Chapters "What is happening to me?"
It was a sunny day in Ponyville. A certain white mare called Emerald Thunder was sitting on the solitary cloud hovering in the clear sky, watching the ponies beneath her. She looked down into the small town, seeing many ponies doing their daily chores. As she was watching them, she couldn't help but notice a pegasus with lavender coat, who was placing some posters all over the town.
After sitting on the cloud for a while, with the gentle breeze flowing through her emerald mane, she stretched her wings and flew into the town, landing in Ponyville's market, prepared for her weekly shopping. She took her shopping list from her backpack, and after checking everything she needed to buy, she started by going to the nearest baker to buy the first thing on her list, bread. As the mare approached, she could smell the delightful aromas of freshly baked pastry. She looked through the different kinds of tasty pastry, until she found the bread she was looking for. As delicious and tasty as every single type of pastry looked, she had to focus on her job.
“Two bits for one loaf," the baker told her, as he saw her interested interested in buying some. Emerald grabbed the amount of bits he requested, and gave them to the baker, placing the freshly baked bread in her backpack. After she left, she turned her head and thanked him.
“I... I’m sorry... I wasn't paying attention”, the white pegasus apologized, grabbing the bread that fell on the ground.
“No, excuse me,” the lavender pegasus replied, stretching his hoof out to assist her. She accepted his help, and got back onto her hooves. Trying to thank him, she realized that she couldn't say a single word. Both pegasi kept staring into each other’s eyes, lost.
“Could you at least get out of the way?! In the name of Celestia, get a room!” an annoyed pony yelled, as he was trying to carry his wagon filled with vegetables to the market. The pegasi were startled, and moved out of the way. “Those daydreaming pegasi...”, the pony said once again, as he trotted by them with his wagon.
“My ... My name is Emerald Thunder. Sorry that I bumped into you...” the white pegasus apologized once more, in a shy tone.
“No need to be sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn't have been inattentive. My name is Thunder Runner. Pleased to meet you. Excuse my manners... but, I have to run. I have to put up all these posters around the town by tonight. Goodbye!” the pegasus told Emerald before he left in a hurry.
Emerald sighed and watched as Thunder flew away. After she couldn’t see the pegasus anymore, she sighed once again in disappointment, and went through all the stalls to get everything she still had on her list.
As she stretched her wings, preparing to leave, she heard someone calling her name from the other side of the market. As the mare stood there waiting to see who called her, Thunder came out of nowhere.
“Emerald!” he managed to say, between heavy breaths. “I wanted to ask ... if you would like ... to come to the Wonderbolts’ show this afternoon with me ... as an apology for bumping into you earlier today. It’s not a date, I can assure you," he said, trying not to scare her.
When Emerald realized that the pegasus was inviting her to a Wonderbolts show, she called with an excited voice: “A ticket for the Wonderbolt show? Yes-” But, after she thought about it, she exclaimed, a little worried: “...Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! I don’t think I can go there with you. You are a complete stranger to me. I don’t even know you!”
A bit hurt, Thunder took a step backward and looked at Emerald. “First of all, I'm not denying that. Second, I was just trying to apologize for my behaviour."
“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Emerald replied with a cold tone, as she trotted away.
When she thought that she had finally gotten away from her 'bumper', Thunder flew in front of her, blocking her way. “Then, at least take this," he said, as he handed Emerald a VIP ticket for the upcoming Wonderbolts show. The mare looked at the ticket and then at Thunder’s serious face, revealing that he wasn't going to back down. Without a word, she took the ticket between her teeth and flew back to her home in Cloudsdale.
When Emerald arrived back at her house, she stored the groceries in the fridge, and looked at the ticket. The show was at 4 PM this afternoon. She wasn’t sure if she would go or not. After a moment of thinking, she turned away and started to make lunch.
After she finished cooking and eating her meal, she looked at the clock. It was exactly 4 PM. “It’s too late to go to the Wonderbolts show anyway...” Emerald thought. She took a look at the ticket once more. The mare closed her eyes and started to think about Thunder. She was thinking about how sad he looked when she rejected his offer to go to the show with him, just like that. The pegasus knew that Thunder had just tried to apologize, but she was still hesitant to go. The mare opened her eyes, took the ticket and ran out of her hut. She had to make it to the Wonderbolts show, no matter what.
*****
As he saw the mare flying away, Thunder sighed in disappointment. "Well, it could've been worse," he told himself, as he flittered his wings to fly off to the Stadium, the Wonderbolt's place in Cloudsdale where their shows took place.
