"I still can't believe they left us in charge of the entire kingdom! This is gonna be awesome," Rainbow Dash chirped, pumping a hoof in the air.
"Not really in charge. We just have to take care of the day-to-day administration, and it looks like there's nothing big scheduled for the next three days." Twilight Sparkle looked up from her pile of notes and letters. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had left for important business in the Crystal Empire, and requested that Princess Twilight and her friends help with keeping Canterlot - and Ponyville, to a lesser extent - running.
"Yeah, well, I like the way I said it better," Rainbow said, grinning.
"Me too! Hey, do you think they'd let us throw a party in here?!" Pinkie Pie jumped up and down, already arming her party cannon. Before it could go off, however, a white hoof came down and snuffed out the fuse.
"Possibly, dear, but I don't think they would appreciate one being thrown in the throne room. There are gardens and promenades for that," Rarity offered. She gazed at the windows, the throne, and the gilded doors beyond. "And grand ballrooms...and halls of stained-glass windows, and courts and bedrooms fit for a princess!" She fell back with a sigh, one foreleg across her face.
"Um, we might want to have the party in one of the promenades or the ballroom. I don't think the animals in the gardens would appreciate something loud like that. I mean, we could ask them first, but..." Fluttershy had been quietly listening in on her friends, choosing instead to sit aside and occasionally knead at the floor. The thought of having authority over so many ponies made her glance worriedly at the doors, biting her lower lip.
Applejack trotted from her spot at the window towards Twilight and her pile of paperwork. "We're gonna at least need snacks fer a party," she said. "I could catch the train back ta Sweet Apple Acres and get somethin' special made up for us."
"Ooh, and decorations! I already brought a whole bunch with me just in case," Pinkie whipped out her party cannon again, "Ehehe, right. Not in the throne room!" She inched the party cannon away, an innocent smile spreading across her face.
"Wait, wait. So we're seriously planning a party? We didn't even ask Princess Celestia yet," Twilight interrupted. "I'm not sure if that's something we should be even asking her right now, since she's probably engrossed in some really important matters."
"Awww!" Pinkie crossed her forelegs and frowned.
"She does makes a good point," Rarity bemoaned.
A murmur of disappointment arose, with which Twilight met with a roll of her eyes and a smile. "Oh, alright. I don't think they'll mind if we throw one - outside, and if we clean up afterwards. Oh, and nothing big!" She glanced pointedly at Pinkie, who simply grinned.
Rarity sat, one hoof to her chin, as she gauged the garden in which she and her friends were to have their party. The peristyle offered an open view of the sky through its atrium, the brilliant noonday sun beaming down onto the various flowering plants within. A marble fountain, decorated with a gilded sculpture of the two Princesses, perched gracefully upon a central patio, dominating the features within.
"We can put the punch table there," she said, trotting over to a spot just before the fountain. "The hors d'oeuvres table and cake will flank it..." the hoof returned to her chin, and she let out a thoughtful 'hmm'. "No, no, no. A single table will do," she marched behind the fountain, giving the space a critical once-over.
"If only Pinkie were here," she sighed, looking expectantly towards the main entryway. Just then, the doors swung open and a hot-pink earth pony bounced inside.
"You called?" Pinkie said, muffled through a basket's handle. She was laden with all kinds of decorations - from her bags, filled to the seams with confetti and streamers - a few coming loose and fluttering capriciously to the ground as she bounced - to ribbons of all colors of the rainbow and the basket of favors.
"How do you do that, Pinkie?" Rarity chuckled, knowing full well she wouldn't ever understand just how Pinkie worked her own strange brand of magic. "Anyway. Pinkie, darling, I'd like your opinion. Should we separate the punch and the sweets and organize them by official Canterlot Garden Gala norms? Or should we have them all on the same table?"
"Hmmmmm! Hmm," Pinkie dropped the basket and shuffled out of her bags, leaping towards the fountain. She drew a magnifying glass from her mane, hunched over and stalked about the round patio. She suddenly appeared from behind a sprouting, curled fern, searching along the ground, then up in the air for something. A moment later, she returned to Rarity's side.
"Based on my obser-VAAAAY-tions," Pinkie said, putting a hoof on Rarity's shoulder and motioned in the air with her other hoof. "I think we should do the Garden Gala thingy! It sounds more exciting than putting everything on the same table."
Rarity grinned and clapped her hoofs together. "I knew it! Thank you, Pinkie; would you mind helping me set everything up while we wait for the others?"
"Sure! Just let me know where to put this stuff."
As Rarity's friends returned from their tasks, the sun began its descent behind the far-off mountain ranges, bathing Equestria in a sea of yellows, oranges and reds. Its brilliance danced on the glimmering waters of the fountain, around which the ponies drank sparkling apple punch, told jokes and rambled out their hopes for the next few days.
