Friendship is Magic: The Rain of Fury

by MisterMuntjac

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dark, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 5273

Twilight Sparkle and her friends have de-throned Discord and returned peace and harmony to all of the land. Now, they must save Ponyville from a force that may very well devour all of Equestria if left unchecked.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends have locked horns,(So to speak!)with Dragons, Hydra, Manticores, and even the mischievous Spirit of Chaos. With indomitable will, and the power of their loving bonds, it seems that no challenge is too great for these six ponies, plus one dragon.
But when the sky fills up with a single cloud that blots out the light of the sun, the residents of Ponyville become more than just a little bit concerned, especially when bizarre disasters begin to occur, and ponies start going missing! Can Twilight and her friends save Ponyville from something even worse than pure chaos?

Published 2013-11-25 23:20:06 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-30 23:10:59 UTC

The Coming Storm

One pastoral morning in Ponyville, Rarity the unicorn was hard at work, sewing and stitching together colorful fabrics in her inspiration room. Her clothing store, the Carousel Boutique would be open in a few hours, and she wanted her newest designs ready for all of Equestria to see. If asked about the success of her clothing lines, Rarity would be modest, and talk only of how much higher she needed to climb in society's ranks. But in truth, the young mare had amassed a great deal of fame as of late. Indeed, ever since she began designing for the royals living in the capital city of Canterlot, her business had soared, and her clients began to flock in from every corner of Equestria. So anxious was fair Rarity for the start of the day, that she failed to notice her sewing machine had shut off.

“Just a few more stitches here and then, wait what?” Rarity lifted up her dress to examine it, only to find a long, un-stitched seam running down the side. She tried to turn on the machine again, rapidly flicking the on switch to no avail. Finally, she gave up, shamefaced.

“Good heavens, what am I supposed to do about this?” she wailed, waving a gleaming white hoof melodramatically over her head. “I have to open up shop soon, but I simply don't have the time to stitch all of these dresses by hoof! Celestia above, what am I going to do?” she moaned.

“I dunno, but you don't have to do it alone, my lady.” an eager voice intoned.
Rarity turned about, quickly rising from her work desk, and was only mildly surprised to find a small bipedal reptile with purple scales and green spines gazing up at her amorously. The creature was no simple lizard however, but a young dragon who could normally be found in Ponyville's library, tending to the needs of one of Rarity's best friends, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh Spike, I wasn't expecting you! When did you get here, and why are you up so early?” She was glad to see the little dragon, but it was highly unusual for Spike to venture anywhere without Twilight. In fact, more often than not, he usually ended up following the purple pony everywhere.

“Eh, I couldn't sleep,” the dragon shrugged sheepishly. “Besides, Twilight's been up all night busy with some major studying cram-session, so she kinda gave me the day off.” he beamed. When he noticed that the object of his affection was still glaring uneasily at him, he lowered his head, shamefaced, and elaborated further.

“Some nights, there are times when I really just can't get to sleep. When it happens, I usually go outside and take a walk around Ponyville until I start to feel tired. Tonight, I passed by the Boutique on the way home, and noticed all of the lights were on. Guess I figured I'd say hello if you were still up.” Rarity's gaze had finally softened, but somehow that only made the little dragon feel worse.

“I'm sorry. I did knock, but no one answered. And when the door just swung open, I thought I'd see if you were alright, y'know? And, I, Well-”

“Spike, I've very glad that you came into check up on me, and I'm sorry that I wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep tonight.” she said sweetly, nuzzling the little dragon's cheek.

Spike gazed up expectantly at Rarity, and the slightly flustered pony instantly got the gist of what he was getting at. She knew that Spike didn't get very much time to himself, and now that he had come see her, she was going to have to disappoint him. Rarity knew all too well what the little dragon thought about her, he liked her a lot, maybe even loved her. She was touched to know that he felt this way, even if she wasn't quite certain how she felt about him. Nevertheless, she cared for Spike dearly, and could not bear the thought of hurting him, even if she really was very busy today.

