One Day Too Late

by Protector of Light

Chapter 1: One Step Behind

The sun wasn’t shining as Fluttershy walked down the expansive hallway towards the makeshift hospital that had been erected in Canterlot Palace, carefully watching her surroundings. The yellow pegasus was heading to visit Rainbow Dash for the first time in several days. As much as she deeply cared about her friend's well being, she just couldn't face her very often anymore.
Fluttershy thought of so much as she walked down the hallway. Just a few weeks ago, the world had been the same as it had always been, but now, everything had changed so much. It started with a storm. And as the clouds looming overhead refused to yield, the destruction and terror only seemed to get worse. When it started, nearly all of her friends left her, choosing to yield to whatever was causing all of this to cause as much terror as everypony else. The only one who had stayed with her was Spike, who, strictly speaking, wasn’t a pony, so she guessed that he wasn’t part of everypony. Now, Rainbow was back, but she and Fluttershy could hardly stand to be in the same room out of guilt and terror, respectively. All of these things didn’t even make her sad anymore; she had gotten used to it. All Fluttershy wanted now was to have all of her friends back, and everything to go back to the way it had been before.

11 days ago
The gargantuan storm hovered over Ponyville, dark grey clouds without much rain, but plenty of thunder, lightning, and wind. All of the weather pegasi had been called on duty to try to stop it before it could cause any real damage. It had come from over the Everfree Forest, like many other storms. Usually, the weather team was able to contain such dangerous storms before they managed to reach the small town, but this one seemed to be driven by some force beyond that of nature. Fluttershy’s house was the first to be hit by a blast of the powerful wind. All of her animals had been terrified, running for cover away from her cottage, even Angel Bunny. Fluttershy had tried her best to calm them down, begging and pleading; but they left her behind, making her panic just as much as they had. She started after her animal friends in a shaking stride outside to try to keep them in safety, but was quickly frightened right back into her house. The yellow pegasus galloped across the room to the safest place she knew. She hunkered down under her stairs, shivering, prepared for the worst. And the worst came. A terrible wind slammed against her house, making it shake from the force. She cowered ever smaller, hearing the boards creaking under the strain. She whimpered as a tree fell down and hit her wall, making her face the full force of the wind. Seeing no other option, she ran from her house and headed the direction her animal friends had gone, screaming all the way.
The animals had found a small cave which was facing away from the wind. Fluttershy first tried to gallop towards the entrance, but lost her footing and ended up blowing back into the rubble of her house. She was unable to lighten the blow because her wings were paralyzed in fright. Afterwards, she slowly trekked towards the entrance, fighting the wind with all of her strength, wanting desperately to get out of the raging gusts, ducking down so that the wind could not catch her again. Once she reached the cave, she felt sure she waited there for hours, waiting for the storm to subside.

When it did, she heard all of her friends yelling for her in panic, having found her crushed house.
“I-i-i’m over here,” Fluttershy whimpered, coming cautiously out of the cave. She walked on shaky legs towards her friends, worried that they might buckle under her in fear.
“Thank goodness you’re alright,” said Twilight Sparkle as she trotted forward. “We saw your house. Or at least what’s left of it. We were worried you were hurt! Rainbow said that she hadn’t seen you come out.”
“Fluttershy dear, I am truly sorry that we didn’t come over here when we saw the storm coming. I thought that you would surely have gone to somewhere in town. I know how much you hate storms or anything else loud and dangerous. No offense,” Rarity smiled apologetically, "So I should have thought to come and check on you earlier today when the weather ponies were talking about a storm traveling through Equestria."
“Oh, that’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a shaky voice, even quieter than normal. “You didn't know I would stay. I wanted to keep the animals safe. But they ran away. I saw where they had gone, and when a board came out of my wall, I figured I would be safer there.”
“Ah’m just glad you’re okay,” Applejack said, not really understanding what Fluttershy had said in her whisper. Nobody really did, and Fluttershy knew it when she heard their responses.
“I knew you were tougher than they seemed to think. I mean, who scared a dragon away from the mountain?” Rainbow Dash said, hovering slightly overhead.
“I knew you were alright! I knew you were alright! But I’m glad I was right,” Pinkie said in her usual Pinkie Pie manner. “But I saw the storm coming and I was like *gasp* and then I was all like ‘I hope everybody’s okay’ but I knew that all you guys would be safe because you guys are really smart about taking care of yourselves then I remembered that Dashie was on the weather team so I got all worried about her again but then she came and said she was alright but she hadn't seen you so I’m just so glad that you all are safe!” she said without taking a breath until she was done.
“And I’m glad that you’re all safe too,” Fluttershy said, speaking more clearly this time. The group shared a hug, causing Rainbow to get a disgusted look before smiling and looking relieved. When the friends finally broke the embrace, they walked side by side towards Ponyville to assess the damage.

