//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The hoof that broke the sky // by packman23 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash was moving at the first boom of thunder, all tiredness forgotten. She didn't bother with the stairs. instead simply darting straight up to the library's upper levels where, sure enough, she found its caretaker. Twilight almost knocked Rainbow out of the air as she came hurrying out of one of the library doors at a gallop. Twilight apologised quickly before pulling herself to her feet and disappearing down the stairs. Clearly they'd both just had the same thought. A third storm in a single day, this couldn't possibly be real. Rainbow caught up with Twilight again to find her friend adjusting the biggest of the range of telescopes that seemed to just appear when needed in the library's main room. “Oh this is not good.” Twilight muttered to herself, “This is absolutely, unequivocally, cataclysmically disastrous! Oh and I only just told everypony they could go home...” Twilight moved her telescope around a bit more before throwing the thing away with a yell of frustration, spinning round to face Rainbow, “Rainbow do you know what this could mean?” She almost shouted. Rainbow Dash grimaced, she'd been hoping that Twilight would be able to help her but the pony in front of her looked stressed out of her mind, “It could mean anything Twilight.” She put a hoof out in case Twilight tried to hurry passed her to find something else, “Look, at the moment its just another storm, so let me deal with it okay. You just see if you can find out anything that could have caused these storms. If it makes you feel better send a letter to Celestia.” Twilight seemed to calm down at this, “Of course, you're right Rainbow getting all worked up won't help anypony.” She gave a shaky smile, “Just give me some time to think and I'm sure I'll work something out. I have a few books on weather phenomena. Spike will know where they are as well and I can send a warning to the princess at the same time.” She was passed Rainbow in a flash and almost out the door when she turned back to Rainbow, “Um, Rainbow thank you for the help.” Rainbow smiled, “Don't worry about it, it's my job to keep you guys in line remember?” A rumble of thunder sounded overhead, “That and to deal with this storm.” She was in the air in a second, zooming out of the library. She yelled her goodbyes back at Twilight as she went. The last thing she heard from the library was Twilight calling for Spike before the storm swallowed up all sound. The storm ran Rainbow ragged this time. From the second she entered it she was tossed forwards and back. After the first five minutes she was pretty sure she knew exactly how Twilight's beloved Smartypants doll had felt after that whole 'want-it-need-it' fiasco. After another minute she decided she'd had enough. Pushing back against the wind and rain she pulled herself through some of the denser clouds, bursting them with a flick of her tail. She kept it up for hours, clouds burst and blew away all around her. She wasn't sure how many other weather pegasi were flying with her but she knew there must be some from the few times she caught shapes moving through the sky around her and from the times she broke through the crowds into the light for a second. She knew there were pegasi missing though and others away searching for them, and their absence was keenly felt. Especially since the storm fought them more strongly this time, even managing to throw Rainbow Dash once or twice. In the end though they broke the biggest banks of clouds sweeping in from the Everfree. Rainbow Dash didn't think she'd ever known a moment more fulfilling than when the heavy rain gave way to a light drizzle and the sun began to shine behind some of the clouds. She let herself flop to the ground as all her energy left her at once. She curled up on the roof she landed on, too tired to look for a softer bed, and fell asleep almost immediately. Her dreams weren't good. Lightening forked off the ground as well as the sky and black clouds rolled overhead, spitting boiling rain down on to the smooth rock below. Through this storm Rainbow flew, searching for her friends, her family, anypony she knew. Once or twice she tried to put her hooves down to the ground and run to rest her tired wings, but the ground was smoother than anything she'd ever felt and she slipped and slid on it, her hooves flailing as if it wasn't even there. She was beginning to get more desperate now. She didn't know who she was hoping to find but the world around her was getting darker and the rain harder and even though the lightening scarred the ground the dips were just as smooth and ungripable. Rainbow looked everywhere but everything looked the same. A shiver ran down her spine. This storm couldn't be real, it just couldn't be. She struck at the clouds in a rage, she kicked and butted them but they didn't burst. They dented, they swelled and they slipped out of her reach. She heard a roll of thunder right behind her, louder than any before it. She tried to move, tried to get out of the way but the lightening was already shooting through her, burning every fiber of her. And she woke up in the dark with the rain pattering softly on the roof