Thunderlane to the Rescue

by Bronyxy

2 Riding out the Storm

“Aunt Cloudy! Aunt Cloudy!” screamed the filly wriggling clear of the stallion’s protective embrace and running over to the fallen pegasus.

The lavender blue mare groaned and staggered as she tried to regain her balance, but elected to lay down instead.
“Are you OK?” asked the stallion, fearing she had broken something.
“Yes … yes, I’m fine” she panted, looking dazed, the sound of the wind whipping away her words.
The filly wrapped her forelegs around her neck and gave her a big hug.

“Come further inside where it’s safer!” he called gesturing to them, “The wind’s getting too strong outside!”
Even if they couldn’t hear his words, there was no doubting the urgency in his eyes, and so moved towards him in response.

“Thank you for saving us” she said gratefully, “We would have been lost out there if you hadn’t known about this cave.”
“Glad to help” he replied, clearly not feeling well, “Let me see if you’re hurt.”
She held still while he limped around her, taking in a wealth of bruising and scrapes, but finding nothing serious.
“The name’s Cloud Kicker by the way” she offered by way of introduction, ”And I know a little bit about first aid. Care to show me that leg?”
“Hi, I’m Thunderlane” he replied, wincing as she probed about his leg, “We’ve chosen quite an unusual place to get introduced, wouldn’t you say?”
“Hey, hold still!” she scolded light-heartedly while continuing her examination.

Just then, an uprooted tree flew past the cave mouth in a flash, and the rain front that they had fought to keep ahead of broke, the dim light within the cave getting noticeably darker. The ponies were all stunned for a moment, until Cloud Kicker broke the silence by saying nonchalantly, ”You’ve sprained it; nothing broken. It’s going to hurt like hell when you put any weight on it for the next few days.”

Then she extended her neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you, Thunderlane” she said, staring into his eyes, ”Thank you for rescuing us and for getting us to safety; that was some flying.”
“More luck than anything“ he confessed, “So tell me, who’s your young friend?”
“She’s Princess Erroria.”
“A Princess?” he gasped.
“No, not a real Princess” she giggled, ”It’s just her name.”
“One day I’ll be a real Princess” the filly chipped in, “And then I’ll make you Captain of the Guard and give you a big shiny medal for being so brave!”
“Well, thank you Princess” he replied, bowing respectfully, “I’d like that.”

Another lightning bolt flashed, lighting up the cave for a brief second. It was cramped and squalid, but above all it was safe, even though the young filly screamed at the noise.
“You know Princess, if you count from the flash to the bang, you’ll be able to work out how far away the storm is. Then you’ll know when it’s moving away …”
His last words were lost by the sound of a thunderclap echoing around the cave. The scared filly jumped, her fur on end, before running for the shelter afforded by Cloud Kicker.
"Look, this storm’s gonna take some time. I for one can’t wait to take the weight off my leg, if you’ll excuse me ladies.”

He lay down facing the cave mouth and the lavender blue mare followed suit, leaving just a small gap for a young filly to be sandwiched in between them. Outside it was dark, the intense rain appearing as parallel silver lines at the cave mouth.
“Kinda lucky we didn’t try to outrun it, huh?” said Cloud Kicker, “Wouldn’t like to try flying through that.”
“So why were you out here today, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I had promised Princess a picnic and hadn’t heard a storm was coming through. Soon as we saw how big it was, we fled. She’s my niece, did I tell you?”
“I’ve got a brother her age” he concurred, “Would be kinda nice getting them to meet up once we’re out of here.”
“Oooh!” squealed the filly, ”What’s he like?”

They spoke for over an hour about small inconsequential things, and soon the grown-ups found they shared more in common than either would have realised, his growing attraction to her being rewarded by her respect of his courage and selflessness in protecting the filly.

The ponies sheltered as the storm raged above them, the easy conversation keeping them all happy, especially Princess, who felt reassured by the calming tones of the happy conversation between her aunt whom she loved, and the heroic stallion she wanted to be Captain of her Guard. She did never quite get used to the loud sound of the thunderclaps, but did get very adept at counting distance and taking delight in telling the others when it was finally on its way past.

When the rain finally stopped, Princess trotted towards the mouth of the cave to take stock of the world outside.
Thunderlane turned his head to look at his companion in the growing light and found himself meeting her muzzle as it came in to give him a tender kiss. He looked a little surprised, but accepted the token of her affection gratefully, and felt himself break out into a beaming smile when she rested her head against him.
“Thank you” she whispered, snuggling up close.

