On and off, for the entire night, thunder and rain rattled the windows. When they woke, it was eight in the morning, and they met downstairs in a large, posh breakfast area at the hotel’s bottom. The dining room was crowded and quiet, and they sat in a booth by a bay window. Outside, the clouds were fat and dark, and there was a small rim of frost on the windowsill.

“Geez, how’d it get like this? It was fine yesterday,” Rainbow said. “Well, fine-ish.” She leaned against the glass to look up at the clouds, and when she spoke again, her pleasant, casual tone had hardened. “Those look really bad.”

“They’re big,” Applejack said.

“More than that, though. Look how dark they are. And how they’re in kind of a line.” She turned back to her food for a moment, but when she looked back out, she adopted a look of concern. “It almost looks like tornado weather.”

“Tornado?” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy. They have to warn us if something’s gonna happen. Still…” She picked at a piece of food.

“Have you ever made a tornado, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.

“Nope. We don’t usually need that stuff in Ponyville. But I had to know all about them to get my job. They even made us take a class on hurricanes, even though we’re nowhere near any water. You gotta be a veteran weather pony to work with those things.”

Twilight stirred her tea absentmindedly and scooted over for Octavia to sit down. She had stayed back at the room to phone ahead, and get Mayor Splotch to clear the northeast section of the city for a spell. “How come I don’t see any pegasi up in those clouds?”

“They’re probably behind them,” Rainbow said.

“And you’re sure we’ll be okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah. The mayor has to let everyone know before she has a tornado. We’d see signs and things. Besides, it’s not like it’s gonna touch down on the city itself. If that’s even what it is.” She glanced back outside. “Sure looks like that’s what it is.”

They finished breakfast and returned briefly to the room, on Rarity’s insistence that she take an umbrella, and then went outside. The rain from the day before had gotten harder and colder overnight, and the city beyond the hotel lawn was shrouded in a gentle, gray haze. A light breeze brought the rain slightly under the hotel awning, and Rarity moaned as she opened her umbrella. They crossed the grounds as quickly as they could, but she was still wet and shivering by the time they were on the ship. While Applejack got them in the air, everyone else hid under the balloon, enduring its dripping to get out of the more torrential storm.

“How long does it even take to set a tornado up?” Rarity asked.

“Couple days, if you wanna do it right,” Rainbow said. “You can do a quick and dirty tornado in one day, but that’s only if there’s an emergency. Even properly-handled tornados are dangerous.” She blinked away the rain as she leaned out to look at the sky. “You know, I said we have nothing to worry about, but… I’m not seeing very many ponies up there.”

“Is that a problem?” Octavia asked.

“Well, yeah. Just look. I see one, two pegasi over there. And three up there.” She pointed to a large bank of clouds, partially hidden by a lower roll of dark gray. “Do you think five pegasi are enough to set up a tornado?”

“No. But does that not mean that it must be something else?”

“Hey, I know tornado weather,” Rainbow said. “No, it means we don’t have enough weatherponies working for what the weather is doing, which means that it’s happening on its own.”

“That can’t be,” Applejack said. “This ain’t the Everfree, Dash.”

“She has a point,” Twilight said.

“And it would fit with Discord’s whole… thing,” Pinkie said. “You know, to remove the binding we have on the weather.”

“It happened in Cloudsdale,” Fluttershy said.

“If that is true, then what is there to be done?” Octavia asked. They touched down, and Applejack lowered the gangplank.

“Well, ordinarily, we’d just get a bunch of pegasi to bust apart the clouds,” Rainbow said. “But that’s a lot to break apart. I’m… not actually sure.”

“We can worry about it later,” Twilight said. “Rainbow, get up there and see if you can scout out a good rooftop for us.”

Rainbow took off, and they stood in the middle of the empty street. The gutters flowed noisily with rainwater, and all the shops, while lit, were inactive. Ponies watched from behind registers or from chairs under awnings, offering no comment to the soaked team.

“Why not cast our spell in the street?” Applejack asked. “Ah thought we only did rooftops so ponies wouldn’t get in the way.”

“It helps if Pinkie can see the whole area,” Twilight said.

“Mm.”

Rainbow flapped back down to them. “There’s a grocery store about a mile away with a good roof.”

They followed her quickly, heads bowed to the rain. “I know the weather is atrocious right now, but it’s still a shame we can’t spend more time here,” Rarity said. “All I’ve seen is Trixie, the park, and the hotel.” She stepped carefully over a large, dirty puddle. “I must say, this is hardly the opulent atmosphere I was promised.”

“I promised nothing,” Octavia said. “And you must always keep in mind that everything will have changed drastically in response to all this… mess.”

“But where are all the rich ponies you talked about?”

“They live in the residential districts. We have only seen midtown.”

They stepped up onto the curb and entered a grocery store. A courtesy clerk nodded and smiled to them, and Twilight told her what they were doing while the others headed for the back of the store, in search of a passage to the roof. A small crowd gathered around her while she explained the situation.

When she turned around to find her friends, Trixie was at the crowd’s front, watching passively, but with an interested twinkle in her eyes. Twilight trotted over, and the crowd reluctantly dispersed.

“Fancy bumping into you here,” Trixie said casually.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

Trixie looked at her, bemused. “Grocery shopping.”

Twilight giggled. “Guess I should have known.”

“And you’re doing another one of those special spells.”

“That’s right.” They turned down an aisle to rejoin Twilight’s friends. Octavia looked at them, and, noticing Trixie, softened her expression somewhat as she approached.

Trixie tilted her head to look down her nose at Octavia. “Oh, hello old friend.”

“We need to talk,” Octavia said. She looked at the others. “Go ahead and get started.” She waited until they were all gone, and then looked back at Trixie. Thunder rumbled outside. “Trixie, I need to apologize for being so insensitive yesterday. I should have explained myself better.”

“Oh, is that right? You should have explained why you thought lying to me would be the best course of action? Well, please, oh Gorgeous and Magnificent Octavia, enlighten me.” She looked over Octavia’s withers and frowned at Pinkie, standing at the aisle’s end with a concerned expression; she disappeared at her look.

“You were correct; my reason for not having any friends was false. It is not that I did not try to make any. I was simply not any good at it.”

Trixie’s expression softened a little. “Explain.”

Octavia lowered her voice. “I am very uncomfortable talking about this. I… do so now, only because we go back so far. You must promise to keep this between us.”

“Of course.”

She sighed and moved in closer. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I have been living with a lot of stress for a very long time now, and it has taken a… very heavy toll upon me. I am short-tempered, uncreative, and have no sense of humor.”

“Gee, I couldn’t tell.”

“I have not slept more than eight or nine consecutive hours in longer than I can guess. A year. More. I do not know. In the past, any attempts at friendship I made, I ruined with my inability to appear genuine, or my refusal to speak openly on the subject of my life.”

Trixie took several moments to take it in. While her face remained neutral, Octavia could tell she was thinking seriously about what she had said. The sarcastic tinge had entirely gone from her voice. “So, of course, you know what I have to ask next.”

“I can say no more.”

“Not even for me?”

“I can tell no one. It is too personal… and you would not believe me anyway.”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Try me.”

“I will not. Please, Trixie, understand that it is not personal; I will not tell my own sister, and she shares a large part of my childhood with me. Just leave this as it is.”

