//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Infiltrate // by Nevermore //------------------------------// Applebloom The sunrise is a normal thing. Sometimes, we all take it for granted. But every time I see Celestia raise the sun, it's all the more magical. But something was wrong about today. My two best friends, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, weren't here! They should've been here forever ago! I stood in the middle of a large crowed on the viewing platform, that rose high above the rooftops, so every-pony could see the sky clearly. I was close to my sister, and her friends Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight were there. Fluttershy couldn't be there with us, because her parents called her back home. For some Pegasus holiday I guess. Fluttershy was from overseas anyway. " Applejack, where d'you think Sweetie and Scoot got to?" I looked up at my sisters face. "How should Ah' know?" She didn't even look down. I sighed, dragging my hooves as I sullenly paced. I was getting impatient. There HAD to be some way to find them. I felt a surge of hope as Rainbow landed next to my sister, eyes on the sky. I trotted over to Rainbow Dash, who was still watching the sun. I paused, trying to gauge her reaction. She could flip out on me.. I thought. Wouldn't be surprised. She was pretty mad when we made her look bad in our paper... I decided to try my luck anyway. "Rain'bow, d'you sp'ose you could take a quick flight around town and see if you can see mah friends?" I asked. She looked down at me, annoyed look on her face. Well, that worked... I thought sarcastically. Could've been worse I guess. "Yeah just a second kid, Celestia's not done!" She said quickly, looked back up at the sun. I sighed. I was getting worried. Anything could've happened to them! They couldve fell down a giant hole! Or caught in a gang fight! There are gangs in Fillydelphia right? I remebered the stories Spike had told me about his dragon gang when he left. Said they tried to kill phoenixes and jump into lava and stuff. "Get it together!" I said aloud. No pony even noticed. I broke away from my morbid thoughts. I also looked toward the sun. Celestia had a way of making the sun just dim enough not to hurt your eyes, while still being radiant. I looked just ahead of the sun, and could barely see the white speck that was Celestia. She was dissipating the clouds around her, makeing way for the glory of the sun. Good thing she's getting rid of those mean looking clouds, I thought. I'd hate to get rained on... I jumped on Applejack's back to see if I could spot my friends. After gazing at every inch of the crowd several times, I sighed. Nope, they were nowhere to be seen. The ponies around me started to cheer. The Raising was over. I trotted back to Rainbow. "Now cn' you check?" I pleaded. " Now?"She had a look of annoyance. "Well, this aint Ponyville, and Ah'm startin to get worried! Please please please please!!" "Alright Alright!!" She took off, leaving a small trail of rainbow in her wake. She didnt get far though, for right when she left the ground a few feet in front of her, a massive ball of ice crashed into the cobblestones, shattering a few, and stopping Rainbow with a loud slapping sound. I gasped."Rainbow!" Me and Applejack exclaimed. "Gals, come over here quick!" AJ yelled. Twilight looked down from her mentor, gasped and ran over. Rarity, who was engaged in small talk with some sophisticated ponies, slowly trotted over. "What happened?" They all asked . Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared on top of the ice ball, wobbled for a bit, and fell, land right on top of Rainbow Dash. Oof! We all heard Rainbow's breath rushing out of her. At least she wasn't unconscious. Pinkie was instantly back on her feet, and started bouncing around the ball. "What is it? What is it? WHAT IS IT!?" She shouted to no one in particular. They all looked at Twilight. Her eyes grew wide. "Why are you all looking at me? How should I know what it is?" Rainbow sat up, gasping. "Maybe....because.....you are..... an....egghead?" Despite being out of breath, Rainbow busted up laughing, which just sounded like a gross hacking sound, that turned into coughing. "Just because I'm well read doesn't mean that-" She was interrupted by a sound that sounded like hissing. Twilight reared, eyes scanning the ground, looking for even the smallest hint of scales. But there was no snake. The ball started to shake, getting Pinkies attention(who was still bouncing around it) "Look everypony! Its dancing!" She was suddenly flung back by a concussive wave. I jumped behind Applejack. When I dared to look, I noticed that there were no longer dimples, but large jagged spikes, looking as sharp as broken glass "Just back up y'all. I think that things fixin' to explode!" AJ said. The massive chunk of frozen rock continued to shake more and more violently. Now other ponies had started to gather around it. Whispering could be heard. I looked up at the sky, trying to discern where it had come from. I gasped. Cloudy? I was positive that Celestia had gotten rid of the clouds! O wracked my brain for a natural reason. Too far from Clousdale..... No weather team.... The only way would be... My thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Whats going on here?" We all turned around from the strange shaking ball, to see Princess Celestia herself. Everypony bowed. "EVERYONE BACK AWAY!" She yelled. We all cringed. Either she had just used the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE, or we had just never heard her yell before. We all instantly backed away. Her horn flared, encasing the ball in a sphere of golden light. The ball continued to shudder, until suddenly, it exploded, sending its shards in all directions, earning some startled yelps from everypony there. But they bounced harmlessly off of the Princesses shield. However, they did not lose momentum.They continued to ricochet, bouncing across from their first contact point. They smashed into each other, until all that was left of the ball was powdered snow. We all looked at the Princess. Flapping her pearl-white wings, She rose above the crowd and started to speak. " I have ruled Equestria for one thousand years" she said."And I have never seen a stranger thing than I did today." My ears twitched. What is that? I wondered. Whistling? I shook my head, in a futile effort to clear my head of the annoying sound. " This was a hailstone, but no ordinary hailstone. This was a abioticly-reengineered. " She paused, looking down tat the hailstones remains. "This was sent to kill." Several in the crowd gasped, including my sister and all of her friends, except Rainbow, who was still trying to get her breath back. My ears twitched again. I tried to focus on what the Princess was saying, but couldn't stand it anymore, i looked around, glaring to see what awful pony would interrupt something so important. " We must be careful, and report any more of these falling to me via the dragon stationed near you." She stopped. The whistling was coming from everywhere now. The ponies in the crowd started to murmur, no doubt trying to identify with what Celestia was saying. Celestia looked up. We all followed her. The sky was turning black with tiny dots, rapidly growing larger. Celestia gasped, and flared her magic, putting a shield around all of us. The loud whistling turned into a roar, like an angry wind spirit, sending its vengeance to us through a gale. Loud crashing sounds followed the roar, as more of the balls landed around us. But these were as benevolent as the last. Immediately as they landed they exploded, thudding into the walls around us, and the ones coming at us shattered on the Princesses shield. I gasped, and jumped onto my sister and held onto her neck. I could feel her shaking. As I quivered, i thought about my friends. These thing must be falling all over Fillydelphia! What about Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!? I relayed my thought to my sister. She gasped, followed by a look of determination. She told Twilight, as I ran up to Celestia. Normally, no one approaches the Princess, but she has met me before, so she didn't mind. "Princess! My friends are somewhere in the city! I need to go with Twilight and see if we cn' find them!" " Its to dangerous. These thing will kill a pony, and probably the next three after that." She said with a steely look on her face, not looking down. "I cant let any more of my subjects perish." After she had said this, she turned to look at me. The Princess regarded me for a second. "All right." She finally said." Go with Twilight, but have a shield on you at all times." "Oh Thank you Thank you Thank you!" I ran forward and hugged her. She nuzzled me like a caring mother. I ran over to Twilight and my sis. I jumped onto her back. Applejack scooped me up with her head and we ran into the city.