“Twilight, get up.”
Twilight felt a claw prod into her side. She grumbled, shuffling away from it. She wanted sleep, not a whelp poking her to wake up. Granted, if she felt his touch, she was already awake.
“Spike...” Twilight mumbled, rolling away from him in her bed. “Just let me sleep a bit longer, okay?” A reading marathon that went into the early hours of the morning had certainly taken its toll on the librarian.
“No, seriously Twilight, you have to see this.” Spike’s voice sounded urgent. He resumed his prodding of the pony.
Feeling that sharp claw repeatedly jab into her back, Twilight’s sleepy demeanor quickly got replaced by irritableness. “What is it, Spike? What is so important that I just have to see right now?”
“Look outside. It’s something I’ve never seen before. Ever,” Spike said, pointing to the window above Twilight’s bed.
She grumbled, raising herself and peering out of the window. The sight she saw shocked her into soberness. “Okay... this is new...”
Normally she could see the houses nearby the library. Now they were gone. A fog had swept over the town, making everything dark and grey. Twilight opened the window and poked her head outside. It was cold. The kind of chill that makes your hairs stand up. She looked up to the sun, now only a faded, yellow orb.
After taking everything in, she closed the window and backed away from it, rubbing her head as she tried to come up with an explanation to this strange occurrence. “This is—I don’t—” She shook her head, looking at Spike, who looked just as confused as she was. “The weather ponies should have prevented this.”
Spike bit his lip. “You think something happened to them...?”
“I don’t know, Spike. I’ve never seen this before, but...” She gazed to the window, grimacing. “It gives me a bad feeling.”
“You said it,” Spike agreed, with a nod. “I guess we should try and find somepony, right?”
“Me, not we,” Twilight stated, trotting down the stairs.
“What?” Spike asked as he hurried after her. “Come on, Twilight! You can’t leave me here by myself!”
“Spike, we don’t know how much of a threat this fog will present us.” She sighed, looking at the door, then back to Spike. “It’s probably nothing, but just incase something does happen, I need you to be here to contact the Princess.”
Spike swallowed and nodded. “Right, I get it..." He sounded a little reluctant and scared. However, his tone quickly changed to sincerity. "Be careful, yeah?”
“If anything happens, I’ll be sure to teleport back here, don’t worry.” Twilight bent down and gave Spike a comforting hug. The two shared each other’s embrace for a little while before Twilight pulled back.
“Good luck, Twilight,” Spike said, with a casual salute.
Twilight nodded once. “Thanks, Spike.” She approached the door and slowly opened it. Small traces of mist began slowly pouring into the library. “Well... here I go.”
“Don’t be long. Please,” Spike pleaded.
Twilight gave the whelp a reassuring smile. “Hopefully I’ll be back by lunchtime.” She turned back to the cold outside and let out a shuddered breath, before stepping outside and closing the door behind her.
Her hairs began standing up on their ends and a chill ran down her spine. This fog definitely wasn’t natural. She moved forward, trying to cast her fears aside. If she panicked, she could easily get lost.
She approached some houses, their large forms coming out of the fog. Doors and windows were closed and blinds shut. Twilight went down the row of houses, all the same as the ones before. Ponyville had become a ghost town.
“Hello?!” She called out, peering around her. She could see the vague forms of other things, such as fences and bushes, but no ponies. She kept trotting along, biting her lip. “Anypony here?!”
No response.
Her mind began to speculate, fueling her paranoia.
“Calm down, Twilight,” she told herself. “There has to be a rational explanation for this.”
Without much thought, her horn began to glow, illuminating a little area of space around her. She let out a little sigh of relief. Her magical ability was intact.
She rubbed her head, trying to come up with plans of action. Each one involved her friends, whether it was finding them or...
Those thoughts were quickly brushed aside.
“They’re fine. They always are,” she reassured herself. Some ponies said that talking to oneself was a first sign of madness. Twilight, however, knew that wasn’t the case unless there was method in it.
She looked left and right. Both directions looked practically the same. The librarian quickly came to the conclusion that the only thing she could was determine the extent of the problem. She began trotting towards the outskirts of town.
The journey felt longer than it should have. She looked down, just incase she stumbled over anything on the ground. She still saw or heard nothing. There wasn’t even a breeze.
Eventually, the mist began to clear. Twilight blinked and grinned, galloping towards the area where the fog stopped. When she escaped its presence, she stood still and embraced the sunlight beaming down onto her. She took in the bright colors and vista of trees, fields and flowers in the distance. Her ears twitched to the sounds of birds singing. And something else.
