There was nothing like a good, low flight over Ponyville to work up an appetite for lunch.
Thunderlane stood poised on the edge of a cloud for a long, exhilirating moment. He loved this feeling of being just about to lose his balance and plummet, knowing his wings would adjust instinctively to catch him; it added to the adrenaline rush when he nosedived and leveled out, clearing the whole town in one swoop. He didn’t have the grace or the blinding speed of Rainbow Dash, but who did except for the Wonderbolts?
Besides, he was one of the best weather ponies in the area and a storm specialist in particular. Nopony could craft a controlled thunderstorm like him. In fact, it was part of his job to check things out on the ground before he gave other Pegasi the signal to let ‘er rip. And there was no rule that said it couldn’t be fun.
He tilted, dove, and flew like lightning. ”Woo-hooooooo!”
Not exactly in the spirit of Weather Bureau policy, but as long as he minimized the property damage, few complained. And after that crazy horned guy swiped his magic the other day, he needed a good flight.
Thunderlane grinned as the entire surface of Ponyville went by him in one colorful blur. Over the schoolhouse and the town hall, past Sugarcube Corner, twice around the clock tower just for fun as he curved toward the outskirts of town and WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT HUGE UGLY BLUE AND PURPLE THING DOING THERE HE COULDN’T STOP COULDN’T DODGE IT COULDN’T STOP
“Uh-oh,” he squeaked.
Twilight shivered and dropped her crown unceremoniously onto the Table of Harmony. She had stubbed a few hooves on the chairs before her eyes adjusted to the dark. There were no permanent lights in this castle yet. A few windows offered some natural illumination, but not when the sky had clouded over. It was so cold in here, too. Not merely the kind of chill that lingered in stone and crystal, but the kind that came from feeling alone.
“This will be good for you, Twilight. It will help you grow.” The Princess said before excusing her from the throne room.
Well, I have been growing lately, Twilight thought. Her reflection stared soberly back at her from the walls. Lately she’d begun to notice that her legs and horn were getting just a little longer, her wings slightly more prominent on her sides.
It was decided. She would not be living in Golden Oak any longer. She would not even be allowed to rebuild it. She must stay here in her new castle and move on. After all, what kind of princess would she be if she remained a librarian forever? Celestia didn’t seem to think that was acceptable, and Twilight couldn’t blame her. But she would at least have liked an opportunity, a pretense to choose.
Ever since the meeting, she couldn’t get that word out of her mind. Princess Celestia had given her the time and the freedom to choose what her new role would be as an Equestrian head of state, and Twilight was grateful for it. But if she could do that…
Then why couldn’t I choose between princess and librarian?
Alicorn and unicorn?
Why was I rewarded, and not my friends?
For all of the past year Twilight had ignored those questions, swallowed the doubts, waited to see where this new leg of her journey would lead. Ever the dedicated student, she believed everything her teacher told her even as she struggled to understand it, and at the very last minute she thought she did: her destiny was to spread friendship throughout Equestria. After all, the magic of friendship, unlocked by the keys and channeled into her and her friends through the Tree of Harmony, was the very thing that had finally beaten Tirek.
Yet as the events of yesterday played over and over in her mind, she realized it was the only thing that subdued him. All the alicorn magic in Equestria, and her authority as princess to use it, ultimately made no difference.
She was getting used to the wings, and the weight of the crown on her head. But in some ways, they still didn’t fit.
She was pacing again. Owloysius watched her curiously from the Table.
“What am I going to do?” she asked him.
“Hoo,” the owl replied. He tilted his head suddenly as if sensing something out of place, then quietly took flight and landed on Twilight’s back.
She smiled in spite of her inner turmoil. “Owloysius, what’s wrong? You never sit on my--”
A tremendous crash echoed through the central chamber as a gray pegasus pony dropped like a stone onto the Table of Harmony, accompanied by a shower of broken glass. He didn’t move.
Time stopped for a moment. Twilight stood there gaping at the unexpected visitor, frozen by shock, all other concerns forgotten. Finally she recovered and rushed over to him. “Hey! Um...are you okay?”
“Ugggh,” he responded.
At least he was conscious. Twilight examined his wings. They had a few nicks and loose feathers but did not appear damaged. The rest of him seemed okay too, minus some bruises that were already rising under his coat. Twilight looked up and put a wondering hoof to her chin. She thought it was only Rainbow Dash who had a knack for finding windows when she crashed into buildings, but maybe it was a common trait among Pegasi.
