The Eve of the Destruction
It was Hearth's Warming Eve, a few months after the outbreak of the war in ponyville, it was to be known to the Pegasi that the Earth Ponies could no longer fight a war against the encroaching Unicorn Forces, reportedly the Pegasi wanted no inclusion in the matter, but it became their only option when the balloons arrived.
Rainbow Dash awoke, her eyes flickered open in an instant, the sound of sirens, ponies squealing, and the heavy thud of explosions in the distance. Pulling herself out of bed, she peered through the window into the night, through the magnificent buildings of Cloudsdale, she could see spotlights gleaming up into the sky, every so often a spotlight would catch a silhouette, one she could not quite make out from this distance. Through the distant clatter of gunfire, she could see Pegasi flying this way and that, below in the streets, she saw ponies running to and fro, their faces struck with fear. Through the clouds of Smoke which had begun to engulf the streets, Rainbow Dash ran, she barged throguh Ponies, flying for the most part. She came to a stop, as did the crowd. Desperately trying to get a view, Rainbow flew up to the tallest building nearby and perched herself upon it, below she could see the scattered bodies of dead Pegasi and the flicker of celebration lights. The gunfire had subsided now only a soft hum in th sky could be heard, resounding off the nearby buildings.
Midst the Pegasi bodies, she saw the scattered ruins of airships and dead Unicorns, the fading light from their horns was the only sign she could tell they were dead. And still the hum continued, getting louder and louder. The lights of nearby searchlights flickered into life, revelaing the gondola of an airship which hung directly above the crowd, Rainbow edged back at the sight of this, her heart thumping.The Airship swayed in the wind, unreactionary. And in a sudden, the clatter of gunfire returned, the Pegasi Airforce pulling in at full might, guns blazing in the still night. Rainbow Dash looked up in awe, it had always been her dream, to fly for the Pegasi Airforce, also known as the Wonderbolts. As soon as the gunfire had sounded, it had stopped, and a torrent of fire erupted from the gasbag, sending the crowd running and flying. Through the fire, the Airship fell, in ruins.
Once thecrowd had dispersed, Rainbow took a look below, at the destruction tonight had brought, the destruction the Unicorns had brought. In the distance, the flash of bombs could still be heard, the ground still heaved and the screams could still be heard. But after a while, all was still, As though it had never happened.
"Well, that was pretty intense" Said Rainbow Dash to herself, she wondered back to her house, through the untouched streets of her area. The stillness of everything, as though she was alone... The silence, combined with the noices from the distance, were softened almost into melody.
"Where could everyone have gone?" Rainbow asked to herself, her head spinning with confusion.
Everything stood solitute, all was still. The festivities of the night, disrupted and forgotten, the ponies had returned to their houses, as if wishing that they had not seen what they had.
The silent, felt almost deadly, Rainbow quickened her pace back to her house, her hooves shaking as she clambered into bed, falling into an uneasy sleep of fearful dreams and nightmares. Waking to silence, Rainbow lay still in bed, creeping from the covers, she crawled towards the window, peeking through the glass panes below. She could see the wreckage to its full extent now, the collapsed buildings, the smoking fires, the glittering embers which rose, crackling into the air. She rushed down onto the street, noticing the broken glass and smashed tiles strewn all about cobbled floor. Through the clouds of smoke, Rainbow could just about see the crowd, making her way swiftly towards it, she realised, that this crowd was the same as the one from the previous night. The crowd buffeted her to the front.
At the edge of a crowd, a male pony stood, holding posters, wearing a military uniform. He had a moustache, pruned finely, and monacle, his chest brazen with rows of badges.
"Yesterday, we witnessed the destruction of many houses, and the first loss of life to the great Pegasi Empire. We owe our greatest gratitude to the Wonderbolts, who stood firm in the face of death, against all odds..." Cried the colt, his voice trailed on, Rainbow's attention draw away to the rows of Wonderbolts who marched into the square to form a double rank.
"It is only right, that we return the favour, something that we must do without fail. It is, with my greatest sadness, but it is impossible for me to withold, that we are now... At war... With the Unicorns. But let us not forget, we will fight, to the very last pony, never shall we yield to such inpertinence. We will fight on the land, on the water, in the sky, everywhere, until they are defeated! We shall prevail! As we did last night. But I only ask one thing of you, and that is for you to support your nation, in defeating the Unicorns, we cannot do this without you. You!" The colt flung his posters about, waving his arms as he spoke, the crowd cheered, but soon after fell into silence.
"Are there any volunteers?" He asked. No one replied, no one stepped forward.
Rainbow shook, she had a sharp feeling of patriotism. It was then the first volunteer stepped forward, his hooves shook as he stepped towards the Colt.
"Ah, our first volunteer! What an honour! Tell me, fine gentlecolt, are you here to serve your nation?" Asked the colt.
"B- because... I love my nation, and I shall fight for it!" His speech wavered, he still shook, but his face shone with optimism as he held his hoof to the sky.
"Ah, a worthy soldier, we have here! Is ther anyone else? Anyone who is truly willing to serve their nation and stop what happened last night ever happening again?" Asked the colt.
Rainbow stepped forwards, her hooves clattering on the cobbles as she stepped in front of the crowd.
"I do, sir!" She cried to the colt, his bushy moustache widened into a smile as he gestured for her to step forth.
"Well, well, well! I never thought I'd see this! Ace flier Rainbow Dash wanting to join up! I'd have thought she'd be too busy with her flying... Very well, head over there and see the gentlecolt over there, he'll give you some directions."
"Yes, sir" Said she, saluting and walking silently in front of the crowd to the smartly dressed pony who stood to the side.
A few others offered themselves up, joining her and the smartly dressed pony on a march through the streets.