“Alright Spike, you should really use that time to get some more rest.” she chided gently. “A growing dragon ought to be asleep at four in the morning.”

“Maybe, but what about you? Why are you up so early?” said Spike. Rarity quickly gazed downward, scuffing her hoof in the ground.

“Well, you see, I'm just a little bit behind on one of my newest commissions, and my sewing machine quit on me just now, so- ” Rarity stopped when she was the look on Spike's face. Before he managed to recover a strained smile, he looked absolutely crestfallen.

“Hey it's fine. I get it, you're busy and I'll be keeping you from work. It's cool, I'll see you another time, Rarity.” he was just about to turn and leave, when a shiny hoof planted itself on his shoulder.

“Spike, wait! Please, I need your help with something.”

“Really?! What is it? I'm at your service, m'lady!”

“Can you go into town later and get me some supplies I need if I make you a list?”

“Sure, no problem! In fact, I'll also head on over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if Applejack'll lend you her sewing machine.” the little dragon was positively beaming now. Lady Rarity needed his help, and he would not disappoint.

“Goodness, Spike! You don't need to go and do that.”

“I know. But I want to. Uh, Rarity?” The marshmallow colored mare cradled him in a warm hug and nuzzled his cheeks again. Spike was in heaven, he was so close to her, he could catch the scent of her royal purple mane, an aroma of wild-berries and grapes.

“Oh, My little Spikey-Wikey! When did you become such a gentlemen?” she set him back down before turning back to her desk. Lighting the tip of her horn with magic, she telekinetically tore off a small piece of parchment from a roll overhead, before summoning an inkwell and quill to her side. At the insistence of her will, the quill rose up, dipped itself in the ink, and began to write an organized list of everything Rarity believed she needed. She'd finished in less than a minute.

“Alright, I think I've got everything here. Thank you so much again, Spike!” leaving Spike with a final peck on the cheek, Rarity returned to her desk, already sketching the outline of an new design.
The dragon floated out of the boutique, still rubbing the cheek she kissed when he noticed something distinctly odd.

“What in the world? Why is everything so dark?”
Spike looked up into the sky, and could only see clouds as black as the night sky, he shuddered as a could breeze went right through his scales, he knew he had to make haste, or risk being caught in the storm that was clearly on it's way. Spike didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but he also could not help feeling that there was something not quite right with those clouds. He furrowed his brow, grimacing. No use worrying himself over nothing, after all. Since when did a little rain hurt anyone, right?

“Hey! What are ya doing out here, little Spike?”
Spike looked up, and noticed a rainbow-colored contrail in the sky that hadn't been there before. It was slowly fading, but it grew brighter as he followed it down, until the colorful trail led him directly to a light-blue pegasus with a rainbow mane gazing contentedly down from above on a small white cloud.

“Hi, Rainbow Dash! Say, do you know what's up with the sky today?”
Rainbow Dash looked up into the sky, slightly perplexed, as if she had just noticed how dark and foreboding it looked up there, then she simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Beats me, dude. I'm off-duty today, so I can only guess that one of the higher-ups in weather patrol decided we were overdue for a downpour.” she stated simply. Spike looked up at the clouds again, genuine worry etched in his face.

“I dunno, Rainbow. We've had heavy rain before in Ponyville, but I don't think I like the look of those clouds.”

Rainbow Dash's cloud descended until it was just hovering over the ground, and she leaned closer to Spike, looking concerned.

“What are you saying, Spike? I mean, they're just clouds.”

“I don't know, Dash. It's just, whenever we notice something out of the ordinary, bad stuff usually happens not long after.”

“Very true, but we've never met anything we couldn't handle!” the cocky pegasus jeered, flaring her wings proudly. “Just bring it on! I bet if we're lucky we'll get a hailstorm of Windigoes, or Dragons, or-”

“Z-zombies?!” Spike questioned. Rainbow Dash, fell back on to her cloud, laughing.

