for somepony who was almost stuffed into the machine.”
“I was stuffed into the machine. By you. I escaped through some miracle. The way I see it, I’m living my second life.”
“I escaped it too many times,” Thundercloud replied, his gaze fixed forward.
“Hmm?” Sunny Blaze turned to look at the pony who was seated next to him.
“I don’t know how many times I wanted to throw myself in.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think?” Thundercloud spat. “Some of us knew we could toss ourselves into the device.”
Sunny Blaze sat still. “How do you know?”
“We knew.”
The pot on the stove started foaming and the lid popped from the pot.
“Oh no, no, NO!” Thundercloud hopped to his hooves, grabbed an oven mitt with his mouth, and shoved the pot to the cooling sheet. He pulled the lid off, set it to the side, and eyed the pot.
“I guess unwatched pots boil pretty fast,” Sunny Blaze said.
“I don’t think anything leaked,” Thundercloud said, inspecting the pot. “I usually just eat out of the pot when it cools, but I’ll get some bowls.”
Thundercloud pulled two bowls from a cupboard and used a spooned even portions into bowls for each of them.
“To Cloudsdale,” Sunny Blaze offered.
“What?”
“Cloudsdale. It’s still a good place.”
“Um, sure,” Thundercloud said, “To Cloudsdale?”
They clacked the bowls together and began eating.
Thundercloud slurped his noodles while Sunny Blaze lapped his. The bowls were dry in minutes.
“Thanks for the meal,” Sunny Blaze said, “It was still better than the hostel food I was going to eat tonight. Speaking of which, I should get going. We’re going to Cloudsdale tomorrow, and…”
“Tomorrow? You’re planning my life?”
“I mean, I just assumed that…”
“I’m not going.”
“But…”
“I said no.”
“Then why’d you let me come here?”
“You’re the first… company I’ve had in years.”
“Okay. Whatever you want.”
“When can I expect you in the morning?”
“I’m guessing nine is when your stupor will have ended. I’ll have more of the remedy with me.” Sunny Blaze exited and closed the door behind him. Thundercloud sat at the door, waiting several hours before leaving. He returned to the cottage after sunset with four half gallon jugs of cider.
Thundercloud jumped from his blackout out of his cot, startled by the whirring of gears that he realized was his front door. He saw Sunny Blaze standing at the threshold and blurted, “You’ve known me two days and you think you can just let yourself in?”
Sunny Blaze was holding two canvas bags in his teeth. With a flick of his head, he tossed the bags toward Thundercloud. “I’ve known you a lot longer than two days. Do I have to remind you?”
Thundercloud shrank back amid his stupor. He sagged to the ground to bite on one of the bags and felt the same cooling sensation course across his face.
“We’re going to Cloudsdale today.’ Sunny Blaze commanded.
Thundercloud raised his head from the bag and glowered at Sunny Blaze. “I already told you no!”
“What?” Sunny Blaze backed away in surprise.
“Just because I open up to you the slightest, you think you can just push me around? Do you really think I want to see that place again?”
“But this is part of the therapy and…”
Thundercloud stood and shouted, “I never asked you to heal me!”
“I, I just wanted to help,” Sunny Blaze squeaked. “I wanted to know the factory workers weren’t all bad.”
“Well, sorry. I did what I did. Get outta here.”
Thundercloud pressed his face to Sunny Blaze’s. Without saying anything, Sunny Blaze turned and fled with Thundercloud slamming the door behind him.
Thundercloud snorted, walked toward his cot, dropped into it, and fell asleep. Without the help of cider, his dreams were a whir of the sounds of grinding metal, streaming colors, endless shouting, and finally, the faces.
He shot awake, wanting to scream, but his throat was dry. By looking out the window, he could see it was roughly noon. He lay in his cot staring at the wall for hours and trying not to fall asleep again.
When the sun had lowered enough to cast long shadows, he arose from the cot, donned his cloak, and headed out. The path was darkening. Some of the strange sounds of the Everfree were already appearing. Knowing he might be returning home after dark, he raised his pace, trotting for a while, slowing to wheeze as he caught his breath, and trotted again.
He reached Ponyville and started looking for buildings. “only thing I know is the cider guy,” he grumbled.
A light flickered on in the town square. He could see the unicorn lighting it with a torch held aloft by magic. He approached the stallion, being cautious. “Excuse me, sir,” he said, as measured as possible in a gravelly voice, but keeping his hood on over his eyes.
The pony jumped back. “Um, yes, can I help you?”
“Can you tell me where the hostel is?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I just need to visit somepony.”
“It’s, It’s that way,” the unicorn replied, pointing a shaking hoof toward a small, elongated building.
“Thank you,” he muttered. Thundercloud turned and headed toward the building. He tightened his cloak over his head and body.
The building was smaller than it appeared. He entered and saw a bell at the front desk. With nopony attending the desk, he rang it. A pony rounded from a back room.
“How can I help…” the earth pony mare paused and stared at him, shocked. “I don’t know if you should be here.”
With his face hidden, Thundercloud grumbled, “Am I not allowed?”
“Well, ponies talk, and…”
“Have I done anything wrong?”
”N.,No.” she stammered.
“I’m just looking for somepony. Can you help me?”
She gulped. “Well, I guess. Who is it?’
“There’s been a pony staying here by the name of Sunny Blaze. Can you page him, or something?”
“No. He checked out hours ago. Sorry.” She shrank from the desk.
Thundercloud paused, and then continued, “Did he say where he was going?”
“No, he just checked out in the morning and left!” She looked worried.
Thundercloud remained silent for a moment. “Oh, thank you.” He turned and walked away.
He headed toward the west end of Ponyville and found a high point. While sitting on it, he watched the last of the twilight fade away. The colors faded as the sun set, not flowing as he was accustomed to seeing.
Whirring, buzzing, shouting, and grinding filled Thundercloud’s ears.
I heard he eats bugs.
I heard he steals food if you leave it out.
He buys my cider every day.
I’ve seen him go into the Everfree.
I’ve never seen him fly.
Thundercloud shot to his hooves, startling the crowd. A few ponies galloped away.
“What’s happening?” he asked to nopony in particular, his head filled with haze.
The pony he recognized as the cider merchant approached. “What are you doing out here?”
“What am I, some carnival attraction?” Thundercloud spat.
“Well, kind of,” the cider pony replied. “We’ve never seen you here.”
Somewhere, a foal started crying.
“No! Quiet the kid!” Thundercloud yelled. Trembling, he collapsed to the ground and pulled his hood under his chin. “No, no, no! Just shutup,” he whimpered under his hood. The cries of the foal disappeared.
As he shivered, he heard a set of hooves approach and stop in front of him.
“Sir, I have to ask you stand up,” a mare’s voice commanded.
He stayed on the ground, shivering.
“Stand up!”
Thundercloud remained still, shivering and whimpering. The cries faded as the foal was carried away by its parents.
With a firmer voice she commanded, “Sir, I said stand up!”
Thundercloud, trembling and holding his hooves over his head, said, “Is the kid gone?” Shaking, Thundercloud rose to his hooves.
“His mom took him home,” she answered.
His shoulders dropped in relief. With his front hoof quivering, he raised it to remove his hood. His unkempt mane fell out. In front of him was an earth pony mare with a gray mane.
“You’ve frightened a lot of ponies in this town just by being here. Now I know it’s perfectly legal for you to live in the Everfree, but you can’t sleep on our public property.”
Thundercloud squinted in the brightness of the day, the uneasiness from the foal’s cries still making his limbs weak, he squinted, “Am I in trouble?”
“Only if you want it. Technically, there’s a fine, but I can look the other way if you tell us why you came here and slept in public like a vagrant.”
“I don’t have a good answer for that.” He blinked. “I guess I just came out here to watch the sunset. I fell asleep. Sorry.”
The clerk from the hostel approached the mare facing him. “Mayor,” she started, “he came to the desk last night and asked for somepony.”
“He did?” She squinted at him. “Do you know somepony here?”
Thundercloud shook his head. “I think he’s gone. Can I, I just go home now?”
A white pegasus mare landed in front of him. “I think I…”
“Huh? I thought they liquidated you?”
“What?’ The pegasus tilted her head.
“No, never mind, I thought you looked like somepony I knew.”
“Um, okay. Anyway, I saw a pony heading east this morning during my morning flying exercises. All he had were some saddle bags. I thought it was weird a pegasus was just walking..”
“East?!” Thundercloud exclaimed.
“Uh, yeah.”
“What did he look like?” Thundercloud pressed his face closer.
“Um, green was all I could tell!” she quavered,
“Stop telling him things!” a voice shouted.
“But he hasn’t done anything wrong!” another voice countered.
Thundercloud spread his wings and lifted off. Working muscles that he hadn’t maintained for years.
He flew into the air, huffing and wheezing. “You can do this, you’re a pegasus!” he demanded of himself as he fought the air. Coughing and wheezing, he fluttered toward the ground.
Just as he was about to quit, he felt a thermal rise underneath him. He left his wings extended and let the rising warm air spin him around. He closed his eyes and allowed the vortex to carry him wherever it may.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                    Going to Cloudsdale                    
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Going to Cloudsdale
Thundercloud soared over the land with the vortex, his eyes darting around the endless expanse of land. The wind rushing against his face watered his eyes.
Thundercloud found himself thousands of feet above the ground, despite his cloak creating drag. Mountains, plains, seas, and cities revealed themselves for dozens of miles around. He smiled.
With his wings spread wide thousands of feet above the ground, he soared upon the persistent thermal. “Where are you?”
Keeping his head on a constant swivel, he peered over the landscape.
A green speck appeared on a road. He lowered his wings and closed on the ground. As he neared, the canvas saddlebags confirmed who it was. Thundercloud circled and landed in front of Sunny Blaze, who stopped with wide, shocked eyes.
“You told me to go away, so I did,” Sunny Blaze said.
“Where… are… you… going?” Thundercloud wheezed.
“Just wandering.”
“But… your… wife.”
“We’ve made an agreement. I know when to be back. Just finding the next town now.”
“Yeah… that’s… Ponyville.” Thundercloud raised a front hoof to point to the road behind Sunny Blaze.  
Thundercloud coughed in exhaustion.
Sunny Blaze didn’t say anything. He turned around on the road to return from where he came, with Thundercloud by his side, who managed to regain his breath as they strolled up the road. The two remained silent, the impact of their hooves in the dirt being the only sounds penetrating the air as they made their way forward.
“So, you came to find me,” Sunny Blaze remarked, “after you shouted at me to leave.”
“It’s been years since somepony treated me like I was normal.”
“You said you didn’t want my help.”
“You shouldn’t be coming to ponies and telling them you know how to heal them, and then impose yourself, and then say they’re returning to….” he trailed off. “There’s a difference.”
“So, do you want my help?”
“You can’t just go and tell somepony they’re going to do something like that without them agreeing.”
Sunny Blaze glanced at Thundercloud. “No, you’re right. That was wrong.”
Thundercloud stopped walking, looked at Sunny Blaze, and squinted. “Do I have to see it?’
“Do you still dream of it?”
“Yeah.”
“I think that facing it again is the only way to let go. But that’s my mistake. And to be honest, I don’t think I’m ready either. But that’s the point. We should be ready together.”
Thundercloud resumed walking and trotted next to Sunny Blaze. “Okay, so you’re a pegasus. Why walk?”
“So are you.” Sunny Blaze said, and then veered to sniff some flowers.
“I don’t like…” “That’s where rainbows start.” Thundercloud started.
Sunny Blaze turned from the flowers toward the road. “Yeah sometimes. Just like when you wear that goofy outfit.” He nodded toward Thundercloud.
“It’s not how I used to be. I was a weather pony. Everything is wrong. It all leads back to the place.”
“Ah. Okay.”
Thundercloud trembled and quickened his pace. “We should pick it up if we wanna get home before sunset.”
Thundercloud and Sunny Blaze entered Ponyville in the late afternoon. Ponies stared at the pair as they traversed the main street. The whispers travelled to their ears.
“He’s back!”
“He’s friends with the new guy?”
Thundercloud cowered.
“Let them talk,” Sunny Blaze dismissed, “We’ve already been here. Besides, this town has seen weirder, I’ve heard.”
“Yeah, but I think they know I worked there.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I don’t, but it doesn’t matter. If I start hanging out in town, what do I do? Talk about the past and remove all doubt?”
“Good point.”
“You know, ponies in the hostel are probably going to ask you about me. You might not be in the best spot if you go there.”
Sunny Blaze stopped. “I didn’t think of that.”
Thundercloud walked a few paces ahead of him and turned. “Look, stay with me. At least tonight. We’ll figure something out.”
“Okay, well, I don’t know how long I plan on staying here.”
“That’s Ponyville’s problem.”
“What about the factory? Do they watch you?”
“Not as much as you think. Not as long as I don’t give them trouble. They might come for you though, just for being around me.”
“Me? The colt who was literally on the belt and escaped and was mildly famous for that? Wouldn’t look good for them. Especially if they want Equestria to think they’re gone. I’m not in trouble.”
They reached a split in the road. Sunny Blaze spoke up. “The hostel is this way,” he pointed.
Thundercloud didn’t move. “Yeah, and my cottage is that way. You know that.” he nodded his head toward the path. “I already invited you.”
Sunny Blaze turned toward the path that led to Thundercloud’s house.
They walked through the Everfree as the sun was setting, enveloped by the encroaching darkness.
“Are you okay with the dark?” Thundercloud asked.
“You think a dark forest scares me? And I assume you know the way anyway.”
They continued down the path until they reached the cottage.
“I didn’t think I’d be gone so long.” Thundercloud fumbled in the dark to light a lantern, and the cottage was filled with a soft yellow light.
“Do you do anything for fun here?” Sunny Blaze asked.
“Not really. I wake up, eat breakfast, chop wood, sit around and try to ignore the noises, drink cider before bed, and do it all again.”
“Well, that’s a sucky way to live.”
Thundercloud went to a cabinet in a corner and pulled out a small wooden chess box. “Have you ever played chess?”
“Yeah, but I’m not good at it.”
