Chapters It wasn’t every day that Princess Celestia sent a letter to Twilight Sparkle, rather than receiving one, so it was with much surprise that Spike belched forth a scroll during the middle of breakfast. After a moment’s pause, Twilight levitated the scroll, broke the wax seal, and read it out loud.
To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle:
I am most pleased at your progress in studying the magic of friendship, and grateful for you and your friends’ efforts in saving Equestria twice now. As a small token of my thanks, I’ve arranged a trip for the six of you aboard the cruise ship Aurora, leaving in two days. I do hope you all enjoy the vacation, and I would not be surprised if you learn a thing or two.
Your benevolent ruler
Princess Celestia
“Wow, that sounds amazing!” exclaimed Spike “I can’t wait to see the ship!”
Twilight frowned. “I’m sorry, but Celestia only mentioned six spots. Besides, someone has to stay and look after the library. I’ll see if I can get you a vacation of your own once I get back, maybe a private trip with a guest of your choice?”
The promise of a romantic trip with Rarity was enough to persuade him to stay behind for now, though he made a show of continuing to act disappointed “Oh, alright. But I’m adding it to your checklist so you don’t forget it.”
“Which one?” asked Twilight.
“All of them,” replied Spike dryly.
Twilight soon spread word to Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, but as usual Rainbow Dash was hard to find. They finally found her sprawled across a cloud drifting over town hall, snoring the day away.
“Hey Rainbow Dash, get up. We’re going on a trip,” yelled Twilight from her hot air balloon
Rainbow winced, stretched, and blinked wearily at the offending noise “Sure. Um, can I sleep on the way there? They had me tracking weather conditions all night last night.”
“Oh, is that why you always need naps during the day?” asked Twilight
“Nah, they just put me on this shift last—I mean yes, that is precisely the reason why,” lied Rainbow Dash. Twilight did not look convinced.
“I guess I should report back to the rest of the weather team before I leave,” continued Rainbow Dash “I’ll meet back with you guys in an hour.”
The weather team’s building was down on the ground, supposedly so earth ponies and unicorns could come in if they had to. Not that any did. The place was fairly deserted outside of the occasional pegasus starting or finishing a job. Today, there was just a lone clerk manning the desk as Rainbow Dash pulled a few papers out of her bag.
“Here are the forecasts and such,” she said after dropping them onto the desk “I made a few recommendations as well. Oh, and I’ll be out of town for a bit. Twilight’s got something or other going on again. You know how it is. I’ll let you guys know when I’m back.”
The clerk simply nodded and began looking over the reports as Rainbow Dash left. The writing was a terrible, but he’d long gotten used to that. Apparently Ponyville was due for sunny weather for the next few days, followed by an incoming cold front. The clerk was surprised to see Rainbow had gone above and beyond the call of duty in listing conditions for the countryside surrounding the town as well. Then, he looked at her recommendations. She recommended sending the pegasi out to help with the inclement weather in the countryside between Canterlot and Ponyville, a place uninhabited except for anyone travelling the road. While it was a kind idea to keep any travelers dry, they didn’t have the workforce to protect both the town and the road, and the weather team could use the break the sunny days would provide. The clerk filed the report under “Not Urgent” and made a note in his ledger that the forecast was 3 days of sun, followed by stormy weather.
An hour later, Rainbow was all packed and met with her friends at the Ponyville train station. Spike, the Cakes, Angel, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and a few other well-wishers were there to see them off. Each said goodbye in their own way: Scootaloo wanted to hide in Rainbow Dash's luggage while Apple Bloom promised Applejack the farm would be in good hooves, Twilight told Spike to stay out of trouble, while the Cakes told Pinkie Pie not to get in too much trouble, knowing her too well to expect no trouble at all, and Rarity gave Sweetie Belle a long hug, while Angel pretended to be indifferent. The six friends gave one more wave before boarding the train, with a cheer of "Let's make this the best vacation ever!"
Spike gave a contented sigh as the train pulled away. As much as he liked Twilight, he felt he was going to enjoy a little vacation of his. No chores, no obligations, just some rest and relaxation.
