The Third Commander Ch5

Chapter 5
Thundaga’s Guest

               The sound of wind whipping by woke him as Cirrus felt as if he was falling from a high altitude. With his body too exhausted to react with a reflexed panic, Cirrus could only open his eyes slightly to look around as this feeling continued. However, when he did, something seemed odd. The feeling of falling head first was there, since his hooves and body were above him, and the wind whipping by him suspending his mane and tail over his torso, however all he could see was an empty black abyss that stretched as far as his sight could reach. Seeing this made him feel a little more worried, since he couldn’t tell how fare the ground was beneath him, but it didn’t matter. His body felt too weak and worn out to do anything as he could only brace himself and hope that the surface he would land on would be soft enough to break his fall.

                Then as he continued falling, a strange light seemed to catch his eye as a glowing yellow sphere appeared above as it quickly caught up with the falling pegasus. When the sphere reached eye level, its speed quickly slowed so that it continued falling at the same rate as Cirrus. With the sphere at eye level with him, Cirrus could only observe it. The Yellow ball looked like a stained crystal ball that was only about a foot in diameter, and though its glowing appearance made it seem magical and beautiful. Something about it terrified Cirrus to a point that if he had the strength, he would fly away from it as fast as he could. Nevertheless, the weak pony didn’t have the strength to do anything about the falling orb as he continued his unknown fall with it falling beside him.

                As Cirrus continued his fall, he watched the orb fall beside him, until something seemed to take hold of him. For some odd reason, Cirrus suddenly had the urge to reach out and grab the glowing sphere, even though he didn’t want to go near it. Nevertheless, this urge was too strong as Cirrus in his weakened state slowly reached out to touch unknown orb. Although he hesitated a little, Cirrus still continued to reach out until finally the tip of his hoof taped the sphere as a powerful jolt of electricity ran up from his hoof and into his head like a powerful tidal wave crashing onto a cliff face. As soon as the jolt hit his head, Cirrus was overrun with visions that blocked out everything around him as he found himself seeing a life that wasn’t his. A burning city with griffin fighting each other to the death. Standing in hordes of soldier as they all charged onto a battlefield under a red eclipsed sky. Canterlot, burning under that same sky. A tower of sand that brought with it the horrors of death and destruction. An abandon city seated within the walls of a dead volcano. Then finally, the faces of those in each location. Skilled archers, clever assassins, wise unicorn, cocky griffin, and even regal alicorn. All present amongst the visions that were beamed directly into his Cirrus’s mind.

                With each vision, Cirrus could feel the emotions with them. Some proud, some excited, some content… but most, were terrified, heart broken, hopeless, unhappy, and trapped. Until finally one last vision caught his mind. The vision was of a glowing zap apple tree that sat in front of him as he looked at it contently, then he could see his hooves carving text into the stem as he looked at it and read, “finally free…”
As soon as those words were read, the vision ended, as Cirrus felt himself hitting the ground, and bringing himself back from the visions and into his unknown freefalling world. After hitting the ground, Cirrus struggled to pick himself up as he rubbed his head and looked around, “Wh-where?...”
When he looked around, Cirrus didn’t see the endless abyss of black that he had seen before, instead he found himself laying on the top of a plateau that overlooked an endless mountain range.

                Confused, Cirrus looked around the plateau, until he saw a cloaked stallion standing on the far edge behind him. Although he knew that he and this other stallion where the only ones there, Cirrus still looked around as he stood up and trotted slowly to the pony who was standing on the edge of the plateau looking away into the distance. Although his body was too weak to run without stumbling, Cirrus still trotted as fast as he could until he finally got close enough to speak to the unknown stallion. As he reached the stallion, he stopped as he used this time to take a good look at his mysterious companion. The cloaked pony was slightly taller than him, not to mention a little buff when looking at how the cloak rested on his shoulders, however, the cloak covered every feature of the stallion that made up his appearance. The hood covered his head, mane and ears, while the rest of the cloak covered his body and tail making only his black hooves visible from under the cloak’s bottom.

                As Cirrus looked at the stranger, he spoke, “um… excuse me? Sir?...”
the stallion didn’t reply as Cirrus continued, “um… sorry to bother you… but can you help me? I um… I’m having a hard time understanding what happened to me… or…where I am?”
Cirrus watched as the cloaked stallion turned his head slightly showing that he was listening to him, but in no way revealing his face. When he knew he was being acknowledged, Cirrus spoke, “Well… I just… I can’t figure out where this is… and… when I try to think about it…I can’t even remember how I got here. All I remember was trotting through the forest with a friend then be…”
The stallions tone made it seem like he was smiling as he interrupted, “How you got here isn’t important… what is important, is what your plan is for your future.”
Cirrus looked at him in confusion, “the future?... what are you talking about?”

