Equestria Aflame.

     "Umm, Rainbow Dash? Are you there?" Fluttershy, knocked on Rainbow Dash's door again. No answer. She knocked once more. Fluttershy sighed. "Where is she?" She thought as she looked into Rainbow Dash's window. Fluttershy saw no signs of her friend, the house just seemed abandoned.

     Fluttershy thought about where to search next, "Maybe she's in Cloudsdale." She flapped her wings and headed for the floating city.

     Princess Celestia stood upon a balcony in her palace. She gazed her eyes across her royal capital of Canterlot, admiring it. She always enjoyed the view of the city in the morning. She just rose the sun and it was radiating a deep orange light. The sky surrounding the sun was a tapestry of oranges and yellows and the few clouds in the sky appeared to be set ablaze by the light. The deep crimson hue of the far horizon added to the sheer beauty of the rising dawn. Celestia admired her handiwork then looked down on her city, she saw something. "What in the-" She sad quietly to herself.

     Seventeen soldiers, were all that was left. All of them suffering major injuries. Their steel armor were now black, bloodstained, charred husks. Burns covered their bodies, mostly their legs. They smelled of the stench of death. The staggered down the streets of Canterlot, their battle damaged armor clanking and their hooves wearily scraping the ground. They were exhausted, fatigued beyond their limits. They have just climbed out of the mouth of Hell, they marched all the way to Canterlot non-stop. A march which should have taken two days, in one night. Their eyes were bloodshot and their mouths were dry, their breaths were heavy and raspy. Their gait was sluggish and unorganized but still attempting a military air. The residents of Canterlot watched in shock as the soldiers passed, not one of them offering so much as a drink of water.

     They finally made it to the palace gates, the guards were more confused than anything else. The gate guard whispered to himself, "What in the name of..." Then Princess Celestia plummeted from the sky and landed on the ground in a very loud pound, her magnificent wings widespread, head bowed and knees bent from the force of the landing. She raised her head to make eye contact with the startled soldiers, her face filled with held back rage.

     Her voice was trembling with fury, "What happened?"

     Rainbow Dash talked with the recruiter, answered all of his questions and was filling out some paperwork. She finished and brought the papers to the recruiter.

     "Now you're absolutely sure about joining the Air Force?" The pegasus recruiter asked. "This is a pretty big decision."

     Rainbow Dash replied with a nod, "Most definitely, sir."

     "Alright then, come back in three days and you'll be given the ASVAB." The recruiter said, accepting the papers.

     "The what?" Rainbow Dash asked puzzled.

     "The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery," The recruiter replied, "It'll test your mental abilities to see what job your best qualified for. After that you'll be given the PFT it'll test your physical abilities."

     "Oh, okay, got it." Rainbow Dash said with a smile,then turned towards the door. As she was walking out she saw somepony she recognized, Fluttershy. "Oh no!" Rainbow dash thought as she quickly ducked back in the recruiter's office.

     "Something wrong?" The recruiter asked, a little confused.

     "Uuh no! nothing's wrong. It's just...nothing." Rainbow Dash shook her head at the last line, the recruiter shrugged it off. She watched intently out the window for Fluttershy to be out of sight. She looked like she was looking for something or somepony. After about a minute, she left and Rainbow Dash sped out towards Ponyville.

     Applejack pulled a cart full of apples into the streets of Ponyville. She looked up to see more clouds roll in, "Where is that Rainbow Dash?" she thought. She saw all of the destroyed buildings, some were burnt, black skeletons of wood and others were nothing but a pile of rubble. She saw all the destitute ponies, their homes and possessions destroyed. She was taking the apples to donate to the Disaster Recovery Center that was being set up in town. It was the least she could do, considering her home wasn't touched. "Why did this happen?" Applejack thought. "Why would they overreact like this?"

     Rarity was donating textiles and fabric to be made into coats and blankets for those who lost their homes. Her boutique was barely missed by the fire that destroyed over half the town. She was taking the fabric to the center when she saw Applejack towing her apple cart. Rarity decided to go and walk with her to the Center, it would be nice to have somepony to talk to, besides a terrified Sweetie Bell. "Oh, Applejack!" Rarity called out, as she made her way towards her.

     "Oh, hey there, Rarity." Applejack answered, cracking a smile. "You headin' towards the Center?"

     "Indeed I am, I have some fabric to give. Mind if I walk with you?" Rarity asked.

     "Sure, it would be nice to have some company." Applejack replied as they walked together down the street, she looked around, scanning the destruction. Then said, "I'm looking at it with my own eyes and I still don't believe it."

     "I know, it's simply awful. Innocent ponies dying!" Rarity answered, a gloomy expression on her face. "It's just so hard to accept, I've never seen such destruction."

     "I know what you mean, It's just too hard to accept. What would drive ponies to do things like this? This is just madness!"

     Rarity just nodded in agreement and continued their walk. She later told Applejack that she was working in her boutique during the whole thing. She noticed the fire and the soldiers and hid with Sweetie Bell until it was all over.