above her. Rainbow lay awake for a second trying to remember her dream, but it slipped away almost as fast as she could fly. It was then that it hit her that she was dry. She'd fallen asleep in the rain on a rooftop and now she was dry and inside. She squinted through the darkness to try and see the room around her, but all she could make out was the vague outlines of tables and a few chairs. The blankets she was wrapped in were almost as soft as the ones from home, but had annoying lacy bits on, which tickled her throat as she tried to move. Still they were warm and the bed was comfortable enough. Dash lay back and tried to get back to sleep. That failed pretty quickly though as a little thought niggled at the back of her mind. If it was still raining that meant that the weather team still needed help. Rainbow turned over to get up and tumbled out of bed landing on the floor with a crash. She rolled onto her hooves in a second but not before she heard movement from the floor below her. She groaned, she was pretty sure she knew who her hostess was already (only one pony would have sheets like the ones she was struggling to untangle her back hoof from) and she didn't really want deal with her right after waking up. Her suspicions were confirmed by a voice from the hallway, and the door opened allowing two small lights in. A candle and a soft violet light were shone around the room for a second before a click sounded and no less than five different lamps flickered into life. “Oh good, you're up.” Rarity smiled at the pegasus who had been rendered temporarily blind by the light change, “I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just couldn't leave a friend out on my roof in such weather.” Rainbow shook her head, “It's fine. It's nice to wake up warm and dry for once. Once you get used to sleeping on clouds waking up freezing pretty much follows” Rarity laughed, “Yes, I can't really imagine that myself, though I don't doubt it's a fascinating experience. But I digress, what in Equestria were you doing on my roof Rainbow?” “Yeah,” Rainbow grinned rather sheepishly, “Sorry about that I just couldn't stay in the air, dealing with that storm we just had took a lot out of me.” Rarity frowned, levitating a tea tray in from somewhere outside the room an setting it down on a table next to a lamp, “Dealing with? Hmm, that explains a lot. I just assumed that since we got a storm today it must have been your doing. I guess not.” “Nope, today was supposed to be clear, so if you'll excuse me.” She made to dart passed Rarity but the designer blocked her with a hoof. “Oh absolutely not dear!” She gripped Rainbow Dash with her magic and pulled her back away from the door “You are not risking life and limb out there for some silly little storm.” “But I'll be fine.” Rainbow protested, “Listen it's barely even raining anymore I can have the sky clear in a second.” Rarity ignored her simply pushing her gently into a chair, “The other weather pegasi can handle any other storms that come up just fine without one exhausted athlete.” She smiled and fetched something off the tea tray, “Besides Twilight needs to see you.” She waved a letter infront of Rainbow's face, “This came through about a quarter of an hour ago, asking me if I'd seen you and asking me to send you to her. I thought it more prudent to let you sleep at that point. I wasn't sure how long you would sleep but Twilight can hardly object to waiting a few more minutes, or hours, for you to arrive.” Rainbow took the letter and looked through it, it was short, rushed and said little more than Rarity had. The most notable thing about the letter therefore was: “How did this get here?” Rarity shrugged, “The same way most letters do. I must admit I was surprised myself, we must have a very dedicated mailmare.” She drew the letter back and placed it back on the table, “But anyway Rainbow, would you like something to drink or should we pay the library a visit.” Rainbow didn't bother to answer, instead zipping down the corridor, before she remembered that she'd never been into this part of the Carousel Boutique and had no idea where she was. As she zipped through room after room to try and find one she recognised Rarity disappeared into one of the side rooms. By the time Rainbow Dash had found a set of stairs Rarity had reappeared in a violet rain-saddle, complete with matching hat and umbrella. She gave Rainbow an amused smile before the two of them head down into the boutique and out into the rain. The sky was dark now and clouds covered the moon and stars, sending a light but persistent rain down on the two ponies. Rainbow and Rarity were alone on the roads of Ponyville tonight and they moved quickly. Neither of them really wanted to spend anymore time outside than absolutely necessary. Still by the time they arrived at the library Rainbow was dripping wet. Twilight was waiting at the door for them, looking much more excited than she had when Rainbow had last seen her. She didn't seem to notice when Dash shook herself dry on her floor and practically bounced around the room with an exuberance that rivaled Pinkie Pie's. Rarity and Rainbow dried themselves by the fire while Twilight made a quick dash around the room checking the shutters and casting the odd spell. While