~ Chapter 2: A Storm on the Horizon ~
When Twilight opened her eyes, she stood at the fringes of Whitetail Woods, the forest’s colossal trees towering over her. She had been practicing her teleportation spell for months, but she’d be lying if she claimed that it didn’t still take a toll on her stamina. She fought back a brief bout of dizziness as she lifted her head to the skies. Even through the canopy of leaves above, she could see an ominous black cloud looming over her. The acrid stench of smoke assaulted her nose and stung at her eyes. In the distance, Twilight could see the orange and yellow glow of flames from above a labyrinth of trees. From what she could tell, the fire was burning at the very heart of the forest, far from the outlying regions of Ponyville. For that much, Twilight was grateful; nopony’s house and home was in danger… yet. She knew that the town wouldn’t be truly out of harm’s way until the fire was doused.
“So what exactly do you plan on doing Twilight?” Rarity queried after taking a few moments to acquaint herself with her new surroundings. Her eyes eventually settled on the flickering orange glow on the horizon.
The lavender unicorn quickly shook away the exhaustion from her magic. “Let’s try to find Rainbow Dash,” she offered briefly. “She’ll know what to do.” A faint shadow of doubt hung on her last words. She hoped Rainbow Dash would know what to do.
Rarity gave a quick nod of approval before the pair pressed onward. With urgency, they hurried along down the dirt road which cut a swath through the trees. Billowing puffs of dark smoke guided them forward as the black clouds above thickened with every step. They hadn’t traveled far before they arrived at a large clearing to the side of the road. The trees here were shorter, providing a clearer vantage of the distant flames. A small lake was nestled within the open glade, surrounded by a number of ponies from town. Each one was bustling frantically to and from the water’s edge, giving the scene the likeness of an upended anthill. Every pony carried a pail between his or her teeth, following a disorganized line to dunk the bucket into the shallows of the lake before placing the filled container a short distance away. The impromptu ‘bucket brigade’ was hardly flawless in its operation, but despite a fair amount of spilling and sloshing, they had accumulated a decent stockpile of filled pails. As they worked, a group of a dozen or so pegasus ponies would intermittently swoop down to snatch up a portion of the filled buckets before swiftly disappearing back into the skies. By stark comparison, these fliers were uniform and precise. Even through the speed of their maneuvers, Twilight was able to recognize a few particular ponies from the weather teams which patrolled over Ponyville. It didn’t take much imagination to understand the nearly martial discipline of the group, especially after spotting Rainbow Dash near the edge of the lake. Judging from the way the others seemed to gravitate to her, Twilight guessed that the cyan pegasus had taken a leadership role in this moment of crisis.
Twilight and Rarity made their way through the bucket-brandishing ponies and up to their friend. Between managing the fleeting weather team and conducting the other ponies at the lake’s edge, it was fairly clear that she had her hooves full. She had just finished speaking with one of the pegasi from her team by the time the two unicorns approached her.
“Fluttershy told us about the fire, Dash,” Twilight announced, wasting no time. “We hurried over as soon as we heard. Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Just go grab a bucket and follow the others,” Rainbow Dash began in a snappy, irritated tone. The pegasus turned her head to face the new visitors. As soon as she recognized her friends, she let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh sorry girls, I’m just a bit on edge here. Everypony has been coming to me expecting answers.”
Rarity turned back to the conveyor of ponies carrying buckets from the lake. “Do you really think that buckets of water are going to put out a forest fire?” she asked skeptically.
Dash scoffed at the idea. “Not a chance. I just got tired of everypony asking me what they should do, so I told them to start filling up buckets of water to keep them out of my mane.” She shot a disapproving glance at the hurried ponies running from the lake. “I took a look at the fire just a few minutes ago, and it’s the worst I’ve seen in years. The wood and leaves are bone dry, so the flames are spreading faster than we can contain them. Dropping a pail of water on that thing would be like trying to fight an Ursa Major with a pea shooter…”
“Wait, so you’re not actually doing anything to fight the fire?!” Twilight shouted incredulously.
Dash took a step forward, looking almost offended. “Of course I am! Do you think I’m crazy?” she retorted, raising her voice to match. “I’ve got the other three-quarters of my weather team out searching for storm clouds to reign in. Ponyville wasn’t due for rain for another three days, so we had to go looking for something north of here. It’s going to take nothing short of a monsoon to put this thing out!”
Twilight shrunk back a little. “Sorry Dash, I didn’t know…”
The pegasus sighed and massaged her forehead with one hoof. “No, I’m sorry. Like I said, this whole thing has just got me stressed out. We really weren’t ready for something like this at all.”
