Rainbow Dash and her two traveling companions walked across the rain soaked streets of Ponyville tirelessly on their mission to rescue their friends. Although their pace was slow from the shivering cold they were putting their bodies through, they had to complete their journey at all costs. Besides, after the close call the two mares just had with the monsters of the storm, they felt that it would be best to stay low.

The trio walked along what they could loosely identify as the side of a path, taking a few moments to enjoy the reprieve from the rain they would receive by passing under a stray tree. Rainbow Dash slightly regretted leaving the streets of Ponyville, with its buildings and awnings to hide under. Now all she could look forward to was more stinging rain and wind plowing into her already drenched fur. Taking a begrudging glance beside her to her suited companion, she shrugged as she wondered how better off Sunspot was in her Wonderbolt outfit.

“Are we almost there? I think I’m pruning up from being out in the rain for so long…” Rainbow Dash whined ahead to the human leading them.

“You tell me… I barely know my way around this place when it isn’t covered in a torrential downpour.” Tom stated jokingly while glancing back to his soaked companions. The two mares were outraged by the fact that the person leading them had no idea where they were going.

“What?! You mean we could be walking in the completely wrong direction?!” Rainbow Dash asked in an understandably upset tone. Tom could tell that his comment wasn’t exactly achieving the desired effect.

“Take it easy, I was kidding… we should be there in a few minutes.” Tom shrugged while looking straight forward. He was afraid that if he turned around to look at the pair they might kill him, or at least try to at any rate.

“Funny…” Rainbow Dash spoke sarcastically while staring daggers into the back of Tom’s head. She was a little confused to hear Sunspot chuckling next to her.

“Hey, lighten up Rainbow Dash. At least you don’t have to wear a suit while doing this… I swear this thing is so wet that it’s squeaking.” Sunspot said in a jovial tone while shivering slightly. Every time she moved she felt the cold and wet material of the suit come into contact with her already soaked body. It was a wonder how she kept such high spirits.

“Really? I would have thought that wearing that thing would keep you warm for at least a few seconds longer.” Rainbow Dash pondered out loud. The cyan mare never really thought about how the rain would affect her friend’s suit.

“Heh… yeah, maybe like one. I guess I can call up the old team and tell them that these things aren’t water proofed worth squat.” Sunspot replied while pulling a section of her suit out to test how soaked it was. The piece of fabric felt squishy to the touch and didn’t even snap back into place immediately, instead only sagging slightly before finally going back to its original position.

Rainbow Dash was going to say something else to her orange companion, when she suddenly ran into Tom and came to an abrupt stop. She noticed that the human was staring ahead with a surprised expression.

“What the hay…? Tom, what’s wrong?” The cyan mare asked while following his gaze forward. It didn’t take long for her and her suited friend to notice what had spooked the slayer.

A huge rolling wall of what appeared to be clouds and rain was spinning around the area ahead. The sound of the rain hitting the ground masked the roaring wind of the distant phenomenon, but the two ponies could clearly hear it now that they were aware of its presence. The entire thing resembled a giant tornado that was remaining in place.

The two ponies were speechless as they stared at the horrific whether phenomenon. No tornado they had ever witnessed or created was nearly as big or as frightening looking as this beast. It didn’t even look like it could have been created by ponies. Strangely though, it didn’t seem to be doing much damage to the surrounding area. Whatever pull it had must have been incredibly localized for them to not even feel anything from this distance.

“W…w-what in the name of Celestia is that?” Rainbow Dash asked in a shocked stupor as she watched the large twister closely. It didn’t seem to be sucking up much debris, further confirming that it wasn’t an average tornado.

Tom used his senses a few times to scope out the area ahead. He felt a large amount of energy inside the area concealed by the storm, and an even larger amount of those creatures waiting inside.

“I think this is where the storm came from… I’m sensing a lot of activity over there, and correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that thing directly over Sweet Apple Acres?” Tom asked while observing the surrounding area.

As Rainbow Dash looked around, she realized that the boy was right. The tornado was so large that she hadn’t noticed that it was covering the entire farm behind a wall of wind and rain. The thought of Applejack and her family being inside of that horrific thing made the cyan mare panic with fear.

“Oh my gosh, you’re right! We need to go help them!” Rainbow Dash stated in an alarmed tone. She hoped against all hope that nothing bad had already happened to her orange friend or her family. Rainbow Dash couldn’t imagine her life without the farm pony in it. Applejack was practically family to her and the others.

