Black storm clouds filled the night sky; the wind was reaching gale force winds, and as there came a brilliant white flash of lightning from above, a deep, deafening peal of thunder followed quickly after. The rain came down in torrents and swelled the streams and lakes beyond capacity.
The residents of the quaint little town of Ponyville had never seen a storm as powerful as the one that raged on around them. Sure, there had been storms before, but this one seemed different. It had approached the town from over the Everfree Forest, and was utterly alien to anypony. They had never seen rain quite as heavy as that which poured down from the black clouds. The lightning was far more intense and close to the town than before. But most disturbingly of all, it was a storm that even the Pegasus ponies, the creatures designated by nature to manage and control the weather, seemed to have little to no control over today’s storm.
Pegasi flew back and forth across the sky, trying their best to disperse the clouds and maintain order in an otherwise chaotic typhoon. But to no avail: It was an Everfree storm, blown over the town from the Everfree Forest and thus, it did not seem to follow the rules of Equestrian nature. The shouts of Ponyville’s weather-watchers flew loud and frantic, barely audible above the storm.

“We need more help over here!”

“Our division can’t muscle through these clouds!”

“Watch out for that lightning!”

KRA-KA-BOOOOOM!

“YEEOW! My tail!”

“Don’t give up now! We gotta get this under control!” shouted Rainbow Dash, as she directed the teams of Pegasi to and fro. “Cloud-Kicker! Take your team up to that pressure-pocket there; concentrate all your efforts on a single cloud at a
time!”

The Pegasus in question nodded and led her designated squad of flyers away.

“Gusty! You and Honeysuckle tackle the north-clouds! It feels like the winds there might go tornado on us if we don’t get them under control!”

“We’re on it!” they shouted as they went to their duties.

Rainbow Dash watched as dozens, maybe even hundreds of Pegasi flew all across Ponyville, ripping through the clouds and desperately trying to maintain some order in the chaotic typhoon. She had never seen a storm quite as rough and dense as this one, but she steeled herself and had personally gathered every available Pegasus in Ponyville, leading them like a military captain against the storm.
She turned her eyes to the town centre and made to report in with the other ponies, when a voice from behind her drew her attention.

“Rainbow Dash! Wait!”

She turned and saw a familiar grey-coloured Pegasus flying towards her, her blonde mane hanging wet and unkempt over her face, her askew eyes a picture of anxiety and fear.

“What is it, Ditzy? I’m kind of in a hurry here, shouldn’t you be with your team?” Rainbow cried impatiently. Ditzy Doo nodded.

“I know, I’m sorry. But I saw you heading into town…are you off to talk to the other ponies?” she asked.

Rainbow nodded.

Ditzy continued, having to shriek to make herself heard over the howling winds “Well, when you get there, could you find out if the children are okay?! I mean, this storm was kinda sudden and the kids would be in school around now and…”

“You’re worried about Dinky, aren’t you?”

She nodded again “I just can’t stand it, not knowing if my little Muffin is hurt or in danger!”

Rainbow patted the worried mother on the shoulder “I’ll see what I can find out, but for now, concentrate on helping the
others! This storm is insane!”

Ditzy nodded and, with one last grateful smile at the rainbow-hued Pegasus, flew back into the fray of clouds, lightning and winds.

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, took off with all speed, flying low over Ponyville to survey the preparations. A storm of this magnitude was bound to swell the rivers and lakes nearby, and flooding was inevitable. As she swooped over the town square, she headed down as she saw a group of earth-ponies hard at work piling sandbags into emergency flood-barriers. She nodded in satisfaction as she recognised the pony heading the operation. Or rather, recognised her unique tan-coloured cowboy-hat.

“Hey Applejack! How’s everything going down this end?” she called as she landed by the barrier. The earth-pony nodded back as she continued to work, heaving another heavy bag onto the wall.

