World-Ending Catastrophes, and How to Benefit From Them
Night...
It always has to be at night.
Rainbow groaned quietly to herself as she trekked through the dense jungle in the direction of her enemy's stronghold. A steady rain dropped heavily onto her head as well, the moonlight allowing her to watch the thick drops of water plop onto her camouflaged outfit. It was ridiculous, The Wonderbolts finally accepting her in, but sending her on top-secret war missions into Griffon territory. Maybe they were finally getting wise, realizing her whole potential. Hell, all of those years of combat training and aerial acrobatics weren't for nothing. She was essentially bred for this type of work, even if she was just a one mare army.
She stopped for a brief second to fish a map out of a pocket on the front of her outfit with her foreleg, also using her left wing to reach into another pouch to retrieve a water-proof flashlight. Using her wing's dexterity to turn on the flashlight, she then tossed it into her opposite hoof and flipped the map open. The mare crouched low into a small patch of long jungle grass, careful that no passing patrols would see the blaring flashlight. She didn't waste any time in searching the map for her position.
"There..." she said in a whisper, still scanning the map.
Her irises danced across the sopping wet map as the raindrops continued to fall, using her expert map-reading skills to depict how far she was from the Griffon stronghold.
"Less than a half mile away... Finally." she finally decided, a bit of attitude present in her boyish voice.
Holstering her map and flashlight, she stood up again and continued making her way through the density of the jungle.
It was then she saw it, a large concrete structure, lined with savage-looking barbed-wire and bright searchlights. Typical for Griffon security, a few guards and bright lights. Dash knew they couldn't handle themselves in one on one combat, making the decision to keep things quiet until up close long ago. With a deep inhale, she took a step forward and bowed her head, preparing for the lives she was about to take. She had to remember; It was for her princess, for her fellow Wonderbolts. It's them or her... Maybe even Equestria. A lengthy exhale exited her pursed lips as she spread her wings and shot herself up into the air, her ascent silenced by the plopping of rain.
Her flapping wings allowed her a moment's flutter as she scanned the visible parts of the concrete structure. Two Griffons standing on the second level of the stronghold, just in front of a guard rail and a large flood light. She swooshed to the right, then hovered forward, closer to the structure and out of the light's view. As she got closer, she could heard the Griffons speaking with her trained ears. A useful skill to have in her field of work.
"You think the Rainbow is going to show up tonight?" one of the griffons asked shakily, his claws gripping a sopping-wet bow tightly.
The other Griffon looked off into the distance and shivered.
"I hope not, man... I've heard stories about her." he replied.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but chuckle, knowing her reputation had spread to these sorry suckers. They'll never be remembered, but she already has been. Time to say goodnight.
She flew closer to the structure, over a slightly hidden outer fence. Reaching the guard rail, she readied the weapon at her side, a long, razor-sharp, metallic blade. It was all she needed. No bows, no hatchets or throwing knives. Just her trusty blade. The cold steel had tasted blood countless times before, but every kill seemed to make her better with it.
The weapon slid out of it's holster with a light shink!, only audible to Rainbow. The rain was obnoxious, but at least it masked 90% of her sounds. With a deep breath and a tight grip on her savage blade, she launched herself over the guard rail with her wings, then let them fall to her sides as she dive-bombed down onto the unsuspecting Griffon, blade facing downwards. A direct stab into the top of the creature's skull, easy for the blade's intense level of sharpness. A sly grin split Dash's face as she was about to connect, ending the Griffon's life instantly.
Before she could connect however, everything seemed to stop completely. The rain drops and their pitter-patter, the talking Griffons. everything went silent. Her movement was stopped as well, locking her in place as she stared down at her victim in disbelief. The Griffon quickly snapped it's head upwards and narrowed it's eyebrows.
"Wake up, Rainbow Dash!" it shouted in a mare's voice.
Her eyes instantly went wide in disbelief as the world around her seemed to crumble away in one swift move, leaving her floating in black space.
She quickly opened her eyes and took a deep breath, shifting around frantically as she was woken up form her glorious dream. Her instincts told her to sit up as fast as she could, resulting in a massive smack on her head from the bed hanging above her. The mare yelped in pain as she fell back down onto her pillow, bringing a hoof up to the afflicted forehead.
"Ow! Who's there?! I'll kick the crap out of you!" she said, trying not to sound like she was wincing in pain.
"It's me Dash. Wake up." the mare's voice said again.
Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, letting her foreleg fall to her side as an extended sigh erupted from her throat. She instantly recognized the voice, intelligent and slightly irritated.
"Please don't tell me I missed it..." Rainbow said bringing both hooves to her eyes to rub them.
"Yeah... You missed it." the mare said with a sigh.
Dash sat up quickly, avoiding the bunk bed above her, and opened her eyes.
