Hurricane Rising

The winds howled through the concrete towers of Manehatten and rain fell in torrential waves. The force of the storm drove everypony who couldn't flee the city into their homes, or into their neighbors homes. Even the industrious sandbagging of the earth ponies, and the attempted mitigation of the mighty storm by the elite weather pegasi of Cloudsdale couldn't hope to pull the reigns in on the most devastating storm to strike the shores of Equestria in two centuries.

“Twilight! Ah need more sandbag's over here!” Applejack called through the gale-force winds, her stetson forgone in favor of a waterproofed and fitted rain hood, visor, and jacket. She still felt the ice-cold water dribbling down the back of her neck through some breach in the lining. It had been doing that for an hour and her back was soaked.

“SANDBAGS INCOMING!” Twilight answered, giving her friend a brief warning before a half-dozen of the fifty pound bags came telekinetically flying over towards the weather-beaten farmpony. With expert precision Applejack bucked each one into place, reinforcing the barrier between the Manehatten Public Library and the encroaching floodwater.

With a weary sigh Applejack dragged herself back in, for the past hour she'd been fighting the waters of the Eastern Sea. All keep them from flooding the place where over four hundred ponies had sought refuge. Of course Twilight would have probably protected it solely on the merit of the books. The exhausted earth pony collapsed onto one of the make-shift cots and let out a breath of relief.

“Looks like we bought'em another few hour eh Twilight?” Applejack asked as Twilight Sparkle slumped onto a cot of her own and nodded wordlessly. Applejack was impressed, she'd never seen Twilight like this. Twilight was always a driven type of pony but it was usually for things like scholarly-type pursuits. Not any manner of thing Applejack had ever been interested in. Yet here she was, exhausting herself hour after hour to protect ponies she didn't know, so even Applejack had to strain to keep pace with the frantic purple unicorn. One minute she'd been reinforcing barriers, and another she'd be shoring up the wind shields, and then she'd be distributing water and food rations. “Hey Twili-” Applejack started, she cut herself off as she recognized the easy and measured breathing of very tired and very asleep unicorn.

“Heh, looks like she finally wore herself out huh AJ?” said Pinkie, as she cantered up with a plate of square brown cakes balanced perfectly on her back, “Here ya go AJ, gotta keep up your strength y'know.”

“Oh ah reckon yer right sugarcube, thank ya kindly,” Applejack answered as she reached out and claimed one of the little cakes. A few bites later she felt better by a degree of magnitude. “Ah'll be a diamond dogs second cousin Pinkie,” Applejack said halfway through her cake, “one day yer gonna teach me how'ta make these cakes o' yers, ah feel like ah could go two more rounds with that storm out there now.”

Pinkie grinned mischievously, “mmmmmaaaaaybe,” was her only answer before she bounced off towards another bedraggled group of refugees. Applejack let out a short sigh and grinned, even now Pinkie was moving like a fluorescent blur between the huddled groups and families, handing out bits of food and hooffulls of good cheer. Applejack couldn't really decide which was more important in a situation like this but she was leaning toward the latter. Even the Element of Laughter was getting worn down though, Applejack could tell, she moved a little slower and her smile was a little less wide. She needed shut-eye like anypony else and Applejack knew her friend wasn't getting it. She resolved to talk to Pinkie about that after she got some shut-eye of her own.

She had just curled up under the itchy blanket before her attempts to rest were interrupted by a pastel pegasus drifting quietly into her periphery. Then, she stopped, stared at her hooves, and waited. Applejack let out another sigh against the uncomfortable pillow. Something she was doing a lot these days, and turned to face Fluttershy.

“Sugar, if y'all need somethin' ya gotta speak up,” Applejack advised before rethinking her tone, slumping back into her cot and saying, “Ah, ah'm sorry 'Shy, ah'm all worn out, what'd ya need?”

“Oh, uhm, I just, I was wondering if you'd seen Pinkie Pie? The little ones will be getting hungry soon,” answered Fluttershy. The demure pegasus had wordlessly taken up the thankless, and incredibly necessary, task of looking after many of the littlest colts and fillies that had found refuge. She did her best to help them locate their parents if they were lost, or keep them happy and comfortable while they waited the storm out. There was something calming about being around Fluttershy, and it made a world of difference with them. Besides, for the unruliest foals there was always 'The Stare'.

“Ah think ah saw her go down towards the non-fiction aisles,” Applejack pointed vaguely in the direction that Pinkie had bounced towards.

“Oh, good, ok, I'll see if I can find her before the little ones wake up, thank you Applejack,” Said Fluttershy as she hovered off towards the stacks.

Applejack made a small defeated noise and threw the blanket off and got to her hooves. “Nah, c'mon Fluttershy, we'll find her faster if we're both looki-”

Everypony's conversations were cut short by a CRACK-THOOM of lightning and the sound of shattering glass from one of the high windows. A polychromatic blur went zooming past on a contrail of smoke, before colliding with the tax law section.

“DASHIE!” Applejack cried out as she ran towards the crash sight, feeling her heart leap into her throat.

“Oh no, oh no oh no oh no...” Fluttershy muttered, her eyes wide with worry, as she flew over towards the books and began digging for the cyan weather pegasus.

Another explosion kicked Fluttershy off into the air with a startled squeak as a slightly singed Rainbow Dash erupted out of the mess. “HEY! YOU WANT A PIECE'A'ME YA STUPID STORM!? COME AND GET IT!” she roared, and without another word she was in the air and out through the broken window. Immediately after which Applejack heard the tell-tale 'Boom' of one of Dashie's Sonic Rainbooms. The entire room was silent for a moment before a wave of cheering, laughter, and applause broke out. Even Applejack was chuckling good-naturedly when she found Fluttershy cowering behind Tax Law Section 660(i). “Leave it ta Rainbow Dash ta pick a fight with a hurricane and actually start winnin' eh?” said the chortling cowpony.

Fluttershy came out from behind the massive tome and gave a shy but adorable giggle, and nodded before catching sight of a pink blur. “Oh! I see her!” Fluttershy exclaimed excitedly as she lifted off the ground, “thank you so much for helping me find her Applejack.”

“Anytime sugarcube, hey, that reminds me, you haven't seen Rarity about have ya?” Applejack questioned, a sudden notion entering her mind.

“Uhm, I did see her talking to Spike up on the second floor a couple minutes ago, I don't know if they're still there though...” she answered thoughtfully, “I hope you find her though, if you can't then come find me and I'll help you look ok?” Applejack nodded wearily as Fluttershy flew off towards Pinkie, to secure some more rations for the foals, and made her way up the great marble steps.

Twenty-Two Hours Earlier – Four Hours Before Stormfall

The six Element bearers and one baby dragon stood side-by-side in Celestia's audience chamber. They were in a somber mood as they had been called as a group to aid Equestria for the first time since the Changeling Invasion almost six months ago. It was no mystery as to why they had been called either. Everypony in Equestria had heard of the brutal hurricane that had risen from out of the midst of the Eastern Sea.