True to the forecast, it was clear skies in Ponyville for the next two days. On the third night, it began to rain. On the fourth day, howling winds and a torrential downpour kept most ponies inside, aside from those attending an emergency meeting at the town hall.
“Why did you call this meeting, Mayor?” asked one pony indignantly “I got absolutely soaked walking here.”
“Why aren’t the weather ponies dealing with this?” shouted another.
“Please, calm down everypony,” began Mayor Mare “This storm is exactly why I called you here. As you’ve probably guessed by now, this is not just some scheduled downpour. I’ve brought Cloud Kicker, head of the weather team, to explain more.”
A lavender mare with a blonde mane stepped up to the stage and set up a map of Equestria on an easel “As forecasted, we were expecting a few days of sun, followed by rain. There was a storm coming in from the Everfree forest to the east, and there’s really not a whole lot we can do with that: The forest has always resisted our attempts to modify its environment. There was also a report of stormy weather north, between here and Canterlot, but it was expected to flow west as well, and pass without touching us. Unfortunately, due to one reason or another, it started flowing south, and connected with the storm from the Everfree forest giving us what we have now, and it’s going to get worse over the next few days. The winds are probably going to knock down most of our trees, causing damage to surrounding structures, and I expect there will be some flooding. Worst case scenario, this turns out to be the prelude to a tornado.”
“Can’t you just break up the clouds?” asked one member of the audience
“It’s not that simple. The heavy winds are making it far too difficult to fly. We can’t do anything to the clouds if we can’t reach them.”
“So, what ARE you going to do about it?”
“We’re still working on that,” admitted Cloud Kicker.
Mayor Mare stepped back up to the podium “Thankfully, we do have Celestia’s prize student here to help us come up with a solution. Will Twilight Sparkle please come up front?”
There was an awkward silence as nobody came forth, before Spike yelled out “She’s on vacation with her friends!”
“Ah…” said Mayor Mare “Does anyone else have any bright ideas?”
The crowd in the town hall quickly turned to bickering, as each pony had their own ideas for what would be the best course of action, or who to blame. Spike sighed, and made the trek through the rain back home. It didn’t look like the town was going to be reaching a decision anytime soon. However, while Twilight might not be able to help keep the town residents safe, he knew someone who could. Stepping inside the library, he dried himself off and began to write a letter.
Dear Princess Celestia
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but a major storm has just struck Ponyville. Everyone is really worried that they might lose their homes, if not more. If there’s any help you can send, it would be greatly appreciated.
Your faithful servant
Spike
He cracked open a window and ignited the scroll, letting it soar on magical currents to Canterlot. He didn’t have to wait long before a feeling of indigestion and a sudden belch signaled a reply. It was just a single sentence. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to deal with it.”
"Tia, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Princess Celestia sighed at her younger sister "Yes. It is not a kind thing to do, but it is the right thing."
"But we aren't busy, and they sound frightened." said Princess Luna
"Which is precisely why it must be done." counted Celestia
"...I'm not sure I follow."
Celestia guided Luna down the grand hallway, each stained glass window a monument to heroes past "You've been gone for so long, you haven't seen all the things I have. Every time a great danger has threatened Equestria, heroes have risen up to defend it. Unfortunately, the common person comes to rely on them to solve all their problems."
Celestia reflected on a window showing a great stallion in shining barding being laid in a casket "However... the problem with heroes is they are ultimately mortal. When they die, the people are left vulnerable. And so our land becomes threatened once again."
"And what does this have to do with Ponyville's storm?" asked Luna
"The storm is a natural problem. It is not something that demands a hero, it merely requires that they recognize that all the tools and expertise they need lie within the common pony. Once they remember that they can solve their problems, and need not be passive victims, they will remain strong. And Equestria will always be safe."
Spike was livid. He’d always known the princess to be kind and benevolent, always there to help her people. He wondered briefly what she could be doing that was so important. Maybe she didn’t think this was a serious problem? In a way, Celestia had to be right. They had to find a way to deal with this situation. After all, what other choice did they have?
