//------------------------------//
// Day 17 
// Story: Crashing Equestria 
// by Zytharros 
//------------------------------//

Day 17




“Well, Zytharros, you have surprised me. You’ve recovered enough to be discharged,” the doctor said. “Your energy should be fully restored, and your rib’s repaired itself quite nicely. I want you back in here every few weeks for checks. Another six seconds and you would have died mid-flight.”

When I stepped out of the hospital, everyone there gave a rousing applauding cheer.  Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow (who had fully recovered from her own accident three days ago), Rarity, and Pinkie all celebrated my long recovery. Over my time in the hospital, Rainbow and I passed the time in various ways… counting our feathers, drawing, and coming up with new beats were just a few ways we passed the time. We also received news of happenings around Equestria from several different sources, Pinkie Pie being the chief bringer of news. We still weren’t completely back to where we were, and Canterlot’s absence from the Ponyville vista reminded us of what happened every day, but we had made some significant progress.

The rest of Equestria had recovered a bit, though a sombre mood still pervaded the country’s atmosphere. Slowly, life was returning to normal. The site at Canterlot, now referred to as “Old Canterlot” was designated an “Equestria Heritage Site”, and construction on New Canterlot had begun in place of the old city. The official explanation for the fall was “improper maintenance of the holding cables”, and by all accounts that’s what happened. The cables were snapped in roughly the right way, and the mountain broke off naturally when the weight of the city became too much for its’ lower foundations. However, I along with my crew knew Celestia would not have consciously overlooked that detail.

Pinkie Pie was intent on booking a party for that night, but I asked her if we could postpone it for a little bit. I didn’t feel like partying. In fact, I didn’t want to party if Fluttershy wasn’t there.

“We’ve been trying to get her out of her house since Canterlot fell, but we haven’t been able to,” Rainbow Dash said. “She won’t even respond. We’ve taken to leaving food and water outside her door three times a day and we pick an empty plate up three times a day so she’s still eating.”

“That’s awful…” I said. I galloped off to her house. “Someone show me where it is!”

Applejack began running with me, “It’s over here. Follow me!”

All I could think of was that pink mane. She had helped me walk through my emotional stresses. Now it was my turn.

“Jack, can I count on you to help?” I asked.

A.J. sighed. “I’ve just about had it with her, but I’ll try again, for her sake.”

“Thank you,” I said.





We arrived at Fluttershy’s house. The front yard was nowhere near as maintained as it should have been. When we finally reached the front door after fighting tangle weeds, joke flowers, and blackberries, and after the first knock, the house remained dark and silent.

“Fluttershy, are you okay?” I asked, knocking again.

“Is… is tha-that you… Z-Z-Zyth…” a weak voice spat out between sobs.

I replied, “Yes, it’s me… Can I see you?”

“Alone,” she demanded. “Just you. Nopony else.”

I threw an apologetic look to Applejack. She groaned in frustration and walked away.

“Okay, I’m alone…” I said.

Fluttershy opened the upper part of the door open a hair, then quickly grabbed my forelegs, threw me in the house and shut the door. I crashed hard into her dining room table, but she didn’t care. She threw herself on me and bawled.

“I’m s-s-sorr… I-I mean… I ju-ju-just-t-aAHAAAaawwwww…” she bellowed in tears. “I hurt everyone! I caused Canterlot’s fall! I… I… I don’t understaaaa-haa-haaaandddd…!!!”

She slammed her head into my chest and bawled some more.

“I thought I lost you… I didn’t want to be blamed for that, too… I just can’t… no… Canterlot… No! I should’ve stayed… I… I-I-I-…”

I wrapped my arms around her and allowed her complete bawling freedom, despite my twice-aching back. I stroked her mane, and she steadily began to relax. Several minutes of this had her relaxed to a whimper from creating a river of tears.

“I’m so s-s-scared…” she said. “Nothing like th-that’s ev-ev-ever h-happened t-to me befo-fo-fore…”

“It’s okay,” I said, refusing to let the pain of my damaged back show through. “It’s okay…”

“But I did it… I-I-”

“No, you didn’t. You were here in Ponyville,” I said. “Canterlot fell after you left.”

“But I could’ve stayed to help evacuate-”

“By the time I woke up, the city was already falling off the mountain. It was all we could do to get Rarity, Spike and Applejack out of the city, never mind everyone else.”

