Thunderlane Bows Out

by Bronyxy

2 Meet the Elite

Lyra and Bon Bon had agonised about what to wear before leaving home. It wasn’t every day they were going to meet Royalty, so they wanted to look at their most presentable. When they arrived, it was the full red carpet treatment and they were swiftly ushered through all checks and onto the stairs that led up to the raised observation platform that formed the reserved enclosure. Having ascended the few flights of stairs, they emerged to meet an official looking herald who formally announced their arrival. There were some aristocratic looking ponies already there, who briefly looked up from their conversation and doffed their top hats politely.

Not wishing to interrupt their discussion, the two new arrivals just drank in the scene from the splendid vantage point afforded by its carefully prepared location and shortly they were approached by a pony bearing champagne flutes on a silver salver. He nodded in due deference to his VIP guests and proffered them to take one. Lyra giggled at the exclusive treatment they were receiving and Bon Bon, keeping her composure took two, one for each with a nod of thanks to the waiter.

They had barely clinked glasses in a toast between them when they heard the herald announce the arrival of Princess Cadence and her consort Prince Shining Armor into the VIP enclosure. Lyra had barely recovered from having been accepted into such an exclusive area when she turned on hearing the announcement and saw the Royal couple walking over to see them. Her mouth fell open and she dropped her delicate chamapgne flute as the Princess placed a calming forehoof on her shoulder.

“You’d be surprised how often that happens – these glasses aren’t really designed to be hoof held.”
Lyra was spellbound and barely noticed the maid scurrying to tidy up on the ground, let alone that the waiter replaced another glass into her hoof.
“Princess” said the cream earth pony by way of introduction “May I introduce my partner Lyra …”
“And you would be Bon Bon” completed the Princess with an easy smile.
“How did you know …” struggled Lyra.
“I am the Princess of Love; your devotion to each other is very well known, and I must say it’s such a pleasure to meet you at last.”

The Princess is pleased to meet us? thought Lyra, nearly swooning on the spot; Bon Bon reaching in to take her new glass, just to be on the safe side.

By the time they had finished a conversation swapping notes about the secrets for a long lasting relationship, Shining Armor was clearly eager to switch the subject to the afternoon’s display flying, taking the opportunity to say that he knew Rainbow Dash through his sister; and when he mentioned that she would be joining them with Celestia later, Lyra nearly fainted.

As they had been talking, the herald had announced a series of further arrivals, some of whom they had heard of through the society pages, but throughout it all, the Royal couple kept their attention focused politely on the two guests. Once the conversation reached a natural end, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor went to greet the other important guests who were waiting for their opportunity to engage in small talk with the celebrity couple.

Lyra and Bon Bon did not feel excluded by the VIP crowd and found themselves in a whirl of hobnobbing until an expectant hush descended and all eyes pointed one way as a dot in the sky grew larger. When it got closer, a cheer rang out as the most sharp-eyed in the crowd recognised the Royal chariot of the Sun Princess drawn by four handsome white pegasi.

The distinctive high backed gold, purple and white chariot made its approach in a slow fly past along the crowd line while the Sun Princess accompanied by her protégé the Princess of Friendship smiled and waved at the adoring ponies gathered below, finally coming to a halt at the entrance to the VIP area. Lyra peered over the edge of the raised enclosure and found herself looking down on the Royal chariot as the passengers disembarked, her wife making very sure that she had a firm hold of the wine glass lest she should drop it accidentally onto either of the Royal Princesses.

Lyra’s knees began to turn to jelly as she realised that two more Princesses were now climbing the same stairs that she had done earlier and would shortly be with them.

“Your Majesties, Lords, Ladies and Gentlecolts” barked the herald as Lyra started to dissolve “Pray welcome Her Royal Majesty, the Mare of Morning, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Protector of the Realm, Ruler of the Solar Court, Bringer of the Dawn, Empress of the Sun, and Diarch of the Day and Her Royal Majesty, the Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight of Equestria, Bearer of the Element of Magic.”

“Hold me, Bon Bon” was all Lyra could say as Princess Celestia started to mingle amongst the VIP guests, but first to reach them was Twilight who struck up an easy conversation from their shared time together in Ponyville, an interlude that settled Lyra just enough for her not to faint when Celestia came over to introduce herself.

Eventually it was time for the display to start and all eyes turned skywards once more to see a number of pegasi fly into the arena, all wearing their trademark aquamarine and gold flight suits, that whilst showcasing their iconic livery still permitted the audience to recognise favoured individuals by their wing, mane and tail colours. The suits allowed full flexibility once fitted but getting them on and off was a feat best accomplished by two working together, however getting to wear one was an aspiration of every pegasus at least at some time in their lives, because it set them apart as being amongst the most proficient and capable display flyers in Equestria. Even when they got too old to put on a flight suit, there was still the sought after gold lapel badge that a former Wonderbolt was entitled to wear long after their flying days were past.

