The story of the power of nature. And the changes it can bring to the lives of ponies.
Nature is just like us. It has different moods, like anger, happiness, and sadness. It can change dramatically if it wants to, and has the power to change others. But the one thing Nature has that we don't, is power itself. Power that can be unleashed in a raging tornado, or a vengeful tsunami. In some cases, you could say, Nature has power over us. But what happens, when a pony discovers it has changed this rule, to dramatic standards.
The wind was cold, like a wicked dagger on your skin, pain striking as it hit you. It wasn’t normally like this, but the weather in Ponyville had become strange for the past few hours. But, the citizens of Ponyville were still fast asleep. Deep in slumber, the town had no idea of what was coming, what had entered into their world. The winds began to beat on the houses, the windows rustling and clanging onto the window frames.
Spike awoke suddenly, the noise of the windows constant clashing disrupting his dreams. He shivered, the cold wind cutting him like a knife. He was cold-blooded, being a reptile, and that meant it was even colder. He went to the window and pushed on them, the noise stopping for a moment or two. He lifted his hands off the window, only for the wind to pick up and blast it open, sending the purple dragon soaring across the room.
The room was now as cold as ice, and Spike was lying in a heap, his body shivering from the now chilling temperature. The noise of the thud Spike made, and the sudden change in temperature from cold to freezing woke Twilight up in a flash. She looked around for the source of the noise, and saw Spike lying on the floor nearby. Getting out of her warm bed, the cold air struck her like a hammer, and she almost froze from the cold.
“Hang on Spike, let me just get you a blanket” she said, attempting to console the purple dragon with words. He didn’t seem to hear her, as he simply sat there rubbing his sides to warm himself. She grabbed the blanket on Spike’s bed, and walked towards him with it on her back, trying to concentrate on her body warmth, rather than the skull-splitting cold that she felt on the outside of her coat. When she reached Spike, she wrapped the blanket around him carefully.
It didn’t seem to work, as he was still incredibly cold when she felt his scales. She picked up the small dragon and carried him on her back. He simply shivered, unable to move for fear of losing heat. Twilight slowly made her way to her bed, her own body freezing up. She carefully placed Spike onto the mattress, and covered him with the large blanket on her bed. The warmth she had left from her sleep seemed to still be there, as the dragon fell asleep in it, his body gradually warming up.
Twilight quickly made her way to the window and closed it, placing the small metal lock down to keep it closed. The room wasn’t warm, but at least it wasn’t freezing now. She looked back at her bed, realising she was now out of a place to sleep. Deciding it was better if she got to something warm, she headed down the stairs to the sitting room. Here she grabbed a spare blanket, lit the fireplace and lay down on the couch, covering herself with the blanket.
Here she sat and wondered, her mind racing now that she was cosy and warm. What was going on with the weather? Why was the wind so strong? What had caused the air to be so cold on a summer night? None of these questions could be answered tonight, so she resorted to resting her head on the arm of the couch and drifting into a deep slumber, her head filling with dreams. She dreamed of swimming in the deepest oceans, flying over the highest mountains. Why, she did not know.
-----
“Twilight?” the purple dragon sounded softly as he stood at the top of the stairs. “What are you doing?” Twilight was head first in a large book, her eyes darting from left to right. “Sorry Spike, can’t talk, have to figure this out” she said very quickly, Spike only just able to pick up what she said. He made his way down the stairs, shaking his body to get some warmth back into it. “What in all of Equestria would have you up at 6:00 in the morning to ‘figure out’?” he asked.
Twilight lifted her head out of the book reluctantly, looking at Spike with frustration. Spike stepped back in shock as he saw the state she was in. Her mane was ruffled, poking out in odd places. Her eyes were baggy and red, and her face seemed paler than usual. “Twilight did you sleep at all last night?” he asked, adding to the questions Twilight had to answer. She looked down at the ground, trying to think through what she was doing then looked back at Spike.
“I only got an hour of sleep last night, because my mind had too many questions. I had to answer them, and so I rushed to my books” she said, motioning her hoof around the walls of books. “I’ve been trying to figure out why it was abnormally cold last night, and why the weather changed so suddenly. It is summer after all” When she had finished explaining, she stuck her head back into the book, continuing her intense reading.
Spike shook his head in a mixture of disgust and shame. Obviously staying up reading and in the cold had made Twilight ill, and he was the one who had slept in her bed, because he was a cold-blooded creature. He walked over to Twilight, and patted her consolingly on the shoulder. She lifted her head from her book once more, but her frustration turned to concern when she saw Spike’s face. Spike looked up at her, his mind setting on what he would say.
“You need to get some rest Twilight. Staying up all night in the cold has made you ill” he said, patting her softly on the shoulder again. “I’m not ill! I feel… Achew! I feel fine!” she said through her sneeze. Spike looked unconvinced, shaking his head. Twilight sighed, defeated by the cold. “Fine, I’ll go and have a nap. Can you clean this up for me while I’m asleep?” she asked, pointing to the books she had finished reading. Spike nodded, and as Twilight left, he began sorting the piles of literature.
