Twilight was pulled abruptly out of her dream world by an earsplitting roar coming from outside her house. She quickly opened her eyes and tried to focus on what it was when she heard spike tumble out of his basket.
"What in the name of Celestia…" she began as she finally figured out what the ruckus was. The civil air horn is going off.
"Is that the tornado siren?" asked Spike in a worried voice.
"Yes, Spike," she replied, a bit annoyed at the question. "Well I guess the pegusi will be up there soon, why don't we go take a look?" she asked Spike, feeling exhausted from the never-ending study session late last night. The two approached the front door after tripping over a few misplaced books.
"Spike, I thought I told you to clean this place up, or at least where I wasn't studying," said twilight in a disapproving tone.
"Well," Spike grinned sheepishly as the door opened, amplifying the noise.
The two poked their heads out of the door to look around, but the skies were completely clear.
"That's weird," Twilight said, the sirens still blaring outside.
"Is there a drill or something going on?" asked Spike.
"At two in the morning?" Twilight answered, "I don't know, maybe some malfunction in the system."
She spotted a unicorn across the street in a similar state and yelled, "Hey, do you know what's going on?" barely audible over the cacophony in the streets.
The unicorn simply shrugged as a sudden white light flashed behind the buildings directly in front of Twilight. As if there wasn't enough noise, a deafening roar redoubled it, and the light immediately intensified to ten times its former strength.
Twilight instinctively threw her hooves in front of her eyes as gamma radiation penetrated her body, letting her see the bones in her front legs. The shockwave of the violent explosion sent ripples throughout the house and tore it apart, sending wooden shrapnel and debris flying away from the rapidly expanding air.
* * *
"Twilight?"
Twilight thought she heard a familiar voice.
"Hello?"
She did. It was faint, but it was definitely there.
"TWILIGHT!"
The lavender mare moaned and rolled over on her side. Rubbing her head, she opened her eyes, feeling her heart drop. She saw only blackness. Panicking, she jumped up, screaming.
"What?" gasped Rainbow Dash's voice, startling Twilight.
"I'm blind!" yelped Twilight, terrified.
"Oh, I thought you were hurt or something," said Rainbow Dash.
"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight yelled once more.
"Calm down! You can just use your magic to heal yourself, right?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah…sure, I think I can remember a healing spell," said Twilight, immediately using her magic to start healing her eyes. "But I was still hurt…anyways…where's Spike?"
"Over here!" Spike's muffled voice sounded near.
Twilight jerked her head around to face him.
"Eeeew, your eyes look all weird," Spike said, giggling.
"Shut up Spike, we're lucky to be alive," said Twilight, annoyed.
Twilight finally saw dots of color returning to her eyes, along with a tingly sensation from the magical force enveloping her eyes. The dots seemed to spill out color around them, like paint cans being knocked over, quickly filling the empty spaces.
Having restored life to her eyes, Twilight looked around, gawking at the land that was once called Ponyville. The sunlight reflected off the dust particles in the air, causing a red hue to hover in the atmosphere. Debris left behind from the explosion had settled anywhere it felt welcome, leaving the town a barren wasteland.
Rainbow Dash simply put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to comfort her. I really hate to see her like this…
"So apparently there was a nuclear explosion early this morning," said Twilight, her eyes still fixed on her surroundings. "How did we survive?"
"Right when I saw the light I jumped on top of you," Spike began, blushing. "So my heat immunity protected you."
"Well, thank you," said Twilight, feeling truly grateful. "But what about you, Rainbow Dash?"
"Well, luckily, my castle in Cloudsdale was outside of the blast range, but I saw the explosion, so I came to see if you guys were alright," replied Rainbow Dash. "So the only threat to us now is the radiation!" She said sarcastically.
"Oh thank Celestia!" said Twilight, returning the sarcasm. She looked in the direction of the poor unicorn that she had seen before the blast, but there was only rubble.
"I think we should take a look around to see if anypony else survived," Twilight said.
"Yeah," replied Rainbow Dash, getting up and stretching her wings.
"Let's go, Spike!" called Twilight, also rising to dust herself off.
The two mares left the remains of the library to search for survivors as Spike followed close behind.
The group walked by the house closest to the library and glanced over to observe the wreckage.
"Oh no…" said Rainbow Dash, sadly.
"What…?" said Twilight, just as she tripped over a skull. Twilight examined the skull and found more bones nearby. Although she had seen all kinds of things in books while studying for Anatomy, the way the burnt flesh stuck to the bones, the cartilage still attached at the joints, and the entire place stinking abominably was all too much for the young mare. Twilight barely had time to stagger off to the side of the street before she began to retch. It didn't help that it was the unicorn she had seen before the blast.
Rainbow Dash took a look at the remains of the unicorn before she trotted over to Twilight who was still emptying her stomach. Is it wrong to think that she’s cute when she pukes? She had never really thought of Twilight being attractive before, nonchalantly glancing at the occasional chunks that spew out of her.
"Rainbow Dash...I think we should get out of here," said Twilight, choking down the last of her vomit.
"But what if there are others?" asked Rainbow Dash, not entirely shaken from her trance.
