The Equestrian Event

A vast cloud of dust hung over the eastern side of the castle, completely obscuring the tower bridge. It was difficult to see anything that was more than a few feet away.

Jay rolled onto his back, groaning.

Putting a hand to his ringing ear, he felt a trickle of blood beginning to form.

“Oh, great. As if I didn’t have enough of a headache already,” he grumbled. “Luna? Luna, you alright?”

“I- I believe so,” Jay heard the princess say. Her voice was muffled, along with everything else. He turned his head to see her shambling in his direction.

“What happened?” Luna coughed. “What was that?”

“A bomb, maybe?” Jay shakily got to his feet, doing his best not to fall flat on his face. “Whatever it was, it hurt like a bitch.”

“Wait, where is- Oh no…” Luna whispered.

She peered through the wispy haze at what was left of the observatory’s top floor. Plumes of smoke rose from the head of the battered spire, rising to heights that would be visible from miles away.

“Celestia!” Luna cried. She began to stumble across the bridge.

“Wait!” Jay shouted after Luna, shooting a panicked glance at the tower.

It had begun to shift.

The shattered marble walls groaned, unable to take the stress of the damage from the explosion.

Jay wrapped his arms around Luna’s waist and pulled her to the ground, just as the structure gave way.

The tower crumbled to pieces as it collapsed, colliding with the lower castle turrets. They were crushed under the immense force of the falling debris, becoming part of the avalanche that tumbled to the city below.

The bridge Jay and Luna were standing on began to rumble as the falling mass of rubble shredded the buildings supporting it.

“Shit!” Jay shouted, pulling Luna to her hooves.

“We need to go! Now!”

He began to push the dazed princess across the bridge.

As they ran for the door, Jay could feel the ground beneath his feet buckle and roll.

“Don’t stop!” Jay yelled. He pumped his arms, running as fast as he could behind Luna.

The door was just a few yards away now.

“We’re almost-”

The bridge tore away from its supports with a horrendous screeching noise.

The golden pass tumbled and crashed down the mountain, melding with the rest of the destruction at the bottom of the mountain in a twisted heap of metal and stone.

Luna burst through the door at the end of the walkway, crumpling to the ground as she tried to catch her breath. Panting, she stood back up, to process her current situation.

“Huff- What do -huff- How did this happen, Jay? What are we going to do?”

She mentally braced herself for some new sarcastic reply or a dry remark, but heard none.

“Jay?”

The princess turned back to the door she had just come through.

Jay was nowhere to be seen.

Luna could feel her heart sink even lower than it already was.

“Jay!” she cried, running to the edge of the collapsed bridge. Gazing down at the wreckage below, she could hardly distinguish any particular shape. Luna stretched out her wings, preparing to descend in search of the human.

As she was about to jump however, she heard a distinctive voice.

“God damn it!”

“Jay?” Luna responded, searching for the source of the voice.

“Over here,” Jay replied.

Luna looked down past the drop off to see Jay dangling from what was left of the bridge’s railing.

“Jay, what are you doing down there?” Luna called in a panic.

“Oh, you know, the view was just so nice and I thought I should- What the fuck do you think I’m doing?” Jay yelled.

“Right, sorry,” Luna said.

“Look, just… I don’t know, pull me up or something,” Jay sighed. “I can feel myself slipping.”

“Alright, alright, hold still,” Luna said, her horn beginning to glow.

“Not like I have much choice or anything,” Jay mumbled under his breath.

He could feel something taking hold of him. Glancing down at his feet, he could see an aura of blue light surrounding his body.

He also saw how far of a drop it would be if Luna decided to let him fall.

“I need you to let go,” Luna said.

“Of what? The life I have planned?” Jay laughed nervously. “Yeah, that’s pretty much guaranteed if plummet to my death.”

“No, I meant that I require you-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know what you meant,” Jay said. He took a deep breath and braced himself for whatever was about to happen. “Okay, here we go.”

Jay squeezed his eyes shut and released his grip on the railing. He didn’t feel much of anything, which was hopefully a good sign. Not but a second later, he felt his feet make contact with the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was now standing next to Luna on the edge of the bridge.

“You’re safe now,” Luna mumbled, walking back inside the castle.

“Uh, thanks,” Jay said, deciding to follow. “Are… Are you okay?”

Luna stopped dead in her tracks and slowly sat down in the middle of the hall, not saying anything.

“Er- Sorry,” Jay apologized. “I guess that-”

The princess abruptly began to weep, taking Jay by surprise.

He stood there, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do.

As Luna cried, tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the dust that clung to her fur. Her face flushed and her ears filled with the roaring sound of her racing blood.

She barely noticed that Jay had sat down next her, until his arm was around her, pulling her close to him.

Not quite an embrace, but still some kind of attempt at consolation.

Though this surprised her, Luna did not recoil the gesture. Instead, she allowed her head rest on the human’s shoulder and continued to sob.

Jay felt the princess’s warm tears begin to soak into the fabric of his shirt.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, attempting to collect his thoughts.

“What have you gotten yourself into?”