“My little ponies,” Celestia began, addressing them formally as her beloved subjects, “Manehatten is in a state of crisis. One of the strongest storms Equestria has even seen is poised to sweep over the city in a matter of hours, and while we are doing our best to evacuate the city there are simple too many ponies to complete it.”

Twilight, with a quick look to each of her best friends, who each gave her an affirming nod, spoke up in answer to her mentor, “What can we do Princess?”

Celestia gave them a radiant smile of gratitude, “What I will ask of you is dangerous, but nowhere in Equestria are each of your talents better suited than to this emergency right now.” With a steadying breath the Princess gestured and an ornate box appeared. Within the container were five flawless necklaces and an ornate tiara, The Elements of Harmony. “Bearers of the Elements, you are called now to aid those in need who are suffering from wind and storm, they are fearful and need guidance.” Each of the six, even Pinkie, solemnly nodded and took up their respective Element. “Pinkamena, never has laughter been more necessary, so I charge you to keep care of the hearts and spirits of those you encounter,” Celestia intoned. In response Pinkie, who actually looked a little intimidated by the sudden responsibility, took a deep and steadying breath and nodded. “Rainbow Dash, your loyalty to your friends, your home, and your people, is needed, so I charge you to protect them as you would your closest kin.”

“You got it Princess!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a dramatic salute that drew a small smile from the Sun Goddess.

“Juliet Rarity, your generous spirit will lift many ponies to great heights in these desperate times, so I charge you to look after those less fortunate and give them hope,” Celestia said to the pure-white unicorn fashionista.

“I will fulfill that charge my lady,” Rarity replied with steel in her voice that surprised even Rainbow Dash.

“Jacquelyn Apple, your honest heart and soul will keep the ponies trapped in the city from giving in to fear,”Applejack blushed slightly at the use of her full given name but stood tall, “they must trust one another and you must be their example, so I charge you with the duty to lead by example and never give in to fear.”

“Ah'll do mah best Princess, count on it,” Applejack stated calmly.

“I will Applejack, make no mistake,” said Princess Celestia sternly, with that she turned to Fluttershy who, to everypony's surprise, looked her straight in the eyes. “Emilé Fluttershy, the kindness of a stranger can lift the heart of anypony, even in the most dire situations,” Fluttershy didn't bat a single dainty eyelash at the use, and for once the proper pronunciation, of her name, she only nodded, “therefore, I charge you to show your kindness to each pony you find, to lift their hearts and give them strength to persevere.” Fluttershy nodded again and finally Celestia turned to the final Element bearer. “Twilight Starla Sparkle, my faithful student,” Twilight smiled proudly at her teacher, “The magic of friendship holds ponies together even through the worst events, as the Element of Magic and the spark that ignites Harmony I charge you with the care of your friends, with the Elements of Harmony together the ponies of Manehatten have a flicker of hope, do not let that flicker die out my little pony.” Twilight nodded solemnly, a sliver of fear in her eyes and doubt seeding in her heart. A warm crush bore her to the ground suddenly with a scream of “PONY PILE!” as Pinkie tackled all six into a ball on the floor. Their laughter echoed through the halls of Canterlot Castle, even the Princess joined in.

After extricating herself from the impromptu pony pile Twilight gasped for breath and said, “Pinkie, as much fun as that was... why?”

“Silly-filly,” came the pink party-pony's answer, “Every time you have to do something big you get all 'grrrrrr' face and you're all afraid, but don't worry, because we're all here for you!”

Celestia smiled as the friends talked, seeing them together gave the ancient Alicorn hope.Perhaps Manehatten might survive. After all, the city couldn't be in better hooves.

“Now, my little ponies, I'm going to teleport you all directly to the town hall where you'll speak to the Mayor, Spike is going with you so that you'll always be able to contact me,” she gestured to the tiny dragon who puffed out his chest in what he surely thought was an impressive manner. “Even if all other lines of communication go down, and they will,” she added in a serious tone, “you will not be alone.”

“W-what about you and Princess Luna?” Twilight asked hesitantly. With excellent timing the second of the divine sisters entered through a side door still dressed in baggy pajamas, her coat and mane ruffled with sleep. With a wide yawn the Princess of the Moon drifted into the kitchen and a mighty crash was heard. “And... uhm... is she ok?”

“My sister and I will be attempting to curtail the storm's progress, hopefully cutting it short, but at the very least tempering the worst of its effects on Equestria's climate as a whole,” Celestia answered impassively, after which she let a small conspiratorial smile edge onto her face as she leaned in and whispered, “and yes, she's fine. My sister was, is, and always will be, an absolute disaster in the kitchen.”

“Spike, I need you to send this message to the castle, we're running low on bedding for the poor souls who are coming in, we're getting a dozen by the hour at least.”

“No problem Rarity!” the little dragon answered with stars and hearts in his eyes as he followed the worn-out white unicorn around as she took stock.

“Ingredients for those delightful cakes that Pinkie makes are also getting short, add it to the list.”

“Right away Rarity!” he answered.

Applejack followed the voices until she reached one of the larger cleaning supply closets that had been emptied out and put to use as a make-shift larder-stroke-warehouse. “Rarity! Y'all in there?” Applejack called into the labyrinthine chamber. It didn't seem possible that so much could fit in that kind of space but leave it Rarity to manage. She'd been acting as a hybrid logistics and quartermaster for the entire group.

“I'm lodged between the grain-sacks and the last mattress darling, I'll be with you a moment!” came the muffled answer, Applejack waited patiently by the door, and was caught entirely by surprise when a small crack sound followed by a rush of displaced air heralded a mattress falling directly on top of her. Another small snapping sound put two extra lumps of weight appeared on top of it.

“Oh, I daresay I'm getting the hang of this translocation magic, I couldn't do much more than a bolt of fabric before and now here I am popping in and out of-”

“Ah'm so happy fer ya.” came Applejack's grim and stifled voice from beneath the down mattress and, consequently, Rarity and Spike.

“Oh dear, I'm so sorry Applejack, I suppose I still need some practice,” Rarity said apologetically, as she hopped gracefully off with the baby dragon on her back and levitated the mattress off of her friend. “Was there something you needed darling?”

Applejack lifted herself up and cracked her neck, waving off the apology, “Ah'm fine sugarcube, t'was an accident, and yeah ah do. Ah was hopin' y'all could take a look at mah rain gear, it's been leakin' somethin fierce and tha's a downright problem out there with that kinda rain.”

Rarity seized the offending outfit with her magic and inspected it, “Darling this won't do at all, I refuse to stand by and let you go out there in that horrid weather with such shoddily made outfits.”

“Don't bother yerself too much Rares, I know y'all're busy wi-” Applejack was cut off by a powder-white hoof in front her face.

