Screams and panicked shrieks echoed across Ponyville—even as Fluttershy galloped up with her furry forest friends in tow. The pegasus skidded to a stop, gasping. Her turquoise eyes reflected a bright orange tint to the early morning haze. Several buildings were still on fire, and a massive ravine had inexplicably formed across the center of town.
"Oh goodness!" Fluttershy whimpered, shivering in place. "Oh m-my goodness!" Despite her trembles, the pony took a deep breath, steeling herself with a determined scowl. "Angel! Mr. Bear!" She spun to speak to the wide-eyed mammals in question. "Go to the north and south ends of Ponyville! Look for survivors! If you see any ponies or critters stuck in the rubble, come back and let me know right away!"
Angel nodded and hopped to it. With a surly growl, the bear charged off across the uneven terrain.
"Feathers McFeatheron!" Fluttershy spoke to a nearby duck. "Go and make sure all of the squirrels and pigeons are out of the park! With the way the fire is spreading—"
"Hey!" A voice rasped from high above. "Flutters!"
As the duck flew off, Fluttershy tilted her head up. "Oh! Rainbow Dash!"
Ponyville's fastest flier soared overhead, accompanied by over two dozen able-bodied pegasi. The group heaved multiple buckets full of sloshing lake water in their rear hooves. Rainbow hovered to a stop—panting—so she could speak to Fluttershy down below. "Did you just come from the forest?!"
"Y-yes!" Fluttershy gulped. She gestured at her furry friends, and the rest of the animals scattered off to comb the rest of the town. "Several trees have fallen! It all happened so fast! A lot of my forest friends are homeless now! Oh Rainbow, it's so awful! What's happened to Ponyville?"
"I've no friggin' clue!" Rainbow hovered in midair, grasping her heavy bucket of water. "One moment, it was just like any other night. Then the next... boom! This huge friggin' gash forms in the center of town! I'm telling you, this ravine could give Ghastly Gorge the run for the money!"
"I still hear ponies screaming!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Are there ponies stuck in—?"
"Twilight's teleporting as many out as she can!" Rainbow said, motioning the rest of the fliers on. "We're trying to put out the fire! Spike's sent word to Canterlot. Princess Celestia and Luna should be here any moment!"
"Oh! Then... th-then I'll go grab a bucket and help—!"
"No, Fluttershy! We've got things covered up here! You couldn't carry a whole bucket of water anyways!"
"Er... r-right..." Fluttershy gulped. "Guess you have a point..."
"You wanna help?" Rainbow flew on ahead, calling back: "Make sure all the streets are empty! It looks pretty bad now, but who's to say there won't be any aftershocks!"
Fluttershy's pupils shrank. "A-aftershocks?!" Her knees wobbled. Wincing, she glanced left and right, then rushed into the heart of Ponyville.
The village groaned and crackled on either side of the mare. Once-stable buildings leaned at crooked angles, their wooden frames breaking above crumbled stone foundations. Chunks of plaster and mortar dribbled into a viciously steep crevice. Fluttershy's eyes twitched to the sight of burning embers and shattered stagecoaches, all congregating deep within the belly of the sudden rift.
"Hello?! Anypony still there?!" Fluttershy's ears drooped nervously. Her legs felt numb, so she flapped her wings to carry herself above the sundered earth. "Please... if you can hear me... say something!" She tilted her head from side to side, ears twitching, listening. "It's not safe to stay here anymore! Let us know where you are so we can swiftly... get you... out of... t-town..."
Her words trailed off as her muzzle hung agape. The mare came to a numb stop above Ponyville Town Hall... or at least where Town Hall used to be. Instead, Fluttershy found herself staring into a deep, dark hole. The edges of the pit were lined with indistinguishable slivers of rock, stone, and plaster. Gone was the trademark circular structure of Ponyville's capitol. Everything had been horrifically gobbled up by a terrestrial maw, leaving a veritable implosion of splintery debris. Smoke rippled from deep within the sea of rubble, and the air above was filled with a smoggy death cloud.
"Oh... Celestia..." Fluttershy backed up, stifling a whimper. She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. "The Mayor... did... d-did she get out in time—?"
