//------------------------------// // Chapter VI: Storm Clouds Ablaze // Story: Sunset of Time // by Albi //------------------------------// Chapter VI: Storm Clouds Ablaze Sunset awoke the next morning to the warm rays of the sun heating her face. She grunted and squeezed her eyes tighter, throwing the blankets over her head to block the light. She could hear birds singing right outside her window, and quickly became irritated. Her horn lit up, and a silencing spell covered the window, before the blinds fell in front of them, casting the room in quiet shadows. Sunset was never a morning pony. She rested her head against the plush pillow, and allowed her mind to go blank, enjoying the sweet silence. Despite the events of the previous night, she had been able to get a good night’s sleep. Now, she just wanted to enjoy the well-rested feeling she had, as well as the incredibly soft bed she was lying in. Ten more minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt anypony. There was a loud pounding at the door. “Ms. Sunset Shimmer, this is your wake up call. Breakfast is being served in the dining hall.” Sunset started and swore under her breath at the sudden noise. So much for that... She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Thank you,” she said groggily. She heard the guard march away and flopped back down onto the bed. Just five minutes. She grinned, closing her eyes. “Hey, Sunset,” Spike’s voice called out over his loud knocking. “Are you up yet?” “I am now,” she said in a low growl. In a louder voice she said, “Yes, Spike, what do you need?” “I, uhh, just thought maybe you’d want someone to walk you to the dining hall for breakfast.” Uh-huh, he wants something. Sunset rolled out of her bed and stretched her hooves, deciding to play along. “Sure, Spike, just give me a minute.” Spike agreed, and Sunset could hear him begin to hum to himself outside her door. She walked over to the balcony window and threw the curtains open again, letting the morning sun back into the room. She removed the sound blocking spell, and listened to the birds chirping outside. Sunset admitted they sounded nice when she wasn’t trying to sleep. She turned around and took in her bedroom for the first time since she had arrived. It was a circular space, much like the guest room in Twilight’s library, with an adjoining bathroom. The velvet carpet was a rich shade of purple, with the walls painted a similar color. A vanity set sat across from the bed, and Sunset spotted a brush lying on the table; something she was grateful for when she saw her mane in the mirror. She had the worst case of bed mane she had ever seen on herself. It stuck out at odd angles and completely covered her horn. If Sunset had walked out like that, she was certain Rarity would have a panic attack. She brushed out her hair to resemble something presentable, while Spike had taken to whistling as he waited on her. After Sunset had managed her mane, she quickly washed up in the bathroom. She was aware of how impatient boys were, and didn’t want Spike to wait too long. Approving of how she looked, Sunset snatched her hourglass necklace off the bedside table and threw it around her neck, before meeting Spike out in the hall. He had been twiddling his claws and whistling an off-key song when Sunset stepped out the door. “Good morning, Spike,” she said, giving him a proper greeting. “Morning,” he said. “Did you sleep well last night?” Sunset shrugged. After her strange dream, her sleep had been pretty restful. “It was good enough.” “That’s good. You looked kinda sick after the talk with the Princesses last night. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Sunset giggled. “Thank you, Spike.” They continued their walk in silence, each of them admiring the collection of paintings lining the walls, separated by the bleached white marble columns. Guards were posted at every window and corridor intersection, standing still as statues. Spike cleared his throat, grabbing Sunset’s attention. He didn’t look in her direction, but said, “Umm, just so you know, I totally believe you about the future thing.” Ah, I can tell where this is going. “Thank you, that means a lot.” “Anytime! So, I was wondering—” “Spike, I’m not telling you anything about the future.” Spike looked at her with a mixture of shock and disappointment. “What? Why not?” Sunset blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Because, if I tell you something, you might change events so that it doesn’t happen, or something else happens instead.” “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” He pointed a claw at her. Sunset stopped walking, Spike’s words having poked a hole in her argument. “W-well, yes,” she stammered, trying to find a counterargument. “But, but I’m doing it for a good reason. What I’m trying to do is going to help everyone; there aren’t any repercussions for making sure a crazy alicorn doesn’t destroy the world.” “Yeah, but since you’re already changing the future what’s the harm in telling me mine? It’ll just change too, won’t it?” Sunset was surprised by his reasoning; she had been hoping he’d give up after her first argument. “Well, yes, it’s a possibility,” she reasoned. “But I’m just changing one event. Yes, it affects the entire world, but it doesn’t affect everyone’s individual lives... if that makes sense.” Spike scratched his head. “Sort of...” “Okay, umm.” Sunset ran a hoof through her mane, trying to think. “It’s like this: Vesper Radiance tried to take over Equestria and failed. So, she got sealed away, until she broke free and... you know. Those two events had little to do with everyone’s lives in between. So, if I told you about your future, you might purposely change it from what should naturally happen.” “Oh, come on,” Spike whined. “Telling me a few things about the future isn’t going to do anything! It’s like... like looking at the end of a story; just because you know how it ends now isn’t going to change anything. It’s just a sneak peak.” “No, it’s a spoiler, and I hate spoilers.” Sunset’s stomach gave a growl, prompting her to resume walking. “Besides, by using a book as an example, you’re implying that destiny is set in stone.” “But what if it is?” Sunset gave Spike a hard look. “If I believed that, I wouldn’t have bothered coming back in time.” She shook her head. “Everyone has choices, Spike. We aren’t just pawns being pushed by fate.” “I guess.... But what about Twilight? Princess Celestia said it was her destiny to become an alicorn.” Celestia says a lot of things. Doesn’t mean they’re all true. Sunset almost said that aloud, but paused and held her tongue. Instead she said, “Well, perhaps there is a greater design for each of us, but it’s our choice whether or not we take the steps to pursue it.” Spike crossed his arms, a sour look on his face. “Geez, you really are Twi’s student.” “Why, thank you!” Sunset looked pleased with herself. “Come on, can’t you just give me hint?” “No, Spike.” “A tiny one?” he begged. “No.” “Please?” “No.” “Pretty please?” “No!” “Auugh.” Spike threw his hands into the air. “Come on! Just tell me if I get wings or not!” Sunset let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine,” she relented. Telling him that piece of information couldn’t change anything, just make him eager. “Yes, you get wings later on.” “Yes!” Spike punched the air and began dancing around Sunset, as they continued down to the dining hall. “I can’t believe it! I’m going to get wings! I get to fly!” He hopped around and flapped his arms, like they were wings. Sunset couldn’t help but grin at his happiness, although she made a solemn vow not to become everyone’s personal fortune teller. Regardless of whether or not it would change things, she knew it would become annoying very fast. The duo reached the dining hall, and found five of their friends sitting at the table, eating from a large buffet of breakfast food. There was an exchange of greetings, and Sunset took a seat near the end of the long table next to Pinkie Pie, while Spike took an empty seat next to Rarity.  “Good morning, Spike,” Rarity said sweetly. “And just what has you grinning so broadly today?” Spike bounced up and down in his chair. “Sunset just told me I’m gonna get wings in the future!” Sunset stopped in mid reach for a bowl of fruit and gave Spike a very sour look. Although she hadn’t implied it was a secret, Sunset had hoped Spike would use a little more discretion. “Oh, oh, oh.” Pinkie prodded Sunset in the shoulder. “Tell me what happens to me! Do I throw the world’s biggest party? Do the Cakes ever tell me where foals come from? Ooh, do I get wings?” Sunset leaned her cheek on her hoof. “Pinkie, why would you get wings?” Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno, that’s why I’m asking you.” “Alright, let me make this clear right now.” Sunset looked at everyone gathered at the table. “I’m not going to tell you anything more than necessary about the future, so please, don’t ask.” Her voice was firm but not unkind. Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack nodded in understanding. Rarity stuck her bottom lip out, pouting before Applejack nudged her shoulder. She sighed, then nodded as well. Pinkie slumped in her chair and let out an “Aww” of disappointment. Spike was still dancing in his chair, celebrating his good news. With that out of the way, Sunset picked a strawberry from her fruit bowl and bit into it, appeasing her rowdy stomach. Breakfast was a quiet affair apart from Spike’s occasional shouts of, “I’m getting wings!” While Sunset had been rather hungry, what she ate was nothing compared to Pinkie. She watched in awe as Pinkie scarfed down half of the entire table, and acted like it was nothing. It wasn’t until most of the food was gone that Rainbow Dash decided to float through the dining room door, yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Nice of ya to finally join us livin’ folk, Dash,” Applejack smirked. Rainbow ignored her and went straight for the food, letting out a disgruntled groan when she saw how much was left. “What, you guys couldn’t save me any?” “Well, perhaps if you had gotten up a little earlier, there would have been more for you to eat,” Rarity said. Rainbow mumbled something under her breath, and started putting what food she could find onto her plate, dropping down next to Fluttershy when she had finished scavenging. Noticing the small amount of food on Rainbow’s plate, Fluttershy pushed her own towards the starving pony. “Here, Rainbow. I’m done with mine, so you can have it.” Rainbow quickly tore into what was left of Fluttershy’s waffles, saying, “Thank you,” only after her mouth was completely full, spraying bits of food across the table. Rarity scrunched her face in repulsion.   “Hey, Rainbow Dash, guess what!” Spike grinned from ear to ear. Rainbow made a noise, assuring Spike she was listening as she ate her breakfast. “Sunset told me I’m going to get wings! Do you think you can show me some of your moves when they come in?” Rainbow nodded and started to bite into a pear, when she stopped and looked from Sunset, to Spike, then back to Sunset. “So, he gets wings, huh?” Sunset popped a grape into her mouth and said, “Yep.” “Uh-huh. So then, what happens to me?” “Sorry, Rainbow, but I already told the others that I’m not going to play fortune teller for all of you.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and went back to her pear, taking rather harsh bites out of it. Sunset wasn’t sure if Rainbow still didn’t trust her, or was just really grouchy in the morning. Twilight cleared her throat, bringing everyone’s attention to her. “Now that everypony is here, we can get started. Our mission today is to go to Cloudsdale and research!” Twilight was practically glowing at the prospect of poring over pegasi lore. “The two most likely locations for any information regarding the Tempest Crown are the Cloudsdale History Museum, and the library of course. So, we’ll split into two teams when we get there, do some research, and hopefully come up with a lead.” Twilight took on a more serious expression. “Celestia also said that there’s a good chance Vesper Radiance is already looking into the Tempest Crown, meaning there’s a possibility that she might be there as well, so be on your guard.” “Good.” Rainbow finished her pear and dropped it onto her empty plate. “The faster we find her, the faster we can kick her flank and call it a day, right?” Twilight gave a half nod. “Stopping Vesper Radiance is important, but Celestia agrees that all of the Dark Regalia should be destroyed, that way we don’t have to worry about anypony ever trying to misuse them again.” “Alright, fine. We find some old artifacts and kick some mare’s flank.” Rainbow got up and stretched out her wings. “Let’s get this show on the road, I’m kinda looking forward to flying around Cloudsdale again,” she said, enthusiasm returning to her voice. “It would be a nice visit,” Fluttershy agreed. “I’d love to go sightseeing too, girls, but we have a job to do and can’t afford to get too distracted,” Twilight said. “Yeah,” Sunset said. “She already knew where the Alicorn Amulet was. Who knows how close she is to finding out where the other pieces are.” “Well then, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie leapt from her chair and headed for the door. “Come on, ponies, we’ve got a world to save! Again!”   Twilight snatched her saddlebag from underneath her seat and followed Pinkie through the door, the rest of the group right behind her. “Our balloon should be waiting outside in the courtyard.” She glanced at her present company again. “...It might be a tight fit again.” Sunset watched Canterlot shrink into the mountainside until it was the size of a dollhouse. The hot air balloon sailed on the wind, climbing higher and higher into the sky. Below them, the Unicorn Range sprawled out for miles, its rolling pastel hills varying in hues of yellows and greens, creating a vibrant picture worthy of summertime. Miniature farms were scattered about, no doubt with microscopic ponies tilling the fertile land. While the land looked warm and welcoming, the air up in the sky had become cold with the rising altitude. The crowded basket allowed the ponies to stay mostly warm with their shared body heat, but the occasional gust of wind sent shivers all across their bodies. It was a snug fit with six ponies and a dragon, but the basket gave a little more room than the chariot had. Rainbow had once again opted to fly the entire way. It was a slow moving journey with the balloon lazily riding the air currents towards the distant mass of white dots that was Cloudsdale. Pinkie had decided to pass the time by playing a game of I Spy. “I spy with my little eye something that is... blue!” Applejack held onto her hat as the wind picked up again. “Is it the sky?” “Nope!” Rarity watched Rainbow pull off a few loops before diving out of sight. “Is it Rainbow Dash?” “Yes!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together. “Okay, your turn Rarity.” “Very well. I spy...” Sunset tuned them out, looking over the edge of the basket to see where Rainbow had dived off to. She stuck her head out just in time to see a blue blur rocket up in front of her with enough force to shake the entire balloon and send its passengers to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs. Twilight was the first to pull herself out from the pile. “Rainbow, be careful! You almost knocked us out of the sky!” “Sorry, Twi,” Rainbow said, swinging back around. “But you guys are going so slow, and I’m getting bored.” “Well pardon us for not bein’ able to sprout wings and fly like you,” Applejack said, pulling Pinkie to her hooves. Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged looks and began to whistle nonchalantly. “You’re forgiven. Hey, why don’t I just pull this thing the rest of the way? It has to be faster than this!” Twilight gave her a concerned look. “I don’t know, Rainbow. Do you think you can pull all of us?” “Pfft, piece of cake.” “Well, if you’re sure.” Twilight unwound the bundle of rope and tied one end to the front tether of the balloon before tossing the other end to Rainbow. She caught it in her mouth and shot off like a rocket, forcing everyone back to the floor. Sunset regained her balance and watched as the earth below became a hazy blur. Looking up only caused her eyes to water as the wind slapped her face. She sat down and decided to wait out the flight with the others, crammed together at the back of the basket. The white dots quickly morphed into a magnificent complex of clouds built up on top of one another, creating several layers of the floating city. Elegant houses and buildings rose out of the clouds, made from the same fluffy material. Waterfalls and liquid rainbows cascaded off the sides of Cloudsdale, eventually turning to vapor. Rainbow slowed down and brought the balloon to a rest near the edge of the city. She dropped the rope and panted, “Okay... I know I said it would be a piece of cake... but some of you should really cut back on it.” She glared at Pinkie, who was the first to step out of the balloon, oblivious to Rainbow’s implication. Sunset stepped onto the clouds—Twilight had cast a cloud-walking spell on everyone before they had left—and wasn’t surprised to find that it felt like walking on pillows. “Alright, girls.” Twilight turned off the balloon’s burner, and secured it to a lamppost. “We’ll split up to cover more ground. Sunset, Spike, Fluttershy and I will go to the library. Rainbow Dash, you lead Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity to the museum. It’s noon, so we’ll back here at five o’clock; hopefully that should be more than enough time.” Rainbow saluted. “Roger, Twilight. Alright team, follow me, and remember, keep your hooves on the clouds at all times. We don’t want a repeat of the Best Young Flyers Competition.” “Ha ha,” Rarity said, unamused as the four ponies took off for the heart of the city. Twilight faced her remaining company. “Come on guys, we’ve got research to do!” Spike groaned. “It’s like the Crystal Empire all over again.” “Oh come on, Spike,” Sunset said, following after Twilight, who had started walking towards the inner city. “Studying can be fun.” Twilight looked back at them with the biggest smile Sunset had seen on her face. “I taught you so well!” “Yeah, too well,” Spike said under his breath. The group traveled across a bridge of solid clouds suspended over a rainbow river. The road took them through a residential area, where several pegasi foals were out playing in the streets. Some of them would pause and point, though Sunset wasn’t sure if it was because of Twilight or the fact that a unicorn and dragon were walking on clouds. The further into Cloudsdale they got, the more fascinated Sunset became with the architecture. She found it hard to believe that every single thing was made from condensed clouds. She brushed her hoof against a column, finding it much harder than the road she was walking on, to the point where she could have sworn it was actually made of marble if she hadn’t known better. Spike, however ran his claws across the pillar and looked completely perplexed. “I don’t get it, how’s a stone pillar sitting on a cloud?” “Oh no, Spike.” Fluttershy said gently. “It isn’t really stone, it’s just really dense. Just about everything in Cloudsdale is made from compressed clouds. That’s how we build things.” She gestured to the pillowy road they were on. “We use stratus clouds to lay the foundation, then build on top of them with denser clouds like cumulus.” She pointed at the wispy swirls marking the base of the column. “And we use cirrus clouds to decorate.” “Wow, I didn’t know clouds could do that much,” Spike said, now marveled by his surroundings. “I know, it’s all simply fascinating,” Sunset said. Twilight eagerly nodded her head. “Isn’t it? Did you know, since the city in the Everfree Forest was destroyed, Cloudsdale is Equestria’s oldest city? “Yeah, it dates back to just after the founding of Equestria. I heard the library also has one of the largest collection of history books detailing life for the pegasi before Equestria.” “I know. If we weren’t in a hurry, I’d love to read some of them.” Spike looked at Fluttershy and said, “Looks like Twilight found her long lost twin.” Fluttershy smiled. “I think it’s really nice Twilight has somepony to have conversations like this with.” Twilight and Sunset continued their talk of history, exchanging little tidbits and fun facts of information. Sunset knew they were supposed to be preventing a calamity, but at that moment in time, she was in paradise. She was back with her teacher, telling all that she had learned and listening to Twilight’s vast wealth of knowledge. She looked up at the sweet blue sky and took a deep breath, savoring the moment. Sunset sat out on one of the castle terraces. Princess Celestia sat with her, a white wing draped over her shoulder. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, clear of any clouds. The two of them looked over the valley, admiring the picturesque view. Lying on the blanket underneath them was a picnic basket and a closed book. “Well,” Celestia said, “I think that’s enough studying for today. You seem to know most of the material anyway.” She gave a light chuckle. Sunset blushed and pulled a sandwich out of the basket. She bit into it and looked out at the tiny town that was Ponyville. Her gaze stretched to the lands beyond, endless plains and hills, all covered in emerald grass and summertime flowers. She couldn’t believe the princess owned all of it. She looked up at a smiling Celestia. “What’s it like being a princess?” Celestia tilted her head back and let out a beautiful laugh that put the bells of Canterlot to shame. “It sometimes isn’t all that it’s made out to be. There are always papers that need to be signed, and laws that need to be checked.” She bent her head down and whispered, “And those stuffy nobles always want something from you.” Sunset giggled and looked Princess Celestia in the eyes. “But, there’s good things too, right? I mean, you get to rule all of this!” She gestured to the surrounding landscape. “You have the power to raise the sun and tell other ponies what to do!” “Being a princess isn’t all about how much power you have, Sunset, but how you use it. However, waking up to all of this every morning is always a pleasure. Maybe someday you’ll find out for yourself.” “You mean, I could become a princess?” Celestia looked up at the sky, a knowing look in her eye. “Anything is possible...” “Sunset!” Sunset blinked, Twilight’s voice drawing her back to the present. All three of her friends were looking at her with mild concern. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked. “You kinda just stopped and started staring into space.” “Sorry. I was just... taking in the moment is all,” Sunset lied. Not now, she told her subconscious. Whatever this is, don’t bother me right now! “Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. “Do you need to sit down for a minute?” Sunset shook her head and continued walking. “Don’t worry, I’m fine, I promise.” She looked back and forced a smile. Twilight and Fluttershy still looked a little skeptical, but remained silent. Spike, however, just shrugged and fell into step next to Sunset. The group continued down the road, crossing under an archway that opened up into a large pavilion. Booths and stalls were on every side, with ponies peddling their wares. Yet, in addition to the shops inside the pavilion, several floated above in the open sky. Pegasi flew overhead making deals with shop owners, carrying bags filled with groceries. In the middle of the venue was a sign that said, “Watch for falling objects.” “Oh, is this Cloudsdale’s Market?” Sunset asked, wanting to keep the conversation off of her. Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, this is one of the forums where everypony comes to sell and buy things. It’s just like Ponyville, only...” —She pointed up to the stalls above them, sitting on fluffy clouds— “we don’t have to worry about running out of room.” The walked across the grounds of the forum, politely ignoring the calls of shopkeepers offering deals. Beyond the market forum was a bridge hanging over open air that led to the commercial district. Spike looked over the railing and said, “Yeesh, that’s a long way down.” On the other clouds were large, antique looking buildings. They were positioned at even intervals on both sides of the street, gradually sloping upwards towards the Weather Factory that sat at the top of the cloud. Fluttershy led them down the street and around a corner, stopping at a large domed building. Rows of steps led up to a portico, supported by tall columns. On either sides of the steps were statues of pegasi with outstretched hooves holding a book. “This is the First Library of Cloudsdale,” Fluttershy explained, wringing her hooves. “It’s... well, um, it’s our first library. And the oldest, so hopefully we’ll find something useful inside.” “Good job, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, bounding up to the entrance. “If there are books dating back to Equestria’s founders, then there has to be something about the Tempest Crown.” She reached the top and quickly motioned for the others to join her. Sunset trailed up the steps behind Fluttershy, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. Woah, déjà vu. She shook her head of it and kept walking, not wanting to give the others more reasons to worry about her.  