Mysteries of the Cosmos

   Twilight and her friends had been walking for hours, yet the same old boring canyon still lay before them. "Ugh!" Rarity groaned, "I am sick and tired of all this grey, I need to see color!"

  "Then look at my mane..." Rainbow Dash snickered quietly.

  "I heard that." Rarity scowled at Rainbow, not amused.

  "Heard what?" Rainbow looked over both shoulders, faking innocence.

  "Guys stop!" Twilight twirled around to face them, "We need to make a camp, we aren't getting out of here tonight." She ordered, spreading her wings and lifting off the ground.

  "Where are ya going Twilight?" Applejack asked while busy digging in her satchel.

  "I'm looking for firewood." Twilight waved her off, scanning every nook and cranny of the surrounding canyon, her search yielded little, but it was enough for a small fire.

  "Let's tell ghost stories!" Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly.

  "Now isn't the time Pinkie, we aren't camping, we're on a quest remember?" Rainbow rolled her eyes.

  "Suit yourself, I guess it's just you and me Gummy." Pinkie trotted off to a corner with her saddlebag.

  "What?! You brought Gummy with you?" Fluttershy was horrified, "What if he gets hurt? Or what if he gets lost? Or.." once again, Rainbow stuck a hoof in Fluttershy's mouth, raising an eyebrow at the yellow pegasus.

  Twilight was sitting near the fire, warming her face, when she noticed the fire taking shape, "What the?" she whispered. She could have sworn she saw a face in the fire, it was calling out to her, but she couldn't hear it, "Speak louder." Twilight said aloud, all her friends looked at her quizzically, "What? You don't see it?" she pointed to the fire when she noticed her friend's looks.

  "I don't see anything..." Rainbow Dash peered at the fire, then back at Twilight, "Sure you aren't imagining things?"

  "I swear I saw something! It was a pony." Twilight defended, "And no I'm not crazy."

  "Let's just go to sleep, Ah don't wanna be in this place longer than Ah have to." Applejack snuggled into a blanket near the fire. Following her example, the other ponies settled down for the night.

I have a feeling that we're being watched.. Twilight thought, looking all around the canyon before she closed her eyes. Her heartbeat was rushed, and a chill ran up her spine, this was not a pleasant place, she didn't want to be here either.

When Twilight awoke, she thought it was still night, but then she remembered that the moon was stuck in place. Stretching, she stood up and yawned, "Alright everypony, time to move out!" Twilight tossed dirt on the fire, stamping it out.

  "5 more minutes..." Rainbow mumbled, Twilight wouldn't have any of that, and dragged her out of bed with magic. "Hey! Put...me...down!" she wiggled around, flapping her wings, and then Twilight dropped her suddenly.

  "No time for sleep, we need to move out." Twilight ordered, she had already packed her saddlebag, and began trotting off.

  "Hey wait for us!" Rarity called, Twilight turned around to see them still packing, rolling her eyes, she used her magic, packing the saddlebags in the blink of an eye.

  "All done, now let's go, we need to hurry." she had an anxious tone to her voice, and she seemed twitchy. Pinkie Pie bounced alongside her.

  "So...where are we going?" Pinkie Pie asked, still bounding.

  "Oh Pinkie." Twilight laughed, not able to answer. Pinkie giggled, even though she didn't know why Twilight was laughing.

  "Hey! The canyon ends up ahead." Rainbow Dash pointed out, causing her friends to burst into a run.

  "Yeehaw! We're finally getting out of here!" Applejack cheered, galloping top speed towards the exit. She nearly crashed into Twilight, who had come to a grinding halt. "Woah!" Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie bumped into Applejack. "What're ya doing Twilight?" Applejack straightened her hat.

  "Listen..." Twilight was swiveling her ears this way and that, her friends copied her actions, there was a faint rumbling sound. The ground started to shake violently, splitting the canyon directly down the middle, Rarity screamed as she tumbled over, catching her hooves on the ledge.

  Applejack grabbed Rarity's hooves and pulled her back up, "Run! It's and earthquake!" Rainbow zoomed past them, they scrambled to their hooves and galloped after her. The rocks were cracking apart everywhere, some broke off the walls, crashing around the ponies. The grounds split apart before Twilight, making her stumble, if it weren't for her wings, she would have fallen down the dark hole.

  "Hurry!" Rainbow was already in the safety of a forest up ahead, the earthquake only seemed to be effecting the canyon. Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack skidded to a stop once they entered the forest.

  "Phew! That was a close one." Applejack collapsed, panting, Rarity looked around.

  "Hey! Where is Fluttershy? And Pinkie Pie?" she gasped, Twilight turned to look at the mess behind them.

  "Oh no..."