Chapter 4: A Major Problem
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Rainbow Dash rolled onto her side, mumbling in her sleep. She sniffed and snorted as colored strands of her mane fell in front of her mouth, before eventually brushing them away with a lethargic foreleg.

Her hoof brushed up against something soft, and she instinctively reached out, pulling it close to her chest with a sigh of content. The moment did not last long, and the Pegasus groaned after a moment of foggy realization.

That’s just a pillow.

Smacking her lips, she slowly sat up and shook her head, attempting to clear the lingering sleepiness from her mind. She stretched her front legs out, yawning aloud and blinking repeatedly while her room came into focus

She was back home. It was still dark in her room, save for a soft glow coming from her window. The sheets of her bed, along with all but one pillow, had been kicked to the floor during her slumber. Feeling the remaining plush object still in her lap, she discarded to the floor with the others.

Rainbow turned to look out the window, and found herself greeted by a glowing, starlit dawn. Amber and lavender lit the lakes of Ponyville with a glow, reflected as tiny specs of colored light into her slowly widening eyes.

The sky, however, was not the cause of her surprised look. Rather, it was the feeling of a very stiff wing brushing up against the backboard of her bed when she had turned.

Her mind was reeling in disbelief. She had not woken up with wings as stiff as these since she was halfway through her teenage years. Not so tender, either, as she could not help but shudder as her pinions brushed against the cold, wooden frame.

She twitched as her mind began processing the other sensations her body was starting to feel. In fact, there were a few other places that felt much tenderer than she was accustomed to waking up with. Her concerns then quickly melted into a warm grin, however, as she recalled the previous night.

But as the lakes she had just viewed would eventually, her features froze in icy horror, and as her joints locked up, the poor Pegasus pony teetered on the spot, and careened forward, falling face-first into the plush, purple pillow tossed to the floor moments before.

Her rump stuck into the air, catching a chilly draft which quickly reminded the poor pony that her nethers still ached a little, prompting a rather graphic recollection of her and Applejack’s… daring escapade.

One such escapade that took place in a public building.

While two sister ponies watched the entire scene.

The Pegasus had the grace to blush, groaning into the pillow.

Maybe the spa wasn’t so bad, but from the looks on the twins’ faces as they left the room, and the giggles that followed them out into the night… they might need to keep looking for a regular get-together spot.

The sun was still far beyond the horizon when Rainbow Dash left her floating residence, offering only the smallest glow from the crest of the mountaintop, gleaming what light it could against the fading moon on the opposite side of the sky. The temperature had also started its morning climb, and the soft sound of rustling from the trees below signaled the slow awakening of the birds and animals below.

All of this went unnoticed, however, as the Pegasus pony propelled herself upwards with a flap of her somewhat-rigid wings, tensing her back leg and kicking her first cloud into non-existence with an all-too cheery *poof*.

“Stupid mornings. Stupid clouds. Stupid stiff wings. Stupid… sexy Applejack.”

Looking around after her quiet outburst to see if she was still alone, she continued her grumbling, punctuating each remark with the burst of another cloud. Sniffing, she swung her back legs out to meet a particularly large one, casting a glance down towards the town below.

It struck her then just how many clouds floated around her that needed to be tended to, and it was with some difficulty that she recalled the previous night, when the two ponies were returning home from the spa. It had been her sheer misfortune that allowed the Mayor to walk into the pair, who proceeded to very clearly make known her disapproval of Ponyville’s weather manager putting off her job for half of the week. Having neglected to hire a replacement, she had left the skies unattended and dotted with clouds, whose numbers were growing steadily every day since.

Rainbow Dash’s situation was certainly not helped when a nearby storm cloud decided to unburden itself not more than a few feet above them, sprinkling the three ponies with rainwater and serving to drive the message home.

The Pegasus pony’s proceeding cackling had also failed to lighten the mood.

