//------------------------------//
// Odd 
// Story: The Darkest Storm 
// by TheReaderAndWriter 
//------------------------------//

3. Odd.

A nice, calm night's rest was exactly what he needed. No voices in his head, no urges to solve any mysteries. Just sleep. That's exactly what he got. He got up, took a bath, and then went down for some breakfast.
"Good morning, Windy," said Ivanhoe. She was behind the desk as usual. This morning she didn't have her usual smile, she didn't even seem happy. In fact she just stared at a piece of paper. "Windy?"
"Oh, what? Excuse me, Ivanhoe."
"I was on my way to the lunchroom, but you seem to be busy."
"No, I'm not busy. Just some troubling news."
"What news?"
"It's my parents, they decided... No, sorry. I shouldn't lay my troubles on the guests. Would you like breakfast?"
"Please. Could I get another batch of grass pancakes? They were delicious."
"Just a moment," said Windy and walked out of the room, into the kitchen. She had left her note on the desk. Ivanhoe considered reading it, he even reached for it, but he immediately stopped. Her private matters were none of his concern. He respected that.


***


After breakfast he walked outside to explore as was his new daily routine. He wanted to know why the notes wanted him here for. And why the library? Could it have been that voice? It was ridiculous, but still. It was certainly possible. That was when Ivanhoe decided to walk to the library again. Perhaps it said something about a king in one of the books. He just hoped it wasn't closed, although the odds were not in his favor. As Ivanhoe walked through the town on this very sunny and warm day he was looking at everything he possibly could. Everything was just fine. End of the world, right. It had probably just been a dream. Why listen to a dream? He was a rational pony, he was going to confirm it. If it said about a king of the world it would be in there. It didn't take long for him to reach the library. He knocked on the door. Spike opened it.
"You again?"
"Sorry, but would it be too much trouble if I did some research here?"
"Dude, we are close-"
"Sir, if you have any general questions I can probably answer them," said Twilight's voice. She appeared at the door.
"Oh, I see. Do you know anything about a 'king of the world'?"
"I am very certain I've never read anything about that." 
"Are you sure?"
"Listen, she's the smartest pony in the entire town. She has read more this month than you have your entire life! If Twilight says it's not in one of these books, that's just the way it is," said Spike. It wasn't aggressive or protective, it was with pride he said it.
"Well, that might be true," said Twilight a little embarrassed.
"If that's the case, thank you," said Ivanhoe and then walked away from the library. See? That wasn't that hard. No need to fly up in the clouds or walk into a forest. It didn't exist. Everything was just fine, except the part of him hearing a voice in his head. He realized he might need to visit a doctor within the week.
"Ivanhoe!" a voice suddenly yelled. Ivanhoe looked around, trying to find its origin. It was definitely Windy's voice. She landed right in front of him. "I just saw you from up there and I wondered if you would like to be shown around town," said Windy and folded her wings.
"What about the inn?"
"I've put up a sign saying I'll be back within a couple of hours. It was just so boring in there. I figured I might as well just get some fresh air."
"Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind a tour from somepony sane."
"Huh?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Great. Come on, I'll show you Sweet Apple Acres," said Windy and started walking. Ivanhoe followed her.
"You mentioned that you were working at the inn as a punishment. What did you do? If I may ask."
"I accidentally burned the greenhouse to the ground."
"What?"
"I had an internship as a weather-mare. I took one of the clouds over our house, thinking it was a raincloud...it was a storm cloud."
"Oh."
"Yeah... Got fired at once."
"I've heard about that. It's different in my village, well, most of my country. The clouds there move on their own."
"Really? Freaky. It's the same in the Everfree Forest, by the way. Why did you ask me about that forest anyway?"
"Just curious. While I'm here."
"Are you from far away?"
"Yes. Quite far."
"I have lived here in Ponyville my entire life. My mom is from Cloudsdale and my dad is also from here. I was born in Cloudsdale, however. My dad had to borrow a huge balloon to be there during the birth."
"A balloon?"
"Oh yeah, but there are not many around now. I think Twilight Sparkle might have one though. Or she knows where to borrow one anyway."
"Well, it's not like it matters now, but thank you for telling me."
"Thank you for making the wait for this celebration a little less boring."
"I'm not doing much."
"But you actually make me work. I hate just sitting around."
"I can see how that would bother you. Since you're a pegasus."
"Excuse me?"
"You know, that you can fly. If I could fly I don't think I would spend a whole hour inside a house."
"It's overrated. When I see my dad looking at my mom sometimes, it's like he's sad. I get the impression he wished he could fly just like me and mom, like he just wished he could overcome his limitation, like he could break a rule about not flying we don't even have."
"Or maybe he's just sad he can't fly with the two of you."
"That might be it...I remember when mom taught me to fly for the first time. He looked so happy."
"Wait, 'taught'? Don't you pegasi learn by doing?"
"Most of us do, some however are a little slow. I certainly was. How about you? How are your parents like?"
"Both are earth ponies, most in my village are. Both are farmers."
"Okay, they are farmers, sure, but what do you think about them? Annoying? Lovely?"
"Really nice ponies both of them. Strict, but caring, in my opinion. Although, my mother keeps saying I should start thinking about settling down. I haven't even started my life yet. My father is more lenient though."
"My mother is the strict one too. My father isn't very assertive at all, except when it comes to the inn. It's been in our family for about two and a half generations now. It was here at the very founding of the town."
"It certainly did seem to have a lot of history."
"It sure does. How about your farm?"
"Nothing special about it at all. Built by my grandfather a few years before he passed away. It was actually a gift to make my mother's family allow a marriage between her and my father."
"Wait, what?" she asked with surprise.
"There's a lot of that were I come from. It's just part of our culture. I, however, never appreciated tradition much. I prefer a more practical approach to my life."
"Aha."
"Yeah. So, this Sweet Apple Acres, where is it?"
"On the outskirts of town, near the forest," said Windy as they kept walking. After that they actually didn't talk much the rest of the way, Ivanhoe didn't mind chatting, but Windy seemed to be somewhat quiet after talking about her family.


