The Earth pony filly looked out the window for a moment as she heard the distant sound of thunder. That's a big storm, she thought to herself, staring at the massive wall of cloud heading towards town. She didn't think much else of it, where as the Ponyville weathercrew was usually pretty good about keeping storms under control. Still, she glances out the window again, shuddering slightly. She does not like thundershowers. Brushing a stray locke of her curly, red hair brom between her glasses and eyes, she sets the crayon back in her hoof and resumes coloring.
"You're doing good Twist," says her mother. Hooves were not designed for holding stuff, and developing the dexterity to do so takes practice. Smiling at her daughter's determination to learn, she adds more praise. "Soon, you'll be able to write and everything with your hooves. I'm so proud of you." And she had all the reason in the world to do so. Twist did well in school, always gave everything she did her all, was very caring towards everypony, and has become quite skilled at making candies. Especially the candy canes which match her cutie mark.
"You know, she got all her wonderful traits from you," says Handy Hoof from the stove, where he stirs the vegetable stew. He too was immensely proud of the young filly, and thankful to have the two of them in his life.
Lemon Tart blew her husband a kiss. "She got just as many from you dear, and you know it."
Outside, they could hear the wind picking up. It was strong enough to erratically ring the bell within the clock tower. Looking out the window, Lemon Tart notices numerous ponies quickly running for shelter. Up in the sky, she can see quite a few Pegasi flying towards the storm. Something did not feel right, and she decided she should check it out.
* * * * *
Fluttershy was terrified beyond words. She scrambled to rush every animal she could inside. She had to, because they depended on her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw what was coming, and scrambled into her house, bolting the door behind her. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, she dove under the table, shivering in fear as the roaring wind outside got louder. The terror became worse as power dies, plunging the place into darkness.
The first object to enter her home was a fence post. It flew through the window with enough force to go through her couch. This was followed by other wind blown objects as the roar outside intensified. They came in through all windows, and even the door, which was blown out of its frame. One such object just missed Angel as he scrambled to Fluttershy's side, hiding under her wing. Things came to a cresendo as a large tree limb crashed through the wall, coming to rest just a couple of feet from her.
Within a few more moments, it was over. The winds died down, and debris no longer flew towards her. The canary colored Pegasus did not notice. She remained there shivering in fright as tears ran down her face.
* * * * *
Lemon Tart rushes back inside in a panic. "Handy!" she yells, "Grab Twist and get into the cellar NOW!"
Handy can hear the roaring of the wind now. He knows that sound. He had heard it when living in Apploosa as a young colt. It had terrified him then, and it did so now. "Come on Twist! We have to get downstairs now!" he tells her, trying to sound calm for her. The filly starts putting the crayons away and her father grabs her, pushing her towards the hall leading to the cellar. "NOW Twist! Don't worry about those!" He follows Twist down the hall with his wife right behind them. They almost make it to the door when something slams into the side of their home, buckling the wall inward. Slammed into the opposite wall, he feels his shoulder snap and he collapses in blinding pain. He hears his wife call out his name as he falls.
Twist turns around to see what happened, just in time to witness the two by four slam through the wall like a out of control missile. It catches her mother just behind her ear, snapping her neck. Twists screams as she sees her mother collapse lifeless. "MOMMMMMM!!!" She scrambles to get to her, only to have her father wrap his one good foreleg around her torso, hugging her tight to him.
The hall become pitch black as the power is cut. Handy Hoof feels a pain even worse than his broken shoulder as a length of metal sign post flies through the wall, piercing his side. Hugging the red maned filly tighter to him, he tells her, "I love you Twist. Always remember that." Just then, the roaring winds outside slam something big against the house, and the last thing he hears is the cries of his daughter.
* * * * *
The storm is over. It took a lot of effort on the part of nearly all the Pegasi in Ponyville to disrupt the tornado enough so it would dissapate, allowing them to take care of the stormcloud itself. Several Pegasi were injured, but none seriously, and now they all helped with recovery efforts within the town.
There was a lot of recovering to do.
Twilight Sparkle stands outside the Town Hall, or, more accurately, the remains of the Town Hall. She directs the efforts of all the residents helping with the recovery efforts. Right now, she has several search and rescue teams carefully checking damaged and destroyed buildings for injured ponies. The local Fire Brigade is divided with helping search, and actively trying to recover those they find. So far, things have not been good. It had taken almost an hour to get any heavy equipment in that could be used in the search efforts. This was needed in cases such as the Town Hall, which had collapsed. So far, they had managed to find three survivors from the wreckage. Two other ponies were not so lucky. Mayor Mare was among the still unaccounted for.
