//------------------------------// // Star Bright, Too Bright // Story: Land of Light // by ISKV //------------------------------// Princess Celestia sighed as she slid another sheet of paperwork into a bin. She had been at this for a few hours but the pile of paperwork looked no smaller. 40,000 bits for materials... Another 25,000 for labor... 12,000 bits for moving the cyborg while keeping her out of sight to the Canterlot Maximum Security Prison... She couldn't believe it, neither could her top medical staff. Even her student couldn't figure it out. The mare was, according to Equestrian standards, dead. She and a few others knew of a slew of spells that could make the user seem dead, but all of them left magical traces that she could detect, however faint. No spells, no illusions. Another sheet went into the bin. She rolled her eyes at the eighteenth sheet concerning taxes and took another bite of a half-eaten chocolate bar. To the left of her ornate desk was a large pile of get-well-soon gifts that had accumulated over the course of a few months. There was more downstairs, but she had gone through quite a few already. Celestia perked her head up at the soft crunch of a wrapper being thrown into the bin. She suspiciously narrowed her eyes as a few curly pink hairs peeked out from behind the pile. Smiling in amusement, she ate the rest of the chocolate and balled up the paper and foil cover. With a well-practiced toss, the wrapper bounced off of the head of a very surprised Pinkie. "Hiya princess!" she said loudly as she shot up into the air high enough to touch the ceiling, "Hope you don't mind me eating your candy, but I was looking for you so I was walking around the castle- Well, bouncing. Like a bouncy ball! Ooh! Do you have any bouncy balls? How about a ball pit? Aaaah! Do you have a Royal Canterlot Palace Ball Pit!? Cuz' that would be... BALLIN'!" Pinkie rolled around laughing her pink lungs out at her own joke. The princess laughed along, mentally reinvigorated after hearing the pink pony talk. The pun was mediocre at best. If anypony else had said it, it would've been answered with groans and nervous laughter, but something about Pinkie made even the hardest stallion giggle like a little filly. It took them a whole ten minutes to stop laughing. It came close to stopping more than once, but a few stray giggles restarted everything. "No Ms. Pie, I don't mind. Please, eat more. I have plenty." "Just Pinkie's fine. Ms. Pie is my mother. And her mother. Or my great-grandmother. Actually my great-grandmother's name was just Surprise, but I guess..." Celestia zoned out, trying hard to remember her own mother. If she even had one. "-Rarity wanted to go out to the market and so everypony else went with her but then I realized that you were still down here pushing papers so I came to cheer you up!" Indeed, after the incident at the hospital, she had invited the six with her to Canterlot for some tea and maybe for some sightseeing. "It looks like your mission was a success." Pinkie happily nodded. "Well..." She looked at the half-completed form, then used her magic to fold it into a paper airplane. "I guess I can take a little break." "Cool!" The sleepy guard jumped as a folded piece of paper collided with a soft *ping* against his helmet. Giggling came from the crack between the doors. "Ha! Gotcha!" *** A red unicorn sighed sadly as a bottle of hard liquor lay half empty next to him, having drained the other half long ago. He took another swig in depression, the alcohol dripping down his lab coat onto the pile of notes and large glossy photos of galaxies that he sat on. The florescent lights buzzed as a window-sized screen showed nothing. It had been a full week since they last heard from Radiance, way past Dr. Blueshift's original estimate of a mere eight hours. At this rate... He shook his head. He could worry later. Still... "Doctor Redshift!" a blue unicorn called from outside the lab entrance. He didn't answer, only taking another mouthful of liquor. "It has passed noon! I believe that it is my turn... Doctor?" He pushed open the door, only to back up and gag in disgust at the warm, humid air that reeked of bad hygiene and alcohol. Blueshift coughed, trying to expel the air from his lungs as his eyes watered at the smell. To a pony who took a bath every day, walking into the room was the equivalent of wading through a pool filled with month old partially liquefied food. Holding his breath, he ran towards the unicorn. Redshift was a mess, his mane was disheveled from days of neglect and dark bags hung under his eyes, a few of the many signs of stress he was going through. "That's it. Redshift, you are taking a break, you will be not be drinking any more alcohol, and you will not return until you have gotten a proper bath." The red pony only answered with another swig. "I am aware that you are worried about Radiance, but she is a resilient one, and there is nothing to be gained by chugging all of your problems away." "I'm... I'm just...." Redshift muttered. "I know. Do not think that you are the only one going through this. I am just as worried, but drinking to the end of the universe is just too much." Blueshift said softly. "Now, get up! We have to get you to a bathtub! And if you do not move, I will drag you out and scrub you myself like mother used to do. Or does she still do that?." Redshift sputtered as his brother rolled him onto his back and started