Swift Wing didn't know what was worse: the fact that civilization as everypony knew it seemed to be collapsing, or that he was stuck in the middle of it.
Two weeks had passed since the final Summer Sun Celebration, and Swift had returned to Cloudsdale. Soon afterwards, he'd received an invitation in the mail, a ticket to Princess Twilight Sparkle's coronation. He'd decided he might as well go, seeing little risk to his secrecy in doing so. However, at the current moment, it looked like the coronation might not go according to plan.
Swift had heard the rumors, of course. Claims that the earth ponies were hoarding food to themselves and refusing to serve pegasi and unicorns, the unicorns thinking they were the most powerful ponies in the land and should be treated as such, and the pegasi saying they'd reduce Equestria to a barren wasteland if they weren't given special accommodations. Then there were the things said about the yaks, griffons, and other creatures. He'd dismissed these as ridiculous, seeing how Equestria had gone for centuries without this kind of thing happening. However, everypony else didn't seem to see it that way.
As Swift trotted down the Cloudsdale street, it seemed like a ghost town. Everypony was shut inside their homes, with the windows covered up. Swift didn't have to look to know that the majority of the unicorn residents of the city had already fled to wherever the majority were gathered. The griffons and hippogriffs had disappeared as well. In addition, the city had a large influx of pegasi from all over Equestria flying in just to get away from other kinds of ponies.
Thinking back to his idea that this was a setup for the final season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Swift supposed it made sense. For a final obstacle, what better than to have the Mane Six face the tribes of Equestria being torn apart? Of course, that didn't mean he liked being caught in the crossfire. It also didn't explain how it was happening.
Suddenly, Swift's sensitive pony ears picked up what sounded like arguing. He picked up the pace, following the noise to its source in a nearby alleyway. Between the buildings, Swift found two pegasi he didn't recognize, both stallions, staring down a lone unicorn mare. She was bravely resisting them, but clearly losing at the same time.
"You horn headed jerks always thought you were better than us!" snarled one of the pegasi. "Well guess what? Cloudsdale belongs to us! Nopony wants you here, so just get lost!"
"But Cloudsdale is my home, too!" the unicorn insisted. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I've got just as much right to be here as anypony else!"
"So you can use your freaky magic to mess with our flying and our weather?" demanded the other pegasus. "Maybe it's time somepony knocked you down a peg..."
The two began stepping forward, but Swift dived in between them and their target, spreading his wings protectively in front of the unicorn. Both stallions recoiled in surprise.
"Look, guys," Swift began, speaking quickly to hopefully cover up the fact that he was afraid of another beating, "don't you have anything better to do than pick on this lady? Seriously, back off."
"What's the matter with you?!" snapped the first pegasus. "You know how snobby unicorns are! We're just doing our part to clean out Cloudsdale!"
He raised a hoof, and Swift braced himself for a punch, but the stallion's comrade stopped before anything could go down.
"Come on, Weathervane," said the pegasus. "He's not worth the trouble. He wants to protect lesser ponies, it'll come back to bite him soon enough."
Weathervane gave Swift another glare, but he nonetheless lowered his hoof. The two turned around, spread their own wings and flew off, leaving Swift alone with the unicorn mare.
Swift released the breath he'd been holding. He folded his wings back into his sides, and turned to face the unicorn.
"Sorry about those guys," he said to her. "There seems to be a lot of hate going around Equestria lately." Then he noticed the mare was still quivering. "Hey, are you alright? Did they do anything to you?"
"Get away from me, you pegasus brute!" she suddenly shouted. She charged past Swift, pushing him back with one hoof, and charged down the street.
Swift was so shocked that he made no attempt to follow her. His brain was still trying to process exactly what had happened, but coming up blank. Finally, he sighed to himself, and set himself back on the route to his home. He'd prefer staying in isolation to this.
Finally, the day of Twilight Sparkle's coronation arrived. Since Cloudsdale was still so close to Canterlot, Swift could easily make the journey back down. However, before going, he wanted to have a talk with Bow and Windy. Surely, if anypony could avoid this hate plague, they could.
He knocked on the door of their house, and was promptly greeted by the two pegasi.
"Hi, Swift," said Bow. "What can we do for you today?"
"Please, please tell me you don't believe all the non-pegasi are out to get you," Swift begged.
Their faces fell. "So you've heard those rumors, too," said Windy. "At least you don't seem to have fallen for them."
Swift breathed a sigh of relief. "It feels like all of Equestria is going completely insane," he confessed. "I thought ponies would've learned not to distrust each other. Don't we celebrate that happening every Hearth's Warming?"
"You make a good point," said Bow. "I'm sure Rainbow and her friends don't have anything to do with this idiocy. But I have no idea how it's happening."
"Neither do I," replied Swift. "But it's driving me crazy. I saw this unicorn getting taunted by a couple of pegasi, I stepped in to help her out, and she called me a pegasus brute! What in the name of sanity is going on out there?!"
