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.
Looking back in the mirror, she realized that she had ruined all of her work. Sighing, she started brushing her mane once again, not able to move her mind from Thunder. “Can I put my faith in him just yet? I barely met him yet... I honestly don’t know what to do,” she said as she stopped. Leaving the comb on the sink, she went in her room, and stared at the bright sky, the train of thoughts filling her head. “No... he will have to earn it. I can’t just put my trust in anypony... or can I...?” The question kept floating through her head, until she realized that the time to meet with Thunder was close, and she wasted the morning by doing... nothing.
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.
*****
As the dawn of the morning raised from beyond the horizon, the sun glared through one pony’s house, making him grumble slightly from being woken up so early. Groggy, he rubbed his eyes, and went to the window.
The sun shone above the land of Equestria, realms gradually illuminating it’s realms where the ponies carried out their everyday activities.
The green maned pegasus went to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. He could see a lavender coated pegasi, with bags under his eyes, with a messed up mane, yet with a bright smile. He couldn’t erase from his mind the image of Emerald, and how her beauty simply beamed upon him at yesterday’s show.
He shook his head. It was too early, he gave on himself. After travelling across Equestria to fulfil his dream, to join the Wonderbolts, he couldn’t give up on it. Not just yet. It wasn’t worth shooting for a dream that would seem impossible. “A pony like her with one like me... she’s just too good.” But there he stopped. All his thoughts were directed towards her, when he was so close to fulfilling his childhood’s dream: the dream to become a Wonderbolt, to amaze everypony with his tricks, to travel around Equestria and see new places.
Striking his mane backwards with his hoof and splashing some cold water on his face, he threw another look at the mirror, and saw the Thunder he knew. “Much better,” He told himself, as he ran out, closing the house’s door in a hurry.
As Thunder flew towards the stadium, he could see a certain white mare waiting. Only then he realized, desperate, that as he kept daydreaming on his way there, he lost more time than he’d wanted.
”Now what... if I go now, she might get mad at me for being late. But why would she be mad? We barely know each other so, no strings attached. If I don’t go, she will probably think that I tricked her... so, on a hoof, I look like a featherhead, on the other hoof, I will be-”
“You will be what?” Emerald interrupted him. Shocked, Thunder fell a few meters, and after a furious fight to regain control, he flew back to Emerald. “Since... when a-”
“Since when I’m listening? Well, I thought I saw you coming by when you suddenly dropped the speed and I thought that something had happened. So, I flew closer and I saw you talking. I didn’t want to interrupt you, so I waited. But I didn’t see anypony so... I flew by. And nothing much actually.”
“Oh, urmm... don’t worry, it was nothing important anyway,” Thunder said, moving his hooves maniacally, trying to hide his red face.
Giggling, Emerald asked him: “So, you are quite a daydreamer, aren’t you?”
“Heh, you could say that...” He said, receiving a slight nudge from Emerald. “I’m sorry...”
“Hey, cheer up silly. You have nothing to be sorry for. The day isn’t over yet.” And as she tried to cheer him up, he couldn’t help himself not to see that glow that he saw before, at the Wonderbolts’ show. She had something special something... that gave him hope.
“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry for-” But he got interrupted by Emerald’s soft sigh. “Oops. I’ve done it again, didn’t I?” He asked, a bit embarrassed by himself.
“You are quite something, you knew that? So, before you apologize again for Celestia-knows-what, where would you like to take me on this date?”
“Did... Did she really say date? I only asked her to hang out and she calls it a date! Come on... Keep it together buddy! She’s just a funny, understanding, beautiful, amazing... What am I saying?! She’s nothing like the other mares I’ve seen until now. Well... I can’t die from trying,” He told himself, after hearing the magic word, “date”.
“Well, urm. I had nothing really in mind.-”
“Yes, I can see that silly,” She replied, cutting over Thunder’s words, giggling.
“She’s really cute when she giggles like that,” Thunder thought, as he started laughing too.
After both of them stopped, Thunder thought for a while and exclaimed: “I know! How about we just fly around and get to know each other better?”
Surprised by his idea, the mare smiled at him, as she felt like he was on the right way. “Sure, so, tell me more about you Thunder.”
As time passed, and the sun was lowering on the massive sky, the two pegasi flew on the sky, sharing each other’s past. They didn’t worry about anything, for they were caught in each other’s story.
“Wow, quite a past you had Emerald. I’m sorry about your parents,” Thunder said, after Emerald finished her story.
