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I - Unsure; Hunt; Acres1,418 words
II - Acres II; Missive; Trip1,488 words
III - Canterlot; Library; Alert1,257 words
IV - Stop; Library II; Discovery1,172 words
V - Relate; Contemplate; Portal1,673 words
VI - Catch; Farewells; Resolve1,319 words
VII - Return; Retread; Threat973 words

II - Acres II; Missive; Trip

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Pitter Patter Pitter Patter

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After Twilight’s explanation…

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"Well... Gosh, sugarcube, sounds like a right terrible nightmare. I'm sorry this has been troublin' ya so. But I just don't see how it's different from any other nightmare!" Applejack sounded worried, but retained her practical attitude.

"It... It must be this storm, Applejack. Nothing like this has ever happened, never in Equestrian history! And for this strange storm to start up right after I wake up from a dream that ended with a similar one... Can it really be a coincidence?" Twilight said, quietly.

Pinkie Pie, the third pony of the trio, was even quieter than the mare who had just spoken. She said nothing after Twilight's comment, and silence fell upon Applejack's farmhouse. Eventually, though, she spoke up.

"Your dream was an awful lot like stuff that really happened, Twilight. Like when Applejack got so tired Applebucking, or when you and the girls through me my surprise party, or when Dashie did her Sonic Rainboom..." Pinkie shuddered, thinking of Twilight's dream-version events.

“I… I guess it was…” Applejack said, trying not to let the air fall to silence again.

She failed.

The friends sat in silence for a few minutes more, until Twilight decided enough was enough.

“Well, thanks for having us, Applejack, but I should probably get back home and see what Spike is up to. I don’t want him worrying about me. Pinkie Pie, are you going to stay here or..?”

“I dunno! Hey Applejack, do you want help baking? I could stay here with you!” Pinkie said, having regained some of her characteristic pep.

“Sure, Pinkie. I think that would be nice,” Applejack replied.

“Okay! I guess I’m staying here, Twilight! It was fun looking for Rainbow Dash with you!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing into the kitchen.

“Okay then. Bye, girls! Thank you for… For listening to me.”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but Twilight had already gone from the room, the door swinging shut behind her.

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Twilight walked into her library, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind her and mildly muting the sound of the ever-pounding rain. She was wet again, though Rarity’s coat continued to do its job even as the rain grew more torrential. She put the coat on the floor, reminding herself to bring up a coatrack from the basement, and put her umbrella hat on top of it. She shook her mane out, water flying everywhere.

Suddenly, she was assaulted by a chest-height purple form.

“Twilight! There you are! I’ve been worried! Why did you leave without telling me?” Spike cried.

“Oh, Spike…” Twilight said. “I’m sorry I forgot to say anything to you! I went out to find Rainbow Dash. I wanted to ask her if she had found out anything new about the storm, but she was nowhere to be seen… I met up with Pinkie Pie and we got sidetracked at Applejack’s for a while.”

“Okay…” Spike said, sounding unsure. “You’ve just been acting so strange lately, Twilight. These past few days with this storm, you’ve looked so sad. What’s wrong?”

Twilight bit her lip. She had shared her dreams with her friends (or some of them, at least), but should she burden Spike with what she had seen?

“I—Er… Nothing, Spike. It must just be the weather. You know how rainy days can get a pony down.”

“I… I guess, Twilight. Anyway,” Spike said, “A letter arrived for you from the Princess while you were out. I was worried and thought maybe it said something to do with why you were gone, so I opened it… It was about the storm.”

“What did the Princess have to say?” Twilight asked.

“It’s… Well, here. I’ll let you read it,” Spike replied, walking to the table in the middle of the library and picking up a re-rolled scroll. “It’s… It’s not good, Twilight.”

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My Dearest Student,

I am afraid a serious problem regarding the storm we find ourselves troubled by has arisen. Manehattan, as you well know, is on an island, and this incessant rain has caused the sea to rise to the point that ponies’ stores and homes have begun to flood. The Mayor of Manehattan has begun a full evacuation of the city, and I have sent the Royal Guard to assist in transporting the citizens. However, moving the ponies of Manehattan from their homes will do no good in the long run. We must find the cause of, as well as the solution to, this storm.

It is for this reason I ask you and your friends to join me in Canterlot as soon as you can, to attempt to remedy the situation. It would be best to have the Elements of Harmony nearby if their use is necessary.

Please, my faithful student, have Spike send a letter as soon as possible regarding when you will arrive.

Princess Celestia of Equestria

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Twilight finished reading the letter with wide eyes.

Evacuation? Flooding? This is worse than I thought… The rain has to be even more torrential there than it is here…

“Spike! I’m going out again!” Twilight said, looking up from the scroll she held in her magic.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Twilight!” Spike said. “Even if you could tell everypony about what’s happening, the last train for Canterlot leaves in an hour. Not even you could get everything ready that fast. Sleep on it, and get our friends together in the morning. You look like you need the rest.”

“Oh… You’re right, Spike. Aren’t you taking good care of me today!” Twilight nuzzled the dragon.

“It’s what I’m here for,” he said.

Twilight felt just a bit sad at that.

It used to be me taking care of you...

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The next day…

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“So sorry I’m late, everypony! A customer came in at the last minute and I had to attend to them,” Rarity said, walking through the door of the library.

“That’s fine, Rarity,” Twilight said, approaching her friend. Gathered in the library were five ponies and one dragon; those ponies were Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. The dragon was of course Spike.

Rainbow Dash was still nowhere to be found, Twilight had discovered, when the unicorn went out into the rain the next day to alert her friends to the situation. “You aren’t very late, anyway.”

“Now before I tell you all why you’re here,” (Twilight had simply asked them to arrive at the library and had not given any reason when collecting them), “I have a question: does anypony know where Rainbow Dash is? I know I asked all of you yesterday, but—“ Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy, who had opened her mouth just a bit. “Fluttershy? I didn’t have a chance to see you. Do you know where Dash is? And for that matter, what were you up to yesterday?”

“Well, um, I was out in the forest, actually, helping my critters with fixing up their dens to protect against the rain. And Rainbow… Well, I caught her flying out of town the day before yesterday. She said she had been called on emergency weather duty by Cloudsdale… I’m surprised she didn’t say anything to any of you girls.”

“That is odd. Well, thank you, Fluttershy. Now that my question’s been answered, I suppose I should tell you why I asked you all to come. The Princess sent me a letter yesterday, and she said that the rain in Manehattan has caused flooding bad enough to mean that everypony there has to be evacuated from the city.”

There was a general chorus of distress from the others gathered, save Spike, who continued to stand quietly at Twilight’s side.

“So are we going to help the Manehattanites? I’m surprised my Aunt and Uncle Orange didn’t say nothin’ about the floods…” Applejack said.

“Not quite,” Twilight responded. “The Princess wants us in Canterlot in case we have to use the Elements of Harmony for any reason. She asked me to send her a letter telling her when we can all arrive; I suppose I’ll have to include Rainbow’s absence. But that’s why you’re here; we need to go to Canterlot. Can you all be ready to leave in four hours?”

Twilight’s question was met with a positive consensus.

“Great! We can meet at the train station. I don’t know how long we’ll be staying, so don’t forget anything important. Now let’s go!”

With that, the four of Twilight’s friends began to filter out of the library, back to their homes and their saddlebags.

Twilight looked down at the other in the room. “Spike, take a letter, please.”

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