“I was a champion in high school. It was one of the things that got me into the weather factory. You have to think fast and several moves ahead for weather. Clouds don’t like being tamed.” Thundercloud opened the box and arranged the pieces.
“Uhh,” Sunny Blaze began, “I don’t even remember the moves.”
“It’s not that hard. I’ll show you.” Thundercloud spent several minutes pushing the pieces around to demonstrate the rules.
“You ready to start?” Thundercloud asked.
“I guess.”
Thundercloud pushed a pawn forward.
“Rook takes king in three moves,” Thundercloud proclaimed.
“How do you know?”
“This, this, and this.” Thundercloud motioned over the board.
“Oh. I guess.” Sunny Blaze stared puzzled at the board.
Thundercloud stood and retrieved four jugs of cider from his bags. “Have you ever had this?”
“No. I never planned to start.”
“Okay, well, the offer is open. Two for me and two for you.” With that, Thundercloud took a swig from one. “I’ve already started too late.”
“What do you mean “too late?”’ Sunny Blaze replied.
“Well, normally,” he took a drag of drink and coughed, “I’m almost done by now. Gotta catch up.” Thundercloud tossed a jug toward Sunny Blaze who caught it, jerking backward as he did. “Do or don’t. I bought extra, just in case.” Thundercloud started swigging away at the jug.
“I take it you’re only ever happy when you’re drinking?”
“I wouldn’t call it happy. More like distracted.” Thundercloud took another long swig. “I won’t be mad if you don’t, but it’s not like it’s then end of the world.”
“That’s not a good way to deal with this.”
“I know. I don’t care. But you’re also so stodgy. And too young to avoid fun. And your wife. If you’re really the miracle you say you are, at least give it a try. She isn’t telling you no anyway right now.”
Sunny Blaze picked up the jug at his hooves and popped it open. He sniffed the opening. “I guess it can’t be too bad if I had a little.” He lifted the jug and sipped. He dropped it from his mouth and started coughing. “I wasn’t expecting the burn!”
“That’s part of the fun!” Thundercloud took another long swig.
“You don’t look like you’re having much fun.”
“Now, you’re gonna tell me,” Thundercloud chugged another long swig, “You, the last kid on the line, doesn’t want to experience everything about life?”
Sunny Blaze scowled. “And you don’t want to experience anything at all with this behavior.”
“That sounds like your doc speaking.”
Sunny Blaze winced.
“You might have survived the line, but you’re still young. You can do it once. Give it a shot.” Thundercloud pressed a jug to Sunny Blaze’s face, who grabbed it and lifted it high into the air.
Early the next morning, Thundercloud stood over Sunny Blaze as he lay at the edge of the path near the cottage.
“I think I did too much to you.”
“It’s not the first time you did,” Sunny Blaze blurted, retching into the weeds. “I have those bags,” he moaned. “Can you get me one?”
Thundercloud disappeared into his cottage and returned with the two canvas bags. He dropped one at Sunny Blaze’s mouth. Sunny Blaze wrapped his lips around the bag and started sucking.
Thundercloud laid next him and placed a hoof over his over his back. “You feeling good now, champ?’
Sunny Blaze took a few deep breaths. “Thanks.”
“For what?” Thundercloud replied, his hoof still resting on Sunny Blaze’s back.
“This, even though I feel terrible. I guess there’s something to enjoy from having a little bit of the bad stuff. Maybe not this much.”
Thundercloud laid down next to him. “Sorry, I pushed you too hard.”
“Unlike the last time you pushed me.”
Thundercloud glowered. “Hey, thanks for coming out here. You know, I really am happy to see that somepony from that place managed to live a good life.”
Sunny Blaze rested his chin on the ground. “There’s actually a group of us from that day who get together and talk,” he said, keeping his eyes closed. “Not necessarily about that day, but just to… support… each other. HURGH,” he vomited into the bushes.
“You know, even though you threw me into the machine,” Sunny Blaze said with a dry and cracking voice, “I think this is the closest you’ve come to killing me.”
Thundercloud winced. “Of course you have a support group.” He rolled his eyes.
Sunny Blaze opened his eyes to a slit and looked at Thundercloud.. “It’s not a support group. That’s what ponies who are scared of, I dunno, bad reviews of their restaurant make.” He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. “We were the ones there on the last day. Creates kind of a weird bond. Ya know?”
“So, you’re like, the president or something? Since you escaped the belt?”
“Ha! No. That’s not for me. I have a regular pegasus job.” He scooted to the side and started munching on grass he hadn’t contaminated. After a few bites he continued. “I just decided to live a minimal life. After the attention I drew as the so-called “Last One,” or “The Miracle Child” I couldn’t take it anymore. It was either fame, or therapy. Guess which path I took.”
“You guys still meet then?”
“Yeah. sometimes.”
“What do you talk about?”
“Mostly what we’ve done in our lives,” he reached for more grass and chewed. “How we’ve healed. Just normal life stuff too. There’ve even been a few marriages, including my own, and some foals. Imagine how doted on the babies are,” he smiled. “There’s never talk of the factory if that’s what you’re wondering. We’re past that by now.” Sunny Blaze stood and stretched, shaking, and flexing his wings. “I feel a lot better now.”
“You barely had a half a jug,” Thundercloud complained.
“More for you, I guess,” Sunny Blaze replied.
“Well, I think I’m good with you being back in my house. You could probably use a nap by now.”
“I don’t feel tired.”
“You will.”
They retreated to Thundercloud’s cabin. Sunny Blaze dropped to his haunches and then to his side. “I guess you were right,” he exclaimed.
“I told you, the cider is a replacement for normal sleep. Only when you’ve gotten to, uh, me, is it normal. Stand up.” Thundercloud nudged Sunny blaze toward his cot. “You can use this as long as you need.”
Sunny Blaze stumbled, dropped into the cot, and was snoring in moments. Thundercloud pulled a blanket over him and left to begin his daily chore of chopping wood.
Thundercloud leaned over a small pile of wood sitting against the backside of the cottage. He sat with an axe at his front hooves, wheezing and his heart racing and he felt light-headed. “Can’t be too much longer,” he whispered to himself.
“You want any help stacking this?” Sunny Blaze said, rounding from the front and startling Thundercloud, who jumped to all four hooves.
Thundercloud coughed several times and said with wide eyes, “It’s only been… what… two hours?”
Sunny Blaze looked into the sky. “Judging from the sun, yeah, I guess. Why?”
“Do you know… how long… it takes me… to recover?” he wheezed.
“No. Are you okay?” Sunny blaze replied. He trotted to the pile of firewood, grabbed pieces with his mouth, and stacked them into a neat section. “Oh, sorry, I guess I should have asked how you wanted them.”
“That’s fine,” Thundercloud rasped as he leaned against a wall.
Sunny Blaze continued stacking wood. Thundercloud, after waiting a few minutes, assisted.
Sunny Blaze broke the silence. “What’s the rest of your day like?” He stacked a log into the pile.
“I Just sit around and read the few books I brought with me. Try to ignore the noises.” He stacked another log.
“I know you said you didn’t ask for my help, but I have some suggestions, If you want. Things that worked for me.”
Thundercloud stacked another log without responding.
Sunny Blaze continued, “It’s just simple stuff.”
Thundercloud stood still for a few moments. “Okay, fine, like what?” he relented.
“When we’re done here, I’ll show you a few things you can do on your own. Simple stuff.”
Within the hour, they finished stacking the wood and returned to the cottage.
Sunny Blaze and Thundercloud sat on the floor facing each other.
“Close your eyes,” thundercloud commanded.
Thundercloud did so.
“Focus on me tapping my hoof. It’s like a metronome. Just breathe.” Sunny Blaze’s metal shoe made a steady, hollow clop… clop… clop… on the wooden floor.
Thundercloud measured his breathing and let the sound enter his ears. Clop… Clop… Clop… He breathed in rhythm with the tapping. The only sounds were that of Sunny Blaze’s hoof and the rustle of the light breeze outside.
A hawk screeched. Thundercloud shot to his hooves and started pacing back and forth, glaring at the ground. “This is never gonna work!” he yelled.
“No, no!” Sunny Blaze exclaimed, opening his eyes to watch Thundercloud’s pacing. “It’s a process. It takes time. Just be patient.”
Thundercloud halted and gathered himself. “Can we start over?” he said through closed eyes.
“You’ll have to calm down first. We might need to wait a day.”
“Can’t we just do it again?”
“No, it doesn’t really work like that.”
Thundercloud sat on his rear hooves, snorted, and laid his ears back.
“Lay down,” Sunny Blaze commanded.
“What?” Thundercloud said while looking away/
“Just do it. And close your eyes. I’m just going to massage your back. I’ve taken some classes.”
“You’ll what?!” Thundercloud rose to his hooves and circled away.
“It’s just a massage. It’s a normal medical treatment and good for muscles.”
Thundercloud hesitated. “I don’t like this.” He dropped to the floor, placing all four limbs underneath himself, and closed his eyes. A hoof pressed between his shoulder blades and began rubbing.
Sunny Blaze explained, “The physical works better sometimes, especially when the mind is messy. Just focus on the sensation and breathe.”
Thundercloud let the stallion rub into his upper back. It wasn’t long before both hooves were pressed into it, kneading muscles. He didn’t protest. Thundercloud’s heart slowed and a warming sensation spread from his shoulder blades across his back. He measured his breathing and held his eyes closed. The sensation of having his muscles manipulated took his mind away from the whirring and grinding noises that had returned.
Sunny Blaze reached his wing joints “This is where we pegasi carry the most tension,” he explained. “Ponies don’t quite seem to understand what physical therapy can do,” he continued, his hooves digging into Thundercloud’s back, “but I saw that Ponyville has two massage parlors, so maybe Earth Ponies have it right over us pegasi. Maybe we’re too light, what with our bird bones and all.” Sunny Blaze repeated his hoof movements and the noises faded, and Thundercloud only felt the warmth of his muscles becoming supple and pliable again. Thundercloud’s consciousness waned and he slipped into a doze.
Thundercloud awoke from his nap. He looked around in a haze, confused at the time of day. Sunny Blaze sat in a corner with his eyes closed and his head hanging. Thundercloud guessed he was asleep.
Feeling pressure on his belly, Thundercloud left the cottage to relieve himself. Upon leaving the cottage, the height of the sun in the sky surprised him. “Must be about 2,” he observed. The haze in his eyes had departed in the few minutes he’d been awake.
In those minutes, no whirring, no grinding, and no screaming had occurred. All he heard were the noises of the forest. He closed his eyes and allowed the sounds of the forest to invade his senses. He relieved himself in a far off bush and returned to the cottage.
When Thundercloud entered, Sunny Blaze was flipping through a book.
“Weren’t you just asleep?” Thundercloud asked.
Sunny blaze flipped a page. “No, just meditating.”
“You knew I left?”
“It’s your house. You can do what you want.” Sunny Blaze flipped a page.
“You didn’t even notice.”
“Yes, I did.”
Thundercloud stood motionless at the threshold of his own home. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” Sunny Blaze lifted a peach to his mouth and took a bite.
“Just, like, notice things.”
Sunny Blaze closed the book and turned his head to Thundercloud. “It’s just another one of those things you learn.”  
Thundercloud walked inside and sat next to Sunny Blaze. “It feels like I’ve gotten a night’s sleep today. Without cider,” Thundercloud explained.
“That’s a good start.”
“Hey, uh, maybe we can try again,” Thundercloud suggested.
“Okay, but remember, I’m not a doctor. I don’t know if I can make everything work.”
“It worked before.”
“Hmm?”
Thundercloud stood and went to look at the “First Day” picture. “Just don’t want to hear it anymore.”
He turned around to face Sunny Blaze. “I know there’s nothing I can do about the factory’s lies, or Her denial and all of that,” he paused, looking at the floor. “But if I could just have a day and a good night’s sleep without the grinding wearing on me” He stopped. “At least much as possible knowing how many kids I…” He dropped onto his haunches. “Not even that! Nothing is right!” he blurted. He hung his head and breathed hard. “It’ll never be right. I’m a monster.”
Sunny Blaze’s front hooves appeared at the floor at his own underneath the unkempt mane hanging around his eyes. “You’re not a monster,” Sunny Blaze said, placing a hoof over Thundercloud’s own. “You worked for monsters, but you aren’t one. If I thought that, I wouldn’t be here. Especially considering what you did to me.”
Thundercloud continued staring at the floor.
“Hey, look at me.” Sunny Blaze raised the same hoof he had been holding and rubbed it.
Thundercloud raised his head. Sunny Blaze’s face was inches from his own.
“Neither of us can bring them back,” Sunny Blaze said, “But you can at least start again and let what’s left of the factory, and Her, know that they won’t get away with it.”
Thundercloud peered from underneath his mane at the hoof that grasped his own. The grip was gentle.
“I can’t let them forget,” Thundercloud whispered.
They let go.
“And you can’t do that if you don’t start with the simple, by practicing a few breathing exercises. Try again,’ Sunny Blaze ordered.
Thundercloud closed his eyes and measured his breathing.
Clop…clop…clop… “Just like a metronome,” Sunny Blaze said.
Sunny Blaze and Thundercloud walked through the Ponyville market together looking at produce, baked goods, fake jewelry, and bad crafts, Thundercloud inspected a dreamcatcher with his hoof. “Are you sure you’d want to catch all your dreams?” He held the craft aloft, giving it a skeptical look.
“If… you can catch… your dreams, you can achieve…” the vendor stuttered.
Thundercloud tossed the dreamcatcher back to the table. “Yeah, well, I can tell you that you don’t want to catch all your dreams. Sometimes they’re nightmares.” The vendor’s mouth hung open in astonishment. They walked away.
“That was rude!” Sunny Blaze scowled at him.
“I know.”
They stopped at a booth headed by a pegasus. She was selling Weather Factory memorabilia, such as cloud pendants and rainbow pins. “I think we should remember them for the good,” she explained without prompting. “After all, they still control the weather.”
Thundercloud flipped his hood off his head and examined the goods. He saw the vendor’s eyes widen in shock. “These all look great,” he said, passing his eyes over the selection, “but is there any getting away from what they did?”
