//------------------------------// // 14 // Story: Rift in Ponyville // by xnaturalblue //------------------------------// The four ponies approached the Galloping Gorge, each one of them stumbling with exhaustion. It had to have been several hours since they left the Crystal Empire, albeit with a very hesitant Jelly Splash, who had not left the area since the beginning of the Nightfall. Each one of them had equipped themselves with some sort of self-defense, save for Fire Bolt, who always kept a dagger on her anyways. The fall of Clousdale was catastrophic when it happened, as a select few of arrogant pegasi were hellbent on taking control of the city without the guidance of the rulers of Equestria. Some cities had successfully established a counsel of rule, like Canterlot, which was overseen by Celestia’s most trusted guards. Cloudsdale, however, had an explosion of violence, making the once bright city into a wartorn hellscape. The first pony to rise into power was an orange pegasus that Bolt couldn’t remember the name of, but his tyrannical rule resulted in the discovery of his body within weeks of his rule. The next had attempted to spark a war against pegasi living outside of Cloudsdale in a fit of loyalty-driven rage, but the rejection of the plan by an overwhelming majority of Cloudsdale caused a war within their own city, resulting in a now desolate landscape full of hatred and crime.  None of the four on the journey to Cloudsdale had visited the cloudy city since the Nightfall began, save for Fire Bolt in her strange alternate reality, but she knew that didn’t count.  “Guys, can we please take a break now? If I walk any more I’m going to pass out,” Sapphire broke the pensive silence, dramatically emphasizing their exhaustion by dragging their hooves loudly against the abandoned train tracks. “Yeah, Sonar, I’m getting really tired, too. We should find somewhere safe in the Gorge to rest,” Fire Bolt added more quietly, and Sonar finally slowed to a stop, sighing. “We’re almost there anyways. I can keep first watch, I’m not too tired after my nap,” Jelly Splash chipped in, looking up at the distant city in the sky that had only recently become visible, its rainbows dulled to a layered spill of different shades of gray. Sonar turned to face the other three, exhaustion present on his face. “...Alright. Let’s find cover.” It didn’t take long, as the Galloping Gorge wasn’t a typical place for ponies to reside, even before the Nightfall. Far from the train tracks, there was a fallen tree in front of a small cave opening, and Bolt tried not to let herself get claustrophobic at the thought of entering yet another cave. It was just large enough to fit the four of them, though, if it even counted as a cave, and the red rock just an inch or two above their heads seemed stable enough. “Alright, Sap and Bolt, you guys can rest. Jelly and I will keep an eye out for anything fishy,” Sonar sat firmly at the edge of the entrance, wavering with fatigue. “Sonar, go sleep with them. I’m serious, I’m perfectly awake. Trust me, you need the rest,” Jelly placed a hoof on his shoulder, and he hesitated before dragging himself to begrudgingly lay with Bolt. Sapphire was snoring before Sonar was even fully settled, and Jelly Splash took to pacing in front of the fallen tree to pass the time. Bolt felt a wave of relief as the two of them huddled together, a familiar comfort coming from their positions. She placed a hoof against the talisman around his neck curiously, fighting the sleep that made her eyelids heavy. “Do you think you’ll see her tonight?” “Hmm?” Sonar’s eyes were closed. “Misty. Do you think the necklace will work?” She asked, the sentence broken with a yawn. “Mm… Don’t know. I guess we’ll see,” His words were barely comprehensible, and Bolt decided to let him sleep, curling up under his hooves and falling into unconsciousness herself. Sonar Moonshadow’s scarecrow costume was itchy, and it irritated his hooves. The thousand year celebration of Nightmare Moon’s banishment was loud in the town square, and Sonar wanted to cover his ears at the sound. He quickly noticed, though, that it was not cheering – it was gasps of horror and murmuring. “Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!” Mayor Mare announced, panic evident in her voice. Sonar looked up to the balcony, where Princess Celestia was supposed to be, but she was absent. “She’s gone!” Rarity exclaimed, and the sounds of surprise from the crowd increased as Nightmare Moon approached from the shadows. …Wait, Rarity? An Element of Harmony? “Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces,” Nightmare Moon grinned, her sharp teeth on full display. “What did you do with our princess?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, and Sonar realized where he was all at once. This is the night Misty was born. As the thought crossed his mind, the scene in front of him froze in time, his costume disappearing as everything began to blur. A blue foal lay in a bassinet, her parents cooing lovingly over the edge. “Misty Seeker, you will do great things someday,” said the mare that Sonar assumed to be the mother. The open window behind them displayed the full moon with a notably absent mare in the moon, its light shining through the opening. Sonar watched helplessly as a twinkling dark magic seeped in and underneath the bassinet, slowly evaporating upwards unbeknownst to anyone but him and making the foal thrash in her sleep. “Shh, shh, mommy’s here…” The white unicorn lifted the foal into her arms as she sat on a rocking chair, attempting to soothe the baby. The father’s shadow looked frighteningly similar to that of Jesterbones, horns