'Twilight...'
'W-Wait, here, again?'
'I see you've heeded my advice.'
'I have, and I've finally figured out who you are.'
'Is that what you think?'
'It's what i know.'
'Alright then, Twilight. Who am I?'
'You're me. My subconscious, my heart, my mind; the part of me I've neglected my whole life.'
'Hmph. It seems you really have looked into your heart.'
'I did, and I found her...I found my...my true love.'
'Yes, you did, however, be prepared.'
'Prepared for...what exactly?'
'Catastrophe.'
Twilight's eyes shot open and she found herself in the embrace of Rainbow Dash. The rhythmic, steady beating of her heart calmed her nerves and she gently nuzzled further into her fur, closing her eyes. She smiled as the mare shifted to allow Twilight more room to cuddle, and happily obliged. She breathed with her, matching in rhythm and pace. Her body seemed to be on the cusp of unconsciousness when Spike let out a weak cough. The sound was intensified by the immense quiet and small space. It made her jump, scaring not only her, but indirectly scaring Rainbow Dash as well, who only jumped because Twilight did.
Twilight and Rainbow both glanced at the weary-eyed Spike, silently scolding him. He sighed and gave a half-hearted nod of understanding and an apologetic frown. He lay himself on the cold ground, shivering. Twilight frowned and lifted him up with her magic, bringing him closer to Rainbow and herself. Rainbow opened a wing to create space for him, and Twilight gently set him in between them both. Spike then snuggled between the two, sniffling and giving a small smile of satisfaction. The two mares shared a look of contentment and kissed briefly before falling into peaceful unconsciousness.
[/hr]
The library tree was not faring well, however, out in the storm. The winds were much more ferocious than they ever had been; trees, larger than before, were being pulled from their roots and flown into the air, houses had their hay roofs torn to shreds, windows were shattered into a thousand pieces, and large debris flew through the town, polluting the air with millions of deadly projectiles.
The sky was dark, shadowing the town below, but seemingly infinite amounts of lightning strikes lit it and the foreboding clouds up. The rain turned to hail and it pummeled the town below. Ponies hid in their homes, some in others since theirs was destroyed, and hoped for the best. They prayed to both Celestia and Luna, begging for some reprieve from this onslaught of wind and rain.
As the storm's ferocity grew in both power and size, the tree's bent angle increased as well. Branches began to break off and join the rest in the cyclone of detritus while the trunk of the tree began to splinter and snap. Its groaning continued, denying the wind's demand for ruination. Its perseverance endured the abuse, but it was thinning quickly.
[/hr]
The three slept in harmony while the storm raged outside. They had grown accustomed to the tree's constant groaning, so it bothered them no more. For a few hours, they lay there in a heap of warmth and satisfaction. The three souls were happy in that moment, content. They each dreamed of their own paradise: Spike, in a world of gems; Rainbow, alone in the clouds with Twilight; and Twilight, in the situation she was now, slept comfortably.
Twilight stirred, disrupting Rainbow and Spike's dream, and opened her eyes. She noted that they were still in the cellar and, by hearing alone, she realized the storm was still going on. She sighed and went to raise her head up, but Rainbow put a hoof on it, pushing her back against her body. Twilight chortled and kissed her hoof. She then moved it away and carefully placed it on Rainbow's chest. She got up, stretched, and grumbled. Her back popped and she smiled.
She looked up at the cellar door and thought about opening it to check on the storm. She wanted to know if it had subsided, or if it was still raging. With curiosity proving triumphant over her better judgement, she unlatched it and reluctanly opened it. Almost immediately, the sound of bending and warping wood deafened her. She could see her entire begin to bend with the wind. Bookcases, dishes, glass, books, papers, and other miscellaneous objects covered the floor. The hardwood floor was only barely visible.
A tear came to her eye. Everything had been destroyed, and her home was only barely clinging onto the soil that allowed her home to exist. It was hanging on the cusp of life, and Twilight felt that the same applied to her as well. She thought that if she lost this library...If she lost her work...If she lost her home...She'd lose a part of herself as well. She put everything in here: Heart, mind, body, soul, all of it. She may not have planted the tree or made it into a house, but she did make it into what it was today, and that was everything that defined her.
