While Manehattan prepares to face a big thunderstorm, Blossomforth must deal with her past fear of lightning to help everyone prevail through the storm. But can she keep her fears in check long enough to protect Manehattan?
While Manehattan prepares to face a big thunderstorm, Blossomforth must deal with her past fear of lightning to help everyone prevail through the storm. But can she keep her fears in check long enough to protect Manehattan?
"500 bits for a quill!? Are you freaking kidding me!?" Spike snapped in disbelief.
"Our quills are not sold separately from our sofas, valued customer." explained an employee. "But I assure you that both quill and sofa are of our best quality."
"But I don't want a sofa, I just want a quill!"
"In that case, perhaps you might be interested in our special offer; three quills for the price of one along with a sofa."
"You know what...forget it. I'll go somewhere else." Spike sighed in exasperation, leaving Davenport's Quills and Sofas.
Spike had travelled along with Twilight and her friends to the Manehattan Mall to have lunch together and to restock on some necessary supplies back at the library, such as more ink, ink bottles, bookmarks, ledgers, candles, scrolls and of course, quills. Of course, he had a hard time trying to buy one at Quills and Sofas because of their ridiculous deals, so he had no choice but to buy quills at another shop.
"I don't see what the big deal is...if I want a quill, just give me a quill!" Spike muttered under his breath.
Stopping in his tracks for a moment to look around, he was impressed by how the mall was built. Needless to say, it was big, bustling with activities left and right at every floor. There were many shops around the mall, such as formal clothing, casual clothing, sports center, toy shops, beauty products, furniture, groceries, bakeries, bookstores (Twilight's favorite ones), a floor especially made for restaurants, a musical store, and many more that Spike and Twilight saw around the five floors of the mall.
Walking around, he rejoined Twilight and the others, the lavender unicorn carrying a saddlebag which was holding most of what they had bought.
"Hey Spike. Did you manage to get any quills?" she asked him.
"Yeah...let's just say that if I had bought any quills at that store, they would also give me a sofa that's not for free. Great deal, huh?" Spike frowned.
"Oh...I see. I suppose we'll have to look somewhere else for quills then."
"Honestly, I'm surprised to see Quills and Sofas still up and running with that kind of deal they keep offering." Honey commented.
"Apparently, there are many ponies in need of quills and sofas all at once." Trixie quipped, taking a sip from her soda with a straw.
"I needed a quill and sofa at the same time one day!" Blossomforth exclaimed. "And I'm pretty satisfied with them!"
"That's not the point Blossom! I just need a quill, not a sofa!" Spike groaned.
"Did the owner really insist with this offer for such a long time?" Twilight wondered aloud.
"I assure you that Davenport is not a bad stallion." Sherbet assured everyone. "He cares deeply for his customers. It's just that...he tends to be stubborn when it concerns his business."
“It would seem no matter how progressive we get, there are always those few who are backwards in their ways." Octavia spoke. "We will just have to hope that Davenport grows out of this stubbornness."
"Truer words have never been said..." Spike gushed.
"Very well. I suppose I'll just have to look someplace else for quills then." Twilight said.
"All right, any ideas on where else we can get them?"
"I'm pretty sure that there should be some in that shop over there." the purple unicorn guessed.
"All right, let's give it a shot." Spike nodded.
"You're out of quills!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, but we've recently ran out a few hours ago." apologized the clerk of the store. "We will be restocking on quills in three days."
"Quills this, quills that...all this talk of quills is giving me a headache..." Spike complained, rubbing his aching head.
"Well, thank you for your help...come on Spike, let's go." Twilight told her assistant, letting him ride on her back.
Spike sighed, very annoyed by all the search of quills for the library. He felt like they were mocking him, laughing at him from a distance. He very well would burn all of the quills in his frustration, if not for the fact that Twilight would scold him for doing so.
Letting his mind wander, he saw one of Blossomforth's pegasus weather cadets, Candy Floss, flying down to a halt in front of her weather teammate.
"Oh hi Candy!" Blossomforth beamed. "What's going on?"
"A big storm, that's what." Candy answered, surprising everyone.
"What do you mean a big storm?" Honey questioned her.
"Exactly what I said. Headquarters got an emergency message of a huge stray cumulonimbus cloud headed straight to Manehattan. And chances are that from its altitude of about six thousand meters, it'll start pouring down soon enough."
"Really? Are you sure?" Blossomforth asked, looking a little nervous.
"We double-checked its trajectory. There's no mistake that it's coming this way."
"How big exactly are we talking here?" Twilight asked the pink weather cadet.
"According to our reports, about seven-hundred fifty square kilometers." Candy told the group, shocking them all.
"My goodness! That covers almost all of Manehattan!" Sherbet gasped.
"Exactly. The weather teams are working their flanks off to prepare Manehattan for this storm." Candy spoke seriously. "We're gonna need all the help we can get to make it through one of the biggest storms this city has to go through."
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Great discoveries!
Tricks galore!
A rich slice of life,
And a heartfelt score.
Budding courage
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
Immediate action was taken upon hearing of the incoming rainstorm; a maintenance team was draining the lake from the park so it wouldn't flood, sand bags were placed on tactical points to divert the water away from the critical buildings, all of the roofs were checked in case of a serious leakage as well as the gutters so that they drain well, doors and windows were reinforced with magic barriers, objects like dead branches and scrap metal were cleared so that the wind wouldn't hit any buildings or houses, and whatever was necessary to minimize the damages the rainstorm would bring.
Pegasi teams were called to assist in the disaster, one of which were the Wonderbolts themselves. Half of the pegasus would fly toward the incoming cumulonimbus to decrease its waters while the other would stay in Manehattan to assist the city and acts a rescue team, in case somepony gets lost in the rain.
"Remember, when the bell tower strikes, stay indoors at all times!" Mayor Tux cried, assisting in the preparations. "Do not leave your home until the bell strikes again! I want everypony to remember that!"
Of course, Twilight and her friends were helping with the defenses. Twilight and Trixie made sure that all magic barriers were functioning properly, Blossomforth went off with her team to assist in the cumulonimbus monstrosity while Honey volunteered to be part of the rescue team, Sherbet and all of her staff provided shelter at their hotel to tourists and those who could not make it home in time while Octavia played a soothing tune to calm the nerves of the more panicked ponies. Everyone was hard at work.
"You know, there's still something I don't quite get." Spike said, putting down his sand bag.
"Like what, Spike?" Twilight wondered, checking the strength off all the barriers in place.
"I mean, the cumiloonybus-"
"Cumulonimbus." Twilight corrected.
"Right, whatever. That thing's a cloud, right? Why not just have every pegasi here buck that thing away to powder?" Spike pounded his fist into his palm to prove his point. "Wouldn't that just solve our storm problem?"
"Yeah, it's not exactly that easy, Spike." Honey answered, wearing a rescue coat.
"How? It's just a wisp of a white thing, right?"
"Trixie believes that a demonstration is in order." suggested the blue unicorn.
"Right. Umm..." Twilight looked at her surroundings. Her eyes laid upon a wooden bucket. "I believe we can set an example with this!"
"A bucket?" asked a confused Spike. "How?"
"For us pegasi, clouds aren't just where we walk and make stuff with our hooves and wings. We can also feel their weight." Honey explained.
"A cloud has weight???" the young dragon scratched his head in confusion. "I don't get it."
"For example, pretend that you are a pegasus and that this bucket is a piece of cloud." Twilight spoke, giving her dragon assistant the empty bucket. "So, how does it feel?"
"Meh, this is no problem for me." Spike smirked cockily.
"Right. But now imagine this piece of cloud filled with water..." Honey went on while Trixie filled the bucket with water from a hose. "...and the weight will be very different."
Spike gave an 'oomph' as Trixie levitated the full bucket to him. "Wow, yeah. I can totally see the difference."
"Exactly." Twilight nodded. "Now imagine all of those heavy little pieces of cloud formed together into a big one. That's what we're up against."
"Oh..." Spike widened his eyes, seeing how serious this was now. "But the pegasi facing that giant cloud can take care of things, right? I mean, we have the Wonderbolts helping us! It should be a snap!"
"Sorry Spike, but they're not meant to stop the cumulonimbus from coming here. They wouldn't make it in time." Honey spoke grimly. "They're pushing out whatever water they can from that storm cloud before it reaches Manehattan."
Spike took all this information in, realizing now how serious the situation was. With this new knowledge in mind, he decided to work twice as hard to protect Manehattan. Running by to get another sandbag, he bumped into the side of a black pegasus with a cyan mohawk.
"Hey, careful there runt. You really shouldn't be running in a time like this. You might get yourself hurt." he answered.
"Hey, I'm not a runt! I can look after myself just fine!" Spike snapped in annoyance.
"Easy there. Don't get your tail in a knot." the pegasus replied, putting his forehooves in front of him in defense.
"Say, who are you? I don't think I've seen you around Manehattan." Twilight commented, noticing a new face.
"That's because I'm not from here. Name's Thunderlane, a Wonderbolt-in-training from Ponyville." he introduced himself. "I've come here along with the Wonderbolts to help with the crisis."
"Let's hope he's not like a certain pegasus from before..." Trixie muttered to herself.
"Oh trust me, I'm nothing like that psycho mare." Thunderlane scoffed. "She's currently in a rehabilitation center to improve her attitude, and you can guess how that's going. She'll be lucky if she gets to wear a Wonderbolt trainee uniform again."
"I'm not one for karma, but she definitely got what she deserved." Honey smirked.