“Yeah, zombie ponies, that's a good one, Spike! Man, where did a little dragon like you get such a huge imagination?” At this remark, Spike crossed his arms and turned away from Rainbow Dash.

“Don't call me little.” he pouted.

“Aw, c'mon, I didn't mean anything by it! What were you doing here at the Carousel Boutique anyway? Visiting Rarity?”

“Huh?! No way! Well, I mean yes, but, ugh! How did you know?”

“Why else would you be here?”

“Well, she looked pretty busy, so I offered to help her. Now, I've got a list of things that I need to-”

“Oh, I can give you a hoof with that!” Rainbow chirruped, hopping down from the cloud, and leaning down on her haunches.

“Here, get on. I'll give you a lift to the market.”

“Really? Thanks Rainbow, I owe ya one!”

“Hey, I don't have anything better to do today. Besides, I can't let my buddy get caught in the rain. Let's fly!”

The Rainbow colored pegasus tore threw the air at mach speed, making her way to Sweet Apple Acres with Spike in tow as the clouds swirled, slowing expanding and steadily swallowing the light in the sky.

******

Fluttershy was busy leading her chickens into her cottage, and out of the storm. The daisy colored pegasus didn't fear for the squirrels, bunnies, and birds who knew well enough to take shelter, but the chickens needed to be moved in the event that the coop was flooded. Fluttershy didn't really think the rain would get that bad, but when it came to her little animals, she didn't like to take any chances. The winds had begun to pick up as well, fiercely blowing about loose debris. She didn't like the way her chicken coup creaked precariously, and the cold gales were now chilling her to the bone. Gently nudging the last few of them along with her muzzle, she spoke to them her most soothing, motherly voice.

“It's okay, little hens. I know you were having a good nights sleep, but you'll be safe from the storm in here with me. We don't want any big nasty surprises, after all. I mean, some surprises can be nice, but any surprise this storm has in store for us will probably be v-v-very,” Fluttershy stopped, and looked furtively around her cottage for a few seconds, “V-very startling.”

“SURPRISE!!!” a jovial voice erupted from behind the poor mare like a thunderclap.

“Oh my, Pinkie Pie! You startled me.” Fluttershy whispered meekly. Her unexpected guest, a pastel-pink earth pony with an unbelievably fluffy cotton candy-like mane, entered her little cottage with a jubilant bounce, and helped her back up. Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's resident party-planning pony, was ever excitable and friendly, and well known throughout the land for her incredible zeal, near limitless energy, and uncanny kindness. All of these qualities made her quite a handful for a shy pegasus like Fluttershy, yet in spite of this odd dynamic, the two were undeniably the best of friends.

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, Fluttershy. I just saw this HUGE storm cloud over well, everywhere, while I was checking on the twins, and I came over to make sure you were alright! Well, I didn't leave right away 'cause I needed to give Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake their bottles after they woke up. Also, they were pretty cranky when they woke up, so I made funny faces at them for a while and sang them a lullaby before I put them back to bed. But anyway, when you didn't see me coming, I couldn't help but surprise you!” said Pinkie, literally bouncing on the balls of her hooves.

“Oh, I'm okay, really! I'm just relieved that I managed to get all of the animals to safety in time. Would you like to stay for tea? I was about to make some, it's no trouble.” she smiled warmly.

“Sure, sounds great! Specially since I'm still not even completely awake, y'know? Oh Fluttershy, I almost forgot. Did you notice anything odd about that thundercloud?”

“Odd? How do you mean, Pinkie?”

Well, it's just, for example; it's a really, really, REALLY big cloud. I mean, that thing is almost all one cloud! Blotting out the entire sky! Not to mention that terrible wind, I could hardly stand, let alone walk here! It's as if something were about to bring down a twister or a hurricane on poor little us!” Pinkie trilled dramatically.

