Struck Down chapter 1.1

His hooves clopped on the ground softly as he walked down the tunnel. The wings on his back were being held loosely at his side from a mixture of excitement and worry. His black eyes were set straight ahead, just like he'd been told to do when the time came.

Focus on the end of the tunnel. Where the light is.

He slowed in his pace.


I don't want to do this.


He shook his head.


So why am I being forced to?.


His black mane crackled with electricity.


I'm trapped.


He continued walking on at the pace he was told to walk at. The end of the passageway was coming up. He waited until he was five feet away from the exit , then lifted his head up high. He was there at the end--


"HEY, THUNDERSTRUCK!"


The yellow and black pony stumbled in surprise at hearing his name being called so suddenly. Tripping over his hooves, he fell head over heels, landing flat on his face. His hindquarters were thrown into the air and one of his wings unfolded, sticking up in the air as well. The stallion sighed. "Crash--and burn."
A sky blue pegasi pony and a red unicorn pony trotted over quickly.

"Thunderstruck, mate! You were going good!" The red unicorn said, helping his friend up. " What happened?"

"I'm not focused is all, TNT." Thunderstruck replied. "I'm just…nervous."

"I guess I shouldn't have yelled that loudly," The other pegasi muttered. He lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Thunderstruck…"

"Aw, it wasn't your fault, Harper," Thunderstruck smiled at him. "You made me realize I need to get back on track for tonight..." He stood tall to his full height and extended his 8 foot long wingspan, feeling the stretch.  "I can't afford to mess up this time…"

They were all located in a park making preparations for a particularly big event--a festival--that was to be held in it, scheduled for that night. There were ponies milling around, hanging out with one another, checking out decorations, waiting, or just relaxing until the festival started. A giant metal lightning bolt sat right in the center of the park.  There were several dark thunderclouds gathering above.

"Hey you're not the only one, mate," TNT sighed. "You're doing a better job than both of us combined at keeping your cool. I accidentally swapped all of the dynamite with tubes full of gunpowder when I was getting the fireworks display together this morning. Darn near took me an hour to get it sorted out…"

"Y-Yeah, and I overslept yesterday afternoon, so I was running around all last night delivering the rest of them," Harper said. He yawned and added, "Awwhh, I'm so tired...I hope I set up all the décor correctly."

Thunderstruck tapped both of his friends gently on the back of their heads with both wings. "Hey, don't worry guys. It can't be any worse than what's happened in the past, right?"

He began walking towards the center, keeping his eyes on the lightning bolt statue. "I mean, last year, we did mess up the show cause I was off by an inch…and the year before that…and the year before THAT…"

TNT and Harper got in step with him. "Yeah, I have to admit…we do mess up every year…" TNT said. "I mixed up the explosives last year too, but I didn't fix it that time…"

"And I completely forgot to deliver ANY invitations last year…" Harper mumbled, still embarrassed about the thought. "Very few ponies came at first…it's a good thing everybody remembered the date of the festival, or else it would've just been us and our parents!"

"THUNDERSTRUCK! GET OVER HERE!" A voice bellowed. As every pony in the park turned to face the trio of friends, Thunderstruck muttered, "Speaking of parents--or in my case, PARENT." He turned his head to his right , where the shout had come from. Spotting his dad, he slowly began making his way over. TNT and Harper followed him.

Thunderstruck's dad, a medium sized pony of 41, was standing in front of TNT's fireworks display with several other ponies. His wings were unfolded, sticking straight up in the air--the way they were always seen, even when the pony was asleep. He wore a black cap with a lightning bolt on its brim, and he was wearing shorts to match it. His light blue eyes followed his son and his friends as they got closer to him, and when they did, it was clear how much of a height difference he and his son had--Thunderstruck stood a foot and a half taller than his dad. And also unlike his son, his mane did not stick up, and his tail did not zigzag. Thunderstruck stopped and stared down at his dad. "Yes? Dad?"

"Son? Have you been practicing for tonight?" The stallion asked. The crowd of ponies behind him listened closely.

"Of course. That's been my top priority for the last 6 months." Thunderstruck said wearily. His mood when in his father's presence was clearly not a good one; he seemed a bit distressed and upset. Harper and TNT were in similar moods, the latter unfolding his wings tensely, and the former widening his stance.    

"Really?" His dad's eyebrows raised. "Then does that mean you won't make any mistakes -- unlike how you AND your friends have done so many times in the past?" The ponies behind him chuckled softly, neighing in agreement. "This needs to be absolutely perfect!"

Thunderstruck grit his teeth inside his mouth in anger. When he answered, his voice was stronger. "I won't screw up this time," He turned away and trotted off. "Especially on the 50th anniversary of the Big Bang festival."

"I trust you've chosen the right explosives this year, TNT?" Thunderstruck's dad asked the unicorn, who blushed in embarrassment.

"Y -Yeah. The display's not as bodgy as it was last year." TNT muttered, following Thunderstruck in a rush.

"And Harper, did you get the invitations and decorations sorted out this year?"

"I hope--I mean, I have!" Harper muttered nervously. He lifted into the air and flew after his friends, who were waiting for him at the exit of the park. The yellow pegasi sighed as he watched the three leave. "Time for failure. Again."

An orange mare came up next to him and elbowed him in the side. "Heh, you know it. I can't wait to see THIS one."

Seeing the disappointed look on her husband's face, she added, "Don't worry, there's always next year and the year after that. They'll be impressed," She glanced over at a group of four ponies dressed in business suits and shades over by the punch bowl.  1 pegasi, 1 unicorn, and 2 earth ponies. The earth pony turned her head and watched Thunderstruck leaving.

"…sooner or later."