to trot out the door. "W-Wait! What if she calls us while I'm-" "That is why we have assistants." Blueshift walked out, leaving the lab empty save for a gigantic pile of yellowed notes and an empty liquor bottle. A minute or two passed before a younger unicorn pony entered. Like her bosses, she too was wearing a lab coat, but was also wielding a can of air freshener. She could smell the stench down the hall, and refused to go near it without some kind of defense. It was empty in less than a minute. She wrinkled her nose at the mass of written materials. She lifted up an old magazine only to discover that the papers were cemented together into one heavy block with the imprint of a certain astronomer. Her jaw was barely above the floor, both in awe of the accomplishment and in the sheer absurdity of the creation. As she pushed the most disgusting paper mache couch away from the monitor, a small red light flashed. She stopped and shot back in front of the screen. More beeps and red signs came up, all the same message. --- WARNING --- WARNING --- WARNING --- - Possible solar surge detected - 2% chance of error - ERROR - Sol Orbiter sensors overloaded - Send repair teams? - Y/N "DOCTOR! YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!" *** The guards stood at attention as a bouncing ball of pink fluff and their princess passed by, but even they couldn't avert their eyes when they noticed that she was wearing none of her usual apparel. Celestia walked the halls, off-duty and grinning widely. Nopony really blamed her for taking longer breaks than usual. Her vacation had been cut short by the attack on the hospital, not to mention that she was still weak from the mysterious disease. The two had been having the most fun that they, or at least one of them, had in a long time. After playing pranks on Luna, they started launching salvos of paper airplanes from the castle balcony and onto the city of Canterlot. On them, Pinkie had written small jokes and Celestia had enchanted the planes so that they glowed a golden aura that could be seen for quite the distance. Even the most uptight high-class lords shared a laugh as more jokes landed around them. Twilight looked up at the castle from the marketplace. From down in the actual city, it looked like a beautiful swarm of fireflies had escaped. Tiny glowing pinpricks floated above their heads as Rainbow Dash caught another one. "Why did the pony go the doctor...?" she said loudly to her friends. The other five thought deeply. As they stood in place, a group of stallions sitting nearby read another joke, this one a bit cruder but still funny all the same. One of them started coughing and lost his voice after laughing too hard. His rough talking irritated Rarity's ears, but in turn a light bulb appeared above her head. Rough... Grating... Ooh, what was that word... Where's Sweetie when I need her... "...because he was..." She thought for another moment when the answer became clear. They were ponies, and informally, ponies could be described as little horses. And the stallion's voice was... "...a little hoarse!" They all stared, but burst out laughing a moment later. Tears dripped as even Rarity joined in with a volume she had never used before. Pinkie smiled. To make an entire city laugh was a new accomplishment even to her. She closed her blue eyes and held her head high as she took a deep breath through her nose in a rare instance where she wasn't ecstatically happy, but simply satisfied. The pink mare peeked her eyes open. Her mane got marginally bouncier as she spotted the first star of the night shining through a hole in the clouds. "Hey princess, look!" It was bright, much brighter than the stars that surrounded it. Pinkie quickly whispered a wish. Celestia also closed her eyes and muttered one of her own. Who says great beings ever run out of things to wish for? *** Air raid sirens rang out as a countdown clock showed a mere four minutes to evacuate half a planet into underground shelters. Crowds gathered near the entrances of the massive underground bunkers that stretched for miles. Built during the Solaris War thousands of years ago, most of the shelters had been transformed into storage warehouses and factories. But as the intensity of solar surges increased, they were finally used for their original purpose. On the day half of Origo, a planet far away from Equestria, entire cities halted to a standstill as their residents disappeared underground. The blazing sun above them pulsed once, blinding any who were stupid enough to look directly at the sun while a solar surge was nearing. For every minute that passed, the sun got brighter and brighter until it let loose a wave of what looked to be blinding white light. Luckily, the last few months had hammered the evacuation procedures into their heads. The last pony entered the bunkers with a minute to spare. A calm, almost bored sounding female voice sounded from the intercom. "Attention. Sol Prime is experiencing another solar surge. Please stay calm and stay with family members. The surge and the aftereffects should last for approximately three hours. Have a nice day." Millions of ponies huddled together, tense, but not panicking. Each second seemed like a millennia as the countdown clock ticked down the seconds. The wave of light closed the distance between the sun and Origo in less than a minute. Each individual breath could be clearly heard as the clocks beeped the