As the groaning vibrated her ears, she couldn't help but cry. She couldn't do anything but watch it all be torn away, literally. Loud snaps seemed to confirm her worst fears, and out of a pinch of curiosity, she peered out the window. It was hard to see, given the thick wall of hail, but she thought she could see movement in the clouds.
Then lightning struck.
Twilight's heart fell and she gasped. She slowly backed away back into the cellar, her eyes burning the horrifying image into her mind. It was a solid black vortex of dirt and debris. It almost seemed to take up the entire horizon, which scared her even more.
"That...That tornado is going to destroy this town...It's...It's going to completely and utterly annihilate us...It's...It's over...It's all been for nothing..."
She shut the cellar door and balled on the rotten wood steps that led there. She weeped for all the lives that would be lost, she wept for all the lives ruined, she wept for her friends, and she wept for herself. She choked on her tears constantly, and eventually her throat began to throb, but she didn't care. She sobbed profusely; her face was soaked. Her eyes were irritated and at some points she thought she had ran out of tears to cry, but as soon as she thought of her friends, even one, she started up again.
Rainbow's ears flicked at the increasing foreign noise until eventually Rainbow opened her eyes, still in a daze and not entirely sure what the source of the sound came from. She rose from her spot on the floor, accidentally moving Spike, and looked around. Her eyes landed on Twilight and in a flash she was next to her, attempting to soothe her. She brought her close and ran a hoof through Twilight's mane.
Twilight let it all out. Burying her muzzle into Rainbow's chest, she allowed everything to come out. She needed to and Rainbow was obviously comfortable allowing her to do so. Twilight brought Rainbow as close as possible and sniffled. It had hurt to cry, but again, she didn't care. Her throat felt like she'd swallowed a few hot coals and her eyes felt like sand was thrown into them, but she kept crying. She didn't know what else to do, she thought of herself as a baby, a wimp, a weakling, but the tragedy that was inevitably going to befall the town was more than she could bear.
"Shh, Twi, it's alright, it's alright, what's bothering you? Did you have a bad dream or something?" She soothed.
"The-The storm, Rainbow. It's...The tornado is going to destroy the entire village...I saw it...I...I don't want anypony to die..."
Rainbow Dash wanted to gasp, freak out, and fly away, but she didn't even tense. She remained calm and collective. For her. "Twilight," she began. "How large is this tornado?"
"It's huge, Rainbow. Large enough to swallow Canterlot whole!"
"Sshh..." she petted her mane. "Don't worry about it, alright? I'll protect you. I'll protect you, ok?"
"Yes! Yes, please, Dashie...please..."
Rainbow shut her eyes tightly, trying not to cry and to put a brave face on for her. "Why don't you lay down Twilight? We're safe in here. Ok? Don't worry." She pulled her chin up and smiled into her eyes, kissing her passionately.
Twilight kissed back, her eyes closed and her heart beating again. They held the kiss for a while before reluctantly breaking apart. "Alright," Twilight said weakly. "I'll lay down...but what about you?"
Rainbow's heart shattered. She knew, but she couldn't tell Twilight. "I need to use the restroom." She lied. "I won't be but a second, alright?"
"Um..but, the storm..."
Rainbow Dash wore a confident, but plastic smile. Her heart had fallen into an abyss of depression and regret, but she did it anyways. "You think a simple storm is going to stop me? HA! Come on, Twilight, have a bit of faith!"
Twilight smiled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Alright, I trust you. I...I love you, Rainbow Dash, and be careful...please."
Rainbow kissed her and smiled. "I love you too, and don't you forget it, alright?"
Twilight nodded, nuzzling her. "Please, come back...please..."
Rainbow nuzzled her back, smiling, but utterly destroyed on the inside. "I promise you, alright? Just stay in here. No matter what. I won't forgive you if you don't."
Twilight giggled through choked tears. She sniffed and nodded, breathing on Rainbow's neck. "I'll stay here, I promise."
Rainbow nodded and headed up the stairs. Before she left she turned and winked at Twilight who smiled back. She turned, unlatched the door, and walked through. Twilight then hurriedly shut it behind her, sitting near it in case Rainbow needed back in quick.