"You're telling me. I only met her once during one of our drills, and she nearly made me break a leg from the exercises."
"Thunderlane! Form up at once!" Spitfire called out to him.
"On my way, ma'm!" he answered back. "Gotta go. See ya guys soon."
Thunderlane then flew away to regroup with the Wonderbolts from Spitfire's group, the captain issuing orders clearly to them.
"Excuse me, girls?" Sherbet walked to them looking concerned. "Have you seem Blossomforth around by any chance? My staff and her weather teammates can't seem to find her."
"Blossomforth missing? At a time like this?" Twilight asked in worry.
"Oh man, where are we supposed to look for her?" Spike gulped.
"Hang tight, everypony. I have a pretty good idea where she could be." Honey assured, flying off to look for their friend."
"Odd...it's not like Blossomforth to just disappear out of the blue like that." Trixie frowned.
"You're right. It isn't like her...I wonder what's wrong?" Twilight sighed in concern.
"But we can round up everypony to safety in a snap!" Babs insisted. "And they can hear us loud and clear!"
"Trust me. We've been practicing." Featherweight added.
The chief, a grey earth pony with white and gray mane, tail and mustache, a blue collar shirt and a badge for his cutie mark, rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming from having to deal with these four foals. Sure, they had good intentions, but with all the many things stashed on their toy wagon and inside the unicorn filly's overbulging saddlepack, he questioned just how cautious they truly were.
"Look, I admire you four tykes wanting to do good for the community, I do. But we're not playing a game. This is a serious crisis and I won't have you kids putting your lives at risk for this!" Stablemaker scolded them.
Firecracker pouted at the stallion. "Aw, but we-"
"End of discussion." He interrupted her. "Trust me, this is for your own good. If you all truly wish to help, then stay with your families so you can put their minds at ease."
The Crusaders moaned as they all walked away.
"It ain't fair..." Babs grumbled. "How else are we supposed to get our rescue worker cutie marks if they don't let us help...?"
"Considering that our attempt for babysitting cutie marks ended with all of us covered in slime, I suppose it is for the best." Tangerine said.
"I still don't get how there was slime inside their toys..." Featherweight wondered.
"Or the time we tried for a stunt double cutie mark and ended in a vat of slime." Firecracker recalled.
"And the time we went for a racing cutie mark, we got oil all over us?" Babs went on.
"I do not think that oil counts as slime, Babs." Tangerine pointed out.
"Well it still felt icky and mucky, and that was just as bad as being in slime." Babs countered.
"Don't remind me. It takes me forever to get all of that stuff off of my wings." Featherweight groaned.
"Little ponies!" cried a volunteer to the Crusaders. "Come over here now, do not leave our sight!"
"We might as well go for now..." Firecracker sighed.
"Do not worry Babs. I am sure we will have another chance to try to get our cutie marks." Tangerine assured her cousin.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Babs nodded, walking with her friends to the adults.
Not far from them, Honey was flying nearby, looking for her friend Blossomforth.
"Now think...if I were Blossomforth, where would I be...?" she mulled.
The adventurer thought about the a Weather Team HQ, but had already crossed paths with a fellow weather teammate, and he did not see Blossomforth there.
"It has to be a place full with flowers..."
Blossomforth's home crossed her mind, but Honey thought that it would be uncharacteristic of her to just leave everypony like this.
"Somewhere close by..." Honey thought, then grinned. "I think I got it."
She opened her wings and went to Her destination. Honey was certain that she would find her friend there.
Under a bridge in the park, Blossomforth curled up around the Camellias as she shivered uncontrollably. Sure, she went against some extreme weather conditions such as Operation Rainrise from last time the Wonderbolts were at Manehattan, and a few kinds of strong windy days. But a thunderstorm? This was a first for her and the weather team. Not mention...
"Hey, Blossom?"
"YAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"
The startled pegasus jumped five feet from fright and flew to hide behind a bush, only her eyes visible from the shaking shrubbery.
Honey was stunned from what just happened. "Whoa. Sorry to scare you like that, but what was that all about?"
"It's...it's nothing." she answered.
From the tan pegasus' expression, it was obvious that she did not believe the flower loving pony. "This is far from nothing Blossomforth. You look as nervous, if not worse, as the time you and Fluttershy accidentally signed up for the Best Young Fliers competition." Honey then spoke softer to her friend. "So tell me, what's the problem?"
Blossomforth looked hesitant before answering. "Do...do you promise not to laugh?"
"I'll eat my pith helmet if I so much as snicker." Honey swore.
The weather cadet sighed, preparing to tell what is troubling her.
"It all starts back to when I was a filly. When my class was on a field trip travelling through some mountains-wait, was it a field? Or was it a summer trip? I can't really remember which was which...anyway, the teacher led us down to the lodges to turn in for the night." Blossomforth explained. "Along the way, I saw some Dragon Fruit Flowers, which only bloom at night. Or maybe it Moon Flowers...they were really beautiful...oh, right! So, I was so excited to see them that I forgot about my group and waited for them to bloom. When they were at full bloom, that was when I noticed that I was missing from my group. I called for help hoping that somepony, anypony, would hear me. Then it began to rain. No wait, I think it was the lightning strikes that came first, and then the rain. I felt cold from the raindrops falling on me and there wasn't much place to take shelter from it." The white pegasus paused, grimacing at the memories. "Then it came...the lightning sounds. They struck so close and so fast that I was sure that they were trying to hit me."
"But didn't anypony notice that you were missing?" asked a concerned Honey. "Didn't they try to come looking for you?"
"Of course they did. But whenever I saw somepony passing by and tried calling for help, it was always the lightning that interrupted me. Or maybe it was all in my head, I couldn't tell from how scared I was. It kept me from going anywhere at all. I had to hide under some tree roots for the whole night. It was only next morning when the storm stopped that they found me. I had never been so scared in my life ever since that day."
Honey was stunned from the story that Blossomforth had told her. She had never mentioned this to anypony. "So you have astraphobia?"
"Yeah. Ironic, huh?" Blossomforth chuckled lowly. "A weather pony afraid of the weather. How ridiculous is that?"
"Blossomforth, that's not ridiculous at all. We all have our fears no matter who we are." Honey comforted her friend. "Just tell the weather team what you just told me, and tell them that you can't handle it just this time. I'm sure they'll understand."
"But I'm a member of the weather team! Not to mention the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty! What will ponies think if they see or hear me chickening out of this!?" Blossomforth exclaimed before frowning. "And no pun intended on the chicken part!"
"Leave your element out of this, that has nothing to do with it." the tan pegasus firmly spoke. "Your fear of lightning is nothing to laugh at, so why are you so adamant in putting you're in such a risk like this?"
Blossomforth sighed, ruffling her wings a bit. "It's not just that. I feel that if I don't do at least something to help around, I'll never forgive myself for it."
Honey frowned in concern, seeing how thus was worrying Blossomforth so much. She truly wants to help with the storm emergency, but her fear of lightning could get in the way.
"Tell you what: let's go talk to Spitfire and fill her in on how you feel. I'm sure she'll understand and assign you to another job." she suggested.
"Are you sure? What if it's not enough?" Blossomforth fidgeted nervously.
"Relax. Do you have any idea how many ponies volunteered to help out with the storm? It'll be fine." Honey assured her. "Now let's go. We don't want to keep everyone waiting."
"R-right" Blossomforth nodded. Before flying off, she took one flower from the ground and put it in her mane for comfort. It always relaxed her a little bit to have any flower with her when facing giant odds. She would need it.
Not long after Honey brought Blossomforth to everypony, she explained why she had dissapear do and apologized for running off without a warning.
"Blossomforth, there is no need for you to feel ashamed." Octavia comforted the watermelon-maned pegasus.
"Octavia is absolutely right. We all have our fears, no matter who we are." Sherbet agreed.
"Heck, Twilight's very afraid of turning in a report to the princess late!" Spike chuckled. "You should see her in one of her fits!"
"Spike! Did you have to mention that!?" Twilight scolded her assistant.
"Sorry, sorry...just trying to lighten the mood..." Spike apologized.
"Anyway, no one is going to judge you for your problems, Blossomforth. That I promise."
"Besides, it's not like every area in Manehattan will have thunder strikes." Trixie explained. "The weather reports have shown that some areas will be less heavier than others."
"So all you gotta do is join with the groups that will deal with the lighter areas." Twilight said, showing a map of the estimated affected areas of the city. "Is that alright with you?"
"I...I guess so." Blossomforth nodded, feeling a little better.
"Good. All we need to do now is inform Spitfire, and she will assign you a proper group." Sherbet smiled.
Blossomforth smiled as well, feeling a little better that she had such caring and understanding friends to support her on the way. She just hoped that when the time comes, her nerves won't break.
"This blows. I still wish that there was a way we could help out with the storm." Babs complained.
All of the Crusaders were now inside Auntie's room, left with toys and trinkets to entertain them. She was very adamant that the four foals stay there for their safety, and after the stunt they pulled many times, she has assigned a staff member to keep watch at their door at all times and warned her to be cautious of anything they do.
"I'm not complaining, for one. Maybe this is something out of our league, Babs." Featherweight told the earth pony.
"I agree with Featherweight. Perhaps it is for the best that we stay out of this one." Tangerine agreed.
"They bring up good points. I don't want to lose my Great and Powerful Trixie trinkets from that storm." Firecracker said, violently shuddering at the thought of losing her idol's mementos.
"Okay, okay. Maybe we'll look for another opportunity next time." Babs gave in. "I don't want my sis chewing me out again."