She let her gaze wander over the mass of clouds that lay across the eastern skies of Ponyville. That unfortunate storm cloud had caught her attention after she had kissed her marefriend goodnight, as did the large number of darkened clouds that she had passed on the way up to her Cloudominium.

As a seasoned weather pony, there were only two places she knew of that could create a raincloud large enough to unburden itself without the assistance of a Pegasus pony.

On occasion, the Cloudsdale Weather Factory was known to have their monthly bouts of scheduling hiccups and production errors. It was uncommon, but still very much a concern to find stray storm clouds traveling from their city without escort. More often than not however, the local weather teams were more than capable of wrangling the wayward byproducts, and in the case of an emergency, a messenger was dispatched to any nearby cities with a warning and would arrive long before any serious storm could form. It was a highly unlikely scenario, and she or the Mayor would have received notice by now.

The other place was just as believable of a source, but much more worrisome.

The wayward weather of the Everfree Forest was known to spread its adverse effects across the town from time to time. No weather pony, scientist, or anypony had been able to accurately reason or surmise why the weather above the mysterious forest acted of its own accord.

As Rainbow Dash turned to view the dark sky, dotted with clouds spreading from the horizon of the forest, she quickly deemed this option to be the most likely.

It worried her much more than the possibility of a factory malfunction.

Throughout her years of living in Ponyville, she had experienced more than her fair share of run-ins (and run-throughs) with the barbaric forest. She had heard the whispers of superstition from the previous weather managers and crew of how…disturbances could affect the unruly weather. Nothing in particular, but the common theme between stories was that the weather was somehow magically attuned to the natural state of the Forest.

Rainbow Dash yelped as a stray cloud suddenly discharged static beside her. More than just random, perhaps.

She remembered the chill that ran down her spine when the weather report had come in during the week that she and her friends had banished the wicked force that possessed Princess Luna. Soon after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, numerous reports from Pegasi and trained weather ponies pointed out that every cloud disappeared at the same moment that their terrible ordeal had ended.

Luna had insisted, when inquired by Cloudsdale weather specialists, that her powers had no discernible influence on the weather of the Everfree itself. This only furthered the spread of rumors that the weather could be attributed to a large, magical disturbance. Though Rainbow Dash personally had not noticed at the time, Twilight had, and was adamant about the validity of their findings, despite the assertions of her mentor’s royal sister.

Regardless of what caused it, the thought still sent a shiver down her back. The place was strange in ways both magical and mundane, and it was with good reason that a Pegasus pony would naturally get nervous around such a place.

Rainbow Dash kicked a leg into the side of a darker cloud, discharging it safely with a loud crack, before swiping through it with a quieter result. The Pegasus tossed her resolute gaze across her shoulder and to the forest’s direction, from which a growing layer of storm clouds slowly shifted towards her town.

Once the weather over Ponyville had been taken care of, she would get to the bottom of things.

It was her job, after all.

“Mmm! Mmm! Twilight, you’ve got to try these!”

“Oh you simply must, dear. This danish is exquisite!”

“Alright… mmm, thiff iff good!”

“Wanna try one, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, no thanks Pinkie Pie.”

“Applejack?”

“Thanks Pinkie, but I’m gonna pass.”

“Okay, more for me!”

*Ahem*

“Oh, for us, I mean.”

Applejack grinned at the white unicorn that had cleared her throat, who had the grace to blush as she reached out towards the plate once more, slightly wary of any onlookers that might pass their table. Rarity caught Applejack’s look, and raised her head with a dignified, unapologetic “Hmph.”

Looking away from her friend, the cowpony stretched away from the table, yawning aloud.

“Hey Applejack,” Twilight started from her side, setting her pastry aside. “You’ve been awfully quiet this morning. What’s on your mind?”

Applejack looked up at the cream-colored sky, tinting a new shade of blue with each passing minute as the sun rose higher into the sky. She smiled, readjusting her Stetson.

“Not much, Twi. Me an’ Rainbow Dash just stayed up a bit late last night, so I’m feelin’ a little tuckered today.”

