Chapters I hum to myself as I trot over to the Ponyville hospital. This is going to be so fun! I volunteered to read to all the sick foals and I know just the book to read to them. Well, its a collection of lots of short pony tales, but it will still be fun. This way, the foals can pick the one they want me to read to them. I push open the front doors and walk in. The mare at the desk looks up and smiles at me.
"Oh, twilight!" She looks at the clock on the wall. "You're early." I smile at her and use walk up to the desk.
"I like to be early where ever I have to be. That way I can never be late." I stand and put my hooves on the desk. "I hope its fine.. If not I can come back in five minutes." The mare looks up at the clock and frowns.
"You would still be ten minutes early." She mumbles. "Let me see if the foals are ready for you." The mare turns away from me to the phone and dials a number. I smile at her a wait. She glances at me and frowns again. "Um, Nurse Redheart, Twilight Sparkle is here for the foals. Um, yes I know. Yes I can. I will send her right up." She hangs up the phone and turns back to me. "Take the elevator to the second floor and the room will be on the left. Number 273." I turn and walk over to the elevator.
"Thank you!" I say before jumping in and use my magic to push the floor 2 button. The doors close and before I know it I was on the second floor. I step out onto the carpet and trot down the hall. 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273! I stop and open the door. There are ten sick beds, five on each side of the room. The foals were sitting on there bed talking. All but one foal, that is. On the bed closest to me was a little white filly with a purple and black mane and tale. She was snuggled up under her blanket. Her eyes where closed and she appeared asleep. I walked up and took a closer look at her. She had black curly lines on her cheek coming from her eyes like tears.
"Twilight! Welcome!" I jump when Nurse Redheart spoke. I turned away from the filly and walked up to her. She gave me a hug and turned to the new quiet kids. "This is Twilight. She has volunteered to read some stories to you all. But you have to stay quiet and not interrupt her while she is reading. Do you all agree?" The foals all shook there head yes and a few muttered out an ok. "They are all yours!" Redheart said before leaving the room. I glance over at the filly who was still laying in the bed. I grab out my book from my saddle bag and sat down in the middle of the beds.
"Ok so the book I brought is a collection of pony tales." I open the book to the table of contents. "I'm going to let one of you foals pick the story I read. Then tomorrow I will let a different one of you pick, and so on. Please raise your hand." I smile as four of them stick there arm up.
"Oh, you wont be coming back here tomorrow." I hear a soft voice whisper behind me. I turn and see the little white filly siting up on her bed. Her eyes are full of sorrow. It it quiet unnerving.
"Oh stop that, Fortune. You don't need to freak every pony out." A small orange-red filly said. She looks at me. "That there is Fortune. She is always saying things like that." She smiles. "There is nothing to worry about though." I give her a smirk.
"Do you want to pick the story?" I ask her. She jumps up and shake her head yes. I notice that the little orange-red filly has a short wing. That must be why she was here. I call her up and she walks over.
"Um." She looks down at the book. "How do you say that?" I look down at the name she was pointing at. It was the story of the Elemental ponies. I smile.
"That is the story of the Elemental Ponies. You chose good! Whats you name?" I say and lower myself to her height. She stands up straight.
"The names Fox. Fox Fire." She trots back to her bed and jump on it.
"That's a pretty name, Fox. A pretty name for a pretty pony!" I smile as Fox blushes. I open my book to the page indicated.
"The story of the Elemental Ponies. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, before the Elements Of Harmony where discovered, the land was ruled by four alicorn ponies. They represented the four main elements, fire, water, wind, and earth. These four ponies where called The Elementals." I glance up at the foals, and seeing that I still have their attention, I continued. "The Elementals ruled fairly, and the ponies of Equestria where happy. But then, one of the oldest elements appeared. The element of darkness. It came up in the Elementals hearts and minds, corrupting them. They changed, each one making there own elements wreck havoc on the ponies. There was death left and right, and no one to stop them. Fires, storms, earthquakes, and floods, all over Equestria.
Some ponies tried to stop them, but all failed. All but one. It was a small filly. She was lead to fight. Lead by the spirit in her. The spirit of Harmony. She went after the Elementals, and defeated them. But no one saw the little filly after that. She was gone, just like the Elementals she defeated. Not a trace left of the little pony. But the Elementals where gone and peace was oncce again restored to Equestria. It is said that one day, the Elementals will return to take back there rightful place as ruler of Equestria and bring havoc back." I close the book and look up. "That's all for today. I cant take anymore of your time." The little filly Fox Fire looked at me with her red eyes and raised her hand.
"How can you be sure that story is just a pony tale?" She said before I could call on her. I smiled and used my magic to put the book in my saddle bag.
"Well, Fox, its just a made up story. If it was real, then there would be signs of it." Fox put her hoof down and crawled under her blanket. I put my saddle bag on and turn to head to the door.