Arriving there, he saw the rows where everypony would sit, except for some special seats closer to the action, reserved for the VIPs. The stadium was nothing he would've expected. Being as shocked as he was, he bumped into a guard.
"Do you have a ticket?" the guard asked on a cold, serious tone. He didn't even move an inch when the lavender pegasus bumped into him.
"Oh... uh... yes!" he exclaimed, a little bit dizzy from the strong bump.
Taking Thunder's ticket, the grey pegasus moved away to let him take his place. "What has he been eating?" the lavender pegasus asked himself, a little sore from the impact with the massive guard.
"Ladies and gentlecolts! We are honored by your presence at today's Wonderbolts show! In a few minutes, Spitfire's team will start their routine. If I were you, I'd buckle up! It's going to be a blast!" the host said. Using some magic, he amplified his voice so it could be heard from all around the stadium.
"Well ... seems like Emerald won't show up after all ... maybe I said something bad, or I might've offended her," Thunder thought, as he looked at his watch. Suddenly, when Spitfire and her team took off, he saw something at the entrance of the stadium.
*****
Emerald flew as fast as she could. After a while, she could see the big stadium in Cloudsdale. She tried to fly faster, hoping that she could still catch the show.
The mare landed in front of the entrance of the stadium, breathing heavily. Running to a guard, she showed him the ticket given by Thunder.
“Sorry ma’am. You are too late. The show already begun.”
“But I need to get in, please!”
“Do I need to repeat myself? You are too late. You have to come earlier next time.”
“But-” the mare tried to say as the lavender pegasus stepped by the guard.
“Don't worry, she's with me,” he said.
Emerald glanced over the guard's shoulder to see Thunder walking up to the guard who was blocking the white mare’s way.
"Excuse these guys... they are just taking their job too seriously."
"I-"
"Come on! The show is about to start!" he interrupted her as he took her to their seats in the VIP rows. Emerald remained silent until she saw Spitfire and her team. The mare’s eyes went big as she followed every single move of the Wonderbolts. Thunder released a sigh of relief. The pegasus was happy that the white mare had decided to come at last. Suddenly, he noticed how shiny Emerald’s mane and tail were. The lavender pony also noticed the mare’s deep, emerald colored eyes. She was... gorgeous.
Shortly after, Thunder said: "Hey Emerald, did anypony tell you how-"
"It started! I'm so excited!" the mare said, followed by a squeal. "I'm sorry, did you want to tell me something?"
"No, no! Nothing at all just ... nothing," Thunder replied, before releasing a disappointed sigh. He then moved his attention to the thrilling show.
As the Wonderbolts kept pulling off their stunts and tricks, Thunder couldn't help himself from taking a sneak peak at Emerald, and how her eyes were glowing as she watched her idols doing some of the most amazing stunts.
"Wouldn't it be amazing to be up there?" Emerald suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like... be up there. With the Wonderbolts."
"Yes... it would be..." Thunder replied, a bit thoughtful.
As the show kept going and the Wonderbolts closed in on the grand finalé, Emerald tried to take a sneak peak at Thunder, herself. She was grateful to him. Even though he was a complete stranger, he took her to such an important event just like that, without asking for anything in exchange. She felt something... but she couldn't really put her hoof on it. One time, as she wondered and looked at the lavender pegasus, their eyes met once again. They kept staring, and Thunder couldn't help but notice how deep and beautiful her eyes were. But they snapped out of it as the Wonderbolts took some height for their final stunt.
The crowd exploded in cheers and amazement as Equestria's most talented flying team finished their show with the most amazing, ear-piercing stunt, leaving the ponies in the front rows mute for a while, until they came back to their senses and jumped in joy.
After the show, the sun was already setting. Emerald and Thunder stepped out of the arena, followed by lots and lots of other pegasi ponies. The eyes of the white mare were still glowing. The show was a blast for her.
“Thanks for the ticket... And thanks for helping me out with the guards,” Emerald told Thunder.
“It’s nothing, really. I’m just glad you decided to come.”
“Alright then, and again, thank you. But I have to go now.”
When Emerald opened her wings to take off, Thunder called: “Emerald, wait!”
The white pegasus turned around and asked: “What is it?”
The lavender pony looked at his hooves, a bit shy, and mumbled: “I wondered if we could... you know... meet again?”
“Uh... sure,” Emerald replied in a surprised tone.
“Great! I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at midday, right here. See you tomorrow!” Thunder exclaimed and flew away. Emerald was staring at the lavender pegasus as he flew, a bit confused and unsure about what happened. She shook her head and flew back to her house.
