The storm clouds over the Everfree Forest rumbled and crashed through the trees, blowing branches and leaves all around. Cloud Dream had made it to Twilight’s library where Twilight was watching the storm through her telescope. Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Water Lilly had all gathered there as well, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had left to join the other Pegasai near the edge of the forest.
“Oh, I do hope Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will be alright.” Rarity said, pacing a little.
“I’m sure those two will be just fine. Rainbow Dash will see ta that.” Applejack said, while Pinkie Pie did cartwheels all over the floor.
“Yeah! I mean, Rainbow Dash is like the best weather controller in Cloudsdale!” Pinkie Pie said confidently. She finalized her remark with another cartwheel.
“It isn’t Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy I’m worried about.” Twilight said. “I’m worried about Ponyville. If they can’t stop this storm, Ponyville will surely be destroyed!”
“Do you think you should send a letter to the princess?” a voice from upstairs asked. The little purple and green dragon walked down stairs with an armful of books, all about storms.
“I think you’re right, Spike.” Twilight said, moving away from her telescope and letting Pinkie Pie look through it.
Thunder roared in the distance and fierce winds shook Twilight’s tree for a moment. The crowd inside froze in their place until the wind died down. It was only a warning that impending doom was approaching. Spike grabbed a quill and paper along with some ink and set it on Twilight’s podium. A purple glow surrounded the quill and it lifted in the air as Twilight approached it. She dipped the quill in the ink and set pen to paper.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” She began. “A terrible storm, unlike any other, is coming to Ponyville from the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash has all of Cloudsdale out helping, but I fear she may not be powerful enough to stop it. If you can spare any reinforcements, I beg you, please send them.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight rolled the scroll up and passed it to Spike, who used his green fire breath to send it off to Princess Celestia through the opened window.
“Do you think the Princess will come through Twilight? Oh what if she doesn’t have anyone to spare?” Rarity asked, pacing again.
“If anything, I can try a protection spell.” Twilight replied.
“What if that fails Twilight?” Applejack asked. “What then?” Twilight sighed and sat down on a cushion alongside the others.
“I suppose…We’ll have to leave Ponyville.” She said somberly. The whole room was quiet.
“Where would we go?” Pinkie Pie asked. She feared the worse and no amount of party antics were going to help now.
“Well... I can always take the Apple Family to Appleloosa.” Applejack said.
“I’ll mostly likely go to Canterlot then.” Rarity said. Pinkie Pie looked at all of them, her lip trembled.
“I… I don’t want to go back home.” Pinkie said.
“You can come with us.” Applejack said, walking over to Pinkie Pie and giving her a gentle, comforting hug.
Water Lilly, who had been sitting and watching everyone the whole time, walked over to Cloud Dream who was sitting near a window. She lay down beside him and nuzzled him gently. Cloud Dream didn’t move.
“Cloud Dream, what’s wrong?” She asked gently.
“I’m worried about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.” Cloud Dream explained. “And I feel so useless...”
“Cloudy, you’re not useless.” Water Lilly said and ruffled his mane with her hoof.
Before Cloud Dream could reply, thunder crashed outside. And wind forced its way through the window, blowing out all the candles that lit the room. There was a soft gasp from all the ponies inside. Cloud Dream stood and opened his wings a little to keep his balance.
“What happened?” He asked
“The lights went out.” Water Lilly explained, standing up as well. Twilight’s horn glowed to provide light for the others.
“Spike, get some more candles and light them please.” Twilight said, turning to spike. Spike nodded and rushed off to find more candles.
Spike had returned with the candles and had relit them all while they waited. What seemed like an eternity, but was really only an hour, passed and Twilight and the others remained in the library. Cloud dream stayed near the window while Water Lilly and the others talked.
“How long is this storm going to last? And how come the Pegasai haven’t broken it yet?” Twilight asked, looking out the window towards the forest.
She could see Pegasai darting about over the canopy of the forest where a huge, dark cloud was slowly rolling towards Ponyville. Lightning was sporadically shooting out from every possible angle out of the cloud. Twilight could just make out Rainbow Dash as she zipped in and out of the cloud trying to disperse it. Some distance away, another Pegasus was struck by a bolt of lightning and began crashing down to earth.
“They’re getting hit out there.” Twilight said anxiously.
