A Story To Tellby Mr AnomalousChapters"I Sense Something, Sister."OriginsOf Meteors and Men"I Sense Something, Sister."A Story To Tell by OrionSketch Chapter One: "I Sense Something, Sister." The day had not gone so smoothly as Celestia had hoped it would. When she had awoken that morning, a smile was on her face, the anticipation great. Now, not so much. The diplomatic negotiations with Gryphus had failed, meaning she had probably lost her chance to open up a few much-needed iron mines on the bird-creatures's soil. Not only that, but the day had been quite gloomy. The sun had been hidden behind a thick layer of dim, gray clouds, denying the planet and its ponies below their much-needed rays of sunlight. Oh, and it had just started to rain. That was fantastic as well. So, Celestia sighed. She looked out over the rails of her balcony and over the marble and granite stretch of Canterlot. Her eyes searched the spires and towers, the flagpoles and roofs, trying desperately to find something interesting. But, alas, she had done this many times, but nothing had ever changed. This time was no exception. A new tower hadn't been put of for some time, nor a new flag, nor anything else. Again, Celestia sighed. She left her quarters and, completely ignoring the light drizzle, sat on the cold, wet stone outside. She began to think. Her royal duties for the day had been finished, so she had a few hours of precious free time all to herself. Why she was spending it like this? "Sister? What is the matter?" Despite the unexpectancy of her younger sister's arrival, Celestia didn't flinch. Not looking at Luna, Celestia answered, saying, "Well, nothing really. I am just... Feeling a bit down today, it would seem." "Oh? Did the negotiations go that well?" Celestia snorted, amused. "No, better." Luna chuckled as she joined her sister on the balcony. "Well, if its any consolation, I had a fantastic night overlooking a bunch of snoring, drooling, twitching ponies." "Oh?" "Indeed. Some ponies have the strangest dreams." "Like what?" "I had to save one of the nobles from an army of rabid books two nights ago." Celestia chuckled lightly. They began a companionable silence. Celestia eventually broke it, saying, "Really though, I'm just... bored." Luna looked at her Elder sister with a skeptical eye. "How is that even possible?" "Well, I have to deal with the same things every day. Bickering nobles, angry Gryphons, criminals... I just wish something would change." "You have Twilight." The alabaster monarch smiled at the mention of her favorite student. "Yes. Yes I do. But her coronation was five years ago. That kind of... Wore off." "Well why not visit her? I don't think you've actually been able to sit and have a real chat with her for a very long time." Luna's elder sister perked up at the idea. "That... Is not a bad idea. Would you like to join me?" "Eh, I'm not her teacher. Besides, I spoke with her just yesterday." "Alright. Farewell, sister." "You too, 'Tia." Celestia smiled, though Luna couldn't see her anymore; It had been a while since her sister had used the nickname. Just as the tall monarch was about to leave her room, she was stopped by a slight rumble in the ground. Celestia frowned and called to the pony behind her. "Luna? Did you hear that?" Upon hearing no answer, Princess Celestia turned around and gasped. "Luna!" The Princess of the Night stood rigid, her eyes wide open and bloodshot. Her entire body trembled. Celestia hurried over, her face furrowed deep in concern. "Luna, what is the matter?" "I sense something, sister." "What? What is it?" With a quivering foreleg, Luna raised her hoof and pointed high in the sky. Celestia's gaze followed and her own eyes widened. It was a blindingly bright streak of red light, flashing down to the ground as it left a heavy, billowing pillar of smoke in its wake. It hurtled down to earth, puncturing the clouds and turning any and all nearby drops of rain into steam on the way. Both Princesses stood rooted to their spots as they watched this object fall down and vanish somewhere in the Royal Gardens. The ground shook with a massive heave, and the rain faltered slightly. A massive cloud of smoke, dust, and dirt was thrown into the air, high enough for many ponies to see for miles. Celestia and Luna turned and looked intensely into each other's eyes. Celestia nodded and they broke their gaze, sprinting out the room, down the hallway and towards the garden. Captain Broadhoof of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the Her Majesty's Royal Solar Guard had, quite frankly, been quite surprised. After all, its not every day that a flaming rock from the sky slams into the ground not twenty feet from you. What's even worse is when that rock throws a large helping of dislodged dirt and grass onto you and the other guard with whom you are stationed. "Wooooh~!" "What the Tartarus?" "Oww..." Broadhoof poked out of the dirt, soon followed by his comrade, Private Black. "What the Tartarus wast that?" "Do I look like I'm 'sposed to know?" Black raised his eyebrows. Then he frowned and traced the trail of destruction. His eyebrows raised higher and he said, "Look! It stopped," while he gestured with his hoof. Broadhoof looked over and saw that, indeed, the projectile had stopped. But behind it was a large, long gouge in the lawn and hedges. "Well, Celestia'll be 'appy 'bout that, won't she?" "I'm sure she will." After a few moments, Broadhoof sighed and said, "Well, up and at 'em; we better check that out." Black groaned a bit, as if the dirt was comfortable-cause it