After she landed in front of the door of her house, she opened it and went inside. She went to bed immediately, even though she wasn’t tired. Many questions came into her mind. "Who is Thunder, really? Why did he have one VIP ticket left for the show? Can I trust him?"
‘It is pointless to think about such questions,’ the mare thought. And she was right. "All I can do now is to have faith in him," Emerald told herself and crawled under the bed’s blanket. “Have faith...” the mare mumbled once more.
*****
As Thunder left, he couldn't believe what just happened. He closed his eyes dreamily and started to fly up and down, performing daring nosedives and loops with a content smile on his face. He continued his tricks until he snapped out of it, and came back to his senses. The pegasus blinked a few times, surprised about his offhanded stunts, and started to fly toward his house. While he was flying back to Ponyville, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Her emerald green mane, her deep shiny eyes... Her snow white body... Emerald Thunder. The colt kept daydreaming about her, when all of a sudden, he accidentally bumped into a female pegasus who was coming back from the show.
"I think the sky is big enough for all of us, right?" she asked Thunder, a little cocky.
"I'm sorry for that... I... Was unobservant..."
"Whatever,” the pegasus interrupted him. “Just look where you're flying, okay?” the pegasus said before she left Thunder alone.
“Sorry...” Thunder called. “Big-headed mare..." he told himself, as he saw her disappear into the cloud mantle.
After he arrived at his house, he unlocked the door, and went directly to bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He felt something, but he couldn't really tell what. At the show, Emerald was so... beautiful. He thought about the marketplace, where he had bumped into her. And now, he was happy that he did that after all.
He went to the window beside his bed and looked at the sky. The colt turned his head towards the horizon, where the orange sun was setting behind high mountains and fluffy clouds.
“Have faith...” an inner voice told Thunder.
The Reason They Call Me Thunder Runner
At the next morning, Emerald woke up, a bit sleepy. It was a wonderful day outside. Not a single cloud was floating above Cloudsdale, thanks to the pegasi. The mare jumped out of her bed and stretched her limbs. Sleepy as she was, she trotted happily towards the bathroom.
As she got to her comb, she started brushing her mane while looking at herself in the mirror. She could see that she had a happy expression, but she didn’t know why. When the image of a certain lavender pegasus popped in her head, she shook her head furiously.
Closing the door behind her, Emerald took off to the stadium, where she was supposed to meet Thunder, and where she would find if she could trust Thunder Runner.
*****
“She’s really cute when she giggles like that,” Thunder thought, as he started laughing too.
“Good afternoon sir.”
*****
As Thunder flew back to his house, he couldn’t help himself not to look once again back to Emerald’s house wondering why he left. All his flight back, he couldn’t move his mind from the mare that almost begged him to stay. “What’s wrong with me? A pony like her would never look at somepony like me. She’s just... too good.” He told himself, sighing softly.
Emerald opened her eyes. The first thing she felt was the beginning of a terrible headache. She has barely slept for three hours. Still tired, she crawled out of her bed and went to the bathroom. When she looked into the mirror that was hanging above a sink, she saw a complete stranger. A face of her she’s never seen before.The shine of her mane was all gone as it was only a big mess now. Dark bags were hanging under her eyes and her breath was worse than the one of a timberwolf.
“Why do I let myself get down because of him?...”, Emerald asked herself. Ever since Thunder left her, the white mare hadn’t set foot out of her house.
“Four days.”, Emerald mumbled to herself. For four days she had stayed in her hut located in Cloudsdale. Emerald sighed. It was time to move on.
The pegasus turned the water on, washed her face, brushed her hair, packed her backpack and flew out of her home. Emerald had to go to the marketplace.
After she arrived in Ponyville, she trotted to the stall with pastry she had visited five days ago. Inside the shop, Emerald was greeted by the dull face of the salespony. She felt his attentive look following every step as she looked through the freshly baked wares. The vendor seemed to have noticed that Emerald wasn’t alright.
Shortly after, Emerald visited a small shop with fresh vegetables and fruits, where she bought several apples, carrots and also some hay. After she paid, she walked out of the store and started to store the the food in her bag.
Suddenly, from the corner of her left eye, Emerald saw a lavender coat through the crowd. A wave of excitement shot through her. Dropping her groceries, the mare ran, pushing everypony aside from her way, shouting Thunder’s name. While she was taking off, flapping her wings to gain attitude, she looked around hectically, her eyes scouting through the entire crowd for Thunder.
But after ten minutes of flying above the market in circles, her wings started to ache, getting exhausted.
Emerald growled in disappointment and spoke to herself: “That’s what I get from sitting around in my house...”