“Now why should I do that? It sounds like you’re destroying yourself.”

“You must not worry about me.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course. You’re right. I should have realized you were completely okay when you said you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in over a year.”

Octavia sighed and lowered her voice further. “If it makes you feel better, my friends have all expressed the same concerns as you.”

“Do you talk to them?”

“…At times.”

Trixie stepped a little closer to her. “Listen. I get it—I think. You didn’t have to hide it from me, but I can understand why you might want to. But you need help.”

“I am fine.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” She hung her head. “I know what it’s like to be afraid to help yourself. Change is scary.”

“Let me stop you right there,” Octavia said. “I know that I am in trouble, but it is not serious. I know what I am doing.”

“Mm-hm.”

“You have to believe me, Trixie. I am having a life-changing experience, and there is no doubt in my mind that I will, eventually, overcome much of what now makes me so… unhappy. I do not need you to worry about me.”

“Friends worry about each other, Octavia.”

“And as your friend, I promise you that I will be okay.”

“Is that what you said a year ago?”

Octavia looked away. “I did not realize the severity at that time.” She forced a small smile. “But things are looking up. I have friends now. The rest will follow, I am certain.”

Trixie regarded her for a minute before finally nodding. “If you say so.” She smiled. “And I forgive you.” She shook Octavia’s hoof, and they headed for the store’s back. “If no one minds, I’d very much like to watch Twilight do her spell.”

“Of course.” Octavia took her to the rooftop, where everyone was already set up: Twilight drawing the sigil around Pinkie, and the others watching.

“Oh, look who it is,” Rainbow said.

“Rainbow Dash, my dear. I’d missed your dulcet voice,” Trixie said.

“An’ we missed yer sarcasm,” Applejack said.

Trixie laughed. “Yes, I bet you did.” She edged closer to the front of the group. “That has to be the most complicated sigil I’ve ever seen.” She sat down and rubbed her head. “I thought it was supposed to restore the ground.”

“It is,” Octavia said.

“It looks like Twilight’s trying to transfer power into that pink one. What’s her name again?”

“That’s Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said. “And she is.” She looked around uncertainly, not sure how much to tell Trixie.

“Pinkie is the one actually using the restoration spell,” Octavia said.

“Hm. So, forgive me if this is a dumb question, but why use her at all? Twilight is aware that she can enhance her own magic, right?”

“That’s possible?” Applejack asked.

“Well, it takes a little creativity with the sigil, but you can set up a kind of miniature feedback loop on yourself, yes.”

“That sounds incredibly dangerous,” Octavia said.

“What do you know about it?” She frowned. “Sorry. Not trying to sound condescending.”

“Twilight has been teaching me a lot of magic… theory.”

“Interesting.” She watched Twilight draw another small cluster of lines. “So is that ink enchanted to not wash away, or is it a locked sigil?”

“A what?” Rainbow asked.

“A sigil that doesn’t dissipate until it’s completed,” Trixie said.

“Wait, hold on,” Applejack said. “Sorry, but this is kinda blowin’ my mind. How come you know so much about magic?”

Trixie scoffed. “I just so happen to study it in my spare time.”

“No you don’t,” Rainbow said.

They were silent for a second, and only the sound of the rain surrounded them. “Right, my mistake,” Trixie said. “I’ll have you know I’ve been studying magic, both arcane and modern, for quite some time now, in hopes to increase my own skills.”

“An’ how’s that workin’ out fer you?” Applejack asked.

“I’ve been improving steadily,” Trixie said defensively. “Very steadily. But wow, that sigil! Where in the world did she learn it?”

“Princess Celestia gave it to her,” Rarity said.

“Oh, that’s right. Miss Dash mentioned you were all Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia’s special friends.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Hm, perhaps not. Oh, here we go!” She stood up and craned her neck at the sigil.

“You will want to avert your eyes,” Octavia said.

Trixie nodded eagerly as Twilight finished the sigil, which first shimmered and then blew away, and she turned her head and closed her eyes as Pinkie started to glow. She sat totally still while the spell took its effect, her ears cocked the entire time to capture every sound of the restoration. For her, it was new, and she found herself shrinking against the roof in spite of herself, the sounds outside too catastrophic to face standing up. The store trembled, and the street below groaned as everything shifted into place. When it was done, she looked around, mouth open in a shocked smile, while Twilight and Pinkie regained their hooves. Ponies boiled into the streets, some of them staring up at the roof, many crowding the edge of a former split.

“Right, let’s get out of here before they mob us,” Rarity said.

“Oh, hello Trixie,” Twilight said, nodding tiredly.

“Trixie has expressed great interest in your sigil,” Octavia said.

“Oh, are you interested in magic too?”

“Come on, come on,” Rainbow said. “We can talk magic later. We gotta get out of here now.”

“We could always wait for them to disperse,” Trixie said. “Have you never tried that? Instead of pushing through the crowd, just let it dissipate naturally.” She looked quickly at the door to the store. “It’s not like they’re going to climb up after us.”

“They might,” Rainbow said.

“Please. Look, they’ve already stopped looking up at us.” She scoffed. “Crowds are all the same.”

“What did you want to talk about, Trixie?” Twilight asked.

“That amazing sigil. What—”

“Tornado,” Rainbow said. They all looked at her, and she narrowed her eyes. “Tornado. Maybe we should talk about that instead?”

“Trixie, what do you think of the weather? Rainbow Dash thinks it looks like a tornado forming,” Rarity said.

Trixie looked up into the clouds, shielding her eyes from the rain. “It’s… actually interesting you should mention that.”

“Trixie’s involved!” Rainbow cried.

“Will you stop that? It’s like you’re expecting me to turn up at the heart of every bad thing in Equestria.” She tossed her mane. “Although I am involved, peripherally.”

“Do tell!” Pinkie said.

“It’s nothing serious. A couple friends are trying to do something about it.”

“So there is something going on,” Rainbow said.

“They think so.”

“You don’t?” Twilight asked.

“Looks like rain to me. That’s been a concern, you know.”

“For having minimal access to flowing water, we have not seen a lot of shortages,” Octavia said.

“Last I heard, they’re almost done with the next link in that cloud convoy,” Trixie said. “I think it’s a collection facility over Hoofington. But my theory makes more sense. Think about it. There are pegasi up there, working, and we’re getting a ton of rain. Plus, no tornado warnings.”

“I wanna meet your friends,” Rainbow said.

“Sure.”

Rainbow paused. “Oh. Really?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry, was I supposed to deny you the first time?”

“Look, they’re gone. Let’s get back to the ship,” Applejack said.

“You go ahead. I’m gonna go with Trixie,” Rainbow said.

“Oh, are we going now?” Trixie asked, affecting a pleasant demeanor.

“Unless you’ve got something better to do.”

“I was planning on going back to my trailer to work on the logistics of a new magic trick.”

“Pft, come on. Magic tricks can wait. This is important.”

“She is right,” Octavia said. “If there really is a tornado coming, we need to act as quickly as we can.”

“All right, all right.” Trixie stood. “But you’d better keep those snide comments of yours buttoned up, Dashie.” She grinned. “Or I’ll have to saw you in half.”

