Thick black storm clouds filled the sky above Ponyville. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, the sound echoing until it became lost to the sounds of the storm. Thick drops of rain fell in heavy sheets, nearly traveling horizontally from the force of the wind.

The weather had called for a massive storm. Strong winds and heavy rain was supposed to last through out most of the night. It was strongly recommended that any and all ponies should stay inside to keep safe and warm until the storm was finished, which was to be just before sunrise.

At the Ponyville library, Rainbow Dash sat beside one of the windows. She had her hind legs resting on top of Tank's shell (his propeller removed for the moment so he did not fly around the library) and held a book on her stomach. As she read, she kept one ear on the storm, listening to keep track of it.

As one of the town's weather ponies, it was part of her job to help create the weather that is scheduled for the day, be it a clear sunny day, a light rain, or a heavy storm such as tonight. It was also part of her job to help keep track of the weather in case something unexpected should happen. That was one of the reasons she was staying at the library instead of at her house. Living in the clouds, she would actually be above the storm and unable to see what was happening. Another was that it was a building that was easily recognized, so if anything happened, the pegasus on duty at the weather station would know exactly where to find her.

The silence in the library was interrupted by the sound of hooves coming down the stairs. Dash was soon by Twilight Sparkle with Spike close behind her. The purple unicorn turned alicorn walked over to her friend.

"Are you enjoying the book?" she asked.

"Meh," Dash gave a shrug as she responded, "It's not bad. Not as good as Daring Do, though."

"Well at least you're giving it a chance. I was just coming down to grab a quick snack. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good." Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a wave of her hoof and continued to read. The purple alicorn looked at her friend a moment, still surprised how much the athletic pegasus had gotten into books.

"Okay, egghead," she said with a grin, "well if you change your mind, help yourself. That is, if you can put your book down long enough." Laughing to herself, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.

"Oh ha ha!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a roll of her eyes. She watched her friend go to the kitchen, still chuckling, before returning her attention to her book. Twilight was heading back up the steps when a knock came at the door.

"Who would be out in this weather?" Twilight asked as she started for the door.

"I'll get it," Dash said as she set her book down. She quickly rolled over and flew to the door. After landing, she took a hold of the knob and pulled it open. Standing on the other side was a yellow pegasus with a teal tinted mane.

"What's wrong, Raindrop?" Rainbow asked. Raindrop was supposed to be on duty at the weather station, monitoring the storm. The only reason she would ever leave her post was if there was some sort of emergency.

"We got a report that there is a tornado forming in The Everfree Forest," she responded. "We're guessing that it's going to move toward Ponyville, starting with Fluttershy's-" Raindrop did not get any further in her statement. As soon as she had started to say "Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash was off in a rainbow colored streak.

Reaching the meadow between Fluttershy's house and the rest of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash could see the whirling black cyclone of wind and clouds. As the report had predicted, the tornado was leaving The Everfree Forest and would be heading toward Ponyville shortly. While Dash could not be certain, it could very well hit the hut that Fluttershy called home, not only injuring the yellow pegasus, but some of the animals she took care of.

Worried about her friend, Rainbow Dash headed for the tornado. As part of her training as a weather pony, she knew the protocols for dealing with such an event. None of the other pegasus ponies on the weather team had arrived to help yet. If she had stopped to think about it, Rainbow Dash would know that it would be better to wait for assistance. She still would not have done so. A pony was in trouble, a friend no less, and nothing would stop her from doing what she could to help.

Rainbow Dash flew directly at the tornado. Without realizing it, she watched the wind to figure out the direction and speed. Making her way into the whirlwind, she began to move in the opposite direction of the funnel. The blast of wind and debris forced the sky blue pegasus to squint as she pushed forward. Made her wish she had brought her goggles with her. She had to keep her eyes open though. Not only was it important to avoid any obstacles that would come flying at her, but she would need to be able to adjust with the movement of the tornado as well. The sound of the wind howling past filled her rears, rendering her deaf to any other sounds. Even the the boom of the thunder was rendered mute at the moment.

Clenching her jaw, she pushed herself forward hard, driving herself to fly as fast as she could. Every ounce of energy she had, she put into forcing herself against the wind, shifting as little as possible to avoid any obstacles, curving to follow the the curve of the cyclone. Her wings worked harder than normal, adjusting for as many of the numerous wind currents while still keeping the pegasus moving forward.

It was almost a relief when she saw the fading edge of her own contrail. She knew she had to have finished several revolutions by now, but with the winds and debris, there was no reference point to figure when or how many. By seeing it, not only did Rainbow Dash know she was making the full circles, but more importantly it meant she was now going fast enough to catch up with the trail before it was able to fade from sight. She would never be able to do a Sonic Rainboom (although the burst of energy and speed would probably help stop the tornado), and she would not be able to stop the tornado on her own (a fact she would not want to admit), but maybe she could slow it down enough that the others could arrive and help, or somehow slow it down so that Fluttershy could get somewhere safe with the animals.

The world suddenly turned a bright white in front of Rainbow Dash's eyes. There was a single, loud, BOOM! before everything turned silent. She felt..something. She felt something hit one of her wings. But she could not feel them now. She couldn't feel...anything. Her body refused to move. For a moment, the white turned a beautiful shade of glowing purple before fading into blackness.

I've got you, Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash?

Oh, dear Celestia...