The Sky is Falling!

by Matthew Penn

Melancholia

Sweetie Belle was holding a large pile of fabrics other materials. She watched Rarity working at her desk, drawing sketches, measuring ponnequins, and sewing clothes together. She was even talking to herself while she was working. The large pile Sweetie was holding was weighing her down, so she placed them on the floor gently so they would not fall over.

“Rarity, how long is this going to take?” asked Sweetie.

“It won’t take long, darling. I just have to cut a few pieces here, sew a few places there, and make some measurements for…” Rarity stopped mid-sentence, her attention now back to her dresses. She drew a quick sketch then gather some materials to put together. Sweetie groaned and decided to leave the room. It was apparent Rarity had no more use for her.

Sweetie Belle slumped on the living couch, levitated the remote control to her hooves and began to channel surf the TV.

“Sweetie Belle, are you in there?” Rarity called from the other room.

“Yes.”

“When you get a chance, could you retrieve that box of sapphire rubies I have in my room? I need it for this white dress. Thank you darling.”

“Okay.” Sweetie continued to jump from channel to channel, finding nothing interesting on television. Then, something in her mind told her to go back a few channels.

“Welcome back to Doomsday Prophecies, on the Pseudo History Network,” the announcer said. Sweetie Belle was vaguely aware of the channel’s fascination of the end of the world. She really did not want to watch this one, but her curiosity got the better of her. She figured that she will only watch a few minutes of it, then move on with her day. “Many cultures have their own end times prophecies, from Equestrians to the Griffons and the Buffalo,” the narrator said. “In this program, we will examine and dissect each popular end of the world scenario from each of these unique cultures.”

Sweetie Belle was not prepared for what she was about to see next. The first image she saw was a series of horrifying paintings. On one of the paintings the sky was dark, with thunder and lightning, with terrified ponies on the ground. On the dark sky were four ponies, each one scarier than the last. “Many Equestrians believe that in our lifetime, the Four Horses of Doom will pay a visit to Earth,” the narrator said, “which will signal the End of All Things.”

“The end of all things?” Sweetie repeated.

“Yes. The Holy Text of Borealis has an account of how the All Father will judge all nations of the earth. The souls who have been found impure will be thrown into the Pit of Fire and burn for eternity.” Sweetie wanted to change the channel, but she could not bring herself to watch something appropriate. “Some believe we are living in the End of All Things today. Blaze Magnificent, a scholar for the studies of Starswirl the Bearded, has concluded that the famous wizard himself had a vision of the end of the world before his death. Magnificent has said that his vision was in line in what the Text of Borealis has accounted.”

Sweetie Belle quickly changed the channel, but to her horror another program about the end of the world was on TV. It was a movie of some sorts, but she was already not liking where it was going. The scene was a hospital, thousands of ponies lying in beds in straight rows, many of them looking very sick, in fact, maybe dying.

“The virus is spreading faster than we have determined,” a doctor said. “In a few weeks, the world will be infected.”

“What are we going to do?” a nurse asked.

With hesitation, and no time to think, the doctor sighed in defeat, and said, “There’s nothing we can do… but pray we die faster.”

Sweetie changed the channel once more, and to her surprise the next channel was a little filly holding a flower while trying to count. “1… 2… 3… “ the filly said as she picked off the white petals from the small flower. Sweetie sighed in relief and the tension slowly left her body. It was cute show, she thought, probably in education program…

An ominous voice began a countdown, followed by a zoom-in on the filly’s surprised face. “5. 4. 3. 2. 1.” Everything went black… then there was a fiery explosion. The explosion looked as though it could have taken out an entire city. “These are the stakes!” another voiced said. “To make a world where everypony can live, or to go into the dark! We must either love each other… or we must die…”

“Vote for Old Glory for Canterlot Senate, April 28th.”

Sweetie could not take it anymore. She turned off the television, quickly ran straight upstairs to her room and locked the door. She grabbed her stuffed bear, while hiding under her blanket.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity gently knocked Sweetie’s door several times, but she received hardly an answer. “Is everything alright, darling? You’re not feeling sick, are you?”

“I’m fine!” Sweetie said

“... Are you sure? Do you need to get anything for you?”

“I’m okay!”

“Oh. Um, I’m almost done with designing the dresses. Maybe you and I can go to mother and father’s for dinner.” Rarity received no response from her younger sister. The fashionista knew that something was troubling Sweetie, but she decided that now was not the right time. She returned downstairs to finish her work.