“I mean, I suppose not,” she replied, rubbing a front hoof nervously over the other. “But it helps with the healing. I, I I’m not… I don’t like that we, you know, we pegasi were part of that.” She looked at Sunny Blaze with concern, who shrugged and moved ahead.
Thundercloud peered at two pins, one a simple white cloud with red, blue, and yellow vertical bars superimposed on it, and the other a gray cumulonimbus that resembled his cutie mark. “Can I have these?” he asked.
“Six bits,” she said, her voice quavering, “Seven for three, if you want.”
“Then I’ll take that one,” Thundercloud pointed to another pin that resembled Sunny Blaze’s cutie mark without the stars. They wordlessly completed the sale, and he continued through the market.
Thundercloud caught up to Sunny Blaze in a park on the edge of town. The sun was setting and Sunny Blaze was sitting on the edge of town. Thundercloud handed the pin to Sunny Blaze. “Look, kid, I’m not trying to be weird or anything, but, um, thanks.”
Sunny Blaze took it in his hoof and softly smiled before placing it in a saddlebag. “Stop calling me kid. And this is a nice little town.” he said. “Maybe you should get to know the ponies in it.”
“I’d really rather not.”
“Why?”
“I already told you.”
“I know, but ponies are forgiving.”
The sun sank below the horizon.
Thundercloud took a deep breath and broke the silence, nodding toward the fading twilight, “Does it ever bother you that She does this?”
Sunny Blaze peered at the horizon. “Every day. But what is She gonna do to us now? Nothing, that’s what,” he looked at Thundercloud with a smile, “I lived, you’re alive, and She can’t take that away from us. Let’s just enjoy the damned sunset.”
They sat and watched the twilight fade into darkness  
“She took a lot of it away..,”.  
“I know. I know.”
They hugged.
Screaming and whirring awakened Thundercloud from his sleep. Sunny Blaze was shaking him. “Hey, you okay?” the pony asked, “you were shouting again.”
Thundercloud bolted from his bed and paced around his cabin, wheezing. “How much did I drink?!”
“Nothing,” Sunny Blaze answered.
Thundercloud stopped in the middle of his floor and dropped to his belly. “Don’t let me do that,” he grumbled.
Sunny Blaze lay next to him. “You asked me for this,” he said softly.
“I can’t block it out!” he cried, “Why do you think I drink?”
“Yeah, I know, and I won’t let you.”
Tears welled in Thundercloud’s eyes. “I can’t do this anymore!” He rolled his front legs over his face.
“I can’t either,” Sunny Blaze replied, placing a front leg over the older pony’s shoulders. “I even had a nightmare about you last night.”
“Wait, about me?” Thundercloud whimpered.
“Yeah. They still happen. I was on the line and there you were, staring at me.”
“And you’re still here?”
“I’ve gotten to know you. And I know dreams aren’t real.”
“What was it like?”
“The nightmare?”
Thundercloud nodded.
“Not any different from any others. I’m just running on the belt, and you’re staring at me. I hear the machine behind me. You’re reaching in, and…”
“Just stop!” Thundercloud whimpered; his head still buried beneath his front legs.
Sunny Blaze removed his hoof from Thundercloud’s shoulder. “Let’s go see it.”
“Huh?” Thundercloud sniffled. He removed his front legs from his head, stood up, and shook his head. “How do we do this?”
“First, we head to Cloudsdale and meet my group.”
“Your group? The last ones?” Thundercloud measured his breathing.
“Yeah.”
“They’ll hate me.”
“Sure, they will, but not all of them.”
Thundercloud breathed raggedly. “You sure?”
“Hey,” Sunny Blaze continued, “Ponies are more forgiving than you think.”
Thundercloud scowled. “You keep telling me that, and I don’t believe you.”
Sunny Blaze turned to Thundercloud’s side and wrapped his front leg over Thundercloud’s shoulder. “What did I tell you when I showed up?”
Thundercloud didn’t respond and continued his ragged breathing. He accepted Sunny’s embrace. “Well, do they know about me?”
“I may have said a few things.”
“The Factory might find out.”
“Maybe, but do you care? They pretend they don’t exist anymore anyway.” Sunny Blaze removed his leg from Thundercloud’s shoulders.
“No, no, I don’t care what they know now.” Thundercloud turned to face Sunny Blaze. “Let’s go.” Thundercloud stuffed his piles of cloth into a set of saddle bags, wrapped the saddlebags over his flanks, and lifted off.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                        Begin Again                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Begin Again
The floating city of Cloudsdale loomed ahead of the pair, its pillars and domes of vapor growing larger and more imposing as they neared. Thundercloud wheezed as he gained altitude. They dropped on the threshold of a gate.
Thundercloud dropped his head and then collapsed. “I… Need… To… Get… Into… Shape!” he said, wheezing on the cloud floor.
The gate guard wrinkled her eyebrows. “Is he alright?” she asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Sunny Blaze replied as he nudged Thundercloud with a hoof.
Thundercloud trembled to his hooves.
Sunny Blaze flashed a card and they both entered the floating city.
Thundercloud looked around. “It’s been so long since I was here. I might be the first of…the workers to be here since then.”
Sunny Blaze hopped on a few tufts of clouds and replied, “Yeah, maybe.”
Thundercloud paced himself. “So, what where do we go now?”
“Like I said, I thought you might like to meet our group.”
“You meant it? Like, first thing?” Thundercloud stopped.
Sunny Blaze stood with all four hooves on a small cloud. “Yeah.”
“Why? Couldn’t we tour the city first, or maybe I can just meet your wife, or…”
“None of that. I promised them they’d meet somepony special. We’re going there first.”
Thundercloud snorted. “What? Why didn’t you mention this before?”
Sunny Blaze lowered his snout, “And just where else could we start, after everything I’ve told you?”
“Ugh, Alright, fine,” Thundercloud grumbled.
A breeze dissipated the cloud Sunny Blaze had been standing on, causing him to hop to firmer clouds. “I just want them you know you’re a normal pony. I can’t guarantee everypony’s reaction though.”
They wandered through the streets of the floating city. “It really hasn’t changed much since I left,” Thundercloud remarked as he wondered at the sites.
“That’s kind of a damning statement,” Sunny Blaze replied. “How long did you work there that…”
“Long enough. It’s not like it takes long for the brain to be corrupted after seeing… what I did.”
They walked wordlessly on the streets, other pegasi streaming above them, darting through the sky.
Thundercloud spoke up. “I do miss being among the clouds.” He pulled the hood off of his head and sniffed the air. “The purity of the humidity, the lack of Earth smells. It’s something special.” A small cloud floated nearby. “I love the ground and my cottage, but the sky…” he nudged the cloud with his muzzle and smiled as it changed direction.
“We’re almost there,” Sunny Blaze proclaimed.
A square building nestled in clouds at a street corner revealed itself through haze.
“This is where we meet,” Sunny Blaze said, pointing toward the door.
They entered. After traversing a corridor, they reached a door that Sunny Blaze opened.
“You go in first,” he told Thundercloud.
“Me first?”
“It’s the only way it’ll work.”
Thundercloud did so, and the soft exclamations of a few ponies entered his ears, which he flattened. He walked to the front of the crowd, closed his eyes, and sat on his haunches.
The sound of the door closing followed, and Sunny Blaze’s voice addressed the crowd. “Everypony, this is my friend Thundercloud. He worked there.”
Gasps arose.
“Yeah, I said I’d be bringing somepony back and…”
“I thought you didn’t mean it!”
“FRIEND?!”
The sound of somepony vomiting echoed.
Thundercloud kept his eyes closed as Sunny Blaze continued. “Yes, he’s my friend.”
The crowd murmured amongst itself. Thundercloud kept his head down, but tears began welling in his eyes.
Hoofsteps neared him and stopped. “So, you’re who my dear Sunny has talked about,” said a mare. Thundercloud felt a hoof lifting his chin. He opened his glazed eyes to see a dull yellow mare with the large belly of an obvious pregnancy protruding over her rear legs.
“I have a memory of you, but not anywhere near as clear as Sunny’s” she cradled his chin, sat down, and used her other front hoof to wipe his tears.
Thundercloud choked back tears.
A few other ponies gathered around him.
“He doesn’t look like a factory aide.”
“Why would he?”
“He looks so normal.”
“Of course the factory had normal ponies.”
“STOP!” Thundercloud shouted. He started sobbing.
The crowd backed away.
“I wish I could bring all of them back,” Thundercloud wept, collapsing to the floor. “Every day…”
Thundercloud felt a hoof wrap around his back and another under his neck. The mare’s smooth voice whispered into his ear, “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” he whimpered.
Sunny Blaze’s voice interrupted. “Vapor Puff,” he said, “We should let him go.”
Vapor Puff released her grip.
Containing his sobs, Thundercloud said, “Vapor Puff?”
Sunny Blaze nestled himself against the mare and nuzzled her, who nuzzled him in return.
“My wife,” Sunny Blaze said with his head draped over her neck. “And our foal,” he said grazing her belly with his hoof.
The crowd gathered around Thundercloud, their eyes piercing him. He perked his ears and sat up straight. Clearing his tears, he sniffled and proclaimed, “Yeah, I’m a Rainbow Factory worker. I threw foals into the pegasus device. I know you were all there on the last day. I was too. I hate myself. What more do you want from me?”
Ponies in the crowd had differing reactions. Some fled through the door, one fainted, but most remained. A diminutive stallion approached and sat in front of Thundercloud. “I’m sorry they did this to you,” he said. The stallion then stretched his front legs over Thundercloud’s shoulders and embraced him. “I can’t imagine what that’s like,” the stallion said. The hug continued in silence, with Thundercloud smiling and appreciating the warmth.
“I have something to show you. You won’t like it.” Thundercloud retrieved his smock and mask from his bags and donned them. “This is how you remember me. It’s how I remember me. They called me Mister Dark. We all had fake names,” He sighed and donned the mask. “I guess I wasn’t good enough to earn the title of Doctor.”
“Mr. Dark?” questioned a tepid voice.
“Yeah?”
“What was it like?”
“Like what?” Thundercloud huffed through the mask.
“Just being there.”
“A nightmare you can never be awoken from.”
“Why are you doing this?” Sunny Blaze stepped in front of Thundercloud, bit down on the mask, and ripped it from his face.
“This was your idea,” grumbled Thundercloud, scowling at Sunny Blaze.
“I didn’t tell you to dress up!” Sunny Blaze whispered through his closed teeth, which still gripped the mask.
Thundercloud removed the smock. He grabbed the mask from Sunny Blaze and returned the ensemble to his saddlebags.
A mare approached Thundercloud and sat in front of him. “Can I hold it?”
“What, the disguise?” he replied.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Just because.”
“I guess so.” Thundercloud rummaged through his saddlebags and removed the mask and smock, pushing them toward her with his nose.
Thundercloud watched her knead the mask with her hooves. She looked it over, squinted and pulled it over her head. She grabbed the smock and pulled it over her back, wiggling her body so that her wings protruded from the slots in the sides. “Hah!” she exclaimed, “Looks like I’d fit right in! Wow, this thing is smelly.” She turned to Thundercloud, smirked, and said, “Was clean laundry ever required at the factory?”
Thundercloud didn’t respond, he instead hung his head.
“Ah, whatever,” she finished. “I thought I might get a laugh from you.” She ripped off the disguise and dropped it at his hooves.
Thundercloud bundled the disguise into his saddlebags. He paused after doing so, took a deep breath, and said, “I know you’re all trying to get a laugh to live what it was like being there for one day. But I was there for, I don’t even know how long. I don’t know how many I,” he paused to sniffle. “It’s not the same.. Laugh all you want; it doesn’t bring them back.” His ears drooped, he collapsed to the floor and started sobbing.
The crowd silenced.
Thundercloud felt a pair of hooves under his front legs, lifting him upright. “C’mon, Thundercloud,” her heard Sunny Blaze through say through his tears, “Let’s just get out of here.”
He felt himself lift into the air. To his left was Sunny Blaze and to his right was Vapor Puff. They carried him through Cloudsdale until they arrived at an apartment block. They entered one flat where Thundercloud felt himself being dropped onto a soft surface. The aroma of incense filled his nose and he fell asleep.
Thundercloud found himself reclining on a lounge made of clouds. He pulled some of the vapor into a pillow and wrapped his front legs around it, stuffing his muzzle into the cloud to admire the soft scent of water. He smiled.
The gentle flapping wings and the soft impact of hooves into a cloud surface drew his attention. He raised his head to see Sunny Blaze’s face inches from his. “Agh!” Thundercloud jerked his head back.
“I was just making sure you weren’t dead,” Sunny Blaze said, dropping to his haunches.
“Don’t do that!” Thundercloud growled.
“What, not stare in your face, or ensure you aren’t dead?” Sunny Blaze responded.
Thundercloud remained still.
“That was a joke.”
“Alright, kid, I gotta say, you’ve made some dark jokes,” Thundercloud slid off the couch.
“Like I said,” Sunny Blaze continued.
“Yeah, you told me. Stop it.” Thundercloud looked around at his surroundings. “Is this your place?” The apartment was a simple flat, with a combined kitchen, dining room, and living room, a separate bedroom, and one bathroom, all surrounded by cloud walls on the exterior.
“Yep,” Sunny Blaze replied, “The first place Vapor and me had together. It’s the best we can afford right now with our jobs.”
Thundercloud sat up, his eyes still foggy. “What do you do?”
“I work at the Weather Factory as a rainmaker. The place has given a lot of leniency to former, uh, victims, so to speak. I can come and go whenever.”
“You, you…” Thundercloud sputtered with rage building in his chest.
“We’re paid by the same ponies,” Sunny Blaze declared.
“You knew that?!” Thundercloud pressed his head into Sunny Blaze’s.
They remained still, heads pressed together, and they began snorting at each other and circling.
“Why didn’t you tell me in the first place?!” Thundercloud shouted.
“You, a factory worker? You think you’d believe me?” Sunny Blaze retorted.
“I trusted you! You said you can help me!”
“I can, you just need to stop!”
“Stop!” shouted Vapor Puff.
They continued circling each other, their muzzles fixated together and snorting until Sunny Blaze rose his front hooves and kicked. Thundercloud reared and exchanged blows. They kicked at each other, their hooves flying and gashing their bodies.
