My Little Lantern: Eventide Star
Prologue Pt 1: A Falling Star
Nighttime over Equestria. Luna's moon shone brilliantly in the dark sky, and Twilight was having a wonderful time examining it's surface, watching the way that it played with the stars that twinkled around it. Luna had told her that there would be a meteor shower tonight, and that some of the meteors would be striking the moon, rather than shooting through Equestria's atmosphere. All in all an exciting time to observe incredible events in the name of science.
Right on schedule, the brilliant streaks began to track through the sky, and with her other telescope, Twilight kept an eye out for any that Luna might have to intercept, if they were too big. She'd asked that the princess perhaps save some and deflect them somewhere harmless so that she'd be able to get a chance to study one.
Just then, there was an impact on the moon, and Twilight's breath caught. Leaning in, she levitated her pen and notepad over so she could take notes as she watched. "Debris plume is expanding out exactly as Luna said it would... this is so amazing!"
Twilight scribbled away her notes of that and nearly a dozen other impacts, detailing the properties of each one. Soon enough, the meteor shower was over, and she had already almost completely filled the notebook. Smiling brightly, she gave only one sigh of disappointment. "Wish one of them had actually survived reentry. I would love to have gotten a closer look."
Far above the sky of Equestria, yet one rock remained. It had traveled for many ages, many hundreds of ages, until it came to this place, this sky. And it would have passed on without any incident, either. It's trajectory was one that would strike neither moon nor atmosphere. But as it floated just so, it felt a tug upon it's essence. Deep within, a green fire flared to life, and the meteor was pulled down, down towards the planet below, to the night darkened half.
As was to be expected in such things, the rock slowly, for such distances and speeds, slipped into the atmosphere. At first the air was a gentle push against the rock's body, but that quickly grew until it shoved against it with all it's might. Fire soon ignited around the rock as dust and grime accumulated over millenia burned away, leaving brilliant green crystal. As the crystal was revealed, the fire tinged to a fantastic green, and the rock streaked through the sky.
Instead of breaking apart and burning away, the crystal stubbornly refused the intense heat and powerful force of the wind. Such petty, physical things could not harm it. Were it to smash into the ground at this weight and speed, it would level an entire town. But this night had a watcher, and she quickly came to investigate the disturbance.
Luna frowned as the meteor continued it's plunge. There wasn't a whole lot of time left, she had to reduce the rock as much as she could. Flipping over and flying above it, she charged her horn and readied her attack. She loosed the dark blue bolt of magic into the crystal, where it refracted and shot back to her as a beam of green. She dodged out of the way easily enough, and merely set her determination even more.
Once more, she charged her attack, but this time placed the power into the tip of her horn, and swung down. With a speed matched to the meteor's, and the force multiplied many times by her powerful magics and then focused onto the point of her horn, she chipped at the crystal. It split along the side, a little less than a third of it exploding and falling away from the rest, much of it just tiny sparks that finally ignited into green fire and then fizzled out of existence, their power diffused into the night air.
Having solved how to crack the dangerous target, Luna prepared yet another attack. Her next pass split the rock almost in two, with the smaller half tumbling off into the night, leaving the larger to shift it's course to a peaceful hamlet that lay just a few thousand meters below, now. Luna ghasped as she recognized Ponyville, and with one final charge, she struck at the meteor.
Again the meteor split. The larger of the two halves was carried away by the strike, sending it plummeting into the great, dark forest to the north of the village. The smallest piece, however, tumbled through the air, as though a dice shaking around in an invisible hand. The die was cast, and it streaked down to the earth, landing some distance outside of town.
Luna floated up into the night sky again, casting her gaze around the sky to see where the other pieces had struck, and what the damage was. Much to her confusion, not a single plume of fire, nor smoke, nor dust filled the air. It was as though the only evidence that the meteor had even existed was the small piece that remained below, and her own exhaustion.
But by now the night was beginning to wane. Luna's moon was finally dipping below the horizon even as Celestia's sun rose at the opposite side. Luna gave a sigh, and turned to fly toward Canterlot and home. She would have to investigate the matter tomorrow night.
Below, in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle could barely contain her excitement. A meteor had fallen to the earth, and even better, Luna had pushed a chunk of it toward Ponyville for her to study. The excited scholar gathered her things and rushed out the door. It wasn't very long, Celestia's sun had only just risen above the horizon, before Twilight found the crater.
It was unlike anything she had ever expected, and she took furious notes the whole while she approached it. The meteorite had left a great furrow in the ground, digging up the earth but leaving it completely and totally intact, otherwise. Not even a blade of grass had so much as singed from heat, especially surprising as she'd expected a great conflagration to have covered the entire area. As it was, she doubted anypony would even know there had been an impact, unless they had been looking out into the night sky as she had been doing (something a sad few ponies ever really did on a regular basis.)
Twilight slowly stepped into the furrow, looking about the dug earth for the rock that had caused all this confusing destruction. Quickly, she found it. It was smaller than she'd expected, and as she sensed at it with her magic, she felt that it was warm but not hot to the touch. She gently tapped her hoof to it, and it responded with a very crystalline tink. Twilight scrunched her face, getting the sneaking suspicion that this meteorite was not the ordinary chunk of space rock. Even so, it would be a valuable thing to have and study.
Putting her suspicions aside and focusing instead on the exciting prospect of study, Twilight lifted the crystal and placed it in her sack. She did a quick look around to see if anypony else had seen what had happened. In doing so, she noticed that a smaller piece of the crystal had come off, and she lifted that and placed that in with it's larger sibling.
