Amber Shadow sighed, grumbling incoherently to herself as she stared out her window. A vast, sparkling cityscape stretched out beyond the horizon; Equestria, her home.
"Amber!" her mother knocked at her room's door, "Amber, honey, it's time for bed. You don't want to be late for school again, do you?"
Psh, Amber rolled her eyes, School? Lame. Why can't I have at least some kind of adventure?
She closed her eyes, letting her mind take lead of her thoughts.
There's just so many things that I could be doing right now... I could be like Daring Do, exploring the unknown for treasures, ooh, o-or siding up with Twilight Sparkle and her friends to take down the next big threat to Equestria!
A frown crossed Amber's face.
Come to think of it, there hasn't been any major threat to Equestria lately. Maybe if something happened, like maybe a volcano, or--
Her chain of thought was broken by her mother knocking again.
"Amber, have you brushed your teeth yet?"
The mare let out a low growl of frustration, peeling away from her window and stomping to the door.
"Yes, mom," she shouted back, "I brushed my teeth half an hour ago!"
"Okay, honey, just checking..."
Amber trudged back to the window with a huff. A dim twinkle of light sparked in her periphery as she stared back out the window. The mare eyed it for a moment before turning away, lighting her horn and disappearing in a flash.
Amber materialized on her rooftop, her eyes now affixed to the twinkling light far off in the distance. It flickered for a moment before disappearing. The mare cocked a brow, rubbing her eyes before staring back at the former location of the light, then to the sprawling cityscape below.
I deserve more, the thought crossed her mind, What did I do to be stuck in some noble family holed-up in Canterlot?
She sat down on the cold moonlit shingles, closing her eyes again.
This isn't what I want. This isn't the kind of world that I like... no danger, no adventure, what's even there for me anyway? Tea parties and gossiping with ponies that don't understand my ambitions? I'll pass.
What I want is some action. Something for me to explore in life... forget about the other ponies who waste their time doing things like helping others and making new things, what's there to even live for if you're always safe and sound?
She turned around, spotting an old ball that one of the neighbor's foals had kicked onto the roof years ago. Lighting her horn, Amber floated the ball over, lifting it up to obscure the full moon high in the sky.
If only I could remake the world...
The faint ringing of an alarm clock rattled through the air.
"Amber?" her mother's voice called, "Amber, where are you? You're gonna be late for school!"
"Eh," the mare chuckled silently, "School, schmool. I wonder what's up today downtown? Maybe a police chase? A police chase after a group of time-traveling bank robbers would be cool."
"AMBER!" her mother shouted, pulling the window open, "YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT, YOUNG LADY!"
Amber rolled her eyes, lighting her horn and vanishing.
"Fine, mom," she grumbled, reappearing back in her room, "I'm going now. You happy?"
Her mother let out a frustrated sigh, silently shaking her head as she shooed her daughter out of the room. She paused for a moment, staring out the open window before turning away.
Freakin' geez, mom, Amber mentally seethed, storming down the stairs into her foyer, Can you let me have time to myself for just a bucking minute without you barging in?
She spotted her breakfast on the table but nevertheless ignored it with another eyeroll, slinging her bags over her back and making a beeline for the door.
Once outside, the mare let out a deep sigh, taking in the sunlight hitting her face as a breeze rippled through her mane. Putting on her usual façade, she promptly made her way down the street. A brief glint caught her eye as she passed a window, causing her to slow. She turned back, brows furrowed as she stepped closer to the window.
Nothing out of the ordinary, Amber dismissed, turning away from the glass, Probably just a reflection of a passing bird or something...
Her steps slowed to a halt yet again as a piercing, metallic tone began to screech through the air. She shook her head and continued walking. A second ping rung through her ears as she whirled around, catching glimpse of an odd magical spark ricochet from one of Canterlot Castle's towers, and away into the distance. Said tower proceeded to slowly begin to fade, growing increasingly transparent by the second.
I guess mom was right about staying up so late. I'm going loopy now, aren't I?
She came to an intersection as the screech began to subside. A shiver went up her spine as she saw an approaching carriage draw near. It passed her, the stallion pulling it nodding a silent "Hello" as he traveled to who-knows-where with his passenger.
Heh, Amber mentally chuckled, Things would get pretty interesting for once if I decided to just... stick a hoof out and cause a little--
The same carriage passed her again, the stallion pulling it giving the same, friendly nod as he passed by.
The mare frowned, rubbing her eyes as she stared down the road. Both carriage and stallion had vanished from view. She looked back in the direction they'd come from, and--
"Woah, there! Careful, miss!" the stallion exclaimed, swerving around her, "You're gonna get hurt if you stick your hoof out into the road like that!"
Okay, this is getting a little weird...
Amber took a step back, her hoof beginning to sink into the concrete sidewalk. Her eyes went wide as she pulled it from the ground, only to find that the rest of her hooves had also begun to sink.
"H-help!" the mare yelped, fear creeping into her voice, "What the hay is going on?!"
She heard her voice echo on for seemingly forever. That strange twinkle of light from the night before had seemingly returned as well, fixed in place in the morning sky. Though, it seemed... bigger now. Not by much, but it had seemingly grown compared to the night before.
A shockwave abruptly ripped past the mare, blowing her mane in every direction as the very sky itself appeared to ripple. The ground beneath her buckled, and she felt the concrete pavement once again solidify around her hooves, trapping her partway into the ground.
Strangely, however, even when she could somehow feel the concrete reform within her hooves, she felt no pain. With a grunt, she began to pull her hooves out, one-by-one. The sickening sounds of her flesh and bone emerging from solid concrete were for sure sickening, and it took all of her self-restraint to keep herself from hurling.
The mare squinted up at the sky. It was rapidly growing brighter now as the former twinkle continued to expand across the heavens above, enveloping anything that touched it. In the distance, she could see the stallion and his carriage continuing to travel, almost as if he were never affected by any of the current events at all.
"...Miss?" the stallion began, tapping her shoulder, "A-are you seeing this as well?"
She whirled around, her mouth failing to produce words as she sputtered, pointing a confused hoof at the stallion, then at the visual copy of him that continued to travel down the street.
He shook his head.
"I dooooo-oo...n-'t... f......ol-low."
Without another word, he carried on, galloping away and into the solid ground, leaving no trace.
Frowning, Amber rubbed her eyes again, double-taking at the spot the stallion and his carriage had just been before staring back up the road. He didn't return this time.
"Weird," the mare muttered, stepping off the sidewalk as she made her way to the other side of the street. "Just... everything today..."
The smell of ozone filled her nostrils as she walked, growing stronger and stronger as her head began to tingle. She turned, eyes wide, in time to see an offshoot of the magical spark hurling toward her face.