Amethyst Star Isn't Prepared For This

by MagicS

Tumbling Down

The ground shook and the sky screamed.

Amethyst Star ran through the mountain path while earthquakes tossed the ground beneath her hooves back and forth, threatening to collapse the walls of rocks and delicate formations all around her. Above her head a great storm raged at the same time, the sky nothing but dark clouds that poured a flood of rain onto the landscape while great bolts of lightning and explosions of thunder tore through the sky. An errant bolt would every now and then impact the mountain pass, creating a fiery blast and leaving a crater perhaps only a few feet from the running Amethyst Star.

She needed to find cover, but was that safe with the earthquake? She needed to get out of here, but she couldn’t see with the heavy downpour. She was trapped. Trapped running through this disaster that threatened her life and the total destruction of this mountainous area. Was it coincidence? Natural? Magical? Either way it was incredible, of that there was no doubt.

There was also the fact she was certain something was chasing her right now too. She hadn’t seen anything but sometimes she could briefly hear it or feel its presence. It seemed impossible in this rain with everything else going on but Amethyst Star was sure there was something there. There was something else in this mountain pass with her and it was trying to keep from her view. Every time she paused when she heard a strange sound that didn’t fit in with the weather and tried to look around there was nothing she could see, it was too perfect.

“Either that or I’m just going completely crazy,” Amethyst Star said right as another bolt of lightning shrieked over her head.

She didn’t have any time to dwell on that thought since the storm and quake forced her to move constantly. Fear. It was fear of being struck by lightning or crushed in a landslide that caused her to constantly move and try to get out of here as soon as possible. Amethyst Star didn’t know enough about natural disasters and storms to know what the safest course of action was, and the primal fear in her was keeping her from attempting to slow down and think.

Sometimes she stumbled or fell because of the shaking ground and each time it sent a lance of adrenaline and fear into her brain, Amethyst Star thought the thing chasing her was probably waiting for a moment just like that and she knew she heard it a few times when she fell. That burst of adrenaline worked well to help her scramble up and look over her shoulder for any signs of what was chasing her. But again there was just nothing there for her to see. Aside from rain, rain, and more rain.

The rain had made her soaked just as much as if she had been swimming in a river and it was still constantly streaming down on her. Her mane was totally flat against her head and she needed to push her hair out of the way of her eyes to see. Not like that did much with how low visibility was but at least she could tell what direction she was going in. The cold water was starting to chill her to the bones though, along with the wind that naturally funneled through this pass. The effects of the weather were all working in tandem to make things more difficult and dangerous for Amethyst Star. It was possible she could end up freezing on this mountain even if nothing else happened to her.

“Definitely would not enjoy that,” Amethyst Star shook her head. “No freezing, no getting hit by lightning, no getting crushed by boulders. Let’s make that my goal for the day.”

There sound of something scraping along the ground behind her caused her to wheel around, eyes searching back and forth for the cause of the strange noise. But there was nothing.

“And no getting eaten by monsters either,” the unicorn gulped.

Amethyst Star did her best to trudge on through the mountain, having to force herself over some hills or across treacherous rocks while the earthquakes and wind buffeted her. She could hear the shifting and cracking of rocks all around her and she kept her eyes peeled as best she could on the mountainsides in case anything came tumbling down or falling apart. Being jostled around and with the rain it was difficult for her to focus on anything for too long, she just got disoriented.

Why did the weather suddenly have to turn bad for her? She had been having great luck with it for the rest of her journey so far. Guess it was finally just time for something like this. The good weather was the one thing that had really been favorable on Amethyst Star’s adventure but it seemed even that wasn’t on her side anymore.

“I can’t wait for this mountain to actually turn out to be a volcano that’s about to erupt. That seems like something that would happen to me.”

Amethyst Star came across a part of the pass that was completely buried in newly fallen rocks and dirt from up higher on the mountain. It must have all just recently broken free in an earlier quake and now she had to climb over it. Hoping that it was stable enough for that and that nothing else would be falling on her, Amethyst Star began her short climb.

The rain had made the rocks slick and the dirt turn to mud so she had to be extra careful. But at least she could be happy knowing how much better she was handling this than she would’ve at the very start of her journey. Yes, despite all the running she had been doing and how much the weather was beating her, Amethyst Star still found herself with plenty of stamina left in her body. Obviously her adventure had built up her physical strength at least a little bit. This was proof of that and it made things a little easier for her to deal with.