Sunny Blaze landed a blow into Thundercloud’s belly, who responded by bucking his head into Sunny Blaze’s chest.
Thundercloud swung his hoof into Sunny Blaze’s left eye, making firm contact.
Sunny Blaze grabbed that leg, used it for leverage, and bit into Thundercloud’s ear, causing Thundercloud to squeal and grapple Sunny Blaze to the ground, biting into his neck while standing over the other stallion.
Sunny Blaze pushed him away and hopped to his hooves.
They turned their backs to each other, rear hooves raised, preparing to buck.
“SUNNY!” shouted Vapor Puff. She flapped her wings, pulled Sunny Blaze away from the scrum, and tackled him to the cloud floor. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing, dear.” Sunny Blaze worked his way from his wife’s grip.
“Yeah, right,” Vapor Puff replied. “You owe me an explanation once you’ve worked this out, or else I’ll kick you in the face.” She left for the bathroom and returned with gauze and bandages.
“You mean you’ve worked for the Factory this whole time?!” Thundercloud snorted.
“No! Only for the weather corporation. I didn’t know they were the same until…” Sunny Blaze paused.
“Until what?’ Thundercloud huffed. He approached Sunny Blaze, narrowing his eyes.
“Until we found the records. I swear!” Sunny Blaze cowered with his ears lowered.
Thundercloud stood still for a moment, then reached out a hoof. Sunny Blaze took it and stood.
“How’d you find the records?” Thundercloud grunted. “For real?”
Sunny Blaze hung his head. “They gave them to us.”
“Who’s “They?””
“The corporation.” Sunny coughed. “You know, you got me good. Better than the first time.”
Vapor Puff scowled. “Don’t joke about that!” She scorned.
Sunny Blaze glared at his wife and mouthed without speaking let us have this.
Thundercloud plopped next to Sunny Blaze. “They gave them to you?”
Sunny Blaze lowered his shoulders. “Look, I lied. Not by much. It’s more that we put two and two together.” Sunny Blaze turned his head. revealing the shiner on his left eye that was growing darker. “Nopony had ever tried this before, at least I don’t think.”
“They want somepony to know, don’t they?” Thundercloud said as Vapor Puff wrapped gauze around his ear.
“I already said that,” Sunny Blaze replied.
“Yeah, but doesn’t that make it clear now? The reason for this?”
“I don’t know.”
“She’s trying to destroy every last remnant of the factory, without anypony noticing. Not just the machines, but us too. Make it an urban legend.”
Sunny Blaze turned. “So that nopony would ever believe it in the first place!”
Thundercloud nodded. “And they’ve probably been dismantling it, piece by piece, so slow that nopony even notices. How close have you been to it?”
Sunny Blaze shaked his head. “I’ve seen the front doors. They aren’t really guarded. I know a few ponies who’ve gone past them, but that’s as far anypony wants to go.”
“So, it could be completely destroyed by now, couldn’t it?” Thundercloud concluded.
Sunny Blaze’s mouth dropped open. “She could have destroyed it, right under our noses, this whole time!”
“You don’t think She could be The Princess for so long without learning a few things about subterfuge and deception?”
Sunny Blaze closed his eyes. “I’m so naïve. They led me right into this.”
“Yeah, well, I bet She wasn’t expecting a victim to make friends with a worker.”
Vapor Puff sat in front of them. “I just cannot believe you two. Grownups acting like this.” She looked into Sunny Blaze’s blackened eye. “We don’t have any ice packs. You’re on your own with that one.” She kissed him on the cheek. She turned again to face Thundercloud. “Anything like this again and you’re out on your tail. I agreed that you can be a guest, but that’s limited. You’re on thin ice. Got it?”
Thundercloud nodded; his eyes wrinkled into a worried look.
“Good. Now be quiet.” She walked into the bedroom. Sunny Blaze lay on the floor. He pulled a book from an end table and opened it.
Thundercloud peered at Sunny Blaze. “You’re not going to follow her?”
“No. She’s close, and sometimes just wants me to stay away from her. Not always of course,” he smirked. “Maybe tomorrow. though.”
“Oh, ha, okay!” Thundercloud lumbered to the futon. “Do you have any of those records here?”
“I was hoping you’d ask.” Sunny Blaze opened a closet door and removed a safe. He turned the lock until the safe opened. He pulled out a banker’s box, set it on the table, and lifted the lid. Folders stuffed the box.
“You said you only found a few.”
“That is just a few, for as long as it’s rumored to have operated.” Sunny Blaze pulled one file out and set it on the table. All it had was a number. “Open it.”
Thundercloud did, and the first image was of his own shrouded face, though much younger. In the photo, he stared straight ahead with no expression. Next to his profile were the words THUNDERCLOUD/MISTER DARK. He closed the file.
“You can look through the rest.”
Thundercloud did. Even though everypony wore a disguise, he could still tell by the eyes who was who. And sometimes more than that stood out, such as when a pony had a distinctive mane that couldn’t be completely covered. As he nosed through them, he saw the photograph of somepony familiar. She had a white coat and golden mane that couldn’t be completely covered. He recognized her only as Doctor Rush. Next to her photo was the name “Surprise.” “So, you have a name now.” He smiled.
“I’ve gone back and forth through these a lot,” Sunny Blaze explained. “I feel like I know each one of them. Is that somepony important?” Sunny Blaze asked.
“Not to all of Equestria, but to me she is. She was my supervisor. And I guess the engineer, which I never even knew.”
“Anything else?”
“No, put it away. I’m tired.”
Sunny Blaze returned the box to the safe and shut the closet. He walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
Thundercloud dropped onto the futon, piled clouds around his head, and fell asleep.
Thundercloud was awakened by a loud knocking at the front door of the apartment. He looked through the main room and saw nopony. “I guess I’m the I’m the doorman.” he grumbled.
Thundercloud dragged himself from the futon and opened the door. A Canterlot Royal Guard pegasus mare stood upright in front of him, her metal helmet almost sliding from her head and her uniform ill-fitting her.
Thundercloud glared at her. “What now?” he quipped.
“The Princess says you’re cut off,” she declared standing straight.
“What in Tartarus does that mean?” Thundercloud grumbled.
“Um, cut off.” She maintained her composure.
“Can you explain that?” Thundercloud said, pressing forward.
She pushed her helmet from her eyes and her wings fluttered. She replied, “You’re no longer being paid. That’s all they told me. I, I don’t even know what it means.”
Thundercloud looked her in the eyes “Thanks.” He turned his eyes to the floor. “Just go away.”
The guard pony flapped away.
Thundercloud dug through his belongings and found a jug of cider. “That’s why I brought you, sweetie.” He smiled and lifted the jug to his lips.
“You got fired?!” exclaimed Sunny Blaze, a front hoof wrapped around Thunderclound.
“Yeah,” Thundercloud replied through closed eyes, his head throbbing.
“From the Factory?!”
“Yeah.” Thundercloud buried clouds around his head/
“How?”
Thundercloud opened and his eyes and sneered at Sunny Blaze, “I guess they care after all.”
He rolled onto his back. “Go even a little open, and poof.” He made an exaggerated spreading motion with his front hooves, spreading vapor across the flat.
Sunny Blaze folded his legs underneath him and sat next to Thundercloud. “Now what?”
“Honest work, I guess. Something I haven’t had since I was hired at the weather factory, and before the Rainbows.”
Thundercloud rolled over to his belly and laid his head on the ground, his eyes still closed. “Imagine the interviews” he slurred,”. Oh, I see you worked at the Rainbow Factory,” he sneered. Yeah I was very efficient, no foals got in my way. They all made it into the machine, except one.” He folded his legs underneath himself. “Guess I have to give up my cottage now.”
“This might sound crass,” Sunny Blaze paused, “but you might be able to get your old job back.”
“You mean the Rainbow Fa…”
“No,” he scoffed, “I mean whatever you did before.”  
“I was a cloudshaper. I’m too old and slow for that now. And they don’t want us around. They told us that when they said goodbye.”
“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Sunny Blazed replied.
Thundercloud felt Sunny Blaze’s front leg rest over his back. “I know it sounds crazy,” Sunny Blaze said, “but what if you were open about it? Like, you talked to ponies about it?”
“What, tell all of Cloudsdale I worked there?”
“All of Equestria. Everypony just wants to forget, and She’s making sure that happens. There’s never been any justice for it. Hay, the rest of Equestria wasn’t all that surprised. Yeah, that sounds like the Pegasi race was their response,” he sneered. “I find that pretty offensive.”
Thundercloud kept his head on the floor. “And then what?”
“I have no idea.”
Sunny Blaze and Vapor Puff walked side by side, each having one wing draped over the other, with Thundercloud trailing just behind them, on Cloudsdale’s main thoroughfare. Thundercloud looked around, seeing stalls with signs advertising everything from “exotic Earth pony food” to “unicorn magic powder.”
Sunny Blaze and Vapor Puff stopped at a stall selling popcorn. Thundercloud separated from them and wandered through the street. He came across a stall selling bricks of hay. The sign hanging above the window proclaimed that the hay was imported from various Earth pony farms and was of the best quality. Below that was a “Help Wanted” sign. Thundercloud stopped in front of the stall. “Is it really from the best farms?”
A short and scrawny teenage stallion managing the counter answered, his wings opening in surprise, “I don’t know. That’s just what my mom tells me.”
A mare with yellow fur and a green mane and tail appeared with her wings spread open and head hung low in a show of aggression. “You questioning my kid? My business?”
Thundercloud backed away with his ears lowered. “Uh, no. I just wanted to know.”
“Unless you plan on buying stuff or gettin’ the job, you best leave.” She folded her wings.
Thundercloud paused to take a few breaths. “Uh, yeah, I wanna know about the job.”
The mare squinted. “Okay. Can you lift heavy loads?”
Thundercloud remembered the machine. “Yeah.”
“Any problems starting now?”
“Uh, no, not really…” he stammered.
“Good. I need a bunch of hay bricks unloaded from the stores, and I’m too busy with paperwork.” The mare turned around and walked away.
“You’re just gonna hire sight unseen?” replied Thundercloud.
The mare stopped and replied without turning. “This town had the Factory. I figure I can’t get anypony worse.”
“Uh, sure.” Thundercloud sputtered.
“Follow me,” the mare continued.
She led Thundercloud to a storage area behind the tent. “Make sure the front stays stocked. My colt takes care of the sales, and he’s pretty good. We close at six, like the rest. You got a few hours. I’ll make sure you have your bits by the end.”
“Got it. So, uh, what’s your name?” Thundercloud asked.
The pony was in the process of opening a storage door. “Oh, yeah. Sorry, I get caught up in business. Lightning Blitz.” She extended a front hoof.
“Thundercloud,” he answered, returning the gesture.
“My son there is Blazer. Just get on loading this stuff to the front.”
Thundercloud pulled brick after brick of “Genuine Earth Pony Hay” to the front, which disappeared as quickly as he could bring it. He rushed back and forth for hours, working his legs and wings to their limits.
“Six more!” cried the young stallion. Thundercloud raced to storage.
“Anything you can get,” the colt requested.
“We’re almost out,” Thundercloud shouted.
With each request Thundercloud grew more exhausted.
Just as the sun was setting the market closed and Thundercloud dropped to the floor.
Blazer stood over him. “Are you okay?” he squeaked.
“Just… need… a… minute,” Thundercloud wheezed.
“Looks like you need a lot more than one.”
A bag of coins dropped at Thundercloud’s front hooves.
He looked up at Lightning Blitz, who was squinting in exhaustion.
Lightning Blitz peered at him. “You worked like crazy today. It’s like you’ve worked an assembly line before.”
Thundercloud trembled and rose to his hooves. “Yeah, I kinda did, a long time ago,” he quavered. He grabbed the bag with his teeth and tossed it into a saddle bag. “What time should I be here tomorrow?”
“Ten. When the market opens. Like everypony else.”
Thundercloud flew through the clouds of the city. The orange of the twilight permeated everything. Banks of clouds floated through the air, being one of the few areas the weather patrol didn’t regulate. He burst through several clouds, letting the moisture permeate his fur and feathers, taking in the scent.
He found the block where Sunny Blaze’s and Vapor Puff’s flat was located. The last of the daylight was fading. He tapped on the door. No answer came. He rapped louder. He heard whispers from the other side.
The door opened. Sunny Blaze stood at the threshold. “We wondered when you’d be back.” His mane was disheveled.
“You okay?” Thundercloud asked. He looked past Sunny Blaze and through the door to see Vapor Puff sleeping on the futon.
“I’m just fine.”
Thundercloud pulled the bag of bits from his saddlebag. “I got a job today!” He poured some coins out. “I guess you can consider this rent.”
Sunny Blaze stared at the pile. “Great. We’re headed to bed now.” He picked up the bag and dropped it on the kitchen counter.
Sunny Blaze nuzzled Vapor Puff awake. She stood from the futon, and they walked side by side into their bedroom, nuzzling each other the whole time.
Thundercloud blushed, realizing what he’d walked into.
Thundercloud laid on the futon and pressed a pillow over his head. He fell asleep.
The whirring and scraping sounds were distant, but the sizzling of pancakes were near. The rich smell of frying dough awakened Thundercloud. He rose from the futon and walked into the kitchen. Sunny Blaze was standing over a skillet, his mouth holding a spatula. One pancake sizzled in the pan. He flipped it.
Sunny Blaze laid the spatula on a plate next to the stovetop. He took a deep breath. “look, last night,”
“Don’t apologize,” Thundercloud said.
“It’s not weird?” Sunny Blaze stared at the pancake.
“No. Well, yes, but, no. I invaded your space. I don’t know what else I expected. You’re both young.”
Sunny Blaze smiled. “Yeah sorry. It happens. We were in a mood.”
Thundercloud blushed and smirked, turning his face away from Sunny Blaze.
Sunny Blaze flipped the pancake again and dropped the spatula on a cloth. “These are all yours if you want. Vapor won’t be awake for a while. I’ll probably be making her lunch instead. She’s really close. The foal is coming any day now.”
