• Published 18th Apr 2012
  • 773 Views, 11 Comments

The Darkest Storm - TheReaderAndWriter



A new pony from far away finds Ponyville and himself in deep trouble when catastrophe strikes.

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Harmful

5. Harmful.

Just before Rainbow Dash hit the ground she was gently stopped by a purple glow that seemed to catch her and hold her up. It was clear that Twilight had saved her with magic.

"Rainbow! Are you okay!?" exclaimed Rarity in shock.

"These animals are all trying to steal my slippers," muttered Rainbow Dash barely aware of the situation.

"She needs medical attention! Quickly, Twilight, take us to the hospital," said a unicorn-stallion with authority.

"You got it, Doctor!" said Twilight. They were literally gone in a flash.

"Will Rainbow be alright?" asked Spike and pulled at Pinkie Pie's mane. He sounded far from confident, he sounded afraid, like a child.

"She'll be alright, she's been in more trouble than this before," said Pinkie Pie. Ivanhoe wasn't quite sure she was convinced about that herself. Spike seemed to calm down a bit, however.

"You better be a good boy and get her some of her Daring Do books, Spike," said Rarity with a encouraging, calming voice like it was no big deal.

"And write to Celestia about this too!" added Applejack.

"What are we going to do about the clouds?" asked a pegasus nearby.

"I don't know. I can't get home to Cloudsdale now! Did you see that? As soon as she tried to get above the clouds they fried them!" said another pegasus, worried.

"This is bad, if these clouds don't go away, we won't be able to make it rain. All the ponies in Cloudsdale will starve within a few weeks! They depend on the food from the ground," Windy told Ivanhoe. There was fear in her eyes and nothing but unrest in the air.

"Come on, Applejack, give these ponies some advice or something," said Pinkie Pie under her breath. Applejack jumped up on the empty stage.

"Listen up, everypony. Everything is alright! The important thing here is that we stay calm. Now, just in case, we better get back to our homes and prepare them for the worst possible thing. Let's not forget a lot of the pegasi can't fly home, so those of you that have any room, please be willing to lend our friends a hoof and shelter."

"There's plenty of room in my family's inn!" yelled Windy. Ponies cheered in response. Windy turned to Ivanhoe. "Sorry Ivanhoe, if this bugs you I'll give you a discount."

"I don't mind, you're doing what's right."

"Thank you."

"Now, everypony go home while we-" Applejack started saying, then there was a new voice.

"Not so fast! a voice yelled out. It was almost echoing in the air, it was large, filled with authority and so strict it reminded Ivanhoe of his mother. The worst thing of it all was the fact that it was coming from right behind Ivanhoe. He saw everypony in front of him suddenly bowing down in utter respect. Ivanhoe turned around and found himself looking at a mare with a coat so white it made snow seem gray like gravel. A mane flowing unnaturally in the air yet only gracefully, in several colors. The very air seemed to sparkle because of her grace. She had both wings and a horn. Ivanhoe had never seen anything like it. There was only a single thing he could say after witnessing such timeless beauty, with an atmosphere of power around her very being:

"Wow, you're tall!"

"Princess Celestia! You got my letter!" said Spike.

"I haven't actually read it yet. But I imagine it is about what is going on here. It has been happening all over Equestria. I'm trying to resolve it at once," said the princess. Wait, the princess? Ivanhoe bowed to her. He usually wouldn't bow to a monarch who's subjects he wasn't part of, but her very being seemed to beckon him to show respect.

"Our loyal subjects of Ponyville! We come here with grave news!" another voice yelled. A similar pony to the princess walked up from behind her. This one was like the darker, smaller version of the princess, however, still much taller than Ivanhoe.

"Princess Luna!" said Spike.

"The same!" yelled the other princess. Both princesses stood on the top of the stairs to the town hall, looking over their subjects.