“I’m sorry about yours too. Well, mine were called heroes after the accident, but that doesn’t bring them back... I don’t want to talk about this right now...” Emerald said in a serious tone, turning her back on him, sighing softly. After a while of staying like that, she turned back to the lavender coated pegasus and asked him: “So, a Wonderbolt? You know that you need some skills to join them, right?” Emerald asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Some skills? Heh, you haven’t seen anything yet!”
“How about this, I’ll be your spectator, and I want you to amaze me. Let me see how good Thunder Runner is,” She told him, on a provoking tone.
“Stay on your hooves, you’ll be stunned,” He told her, as he flew into the clouds, disappearing from her line of sight.
“Finally! I get to prove my skills to somepony! Dad, I will make you proud,” Thunder said, looking in the horizon. As he closed his eyes to recap his routine, he folded his wings, free falling with his head forward by Emerald.
As the mare screamed scared by the drop, Thunder twisted his body, unfolding his wings, revealing his true wingspan. Flapping his wings twice, he boosted himself through some clouds, making them dissolve into thin air. Keeping up his speed, he started flying between the clouds, creating lines across them.
Confused, the emerald maned pegasus kept watching his performance, until she realized that Thunder was creating thin streaks of white clouds in the orange sky as the golden sun was still beaconing through the realms, for a short while. The show of lights was magnificent.
As he kept up his first trick, he threw a quick look at Emerald’s amazed expression. That trick wasn’t in his routine, nor he had done it before. He only wanted to see her mane glow once again before he would begin his real routine.
Finishing with the clouds, Thunder brought up the Wonderbolts’ routine, making slight changes here and there, adding a more dramatic turn for every trick, for every twist and turn, every loop, every boost, and every dive.
Finishing up the Wonderbolts’ routine, he gathered some dark remaining storm clouds, and surrounding them with his speed, he made it one big storm cloud, hovering over the clear sky. Thunder took a few breaths, preparing himself for the final trick. A trick that he learned from his father... with a cost. He knew that he was putting everything on the line, but he had to.
Emerald could see him flying in the depths of the sky, getting at a massive altitude. Without knowing, she was worried about what was about to happen. remembering what Thunder told her, of his father’s death. How he died during a training practice with Thunder, stroke by a lightning.
As Thunder felt his wings getting numb, he knew that he was at the right height. Looking down, he felt goose bumps, as the image of his father was still hunting him. Folding his wings, he closed his eyes and started free falling once again, with his head in front. There was no turning back, no matter what the outcome was, this was the ending of the story, or the beginning of a new life.
Picking up speed, around the lavender coated pegasus the sound barrier was forming. With every meter he had fallen, the speed would increase, the barrier holding tight against him. Getting close to the ground, Emerald was actually prepared to jump after him, but she realized that no matter how great speed she would get, she had no chance to catch him in time. The only thing she could do, was to hope.
As Thunder couldn’t feel the hooves anymore, still keeping his eyes closed, he could feel the air cutting through his coat. At the right moment, Thunder opened his eyes, and with an incredible effort, he started flapping his wings as hard as he could to boost himself. Getting near the ground, his father’s words came into his head: “At the right moment, not too late, not too early, turn around and see the bright sky shining upon Equestria.”
At the right time, right before hitting the ground, Thunder turned with his back against the ground, letting his wings spread out. As Rainbow Dash did once, the barrier shot him back towards the sky, and with his last ounce of strength, he started boosting himself with his wings.
Going directly through the storm cloud, a lightning bolt came out exactly after he did, looking like a lightning trail behind the shooting pegasus. Reaching the very heights of the sky, Thunder spread out his wings once again, the sun setting sky behind him, and the thunder stopping right under him. He was happy. He had finally pulled off the trick.
“Have you seen that... father?” He asked out loud, as he started falling, his wings not being able to hold him any longer fluttering by his side. Everything was foggy, he couldn’t feel his body at all. The last thing he saw was Emerald, jumping off the cloud to save him while crying his name hysterically, before he closed his eyes and lost consciousness, remembering only fading parts of what happened.
*****
Emerald watched as the lavender pegasus started to fall, losing consciousness. With one powerful jump, she set off the cloud, shutting her wings tight around her body. Gaining more and more speed, she tried to catch Thunder, who was falling toward the lake.