was-and dug his out out. The pair lowered their spears, after digging them from the rubble, and advanced. \ Princess Twilight Sparkle and her eyes were deep into another world. One filled with adventure, sacrifice, and heroes. The Princesses' eyes darted back and forth across the lines, gratefully absorbing each line of text, drinking in each highly-descriptive word describing Daring Do as the adventurous mare lept across a chasm, the rumbling boulders of an avalanche behind her falling into the darkness. Daring allowed herself a rest as she watched, with an amused look on her face, the large boulders tumble down and out of sight. Daring took a breath and- And the book was jolted of its spot on the desk, falling to the stone ground with a heavy thwump. "Shoot!" Twilight looked up from her table and looked around, trying, in vain, to source the rumbling that had interrupted her reading. Suddenly, Twilight winced as a bright light slowly emerged into her bedroom through the stained-glass window to her left. When the light became bearable, Twilight teleported over and scoured the outside area with her eyes. She saw the object just in time for it to slam heavily down into the gardens, scarring the landscape and lighting several of the hedges on fire. Twilight backed away from the window as a layer of dirt and torn grass thudded into the glass, taking her by surprise. It slid down and away, back toward the ground and Twilight gaped. Was that a meteor? Her eyes beamed. Or something else! Maybe a relic from deep space? Perhaps a part of the moon! Maybe- Twilight shook her head. She needed to get down there and see if anyone was hurt. Undoubtedly, Princess Celestia and Luna would be there as well, along with a few guards. Also, science... Twilight, despite herself, squeed and dashed through the door where she promptly knocked into one of the servants. "Oof!" he exclaimed as they tumbled. Twilight blushed before she extracted herself from the pile. It was Regal Cloth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Regal!" "No, no, I assure you, the fault was mine; I should have been paying more attention." "A-are you hurt." "Not at all, your majesty." Twilight, who was in a bit of a hurry, asked why he was there. "I was sent here to check on you. Though it seems that you are alright, I will let you go." "Okaythanksbye!" Regal Cloth chuckled as he watched the Princess dash down the stairs. He frowned a bit and brushed some dust from the shoulder of his suit, afterwards traveling down the stairs. He had a feeling that today was going to be an interesting day. OriginsOrigins "UR-!" ~Thunk! A loud crack sounded, followed almost instantaneously by a sick, wet thud, and two bodies fell to the ground. "Who was that?" My comrade looked over, smoking rifle still in hand and said, "Uh... We don't know him; must've been separated from his squad." I looked down at the two corpses, both of whom were beginning to soak in their own blood and said, "Still, a shame." After a few moments of silence, I took a deep breath,"Alright then, let's get-" I never finished my fall-back order. Instead, a mortar round from above finished it for me. An absolutely penetrating, shocking wave of flames and compressed air slammed directly into my partner and I, throwing both of us into the ground, the steel-reinforced concrete roof and ceiling of the pillbox tumbling down upon us. I was knocked down onto my back and had the air knocked out of me. Even from under the rubble, the outside world suddenly became much louder. A cacophony of loud snaps, cracks, and booms invaded my senses, as well as an overwhelming stench of blood, sulfur, and urine. "Oi! Red! You alive?" I shouted over the noise after I managed to re-gain my voice. "Ugh... Yeah." "And well?" "My ears hurt like none other, but I'm alright. None of these rocks were sharp." I chuckled. How could we be so calm, making jokes even, with such a terror unfolding not twenty feet away, down a slope? Such was the life of a soldier. You eventually get used to it. Thankfully, the layer of rubble that had attacked me had not been very deep, mostly just dust and gravel, but a few of the chunks were a bit bigger. I blinked, trying to clear away the daze, and sat up, groaning as I did so. "Red! Oh Red! Where are ya?" "Same place as before, plus some rocks and re-bar." I looked over. "Oh... You're a bit more... Buried than I was. How are you alive?" "I honestly have no idea." "How are you so loud then? You ain't muffled none." "I got me a little tunnel here! Hello!" I looked up from the now-pit where we were and, once I saw that nothing imminent was on its way, I began to crawl over. "Hey! This one?" "Yeah! I can see you! Hello, my savior!" "I can't see you..." "Just... Start digging, please." I sighed. This was going to take an undesirable amount of time. He actually seemed pretty comfortable down there... Safe, even. Maybe I could leave him and he could take a nap while I bag some bad guys. But no, one of 'em might come down and nap him while I did that. I needed to get him out. Besides, he might be wounded and not even know it. Things like that have happened before. I stood up straight and put my hands on my hips as I looked around the chunks or gray stone and dust. "Where to begin, where to being..." I asked myself. I selected the first stone and pulled it away, uncovering more, which I also hauled away. After about a few minutes, I had myself a little pit. "I'm getting closer!" "Fantastic. But I'm still here!" I snorted and bent over some more. Right as I grabbed the closest