“Goodness!” Fluttershy gasped.

“I know, right?! But that's just the thing, this cloud's been hanging over the entire town for over an hour, and I haven't seen even a single drop of rain. Not a drop, I tells ya!” Pinkie declared,

“That does sound a little strange,” Fluttershy agreed “Oh, dear! Maybe there's a really huge downpour building up! What should we do?”

“We gotta go warn the others, find a place to hole up before things really get hairy.”

“Find a place? D'you, do you think my cottage isn't safe?”

“I'm sure your animals are going to be fine, but I'm worried about everypony else! With all of our friends spread out over town, and my pinkie sense going absolutely coco-nutty, I can't help but be concerned! I mean, Rainbow Dash could flying around up there right now for all we know.”

“Your right! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, what about Twilight and Rarity? What if they're all on their own? We need to go find them, too!” Fluttershy declared with unusual firmness.

“Absolutly-tutly!” trilled Pinkie Pie, giggling and snorting, “Let's head on over to Twilight's place first, okay?”

“So we can pass by Sweet Apple Acres and get Applejack?” Fluttershy queried.

“I actually didn't think of that, but now that you mention it, that sounds like a great idea. Let's go!”

The two ponies galloped down the well trodden path at full speed, making haste to find their friends as the blackening sky swirled above them balefully.

Author's Note

Critiques and comments would be very much appreciated. This is my first submission here, so be sure to let me know how I can improve with punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, ext. Thank You.

Light Showers

Applejack surveyed the great open expanse of the Apple Family Fields with a good measure of sound confusion. The roosters had crowed not ten minutes ago, to signal the dawn of a new day, just as they always had. In spite of their wake up call, the sky was nearly pitch black, tinged with the slightest hint of a deep purple, the missing horizon making it nearly impossible to make out the Crystal Mountain Range in the distance. She cantered down the first few rows of cornstalks, making her way to the south fields as she mulled over the probable causes of this strange sight. It was possible, though not likely, that Celestia was simply late with raising the sun. Then again, if that were the case, the roosters would most likely be late, too. Applejack eventually decided that this explanation would not satisfy, because it didn't account for the cloud that obscured the sky.

If you could even call it a cloud. She thought with some veneration. It looks more like some kinda huge blanket, big enough to cover Equestria. Big enough to smother everything in its folds. There would be nothing left if it fell down to the ground. It would swallow everything up, and that would be the end of that.

She shuddered at these thoughts, trying physically to shake them away, then realized that the wind had picked up, blistering cold gales assaulted her face and mane, buffeting through the fields, rippling waves though the cornstalks. Applejack sighed and trudged back up to the house, the wind now pushing at her back, her breath visible as wisps of vapor.

“I don't know why, but I got a real bad feelin' about this odd weather.” she muttered quietly, “I need to wake the others, maybe get down to the cellar, where we can be safe.”

Safe? Safe from what? A little wind and some clouds? Yer talkin' crazy, gettin' all worked up over a bad feeling.

A bad feeling sounded like a poor reason to stir herself up, but Applejack knew well enough to pay attention to her instincts. Right now, her instincts were telling her that temperatures just didn't drop below freezing near the beginning of Autumn. More importantly, the last time the weather acted up, an ancient spirit of chaos named Discord nearly succeeded in taking over Equestria. As of now, her feelings were justified. First, she would make sure that her family was safe, then, she'd do the same for her friends.

“Big Mac an' the others'll be up any minute now. I'll tell 'em to go into the cellar, where they'll be all right if'n they stay inside the house, and I'll be right back when I find my-”

“Applejack! Hey, Applejack, up here!” a voice called out from the blackened skies. Applejack looked up in time to see Rainbow Dash dive, making a beeline for her with a rather nauseous Spike in tow. The moment they landed, the little dragon toppled off the pegasus’s backside in an undignified heap. Picking himself up, Spike stumbled over to Applejack in a daze, finding it necessary to lean against her for support.

