//------------------------------//
// 4. Twilight Sparkle: A Harrowing 
// Story: Rise of Ponietheus 
// by twitterdick 
//------------------------------//

	And so, just like that, Twilight Sparkle found herself in her old library. She browsed over those books in her mind; those relics of the past preserved, reposed and enshrined. And so it was her immediate past stood before her - her five friends all aligned among the books. It had been weeks, but the burdens of responsibility had stretched the feeling of the length beyond scientific count. Twilight felt closer to the books than ever - shelved, repurposed.
Her reunification with her friends went pretty much as it had in her daydreams. There were long overdue words, greetings, hugs and displays of mirth. Her friends had thankfully retained their ability to mitigate her feeling that she was a utilitarian instrument. This was a meeting of business, not pleasure, but Twilight allowed herself spare time for fraternization before subtly steering the conversations towards the business.
Spike was there, having hand delivered Luna's message. And Discord too, though he was less than eager to participate. He sat in a easy chair a comfortable distance from the rest, tapping his fingers and sporting a sly grin like a filly on a field trip. Twilight Sparkle was the only pony he really acknowledged in that place. They were both servants of royal duty, they just bore different chains. Twilight exhaled. She found responsibility quite heavy.
She spoke of the cloud.
"Well, I for one am glad the Princess is concerned," Applejack said, "That storms been gatherin' for near three days. It's changin' the air, I tell ya! The crops ain't respondin' well to it, and if it wasn't for the extra food we got stashed away, we prob'ly wouldn't 've met the quota for this month!"
"The weather has certainly changed around here," Rainbow Dash said, "The clouds sure are getting stubborn. They won't listen to us, and more and more keep popping up out of nowheres!"
"The critters have all vanished…" said Fluttershy, "I don't know if it's connected, but it sure has me worried."
"Oh, whatever it is, it'll be a doozy!" Pinkie Pie said, "My knees have been pinchy all day!"
"…Not to mention what this weather is doing to my hair!" Rarity said, smiling jokingly.
Discord appeared before them on the table, smaller than usual. He feigned an impoverished look. "Your hair!? We're doomed!" he mocked, "Make for the hills before ponies start eating each other!" He then snapped back to his chair. He was quite pleased with himself. Rarity shot him a glare that could light a forest on fire.     
"Discord, knock it off!" Twilight said. Discord clucked his teeth merrily.
The low rumble of distant thunder filled the room. Attention was shifted to a nearby window, with a few view of the storm. The storm raved in the distance rather somniferously. Pinkie Pie's knee pinched, her eye twitched and she shuddered. "Ooooh," she cooed, "Now that is spooky!"
"Well, I think what we really need is a plan," Applejack said, "Don't you agree, Twilight?"
"Yeah, Twilight! What should we do, huh?" Pinkie Pie said.
"Yes, what are your orders, Ms. Leader?" Discord said.
'I never asked to be the leader,' Twilight thought.
"Well, that storm is still a couple miles away, so walking there would be a waste of time," Twilight said, "…and besides, we don't want to be caught unprepared. Somepony should see to it that the folks in town are both warned and ready for conflict. So how's this; Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Discord and I will fly up to the storm and check it out. The rest of you will warn the townsponies and make sure we have enough supplies to weather this thing should it get ugly. Agreed?"
"Yeah, that's sounds fine with me," said Rarity.
"Oh boy!" said Pinkie Pie, "I get to visit everypony again today!"
"Well, I guess I can put up with Discord for at least a little while…" Rainbow Dash said.
"Why, my feelings, Rainbow Dash…" Discord said, "I don't believe I've ever done anything to deserve your vehement verbal abuse!"
"Oh really?" Rainbow Dash said sneering, "Would you like for me to list the things you've done to earn my vehe-… uh, verbal abuse!"
"No, no - you've offend me quite enough for one day…" Discord said.
Rainbow Dash steamed. Fluttershy came up next to her. "Don't let him get to you," she said, putter her hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, "He's a real sweetheart when you get to know them."
