Applejack panted, hiding behind one of her apple trees on the far east side of the farm. She was practically amazed with herself for having run all the way from Ponyville, back to Sweet Apple Acres without stopping. She let out a soft "Whew!" and slid down the trunk of the tree, her rear hooves sticking up in the air as her back hit the soft grass. She stared up at the clouds, going over in her mind what had happened at the library. Rainbow Dash was saving her life...but also holding her...squeezing her...

She blushed, shaking her head and closing her eyes, enjoying the tranquility and peacefulness of the midday. She started to feel a gentle wind on her face and she sighed happily, putting her front hooves behind her head and muttering to herself "Eeyup...this here's tha life..." She froze as another voice followed her own

"Doesn't really explain why you ran off like that...considering I was the one who saved your life so you could...enjoy it! Yeah!" Applejack's eyes flew open as she saw Rainbow Dash, staring down at her, the cyan mare standing near her head. Applejack shrieked as she realized that it wasn't a breeze...but Rainbow Dash breathing on her. The Pegasus jumped back in alarm at the country mare's outburst and shouted

"Jeez Applejack, what's up with you today!? You nearly choke on an apple slice, I save your life and you just go running off, and now you're shrieking at me!?" Rainbow Dash actually looked a little hurt as she mumbled "Are you...mad at me or something?" Applejack sat up quickly, shaking her head and pointing a gentle hoof at her, saying in a comforting tone

"Ah course not...don't you go thinkin' that ok? Ah've just been...feeling a bit off..." Rainbow Dash nodded and sat on her haunches, looking concerned and muttering

"Well what's up? You sick? Injured? Granny Smith whining about her hip again?" Applejack scowled at her friend, waving a hoof at her

"Now you just watch your mouth bout' Granny Smith, she may be gettin' along in her years, but she's still got some kick to her, ah'll tell you what!" Rainbow Dash and her both shared a chuckle after a semi-awkward moment, the two of them smiling at one another. Applejack started to blush, seeing Rainbow Dash stare at her. She turned her head away for a moment before asking timidly "So...uh...how ya'll been? Weather alright?" Rainbow shrugged

"Meh...could be alright I guess. Cloudsdale is keeping an eye on a pretty nasty storm that's traveling over the far side of the Everfree. They don't think it's going to turn towards Ponyville but...you never know!" They both chuckled again, an awkward silence settling over the two.

Applejack gulped, looking over towards Rainbow and stuttering

"H...hey...Rainbow?" The mare looked over towards her, indicating that she had her attention. Applejack went on "H...have you ever felt s...strongly about somepony before? LIke...love or somethin' like that?" Rainbow Dash blinked, struck off guard by the country mare's bold question. She thought for a moment before looking up towards the clouds, muttering

"Well...I've had a few coltfriends...bunch of jerks really...I guess I can't really say much about it. I really never fell in love with any of them...why you ask?" Applejack shifted her eyes to the left and right, the traditional muscle reflex that let everypony know she was either really nervous or lying about something

"Ah...ah was jus' wonderin'...ah think ah might like somepony mahself..." The look she got from Rainbow Dash was...interesting. For a moment, the way Rainbow Dash frowned and the way her eyes turned, she could have sworn that the cyan mare looked...dissapointed. This look quickly vanished though as she smiled

"Well that's good, I'm happy for you and whatever you do, ya know, as far as the whole love thing." 'Liar', Applejack thought, reading her friend like an open book. She was just about to confront her on this when a voice called out from above

"Dashbow Rash! Dashbow Rash!!!" Rainbow looked up, groaning and facehoofing loudly. She shouted up towards the sky

"Ditzy Doo, for the last time, it's RAIN-BOW, DA-SH!!!!" Ditzy Doo could only giggle, her right eye looking about lazily and her left trained on her fellow teammate. She shouted downwards towards the two

