The Fall of Equestria

Braeburn had been sulking around Manehatten for a while now. He had to get out of his condo after the argument with his cousin. The lights shone around him most of them bright, advertising various casinos and resorts. Even though it was late out there were still a few ponies out and about, most of them heading to their homes. It was strange to Braeburn that these ponies seemed completely oblivious to the impending war coming, it seemed that life just went on.

Ah' got nothin' ma'h family hates me, the world hates me, and ah'm a murderer. Braeburn thought to himself looking at the cobblestone ground.

Braeburn kept on going through the city for a while until he noticed a group of unicorn mares putting up a poster on an apartment complex. Braeburn stopped and said.

"Howdy."

One of the mares turns around. "Oh mister Braeburn!" The yellow unicorn mare says.

The other unicorns turn and smile at Braeburn but quickly return to their work except for a yellow one."Braeburn it is an honor to speak to you. Our leader...um...well second leader."

"Oh please miss ah'm nothing more than a stallion." Braeburn replies humbly.

"But mister-"

"No, no Braeburn is fine, but uh ya reckon you can tell me what y'all are doin'?"

"Oh why we are just putting up a poster honoring you and our glorious leader." The mare says. nudging her friends aside so Braeburn can see.

The poster makes Braeburn sick on the inside. It depicts his leader looking up at a blue sky, and Braeburn standing next to him pointing a sword at a defeated Celestia and her army behind her cowering away. Even though Braeburn hates this image he puts on a fake smile.

"G...good job miss."

"Thank you Braeburn. Oh! I was wondering if-"

BOOM!!!

An explosion is heard all around, many ponies either come out of their homes or open their windows to see what is happening. Braeburn looks around with his large green eyes, looking over the various buildings.

"Braeburn what is that?" The mare asks nervously.

He hadn't even noticed that the sirens had gone off, warning everypony to get to safety. The yellow mare's friends gallop away frantically leaving her behind. The mare looks around scared by the loud sirens blaring around her.

Braeburn puts his hoof on the mare's shoulder, snapping her back to the present. "Listen! We have to get outta here! Follow me!" The mare shakes her head. "Come on miss, you'll be safe!" The mare stays put still scared of the sirens and the explosion from earlier.

No Ah' am not gonna let another pony die! Braeburn thinks determined. Braeburn takes his hoof off of the mares shoulder, and takes her hoof pulling her to safety.

"Let go of me!" The mare shrieks.

"Cant do that miss, yer ma'h responsibility now." He says calmly.

The mare tries to break away from Braeburn but he holds on tight, not letting her go.

Ba-boom! Another explosion is heard. Braeburn looks around, ignoring the mares protests. This time Braeburn sees a skyscraper, with a large gaping hole on it's side glowing a light blue, obviously unicorn magic. The building begins to teeter about to fall on it's side.

If that thing falls we are screwed. Braeburn thinks.

Braeburn begins to go to a full gallop, going through various alleyways and down different streets. He looks around quickly for his destination, pulling the yellow mare along with him. At this point the mare has ceased struggling instead only asking small questions.

"Where are we going!?" She yells over the sirens.

"Ta ma'h bunker! Don't worry its big enough to house the two of us!" He yells.

They continue galloping, until they eventually reach a large avenue. The whole place was in chaos, all around ponies were galloping in different directions. All around ponies are bumping into each other screaming in terror. On the street are a few carriages all turned over, most with its riders dead, or just barely alive. Braeburn rushes down the street readying a dagger he always keeps in a sheath on his waist.

"Get ready!" He yells to the mare.

She nods, and Braeburn gallops along with her pushing through all of the ponies, keeping his dagger in hoof. A few ponies try to grab at the mare and Braeburn, but he quickly gets rid of them by giving them a hoof to the face. Eventually they reach the end of the avenue and go down the last alleyway.

"This is it! It'll be at the end of the alley!"

"WATCH OUT!" The mare yells.

He doesn't look fast enough and something hard hits him in the face, blurring his vision. Braeburn looks up again and sees a blue stallion with a bloody right hoof, obviously Braeburn's blood. Braeburn shows the stallion his dagger, attemting to intimidate him, but he doesn't back down.

"Stand aside!" Braeburn yells.

"Why should I?" The stallion asks.

"Cuz if ya don't then ah'll have ta kill you here!" He roars pointing his knife at the stallion. "Miss get behind me." He says to the mare.

The stallion lunges for Braeburn throwing his hoof at Braeburn's face again. This time Braeburn is ready and he quickly ducks out of the way, preparing his own hoof. Braeburn throws his own punch hitting the stallion in the chest knocking the wind out of him. The stallion clutches his chest for a bit, gasping for air.

"Listen you still have a chance! Any minute and a giant skyscraper is gonna crash down on us! You can come with us and you'll be safe!"

The stallion has now caught his breath, and staggers up to his hooves. Looking at Braeburn his eyes narrowed.

"Why should I trust you?" The blue stallion asks.

"Because its your only option to stay alive pardner." Braeburn says smiling.

"Fine but I wouldn't trust me."

