Chapter edited by Shadowgohstalex

"I guess out of all the things that could’ve happened that day, all the places we could’ve ended up, we actually got pretty lucky. It’s funny how hindsight reveals that kind of stuff to you. It seems like so long ago, a past life, even, that all of this could only have been in my wildest dreams..."

To most people, it was a normal Tuesday night. To the students of Alaska Bible College, however, it was a night for celebration. It was the end of the spring semester, which also meant that it was the end of the school year. Everyone had finished their finals and end-of-term papers had been turned in, with the end-of-year ceremony having been held that morning. All that was left now was the actual graduation ceremony.

Right now, most of the school was gathered on the roof of the small building. Professor Garland, ever watchful for possible student activities, had read in the news that a once-in-a-lifetime, near-perfect planetary alignment was supposed to take place tonight, and had invited the students to come watch it as a sort of end-of-year get together before everyone went their separate ways for the summer. Joel, the campus techy, had brought several large monitors and was streaming live news of the event while several high-powered telescopes had been dragged out of storage for those who would rather watch that way. Forty or so students and faculty (it’s a very small college) were gathered around portable fire pits that had been set up (away from the backup generators, obviously), exchanging jokes and stories and grilling burgers while drinking soda and juice from the ice chest. A few of the older students stood at the edge of the roof with their kids, looking at the night sky and pointing out various constellations. All in all, it was a very comfortable setting.

Well, almost. Palmer was a small outskirt town at the foot of the mountains, so wildlife coming close to town, especially moose, wasn't really all that uncommon. Recently, however, there had been reports of wolves wandering into the edges of town and coming onto peoples' property. This made everyone a bit uneasy, which led to President Ley asking the entire campus security force (which only consisted of five people, but it's better than nothing) to be present.

Bryce Hammonds, who was a part of that very committee, sat next to his friends Noah, Kasey, and Braden, also members of the security force, laughing and enjoying their burgers. Out of all of his friends, Bryce enjoyed the company of these three the most. Noah was a simple but honest man, Braden was a goof and a jokester, and Kasey usually had ten times more going on in his head than he expressed. Each of them, along with the final member AJ, who was at another fire pit roasting a hot dog, had a large machete hanging from their hip (except Kasey, who had his strapped across his back), a walkie talkie on their belt, and a small taser in their pocket. A couple of the teachers had small handguns on them, but since the campus security was only students, they couldn't have firearms.

"You guys ready for the summer?" Bryce asked.

Noah took a swig of his Mountain Dew. "Oooh yeah. Ten weeks living at camp, helpin' out on staff? Couldn't imagine a better way to spend the summer." he said in his laid back baritone. "Plus, my parents are sending my truck up from Minnesota, so I'll have a vehicle by the time next semester rolls around."

Braden nodded, stifling a belch before continuing. "It'll be good to go back to Indiana for a few months. I love it up here in Alaska, but I miss my folks."

"I am just looking forward to having a steady income from now on," Kasey added in his slower manner of speech. He had had trouble finding a job this year before he found out about a recently vacated internship at one of the local churches.

"What're your plans Bryce?" Braden asked as he casually tossed his plate into the flames.

Bryce let out a small sigh. "My family and I are going down to California to visit extended family. We haven't had a vacation in a long time, and Lord knows we need it. With the divorce still so fresh, I think it'll do my mom some good to be around the rest of her family, and it won't hurt for my sisters to get some distance as well." Then he chuckled. "After that, I don't really have any plans other than work. I think I'll try and get back into my swordplay classes and work on my novel. I've been so crazy busy this semester that I haven't had any free time to dedicate to either."

The others nodded. They had been helping Bryce through all of the drama his family had been through this year, but they were glad that he seemed to be doing well in spite of it.

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that. I mean, how do you respond to something like that? Finally, Noah made an attempt to break the silence.

"So Bryce, what kind of novel do you want to write?"

Bryce was thankful that he had changed the subject. He had answered this question before, but at least the awkwardness was gone now.

"Most of the stories I write are fantasy/adventure. I've tried to write other genres like sci-fi and suspense before, but it turns out I'm no good at them."

"Why do you say that?" Braden had started in on his third burger.

Bryce shrugged. "Just don't have the mindset or understanding for it. The principles of magic and the spirit of adventure have always just come naturally to me, but I only really understand basic physics and my writing is just a little too...juvenile, to be able to keep up any kind of suspense."

"Well yeah, but that's something that you can work on." Kasey argued.

"Yeah, and that's why I haven't really written anything for my novel in a couple years. I've been writing fanfics instead. Since it's not something I can really ever publish as a hard copy, and since the other site users usually give me feedback on how to improve my writing style, it's a perfect way to practice and improve."

Noah looked like he was about to say something, but then they heard the news reporter on one of Joel's monitors mention that the alignment was beginning.