“I won't hear of it Applejack, this suit will be fixed within the hour. Spike, find somewhere in that wonderful schedule of Twilight's, that I can take time to inspect the other outfits.” Spike immediately pulled out a clipboard from Rarity's saddlebag and started flipping through it. “After all,” she continued, “If one is compromised, so might others. Thank you for letting me know Applejack." Applejack nodded, taking the compliment. Finally finished with business Rarity looked Applejack up and down and said gently, "If you don't mind me saying dear, you look like you could use some sleep.”

Applejack let out a huff and nodded, “Yeah ah reckon so, y'all ain't exactly peaches n' cream yerself though. Don't forget that y'all gotta sleep too sometime,” Rarity laughed mellifluously and nodded, the two friends stood in comfortable silence for a moment. Rarity broke it by moving in and pulling Applejack into a strong hug. “Whoa nelly, uh, y'all ok Rarity?” Applejack said, a little surprised at the sudden contact, but returning the hug with equal warmth nonetheless.

Rarity pulled away and nodded, wiping moisture from her eyes. “Oh yes, I'm fine, just feeling a little worn thin I suppose,” she answered as she mastered herself. “I've been up for almost twenty hours, so I don't know why I did that except that I just suddenly needed a hug somewhat badly.”

“Nothing for it darlin', we all need somepony sometime, ah'm here for ya whenever ya need me,” Applejack put a comforting hoof on Rarity's shoulder, “But in this case ah think ah'll actually be over on one o' them cots for a few hours if y'all need me.”

Rarity and Applejack shared a small laugh, one soft and girly, the other boisterous, and they parted ways. There was a storm to fight, ponies to save, and sleep to be had in the case of one very exhausted farmpony.

Taking the Lead

It was raining in Canterlot. The skies were dim and overcast and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Twilight wandered through the familiar streets but nopony was there. Every shop and home was empty. Where had everypony gone? A sudden stroke of lightning broke the skies and illuminated the Castle. Even though she was far too distant to see anything Twilight somehow knew that her teacher was watching her.

'Twilight,' her voice split the sky with its thunderous report, 'you have work you must do, or we are all in peril.'

Twilight backed away, fearful and confused, 'But Princess, I don't know what do to, I'm just one pony.'

Suddenly she could see her, the Princess, she was pointing imperiously off in the distance behind Twilight. The purple unicorn turned to look in the direction her teacher pointed at and saw a great wall of water, as if the entire ocean had reared up, ready to strike. It came down and cast a titanic shadow as-

“Twilight wake up!” the Element of Magic stirred restlessly in her sleep before snapping awake. Twilight found herself staring into a pair of concerned blue sapphires. “Hey there sleepy-weeps, you ok?”

“O-oh, uhm, yeah,” Twilight muttered as she sat up, still caught in the post-awakening daze of confusion, “is everything ok? How's the storm Pinkie?”

The pink pony looked drawn and exhausted, her vivacious coat was dirty and dull, and her eyes had dark bags beneath them. Pinkie started to answer but was interrupted by a loud snore. Behind her Applejack was gently snoozing, With a characteristic laugh Pinkie set aside her empty tray and crawled onto the bed next to Twilight. “Well, we got a message from the Princess earlier,” Pinkie started but was interrupted by a panicking Twilight Sparkle.

“Wait, WHAT?! Why didn't you wake me up!?”

Pinkie laughed again, a shadow of her usual bubbly chortle, and patting Twilight on the head to which the dazed mare could only grimace. “It wasn't anything important, just letting us know that low tide was in, high tide isn't for another six hours so we have some breathing room.”

Twilight let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. “Oh... ok that... that's good, we need it. These last several hours have been...”

This time it was Twilights' turn to be interrupted by Pinkie's wide yawn as she slumped against her friends' side. “Oh, 'm sorry Twilight, I'm just...” another record-breaking yawn, “just tired... I think I'm all Pinkie'd out.”

“Don't worry about it Pinkie, we've got some time, I'll go make the announcement about low tide, you take the cot for a few hours ok?” Twilight said as she stretched her aching limbs, those cots weren't the lap of luxury but they were better than the floor which was either concrete or ice-cold marble. Unfortunately the cot was set up on the latter so Twilight got a shock of cold running up her legs as she set her hooves on the floor. At least it was bracing she reflected as she looked back, smiling as she noted that Pinkie had already tunneled beneath the wool cover and was lightly snoring. On a sudden impulse Twilight brushed a stray strand of pink locks that were threatening to be inhaled off to the side and tucked her friend in.

Then Pinkie hiccuped in her sleep.

For a moment Twilight just stared. She hadn't known that could even happen and when it did a warm blush crept up Twilights' face. She really wasn't sure what she thought of it. Fortunately her train of thought was derailed by a commotion from the second floor. Looking up she saw a pair of pegasi, one dirty brown and the other a sort of cotton-candy blue, trying to replace a shattered window. With a moment of concentration Twilight teleported up near them.

“What seems to be the problem gentlecolts?” asked Twilight as she approached.

“Huh? Oh, yer ladyship, sorry, we didn't see you there, well, High Gust and I are tryin' to patch up this here window, but he wants to refit the glass,” the blue one explained.

“How did it break in the first place?” Twilight asked somewhat perplexed, the window panes were designed to withstand high-velocity winds, if this one could break then the others... That's when she noticed the two looking at each other with confused expressions. “What?” she asked, “What is it? What did I say?”

“Oh, well, uh, nothing really Lady Twilight,” The brown one said, drifting down closer to the ground, “We just figured everyone saw it, you must be one heckuva sleeper to have slept through your rainbow friend getting blown through the window.”

“W-what?! Why does no one tell me these things?!” an exasperated Twilight asked nopony in particular, “you know, it's ok to wake me up! It's not like I can't just go back to sleep! Seriously, why does...” Twilight blinked clear of her ranting as High Gust coughed into his hoof, “Ahem, sorry about that, so... I assume Rainbow Dash is ok?” Twilight asked-slash-hoped.

“Oh yeah,” the blue pegasus said, his manner turning excited, “ya should've seen her! Blasted through a window by lightning, everyone thought she was a goner, then she bursts out of the pile of bookshelves she landed in full'o piss an' vinegar, screams blood marey at the storm, and goes flying back out without a word to anypony.”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh, that certainly sounded like Rainbow Dash.

“Ok you two, you were right about one thing,” Twilight started, her mind finally free to process the problems at hand, “High Gust, we need to shore up this window, nothing fancy, bolts and boards will do, drill it into the walls if you have to. There should be some bolts of the right size in the supply room.” She turned to the blue pony, raised her hoof and opened her mouth before realizing she didn't know his name. A fact he seemed to pick up on thankfully.

“Wind Whisk ma'am.”

