It was a quiet day at the library.
It was a quiet day in the library.
Twilight sat reading a book, the tome outlined in her lavender magic. On her lap, Spike was quietly curled up. Across the large, central, table on the first floor of the Golden Oak Library, her five best friends sat, equally quiet. Twilight was so glad they were with her now. They brought more joy into her life than she could have ever imagined.
Through the window across the room, Twilight could see a pure blue sky, Celestia's sun shining in perfectly. Not too much light that it was blinding or hurt her eyes, not so little light that she had to light a candle or cast a spell to see the words she was reading clearly. Through the window, she could hear distant birds chirping. The sound provided the perfect amount of white noise to help her concentrate. The air was filled with the fresh scent of the nearby Everfree and Whitetail woods, mixed with the more pungent smells of wood and old books that dominated the library, topped with just a hint of sweetness from the distant Sweet Apple Acres.
All in all, it was a perfect, quiet day at the library.
It was just too bad the world was ending.
For Twilight, it all began when she woke up that fateful morning. She noticed the tempo of her hoof steps being slightly different. She didn't think anything of it as she and Spike started breakfast. Only when Rainbow Dash came crashing through her window did she realize something was wrong. The rainbow mare came with grave news; something had happened to Pinkie Pie over at Sugercube Corner. Wanting to help her friend as soon as possible, and figuring she could simply get breakfast at the bakery, Twilight sprinted out the library door and across town.
Sugercube Corner was closed, despite the morning rush and the plethora of regulars gathered outside, wondering what was happening. Seeing the well-known local savior and problem solver, the Cakes quickly allowed Twilight access to the perturbed pâtisserie. Inside the kitchen was Pinkie Pie in the middle of taking out the latest batch of cupcakes from the oven; a potholder and cupcake tin firmly in her mouth. However, rather than the standard excited and happy greeting Twilight was expecting from her friend, she only received cold silence. The bouncy pony was still, her fur dull and gray, her energetic eyes lifeless. Ponyville's primary party planer had been petrified.
There was one obvious explanation; a cockatrice had snuck into town and, in turn, the bakery from the Everfree forest! At least the solution was simple. By the time the remaining Elements of Harmony were assembled in her tree library, Twilight already had a plan. She would work on the counterspell while her friends scoured the town for the rogue monster. They had faced cockatrices and worse before, surely this crisis would abate soon.
When the Elements reconvened for lunch, it was clear no simple solution was forthcoming. All of Twilight's counterspells were ineffective at reanimating the new sculpture, and none of the Elements nor anypony they talked to had seen claw or feather of a cockatrice. Meanwhile, more and more statuary was showing up around town with seemingly no rhyme or reason. More disturbingly, talk of partial petrification was swirling around town. Even the Elements noticed Twilight's hoofs, Applejack's tail, and Rainbow's wings looking dull and feeling stiff.
This was no simple cockatrice, and the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. It was agreed by all that a higher power must be beseeched. Bringing the statue that was Pinkie Pie into the library for safekeeping, the five mares took the next express train to Canterlot while the dragon guarded their home.
The Friendship Express was full of nervous energy. The Elements of Harmony were not the only ones that choose to seek refuge in Canterlot, nor were they the only ones to lose a pony to stone. Some came hoping the strange petrifications would stay in Ponyville, some came hoping to find a cure for loved ones, others came hoping Celestia would protect them. Altogether, there did not seem to be much hope on the Friendship Express.
Fluttershy spent most of the trip fussing over Rainbow Dash and Twilight, making sure they were comfortable and trying to hold back the gray stiffness that seemed to expand every time she looked at it. Twilight split her time between reading what reference material she had brought with her and trying to reassure the others that everything would work out. Of course, she was really trying to reassure herself, which was hard when she was reminded of their dire situation every time her stone hooves touched the floor. Rainbow Dash and Applejack spent most of their time arguing amongst themselves over pointless things. Everypony knew, on some level, that the arguments were not genuine. They were just a distraction, a way to inject some normalcy into a situation that was anything but. Rarity spent the whole trip quiet and contemplative, staring out the window at the green landscape rolling past. She was so quiet, in fact, that everypony else seemed to simply forgot she was there.
