Ode of Silver

by Twilight Genesis

Chapter 1: The Storm Begins

“What do you mean we can't divert the storm?”
“I mean we can't stop it. We've tried pushing it off course, kicking out the clouds, even creating a tornado to try and break it apart. Nothing works, it just keeps on growing. At this rate it will hit Ponyville in just a few hours!”
"This can't be happening. No storm, not even one from the Everfree Forest, can defy pegasus weather control. Yet this one does. What gives?”

The blue pegasus sighed in frustration as her subordinate sped off to rejoin the other pegasi. Nearby the sound of thunder rolled out from a great mass of storm clouds that were as dark as the night sky. The storm was larger and fiercer than any other that the young pegasus had ever seen. If it continued going like this then she was going to have to warn everyone, and fast! A storm like this could easily wreck Ponyville if nothing was done to protect the town. She looked off into the distance. There was some distance between her, just beyond the border of the Everfree Forest, and the town but still. It was growing fast, and gaining ground quicker than she had believed possible.

“Cloudkicker!”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash?”
“I need you to alert Miss Mare. When this storm hits, it's gonna hit hard. Everypony needs to be prepared. Do whatever she asks of you got it? Take the rest of the weather crew with you, there's nothing more we can do here.”
“What about you Rainbow Dash?”
“I'm off to talk with Twilight.”

The two pegasi saluted before speeding towards the Town Hall. Rainbow, on the other hand, set her sights on a large oak tree that rest on the side of Ponyville, housing the towns library. Ever since the Summer Sun Celebration a year ago, it has been the home of one Miss Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn from Canterlot and the elder ruling Princess's own personal student. Twilight is both smart and magically gifted, if otherwise a tad oblivious. Regardless, Rainbow Dash was sure her dear friend would know what to do.

---

“Are you sure it's ok for me to stay here Twilight?”
“Yes, I'm absolutely sure, Junebug. After all I couldn't just let you walk home through this nasty storm. Even with the protection spell in place the winds are still strong enough to tire you out before you even got half way home!”
“Thank you, Twilight,” the yellow-green earth pony smiled sincerely. She had never really spoken to the purple unicorn on more than a handful of occasions, yet she treated Junebug like she would anypony, with kindness and friendship. Junebug couldn't help but feel respect for the young mare. Especially since it was through Twilight's efforts and researching that the unicorns in Ponyville were about to conjure up a new spell to protect the town from the horrible storm which had recently laid siege to the humble village. Junebug sighed as she looked out the window, attempting to see through the heavy rain. At least her flowers wouldn't need a good watering for at least a week after this.

“Hey, Twilight, just got a message from the Princess!” a familiar voice called out from the kitchen, attracting the attention of both ponies in the room. Soon a small purple scaled creature with green spines came rushing out from a side door, clutching a roll of parchment in his hand. Junebug had heart that Twilight's assistant, a baby dragon named Spike, could send and receive letters from Princess Celestia due to his magical fire-breath, but had never seen it actually happen. Perhaps tonight she'd finally get to witness it, her curiosity starting to rise as the purple unicorn gripped the scroll in her magic and levitated it before her, quickly reading and re-reading it. If it was from the Princess it must have been quite important, and it's contents only made Junebug even more curious.

“So, uh, what does it say Twi? Oh huh, ah hi Junebug. Sorry I didn't see you there, how are you?”
“Oh hi Spike. I'm doing well, yourself?”

Before Spike could respond Twilight gasped and began to rush about the room in a hurry. Spike had to jump out of the way to avoid getting trampled as various objects started flying across the room towards the now flustered unicorn. Twilight settled her saddlebags on her back, packing several books into them while she searched the shelves for ones she couldn't recall the placing of.

“Whoa, calm down there Twilight. What's the matter all of a sudden?” Spike asked, trying to calm his friend. Junebug backed up against a wall, partly stunned by the sudden change in the unicorns behaviour, partly frightened by it. There was no mistaking it now, whatever was in that letter from the Princess must have been incredibly important to bother the usually calm purple pony like this.

“Oh Spike, the Princess has sent me a summons! A SUMMONS! Do you know what that even means? It means she wants to see me to discuss something of the utmost importance! I cannot simply make her wait, I need to get going now.”
“But what about the storm? You said yourself it would be too difficult to even cross town without becoming exhausted. How do you plan on getting to Canterlot in this weather?”
“I know I said that Junebug, that's why I'm going to have to use my magic to teleport myself out of here.”
“Teleport? Out of Ponyville? ALL THE WAY TO CANTERLOT?! Are you crazy Twilight?”
“Spike please, don't be over dramatic. Of course I'm not crazy, and I'm not going to try teleporting my way straight to Canterlot. I'm going to get as close to the edge of the storm as I can. From there I can walk to the next town and get a train back to Canterlot. True it would be faster if I could teleport all the way to the Princess, but I'm not going to risk it.”
“Wait, but, if you're leaving now... then what about me? Are you sure I can stay here while you're gone?”
“Don't worry Junebug, I'm sure it will be fine. It's not like you're going to wreck the place, and Spike will be here with you. Just ask him if you need anything, I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime just sit tight, I'm sure the storm will be over soon.”