The sun was now high in the sky, signalling a new day. The wind from the night before had subsided, but the air was still cold, as if the wind left a remnant of itself behind. The ponies of Ponyville were confused as to how the sun was making the day cold, but most shrugged it off and went about their normal summer day with a scarf and jacket on. The stalls were still selling their produce, though the fruits and vegetables were beyond help from the drop in temperature.
Applejack sat down under the shade of a nearby apple tree, feeling the defeat kick in. She had awoken this morning to find all the apples in the orchard had gone bad, the cold weather unsuitable for fruit to grow. She had spent most of the morning galloping everywhere trying to find any good apples, but all of the apples were gone. Her scarf flopped down beside her, and her jacket clung to her coat to collect what warmth it could.
“How could ah be defeated by weather?” she asked the air, nopony in the vicinity being able to hear her. Her head dropped to the ground, a single tear forming in her emerald green eyes. “What is ma family supposed ta do now?” she asked the air once again, her head looking up into the blue sky, the sun beaming down without heat. Finally, she got up onto her hooves, and began her shameful walk back to her house to tell her family the bad news.
“Why won’t you come out, little guys? It’s not winter yet” Fluttershy said, trying to coax a family of badgers out of their home. She had woken up this morning to find all the animals sleeping in their wintry houses, the cold weather making them think it was time to hibernate. She was now doing her best to try and get them back out, but she had had little success for the past 3 hours. She looked into the hole in front of her, but saw nothing but darkness.
“What is going to happen if they go into hibernation too early?” she asked herself, thinking of the disastrous consequences that would occur if she did not succeed. She became faster paced, now banging on the top of the homes, shouting random words into their sleeping ears. She even grabbed a blow horn from her house and blasted it in the small caves, but none of these seemed to wake them up. Fluttershy dropped her head, shamefully walking back to her house.
Rainbow Dash zoomed across the sky, trying to find clouds to remove from the large blue empty horizon. She had been up all morning, trying to find the reason why it was so cold. If Cloudsdale found out she couldn’t fix a simple weather problem than she would have been shamed by every Pegasus ever! She couldn’t let that happen, it would ruin her. But for the past 3 hours she had been up trying to find even a hint of a cloud, and found nothing.
She finally hovered to the ground, her wings dropping down either side of her. She hung her head, walking slowly toward the library. She had degraded herself to asking Twilight how to fix the weather! What would Twilight think if she found out Dash couldn’t fix a weather problem on her own? But Dash had to go to her, no matter what. She couldn’t risk her reputation just to keep up her know-it-all-about-weather act.
Rarity was hard at work, sowing a thread here, cutting an edge there. Ever since this morning, ponies were coming into her shop continuously, asking for winter jackets. When she asked why they wanted winter jackets during a nice summer day, they directed her outside, where she was hit by a huge wave of cold. She nodded her agreement, and rushed back in, beginning her work on a winter jacket for every pony in Ponyville!
Before long, her profits began going through the roof as she got bits from every pony she ever knew. She didn’t know what had caused the cold weather, but she wanted to thank it a million times for the money it had brought in for her. She could buy Sweetie Belle a new set of school books, she could get some new fabrics from Canterlot, and she could even get Opalescence a new dazzling collar! The limits were endless!
“Another two hot chocolates over here, Pinkie!” the two ponies at the nearby table shouted to Pinkie Pie. “Oki doki loki” she replied, bouncing off into the kitchen. She began whipping up many cups of warm chocolate, adding in the sugar and milk. When she had gotten enough hot chocolates onto a large tray, she trotted back out, putting them in front of the many ponies that were beginning to fill Sugarcube Corner.
“Gee Mr and Mrs Cake, with this amount of ponies coming, our money is gonna go WHOOSH!” shouted Pinkie, emphasising the whoosh by jumping in the air, landing softly back onto the floor. The Cakes nodded in agreement, looking around at the constantly filling shop. “Poor dears, it must be dreadfully cold out there if so many are getting hot chocolates on a summer’s day” Mrs Cake said, looking out at the bright day, seeing a pony in a scarf and winter jacket.
Twilight opened her eyes, feeling a lot better now that she had rested up. She slipped out of her bed, and went over to the mirror, fixing up her mane and coat. When she felt she was in a fit state to be seen in public, she trotted down the stairs, stopping at the bottom. “Oh, hey Twilight. Feeling better?” asked her little purple assistant, who had just finished packing her books back onto the shelf from her fiasco last night.
“Yes Spike, I feel much better. Thank you for cleaning up” she replied, walking over and patting Spike on the head softly. “That’s what assistants do Twilight. But, your welcome” he said, taking out his duster and beginning to clean the bookcases to remove dust. Twilight trotted over to the book she had left open to continue reading, and was about to fall into it again, when a loud rap on the door caused her to jolt. “I’ll be over in a minute!” she cooed, picking up the book she knocked over.