stone, the area two inches from my hand exploded in a pillar of dust. There was a sharp ping as the round ricocheted up from my little hole and into the sky. I drew my pistol and whirled around, aiming and firing just as my attacker was about to let loose a second shot of his own. His head snapped back in spray of blood and he fell back. "Aw shit man, you alright?" "Uh... Yeah! I-I'm good." "Be careful! I don't wanna be trapped here forever!" "Want me to shoot you myself when get down there?" "Fine, fine. But I'm not getting any younger." A bored look spread across my face as I hauled the final stone away. "Ah! Light!" "Come on. Up and at 'em." His hand clapped into mine and I hauled him out. "Wow, I almost thought I was gonna be trapped under there forever." He looked up and whistled. "I'm surprised that only one guy attacked you. It must be total chaos up there." "That's what I was counting on." Just then, I heard voices coming from above, close ones. I lowered my voice. "Shit. Come on, let's go." Red nodded and we both slunk down to the bottom of the pile, hurrying into the shadows. After a few moments of tense silence, Red looked over at me. "They gone?" "Must b-" A small device clinked as it landed next to us. "Aw hell, grenade!" Red dove away and I grabbed the device and threw it higher. It just bounced off the top of the pit and came back down. I began to panic. "Go!" Boom! The little hunk of metal suddenly erupted in a massive bang, throwing shrapnel and flames in all directions. "Ar-!" "Red!" My leg was knocked out from under me by something and I tumbled to the ground. I couldn't hear anything but a high-pitched ringing for a while. Quite frankly, it was as annoying as hell. I squinted my eyes and shook my head. Once I could see again, I looked around from my position on the ground. "Red? Oh no..." He was slung over a single large boulder, his body armor blasted away and his entire back burned to nothing. The pungent scent of burnt flesh was suddenly inescapable, like a cage. I tried to stand up, but couldn't. I looked down and almost fainted. My leg. My entire lower leg was hanging on by nothing but a thread of sinew. Blood was surging from the wound and out spattering onto the floor. The metallic smell was sickening. I panicked again and began to crawl away towards the steel door that marked the way out. It didn't matter, I would be found anyway; I was leaving quite an obvious trail. But I tried anyway. Just as I made it through the door an eruption of hot lead followed me, ripping up the floor and ending just before it reached my body. I was filled with adrenaline and used my remaining leg to push myself forward. Just as I thudded down onto the ground again, the doorway shielded another bout of gun fire. More voices, shouting, giving orders. Too bad I didn't speak German. I quickly found another door and went through there. It was darker, and I made out a few bunk beds and chests. Eventually, I slunk over to a corner and lay there, losing heavy amounts of blood. I was getting faint. When I picked up more angry voices, coming toward me, I drew my pistol again and aimed it towards the doorway. "Er ist hier!" I closed one eye and squeezed the trigger, tagging the intruder twice before he slumped to the ground. "Nein! Gah, erhalten in there!" More clinking as another grenade found its way inside. I chuckled; these guys sure liked grenades, didn't they? I dropped my gun and leaned my head against the wall, waiting for the second doom-bringer of the day to go off and end me. Well, it did the first part, that's for sure. I heard it go off, but... It was slow. I jerked up and my eyes widened. Everything was in slow motion, it seemed. I could pick out the individual bits of shrapnel that were emerging from the now-gone fragmentation grenade. My eyes widened even more when an orb of light suddenly grew and became visible. It descended from its spot on the ceiling and drifted down towards me, where it stayed, right in front of my face. I squinted, trying to block the bright light from my eyes, but unable to completely close them, the fault for that laying in my curiosity. It halted. For two entire seconds, it was still. Then it rushed forward, engulfing me. And all was black. Of Meteors and MenOf Meteors and Men "No one was hurt?" "Not unless you count the plants, in which case, heavy civilian casualties." One glare from Twilight later, Broadhoof stuttered and said, "Uhhh... I mean, no, no, not even a single injury." "Thank you." Right. No one's been hurt. Next... "Have you determined what it is yet?" "Uhhh, no, nope, negative. 'Course, I'm assuming it's some sort 'o... Space rock." Twilight quickly examined the damage and immediately wrote that off. "No, not possible." "Huh? How can you tell?" "It's not possible for a meteor to be this small, the friction from the entry of our atmosphere would have completely incinerated it. It would have had to have been bigger, big enough that we would not be here. And that doesn't include the known elements, how heavy they are, the damage they would've done..." "Ooookay then. What is it?" "That's what I intend to find out." Broadhoof nodded and said, "Well let me escort you then." "Of course." Only a few steps later, Captain Broadhoof halted and said, "Hold on a second, Private Black and I tried to approach it earlier, but it was too hot. Like, seriously, we couldn't even get near it. Think it'll be cooled by now?" "It should be. And if it's not, we do have the means to cool it down." "Uh, right, of course. Now let's check this out." On instinct, Captain Broadhoof lowered his spear, a precaution which Twilight quietly scoffed at, as they came closer. It was indeed quite hot, but it wasn't scorching by any means. Soon enough, the stone came into view. Again, the heat had grown quite a bit, but it was standable. Twilight turned her head away and coughed. The smoke was smothering! Twilight heard Broadhoof mumble something under his breath. Curious, she turned over to him and asked, "What was that?" Not taking his eyes off the stone, he pointed with his hoof and said, "Look." Twilight frowned and looked for herself. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in surprise. It... Was a statue. At least, that's what it seemed like... Twilight leaned in a bit to examine it, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out. "Twilight! Where are you?" It was Celestia. Twilight, despite her insurmountable curiosity toward the unknown object at this point, smiled and turned around just in time to see Celestia hurry over and stop in front of her, her eyes filled with worry. "Twilight, are you alright? Is everyone alright?" Twilight silently giggled at the Princesses' concern and answered, "It's alright, Princess; everypony's okay." Twilight waved a greeting over at Luna who was currently standing behind her elder sister. The path through the hedges was only so wide... "So... What is it then?" Celestia inquired. Twilight smiled and her eyes lit up with glee. "I don't know! It looks like a statue, but one carved in the likeness of a creature I've never even heard of before, and it came from orbit! I have no idea what it is!" Celestia frowned a bit. Twilight usually hated not knowing things. "Here, come look for yourself." All three Princess made room for one another and Twilight shooed away Broadhoof, who had been prodding the statue with his spear. The large stallion snapped to attention and stayed that way. Celestia widened her eyes and mumbled something along the lines of, "Oh my." Luna only frowned and came in for a better look. "It... Looks like an ape. Sort of, I mean." She observed. "Yes. But look at it's face and head. It either was really deformed, or, more likely, it's been covered by protective gear for some reason. Look, a cloth there, some sort of goggle-glasses thing there, what appears to be a helmet..." Princess Celestia and Luna exchanged amused glances at Twilight's antics. "Well, yes, but none of that explains what exactly it is. Or... Why it fell from the sky." Luna said, more to herself then to anyone else. Nonetheless, Twilight heard her and said "Oh I don't know." Twilight half-heartedly said, already peering in closer. The statue, at this point, was finally almost completely cooled off. It still smoked a bit, and parts of it were still criss-crossed with red fissures, but it was one-hundred-percent approachable. Suddenly, a deep crack sounded, startling everyone within earshot. "Did... Did that come from... That?" Luna asked wearily. "I... I think it did." Celestia became wary and said, "Luna, Twilight, step back." "But-" "Now." She commanded. Twilight gulped and darted over to join the other two Alicorns. The crack sounded again, this time clearly coming from the statue. A massive hiss of steam shot from the cracks, and then the statue exploded. I re-entered the waking world slowly, casually. I found breathing difficult, and the ability which I had previously possessed to open my eyes seemed to have left me. Come to think of it, moving at all was quickly becoming something that I had obviously taken for granted during my entire thirty-two years of life. My breathing was slow, labored, and brought shards of pain with every intake. It was hot. Really hot. Very humid and stuffy. My brain, seeming determined to notice these things one at a time, suddenly realized that it ached. Quite a bit. Oh, and of course, my leg decided that it hurt now too. And the bleeding came back. A lot. All of this, of course, raises the question: What the freaking hell am I doing here? Let's see... Death, mortar round, digging, almost death, more digging, rescue, grenade, death, sad, panic, crawl away, shoot-shoot, 'nother grenade, f*ck, light, smothering blackness. Nope, no reason why I should be here. Wherever here was... And I am quite fond of my ability to move. Eventually I figured out that I could, in fact, move. Just very little. Well then time to make myself move more, eh? I took a deep breath and strained against whatever it was holding me down. It didn't budge. That, you see, only pissed me off more. So I pressed harder, and, once more, not a single budge. So I pressed harder, and... Well, I think you've got the cycle. Only, once I pressed hard enough, I heard a pretty loud crack, and a light, coming from somewhere, assaulted my eyes. I promptly screwed them shut and strained again. I could feel my inanimate oppressor begin to give way, and, in one last surge of strength, as well as a blood-chilling cry of exertion I'm sure, I heard a tiny bit more crumbling and I was free. "Raaaah!" The light hurt like hell, and I was tired again. And I still hurt all over. Now that I was finally free, I flopped back and began breathing heavily-God it was hot-and had a lie down. It was only after an entire minute or so that I became aware of very quiet, tense, and hushed voices. They were speaking a language that I couldn't understand. It wasn't German, so that much was alright, but it wasn't Russian either, so that much was not alright. Sounded a bit like English, but I don't speak that either, so it didn't really matter. And then I opened my eyes. Oh, ho, ho, ho have I got a situation here!
