//------------------------------// // 2 Thunderlane // Story: The Aftermath // by Lord King Cocoon //------------------------------// Thunderlane, along with Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, and Surprise, were on their way to Canterlot to meet with Princess Celestia. The Grand Galloping Gala was coming up, and the Wonderbolts were invited as VIPs. But they still needed to register which members would attend so that any attendees would know ahead of time. This was because some ponies who wanted to see a Wonderbolt would know if their favorite members were attending. This will allow the attendees to plan around that. The Princess always invited a total of five Wonderbolts. This was often because a Wonderbolts show will often be performed by a team of five Pegasi. So they were invited as teams. But some ponies were disappointed that their preferred members weren’t there. And the Wonderbolts wanted to get new talent into the spotlight. So rather than going as flight teams, they just chose who to go. The Wonderbolts would choose from three popularity tiers. Okay, that’s not entirely true. There were three popularity tiers, but they only chose from two. Spitfire and Soarin are the most popular, and so they always attend. The other two tiers are the general tier, which were members that had their fans, but there were too many members in that tier, and not enough fans per individual member to warrant constant attendance. And then there were the newbies. These members, for obvious reasons, haven’t had the time to grow a fan following or, in some cases, haven’t been seen yet. Newbies are more likely to get a chance at going to the Gala than general members because there are fewer newbies. Even with two general members and one newbie per Gala, there are approximately three general members for each newbie. And some Wonderbolt members never see a Gala, since not all members of the Wonderbolts have enough fans to warrant inviting them. After he became the wielder of the Element of Kindness, the Wonderbolts invited him to the Gala this year. They wanted to show off that one of their members was the savior of the world. Most of Equestria was unaware of the events in Ponyville and the Everfree Forest other than the Summer Sun Celebration and the Eternal Night. And other than Trixie, who already has fame as Princess Celestia’s student, the rest of the Element wielders didn’t care about earning fame through that. This was because they didn’t want their everyday lives to change. Okay, Vinyl Scratch considered the fame, but she had a sister and niece that she didn’t want paparazzi to harass. She also didn’t want the rest of her family to get word and pretend to be caring after all these years. She knew that they would just use her to obtain attention for themselves. Fleetfoot was perhaps the most overlooked Wonderbolt in relation to how often she appeared in shows. She didn’t mind so much. The attention would be nice, but if she could avoid cramps from writing autographs, less attention was preferred. But this would be her first Gala, as well as Thunderlane’s first. Surprise was more of a wildcard. She wasn’t a newbie in the conventional sense, but there were no applicants for Wonderbolts Academy this year, so Surprise was chosen as this year’s newbie for the Gala, being part of last year’s newbies. “So, is the hero of the day ready to go to his first Gala?” Thunderlane turned to Fleetfoot at that comment, “Your title of an Element wielder will certainly gain you popularity.” “Doing the right thing isn’t a popularity game, Flatfoot,” Thunderlane replied, using Fleetfoot’s hazing nickname, “If ponies are just going to want to talk with me because I’m an Element wielder, then they just want to meet me for their own personal selfish agendas.” “And that’s different from them wanting to meet you because you’re a Wonderbolt how?” Fleetfoot countered. “If they want to meet me because I’m a Wonderbolt, then they will be acknowledging something that I worked hard to earn,” Thunderlane explained. “So what you’re saying is that you didn’t earn the Element of Kindness,” Fleetfoot snarked, “It’s a shame I didn’t go into the Everfree that night instead of you. Then I would be the wielder of the Element of Kindness now.” “The Elements don’t work that way!” Thunderlane exclaimed offendedly, “I became the wielder of the Element of Kindness because of who I am. But I worked to become a Wonderbolt.” “Exactly my point!” Fleetfoot exclaimed, “You’ve earned your place in the Wonderbolts because of what you’ve achieved. You’ve earned the Element of Kindness because of who you are. Not everpony will see it this way. But if somepony wants to spend time with you because you’re an Element wielder, they will want to spend time with you because of who you are.” “If you’re worried about ponies wanting to spend time with you because you’re an Element wielder and nothing else, unfortunately, that will happen,” Spitfire spoke up, “Canterlot is the snob capital of Equestria. The ponies there tend to stick their noses so far upwards that it’s a miracle that they don’t drown when it rains. However, there are ponies who will want to get to know you for you. Sure, it will sometimes be because you’re an Element wielder. But they’re genuine. Even if the entire night is full of snobs, if you get to meet just one genuine fan, it will make it all worth it.” “Are you sure?” Thunderlane asked. “We’ve been doing this for years,” Soarin added, “And every time, even if we get just one genuine fan, it means that you end up brightening up someone’s day by getting to meet you. And that makes it worth dealing with all of the snobs of Canterlot.” Thunderlane smiled at the thought, “In all honesty, that does sound worth it,” Thunderlane said, “Especially if they’re a foal. My preferred fanbase is foals.” “That’s the spirit,” Spitfire encouraged, “Now at