Rarity stepped in to break the following moment of silence. “So is there anything we can do to actually help, besides filling up those buckets like the others?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm.
“Not unless one of you knows a spell that’ll whip up some storm clouds for us,” Rainbow Dash jested with a half-smile.
Twilight’s ears perked up. “Wait a minute, I might know a spell to do just that! But stand back, I haven’t really practiced it much…”
Rarity and Rainbow Dash each took a step backwards as Twilight lowered her head in concentration. A purple aura surrounded her horn once again as she brought forth the magic of her spell. A few tiny sparks flew off of her horn while she gritted her teeth in a stalwart effort. Slowly but surely, a small cloud of vapors began to gather itself in front of her. It swirled and spun into wispy tendrils, and eventually wove itself into a puffy mass. Its gloomy shape twisted and contorted as if it was breathing the very air around it. Twilight loosened her concentration and finally opened her eyes to see her creation. The intricate storm cloud hovered just a few feet in front of her face… and its entirety was about the size of a loaf of bread. Within its swirling mass, a miniaturized lightning bolt rumbled out of it with all the fervor of a purring kitten.
Rainbow Dash burst out in uncontrollable laughter, rolling on the ground at the mere sight of this pathetic excuse for a cloud. Rarity used one hoof to cover her mouth as she very visibly attempted to stifle her own laughter.
Twilight’s shoulders slumped as she stared at her disappointing creation. “Come on guys, I told you I haven’t practiced this spell much!” she said in a huff.
K-K-KRACKkk!
Their laughter was silenced abruptly as a deep, explosive boom echoed throughout the forest. All three of them flinched at the raucous din which seemed to make the very trees tremble with its frightful voice. The eyes of every pony in the clearing darted skyward to the source of the sound, only to see a monstrous cloud hovering above them. It was black as pitch and churned about within itself with ominous intent. A single white pegasus hovered in place just above the tree line of the glade.
“Somepony order a giant storm cloud?” he shouted triumphantly down to the onlookers.
Rainbow Dash’s face lit up at the sight of the monstrosity. “Brolly, it’s perfect!” she exclaimed with exuberance. The cyan pegasus snapped out her wings and soared through the air in a speedy ascent. “Where in Equestria did you find this thing?!”
“Oh it was floating along on a collision course with Fillydelphia. Trust me, I don’t think they’ll mind if we take it off their hooves!”
“Excellent work, Brolly!” she offered with a salute. “I can take it from here!”
Quickly circling around behind the cloud, Rainbow Dash braced her front hooves against the swirling mass. Flapping her wings vigorously, she began to push the storm cloud forward. At first the colossal mass seemed to put up resistance, but after a brief thirty seconds, Dash had managed to move the cloud away from the clearing and further into the depths of the forest. The work was slow by Rainbow’s standards, but at least she was making progress. Everypony on the ground watched as she strained to coax every last ounce of speed from the giant cloud, forcing it to the distant treetops which danced with orange flames. Before long, the cloud came to a rest, hovering threateningly over the canopy.
With a rush of air, Rainbow Dash returned to the crowd, holding a low altitude over the clearing. She peered down at the onlookers as she stretched out her legs, wearing a familiar confident smile. “Alright everypony, don’t blink or you might miss this!” Without another word, the pegasus jolted forward and barreled towards the distant storm cloud. Her body ripped across the sky and tore through the stagnant smoke which still hung in the air. In her wake, there lingered a faint rainbow-colored jet stream, streaking along the canopy and tracing the trail of her expeditious charge. After mere moments, the rainbow trail disappeared into the depths of the distant cloud. The ponies in the clearing watched in awe as the side of the swirling grey mass buckled, warped, and finally collapsed in on itself before bursting outward from the other end.
K-K-KERPOWW!
A monstrous roar of thunder rippled through the forest as bolts of lightning came crashing down to the earth. The cloud tore apart from its center and erupted across the skies, calling down sheets of heavy rain as it spread. Even from the distant clearing, Twilight could see the torrents of heavy water pounding away at the smoldering leaves. The dim orange glow which hovered on the horizon flickered and faded. Waves of steam began to rise up from the trees as the last sizzling embers succumbed to the deluge from above. The miasma of smoke, steam, and rain left the treetops in hazy disarray, illuminated only briefly by the occasional bolt of lightning.
