Ripple (MLP AU Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

Rune grumbled throughout the entire journey out of the Everfree forest, which was radio silent. There wasn't an animal in sight. Many of the trees were gnarled and slumped over.
As Twilight recognised the path out of the forest, she caught sight of a bright yellow light peeking through the dead trees. There was a distant smell of smoke that made Twilight's stomach turn. She grabbed Rune by the hoof and ran as fast as her legs could carry. "Come on! Ponyville's on fire!"

They galloped through bushes of every kind. Rune was pretty sure she caught a few thorns in her legs, but wouldn't dare slow down to check. Just as the light grew closer and the smell grew stronger, there were no more trees. Rune tripped on a tree root and crashed into the back of a nearby house.

Rune quickly shook it off and immediately started picking at the thorns. Twilight then looked over her shoulder and her jaw dropped.

Ponyville was alight in a beautiful haze of ambers and yellows. It was clear there was no fire; the light was coming from the countless paper lanterns dotted around the town's streets, houses and temporary market stalls. The smoke, it seemed, was coming from a bonfire set outside where Sweet Apple Acres should be.
"So much for that fire, eh?" Rune playfully jabbed at Twilight. Before Twilight could clip Rune, a stallion took notice. He trotted over to the two ponies and gave Rune a hoofshake so strong it left her shaking after the fact.
"Hey, strangers! The name's Cosmo Burst! Welcome to the Sundown Celebration!" He said, going over to shake Twilight's hoof.
"Don't you mean the Summer Sun Celebration?" Twilight asked.
"Nope!" Cosmo violently shook Twilight's hoof, too. "You're not from around here, are ya?"
Twilight was still bouncing from the hoofshake, so Rune shook her head.
"Well then, lemme show ya around!"
Twilight tried to protest, but Rune wrapped an arm around her. "C'mon, it looks fun!" Rune then leaned in so no one else could hear. "You want me to slave over a desk for the next few months, remember. You owe me. Big time."
Twilight immediately stopped protesting and kept her head down.

"This, is our town hall. Beautiful, ain't it?" Cosmo motioned to the tall building in front of them adorned in fairy lights and lanterns. There were golden banners of every size loosely wrapped around it all. Twilight noticed the symbols inscribed on the banners over and over again. "For the Sun we lost... the moon we love?" Twilight squinted, unaware of what she just said.
"You know Old Ponish?" Cosmo tilted his head.
"Little bit. What does it mean?"
"Do you even know why we have this celebration?"
Twilight shrugged. Cosmo sat them both down and grabbed a nearby lantern to lean on.
"OK, when Luna banished her sister to the Sun all those years ago, she's had to raise that huge ball of gas all on her own for the last few centuries."
Rune and Twilight exchanged subtlety worried looks.
"We all think she grieves her sister too much to raise the sun, which is why Equestria hasn't seen sunlight for over 80 years."
"Sorry, eighty years?" Twilight stammered.
"Yeah, didn't you know? Anyway, Ponyville got hit pretty hard when that happened. The farms closed down, no one had any food for weeks, just a really rough time for all of us."
Rune leaned in, then Twilight tapped her shoulder.
She whispered "Rune, I wanna go." Twilight was clearly holding back from tearing up, so Rune cut the story short.

"Cosmo, I'm afraid we really have to go home now, it seems I've uhh..." Rune trailed off, racking her brain for an excuse, then Twilight forced a cough.
"Uh, my friend Twilight, has been very sick lately. Um, sorry." Rune dashed off with Twilight in tow before she could hear what Cosmo had to say.

"Thanks. I just can't believe Luna would let that happen."
"That's another thing to find out while we're here - why Luna hasn't done anything for nearly a century."
Twilight nodded, then she noticed the mountain where Canterlot used to be. Its usual place was bare, but when she looked up, a different city was built on top of the mountain's peak. Rune could barely make out a bubble of some kind surrounding the entire city.