Sweetie stayed under the blankets for a while. With her stuffed bear close to her, she closed her eyes. Maybe if she thought about pleasant things, she would not be as afraid. It was not long before she dozed off…

… It was night, and Sweetie Belle and Rarity were taking a stroll under the stars. Fireflies glowed and crickets sang their evening song. Rarity was carrying a picnic blanket while Sweetie Belle carried a basket full of goodies. There have been news that something wonderful was going to happen tonight, and she could not wait to share the experience with her older sister.

Once they were at the top of the hill, Rarity laid down the blanket and she and Sweetie sat down. It was a perfect spot, Sweetie thought, for whatever was happening. Of course, Sweetie Belle never went anywhere without her stuffed bear, Stanley. She held Stanley tight, while the stars reflected in her eyes.

Rarity levitated the snacks and goodies from the basket. Sweetie Belle had a carrot and cheese sandwich and Rarity had small cup of cream of mushroom soup. It was strange that nopony else was outside, especially astronomy enthusiasts like Twilight Sparkle and, recently, Scootaloo. Oh well, at least Sweetie was spending quality with her sister, and that was enough to make any night like this special.

She scanned the starry sky for the amazing thing that was supposed to appear. Nothing was visible for the most part, just the moon in its waxing gibbous phase and some stars that were brighter than others. Sometimes Sweetie wished she took a telescope with her.

Then… she saw it. Both of them saw it. It was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. The heavenly body was brighter than the moon itself. It rose from the mountains, shining its pale blue light onto the earth. Sweetie leaned close to Rarity with Stanley in her arms. It was like seeing two moons in the sky, both vying for the attention of the earth. When the celestial body was high enough, its incredible light outshone the stars. Sweetie’s face beamed from the most magnificent sight she had ever laid eyes on. It was a spectacle that rivaled Princess Cadence’s wedding.

Then… something felt wrong.

The planet was growing. As it grew, the night sky resembled the daylight. Wait… it was not growing at all. It was moving. It was moving to them. Wonder suddenly turned into fear. She held on to Rarity, who also realized that something was terribly wrong. The cool breeze became a strong gust of wind as the atmosphere changed due to the planet’s appearance. The sky and the earth became brighter and brighter.

Unfortunately, there was no place to hide from the cataclysm. From the size of the planet, it would look like nothing will survive. Rarity and Sweetie felt the force of the planet in their very souls. Sweetie held Stanley close to her heart, while the sisters held each other in their arms, both waiting patiently for their bitter end.

Sweetie gazed with at the planet with tearful eyes before closing them for the last time. Her sister’s grip growing strong while the light grew brighter to the point of blindness….

… She fell off of her bed. Sweetie was on her back, panting heavily, with Stanley still in her arm. She sweated just as the last dream she had. She forced herself on her legs and the first thing that greeted her was the dark blue sky outside. Sweetie checked her clock and was surprised that it read 6:45 P.M. Just as she was about to come to her senses, she heard small knocks on her door.

“Sweetie Belle?” The door opened and Rarity poked her head in. “Did you have a nice nap?”

“Yeah… sort of,” Sweetie answered. “... Are we still going to mom and dad’s.”

“We were, but before I could get ready you suddenly fell asleep. You have must been very tired, so I decided to order a pizza for the two of us.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, my little belle,” Rarity said with a smile. “We can visit mother and father some other time. I’m sure they won’t mind. The pizza will be waiting for you in the kitchen once you get recuperated.” Rarity gently closed the door, leaving Sweetie alone with her thoughts. She looked out the window and gazed at the stars and the rising moon. They were so beautiful.

Rarity and Sweetie sat at opposite ends of the table with their own slices of pizza. Rarity, like the lady that she was, eat her slice with a knife and fork. Sweetie ate her’s like any child would. Normally, dinner that involved pizza would have be a joyous occasion, but the fashionista noticed that her younger sister did not look she enjoyed her meal.

“Sweetie, you look troubled,” Rarity said. “Is something the matter?”

“What… oh, nothing’s wrong. Just… thinking, that’s all.”

“Hm. None of the kids at school didn’t do anything to upset you, did they?”

“No. Even if they did, I’m used to it at this point.”

Rarity took one last piece of her slice, then set down the knife and fork. “Sweetie Belle… I know I haven’t been spending much time with you as you would want me to, but I want to know that…” she paused, choosing her words carefully, “... that as your sister, you can talk to me about anything. You don’t have to be afraid to come to me about your feelings. Is there anything on your mind.”

Sweetie Belle thought about what Rarity said while chewing on her pizza. Will Rarity think she was acting silly if she told her about her fears? Will she scold Sweetie for watching too much of those scary movies? She brought her eyes to the floors as she chose her words.

