The Glorious Sun

Thunderlane ducked as a wave of fire narrowly passed over his head. Hitting the ground, the stallion crawled his way alongside the collapsed wall he had found himself hiding behind. Another stream of fire hit the opposite side, heating up the air - and Thunderlane - considerably. Sweat dripped down the pegasi’s brow as he curled up, waiting for the blast to stop so he could move again.

I wonder how I ended up in this situation...

The wave of fire ceased. Thunderlane jumped up from his now crispy wall and dashed for the gutted building fifteen feet off to the side. A roar pierced the air, and as Thunderlane crossed through the doorway and dived to the side, yet another wave of fire blasted through the doorway. Thunderlane waited until the fire was gone before sprinting to the back of what he now recognized was an abandoned house. A rumbling voice called out from behind him.

“Keep running, squirt! You’re just making it fun for me! Hahahaha!! I haven’t had someone put up so much of a fight in years!”

Thunderlane was almost to the doorway in the back before he heard the crunch of wood being snapped and torn apart. Looking back, a large red claw destroyed the front half of the first floor, the walls collapsing inward and flaming splinters speeding through the air. Thunderlane took a tentative step towards the door before an even louder groan shook the house. All of the front support beams and columns snapped, causing the second floor to lean to the front of the house before crashing down completely.

Thunderlane threw himself at the far wall, trying to avoid being crushed. His luck held - the far wall had yet to be scratched, though the stress from the collapsing building ensured it wouldn’t hold for long. With dismay, Thunderlane noticed that the door he had been running towards was crushed and blocked by support beams.

I think I remember now. Lots of running, fire, laughter. Lots of destroyed buildings, too.

The stallion feverishly looked around, trying to find any path back outside. Aside from the destroyed side door, his only options were to go back to the flaming, debris ridden front entrance and risk being killed, or to head up the now crooked staircase to the second floor. With only a split second of hesitation, he ran up the stairs.

“GRAAAH!!! As soon as I get out of this tinder pile, I’m crushing you!”

He’s certainly a charming individual.

Thunderlane paused at the head of the stairs. Amazingly, no windows could be seen on the second floor. Thunderlane screamed in frustration, “Who the hell doesn’t have windows on the second floor!?”

The collapsed floor in front of him shifted in response to his yell. The leaning wood floor lifted up for a second before slamming down again, sending another flurry of wooden slivers at Thunderlane. He raised his shield up, deflecting the majority of the wood. When he dared to peek over the shield again, a large, red reptilian face looked up at him, smoke wafting up from its nostrils.

Thunderlane readied his sword, knowing this would be his only chance at retaliation, and possibly to escape the rapidly disintegrating house. He roared in defiance, leaping forward and driving his sword downward.

Fucking dragon.

Twenty Minutes Earlier...

Thunderlane trudged along the path to Ponyville. He hadn’t encountered any enemies, but he was tired. Years of neglect and overgrowth made the path more akin to an animal trail than an actual road. Ten minutes passed before he walked across a bridge and entered Ponyville proper, and he was mildly shocked by what lay before him.

The town appeared to be near abandoned. The majority of houses were run down and boarded over. Grass grew to prodigious heights all around, and weeds sprouted from every crack in the walls. Even worse, it appeared that most of the inhabitants had lost the will to continue living - dozens of hollowed ponies roamed the streets, mindlessly searching for food or a scrap of equinnity.

Thunderlane methodically carved his way through the town, blocking the attacks of the former residents and slicing them with his sword. He encountered few problems; most of the hollows did a pitiful job of attacking Thunderlane. There had been one exception, though.

Thunderlane found himself cornered by three spear-wielding hollows. They had their shields raised, and had managed to block all of Thunderlane’s attacks while wounding him heavily. Thunderlane backed up to the front of a house, muscles spasming from his wounds. “Come on...” he muttered. “Come on, already...”

The hollow on his right thrusted with its spear, and Thunderlane managed to duck and avoid the tip with inches to spare. The spear pierced the door behind Thunderlane, cracking the boards nailed to the front of the door.

Just as Thunderlane was standing up, the hollow directly in front of him charged, bashing him with his shield. Thunderlane took the hit hard, and both he and the hollow broke through the door. They landed with a thud, both disoriented from the fall and the shattered wood. Thunderlane was able to recover first, and managed to shove off the hollow before thrusting his sword into its head.

Standing up again, Thunderlane noted that his two remaining pursuers were running right through the door. He avoided the pair’s thrusts and managed to close a door on them, buying him precious seconds. He reached for his bag and grasped the the golden flask. He flipped open the top and took two swigs.

Its half empty... he silently commented as he stuffed the bottle back inside his bag.

The door he was hiding behind jolted from the hollows pounding on the other side. Thunderlane stepped away from the door, raising his shield in preparation for the two spear users. After three more seconds of battering on the door, they broke through and the first one charged at Thunderlane.