A massed flypast soon broke into groups of pairs and triples zipping through impossibly tight gaps at frightening speed and making beautiful patterns in the sky with the trails they left behind.

The Royal Sisters having had hundreds of years of flying experience apiece had pushed the limits of their aerial prowess in their time, Luna preferring the familiarity of her night sky to refine her skills, even though it effectively prevented her expertise from ever being seen by anypony else. Indeed, Celestia was admiring the precision of the routines unfolding in front of her, and although she would never have admitted it, still felt the urge to compete. However, such recklessness would not have played well in the eyes of her detractors, so she kept such ambitions firmly under wraps until more enlightened times would prevail once more.

Lyra and Bon Bon watched out for the flyer with the two-tone grey and white tail and spiky mane that still seemed stubbornly to stand up even at the speeds he was flying, gasping “Ooooh!” and “Aaaah!” as he pulled off some of the most incredible manoeuvres ever seen by pony eyes. The sky was clear today and so the display took full advantage of the altitude afforded them and on a number of occasions, the couple mistook Thunderlane for some other pony, simply trying to follow the complexity of his routine.

It was difficult for an earth pony or unicorn to fully appreciate the exertion that such a dynamic display demanded from a pair of wings hauling a pony’s weight around the sky at speed, and only their fitness and self-discipline kept them going as their admiring public looked on. Everypony watching had received a bumper treat as the display had unfolded, each participant giving their utmost throughout, but the tension was now building once again as they headed towards the finale of the show; a variation on an existing theme devised by, and starring Rainbow Dash.

Six ponies formed the petals of the Wonderbolts classic aerial flower while Rainbow summoned all her remaining energy to fly through the centre so fast that she caused a sonic rainboom just as she passed through, highlighting the flower against the stunning backdrop of the rainboom.

“Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” sang Rainbow to herself as she felt the resistance leading up to the bang and then the freedom as she sped through, leaving a multicoloured trail across the sky.

The crowd was ecstatic, and even in the generally reserved VIP enclosure, hooves were clapped together in delight at the spectacle. Celestia watched on in admiration, knowing that even at her best she had never achieved a sonic rainboom, and she couldn’t recall anypony else ever having done it before Rainbow Dash, so she still felt a thrill run through her every time she witnessed it.

Rainbow slowed and formed up with her colleagues to lead a flypast along the crowd line and soaked up the applause that she thrived on. The display had been good, if exhausting, and she promised herself a rest once she got down. Everypony flying felt the same; the display had been impressive, but this new routine demanded even higher levels of physical fitness than had been required in previous years. Some put it down to lack of pre-season preparedness, whilst others among the more veteran members started to worry about how they would see the season out.

As soon as they landed, the flyers were all treated to an ice bath and massage before a quick debrief and then proceeding up to the VIP enclosure to meet the dignitaries. Thunderlane immediately looked for his two guests and made a beeline for them.
“Hey, how’s my two favourite Ladies today?” he asked easily.

At this, they both gushed their adoration of his skill and their appreciation for his generosity. Whilst happy to accept the praise, he made sure they recognised that the display was a team effort and that Rainbow was really the star, and besides, they were here because of their devotion to his brother’s foalcare.

“It’s a pity Rumble couldn’t be here today” said Lyra “He would have really enjoyed it.”
“Well, you know it’s a school day” replied Thunderlane “And besides, we’ve got a whole season ahead of us; there’ll be plenty of time yet. Today is just for you guys and Royalty. Talking of which, did you catch up with any of the Princesses?”
Bon Bon quickly put down her glass and moved pre-emptively into position to catch Lyra before she could swoon again, and then the mint green unicorn launched into an excited rendition of how she had met not one but three Princesses and how it had all been “Like, so amazing!”

During the middle of her animated monologue, Celestia heard her name being repeated excitedly and walked by behind her, giving Thunderlane a wink which he deadpanned, not wishing to interrupt his friend’s enthusiastic flow.

As the event began to wind down, the Princesses left to attend their diverse responsibilities and Thunderlane was escorted by his two grateful friends, one each side, back to pick up Rumble from school.

Later that night, Thunderlane lay in bed reflecting on his wisecracking banter with Rainbow Dash before the display.
“Reckon you’ve still got it in you, old guy like you?”
“Hey, I’ll still fly rings round you even when I’ve got to use a stick!”

Sleep did not come easy to him as he began to consider the wisdom of his words.