Windy shook her head. "I wish we had answers, Swift, but we're as much in the dark as you are. I hope Princess Twilight knows about this insanity. Her and Rainbow might be able to talk some sense into everypony."
Swift opened his mouth to reply again, but at that moment, an enormous sound, comparable to a sonic boom, reverberated across the land. A flash of red, orange, and green light, originating from Canterlot Castle, lit up the sky through the window. Swift, Bow, and Windy all gasped and slammed their hooves over their ears to drown out the chaotic clatter.
The three pegasi rushed outside, just in time to witness the end of the massive magical blast that tore through the back of Canterlot Castle. Cloudsdale was too far away for them to see exactly what was going on, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that it wasn't good.
"What the heck was that?!" shouted Swift.
"I don't know!" exclaimed Bow.
Before anypony else could speak, they were interrupted again, this time by a stampede of hooves and a whole flock of wings rushing across Cloudsdale. They spun around, discovering what looked like every pony in Cloudsdale charging towards the Cloud Colosseum. Some were using the cloudy streets, while the rest flew above. In addition, off in the distance, Swift could see many pegasi, most of whom worked in the weather factory, creating a cloudy barrier around the city.
"I don't like this," Swift muttered. From the expressions on Bow and Windy's faces, he could tell they felt the same.
Swift, Bow, and Windy wasted no time in joining the throngs of ponies cramming into the colosseum. At the center, holding a magical, amplifying microphone, the mayor of Cloudsdale hovered, along with a hooful of royal guard pegasi.
"Ladies and gentlecolts," announced the mayor, "it appears we are undergoing a serious crisis. We've just received word that the villains Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow have joined forces and attacked Canterlot. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, the Pillars of Old Equestria, Discord, and five of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have been captured. It is believed that Princess Twilight Sparkle has escaped, but unconfirmed at this time."
A collective gasp echoed throughout the colosseum. Swift Wing could only swallow in fear. If this really was the final season of Friendship is Magic, they were certainly pulling out all the stops. Three of the old villains teaming up? Not to mention they had to be the ones responsible for all this hatred between ponies. Cozy Glow certainly had to have been the one screwing with the weather for the Summer Sun Celebration.
"What do we do now?!" shouted somepony.
"It must be because of those stupid earth ponies and unicorns!" screamed another.
Soon, the air was filled with ponies roaring angry words, while the mayor and the guards desperately tried to maintain some semblance of order. Swift, Windy, Bow, and some others refrained from joining the craze, but they were the exceptions.
"This is awful..." Swift muttered, watching ponies descend into madness around him. "How could they-?"
Suddenly, everypony fell silent as a cold wind began to blow across Cloudsdale, followed by an unnatural howl. Swift began to shiver, feeling bits of frost begin to form on the tips of his wings. He, along with everypony else, cast their eyes skyward. There, floating above Equestria, were three ghost-like, horse-shaped entities, blowing a frigid gale from their mouths and flying in a circle.
"The windigos..." breathed Bow.
Swift felt both awed and terrified. He remembered the first Hearth's Warming episode, where they discussed how the windigos nearly brought ponies to extinction by feeding off the tribes' hatred for each other and froze nearly all of them. If they truly had returned, it meant the situation was even worse than it had previously seemed.
Everypony in the colosseum turned to the mayor once again, silently begging for words of comfort. Because nopony had any ideas left.
"That's enchanted wind!" declared the mayor. "We can't control it. And we can't rely on those snooty unicorns for any help. Build up the cloud bank! We'll try to block it!"
"What about everypony down below?!" demanded a young pegasus colt.
"They're on their own!" insisted the mayor. "We all are!"
Swift couldn't believe what he was seeing. While there were clearly some doubters in the audience, the majority of ponies seemed to agree with this course of action. Like it was right to just give up on everypony else and fend for yourself, when that was the exact thing fueling the windigos. From the looks on Bow and Windy's faces, he could tell they were having the same thoughts, but none of them knew what to do.
"Everypony! Wait!" screamed that same colt from before. Swift snapped his head back, watching as the colt flew into the center of the colosseum, and grabbed the microphone from the mayor. "My name is Hyper Sonic! Listen! Remember the original story of Hearth's Warming? How the windigos fed off the hatred the pony tribes had for each other?! That's what's happening now! That's the reason they've returned!
"Focusing on our differences keeps us divided! Villains and creatures like the windigos use that against us! So we have to come back together if we're gonna stop them! Not just pegasi, but all ponies, all creatures in Equestria!"
"You honestly think if we all hold hooves and sing songs, it'll drive away those monsters?!" somepony shouted back, and Swift fought the urge to run over and deck him.
"It's not about singing!" Hyper Sonic retorted. "I'm a student of Princess Twilight's school! We learned how powerful the magic of friendship is! How, if we work together, we can accomplish anything! That's how Princess Twilight and her friends always managed to save Equestria! Because they work together! Sure, it sounds kinda silly, but there's real power in friendship! The power to save Equestria! They've always done their part, now it's time to do ours!"