"I don't think we need to worry about that," Twilight said, pointing. "Look!"
An army of royal guards in HAZMAT suits were quickly advancing down the streets directly towards them. One had a radio and was calling for a rescue patrol.
"Hey!" A guard galloped over to the mares and Spike, "You need to get out of here! This place is being evacuated!"
"Well can you at least tell us what's going on?" Twilight was frustrated at the sight of so much death. "Or where we should even be going?"
"Ma'am, this place is contaminated with a dangerously high concentration of gamma radiation; we are evacuating the survivors and closing off the area," said the guard. "That's all I can tell you for now, so please follow me to the 'LZ'."
Twilight was not up for an argument, and decided to listen to the guard. He led them about four blocks down the street to an open intersection that had four flares lit up in the corners. They had just arrived when a combat helicopter materialized above their heads and blew their manes back as it came in for a landing. Twilight held a hoof over her eyes for protection against the dust flying all around them.
"Wow, I've never seen a helicopter before," Twilight proclaimed excitedly, glancing at Rainbow Dash. "I've only read about them in books!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, but was also curious, and excited to ride in such a mysterious contraption.
"Alright let's move!” yelled the royal guard just as the helicopter landed and six stallions jumped out, unicorns and earth ponies, each carrying high-tech assault rifles and other special weaponry. They were clearly members of Equestria’sElite, the special military task force sent by Celestia herself to protect her land from evil invaders.
This must be big…then again there was a nuclear explosion…
The stallions started off at a gallop towards the epicenter of the attack. One eyed Rainbow Dash, and when she noticed, he grinned and winked while turning back to his group. Dash shrugged it off as she leapt up into the aircraft with the others, soon ascending into the air and disappearing into the fog.
~~END OF CHAPTER 1~~
Author's Note
Please leave comments, your criticism is much appreciated (unless you're just being a butt).
"Hey, guys, I think you better take a look at this," said Derpy in an unusually serious tone.
Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie walk over to where Derpy was standing. The four were currently at a party hosted in Canterlot, while Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy had stayed behind. Twilight had to study more than usual (if that's even possible), Rainbow Dash figured out that the Wonderbolts had gone to perform in Manehattan and lost interest, and Fluttershy had to go to a big talent show that starred some of her pets on the same day.
"We are flying just outside of what used to be a town called Ponyville, which was just recently attacked by a suspected nuclear ICBM," the news reporters were hovering outside of the blast area in a helicopter fitted for all kinds of high-tech recording equipment. "The footage you are seeing is real. Thousands of ponies were killed in the explosion, and we've only heard of three survivors. Nopony has heard from Celestia on this--" the TV screen went black as Applejack smashes the on/off button on the remote. Tears streamed down her face. Derpy walked over and hugged her, whispering comforting things in her ear. Pinkie Pie's hair had straightened out, and she began to mutter hateful things under her breath. Rarity was even whiter than usual, and sat down on the sofa, trying to catch her breath.
Derpy seemed to be the only stable pony in the room, and called attention to herself.
"Guys, I know you're scared for your friends, but we need to keep it together and try to figure out what's going on; crying won't help them," Derpy said in a voice nopony had ever heard from her before.
"She's right," Applejack replied, "We should find out some more information on what's happenin' down there." She winced as she decided to turn the TV back on, which sparks to life, continuing the report.
"This mysterious attack threat has had nopony to blame, leaving even Celestia herself baffled," the breaking news report had interrupted every channel, forcing people to see the disturbing video captured in Ponyville. "People of Equestria, please do not panic! We are working on finding out who did this, and we will fight back with all of our strength," Princess Celestia's serious face appeared on every Television screen in Equestria. "Safe havens have been set up in every city, and soon you will see military officers in the streets. Please follow their orders, it will only aid in your safety.
The ponies were simply flabbergasted by the reality of what was going on. Nopony paid any attention to the knocking on the door. It quickly turned into banging, and soon the door was kicked in. Rarity screamed, and was dragged out along with Pinkie Pie, who shouted obscenities at the officers. Applejack and Derpy were lucky to remain sane, and followed the armed stallions in urban camo out the door.
~~~~~
Twilight was in heaven, gaping at all the gadgets inside the vehicle, giddy with excitement. The pilot was the complete opposite. Twilight was asking questions here and there, driving him insane.
"Alright, that's enough for now," said the agitated pilot, hoping it would be for the rest of the trip. He was wearing a tight-fitting urban camouflage suit, with a high-tech headset on.
She clearly has no respect for what happened this morning...
It was already dusk, and the glow of the multicolored lights outside the helicopter appeared very sleep-inducing for the two mares, while Spike had already dozed off.
Twilight finally decided to get some rest, and leaned on Rainbow Dash while she started to fall asleep. This made Rainbow Dash forget her irritation with her. She then smiled and cuddled up to her, wrapping her wing around Twilight's warm, fuzzy, body, and quickly falling asleep.
The passengers were awakened abruptly when the helicopter made a sudden lurch.
"Sorry guys, looks like we're going to have some minor turbulence," the pilot said, unfazed by the rocking and shaking while the inexperienced passengers gripped the sides of the seats nervously.