                The stallion looked back into the distance as he replied, “You now have a path in front of you… actually you have more than just one. These paths will decide not only your fate. But the fate of those you care about… however… how can you decide fate, when you can’t even choose a path.
Although Cirrus didn’t know who he was talking to, nor did he know what this stranger was talking about, all he could do was reply, “Choose a path?… what do you mean?”
The stallion continued, “Harness your ability… and understand both sides. This will help you decide your path, but choose wisely. Your decision could lead to salvation, or… mass genocide.”
Cirrus gave the stranger a stern look, “W-who are you?”
The stallion smiled as he started to turn around to face Cirrus, however before Cirrus could see his face, he opened his eyes to find himself laying in a hospital bed.

                As he laid there, Cirrus started to think about the dream as he reached up and rubbed his head. When he did, a nurse notice his movement from across the room as she called, “Doctor!”
The doctor who was just outside the room rushed through the doorway to the nurse and spoke, “Get the princess.”
With that, the nurse left the room as the doctor rushed to Cirrus’s side and spoke, “Sir? Are you alright? Do you know where you are?”
Cirrus tried to remember what happened as he replied, “I… I would guess a hospital or something… wh-what happened?”
The doctor replied, “I… I can’t say. But soon that question will be answered. But first can you tell me your name?”
Cirrus looked at the doctor and started to reply, “Its Cirrus… Cirrus Clo…”

                Before he could finish, Cirrus saw Commander Mist enter the room followed closely by Thundaga. As soon as he saw them, Cirrus silenced himself as Thundaga approached him and spoke, “It’s good to see you awake and well. I was worried you wouldn’t come to, I’m sure you have many questions, but first introduction are needed. My name is Thundaga, I don’t know if you remember, but I am the princess of this kingdom of Equestria. So… what may I ask you of your name?”
Although he felt odd that Thundaga was speaking to him like a foal, Cirrus felt more uneasy about telling her his full name due to his family lineage, so he only replied, “Cirrus… my name is Cirrus, your majesty.”
She smiled, “Cirrus… a promising name. It’s good to see you remember that much. Might I ask, why were you in the Everfree forest?”

                Cirrus continued feeling uneasy as he looked at Commander Mist who was giving him an untrustworthy glare. When she saw this Thundaga nodded her head, “I see…” She looked throughout the room, “Attention! Due to the uneasy and confusing situation that our guest is in, I will ask that everypony leave the room so we may speak in a less intimidating environment.”
Since there were no other patients in the room, the doctors and nurses didn’t argue as they each started filing out of the room. Then when they were gone, Thundaga looked at her guards as she clarified, “That goes for you too, don’t worry, and I can handle him from here.”

                The royal guards looked at each other in confusion before looking at their commander as Thundaga looked at him too, “Commander… you too.”
Commander Mist felt uneasy about following this order, however he didn’t argue as he looked at his soldiers and replied, “You heard her majesty, let’s leave them to talk alone.”
With that, the guard too left the room as the doors were shut leaving Thundaga and Cirrus alone. With the two now free to speak privately, Thundaga spoke first, “Now… may I ask you a few questions Cirrus?”
Cirrus nodded his head as Thundaga continued, “first…I would like to know where you are from? What town?”
Cirrus replied nervously, “P-Ponyville your majesty.”
Thundaga smiled peacefully, “Now, there is no need to be so nervous. Right now you are free to speak well… freely. I will even allow you to bypass the formal title if it will make you feel at ease. Now where was I?... ah yes, Ponyville It’s a good town, at one time, I enjoyed traveling to Ponyville purely for fun… but that was a long time ago. May I ask why you were in the Everfree forest?”

                Although Thundaga’s tone resembled that of a humble princess, Cirrus still didn’t trust it. However when he started to think about it, he himself couldn’t remember what had happened prior to himself falling unconscious. In fact everything from the moment he arrived at the Thunder Grounds to the time he woke up was a complete blank. As he tried to remember what had happened before he fell unconscious, Thundaga noticed his silence as she asked, “Are you having problems remembering?”
Forgetting that she had asked him a question Cirrus nodded his head with an expression of shame as she smiled, “Don’t worry about it… I understand you have been through a great stress.”
Trying to figure out what happened, Cirrus asked, “Y-Your majesty?... what happened to me?... why did I wake up here… and… why can’t I remember anything?”
Thundaga’s smile made it seem like she was comforting him as she replied, “Cirrus… I and my doctor believe that you have done something amazing. Something that hasn’t been seen from a pegasus in almost half a millennium.”

