//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Cosmic Crash // Story: Sonic X & MLP: Skyfall // by RockStarMLP //------------------------------// Equestria shined brightly through another day under Celestia’s sun. Every creature from all corners of their world were enjoying another day of peace and harmony, which was a well-deserved time given the recent events at the School of Friendship. With the acts of Cozy Glow several weeks behind Equestria and a stronger faith in the power of friendship, all were enjoying a time of peace and happiness across the land. One location in particular was especially festive. The castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle was underway with a party celebrating the School of Friendship’s staff’s first completed year of educating its students on the importance of friendship and harmony. Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s premiere party pony prodigy, had decorated the castle’s throne room, and several rooms adjacent to it, into the central celebratory area as several ponies, and one baby dragon, gathered to celebrate their successful, and eventful, first year. Many stories were shared, delicious treats were tasted, and a fresh wave of optimistic attitude spread itself across the castle like an ocean wave reaching the beach. It was, without question, a festive time to be had. But elsewhere in the castle, the Princess of Friendship herself was still coming to terms with all that had happened over the last year. Standing out on one of the castle balconies, Twilight Sparkle could only bask in the reality that she had just experienced. From the recent Canterlot invasion to her adventure across many new regions, from opening her own school to the near end of all Equestrian magic, the past year was eventful to say the least. Indeed, there was a lot thrown in her direction, and a lot more she chose to face herself, but in the end, she couldn’t help but feel proud, and perhaps a little bit tired. Twilight was thankful for all the success that had come from her efforts, and she was grateful to her wonderful friends, her students, and the faith of her fellow princesses supporting her. Whatever would happen next, she knew she had them all beside them to face the world together and keep Equestria in peace. She was happy for that, but she still had this feeling deep down she couldn’t put a hoof on. “There you are, Twilight.” As she stared out at the Ponyville scenery in the evening glow, Twilight didn’t notice the sound of somepony coming up behind her. She turned around to see Rainbow Dash flying towards her, hence not hearing the sound of hoofsteps walking across the crystalline floor. The cyan Pegasus landed herself on the balcony and said “We were wondering where you went. You left the party so long ago it’s after sunset already.” Twilight followed Rainbow’s pointing hoof at the horizon, noticing the sun setting and the few twinkling stars starting to appear. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I just needed some time to myself,” Twilight said. “Everything okay?" “Yeah… I’m fine.” Rainbow arched an eyebrow. “You don’t sound so sure about that. Seriously, what’s up?” Twilight let out a small sigh of defeat. “I’m fine, really. I was just thinking about everything from the last year. It was… a lot to look back on. We faced everything thrown our way head-on, and no matter the mistakes or the successes, we always found our way through together. I just never thought it meant dealing with the Storm King or Cozy Glow, or even how Chancellor Neighsay was.” “Well, to be fair, we’ve had to deal with crazy stuff long before them.” “I know, but this time around felt… different.” Twilight paused for a moment, turning her focus back onto the horizon as night continued to start. “When I think of the last year, I find it almost… hard to believe how much we accomplished.” Rainbow strolled up and stood beside her alicorn friend. “What do you mean?” “So many times, we ended up in places or positions that looked as if we had no way out, like no matter what we’d do, we could’ve failed. I know I didn’t exactly help as well as I should have,” Twilight continued, thinking of her own mistakes. But, as the stars began to shine and the moon made its presence, a smile crept on her face. “But thanks to the help of our friendships, we managed to achieve so many things. Making friends with new kingdoms and species, opening the school, helping others… “It’s amazing how much has happened, yet here we are. A new era in Equestria has started, and I share that part with you and all our friends. It’s so much to take in, I can hardly believe it sometimes.” “Yeah, I can get that,” Rainbow Dash said, sharing a smile with her friend as they both looked out at the stars. “We did have a lot happen, but hey, we made it this far with everything that happened LONG before the Storm King. We’ve got a lot to be proud of. You’re the Princess of Friendship, I’m a Wonderbolt, and Pinkie’s-” “A shooting star!” The pegasus mare looked back at her friend, confused at being cut off. “Uh, what?” “Look up! A shooting star!” Twilight pointed a hoof up at the now fully night sky, more accurately towards a star shining brighter than the rest. Anyone who knew her knew of her love for stargazing and any cosmic anomaly that would occur, especially shooting stars. Knowing this, Rainbow Dash grinned and rolled her eyes unsurprised, and then glanced up where the hoof still pointed. “Hey, yeah, there is a shooting star. Isn’t that your good luck charm or something?” “Well… kinda,” Twilight replied, slightly blushing. “I’ve always believed that there’s good luck to anyone who finds a shooting star. When I was little, I would make a wish and hoped that it would come true. I know it seems foalish to still think like that, but sometimes-“ “Hey Twi,” Rainbow interrupted. Twilight turned to her friend. “Yes?” “Does that star look like it’s getting bigger and brighter to you?” Looking back up, Twilight did notice what Rainbow Dash was asking. She was so distracted when talking that she didn’t catch the star’s growing light and size