The loss of the Town Hall also meant that a lot of disaster gear was buried. That made things difficult for helping those who were without a home. Blankets, emergency shelters, extra first-aid supplies, flashlights, and tons of other things that were kept for emergencies suddenly became inaccessable with the building's collapse.
Thank Celestia that there were a lot of ponies in this town willing to help out with donations. They will be needed. So will the supplies the Princess was sending. Its been three hours since the town got ravaged, and already, what little they had was spread thin.
Her thoughts are thankfully interrupted when a cyan Pegasus lands in front of her, with close to a hundred more. "I came as soon as I got the word! I brought help too," Rainbow Dash says hurriedly. She had been at a monthly manager's meeting in Cloudsdale when word of the tornado reached her. "Where do you need us?"
"Take a crew over to the school and start clearing it out. It looks like we'll need the building as a temporary shelter. Send any with first aid training to the Fire Chief to help with the S&R teams, and the rest to the hospital to help. All others not assigned need to see Rarity and Applejack to help them." She turns to check her clipboard, then calls out to Rainbow. "And could you go check on Fluttershy. Nopony has seen her, and I'm getting worried. Thanks Rainbow!" she yells to the departing mare.
"Twilight!" yells Spike as he runs up to her. "I just received a message. The train in on its way, and should be here within three hours, and both Princesses are coming as well."
She breaths a sigh of relief. It looks as if they will have what they need. "Thank you, Princess," she whispers to herself.
* * * * *
Pinkie Pie, Cheerliee, a Unicorn firefighter named Blaze, and a Pegasus named Quickwing are searching for survivors. The last building they had checked had a family of four inside. Fortunately, all had come out relatively unscathed. They were lucky. Already, eleven ponies have been found dead, and dozens were injured, some critically.
Both Cheerliee and Pinkie had to bite back a panic which threatened to take ahold. Their next assigned home to check was personal. A filly both of them cared for lived there. A filly named Twist.
A large delivery cart was imbedded in the side of the house. Other than that, and all the windows being shattered and the loss of half its siding, it looked safe from coming down. Still, one could never tell, so caution was needed. After checking things over, Blaze decides its safe enough to move the cart. An orange glow envelops both his Horn and the cart, and with as much magic that he could muster, he managesto safely remove the cart from where it was embedded.
Upon its removal, the first thing they notice is Lemon Tart. Quickwing rushes in to check on her, then sadly shakes her head. "The neck is broken. There's nothing we can do for her."
Cheerliee feels the panic she had been fighting grip her heart twice as hard. Twist is one of her students, and her students are her family. Her and Pinkie trot up to the collapsed section of wall, and start lifting. Quickwing joins in, as well as Blaze with his magic. The wall is soon removed, reveiling two more ponies. One of them has been impaled by a signpost that had gone through the wall, and had not made it. In his arms was Twist. Quickwing bends down to check, and finds the young pony is still living, though injured. "Blaze! Get a team here now! We have an injured filly!" She yells.
Cheerliee breaks down, as Pinkie helps pull her out of the way of the rescue team.
* * * * *
Dawn rose at the Princess's beckoning thhe next morning to a town that was devistated physically and emotionally. With all the help from Cloudsdale and Canterlot, they had finally found everyone amongst the wreckage. Sadly, the body count was too high for any of those alive still to fathom.
Seventeen dead. Seventeen smiles that will be forever missing. Friends and family, forever gone from everyone's lives. It was all Twilight could do to not break down.
They had finally found Mayor Mare around midnight. She rests now amongst the ones departed. Her assistant, Time Turner, was found alive but unconscious. He never did wake up. And so many others gone as well. Amongst them was Scootaloo. She had been heading to Sweet Apple Acres for a sleepover with her friends. When the tornado reached the orchard, she took refuge with the clubhouse. It took a direct hit.
They had to sedate Rainbow Dash after she saw the body. Though not related, Rainbow had looked upon the Pegasus filly as her own sister. Twilight could not imagine how devistated Sweetie Belle and Applebloom would be.
Another filly who is going to suffer tremendously is Twist. She was in the hospital now, and the nurses said she should recover completely. Recover my flank, thinks the purple Unicorn bitterly. How in the name of Tartarros does somepony recover from losing the ones you love?
Twilight cannot hold back her tears. Sitting in the shadow of the Library that she calls home, she softly sheds tears for those who have lost so much. Her beloved teacher, mentor and friend sits by her side, wrapping a wing gently around her in a hug. This is all it takes for the dam inside to break, and Twilight cries in sorrow with Her Princess.
* * * * *
Pinkie Pie sits in a chair next to a small bed in a hospital room. Resting in the bed is Twist. She had received a blow to the head, knocking her unconcious, but other than that, she was uninjured. At least physically. Cheerlie sort of sits in another chair. Her soft snores are the only sounds other than the background noise of a busy hospital.