A knock on the door made every pony jump. Twilight walked over and opened the door with her magic. A tall Unicorn clad in heavy armor stood at the front door. He was white, with a blue mane and tail and blue on his hooves. Twilight’s eyes lit up at his brother’s appearance.
“Shining Armor!” Twilight squealed and backed up to let her older brother inside.
“Twily, it’s so good to see you again kid.” Shining Armor said, hugging his little sister.
“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked. Water Lilly walked over to the pair.
“The Princess got your letter and sent me and every Pegasai in the royal guard.” Shining Armor explained. He looked up and finally saw Water Lilly.
“Princess Water Lilly! Your family has been sending my cadets all over Equestria looking for you and your brother!” Shining Armor said. He was annoyed and angry at the same time.
“Forgive me Captain, but is this truly the time to be discussing this?” Water Lilly asked. Shining Armor frowned and looked over to Cloud Dream, who was looking in his direction but not actually at him.
“Fine, we’ll talk about it later. Twilight, can you help me perform a protection spell around Ponyville?” Shining Armor asked, turning his angered look into a bright smile.
“You bet!” Twilight said. They both ran out into the winds as the storm had reached the edge of the Everfree Forest.
The siblings stood in the middle of Ponyville, facing the forest while Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Water Lilly and Cloud Dream stood by. Shining Armor and Twilight closed their eyes; their horns glowed as they both began making a protective dome across Ponyville. The veil of magic cloaked the small town, all the way up to the edge of the forest.
“Such power…” Water Lilly said, watching the glow all around them.
“Yes, Twilight Sparkle and her older brother are quite impressive.” Rarity said, standing next to Water Lilly. “Shining Armor’s special talent is protecting those in need while Twilight’s special talent is magic. Combining the two would make for an unbeatable barrier.”
“Are you sure it will hold up?” Water Lilly asked as the cloud began to crawl over top of the barrier. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew through the barrier and down towards the others. Fluttershy landed but Rainbow Dash continued flying.
“It’s no use, we can’t disperse it. These clouds aren’t under our control.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Twilight and her brother may be able to stop it from destroying the town.” Water Lilly said, nodding to Twilight and Shining Armor.
“Alright, I’m going to go back and try to fight it off” Rainbow Dash and flew off again at high speed. She broke through the barrier and tried to break through the cloud but it only let her pass through and closed up behind her.
The sporadic lightning suddenly began converging on the protective barrier in one spot. Shining Armor and Twilight buckled down to their knees and winced at the pain of trying to keep the barrier together but small holes had begun to form and smaller bolts of lightning were breaking through. Cloud Dream’s body began to shudder, his wings opened slowly while static electricity coming through the barrier made his fur and feathers stand on end. The more he spread his wings the more concentrated the lightning became.
“Oh no!” Fluttershy called out.
“What is it darling?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy pointed down the road where a small white rabbit was racing towards them.
A small lightning bolt was right behind the rabbit. It was trying desperately to escape the lightning’s path but it was too slow and the lightning was too unpredictable. Fluttershy flew off towards the little rabbit Applejack raced after her, calling out to her.
“Fluttershy! Come Back!” Applejack yelled.
A white blur flew past her. Applejack skidded to a stop with her mouth open as she watched Cloud Dream fly towards Fluttershy. The rabbit was tiring as the lightning grew closer and closer, leaving a deep scar in the ground as it followed the rabbit, making sharp and unpredictable turns as it went. Fluttershy flew as fast as she could and just as her hooves wrapped around the rabbit, she was pushed to the side right when the lightning bolt finally exploded from lack of momentum. Fluttershy and Cloud Dream, along with the bunny, rolled on the ground for a few feet before landing with Fluttershy on top of him. She was still holding the rabbit close to her with both hooves while she sat on Cloud Dream’s chest, nearly in tears.
“Oh Angel, I thought I was going to lose you.” She cried softly. The rabbit was obviously scared and clung to Fluttershy, panting.
“Fluttershy…could you…please... get off.” Cloud Dream said. Fluttershy jumped off, letting Angel climb up onto her back. Before she could say another word, Cloud Dream was up and walking to an open grassy area.
