Thunderstruck practically glided through the cobbled streets of Cliffside, now lit only by the fading evening sun, which hung precariously just over the far horizon. The shadows cast by the large stone and wood buildings of the slightly wealthier part of town left much of the street in shadow, yet here and there the light shone orange through any open space available.
Soon this all would disappear, leaving the world in the comforting light of Luna’s moon, and the stars would dance across the sky, finally embracing their lovers lights as they gave the world a show that it would never forget, but hidden in the silence he knew that no one would notice their movements…
That was actually the makings of one of his personal poems, a piece which he was by far not ready to reveal to the world. For now, it would remain under his personal scrutiny, and his own careful eye, until it was ready to be seen.
Rosefall trotted along beside him, composing lines of her own. It was no coincidence that both she and Thunderstruck greatly enjoyed poetry, for they both had the same teacher, and it was that stallion that had taught them both to love poetry, among the many other great things they learned to love.
Rosefall had been friends with Thunderstruck for a very long time. They had practically been raised together, which was a circumstance that should have been impossible, considering how different their origins were.
Cliffside had been far smaller then, so there had only been one tutor for the entire town, and only for a few years at that. Sadly there were never enough bits to keep a teacher around for long, not in such a new and developing Equestria.
But now the town had grown so large! And it continued to grow even to this day.
Today…
Thunderstruck’s mind returned to the present, leaving his amblings and remembrances for later. Today had been a very romantic day, all the way to how it was ending; the entire land being drenched in the deep and darkening orange at the end of the day. The pale night-time light only just beginning to overpower its eternal yellow foe, or was it friend?
That would be another good line for his poem…
Oh, Thunderstruck lived for these kinds of days! Only minutes ago, he and Rosefall had finished sowing the seeds for tomorrow’s meet up, and now there was nothing left but to bask in the glory of the ending day and stare at the sky, who was now showing its tiny lights to the world. Perhaps the stars were taking their time in waking up, stretching in what could be called their own morning routines as they prepared for their active night ahead. It was sigh-worthy, and that is just what Thunderstruck did, he sighed.
Rosefall glanced at her friend with a smile, “You’re right, it is quite a beautiful night we have ahead of us.”
Thunderstruck returned the smile; it was nice to have friends, especially one who knew him so well. Perhaps he had been wrong before, when he thought he stood alone as Cliffside’s leader of the fillies and foals. He and his friends would stand together to help the town, there was no need to think that he needed to command those around himself, because they would stand with him anyways.
Bah! Too often did he find himself thinking about the potential power he had, it was nothing to dwell on. Instead he should think about today, for as a very wise pony had once said, “Today is where the world is.”
“Do you think they’ll come?” Thunderstruck asked.
“Of course, when the great Thunderstruck invites ponies, they come!” Rosefall said with an exaggerated bow.
Thunderstruck sighed, “Why do you tease me so? Just like Bright Light.”
Rosefall laughed, “If we didn’t tease you, your head would get so big that you’d need a wagon to rest it on whenever you went out for a walk!”
“That may be true…”
“Why, Thunderstruck, it is true! I find it odd that ponies look up to you like they do, you were never like that when we were young.” Rosefall commented.
“Please, I was far too nervous back then to lead anypony. Now, they all listen to me… But you know that I never asked them to.” Thunderstruck ended with a sigh.
“I’m sure that your power is so important.” Rosefall teased sarcastically, though her face lost its teasing appearance after a moment. “Seriously, Thunderstruck, some of the townsponies are starting to get annoyed by the way you talk to them. You lord over them like some king, and every time you do that less and less ponies will listen to you.”
Thunderstruck gave her a confused look, though he did stop for a moment to admire how the shadows drew lines across her face. It was her hair that made the shadows so complicated… anyway. “I am the leader of these ponies.” He said.
“No, you aren’t Thunderstruck; remember what you called yourself at first?” Rosefall reminded him.
“Yes… I said, ‘I’m not the king or the ruler, I’m just…”
“The pony with the plan. You always said that you were just an events organizer at best. Before now you had never wanted to rule ponies, just, well, help them.”
“Is that not what I’m doing?” Thunderstruck said.
“Maybe, but you’ve got it all crossed. You’ve stopped bringing fun to the ponies around town, and instead you’re turning the whole stadium thing into some sort of private kingdom, it’s really starting to annoy some ponies.” Rosefall explained.
