//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: The Madman of Manehatten // Story: EC Tales Book Two: Determination // by mynameisTheodore83 //------------------------------// In the city of Manehatten, there was a Unicorn who was like no other that had lived there. He was visibly no different from any other Unicorn, with his blue mane, tan coat, and vibrant green eyes. But if he chose to speak with you, it would be apparent that something was odd about him. That is, if you can call the unrelated and random words that came out of his mouth "speech". For this reason, most decided to keep their distance. The issue for Thunder Sword was that he was not insane. Not completely, anyways. He only appeared to be. Behind those wild eyes laid a quite brilliant mind, but for whatever reason, had difficulty communicating his thoughts to the outside world. It didn't help that there was a significant part of him that made impulsive and irrational decisions, something else that made people think he was crazy. But he went on and continued to live his life. He grew tired of no pony talking to him, but he adapted to the lonely lifestyle. He learned how to be self-sufficient, though not being able to share his ideas became more and more frustrating to him. His crazy side got to thinking that if people were more energetic, that they would be more outgoing and try to accept him. He had been noticing that the ponies always seemed to be tired. He figured that doing a good deed for the city would help him, too. Now Thunder Sword was an ele-mage; a Unicorn who specifies in use of the elements. His specialties were thunder and lightning, as evidenced by his name and cutie mark, a sword being struck by lightning. So the easiest way for him to energize the ponies of Manehatten would be to give a small shock to the water supply. On the day that he decided on, Thunder walked up to the river where the water was drawn. He stood and concentrated, and his horn began to glow a bright green. Sparks began to fly from it, and soon small bolts of green lighting shot in all directions. The townsfolk that saw started to panic and run away. Thunder flashed a crazy grin as he charged more energy into his horn. But as he was about to fire at the river, a police pony tackled him. The bold fired into the air, to the disappointment of Thunder. He wrestled with the cop for a moment or two, but soon other cops came to subdue Thunder. "Okay, crazy, you're coming with us!" one of them said to him. "But officer, I-I was just trying to electrocute the river!" Thunder stammered. "Exactly why you're coming with us," they explained as he was led toward the police station. ˜˜˜ Thunder sat behind reinforced glass windows, a wild grin sitting on his face. The cops at the station looked at him in wonder. Thunder wondered what police glass tasted like, so he stuck his tongue out at the guards and licked it. "What are we going to do with this one?" one cop asked. "I have no clue," said another. One cop put down a phonebook. "He doesn't have any relatives around here. Should I try looking in other cities?" "Nah," the chief replied. "No one is coming for this looney. I guess we move him to the psychiatric ward." The other cops nodded in agreement as they prepared to move their newest patient. Thunder wondered how handcuffs tasted in comparison to prison glass. ˜˜˜ Thunder quickly became bored of bouncing off of his new padded walls. It didn't help that he had an itch that was unscratchable with his straight jacket on. He had never needed anyone but himself to keep him company, but there was something that was missing in the blank white walls. There weren't any madmen who were sent here, he thought. Madmen were created between these four walls. I'm not crazy yet, Thunder thought. But he was slowly getting there. His pupils began to shrink with every coming day, and decided that his ear might taste good when he became hungry. He knew that he had to get out before he lost all sanity. The guards, in all of their hurry and bustle, had forgotten to restrain Thunder's magic use. The walls were too thick to teleport through, but Thunder had his own unique way of doing thing anyways. He carefully created a plan that would show off his magical ability while escaping as well. He began to fire thunder off at the walls. The booms resonated through the ward, and cops quickly came to see what the commotion was about. When the door was opened, Thunder threw up a volley of fire to catch their attention. But his misdirection had failed, and the guards blocked his way out. They didn't, however, expect the wall of water that they were met with, conjured by Thunder. He giggled joyfully as he hopped out of the ward and toward freedom. But he wasn't clear yet. The guards, soaking wet, were following quickly in pursuit. Thunder turned and smiled at the guards. He only meant to give them a small shock as to stun them, but in his insanity and the rush of the moment, he gave a little more power than intended. He didn't stay to see if the guards were all right, because he didn't care any longer. He continued on southward looking for whatever happened to come next.