                Cirrus was confused, “w-what?...”
Thundaga replied, “Cirrus… you are the first pegasus in over five hundred years to perform one of the most powerful acts that your species is capable of. You Cirrus… have created the Lightning Orb.”
Cirrus could only give Thundaga an amazed look, “The… Lightning orb?... me?...”
Thundaga smiled pleasantly, “yes, you.”
Cirrus put his hoof on his head as he tried to understand, “But… that can’t be true… the lightning orb can only be used by royalty.”
Thundaga nodded her head, “I can understand why you would assume such things, since I am the only pony who has used it within your lifetime. However you couldn’t be further from the truth.”

                Thundaga raised her hoof as she made a miniature cloud appear over it, “the lightning orb was originally an ability that only pegasi could use. Commander Hurricane, Commander Bolt, and now you. The only reason why I can do such things is because I inherited the ability from my father Commander Bolt. Though he died before I was born, I like to think that this is his gift to me, and that he would want me to use it to better pony kind. And now, you have that same gift.”
As soon as he heard her mention that Commander Bolt was her father, Cirrus started to believe that she was only trying to convince him that her power was a good thing. So trying to reply without saying anything offensive, Cirrus replied, “I apologize for saying this, and I hope you won’t take offence your majesty… but I don’t believe in old legends like that.”
Although Thundaga did feel annoyed with his statement, she decided to ignore it as she smiled peacefully and replied, “I understand that, most ponies of this era never knew what it was like when Eden’s Kiss happened. And to be honest I myself questioned its truth since it happen before I was born. Nevertheless, I respect your decision and say that everypony has a right to believe in whatever they want. After all, it’s not the story that matters, it’s the lessons of which it teaches.”

                Cirrus thought to himself as he replied, “Its… Lessons?”
Thundaga smiled as she lowered her hoof and made the small cloud disperse, “yes, lessons of selflessness, responsibility, courage, determination and friendship. Not to mention believing in what you stand for and fighting for it. It’s these lessons that I value above all. But enough about my father… tell me about you? Is there anything else you can remember about yourself?”
Cirrus didn’t like the idea of telling Thundaga more about him since his parents would link him to the rebellion, so he placed his hoof on his head and acted like he was trying to think as he replied, “um…n-no… I can’t remember much…”

                Without knowing that he was faking it, Thundaga replied, “I see… well perhaps it’s for the best. I have royal matters to attend to anyways. So perhaps we can continue this conversation at a later time. For now, get some rest and if you need anything feel free to ask the doctors. When you feel you are strong enough, come see me in the throne room, I'll have an escort show you the way. In the meantime, feel free to rest all you want.”
With that said, Thundaga stood up and turned towards the door as she trotted to it and spoke one last time before exiting the room, “Oh… and… Welcome to the Castle, I pray for your recovery and hope we can become better acquainted.”
With that, Thundaga exited the room and closed the door behind her as she sat down behind the door and mumbled to herself, “Cirrus… No doubt about it. I met him before. He was that stallion who spoke of peace a few days ago. I wonder if he still remembers those words, or better yet… believes in them.”

                Forgetting about the guard’s and doctors waiting outside, Thundaga sat silently as Commander Mist spoke, “your majesty… Is everything alright?”
Thundaga stood back up as she replied, “Everything is fine… when he is ready, I want you to have an escort show Cirrus to the throne room to see me. And in the meantime, give him anything he asks for.”
Commander Mist was concerned, “Excuse my saying so your majesty, but im concerned about your trust in this… colt. I think your giving him too much freedom, we don’t even know where his loyalty lies.”
Thundaga replied, “I know the risks of my actions. And I will take full responsibility for them… but trust me. Cirrus is no threat to us. However, I would like to put the investigation team on finding out everything about him. All I have to go on thus far is that he is from Ponyville so please find out anything you can and report it to me at once.”
Commander Mist replied, “Understood your majesty… but I still think it would be best to confine him to a cell. At least unti…”
Thundaga gave Commander Mist an annoyed look, “Your job is to follow orders…not to think. Must you question me now, when we so recently discovered a worthy candidate to replace you?...
Feeling that he overstepped his boundary, Commander Mist bowed, “Apologies your majesty… I meant no disrespect.”

