"Spike! Spike! Look outside!"
"Hu- what?" The dragon got up from the bed and ran over to the window with Twilight, watching as millions of lights crossed the sky. "I didn't know there were going to be shooting stars out!"
"I know! I would have stayed up and got the telescope out!" Twilight smiled at the meteor shower. "I guess Princess Luna likes to surprise us from time to time."
Spike nodded and watched the stars along with Twilight. His eyes shifted slightly, being a dragon he had a natural instinct to noticing shiny objects, and he saw it even as it shot past. "Twilight!! One of them is landing nearby!"
"What?"
"Come on!" The dragon shouted, rushing downstairs. Twilight raised an eyebrow before flying after him.
He burst out the door and ran for Ponyville park. Twilight scooped him up and put him on her back before taking off into the sky. Sure enough one of the stars was coming close to Ponyville, it was a golden light that shook as it fell. Twilight frowned as she watched it's path go across the sky and land in the middle of the Everfree. But a few minutes later, inspiration struck. She noted where it crashed and flew back to the tree.
"We aren't going after it?" Spike asked, somewhat disappointed.
"Let's get everypony together tomorrow and make a day of it. It'll be fun. I've always wanted to see what a shooting star looks like up close..."
☆☆☆
"Dear, do we have to get filthy like this in the middle of the forest!"
"It's just a little more ways Rarity." Twilight assured. "We'll be there before we know it."
Fluttershy nodded and inched along, jumping at random noises.
Pinkie was pronking along ahead, and was the first to spot the glow. "I found it!" She shouted happily.
The others hurried to her position and noticed the golden glow shining from between the trees. They moved past them and into a clearing. In the center there was a crater, and in the center of that was a strange rounded point of yellow, glowing incredibly bright, lodged in the ground.
"Is that the star?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, moving closer to touch it. A shiver passed through her as her hoof made contact and she drew it back. She considered the object another second and put her hoof back on it, letting the feeling of the star wash over her.
"What does it feel like?" Twilight asked, mystified by Rainbow's sudden calm.
"It's warm... and... I dunno, comfortable? It feels... safe."
"C-could I try?" Fluttershy asked. A few seconds later all six of them placed a hoof on the surface of the star and felt the same feeling of comfort wash over them.
They all jolted as they were brought back to the real world by a sudden noise. "Poyo!"
Rarity turned and gave a gasp at the pink ball with a face. It's eyes were blue-black ovals, it had a big smile, and no other real features, no nose, no chin, just a ball. There were stubs on the sides that may or may not be ears. And the ball rested on two large red feet. It was a very simple creature.
Fluttershy hesitantly walked over to it. "H-hello, little guy..."
"Hi!"
"Hi!" Pinkie Pie responded, joining Fluttershy by the creature.
"Hi!"
"Hi!"
"Hi!"
"H-"
"Stop. Please." Rainbow Dash said, putting her hoof over Pinkie's mouth.
"What's your name?" Fluttershy asked the puffball, bringing her head closer to the ground to be on level with him. He was just below two feet tall.
"Kabi!" It said cheerfully, doing a little jump.
"Well, hello Kabi!" Fluttershy said happily, giving it a return smile. "I haven't seen a creature like you before. What else can you say? Are there more of you? What do you eat?"
'kabi' gave a little jump and a squeak at Fluttershy's last word. "Food! Food!" 'kabi' cheered.
"Oh you poor dear, you're hungry aren't you, well come with me, we're going to find you something to eat!"
"Fluttershy!" Twilight called, Fluttershy had already scooped the puffball into her hooves and took off, "What about the star?"
"Oh, that'll be fine. I need to get food for this poor Kabi."
"Don't worry Twi, we'll be able to fly it home with just you and me." Rainbow assured.
Twi sighed and waved to Fluttershy as she flew off with the pink ball. "Alright gang, time to unearth the rest of this thing.."
Twilight lit her horn, and Rarity followed suit, both enveloping the tip of the star and yanking upwards. But after a few seconds the purple and blue magic suddenly turned yellow as the star glowed even more, dispersing it. "Well... that was unexpected." Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack were next, trying to get their hooves under the star and push. But there wasn't enough room. Applejack sighed. "Maybe we should send Rainbow and Twi off to get some shovels, cause this thing ain't budging."
"Shovels? I for one am not digging."