“You sure I didn’t-?”

“No.”

Fluttershy’s lower lip quivered again. “Okay…” She buried her face in my chest again. “It’s still s-so sad…”

“There was nothing you could do that we didn’t already do,” I reassured.

Fluttershy cried again for another three or four minutes before she finally sat up and wiped her face with a foreleg.

“You feeling a little better?” I asked.

She smiled. “Thanks, Zytharros,” she said. “I guess I just needed to let someone in. I’ve spent so long alone that I… I just… didn’t know who to let in.”

“You can write that to Princess Celestia in a friendship letter,” I said, winking.

“I guess,” Fluttershy chuckled. “It’s nice to know our group didn’t lose anyone, and that the Princess is okay.” It was then she noticed a wince in my eye, and gasped. “Oh, no, I’m sorry! I completely forgot! Here, let me see if that rib’s broken again…”

I smiled. “It’s not. You landed on my other side.”

“Oh, that’s good. The last thing I want to do is damage you… or anyone else…” she said.

I continued smiling, standing up. “You ready to come out of your turtle shell?”

She nodded. “I need a spa run.”

Fluttershy and I left her domicile and began walking to town. Applejack suddenly began trotting beside us. We laughed and talked, and Fluttershy apologized for the way she disappeared. We all appeared in town, and everything was right in the world.

Well, except for the absence of the city of Canterlot, but the citizenry of Equestria was slowly working on that.

For now, I decided to go to the spa with Fluttershy for a soak ‘n shave, then talk to Pinkie Pie about arranging that party, a “survival party” of sorts. Applejack had an appointment at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie to help her bake, so she moved on.





Fluttershy and I settled down in the hot tub at the spa.

“So, what made you open up to me today?” I asked.

Fluttershy blushed. “Well, I guess it’s because you’re just so kind. You’re so gentle, especially for your size.”

“I’ve been called a teddy bear on more than one occasion,” I said.

She smiled. “Not many people actually listen to me cry… usually they walk away or leave me alone. You stayed. That was very nice of you.”

I felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. “The thing that means the most to me is seeing my friends happy. When I don’t, especially if they cry, something inside me aches. I don’t like just letting tears slide.”

“That’s wonderful,” Fluttershy said.

I sunk my head underneath the hot tub, then emerged snout-up. This allowed my mane to slick back into a waterlogged, streamlined mane-style of smoothness.

“I’m going to get my hooves done now,” I said, exiting the hot tub. Fluttershy followed.

“Twilight tells me you’re a great writer,” Fluttershy said.

I blushed. “Well, I wouldn’t call myself ‘great’… maybe ‘good’, but not ‘great’. I’ve been practicing for years, and always feel I could learn more. There’s so much I have to learn about language and story structure still… It’s my lifelong passion, and one I always hope to get better doing.”

“Could I see some of it?” she asked. “Not now, of course, but maybe later…?”

I shied away, but reluctantly said, “Sure… Just… not as I’m writing. I’ll show you the finished product of what I’m working on later. Feel free to give me some polite critiquing as well.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy agreed.

The attendant at the spa asked what I wanted. I basically told her a neatening trim, maybe a little shave-down was all I needed, enough to get rid of the excess and round off the edges with a small bevel. Fluttershy got her usual massage.

“I must admit, this is a very interesting experience,” I said.

Fluttershy commented, “You’ve never been in a spa before?”

“Nope,” I said. “Not once.”

“How did you relax on Ear-… uh, in Appleford?” Fluttershy asked, coughing. “Sorry…”

I shrugged an okay. “Writing… swimming… snacking… games… running… those kinds of things. Sometimes even a day relaxing in the sun relaxes me.”

The spa worker switched to another hoof.

“Hey, where’s Rarity? She usually joins you at this time, doesn’t she?” I asked.

“She’s busy filling orders. I hear she’s making something special for us,” Fluttershy replied. “She’s rarely popped out for food recently, only coming out to eat and go to the spa when she’s gone to see you in the hospital.”

“Why would she rarely pop out for food? She’s got a fashionable figure to keep, doesn’t she?” I asked again, a little confused.

“She eats like a bird anyway,” Fluttershy said. “I eat more than her.”