“Stupid cloud...”
Twilight flicked her head towards the sound of the noise. “Hello?! Is somepony there?”
A grunt could be heard not too far from her, back in the fog. Twilight swallowed and returned to the cold embrace of the mists. She looked up, hearing the sound of wings flapping.
“C’mon... break up already,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she bucked a low lying cloud. Her kick shook it, but only resulted in the formation of smaller clouds. The pegasus growled and flew after them, kicking each in turn.
Twilight narrowed her eyes, clenching her jaw. “Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow blinked and peered about. “Twilight? That you?”
“Down here,” Twilight replied, although her voice was tense enough to make her words sound like an order.
Rainbow brightened up somewhat when she saw her friend and flew down to meet her. “Hey, Twi. What’s up?”
The unicorn pointed to the surrounding fog. “Typically the clouds! What are you doing?!”
Rainbow stopped, blinking in confusion a few times. “Wh-what?”
“This fog that’s covered Ponyville. It’s all been you, hasn’t it? You’ve scared everypony into hiding!” Twilight exclaimed.
Rainbow hovered off the ground, putting her forelegs up defensively. “Twilight, you don’t—”
“Oh, drop the act, Rainbow. I know that this is another one of your pranks that’s gotten way out of hoof. Everypony is in their homes, scared to death no doubt, because of you.” Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground. “Just stop this—I’ve had enough!”
Rainbow snorted and put her face close to Twilight’s. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes practically burning with anger. “You think this is some kinda prank?!” She snapped, then looked the unicorn over. “You’re a jerk sometimes, y’know that?”
Twilight scoffed. “So I’m a jerk?”
“Yeah! You’re—” Rainbow sighed and went off to disperse the few remaining cloud pieces. “Forget it. I’m not doing this right now.” She then sped off into the fog and disappeared.
Twilight stared down the hole in the fog that Rainbow had created by flying off. There was no way in Tartarus she was going to clear this fog by herself.
Twilight huffed, going the way Rainbow had. The daredevil always had a tendency to explode without warning. It was just in her nature. But this time, she had really blown up. What was her problem?
Twilight stopped. Just what was her problem?
Even for Rainbow, her reaction was a bit much. And it wasn’t like her prank had failed either. By all accounts, it was a huge success. So why was she so angry with Twilight?
The librarian facehoofed, silently cursing her own stupidity. This wasn’t a prank. And thanks to her own paranoia, she had scolded Rainbow for something that could have been perfectly reasonable.
Twilight headed back into town, seeking her friend. Ponyville still looked empty, but seeing Rainbow Dash reassured her that everything was fine. Whatever ‘everything’ was, anyway.
“Rainbow Dash?!”
She didn’t hear anything notable.
Sighing, she went on ahead. The probability of finding Rainbow was low, due to the fog. Add to the fact that she was a pegasus...
Still, time and time again, life had proven that sometimes it was worth going against the odds.
“Rainbow?! Please, I need to talk to you!” she shouted, her throat hurting due to the exertion. Coughing, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Then she heard something clatter nearby. She whipped her head around, cursing the fog for obscuring her view. What was that? It sounded like something falling over... something metal, she thought. A bin, perhaps?
Cautiously, she approached the source of the sound. Then she felt wind brush against her hairs. She jumped, turning around quickly. Something, or someone, had just gone past her.
Twilight doubted it was Rainbow, given her mood. So that left few other suspects. Maybe it was Fluttershy, trying to get close enough to Twilight to determine who she wa—
“Shush!”
Twilight stumbled back, eyes flicking around as they desperately tried to find something. “Aah!”
She was cut off by somepony’s hoof going around around her mouth. Twilight squirmed furiously, but her captor had her locked tight in his or her grip. Panicking, options for escape kept going through her head, but never sticking. All she ended up doing was flail about in the hopes that her attacker would give her mercy.
“Twilight! Calm down!” came a cheery voice. It made Twilight’s blood boil: Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie let go and Twilight stumbled forward. “Pinkie!” she shouted, grinding her teeth together. Pinkie loved her pranks, sure, but this was one was way out of line. Twilight could feel her mane and tail heating up...
“Why in the hay would you do that?!” she questioned, stomping a hoof on the ground.
“Shh shh shh!!” Pinkie said in a hushed tone, putting her hoof to Twilight’s lips. “You gotta be quiet!”