attention! We’re almost there!” One of the Royal Guards guided the Wonderbolts into the Throne Room of Canterlot Castle, which was standard procedure at this point. On her throne and accompanied by her newly returned little sister was Princess Celestia. The Wonderbolts bowed before the Princesses. “Arise, Wonderbolts,” Princess Celestia said with authority, the Wonderbolts doing as commanded, “Captain Spitfire, Luitenant Soarin, who will be joining you in attending the Grand Galloping Gala this year?” “We haven’t had any new recruits since the last Gala, Your Majesty,” Spitfire said, “So we’re inviting somepony from the previous year, Surprise. We’re inviting Fleetfoot, seeing as she seems to be underrated. And I’m sure I don’t need to explain why we’re inviting Thunderlane this year.” “The wielder of Kindness,” Princess Luna said simply. Luna looked tired. And not in the sense that she looked like she needed sleep (though the bags under her eyes implied that as well). She just looked drained of energy. Most likely, it was the result of recovering her energy. “Princess Luna, if I may ask, are you feeling okay?” Thunderlane asked. His nature drove him to be concerned for the Princess’s well-being, “I don’t mean to seem inconsiderate, but you just look tired.” “In order to recover Our energy properly, Our body must expend as little energy as necessary,” Princess Luna answered, “Tis an unfortunate consequence of the Elements of Harmony stripping away the darkness that had consumed Us. And with the night being Our domain, We tend to be nocturnal. We are intent on joining Our sister in this process. But We assure thou that by the time of the Gala, We shall have regained Our stre…” Luna’s statement was cut off with a yawn before completely falling asleep. “Luna had been taking on other duties while I had my own errands to run today,” Celestia said as she made sure Luna was in a comfortable position, “Honestly, she’s held out for longer than I had expected. I’d better take her to bed.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” Spitfire said as she and the other Wonderbolts bowed, “We will take our leave so that you can tend to your sister.” “I’ll have one of my guards escort you out,” Celestia said, “Captain Armor!” A large white Unicorn with an electric blue mane responded. Though not as muscular as the stallion from Sweet Harvest Acres, the Captain of the Royal Guard, with his training, would likely make a match for him. “Yes, Your Majesty?” the Royal Guard Captain asked, standing to attention. “Can you escort the Wonderbolts out while I take my sister to her room to rest?” Celestia asked, “Also when you’re finished, you’re welcome to take the rest of the day off. Bellatrix and Ocellus are back. And I’m sure they would like to see-” “Trixie’s back from Ponyville?!” A Pink Alicorn made her presence known, overhearing the news, “I was so worried about her and Ocellus after the Summer Sun Celebration!” “I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to see you as well,” Celestia said with a warm smile before lifting Luna onto her back, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must get my sister to bed.” As Celestia headed down the hall, the two new arrivals escorted the Wonderbolts out. “Captain Spitfire,” Thunderlane said, “I would like to request that I stay here in Canterlot. I’d like to see how Ocellus is doing.” “Our business here is done,” Spitfire said, “Permission granted.” After the Wonderbolts were escorted out, they left, and Thunderlane went with the Royal Guard and the Alicorn. “So, you two know Trixie personally?” Thunderlane asked. “Trixie is Princess Celestia’s student, along with my LSBFF, Twilie,” Captain Armor said, his Royal Guard persona being dropped and replaced with a much more approachable persona, “So Trixie is also like my LSBFF.” “LSBFF?” Thunderlane questioned. “Little Sister Best Friend Forever. My name is Shining Armor by the way,” Shining Armor said. “Thunderlane of the Wonderbolts,” Tunderlane said, “But I guess you already got that part.” “And I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” the pretty pink princess said, “But I just prefer Cadance. And I used to foalsit them.” A sly grin formed on Thunderlane’s face, “Can I assume you have embarrassing stories about them to tell?” “Of course. After all, embarrassing them is far too fun not to remember a few stories,” Princess Cadance said, “For example, did you know that despite being Captain of the Royal Guard, Shiny here is a total geek?” Shining Armor’s face went beet red at this, “What the…Cadie?” Shining Armor did not squeak. And even if he did…which he didn’t…if Thunderlane were to tell anyone, he would deny it with his life…which he’d never need to do because it never happened. “What’s wrong, Shiny?” Cadence said playfully, “I think it’s cute how you and your old school friends still get together to play Ogres and Oubliettes.” “When I asked for embarrassing stories, I was expecting stories about Trixie. Besides…” Thunderlane’s own face went red, “There’s nothing wrong with liking O&O.” “You like O&O too?!” Shining asked excitedly before regaining his composure, “I-I mean, do you enjoy Ogres and Obliettes as well?” “Maybe Thunderlane could join one of your games sometime,” Cadence suggested, “And of course, I have embarrassing stories of Trixie and Twilight, too. But it’s so much better if they were there when I tell them.” It didn’t take the trio long to reach their destination. As they opened the door and walked in, Thunderlane was surprised to see all of his friends from Ponyville and not just Trixie. That included the Cutie Mark Crusaders, which in turn included Rumble. “Hey, squirt,” Thunderlane said as he ruffled Rumble’s mane, “What are you doing here?” “Princess Celestia brought me here!” the colt exclaimed. Thunderlane looked around the room, “I get the feeling you all have stories to tell.”