Th-Thump! Fluttershy bumped into building face behind her. Apparently the lightest of touches was enough to affect the fractured structure—for within seconds she heard a grotesque groan, followed by a massive shift to the building's remaining weight. Fluttershy spun around in time to see a smoke-filled second story topple towards her. She shrieked in dismay—
FLASSSSH! Lavender magic encased the building... then shoved it back onto its foundation. SMASSSH!
"Aaah!" Fluttershy yelped, quivering in midair. "Twilight!"
Swoooosh! Twilight Sparkle hovered over the crumbled building. She came to a stop along the edge of the ravine, panting and sweating from magical exertion. "One s-second, Fluttershy!" the alicorn stammered. Concentrating, she levitated a bubble of magic towards herself. Within the sphere, two dozen frazzled Ponyville citizens clung to one another, widely eyeing the devastation all around. "Stay calm!" the Princess exclaimed. "I'm going to save as much of our home as I can! Right now, I'm teleporting you to the west edge of town! Stay at Sweet Apple Acres and do whatever Applejack says! But whatever you do... do not come back into Ponyville proper! Not until I tell you to! It's too dangerous right now; there's no telling when another tremor might occur!"
The citizens collectively nodded.
"Y-yes, Princess Twilight!"
"Whatever you say, Your Majesty!"
"Now hold your breaths!" Twilight squinted, concentrated, and—
FLASH!
—the citizens were teleported safely away.
Exhaling a breath of relief, Twilight Sparkle dimmed her horn, then coiled her wings back. She gently drifted down until she stood next to her trembling friend. "Fluttershy, what are you doing here?!"
"I... I had to come, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "I needed to know that the citizens of Ponyville were s-safe! I would have come sooner, but my animal friends and I were busy evacuating the damaged part of the forest—"
"Well, that's very noble of you, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "And I'm very glad somepony was looking out for the local wildlife. But there simply isn't anything left to do for Ponyville."
"But—"
"Nothing left for you to do, I mean!" Twilight exclaimed. "This place is horribly unstable, and I'm doing all I can to pull remaining survivors out!" She pointed at the sky with her wing. "Rainbow and several other pegasi are on firefighting duty, but I've ordered them to keep their distance."
"Just... what is happening here?" Fluttershy grimaced. "Is it some sort of earthquake?"
"Yes..." Twilight gulped, wiping her brow. "But not any normal earthquake, I fear."
"What do you mean?"
"Right before the center of Ponyville split in half, I detected a huge surge in magic!"
"Oh no..." Fluttershy nibbled on the edge of her fetlock. "You mean... some kind of spell did this?!"
"Yes. Perhaps so." Twilight nodded. "Or something worse." She gulped. "But now is not the time for speculation. I've got to get the rest of the citizens out of here." She took wing.
"But..." Fluttershy reached a hoof out. "Twilight—!"
"And you need to stay out of city limits!" Twilight ordered, flying away. "Go to Sweet Apple Acres! Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity will need help in calming the survivors once they've appeared there!"
"Don't you need help here, Twilight?"
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but it's too dangerous!" She became a glowing speck over the distant rooftops. "Promise me that you'll leave the center of town immediately!"
"But what if—?!"
"Promise me!"
Fluttershy nodded. "Very well, Twilight!" She crossed her hoof and brought over her closed eye. "I Pinkie Prom—"
A whimper.
"...?" Fluttershy slowly lowered her forelimb. Her ears pricked, searching for the source of that meager little noise.
Again... a whimper.
"Hmmm?" Fluttershy turned around, squinting past rising fumes. She searched and she searched—but all she could see was the rubble of the former Town Hall.
Yet still, the whimpering sound continued... rising in cadence and desperation.
"Uhhhh..." Fluttershy grimaced. She tilted her head towards the sky. "Twilight? Do you hear what I'm—?" She went silent.
Twilight Sparkle was long gone. The sky was smoke and crimson.
Fluttershy bit her lip.
"...somepony? ...anypony?"
Fluttershy twirled to face the abysmal rubble again. This time she was certain she heard the voice. "...hello?"
"... ... ...pl-please... h-help me..."
Fluttershy blinked. She looked at the last place Twilight had been. Then, turning around with a deep breath, she flapped her wings... and descended daringly into the heart of the rubble pit. She drifted past burning lumber and chunks of stone. Her wings blew away excess smog as her eyes squinted, peering.
"Hello?" Fluttershy stammered, shivering in mid-descent. "Who... wh-who's there?"
The feeble voice raised in pitch. "Flutter... shy...?"
Fluttershy looked... looked... looked... and at last found a patch of twinkling light emanating from between two collapsed beams of wood.
"...is it... you... Fluttershy...?"
"Just hold on!" Fluttershy exclaimed. She stood precariously on a patch of earth and reached in with both forelimbs and wings. "I'm... not exactly the... grnnngh..." She struggled against the rubble. "...str-strongest of p-ponies...!" A sputter. "But I pr-promise that I will get you out of there safely!"
With patient, persistent motions, she was finally able to lift the last layer of rubble between her and the light source. Exhaling, Fluttershy peered into the exposed niche... and her facial features drooped.
A sickly, shivering unicorn lay in a fetal position, cocooned in a sphere of lavender magic. With a flicker, the force field dissipated. The mare lifted her head. Thin, bloodshot eyes gazed out from beneath a disheveled, threadbare mane. Her neck and muzzle were stained with bile, and jaundice laced the edges of her mouth and eyes.
"Mrmmmfff... Fluttershy..." the pony wheezed in a hauntingly familiar voice.
Fluttershy's mouth hung open. "... ... ...Twilight?"
"Mmmm..." A hot tear bled loose as the unicorn coughed and sobbed. "Oh Fluttershy..."
"Twilight, what..." Fluttershy reached forward. "How..." She gasped as the unicorn grabbed her, clinging to the pegasus with every bony limb she could manage.
"Hrmmmmmm..." The mare nuzzled Fluttershy close, sobbing into her shoulder. "I missed you... I missed you so much..." Hot, streaming tears. "I love you... Spike... the girls... I l-love you all s-so much..."
Fluttershy reached in to steady the pony. She grimaced as she felt the pronounced vertebrae and leg joints of the emaciated figure. "Celestia..." She blurted. "How... how long were you...?"
"I... I don't know..." The unicorn sputtered, hyperventilated. "Weeks? Months?" She trembled, nestling herself in Fluttershy's embrace as the sobs came in waves. "I stayed awake the wh-whole time. I had to. The preservation spell..."
"Preservation spell?" Fluttershy glanced at the trailing purple light. "You... you mean you've been—?"
"It... was n-never meant to be cast for s-so long..." The mare wheezed. "The leylines converged. Mrrmmmm... overload... overloaded..." Bloodshot eyes raked the smoldering sky. "Goddess... hope I-I didn't hurt anypony..."
"Shhhhh... it's... uh... it's okay..." Fluttershy nevertheless grimaced as she knelt beside the deathly pony and attempted to lift her up. The unicorn's bony limbs went limp in her grasp. She looked into her emaciated face. "Just tell me." Her yellow brow furrowed. "How did you get down here?"
Twilight gawked at her incredulously. "You m-mean you don't know, Fluttershy?"
"Don't know what?"
"The spell..."
"Your preservation spell?"
"No..." Twilight gulped. "Starswirl's spell... I fixed it... or at least I-I thought I did."
Fluttershy blinked. "Starswirl's spell...?"
Twilight clenched her eyes shut. It pained her to repeath it: "'From all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.'"
"...marks of our destinies..." Fluttershy blinked. "But... but Twilight! That was over a year ago!"
"A bright light in the library encircled me. I-I could no longer see you girls. My mind... c-caught on fire... like I was b-being split in half. A violent flash... and I... I materialized here... in darkness..." Twilight whimpered. "No food. No water. No... no fr-friends. If it weren't for the pr-preservation sp-spell..." She deflated, hiccuping on a sob as she nuzzled Fluttershy again. "Oh Fluttershy... please... take me back..."
"Twilight..."
"Take me back to Golden Oaks..." Twilight cried like a foal. "I want... I-I want to go home..."
"But Twilight... Tirek destroyed Golden Oaks months ago! Don't you remember?"
Twilight looked up, teary-eyed. "Tirek?"
Fluttershy blinked.
"Who's Tirek?"