"We are here to tell you about these clouds. If they are not stopped they will destroy the entire kingdom! Everypony who tries to get close to the clouds have been gravely harmed. Worst of all, once the clouds rain, too much exposure to the water makes ponies angry, violent, dangerous. We know that the effects are not permanent, but the damage done by the ponies might be! Avoid too much of the water for now. Save all the fresh water you can, before our drinking water is corrupted! The news have been spread over the land!" said Celestia to her followers.

"Tis not the only catastrophe! The clouds are spreading, covering more and more of the sky by the day. There were barely any clouds yesterday. Today they cover more than a forth of the sky. In less than a fortnight the entire kingdom will be out of control!" yelled princess Luna.

"What can we do?!" yelled Applejack.

"Be not afraid, our subjects! We shall be swift!" said Luna.

"There is a reason we are here specifically," said Celestia. They walked down the stairs. Celestia lifted one of her wings and wrapped them gently around Windy and walked her down the stairs. "Will you walk this way, dear?" said Celestia with a kind smile. Luna walked right past Ivanhoe who stopped bowing. Ivanhoe saw a few pegasi walk up to the area, surrounding the front of the town hall. Ivanhoe recognized them from a picture he had seen once, these were the royal guards. What are they doing here? Ivanhoe was the only one even close to the town hall at the moment. Celestia and Luna were facing their subjects. Celestia gently let go of Windy. That's when it happened. They both slowly turned around and faced him specifically. Their eyes suddenly strict, looking at him and only him. "There is always a reason for something like this. Whether it's something with ill intentions like Discord, or something scared and confused like a sister."

"You will never let that go, will you?" asked Luna with an annoyed voice.

"No."

"Are you saying there is some way that I can help?" asked Ivanhoe to the princesses.

"What is your name?" asked Celestia, ignoring his question and raised her head.

"My name is Ivanhoe Mane."

"Ivanhoe..." said Celestia.

"...Mane," continued Luna.

"Is there a problem?" asked Ivanhoe.

"No. There's only a solution," said Celestia. There was something threatening in their eyes. An intent to hurt. They both started walking towards him, their size alone seemed menacing to him. Ivanhoe felt enough fear to back away. He kept going until he bumped into one of the tables.

"Hey, you two, stay away. What's going on?" said Ivanhoe. They didn't listen, they just lowered their heads. It was threatening.

"Please just stop, what is this about?"

"Don't listen," said Celestia to her sister. Ivanhoe was quickly getting annoyed. Their size and their horns intimidated him, just as their eyes did. He looked down and saw Applejack's gift. He opened the box and took out the pie from inside.

"Would you just stop and listen up?!" yelled Ivanhoe and in frustration he threw the pie. It hit Luna right in her face, leaving a complete mess dripping from it. It didn't even faze her. A quick flick with her horn and about ten pies from the buffet levitated and were thrown right back in revenge. Ivanhoe ran, jumped and dodged them all. Ivanhoe took up another pie and threw it right back. It missed Luna and almost hit Celestia.

"Somepony stop them!" yelled Rarity in a slight panic.

"So what? They are just throwing pies. What's there to be worried about a food fight?" asked Spike.

"Well, they might hit my dress," said Rarity and tried to calm down, blushing slightly. Ivanhoe was about to throw another pie, then Celestia's horn lit up. Their eyes changed yet again, this time they were more intense. Ivanhoe knew he had seen those eyes somewhere before. Those eyes, filled with killing-intent. Ivanhoe just dropped the pie and jumped behind a flipped table and started crawling away just as the entire room lit up. Ivanhoe had to close his eyes not to go blind. When he looked around half the table was missing and there was a large round clean hole in the wall. There were still a few flames at the edges of where the beam had hit. Two of the most powerful creatures in existence, monarchs of an entire land, were trying to kill him. Very quickly, Celestia looked over the flipped table. Ivanhoe simply ran away from the spot. Luna suddenly appeared from around the table's corner. He was right in between them. Both of their horns started to glow yet again. Ivanhoe had no choice. He grabbed the tablecloth and ran away from them, straight to the window on the wall. He pulled the cloth in front of him as he jumped, the explosion behind him almost making him deaf and the force pushing him even harder. The window broke, cutting him all over, but only where it didn't hurt much thanks to the cloth. He landed on the cold hard ground. It felt like this morning was freezing, although that might have just been how Ivanhoe felt from his fear of his own probable death. The sun was still slowly rising. The cold morning air was filling his lungs. He quickly got up and started running, still with the cloth around him. He looked back, they were looking at him through the big hole in the wall. To his horror, their horns started to glow again.