“Well, we’re soakin’, windbeaten and freezin’, but otherwise we’re just fine and dandy, Thanks. How’re you doin’?”

Rainbow grinned at her friend’s sarcasm “Well, the weather teams aren’t making much of a dent in the clouds, but we’re
sticking to it! I haven’t met a storm yet that I can’t handle!”

“Well, y’all might wanna pick it up a bit,” Applejack replied, casting an anxious eye over the nearby river, which was flowing far deeper than usual “If’n the river gets any more swollen, I reckon we could have a flood on our hands! Twilight and the Mayor sent me and my team out here to set up flood-barriers just in case.”

The Pegasus frowned too as she heard the grim news. Even with a small river like the one running by Ponyville overflowing, the damage it could cause would be disastrous. “Right, well…Keep going. We’re doing all we can to get the storm under control. Hey, you know where Twilight and the Mayor are anyway?”

Applejack pointed a soaked forehoof towards the pavilion in the centre of town “They’re usin’ the Town Hall as a sorta main-base. They should be in there!”

Rainbow threw a hasty salute and flapped off in the direction she pointed.

The doors of the Ponyville Town Hall flew open as Rainbow Dash flew in, screeching to a halt as ponies hurried to push the doors closed behind her before the wind and rain could wreak havoc inside as well as outside.

“Always one for dramatic entrances, eh Rainbow Dash?”

The Pegasus shook the rain from her multi-coloured mane. “You know it, Twilight! So how are things going this end?”

She looked over the dozens of ponies that had taken refuge in the Hall; families huddled together, old mares sat gossiping to eachother, the unicorns among them knitting to occupy themselves. Little fillies and colts cantered all over the place, impatient and fussy from being cooped up inside for so long.

In the centre of the pavilion, a table had been set up, which now was covered with maps of the town, and endless checklists and notes. Rainbow Dash recognised many of the ponies gathered around the table: the mayor of Ponyville, Ivory Scroll was there. So were Bon-Bon and Lyra, the young couple’s normally carefree faces a picture of seriousness and worry. Even that strange stallion was there, the brown pony who was known simply as 'Doc'.

And at the head of the table was the pony Rainbow Dash had been seeking. Her normally carefully groomed pink and
purple mane ragged and messy, as much from the stress of managing the operation as from the storm itself. But she had put on a brave smile as the Pegasus had entered, determined to be the face of calm and collected organisation.
If Rainbow Dash had been leading her ponies like a military captain, Twilight Sparkle was the commander-in-chief.

She beckoned Rainbow Dash over to join her and her team around the table “Well, we got the orders out to everypony quick enough, telling them to stay indoors unless they’ve been called out to help. Applejack is out with the defence team, setting up barriers in case…”

“In case a flood happens, yeah. I ran into her on the way in.”

“Oh, right…well, going by the current rainfall and the depth of the nearest rivers, combined with the elevation and angle of the land…” she looked intently over a collection of maps of Ponyville and the surrounding area, detailing topography, elevation, ground moisture and endless other details of the land. Her eyes grew wide as her calculations came together in her mind. “…If the rain keeps up like this, the river will overflow in less than an hour!”

The Mayor spoke up “Somepony should warn Applejack and her team!”

“I’ll tell her on my way back to the pegasi. I was just stopping by to report in and see how things were goin’.” Rainbow Dash replied.

She cast another look around the crowds of ponies in the halls, before turning back to Twilight “Hey Twilight, I know Applejack’s out with her team, but what about the rest of the gang?”

“Well, Rarity’s over with some of the older ponies, I think” Twilight replied, waving a hoof in the general direction of the seniors, “She’s trying to pick up some tips I believe. Apparently knitting is ‘very in this season’…Still, she’s keeping herself occupied instead of fussing and worrying about the place…She’s still pretty worried about her sister though.”

“Sweetie Belle? Yeah, actually, Ditzy Doo asked me to find out if the schoolkids were alright. Are they in here too?”

