Fallen Star

by WingedGreatness

The Search

The map had never called all of them before.

The first to be called had been Twilight and Rarity. The two of them faced with a quarrelling set of twins. Two pegasi that wanted to go separate paths in life but didn't want to actually leave each other.

The second had been Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to Griffonstone. Where nothing but anger rotted in the streets. Followed by Applejack and Rarity in Manehatten, Fluttershy and Twilight in the Smokey Mountains.

The map had even called a trio, a strange mashup of Spike, Fluttershy, and Rainbow to the deep wilds. Where they met up with creatures called the frogmen who looked like regular frogs that stood taller than ponies and walked on two legs.

But never had all of their cutie marks hovered over a location on the expansive map.

A place they had never heard of, buried deep within the countryside around various cities they had only dreamed of visiting. It had twisting trees of crystal leaves and a small river that seemed to glow.

Twilight had scoured the books for the name and came up with nothing.

A friendship problem was a friendship problem however and as Rainbow had said, they had no doubt faced worse than whatever this place held. So they had all packed their saddlebags and started on their journey.

Taking the train for most of the journey and winding up walking the rest. Pinkie starting up a game of eye-spy that Fluttershy won. Being the only one to spy the rainbow furred squirrel like creature darting through the underbrush.

It didn't take them long to spot the area.

But unlike the map, it wasn't just a beautiful untamed wilderness in the middle of the grassland. It was fenced in, warnings posted all over with moss and vines intertwined in the cracks as though it hadn't been touched in years.

The rust on it indicated the fence may have been there for decades. Maybe even centuries. The intricate drawings telling a story that had faded with time and overcome with graffiti.

"Whoever drew this one...certainly had intimate details in regards to colts." Rarity muttered, her face twisted in disgust as she pushed back the heavy moss to hide the spray paint once more. Rainbow bursting into a laugh behind her.

Applejack shook her head, rolling her eyes as she kept walking. Scanning every inch of the area for some sort of clue. "Where's the gate? Every fence has to have a gate or there ain't a point."

"Unless of course, they want to keep something in." Fluttershy noted, ducking her head down with a soft whimper. "What...what if they're hiding a monster?"

"Nonsense darling, if they were it certainly wouldn't have survived this long."

"Tell that to the timberwolves of Everfree."

They all exchanged looks, save for Twilight. The alicorn still stood in front of the one warning sign. The largest, obnoxiously bright yellow sign. Some of them were older and still etched in Olde Ponish, the wood rotted with the rain but the one she stared at was modern. Had to have been added within at least a decade.

It warned of uncontrollable weather, just like Everfree, and magic that flowed through in a gaseous form. Stars patterns warped and changed, making mapping almost impossible and the ground gave way to intricate caves.

It was such a strange warning.

Everfree was terrifying, yes, but it wasn't so much so that they felt a need to ward it off. Putting up fences seemed like such an extreme measure. She dug a hoof down into the soft blue-green grass, humming in thought.

"I FOUND AN ENTRANCE!"

Pinkie's scream made all of them jump, whirling around to look in the direction of the pony. Her hair covered in a myriad of dirt and twigs. Her hooves five times as dirty.

She pointed to a hole she had dug underneath the fence, less of a finding and more of a self-made entrance. Rarity immediately sputtered in horror, stumbling back away from it.

"PINKIE! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I just got my mane done!!!"

"Before a friendship quest? Why in the blue blazes would ya do something like that?!"

"I wanted to look my best! Make a good first impression! You know as well as I do, Aj, that first impressions can make all the difference to those in need! If we show up to a poor pony as swampy as a kelpie, whatever would that say?!"

Twilight rolled her eyes slightly, though she smiled. Ignoring the bickering as she gladly took Pinkie's route in. Not afraid to get dirty for the sake of friendship even if it was a tight squeeze for her wings.

Once out on the other side and able to see clearly where she would be teleporting them, safe of any danger, she let her magic bring the rest over. Rarity breathing a sigh of relief the moment she realized she didn't have to crawl.

The area was just as beautiful as it was on the map, save for the looming walls of the fence. The trees glittering in the low afternoon sun and the river filled with gorgeous and colorful smooth rocks. The grass was high and tickled their flanks but it felt cool and fresh to the touch.

As if it had never gone a day without rain before.

Pinkie bounced through it, jumping up high enough to see ahead of them and Applejack retrieved a machete from her bag to cut away the grass as she followed. Leaving room for everyone but Rainbow who chose to fly.

