//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: The Return // Story: Time Lord: The Story of North Star // by Thrawn1800 //------------------------------// Chapter 18 Above Equestria, the stars turned slowly. Unlike the sun or the moon, these celestial bodies had remained uncontrolled for eons, since the alicorns of the First Age had left Equus, or died. Neither of the remaining alicorns had tried to impose their will upon them, not even Luna, who had greater claim to them than her sister. Down in Ponyville, the hour of night was such that nothing was awake. Not even the animals who called the night-realm home stirred. Slowly, the horizon to the east lightened, as the first rays of the sun stretched forth in a new dawn. ___________________________________________ The darkness of light fading, grey light started to penetrate his eyelids. Thunderlane protested numbly through his sleep-induced daze, wanting to stay right where he was. The warmth of his bed begged him desperately to stay. Next to him, cuddled against his chest, was North. His soft breathing was gentle and soothing. Thunderlane sighed happily, tightening his grip around his sleeping coltfriend. North nuzzled against him. Cracking an eye open, he saw North smile. Just as the sun broke over the horizon, and bathed the room in a golden-red light, North stirred. He shifted against Thunderlane, nuzzling deeper into his charcoal fur. Thunderlane smiled happily, and kissed North’s forehead. North hummed, hugging him. He opened his eyes and looked up at Thunderlane, who leaned forward and pressed his muzzle to North’s. He kissed him softly. They laid together, snuggled under the warm bedclothes. Until the alarm clock began blaring angrily. Clearly, it didn’t want to get up either. Thunderlane sighed, clumsily shoving the sheets off of himself. North followed suit, rolling off of the bed and landing on his hooves with a soft clack. Moving in quiet harmony, they pulled the blankets neatly over the bed. North nuzzled him, smiling, then walked out. Thunderlane followed groggily, to get showered. Afterwards, he went to wake Rumble, and North went downstairs to make them breakfast. After they’d all eaten, they went their separate ways. North took Rumble to school on his way to work, while Thunderlane got an early start on the weather. If he finished early enough, he and North would have time to eat lunch together in the orchards. The first wave of apple-bucking had begun, so North had more to do than usual. The way things worked, the entire orchard would be ready, with the exception of the Fuji minority. Because of a lower demand for those apples, they’d engineered the process so they were ripe first, and thus harvested first. Thunderlane soared over Ponyville and the surrounding countryside, working with other members of Ponyville’s weather team. Together, they worked to prepare a sunny day. Soon, they’d need to begin bringing in the winter weather, so Thunderlane enjoyed being warm while he could. When noon finally came, he turned his flight towards the vast acres of apple trees. He soared over them, searching. When he spotted North, he was waving from a clearing near the farmhouse. Thunderlane adjusted his course, coming to a landing on the soft grass. “Hey there.” he said, pulling North into a hug. “Hi.” said North, nudging Thunderlane playfully. “C’mon, let’s eat.” ___________________________________________ Roseluck searched through her flowers, examining them before adding them to a bouquet she was assembling. She heard hooves come to a halt in front of her booth, and looked up. “Hello.” she said, greeting the stranger with a smile. “Can I help you?” “Perhaps.” said the grey stallion. “Do you know a stallion, who goes by the name of Thunderlane?” “Well, yes.” she said. “He’s a good friend of mine.” Now, for you guys, someone looking like this guy, and looking for your friend… that would probably set off some alarm bells. But remember, in Equestria, in this age, it the crime rate was nonexistent, so Roseluck had never needed to worry about that sort of thing. Even when somepony got drunk, they had the decency to head home. “Do you know him?” But I never said she wasn’t smart. She knew she should make sure this guy wasn’t going to do something. She knew that North had had some trouble with some nasty ponies, and she wasn’t about to send another one in his or Thunderlane’s direction. “We… we’ve met. Do you know where he is?” Roseluck, who wasn’t getting any bad vibes of this guy, looked up at the sky. “He’s probably eating lunch at Sweet Apple Acres. He and-” “Thank you!” the stallion said. He trotted away. He looked around, then spread his wings and took off towards the Apple Orchards. That was strange. Roseluck thought to herself. I hope he manages to find them. Another pony came up, and she turned her attention to her work. ___________________________________________ Thunderlane and I were chewing on our sandwiches, when Applejack came in. “Hey y’all.” she said, brushing her dirty blonde mane out of her eyes.”Sorry ta interrupt, but ah need ta talk to ya North.” “Sure.” I said, getting up. She waved for me to sit back down. “It’s fine, ya can stay here. Ah just wanted to know if ya’ve taken care’ve the wagon yet.” “I did that this morning. Oiled up the axles and everything.” “Good.” she said, turning to go. “Ah just needed ta make sure. It’s been actin’ up of late.” I nodded, and she