We spent the last few minutes in the spa talking about animals. I explained I had a couple cats of my own and also took care of creatures called ‘llamas’. After Fluttershy’s blank stare, I explained they were animals that looked a little like long-haired camels – four-legged, long-necked, funny-faced ponies. She still stared at me blankly, so I did what I did for her that first night we talked – I generated an image for her from my memory and projected an image onto the floor. The spa workers were a little startled by the sudden projection on the ground, but quickly returned to working as it, and my glowing horn, faded to normal.

“They look… interesting…” Fluttershy said, trying to be polite.

I looked at her and responded flatly, “You don’t care for them.”

She looked at me as if I was going to beat her. I just chuckled. “They’re not the cutest creatures in the world, that’s for sure. They’re also incredibly temperamental at times. Their fibre, however, makes for some absolutely amazing and warm clothing. It’s so smooth compared to cotton and wool.”

“Really?” she asked.

I nodded. “My wife does some work with the fibre. It’s one of my favourite materials.”

Our appointment finished. We paid our bits and left. I said my farewells to Fluttershy as she walked off to destinations unknown, and proceeded myself to Sugarcube Corner. I had a feeling I was going to just buy something and leave, talking to Pinkie Pie about the party in the morning.





As I arrived, I heard some voices around the corner. One mentioned my name. I darted to the back of a nearby house and got as close as I could.

“-I just don’t know what to say…” It was Applejack. She was on a break.

“Just tell him how you feel,” Pinkie’s high voice encouraged. “The worst he can say is no… Well, the worst he can say is actually ‘you’re a dishonest pile of manure in a cold, wet-”

“I-I get it, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “Zytharros is so nice to everyone he meets, and he’s been away from his wife for so long… he must be needin’ a companion or somethin’… ugh, horse apples… if he weren’t already married, I’d let him take me…”

I felt sad. Here I am, a married man trying to be a rock for these girls, and now one’s got a crush on me and she knows she can’t ever have me. I sat on the ground. What a bummer for her…

“Not only that, but it would break his loyalty to his wife,” Applejack said, groaning, “That means I would be dishonest with myself, and I would be making him be dishonest… but I want him with me all the time…” She groaned again and placed her head on the ground and her hooves on her head. “By Celestia’s wings, I’m so confused, I can’t think straight!”

Pinkie smiled. “If you explained yourself to him, he would probably understand,” she said brightly. “He’s listened to you, Fluttershy and Twilight already. Hay, he even held Rainbow Dash in one of her least cool moments of her life. That’s not something I hear Rainbow doing very often.”

“That’s true… he is very honest,” Applejack acknowledged, “very trustworthy… and a hard worker, to boot… If only he wasn’t married…” she stomped in frustration.

“Let’s get back to work,” Pinkie said.

I decided that was enough eavesdropping. I had to let Applejack work through this herself, so I walked away. I still had to talk to Pinkie about the party. I hung around the fruit and vegetable stands, buying a peach here, a few stocks of asparagus there, and a few plums over there until Applejack left. She didn’t notice me as I purchased some more food before popping into Sugarcube Corner, which I had hit at a slow time, so there was no lineup.

“Oh! Hi, Zytharros!” Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically. “What can I get you?”

“I was just wondering when we could have that party you were thinking about earlier?” I asked.

She brightened up. “Well, I’m a little busy today… we have a big order to fill before closing for the Princess’ arrival bash from Clopcago, the end of her royal Equestrian tour. I’m free to plan parties tomorrow, though.”

I smiled. “Then make it happen.”

Pinkie’s eyes brightened up. “I can do that!”

I left Sugarcube Corner smiling, and with a chocolate cupcake of my own. I tossed it back and caught it in my mouth, humming Pinkie’s “Smile” as I strutted down the street. I flapped and carried myself into the sky. Despite the news of Applejack’s crush and the heartbreak I felt of not being able to do a thing about it, I was in too much of a good mood to let that spoil the atmosphere. Tangerine hadn’t shown herself in days, and I was just beginning to get comfortable with the idea that it was a one-shot deal.

I decided to set myself down on a cloud to see how it was. As I ascended, I felt little pain. My back was healing quite well.
Soon I noted a draft above me. I looked up. Rainbow Dash waved and dove around to fly with me.