Twilight opened the door, looking out at the streets full of ponies in scarfs and jackets. Standing there was Rainbow Dash; her head hung low, her wings pointing to the floor. “Can I come in?” she asked, not lifting her head. Twilight nodded, standing to the side as Rainbow walked into the library, her glum mood immediately spreading throughout it. “You seem a bit down Dash, is everything okay?” asked Twilight, closing the door to remove the cold temperatures.
“I need your help Twilight. I’ve been assigned to figure out what has happened to the weather” she replied, her words slightly muffled due to her seemingly talking to the floor. Twilight became excited, eager to find out what had happened. “What did you find out?” she asked, her excitement evident in her voice. Rainbow Dash frowned even more, and simply continued to watch the intricate wooden floorboards before replying.
“Nothing! That’s why I’m asking you, I need you to help figure out what’s going on!” she shouted, her voice echoing. Twilight flinched a bit, before frowning herself at the addition to the bad news. “I’m sorry Dash but I haven’t the slightest idea. And before you ask, no, my books have nothing on sudden temperature changes” she said, patting Rainbow Dash on the shoulder, trying to comfort her. She shrugged her hoof off, and began pacing up and down the library.
Then, suddenly, the door burst open filling the room with cold once again. Standing in the doorway was Applejack, who looked just like Twilight when she had not slept at all the night prior. She slammed the door shut behind her, looking at Twilight with a worried look. When she saw Rainbow Dash, she immediately ran over, pouncing on her like a lion on its prey. She stared straight into Dash’s eyes, as if peering into her soul.
“Why have you done this? What made ya think that makin’ it cold would be a good thing?!” she shouted at her, prodding her in the chest with her hoof. “Ma entire orchard is ruined! And this cold is what caused it!” Rainbow Dash had had enough at this point, shoving Applejack off of her with her forelegs. The two ponies stared at each other with blinding anger, neither backing down from their onslaught of staring.
Then, the door was once again slammed open, and standing in it was Fluttershy. Not normal, shy Fluttershy though, but an angry Fluttershy. She stormed in, bucking the door shut with her back legs. “Can someone explain to me why a beautiful summer’s day is now a cold blizzard?!” she shouted grabbing everyone’s attention. Seeing everyone staring at her caused her to calm down slightly. “If you don’t mind, of course” she finished, her voice once again a soft tone.
“Nobody knows Fluttershy, not even my books could tell me. Rainbow Dash had nothing to do with it Applejack so calm down!” Twilight shouted over the top of everyone. Everyone calmed from anger to worry, Applejack moving to Twilight. “Ah beg ya Twilight, my family won’t survive without the money we get from dem apples!” she pleaded, grabbing Twilight on either side and shaking her.
Just then, for the third time in a row, the door was slammed open. “Would you all stop slamming my door down?!” shouted Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie Pie burst in, but instead of frowns, they were both practically beaming with joy. “Darlings, we have good news!” Rarity proclaimed to the room, her voice as glamorous as her appearance. “Oh boy, do we ever!” acknowledged Pinkie Pie. She was literally bouncing up and down on the spot.
“The cold weather has gotten every pony in Ponyville to buy a winter jacket from me, so my profits went over the moon!” Rarity said, smiling at her accomplishment. “Did they ride on the back of the cow?” asked Pinkie, getting confused looks from everypony. “Anyway, Sugarcube Corner is now full of ponies who are buying loads of hot chocolates! Its extra amazing!” she beamed, bouncing even higher as she said this.
“Well I’m glad somepony gained something from this awful, dreadful weather” said Twilight, sighing as she looked at Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack, who were all looking at the floor with shame. “But that still doesn’t explain why it’s so cold!” As she said this she began pacing, thinking hard as to how they could find out. Then, she had an instant brainwave, as if a light bulb had lit up in her head. She turned to Spike.
“Spike, see if you can order some books on strange occurrences to do with weather” she said to him, lifting her head high. Spike nodded, and pulled out a small reference book from a nearby shelf. “According to this, there is a book called ‘The Weather and What Happens’ in Manehattan Library, and the library in Canterlot has a book called ‘The Magic Properties of Weather’. Shall I order them both?” Spike said, looking up from the book. Twilight nodded.
Spike pulled out two pieces of parchment and a pot of ink. On the first parchment, he wrote an order for ‘The Weather and What Happens’ and added the address for Manehattan Library. On the second one he wrote down ‘The Magic Properties of Weather’ and the address for Canterlot Library. He slipped them into two envelopes, and added a small amount of bits to each of them before letting out a stream of green flames from his snout, sending them on their way.
“Good, now can everyone please get back out and do something that does not involve annoying me?” Twilight commanded. The other ponies nodded, leaving the library to continue their day. Applejack stopped at the door, remembering that she had no work. Twilight seemed to read her thoughts as she walked over and put a comforting hoof on her back. “You need some sleep, go home and rest up” she said, patting her consolingly. Applejack nodded, and then followed the others out the door. The rest of the day was going to be very busy.