Hailstone was a low-level Datura of six years, originally from Applewood, and assigned to Fillydelphia on a permanent basis. She was on a team with five others, one of which, a pegasus named Sunbeam, had become her steady coltfriend a year into her post. They were weatherponies all, and their team leader was Mayor Splotch, the only Equestrian Datura to be in charge of an entire city. More often than not, her job revolved around monitoring the empty plains and plateaus to the northwest. Seldom did she see any action.

She sat in a booth in the corner of her favorite bar, Patina’s, with a glass of cider before her and Sunbeam slouched in the crook of her wing, his over-gelled and under-combed mane blending in with her teal coat, which contrasted sharply with his garish, pink fur. She and the other Fillydelphia Daturas—minus Splotch—were due to meet in an hour in Heart Park, but for the time, she was without anything to do.

She sipped her drink and looked up as the bar door creaked open, admitting a unicorn and pegasus. She let a smile spread across her face, recognizing the unicorn’s confident gait.

“There you two are,” Trixie said, seating herself. “Take the load off, Dashie.”

“Don’t call me that,” her rainbow-maned companion said sourly. She looked at Hailstone and Sunbeam. “I’m Rainbow Dash. Trixie’s… associate.”

“Acquaintance,” Trixie corrected.

“Trixie, my friend, I wasn’t expecting this,” Hailstone said. She didn’t let it show on her face, but she was happy to see her; Trixie was a lively pony. Sunbeam grunted agreement and took a drink from her cider. “Hailstone and Sunbeam.” She shook Rainbow’s hoof.

“So, Trixie tells me you’re involved with this tornado business,” Rainbow said.

Hailstone nodded slowly. For the last week, her, and her friends’, suspicions were steadily piqued at increasingly strange behavior from Splotch, but it was only when the weather began to turn ill that they thought something was truly amiss. It had started becoming threatening only a couple days before the Elements of Harmony arrived, catapulted across the country by Discord’s envoy. Through it all, Trixie was their unwitting eye on the public.

“Are you going to put up more posters?” Trixie asked. “Because I don’t think that’s been working.”

“…No, I have a better idea,” Hailstone said.

“How much do you know about what’s been going on?” Sunbeam asked.

“Uh, there’s a tornado forming,” Rainbow said. “But that’s about it.”

“Okay, let me fill you in,” Hailstone said. “You’re not the first one to notice something up with the weather. About four days ago, the clouds started becoming a little harder to control. We’re weatherponies, by the way.”

“Trixie already told me.”

“Good. So, ‘okay,’ we thought, ‘no biggie. Sometimes it happens, you know, when the ambient temperature or humidity levels are right.’ So we tried to work with them, but it only got worse. A buddy of mine asked the head weatherpony what to do, but he got stonewalled. Just keep working, you know? No explanation. Treated it kind of like it wasn’t even happening.” She drank from her cider. “Soooo, that same buddy asked Mayor Splotch about it, and she said the same thing. It’s nothing, just keep working. Now… she and I, and my little group are pretty close. We’ve been friends for a while. So I knew something was wrong with her when I heard that. We tried to confront her about it, but she wouldn’t go along with us.”

“So what does this have to do with the tornado?”

“How about you let her get to it?” Trixie asked.

“How about you stop riding me?”

“Quiet down, children,” Sunbeam said. “Let Hail talk.”

Hailstone shot him a quick smile. “Thanks, dear. So we all talked about it—”

“How many of you are there?” Rainbow asked.

“Six in total. We all talked about it, and the conclusion we all reached was the mayor has been hypnotized.”

Rainbow looked at her seriously for a moment, and then cracked a smile. “Hypnotized? That’s the conclusion?”

“Discord got to her,” Sunbeam said. “Are you not aware that he can do that?”

“Oh, he discorded her.”

“That’s what you call it?” Trixie asked, covering a giggle. She leaned out to signal a waitress.

“Listen to me,” Hailstone said testily. She liked Trixie, but the pony she had brought along was far too antsy. “We have a plan. Those are definitely tornado clouds, but we can’t do anything about them. Even if we could get all the pegasi to abandon their posts and help break up the clouds, it’s too far along. Our only chance is to evacuate the city.”

“Those are the posters I mentioned,” Trixie said. “They’re trying to get ponies to leave.”

“It’s not going well,” Sunbeam said.

“Yes, ponies keep tearing them down. I suspect Splotch is behind it, but I don’t have any proof.” Hailstone sighed. “Not that it matters. Like I said, we have a plan. But we need help.”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” Rainbow said.

“Yeah, can you just let me talk without interrupting?”

“Sorry.”

“She knows all of us by sight—Splotch, I mean—so we can’t get close enough to her to do anything. That’s why we need someone else. I was thinking of asking Trixie to do it, but now that you’re here… well, a pegasus is better for this kind of thing.” She took another sip, considering her words carefully. She recognized the pegasus, but knew nothing of her. She had to be careful. “We need Splotch to be incapacitated so we can evacuate the city.”

“Incapacitated? Like knocked out?”

“Asleep,” Sunbeam said.

“But how will you six evacuate the city?” Trixie asked. “I never understood that. Oh, thank you.” She levitated her drink immediately from the waitress’ tray to her lips.

“We have a plan, Trixie. Don’t worry,” Hailstone said, giving them both her best cordial smile. “We only need you for the first part of the operation. Putting Mayor Splotch to sleep.”

“How are you gonna do that?” Rainbow asked.

Hailstone looked at Sunbeam. He cleared his throat and leaned forward. “Mayor Splotch has a meeting with the commissioner of parks and recreation at five-thirty this afternoon. None of us can enter the capital building undetected, but you,” he pointed at Rainbow, “can.”

“She has a habit, you see,” Hailstone said. “She’s a pretty heavy coffee drinker, but she’s also very impatient. She likes to have her coffee waiting for her, freshly brewed, when she returns to the office.”

“So you want me to slip a sleeping potion into her coffee?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s not quite that easy. She likes it hot and fresh—which means that you’ll only have a minute or two to administer the potion. It also means you have to time your entry exactly right.”

“No problem.”

“Don’t be so confident,” Sunbeam said. “If anyone notices you carrying a potion into the building, the whole thing will be ruined.”

“I’ll put it in a saddlebag then.”

“Uh, they search you,” Trixie said.

“Yeah, Splotch has security, you know,” Hailstone said.

“So how am I supposed to get up to her office?” Rainbow asked.

“You’re going to use a window,” Sunbeam said. “Fly up the side of the building and slip in. You have to be quick, else they’ll spot you.”

“And you can’t just go in and out,” Hailstone said. “You have to make sure Splotch actually falls asleep.”

“Then what?”

“Then signal us.” She thought for a second. “There… is a second potion that you need to worry about. I won’t tell you what it does, but you need to carry it up to her office. Don’t put it in anything; just leave it inside the desk.”

“And she does mean inside,” Sunbeam said.

“When we’ve got your signal, someone will come up, and she’ll take over from there. Then, your job will be to get out.”

“So I just slip in, pour the potion in her coffee, make sure she falls asleep, signal you, and run,” Rainbow said. “Easy.”

“Have you been to the capital building?” Trixie asked.

“Uh… no.”

“You haven’t even seen the building?” Sunbeam asked. He looked at Hailstone. “Honey, are you sure about this?”