                Thundaga gave him a dull look, “Good… then you will respectfully follow my order and do as you are told. While Cirrus is here, he will be treated with the same respect that we treat all guests to the castle, understand?”
Commander Mist rose from his bow as he replied, “Understood your majesty.”
With that Thundaga had nothing more to say to him as she began trotting down the hall to her throne room. Confused as to Thundaga’s orders, The royal guards in the area looked at Commander Mist as one spoke, “Sir?...”
Commander Mist sighed, “You heard her… While he is here you will treat the pegasus as a guest… however… Keep a close eye on him and if he tries anything to threaten her majesty. Lock him in the dungeon.”
With that said, Commander Mist quickly trotted off to catch up with Thundaga as the soldiers saluted to confirm their orders.

                Far off in Ponyville Zine stood outside the charred remains of the orphanage as he began totting onto the property. As he trotted by the large pile of wreaths and flowers that were placed for Mr. Toll, Zine looked closely at the ruins as he started noticing district features in the charred remains that he recognized. Looking at a small speckle of tented char, Zine mumbled to himself, “Blood… and it was still wet when the fire scorched it into the wood… Looks like the good general met his end fighting.”
All of a sudden a second voice spoke, “Zine?... what are you doing here?”
Zine looked at the powder blue pagasus who was standing next to the flowers as he smiled, “Colonel Dash… it’s been a while hasn’t it.”
The pegasus gave him unamused stare as he replied, “don’t give me that crap… Are you responsible for what happened here?”

                Zine smiled in a sarcastic way as he trotted towards his guest and replied, “Now I’m insulted Dash, you think that I would go back on my agreement and sell out General Rich for my own personal benefit?...”
The pegasus gave him a look that said yes as Zine sighed, “Trust me… Thundaga has nothing that I want, so chances of me telling her about your quote, secret hideout… is zero. Remember, I’m merely a spectator in this fight of cat versus mouse army.”
Mr. Dash gave Zine an annoyed look as he sighed, “I suppose your right… I guess I can mark you off the suspect list then… but don’t think this means I trust you.”
Zine smiled as he trotted to Mr. Dash and sat beside him as he looked back at the charred remains of the building, “of course, you’re far too smart to be that naïve.”

                With that the two looked at the ruins as a moment of silence passed, then Zine spoke, “So… General Rich is truly gone, isn’t he?”
Colonel Dash nodded his head, “Yes… he is.”
“So, did the rebellion find out yet?”
Dash nodded his head, “Yes…”
Zine looked at him as he asked, “And have they chosen a successor?”
Dash didn’t reply, instead he looked into the ruins as Zine smiled before looking back into the ruins, “I see…I guess Congratulations are in order then eh, General Dash?”
The pegasus turned to leave as he replied, “Keep your voice down, it’s talk like that that sold out General Rich… I must be going. I'll let you know that our leader may have changed, but our agreement still stands, stay neutral, and we will ignore what you know about us, and not ask about Thundaga In return.”

                As General Dash continued trotting away Zine turned to him and spoke, “Watch your back Dash! I didn’t sell you out but remember… somepony did.”
Hearing this, Dash turned around as he replied, “Oh… speaking of which… I her you’ve taken in a lost pet… and not just any pet… he happens to be the leftovers of the original rebellion, am I right?”
Turning back to the ruins, Zine replied, “and where did you hear a silly rumor like that?”
The general continued, “The informant to the royal guard has been snooping around a lot more than usual… he has even resorted to gathering information on you… for example… he says that the flash in the Everfree forest last night was your doing… am I right?”
Without turning to him, Zine replied, “Yea… just another experiment, similar to that of the mare of the mountain… like that, you needn’t worry yourself over it. If it come to involve you later… well… you’ll find out if it happens.”
General Rich gave the smirking zebra an annoyed stare as he replied, “What are you planning?”

                Zine smiled sarcastically as he shrugged his shoulders and swished the potion in his staff around before replying, “I don’t know what you mean… none of what I do is according to my plans… it’s all fate’s doing, dropping the blocks into place until something is fully built… or… destroyed. Lets just say, there will be a change in the kingdom soon… and it may be great… or terrible. Who am I to question fate? I only tamper with it… I never change its course.”
General Dash sighed as he turned away, “whatever you do, see to it that I and my rebellion are kept out of it. The last thing I need to deal with is a taboo wielding quack.”
Zine smiled, “I'd prefer to be called an evil enchanter… but I appreciate the complement all the same.”
The pegasus continued trotting away as he replied, “Yea… of course you do.”
After general Dash was out of sight, Zine started thinking to himself, “The Ponyville informant… looks like I found a thorn in my side that could ruin all the fun.” He smiled sinisterly, “perhaps it’s time I remove it.”