Thunderlane was ready for it, and knocked aside its spear before thrusting his sword up into its neck, instantly killing the hollow. His final opponent took advantage of the distraction to step to Thunderlane’s side and thrust. As soon as Thunderlane had withdrawn his sword from the hollow, his side was pierced.

“Damn it!” he cursed, stepping away from the hollow who had just injured him. The hollow thrusted with its spear again, but hit solid metal as Thunderlane blocked. Thunderlane swiped his sword quickly, cutting the hollow’s front hooves and chest. Staggering back, the hollow bumped into the wall and gaped at Thunderlane with an open mouth. Thunderlane didn’t hesitate to shove his sword into its chest, and ended the frantic fight.

Thunderlane stood in the room, panting for air. After a moment he took another swig of estus and was ready to move on, before he heard something scampering upstairs.

Stepping into the room that had stairs, he heard the same noises from upstairs increase before he heard a door open and heard someone come down the stairs. He was shocked to see a mare with a filly on her back, both evidently alive and sane. “Uh...”

“P-please! Don’t hurt us! Don’t - I won’t let you hurt my baby!” the mare shrieked, backing away from Thunderlane in fear. Thunderlane stepped back himself, surprised by the mare’s fear.

“Whoa, whoa! I’m not gonna hurt you, lady! You can leave if you want, I was just trying to get away from that bunch!” he answered back, pointing to the dead hollows near the front entrance.

The mare glanced at the dead bodies before setting her eyes back on Thunderlane, her breath fast and uneven. Without saying another word she bolted for the back of the house, and Thunderlane heard a door thrown open and the galloping of a panicked mare. He sighed and shuffled back to the front door. Stepping onto the street, Thunderlane was ready to keep moving before he heard something rumble from above.

Looking up, he saw a large red dragon fly overhead. Then he heard it take in a deep breath. His eyes widening, Thunderlane stumbled back inside the house just as a fireball struck the ground. The fire persisted for several seconds before most of it petered out. Looking back out, Thunderlane could see the dragon perched on the roof of one of the buildings on the other side of the street. It was looking down at him.

“Heh. You’re the first pony I’ve seen that’s tried to take cover from me in a long time. I like hunting, and it’s gotten boring over the years. So, here’s my offer: I’ll give you a twenty second head start down that street before I kill you. Or, stay in there and I’ll crush you and that house in tenseconds.”

The dragon narrowed its eyes at Thunderlane, a smirk forming on its face.

“Clock’s ticking, meat.”

Present time

Thunderlane drove his sword deep into the dragon’s snout. The dragon roared in anger and lifted itself up, sending most of the debris flying and collapsing what remained of the house. Thunderlane just held onto the sword, praying he wouldn’t fall off. As the dragon stood up, he became painfully aware of the fact that his wings didn’t work. The dragon was standing, and it seemed to only get higher and higher.

Eventually the dragon was standing straight up, its full height twice that of the houses below. Its eyes centered on Thunderlane, who suddenly felt like an ant. A second passed before Thunderlane slowly withdrew his sword and the dragon gritted its teeth. Another second passed in silence, the giant glaring at the pegasus standing on its nose.

...Shit.

The dragon roared, almost throwing off Thunderlane from the vibrations alone. Then, the dragon lifted up a claw and dragged it along its snout, trying to brush off the pegasus. Thunderlane jumped over the claw and managed to half walk, half crawl up to the dragon’s eyes. He gripped the scales on the dragon’s face as it shook violently, trying to throw him off. It paused and looked to see if it had succeeded, and Thunderlane took advantage of the pause. He leaned over and stabbed the red dragon in its eye. The dragon bellowed and quickly swiped at Thunderlane, who was smashed against the dragon’s face before a claw dug into his body and flung him off.

Thunderlane fell, his sword spinning away from him and his shield attached to him bodily only by its strap. The few seconds he was falling felt like an eternity, and he was too shocked to scream.

In the back of his mind, he thought, This is going to be a hell of a walk back to town.

Thunderlane closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable impact, but it never came. Opening his eyes, he realized he was hovering in midair. He looked at his wings, wondering if he had spontaneously fixed them, before noticing the faint purple glow ensconcing his body.

A roar rattled Thunderlane. He looked up and saw the dragon swipe at him, one of its eyes bloody and shut closed. Before the claw could reach him, a bright purple beam struck the dragon, knocking it and making it stumble. The dragon glared to somewhere behind Thunderlane before another beam hit his nose, making it yelp. The dragon widened its eyes before it took a step back. It thought for a moment and evidently decided to retreat, flying away while clutching its face.

Thunderlane sighed in relief as he saw the red drake fly off. He noticed he was being lowered to the ground at a steady pace, and he looked to who or what had saved him. He was mildly surprised to see a purple mare looking straight at him, her horn aglow and her demeanor one of bemusement.

She had said two words.

“Follow me.”

The thought of disobeying didn’t so much as cross Thunderlane’s mind, not when he was acutely aware of the fact that she could crush him in a heartbeat. He had no clue where the mare was taking him, but he followed wordlessly. The walk was peaceful, at the very least.