“... Well…”

“Yes?”

“... I… I’ve been feeling, uh, nervous lately.”

“Nervous about what?”

“Um… you know, I suddenly don’t feel so good,” Sweetie said. She climbed off of her chair and headed upstairs. “I’m going to go to bed now.”

“Already? But it’s still early.”

“I know, but… I feel really tired.”

“Oh. Okay Sweetie, goodnight.” Sweetie ascended to the top floor straight to her bedroom. Rarity heard the door shut from downstairs. Now by herself, she chose the opportunity to finish some personal projects.

Sweetie Belle laid in her bed with the blankets over her body. The only sources of light was the nightlight beside her bed and light from the moon. She turned her body over and gazed at the bright white sphere in the dark sky. She was afraid to fall asleep, the prospect of having another dream about the end of the world. Sweetie turned on her back, her eyes focused on the ceiling.

“Maybe I should have told Rarity,” she said to herself. “She might have had a solution.” Sweetie turned to her side, facing the nightlight, with Stanley in her arms. The longer she dwelled on her situation her eyelids became heavier, until they were closed completely.

“...Sweetie, Sweetie wake up,” Rarity said. Sweetie jumped out of bed, surprised to see her sister standing beside her. “You must have overslept. You don’t want to be late for school.”

“Yeah… school. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Rarity said. She closed the door behind her, and Sweetie Belle decided to skip breakfast that morning, her personal hygiene being the most important thing.

Sweetie Belle sat at her usual seat in the classroom. The classroom was gradually being filled with more students before the bell rang. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo came and took their seats as well.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle. You feeling alright?” Scootaloo asked.

“I don’t know, I still feel worse from yesterday. Why did Miss Cheerilee show us that movie?”

“That space movie?” asked Apple Bloom. “Sweetie Belle, you ain’t got nothing to worry about. That pony in the movie said those thing won’t happen until 5 billion years. By that time we will already be dead.” Apple Bloom thought this reasoning would bring Sweetie to her senses, but it only made her lower lip quiver. “That didn’t help at all, did it?”

“Look at it this way,” Scootaloo said, “5 billion years is like… a really long time.”

The bell rang and the students took their seats. All of the children, except for Sweetie, were all in high spirits. Miss Cheerilee was the last pony to enter the classroom, and she was in a particular good mood. Then again, when was she not in a good mood?

“Class, I have a very important announcement that I you will all like,” she said. “Since we began our astronomy lesson, I’m very excited to announce that next Thursday there will be solar eclipse!” The class murmured with enthusiastic tones, some of them mentioning they never seen a real eclipse before. However, Sweetie was thinking back to her dream about the planetary collision with earth. “It will happen at 12:45 P.M. on Thursday, so make sure you bring your sunglasses!”

“Wow, a solar eclipse!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “So is Princess Luna going to raise the moon during the afternoon?”

“Not necessarily, an eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and earth during its own orbit. However, some do say that a solar eclipse began as a joke by Princess Luna,” Cheerilee explained.

“Wow, can’t wait! I’m starting to like this astronomy stuff,” Scootaloo said.

“I’m glad you are. You’ll probably be an astrophysicist someday. Alright, today we are going to lunar phases. There are eight phases: New Moon, Waxing crescent, First quarter, Waxing gibbous, Full Moon, Waning gibbous, Last quarter, and Waning crescent…”

While the students listened to Cheerilee’s lecture, Sweetie’s mind was elsewhere. She began to make the connection between her dream from last night and the solar eclipse on Thursday. What if her dream was… actually a vision? A vision of the future?

Worst of all, do the Royal Sisters know about this?

Are they planning to end the world?

“Now let’s talk about the Giant impact hypothesis,” Cheerilee said. “Can anypony explain what the Giant impact hypothesis is?”

Scootaloo raised her hand and answered, “That’s about how the Moon was formed, right? Some planet crashed into the Earth and debris formed the Moon?”

“Very good, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo was feeling really good about herself, until she a fake cough, followed by a faint “nerd.” She turned her head back and saw a giggling Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Hey, this stuff is important! We could be going to space one day!”

Maybe the dream was a warning, Sweetie thought. A planet, or just the moon, was going to collide with earth and obliterate all life. She shivered in her seat, not sure if her mind would able to comprehend the weight of the situation. If a planet was going to collide with Earth on Thursday, and the Royal Sisters were helpless to stop it, then there will be no way to save everypony. She gazed out the window and the sun shining bright. She was determined to make sure these last moments of on Earth will be worth it. She was determined to survive.

But how?