Chapters Storm sirens blared all across the town, an ominous wind blew across the land, the dark vanguard of a massive storm who's clouds blackened the sky as far as the eye could see, and the storm was nearly upon them. The air smelled powerfully of ozone from the massive streaks of lightening that ignited within the monstrous storm. The ponies of Ponyville frantically sought refuge in their homes, bracing themselves for the devastation that was to come.
“Rainbow Dash!” A voice called out, screaming over the powerful wind. Twilight braced herself against the gusts, her mane whipping in her face. Debris flew everywhere, making it hazardous for the few brave enough to still remain outside, trying to ensure the safety of everyone else. Despite the powerful wind, a pegasus flew through the air with relative ease, her signature rainbow trail leaving an almost perfectly straight path behind her as she descended.
“Twilight, how's the evacuation going! We've only got a few minutes before that thing reaches us!” There was a very clear hint of fear in her voice. Twilight shuttered hearing it, but forced her own fears to the back of her mind.
“Everyone is inside!” Twilight shouted, the wind growing ever more powerful, she knew Dash was right, the storm would be upon them any minute.
“Then you need to get inside!” Rainbow Dash commanded, her voice was laden with concern for her friend, her eyes darting between Twilight and the sky as the last rays of sunlight were swallowed by a dark overcast. “It's not safe here! Let the weather team handle this!”
“Rainbow Dash, everyone else is already gone! The weather team has all evacuated! We both need to get to safety!” Drops of rain began pelting down on them, without build up, the torrent of rain fell from the cloud, instantly drenching them, penetrating deep into their fur. The drops fell with so much force their impacts, Twilight felt as though tiny metal pellets were slamming into her, Rainbow Dash however seemed unfazed as the rain rolled off her water resistant feathers. Dash looked around at the sky, ensuring Twilight was right. Satisfied that she could see no other pegasus in the sky, she quickly turned to Twilight.
“Y-yeah! Let's get out of-”
BOOOM!!!! Before she could utter another word, a powerful, deafening crack of thunder shook the air and ground, leaving their ears ringing painfully. Bolts of lightening cracked overhead and the pitch black clouds completely blotted out the sun, leaving it dark as night. Suddenly, large balls of ice replaced the droplets of rain, each sphere at least the size of a golf ball, striking down relentlessly upon Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed as loud as she could, but her voice barely registered over the tremendous sounds of the storm. Her head and back stung agonizingly as the hail continued it's onslaught. Through gritted teeth, Twilight began charging a spell, her horn began to glow. Against the sheering winds, she struggled to Dash's side, leaning in with all her weight to keep from being blown over.
“Twilight!” Rainbow shouted back. Seeing the faint purple glow through the ice storm, she opened her wings slightly, allowing the force of the wind to pull her towards her friend, using all her strength to keep from being blown off the ground. The moment they were close enough, Twilight released her spell, a translucent bubble of violet light suddenly surrounded them. Hail bounded off the barrier and the sounds of the storm were dampened. Dash and Twilight let out simultaneous sighs of relief.
“Rainbow Dash, what's going on?! What is all this!” Twilight asked frantically as she realized that her home was on the verge of being blown away. She looked desperately to Rainbow Dash, hoping for answers.
“I- I don't know Twilight… this storm, it just came out of nowhere! I- I don't know, none of us knew.” Confusion, pain and fear ran rampant in Rainbow Dash's expression, her eyes resting not on Twilight, but on Ponyville behind them. The wind whipped and surged and the hail continued to fall mercilessly down.
“Storms don't just come out of nowhere! Something had to cause this!” Anger flashed in Twilight's eyes as she looked up into the clouds. “We'll have to figure it out later! We need to get inside now!”
“Something's really not right about this storm Twi!”