"Jeez, Twilight... I'm really sorry, I just got... Tied up with some stuff." she said shamefully.
Twilight Sparkle glared at her from across the bed, obviously annoyed.
"Tied up with stuff, huh?" the newly-coronated princess said with a wry expression.
"Well yeah, I uhh... Had some stuff I had to... Go over."
"You mean like beating level 12 of Con Mane for the twenty-seventh time?"
Rainbow Dash sighed as her friend shook her head and turned around.
"I'm sorry, alright? I'm forgetful..."
Twilight sighed once more and stepped across Rainbow's room towards a window. She spread the shades and let the daylight pour in, causing Dash to cover her eyes for a moment. The sunlight allowed for the entirety of the rainbow mare's room to be seen. A wooden bunk-bed was pushed against the wall, it's covers sprawled out onto the floor from a messy night of sleep. Beside it, a four-slot dresser with most of the drawers open, clothes pouring out onto the soft, cloud floor, along with several pieces of trash and random objects. It would be perceived as a foal's room if it weren't for the collection of Play-Mare magazines scattered about the clothing.
"Forgetful?" Twilight said, looking out the window. "This was my last birthday in Ponyville, before I move up to Canterlot"
The alicorn turned around with a frown, looking her sulking friend in the eye.
"and you missed it."
Rainbow Dash frowned as well, and placed an elbow on both of her thighs, letting her head fall into her hooves.
"I know... I'm an awful friend..." she said quietly.
A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment, both ponies pondering their next words carefully. After several moments, Twilight bowed her head and wiped her muzzle, beginning to step out of the room.
"I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave..." Twilight said with her head hung.
Rainbow Dash cursed under her breath and leaped up from the bed, landing on her four hooves behind Twilight.
"Wait! Twi!" she said desperately.
Twilight stopped and looked over her shoulder, remaining silent.
"How about we uhh... Go get a movie, make some popcorn or something before you have to go! I told you I was sorry, let me make it up to you!" she pleaded.
The princess shook her head and growled, turning around quickly.
"No, Rainbow! Last night was the last time I do foalish things, now I have to act like an adult! A normal pony!"
Dash backed away slightly, her ears drooping.
"I can do adult stuff too..." the rainbow-mare said quietly, a hurt expression on her face.
"Adult stuff?!" Twilight asked in disbelief.
She quickly pointed a hoof to the bunk bed in the corner of the room.
"You're a full grown mare, and you sleep in that!" she continued, raising her voice.
"But it's comfortable..." Dash replied quietly.
"It's child-ish!" Twilight said, stomping a hoof on the fluffy cloud carpet. "Everything you do is child-ish! You-You're obsessed with the Wonderbolts for Discord's sake!"
She turned around and pointed down Rainbow Dash's hallway to the living room.
"You play video games until the break of dawn and whine whenever Pinkie Pie beats you at Fighting is Magic!"
Rainbow growled and stepped closer to her irritated friend, one hoof lifted as she tilted closer to her friend, trying to further her point.
"Hey! I just like to have fun! Why do you think all of our friends like to hang out with me, huh?! My life is way better than the life of an egghead!" she said with an angry snarl.
Twilight snorted angrily.
"Our friends may like you, but everypony else hates you Rainbow Dash! You have no idea what they say behind your back!" Twilight said, taking a step closer. "and the life of an 'egghead' has given me one of the most important and prestigious titles of my life."
Rainbow Dash paused, her jaw dropping slightly. A choked breath could be heard from her mouth as she froze completely. Somewhere inside of her, she knew all too well that Twilight's words were true. But it didn't stop them from hurting as much as they did. After several seconds of stunned silence, Twilight shook her head and turned around.
"I've got to get to Canterlot soon, Celesia needs me for something big..." she said, taking a step out of the bedroom. "You need to sort your life out, Rainbow Dash... Stop trying to be the best all the time."
With that, the mare walked down the hallway and out of Rainbow's view.
Rainbow Dash stayed completely still as she heard the front door of her cloud home slam shut. She couldn't move, only stand there in shock as the words sunk in. It all flashed past her, her childish behavior, what everypony actually thought. She fell to her haunches, looking to the ground shamefully.
"I'm a loser..." she whispered quietly.
* * *
After a while, Rainbow Dash finally mustered up enough composure to leave her house. It was a rough few hours after Twilight's departure, but maybe a quick fly down to Ponyville and a visit to one of her best friends would numb the pain. The air felt slightly soothing against her coat as she soared through the sky slowly, watching the clouds as the shifted and moved about the sky. She thought about what her close friend had said, about changing her life, growing up. It was something she didn't want to lose, her childish behavior. Maybe she could balance the two. Like Pinkie, sure she was one of the most childish ponies in Equestria, but she held a job, everypony liked her, she was good company.
