A Tale of Strife

Chapter 1

It all started with a rumble. Everypony could hear it approaching, yet none did anything to prevent it. How could they? They weren’t entirely sure what it was, that is, not until the earth beneath them began to quake. The shaking was loud and violent, so much so that no pony could stand tall without falling flat on their flanks. Never before had they encountered this. Never before had they witnessed a cataclysm.

The massive earthquake lasted for what felt like days, but was only a few minutes. Yet in those minutes were changes that would last a life time as houses began to crumble and paths began to crack. All around the poor helpless creatures, their world was breaking before their very eyes. Everywhere they turned, a little more of their town disintegrated in front of them, which did not only include the houses and paths.

The screams of mares and foals echoed through the collapsing settlement as homes became tombs and the roads became graves. The cataclysm claimed the lives of those too unfortunate to not escape the deathtraps they called cottages. Those who were lucky escaped with injured wings and broken legs. Those who were blessed escaped the sundering with cuts and bruises.

The earthquake lasted for a few minutes with no aftershocks and no mercy. For the little town of Ponyville, they were the lucky ones, as later reports would tell of the floods in Manehatten and the destruction in Appleoosa due to the tremors. However, those are stories for another time. The stage was set, the players took their roles, and the six most famous of ponies in the town took it upon themselves to assist in the retrieval of survivors beneath the rubble of the once bustling settlement.

“Over here, Rainbow Dash!” cried out Pinkie Pie as she pointed out a mother and her foal beneath a collapsed beam. The cyan pegasus responded with great speed as she swooped in and pulled the fallen debris off them. Pinkie looked at the two, checking for any injury, as well as a pulse. Normally the pink mare would be laughing and joking, she even had several parties planned for the day. However, after finding a few corpses beneath the rubble, her cheery self was masked by a veil of sorrows. Her mane wasn’t its usual puffy self, and her smile was nowhere to be seen.

The mother began to groan as Pinkie looked her over. She cracks open her eyes and lifts her head up to Pinkie, cringing in pain. “W… W-Wha’ happened?” asked the broken mother. Pinkie, despite her deep sadness, knew the survivors needed support and cheer, and put on a façade for the injured mother.

“There was just a little accident, Miss. Don’t worry. You and your foal are going to be just fine.” She forces herself to smile. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but this time her smile was actually so difficult to pull off, it hurt her cheeks. Still, she stayed strong, for the mare’s sake. The results were enough to put a real smile on Pinkies face as the mother sighed with relief and smiled back.

“Oh. That’s good. Thank Celestia… we’ll be… just…” She passed out before she could finish her sentence. It was like a dagger being shoved into Pinkie’s heart. She was ready to cry as she panned her surroundings for a few seconds to grasp how much damage there was, how many homes she had to check, how many lives she had to count that were taken by such a tragic event. Finally, Pinkie collected herself and sighed before turning her attention towards a lavender alicorn behind her.

“I have two here, Twilight. A mother who’s passed out, and her child who…” She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t say how the foal was crushed by the mother and the weight of the beam. Twilight understood Pinkie’s pain and didn’t pry more information. She simply lifted up her clipboard and quill, marking down the identity of the mare and the colt in her arms.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie. I know how painful this must be.” Pinkie Pie didn’t respond. She just nodded her head softly as tears streamed down her cheek. “Apple Jack!” she cried out. “Get the wagon! We have one injured here!” Pinkie winced at the fact that the mother and foal were no longer two. After all, no sense in taking a dead infant to a hospital, or what was left of it.

“Ah’m on it!” shouted Apple Jack as she galloped towards the two pulling a wagon with two other mares, both equally, if not more, damaged than the mother. Twilight put the clipboard and quill down and carefully lifted the injured pony onto the hay wagon to be transported. There were no words, just tears.

The six did this for hours, finding survivors and deceased and transporting the lucky souls to the hospital while paying respect to the dead and wrapping their bodies up for proper burial. All the while, no jokes were cracked, no smiles were made, and no conversations. Just silence until asked for a service. No one dared argue, or asked for a different job. How could they?