"I gotta admit, it is boring being here with nothing to do all day." the colt pegasus groaned, throwing a pillow randomly.
"Yes, I truly do wish there was something for us to do..." Tangerine sighed, absentmindedly kicking a ball.
While the rest of the Crusaders looked down and bored out of their wits, Firecracker was thinking with her forehooves tapping on the floor when she suddenly grinned. "Maybe there IS something we can do!"
"Really? Like what?" Babs asked, half out of curiosity and half of eagerness.
"They told us to stay safe before and during the storm, but they didn't say anything after the storm, did they?"
Babs grin soon matched Firecraker's. "Hay, you're right! They said zilch 'bout that!"
"So you're saying that after the storm is over, we can help with the relief efforts!" Tangerine cheered in her filly mode.
"And this is after the storm, so it should be okay for us to leave!" Featherweight spoke excitedly.
After a chorus of agreement, the Crusaders put their hooves together in excitement. "For Manehattan!" "To help everypony!" "Cutie Mark Crusaders Relief Effort Workers are a go!"
There was then a silence after their unified shout.
"...after the storm is over." Tangerine giggled meekly.
The others chuckled in embarrassment before going back to what they were doing before, anxious for the storm crisis to dissapear.
Meanwhile, the staff member who had heard the shout that could break hoof-proof windows rubbed her aching ears.
"I knew I should have taken laundry duty today..." she muttered.
"So you can't follow your weather teammates through because of your phobia of lightning? Do I have that right?"
"Y-yes ma'm." Blossomforth nodded to Spitfire.
Spitfire sighed at this minor setback. Granted, she couldn't blame Blossomforth for her fear, and it was understandable that most of the pegasi would do something very dangerous to protect Manehattan. Now she would put Blossomforth at ease so she could protect herself from her phobia, but she insisted that she try to help with the situation no matter what. Spitfire admired her tenacity, unsurprising as she is the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, but fears that she could be biting off moe than she could chew.
"Very well, I believe that I have a solution for all of this." Spitfire said, turning to one of her teammates. "Soarin, get over here!"
Her lieutenant immediately flew over to her. "Yes, Captain?"
"I have this volunteer, Blossomforth, who will be assigned to your group of wonderbolt trainees. Watch over her. Assign her a partner. Make sure she stays safe at all times."
"Understood, Captain!" Soarin saluted, then turning to the white pegasus. "Come on, let's get going."
While the two pegasi were flying to their destination, Blossomforth had a question for the Wonderbolt. "So um, Mr. Soarin sir..."
"Whoa there, you don't need to call me 'Mr.' or 'sir'. Makes me feel way too old." Soarin chuckled. "Just Soarin is fine. So, what's on your mind?"
"Well, I was wondering why the Wonderbolt trainees are here as well. Isn't this something out of their league?" Blossomforth asked in concern.
"Normally, it would be. But after checking the density from each part of the cumulonimbus, we were able to pinpoint the areas that would be less damaged from the storm. That's where our trainees will be stationed along with a superior, which in this case is me."
"Wow...you guys are working very hard at this." spoke an impressed Blossomforth.
"With a storm this size, we're not taking any chances. That's why we still have our trainees wear shock suits to protect them from any stray lightning strikes, just in case."
Blossomforth shivered at the mention of lightning , but felt the pegasus stallion put a comforting hoof on her back.
"Hey. Just remember that you're not alone here. Should anything happen, you can count on us."
Blossomforth gave a grateful nod, happy that there were ponies supporting her. Maybe with these many ponies having her back, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"So, are you ready to meet the rest of the crew?" Soarin grinned.
Spike wiped his brow from all the hard work he and everyone else had been doing. Truthfully, he wished that he could do more than just move heavy sandbags all over the place, but he would take what he could get, since other ponies seem to be doing a good job at their responsibilities; better than he thought he would be doing anyway. He just hoped that it would be enough to minimize the damage done to the city. He wondered just how Manehattan would look like after the storm hits it.
"Trixie, what the hay is this?"
Spike turned from his seat on the bench to find an annoyed Twilight and a grinning Trixie. Looking above them, he saw that the barrier for the building's window was made to form some sort of stained glass frame of the showmare. Other barriers also showed some frames of Auntie, Twilight, Honey, Blossomforth and his cello goddess Octavia. 'Huh. How come I didn't notice it until now?'
"Why, this is but a caricature of Trixie's Great and Powerful image! Trixie was also kind enough to add our friends to them so everyone can share the spotlight."
"Hey, you didn't forget me, right?" Spike asked hopefully.
Trixie simply pointed her hoof to another building, one with the dragon in some sort of superhero costume.
"Wow, I look awesome!" Spike cheered. "Do you think maybe you can make something like that on paper?"
"That's not the point!" Twilight interrupted, annoyed that she was being ignored. "What I'm saying is, why are you even bothering to put this all up? It's not beneficial to assist in the storm, it takes a lot of needless work to mend the magic into that formation, and it's completely unnecessary!" The unicorn took a breath of frustration, trying to calm down. "So why are you doing this?"
"It is a sign of our defiance to the incoming storm that dares to face us!" Trixie proclaimed dramatically. "We shall show them even as we fight, we stand tall no matter what!"
Twilight slapped a hoof to her face in annoyance. "Okay, first of all, symbolic defiance such as this is not going to put a stop to the storm. It is thoughtful, but it won't improve our chances. Secondly, the time you used warping the magic to look like us could have been used to help install other barriers!"
"Trixie has already done that!" Trixie proudly exclaimed.
"And thirdly-wait, what!?" Twilight did a double-take on what the showmare just told her.
"Whoa, she's not kidding, Twi." Spike told his caretaker. "Just look over there!"
Glancing around her, the purple unicorn saw that indeed all of the windows that were covered in magical barriers had the framing of herself, Spike and all her friends. She even checked their strength to make sure that they weren't neglected and to her surprise, they could withstand a lot of pressure.
She turned to a smug Trixie. "I-I don't understand! How did you do all of this so effortlessly!?" Twilight then paused, a hopeful smile coming to her face. "Maybe...have our studies been helping you? Is that why you were able to do all this?"
"Oh, but my dear Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie exclaimed, her stage persona acting out. "A good magician never reveals her secrets!"
"But what about the time you showed Firecraker the needle trick?" Spike reminded her. "You know, when you take the needle into your hoof and..."
The blue unicorn widened her eyes before glaring at the dragon. "That was a one-time thing! Besides, how was I supposed to say no to a filly who idolizes the Great and Powerful Trixie so much?"
"Are you sure that's all?" Twilight smirked now that the tables have turned. "Weren't you also going to show her the mirror trick?"
"Well, Trixie promised to show her next-Hey!"
Twilight and Spike couldn't help but laugh at the banter they were having. And although Trixie was scowling at them at first, she soon broke into a smile and laughed alongside them. It was good to know that even in dark times such as this, there were still times for laughs and smiles.
Even after all the words of assurance and comfort from the Wonderbolt Soarin, Blossomforth still felt uneasy around so many Wonderbolt trainees. This wasn't last time like Operation Rainfall, this was a serious disaster that everypony had to confront. Blossomforth shuddered at the thought of Lightning Dust and what she would do if she were still around. Thank Celestia she isn't.
Soarin noticed her discomfort and frowned. He hated seeing others so distressed like this. "Relax, these are nice ponies. They'll take care of you."
Blossomforth said nothing, looking around at all the pegasi suiting up in shock suits to prepare for their flight, doing warm-ups, stretching their wings, double-checking their equipments and some were talking to one another to pass the time. Being around so many possible Wonderbolt-to-bes...it was really nerve-wrecking. Blossomforth felt really out of place in this area. Here she was, a simple weather cadet, among a big group of Wonderbolt trainees. She knew that Rainbow Dash would be steaming in jealousy if she had ever found out about this.
"Here, put this on." Soarin said, giving her a black and white suit.
Blossomforth recognized the touch of fabric from the suit. "A shock suit? But I thought that we were going to go in a lighter area of the storm! Why do we need these!?"
"With this storm coming in so unpredictably, the captain has decided to not take any risks. Better safe than sorry." Soarin answered seriously.
Blossomforth had to agree on that. From her lessons at Flight Academy, all pegasi were taught that clouds were unpredictable in nature and could change form at any moment if left unchecked. With a deep breath, the flower loving pegasus slowly and carefully put her suit on, being careful with her tail, mane and most importantly, her wings fitting through the sockets meant for them.
After she finished putting it on, Blossomforth looked at her reflection on the lake. She felt like the color did not match her mane and it felt very odd wearing it, but she assumed that's because it was her first time wearing a shock suit. The suit felt pressed against her body, but not too tight. In fact, she felt rather flexible wearing the suit.
"So, are you used to the suit?" Soarin asked patiently.
"Well...it fits." Blossomforth chuckled.
The lieutenant nodded with a smile. "That's good! Now..."
"Hey, lieutenant!"
Soarin sighed at the interruption, turning to see a black pegasus flying toward him, balancing a box on his backside. "Thunderlane, you should be really careful to not interrupt your superiors so suddenly. If I was anypony else, like Spitfire, she'd reprimand you for poor conduct and have you do twenty wing-ups."
"My apologies sir, but I've brought back your order from Orange Catering." Thunderlane explained.
Soarin perked up excitedly upon hearing that, staring eagerly at the box Thunderlane was holding. "Really!? Are you saying that...!?"
"Yes sir." Thunderlane said, giving him the box. "Your Orange Cream Pie is here."
