Ch. 3

The Mane Six (save for a flying Rainbow) and Spike were out on the dirt road, ready to run away. The group reached a brook, where they found a wooden Gypsy cart parked nearby. The cart had the words, "The Crowned Heads of England" painted on its side, and at the front was a brown horse named Phillipe. Next to the cart was a campfire with a fish cooking over it.

At that moment, a short man with a white mustache, a light yellow shirt, tan shorts, and a safari hat came out. His name was Archimedes Q. Porter.

Porter found the group and greeted, "Oh hello there, young ones. Archimedes Q. Porter at your service. And just who might you be?" Before any of the ponies could answer, he interrupted, "Don't tell me. You're going to the beach, right?"

"Well-" Rainbow began to say, but Porter interrupted again.

"No, no, that's not it. Are you going on a visit?" Porter got more stares from the group. He found an answer. "Oh, you're running away."

Pinkie was perplexed. "How did you know?"

"Why, this old explorer doesn't guess," Porter replied with a chuckle. "He just knows. Why are you running away? No wait...they just don't understand you at home, don't they? You want to see many lands beyond your own."

"Wow," Twilight whispered. "It's like you knew what was inside us."

Spike went up to the fish, but before he could take it, Rarity scolded, "Spike, don't be rude!"

"Oh, let him have it," Porter assured her. "There's more where that came from!"

"Thanks, mister!" Spike said as Porter gave him the fish.

Reading the sign on the cart, Applejack said, "Mr. Porter, any chance we could see the Crowned Heads of England?"

"Oh yes, well..." Porter began. He led the Mane Six and Spike into his cart. "But before we could get anything started, let's have a little fortune reading, shall we?"

The cart was dark inside, and while the group took their seats by a table with a crystal ball, Porter lit some candles and replaced his hat with a fancy red turban. "Now close your eyes, everybody," he told the group. The group obeyed, and Porter took the opportunity to take a glance at a picture out of Twilight's suitcase. "Now gaze into the crystal ball."

The Mane Six gazed into the ball, but Spike still had his eyes closed. Pinkie nudged him, and Spike finally opened his eyes.

"Now, I see..." Porter looked deep into the crystal ball, and he pulled back a bit. "A house with white picket fence...and a barn filled with all sorts of animals."

"That's Celestia's farm," Fluttershy realized.

"And I see a winged unicorn with regal grace and care worn into her bright face," Porter continued.

"That's Princess Celestia," Twilight said softly. "What's she doing?"

"Why she's..." Porter gasped. "She's heartbroken, like someone had hurt her!" The Mane Six and Spike felt guilty, then Porter continued, "Someone she loves and cares for very much, even in sickness."

"I remember when I had the measles once, Princess Celestia stayed by my side," Twilight remembered. "What's she doing now?"

"Why, she's put a hoof to her heart...then she flopped onto the bed!" Porter with concern.

"Oh no!"

"The crystal's going dark now."

The Mane Six jumped up. "I can't believe we've made her sick!" Rainbow shouted in shock.

"We gotta go back to her and make sure she's alright!" Twilight told everybody. "C'mon!" She, her pony friends, and Spike ran out of the cart. At that moment, the wind was really starting to pick up.

"Wait, aren't you coming with me?" Porter called out as he watched the Mane Six leave.

"Sorry, but we've got to go!" Twilight called out to him. "Bye, Mr. Porter, and thanks!"

Porter waved back at the group, and he ran over to Phillipe. "We must take cover, Phillipe! It looks like we've got a big storm on our hands!" He looked back at the Mane Six and Spike running down the road. "Oh, I do hope they get back safe."

Back at the farm, everybody, including the animals, were scrambling to safety. A good ways off, a giant tornado was rampaging towards the farm.

"Better get the cows loose!" Doppler shouted. "Where is Flynn? FLYNN!"

At that moment, the barn doors opened, and cows ran out with Flynn and Baloo running behind them. "It's a twister!" Baloo frantically shouted. "A TWISTER!"

"We get it!" Flynn snapped.

On the porch, Celestia called out, "Twilight Sparkle! Ponies!" Far off, the Mane Six and Spike were running for the farm.

Nick was busy getting the others into the storm cellar. "Everybody to the storm cellar!" he called out. Elise, Randy, Mendel, Flynn, Baloo, and Doppler ran down the steps into the darkness.

On the road, the Mane Six and Spike were running down the road, except for a flying Rainbow. The wind started to be too much for Rainbow, and she was almost carried away.

"Rainbow, it's best if you stayed on the ground!" Applejack called out to her.

"Good idea!" Rainbow agreed. She went to the ground and joined her friends in running for the farm.

At the farm, a breathless Celestia ran over to Nick and said, "Nick, I can't find Twilight and her friends! They must be out in the storm!"

"We don't have time to look for her!" Nick shouted. "We need to get into the cellar!" He went down, followed by a reluctant Celestia, and he shut the door.

The Mane Six and Spike reached the farm, and they quickly ran for the house. By now, the tornado was getting closer and closer to the farm.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight called out over the wind. "Princess Celestia!" When they got to the porch, the door flew off its hinges, and the group ran through the house and for the storm cellar.

"Guys!" Applejack shouted as she tried to open the cellar door. She knocked on it, but the wind was so loud nobody could hear her.

The group ran back inside the house, and they took refuge in Twilight's room. "Celestia!" Twilight called out.

Suddenly, the window flew off the wall and hit Twilight on the head, knocking her out. The wind also knocked over more stuff that knocked everybody else out.

While the Mane Six and Spike were passed out, the house was literally up in the air, tossed back and forth by the cyclone's wind.

After a while, everybody woke up. They looked out the window, and to their surprise, they found a chicken coop flying past them, followed by a small, toothless baby alligator.

"Hey, is that Gummy?" Pinkie asked as she watched the baby alligator fly by.

They also saw Celestia fly by, and at the moment, she was writing on a scroll. She noticed the Mane Six and waved at them before flying off. That was followed by Baloo and Flynn in a rowboat, riding on the wind, and they also found Mendel working on his robot, NIGEL.

Applejack leaned out the window, and after a while, she jumped back. "Whoa Nellie!"

"What is it?" Spike asked as he clung to a chair.

"We must be up inside the cyclone!" Applejack shouted over the wind.

"That's impossible!" Rarity responded.

At that moment, they found a familiar face riding on a bicycle. "Oh no! It's Judge Doom!" Twilight cried.

Right before their eyes, Doom was suddenly replaced by a biker ghost with green eyes, long blonde hair, a black jacket over a white t-shirt and black pants riding on a flying motorcycle.

"Who the heck is Judge Doom?" the ghost demanded. "The name's Johnny 13!" He laughed manically as he flew past their house.

Speaking of the house, the house spun faster and faster as it started to fall, flinging the Mane Six and Spike all over the room. The house continued to plummet, and finally...

BOOM!

The house was completely still.