Hailstone sighed. “I suppose so. Trixie can’t do it on her own. Sorry, Trixie.”

“I think I should accompany Rainbow,” Trixie said.

“Aw, heck no,” Rainbow said. “I can do it on my own. It’s just an office. I mean, seen one, seen ‘em all, right?”

“No, Trixie’s right,” Hailstone said.

“Sorry, Dashie,” Trixie said with a smirk.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” Hailstone said, standing. “We need to meet the others in Heart Park. You two come with us.”

They rose from the booth and waited while Trixie downed the rest of her drink, then left the bar. The rain outside was still strong, and a mild breeze slanted it into their faces as they walked down the street. “Shoot, it’s nasty out here. Come on, Hail,” Sunbeam said, bumping her playfully.

She recognized his tone of voice immediately, and nodded as he took off at a gallop. He didn’t really mind the rain, she knew; he just wanted to get to the meeting before Trixie and Rainbow, so they could speak openly. They ran down the sidewalk, side by side, past cafés and bookstores, leaving their two associates far behind. When they were out of sight, she let out a small, jocund laugh. Despite the developing tornado, the rain lightened her spirits—something she needed, with the prospect of their illegal task looming so closely.

They arrived at a small gazebo in Heart Park, winded and exhilarated, and shared a panting kiss in the rain before stepping into the shelter and joining the other four Daturas. “We’ve got a volunteer,” Sunbeam said.

“Is it that Trixie?” a jade unicorn asked. “I don’t trust her.”

“No, a friend of hers. The Element of Loyalty.”

“Oh dear. I hope you didn’t tell her too much,” a teal earth pony said, fiddling with his dripping mane. It was standard Datura policy to be familiar with the Elements’ psychological profiles, and they all knew what he meant. Rainbow wasn’t the most thoughtful of the six.

“She knows to fly to Splotch’s office and deposit the potions. That’s it,” Hailstone said.

“And Trixie?” the jade unicorn asked.

“She’s going to accompany her,” Sunbeam said. “Not sure what she’ll do specifically.”

“Here they come,” an iron gray mare said.

They all quieted down while the two blue mares joined them. Rainbow shook water off her wings, splashing them all. “You could have waited up.”

“You could have hurried,” Hailstone said. “These are our friends. Introductions can come later. Which one of you has the potions?”

“Me,” the teal pony said. He leaned into a small saddlebag by his hooves and pulled out two tiny, corked bottles, neither much larger than his eyes. He stood them up on an empty space on the bench. “Purple to put her to sleep, gold to do the other thing. Don’t worry about that.”

“You just need to remember which is which,” Sunbeam said.

Rainbow looked at them all. “Uh… huh. And you’re sure you can evacuate the town if I do this?”

“Absolutely,” Hailstone said. “We have everything in place already.”

“You’re the final thing we need,” the gray mare said.

“Well, okay,” Rainbow said. “And when do I have to do this?”

“Her meeting is at five-thirty,” Sunbeam said. “And we guess it’ll take somewhere between half an hour and forty minutes.”

“We already have someone to let us know when she’s finished,” the teal pony said.

“You’ll have from our signal until she returns to her office to fly up to the window, open it, get the potion in her coffee, and hide.”

“No problem. I’m quick.”

“Let’s hope you are,” Trixie said. She looked at the six Daturas. “And what can I do? Anything?”

“I can’t think of anything,” Hailstone said thoughtfully. “Rainbow, take Dewdrop’s saddlebag and follow him to the office. Trixie will follow you shortly.”

The teal pony stood up obediently and beckoned for Rainbow to go with him. When they were gone, everyone looked back at Trixie.

“How did you manage to get her?” the gray mare asked.

“I bumped into the Elements by chance,” Trixie said loftily. “They and I have a bit of a past together. That one, Rainbow Dash, tried to attack me yesterday.”

“Attack?” Sunbeam asked.

“She has some kind of grudge against me.”

“But she’s willing to put her feelings aside to help our city,” the fourth pony said. She hadn’t spoken at all during the meeting, and did so with a lazy slur. The corner of her mouth drooped.

“Yes, she seems genuine enough,” Hailstone said. “Trixie, I think it would be a good idea if you went with her to watch, in case something goes wrong. She can get rather excitable.”

“What do you think could happen?” Trixie asked.

“Well, if Dash gets caught, we’ll probably have to save her,” Sunbeam said.

“Hopefully not,” the jade unicorn said.

“Yes, hopefully not. If we have to barge in there, I doubt the plan will go through.”

“And what are you going to do with that other potion?” Trixie asked. Her eyes were alight with curiosity, and she flitted them among the five of them.

They looked at each other, silently wondering the same thing. How much to tell her? “It should release Discord’s effects on her mind,” the gray mare said.

“She has to be asleep so she won’t notice the potion taking its effect,” the droop-lipped pony said.

“Interesting,” Trixie said. “Now… do you think I should go inside the building, or stay outside, or what?”

“Stay outside, near the entrance. If we need to go in and help, you can go in first and make a little distraction,” Sunbeam said.

“I don’t want to get in trouble for going in there at the wrong time.”

“You don’t have to cause any trouble,” the jade unicorn said. “Just go in and get the receptionist distracted so we can slip in and do what we have to do.”

“This is all assuming that Dash fails,” the gray mare said.

“Not a hard assumption to make, unfortunately,” Hailstone said. “Go on and follow them, Trixie.”

Trixie shrugged and trotted out into the rain, and they waited for her to fade into the distance.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything impulsive,” Sunbeam said.

Colgate sat in the park, watching ponies and thinking. Her eye and lip still hurt, but only vaguely. It was only a few days since Noteworthy had been assigned his personal guards, for her protection; she could see them in the distance, they keeping a respectful distance as he talked to Derpy. They stood close together, both with serious looks on their faces; to her knowledge, neither knew she was nearby.

She looked up and around; the sky was clear of clouds and pegasi. It was a Sunday afternoon, but she felt no ease in her anxious mind as it slowly churned over possibilities and options. She had spent the entire night before trying to think of a solution to her problem, but only one solution stuck out to her.

She stood and crossed the grassy lawn, approaching Noteworthy. Derpy saw her first, and Colgate did not miss the slight falter in her composure at the sight of her bruised face. Noteworthy followed her gaze, and as he noticed her, the pair of police officers hurried to come between them.

“Hello, officers,” she said evenly.

“I’ll, um, just be going,” Derpy said quietly.

The police looked at her cautiously, and Noteworthy peered from between their broad bodies. “You shouldn’t be here,” one said.

“I need to talk to Noteworthy.”

They exchanged incredulous looks. “I don’t think you should, ma’am.”

“You can watch from afar.” She looked into Noteworthy’s eyes. “I know him. I know how to talk to him.”

“Colgate, what is this?” Noteworthy asked.

“Please,” Colgate said. “I promise I know what I’m doing.”

“But I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Please.” She looked at the officers, then down to her hooves. “This is important.”

They exchanged looks again, then stepped back. “We’ll watch from a distance,” one said.

Colgate nodded and forced a smile, and looked at Noteworthy. “In private.” She tilted her head at a nearby tree. They walked, and as soon as they were out of earshot, she released her serious expression for a faintly contrite one. “Note, I am so, so, so sorry.” Her voice was an intense whisper.