“Really?” Thunderstruck considered his friend’s words. Had he really started to become more interested in telling ponies what to do than actually having fun with them? The last few months had been crazy, and he felt like he needed to take more charge.
Then again, just yesterday he had been thinking about how much he had loved to tell ponies what to do, how much he loved being the center of attention. He really did think that he should command these ponies, and he loved to… well; almost show off that he was the leader. When Cloudy Night and Cloud Charmer first arrived in town, he became even more obsessed with his leadership, was it because of them? Earlier he had said to himself that those two were threats to his leadership role, but perhaps it was the opposite. Rosefall may have been very right in saying that he needed ponies to keep his head from expanding, he needed ponies like Cloud and her friend to make him remember that he wasn’t a leader, he was just a friend to all, and his only job was to help ponies stay friendly with each other.
It dawned on Thunderstruck that he was doing things wrong, and that he needed to make a change before he really did need a wagon just to carry around his bloated ego.
Another thought also came to Thunderstruck, though this particular thought made him laugh aloud. How was it that a few words could change a ponies thinking so suddenly that in moments one pony could become another.
A stranger made from an epiphany… that was another good line for him to use in his poem.
“I didn’t realize you found it all so annoying.” Thunderstruck responded.
“Well, we gave you a few weeks, but when it started to get worse, we decided to take action.”
“You and… Bright Light?” Thunderstruck asked.
“It was mostly Sidewinder’s idea. We just think you need to tone down the whole ‘I command thee!’ thing and try to be the friendly guy you were when we started the whole stadium meet up business.” Rosefall said, rather apologetically. She knew that Thunderstruck hated two things most of all, being wrong when he mistakes a reference, and feeling like he failed.
“Then how would you propose I change things.” He asked his friend, feeling a little more down on himself then he probably should.
“Did I write the book on how to be a friendly pony?! Just… do what you used to do. Hang out with other ponies, make new friends, and keep us all entertained. You only have to stop being some self-elected king, and start being just Thunderstruck.”
He smiled at that, it meant a lot to Thunderstruck that he still had friends that were willing to put him in his place, and keep him grounded in his purpose. Perhaps he had many more friends than he originally thought. Rosefall smiled back at him, her light pink coat seeming to blaze the colour of the orange sunset on the edge of the world. She suddenly became a glowing ember of the brilliant and powerful fire that was engulfing the mountains in its light.
He could only ever hope to shine as brightly as the ponies around him.
“Perchance the whole town will arrive tomorrow, to see the circus.” Thunderstruck suggested.
“Perchance it will, ‘Hope. Keep your faith in life, and life will keep her faith in you.’” Rosefall quoted.
“As if I wouldn’t recognize a quote from Midnight Whisper.” Thunderstruck said.
“No, actually it’s from…” Rosefall said, bursting into a fit of laughter when she saw Thunderstruck’s absolutely downcast face, “Alright, you got that one, it was Midnight who said it.”
Thunderstruck let out a big sigh, “Well, glad to hear that I am not erroneous in all of my life’s pursuits.”
“Indeed!” Rosefall said cheerfully, “Though it surprises me that at your age you still misquote almost every poet in existence.”
“I’m not that old.” Thunderstruck said.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot that I was older than you!” She responded, “Though it feels like many ponies around here look younger than they are. How old are the two friends you brought to me today?”
“I- I don’t know, actually.” He had never actually thought to ask how old Cloud and Cloudy were. In fact, thinking about it he didn’t actually know that much about the two of them.
Rosefall sighed, “It’s just like you to not bother asking a pony anything about themselves. How is it that you manage to make friends without actually being very friendly?”
“I don’t know.” He said, sounding resoundingly sad at his own personal failures as a friend. It made Rosefall feel all the more pity for him. Today just wasn’t his day was it?
Still, she knew what she was doing, and if she said something too forgiving then Thunderstruck wouldn’t even consider changing his ways whatsoever. Sidewinder had asked her to talk to Thunderstruck because he knew that she knew how to handle Thunderstruck, and she did.
“Well, I guess that you’ll have to spend more time with them then, as well as with everypony else. Don’t think that it doesn’t annoy me and the others that you don’t really hang around with anymore either.” Rosefall chided.
“Of… of course I will hang out with you guys. And with many others… I need to show the ponies around here that I want to be their friend, not their leader.” He said slowly, looking at Rosefall as though he were waiting for her approval.
