//------------------------------//
// Chapter 38 (Hurricane Fluttershy) 
// Story: Spike The Brony Dragon 
// by red4567 
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My intuition about the second part of “Baby Cakes” was right. After I helped Twilight with her reports, she tried to visit Pinkie Pie to help with babysitting the Cake Twins. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie kicked Twilight out before she could do anything. It was a shame, really. I was a sucker for baby ponies in the fandom, and it would’ve been interesting to interact with the twins.

One day at the library, I overheard Rainbow Dash talking to Twilight.

“So why do you want to bring all the pegasi here?” Twilight asked.

“Because they need to learn how to bring the water up to Cloudsdale,” Rainbow replied. “And what better place to learn than in a library? Besides, you’ve got one of those fancy projectors.”

“Alright. Spike and I will set everything up. You can go ahead and recruit every pegasi in town.”

“Great, thanks.” Rainbow Dash zoomed out.

That’s when I realized this was when “Hurricane Fluttershy” took place. In the show, Fluttershy would overcome her fears and help the pegasi bring the water up to Cloudsdale. I couldn’t think of anything to change here. I didn’t know who had the feather flu first, and I didn’t want to risk catching it if it affects dragons. Also, I wanted Fluttershy to have her time to shine.

“Spike, help me prepare the room,” Twilight commanded. “Set up the projector for me. It should be in the closet.”

I saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

As I brung out the projector, a sudden realization hit me: I didn’t know how to use a film projector. I grew up where everything was digital.

How do I operate this thing?

That’s when I noticed a booklet resting on top of the machine. I took it and read the cover.

“Film Projector: How to operate this thing.”

Oh. How convenient.

I read through the booklet, and the instructions were pretty easy. I was able to set up the projector in no time.

By the time night fell, everypony who was a pegasus was at the library. Once everypony was in place, I turned on the projector, and the movie started playing. It honestly looked like something out of a 1950s info movie.

“Every living thing depends on the life-giving nourishment of rainwater, and it is up to Cloudsdale to provide rain-filled clouds to every corner of Equestria,” said the movie narrator. “But how, one pony might ask, does Cloudsdale gather all this extra water? Tornado power! That's right, pegasi-driven tornado power. A team of pegasi combine their wing power to create a jumbo tornado, powerful enough to pull water out of the local reservoir and funnel it all the way up to Cloudsdale. Remember, pegasi, your jumbo tornado must reach a minimum of eight hundred wing power to lift that water up to Cloudsdale. So, the next time you're wondering ‘Where does all that extra rainwater come from?’, just remember...it’s all thanks to your local pegasi and Cloudsdale!”

The word “FIN” appeared on the screen, and the movie was over. I quickly turned off the projector and turned on the lights.

Rainbow Dash then told everypony that Ponyville’s reservoir was chosen to bring the water up to Cloudsdale. Thus, every pegasus in Ponyville, including Fluttershy, needs to train by the end of the week in order to reach 800 wing power. Rainbow Dash also mentioned how Captain Spitfire will be there to record the wing power, and that she hoped to break Fillydelphia’s speed record of 910.

The only problem was with Fluttershy. After what happened at her old flight school, she couldn’t bring it to herself to fly as fast as the other pegasi. I’m hoping I can encourage her the next few days so she could gain some confidence.





The next day, Twilight and I were setting up an anemometer: a device tells you how fast you're flying and how strong your wings are. The other pegasi were stretching and getting ready to run while Rainbow went to get Fluttershy.

“I hope we can get enough wing power from all these pegasi,” Twilight said. “The overly-muscular one with small wings is concerning me.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” I said. “Every little bit helps. Besides, wing size doesn’t matter. Just wing power.”

After a while, Rainbow came back with Fluttershy. Once everything was set up, Thunderlane was the first pegasus to try it out. He clocked in at 9.3 wing power, which was rather impressive. Rainbow Dash was next, and she reached 16.5. This went on for the other pegasi. The most interesting ones I found were Bulk Biceps’s (the muscled white pegasus) 7.9 and Rumble’s 8.7.

“That colt’s gonna be a prodigy,” Twilight said.

“I’m surprised he’s the only kid pegasus here,” I said. “Aren’t there any others?”

“Thunderlane said he wanted to join the others to help out, so Rainbow Dash and Cheerilee allowed it.”

After everypony else’s wing power was recorded, the last pony was Fluttershy. Something told me I needed to talk to her first.

“Give me a second, Twilight.” I placed my quill and notebook on the ground and hurried to the starting line where Fluttershy was.

“Hey, listen,” I said to Fluttershy. “I know that you may not be the best flyer, but you shouldn’t let that hold you back. I know you have impressive wing power. Don’t let anypony tell you that you can’t fly!”

