The Glorious Sun

(A/N: If you finished the last chapter before this one was published, go back and re-read from the start of the battle with Shining. I made one small but crucial change. Hope you enjoy!)

The air over Ponyville rustled and swayed, a thrum of energy passing through the area. Birds started to fly and squirrels and chipmunks hid in fear. Suddenly,  a burst of light broke through the clouds and hit the outermost edges of the town, sending a shockwave of sound over the town and into the forest. An aged red drake lifted its head, sniffing the air from the unexpected disturbance.

“Hmm... Fresh meat.”

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Thunderlane gasped as he was suddenly deposited onto a grassy knoll. Excess warmth left his body as the light beam dissipated, leaving him dazed and displaced several hundred miles south.

Groaning, Thunderlane stood up and peered around. What immediately caught his eye was the dainty cottage right in front of him, in stark contrast to the gloom he had been subject to moments before. As he looked about, more of his surroundings became clear: Thunderlane could see a small stream near him, chicken coops near the house, and numerous trees all around - though there appeared to be a forest right behind him.

To his eye, the setting seemed idyllic - but after a moment, he noticed subtle clues that not all was well. The grass was alive, nowhere near dead, but it seemed far duller than it had any right to be. If Thunderlane had to put a word to it, he would say that the grass was depressed - and that said nothing of the trees and general atmosphere. The trees were gnarled and twisted, possibly suffering from years of poor sunlight or water. And the sound; Thunderlane flicked his ears, listening for any hint of movement. Nothing. No chirping birds, no scampering rodents. Only the sound of running water and a strong breeze.

Thunderlane stood there, absentmindedly grasping his pendant. He looked down at it momentarily before sighing.

“This is... Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy. I wonder if she’s still here. In... Ponyville.”

Thunderlane glanced to his right, the outline of a village plain as day.

“I used to live here. This town. But... everything seems so different from what I remember. Maybe I can find some answers here.”

Thunderlane walked up to the cottage, debating if he should enter. Settling on a compromise, he knocked twice and called, “Hello?” After no response, he opened the door cautiously. Inside, he saw a small bonfire crackling away, and he carefully stepped inside. He was immediately greeted by a gruff voice.

“Oi! Who are ya, and what’re you doin’ in here?”

Thunderlane looked to his right and saw an elderly stallion, somewhere in his sixties if he had to guess. The stallion had  a light gray coat with a dark brown mane, though numerous gray hairs were popping through. Said stallion was glaring at him, and was waiting for a response.

Thunderlane coughed in surprise, then muttered, “Uh, my name’s Thunderlane. I was just... looking for someone.”

The elderly stallion continued to glare at him before barking out, “Bullshit. I knew Thunderlane, and he’s been dead fer decades.”

Thunderlane stared at the stallion, his mouth agape. “W-What!? No, no, wait. What’s your name, uh,  sir?”

The stallion regarded him carefully, no longer glaring, but keeping a close eye on him. “M’name’s Truffle. I’ve been living here for close to sixty years, so I don’t know what kinda trick you’re trying to pull by saying you’re Thunderlane. Cuz you’re not.”

Truffle. Truffle...  “You were one of my little brother’s friends. Rumble, right? I’d pick him up from school every day, and he’d be playing or talking with you and Pipsqueak, sometimes Featherweight. But... you’re an old stallion now.” At this point Thunderlane paced around the room, his breath hitched. “Wait, wait, I’ve been gone for sixty years - dead? There is just no way-”

“Stranger.”

“-way that I could have been dead that long and suddenly been brought back to life. It’s impossible. Hell, resurrection itself is-”

“A-hem?”

“-is impossible, this is all crazy! Celestia, why is everything so fu-”

“THUNDERLANE!”

Thunderlane stopped pacing and sat down, his heart pumping and his mind running at a million miles an hour. He looked at Truffle incredulously. “What?”

“Thunderlane, calm down. Yes, that was a long time ago, but I’ve seen stranger things happen. Believe me, it’s not too far-fetched. Now, I still have my doubts about ya, but I’m willing to set that aside for the moment. Ya calm yet?”