“Good thinking, and I’m sure that if you stick to it then you’ll no doubt overcome the obstacles you face. ‘I say, you will win.’ Said the queen to her knight of favour, ‘And if you do not, somepony’s head shall roll!’” She finished with a laugh, which Thunderstruck joined her in.
Of course, it wasn’t a real queen who said that, it was a character from one of the novels in the town library. It was called, ‘The Royalty on High’ and it was written by an unnamed author in order to mock the nobility of Equestria. It actually became very popular among the nobles, and several thousand copies were ordered from the unicorn printer’s guild, and distributed throughout the land. The history of that very book had fascinated Rosefall, who had spent many hour pouring over its pages, and it always cheered her up to think about its jokes.
After they finished their short fit of laughing, Rosefall once again spoke. “As I was about to say before, I very much enjoyed the company of Cloud Charmer and Cloudy Night. I was surprised not only to immediately be set out on a mission, but by the little grey one of all ponies! Where did you meet these two, and why didn’t you introduce them sooner?!”
“Well, I met them in town several weeks ago. They were acting really weird that day, so I thought that I’d see if they were okay. One awkward conversation later and by Cloud Charmer’s intervention we were scheduled to hang out a couple days afterwards. They showed up at the stadium a few times after that, and we hung out, but this is the first time I’ve ever spent more than an hour with them both. I have no doubt, however, that they are good friends to me, and they will be to you as well.” Thunderstruck said.
“Well, I think it’s time you stop hiding them away from the rest of us, and gave us a chance to befriend them. Even I only had them for a few moments today!”
“Well, it’s not as though I asked them to leave!” Thunderstruck guffawed.
“Of course.” Rosefall said, turning and trotting down one of the side streets that lead into the rich district of Cliffside. Thunderstruck followed behind, though in the fast fading light the only part of him that could be clearly seen in any patch of shadows were his bright green eyes, which always managed to remain visible even in the darkest places.
“I was wondering…” Thunderstruck said.
“Yes?”
“Tomorrow at the circus, I was wondering if you would care to visit the poet Zendra with me. She is, apparently, one of the most eloquent zebras in existence.”
Rosefall glanced at her friend, looking very confused, “What, pray tell, is a zebra?”
“I have absolutely no idea.” He answered.
“And she is a poet?”
“So they say.”
“Well then, perhaps I will partake in her company, alongside you. But first I think I’ll talk to your two friends a bit more. Who knows, maybe I’ll find out their ages before you do?” Rosefall teased.
“Likely so… but I will fix that…” Thunderstruck mumbled to himself, though not quite out of Rosefall’s range of hearing. She smiled; it was good to hear Thunderstruck turning back to his old self, even if he really had never changed.
“And with that I say Goodnight! This is my street.” Rosefall said, stopping and turning to say goodbye to her friend.
“I suppose it is goodnight… So… Goodnight.” He said, for one of the first times in his life failing to find something fancy to say. He held out his hoof for a hoofbump, and was returned the bump by his laughing friend, no doubt amused by his awkward goodbye.
Rosefall trotted back to her home, and Thunderstruck began his journey to his own place. Unlike earlier, he did not stop to admire the scenery, but thought and reflected on the day, and how his conversation with Rosefall had changed him.
This would have continued without interruption, yet Thunderstruck was shaken out of his thoughtful daze when he heard a yelp down the alley he was passing. Without hesitating, Thunderstruck turned his course down the alley, seeking the source of the noise he heard.
When a whimper once again sounded from deeper into the alley, Thunderstruck broke into a gallop. He turned a corner quickly, and was greeted with the scene he had been hearing moments before.
Lo and behold! It was none other than the hulking form of Chud that Thunderstruck saw near the end of the dirty, garbage ridden alley way. He was standing in the shadows just before a dusk lit street, and he seemed to be looming over another pony.
If it was Chud, that meant nothing good, so without falter Thunderstruck trotted towards the pair of ponies, loudly announcing his presence at the same time.
“Hello Chud! What’s this I see going on here?” Thunderstruck said.
Chud leaped into the air, spinning quickly to see the pony engaging him, he actually looked scared for a moment, which was an emotion that rarely ever showed on his face. Once he saw it was Thunderstruck approaching, his fear turned to contempt, and he took a step forward, revealing the pony cowering behind him.
Thunderstruck was surprised to see the foal that had been helping Master Mirage yesterday at his travelling booth. He was small, had a light brown coat and black mane and tail, and small, golden eyes; enlarged from the terror flowing in him.