herself. What wonder and amazement she had at first sight turned to confusion. It looked as if the star wasn’t just growing, it was drawing closer to the ground below, a sound starting to be heard as if there was something coming towards them. When she saw that this shooting star was now becoming a falling star, her confusion turned to a growing fear that something bad was about to happen. The bright supposed star quickly came closer and closer to the ground. Despite its brightness, both mares could see its spherical shape with a seemingly magical trail cast behind it. It also appeared to be too far away from Ponyville to be a threat to them, the town or the neighboring areas, but it didn’t make the fear both were feeling any less warranted. Once she managed to calculate an estimated trajectory, Twilight acted. “Get down…” “Wait, what do you-" “GET DOWN!” Twilight grabbed her friend and dived away from the balcony’s edge. Just as the two landed near the entrance back into the castle, the falling star crashed into the earth, landing in a forest area a few miles away from Twilight’s castle and the School of Friendship. When it hit the ground, the impact didn’t cause a strong quake, but one could feel it based on the sound made. When the two mares turned back to look, they were amazed to find the entire area enveloped in a bright dome of light. It held its size for a moment before its bright light pulsated, and the size gradually shrinking. By the time the two were back on their hooves, a pop of magic appeared behind them. Hearing and sensing this, they turned around to see Starlight Glimmer having just appeared. “Twilight, what happened?! We-” Starlight paused, quickly catching the sight of what the two were just witnessing. “Yeah, THAT happened!” Rainbow added. “What is it?!” Starlight asked. Twilight snapped into leadership form and said “No idea, but we have to find out! Let’s regroup with the others and get there quickly!” With her friends gathered, Twilight teleported the group near the sight of the crash. Immediately, the ponies and dragon began to cough at the unsettled dust still in the air. But just a moment after they arrived, the dust began to set on the ground, clearing everyone’s vision and lungs. Once seeing her mane again, Rarity batted it out of any extra dust or dirt that might have stuck around inside. “Alright,” she said, “now that we’re here, what exactly is it we should be looking for?” “Well, whatever it is, it fell out of the bloomin’ sky, so it shouldn’t be gettin’ away,” Applejack replied. Twilight navigated the scene. “Judging by the state of the area, the crash site should be over there!” She pointed a hoof forward towards the site of trees sitting up in angular directions, most likely from the crash. Another telling sign was the group of woodland creatures running away from the trees, immediately seeing Fluttershy and approaching her. Numerous rabbits, birds, squirrels and other inhabitants chirped all at once, and it took the kind pegasus a minute to decipher the chatter. “There seems to be… a bright glow ahead,” Fluttershy said aloud. “It was too bright for the animals to see what exactly it was." Looking out, Twilight saw that the bright dome has shrunk down to a much smaller, seemingly lower state. Whatever was its cause seemed to be down in the ground ahead. “Fluttershy, you and Applejack go and gather all the local critters. Make sure they’re safe and see what else they have to say,” she instructed. She then turned to Starlight and said “Starlight, come with me and we’ll see what this glow is. Rainbow, take everyone else and make sure the area is safe.” “Right!” Rainbow Dash and Starlight said simultaneously, and the groups went off in their respective directions. Twilight and Starlight ran at first, but began to slow their pace as their destination became close. As they progressed, the bright light ahead of them started to dim down. Despite how bright it was, the two managed to navigate closer to its origin with ease, as if their eyes weren’t as affected by the brightness like the light of Celestia’s sun. It was weird; the light was strong, but not blinding to the point of discomforted eyes. Nonetheless, the duo carried on following the condensing sphere of light until they reached a clearing where the bright glow originated. Starlight nearly stumbled over her hooves over a ledge that led down into a pit where the light shined but gradually shrunk. The two had found the crash site, and within moments was the source revealed. The sphere of light emitting from the pit continued to shrink down, revealing no flames or damage to the area other than the crater in the ground and leaned-out trees. Tried as they might, the two ponies couldn’t make out what was in that sphere for a few moments. It only took when the pulsating light began to fade, revealing some form in its center. “Twilight, I’m seeing something,” Starlight said. “So am I,” replied the alicorn princess. “Whatever it is… No, whatever they are, they’re…” Twilight’s sight caught attention of the supposed body in the light. She noticed arms and legs of a more bipedal creature, like a dragon or their friend Capper the Cat, but the overall shape remained a foreign sight. The dark outline in the line had smooth curves and little points, and the overall size made whatever this creature was looked no taller than Twilight, but taller than a standard pony. There were many creatures that existed within and beyond Equestria’s borders, but what Twilight was trying to see now was something very new. After a couple minutes, the pulsating sphere of light continued to close in on itself and fade away. The once black silhouette in its center began to have more colors revealed; white, green, small bands of yellow, little lines of black, and two red buds on the head area. It was now certain that whatever – more so whoever – this was, they were not a known species in Equestrian history. Confirmation only came when the pulsing sphere of light closed in on itself, emitting a small sparkle of energy neither Twilight nor Starlight could recognize as Equestrian magic, and the being