//------------------------------//
// The Next Day 
// Story: Thunderlane's New Life 
// by The Delirium 
//------------------------------//

	Blossomforth was not a happy mare today. Since she and Thunderlane worked as partners on the weather patrol, they met everyday at the edge of town to fly to work together. However, for whatever reason, Thunderlane had not shown up today. After waiting for the stallion for at least an hour, and growing more furious by the minute, she decided to go to work without him. Once she had arrived at the weather base, Blossomforth immediately stormed into the mess hall, expecting to find Thunderlane there. Much to her surprise, the stallion was nowhere to be found. However, she did find Flitter, who was flying towards her.

"Hey, Flitter." she greeted. "Have you seen Thunderlane today?"

"Sorry, Blossomforth, but I haven't. Don't you two always come to work together?"

"That's what I thought too, but Thunderlane bailed on me! I bet he's just mad because he took the blame for us finishing late yesterday. That stallion is more of a colt if you ask me."

"I see. Anyways, Rainbow Dash wanted me to come and get you. She wants to see us and Cloudchaser in her office immediately."

"Oh, great. I hope Thunderlane didn't do something stupid. Alright, let's go." Blossomforth followed Flitter out of the mess hall and down the passageway thad led to the offices. Eventually they reached the corridor that included Rainbow Dash's office. Flitter opened the door and the two stepped inside. Blossomforth could see Cloudchaser was already there with Rainbow. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash had a worried expression on her face and not a mad one.

"Blossomforth. Flitter. Good thing you're here. I've got something important to tell you."

"What's up, Rainbow?"

"Thunderlane quit last night."

"What!?" The other three mares exclaimed.

"You heard me. I pulled a prank on him and he got really upset. He stormed out of here after saying he was done with us."

"I knew Thunderlane could overreact, but this was too much, even for him." Blossomforth remarked.

"Was he really overeating, though?" Flitter asked. Blossomforth looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if Thunderlane quit for a good reason. Think about it, he's had it pretty rough working with us."

"I hate to admit it," Rainbow began. "But Thunderlane's one of the best weather ponies here. We need him to get Ponyville through winter." Cloudchaser, who had been silent the entire time, finally decided to speak up.

"I guess we'll just have to go and get him back."

"Right as always, Cloud. Let's go get our friend back."

Rainbow Dash, Flitter, Cloudchaser, and Blossomforth left the weather base and flew back down to Ponyville. They trotted their way to the edge of town, where Thunderlane's apartment was. They touched down right outside his apartment complex and walked through it until they found his.

"Thunderlane! Thunderlane, you in there? We have to talk to you!" yelled Blossomforth as she punted her hoof on the door. "I guess he's not home."

"Where else would he be?"

"He could be in town."

"Then let's go looking f..."

"Hey Flitter!" called a voice that made the four pegasi mares turn their heads. They saw Thunderlane's younger brother, Rumble, approaching them. "Long time no see. You too, Cloudchaser."

"Rumble," began Rainbow Dash, "Do you know where your brother is? He's not in his apartment."

"You mean my apartment."

"What?"

"I live here now. Thunderlane moved out just last night. He called and said he was leaving for a while and that I could stay here. Pretty cool, right? A whole place to myself."

"Thunderlane's gone!?" Blossomforth screamed.

"Yup."

"Where is he, then?"

"Don't know. When he called last night, all he said was that he was leaving, but he didn't mention where he was leaving to. Anyways, I got to jet. The colts and I are hanging out in a little bit. See you all later." Rumble then flapped his wings and flew back into town, leaving behind four speechless mares.

"I can't believe he's gone." Blossomforth said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "And it's all our fault."

"It is our fault." replied Rainbow Dash. "So it's our duty to make things right."

"But how?" interrupted Cloudchaser. "We don't know where is? Thunderlane could be anywhere in Equestira by now."

"Then we're going to just have to search all of Equestria until we find him."





After Thunderlane had flew out of Ponyville, he continued to soar in the skies until he made his way to Cloudsdale. He had lived there with his parents before they had had Rumble. Now, he was back and ready to begin again. He landed on one of the clouds that made up the large city and began to walk. Thunderlane kept walking and walking until his hooves began to ache. It would have been easier to fly to his destination, but Thunderlane wanted to take all of his new home in. Eventually, Thunderlane made his way to the residential parts of Cloudsdale and trotted to a white house with a blue roof. He anxiously knocked on the door and waited for it to open. It didn't take long for a light blue stallion with a navy blue mane appeared in front of him.

"Thunderlane. It's been a long time since you last visited. What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, Soarin. I just need a place to stay till I can get my own place."

"Your own place? Don't you own an apartment back in Ponyville?"

"Not anymore, I don't." he said with a snarl. Realizing his friends serious tone, Soarin stopped grinning.

"What happened?" And so, Thunderlane explained to Soarin about everything that had been happening in is life. He told him about his miserable job on the weather team, the disrespect every pony seemed to give him, and the cruelty he got from his "friends." Once he was done, Soarin was more than happy to let him in. "You can sleep here for now." Soarin said, pointing to a couch. Thunderlane placed his suitcase on the couch and followed Soarin down a hall. "This is the bathroom and that's the kitchen." He said, giving Thunderlane the grand tour. "How long do you think you'll be staying here?"

"Just until I have enough for my own place. I'll go into the city today and look for a job."

"Sounds like you're a stallion with a plan. Anyways, sorry to ditch you, but I have Wonderbolt training in an hour. Help yourself to anything in the fridge and good luck with your job hunt." Soarin then flew out the door, leaving Thunderlane alone with his thoughts. The stallion trotted back to his couch and plopped onto it face-down. Thunderlane sighed into the couch cushion as he began to ponder about what jobs he could do. 

"Cloudsdale weather patrol?" he thought. "That would be just as bad as my old job, if not worse. Wonderbolt? That would take too long. Rainbow Factory Worker? Only deadbeats work there. I guess I'll just have to go out and see Cloudsdale for myself."

Thunderlane hopped off the couch and walked out the door. Closing it behind him, he unfurled his wings and flew into the city. "Here we go, Thunderlane." he said to himself. "Let the job hunt begin!"