“Stayed up?”

The cowpony jumped at Rarity’s sudden inquiry, willing the grin that had graced her features to a more convincing size before meeting her curious gaze.

“Everythin’s fine, Rarity. Why wouldn’t it be?” Applejack grabbed a danish and took a swift bite, leaning back on her haunches as she enjoyed the taste. Rarity fidgeted in place as she watched the cowpony eat. Twilight stared at her from her left.

“I… was unaware of the implication that everything wasn’t fine, darling.” Rarity said slowly, causing Applejack to wince.

“Well, o’ course. Sorry. You know, there-”

“Oh, I can’t help myself!” Rarity exclaimed, jumping up with a gleeful squeal and leaning over the table. “I heard all about you and Rainbow Dash’s trip to the spa yesterday!”

Applejack’s green irises shrunk to pinpricks as four sets of eyes settled over her, causing the cowpony to inhale the pasty pastries she had been chewing on with a strained whinny.

“Oh dear…” Fluttershy voiced her concern, reaching out a soft hoof and gently tapping Applejack’s back. Two coughs later, and she found herself in control of her breathing, swallowing the invading pastry stuff before looking up to Rarity with wide, watery eyes.

“Wha-what did you hear?”

Rarity’s concern was swiftly replaced with a wistful grin, graced in full-force.

“I caught Aloe on her way home last night. She gave me all of the details!”

“All the what?!” Applejack squeaked out, shrinking down in her spot at the table.

“Oh Applejack, you and I need to go to the spa together in the near future!”

Her face burned a bright red, features twisted in horror.

“Are you-”

“Better yet, why don’t you, me and Fluttershy head down there as a threesome?”

Her face turned a dark beet color as Rarity sprung to her hooves, stomping the ground with enthusiasm.

“I’ve got it! All six of us should go, my treat! We’ll have an org-”

“HEY would you look at the time!” Applejack yelped, jumping to her own hooves. “Nice eatin’ breakfast with y’all, but I really gotta go buck some apples! Just apples an’ no-pony-else-but-the-apples!” the Earth Pony cried, sprinting away from the table.

Two beats of a heart later, and a metallic *thud* echoed throughout the morning air, followed by the sound of Applejack falling to the ground in a daze, staring up at the lamppost in front of her.

“-anized party and be eligible for a group… discount.” Rarity finished slowly, sitting down with a disconcerted expression. A few seconds of confused silence passed through the group, before a pink pony stirred beside her, swallowing the remainder of her danish.

“Wait, who just said party?”

Rainbow Dash flew forward, coughing as she flew through another patch of foggy clouds that drifted above the canopy of the Everfree Forest.

She groaned. It would make much more sense for her to simply fly over the layer of smog, but now she was looking for specifics. The clouds didn’t appear to follow a pattern the closer she flew towards the heart of the forest, so she stayed just the tree line, keeping her eyes below and skimming each small clearing for any sign of… anything.

Though to be honest, she wasn’t seeing much of anything flying straight through them either.

Rainbow Dash had ventured into the Everfree Forest many times with her friends. She easily recalled the fog that had pervaded the ground from many of her escapades into the accursed forest. It was normally a sickly, swirling mass that stayed from the various pathways winding through the forest.

Now the stuff was everywhere, and not even the morning sunlight could pierce through the choking vapors that now blanketed the entirety of the Everfree Forest.

She grimaced, grateful of her decision to leave her friends in Ponyville. Even the dissipated wisps that trailed up in front of her were enough to send the Pegasus pony into a coughing fit. Having her earth pony and unicorn friends travel through the dense air below would get them nowhere, and Fluttershy, despite being a Pegasus pony herself, had little experience with weather management, and wouldn’t know what to look for. Not to mention she would probably decline at first blush.

No, this was a job for her alone.

Twirling into a corkscrew and bursting through another cloud, Rainbow Dash coughed into her hoof, peering through the dim haze that hovered above the thick canopy of the Forest, while strafing from side-to-side to avoid the occasional thundercloud.

