DarkShard Chronicles
Chapter 1
Twilight Sparkle woke up in bed cold and shivering. Where are my covers? She thought. She looked over the edge of her bed to the right, no covers there. On the left side the covers were lying on the floor. I must have kicked them off while I had that nightmare.
She could not remember any details about the nightmare other than there was a lot of running. A feeling of foreboding surfaced. Why? Golden sunlight streamed through the windows. Birds were singing. Seemed like a perfect morning. Twilight still felt that something bad was coming. Time to get up.
At two, Twilight was going to a picnic with her friends. That would be great. She missed them a lot. Maybe her feelings were related to the reason she was here?
When Twilight was in Canterlot she had spent a lot of time doing intensive magical research with the leaders of several mage groups. It was a dream come true. All sorts of different magics to study. The problem was she did not pace herself too well. That led to an embarrassing fainting spell before an important experiment. Mage leader, Bright Star had to order Twilight out of the lab and back to Ponyville.
A glance at the mirror showed a purple unicorn with tired deep set purple eyes. If Celestia could see how thin Twilight was, she would be really concerned. No, I will not give my mentor more to worry about. Twilight resolved to eat more.
While she was in the ecstasy of doing research a lot of things got neglected. A growl from her hungry stomach agreed with that thought.
Downstairs, Spike her purple and green dragon ward and friend was reading a book avidly. He looked up. Twilight could tell he was concerned.
"Are you OK?" Spike asked gingerly.
He knew about Twilight's moods.
"Yeah. Too bad I did not take you with me. Maybe I made a mistake there," Twilight admitted.
Spike would have warned her before she fainted.
"Do you want me to get you something?" Spike asked.
"Thats OK. I will get my own food. Did you eat yet?" Twilight questioned.
"No, I was reading the latest story from Stephen Fang. Cuddles is great! Its about a cute bunny that goes crazy. Then it goes on a killing spree," Spike said and smiled.
Twilight was not sure she was comfortable with Spike reading such gory books. He is a baby dragon after all. On the other hoof, the story did sound interesting. A bit of fiction might be good for her.
"Do you think that Fluttershy would like that story?" Twilight asked.
Spike burst out laughing. They laughed for a few minutes. Felt good to laugh like this.
"When you are finished, can I read that story?" Twilight asked.
"Sure. I finished the Whining. You can read it," Spike handed Twilight the book.
Twilight read the description. A young colt with a strange ability must protect his parents from a mysterious inn. Yeah, I am going to read this later today, she thought. Spike put a bookmark in his book. He went into the kitchen to fix something to eat for the both of them.
Several hours later, Twilight was still reading "The Whining". Poor Billy. Running into those ghost fillies is not good for his mental health.
"Come on Twilight! We are going to be late for the picnic!" Spike screamed.
He had been trying to get Twilight's attention for a few minutes.
"Sorry Spike, that book is really enthralling," Twilight said.
She helped Spike load the saddlebags and they went to the doorway. When Spike opened the door, bright sunshine warmed them. Twilight had missed some of that. The light faded away. A cold wind started to blow.
Twilight and Spike took some more steps out of the doorway. They looked up at the sky. Black clouds moved in over the town. Within the roiling masses, purple flashes could be seen. Spike wondered what was up with the weather. He had heard nothing from the pegasi. Rumbling and roaring could be heard. Then purple crystals started raining down from the clouds. Ponies began to shriek in panic!
"Quick, Spike, we need to go to the basement!" Twilight yelled over the noise of the impacting crystals.
She closed the door and cowered in the basement. A few seconds later there was a loud crash. Nobody wanted to go out to investigate. Even though they were underground, Spike and Twilight could still hear some of the impacts of the shards.
A few hours, really it was minutes later. Felt like hours though. Twilight cracked the door open. The crystals stopped falling. Some ponies were still yelling.
Twilight walked back into the library. Some books had fallen from the upper shelves. Spike sighed, more work to do. The ceiling was bulging. A tip of a purple crystal peeked out. She went upstairs to check out her room.
In the doorway was a small bunch of purple crystals. They emitted some sort of whine like a mosquito. It made Twilight's ears twitch. As she walked closer the whine got higher. The noise was getting on Twilight's nerves. Also the large crystal started to vibrate at a lower frequency. The sound could be felt in her bones. Not a pleasant feeling. Twilight retreated.