A single stallion stood alone in the centre of a small field. Over the trees, on the horizon was a small town. The stallion had a green coat, and his mane was green with yellow streaks. His tail looked like a long green vine, flowing down his flank. His eyes, a glaring gold colour, scanned the field around him, before facing his body toward the town again. He swiftly turned around on the spot; his mane longer than the average stallion, as it flowed gracefully in the strong cold breeze. He faced the opposite direction now, looking sternly at the large area in front of him.
He raked his mind, his memories all but gone. The last he remembered of his life was being in this very spot, the rest was a dense blur. His body ached as the blinding cold of the air struck his body like daggers. He was angry, angry at the loss of his memories, except for a name. Forest Growth, a name which he knew nothing about, was all he could remember about his past. He looked back at his flank, seeing a strange marking, a dark green vine tangling on itself.
He turned back, concentrating on the area of grass that he had pointed out earlier that night. He focused his mind, pointing a hoof at the ground. As he did this, the ground began to shake, the small area of grass producing large cracks. Eventually, roots began pouring out of the cracks, and digging themselves into the ground in arches. Forest Growth opened his eyes in astonishment at what he was doing. He held his concentration however, continuing to focus on the roots.
Soon, a gaping hole in the centre of the roots gave birth to a wide tree trunk. It was twenty times wider than the trees that were surrounding the field, and could easily fit a small home inside it. It began to grow, using the roots as leverage to raise itself higher. Then, branches bean popping out, the higher it went the more branches would appear, until some were even growing leaves. As it reached its highest, the tree spouted a flurry of leaves at the top.
Forest lowered his hoof, as the rumbling subsided. The surrounding field looked as if it had never been touched, aside from the ginormous tree that was now standing tall in it. The tree began swaying softly in the strong cold winds, the leaves rustling as the air blew through them. Forest smiled at his accomplishment, sitting down softly to rest from the amount of force needed for the feat of growing a tree as tall as a skyscraper. But he was not done yet.
He once again pointed his hoof at the tree, the rumbling returning. This time, the ground erupted in a mass amount of vines, a brownish-green colour. They began flowing around the tree, climbing its trunk and worming around the branches. Then, they stopped moving, and the tree was covered in vines. But Forest didn’t stop there, as he continued making a large door at the base of the tree, with windows as you went up, and rooms could be seen sprouting inside of the mass amount of wood.
Finally, Forest lowered his hoof, placing it on the ground and following through with his other hooves at a steady walking pace. He opened his door, sidling through it and into the average sized living room. As he closed the door, he could smell the aroma of fresh wood as he climbed the stairs, his hand rubbing against the smooth interior of the tree. He always liked nature, even though he never remembered anything, he knew he always loved it.
Nature was free, and could what it wanted, it had no government to tell it what to do, no ponies to make fun of it or damage it. Though many try to damage it, nature has shown that it has the power over us, not the other way round. So what had caused nature to become cold? What caused it to make the ponies lives miserable with cold air? And why was it that Forest somehow had a way of controlling it? Why was he different? These questions would be answered another time.
Forest slowly managed to make it upstairs. Here, he kept the same pace, reaching the door handle in front of him and turning it, opening the door to reveal a small bedroom. A bed sat in the corner of the room, next to a wooden bedside table. Along the opposite wall were a chest of drawers and a large cupboard. Finally, the room was fitted with a medium sized window above the chest of drawers, which overlooked most of the field.
Forest moved over to the window, and peered out at the field he had planted his new home. He could just imagine the glorious flowers and trees that he would set out in the gardens he had planned. He did not know why, but he wanted to enjoy his secluded life as much as he could. The field was fairly close to the nearby town, so Forest could move in and out without too many noticing him. That way he wouldn’t have to live on just plantation, and maybe acquire some seeds.
He drew his hoof through the air, as if planning out a map of the garden in his mind. He added the 6 sections, and the footpaths between them, the gates and the names of the plants he would grow. He then remembered the library he saw downstairs in his living room. He decided he would go to the town soon to get books as well. He could catch up on a few years reading time that he had missed by forgetting it all. He chuckled at the thought.
Finally, he turned back to the rest of the room, looking at the fine detailing in the wood of the drawers and cupboard. Then, he slowly made his way to the singular bed in the corner, lifting the covers as he shoved himself underneath them. He laid his head on his pillow, and welcomed the warmth of his mattress to fight the horrible cold he had experienced outside. Soon, he was fast asleep and heading into the realm of the dream.
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.
-----
“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.
Twilight woke up the next morning, fresh and ready for her upcoming adventure. After getting herself ready, she trotted down the stairs into the main room of the library. “Good luck Twilight” Spike cooed from his small corner where he was cleaning the bookshelf of dust. Twilight nodded, and then made her way toward the door. She grabbed her coat and scarf, and slung her saddle-bag over her back before heading through the door and closing it behind her.