"By the sun..."

"By the moon..."

"WE BANISH THE ILL FROM THE WORLD!" they both screamed with such ferocity it made him freeze up inside. Their beams intertwined, aiming straight at him. Ivanhoe tossed the cloth behind him, and in that short moment of being hidden behind it, he jumped into a small warehouse. The light from the beam pulverized the cloth.

"What did I do!?" asked Ivanhoe. Someone stronger than him would just have taken this in stride and kept on running, never hesitating, never feeling down, never feeling as alone as Ivanhoe did just then. Ivanhoe was not that strong, so it was only natural that he started to weep as he climbed up the stairs to the next floor in the dark warehouse. If only he could get to that window he saw up the staircase he could run away on the rooftops. When he got up on the second floor he heard them. They landed right outside with a large thump. They were already here. Ivanhoe tried to be quiet, but even though he was able to not say anything, he wasn't able to stop his tears. He didn't want to die.

"I know he didn't die... There something in here, I can feel it," said Celestia's voice from downstairs.

"Be wary, sister. We do not yet know what he can do."

"Listen closely, you. If you come out, we can at least promise you it will be swift," said Celestia with a decisive voice. It wasn't mean, or angry, it was just that same old authority. If he hadn't been scared to death he might even have felt compelled to comply with her.

"Are you so sure that we are-?"

"Luna, would I ask you to do this if I wasn't absolutely sure?"

"No, of course not. Apologies, my sister," said Luna. Her voice lowered with sudden respect. Ivanhoe couldn't open the window now, they would hear, they would know. They would follow him easily if he was on the roof. He simply sneaked further into the room. And eventually he just hid behind one of the many low boxes up there. Right before he heard them starting to climb the stairs he could swear he heard a window creaking. He heard them walk up to the second floor. Ivanhoe tried to stop crying, he didn't want to die without dignity, but it was so hard. He was terrified. He could feel his heart thumping so loudly he was almost sure they would hear it. Step by step they got closer. Some of the boxes were flipped over with magic. They knew without a doubt somepony was here. If he as much as raised his voice he would be dead without ever knowing why. So this would be how his life ended? A boring youth with a short adulthood and a non-existing writing career, crying in the dust of an old attic longing for the embrace of his parents? It was so unfair...so unfair. He heard the steps from somepony close, just beyond the large box in the corner he was hiding behind. Then he could hear Celestia pounce.

"There you are!" she yelled with triumph. A yell of fear could be heard and Ivanhoe was sure this was it. That's when the pony who had yelled backed up into view of Ivanhoe. Just about a few feet in front of him, against the wall, stood Windy. Staring at Celestia somewhere outside his field of vision.

"Stables? What are you doing here? You're lucky I didn't hurt you," said Celestia. Her threatening voice was gone, this one was caring and worried.

"I, I wanted to know what was going on, so I followed you here," said Windy and took a few deep breaths and lowered her head. In that moment she saw Ivanhoe lying there, in one of his worse moments. He was looking right at her, still crying.

"Have you seen this Ivanhoe Mane?" asked Celestia. Ivanhoe stopped breathing. Windy started to breathe a little more normally.

"Only at the inn basically. Why- why do you ask?" said Windy and looked at Celestia again.

"Ivanhoe Mane is a very dangerous being."

"What? How? Why?"

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry. If you do see Ivanhoe Mane, make sure you contact the royal guards. Luna, let's go back to Canterlot. We can't waste more time and the guards can handle this themselves. I wonder were Mane went."