She thought about scanning them with her magic sense. A quick probe caused the crystals to hum louder. Anything more powerful would make things worse. All Twilight could get was the crystals were not from Equestria and it was not pony magic. Definitely not good or friendly magic either.
"Whats going on upstairs?" Spike asked.
He could hear the sounds. They made him nervous.
"I tried to get more information about the crystals and they did not like it," Twilight said.
"Spike, take a letter!" Twilight started.
"Wait, wait! I don't have a quill or paper," Spike said.
He carefully stepped around the crystals on the floor to get the writing supplies. Once he had quill and paper in claw he was ready.
"Dear Princess Celestia. I am sorry to report that strange purple crystals have landed all over Ponyville. I have done a preliminary examination of the crystals. They are not from any known branch of pony magic and are probably unsafe, maybe even dangerous. Please advise on what to do next," Twilight dictated.
Spike sent the letter with a puff of green flame.
"What should we do now?" Spike asked.
Twilight thought about that for a second. She had no idea what was going on outside but it may not be good to expose a baby dragon to awful things.
"Stay here. Stay away from the crystals. If Celestia replies, you could meet me either at SugarCube Corners or Rarity's dress boutique. I will come back here when I am done," Twilight advised Spike.
Twilight left while Spike watched the crystals in the middle of the library with growing concern.
Outside it was cold and quiet except for some screams in the distance. The sky was covered in gray clouds like a Fall day. All of the birds must have flown away. Some ponies had been impaled by the crystals and lay in pools of blood. Twilight was glad Spike did not travel with her. This was too gruesome.
Was that Golden Harvest over there? Twilight did not want to look closer.
All she had to do was keep her head down and just get to Rarity's.
Someone was crying inside. It sounded like Sweetie Belle. Twilight knocked on the door with her left fore hoof. Sweetie opened the door.
"She won't wake up! She won't wake up!" Sweetie kept saying that over and over.
Rarity was lying in a heap next to a wall. Blood was dribbling out of her nose and mouth. A purple crystal had crashed through the roof and was in the middle of the ground floor keening away. The noise made Twilight's teeth vibrate. She focused on Sweetie.
"We have to get Rarity outside away from this thing. Please help me carry her out," Twilight said.
Sweetie Belle nodded yes. Her horn glowed green and Rarity's hindquarters slowly levitated off of the ground. Twilight used her telekinesis to lift the rest and open the door. Rarity was carried outside and dropped on the ground. Sweetie Belle lost her concentration when Rarity kicked her by accident.
"Hey! Stop kicking me!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
Rarity opened her eyes. One pupil was still dilated while the other one was just a pinprick.
"Are you OK?" Twilight asked.
Sweetie Belle stood back and watched her sister warily.
"I am not sure. I remember trying to use my telekinesis on that horrible noisy purple gem and it attacked me," Rarity said.
She closed her eyes. Twilight could hear her breathe and see her chest move up and down. OK, Rarity just needs some rest. Sweetie Belle moved up and wrapped her fore hooves around Rarity.
"Twilight! Twilight! Yah gotta come quick!" Applebloom yelled.
Fluttershy hovered behind Applebloom.
"A bunch of these purple crystals have crashed on the farm and tore up most of the trees. Applejack is plum furious! You gotta come and help," Applebloom said with excitement.
Fluttershy carefully landed on the ground and looked at Rarity.
"Is she..." Fluttershy asked.
"I think she will be fine. Can you fly back and tell Applejack not to attack the crystals in any way? Rarity tried and got hurt. I have to check on Pinkie and the rest of the town," Twilight said.
"Yes," Fluttershy replied.
Applebloom was panting. The run had been a bit too much for her. Still she managed to scrape up some more energy.
"Ah can go back with you Fluttershy!" Applebloom said.
"No. I need you to do a task for me," Twilight said.
"What?" Applebloom said.
"Keep an eye on Sweetie Belle and Rarity while I go and..." Twilight was interrupted by Spike running up to the group.
"Twilight! Twilight! Celestia sent a reply!" Spike said.
He did not wait for Twilight to respond.
"Celestia said that all of Equestria has been hit by falling purple crystals. She suggests that ponies stay away from them," Spike said.
"What about Cloudsdale? Is it OK? Rainbow Dash was visiting there," Fluttershy asked.
Spike just shrugged. He had no idea.
"Fluttershy can you tell Applejack whats going on? Don't forget the warning," Twilight said.
Fluttershy flew off. It was good to look at dark gray clouds. She did not like looking at dead ponies. So many friends gone.