The inside of the library was an immense rectangular room, with rows and rows of books stacked from one side to the other. A second story balcony wrapped around the room, holding several more bookcases, while a central skylight hung overhead, letting the rays of the afternoon sun in. Like most of Cloudsdale, the interior of the library was a light shade of blue. Twilight approached the desk, where a middle-aged stallion was stamping books. He had a grey coat and wavy black mane. Small, circular glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Twilight cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me?” The stallion looked up and nearly fell out of his chair. “P-Princess Twilight Sparkle! Oh my, i-it’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness,” he stammered, before attempting to bow, only to hit his head on the desk. “Oh my gosh, are you alright?” The librarian waved it off. “Oh no, I mean, yes! Don’t worry about me. What brings you to Cloudsdale, Your Highness?” “Well, we’re here to do some very important research, and I think your library may have some of the answers we’re looking for.” “Oh, splendid! You’ve come to the right place, Princess! We have one of the largest collection of books in Equestria, and of course, I am more than willing to assist you; just call me Milky Way! Now, what can I find for you?” “Well, I think it would be best to start with some of your early Equestrian history books, and maybe some mythology books too,” Twilight said thoughtfully. Milky Way clapped his hooves. “Excellent, excellent! Well then, right this way, Your Highness!” He walked from behind the desk and beckoned them along. Sunset followed behind Twilight, looking in between the rows of books. At the other end of the shelves was a small collection of desks and chairs, where a cloaked figure was hunched over an open book. Sunset stopped and stared at the hooded pony, her heart beginning to pounding in her chest like a drum. It’s her. It has to be her... The figure stood up, as if noticing Sunset’s presence. It slowly turned around and faced her, its face completely hidden by the hood. But the Alicorn Amulet was clearly visible, gleaming with an eerie red light. The two stared at each other, neither daring to move. Sunset could feel an odd, almost familiar aura coming off of the pony in front of her. Adrenaline rushed through Sunset’s veins, heightening her senses. She could feel the magic in her horn crackling as she readied herself for whatever Vesper Radiance had planned. “Sunset?” Fluttershy called. In the brief instance Sunset had been distracted, a red beam erupted from within Vesper Radiance’s hood and rushed to meet Sunset. Her own magic came to life, and she fired a teal beam of her own. The jets of light connected in the middle of the row, but the red one was slowly dominating over the blue. Sunset could already feel the strain of magic on her horn. It was as if she had decided to try and push a boulder, only the boulder had decided to push back. “Sunset!” Twilight cried, rushing back over to her side. “Sunset, what’s going on?” “It’s her! It’s—” Sunset cut her sentence as a large table sailed down the aisle towards her. She quickly ended her beam and threw up a bubble shield. The impact of table and Vesper’s magic sent her flying back towards the front wall, where the shield broke. Sunset slid down the wall and groaned, rubbing her head. “Hey!” Twilight yelled, as Vesper Radiance took off towards the stairs, seeming to glide across the floor. Twilight followed her, blasting bolts of magic in between the bookshelves. Vesper began countering with her own spells, and jets of red and purple magic began to criss-cross each other, hitting the books and turning them to ash. Milky Way gave a shriek of terror at the sight of his ruined literature, but jumped back behind his desk to hide. Sunset shook off her grogginess in time to see Vesper reach the stairs and sling a bolt of magic at the glass skylight, shattering it into pieces. Seeing the falling glass, Fluttershy grabbed Spike into a protective embrace and used her wings to block the shrapnel, while Twilight used a shield to protect herself.   Sunset got to her hooves and powered up her horn, vanishing and reappearing on the second floor, behind Vesper Radiance. Sunset quickly built up a pressure of magic and fired a sphere of pure energy, only to have it rebound off a red shield and nearly hit her in the face. Vesper turned around, and with a quick flash of her horn, several books flew off the shelves and started to attack Sunset like a flock of angry birds. Sunset swatted and blasted at them, but for every one that went down, two more took its place. She could still faintly see Vesper’s black cloak through the hurricane of books; a dark red sphere of energy formed at the tip of her horn. Sunset’s eyes widened as a trail of fire spewed forth from Vesper’s hood and began incinerating the books on the first floor. The blood-red flames seemed to jump from book to book, engulfing them entirely and creating a larger blaze than should normally be possible. Gritting her teeth, Sunset gathered the magic from her horn and wrapped it around her body, before expelling it outwards, scattering the offending books all across the library. She then charged at Vesper, who brought the whip of fire around, aiming at Sunset’s head. Sunset slid underneath it, and the fire continued onwards, hitting the nearby bookshelves and setting them alight. She tried attacking the amulet, only to see her spell absorbed by the red crystal. Vesper Radiance let out a snicker of amusement. “Idiot,” was all she said before Sunset felt a hoof connect with the side of her face. She rolled across the floor and held a hoof to her cheek, tasting the tang of copper on the inside. She looked up to see Vesper looming over her, her face still hidden by her hood.  “I don’t know who you think you are,” she said over the growing roar of the flames consuming the building, her voice filled with pure venom. “But now, you’re going to go down with the rest of them!” She lifted her head and shot an electric charge up towards the ceiling, then with a burst of red light, she was gone, leaving Sunset alone on the second floor. Smoke rapidly clouded the library, creating a curtain of haze and turning everything coal black. Sunset found herself back in the ruins of Canterlot, the castle ablaze, and her lungs clogged with ash, until she realized the air she was breathing was still rather fresh. She stared into the black smog, when it finally hit her: she wasn’t looking at smoke, she was looking at the wall of clouds making up the building. It had turned black like a thundercloud! An arc of lightning shot up from the floor underneath her, prompting her to jump to her hooves; the pain in her jaw stabbed at her, causing her to wince. The heat of the bookshelves burning behind her was beginning to singe her fur. She galloped over to the railing, scanning for her friends amongst the burning pyres of dying tomes. “Twilight—ow!” Sunset rubbed her throbbing jaw, swearing under her breath. That mare kicks hard. A fork of lightning flew past her, almost throwing her off balance. I’ve got to get out of here before I get burned or electrocuted. But what if the others are trapped? She couldn’t take that chance and leave one of her friends to die. She rushed to the stairs, narrowly avoiding the lightning that erupted from the floor. The black cloud became illuminated by the rapidly spreading fire and bolts of electricity that crackled out in every direction. Sunset jumped down the staircase, taking three at a time as they began to deteriorate underneath her. “Hello?” she called upon reaching the bottom floor. Her ears twitched and she heard a faint cry of, “Help!” She recognized the voice as Milky Way, and ran forward to find him. Pillars of fire towered over her, stretching to the top of the thunderhead and raining embers down upon her. She raced in and out of the flames, heading towards Milky Way’s cries. As big as the library was, she didn’t remember the distance between the far wall and the stairs being this long. She finally found Milky Way huddled in a corner, glasses askew and the tips of his left wing burned right off, showing some bone. Sunset knelt next to him. “Mr. Milky