“Yeah sure, because it's just weakening by the minute,” Spike muttered under his breath in a sarcastic tone. Junebug giggled a little at his comment that Twilight seemed too busy to hear. Saying one last goodbye the purple unicorn's horn flashed brightly and in a pop the magic using pony was gone. Spike sighed as he began to walk around the room, picking up books Twilight had discarded in her hasty search. Junebug looked around, trying to spot any clues as to what was so important that the Princess had to speak to Twilight in person. Unfortunately none of the discarded books appeared to have any relation to each other, and Twilight had taken the letter she received with her.

“So~ what do you usually do around here for fun?” Junebug asked casually, kicking a hoof at the ground nervously. Considering how rare it was for anypony aside from Twilight and Cherrilee to borrow books from the library, Junebug couldn't help but wonder if she was the first pony to be stuck in the library alone in a long while. Well almost alone, Spike was still with her after all.

“Well Twilight just studies all the time, and I run errands. I think we have some boardgames somewhere though. Care for some chess?” Spike answered, pausing for a moment to think about the question carefully. Junebug smiled half-heartedly, this was not how she had expected her day to go.

---

“Ugh, where... where am I?” it felt like the very thought of it made him weaker. He stumbled as he stepped into a muddy puddle that was deeper than expected. He tried to right himself but toppled under the weight of the pouring rain. Mud splatted over his body with a splash, clinging to his hair despite the mighty cold shower he was still receiving. He groaned with effort as he pushed himself back onto his hooves. He blinked slowly, trying to focus his blurred sight on what was ahead of him. He could tell he was nearing the edge of the forest now, the trees and undergrowth were far less dense here, and it appeared as if he had wandered onto an old path. It looked like it had not seen a traveller's hoof in many years, being overgrown with weeds, grass, tree roots, and other such foresty things. Still it seemed strange that he had not spotted any wild animals yet, even though he had been walking for what felt like a day and a half. For all he knew, he had been walking that long. Until now the forest just looked the same under the fierce grip of the storm. No sun or stars to guide his way, just dark clouds and bright lightning occupied the skies.

“That looks like the way out,” he mused, trudging forth once more. His emerald green eyes blood shot and stressed from exhaustion and the bitter cold winds. Other than the weight of it in his mane the rain had yet to really bother him, but damn these winds were a hindrance and a half. They pushed against him, stung his eyes, blew dirt and loose leaves into his face, almost as if they didn't want him to leave. Too bad for them he didn't like the idea of anypony, or even any natural occurrence, telling him where he could and could not go. He clenched his teeth as he summoned more strength into his legs, pressing on with an almost grim determination.

It wasn't before long that he emerged from the shadows of the trees and into a vast open field. He blinked again, trying to keep focus as he looked about. The field went on for as far as he could see, well at least as far as he could see through the thick sheets of rain plummeting from the sky. In the distance he could make out something that look odd against the rest of the scenery. A cluster of darker coloured blocks, probably the outer lying buildings of a small town.

“It's better than nothing,” he muttered, deciding that it was his best shot for shelter that wasn't the forest. It was dank and smelly before the storm had set in, now it was more so. On the plus side, if it was a town then perhaps its residents could help him, assuming there were any. He frowned at the idea of stumbling into a run down ghost town, bringing back memories of a ruined castle he had passed on his way through the forest. That place felt like it had been touched by evil, and the possibility for running head first into another such location didn't sit well with him.

“Like I have a choice,” he snorted in mock annoyance, feeling more apprehensive about his choice to leave the cave at the base of the mountain now than ever before. As if on cue the wind picked up in strength, trying to force him back into the forest. He reared up and whinnied in defiance, a flash of lightning lighting up the sky in an explosion of blue light. The wind died down again quickly, though seemingly with reluctance. He cocked an eyebrow, not quite sure what had just happened, but chose to not question it. Quite frankly he was getting tired of making choices as quickly as he was getting tired of the storm.

“There is definitely something not natural about this weather. But it's not going to get the best of me,” he shouted as he lowered his head and pressed on. He began to pick up speed until he was in a full gallop towards the town. Whatever was waiting for him, it wasn't going to be waiting for long.

