It Came From the Stars
Chapter 1: The Space-Rock
Load Full Story Next ChapterIt Came From The Stars
MLP Fanfiction from Silvertie
01 - The Space-Rock
Rusty Spade leaned on his windowsill with a pale-tan elbow, looking out over the ponyville night sky from his second-story bedroom. A deep breath in, and he tasted that clean, crisp air; much cleaner than Manehattan's air, that was for sure. A brisk wind blew his light-blue mane about, and the moonlight glinted off his eyes, the stars reflected in his blue eyes.
Satisfied, he stepped back, and put his eye to his pride and joy; his telescope. As an earth pony, not many expected him to have such an out-of-the-way pursuit as a personal interest; it didn't even have anything to do with his talent, which was digging. But the stars had always fascinated him from the moment he’d seen them; they called to him, they spoke tales of destiny and great promise to his soul, and after badgering his parents, they’d caved in and given him his first telescope.
It was the best tenth birthday gift he could ever have asked for, and it proved a valuable investment, lasting him for years before he accumulated the funds to purchase a real telescope. But the light pollution of Manehattan made it hard to put his new aquisition to use, and after a discussion with his parents, and being urged to follow his dreams, he’d packed up his things, and moved out to what was said to be the best stargazing town in all of Equestria: Ponyville.
The telescope squeaked ever so softly as it panned across the sky, and he searched for constellations to look at. The big dipper, orion's belt... big bright thing. Wait. He gently nosed the telescope back a few degrees, and the thing came back into focus. He pulled his eye away from the eyepiece, and looked at the sky; there was the moon, but...
"That's no moon," he muttered, putting his eye to the 'scope again. It looked like a moon - if the moon was tiny, riddled with holes, moving fast and headed straight for ponyville! He pulled his eye away again, took a deep breath and calmed himself down, and double-checked. Okay, so it wasn't going to land in or on ponyville, but just outside. Not far. Somewhere near the forest, if his guess was correct.
A meteor! And a big one, too! Rusty danced a small jig. If he got his hooves on it first, they'd name it after him! The "Rusty Meteor". Or would that be "Spade Meteor"? He shook his head. It was far too early to decide what to name it; he had to get it first, after all. And that was where the challenge lay. Getting to it first.
Twilight Sparkle. He looked out the window, across town, and saw one or two lights in the tree that was the local library. She was also an avid stargazer, and quite academically accomplished, too - several journals, a few white papers, and who knew how many diplomas in magical arts. And, to Rusty's chagrin, a little faster on the horn to the authorities, calling in and "discovering" new constellations or stellar bodies before Rusty could even get halfway across town to the astronomy office. She didn't do it on purpose, but by Luna's grace, she was an obstacle and a half.
No, Rusty decided. Today was the day he beat Twilight Sparkle. She could call it in all she liked, but if Rusty got his hooves on the meteor first, she couldn't do a blessed thing! The discovery would be his!
Well, if he wanted to get that meteor, he'd have to get up pretty early, figuratively speaking. He had to be there at the crash site before it crashed, or Twilight would just teleport in and pinch his credit. Again. He turned away from the window, and grabbed his saddle bags, slinging them on his back; nothing special, just average canvas bags, presently filled with his work gear. Who knew, he might need to dig the meteor out. He'd certainly need something to carry it in.
He quickly threw on a vest to ward off the night chill, snapped his bedroom window shut, and slipped out of his room.
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Fifteen minutes later, Rusty was sitting in a field. By now, the meteor was clearly visible, and definitely headed more or less for his position. He looked around, rubbed his hooves together, and exhaled a cloud of warm air into the night sky. This meteor was going to be his, he could feel it.
He looked up again, taking a sip from his thermos flask of coffee. It was long-since cold, the remains of a lunch-time-intended drink, but it was here and he was thirsty. He was beginning to wish he'd taken the time to pack some snacks. But if he left now...
An image of Twilight laughing away at him from atop a podium, the meteorite held high in a hoof, assailed his mind, and he cringed.
Not on his watch. If he had to be cold, hungry and tired to claim what was rightfully his, then so be it. He would wait. Nothing on Equestria could move him from this spot.
The meteor loomed in the sky, burning away like a weak star. Rusty's jaw dropped - it was bigger than he'd expected, less of it had burned off than he thought. Thank goodness he was an earth pony, though, right? He should be able to move it.
The meteor got closer, and he mentally patted himself on the back; he'd gotten the crash site correct, field and all. As it became blatantly visible, he considered that perhaps... he'd gotten it too correct - he was sitting in said field, after all.
He got up and ran for it; scarce had he left his sitting spot, when the meteor slammed into it with an earth-shaking bang. The ground rippled, and pieces of dirt and grass flew everywhere; Rusty couldn't keep his footing, and he went flying as well, dust, smoke and steam filling the air and the sonic boom rattling his eardrums.
He hit the ground hard, and bounced to a halt as the air stopped booming around him. The smoke was thick in the air, and Rusty got up to a world of silence. He shook his head, and a slight trickle of sound was restored to him. A faint hissing was in the air as the space-rock cooled rapidly. He edged closer, stepping around his discarded saddlebags and covering his mouth as he got closer to the thing. It was definitely a meteor; all craters and holes. The ground beneath it glowed a ruddy red with the heat of the impact, and Rusty wondered just what the meteor was made of. It shouldn’t have been this large, it should have burned up and been reduced to the size of a pebble by now; a large brick if he was lucky.
This was considerably larger, almost matching him for size. Rusty carefully stepped into the crater, and only skidding a little bit, got closer to the meteor, preparing to stay well away if it was still hot.
Not a single iota of heat graced his muzzle. The anticipated smell of burning hair did not hit his nostrils as he brought his fetlock closer to the rock to test for heat. In fact, if he didn’t know better, he’d say the rock hadn’t fallen from the sky in the last five minutes, for it was as cold as the night air around him!
How strange, he mused, looking at it, and trying to guess what it was made of. Simple rock would just burn up. Metal...? No, not shiny enough. It was some sort of rock not found on Equestria - a new element, perhaps?
Rusty grinned. “Rustonium” had a great ring to it. He held a hoof out to the meteor once again, exposing the frog of his hoof to check for heat, and found nothing. He licked his hoof, and with a swift motion, gingerly touched the meteor.
A splitting pain entered his head, and he groaned in agony, sinking to one knee. He looked up at his hoof, and gasped in horror as he saw that it was coated in the very same rock of the meteor, the rock creeping up his arm like some sort of flash-freezing ice! He struggled to free it, to no avail. He looked around, and spotted his pick from his saddlebags, lying not far away; if he could just... reach...it...
The earth pony flailed with his back legs and tail in an attempt to reach the digging implement; he didn’t know if it’d be any use against this re-entry-surviving space-rock, but anything was better than nothing and he didn’t want to die being devoured by some stupid rock!
He let out a small “Yes!” as his hoof caught the strap of the pick, and he pulled it closer. Like lightning, he got it into his mouth, as the stone crept past his elbow, and, taking careful aim for the stone just underneath his hoof, struck hard and fast.
The pick pinged off the stone, vibrating heartily. Rusty steadied his mouth, and struck once more. The pick bounced off again, only this time, Rusty saw the shade of a fracture in the stone. Once more he struck, once more he got a mouthful of vibration. The stone crept up to his shoulder, and he gritted the tool; this would be his last chance. If he didn’t break the stone now, it would spread too far and he wouldn’t be able to make another.
He swung. The pick bit into the stone with a chunk, penetrating the outer crust with ease. Rusty felt a blinding pain once more in his head, and feeling the stone slow it’s growth over his chest, passed out.