"Boss says come to office! Muffins are getting rainy!!! Storm is on wheels and scooting!" Applejack looked up, absolutely dumbfounded and unable to discern what the Pegasus was talking about. Rainbow Dash seemed to catch on however as she gasped

"The storm...is moving!? Oh jeez, I gotta go Applejack, I'll see you later ok? ....We'll talk later." Applejack nodded, blushing lightly as her friend gave her a tight hug and jumped up into the sky, joining Ditzy Doo. She sighed, laying back on her back and pushing her face in her hooves, muttering to herself

"Well...that there proves it. Ah love Rainbow Dash...ah love her..."

~~~

"It's bad..."

"Course it's bad, LOOK at the SIZE of that thing!!!"

"Definitely calls for Ponyville Sandbag protocol, Ditzy!"

A group of twenty Pegasus Ponies sat atop clouds overlooking Ponyville, all of them watching a giant mass of blackness comings towards them from the Everfree forest. Hearing her name, Ditzy Doo flew over to her boss, giving her a mock salute and shouting

"Captain Muffins! We are a go-go!" Her boss, a medium sized colt with a blue coat and lightish blue mane, nodded and spoke to her quickly

"I need you to fly to the Mayor's Office and inform Mayor Mare that the storm HAS indeed turned towards Ponyville, and that everypony should start bracing immediately! It's URGENT, so get there quickly, Priority Mail!!!" Ditzy Doo gasped at this, muttering

"Priority!!!? Double Muffin Sprinkles?!" Her boss shook her head, a worried expression on his face as he said back to her

"Even MORE urgent Ditzy! TRIPLE muffin sprinkles!" Ditzy's hooves flew up to her mouth as she gasped, taking a moment to get her bearings and blasting off faster then any other Pegasus though possible. Rainbow Dash watched her go as she said to her boss

"You know...I'll never understand how you can talk to her...it's like you're both speaking in a different language." Her boss chuckled a little and shook his head, turning his head back towards the storm and sighing

"Well...you need to learn to work with your team's strengths and weaknesses. There's no breaking this storm up, it's too dangerous. Alright team, we've got a job to do! Cloud Kicker, you and Sun Beam help clear the streets, Rainbow Dash, you go get your friend Fluttershy, I know she lives on the edge of the Everfree Forest so it's imperative she get to safety! Everypony else, with me, we're going to go see if we can't secure some of the buildings and get some sandbags up in case of flooding. Anypony have any questions?" Nopony spoke, all of them nodding as their boss sighed, looking towards the storm for one more moment and nodding, turning to his team and shouting

"Alright, MOVE OUT!"

~~~

Fluttershy squeaked with fright as a thunderous boom echoed out from above her, the timid yellow Pegasus curling up in the middle of her floor. Her animals had already scampered for the hills, sensing the storm long before it had arrived. Even Angel Bunny, although reluctant at first, had fled per Fluttershy's request that he be safe and sound when the storm arrived. Another boom had her in tears, the terrified mare burying her head under her front hooves and shaking. She jumped a little as she heard rough knocking at her front door and a familiar voice call out "Shy!!! SHY!!! Open up for Celestia's sake! It's Rainbow!!!" Fluttershy immediately jumped up, rushing for her door and pulling it open. Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief but suddenly squeaked as she was scooped up in a hug, Fluttershy shrieking with fright

"Oh Rainbow Dash it's so awful here!!! It's so loud and scary and I don't know what to do and I was afraid that I was going to be trapped and-" She was cut off as Rainbow Dash put hoof to her mouth, speaking quickly

"Whoa whoa! Easy there! I came to get you out of here Fluttershy, it's not safe near the forest right now. If there's not anything you really need then let's go!"