end of the countdown. Suddenly, screams echoed as the concrete bunkers shook violently, sending anything not bolted or welded to the ground flying through the air and bits of rocks to fall from the ceiling. The pony on the intercom came back on, but her words were lost among the yells of surprise and pain. *** Pinkie looked up. The star was still there, shining just as brightly as before. More stars appeared around it as Celestia lowered the sun under the horizon with one final flourish of magic. A sliver of the moon appeared on the other horizon as Luna took over the sky. She let loose a big gasp as her tail twitched of its own accord. Celestia looked at Pinkie, confused. "Is something wrong?" she asked worryingly. "My tail's a-twichin'! Something's gonna fall!" the pink mare yelled in fright. They looked up, half-expecting to see a meteor or maybe an alien ship. Save for the pegasus guards, the blanket of clouds, and a few paper airplanes that had the luck of staying airborne, the sky was clear. Celestia narrowed her eyes at the bright star. Pouring magic into her horn, she called the wind to clear the sky, if only for a moment or two. For the first time in months, the sky was completely clear. The princess scrutinized the light and the minute heat that she could detect. It felt hot, even to her touch. But regardless, it was still just another star, albeit brighter and larger than normal. She ceased her prodding. "AH! Pinchy knee! Something scary!" The princess looked around. After receiving multiple letters from her student, there were many reason to take Pinkie's premonitions seriously. As a small golden glow steadily got brighter, Celestia let loose a trickle of magic to stop the enchanted paper airplane. But to her surprise, she realized that it wasn't one of her creations. "Is that... the star...?" "EVERYPONY PANIC!" The sky grew brighter, outshining the dimmer stars until it was indistinguishable from day. It created panic all over Equestria. But with the moon still high in the sky, all hell broke loose as the country dissolved into a frenzy. The star grew even more luminous, matching Celestia's own sun. But it only grew brighter, until a wave of light crashed into the planet in a blinding flash. *** - New energy sour- - Charg- - Charging complete - Reactivating neurological systems Deep underground, Radiance's eyes popped open. She tried to spread her wings, but noticed that they were already extended. It was then the cyborg realized that her wings had been open the entire time and slowly brought them closer to her body. She looked around her immediate surroundings. The dark room was cut into a perfect cube, the stone walls thick enough that a dragon could only hope to escape. On the ceiling, an orb made the room glow a dim green. A small metal door was the only connection to the outside world but it was sealed tighter than one of Derpy's muffin safes during a famine. Radiance stared at the ground as she focused her attention onto her hooves. She could just barely feel it, but the ground was rumbling like an extended lightning strike. The cyborg groaned as she slowly stood up. Moving after months of being an ice cube beat a waking up from a week of sitting. At least she was frozen in a comfortable position. Her legs were pricked with invisible needles as the blood flowed back into them. With no other place to go, she slowly made her way towards the door. Great. I'm in a cell. Looks like a top-security one. Bit dusty too. I wonder what I did... A quick look at the small clock embedded in her cybernetic hoof made her stop in shock. Six days, one hour, and eighteen minutes had gone past after her last call home. Radiance took another look around. Save for the dim orb, there were no other sources of energy that her systems could feed off of. All she knew, and all that mattered to her, was the fact that she was up and running. "Hello!?" she said loudly as she knocked on the heavy door. Booms echoed as the mare hit the door again. Realizing that she could waste no time trying to convince the guards, if any, Radiance mentally sent a few commands to her cybernetic hoof. Again, her metal hoof split into two and begun the transformation. Radiance winced as number 8 tube burst open and released a short spray of hydraulic fluids before the safety system shut off the flow. The door opened inwards, and a flange covered the edge so the locations of the hinges and the bolt couldn't be determined. Usually Radiance would break as little as possible, but without knowing if the door even had a physical lock, she decided to go with the simplest solution. When the final piece reassembled, it had many similarities with her cannon, but it was much thinner with the head bent at an angle and a few air vents high on her foreleg. Electric blue plasma glowed from the tip as she powered on her cutter and started slicing through the thick metal. *** Pinkie's screams of terror were lost to the thundering of the wave as the golden shield put up by the princess was hammered by raw energy. For a few minutes, nothing was clear. The light was bright enough to temporarily blind any who even peeked their eyes open and the sound was deafening. Celestia sighed in regret. She had no time to create a bigger barrier that would've encompassed the entire city of Canterlot. She shook the tears out of her eyes. While there was a chance that her entire country, if not the entire planet, was completely