//------------------------------// // 3 - Shockwave // Story: The Red Moon // by Teku Senpai //------------------------------// Somewhere in Canterlot, two ponies jolted abruptly. One of them sprung awake with wide eyes and a rapidly oscillating chest. The other spewed her tea across the tablecloth, staining it a shade of brown. She, stared off into the distance with eyes wider than saucers. With a gulp, the pony who had recently extruded tea from her muzzle in a most untimely manner rose from her table and made a mad dash to the castle. She left the peaceful settings of the garden as a second wave of magic reverberated around her. She looked around uncomfortably, noticing she was the only one reacting to the magic pulse. Shaking her head, the mare continued to make her way to the castle, shoving through the ornate main palace doors and galloping down the halls as fast as her slender long legs would let her. Before long, a second tall mare appeared down a hallway. Both of them continued to gallop head on to each other. Before they could crash, though, they each screeched to a halt, not a centimeter separated their muzzles as they both screamed at one another. "DID YOU FEEL IT TOO?!" The deep blue mare took half a step back, feeling weak in the knees. Her sister came to her side, providing aid to the mare's failing legs. There was a loud explosive crackle that made its way to the ears of everyone in the kingdom. The blue mare's knees buckled at the sound and she slumped down onto the floor limply. "Tia... W-w-what is this magic?" the blue mare asked, weakly trying to meet her sister's eyes with her own deep tuquoise ones. "I-I don't know, Lulu." Celestia broke the eye contact with her sister and looked up to see a guard approaching as solemn as usual. He stopped to consider the scene before him, but before he could inquire as to what the two sisters were doing holding each other in the middle of the hall to the dining chambers Celestia gestured down the hall with her muzzle, silently ordering him along. With a terse salute, the guard continued on his way down the hall. Celestia looked down at Luna, who was attempting to regain her leg muscles' control and appearing to fail. Celestia sighed. "The magic signature felt so very familiar though I can't place where I've felt it before." Celestia grunted quietly as Luna pulled herself to her hooves with the help of her sister's back. A sigh escaped Luna's lips as she began to walk slowly and unsteadily opposite of the dining hall. She had small bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep and of course the curt awakening she had received. She whimpered quietly and looked back at Celestia. "We can't recall who's signature we hath felt. Help us, Tia." Luna looked at Celestia with pleading eyes full of helplessness and curiosity. Though it pained her, Celestia had only to say, "I-I can't, Luna. I, too, have forgotten the owner of this magic." She sighed and lowered her head in shame before following Luna through the hall and into the palace lobby. "Let us rest, dear sister." Sniff... Sniff... Sniff sniff... What the? Derik awoke, but the only sense that truly awoke was his sense of smell. His nose hated what it was smelling. Vision communications were established and soon the rest of the sensory communications. Derik slowly picked himself up, looking down at the messy pile of hay he had fell asleep in. He shook his head and looked out the window, darkness had overcome the colorful outdoors, altering the surrounding in a monotonous shade of black. Derik sniffed a few times and gagged before standing up, working the blood to his feet. He looked down at the pile and then at the cot, where Zecora had apparently fallen asleep. Bed. Hay pile. Shelf. Derik cocked his head to the side and repeated mentally, Bed. Hay pile. Shelf. Again, Derik repeated, but slower. Bed... Hay pile... Shelf... Aw hell naw. It took Derik an enormous quantity of willpower to not start hopping around trying to dislodge every piece of straw that he could see stuck in his clothing. Instead, Derik took a deep breath, trying to avoid the stench that was obviously him. What a pissy situation... Derik looked at Zecora back on the cot and sighed understandingly. After all, it had been his fault he fell asleep on an equine's toilet. How did I not notice the hay pile as the bathroom..? Blech. Derik shuddered as quietly as humanly possible and edged towards one of the cottage's backroom walls. He fell to his rear and held his legs close to his chest, conserving body heat. He quietly muttered, "Well, it's not like every pissy situation doesn't have a cold climate to it..." Derik looked up at Zecora for the third time, but didn't shift his gaze. The zebra tossed around on her cot, getting comfortable. Her "comfortable" position didn't make Derik any comfortable, but he seldom complained with serious intent. He continued to stare at the curves pointing in his direction, wondering what to do now that he was awake with a great view. A sudden thought slammed into Derik's processor. I wonder if Jake actually did get sent to this wacky place with me. Or maybe this is just a super realistic dream. I should've mastered lucid dreaming when I had the chance. Derik laughed quietly to himself and finally took his gaze off of the rump a meter and a half before him. "Well, more sleep never hurt anyone, I hope." Derik slowly let his head rest on his knees and closed his eyes. I need to figure out what I have to do. Soon. Slumber quickly overtook Derik and his head slumped just a little lower into his crossed arms. zzzz. zzzz. zzzz. Jake yawned as his consciousness moved to the cockpit of his