"That's what the said about the mare in the moon, but you saw threw that one." I feel my skin crawl. I turn and see the little white and purple filly standing right behind me. I turn to face her and slowly back out the door. That filly creeps me out.
"Well, Fortune, I saw the signs that the mare in the moon was real, and there are no signs for this story." The filly slowly blinks at me and then sighs. She turns and jumps back on her bed.
"Goodbye Twilight Sparkle." She said before curling up under her blankets and closing her eyes. I turn and walk out of the room.
Everything is a blur as I wiz by. Destination, Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack asked me to help her with a roping exercise. She want to try and rope me, because i'm awesome! Like she will be able to catch me though! HA! As I fly, the air around me gets colder. Weird. I stop and just hover for a second. Yes, there is a cold breeze coming from the direction of the Everfree forest. I turn and look at the forest. I can see a collection of clouds over it. I don't remember a storm scheduled for today.
The wind picks up as the clouds grow and darken. I continue my flight to meet Applejack. I need to tell her that we need to reschedule our plans and warn her of the storm. She might have to bring something inside. As I near the farm, I notice the whole Apple family running around collecting things and putting them in the barn. I land next to Applejack, who is using all her strength to pull a huge cart full of apples towards the house. I place my front hooves on the back of the cart and give a shove.
"I see that you have noticed the storm." I grunt as I push the cart. Applejack just nods and pulls harder. We slowly make it to the house. Once the apple cart was inside the house and Applejack was unhooked to it, we slumped down for a short break.
"Why," Applejack pants, "Is there a storm today? We don't need anymore water." She struggles to stand up. ]
"I don't know! I did not even know there was going to be a storm today!" I say and stand. Applejack sighs and starts heading towards the door.
"Well, I got to go round up the rest of the stuff before the storm hits. You can stay and help if ya like." She heads out the door. I follow her out.
"I can't stay. I need to find out about the storm and if I'm needed up there." Apple nods and trots away. I jump into the air and speed towards the storm. I fly over the river and notice that there was more water then usual. Ya, we don't need anymore water. I fly up to the storm and close my eyes just before hitting the clouds. When I hit them, it was like hitting ice. I fall back, confused. That's weird. I put my hoof out and hit the clouds. They are solid. Hard as ice, and cold. I have never seen clouds like these.
I turn and fly back towards Ponyville. I can see the residents running around, trying to get ready for the storm to hit. I notice that the river has doubled in size, even though it had not rained yet. I wonder how Fluttershy is doing, living so close to the river. Today is just getting weirder and weirder.
I land and walk around, looking for any thing I can help with. The market was closed, all the ponies belonging tucked away where they will be safe. The wind kicks up again and I shiver.
"Help! HELP!" I snap to attention and look toward the call. I see a white pony with light pink hair running at a full gallop towards me. Nurse Redheart!
"What Nurse?" I call to her as I start to run to her. She skids to a stop, panting. Holding up one hoof, she breathes in deep.
"One of the kids are missing! Fortune, Dark Fortune is gone! Help, we have to find her before the storm hits!" She gets out, between pants. I jump in the air and hover.
"Don't worry, Nurse Redheart, I will find Fortune. But uh, what does she look like?" Nurse holds up a picture of a small white Pegasus filly with a purple and black mane and tail. It looked like she had black swirls coming out of the corner of her eyes. "Oh ok. Thanks! I will go find this filly!" I say and then shoot off into the sky. I fly up as close to the clouds that I can. The wind up here was way stronger then on the earth. It was whipping me around, making it hard for me to get a good look at the ponies.
I fly over towards the river and notice a small white speck sitting on the ground next to the Everfree forest. The clouds open up just as I start to shoot over to the speck. The rain feels like needles on my fur as I fly. As I get closer, I can see that the white speck was indeed Dark Fortune. I softly land next to her. She is staring straight forward into the forest.
"Hey, Fortune, right? You cant stay out here in the storm." The rain gets harder, soaking my fur. I stick my wing out to cover the filly. She remains quiet. I shuffle and the sit down next to her.
"Its happening." She said and looked up at me. There were tears streaming down her face. "She would not listen to me. Now we are going to pay." Fortune stands up and turns away from the forest. I hear lightning in the distance.
"We have to go to my house. Its way closer then the Hospital, and its not safe outside right now. Can you fly?" I ask and glance at her wings. One of them was smaller then the other. Fortune looks down and shakes her head no. "Its ok. I can carry you." I say and then hook my hooves around her belly. I slowly lift her off the ground and take off towards my house, careful not to drop her. The wind and rain was making it hard to fly, so it took longer then I would have liked getting to my house. Nurse Redheart is probably sacred out of her mind. I land at my house and quickly make it inside. I set Fortune down and grab a towel for us both. Once dried, I lead Fortune to my couch and give her blankets. Then, I head to my kitchen to make us some food.