“I know, but we can't do anything about it here! We need to get inside!” Twilight affirmed. She knew, she knew this was no ordinary storm. But we can't do anything like this! She looked into Dash's eyes for a long moment, she didn't respond, awestruck by the storm until she finally gave Twilight a weak not. Relief filled her chest as she began charging her spell once more. Suddenly, a bright flash blinded them, almost immediately followed by another deafening CRACK! A massive bolt of lightening struck down on Twilight's force field, the sheer power of the blast tearing it apart, the force of the shock wave threw the two ponies like rag dolls, hurling them through the air far from where they were. They landed on the ground with a painful impact, Twilight felt her ribs cracking within her from the force of her fall while Rainbow Dash tumbled along the ground, instinctively relaxing her body for the fall, sparing her serious injury, but her flesh and fur were badly burned from the heat wave from the plasmafied air rapidly expanding upon them.
W-what happened? Rainbow Dash weakly struggled to her hooves, looking out across the field, she could see Twilight's limp body laying in the grass. Panic and adrenaline surged through her body, she bolted up and began running through the hail and wind to her friend. “Twilight! Twilight wake up!”
Suddenly, all went quiet, the air became eerily still and the ice storm weakly devolved as light flakes of snow gently tumbled to the earth, melting on impact with the warm ground. Despite the ghastly silence, Rainbow Dash galloped as fast as she could to Twilight's side.
“Twilight please be okay!” She prayed her friend was okay, as she reached where Twilight lay, she could see her labored breathing and painful groans. Weakly she looked up to Dash.
“R-Rainbow...”
“Twilight, don't try to talk, you could have broken something, we need to get you to the hospital now.” She tried to keep the terror in her voice buried beneath the relief she felt knowing her friend was alive, but all that bravado vanished as she looked into Twilight's eyes, eyes filled with fear and confusion. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash realized, Twilight wasn't looking at her, she was looking behind her! In a blur, Dash whipped around, looking up into the sky, there, hovering in the air, was a pegasus. A powerful voice boomed like thunder through the air.
“Twilight Sparkle! Face me now!”
“Twilight Sparkle! face me now!” The thundering voice boomed, making the air itself tremble. Twilight struggled to get to her hooves, leaning against Dash's shoulder for support. They watched as the pegasus descended, the clouds thinning as she approached, allowing enough sunlight to penetrate the overcast for them to clearly see the pegasus. She was a mare with a pale blue coat and a dull gray mane with dark wisps that looked that a powerful storm was brewing within it. Her eyes were a piercing and cold icy blue, but a fierceness burned behind them as she glared at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. She landed, her wings never moving as she approached the earth, the moment her hooves touched down, a powerful gust of air blasted out in all directions, Twilight and Rainbow bracing themselves against it. Fear swelled up in Twilight's heart, her instincts telling her to run, she began to take a staggering step back, but felt Dash's shoulder against hers. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her strength.
“W-what do you want!?” Twilight commanded, gritting her teeth through the pain of her broken ribs.
“What do I want?” Her eyes softened and a disingenuous, cocksure smile spread across her face. “Well first, let me introduce myself. My name is Storm Breaker. I presume you are Twilight Sparkle right? Hero of Equestria, champion of friendship, master of magic and all that? That is you right?”
“Why do you want to know!” Rainbow Dash growled, baring her teeth.
“I wasn't talking to you.” Her smile vanished and a terrifyingly cold expression took its place as she glared at Rainbow Dash. Suddenly she launched herself forward, neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash saw any more than a blur before she came to a dead stop, her face only inches away from Dash's. A powerful gale proceeded, whipping debris and dirt towards towards them. “I don't like being interrupted.”
Dash opened her mouth, not sure what to say, half awe struck, half terrified, she couldn't find any words. A barely audible, chocked sound slipped through her lips as she struggled to find something to hide her obvious fear. The next moment a loud explosion slammed into Rainbow Dash, the force of its impact compressing her body and knocking the air out of her lungs as she was flung back by a powerful concussive shock wave. She tumbled rapidly through the air like a rag doll before coming to a painful stop as she plowed through a thick tree.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight spun around, eyes clouded with tears as she looked at the small crater where Dash's body laid crumpled up and limp in the mud. Rage surged through her as she turned back towards Storm Breaker. Her cold, frightening gaze briefly turned into a look of surprise as she saw the burning fury in Twilight's expression.