Now, Fluttershy felt a tear creep from her eye remembering how they had all been so happy to be together just a couple of weeks ago. She realized that she had stopped in the middle of a hallway thinking and remembering. She smiled awkwardly and blushed in embarrassment at a maid who walked by, who smiled back and shook her head pityingly before moving on.
The yellow pegasus continued onward, still remembering.

The friends had gathered at Twilight’s library to discuss the damage and what might have caused the storm to be so strong on its own. Even as they talked about such a serious topic, they laughed and smiled at little puns. Fluttershy felt so safe and secure in their presence. Rarity and Applejack bantered back and forth over how they should repair the damage, glaring at each other on occasion before breaking out laughing. Fluttershy wasn’t paying attention to what anybody was saying, but she smiled at their happiness, even though some of hers was crushed along with her home. Finally, Twilight sighed, tapping her hoof on the ground and clearing her throat, drawing the gazes of all of her friends. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was right there with her. “This is serious business, you guys. This storm was not planned. Storms that aren’t planned are dangerous,” Twilight said, annoyed.
“Obviously,” Rainbow muttered under her breath, before continuing at full volume. “Every pegasi was up there, except for Fluttershy and the foals, fighting that storm. And we didn’t even make a dent in it. The storm just couldn’t be stopped!”
“That’s odd,” Applejack said, “But not unheard of. Ah mean, all of the weather here in Ponyville was natural from the Everfree Forest back in Granny Smith’s day. But ah’ve never heard of much damage coming out of storms like that.”
Twilight sighed. “That’s the thing. The town’s records have nothing on any storm like that one, even that far back. And now Rainbow is saying that the pegasi aren’t even able to clear the clouds.”
“That can't be right. I’ve never seen any clouds that Rainbow Dash couldn’t clear,” Fluttershy said and then squeaked, because all of her friends were looking at her.
“I know. I’m awesome,” Rainbow said, spinning in the air to show off her awesomeness.
Twilight put her hoof to her face. “Not now girls, we need to concentrate!”
“You know, Twilight, it’s gettin’ kind of late. Maybe we oughta go home and sleep on it. It’s not like another storm is coming this very second,” Applejack said, smiling at her.
“Oh-but-- oh. I guess you’re right,” Twilight sighed. “But girls, please think about it tonight. We need to figure out what’s going on.”
The girls all nodded affirmatively. All but Fluttershy. “Um… excuse me. I’m really sorry to bother you guys. But… I don’t have a place to sleep… I’m sorry,” she squeaked.
“Oh, you don’t need to be sorry. I'm the one that forgot. Don’t worry. I have an extra bed.” Twilight smiled widely.
The other girls murmured apologies before heading out towards their homes.
“I’ll show you the way. It’ll be like a slumber party!” Twilight said.

Twilight stood in the middle of the Everfree Forest, spooked by every motion in the brush. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had all gone into the forest telling her and Fluttershy to follow. Though their mannerisms had seemed a bit strange, their voices holding a somewhat sinister note, Twilight was afraid not to follow them. Especially since something seemed to be wrong. She needed to investigate. This could have something to do with the strange storm.
But now, she stood, separated from the group. She couldn’t keep up. The girls all seemed to move with the fog and mist in the forest. Maybe Fluttershy stayed behind even after Twilight had gone. She hoped so, because she hadn’t seen her, and just hoped that she was somewhere safe. Maybe nothing strange had happened to her.
As far as where Twilight was, she wasn’t sure. Time seemed to move differently in the Everfree on any given day, but it seemed even stranger today. She didn’t know how long she had wandered aimlessly, but now she was certain that she was lost.
“Why didn’t they wait for me?”