                Hours later in Canterlot, Cirrus was trotting down the corridor, as royal guard showed him to the throne room. Although the guard trotted beside him like he was a prisoner of war, Cirrus tried to ignore him as he marveled at the decor around him. Cirrus had never been to Canterlot before, so seeing the inside of the castle was like a new world to him. Finally the two reached the throne room as the guard opened the massive doors to see a long empty room that had Thundaga sitting on a throne at the very end, and Royal guards standing at each pillar in the room. As soon as the doors opened, every guard in the room locked eyes on Cirrus, although Thundaga who was looking at official documents didn’t look up as she was too focused on her work to notice him. At that moment the escorting guard looked at Cirrus as he spoke in a tone that show total distrust, “Go see her majesty, but be warned… if you try anything funny, you will regret it.”
With all the guard’s looking directly at him with unamused expressions, Cirrus could only feel nervous as he slowly made his way passed the escorting guard and down the long red carpet that stretched down the center of the throne room. After a few second of trotting through the silent throne room Cirrus found himself at the halfway point between the throne and the door, as Thundaga spotted him out the corner of her eyes as she lowered the scroll she was reading and looked up, “Cirrus… it’s good to see you on your hooves. How are you feeling?”

                Cirrus looked around at the guards who watched him like hawks as he bowed and replied, “I still feel a little tired… but I was too restless to lay around all day your majesty.”
Thundaga waved her hoof in a dismissive way as she replied, “Now, now, no need to be so formal. You are after all, my guest here in the castle.”
Cirrus rose from his bow as he replied nervously, “Th-thank you your majesty. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Canterlot before.”
Thundaga smiled pleasantly, “Well I know the day started out differently than a visit to the city would usually start, but I’m happy you are enjoying yourself. Perhaps I can show you around the palace, this would also be a good time to show you to your room.”

                Cirrus gave Thundaga a confused look as she placed the scroll she was reading on a tray of scrolls next to her as one of her guard’s spoke, “Your majesty… maybe I should show him to his room. Matters as feeble as these shouldn’t be handled by royalty.”
Thundaga gave her guard an annoyed look as she replied, “nonsense… all matters in my castle require my attention. Besides, this would be a good time for me to take a break and get to know our guest a little better.”
Knowing he couldn’t argue, the guard backed down as he replied, “Very well your majesty. Enjoy your break.”

                With that Thundaga stood from her throne and trotted to Cirrus as she looked at him and spoke, “Shall we?”
Nodding his head, the two turned back to the corridor as they started trotting out of the throne room. As they continued, they noticed the same guard who was escorting Cirrus earlier as Thundaga spoke to him, “He is under control… I’m sure you have other duties to attend to?”
The guard bowed in respect, but said nothing as the two continued pass and left him behind. As they continued Thundaga looked at Cirrus and asked, “You mentioned you were from Ponyville correct? Do you have any family there?”

                Cirrus didn’t want to tell Thundaga about his parents or the orphanage so he replied, “I… I don’t think so… my memories are still a little fuzzy.”
Thundaga continued, “I see… that’s disappointing. One should never forget his own family. I pray your memories return soon. I would like to know you better as to determine your goal with your new gift.”
Cirrus gave her a confused expression, “Goal?...”
Thundaga nodded her head, “Yes… now that you can use the Lightning orb, you must decide what you will use it for. Will your actions be selfish or selfless, will you use it to help other ponies, or help yourself, to do good or bad? This is the decision you must make with your new gift.”
Cirrus though to himself as the two started going up a staircase, “A decision?...”
Seeing his deep thoughts in his expression, Thundaga smiled as she spoke, “Do not put so much worry into it for now. I’m sure with time, your memories will return, and with it, your decision. For now, let’s just focus on your recovery.”
With that said the two approached a door at the end of the staircase as Thundaga smiled, “ah here we are. I took the liberty of having a room prepared for you for the next few days.”
Remembering her words from earlier, Cirrus asked, “that’s right, you said you had a room for me… but… may I ask why your majesty?”