“Oh, now you’re sorry?” he growled. “A little late, isn’t it?”

“You have every right to be furious with me, but I’m begging you, let me explain.” She looked back quickly, making sure no one could hear them.

He didn’t respond immediately. He looked back at her, and she met his eyes, letting him search hers for signs of deception. He snorted. “Fine. But make it quick.”

“It was Allie.”

They were both silent for a moment. His pupils dilated, and she chewed her tongue nervously. “Allie Way,” he said.

“Yes.” She angled her bruised eye away and lowered her voice. “As Spike’s friend, she was… really mad that you roped him into the Datura. Even more than me. She asked me to talk to you about it.” She sighed. “I told her you wouldn’t listen, but she didn’t care. She yelled at me. I should have recognized something was off then, but I didn’t.”

“And she hit you when you told her I wouldn’t release him?” he asked quietly.

“I’d never seen her so angry. I thought she was just going to bark at me—I’ve seen her do that before, once or twice—but when she took a swing, I wasn’t ready. I… Celestia, I’m so sorry.”

“So why am I being blamed for this?” he hissed.

“I’m sorry!” she cried. “I really am, I swear it. I-I didn’t know what to do, okay? She tried to pin it on you to cover herself, and I was still shaken up.” She sat down and leaned against the tree. “I… Mayor Mare had no choice.” She lowered her voice again. “It made so much more sense to blame you.”

“You could have told the truth.”

“I was scared. I still am. She threatened me, you know. She… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking so much. I’m already in trouble.”

“Colgate, listen to me,” Noteworthy said. “If Allie is assaulting you, you need to do something about it.”

“Like what? I can’t defend myself. She’s bigger, stronger, and more magical than I am.” She closed her eyes and rubbed a hoof across her mouth. “Celestia, this is such a mess.”

“Tell the mayor!”

“I can’t!” She took a deep, shaking breath. “I can’t. If she hears I ratted her out, I’m dead.” She let a frown cross her face. “You’re not the only one who knows my secret, you know. She might not have the details you do, but she knows where to go for them.”

“So you’re just going to let her keep bullying you, and let me keep taking the blame?”

She sighed. “That’s why I needed to talk to you. I can’t help myself, but I’m really hoping you can.” She watched his reaction carefully. “I promise to help clear your name, if you can help me.”

He scoffed. “And why should I trust you?”

“I hate you, but not that much. I’d rather deal with blackmail than beatings.” She gave him a wry smile. “Geez, how desperate must I be? Asking my blackmailer for help.”

“Don’t call me that out here.” He looked around again. The police still watched, gazes intent. He sighed slowly. “Colgate, I hate you too. But… I will help you. You deserve a lot, but you don’t deserve this.”

She let a smile curl up her lips, and a tiny, anxious laugh escaped her. “Thank you. Thank you… so much, Noteworthy. You have no idea how alone I’ve felt these last few days.”

“You realize you’ll have to come forward with the truth once I’ve handled Allie.”

“Of course, anything. Just… help me.” She sighed again. “Celestia, I can’t believe this is my life now.”

He leaned in, and she looked up. His expression was soft—softer than she had ever seen. “Listen, Colgate. You’ll be okay. I know how to handle things like this. I’ll take care of her.”

She nodded, eyes averted. “Good. I really appreciate it.”

He flashed a terse smile and made to return.

“Noteworthy.”

“What?”

“Seriously. Thank you.”

Rainbow sat under a dripping tree in the sprawling lawn before the capital building. Beside her was Trixie, wearing an indignant pout under her limp, soaked mane, and a distance away, Hailstone, her friend. The other five were scattered outside the building, watching and listening.

Her saddlebags were light, and she could feel the two potions shifting slightly when she moved. She grinned to herself. Her eyes were trained on the window that Dewdrop had pointed out, and her heart was beating quickly. “So, how’d you meet these ponies?” she asked, not looking at Trixie.

“They sought me out after a show,” Trixie said flatly. “Said they enjoyed my work, asked me out for a drink afterwards.”

“That’s it?”

“What were you expecting? A conspiracy?”

The word bounced through Rainbow’s mind. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Hey, Trixie. Do you know anything about secret agent ponies?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Secret agents. We saw some in Manehattan, and one in Trottingham too. At least, I think that’s what they are.”

“I think you’re out of your mind.” Trixie wiped her mane out of her eyes. “And to be perfectly honest, I think these ponies are out of their minds too. Rebels.”

“Not secret agents?”

“Did I stutter?”

“Sorry, geez.”

Trixie sighed. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m wet and cold, and I don’t want to be here right now. I think this whole thing is stupid. How six measely ponies expect to evacuate an entire town in a matter of days, right under the mayor’s nose, I have no idea. I guess I should have a little more faith in them, seeing that they were able to procure those potions. But it just seems like a waste to me.”

“You don’t think the city is threatened.”

“No, I do. By rebellion.” She turned to look at Rainbow, and Rainbow turned too. Trixie’s eyes were hard and judgmental. “Do you realize what you’re doing? You’re helping to overthrow the city leader on the authority of some ponies you met in a bar. For all you know, that ‘sleeping potion’ could be poison. For all you know, they’re the discorded ones, not Mayor Splotch.”

“Hey, if it helps get ponies away from this tornado, I’m gonna do it. And if this is so offensive, why are you even here? I thought you were friends.”

Trixie squared her shoulders and shivered as a stream of rainwater crawled down the crease of her eye socket. “I like them, but I’m not going to help stage a coup.”

Hailstone turned to look at them. “I just got a signal. Get ready to get up there, Dash.”

“I’m ready,” Rainbow said eagerly. She tested her wings, weighed down from the rain, and shook them, to Trixie’s vocal displeasure. She met Hailstone’s eyes, waiting for her sign. A nod, a word, something. They hadn’t discussed it.

Hailstone swiveled her head quickly to the side, where the gray mare waited beside a parked car across the field. She turned back to Rainbow. “Get going. Purple potion in the coffee—”

“And other potion in the desk, yeah, I got it,” Rainbow said, taking off in another spray of water. The rain pelted her face as she climbed quickly to the upper reaches of the capital building, sliding laterally along the wall as instructed, counting the windows. When she reached the correct one, she flared her wings to stop herself short, and turned to try to open it. There was a simple latch, already undone for her, but her hooves slipped and squeaked on the slippery glass. She could see the cup of coffee on the desk only a few feet before her, steaming.

“You wanna hurry it up?” Trixie shouted from below.

“I’m trying!” She dragged her hooves up the window again, catching them uncomfortably on the frame, and managing to lift it up enough to slip a hoof under and push it the rest of the way. Swooping inside, she quickly doffed her saddlebags and dug around, clenching the tiny potion in her teeth.

“Close the window, you halfwit!” Trixie’s voice called.

“Dammit,” Rainbow growled, stomping to the window and slamming it shut. She looked fearfully back to the door, still closed, and swiftly dumped the potion’s contents in the cup of coffee, having to waste a few seconds prizing it open. She didn’t know how much time she had; Hailstone had said a few minutes, but she wasn’t keeping track as she worked. Outside, thunder rumbled, and she jumped, her nerves stretched tight as wires. “I gotta get out of here.” Without thinking, she picked her bags back up and bolted for the door, throwing it open to an empty corridor. She let it close on its own as she raced down the hall, leaving a trail of rainwater behind, searching for somewhere to hide. Even with no one in sight, she felt oppressed and desperate. She could hear ponies in the rooms and floors around her, and in her mind, they were after her.