Fluttershy nodded, deciding there was nothing she really wanted to take with her, and flew off with Rainbow. Meanwhile, the rest of the weather team were busying themselves with setting up sandbags in all flood sensitive areas of Ponyville, many residents already informed of the danger standing by with buckets, ready to divert the water. The Boss pointed his hoof this way and that, directing ponies left and right and barking orders, trying to get everything ready for, to him, what looked like one of the most violent storms he had ever laid his eyes upon. He nodded as he saw a cyan and yellow Pegasus approaching and he shouted

"Good, you made it! Rainbow Dash I need you to make sure Sweet Apple Acres is ready for the storm, and Miss Fluttershy? Would you be so kind as to make sure that all of the animals around Ponyville are safe and sound, or in hiding?" Fluttershy nodded as Rainbow Dash gave her signature hoof-salute, blasting back off and heading towards the farm.

~~~

Applejack heaved the last of the sandbags up onto the wall she had made with the others, effectively flood proofing the barn. Big Macintosh already had the main house secured, and the farm animals had all been rounded up. She wiped her forehead with her hoof, her eyes shifting over towards the dark sky as she heard her name being called

"Applejack!!! Applejack!!!" Applejack gave her a wave as the Cyan Mare landed on the hay in her barn, trotting over "Hey AJ, everything ok here?" The country mare nodded, looking over towards the bags

"Eeyup" She said "Everything's looking alright here! Just gotta hold out for th-" She stopped as she heard the rain start, a heavy wind blowing through the fields. It wasn't this that had made her stop mid-sentence however...as the familiar sound of barking rose up from somewhere outside. "WINONA!!!" she shouted, peering over the tall Sandbag wall. The dog was trapped underneath the chicken coop, the loud thunder and flashing lightning causing the poor creature to shrink back in fear.

Rainbow Dash nodded to herself and jumped over the barrier, shouting

"Don't worry, I'll get her!" Applejack looked on, frightful and terrified as Rainbow Dash quickly made her way over to the chicken coop, the wind getting heavier and stronger. She gently scooped up the shaking dog in her hooves and fanned her wings out, taking off and back over towards the barn. Applejack smiled but suddenly gasped as a heavy current of wind suddenly threw the cyan mare upwards in the air, the loud howling of the wind bringing with it a sudden, heavy curtain of rain.

"RAINBOW DASH!!! HURRY!!!" Applejack shouted, the storm finally beginning to pass over the farm. Rainbow Dash strained to keep her wings straight, pumping them furiously and trying to get herself back down towards the ground. It wasn't working though, the wind throwing her about across the farm and ripping up several boards from the barn roof, hurling them around violently. Rainbow couldn't function with the furry load in her arms, her wings refusing to cooperate and her vision semi-blinded by the lightning. She looked towards the barn and aimed carefully, spinning in the air and chucking Winona towards the front entrance to the barn.

Seeing this, Applejack rushed over to the nearby wall and grabbed up a coil of rope, fashioning a quick lasso and whipping it up in the air, chucking it towards the dog. She watched the coil tighten around her middle and she gave the rope a hard tug, bringing the dog towards her and right into her open hooves. She hugged the dog tightly but suddenly gasped as she heard a scream of panic from outside. Rainbow Dash was losing her fight with the furious wind, trying her best to race for the barn, thinking that maybe with enough speed she could overcome the outside force of the wind. She angled her wings to the left, coming in for a swooping dive, hoping to make it this time.

As she darted for the barn however, one of the loose boards from the roof sailed straight towards her, and Applejack screamed "LOOK OUT!!!" It was all in vain however, the apple mare forced to look in horror as the board collided with her friend, a sickening 'SNAP' echoing across the farm and the cyan mare losing all control. She screamed in agony and panic as her speed, combined with the wind, sent her spiraling upwards and flipping about in the air. Applejack dove over the sandbags and rushed around the side of the barn, screaming "RAINBOW!!! RAINBOW!!!!!!!!!!" She felt tears well up in her eyes as she saw Rainbow's form growing smaller and smaller over the Everfree forest, until she finally saw her body falling towards the trees. She marked the spot with her eyes, taking a good mental picture of it before turning and rushing for Ponyville.

Rainbow had crash-landed, and the Apple Mare needed to get help, before anything else happened to her.