"I Sense Something, Sister."A Story To Tell by OrionSketch Chapter One: "I Sense Something, Sister." The day had not gone so smoothly as Celestia had hoped it would. When she had awoken that morning, a smile was on her face, the anticipation great. Now, not so much. The diplomatic negotiations with Gryphus had failed, meaning she had probably lost her chance to open up a few much-needed iron mines on the bird-creatures's soil. Not only that, but the day had been quite gloomy. The sun had been hidden behind a thick layer of dim, gray clouds, denying the planet and its ponies below their much-needed rays of sunlight. Oh, and it had just started to rain. That was fantastic as well. So, Celestia sighed. She looked out over the rails of her balcony and over the marble and granite stretch of Canterlot. Her eyes searched the spires and towers, the flagpoles and roofs, trying desperately to find something interesting. But, alas, she had done this many times, but nothing had ever changed. This time was no exception. A new tower hadn't been put of for some time, nor a new flag, nor anything else. Again, Celestia sighed. She left her quarters and, completely ignoring the light drizzle, sat on the cold, wet stone outside. She began to think. Her royal duties for the day had been finished, so she had a few hours of precious free time all to herself. Why she was spending it like this? "Sister? What is the matter?" Despite the unexpectancy of her younger sister's arrival, Celestia didn't flinch. Not looking at Luna, Celestia answered, saying, "Well, nothing really. I am just... Feeling a bit down today, it would seem." "Oh? Did the negotiations go that well?" Celestia snorted, amused. "No, better." Luna chuckled as she joined her sister on the balcony. "Well, if its any consolation, I had a fantastic night overlooking a bunch of snoring, drooling, twitching ponies." "Oh?" "Indeed. Some ponies have the strangest dreams." "Like what?" "I had to save one of the nobles from an army of rabid books two nights ago." Celestia chuckled lightly. They began a companionable silence. Celestia eventually broke it, saying, "Really though, I'm just... bored." Luna looked at her Elder sister with a skeptical eye. "How is that even possible?" "Well, I have to deal with the same things every day. Bickering nobles, angry Gryphons, criminals... I just wish something would change." "You have Twilight." The alabaster monarch smiled at the mention of her favorite student. "Yes. Yes I do. But her coronation was five years ago. That kind of... Wore off." "Well why not visit her? I don't think you've actually been able to sit and have a real chat with her for a very long time." Luna's elder sister perked up at the idea. "That... Is not a bad idea. Would you like to join me?" "Eh, I'm not her teacher. Besides, I spoke with her just yesterday." "Alright. Farewell, sister." "You too, 'Tia." Celestia smiled, though Luna couldn't see her anymore; It had been a while since her sister had used the nickname. Just as the tall monarch was about to leave her room, she was stopped by a slight rumble in the ground. Celestia frowned and called to the pony behind her. "Luna? Did you hear that?" Upon hearing no answer, Princess Celestia turned around and gasped. "Luna!" The Princess of the Night stood rigid, her eyes wide open and bloodshot. Her entire body trembled. Celestia hurried over, her face furrowed deep in concern. "Luna, what is the matter?" "I sense something, sister." "What? What is it?" With a quivering foreleg, Luna raised her hoof and pointed high in the sky. Celestia's gaze followed and her own eyes widened. It was a blindingly bright streak of red light, flashing down to the ground as it left a heavy, billowing pillar of smoke in its wake. It hurtled down to earth, puncturing the clouds and turning any and all nearby drops of rain into steam on the way. Both Princesses stood rooted to their spots as they watched this object fall down and vanish somewhere in the Royal Gardens. The ground shook with a massive heave, and the rain faltered slightly. A massive cloud of smoke, dust, and dirt was thrown into the air, high enough for many ponies to see for miles. Celestia and Luna turned and looked intensely into each other's eyes. Celestia nodded and they broke their gaze, sprinting out the room, down the hallway and towards the garden. Captain Broadhoof of the Twenty-Second Regiment of the Her Majesty's Royal Solar Guard had, quite frankly, been quite surprised. After all, its not every day that a flaming rock from the sky slams into the ground not twenty feet from you. What's even worse is when that rock throws a large helping of dislodged dirt and grass onto you and the other guard with whom you are stationed. "Wooooh~!" "What the Tartarus?" "Oww..." Broadhoof poked out of the dirt, soon followed by his comrade, Private Black. "What the Tartarus wast that?" "Do I look like I'm 'sposed to know?" Black raised his eyebrows. Then he frowned and traced the trail of destruction. His eyebrows raised higher and he said, "Look! It stopped," while he gestured with his hoof. Broadhoof looked over and saw that, indeed, the projectile had stopped. But behind it was a large, long gouge in the lawn and hedges. "Well, Celestia'll be 'appy 'bout that, won't she?" "I'm sure she will." After a few moments, Broadhoof sighed and said, "Well, up and at 'em; we better check that out." Black groaned a bit, as if the dirt was comfortable-cause it was-and dug his out out. The pair lowered their spears, after