A final search ensured she had everything, and that nopony had been bothered. Finally, she set course for home, and grinned at the prospect of yet another mystery to unravel...
My Little Lantern: Eventide Star
Prologue pt 2: Twilight's Notes
Twilight's Log: Entry #1
This is my documentation of my observations and process as I examine the meteorite fragments I recovered from the crash site earlier this morning. Precise time unavailable, however I estimate it to be approximately twenty minutes after samples impacted the earth, which I record as occurring at 6:00 am, Tuesday, May 1st, Year of our Princess 3 AL.
There are two samples. Sample A is 6"x4"x5" in rough dimensions, with a distinctly crystalline structure. Sample B is smaller, fitting easily within an inch cubed area. Precise measurements are too long for these notations and will be included in the margin as necessary. Both samples are only slightly translucent and have a green color to them. Their weight is surprisingly imperceptible, and prove difficult to measure.
My first observations after such continue to explore their physical properties. I estimate a hardness of 10 for each, which is, needless to say, impressive. I may have to borrow some diamonds from Rarity in order to confirm this, but all attempts to scratch or scrape off some material from both samples has proven to be quite futile.
Though the samples' weights cannot be measured, I can feel their weight, both with magic and with my hoof and mouth. It defies all reason, infact, that sample A feels as though it should weigh around 1 pound, whereas sample B feels as though it should weigh an appropriate fraction of that to it's size (I regret to say that I am not skilled enough to determine it's weight simply by lifting it, and would have to use a scale to confirm this. As both samples seem to refuse to be weighted on a scale, that seems an impossiblity).
Further examinations of their light refracting properties already prove just as difficult. One moment they are opaque and a dull green, the next they seem to glow with a bright, inner green light, then become opaque once again, but are almost obsidian in their darkness. Both samples do, however, seem to still be tied somehow, as they will have matching colors, opaqueness, and luminosity (which, also and just as frustratingly, refuses to be quantified).
I'm loath to perform further experiments until I have better equipment. It's entirely possible that that's the main cause of all this disruption.
Entry #2
I got the diamond from Rarity. I had to give her sample B to get it, but since it's obviously a chip off of sample B, I don't have many reservations about that. I'll just limit my testing to small areas until I figure out how to take chips out of the sample, and then I'll be able to get to business.
So far my tests have been... still infuriating, but incredibly fascinating. The crystal appears to be entirely resistant to all bases and acids. Attempts to cut it with diamond, a torch, all manner of things, have proven entirely futile. I'm now waiting for a heavy duty pressure cutter to be open for testing at the Canterlot Royal University. When I go there, I might see what other equipment is free so I can perform a wide range of tests.
I will unlock the secrets of this thing.
Entry #3
My trip to CRU has proven even more expensively fruitless than I could have hoped. The stone very tenaciously refuses to be influenced by any outside force save the laws of motion and even those it obeys only inconsistently! I push it, throw it, move it through the air, but any attempt to quantify it's very existence with anything other than my own two eyes is impossible! As though science itself cannot grasp such an object.
. . .
Of Course! Why didn't I see it before! Though magic is itself not unquantifiable, it has been proven before that certain magical forces (such as those of love and friendship) aren't easily, if at all, measurable. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to fit in for such experimentation for a week or so, but I'll be sure to make time for it once I can.
Entry #4
Finally! I've had an effect! My first test was just a simple enforcing of my magic aura on that of the crystal. Doing so seems to have altered it's coloration to more similarly match mine. I believe this is indicative of an ability to 'magically harmonize' and thus a capacity to bond to a specific person who enacts their will upon the crystal (obviously a unicorn, I don't believe that a pegasus or earth pony would be able to focus their magical energies enough to create such a reaction.)
It's regrettable that I can't change it back, however, if my hypothesis proves correct, that may have been a moot effort anyway. Previous observation had indicated that the smaller sample was already harmonized with the larger one. It would be a simple task to just ask Rarity if the crystal changed color next time I see her.
In the mean time, I shall continue to endeavor to further, understand the crystal. I just know I'm on the verge of a major breakthrough, I can almost taste it.
Entry #5
I BROKE IT!!! I didn't mean to! Really I didn't!
I just enacted a simple fire spell on it! I'd been trying multiple different magical effects on it over the past week or so, with usually only temporary results (unlike the color change, it has still yet to change color), but the fire caused it to just up and burst into flame!
Entry #6
Hold on. My earlier hysterics were... unfounded. While it still hasn't returned to crystalline form the... flame continues to burn. It isn't hot, nor does it actually 'burn' anything. It just exists. Coloration matches that of my magical aura, though slightly more intense. It's a bit like the colors of sunset, and is, I admit, quite pretty to watch. The flame is... strangely, moveable. It cannot spread, but I can lift it and carry it with my magic, and it will settle harmlessly on any surface I place it on. I think it might be drawing fuel from a some connected magical source. Likely yet another property of that 'harmonization' I noted earlier.
It's... really, really beautiful. Hypnotizing, really. I've placed it in a lantern to keep it safe, just in case something does manage to blow it out.
Twilight yawned and closed her notebook. It had been an eventful day for the young mare, and she'd endured plenty of stress. The fire burned gently in it's little lantern, filling the space inside with it's purple and violet light. Once again Twilight found herself entranced by it's beauty, and had to pull herself away from it, giggling.
"Don't you worry, you rascally flame, you. I'll figure you out yet." She said with a smile, writing a little note warning Spike or anyone else not to put out the fire, and then climbing upstairs to bed.