As she made her way to the fountain in the centre of town, she saw that most of the town had calmed since yesterday, which probably meant the tremors had subsided. As she passed, she could see many of the stalls selling new things to recuperate from the stock fall from the cold temperatures. She couldn’t help but think of Applejack, and how she was having a rough time with the orchard being decimated by the weather changes.
But her thoughts only drove her forward to solve the problems even faster. This grove could hold the secrets that could help her solve these problems, which was the main reason why she was now heading to meet Dash. She needed something to bring to Cloudsdale, and so Twilight decided that Dash would be the best companion to take with her. As the fountain began to come into her view, she could just see a cyan blur zoom towards it.
“Hey Twilight, you ready?” asked Dash as she approached the fountain. Twilight nodded excitedly, eager to begin their adventure. The grove sounded beautiful from what she had heard of it, and she desperately needed a bit of a vacation from her day-to-day chores. But this was also a mission to help get rid of the weather problems, so it was just as important as it was enjoyable. The two mares began heading toward the track that led to the grove.
-----
Forest Growth headed out the door after a delicious daisy sandwich for breakfast, ready to start the day. The sun had risen fairly high above the tree tops, but the cold weather would prevent Forest from gardening. He didn’t know why it was so cold, but then, Nature has a mind of its own. He decided today he would set up a firm perimeter around his home. With this, he signalled his hoof up, causing a dozen stag to appear from the trees, fence pieces strapped to their backs.
Forest swiped his hoof across the large field, causing large vines to erupt from the ground. They wormed around the fence pieces and began fitting them into the ground carefully. More of the stag appeared with fence pieces, and they left as soon as the vines took them from their backs. Soon, the vines disappeared after finishing the fence off with a gate at the opposite end of the field from the giant tree house.
Forest smiled at his work, nodding as he walked back and forth up the fence to make sure it was all strong and healthy. When he was back at the door of the tree house, he once again lifted his hoof, this time pointing at the ground and drawing lines in the air. He then lifted his hoof with force upwards, which caused dozens of flat rocks to burst from the ground, forming into perfect lined paths that stretched across the entire field. Forest sat himself in front of his house admiring his work.
-----
“Come on Twilight, it’s just over this hill!” shouted Rainbow Dash, hovering above the tree tops. She was looking down into a small valley, where there was a small grove of sorts. It was larger than most of the other groves that dotted Equestria, so it filled the valley almost entirely. Twilight was cantering along almost directly below her, nodding as she heard the news that they had almost made it. She had been cantering for 10 minutes, and was fairly exhausted.
The sight was magnificent, the trees filling the valley as if they had just sprung from the ground. As she approached, she could smell the scent of daisies and roses fill her nostrils. Her spine shivered with delight from this smell, and she quickly began trotting toward the small gap between the trees which lead into the grove. Rainbow was now hovering just behind her, her nose perked up so she could get more from the wonderful smells.
As they made their way through the trees, they noticed that their hooves were hitting something that wasn’t soft grass. Instead, they could feel cold, flat rocks beneath their hooves. What creature could not only make a grove appear out of nowhere, but also cause grass to become rock in a matter of weeks? They became cautious, unable to comprehend what could have made all of this happen. They walked slowly, their hooves heavy upon the rocky path.
Soon, they emerged in a large field, surrounded by trees on all sides. In front of them was a large fence that bordered the field, a small gate standing firm between them and the expanse of field. At the very far end of the field was a large tree that rose far higher than the others. It seemed to have vines wrapping around its trunk, and upon closer inspection, a door and windows could be seen. Sitting in front of the tree was an earth pony, who was looking straight at the two mares.
“Excuse me? Could you help us?” asked Twilight, throwing her voice to the stallion. He stood up, walking out from the trees shade and into the sunlight. The two mares saw that he had a green coat, his head topped with a slightly brighter green mane with yellow streaks. His tail was shaped much like a vine, and had the same bright green colour as his mane, minus the yellow streaks. His golden coloured eyes seemed to burn into theirs as he stared.
Twilight began approaching the gate to open it, but just before she had her hoof on it, the ground erupted around it, and it was engulfed with vines. When she tried to open it, the vines seemed to keep it closed. Rainbow Dash flew up, and began to hover over the fence, when suddenly a larger vine erupted from the ground on the other side of the fence and whipped Dash, sending her flying back over the fence. Twilight rushed back to help her friend as the vine disappeared, trying to the get rid of the idea that the strange earth pony was causing all this.
Rainbow Dash had crashed into a nearby tree, the force of the hit almost sending her through it. She was badly cut, and one of her wings was broken. She tried to get herself out of the tree, but was unsuccessful, the pain too unbearable for her to move her body. Twilight rushed over as fast as she could, aiming her horn at Dash as it lit up, enveloping her legs in a purple aura. Twilight slowly pulled her magic back, causing Dash to cautiously leave the small dent in the tree.