shaking the water out of her wings Rainbow inspected the massive pile of books and scrolls Twilight had collected on the table in the centre of the room. “I thought you said you had a few books on storms.” Twilight glanced at the mountain of books, “Oh don't be silly Rainbow Dash that's not all my books on storms. Just the really interesting ones.” Rainbow shuddered as she realised just what Twilight must consider a lot of books. Twilight however was still talking. “It shouldn't be too hard to find something to pack these in, after all I've moved at least this many books here from Canterlot since I've been here. Of course I'll need to make room for a map or two so maybe.” The librarian trailed off muttering to herself. After a few seconds of silence Rarity interrupted her, “Um Twilight, not to sound rude but I was just wondering what this is all about, I mean, have you called us here just to look at books?” Twilight laughed, “Of course not. Dash you remember you suggested I send the Princess a letter about our storm problem. Well no sooner did I send my letter than the Princess sent this.” She pulled a scroll out of the pile with a flourish, “The princess says there have been similar problems all over the kingdom which well, we already knew, and requests that we, by which I think she means Element bearers, come to Canterlot immediately to help.” She was beaming by the time she finished, “I've already told Spike. We should be ready to go by tomorrow morning at the latest.” That gave Rainbow pause. “Wait, you want to go out in this.” She motioned out of the window, “Sure It's not as bad as it was earlier. I'm pretty sure I could make it even if it was. But Fluttershy's not going to be able to, she's not a strong flier. I'm pretty sure the railway's not gonna be running any time soon and, no offense, but that balloon of your's isn't exactly sturdy. One stray gust of wind and we're halfway to Appleloosa!” Twilight's smile somehow widened, “Yes I thought that too, but the princess assured me she'd send something more than capable of dealing with any storm. She says it's urgent that whatever caused these storms is dealt with rather than just dealing with each storm one at a time. That's why I wanted to talk to you Rainbow,” She levitated a notepad and quill out of somewhere, “I have a few questions about the storm.” The next few minutes tied Rainbow Dash's brain in knots. Twilight wanted to know everything from prevalent wind speed to origin point of the storm. Rarity reappeared from some other point of the library while Rainbow was trying to work out exactly what colour the clouds had been from a selection of shades of grey and purple which all looked exactly the same. The designer rapped on the table with her hoof to get Twilight's attention after a few minutes of watching Rainbow try to work out the difference between #000001 and #000002. “Rainbow, Twilight, it's getting late you should probably get some rest.” She had put her coat and hat back on and seemed to be ready to leave. When Twilight noticed this she leapt out of the chair she'd been sitting in and dashed to Rarity. “Are you sure you won't stay Rarity, you'll get soaked out there.” Rarity smiled and shook her head, “Much as it pains me to pass up a warm fire dear, I have packing to do if I want to join you on your trip. Besides as enjoyable as your last sleepover was I dread to think what having myself and Rainbow Dash in the same building for too long will lead to if myself and Applejack almost destroyed your guest room. Now you girls have fun, my boutique needs me.” Twilight tried again to persuade her but Rarity was unconvinced so after a few more minutes Rarity left, quickly fading to an indistinct shape of a pony moving through the rain. After closing and securing the door Twilight paged back through her notes. Finally seeming satisfied, much to Rainbow's relief, she closed the notebook and began collecting up the cards. “I think we're good for the night now Rainbow. If you're staying, the guest room should be okay.” Rainbow Dash assured her it would. After all her house wasn't exactly safe in weather like this, “Good, it's the second and third door on the left on the second floor. If you need anything in the night you know where I'll be.” She pointed to the book pile in the room's center. Rainbow's laugh turned into a yawn as she climbed the stairs. Her legs felt like lead. She would have flown but her wings felt even worse. The guest room was exactly where Twilight said it would be. A simple, sparsely furnished room (if you didn't count the bookcases that covered two walls) the entire place seemed to have been well refurbished since Applejack had pulled a tree in through the window, and by the looks of things one of the walls. The huge window cast enough of a glow from some unknown light source for Rainbow to easily plod her way over to the bed, avoiding various boxes Twilight seemed to of left in the room for storage. On trying to get into bed though she was stopped short, as she almost climbed in on top of somepony else. In her exhaustion Rainbow Dash had almost forgotten about Echo, but thinking about it she should have expected the Wonderbolt to stay. Twilight could hardly send her home after all, and she needed somewhere to stay. Sleeping, Echo