Thunderlane nodded his head slowly.

“Good. I should probably fill you in on what’s happened since ya died. Whatch’a remember?”

Thunderlane racked his brain for a moment before looking back up at Truffle. “...Not too much. I remember dying, I think it was by a sword. There was also a war, which I was apparently enlisted into. I think I may have also had a wife, or a girlfriend. That, and my little brother.”

Truffle nodded sagely. “Right. So, next to nuthin’. Let me fill you in: That war you mentioned? About sixty years ago, there was a war between Equestria and the Minotaur tribes up north. Things had been wonky with the sun and the moon, and minor catastrophes started to pop up. The sun would sometimes stay up for more than twenty four hours, before suddenly plopping down for an hour of nighttime. Happened the other way ‘round, too. We never knew what we’d get. Played havoc with the crops.”

Thunderlane grimaced, only imagining what it would be like to live under those conditions.

“So, we had problems with the sky. There was also minor scuffles here and there in Equestria, but nothing too bad. But, outside? Volcanos long dormant would erupt. Freak storms would approach and wreck havoc, despite anyone’s efforts. Earthquakes, daily.” Truffle’s eyes darkened. “Cerberus even left his post at the entrance to Tartarus. Demons started to trickle out an’ roam the land. Bad times. Very bad times.”

Thunderlane was silent for several seconds before he asked, “So, how did that spark a war?”

Truffle was only too happy to reply. “The minotaurs were both angered and fearful at what was happenin’. Their shamans foretold the end o’ the world. They blamed Celestia and Luna for purposely messing up the daily cycle - though they were apparently doin’ their damndest to keep the sun and moon in check. So, without warning, the minotaurs gathered up their war bands and invaded from the north. The villages they found were flattened in hours. They had a steady march comin’ down, and it took every ounce of the guard’s strength to stop ‘em. It wasn’t long before the guard and the reserves were depleted fighting ‘em. That’s when the draft started.”

“That-That’s horrible! What the hell were the minotaurs thinking, that it was Celestia and Luna’s fault? That by invading they could force them to do something?”

“Huh, that’s exactly what they thought. Nuthin’ like fear to make a pony - or a minotaur - reckless.

“...So, what happened next?”

“Like I said, the draft started. Stallions and eventually mares were pulled out to train and join the fight on the front lines. That’s what happened to you.”

“...And?”

“We got the news you were killed in action two weeks after you shipped out to battle.”

Thunderlane paled.

Truffle scoffed. “Relax, ya wuss. You’re alive now, aren’t ya? Well, granted, for a given value of ‘alive’. Anyway, we had bigger worries back then. The war went on for years, and the catastrophes kept gettin’ worse. Discord tried something odd up in Canterlot, apparently tried to fix everything, and there was a loud explosion that you could hear for miles. Canterlot was half in ruins from it. From what I heard, he messed up so bad that the Sisters were forced to banish him to Tartarus - he was simply too dangerous. And, it only kept going downhill from there. The frontlines... they kept getting pushed back farther and farther south.”

Truffle paused, collecting his breath. He was silent for almost a minute, glancing around the cottage nervously. Sweat ran down the stallion’s neck as he took ragged breaths. Another minute passed.

“Ahem... uh, Truffle? What happened then?”

Truffle glared at him. “I was gettin’ to it, ya fool! It’s just - it’s damn hard to think back to that day.” Truffle sighed. “The frontlines were pushed back all the way to the mountainside underneath Canterlot, pretty much grazing Ponyville. I was old enough to fight then, and so there I was - thrown into my first fight. The largest battle Equestria has ever seen.” Truffle paused, his breath shaky.

“It was bad, Thunderlane. There was, blood, screaming... limbs, just scattered about... the roars of minotaurs, the cries of ponies... Terrible. I don’t - I don’t know how I survived it.” His voice cracked on the last word, and he looked down ashamedly, cradling himself with a forehoof.

Thunderlane looked down awkwardly, unsure of how to comfort the old stallion. Minutes passed as the elder stallion sobbed silently. It was a long while before Truffle was able to take a deep breath. He wiped his eyes with a fore hoof and sighed, his composure restored.