Spike walked into the living room yawning widely. He had slept through the girl’s entire conversation. “Hey, Twilight. Sorry I overslept, but I’m up now, I hope Owloysius didn’t have to go through the trouble of doing my chores or anything, heheh.” The little purple dragon paused when Twilight didn’t respond. He looked around in horror at the fact that all of the books in the library seemed to be spread out on the floor, piled up in drifts like snow. Her head was laid down on the table like she had slept there all night. “Uh, Twilight?”
Twilight jumped up, ran in place, then looked around in mild panic. “Oh. It’s just you Spike. I thought it was some kind of monster or something, I was having a bad dream.” She calmed down and smiled at him, but then her face turned serious. “There’s some weird stuff going on around here lately. You slept through the girls and I talking about that storm that we had last night. You fell asleep when it was just getting to its worst. Anyway, Fluttershy’s cottage blew down, so she’s staying here for now.”
“Yeah, I saw her up stairs and thought it was strange. She’s alright though, right? She didn’t get hurt did she?”
“She’s fine, Spike, just a little shaken up. She wouldn’t be Fluttershy if she wasn’t shaken up over something,” Twilight said, sounding amused. “The rest of the girls should be getting here soon, so don’t worry about the chores. Something seriously strange is going on.” Her stomach rumbled, and she chuckled nervously. “On second thought, maybe some breakfast would be good.”
As Spike walked into the kitchen, he heard a knock on the door, and heard some laughter from outside. “That must be Pinkie. Better fix a lot of pancakes. That pony has a stomach the size of a dragon’s. Well, a full size dragon, anyway. I can’t eat as much as her. And now I’m talking to myself,” Spike said, looking slightly annoyed with himself.
He heard Twilight open up the door. From upstairs, he heard the gentle yawn of a certain sleeping pegasus. “Oooh, hey Twilight! Am I the first one here? It looks like I’m here before Fluttershy is even up!” Spike heard Pinkie sing joyously. He chuckled.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Twilight smiled for a minute before returning to her serious self. “Come on, Pinkie. Were any of the others coming yet? We need to get moving on research.”
“Hmmmm… Well, I did see Dashie moving the clouds, and there was a light on a Carousel Boutique, and Applejack is always up bright and early to do her chores, so they should all be here really soon!”
Twilight was glad to hear that they were all probably up and headed towards the library. She was worried that they would be really late today, and today was just too important to stand for that. At least Pinkie was her usual hyper and happy self. She didn’t seem worried. Then again, she rarely seemed worried.
She heard a soft yawn again. Fluttershy was coming down the stairs. “I’m sorry I slept so late. I mean, you seem really worried, and you were worried about people being late and I overslept. *squeak*”
“Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. You had a traumatic experience last night. If anybody has an excuse to sleep in, it’s you,” Twilight said comfortingly.
“What about you, Twilight? You stayed up all night looking for anything on the storm.”
“That’s no big deal. I do things like that all of the time. You don’t nearly die all the time. At least, I hope not! Though, bad things do seem to follow us around everywhere.” Twilight looked at the ceiling pondering that and was suddenly overcome with a yawn that threatened to split her head in two. “Though, maybe I am a little tired. But I’m not going to sleep until we find out what’s going on around here!”
The door was broken down by a blur of color as Rainbow Dash was blown by wind through it. She shook her head to get out of a daze. “What in Equestria is up with this weather? Seriously, I was just trying to clear some clouds and this wind about blew me away! It was like the cloud was attacking me or something,” the annoyed cyan pegasus said once she regained her breath.
“I dunno sugarcube. This weather is mighty strange, that’s for sure. If the rain was just a little stranger Ah would be afraid Discord was loose again. But thankfully this ain’t no chocolate milk,” said Applejack, stepping over the broken door and the pegasus on the floor right in front of it.
“Oh dear, your hair looks far more terrible than usual!” said Rarity, grimacing at Rainbow Dash as she walked in, complete with her raincoat with the umbrella.
“I think we’ve got bigger problems than that, don’t we Twi,” said the sensible farmer pony.
“Yes. Definitely.” Twilight nodded in agreement.
“Breakfast is ready, guys! Blueberry pancakes, nice and hot!” Spike said, breaking the tension by carrying a huge plate of pancakes and sitting it in front of the group.
“Oooh! Looks delicious! Nice and sweet with lots of syrup and hot sauce!” the pink party pony said ecstatically. The others groaned at her comment.
“That does look mighty good,” said Applejack, after pausing.
The others nodded in agreement. “Fine. I guess our search can wait for a minute,” Twilight said, resigned.