The filly looked around from the mouth of the cave to tell the others that she could see the storm clearing and a rainbow shining vibrantly against the dull background, but saw instead that they were kissing. She turned away to look back at the rainbow once more, her heart beating rapidly with the prospect that her two favourite ponies of the moment may, possibly, soon become an item and letting her thoughts drift to what the wedding would be like.

“How did you know this place was here?” asked Cloud Kicker, “Is it somewhere you’ve brought lots of mares before?”
He blushed at her playful teasing.
“I didn’t know it was here” he replied honestly, “All I knew was we couldn’t outrun the storm, and I took a chance.”
“Do you take chances often?” she purred sweetly, looking deep into his eyes.
“N … no” he stammered, ”I’m a weather pony and I don’t …”
She covered his mouth with another kiss, and when she pulled back he was silent.
“Would you like to take a chance on me?” she asked softly, teasing him with a gentle forehoof.
“Yes” he said, looking back at her with an earnest conviction in his eyes, “Yes, I would.”

***

The final rays of evening sunshine shot like horizontal spears through the gloom, framing their faces in a soft orange glow. It was the first opportunity they had to see the surroundings that had protected them from the extreme weather that had rolled over them that afternoon. It was little more than the size of a stall with water dripping down the walls, maintaining isolated clumps of ferns that seemed to thrive in the damp and the dark. Nopony except Thunderlane realised how close they had all come to disaster; both of his newfound friends seemingly having complete faith in him.

“I have to report back to the weather factory in Cloudsdale” he announced, “And I don’t think we’ve got too much daylight left. Can you fly?”
She unfurled her wings and flexed them out, giving a few flaps.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you” she confirmed, “Princess, would you check your wings and see if you are ready to fly home?”
“Yes, Aunt Cloudy” she replied, obediently doing as she was told.
Thunderlane watched closely, remembering how he had seen her fall from the sky earlier and was pleasantly surprised to see she looked none the worse for wear.

“Great kid” he commented admiringly, looking up to Cloud Kicker whose cheeks flushed brightly at the compliment, “And you’re really nice too.”
“You know you’re my hero, right” she said, helping him up onto his hooves, “Nothing’s going to change that.”
“Thank you” he replied, a little abashed, “Would it cut too much into your schedule if you came with me to the infirmary?”
“Canterlot?” she asked.
“No, Cloudsdale.”
“I’ll be with you, but I don’t know how Princess is going to cope with the flight; I may have to drop her off first.”

“OK” he said, “Ready?”
“Princess” she cooed in an encouraging voice, “Shall we go now?”
She nodded and they all moved out to the mouth of the cave where Cloud Kicker was first to open her wings and lift off into the clearing sky.
“I’m coming Aunt Cloudy!” called the filly, her little wings flapping a lot faster than hers.
Thunderlane winced as he pushed up through his hind legs to get into the air, thankful that neither of them could hear the curse under his breath.

They grouped up and followed the path of the storm, safely behind and out of its reach. Princess soon started showing off by flying loops around the grown-ups, prompting them both to agree that she really should consider going to Junior Speedsters Flight Camp and try her luck at becoming a Wonderbolt. She heard this, of course, and started showing off all the more.

By the time they approached Cloudsdale, the sun had retreated below the horizon, leaving behind an aura of pinks, oranges and purples to act as a backdrop to the remaining clouds that had stayed to usher in the night.
“You’ve really got to get that leg seen to” Cloud Kicker reminded him as they began to make out the different buildings, and could see that Thunderlane was not heading towards the infirmary.
“No, no time” he replied, “They’ve probably organised search parties by now and I can’t make them search in the dark while I get seen to; some of them might get hurt.”
“I didn’t see them showing such concern for you” she reflected bitterly.
“The area should have been swept just before the storm arrived” he said, trying to puzzle out why Cloud Kicker and Princess Erroria hadn’t been spotted and escorted away sooner, ”And nopony was expecting me to head into the storm after all. Besides, once it had built up momentum, there was no way to stop it.”
“If you say so, but I’m staying with you” she turned to smile at him, “For your own good, you know.”

Comments

[Luminous Lead]

Aww, that's sweet.

[Bronyxy]

Thanks - Thunderlane's a nice guy and quietly heroic, so I wanted to give him a reward. Glad you enjoyed it!