When the train finally stopped at Canterlot station, Twilight was forced to ask, with incredible melancholy, if the conductor could take the statue of Rarity back to Ponyville and have somepony place her in the library.
Canterlot station was in chaos. Ponies ran back and forth between trains, arriving and departing, getting in each other's ways and spreading panic. Over the mayhem, the Royal Guard stood, some flesh, some stone, trying to maintain order. Through the crowd, Equestira's remaining heroines ran, seeing far too much gray amid the sea of pony colors.
The streets of the grand capital were not much more orderly. Unruly black smoke dominated the skyline and flavored the air as statues oversaw ovens meant to cook breakfasts that would never be eaten. The sounds of commotion and panic permeated the airways and foals screamed for stiff, gray parents and mothers cradled bundles of rocks. Ponies ran too and frow, looking for doctors, wizards, apothecaries, and even snake oil salesponies, all to combat the increasing number of lawn ornaments that decorated the city.
As the four Elements ran to the castle no more calm was to be found, as the noble districts faired no better than the plebians they had looked down upon. This flight through Equestria's greatest city would be the last time Equestria's greatest flier soared through the sky. With each step, the mage's feet grew heavier, the farmer's tail grew duller, and the weathermare's wings grew stiffer; until Twilight's knees no longer bent, Applejack's tail no longer swung and Rainbow Dashe's wings no longer flapped. Despite this loss, the four friends were able to stay focused, as a world without legs, tails, or wings was just as inconceivable as a world where they had heard Pinkie laugh or seen Rarity sew for the last time.
By the time Twilight reached the resplendent palace of her mentor, the stone faces of the Royal Guard were quite literal. With little resistance, the remaining Elements of Harmony charged to the throne. The center of the Equestrian Diarchy was a war room. Gone were many of the fineries associated with court, in their place was a massive table coated with a fresh snowfall of reports from every corner of the content and beyond. At the head of this great table sat the Princess of the Night. Luna was in a furry of work, directing ponies both civilian and military all across Equestria from her makeshift throne. The stress of the crises and the fatigue of the early hour could be seen on her drooping face. Despite this, she controlled the situation as ponies came in with word from Baltamare and Winnyapolis, Manehatten and Los Pegasus, Yakyakastain and Griffinstone, Mount Aris and Abyssinia. Over all the activity of the room, atop her regal throne, sat an ominous statue of Princess Celestia. Her motherly stone visage inspired fear and hopelessness in all who gazed upon it.
Determination stronger than ever, the four sought counsel from Equestria's temporarily sole monarch. Luna informed them that, starting this morning, creatures from all over Equis had been turning to stone. Pony, Yak, Griffin, Dragon, Brezzie, Cow, it mattered not. If it could speak, it would end in stone. Strangely, the source was completely unknown. There was no villain cackling at the suffering they caused. No thousand-year threat, just now revived. No draconequus bragging about achieving his ironic revenge. No creeping darkness or ominous vines. Just stone. It was happening seemingly at random, young or old, rich or poor, near or far, healthy or sickly, isolated or communal, small town or city. Sometimes it would be quick, flesh and blood one moment, granite and rock the next. Sometimes it would be slow, the gray plague creeping over the helpless victim as their mobility, heat, and very life is painlessly stripped from them as they yet live. Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack could sympathize with the latter, as the numbness grew even as they talked.
The solution was clear to all present. Only the Elements of Harmony had the power to undo such a powerful curse. With permission from the princess, the surviving bearers rushed to the vault. Relieved to have a solution at hand, the Elements of those present were taken, along with Laughter and Generosity, only to see Kindness still resting in the velvet-lined box. Confused, Magic, Loyalty, and Honesty turned around to find a sculpture of Fluttershy, patiently waiting for the vault to open.
In truth, the animal keeper may have been somewhat pleased with her fate. She had become increasingly distressed that she might end up trapped alone in a world of stone and silence.