She was still staring up at the recently created hole when the pony beneath her coughed a few times. She glanced down to find his amber eyes open and staring curiously into her own. “Whoa. Did I just go to the big cloud in the sky? ‘Cause you sure look heavenly to me.”
“What? No, no! You’re alive. And I think you’re going to be...” Twilight being Twilight, she did not immediately realize he was flirting with her. She paused awkwardly and blushed. “...Um, fine.”
“You know what? So do I,” the pony winked and sat up as smoothly as possible on the hard surface of the table. “I’m Thunderlane, weather pony and a way better flyer than I looked like just now, I swear. What’s your name?”
“Twilight Sparkle. I mean, Princess Twilight...well I don’t really like that name,” she rambled nervously. How was she supposed to introduce herself, now that she had her own castle? “Um, let’s just say I’m Twilight Sparkle and I’m a princess, and this is my castle. But you don’t have to call me that! Princess, I mean. Some ponies act like it’s a rule or something, but it’s not actually written anywhere in the Laws of Equestria that a dignitary must be addressed by their title.”
Most ponies would have bowed or at least apologized for being so informal, but Thunderlane didn’t bat an eye. He just nodded patiently through the monologue and grinned. “Is that so? Well, the pleasure’s all mine…Twilight. Say, you look really familiar. Didn’t you help out Rainbow Dash at Tornado Day a while back?”
“Yes, I did! When I was still a unicorn.”
He shrugged. “Unicorn, alicorn, no big deal. I’d remember your face anywhere.”
Cue another blush. No big deal? When was the last time somepony thought that? “Thanks. Um…I measured your wing power. You came in at 9.3.”
“Wow, you remember that? I wanted to do better but I was coming down with the feather flu that day,” Thunderlane hopped down from the table and rubbed his forehead, wincing. “So did a bunch of other good flyers, thanks to me. Not my proudest moment. Catch up with me some other time and I’ll tell you what was. Right now, there’s a storm with my name on it that’s supposed to start any minute.”
He was leaving already? “Are you sure? You took a really hard fall there. Maybe you should see a doctor just in case.”
“It’s sweet of you to worry about me, but I’m fine now. I’ve had worse landings than this. Not that it happens every day, but then brand new castles don’t jump into my flight path every day either. Where did this monster come from, anyway?”
Twilight looked sheepish. “Well, that’s kind of a long story, but yesterday--”
“Surprise!!” Somepony cried as a loud BOOM and a maelstrom of confetti filled the chamber.
Both ponies jumped about ten feet before turning around to see who was there--though it was an easy guess. Pinkie Pie jumped up and down behind her still-smoking party cannon, flanked by Spike and the rest of Twilight’s friends.
“It’s your Surprise Super-Duper Cheering-Up Castle-Warming Party!” Pinkie said proudly. “At first it was gonna be just a Housewarming Party. But we already had a party yesterday so I knew this one had to be Super-Duper! And then Rarity said this was a castle and not a house, so I made it a Castle-Warming Party. Plus Spike told us that you were awfully sad and frowny so we wanted to cheer you up too! And I didn’t think we’d able to surprise you since you’re already home, but you didn’t hear us come in so—”
“In other words, we’re here for you, Twilight,” Applejack mercifully interrupted. “And we brought you a few things to make this big, high-falutin’ place feel more like home.”
“But we certainly didn’t know you had...company.” Rarity glanced between the two of them with great interest.
Rainbow Dash was smirking, too. “Didn’t think I’d see you here, Thunder. You on break again already?”
He ran a hoof through his distinctive striped mane. “Oh, you know...just checking in with the folks down here before we kick off the storm. Can’t be too careful, right, Dash?”
Dash spotted the broken glass on the table and put two and two together. “...Oh, yeah. Totally. And you just thought you’d come in through the window, huh?”
“Some ponies are just too cool for doors, Dash,” Thunderlane said nonchalantly. “You know how it is. I gotta go, but ladies, this storm’s for you.”
Twilight couldn’t help noticing her friends’ differing reactions; Rarity looked flattered, Fluttershy made an odd squeaking noise and looked down, Pinkie giggled innocently, Dash rolled her eyes, and Spike stuck a finger in his mouth and pretended to gag. Applejack paid little attention to Thunderlane at all; she was looking between Twilight herself and the upturned crown on the table.