"Fluttershy, you think everypony is a sweetheart when you get to know them."
"And that's because they are!"
Spike approached Twilight, rubbing his arm nervously. "Uh, promise you'll come back safe, okay?" he said.
Twilight smiled, and nuzzled him. "Oh, Spike, we're investigating spooky weather! I mean, what's the worse that could happen?"  

---

The violent state of the skies in the northern mountains had spread southward like spilled water stretching itself across a table. One by one, the blissful white clouds of the ordinary sky sacrificed themselves to the outreaching storm's might. A deep rumble shot underneath the existing soundscape like a splinter. The wind picked up the closer they got, and the air stunk of unnatural. The wind swept at the approaching party, firmly discouraging their course. Twilight lead the search party. She was weak to the wind, stumbling before its sweeps. Rainbow Dash, the stronger flier, drifted next to her. She braced for Twilight, helping her stand against the wind. 
"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Twilight asked. 
"Never," said Rainbow Dash, "There's definitely something off…"
"So, do we really know anything about this big scary dark thing we're flying towards or are you bunch just throwing yourself at a problem you don't fully understand like usual?" Discord called from the back, raising his voice against the wind.
"Concern noted, Discord," Twilight said.
"Something about that cloud has really got Princess Luna concerned," said Rainbow Dash, "She's our leader, so we're investigating for her. That's what loyalty is, Discord."
"Oh, well, I apologize for seeking information!" Discord said, "But when I was the villain, I had a clear plan of action. But, as I am a good guy now, blind exuberance it is!"
Fluttershy huddled behind Discord as they flew. Taking notice, Discord peered behind his back at her. "What on Earth are you doing back there?" 
"Oh, just watching our flanks!…hahhah…" squeaked Fluttershy. A nearby lightning strike cracked the sky before them, sending Fluttershy back to her hiding spot. 
"Stupendous!" quirked Discord, "Backed by the adorable coward and an idiot. Twilight, think these things through!"
"This isn't right, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "Storms don't behave like this!"
"It seems… autonomous," Twilight said.
The darkness beneath the clouds seemed to crawl. The closer they moved, the thicker the atmosphere. The wind picked up, raving at them. 
"Well, we certainly got a look at it! Definitely not a good thing," shrieked Fluttershy among the winds, "Better head back now!" 	
"You might be right on this one, Fluttershy…" cooed an Rainbow Dash, slowly pulling away from the approaching mass.
Twilight's words fell away. She braced herself against the winds, allowing them to brush over her like ocean waves. She stared into the storms, and the darkness beneath them. There was something there - a figure maybe. There was maybe a murky figure nearly out of sight. It rose like a shadow on smoke. 
As Rainbow Dash sunk away, Discord approached. He moved up beside Twilight, eying in the same direction. "What is that?" he wondered.
"Whatever it is, it's getting closer…" Twilight said.
The winds died down, taking the sound with them. Twilight heard only her breathing. Her heart raced, and she could feel Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shouting behind her, but no words. There wasn't any sound but her breathing. She peered up at the clouds, sinking into relative awe at how they conglomerated - how they slithered across the skyline. The lands beneath fell dark. She felt a rumble deep in her ear, then, from a voice she had never heard before, a whisper - to the left.
Her head snapped left, and her body rotated accordingly. She was looking backwards now. She could see Canterlot in the distance. Sound slowly poured in. She looked down and saw a river. It flowed south through green lands until it reached her home. The river was a pathway. Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and exhaled, listening again for that voice. She had only understood one word; Plague.
"…Twilight," Discord said. His voice became all she heard. "Twilight, I think we're in trouble."
She turned back towards the shadows and both heard and saw wings beating against the air. Dim light, like fire in a virulent cave, emerged near the top of the murky figure. It was anything but distant now. The light grow to fire, and Twilight saw a horn and an eye. It was a spell.
The sound, the wind; it all dropped back into place. Twilight pulled away. She screamed, "Back!!!"