Before they returned to Ponyville, Twilight took a moment to pay her respects to her brother, who was standing in eternal vigilance over a statue of his beloved.
That the return trip back to the train station and then Ponyville was quieter than the departing one was more distressing than relieving. The three remaining that had once been six wore their elements. Despite that, when Applejack sat on the train, she would never stand again and Rainbow Dash would take her last breath. Had this been any other day, Twilight would have been delighted to discover how her flying friend was still alive despite her marble organs.
Arriving home, they fond not the welcoming calm of most days, nor the near panic of when they left. Rather they were greeted at the station by statues of Mr. and Mrs. Cakes, holding their stone foals up to a departed train as if begging for salvation. Limping and scraping back to the library on stiff and still legs revealed more statuary. Mayor Mare, still trying to keep her citizens calm. Ditzy Doo, curled around a still Derpy as if they had simply gone to sleep in each other's arms. Filthy Rich, surrounded by his family, holding his money up to the blue sky. Scootaloo, alone crying softly from her still-living head as her stone body embraced her silent stone friends.
With great relief, Twilight was welcomed back to her library by a still colorful Spike just as the moon began to rise. With his help, the Bearers, both stone, and meat were arranged in a circle. The Elements were put in their rightful places, and Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack smiled at each other. Surely the nightmare was over. Surely their friends would be restored.
As they had done before, the heroes of Equestria harmonized their friendship. A great light began to build on both stone and fur. With growing power and growing excitement, the light consumed the treehouse, and then further expanded to the rest of Equis. As the light faded, four statues adorned the library, Rainbow Dash having joined her peers.
Hope had disappeared with the light, all still aware shocked at their failure. Both of the remaining ponies were too petrified to move under their own power, and Spike was by himself was limited in his utility. Desperate, they tried once again, to even less spectacular results. Resigned to her fate, Applejack began to weep; for the life, she would not live, for the grandma she had not properly said goodby to, for the sister she could not comfort, for the brother she could not see, for the town she could not protect.
Despite her hopelessness, Twilight would not give up. In desperation, she began to read, book after book she knew would have no answer. Sometimes she would get the books with her magic, sometimes with the help of her ever faithful assistant. All the while the sounds of mourning and panic became quieter and quieter.
As the night continued, Applejack's sobbing eventually turned to the same silence that had consumed the world, and Spike's young body gave in to the temptation of sleep. But with her friends around her and her dragon coiled in her lap, the bookworm pushed on with her futile quest.
When, somehow, the sun rose, it greeted a still world. Due to her numb legs, Twilight did not know when in the night the dragon she hatched once again became an object. She did know, however, when her lungs stopped breathing, and when the soft patter of her heart joined the silence around her. It was a bizarre thing, to be thinking, to be aware, while she had no lungs to breathe, no heart to beat, no stomach to eat.
Having all but given up, she read on, wanting to go out doing the thing she loved. She read as the gray rock crept up her neck. She read as her jaw locked in place forever. She read as her stone ears surrounded her in pure silence. It wasn't until her horn changed, her magic sputtering off and the book suspended withing falling with nopony to hear, that she stopped.
Soon, the last organic tissue of the last pony began to succumb. It started in the back, she hardly noticed as the software that ran muscles she no longer had was erased. But the occipital lob she noticed. Despite having eyes that could see, Twilight could no longer recognize the faces of the friends in front of her. It was then that she began to truly panic. She had thought that she was prepared for the end, but as her memories were, one by one, etched in stone, a primal fear consumed her. Equish went next, the langue she had spoken her entire life faded away. She could no longer understand the letters that made up her favorite books, her stream of conciseness went from organized sentences to the sporadic thoughts of a common animal. The gray death progressed, and nothing slowed it down.
Finally, with only the part of the brain that contained who she was, she begged. She begged to a teacher whose lessons she couldn't remember, to her friends whose names she did not know, to her mother whose face she could not remember. In a language that had no words, to all of them she begged.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
Mom, help me.
I don't want to...
It was a quiet day at the library.