within the light was given full display. Whoever she was, she appeared to have green, leafy hair with what one would guess to be off-white skin, wearing an outfit that was white, yellow, and green like her hair. The red rosebuds and yellow bands on their head were given full display, and only a slight display of their face showed the black lines representing a closed eye and mouth. The two ponies darted surprise glares at one-another before Twilight began to quickly descend down to the newfound body. She investigated once her hooves touched the ground and leaned her head down towards that of the strange creature before her. To some relief, despite the small nicks and scratches found around the body, she heard and saw soft breathing come from the body, but the immediate sight of tears around their eyes concerned her. “Twilight, what is it?” Starlight called from above. Using her magic, Twilight gently used her magic to flip the being over onto their back. The being noticed this changed and her body visibly tensed at the change, but not without a tear flowing down their right eye. “T-t-Tails…” Twilight leaned down, using her left leg to support the being’s head as she heard what they were saying. Seeing how faint the voice was and their eyes still shut, Twilight assumed they were dreaming, but given the tears, it looked to me more of a nightmare. After checking to see the breathing to be stable, she turned her back towards her foe-turned-pupil-turned-friend and addressed the matter. “She’s alive, but she needs help! Find the others and make sure everything here is secure. We need to take her back to my castle and fast!” With a swift nod and teleportation spell, Starlight disappeared to find the others and see where they were in their efforts. Twilight returned her focus to the new being before her, and slowly developed a levitation spell around them and lifted the body off the ground. Immediately, their arms clenched into a crest across the chest, their hands laying over what Twilight assumed would be their heart. With a slow and gentle ascent from the crater, the two got out of the crater, but all along the way, tears began to shed more and more from the creature’s eyes. “Sonic… Shadow… “Tails…” The words being mumbled were becoming clearer to Twilight’s understanding, but the pain in the tone grew as well. Upon the last word spoken, the few tears being shed turned into waterfalls as tears streamed down their face. For Twilight, however, the strangest view didn’t come from the tears themselves, but the attempted smile whenever the word “Tails” was uttered. The alicorn took a mental note of the importance of this word – or perhaps, name – as she focused her magic on keeping them safe in her magic. She tried to detect any injuries or damages other than the scuffs across the body, but to her surprise, none could be found. It was upon that realization when the rest of her friends appeared, courtesy of Starlight’s magic, and they all stared in confusion at the being in Twilight’s levitation magic. “What in Equestria? Who is this?” Rarity asked. “I’m not sure, but she needs help,” Twilight replied. “From where? I’ve never seen a creature like that before,” said Fluttershy. Twilight flew slowly out of the crater where her friends were, keeping a careful grip on the being with her magic. All were quiet until her hooves landed gently on the ground again. “For someone who crash-landed into the ground, she looks good to me,” Pinkie Pie observed. “I agree, but she still needs somewhere to rest until she’s ready to wake up. We’ll take her back to the castle. Is the area safe?” “It should be fine,” Applejack replied. “We found the bunch of critters livin’ in the area to go to Fluttershy’s sanctuary to be safe.” “Any each animal I talked to saw what you did. They didn’t have anything more to add,” Fluttershy added. “Then we should be set to go. Starlight, can you teleport everypony back to the castle for me? I’ll fly back separate and carry her there myself.” “Say no more,” Starlight said, and she charged her horn to cast the spell. “Rarity, Fluttershy, there’s an empty bedroom across from mine. Make sure that room’s clean and set up proper. Pinkie, get a pitcher of water and celery soup prepared. Spike, get a first aid kit from one of the bathrooms. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, you two check around Ponyville and see if anyone else saw the crash, and try to explain that there’s nothing to worry about.” “We’re on it!” Rainbow Dash replied. “Are you sure you’ll be fine flying back in the dark by yourself?” Spike asked. Twilight glanced up at the night sky above them, and then back at the unconscious girl. “Luna has the moon shining brightly tonight. I’ll be okay. It’s whoever this is we need to worry about.” “Then let’s get moving,” said Starlight, and the majority of the group gathered around her. With a magical flash, she teleported everyone back to the castle. Twilight waited for the group to disappear back to the castle before leaving the clearing. She would have been able to cast it herself, but given the care she put in her magic floating the newfound being, she didn’t want to risk losing even the slightest control. She also feared that, despite the spell being safe for ponies, it would have a negative consequence for a creature she knew nothing about. Nonetheless, there was a plan in action, and she took off to the sky with the newfound stranger in magical tow. It wasn’t until she reached a comfortable altitude, one that wasn’t too far off the ground but high enough to clear any trees along the way, when she glanced at the being again. Twilight took notice of her mouth making small, near quiet gasps, and her eyes struggling as if having a dream. With each eye struggle, small tears began to form, and every few moments, a small teardrop would fall free, falling to the ground below. Even though she was unconscious, she was indeed fighting through what Twilight would only assume was a nightmare. Twilight could see that it was going to be a long night ahead of them. Nonetheless, she wasted no time in her flight back to her castle.