"That's wonderful!" Soarin gleefully cried. He instantly tore the box open, revealing the orange pie Thunderlane had brought. Practically drooling at the sight of the food, he immediately began eating it, happily scarfing down the delicious treat.
Blossomforth could only look on stunned at the behavior of the lieutenant of the Wonderbolts. He greatly differed from Spitfire who was firm, serious, authorative, commanding yet reasonable figure of the Wonderbolts while Soarin was more easygoing, cheerful, and relaxed yet was serious on his job despite his eccentricities. And did he really like eating pie that much? Blossomforth could've sworn that she saw no crumbs left on the plate when he was finished!
"Is...is he always like this? With pie I mean?" Blossomforth asked Thunderlane.
"Pretty much. He's absolutely nuts for them." he chuckled. "Whenever we have our Wonderbolt meetings, you can bet that he'll be serving himself at the pie section.
"All right you two, that's enough." Soarin spoke in. "Now that my belly is full and we have another volunteer to help us in this area, you'll be partnering with her, Thunderlane."
"Me, sir?" the trainee asked in surprise. "Er...can I ask why?"
"For one, she's not connected to the Wonderbolts, so she needs to be supervised at all times. And no matter what, no one flies alone on our flights. That's the Wonderbolt way."
"I...I understand, sir." Thunderlane saluted. "I'll look after her."
"At ease. No need to be so uptight all the time." Soarin chuckled. "Well, I'd better get going. I hope you two work well together!" And with that, he flew away to the other pegasi.
"So uh, what's up?" Thunderlane began, trying to strike up a conversation. "You doing all right?"
"Honestly? No, not really." Blossomforth sighed. "I want to help with the storm problem, I really do, but at the same time I'm also scared that my fear of lightning will just screw things up."
Thunderlane blinked, turning to face the mare. "I'm sorry, did you say that you're afraid of lightning?"
"Uh yeah, pretty much."
"Um, wow." Thunderlane rubbed his neck. "I didn't really expect for a pegasus of all ponies to be scared of lightning of all things..."
Blossomforth narrowed her eyes at the black stallion, which made him shrink back. "And why is that!? Do you have a problem with me being afraid of lightning!?" she exclaimed, not liking his attitude.
"No, no! I just think that it's a bit weird for someone who flies in the sky to be afraid of thunder, that's all!" Thunderlane sputtered.
"Weird!? So you're saying I'm a freak, is that it!?" Blossomforth shouted angrily. She kept marching toward the retreating stallion, cornering him into a parked cart. "Just who do you think you are, somepony who is training to be a wonderbolt, to talk to me like that!? I am terrified of storms, but I'm still here because I want to help no matter what and if you can't understand that, you might as well not even bother to help!"
Thunderlane gulped from Blossomforth's outbursts, especially when they were drawing attention from other ponies. He became even more nervous when Soarin began to stare in their direction. He had to come up with something fast before he gets in trouble.
"L-look I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way!" Thunderlane apologized.
"Then what did you mean!?" Blossomforth asked, staring straight at him.
"Well, I was just thinking that it would be a lot of hard work to be partners with you with your fear and all."
"So now you're saying I'm slowing you down!?"
Thunderlane widened his eyes at the extremely offended Blossomforth. He really could have said something better than that...
"Hey, just what is going on here?" Asked one of the senior Wonderbolts, coming to see what the commotion was about.
"Nothing, really!" Thunderlane quickly assured. "I just made one comment about her weight and she snapped!"
"Now you're calling me fat!?!?" Blossomforth shrieked at her partner, who cringed from her shout. He really put his hoof in his mouth now...
After Blossomforth's outburst got sorted out, all of the volunteers were lined up with a moody Blossomforth standing next to a sheepish Thunderlane. After his insensitive remarks from earlier she tried to see if there were any other pegasi to partner up with instead of him, but couldn't find any. So in the end, she reluctantly came back to him, only to help out with the incoming storm.
Soarin stood in front of the volunteers with a clipboard in his hoof and a map of the city standing on a tripod. After calming Blossomforth down, he scolded Thunderlane for his careless comments, saying that no Wonderbolt should look down on anypony. While the trainee did say he was sorry, it would take more than just apologies to resolve everything. He would take care of that later, right now he had a job to do.
"All right everypony, here's how this will work..." Soarin instructed. "Spitfire's group will first move out to face the cumulonimbus cloud outside of Manehattan and try to force some water out of it before it reaches the city, hopefully minimizing the damages it would have done." Using a marker, he drew a line northwest out from the city map, detailing Spitfire's movement. "Next, Fleetfoot's squad will be at the center of the city and attempt to create a strong current of wind to strike at the storm cloud, with a group of unicorn volunteers to assist them with their magic." The lieutenant drew a black cloud in the center of the map with a zigzag circle surrounding it. "If successful, the storm cloud should scatter into several smaller clouds which should lighten the intensity of the storm." Soarin then drew one more line around the city. "And finally, we'll be stationed near the outskirts of the city. They are the most fragile areas susceptible to storm damage, so it's our job to defend it from the storm as much as possible. Now, are there any questions?"
A white pegasus male white black mane and tail raised his foreleg. "Lieutenant, what if Fleetfoot's team fail to break apart the cumulonimbus cloud? How will we deal with that?"
"Should that happen, then the unicorns will take shelter back inside the buildings while Fleetfoot's and Spitfire's teams come to give us backup. Any other questions?"
After Soarin was done answering the group's concerns, Thunderlane glanced over to the still ticked Blossomforth. He knew he made a bad first impression on her, and wanted to fix things before the storm arrived so he could work better with her.
"Um, Blossomforth?" he whispered, getting her attention.
"What do you want now, jerk?" she snapped.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings earlier. I have a bad habit of putting my hoof in my mouth with other ponies, and I didn't mean to offend you. So er, are we cool?"
Blossomforth took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned to her partner. "I guess so. I'm also sorry for shouting at you earlier. It's weird, I haven't really snapped like that at anypony at all before."
"Maybe it's because all the stress is getting to your head. It happens." Thunderlane reassured.
"Wow. Stress can be an ugly thing."
"Tell me about it. I actually thought that you were going to pounce on me earlier."
"That was your fault you know." Blossomforth reminded him.
"I know, I know. I messed up, you don't need to remind me."
"I just thought I'd-OH! I can't believe it!" she suddenly squealed.
"Huh? What? What did I do this time!?" Thunderlane stuttered nervously.
"No, look over there!" Blossomforth pointed to a flower near a tree. Eagerly but gently dying over to it, she bent down to eye-level with flower, a big smile on her face. "It's a Middlemist Red! This is a really hard flower to find! I can't believe I didn't see this earlier!"
Thunderlane found himself grinning at her enthusiasm over the red flower. "So, you're a fan of flowers?"
"Absolutely!" the female pegasus beamed. "I have a whole garden and greenhouse of flowers back at home!"
"Heh, it's kinda funny to see a pegasus love flowers so much, you know what I mean?" Thunderlane chuckled. He stopped when he noticed Blossomforth's expression change somberly. He did it again. "I uh, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that, I just..."
"It's fine. It's not like I don't like the sky or anything, it's just that..." Blossomforth sat down, still looking somber. "I'm different from the other pegasus around Cloudsdale, and I was teased, ignored and made fun of all the time. I found comfort in the flowers. They were one of the only friends I had at the time, along with Fluttershy."
Thunderlane's eyebrows shot up. "Fluttershy? You're friends with her?"
"Yeah, didn't you see us at the Best Fliers competition?"
"Nope, I had the Feather Flu by then. Sucked really, I wanted so badly to watch the competition."
"Oh..." Blossomforth cringed, knowing just how nasty the Feather Flu could be.
A thought suddenly entered Thunderlane's mind, one that he knew would make Blossomforth sad. But he had to let her know now instead of later. "Hey, Blossomforth? I just thought of something that could be bad for you..." he said warily.
"Wh-what is it?"
"With the storm coming in, there's no doubt that there will be plenty of damaged houses and buildings. Unfortunately, that also means your flowers won't make it through the storm."
Blossomforth's eyes widened at the revelation. With the news of the storm coming up, she never thought about it before. But now, imagining her lovelies blown away, uprooted from the earth by fierce winds...she didn't know if she could take it.
"My...my poor flowers...no..." Blossomforth sniffled, tears falling from her eyes.
Thunderlane wrapped a comforting wing around her. "I'm so sorry. You must have worked really hard on them."
"I did...and now...just the thought of seeing my home without them...I don't know if my heart can take it..."
Thunderlane sat alongside Blossomforth for a minute or so, trying to think of something to say to cheer up the crying white mare beside him.
"You know..." he began, catching his partner's attention. "There are three sisters back in Ponyville who run a flower shop. If you'd like, I can take you to them and then we can see what kind of flowers you want from them so we can bring it back to your house to plant them there."
"Really?" Blossomforth asked, wiping away her tears. "You'd do that for me?"
Thunderlane grinned. "Hey, partners look out for each other, right? It's the Wonderbolt way."
Blossomforth smiled softly touched by Thunderlane's generous offer. Maybe he wasn't so bad of a pony after all.
"Thunderlane...thanks..." Blossomforth said, a tinge of red on her cheeks.
Thunderlane nodded. "Hey, anytime."
"All right, everypony in position?"
Spitfire looked over her squad clad in shock suits, prepared to face the storm head-on.
"Yes, ma'm!" they chorused.
"Good! Everypony follow my lead and start on the outer parts of the cumulonimbus, it's where it'll be easier to knock away portions of the cloud." Spitfire put her googles over her eyes. "Wonderbolts! Time to take off!"