"See anything?" Twilight called after a bit into their journey.

"Nope!"

"Nah."

"Surely there must be someone living here," Rarity muttered. "We can't have a friendship problem without a friendship!"

"Maybe it's the woodland creatures?" Fluttershy sounded hopeful, her confidence coming back bit by bit as she smiled at the nature around her. "Oh I hope it involves bunnies. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"What kind of friendship problems could bunnies have?! They're bunnies!"

"Oh lots of them, Rainbow, sometimes bunny politics can get very aggressive."

"I SEE SOMETHING, I SEE SOMETHING!" Pinkie yelled, wasting no time in running towards it. Rainbow quickly following after her with a yell to wait up. The two disappeared from view and all Applejack could do to follow was listen for Pinkie's bouncing.

Eventually the grass cleared on its own, or rather it was trampled down as though roves of animals took this path normally. The edge of the river within sight, leading into a small pond that had cattails as tall as them. A tree with branches looming over its center dripping with dew.

The group spotted quickly what Pinkie had seen. A cabin that had seen better days. Run down from the weather and nature reclaiming it. And then another, and another. A whole village that was abandoned ages ago sprouting up around the lake.

Applejack put the machete back in her bag. "What in tarnation..." She muttered, warily glancing around. "Why board up a whole village? This place looks like it's part of history, you would think someone would wanna protect it or something."

"Or at least modernize it." Rarity huffed, gently dusting off some of the leaves that covered a well. The rocks crumbling down and the bucket cast aside nearby. "It could be quite quaint, if it only had a bit of love. Vintage is always in style."

"Well the forest here seems to be like Everfree," Fluttershy reminded them. Lifting off the ground briefly with her wings to get to gazebo on the other side of an upturned wagon. Smiling at the flowers that grew all over it. "It might be hard for anypony to live here."

"Still, seems a shame to let it go to waste."

Twilight was still looking around, spotting Pinkie and Rainbow exploring deeper into the village. Her eyes scanning over every house. Some things...seemed off.

Like how the stone walls, which were typically built to last, crumbled with large holes in them. How the doors seemed to be blown off their hinges and the windows shattered. Everything was damaged from the inside out, rather than the outside in.

She stumbled a bit when her hoof caught on a root and she caught herself with both of her front legs. Briefly forgetting she had wings which almost made her laugh.

At least until she saw where her hooves had landed, her eyes widening.

There, imprinted into the soft dirt, were hoofprints.

She lifted one of her own legs, hovering her hoof over the print. It had no shoe, so it certainly wasn't Rarity's. It had no chips of the hard working Applejack or the dainty curve of Fluttershy's. Her own was swamped in size compared to it.

Rainbow hadn't touched the ground since they arrived and Pinkie's tended to make heavier indents when she bounced.

But there was something familiar in the way it was shaped. Similar to her own save for the size of it. With how the back of it hiked up just slightly with extra height.

Either way, someone else was here. This was surefire proof of it. And whoever lived here was here recently. Maybe within an hour or two.

Twilight called out to her friends and they all quickly converged to the area she was at. Following her gaze and a few of them gasping in realization. Their eyes trailed up, following where the prints led.

A trail that zigzagged through the village with ease, showing the pony had memorized the way to get about. Curving in a perfect manner around obstacles and no hesitation in their stride.

They began to follow the trail, Rainbow taking the lead now and her face scrunched up in a fierce look. Ready to face whatever may lie ahead.

Soon the grass began to grow again, save for the path the pony had made, and their sides tickled as they swam through it. Stones soon clicking underneath them and the woodland changing into a more rocky expanse.

No homes greeted them the further they went in, the village ending and the wilds fully taking over once more.

Then, the trail ended at the mouth of a cave. Fluttershy squeaking loudly and hiding behind Applejack at the sight of it. A large dark abyss with stalactites hanging down like razor sharp teeth.

"It's just a cave, sugarcube. Don't you worry now. I bet there's plenty of cute bats waiting for us in there."

"And perhaps a few rare gems!"

"...and gems for Rarity, I guess."

Twilight's horn lit up, providing enough light as they stepped through. Rainbow lowering herself to the ground to protect from the jagged protrusions. It was a typical cave, not much to be seen and they quickly lost any sign of the pony's trail as the rock hardened beneath.

Luckily for them however, the tunnels of the cave were easy to navigate. Few of them even there to begin with and what choices they had to make led to dead ends or similar. The largest of them being their main guide.

