Sorrow's Downpour

On every day, night must fall. On every breath, death must call. For every love there one is lost, in Ponyville the dice are tossed. Fate shall determine what we see, this we know, now come with me.

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The wind battered against the walls and the lights flickered maddeningly. Pinkie curled up in her bed and pulled the blankets even tighter around her, terrified by every streak of lighting, every screech of the wind. The rain pounded against the roof and lashed out at everything. Ozone filled the air as huge bolts of electricity shot down almost as much as the rain itself. The thunder shook the very ground and produced deafening clashes with every blast.

The lights blacked out and Pinkie felt more alone than she ever had. She shuddered with every strike, every push of the wind, every clap of thunder. The rain splattered against her windows hard enough to make them rattle in their frames. She couldn't see very far past the window, the rain was an almost solid downpour; the ponies had all been told to stay in their homes hours ago due to flood risk, now the doors bulged under the pressure of the waters.

Pegasi could be seen flying around occasionally. The more they kicked at the clouds, the more clouds there seemed to be. The wind and lightning downed most of them, but still Rainbow Dash forced everypony to continue. "Let's go," she screamed over the howling winds and bursting thunder, "if we don't take this thing out all of Ponyville's going down!" The Cloudsdale weather patrol had arrived long ago, but even those elite ponies could do little to help. Every attempt at taking out the furious clouds failed quickly and horribly.

Fluttershy had left when the storm started, eager to ensure the safety of her animal friends. She, Angel and Applejack led a group of ponies to save the local animals. They knew there was no place to put them all until it was over, and their dens were all guaranteed to flood. Even the beehives had been knocked down by the storm and it was little more than dark clouds on the horizon at that point.

"Ah've got it," Applejack yelled as they all tried to think of ways to save the animals. Everyone looked at her hopefully. "We can build a huge bot and stick them in it 'till this here storm blows over." Everypony set to work building the boat. Trees were felled with blinding speed and the sound of hooves pounding on nails echoed through the air. A deathly silence had fallen as the storm neared.

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac and the other local stallions were busy boarding up the barn and putting all the apples inside. Many of the unicorns had joined in here as they could harvest entire orchards with their magic. A few pegasi were helping, though for the most part they had been sent out to prepare cloud-falls in case the storm was bigger than it looked; it was coming off the Everfree Forest so it continually grew as it went. Apples were bucked and thrown into the windows on the loft of the barn. Derpy was stationed here to ensure that the apples didn't jam up in the window, and to keep her out of trouble; so far, it was working.

Twilight and Rarity were back in town preparing the townsponies for the coming onslaught with their natural orderliness; Twilight's from studying, Rarity's from OCD. Preparations were nearing completion when the first of the storm hit. The air seemed to still, even the shouting ponies made little impact upon the still atmosphere. There was a hushed expectancy in the air. Then it struck.

Wind howled and thunder shook the ground. The once tranquil village had been turned into a swirling mass of black clouds and muddy water lit only by multicolored flashes. The pegasi tried breaking up the clouds, but that only caused the torrential downpour to increase. Ponies fell, flames crackling brightly after they were struck by the free flying energy. One after the other they fell, most extinguished by the water, others became stranded on the roofs, setting the dried materials on fire almost instantly; the oil that waterproofed them making a perfect catalyst for the flames.

Twilight and Spike had chosen not to stay in the library. "A tree," Twilight reasoned, "is a horrible place to be during a storm." She had cast spells to protect the books and they went over to Rarity's house. She had one of the tallest buildings around but had put in lightning rods after a mishap with spells caused her fabric to burn. Twilight could still feel the pinpricks from her revenge.

Twilight, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Spike were huddled together in Rarity's room when the lights went out. Spike was too terrified to even register the fact that he was being crushed between two attractive mares and a cute young filly. He was screaming almost as loud as they were. A loud crash resounded from below and Rarity knew her fabrics would all be ruined. The smoking remains of a tree could be seen through the window, the rest of it lying splintered in the direction of the boutique.

The library had been struck many times and was nearly burned down, Twilight's spells had held though and the books remained unharmed, floating around in the pooling water as the library burned around them. Owlicious had been forgotten. He flew around frantically, trying to find an escape from the heat and smoke. Twilight had thought him with Fluttershy and the other animals. He thought Twilight getting a place ready for everypony to hide. The smoke filled his lungs and the fire raged against him, the only thing visible amongst the inky blackness. His eyelids closed, but nothing changed. His head grew lighter, his breathing ragged. Owlicious's wings gave out and he dropped to the floor. His body a crumpled heap amongst the red tongues that lapped against the floor, growing ever closer. A final call went through the dying library, "who, to-who!" He knew no more.

Fluttershy and the others had just finished the boat as the storm engulfed them. Most of the animals had been thrown on board; many had been washed away before their turn came. Applejack stood atop the ship, casting her lasso about seemingly at random, each throw pulled up a small group of animals. The number in the water decreased rapidly, but so too did the numbers of those catching the ropes. Fluttershy did her best, but the winds soon became too violent for her to fly in.

She collapsed on the deck, a number of squirrels falling from her arms as she cried. She could hear the diminishing struggle of her woodland friends, but wasn't strong enough to help. "There, there," Applejack said as no more struggling figures showed against the waters, "we done our best and we got most of 'em. Just look around at how many you saved Fluttershy." The yellow pegasus looked around, her eyes filmed with tears. Nearly all of her furry little friends were here. One vacancy stood out.

