Nature's Wrath

by Zoom Star

Chapter 4: Preparations

Twilight knew she had just felt something. It was like a tremor, like an aftershock of a small earthquake, but without the earthquake to cause it. She knew it had occurred, but she didn’t know what had caused it. First the abnormal freezing temperatures on a summer day, now there were aftershocks with no earthquakes. What was causing these strange occurrences to happen? And why was it making them happen? These questions could only be answered by investigation.

“Spike, I’m just going for a walk. I’ll be back in a few hours” she said, slinging her saddle bad over her back. Spike nodded, and turned back to the books, making sure they were all where they were supposed to be. Twilight smiled at her assistant, grabbing her scarf and coat of the coat rack by the door before opening it. She walked out, closing the door behind her as the cold enveloped her. She looked out at the sun, now lower in the sky, and began walking through the town.

The cold had everyone on edge now, that or Twilight wasn’t the only one who felt the tremor earlier. Ponies in winter jackets and scarves were either shivering or extremely tense, moving around skittishly as if worried the ground beneath them would erupt any second. Twilight calmly walked amongst them, looking for any signs of ponies that might know what was going on. After all, she had to start somewhere.

Then, almost as if someone had read her mind, she felt it again. She once again felt that weird sensation that the ground was moving back and forth, a tremor causing her legs to become jelly. Once it had subsided, she lifted herself up on her hooves, her ears perking up at the sound of voices nearby. “I hear the source of those tremors is somewhere in the small grove that sprung up a few weeks back. I wonder what caused that forest to appear so quickly?” said a voice nearby.

“Well whatever caused the trees to pop up, it can go away. I’m sick of this cold, and now these tremors have started!” complained the second pony. Twilight walked over, eager to join the conversation. “Hello Twilight! How are you?” asked the first pony. “I’m fine. I was wondering, where is this ‘grove’ you mentioned?” she replied, trying to keep a light-hearted tone. The two ponies smiled at her, surprised at her eagerness.

“It’s a fair walking distance from the edge of town. You should be able to get there in 10 minutes if you walk. Quite a stunning place actually” replied the second pony, looking into the distance remembering her last visit to the mysterious grove. Twilight nodded, saying a simple “Thank you” before heading back to the library. If she was going to go to the grove, she needed to plan her trip out. There was no sense in going to new places without preparation.

As Twilight came through the door, Spike jolted, not expecting to see Twilight until later. “Hey Twilight, did you forget something?” he asked. Twilight simply shook her head, grabbing a few guide books on hiking. “I found a good lead, but I need to prepare more. I think I’ll go tomorrow” she replied, continuing to pack books and other tools into her saddlebag. After she was done, she left the saddlebag on a hook by the door.

Before beginning her day-to-day chores, Twilight took her winter jacket and scarf off and hung them on the coat rack and left them there for tomorrow. “Where exactly are you going that needs a whole day of preparation?” asked Spike, giving Twilight a concerned look. “Apparently a grove grew up a few weeks ago. I want to go there and see if I can find what is causing all these weather problems” she said, a reassuring tone in her voice. Spike still seemed concerned, however.

“And you’re going alone? What if you find something dangerous in the grove?” he asked her, his concern now apparent in his tone as well. Twilight thought about this. It would be stupid to go to some new unfound place all alone, she thought. “I’ll take Rainbow Dash with me then. She needs to know as much as I do, what’s causing the weather problems” she finally said after much thinking. Spike sighed heavily, before nodding and returning to work.

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“You want me to go with you to some stupid tree thingy?” Dash asked Twilight, her confused tone evident enough for Twilight “As much as I want to find out about these weather problems, that sounds way too boring for me” Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “Dash, this is most definitely the source of the cold temperatures! Don’t you want something to bring back to Cloudsdale?” she asked, pointing her hoof towards the sky.

Rainbow Dash thought about it. She did need that information, but she would never degrade herself to boring adventures into small tree gatherings. “You said that it might be a thing causing this?” she asked, her interest becoming piqued. Twilight nodded, following what Dash was going for. “And I need a brave weather pony to protect me in case things go wrong. So will you help me?” she asked once again, hoping she would get the answer she wanted.

“Fine, but only because Ponyville depends on it” said Rainbow Dash, finally giving in and deciding that it would be best if she went with. Who knows what could happen to Twilight if she was by herself, she thought. “Great! Meet me at the fountain in the centre of town tomorrow morning. Be prepared for a hike, alright?” Twilight said, eagerness filling her up. Rainbow Dash nodded, and flew off, obviously going to prepare her things.

Twilight smiled brightly as she headed back to the Library, her joy radiating out of her as she trotted along, up the street toward the tree she called home. She could just smell dinner as she approached it, eager for a good night’s rest. She quickly headed through the door, gave Spike a quick ‘hoof up’ signal, and headed into the bathroom to freshen herself up. Tomorrow, she and Dash were going to have an amazing adventure, she just knew it.

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[TheRealShadowFoot]

if i didnt i wouldnt be a watcher

[Zoom Star]

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