Twilight narrowed her eyes and pushed Pinkie’s foreleg away. “And why do I have to do that?”
“‘Cause it’s respectful! Duh!” Pinkie answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Granted, Pinkie usually talked like that anyway.
“Respectful towards who?” Twilight asked, her curiosity piqued.
“Everypony in town, of course!” Pinkie said, forelegs spread wide as she stood on her hindlegs for a few seconds.
“What? But nopony’s even outside. The only other pony I’ve seen today is Rainbow.” Twilight blinked. Pinkie had a tendency to get her off track. “Speaking of, have you seen her?”
“Nope! But I’m not gonna look.” Twilight raised her eyebrow, although let Pinkie continue. “It’s better that I stay inside today,” she said, with a tone of seriousness that was very unlike her.
Before Twilight could follow Pinkie up on that, the excitable party pony went forth into the mists and vanished. She scratched her head, her brain going into gear. Clearly the threat level this fog presented was minimal. If Rainbow and Pinkie knew about it, then obviously so did everypony else in town.
That actually raised further questions. Why wasn’t anypony outside? Why did Twilight have to be respectful? And why did the town tolerate this miserable fog?
It didn’t take long for her to figure out her next port of call. Rarity would’ve known what was going on and her Boutique wasn’t as far away as the Apple family farm or Fluttershy’s cottage. Her goal in mind and the path towards it memorized, Twilight set off.
She didn’t feel scared anymore, just curious. She couldn’t recall a time when she had been in fog before and now that she was pretty sure it was harmless, it entranced her. It only took water vapour at ground level to transform a bright, happy town, to a dark, foreboding place.
The journey to Carasoul Boutique was relatively short and spent in silence. At this point, Twilight didn’t even bother to look out for other ponies, although she kept on guard just incase Pinkie got the jump on her again.
As she came to the shop, she found it closed. That didn’t really surprise her but it did make her wonder if today was a special Ponyville holiday? No, that can’t have been right; she had been living here for more than a year.
Shrugging, she trotted to the front door and knocked upon it three times. Nopony came to answer her, although she had expected that already. What next? Rarity was going to come down from a tree and tackle her?
Snorting, she tried again. It was rather unlike Rarity to just ignore the door. Twilight remembered the time the dressmaker had chastised her for doing so after she became a little too engrossed with her books.
Tapping her hoof, she was about to give up and go over to Applejack’s when she heard a little squeak. She quickly put her ear to the door and knocked on it again.
“Er, hello?” came a high-pitched voice. It wasn’t Rarity, no, but it was somepony. And Twilight knew who she was.
“Sweetie Belle? It’s me, Twilight. Where’s your sister?”
“Rarity’s gone over to Fluttershy’s ‘cause she said Fluttershy needed her.” The voice got louder as the filly neared the door. “Apparently she was upset about the whole... y’know...”
“No, I don’t know.” Twilight frowned at the door. “And do you mind opening the door for me, please?”
“No can do, Twilight. Rarity told me to never ever ever ever ever ever—” she took in a deep breath and continued, “ever ever open this door to anypony while she was out.”
Twilight huffed to herself. “But you know me! I’m a friend.”
“Didn’t you hear me? ‘Cause Rarity said seven ‘ever’s to me, not five,” Sweetie innocently replied.
Twilight let the door do the facehoofing for her. “Yeah, I heard you.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. At this rate, today was going to be a long one. “Well, can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Er...”
Twilight grinned expectantly. “Yes?”
“Rarity also said to not talk about that with anypony. Never ever ever—”
Twilight screamed, but only in her head. “Let me guess: seven ‘ever’s?”
“Eight, actually.”
“Right, got it...” She took a couple of deep breaths. She would find the answer to this fog, even if would drive her insane. “To Fluttershy’s then. Thanks, Sweetie Belle.”
“Take care!” Sweetie replied, then walked away from the door, humming a merry tune.
Twilight took a few steps away from the Boutique, then let out a long, annoyed moan. One answer led to more questions. The only thing that was keeping her going at this point was her curiosity driving her forward.
The trip to Fluttershy’s cottage was longer and Twilight almost got lost a couple of times, but upon hearing the small river that ran nearby her home, she sped up a little. Normally, the cottage was a beehive of animal activity. Today, it was like all the animals had either fled, were hibernating, or died.
Perhaps that was why Fluttershy was apparently upset?