“Wait,” Thundercloud turned and squinted at Sunny Blaze, “you’re…”
Sunny Blaze glowered at him. “Don’t even finish that sentence, that’s none of your business,” he turned back to the skillet, “and if she wants it, and I’m not saying no.”
Thundercloud stifled a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Sunny Blaze replied after flipping a pancake.
“You kinda made it my business. You invited me to stay. I remember being that young. I had marefriends, until the factory made me…”
“No, no, you’re right,” Sunny Blaze said, moving the food to a plate piled full of pancakes. He turned and frowned. “Wait, what’d they ask?”
Thundercloud lowered his head. “The factory, when it grabbed us, wanted ponies without relationships and families. Nopony we could talk to. Since we couldn’t leave anyway.”
“Why?”
Thundercloud dropped his head further and lowered his ears. “Because nopony would miss us.”
Sunny Blaze dropped his eyebrows as he flipped another pancake. He left the spatula at the stove and turned “That’s really sad. Somepony would. Miss you, I mean.” He wrapped his front leg over Thundercloud.
Thundercloud wriggled away and replied, “Maybe. That’s why it unraveled. A lot of ponies would have missed us.”
“But they wouldn’t have missed us?” Sunny Blaze said. He grabbed the plate of pancakes with his teeth and carried them to the table.
“They spent a thousand years not missing their children, in that Glorious Collective,” Thundercloud rolled his eyes. his stomach growled. He gathered the pancakes onto a plate and wandered to the center table where Sunny Blaze was eating his one pancake. He scarfed his own pancakes.
After he finished, he said, “Those days are over,” casting his eyes to the ground and folding his ears.
“You domn’t need ampologize to phme,” Sunny Blaze muffled with a mouth full of pancakes. He swallowed and continued, “Apologize to all the others…”
“Yeah, I got it, Sunny. You don’t need to explain it.” Thundercloud interrupted.
Sunny Blaze continued, “Anyway, you said you found a job.”
Thundercloud lifted his head from the pile of pancakes. “At the market. I move so-called special bricks of Earth Pony hay. I don’t know what’s so special about it, but the labor felt great for a while.”
“I’m glad you found work, but you smell like a stable.”
Thundercloud glared at Sunny Blaze.
“Well, you do. You’re the one who told me you bathe in a pond.”
Thundercloud continued glaring at him.
Sunny Blaze peered at him. “Take a real shower. I have everything you need. Hey, take as long as you want. I won’t tell Vapor.”
Thundercloud gobbled the remnants of his breakfast and took up Sunny Blaze on his offer.
Upon entering the bathroom, Thundercloud could see that it wasn’t anything more than normal. A toilet was squeezed between a sink and a shower. “Better than a pond.”
There were two knobs in the shower. He played around with them. As he adjusted the knobs with his mouth, the water scalded and chilled him until he achieved the right temperature. He pressed his head into the stream. The warmth was perfect, and he smiled. He stretched and relaxed his wings inside the wide stall, letting the water soak every inch of his feathers.
He spied a loofah on a stick hanging from a hook. He grabbed it and washed every part of himself that he couldn’t with his mouth alone. When he was done, he stood in the stream of hot water, letting it soak through his fur and into his skin. Only when the water cooled did he shut off the flow and step out.
Thundercloud dried off, exited the bathroom, and meandered to the living room. Despite it being the morning, he fell asleep.
Sunny, he can’t stay here forever.
I know, but he’s the one who tossed me…
Yeah, and how long can that kind of relationship last?
The factory just fired him, and he found a new job, and…
Thundercloud jumped from the futon, surprised by the voices. “What time is it?! He stood with his wings extended, huffing.
“Almost 10,” Sunny blaze said.
“Oh no! No, no!” Thundercloud rustled his wings, shot through the front door and into the sky.
Darting through clouds and around other pegasi in the air, he landed at the stall three minutes after ten in front of Lighting Blitz. “I’m late…. Sorry…. I overslept,” he wheezed.
“Late? I didn’t expect you see you again.”
“Huh?” Thundercloud huffed.
“Older guy who is clearly working for a day’s cider money. It happens way too much. I tell ya, this town is falling apart since the Factory…”
“Hey, now stop it,” Thundercloud said, scowling.
“Hey, hey, okay,” Lightning Blitz retorted with her front hooves pushing back in protest. “You showed up. That’s good enough.” Lightning Blitz sat down, “We don’t usually see traffic for another hour anyway. Chill out and sit up front with Blazer until then.” Lightning Blitz departed to wander through the crowd.
Thundercloud plodded forward and plopped on his hindquarters next to Blazer, who was lying down dozing, his eyes shut and snoring.
Thundercloud nudged him. “You know, you probably don’t want your mom to catch you falling asleep on the job.”
Blazer shot to his hooves with his eyes widened. “I’m awake! I’m awake!”
“Calm down, you goofy colt,” Thundercloud said.
Blazer sat on his haunches. “Oh, yeah. The new guy. Aren’t you too old to be working here?”
Thundercloud jerked his head around and squinted. “Too old?”
“You’re, like, older than my mom.”
“I don’t think I am, and what’s that got to do with anything? I did just fine yesterday.”
“You looked like you were going to die at the end of the day. And shouldn’t you be in the Wonderbolts or on Weather Patrol, or something?”
Thundercloud took a deep breath. “Wonderbolts. I wish. I used to have a job that was considered special. That stopped. Now I’m just wandering around.”
Blazer leaned back and chuckled. “What, like, the Rainbow Factory?”
Thundercloud stiffened.
“Wait, hold on. I was joking.”
Thundercloud remained silent.
“Hold up. Did you?” Blazer said, the color draining from his face.
Thundercloud stiffened and stared forward “Until two days ago.”
Blazer hurried to pull himself into a corner, curled into a ball, and a look of terror formed on his face. “What, are you like, a spy?” he huffed.
“What?”
“I failed the exam…” Blazer curled into a ball, tucked his head into his chest, and stared straight ahead.
Thundercloud remained sitting with his eyes downcast and his ears dropped. “That doesn’t happen anymore.” He stood and approached Blazer, placing his hoof on the trembling teenager’s shoulder. “That doesn’t happen anymore.”
The colt unraveled himself and opened his wet eyes. “I’ve just heard, I’ve heard stories, and…”
Thundercloud reached a hoof under Blazer’s chin and lifted him to his feet. “And it’s true. But you’ve clearly heard too many scare stories about how we’re out here, just waiting, hungry again.”
“Did you do it?” Blazer trembled. “Make rainbows?”
Thundercloud sighed and delayed. “Yes.”
Blazer froze, his eyes widened, and his face drained of color. “I’d have been one.”
Thundercloud hesitated, lowered his head, placed his hooves on the ground, and said, “Probably. That was the rules. There were exceptions, but yeah.” He lifted his head to look at Blazer. “It just hasn’t been that way for a long time. And it’s never happening again,”
Blazer kept cowering.
Thundercloud stared at the teenager. “I won’t hurt you. I don’t do that. Not anymore.”
“I don’t believe you,” the young stallion sobbed.
“There’s not a machine around here. It’s not like I could do anything if I wanted.”
Blazer uncurled himself. “But you did,” he whimpered.
Thundercloud dropped to haunches next to the teenager, “I wouldn’t now if I could. I hated every second of it.” Tears welled in his eyes.
Blazer lifted his head and looked into Thundercloud’s eyes.
Thundercloud sniffled back tears. “I’m just trying to get away from it.” He plopped to his haunches.
A banging on the front swinging door surprised them, causing them both to jump. “Open up!” somepony shouted from outside the closed stall door. Blazer shot to all four hooves, his eyes widened and wings spread wide open in surprise.
Thundercloud stood, grabbed Blazer with one hoof, and shoved him to the counter. “You should get to work,” Thundercloud said.
Blazer threw open the rolling metal stall door, revealing a gathered crowd, grumbling about not having their hay. Thundercloud placed his muzzle near Blazer’s ear. “Now there’s a whole other hungry machine you need to feed.”
Thundercloud spent his first full day trotting back and forth between storage and the front counter. In the brief moments he could observe the front counter, he watched Blazer handling transactions.
“No, ma’am, you ordered two, not three.”
“No, I haven’t forgotten your change, it’s right there.”
“Yes, thank you for the tip.”
“Yes, I heard you; two from Appleoosa and one from Ponyville.”
“You’re first, you’re second. Get in order. Don’t argue with me.”
“If you fight, neither gets hay.”
“Yes, and you are lovely as well.”
“Yes, you’re also cute.”
Blazer slammed the scrolling stall door shut. “What a crappy day!” he shouted, slamming a hoof into the cloud floor, “Customers stink!”
“You did pretty well,” Thundercloud rubbed the colt’s ear.
“Thanks,” Blazer trembled. “I don’t like this. They do it every day!” Tears formed in his eyes.
Thundercloud wrapped a front leg over Blazer’s back. “You’re really smart. You’ll be fine.”
Blazer softened under Thundercloud’s embrace. “You said you only worked for them until two days ago. Does that mean it still exists?”
Thundercloud delayed his response, taking a few breaths. “In name only. The machine was destroyed. It’s not… It’s not making rainbows ever again. We’ve been paid to stay silent and hidden.”
“Then why you work here at my mom’s stall?”
Thundercloud looked down and smirked. “I got fired.”
Blazer lifted his eyes. “Fired? From the Rainbow Factory?”
Thundercloud pulled himself away and sat up. “After the destruction, we weren’t allowed to have friends, or get involved with anypony else. I decided to do all of that. So, I got fired. Best decision I ever made.”
Blazer stood up and opposite him in the stall. “Who decided how that works?”
Thundercloud looked down at the scrawny young stallion. “You mean that we couldn’t have friends?”
Blazer nodded.
“Who do you think? Who kept the secret of the machine? Which pony has denied knowledge?” He stood and looked outside the back door toward the lowering Sun.
Blazer followed Thundercloud’s gaze. “No, no, that sucks.”
“But it makes sense.”
Blazer hung his head and dropped his ears. “Yeah, it does.”
Thundercloud grazed the young stallion’s front leg with his hoof. “it’s terrible, but you’re smart enough to handle this.”
Blazer stared ahead. “I don’t even know…”
Thundercloud rubbed a front hoof over Blazer’s back. “Look, I’ve seen, I’ve seen,” he huffed, “a lot of bad things. But I watched something good today.”
Blazer continued sniffling.
“I need this job, and you’re a good kid, and your mom seems pretty honest, and you don’t need this on you.”
“Wouldn’t I be lying if I said I didn’t know what you did?”
“Only if she asks.”
“She will some time.”
“That’s my problem.” Thundercloud spread his wings to lift into the sky.
“What was it like?” Blazer asked.
Thundercloud folded his wings. “What?”
“When you,” He looked away, his eyes downcast. “You fed the machine.”
Thundercloud turned, wrapping his front legs around the colt and burying his head into the colt’s back, “It’s the worst. It’s something I wish I could forget.” Thundercloud sniffled. He released his grip.
Blazer’s eyes dripped tears, “Would I have made a good rainbow?”
“What?!” Thundercloud scoffed.
Blazer pulled away and lay down. “It’s just, ever since I failed, I wondered, and somepony can answer it now.”
Thundercloud turned and sat next to him. “There was never a good rainbow.”
Blazer breathed raggedly. “I just think about it.”
“Don’t do that. Trust me.” Thundercloud stood. “I still see… I see all of them when I’m asleep.”
Blazer stood, his ears still drooping and his eyes tearing. “I’m sorry.”  
Thundercloud lifted the colt’s chin with his hoof. “Don’t apologize. You’re the best rainbow ever.” He hugged the colt. “Because you’re the rainbow that didn’t happen.”
Blitzer arose and composed himself, folding and unfolding his wings a few times, shaking his head, and clearing the tears from his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cry.”
“It’s okay,” Thundercloud replied.
The rustling of canvas interrupted the moment, and Lightning Blitz burst from the tent in the back that served as an office, her wings open. “This is the best business we’ve done in two years! Thundercloud, you’re great!”
Thundercloud scuttled backward in surprise. “Uh, thank you, Ms. Blitz.”
“Lightning, just Lightning,” the mare snorted. “You must have spent a lot of time with my boy. Shame he can’t ever be a weather pony.”
“Shutup, mom!” Blitzer blushed.
“Uh, yeah, he’s a good kid,” Thundercloud replied. “He runs this place like a champ. He’ll be just fine, um, running this place.”
“Yeah, he will,” Lightning blitz approached Thundercloud and stretched one wing around him., burying her muzzle into his.
“Eww, mom!” Blazer retorted.
She removed her wing from Thundercloud and backed away. “I hope I’ll see you here tomorrow.”
“Well, I’m headed home,” Thundercloud said, flustered, “See ya tomorrow.” He spread his wings and jumped into the sky.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                          Renewel                          
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Renewel
That evening, Thundercloud, Sunny Blaze, and Vapor Puff sat together at the table. “Here’s the terms for you staying here,” Vapor Puff explained. “One: keep the job and pay your share of utilities. And clean up after yourself, though I wouldn’t think I’d have to tell you that. You don’t have your own food right now, so you can have some of ours. But you better start buying your own.”
Thundercloud nodded.
Sunny Blaze continued, “Two: start therapy. The real kind. I can’t do everything you need. And I’m not a masseuse.
“Three,” Vapor Puff said, “You have to eventually meet with our little group again, even if it’s just once. To show them you are who you say you are.”
Sunny Blaze finished, “Four: no drinking, none at all, of any kind. It’s not because we don’t trust you, or that I have anything against it, but because I don’t want that around the baby. Once you move out, then I don’t care what you do.”
Thundercloud nodded. “Deal.”
Sunny stood and approached a drawer next to the sink. He picked up something with his teeth that Thundercloud couldn’t see. When Sunny turned around, he could see that it was a business card. Sunny dropped it on the table. “She’s a psychotherapist. I didn’t work with her, but Vapor and others from our group who did.”
Vapor Puff nodded in agreement. “I’d be terrified of having this baby if it weren’t for her.”
Thundercloud stared at the card. “I can’t afford this. Maybe if I was still making Factory money, but not…”
Sunny Blaze interrupted him. “I already told her who you are. She’s not afraid of anypony. She’ll work with you.”