Dark storm clouds swooped in around the chopper, quickly enveloping the machine in a caliginous mist.
"What the heck?" said Rainbow Dash and the pilot at the same time.
"Hawkeye, this is black bear actual," the pilot began, speaking into his headset.
"Black bear actual this is hawkeye, we read ya loud and clear," the radio sputtered out.
"We're about fifteen clicks outside target destination and we've run into some unexpected weather out here. You got any updates on suspicious activity in the area?" the pilot asked.
"That's a negative, sir," the operator replied. "Our radar's not picking anything up."
There was a violent shudder throughout the vehicle, eliciting surprised yelps from the passengers.
"Well there's definitely something going on here!" said the pilot, raising his voice.
"I'm so—" the radio began to cut out. "—We can't s—" static had taken over as the dark clouds swirled faster around them.
"No, no, NO!" The pilot was furious at the chaos beginning to unveil.
Just then, a pegasus hit the side of the chopper with a loud THUD. Twilight screamed, and blood streaked down the window from the center of impact.
"What the hell is going on?!" Rainbow Dash yelled over the ruckus.
Another pegasus flashed by outside, and disappeared back into the fog.
"I've lost my bearings!" the pilot was panicking, and had a good reason to, for every one of his monitors had gone haywire.
A terrible THWACK was heard from outside, and blood splattered all over the windshield, along with a few bloody body parts ricocheting off the sides of the helicopter. If they weren't before, everypony was screaming now. The blades collapsed from the impact, and every siren in the vehicle went off. They was falling out of the sky, and fast. The pilot was trying to control the descent of the aircraft, but his efforts were futile, as the chopper fell faster. The rest of the blades flew off, some ripping burning holes in the sides of the helicopter.
Why isn't my magic working?!
A patch of trees were barely visible outside as the chopper descended even faster. Everypony onboard said their prayers as the last few feet between them and the ground depleted. Branches hit the front of the helicopter, and the front of the fuselage caved in, while they continued to fall diagonally through the thick forest canopy.
The helicopter lurched forward with incredible force, making Twilight faint, and sending Spike flying through the windshield.
The hunk of metal finally came to a halt, hanging in a tree about twenty feet off the ground, and leaking fuel.
Rainbow Dash released her grip on the seat as she realized she was still alive. She took her seatbelt off and carefully climbed over to Twilight, since the fuselage was turned almost completely perpendicular to the ground.
"Twilight?" she nudged her purple friend while she felt a drop of blood drip out of her nose.
This again…
She shook her awake, and helped her with her seatbelt. Twilight fell forward, into the back of the pilot's seat. She stood on it, regaining her balance, before she peeked over the edge to find the pilot's body. He had been crushed between the seat and the front of the helicopter when it caved in on impact. He was laying on the control panel while blood seeped out of his mouth, dripping into a growing pool beneath him. Bones were also visible, penetrating the flesh, and protruding out of his legs.
"Come on Twilight, we have to go find Spike," Rainbow Dash said, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
"Alright," Twilight said, following Rainbow Dash to the exit.
Rainbow Dash gave the door a tug, and when it didn't budge, she took the fire extinguisher and broke the glass in the door. She climbs through first, flapping her wings to steady herself when she gets through. She then hovers outside the window while helping Twilight through.
What's that...?
She notices the leaking fuel, and panics.
"Come on Twilight," she said as she quickly pulled the rest of her body through the window. She then flew down and left Twilight on the ground, while heading back up to find Spike.
"Spike? Where are you?!" Rainbow Dash called out around the wreckage. She saw a dragon tail on the ground behind some bushes. She bolted over to him, finding him on the laying down with a steel bar sticking out of his abdomen. He had been impaled when he fell onto it, puncturing his kidney, and the pool of blood suggested he was not long from bleeding out. He moved his head in her direction, and she began to feel sick as she knew what was to happen to him.
"You'll have to go on without me," he said in an overly dramatic tone.
"Don't make me laugh now," Rainbow Dash said, feeling bad for the poor dragon.
"No, but really, I'm dying, and you need t—" his voice was cut off by a terrible cough, and blood trickled out of his mouth. "Just go, you know what happens when jet fuel spontaneously combusts."
Rainbow Dash looked back at the wrecked helicopter, still dripping fuel.
"I just..." Rainbow started when the helicopter suddenly shifted.
Shit...
"I'm so sorry," she said as she started to fly back towards Twilight, and Spike's head rolled to the side. The fuselage shifted again and branches snapped under its weight, beginning to fall to the ground.
"Let's get out of here!" Twilight yelled at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash flew at top speed and picked up Twilight. Just then, the helicopter had met the ground with a loud crash of breaking glass and crumpled steel. A huge explosion followed, separating the two mares, and sending them flying into the bushes. The ball of flame shot up about thirty feet in the air, setting the trees ablaze, and turning into a small mushroom cloud.
Author's Note
Woah, woah, woah, I know what you're thinking. Where the heck did Derpy come from?? She's doesn't fit in with the rest! Well, I love Derpy, and i feel she has a right to be more than a background pony. So, she IS going to be in this story, punks!!
