You're sorry, do what now? Does that have something to do with throwing stuff into the erratic glow orb bouncing around above you? That is the, erm, kernelsprite, isn't it?
Whatever, you're just going to go for it. Just try it and see if it works, like Pinkie Pie said. You levitate the bag and replace its contents within it before tying it up. You close your eyes and take a deep breath before hurling the bag into the orb, which upon contact emits a blinding glow of light. You shield your eyes from the flash of light and then uncover them to find something that makes your jaw drop nearly to the floor. The orb hovering before you has been replaced by a floating lavender effigy that, were it not for the color and the fact that the body tapers off to a sort of strange tail just below the stomach, would look just like Star Swirl the Bearded! He even has his hat, which you think is because you threw it in there. Not that you're very sure about any of this anymore, but you guess that would make some sort of sense.
"Hello."
You scream and jump about two feet into the air, as does the equally shocked dragon companion who quickly returns to his place against your leg, clinging.
"You… you can talk?"
"Of course I can. Why would a fully-grown pony not be able to talk? I mean, I suppose I am not fully a pony anymore, because I am also a sprite, but I used to be a pony, and I probably will be again some day."
"And… are you really who you appear to be? Are you Star Swirl the Bearded?"
"Ah, so you've heard of me."
"Who hasn't heard of you? Star Swirl the Bearded is one of history's greatest sorcerers!"
"Why thank you madam. It's always nice to be appreciated, especially by a lovely princess such as yourself." He gave a slight bow. "Now, what is your name?"
"Before I answer that, I have another question for you. If you are really Star Swirl the Bearded, then what was your first great acheivement in the magical arts?"
He smirks at you. "Well personally it's hard to say what I consider to be my first acheivement, but when historians talk about me they tend to begin the discussion of my career with the creation of a spell that allows unicorns to hatch the eggs of other animals, such as dragons." His gaze wavers over to Spike with the last words of his sentence. "This feat is how I became 'The Father of the Amniomorphic Spell', at least to you history buffs."
You consider his answer. Of course he's completely right, but you still can't be sure that his knowledge comes from experience and not some sort of information database built into the game. You decide that the best course of action is to trust him, mostly because you don't think you really have a choice.
"Alright then. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike." At the mention of your companion, you lower your head to briefly nuzzle the top of his head, prompting him to look up and give what you guess is the best friendly smile he can muster right now, though it looks more like a frightened grimace.
"Pleasure to meet you both. Now, I would suggest we get on with this game, quickly."
"Oh, of course. Let me just check in with Pinkie Pie first. She's my server player, so she can see everything that is happening, and I'm sure she must have a million questions."
"I don't think we have time for a million questions. Actually, it would appear that we only have about seven minutes."
You follow his gaze to the clock on the cruxtruder, which is counting down towards the seven minute mark, before looking back to him with concern. "Seven minutes until what?"
"Look outside."
You run over to the window and gasp as you take in the enormous meteor hurtling towards your house.
AN: I would really, really, really, really, like to start updating this story more frequently. Since I've become less of a... presence, on tumblr, my hope is that I will use this sudden increase in free time to write more. Of course, favorites, follows, and reviews are fantastic encouragement, and just one of any of these will make me far more likely to update faster (wink wink nudge nudge)
In all seriousness though, I would really appreciate feedback, especially if it pertains to what I've done so far for chapter length. I'm really weighing the pros and cons of what I'm doing now, because I want to keep the Homestuck-esque feel that smaller chapters provide but I also don't know if I want to risk ending up with a 500 chapter fanfic down the road (and also I wonder if maybe the length makes my fic not look so good at first glance...?). If you have opinions, then don't be shy and let me hear them!
