//------------------------------//
// ...To the Big Bang 
// Story: Stranded 
// by thecanterlottimes 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2
...To the Big Bang



Just as the driver had said, it was going to be a long journey... longer than any pony would have expected. 


The earth pony and unicorn were mesmerized for the first few hours at seeing how everything looked from the air. This of course had no effect on the pegasi. Rainbow Dash, being somewhat cocky, decided to jump out of the carriage and fly around within a short distance to release some of her energy. The other three watched her. They commenting on how well she flew, until the three of them got tired of her showing off. The two pilots also watched. They, however, were only watching to make sure that they didn't collide with the blue pegasus.


Seeing that her crowd had gotten bored, Rainbow Dash had decided to head back inside and proceeded to retire early. By now it was roughly 7PM. The three remaining ponies watched out the West window to view the spectacular event in the sky. The sun had produced a beautiful sunset tonight. The clouds below them were brightly lit, which look beautiful on the orange and red sky, which blended together at all points of the sky. It was a great reminder of the alicorn they were going to see. The ocean below was glistening in the last rays of light. A few small islands off in the distance pierced the course with their mountains.


Soon the sunset gave way to Luna's night. The moon, which seemed bigger tonight, was now directly above them, and in the stage of a crescent. The stars danced in the sky, sometimes giving way to comets which could be see through the windows of the carriage. Fluttershy, being the final one left awake, heard the conversations between the captains. They talked of their families, the royalty, and the passengers (mostly of how rude Rainbow Dash had been). 


"well I'm heading to sleep now Heart", feather had said with a yawn, "Got the controls?”


"you know me’” Goodheart said, "I’m one of the best pilots of the fleet."

. 


Fluttershy began to feel drowsy. With the humming of Goodheart, she fell into a deep sleep. Fluttershy dreamt of her friends, Angel, and of Celestia.


This is where I came into the equation... again. It was now the captain’s time. I sat down next to Goodheart, which I could tell had gotten worse from the disease. The darkness of the night had hid his physical condition to his friend. His face was pale, almost white, which was a bad sign for a dark blue unicorn. His nose was red and his lips were dry, and with bloodshot eyes he was guiding the carriage to their destination. It was only a matter of minutes before the bacteria would hit his lungs, which would then collapse, killing him. 

I had no say over the next series of events, after all I was only doing my job.


The carriage was 30000 feet above the water when it happened. I quickly reached in to find his soul, which was now loose within his body. It only took a slight tug to free it from the body, which now slumped down, eyes wide open, mouth hung down. I held him gently within my hoofs, fearing that I may crush him in his frail state. As soon as I did this, the magic which held the carriage up vanished. 


Suddenly, the carriage plummeted at a startling rate, almost straight down. This woke everybody up. The other captain awoke as well, and attempted to regain control of the situation. The accelerating carriage was impossible for Feather to controlled. His magic was useless as the carriage began to fall faster and faster. The passengers inside, except Rainbow Dash, began to panic and let out screams of terror. 


Rainbow Dash knew what to do. Within an instant she flew out of the carriage, flew under, and desperately attempted to slow the fall. With speeds upwards toward 300mph, the carriage was only a thousand feet off the ground. Letting out a grunt, Rainbow Dash was still trying to slow the descent with all of her strength. However, her futile efforts were to no avail. Blacking out between the carriage and the ground, Rainbow Dash was rendered unconscious. The crash had let out a defining noise on impact which has awoke birds in the tropical trees. The others, torn from the carriage on the initial impart, were scattered across the wreckage field. Captain Feather took the worst of the free fall. He was thrown into the jungle of the island they had smashed into. The body of Goodheart was thrown into the sea, vanishing under the tide, and never to be seen again. The chariot which they rode upon, smashed into the ground with Rainbow Dash still under it, broke into hundreds of pieces, and exploded around the ground. the dresses which were packed, were torn from their boxes and fell across the land, now stained by the mud and sand. The red wood of the carriage was now infused by another shade of color. It was stained with blood. 


The island they crashed on, along with their lives, would be scarred forever.