Rainbow sighed as she began to descend into Ponyville. Pinkie Pie would sure cheer her up.
She landed as close as she could to Sugar Cube Corner, trying to avoid any unnecessary contact with Ponyville's denizens. As she pushed open the front door to the giant gingerbread house, she was thwarted in her attempts to remain out of the public eye.
Instantly, the chatter and laughter from most of the town hit her in the face as the door to Sugar Cube Corner opened. Of course, where would everypony else be on a Saturday Afternoon?
Rainbow sighed and hanged her head, taking a few steps into the bakery. Normally the smell of treats comforted her, but not today. She looked upwards and scanned the bakery, looking to the familiar faces of everypony in her town. All she'd ever wanted is to be loved by them. To be greeted as she walked into any establishment. To have everypony know her more than just being the rainbow-maned pegasus in the corner of the room. It was the reason for most of her boastful actions. She never meant to annoy or offend, it's just a remarkable feeling to be loved for something great you've done.
She shook her head and smiled slightly. Twilight was just upset, maybe she just said that to make her feel bad. Yeah, that's got to be it. Nopony could hate the Rainbow Dash. Her smile grew even wider, and her posture began to straighten. Dash looked to the nearest table, and stepped confidently towards it. Sitting at the table were three other mares, Bon Bon, Lyra, and Carrot Top, all laughing and nibbling on assorted treats from the front counter. With a cocky smile, Dash stepped up to the table and rested an elbow on it.
"Oh hey guys, what's up?" Rainbow said loudly, smiling at the three ponies.
She watched their expressions carefully, but was disappointed with the result.
The three mares looked at each other in sync, wry expressions painted across all of their faces. It took everything the rainbow mare had not to burst into tears at that moment, but she was able to force the smile to stay on her face.
"Uhh... Hey Dash..." Lyra said, avoiding eye contact with the pegasus across from her.
"Heh, g-good stuff, huh?" Dash said, nodding towards the treat in front of Carrot top.
Carrot shrugged and looked away from Rainbow.
"Yeah... I guess." she said quietly, trailing off.
For a moment, it seemed like the quietest table in the bakery, an air of awkward silence hanging over the four ponies. Dash finally broke the silence by lightly tapping the table with her hoof.
"Right, uh- nice chatting with you guys!" she said cheerfully.
The three mares nodded in response as Dash turned around slowly, a deep blush on her cheeks.
OK, it was true...
She sighed shamefully and wiped her nose, gritting her teeth as tears began to work their way into her eyes. She trotted hurriedly to the counter, hoping to pull Pinkie away for a moment. She'd cried to Pinkie Pie a few times over certain things, she was one of those friends Dash could actually open up to without fear of being judged, and right now that seemed like the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Approaching the counter, she was slightly disheartened as she noticed Mrs. Cake was running it. Pinkie loved the front counter, it meant getting to see everypony's smiling face as she gave them their treats, and the fact that she wasn't there was a bad sign.
"Hey Mrs. Cake, is Pinkie in?" Dash asked, forcing another smile.
"Not to my knowledge. She was taking the day off to help your friend Twilight with her move to Canterlot. We're so proud of her..." she said with a smile.
Rainbow frowned slightly and looked down before nodding to the pony behind the counter.
"Ahh, alright. Well... Thanks anyway." she said with a nod.
Mrs. Cake nodded in return and squinted at the mare in front of her.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash?" she said in a sweet, cheery tone.
Rainbow looked up with a slight smile, hoping that somepony actually wanted to talk to her.
"Yeah?" she replied, her tone sounding a bit more cheerful.
"Would'ja mind scootchin' out of the way? You've got customers behind'ya!" Mrs. Cake said with a smile.
Dash sighed and looked down, walking away from the counter as the next customer stepped past her. She didn't exactly want to rekindle the angry fire with Twilight from earlier, so it seemed best to chose another friend to visit. Fluttershy wasn't exactly somepony she was good at opening up to given their history, and Rarity would probably agree with Twilight, leaving one friend to vent with.
* * *
It was a short walk to Sweet Apple Acres just outside of town, and the air helped her calm a bit. As she approached the gate to Applejack's farm, she smiled, smelling the sweet scent of apples hanging from the nearby orchard's trees. The soft soil crunched gently beneath her hooves as she walked along the dirt path leading past the front gate. She expected Applejack to be out in the fields working right about now, but which field she wasn't sure. A quick visit to the farm house would give her an answer however.
Reaching the farm house, she smiled slightly at it's homely appearance. It seemed so quaint, so untouched by the rest of Ponyville. It was amazing to her, knowing that such wholesome places existed in Equestria. With a breath of fresh air, she knocked on the front door of the farm house, chuckling at the response she received.
"Eeeeeehold'jur hurses' Big Mac, I'ma comin'!" Granny Smith shouted from inside, her voice muffled from the front door.