She stopped in front of one such cloud, hovering and watching it intently. The cloud looked darker than most of the ones that she had seen, full and pulsing with energy. She flicked it with a hoof, and it let out a small discharge, causing her to recoil. The dark color, however, stayed the same.

Rainbow Dash frowned. This one was dangerously full of lightning.

Things were getting worse. These clouds would last for days, and despite all of her Pegasi instincts screaming that she leave this chaotic weather, she couldn’t afford to have clouds this large drifting out all over Equestria, let alone Ponyville.

Coughing aloud once again, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings harder, hovering ahead into the mist, trying to convince herself that everything was still fine… and that she couldn’t hear the rumbling of the ground beneath her.

A deep, low rumble.

The expanse of sickly fog stretched out before her, choking the plants and masking the visible light from penetrating to the ground below. Rainbow Dash grimaced as she realized that Zecora's hut would be impossible to find now. For all she knew, she could have already flown straight past her.

Wincing, she flew faster towards the heart of the forest than before, and silently prayed that nopony had been in the forest by the time the smog had encompassed the trees.

Pony or zebra, nothing could survive down there for very long.

“For the last time, I really am fine, Twi’. Honest.”

“I just wanted to make sure you got back alright. Really Applejack, you hit that pole really hard. You could have really hurt yourself, and I’d rather see you collapse near your family than on the road to Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack turned to face the unicorn with a deadpan look. The unicorn grimaced.

“Sorry… poor choice of words.”

Applejack turned to the side, smiling up at the morning backdrop. “Well, I do appreciate it all the same, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled back, tilting her head.

“Even if yer lyin’ to me.”

“That’s what friends are… wha-Oof!”

Snorting, the cowpony didn’t even have to turn around to know that her friend had face-planted right over her hooves.

She did anyway.

“Gee Twi, not settin’ any examples fer avoiding injury.”

“Applejack.”

“ Oh c’mere.” The Earth pony helped Twilight to her hooves. Dusting off her friend’s mane, Applejack put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Now, tell me what’s got you actin’ all edgy.”

“I’m not edgy, I’m just walking with you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t… need an excuse to take a walk with a friend, do I?”

“Well Twi, ya usually do.”

Twilight turned her head and bit her lip, looking hurt. Sighing, her orange companion walked up beside her, bumping their rumps together and causing them to meet eyes.

“Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothin’ wrong with walkin’ a friend home, but I know you better than this. You don’t just do things all willy-nilly like this, ‘specially to take a walk to Sweet Apple Acres, and ‘specially when I told you and the girls that I’m workin’ the fields all day long. So tell me,” Applejack narrowed her gaze. “Why. Are. You. Followin’. Me?” she asked, punctuating each word with a poke of her hoof.

Twilight backed up a pace, gulping.

“W-well… I’ve just been working a lot, and the party a few days ago made me realize that I should get out more. And Spike told me that I needed some fresh air, so he… kicked me out?”

“Spike.”

“Yeah.”

“Kicked you out of your own library.”

“Yeah.”

Applejack leveled the unicorn with an inquiring gaze.

“Really?”

Twilight smiled widely. Very widely. “Really! That’s… what happened. Eh heh.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes.

“What was Spike doin’ when he told you that?

“He was dusting the autobiographies.”

“What were you talkin’ about before that?”

“A book I read last night.”

“What color is my hat?”

“Light saddle-brown.”

“How d’ya cut an apple pie inta eight even slices with only three cuts?”

“Cut the pie twice to get four even slices, stack them evenly and cut the stack in half.”

“What was the last book you finished readin’?”

“Drop The Books For Better Looks: Fit Fillies And… and…” The unicorn trailed off, looking to the side and seeing Applejack’s lopsided grin.

“You were sayin’?”

Twilight growled at Applejack’s vain attempt to stifle her chuckling.