Once she was out of the tree, Twilight began working her magic to try and heal the wounds. But, her cuts were too deep, and magic was never able to fix broken bones, or at least her magic couldn’t. She was just about to start crying, when she felt Dash lifting up. When she stepped back, she saw that a stag had appeared, and was lifting the damaged mare onto its back. Twilight was astonished at how this animal could be helping, but then she saw him.
He was holding the gate open for the stag as it walked through into the field, and towards the large tree. Twilight stood there and watched, until the green stallion beckoned her to follow, to which she nodded. She followed the stag to the tree, where Dash was placed inside, onto a small table at the side of the room. The stag then left, the only people in the room being Twilight and the moaning Dash, obviously in unbearable pain.
And then, the door burst open, causing Twilight to jolt. The strange stallion entered, walking over to the table where Dash was laying upon. He began looking over her wounds, checking what damage she had undertaken. He had done this for some time, before being interrupted by an anxious Twilight. “Are you going to explain anything? Or are you just going to examine her while she is obviously in pain?!” she screamed, her nostrils flared.
The strange stallion glared at her for a short time, with a look of concern mixed with annoyance in his eyes. Finally, he nodded, and began waving his hooves over Dash as she writhed around. She slowly began slowing down, slowly closing her eyes. Twilight became scared, unable to decide whether she was dead or asleep. She simply watched, as the strange pony continued to wave his hooves around.
Then, the cuts and bruises lit up, the light growing blinding. It soon engulfed Dash’s body, causing Twilight to cover her eyes. When she lowered her hoof, she stood there, mouth agape. Dash was breathing heavily, her broken wing had been fixed, and she no longer had cuts everywhere. The strange stallion simply left, and for a short while the two ponies stood there staring at each other confused.
Once the stallion came back he had two bowls of daisy soup on a tray, which he put onto a small tea table in front of the two mares. They stared at it for some time before swallowing up most of it. Twilight placed her bowl down, and looked over at the strange stallion. “Who are you?” she asked, unable to find a better question. “Forest Growth” was all he said, as he sat down and watched as the two mares finished their meals.
“What are you?” she asked again, but was interrupted by a very hungry Dash. “Hey do you have any more of this stuff? I’m starving!” she said, pointing to her empty bowl. He simply smiled, leaving the room once more, and returning with another bowl of daisy soup. He placed it in front of her, and sat back down. “To answer your question, I am a pony” he said, catching Twilight by surprise. She looked at him in confusion.
“But, if you’re not a unicorn, how did you command those vines, and for that matter, the stag?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. He looked into her eyes, as if searching her soul, his eyes full of stress and sadness. “I do not command them. I ask, and they reply” he said, looking out of his window. Twilight continued to look confused, unable to understand what he meant. He smiled, looking back at her.
“I would not expect you to understand” he said, looking sorrowfully into her lavender eyes. Twilight returned the stare, but felt as if she just wanted to lose herself in his golden iris colours. “Why is that?” she asked. He looked to the ground, showing signs of depression, and the effects of his solitude became apparent. “Because I do not understand myself, nor do I understand your weather problems” he replied.
“How did you know we were going to ask you about that?” she said, a quizzical tone spreading through her voice. He chuckled softly, before looking back at Twilight again. “Why else would you come all the way out here? To pick apples?” Forest joked, smiling wider than ever. Twilight, unable to see the funny side, simply became more nervous. Forest noticed this, and became his serious self once more.
“Look, I know not what Nature plans. But, I can help you fix some of your problems” he finished, trying to comfort her. He had to do something for throwing one of them into a tree, and he felt he hadn’t done enough. Twilight immediately perked up, but it was Dash who spoke. “You really mean it? You can fix all this bad weather?” she asked, a mix of scepticism and excitement in her voice. Forest nodded, causing them both to almost leap through the roof.
“I shall follow you back to your town, unless, of course, you are not ready to fly?” he pointed out to Dash, who immediately went back to her prideful stance in mid-hover. “Of course I can, I’m the best flier in all of Equestria!” she replied, zooming out the door that Forest had opened. Forest shook his head, looking off into the distance. “I didn’t get your names before” he said, turning to Twilight. “Oh, sorry. I’m Twilight Sparkle, and that Pegasus was Rainbow Dash” Twilight replied.
Twilight smiled, panting heavily after trying to keep up with Rainbow Dash. She could see Ponyville emerging over the top of the hill. Looking behind her to check on Forest, she was surprised to see that he was not out of breath. He simply trotted past Twilight, a smile on his face. “Come now, Twilight. Surely you can’t be exhausted already?” he asked. Twilight chuckled, trotting behind him after catching her breath.
“Come on you two! We have some weather to fix!” shouted Rainbow Dash, her wings flapping as she hovered above them a few feet ahead. She lowered herself so she was a metre from the ground, and the three ponies began walking over the hill and toward Ponyville. As they walked, Forest could see many ponies wearing coats and scarves, but still smiling. “You Ponyville folk sure know how to adapt” he said in surprise. Dash and Twilight smiled at each other at his kind remark.