She turned into a doorway suddenly, entering a bare meeting room. A custodian glanced at her, and she gave a nervous smile. Outside, hooves strolled softly by, and she went back to the door. She didn’t hesitate in opening it, lest she make the custodian suspicious, and exited just in time to see a dark-tailed pony enter the mayor’s office. From the other side of the hall, a trio of official-looking unicorns trotted into view. They stopped for a second when they saw her.

“Aw, crap,” she breathed.

Before they could yell at her to stop, she was off at a gallop in the opposite direction. The patter of hooves hurried behind her, and she barreled around a corner, narrowly avoiding crashing into a small pony with a stack of papers.

“Stop where you are!” an official barked, and she looked back quickly. The corridor was long, and her pursuers, while falling behind, could still see her in the long hallway.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she whispered, taking to the air awkwardly to reach the hall’s end faster. “I gotta get out of here.” She rounded another corner and turned abruptly into the first open door she saw, and nearly slammed into the wall behind. An elevator. Standing up awkwardly, she jabbed at the button for the top floor, and the door slid closed just as the guards came around.

They cried out from behind the doors, and as their voices slid out of earshot, she sat back heavily and doffed her saddlebags. The elevator ride was only a brief interlude, she knew. She sighed and listened to the machinery around her, trying to order her mind.

“Why does it have to be me? This would be so much easier if it was Twilight, or Octavia. What would they do?” The elevator stopped, and doors slid open. Her heart froze, but she didn’t move to look; there was no one outside. They closed again, and she smoothed her mane. “Octavia’s right. We can’t let crap like this get to us.” She flipped the saddlebag open and looked at the glass vial glinting inside.

When the elevator stopped again, she grabbed her bags and crept out. A quick glance to the side showed that a second elevator was coming her way, and she knew who would be in it. She dashed down the quiet hall, past tall, narrow windows, and ducked into a small alcove. She pushed open a door and stepped into a bathroom.

She stopped and looked around, muttering another curse under her breath. She trotted to the sink. On the opposite side of the wall, she heard someone move past. “Crap, crap, crap,” she whispered. She dropped the bags again and rolled the vial out. “I gotta get rid of this thing.” Without thinking, she scooped it up in her wing and set it on the counter, leaning down and awkwardly yanking out the stopper with her teeth. More hoofsteps moved outside, and she tipped the vial up and let its contents spill into her mouth. It tasted like cough syrup, and she almost gagged at the sudden intensity on her tongue, but managed a sputtering swallow.

The vial dropped loudly into the sink, and she leaned over it, immediately struck with a powerful, hot, debilitating nausea. Her stomach and intestines seemed to bubble and squirm, and the strength went out of her legs as heat spread through the rest of her body. Her chest, throat, and lungs burned with a wet, pounding, infectious heat, and she coughed and gasped, her mouth hanging open, her jaw joints tight. She could only manage a strangled “oh Celestia” before leaning down farther, letting her head droop into the sink, the pony outside completely forgotten. Face to face with the porcelain, she coughed again, and her skin began to burn. Fire crawled along her fur, sending needles into each individual hair follicle, and her muscles tightened as her vision went black. On her back, her wings were screaming, tightening endlessly into knots of skin and sinew, tighter than the tightest cramp she had ever experienced. She could feel the cool air inside the sink, smell the drain, but every other sensation was distant and unimportant behind the pain. Her muscles stretched, her bones strained, and her mouth again opened reflexively as a retching, whining sound escaped her tight, convulsing throat. A shard of heat split her forehead, and her vision, still blacked out with closed eyes, went white and red. She couldn’t help it; she screamed, hoarse and desperate, her voice dry. The pain in her head widened, burned, and she rested her head on the sink surface, panting. When it was over, she spit into the sink uselessly and heaved a sigh. With her hot breath, a fraction of the pain seemed to ebb away, and she was able to open her eyes to the dull porcelain shine.

She breathed slowly, in and out, as the pain faded further. Starting at her core, the burning subsided, leaving behind a peculiar gritty sensation. Her heart beat faster and stronger, and she flexed her shoulders. They felt looser and easier, almost lighter.

When she raised her head out of the sink, it was a moment before she realized that the pony in the mirror was still her.

Ashen purple eyes stared back from under a heavy brow, underneath an abnormally long unicorn horn, curved upwards only slightly, like a crooked stalk. Thin lips creased down into a terrified frown, pulling her skin taut over soft cheekbones. She looked down quickly. Her hooves, once light, almost delicate, were powerful, shorn, cornified cudgels, all coated in an iron gray fur that was not her own. Trembling, she looked back: no wings. Only a massive, heavy, long tail that flowed out behind to trail for two feet more when it hit the bathroom floor.

She stared at herself with a blank expression, and the bathroom door opened.

“All right, where—oh! Madam, uh, excuse me.”

Rainbow turned to the official that had been chasing her. Her head was still empty, and no ready response came.

“I-is everything all right, madam? There’s an intruder somewhere in the building. We think she came up to this floor.”

“I haven’t seen anything,” Rainbow said quietly. Her voice was stern and hard, and even addled by the pain that had not completely faded, it was easy to keep it low and even. She looked directly at the official, thoughts spinning, and gave a curt nod. “But if there is someone up here, spare no resources to catch them.”

The official nodded firmly and trotted out, and Rainbow turned to look back at herself. “I’m her. I’m that creepy mayor.” She turned slowly in the mirror, examining herself. She was large, broad-shouldered, and heavy. Just the act of setting a hoof down to shift her weight felt powerful, like she could split the tile floor with one stomp. “So they were gonna impersonate her to evacuate the town.” Her dark eyes widened slightly. “Aw, shit.” “Now I have to do it.”

She left the bathroom, leaving the empty vial in the sink, and slowly returned to the elevator. The official was absent, and she had a long, lonely ride to the bottom of the building. “So what the hell do I do? The real mayor should still be in her office, passed out. I can’t go in now. But I can’t show Trixie’s friends what happened.” The elevator door slid open, and she looked out at the reception area. The large front room was quiet, and the few ponies that were there seemed unconcerned, reading at the room’s side or staring up at signs posted on the walls. A flash of blue caught her eye near an exit corridor, and she hastened after it. “Trixie!”

Trixie turned quickly and watched with a dreading face as Rainbow approached. “Uh… hello, mayor.”

“Come with me.” She didn’t stop her walk, much slower than she was used to. Without wings, and with a heavier body, she was forced to plod along with a deliberate gait that she didn’t like.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Trixie asked.

“In here.” She turned abruptly into a tiny, empty food hall. “Sit.” She looked at her reflection in the vending machine for a minute before returning to Trixie.

“Mayor, listen to me,” Trixie said quietly. “I don’t know how much time I have, but you’re in danger. A team of weatherponies is trying to slip you a sleeping potion—I don’t know why.”

“What?”

“They’re trying to take you out,” Trixie hissed. “They… well, they had a pegasus fly into your office to plant it. It’s in your coffee.”

“Trixie, dammit, it’s me,” Rainbow said.