Way, are you alright?” “Gah! Ah, it’s-it’s you!” He took a few labored breaths before calming down a little. “I-I was trying to escape when the cloud started to expand and build electricity.” As if to prove his point, more lightning danced above them, darting in and out of the cloud. “Why didn’t you just fly through it?” Sunset asked. He looked at her like a parasprite was sitting on her face. “Are you crazy? You can’t just fly through a thundercloud! It’s bad enough sitting in one!” He threw his face into his hooves. “It’s hopeless, we’re trapped! We’re both going to die in here!” Sunset gave him a rough shake. “We are not going to die here! I’ll get us out, just hold on to me!” The frightened pegasus obeyed, gripping tightly onto Sunset’s tail. She squeezed her eyes shut and pictured the outside of the library, charging up her horn as the image became clearer. Sunset felt the familiar sensation akin to being shot forward out of a circus cannon, only this time she had extra weight hanging on her tail. She opened her eyes to the bright sun glaring at her and found a great pressure squeezing her neck. “Sunset, we were so worried about!” Twilight cried. “I wanted to go back and look for you, but I didn’t know how far the fire had spread, so I wasn’t sure if it was safe to teleport inside! Are you alright?” “I will be, as soon as you stop choking me.” Twilight let go and gave a sheepish grin before seeing the bruise on Sunset’s cheek. “Sunset, what happened?” “Vesper Radiance kicks hard.” Sunset gingerly rubbed the sore spot, feeling that it had grown into a large welt. “So now I owe her one personally... scratch that, I owe her two.” Fluttershy, meanwhile, tended to Milky Way, who was staring at what remained of the First Library of Cloudsdale. It was just a billowing thundercloud now, occasionally lighting up and letting out a grumble of thunder. Any semblance to a structural building was long gone. “Mr. Milky Way, sir, are you okay?” she asked, her own wings cut up from the falling glass. “My library... my poor library... thousands of years of literature... just gone...” He sat on his knees and stared at the mass of clouds, as pegasi came to contain it. “Um, there, there. It’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said, rubbing his back, trying to avoid touching his damaged wing. Spike walked in between Twilight and Sunset. “Can somepony please explain to me how a library made of clouds caught on fire? What the hay happened in there?” “Technically, Vesper didn’t set the library on fire, just the books,” Sunset explained. “But, I think she used enchanted fire to make them burn more intensely than normal. Either way, there were enough books in there to set the whole place ablaze.” Spike nodded his head. “Okay, but could you explain that?” He pointed to the bulbous cloud formation. Sunset was silent for a moment, analyzing what had occurred. “Well, before she disappeared, she shot a spell into the ceiling. I think she might have supercharged the entire building with electricity and turned it into one giant thundercloud.” Spike threw his arms out. “But why? Why destroy an entire library?” “Probably because she found what she was looking for, and didn’t want us to find it,” Twilight answered. Dozens of pegasi were now at the scene, attempting to dislodge the static charge within the clouds, and preparing rain clouds for the fire within. News reporters and spectators were standing behind a roped off checkpoint, shouting questions at everyone gathered in front of what used to be the library. Medical pegasi flew over the security ponies keeping the onlookers away, and landed next to a still dazed Milky Way. They were about to take him away on a stretcher to tend to his wing and mental trauma, when Twilight rushed over and stopped them. “Wait, Mr. Milky Way, first I wanted to say, I’m really sorry about the library.” Milky Way lay on the stretcher, staring up at the empty sky. “It’s okay, Princess. You didn’t do it.” All of his emotion was gone, and his eyes seemed vacant of any expression. “I, um, hope you feel better soon. But before you go and rest, I need you to tell me something very important if you can.” Milky Way just nodded. “That mare that was inside before us; what was she looking for, did she tell you?” Turning his head slightly, Milky Way made eye contact with Twilight. “Almost the same thing you were looking for. She just asked where the history and mythology sections were... and the genealogy section. She came really early; I had forgotten she was there.” Twilight nodded. “Okay, just one more question: do you know what the Tempest Crown is?” He blinked at her. “Princess, that’s just an old mare’s tale. It doesn’t really exist.” “But what if it did? What could you tell me about it?” Milky Way turned his head back and looked at the sky. “The books say that whomever wore it would be King of the Skies. They could create and control the most ferocious storm, fly at tremendous speeds... they would be untouchable in the air. But it was a dangerous power, said to twist and warp the mind. So it was hidden away long ago, and it is said that the crown’s location was handed down through Commander Hurricane’s bloodline as an unwritten secret.” He looked back at Twilight with a sad gaze. “That’s all I can tell you, Your Highness. I don’t know if Commander Hurricane even has any living descendants.” Twilight patted his hoof. “Thank you, you’ve been a big help. Now please, get some rest.” The medical ponies flew off with the stretcher, leaving Twilight to join back with her waiting friends. “Well, at least we learned something.” “Yeah, the only pony who might know where the crown is may or may not be alive, and Vesper Radiance is a complete psychopath,” Spike quipped, crossing his arms. Sunset sighed, “Hopefully the other girls found a little more useful information.” Rainbow Dash knew Cloudsdale like the bottom of her hoof. She had raced through the streets more times than she could count, and then chased by the royal guards for disturbing the peace. However, she was never exactly a mare of culture, so she only had a small idea of where the Cloudsdale museum was. She and her party roamed through Cloudsdale, unsure of their exact location, though Rainbow insisted she knew where she was going. When they passed the statue of Private Pansy for the third time, Applejack finally stopped them. “Okay, let’s face it, Rainbow, we’re lost. Which is incredible, considerin’ this is yer hometown.” Rainbow scowled at her. “We aren’t lost, we’re just a little... off course. But, I know it’s around here somewhere... probably.” Rarity gestured with a hoof to the ponies milling about in the plaza they had stopped in. “Why not just ask one of them? I’m sure somepony here can tell us where it is.” “Pssh, I don’t need directions, I told you, I know where I’m going.” She flew up a little higher and squinted, looking out into the distance. She pointed a hoof. “It’s this way, I’m sure of it, c’mon!” She took off down the road without waiting for a response from her friends. Rarity and Applejack both let out irritated sighs, while Pinkie just merrily skipped along. “Cheer up, girls, how often do you get to walk around a pegasus city? We should enjoy it while we’re here!” They followed Rainbow Dash to a nearby park that even had tree shaped clouds. Foals were playing on a swing set, testing how far they could fly. Rainbow stopped under a tree, beginning to admit to herself that she had no idea where she was. I really need to visit more. She flew to the top of the cloud tree and used it as a lookout, trying to spot anything that looked like an old museum. “Do you see anything?” “Gah!” Rainbow almost fell out of the tree at the sudden appearance of Pinkie standing next to her. “How did you get up here?” “Silly, I climbed.” Rainbow facehoofed and she heard a voice from down below say, “Well, do ya finally admit you have no idea where we are?” Rainbow slowly descended to the base cloud, while Pinkie merely leapt out of the tree, landing on all four hooves and bouncing on soft floor. Rainbow rubbed the back of her mane. “Alright, so maybe I don’t have a perfect idea—” “Hey, is that Rainbow Dash?” a small voice asked. “Oh my gosh! It is, it is!” The next thing Rainbow knew, she was surrounded by a group of small foals, all clamoring and competing for her attention, while Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack were pushed to the wayside. Rainbow’s feelings of