//------------------------------// // Story 14 // Story: Another Day in Ponyville // by AnOrdinaryWriter //------------------------------// Twilight…” Bon Bon glanced at Lyra, and then back out the window again. “You saw Twilight, and she looked terrified?” “I think so—” “Here you are,” a voice suddenly spoke. Turning in surprise, Lyra saw that the waitress had returned, now with two levitating trays in front of her containing their orders. She gently placed one of them down in front of Lyra, and the other, in front of Bon Bon. “Enjoy,” the woman in the vest said, and left the table, making her way through the pony filled diner and into the backroom once more. The door to the restaurant then opened. Lyra, still staring in the direction the waitress had gone, noticed three mares entering the diner. She recognized them all. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity… Lyra’s eyes went wide once she saw Twilight Sparkle along with the three other mares. The first thing she noticed was her mane. It was a catastrophe, a disaster occurring right on the top of her head. It was like she hadn’t tended to it for weeks. The next was her nervous face. Brow beaded with sweat, like she was running from something following her that nopony else knew about. Third was the way her body shuttered, almost as if she had developed a Twily Sense. She mentally compared her to who she had seen zip past the window. She got a match. With this discovery, she grew curious as to what was wrong with Twilight. She was a spectator to the four friends walking towards the middle of the room and filling up the empty seats around a table. Their mouths began moving, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying through the racket of other conversation in the room. She looked back to her friend, who had begun eating, taking small bites of her hayburger at a time. Lyra reached for the carton of deep-fried horseshoes and popped a few of them into her mouth. She liked it, and filled her mouth with more, emptying a quarter of the carton. The food didn’t make her feel any better however. As much as she enjoyed it, it wasn’t doing the trick. In the background, certain voices seemed to stand out over the collective chattering in the diner. It sounded a bit like arguing, but she tried to keep her focus off of it to enjoy herself as much as she possibly could. Eventually, curiosity won her over and she turned her head. The arguing was coming from the table where Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Twilight sat. The Pegasus, the earth pony and the unicorn looked concerned while Twilight looked scared. She turned to Bon Bon, who was now holding half a burger. “Something weird’s going on at that table over there…” she said, pointing to the four mares. Suddenly, the whole room dimmed, and the walls reflected a dark orange colour. Everypony in the room became quiet, looking around the room, wondering what just happened. Lyra and Bon Bon exchanged looks of confusion. “What just happened?” asked Bon Bon, and the room suddenly returned to the same color and brightness as before. “I don’t know…” Lyra responded, as clueless as her friend and everyone else in the room. Starting with the four ponies at the table, conversation slowly rebooted, growing in volume before it seemed like nothing had just happened. It started as a feeling, but now she was certain something wasn’t right. Things weren’t the way they were supposed to be, and she couldn’t deny that. Something was very wrong. She sighed nervously and fidgeted in her chair. The knowledge that something was wrong made her feel like she was a prisoner in a small, confined area. She wasn’t sure why. She was actively scared, and Bon Bon saw this before setting the half-gone burger down onto the tray. “Something wrong?” she asked. “Yes, there is,” Lyra replied, straight up. The room dimmed, changing color once again before reverting to its original brightness. This time, Lyra had noticed something happen outside. The entire sky had flickered from light gray to an orange color. Several ponies in the room let out a gasp while other ponies began getting worried. “There’s something wrong. Very wrong. We need to get out of here.” “Why, what’s going on?” Bon Bon asked, her voice containing a mix of confusion and fear. Before Lyra could reply, she heard smashing coming from her right. She saw Bon Bon look in the direction of the noise. Then she screamed. Lyra turned, alarmed, and saw a huge, purple ball of energy rocketing towards the table. She jumped backwards, screaming just as Bon Bon did. The ball of energy hit the table, causing the table to split. The blast from the impact sent the two mares flying away from the table as pieces of wood shot everywhere. They lay on the ground, unconscious.