left. Thunderlane swallowed his mouthful, then spoke. “She seems a bit tense.” “I know she is.” I said. “She’s asked me the same thing twice already.” Thunderlane nodded. “It’s mostly because we’re not sure if Braeburn can help this year, with the Appleoosa orchards getting larger. Problem is, these orchards are growing as well.” I waved at the trees surrounding the house. “That, and even with my help, there might be trouble.” “Wish I could help, but this time of year’s busy for me too.” “I know.” Just then, we heard the frantic flapping of wings, and a grey pegasus  came down out of the sky. For a second, I thought it was Ditzy Hooves. That mare had always been flying around weirdly. But then the pegasus raised their head, and Thunderlane stiffened. This stallion was older than either of us, his face lined with a testament to years lived. Thunderlane pushed himself to his hooves, still staring at the pegasus, who was panting. He walked down the steps slowly, and I got down from the bench as well. I stood back, not sure what was going on. (Although an idea was forming in my head.) Thunderlane stopped a couple yards away from the grey stallion, who’d recovered enough to look up at him. The older pony gasped. When he took a few steps forward, however, Thunderlane stepped back, and he stopped. “Thunderlane…” the pony whispered. “I-I…” “Dad.” Thunderlane ground out through bared teeth. My suspicions confirmed, I walked forward. Thunderlane stuck a wing out, stopping me in my tracks. “Been a while.” His father seemed to struggle with speech for a second, then managed: “I-I found you.” He keeled over. I tried to get to him, but Thunderlane just about shoved me back. “Leave him.” he spat. I stared at him. “He doesn’t deserve any help.” I stood still, then pushed past him. He didn’t follow, watching as I checked his father’s pulse, then extracted the sonic screwdriver from my ever-present collar and double-checked my results. “He’s alright” I said. “He’s exhausted, though.” “What’s goin’ on here?” I looked around, and saw Applejack come running down the porch stairs. “What happened?” she asked, doing her own check. I put the sonic back in its hiding place. “He fainted.” I explained. “Exhaustion.” “Who is’e?” “Help me get him inside, and I’ll explain.” I bent down, lifting one of his forelegs over my shoulders. She did the same, glancing over at Thunderlane. He was watching, with an expression that gave me no doubts he wasn’t going to help. I sighed. I’d hoped, that if this day ever came, Thunderlane would be able to try and look past his father’s old misdeeds and try to make up. Clearly, though, he wasn’t interested. Inside, we laid him down on the couch. After propping his head up with a pillow, I turned to Thunderlane. He’d followed silently; watching, but not helping. “I know he hurt you.” I said. “But he’s still your father.” Thunderlane continued to glare at his unconscious father. I walked up to him, catching his eyes. I held his gaze, and he sighed. “Give him a chance.” He looked down at his hooves, then nodded silently. “Hey.” I said, tapping his forehead. He looked up. “I know.” I said. “But he came. He’s here, looking for you and Rumble.” Thunderlane stared at me, then sighed. “Okay.” “Thank you.” I said. “When he wakes up, we’ll find out what’s going on, okay?” I could see the conflict going on behind his eyes. But he nodded again. “Do I have to wait here, though?” he asked. “I didn’t finish up my work.” I narrowed my eyes, looking outside. The sky was cloudless and sunny.” “Applejack…” I said conversationally. “Did Rainbow Dash happen to tell you what today’s weather was going to be?” “Sunny.” she said, quietly getting on the other side of him, blocking his escape route. “Sunny and clear.” “Sorry, Thunderlane.” I said. “Looks like you’re staying here.” Thunderlane snorted, then walked over to a chair and sat down. ___________________________________________ When his father woke up, it was with a groan. “My head…” “Here.” I offered him a glass of water. “Drink this.” “Thank you.” he said, accepting it. He gulped it all down. “Better?” I took the glass back from him. “Yeah.” he looked at his surroundings, his gaze coming to rest on Thunderlane. “Thunderlane.” he said, struggling to stand. I put a hoof on his chest, making him stay down. “Easy there.” I said. “You need to stay down.” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t struggle. “I’m so sorry.” he said, a hoof reaching out to Thunderlane beseechingly. “I’m so, so sorry. For everything.” “Are you?” said Thunderlane spitefully. If I’d been close enough, I would’ve flicked his ear with a hoof. “Yes, I am.” his father said, several tears trailing down his face. “What I did was unforgivable, I know…” “It was.” “But… I had to find you…” He swallowed. “I c-can’t abandon you again…” “Why? So you can hit me some more?” I nearly lost my cool for a moment, but I took a deep breath. “Thunderlane.” I said. “What did I tell you?” I turned my gaze back to his father. “I’ve never actually found out your name.” I said. “It’s Stratus Glider.” he said. With further gentle provocation, I was able to get him to tell me a bit more about what had happened, and learned more about the situations that had lead to his estrangement from Thunderlane and Rumble. His wife, May Breeze, had died from a disease that affected the immune system. She’d caught the Feather Flu, but her vastly devastated immune system had been unable