She looked at her, shock and slight fear mixing on her face. “I… I’m sorry?”

“Rainbow Dash.” She tried to flex her wings, but only wiggled awkwardly.

“Wait. How do you know her? You… what?” Her voice rose. “What is going on here?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash.” She pressed a hoof to her chest emphatically. “I drank the other potion, the non-sleeping one. I think it’s a transforming potion.”

“Wait, wait. So… wait, so did you get the sleeping potion in the coffee?”

“Yes, dammit, I got your stupid potion in the stupid coffee! That’s not my problem.”

“No, I know. Hold on.” Trixie studied her, her expression not quite believing. “You were supposed to leave that for them to find. So… they would change into her.” Her expression soured. “It’s a freaking coup! I knew there was something fishy about all this.”

“Fishy? You just ratted them out to me,” Rainbow said.

“Are you stupid? Do you truly think they’re in this to evacuate the town? Splotch, it’s rain. That’s all it is.”

“Are you blind? It’s obviously more than that.” She put a hoof to her eyes. “No, that’s not important right now. What is important is what the hell I’m gonna do now.”

“Well, you’ve apparently taken the mayor’s place. So… you ruined their plans, for better or for worse. They’re going to be pretty irate.”

“They can kiss my flank. Do you know how painful it was to turn into this… body? Celestia, I’m so heavy.”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. What I do know is that if you get seen before they can hide the real mayor, everything is screwed. You’ll be found out, which means they’ll be found out, which means I’ll be found out.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“What do you think? Hide.” She looked fearfully back. “You really are lacking in critical thinking skills, aren’t you?”

“Shut up, Trixie,” Rainbow said tiredly. “I really don’t want to deal with your shit right now.”

“I’m going to go out there and tell them it was a success. They’ll come in and do… whatever to her body, to hide it. Once that’s done, you can tell them how you single-hoofedly screwed the pooch on their whole scheme.”

“And what then?”

“Well, you seem pretty set on evacuating the town, so maybe you should look into doing that.”

“I can’t do that on my own! I’ve been here a day!”

“Keep that voice down, you obstreperous dullard. And for Celestia’s sake, keep your tone even. Mayor Splotch is imposing and terse, not some… loudmouth.” She sighed and ran a hoof through her mane. “This is so stupid. You could have just kept the potion in your bag, you know. Or dumped it down a sink.”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“Oh, wow, I never would have expected you to say that.”

“Can we get back on topic? Maybe the topic of how my life is over?”

“It’ll wear off, you know.”

“Well… fine.” She sighed. Though she didn’t show it, she hadn’t even considered when she would return to her original form; the fact that she would, however, was a small relief. “How am I supposed to know when it’s safe to come out?”

“Go up to the top floor and wait in the bathroom. I’ll find you when everything’s ready.”

“I don’t want to wait in a bathroom.”

“Then wait inside a broom closet or something! Or stuff yourself into a freaking vending machine. I don’t care, Dash; you’re not my biggest problem right now. I have to find a way to tell those weatherponies that you were successful without letting on how completely you messed it up.”

“Fine, go do it then. Get off my back.”

Trixie looked at her for another moment, disgusted, before turning away with a scoff.

When she was gone, Rainbow stood and walked out the back of the room, circling around through a narrower corridor to the back of the reception room, where she got back into an elevator and set it to take her to the top floor. Her mind was heavy with questions and fears, and in the empty hum of the elevator, she felt, for the first time that day, truly, devastatingly alone.

“No one knows I’m in this situation but Trixie, and she’s more concerned about herself. I can’t go to Twilight, or I’ll risk being caught.” She pushed open the bathroom door again and entered a stall, sitting down and staring at the floor. “And those weatherponies are gonna kill me when they find out I stole their potion.” She let out a small moan. “I am so screwed.”

She sat for half an hour before someone entered the bathroom. “You in here?” Trixie asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said. “I’m here.” She stepped out of the stall and looked at Trixie, who looked her up and down.

“So, the mayor’s fast asleep. They said she should be out of commission for a couple days. But they know something’s up.”

“They noticed their potion isn’t in the desk.”

“I told them I had no idea. It’s on you whether you want to tell them the truth. They’re going to be coming for you, though.”

“Great. Just great.”

“Hey, you brought it on yourself.”

“I know that!” She cleared her throat and sighed. “I know, okay?”

Trixie appraised her for a moment. “So if you really think you need to evacuate Fillydelphia, I can help you. Not, you know, help get ponies out, but I can familiarize you with your own office. I’ve been here a lot.”

“Have you?”

“Yeah. I have.”

Rainbow looked at her, then at the mirror. She felt lost in her new body, and Trixie’s unsympathetic expression didn’t help. “So what do I need to do?”

“Come with me to your office.”

“What about the other ponies?”

“They’re looking for you elsewhere. I think they assumed you flew away.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” They left the bathroom and went back to the elevator, and rode down to her office. She sat down behind the massive, cluttered desk, and Trixie closed the door. “So what’s going on here? What do I need to know?”

“Well, you’re the mayor. Mayor Splotch is your name, and you’re a formidable pony. Stern, but fair; that’s your motto. You don’t take anypony’s crap, and you don’t give anyone any crap in return. No beating around the bush with you.”

“Sounds all right.”

“You don’t talk much—at least, I haven’t heard you talk much. You seem to know a lot about global affairs, so I’m guessing you have a lot of connections. Now, I’ve heard a story or two about you. Apparently, you’re really strong, and you’re not above getting physical if the situation demands it. Sunbeam said you came to blows with a griffon diplomat once.”

“So I’m violent?”

Trixie closed her eyes. “No, you’re just not afraid to get violent if you have to.”

“I hope I don’t have to.”

“Trust me, so do I. Now, hold on a second. I need to find something.” She opened a file cabinet and slowly picked through a sleeve of manila envelopes, until finally yanking a piece of paper out with a flourish. “Here we go. This is the pony you need to get your evacuation underway.” She showed Rainbow a picture of a wiry, pale chartreuse earth stallion with narrow eyes and a punkish, spiked mane. He looked to be barely out of high school. “This is Lowercase. He’s your logistics manager and situation analyst. Don’t let his youth fool you. He’s a genius, and an ice cold professional. See that bell phone on your desk corner? That connects you to his office directly, so you can ask him something or give him an assignment. In this case, it’ll be setting up an evacuation.”

“Wait, so I just tell this Lowercase pony to do it all?”

“You’re still the one in charge, Splotch. Now, I have no idea how the evacuation will work, but I’m sure you’ll need to sign forms and talk to other ponies.”

“That should be easy enough.”

“It won’t be. You have no idea how any of this works, and you can’t ask Lowercase about it. You’re supposed to be familiar with your own staff.”

“So… I tell him to set up an evacuation, and then I have to make sure everything’s authorized on my end, so he can actually do it?”

“Exactly.” She sighed. “But you know no one here.”

“Well, you seem to know a lot about this place.”

Trixie shook her head quickly. “Oh, no. No, no, you’re not involving me in this any more than you already have. There are files on different personnel in that cabinet. I advise you start reading.”

“What?” She looked at Lowercase’s file. “That’s huge! And I hate reading. And I can’t use this stupid horn,” she said, more quietly.