"Ah know, keep an eye on Sweetie Belle and Rarity," Applebloom said.
She turned and faced away from the street to watch her friends. What she had seen earlier made her wish this was all a bad dream. Wish it really was. Where is Scootaloo? Had not seen her today. Applebloom turned to look at Twilight.
"Twilight, have you seen Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked.
"No. If I see her I will send her to you," Twilight replied.
Spike followed Twilight further into town. He kept his eyes close to the ground or on Twilight's back. Some of the dead ponies that were lying in the street he recognized. What will happen to their bodies?
Foals were crying outside SugarCube Corners. Pinkie and the Cakes were trying to console them with no success. Pinkie's eyes lit up when she saw Twilight.
"Twilight! You are alright!" Pinkie gave Twilight a hug. After a minute she gave Spike one too.
"Is everyone OK?" Twilight asked.
The Cakes said yes. For some reason, Pound and Carrot stopped crying.
"I don't have time to answer more questions. I am going to talk to the Mayor. We might have to leave town. Please get ready," Twilight said.
Pinkie walked up to Twilight.
"My Pinkie sense is saying that something worse is going to happen," Pinkie said with concern clouding her normally happy face.
Twilight nodded yes in agreement.
"If you have any idea what will happen next, let me know," Twilight said.
Spike waved goodbye and they continued further into the stricken town.
The Mayor was camped out with her staff next to a hastily erected hospital tent. Her face brightened when Twilight appeared. The Mayor knew from previous experience that she could rely on Twilight to bring order out of chaos.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, I can use your help in getting things under control," The Mayor said.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"We need to move out of Ponyville, its not safe here. Celestia can't send help because things are bad all over Equestria," Twilight said.
The news was a bit disheartening to the Mayor but it was something that can be dealt with.
"I have some news for you Ms. Sparkle. Its more like a rumor but I guess it is better than nothing. Have heard a rumor that Cloudsdale has been destroyed or badly damaged," The Mayor said sadly.
Cloudsdale was where Rainbow Dash went last night. She was supposed to be at the picnic. Was Rainbow Dash alright? Twilight decided to worry about that later. Ponyville needs to be evacuated safely.
The Mayor sent an aide to get Nurse Redheart. When she arrived, they had a quick meeting. All the ponies would move out to the open area outside town.
"I wish we could do something for the dead. There are too many of our friends and family lying in the streets. What can we do with these bodies?" Nurse Redheart asked.
"Anypony who gets too close gets attacked so we will need to come up with a protection spell against the crystals. I will need more time to make one," Twilight said.
"I will tell my staff to spread the word we will meet at the Fairground area," The Mayor said.
"That is what they call that place?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, that is the official name," The Mayor replied.
For the next few hours, Twilight and Pinkie and some other ponies helped to clear the town. Twilight got to see the extent of the damage and it was pretty bad. Every building taller than one story had a crystal sticking out of it.
Twilight had limited time to think about the situation other than making sure that the evacuation was orderly. Night was falling when the last ponies in town were led out. The oncoming darkness added to Twilight's feeling of foreboding.
At the Fairground camp there was a happy reunion with Applejack and Fluttershy. Applejack brought food and her immediate family.
"Those darn noisy crystals drove me out of mah home and farm," Applejack complained.
"Sorry I am late. I overslept. I still feel like I need more sleep," Rarity said between yawns.
Her pupils were still mismatched but not as bad as before. Sweetie Belle stayed close to her and did not say anything.
"Rarity, you don't look so good. Are you sure you are OK?" Applejack asked with concern.
Rarity did not answer. She had fallen asleep.
"Ah found Scootaloo, she is in the hospital tent. Not sure what happened to her. She is sleeping now," Applebloom said to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie gave a wan smile.
Twilight wished she had healer skills so she could help. Feeling powerless to help your friends is not good. Nurse Redheart said that most ponies that got zapped by the crystals basically went to sleep and did not wake up. She was not sure about Rarity.
Nopony had to worry about stumbling around in the darkness. The camp had plenty of light from spells and lamps. Good, if something comes they will see it. Plenty of unicorns knew some sort of light spell. No worries about food and water for now. Some ponies volunteered to watch the camp while others slept.
Finally Twilight had some time to rest. Her mind was filled with images of the long and stressful day. Equestria was under attack by some unknown enemy that was certain. Everything else was uncertain.
Twilight looked at the dark and abandoned town and wondered what sort of terrible things she will see tomorrow.