“I don’t even know when I’ll have the time. The market’s open six days a week.”
Vapor Puff leaned forward. “Then I guess you’ll have to get to her office early.” She left the table and went into the bedroom.
Once she was gone and the door closed, Sunny Blaze went to a cabinet and pulled out a box. He dropped it on the table and opened a set of leaves, revealing a chessboard. “I want you to try and teach me again.” He set up the board and they began playing.
Thundercloud woke up the next morning before She had risen the sun. He gathered his bags, put on his cloak, and took up Vapor Puff on her offer of sharing food by taking one granola bar from the pantry. He gently opened the front door and pulled it closed behind him, ensuring the snapping of the latch was as quiet as possible.
Thundercloud couldn’t help but notice how quiet Cloudsdale was quiet before sunrise. He remembered from his early days in the weather factory that Canterlot required most weather changes to occur during the day. Far off in the distance, as he flew high over the city, he could see the Weather Factory, and the part that remained unchanged, and remembered that all of the secret operations happened at night, and why. He glared at the area where he knew the factory stood. “You can’t ever have me,” he muttered to himself.
Thundercloud reached the address on the card just as the sun was rising above the mountains in the distance. Before he could even knock, the door opened, surprising him.
An older mare with a golden mane and brown coat stood in the doorway. She wore a sweater vest and a necklace. “Thundercloud, I take It?” she asked.
“Uh, how did you know that?”
“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know who told me. Or can I call you Mister Dark?” I’m Dr. Brightwing. But don’t call me Doctor.
Thundercloud felt queasy and he his sight darkened into tunnel vision. He started to sway.
“Whoa hey,” the mare said as she reached out a hoof to stabilize him. “Not a great start. Get in here.” She turned around and Thundercloud followed, closing the door behind him.
She led him past an empty reception desk to a room in the back with two lounge chairs, a water fountain, a small oil lamp, a clock that revealed the time was nearing 7 AM, and a small window at head height that looked over the ground far below.
“I’m here early just for you. My receptionist usually opens and has everything ready, but Vapor and Sunny let me know of your schedule, so I took it upon myself to get everything ready for you. So, you better be a good client and receptive patient. I’ve never met a former, ah Worker, before. Let alone worked with one.”
“This is a lot to take in all at once,” Thundercloud growled from under his hood.
Brightwing stamped her hoof in front of him. “Okay, first of all, cut this act.” She swept a hoof toward his head and yanked the hood from it. “I’m not sympathetic to it at all. I don’t know if you think this is how it works.” She gestured for him to sit on one of the lounges.
“And second, don’t expect me to accept any sob stories. This is actual treatment, not a cry-session, though I can’t help it if tears are shed at some point. Understand?”
Thundercloud jumped onto one of the lounges and sat on all fours. Brightwing did the same onto the other lounge.
“Okay, we start with you telling me your life story.”
“Oh, just that?” Thundercloud sneered.
“Don’t get smart with me. This is how we have to draw out everything else.”
Thundercloud started with his childhood and how he’d finished the race ahead of almost everypony else, but with his friends. He told how he excelled in high school and was accepted into the weather factory right away, and then his acceptance into the Rainbow Factory and how those years were a blur.
“The day of the mob was the most terrifying day of my life. I thought they were going to start feeding every one of us into it. If they did, then deep down, we knew we all deserved it.”
He laid out the repetition of the years after that until Sunny visited him.
“And that’s where I am now.”
Thundercloud watched the change in her body language. Brightwing shifted her front legs, and her breathing was shallow. She lifted from the lounge with a few beats of her wings, settled next to a table, and lit incense in a bowl. A lavender scent drifted through the air. She alighted back on the lounge and settled on all four legs again. “That’s certainly something. I’m not sure even I was prepared for that.”
“What, you’ve never spoken with somepony who’s killed before?”
“I have, in fact. No details; doctor – patient confidentiality, of course. But the scale…”
“I know,” Thundercloud replied. “I can’t get through a day without hearing the sounds, seeing the colors. The sound of a foal crying is, it’s just terrifying. What I did. I can’t,” he placed his hooves over his head and closed his eyes. There was no darkness, just Spectra.
“First of all, you’re not here for me to punish you for your… deeds. I knew what I was getting into.”
“I deserve punishment. I’m a monster.”
“Maybe you deserve punishment. That’s a judgment up to other ponies. But you’re not a monster. That’s somepony else’s problem.”
He removed his legs from his head and opened his eyes. “No.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“The deeds make the pony.”
“Perhaps. But you never would have done it outside of the Factory, would you?”
“I never did before I was there. I just enjoyed making the weather and being with my friends.”
“Then you’re not a monster, are you? You did what you had to?”
Thundercloud sat up and slammed his front hoof into the lounge, shaking the whole room. “I didn’t have to!” he shouted. “Just following orders. I know the excuse.”
Brightwing lifted from the lounge and hovered in the air on her wings over him, glaring, causing him to cower and flatten his ears. “Do you really believe you’re the only pony who’s ever done something they were forced into doing? Even killing, or murder? The first one I’ve talked to even?” She settled back on her lounge. “We’re frail creatures, prone to suggestion when pressured. You believed it the right thing at the time.”
Thundercloud lay down again. “You’re trying to justify what I did?”
“No, I’m explaining it.”
“I thought I was here to get better.”
“Get better from what? The psychological damage? It doesn’t work like that.” Brightwing left the lounge and lit more incense in the bowl. This time lavender was added to the other scents. “I guess it wasn’t strong enough.” She returned to the lounge again. “Look, you tell yourself you’re a monster, that you can’t ever make up for your deeds, and blah, blah. That’s all an excuse to wallow in self-pity. And what did I tell you when you got here?”
Thundercloud didn’t answer. He stiffened in his seat.
“That’s what I thought,” she retorted. You know that none of what you tell yourself is true. Maybe you’ll receive some kind of punishment from Cloudsdale, but you won’t here. Now relax.” She inhaled, some of the incense smoke entering her nose.
Thundercloud did the same, expecting a burning sensation, but it was instead a silky and gentle feeling. He closed his eyes.
He heard Brightwing release her breath in a slow and steady manner. He did the same.
She repeated the exercise, and Thundercloud copied her. “You’ve done some of this before, haven’t you?”
Thundercloud took another breath. “Yeah,”
“Good, good. Just keep going.”
Thundercloud kept his breathing measured and repeated the exercise while keeping his eyes closed. Every time Brightwing exhaled, he did the same. It became automatic, to the point that he fell into a trance. He felt separated from his own body, as though somepony else were doing his breathing for him. “I’m dreaming,” he thought. He sensed as though he could leave his body and peer over himself and Brightwing. He heard the ticking clock on the wall, the crackling of the incense, the trickling water fountain, and the light breeze by the window. He felt the air currents drift around him, his own heartbeat, and even the wrangling of his gut as it digested the granola bar. Without opening his eyes, he knew everything happening in the room.
Her voice jolted him back to reality and his eyes shot open. “What did you feel?”
“It’s like I left my body. I could sense the whole room.”
She smiled. “That’s meditation.”
Thundercloud’s jaw hung open. “That’s how he did it,” he whispered.
“Who did what?”
“Sunny. He told me how he meditated. I didn’t believe him.”
“And what was it like?”
He sniffed back a tear. “He helped me a few times to get the, the images out of my head. But I could never get it right. I got it right this time.”
Brightwing leapt from her lounge and approached a small cabinet. Shew opened a drawer and pulled a few scraps of paper from it with her wing. She dropped them on Thundercloud’s lounge in front of his muzzle. “Coupons, for incense. I’m not associated with them, I promise. I just think they have the best stuff in town.”
He crawled from the lounge and shuffled the coupons into a bag he’d left on the floor. He looked over at the clock and was surprised to see the time was past 9 AM. “It went by so fast!”
“It always does when it goes well.” Brightwing walked past him, opened the door, and walked out. He followed her past the receptionist desk that was now staffed by an old stallion, who was wearing glasses and reading a book. He looked up from the book, grunted a “good morning” and returned his eyes to the pages.
Brightwing and Thundercloud stood at the doorway, which she opened. “I expect to see you here tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow?”
“I’ll decide when you can stop visiting.”
“Um, okay. That’s not…”
“I’m not letting you give up. Sunny knows to you goad into coming anyway.”
“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hopped out the door, spread his wings, and shot away.
Thundercloud, Vapor Puff, and Sunny Blaze sat circling the kitchen table.
“It’s been a month since our agreement,” Vapor Puff said. “What now?”
Thundercloud faced them. “I’ve got enough money. I can move into a flat here in Cloudsdale. I’ll look during what free time I have. All I need is a day to get what I left in my cottage. It’s not much. I’ll work that time out with Lightning Blitz. Deal?”
“Yes,” Vapor Puff said. “Except for the flat. I know somepony who has one open, and it’s a decent place. I just heard yesterday. Not quite this,” she lifted a hoof and waved it around, “but not that cottage on the ground.”
“I’ll show it to you later today,” Sunny Blaze offered.
“Thanks. Thanks for everything,” Thundercloud felt weak in his chest.
Sunny Blaze wrapped him in a hug. “No, thank you for everything.”
Sunny Blaze did as he offered and took him to the flat. It was a short flight away, and lower in the city, but still in a good spot. They landed at the threshold. Sunny Blaze knocked. The door opened, revealing a mare wearing a suitcoat and tie. “Hi, Vapey!” she squealed. They hugged. “Is this the guy?”
“Yeah. Thundercloud, this is my sister, Star Kicker.”
“Just call me Starry. Let me show you around.” She beckoned them in and shut the door. “It’s a studio, so it’s small, but has everything you need.”
Thundercloud walked around. The one room functioned as everything except for the bathroom. He found the one door that it must be and peeked in, showing a small shower stall, sink, and toilet.
He returned to Starry. “What do you think?” she asked.
“Heating and cooling? Water?”
“This is Cloudsdale. That’s all taken care of.”
“Of course. It’s perfect. Can I move in today?”
“I have everything written up already!”
Later in the day, he gathered what he had in Sunny Blaze’s apartment and moved it over. Then he headed toward the ground. He dropped through the clouds, bursting each one with the deftness he’d learned as a weather pony. He laughed as he punched a hole through every cloud on his way to the ground. After breaking the final layer, the dull green of the ground revealed itself. He spread his wings and circled until he settled on the soft turf.
Thundercloud stood at the threshold of his old cottage in the Everfree. Next to the door were two bags of bits, the last of his pay.
He looked in. Nothing looked different. The unkempt cot, the oven, the pictures on the wall, and the small pile of wood were as he’d left them. “Feels like years,” he grumbled. He bundled his bedstuffs into his saddlebags, threw the wood out the back door, slung the empty lantern over his back, and pulled the “Last Day” picture from the wall. He grabbed a pencil with his teeth and wrote on a scrap of paper: “You already know where I am, RF, and I don’t care. FU, PC. Goodbye.” He spat out the pencil and exited the cottage but stopped. “Almost forgot.” He returned to the cottage and went to a specific drawer, grabbed his folded chessboard, and tossed it into his bag. “That should do it.” He grabbed the two bags of bits, threw them into a saddlebag, and jumped into the sky.
Thundercloud sat alone in his new flat with the windows darkened. He tried the same techniques that Brightwing and Sunny Blaze had shown him, only now this was his first time alone. He listened to the shifting winds, the clattering of the shutters, and the whistle of water as it moved through the clouds. Images and faces crept into his mind, but he didn’t back away. The sounds returned. The screaming, grinding, screeching, and whirring returned. This time it all felt separate from himself. “It’s still me doing it. It’s still me.”
He remembered the weight in his hooves. The squirming as they tried to escape. The tears they shed as they pleaded with him. The screaming in terror. And the final buzzing noise that ended it all. “I wish I could save all of you,” he wept. Still, he continued with the meditation, which was more difficult without incense, but he kept going. The real sounds overwhelmed those in his mind, and the screaming and buzzing faded away. Eventually he fell asleep, to dream the endless nightmares that became more disconnected from him every day.
“You’ve gotten so much better at this!” exclaimed Brightwing. They sat across from each other in the small therapy room. Both had their eyes closed, and Thundercloud felt the now-familiar experience of leaving his body and seeing everything. With every session, Brightwing introduced new items, and he had to notice them, or else they’d move back a session. By this point he’d heard birds flying by outside, the passing of the rare air carriage, the distant rumble of thunder, and once the faint trumpeting the faraway Canterlot. Today it was the simple sound of sand falling through an hourglass. The steady and quiet rush of the particles barely registered over the ticking clock.
“How’s your sleep been?”
“So much better.”
“Nightmares?”
“They still happen. What do I do about that?”
“They don’t end. You just have to disconnect yourself from them.”
“Sunny’s told me that.”
“I didn’t treat him, but if I had to guess, I’d say he was told to confront his nightmare.”
“He told me he’s done that. I’m his nightmare. But they’re all mine. All of them.”
“You remember every face?”
“I think I do. I at least hope I do.”
“Hope?”
“My memory of them is all that remains.”
“Surely their families kept something.”
“Not until the very end. The Glorious Collective ended pretty abruptly.”
“So, anyway. The nightmare. How do you plan to confront it?”
“Nightmares. Each one is different because they were all different.”
“Nightmares. The question still stands.”
“One at a time.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know yet.”
The hourglass stopped. “Open your eyes,” commanded Brightwing.
He did. The room looked the same.
“I honestly don’t know what you mean by one at a time.”
“For every single one of them I shoved in, I don’t even know.”
“Draw them.”
Thundercloud looked at her, puzzled.
“Draw them as you remember them.”
“With their faces contorted in fear, hatred, and pleading for their lives?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the images won’t be in your head anymore.”
“I guess I’ll think about it.”
“How was today?”
“I feel more confident in doing it on my own. I tried last night, but now I’ll finally get a chance to use those coupons.”
She rolled her eyes “Really? You haven’t used them yet?”
“No, sorry.”
“I thought you’d use them… Never mind. You should go, else you’re late for work.” She pointed to the clock, which read 9:10 AM.
He trotted out the door, spread his wings, and flew away.