“Okay okay, I’m sorry Twi’. Really.” she exclaimed, springing into a trot to the garden arch over the property path. “So my next question; why the sudden interest in exercise?”

When Applejack heard no immediate response, she perked her ears up. The only sound she could hear were her own hoofsteps beating the dirt path. She turned back with some unease to see Twilight standing still, looking subdued. Noticing the curious look her friend was giving her, Twilight’s eyes shifted downward, looking at her hoof as it nervously scuffed the dirt.

“Well, it’s… it’s nothing. I just spend a lot of time reading, and I wanted… to find, um… to get in better-”

“Twi?”

It was on her face. The look Applejack gave her friends when she didn’t buy their story, for whatever reason it was spun. Twilight turned away, biting her lip again.

“Applejack… am I pretty?”

The farm pony’s eyes became pinpricks, as the mare tried to find her voice. “Wha-what’re ya askin’ me for?”

Twilight twitched, causing the cowpony to wince at her choice of words. Applejack cleared her throat, trotting forward and sitting in front of the unicorn.

“L-look, don’ take this the wrong way, but you are a pretty mare. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with the way you look.”

Twilight sniffed.

“Really now! You’ve got a pretty mane, a right gorgeous smile, big pretty purple eyes an’… yer body’s fine enough.”

“Huh?”

Applejack blushed. “I-I said your body’s fine. I mean, you’ve got nice legs. Not like mine, but-no! Wait, I didn’ mean that!” The Earth pony backpedaled with wide eyes. “Y-yours are fine, great! Really nice legs, and yer flank…I-I mean yer flank is nicer than your-no, my legs, I mean… aww shoot!”

Twilight smiled, her pacified look settling the stammering pony

“Well, I know in good shape. The tests that Dr. Fillipe documented in her book suggest that I have an above-average muscle-to-fat ratio, and my ‘figure’”, she motioned quotes with her hooves, “scored in the upper twenty percentile, and-” she petered off, noticing the blank look Applejack was giving her. “Well, I just thought I might… tone up a little.”

Applejack shook her head, putting her hoof over Twilight’s shoulder and pulling her into a side-hug.

“Okay. Nothin’ wrong with that. Ya could’a told me, an’ I’d have been more than happy t’let you help out at the farm fer a day.” She reached a hoof up to brush the unicorn’s bangs from her face. “An’ for what it’s worth, you really are a pretty gal.”

Twilight smiled up to her friend. “Thanks Applejack. That helps.”

Applejack could hear the ringing truth in her answer. Twilight pushed away, and stood back up with a huff. Her orange friend followed suit, and the two continued along the fence line.

“So we’re still playin’ twenty questions. I reckon I’ve got at least one more fer ya.”

Twilight gave her a puzzled look. Applejack raised an eyebrow, slowly drawing her mouth into a smirk.

“Twi', Is there some stallion you've got your eyes on?"

The unicorn reeled, looking caught.

“No!”

“Twilight…”

“No, I’m not… my eyes aren’t on anypony, much less… well…” She trailed off, averting her gaze from Applejack’s and looking out towards out towards the expanse of apple trees.

Applejack followed her friend’s gaze into the field. They settled on her family’s barn, just as a large, red figure trotted out with a heavy-looking cart strapped to the pony's back. Applejack raised two eyebrows.

"Well I'd never have... you're sweet on my brother!"

Twilight stared out towards the fields for a moment longer, until the words registered and she turned to face the cowpony, blanching

"What? What?! No! I... no!"

The cowpony fell into a smug grin.

“No, I swear I don’t!”

Her grin grew wider.

“Stop that!”

Her friend burst out into a loud guffaw.

“Haha! Twi… Twilight! I’m sorry! I-really! Really Twi’, I ain’t mad! I think y’all’d make a fine couple, but I never thought you… and him! I reckon you couldn’t have picked a better-”

“Applejack!”