Suddenly, as they neared their approach, a huge wave of cold wind hit them. Twilight shivered, cowering down to gather more warmth. Dash, still in the air, flew backwards and landed face first into the floor. Forest, still surprised, simply stood firm, looking straight into the wind with the same striking stare as he had given Twilight a few moments ago. As if upon command, the wind began to recede back, slowly drowning itself back into the atmosphere.
And as quick as it had come, it was gone. Twilight stood back up, looking behind her to see Dash dusting herself off. “Did you just do that?” she asked Forest. He nodded, looking over to her. Twilight once again lost herself in his golden irises as they stared at each other. “It was harder though. As if it was fighting me. Something else is causing this. Something powerful” he said, his face turning from determination to worry.
He began a fast-paced walk, his hooves stomping into the ground hard with fury. Nothing should have control over Nature. And he was going to keep it that way. Twilight and Dash looked at each other with scared faces, and then began racing after Forest. When they had caught up to him, they noticed that around them, ponies were staring as Forest began waving his hoof through the air. That was when it all changed.
As if he was shaping the air, his hoof began emanating rays of heat into the atmosphere. The cold wind began to die down, and the many ponies that had gathered began taking off their coats and scarves, with looks of astonishment mixed with fear. Who was this pony that could change Nature? Was he dangerous? Suddenly, the sun’s warmth finally broke through the cold, and the summer weather had returned.
“You did it! It’s not cold anymore! Woohoo!” shouted Dash, becoming immensely excited, jumping up and down and zooming around the ponies heads. The ponies began smiling, beaming at their saviour from the cold weather. But Forest began heading off once more, toward the edge of the Everfree Forest. Dash had zoomed off to Cloudsdale to give them the good news, so Twilight followed him by herself.
Many of the ponies were following them at a distance, eager to witness what he would do next. He paid no attention, his eyes full of determination to get to his destination. Twilight followed behind him, her face full of a mix of fear and admiration. She seemed to be warming up to him now, just as he had warmed up the weather just before. All around them, ponies began coming outdoors to find the source of the change in weather, and surprised to see Twilight and a new pony walking by.
Finally, they reached the small little house on the edge of the forest that Fluttershy called home. “This is the home of your friend? The one who is having trouble with the animals?” Forest asked, turning to Twilight. She nodded, opening her mouth to explain what she had been going through. “I know what is happening. I had to fix the same problem with a family of honey badgers near the grove. Luckily, they didn’t need much help, since most of them just pretended it wasn’t cold” he said, cutting her short.
Twilight looked at him with a confused look, and then shook her head. No need to look for an explanation with this pony, since he seemed to mess up your mind from just looking at him. They approached the house, and Twilight knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing a rather tired looking Fluttershy. “Oh, hello Twilight. I’m sorry I’m in this state, but I didn’t get much sleep because I had to…” she said, trailing off when she saw Forest.
“Fluttershy, this is Forest Growth. He is here to help with the animal problem” Twilight replied, pointing to him. Fluttershy seemed to cower a bit, her shy nature beginning to seep in. “H-hell-o” she stuttered, hiding her head behind her mane. Forest smiled, walking into her home and causing her to back away into the nearby couch. “You are very kind, going out of your way to help these poor animals. They are very lucky to have you” he said, walking to the back.
She smiled from behind her mane, her cheeks going red. “O-oh, thank you. I-I do wh-what I-I-I c-can” she mumbled, unable to gather up all the words. Forest smiled as he pushed open the large window that looked out into the garden. He closed his eyes as he waved his hoof over the small holes and tiny homes that the animals were sleeping in. One by one, they began filing out, surprised at the short hibernation, and the sudden warmth they felt.
Forest pointed a hoof at one of the bunnies, and waved it over. It seemed to hop towards him, it’s face screwing up in pain each time it landed. It hopped through the window and onto his back, before lying down, relieved of its pain. “I believe this one in particular might need medical attention, it seems to be limping” he said to Fluttershy. She had already been standing attentively after seeing the animals being woken up at last, and she dashed over to pick up the bunny.
“Don’t worry little guy, I’ll take good care of you” she cooed to it, rocking it in her hooves as she floated up the stairs and out of sight. Forest turned and nodded to Twilight, and the two of them headed out of the door and back to the path. “Only one last place left, Sweet Apple Acres” said Twilight, looking out at the barn. She sighed as she saw the dead apples hanging limp from the branches of the orchard. “Don’t worry, I can help her. Come on” replied Forest, who was now heading toward the same orchard.
The two ponies walked the steady path toward Sweet Apple Acres, the warmth of the sun caught by the wind and swiftly drifting over them. Forest smiled as he thought of the gardening he could finally begin at the tree house, now that the weather was suitable. Twilight shook herself, the sudden warmth surprising her body. She had been in the cold for only a few days, but her body had adapted to it. Now that it was warmer, her body had to make a sudden turn around.
