//------------------------------// // Thunderblast from the Past // Story: Under the Moonlight // by Thunderblast //------------------------------// Thunderblast sighed, he was not happy. As a matter of fact, the past couple of days had been nothing but stress loaded on him and captain Shining Armor, who lectured Thunder for leaving his post, though he had a good enough reason to, which the captain understood. But, this was different. Thunder had dreamed once again of his late parents. “Ugh…” Thunderblast grumbled, tossing and turning in bed. He could not get the thought of the last few days out of his already stressed out mind. Instead, he got up and went out into his dark apartment. He stared into darkness, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness so he could see slightly better. Normally for him, a glass of cold milk would put him out within minutes of drinking it, which is what he did. He grabbed a glass, poured some milk in, and drank it before slugging back to bed. After snuggling into the bed, which was still warm from his body laying in one spot for the past few hours. Thunder shut his eyes, hoping to fall asleep. Soon enough, he was out cold, and begun to quietly snore. Moments later, he woke up in his bedroom. But...wait a minute. "This bedroom...I haven't slept in it in years. Where am I?" He said to himself, getting out of bed. When Thunder's hooves touched the floor, there was a squeak. When he looked down, he saw a small yellow ball with a blue stripe in the center, and he picked it up slowly, investigating the small ball. "I haven't seen this in years either..." He said mentally. Thunderblast walked out of the strange room, into a familiar hallway that lead right to a set of stairs, which he slowly walked down. Halfway down, he came to a point where the left side turned from a wall into a fine wooden railing, which turned to the left a few steps further down. He looked around. Again, to his left, was an extremely familiar sight. A couch with two end tables, one with a lamp on it, the other with a magazine from some company based out of Manehattan, another from Los Pegasus. Next to them, was a recliner chair with a small red blanket folded up on it. On the wall, was a fireplace, with a TV sitting on the mantle, as well as two picture frames. One was a white pegasus stallion finely dressed in a Royal Guard suit, the other with the same stallion holding a small grey pegasus colt. "Is that...me?" Thunder said to himself as he looked at the picture, at the small colt, before looking elsewhere and seeing the stallion and the mare next to him, and a small tear streamed down his face and onto the floor. He then looked behind him, and walking to a point next to the dining table and staring down at it, before collapsing onto the floor and bawling his eyes out. Before anything else could happen, everything faded to white, and the stallion woke up back in his apartment, somehow now on his couch. He looked at the window, and saw light. It was morning already? Thunderblast yawned, and got off the couch, stretching his hooves, before getting himself ready for work...again. Just before afternoon came, Thunder felt something wasn't right. This time, it had nothing to do with security breaches, and strange lightning-fast beings darting past him. "Come on Thunder... You gotta forget what happened," he said to himself, trying to calm down. At that moment, some pictures of a small grey pegasus colt, and the same white stallion and light blue mare from his dreams appear. "Urgh...Damn it." The stallion snuck to the barracks, past some guards, and went into one of them, laying down on an unoccupied bed, armor still on his back. He hoped a small nap would freshen up his mind. "Thunder, come on! It's time for school!" A voice called out. "Coming dad!" A much younger voice said, and moments later, a small grey pegasus colt, with a black mane and ocean-blue eyes skipped down the stairs, in front of a much larger and muscular pegasus stallion, wearing golden Royal Guard armor, but also missing the helmet. The stallion smiled. "You're growing up so fast, Thunder. I'm so proud of you," he smiled to the little colt. "Aww, dad! Stop making me blush!" The colt, Thunderblast, said to the stallion, blushing slightly. The stallion chuckled, and a light blue pegasus mare trotted out with two lunch boxes on her back. "Here you are boys!" She said, giggling some, and both the stallion and Thunder took one of them. "Thanks mom!" Thunderblast said, hugging the mare, who hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Thanks dear," the stallion also hugged the mare. "You're both welcome. Have fun at school, Thunderblast!" She said. "I will!" Thunderblast