The Chronicle: Arrival

Chapter 2

Day of Arrival

Twilight Sparkle looked in awe as the moon and sun connect into one. The moon was completely covering the sun, casting a hazy orange halo around the satellite. She didn’t dare look directly at it; she knew it would blind her.

                “Now ain’t that a beautiful sight!”

                Twilight looked over to her friend Applejack who sat on a patch of curly, green grass. They all sat in a line at the edge of a grand cliff starting with Twilight Sparkle at the far right followed by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and finally Rainbow Dash, who lied on her back, basking with a pair of dark sunglasses.

                “It is quite nice,” Rarity spoke up, brushing some dirt off her quilt.

                “I can do better,” the rainbow maned pony at the far end boasted. The other five ponies looked at her flatly. She turned her head and said, “What?”

                Twilight Sparkle went back to watching the eclipse out of the corner of her eye. “Remember girls, don’t look straight at it. You’ll go blind.”

                There was a moment of silence until the pink mare in the middle jumped up and shouted, “This calls for a Moon-Covering-The-Sun Party!”

                “Pinkie,” Twilight giggled. “It’s called a solar eclipse.”

                “Then this calls for a Solar Eclipse Party!”

                The mares all giggled for a moment until Twilight herself jumped up.

                “I forgot about Spike!”

                “Oh, he’s fine, Twi,” Applejack started. “Besides, din’t he say he din’t want to come?”

                Twilight nodded. “Yes. But I didn’t make dinner for him and I don’t want him blowing up the library.”

                “Wait!” Pinkie exclaimed happily. “Just bring him to the Solar Eclipse Party! He can eat there!”

                “Spike eats gems, darling,” Rarity interrupted casually. “I don’t suppose you…”

                Pinkie, for seemingly nowhere, pulled out a massive gemstone cake and said, “Yep!”

                There was a moment of silence as Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ll bring him by. See ya, girls.”

                Twilight began her quick gallop away from the cliff and through the small ticket of trees, back to Ponyville.

+++

“Spike!” Twilight called out as she entered through the library’s front door. She looked all around the entrance hall noting that nothing seemed to be out of place except that there was a fire burning now. The lamps weren’t on as well. She lit them with her magic and blew out the fire.

                “Coming Twilight!” the high pitched squeal of her baby dragon called out. She watched the reptile come barreling down the stairs that wrapped around the tree to the other rooms of the library that served a dual purpose as Twilight’s residence. “What’s up?”

                “We’re going to a party. Get ready.”

                “A Pinkie Pie Party?” the purple reptile asked curiously.

                The mare nodded, giving the dragon incentive to increase his movements to Twilight. He yelped as he jumped off the floor and onto Twilight’s back. “There ain’t no party like a Pinkie Pie Party!”

                “Spike,” Twilight said softly, looking back at the baby dragon with contempt.

                “Sorry. There isn’t a party like a Pinkie Pie Party.”

                “Better.” She smirked and trotted out of the door. She held a hoof over her eye to look up at the sun and moon. They were still together. “This eclipse has lasted a long time. The moon should have moved by now.”

                “Maybe Princess Luna has decided to move it yet.”

                “The sun and moon move on their own now, Spike. They should’ve moved by now.”

                The baby dragon shrugged and nudged Twilight to proceed to Sugar Cube Corner. She complied hesitantly, unsure of the length of the eclipse.

“What is that?!” Spike screamed fearfully, pointing up to the sky.

                Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “That’s an eclipse, Spike. A rather long one, to be exact.”

                “No!” He gripped Twilight by her pointy ears and reared her around as she yelped in pain. Twilight looked up into the sky and saw what Spike was pointing at. “That!” he hollered.

                A small meteor was falling from the sky at alarming speeds. Twilight looked in awe as the clouds exploded into rings as it passed through them. Her lip quivered, watching the meteor fly past a flock of birds, turning them to ash immediately. A loud, concussive noise shot through the Unicorn’s ears, forcing her to clamp down on her ears painfully. She whimpered as the meteor flew past the overhead, casting a massive, deathly red shadow along the ground.

                Twilight closed her eyes to not see it; she feared that it may soon turn to blood. She couldn’t stand the sight of blood and it always made her queasy. When the shadow had passed and the noise had finally ceased, she stood up slowly and worriedly, looking around at the ponies that had all down the same as her.

