Thunder Grays – Newest Villain?
My name is Thunder Grays and I am a Pegasus pony who has been through a lot in my short life of 17 years. My wings have been paralyzed by Discord when I was a young colt of about 3 or 4 and I have been cured of the paralysis when I was 14. At the same time, I started to date Fluttershy, another Pegasus that I've been close to ever since we were younger. Together, we have managed to overcome everything, defeating many villains along the way, and have been very, very happy.
Fluttershy is the reason why I was able to fly once more after almost 10 years of not being able to. She pushed me to try very hard, along with showing me some affection. If it weren't for her affection, I'd probably still be in the clutches of the Changelings that captured me and locked me up. Anyway, I live with Fluttershy now since we've been dating for almost 3 years now. Currently, Fluttershy is getting ready to go out and pick up something special since my birthday is coming up shortly. I am outside watering the plants that Fluttershy wanted me to water for her. It is a beautiful day outside today. Not too hot, not too cold, and not even a single cloud in the sky! There aren't a whole lot of days like today so I'm trying to make the most of it, just like I make the most of my second chance of life.
I was given my second chance of life after Princess Celestia had used her unicorn powers to magically heal me when I was in the hospital. That day, Discord took control over my body and made me breathe fire across Ponyville. My friends all tried to force Discord to release me, attacking him in every way possible, however, what they did to Discord, they did to me as well. After a while, I fell to the ground, thanks to Princess Celestia threatening Discord to release me. My friends rushed me over to the hospital, where they performed some life-threatening surgeries on me. I managed to make it through the surgeries, obviously, and was told that Princess Celestia had helped with making my second chance possible.
Now, I am living my life as if each and every day were my last. I am very grateful that I am alive after all that I've gone through in my short life, I truly do. It's not very often that one gets a second chance to live their life but when they do, I'm sure they're just as grateful as I am. I looked up into the sky and saw Derpy Hooves passing by in the air, waving at me. I waved back to her and returned to watering the flowers. When the water stops coming out of the hose, this catches my attention. I follow the hose to where the knob is to turn to start the water and noticed some black smoke hovering around it. Cautiously walking towards the smoke, I hear an ominous evil laugh as well.
"Who's there?' I asked, not receiving an answer.
The smoke starts to thicken and float upwards now. When the smoke cleared, there before me stood Discord. I really hate this beast for what he's done to me in my life and I don't think he gets the point that I want him to be as far away from me as possible. He creeped up towards me and bent over so that his head was level with my ear.
"You're looking awfully well." He told me.
I backed away from him and cautiously asked, "Why are you here?"
"Nothing, really," answered Discord, "just here with some big news!"
"What sort of news?"
"Oh, the news where you join our side of evil against you will!" Discord said. He then proceeded to grab me, fortunately missing as I jumped out of the way. As I backed away from him slowly, I bumped into another pony. Turning around, I noticed that this pony was an alicorn, and was taller than me. This pony was also wearing some sort of armor around themselves and I couldn't place my hoof on who exactly this pony was.
"Meet Nightmare Moon." Discord spoke. "This is the Queen of Eternal Night!"
I backed away from both Discord and this Nightmare Moon character and bumped into another pony. Turning around, I noticed that this pony was similar to what the Wonderbolts looked like but not exactly.
"And that there is the leader of the Shadowbolts!" Discord said.
"Why are you here?" I asked all three of them.
"Why, we are here to forcibly make you join our side in evil!" Nightmare Moon answered.
"We will overthrow Celestia and rule Equestria ourselves and in our evil ways!" the Shadowbolts leader said.
"And you'll be the one who does that for us!" Discord shouted as he grabbed me and dragged me against my will. I struggled to break free from Discord's grasp but Nightmare Moon was using her magic to hold me down. I just sat there as they took me away against my will, with my head hanging down low, not sure as to what I should do. I tried to call for help one final time but as I did that, we transported away from reality and into Discord's sanctuary. There, Discord touched my forehead and immediately I was in a trance. I could only hear Discord and Nightmare Moon.
"Good," Discord started, "you will do bad, bad you will do!"
"Now, unleash your inner evil, evil anew!" finished Nightmare Moon.
"Evil, I will do! Evil anew!" I mindlessly said. From that moment on, I had completely lost my sanity and lost what I truly was meant to be.
…...
