Parallel

by Zombie Penguins

Fallen Star

Crystal Comet locked herself in her basement, hiding herself and the fallen star. Her red eyes gleamed with hope as she gazed upon the fallen star. She finally found something that could lead her to her escape. A quartz crystal. Fallen from the stars. What was once abundant a thousand years ago is now mined to near extinction. NEAR extinction. Crystal Comet had what could very well be the last piece of quartz not obtained by the Princess. Its rarity was not the reason why Crystal Comet desired it though. She knew what it could do and why there was very little left.

Crystal Comet took out her blank journal and wrote the very first entry:

It begins with this find. I was doing my horribly boring job, recording the dates of unusual meteors, when one landed in the wilderness east of Canterlot. I ran towards the crash site and found a piece of quartz, a very rare jewel, with mystic effects. It is said that being near one can amplify the power of one's magic. I wish to harness its power to do something nopony has done before: explore what Equestria cannot control. I already have an idea for the spell, but the power needed is beyond what I can reserve. If I can create an amplifier with this quartz, I can do it. The stars await me.

Crystal Comet put the journal away and went to work. She grabbed a pair of safety goggles, lifting her blood-red forelock off her black forehead to put them on. Her hoof passed over the scar that ran down the left side of her face and she shuddered. She could hear the screams that resided only in her memories. Crystal Comet shut them out and concentrated on the task at hoof.

Working until sunrise, Crystal Comet carved the fallen star until it fit right on top of her horn, sculpting it so that its exterior matched the exterior of her own horn. Crystal Comet took off goggles and slid her newly made amplifier on her horn. Her heart danced with excitement as she prepared to test it.

Crystal Comet scanned her thoughts to find the perfect spell to test. Something advanced. Difficult. Requiring a lot of power. “Fire conjuring...” she whispered as the idea popped in her head. But the dangers that came with that spell were enormous. Crystal Comet shook her head. She would not let her fears get the best of her. If the amplifier failed, it would be all over: she wouldn't be able to find another piece of quartz and she had to little to make a second prototype. Failure meant continuing her living as a Silent Pony, never revealing what she had experienced.

She put her journal, a few quills and a few bottles of ink in her only fire-proof bag and prepared for the test. She focused on creating a small ball of fire in the centre of the room and began casting. Within seconds a tiny, blue flame appeared, floating a few feet above the floor. Crystal Comet smiled; it had been a success. But then, the flame began to flicker, before rapidly expanding into a ring of fire beyond Crystal Comet's control.

Panicking, she threw the amplifier off her head and it slid across the floor. The fire still burned, but it lacked fuel and fizzled to a glowing ring of orange embers, hovering in the air. Sighing with relief, Crystal Comet used magic to summon the amplifier towards her. With great effort, she concentrated on levitating it and moving it through the centre of the ring. As the amplifier approached the ring of embers, it disappeared. Befuddled, Crystal Comet cautiously approached the ring, subconsciously picking up her fire-proof bag.

She could see nothing strange about it, but there was no explanation of why the amplifier just disappeared. Crystal Comet scraped her hooves on the ground and with out a thought, leaped through the centre of the ring, unprepared for what awaited her.

***

Princess Celestia slept in her bed, dreaming about the new heights her kingdom could reach. A smile played across her lips as she shifted her hooves.

BANG. One of her winged guards threw the door open, waking her from her dreams. “Princess Celestia! A fallen star was reported, but it has not been found!” He reported.

“Ponies like to keep things that have fallen from the sky. Why are you waking me for this?” Princess Celestia sighed.

“THIS was found at the crash site,” the guard motioned for another guard to step forward with a clamped in his mouth. The second guard placed the bag in front of Princess Celestia, bowed, then walked back to his place by the first guard. Celestia took the bag and emptied it on her golden nightstand.

Tiny white flecks of transparent crystal fell out of the bag and Celestia gasped in disbelief: it was quartz.