"Do you think we'll get much time to go about the city while we're here? I just can't fathom staying inside the castle - despite its elegance," Rarity sipped her punch from a sky-blue, crystalline teacup, a piece of a set she had received not long ago.
"I hope so. I don't wanna be cooped up here all day and night," Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and arched her back, then flapped into the air and hovered just above the ground. "A Pegasus's gotta get her exercise, you know? Otherwise, our awesomeness kinda wears down."
"I know exactly what you mean, dear."
The sound of a spoon tapping against a glass brought attention to Twilight, who stood at the center of the garden.
"Sorry, girls. I just wanted to let everypony know that Spike and I will be up on the balcony for a bit," she motioned to Spike, who held his parchment, inkwell and feathered pen at the ready. "I want to let the Princesses know how everything is going. We should probably clean up soon, and also... there's supposed to be a really amazing meteor shower tonight - I think all of you would really enjoy seeing it! Even you, Dash."
Rainbow rolled her eyes and grinned. "Yeah, meteors are pretty fast. Maybe I will like it."
Twilight chuckled. "Well, it's not supposed to start for about another hour - not until after the moon rises. We'll be down to help as soon as I hear something from the princesses. Hopefully we can catch the shower before it's over."
Rarity smiled, taking another sip from her teacup. Meteorological phenomena were not her forte, but meteor showers could certainly be beautiful. She watched as Twilight and Spike left through the northern doors, ascending a spiral of marble stairs up towards a balcony above - one which boasted a large, intricate telescope. She beckoned to her friends still in the garden, the light fading as the night began to envelope the land in its shroud of indigo.
"I have an idea," Rarity chirped in her sing-song voice, once she was sure Twilight and Spike were mostly out of earshot. "Let's clean all of this up quickly, and then surprise Twilight on the balcony. That way, we can be sure no one will miss a moment of the spectacle!"
A clear sky heralded the moon's rise, stars twinkling in their heavenly abode. Though the castle was now wrapped in the shadow of night, upon the balcony the moon provided just enough light for writing.
"...Best regards, Princess Twilight Sparkle." Twilight gestured in the air with her hoof, eyes closed. She had developed a habit of gesticulating while Spike transcribed their letters, to her chagrin.
"Got it. Hey, do you think the Princesses would mind if we used her telescope tonight? We could get some awesome closeups of the meteors with it," Spike said, looking up to and pointing a claw toward Twilight.
"Well, you've still got the letter. We can ask them now."
"'P.S. Hey Princess Luna? Can we use your telescope to check out the totally awesome meteor shower tonight? Pleeease? Signed, Spike'. There! All set?" He held the parchment aloft, rolled it with a twist of his claw and prepared a fire breath.
"Yep! Now, about the party..." Twilight turned to the stairwell, then leapt back. Five pony-shaped shadows stared at her from the recess of the stairs.
"Surprise!" A pink pony shouted, leaping forth. Spike choked, dropping the scroll and coughing up black puffs of ash and smoke.
"Jeez, you guys! You spooked us," Twilight sighed, gently striking Spike's back with a forehoof. "What are you all doing up here? What about the party?"
"Sorry, dear! We didn't want to interrupt you," Rarity emerged next, a cheery smile on her face. "You looked like you were really getting into it. We put everything away; I figured if we had only a short time to get everything done, we may as well do it so that we can all see as much of the shower as possible."
Twilight chuckled and rubbed at the back of her head, her cheeks flushing a barely noticeable rose. "Thanks, everyone; that means a lot to me... I've been really excited about seeing this."
"Alright. Letter's sent," Spike grunted as a trail of green fire whisked the scroll's remains away into the north. "I hope we hear back from them soon. ...I hope the Princesses let us use the telescope, too. That'd be totally cool!"
The ponies and dragon gathered on the balcony's rim, casting their collective gaze skyward in hopes of being the first to spot the spectacle to come. Rarity glanced northward, her eyes scanning the coruscant firmament over the frozen northern mountains. She could almost make out the silhouette of the Crystal Empire's palace amongst the moonlit peaks and valleys; she wondered how many others were watching for the shower, as she and her friends were. Suddenly, a bright white light streaked across the sky just above the Empire, glimmering for a moment and fading out just as quickly.
"There!" Rarity shouted, pointing her hoof northwards. "I think it's starting over in the north!"
"That's odd... the shower was supposed to happen within Monoceros Major and Hydra, to the west. Are you sure it was a meteor?"
"...I'm not really sure, Twilight. It was a bright white streak, and - there goes another!"
As with the first, another brilliant stroke of white shot across the sky over the northern mountains. Twilight cocked her head to the side, one eyebrow raised.
"Were the star charts wrong...? It's very rare that they are by this margin," Twilight mumbled to herself.