said, trotting out the front door. "And you...Thunder Strike. You have a great day at work, my big strong stallion," the mare nuzzled the stallion's neck, nibbling on some of his fur. Thunder Strike chuckled, and nuzzled the mare. "I will. You have a great day as well, Winter," he hugged her back. The mare giggled and hugged Thunder back, then trotted to the door and watched the two leave, waving at them. After walking back inside, Winter begun to feel queasy, and sat down on the couch to watch television, thinking maybe she caught some sort of bug. Meanwhile, Thunder Strike dropped Thunderblast off at school, before flying off to Canterlot to his work as a royal guard. After a long day, Thunderblast trotted home, running into his father on the way, who happily walked home together. When they trotted inside, Winter was in the kitchen cooking. "Hey boys!" She said happily. "Hi honey!" Thunder Strike said, taking off his helmet and hanging it on a coat rack by the front door. "Hi mommy!" Thunderblast said, quickly running upstairs to put his saddle bags in his room, before coming back downstairs to see what his mom was up to. "I'm making your favorite, hay fries!" Winter said. "Oh, yummy!" Thunder Strike said, nuzzling the light blue mare. "Can't wait." The mare nuzzled the stallion back, and giggled. "I know you two love hay fries, and we haven't had them in a while, so I thought it'd be a good treat to end the week." "Mmm, hay fries!" Thunderblast said, grabbing a juice box from the refrigerator and putting the straw in to drink out of it. After a few more minutes, Winter plated the hay fries, squirted ketchup next to them, and set them on the dining table. "Dinner's ready!" She yelled to get their attention, and Thunderblast trotted down the stairs, soon followed by Thunder Strike, who had just showered. "Yay! Hay fries!" Thunderblast said, sitting down and beginning to eat. "Thank you mommy!" Thunder Strike also sat down, dipping some hay fries into the ketchup. "Yes, thank you dear," he smiled and ate. "You know you don't have to thank me for food, right boys?" Winter said, pouring some water into a glass. "We know, we're just grateful," Thunder Strike said. After dinner, Thunder Strike offered to do the dishes for Winter, while Thunderblast did some weekend homework. While Thunder did the dishes, Winter got up to get some more water to pour into her glass. As she set the glass down on the counter, Winter suddenly collapsed, and she screamed. Before she could hit the ground, Thunder Strike caught her. "Honey, what's wrong?!" He asked, becoming extremely worried for his wife. "Aww...I don't know dear...I-I feel sick," Winter groaned, now breathing slightly heavily. "Okay...Thunderblast!" "Yeah dad?" Thunderblast yelled back. "Come on, we need to go to the hospital!" Thunder Strike shouted, lifting Winter on his back. "Hospital? Why?!" Thunderblast said, peeking around the corner on the stairs. "Just come on!" Thunder Strike said, and without hesitation, Thunderblast hopped onto his father's back next to his mother, and the three rushed to the hospital, where Winter was taken in quickly to recover. "Thunder Strike?" A unicorn doctor called out, and moments later, the white stallion trotted up to him. "Is Winter okay? What happened?" Thunder Strike asked worriedly. "She's fine, but she needs to stay with us for a couple more days," the doctor said, seeming slightly concerned. "Doc, why aren't you looking me in the eyes? What's wrong?" Thunder said, his eyes widening. "She has the feather flu," the doctor said, tensing up. "What else?" Thunder Strike said, also toughening up, knowing something is wrong. "It's a very rare case of it, something we have not seen since the last changeling war. She has Strain C, a much deadlier but less contagious case. You're lucky you brought her in just after she collapsed, she should be fine with the right medication," the doctor said. "Would you like to see her?" Thunder breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, please." "Alright. Come with me," the doctor said. "Thunderblast?" "Yeah?" The colt said. "Come on, let's go see mommy," Thunder Strike said, and the colt hopped onto his back, who then followed the doctor to a basic hospital room, where the mare was laying in a bed. "Hi boys," Winter smiled weakly. "Mommy!" Thunderblast said, climbing onto the bed and sitting next to her. "Are you coming home?" "Oh, sorry honey. Not tonight. They want me to stay a couple more days to make sure everything's working the way it should," Winter said, hugging him. "But, you will be okay right?" Thunderblast asked, looking at her with a concerned face. "Yes, she will," The doctor wrote things down on a clipboard and then smiled