After several seconds of thumping from behind the door, it was quickly thrown open, revealing a faded-green, elderly earth pony.
"I told'ja lunch wasn't fur' another half 'our kiddo-! Oh... Rainbuh' Dash? 'sthatchu?" she said, squinting slightly.
Rainbow Dash smiled slightly and nodded.
"Yeah Granny Smith, it's me." she replied.
"Well ay' there sweetie-pie! What brings'ya to Sweet Apple' Acres today'?" Granny Smith asked.
Dash's smile grew as she received the much-needed friendly greeting.
"Just looking for Applejack. Which field is she working today?" Dash replied.
"Ohhhh, well she's working the Eastern Field today, sweetie."
She nodded in response, waving to Granny Smith before stepping away from the door step.
"Thanks!" she said, beginning to walk away.
"Hey' wait there, kiddo! Everything alright?" the elderly pony asked.
Dash nodded slowly and looked over her shoulder.
"Yeah. Everything's fine. Just need to talk to AJ." she said.
After receiving a nod from Granny Smith, she began making her way to the East Field, her spirits lifted slightly.
The short walk to the East Field gave Dash a bit more time to think of her predicament. Maybe she didn't need attention from everypony. If ponies didn't want to pay attention to her, they weren't worth her time anyway, right? She sighed and shook her head as the thought bounced around her mind. She couldn't think about it like that. She wanted their attention more than anything. Before she could plan anything, she noticed her friend out of the corner of her eye. A few trees to her right, Applejack was finishing up a row of trees, carrying a bucket of apples in her mouth to a nearby cart. Rainbow smiled and quickly hovered towards her.
"Hey! Applejack!" Rainbow shouted, nearing the working farmpony.
Applejack stopped and looked around, smiling as she noticed Dash flying towards her.
"Well hey there sugarcube." she said, finishing her loading of the cart.
Rainbow landed beside her and sighed, throwing both forelegs around her friend. Applejack chuckled and returned the embrace, looking to her friend with an eyebrow raised.
"Everything OK there, pardner?" she asked, slightly confused.
Dash pulled away and cleared her throat, wiping her muzzle once more.
"Just been a hell of a day so far... Any chance I could, y'know... Talk to you about it?" she said, nervously rubbing a hoof along the back of her neck.
Applejack smiled and nodded, stepping around to the front of the cart.
"Sure thing sugarcube! Lemme' just get this back to the barn then we'll head inside. Granny Smith's probably finishin' up some hoof lickin' apple pie."
Dash smiled brightly as Applejack began saddling the cart over her back, motioning for her to follow as she began making her way to the barn. The rainbow mare quickly followed, walking closely beside Applejack as they traveled through the orchard. Neither one of them rushed, Applejack naturally enjoying the orchard and Rainbow Dash simply enjoying her friend's company.
"So uhh... This wouldn't happen' ta' do with missin' Twilight's party last night, would it?" Applejack asked awkwardly.
Rainbow Dash frowned slightly and sighed.
"You heard about that?" she asked.
"Well ah just kinda assumed, you not bein' there an' all."
Rainbow nodded and continued walking, trying not to make eye-contact with the pony beside her.
"Yeah... Let's just... Talk about it when we get to the farm house." she replied.
Applejack nodded with a smile.
"Whatever you say sugarcu-" she said.
The farmpony paused however, stopping dead in her tracks. Rainbow continued walking though, not noticing her friend had stopped.
Applejack looked around for a moment, her ears twitching as she sniffed at the air and raised an eyebrow. She could feel something beneath her hooves but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
"I really appreciate this, AJ... I know I don't exactly open up a lot, but right now is just..." Rainbow began.
She paused as well however, finally noticing her friend was no longer beside her.
"AJ?" she asked, turning around.
Applejack continued to look around, eyeing her hooves precariously. As if something was wrong beneath them.
"Ya' feel that?" she asked, looking up to Rainbow with a confused expression.
Dash paused and concentrated on her hooves for a moment. She began to notice something odd about the ground beneath them as well. Almost as if the ground beneath her was rumbling.
"Yeah... You think it's a little earthquake or something?"
Applejack pondered the thought for a moment, cautiously stepping forward .
"Ah dunno... Felt kinda like it ah guess'."
Rainbow opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as the ground beneath them began to rumble loudly. Instinctively, the rainbow mare lifted herself off of the ground in fear, Applejack's face twisting into another worried expression. Her legs shook wildly, almost falling to the ground as the earth beneath her began to shake.
"Good call, sugarcube!" she shouted over the low rumble of the ground.
Rainbow Dash looked around frantically. There wasn't exactly a wealthy supply of earthquakes happening around Ponyville this time of year. Needless to say, it was rather surprising. Applejack began unhitching herself from the cart, then motioned to Rainbow as she trotted hurriedly in the direction of the barn.
