It was eighteen-thirty-six as the evening shift for the Ponyville Weather Team were supposed to gather so they could figure out what the new weather schedule demanded of them.

Normally, the whole Weather Team studied whatever schedule the EWA (Equestrian Weather Administration) sent them in depth so, they knew the weather schedule months in advance. However, the EWA had to send Ponyville a completely different weather schedule due to unforeseen events. The new noblepony that was to inherit control of Everfree Province had specifically chosen Ponyville as his seat of provincial government. The ambient magic flowing from the migrants that would inevitably come would upset the magical balance of the whole region, which would cause the Everfree Forest to react violently. It had been the first time in five hundred years that somepony from Noblesse's branch of House Platinum had selected a settlement within Everfree Province as their Provincial Capital.

The traditional Provincial Capital had been Stifle Hollow for the few times that a member of the nobility did choose to hold court in Everfree Province, excluding the one time that a particularly eccentric noble founded Dodge City to use as the seat of provincial government. Weather Teams all over Everfree Province had to work overtime to manipulate nature just right so that the Everfree Forest didn't expand at an alarming rate all without upsetting the wildlife outside of the infamous forest. This meant that each individual Weather Team had to reexamine the weather schedule to do their jobs properly, this also meant that each weather shift had to get to work early to stay on schedule. This was upsetting to the Captain of the Ponyville Weather Team who happened to have the evening shift this week.

“Come on, come on,” Said Rainbow Dash impatiently.

The cerulean mare looked to Ponyville's clock tower, and sighed. It was a quarter to six, and nopony else had shown up for the evening shift. Rainbow Dash made it clear that everypony had to show up an hour early to carefully go over the new weather schedule. The one problem to living in a usually peaceful town was that everypony was carefree. Ponyville was even calm when Princess Celestia announced a visit, calm compared to the metropolises of Manehatten or Cloud Spire anyways. This meant that when something like the Weather Schedule being rewritten happened, Ponies tended to either not take it seriously or just forget about it completely.

Rainbow turned around with hope in her eyes as she heard the distinct flapping of wings behind her, it was not going to be fun doing everything that needed to be done tonight by herself. Rainbow turned to see two of the Pegasi she usually worked with.

“Hey Thunderlane! Hi Cloud Chaser!” Rainbow was happier than usual to see her weather team friends, “How have you two been?”

“We've been great,” Answered Cloud Chaser coolly, “Though Flitter won't be joining us.”

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash knew that Flitter works as hard at everything that she does (even if Flitter couldn't do it as well) and Flitter wouldn't blow off work for no reason, “Did something happen?”

“Some of her dance partners knocked her out of the air on accident,” Replied Thunderlane, “And she landed on her wing.”

Rainbow cringed instantly, “Is she okay?”

“Yeah,” Said the stallion, “She'll be fine, but she won't be in the air for a couple of days.”

“So it's just us for a while?” Asked Rainbow.

“Blossomforth went up to Baltimare because her brother is having his first foal soon, Star Hunter gave himself a concussion during flight practice, and Thorn managed to tear all of the feathers out his right wing,” Cloud Chaser is a socialite and as much of a gossip as Rarity is.

“So the three of us have to deal with all of this by ourselves?” Asked Rainbow with concern in her voice.

“Oh come on Rainbow,” Started Thunderlane, “It doesn't look that bad.”

In truth, there were only a dozen or so clouds in the sky that needed to be bucked. Rainbow could have dealt with this herself in just a few minutes. Rainbow then glared at Thunderlane as she point to the right. Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser looked over a massive storm coming towards Ponyville from the Everfree Forest. “Sweet Celestia,” Said Cloud Chaser as she covered her snout with her hooves. Wild Weather was nothing like the manufactured weather from the weather factories of the major Pegasus cities. It was unpredictable and highly volatile, so much so that Celestia only trusted the Weather Teams of Everfree Province to deal with Everfree weather and the Wonderbolts to deal with the Wild Weather that blew in from the ocean.

“Oh, then it was probably a good thing that talked to Rumble earlier today,” Said Thunderlane with a worried expression.

“Rumble is coming to help us?” Asked Rainbow Dash. Despite Rumble's age, he was the best flier Rainbow had ever seen. He was even a slightly better flier at his age than Rainbow was. He was also a savant when it came to dealing with lightning and debris caught in the wind.

“Yeah, he said that he come and see if we needed help after a studying session with Ms. Cheerilee,” Said Thunderlane.