Each of the six had a job. Pinkie’s was to find any survivors beneath the rubble. Her Pinkie Sense, after all, was powerful enough to predict anything in times of emergencies. As much as Twilight thought Pinkie Sense was ridiculous, she still found it very useful. Rainbow Dash would help Pinkie remove any debris that buried the ponies, Twilight would mark who was alive and who was dead, and Apple Jack would transport the injured to the nearest ward where Fluttershy and Rarity would help tend to the wounded, along with any of the surviving physicians. They all had a job, and they were all in misery.

The rest of the town had jobs, too. The Apple Family provided food provisions, free of charge, the pegasi filled the reservoir for water provisions, and The Cutie Mark Crusaders delivered the supplies to all the survivors, for once not expecting a cutie mark for their deeds. Practically every pony had a job. Even Spike sent letters to Princess Celestia to report the damage in Ponyville.

Hours had passed, and everypony was exhausted. They had finished with their search a few hours earlier, but they double checked to make sure no pony was missing. After a little clean up as well, the citizens of Ponyville retired to their shelters. All, except the six. They arrived at Twilight’s tree, still intact due to the roots keeping it stationary and the material allowing the tree to sway back and forth, minimizing the damage. There, the six took a load off and rested, that is, all but Twilight Sparkle who was pacing in the study.

“What do you think caused this?” Twilight asked her friends, hoping they would have the answer.

“Now how the hay should we know, sugar cube?” They clearly didn’t have the answers. Her friends were just as confused, if not more confused, as Twilight was.

“It doesn’t make any sense. How could an earthquake of such magnitude happen? Ponyville wasn’t build on a fault line, and-.”

“A what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“A fault line. It’s where tectonic plates meet.”

“Um… tec-what?” she asked, scratching her head in total confusion. Twilight sighed, frustrated.

“Tectonic Plates. They’re giant pieces of earth that land is formed on, and when they collide or rub against each other they create earthquakes.”

“Oh… Twilight, why are you such-?”

“If you call me an egg head I swear…!” Twilight snapped back. She was in no mood to deal with name calling, no pony was. Rainbow Dash's ears drooped as she hung her head.

“Uh… sorry,” she said, truthfully. Twilight rolled her eyes and continued.

“Anyway… Ponyville isn’t on one of these fault lines. And there have been no reports of volcanic activities so we can rule out eruptions. Not only that, but earthquakes usually have aftershocks, which this one didn’t. So then how in Equestria did we get hit by such a tremor?”

“Maybe this is Discord’s doing,” Rarity suggested, referring to the recently freed draconequus.

“It can’t be. I reformed him, myself,” Fluttershy said, trying to refute Rarity.

“Besides, I’ve gotten to know him around the castle. He seems to have actually changed for the better, though I still suggest not going into his room. You’ll be lost forever.” There was finally laughter in the room. It wasn’t much, a few snickers and giggles, but it was more than nothing. The tension was being lessened in the tree house, slowly but surely.

“Well if it’s not him, then who? Who could be doing this?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“How do ya know it’s a ‘who’? It could be a what. Or it could just be another funky thing that happens here.” Despite her vocabulary, Apple Jack had a good point. There were indeed natural phenomena that happened all over Equestria, like zap apples and parasprite infestations.

“Well what else could it be? I mean, there aren’t any creatures I know of that can cause such destruction, and last I checked most of the natural phenomena around here follow trends. This was a random occurrence without any real explanation.” The five nodded their heads, waiting to see where Twilight was going with her point. “I think there’s more to it than just natural phenomena.”

“But what else could it be?” Spike asked as he emerged from the bedroom.

“I don’t know. By the way, did you send those reports to Princess Celestia?”

“The damage and head counts have been sent. I’m just glad none of you are on those lists. If anything happened to any of you…” Twilight lifted her hoof in a royal manner, as if to quiet Spike.

“I know, Spike. We’re happy we’re all okay, too. I just wish more could have been saved.”

“I’m just glad you’re all safe, especially Ra-.” Spike belched green fire, magically producing a scroll from Princess Celestia, tied by a red ribbon and closed with the royal seal. Twilight instinctively took the scroll and opened it, reading it allowed for all to hear.

~~~~~

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

I am so happy you and your friends are safe, and that the death toll is much less than I feared. My condolences go out to those who have lost their loved ones. Still, we must look into the matter at hoof. Twilight, we have reason to believe the cause of this cataclysmic event was by some dark force. We don’t know what it is or where it came from, but we do need your help here in Canterlot. I know the train station has been utterly obliterated by the sundering, so I am ordering my chariot drivers to pick you and your friends up from Ponyville to meet me here. Please be safe, and be sure to bring the Elements of Harmony with you. There is no telling what you’ll find on your trip.

Be safe.

Signed,

Princess Celestia.

~~~~~

“The Princess needs us?”

“I guess so,” Twilight responded, slowly placing the parchment on the table. She sat down for a moment and sighed. “Do you all have your elements, girls?” They all nodded. “Good. Then let’s get ready.”

A few moments later, the seven of them were gathered outside Twilight’s tree house, donning their elements and standing at attention. Moments later, not one, not two, but three different chariots descended from the skies and landed in front of them.

“Princess Sparkle, we have come for you and your friends,” one of the guards announced, formally.

“Thank you all. We would have walked but-.”

“Nonsense, Princess. It is our duty, after all.” The guard was very formal indeed. He didn’t take his eyes off of Twilight, and didn’t pay any heed to the devastated village around him. Twilight nodded once and turned to her friends.

“Since there are three chariots, I guess that means two per. Spike, you go with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They’re the lightest. I’ll go with Apple Jack, and Rainbow and Fluttershy can go with each other. Understand?” All of them nodded. It was strange for Twilight to see, since she wasn’t use to other ponies taking her orders so seriously. She was still getting use to her title, after all.

The seven of them all climbed onto their assigned chariots and waved at each other. “See you at the castle, girls.” The chariots were off. Twilight lost sight of the other two as they ascended into the clouds. It was a misty night. The only other pony she could see was Apple Jack.

“Why the long face, sugar cube?” she asked jokingly, trying to get a smile from her friend.

“I… I just…” She couldn’t say what was on her mind. So many things were clouding her thoughts. In a way, she blamed herself for all that transpired during the day. She felt helpless, unable to do anything to save her ponies. She felt that, if she were a better ruler, she could have somehow prevented the destruction. “I… I-I…” Apple Jack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, only to bring her in for a hug.

“It’s okay if ya don’t wana talk about it, sugar cube. Ah understand. Somethin’ like what we saw today can shake anypony up somethin’ fierce. Just know Ah’m here fer you, sugar cube.” She tightened her hug, trying to bring peace to her friend.

“I know, AJ. I just… I feel like it was my fault.”

“Now what the hay are ya talkin’ about? How is any of this yer fault?”

“I’m a Princess, Apple Jack. I should have the power to save my ponies, not pick up the pieces. I feel… I feel useless!” She buried her head into Apple Jack, crying softly. All Apple Jack could do was pat her friend lightly on the back, trying to comfort her.

“Yer not useless, Twi. Ah should know, you’ve helped me out more times than I can count. Don’t sell yerself short, sugar cube.” She patted her back more before releasing her and looking straight into her eyes. “There was no stoppin’ this. Not even Celestia could stop it. Please don’t be goin’ around blamin' yerself. It ain’t yer fault.” She gave Twilight an honest smile, which in turn made her smile back. She rubbed her eyes dry with her foreleg.

“Thanks, AJ. I needed that.” She looked in front of the chariot and smiled with confidence. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I know it,” she said as their eyes were set on what still stood of Canterlot. Their day was just getting started.