“So... Three days of absolute hell on Equestria. On the third, Celestia disappeared. At least, that’s what I heard. On the frontlines, no one really noticed. But that was when the sun stopped moving entirely. And when I got back the day after... no one in town was quite the same.”

Thunderlane had a dozen questions in his mind, and he spoke the first one on his mind. “So, who won?”

“We did,” Truffle declared. “But we lost a lot of good ponies. Speaking of - don’t head north.”

“Why?”

“The ghosts.”

“...Ghosts.”

“Mm-hmm. Restless spirits that couldn’t find peace after the battle. Minotaurs not so much - they live to fight, and see death as the ultimate glory. They’re fine with dyin’. But lots of ponies died during the battle that weren’t able to say goodbye to loved ones. From what I’ve heard and seen, anyone that heads into the old battle ground is swarmed by lonely ghosts. Presumably, they’re torn apart. And if they don’t come back from a bonfire... well, there’s not much worse than goin’ hollow where the ghosts can grab your soul and make ya one of ‘em.”

“Okay... what about Celestia, and Luna? Actually, who is Luna? Did she rule alongside Celestia?”

“Yeah, she did. S’pose ya wouldn’t, since you didn’t mention it. But yes. Luna controlled the moon, Celestia the sun. Co-rulers. When Celestia disappeared, the sun couldn’t move. No one to control it, and Luna was apparently unable to do it. Something tells me Celestia is still alive, in Equestria, because otherwise Luna would have taken that responsibility. But, whatever. It’s a moot point - Luna disappeared a year after that, too. No one knows what happened to either of ‘em.”

“Right... what about the minotaurs?”

“They retreated after that last battle. Haven’t seen one ‘round these parts in years. Not like we could reach them anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the ghosts, ya dumbass! Geeze,  listen why don’tcha... They’re pretty much overflowin’ in the valley where the battle was. You’d have to take a railcar to Canterlot, then hop off to trek through the mountains up north. Or, go through the mountains to the west, then head up north. No point going through the valley - you’ll just die.”

“Wait a sec, you said railcar to Canterlot?”

“Yeah. It’s broken though. Magical problem or sumthin’. Need it to keep it running, since a pony-pulled train is impossible nowadays. You’d also need the magic to keep out the ghosts, otherwise you’re just a meal on wheels.”

“How could I fix it?” Thunderlane was now riveted to Truffle, intently curious on how to reach Canterlot.

“Um, well, ya’d need a magical sumthin’ to fix it. Listen - I’m not an expert on that. Maybe ask Twilight Sparkle, if she’s still hanging around. Or you could head to the Town Hall, see if the Mayor left something in her office. If those aren’t options, you could always head south to Ghastly Gorge, where all the squatters are. See if one of ‘em has the know-how, as long as they all haven’t hollowed.”

“Wait, you’ve said that before - hollowed. What does it mean?”

“Hollowing? Hell, you should be pretty intimate with it, friend. It’s when you die and lose your equinnity. You end up looking like a zombie and smelling like a damned corpse. And if you lose the will to live - well, good luck on restoring on your complexion, along with your equinnity.”

“How do you restore it?” It wasn’t a question - it was a demand.

“You get equinnity by scrapping around for it, finding a parasprite, or - Celestia forbid - steal it from another sane undead like yourself by killing ‘em. After that, sacrifice it to a bonfire and purge yourself in the flames.”

“What’s a parasprite?”

“Oh, right. They look like little puff balls, colorful, kinda cute. They used to fly and eat anything they could get their mouths on - even ponies - but now they mostly just roll around and be lazy. They can’t reproduce like they used to neither, so all the food that goes into making another is just stored up into fat, making ‘em lazy. So, no point in holding onto ‘em to try and breed ‘em.”

“A parasprite... like... this one?” Thunderlane pulled out the small pink insect thing he had found on Shining Armor’s body.

Truffle inspected it carefully, looking over its puffy body. “Yup. That’s a parasprite. Great, now just smash it on the floor and use the bonfire.”