They had come to the hospital to sit with the filly, so that she would not be alone when she woke. Cheerlie had finally passed out from exhaustion about an hour ago. Several of her students had ended up here with various injuries, and she had visited each one. Except one. The loss of Scootaloo was too much of a blow to the teacher, and she had broken down.
It tore Pinkie apart inside as well, but she could not let it show. Too many depended on her to bring smiles to their faces. To be the shining beacon of happiness they could turn to. How will she be able to bring smiles to the faces of all those who had lost loved ones though? How do you bring a smile to the face of someone who lost their mom and dad? Looking down at Twist's sleeping form, she can feel the tears trying to break free. Taking a small hoof into her's, she makes a decision. No matter what happens, she would not let this adorable filly suffer alone.
After a little more time, the red maned filly wakes, calling out for her mom and dad. All Pinkie could do is hold her tightly, trying to offer some sort of comfort for the one who was now alone.
Two days have passed since the storm tore through Ponyville. Two days of having to deal with loss for so many. A few lost their businesses. Quite a few lost their homes. What hurt everypony the most was the lost of family and friends.
Rainbow Dash was released yesterday, and was staying at Sweet Apple Acres with AJ and her family. She had just wanted to head back to her own home, but Applejack was insistent that she stay with the Apples for a few days at least. Although no one would say, they were worried for her well being. They did not think she would do anything foalish, such as hurt herself, but she was suffering inside. The loss of the young Pegasus weighed heavily on her.
Applebloom was just as bad off, where as Scootaloo was one of her two best friends. This was her first experience with losing someone dear to her, and she was still breaking out in tears quite a bit. Now that Sweetie Belle had gone back to her sister's, Applebloom was feeling alone. Her siblings and Granny Smith were there for her, but it was not them she wanted right now.
Twist was one of the ones most hurting right now. She had cried out so many tears, that it seemed she would never be able to cry again. She didn't think she would ever be able to smile again, not with her parents gone. Everypony who saw her expressed just how sorry that they were for her loss. The doctors and nurses here all gave their sympathies and offerings to be there for her. Same with every visitor who came in. They say that they understand what she is going through. How in Tartarros does anypony know what she is going through? Especially when she cannot understand it herself.
She finds herself feeling empty, alone and scared. She wants to have her parents back. That is all she desires, but her rational mind tells her that it will never happen, and that they won't be back.
A part of her blames herself. Had she been faster, maybe Mom and Dad would still be here. If they had not had to save her, maybe they would still be alive. Thoughts like this have been going through her mind since she woke up. They just added to her deepening depression.
The only pony right now who has been with her since she first woke up has been Pinkie Pie. She has been at her bedside since she woke up following the storm, and had done all she could to try to cheer the filly up. Pinkie was a good friend and did not want Twist to be all alone right now. She had decorated the room in her typical Pinkie fashion, trying to bring a smile to Twist's face. Nothing she did could cheer her up though. So, the mare did the only things she could do. She stayed with the filly.
They both notice the door open and the nurse and two new ponies walk in. One's a dark red Unicorn dressed in a suit jacket with matching saddlebags that seem crammed full. She has a look to her that seems too professional. A bureaucratic look that says she has to get everything in perfect order so everything goes smoothly. A name tag says it all. She is from the Department of Pony Services. The other pony is an light gray Earth pony with a sky blue mane and tail. Pinkie knows her. She is Warm Heart, and she runs the local orphanage, and is known to be generally kindhearted. She looks tired, having to deal with the loss of one of her charges. And now, it looked as if she would have another young pony to watch over.
"Miss Pie," says the one from Pony Services. "Could you please give us some privacy for a little bit? We need to discuss a private matter with Twist." Pinkie starts to speak up, but is stopped by one word. "Please."
"Okie-Dokie! I'll be right outside," she says in her typically bouncy fashion, and bounces out the door. Once she is in the hall, she bounds over to the nurse's station, and inquires about what is going on.
"Twist is scheduled to be scheduled to be released this evening, Miss Pie. I am afraid that I cannot give any more details than that. If you wait around for a little while, I am certain that you can talk to Warm Heart and the mare from Pony Services when they are finished with what they have to do here," says Nurse Redheart.
"And what IS going on?" asks Pinkie. All that matters now is that her friend will be ok, and the visit from a government official has her concerned. All she can do is sit and wait, and hope that they do not take Twist too far away.