Several minutes passed in an awkward silence. Just as Thunderlane worked up the courage to ask where they were heading, they entered a large, open area in the city, and in the center was a tree. When Thunderlane looked closer, he saw windows, birdfeeders, and even a door.

“A literal treehouse?” he said to no one in particular.

“Yes,” came a response. Thunderlane shifted his attention back to the purple unicorn mare that was leading him. She had answered his question, and held a neutral gaze at Thunderlane.

“Oh. Uh...”

“Relax. It’s my house, and we’ll be safe in there.”

Wait, she lives there? Then-

“Is your name Twilight Sparkle?”

The mare at him curiously. “Yes. Strange, I don’t believe we’ve met before. Of course-” Twilight held a hoof to her chin and looked up in thought - “there are lots of ponies that know me, even nowadays...”

Thunderlane stepped forward and held a hoof out. “No, no, we haven’t met before. My name’s Thunderlane.”

Twilight shook his hoof cautiously. “Thunderlane? But I’ve heard that name before... if you’re a pegasus... huh.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Thunderlane asked, dropping his hoof back to the ground after the shake.

“The only Thunderlane I remember was the stallion that was sick the day Rainbow Dash attempted to create the tornado outside of town. But, that was years ago. And I remember his name was called out in the casualty lists not long after the war started... You’re him?”

“Uh... I guess?”

Twilight looked at him incredulously. “Wha-?? How!? It’s been twenty years since it ended! You should be dead, your body rotted!”

Thunderlane frowned at Twilight, holding his shield in front of him protectively. “Hey, I don’t know what’s going on right now. And my body isn’t that bad off - do I look dead to you?”

“You look like a walking corpse. Like every other pony in this town,” she deadpanned at him.

Thunderlane scoffed, “What? Those brain dead fools that attack anything with a heartbeat? I’m at least coherent, thank you very much.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, you have a point. What are-”

There was a moan from behind the pair. Thunderlane turned around and saw a hollow sprinting at them with a dagger. He threw his shield up, preparing for the hit, when a blinding shaft of light blew right past him. When he could see again, the hollow was gone. Thunderlane smelt a faint hint of ash.

Twilight spoke up from behind him. “How about we take this inside? Less chance of an interruption.”

“Yeah, let’s,” he replied, still eyeing the scorch mark that had been the hollow.

“So, Thunderlane, I was going to ask you what you are doing in Ponyville. You’ve been dead twenty years, and here you are, wandering the streets like a clingy ghost.”

Twilight and Thunderlane were sitting in her Treehouse, the walls lined with books and the decorations still cozy. The whole building harked to better times. At the moment, Twilight had just served tea and was questioning Thunderlane while they sat on opposite couches.

Thunderlane sipped his tea before answering. “I’m trying to find my brother. And last I heard, I was dead for sixty years, not twenty.”

“Sixty? But, it’s only been- oh.”

“What?”

“Who told you that? That you’ve been gone sixty years?”

“Some gruff old stallion named Truffle. Talked to him outside of town, at Fluttershy’s house.”

Twilight set her teacup down. “...Well, I knew him when he was a colt.”

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at Twilight. “But you don’t look anywhere near-”

“I know, I know,” she waved off with a hoof. “Listen. Time is convoluted here. In Equestria. Strange things happen, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“So... has it been twenty years or sixty?”

“Both. Neither.”

“...Huh?”

“It’s best not to question it. I’ve spent almost all of my time since the end of the war trying to find an answer, a way to fix it. Hah! And I have nothing to show for it!”

Twilight laughed grimly, her eyes pinned to floor. Her pained smile disappeared quickly, replaced with a morose frown. She tapped her hoof on the side of the couch, staring at the floor silently.

Thunderlane sipped more tea. “So...” he muttered, letting the word hang in the air.

“Pay attention to what time feels like to you. That’s all that really matters, in the end.”

Thunderlane swiveled his head, unsure how to reply to her comment. He stood up and slowly walked to the window, peering outside. He saw scarce movement outside, hollows both on the street and standing in front of windows in their own buildings. He stared for a long time, not thinking of the undoubtedly long journey ahead of him.

He heard the couch squeak from behind. There was the steady clop of hooves on hard wood approaching him.

“If you want to stay sane out there, to not lose yourself and become a lost soul in a sea of lost souls, you need to have a goal. Something to fight for. Without one... you might as well have let that dragon swallow you whole. So, do you have one?”

Thunderlane took in a deep breath, his eyes glued on the outside world.

“I’m looking for my brother. He’s somewhere in Canterlot. And, well, I have this pendant.” He absentmindedly toyed with the pendant around his neck. “Apparently, I knew someone from before. Someone close. I’m trying to find her too, but, my biggest priority is Canterlot at the moment.” Thunderlane glanced back at Twilight. “And you? Twenty years is a long time. What’s your goal?”

Twilight smirked and shook her head.

“I guess you could say I’m trying to find my own personal sun.”