The day had gone pretty well, from what she heard. Even if Blossomforth had to sit it out, she was still happy to know that Tornado Day succeeded.
Her Feather Flu came and went, as did the others. More of an annoyance than anything else, she thought.
The white pegasus sat upon the roof of her house, watching Cloudsdale float just above the sunset, its factories working hard with the water they had just received. A slight twinge of guilt overcame her, wishing she could have at least done what she had trained for.
She shrugged. She was just content watching her home town float gently above the source of the orange and purple hues that flooded the sky. The crisp, yet slightly thick Autumn air wrapping around her like a blanket. The way the sunset bathed the world in its exclusive colors seemed to resonate within her.
It reminded her of her Cloudsdale days. Sitting on one of the edges of her district, just to watch the sun descend, and feel the wind brushed against her coat. She remembered how her mother used to take her on flights on her back, until Blossomforth grew too big. That didn't stop her from flying beside her mother though.
A deep inhale cemented the memories in bliss. She sighed as she watched some of her worn out colleagues head to their homes. She probably could have helped them pack everything up, but she wasn't supposed to do any sort of strenuous activity for the next few days.
A soft breeze swept over her back. Turning around, she was greeted by the sobering sight of Thunderlane.
His wings collapsed at his sides as he landed next to her. “Hey, how have you been feeling?” He asked.
“Much better, but why are you flying? We're not supposed to do anything strenuous for awhile.” Blossomforth reminded. Her words seemed lost on the grey pegasus, however.
He scoffed. “Since when has flying been considered hard?”
“Since we got hit with a flu that made it almost impossible,” She stated flatly.
Thunderlane simply laughed. Opting to watch Cloudsdale in the distance. Blossomforth grew more distracted with the sight of Thunderlane himself.
It had been far too long since she had seen him, or at least this close. Before the duty of Tornado day arrived, she had only managed to catch the occasional passing glance. He never outright ignored her, usually waving to her or at least saying hello. However, they were still so far apart, when they used to be the closest friends.
Her memories of her adolescence came rushing back, flooding her mind with Cloudsdale and all of the days long past. Her family and friends, her hardships and triumphs. Almost everything she once had now rested upon that massive cloud just above the sunset.
“Hey Thunderlane.” She started, waiting for the response of her listener.
“Yeah?” He chimed, broken away from his own memories.
“Do you remember how we met, back when we were foals?” She asked anxiously.
“Yeah, of course I do. We were like, what, four or five? I remember I fell flat on my face the first time we played tag.” He reminisced.
Blossomforth breathed a sigh of relief, and felt her heart flutter at how quickly he remembered that moment.
She laughed. “And then I rushed over to you to make sure you were alright, before you tagged me.” She grinned. “I was so angry at you for that whole week.”
“My mom made me go and get you a doll to make up for it. Geez, I don't know how I manage to go through that without suffocating from all the pink.” Thunderlane shivered at the thought.
“Oh yeah, my little Lily. I still have her somewhere.”
“You still have it? I thought you would've tossed it by now.” Thunderlane said, genuinely surprised.
“Ummm...” The mare stuttered. She had kept it all this time, though she would never truly admit why. She looked down at the tiles on the roof, slightly embarrassed for not having a proper answer for him.
Thunderlane suddenly let loose a hearty laugh. “Oh Celestia, you remember how we were practicing flying with Flitter and Cloudchaser, and we tried to play aerial tag?” He asked her.
She smiled at the memory. “And then we all kinda crashed into each other.”
Thunderlane continued. “I know the two of us got all kinds of tangled up. Your legs were tied up like knots. How did you get to be so flexible anyway?”
She remembered just how red her face got then, and she was thankful for the red sunset to help hide the blush she had now. “I dunno. I always have been.”
He snickered. “And then Cloudchaser said how we looked like her parents last night.”
It looked like somepony had splashed red paint onto Blossomforth's face, as she tried desperately not to slam her face into the roof tiles. She looked over and noticed Thunderlane's face was just as flustered.
“That is so much more embarrassing, now that we know what she meant.” she stated.
“Heh, yeah...” Thunderlane began to idly kick his hoof.
A hollow silence drifted along and bathed them, just as the subtle breeze tickled their coats.
“We used to be so close. What happened to us?” Blossomforth asked him.
Thunderlane hesitated, surprised by the sudden change in tone. “I... ummm... I dunno. I got kinda caught up with sports and stuff.”
Blossomforth shook her head. “No, it was before that. We just stopped having as much fun as we used to.”
Thunderlane sighed. “Maybe... Maybe we just grew up.”
The mare hung her head. “That's hardly an excuse...” She mumbled.
“Listen Blossomforth,” he started, “I'm sorry I kinda left you in the dust.”
Blossomforth's ears perked up. “What do you mean?”
“Getting popular kinda went to my head. I left you behind, and I couldn't regret it more. I wanted to make up for some lost time. By the time I realized that, you were already gone. I heard you moved down to Ponyville.” Thunderlane explained, as he kicked his hoof around. “So I came down here too.”
Blossomforth stared at him for an eternity. Her ears couldn't believe what they heard, but her heart did. A sudden wave of glee and hope overcame her. “You moved here because of me? I thought it was because of the weather job you got here.”
“Well, the job wasn't the whole reason,” He chuckled, nervously scratching the back the of his head. “I felt really bad about the whole thing, and I wanted to try and... reconnect with you.”
Thunderlane didn't notice her inch ever closer to him.
“Hey Thunderlane. Back in Ms. Merriweather's class, do you remember that note I passed you?” She asked him.
He put a hoof under his chin in thought. “We passed a lot of notes, you're gonna have to be more specific.”
“It was the last one of that year. The one I passed you just before the Final.” She explained.
Thunderlane's eyes brightened, before his ears fell. “Oh, that one! I didn't get to read it though. Ms Merriweather made me throw it away.”
“Oh, that explains it,” She said, slightly saddened by the news.
“Explains what? What did the note say?”
Blossomforth giggled, trying to encourage herself. “Heheh, it was kinda stupid. It was one of those... ya know... 'do you like me?' notes. It was dumb,” She admitted, trying her best to be nonchalant.
Silence began rain upon them once more. She could feel the tension pull at the both of them. She waited on bated breath for his reply, hoping against Celestia he wouldn't brush it off. She knew it was dumb, trying to rely upon an old foalish note to spark something between the two. Maybe it was just too late. Maybe he never even cared about her beyond a friend.
“Yeah,” He said suddenly.
Blossomforth continued to berate herself, until she heard him. “W-What?”
“Yeah, I probably would've said yes,” He told her, his head dipped low, his blush burning.
Blossomforth's next words were shaking with anticipation. “Do... Do you still?”
Thunderlane breathed in deep, his confidence waning. “Al-Always have, always will.”
She giggled with glee as she launched herself into his side, nuzzling him with years of pent-up infatuation finally feeling release. Thunderlane chuckled, not expecting the sudden assault of affection. The two of them sat on the roof, as the Sun's light breathed its final breath for the day.
The white pegasus sat upon the roof of her house, watching Cloudsdale float just above the sunset, its factories working hard with the water they had just received. A slight twinge of guilt overcame her, wishing she could have at least done what she had trained for.
But she didn't care, not with Thunderlane's wing draped over her.