"C'mon, Dashie! Let's get to the barn and wait this thing out!" she shouted up to her hovering friend.
Rainbow quickly broke out of her trance and nodded, flying hurriedly in the direction of the barn, careful not to stray too far from Applejack. As Applejack trotted along the path between the trees, she looked to the orchard around her. The intensity of the rumbling was enough to begin shaking the trees wildly, causing a bit of worry for the farm mare. She gritted her teeth and began trotting faster, almost breaking into a full sprint towards the barn. Rainbow began to notice the rattling trees however, and looked to Applejack, beginning to speed up just as she had done.
After a few moments of rumbling and running, both mares noticed that the "small" earthquake began to intensify. So much so that trees were beginning to topple over around the orchard, one directly in Applejack's path.
"Gah- Hogwash!" Applejack shouted over the roar of the ground beneath her.
She quickly sprang into the air over the fallen tree, landing back on the dirt path in a full sprint.
"Dash, we gotta' move!" she shouted upwards.
Rainbow Dash looked down to her friend with the intention to nod, but stared in disbelief instead. The dirt path right behind Applejack was beginning to crack apart and sink downwards at an alarming rate, nearly catching up with the sprinting mare.
"A-AJ!" she shouted back, beginning to fly downwards.
The farm mare looked confused for a moment, but as she looked over her shoulder, she noticed the object of Dash's fear. Her eyes went wide and her sprint nearly doubled in fear as she noticed the sinking path following her, the earth still shaking and rumbling wildly.
It was beginning to kick into a full-scale earthquake, worse than anything the two mares had ever seen in Ponyville. It scared Dash more than anything, having to watch as the collapsing earth nearly swallowed up her friend. She shook her head and dove downwards towards Applejack. Without warning, she reached both hooves outwards and Scooped Applejack up with a grunt of excursion, lifting her up away from the crumbling ground with all of her strength. The country mare yelped in surprise as she was lifted away, but calmed slightly as she noticed Rainbow Dash hoisting her up.
She'd been helped up just in time for the path beneath her to catch up and sink even deeper, swallowing a few trees with it as the crack in the earth began to expand outwards as well. Applejack stared in disbelief as her orchard was swallowed up by the rumbling earth, her eyes as wide as they could be. After a few moments, Dash landed in front of the farm house and set Applejack down, looking behind her at the wreckage. Rainbow's eyes widened as well, her jaw dropping as she eyed the destruction created by the earthquake.
A massive void in the earth had torn Sweet Apple Acres almost completely in half, eventually stopping a few feet in front of Rainbow Dash. She looked to Applejack and pointed to the farmhouse by the barn.
"Get everypony out of there, I'll get the barn open!" Dash said, hovering in the air once again.
Applejack nodded and began backing away, sparing a glance to the wreckage once more before turning around and sprinting into her home.
Trying to ignore the rumbling earth beneath her, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and shot herself towards the front door of the barn, frantically unlatching it and throwing the front door of the large red structure open.
"Shit, shit, shit! Hurry up AJ..." she said under her breath as she landed on the ground and stepped shakily into the barn.
Several agonizing seconds later, Applebloom shot into the barn and dived into a pile of hay off to the side. She was eventually followed by Applejack, Granny Smith, and finally Big Mac, who was stumbling backwards after catching a glimpse of their destroyed farm.
"What in the name of Celestia....? What happened AJ?!" he shouted worriedly over the roar of the earthquake.
"No idea, me an' Dash wer' walkin' back from the East Field when-" Applejack began.
"Make it stop, AJ, please!" Applebloom shouted, deep within the pile of hay.
"I aint' never seen nothin' this bad!" Mac said, slamming the barn door shut.
"It aint' nothin, now everypony just calm down, this'll be over before we know it'." Granny Smith said, silencing the three siblings.
The barn remained silent for a moment, save for the rumbling from outside. Until a beam snapped from above Rainbow Dash and began falling downwards. Hearing the loud crack! Rainbow Dash cocked her head upwards and quickly flew out of the way, the large wooden beam falling with a stern thud, followed by a high-pitched scream from Applebloom.
Everypony in the barn looked at eachother in sync, still hearing the massive rumble from outside, the shaky earth beneath them making it difficult to stand. Applejack looked between the other three for a moment before rushing towards Applebloom.
"Don't worry lil' sis'. You're fine." she said, crouching beside the hay pile.
"The hell is going on...?" Mac asked under his breath, looking to the ground.
Rainbow Dash looked cautiously around the barn, watching it rumble and shake along with the earth beneath her. Watching Applejack's fruitless attempts to calm her little sister. Watching Big Mac question 'why?'. She swallowed hard and shuffled her hooves nervously. She could feel it.