“Where are you headed?” she asked.

I looked around. “Dunno. I don’t have anything today, and I’ve got some cash I can live off of for a while thanks to Ponyville, so I was wondering what else to do.”

“Well, I could take you to Cloudsdale and show you around,” she suggested.

I smiled. “Not a bad idea. Actually, I want to try rainbow for myself.”

“Are you serious?! Pinkie nearly fried her mouth off eating one, though!” Rainbow cautioned. “They’re not known for their flavour…”

“I’m challenging that notion – I bet they’d make a good hot sauce,” I said. “It might be something for the weather factory to branch off into.”

She looked at me funny. “You’re crazy.”

I laughed. “I love it when people call me that!!”

All Rainbow did was groan and shrug.





Soon we arrived at Cloudsdale. We landed on the city’s cloud-streets. I was astonished – they felt firm, but not hard, soft, but not something that would sink under my feet, and surprisingly stable.

“The clouds where I’m from can’t support a pony of any stripe,” I said. “They’re just vapour.”

“So are these,” Rainbow said as we continued walking through the city. “The difference is you’re a pegasus now. You can probably shape these to your bidding.”

I popped a plum in my mouth as we walked and took in the scenery. It was amazing. The city was large – so huge it spanned several hundred different clouds. Each building and structure looked influenced by Earth-based Greek architecture, and every last one was assembled of various compactions and densities of clouds. The creativity of these pegasi with a singular material was astonishing. I spat out the plum pit over the edge of Cloudsdale.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at a solitary building that looked like it had every last ounce of weather the world could throw at it attacking it all at once. Rainbow showed me around, like she had shown her friends. I dipped the tip of a hoof in the rainbow and licked it, making sure it got all over my tongue. It was indeed spicy, but there was a subtle sweetness to it I fell in love with.

“Yep. Definite hot sauce material,” I said, confirming my much earlier speculation after watching Pinkie Pie eat a rainbow on the show.

Rainbow Dash facehoofed in disbelief.

“Where’s the manger? I’ve gotta inform him of this,” I asked one of the staff members.

“What?!” Dash shrieked, puffing her feathers and fur up all over her body in surprise. “You’re actually going through with this!?”

“Why not?” I asked. “It’d make more money for Cloudsdale.”

Flustered, the rainbow-plumed pony just stepped around randomly, mind obviously blown. She couldn’t fight my logic, yet she had never in her life heard of a pony that liked rainbows to eat.

After a quick question and a little waiting, I was greeted by the manager of the whole facility.

“So, you say you have a new rainbow product you think would catch on,” he said, skeptical.

I nodded. “Hot sauce.”

The manager looked at me quizzically. “What?”

“Hot sauce,” I repeated. “I’d like to try using rainbows as hot sauce. Let me have a small bottle and I’ll take it down to ground-level Equestria. I’ll put some in my cooking and see how ponies react. I’ll come back up to present my findings, and if it catches on…”

“Wait, you tried to eat a rainbow?” the manager asked.

I nodded. “In small amounts, it’s really tasty and can add flavour to foods nicely.”

“…You’re mad, aren’t you?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Crazy, maybe, but mad? Not on your life. Just let me try it… please?”

The manager hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I guess we can let you have it… But just a little.”

“I’ll be back with a bottle,” I said. “Rainbow, can you help me make one?”

“Bu-wha-hu-th-pththth… I’m no potter!” Rainbow exclaimed, still shocked I still managed to convince the foreman to participate in my scheme. It made me chuckle. “You… oh, whatever… I’ll help…” she said begrudgingly.

We flew out of the factory to the nearest cloud, with which we assembled a small pot. It took us a good portion of the day in trial and error, but we eventually succeeded. I gently scooped up a potful of rainbow and capped the top.

“This’ll do ‘til we get down to Ponyville,” I said.

Rainbow groaned. “You’re almost as annoying as Pinkie Pie when you get going.”

I smiled. “I’m just getting started… wait ‘til I start cracking jokes.”

I flew off with the pot. Rainbow chased after me, still dumbfounded that this whole ordeal wasn’t just a massive joke.





Minutes later, we burst through Twilight’s door.

“I have a new ingredient!” I said, showing off my cloud bottle.

Twilight looked up from her book. “Oh?” she asked.