* * * * *
Inside the town's Library, Celestia and Twilight sit in her kitchen discussing what will be happening next. With the deaths of Mayor Mare, and the one who everypony thought would take her place someday, Time Turner, the town was without leadership. Now, everypony was looking towards either Twilight Sparkle to take over leadership, or towards Canterlot for them to send someone to take over as mayor. This was not an honor which she desired. She would rather things went back to normal and allow her to continue her studies, and run the Library. Sadly, nopony can turn back the clocks and change what has already transpired. No one can bring back the dead. And it looked as if she will have to do what she least desires right now.
"The idea does have merit, Twilight. On many occasions, you have proven yourself more than capable of leadership, and wise enough to make the hard decisions that come with it. The ponies of Ponyville look up to you with respect and trust," Celestia tells her student. Sipping her tea, the Princess continues, "They need you, Twilight. And I think you're ready to do this, even if you might feel that you're not. There is a town meeting tonight in the school, and I suspect by the time it is over, Ponyville will have a new Mayor. Please, Twilight, I need you to do this as well. I need to know that my ponies are in good, capable hooves."
Any thoughts or reasons why she should not be mayor evaporated with those words. If her Princess asks her to do this, how can she say no? To her, a simple request from her beloved teacher carried the word of Faust, and she could never turn down a request from on high. "Ok, I'll do it. Just until the coming Autumn though, when they hold elections, and another pony can take the reins." Sipping her own cup of tea, she ponders how this will effect her studies. That is one thing which the would never give up. And her job as librarian, what of that? The only one in town that knew just how to keep the place running other than herself would be Spike, but will he be able to do so, and stay as her assistant? She would need him, just as much as she has always needed him. She would have to talk with him when he gets back from Rarity's.
Those thoughts could be set aside for now though, because there was more topics which needed to be tended to, and Celestia had to head back to Canterlot tonight after the meeting. Among other things, financial relief would be needed to help the town rebuild what has been lost. Yes, most of the homes and businesses that were damaged or destroyed were insured, but that only went so far, and the process takes forever. There was also a memorial service for the ponies who died that day. That weighed heavily upon her thoughts as well.
* * * * *
It was nearly eleven at night when Twilight finally made it back home, now with the new job title of Mayor of Ponyville. It had been pretty much unanimous among the townponies there that she should be the one to serve them as their mayor. For now, the library would serve as a temporary town hall until a new one could be built. Spike would serve as her assistant, of course, so she at least was not doing this all alone.
Gently, she used her magic to levitate the now asleep dragon from her back, and carried him to his bed, where she tucked him in. The poor fellow had exhausted himself with his tireless work the past couple of days. She looks down upon his sleeping form with a sad smile, thankful that he had not been lost in this tragedy. She loved him so very much, as if he was her own child.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, and she quietly went to answer. Opening the door, she sees a pink mare. A sad pink mare, which is a rare thing, being that it's Pinkie Pie. But with all that has gone on, it is no wonder that she is sad. "Come on in Pinkie. Would you like some tea or coffee," she asks gently.
"Thank you Twilight. That would be nice," she replies. Most think that offering the party mare any sort of beverage with caffeine would be a recipe for disaster, but the chemical which so many wake up to acts almost like a sedative for a pony with ADHD.
"Lets go to the kitchen, and I will brew some. I think I could use a cup or two as well."
"Twilight, I'm worried about Twist," she tells her as they sit down. "Today, a couple ponies stopped by to see her. Warm Heart from the orphanage, and a pony from Pony Services. They're placing Twist in the orphanage. She has NO PONY to take her in Twilight!" exclaims the distraught mare. "And as sad as she is with the loss of her parents, how will she feel being placed in a place where she knows nopony at all?" Pinkie's eyes glisten with the tears of her sadness. She so very much wants to be able to help the orphaned filly, but she fears that she will become lost in the system, or worse, taken away by strangers, never to be seen again.
"She'll be ok, Pinkie," Twilight tells her, hoping herself that her words would prove to be true. "Scootaloo made some friends while in the orphanage, and Warm Heart is a really caring mare who will look after her. And I am certain there will be no problems with her having you visit, or her visiting you, Pinkie." Pouring a couple cups of coffee, she fixes her friend's coffee with a splash of cream, and a good dose of sugar. Twilight prefers her own coffee black.
"And what happens if some ponies come from Las Pegasus or Manehatten to adopt her? What if I never see her again?" Pinkie sobs. The pain inside of her from the past couple of days is tearing her apart. She always makes friends with everyone, and to suddenly lose so many at once, it's just becoming too much. And Twist is someone Pinkie thought of as like a younger sister. If she were to lose her as well, it would devastate her, Twilight realizes. To Pinkie, it would be as bad as losing one of the Cakes, or Rainbow or Rarity.
"Why did we have to lose so many friends Twilight?" Pinkie asks, her tears flowing freely now. "Why?"
All Twilight can do is hold her friend close, and share in the pain.