                Thundaga smiled peacefully, “Cirrus, the lightning orb is special for many reasons, but the main reason for it, is that it’s incredibly dangerous. I said before that there are very few pegasi who can use it… but in a way, that is a lie. All pegasi who try, may very well succeed in using the lightning orb… however. Very few survive the cost. The lightning orb takes not only a lot of concentration, but a lot of energy to contain that much electricity and bend it to your will. In fact almost everypony who make the attempt, usually dies in the process due to exhaustions. So far in the past five hundred years you are the first to attempt and succeed in generating the lightning orb… however, just because you’re alright now doesn’t mean you will stay that way. So to be extra certain, you will be staying in the castle for few days. If you wish to leave then I or a guard will escort you so that we can assure you don’t pass out in the streets, but at the days end you will return here for the night. Please don’t see yourself as a prisoner, you have my permission to travel all throughout the castle as you please, with the exception of the royal guard’s living quarters, and restricted areas. But other than that, my servant will see to your every need and when your memories return, we can even go visit your family so that they will know you are safe.”

                Cirrus didn’t like the idea, so he politely asked, “Your majesty… with all due respect… what if I said I would be fine on my own?”
Thundaga nodded her head, “I would say I admire your willingness to carry on without worry… but I can’t knowingly send you out when chances of you collapsing from fatigue are present. Today is Thursday, by Thursday of next week, if your health continued to stay fair, I will see to it that you are taken back to your home without fault. Until then, I humbly ask that you stay patient. Even though you are staying because of your situation, I would rather you see this as an opportunity to see Canterlot, and understand a little more about what happens here in the castle. Not to mention… I would like to hear about your family when you start remembering them. I’m curious as to what type of upbringing brought upon your view on life.”
Cirrus was confused, “View on life?”
Thundaga realized what she said as she blushed in an embarrassed way, “I… um… what I mean is… sorry, my royal way of talking seems confusing to others who aren’t used to it… what I meant was, you seem like you would prefer a more peaceful way of life. You don’t talk much… but usually that means you like things being simple and peaceful, so I would like to see how your upbringing brought up that mentality.”

                Although her words were even more confusing now then before, Cirrus ignored them as he replied, “oh… ok… I guess. Well thank you for setting everything up for me your majesty. I um… I guess I will lay down and get more rest… if… that’s alright with you.”
Thundaga replied as she smiled pleasantly, “Sure… you get as much rest as you need. And in the morning we can talk more. Well… I'd say good night… but I’m afraid it’s barely the evening. Never the less, if you need anything at all, feel free to ask anypony you see. Whether they are Guard, or servant, my orders are to attend to your needs so long as you don’t abuse my hospitality. You won’t… will you?”
Cirrus felt a little nervous as he replied, “oh… um… of course not your majesty. I’m a stallion of simple needs so I wouldn’t ask for anything unless I absolutely need it.”
Thundaga smiled as she waved her hoof to brush away her previous statement, “I apologize, that was meant to be a joke, but I’m afraid it’s been a while since I’ve had a guest that I could joke around with. Of course I know you wouldn’t abuse this privilege. I merely mean that you should think twice before asking for something outrageous… but maybe I should take this time to work on my sense of humor. Now I’m going to leave and pretend that that stupid joke was never told. If you will excuse me.”

                Cirrus felt a little odd, from the way Thundaga spoke, it was as if she really did tell an embarrassingly dumb and misunderstood joke. This was the first time Cirrus had ever seen Thundaga act like any other pony than the tall, dark ruler that everypony knew and feared. This Thundaga seemed… normal. However, since she was still royalty, Cirrus could only do the proper thing as he bowed and replied, “No need to apologize. Thank you for your hospitality your majesty. I appreciate it.”
Thundaga felt pleased that he was appreciative as she replied, “No thanks necessary. It’s the least I could do for a new user of the Lightning orb.”
With that, Thundaga turned and left Cirrus standing at the door to his room as he couldn’t help but watch her as she trotted away. Although he still didn’t believe that he had actually used the lightning orb, he still felt odd that she was holding onto the story like she was, so Cirrus could only ignore the comment as he turned and trotted inside the room to rest.

