Stormy Skies

by ShadowKick

Chapter Five

Scootaloo regarded the stiff wings with a baleful glare. Skeptical was not a strong enough word to describe her feelings for the poorly built construct of wood and cloth. She could see chunks of dried glue that had oozed out from between the frail looking sticks of wood, and loose stitches holding flaps of cloth together.

"Well, what do you think?" Sweetie Belle asked, a proud smile on her face.

"It's... uhm..." Scootaloo tried to think of a compliment, "It looks exciting?"

Exciting was the nicest word she could think of for plummeting to the earth.

"I knew you'd like it!" Sweetie Belle said, her voice squeaking in excitement, "Look! I even drew a picture of us on it!"

Scootaloo had wondered what that colorful splotch was supposed to be. She forced a grin. She knew Sweetie Belle was trying, but even her daredevil attitude had second thoughts about jumping from a high place with this thing strapped to her.

Applebloom trotted into the clubhouse, "We'd better try this quick. Ah think the storm's coming in sooner than Miss Cheerilee said."

"Come on Scootaloo! Let's go," Sweetie Belle said.

Reluctantly, Scootaloo followed her friends outside. She had to turn sideways to fit through the doorway, sidestepped awkwardly. Sweetie Belle was dancing in anticipation outside.

As soon as she was through the door, Scootaloo felt the wind catching on her false wings. She stumbled down the stairs outside the clubhouse, half walking and half thrown by the strong winds of the closing storm. When she reached the ground, Sweetie Belle pounced on her, checking that all the straps were tight and secure.

"You're ready to go!" Sweetie Belle said when she was done.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Scootaloo said, uncertainly. A strong gust of wind howled through the apple orchard, and Scootaloo felt herself being lifted off of her hooves.

Sweetie Belle jumped up, squeaking excitedly, "It's working! It's working!"

Scootaloo smiled too, a genuine smile this time. Without even trying, she was leaving the ground. Her heart raced, her excitement growing to match Sweetie Belle's. She was so happy, she failed to notice the insistent creaking of overstressed wood. But the loud snapping caught her attention.

The false wings collapsed around her, wood and glue giving way under her weight. The wooden frame snapped, the seams in the cloth ripped apart. The debris was caught up by the wind and carried away, leaving a few loose bits hanging off of the straps around Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle's face dropped, her eyes falling flat against her head and her eyes glittering with tears that threatened to fall, "Oh, I guess I should have used more glue."

"An maybe some nails," Applebloom said, "And stronger wood, and better cloth, and-"

Applebloom was cut off by Scootaloo's hoof in her mouth, "It's ok Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said, "It wouldn't have been safe to test with this storm coming in, anyway. We can make a new pair of wings, and I'll help you build it stronger."

"I'll help too!" Applebloom said, after yanking her face away from Scootaloo's hoof.

"I'm not sure it was a good idea anyway," Sweetie Belle said, scuffing the ground with her hoof, "I mean, we want to help Scootaloo learn to fly on her own. I don't think false wings would help her."

"Maybe you're right," Scootaloo said, "Still, it felt so awesome when my hooves came off of the ground! I was in the air! Really in the air!"

Sweetie Belle smiled, "We'll think of something to help you get there again."

Thunder rolled across the orchard, rumbling past the three friends and rattling them badly. All three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders flattened themselves against the ground. Big, dark clouds were stretching above them, moving across the sky at an incredible pace. As they watched, the clouds opened up and a torrential rain poured down on them. The rain was so thick that their manes and coats were instantly soaked.

"We should get inside," Applebloom said.

"What!?" Sweetie Belle shouted her question over the roaring wind.

"I said we should get inside!" Applebloom pointed to the clubhouse. The three friends galloped into the small structure, quickly closing the shutters and huddling together in the middle of the single room.

After a few moments Scootaloo pulled away from her friends and plopped down on the floor, sulking. It was still early in the day, and now with the storm blowing in they would have no time to try more ideas to help her fly.

"Maybe it's a sign," Scootaloo said, "Maybe we should stop trying."

Scootaloo buried her face in her hooves, muffling a frustrated groan. She was never going to fly, and she knew it. Rainbow Dash would never like her or respect her. A pegasus that could not fly, she was pathetic.