"Wait!!! Spitfire!!!"
Spitfire looked over to where the shout was coming from and saw a yellow pegasus with a saddlebag rapidly flapping her wings towards Spitfire. She fell in a heap on the roof, completely exhausted from the flight.
"Are you all right?" Spitfire asked her, helping her up.
"I'll be fine..." she answered, before shaking her head and looking serious. "A-anyway, I've come here to bring you an urgent message from the weather factory that was studying the cumulonimbus headed toward Manehattan. From their analysis, they found that the storm cloud is...abnormal."
"Abnormal?" Spitfire warily asked. She had a bad feeling about where this was going.
"Yeah, it's written in this report here that I'm supposed to give you."
Taking an envelope out from her saddlebag, she gave it to the captain who began to read its contents. Her eyes widened when she finished reading the report.
"This is worse than we thought..." Spitfire whispered.
"Captain, what did the letter say?" someone from her squad asked in worry.
Spitfire turned to her team and issued new orders. "Wonderbolts, change of plans! We have to warn everypony about this new discovery now!"
After about half an hour of preparations, checking their flight suit's were working properly, discussing positions and strategies, Soarin's team stood ready at the rooftops to fight against the storm cumulonimbus.
Hearing the rumbling thunder from the now visible cloud in the distance, Blossomforth shivered violently in fear. Just imagining that monstrosity looming right above Manehattan...it was enough to make her knees buckle. But Blossomforth forced herself upright despite her fear, not wanting to let the city and herself down.
Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she turned and saw Thunderlane giving her a comforting smile. Smiling back, she nodded gratefully. Blossomforth wasn't alone, there were many other ponies risking themselves to confront this huge storm. All she had to do was follow their lead and everything will be okay, right?
Meanwhile, Soarin was currently observing the gigantic cloud with binoculars, looking over it from left to right. "That's odd. Where's Spitfire and her team?" he wondered aloud. "Are they on the other side of the cloud? But I don't think that was part of the plan. Something's not right here..."
Soarin stared suspiciously at the cloud. Although a possibility, he highly doubted that they could have been blown away so easily by the storm. Although he knew that something seriously wrong was going on, he also knew that he had a job to do.
With a sigh, Soarin put away his binoculars and faced his team. "All right everypony, listen up! In about ten minutes, that cloud will be right over us. I want everyone here to take extreme caution against that. And remember to always stay near somepony else to keep them and yourselves safe, so I'd better see at least pairs flying up there! Understood?"
"Yes sir!" they all shouted in unison.
Soarin nodded in approval. "Good. Stand by for now. We take off on my signal."
Twilight was worried. Not just because of the storm, but for Blossomforth as well. She knew that she had to trust her friend in this crisis, but her phobia of lightning, from what she heard from Honey, would be a great obstacle for her to overcome. One, Twilight hoped, that Blossomforth wouldn't have to face by herself.
Spike shivered from her upon seeing the black cloud, flashing from thunder at times, so close. It looked so fearsome, edging closer and closer to them. He truly hoped that everypony in the city prepared well enough for this kind of monstrosity.
Trixie, walking alongside Twilight, was smiling confidently as if the coming storm didn't faze her, but on the inside she was scared. Scared by what the storm could do, scared at the possibility of anyone getting hurt and scared at just how much this storm will affect the entire city. But Trixie couldn't show that she was scared, not now.
Honey, in her Daring Do garb to help raise morale, is waiting alongside Fleetfoot to fly up at the cumulonimbus while Fleetfoot was studying the huge cloud to decide where exactly they should strike.
"Okay...I think I got it." Fleetfoot grinned, turning to her team of not just pegasus but unicorn volunteers as well. "All right, so here's what we're gonna do: I'll take half of the pegasus with while Daring here leads the other with both of us flying up to right about beneath the center of that cloud." Fleetfoot motioned to the center of the black cloud. "My squad goes to the center-left while Daring's goes to the center-right. We then pull the cloud apart, giving the cloud less resistance against magic so the unicorns, led by Twilight Sparkle here, with their combined strength, can shoot away at the weak spot and separate the cloud into two. We rinse and repeat until the clouds pose no more threat. Everypony got that?"
"Yes,ma'm!" they all shouted.
Nodding, Honey adjusted her goggles over her eyes. "All right everyone! On Fleetfoot's command, we take off!"
Twilight walked in front of her team of volunteers, ready to lead them. "Everypony get closer to one another! Our magic will be stronger if we stick together!" she advised.
As the cloud drew closer it soon began to rain, a downpour falling on the city and everyone outside. Twilight grimaced, knowing just how dangerous this will get. But still, she was willing to risk skin and teeth to protect the place where she made her first friends. But first, she had something important to do...
"Spike, please go back inside." Twilight told her assistant. "This is about to get really dangerous."
"But Twilight, I don't want to leave you behind!" Spike protested.
"I know you don't, but this is something clearly out of your league. And if you got hurt being out here..." Twilight looked scared at the thought. "I would never forgive myself for it. So please listen and go inside, I don't want anything to happen to you!"
Spike paused, looking between the volunteers, the door and Twilight. He wanted to do everything to help with defending against the storm no matter what, but it looked like he had done his job now. Try as he might, Spike couldn't think of anything to do to fight against the storm cloud. Spike realized that Twilight was right, he had to stay out of this one.
"Okay. I'll go back inside." Spike agreed. He walked to the door and opened it but before going in, he turned to Twilight one more time. "But you have to promise me that nothing will happen to you! Promise to me that you won't get hurt!"
Twilight opened her mouth to assure him, only to be interrupted by Trixie. "Worry not, Dragonly Spike! For as long as the Great and Powerful Trixie is here, these raindrops of glumness shall soon turn into tears of laughter, leaving this to be nothing more than a harmless drizzle!"
"What Trixie is saying is that as long as we're here, nothing will happen to Twilight." Honey added, joining the group. "We promise you that."
Spike smiled, assured that Twilight wouldn't be alone and would be facing the storm with her friends by her side.
"All right. You guys be careful." he said, stepping inside and closing the door.
"Everypony, in position!"
Fleetfoot's command snapped everyone in focus as they stared up at the cloud.
"On my mark!"
Every pegasus spread their wings open while the unicorns stood prepared to fire their magic.
"Wonderbolts...let's fly!"
The pegasi flew up with one half following Fleetfoot and the other half following Honey. As they ascended to the cloud lighting began to strike down, which made things a bit harder for them since lightning is known to strike whatever is highest in altitude so it was getting more and more dangerous every feet that they rose. It would also be dangerous for the unicorns on top of the buildings that would be supporting the pegasi above. They all knew they risks however, and volunteered despite that to protect their city.
While the pegasi were dodging the lightning strikes above, Twilight looked up in concern at the phenomenon. 'Strange...why are there so many consecutive lightning strikes back-to-back?' she thought. 'This isn't normal at all..'
"Twilight, pay attention! They reached the cloud!" Trixie's shout snapped Twilight out of her thoughts and assumed her leadership role for the team.
"Okay everyone, get ready!" Twilight exclaimed as they all charged up their magic from their horns.
Honey flew up to the base of the cloud and put the hooves on it to stretch it out. She shivered upon feeling the static and electricity coursing through it but did not let go.
"All right, are you guys ready?" Fleetfoot shouted from the other side.
"Ready!" Honey answered.
"All right then...pull!"
The pegasi all grunted as they slowly pulled the mass of cloud open, leaving a cloudy hole between them.
Back on the rooftop, Twilight held her breath, waiting for the best time to strike at the cloud.
"Now!?" one of the unicorns shouted.
"Not yet! Wait for it to get wider!" Twilight shouted back.
All of the pegasi up in the cloud began struggling as they pulled the cloud wider and wider, feeling the strain of such heavy cloud mass apart. Some even got shocked from pulling the cloud, but their shock suits protected them from any lasting damages.
Twilight gritted her teeth through the rain, doing her best to see through the falling raindrops. Seeing a flash from the middle of the hole, Twilight saw their opportunity.
"Okay, fire now!!"
The unicorns complied and they all fired their combined charged beam of magic at the hole the pegasi have created.
"All right, stop! Don't waste your magic all at once!"
With Twilight's command, the unicorns ceased firing. When looking back up at the cloud however, shock and confusion struck all of them.
"Wait, what!?" "What's going on!? This doesn't make sense!" "Why didn't our magic work!?" "Yeah, why is the cloud still in one piece!?"
Indeed, the storm cloud did not look as if it was struck by magic at all. Not one wisp of cloud was blown away.
"Twilight? Why didn't the cloud separate...?" Trixie whispered, now showing fear and uncertainty.
"I-I...I don't know! It was...we...I don't understand this at all!!" Twilight panicked.
The scared unicorns on the rooftop also shared the same shock with the pegasi who were clinging onto the cloud above them.
"W-What!? But how!?" Fleetfoot exclaimed in shock. "It should have worked!"
Honey, who was struggling to keep the cloud apart, saw sparks of electricity rapidly coursing to the center of the cloud. Her eyes widened, fearing what would come next.
"EVERYPONY SCATTER NOW!"
Immediately listening to the tan pegasus, everyone instantly flew away from the cumulonimbus cloud, the hole they have made putting itself back together, just in time to avoid the electrical discharge the storm cloud emitted. The danger didn't stop there as it struck thunder and lightning down on the streets and rooftops. In fact, one of the rogue lightning strikes was headed straight at the unicorns!