Fleetfoot looked even smaller than normal, bundled up tightly in the covers with her goggles resting on the table next to her and her useless eyes closed tightly. She looked absolutely adorable. The urge to hug the Wonderbolt wrestled with Rainbow's constant awe and surprise at being in the same room as one of her heroes and the little, tiny part of her mind that wanted to hit Echo over the head with a chair and take her place. Seeing no chairs in the room, she decided she was too tired to deal with her feelings towards a pony she hardly knew at the moment and climbed in next to Echo. A tiny thrill shot through her at being so close to one of the few pegasi as awesome as herself. And then she was gone lost in a welcome and dreamless sleep. *** As the sun rose over Ponyville the town was treated to its rudest awakening since Pinkie Pie's last 'It's two a.m. on a Tuesday Grand Super Spectacular' party. The rain was swept up off the ground, the trees bent almost sideways and a whirring, whirling noise filled the sky. The ponies near the library were particularly concerned by the hideous grating of gears and random booming and squealing noises as a shadow the size of several houses descended over the square. The few angry faces that appeared at windows hurried back inside and hid under their beds praying to Celestia as the horrible sound intensified and the thing above Ponyville suddenly rocketed down to the ground landing with a ear-shattering, earth-shattering crunch on ten metal feet that smashed the paving slabs beneath them to rubble. When Celestia said she'd send something that could handle any storm she had not been exaggerating. *** Twilight's natural alarm clock woke her up long before dawn everyday so all the a-billion-times-damned, impossibly loud explosion from outside did was to make her choke on her breakfast and to mask the sound of Spike dropping a pile of bowels. Judging from the scream and the string of curses from upstairs though her guests had not been so lucky. Looking up and out her window however dispelled all terror or annoyance Twilight had. Celestia had sent her The Platinum Hammer. Twilight's family on her mother's side had a long history in the Equestrian military and, what with her brother's desire to join the guard, Twilight had spent a lot of her childhood around army equipment. For the most part Twilight hadn't cared a bit for such things. Once you learned that a enchanted spear could exert enough force to split trees in a single thrust and exactly how that worked the appeal of killing machines sort of went the way of the supposed prehistoric human. All except for the airships, the huge gleaming, painstakingly decorated hulks constructed of wood, metal and stone had captivated Shining Armor and Twilight instantly. Especially The Platinum Hammer. Twilight had seen the massive ship before at a parade, just after she had become Celestia's student. Bedecked in streamers, it had floated gracefully above the Princess' box on the quietest mode it could manage (which had still been rather deafening) and the ship had been etched forever in her memory. And now it was sitting outside her house! Unless Princess Celestia came prancing through the door, proclaimed Twilight her heir, introduced to Starswirl the Bearded, and whisked her off to her new job running the Canterlot library then Twilight couldn't think of anything that would make this moment better. Well maybe some dramatic music in the background. By the time Twilight had finished packing some books, charts and a telescope into a reasonable sized bag, Rainbow and Echo had woken up enough to make it downstairs and see what was going on. That hadn't really been necessary, they probably would have been able to see more of the ship from upstairs. In fact they probably couldn't have missed it from Canterlot. Rainbow Dash for one seemed impressed, after a few seconds collecting her lower jaw from the floor, she summed up her thoughts quite easily as, “What the hay is that thing?” Echo seemed a little more confused but excited none the less, “I heard a crash.” She yelled happily, “What is it? Is it something awesome?” Twilight looked up at the airship, “That's our transport and yes I think you could say that.” *** Packing had taken Rarity a lot longer than Twilight. Since three in the morning she had been trying to decide whether the added dryness and warmth of her thick winter coat, or the style and sophistication of her purple saddle mounted umbrella were more appropriate for the trip. And Twilight had assured her that it wouldn't be that long a trip as they'd either save everyone in a week or Equestria would flood completely but should she really leave her seven rainbow coloured cardigans behind? She couldn't just leave one behind after all. They were important as a set. And what about hats? If she kept going like this Twilight and the group would come and go and leave her behind. That problem was neatly solved by the enormous din from outside, the walls of Rarity's home shook for a second and her ears rang like bells. Ramming her hooves over her ears Rarity took cover until the quake subsided then hurried out of the room to find a window that faced the library. Looking out Rarity peered through the rain. Outside Twilight's home