jubilation were masked by the smug grin on her face. “You’re so awesome!” “Can I have your autograph?” “Can you do a Sonic Rainboom?” “Don’t worry kids, there’s plenty of The Dash to go around,” Rainbow said cockily, signing whatever object the foals held in front of her. Applejack shook her head. “Great, just what that girl needs: more ponies to stroke her ego.” She waved a hoof trying to get Rainbow’s attention. “Hey, R.D! Ah hate to break up yer little fan club, but aren’t we supposed to be doin’ somethin’ important?” “Huh?” Rainbow handed an autographed ball back to a starstruck colt. “Oh, right, right, right. Sorry kids, but I gotta go be awesome somewhere else. But, uh, who can tell me where the history museum is?” It took a minute to decipher the location of the museum with all of the ponies talking over one another, but Rainbow eventually got the information she needed and bid her fans goodbye. The group traveled down a slope to an area where there were more clouds than buildings. Applejack caught up to Rainbow Dash and smirked. “So, finally admit that you had no idea where you were goin’?” “Pfft, I knew all along where the museum probably was; I just needed to confirm it with those kids. And make sure they, uh, know where their national landmarks are, and stuff.” There was no way Rainbow would admit that she had gotten lost in her own city. The entrance to the Cloudsdale History Museum was close to the edge of the city. The archway over the door had words engraved into it, though they were in Old Equestrian. “Do you know what it says, Rainbow?” Rarity asked. Rainbow just shook her head. “It says, ‘Fly on yesterday’s wings towards a brighter tomorrow.’” Pinkie answered. Everypony gave her a quizzical stare. She shrugged. “What? I can read Old Equestrian.” Somehow, Rainbow couldn’t find that fact surprising at all. She pushed the door open and walked inside, finding herself greeted by a large, lifelike sculpture of Commander Hurricane sitting in the center of the room. Behind it were several displays of old weapons and rusted armor. Banners hung from the ceiling, depicting a pony’s head with blue wings and stars coating the background: the old banner of the pegasus tribe. Several hallways broke off from the main room, leading deeper into the museum. The ponies approached the desk, where a light blue mare greeted them. “Welcome to the Cloudsdale History Museum,” she said in a chipper voice. “Tickets for four?” Rainbow leaned back, eyebrows raised. “Tickets? Don’t you know who we are? We’re the Elements of Harmony, we don’t no stinkin’ tickets!” The mare continued to smile at them, unphased by Rainbow’s behavior. “Sorry, Ms. Rainbow Dash, but policy is policy. All guests must have a ticket to get inside or...” She pointed to a burly security stallion standing not too far from them. “You’ll be escorted off the premises.” “Fine, how much is a ticket?” “Twenty bits each.” “Twenty bits!” Rainbow said, outraged. She knew there was a reason she never came here. “Calm down, R.D. We’re here for a reason, so we might as well pay.” Applejack  pulled a hoofull of bits from underneath her hat and placed them on the counter. Pinkie and Rarity followed suit, looking at Rainbow expectantly. She grumbled, pulling out twenty bits and throwing them on the counter. “We wouldn’t have to pay if Twilight were here with us.” The receptionist took the money and put it into the cash register before pulling out four tickets and handing them out, the smile never leaving her face. “I hope you enjoy yourselves.” Rainbow snatched the ticked and snorted. “I doubt it.” They proceeded past the counter and down the hall labeled, ‘Ancient History.’ Pictures and tapestries depicting events in pegasi history hung on the walls, each with a short description underneath it. The hallway opened up into a large square room filled with more exhibits and pictures of pre-Equestrian history. It must have been a slow day, for there was only one other family of pegasi in the room. “So what exactly are we looking for?” Rainbow asked. “Anything that might give us a clue as to the whereabouts of the Tempest Crown,” Rarity said, wandering over to a display of old war helmets. “You really think we’ll find something here?” “Well,” Pinkie pulled out a detective’s hat and a magnifying glass. “We won’t know until we look.” She scurried away, keeping her face towards the floor. “I don’t know, I think Twilight and the others might have better luck than us.” She looked at a display of a scale model of the ancient pegasus city her ancestors had migrated from. It looked identical to Cloudsdale in several ways. “Speaking of the others, Ah’ve been meaning to ask you, Rainbow. What’s with you giving Sunset the cold shoulder all the time?” Applejack asked. Rainbow scrunched her face up, still staring at the miniature city. She knew someone was going to ask her, but she still hadn’t been able to properly work out her answer. Rainbow Dash was a pony of instinct. She knew that her instincts had occasionally gotten her into trouble, but at the end of the day, they were usually right. “I don’t trust her, A.J. I can’t really explain why, just call it a gut feeling, but something about her is... shady.” “Care to explain a little?” Rainbow pulled away from the glass and started pacing the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pegasus family walk into another room, something she was a little grateful for. “Okay, so the part about the Dark Regalia checks out. But how do we know she’s really from the future? Because she says she’s Twilight student and predicts Spike gets wings? Anypony could do that.” “I don’t know, darling,” Rarity tried to reason. “She seems pretty trustworthy to me.” “Yeah, so did Chrysalis when she was pretending to be Princess Cadance.” Both Rarity and Applejack visibly cringed at the memory. Pinkie had vanished from view. Quitting her pacing, Rainbow jumped and sat in the air. “Listen, you girls know I trust Twilight, now more than ever! But she has a heart the size of Ponyville; she’ll eat up any sob story as long as it’s delivered right! I’m just trying to look out for her. For all of you. I’m not ready to blindly follow whatever Sunset has to say.” Rarity bit her lip. “Well, I wouldn’t say that we’re blindly following her...” “No, you aren’t,” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Well... you sort of are... I mean, there’s evidence supporting her story of some mare called Vesper Radiance wanting to take over Equestria. But, there isn’t enough for me to believe that Sunset is a saint trying to help the world. I mean, what if she just wants to get rid of Vesper Radiance so she can get the Regalia for herself? You heard the princesses, they’re indestructible and give you loads of crazy power! Where’s the proof that she really is Twilight’s student?” Pinkie popped out of a nearby vase. “In her eyes, of course!” Three confused faces looked at her, causing Pinkie to snort with laughter. “Isn’t it obvious? Sunset looks at Twilight the same way Twilight looks at Celestia, which is the same way a baby duck looks at their mama’s butt thinking it’s a bread crumb.” She tapped the magnifying glass against her nose. “Or maybe that’s the wrong analogy... point is, Sunset has nothing but love and respect for Twilight, and hurting her is the last thing Sunset wants to do.” Pinkie’s smile faded a little. “And Sunset’s seen something really bad happen. I could see the pain in her eyes when I first ran into her, which is why I wanted to make her party special. Of course, I try to make everypony’s party special, but that’s beside the point.” Rainbow stared at Pinkie Pie, mouth slightly agape. “You got all that from looking at her eyes?” “Eyes are windows to the soul. The longer you stare, the more you see.” Pinkie whispered mysteriously, as she sunk back into the vase. Rainbow was silent, having a rare moment where she called her instincts into question. She had seen the way Sunset doted after Twilight. Was it not an act after all? Was she really the survivor of a dead future? Part of Rainbow wanted to believe it was true, and that Sunset meant no harm, but that feeling in her gut persisted, telling Rainbow that something was amiss. Still, maybe she had been a little too snappy towards the newcomer. Applejack and Rarity watched Rainbow for a time, waiting for her to respond. A long minute passed of her just sitting in the air, staring into space with a hard look on her face. She finally