at him. "Yay!" Thunderblast said happily. The mare then giggled. "Thank you for catching me back there," she said to Thunder Strike, who was sitting in a chair next to her bed. "You're welcome. Thank you for not dying on us," he chuckled. "Oh, come on, I couldn't die on you two... Not without seeing my little colt grow up and be as strong as his daddy," Winter said, smiling at them. About seven months after Winter becoming diagnosed with Strain C of the feather flu, and getting out of the hospital three days later, things went well for the three, and Winter had considerably improved, and could fly again. "Thunderblast? Come on it's time to go!" Thunder Strike said, waiting by the front door. "Hang on dad!" Thunderblast said from his bedroom, quickly finishing up on a detailed drawing of him as a royal guard, before hiding it mostly under some untouched paper, and trotting downstairs. "What took you so long?" Thunder Strike asked, smiling some. "Oh, nothing dad. Ready to go?" Thunderblast replied. "Yup! Winter, you sure you don't want to go?" Thunder Strike asked, looking at his wife sitting on the couch with a blanket over her, eating some steaming noodle soup. "I'm sure. Maybe next time boys," she said, smiling. "I love you two!" "Love you too, mommy!" Thunderblast said. "Love you too, dear," Thunder Strike said, smiling at her, before trotting outside with Thunderblast, shutting the door behind them. "Where are we going, daddy?" Thunderblast asked, looking up at the stallion curiously. "A very special place, Thunder." He said, smiling down at him. Not long later, the two arrived at a hilltop overlooking Ponyville, mostly covered in short golden wheat, which almost reached Thunderblast's chin. "This, son...This is a very special place, to me and your mom." Thunder Strike said, smiling as he looked around, trotting over to a tall tree, the only tree for a mile. "Wow, dad. This is a pretty place." Thunderblast said, looking around, the sunset making the wheat glow slightly. "And, this is also where you're going to learn how to fly." Thunder Strike said. "What? Fly?" Thunderblast said, looking at his father, confused. "Yes. I'm going to teach you how to fly." The stallion said, smiling. "But, dad. Are you sure i'm ready?" Thunderblast nervously asked, beginning to tremble. "Yes, son. Come on, it isn't that hard." Thunder Strike said, trotting up to the colt. "But..." Thunderblast started, trembling even harder. Thunder Strike rested his wing onto the colt's back and smiled down at him. "You can do it. I'll tell you what to do." Thunderblast soon calmed down, and took a deep breath. "Let's do this." He said, putting his game face on and opening his little wings. "That's my son." Thunder Strike said. "Alright, first thing you do..." He started, looking at the colt's wings. "Okay, second. You need to run. Not as fast as you can, but just simply run, and last but not least, flap your wings. Then, you should be off the ground." "Got it." Thunderblast said, closing his eyes briefly to take a whiff of fresh air, before opening them back up, and running. "Good! Keep going, then flap your wings!" Thunder Strike said, sitting and watching. Thunderblast continued running for a few moments, before beginning to flap his wings. "Am I doing it?! Am I doing i-." He said, before running directly into the tree. "Ouch!" Thunder Strike sighed. "You were doing good. What happened?" He said, casually walking over to Thunderblast. "I don't know, daddy. I did everything you said for me to do. M-maybe i'm not fit to fly." The colt said, tearing up. "No, don't think like that son. I'm sure you'll fly someday." Thunder Strike said, pulling him into a hug. "I believe in you, because I love you." He continued, nuzzling him. Thunderblast smiled, wiping a tear away and nuzzling Thunder Strike back. "I love you too daddy." The two continued to hug for a few moments as the sun slowly went down over the horizon, a cool breeze ruffling their feathers slightly. "Come on, son. Let's go home and see what mom's up to." Thunder Strike said. "Okay daddy, but, can we fly there?" Thunderblast asked, smiling. "Of course. Hop on." Thunder Strike said, and the colt hopped onto his back, the two then taking off into the evening sky, arriving back home within ten minutes. After getting home, and not very long later, the family all went to bed. In Thunder and Winter's bedroom, the two crawled into bed, but Thunder Strike noticed something. "Oh, honey. Why are you so cold?" Thunder asked, looking at her. "I don't know... I've been cold all day. Might just be the air conditioning, since we got it fixed last week." Winter said back, giggling some. "Heh, maybe." Thunder said. "Here.." And he pulled Winter