Twilights' ears drooped a little in embarrassment before she reclaimed her former authority, “Right, Wind Whisk, you go secure some thick planks, take apart some bookshelves, that should do for now. We'll have to replace them every couple of days at best but we've got plenty of... materials.” She hated the idea of tearing down bookshelves, at least they weren't to the point of... burning books... to stay warm. Twilight managed to wait until the two pegasi were off doing their respective tasks before shuddering violently at the thought. Still, it would be some time before a proper barrier was erected so for now it was up to her. As always Twilight entered the quiet space in her mind before performing a more complex and powerful magic and a effervescent glow suffused her horn. She traced lightly along the mnemonic pathways her mentor had taught her to create within her mind to make the control of magic easier.

“Remember Twilight, power is something you will never lack,” the Princess stood over her pupil as she attempted to levitate a book for the first time. “Control is what you must learn. Discipline and control.”

“Discipline...” Twilight muttered softly to herself, “...and control.” She felt the built up charge flow into the proper matrices. Another successful spell, Twilight thought proudly. As she opened her eyes to survey the magical barrier she had erected to keep the rain and cold out she was struck with a sudden vertigo and dizziness. Blood rushed to her head and Twilight was forced to hunker down and wait for the world to stop spinning.

“Oh my, Twilight, are you okay?” Fluttershy's timid and quiet voice came from behind her.

“Ugh, yeah... I'm fine Fluttershy, I think I just used a little too much juice for that spell,” Twilight took a deep breath and felt equilibrium return. “I guess I'm still worn out from holding the floodwater's back with Applejack a few hours ago, those sandbags are heavy.”

“I know... I tried lifting just one and I barely got it to the barrier,” admitted Fluttershy as she helped Twilight back up to her hooves.

“Wow, that's actually kind of impressive, I couldn't even lift one of them without my magic,” Twilight said with some surprise, “I probably would have had to drag it.”

“O-oh, really? Well, sometimes I have to carry animals and some of them are heavy so...” Fluttershy trailed off, as unsure of herself as ever, and started tracing her hoof on the ground.

“So how are the foals?” Twilight asked brightly, breaking the silence and giving Fluttershy the subject-change she was clearly looking for.

“Oh they're lovely, a few of them were rowdy but I calmed them down,” she sounded very pleased with herself.

“I'll bet you did,” Twilight muttered under her breath, remember the eyes that had Stared down a cockatrice, yet another logical impossibility. On a sudden spur of thought Twilight asked “Hey Fluttershy, did you know ponies could hiccup in their sleep?” Her voice was honestly curious and was, somehow, blatantly oblivious to the strangeness of the question.

Fluttershy's brain clicked backwards for a moment trying to find the point in the conversation that it had changed from happy foals to sleep-hiccups. She didn't find one so she just said, “Uhm, no, I didn't know that.”

“Sorry, I just... heard it, today, when I woke up... I thought it was...” Twilight trailed off, finally realizing how weird the conversation had gotten. “Wow that was kind of a non sequitur huh? Sorry about that,” Twilight said, blushing with embarrassment.

“It's ok Twilight, anyway, the reason I came up here is because... well, we have another new pony who just made it in from the rain...”

Twilight arched an eyebrow in confusion, they were getting new refugee's all the time, “Ok, so I guess there's something different about this one?”

Fluttershy nodded but didn't say anything she just pointed down at an corner of the library that nopony had decided to occupy. Until now that is. A pony with a pearly mane and light blue wearing a torn and stained cape and a sodden pointed 'wizard' hat. From what Twilight could tell she'd been less than welcome around any of the other groups, not surprising given her track record.

“Oh boy,” was all Twilight had to say. Fluttershy just nodded in agreement. “Okay, go back to the foals Fluttershy, I'll handle this.”

“Good luck Twilight,” was all she said, her calm smile gave Twilight some confidence, drawing out a nod that had more strength than the purple unicorn actually felt.

“Here we go...” muttered Twilight as she descended the steps the old-fashioned way. She had the feeling she would need all of her mental fortitude intact to deal with 'The Great and Powerful' Trixie. At least this answered the small niggling question she'd always had about where Trixie ended up after her disastrous show in Ponyville. 'The poor mare really can't catch a break can she?' the though came unbidden into Twilights' mind. Looking inward she realized that she didn't harbor any ill will toward Trixie, she was a braggart, a liar, and a showboat but... Twilight had to admit the powder blue mare didn't really strike her as a 'bad pony' at heart. Now, only a few meters away at this point, Twilight only felt pity, Trixie was a long way from 'Great and Powerful' now, curled up in a shivering ball on the carpet, only covered by a cape that was at least as soggier than she was.

Evidently Trixie heard Twilights' approach, she didn't move or shift at all but said, “Trixie is just fine where she is, it is quite clear Trixie is not wanted, not that Trixie has any desire to mingle with such barbarians.”

Yup, same old Trixie. Still, there was something different in her voice this time, instead of being full of confident bluster there was a hint of a tremble. Twilight had a sudden revelation on where it came from. Most of these ponies had lost a great deal to the floodwaters, maybe everything. Trixie might be one of the only ponies here who has had to suffer that indignity twice in as many years though. It probably hurt.

With a long-suffering sigh Twilight leaned back, levitated one of the less-scratchy blankets from one of the empty cots, and braced herself as she walked over.

“Hey Trixie, it's been awhile.”

Even Trixie's shivering stopped as she poked her soaked head out from under her cap and finally saw who it was that had come over to greet her. “Wonderful, and Trixie thought her day could not possibly become more humiliating,” Trixie shook her cape off and stood up though she didn't look Twilight in the eyes, “very well, I assume you're here to mock Trixie for trying to show up the Element of Magic, go ahead, but I will not-” Trixie was cut off by the sound of Twilight losing patience, an effect which sounded an awful lot like a wool comforter being thrown over someponys' head mid-sentence.

“Actually Trixie, I thought you looked cold, so I brought you this blanket, and I was just coming to let you know that there are some free cot's over by the east wing.” Twilight pointed over to a nest of simple bedspreads with her hoof, “and a fire pit in the middle where you can get dry, nopony wants to be getting a cold in this environment, we'd all be sick by the end of the day.”

Trixie worked her mouth wordlessly for a moment which Twilight took a small, and guilty, pleasure in. Ok, maybe she didn't mind knocking the pompous mare down a few notches. She still felt bad for her, and if anypony needed a reality check it was probably Trixie, though reality was in no short supply with this storm, Twilight reflected. When Trixie finally gave up trying to find a comeback she crumpled into a dejected pile on the floor and did something Twilight never expected.

Trixie started to cry.

It wasn't loud sobs or heaves, she just dropped down and tears started flowing thick and fast from her eyes.

“Oh... oh no, I'm sorry Trixie, I... uhm...” Twilight knelt next to Trixie, and could finally hear her very miserable-sounding weeping. Pushing down another twinge of guilt the purple unicorn adjusted the comforter so that it would cover her properly. Additionally, she did so to spare Trixie some of her pride by ensuring that nopony else would have to see her cry. Twilight hated having other ponies see her crying and guessed, correctly, that it would be doubly so for a proud pony like Trixie. So, completely devoid of ideas, Twilight slid underneath the cover with a soggy, shivering, weeping Trixie to give her a little warmth and awkwardly put a comforting arm over her shoulder.