Thunderlane gawked at Truffle. “Wait, what!? Did you just say to smash it on the ground?”

“Or crush it. I’m not too picky on how you say it or do it.”

“Wha- bu- wha- No. Just... just what the hell are you talking about?”

Truffle frowned at Thunderlane. “Well how else did ya think you were gonna get the equinnity? By petting it and givin’ it kisses? Just smash the damn thing and be done with it!”

Thunderlane put the purring fluff ball back into his bag and sealed it tight. “Um, no. I’ll get equinnity another way.”

“Pff. Do whatever you want, ya wuss. Not my fault if you hollow out there,” Truffle scoffed at Thunderlane. “Now, are ya gonna stand there like an idiot, or do ya have more questions?”

“Well... uh... what do you know about a unicorn named Shining Armor?”

“Shining? Sure, I know about him. He’s Twilight’s brother, the Captain of Celestia’s guard, and co ruler of the Crystal Empire alongside his wife, Cadance.”

Thunderlane grimaced, trying to soothe his guilt over killing the well-meaning guard.

Even if he did act like a jerk.

“Okay... and what’s the Crystal Empire? Where is it?”

“To the north. It acted as a refuge for ponies that wanted to escape the war down here - sort of our last bastion of peace. Unless the minotaurs wanted to travel through the Northern Wastes, they weren’t even gonna get close to the Empire. ‘Course, after a while, the graveyards in Canterlot and other towns were filled. They started to send the bodies up there, where they wouldn’t be desecrated. Lots of mass burials there.”

And guess where I woke up...

“What about now?”

“Haven’t had contact in years. Not like our government really exists anymore, but there ya go. The rails went through the valley anyway, so they were likely torn up during the battle. And, without anyone able to go in and fix ‘em, or even check to make sure they’re still there, it’s a deathwish to try and take a railcar up to the Crystal Empire. Seriously, don’t try it, friend.”

“Alright. I think I only have a few more questions. I came in here because I know the mare that lives here. Fluttershy. Do you know her?”

Truffle nodded sagely. “Yup. She’s upstairs, probably thinkin’ or drinkin’ some tea. She won’t talk to no one now, not after the battle.”

“Wow. She must eighty now, or something like that.”

“Nope. She looks like she’s in her mid-thirties, but don’t let that fool ya. She’s older than I am by a good amount.”

“Huh? How?”

“Hell if I know. Ask Twilight, she’s the one that’s been studying this damn perpetual sun and curse for the past sixty years.”

“I know that the sun stays still now, but what does that have to do with aging?”

“Like I said, I don’t know. Stop pestering me already, will ya? Just go ask her if you’re so damn curious.”

“Right. One last thing - Is there anything in the forest? I was thinking of heading in there for-”

“HAAAAHAHAHAAAA!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at the stallion’s outburst. “Um, what’s so funny?”

Truffle wiped an eye in mirth, still chuckling. “Hehehehe... boy, that was funny! Listen up: ya wouldn’t last two seconds in there. It’s just as much a deathtrap as the valley.”

“Let me guess: a wild assortment of beasts that would love to make me their dinner?”

“Nope. All the manticores and timberwolves were driven out. Notice how I said that the valley was overflowin’ with ghosts? A good number of ‘em decided to make the forest their eternal home. Somethin’s drawing ‘em in. The old ruins, if I had to guess. So, with their bloodthirsty nature, naturally they’ll kill anything that steps a hoof in there. They literally killed the forest - nothing but trees and shrubs grow in there now. Sorry, but you’re pretty much stuck here in Ponyville, friend.”

Thunderlane sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Wait... I’m sitting?

Thunderlane glanced and confirmed he was sitting - he was even holding a mug of what looked like tea. Evidently he had been so engrossed in conversation that he hadn’t noticed when he sat down and Truffle offered him a cup. Thunderlane had yet to take a sip of the now cool liquid. He hastily slurped it down.

Truffle guffawed. “Heh. I was wondering when you would drink it.”