Thinking quickly, Twilight's horn glowed and formed a barrier big enough to cover the panicking unicorns, just in time to shield them all from the lightning strike. Twilight buckled from the sheer force that struck the barrier and collapsed to the ground afterwards.
"Twilight!" Trixie ran over to her friend and carefully helped her up, letting the purple mare lean on her for support. "Are you all right!?"
"First...the cloud won't split from our magic....and then...that lightning strike..." Twilight groaned. "It was so powerful...just what is this storm cloud!?"
"EVERYONE!"
Everyone turned to see Spitfire flying towards them with her team right behind her.
"Spitfire! Just who we needed!" Fleetfoot grinned in relief. "Maybe you can help us out with-"
"We need to change our course of action! This one won't work to deal with the storm!" Spitfire interrupted as she landed on the roof.
"What are you talking about? Did something happen?" Honey asked in concern.
The Wonderbolt captain answered by giving them the report she had received earlier, which Twilight began to read. "I just got new Intel from the Cloudsdale weather factory! Their updated analysis reveals that this is no ordinary storm cloud!"
"Th-this..." Twilight gasped, double checking to make sure she read the report right. "This says that the storm cloud has chemical components from the Everfree Forest!"
"You mean that cursed forest near Ponyville!?" Trixie visibly blanched.
"But this doesn't make sense!" Honey cried out. "Even if that cloud does have components to that of the Everfree Forest, it still shouldn't be possible for it to be this dangerous!"
"That would be the case...if it didn't have long-lingering traces of Chaos Magic!" Twilight replied grimly.
Honey looked over the report in disbelief. "B-But how!? For it to have that much-" She then straightened her eyes in realization. "Of course! It must have been from the Renaissance Era of Colonel Steelmane, where there were riots and protests from taxes and property rights! Chaos magic was used to neutralize the protesters, but their constant use of it caused the Chaos Magic to escape from the unicorns' magic storage and spread throughout the city, which is now the Everfree Forest, meaning-"
"May we save the history lesson for later!? We have a HUGE disaster upon us at the moment!!" Trixie shouted, interrupting Honey.
"What do we do, ma'm!?" Fleetfoot desperately asked Spitfire. "I don't think we were ever prepared for something like this!"
Spitfire paused, wanting to calm down and recollect her thoughts. A magical storm cloud was a first for ponies to deal with in a long time. A magical storm cloud...perhaps there is one pony who could help them...
"Twilight Sparkle, magic is your area of expertise, correct? What are your thoughts?"
Caught a bit off guard by Spitfire's reply, Twilight racked her thoughts on any possible solutions to deal with the storm above them. Repeating the original plan was out of the question, an attempt to speed up the process of the storm would do more harm than good, manually extracting the Chaos Magic by herself was impossible since the cloud is too high...
'Wait. Extracting, Chaos Magic and chemical components....I wonder...'
"Please tell me you've thought of something!" Fleetfoot pleaded.
"Perhaps...but it's very dangerous..." Twilight warned them.
"I understand." Spitfire nodded. "Tell me what you have in mind and I'll see what I can do."
Twilight took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Chaos magic, when set free, is known to absorb itself in the more dangerous elements such as fire, unsteady terrain...or lightning."
"So you're saying that the lightning in that cloud is literally Chaos Magic!?" Trixie asked incredulously.
"It's just a theory, so I could be wrong...but the possibility is high."
"But what do we do!? That's what we need to know!!" Fleetfoot snapped impatiently.
"Settle down and let her explain, Fleetfoot." Spitfire sternly ordered. Fleetfoot quietly obliged.
"I believe that if we can force the chemical components of Chaos Magic, that is, the lightning, out of the cumulonimbus, then this storm cloud will turn into just a rain cloud." Twilight theorized. "Your shock suits should help make that possible, not to mention protect you as well."
"Are you serious!? This is lightning we're talking about!" Fleetfoot protested against Twilight. "And you're telling me that we should fry ourselves to stop the storm!?"
"Well, do you have any better suggestions!?" Trixie snapped back, defending her friend. "If we do nothing, Manehattan will be devastated!"
"You're only saying that because you're a unicorn!"
"Fleetfoot, enough!" Spitfire shouted, silencing her. "It's our duty to protect the ponies of Equestria from these disasters. If you're unwilling to assist, feel free to stay out of this!"
Fleetfoot lowered her head in shame. "...apologies Captain. I panicked and lost control of myself. But I'm not leaving this fight. I'll help everyone out, whatever it takes."
"Good." Spitfire nodded in approval. "Now, I want only the most experienced volunteers against that cloud! I don't want anypony to be seriously hurt from that storm cloud!"
"And what of us? What are we supposed to do!?" Trixie demanded.
"All the unicorns should go back in and reinforce the shields. If Chaos Magic is involved, those barriers need all the strength they can get!"
As if to prove her point, a stray lightning bolt suddenly struck one of the windows with a barrier on its surface. It held up but just barely, frightening the ponies taking shelter near it.
Recovering from the chaotic thunder strike, Spitfire turned to the purple unicorn. "Sparkle, you take point! Keep the damages to a minimum!"
Nodding,Twilight took Trixie and the other unicorns to the rooftop's door and was about to turn the doorknob when...
"CAPTAIN SPITFIRE!!"
Looking to the direction of the shout, the group saw two pegasi, a grey male and a green female, flying to their direction in a big hurry. When they managed to make it to the rooftop, they fell in an exhausted heap.
Spitfire immediately went over to check on them. "Are you hurt? Do you need treatment?"
"No ma'm, we're fine. Well, things considering and all..." replied the stallion.
"Hold on a minute..." the amber pegasus looked around for a moment and then narrowed her eyes at the recent arrivals. "Where is Soarin and his team!? I told you to warn them of the report!"
"We tried to get to their location captain, but a strong rogue wind kept us from going any further!" explained the mare. "And the lightning strikes didn't make things easy for us either. We had no choice but to turn back!"
"Wait!" Honey intervened. "So if you couldn't warn them, then that means..."
Her eyes widened in realization and horror. Blossomforth and the other pegasi were about to unknowingly plunge headfirst into an out of control thunderstorm. They had no idea of what they were getting into. And along with Blossomforth's fear of lightning, she would most likely be seriously hurt. She wouldn't stand a chance against something this dangerous...
"BLOSSOMFORTH!"
Not wasting anymore time, Honey took flight, leaving behind the cries of her name, to the outer parts of Manehattan to where the last group of Wonderbolts remains to save her friend.
'Blossom, please wait for me...!' Honey thought desperately. 'I have to make it in time!'
The situation wasn't faring any better inside the buildings that everyone took shelter inside of to hide from the storm. As the lightning grew stronger, the more panicked everypony was, the foals crying in fear as their parents tried to unsuccessfully calm them down, some were hiding in fear under tables, couches and anything else they could get under while other active ones tried to reinforce the barriers with their own magic and piling up anything that they could find against the barriers in hopes that it would help.
Spike looked around in worry as he saw the scared ponies running here and there. Next to him were Octavia, and Auntie and Uncle who were holding close to them a frightened Tangerine. While the foals were kept a close eye on earlier, it was agreed that during the storm that they should all be with their family in this dire time.
"Mother...father...are we going to be okay...?" whimpered the green-maned filly.
"Not to worry, my sweet little citrus seed." Sherbet spoke soothingly to her daughter. "We're safe in here."
"That's right, Tangerine." Mosely pitched in. "I'm certain that our friends have everything under control."
Just after the stallion said this, another strike of lightning hit the barrier, making it flash and scare everypony inside. Tangerine huddled even closer to her parents as they tried to comfort her. Spike, after getting his bearing from the lightning strike, took a closer look at their barrier. It was holding up for now, but how much more of a beating could it take before it breaks? He partly hoped that they wouldn't find out. But there was something else that had him worried about the barrier...
"Hey guys? Don't you think it's weird how lightning keeps hitting that barrier?" Spike asked in concern.
"Indeed. It's as if the storm is deliberately trying to destroy the barrier." Octavia nodded in agreement.
"But is that even possible? A storm that has a will of its own?" Sherbet asked.
"I truly hope that there is no such thing."
Looking once again to the barrier, Spike saw that the lightning strikes were aiming for the stained frame of him that Trixie had made. He couldn't help but be a little peeved that his awesome image was being destroyed by the storm. If that storm could think like Auntie suggested, it had a sick sense of humor by attacking the superhero barrier.
Suddenly, everypony turned their heads to see the unicorn team that was on the roof come rushing down the stairs and began to reinforce the barriers with their magic.
"Twilight? Trixie? What's going on?" Spike asked them. "Why aren't you guys up on the roof? Shouldn't you be helping the pegasi up there?"
Twilight furrowed her brow in concern. She knew that she had to tell him the truth but she didn't want to cause a panic among the ponies inside the building, there's no telling what a panicked pony could do in a situation like this.
"Trixie, I'll leave you in charge for a while, I'll brief the others about this." Twilight told the blue unicorn.
"But of course! Your position is in reliable hooves, Twilight Sparkle!" Trixie responded with her usual flair, although this time it was noticeably a bit shaken, which was understandable considering what they had learned earlier.
After leaving the showmare with the other unicorns, Twilight led Spike to her friends and took a seat next to Sherbet.
"Twilight, is something the matter? Is there a reason the unicorns have all come down here?" Sherbet asked her.
"Everypony..." Twilight began, her face grimly serious. "What I'm about to say can not be known to anypony around us. Is there anywhere private we can discuss this?"
"My office should be away from eyes and ears, we can speak there." Mosely suggested.