Trixies' tears only lasted another minute for which Twilight was absurdly grateful, she really wasn't sure what she would've done if they'd lasted much longer. Finally after getting her waterworks under control Trixie hiccuped a few times and silently hid under her hooves.

“Uhm, Trixie? Are you all right?” Twilight asked softly, not wanting to provoke another wave of tears but now approaching something like genuine worry for the poor pony despite her well-deserved reputation for charlatanry. Twilight was pretty sure this wasn't a trick though. She'd seen ponies cry before and it wasn't pretty. For some reason Twilight thought if Trixie was going to fake it, she'd try to make it look endearing. This whole thing had been just, well, sad.

Twilight waited almost thirty seconds before deciding Trixie probably wouldn't answer when a small voice came from underneath Trixies' hooves. “No, no Trixie is not fine. Trixie is very far from fine, Trixie might be the least fine pony in Equestria right now.”

“Is there anything I can do?” offered Twilight sincerely, now she was definitely worried.

Trixie looked up from her hooves and let out a slow breath, “Why?” was the only thing she said before burying herself again.

That seemed like an odd question to Twilight, everypony needed help right now especially, it seemed, Trixie. “Well, because you seem like you need somepony right now, and I wanna help.” When in doubt, be forthcoming and honest, and for once that hadn't been something she'd pulled out of a book. It had been a very good piece of advice her brother had given her once.

“Because Trixie mocked you and your friends, endangered your town, belittled your talents, and then ran away without so much as an apology or a 'thank you' for saving Trixies' life when her lies brought an Ursa Minor to town.”

Darn, those were actually pretty good reasons, Twilight reflected. But...

“Trixie, that was over a year ago and nopony got hurt. In fact, you were the only one who really lost that day,” at these words Trixie finally looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and Twilight placed a hoof on Trixies' shoulder, “I never held a grudge over any of that, in fact I still have some of your stuff that Spike and I recovered from your show-trailer," Twilight admitted with a small smile, "I put them in a couple of boxes in the Library.” She didn't mention that after the whole affair Applejack had wanted to sell it off but Twilight hadn't felt right about it. So in the end she kept what they'd salvaged in case Trixie ever came back for it. Also because Twilight was reasonably certain that some of the fireworks were sold off of the Appleoosan Reservation and selling ordinance was technically illegal. “So how about after all this is over, you come by Golden Oaks, ok?”

Twilight was tiny bit afraid that her offer would bring on another bout of tears but, thankfully, Trixies' pride would only be willing to suffer so many breakdowns in front of another pony. Especially in front Twilight, so instead she just nodded her assent with a grateful smile, with a sniffle reemerged from her hooves, “Trixie thinks this is the first time she has ever been invited back somewhere she has performed,” a little dryly as she pulled the coarse blanket tighter and shivered.

“Well the offer stands, now, let's get you over to the fire pit, I meant what I said about colds, no way my schedule would survive an outbreak,” said Twilight with a genuine smile. “I need to head over there anyway.”

The showmare followed her hostess towards the fire pit and Twilight saw her shudder in delight as she got in range of the warmth. Despite a few sideways glares it seemed nopony was willing to speak against a pony who had been, even silently, vouched for by the Element of Magic herself. Not to mention the pony who was responsible for their current feasible living conditions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twenty-One Hours Earlier – Three Hours Before Stormfall

With a snap of displaced air that tasted of ozone the six Element Bearers and Spike appeared in the main foyer of Manehatten City Hall. They landed amidst a scene of absolute chaos. Ponies ran pellmell, yelling and overruling, shouting and generally just getting in each others way. What was worst of all from Twilights' point of view however, was that absolutely nothing seemed to be getting done. She saw a small circle of calm, the 'eye of the storm', Twilight thought with a sense of irony, which was centered around Mayor Maynot, the very pony they had come to see. He was a heavily built gray and brown-spotted earth pony with a graying mane, broad shoulders and a frame that spoke of a youth filled with physical labor, as well as regular exercise in his later years. Maynot noticed Twilight and her friends almost as soon as she found him and his little group of orderly management.

“Oh, thank Celestia,” the Mayor crowed, his cultured voice filled with relief, “you are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony correct? Well I don't know if you had noticed but we could use a little harmony around here.”

“Yeah, we noticed,” Rainbow Dash said dryly.

“Darn tootin', looks like mah house durin' a family reunion, only more peaceable,” Applejack said, drawing a laugh from the floating pegasus, Fluttershy, true to form, looked to be attempting to hide underneath her hair.

“Darling, I hardly think this is a time to make jokes, everypony is in a state of panic and it's our job to-” Rarity spoke up but Applejack waved a hoof dismissively.

“Ah know, ah know, alright Twilight, yer the organization expert 'round here,” Applejack, and everypony else, looked directly at Twilight Sparkle who blushed furiously under so much scrutiny but got her bearings with admirable speed.

“Ok everypony,” began Twilight, then she took in a deep breath and the others braced themselves, they knew the start of a Twilight-chore-list when they heard it. “Mayor Maynot, I need every available magic-practicing unicorn at my disposal immediately, Rainbow Dash, coordinate with Captain Gale and bring me reports on the storms' progress, Mayor I need every other able-bodied earth pony not evacuating to help Applejack gather as many supplies as possible and bring them to the Manehatten Library-”

The Mayor sputtered momentarily before asking, “why the Library of all places?”

Interrupted, Twilight glared at the Mayor before remembering herself, “uhm, sorry, right, the Library is the sturdiest building by far, not too tall but large enough to provide for almost fifteen hundred ponies if need be. More if we push the limits.” Looking thoughtful the Mayor nodded in agreement, allowing Twilight to continue. “Rarity, I need you to liaise with the unicorns that the Mayor gathers and bring them all to the Library to set up the circle I outlined,” Rarity nodded with uncharacteristic seriousness. “Pinkie, go to the Library now, check the kitchens I need a full list of supplies we have on hoof.”

“Okidokiloki!” came Pinkie's reply which was slightly behind her actual disappearance out the door and into the rain.

“Fluttershy, start passing out those notices the Princess and I whipped up, let everypony you see know that they can find safety at the Library, don't take no for an answer, otherwise they might get hurt, ok?” At the mention of somepony getting hurt Fluttershy showed sudden steel her backbone and stood tall.

“I won't let you down Twilight,” she said, her voice small but strong.

At this point all of the room had quieted down, everyponies ears drawn to the sound of someone who had a plan. “Alright,” Twilight said, looking at each of her friends in turn, “All of you... be careful out there, the storm isn't here yet but the winds are still powerful.” Each one of the four remaining friends nodded and they each split to their respective tasks.