“Hold up… I’m sensing a lot more of those things in there. Even if we could get through that tornado, we would be outnumbered. We should stay low and keep quiet unless we want to be up to our eyes in demons.” Tom said in a cautious tone.

“So you’re telling me that the best plan you can come up with is to sneak in there and hope they don’t see us?” Rainbow Dash asked in a leery tone while eyeing the human with a doubtful expression.

“Well… yeah, I guess. Do you have any better ideas?” Tom asked curiously while glancing between the two mares.

“I have a charm that can hide us from supernatural creatures.” Sunspot suggested in a helpful tone.

“Really? That sounds great Sunspot! Why didn’t we use that before?” Rainbow Dash asked in a surprised tone while looking to the suited mare.

“Umm… it has a really small range, so it would only work for me and maybe one other person… we would have to be shoulder to shoulder the whole time, and even then it might not completely cover you.” Sunspot deflated slightly as she remembered the limitations to her equipment.

“You guys really need to get better stuff… I know you didn’t have much to go on, but this is getting ridiculous. Maybe Tom can show you some tricks of the trade with his monster know-how.” Rainbow Dash suggested with a wry smirk while glancing to the human.

“Before we do that we should probably get moving... through the giant tornado.” Tom said with a nervous chuckle while returning his attention forward. Everyone gulped nervously as they thought about how to approach walking through a tornado that was twice the size they were used to.

“I’m not sure if I want to try flying into that… even if I could fly straight, I’m not sure if I could stop it.” Rainbow Dash said uneasily. She was confident that she could unravel any tornado that came her way, but that was only when it was a natural occurrence she was dealing with. The rolling wall of wind and rain in front of her now was far from natural.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go in first to see if it’s safe.” Tom suggested while stepping forward confidently. The two mares eyed the human with uncertain expressions as he prepared to waltz inside.

“But… what if you don’t come back out?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously. Not only because she was concerned for the human’s health, but also because she didn’t want to be left without his protection this close to imminent danger.

“Well… then you know that it isn’t safe.” Tom replied jokingly. The boy’s answer only made the cyan pony feel even more uncomfortable.

“Relax guys, I’m practically immortal remember? If I’m not back out in a few minutes, try to find another way to handle this thing… maybe call Twilight and the others so she can tell the princess.” Tom said reassuringly. The two mares looked at each other for a moment before nodding slowly.

With that in mind, Rainbow Dash and Sunspot watched intently as the human walked up to the wall of wind. Tom inched closer to the wall apprehensively. He couldn’t feel anything at the moment, but he knew that whatever force the vortex held was probably inside of it.

The boy cautiously held out his hand and inched it closer to the spinning mass. As he felt the tips of his fingers breech the vortex, he had to push forward slightly to prevent his arm from being blown back. Once inside the wall, he felt a constant force pushing against him, trying to carry him sideways with the rest of the wind. Not wanting to waste any more time, Tom stepped forward and shielded his eyes with his other hand. The two ponies watched as their friend disappeared from sight.

Several agonizing moments went by without any sign of the slayer’s return. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Rainbow Dash felt more and more anxious with each passing second as she feverishly watched the swirling mass.

“Tom…?” Rainbow spoke up over the sound of the roaring wind, hoping to get some sort of response. “Are you ok?” She asked nervously. The cyan mare wasn’t even sure if the boy could hear her, but she couldn’t bear standing still and doing nothing.

Just before her nerves were going to explode, Rainbow Dash was relieved to see Tom bursting out of the spinning wall. Judging from first glance, it appeared as if he wasn’t missing anything vital, so perhaps there was hope for the two ponies.

“How was it?” Sunspot asked curiously as the human walked back up to them. Tom shrugged while shaking his head and glancing back to the wall with an exhausted expression.

“Whew... It’s definitely an experience, that’s for sure. I think you two should be fine crossing through it, just steady yourself and close your eyes… there is a lot of debris in there.” Tom explained while brushing himself off.

“Way ahead of you man.” Sunspot stated while tapping her flight goggles on the side. She was thankful that she didn’t have any water blown into her eyes on the trip through town, and now she was thankful that she didn’t have to worry about going blind from having debris blown into her face.

“I guess I’ll just hang onto you guys and keep walking forward.” Rainbow Dash shrugged as she realized that she had no other means to protect her eyes other than closing them tightly. She would be blind as a bat while walking through the twister, but she hoped that her two friends were trustworthy enough to not lead her off a cliff.