“Ugh, sweet horse apples, I think I'm gonna be sick!” he groaned, clutching his stomach. Applejack carefully eased herself out of firing range before placing a comforting hoof on his shoulder.

“Not on me, yer not.” she said firmly, but kindly. She then turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who wilted under the accusatory stare of her best friend.

“Rainbow, were you showin' off more of yer fancy moves while you had Spike up there?” Applejack asked sternly.

“Well, just some of my basic flying techniques, that's all.” Rainbow Dash shrugged sheepishly.

Spike chose that particular moment to let out monstrous belch, mixed with another groan. The dragon muttered something about needing to go to the bathroom while quickly storming into Applejack's house before the girls could ask if he was alright. Applejack turned back to Rainbow Dash, her gaze hardening considerably. This time, the chromatic colored pegusus responded in kind.

“What?!” she huffed, “I didn't do anything extreme. Heck, I didn't even fly in any loops this time! Spike's just got a weak stomach, that's all. Anyway, that's not important. We came here to borrow-”

A piercing shriek cut through the air before Rainbow could finish, followed by another longer, more pronounced scream. The two ponies regarded the dirt road uneasily as they heard two simultaneous cries for help getting louder and louder.

“AJ, that sounds like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie! We gotta hurry!” Rainbow shouted, taking off once more.

“What in tarnation?” asked the beleaguered farmer. Without waiting for an answer, Applejack charged after her tow-headed friend, only to behold Pinkie and Fluttershy closing in on them. They were covered from head to toe in small cuts and bruises, and their coats were absolutely caked with mud and leaves. Their faces glistened with sweat and their breaths labored as they showed no signs of slowing their breakneck pace. However, none of these distressing details disturbed Applejack and Rainbow Dash more than the looks of sheer terror burned into the two ponies' faces. They had never seen their friends look so frightened of anything. Rainbow Dash could feel her blood boiling, the familiar sensation of adrenaline coursing through her, she didn't know what was coming, but she new that when the time came, she would be ready to bust some flanks, or cut and run.

“You guys, slow down! What's wrong?” she implored. Directly below her, Applejack planted her hooves in the ground, ready to intercept the two panicked mares.

“Pinkie, Fluttershy, what's goin' on?” Applejack called out over the roaring wind. “Why are y'all so worked up?” she asked, hoping to quell the girls' fear. Her words had no effect; if anything, Pinkie and Fluttershy sped up, their gait infused with even more urgency.

“Applejack, we need to get into your house, right now!” Fluttershy nearly screamed, her voice unusually distinct.

“We gotta duck for cover! Hurry, before the sky starts falling again!” Pinkie Pie cried. Just then, Pinkie's fluffy, pink, cotton-candy like tail began to twitch and spasm erratically. She twisted her head around to look behind herself, then just as sharply corkscrewed it back to look ahead, her eyes wide with apprehension.

“Never mind! WE'RE TOO LATE!”

“Too late for what?” Rainbow Dash fumed.
*KA-BOOOM!*

A peal of thunder ripped through the air, and lightning forked across the sky in the distance. All of the ponies froze. Rainbow Dash and Applejack could finally get a look at what Pinkie and Fluttershy had been running from.

“I...I see it-” said Rainbow Dash uncertainly,

“But I don't believe it!” Applejack finished for her.

A great curtain of rainfall swept over Sweet Apple Acres, slowly and deliberately closing in on them. The shower drenched everything in its path, and within seconds, its immediate effect on the environment became horrifyingly apparent. The plants that had been coated were withering up and crumbling to dust in a matter of seconds, and the apple trees did not fare any better. All of the leaves and fruit fell, curling up on the way down, the trees themselves appeared to be rotting away right before their eyes. Strangely, instead of being absorbed into the ground or forming puddles of water, the rain was coalescing into little globs of some kind of jelly, and this gunk was piling up all around them. One of these piles of muck moved, rather suddenly, and appeared to crawl toward the closest living thing to it; a small brown rabbit grazing on the side of the road.