     Applejack told Rarity that she headed back home when she saw the soldiers marching. Her family could see the fire all the way from Sweet Apple Acres. They didn't say much else on their walk towards the Center.

     Twilight Sparkle sat in her, now new, home. It was a penthouse in the palace. She was royalty and she was treated as such. She had been given a personal guard, a staff, everything she would need. But Twilight already missed her Library home in Ponyville in which she lived for the past few years. Those were the best years of her life and now they're gone; burned away into ashes, just like her home. She was in a depressed state, as one would expect when you have had your home destroyed. She thought about what happened. She couldn't get it out of her mind, Rainbow Dash's bruised, bloody body. She thought about the ponies that attacked her, how can they become so violent so quickly? "Spike?" Twilight called, wanting somepony to talk to.

     "Yeah?" Spike walked in. Twilight motioned him to sit next her.

     "I keep thinking about it." Twilight said coldly, "All those innocent ponies dying. And the weird thing is, what did they die for?"

     Spike didn't know what to saw, so he kept listening.

     "I mean, they were protesting against Princess Celestia's new laws but, did they need to resort to bloodshed over it? And why did the soldiers resort to such violence?" Twilight rambled, eager to get this off her chest. Spike just sat there and listened. "I have never seen that much devastation before...or so much blood." She paused and a single tear came down her face. She whimpered trying to hold back more tears.

     "It's okay, Twilight." Spike reassured, attempting to comfort his friend.

     "I don't know if I'm ready for this, Spike. Why would it stop with Ponyville? What if it happens in other cities? Equestria hasn't seen such violence since the Griffon War." She recalled the militaristic pegasi and the griffons in an ancient war, two millenia ago, long before the reign of Celestia and Luna. She continued, "That's how long ago the last violent event took place. Can you imagine what kind of psychological impact this will have on the Equestrian ponies?" Twilight stated further. "I pray that other cities don't suffer the same fate Ponyville suffered." Twilight looked down, tears forced their way from her eyes.

     Spike didn't know what to say so he just gave Twilight a comforting hug. She accepted it, still trying to hold back tears. She sniffled and turned her eyes toward the window and gazed at the rising sun. What will become of Equestria?

     A few hours later. Celestia was finding it harder and harder to hold back her rage, first Luna tells her of the atrocity in Ponyville, now she finds out that almost an entire company was ambushed and killed in the most gruesome way possible. The soldiers had already been admitted in a hospital. Celestia was now in her Council room and she was giving orders to her military commander, he was a unicorn clad in the ceremonial bronze armor, with a great, red crest on his helmet.

     "I want all the towns in a fifty mile radius locked down. These terrorists must be found. Use all the ponies you need." Celestia ordered.

     "Yes, your majesty." He replied.

     Celestia turned towards the others that were in the room. Besides herself, Luna and Twilight, there were six others. "What is the status of the unrest in the other cities?" She asked.

     A council member answered, "Manehatten is growing more and more restless, if something isn't done about it soon it might suffer the same fate as Ponyville."

     "That will not happen." Celestia responded, "Twilight?"

     "Yes princess?" Twilight asked eagerly.

     "I want you to take a royal envoy to Manehatten and settle the disturbances." Celestia deadpanned, "I'm trusting you to handle this."

     "I won't let you down. Your majesty." Twilight nodded.

     "See that you don't." Celestia said coldly. Something was odd about her. "Luna. I want you to oversee the investigation and clean-up of the ambush sight. See if you can find anything that can lead us to these murderers."

     Luna just nodded. The meeting was adjourned and everypony left. Luna was the last to leave right behind Celestia. "Sister?" Luna called.

     "What is it Luna?" Celestia turned around to face her younger sister.

     "Are you sure these new laws were the wisest course of action?" Luna asked.

     "Yes, yes they were. Order and harmony has to be maintained." Celestia replied.

     "That doesn't seem to be happening, look at what happened in Ponyville." Luna pointed out, "Ponies died, Celestia. Maybe the new laws were a mistake."

     Celestia sighed, "It may not look like it now, but you will soon see that what I did was the right thing. I need you to trust me Luna, can you trust me?" Celestia looked Luna in the eyes.

     After a long pause Luna nodded her head in affirmation.

     Fluttershy returned to her home in Ponyville after a fruitless search for Rainbow Dash. It was the end of the day and she was exhausted from all of the traveling. "Where is she?" Fluttershy thought. She couldn't find Rainbow Dash at her house or in Cloudsdale, it's like she just disappeared. "What am I supposed to tell Applejack?" She thought again, sorry that she will have to disappoint her friend. Fluttershy fed all her animals then went to bed for the night.

     News of the now called "Ponyville Massacre" spread throughout Equestria like a plague. And the news infected every city and town the story was told in. The ponies looked for somepony to blame and all hooves pointed at Celestia. Ponyville was just the beginning.