---

Junebug sighed as she stared out the library window at the cold, hard rain. It had been quite some time since the storm had hit Ponyville and yet it still raged on without falter. As if some greater force wanted to try and flood the harmless town. Behind her Spike was busy rearranging the shelves according to Twilight's latest layout plan. Neither of them could think of anything to talk about, and they had long since become bored of 'Monopoly: Manehattan Edition'.

“Spike, do you think Twilight will be back any soon?” She asked, trying to break the increasingly uncomfortable silence. Spike sighed and placed the pile of books he was holding onto a desk. With a scratch of his head he turned to face Junebug and took a moment to think about his response. Junebug wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing that he had to consider his answer, though she doubted it would make Twilight return any sooner, or stop the storm for that matter.

“I honestly don't know, sorry Junebug. If I knew how far the storm extended and how far out Twilight teleported I might be able to make an educated guess, but even if I did it would take hours to walk to the next town regardless. I just hope she's ok out there,” Spike slumped a little, obviously uneasy about the idea of Twilight going out in these conditions on her own. It was times like these that really showed how much he cared for her. Unfortunately it was obvious that there was no way to tell how long Twilight would be gone for. Spike grunted a bit as he returned to reorganising the shelves, the conversation having seemingly ended prematurely.

Junebug kicked at the ground again, realising that she had started to leave an imprint of her hoof on the ground but not really caring too much. The book crazed Twilight was very unlikely to notice or care about such a thing. That is, unless the Princess decided to pay her a visit.

“Oh you stupid storm, why won't you ju... SPIKE!”

“Huh? What? Junebug are you ok? Did something happen?” Spike asked quickly, startled by Junebug's cry. He dropped the books he had just picked up and rushed over to the window. Junebug just stood staring out into the storm, her hoof pointing at something beyond the glass barrier that kept them safe. Spike raised an eyebrow, realising that Junebug was fine, before following her upheld hoof.

“Huh? Is that a pony? What is he doing out there?” He questioned, utterly baffled by the silhouette that was hobbling along, barely visible through the rain. Junebug shook her head, as confused as Spike was, and obviously concerned for the strangers well-fair. If they had to take a guess the unknown pony was hurt, or drunk, judging by the tired stumbling way he walked. Spike turned to Junebug, about to ask if she could recognise him, to find her rushing to the door.

“Junebug, what are you doing?”
“I'm going out there Spike. He's obviously tired, maybe even hurt. I can't just let him wander around out there on the off chance that he makes it into town.”
“But what about you? You could get hurt! Twilight wouldn't forgive me if I let you go out there on your own.”

“Then come with me, either way I'm going,” Junebug steeled her nerves. She thought she must have gone crazy from being cooped up all day, she would never normally dare to do something like this. However part of her was screaming at her to go, as if it was vitally important. As important as a summons from the Princess even. She gave one last look at Spike, who nodded grimly as he dashed over to her side, before flinging the door open and charged towards the mystery stallion, shouting for his attention.

---

He blinked warily as he slowed his pace, not entirely sure if he regretted using the energy to arrive at his destination faster. It was entirely possible that had he walked he would have been worn down by the weather long ago and still far from the town. Still, he had barely reached the edge of the cluster of buildings, which were now in better focus than before. The rain did make it difficult to make out most details but it did appear as if the place of inhabited. Brightly coloured homes and shops could be seen deeper into the village, and carefully groomed gardens littered the sides of streets. Sadly the rain had done it's best to flood everything, while anything lighter than a chair was tossed about by the wind.

“Ok, now just to find somewhere to take shelter. Surely no-pony would sentence a fellow to wander the streets at a time like this,” he barely managed to crack a faint smile as he stumbled in yet another mud puddle. By now he was almost entirely plastered with mud, twigs, leaves, and other such small debris. The most notable thing was the entire small bush that his tail had gotten tangled in and, for lack of a better solution, uprooted. Oh well, it would have to have wait until he found shelter, it would only prove to be more and more difficult to remove the bush out here.

“Dammit, no energy left,” he muttered with a groan, stumbling more and more as he forced himself to move closer to town. He could see a large oak tree off to one side. He could have sworn that a door at the base of the trunk had just swung open. Faint shouts floated towards him, muffled and dragged away by the wind. He turned towards the tree, trying to shout back at whoever he had heard. A pony and another smaller creature were rushing towards him, though still a distance away. His voice was hoarse, causing him to have a mild coughing fit. He blink again, suddenly feeling the strain his body had endured.

“Oh shi-” he collapsed to the ground mid-thought. Struggling to keep himself conscious he noticed the yellow-green colouring of the pony who was shouting at him. Her voice had suddenly become more alarmed, though he couldn't make out what she was saying. Before his would-be rescuers came into focus entirely he passed out.

Author's Note:

Chapter edited/proofread by BAU member Greysion. Due to real-world commitments chapter was only partially edited/proofread.