The Twinkling Balloon drifted silently over Ponyville. It was a calm evening with only a gentle breeze, perfect for ballooning. If the air was rather hot and humid, it was made up for by the company. In the basket Twilight Sparkle and her mother, Twilight Velvet, were having dinner aloft. Spike had made them a perfect summer diner of daisy sandwiches, carrot salad, apple pie, and iced tea. The two unicorns gazed at the picturesque town below them and jewel-like Canterlot off on the horizon.
"You really have found a lovely place to live, dearie," Twilight Velvet noted.
"Well Princess Celestia did decree that I should continue my studies here," said Twilight Sparkle with a wry smile.
Her mother chuckled.
"I miss Canterlot sometimes, especially you, and Dad, and Shining Armor, but I love living in Ponyville. My friends are wonderful, of course, but the slower pace of life here is just so..." She stared at the town below for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know how to describe it. And the library is so much cozier than my apartment at the castle ever was. "
Her mother smiled. "Just do long as you're happy, dearie."
They fell into quiet reverie, gazing at the scene.
Suddenly, the stillness was shattered.
"Gangway!" cried a tomboyish voice. It was quickly followed by a multicolored streak that barely missed the balloon's basket. Moments later, a much slower Rainbow Dash hovered into view.
"Heh! Sorry about that!"
The pegasus nervously rubbed a hoof on the back of her mane.
"Hello Mrs. V!"
Twilight Velvet smiled back.
"Hi Rainbow Dash," said Twilight Sparkle brightly. "Want some iced tea?"
"Nah. No time. I've got to get back to work."
She pointed to a stack of large gray clouds off to the northwest. Both unicorns' eyes grew large when they saw it.
"Wow! That's some storm you guys are building," said Twilight Sparkle.
"I've never seen such a storm system," added Twilight Velvet. "Is something like that safe?"
"Yeah! Well, mostly..." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "It's kind of an experiment. Anyway, that's why I flew over. You guys are going to want to be back on the ground and the balloon stored away before seven o’clock tonight. That's when we'll kick things off."
Twilight Sparkle had started to grin at the word 'experiment'. "Can we come watch you work for awhile?" she asked excitedly.
Rainbow Dash looked uncertain. Twilight Velvet frowned but didn't say anything.
"I suppose it will be alright," she said eventually. "But don't get too close. We've had some stray lightning and hail already. Follow me!"
"So what's this all about?" asked Twilight Sparkle as they flew toward the dormant storm system.
"Some bright spark in Cloudsdale thinks big regional storms will be better for the environment. Better air circulation, more consistent rainfall, that sort of stuff."
"Fascinating!"
Twilight Velvet finally spoke up, "How are your weather team keeping safe?"
"Pretty basic buddy-system actually," Rainbow replied. "Everypony keeps tabs on their buddy, even when working in bigger groups. You tend to work slower and more carefully that way."
"Who's your buddy Rainbow," asked Twilight Sparkle with some concern.
"Derpy. Since I’m team leader, everypony seemed to think it best that way."
"No, I mean where is she."
"Um, up on that larger cloud bank on the right."
"Shouldn't you be together?"
Rainbow Dash's eyes grew wide with fear.
"Um. See ya!" she called and was away in a flash.
"Wait Rainbow! Don't..." Twilight Sparkle cried.
Rainbow Dash was one of the fastest pegasus ponies in all of Equestria and had performed the sonic rain-boom on numerous occasions. She even bragged that she was so proficient that she can pull one off without even thinking. Today she actually did.
As Rainbow Dash raced toward Derpy, she broke the sound barrier. A sonic rain-boom quickly followed, radiating out from her flight path. The rainbow energies of the rain-boom collided with the slumbering storm clouds just as she reached Ditzy. All the pegasus ponies stopped their work and stared in horror.
The rain-boom impact awoke the giant storm system. It slowly came to life, lightning flashing between the clouds. In minutes in was moving toward Ponyville. Gusts of wind carried torrents of rain on ahead of the storm.
The strong winds quickly blew the balloon toward the outskirts of Ponyville . Both unicorns on board struggled to control the erratic flight. The air grew more turbulent and sent the balloon spinning. Mother and daughter clung on to the rim on the basket. Lightning flashed in the distance. Wind whipped rain started slashing through the sky, soaking the balloon material.
Twilight Sparkle tried again to regain stability. Still holding on to the basket, she used magic to fire the burner and change the tension in the control lines. Briefly the spinning slowed and the balloon righted itself. But then a huge gust of wind struck making the envelope collapse.
The mass of cloth, wicker, and ponies was falling out of the sky, down into the Everfree Forest.
Ah, ah, aaahhhh, ah!