***
	

Before long they started walking on a path out of the town and then he saw it. It was like a sea of apple trees. Sweet Apple Acres certainly wasn't false advertising. "Sometimes when I fly over the Apple-family's farm, I can smell their pies. It's heavenly."
"I don't like pies."
"What? Everypony likes pie!"
"Except for me."
"Why? That's insane."
"I'm just not a fan, it's just a mush inside some sweet bread, basically. If I eat it I at least want it covered in whipped cream."
"You're a bit odd, Ivanhoe," said Windy and smiled. Then she looked somewhat horrified. "I am so sorry, Sir! I should not say something so unflattering about a customer."
"Relax, Windy. I'm not offended by something like that."
"Thank Celestia. If you complained and my mother heard about it, why I would be in so much trouble."
"You're an adult."
"But she's still my mother," said Windy with a serious look on her face. Suddenly they heard something from the large buildings at the end of the road. It was a dog barking. "Is that Winona?"
"I hope it's a dog, otherwise somepony might have escaped from the mental ward."
"Was that a joke?" asked Windy and gave him a subtle smile.
"I've been known to make a few to lighten the mood," answered Ivanhoe. As they got closer they suddenly saw something odd. A brown and white dog was running all over the place. Trailing behind it due to being stuck in a leash, desperately trying to get it under control, was a little yellow filly.
"Applebloom!" exclaimed Windy and rushed to help. Winona the dog was in a state of panic, she jumped straight over Windy, Applebloom collided with her but it didn't stop her. Windy just fell over. Winona jumped towards Ivanhoe who in a moment of calm took a step to the side, and bit off the leash. The young filly finally stopped.
"Ow, that hurts," said Applebloom. Ivanhoe noticed a strange accent he was unable to place, but he didn't say anything except:
"Are you alright?"
"It hurts all over, but I'll be okay."
"Good. Windy, you?"
"I'm fine too." answered Windy.
"Thanks a lot, Mister, I don't know what happened. I was trying out the new leash, and she just went wild and started running around like a chicken." Ivanhoe looked for Winona, but she was gone. Probably off to hide somewhere.
"Where's your sister, or granny, Applebloom?"
"Applejack's in Canterlot today, she won't come home until the celebration tomorrow. Granny's sleeping. Big Mac is in the barn though."
"Come on, let's go get your father," said Ivanhoe.
"Brother," corrected Windy.
"Oh, right."
"I'll be fine, Windy, really. I'm more worried about Winona. She's never panicked like this before," said Applebloom.
"Let's go get your brother just in case," said Windy and walked off with Applebloom. Ivanhoe followed them while they walked over the dirt to the barn. It really was a farm, it had a very strong scent of hay and apples, just to name a few of the scents flowing through the air. It reminded Ivanhoe of home, except this was so much better. These buildings were really well built. Would his grandfather still have been alive to see this he would've been insanely jealous. Ivanhoe waited outside the barn while Windy took Applebloom inside. After a while she came out again, followed with Applebloom on the back of a big, really big, red pony. He looked even calmer than Ivanhoe. "Do you need any help, Big Macintosh?"
"Nope," he said with a somewhat deep voice.
"I'll see you on the night of the celebration, right?"