“All right then… let’s get in there.” Tom said eagerly while walking towards the tornado. He appeared to hold more confidence in traveling through the wall than the ponies had, but then again, he had already went through it once. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot shared a nervous glance before walking over to join the human near the wall. The rushing of wind was almost deafening, so the trio had to communicate through gestures.

Tom huddled close and kept a hand on the suited mare’s back to keep track of her in the blinding tempest, while Rainbow Dash stood shoulder to shoulder with Sunspot and placed one of her arms around her. The trio wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t lose someone to the swirling wind before they made it through.

With a solemn nod, the group stepped forward into the tornado. Rainbow Dash shut her eyes as she shoved her nose into the wall of wind. The force pushing back on her almost felt like a wall of fast moving water, being powerful enough to provide palpable resistance as she walked forward with the rest of her group.

The constant force of the wind blowing against them almost knocked the three down. If it weren’t for the fact that she was with her two companions, the cyan mare might have been blown around like a living tumbleweed.

On top of the force of the wind, the sound of the wind was overwhelming. It wasn’t quite loud enough to hurt the ponies’ ears, but it was enough to create an all-encompassing atmosphere that drowned out any other noise. If the cyan pegasus were to speak, she wasn’t even sure if she could hear herself in her own head. The only thing Rainbow Dash could do was keep her eyes shut, and keep her friends close as they slowly walked forward.

Meanwhile, Sunspot at least had the luxury of a visual experience. Although she couldn’t see much, she could see the flurry of wind blowing past her face. This sensory overload was enough to keep her mildly astonished and entertained as she walked through the tempest.

Suddenly, all at once, the group stepped out onto the other side. As quickly as the deafening noise had arrived, it vanished. The three found themselves standing outside of the fence bordering the farmland that Applejack and her family called home.

“Whoa… that was kind of cool. I guess I can honestly say I have walked through a giant tornado now…” Rainbow Dash commented in an astonished tone while glancing back at the swirling wall behind her. Although the cyan mare dealt with tornadoes in her duties as a pegasus, she usually just made them by flying. She never walked through them before, and certainly not one so big.

“Yeah… that’s a new one for me too. Let’s hurry up and find the others so we can stop those demons.” Tom said to remind the group of their task. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement as she thought back to her earth pony friend.

“Right, let’s go save Applejack and the others… I hope they are alright. They have been in here for a really long time.” Rainbow Dash stated uneasily. The more she thought about her friend’s situation, the more worried she got.

“I’m sure they’re fine… but we should hurry every chance we get.” Sunspot added reassuringly. She only hoped that what she was saying was actually true.

Without any further delay, the three set out on their way through Sweet Apple Acres. As they passed through the gate, they weren’t greeted with the usual beauty of the luscious farmland. Instead they were greeted with darkness and rain drenched soil. The group had to put in a sizable effort just to not sink into the mud.

The usually breath taking orchards of apple trees on either side of them were now in shambles. Most of the apples had been blown off, and the trees themselves were on the verge of being ripped apart by the wind. It pained Rainbow Dash to see her friend’s livelihood in such poor shape.

“Oh no… Applejack is going to be devastated when she sees how much damage this storm has done.” Rainbow commented sadly while looking around at the various pieces of wooden tools and other such items blown around by the wind. She almost didn’t want to see how the house and barn looked.

“It’s bad enough that they’re trying to kill us… can’t they leave our property alone?” Sunspot asked in a more agitated tone. The more the two mares thought about everything the hooded ponies had done, the more upset they became.

“I swear… when I get my hooves on one of those hooded creeps, I’ll make them sorry they were ever born!” Rainbow Dash said angrily while envisioning how satisfying it would be to take her rage out on one of the hooded ponies.

Suddenly, Tom paused and used his senses a few times. He seemed to be more confused than concerned by whatever reading he was getting. The two ponies could only stand in place and let him finish whatever he was doing.

“What’s wrong Tom?” Rainbow Dash asked anxiously while looking around them. Although she couldn’t see any more of the demons, the pegasus knew that there were probably hundreds of them waiting in the clouds.

“It’s faint… but I’m sensing some ambient energy that would indicate some kind of spell… and it feels similar to the ones we have been coming across all over town.” Tom explained while double checking his findings.

“You mean there’s a pictogram here?” Sunspot asked curiously. She wondered if they could destroy the pictogram to be rid of the storm and all of the monsters that came with it.