“Oh, I don’t know about this, Spike,” Fluttershy whimpered. “You’ve seen those previous scores. Even a colt can reach over 8 wing power, and I can’t even move a leaf.”

“Don’t worry about that. You don’t need to compare your wing strength to him. Just focus on your own wingspeed. Remember: Fluttershy, you can really fly!”

I gave her a light kiss on the cheek before hurrying back. I quickly picked up my notebook and quill before sitting next to the anemometer.

Twilight leaned over and whispered, “You shouldn’t do that, Spike.”

“What? I’m not allowed to give encouragement?” I hissed.

“No, I mean what you did to Fluttershy on the cheek. I know you two are starting to become a thing, but you shouldn’t do that out in the open. If anypony saw that a dragon and a pony were a couple...”

“It was just one small kiss. Nopony sans you noticed.”

“I’m just saying, be careful.”

I rolled my eyes and watched Fluttershy preparing to fly. With all her might, she flew as fast as she could down the track and right past the anemometer. It looked like she was going pretty fast, but the look on Twilight’s and Rainbow’s faces told me she didn’t do so well.

“You tell her,” Twilight whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“No, you tell her,” Rainbow whispered back.

“Just tell me, and I’ll tell her,” I said.

That’s when Fluttershy looked at us.

“Um...great job, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash said. “You measured, uh, uh, 2.5.”

“See? You did way better than we could expect!” I exclaimed.

“We did?” Twilight asked.

“Shhh!”

Sadly, my compliment didn’t help. Fluttershy believed she couldn’t bring up enough wing power, so she ran away in tears. Rainbow Dash tried to reassure her that it wasn’t too bad, but it didn’t help. 

“This is seriously bad,” Rainbow Dash said. “And I’m not talking about the power record this time.”

“What happened that left Fluttershy so distressed about her flying?” Twilight asked.

“Back in flight school, Fluttershy wasn’t the best flier,” Rainbow replied. “A lot of fillies and colts kept picking on her for that. I’ve told them to back off multiple times, and I even talked to the flight coach about them, but she wouldn’t do anything. Useless pony. I was hoping Fluttershy would be over this by now, but it still seems to be weighing her down.”

“Should we talk to her?”

“No, it’s best if we leave her alone.” Rainbow sighed. “She just needs time to be alone. She’ll come back whenever she feels better.”

Never thought I’d see Rainbow as the sympathetic type. I’m glad she cares for Fluttershy.

I decided to listen to Rainbow and leave Fluttershy be.





Over the next few days, the other pegasi improved on their wing power. Even Rumble managed to match his older brother’s wing power.

“Your younger brother’s amazing, Thunderlane,” I said. “I never seen a pegasus his age fly so fast.”

“Yeah, Rumble’s really enthusiastic when it comes to flying,” Thunderlane said. “One time, when he was just a foal, he flew for a full day straight.” 

“Impressive.”

“I would like to think so, but the next day, his wings got pretty sore from so much flying. It took him about two days to recover.”

“Ouch.”

That’s when Thunderlane coughed. I was thankful he covered his mouth.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “You can stay home if you’re feeling sick. We can make do with two less pegasi.”

“I’m fine, kid,” Thunderlane said. “Just a dry throat. That’s all. I’ll drink some water after this.”

That made me skeptical. I decided not to press on, though.

After a few more pegasi’s wing power was recorded, a squirrel showed up and squeaked at Twilight and me.

“What’s he saying?” I asked.

“Do I look like I speak squirrel?” Twilight snarked.

“Hey, look!” I saw Fluttershy approaching the track with full confidence. I guess Rainbow was right about Fluttershy needing some alone time.

Fluttershy approached the starting line. She then took off like a bullet across the track. She zipped past us so fast, I could’ve sworn she was Rainbow Dash in disguise. 

Sadly…the anemometer once again told a different tale.

“2.9?!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “2.9?! That has to be some kind of mistake! I worked so hard!”

“Fluttershy, that’s a huge improvement!” Twilight said.

“That’s even better than your last attempt,” I added.

“You did awesome, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash.

“No, I didn't,” Flutteshy retorted. “I thought I'd gotten over my nerves, but they still got the best of me! There's no way I'll fly with 10.0 wing power tomorrow!”

“So you won't fly with 10.0 wing power. Every bit counts!”

“How would you feel if everypony else was flying with 10.0 wing power and you were flying with 2.9?!”

Rainbow Dash took off her hat. “Well, uh... I'd feel... um...”

“Exactly! Humiliated! I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I just can't do it!” Fluttershy ran off once again.

“This is really serious,” I said. “We gotta do something. Does anyone know a good psychiatrist?”

“I don’t think that would help, Spike,” Dash said. “I’ll have to talk to her tomorrow after we lift the water.”