“What do you want, Thunderstruck?” Chud said angrily, obviously annoyed at being interrupted in the middle of his little interrogation. Thunderstruck glanced back from the foal to Chud, his face impassive.
“I want you to leave that pony alone, Chud.”
“It’s not your business to be tellin’ me what to do!” Chud said.
“Chud, I’m asking nicely, leave the pony alone.” Thunderstruck forcefully stated, his anger beginning to rise. Leave it to Chud to always find ways to cause as much trouble for those around him as his father. The seed, indeed, did not fall far from the tree with Chud and his father.
“Just like you to go snooping around in another pony’s business. Leave me be, or I’ll-“
“You’ll what? Please explain to me Chud just exactly what you plan to do to me?” Thunderstruck pulled out his most sinister voice, which was more than enough to make Chud pause. The fool colt was no coward, but neither was Thunderstruck, whom Chud knew well enough to know that he would not back down.
“Just leave me alone! This punk thinks he can mess with me, kinda like you!” Chud yelled, becoming slightly unsure of how to handle the situation.
“Let me tell you one more time Chud. Leave that foal alone, or I’ll tag along with my mother to meet a good friend of the family down the mountain. I believe you know who I’m talking about.” Thunderstruck threatened.
Chud regained that look of fear on his face again, letting it bleed through his façade of toughness. “No! you wouldn’t!”
“And then I’ll tell her exactly what you’ve been up to the last few month’s around here, and I believe you know what she’ll do then.”
Chud actually looked like he had been struck when Thunderstruck said that. Reluctantly, and wordlessly, he turned and walked into the street, turning and trotting away from the alley. Thunderstruck let out an exasperated sigh before he trotted to the foal at the end of the alley, and helped him up off of the ground.
“Are you alright?” Thunderstruck asked.
“Y-yes… h-ow did you make him l-leave?” The foal asked. His voice was one of the tiniest, most high pitched voices that Thunderstruck had ever heard.
“Ha! It’s his aunt. She lives down near the base of the mountain with the farmers; her husband owns a plot of land there. If she heard that Chud was being naughty up here, she’d trot to Cliffside faster than you’d believe. By Celestia, you should’ve heard how Chud whimpered and apologized the last time she was in town, she’s absolutely his worst nightmare!”
“S-so his name’s Chud?”
“Well, technically. Chud is just a nickname he uses.”
“Why would a-nypony want to c-call themselves chud?” The child asked, his fear evaporating by the second.
“Your guess is as good as mine; even I don’t know what his real name is. Speaking of which, I’m Thunderstruck, what’s your name?”
“Everyp-pony calls me Squeaker.” He said.
“Well, I will try not to see the irony in that.” Thunderstruck stated sarcastically.
“W-what’s i-irony.” Squeaker, uh, squeaked.
“Never you mind what it means. You’re from the circus right, you work for Mirage?”
“Yes, I-I’m from the circ-cus.” He answered, suddenly looking up at the darkening dusk sky with some alarm. “I h-have to go!” He shouted, and before Thunderstruck said another word the child was gone down the alley, around the corner, and barrelling down the street, carrying a small brown cloth bag in his mouth.
Thunderstruck could not help but wonder if he should follow, as he was not sure that Squeaker knew his way around Cliffside just yet. There was, however, no way to find him in these labyrinth like streets. Besides, the pony was running in the right direction to get out of town, perhaps he would make it there fine.
At the very least he wouldn’t have to worry about Chud again, for tonight at least. Mentioning Chud’s aunt usually put the colt back in his place pretty quick.
Thunderstruck felt pretty good for himself. Sure, he needed a lot of work, but at least he still had the decency to fight off bullies when he needed to. Hopefully the boy would learn how to not fear bullies, which was exactly what he needed if he wanted to defeat one.
All that Thunderstruck needed to do now was figure out how to get on the good side of many of the ponies in town. Maybe he could give a speech? No, that would probably make ponies feel even less pleased by his company. What he needed to do was to stop commanding, and start asking and encouraging. Don’t be the pony that tells others what to do, but the pony that inspires others to do things with them.
Thunderstruck turned his eye towards the sky, his mind trying to figure out exactly how to rid himself of his overgrown ego. Though he supposed if he already thought of it as overgrown then it no longer was. Then again…
Thunderstruck trotted away from the alley, while the shadows in the alley darkened and shifted behind him.
Within moments, the illusion of shifting shadows was gone, not that anypony noticed them in the first place. It was just one of those silent anomalies that occurs right under the muzzles of everypony in the world.