Falling Temperatures

“I really need to stop getting into these situations,” I thought to myself as I looked around at the faces of seven mares and one stallion in my living room.

“Where you been?” they all shouted at me.

“Well if you would all just sit down I will explain,” I said rubbing my recently assaulted ears. I told them everything, my new weapon, and even how learning how her sister suffered was effecting Luna. I turned to Twilight,

“I wouldn’t suggest going to Canterlot for the time being,” I said flatly.

“Why not?”

“Well, firstly it’s now a recent crime scene and secondly we recently found a few Vamponies in the staff of the castle. One even made an attempt on Luna’s life,” I said looking at the floor.

I felt a fist cross my face, driving me to the ground. As I looked up to see Applejack standing over me fist clenched and poised for another blow. Yet it never came; I looked up again to see a tear rolling down her face,

“Do you have any idea what you put us through?” chimed Rarity.

I simply shook my head.

“Well darling, imagine this… one of your friends disappearing again after only just finding them again, and to have them risk their lives almost daily to keep you safe, it really is nerve-racking,” she said.

I looked around the room to all the ponies standing in my living room; their faces all portrayed the same thing, betrayal.

“I don’t know what else to tell you all except what I told Luna earlier, I can no longer guarantee my own safety.” My head wandered to each of their faces in turn “the best I can give you for a straight answer as to why I’m doing this is that I really don’t want to live like this anymore.”

Silence permeated my home, my words hanging there like fog. I looked at Pinkie, who up to this point had been uncharacteristically silent, she met my gaze with teary eyes, her mane and tail flat, and I knew there was nothing I could do about it. All I could do was give her a reassuring smile, which she hesitantly returned.

“How can you even say that? Even after all you’ve been through…what we’ve been through,” Autumn said, breaking the silence.

“I can say that because you all have no idea what my own mind is doing to me,” I said coldly.

“Nightmares?” Kind Wind asked hesitantly.

“Worse than you can ever imagine,” I deadpanned.

As I began to describe the in machinations of my nightmares I became acutely aware of a certain smell wafting its way through my home.

“Hang on, do you all smell that?” I asked the group hesitantly.

“Yes darling, I can smell something dreadful in here,” Rarity said as she fanned the air in front of her face.

“Yeah I smell something like rotten eggs in here,” Rainbow said as her wing fluttered to try to push the stench away from her.

“Rotten eggs,” I thought to myself “Oh no,”

“Everypony out now there is a g-“ I tried to call to them before a pluming fireball engulfed my home. I franticly searched the remnants of my living room for the rest of my guests. Soon I saw Rarity and Twilight push themselves out of the ruble surrounded by a magenta sphere. A few moments later I heard my ceiling start to groan and tremble under the strain.

“We need to get out now,” I said to them.

“Not without Pinkie and Rainbow!” shouted Twilight.

“That’s why I’m staying! You two get out now! I’ll make sure they all get out,” I shouted back.

I saw Twilight nod solemnly as she teleported outside. I turned back to my living room and started lifting rubble with my magic as my home burned around me.

Soon I came across the rest of the group hiding under my coffee table shaking and coughing as they desperately looked for a way out.

“Let’s get them ought of here,” I thought is I grabbed them with my magic and moved towards the door.

Before I reached the door however I heard the ceiling groan again looking up I realized I wasn’t going to make the door before my ceiling collapsed. I felt the effects of the smoke inhalation getting worse as I franticly thought of a way to get my friends out.

”Crap,” I thought to myself as I focused all of my remaining magic into a large scale teleportation spell. Gritting my teeth as I charged the spell I looked up at the ceiling as the weight of the debris finally brought it down. Time slowed to a crawl as the chunks of plaster and burning lumber moved towards me, I turned to my friends a forced the last of my magic into the spell just as the debris hit my head, burying me under my former home.

Twilight gasped as heard the telltale pop of a teleportation spell a few meters away from where she stood. However instead of seeing six ponies she only saw five.

“Where is Ram,” she thought to herself as she turned back to look at the house just in time to see it collapse.

“No,” she whispered as looked on in horror as the Ponyvile fire teams arrived to the site of the former home.

Soon after the teams arrived a fire team member called out for help as they dragged Ram’s burnt body out from the rubble.

“No, no, no, no, he can’t be dead,” Twilight thought to herself as she looked over the body. She ran her magic over him looking for any signs of life. Her first scan came up with nothing; a second scan still registered nothing. She was almost through the third scan,

“Thump”

The sound caught Twilight off guard as she moved her magic back over his chest.

“Thump”…“Thump”

“He’s alive,” she though

“Everypony he’s alive!” she called to her friends.

I could hear Twilights muffled cries to our friends as I pulled myself out of the darkness.

“Heh heh heh, can’t get rid of me that easily,” I rasped at her as I sat up regaining my vision.

Looking over to the EMTs huddled over the others made me smile as I began to walk towards them.

“I’m glad all of you made it out ok,” I thought to myself as I left the EMTs to help my friends to the hospital. I began my walk to the train station with my intention of reaching the Knightwatch barracks before sundown.

I heard a scream and hoofsteps, but as I turned toward the source I felt everything in my lower abdomen tear and shift.

I looked down and saw a grey set of claws skewed through my body. I coughed and sputtered for a moment before the claw removed itself, taking a large portion of my entrails with it. The retreating figure of a mare was the last thing I saw as I collapsed; leaving me alone in the road and bleeding out. I let out muffled cries for help despite the futility of it. I began to accept my oncoming mortality as my vision began to blur and swim.

“Well at least it’s over,” I thought as my eyes began to shut. I let the final darkness claim me…