“Should we ask for help from the palace staff?” Asked Cloud Chaser, “Their freaky magic helped out a lot with this year's Winter Wrap Up. I bet that the lord would be willing to relinquish some of his guardmares for long enough to deal with this storm.”

Rainbow hadn't actually considered the possibility. Of course, there would be an unforeseen complication for anypony who needed to see the young lord. Rainbow Dash had heard from Rarity that Noblesse Oblige was not at school today, and that the guardmare who was posing as his adoptive mother had a grim look on her face. Rarity theorized that the young noblepony had been poisoned, whether that was true or not had yet to be decided.

If Noblesse Oblige was bedridden or even just too sick to show up at school, who ever was his designated legal guardian had the power to refuse an audience in his name, given his legal status as a minor. While Rainbow Dash was not too keen on the laws concerning the nobility, it was common knowledge that guardponies who had sworn fealty to a particular house of the nobility house of the nobility could only obey the orders of said noble house. The only reason that guardponies sworn to House Platinum could legally listen to the orders of the Diarchs, was because they had married stallions belonging to House Platinum in the past.

“Hey everyone, what's up?”

Everypony present looked upward to see a light gray colt with a black mane resting on top of a cloud that the trio didn't realize was above them.

“Hey Rumble,” Said Rainbow Dash, “How's school.”

“Great,” Replied the colt.

Cloud Chaser and Thunderlane took a moment to analyze Rumble. He was happier than usual, and had a goofy grin on his face. While Rumble was a happy easygoing Pony by nature, he seemed really pleased with himself at the moment.

“Did something happen today at school?” Asked Thunderlane.

Something clicked in Cloud Chaser's mind, “How about when you were foalsitting today?”

“It's funny you mentioned that,” Said Rumble, “I asked Apple Bloom on a date, and she said yes.”

The trio of adults started laughing, “What's so funny?” Asked Rumble.

“Geez Rumble,” Thunderlane managed to get out in between giggles, “We teased and teased you about Apple Bloom, we just didn't think you'd actually go for it.”

“You're the colt that's been foalsitting with Apple Bloom?” Asked Rainbow Dash, still laughing, “The way Applejack goes on about you is priceless.”

“Applejack? Apple Bloom's older sister? What has she said about me?” Asked Rumble.

Rainbow Dash was about to answer him, when the crack of thunder reminded everypony of the task at hoof.

“Oh my,” Said Rumble. How did I not see that? pondered the colt, “Well, we should probably take care of that.”

The adult Pegasi saw Rumble raise his wings once to flap before he vanished without another word, the cloud he was resting on dispersing from the force of his take off.

“Wait for us Rumble!” Yelled Cloud Chaser in a vain attempt to be heard over the storm as she chased (pun intended) after the young stallion.

Rainbow Dash was about to join her wingmates when a hoof on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see a concerned looking Thunderlane. “Rainbow Dash.”

“Thunderlane?” Rainbow Dash had never seen her friend look so worried, “What's wrong?”

“What has Applejack been saying about my brother?” Asked the ebon stallion.

“I don't actually know,” Admitted Rainbow Dash, “My friends meet up every morning, and I can't join them because of flight practice and our jobs. But recently when I go to hang out with my friends, they've been worried about how Applejack might act. She has apparently never used his name, but Applejack hasn't said anything flattering about the 'shifty colt' she thinks is interested in her sister.”

The look on Thunderlane's face instantly turned glum. Applejack was known for many things, two of which were how strong she was and how protective she was of her sister. Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane might have continued their conversation, but a tree branch flew past them and the two remembered that they had something important to do. Without another word, Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash flew into the storm after Rumble and Cloud Chaser.

Though Thunderlane dropped the issue to help with the storm, he couldn't help but worry about what would happen when Applejack found out her sister had started a relationship with his younger brother.

Cloud Chaser was quick to fly into the miasma of storm clouds. While Rumble had become very good at dealing with the wild weather of the Everfree, it was still best to have somepony watching out for you. Cloud Chaser was in the storm for no more than five minutes looking for Rumble, when she turned her head and saw a tree branch flying towards her. At that distance and velocity Cloud Chaser had no chance of dodging, so she braced for impact.

A loud crash echoed over the sounds of the storm as Cloud Chaser was temporarily blinded by the flash of lightning. Were she not covering her eyes, she would have known that the dust hitting her coat was but the ashes of the tree branch that had nearly hit her.

Cloud Chaser could hear the buzz of static electricity becoming louder as something approached her from the side. When Cloud Chaser's vision finally became clear of the blurs that were blinding her, she could clearly see the colt she flew in after. Rumble's body had visible electric currents running through his coat and wings, “Are you okay CC!?”