Nodding, Twilight followed him with the others as she noticed the curious and suspicious looks from the ponies inside the building. For everypony's sake, she truly hoped that no one found out about the recent weather report.
Honey grit her teeth as her wings were beating rapidly against the strong current of wind blowing in her face.
'When they said that the wind was strong, they weren't joking.' Honey Do thought. But she couldn't let us wind stop her now, not when Blossomforth and everypony else with her needed to be warned about the storm's recently revealed danger.
As Honey passed by the Opera House, she noticed a big splint of wood flying directly at her and it took great effort to dodge it due to the wind pushing against her. Unfortunately, this distraction was enough for Honey to lose her momentum and was sent flying back screaming from the strong gust of the storm. Desperate, she stretched her forelegs out in hopes to grab hold of anything to save herself. This proved fruitful when she managed to latch onto the bars of a fire escape ladder.
Honey pulled herself up to the fire escape and slowly but steadily climbed her way up to the top of the building. Still hanging on the railings for safety, Honey took this chance to see how much further she had left to go to reach Blossomforth.
"I'm almost there..." Honey muttered. Not much further until she could save them, but there was one problem that was literally in her face. "But how am I supposed to get there with all this wind!? It'll blow me all the way back to Corona Park!"
As if answering her problems, a long stray piece of rope blown by the wind smacked her on the head and wrapped itself on the railing she was supporting herself on. Recalling the many times she used whips in her adventures, she gave a contemplative look to the rope beside her.
"I suppose it's worth a shot." Honey shrugged.
After a brief moment, with one end of her rope tied into a lasso, something she learned from the Apple Family Reunion, and the other end tied around her waist, Honey took a running start and jumped to fly once more against the wind. Whenever she felt that the wind would blow her away again, Honey made the motions of whipping the rope backward and then forward onto another building. The rope around her waist kept her from being blown away, and Honey began climbing toward the building with the rope and would repeat this method until she could reach Blossomforth.
Blossomforth flinched as she heard another lightning strike in the distance while working on dissolving her portion of the storm cloud. While she was expecting to go through some difficulties with this concerning her astraphobia, they weren't as extreme as she was expecting them to be. But that could be because the lightning strikes were so far away for the moment and Blossomforth suspects that her anxiety would worsen if the thunder strikes were any closer to her. If they were, she hoped that she could keep it together when the lightning strikes.
"Everypony stay alert!" Soarin shouted to all of the pegasi. "Just because we're on the outer sections of the cumulonimbus cloud doesn't mean that we'll have a walk in the park! We'll have our fair share of problems with some stray static running through the cloud! Remember to keep an eye out for sparks!"
"Yes captain!" Thunderlane shouted while kicking away a dark lump from the cloud.
Blossomforth looked to where the unicorns' magic beam shot into the cloud some minutes ago, and was concerned when she saw that there wasn't much of a difference than last time.
'Maybe it just looks that way from here?' she hoped.
Meanwhile, a female pegasus with blond mane and red fur proceeded to pull away a lump from the storm cloud, only to find that it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried to pull.
"Hey, a little help here?" Misty Breeze cried.
"C'mon Misty, don't tell me that little guy is stronger than you." chuckled a stallion beside her, causing her to frown at him.
"I'm serious! This part of the cloud won't come off!"
"Don't be like that! Look, all you have to do is..." the stallion went, only to find that her piece of cloud was indeed stuck like bubble gum on the cloud. No matter how hard he pulled, it stood firm.
"See, what did I tell you!?" Misty snapped at him.
"Okay, you were right!" he conceded with a sigh. "But how does this even make sense?"
"How am I supposed to know!?"
While the unaware pegasi were continuing their work, short but quick sparks zipped through the clouds towards them...
"Now this is strange..." Soarin muttered as he observed the lump of cloud the two pegasi were trying to pull. "The water shouldn't be that heavy over here."
"It's not just them, sir! Many others are having similar problems!" spoke a pegasus beside him.
Indeed, they were all having difficulties trying to pry off their lumps of cloud from the storm cloud. This got the lieutenant even more concerned. Were Spitfire and Fleetfoot's teams having the same problem?
As his team was unsuccessfully trying to rip away their piece of cloud, lightning began to strike again. Not only was it closer but it was also noticeably louder. Blossomforth's eyes widened when she both saw and heard the lightning in front of her. The terrible memories on that night came back to haunt her...the memories that gave her nightmares...
"SOMEPONY HELP ME!!!"
Blossomforth quickly flew past many bewildered pegasi, screaming, blindly trying to escape her fear. The constant loud rumbling behind her only worsened her thoughts. She had to escape. She couldn't bear to go through anything like that again. Blossomforth only managed to stop when she felt her head collide into someone's chest and hold her back. She thrashed her limbs wildly while screaming, attempting to escape whoever caught her.
"Blossom, hey! Easy! Calm down! I know that sounds hard, but just listen to me!"
Blossomforth slowly but surely stopped her flailing when she recognized that it was Thunderlane who caught her. Lifting her head up, she saw him looking worried at her.
"So, have you calmed down a bit?" he asked in concern. Blossomforth could only manage a weak nod. "I know that you're scared. We're all scared. But as long as we're all here, there's nothing to be scared of. So don't worry. I'll look out for you." Thunderlane smiled a bit at her. "And that's a gentlecolt's promise." Hearing this, Blossomforth began sniffling, much to his concern. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's just that...you, looking out for me...I appreciate it, but I'm scared that I'll always be seen as the pony who always needs help from others." she explained. "No matter how hard I try, I always need help for something. I want ponies to rely on me, but how can I do that when I always let my mind wander...?" Blossomforth struggled to hold back her tears. "I try my best, but it's never enough..."
"So? What's wrong with needing help?" Thunderlane bluntly asked. "You can't always do everything by yourself, so what's the harm in asking for a hoof? The fact that other ponies actually want to help you means that they care about you."
Blossomforth slightly dropped her jaw in realization from the black pegasus' words. She thought back from the times like Operation: Rainfall and the Best Young Fliers Competition in Cloudsdale, and she saw that one thing they all had in common was that all of her friends were willing to help her no matter what.
"I...never thought of it that way before..." Blossomforth admitted, her cheeks turning red. "Thank you Thunderlane. I think that was just what I needed to hear."
"No worries." Thunderlane smiled. "Just doing what I can to help fragile mares." His face then dropped when he realized what he just said. "Uh, not that I'm saying you're fragile or anything, even if you look like it, which you're not, I just..."
As Thunderlane was trying to correct his blunder, Blossomforth couldn't help but giggle at his honest mistake. She had now learned to like his innocent mix-ups.
"EVERYPONY LISTEN UP!"
Their sudden attention was now on a tan pegasus who had just arrived on the scene.
"Is that Daring Do?" asked a surprised Thunderlane. "She's actually here?"
"Miss Do, is there a reason why you're here?" Soarin asked in concern.
Honey hovered to a halt in front of the senior Wonderbolt. "I don't have time to explain! You need to get all of your trainees and volunteers out to safety now!"
"Hey, that's not fair!" protested one of the trainees. "Just because we're beginners doesn't mean that we can't hold out on our own! We can handle this storm just fine!" Many of the other recruits shouted in agreement with him.
"You don't understand! This has nothing to do with skill!" Honey insisted. "You all need to withdraw right this instant before it's too late!"
"Yeah? Too late for what?"
His answer came from a lightning bolt that struck between them, followed by many others surrounding the group. All the pegasi volunteers began to panic, frantically flying around to try and look for shelter from the thunder strikes as the Wonderbolts attempt to unsuccessfully calm them down.
But the one pegasus who had the worst of it all was Blossomforth, tightly holding onto Thunderlane, screaming at him to get her out of here. Her wings were locked up from fear, so she was unable to fly. All of her unpleasant memories from the trip she was at as a filly came flooding back to her. All the tremors she heard and felt, the flash of thunder before her eyes, the loud noise afterwards,the fear of being struck by lightning...it was all too much for the weather cadet to handle all at once.
"GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!" Blossomforth screamed, her eyes shut tight.
"Blossomforth, it's all right!" came the voice of Honey Do. "We're all inside the park manager's office! We're safe here!"
The trembling mare slowly opened her eyes, and saw that every Wonderbolt and volunteer had managed to escape inside the office. Everypony was shouting in panic, wondering what had just happened. Although still afraid, she calmed down a little now that she was indoors.
"Miss Do, now that we're all relatively safe from the storm would you please tell us what you have to say?" Soarin asked the explorer.
Daring reached into her satchel and pulled out the weather report. "The Weather Factory studied the components of this storm and have confirmed that it has many traces of Chaos Magic from the Everfree Forest."
"What!? The Everfree!?"
"How are we supposed to fight back against this!?"
"We don't stand a chance!"
"Manehattan is doomed!"
Every Wonderbolt and volunteer shouted in fear and panic, their morale plummeting downwards.
"BUT!" Honey interjected, interrupting them before things got out of hoof. "We do have a plan against this new threat!"
"Really? What is it?" asked one of the volunteers, hope slowly gathering the room.
Daring paused, certain that this new plan would not be popular among them. But she knew that they had to be told. "From what we have learned, those lightning strikes are literally Chaos Magic striking down at Manehattan, doing whatever it can to destroy the city as much as possible before it's finished."
"So are you saying that if the lightning strikes stop, so does the storm?" Soarin questioned, catching on to the plan.
"Exactly." Daring nodded. "So our new course of action is to force the lightning out of the storm cloud to turn this chaotic storm into a regular storm."
"Okay, so how are we supposed to do that?"