Lyra was the one to reply this time “The afternoon class are. They weren’t in school at the time, so they got over here
pretty fast. They’re over there, with Pinkie Pie.”

As if on cue, there came a sudden loud pop from a far corner of the hall, and a spray of colourful confetti, followed by cheers and laughter of about a dozen young fillies and colts, as well as the loud giggling of somepony significantly older. Her cotton-candy coloured mane was an instant giveaway.

“She’s just keeping them occupied. I hope this storm lightens up soon, for their sake.” Lyra continued “I’m a babysitter sometimes, and I know better than most ponies how fussy foals can get when they can’t go outside and play.”

Doc nodded “I agree…In fact, I could use a bit of fresh air myself, before too long. Let’s hope your Pegasi can get
the storm under control soon, Rainbow.”

The Pegasus shrugged “We’re doing all we can, but we just aren’t makin’ much of a change. I mean, I knew Everfree
storms were stubborn and all, but this one is a real doozy! My teams are only just managing to stop it from turning into a full-on hurricane! But anyway, you said the afternoon class are in here, Lyra. What about morning class? Where are they?”

“Cheerilee has them shored up in the schoolhouse. It’s too far from there to the town centre, and they have a pretty deep basement. So it was honestly just safer to keep them there instead.” Twilight replied, pushing a sheet of parchment towards Rainbow.

As she looked down it, she saw it was a list of all the young fillies and colts in Ponyville who attended the elementary school, separated into the morning and afternoon classes. The morning class was all ticked off, but the afternoon class were circled, with a small annotation by them: “At Schoolhouse with Cheerilee. Send regular correspondence.” She noted that among the names on the afternoon class list, there were the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom, as well as Dinky Doo, Twist, Diamond Tiara, Silverspoon, and five other names she did not recognise.
But she had the information she needed. She could tell Ditzy that she could rest easy, knowing that her daughter was fine. Rainbow had in fact flown over the schoolhouse on her way into town, and it seemed to be standing tall and sturdy as ever.

“Hey Rainbow,” Twilight spoke up again “So, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie are all accounted for, and you and I are here, but what about Fluttershy? Is she out with the other Pegasi tackling the storm?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow “C’mon Twilight. You know as much as I do how stupid that would be. I mean, what use is a Pegasus on the weather team who goes into shock whenever…”

KRA-KA-THOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

A cry went up from the assembled ponies in the hall as there came a flash of lightning and a booming roll of thunder from outside. A few younger ponies screamed in terror, but a few soothing words from their respective mothers quietened them down quickly enough.

“…Whenever that happens.” Rainbow finished.

Twilight nodded. She had a point. Not only would it be cruel to force such a timid pony to tackle a storm of this magnitude, but dangerous. She’d no doubt fall out of the sky every time there was a thunderclap, and there would not be any swarm of butterflies to catch her this time. “Makes sense. So, where is Fluttershy then?”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy jumped for the umpteenth time that evening as thunder and lightning cracked outside her window.

KRA-KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!

She hastily drew the curtains over the window, the only light in her cottage being a set of oil-lanterns set into the walls. The gentle glow of the flames cast the room in a warm yellow light.

But even this did little to soothe the nerves of the poor yellow Pegasus. She lay quivering on her couch as the wind howled, causing the windowpanes to rattle in their frames, as if they would burst out at any moment, letting the terrible winds in to wreak havoc.

She hated storms. Ever since she was a filly, she had been terrified of them, almost as much as her fear of dragons. The loud noises, the harsh winds, the lightning, it was all just too much for her!

In her mind, she gave thanks to Celestia that Rainbow Dash had seen this as well and not called her out to help the
weather-teams. She knew she would only get in the way. So, Fluttershy had volunteered to work with the animals instead. They would no doubt be terrified by the thunder and lightning, and in dire need of comforting, right?