“Oh, I see!” Storm Breaker began to chuckle. “That was your friend right? Good, this is good! Now you have a reason to fight me!”
“Why are you doing this to us!?”
“Us?” Storm Breaker glanced to the crumpled pegasus lying motionless on the ground a ways away before turning her attention back to Twilight. “It's not my fault she got in my way, I'm just here for you.”
“Why!?” Twilight shouted, her rage bubbling over.
“Like I said, you're the champion of Equestria. I take you down, no one will stand in my way, they will bow. After I defeat you, I'll finish off the other alicorns and then this land will belong to me. I am the most powerful being alive, not you, not Celestia or Luna, not the other masters, me, I am the strongest and I'm going to use my strength!”
“You're crazy! How could you do all this!?” Twilight growled, tears forming in her eyes.
“Enough semantics.” Storm Breaker deadpanned, her expression becoming cold a steely. “If you surrender now, you won't end up even worse off then your weak friend over there.”
“Never!” Twilight snarled, her horn erupting into a bright violet glow.
“good,” a chilling smile broke the stoic and cold expression on Storm Breaker's face. “That's just what I wanted to hear.”
Suddenly large boulders violently burst from the ground, surrounded by Twilight's aura. Rain again began pounding the earth and the dull roar of thunder rolled over head. With all her might Twilight hurled the boulders at Storm Breaker, some easily the size of a small house flung with enough force to fly through the air at incredible speeds. They landed less than a second later, the ground quaking from the powerful impact, landing squarely where her adversary stood only a moment before. Horror and shock filled Twilight as she stared at the pile of rubble that crushed her. D-did I just… kill-
“Too slow!”
A voice called playfully from Twilight's side, she began to turn as fast as she could, but before she could even bring the source of the voice into view, an impact like a wrecking ball slammed into her side along with a loud boom as a powerful explosion sent her skidding across the ground like a stone across water, each impact compressing her rib cage, painfully tearing at her already cracked ribs. Her body came to a sudden stop, the sheer force of her halt nearly made her lose consciousness. Her vision went dark and her hearing faded.
“Is this the best you have to offer me? Is it really? It's almost pitiful.” Storm Breaker stood over Twilight, her hoof pushing down against her chest.
“L-let me go…” Twilight words gurgled out from her throat. I've got to do something… Oh Celestia it hurts, this hurts so much. Come on Twilight, you can't let everyone down, she's truly a monster, I can't let her beat me! Twilight's horn again began to glow and in a blinding flash of light she vanished, Storm Breaker's hoof fell to the ground in absence of the body that was beneath it. Her eyes stung from the flash, she held her eyes shut tight as they recovered.
“That won't work on me!” Her cold demeanor was now a fiery rage. She stomped her hoof hard against the ground and another explosion rang out followed by a shrill but weak scream. “You can't hide from me Twilight Sparkle!”
Twilight lay on the ground, the cold rain numbing her crippled body as she she too in deep but labored breaths. She… she knew where I teleported? How!? I- I can't can't beat her, she's unstoppable! No, no you can't let everyone down! Get up Twilight!
“Get up!” Twilight forced herself up, ignoring every pain signal her body was giving her, shakily she got to her hooves. If the indirect way didn't work, I'll have to use brute force. I just hope I have enough strength left. Her horn lit up again, glowing brighter than ever, penetrating the heavy rain, she poured everything she had into it. This has to work! It has to work!
“Finally getting serious? Good. If you can't put me down now, you're finished. Your life and the lives of everyone rest on your shoulders. Don't mess it up!” Storm Breaker lunged forward, a sonic boom left in her wake as she tore through the air barreling down on Twilight.
Twilight released it, every drop of strength she had left, a massive ray of pure magical energy shot out in an instant, the two forces met. 'There's no way, no way she could-
“No… no!” Twilight desperately tried to keep up the pressure, tapping into reserves of magic she didn't even know she had as she frantically tried to keep the beam up, but at the receiving end of the beam, she saw Storm Breaker fast approaching, surrounded by a tangle of lightening that only grew bigger and more fierce the more power Twilight pumped out. It's barely even slowing her down!