Thunderlane grinned wryly. “Got distracted. You’ve thrown a heap of stuff for me to juggle, and now I’m wondering what I’m going to do.”

“Well, you sounded like you wanted to head up to Canterlot. That right?”

Thunderlane nodded.

“Okay. Then head to Twilight’s Treehouse and see if there’s somethin’ there. If not, go to the Townhall and find Mayor Mare’s office. Just watch out for the hollows - they tend to make travel a tad... difficult, ya know?”

Thunderlane grimaced as he set down his cup. “Tell me about it...”

“So, why you so dead-set on gettin’ to the mountain? You’re riskin’ a lot going around at a time like this, when there’s hollows everywhere. Hell, Canterlot might be a deathtrap for all ya know. So why?”

Thunderlane looked down for a moment, debating whether he could tell the stallion.

A moment passed in silence.

Another moment passed.

“I think I’ll go and see Fluttershy now, see if she’ll open up to me,” Thunderlane said before standing up and heading to the stairs. Truffle watched as the younger stallion walked off. A droll smile lifted his face.

“Heh. Dumbass.”

Thunderlane knocked on the closed door softly, wondering if he should even be interrupting Fluttershy. He admittedly didn’t know her too well, but it would be nice to see a familiar face that wasn’t one of his brother’s old friends or a bloodthirsty guard.

The door creaked open with no effort. Stepping in, Thunderlane immediately saw Fluttershy’s yellow coat. She was sitting on her bed, looking out the window, presumably to Ponyville. The town was a decent distance away, and had an even more distinguished outline from higher up. Thunderlane looked out the window for another second before returning his attention to the butter-yellow pegasus. She was currently facing away from him, and hadn’t reacted to the open door at all.

“Hey... Fluttershy? Hello?”

Thunderlane walked to the side of the bed, looking curiously at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy? It’s me, Thunderlane. Do you remember me?”

Fluttershy’s face held no emotions, no indication that she even heard him.

Thunderlane half frowned, unsure what to do. “...Hello? Can you hear me?”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and tilted her head down. Before Thunderlane could do anything, she looked up again and barely glanced at Thunderlane, a mournful look plastered onto her face. Thunderlane recoiled a bit, not expecting such a look.

I wonder... it must be the dead skin...

“Listen... it’s not that bad, Fluttershy. As soon as I can get some equinnity-”

Fluttershy emitted an almost inaudible “eep” before facing away from him again. She stared out the window, apparently done with her one-sided conversation with Thunderlane.

What the hell did I say? Did I offend her? Is she...?

Thunderlane could see some light reflect off Fluttershy’s cheek; there was a single tear.

Thunderlane grimaced, slowly backing away from the bed. “Uh... sorry, Fluttershy. I guess I’ll... head on out, now. Um... nice seeing you. Yeah... Bye.”

I can’t believe she didn’t say so much as a single word. I mean, yeah, she’s quiet and timid all the time, but she should know me well enough to not be nervous around me! Well, sixty years... and, now that I think about it, she still looks pretty young...

Thunderlane sighed, closing the door behind him as he walked back down the stairs.

“So, no luck talkin’ to her, huh?”

“Nope.”

“Heh. Don’t go feeling sorry for yourself. Or her, for that matter. She’s been like that ever since the battle under Canterlot started. Haven’t heard a peep from her since.”

“Right.”

“Mm-hmm. So what now, mister walking corpse?”

Thunderlane glared at Truffle, who was smirking. “I’m heading to the Treehouse. I’d imagine Town Square is filled with hollows, so it would probably be easier to get there first.”

“Okay. Well, see ya later.”

“Wait, what?”

“Ya seem to like saying that a lot. Are ya going or not? Ya look like ya have everythin’ ya need, and you’re only wastin’ your own time by waitin’ around. So, are ya going?”

Thunderlane shrugged. “I... guess I am. See you around, Truffle.”

“Uh huh.”

Thunderlane left the gruff stallion and the bonfire inside Fluttershy’s house. Once outside, he pointed himself in the direction of Ponyville and set off, intent on finding Twilight’s Library.

Hell of a way to start finding my brother...