"Well that's just silly," Applebloom said, "Come on everypony, let's play a game to take our minds off of the storm."

Thunder boomed again, and the wind roared louder against the thin walls of their clubhouse. The three friends huddled together in the middle of the room again, quivering fearfully and holding each other tightly

"I don't think I'll be able to take my mind off of the storm at all," Sweetie Belle said with a tremor in her voice.

"Yeah, not if it's going to keep reminding us that it's out there," Scootaloo said.

"Waiting for us," Applebloom added.

"Hungry for us."

Sweetie Belle jumped up with something close to her earlier excitement, "Oh, I know! We can be Cutie Mark Crusaders Storm Watchers!"

Scootaloo winced as another wave of thunder rolled across the clubhouse, "I don't think being storm watchers is such a good idea.

"I agree," Applebloom said.

"Maybe we should go home," Sweetie Belle said, "I don't think a treehouse is a very safe place to be during a storm."

Applebloom went to the door, cracking it open to peek outside. The wind caught the door, blasting it wide open and throwing Applebloom across the small room. She hit the wall and fell heavily to the ground, dazed.

Scootaloo, struggling against the wind, reached the door and tried to push it closed. She strained, he eyes squeezed shut with the effort. She felt Sweetie Belle and Applebloom join her, and together the three friends shoved the door closed. Scootaloo felt for the latch and closed it, securing the door.

"On second thought, maybe we should wait for the storm to die down a little," Sweetie Belle said.

Thunder boomed again, and the three found themselves huddling together in the middle of the room again. They stayed that way for a long time.

***

Rainbow Dash wanted to cry.

It was an uncomfortable feeling for her, a feeling she did not have much experience with. The very idea of crying upset her, the thought of not only letting herself be so weak, but also letting others see her weakness, was something that shook her to the core. She was strong and brave, and she wanted everypony to know it.

She took some small comfort in the thought that her friends would not think less of her for crying. They were good friends, Rainbow knew, and she also knew it was silly to think herself weak. Everypony needed to cry sometimes. She kept telling herself that it did not make her weak. She almost convinced herself it was true.

Rainbow Dash could not cry. As much as she wanted to, she could not force her body to weep. No tears would come, no sobs would wrack her body. Not because she would not let herself cry, quite the opposite. She desperately wanted to cry, and had tried with all of her will to make herself do so. But her body refused to cooperate.

She stared out of eyes that were no longer her own. Floating in the eye of the storm, her eyes swept around to take in the remains of Cloudsdale. She could feel the muscles in her neck tense as her head turned. She could feel her eyes rotate in their sockets. She watched her sightline sweep from left to right. And she had absolutely no power to control it.

She thought back to all the times she had choked back tears, had forced herself to maintain her strong outer shell. Now that outer shell had been stolen from her, taken over by a malevolent creature of storms and rage. All that remained of Rainbow Dash was the weak little pony within, the little filly who had cried herself to sleep the night before Summer Flight Camp, the scared pony that had nearly broken down in tears at the Best Young Fliers competition. The weakling who lived in constant terror of failure, always afraid that someone would see through the shell to the fear within.

And she had failed, in the most important thing of all. She had let down her friends. Summer Flight Camp, the Best Young Fliers competition, the only thing on the line there was her pride, her hopes, her dreams. If she had failed, it would have hurt, but it would have only hurt her. But this new failure, this would hurt all of her friends.

They would need the Elements of Harmony to stop a being this strong, and they would need Rainbow Dash to use the Elements. But Rainbow Dash was no longer Rainbow Dash. Her body was gone, and she was now just a frightened presence pushed to the edges of her own mind.

She wanted to cry so very badly.

Ponawk finished observing the storm and turned her attention inward. Rainbow Dash could feel the alien presence probing her thoughts, reading her memories. It hurt. Not just the pain of failure, with each memory Ponawk delved into Rainbow felt a shock of burning pain flow through her mind, so intense it was nearly physical. Her screams of anguish were silent, and her face remained perfectly calm, except for a slight upturning of her lips. Ponawk smiled.

You surprise me, Ponawk thought, Most ponies completely lose themselves when I take over. You have an impressive will.

Why why why why?, what remained of Rainbow babbled incoherently, Please make it stop! It hurts so much please help me!