“I’m going to cook with rainbows!” I said, trotting to the kitchen.

Twilight collapsed to the floor, laughing. When she saw Rainbow Dash’s stunned look, she became just as stunned. Nopony had ever, in the history of the entire planet, tried cooking with a rainbow!

“D-do you know anything of rainbows?! Any of their chemical composition… their ingredients… anything??” she demanded, sputtering. “Do you know what they c-can do?!”

“Just entertain me for a second,” I said, and smiled as I began preparing a vegetable-and-egg stir fry dish. “I’m creating!”

Twilight and Rainbow both sighed. I imagined them looking at each other with annoyed stares.

“Well, I am hungry…” Twilight said.

Rainbow groaned again. “I guess I’ll have some…”

“Cool!” I chirped.

Rainbow and Twilight started a conversation while I was creating. I began with the asparagus I had just bought, chopping it into small logs. I added carrots, celery, broccoli, and raisins. I chopped some water chestnuts into the mix, peppered it with cinnamon and garlic, then added the tiniest drop of rainbow. The pan burst into flame, but only for a brief second, before it began to cook. I flipped it around a couple times, trying various vegetables in the stir-fry out to inspect their flavour, then turned the stove on low, added a little bit more rainbow and let it cook the rest of the way, testing a vegetable here and there to make sure the taste was perfect.

Rainbow sniffed the air. “You know, that’s beginning to smell really good,” she said.

“Garlic… with some cinnamon and a hint of…” Twilight sniffed... “spicy… that’s quite a balance you’ve struck there.”

I nodded. “Don’t want to overload you with how much spice I like now, do I?”

From the looks on their faces, Rainbow and Twilight were both afraid to ask.

Minutes later, the dish was served. The vegetables had an interesting translucent, rainbow glow, but it only enhanced their appeal. The unique blend of spices created a smell that surprised the pair awaiting their first taste of rainbow. Twilight and Rainbow waited as I took the first bite.

“Maybe I put the garlic on too thick…” I thought as I continued to eat.

Twilight decided to take the first bite. Rainbow and I waited for her to finish. She thought about it, rolled it over in her mouth, then swallowed, eyes closed, body language emotionless. She was so serious about it I had to stop myself from chuckling. Eventually however, her eyes opened.

“So?” I asked, waiting intently.

Twilight looked down at her dish. “That…”

I anxiously waited for her to continue, but she let that one word hang there for a very long time.

Finally, she dropped her opinion.

“That… was amazing!” she declared. “I’m positively shocked!” She continued eating.

Rainbow took a bite. “Hey, yeah! This is really good!”

I smiled. “I’m glad you approve.”

We finished dinner and speculated for a while about the different flavours rainbows would give to different foods. However, it had turned dark by that time, so Rainbow departed, disappearing into the night sky. She promised she would help me give my report to the foreman at the weather factory if the rest of the ponies liked rainbow cooking.

Eventually, Twilight and I settled down and passed out ourselves.

I didn’t get to sleep long, though.

I woke up to a cold room. Ice-cold. There, in the blackness, a silhouette of a pony appeared.

“Who the heck are you, and how did you get in here?” I demanded.

The voice that replied was icy, colder than any winter day in Saskatchewan.

“You know exactly how I get around,” she said.

A few hoof clops. She had moved closer.

“I am going to destroy you,” she said. “I will break your mind. Little by little, I will wear it down until there is nothing left.”

I tried a diplomatic approach. “Tangerine, we don’t have to be enemies. I can help you.”

“I’m done with that… pathetic excuse for a name…” she seethed angrily. “If you’re going to call me out, call me out right… okay, Zytharros?”

I didn’t care to know how she had gotten my name.

“What should we be calling you, then?” I asked.

Hoof clops again, this time going away. “Call me… Crystal Fist.”

The room warmed up as she disappeared from the space. I was deathly wrong – we were not safe anywhere. I had underestimated her power if she could get to me so easily.

I stayed up for a while thinking about my contact with Tangerine Hopes. She quite obviously wasn’t out to kill us. She would have done it by now. That puzzled me all the more – what did she want? Thinking back, I had caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes back at the castle as well. They were psychotic, but unimaginably sad and scared, almost as if…

Almost as if… she was…


Trapped…