"But why are you trying to kill somepony?!" Windy asked confused.

"We have a reason for all of this. I promise you. Stopping this coming catastrophe all hangs on Ivanhoe Mane." Then there was nothing but a flash, then they were gone. Ivanhoe slowly rose up from the dust, drying his tears.

"Thank you, Windy," said Ivanhoe. Windy kept her distance, however.

"Hold on, I just wanted to know what is going on. So? What is going on?"

"I don't know. All I know is that these clouds popped up from out of nowhere, your monarchs trying to kill me and that I have to get out of here. Ugh, I should've just ignored the party and left yesterday instead."

"So you don't know nothing about what is going on?"

"There is only one thing that has happened recently that could even be slightly related to all of this."

"Tell me."

"Well, the first night I was staying at the inn. I woke up, or, I dreamed that I heard a voice that talked about how I was chosen to save the world or something along those lines."

"A voice?"

"Yeah. As I said, it was probably just a dream."

"And it mentioned all of this?"

"It only mentioned a catastrophe and that I could stop it if I found two, no, three artifacts."

"Ivanhoe," said Windy and walked closer to him.

"Yes?"

"Look me straight in the eyes. Do you have anything to do with all of this?"

"Except what I just told you, no," said Ivanhoe. They stared into each others eyes for a short moment before she lifted her hoof and started wiping off Ivanhoe's tears.

"Well, I might be crazy. But frankly, something like this always seem to happen here. Let me guess, it has something to do with Cloudsdale and the Everfree Forest?"

"That's what the voice in my head told me."

"Well, you know what? Let's do it. If you can stop this from happening, you will be able to prove you're innocent. I really don't think Princess Celestia's right about you being dangerous. While she is often right, and is very wise...she is still just a pony. Ponies are wrong all the time. Come on, this will be us proving her wrong!" said Windy and gave him a slight punch on his front leg with a smile. Her confidence made it easier to wipe off the tears of fear.

"Alright. Let's do it. We only have to find one artifact, and if we can't. Then we'll know for sure if it was a dream."

"And if we can, then it's time to save Equestria," said Windy with a confident smile.

"But, I can't even begin to understand why she would try to destroy me. It's, is it because I'm not from Equestria? I thought your ruler was-"

"Hey, she wouldn't do that. This is probably a really, really big misunderstanding. We'll find out sooner or later."

"So what do we do now? Frankly I would rather pack my bags and get the hay out of Equestria before I get killed."

"You won't, will you?"

"I won't, but certainly not because of your monarchs. Only because of there are ponies here that might need my help, if I really am supposed to save the world somehow."

"Thank you. Now, we should get to the Everfree Forest. Nopony will go in there to look for you so you should be safe in there."

"Unless it rains. I have some things in my bag that might help me, well, might help us out. Could you get it for me? I'll stay here."

"Here? But it's so close to the town hall!"

"And Celestia and Luna just searched it. It's the safest place to be for a little while," said Ivanhoe. Windy nodded and jumped out of the window where she started to fly, low so she wouldn't get struck my the odd lightning.

***

Ivanhoe waited nearly two hours. Oddly enough, after such a traumatic time he felt safe in the silent darkness. The only one who knew he was here was her, and she would need a reason to betray him. He would rather die than give her one now. Not after she had showed such trust. Beautiful, nothing short of beautiful was that gift of trust. An entire country who probably thought of him as a threat and criminal. Yet she supported him. Lovely.

"I'm back," said Windy silently. Ivanhoe jumped, but he quickly calmed down.

"Did you find my things?"

"Sure did. Sorry it took so long but there were so many pegasi there and I just couldn't turn my back on them. One of them took your room after I cleaned it out, sorry. It's not like you need it now though," said Windy and handed him his bag. Ivanhoe looked through it.

"I don't have much in here that can- what's this?"

"What is what?"

"This, this wasn't here before," said Ivanhoe and pulled something out of the bag. It was a big cloak. Really hard not to notice, but right now it was more inconspicuous than his own face.

