Deep with the glacier formation known as Graviton Falls were a mess of ice and crystals. The arrangement was so vast and random that it was almost unsure which pillars of white were frozen liquid or pressurized carbon. It was not as cold within the inner dome, but the ice still formed due to the intensity outside. The deeper one went, the more crystals could be found as the ice melted into water, but going too deep would lead one in dangerous riptides, swimming around a magical vortex of unknown power. This was the source Graviton Falls power and name, an endless flow of gravitational pressure. Inside could lead to another universe or crushing death.
Such a sight brought joy to the eyes of Jack Nox as he stretched out his hands to the scene. The bluish-white glaze of ice sparkled like a giant crest above, constantly dripping water and carbon into the vortex. Anything that escaped was sheered into the crystal pillars around it. The sheer size of the waterfall made him feel insignificant compared to its magnificence.
Truly an incredible sight to behold and the perfect place for him to mend things with his former love, Moondancer. The pale unicorn in her plush sweater was already setting up camp as the batpony dropped down to their base camp, porched over the vortex. This final piece of the tourist destination had been sealed off later due to strange shaking and fears of ponies falling inside and possibly being trapped or dying horribly. Such thought didn't hinder either of them. These two were driven by a desire for science.
The batpony landed with such swagger, slotting over to the unicorn and pulling her away from the tools. He spun her left and right, dancing around the scene. All she could do was laugh in return at how cute he was. "What a lovely, lovely day for the both of us?"
"Indeed..." She adjusted her thick glasses and blushed at him. "But don't get too ahead of yourself." Moondancer brought him to a stop. The mare wanted to part but found herself leaning into his chest instead. Her breath caught and she could feel her heart beating fast in response. "We have experiments to complete." That was enough to convince her to break the embrace.
Luckily, Jack didn't force her to continue. Taking a step back, he turned his attention to his own workstation. Turning on his machines and scopes, the area boomed with sounds. He scanned around for any signs of danger, especailly around the source of their target, the vortex, dubbed the Eye of Elisus. As such it was the first thing ever recorded hear, a single phrase thousands of years ago.
"The eye seemed to be doing fine today." He twisted a few levers and flicked some switches. A dozen dishes dropped down from the canopy and slotted between the falling stream. This separated it from the vortex long enough to gather his data. He needed to know all the material falling into the vortex at once time as anything might react to this strange portal in unique ways. They needed to know all the processes, thus eliminating the safer ones and narrowing in on anything that might be causing the soft shaking.
Moondancer had her own setup of files upon files. All measurements of each shaking's duration and strength. If there were any major differences, it would need to be noted down. All anomalies could lead to the true source of this sudden rise.
A massive quake had been hitting the place at random points, going on for several weeks now. It was very odd considering the size of the quakes and the fact that they were coming without any warning. The princesses feared the vortex might be the source. Thus why they were out here in the first place. The amount of information was overwhelming for most ponies, but not for these two.
Most of the scientistic minds like Twilight and Daring Do were busy elsewhere. Frankly, Celestia and Luna didn't want to concern the alicorn with these problems as this place was far beyond her normal range. She loved to travel, but having a princess this far from Equestria might prove just as dangerous as it would prove useful. Thus the responsibility fell upon Jack Nox and Moondancer, two of the greatest minds in Equestria. Dare say from Jack's personally, far smarter than Twilight.
Plus, the vortex fell more under their advanced knowledge as both were experts in teleportation magic. Yes, even the batpony, for those that didn't know him better would have assumed wrong in his position. Jack Nox was a scientist in many powerful unicorn magics even while lacking a horn. His specialties included telekinesis, teleportation, levitation, and other minor arcane fields. The batpony was no fool when it came to manipulating the world around him, something that Moondancer admired greatly in him.
While the batpony studied his data, Moondancer took to her readings. With the help of her glasses, she read through every single document carefully until she reached the end. "I've got more readings coming in from the surface soon," Moondancer confirmed as she gestured toward the exit. "Have Quibble or Sunburst arrived yet?"
"No!" He groaned and leaned back. "I sent a message to them over an hour ago and they've yet to arrive." His wings wrapped around him and his breath shivered. "It's so cold out there."
"Yeah..." She blushed and rolled her chair around, cupping her body in the warmth, knowing just how much it annoyed him. "So, I'm still warm down here.
The batpony growled at her smooth wink. A small bit of confusion crossed his mind as before she seemed more concerned about work. What she being cruel, or flirting? Always impossible to tell for him, both thoughts driving him wild.
He found himself leaning forward again, staring into her eyes. "You're so beautiful. So smart..." He leaned back and laid out his arms and wings. "Meanwhile, I'm so handsome and fucking brilliant."