[/hr]
As the door shut, and Rainbow was on the other side, she shed a tear. She had lied to Twilight. Horribly. She wasn't going to be back. She had to save everypony, her included. She looked around and found a paper and pen on the floor. She took the pen in her teeth and began writing. She wiped her eyes of tears as she wrote and tried to make it illegible. She grabbed a piece of glass in her teeth and stuck the paper into the wall next to the cellar door.
Once finished, she darted out the window, her face twisted into a vengeful scowl. The rain and wind didn't slow her down as tears streamed from her eyes. She headed straight for the tornado, a mixture of determination, sadness, and rage burning in her eyes.
Before she reached the tornado, she flew straight up and through the clouds. Her wings were already battered by the hail, but she pressed upward. The sky above the clouds was clear and she could see the funnel. She knew what she was doing was going to cost her her life, but she didn't care.
It was one life for hundreds.
She flew higher and higher, her wings pumping as hard as she could make them. She flew until the funnel was barely visible, and then she plummeted downwards. She narrowed her body and pumped her wings harder and harder, harder than she had ever before, and it had hurt. Badly. She continued nonetheless, feeling herself gaining more and more speed. She could feel herself breaking through the sound barrier as the funnel increased in size exponentially.
The pressure on her body was immense, the speed was incredible, and she smiled as a familiar rush of adrenaline coursed through her body. She knew this would work, she knew it in her heart, and like her parents always said:
Listen to your heart.
When she reached the top of the funnel, she broke through and produced the most powerful, forceful sonic-rainboom in all of Equestria's history. It was so powerful, that all the energy, magical included, in the storm seeped into the epicenter of the rainboom, and, in a wonderful show of the spectral plane, exploded. The force of the explosion reached the town, blowing a few buildings away and knocking a few trees over, but it was brief, and soon, the town fell into an eerie silence.
The explosion was heard from Twiilght's cellar and she opened it quick and looked outside. Her heart disintegrated as she saw all the colors of the spectra fill the sky and the clouds dissipate. Her knees wobbled and all of a sudden she couldn't seem to hold herself up. Her eyes filled with tears, and her vision fell into a warped, distorted state. She cried again, but not as much as before. Deep down, she expected this. She knew Rainbow Dash wasn't the type to just sit back and watch things happen this way. After all, that's one of the things that attracted Twilight to Rainbow; her loyalty to not just her friends, but to everypony.
She wiped her eyes, sobbing still, but unable to produce any more tears, and caught a glimpse of a paper stuck into the wall. As she turned to see it, she realized that a piece of glass was keeping it there, however the paper almost ripped free. She stood up and looked at it. Her heart rose as she recognized the writing. It was Rainbow Dash's. She read it quickly.
Dear Twilight,
I know you might be angry with me, and I understand that. I lied to you when I said I would come back. I know it was mean of me, but I had to, otherwise you woudn't have let me go. You and I both know that. I'm also sure you knew good and well I couldn't just sit back and watch all of Ponyville get destroyed. I wasn't going to let some lame storm come and take everything I came to know and love away from me. Twilight, you won't see me again. I had to do some REALLY awesome stuff to stop the storm, but know that I will always be with you, right there, in your heart. And remember, that no matter what, through wind or rain, through fire and brimstone, through Tartarus and back, I will always be at your side. Twilight I loved you for so long. I've wanted to tell you for weeks now, but only last night did I decide to make my move. Please, Twilight, forgive me. I know I'm breaking your heart right now, but I'd also like to think you're proud of me too. Remember Twi, my love, to always follow your heart.
Love Always, Even in Death,
Rainbow Dash
Twilight read the letter to herself. She didn't realize she was crying until she saw a blue feather fall from the back of the letter. She swallowed thickly and looked at the sky. She strained to get her lips to form a smile. She was proud of Rainbow, and even though she knew she would miss her immensely, she also knew that Rainbow was right, that she'd be by her side for the rest of her life. She knew now, that Rainbow had followed her heart, and it had saved everypony. The thought made her choke on her tears once more, but she remained smiling as a single tear snaked down the side of her face. She took the feather and went down to wake up Spike. It was time to begin rebuilding their home, and starting a new life with a new outlook. She didn't know what life was going to throw at her, but so long as she had that feather, she knew that she'd never be alone.