Poison Storm

by lilinuyasha

Wind's a blowin'

Rainbow Dash flew towards Ponyville at near-breakneck speeds, just short of a sonic rainboom.

“EVERYPONY GET INSIDE!” She screamed. “RENEGADE WIND STORM ON THE LOOSE!”

Twilight stepped outside of the library, looking up at the skies, a frenzied Rainbow dashing about in a haphazard fashion.

“Rainbow Dash, what’s going on?” she inquired. Rainbow took a quick moment to descend.

“There’s a renegade weather storm happening. The Pegasi didn’t schedule this, and it’s coming from beyond the Everfree. These can sometimes be very dangerous, so help me get everyone inside!” she said, immediately taking off again. Twilight scurried across the town, rounding up citizens, as a large grey cloud drew in from the west.

“Listen up, everypony!” Twilight screamed. “Get inside your houses now! There’s a severe storm rolling in! There’s not much time!”

Various background ponies scurried about in a panicked frenzy, galloping into their respective homes. The wind started blowing harder and harder, eventually to the point where Twilight hurriedly galloped back to her library, making sure to shout at any remaining stragglers she saw. She stood in her doorframe, watching the world go by. once satisfied that everypony was back in the warm comfort of their abode, she stepped inside, locking the door. She turned around, seeing the rest of her friends in there with her.

“Oh, I hope Angel’s alright...” said Fluttershy.

“Are you all ok?” asked Twilight.

“Yes, we’re fine.” Applejack piped up. “Sorry to intrude. I couldn’t make it back to the farm with this wind. Hope y’all don’t mind.”

“Yes, Darling, I do apologize as well.” Rarity spoke. “The wind would have ruffled my mane too much for my tastes. It looks good on you, though.” she added, pointing to Twilight’s head. She rolled her eyes and looked at Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, what’s this about the storm?”

“Ah. Every so often, a storm brews up that the Pegasi can’t control. It’s sort of a freak of nature thing, really. Most of the time it’s nothing more than a strong windstorm, but I’ve heard of a few twisters happening before. Things can get really bad in a heartbeat.”

“Are we gonna be stuck here?” asked Pinkie.

“Probably for a few hours, at the least.”

“Then I guess it WAS a good idea!” she added, pulling her party cannon out of nowhere, shooting off various cupcakes and pastries perfectly onto assorted tables scattered throughout the library. One lone cupcake splattered against the wall, flinging bits of icing onto the face of everypony nearby. She beamed with excitement as Twilight and Rainbow Dash facehoofed.

“Yes...thanks.” said Twilight, wiping the icing from her face. “Anyways, what does it look like this storm’s going to be?”
“Honestly,” Rainbow started, “I have no idea. From as far as I can tell, it’s just going to be a very, very strong windstorm.”
“MY BIRDS!” Shouted Fluttershy, curling up into a ball. Applejack patted her back.

“Will there be any damages?” she asked, worried about the farm.

“Picnic tables will be launched around the city, that’s for sure. Otherwise, most buildings should stay intact. It’s not a good idea to fly in this weather, that’s for sure. We’d best just stay in until it passes.”

“You said it was coming from beyond the Everfree, right?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I guess I’m trying to figure out how long we have until it hits. I’m just worried that something from the Everfree would be brought here...”

“Oh, relax. Everfree weather has a mind of its own, remember? It should skip right over it.”

“Like a hop skip and jump?” asked Pinkie.

“A metaphorical Skip, Pinkie.”

“Oooooooh...Rainbow Dash, you’re so philosophical...” said Pinkie, staring at her with a childish sense of curiosity. Rainbow Dash sighed. This was going to be a long few hours.

***

Zecora galloped back to her hut as fast as she could. The trees rattled around her, loose branches fell in her way, causing her to trip. She stood back up, her hut in sight. Once there, she shut the door, bolting it, taking a few minutes to catch her breath.

“The wind this night is very strong! The night, I feel, shall be quite long.” She stated, trotting over to her brew, putting in a few berries and whatnot she had recently collected. “Tomorrow we’ll see the results I’ve yearned, but for now, a good night’s sleep is earned.” she said to herself, carrying her torch to her bed. A window flew open from the wind, slamming against the backwall. Zecora set down her lamp, hurrying to close it. Suddenly, a storm of blue passed by the outside of her window. She looked at it curiously. “Has the world gone mad?” she asked herself. Suddenly, a blue petal hit her smack-dab in the face. She sneezed, closing her window. She looked around her floor, seeing a poison joke petal on her floor. She gasped, finding a broom, pushing it deep into a corner. She didn’t have the herbs and remedies needed to concoct the bubble bath at the moment, and the wind was too strong for her to go foraging. It would be a few hours before the effects kicked in, but by then, it would be too late. The effects of Poison joke were random, and Zecora had no idea what to plan for. She facehoofed, watching the storm from her window, hoping it would pass over soon.

***

“Alright girls.” Said Twilight. “It’s kind of late. I think I’m gonna hit the hay.”

“Don’t you sleep in a bed?” asked Pinkie.

“It was a horse pun, Pinkie.”

“Oh, I know! I just wanted an excuse to keep you up later so we could have marvelous conversations about life, death, God, and the universe!”

“...since when do you care about any of that stuff?”

“Ever since cupcakes and death became synonymous!”

“...Pinkie? What does that mean?” asked Twilight, worried.

“I have no idea! Night!” she said, instantly plopping her face down on the ground, falling asleep instantly. Everypony gave her a weird glance before shaking their head, attributing it no nothing more than Pinkie Pie.

Outside, however, a far more serious event was taking place. Poison Joke, camouflaged by the night, flew over the town of Ponyville, carried by the wind. Small seeds and spores, wrangled forth by the wind, flew across the town, invisible particles flowing through every nook and cranny of the residential areas of Ponyville. The larger petals, on the other hand, keep flying overhead. The town of Ponyville remained blissfully unaware.

Author's Note:

My first REAL attempt at a solo comedy story.