"Think, Spike," he said to himself "You're the assistant to the princess' most prized student. Surely you must have picked up something in all those years of writing letters and fetching books."
He tapped a claw against a bookcase as he pondered his options, then took a look at the books themselves. He'd noticed before how oddly well stocked the Ponyville library was, there were books here on every topic under the sun. Under W he found books on weather patterns, which Cloud Kicker had already gone over. There was nothing under S for storm, but under D he found a couple books on disaster preparedness. He placed them in a waterproof bag, and tossed in a book on first aid for good measure, then set out through the wind and rain for the town hall. So much for his plan of doing nothing all day.
Things had settled down some by the time Spike returned, but there was little progress. The little dragon worked his way to the front of the crowd, where he found a disconsolate Mayor Mare.
“Tough crowd?” he asked
“Nopony seems to know what to do,” lamented the mayor. “We haven’t had to deal with a storm this bad since before I took office.”
“Well, good news!” said Spike as he pulled one of the books out “Finding stuff out is just what the library is for!"
Ignoring the crowd, the dragon and pony perused the books, copying down checklists of supplies needed, and preventative measures that had to be done. Everything seemed simple enough, it simply required enough help. Once they were satisfied, the mayor addressed those gathered once more.
“Attention everypony: I’ve decided on a course of action. We are going to turn the town hall’s basement into an emergency shelter. We are assuming the worst, and will prepare accordingly. We will need medicine, food, and water. We also need messengers to tell everyone to get to the town hall, and we need to take preventative measures to ensure this storm does not ruin our town.” As the mayor continued, she lifted her head and raised her voice, her words no longer a request but instead a bold declaration. “If we all work together, through the magic of teamwork we can weather any storm thrown at us! Ponyville has stood for this long, and we are not going to let a bit of unscheduled inclement weather dampen our spirits! Now, who’s ready to do their part?"
The room was silent for a bit, although whether it was due to indecision or awe was anyone's guess. Finally, Nurse Redheart stood up "I can see about getting some bandages and medicine from the hospital. Nothing serious, but it should be able to cover any scrapes, colds, or flus."
Mr. Cake was the next to volunteer "We can supply baked goods. It'll be just like catering a party, just downstairs."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves as ponies tried to decide what to help with. Spike pointed towards a large blue stallion near the front of the group "You look like you could bring in some fresh water from the wells."
The stallion looked confused "Who are you to order me around?"
"I think you should," said the mayor "and I'm the mayor."
The stallion sighed and trotted off, and the mayor flashed Spike a momentary grin that said "This job has a few perks."
The two worked together to sort everyone to a job, Spike taking care of organization to ensure every job had a decent amount of volunteers, and that every volunteer was accounted for, while the mayor handed out the orders, using her charm and position to get everyone through with a minimum of fuss.
When the last pony had been sorted, Spike and the mayor breathed a sigh of relief.
"Think we're going to do ok?" asked the mayor
"We'll do fine," said Spike. For the most part, that was true. If everyone did their part, the people would be safe. There wasn't much he could do for the town on such short notice however. He made a token effort, having groups trimming branches and salvaging what they could from the apple orchards before the wind blew all the fruit away, both which would help if this only stayed a severe storm. However, he got the impression from Cloud Kicker's tone that "worst case scenario" didn't mean a distant possibility.
As they day wore on, supplies came in from all over Ponyville. The prevention team was doing a good job at trimming tree limbs and harvesting any ripe fruit from the farms. The support from the community was overwhelming... even if they didn't know what to do with some of the volunteers.
“Come on, let me help. This might be how I finally get my cutie mark!”
Spike sighed at the orange pegasus “Scootaloo, I'm not sure we have something that you can do. Besides, all the children and elders are supposed to already be inside. Speaking of which, where’s Apple Bloom?”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were the only crusaders at the town hall. “She’s helping her brother at the farm,” said the latter “We tried to help there, but we’re not much good at apple harvesting.”
“Thank you for proving my point” thought Spike, though he refrained from saying it out loud. “We're planning on calling the volunteers in soon anyway, it's starting to get unsafe out there,” he said. As if to prove his point, something crashed off in the distance.