Once Mayor Maynot had pointed Rarity to the right pony to help her, an matronly brown unicorn named River Blossom, he trotted over to where Twilight was triple-checking her lists. “I must say my dear, I've never quite seen the like, you have quite a talent for leadership in a pinch.”

“Hm? O-oh, uhm, thank you,” replied Twilight with a blush, her voice now completely devoid of the powerful quality it had possessed earlier. Rather than the Element of Magic the Mayor was now simply talking to Twilight Sparkle, the librarian of Golden Oak's in Ponyville. “The Princesses are relying on me to bring a lot of ponies through this, I just hope I'm up to the task,” she trailed off, the Mayor saw that the weight of this sat very heavily on the Twilight.

With a gruff harrumph the Mayor sat next to Twilight and surreptitiously drew out a flask from his inner jacket and took a short swig. “You are still very young, Miss Sparkle,” he said quietly, his voice had the air of an elder that Twilight had learned a long time ago to listen closely to. “If I had it my way you'd not be anywhere near this, or any pony your age, but that's not the case, and nopony denies that we need you.” Maynot took another swig, somewhat longer this time, from his flask, “In the coming hours it will be to you that everypony will look to, I think, not I, and if you want an old politicians' advice on the matter...” he allowed himself a small laugh at Twilight energetically nodding her head, “...well, it's this. Fake it.”

“hu-what?” Twilight was honestly lost for words, she wasn't sure what she expected Maynot to say but that hadn't been it.

With a derisive snort the Mayor tucked his flask back where it came from and explained himself. “Leaders are not immune to fear, or doubt, or panic, we're normal ponies down to the bone, but they,” he gestured to all the ponies moving around going about their business in a sort of orderly mess that had taken shape after Twilight's list gave them some direction, “they need to believe that you are.”

A small knot of fear built up in Twilights' stomach as she asked in a small voice, “But, I am scared, I'm panicking, these lists are all that's really holding me together.” For the first time the Mayor saw how fragile the shell around Twilight's panic really was, she was one catastrophe away from breaking down into tears.

“And that's the rub darling, you are afraid, so am I, but that's the sacrifice we leaders make, we have to pretend that we are not, we must be the stone that our constituents,” he gave a self-deprecating laugh at his word choice, “sorry, I've been a politician too long,” he explained before continuing, “we have to be the rock that they can cling to, which means we can't have any cracks or it all falls apart.”

“What if I crack though?”Twilight asked, moisture building up in her eyes and her lists sitting forgotten at her hooves.

“Here's a tip from a professional, if you're going to lose it, do it somewhere private, so long as they don't see it then they'll keep,” the Mayor said, and gave an overwhelmed Twilight a comforting pat on the head with his massive hoof before going back to his duties.

“Wait!” Twilight called out as he left, “thank you Mayor Maynot, I feel a lot better,” Twilight said with a small but real smile, and gave the old stallion a chaste kiss on the cheek before going back to her lists. Archibald Maynot returned to the mess of administration that was the act of keeping this city afloat in the coming storm with a smile and a lighter heart than he'd had in years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With Trixie at her side, having finally found a comfortable place by the fire to dry off, Twilight levitated an empty cot over so she could get some extra height.

“Ok everypony, I've got an announcement,” instantly she had everyponies attention, she could hear the sounds of ponies literally falling over themselves to get to where they could see and hear her properly. Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself, 'just fake it'. With a confidence she didn't feel Twilight gave everypony listening the update. A few hours of relative peace despite the howling winds and pouring rain thanks to Luna's moon. The coming weight that would arrive with high tide, updates on supplies courtesy of Rarity and Pinkie. The state of the sandbag barriers and a public 'Thank You' directed to the gently snoring Applejack for her services in keeping the barricade up against the rising waters. A few tearful reunions of foal with parents thanks to the diligent efforts of Fluttershy, and finally a gather of personal letters to be sent to Canterlot via Spike.

After the update Twilight got off of her soapbox (soapcot?) and dragged it back to where she'd gotten it, manually this time, despite the sleep she'd gotten she was wearing herself thin again. Twilight managed to get to Pinkie's side and scooted the cot so that it was just adjacent to her friend who was still snoozing soundly under the blankets, a single tuft of pink cotton-candy poking out from beneath them. Even with the howling gale outside Twilight managed to curl up under the blanket, reassured by the closeness of her friend, and begin to fall asleep.

Despite the fact that Pinkie still, apparently, had the hiccups. Twilight decided to think it was cute.

Storm Riding

The hurricane that was currently tearing its way through Manehatten was a tragedy. It overturned everyponies lives in a cruel act of nature that nopony could have predicted and would have ramifications for decades. Ten years from now there would still be ponies trying to put the last bits of their lives back together, thousands of them. Even the ones who had evacuated had probably lost almost everything to the whims of the torrential rain, lightning, and wind. All of this was present in Rainbow Dash's' mind somewhere and yet despite the horror and tragedy of the storm she had never felt more alive. Time had lost all meaning for the cyan pegasus as she blew through the sky, where a thunderhead reared up she was there to disperse it, where a bank of clouds rich with rainwater began to move in she would puncture it to allow the potential floodwater to drain harmlessly into the river. Amidst the gale and rain the Element of Loyalty rode the winds of the greatest super-storm to strike the eastern coastline in over two hundred years and she couldn't have been happier.

Of course sharing the skies with her heroes, the Wonderbolts, along the most elite weather teams to ever fly out of Cloudsdale Flight School didn't hurt matters. Currently she was sharing an updraft with none other than the vice captain of the Wonderbolts himself, Soarin.

“Dash!” he called out over the noise, “Thunderhead at two o' clock, thirty degrees up!”

Adrenaline flew through her veins as she twitched a wing and rode the wind down, she saw it, a huge one forming, riding in from the ocean. Rainbow Dash knew that if that thing hit land it could cause some serious damage. Strokes of lightning were already arcing out from it and it wasn't even fully formed.

“We can't let it hit land!” Rainbow screamed, “We have to punch through it!”

“You're insane!” came Soarins' reply, even with his goggles on and the storm obscuring most sound she knew he was laughing.

“I have a plan!” Rainbow replied with a cocksure grin, “I need you to barrel roll around me to break up the drafts so I can build up some speed!”

“What?! Why?!” yelled Soarin, even as he began moving into position to follow her lead. Soarin was the cocky maverick of the Wonderbolts, a perfect counterpart to the brilliance of his captain, Spitfire. As such she was pretty much the only pony he listened to. Until he met Rainbow Dash, that is. She was like a storm all her own, she rode the gale-force winds like one of the legendary sylphs of myth, she wasn't even intimidated by them. No more than that, she was one of them. A force of nature that belonged in the skies the way earth ponies belonged on the ground. Even now as he spun around her and she built up speed, pulling ahead of him, Soarin was in awe. Through the wind and rain he could hear her laughing.

Then he saw it, and understood her plan.