“Yeah… and I’m not sure, but I think I can sense a lone pony in the middle of it.” Tom replied in an uncertain tone. The news that one of the hooded ponies could still be here was shocking and slightly intimidating to the two mares. Every hooded pony that their friends had run into had been a super-powered psychopath.

“Really? You mean… one of them might still be here?” Rainbow Dash asked with slight apprehension evident in her voice. She could already imagine what frightful capabilities whatever pony it was might have held.

“Looks like you will get your chance after all Rainbow Dash… let’s head over there.” Tom suggested while walking forward. The two mares were forced to follow him as he moved off to the side of the farm and up to the fence.

Tom quickly jumped over the fence and signaled for the two ponies to join him. Rainbow Dash and Sunspot looked at each other nervously before shrugging and hopping over the wooden structure to join the human. They would rather stay close to him and fight a magically powered pony than be alone in the storm again.

After a few moments of walking along the fence, the group started to see something up ahead amid the flashes of lightning. It appeared to be a line on the ground that formed an intricate circle, and in the middle of the circle was a crouched down figure.

“There it is… and there is that pony you felt.” Sunspot stated the obvious in a slightly nervous tone. She was still dreading her first encounter with one of the monstrous individuals that were responsible for all of this.

“Maybe we should just leave him alone… what if he has powers like the others?” Rainbow Dash reasoned, deciding to no longer hide her apprehensions.

“Don’t worry… I can’t feel any shadow energy on him… I don’t think he can even use any shadow magic.” Tom stated before walking over confidently. The two mares weren’t sure if what the human said was true, but they were a little more confident as they walked up to join him.

The trio lined up and confidently walked closer to the mysterious pony. As they got closer, they noticed that it was a male unicorn wearing a gray hoodie. He appeared to have a red vest on underneath his hood, but it was hard to tell in the rain.

He appeared to be sulking, or at any rate he appeared to be waiting around with a saddened expression. He was sitting in the center of the symbol with his head hung low. Judging from how much his hair and clothes were soaked through, one could gather that he had been out here for a while.

“Hey, you there!” Tom spoke up in an intimidating tone while walking up to the edge of the symbol. The unicorn jumped nervously as he realized that he wasn’t alone. Even through the darkness and rain, the group could tell that his eyes were wide in fear.

“Ah!” The unicorn stammered nervously before falling silent. He scooted backwards defensively as he stared at his three visitors.

“What are you doing here?” Tom asked while keeping up his intimidating tone of voice. The more frightened the pony was of him, the more progress he could make, or at least that was what he hoped.

“Uh… umm… I’m just uh… out for a walk…?” The hooded pony muttered in a timid voice. He didn’t even sound like he believed his own answer.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and groaned painfully. She almost felt bad that someone could think up such a pathetic lie. The cyan mare walked up a little closer and glared at the nervous unicorn.

“Buddy… you’re a horrible liar.” Rainbow Dash stated with an agitated expression.

“Uh… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just walking around town, when this storm came out of nowhere… I tried to get away, but then that tornado came down and blocked me in!” The unicorn tried to explain in as sincere a manner as possible, which didn’t get him very far. The trio merely looked at him in disbelief.

“Dude… you are literally… holding, the book that you used to make this spell.” Rainbow Dash stated while pointing to the leather bound book in the unicorn’s grasp. Although the pages were completely ruined from the rain, the arcane symbols on the cover of the tome clearly painted a picture as to its contents.

As he noticed that he was in fact holding damning evidence in front of him, the hooded pony nervously hid the book behind his back and smiled awkwardly with a nervous chuckle.

“Book? What book?” The unicorn said with an awkward smile while breaking out into a cold sweat.

“Look man, cut it out… we know that you did this.” Tom said while pointing up at the blackened clouds. He walked forward to get closer to the unicorn, when he was suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier.

“Ow… what the…?” The boy muttered in confusion while feeling around the force field. Taking a quick look downwards at the glowing symbols beneath him, he quickly realized the purpose of the barrier.

“So that’s why you’re still here… Looks like somebody didn’t read the fine print on the spell they were using.” Tom said while giving the barrier a few taps with a closed fist. The unicorn seemed confused by his statement.

“What do you mean?” The hooded pony asked curiously.

“The spell you used summons a protective barrier to keep the summoner safe from the demons. A rather convenient spell… unless you intend on leaving anytime soon.” Tom said with an amused chuckle.

