At long last, things were finally settling down, and for this, Twilight Sparkle was grateful. It was going to be a big day tomorrow, the festival would officially start, and she wanted to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the opening ceremony that she would officiate. Things weren’t perfect, but at least things were quiet, and Twilight could appreciate quiet.
Pebble showed a few worrying signs, but Sumac was managing her mood with Boomer’s help. Fluttershy seemed a bit high strung, a worrying sign indeed. Rarity was, well, Rarity was Rarity and there was nothing that could be done about that. At least everypony else seemed to be having a good time.
The heat of the day was gone, replaced by the deep chill of the night. Twilight had the window open for a bit of much needed fresh air, that lunch of pinto bean pie was coming back to haunt them, and the dinner served in the hotel was chili and cornbread, much to Twilight’s dismay.
It had been as hot as the blazes too.
In the distance, the sound of a train chugging out of the railyard could be heard, and Twilight rather found that she liked the sound. The trains running meant that the empire was humming along and doing well. Mount Maud and the Ashlands were no doubt the most profitable region in Equestria for now, and no doubt for the foreseeable future as well.
Standing near the window, Twilight drew in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cool night air, and as she did so, she savoured the unique feeling of friendship that could be found here in Appleloosa. She felt it, it went through every fibre of her being, she felt it in her frogs, her wings, and her horn. The magic made her strong. The ponies of Appleloosa were steadfast sorts, stubborn, they embodied the very best that the earth ponies had to offer, making life where there had once been very little to be had. With the help of the buffalo, Appleloosa had been turned into an oasis of life and civilisation.
The pegasus ponies and the unicorns of the town managed the weather and pushed back the never-ending threat of monster attacks, allowing the earth ponies and the buffalo to work in peace, unmolested by a cold, unforgiving, savage wilderness. For Twilight, there was a lesson to be learned here, a powerful and good lesson, and already, she was sorting out all of these details in her mind so that she might teach the good students in her school the ways of harmony.
She had, of course, learned this from her own teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia. A teacher is never without lessons to offer, if only they pay attention to the details of life all around them. There were a thousand lessons to be had, and all one had to do was be observant. Now older, now wiser, Twilight had taken this to heart, and she had grown a great deal as a pony and as a teacher.
One day, the next generation of teachers would view Twilight in much the same way she viewed Princess Celestia.
The silence, while treasured, did not last. Outside the window, on the distant horizon, a bolt of purple-green lightning flashed, turning the night as bright as day, and a few seconds later thunder rumbled through the town of Appleloosa. The hotel shook, the windows rattled, and there was a terrified, throaty honk from Boomer, who had a keen fear of thunderstorms.
The tree dragon, terrified, went for the one place of safety that she knew, her place of comfort, her refuge. She launched herself at Sumac’s horn, the place where she had spent most of her life when she had been a hatchling. The trouble was, Boomer was no longer a hatchling, she was no longer tiny and little, and Sumac’s horn was no longer a suitable place for her to roost in times of trouble.
Reflexes were powerful things however.
She collided with Sumac’s head, her claws scrabbling for purchase, and this caused Sumac’s glasses to fly across the room. The impact knocked Sumac right out of his chair and sent him sprawling over the floor as Boomer let out a gibbering cry of terror, her claws still trying to find a secure place to grip.
Blood dribbled.
Sumac, who had endured this more times than he could count, pulled himself up into a sitting position almost right away, wrapped his forelegs around Boomer, pulled her close, and did his best to restrain her before she tore off his ears or clawed out his eyes. She gripped him, clutching him, clinging to him as she cried, and nature, being cruel and unforgiving, caused another thunderclap.
Boomer’s high pitched shriek caused a spiderweb of cracks to appear in the window glass and on the mirror as well. Pebble covered her sensitive ears with her hooves, waiting for the long cry to end, and Twilight Sparkle, the clever pony that she was, blocked out the sound of the thunderstorm before Boomer had a full blown freak out.
Dozens of scratches could be seen on Sumac’s hide and little ribbons of scarlet ran down. With one foreleg, he gripped Boomer, holding her close as they sat together on the floor, and with the other foreleg, he stroked her long, slender neck, trying to soothe her, to calm her fears.