The next morning, almost every Ponyville pegasus arrived at the reservoir. Twilight and I had just finished setting up a giant anemometer just as Captain Spitfire arrived. I took attendance of all the pegasi, but I noticed some of the ponies were absent. Thunderlane was one of them. I quickly told Rainbow Dash.

“Lazy Thunderlane!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Where is he?! He's been trying to get out of tornado duty the whole time with his fake coughing and all. Rumble, where's your lazy brother?”

“He’s got the feather flu,” Rumble replied. “He's down at Ponyville Hospital.”

“He’s not the only one,” I said. “Seven other ponies are absent, too. Probably suffered the same fate.”

Twilight quickly did some calculations and discovered that not only would there not be enough wing power to break the record, there wouldn’t even be enough to get the water to Cloudsdale.

“What should we do?” Twilight asked.

“Can’t Spitfire join us?” I asked. “Or better yet, can’t we have some of the unicorns lift the water to Cloudsdale?”

“Spike, it’s tradition to use wing power to lift the water,” Twilight replied. “It’s like how earth ponies don’t use magic to do Winter Wrap Up.”

“Forget the record,” Rainbow said as she put her goggles on. “Cloudsdale still needs water! Okay, everypony! Let's give it all we've got! On the sound of the horn, we take off!”

Everypony else put on their respective goggles. I quickly hurried to the giant horn. Once Twilight gave the signal, I blew as hard as I could. The pegasi took off and swirled around the reservoir. In no time flat, a tornado was formed. The anemometer spun like a windmill. The wind was picking up all around us.

Twilight read the gage. “150 wing power...250 wing power...500 wing power...”

The wind was going so fast, it was getting hard for me to stand. I quickly hurried to the front of the anemometer so I wouldn’t get blown away.

“750 wing power!” Twilight announced.

“Keep it up, pegasi!” I hollered.

“Twilight! Spike!” A voice called out.

We turned to see Fluttershy trying to approach us, but the intense winds made it difficult.

“Fluttershy! What are you doing here?!” Twilight shouted.

“ I figured... if I couldn't help Rainbow Dash with the tornado... the least I could do was offer moral support!” Fluttershy gripped onto the anemometer 

“She could sure use it, considering eight Pegasi are sick with the feather flu!”

“Oh no! That's terrible news!”

It was terrible news, but it wasn’t worse than the outcome of the pegasi’s first attempt. The twister they created couldn’t surpass 750 wing power, and it fell apart sending every pegasus in different directions. Miraculously, nopony was seriously hurt.

“Oh, you were so close to the eight hundred wing power minimum!” Twilight said. “I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash regained her composure and proclaimed, “We've got to try again!”

Twilight quickly stopped her. “But you've pushed your crew to their limit already! If you break apart again, somepony could get hurt! You should quit, it's not safe!”

“No! One more time!” Dashie rebutted. “I've gotta know we gave it our all! If I'm going down, I'm going down flying!” She quickly put her goggles on. “C'mon, ponies, let's make this happen!”

Everypony cheered and got into formation. Once again, I blew the horn and the pegasi formed another tornado.

“100...200...500...” Twilight counted. “750!”

“That was the maximum wing power before they fell apart!” I shouted as I held onto the anemometer.

“Oh! I’m too nervous to look!” Fluttershy cried.

The intense howling of the wind and the spinning ponies made it hard to determine if the water was really rising. I could hardly hear myself think, let alone hear Twilight and Fluttershy talk.

“795! We are so close!” Twilight hollered. “Fluttershy, they need you up there!”

“My measly 2.9 wing power is still too little!” Fluttershy shouted. “I won't make a difference!”

“Yes, you will!” I barked. “Do it for Equestria! Do it for your friends! Do it for yourself!” I handed her a pair of goggles.

Fluttershy gulped and grabbed the goggles. After she placed them on, she slowly but surely got into the tornado. Within minutes, the gage was moving again.

“Seven ninety eight! She surpassed her best wing power number!” Twilight shouted.

The tornado spun faster and faster. Soon the anemometer beeped as it clocked the wing power at 800! Water came spewing out of the twister and into the weather factory. Both Twilight and I cheered as every last drop left the reservoir. 

Still fighting the wind, I climbed to the horn and blew hard. The wind died down as all the pegasi broke formation and the tornado disappeared. Everypony was joyful that they finally got the water to Cloudsdale. Meanwhile Fluttershy was still spinning around. Rainbow halted her with a cloud.

“Whoa, girl, take it easy!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Did...did we do it?” Fluttershy gasped.
 
“Yeah, we did it. You did it.”

The two did a wing slap as everypony else congratulated Fluttershy, including Spitfire. The crowd picked her up and chanted, “Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can really fly!”

It was nice to see Fluttershy gaining a little confidence once in a while. Her character development was one of the reasons why she was my favorite pony.