Thundercloud landed in the marketplace, which was mostly empty at this time. Only the ponies who had larger businesses were preparing for the day. He found Lightning Blitz’s and Blazer’s stall. The rolling door was closed. He walked around the side and looked around the back and could see the storage area was closed as well. “Anypony here?” He didn’t hear an answer.
He returned to the front, opened the bag, and pulled out a coupon for the incense. The address showed that it wasn’t too far away. He looked up and down the cloud-formed street to find the stall but didn’t see it. Only a few other ponies milled about, including one in a cloak similar to his own, who stood still and appeared to be facing him. “Weird,” he remarked, but thought no more of it.
He decided after the early morning rush he’d ask Lightning Blitz if he could leave and buy some. He went around the back, lay down, and dozed off.
A hoof nudged Thundercloud’s side. He awoke, stretched, and stood. The hoof belonged to Blazer, whose mom was by his side. “Early morning, or late night?” she asked, squinting.
“Early morning. I got up early to stretch the ol’ wings and came here. I guess I fell asleep.” He never told her of his therapy sessions but also had never fallen asleep after leaving one.
Lightning Blitz continued looking skeptical.
“I promise. I didn’t sleep great last night.”
“Okay, well, we’ve got to get going. We have twenty minutes to open.”
She turned around and threw open the door to the storage unit. He entered and started stacking hay inside the stall.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       The Surprise                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
The Surprise
After the typical hectic morning, traffic slowed in the early afternoon as ponies returned to work after lunch. “Is it alright if I leave for a bit? Just to check out other stuff here?”
Lightning Blitz snorted.
“I’ll be back in less than an hour. I just need to pick up a few things.”
“Go ahead. As long as you’re back before 3, for the busy close.”
“Thanks.” He lifted off and drifted down the street. While looking down at each stall, he saw the same hooded pony again, whose head turned to watch him fly by, though the yes remained hidden. “That’s even weirder,” he observed.
He found the incense shop, dropped to the cloud, and approached. The stallion who sat at the stall wore green tinted glasses and his red mane was piled into a woolen hat. Thundercloud dropped an old, crumpled coupon on the table.
The stallion grinned weakly with half-lidded eyes and said, “Cool, Brightwing. She sends a lot of ponies here.” He reached under the desk and dropped two packages of incense on the front. The clerk moved so slow that Thundercloud wondered how he had passed the exam. They exchanged bits and Thundercloud turned around to fly away, only to see the hooded pony standing mere feet from him.  
“Can I help you?” he huffed.
“Perhaps,” a mare’s voice said, barely above a whisper. “Let’s have a little talk.” The voice sounded familiar, like a long forgotten dream brought back by a disconnected memory. She pointed to a shadowed alley. “In there.”
“No. Why should I go with some crazy pony into a dark alley?”
She flipped off the hood to reveal a puffy golden mane and white coat.
“Doctor Rush?”
“Mister Dark,” she replied.
He jumped into the air and jetted away. She followed and caught him in seconds.
She settled next to him in flight, inches away from his flank. “It’s now, or later.” Her high pitched voice oozed with menace, but also with joy, as though she’d waited her life to tell him this. “I can keep up for hours. After all, that’s why we were chosen.”
Thundercloud pretended not to listen. He shot over the hay stall and continued toward random buildings until he could barely breath, yet she remained at his side. They flew like this for several minutes. With every dodge, she dodged. With every dive, she dove. He couldn’t break away from her. Exhausted, he dropped into a dark alley. She drifted down in front of him and sat inches from his face.
“You could never get away from me, no matter how hard you fly. After all, we passed our exams.” She twisted her mouth into the most insincere and ominous grin he’d ever seen. “The nerve of you, making me show my face in public.”
He struggled to catch his breath. “Nopony. Knows. Who. You. Are.”
“They didn’t know who you were either. Until you decided to start spilling our secrets, Mister Dark.”
Thundercloud gathered his breath. “How long have you been watching me?”
“I’ve been around ever since you came here, The Factory never ends.” she lifted a front hoof and waved it in the air, indicating Cloudsdale. “The market is always busy. You probably never even noticed. After all, I am still technically your supervisor.”
She stood and started circling him as he sat looking at the ground. “We thought firing you was enough. It always has been before. But you’re a tough one to get rid of.” The mare grabbed a pendant from under her cloak. She turned it to show the Royal Seal. “She had to send me out of hiding just to deal with you.” The mare said.
Thundercloud’s jaw hung open. “It’s a capital crime to have that without permission!”
“Yes, I know.” She shoved it back under her cloak. “It’s so She knows that you know She means it, and so do we.” She stuffed the seal under her cloak.
Thundercloud stood and matched her circling. “You’d just leave my body in alley?”
She giggled and shook her head. “No, no. Here’s what’s going to happen. You go back into your crummy little shack on the ground,” she spat the final two words. “Stop talking to all those friends you’ve made. Quit that dead-end job. And you can have the old life back.”
“Why would I want that old life?”
“Because it would be such a shame if everypony you care in you new life about started suffering misfortune.” Her words dripped with contempt.
“What!?”
“You’re really friends with a failure, one you were supposed to cull, who had the audacity to marry another failure, and they’re having kid who’s destined to be another failure? Ugh,” she snorted. “That’s the kind of degradation we were trying to avoid. And that kid you work with? I’ve seen him. Another failure. A disgrace. And there’s nothing we can do about it anymore. Oh, it just fills me with shame.”
Thundercloud spread his wing and shouted “Those ponies are my friends, , you won’t live to see…”
Surprise laughed. “We’re long past that, as much I wish we weren’t. Your friend, that kid selling hay, blah blah. They should have lit up the sky. It would have been beautiful. No, what’s going to happen is that your friend, what’s his name?”
“Sunny Blaze, and Vapor Puff?”
The gleeful look left her face. “Ah, names they shouldn’t have. Anyway, those two, well, they might see complications, so to speak, at their place of employment.”
Thundercloud stood still. “Like what?”
“As if I would tell you. And that job, we’re just going to line up and take up so much time that they won’t even think it’s worth it and pack up and leave. Maybe they’ll find damage to their stall one morning. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I don’t plan these things. I’m just here to warn you.
“As for that sweet doctor of yours, well, at least you found somepony who passed the exam, but that’s not good enough.” The mare flopped onto her back. “We can just overwhelm her with so many forlorn former workers. Oh, I feel so bad I worked there!” She pretended to cry but started laughing. “I can’t keep up that act. It’s so ridiculous.” She turned over and stood. “Just do what you’re told, and nopony but you has to suffer, got it? There is no negotiation. You know She accepts none. The choice is yours, and yours alone.” She spread her wings and lowered her body to spring into the air.
“Hey, Surprise,” Thundercloud said.
She froze.
“Surprise, right? Your real name? Not the fake one they gave all of us?”
She kept her back toward him. “How do you know that?”
“The records aren’t as secure as you think. Maybe you should keep an eye out for yourself.”
She turned swiftly and pressed her face into his, scowling.
“Why would you do this?” he asked.
“Because She wants it all to go away, Mister Dark.”
“I thought so.” He smirked. “What’s my real name?”
She growled.
“You don’t even know my real name, do you? You never did, and I’m not telling you.”
Surprise backed away.
“You’re not immune either,” Thundercloud warned. “I know my friend’s name. I was supposed to kill him. You told me. I’m protecting him.”
She jumped into the air and darted off, disappearing into a bank of clouds.
He returned to the stall. To his surprise only thirty minutes had passed.
“Who was that you were flying with?” Lightning Blitz asked.
Thundercloud hesitated. “Oh, you saw that. Uh, an old friend I hadn’t seen in a while. Challenged me to a race. She’s still got it. I don’t.
“She beat you even while wearing that ugly outfit?” Blazer exclaimed.
“Yeah, yeah.” Thundercloud feigned embarrassment.
Lightning Blitz sighed. “I swear, stallions never really grow up. Well, at least you’re back early.”
The day continued to sundown without anything else going wrong, but Thundercloud kept Surprise’s/Doctor Rush’s threat on his mind. As he helped pack up for the night, he swore that he’d warn everypony she threatened the day.
After sunset, Thundercloud rushed to see Sunny Blaze and Vapor Puff. He flopped in front of the door and lifted his hoof, preparing to beat on it like it was an emergency. It was, but he didn’t want to startle them. He rapped a few times.
The after opened after a delay. Vapor Puff stood there eying him. “What happened? What do you want?”
“What do I want?”
She didn’t answer.
“It’s not about me. It’s about us. The three, uh,” he stared at her belly, “four of us. We might be in trouble.”
Vapor Puff squinted and delayed. “Get in here.”
Sunny Blaze was standing over the sink washing dishes. When he saw Thundercloud, he dropped what he was doing and stood by Vapor Puff’s side. “What’s going on?”
“I got threatened by Them today. It might get really bad around here.” He explained what Surprise had told him.
Sunny Blaze stood silent. He and Vapor Puff looked at each other. “I know we’ve gotten to be friends,” he said, “but I really need to be sure you’re telling the truth.”
“Why would I lie? I’ve done everything I can to get away from it. She didn’t know my name, or at least pretended not to. She was shocked I knew hers.”
Vapor Puff rested her head on Sunny Blaze. “I’m just too tired and I’m so close to deal with another thing like THIS!” She slammed her hoof into the ground, causing a low thunder to ripple through the apartment.
“Do you think they of our group?” Sunny Blaze asked.
“She only threatened ponies I know. I think they were only tracking me.”
“But you said ever since you came to Cloudsdale…”
“Maybe it’s only since they knew I was here. Wait, that explains the bits!”
The two looked at him quizzically.
“Sunny, remember when you first came by and tossed the money into my house?”
Sunny Blaze nodded.
“When I went back to my old place, there were two bags of bits there. There should have been three. They didn’t know I was gone for a while. When I stopped picking up my money, they must have known something was wrong. That was after I met your friends.”
“So they might not know about our group,” Sunny Blaze said.
“Or they might,” Vapor Puff replied, “and are faking us out.”
“Why would it matter?” Thundercloud asked. “It’s me they want, and they’re threatening you to get at me.”
“Because we might just be able to do something about it.”
Vapor Puff frowned at him. “Wait, you’re really suggesting a vigilante group?”
“Whoa, no,” Sunny Blaze pushed back. “Just watching. If the Factory doesn’t know about our group, then they won’t suspect a thing.”
Thundercloud stepped forward. “For as little as I was getting paid for these last twenty years, compared to when I was, um, active, I don’t think they have the resources. They might not know.”
“Leave me out of this,” Vapor Puff demanded. “I can’t risk it, as much as I’d love to kick this Surprise pony in the teeth.”
Sunny Blaze draped a front leg over Thundercloud’s shoulder. “Go home. I’ll talk to them tomorrow. We have ponies across a lot of fields. I think we can get something together. Get some sleep, and I’ll tell you later what we’ve got together.”
Thundercloud dropped into the stall the next morning; jolting awake a sleeping Blazer.
“Whoa, dude! I didn’t expect you to be so early!” Blazer yawned.
“Well, one thing I haven’t lost from working at the Factory is my punctuality.”
Blazer pulled himself to his hooves. With his head down, ears drooped, and eyes halfway closed, he moved to open the stall door, but it slipped and dropped on his nose. “Ow, ow, ow!”
Thundercloud pulled the door open and locked it in place, revealing nopony outside yet. He turned to the teenager. “Let me look.”
Blazer grimaced, holding both hooves over his nose.
“Move your hooves,” Thundercloud commanded.
Blazer did.
Thundercloud squinted, peering at the young colt’s face. “Oof, you’re gonna have a nasty bruise. But I don’t see any bleeding. I think I have something.” He reached into his saddlebag with his muzzle, pulled a hangover pouch from one, and dropped it on the colt’s snout.
Blazer snorted in surprise and then settled into a crouch. “This is amazing.”
Thundercloud pulled one of the colt’s front legs forward to the bag. “Hold it on until the sting goes away.”
“What in Tartarus did you do to my boy?!” a clamorous voice shouted through the entrance. Lightning Blitz approached, her spread wings pushing away the few other ponies.
Thundercloud folded his ears and wings and backed away. “Nothing, I swear, I, I did nothing. It was an accident!”
“Mom, stop!” Blazer jumped between the two, the bag still draped over his snout. “I was tired. I dropped the door on my nose!”
“What’s in that bag?” Lightning Blitz demanded.
“I, I don’t know. Thundercloud gave it to me.”
Lightning Blitz glared at Thundercloud. “Just giving my kid weird stuff, huh?”
Thundercloud backed away with his ears still folded. “It’s just sage, mint and sugar. I keep them for things like this!”
Lighting Blitz trotted to her son and sniffed the bag. “Leave me alone, mom! That’s what happened,” the small stallion sniffled.
Lightning Blitz glowered at Thundercloud.
Blazer shouted, “By the way of Luna, Mom, why don’t you just believe me sometimes?”
Lightning Blitz turned to face her son.
Blazer stood and pressed his face into his mother’s; the pouch slid off his nose. “Not everything bad that happens to me is the fault of some conspiracy. Sometimes I just MESS UP!” he shouted. He paused and calmed himself. “Can’t you let me even fail on my own. Or does it always have to be somepony else’s fault?”
Thundercloud stepped back and watched Lightning Blitz press her nose against her son’s “You watch yourself!” Lightning Blitz commanded.
Blazer remained silent, except for his snorting.
The two circled each other, pressing their faces together, snorting streams of breath into each other’s faces.
Thundercloud darted to intercept them. “Enough of this!” He jumped in and shoved them apart.
Blazer and Lightning Blitz dropped to their hooves, still snorting, and facing each other.
Thundercloud continued, “mother and son, fighting like this. C’mon, this is stupid.”
Lightning Blitz snorted, “and what would you know about handling kids? You’re a shiftless loser almost old enough to be my dad working a teen’s job.”
“A lot,” Thundercloud muttered toward the ground. “Just not like you think.” He looked up at her.
Blazer stumbled to his hooves. “Mom, you jerk!”
Thundercloud sat down and drooped his head and ears. “Blazer, she’s right. I am kind of a loser.”