"Eeyup."
"We'll just leave. I do hope you get better, Applebloom," said Windy.
"Bye, Windy!" said Applebloom as the siblings went inside their house not far from the barn.
"Really chatty, that one," said Ivanhoe.
"He's just shy, but he's a really nice guy. I almost thought about asking him for a date last Hearts and Hooves Day, but I didn't."
"Are you sure he's the shy one?" teased Ivanhoe.
"Hey, he barely knows who I am. I don't want to bother him. It's just a waste of time."
"Maybe you should ask him out for this celebration?" suggested Ivanhoe.
"Maybe I should."
"No, wait, don't listen to me, I give horrible advice," said Ivanhoe.
"I was joking, Ivanhoe. I wanted to ask him out because I hoped he would bring a pie to a picnic," said Windy with a smile. Ivanhoe smiled right back and then turn to take in the wonderful surroundings.
"This is a very nice place."
"It is. You might be interested in that this very place was the reason Ponyville was founded."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"That's quite interesting."
"My family's inn was one of the first buildings built here after ponies were starting to become interested in the town."
"You mentioned that earlier, or something like it," said Ivanhoe and stopped along the way. He rested his front hooves on the fence, looking over the trees. "I love the smell here, very calming," said Ivanhoe and took a deep breath.
"Yeah, it's certainly somethin- what was that?" said Windy suddenly surprised. Ivanhoe turned around, Windy was looking at the sky in the other direction.
"What was what?"
"I thought I saw something, could you wait here? I'll be right back," said Windy and suddenly took off into the sky. Ivanhoe just looked at her as she took off.
"Those pegasi sure are quick," said Ivanhoe. Realizing he was talking out loud yet again. He sighed and breathed in the fresh air once more. It didn't take very long for Windy to return. "What was it?"
"Nothing, I didn't find anything. Odd, I was sure I was something up there. Behind the clouds."
"What did you think you saw then?"
"A cloud."
"A cloud up in the sky? Wow, we better alert the authorities."
"Don't be sarcastic, it doesn't suit you. Whatever it was it didn't look like anything I've ever seen before. It was a cloud...but it was wrong somehow. It was just off. It was black like coal."
"Like a storm cloud?"
"No, nothing like that. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me."
"Well, if that's the case, should we perhaps go back?"
"Yeah, why not?" said Windy and started walking again.
"By the way, Windy. This party, is it formal attire? I have nothing like that."
"I doubt anything with Pinkie Pie would ever be formal," said Windy and chuckled.
"Pinkie Pie? She's going to the party?"
"What? No. She's the host," said Windy.
"I suddenly consider not going."
"She can get on the nerves of ponies, I know. But she's a lot of fun if you just let go for a bit. Not to mention she might be the nicest pony in all of Ponyville. That's no small feat in this town."
"Well, alright. I'll come to the party. Maybe it was just a bad first impression. I don't like surprises, and she certainly surprised me when we first met."
"Oh, you've met her... She sang to you, didn't she?"
"And did a little dance. It was coming up behind me that bothered me the most."
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a great time," said Windy with a smile.
"I'll certainly try my best."