' the human race has been annihilated. In a war against itself, it destroyed its last remaining traces of human cities and cars, although some human relics still exist. Out of the ruins and radioactive fallout, sentient creatures emerged. They restarted life on earth and created an advanced world. But one race of creatures was powerful enough to become the dominate species of the planet. They are the ponies. They reconstructed North America and called the country equestria. Although traces of human civilization no longer exist, one creature still remembers them, and is waiting to balance out any imbalance to nature. He has been waiting for years to return. And now he will...'

It had been a week since the mysterious tremors shook canterlot. They had not only shaken the half of the city apart, they also managed to arouse a sense of dread over the population. Due to being on a mountainside, many feared that a few more violent earthquakes and all caunterlot would fall down the mountain. Professionals in plate tectonics and earthquakes tried to predict the next wave of the quakes, to no avail. There was something off about these tremors.

Princess celestia sat down on her balcony overlooking equestria. Her eyes were looking forward into the horizon, her mouth in a gray frown and her mind was set on the earth quakes. She knew that these were not normal tremors, she could feel it deep down inside. Her sister, Luna, then decided to walk out to her sister. " you have been worried about the tremors. " Luna said, breaking her sisters silence. " I don't feel right about these earth quakes. They are not normal. " celestia said, her voice reflecting her mood. " I know celestia. And I know you are correct. These aren't normal tremors. The scientists collect data from the earth quakes, and..." Celestia then cut her sister off. " what? What did they discover?" Celestia had jumped up out of her seat and on to all four hooves. " they discovered that there are no tectonic plates under neath caunterlot. There is no explanation for the abnormally large quakes. " Luna said darkly. Her sisters eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. " that's not all. Back when this mountain used to be an active volcano, it left a particularly large system of lava tubes under it. And the source of all the earth. Quakes is moving around in them. "

" wait. Moving around? The epicenter shouldn't move. "

" we'll the scientists want more information on the quakes and they think that by sending down a team to a recently collapsed lava tube might reveal the answer their questions. "

Celestia's shocked face then grew into a smile as she answered. " then let's send a team down. "

" we can't just send a team down."

" why not?"

" the tunnel is highly radioactive."

Celestia's jaw dropped again as this new information hit her. " but that makes no sense. There is no uranium deposits in the mountain. "

" I know. The scientists think there might be radioactive waste from... A past time, hidden in the lava tubes."

" by past times, you mean ... them?"

Celestia spoke, still shocked.

" yes. Celestia, they are gone and you need to see that. Their civilization has crumbled apart and we have shook ourselves of their ashes. " Luna said, trying to bring her sister back to the present. As royalty they knew most about human civilization ( even if there is barely any trace of them left). But after discovering the cause of their demise, celestia had since been scarred and frightened by the thought of atomic weapons. Luna reserved little interest in humans so she rarely brought up humans in front of her sister. But now that the threat of earthquakes destroying caunterlot and killing innocent ponies was obvious, Luna felt she had no choice but to bring humans, let alone irradiated waste where some idiot could reach and bring radiation poisoning to caunterlot, in to conversation with her sister. " but now a large trace of their time is in those tunnels. And if that's true we will risk large amounts of knowledge about human civilization to be leaked out to the public. That may lead to the creation of more atomic weapons and the destruction of our kind." Celestia remarked. " your right, I guess we should send down a team of ponies we can trust."

" who trust us."

" and who won't tell any one what they find Down there."

Celestia then jumped from her chair and ran full gallop into her room. After a few minuets she came back out holding a scroll in her levitation." And I know just the 6 to go down there." She said as the scroll dissipated Into the air. Celestia smiled as she looked out into her country, her kingdom. Luna smiled at her sister as she unfolded her wings and then took flight into the sky. Neither thought of the tremors for the rest of the night.

Twilight was just finished organizing a book shelf after a small incident had thrown them from shelf. After putting the last book in alphabetical order in a row, she yawned before deciding to go to bed. As she made her way upstairs to her room, a small hand reached up and tapped the violet unicorns shoulder. She turned around to see her assistant as well as friend, spike. " what could you want at this hour of the night?" She asked the nervous dragon. " uh, well I suppose I should have given you this sooner , but ... " he said as he held up a small sickly yellow scroll. Twilight quickly snatched it out of his hands and opened it. " it's from the princess. She sent it earlier this afternoon. " spike continued. As twilight read the message, the unicorns facial expressions got brighter. Spike couldn't help but hear what the princess tasked them with this time. " what is it twilight? Dragons? Curses? Or has discord escaped again? Is it some awesome adventure to save equestria?" Spike questioned. Twilight turned around and replied. " no, better!"

" what can be better than an awesome, epic adventure to save equestria?"

" we get to explore caunterlot mountains lava tubes!" Twilight practically squealed. Spikes smile went down. " you say that as if its A good thing." He said, unimpressed with the immensity of the task. " princess celestia wants me and the rest of the girls to discover the source of the recent earthquakes caunterlot has been experiencing." Twilight said, quickly getting irritated by the young dragon. " it's just strange that celestia would send you to explore some underground tunnel to stop a series of tremors. Not fighting a lord of chaos, not saving a kingdom from a ancient unicorn, no it just has to be some boring, empty tunnels under caunterlot. What's so big about that, that the most powerful pony in equestria needs the elements of harmony to explore tunnels that are long and, as I have said before, empty?"

Spike responded. " who cares? I have always wanted to visit the lava tubes. All they want is for us to find the source of the earth quakes." Twilight said before yawning. " and all I want right now is to go to bed. We will set out in the morning for caunterlot. Goodnight spike." Twilight yawned again before laying on her bed. " good night twilight." Spike said before crawling into his bed. After realizing his exact words in his last sentence, he giggled realizing he just accidentally rhymed ' twilight' and ' night'. They both then fell asleep.

It was late that night when it hit. Unlike the others, this tremor was large, ranging as far as a 8.2. It demolished many old buildings and even crumbled part of the mountain side. It also created large fissures in the ground. After the tremors, the royal guards were sent to help. a few ponies had gotten trapped under the ruins of their house. It collapsed due to one of the fissures running through it. After the ponies were rescued, a news team arrived on the site. The reporter looked at the survivors, noticing their faces stuck in horror, their body's shivering and a few had gone cationic . He approached one survivor to under stand their story of the incident. Immediately after asking him to talk, the survivor became completely still and silent. " I was sleeping when it hit. I remember falling through the floor and into the basement. I hit my head hard, and I felt like I broke a few of my bones. The ground was rolling under me like a wave. I then turned to look at the floor. " he then became silent once more, his glassy eyes were staring into space. " and then what happened?" The reporter asked. " I saw it. I heard it. In the crack that went through the floor, I saw a huge sea of red fire move under. I then heard the awful sound. Like that of the screech of a hawk, but deeper and lower. " the survivor said before going cationic once more. The intrigued reporter finished his notes and went off to interview more civilians, who also saw the sea of fire move under the fissures. The sound was also heard as well.