The Raging Thunder Act-1

by Thunder Bolt

Leaving The Nest

Chapter 3

Thunder looked down at his hooves, and watched as the white, wispy cloud flowed between his legs from beneath him. He had always wondered what it would be like, to stand atop a cloud. To walk on top of a cloud was a completely new concept for Thunder. When he was training himself to fly, he recalled the very first time he flew through a cloud. It was soft and warmer inside than the air outside. Though at that time, he never considered to actually try and stand on top of one. He was only focused on flying, and when he achieved that goal, he still trained. He wanted to go faster, to go further, because he just could not get enough of the new sensation. The wind flowing through his wings, his mane held up in the wind. It was an incredible feeling that he could not even fully understand. This feeling inside of him seemed to change him slightly in some way, making him feel just a little bit more complete than before. Even if his emptiness never left, it helped.

It had been well over a year since Thunder first began training himself, preparing himself to start school in a place where he could finally be with his own kind. Now that he was in Cloudsdale, standing atop a cloud, baring a massive city, he knew his life would change. He looked upon the magnificent city, the sun shining off of every wall, every street, every rooftop. Rainbows appearing constantly throughout this entire civilization, built high in the sky. It was a beautiful site to behold, and he knew that somewhere here, there had to be something that would help him feel less empty inside.

Coming out of his trance-like state, Thunder suddenly remembered why he came here in the first place. Zecora told him before he came here, that she had used an “old friend” of hers to help her sight out the city, and so, judging that Thunder were to land near Cloudsdale park, which he had, he would need to follow the directions she gave him to the local academy. It was really a shame the Zecora couldn’t come and watch Thunder enroll, but she told him that only pegasi can stand on top of clouds, so she wouldn’t be capable of coming. He was quick to understand, so he came alone.

Looking around the park, which was really nothing more than a large rainbow fountain and smoothed cloud pathways going all directions, he found the pathway in which Zecora had instructed him to go down and followed it. The walk to the academy was a fairly simple one, but it took a bit longer than it could have as Thunder was so infatuated with the scenery around him that he refused to speed it up by flying, so that he could take in everything around him. It really was a beautiful city, everything was so bright and happy, and every structure seemed to be masterfully constructed. The pegasi really seemed to have a thing for marble pillars in their city, but Thunder still thought they were just as beautiful as everything else. There were even rainbow waterfalls and rivers in the city, which shined so many amazing colors when hit by the sun. Some colors even Thunder had never seen before, and he thought he had seen just about everything in the forest. If that wasn’t enough for him, all of this beauty was only emphasized by the countless number of pegasus ponies that he saw flying and walking by in every single direction.

Eventually Thunder reached the enrollment center to the academy. He gazed upon the building in sheer ahw at just how large it was. Zecora told him the building would be large, but not how large. It towered way above all the other buildings in the main section of the city, and the outside of it was entirely surrounded by immense marble pillars. Entering the building, Thunder came into a large white room. The walls were circular and went way up to the very top of the ceiling. There were some potted plants near the walls which he recognized seeing on the ground below in his past. In the center of the room was a large circular desk with a female pegasi sitting inside. It was a pink pegasi with a long purple mane, and unlike Thunder, she was fully grown. Approaching the pegasi at the desk, he stood up on his hind-legs and placed his front hooves on the desk.

“Uhm, excuse me miss?” Thunder spoke. The pink pegasi seemed somewhat startled in her reaction.

“Huh? Who! What!..” She turned around and looked down at Thunder over a pair of black rimmed glasses. “Oh, I’m sorry. Just a moment please.” The pegasi turned sideways in her seat and quickly put away a book she had been reading. “There then. Now, how can I help you little one?” Thunder quickly cleared his throat and began to speak, obviously shy for one who has never met his own kind before.

“Oh, uh, I’m, here to enroll?” He said to her, stating his presence in more of a question rather than a statement.

“I see, very well then, you must be new here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.” The pink pegasi said as she reached below the desk and pulled out a clipboard and pen.

“Uhm, no, I’m, not from around here.”