The Pegasus gave them a careless wave goodbye, meeting Twilight’s eyes for just a moment, and managed to conceal any residual pain as he strolled out the door.
“Try to be more careful!” she called after his fading hoofsteps.
“Hmph. Who does he think he is?” Spike grumbled. He was lugging a small wagon full of slightly singed literature. “Well, here, Twilight. I know it’s not much, but we looked through what was left and some of these books from home are still okay.”
“Oh, Spike,” Twilight’s eyes watered as she leaned over the salvaged books. To her amazement, one of them was the friendship journal. She levitated it gently from the wagon, then picked Spike up as well and held both of them close to her. “It feels like everything right now. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but...can you put me down? C’mon, Twilight, not in front of everyone...”
She just hugged him harder. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad day after all.
The first claps of thunder reverberated outside Canterlot Castle.
Discord materialized in the throne room moments later, dripping wet with a raincoat and galoshes on. “Rain just isn’t the same without the chocolate,” he said wistfully.
The Princesses were only mildly surprised at his appearance, but Luna still eyed him suspiciously. “Sister, thee knows We do not like him.” she said quietly.
“And you know it is not good form to use the royal We when addressing your own sister,” Celestia chided her.
Luna looked sheepish. “We—I mean, I apologize.”
“Apology accepted.”
“But must I endure his presence before my throne?”
The draconequus overheard them. “Why, you wound me, Princess Luna!” The raincoat changed into a layer of bandages that covered his entire mismatched body. “I come here only to seek yours and your sister’s forgiveness for the...unfortunate events of the other day.”
Luna glared. “Verily, that We trusted thee is the truly unfortunate thing.”
Discord looked away, for once without a witty comeback.
The Princess of the Moon studied him suspiciously, wondering if he was merely pretending to be hurt. “…If thou dost seek forgiveness, know that it shall not be easily won. We will now retire for Our day’s rest. Thou may begin to atone by staying thy hand of mischief during that time. Sister, good day.”
“The same to you, Luna. Sleep well.”
She nodded curtly and left her throne without further ceremony.
“I see the moon is still cheesed,” Discord sighed when she had gone.
Celestia gave him a stern look.
The bandages vanished. “Yes, yes. The whole ‘turning on Equestria’ thing. What can I say? I can hardly justify my actions except to say that I missed the old days, and thought I might be able to return to them. An unwise decision. But I also gave you flowers…” He folded his forelegs (his paw and his claw to be precise) and gave her puppy-dog eyes, a disturbing sight to say the least.
Celestia was unmoved. “Be that as it may...the most important thing is that you apologized and helped Twilight and her friends to defeat Tirek in the end. Do not mistake me; the damage can be repaired, but it cannot be undone. It may be a long time before you are trusted with authority again. I take the welfare of Equestria just as seriously as I did in ‘the old days’.”
Discord levitated as if relaxing in an invisible hammock. “I suppose telling you to relax and lighten up would ring rather hollow at this point…”
“You suppose correctly.”
“…But bear with me, Celestia. It took us over a thousand years just to get to know each other. I have thought about what I nearly lost, besides Equestria as we know it. And I think I am beginning to understand it…very well.”
The Princess examined him silently. For once, he appeared to be sincere.
“I am glad you feel that way. But perhaps your afternoon would be better spent with those who do not have a thousand years to understand you.”
The lord of chaos hesitated. “Well, that’s the kicker, I’m afraid.” Instant sneakers, which he used to kick his way out of the imaginary hammock and onto the floor. “I really haven’t the slightest idea what to say to them. How can I...well, never mind. For reasons of my own, I think I’ll just stick it out here.”
How can I make it up to Fluttershy for throwing away her trust in me, all for a short power trip with that insufferable centaur, he wanted to ask. But, that was more candid than he preferred to be with a former adversary, however cordial she might be now.
“As you wish. If you don’t mind, I think I will pass the time by reading some of my old correspondences,” The Princess had a mischievous gleam in her eye as her magic lifted a large folder from beneath her chair. “It is a hobby of mine.”
“Of course it is,” Discord rolled his eyes, looking as though he would rather be outside in the rain.