“No you aren’t! You used to work for the Rain…” Blazer stopped and covered his mouth with his hooves.
Lightning Blitz eyed Thundercloud skeptically. “Work for the what?”
Thundercloud stood and turned his head to Lightning Blitz. “I have something I should explain to you,” he said. “I’m done with violence.”
Blazer piped up, “Aww c’mon Thundercloud, don’t you wanna keep your job? I know you scared me, at first, but I like you.”
Lighting Blitz stamped a hoof into the cloud floor, causing a lightning bolt to erupt. “What in name of the Sun are both of you talking about?!” She turned and grabbed Blazer under his front legs. “Were you about to say what I think you were?”
Thundercloud closed his eyes. “Yes, he was.” He drew a deep breath. “I used to work at the Rainbow Factory.”
Lightning Blitz smothered the colt. “You can’t have him!”
Blazer wriggled in his mother’s grip. “Let me go, Mom! I’m not a foal.” He broke free from his and landed on a small nearby cloud. “He already told me.”
Lightning Blitz scowled. “You knew?”
Blazer struggled free. “I mean, I found out by accident. I made a joke about the old guy working at the Factory, and he said he did.”
“Old guy?” Thundercloud muttered, but they didn’t hear him.
“And you kept this a secret?”
“What was I supposed to do, mom? You like how hard he works, and I like him.”
“Didn’t you ever think he might be some kind of creep?”
“Yes! Until he said I was good at this,” tears fell from his eyes, “and that nopony deserved to become a rainbow.”
“He’s just trying to trick you!”
Thundercloud watched this exchange. “Will you two STOP!” he shouted. He shoved a hoof into the cloud, causing a lightning bolt to shoot into the clouds between them.
Blazer and Lightning Blitz paused their argument.
Thundercloud approached them. “That was a long time ago. I haven’t seen it since the mob wrecked the place.” Thundercloud sighed. “If you don’t want me around, fine. I’ll leave. But you won’t sell hay nearly as well without me unloading it. You told me yourself.”
Blazer opened his wings, flew next to Thundercloud, and hugged him.
Blazer let go and explained, “I was scared when he first said he worked there, but he’s not a freak Mom, he’s been really nice to me, and he’s good to work with. He reminds me of Dad.”
Lightning Blitz scowled at Thundercloud.
“Mom, I’m not gonna be a foal forever.”
Lightning Blitz pressed her nose up against Thundercloud’s “I don’t trust you, but I need your help. You only talk to him while you’re both here.”
Blazer scoffed. “Oh. My. Moon, mom. I’ve only ever seen him here anyway.”
She didn’t move. “Anything out of line, and you’re gone.” She removed her face from his, left through the rear door, and disappeared.
When she was out of sight, Thundercloud said, “I remind you of your Dad?”
“Yeah. He used to be a weather pony. When I failed, he hugged me and said he was proud of me anyway. Even though I couldn’t be one like him.” Blazer sniffled. “I miss him.”
“I see. Do you mind if I ask what happened?”
“He just got sick. I don’t remember much. Mom doesn’t like talking about it. I don’t really either.”
“Hey, I’m sorry,” Thundercloud wrapped his front leg over the colt’s shoulder. “I Didn’t mean to stumble into all of this.”
“It’s not your fault.”
The sound of a clearing throat startled them. “Are you open, or not? Or am I interrupting family time?” a large red stallion said, peering through the door.
Thundercloud released Blazer. “No we’re open,” he replied.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                      The Threatening                      
//-------------------------------------------------------//
The Threatening
Throughout the workday, Thundercloud debated in his mind whether he should tell them Surprise’s threat.
Tossing one bale, he thought, “If I do, then I’m definitely fired.”
Heaving another, he mumbled, “If I don’t, they won’t understand the surveillance.”
Shoving another bale, he wondered, “If I do, then they’ll bail out of town. She might turn me in.”
Once the market had closed, after stacking the last bale into the storage area, he decided not to tell them. He’d only told Blazer that it still existed, and the young stallion had kept that to himself. That kind of secret gnawed on Thundercloud’s stomach because it suggested other worse things he could tell, or do to, Blazer, but Thundercloud decided that would be the limit and the last secret. If Lightning Blitz ever asked about the Factory, he would tell the whole truth, and of Surprise’s threat.
Thundercloud arrived for his therapy the next morning but was surprised to see that the room was already occupied. It was the first time he’d had to wait, so he sat in reception and stared at the old stallion in glasses who sat kicked back in a chair, reading. “You’re here early,” Thundercloud remarked.
He nodded. “Had to start getting here early. She took a few new clients. She’s getting busy and might not have time for them all.”
Uh-oh.
“You have a name, sir?”
“Just call me Redd. Try not to call me anything.”
Thundercloud tried to start a conversation, but every time he was shut down by the old stallion loudly turning a page. He waited half an hour for Brightwing to let him in the room.
“I’m sorry,” Brightwing said. “I might not have enough time for you. I just received a lot of referrals in the last few days, and they wanted the morning. I’m already exhausted.”
Thundercloud sighed. “Brightwing, I came for therapy today, but I think I have to warn you instead. The Factory is trying to overwhelm you.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“I have a lot of explaining to do.” He let her know of everything: Surprise’s threat, Sunny’s plan, and that the Princess might be behind it all.
Brightwing sat on her lounge chair. “This is something. Now you’re having delusions of grandeur.”
Thundercloud shook his head. “You don’t get it. What did you talk about with your other patients?”
Brightwing looked shocked. “Thundercloud! You know I can’t talk about that.”
“Then suppose there were a situation like mine, and I told you what I just did, would that hypothetical situation look any different?”
She remained silent for a long time.
“Brightwing, I promise. Just don’t be shocked if, tomorrow morning, there was some damage here. They said they'd, um do stuff."
She jumped down from her lounge, left the room, and returned after a few minutes.
“I told Redd to cancel everything else today. If you’re right, then I’ll know tomorrow. If not, then you’re out of here, because it means you’re using me. Got it?”
“I know. I’m taking a big risk here. I’ll see you tomorrow. I hope.” He stood and left, nodding at Redd, who nodded back.
Thundercloud stood at the stall window staring out. Because everypony was a pegasus, he couldn’t tell entirely who was suspicious, but the repetition of a few gave him pause. Who was and wasn't from the Factory. However, Surprise didn’t even bother hiding herself. She even grinned at him the few times she trotted by, wearing her trimmed gown. She paused at neighboring stalls and bought food and wares. Every time she did stared back at Thundercloud and smiled. That smile that showed such a sweet mare, but Thundercloud knew hid a dark and hateful psyche.
Late in the afternoon, Thundercloud meandered through the clouds and found his way to Sunny’s flat. He knocked on the door. It flew open and Vapor Puff stood on the other side, scowling at him.  
“Did I come at a bad time?”  
“No. I just don’t feel so great today. What do you want?” She grimaced and reached a front hoof toward her belly. “Ack, dammit, kid! Cut it out!” She returned her gaze to him.  
“I just wanted to thank you two for everything.”  
Vapor Puff grunted. “Good for you.” She jumped onto the futon and lay down. “You can come in if you like. Just don’t stay long.” She moaned.  
He entered and closed the door. “Hey, are you okay?” Thundercloud said, raising his eyebrows.  
Vapor puff gripped her belly. “I’m fine. I’ve been doing this for almost eleven months. I can handle it.”  
“Where’s Sunny?”  
“Still at work.” Vapor Puff lay down on a pillow. “They’re preparing for the round of rain later in the week. They’re behind.”  
Thundercloud folded his legs underneath his body and lay on the floor. “Vapor Puff, I’m really sorry about, well everything. Living here, and taking up everything, and…”  
Vapor Puff interrupted, still grimacing. “Look, I didn’t like it at first, but you grew on me. It really didn’t even bother me that you worked there.” The pained expression on her face grew worse. “I just thought you’d be lazy, or worse, a psycho.” She grunted.  
He took a few paces toward her. “You sure?”  
“Go to the weather factory!” Vapor Puff closed her eyes and huffed.  
“What?” Thundercloud shot to his hooves.  
“Get Sunny!” she shouted with her eyes closed. “The foal’s coming!”
The light around the outside of Thundercloud’s eyes darkened in tunnel vision. He approached the entrance to the weather factory. Numerous clouds and rainbows surrounded it. He wondered for a moment how these rainbows were created, but stopped when he remembered his task. He dropped onto a cloud at the welcome center.  
“Are you a visitor, or employee?" The mare questioned.  
“Uh, visitor.”  
“Are you here to see somepony, or just the sites?”  
“Somepony,” Thundercloud heaved.  
The mare paused and her eyes widened. “Oh, do you have a pass? Because that’s what’s required., and…”  
“Just get Sunny Blaze!” he shouted.  
“What?”  
He pressed his face forward. “It’s Vapor Puff! Now!”  
The mare’s eyes widened. “Huh?”  
“Vapor! She’s having… It’s the baby! Get him!” he stuttered.  
The mare’s eyes widened. “I’ll get right on it!” She cranked a radio on the desk and relayed the message.  
Within minutes, Sunny Blaze appeared at the front gates. They opened, and the two darted through the sky together.  
“Will she be alright?” Thundercloud asked.  
“She’ll be fine. We worked this out,” Sunny Blaze answered as they soared through clouds.  
“How do you know?”  
“We have a plan. The midwife should already be there.”  
They landed at Sunny Blaze’s door. Sunny Blaze threw it open, revealing Vapor Puff and the midwife sitting behind her. Vapor Puff had an expression of excruciating pain on her face, and she grunted.  
“Breath and push, sweetie,” the midwife said.  
Sunny Blaze leapt forward into the room and nuzzled Vapor Puff, who smiled for a brief moment. “We can do this,” he whispered.  
Thundercloud stood in the door and watched all of this; his eyes transfixed on the moment.  
“Just a bit more,” the midwife strongly said. “One more push.”  
Vapor Puff screamed and collapsed to the floor. The midwife had a tiny foal in her hooves. “You have a filly,” she said. She scrambled to place the filly underneath Vapor Puff’s front hooves. Sunny Blaze gathered himself to them. They nestled together as a family.  
“Vapor,” the midwife said softly, “I just have to keep you clean, no infections, sweetie.” She remained at Vapor Puff’s rear.  
“Mhm,” Vapor Puff replied, her faced covering her foal’s head, her eyes closed in bliss.  
Thundercloud watched this from the door. He walked inside and sat in a corner.  
“Who’s that guy?” the midwife asked looking toward Thundercloud as she cared for Vapor Puff.  
Sunny Blaze answered, “My friend. He told me Vapey was in labor. He’s fine.”  
“Uh, okay,” the midwife replied.  
Thundercloud remained in the corner, and sat down.  
An hour later, the midwife cleared her tools. “Okay, hun, You’re gonna be fine. But get ahold of me or the hospital the moment something feels off.” She veered through the door and into the sky, leaving the door open, which allowed sunlight to illuminate the young family laying together.  
“Thundercloud, get over here,” Sunny Blaze commanded, his head still nestled over Vapor Puff’s.  
Thundercloud stood and walked to them, his legs shaking.  
“Sit down.”  
Thundercloud did.  
Vapor Puff raised her head from the foal. The filly lay sleeping on her mother’s front legs. She had a dull yellow mane and tail and a bright green coat.  
“She, she looks so much like you, Sunny,” Thundercloud croaked.  
Vapor Puff showed the foal. “Do you want to hold her?”  
Thundercloud stepped back. “Are you sure?”  
Vapor Puff turned her head, looking to her sides. “I don’t see any machine around here.” She lifted the filly.  
Thundercloud took the foal from her and sat, cradling the filly. He ran his hooves over her delicate wings that folded onto her back. He stroked her ears and nose. He lightly pressed his muzzle into hers.  
The foal began to stir and utter a few cries. Vapor Puff reached for the foal, and Thundercloud returned her. “I’m sorry!” He said.  
Vapor Puff nestled the foal beneath her and said, “You didn’t do anything wrong. That’s just how they are.” The foal quieted.  
Thundercloud sat and dropped his head. “I didn’t do anything wrong…” he trailed off.  
He felt a hoof wrap itself around his neck. He looked up to see Sunny Blaze peering into his eyes, smiling. Sunny Blaze then hugged him and pulled away. “I can’t believe this, I’m a dad!” he beamed, the smile growing ever wider. Sunny Blaze then grabbed Thundercloud even tighter into a hug; Sunny's grip[ was as tight as a vice. Despite the pain, he wrapped his hooves around Sunny Blaze and squeezed.  
They let go of each other. “What's happening?” Thundercloud sputtered.  
“Why is what?” Sunny Blaze said.  
“You’re letting me see all of this,” he gestured toward Vapor Puff’s prone position.  
Sunny Blaze glanced toward Vapor Puff and back at Thundercloud. “We’ve talked about this,” he looked to Vapor Puff, who nodded, her head still resting over the foal. Sunny Blaze turned back to Thundercloud. “We want you to be the cloudfather.”  
Thundercloud backed away with one hoof following the other. “Cloudfather? But, but, I’m… the factory.”  
“Yeah,” Sunny Blaze said.  
“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Thundercloud wrested himself from Sunny Blaze’s grip.  
Sunny Blaze snuggled Thundercloud, sat next to him, and wrapped a front hoof around his shoulders. “Yes, it does.”  
“But, why?” Thundercloud said.  
“You’re not a lunatic.”  
“No, just a depressed alcoholic,” Thundercloud muttered.  
Sunny Blaze hugged Thundercloud. “You haven’t been either for a while.” Sunny Blaze sat next to him at the wall. “You haven’t touched the stuff for a long time. And now you have something like a regular life again.” Sunny Blaze pulled away and bumped a hoof into Thundercloud’s chest. “But we’ll be watching. Keep yourself in shape.” Sunny Blaze tapped the older stallion’s chin.  
“Cloudfather…” Thundercloud muttered, staring ahead.  
“Cloudfather!” Sunny Blaze shouted, jumping, and pulling the older pony into his front legs. “I’m a dad!” He held Thundercloud even tighter,  
Thundercloud hugged Sunny Blaze. “I’ll do it,” he whispered. “I’ll be the best cloudfather.”