                Later that night in Ponyville, Zine approached the door of a resident as he knocked with his staff and waited for an answer. As the door opened a red earth pony answered as he spoke, “Zine?... what are you doing here?”
Zine smiled as he looked at the pony and spoke, “Hello Mr. Luck… and how are you this afternoon?”
The earth pony gave him a confused look as he replied, “Um… it’s nine o’clock at night.”
Zine nodded his head, “Yes… and still technically afternoon. But enough with the small talk. I’m here regarding a little business you have with the royal guards.”
The stallion chuckled, “Business?... the only business I have with the guards are the taxes I pay.”
Zine smiled in a cheerful yet sarcastic way as he replied, “Taxes… is that what you call the information you give them… Mr… informant?”
All of a sudden, the innocent smile on the stallion’s face turned to an unamused frown as he spoke in a calm yet threatening way, “Maybe… you would like to step inside so that we can discuss this matter in private?”

                Zine waved his hoof in a dismissive way as he replied, “oh no… that wouldn’t do at all…” Zine’s smile turned sinister and evil, “other ponies wouldn’t be able to see what I might do to you in there now would they.”
The unamused stallion hid his now worried expression as he replied, “Okay… so you know about my side business… what of it?”
Zine spoke, “tell me… did you leak the information about the rebellion General’s identity?”
Mr. Luck replied, “Me?… maybe… question is, how much are you willing to pay for that bit of info?”
Zine smiled, “a clever business colt… alright… then we can tally it up afterwards. After all… there are other questions I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
The earth pony smiled, “like?...”

                Zine replied as he sat down, “What do you know about a pegasus named Cirrus Cloud?”
Mr. Luck replied, “Plenty… that is, if it’s worth the price.”
Zine nodded his head, “I see, and that price would be?...”
“Three hundred bits… but for you… four hundred.”
Zine gave him a skeptic look, “and why should I pay a hundred more?”
Mr. Luck smiled sinisterly, “let’s not play any games here… we both know that Cirrus Cloud has been your little errand colt for the past few days. So if there’s information you don’t already know… then I would guess it’s pretty valuable wouldn’t you say?”
Zine nodded his head, “Fair enough… alright, four hundred bits it is.”
Zine reached into his saddlebag and tossed a bag of bits on the ground as he spoke, “there, that’s six hundred, to pay the total for both this and my previous question, it wasn’t mine… but Cirrus won’t need that money anytime soon.”

                The informant picked up and checked the bag as he replied, “hm… I would have charged more, but I’ll bill you for the rest later.” He tucked the bag away as he continued, “Cirrus Cloud is a Pegasus from Ponyville. His parents, Stratus and Rain Cloud, were the founders of the Rebellion and were captured and executed when he was six years old. Before that, he supported the rebellion, and was expected to take over where his parent left off… however, he instead turned his back on them and for some reason, despised them after his parents death. After that he was adopted by Mr. Toll, the orphanage owner who by odd coincidence, took over the rebellion and raised them both for the past twelve years, until Mr. Toll, AKA General Rich, met his end in a similar fashion as Cirrus’s Parents. And that’s all I know.”
Zine thought to himself, “That’s it? That’s everything you know about him?”
Mr. Luck nodded his head, “other than him working for you… yes, that’s all I know.”

                Zine gave him a skeptic look as he asked, “So… has the royal guard come by asking about him?”
The informant replied, “Not yet… but with the kingdom in an uproar about last night’s disturbance… it’s only a matter of time.”
Zine nodded his head, “I see…and how much would it cost for you to tell them that you don’t know anything about him?”
Mr. Luck smiled, “Hard to say… Commander Mist has quite a fortune on his hooves. I doubt you have enough to prevent him from out bidding you.”
Zine sighed, “Alright, I guess that’s out of the question then. So what about my question from earlier?”
“About the general’s identity?”

                Zine nodded his head, “yes… did you tell the royal guards about General Rich?”
Mr. Rich smiled real big as he replied as if he were proud, “No… you can leave the credit of that discovery to good-old fashion detective work. I would have sold it to the guards when its value would have been critical, but they found out on their own… pity, that could have made me millions.”
Zine nodded his head, “yea… pity. So that’s it then… still no way I can convince you to keep your mouth shut?”
The stallion smiled, “unless you have a hidden secret you’d like to share… I’m afraid there isn’t anything you could possibly pay to keep quiet.”
Zine replied with an unamused tone, “hm... pity. Then I believe we are done here.”
Mr. Luck replied, “good, then if you have nothing more to say, you can leave. Good bye Zine.”