She started to run as fast as she could to the hospital, trying to hold her faith together.
After many minutes which seemed to never end, the mare reached the doors of a great white building. The hospital of Ponyville.
The white pegasus stepped inside the facility, breathing heavily. Suddenly, an employee noticed Emerald.
The pegasus looked at the little piece of paper. “Ponyville, Haystreet number 16.”, she whispered to herself. Emerald knew that place. It was right next to a nice café she likes to visit from time to time. The mare smiled and started walking to Thunder’s house. Maybe it wasn’t too late! Maybe she could still find him at home!
When she finally reached the place where Thunder lived, Emerald started to look at every house carefully, hoping to find number 16 somewhere. Then, the mare had finally found it. It was a cozy one-family dwelling, not too big but not too small either. The mare stepped in front of the main door and knocked on it a few times causing the door to open with a slight creaking noise. The door, surprisingly, was unlocked. Emerald felt a chill rolling down her spine.
Gulping, she entered the house.
As the mare turned her head towards the desk, she noticed a pile of rather old newspapers. The white pegasus padded closer to the papers and carefully picked one up.
Emerald was shocked. She couldn’t believe her eyes. But she still had to see what the other letter contained. In it, there was an invitation to the Wonderbolts Academy! Her limbs went numb. Did that mean that she was going to lose him? But she realized that Thunder has his own dream.
As she went to the door, she realized that somepony was in her way, staying right at the door. It was Thunder. Emerald’s heart stopped. Her eyes stared directly trough the lavender pegasus.
*****
Thunder’s breathing was heavy with furiosity. He stared at his wooden desk, his teeth clenched.
Tear after tear started falling on the newspapers on the desk. The only sound in the house was the clogged sob of the lavender pegasus.
Now even newspapers were scattered around the room. Many images and articles about his father’s accomplishments were lying down on the floor. And one specific photo fell from a cracked foto frame on his desk, his only photo with his father, when he was just a colt, and his father just got his Wonderbolt captain suit.
Grabbing it, he collapsed in the middle of his room, crying.
The next morning, the sun shone through his window, revealing torn apart newspapers, his chair lying down in a corner, and a sleepless pegasus holding the only photo he had left with him and his father. Getting up from his bed, he looked through the glass at the calm and the beauty of that morning. But not everything was in order. A train of moral qualms suddenly hit him. He wasn’t sure what happened or why... the only thing he knew was that he was all alone.
Grabbing some bits from a drawer and the two tickets, he rushed out locking the door behind him in a hurry. He had to make up for what he’s done. And even if she won’t accept to go further, he will at least know that he did his best to apologize for the huge mistake he had done, to the mare that has a special place in his life.
Flying as fast as he could, he went straight to the Ponyville’s market to buy the most beautiful roses he could find.
Before he knew it he was standing in front of Emerald’s house with roses, a letter and the two tickets. He knocked on the door, but nopony answered. “Did she leave?", he asked himself cursing his behaviour from the other day. “Did she even fly back to her house since yesterday?...”
What he didn’t know was that the mare was in her room, still crying, and didn’t answer on purpose.
*****
Emerald froze when she heard somepony knocking at her door. The mare knew. It was Thunder. But if she would open now, what was she supposed to do after everything? After what happened yesterday... could that even be him? Emerald wouldn’t be surprised if Thunder would never want to see her ever again after what she did. The mare had went into Thunder’s house, without his permission. And then she even searched through his memories with his father that had passed away...
Emerald jumped out of her bed, wiping away her tears, and ran for the door.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I never meant to hurt you, but... please understand that my father was the pegasus I looked up to my entire life, and since his death... I've been looking for a new purpose in life.
“Seeing me where?”, Emerald asked out loud after she turned the paper around to see if she can find an address or anything that would tell her where or when Thunder was awaiting her.
Emerald swallowed. The mare knew she had to make up for what she had done, but she had never been to Canterlot before. She has heard a lot about the majestic big city at the edge of a giant mountain, but she never had the time to get there. She heard that everypony in Canterlot wears fancy dresses and suits. If Emerald will go there, she needed a dress. And she knew where to get one.
The Carousel Boutique.
Gathering all the bits she had left, she flew straight away to the best mare fit to make her a dress fancy enough for a Canterlotean event.
Upon arriving, she knocked on the door nervously. She's never done such thing before. What was she supposed to say? Did she have enough money?
Hours have passed, and Emerald was finally given the final dress. Putting it on, she came out on the podium with Rarity as her audience.
"Darling... you look marvelous!" The white coated unicorn said, a big grin on her face, proud of her own work.
