Catastrophe in Equestria

        The sky was a clear, gentle blue overhead. Brightly-colored pegasi darted hither and yon, flitting about through the air above the small town, while groups of equally colorful unicorns and earth ponies flowed through the streets below. Some were working, making deliveries or picking up supplies. Others were relaxing, spending time with friends or family, and a few were simply watching the rest. Foals and yearlings were scampering about, playing gleefully.

        High above, a new light joined the familiar brilliance of the sun. Where the sun was warm and golden, this light was a pure, blazing white – and it grew, growing larger still. By the time the ponies below noticed it, it had grown until it was filling far more of the sky than the solar disc. By the time Princess Twilight's investigation concluded, a vast roaring as whatever the light was hurtled downwards filled the air.

        The roar intensified, and when it struck the ground, an explosion like none Equestria had ever seen filled the area that had been Ponyville with flames that turned forest and field to ash where it touched. Blinding white light ran before the flame, visible even from distant Manehattan. When the blast subsided, darkness fell where the light had touched as the dust and ash from the impact filled the air. The cloud spread quickly, pushed upwards and outwards, like a vast mushroom.

 

 

        Today was the best day ever!

        Of course, for Pinkamena Diane Pie, almost every day was the best day ever, until the next one! Oh, if pressed, she'd admit that some days, in retrospect, turned out to be less great than others – but this one was definitely the best one! Today, she and Fluttershy were in the Everfree Forest, helping Zecora gather some ingredients. So far, they'd gathered most of them, and after a quick pep talk, had headed down into some caves.

        Fluttershy had, trembling and stuttering, asked, “W-what if there are spiders? Or m-monsters?”

        Zecora had considered this. “The dust is still, and undisturbed/I do not think you should be perturbed.” She pointed to the dirt around the entrance, which was indeed unmarked by any sign of paws or hooves. “But if it will ease your mind/I'll go in front, and you behind.” With a calm smile, the zebra walked in.

        “Come on, Fluttershy! It'll be fun! We might find gems! Or new animals!” The pink pony was already hopping along behind the zebra. With a last, worried look at the forest, Fluttershy had followed. Zecora had helpfully pointed out which mosses she needed, and when the cavern split, the zebra went one way and they went the other.

        Pinkie had just found some more of the moss, and carefully scraped it off, when the ground under her gave a tremendous lurch, hurling her into the wall. Fluttershy shouted, and promptly dropped the lantern. The ground shook and groaned, while the lantern waved and rolled, casting light wildly against the wall in a dizzying pattern.

        When the shaking and shuddering stopped, Pinkie climbed to her feet. “Fluttershy?” There was a groan from the other side of the cavern, from the darkness. “Fluttershy? Are you okay?” She moved quietly towards the lantern, retrieving it and pointing it towards the groaning.

        “I'm okay.” Fluttershy blinked as the light shone on her face. “What was that? An earthquake?”

        Pinkie shook her head. “No, I didn't get the right Pinkie Signal for an earthquake. I didn't get a Pinkie Signal at all!” The lantern is turned back to the entrance to the cavern – filled with rocks from the shock, it had been completely sealed off in the shocks. “Help me find a way out of here!” She and Fluttershy went along the wall, the cavern twisting and winding – until, suddenly, it opened up into a vast, underground cavern – too big for the lantern to illuminate the far wall. A few yards out from the entrance, a vast lake filled the remainder of the cavern.

        “Wow! I didn't know that this was here!” Pinkie's excited voice echoed around, though she could probably have whispered, given how close Fluttershy was standing. “Did you?”

        “N-no...what about Zecora?” The yellow pegasus looked around.

        “Well, we're all right! I bet she's fine!” But Pinkie felt the small trickle of cold fear down her back. “We'd better start looking for her, though...” Fluttershy wasn't listening – she was looking at the surface of the water. It was rippling, waves starting to slap softly against the ground. “Fluttershy, did you throw something into the water?”

        The yellow pegasus shook her head. “No. It just started doing that a minute ago.” Something beneath the water moved, and Pinkie quickly pointed the lantern at it – but it was gone. Then, with a quiet splash, something broke the surface of the lake. Swinging the lantern, Pinkie turned it – only to see something white and ragged-looking dart to one side. When she moved to follow it, she couldn't find it again. Fluttershy squeaked. “P-pinkie, let's just get out of here!” She gripped the earth pony's mane, tugging her, but Pinkie stood her ground, swinging the lantern around. Luckily for her, Fluttershy spotted the movement before it entered the lantern's arc fully – and screamed, pointing. Swinging the lantern towards it, Pinkie caught a glimpse of something, pale and faded white, with an impossibly long jaw and sharp, yellow-black teeth, recoiling from the lantern light with a bubbling scream – and then they both ran, running along the wall away from whatever it was that shrieked and gurgled in the darkness behind them.