                Mr. Luck started to close the door to his house but before he could, Zine used the bottom of his staff to stop the door as he spoke, “Oh… one more thing before I leave. If I understand you right… you have been gathering information on me and my experiments… am I right?”
Mr. Luck opened his door completely as he replied, “Yes well, as we both know, information has value in this unsung war.”
Zine smiled sinisterly, “Yes… and we all know that such a war is filled with surprises from both sides… even if the surprise come from a third party.”
Trying to understand what Zine meant, Mr. Luck replied with a curious tone, “Sure… I guess so.”
Zine nodded, “so I guess we are at an understanding then correct?”
Feeling too confused to care about the conversation, the informant agreed, “Sure… I would say so… I guess.”
Zine started reaching into his cloak as he replied, “Good, then perhaps I should offer you a taste.”
“A taste?... of what?”

                Zine pulled out a flask with black potion inside as he replied with an evil glare, “A taste… of what happens when surprise risks attempt to cross my plans.”
With that, Zine pulled out the cork that sealed the flask as he tipped the flask up and poured the potion into his mouth. Mr. Luck could only watch in confusion as Zine finished pouring the entire flask of potion into his mouth before tossing the flask away and spitting the potion back at the unsuspecting earth pony. Strangely enough, the potion that was a liquid when it went into Zine’s mouth, came out as a thick smoke as it quickly surrounded the now nervous earth pony before evaporating as if it were regular smoke that had no effect.”

                When the potion evaporated and vanished into the air, Mr. Luck gave Zine a confused look as he spoke, “That was it?... that didn’t seem so ba…”
Before he could finish his statement, Mr. Luck silenced himself as he saw the white in Zine’s eyes vanish, before turning entirely black. This in combination with his evil smile mad Zine seem terrifying as Mr. Luck started to speak, “What’s with y…”
Again the earth pony was interrupted when this time he started to feel the ground beneath him rumble. As the informant tried to understand what was happening, Zine spoke with an evil tone, “Tell me Mr. Luck… what is it that frightens you most? What terror of terrors keeps you awake at night, and make you think twice before trotting into darkness. What, is your greatest fear?”
Confused, Mr. Luck replied, “What?... what does that have to do with an…”

                All of a sudden, a small hill started to push up from the ground between them, as he looked down at the hill in curiosity. However, that curiosity quickly turned to terror, as the top of the hill opened up as thousands of fire ants came crawling out of the hill and quickly started crawling up the terrified earth pony’s hooves. See the sight, Mr. Luck jumped back as he quickly tried brushing off the tiny insects and screamed, “What!?! A-ANTS!!! G-get them off! H-help! Get them away! They’re everywhere! Get them off! GET THEM OFF!!!”
as the terrified earth pony screamed at the feeling of the thousands of ants crawling and biting him as they started covering his entire body, the neighbors slowly started exiting their homes to see what all the commotion was, however when they looked at the screaming pony, all they could see was a pony brushing off nothing as he screamed the word ants. Confused, the neighbors watched the screaming pony in curiosity as he continued his loud display that made him seem somewhat crazy.

                Although the ants were invisible to the surrounding neighbors, they weren’t to Zine and Mr. Luck as Zine stood and watched them attack the poor earth pony, while Mr. Luck could feel them as the vision he was seeing slowly turned horrific, when the thousands of attacking ants cut through the skin on his arm and began crawling under his coat as they attacked him both outside and inside. Although this seemed like it would have been hard for him to watch, Zine continued watching with an evil smiled on his face as the screaming earth pony fell to the ground and jerked his body around as he tried to kill the imaginary insects that where crawling under his skin. Still confused as to what was happening, the neighbors watched as the terrified earth pony finally succumbed to his fear as he arced his back in an almost impossible way, before falling back down and passing out to his greatest fear. As soon as the earth pony lost consciousness, the neighborhood became silent as Zine’s eyes slowly turned back to normal while a concerned neighbor approached and asked, “What happened… is he alright?”

                As soon as Zine turned to them, the neighbors recognized him as he replied, “He’s fine… just a little too much cider. If you can, take him inside. All he needs is rest and he will be as right as rain in the morning… more or less.”
With that, Zine turned away from his unconscious victim as he trotted passed the concerned neighbors and out of the area as he mumbled to himself, “Well… now that the nuisance is removes, we can continue with our regularly scheduled programing. Nothing personal… but I can’t have somepony starting the party before I had time to prepare the party favors.” Zine though to himself, “Fire ants… never thought such tiny creatures could be so terrifying to somepony. Then again… it’s still nothing when compared to my greatest fear.”
That said, the evil zebra continued trotting out of Ponyville as he made his way back to the Everfree forest, with no concern to what he had done or what could result from his actions.