Storm of the Century
The wind was roaring, thunder was crashing, and rain was falling like tiny aquatic daggers from the sky. No pony knew whether it was day or night, for the dark, ominous clouds above all of Equestria were darker than the night itself. Neither the sun nor the moon's graceful light could penetrate the storm that blanketed the world. It was the longest and most violent storm that had ever been seen. Twilight looked around at her friends, all gathered in her house around a warm fire, which was the only source of light in all of Ponyville. Applejack was taking the last apple from her saddlebag, and splitting it 6 ways for her friends to share. They were all hungry, all tired from hiding from the terrible storm with little food. Had it been weeks? Months? None were sure, but they were certain it had been a long time. Electricity was long gone, and the apple was nearly the last thing they had available to eat. Twilight's faith in survival had faded away. Applejack's lost her physical strength. Fluttershy was scared to where she would never lift her head, not to mention that she could barely fly anymore. Rarity didn't even have the strength to knit clothes to keep everyone warm. Even Pinkie Pie's once limitless amount of energy and hyperactivity had dwindled to a crash. It seemed that the storm had drained every pony of mind, body, and was beginning to drain their spirit. Rainbow Dash was the only one that didn't seem to really be affected by the storm. Aside from obvious hunger and boredom, she retained her stamina and optimism. The other ponies would constantly ask the pegasus,
"How do you do it?" All she could say is "I'm around weather all the time. It just doesn't affect me!"
The death toll was still rising, but several thousand were already confirmed across Equestria. Many died from drowning in the flood, or from starvation. Some even died from lightning strikes. One bolt of lightning seemed to penetrate the very cloud from whence it came, and crashed into the ground, immediately followed by the tearing, piercing sound of violent thunder. The sound was as though the sky itself was ripped in two. It was known as "The Final Strike", for this bolt of lightning stood out from the others that predeceded it. It was red in color, not a normal blue-white color. It didn't cause any damage where it struck, either: Right behind Canterlot castle. And after that bolt, the rain stopped, the skies began to clear, and sunlight shined through for the first time in 6 weeks. Celestia, appaled at how things peculiarly cleared after that, went to investigate the site of the bolt, and to her surprise, found a small, tan pegasus filly with a rust colored mane.
The filly was simply sleeping on the ground. She was young, but not infantile, maybe about Applebloom's age. Her mane and tail were of six colors: The first, maroon; then mahogany, goldenrod, hazel, black, and the final, sepia. Her coat was tan, the shade of a cappucino. Her mane was wild and untamed, as though she had never styled it. Her wings were tightly pressed against her sides. She had not yet bore a cutie mark, for her flank was as empty as the sky, which had been cleared of all signs of the storm. Celestia looked down at the filly, and with speculation and curiousity, took her inside and set her on a fine bed.
The pegasus slept for almost two full days after she was discovered. Celestia walked in to check upon the sleeping filly, but to her surprise, she had already woken up. Her eyes were red - deep, deep red. The shade of red that seems strong enough to pierce one's soul, the shade of the devil himself. Celestia looked at the pegasus, and the pegasus looked back.
Celestia broke the silence. "Who are you?" She asked.
The pegasus looked confused. She merely twisted her head and examined her surroundings.
"Where are you from?" Celestia demanded.
"...Chto?" The pony finally spoke. "I do not know. That is all."
Her accent was heavy, and none like Celestia had ever heard before. She also had an uneasy deadness in her words and expression. Her face, her words, all were dry of emotion of any kind. It was as though she had no soul.
Celestia then asked, "What is your name?"
"..."
Celestia then exclaimed, "Many of my people were killed by that storm, then you mysteriously appear and everything clears up? I demand answers."
The filly simply ignored the princess's plea for answers. "I will be going now. Farewell."
She spread her wings with great force, dropping the air pressure of the room, and flew out of the window into the vast sky.
The rusty filly flew for a couple miles, just far enough to not be seen from Ponyville, and stopped on a cloud to rest and regain her energy. Everything was still fuzzy to her. It all seemed to be happening all at once, and she needed some time to recollect her thoughts.
After waking up, the filly headed to what seemed to be a heavily damaged town. Nearly half of the buildings were destroyed, trees were thrown through homes, and there were no more than 20 ponies out on the streets. She landed on the street, where she resumed her observations on foot. To her left, she could see the front wall of Sugarcube Corner completely ripped off, exposing the inside of the store littered with demolished pastries spread all over the walls and ceiling. The stools were broken, and the cash register was stuck in a wall. To her right, she could see that most of the trees in Sweet Apple Acres were split down to the trunk, broken, or ultimately ripped from the Earth. And to her front, she could see the few residents on the streets, giving her evil looks. Their eyes were full of hatred and resentment. If law allowed it, they would likely attempt to tear her limb from limb.
She looked around once more to inspect the damage. Was all this caused by the storm? Was it really that powerful? All she could hear was a faint wind in the distance, interrupted by an occasional cry for help. The residents quickly herded their fillys behind them. This act of fear intrigued her. She stepped forward once again, and one of the ponies spoke.
"Don't come any closer... y-you monster! Stay back!"
She was appaled at this. She had not been in town for five minutes, and already had a bad reputation.
"I do not wish to harm you. I just - "
"Not another word! Not another step! Go away, leave us alone!"
She looked at the terrified equine. She didn't have a filly behind her. She was a bright purple unicorn, and had straight navy blue hair with pink and indigo highlights. Her horn began to glow, and the filly immediately realized that she wasn't welcome here. This upset her, but she knew that there wasn't much she could do, so she retraced her steps back to her cloud, only to find that it wasn't there anymore.