Pathetic, so much potential and yet still so weak, Ponawk thought, Perhaps it will comfort you to know that this will not last much longer. You've hung on for a very long time, but they all fade in the end. Even now you are slipping away.

Rainbow could not summon the mental effort to form another coherent conscious thought. She felt Ponawk probing her mind again, and felt memories of her friends being ripped away for careful study. Ponawk was learning. With each memory, the weather spirit learned a little more about Rainbow Dash. She learned how the cyan pegasus would act and react, how she interacted with her friends. Ponawk examined every interaction Rainbow had had with her five friends.

Rainbow tried to resist. She tried to hold the memories away from Ponawk, but the weather spirit yanked the memories away at will. Rainbow's best efforts had little effect, and the best she could do was pick which memory went next. One by one she fed her more cherished memories to the undeniable will of Ponawk, each one continuing her pain, each one coming back stained, tainted by the touch of another mind.

This seemed to go on for an eternity, and all the while Rainbow screamed and sobbed silently, not even a hint of fear or pain in her physical eyes. Eventually the pain stopped, when Ponawk finished with her memories. Rainbow watched the world shift around her as Ponawk looked around. Her lips curved up again when she spotted a small group of Ponies emerging from the storm far, far below Cloudsdale. They were surrounded by a brilliant purple shield, which collapsed as soon as the group was clear of the storm.

Ponawk leaped off of the cloud, plummeting in a mad dive for the group of ponies. She put on a look of desperation, covered poorly with a mask of bravado. As they approached the ground, Rainbow Dash found that she recognized the figures below. Her fellow Elements of Harmony, her friends, and two majestic alicorns. They were looking all around, until one of the spotted the pegasus and pointed up, with all of the others following the pointed hoof with their gaze. Seven sets of eyes watched Rainbow Dash land hard on the grassy ground, breathing heavily and glancing nervously towards the sky.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, taking a cautious step forward.

"Thank Celestia you guys came!" Rainbow Dash heard and felt herself say, "That crazy weather spirit has been chasing me all over the place! I tried to get away, but the storm is too strong- I mean, I overworked myself earlier and I need a rest before I can fly though that storm again."

Applejack stepped forward now. The strength of Ponawk's uncertainty was so great that Rainbow Dash could feel it. Applejack, the Element of Honesty, was the greatest danger to Ponawk's plan. If anypony could spot the lie, it would be this one.

"Are ya sure you're all right?" Applejack asked, eying her friend suspiciously, "From what we know of this Ponawk, she can take over a pony's body and make 'em do whatever she wants. How do we know you ain't her?"

Not a trace of Ponawk's nervousness showed as she struck a smug pose and said, "I'm the Element of Loyalty. It'll take more than some grumpy old weather spirit to turn me against my friends."

Rainbow Dash wished with all of her heart that that was true. This was a crucial moment, she sensed. If her friends discovered the truth, they might be able to save her. She had to signal them somehow. She bent all of her will towards moving her mouth, to making words form and flow and inform her friends of the danger they were in. She poured every drop of her friendship and loyalty into the effort.

Applejack nodded, then smiled, "Well, we're glad you're safe! We need to get out of here before Ponawk shows up."

"Good idea," Rainbow Dash found herself saying, "We can regroup in Ponyville, and Twilight can figure out a plan to save us."

Rainbow Dash redoubled her efforts to give some sort of signal to her friends. She stopped trying to talk, and instead tried to scream. To cry out, or even just cry. To make tears run down her cheeks. To blink. Her body refused to respond.

She felt her mind tiring. Little pieces slipping away. For a moment she forgot why she was trying to blink, until her the faces of her friends reminded her. Rainbow felt her mind growing weaker. She was fading, just as Ponawk had said would happen. She watched as her friends all smiled, accepted the false Rainbow Dash into their group. She watched as Celestia offered to maintain the shield spell for the walk out, and Twilight thanked Celestia for the chance to rest. She watched herself enter the storm with her friends, the raging winds held at bay, for the moment, by the princess's shield.

All the while, she felt Ponawk's growing excitement, her growing surety that even the Elements of Harmony would be powerless against the storms. Rainbow Dash felt the weather spirit's joy, and underneath that the slight feeling of a powerful anger being satisfied.

Rainbow Dash wanted to cry.

Comments

[edgelesspigeon]

Wow, this is really good.