“You can’t use your hooves for reading?” Trixie asked, giving her a stern look.

“I can, I just hate it.”

“Hm. Well, poor you.”

“All right, all right, I’ll do it.” She awkwardly grabbed a bundle of manila envelopes and spread them on the table. “What if someone needs me to do something?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I’m not a government worker, Splotch. I only know what I do know because I’ve been in and out of this stupid building about a hundred times.”

“Why?”

“Various mix-ups and misunderstandings about permits and such. Red tape. Look, I don’t know what you expect from me. You have your employee profiles and you have your phone. I can’t do anything else.”

“Well, fine. Why don’t you get out of here then, so I can start reading.”

Trixie sighed indignantly. “I don’t have to help you at all, you know.”

Rainbow petulantly flipped a file open and stared down at it.

“I’ll tell your friends what you did.” She went for the door.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you. I know you’re my only help right now, and I… appreciate it, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Yeah.”

Trixie smirked. “Then I guess I can forgive you.” She swished out of the office with an upturned nose, and Rainbow watched the door slowly inch closed. When she was alone, she sighed and looked down at Lowercase’s file. The words blurred in her eyes almost immediately, and she lay her head down on the desk.

“Oh! I’m getting a letter,” Twilight said, looking up from her book and letting the parchment unfurl from her horn. They were back at the Moonbeam Hotel, waiting for Rainbow to return. It had been a couple hours, and some of them were getting worried.

“What’s it say? What’s it say?” Pinkie asked, immediately getting up to hop on the bed.

“Howdy Twilight. Oh, geez, it’s Discord again.”

“What’s he want?” Applejack asked disgustedly.

“How’s Fillydelphia? You haven’t written back, and I’m starting to feel a little unwanted. That’s no way to treat the future ruler of Equestria. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Um, there’s more, but you get the idea. Anyway, you might want to be careful; I heard there can be some nasty weather up there this time of year.”

“So he is behind this,” Rarity said.

“Too bad you don’t have any umbrellas; you’ll be needing those soon. Give my regards to Vanilla Cream when you see him; he told me everything’s going just according to plan. He has that part italicized for some reason. Then he wrote ‘ha ha ha’ a few more times, and signed his name.”

“How does he know what we’re doin’ all the time if he’s all the way across the country?” Applejack asked unhappily.

“All he knows is that we are in Fillydelphia, and the weather is bad. Vanilla probably told him both of those things,” Octavia said. She looked up at a knock on the door, and Pinkie zipped over to open it. Her smile faltered only slightly when Trixie entered.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“Can I sit down? This might take a while.” Trixie pointed at the bed, and Rarity scooted over to let her in.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“Kind of.”

“Is Rainbow okay?” Octavia asked.

“Yes, she’s fine for the moment. Well, not fine, but unhurt.”

“All right, get to it,” Applejack said. “Yer worryin’ me.”

“Those friends I mentioned back on the rooftop… I think they were plotting a coup on the mayor. They say she was… oh, shoot, what did Dash call it? Discorded.”

“She’s been discorded?” Pinkie cried.

“But she’s been so helpful,” Twilight said.

“I don’t know. I’m just saying that’s what I heard. So we all went to the capital building, to do something very covert and very illegal. Long story short, Rainbow wound up drinking the wrong potion, which just so happened… you know what, why don’t you take a guess?”

“Why don’t you just tell us?” Applejack asked, an edge of hostility creeping into her voice.

“Ugh, fine. It was a polymorph potion. Rainbow Dash is now disguised as Mayor Splotch.”

They looked at her for a moment, silent, and Rarity spoke. “Twilight, we only let her go on her own for a few hours.”

“So my friends—er, well… anyway, they’re quite upset that Dashie ruined their plans. They haven’t found her yet, but it’s only a matter of time before they figure it out. They’re pretty smart.”

“So she’s there now?” Twilight asked. “At the capital building?”

“Should be. She wants to try to evacuate the city.” She looked out the window. “All this rain is really eating at her,” she said loftily.

“Funny you should mention that,” Rarity said.

“Oh?”

“I got a letter from Discord a few minutes ago,” Twilight said.

“He sends you letters? Why?”

“He is trying to demoralize us,” Octavia said.

“And in this one, he confirmed that there’s something wrong with the weather,” Twilight said. “He didn’t say it was a tornado specifically, but he alluded to something bad to come.”

“Can I see?” Trixie asked. Twilight floated the slip of paper over to her, and she scanned it quickly. “Oh, dear. This… complicates things.”

“It does?” Pinkie asked, leaning in to read it over Trixie’s shoulder.

“It means it just became about a hundred times more important that Rainbow doesn’t screw this evacuation up. Which, based on her track record since I’ve met her, is very likely.” She lay back and turned over quickly, burying her face in the pillow. Pinkie put a hoof on her back.

“We need to go see her, now,” Octavia said.

“I’ll drive you,” Trixie said, voice muffled. “She probably needs my help again anyway.”

They managed to stuff themselves into Trixie’s car, and it was fifteen uncomfortable, loud minutes before they were approaching Mayor Splotch’s office. “She’s going to be really happy to see you, I’m sure,” Trixie said.

They entered, and the mayor—Rainbow—jumped up at the sight of her friends. Rarity closed the door as she trotted over to them.

“Thank Celestia you’re here. Girls, I am so screwed.”

“Trixie told us the whole story,” Octavia said. “Have the weatherponies found you yet?”

“Yeah, Hailstone came and told me off already.”

“That was quick,” Trixie said. “What did she say?”

“Same as you, actually. Called me stupid, said I ruined their plan, yadda yadda yadda. I should actually thank you, Trixie. You helped me get used to being insulted.”

“I must have recognized your natural potential. So are they going to try to oust you, or help you evacuate?”

“She said they’d help me, but I had to release a couple, uh, safeguards first. The old mayor had them on some kind of security watch thing.”

“That’s suspicious,” Twilight said.

“Well, she was discorded,” Rainbow said.

“Oh, right. But why them?”

“I dunno, and I don’t really care.” She slowly went back to her desk and closed a folder. “These are all the files on my employees. I have to read ‘em all so I don’t look like an idiot when I try to get the evacuation underway.”

“How many are there?” Twilight asked.

“Like fifty.”

“And how many have you read?” Rarity asked.

“Half of one.” She slid Lowercase’s file across to Trixie.

“You’re going to have to actually put forth effort to do this, you know,” Trixie said. “I know that might be hard for you, but it’s not really an option.”

“Hey, I’ll get it done, all right? I have my own pace.”

“Not here,” Octavia said. “We received a letter from Discord, confirming your theory. You need to begin preparing to evacuate the city immediately. We do not know how long until this tornado strikes.”

“Wait, he wrote to you again?”

“Yeah, about thirty minutes ago,” Twilight said. “He admits he’s behind this.”

“Of course he is,” Rainbow murmured.

They all jumped at the sound of Rainbow’s desk phone ringing. She stared at it.

“You might want to answer that,” Trixie said.

Rainbow slowly depressed the button on its metal front, and a small voice came out.

“Miss mayor, you have a meeting in five minutes.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at them. “Five minutes?”

“In conference room C, yes, ma’am.”

“O-okay. Thanks.” She let the button go, and the room was quiet. “Uh… does anyone know where that is?”