Honey grimaced before speaking, knowing that this is where it would get ugly. "...we have to phsically eject the thunder from the cloud ourselves."
And with that, the slight glimmer of hope that anyone had changed to disbelief.
"You want us to go up there!? Are you serious!?" exclaimed one of the volunteers in shock.
"No, I'm here to call you all off the plan." Honey clarified. "Most of you are inexperienced in dealing with situations like this, so you're staying put until we manage to conquer this storm."
While most were relieved to not having to participate in this dangerous plan, they were disappointed that there was nothing else that they could do. Thunderlane being one of those ponies judging from his frown.
"So what are we supposed to do now? Just stay here like foals while everypony else works their flanks off to protect Manehattan?" Thunderlane shot at Daring, not pleased at having to stay out. "Seriously?"
"It's for your safety!" Daring shot back at him. "Just look out there! Do you really think you could stop that storm all by yourself?"
"Actually, I could." Thunderlane replied, much to the shock of everyone in the office. "And I'm not just blowing hot air. You see my cutie mark?" He gestured to the dark cloud and lightning image on his flank. "I've earned this when I was subduing a storm at Ponyville. I know how storms work, and I know how to maneuver around them."
"But this isn't a normal storm!" Honey cried out in frustration. "Those lightning strikes will be aiming directly for you when you try to approach the cloud! Your shock suit can only take so much!"
"Maybe you're right." he admitted. "But I'd still rather be out there protecting Manehattan rather than stay in this crummy office and do nothing." The black pegasus stood up and began walking to the door. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"Thunderlane, wait!" Blossomforth cried out to him. She didn't want him to get hurt out there!
"Stay here, Blossom. You'll be safe here." he softly told her.
Before the trainee could reach the door both Soarin and Daring blocked it from him, the former narrowing his his at the black pegasus.
"Thunderlane, you're staying here along with everypony else until the storm clears over." Soarin commanded in a stern voice, something rare for the usually laid-back Wonderbolt. "That's an order."
Thunderlane glanced to the side before facing his superior. "Sorry lieutenant. But this is the one time I can't follow orders." Having said that, he rushed to his left, opened the window and flied out to face the storm.
"Thunderlane, no!!" Blossomforth shouted, running up to the window. "Come back! Come back!"
Her only answer was a lightning strike, causing her to retreat back inside the office, shivering under a table. Honey quickly closed the window and went over to try and calm her friend.
"Oh this is just wonderful..." Soarin muttered. "Could this situation possibly be any worse?"
Back at the buildings everypony were taking shelter in, the exhausted unicorns were trying to keep the barriers as stable as possible, but with their low mana and fatigue, it proved to be very difficult. Not even the most determined ones seemed to be making any improvements on the barriers. Even worse, ponies began demanding to know what was happening, why the unicorns were helping inside the building and not on the roof like originally planned.
Twilight gulped nervously at the crowd of impatient ponies. Just how was one supposed to break dire news like this to them? Was it even the right choice to tell them now, or was it better to keep quiet to prevent worse pandemonium?
"Just what is going on here!? We have the right to know!"
"Just what are you hiding from us!?"
"Start talking already! We know that there's something screwy here!"
"Well..." Twilight started, trying to find the right words to say. "There has been a slight change of plans regarding the position of the unicorns for this operation. It was decided that it would be best for us to stay here to reinforce the barriers after we have witnessed just how powerful the lightning strikes really are."
"I call horseapples on that!" shouted a mare from the back. "We're not dumb! What is really going on!?"
The nervous Twilight took a step back from the accuser. How was she going to get herself out of this now?
As she tried to think of something to reassure the rowdy crowd, Auntie Orange stepped between her and them, a professional tone in her voice. "Pardon me for interrupting but as you can all see, the unicorns are hard at work in trying to keep the barriers up, the only thing that is standing between us and the thunderstorm outside to protect us from it. So I implore that you give these unicorns the space they need and not to interrupt them, lest they make a critical mistake from your constant attacks."
The earth pony she had spoken to, most likely the one who was the leader of the crowd, stared hard for a few moments before sighing. "Fine, we'll leave the unicorns to do their job. But we'd better get some answers soon! We're all tired of being in the dark like this!"
As soon as the crowd disperses, Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Auntie. I really needed somepony to save me from them."
"But of course dearie." Sherbet nodded. "But I believe now he have to be cautious of them now more than ever."
"Bitter ponies are not interested in what you say, but what you hide." Octavia quoted. "Such is the flow of fear."
"But how are we gonna make them relax?" Spike asked. "I can't think of anything that would work on them!"
"Let's hope that Twilight's plan works. Because I don't know how long all of the unicorns can keep this up." Trixie said dropping her usual third-pony speak, likely from the stress and fear.
"I hope so too, Trixie." Twilight frowned in worry. "I also hope that Spitfire and the other pegasi are okay out in that storm..."
Spitfire gritted her teeth against the wind as she kicked away another lightning bolt that was headed straight at her. Since this plan was very risky, she allowed only the most experienced of Wonderbolts and fliers to participate. In the beginning, the plan seemed to work as the constantthunder strikes have decreased a little bit from all their work, giving them some hope. But later, it was as if the storm had caught on to their plan, and started to strike lightning away from them, with them now facing rogue winds in exchange.
"Captain, what do we do now!?" Fleetfoot frantically asked her. "We can't chase after all the lightning strikes all at once! They're everywhere!"
"Manehattan is relying on us to protect it! We have to keep trying no matter what!" Spitfire persisted. "Everypony follow me! No one split up, it's too dangerous!"
So Spitfire led them to where one cluster of lightning strikes were, with the rest of pegasi, tired but determined all the same, following her.
'Soarin, I hope you came up with something on your end!" Spitfire thought in worry.
Daring Do, now clad in her own shock suit, was about to fly off in the sky to both help stop the storm and stop Thunderlane from his reckless behavior. She was at the front door with Soarin to see her off.
"Are you sure you can't come with me?" Honey asked the Wonderbolt.
"I want to come with you, but someone has to stay here to look after these pegasi to keep them calm." Soarin explained. "I just hope that Thunderlane isn't hurt out there..."
"Not to worry, Soarin! If he is as good as you say, I'll be sure to bring him back in one piece!" Honey assured him.
"Daring?" Blossomforth slowly walked up to her friend. "Please be careful out there."
"Of course." Daring smiled reassuringly. "I promise that I won't let even one bolt of lightning strike me." After saying that, she opened the door and flew upwards. Soarin immediately closed the door after Honey left and turned to face the others.
"Listen up, I know that things look very bad, but we all have expert fliers on our side fighting against that storm who know what to do. And as long as you're in this office you're safe, so you have nothing to worry about."
The Wonderbolt's words of comfort were little effective for his group, even though they tried to calm themselves. The one who had it the worst was Blossomforth, angry at herself for being a coward again and letting others do everything while she was cowering in fear. She hated feeling so helpless like this, hated having Thunderlane go out alone to confront the storm. Why did she have to fear lightning so much? It would've been so much easier if she wasn't afraid at all.
Blossomforth sadly looked outside the window. She saw a tree, it's leaves rustling and branches shaking from the wind. But when she looked under it, her eyes widened. It was the Middlemist Red she had found earlier with Thunderlane. Despite all the heavy rain, harsh winds and thunder, it was still standing upright. It was fighting against the storm despite all odds.
Upon seeing the flower fight so hard to survive, Blossomforth realized something: even the most fragile of ponies have the strength to overcome any hardships. If that seemingly frail flower could withstand the storm, what's to say that the ponies can't either. Closing her eyes to take a deep breath, she opened them with a steely gaze of determination. She still had her part to play in this. They all have.
"Soarin?" Blossomforth called to the Wonderbolt. "We have to go back out there again. We have to stop that storm."
Everypony in the office, especially Soarin, were staring at her in complete and utter shock. Not just because of what she had just said, but the face that the most insecure of ponies flat-out said for them all to continue fighting.
"No Blossomforth! I can"t do that!" Soarin shook his head fervently. "I have to think of everypony's safety here! Unlike Fleetfoot Spitfire's group, they're less experienced in flying! They could get themselves seriously hurt!"
"But it's our duty to protect Manehattan too!" Blossomforth cried out. "Don't you want to do whatever you can to stop that storm no matter what?"
"Of course I do! But I also want to keep you all safe!"
"Soarin, I knew the risks when I volunteered for this. We all did. This is our home, and we want to protect it with everything we have!"
"You know what? Blossomforth's right!" said Candy Floss, the pegasus that warned her friends of the storm. "I didn't sign up for this just to stay crying and feeling sorry for myself in here!"
"Yeah, who cares about some loose lightning strikes? That's nothing compared to what's on the line! Our city and our home!" Shouted a stallion on agreement.
"Thunderlane shouldn't be alone out there! We need to have his back!"
Soon, everypony that was dispirited before were now getting their fight back, willing to go back out despite the danger. Soarin was both stunned and impressed at the sight. Now they were all standing straight with determined grins, ready to face the onslaught of the storm together.
"You said so yourself: nopony flies alone. That's the Wonderbolt way." Blossomforth reminded him.
Soarin was silent for a moment before, he looked up smiling. "All right, you convinced me. We'll go back out there together. None of us should be staying here when we have an important job to do."
Everypony cheered as they went out the door, flying in groups to take on the storm. Blossomforth flew together with Soarin and Candy Floss. She was scared, she wasn't going to deny that, but her will to stop the storm from destroying their Manehattan was now stronger than her fear. And she would not let her fear win. Not anymore.