//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Thunderclouds // by Alaborn //------------------------------// Thunderclouds By Alaborn Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein. Chapter 6 Late in the afternoon, fifteen-year-old Thundercloud headed to the local Hayburger. He would have preferred something sweet, but Sugarcube Corner was where the foals hung out, and Thundercloud was definitely not a foal. The young stallion had passed his exams, and was now working for the Ponyville weather team. The Hayburger was a popular hangout for foals... ponies his age. Everypony had their cutie mark. Some were in secondary school, others honing their special talent in an apprenticeship, and others, like Thundercloud, were already working with their special talents, in the fields and sky. Thundercloud ordered a hayburger with cheese and a small hay fries, just enough to tide him over to dinner, and carried his tray on his back to a cluster of tables in the back. “Hey, guys,” he say. “What’s up, Thundercloud?” said Red Brick, an earth pony stallion apprenticing to be a mason. “Hey, Thunder,” said Misty Shine. The young pegasus mare was still in school and practicing her painting. “How’s it hanging, dude?” said Silver Cog, a laid-back unicorn stallion who worked at the clock store. “Can’t wait for someone else to join the weather team,” Thundercloud said before taking a bite of his burger. “Getting tired of being called the rookie,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Say it, don’t spray it,” Silver Cog said, wiping his face with a napkin in an exaggerated manner. “At least you’re doing real work,” Red Brick said. “I guess. I’m number three on the storm team, well, making the storms. Chief is still running me through drills for starting the storms. “Better do it right, or she’ll kick your flank,” Red Brick said. “She’d kick all our flanks, at the same time,” Thundercloud said with a laugh. “Hey. You’ll get there,” Misty Shine said. “Anypony doing anything for Nightmare Night?” Thundercloud asked. “I get to take my little sister around town,” Silver Cog said. “That gives me an excuse to collect candy, too.” “Lucky,” Misty Shine said. “Play some games. Eat some food,” Red Brick said. “Don’t even care if I get a costume.” “You have to get a costume!” Misty Sky said. “You could just use your work clothes, like that dentist does,” Silver Cog suggested. “Fine. I’ll think about it,” Red Brick said. “How about you, Thundercloud?” Thundercloud shrugged. “I’m still not sure. But yeah, I’ll be there, and I’ll get a costume.” Thoughts about Nightmare Night occupied Thundercloud’s mind as he worked on prepping the week’s storm clouds. He did agree with the idea of wearing a costume, but what should it be? Last year, he had a Power Pony costume, but that seemed too foalish. What costume did he want? Something cheap to make, certainly. “Hey, rookie, heads up!” Thundercloud barely had time to catch the small storm cloud his weather chief, Rainbow Dash, had thrown at him. Had he not caught it, it would have gone off, but only creating a loud bang. “Thanks, Chief. This cloud needed a patch.” He added the small puff of cloud to a storm cloud that had come to them a bit undersized. “Thinking about Nightmare Night?” “Yeah. I want to do something fun, but I’m too old just to collect candy.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, I’ve got just the thing, rookie. The Shadowbolts need a new recruit.” “The Shadowbolts?” “On Nightmare Night, it is a Shadowbolt’s solemn duty to keep everypony on her hooves. Gotta give a scare to everypony that’s not embracing the true meaning of Nightmare Night, tricks and treats! But so far, it’s just been me. So what do you say?” “I don’t really have a costume.” “I have one you can use.” “Then it’s a deal!” Thundercloud fidgeted in his Nightmare Night Shadowbolt costume. Like most pegasi, he had dressed up like a Wonderbolt before, but those outfits were normal cloth, and tended to bunch up after a while. This costume was made of one piece of that stretchy fabric, just like a Wonderbolt outfit. He struggled to get the suit to rest comfortably against his wings and tail. “You’re looking good, son,” his father said. “Thanks. And I promise, no candy,” he replied. “I know. You’re socializing with the boss. That’s important. And you’re doing something fun. You won’t often get chances like that. Now, how about some dinner?” “Yeah!” They headed to the kitchen, where Thundercloud’s mother was ladling a pumpkin stew into three bowls. He inhaled, savoring the delectable aroma. Somepony knocked on the door. “Dear, would you get that?” his mother told his father. “Seems like somepony’s eager to get some candy!” His father grabbed the bowl of candy, placing it on his back. Thundercloud sneaked his wing into the bowl, snagging a piece of caramel. “Now, Thundercloud, you should have dinner first,” his mother said. She pushed the bowl of pumpkin stew to him. At the front door, a trio of enthusiastic fillies gave the traditional Nightmare Night greeting. “Now eat!” his mother said, just as the fillies said eat. Eat? They said “Give me something sweet to bite.” Thundercloud chewed on chunks of pumpkin as he considered his memory. Give me something sweet to eat had a ring to it. No, good to eat. It sounded like it fit. But what other words fit? He noticed the caramel treat. Eat. Sweet. Treat. He remembered what Rainbow Dash had said. Tricks and treats. What other words? He started from the top of the alphabet. Beet. Feet. Heat. Feet. Trick or treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. He remembered the phrase clearly. But the only problem was, ponies didn’t have feet. They had hooves. But humans had feet. Why was he picturing a human Nightmare Night? No, that wasn’t right. Nightmare, yes. Night, yes. But they didn’t go together. “Thundercloud? Are you okay? You’ve been chewing on your spoon for the last three minutes!” his mother said. “Sorry, Mom. I was thinking about the past.” Thundercloud’s walk through town was interrupted by a loud bang and flash of light. He jumped into the air, his wings automatically lifting him into the air, ready for flight if necessary. But there was no danger. Instead, there was a loud cackling from the cloud above. “Keep sharp, rookie! Or you’re going to be jumping like a Mexicoltan jumping bean when I shock you!” Rainbow Dash called. “Rookie Thundercloud, reporting for duty,” he replied with a salute. “Let’s get a look at you,” Rainbow Dash said, flying down. She inspected his outfit. “Tighten that collar. And goggles on! Nopony should know who is that Shadowbolt who stalks them on Nightmare Night!” “Got it!” Thundercloud placed the yellow-trimmed black goggles over his eyes. “But won’t they notice my mane?” “Ah, who cares? It’s all in fun. Now, get up there and grab a cloud. Make it a Class A storm cloud, but pump it full of thunder instead. You want a loud boom and bright flash ready to go.” He saluted again and flew off. Thundercloud landed on a gray cloud, one placed around town to help cool the temperature and create the ideal level of gloom for Nightmare Night. His magic flowed into the cloud, a magic that came easily due to his special talent. His hooves and feathers felt the distinct thunder energy, and he was ready to go. “Okay, now here’s what you need to do. Find anypony who’s not fun,” Rainbow Dash said. “Maybe it’s that snooty visitor from Canterlot who looks like he’s never cut loose once in his life. Maybe it’s somepony unhappy to see foals having fun. Or maybe it’s that colt you’ve always wanted to prank. Your solemn duty as a Shadowbolt is to get them!” “Yes, Captain!” Thundercloud shouted. Thundercloud’s first target was a pair of unicorns who had the air of upper class snobbery. He had a sweater wrapped around his neck, and he didn’t put it on even though he looked cold. She had a garish hat that she kept having to grab in the light breeze. They were definitely turning up their noses at the fun Ponyville Nightmare Night celebration. *KAPOW!* The two unicorns jumped and ran into the nearest building. And then they ran out, once they noticed they had run into the local Hayburger. They wiped their coats, trying to purge themselves of the aroma of that restaurant. That old codger who waved his cane at a group of foals in cute costume got a thunderbolt to the flank. The group of young stallions trying to scare the other ponies away from the game of strength fled like scared schoolfillies when Thundercloud brought the wrath of the Shadowbolts upon them. Thundercloud was having fun. He decided to go look for his friends, and maybe hang with them for a bit. He spotted Silver Cog in a golem costume, with his sister, dressed as a flower. They both carried sacks of candy in their magical auras, though his was even bigger than hers. He watched as they hit up another house; Silver Cog was quite aggressive in his call for candy. Thundercloud flew over Silver Cog and pressed his cloud, causing thunder to rumble. “Mechanical pony!” he called. “You have done good in collecting candy for this floral filly.” He pushed magic into the cloud; it rumbled menacingly. “You are going to share it with her, right?” “Of course, mysterious Shadowbolt!” Silver Cog replied. “Good! The Shadowbolts are pleased,” Thundercloud said. Thundercloud next spotted Red Brick, walking with two cups of ice cream balanced on his back. He followed his friend as he walked away from the vendors, towards some hay bales set down to allow ponies to sit. And there Red Brick sat next to Misty Shine. From up on his cloud, Thundercloud watched the two ponies. Misty Shine grabbed a cup of ice cream with her wing and nodded to Red Brick. She smiled as she ate the tasty treat. They talked and smiled over the ice cream, Red Brick leaning in closer as they ate. He’d get them, he thought. Thundercloud lifted his cloud into the air. Magic flowed into it, charging it with thunder and lightning. Once it was ready, he edged it downward. Just as Thundercloud was ready to deliver the shock of their lives, he felt the cloud dissipate from under him. His wings flared, catching air and countering the pull of gravity. He looked around to see what happened. He spotted the rainbow contrail; though it was dark, Rainbow Dash possessed enough magic to leave a trail of rainbow colors even under starlight. And then the mare flew up to his face. “Just what was that?” the elder Shadowbolt said. “I just wanted to give my friends a little shock,” Thundercloud said. “That would have been more than a little shock,” Rainbow Dash said. “You let the cloud get out of control. Earth ponies don’t have your lightning resistance, and even some pegasi would be rattled by that much lightning. You would have hurt them. Not. Cool.” “Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I wasn’t trying to hurt them.” “Rookie, you need to hit the shower, and go home. Remember that you always need to stay in control when it comes to magic. Get some sleep and come into work fresh tomorrow. “Remember, rookie: Tomorrow is a fresh chance to be a better pony.”