Thunderhead is a torus-shaped Enclave cloud-city in the air space over Hoofington. It is considered perhaps the most prosperous and successful of all Enclave cities due to its stockpiles of advanced technology from the nearby Shadowbolt Tower, and is considered second in influence only to Neighvarro.
History []
During the war[]
Thunderhead was a pegasus cloud-city and an important trading hub in the area over Hoofington. Despite its high altitude, it drifted closely to the colossal Shadowbolt Tower (the local M.O.A. hub), likely to provide it with aerial defense through the use of the Hoofington Core's defense systems. Local transport to the city was provided by the nearby Rainbow Dash Skyport within the Hoofington city limits. While not as important to the pegasi as Cloudsdale, the city was nonetheless significant due to its proximity to the zebra front and Shadowbolt Tower.
After the war[]
As with all remaining pegasi settlements, a cloud layer was placed below Thunderhead, cutting it off from the surface as all remaining pegasi were called home. As with all pegasi settlements, it fell under the control of the Grand Pegasus Enclave and became the most important military asset in the east due to the presence of Shadowbolt Tower; while other bases such as Neighvarro had to rely on cannibalizing mountaintop stables for important war resources such as metal and talismans, the fabrication and technological facilities in the Tower's upper floors remained intact after the Last Day, granting Thunderhead greater prosperity and resources than other pegasi settlements of its size. Along with its facilities, many unicorns present in the Tower during the last day were assimilated into the Enclave as adjutants, granting Thunderhead the ability to produce and maintain magical equipment (including the newer, smoother appearing variety of power armor used by the Thunderhead military). The strategic importance of Shadowbolt Tower (being capable of servicing cloudships in its hangars) is so great, that the Enclave Intelligence agency is run from the old M.O.A. facilities with oversight from Neighvarro. Additionally, due to the plentiful precipitation coming from the ocean combined with the mountain range just west of Hoofington, Thunderhead can more easily mass-produce cloud-based crops than other settlements, protecting it from the instances of famine that have occasionally affected the Enclave.
It is perhaps due to its bountiful resources, that Thunderhead became something of the "Black Sheep" in the Enclave; on top of having non-pegasi citizens, civilians of Thunderhead typically enjoyed a higher quality of living than those in the west, leading to a less martial, and more liberal mindset (much to the ire of Neighvarro). The settlement's early association with the Ministry of Awesome has also colored the local culture, as Rainbow Dash (despite still being classed as a traitor to her race) is remembered and celebrated more favorably in public, and there have been many calls by prominent politicians to re-establish contact with the surface.
Thunderhead's sense of independence has threatened to cause great upheaval within the Enclave more than once, at one time almost resulting in a civil war; after nearly coming to blows with the council, to safeguard the city's relative independence, Thunderhead is not allowed a standing navy (meaning the settlement does not control any cloudships of their own) and oversight of Shadowbolt Tower has been given to Neighvarro (although Enclave Intelligence remains primarily a Thunderhead organization).
In the decades before the opening of Stables 2 and 99, Thunderhead was subjected to an unexpected dragon attack; while a portion of the Neighvarro fleet (who were performing training exercises nearby) were able to respond, the Dragon's defeat was ultimately the result of a Thunderhead Councilman, Sky Striker; initially thought dead after plummeting to the surface, Sky Striker would meet a group of six friends who were attempting to clean up the Hoofington area - Big Daddy, King Awesome, Finders Keepers, Professor Zodiac, Acolyte Crunchy Carrots and the surface pegasus Dawn. Returning to Thunderhead with Dawn and later marrying, the new-found political clout of the Thunderhead council was enough to finally make contact with the surface a viable possibility. Although it took years and was discredited by Dawn's later exile from the Enclave, along with the indirect actions of other Dashites in the Enclave (such as Calamity), Thunderhead eventually succeeded in creating the First Enclave Volunteer Corps; a civilian division granted permission to travel to the surface around the Hoofington area to establish contact and trade with its numerous settlements, operating out of the Rainbow Dash Skyport. This act, while greatly frustrating Neighvarro, has placed Thunderhead in the unique position to acquire desperately needed raw materials not found in either the clouds or Shadowbolt Tower.
The City's population is currently over 15,000 pegasi, with a small number of unicorns based out of Shadowbolt Tower.
Notable Inhabitants[]
- Morning Glory
- Sky Striker
- Dusk
- Dawn (former Dashite)
- Moon Shadow
- Lambent and Lucent
- Lightning Dancer
- North Star
- Chicanery
- Operative Lighthooves
- Professor Morningstar
- Stormfront (former Dashite)