“We’re almost there, be ready” said Forest, his stare narrowing and his face becoming a stern serious look once more. Twilight kept her pace, but her mind began racing like a hamster in its wheel. What was he expecting to find at Sweet Apple Acres? What could be so dangerous that it would make even this strange pony stern? She decided it best not to ask, and simply followed his orders, preparing herself for what was to come.
They came up to an archway hung over a pathway, leading toward the barn. In front of the barn was Applejack, who had not noticed her visitors as she stared out into the desecrate field of dead apple trees. She sighed, looking down to the ground, a small tear escaping her deep emerald eyes. As Twilight and Forest walked slowly toward her, Twilight accidently stepped on a stray twig on the path, a loud crack ringing out and alerting Applejack of their presence.
She jolted up, looking deeply into Twilight’s eyes, the sorrow in her heart evident in the heavy expression on her face. She tweaked a smile, and looked over at the stranger. Twilight watched as the two stared into each other’s eyes. As Applejack continued to stare, she too found she was lost in the gold irises of his eyes, unable to stop staring until he broke it himself by walking toward her. She shook her head, recovering from the daze, and stood up on all fours.
“Who is this Twilight?” asked Applejack, giving Forest a confused look as he walked past her and into the orchard. Twilight began following him, beckoning for Applejack to do the same. As Applejack trotted up to her, Twilight began explaining all the events that had happened before, keeping note of the things that Forest had done. “And now he is here to fix the orchard!” she finished as they entered the clearing, a little too loudly.
Forest turned to them, evidently having heard Twilight’s outburst. However, he pretended that he had not heard it, seeing the excited looks on their faces. He put his front left hoof forward, striking the ground hard, causing pulses to resonate outward like ripples in the sea. The ground rumbled under their feet as the pulses stretched out to the edges of the orchard. Once the rumbling stopped, Forest lifted his front hoof, and slammed it back down.
This time, the pulses were extremely intense, the energy inside them visible above the ground as large white circles, expanding and spreading outward. The rumbling was louder now, and the two mares lay on the ground thinking that an earthquake had begun. “This is how he fixes dead orchards?! By toppling all the trees with an earthquake?!” Applejack shouted over the noise. Twilight shrugged, just as confused, staring at the strange pony that didn’t seem to react at all.
The rumbling finally subsided, allowing the two mares to finally stand up. Applejack’s face lit up as she looked around the clearing. The trees in the clearing were now bright green, and the apples a delicious red. She was speechless, cantering around the clearing to look over all the trees. Somehow, the earthquake caused all the trees to revive themselves. She turned to Forest, staring at him for some time before leaping over and hugging him.
“Thank you so much kind sir! Ah don’t know how ah could ever repay you!” she shouted, her eyes pouring tears of joy from their sockets. Forest simply smiled, patting her on the back with his hoof. “You don’t need to thank me. How else could I get suitable apples to eat?” he replied, comforting her before breaking up the hug. Applejack smiled, looking over at Twilight and nodding. The two mares smiled at each other and began heading back to the barn.
Suddenly, Twilight stopped walking. “Mr Forest? Would you like to come and meet everypony with us? I’m sure they’d love to get to know the…” she said, interrupted by a sudden gust of cold wind. She flew back, along with Applejack and Forest, the cold wind striking against their coats. Forest jumped onto his hooves, looking around for the source of the sudden burst of cold. He didn’t need to look far however, as the answer was right in front of him.
Standing in the centre of the clearing was a tall being, a two-legged creature from the looks of it. It had green skin, and its hair was made of thick green vines that weaved all over her body. She looked down at the three ponies, her face mixed with anger and disgust. “How dare you! You have undone everything!” she screeched, her voice just as cold as the gust of wind that had hit them just before. Applejack stood back a bit, letting Twilight in front of her.
Forest, however, stood firm, a determined look on his face as he stepped forward. “What are you, vile creature?” he asked her, his tone precise and strict. She smiled, her wooden teeth spread evenly in a devilish grin. “I am a dryad, and I have taken control of Nature in this land! I shall bring pain upon these ponies, who think themselves commanders over weather! Ha!” she continued to screech, Applejack continuing to cower behind Twilight, who was just as frightened.
“You shall not torment these ponies any longer, dryad!” Forest shouted, his voice echoing across the clearing. The dryad was taken aback, and looked deeply into Forest’s eyes, her face becoming paler as she began to see what she was up against. “You, you are a dryad as well! But your soul is in the pitiful body of a pony” she wailed, her voice giving away her fear. Forest looked down at the ground, finally realising what he was. Finally finding the missing piece of the puzzle.
He looked up, looking into the creature’s eyes, now realising his most powerful ability; command. His golden irises began glowing as he stared intently into the dryad’s. She began wailing and screeching, filling the air with vile noises that could wake the dead. She began shrivelling down, shrinking slowly but surely. Soon, all that was left of her was a pile of leaves, and a sudden gust of warm wind blew them away, into the trees. The being responsible for all the hardships the ponies had faced was now gone. And now, Forest could return home, with new friends, new hopes, and a couple seeds to put in his garden.