A barrier began to form around Rainbow Dash as she pushed forward, more and more she drew speed and strength from impossible reservoir's. Just as she was about to breach the wall of the building cumulonimbus cloud, the barrier broke. With a clap of sound that was as much a tangible force as an aural entity Rainbow Dash lived her name as she tore through the thunderhead in a streak of polychromatic light. The force of the Sonic Rainboom shattered the cloud formation with ease and left Soarin tumbling backwards in a stunned manner that was as much due to the maneuver as it was to the sheer audacity of shattering a massive thunderhead by breaking the sound barrier. With some effort he traced the streak of light and found her, she was high in the sky and coming down fast.

Too fast. Soarin had been a Wonderbolt for years and he knew a free-fall when he saw one.

“Rainbow!” Soarin roared in terror as he spread his wings, caught the wind and lived up to his own name as he soared through the air at speeds just behind Rainbow Dashs' own secret technique. It was going to be close, either he'd catch her or she would end up a smear on the pavement. He pushed himself just a little harder, drawing out a tiny fraction of extra speed, and that was when he felt it. What Rainbow had always talked about. The barrier. The wall of force that felt like a tangible structure just in front of him.

Then she was in his arms, snatched from death by a few seconds. Soarin pulled up, narrowly avoiding a high-rise as he adjusted for the new weight of the unconscious mare in his arms. He was surprised at how heavy she was, for all her slight stature and unbelievable speed she was probably pure muscle. Probably in better shape than he was, Soarin thought as he landed awkwardly, but safely, on the designated 'safe rooftop' that the weather teams kept secure for just these situations. Soarin carried Rainbow Dash to one of the hastily constructed lean-to's and placed her on the heavy-duty sleeping bag. Rainbow Dash had been working this end of Manehatten when Soarin's shift had come up. Now it was nearly the end of his shift and she was still here. He hadn't asked her how long she'd been working but he had a feeling he already knew.

The whole time.

That last 'Boom had probably taken absolutely everything she had left. Soarin just shook his head and sat down next to her, he was already beat.

“Hey Soarin, everything ok?” a pegasus with a rich orange mane came out of the roof exit and made is way over to the two ponies.

“Oh, 'sup Firestreak, yeah we're fine, barely, this one is insane,” Soarin said gesturing to the now-gently-snoozing Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, no joke, me and Fleetfoot saw it from the windows, we thought she was a goner for sure,” Firestreak had a pleasant voice, strong and confident without the cocky edge that Soarin perpetually had. “So is she...?”

“She's fine, like I said, barely,” replied Soarin as he carefully lifted Rainbow's head and snuck a pillow beneath it. The exhausted pegasus didn't even twitch in her sleep. “Think you can help me get her downstairs? I want to ask her friend, the quiet one, to take a look at her, just to make sure.”

Firestreak nodded, “Hold on, I'm sure there's a slat or something we can lift her onto, thank Celestia the generators are still working, getting her down the stairs would be a pain in the pinions.”

“No joke,” was Soarins reply as he stood up and stretched some of the kinks from his muscles. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off he was feeling the weight of all the work he'd been doing.

Soon enough his fellow Wonderbolt had brought a large enough slat of wood that looked like it had been part of a shelving unit of some kind. They moved the sleeping pegasus through the small aperture of the roof exit. From there it was easy thanks to the rather spacious elevators. When they reached them however, Firestreak excused himself.

“Time for me to go man, if you're going down then I gotta go up,” he pointed to the ceiling with his free hoof. “Look after the little star there, she's a shoe-in for a Wonderbolt in my opinion.”

“Heh, yeah I guess she is,” Soarin replied thoughtfully before shaking himself out of the oncoming fugue and wishing his friend and teammate good luck, “and be careful out there Fire!” Soarin shouted as the elevator closed, Firestreak waved a hoof reassuringly and vanished up the stairs to begin his shift.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first thing Rainbow Dash heard was voices, one voice in particular was low and soft. Familiar too, it sounded like...

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow muttered almost unintelligibly, smothered as her words were with exhaustion and too many pillows. As soon as she spoke Fluttershy was by her side, her face uncharacteristically serious.

“Rainbow, I need you open your eyes,” her words had a commanding tone in them that Rainbow Dash wasn't feeling quite strong enough to ignore so she obeyed and was rewarded by a piercing light being shone directly into her eyeballs.

“Ow ow ow ow, motherbuuu...” Rainbow cut off her oncoming stream of expletives as Fluttershy pulled the small light away from her and glowered. Rainbow hadn't known that Fluttershy, Fluttershy of all ponies, even could glower. Rainbow finally took in her surroundings, she was on a medical cot in the Library where Twilight had set up a refugee center. There was a small fire burning nearby for warmth and about a half-dozen ponies of all types around her, most of them asleep. She saw Soarin snoozing by a crate on a discarded sleeping bag. “How did I get here...” Rainbow asked rhetorically before trailing off. The last thing she remembered was the massive thunderhead and... Oh.

“You are very very lucky Dash, very...” she started before her lip began to tremble “V-very...” And then the dam broke. With a choked sob Fluttershy began to cry. Tears rolled down her face as she stopped trying to talk and wrapped her hooves around her friend and just cried. Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy close, she remembered performing the Sonic Rainboom, the rest became a blur; the cloud broke up, she flew around intending to meet up with Soarin again, then she felt tired and... Rainbow Dash felt her blood run cold. She must have lost consciousness somewhere between breaking through the thunderhead and heading back to rendezvous with Soarin who probably was the one who saved her. No wonder Fluttershy was so upset, Soarin probably told her the whole story meaning that Fluttershy knew that she had nearly lost one of her oldest and closest friends for good.

“H-hey, c'mon 'Shy, I'm way too tough to let one stupid storm take me down,” she murmured reassuringly to her friend as Fluttershy got all the tears out that she'd been holding in while she had treated Rainbow.

“Wuzz'appin? Huh?” a sleepy voice came from behind them as Fluttershy pulled away and dried her tears, sifting through her sparse medical supplies. Soarin got up unsteadily from where he'd fallen asleep after dragging Rainbow Dash to their makeshift infirmary-stroke-daycare. He noticed Rainbow sitting up which dispelled any sense of exhaustion from him as he scrambled over to her side. “Woah, hey there short-stuff, I thought you'd be out for at least a day the way you've been pushing yourself.”

Rainbow blushed and chuckled at the familiarity with which one of her heroes addressed her, “Aw c'mon, I'm the best there is! No way am I gonna stay out of the game!” Rainbow tried to stand up to prove it but only managed a sort of shift to the side that almost landed her face-first on cold marble if Fluttershy and Soarin hadn't caught her.

“No, not even a chance Rainbow Dash,” came the pastel pegasus' command.

“B-but Fluttershy, just give me a couple hours and I'll be-”

The Eyes.

Rainbow stopped arguing and meekly shifted beneath the scratchy covers of her medical cot. Even Soarin unconsciously huddled in on himself and flattened his ears to his skull and he was just caught on the periphery of the infamous Stare.