Mayor Mare hmmed " Actually, about that... Scootaloo, how fast can you go on that scooter of yours?"
Scootaloo had never felt more proud in her whole life as she zipped away from the town hall, her little wings beating as fast as they could. The mayor had given her a special task, to make sure all the volunteers got back to the shelter, safe and sound. Well, not ALL the volunteers, the ones fetching supplies would be heading to the town hall anyway, and could just be told not to go back out again. Scootaloo was in charge of bringing back the Prevention team, the ones working to keep damage to a minimum.
First on the list were the ones taking care of the trees around town. There were five spots around town being worked on, the closest one being just a little north of the town hall. She brought out her list of names, which was promptly soaked, and began to mark ponies off as she told them to get back to shelter, though the soggy paper meant she wound up making a tear through the name rather than drawing a line. She told herself so long as everypony was accounted for, she'd done her job. The other four spots were roughly in circle around town, with the last being near her final destination: The Apple family over at Sweet Apple Acres. She skidded to a stop just outside the farmhouse, where Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh had just finished taking a few baskets to the cellar. The heavy winds were already plucking apples off the trees and hurtling them through the air.
"Hey Scootaloo, what brings you out here?" asked Applebloom.
"Oh, official business for the mayor," said Scootaloo, trying to act cool about it but unable to avoid a hint of pride. "I'm here to tell everyone to get back to the town hall for shelter, the storm's getting worse and she doesn't want anypony getting hurt."
Apple Bloom frowned "But we still haven't gotten everything off the trees yet..."
"I think it may be a little late for that," said Scootaloo, as an unripened apple bounced off her helmet.
Apple Bloom sighed "Oh alright. If they're attacking poor fillies they must be bad apples anyway."
"Eeyup," agreed Big Macintosh
"Thanks. Stay safe, I'll see you back at the shelter."
Scootaloo raced on ahead as the Apple family started walking. She had plenty of time to get there before them, so she started taking a scenic route. She reasoned she could find anyone else who was still outside this way, but mostly she wanted to enjoy herself. It wasn't often she got a chance to zoom down an empty street with nopony to get in the way, the wind in her face and the rain playing a cadence on her helmet. All good things do come to an end however, and soon Scootaloo found herself tiring and needing a break. As she stopped for a breather, she was startled by a loud crack that rang through the air, and the groaning of bending wood. Her wings locked up in fright as a large tree near her starting to fall in her direction. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as she tried to jump out of the way. Her legs felt like rubber as she tried to will herself to move faster, confident that any second now she’d be flattened against the cobblestones, just an orange and purple smear for some unfortunate pony to stumble upon. Her rear leg caught on her scooter, dragging it with her as she hit the ground hard and slid across the slick stone. She didn't dare look up as the sound drew closer.
Back at the town hall, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were waiting in the lobby. Apple Bloom had told the others that Scootaloo had gone on ahead of her, and when she heard Scootaloo hadn't arrived yet, she began to worry.
"I hope she didn't run into any trouble..." sighed Apple Bloom.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine." said Sweetie Belle, always the optimist "Maybe she just decided to take her time?"
"I sure hope so..."
Spike paced around, feeling guilty. He felt he should have been honest when assigning the teams, saying that if the storm did turn into a tornado the prevention teams would be of little help. Instead, he assigned them anyway, and sent a little filly to see them back. And now she was out there as the storm was getting progressively worse.
A loud crash sounded as the tree smashed into the street. Scootaloo could barely believe she wasn't hurt, any closer and it would have crushed her legs. As the realization that she was still alive began to sink in, she noticed someone was screaming. There was someone else out here after all. Scootaloo followed the source of the scream to a nearby house. A pink and lavender filly sat just outside, and Scootaloo realized she recognized her. It was Diamond Tiara, a kid from her class who’d always treated her like trash. There were a million things she wanted to say to her. Mean things, spiteful things. And yet only one thing demanded to be said.
“What are you doing out here?”
Diamond Tiara glared up at Scootaloo “I’m waiting for my dad, why do you care?”