digging them from the rubble, and advanced. \ Princess Twilight Sparkle and her eyes were deep into another world. One filled with adventure, sacrifice, and heroes. The Princesses' eyes darted back and forth across the lines, gratefully absorbing each line of text, drinking in each highly-descriptive word describing Daring Do as the adventurous mare lept across a chasm, the rumbling boulders of an avalanche behind her falling into the darkness. Daring allowed herself a rest as she watched, with an amused look on her face, the large boulders tumble down and out of sight. Daring took a breath and- And the book was jolted of its spot on the desk, falling to the stone ground with a heavy thwump. "Shoot!" Twilight looked up from her table and looked around, trying, in vain, to source the rumbling that had interrupted her reading. Suddenly, Twilight winced as a bright light slowly emerged into her bedroom through the stained-glass window to her left. When the light became bearable, Twilight teleported over and scoured the outside area with her eyes. She saw the object just in time for it to slam heavily down into the gardens, scarring the landscape and lighting several of the hedges on fire. Twilight backed away from the window as a layer of dirt and torn grass thudded into the glass, taking her by surprise. It slid down and away, back toward the ground and Twilight gaped. Was that a meteor? Her eyes beamed. Or something else! Maybe a relic from deep space? Perhaps a part of the moon! Maybe- Twilight shook her head. She needed to get down there and see if anyone was hurt. Undoubtedly, Princess Celestia and Luna would be there as well, along with a few guards. Also, science... Twilight, despite herself, squeed and dashed through the door where she promptly knocked into one of the servants. "Oof!" he exclaimed as they tumbled. Twilight blushed before she extracted herself from the pile. It was Regal Cloth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Regal!" "No, no, I assure you, the fault was mine; I should have been paying more attention." "A-are you hurt." "Not at all, your majesty." Twilight, who was in a bit of a hurry, asked why he was there. "I was sent here to check on you. Though it seems that you are alright, I will let you go." "Okaythanksbye!" Regal Cloth chuckled as he watched the Princess dash down the stairs. He frowned a bit and brushed some dust from the shoulder of his suit, afterwards traveling down the stairs. He had a feeling that today was going to be an interesting day.
OriginsOrigins "UR-!" ~Thunk! A loud crack sounded, followed almost instantaneously by a sick, wet thud, and two bodies fell to the ground. "Who was that?" My comrade looked over, smoking rifle still in hand and said, "Uh... We don't know him; must've been separated from his squad." I looked down at the two corpses, both of whom were beginning to soak in their own blood and said, "Still, a shame." After a few moments of silence, I took a deep breath,"Alright then, let's get-" I never finished my fall-back order. Instead, a mortar round from above finished it for me. An absolutely penetrating, shocking wave of flames and compressed air slammed directly into my partner and I, throwing both of us into the ground, the steel-reinforced concrete roof and ceiling of the pillbox tumbling down upon us. I was knocked down onto my back and had the air knocked out of me. Even from under the rubble, the outside world suddenly became much louder. A cacophony of loud snaps, cracks, and booms invaded my senses, as well as an overwhelming stench of blood, sulfur, and urine. "Oi! Red! You alive?" I shouted over the noise after I managed to re-gain my voice. "Ugh... Yeah." "And well?" "My ears hurt like none other, but I'm alright. None of these rocks were sharp." I chuckled. How could we be so calm, making jokes even, with such a terror unfolding not twenty feet away, down a slope? Such was the life of a soldier. You eventually get used to it. Thankfully, the layer of rubble that had attacked me had not been very deep, mostly just dust and gravel, but a few of the chunks were a bit bigger. I blinked, trying to clear away the daze, and sat up, groaning as I did so. "Red! Oh Red! Where are ya?" "Same place as before, plus some rocks and re-bar." I looked over. "Oh... You're a bit more... Buried than I was. How are you alive?" "I honestly have no idea." "How are you so loud then? You ain't muffled none." "I got me a little tunnel here! Hello!" I looked up from the now-pit where we were and, once I saw that nothing imminent was on its way, I began to crawl over. "Hey! This one?" "Yeah! I can see you! Hello, my savior!" "I can't see you..." "Just... Start digging, please." I sighed. This was going to take an undesirable amount of time. He actually seemed pretty comfortable down there... Safe, even. Maybe I could leave him and he could take a nap while I bag some bad guys. But no, one of 'em might come down and nap him while I did that. I needed to get him out. Besides, he might be wounded and not even know it. Things like that have happened before. I stood up straight and put my hands on my hips as I looked around the chunks or gray stone and dust. "Where to begin, where to being..." I asked myself. I selected the first stone and pulled it away, uncovering more, which I also hauled away. After about a few minutes, I had myself a little pit. "I'm getting closer!" "Fantastic. But I'm still here!" I snorted and bent over some more. Right as I grabbed the closest stone, the area two inches from my hand exploded in a pillar