                “It’s okay, everypony! It’s gone!” Twilight called out, catching their attentions. The many assortments of colors and sizes of ponies began to lift their fearful bodies from the ground and trot over to one another for protection, hoping it might help.

                But when it seemed safe, Twilight looked up to the sky and saw a dreadful sight. The twisted and contorted shapes of the clouds exploded outward and disappeared in the air

                Twilight felt a small pressure against her chest that knocked her back a step or two. She smiled in relief. She looked back at the baby dragon and said, “I thought the concussion would be…”

Boom!!

                Everypony felt the massive blast of air toss them several feet backwards, but Twilight, having been directly underneath it, felt a massive shove to her back and knocked her head on the ground.

+++

“Wake up, egghead!” a rough voice demanded impatiently. Twilight’s eyes opened slowly. The world around her was a blur and nothing had a definite form; all she could make out was the cyan eyes of her friend Rainbow Dash. “We need you up and ready!”

                “W-where’s Spike?”

                “He’s okay, Twi,” Twilight heard Applejack speak in her syllable-slurring accent. “He’s just unconscious, but we need you up right now!”

                Twilight shook her head and blinked numerous times until her vision had become completely restored.

                “What happened?” she stammered. The Unicorn looked all around the neighborhood and saw that all of the windows had imploded into the houses and businesses. She looked back at her library and saw a large crack running down the middle, ready to split.

                “Something fell really fast!” Rainbow Dash shouted, brandishing one of her wings. A few feathers were blackened around the edges. “It charred a couple of my feathers!”

                “Oh my Celestia!” Twilight gasped. “Are you okay?”

                “Yeah, but I’m in the mood to kick some meteor butt!”

                Applejack rolled her eyes and nudged Twilight briefly. “We’ve got ta go check it ou’ and make sure it’s safe.”

                Twilight nodded and took one final glance around the now empty streets of Ponyville. “But where is everypony?”

                “Pinkie Pie and Rarity evacuated the town with Mayor Mare,” Applejack explained hastily, “and Fluttershy is taking care of Spike in the library.”

                Twilight nodded in confirmation. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

                The trio then galloped through Ponyville and to the Everfree Forest as quickly as their legs would take them. Rainbow Dash flew ahead to see the damage the meteor had caused and if it was okay to proceed.

Twilight Sparkle and her two friends stood at the boundary line of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash ascended fearfully hoping that her eyes would deceive her.

                “There are a lot of burning trees and a dust cloud in the distance.” She descended and looked at Applejack first then Twilight. “Maybe we should wait until someone gets here from Canterlot. We aren’t exactly experts on meteors.”

                “R.D.’s got a point, Twi. Maybe we should wait.” She rubbed the back of her head, realizing the irony of her words.

                Twilight glanced at her friends for a brief second and shook her head. “No. Zecora lives in the forest and might need our help. Plus, the meteor might be emitting dangerous radiation. I have to get there and cast a barrier spell around it before it can do too much damage.”

                The two ponies sensed Twilight’s uneasiness and fear of the journey ahead. None of them wanted to go, but Twilight’s reasoning drained theme of all their fear and replaced it with bravery. Twilight was right. They had a duty to make sure Zecora wasn’t hurt. She was their friend, but Rainbow Dash was unsure if the forest was worth protecting.

                Twilight took a soft step forwards, crossing the naturally drawn line and entered the Everfree Forest. Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed slowly.

+++

The smell of sulfur and burning leaves stained Twilight’s nostrils and brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t imagine anything more horrifying. The trees were no longer burning, however, and the smoke and dust that the meteor had thrown into the sky had begun to slowly drop to the ground, obscuring the trio’s vision.

                “We can’t hardly see two feet in front of us,” Applejack stated, squinting her eyes and rubbing one when some dust caught itself in her eye. “Can you help us out, Twilight?”

                The Unicorn nodded and her horn began to glow brightly. Suddenly, the fog spread thin around them and disappeared right before their eyes.

                “Thank ya.”

                Twilight merely nodded as the continued walking. She hadn’t spoken a word since she had entered the forest. The other two mares hoped it was simply fear preventing her speech. They were in fact in the Everfree Forest and heading towards a meteor’s crash site.

                But they were wrong. Fear wasn’t holding Twilight’s lips shut. She could feel something around her, like a black veil of shadows washing over her. She felt cold against the heat ever increasing heat as they approached the crash site.