For the first time in days, the seeds of hope in Swift's heart began to grow. This colt was saying all the right things. Somepony was standing up for what was right. Maybe this was it. Everypony would come together to fight against the villains and the windigos, and then the Mane Six would save Equestria. That would be a sight to see.
"Why should we listen to you?!" yelled another pegasus. "You're just a foal!"
"Those snobby unicorns and food-hoarding earth ponies won't help us!" shouted yet another.
The colosseum was soon filled with voices demanding a reason why they should bother to help. Hyper Sonic tried to speak over them, but his voice just wasn't loud enough. Soon enough, pegasi began to suggest that they simply move Cloudsdale as far from Equestria as possible, and let the rest of the ponies and other creatures fend for themselves.
Swift stood watching in sheer disbelief. He didn't understand what was wrong with these ponies. Why were they being so selfish? Why were they willing to abandon Equestria just to save their own flanks? Somepony besides Hyper Sonic had to speak up, to let everypony know what was right.
Swift wasn't a very reputable pony in Cloudsdale. He was pretty much a nobody who'd been in the news once. Not to mention, he hated public speaking. But he knew somepony had to step up, and if he waited, it might be too late. Steeling himself, Swift spread his wings, and took off towards Hyper Sonic's position. He briefly heard Bow and Windy call after him, but he ignored them.
Flying up next to Hyper Sonic, Swift gently poked the colt on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around.
"Hey, kid, can I borrow that microphone?" asked Swift. Hyper shrugged and passed it over. Swift thanked him, then turned to face the crowd, and took a deep breath.
"EVERYPONY SHUT UP!" he screamed as loud as he could. Hundreds of hooves rushed to cover hundreds of ears, but the main objective was accomplished. Every pegasus in the colosseum was silenced in one fell swoop, and all the attention was on Swift.
Ignoring the shaking feeling in his chest, Swift continued. "Thank you! Now that I have your attention, let me give you something to think about. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends have put themselves in harm's way countless times to protect ponies like us. I myself was rescued from King Sombra not too long ago. Anypony else?"
Several hooves went up.
"But maybe they were wrong to do that, if this is how we're gonna repay them! I bet Princess Twilight is already on her way to Canterlot, with a plan to fix this mess and save Equestria again! Apparently, if the roles were reversed, none of you would be willing to lift a hoof to help!"
"Who are you to talk to us like that?!" demanded a voice from the crowd.
"My name is Swift Wing!" the crimson pegasus shouted back. "I'm just a normal pony, like all of you! And I can see, without a shadow of doubt, that you are all letting yourselves get played like puppets! Did it ever occur to you that us cowering and hiding away from other ponies is what the villains want? That all those bad rumors about the other tribes were probably started by them?! That the windigos will just feed off of our fear and destroy Equestria?! None of you are thinking!
"Hyper here was right! Princess Twilight and her friends might need us right now, and we're just standing here doing nothing! Well, I won't be part of it! I'm flying off to Canterlot right now to help take down those villains! I'd bet you anything that the other tribes, pony and otherwise, are on their way there right now! Does anypony else have the guts to help out?! Or are you gonna stand there and let Equestria die without even trying?!"
His voice spent, Swift took a couple of deep breaths, passing the microphone back to Hyper as he did so. That speech had taken quite a bit out of him. His lungs felt dry, and he could feel a strange buzzing from his flank. But that was insignificant at the moment. Swift looked up, hoping he'd accomplished something.
As he looked around the colosseum, what he saw started to lift his spirits a little. There were dissenters, of course. Some ponies just looked angry at being spoken to in such an angry manner. But the vast majority had thoughtful expressions, like Swift had awoken something within them. They were speaking with each other, looking confident and brave. Swift could tell he'd reached most of the ponies present.
"I think that's my cue," said the mayor of Cloudsdale. She reached over and took the microphone from Hyper's outstretched hooves. Then she faced the crowd. "Alright, everypony! If we're gonna help Equestria, we're gonna need some assistance from the unicorns, earth ponies, and every other tribe! I say we go pick them up now!"
A roar of affirmation rose throughout the crowd, followed by thunderous applause. Even the pegasi who Swift had annoyed joined in, probably going by the phrase "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Swift breathed a sigh of relief , before flying back down to rejoin Bow and Windy.
"Swift..." Bow stammered, as though in awe, "...that was...incredible! How'd you do that?!"
Swift wiped sweat off his forehead with one wing. "Celestia as my witness, Bow, I have no idea. It just...seemed like the right thing to do."
"I'd say it worked!" exclaimed Windy, indicating the crowd. "It looks like we're gonna get to help our little Dashie save Equestria for once! And it might not have happened without you!"
Swift smiled shyly. "I was just doing what anypony would've done," he said. "I'm sure, if I hadn't, somepony else would've."
"Come on then, Swift!" said Bow, as he spread his wings. "There's no time to waste!"
Every single pegasus in Cloudsdale took off, flying towards the final showdown.