cleared of life, her sense of duty did not leave her. Gritting her teeth, she poured more and more power into her shield. From the balcony, it spread to the doorway, then it reached the front gates. The mansions of the high-class built near the castle were soon under the protective blanket. The market soon followed, and Celestia let out a sigh of relief that none of her ponies had died. Soon, the entire city was shielded from the bombardment. The princess would've continued, but against the brunt of the wave, she could expel no more effort in expanding the barrier, only to enforce it. Her head spun as she desperately fought off unconsciousness. The wave slowly grew weaker, then abruptly disappeared without a trace. With a final gasp and her duty complete, Princess Celestia fell over with a thud. The night sky was back. But like the moment after a camera flash, everything that could be seen in the dark took on a green tinge. A pair of blue eyes blinked. Pinkie stood on the balcony overlooking Canterlot. All of the lamps had been extinguished, leaving only the stars and the moon to illuminate Equestria. It was only then she realized how quiet it was. Many ponies lay in the street, eyes closed and unmoving. Her tail twitched again as an unconscious pegasus guard landed in the garden below with a loud thud. She stood in shock as the world ground to a halt. *** "And here... we... go!" A loud crash echoed in the small confines of the room as a square piece of thick metal with jagged edges fell outside. Usually her cuts would be clean and straight, but the lack of a tube hampered her control. The pony ducked into cover and switched her plasma cutter for her energy cannon. She listened closely and kept her breaths steady and long. Nothing. No guards, no commands to halt, and no guard dogs barking up a storm. Radiance briefly wondered if she had gone deaf. After peeking out the hole she had cut, the cybernetic pony shot out from her cover with her cannon raised. Four unconscious guards lay outside her cell. Each wielded a long spear with smaller daggers strapped to their right hoofs while wearing the standard golden armor. A quick check confirmed that they were merely sleeping, but as to the reason of their current condition, Radiance was out of ideas. Another door separated the small chamber to true freedom, acting similar to an airlock in spacecraft. This one was thinner and had a barred window cut out near the top. Luckily, the bolt was visible between the door and the frame. Radiance powered on her plasma cutter for one final cut. *** Deep underground in a bunker on Moon Base 1, the astronomers were rushing from one console to another, trying to figure out a million problems at once. With his brother neck-deep in soap water, Dr. Blueshift was in charge of a team of astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians four hundred strong. Calculations were done and simulations run, but almost nothing gave the answer to anything, other than the fact that they were all boned. "Doctor?" one of his assistants said as he came up to the stressed astronomer. Blueshift took a deep breath, "Yes?" The pony nervously shuffled around, "You're being called to the comm room. She, I don't know who but they said you'd know, is calling for you or Dr. Redshift." The doctor's eyes widened in realization. Without another word to the assistant, he galloped out of the door and passed interns and secretaries carrying large piles of papers which ended up everywhere after he had shoved them out of his way. Around the last corner, a pair of double doors separated their link to anypony who wanted to call home. He rammed the doors open and stumbled inside. The comm room still reeked of unwashed brother and alcohol. He knew that there was a chance the smell would never come out. On the console, a small red light flashed, but the screen only showed static. "Your majesty! I must-" Blueshift stopped when a voice belonging to a technician interrupted him. "Apologies doctor, I'm not the Creator. We've been trying to get communications up for a few hours now. Hope you're doing well." "Well enough. I heard that I was called?" "Of course. I couldn't get video up, so you'll just be talking. Sorry 'bout that." "No, no. As long as we can communicate, you are doing your job." "Thanks. Alrighty then. Patching you through to Her Royal Majesty... Good luck." The signal went silent. In the quiet room, Blueshift softly whistled a random tune as he waited. He could hear the ponies still running around, doing their duties. At last, a burst of static sounded through the speakers, indicating that they were connected. Crying. In his entire life, the astronomer never heard her cry. The Creator's voice shook as she spoke to the doctor hundreds of miles away in space. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..." Blueshift found the will to speak. "It wasn't your fault ma'am. You were unable to control-" "But I'm supposed to! I've never failed you all, but I... I did... Some great being I am..." "I assure you, you were not at fault. In any case, we are doing our utmost to resolve this situation. I urge you to rest." The Creator sniffed, and he could almost feel her smile. "Thank you doctor... Blueshift nodded, although he was alone in the room. "Of course." "Now, any word from Radiance?" "None. The solar surge may have knocked out Moon Base 239's communication systems. We may not reestablish communications until she arrives at Gemini space port." She sighed. "I hate waiting." "Nopony does." *** Radiance angrily yelled as she cut the fifth lock that stopped her. As she discovered on the third door, kinetic charges were useless against the reinforced barriers. She walked down another hallway. It was straight and colorless, obviously not for show. On the floor were more guards, and according to the half-eaten sandwich next to a pony, whatever knocked them out happened instantly. Around the corner, yet another door separated her, but unlike the others, this one was much darker and had rust around the edges. The cyborg growled in frustration as she began cutting through. As the lock tumbled onto the floor, a ray of moonlight peeked out of the crack. Radiance silently cheered as she pushed open the door. The cool night air blew through her mane as she walked out of the old, probably never used or cleaned prison. She emerged from a mountainside overlooking Canterlot. Radiance half-expected a city as populous as this one to be still awake even at this hour. She decided that the castle on the other side of the capital was as good as any place to start. Spreading her wings, the cyborg jumped. It was only after she cleared the edge that an error message resurfaced in her head. - Left wing main servo inoperative - WARNING - Wing servo failure detected - Activate Electronic Repair Assistant "Ah crap." Radiance started tumbling, her left wing flopping in the wind and completely useless. Technically she had full control of her wing, but under the force of the wind it buckled like a broken oar. Head over hooves, she fell closer and closer to the city. The fall lasted only a few seconds, but she couldn't see the direction she was plummeting towards. She stayed calm, this wasn't exactly the first time she had fallen without the use of her wings. The wind rushed through her mane and tail, blowing them into her face and other areas where she didn't want it to go. But fortunately the fall didn't last long. Radiance coughed as she spat out a mouthful of leaves. Even with a useless wing, she somehow managed to land in a heavily wooded area. Unfortunately, more tubes in her leg had failed from the fall. It wasn't surprising though. She couldn't remember the last time they had been replaced, but she had been forced to leave without a maintenance check by ERA. She hooked her good leg onto a branch and slowly stepped onto a lower foothold. The cyborg slipped a few times, almost falling to more pain, but saved herself just in time. Finally, her hooves reunited with the hard ground. Radiance limped through the dark city, stepping over ponies and random debris. She wondered if she was the reason that all of these ponies were unconscious, and thus she was imprisoned, but threw that idea out of her head when she remembered that Blueshift had disabled the auto-control system. The cyborg sighed as she dragged her useless leg behind her. *** "Tw... Twilight?" Pinkie sadly cried out as she slowly walked down the main street of the marketplace. "Applejack? Rarity?" She stopped and lowered her head in sadness." ...Fluttershy?" Her quiet voice echoed through the empty city. Stalls with their merchandise still unsold lay abandoned on the sides, the ponies who sold them lay around, unmoving. A few remains of the paper airplanes fluttered past. The clouds slowly reclaimed the sky above, and eventually Pinkie was stuck in total darkness. She shivered. Not from the cold, but from loneliness. Her mane slightly deflated. Without any sense of direction, Pinkie walked aimlessly. She stumbled many times when ponies that lay on the ground tripped her. Her mood fell further. It was then that the goddess of luck decided to help. A metallic clang sounded as her hoof hit something. As her eyes gradually got used to the dark, she could make out a glass bulb with a metal base. Next to it was a small cardboard box. Pinkie gasped. She picked up the object with her hoof the object and gently shook it. A liquid sloshed around inside the base, roughly half-full if the party pony could guess. She removed the bulb, releasing a slightly charred smell. With her mane marginally bouncier, she pushed a drawer-like cardboard insert and took a thin stick of wood from inside. Aiming for the dark red strip on the side of the box, Pinkie struck the match and a small orange flame flickered to life. Large shadows danced on the walls of houses and stores. She touched the match to the lamp wick and a steady, brighter light illuminated the store she was standing in front of. Pyro's Pyros! Everything for Your Fireplace! With the lamp lit, Pinkie replaced the glass bulb and looked around. She had reached the main square. Unconscious ponies and random debris filled the street, including the one she had tripped on. And in front of a restaurant was... "Rainbow Dash!" The cyan pony lied peacefully, as if she was merely sleeping. Under her was the form of Fluttershy who was hugging herself. Pinkie put down the lamp and pulled the pegasus off. She slumped onto the ground, totally limp. "Rain-bow-Dash!" she cried out as she shook the pegasus' shoulder. The party-loving pony laughed somewhat crazily. "HA. HA. HA. You got me real good Dashie! You can wake up now... Really..." Pinkie's lower lip started quivering and she dropped to the ground in defeat. "...Please wake up..." For the first time in a long time, tears genuinely fell from her eyes.