Braeburn nods and sheaths his dagger, pulling along the yellow mare down the alleyway and making sure that the blue stallion is following along behind them. They reach the end of the alleyway, Braeburn looks at the ground and sees a metal hatch. He pulls the bar on it to open the hatch, it pops open revealing  a small flight of wooden stairs. Braeburn moves out of the way and motions for his companions to get in.

"Get inside!"

The mare goes in first followed by the blue stallion.

CRASH!

The building has fallen, Braeburn quickly goes down the stairs and locks the hatch from the inside. The screams and shouts of the dying ponies outside are just barely muffled by the locked hatch.

                                                                                          ***

Ten minutes earlier.

Fwoo!

Rainbow shoots her crossbow at a grey stallion standing on a balcony. The arrow hits the stallion square in the head his blood splattering the wall behind him. Rainbow hides behind a wooden crate reloading her crossbow. She never thought that she would come to Manehatten as an invader with ten thousand other ponies. All around the other guards are shooting their own crossbows at the rebels. The rebels have the better position, all the rebels stand on balconies their muskets lighting up the night.

"Private Dash!" A green stallion yells next to her.

"Yes sir!?"

"We are advancing!" The green stallion yells.

"Sir!" Rainbow replies her crossbow now loaded. The green stallion goes down the avenue followed by the thousands of other ponies. Rainbow follows stepping over debris and various bodies.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three muskets go off killing three ponies in front of her, Rainbow readies her crossbow and aims at a orange mare on a balcony.

Fwoo!

The arrow hits an orange mare in the chest, her body hanging over the balcony railing. Rainbow reloads her crossbow once more and aims at a green stallion preparing his musket.

Fwoo!

The arrow hits the stallion in his hoof, blood dribbling from his wound. Rainbow reaches in her quiver for another arrow as they march down the avenue. All around the rebels have their muskets prepared and ready to fire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shots come from balconies above them killing six ponies in front of Rainbow. She goes over the bodies and notices an alleyway.

No way they'd be able to shoot me there. Rainbow thinks to herself.

And it was true, there were no balconies in the alleyway, so there would be no way for the rebels to shoot her. Rainbow breaks away from the marching army and gallops down the long alleyway which leads to a dead end. Rainbow looks at the rooftops making sure that no ponies were up there. Luckily there aren't and Rainbow begins to relax, but notices something strange in the ground. A small white hatch, just big enough for a pony to enter. Rainbow smiles.

This has to be where their boss is hiding! Rainbow thinks to herself triumphantly.

At last Spike would be avenged. Rainbow pulls a metal bar to open it, the hatch opens with a popping sound. In the hatch are a flight of wooden stairs going down into the earth. Rainbow goes down them, and closes the hatch unlocked behind her.

                                                                                     ***

"Why are ya here?" Braeburn asks a cyan mare holding a lantern in the dark bunker.

The cyan mare puts the lantern on the floor and pulls a metal switch above her, the light bulb above her lighting up the room. The room is quite small just barely big enough to fit the four ponies in it, with four beds in each corner of the room and a small night stand in the middle, which the cyan pony stands next to.

"These your friends Braeburn?" The cyan pony asks.

"More like acquaintances really." The blue stallion says standing next to Braeburn.

The yellow mare nods behind Braeburn.

"So Rainbow ya mind tellin' me why yer here?" Braeburn asks.

Rainbow puts out a fake laugh. "Braeburn I never thought you would be a traitor."

Braeburn stays silent and looks at the ground in shame. "Ah'-"

"Don't I me!" Rainbow yells, getting her crossbow and pointing it at Braeburn. "You joined these...traitors! You destroyed my friends homes!" Rainbow feels tears welling in her magenta eyes. "And you killed Spike...he was just a kid and you murdered him!"

Braeburn feels his heart become heavy, because all these things...and more are true.

"What do ya plan ta do with that thing?" Braeburn says calmly motioning to her crossbow.

"Well you see Braeburn I have orders to find your leader and bring him back alive. But you, your a whole other story." She creeps closer to him. "I can bring you back dead or alive."

"You cant do that!" The yellow mare behind Braeburn yells.

Rainbow smirks. "Oh and what are you his girlfriend?"

The yellow mare turns red with anger. "No I'm not! But either way I will not allow you to kill him!" She puts herself in front of Braeburn and stares into Rainbow's magenta eyes.

Rainbow gulps. "Step aside, or you'll die with him."

"Then I will." The mare says.

Braeburn pushes away the yellow mare. "No ya wont. You don't deserve to die miss. But me ah' deserve every last bit of death."

"But...you saved me." The yellow mare says.

"Look miss, don't die for a traitor like me."

The yellow mare looks down at the metal floor with her turquoise eyes, and says nothing more. Braeburn looks into Rainbow's magenta eyes ready to die.

"Rainbow." He edges toward her. "Go ahead do it...ah'm tired, tired of a life revolvin' around killin' countless ponies...please end it." The crossbow is now touching his chest.

"Braeburn I take no pleasure in doing this...but its something I must do." She puts her hoof on the trigger and prepares to pull it. Braeburn closes his eyes awaiting the shot...but it doesn't come.