        The wall had an opening – not the one they'd come through, they'd left that behind in their flight – and, not pausing to consider, they both darted through, Pinkie in the lead and Fluttershy on her heels. The lantern beam swung, illuminating the passages ahead, and behind them, the shrieking fell silent. Eventually, the two had to stop, panting and gasping for breath.

        “D-did we lose it?” Fluttershy's voice was a mixture of panicky and winded in the gloom as Pinkie turned to point the lantern in her mouth back towards their path. “I don't -see- it...” Her voice fell silent as a drop of water dripped down from overhead, hissing against the lantern's glass. Both ponies looked up. On the roof, long membranes folded and flexed, and the jaw gaped, hissing down at both of them with breath that smelled of fetid, long-rotted meat. Snatching up the lantern, both ponies fled, their shrieks echoing in disharmonic chorus with those their pursuer vented behind them. Once again, the hunter in the darkness fell silent – but this time, driven by terror, the two ran for far longer.

        Pinkie was the first one to see the light up ahead – the cave mouth! It was dim, but compared to the darkness of the caverns, it was positively brilliant. The two of them made for it, darting out into it – and they heard the snap of the jaws, clamping shut just behind them, and more shrieking as the hunter retreated. Only when they felt the breeze, warm and smelling of smoke, did they stop, and take stock of where they were. Ash and half-burnt stumps surrounded them, beneath a sky of sooty black that turned what should have been a bright summer day into a gloomy half-light. A few yards away, Zecora stood, her face agape at the devastation.

        Pinkie felt her hair flatten, as a cold sensation swept over her – and beside her, Fluttershy fainted dead away. “Where...where's the forest?” Her gaze moved, pointing towards the town. “Fluttershy! Wake up!” She looked down at the pegasus. “We've gotta go see if anypony needs our help!”

        Her words stirred Zecora, who started to laugh. It wasn't at all like her usual rich, warm chuckle – this was a cracked, mad sound, all the worse for the hints in it of her usual tone. When she spoke, it was in that same hoarse, broken tone. “Look at what is left of the forest green/And tell me, where would your town be?” One eye rolled madly to look at Pinkie, while the other stared off into the distance.

        Pinkie shook the zebra. “Stop it, Zecora! The town's still there, we just can't see it because of all this!” The wind picked up, swirling dust and ashes in the air. “Now come on, there might be ponies that need our help!” She walked over to Fluttershy, who'd started to stir. “Come on, Fluttershy! We've got to go help our friends!” The yellow pony looked around, blanching when it became clear that this wasn't a dream she was going to wake up from, then nodded up at Pinkie. Coming to her feet, Fluttershy fell in behind the pink pony. Zecora, still cackling under her breath and muttering in rhyme to herself, followed.

        The trek seemed to take forever. The dust and ash clouds got thicker, and the gloom deeper, as they drew closer to where the town line ought to be – and then Fluttershy suddenly reached out and grabbed her mane in her teeth. “Watch out, Pinkie!” The earth pony looked back at her, and the pegasus pointed in front of her – and then she saw it. A jagged rock edge, dipping downwards into a great bowl, right where the town should have been, while the dust swirled above the crater.

        The pink pony's eyes filled with tears, and despair swept through her. “They're...” She couldn't bring herself to say it. She didn't recall when, exactly, her legs gave way, or when Fluttershy started holding her, soft sobs nearly drowned out under her own. Beside them, Zecora stared blankly into the crater, muttering to herself and eying them from time to time.

        How long they lay there, crying themselves hoarse, was impossible to tell, but eventually, they noticed that it was getting darker – and then, suddenly, Zecora was prodding them. “We must be quick and ready to flee!/That which chased you soon will be free! When the light no longer keeps it below/then surely hunting it will go!” Pinkie looked up at her blankly – and then she heard the long, bubbling shrieks, coming from the forest, and saw, silhouetted clearly (in what little light remained) against the dark ash, the white, indistinct forms of the hunters.