I make some carrot soup and head back out with a serving for little Fortune. But by the time I get back out with the soup, Fortune was fast asleep. I chuckle and eat the soup by myself. Its happening. She would not listen to me. Now we are going to pay. My head snaps up. I look back at Fortune, but she was still asleep. I could have sworn she just whispered that in my ear. That is what she said when I found her. But what does that mean?
I'm dripping with sweat by the time we were done bringing in everything. What a storm! I can't believe Rainbow forgot all about it! Oh well, at least we got the stuff in before the rain hit. As if on cue, the rain starts hammering on the roof. Applebloom and her friend Scootaloo come in. They run up the stairs laughing. I smile and walk over to the bathroom to get a wet towel to clean myself off. I can hear my big brother Big Mac singing in his room right above me. I wipe my sweaty face off on the towel.
I the rain gets harder and harder. I wonder how the others are doing. I walk out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to help Granny Smith with cooking. She was muttering something under her breath and trying to hold five spices on her back and two in her mouth. I trot over and quietly take the spices off and put them on the counter next to the food she had started. Apple pie soup. My favorite! I throw some spices in and start to cut up the apples. Granny retreats to the living room, still muttering. Storms always put her in a bad mood. After I put the soup together, I call everyone to the table.
I sat down and started to eat. Applebloom and Scootaloo hardly stop talking between each bite. The rest of the Apple family was quiet.
"What I freak storm." I offer and smile at them. Granny huffs and ignores me. I look at Big Mac.
"Yuup." He says before taking another bite and looking away from me. I sigh and go back to eating. After I finish my food and clean up I head to the living room. CRACK! I jump and give out a small squeak. The ground under me rumbles and then shifts, bucking me out the window onto the wet ground. I land on my side and hit my head on the ground. The rain has stopped at least. I try to put my hooves under me but the earth moves again, sending me into the sky. I scream and land hard. I cry out and grab at my shoulder.
"EARTHQUAKE!" I hear Big Mac scream. The earth starts to shake and buck. I can hear things around me falling and breaking. I go flying again and yelp as I land. My shoulder is burning and I can feel tears on my face.
I curl up and lay on the ground not trying to move. All of a sudden the earth under me bows out from under me and I fall. I close my eyes as the earth bucks back up, hitting me high into the air. Lucky, I fall into the hay pile. I open my eyes and look over at the house. I feel my heart drop. Part of it has collapsed in on its self. The part of the house where Appleblooms room is. I cry out and try to stand, but my shoulder would not take any of my wait. I try to hobble over to the house, sobbing and crying out for Applebloom. The earth shakes, knocking me off of my feet. I hear the house creek and then shutter.
"APPLEBLOOM!" I cry out as I get to my feet again. The earth rolls and I fall. The house does also. I scream and cry. "No. NO! APPLEBLOOM!! BIG MAC! GRANNY SMITH! SCOOTALOO!" I scream and get to my feet again. I start to run towards the house, ignoring the pain all over my body. The earth bucks again, sending me flying towards the house. I land on the remains. I gasp at the searing pain on my flank. A metal shard from the house embedded itself into my flank.
Standing, I find small cuts all over my body. I sob and start to try and move pieces of the house, looking for my sister. The earth shakes and then bucks, sending me flying away from the house. I land on my back and roll. I hit a tree and cry out. I stand again, shaking. I need to find them. The CANT be gone! I NEED TO FIND THEM! I take a step forward and stop. In front of me is a small yellow filly.
I cry out in relief and hobble over to her. I can feel the blood dripping off of my flank. Appleblooms beautiful yellow coat was torn and red. Her mane a mess and her little red bow ripped. I cry and kneel down to her. I nudge her with my noes.
"Applebloom? Please get up. I need you to get up." I whisper threw my tears. The earth shivers. I glare at it, daring it on. I put my head on Apples chest. The earth bucks, sending us flying. "NO!" I scream and look for her. I land and crawl back to where I saw her land. She was laying on her back, her mouth wide open. I sob and move her on her side.
"Oh Apple, sweet Applebloom. I love you." I say. The earth bucks again and I land on my bad shoulder. Pain envelops me and I start to black out. I hear a small cry behind me. I open my eyes and look. Fluttershy? She was flying down towards us, crying.
"Applejack? Your hurt!" She cries out. I lift my hoof and point at Applebloom. Fluttershy looks where i'm pointing and lets out a little gasp. She flies over to her and lands.
"I will be back for you Applejack. Just let me take care of Applebloom." She hooks her hooves around my little sister and gently lifts her off the ground. She shots me a smile before flying up towards the clouds. Applebloom is safe. I smile to myself and close my eyes. The ground under me shakes, making me roll. I whimper and open my eyes. All around me I can see Pegasus ponies lifting hurt ponies off of the earth and bringing them to clouds. How they are making it so they can stay on the clouds, I don't know.
I close my eyes again and sigh. I feel arms rap around me and lift me up as I black out.