Spike lept out of the chair he had been sitting in, waddled across the room, picked up Sumac’s glasses from the floor, and then sat down next to the pair. He gave Boomer’s long prehensile tail a tug with one hand and passed Sumac his glasses with the other. Boomer’s tail curled around Spike’s arm, clinging to him for comfort. Spike had been Boomer’s friend long enough to know that she was inconsolable in this state.
The door opened and several worried heads poked in. With a grunt, Fluttershy pushed past Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who blocked up the door. She crossed the room, looking more than a little timid and nervous herself. Fluttershy had never liked the big flashy thunderstorms of this region, they were wild, feral brutes, and like any feral storm, the ancient enemy of the pegasus ponies.
The yellow mare sat down, extended her wings, and drew in both Sumac and Boomer. “There there,” she said, her lips brushing up against Boomer’s ear frills, and she wrapped her wings around the pair to comfort them both.
Outside, there was a ringing bell and shouting. Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up, her whole body tensed, and all of her feathers fluffed out. She looked very solemn and serious when she said, “I’m needed. That dirty feral storm is gonna wreck stuff.” Spreading her wings, she sprinted across the room, and lept from the open window.
“You got this, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Fluttershy responded. “Go and help the others, Twilight. I have a bad feeling about this. That storm is dangerous.” Lowering her head, Fluttershy made a cooing sound into Boomer’s ear frills and felt Spike brush up against her wings.
Spreading her own wings, Twilight Sparkle lept out the window, but not with the grace of Rainbow Dash. She tripped and tumbled over the windowsill, then fell into the night shouting, “FRONK!”
Dripping with water, Pinkie Pie appeared in the open doorway, and after a quick look around the room, she rushed over to where Pebble was to check on her. Satisfied that Pebble was okay, Pinkie then flopped over onto Fluttershy, and somehow swept up a pegasus, two dragons, and a unicorn foal into a giant, comforting hug.
Pebble came down off of her chair and settled in beside her aunt, pressing up against her.
Crossing the room, Applejack closed the window then watched as more lightning flashed in the distance. She could see the silhouettes of an army of pegasus ponies that had taken to the air. No thunder rumbled through the room, causing the wise earth pony to marvel at Twilight’s magic. Lightning flashed again, lighting up the sky as bright as day, and Applejack could see that the pegasus ponies were now forming a defensive formation as they prepared to do battle with the dreadful feral storm.
Applejack could feel it in her bones, this was the sort of storm that might destroy a town. Appleloosa was well constructed, but she didn’t know enough about adobe to know how it might hold up to a feral, magical tornado infused with the magical ash dust from Mount Maud. Hail began to thump against the glass of the window and it pounded a staccato rhythm against the outside walls.
The hail was the size of grapes and Applejack winced, knowing that both Rainbow Dash and Twilight were going to take quite a beating. She couldn’t help them now, but she could help those that needed her. She backed away from the window, watching with a wary eye, wondering if the hail would break the already cracked glass. She didn’t much care for this situation at all.
“It’s really hard for Boomer,” Spike said in a low voice that trembled with fear. “She’s at that stage of dragon development when she’s just starting to get emotional intelligence. It can be really overwhelming and I remember what it was like for me… and what it’s still like for me.” As he spoke, Boomer’s tail coiled even tighter around him. “Every feeling hits you really hard and it’s overwhelming. I think it is why so many dragons become jerks. They don’t have friends to help get them through the really emotional rough spots.”
The sound of sobbing filled the room and Sumac began to rock himself and Boomer back and forth. Some of his wounds had already stopped bleeding, leaving his pelt matted with blood, while others still trickled or flowed. It was hard, when your sibling had dangerous claws, and Sumac knew that better than anypony. Never once did he ever hold that against her, never once did he become angry, and never once did he lose his temper and start shouting. Love, and big brotherhood, bore all things.
Rarity came into the room, her head wrapped up in a big pastel green towel that had an agave plant embroidered onto it. She looked about, her lips protruding in a duck-billed pout, and a soft growl of worry could be heard in the base of her throat. Her horn glowed a bright, brilliant blue, it glittered with powerful magic, and in seconds, the cracks in the window and the mirror vanished, the glass restored. She slid the curtains shut to keep the flashes of lightning out, and then she looked at the others.
“Is my Spikey-Wikey okay?” she asked, causing Spike’s scales to darken.
“I’m fine,” Spike replied, sounding flustered, “but Boomer is a mess.”