“Ah, I see, well that shouldn’t be a problem. Now, you should know that before we enroll any new students here, they are required to take a speed test. We’re the best school here in Cloudsdale, and we want to make sure our students have some potential.”

“Oh..I didn’t hear about that.” Thunder replied solemnly.

“Don’t worry about it hun, it really isn’t all that hard. You only got to meet five wing power to pass.”

“Oh okay..wait, wha-?”

“Anyways, before you can take the test though, I’ll need to ask you some questions. That alright with you?”

“Uh, I guess.”

“Good then, now what’s your name?”

“I’m Thunder Bolt.”

“Oh my, quite the name you got there, I sure hope it’s a sign of what’s to come.” She said as she winked at him. “Now, where do you live, and who are your parents?”

“Oh...I, uh...” Thunder thought about this question for a moment, as he couldn’t tell her that he lived with a Zebra out in the middle of the forest, so he said the best thing he could come up with. “I don’t have any parents ma’am, I-”

“Whaa? No parents? Oh my, that is just dreadful dear, I am so sorry. You should of just said you’re an orphan. Very well then, I wont need to ask you anything else, you just come in here tomorrow morning and I can definitely promise you a spot in the enrollment test.” Thunder looked at her blankly for a moment and then smiled wide, jumping up and giving a little cheer.

“Oh thank you thank you miss!- uhm...” The female pegasi giggled at Thunder.

“You can call me Daisy.”

“Okay. Thank you Miss Daisy!”

“Don’t mention it hun. It’s actually a good thing you came in today, the testing is tomorrow and that is usually when I get a huge rush of pegasi coming to enroll. It’s always refreshing to have some pony come in early.” She smiled at Thunder and they both shared a small chuckle.

After Thunder said a goodbye to the pegasi Daisy, he left the enrollment center and headed out to explore the city a bit. It was such a gorgeous place that he just had to see more of it. So he decided to fly up into the sky above the city and get a better look at it from that point of view. It was truly a magnificent place, so much higher than all of the clouds in the sky, meaning that the city’s sky was always crystal clear. He flew around for a long time admiring the beauty of the city, until he decided to set down next to the edge of a waterfall, way up at the top of the city. He sat there and watched as all the beautiful colors spilled out of the cloud and spread out into the sky. It was such a magnificent place.

It was during his trance in this serene beauty that Thunder was suddenly interrupted by something that caught his eye. He looked over across the river and on the other side, he saw a yellow pegasus, much younger than the one he previously met, this one was about his age. Thunder walked along the side of the river a little bit, trying to get a better look at this mysterious pony. He couldn’t see her face because it was covered by her long pink mane. “What is she doing here all alone?” Thunder thought to himself. Walking away from her down the river a bit, he flew over to the other side and then proceeded to walk back towards her, trying to get a closer look. That was when he could hear her voice, and he realized that she was talking to someone. This mysterious pony was actually talking to a bird. Some pony else with a little animal friend like him? Thunder had no idea he’d find someone with a similarity to him like that. He got a little closer to her, and although he still couldn’t make out what she was saying, he could still tell that she had a beautiful voice. It was so soft and smooth, like a thin veil of silk slipping through his mind. Finally mustering up some courage, he decided that he would go and say hello to her.

Thunder slowly approached the strange pegasus, her back turned to him, until he was within a hooves reach. Reaching over to her and softly tapping her on the shoulder, he spoke.

“Uhm, excuse me, I-”

“EEEK!!!” The strange pony was startled by the sudden tap on her shoulder and without looking back, bolted off out of sight. Thunder was left there with his mouth hanging open, wondering what in Equestria just happened.

“Oh Thunder, you’re such a dunce.” He said to himself, slumping away, back towards the main city. The sun was starting to go down, so he decided he would head home and come back tomorrow. He wanted to have plenty of rest to be ready for the test.