Students and teachers alike began to gather around the monitors and various telescopes as the planets began to move closer and closer together. As they did so, Bryce watched through a telescope and could have sworn that the planets seemed to be starting to glow brighter, though he dismissed it as an illusion caused by the combined light of them all being in such close proximity. He wasn't much into astrology, but even he had to admit that it was a pretty spectacular sight.

"It's a shame Bob's missing this." He recognized the Australian accent and turned around to see Professor Linda Bates behind him. "He just left to get one of those disposable cameras since we forgot ours at home." She and her husband were a bit behind the times. They were very nice people though. They were both teachers at the school (she taught the teaching classes and he taught speech and art) and most of the students looked to them as relationship goals. They were in their mid sixties, but they still acted as if they were newlyweds. It really was quite adorable.

David, one of Bryce's classmates, walked over with his son Hunter on his shoulders. "Yeah, Vicki (his wife) couldn't make it either. She's got that virus that's going around."

Bryce and Mrs. Bates nodded. There were several students and faculty who couldn't come because they were either sick or had to take care of someone who was. It was just a simple 48-hour bug, but it was still vicious. Most of the school had had it by this point.

"Look!" Mari shouted as she pointed into the sky. The planets were glowing so brightly now that Bryce didn't even need the telescope anymore. As everyone collectively turned their gaze to the heavens, they watched in awestruck wonder as each glowing entity came closer and closer to the others in a captivating dance, until they all met in harmony, coming so close to one another that they seemed to merge into one massive star, easily outshining anything else in the sky.

Bryce smiled as he felt a few stray tears slip from his eye as he beheld the beauty before him. The "star" looked exactly like what he imagined the star of Bethlehem to have looked like, the star that came to rest over the stable where Jesus had been born. He had been through a lot this past year, from his dad's arrest to his release to him moving back in with their family and things starting to look up, then two months ago, when divorce papers had shown up on his mother's nightstand. He remembered how heartbroken his mother had been. He remembered sharing her tears and he and his three of his four sisters struggled to comfort her while trying to suppress their own feelings of hurt and betrayal. Poor Lucy was only five and didn't understand what was going on, but just kept asking "Where's daddy?"

His heart had broken that day, and he had since given up on things ever getting better. Now, however, looking at the bright light in the sky, he was reminded of that story, when a similar light appeared over a newborn child sleeping amongst the farm animals, signalling a light in a dark world, and for the first time in quite a while, he began to feel hope once again.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when President Ley whispered "Ladies and gentleman, we have just witnessed something that no one now living has ever seen before, nor will ever see again."

Professor Garland looked like he was about to add something to that sentiment, but he never got the chance. Suddenly, the "star" began flashing brighter and brighter, but something about its light seemed...unnatural. Before anyone had the chance to voice their questions about it, a large rumble, like an earthquake, shook the entire city. Bryce stumbled and tripped, falling near the edge of the building. As he rose to his knees, the rumbling intensified, and he noticed that the ground was covered in a writhing fog as far as the eye could see, like a thin, glowing blanket over everything.

"Um, guys--" FOOM!! A massive wave of what looked like liquid light burst forth from the fog around them, bathing the entire rooftop in a pure white light. The wall stretched fifty feet in the air and surrounded the entire building with no gaps in it. Then, to everybody's horror, it began to shrink, moving inward at a slow but steady clip. Students and faculty began panicking as Noah and Professor Garland, who were managing to stay semi-calm, were shouting and waving frantically for everyone to get inside quickly. Bryce snapped out of his petrified state and began running around the roof, shepherding others back towards the roof access hatch. Only he and Noah were left when the wave of light reached the building.

As the first corner of the school met with the wave, the top of the wave bowed inwards on all sides, cascading towards their heads as the light began to pour itself over the building. The two of them quickly ran towards the hatch. They had barely enough time to throw themselves down the hole, Bryce grabbing the door on his way down and slamming it shut right as he felt the force of the light crashing down on top of it. He threw the bolt into the lock position, then scurried down the ladder and regrouped with the others as the earth continued to shake and the sound of the wave cascading over the roof filled the hall. As they all gathered together in panicked prayer, the light through the windows intensified, then flashed brighter than a thousand suns with a sound like a mountain splitting in two before they collectively lost consciousness.

Author's Note

Hey everypony,

Okay, so there's the beginning of my first fanfic on this site. I know it doesn't have any MLP in it just yet, but don't worry, it will very soon. This is a displaced story, after all, and I wanted to give a glimpse into the human characters' lives before thrusting them into the MLP universe.

And yes, I set this at a Bible College. The characters in this story are actually my friends and myself, and Alaska Bible College is where we all met and attend, so it just felt right to put it in there. This will be the only chapter to really reference Christianity, I promise. If you don't like it, then you don't have to read it.

Other than that, let me know what you guys think! I really enjoyed writing this, and I'm really looking forward to where it's going to go, so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Any questions, comments, or concerns are welcome along with any other constructive criticism or feedback, just please don't hate on the story. If you don't like it, again, you don't have to read it. I am currently looking for an editor, though, so if you're willing to do so or have any recommendations for who to ask, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks guys!
~Moon Guard