Even though she was at her limit, Emerald didn’t manage to reach Thunder in time, as he fell into the water. Emerald didn't hesitate to follow Thunder into the ice cold water. Closing her eyes, Emerald dashed into the lake. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Thunder, sinking into the depths of the lake. After she reached the lavender stallion, she pulled him on her back and swum to the surface. After the mare reached the surface, she took a few deep breaths, before swimming to the shore. The mare crawled out of the water, breathing heavily. Emerald laid Thunder next to her as gently as she could. Suddenly the white pegasus noticed that Thunder wasn’t breathing. Not sure what she was supposed to do, Emerald started to panic. Then, the white mare remembered what she learned in the first-aid lessons at Flight School. Emerald put her hooves on Thunder’s chest and thrusted 15 times.
“Okay Emerald, now don’t freak out... You don’t want him to die, do you?”
Emerald proceeded to breath into Thunder’s mouth two times, before putting her hooves on his chest and thrusting 15 times again.
Suddenly, the lavender pegasus started to cough. Emerald jumped a little, before calling his name a few times. But she didn’t get an answer. The mare noticed that the moon was already rising, and a storm was coming.
Giving herself a short time to make up her mind, she placed Thunder on her back again, running towards the nearest hospital that she knew about. It started to rain. Galloping as fast as she could, the mare could feel Thunder’s warm breath from time to time. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she ran towards the Ponyville hospital. She was getting worried more and more about his health.
Emerald stormed into the hospital, calling for help. A doctor and two nurses came immediately and took Thunder off Emerald’s back. “Take the white mare to a sick room and let her rest.”, the doctor told one of the nurses. But Emerald took a step back and said: “No! I will go with him.” The nurse put a hoof on Emerald’s back, but the mare wiped it off. “I will go with him, like it or not.” The doctor looked at Emerald, sighed, and said: “Fine, you can come with us...“
The white pegasus nodded and followed the doctor and Thunder into a sick room, closing the door behind them.
*****
“Good afternoon sir.”
“Ugh... where am I?” Thunder asked, as he could see a nurse by his side, and himself in a hospital bed. “What happened?”
“You should thank this missy over here,” She said, pointing to Emerald that was in a corner, sleeping on a chair. “If it wasn’t for her, you would’ve drowned. You should be happy that you fell into a lake, otherwise, from what she told me, from the impact with the ground you would’ve been dead on the spot. You are a lucky pony to have had her,” the nurse told him, happy to see him in a good state. “She stood up all night long watching you, and taking care of you.”
“Yes... I bet I’m the luckiest pony to have had her,” Thunder whispered, smiling. Ignoring the pain on his back, the pain cutting through his wings, with a little bit of help from the nurse, he put Emerald on his back, and after the nurse gave him her address, he slowly went out of the hospital after signing the externalizations papers, and using her keys, he placed her on her bed and looked at her for a while... his saviour. Giving her a kiss on her forehead he wrapped her up in a blanket.“I’m very lucky indeed,” He told himself, as he looked once again over the sleeping mare.
As Emerald felt his gentle kiss on her forehead, she opened her eyes and whispered: “Thunder... Don’t go...”
As Thunder Runner turned back to Emerald, the mare crawled out of her bed, giving him a tight hug, sobbing. “Emerald...”, Thunder sighed, putting his arms around her. “It’s okay now.”, the stallion whispered, trying to calm Emerald down.
The two of them stood there like this for a very long while. After Thunder let go of Emerald, the white mare was still sobbing. Thunder looked through one of Emerald’s windows, noticing that the sun was starting to set again. “Emerald, I think I should go now...”
“B... But...”, she babbled quietly,”Can’t you stay here for the night...?”
Thunder smiled and said: “I’m sorry Emerald. I can’t.”
“Pretty please?”, the mare asked, while refusing to let him go. As Thunder looked back into the mare’s deep eyes, something told him that he had to stay but... if he would stay it would mean giving up on his dream over something unreachable, like her.
“I’m sorry but it would be better for me to leave. But... I hope that one day we’ll get together again, Emerald,” Thunder told her as he gave her a warm smile, pushing her away from him gently, before heading to the door. Before closing the door and disappearing into the night, he smiled back once again at Emerald, trying to ensure her that they would meet again.
As the lavender coated pegasus left, the mare went to the window, watching him fly away. Emerald couldn’t believe that he had left her. She turned around and started to sob quietly. If something would happen to him on the way back to his home, nopony would be there to save him.
Suddenly, Emerald shook her head. What was she thinking? He will be fine. “I should really stop worrying.”, the mare told herself before heading back to her bed. She looked out of the window once more before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep.
*****
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.
Getting in his house, he threw one last look at the sky, wishing deep inside himself that they would meet again.