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The following portion is written entirely in a different point of view, revolving around this same story. The following is also written in the point of view of Fluttershy. As a guy writing this (yup, brony over here), I will try to maintain Fluttershy's personality as well as adding more emotion into it, something that will prove to be a tough challenge for me, since I've never written anything in the point of view of a girl before. However, continue on and hopefully you'll enjoy!
…...
My name is Fluttershy and I am a Pegasus pony living in Ponyville along with Thunder Grays, Twilight Sparkle, and plenty of other friends. I am a very shy pony and wish I could be more assertive at times but, I have wondrous friends that accept me for being just the way I am. I've lived with Thunder ever since the events that almost took him away from my friends and I. He means a lot to me and I know that I mean a lot to him, considering how he tells me that everyday. Anyway, I am on my way to pick up Thunder's birthday present from Pinkie Pie over at Sugar Cube Corner. I know that what I am getting him, he is sure to love.
After I picked up Thunder's gift, I start to head on home, bumping into Twilight on the way. She told me that she was on her way to come see me now and that this was a wonderful coincidence. She told me that she couldn't find my Thunder anywhere.
"But, he's home right now, watering the flowers." I answer back.
"That's what I figured, but he wasn't there." Twilight responded.
Curious as to what happened, I rushed back home. When I finally got home, it was true, Thunder was nowhere to be seen! I had Twilight ask our friends if they had seen Thunder anywhere as I searched the Everfree Forest to see if he was there. When we finally met back up some time later, Twilight told me that nopony had seen Thunder anywhere. Just then, a cloud of smoke appeared behind Twilight. I jumped back and hid behind her while she turned around and confronted the smoke.
"Why are you here?" Twilight asked.
I refused to look up while the voice answered back. This voice was eerily familiar the more I heard it. "Oh, just though I'd let you see the new and improved Thunder!"
As I looked upwards, I saw Discord and my Thunder! Thunder looked a little dark for some reason and when I ran over to give him a hug, he flew up in the air, almost like he didn't want me to hug him. "What's the matter, Thunder?" I asked.
"Evil, I will do! Evil anew!" He told me.
"Thunder? Why are you talking like that?" I questioned.
"Evil, I will do! Evil anew!" He said again.
"What did you do to him?" I asked Discord.
"He's under our control now!" A new voice said. I turned to the source of this new voice and saw Nightmare Moon! I hid behind Twilight yet again, frightened by these two villains.
"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.
"We've taken control over Thunder and will now use him in order to rule all of Equestria!" Nightmare Moon answered.
"Luna-" Twilight started.
"Do not call me Luna!" Nightmare Moon snapped. "I am Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Eternal Night!"
I looked at Twilight as she looked back at me. We both then started to run and search for answers as to why Thunder changed, why Nightmare Moon returned, and why Discord is doing this. We didn't know where to go, so we gathered everypony else and headed straight for Canterlot to tell Princess Celestia what was going on.
…...
I had boarded the train heading towards Canterlot along with Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack. When the doors shut and we began moving, tears started to fill my eyes.. I just couldn't believe how Thunder changed like that...what happened to my Thunder?
Evil, I will do! Evil anew! His words rang inside my head. I just can't believe how he changed...
Twilight looked over to me and wrapped her hoof around me as a sign of comfort. "There, there Fluttershy," she told me, "everything is going to be alright."
I looked at her and started to wipe some tears away from my eyes. I knew Twilight was right, she always is. I just couldn't picture my Thunder joining forces with Nightmare Moon and Discord. I thanked Twilight for her comfort and looked out the window up to the clouds.
Please be alright...
…...
When the train finally arrived in Canterlot, the first thing I noticed was how dark it was. I was scared of the dark and crept behind Twilight and Rarity for protection. As we proceeded through the eerily quiet streets of Canterlot to the Canterlot Castle, the day grew darker and thunder could be heard overhead.
"Funny," Rainbow started, "I don't remember it supposed to be raining here in Canterlot today..."
We arrived at the castle and went inside it. Navigating our way through the halls was tough, as it always is, but when we arrived outside the throne room finally, we were treated to a very alarming surprise. When the doors opened, on the throne stood Nightmare Moon, with Discord and my Thunder sitting next to her.
"Where's Princess Celestia?" Twilight called.
"Silence!" Nightmare Moon roared. The room fell to a complete silence as soon as she finished. Nightmare Moon rose from Celestia's throne and started making her way over to us. I hid behind Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack out of fear. I didn't know what else to do and since I was scared of Nightmare Moon, this seemed like it was all I could do.