Cloud Dream felt every inch of fur on his body stand up. His muscles quivered with excitement as he felt the wind lift his wings slightly, pushing him towards the cloud. Through his blindness he could feel his entire surroundings. The cloud took on the feel of a giant void that had sudden spikes and drops of wind pressure around it as lightning bolts surged through its depths. The wind currents of the void were interrupted by Rainbow Dash. He could feel the wind being blocked in her shape and could feel the sudden drop in wind pressure and the surge of electricity, shooting towards her. He ran towards her, flapping his wings and flying through the air as fast as he could. Rainbow froze in mid-air, terrified for once in her life of what lay inside the cloud. An overwhelming sense of doom filled her body as she could barely summon the courage to simply move her wings. She barely heard Cloud Dream’s cries to her as she stared at the massive cloud in front of her. A soft glow in the cloud caught her eye and a sense of peace and acceptance washed over her. The glow grew brighter and brighter, sparking and slowly becoming what seemed like a raging monster before her eyes and doom swept over her again.
“Help..please..” she whispered to herself. As lightning exploded from the cloud and a bolt went straight for her chest.
Her trance was broken when she saw Cloud Dream move in front of her. His wings were spread wide as the lightning enveloped him. It darted in and around his body like a thousand daggers, stabbing and ripping into his flesh. Strands of electricity wrapped around his body and tightened against him. Cloud Dream’s cries of agony made all of Ponyville freeze beneath him. With the entire town looking on, Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle’s protective barrier disintegrated as the two watched. Cloud Dream’s body began absorbing the lightning, sucking it in. The storm cloud was slowly shrinking with all of its energy being consumed by the tiny Pegasus before it. Thunder clashed wildly in a final cry for mercy but none came as every last bolt of lightning entered Cloud Dream’s body and the last bit of cloud vanished into the air, taking the storm with it. Cloud Dream’s eyes closed and his wings drooped down to his side, making him fall out of the air. His unconscious body fell to the earth before Rainbow Dash could recover herself. She flew down to his side while Twilight and the rest ran over to him. Electricity surged through his body and sparks flung themselves off his wings and hooves and into the ground beneath him. Rainbow Dash landed by his side, followed by the others as they all surrounded him.
“Oh my, is he..?” Fluttershy asked. Tears swelled up in her eyes.
They all stood quietly for a moment, not even risking a breath. After a full minute passed, Rainbow Dash bowed her head and started walking away. Twilight followed her.
“Rainbow Dash… It wasn’t your fault.” She said softly.
“He got hurt because of me. Again!” Rainbow said. A tear rolled down her cheek, she tried to hide it with her mane. “And this time, he isn’t okay.” She spread her wings and dashed off to a tall tree whose branches were broken and bare from the winds.
Twilight sighed and turned back towards the group still surrounding Cloud Dream. Water Lilly was being comforted by Rarity and Applejack while Pinkie Pie was crying next to Shining Armor. Fluttershy lay down beside Cloud Dream and whimpered softly. Twilight walked up to Water Lilly and bowed her head.
“I’m sorry Water Lilly…” She said softly. Water Lilly could only nod to her as tears burst out of her eyes.
Fluttershy’s tears rolled down her cheeks and on to the grass beneath her, while Angel tried to comfort her. She gasped when she heard a weak groan and looked up to see Cloud Dream’s ears flick a little and a hoof move.
“Cl..Cloud Dream?” She whispered, reaching a hoof out to him. Cloud Dream let out another painful groan and started to stand up, turning his head towards Fluttershy’s voice.
“What happened?” He muttered, trying to feel around and make sure he was in one peace.
“Cloud Dream!!” Fluttershy squealed. She jumped up and tackled Cloud Dream back to the ground in pure, ecstatic joy.
He grunted as he was knocked back down to the ground. In her excitement Fluttershy pinned him down and pressed her lips against his, her mane fell to cover their faces. Cloud Dream’s ears perked up and he widened his eyes, trying hard to see what was happening. Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Water Lilly all stood and watched with their mouths hanging open. Twilight walked up to the group and curled her brow a little in confusion.
“What are you all looking a-“ She looked over at Fluttershy and Cloud Dream, their lips locked tightly together.
Fluttershy suddenly realized what she was doing and tore herself away from Cloud Dream. She turned bright red and brought her mane down in front of her face in embarrassment. She then took her Angel Bunny and flew off towards her cottage before anyone could say a word.
“Can anyone tell me what just happened?” Cloud Dream asked, still lying in the grass. The group didn’t answer him and simply laughed while Water Lilly gave her little brother a hug and lifted him to his feet.