After breakfast, all six ponies and the little dragon hit the books, so to speak. Though Twilight had already gone through half of the library in her frantic search for a clue, everypony was pouring though the books desperately. But even Pinkie’s freaky tendency to know where things were when nobody else did, there was not a hint as to what was going on. “UGHHH!” Twilight yelling in frustration. “Why can’t we ever find something useful when we need it! Well, I take that back. We usually can. But why can’t we find it now!”
Spike tried to pacify her. “Why don’t we just send a letter to Princess Celestia. She might know something. If nothing else, she should probably be told what is going on if the doesn’t already know.”
“You’re right, Spike!' Twilight jumped up. "Something is really wrong around here. She has to be informed immediately, even if she doesn't know anything!”
After writing a quick letter, Spike sent it by dragon fire. The group of friends waited impatiently for a response. It was Fluttershy that finally said something. “I guess we should keep searching while we wait. Um, I mean, if that's okay.” The others sighed, but resumed digging.
It was several minutes before they received a response. Spike stood facing Twilight, leading the letter to hit her in the face and singeing her hair. But instead of Princess Celestia’s personal seal, the letter had Luna’s. “Huh? I swear I sent that to Princess Celestia, not Luna, honest!”
Twilight stood for a moment in a daze from both shock and exhaustion before speaking. “Don’t worry about the details, Spike, just read it!”
“Ahem,” Spike began to speak, clearing his throat.
“Twilight Sparkle and Friends,
“It is I, Princess Luna. We… er… I have been meaning to get in contact with you urgently since yesterday. This is a matter of upmost importance.
“I know that you usually go to Princess Celestia with your concerns, problems, and lessons in friendship. However, she is not here right now.” Spike paused for a moment in confusion, obviously reading ahead in the letter. “I regret to inform you that she disappeared without a word yesterday while I was resting.
“Hearing your side of the story about the storm was quite useful. The storm seems like it must be powerful magic. Pegasi can clear a storm of any size with no problem so long as it is natural.
“We… I mean I… appreciate your diligent search for information, but as your friend, I beg you to be careful. If anything was to happen to you and Celestia, I don’t know what I could do. You and our friends in Ponyville showed me that it was possible to have friendship again. For that I cannot thank you enough.
“All I can ask of you is to be very cautious. This is dangerous business, and it would be best to stay out of it for now. I will let you know if I find out anything of use here in Canterlot, but for now, I would just suggest staying in the library to do your research.
“Please be careful.
“Your friend,
“Luna”
Everypony’s mouth stood agape. “The Princess is…” Twilight began.
“Missing?” the rest joined in unison.

Several hours later, another powerful storm slammed against the library. Twilight convinced Rainbow Dash that it was too dangerous to fight the storm. However, everypony needed to get outside at least for long enough to get things secured. Pinkie needed to be sure the Cakes knew what was going on and would stay in safety. Rainbow Dash had to go tell the rest of the weather team to stay away from the storms. Applejack had to take Apple Bloom home from school and try to get the trees protected. Rarity had to check on Sweetie Belle and her family. Only Fluttershy and Twilight were able to remain inside as Princess Luna had suggested, and they begged the others to stay.
There was something ominous about the air, like it was a caged animal trying to get out. Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy waited impatiently for their friends’ return.
When it came, it couldn’t have been worse. The wind literally blew everypony in the door that Twilight had just used her magic to fix, annoying her. But that wasn’t what made Twilight stare silently and Fluttershy hide Spike behind her in a motherly way. There was a dark shadow over their eyes, like they were under a dark cloud when they weren’t. “What’s wrong, girls? ... Girls?” Twilight asked and waited for a response.
Pinkie Pie giggled in her usual way. “Hey you guys! We’re all heading into the Everfree Forest.”
"In the middle of a storm?"
“It definitely seems like there might be some clue as to what’s going on in there,” said Applejack, smiling.
Fluttershy whimpered. “P-p-princess Luna said that we should stay here in town.”
“Come on Fluttershy. If she told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” Rainbow Dash paused. “Wait, you’re a pegasus, bad example. But still, I thought you were cooler than that! Who was brave enough to come into a tornado that was falling apart?”
“Come on darling, I promise nothing bad will happen to you,” Rarity said in a soothing voice.
“Well… uh… if you say so, girls,” Twilight saw that something was obviously wrong, and that this was her chance to get to the bottom of it. “I trust you.”
“I’m not coming.” Everypony but Twilight looked at Fluttershy like she was a madpony. “And you can’t make me.” Spike cowered behind her after seeing the sinister looks that crept across their faces.
“Oh really. I, the most awesome pony in all of Ponyville, can’t make you come? We’ll see about that,” Rainbow said with a sinister sneer.
Twilight, who wasn’t quite with the others yet whispered loudly over the commotion of the rest of the girls moving, “Fluttershy, run!”
Fluttershy picked up Spike by the tail and threw him on her back. She ran only a short while before her legs shook too much to keep it up. She found a small bush by the flower sister’s shop to cower inside. She stayed there for a few minutes before she heard Rainbow Dash speak. “Come on guys, let's just go. She's not worth it. I can come back and get her later.” Out of the brush, she saw Twilight’s concerned face as she moved on.

Maybe if Twilight hadn’t waited until after breakfast to press the issue, maybe if Fluttershy had spoken up sooner, Fluttershy wouldn’t be visiting Rainbow Dash in the hospital now. Maybe they would all be fine now, not corrupted by ‘some sort of mist’ like Rainbow said had happened. Maybe then all seven friends would be together now. But as it was, Rainbow was in the hospital recovering with around fifty other ponies that had been injured in the storms. Spike was helping take care of the ponies and keep wait for the possibility of a letter from either of the princesses. What happened had happened, and nothing could be done to change that.