against his chest, beginning to warm her up. "Mmm, so warm." Winter said, nuzzling his warm chest. "I love you, my big strong stallion." "I love you too my little cherry blossom." Thunder Strike said back, laying his head on top of hers, and the two snuggled the rest of the night. The following morning, the sun rose over the sleepy town of Ponyville, a cool, damp mist covering the land around it. At Thunderblast's house, the young colt remained asleep, as it was still very early. In his parents' bedroom however, the day was starting for Thunder Strike. He yawned, slowly stretching his hooves. "Mmm. Good morning honey." Thunder said, slowly getting out of bed, noticing Winter still asleep, and he whispered. "Heh, still asleep I see." After going downstairs and drinking some water, and grabbing the paper from the doorstep, he sat on the recliner reading it. Not long later, a very sleepy Thunderblast trotted downstairs. "Morning dad." He yawned, going into the kitchen and pouring himself some orange juice. "Good morning son. Sleep well?" Thunder Strike asked, still reading the paper. "Yup." Thunderblast replied, drinking his orange juice and sitting on the couch. "Where's mommy?" "Oh, she's still asleep. You know her." Thunder Strike chuckled lightly. "Oh, alright daddy!" Thunderblast said, continuing to drink his juice. A few hours later, the two watched a hockey game between Manehattan and Los Pegasus, but also realized Winter was still in bed. "Daddy, is mommy going to come downstairs?" Thunderblast asked, looking up at the stallion. "She should... Let me go check on her." Thunder Strike said, Thunderblast hopping out of his lap to let him go upstairs. "Honey?" Strike walked into the bedroom and saw she hadn't moved. "Honey, get up, it's almost evening." He said, nudging her lightly. No response. "Come on, Winter. I know you like to sleep in but this is ridiculous. Please, wake up." Strike said, nudging her again, before feeling her body, which was ice cold. "Winter?! WINTER!" He yelled, nudging her more, before picking Winter up and carrying her on his back, flying quickly downstairs. "Thunder, let's go. Now." "Th-Thunder Strike?" A nervous unicorn doctor said, looking into the hospital waiting room at a large white pegasus stallion. "What is it doc?" Strike said, standing and looking at him. "I need to talk to you, um, in private." The doctor said, before walking around the corner. Strike walked over to the doorway, wondering what was going on. "Hey Thunder?" "Yeah dad?" Thunderblast said, looking up at his father from his coloring book. "Go get yourself something from the vending machines, i'll be back in a minute." Strike said, tossing Thunderblast a couple of bits and smiling. "Thanks dad!" Thunderblast said, catching them and smiling back, then trotting to a vending machine. The doctor then lead Strike to just outside Winter's room. "What's wrong, doc?" Strike asked, looking at him with some concern. The doctor then wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm so, so sorry, Mr. Strike." "What are you talking about?!" Strike said, his eyes shrinking slightly. "She's gone." Thunder Strike's heart dropped. "W-what?" "She was dead before you brought her here." The doctor replied. "What do you mean?!" Strike said. "The autopsy states that she passed at approximately four AM this morning, and the bed, and or you, kept her warm, which made you think she was alive." The doctor said back. "But...y-you said..." "I was wrong... The medications we gave her... They did not help one bit." "So..." Strike gulped, tearing up. "My wife, and Thunder's mom is...dead?" "Yes, sir...I am. I wish we could have saved her. It wasn't possible." The doctor said. "W-what do I tell him?" Strike asked. "I don't know... Bring him in here." The doctor said, walking into the room. Strike then walked to the doorway with teary eyes, trying his best to disguise them. "Son?" He said, looking at Thunderblast from the doorway, who was sipping on some juice. "Yeah dad? What's wrong?" Thunderblast answered, looking at his father in concern. "Come here..." Strike said, before turning around and walking towards Winter's room, Thunderblast following from a slight distance. "What's wrong daddy?" Thunderblast asked, not getting an answer. "Daddy?" Strike then walked into the room, which was cold, and sat next to Winter's bed, taking her hoof and holding it. "I'm so sorry honey." Thunderblast then slowly walked in, stopping and looking at Strike. "Dad, what's wrong?" He said, before looking up and seeing Winter. "Mommy? What's wrong with her?" "What does it look like son?" Strike said, looking at Thunder, tears streaming down his face. "Is...mommy..." "Yes..son...Mommy's...s-sleeping."