Every noise they made echoed around them and Pinkie's occasional giggle as she found a funny looking rock just seemed to up the creepy atmosphere.

"Are...are cave ponies a thing?" Aj whispered at some point, her voice sounding twice as loud.

"I can't imagine why anypony besides Pinkie's sister would WANT to live in a cave."

"Well, it is pretty cool."

"Was that a pun, Rainbow?"

They exchanged smiles, letting out a bit of laughter. Their worries lessening some and their heads lifting higher in confidence. The age old lesson, laugh at what scares you. Giggle at the ghostie.

Pinkie even humming some of the song now.

Something in the distance reflected the light of Twilight's magic and she stopped dead in her tracks. Prepared to go on the attack as a few of her friends tensed behind her. Then Rarity let out a squeal and ran ahead.

Her own horn lighting up to show that the object doing just that was a wall of glittering opal. Her hooves gently stroking across the beautiful stone as she admired every inch of it. "Look at it! Queen's Opal! Fully intact, I've never seen them this large before! Is this entire wall made of it?! Quick, someone get me a pickaxe! Applejack!"

"What makes you think I got one?"

"You're Applejack!"

The earth pony sighed softly, reaching into her bag to grab the item. Making her way over towards Rarity and the unicorn immediately set to work to carefully excavate the opal.

Twilight slipped past them, eyes widening as the tunnel opened up further to more glittering gems. She felt someone come up beside her, realizing belatedly it was Fluttershy who fluttered her wings slightly.

"...I think we know why someone would want to live in a cave now." Twilight smiled and her friend smiled back. "It's beautiful."

"It really is." Twilight took a few more steps forward. Her steps echoing around the cavern as she started heading towards the back. Where the jewels parted to a doorway like shape.

Only pausing when she felt a sudden change in the flooring and she looked down, surprised to find a moldy cloth underneath. Damp and now that she got a good whiff of it, smelling awful as if it had never been washed.

She ducked her head down, wings tensing and lighting up her horn a bit brighter. Preparing to use magic just in case. Every step met more cloths, more objects scattered about. Looking as though someone had raided the village for any supplies.

Upturned boxes with jars shattered or opened, moldy food that left an awful stench. Stuffed dolls that were torn and parts hastily sewn back together. Lanterns, outdated technology struggled to burn their oils and books piled in a corner. Portraits leaned against the wall with slash marks through them, burned slightly.

And in the back was a bed.

Dipped in the middle as though someone had laid in it for years but it was just as ruined as everything else. Whoever slept in it seemed to have tried to take care of it for a while but ultimately failed.

Someone did live here.

Twilight stepped over the cloth and her hoofed crunched down on something. Pausing as she lifted up the hoof again and peered down at a feather.

A large pale pink feather.

She used her magic to lift it up, turning it around in the air to study it. It looked like a pegasus feather, longer and thinner but certainly belonging to a pony. It was thin, brittle, unhealthy and it was recently molted. Maybe pulled free by force in a preening session?

"TWILIGHT, RUN!"

She dropped the feather, her magic sparking and the air flicked the lanterns around her. Whirling to call out to her friends as she faced the entrance. She's not expecting to be greeted by a pony, by a pony that was none of her friends.

A pony so tall, that only Celestia could match them in height.

A pale pink in color, a dull purple and blue mane that trembled like it wanted to flow. Light purple eyes that had bags underneath them and glared down at Twilight. The large long horn protruding through their bangs scraped the ceiling.

And...at their sides, fully expanded to intimidate and make Twilight stumble back away from them were wings. She tripped over the cloths on the floor and fell back. Gasping and sputtering as she tried to find the words.

Because in front of her was an...alicorn.

A fully grown alicorn.

Comments

[Mystic Sunrise]

This won't end well of course. Never does .

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

You have my attention.

[the book keeper]

I'm intrigued I only hope that in the end that Starlight dose not get banished or tuned to stone. Keep up the great work look forward to next chapter.

[Eragor14]

Hmm...well this is interesting. I wonder how Starlight got to be so much older than Twi. After all, in the series they are roughly the same age, give a year or two. Is it a Starlight from the future, returning to the past? Or a different pony entirely?

Either way, I am intrigued and interested to see what comes next.

[6-D Pegasus]

this is looking really interesting!

[Skulljack17]

It has a strong start to it. Very descriptive without going overboard, nice use of the characters and how they would act, and a mysterious place with a shocking first encounter. I look forward to the next chapter to see how things will unfold.

[Killer20]

im willing to see more of this!