to handle it. She’d died in his arms. I had nothing but sympathy for this, but then, I asked: “But why? Why did you turn to drinking? Surely you knew what it would do to you?” “I…” he sniffed. “I was stupid, I know. I-I didn’t c-care… didn’t care what happened to me, or anyone else. I just wanted to stop the pain...” “You had reasons to go on. Two sons, who needed you more than ever.” “I-I know.” I examined him, looking deep into his brown eyes. I examined all the information I had. I went through all of it, leaving nothing out. He blinked, eyes switching focus between either of mine. “Hmm…” “What?” he said. “What is it?” “Thunderlane.” I said. “I think we need to take him home with us.” “WHAT?!” he shouted. “Take him home, to RUMBLE?! Are you crazy?!” Normally, I would’ve given him a lopsided grin, and said “Yep!” But now was a really bad time. “No.” I said. “Thunderlane, please trust me.” “But-!” He stared at me, mouthing wordlessly. Meanwhile, Stratus looked between us. “Are… are you his… coltfriend?” I looked back at him, and nodded. He looked surprised. “Oh. Okay.” “What?” said Thunderlane, deflating slightly. “You’re… okay with that?” “Well… why wouldn’t I be?” Stratus asked. Again, Thunderlane stared, but this time at his father. After a minute, I could see that he’d calmed down. “So.” I said, addressing Stratus. “You need to stay still for a while. Once you’re feeling up to it, we’ll go back to the house.” “I can go now.” he said, but I shook my head. “Not quite yet.” I said. “You should eat first.” Stratus seemed surprised by how friendly I was being. And so did Thunderlane. He must’ve expected my support, in hating his father. But instead, here I was, offering to feed him, and to give him somewhere to sleep. ___________________________________________ Once he’d eaten, I helped him up. Thunderlane, who hadn’t said anything for a while, got up too. And though I still had to support Stratus without him, he didn’t seem as outraged as before. Applejack came with us, helping me keep Stratus upright. It was slow going, but we made it alright. A few ponies stared at us, and I saw Thunderlane’s ears go back. “Thank you.” I said to Applejack, once we’d reached the front door of the house. “Yer welcome.” she said. “Pleasure meetin’ you, Mr. Glider.” “And you.” he said. “Bye, y’all.” She left, and I looked over at Thunderlane. He sighed, and opened the door. Stratus and I entered, where I had him sit down on the couch. “Rumble isn’t home yet.” I said. “You can wait here, if you want.” “Where are you going?!” said Thunderlane indignantly. “Don’t-!” “I have to go back to work. Besides, you two need some quality time.” Without giving either of them time to argue, I walked back outside. Before Thunderlane could get to the door, I used the sonic screwdriver to seal it closed, as well as all of the other entrances of the house. I heard him pound on the door. “North!” he shouted. “North, this isn’t funny!” “You two need to learn to get along! And by you two, I mean  you!” “C’mon, let me out!” he said. “Don’t make me stay here with him!” “Be nice to him!” I said. “I’ll be back soon.” ___________________________________________ It was quiet for a long period, before Stratus spoke up. “You’re coltfriend is a bit… strange.” Thunderlane nodded. “How… how long have you two…?” “Eight months.” said Thunderlane. “Since last Winter Wrap-up.” “That’s quite a stretch.” “Yeah.” After another silent spell, Stratus spoke again. “How have you been?” Thunderlane shrugged. It was painful, having his father here. This stallion, who’d hurt him so badly. And now, he expected forgiveness? Thunderlane felt a brief resurgence of anger. Then North’s words came back to him. Give him a chance. And his expression, after he’d offered for Stratus to come here… North had never looked at him like that. He hadn’t been able to refuse. So now he was here, trapped with his worst memories. And their cause. “What do you do? For a living, I mean?” He looked back at Stratus. His expression showed genuine curiosity. “I’m part of the weather team.” “Really? Good job.” A warm spot flared briefly in his chest. “Thanks.” They sat together in silence, Thunderlane avoiding his father’s eyes. Those brown eyes had glared down at him so often, he still felt his body tense in fear. He tried to relax. He can’t hurt me. I’m just as big as he is now, and stronger too. ___________________________________________ When I got back from work, with Rumble in tow, I unsealed the house. Inside, I found that the two of them were where I’d left them. Thunderlane didn’t seem quite as tense as earlier, which was a start. When Rumble saw his father, he gasped. “Daddy?” “Rumble!” Stratus’s face lit up, and briefly, I saw the stallion he must’ve been before May had died. With a strength he hadn’t possessed a moment before, he jumped off the couch, and ran over to Rumble. He embraced him in a hug, laughing and crying all at the same time. Rumble was grinning, pushing his muzzle into his father’s chest. “Oh, Rumble.” Thunderlane looked on, expressionless. I walked over to him, and nudged him. “C’mon.” I said. “Look at that.” Rumble had tackled Stratus, and both were laughing on the floor. The older pegasus wrapped his wings around them, rocking back and forth. “I’ll go make dinner.” he said. He stood, and went to the kitchen. I sighed. It’ll take a while. I thought. But at least he’s here now. I just hope I’m wrong about what I saw...