Twilight knocked on the door, her hoof actually starting to ache from it. Thankfully, it actually opened this time, revealing Rarity.
“Oh, hello, darling. Come to give Fluttershy your support?” she asked, stepping aside for Twilight so she could enter.
“Hi, Rarity.” Twilight smiled at her friend as she entered the building. Instantly, she felt warm and at home. Fluttershy’s cottage had always done that for her but with the fog outside, the effect was doubled.
“And yes, about that,” Twilight said, closing the door behind her. “I’d like to know exactly what is going on.”
Rarity blinked, looking a bit baffled. “What do you mean, Twilight?”
“Everypony’s in on it, it’d seem.” To Twilight’s annoyance, Rarity still didn’t look like she understood. Her patience was stretched, so she decided to be blunt. “The fog?!”
“That’s perfectly normal, dear,” Rarity said in a subdued tone. “But it isn’t important at the moment. Not really.”
Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. “Isn’t important?! Fog has covered the entire town and you’re telling me that this is normal?!”
Rarity put her hoof down on the ground. “Twilight, if you’re going to be like this, then I’m afraid I’ll ask you to leave. Fluttershy’s distraught over what happened and she doesn’t need you acting so brutishly.”
Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. Why wasn’t anypony being honest with her?! Didn’t they trust her or something? “Distraught over what?!”
The sound of somepony landing came from outside. Twilight and Rarity glanced at the door and the latter opened it with her magic.
“Oh. It’s you, Twilight,” Rainbow said, sounding still angry at Twilight, yet at least civil. She came in but kept her distance from Twilight.
For the librarian, things were starting to look up. If she could just apologise to Rainbow, then maybe she’d tell her what the hay was going on. “Rainbow! I’m glad you’re here.”
“As am I.” Rarity nodded at the pegasus. “I really think you should talk to Fluttershy, but I imagine that’s why you’re here, correct?”
“Yeah.” Rainbow walked past Twilight, who followed her into the center of the room.
“Rainbow, wait!” Twilight called out.
She stopped and turned her head. “What is it?”
Twilight swallowed, readying up something to say. It didn’t take her long. “I wanted to apologise for shouting at you earlier. I was unnerved by all this fog and my mind jumped to conclusions. I shouldn’t have blamed you for something I didn’t entirely understand.” She then broke off eye contact from Rainbow and stared at the floor.
There was a tense silence. Rarity glanced from pony to pony, holding her breath.
“Hey, Egghead?”
Twilight glanced up.
“It’s cool,” Rainbow said, going up to her and wing-hugging her. “It’s just...” She sighed, her hug going from strong, to fairly weak instantly.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, looking at her downtrodden friend. “What? What’s wrong?”
“You don’t really know, do you?” Twilight shook her head. Rainbow looked at Rarity and nodded towards the librarian. “You mind telling her?”
Rarity nodded, then stepped forward. “Twilight, the fog is old Ponyville tradition created just for the pegasi here. As I’m sure you’re aware, pegasi were a lot more bound to clouds many years ago. They lived in the sky... and died there, too.”
Rainbow coughed. “Rarity?”
“Hm?”
“Get to the point already,” Rainbow told her, waving her hoof.
“Yes, of course.” Rarity cleared her throat and kept going, “When pegasi...” She wiggled her lips, trying to find a better word. “... passed on here, it seemed a shame that they would do so on Equestrian soil. Perhaps strange for us non-pegasi, but important to them. Thus, it was decided that to honor a fallen pegasus, the clouds around Ponyville would be lowered so that the pegasus could be reunited with the clouds once more, before being buried. Hence the fog you see outside, darling.”
Twilight blinked a few times. Out of all her hypothetical answers to the fog, she had never thought up of something so... tragic. Yet it all made sense. Of course nopony was outside. They were mourning.
That just left one more question.
“Rarity...” Twilight began, her voice quavering. “Who... who died?”
Rarity took a deep breath and answered, sorrow evident in her words. “Raindrops passed away yesterday afternoon... she was struck by a stray lightning cloud and tumbled to her...” Rarity trailed off—Twilight knew what had happened.
“I’m... I’m so sorry.” Twilight looked at Rainbow. She was looking down, concentrating on nothing in particular. Twilight instinctively nuzzled her friend’s cheek, yet Rainbow was as solid as stone, trying her best to be strong.
And that was when they heard the quiet sounds of Fluttershy’s sobs coming from the other room.