“No!” Twilight gave a final frenzied scream, but it was too late, the beam faded as Storm Breaker closed the gap until she came to a dead stop, hovering just off the ground before Twilight. “T-that's impossible!”
“No, it's not… not for me.” Suddenly, a powerful vortex of wind began to flow around the two of them, binding Twilight in a swirling current of air, her body was too weak to fight it and her magic had been exhausted, without being able to fight, Twilight succumbed to the wind. They rose quickly into the air without a single wing beat. Storm Breaker looked into Twilight, her expression one of smug superiority. “Now that you know how inferior you are to me, you'll surrender, and everyone else will soon follow.”
“Let her go!” A belligerent voice screamed from below them.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight's eyes brightened and she saw the pegasus rapidly approaching. Storm Breaker followed before her eyes could tell her what she saw, a massive rainbow explosion lit up the sky and a shock wave ripped through the air.
“Well then.” A smirk came to Storm Breaker's face as Rainbow Dash quickly closed in on her. Dash's face contorted with rage, blood stained her fur all over but her eyes burned with a terrifying fury. They were only feet apart when-
BANG!
Rainbow Dash ricocheted off an invisible force as Storm Breaker swatted her hoof down, backhanding Rainbow Dash out of the sky, shooting her down towards the earth even faster than she had flown to achieve her rainboom.
Storm Breaker stared at her hoof, a look of surprise and tepid excitement glowed in her eyes. I didn't expect that. I underestimated her. She shook her head, dismissing her thought before turning back to Twilight.
“Your friend is-” She stopped speaking, gritting her teeth, her jaw balled beneath her pale fur as powerful anger swept over her, Twilight was nowhere in sight. She looked to the ground, following Rainbow Dash's trajectory, but neither her body or her remains were there. “Damn it… Celestia!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight screamed, her voice trembling with terror as she frantically looked scanned her new environment, her mind hazy from the beating she received at the hooves of Storm Breaker. There, on the other side of the room, she saw Rainbow Dash, lying unconscious, her fur and flesh sheered off her body, leaving raw, bloody patches all over her, still, she could see a faint rise and fall of her chest, she was alive… barely. How could I let this happen to you? S-she completely overwhelmed me, there was nothing I was able to do… now look at you.
Tears streamed down her face as she dragged herself across the cool, smooth floor towards Rainbow Dash. Every muscle in her body screamed and burned, her ribs felt like they would snap off in her chest every time she moved, but she wasn't crying for herself, the closer she got, the worse Rainbow Dash looked. Twilight was amazed she was still breathing. You shouldn't have tried to save me… You shouldn't have had to save me.
“T-Twilight...” A soft and broken voice whispered. Twilight stopped, staring at the ravaged figure in front of her, only a hoofs length away. She watched as Dash's body painfully convulsed as Dash forced herself to move, every bone in her body protesting. It took everything she had to lift her head and look up at her friend. A delicate but pain filled smile came to Dash's face.
“You're alright…”
“How… how are you still-” Twilight began when the sound of hooves clicked against the marble floor, and they were coming closer. Twilight's heart raced as she pictured the monstrous pegasus.
“I'm afraid no one is alright.” The gravity in the familiar voice sent chills down Twilight's spine as she gingerly turned to face the voice.
“Princess Celestia...”
Overcast
“Princess Celestia...” Twilight said with equal parts awe and relief. She let her sore body relax, perhaps too much, as she nearly collapsed onto the stone floor of the royal castle. Every breath hurt, she feared a rib had snapped inside her chest and threatened to pierce her lung at any moment. I- I can't worry about that now! Summoning up the last of her strength, she struggled to regain her stance, her legs trembling in protest every millimeter of movement. “Do- do you know what's happening princess?”
“Yes, and I'm afraid the situation is very grim...” The princess's tone told Twilight all she needed to know about the situation they were in. Though the searing in her chest and aching body already informed her as much.