····································································································································

That night, Zecora put together a large meal for Thunder, of flower stew and a special drink she made from forest fruits. She even made Thunder a carrot roast with some wild carrots she had found in the forest. Zecora never really made meals like this for Thunder, but this was a really important time for him, and she wanted to do something very special before he left for school. See, when a pegasus goes to Cloudsdale for school, it is generally a given that while they are there schooling, they live in Cloudsdale and are taken care of by the school, similar to a boarding school. Since it was very likely that this was the last time Thunder would be living with Zecora, she wanted this last night to be a memorable one.

It was a very special night in fact. Smelling the food before Thunder was even near Zecora’s house, he rushed home and flew right through the door. He was met with a warm smile and greeting from his loving guardian, and they both sat down to eat. They spent the rest of that evening talking to each other, and Thunder expressed to her just how much he would miss her. At first, he had worries that night about the entrance test he would have to take, but he had trained for so long, and Zecora was confident in him. His worries were quickly set aside by just a few comforting words from his guardian.

“Don’t you worry, my little pegasi,

I have seen just how fast you can fly.

And when your schooling is done, you wont ever be alone,

I’ll always be here, waiting in your childhood home.” Zecora really had a way with words when she spoke to Thunder. Sometimes he wondered if she could even read his mind, but regardless, knowing that he would always have some pony there for him was just the thing he needed in order to cease his worries, and let him fall peacefully asleep that night.

····································································································································

The following day, Thunder awoke early, and in his hurry to rush to Cloudsdale for his entrance test, he left his home without saying goodbye to Zecora. She didn’t mind it though, because just knowing that he was happy was the only goodbye Zecora needed. She woke when she heard Thunder rushing around to grab a few things before flying out the door. Then she walked outside and looked up into the sky, watching as her little one flew off to a new life.

At Cloudsdale flight academy, the sun was high and the enrollment center was filled with the sounds of noisy young pegasi all rushing to enroll at the last moment. As Thunder set down by the door, he was met by a long line of pegasi reaching way outside, but luckily he didn’t have to wait there, as he had already signed up the previous day.

He walked inside and approached the counter, where he was then greeted by Daisy.

“Well hello there Thunder! Nice to see you today, head on through that door on the right. You’ve already registered so you don’t need to wait out here. Just go on in and you’ll be met with an instructor.” Thunder nodded to her and made his way through the crowd into the door. It sure was noisy here, not nearly like the forest where he grew up. It was a tad bothersome but he decided that he would just have to get used to it.

Heading through the doors, he found himself inside another white room. This one was a lot shorter than the previous room, with a much lower ceiling and it only had one other door in it, a large door which appeared to go outside. Walking into the room he observed the other ponies that were in there as well. All of the pegasi in there were similar to him in that they were short and looked about as young as him. None of them really stood out in particular, except for this one pegasus who had several other ponies talking to her at one time. She was blue, and her mane was actually rainbow colored. ‘Huh, that’s a new one’ Thunder thought to himself as he observed the strange pony. She also looked a lot more confident than many of the other ponies in here.

Just then, as he was looking around, he noticed some pony. Way in the back of the room, huddling close to a wall was that yellow pony that he ran into the previous day. ‘Well that’s a coincidence’ Thunder thought, ‘maybe I can introduce myself this time.’ So Thunder started to walk over to her, but had his path abruptly blocked by a very large, gray, male pegasus.

“Well hello there son! You must be one of the new enrollees. Here, have a number!” The large pony then slapped a piece of paper onto Thunder’s flank, with a great big number thirteen on it. “There you go, now yer ready to test! Good luck! Oh, and if you pass, you can call me coach!” The strange pony then walked off, leaving Thunder sitting there, speechless once again. Then, looking over to resume what he was previously doing, he realized that the yellow pony had vanished. ‘Oh phooey.’ Thunder said to himself.

It was several hours later when the whistles were blown, and all the enrollees were called out through the big doors to start testing. Outside, Thunder found himself on a huge circular track, which was intended specifically for speed testing. Unlike the previous rooms, this one didn’t have a white floor. The floor in here was actually covered in dirt and grass to emulate the ground on the surface. There was also an incredibly high ceiling completely enclosing the track, but it was completely lit up by the large number sun lights. Finding his way to his spot in line, corresponding to his number, he took a seat on the ground and watched as ponies began testing. The first few pegasi to test all did a good job, passing the test easily. They would step out onto the track and ready themselves, and as soon as they felt they were in a good starting position, they would take off as fast as they could. How it worked was that a few feet in front of the starting point, there was a small machine on the ground that would record the wing power of a pegasus as it flew by, and each pegasus who tested was allowed to circle the course as many times as they wanted, in case they needed a good start to speed up, and when they were finished their best speed was the one that was accepted.