"Is that it? I think it's starting!" Rarity leaned against the balcony's railing, eyes wide.
A series of smaller multi-colored rays shot across the glittering north, a kaleidoscopic dance upon the firmament. Among the rainbow of lights, a single, bright white flash caught Rarity's attention. It plunged lower in the heavens than its accompanying lights, and moments later several other, smaller lights sparked into existence alongside it. They shot away from it, dwindling until they were naught but glimmering pinpricks on the distant night sky.
The seven looked on, their eyes locked onto the descending light. Twilight, with her brow scrunched up, dashed over to the telescope, swinging it to the north.
"What is it, Twilight?" Applejack asked, tearing herself away from the balcony's edge.
"I don't know, but something seems weird about it..."
The meteor cast several more sparkling motes into the sky around itself, each burning brightly for a moment before the darkness overcame them. As the telescope's lens fell over the meteor, Twilight let out a gasp. She pulled her eye away from the telescope, then quickly looked again.
"That's no meteor! It's a pony!"
Rarity's eyes went wide, watching as the meteoric pony fell from the heavens. With a burst of light, it seemed to speed up as it approached the land - and the Crystal Empire. From the telescope, Twilight could see it would inexorably impact the Crystal city itself.
"This is...unheard of," Twilight mumbled.
"What will happen to her?" Rarity interjected, biting her lip. She held her hoof up to her mouth and her breaths came quickly, not wanting to guess.
For a moment, the seven upon the balcony could see the silhouette of the Crystal Empire against the intense light of the impact. Another second passed and the spectacle seemed to be over, until a cerise, teal and yellow explosion erupted from the grounds of the city. Tendrils of light and dust writhed higher from the impact as a central cloud rose, the surrounding countryside painted in an unearthly white glow only moments before the cloud overtook it.
"What...just..." Twilight whispered, her jaw slowly dropping and her gaze transfixed on the billowing clouds of light in the distance.
"...happened?" Rarity finished, barely able to manage above a peep.
Applejack had removed her hat, holding it to her chest. Even Pinkie was silent, while Fluttershy huddled behind her, shaking. Rainbow Dash settled onto the floor, her jaw mimicking Twilight's. As the dust began to clear from the center of the Empire, two spiraling wisps of light - one deep blue and the other a golden yellow - fled into the sky. Though barely visible from Canterlot, each dissipated into an aurora over the spires of the Empire.
With an untimely belch and a curl of smoke, a scroll of parchment popped into Spike's claws. "Twilight, Twilight! A letter came!" He shouted, scrambling over to hand it to Twilight. She snapped the letter open with her magic, eyes quivering as she read each line out loud, slowly and steadily to her friends.
"'Dearest Twilight Sparkle, I am fine. A fallen star, however, has awakened something terrible. I cannot find Princess Luna or Princess Cadance. I will return presently. Await my arrival at the castle. Regards, Princess Celestia.' Fallen star? ...Princess Luna and Cadance? Where could they be?" She whispered, shaking her head. Her heartbeat quickened and her legs began to waver, eliciting a deep breath from the princess.
"This is the worst possible thing! What's going on up there?!" Rarity screeched, glancing fruitlessly at the letter's contents herself.
"Return presently? We should be the ones going there!" Rainbow jumped into the air, flapping furiously with her wings.
"Everypony, please! Let's... let's get back to the throne room and wait for Princess Celestia. She'll know what we can do to help." With that, Twilight turned to trot down the stairs. Rarity gazed over the rail once more, towards the dying glow of the scintillating cloud in the north, and the eerie, discolored aurorae of pale-gold and blue over the Empire. Reluctantly she pulled her eyes from the scene, slowly following the group.
"Twilight Sparkle! There you are." Twilight jumped at the sound, having barely set a hoof into the throne room. She looked about with wide eyes, letting out a sigh when they happened upon the form of Celestia.
"...Princess Celestia? How did you... I mean, are you alright?" She leapt forward, leaning her head against Celestia's foreleg.
"I am. I cannot say the same for the Crystal Empire, unfortunately..." She smiled as the rest of the ponies and Spike joined Twilight. "My little ponies... I fear a most grave situation has befallen the Crystal Empire. You are aware of the fallen star from my letter, I presume?"
"Well, yes. But what we saw wasn't a star -" Twilight started.
"It was a pony! What's happened to the Empire? Is everyone alright?" Rarity interrupted, looking up to Celestia's face for solace.
"I see..." Celestia murmured with a sigh. "I do not know, sadly. All I know is that the event has spurred a dark power into action. The enemy of order and peace, the beast known as Pasternoth has awoken, and she has already begun corrupting Crystal ponies to her cause." The ponies looked to each other, their brows wrought of a mix of confusion and concern.