She giggled and bit her lip, looking away. "Don't say that. I can't take you seriously when you curse."
Both of them laughed together as they tried to stay at their workstations and not swivel toward each other. A solid second of back and forth, before Jack caved and flipped back around. "We should get back to work..." He was so ashamed of his words, but quickly recovered with the last bit. "Can't fucking your massive brains out if those two walk in on us."
"And that's if I don't get the chance to peg you instead." She growled back, shaking out more rolls of papers to drown out her words.
The Kirin borders were sent into total chaos with several attacks on many of their high-ranking dignitaries. Explosions of light pulsed in different directions all over the Kirin map. Their defenses were caught completely off guard, just like Equestria in the same moment that two pillars of light shined in the distance. The lights were so bright, that the sun itself dimmed out over these two lands.
Comet Tail's soldiers were knocked off their posts by such random attacks. The red dragon pony rushed through each one taking them down with ease. The unicorn watched in helpless horror as they were all out of his reach. He couldn't even see the face of their killer. Instead, his muscles were firing, and his body reacted to his chariot getting sliced in half by a pair of massive blades. The force threw him and the new Kirin president in two different directions. Comet Tail rolled to a stop and his vision blurred. All these seemingly random events emptied out all his senses and prevented him from putting up any guard as the white dragon pony swung back.
The only thing saving him from taking his head off was the other kirin dignitary that had landed beside him. "Wake up, soldier!" The young kirin male pleaded with him to wake up from this shock. "We're under attack and I need your help!" He pointed to his lover, the Kirin president as the white dragon pony turned his attention toward him.
"Right!" Comet pulled out his gladius and rushed forward, clashing his edge against the monster's back. His mind was still racing with the strange feeling that something else was going on. He was sure that this attack was all connected somehow with these two half-breeds appearing, he was just unsure how. "Why?" He demanded, digging his blade into the enemy's flesh. "Why are you here?"
The white dragon pony barely gave a single reaction to the weapon tearing into his flesh. Turning back, his words sent shivering through the air. They are only a few simple words, but they cut so deep and to the point. "We are here to kill!" The white dragon pony swung his pair of blades back at Comet Tail.
He felt the wind of them cutting so close to his flesh. It was only by sheer luck that he was able to jump backward to avoid losing his legs. Comet Tail pulsed magic into his weapon and swung the winds back at him. This was a simple spell to deflect a strong physical attack. With all the chaos going on, he didn't want to take the chance of hurting the kirin president in the same line of fire.
The white dragon pony was a monster of pure size, taking the reflected attack head-on. He barreled right at Comet Tail, swinging his massive blades in close and cutting him off from his friend. The sharp ends landed on the unicorn's sides, aiming in such a way that the attack's only desire was to cut him clean in half with every attack.
Such slopping directional attacks allowed Comet Tail to dodge the incoming swings, sliding backward over the grassy road. The strength behind each throw was insane but easy to see through. All of it was wild and unfocused, but so damn vicious that hesitating to even change tactics was another level of danger. Comet Tail's eyes were locked on the monster, trying to find any softer weakness to exploit.
He was forced to jump or slide away each time until he felt the walls against his back. The white dragon pony was not giving him any breathing room or a moment to cast a more complex spell. Luckily, the beast wasn't paying attention to his own range, crashing the tips into the walls. The very thing that broke Comet's guard also gave him just the right kind of opening.
The unicorn swung back, channeling an ice spell into his edge. The cold air made the dragon hide and flinch back despite the monster's desire to close the distance. The opponent narrowed his eyes with the unicorn, opening his jaws to bite the bite in half. However, Comet was much smarter, flicking his wrist back, and chipping his hilt into the white dragon pony's teeth.
The monster screamed out, spitting out blood from one broken fang. Comet took this moment to slide under him and back toward the kirin president. The top priority was to ensure his protection no matter what. "Sir, are you okay?" He picked the leader up and gestured the other dignitary over. "We need to retreat and reestablish a line of defense."
"I am fine, but the others.." He was worried, knowing the kirin army was not prepared for such a sudden assault. Plus, his eyes showed greater concern for the source of that bright light at the start of all this. "That light..." He started to question the unicorn.
Comet Tail shook his head, unsure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. That direction and source made no sense at all. It just wasn't a possibility he was ready to accept. He needed to focus and make sure they escaped. "We need to fall back now." Comet tapped his wrist and sent out a signal only his guard could hear, but none of them replied. "What?" He looked at the communication device in confusion.
"What's wrong-" They were all stopped as the ground shook violently, almost knocking them all off their feet again. This time it was much different from before. Their eyes flicked over as all the nearby buildings collapsed and a dark shape rose forth from their rubble.