Wrong. In her desire to be helpful, Fluttershy had forgotten that the animals were preparing for the oncoming storm long before the Pegasi even saw it coming. Like Pinkie Pie’s strange Pinkie Sense, the animals had noticed subtle changes in the air, too subtle for a pony to sense. So by the time she returned to her cottage, the birds had long since flown East towards the coast to avoid the storm, which floated from the Forest in the Southwest. The land animals had all hunkered down in their respective warrens and dens to wait out the storm, and the marine animals actually eagerly anticipated a fresh supply of water to delight in!

So Fluttershy did what she could, checking each animal home to make sure everybody would be safe, before retiring to her own house to batten down the proverbial hatches.

The old cottage creaked as it was assailed by the fierce typhoon that raged outside. The windows rattled, the thatch on the rooftop no doubt was being peeled off, and the door bent under the force of the winds.

Fluttershy lay quivering on the rug in the middle of the living room. She wanted to move, she wanted to go upstairs and lay down in her bed, hiding under the covers. But her body did not seem to want to listen: Her legs were as limp as jelly, and her wings were seized up close to her sides, refusing to budge a feather. So there she lay, her hooves wrapped around her head.

In a desperate attempt to calm her nerves, she finally found her voice and began to sing to herself in a stuttering, timid voice:

“H-hush now, Quiet n-now,
It’s t-time to lay your sleep-py head.
Hush n-now, quiet now,
I-it’s time t-to g-g-go to…”

KRA-KA-SHOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!

“Eek!” She clamped her hooves firmly over her ears, wishing with all her might that the weather would calm down.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fluttershy had no idea how long she had lain there on the rug, her eyes shut tight, her ears covered, quivering like a leaf in the breeze. But at long last, she cracked her eyes open.
A bright light glowed through the drawn curtains, bathing her in a pool of yellow and white. Uncovering her ears, she noticed the startling lack of noise. No raging winds, no thunderous crashes. Nothing. Not even the sound of birds singing.
She got up and slowly approached the curtains. Yanking on the drawstring, they parted, revealing a sunny, bright morning.
She breathed a long sigh of relief, every muscle in her body relaxing. The storm had passed.

She trotted to the front door, eager to get out of the house at last, when she passed the reflective surface of a metal bowl that lay in the drying-rack. Her reflection caught her eye, and she took a closer look. Even with the distorted reflection, she could see that she was an absolute mess!

Her pink hair was frazzled and stuck out at odd angles; her eyes were puffy and red from lack of sleep, and her cheeks
had the telltale stains of tears.

After a brief stop in the bathroom to clean herself up, Fluttershy stepped out of the house, tidy, awake and steady. That is, until she saw the results of yesterday's storm laid out before her.

Trees lay flattened on the ground, some uprooted entirely, while the smaller ones were simply snapped at the base, scattered all around the area. The river was swollen far past its normal size, nearly overflowing. But what immediately caught her attention was the wooden chicken coop that now lay on its side.

Squeaking with worry, she took to her wings, fluttering to the inside of her animal enclosure. She heaved with all her might, but she could not get the coop right way up again. She could hear the squawks and clucks of the chickens inside, and desperately pushed. The wooden structure lifted on its side, barely an inch, before it came back down to rest on its side.

Finally, Fluttershy simply slid the door of the coop open and let the frazzled, but otherwise unharmed, chickens free. I’ll have to get somepony to fix the coop for me, she thought. Applejack should be able to, or Big Macintosh, if she’s not available…

But for now, Fluttershy was both eager and anxious to see how the rest of Ponyville had fared against the storm. She crossed the bridge over the stream, noting how the considerably deeper water now lapped around the underside of the bridge, and trotted down the path into town.

As she passed over the river, she failed to notice the shadowy form in the water. Too big to be a fish of any kind, it raised its head out of the water, brushing its wet, matted hair out of the way as it watched the pony leave, with its big, green eyes.