This was only the beginning...
World-Ending Catastrophes, and How to Benefit From Them
As the moments went by, the earthquake continued, keeping the four ponies holed up in the barn on the nearly-destroyed Sweet Apple Acres. After a while, the rumbling stopped completely, leaving them in complete and utter silence. They eyed each other closely, as if waiting for one of them to mumble a comforting phrase about the hellish quake to be over, but nothing was said. Instead, Mac turned around slowly and began to unlatch the door, Apple Bloom watching him as she stuck to Applejack, the side of her face buried in the mare's orange coat. Granny sat opposite of Rainbow on a bale of hay, looking around the barn and at the others every once in a while. Rainbow could tell she was a bit shaken by the event. Probably just trying to keep her composure, somepony had to.
Dash watched as Mac unlatched the door and slowly pulled it open with a screech that broke the silence and echoed off of the walls of the barn. The sun poured into the barn, causing the ponies to shield their eyes for a moment before being able to see. The farm still looked destroyed, but at least the rumbling had stopped. Several trees were hanging off of the edge into the large crevice that had split the farm in two, along with a massive amount of apples littering the ground around the orchard.
"Land sakes'... You think this went as far as Ponyville?" Applejack asked quietly, stepping away from Apple Bloom and next to her brother.
Mac shrugged, still staring at the wreckage.
"No idea... Ah just don't know how we can have a functionin' farm with a giant hole in the middle'." he replied distantly.
Applejack sighed, then remained quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting from the broken trees to the massive crevice, and everything in-between. After a few moments, she looked back to Rainbow Dash and nodded towards the outside.
"C'mon, Dashie. Let's go check on Ponyville." she said, beginning to exit the barn.
She was blocked however, as Mac extended his foreleg.
"You're goin' out there? After all that?" he asked in a shocked tone.
Dash stood up from her haunches to her hooves and stepped cautiously towards the brother and sister.
"Ah'm not just gonna not know if my friends are hurt, or worse." she said, pointing to the near-canyon in the middle of their farm. "Things' could'a gotten a lot worse than that."
Mac looked to her, then the crevice again, eventually sighing and pulling his hoof away.
"OK... But then y'all come right back, ya'hear?" he said, looking between Rainbow and Applejack.
Rainbow Dash nodded wordlessly, stepping behind Applejack as the farm mare began walking out of the barn.
"Will do," she said, leaning closer to him. "Take care of A.B, she's still shakin'."
Mac nodded in response and the two mares exited the barn, closing the door behind them. Applejack looked around at the farm one last time before turning towards the it's gate and making her way towards it. Rainbow Dash followed wearily, her nerves itching at her, causing her to almost shake.
"You really think it hit Ponyville?" Rainbow asked as they left the farm and began traveling the dirt path to their town.
"'Course it did..." Applejack said with a sigh. "I just wanna' now how bad it is an' how we can help."
"You don't think we should get home and help ourselves? I mean, Sweet Apple Acres is pretty much totaled."
Applejack looked over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised.
"Wouldn't you want some help right now?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
Dash nodded slowly and continued walking in silence.
* * *
As the two neared Ponyville, they both stopped and stared in awe at the destruction that had taken it as well. Several houses and other various structures had been almost completely leveled by the earth's tremors. Several ponies scrambled about, helping others sort through the wreckage, trying to pry ponies from them. Others simply stared and awe just as Applejack and Rainbow Dash did, not able to process how awful the destruction was. A dull roar could be heard from the entirety of the town as ponies called out to their relatives and friends, trying to locate them among the rubble.
"Sweet Celestia'." Applejack said quietly.
She looked back to Rainbow before breaking into a sprint towards the town, Dash following quickly after with a flap of her wings. As the two got closer, the destruction seemed even worse. Almost the whole town seemed to be a crumbling ruin by now, barely any structures left unaffected. Applejack eyed a nearby pony down the street in front of them as the two sprinted through town. A creamy-golden, swirly-orange maned earthpony stood with both hooves on either side of her head, staring at her home.
"Carrot Top!" Applejack shouted, nearing the pony.
She turned around and looked for the source of the voice in confusion, eventually seeing Applejack and waving to her.
"Applejack! Hey! You're alright!" she said, smiling brightly.
The farm pony stopped and skidded a few feet in front of Carrot Top, nodding. Rainbow Dash quickly followed, hovering next to her friend as she continued to scan the town.
"Yeah, how're you?" Applejack asked.
Carrot turned to her house and sighed, shaking her head. She turned back to AJ and nodded.
"Fine. Just- Fine. Glad to know some ponies made it out without a scratch." she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"Glad to know you're alright too, Sugar Cube." Applejack said with a nod. "Have you seen Twilight or Rarity around here? What about Pinkie, or Fluttershy?"