“No, no, no, no, NO!” Fluttershy suddenly freaked out, “No, little bunny, run! It's not safe, you need to get out of here, go!” She tried to gallop to the little animal's side, but a well-timed tail yank from Pinkie Pie held her in place. Pinkie stood on Fluttershy's tail for good measure, then tried to reason with her frantic friend.

“Fluttershy, you can't! It'll get you, too!”

“Um, P-P-Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash sputtered. “What do you mean by, it'll get you?!”

“Don't look!” Pinkie wailed.

But they stared, transfixed, as the rain washed over the little rabbit. Like a horrifying train wreck, they simply couldn't look away from the horror. The tiny mammal fell over, writhing and squeaking as the strange purple muck coated it's entire body. It continued to twitch periodically, even as the muck completely enveloped it. Applejack gritted her teeth, this was all happening too fast, but she was through sitting around and doing nothing.

“What're we waitin' for?!” she yelled furiously, “We gotta help that little varmint!”

“No, Applejack.” Pinkie stated solemnly, “I'm sorry to say it, but there isn't a thing we can do for that poor bunny. The rain is closing in, and we need to go inside before it reaches us.” Pinkie hung her head sadly. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were stunned. They had never seen Pinkie act so seriously in her life. Having finally calmed down, Fluttershy turned to her friends, and again spoke with uncanny clarity.

“Once we get inside, we'll tell you everything that happened. But we can't take our time, especially since that bunny could get back up at any moment.”

“What are you-, SWEET CELESTIA, WHAT IN THE NAME OF PONY IS THAT?!” Rainbow Dash nearly rasped.

Occupying the same spot that the rabbit had been in moments before, was a creature that looked only vaguely mammalian. It had a rabbit's long hind legs, floppy ears, and huge teeth, but the similarities ended there. The beast stood almost twice as tall as any of them, it's massive form matted with what something that looked like congealed jelly. The creature's beady red eyes locked onto them; it emitted a low growl, revealing incisors the looked more suitable for dining on ponies than carrots. The rabbit monster leaned back on its haunches, ready to leap at them and slice with claws that looked very much like steak knives.

“Every pony run!” Pinkie trilled. The rabbit lunged, missing them by inches. They bolted for the house, the door still hanging ajar.

“Is everypony all right?” Applejack turned to find only Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie behind her. A furious roar erupted behind all of them, followed by an almost inaudible squeak.

“FLUTTERSHY!” they cried.
The beast was bearing down on the little pegusus, jaws inches from her throat, when suddenly, the monster was thrown back by a miniature controlled explosion. The smoke cleared, and the rabbit-thing howled in pain; half of the fur on its right arm had been singed away, leaving an ugly weal. Before it could attack again, it received another blast to the face. This time, however, the ponies easily found out who had saved them. Spike emerged from behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash, knocking over the creature with another well-aimed fireball to the chest.

“Whoa, Spike! When did you learn to make fireballs?” Rainbow asked, clearly impressed.

“Nice shootin' there, partner!” Applejack cheered, “But be careful, Spike. This critter is even more dangerous than it looks. Keep yer distance, and whatever you do, don't touch it's skin!”

“Thanks Applejack, I'll be careful.” said Spike, clenching his clawed fists, carefully closing the distance between him and the monster. Before it could fully recover, Spike inhaled deeply, then exhaled a great plume of green fire in a constant stream. The rabbit beast screeched again, slowly backing off from the little dragon. When the flames finally make contact, it let out a final yelp of pain before turning tail to flee. Spike let out a prolonged sigh of relief. He had never exerted so much energy at once, and felt that he might even be able to fall asleep right here in the dirt. Before he could do so, somepony seized him by the scruff of his neck, and tossed him headlong into Applejack's house. The door slammed shut, and no sooner than it did, the steady cascading pin-drops of rain against the roof could be heard. In the distance, he could also detect the sound of a dog barking and whimpering, and Applejack trying to calm it down.