Thunder had a fun time watching the pegasi all go up and circle around the track, and then they called number seven, and the pony that went up was the blue one that he saw from earlier. She had a very intense look on her face as she readied herself for flight. It was dead quiet for a few moments, and then all of a sudden she took off in a huge fury of feathers, and she ended up recording faster than any of the previous pegasi Thunder had seen. She had actually recorded a 7.5! To Thunder, who had no idea what one wing power even was, this was astounding because all the previous pegasi had only recorded at just slightly over five. A few of the other pegasi gave a cheer for her and she strutted off proudly, then a couple more pegasi went up, and at number ten, the one who went up onto the course was the yellow pony he had seen before. She walked very slowly out onto the field, her head down and her tail very low to the ground. Looking over to the coach next to the track, it looked like she was starting to say something to him. Thunder scooted up a little and held his ear out, trying to see if he could hear what she was saying.

“Uhm...uh, mister coach, sir..I don’t know if-” She stuttered before being cut off.

“Not now little missy! Just get going with the test! I have a lot of pegasi to run today and I don’t have time to stop!”

“But..that’s the thing, sir...I don’t think-”

“Oh will you just get going!” He then nudged her around to face down the track, but she just stood there nervously and shivered for a few seconds. The coach then, losing his patience, lifted up his whistle and blew into it forcefully.

“EEEK!!” Frightened by the loud noise of the whistle, the small yellow pegasus took off at a surprising fast speed down the course, going as fast as she could to flee from whatever imaginary threat frightened her. Though she didn’t make a lap around the course because out of her fright, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and slammed face first into a wall. So, the coach went ahead and read off her initial speed.

“Well, would you look at that! Five n’ a half! Alright, you pass. NEXT!” Thunder lifted his hooves and gave a small clap for the yellow pony, but was ceased by the gaze from some of the ponies behind him.

It was only two more numbers he had to wait, and then finally he was called up to the course.

“Thirteen!!” The coach called, making Thunder’s heart jump up in his chest. This was it, this was the moment for Thunder that would determine where his life would go. Walking out onto the course, he looked over at the coach, then back down the course to see the yellow pony still there, getting up and steadying herself from a daze after slamming into the wall. Bending his front legs and pushing his body forward with his back legs, he spread his wings wide and readied himself. Thunder filled every ounce of himself with determination, that he would pass this test and make Zecora proud of him. Starting to slowly flap his wings, gradually picking up speed until his fore legs could barely hold him back, he pushed off with his back legs and shot forward down the track like a careening rocket. He bolted away in a blur, lifting the wind and sending the coach tumbling backwards. Almost immediately after he shot by the yellow pegasus just as she had steadied herself, knocking her off her feet and back down onto the ground. He turned and looped around the track, making one lap, then two. Three. Four. Five. The wind in the arena picked up and all the other enrollees had to steady themselves each time he passed. Thunder was going at such a fast pace that the coach was trying to stop him, which was a good thing because Thunder couldn’t stop himself. He was scared to stop, the small pony full of so much determination forced himself to fly faster and faster, scared of the possibility that he may fail, and let down the only one who had ever loved him.

Thunder saw something in his path, and unable to stop, he crashed. There was a gray blur, he felt something soft. Then once again, his life had lead him into darkness, his eyes shut, with only sound and touch to tell him the story.

“Twenty! I can’t believe it!” Some pony said.

End Chapter

Comments

[Whisper The Saint]

Chapter done.

Things I noticed: there were some instances you didn't use the big 'T' in thunder. Fluttershy reaction truly made me giggle.

Also, is Thunder faster than Rainbow Dash?