"Uh, who is that? Even in all of my studies, I've never seen that name mentioned once..."
"She is the herald of chaos - the bringer of demons. We must hurry if we are to stop her and set right what's happened."
"Chaos? Isn't that Discord's schtick?" Rainbow protested, tilting her head to the side.
"I wonder if we could get him to help us?" Fluttershy offered. "I mean, if he and Pasternoth do the same thing, maybe he can tell us more about her?"
"Absolutely not." Celestia raised her wings and closed her eyes, turning away from the seven that had gathered about her. "The risks involved... In this, he is too much of a wild card to count upon. No, you ponies alone must go." Fluttershy shrank into her mane, mumbling apologies and casting her eyes to the ground.
"What about the Crystal ponies? There must be some way for us to help them," Rarity said, raising a forehoof. "I'd feel simply dreadful marching in there and not helping them..."
"They can only be helped once Pasternoth has been dealt with... until then, anything we could do to help them merely jeopardizes your mission further."
Rainbow and Pinkie looked to Celestia, then to each other.
"She hasn't even mentioned her sister or Princess Cadance," Rainbow mumbled to Pinkie. "Something doesn't feel right about this."
"Why are we whispering? We could just ask her," Pinkie not-so-surreptitiously whispered back.
"Wait! I -" Rainbow started, reaching out for Pinkie with a hoof, but Pinkie's bounce forward was quicker.
"Hey, Princess Celestia? What about Princess Luna, or Princess Cadance? Should we look for them first?"
"I must ask that... that you do not," Celestia looked back over her shoulder, her gaze having sunk to the ground. "While they must be found, I fear that the time spent finding them will allow Pasternoth to grow too powerful to stop. Her weapon is not so much her own personal power, but how she can corrupt and enslave others. If we allow her any time, she may gather too many followers to stop."
"How terrible!" Rarity recoiled. "Then we've no time to lose! We should leave at once!"
"Indeed. I can help you get there, but the rest will be up to you. Before you go, however, I have another thing to ask of you." Celestia held out her hoof, and a crystalline blue globe appeared hovering above it. It shone like a gem, scintillating in the light of the castle. "This is a great and powerful piece of magic. One that is required to return the world to its rightful way."
"A... piece? How can you have a piece of magic?" Twilight inquired, an eyebrow raised as she inspected the orb.
"It is part of the remains of the Crystal Heart's magic. The fallen star... it destroyed the Heart. I fear Pasternoth has the other piece and is using it to further her corruption. When you defeat her, look for a glowing red globe, similar to this. Only once both pieces are reunited can the Heart be reforged, and peace can reign again."
Twilight took a deep breath, then turned to her friends. "Alright. We can do this - nothing's stopped us before. Are you girls ready?"
Rarity stepped forward, putting a hoof to Twilight's shoulder. "The question is, are you ready? While we're all concerned about the Empire, Princess Cadance is... well... I'm also concerned about you, dear."
Twilight wrapped Rarity in a hug, then nodded. "I am, I think."
"You think? Are you sure?"
"...Definitely. There's no time to waste, and the faster we do this, the sooner we can set everything right again."
"Come to me, my little ponies," Celestia motioned to the group, calling them closer. "I will teleport you as close as I can from here."
The seven approached, congregating before Celestia. A pale gold aura encompassed Spike, lifting him in the air with a sudden "Whoa!" from the dragon and moving him to Celestia's side. "I am sorry, Spike, but I need you to stay with me."
"Huh? Why me?" Spike's eyes went wide. He looked from Twilight to Celestia, then extended a claw at himself.
"There are many things that need to be done here, and you are the only one who can help me with some of them," she said with a smile.
"But..." he protested, curling his lip and looking to Twilight.
"...If Princess Celestia thinks you need to stay here, then it's probably for the best." Twilight said, reaching over with a hoof and resting it on Spike's shoulder. He merely rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Come now, Spikey-wikey... I'm sure if Princess Celestia says she needs you, then she really and truly does. Perhaps she has an important task for you," Rarity consoled him,
"...Fine. I never get to go on these crazy adventures..." He grumbled, crossing his arms. He shrugged, a resigned smile finding its way across his face. "I'll do my best here, and you ponies do your best with what's-her-name. I'll miss you guys," Spike turned and hugged Twilight and Rarity, then made a quick route to hug the rest of the ponies, before running back to Celestia.
Celestia's horn glowed a pale golden color, each of the six ponies becoming wrapped in the same. A wind circulated amongst them and they rose from the ground slowly, their colors fading as the light from Celestia's magic blanched them. The six were suddenly pulled into a single, golden mass of light, which - with a furious shaking and shower of sparkles - disappeared as suddenly as it had formed.
"Now then, Spike," Celestia started, lifting him onto her back. "Let us begin your task."