“It's dangerous out here, why not wait at the town hall with the other ponies?”
Diamond Tiara shook her head “We went there already, but he said he had to get something from home, something important. When he didn’t come back, I came here myself. I looked all over the house, but I couldn’t find him.”
“Maybe we should go look for him? I can cover a lot of ground on my scooter, maybe he got stuck somewhere?” offered Scootaloo
Diamond Tiara was not convinced “And why would you help me?”
“Just because I hate you doesn’t mean I’m going to just leave you here when you need help. If you want to find him, hop on."
Diamond Tiara looked doubtfully at Scootaloo, then sighed and approached. Scootaloo showed her how to stand up on the board and hang on to the handlebars then got on behind her. It occurred to Scootaloo that standing this close to Diamond Tiara, and almost embracing her in reaching for the handlebars, their position was almost intimate. She tried to get that thought out of her head as she started up her wings and took off along the streets.
“Dad! Dad!” called out Diamond Tiara as they weaved their way across town.
“Mr. Filthy!” called out Scootaloo
“Not funny,” remarked Diamond Tiara.
The streets were now cluttered with the detritus of shoddier housing: Roof tiles, siding, and on a few occasions bricks and planks of wood formed an obstacle course that Scootaloo weaved in and out of. On more than a few occasions Scootaloo made use of makeshift ramps to jump over trees and obstacles, much to her passenger’s distress; Diamond Tiara let out a frightened scream each time they were launched airborne.
“Diamond Tiara, is that you?”
After one such leap, they heard someone. Scootaloo slowed down, and turned down the side street the voice came from. There was Filthy Rich, pinned beneath the remains of what used to be a house, before a tree demolished it, catching the stallion in a landslide of debris. The two fillies hopped off the scooter and began digging through the pile to free him.
“Don’t worry, we’ll have you out of there soon,” said Scootaloo
“And who might you be?” asked Filthy Rich
“She’s Scootaloo, a classmate of mine,” responded Diamond Tiara “She saw me waiting at home and decided to help me look for you.”
“That’s a very kind thing of you to do, Scootaloo,” said Filthy Rich.
They soon got enough of the weight off him to pull him out. He'd been cut pretty badly along the flank when he was crushed, blood mingling down his legs with the rain. “Can you walk, Mr. Rich?” asked Scootaloo
“Yes, I'll be fine. It looks worse than it is, but,” he paused and looked back “I dropped my briefcase when the wall came down, there’s a lot of sensitive information and—“
“Leave it,” said Diamond Tiara. “Let’s get you to the nurse.” It was hard to tell if it was just the rain, but she looked like she was crying.
Filthy Rich hesitated for a bit before finally giving in “Ok. I suppose I’ll just have to find it when the storm passes.”
The three of them walked back to town hall. Mr Rich's injury made him wince in pain with each step, but he didn't want to frighten his daughter further. The two fillies were silent the whole way as well. What was there to say? Diamond Tiara knew she was in the pegasus' debt, but she couldn't bring herself to admit as much. After the way she'd treated her, they couldn't just go to being friends. Not without doing something to make it up to her first. As for Scootaloo, the slow pace made her finally realize how exhausted she was. She'd been racing around for hours now, and ever since the tree fell she'd been running on adrenaline. Now that she had time to rest, the town hall never looked further away. She just focused on putting one hoof in front of the other: She could rest once she got inside.
When Scootaloo, Filthy Rich, and Diamond Tiara stumbled into the town hall, they found a group of ponies waiting for them.
"Can we get a nurse over here?" pleaded Diamond Tiara
"We're safe and sound, I'll be fine." said Filthy Rich "You just relax."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rushed over to Scootaloo, who was lying on the ground exhausted.
"I'm so glad to see you made it back," said Apple Bloom "But couldn't you have just left Diamond Tiara out there?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time." panted Scootaloo
Sweetie Belle was speechless, simply staring at Scootaloo with wide open eyes and a grin plastered to her face
“What? What is it?” asked Scootaloo.