“TAKE ME TO THE CRASH SITE IMMEDIATELY!” she commanded.

***

Stanley sat on the roof of his home, staring at the moon above while a white mare nuzzled her head beneath his green wings. He looked down and smiled; Blossom never could stay up late into the night. Just looking at her made him swell with pride.

Returning his gaze to the moon, he looked back on his glory days: the expedition. He remembered when he was not Stanley, but Diamond Sting. He remembered when Blossom was just a simple herbologist, named Water Lily. He remembered his father's cries when he led them into battle. He remembered fighting wave after wave of savages. He remembered everything to the fullest detail. And he was quite satisfied with his actions. Satisfied with all but, one. His pride moved to anger as he thought of THAT mare. The mare who wished to stop their triumph and commit treason. The one who murdered his father. He remembered that he failed to avenge his father.

Then, a blinding light streaked past the moon, through the star-lit sky and down to the ground. The sounds from its landing shook the ground and caused Blossom to wake from her sleep. “Stanley...” she said, quivering.

“It's okay...It's okay...it's just a fallen star...” Stanley cooed, as Blossom rested her head on Stanley's hooves.

“Can we go inside now?” she whispered as her eyelids drooped, almost completely covering her green eyes.
Stanley nodded: he had enough of looking back on the past.

***

Lightning stood at the edge of the tepui, beginning his day-time shift as the rest of his people slept comfortably in burrows underneath the flame-flower trees. The sun was just beginning to rise, when he spotted something in the distance, about half a night away. His glowing orange eyes stared upon what appeared to be a small mass of floating blue light which paralleled the colour of the desert below. It grew brighter and brighter until it suddenly flickered into nothing.

Lightning squinted at where it was in confusion. He saw nothing, but desert and sun. He sighed and put it to memory to report to Chief Blaze after his shift. It was strange, but definitely not an attack from the Dull-Eyed.

***

Queen Blanca stirred and awoke as light filtered through the windows and onto her snow-white mane. Blinking her blue eyes, she yawned and tapped her hoof on the navy blue bedside table. Two servants came in, serving the alicorn breakfast tea and hay on a light blue tray, accented with silver. Daintily, she sipped her tea and nibbled on the hay. After finishing her breakfast, Blanca tapped her hoof on the bedside table again and the servants came in to retrieve the remainder of her breakfast. A young mare meekly walked into the room as Blanca came out from under the blankets. “You may brush my mane.” commanded Blanca. The mare nodded and trotted over with Blanca's golden hairbrush. Blanca puffed out her chest and stared proudly into as the young mare brushed her mane. “Powder?” the mare asked quietly once she finished brushing. Blanca nodded and the mare began applying a dull white powder on Blanca until only Blanca's sceptre cutie mark remained untouched.

Once the mare had finished preparing Blanca, Blanca walked out of the room, carefully placing her hooves to obtain the ultimate amount of grace. With her head held high, Blanca entered her thrown room and seated herself on the bejewelled throne. “I request the nightly reports.” she said with a royal air. Sheepishly, guard after guard walked into the throne room, bowed and gave their reports, most of which were “No anomalies, your highness.” or “Everything was all clear, your highness.”

“Your-your highness...I...uh...er...” the guard stumbled on his words.

“Spit it out!” Blanca snapped.

“Isawabluelightonthehorizonjustbeforedawn!” the guard cried out in fear.

“Ughhh...General Sword Swipe, order an investigation team to investigate the blasphemous light...damn light-eyed heathens...oh and have next week's invasion be ready in a few days.” Blanca sighed.

“As you wish, your highness.” General Sword Swipe replied whilst bowing.

Author's Note:

Yes its a short chapter. Are all the chapters going to be short? Most of them. I don't like to fluff things up more than they need to be fluffed. Just to make things clear, Stanley, Crystal Comet and Princess Celestia are in one universe, whereas Lightning and Queen Blanca are in another.