something huge reared out of haze. After a brief panic it occurred to Rarity that she must be looking at Twilight's 'transportation'. Whatever it was it was clear just from the size of the shape that there would be plenty of room for all her luggage. Rarity smiled and dashed excitedly back to her room to find seventeen extra suitcases. Fifteen minutes and more than a hundred outfits later and Rarity was fairly certain she had everything she could possibly need for whatever the trip had in store. Almost as an after thought Rarity found a little food, a few medicine bottles and a book and tossed them into one of her smaller suitcases. At last sure that she was ready Rarity pulled on yet another rain saddle and hat and headed out the door, followed by a veritable procession of floating baggage. The rain hammered on the ground this morning and the wind hurried passed in a bitterly cold gust. Rarity cantered through the streets as quickly as possible without seeming like she was rushing. Only a few ponies had braved the street today, a handful of pegasi tried vainly to arrange the clouds in a way that would keep at least somepony dry. Over the other side of the road a cherry seller huddled under the fabric roof of her stall. Rarity took pity on the mare and bought a bag off her on her way passed. For the most part though Ponyville was hiding inside. It was early and already the streets were practically flooding already. Rarity grimaced at the thought of floods and increased her speed slightly, a little loss of grace now and then when there was nopony to see her was a fair price for getting out of this rain after all. She came to an abrupt halt however when she turned the corner and caught her first clear sight of what Celestia had sent to Twilight. The thing was monstrous. Oh of course to the untrained eye it might appeal, but Rarity felt her stomach flip at the sight of it. The thing was a mish-mash of styles from all over Equestria. Not a single bit looked like it was made to fit with the bit next to it above the hull, each just off enough to be distracting. The central cabin section for example seemed to have been made a hundred years after the left hand section of the engine. Above the ship's main body a diabolic system of pipes, rotors and balloons hung, making Rarity question what had been wrong with the good old airship. Then of course there was the size. The thing was abominably huge, the prow rising at least as high as the library's canopy and she had no idea how to go about estimating how wide the thing was. It looked like the everypony in Ponyville would fit inside easily. After a few minutes gawking in a most unflattering manner Rarity swallowed her amazement and resumed her trip towards the library. As she drew closer to the library she realised that, if anything, the ship was even bigger than Rarity had first thought. It towered over her and even with its horrible design Rarity had to admit to being a little impressed by the sheer scope of insanity that must have gone into making such a ship. The library door was unlocked when she arrived and she let herself in, glad of a little respite from the rain. The front room of the library was buzzing with activity. Rainbow Dash and another pegasus seemed to be having breakfast while Twilight practically galloped around arranging her books into three huge travel cases. A forth behind her, which Spike was clearing out the way, seemed to already be packed with Celestia knew what. Dash spotted Rarity first, flapping down from her perch on Twilight's stairs and helping Rarity with one of her many suitcases. Twilight pushed the last few books into one of her cases and slamming it shut she pushed it out the way so Rarity could pile up her luggage just inside the doorway. The librarian then put her own magic into helping with Rarity's stuff. When everything was inside and in a sufficiently tidy pile Rarity turned her attention to other things. She realised pretty quickly that Twilight had been talking through the task while she had had all her attention focused on a particularly stubborn hat box that just refused to fit. Well she may have no idea what Twilight was talking about but she could still deal with it with courtesy. “I'm sorry dear what were you saying, my mind was elsewhere.” “Don't worry Rarity it was nothing important.” “No,no Twilight don't make excuses for my bad manners. Go on.” Twilight looked slightly embarrassed at that, “Well I was talking about The Platinum Hammer actually- the airship out there-” “Yes,” Rarity cast a glance outside, “I did notice it.” “I still can't get over the fact Celestia lent it to me. I've dreamed about flying that ship since I was just a little filly and now it's here!” She gazed at the behemoth outside, “Isn't it just magnificent Rarity?” Rarity frowned, “I suppose that is one way to look at it.” She paused for a second, gazing up at the ships huge hull, “I'm sorry if I sound silly Twilight, but have you put any thought into how we are going to board that thing. We can't very well just go cantering up to it and knock on the door.” “Hmm, no. I can't believe I missed that.” Twilight considered for a second, “Ah,” She turned to Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow I think we could do with a little help here.”