of dust. There was a sharp ping as the round ricocheted up from my little hole and into the sky. I drew my pistol and whirled around, aiming and firing just as my attacker was about to let loose a second shot of his own. His head snapped back in spray of blood and he fell back. "Aw shit man, you alright?" "Uh... Yeah! I-I'm good." "Be careful! I don't wanna be trapped here forever!" "Want me to shoot you myself when get down there?" "Fine, fine. But I'm not getting any younger." A bored look spread across my face as I hauled the final stone away. "Ah! Light!" "Come on. Up and at 'em." His hand clapped into mine and I hauled him out. "Wow, I almost thought I was gonna be trapped under there forever." He looked up and whistled. "I'm surprised that only one guy attacked you. It must be total chaos up there." "That's what I was counting on." Just then, I heard voices coming from above, close ones. I lowered my voice. "Shit. Come on, let's go." Red nodded and we both slunk down to the bottom of the pile, hurrying into the shadows. After a few moments of tense silence, Red looked over at me. "They gone?" "Must b-" A small device clinked as it landed next to us. "Aw hell, grenade!" Red dove away and I grabbed the device and threw it higher. It just bounced off the top of the pit and came back down. I began to panic. "Go!" Boom! The little hunk of metal suddenly erupted in a massive bang, throwing shrapnel and flames in all directions. "Ar-!" "Red!" My leg was knocked out from under me by something and I tumbled to the ground. I couldn't hear anything but a high-pitched ringing for a while. Quite frankly, it was as annoying as hell. I squinted my eyes and shook my head. Once I could see again, I looked around from my position on the ground. "Red? Oh no..." He was slung over a single large boulder, his body armor blasted away and his entire back burned to nothing. The pungent scent of burnt flesh was suddenly inescapable, like a cage. I tried to stand up, but couldn't. I looked down and almost fainted. My leg. My entire lower leg was hanging on by nothing but a thread of sinew. Blood was surging from the wound and out spattering onto the floor. The metallic smell was sickening. I panicked again and began to crawl away towards the steel door that marked the way out. It didn't matter, I would be found anyway; I was leaving quite an obvious trail. But I tried anyway. Just as I made it through the door an eruption of hot lead followed me, ripping up the floor and ending just before it reached my body. I was filled with adrenaline and used my remaining leg to push myself forward. Just as I thudded down onto the ground again, the doorway shielded another bout of gun fire. More voices, shouting, giving orders. Too bad I didn't speak German. I quickly found another door and went through there. It was darker, and I made out a few bunk beds and chests. Eventually, I slunk over to a corner and lay there, losing heavy amounts of blood. I was getting faint. When I picked up more angry voices, coming toward me, I drew my pistol again and aimed it towards the doorway. "Er ist hier!" I closed one eye and squeezed the trigger, tagging the intruder twice before he slumped to the ground. "Nein! Gah, erhalten in there!" More clinking as another grenade found its way inside. I chuckled; these guys sure liked grenades, didn't they? I dropped my gun and leaned my head against the wall, waiting for the second doom-bringer of the day to go off and end me. Well, it did the first part, that's for sure. I heard it go off, but... It was slow. I jerked up and my eyes widened. Everything was in slow motion, it seemed. I could pick out the individual bits of shrapnel that were emerging from the now-gone fragmentation grenade. My eyes widened even more when an orb of light suddenly grew and became visible. It descended from its spot on the ceiling and drifted down towards me, where it stayed, right in front of my face. I squinted, trying to block the bright light from my eyes, but unable to completely close them, the fault for that laying in my curiosity. It halted. For two entire seconds, it was still. Then it rushed forward, engulfing me. And all was black.
Of Meteors and MenOf Meteors and Men "No one was hurt?" "Not unless you count the plants, in which case, heavy civilian casualties." One glare from Twilight later, Broadhoof stuttered and said, "Uhhh... I mean, no, no, not even a single injury." "Thank you." Right. No one's been hurt. Next... "Have you determined what it is yet?" "Uhhh, no, nope, negative. 'Course, I'm assuming it's some sort 'o... Space rock." Twilight quickly examined the damage and immediately wrote that off. "No, not possible." "Huh? How can you tell?" "It's not possible for a meteor to be this small, the friction from the entry of our atmosphere would have completely incinerated it. It would have had to have been bigger, big enough that we would not be here. And that doesn't include the known elements, how heavy they are, the damage they would've done..." "Ooookay then. What is it?" "That's what I intend to find out." Broadhoof nodded and said, "Well let me escort you then." "Of course." Only a few steps later, Captain Broadhoof halted and said, "Hold on a second, Private Black and I tried to approach it earlier, but it was too hot. Like, seriously, we couldn't even get near it. Think it'll be cooled by now?" "It should be. And if it's not, we do have the means to cool it down." "Uh, right, of course. Now let's check this out." On instinct, Captain Broadhoof lowered his spear, a precaution which Twilight quietly scoffed at, as they came closer. It was indeed quite hot, but it wasn't scorching by any means. Soon enough, the stone came into view. Again, the heat had grown quite a bit, but it was standable. Twilight turned her head away and coughed. The smoke was smothering! Twilight heard Broadhoof mumble something under his breath. Curious, she turned over to him and asked, "What was that?" Not taking his eyes off the stone, he pointed with his hoof and said, "Look." Twilight frowned and looked for herself. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in surprise. It... Was a statue. At least, that's what it seemed like... Twilight leaned in a bit to examine it, but stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out. "Twilight! Where are you?" It was Celestia. Twilight, despite her insurmountable curiosity toward the unknown object at this point, smiled and turned around just in time to see Celestia hurry over and stop in front of her, her eyes filled with worry. "Twilight, are you alright? Is everyone alright?" Twilight silently giggled at the Princesses' concern and answered, "It's alright, Princess; everypony's okay." Twilight waved a greeting over at Luna who was currently standing behind her elder sister. The path through the hedges was only so wide... "So... What is it then?" Celestia inquired. Twilight smiled and her eyes lit up with glee. "I don't know! It looks like a statue, but one carved in the likeness of a creature I've never even heard of before, and it came from orbit! I have no idea what it is!" Celestia frowned a bit. Twilight usually hated not knowing things. "Here, come look for yourself." All three Princess made room for one another and Twilight shooed away Broadhoof, who had been prodding the statue with his spear. The large stallion snapped to attention and stayed that way. Celestia widened her eyes and mumbled something along the lines of, "Oh my." Luna only frowned and came in for a better look. "It... Looks like an ape. Sort of, I mean." She observed. "Yes. But look at it's face and head. It either was really deformed, or, more likely, it's been covered by protective gear for some reason. Look, a cloth there, some sort of goggle-glasses thing there, what appears to be a helmet..." Princess Celestia and Luna exchanged amused glances at Twilight's antics. "Well, yes, but none of that explains what exactly it is. Or... Why it fell from the sky." Luna said, more to herself then to anyone else. Nonetheless, Twilight heard her and said "Oh I don't know." Twilight half-heartedly said, already peering in closer. The statue, at this point, was finally almost completely cooled off. It still smoked a bit, and parts of it were still criss-crossed with red fissures, but it was one-hundred-percent approachable. Suddenly, a deep crack sounded, startling everyone within earshot. "Did... Did that come from... That?" Luna asked wearily. "I... I think it did." Celestia became wary and said, "Luna, Twilight, step back." "But-" "Now." She commanded. Twilight gulped and darted over to join the other two Alicorns. The crack sounded again, this time clearly coming from the statue. A massive hiss of steam shot from the cracks, and then the statue exploded. I re-entered the waking world slowly, casually. I found breathing difficult, and the ability which I had previously possessed to open my eyes seemed to have left me. Come to think of it, moving at all was quickly becoming something that I had obviously taken for granted during my entire thirty-two years of life. My breathing was slow, labored, and brought shards of pain with every intake. It was hot. Really hot. Very humid and stuffy. My brain, seeming determined to notice these things one at a time, suddenly realized that it ached. Quite a bit. Oh, and of course, my leg decided that it hurt now too. And the bleeding came back. A lot. All of this, of course, raises the question: What the freaking hell am I doing here? Let's see... Death, mortar round, digging, almost death, more digging, rescue, grenade, death, sad, panic, crawl away, shoot-shoot, 'nother grenade, f*ck, light, smothering blackness. Nope, no reason why I should be here. Wherever here was... And I am quite fond of my ability to move. Eventually I figured out that I could, in fact, move. Just very little. Well then time to make myself move more, eh? I took a deep breath and strained against whatever it was holding me down. It didn't budge. That, you see, only pissed me off more. So I pressed harder, and, once more, not a single budge. So I pressed harder, and... Well, I think you've got the cycle. Only, once I pressed hard enough, I heard a pretty loud crack, and a light, coming from somewhere, assaulted my eyes. I promptly screwed them shut and strained again. I could feel my inanimate oppressor begin to give way, and, in one last surge of strength, as well as a blood-chilling cry of exertion I'm sure, I heard a tiny bit more crumbling and I was free. "Raaaah!" The light hurt like hell, and I was tired again. And I still hurt all over. Now that I was finally free, I flopped back and began breathing heavily-God it was hot-and had a lie down. It was only after an entire minute or so that I became aware of very quiet, tense, and hushed voices. They were speaking a language that I couldn't understand. It wasn't German, so that much was alright, but it wasn't Russian either, so that much was not alright. Sounded a bit like English, but I don't speak that either, so it didn't really matter. And then I opened my eyes. Oh, ho, ho, ho have I got a situation here!