“Your flank! You got your cutie mark!” cried out Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo stretched and got a good look at her flank. Sure enough, there was a mark of a silver scooter sitting there for all to see. “Hah... I told Spike I'd earn it out there didn't I?” she panted weakly. At the other two crusaders' insistence, she followed them downstairs to the shelter, where the Cakes had cookies and punch by the door, and Spike was handing out blankets.
The storm grew ever more furious as the night wore on. Friends and family huddled close together, hoping they’d have a place to go back to. Every so often, the crunching of wood and stone meant another homeless pony, and the shuddering of the town hall around them was worrying. Everypony was tense, and silent, until a song pierced through the room. Sweetie Belle was singing a Hearth’s Warming Eve carol to herself to calm down and Scootaloo soon joined in, charmingly off-key. Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich began as well, then Spike and the Mayor, and soon the whole room was singing. When they finished one song, some pony would start up another. As the wind and rain raged above, down below the ponies of Ponyville were enjoying the company of neighbors and friends, and discovering new acquaintances they never would have met before, turning a time of fear into a time of laughter.
The train pulled into Ponyville’s battered station, and let six colorful ponies off.
“I still can’t believe you tried to get me on a date with Spitfire,” grumbled Rainbow Dash. “Do I have some kind of sign on me that says ‘Please interfere with my love life’?”
“It was an easy mistake to make! I mean, with how much you were talking about how nervous you were to meet her, it seemed obvious you were trying to get up the nerve to ask her out!” explained Pinkie Pie “Besides, I mean I always assumed you were…”
“Assumed I was what?” asked Rainbow Dash with a glare of death.
“…nothing!” squeaked Pinkie Pie
Fluttershy looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and kept muttering “Those poor dolphins…”, Rarity had some bruise on her face she said came from “saying the wrong thing to the wrong pony”, and Twilight and Applejack were currently somewhere between hungover and drunk.
“Never vacationing again…” muttered Twilight
“That was not nearly as fun as I thought it’d be. More sad than anything,” agreed Applejack
The six friends looked out over the town, and noticed something was wrong.
“Twi, I’m not sure I can trust my eyes: Does it look like someone kicked over half the town to you?”
Everywhere Twilight and her friends looked, the residents of Ponyville were fixing up what they could, and rebuilding what they couldn't. The worst case scenario of a tornado did come to pass: many houses along the north end of town were completely demolished, their debris having been flung into (and in a few rare cases, through) other structures in town. Twilight was elated to find the library was at least alright, having only suffered another tree through the bedroom window.
"Did they evenly listen to my advice? More importantly, where's my house?" asked Rainbow Dash. Sure enough, the massive cloud structure was gone from the sky. "Twilight, I'll be right back. I need to teach someone the importance of reading. With my hoof." Before Twilight could puzzle out what hooves had to do with reading, Rainbow was off in a blaze of color."
Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack all left to check on their homes, while Twilight went back to her library, where her assistant was happily re-shelving a few books "Oh! Twilight, am I ever glad to see you!"
"Not so loud..." winced Twilight
Spike continued, in a lowered voice, to tell her all about what had happened during the week. From the mayor's meeting, to the emergency preparations, to the two days waiting out the storm in the bunker, and finally their emergence to see the wreckage the storm had caused.
Twilight nodded softly at the end of the tale “Spike… take a letter.”
Her assistant eagerly grabbed a quill and a pot of ink, glad to see things becoming somewhat normal.
Dear Princess Celestia
I learned some things this past week. I’ve learned that messing in somepony’s love life only leads to tears and shouting, and is awkward for everyone involved. I learned that orcas occasionally eat dolphins, and that this can be traumatizing. I learned that sometimes famous people are a lot meaner in person. I learned the joys of turning to alcohol when a trip is going horribly, and that it doesn’t help seasickness. At all. However, I also learned that the same courage and strength of spirit that drew me to my friends is present in all the people of Ponyville. The magic of friendship means more than just developing a deep bond with those you know, it also means trusting the people in your community, and knowing that they are all there to help when times are tough. I shall be expanded my research on the magic of friendship to include this fact... starting tomorrow. I have a hangover to sleep off.
Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle