//------------------------------// // Prologue - The Arrival of the Meteorite // Story: Space Gems // by EquestriaBound //------------------------------// It was a quiet evening at Saddle Lake. The Cutie Mark Crusaders have been begging Rarity for days to take them out camping, most likely hoping to get a cutie mark, and with the help of the rest of mane six, their pleas have finally been heard. It might have been a good idea for herself, Rarity gathered. For several weeks, she had to deal with a Designer’s Block, and it has been driven her nuts. A day out in the fresh air might do wonders, or so she thought. The crusaders were having a good time in the forest, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack were setting up camp, Pinkie Pie went out swimming in the lake, Fluttershy collected berries, Twilight made a list of berries safe to eat, and Spike puked in a bush for ignoring said warning. Rarity, however, walked towards the highest hill to take a look at the scenery the lake provided her. For hours she stood, gazing at the setting sun, hoping inspiration would come. After the camp had been set up, Twilight accompanied her fellow unicorn. “Any inspiration or ideas for a new fashion item to fix that block of yours?” Rarity looked back at Twilight. “Only a revelation,” she responded. Twilight gave a little smile. She was curious to what her good friend had to say as she stared back at the scenery. “Seeing this lake, breathing this air, feeling the slight breeze through my mane, I’ve discovered something important.” Twilight smile became wider. A friendship lesson was on the loose, and she‘s going to turn that lesson into one heck of a report. “This whole camping trip has been… A BIG WASTE OF TIME!” Rarity’s sudden burst of anger caught Twilight off guard. “I spend the whole afternoon here, and not a single idea has sprung my mind! The only things that I managed to get are a headache and... ACHOO… a mild cold. The only solace I get is the fact that I know it can’t get any…” She looked at her hooves and her face turned whiter than it already was. “AAAH! GRASS STAINS! DIRT! And I had a hooficure just yesterday!” Twilight patted Rarity on the shoulders, trying to find the right words to comfort Rarity as she was crying over the tragedy that had befallen her. “Hey, cheer up, Rarity. So maybe this trip may not have given the inspiration you needed. But you got to look on the bright side. Sweetie Belle and her friends are having a great time.” As Rarity wiped the tears from her eyes, she once more stared at Twilight. “D-do they?” “Applejack and Rainbow Dash are already done setting up camp. Let’s go back and have the fillies tell you all about how much they love it here.” “We hate it here!” “We wanna go home! “We’ve been here all afternoon, and we still don’t have our cutie marks!” Rarity only became more bummed out by the crusaders’ sweet words of optimism, to the annoyance of Applejack. “Apple Bloom, the ponies and I have done the best we could to make this camping trip work. So you better show us some gratitude, ya hear?” “But there’s nothin to do around here!” “If we knew camping would be so boring, we’d never have asked!” “Pinkie Pie took my snorkel!” Applejack’s annoyance grew slightly by the fillies’ replies. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, somewhat agreed with them. “They’re kinda right, you know.” The response earned her a quick jab on the side by Applejack. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to join the conversation and give her two bits. “I’m having a wonderful time. The animals around here are so kind.” “I’m enjoying myself as well,” Twilight added. “The hills around here give a beautiful view on Saddle Lake. And if you look even further, you can see Ponyville as well.” “That… sounds great, Twi, I guess…” Apple Bloom tried to sound excited, but it was clear she wasn’t doing a convincing job at it. None of the fillies looked thrilled either, all staring at the ground, looking down. Applejack sighed. “Look, we’re just gonna spend the rest of the night here, and the next mornin’, we’re gonna go straight back home, okay?” The crusaders nodded, little smiles appearing on their faces. As the group grabbed their sleeping bags to prepare for the night, Twilight looked around her, before asking: “Has anyone seen Pinkie Pie?” At that moment, something slowly arose from the lake. It was bipedal and completely covered in seaweed, its size doubling that of the ponies. Two arms formed on the sides and two bright glowing eyes started to shine on its head. The being approached the frightened group, some shivering more than the others by the sights of the abominable monster. It then stopped, and opened its horrifying mouth. “THIS LAKE!” it said. Fluttershy was trembling in fear, stuttering before she finally shouted: “LAKE MONSTER! AAAH!” until she finally ran and hide into the nearest bush. The being then swung around wildly, shedding off the seaweed, which flew around in every direction. At every swing, the being turned smaller and smaller, until it showed of its true form. “This lake… connects to the ocean!” SURPRISE! It was Pinkie Pie, grinning heavily, feeling proud of her newfound discovery. She was sporting several diving equipment, such as flippers, mask, two diving cylinder accompanied with the items needed to use them properly, and even a wetsuit, covering everything but her face. The group sighed in relief when they found out the seaweed monster was just Pinkie Pie, except for Fluttershy, as she was too busy hiding to notice. As Pinkie Pie was taking off the gear, Rarity noticed something missing. “Pinkie, where’d you put Sweetie Belle’s snorkel?” Pinkie Pie searched among the gear, before she threw hoof in the air and said: “That’s strange. I could’ve sworn I had it on me five minutes ago… Or did I?” Night fell, and most of the group was fast asleep in their snug sleeping bags. Pinkie Pie, unsurprisingly, was sleeping with her head on the hind hoof side, her tail visibly shaking through the blanket, while saying something about “twitchy twitches”. Rarity was the only pony unable to get some shut-eye. She left her bag and took a stroll along the lakesides, hoping she might get tired afterwards. While she quietly passed by the ponies, the noise of her hooves softly hitting the ground was enough to wake Twilight from her slumber. As her eyes were busy visualizing her surroundings, she eventually spotted Rarity wonder off in the distance. She followed her without making a sound as to not disturb the rest of the group. When she were further away, Twilight finally spoke up. “Rarity, where are you going?” Rarity looked behind her to notice Twilight. She stopped in order to let her friend catch up to her. “Oh, hello there, Twilight. I just decided to take a stroll, that’s all. I couldn’t sleep, you see?” “Are you still struggling to get over your designer’s block?” Rarity confirmed Twilight’s suspicions, as the two proceeded to walk forward. “You seem to be more concerned about making something new than usual? What’s wrong?” “You remember Photo Finish, Twilight?” “The famous fashion photographer?” “The one and only. In two days, she’ll be coming to Ponyville to look for the newest fashion. And she’ll only stay for one day. Designers everywhere will be there to show off their finest work. If I can get something done by that stands out from the rest, she’ll be so impressed, she’ll naturally help me shine all over Equestria. But if I don’t have anything prepared that can even bedazzle her, my career will be over! Ruined! Finished!” “Calm down. So you might not have something done in time for Photo Finish. It’s not that big of a deal, is it?” “Not a big deal? Not a big deal?! Do you know how many times she visits Ponyville? If I don’t have anything ready now, who knows when my next chance at stardom will come? Why, it may very well be my last. And what if this designer’s block never passes? I’ll spend the rest of my days in exile, far away from Ponyville, wallowing in my own pity, unsure if I packed the right things!” Rarity was working herself up again. Twilight had to say something to calm her down once more. “Listen Rarity. Even if you miss this chance, that doesn’t mean you’ll never get a shot at fame again. Life’s full of opportunities, and I’m sure the next time one arises, you’ll be back on your game, show Equestria your best, and win that spot in stardom!” “D-do you really believe that?” Twilight gave Rarity a reassuring nod. “Thank you Twilight, I needed that. I feel much better now.” As the two unicorns continued their walk, Twilight began to gaze at the starry sky the night brought forth. “Would you look at all those stars,” She told Rarity, who was now looking skyward as well. “Yes, it is very beautiful. Why, this whole view is actually pretty amazing. The only thing off about it is that giant flaming boulder.” Twilight was confused. She didn’t see a burning rock anywhere until Rarity adjusted her face towards its direction. “Rarity, that “giant flaming boulder” is called a meteor,” Twilight responded in a dull tone. It didn’t take her long to realize that she was, for the very first time, about to witness a meteor about to impact the earth of Equestria, which shifted her tone towards high excitement. “A meteor! And we’re about to witness it crashing into Equestria. Isn’t that exciting?” “Wow, that… does sound pretty great.” Rarity did her best to sound enthusiastic for Twilight, despite being unable to care less about flying space rocks. “You don’t think it’ll crash into us, do you?” “Who know? Maybe it will,” Twilight said jokingly. The two unicorns laughed until they noticed the meteor coming closer, with the possibility of it crashing into them suddenly sounding very likely. The two looked at the meteor, then at each other, and shouted as hard as their pony lungs could. “AAAAAAAAAAAH!” As fast as they could, they ran towards the side in order to avoid the impact. They were already quite a bit away from its path when the meteoroid struck the ground. *CRASH* “What in tarnation?” The crash had startled Applejack and the others wide awake. They stared at the lake, which was new several levels lower, due to it being evaporated by the heat the rock was giving off. The meteorite itself was slightly visible in the distance, resting in water filled crater cooling it down slightly. The ponies then noticed the empty sleeping bags. “Where’s Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Where’s Twilight?” Spike continued. He felt a lot better after having to deal with his nasty case of the bad berries. “Now don’t you two panic. I’m sure they’re just fine,” Applejack assured the young ones. “So come on. Maybe we find somethin’ at that giant meteor over there.” “Meteorite.” “Pardon?” Rainbow Dash explained herself. “A meteor is the visible path of a meteoroid when it enters the atmosphere. When it survives its impact with Equestria, you