The monarch cleared her throat and recited one of her letters aloud. " ‘Dear Princess Celestia...friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing,’ " She looked up in time to see Discord fidgeting uncomfortably. " ‘Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You’ve got to share. You’ve got to care. Sincerely, your faithful student and all of her new friends from Appleloosa...’ "
Discord couldn’t take any more. “You are truly merciless, Princess. Very well, I’ll go find them already. Arrivederci!” He scoffed and disappeared.
Celestia sat back and enjoyed some rare peace and quiet. Speaking of Twilight Sparkle, perhaps she would schedule another meeting with her next week--just to see how her latest transition was coming along. Her student’s trepidation was cause for concern.
I do want you to be happy, Twilight, she thought to herself. Your potential is still so much greater than you realize. Equestria needs you.
She reopened another letter.
And so do I.
The Surprise Super-Duper Cheering-Up Castle-Warming Party was going strong. After Twilight used her magic to restore the broken window glass, her friends set about making her sitting room more comfortable. Applejack had brought a small bookshelf cobbled together by Apple Bloom, and of course, some apple treats. Rarity gave her some blankets, fancy rugs and drapes for all the windows, all in shades of purple. Rainbow Dash brought her some odd-looking weights (”You just tie ‘em to your wings every morning and stretch slowly up and down. Really strengthens the ol’ muscles!”). Fluttershy donated some birdhouses to attach to the outside of the building--a castle this big was bound to attract birds, she reasoned, so why not make them more comfortable here? And Pinkie Pie, of course, brought a cake.
Twilight was used to her friends being generous, but this time it made her so emotional she could hardly speak. She wanted to tell them everything she was feeling, all of her doubts and fears. But the words wouldn’t come, and she didn't want to spoil the mood.
When all the new things were in their proper places, the festivities began. Despite Rarity’s protests, Rainbow Dash proceeded to entertain the other ponies with a highly exaggerated story of the dressmaker’s morning mishap. Applejack was less interested in that sort of thing and took the opportunity to look down at her farm from the castle balcony. Twilight followed her outside. The rain was letting up, and the fresh air smelled wonderful.
“Well, I’ll be!” Applejack exclaimed, jabbing her hoof at the view of Ponyville. “Ain’t that somethin’, Twilight? You can see almost the whole darn orchard from up here!”
“Yes. It’s beautiful,” Twilight nodded slowly, though her stare went much farther than the Acres.
Applejack looked at her curiously. “You sure are quiet tonight. Still thinking about the library?”
Twilight didn’t want to trouble her with it. “Oh...just a little. But I guess I had to let it go sooner or later, right?”
“Don’t know,” the farmpony shrugged. “Is that how you feel?”
“Applejack...how old were you when you left Sweet Apple Acres?”
A.J. didn’t question the change of subject. “Why, I was just a little filly. Barely knew a stem from a core back then. I just decided I wanted something new, so I went straight off to Manehattan.”
“Wow. What was it like?”
She looked over the rail at the setting sun, barely visible behind the clouds. “Okay, I reckon. I wasn’t real sophisticated like the Oranges, but they were nice folks. I worked hard, I made a new life, and an awful lot of ponies took a liking to me over there.”
“Then why did you go back to the farm?”
“Cause I missed my family. I missed everything, even my chores. Sure the city was nice and all, but what did it matter if I wasn’t bein’ me?” Applejack lifted her hat and shook her mane out in the breeze. “Maybe it sounds silly, going through all that just to end up right where I started, but it wasn’t for nothing, ‘cause I appreciate what I have now. That’s what got me this here cutie mark. I’m doing just fine the way I am.”
Twilight nodded slowly, her expression unreadable.
“How about you?”
Pinkie poked her head out into the evening air. “Twilight! Applejackie! Time for cake!”
“We’re comin’!” Applejack waited until the party pony was gone before adding, “I hope she didn’t put gummi bears in it this time.”
Twilight chuckled at the memory. “That didn’t come out quite right, did it?”
“Sure didn’t. Say...”
Twilight looked up.
“If there’s anything else you want to talk about, sugarcube, you just come find me,” Applejack said. “Anytime, okay? I mean it.”
She replaced her hat and trotted back inside.
Twilight watched the darkening horizon for a minute longer. The storm was over now, but one more blaze of lightning went off in the distance. That must be Thunderlane’s trademark, she thought, like the signature she wrote on a letter.
He was one of the few, next to her friends and Pinkie’s sister Maud, who talked to her like she was just another pony.
She looked out to where the lightning had been and waved.