That must be Winona. Spike thought, fondly remembering the friendly border collie I guess we got her all worked up with our fight. Spike got up slowly, groaning and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ow, take it easy you guys!” he whined, “These scales might be thick, but I'm not indestructible, y'know?”

Suddenly, Spiked found himself locked in a warm, fuzzy, yellow embrace.

“Spike, that was incredible.” Fluttershy nearly whispered, tears streaming down her face, “I'd have been a goner if it wasn't for you. You saved my life, Spike. Thank you!” She squeaked graciously, holding him even tighter.

“She's right, Spike!” Pinkie chimed in, joining in on the hug. “You really saved our bacon today, buddy!”

“The way you handled that monster! Hooboy, that was pretty amazing, sugarcube.” Applejack added affectionately.

“Amazing?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “Try super-fantastically-awesomemazing! Especially when you brained that rabbit thing right in the face!” Rainbow cheered, completing the group hug. Spike began to blush from all the praise he had received, not to mention the joy of being embraced by four of his best friends at once. If Rarity were here, he could probably die perfectly happy. “No need to thank me, girls! You're my friends, of course I'd do anything to protect you.” he gushed, trying to be modest.

Just then, something occurred to Fluttershy made their current situation seem dire.

“Oh, Applejack! We just saw what that goop does to living things and plants. Do we know if we'll really be safe here for long? What if it eats through the wood of the house, just like it did to the trees!” she squealed.

“Hang on Fluttershy, if you're right, then we're in a whole heap of trouble!” Applejack grimaced, running to the front door. She peered out the window, looking carefully for something. After a minute had passed, the farmer pony breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think we're goin' to be fine everypony.” she breathed, “If the rain was gonna rot away the wood of the house, we woulda noticed by now. The fence surroundin' the house outside would be destroyed, or at least rotting like everythin' else, but it ain't. Whatever this stuff is, that came out of the sky, It only attacks living things.”

“Okay, so what else do we know about this freaky rain?” queried Rainbow Dash.

“Not much, except for the fact that it kills plants, but for some reason turns living animals into, well, things.” Fluttershy whispered, gesturing vaguely to the outside.

“We should plan out our next course of action while we have the time, ” said Applejack. “Our biggest priorities right now are to keep our families safe, to group up with Twilight and Rarity, and to get a letter to the Princess. After that, we might be able to find a way to save Ponyville from this Rain Monster.”

“Sounds like a plan AJ! I'll take care of that letter.” Rainbow affirmed.

“Applejack, is it okay if I make tea for everypony?” Fluttershy asked, “I was was actually going to earlier today, but it just sort of got away from me.”

“Oh, yeah!” chirruped Pinkie Pie, “You were about to make tea, but then, I dragged you out of the cottage, and then it started to drizzle, and after that there was some lighting, and before you know it, the sky is falling and all of the little woodland animals are turning into monsters!” she uttered in one breath.

“Boy, what a doozy that was! I can't believe I nearly forgot about it.” Pinkie beamed.

“Well, I don't have any tea girls, but as soon as I come back downstairs, I'll open up a barrel of cider for us. How's that sound?” Applejack asked.

“Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but my nerves are shot. I think a nice big glass of cider would definitely hit the spot!” Rainbow proclaimed. The others nodded in agreement.

Applejack cantered upstairs, pondering all the while everything that had happened so far. Try as she might, she could not stop herself from worrying about her two friends who weren't safe under her roof at the moment.

Jus' hang in there, Rarity, Twilight, she urged silently. We're comin' to get you, and together we're gonna find out who's behind this mess. Somehow, we'll make things right again.