“Sunspot, can you get this thing open with that charm you used back at the hospital?” The human asked curiously while turning to the suited mare. Surely the charm she used to dispel the magical barrier that was holding them on the third floor could undo whatever force field was trapping the unicorn.

“Sure thing… just give me a minute.” Sunspot replied while searching through her vials. As the hooded pony realized that the trio was about to break into his accidental sanctuary, he started becoming even more nervous.

“Stop! You can’t come in here… I won’t let you!” He yelled in a desperate attempt at stopping their assault on his prison. The unicorn’s threats only elicited a brief chuckle from the group.

“Hah… like you could do anything to hurt us. You can’t even perform a spell right if you got trapped in there!” Rainbow Dash mocked the nervous pony with a smirk. Her comment made him even more nervous and even more desperate.

“Uh… what’s stopping me from just teleporting away from you once you let me out? Yeah… bet you didn’t think of that did you?!” The unicorn replied with false confidence. In response to his bold statement, the human partially unsheathed his blade and glared at him.

“If I so much as see that horn of yours light up… I’ll cut it off. And trust me on this one… I can move faster than you can think.” Tom stated in a threatening tone. The boy’s harsh words made the unicorn squeal fearfully at the mere thought.

“Please don’t hurt me!” The stallion stated while cowering with his face hid in his arms.

“Your name wouldn’t happen to be Cotton Quill would it?” Sunspot asked while preparing her charm for use. The unicorn stopped cowering and looked up in response.

“How did you know that?” He asked in a confused tone, confirming the orange mare’s suspicions.

“Well… we know that a unicorn named Cotton Quill does most of the legwork for all of the monster summoning’s we have encountered… and you seem to match his description.” The suited pegasus replied while pushing the tip of the vial she was holding against the barrier. A shockwave went through the force field before disappearing in a small flash of light. As the barrier vanished, the trio took a few steps towards the nervous unicorn.

“Gah!” Cotton yelped in fright while backpedalling away from the approaching group. As he got up to run, he was suddenly stopped by the human speaking up.

“Hold up there hood boy… we just want to talk. Besides, if you run I will give you a reason to keep running.” Tom said in an earnest and surprisingly mellow tone. Cotton paused and turned around for fear that he was being honest.

“Look… we can worry about what to do with you later. Right now we have friends that need our help, so you’re coming with us.” The human added in a compromising manner. Rainbow Dash was surprised by the notion of taking one of their enemies with them.

“What?! We’re taking him with us?!” The cyan mare asked with a shocked expression.

“We need him for information, and we can’t really do anything with him at the moment. We have no choice but to keep him with us as a hostage… I mean, what do you think we should do with him?” Tom asked while turning to face the cyan mare. Rainbow Dash was unsure of how to answer. She didn’t like the prospect of one of their enemies being with them in such a crisis, but she also knew that they needed to get information out of him later.

“Well umm… we could… I… *sigh* Alright fine, you win.” Rainbow Dash stated in a defeated tone as she came up with no other answers.

“Good… let’s get moving. Applejack and the others need us sooner rather than later.” Tom suggested while walking forward and grabbing ahold of the back of Cotton’s hoodie. The unicorn struggled briefly before going along with the human’s lead.

After taking a moment to examine the peculiar symbol on the ground and all of the materials with it, the group headed off on their way to help their friends. With the storm raging overhead, and the ever present fear of the monsters somewhere around them, they were eager to get indoors.

Quickly hopping over the fence and ducking under some apple trees, the group took a brief moment to enjoy the decrease of rain hitting them. With a shared nod, the trio decided to linger for a few more minutes to catch their breaths.

Rainbow Dash sat down and leaned up against the trunk of a sturdier looking tree. She put her arms behind her head and kicked back to relax for a few moments. She hadn’t realized just how sore and tired she was from all the stress she had recently been through, so it was nice to rest.

“Man… I think I never want to see water again.” Rainbow Dash said in a matter of fact tone. If she never saw another rain cloud again, it would be too soon.

“Heh… now you know how we felt after getting out of the school. We were wading through ice cold knee high water for like half an hour… not to mention the bloody freak chasing us.” Tom stated lightheartedly.

“Well no offense, but I would have much rather went on without knowing what it feels like to be a pair of socks in a washing machine... minus the walking pile of blood” Rainbow Dash replied with a chuckle.