“Storm Breaker...” A weak voice grunted from behind Twilight. She spun around much faster than her broken bones allowed, a nearly unbearable pain tore through her body, but she stifled her agonized scream. Through hazy eyes, she watched Rainbow Dash rise up, blood smeared on the floor where she lay, and staining deep into her fur and feathers. Despite her horrifying state, she lifted herself up without so much as a squeak of pain. Still, Twilight could see it in her clouded eyes and tightly balled jaw, Rainbow Dash was suppressing immense pain.
“Don't get up! Rainbow, stay down, you're hurt and-”
“Lay off, Twilight!” She growled. A rage filled glare quickly overtook the pain in her eyes. “Storm Breaker, she-” A sudden and labored cough stole voice as drops of crimson sprayed from her lungs “s-she did this. She attacked out of nowhere. Who the hell was she?!”
“Rainbow Dash, I understand your anger, but you must calm down. You were lucky to survive your encounter with her, you don't want to give her the satisfaction of having you die here and now would you?” Princess Celestia spoke with a soft tone, but the command in her voice was unmistakable. “I will tell you what we know, but you must try to stay calm. Princess Luna, Cadance and I will try to heal your injuries, but we do not have much time.”
“Luna? Cadance?” Twilight whispered bemused. She looked around her, and sure enough, the other princesses stood around them, seemingly since they arrived. Before Twilight could question their presence, a warm and soothing light engulfed them. Twilight could feel her pain slowly ebbing.
“Their injuries are serious my sister, I do not think we will have time to fully recover them.” Princess Luna's face shone a look of worry and confusion not shared by the other princesses. Celestia and Cadance both wore looks of fear, but in confusions place, there was something more terrifying to Twilight… desperation.
“Princess, tell us what's going on… please.” Rainbow Dash had taken Celestia's advice, tempering her rage and confusion, at least briefly “Storm Breaker, whoever she is… she almost killed Twilight, and I was useless! I couldn't do a thing to her! What is she?!”
“She's a pegasus…” Celestia sighed weakly, as if breathing out a terrible burden.
“No! No way! No pegasus can do what that monster did!” Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof on the stone with finality. Despite her proclamation, Celestia continued in the same exhausted, almost grieving tone.
“No… not many. There are very few in the whole world in fact, but they do exist. Many years ago, centuries actually, the first of their kind came into existence. Powerful pegasi who had a mastery over the sky like no others. They were left in peace, until a war came, a war which Equestria would have lost if not for the few who took an active interest in our plight… at my behest. There are fewer now today than ever. Almost all of them are old veterans of that very same war. Eight of them in total, scattered across the world, living in peace, with a promise that they would never again intervene in our affairs.”
“If they're such good friends of yours, why the hell is she attacking us?! She-” Rainbow's expression became bleak and a chill ran down Twilight's spine as she saw the desolate sorry filled her gaze. “she's probably wiped Ponyville off the map…”
“N-no… that can't be… no, I- I should have-”
“Should have what, Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Luna interjected, glaring at the frantic alicorn. “You and Rainbow Dash would not be alive right now if you had done so. If there was anything you were capable of doing, you would have done it!”
“But I-” Twilight tried to protest, but she knew she could not. I gave her everything I had, I fought as hard as I could, but I was no match for Storm Breaker… Tears welled up in her eyes as hopelessness swept over her.
“Princess!” A guard called out, panic stricken as he ran into the throne room. “A massive storm is approaching rapidly from the south!”
“There is no more time! We must hurry!” The panic in Princess Celestia's voice chilled Twilight to the bone. Suddenly the warm magical glow that surrounded them vanished, and their pain slowly crept back.
“Princess, what should we do?” Twilight stared up pleadingly at Celestia who, in turn, looked to her sister, then back to her protege.
“There may be one way to stop Storm Breaker…” Though she tried to subdue it, the hint of hesitation in her voice threw Twilight off.
“Whatever it is Princess, I'm ready! I'll do whatever it takes to stop her!” Though she declared it so boldly, images of her encounter with the monstrous pegasus were still as fresh in her mind as the pain was to her body. She glanced at Rainbow Dash who now stood beside her. The healing spell had worked well for both of them, but Rainbow was much more badly hurt and, though her superficial wounds were closed, her more serious injuries had a way to go before she could fight.