“Poor dear, she and thunderstorms don’t get along. I can sympathise, having had Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark, something about that experience left me with a lingering dreadful fear of thunderstorms. Princess Cadance seems to think that it is a lingering bit of pegasus pony instincts that I somehow got when I had Rainbow’s mark.”
Boomer lifted her head, blinked away a few tears, and with a curious stare, she focused on Rarity, distracted by the promise of interesting information. She didn’t release her death-grip on Sumac though, and little curls of smoke rose from her nostrils. Fluttershy, who understood what Rarity was doing—of all ponies, Rarity knew how to manage the neurotic types, she employed so many—gave a little nod for Rarity to keep going.
The steady thump-thump of hail outside filled the room, providing a soothing background noise that seemed to calm the nerves of everypony—and every dragon. Rarity sat down on the floor beside Spike, nudged up against him, and marvelled at how different the two dragons were.
“Having Rainbow Dash’s mark gave me a lot of insight into how she is, how she thinks, and her motivations.” Reaching out, Rarity brushed away a bit of non-existent lint from Spike—more of an excuse to touch him than anything else—and then she continued, “I treasure that experience, it’s made Dash and I closer, we’re better friends for what happened. Why, Rainbow Dash hates feral storms in much the same way I hate tacky clothes or poor interior design.”
With a flash of magic, Rarity yanked a few tissues from the floral-printed box by the bed and then went to work cleaning up Boomer’s face, as no lady, pony, dragon, or otherwise, wanted a snotty face. “We both exist to protect ponies from the dangers that these threats pose.”
Rolling her eyes, Applejack snorted, but she didn’t say anything.
Snuffling, Boomer responded well to Rarity’s ministrations, and she let out a shuddering, shivering sigh as she began to calm down a bit. She let Rarity wipe her face and for once, she didn’t try to eat the snotty tissues, because she was too scared to misbehave, even though snotty tissues were so tempting and delicious.
“Those were strange times.” Pinkie Pie’s blue eyes twinkled and she looked over at Applejack. “I learned that Applejack’s cutie mark drives her to work, even if she doesn’t want to or doesn’t feel like it. I hated everything I was doing, but I couldn’t stop.”
“The less said about what I endured, the better,” Applejack deadpanned, and she offered no further elaboration.
“I know what I learned.” Fluttershy’s voice was soft, demure, and it made Boomer’s ear frills extend. “But I don’t know if I should share it. It seems private.”
“Oh, go right ahead. We’re old friends and there shouldn’t be any secrets between us.” Pinkie made a dismissive gesture with her hoof and gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile.
“When I had Pinkie’s mark, I think I got Pinkie’s fear as well, and why she tries to be so funny.” Fluttershy swallowed, took a deep breath, and paused while she recalled the memory. She blinked a few times, recalling that moment of her life, and then she continued, “I remember wanting to make ponies laugh, so that they were laughing with me… I was so scared that they would be laughing at me.”
A strange solemn expression appeared on Pinkie Pie’s face, and her blue eyes glittered when she looked into the eyes of each of her friends. One ear twitched and riotous curls seemed to lose their vibrant lustre for a brief second. After a few seconds, Pinkie Pie nodded.
“Yep. That’s pretty much it. That’s me in a nutshell.” Pinkie’s confession caused the pink pony to be unusually serious and she gave Pebble a tight, extra-squeezy hug. “I don’t have Limestone’s confidence or Maud’s stoic self-assurance. I was a scared little foal, so I learned to be funny. I might’ve turned out like Marble, otherwise.”
“Those were our best days,” Rarity breathed in, in a manner most dramatic. “What happened to us? How did we stop being so close? This feels so nice, just doing this again.” Rarity gestured in a vague way, trying to take in everything around her to give feeling and meaning to her words. “I don’t understand what happened, not at all.”
“Life,” Fluttershy said, her voice soft and squeaky. “Life happened. Some of us put down roots and some of us, well, some of us moved on. Our cutie marks drew us together, but they’ve also pulled us apart.”
“I’m sorry, darling, I”—there was a pause and Rarity wiped at her eye, being fresh out of the shower, she had no mascara to smear— “oh goodness me, I seem to be having a moment, excuse me.” Try as she might, Rarity could not blink away the tears as they started to fall, and one splashed down on Spike, causing his whole body to twitch.
“I packed a suitcase full of goodies just for moments like this one!” The smile returned to Pinkie’s face and she bounced up onto her hooves. “I’ll be right back, don’t have fun without me!”