                She felt dirty too. Twilight looked around herself briefly and noted that she was only dirty on her hooves, but that was an everyday occurrence. Why did she feel so dirty and sinful? Had she done something wrong earlier and wasn’t feeling the guilt until then? She looked back on the previous hours of her life and couldn’t think of anything. Had she been late for a letter to the Princess?

                She shrugged off the thought. She had sent one only two days prior on its due date about embracing your friends’ differences and compromising with them. She smiled with remembrance as she thought of her sleepover with Rarity and Applejack, who were perhaps polar opposites. It had been an interesting night.

                But she felt so…dirty?

                “Hey, guys, I don’t mean to worry you but…”

                Applejack and Twilight turned their attention to Rainbow Dash who floated gracefully in the air with her hoof pointed towards the thicket of trees surrounding them.

                “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

                “Someone’s out there,” Rainbow Dash said, voice cracking with fear. “Or something…”

                Twilight looked towards the trees lining the path they walked the same path they had trekked the day she confronted Nightmare Moon. There was definitely something there and Twilight knew she couldn’t continue without her friends. They were the pillars of her momentary courage and without them she would simply fall apart on the way through the dark and foreboding forest.

                “Who is there?” Twilight Sparkle called out, legs beginning to shake.

                “No need to fear,” a stranger’s voice said calmly. “Tis I who is here.”

                “And who is ‘I’?” Rainbow Dash replied.

                A form came out of the thicket wearing a dark cloak over her head. A black toed hoof  pulled back the hood, revealing the familiar face of the Everfree-dwelling zebra.

                “We need to find the meteor and seal it off, Rainbow,” Twilight pointed out.

                “But…”

                “No, buts. I need to do this and

                “Zecora!” Twilight exclaimed gleefully. She raced over to the zebra but was stopped by her outright hoof. “Are you alright?”

                “I am quite fine, but I believe this to be a sign.”

                “Of what?” Applejack asked worriedly.

                “I know you feel the presence of self-disgust”—Twilight nodded alongside her friends, giving sudden relief to Twilight—“but its roots’ finding are a must.”

                “Can we just get out of here?” Rainbow Dash replied fearfully.

                “What’s the matter, RD? A little scared?” Applejack taunted.

                “No!” she snapped back, taking a quick look around at the forest. “This place is just really…really creepy.”

                “I shall head back to Ponyville, friends,” Zecora stated coldly, interrupting Rainbow Dash’s fearful explanation. “And you’d be wise to follow and avoid your ends.”

                Twilight watched Zecora start down the path towards Ponyville, throwing her hood back over her head. Rainbow Dash looked from Zecora to Twilight, catching her attention. The purple mare gave a look of doubt towards Rainbow Dash, hoping she wouldn’t leave.

                The blue pony sighed and went to Twilight’s side.

                “For a moment there,” applejack started, “I thought yer gonna leave us.”

                “I couldn’t leave you guys, anyway.” Rainbow Dash laughed uneasily. “Besides, who’s gonna be there if you guys get in trouble?”

                Twilight smiled happily and the trio continued their walk down the path.

After several minutes of walking, Twilight turned her head around to see her friends far behind her. Their paces had become less and less lengthy. She galloped to the two mares and nuzzled them both affectionately.

                “What’s wrong?”

                “I feel…” Applejack cast a look downwards. “Dirty.” She spoke of it like it was unusual for her. The Apple family lived and worked on a farm so being dirty wasn’t a big deal, but Applejack couldn’t help but feel different about it this time. It wasn’t an outer filth that she felt, but a disgusting nature inside of her.

                Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, who now stood on the ground with her wings drooping at her sides depressingly. She must’ve been feeling the same way.

                “Do you see now? If we don’t seal it off, that meteor is going to make everypony feel like this. We can’t let that happen. Come on, girls. We’ve got to keep going.”

                The two mares looked at one another and nodded confidently.

                “Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, wings popping into the air for a moment in her excitement.

                Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friends as they began to lead the way instead of her.

+++

The trees became more and more charred, burnt, and destroyed—sometimes even turning to ash—as they drew near the crash site. The ponies barred their senses and minds from the strange effects of the meteor, but the meteor was not what was affecting them now.

                Twilight watched Applejack fall to her side and begin coughing wildly. The smog of the meteor was beginning to smother them once again but this time with a much thicker smoke. The ponies could feel their lungs straining to keep up with the low amounts of oxygen around them.