"Where's Angel?" she gasped, seeing almost instantly that he wasn't here, "where is he?" She screamed and tried to throw herself into the water to find him. "Angel!"

"Calm yerself," Applejack said, pulling her back. "He ain't here and there's nothin' we can do about it. Knowing that bunny he'll find some way outta this. But there's nothing else you can do here, especially not by drownin' yerself." Fluttershy nodded and curled up in the corner, a few of the other ponies present came over to try and cheer her up, most just sat and watched, knowing the extent of her grief, knowing nothing now could quiet her cries.

Rainbow Dash struggled against the winds. 'It's no use,' she thought, 'even I can't fly in this.' A flash of light shot past her and she thought for a moment that she should at least feel something. A nearly identical blur went by a moment later. They stopped, more or less, in front of her. Their forms slowly became visible through the sheeting rain. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had come.

"What's the plan?" Luna yelled looking around. The devastation could barely be seen through the heavy rain, but seen it could be, especially by the princesses' abnormally strong eyes. Luna's were even more so due to her stay on the moon.

"I don't know," Rainbow Dash could barely hear herself, but the alicorns seemed to understand. "I just… don't know. Nothing is working." She felt warmth around her eyes and knew that not all of the water was from the rain. "Too many pegasi have fallen and we haven't even put a dent in that bucking storm."

"Then it's as I feared," Celestia seemed calm, but a great sorrow could be seen in her eyes. She didn't raise her voice, but Rainbow Dash could easily hear her magic infused voice over the clamor. "I have seen a storm such as this long before. There is nothing that can be done. We must flee."

"Sister," Luna cried, shocked at the coldness of Celestia, "what about all the ponies here?"

"There is nothing that can be done at this point. They'll either die, or they'll pull through. This happened just after you were sent to the moon. I fear your return similarly unbalanced things so that another could happen. If the townsponies flee, the storm will follow. We learned this the hard way last time."

"But my friends," Rainbow Dash managed, "what about them?"

"There is nothing we can do. We must leave now ere it is too late. If they can be saved, it will be once this has blown itself out."

Rainbow ground her teeth, 'Why did this have to be so difficult?' She took a deep breath. "Okay." She flew up as high as she dared go without being struck, "everypony, get to safety. There's nothing we can do here. It's done."

The pegasi from other towns flew away as fast as they could, the storm still dropping them by the dozen, some managed to get back up, others were abandoned. Those who knew Rainbow Dash stared in amazement. She never gave up. If Rainbow Dash said she was quitting, something must be wrong. "I bucking said GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed over the storm and shot away. The lighting seemed drawn to her as she sped past.

She came to a stop on a large hill on the outskirts of the shadowy mass of clouds. She landed and noticed her hooves and fur were blackened and burned by the lightning. Other pegasi from town landed around her. She finally gave in and explained what the princess had said. Everypony watched as the town they loved fell. The buildings defeated by the elements, one after the other. Dawn was still far off.

Pinkie felt the building under her lurch and he was thrown from her bed. She landed on the floor, her blankets still wrapped around her. Her pillows were thrown around the room as well. A few of them landed on her, covering her head with marshmallowy softness. The building began to fall in; much of the rubble was stopped by her overly-large, amply-stuffed pillows. Some hit her, but with the exception of one brick, none of the injuries were serious. A shattered brick hit her just as a pillow cushioned a blow from a falling board; the pillow had been shifted to the side and the brick slammed into her temple, knocking her unconscious. The last thoughts she remembered having before the brick hot her were, 'thank goodness the cakes were out of town for this.' She could picture the fear on Pound and Pumpkin's faces as the world tore itself apart.

Twilight and Rarity felt the floor begin to give way. Several loud crashes had sounded downstairs and the building had been swaying for a while. A particularly hard gust of wind slammed into the building and a sound like breaking branches shot out. They put up a bubble around the room, protecting most of it from the fall. Rarity mostly provided the needed strength and focus while Twilight worked the immense spell. Spike and Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep almost an hour ago, exhausted from their fear. They cried out a little as the room fell, but didn't wake up. Water began flooding into the room as it came to a stop in the street, but Rarity, acting quickly, began stretching her rain coats across the windows and Twilight tied them in place with magic, surer bonds than those holding the walls themselves.

They traded off watching for new dangers throughout the night, but nothing more happened. At one point, Twilight had used a spell to see through the roof. The storm still raged, but no sound could be heard. The water rose above the ruins of the buildings dozens of hooves. She released the magic, disheartened. After all that had happened, she hadn't expected the pegasi to be able to do much against the storm, but she had at least expected to see them searching for survivors, if not trying more to find ways to break the storm.

Derpy flew through the air, oblivious to the cascading water. She knew only one thing and that thought filled her mind. "Dinky! Where are you?" A gray hoof protruded from the water. She could make out a small figure holding a board. She dove straight down, her hooves outstretched reaching for her little muffin. A thundering crash exploded above her and the world turned black. She heard Dinky yell, "Mommy!"

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How can any hope to survive? Will there be any left alive? The rain continues its weighty fall; the winds arise within the squall. Destruction strikes the buildings all. The doom approaches, darkness encroaches. Shall any last throughout night, or succumb within the fright. We know not what lies within, should evil bare its foul grin. But should we care to look once more, the clues are written behind the door.

Thanks for reading; I'm hoping that the story grows as I want it to as I write it. Comment and give me your thumbs (up preferably.) Also, please note that this is rather different from my usual structure. It will have longer sections and be a little more organized in the future. The storm was just too chaotic for me to organize and it kept blowing away my notes, so this happened.