"Stop!" Twilight spoke. I rose myself to see what Twilight was going to do.
"You dare tell me what to do?" Nightmare Moon scoffed. "I'll teach you to tell me what to do!"
Using her unicorn powers, Nightmare Moon aimed her magic at Twilight and instantly made her vanish! Everypony was even more frightened now, none more than I.
"Now, in case you want to end up like your little friend here, you'll all bow down to me as the new ruler of Equestria!"
"We're not scared of you!" Rainbow said. I looked up at Rainbow Dash and slowly looked back down at all my friends. They were determined to bring Twilight back and stop Nightmare Moon in her tracks. As for me, well, I was too scared to do anything so I just crept up in a corner. My friends all started to charge Nightmare Moon, who used her magic to transport all of them away, just like Twilight. Nightmare Moon then looked at me and started creeping up towards me. I fell as low as I could and tried to hug the corner as much as I could.
When Nightmare Moon finally reached me, I looked up towards her, meeting eye to eye. She towered over me and started to charge up her unicorn powers again. I knew where I was headed and took one last look at my Thunder, who was wrapped up in a black coat and wore a crown atop his head. When Nightmare Moon's magic finally charged up, she aimed her horn at me and before I was transported away, I shouted out to Thunder.
"I love you, Thunder!" I said before I was sent away.
…...
I was transported to a dark and scary looking cave, unsure if my friends were here or not. I saw a light ahead of me and decided to go follow it, something that surprised even myself. Once the light became brighter and more clearer, I was able to determine that the light came from Twilight! She was using her magic to light up the area around her, something I wish I could do.
"Twilight?" I called.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight responded. "So you're here, too?"
"Yes," I quietly answered, "and if you're here and I'm here with you, that must mean that everypony else is here as well!"
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.
"You were the first pony Nightmare Moon sent away." I answered. "I was the last one. Nightmare Moon must have sent us all somewhere inside this dark area. Maybe Princess Celestia is here too!"
"That could be a possibility." Twilight thought. "Let's focus on finding the others first, then we'll search for the Princess."
We then set out to go find Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow. As we were navigating our way through the dark cave, we heard somepony calling out for help. It was a faint call, but enough to be heard. Following where the call came from, we found both Applejack and Pinkie! Now, with four of us, we continued our pursuits trying to find Rarity and Rainbow.
"Where are we?" Applejack asked.
"I think were beneath the surface of Canterlot." Twilight answered. "I think these were once the underground prisons Canterlot had before. They look familiar, at least they do to me."
"We should hurry on up and find the way out of here." Somepony else said. Turning around, we saw that Rarity was the one to say that! With five ponies here, all that was left was to find Rainbow!
"Rarity!" We all shouted. "You're okay!" We then embraced Rarity in a group hug and then continued on in our quest to find Rainbow Dash. We searched all over the place but couldn't manage to find Rainbow anywhere. When all hope seemed lost, when we were just about to give up, we heard wings flapping, and since I wasn't flying, we looked upwards to see where the sound was.
"Boo!"
Startled, I jumped up and almost ran away, but when I got a closer look, I saw that it was only Rainbow Dash. We embraced once more in a group hug, this time, a true group hug as all six of us were here. All that was left was trying to find a way out of this place. Following Twilight, we soon managed to find the exit and wound up right behind the Canterlot Castle.
"We need to look for Princess Celestia now." Twilight said as we walked outside.
"But where do you think she is?" I asked.
Twilight didn't know what to answer back and so she stood silent. Finally, Rarity spoke up. "What about the dungeons inside the castle?" She asked.
Everypony turned towards one another and decided that, though it seemed silly, we should check the dungeons first. Carefully and cautiously going back into the castle, we made our way to the dungeons that were inside the castle. We looked through each dungeon and failed to find the Princess in any of them. When we finally got to the last dungeon, we looked inside and found a pony with a long flowing mane huddled in the corner. The cutie mark that was on this pony's flank was that of the Sun, and, upon further identification, this pony had wings and a horn. This pony was an alicorn and was Princess Celestia!
"Princess Celestia," Twilight started, "what happened to you?"
The Princess managed to get up on all fours and started telling us what had exactly happened here in Canterlot. "My most faithful student, the fate of Equestria is in your hooves now. Nightmare...Luna, Discord..." There was a long pause before Celestia started up again. "Thunder...you must use the Elements of Harmony and bring down the greatest threat in the history of Equestria." Upon finishing that statement, Celestia had collapsed to the ground.