then call it a meteorite.” The mares were astounded by Rainbow Dash’s sudden knowledge of astronomy, glaring at the pony with wide open eyes, much to her unease. “What? I read it in “Daring Do and the Dragon’s Comet”, when Daring had to enter Ancient Dragon Temple, and…” “Forget I asked!” Applejack said to quickly end Rainbow Dash’s speech. “Can you and Fluttershy fly upward and see if ya can find Twilight and Rarity anywhere?” The two Pegasus ponies nodded, then ascended to the skies, while the rest of the group made their way towards the meteorite. When they reached it, they were amazed at how big it is, sporting the size of Twilight’s library living room. The group looked around the meteorite in the hopes to spot any signs of the unicorns, but weren’t able to detect them anywhere. “They’re gone! The meteorite has claimed their lives!” Pinkie Pie leaned forward on the meteorite as she cried over the apparent loss of her friends. “Dam rocks, why do you insist on making my life a living Tartarus? Why why why why why?” Smacking her hoof on the meteorite with every “why”. “Pinkie Pie, we’re right here.” Pinkie turned around to see Twilight and Rarity, alive and well, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy standing next to them. While she embraced the two unicorns, her mood changed from very sad to incredibly happy. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Glad that’s over with. So what are we gonna do with this meteorite?” Rainbow rested her hoof on the same surface Pinkie Pie leaned, leaning sideways, but the still intense heat caused her to quickly remove it again. “Argh, that’s scorching hot!” She waved her hoof in the air to cool it. Applejack laughed. “Guess Daring Do forgot to mention that, did she?” “Pinkie Pie, why didn’t you scream in pain?“ Rainbow Dash asked in a pretty angry tone. “If I did that, the whole moment would’ve been ruined.” Rainbow face hoofed at the answer given to her. As the mares continued talking, Spike and the crusaders kept staring at the meteorite. A faint light of different colors shun out the top of the meteorite. Scootaloo flapped her wings as hard as she could in order to fly high enough to see where exactly the lights are coming from. “Hey, I think there’s something inside this meteorite!” The mane six stopped talking and stared at the colored lights. Fluttershy even approached the meteorite to give it a closer look. “She’s right. There’s a crack op top where several lights are shining out.” The ponies were curious what might be hidden inside the meteorite, but were unable to open it without burning themselves on its surface. Suddenly, Twilight got an idea. With her magic, she lifted more of the lake’s water towards the meteorite. As she dropped the liquid on the rock, steam formed on top of the surface and eventually the meteorite has been completely cooled down. “Any pony who wants to break this bad colt open?” Applejack volunteered. “Allow me.” She climbed up the meteorite, facing the crack. She lifted her hoof, and brought it down with great force. The surface around the crack crumbled down into meteorite, making a big hole through which the source of the light could now be visibly seen. “Hey ya’ll, check this out!” Applejack sounded excited. Soon, she was joined by the remaining ponies as they all stared down the hole. Their enthusiasm varied from pony to pony to dragon, but Rarity was the most thrilled of them all. For the meteorite was filled with… “Jewels! Gems! And all things glittery!” Inside the meteorite was a huge quantity of gemstones, all in various shapes, sizes and colors. Next to the standard forms most gems are known for, a lot of jewels were also shaped as several objects found in Equestria, such as bells, flowers, steam trains and many more. Rarity had to press her hoofkerchief against Spike’s lips to stop him from drooling over the delicious shiny rocks. And as she continued to look at the gems, her mind became filled with all kind of ideas for dresses and all sorts of other fashion items. “Why, with these gemstones, I might be able to make something so spectacular, it’ll knock Photo Finish off her hooves. Girls, can I ask for your help? If I can get these jewels home, I know I’ll be able to turn them into something fabulous.” “I dunno, Rarity. There’s a lot of them pretty rocks in there. I’m not sure how long it’s gonna take to get them all to your place.” Twilight, on the other hand, was more optimistic. “Hold on, Applejack. I think I might have a solution.” She then spoke to Rarity. “Do you still have those carts we used to transport the diamonds lying around?” “I do, actually. I wanted to return them to the Diamond Dogs, but they told me I could keep them. I can’t imagine why they’d say that.” “Then the first time we’ll do tomorrow is retrieve the carts. We can use them to transport these gems. Is every pony okay with that?” The mares nodded, followed by several of them yawning. It was getting late, and the ponies needed their sleep. The crusaders were almost dozing off while Spike was already snoozing. Twilight lifted the baby dragon on her back, and together, the group returned to their sleeping bags to catch some shut-eye. Soon, all the ponies were fast asleep, with the exception with Rarity once more. But this time it wasn’t worry keeping her up, but excitement. Tomorrow, she was going to work with the gemstones inside the meteorite, and she knew she was going to turn them into something out of this world.