Fluttershy opened her muzzle to say something—
"Fluttershy?" A strong voice echoed from the distance. Lavender wings streaked overhead, and were gone again. "Fluttershy, are you still there? If so, please get to Sweet Apple Acres right away! I'm sensing a massive shift in magic!"
Twilight looked up, trembling. "Who... who's th-that?"
Fluttershy paled from head to tail. Her eyes shifted about, searching... pondering. At last, after several deep breaths, she hoisted Twilight up. "I think..." A gulp. "I think I need to get you out of here, Twilight."
"Fluttershy... mmmm..." Twilight dangled in her grasp. "Please..."
Fluttershy tossed the mare over her flank. She was sickeningly alarmed at how feather-light her decrepit body was. "Canterlot. I need to get you to Canterlot." She gulped. "The Royal Sisters there can—"
"No... no!" Twilight protested with sudden fervor. "Not Canterlot!"
"But... b-but..."
"Zecora..." Twilight wheezed, her eyes rolling back. "Get me to Zecora. She..." A gulp. "She will know what to do."
"Zecora...?"
"Please, Fluttershy. I trust you." Twilight whimpered. "Not many who... I-I can anymore..."
Fluttershy winced. Nevertheless, she flapped her wings, carrying the sickly unicorn out of the pit of rubble and then out of the center of Ponyville. Together, they flew low over broken buildings and chunks of dislodged earth.
"Oh gosh..." Twilight gasped. "The town! What... what have I done...?"
"Just don't look, Twilight," Fluttershy said, flying briskly over the treetops beyond the limits of Ponyville. "I'm going to get you to Zecora's. That's a promise."
"There's... a palace..." Twilight squinted into the horizon. "...looks like a crystal tree. What... is it doing here...?"
Fluttershy chewed on her lip. "I'm starting to wonder myself—"
FLASSSSH!!!
A bright beam of light exploded right before Fluttershy.
"Eeeeek!" She lost momentum, skidding to a stop on the ground. Twilight shifted on top of her, nearly toppling off the pegasus. Fluttershy steadied herself at the last second. She looked up, staring into the eyes of two regal figures. "Oh! Princess Luna! Princess Celestia!"
Twilight squirmed instantly. "Huh?!"
"You must have gotten Spike's message!" Fluttershy exhaled with relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're here! Listen... something awful... truly awful is happening here in Ponyville." She pointed with a trembling figure at Twilight. "And that's not all. You wouldn't guess who I found beneath the—"
"Stay calm, my little pony," Celestia said, her voice soft and her eyes hard.
"We see that you've discovered Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna remarked.
"Yes!" Fluttershy squeaked. "And... to be honest, Your Highnesses, I just don't understand it—"
"No... No, Fluttershy!" Twilight suddenly thrashed about, hyperventilating. "Move! Fly away!"
"Huh?!" Fluttershy looked over her shoulder. "But it's—"
"Signals... colors in the darkness... I f-felt their black magic in the leylines!" Twilight hissed. "Don't trust—grkkk!" She gagged as dark blue magic lifted her skeletal figure up by the neck.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy's panicked eyes followed the stream of energy to Luna's horn. "What are you doing—?!"
POW! A blast of solar energy sailed into Fluttershy's chest, pinning her to a gnarled tree trunk across the path.
"Ooomf!" Fluttershy quivered, unable to move.
"Breathe evenly, Fluttershy," Celestia droned unemotionally. "It will all be over soon." She tilted her head aside. "Do you have the shell, Luna?"
"I do, sister," Luna nodded. Twilight levitated limply before her. "Curious that it would have eluded us for so long. Though, it would explain a few things."
"Rrnnngh..." Twilight struggled for breath. "Starswirl's spell... it was n-never broken... snkkkt... was it?!"
"Twilight!" Fluttershy yelped. Then—for a brief moment—she gnashed her teeth. Her eyes brimmed as if with turquoise flame. "Let her go right this inst—" Her eyes rolled back as gold energy wafted over her head.
"Shhhhh..." Celestia spoke evenly, her eyes glowing white hot. Like the sun. "The. Magic. Never. Ends." Her head tilted aside. "Finish it."
"As you wish." Luna only had to flick her horn once and—
CRACK! Twilight's head formed a right angle to her neck, and that was right when Fluttershy passed out.