sprouting from nowhere. Everything froze and blurred again, jumping to a scene where Misty is slightly older, but still just a filly, helping her mother bake what looked to be a pie. The kitchen window was open here too, and a full moon once again shone into the room. A bad feeling in the bottom of Sonar’s stomach told him that this night would not be a good one. He realized he was right as the sparkling magic surrounded Misty once again when her mother’s back was turned as she put the pie in the oven, making her burst into tears. Her two parents came running, worried for their daughter, but she beckoned them away. “No, get back!” The filly cried, but the concerned parents would not listen. “Misty, sweetie, what happened? Did a knife get you?” Her father went to check for cuts on her hooves, and two black-tipped horns began to sprout from his mane. Her mother didn’t seem to notice as she drew closer as well, the same horns materializing from nowhere.  “Misty, what did we say about laughing in the shadows?” Her mother said suddenly with a disapproving glare and green eyes that perfectly matched her daughter’s, and an explosion of light took over the room. When the dust settled, the two ponies lay dead, horns nowhere to be seen as the pie peacefully baked in the oven. Misty’s left hoof was severed to the bone, blood soaking into the wooden panels of the floor. “Mommy?” The young Misty shook the mare, who was unresponsive. “Mommy, wake up!” She cried in pain and anguish. Everything froze for a third time before fading to black. Sonar was alone for several moments, breathing quickly with anxiety before an earth pony eventually emerged from the darkness. It was Misty, but not in the way he had met her. Her mane was smooth and un-rustled by an artificial horn that wasn’t there, a prosthetic hoof helping her walk as she approached him.  “So it worked,” She said in a monotone voice. “Misty, I…” Sonar opened his mouth, then shut it again. “I killed them. Large emotions make his power stronger. It does not matter, though, that was not the worst thing I’ve done,” She turned and started to walk away. “You didn’t- you were a filly! Wait!” Sonar trotted to keep up with her until the blackness around them turned into a laboratory. A large pot sat in the center of the room, sizzling with heat and a green glow that cast light onto the lab tables around it.  The two of them watched as a younger Misty worked on the potion, and a slithering figure slowly emerged from the pot. “Your mane, Miss Seeker.” Spoke the shadow, and the voice was unsettlingly familiar. Levitated scissors took a chunk of her mane, and it sparked and popped as soon as it hit the green potion. Smoke filled the room, causing the younger Misty to cough violently. Deep laughter bounced off the walls as she wheezed, and the shadow continued to grow until it was a physical creature - Jesterbones. Misty was gasping for air as her body shimmered with light, growing more translucent by the second. She faded into nothingness, and Sonar’s visibility lowered significantly with the amount of smoke in the room. “I released him. Into Equestria. It was my fault,” Misty spoke, and the scene behind her faded into blackness once again. “I don’t understand. Why you?” He asked quietly. “I was born the night his power escaped. His body was still on the moon, but his energy escaped the very same way Nightmare Moon did. I suppose he just… chose me.” Sonar let silence settle over the two of them for several minutes before speaking up once more. “How can we stop this? If he was stuck before, he can be stuck again, right?” He suggested as the edges of his vision got fuzzier by the second. “Theoretically. We will speak soon. Send your partner my regards.” A shrill sound was getting louder in his ears, making it increasingly difficult to hear her. Sonar Moonshadow woke in a sweat, Fire Bolt still sleeping soundly in his arms. She roused slightly at his sudden movement, and he slipped out from her grasp without waking the pegasus. Sapphire was extremely comfortable, splayed out across half of the floor room with a puddle of drool under their mouth, and Sonar could hear the tapping of Jelly’s pacing outside. He exited the cove, his sixth sense giving him a bit of a grasp of the landscape in front of him, and Jelly’s pacing stopped. “Sleep well?” “Well enough. Go rest, I’ve got this.” Sonar replied. “No offense, but… how are you going to, um, keep watch? You know, ‘cause…” She asked hesitantly, trailing off. “Anything that moves within about ten miles will be very obvious to me,” He sat down, gazing sightlessly into the night sky. It was true, Sonar’s hearing was more effective than that of most ponies, and his magic combined with his echolocation skills allowed him to visualize an almost-perfect scene in his mind. He heard Jelly Splash trot into the cove wordlessly, radiating with embarrassment, followed by the shuffling of someone else waking up, and he felt Fire Bolt’s presence approach from behind before stopping beside him. “So? Did Misty talk to you?” She asked, sitting next to her partner.  “You could say that,” He felt a lump in his throat at the memory of a young filly screaming over her mother’s body. “Didn’t get enough information before I woke up. We’ll have to try again in another few hours.” Bolt nodded silently, sensing the tension radiating from Sonar, deciding against probing. “You want to stretch your wings a little? I’m fine sitting here for a bit.” She shook her head. “I’d rather stay with you.” The two of them sat in silence watching the frozen moon together, and for the first time in three and a half years, nothing but contentment settled over the two.