“Where did you guys find that ugly customer anyway? Did you pick him out yourself or did your boss just give you an assignment.” The human asked while glancing over to the hooded unicorn nearby. Cotton looked over at the slayer nervously as he brought up the events at the school. Doubtlessly he would be upset over every hardship that had occurred by his hoof.

“I-I was just doing what I was T-told… everything was prepared for me beforehand, except for the location.” Cotton explained apprehensively.

“Wait… you picked the location? So you were the one that decided to attack the school?!” Rainbow Dash asked angrily. She became more upset as she thought further about the unicorn’s role in the calamities that happened recently. Cotton avoided eye contact with the agitated pegasus as she glared at him. He hoped that she would eventually leave him alone if he was silent.

“Some friends of mine got hurt during the attack you caused… three fillies. They don’t even have their cutie marks yet… you don’t feel even a little bit remorseful for that?!” The cyan mare asked while sitting up and intensifying her glare.

“I… umm.” Cotton fiddled his hooves together as he searched for an answer to her question. He hadn’t really put much thought into how the plans he carried out affected other ponies. In his duties, pain and suffering were seen as good things to be inflicted on others.

“You were the one that picked the hospital too weren’t you…?” Rainbow Dash grew cold and quiet as she thought about the matter further. “I get it… you wanted to take advantage of the ponies hurt at the school. Strike them while they were already hurt and scared… gather more fear up for your hooded pals right? Two ponies died in there… because of what you did… do you even care?!” She yelled at the unresponsive unicorn, making him jump slightly.

“Leave him alone Rainbow Dash… we can give him the third degree later.” Tom suggested in an attempt at calming down the upset pegasus. Rainbow Dash leaned back while glaring at the unicorn for a few more moments. She then sighed and looked away.

“How could someone be so heartless?” The cyan mare muttered sadly before falling silent.

The group sat in silence for a while after that, listening to the rain while they dealt with their inner feelings. As they listened to their surroundings, they started to notice something changing about the storm around them. The wind and rain seemed to be dying down slightly.

“What the hay…?” Sunspot asked in confusion while glancing out from under the trees. Barely any rain was falling anymore, and the frequency of thunder and lightning seemed to be mildly decreased.

Rainbow Dash perked her ears up and listened for any suspicious changes, when she suddenly heard something hitting the tree next to her. Two more soft crackles sounded out, as if something hard were smacking to the ground.

“What the- OW!” The cyan mare cried out in pain as a small round object smacked into the side of her arm. As she rubbed the impact area and looked down, she noticed a decently sized chunk of ice on the ground beside her.

As the group looked around, they saw several more chunks of ice falling to the earth with steadily increasing frequency. Before long, the sounds they were making resembled heavy rainfall, creating a thunderous uproar as each chunk smacked into either the ground or one of the ponies.

“Hail?!” Sunspot exclaimed in shock. With the way Equestria’s weather was managed, hail was a rare occurrence, and when it did occur, measures were taken to make it as small as possible for safety. However, the chunks of ice currently falling to the ground were anything but safe.

Every time a ball slammed into them, the ponies felt a twinge of pain that stung for a long time after the initial impact. Before long, the impacts were so large that it was actually endangering the group physically. If the hailstones got any larger and they hit them in the head, it might cause a skull fracture.

“The storm must be getting worse… let’s get out of here!” Tom suggested while covering his head and rushing out into the storm. He didn’t even need to escort the hooded unicorn as everyone was rushing to keep up with him to get to shelter.

Although they were relatively close to the farmhouse, the short walk was agonizing in the blistering hailstorm. Every step they took was met with several balls of ice slamming into their frail bodies.

“AGH!” Rainbow Dash yelled in pain as a hailstone crashed into her knee. The force of the impact made the joint lock up and pressed it in the wrong direction of motion. The cyan mare fell forwards into the mud before catching herself with her other front leg.

Sunspot rushed to her side and picked her up to keep the wounded pegasus moving. They couldn’t risk her being left behind in the storm or she could be severely hurt. With the orange mare helping to carry her weight, Rainbow Dash sucked up the pain and continued onwards.

Finally the group reached the porch of the Apple Family home. The roof of the enclosing was battered from the hailstones hitting it, but it remained solid despite the constant assault. The four immediately collapsed to a seated position to recover from their injuries. As the four were resting and tending to the wounded cyan mare, everything suddenly went quiet. The hail stopped, and only the sound of the rustling wind was left to accompany them.