Carrot Top looked around in thought, hesitantly opening her mouth to speak.
"I think I remember seeing Pinkie and Twilight heading towards the hospital, but I don't know if they went there or not. Didn't see Rarity or Fluttershy."
Applejack nodded, looking in the direction of the hospital across town.
"Thanks, Sugar Cube. Ah'll find em' an' we'll set up some place were everypony can regroup, then we'll sort this mess out."
Carrot Top nodded, waving to Applejack as she took off, Rainbow Dash following closely.
"Hospital... You think one of them is hurt?" Rainbow asked worriedly.
"Ah sure as heck hope not." Applejack said, running down the side of the street.
Rainbow stopped for a moment and landed on the ground, eyeing the area around them for a moment as Applejack continued trotting along.
"Hey! AJ!" she shouted.
The farm pony stopped in her tracks and turned around, an ear perking up slightly.
"We should split up!" Rainbow shouted.
Applejack quickly trotted back and raised an eyebrow.
"Whatchu' mean?" she asked.
Dash pointed a hoof towards the hospital and nodded towards it.
"I'll head to the hospital and look for Twilight and Pinkie." she said. "You head to Rarity's and from there on to Fluttershy's."
Applejack thought for a moment, nodding as she did so.
"Alright, ah like it. I'll meetchu' at the hospital afterwards." she said, tapping Dash's shoulder as she began trotting in the opposite direction. "Stay safe Dashie!"
Dash nodded, wearily looking to the road in front of her, half-leveled buildings and frantic ponies lining either side of it. With a gulp, she began lurching forward until eventually reaching a sprint. She'd been to the hospital a few times before for various flight-related accidents, so the location was lodged in her mind. Her hooves pounded against the dirt as she rounded a corner and took off down the next road, a few blocks from her destination. Her frantic thoughts only spurred her hooves faster as she thought about the possibility of her closest friends being wounded by the disaster. She tried to calm herself by thinking of the simplicity of the plan; Applejack goes here, she goes there, meet up later. She repeated it over and over again to keep her head from spinning, wanting only to complete her objective and escape the crying ponies and apocalyptic scene.
She was stopped however as she heard a very distinct crying from across the street. Something about the howl of desperation made her stop completely, looking around to find the source of it. Her eyes came to rest on an elderly earth-mare being held back by a royal guard, a nearly-demolished two-story house in front of them. Dash spread her wings and hovered across the street, coming to land a few feet beside the two.
"Ma'am! Please! Just listen!" the armored-stallion said, trying to overthrow her loud volume.
"No! You let me back in there NOW!" she screamed in response, trying desperately to push him out of the way.
Rainbow took a few steps closer, wildly looking between the two and what remained of the house in front of them. It looked to be still crumbling, most of the entrances blocked off by cracked wooden beams and other assorted pieces of rubble.
"Ma'am, the structure is too far gone-!"
"My son is in there, you monster!"
Dash paused, immediately snapping her head to the structure and keeping her view fixed on it.
"We'll send somepony in when things die down, but for now you need to move back!" the guard continued.
Rainbow nervously shuffled her hooves for a moment, glancing to a few spots on the second story she could fly into. Her mind wildly zigzagged between her task of getting to the hospital and the colt trapped in the collapsing structure. A small bead of sweat began to form at her brow as she looked around. Nopony else seemed to be paying attention to the two arguing ponies, meaning that nopony else would help. But every second she wasn't at the hospital meant more time for her friends to get hurt.
"Please! Just send somepony in now!" the mare pleaded.
Dash sighed and spread her wings, shooting off from the ground in one swift move, sending a small gust of wind towards the elderly mare and the guard. They both went silent instantly and turned towards Rainbow. As she ascended and reached the second story, she noticed a large gap in the house on it's right side. Wasting no time, she rushed towards it and landed inside softly, trying not to further the structural damage.
"Hey! Miss, stay out of there!" the guard shouted, rushing towards the side of the building.
The elderly mare's face simply lit up in joy. Her prayers had been answered.
As Rainbow Dash's hooves made contact with the floor of the home, she could immediately hear it creak and shift slightly beneath her. She spread her wings and began to hover a few inches above it.
"Probably shouldn't put anymore weight on it..." she whispered to herself, hovering forward slowly.
She fluttered cautiously through an open doorway leading to a hallway. The walls were cracked and askew, resulting in a confusing representation of what used to be a hall that was now bent out of shape. With gentle flaps of her wings, she began to maneuver through the hallway, her path lit by the sunlight through cracks in the walls.
"Hello?!" she called out, hovering through the hallway.
There was no direct response, but she could hear harsh coughs coming from a nearby door in the hallway. She reached a hoof out and pushed the door open lightly. Instead of swinging open, the door broke off of it's hinges and fell inward, then down to the bottom floor. Looking into the doorway, she could see that the floor had collapsed completely.