"We need to get her to the hospital!" Twilight shouted. "She needs immediate medical attention! Rarity, help me get her up! Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Applejack, be prepared to help carry the Princess to the Canterlot Medical Center."
Twilight and Rarity used their magic to help the Princess up and onto Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, and myself as we started making our way to the hospital. We had successfully exited the castle without being noticed by Nightmare Moon, Discord, or even my Thunder. Walking through the empty streets of Canterlot was eerie beyond anything. However, it was good since this meant we could get to the hospital faster. Though this proved to be a rigorous task, all six of us managed to make it to the hospital safe and sound and with Celestia in one piece. Moving her was hard work, since she was heavier than us, but the motivations Twilight gave us helped us through the hard work. Upon arriving at the hospital, we were escorted to the emergency room and had laid Celestia down on the table that was there.
"How did this happen?" one doctor asked.
"Nightmare Moon and Discord have done this to her." Twilight answered.
"Princess Celestia needs major medical attention and fast!" The doctor shouted out, getting the speed from the other doctors upon finishing his sentence.
"We're going to leave the Princess here for now and deal with Nightmare Moon and Discord." Twilight said. "Then we'll come back to check up on her."
We then charged out of the hospital, heading on back to Twilight's home to get the Elements of Harmony. Once we obtained them, we boarded another train, heading back to Canterlot. We arrived at the Canterlot Station about twenty minutes later and started charging towards the Canterlot Castle. Once we made it back to the Canterlot Castle, we stopped just outside the doors to go inside. Looking at each other, filling up with confidence, we nodded and charged inside and to the throne room. Busting through the throne room doors, we were met face to face with Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Thunder once more.
Discord chuckled, "Well, look what the cat dragged in..."
"They don't know when to quit, do they?" Nightmare Moon added.
"It appears that they don't!" Discord agreed.
We stood in alignment, standing side by side, next to each other. Taking one step forward together, Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie charged towards Nightmare Moon while Rainbow and Applejack charged towards Discord. As for myself, I charged towards Thunder, slowing down the closer I got to him. I thought about all the good times we've had together, dating back to when I was just a young filly. I thought about when I got to see him for the first time in almost ten years. I thought about when he almost died in the hospital after what Discord had done to him, when he healed and what he's done since. Most of all, though, I thought about the happiness my Thunder gave me over the years. I just couldn't handle hurting him like the others were hurting Nightmare Moon and Discord.
"Fluttershy, look out!" Rainbow called over. I looked over in the direction she was shouting from and saw Thunder charging towards me, making clear judgments as to hurting me. I managed to fly out of the way at the last second and looked over to Thunder, who appeared to be getting angry.
Oh, Thunder, I thought, what happened to you?
My Thunder started to charge at me in the air, missing me yet again. When he turned around and charged at me once more, I broke down into tears and instead of flying out of harm's way, I embraced it in my hooves. I hugged Thunder, who was ferociously trying to break free from me. Like Cadence, my love gave me the strength I needed to withstand Thunder's flailing. He eventually grew tired and collapsed to the ground once I unwrapped my hooves from around him. I looked over towards Twilight and the others and they had done the same, with Nightmare Moon and Discord both collapsed on the ground.
"We best use the Elements now!" Rarity told Twilight.
"We should." agreed Twilight. "Fluttershy, come here."
I flew over to Twilight as we began to use the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon and Discord. Once they were charged up, the last one being my Element of Kindness, the beams that were released from all of us wrapped around and reigned down on Nightmare Moon and Discord. Nightmare Moon was transformed once more back into Princess Luna while Discord was transformed back into the stone statue he once was and deserved to be. Princess Luna, astonished by what just happened, walked over to us and apologized for her actions. We then turned and faced Thunder.
"Thunder..." I said. I spoke very faintly to him as he was creeping up towards us. Luna started to charge up her unicorn powers but I stopped her from doing anymore damage to my Thunder. "Please, let me do this..."
With the other ponies looking on as I started walking up to my Thunder, I met Thunder halfway and stared into his red eyes. I missed the green ones he had before this evil transformation he underwent.
"Thunder..."
He stared at me with a blank expression, saying, "Evil, I will do! Evil anew!"
