Unbridled Power

Chapter 2

4/10 11:18 AM – 7 days to Omega Crisis

Pinkie Pie glumly paced to various points in the town to prepare the residents of Ponyville using the map that Twilight had given to her.  She’d had to deal with ball emergencies, eyepatch emergencies, and balloon emergencies, but never gas mask emergencies.  She had packed a lunch of apples, but she didn’t think she was going to be hungry today.  Twilight had said something about ‘picofibra-something-or-other dust’, and that it could shred a pony’s lungs in an instant.  Pinkie hadn’t thrown a party since the news hit.  It just didn’t seem appropriate.  She was concerned for her friends, which encompassed pretty much everypony in town.  Then, there was a humming noise that brought everyone to attention staring at the horizon.  A translucent bluish-purple field began to rise and encompass the town.  As the sun was shut out, The town was covered in a dark haze that made it hard to see color, but light still crept through.  Pinkie stared up at the shield for a moment and then, with her head down, plodded off to the next point on the map.

4/10 11:25 AM – 7 days to Omega Crisis

“Thanks for helping me start up the generator, Rarity,” Twilight said gratefully.

“Don’t Mention it, darling,” Rarity replied, flipping her mane.  “Generosity is my game, after all.”

“Oh, Rarity!”  Twilight joked while playfully knocking the snow-colored pony in the shoulder with her hoof.  The two continued onward, back to the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity had promised Twilight something special for the preparations.  When they arrived, Rarity gracefully nudged open the front door and showed off her newest creation to Twilight, whose jaw dropped.  “Armor‽ You made ARMOR‽”  Twilight exclaimed, bewildered.

“Why of course, dear.  If something is to go terribly, terribly wrong, why should we not be protected?”  The fashionista replied, slightly taken aback with Twilight’s reaction.

“Yes, yes, I was just a bit...  Startled, was all,”  Twilight said, taking a closer look.  The armor was, really, very well made.  It had black carbon-fiber stitching with plates of steel covering the more vital areas.  Yes, this was probably better than what the Canterlot guards were wearing.  “Thank you, Rarity.  This is very thoughtful of you.  I was just thinking... well...”  Twilight hesitated, adrift in emotion.  “My job is to protect the town.  If the town falls, I’m not sure if I can just run away.”

“I understand, darling,” Rarity assured.  “If you want it, though, it’ll be right here in the boutique.  Ta-ta!”  Twilight stepped outside and looked at the shields.  She silently hoped that they would hold off whatever was coming.  They just had to.

4/11 10:31 AM – 6 days to Omega Crisis

Princess Celestia walked the main corridor in the castle for the hundredth time that day.  She couldn’t think of any way to ultimately and completely convince the citizens of Equestria that she wasn’t involved.  Even her own guards were beginning to become suspicious.  Their ‘Fearless Leader’ had no concrete way to explain to them that she was just trying to do her job, not make their lives miserable.  It was true, she had diverted the water flow from Manehattan, but that was to avoid a serious drought in the heart of the ponies’ agricultural industry.  Now it seemed that wherever she went her presence was met with looks of disgust and hatred, looks that crushed her very soul.  She had done what she thought was the right decision, and she had failed her country.  Luna had tried to console her, but to no avail.  ultimately the advice Celestia had received was to take it easy and get some rest, but Celestia was paranoid.  If she was an activist, would she look suspiciously eager?  If she took time off, would she seem to disconnected from current events?  She wracked her brain searching for the perfect solution.  The meteor shone in the daytime now, too.  With the threat on the literal horizon day and night, she couldn’t escape.  There was no escape.  She had to go...  there.  Yes, it was the only way.  It was only there that she could gain refuge from the rest of the world.  She only hoped that when she returned that Equestria could once again become whole.

4/11 9:54 PM – 6 days to Omega Crisis

Fluttershy gently moved Angel’s covers up over him to tuck him in.  It had been a long day, gathering all of the food necessary to keep the animals nicely fed in their homes.  This had been a difficult time for everypony, and she knew that when the meteor arrived it would be very important for them to be well rested.  As she climbed into bed, she pulled her covers up over her head and tried to clear her thoughts.  She breathed deeply.  Peaceful silence filled her mind.  Suddenly, a sharp sound rang across the room.  In her shock, she fell out of bed.  Looking over towards Angel, she saw that he was still asleep.  Had she imagined it?  It seemed so clear.  Figuring that her mind was playing tricks on her, she shakily placed her front left hoof on the bed to get back in.  She heard it again, this time three times in quick succession.  Spinning around in terror, her eyes darted to the large, round window that looked over the path to her house.  A familiar orange face stared back, a look of concern on her normally content face.  The pony had one hoof pressed against the glass.  Fluttershy sighed deeply and relaxed her tense muscles.  She walked across the room to open the window for Applejack.  Relieved, she greeted her friend with “Oh Applejack, I’m so glad it’s you.  I was really scared that something was going to get me!”

“No time!” whispered Applejack harshly.  Fluttershy knew that when AJ was this rushed, she was serious.

“What’s wrong, Applejack?”  Fluttershy questioned.  “Why isn’t there any time?”

“You need to see this.”

Fluttershy alighted gently on the ground outside her home, being sure to close the window securely.  “What’s so important?”  she asked.  “You seem awfully worried.”

“It’s about the meteor,” Applejack finally explained.  She looked anxious and motioned for the pegasus to follow her.  As they began to briskly trot through the town, she continued.  “Ah was walkin’ the grounds in Sweet Apple Acres ‘round an hour ago when ah saw a green light strike the ground.  Ah thought ah was seein’ things, but ah blinked a few times an’ it was still there.”  By this time, AJ had sped up to a gallop, and Fluttershy was having trouble keeping up. Both mares were very obviously nervous about the whole ordeal.  “Ah walked up to it, and ah saw it was a message!  It said...  well, ah think you’d best read it for yerself.”  Fluttershy spotted a glowing stone slab lying in the grass about ten paces away.  Walking up, she saw strange characters inscribed on the rock.

“Um, Applejack, I don’t want to be rude, but I can’t read this...” she murmured.

“What?  Lemme see that,”  Applejack rushed up beside her friend.  “What in tarnation?  Just a moment ago...  Ah looked at it and saw a vision.  There was a voice...  It came from everywhere...  So loud...”  Tears began to roll down her cheeks.  “Ah’m just so confused.”  She let out a sob and collapsed.  Fluttershy laid down beside her and put one wing over the earth pony’s back.  This gesture caused AJ to turn and look at her.  Fluttershy smiled.  “It’s okay, Applejack.  We’ll figure this out.  Together.”  Their noses touched as they sat together under the starlight.