"Yeah! We don't need shovels silly!" Pinkie said, hopping over and standing on the tip of the star. "We-" she jumped up and landed back on the glowing bump with some force, making it shift somewhat. "-just-" She did it again, the star shifted even more. "-need to-" another jump, another shift. "-knock it loose!" She jumped the last time and the star was no longer caught in the rock. "See? What did I tell you easy as pi-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" The star shot upward extremely fast, Pinkie being carried with it. She yelled as the star coasted over the forest in seconds, crashing through trees and rocks like nothing, and protecting her as well. She flew across the sky incredibly quick, the wind pulled on her mane and her eyes began to water. "Woohoo!!" She shouted, putting both hooves in the air. She tried to turn it, and found herself successful, it turned sharply and began bashing through trees, they exploded around her and she panicked, pulling up and sending the star rocketing back into the air.
She saw the crater where her friends were waiting. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had flown up to try and see her, and both dodged to opposite sides when they saw the star heading toward them. "Incoming!" Pinkie screamed happily, firing past the two flying ponies and making a new crater a few feet away from the first. She tumbled off the star and landed on her head a few feet away.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow screamed, rushing over to her. Applejack quickly helped Pinkie onto her seat and frowned at the Pinkie's head swaying with dizziness.
"That..." Pinkie began. "was a doozy!" She collapsed with a smile on her face and her friends looked at each other nervously.
Rainbow Dash moved forward and hesitantly touched the star again. It shifted and lifted into the air, but as Rainbow Dash drew back from it it glowed slightly less, but it remained in place. Twilight frowned at the star. It was literally a star shape. It had more rounded corners, but it actually was just a big, floating, glowing star shape. It was like a colt's version of a shooting star.
She was crushed. "It... it's so simple?! You'd think that Princess Luna would have a little imagination!" Twilight whined. "oh well... how do we bring it back into town? We can't touch it or it might go insane, and we can't move it with magic..."
"I could pilot it to Ponyville!" Pinkie offered, getting back to her legs and brushing herself off. "I think I was getting the hang of it!"
Twilight frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Yep! Come on, everypony grab on!"
"No." Rarity said simply.
"Ah don't think so." Applejack said, taking a step back from the star.
"Uhhh...." Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the star.
Twilight shook her head. "We'll think of something else... Applejack, do you have that rope still?"
"It's here." She tossed the noose to Twilight. She took it in her magic and slowly wrapped it over and around the glowing yellow star.
"Now... let's see if it works.." She gave a tug on the rope and the star followed. "Well! Let's go bring this to town, I need to study it..."
☆☆☆
A few hours ago...
Luna looked up at the sky with awe. Her eyes were pinpricks, her mouth wide open. "How... how did this happen?! I did not cause this!" She shouted. She rushed down the steps and over to a white door emblazoned with the sun. "Out of the way guards! I have something urgent to tell Tia!!" the guards managed to get out of her way fast enough, and she swung the door open. "Tia, look outside!"
"Huh? What?"
Luna lifted her sister from the bed with magic and set her on the balcony. "Look! Look at the sky!"
"Oh luna! It's beautiful, why didn't you tell me you were going to do a shower?"
"This is not Our handiwork sister!! This... this... unnatural storm is from something else!!"
"What do you mean?"
"These are not my stars!!"
Both sisters then felt a shiver as a black sphere rose from the ground. Celestia's horn flared up and she stood in front of Luna, watching it carefully. A single brown eye opened, and looked at Celestia.
"W-what are you, creature?"
It became skinnier over a short time, and a cloak and shoulder pads formed out of it. A helmet covered it's head and it pulled out a sword. Luna saw the weapon and stood forward. "You think you can threaten the Princesses of Equestria?!" She fired a beam at the creature, and through she saw it was hurt, it merely got back up and flew toward Luna, covering her in dark matter.
"RELEASE HER!!" Celestia screamed, stomping a hoof and creating a fireball.
The darkness dissipated around Luna, and the blue alicorn turned toward Celestia, but her eyes were darker. "Stop this, sister! We are fine!"
"A-are you sure?"
"Most definitely sister..." she gave a grim smile. "That creature..,. it was warning us."
"Warning us?! So it was threatening us!"
"no! You misunderstand, dear Sister. It was warning us of a different threat... she turned toward the sky, which was still brightly lit with falling stars. "...monsters led by creatures called Star Warriors... conquerors that go from world to world and wreak havoc... they're coming right now, as we speak they fall from the sky en' masse..."
Celestia looked at the shooting stars with horror. "...that many... are all of those meteors star warriors?!"
"No... most are monsters... former victims that they recruited, but dangerous creatures all the same... those stars will drop their riders and dissipate... but the Star warriors and their allies... they'll be riding them, faster than a Pegasus can fly... that's what the creature told me..."
Celestia looked very calm all of a sudden. "Luna... are you sure of this?"
"Yes... it showed me it's thoughts... it showed me two of the Star Warriors who managed to destroy his race... their names..."
"Names?"
"Metaknight.... and... Kirby...