“Yeah I'm fine Rumble!” Yelled Cloud Chaser over the storm, “Thanks for saving me!”

Rumble nodded his head and grabbed one the many clouds above him. Using his body strength and magic channeled through his hooves, Rumble swung around the cloud he grabbed. When Rumble was on top of the cloud, he flew off of it the same way he left the trio of adult Ponies the first time.

Cloud Chaser couldn't help but watch Rumble go through the clouds and obliterate the debris the storm had picked up that his unusually sharp eyes saw in the dark storm clouds. Rumble was a natural master of Pegasus magic as evidenced by the lightning surging throughout his body without inflicting harm. Cloud Chaser didn't understand all of the magi-physics that went into the process, but Pegasi could use their magic to manipulate other aspects of nature in addition to the clouds. Where most Pegasi needed to buck the lightning out of the storm clouds before busting them, Rumble could fly through them and absorb the lightning within. The talented colt could even use his magic to make the lightning bend to his will and strike targets with peerless accuracy and speed. These were all skills that the Wonderbolts taught members of their ranks for the purposes of dealing with dangerous storms such as this.

It simply boggled the mind as to why Rumble didn't have his Cutie Mark when he was so gifted in weather manipulation. This is going to take a while thought Cloud Chaser as she proceeded to buck the lightning out of a nearby cloud.

The black faded from Twilight's eyes and she took the opportunity to get her bearings. She needed no more than a moment to figure out why she was just outside the Plastered Pegasus. Twilight soon realized that she was in the illusion of the spell So where is Ruby?

Twilight could hear some yelling, but couldn't make it out. A young pink Unicorn was thrown out of the door to the bar seconds later, Berry Punch stuck her head out with a clearly angry expression on her face, “And stay out!”

Ruby Pinch looked up at her mother. Twilight could clearly see her black eye and bruised skin under the young mare's coat, “B-but mom-” Ruby managed to cry before her mother started yelling again.

“You ruined my relationship with your father the first time, you are not going to do it again! I lost the love of my life because of you, and I will not lose him again because you got in the way,” Twilight was horrified at the animosity Berry was expressing to her own daughter, “You were the biggest mistake of my life, now I want you to get out of it,” Berry slammed the door shut.

“M-mom!” Choked out Ruby inbetween sobs, “Please, I'm sorry. Don't leave me! You're all I ha-ah-ah-ah-ve!” Tears ran down the young mare's face like waterfalls.

Twilight immediately ran to Ruby's side and dropped to the ground next to her. Twilight tried to place a reassuring hoof on her shoulder, only for her hoof to pass through Ruby's body. Twilight tried to touch Ruby Pinch again, only to get the same affect. Twilight started to panic at this point.

“What am I going to do?” Wondered Twilight aloud.

Ruby's head shot up with scared expression on her face, “W-who said that?”

Ruby looked around but saw no one.

Twilight took a few moments to ponder what this meant. So while I am phantom I can't touch her, but I can use my voice to comfort her!

“Ruby, sweetie,” Said the disembodied ethereal voice.

Ruby was too upset to realize that the voice was familiar, “Ancestors help me, I'm going crazy!”

“Your mother would never do that to you, Ruby.”

“Did you see what just happened!” Scream the young Unicorn, “She just threw me out so she could have my father, she just kept me because she couldn't do anything else with me.”

“That is not true!” The voice echoed all around her, “Your mother loves you, she doesn't blame you for anything.”

“Didn't you hear what she just said!” Ruby was beyond angry at this point.

“Your father wasn't driven away by your presence, he abandoned you and your mother because he didn't want to deal with the responsibility!” The voice was seeming to get agitated at this point as well.

“She clearly loves him more than me!” Ruby collapsed on to the ground and burst into tears.

“Ruby, your mother would never hurt you like this. Even if she would be willing to let him back into her life, which I doubt, she would certainly not trade you for him. Berry wouldn't trade you for the world.”

“Look at what she did to me! How can you-” Ruby was interrupted by the voice again.

“That mare wasn't your mother,” Yelled the voice, “That mare wasn't even real, none of this is!”

Ruby was more than confused, “W-what?”

“That mare told you to get out of her life, right? We have been yelling at each other for a while now, so why hasn't she come out here to chase you off?” Argued the voice.

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized that the voice was right. Why hasn't her mother come to beat her again? Because she wasn't real in the first place!

With the illusion weakened, the buildings of Ponyville and the road she was laying in faded into pitch black, “Where am I?” Exclaimed Ruby.