A bolt of fire shot from the figure and shook the sky between Twilight Sparkle and Discord. The fire ignited the sweeping hands of the wind, which batted Twilight away like a pest. She felt the heat and hollered. The fire trickled away from her. It swept towards Discord and swirled around him like a serpentine's tail. It did not make contact, but spiraled like a cage. Discord panted heavily, but froze. His hands where trembling.
"Not good! Not good, very bad!" Discord cried. He turned to Twilight. "Run! Run!! Get out of here!" 
A indiscernible shout bellowed from within the darkness, and the fire-ensnared Discord was hurled into up the atmosphere and blasted away, off into the deep south. Thunder was heard, and lightning stretched across the clouded skies. The storms advanced farther and faster. The figure in the distance remained suspended in air, its attention fixated in their direction. Darkness slithered overhead.
"Discord!!" Fluttershy shouted. All her attention was upwards. "Twilight, what's happening!?"
"I said BACK!!" Twilight shouted, whipping around and pushing herself away. "Make for the library and do NOT stop until your inside!"
And so they struck out south into the wilderness as the skies erupted behind them. The flame that had taken Discord was far to the south now, shining bright above the clears skies of Ponyville. The clouds stretched out above them like the arms of a great beast, deterring their path with wind and sound. Rainbow Dash was in the back, using some of her strength to push Fluttershy along, and Twilight flew before them. The darkness pounded at their peripheral, and soon the clouds began to seem a black, moldy mass. The clouds hurled pillars of the dark mass at the three as they fled. They were akin to molten hailstones, artillery from heaven that dripped and trickled like a leak in the ceiling. 
Twilight's attention shifted up.
"Eyes up!" she warned.
When and where the black pillars left their births was completely arbitrary. They would drip and fall into the wind, and be hurled upon them. Twilight felt her own panic set in - the panic that shuts everything down save the calculus. The sounds dropped off again, and it was all about moving; dodging, drifting, shifting. 
"She's hit! Fluttershy - she's hit!!" Rainbow Dash had screamed.
Twilight broke calculus and glanced over at the two. Surely enough, a pillar had struck Fluttershy. The darkness was attached at her left side, and it pulsated. Fluttershy's eyes painted her thoughts - she couldn't even make a sound.
The calculus snapped back. "We do NOT stop until we're at the library!!"
The town was in sight, and the library right after. The wind shot to a new direction. The thick hand of clouds shifted course, taking a sharp left as they flew on forward. Twilight cared little for its destination. The town was in sight, and the library right after.
They touched down. The skies raved behind them, but diverted course for Canterlot. Twilight couldn't catch her breath. She felt so dizzy. Fluttershy shook and danced wildly, trying to shake off the eldritch darkness that had clung to her. Rainbow Dash's eyes were alight.
"What is it!?" Fluttershy cried, "Twilight, what is it? How do I get it off!?"
"Calm down, Fluttershy!" said Rainbow Dash.
"It's so cold! I can't… I can't…breathe…" Fluttershy said. She leaned against Rainbow Dash with her uninfected right side. Her eyelids drooped. Her breathes were shallow.
"Get her inside!" Twilight barked, "Lie her down, get her water, help her calm down. Be gentle, Rainbow Dash. Don't touch the black spot, not until we know what it is."
They burst into the library. Fluttershy was in hysterics. Rainbow Dash held her and laid her down on a couch, but was careful not to touch the dark spot on her flank. Twilight thought. She browsed the library catalog in her mind, thinking if any book she had read discussed, or even mentioned whatever the darkness was. Rainbow Dash was shouting at her, barking her wonder. Fluttershy was sobbing, curled up in herself. Twilight Sparkle shut out the sounds, and heard only thought. He knees were shaking. Her mouth was dry. Her eyes were burning.
Answers would not come. She had no plan, no course of action. She didn't even know where to begin. She felt the cold rush of a paradoxically calm panic settling upon her stomach like a slow glacier, and her heart beat pounded in her ears. She then heard a ringing among the rush. Then a clap of thunder. She couldn't see the room well. She then felt so tired. Twilight exhaled and crashed to the floor.