“Princess Twilight, no one in this room can stand up to Storm Breaker… but, there is on who we believe has the potential to fight her on equal terms… It is you… Rainbow Dash.”
“What?!” Both Twilight and Rainbow gasped, glancing at each other.
“You can't be serious! She swatted my sonic rainboom out of sky like I was just an insect buzzing by, like it was nothing! How am I supposed to do anything?! If I could, don't you think I would have done it to protect Twilight? To protect Ponyville!?”
“I know you are afraid and confused, but you are the only one who can stop this, Rainbow Dash. I beseech you, listen to my sister.”
“She's right, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia gave a grateful smile to her sister before looking back to Rainbow “you are our only hope.”
“Fine,” she sighed “I'll do whatever I can to stop her, but… how? I'm in no shape for a round two and even when I was, I got my ass handed to me, and that was with me and Twi working together!”
“Rainbow Dash, you and Twilight must go find one of the remaining Sky Masters and ask for their help, you must-”
“Whoa! Hold up! I can't just leave everyone behind!” Rainbow snapped.
“She's right! What about Equestria? What about Ponyville? What about you!? She's coming here now isn't she?! We need to stay! If we fight together, we can stop her!” Twilight's eyes brimmed with a thin veneer of optimism, hiding a deep well of fear and dread.
“No, we will stay and try to stop her, but it will likely be in vain, but, if you can escape, there will still be hope.”
“No! I can't just run away!” Twilight shouted, tears now streaming from her tightly shut eyes.
Rainbow Dash watched as Twilight began to break down. In the distance, she could hear the rolling thunder, and feel the trembling earth as the storm came closer. Images flashed through her mind, she could see Twilight broken and helpless, completely at Storm Breaker's mercy. She could feel the pain deep within her body, the internal wounds still screaming at her with a powerful pain. Even if she wanted to fight now, she would be worse than useless. Taking a deep, slow breath, Rainbow Dash found her clarity.
“Twilight...” Suddenly, Twilight felt a soft, gentle sensation on her shoulder, her eyes opened and through the haze of tears, she could see Rainbow Dash, resting her hoof on her and her eyes gazing into her's with a warm, reassuring stare. “This isn't running away, we'll be back, we'll save everyone, but we'll just be in the way here. We need to go, we need to leave so we can save everyone… okay?”
Twilight could see tears building up in Dash's eyes and she knew, that this would be as painful for Dash as it was for her. Deep down, she knew what the right choice was, and she could see that, despite her feelings, Rainbow had come to the same conclusion. She too, took a deep breath, wiping away her tears, before giving an affirming nod to her friend. “Okay.”
“Then you must leave now! We will teleport you as close as we can, but we do not know their exact location, the journey will be hard and perilous, but you must succeed, for all of us.”
“We…” Twilight stopped, looking all round her, now she too, could feel the raging storm approaching as the ground shook from the thunder and the sky cried out as though it were being ripped apart. “We'll do it.”
“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash.” She looked to Cadance and Luna as the formed a triangle around the two beaten and weak ponies. Their horns lit up, and, in a flash of blinding light, they were gone.
“Are you sure this is the right path sister?”
“It has to be.” Another voice chimed in. The princesses turned to see a flame colored pegasus mare enter the chamber.
“Spitfire, Storm Breaker is nearly upon us.” Celestia stood stoic, turning towards a window, the looming black clouds were nearly above them now. These would be the last tense moments of peace before the storm befell them.
“I know.”
“Are you certain of this? She did not fare well against Storm Breaker in their initial encounter, how can we be sure she is the one?” Luna fretted.
“Rainbow Dash has unbelievable potential. It's frightening actually, I've only seen one other with potential like hers. Her temperament and ferocity made me weary of even letting her in the Wonderbolts, let alone letting her discover her true potential. The world doesn't need anymore Sky Masters, and Storm Breaker is exactly why...”