“This still wouldn’t be my first choice when it comes to adventuring though,” Amethyst Star frowned as she made it up the rock pile, her hooves now covered in mud too. Loose stones and pebbles tumbled down behind her as she climbed, knocked away by her hooves.

Her not so sharp ears picked up the sound of something else starting to climb up the stone pile.

“Okay, are you there now?” Amethyst Star sarcastically asked as she looked over her shoulder. As she had expected there was nothing else climbing up the rocks with her. Unless it was invisible. She could still see the bottom of the pile through the rain so that was one of the only explanations she could think of that didn’t involve her being crazy.

“Whatever,” Amethyst Star shook her head and kept going.

On top of the rock pile she still needed to walk a bit further over it since it covered so much of the pass. The wind and rain were a constant but the shaking of the mountain and the striking of lightning only happened sporadically now. Maybe the storm and quakes were both starting to wind down. It would be a blessing for sure but one Amethyst Star didn’t want to count just yet. Her cynicism had gotten worse lately and she didn’t expect anything to go so easily for her right now. After a few minutes she got to the end of the pile that blocked the pass, looking down and being annoyed that she’d have to carefully make her way down the rocks and mud, something that could be even more dangerous than climbing up them in the first place.

With a sigh she made her descent, knocking rocks over as she went, slowly going down to safety. Right up until she slipped on a muddy rock and fell end over end down the pile, taking a bunch of rocks with her and ending up covered in mud and pebbles when she crashed into the ground.

“Ow.”

Amethyst Star didn’t hear anything else though so she was careful in picking herself up, making sure not to disturb any more of the pile or hurt herself. Groaning in discomfort, the pony did her best to ignore the rain and the scrapes on her body to wobbly stand up. She couldn’t see that far ahead of her still but it looked like there was a cliff or ridge just a little bit further on the mountain pass. If she got to it she could probably see her way down the mountain and whatever was next on her journey.

As she walked towards it she finally did hear something else again.

The sound of something sliding right down the pile of rocks behind her, in her same path.

Well Amethyst Star by now was tired of all of that. Annoyance overcame fear. “You know what? I’m not even going to turn around and look. If you’re a monster then just eat me, I’m too tired to care and it’s raining.”

She stood there for several seconds longer, hearing nothing. And not getting eaten.

“Okay then, I’m gonna be moving on now.”

Amethyst Star walked towards the edge of the cliff, leaving the pile of rocks and whatever else might be there behind. The massive storm was starting to die down too and she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt a quake. It was still windy and the rain was still pouring hard but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been and she could even see out over the horizon once she got up to the ledge. In the distance the sky was clear and the sun was shining down on the ground below. And there happened to be a lot for her to see.

A huge city of stone buildings stretched across the entire valley that stood beneath these mountains, reaching as far as Amethyst Star could see. One huge castle in particular stood out in the center of it all, its massive towers and keep shooting towards the sky. She could see farms, wide streets, lakes, rivers, markets, the city was an impressive affair that reminded her of Canterlot’s classical majesty.

Just the kind of thing Amethyst Star wanted to see.

“Let’s see what’s in store for me here,” she smiled as she looked for a way down the mountain.

---

The door to Guru’s Internship was not knocked on but merely pushed open and a red mare walked inside the office. Some of the other office workers noticed her and stared for a second before returning to their work while in the back Guru was completely glued to his desk and hadn’t realized that The Red Hornet just walked in. She slid up to his desk, not bothering to seat herself, and looked at the scraggly-bearded pony through her dark sunglasses.

He still didn’t notice her.

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat to get his attention, tired of waiting around.

Guru looked up at the scarlet mare, surprised. Was she here for a job or did she have a request? He raised a single questioning eyebrow at her. “Yes? Can I help you.”

The Red Hornet smiled. “I believe you can, honey. Can you tell me about a mare that’s been through here recently? Pink unicorn, traveler, goes by the name Amethyst Star?”

Comments

[Dashie04]

This chapter’s pretty good.

Anyways, like an idiot, I put this off for 10 updates. Time for me to read them all.