“I don't actually know,” Admitted the voice, “But only you can break out of this prison.”

Ruby started to wonder if she even deserved to be released from this, whatever it was. How could she think so poorly of somepony who had given her so much? Her home, her job, all of the love in the world, She even gave me life for Celestia's sake!

All of the fond memories Ruby had made with her mother flooded her mind. The walk on the first day of school, comforting her when bullies brought her to tears, 'protecting' her when storms hit, teaching her how to balance plates on the different parts of her body, how to mix drinks for patrons, etcetera etcetera.

In the all encompassing darkness of the void, all Ruby wanted was to see her mother. Not that vile bitch she thought was her mother, her real mother. Ruby started to cry as she started to feel alone again.

“MOMMY!” Yelled Ruby. The void faded into white as the illusion was broken.

Berry Punch was serving customers since Twilight went to check up on her daughter, none of which were Unicorns strangely. Berry looked up at the clock and was surprised to see that Twilight had left nearly an hour ago, That isn't good thought the barkeeper.

Berry had planned to go see what was wrong after she had served the rest of her customers, “MOMMY!”

Berry dropped the four plates of drinks she was carrying as she raced up the stairs into her daughter's room. Were she not panicked about Ruby's safety, she would have noticed some the patrons downstairs rushing out the door to get the town guard.

Berry instantly broke down the door to Ruby's room and she rushed in. She threw Twilight out her way, almost throwing the Unicorn through the wall of Ruby's room, and hugged her daughter tightly.

Ruby returned the hug with a vengeance as she cried into her mother's coat, “M-mom, I'm so sorry.”

“Shh, it's okay Ruby,” Said Berry, horrified that something could terrify her usually independent daughter so, “I'm here, you're safe.”

“Glad I could help...” Said Twilight barely conscious.

“Twilight,” Said Berry, now horrified that she had nearly killed someone, “Are you okay?”

“At worst, I have minor brain dama-brain damage♪”

“Do you need help getting to the hospital?”

“Is somepony injured?” Asked a voice from the doorway.

The three Ponies in the room looked to the doorway to see Ponies in tan armor with dark pink highlights, the colors of the Ponyville Peacekeeper Corps.

“You see that Pony shaped indent in the wall,” Berry pointed at the wall she pressed Twilight into.

The guardponies cringed, “Ouch. If everything is settled here, then please allow us to escort you to the hospital.”

“That would be lovely,” Said Twilight. Two of the guardponies went to each of her sides and helped Twilight balance herself. Twilight thanked the guards and they awkwardly made their way out of the Plastered Pegasus.

Twilight was still disoriented from the illusion, and being tossed around like a rag doll didn't help. She didn't realize that they were headed the wrong way until she saw the trees of the Everfree.

“Why are we headed for the Everfree Forest?” Asked a confused Twilight.

“It was closer, and we don't know how badly you need medical attention,” Said the Pegasus guard at her right side. “Not to mention that there are better trained medics and better equipment at the Everfree Palace.”

Twilight simply accepted the explanation. The last two reasons made perfect sense, and Twilight was too dazed to realize that the Ponyville General Hospital was much closer to Berry's bar than the Everfree Forest.

Twilight couldn't help but think about the guardpony leading the way. He was an Earth Pony with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. The flank plates on his armor made it impossible for Twilight to see his Cutie Mark. Then, she saw it in peripheral vision. She swung her head to the right and saw an Earth Pony, an Earth Pony with the exact same color scheme as the guardpony in the lead. Twilight instantly recognized Caramel by his three horseshoe Cutie Mark, she remembered him so vividly because of his blunder at last year's Winter Wrap Up.

Twilight kept looking between Caramel and the guardpony. One of the guardponies noticed this and traced Twilight's gaze, just at the edge of town, “Sir, I think we've been discovered.”

“D-discovered?” Asked Twilight nervously.

The guardpony who had an uncanny resemblance to Caramel turned and saw his doppelganger as Twilight's mind tried to think of how two Ponies could look so much alike.

“I apologize for this Dame Twilight,” Said the guardpony as he closed his eyes, “But this might be unpleasant.”

Twilight's pupils shrank in horror when the guardpony opened his eyes. No longer did he have light blue eyes, his eyes had oval slit pupils with light purple irises. A small cloud of purple formed on the guardpony's forehead as a jagged horn quickly spawned and ignited.

Twilight realized that this was no Pony as a small jolt of magic surged from the horn and struck Twilight. Twilight heard the Changeling's distorted voice shortly before she lost consciousness, “We need to double time it to the Palace, her ladyship will not be pleased.”