mind. He blew a raspberry and shook his head, getting any and all sleep out of his sleep-betrayed eyes. Big mistake. The first shake of Jake's head pinched a nerve and held him captive in a most uncomfortable position with his head splayed out to the side. Jake grumbled, "Damn nerves, always getting pinched." He slowly stretched the poor nerve out by pushing his head to the other side of his body. Finally, he opened his eyes and peered down. Nothing. There was nothing beneath him. Jake lifted his head up and looked around frantically. I'm in the endless abyss where time has no meaning! Jake began to squirm, but still felt the hardness of ground beneath the palms of his hands. Maybe not an endless abyss. Actually, no. That theory is still plausible. Heaving a sigh, Jake began feeling at the ground with the palms of his hands. Hmm... grainy. A little moist. Slowly, Jake lowered his head to the ground and inhaled deeply, but not sharply. An earthy smell. This is most definitely dirt. He began to feel around for anything, but was met with no such luck as everything Jake groped was handfuls of dirt. Jake frustratedly shouted out, "WHERE AM I?!" He panted moderately and dropped down, crossing his legs and slouching. A sudden buzzing filled the air. Buzzing that was ungodly similar to the buzzing he had heard earlier. Jake gulped audibly. Uh... Oh. "Why hello, creature. How are you? Sleep well?" a feminine voice spoke out from the abyss. Her voice emanating from every possible direction. Jake slowly lowered himself closer to the ground in submission of the unknown. "Let's just see how much love you have to offer us, shall we?" Jake simply gulped and began to back away slowly as a pair of green eyes made themselves visible in the ever growing expanse of darkness. The maniacal laughter of the eyes began to increase in intensity. The buzzing sound all around did as well, but the evil laugh overruled it all. The eyes grew closer and closer and Jake backed farther and farther away until he hit a wall. He was trapped in a game of Cat and Mouse and by the looks of it, this wouldn't be the type of eating that cats generally do to mice. Jake opened his mouth to scream, but something was jammed into it. "Mind my hoof, dearie, but I'm sure you'll enjoy this. Just let it happen." Uh oh... Night quickly stole the skies and Luna, now wide awake with the coming of the night, and Celestia, now wide awake with the magic surge from before, were huddled under the covers in Princess Luna's vast room. The air, though it wasn't in the least bit cold within the warmed palace, felt crisp and chill. Both of the sisters' shivers were near unnoticeable, but they still clung to each other, attempting to escape the cold. It wasn't the type of cold that worked your blood into overtime to heat your body. No, this was the kind of cold that worked your blood into overtime to recall an ice cold memory that has been buried under multiple millennia of events and distractions. Celestia sniffed once and asked, "It's so hard to remember with this chill. Sister, do you know yet?" "No, we haven't the slightest, dear sister." "Perhaps, I may visit Twilight and ask for her assistance." "Tis would be a wise decision." Without saying any more, Celestia broke the physical bond with her sister and exited from under the sheets, embarking on her short journey to Ponyville. Night had indeed overcome the entirety of Equestria, but Twilight wasn't asleep yet. She was almost to the point where she would just flop over and whip out her Z-catching net, but not quite there yet. She turned a page in the book she was currently embedded in, Diary of a Wimpy Foal. Twilight didn't find it amusing for the story but just tried to empathize with the poor foal who the story followed. Nothing seemed to work out for this poor foal. After flipping the page once more, Twilight's muzzle fell into the book and she began to breathe softly into it. CRUNCH. BANG. A loud snapping and crunching sound followed by what sounded like a large rock landing on her balcony flooded through the tree. Twilight shot back up, pinching a nerve in her neck. She cursed herself for falling asleep in a book again and stood up to see what the commotion was. Her balcony doors magicked open and a large figured entered in, leaving the balcony doors open to allow the chilly air inside. Twilight squinted, but was still unable to make out the shadowy figure. "Hello?" she called out, expecting an immediate answer. When none came, a slight twinge of panic coursed through her spine. She shivered and asked again, "Hello, is anypony there?" CRUNCH. BANG. Celestia didn't see the need to wake her royal carriage guards. It was night time and the solar pegasi need their rest. The solar princess took wing and began her travel to Ponyville. It had been a while since she used her wings extensively, and if one was to say that the flight to Ponyville was extensive, then they would be quite out of shape. In this case... Celestia. As Ponyville came into view, Celestia let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that she was going to land soon, Celestia could begin an effortless glide. As she glided down, something appeared out of seemingly no where and tipped her balance. The sudden intruding entity spiraled down towards a large tree in Ponyville. A familiar tree. It landed through several branches and then landed on Twilight's balcony with a loud bang. Celestia didn't have much time to watch because she, too, was spiraling out of control. Soon, she followed suit and fell through the tree's branches and hit the balcony of Twilight's house. She moaned quietly and sighed. It feels like a monday...