//------------------------------// // Episode 2-3 // Story: Domain of Friendship // by Cold Bolt //------------------------------// A rumble of thunder shook the Golden Oak Library. “GAAAAH” Tank Buster made a mad dash for the pillow pile, burying himself beneath it at blinding speed. Within seconds, all that was visible of him were a green snout and a pair of terrified eyes. “What the hay?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes darted back and forth between Tank’s hiding place and the spot where he’d been standing just a moment prior. “Oh no…” Frowning, Twilight slowly approached the pillow pile and sat beside it. “I heard about this from Big Macintosh after that last storm we had. Poor Tank has - ” “Wait a sec,” Rainbow interjected. “You heard something from Big Mac that wasn’t ‘eeyup’ or 'nnnope’?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes, Rainbow Dash. Big Macintosh does, in fact, talk. Just… not very often.” She glanced away briefly at this admission. “Now may I finish?” Rainbow shrugged. “Eh, sure.” Twilight’s expression softened once more as her gaze fell upon the petrified pony in the pillow pile. “Tank Buster has astraphobia.” “Gesundheit,” Rainbow Dash offered. Twilight sighed audibly and raised a hoof to her forehead. “Astraphobia is an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning. In other words, he’s terrified of thunderstorms.” Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment as she landed slowly and joined Twilight by the pillow pile. After a moment of biting her lip nervously, she spoke. “Aw man, I didn’t know. I’m really sorry I couldn’t warn you guys sooner…” Twilight shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself, Rainbow. If you weren’t fast enough to warn everypony in time, then nopony would’ve been.” Spike peered over Twilight’s shoulder. “So what do we do now?” Twilight gave one of the pillows a gentle pat with her hoof as Tank trembled beneath it. “The best thing to do is to stay here with him until the weather clears up. We shouldn’t be going outside anyway now that the storm’s here.” “Yeah, no kidding,” Rainbow agreed. “For anypony to go out now, they’d have to be - ” SLAM “APPLE BLOOM!” Rainbow Dash’s statement was interrupted by the sound of the library door bursting open as a thoroughly sodden Applejack charged through it, looking frantically about the room. “Have any of y'all seen Apple Bloom?” Briefly taken aback by the orange pony’s abrupt arrival, Twilight glanced between Rainbow Dash and Tank Buster for a moment before responding. “Er… no, we haven’t. Is everything alright?” Applejack shook her head, flinging a cascade of droplets from her hat in all directions as she did so. “She was supposed to be back from Zecora’s by now. I can’t bear the thought that she’s stuck somewhere out there in the storm…” Twilight trotted forward and put a gentle hoof over Applejack’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine, Applejack. If she was on her way back to the farm when the storm arrived, it’s very likely she just stopped somewhere to take shelter from the rain. If we ask around town, I’m sure we’ll find her before long.” Applejack looked up at Twilight and nodded, adjusting her hat. “Yeah… you’re right. Thanks, Twi.” Twilight offered a reassuring smile before turning to look over her shoulder. “Come on, Rainbow. We’ll need your help too.” Rainbow scratched her head and gestured at the pillow pile. “Um… okay, but what about Tank? You just said somepony’s gotta stay with him.” Twilight blinked, hesitating as she pondered the problem. After a moment, she returned to the pillow pile and crouched low to the floor until she was at eye level with the pony buried within. “Hey… Tank?” Tank turned his head a fraction of an inch to meet her gaze. Twilight smiled softly at him, just as she had with Applejack. “Will you be alright if we leave you with Spike while we go looking for Apple Bloom? I promise we’ll be back before you know it.” After a moment’s pause, Tank’s response came in the form of an almost imperceptibly small nod. Twilight’s smile broadened as she stood back up. “Stay strong. I know you can do it.” With that, she turned back toward the others. “Okay then. Spike, I need you to come over here and sit with Tank. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, let’s get moving. We need to stay in sight of each other at all times for safety’s sake; the storm’s not getting any lighter by the looks of things. Ready, girls?” Applejack’s expression hardened. “You bet your bottom bit I am.” Rainbow Dash threw her forehoof into the air. “Let’s do this!” “Let’s go!” With a glow of her horn, Twilight threw the door open and the three ponies charged out into the darkening storm. Spike watched as that same magic closed the door behind them before jogging his way over to the pillow pile and unceremoniously plopping down onto one. Never really sure what to do with himself without Twilight around, the little dragon spent a moment staring at the claws on one hand before a sudden thought struck him. “Wait a second…” The pillow beneath him slid easily on the smooth wooden floor as he spun around to face Tank. “Does anypony else know about the sinkholes on the forest path?” It seemed to take a moment for this question to sink in, but when it did, the force of Tank sitting bolt upright sent some pillows flying several feet away. “No… no, I don’t think they do!” The realization seemed to be momentarily distracting him from the storm as he rose from his hiding place and began pacing slowly. “I didn’t find the first one until just after Apple Bloom passed by, and I didn’t get the chance to mention it to anyone just now because we were distracted by that weird book.” Spike raised his hands to his face in alarm. “So does that mean Apple Bloom didn’t make it back because she fell in one and got stuck and now she’s trapped in a hole in the middle of a storm?” “If it is, then the others will never find her in time,” Tank declared. “That settles it, then. It’s up to - ” A loud thunderclap headed this statement off at the pass, resulting in Tank immediately diving underneath the nearby table and covering his head with his forelegs. "Nope nope nope it’s up to somebody else 'cause I’m not going anywhere no thank you" Spike tugged insistently at Tank’s tail, slowly dragging him out from under the table. “Tank, come on! Apple Bloom needs our help!” “Our… W-Wait, that’s it!” In spite of the trembling, Tank beamed as the idea came to him. “Y-You can go f-find the girls and t-tell them where she is!” Spike put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, sure! I’m totally going to catch up to three full-grown ponies who are running full tilt through a thunderstorm when all I’ve got are these stubby little baby dragon legs.” He stuck one out and pointed at it for emphasis. Tank hesitated for a moment before offering an encouraging grin. “Uhh… I believe in you?” This elicited little more than an impatient glare from Spike. Tank’s smile faded as he gave a quiet sigh of defeat. “I… really have to do this, don’t I?” Spike nodded. “I know you’re scared, but Apple Bloom might be in serious danger. We have to try.” With that, he climbed onto the prone pony’s back and gave him a gentle pat. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine as long as I’m here!” Slowly, steadily, Tank rose on four shaky legs and made his way to the front door, opening it with one trembling hoof. The town was nearly pitch black as the rain came down in sheets; where the street lights weren’t lit, he could barely see more than a few yards through it. As far as Tank was concerned, he may as well have been staring at a brick wall for how willing he was to walk through that doorway. “Stay strong. I know you can do it.” While this ostensibly hadn’t been what she’d meant, Twilight’s words echoed in Tank’s mind nonetheless. His gaze lingered on the falling rain as his mind processed the task ahead of him, prompting the trembling to pick up once again. “…Okay. I can do this, I can do this. Apple Bloom needs our help. I can do this…” He closed his eyes, the better to focus on slowing his breathing and retaining what control he could manage over his nerves. “Okay. I’m… I’m gonna count to five, and then we’re gonna go. We’re gonna… we’re gonna do this thing. Okay.” Another deep breath punctuated this sentence. “One… two - ” RUMBLE “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” Tank’s eyes shot open as the loudest thunderclap yet rolled its way through town as though swallowing it whole. With a scream that might have curdled milk, he took off like a bullet out the door and into the storm, aiming as best he could in the gathering dark for the Everfree Forest.