"Hello?! Is anypony in here?!" she called again.
A few more coughs echoed off of the walls, followed by a weak voice.
"H-H... Here..." a colts voice called back.
Rainbow hovered into the doorway and scanned the first floor beneath her. Within moments she spotted a few dusty wooden boards shuffling among the destruction. She instinctively dived down to the spot and began surveying the area around it. It looked mostly stable, only one or two of the boards supporting anything else. If her hooves were careful enough, she could get the colt out with no problems.
"Hello? I'm here to get you out." Rainbow said in the calmest voice she could muster.
"O-Ok..." the colt replied weakly beneath the wood.
She began slowly and carefully pulling the wooden boards out of place and setting them nearby. After a few pieces, she could see the colt's face beginning to stare back at her. A light-grey earth pony with a weary expression managed to flash a smile at her beneath the rubble, then elicited a weak cough.
"T-Thank you..." the colt said.
Rainbow paused for a moment and smiled back, then continued to work.
"Don't mention it, kiddo..." she said quietly.
After a few more pieces of wood, the colt began to squirm a bit.
"Hey... H-Hey! I think I-I can move now!" he said, his expression brightening slightly.
"OK, OK, let me just..." Rainbow said, pulling up another board slightly with a grunt of exhaustion. "C'mon, c'mon, go!"
The colt nodded quickly and began trying to push his way out of the wooden prison. After a few seconds, he slid free of the rubble's grasp and limped away from it, signalling to Rainbow that he was out. Seeing the colt was free, she dropped the wood and wiped her brow with a sigh of relief.
"Alright, there we go!" she said with a weary smile. "Are you hurt? Need help getting-"
The rainbow mare was cut off as the ear-splitting sound of cracking wood sounded above her. Her view darted upwards just in time to see a thick wooden beam barreling downwards at her. She quickly gasped and sprang to the side, landing on her back with a stern thud, her wings splayed out on the ground.
The colt watched in terror as the long-end of the beam crashed down on the first floor, landing directly on Rainbow's right-wing. The mare screamed in pain as the thick Huck of wood crushed the bones in her wing with a ghastly crack. In reality, it only lasted seconds. But to her it felt like an entire lifetime of pain. Her wings were the most sensitive part of her body, and now it felt as if the weight of the world had fallen onto it. The crack echoed in her ears as she felt each of her bones snap from the pressure of the beam, tears pooling in her eyes.
After the beam had done it's work, it fell against the wall with a large crash as Rainbow rolled over and clutched her broken wing, still howling in intense pain. The colt frantically looked around. His eyes came to rest on the wall broken by the beam. A bright ray of light was shining through it from the outside, causing the colt's eyes to go wide. He briskly limped towards it screaming.
"Help! Somepony help!"
Rainbow Dash's ears rang as the pain swelled throughout her wing like a hornet's nest, buzzing and stinging her bones over and over again. She rolled over weakly, still clutching her wing as it throbbed. Her heartbeat could soon be heard faintly through the constant mental alarm going crazy. Soon after, her head began to throb with each beat, the light from outside stinging her eyes.
Light...
Outside...
Her heart thumped extra-hard at the realization. She could hardly see from the tears in her eyes that distorted her vision, but there was a source of light not too far in front of her. One hoof kept on her wing, she reached the other one forward and planted it firmly in the ground, pulling her body with it. She did it again and again, pulling her seemingly-limp body from the destroyed home. The shock waves of pain continued hitting her body like a million freight trains, almost forcing her eyes shut as she reached the outside. Once she felt the warmth of the sun on her coat and cool grass beneath her, she let her face fall to the ground and shut her eyes.
"What in Celestia's name were you thinking, ma'am?!" the guard said, trotting around the house towards her.
Rainbow's eyelids lurched open, her eyes bloodshot from pain.
"The kid... Needed... Help." she said, grimacing.
The guard watched with an angered expression as Rainbow wearily made her way back onto her hooves, stumbling a few times as she did so. When she was finally standing with one hoof still covering her wing, she looked to him, dust and tiny cuts lining her face.
"You sure as hell weren't going to do it." she said quietly.
The guard's angry expression intensified as Rainbow limped forward towards the street. As she passed by, the elderly mare smiled brightly, her colt standing by her hooves, also covered in tiny scratches and bruises.
"Thank you... Thank you so much..." she said.
Rainbow smiled weakly and nodded.
"You're welcome..." she replied quietly.
As Dash made her way back to the street, she felt a sense of... Pride. A sense of gratification from the elderly mare, something she'd always wanted. She forced her head up high as she could feel the energy returning to her body, pain still throbbing throughout her shattered wing, and held her smile as she began to make her way in the direction of the hospital once more.
Maybe disasters could have their advantages.