“Uhm, never mind, I'll stay here,” came Rainbow's reply, only slightly muffled by the pillows she was apparently trying to burrow into.

“Good, and you-” Fluttershy looked pointedly at Soarin who squeaked slightly, but instantly the authoritative presence faded as Fluttershy put her hoof down tried to vanish behind her pink bangs, “Uhm, thank you for, uhm, saving Rainbows' life...” she said in a voice so soft it wouldn't have ruffled velvet while she scuffed the floor lightly with one hoof.

The thoughts came unbidden to Soarin's mind, Wow, and here I thought Rainbow Dash was cute, as he stared. It vaguely occurred to him that her words required some kind of response but all his brain was giving him was mushy noises which probably would just scare her away. C'mon Soarin, say something. SAY. SOMETHING.

“Uhh.... Yeah.”

Smooth. Real Smooth, try again idiot-brain, Soarin had to bite his tongue to keep from chuckling as the voice of his Captain broke into his own thoughts. It calmed him though and he sat down, taking a deep breath.

“What I meant was, no problem, that's why we go out in pairs, or more if we can spare the ponypower,” Soarin said with considerably more grace. He looked over and sure enough Rainbow was asleep again. She couldn't have much left in her after battling the storm all day and night. Soarin looked around and felt his heart go heavy, he hadn't really been able to spend much time dirtside since the whole mess began but the suffering was as plain as day from where he was sitting now. “S-so you're a doctor?” Soarin asked, trying to steer the conversation somewhere.

“Oh, uhm... no, I'm just a caretaker for the animals in Ponyville,” replied Fluttershy almost inaudibly.

“Wait, wait-wait... you're a vet?” Soarin had seen his share of doctors. Simply put; basic to severe injuries, and even death once, happened in his line of work. Doing a trick at break-neck speeds was no joke. So that being established, Soarin knew a doctor when he saw one. Having watched Fluttershy move around the medical supplies with more expertise and surety than at least half of the quacks he'd personally been to see he'd have put her at an M.D, or at least an experienced nurse.

“Uhm.. not really, I just take care of the habitats,” seeing Soarin raise an eyebrow she went a little deeper. “I, uhm, I live on the edge of the Everfree so I can keep the animals on the borders in good health.”

One word stuck out as Soarin strained to hear her without trying to be obvious, 'Everfree'.

“Bullshiiiii...” he started to say reflexively before biting his tongue. His brain flailed for something else. “-shimoozle.”

Good one idiot-brain.

“So... uhm.. you live on the edge of that nightmare?” asked Soarin skeptically.

Fluttershy nodded, “Oh it's not all that bad, once you get used to the Manticores, but they're just like big kitties, uhm, then there are the Cockatrice but there's not very many of them and they live pretty deep in the forest.” Soarin's jaw hung open as she continued talking about horrible abominations that would've sent him screaming for the nearest cloudbank on sight as if they were pets. “...and then there's the Hydra, but he's just a big grump who never leaves the bog, and the giant spiders make the prettiest art with their webs too, I have a few examples in my cottage.”

Giant. Spiders.

“Wow, I uh... I have nothing to say to that,” was Soarin's honest answer as he moved in closer to the small fire.

“D-did I say something wrong?” Fluttershy asked fearfully, Soarin mentally face-hoofed and cursed his manners.

“No! No not at all, I just... never expected someone as uhm... pretty and nice as you to do such dangerous work for a living...” Soarin tried to explain without accidentally crucifying himself again. Spitfire never did forgive him for the last time he'd run his mouth off, they hadn't been back to that Fillydelphian bar since.

Fluttershy blushed furiously at his compliments and retreated behind her hair before squeaking out an inaudible “O-oh.”

A sudden stroke of thunder preceded by an alarmingly close bolt of lightning broke the silence. With the noise came Fluttershy who made a small choking bleat and fell rigid on the floor. Soarin rushed to her side and turned her upright as she recovered enough to retreat back behind her bangs to hide her embarrassment, she'd been working on not doing that anymore since the dragon incident.

“I-I'm so sorry, I... I don't handle loud and sudden noises very well...” Fluttershy explained, “Or... big flashes of light...”

“Hey don't sweat it, I don't handle Manticores and Giant Spiders very well so you've got me beat there,” came Soarin's quick reply, he smiled as he saw small glimmer of confidence in her eyes at his words. As he was trying to think up something else to talk about with this beautiful mare he realized how close he was to her. She smelled like fresh flowers after a rainstorm which, Soarin reflected, was oddly appropriate for the matter at hoof. Fluttershy hadn't seemed to notice, her attention turned back to her friend who was sleeping soundly once again, she took her temperature, checked her blood pressure, and made sure her pallor was good, then adjusted the blankets to keep her warm and let out a relieved sigh.

“I'm so glad she's ok, I... I don't know what I would have done if... if...” Soarin saw the waterworks on the way and moved in, if he knew one thing for sure it was that Fluttershy crying was no good.

“Hey, hey, she's fine, just fine,” said Soarin soothingly. He put a comforting foreleg around her and she leaned against him before finally getting her emotions under control. She sniffled softly as she rested her head against him, Soarin could feel how tired she was. In her own way she wasn't that different from Dash and the Wonderbolt would've bet his entire next paycheck that she hadn't slept a wink since this thing started either. He felt her take in a deep breath as she, reluctantly, pulled away, her face crimson.

“You ok there?” Soarin asked, his own face a little red as he thanked Celestia for all the PR training. He had a grade-A poker face.

“Mhm, sorry, I'm just... tired, I have some more work to do before I can sleep, thank you, Mister Wonderbolt, for-”

Soarin cut her off, “Woah there, I'm no Mister, call me Soarin.”

“O-oh, ok...” she said, he could tell she was fighting some internal battle, “Uhm, well... when's your next shift?”

Soarin checked the big clock on the wall, fortunately it was pure clockwork engineering and didn't need any electricity. “Looks like I've got about three more hours.”

“Ok, well, stay safe... ok S-Soarin?” she said, her face was still the most adorable shade of red.

Soarin puffed out his chest and gave her an exaggerated pose-and-grin, “No problem, I'm the maverick of the Wonderbolts!”

Fluttershy giggled, then her expression changed to one of determination as she stepped up and gave him a warm kiss right on the edge of his mouth, “G-good...” she murmured softly, barely meeting his eyes and trying to keep her embarrassment from turning terminal. “I've... uhm... I'll see you again, I hope,” with that Fluttershy made her way over to the foals, some of whom were starting to wake up and needed food.

Soarin deflated almost instantly as his mind blanked out after the small kiss. He had the feeling those weren't something she gave out to just anypony. He heard her say something about hoping to see him again before she left. When she was out of sight he let his knee's go out.

“Wow.”

Outside the storm still raged, but inside the Library a little slice of normality was kept alive by the ponies who refused to let nature destroy their spirits.