“-bet the two o’ you’ll be sweeter on each other than Auntie Applesauce’s cobbler-”

"Applejack, I don't even like stallions!"

The orange pony’s laughter rang through the orchard as an echo, the source having petered off when the words her friend spoke had registered in her mind.

“…oh.”

Twilight’s low growling also subsided as the pair felt a third presence behind them. Both mares shared a quick glance, and turned to the other side of the fence, where Big Macintosh stood about a cart’s length away, his head drooped low. He turned away into a slow trot towards the orchard, mumbling beneath his breath.

"'S’always the pretty ones, too."

Applejack spared a glance towards her unicorn friend, who watched the larger pony trot away, a reddish hue dusting her cheeks.

“Well, guess that answers that question fer ya, huh Twi’?”

Past the vast expanse of apple trees, the air grew thick and opaque towards the border of the Everfree Forest. Above, the rich blue sky contrasted against the shifting blanket of smoke lining the top of the trees.

Miles into the heart of the forest, the settled, uniform cover began to churn and expand, and a Pegasus ruptured out of the smoke, choking and gasping for air as wisps of thickened air trailed out around her.

Repositioning herself, the cyan pony hovered over the expanse, her face twisting into dark concern at the expanse of smoke below her, reaching out to the horizon. Turning around, Rainbow Dash could just make out the steeples of Town Hall towards the horizon.

From here, she could not gage just how close the smoke had spread, but she knew it wouldn’t be too much longer until the blanket of clouds reached Ponyville, and the town falling beneath the smog.

Rainbow Dash’s expression was swept with dread as she took a closer look towards the horizon, lined with rows of green. From this direction, Sweet Apple Acres would be taken long before the rest of Ponyville would have concern.

Her thoughts turned to Applejack, and her family, whose home would be engulfed in the suffocating smokescreen. Her grandmother would be unable to escape Sweet Apple Acres on her own in time, so the older Apples would have to cart her and Apple Bloom out of harm's way. However, the smog was too close to the edges of the Everfree Forest already, and being hooked up to carts, Applejack and Big Macintosh would be hard-pressed to outrun the rapid expanse themselves.

She dashed forward, thrumming her wings as rapidly as she could and leaving a wake of swirling smoke behind her. Try as she would, there was nothing she could do now. The layer of smoke was too thick to see, or even breathe inside of, and she had been unable to find out what was causing it. Rainbow Dash had to get back to Ponyville and warn everyone.

The town would need to be evacuated as quickly as possible. Their best chance of recovering the town would be to enlist the help of Cloudsdale's many weather teams, and try to find a solution to clear a large area of the forest with the weather being so close to the ground. Long enough for Rainbow Dash and her friends to find out what was causing this catastrophic weather, and put an end to it.

The cover of smoke below her had begun to ripple, and the rumbling noise began to grow in volume. The surface rippled with distress. Rainbow Dash wavered in flight as her body began to quake, unsure of how or what was causing her to.

Everything inside of Rainbow Dash screamed for her to fly away as quickly as she could.

And when she turned to watch the expanse of clouds erupt in a tempest of smoke, where a gargantuan titan erupted from the center and tore the sky apart with a massive bellow, and as she stared into a velvet, starlit face as large as her Cloudominium, with malicious eyes that clutched her heart, bound her wings and ripped at her hope…

…she wished she had.

Author's Notes:

Well, 4.5k words in a year and a half. Not too shabby.

I am sincerely sorry for nearly abandoning this story, to those of you who are still waiting for an update (or even still in the fandom since August of 2012). For the first time in a long time, I've felt a drive to really get back into the writing world of FIMFiction, and I don't think there's going to be any more problems getting chapters and other stories composed from here on out.

Please feel free to post any errors or criticisms below, as it's been a while since I've published anything, and I'd appreciate any help offered to get my writing chops back into shape!

Also, thank you to JoeyH3 for helping me edit this chapter, as well as all the ones before. You're a huge help, and a fantastic friend.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and expect the next one to appear in the near future!