I started tearing up as he said that. I broke down into full blown tears and wrapped my hooves around his neck. He broke free from me this time and started to walk away. As he did that, the sudden realization that my Thunder was gone forever hit me hard. Before he walked away, I put my hoof on his shoulder and turned him back around. Walking slowly up to him, I kissed him on his cheek.
"Goodbye, Thunder..." I said as I walked away, crying.
The other ponies came over to me and all offered their comfort, knowing the very same thing I had just realized. Some time had passed before we started to go back towards the Canterlot Medical Center to check up on Princess Celestia. Before we left the throne room for the last time, I turned back to face my Thunder once more. I whispered goodbye to him one more time and then left with all my friends to the hospital. My heart had never been torn away from me the way it has been just now and it hurt a lot to say goodbye to Thunder like that. I couldn't help but cry the entire time we walked over to the hospital.
…...
We arrived at the Canterlot Medical Center to check up on Princess Celestia. When we got there, the doctors came into the waiting room with some sad looks on their faces. Stepping forward, one of them spoke up.
"We were unable to help the Princess recover. As a result, we regret to inform you that..." The doctor paused as tears started to fill his eyes. Finally, he managed to speak through his tears, "We regret to inform you that Princess Celestia, our most humble and kindhearted Princess in the history of Equestria, has died."
All of us were shocked by the words that just stabbed our hearts, but what stabbed our hearts surely killed Luna on the inside. I looked over to Luna as she got up and walked out the room. I got up and soon followed her out the room to see how she was handling it. Exiting the door and going outside, I saw Luna burst out in tears. I walked up to her and offered as much kindness and comfort as I could. I looked into Luna's eyes and knew how she felt. Things in Equestria would never be the same without her sister to rule by her side.
As I was comforting Luna, Twilight came outside and started offering her some comfort as well, letting me walk away and down the streets to clear my head. I looked up towards the Canterlot Castle and knew that these events should have never happened. It was all Discord's fault this happened. I broke down into more tears again and held my head down low. As I was crying, I heard some hoofsteps from up in front of me. Not wanting to raise my head to see who it was, the hoofsteps stopped right in front of me. I looked up just a bit and saw blue hooves. As I rose my lowly head higher, I saw a blue mane and blue wings, as well as green eyes. My Thunder had come back to me and was normal! He picked me up and held me tightly as I cried away, both for Luna's tragedy and for Thunder coming back to me. They were tears of sadness as well as tears of joy, but mostly tears of sadness.
…...
A few days later, Princess Celestia's funeral was held at Canterlot Cemetery. Luna got up and spoke about her sister as she was being laid to rest.
"Princess Celestia," she started, tears filling her eyes, "my sister, my greatest friend, was a wonderful Princess. If it weren't for her, I don't know how Equestria would be like today. I...I'm not much of a speech giver but Celestia was the greatest ruler this kingdom has seen. She will truly be missed, but not forgotten."
Celestia was then laid to rest and the ceremonies came to an end. Once they did, Luna walked over towards Twilight and myself, asking that she speak to us in private, away from our friends. We did as she requested as we saw our friends and everypony else head on home. Luna spoke to us after she concluded that we were alone.
"Celestia once told me that, in the event that anything like this were to happen," she stopped and looked at us. As she continued on, she couldn't help but show some tears again. "If anything like this happened, that her most faithful student, you Twilight Sparkle, was to continue where she left off and rule Equestria alongside me. However, as you know, my emotions are too much of a hassle and would get in the way of my rule. That is why I am stepping down from my throne and offering it to you Fluttershy. It is best this way and I know that you two will do just fine."
Astonished, both Twilight and I asked Luna at the same time the same question. "But, where will you go?"
Luna put a hoof on Twilight's chest then on mine. "I will still be here to guide you but I won't be Princess any longer. Twilight, Fluttershy, please, in the name of my sister, accept your new task as rulers of Equestria."
Twilight looked at me as I nodded to her. "We accept, Luna. In the name of Celestia, we shall become the new rulers of Equestria."
"Thank you, both of you." Luna said as she embraced us in a hug.
…...
A couple of months have passed since Luna stepped down as Princess and we took over. Things have been running smoothly, but can never be the same as they were before. Twilight is currently giving a speech right now, unveiling a new statue in honor of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as I am here with my Thunder. I go to hug him and start tearing up.
"Thunder?" I ask.
"It's okay, Fluttershy," he told me, "it will all get better from here..."
