Descent of Emerald

by malletmann

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Rarity woke up to a fairly pleasant morning, stretching her legs as she climbed out of her bed. The shower late the other night had left a pleasant smell in the air, but the clouds had already been cleared away, and the sun was shining brightly. The fair weather put Rarity in good spirits, and she began her preparations for the day ahead.

As she was carefully grooming her mane, she remembered the unique event that had occurred late the previous evening. She blinked, perplexed as to what the mysterious object's arrival would mean for Equestria. There were those who believed that there was other life in the universe, certainly, but it had not been proven, and there were many others who believed no such thing. The events of last night would shake the world entirely.

Not wishing to remain in suspense, Rarity made her way out the door. She noted that, for the time of day, the streets of Ponyville were oddly deserted. As she made her way to the crash site, she discovered that the town's population had near completely gathered there. She had to worm her way through the crowd in a most undignified manner to get to the front.

As she was going, she came across a familiar, pink face. "Rarity! I'm so happy to see you!" Pinkie Pie threw her forehooves around Rarity, giving her a tight hug while considerately avoiding disturbing the white unicorn's immaculately kept mane. "I was up last night putting the last finishing touches on one of the Cake's cakes," she snorted a giggle, "Cake's cakes, he he! Anyway, I was working when all of a sudden there was this bright flash out the window. It was too long to be lightning, and there wasn't any thunder, and I knew there wasn't a storm scheduled for the night, just a little rain. I also knew that it wasn't a holiday, 'cuz really, me forget a holiday? So I was really confused and curious, so I looked out my window and say this really big shooting star. Like, big as a house! And it went whooosh!" She pantomimed it soaring with a hoof. "And then, it went, Kaboosh! And, and... And that's all I know."

Rarity was well used to the rapid rate of conversation her pink friend spoke with. As she listened, she debated divulging the events of the previous night to her. On one hand, Rarity still wasn't sure if she entirely believed it herself. On the other, there really was no need to keep it a secret. Everypony would figure it out soon enough, and Pinkie would be the last pony to judge her.

Before she could say anything, there was a prismatic blur overhead. "Hey, have you seen the spaceship yet?" The excitement in Rainbow Dash's voice was evident.

"No way! It's a spaceship? That's so cool! That's like," Pinkie struggled to come up with a proper response. "Something very cool! A little over half as cool as Rainbow Dash!"

Rarity sighed, smiling. She sometime wondered if Pinkie understood the ramifications of stroking Rainbow's ego to such a degree. The pegasus basked in the compliment for a moment, before continuing. "I saw it! It's all weird looking and shiny. It's not a saucer though, it's kinda more like a triangle. A buncha guards from Canterlot are here, and so is Twilight."

They worked their way to the front of the line, as Rainbow called for everyone to "let the Elements of Harmony through." That was enough that most of the ponies were willing to stand aside. At the front, Rarity saw that Twilight was indeed there, standing in front of the crashed vessel, with about two dozen armored pegasi keeping the crowd at a safe distance and watching the wreck. Rarity spotted Fluttershy and Applejack near the front of the crowd as well.

The vehicle hadn't changed much over the night. The fires had gone out, likely extinguished by the late night shower, and it was no longer steaming. In the light of day it appeared far less ominous, but just as mysterious and unusual.

There was a bright flash of light above, and Princess Celestia appeared. The regal alicorn's presence immediately melted some of the tension that had been building in the crowd at the presence of the strange, otherworldly object. She set down next to Twilight with a graceful flourish.

"My beloved subjects, there is no need to worry." Her voice carried over the noise of the crowd, which quickly went silent. "Although we do not currently know the origins of this object, I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety and well-being of Equestria."

Applejack stepped forward. "'Xcuse me princess, but is there anythin' dangerous about this here, uh, thing?"

The princess smiled. "While there is still much that is unknown, our initial findings do not suggest it is currently a threat. However, as a precaution, we will be moving it along with every artifact of unknown origin that may pertain to it to a more secure location for further study."

A quiet voice barely carried over the background noise. Rarity was only able to make it out because she was familiar with its owner. "Umm, is there anything inside? I would think that, if there was anyone in that when it crashed, that they could have been badly hurt."

"Of course, Fluttershy. The first thing we did was to examine the wreckage for any survivors. As far as we can tell, the vehicle has been abandoned. Our current theory is that any occupants fled before the crash."

A large, flat wagon pulled by a team of earth ponies arrived. "A detachment of the solar guard will remain in the town for the next week to ensure that nothing more out of the ordinary happens," the princess said. "Until then, you may go about your business as usual. Farewell." With that, the princess began to levitate the wreckage onto the wagon as the crowd dispersed.

Rarity followed Dash and Pinkie as they went to speak with Twilight, picking up Applejack and Fluttershy along the way. The lavender mare was finishing presenting her findings to the princess. Upon completing her report, she started for her home, her friends following her.

"Sooo, whatchya figured out about the spaceship? From space?" Pinkie was the first to ask, predictably.

"Not a whole lot. It's all very strange. There is clearly a power source present, but I couldn't find any trace of magic. That means that whoever built it did so using a form of technology completely different from anything ponykind is familiar with," Twilight said, perplexed.

"No magic?" Rarity said. "That's... I would think that nearly impossible. How would one go about traveling between worlds without magic?"

Twilight shrugged. "Magic is my specialty, but there are other fields of study which could lead to some form of understanding about all this. I'm sure the princess will have the best experts in Equestria get to work on it straight away."

"I wonder what sort of creature would come from another world," Fluttershy said.

"I bet it's some big, ugly thing with like, seven eyes and three arms," Rainbow Dash said.

This got Fluttershy nervous. "Don't worry," Twilight said. "It probably isn't around. Besides, it could look like anything."

The six of them continued to discuss the craft and its missing occupants, coming up with ever more bizarre theories as they returned to the library.

---

Rarity entered her home, quite worn out by the day's events. The Princess had things well under control, although Rarity privately wished that she would have been aware that Celestia was going to make an appearance. "I was so very unprepared for a meeting with the princess," she said to herself. "I didn't even have a chapeau."

Despite not being at her utmost fabulous, the day had been well-spent. She had a chance to mingle with her closest friends, and had a day off from her work. Unfortunately, that meant that she would have to work extra hard the next day. After all, of the many things Rarity took pride in concerning her work, punctuality was one of them. She never missed a deadline.

As she settled in for the night and began to make herself a pot of herbal tea, she thought she heard a strange noise coming from her kitchen sink. Groaning, she set the kettle down and went to examine the sink. "Of all things, there is nothing I detest as much as backed up plumbing. Especially at this hour; I shall have to wait until morning to call for a plumber to repair it."

As she peered down the sink's drain, she spotted a strange, viscous green fluid oozing up out of it. It began to slowly fill her sink. Rarity gaped at it in disgust. "What a horrid mire! That is quite the most disgusting thing I have ever laid eyes upon! I shall have to..."

Rarity stepped back, gaping in horror, as the substance began to crawl out of her sink. The apparent creature slid to the floor of her kitchen, accumulating into a roughly bowl-shaped globule of animate, green gelatinous substance. Rarity stumbled backwards, beginning to hyperventilate as the mass slowly began to roll towards her, extending a pseudopod in her direction.

"No... stay back from me... you horrid beast..." As the mass loomed over her, Rarity gave a terrible shriek, laying a forehoof over her head, and fainted. She fell to the floor out cold, and totally at the mercy of the creature.