It was at least a full minute before Rainbow Dash’s silhouette became visible once again over the canopy. Her shape descended from the lofty heights and finally settled in the middle of the clearing beside the lake. Her mane lay matted on her neck and shoulders, and her entire body was soaked to the bone. Her grand re-entrance was met with a chorus of chanting and cheering from the ponies who stood around her. Shaking some of the water from her body, she lifted her head up proudly and drank in the sounds of her veneration. This was, after all, the sort of attention that she lived for.
Several more minutes passed before the crowd finally began to dissipate, with the denizens of Ponyville returning to their work in the town. Only Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight remained in the clearing.
“You were so brave, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said with a timid smile as she stepped a little closer to her circle of friends. She had managed to catch the spectacle while returning from one of the circuits the weather team had been flying.
“Yes I have to admit, that was quite a display of showmareship back there,” Rarity complimented in turn.
“Very resourceful,” Twilight added at last with a nod.
Rainbow continued to beam as her friends’ praise flowed over her. “Oh you know, just another day on the job. It all comes with the territory when you’re this awesome!” she boasted while flipping her still wet mane over her shoulder.
“Not to interject, but don’t you think you should maybe move that storm cloud away now?” Fluttershy queried meekly, already backing down. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble…”
“Nah, I’m sure it’ll peter out on its own,” Rainbow Dash returned with a flippant air and a casual wave of her hoof. “Besides, aren’t there still a few more things you guys have to take care of for Pinkie’s party tomorrow?” The pegasus took a cursory glance around. “Speaking of which, where is Pinkie? And Applejack?” A brief glint of disappointment glossed over her face. “They totally missed that awesome stunt…”
“Well last we saw Pinkie, she was on a mad crusade to find some sugar,” Rarity provided.
Dash sat there for a few moments, processing the accusation. “Yep,” she finally settled, “that sounds like Pinkie Pie alright…”
“And as for Applejack…” Twilight paused in mid sentence. “Actually, I haven’t seen her all day. I was half expecting her to be down here helping you and the others.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Really? I would’ve thought she was with you guys back in town.”
Rarity shook her head. “Well if all else fails, I know one place where we can find her…”
“Sweet Apple Acres!” Twilight guessed enthusiastically.
“No surprise there…” Dash grimaced, crossing her fore-hooves. “All that pony ever does is work. She needs to kick back and have a little fun once in a while.”
“Well it is getting close to Applebuck Season,” the lavender unicorn offered smartly. “I’m sure she has a lot of work to get done in preparation. You can’t fault a pony for being too well prepared!”
Dash rolled her eyes. “Suuure…”
Rarity sensed a bit of tension and promptly stepped in to break it. “Well, perhaps we could go pay Applejack a visit? I’m sure she’d be interested to hear about the forest fire.”
Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up. “Oh yeah! She’s totally got to hear about how I saved the day with that awesome maneuver!”
“And we might be able to help her out with some of her farm work too!” Twilight added cheerily.
Dash slumped her shoulders and shot the unicorn an incredulous look. “Seriously Twilight? Don’t you—“
Rarity quickly shoved a hoof in front of the pegasus’s mouth, wearing a particularly strained and insincere smile. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what we all had in mind, Twilight. Great idea!”
Twilight hardly seemed to notice her friends’ lack of enthusiasm for the proposed hard labor. She simply went on, smiling happily. “You’re coming with us too, right Fluttershy?”
The yellow pegasus seemed almost startled at her sudden involvement in the conversation. “Oh, I – um… I actually can’t go. I was going to check on the little critters in the woods to make sure they’re okay.” She lowered her head nervously. “Um… if that’s okay with you…”
“Of course, Fluttershy,” Rarity said sweetly. “We’ll catch up with you later.”
“Then it’s settled! We’re off to Sweet Apple Acres!” Twilight announced.
Rarity lightly cleared her throat. “Ahem, do you mind using a bit of that magic to zip us over there, dear? I’d rather not get my hooves dirty walking through the fore— Er, I mean, I’d rather save my energy for helping Applejack!”
“Oh don’t worry Rarity, it’s not that long of a walk. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of strength left to help out when we get there!” Twilight remarked obliviously as she trotted down the forest path.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of energy for all that farm work, Rarity,” Dash commented in a snide whisper.
“Can it, Rainbow Dash!” she hissed in a brief lapse of her normal ladylike composure.
The pegasus chuckled under her breath as she followed along, watching Rarity delicately sidestep any portion of the path that she deemed ‘too dirty.’ With Twilight leading the party, the three of them casually made their way down the dirt road and back towards town.