opened her mouth and slowly said, “Well... maybe I have been a little cold to her. You guys trust her, right?” “Ah don’t think the girl has any bad intentions. Call it my gut feeling,” Applejack said. Rarity nodded in agreement. “And Twilight trusts her... along with everypony else. So I guess I’m the odd one out, huh?” “Being cautious is nothing to be ashamed of, dear,” Rarity assured. “Sometimes we need someone to keep us level-headed. But, maybe you could show a little less hostility.” “Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow dropped back to the floor and rubbed the back her head. “Since you guys trust her, she can’t be all bad. But, I’m still keeping my guard up.” Applejack rested a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “And nopony will fault you for that. Now c’mon, we got a search to do.” “Girls, I found something, I found something!” Pinkie came bursting into the room, her hat and magnifying glass had mysteriously disappeared. “I think I found something about the crown thingy!” Without a word, the others followed Pinkie to an adjoining room containing pictures and statues of famous ponies. Pinkie stopped in front of an old watercolor picture that showed a lone pegasus hovering in front of a wall of vicious looking black clouds that were hissing lightning and spewing rain. Something that looked like a crown was on top of their head. Rainbow looked down and read the description. “During the early days of Los Pegasus, a terrible hurricane hit, threatening to destroy the young town. Several groups of pegasi tried to turn it back, but none of them were successful. Nine of them died in the attempt. As the storm was about to break on the city, Captain Gale, leader of the stormwatch team, flew out to meet it alone, a dark crown on his head. For hours he battled the hurricane, and eventually turned it back, pushing it back to the ocean. When Captain Gale returned, the crown was gone, but he was praised as a hero, having single-hoofedly defended Los Pegasus.” Next to the picture was a statue of Captain Gale, a hoof raised, wings spread, and a crown identical to the one Princess Celestia had shown them last night upon his head. The plaque underneath it read: ‘Captain Gale and the Crown of Storms.’ “That can’t be a coincidence,” Applejack said. “That has to be the Tempest Crown!” Pinkie vibrated her head in agreement. “Uh-huh, that’s what I thought! That means we just have to go to Los Pegasus and ask the captain for the crown!” “Pinkie, did you read the date on this?” Rarity asked. “This was ages ago, Captain Gale is dead.” Pinkie’s ears drooped. “Oh.” Rarity continued. “But, this does narrow our search down a bit. The crown must be somewhere in the Los Pegasus area. If not, then our next clue certainly is!” “Alright, a trip to the beach, I’m game.” Rainbow rubbed her hooves together. Just then, the receptionist from up front came in, the smile on her face looking strained. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience everypony, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the premises.” Rainbow flew up to her face. “What! After that ridiculous fee you made us pay to get in, you’re kicking us out?” “I’m sorry, but it’s a safety issue. Since the incident at the library, all national landmarks are closed for the rest of the day, possibly the rest of the week.” “Wait,” Applejack stepped forward, concern spreading across her face. “What incident at the library?” The smile on the mare's face left, replaced by a look of fear. “From what I heard there was some kind of terrorist attack, the entire place is destroyed—wait, where are you going?” she shouted after the four ponies who bolted out of the museum. Sunset had watched Twilight try to handle the press for almost twenty minutes before Twilight was able to slip away. She only answered basic questions, keeping information about the Dark Regalia out of public knowledge. The three ponies and dragon were now making their way back to the balloon, three hours earlier than they had planned, disheartened by the recent turn of events. They continued their walked in silence, until Twilight blurted, “Who does that? Who burns thousands of years worth of knowledge?” “Not to mention history and culture,” Sunset added. She looked at Fluttershy and said, “I’m really sorry about all that.” “Oh, it’s okay... well, not really. But, I’ll be fine. Oh, that’s not to say I didn’t care about it, I cared a lot. I’m just glad nopony got seriously hurt.” As Fluttershy finished talking, a colorful bullet dropped out of the sky and tackled Twilight. They rolled across the clouds, coming to a stop with Rainbow Dash hanging over Twilight. Rainbow looked to the others behind her and back to Twilight. “Are you guys alright? We heard something bad happened at the library!” “We’re fine for the most part, Rainbow.” Twilight sighed. “The library on the other hoof....” Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie caught up, panting like they had just run a marathon. Applejack recovered first, taking in one revitalizing breath before looking at Sunset and gasping. “Sugarcube, what happened to ya?” Sunset self-consciously rubbed her bruised cheek. The welt had swollen a little, and was now purple and black. “Vesper Radiance happened. I’m just glad she didn’t knock out any teeth.” Applejack gasped again. “Ya’ll ran into Vesper Radiance?” “Unfortunately,” Sunset nodded. “She set all of the books on fire and turned the entire library into a storm cloud.” Rarity held a hoof to her mouth. “My goodness. Well, I’m glad you all made it out safe and... almost sound.” Rainbow helped Twilight off the floor, a grim expression on her face. “She turned the library into a storm cloud? How? Every building in Cloudsdale is constructed so stuff like that can’t happen.” “Well, remember, she’s wearing the Alicorn Amulet. That’s dark magic, and some rules don’t apply to it,” Twilight said. Rainbow looked off to the distance and gritted her teeth. “This girl wrecked my city.” She pounded a hoof against her chest. “Nopony messes with Cloudsdale and gets away with it! Right, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy squeaked at the sudden call of her name. “Umm, right?” “Put yer pride away for a sec, Dash,” Applejack ordered. “We gotta tell them what we found out at the museum.” Twilight brightened. “You girls found something?” Pinkie nodded excitedly. “Uh-huh. See, we found this picture of—” A bright red light struck Pinkie in the side and she dropped through the clouds like an iron weight, leaving behind a cry of, “Weeee!” as she fell. “Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow yelled, diving into the cloud after her. “What just happened?” Rarity asked, before a red light hit her as well, and she vanished into the clouds with a loud shriek. “Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy dove after her just as another light hit Applejack, followed by Spike. Before Sunset could yell their names, she felt the mysterious beam hit her as well. It was an odd sensation, like silk sliding off of her hooves. It was short lived, however, and replaced by a feeling of weightlessness as she dropped through the once solid cloud, building moisture on her fur. Only when she burst through the other side and saw the world rushing to meet her did Sunset scream. Her voice joined with several others, her friends all falling to their demise. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Fluttershy struggling to bring Rarity back to the cloud base, before she had succumbed to the injuries on her wings and began to fall as well. The wind whipped Sunset’s face, stinging her eyes and inhibiting her breathing. She tumbled through the air, losing track of what was up, and what was down; the world became an interfusion of colors. Her brain scrambled to think of anything that could pull her out of her situation, but as she fell through the open air, nothing came to mind. She became aware of a rattling noise next to her ear, and noticed her hourglass necklace trying to slip off her neck, the sand beads shaking in their bulbs. She clutched it in her hooves. Worth a shot, she thought desperately. Over the screaming wind she yelled, “Take me back, uh... ten minutes, so I can stop us from falling to our deaths!” She flipped the hourglass and waited. After several tense seconds, nothing happened. “Why you no good piece of—” Sunset’s rant was cut short by a pair of hooves grabbing her just underneath her forelegs. She looked up to see Twilight, wings flapping wildly, a strained look on her face. Sunset would have felt reassured, if they still weren’t losing altitude, albeit, at a slower rate. “Fly, Twilight, Fly!” Sunset urged. Twilight grunted. “I’m trying, but... I really don’t know how to fly yet. And you’re kinda heavy!” Ignoring the comment about her weight, Sunset screamed, “What do you mean you don’t know how to fly?” Rainbow Dash had just grabbed Pinkie, in time to see Rarity drop past her, followed by Fluttershy. She was about to breath easy, when she saw the rest of her friends fall through Cloudsdale, one by one. Pinkie let out a cry of horror. “Rainbow, we’ve got to do something!” “I’m on it!” she cried, diving for Applejack first. Even while falling through the air, Applejack managed to keep her stetson on her head. Seeing Rainbow diving to her rescue, Applejack ceased her flailing and simply held her hooves out, a pleading look on her face. Rainbow grabbed Applejack’s hoof, holding her on one foreleg while Pinkie was on the other. “Yer a lifesaver, sugarcube,” Applejack panted. Rainbow didn’t say anything. Instead, she swung around and headed for Rarity and Fluttershy, who was still making feeble attempts to fly. “Hang on!” Rainbow cried. She raced towards the two falling ponies, diving at an angle with outstretched hooves. She was beginning to feel the strain of holding two fully grown ponies. Her athletic mind told her to ignore it however, and the burning desire to save her friends told her to suck it up. Rainbow flew underneath Rarity and Fluttershy, catching them on her back. The impact forced her to drop a few feet, and knocked some of the wind out of her lungs. She took a few deep breaths and spotted Spike, cartwheeling through the air. Some distance away, Twilight and Sunset were still descending as well. Rainbow chose Spike first, knowing that he didn’t have wings to slow himself down. Her own wings were beginning to burn; her heart pounded in her chest. I can do this, I can do this! she chanted. As she drew close to Spike, she could hear his wails of fear. “Spike!” Rainbow tried yelling over his screaming. She knew it was a waste of oxygen, but it was the only way to get his attention. Spike ceased his screaming and looked up at Rainbow through watery eyes. “Grab onto Applejack’s leg!” Applejack stuck her hoof out, and Spike snatched for it, missing and scratching her instead. Applejack let loose a curse that was lost in the wind, while Spike made another grab for her, catching the bottom of her hoof and holding with both claws. He looked up at them. “Now would be a good time for those wings.” Rainbow circled back around, aiming for her last two targets. Almost there. I can do this! They were about halfway to the ground by now, and the muscles in Rainbow’s body were beginning to protest. She enjoyed pushing herself to the limits, but this was something else. She took deep breaths, letting fresh air into her lungs, and reminded herself that the pain was all in her head. She looped around behind Twilight and Sunset, quickly calculating how she was going to hold both of them. She looked down at the passengers hanging on her arms and back to the two flailing ponies in front of her. A single idea popped into her head. It’s desperate, but it’s all I got. Drawing near, Rainbow yelled, “Twilight, stop flapping your wings!” Twilight obeyed and tucked her wings in. Rainbow moved in and grabbed the scruff of Twilight’s neck in her mouth. Her neck and jaw muscles were already burning, as she pulled up, pumping her wings harder than ever to make the climb. She almost despaired when she saw how far she was from Cloudsdale. “Come on, Rainbow, you can do it!” Fluttershy cheered. Rainbow narrowed her eyes in determination and doubled her wing beats. Higher and higher she soared, pushing her closer to her goal. The rest of her friends had joined in on the cheering, encouraging her and fueling her drive for victory. Every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire, especially her wings. But she couldn’t stop. Not when she was so close. Come on, Dash, you’ve been in worse situations! The bottom of Cloudsdale grew ever larger, and though her soul told her she could make it, her body was beginning to doubt it. Her lungs burned from the limited oxygen she was receiving through clenched teeth. Her heart slammed against her chest, threatening to break through. Blood roared in her ears, drowning out her friends' cheers. Rainbow could feel her wings begin to tense up; she had never flown with this much direct weight before. Hauling the balloon was a different experience than carrying all of her friends on her back. She was almost there. Her entire body screamed at her to stop moving, but Rainbow just gritted her teeth, trying to fight past it. The cloud was less than twenty yards away; she just had to make it to the other side, then she could rest. Then her friends would be safe. Her lungs wanted to collapse, her brain began to go fuzzy, and her wings begged for release, but Rainbow continued to fight on. Almost there... She stretched her hooves out, encouraging herself to finish her flight. Her hoof scraped the vapor of the cloud when a sharp pain ran the length of her left wing. It locked up, and Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she began to fall backwards. No, no no! She flapped her working wing feverishly, only for it to finally lock as well. “NO!” She let go of Twilight and screamed along with everyone else as they fell back to the world below. “Now would be a really good time for those wings!” Spiked sobbed. Rainbow began to tear up as well, not from the pain in her body, but from the pain in her heart. I was so close... I was this close. I’m sorry guys... I failed. She closed her eyes, waiting for her gruesome end. Instead, the world seemed to flip on its head. She stopped falling for a split second before starting again, only something felt odd. She opened her eyes and saw the green fields of the Unicorn Range pushing away from her. The world suddenly became shrouded in mist before the streets of Cloudsdale appeared below her. Rainbow was then unceremoniously dropped to the floor. She rolled her head to the side, seeing the rest of her friends panting on the floor, none harder than Twilight, the light from her horn just fading away. Catching Rainbow’s eye, Twilight said between breaths, “Gravity spell. Harder to do... with more ponies.” “But why... did you jump... in the first place? You can hardly fly!” Rainbow panted. She would have sounded angrier, but that required energy. Twilight looked away. “I had to do something... I couldn’t just watch all of them fall like that.” All Rainbow could do was nod. She rested her head against the cool cloud, taking in deep breaths. Both of her wings ached, the left one threatening to fall off. She just wanted to lie there and rest, savoring the fact that she was still alive, despite her failure. Her ears twitched as a cruel giggle floated past them. She jerked her head up to see a cloaked pony standing not too far away from her. “I’d say that was impressive,” the mare said airily. “But let’s face it. An alicorn that can’t even fly? How pathetic.” “You!” Rainbow pointed a hoof at her. She tried to get up, but her body would have none of it. Sunset, however, leapt to her hooves and charged at the other pony. But in a burst of red light, Vesper Radiance had vanished once again. Sunset skidded to a stop and growled in frustration. She turned to the rest of the group. “We have to go after her!” Applejack steadily got to her hooves. “On a normal day, Ah’d agree with you, Sunset, but in fear of going skydiving without a parachute again, Ah think it would be best if we headed somewhere safer for now.” “Yes, that’s not an experience I want to have a third time!” Rarity said. Sunset sighed. “You’re right. We should probably head back to Canterlot before something else goes wrong.” Rainbow shared Sunset’s desire to go after Vesper, the feeling burned through her heart, but was overpowered by her weariness. However, it was in that moment that Rainbow felt a common bond with Sunset. Don’t worry, kid, we’ll catch her. She slowly got to her hooves, leaning on Pinkie as support. We’ll stop her. Then I’m going to wail on her so hard! Helping one another to their hooves, the ponies set off for their balloon, the majority of them hoping they would never have to step onto Cloudsdale again.