                The Unicorn squinted and made her horn burn brightly, but the smoke was too thick for her magic. Twilight felt her legs begin to shake underneath her and she too fell to her side. Rainbow Dash hurried to Twilight and lifted her up carefully.

                “We have to go back…” she stuttered.

                Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Just give me ten seconds.”

                The blue mare stood up on her back legs and unfolded her grand, mighty wings. With a single, massive wave of the feathery appendages, the smoke had spread thin once again. Applejack coughed painfully and whimpered in misery.

                “My lungs…” she moaned. “I…I couldn’t breathe…”

                Rainbow Dash cuddled her friend gently. “Come on! We’ve got a job to do!”

                “No!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming her weak hoof to the ground she lay on. The Unicorn brought herself up and said adamantly, “It’s too dangerous for all of us, but this needs to be done. You two head back and get help, I’ll stay and try to contain whatever this thing is causing to us.”

                “Twi…”

                The purple Unicorn didn’t give the two ponies time to object before her horn glowed brightly and a blinding light shined throughout the section of the forest they were in. Twilight coughed and gagged and winced in agony as her horn sparked from its massive overload.

                Her eyes opened and saw that she was alone with the smoke beginning to come around her. Without dwelling on her choice of action for long, the Unicorn slowly continued walking along the path in the forest.

                She wobbled back and forth along the path until she came to a clearing.

                But Twilight’s vision became blurry from weariness. She trotted along the open clearing, feeling the warm sand beneath her. The Everfree Forest didn’t have sand though. As she continued to, nearly, blindly walk towards what see could only assume was the center…

                Something inside of her was sad. It felt so miserable. Why did she feel that way? She had friends and family that loved her and that was what she had ever truly wanted. Even learning had never brought her as much joy as her friends and family…

                But it also felt like it wasn’t her feelings. It felt like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that didn’t fit with any of the other pieces given. Like a square trying to fit into a circular hole.

                Twilight Sparkle saw something begin to glow ahead of her, but her blurred vision prevented her from seeing what it was. The glowing was outlined in white but filled with black…a black she could only describe, even with her massive vocabulary, as eternal and destructive. The white outline looked familiar though, like she had seen it somewhere before within a small amount of time.

                Then the outline began to pulse, and with each pulse of light, a small wave of heat blew across Twilight and it created feelings of hatred through her. Hatred not unlike that of self-loathing. It was like another jigsaw piece that didn’t belong.

                “AHHH!!!!”

                A massive flash of light exploded from the object ahead of her as the sound of a blood-curdling and animalistic scream, full of agony and misery, rang through the Unicorn’s young ears, racking every nerve throughout her body with fright. With the sudden terror she felt as well as the massive amount of light entering her eyes at once, her vision became instantly unblurred.

                The light faded from existence, leaving a twinkling trail in the sky that shot towards the north.

                Twilight looked around slowly, still tired and horn still in agony to the point that even the slightest of winds could cause her pain. At least the smog had vanished as though it had never been there…

                But what caught her eye was the gigantic crater directly in front of her as well as the surrounding area. Trees were blown backward away from the impact zone and were scorched, curling their branches to terrifying forms, a normal encounter should a meteor fall…

But the ground was no long made of soil but loose, grainy sand; and everything was cold.

                Twilight watched her breath become steam right before her eyes despite only moments ago it being exceedingly warm. It was summer anyway; there wasn’t to be a cold front for months. Then she inspected the ice sickles that had suddenly formed in front of her on the branches of a nearby tree…

                Her lip quivered with fear and anxiety as she saw frozen fire. The flames created by the meteor had been frozen…pure heat had been crystalized in a single moment of worrying cold.

                Everything was so confusing to the young Unicorn that her brain began to hurt with these new and impossible discoveries. Nothing could cause these things to happen, not even magic. She advanced towards the large crater, hoping to find an explanation to what was causing such changes in herself and her environment. Why was she feeling things that weren’t her feelings? Why was everything around her destroyed?

                But what she found was only the more terrifying and mentally attacking than anything she could have imagined…

                There was nothing occupying the depths of the crater. Nothing but smoldering rocks and frozen flames that somehow were able to co-exist so close to one another.

                Twilight felt her brain begin to fall apart and she soon became unconscious, unable to deal with her discoveries and the final and single most powerful and devastatingly horrid feeling to become a part of her:

                She felt lonely.