It wasn’t a war; there were no casualties, no attacks, no soldiers. It wasn’t a hostile takeover; there were no ultimatums, no kings or queens to usurp, no princes or princesses to challenge. There wasn’t even a ‘by your leave.’ It just happened.
One day the world was normal. I was just a simple Pegasus filly going to school, learning about weather patterns, and wondering when I was going to get my cutie mark. The next day, the world went wild.
Everything was out of control. Clouds moved on their own; rain fell without any of the weather ponies say so. Things were flying that shouldn’t be in the sky: buffalo with small wings that were obviously not aerodynamic, and rabbits with a wingspan longer than a full-grown pony! As if that wasn’t bad enough, the unthinkable happened: Cloudsdale fell.
I was sleeping late the morning that it all happened. I’ve always been more of a night pony. Go to bed late; get up later, that’s my motto. So I learned to ignore the typical morning noise of the city. I remember thinking that there was a lot more noise that particular morning then usual, but I rolled over and tried to block it out, hoping to catch a few more z’s before school. Then the world, my world, lurched.
I was thrown out of bed and splatted against the ceiling. The wind was screeching through the windows, but the ponies’ screams were louder still. I had never heard abject terror before that moment. I tried to move but we were falling too fast. I couldn’t even unfurl my wings. I was about to join in the senseless screaming, when I heard my father’s voice cut through all the noise.
“Misty? Misty! Are you hurt?”
“No,” I shouted back, trying to keep my voice as calm as his. “But I can’t move.”
“Just stay calm. I’m right here.” In reality, he was in the kitchen, but the words helped and I fought to control the rising panic, but then I looked to my window and saw the ground rapidly approaching.
“Dad! The ground!”
“Make sure you’re above something soft. Everything is going to be ok-“
There was a cacophonous clatter as Cloudsdale came to a screeching halt. I was thrown back onto my bed relatively unhurt. I wasn’t as lucky as other ponies, though. Even though we had stopped falling, the screaming continued, but it had changed to screams of pain. The worst sound, though, was the one coming from the kitchen.
“Gus? Gusty? Wake up, darling, please, wake up…” It’s one thing to hear strangers scream in terror, but it’s quite another to hear your mother whimper in fear.
As fast as my quivering limbs could move, I stumbled into the kitchen. My mother was lying on the floor cradling my, I hoped unconscious, father. A line of red was trickling down his face from a large gash on his forehead. That’s when we first heard it. That voice....
“Ho, ho, ho! Hee hee! Ha ha ha ha! You ponies should have seen your faces! Such fun!” The voice continued to chuckle, but seemed to grow annoyed at the continued wailings. “You ponies have been complacent for far too long. You’ve forgotten how to have fun! It’s a good thing I’ve come along. Mwahaha!” The cruel laughter faded into silence.
“M-mom…?” My mother lifted her head, brushing back tears.
“He’s alive, Misty. He’s still breathing.” I stuttered for a moment, torn between relief and fear. “I know you’re scared, Misty, but I need you to stay calm. Do you think you can help me get your father onto my back? We need to go to the hospital.” I nodded again, and my mother gave me a weak but genuine smile.
It took some doing but we eventually managed to hoist my father onto my mother. After securing him to her by means of a blanket, we opened the door.
Chaos greeted our eyes. The tall graceful buildings of Cloudsdale were in shambles. Many of them were completely gone, disintegrated by the sudden fall. Some ponies were running around shouting about the apocalypse and how the end was nigh, while others were curled up in balls whimpering. My mother never faltered. She walked as straight and tall as she could with my father’s weight bearing down on her. Seeing her walking calmly down the street seemed to give courage to the other ponies hiding away in the houses. Soon, the streets were filled with ponies doing what ponies do best: helping each other.
Thankfully, the further we got into Cloudsdale the more organized and less disordered things became. Rescue operations and clean-up crews were already underway. A police pony saw my mother and I and came flying over.
“Do you require any assistance, Ma’am?” I could hear the relief in my mother’s voice, though her face remained calm and stoic.
“My husband. He’s been knocked unconscious. I need to go to the hospital, if it is still standing.” The police pony nodded.
“Thankfully that seems to be the one building in Cloudsdale that hasn’t been effected.” He then called over to another police pony. “We need another stretcher made up and two volunteers to take this stallion to the hospital.”
Soon, my father was being flown to the hospital with my mother and I flying close behind him. Looking around, I realized just how lucky we were, though I wasn’t so sure it was luck considering what that slimy voice had said. Still, it could have been worse. Cloudsdale had come to a halt five, maybe six feet above the ground. I didn’t want to think about what would have happened if we had hit the ground. We were also near an Earth pony village, though, judging by the upside down houses and gigantic squirrels, it too had been attacked by whoever had done this. Still, the Earth ponies were already coming forward to help those Pegasus who couldn’t fly, and some Pegasus were flying over to try and help right some of Earth pony houses.
When we arrived at the hospital my father was swept away by very efficient, if slightly haggard looking, nurses. I wanted to follow, but my mother stopped me.
“There’s nothing more you can do here, sweetie. You should go home.” She called another police pony over to her and asked if she would escort me home. I could have protested, but by that point, I was too tired and shell shocked to do much of anything. The officer seemed to understand and hoisted me up onto her back.
“Don’t worry ma’am. I’ll see to it she gets home safe.”
My mother gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “We’ll be home soon, sweetheart. I promise.” Before I could reply I was whisked away back home and deposited in my kitchen.
“Now then, filly, you just stay put. You’ll be safe inside. I’ll make sure the neighbors check up on you. You gonna be okay?”
I nodded again, trying to appear as calm and brave as my mother had been. The police pony gave me a nice warm smile before heading out again.
I alternated between staring blankly out the window and wandering around the kitchen. A few neighbors came by to make sure I was doing okay, but they had their own problems, their own families to deal with. Eventually, I sat down by the door. I planned to wait there until my parents came home. I don’t know how long I sat there, waiting, but eventually the stress of the day caught up to me and I started to cry.