"Is this yours?"

"No, I've never seen it before," answered Ivanhoe and looked for anything odd on it, like a note or something similar. He found nothing. "Well, it might help. No reason to complain about that," said Ivanhoe and put on the cloak. Whoever had put it there was not important.

"Ivanhoe, listen. I saw the Everfree Forest while I was flying. We can't go in there right now."

"Why not?"

"Because the rain is pouring down there at this very moment. It will be like that for hours."

"It's just rain."

"The corrupted rain. The thing that made ponies violent," said Windy.

"Oh, can't we bring an umbrella?" asked Ivanhoe.

"It corrupts through touch. An umbrella won't help you well enough."

"How do you know that?"

"Because of the letter my father sent. My mother was in a hospital because she was one of the first who was affected. She should be better now, but he wrote how she started going mad when she stepped in a puddle. More than five seconds is enough. If we go in there, we're sure to fail. We would need an entire suit and I don't know anyone who has that."

"And we can't go to Cloudsdale. That's above the clouds. This is not good."

"Maybe we can get a talented unicorn to teleport us there?"

"That's too far even for a master as far as I know. I think the only one who could would be your princesses...not like I can ask them. And even then, how would I even stay up there? I can't fly and I can't walk on clouds."

"Walk on clouds... Walk on clouds!" said Windy with sudden excitment.

"What?"

"I have a risky idea, but with a little luck it might just work in solving how you can walk while up there. Actually getting up there would be the real problem," said Windy.

"What is your idea?"

"I heard about how earth ponies and unicorns can walk on clouds if the right condition is matched. How small can you make yourself?" she said with a cunning smile.

"Excuse me?"

***

A while later Windy was inside Twilight Sparkle's library.

"Come on Twilight! Please! I want to see if it would work! Maybe it somehow means the black clouds won't be able to touch me," said Windy.

"Windy, my spell will only affect how you interact with clouds, not the other way around. And why would you think the spell would reverse on a pegasus? I...suppose it would, now when I think about it."

"Well, I've always sort of wondered how clouds are like when you can't feel them like you do. And we might not have many normal clouds left soon. I'd want to test it before they all go..."

"Don't worry, I've been researching this all I can," said Twilight with enthusiasm.

"And you have solved it?"

"Well...no. Oddly enough, the clouds only seem to target pegasus-ponies directly. You have to be up there a few minutes before they start aiming at you if you're something else."

"Tell me about it," said Spike who was covered in bandages and drinking hot chocolate.

"Wait, so somepony who isn't a pegasus-pony could come and go through them?"

"Well, if the pony could find a hole between the clouds. Touching the clouds directly is almost deadly for everypony, pegasi or not," said Twilight.

"I'm just lucky I have these scales, said Spike.

"Well, could you try the spell anyway, Twilight?" asked Windy.

"Windy, the purpose of the spell is basically making sure ponies who aren't in the clouds will be able to be there. If I do this you would be unable to get there, in other words you wouldn't be able to fly with your wings for a few hours."

"Oh, um, well, could I test your balloon?"

"Well, alright. But be careful not to break it. It might be easy to fix for me, but it's not very fun."

"I promise I'll be careful. Oh, this is so exiting!" said Windy and jumped up and down with her bag, well, she tried to anyway.

"Alright, just close your eyes," said Twilight. Ivanhoe could from his hiding place hear magic starting up. He closed his eyes. There was a small bang. Then it was over. Ivanhoe felt oddly lighter.

"There, just don't crash. That's the least I need right now. The spell will stop working in exactly two hours."

"Thanks a lot, Twilight," said Windy.

"Balloon's out the back," said Spike. Windy went outside. When she went outside Ivanhoe hit his head hard on the door frame, but he kept silent. Windy went around the tree, and jumped into a large pink hot-air balloon. She opened her bag and Ivanhoe climbed out of it.

"Time to visit Cloudsdale. That was really uncomfortable."