Sweetiebelle was snoring away in the middle of class, asleep due to the forces of boring emitted from algebraic expressions. Unfortunately, she wasn't having a happy dreams. It was a nightmare. Her snoring was cut into shorter, louder bursts. Her eyes darted around under her eyelids in fear.
She was running around a city. She didn't know which one, just some city. Her vision was always black and white, as the nightmares always are. She saw streaks of light make their way into the sky with a smoke trail following them. There were probably hundreds of them. They were outbound intercontinental ballistic missiles, obviously heading towards civilian targets. After what seemed like hours passed, she heard the loud blare of the sirens. Ponies everywhere were screaming and bolting in a seemingly directionless path. Some were trampled, others were burned to death in fires started in shops from panicking ponies. Small fillies and colts were abandoned on the streets, left to die. Randomly bolting around the city, she heard announcements from battery-powered radios strewn about the streets announcing the destruction of cities around Equestria.
Canterlot. Fillydelphia. Detrot. Las Pegasus. Ponyville. Manehattan. Baltimare.
Sweetiebelle collapsed, bawling her eyes out on the brick road that connected the now-destroyed city shops. She knew her time was coming, and millions have already fallen. After dragging herself to the city outskirts in a hopeless effort to evacuate the city before the inevitable nuclear strike, she stared at the city across the bay, still untouched by a blast. Then, she looks upwards and northwest. She sees a cone-shaped object heading for the city across the bay. A re-entry vehicle. After the cone-shaped projectile disappears over the horizon, the sun had descended to the planet. The city across the bay was engulfed in a light and a fireball, obviously vaporizing every civilian there. A tear fell from her eye. Another two-million dead. she looks upwards again, but this time, to the southeast. An identical conical object was heading straight for her location. It flew over her head and then, a second later, about two-and-a-half kilometers up, another sun appears. To the population in the city, it's just their vision turning into only a bright white, and then, darkness.
Sweetiebelle screamed. Apparently, they were in the middle of a lesson about multiplication with the problem 9*5 etched in chalk letters up on the board, while her fellow students in the class stared at her. Cheerilee and the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at her in worry, while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were laughing their flanks off.
"Sweetiebelle, is there a problem?" Cheerilee asked her in worry.
"N-no, Miss Cheerilee."
"Sweetiebelle, I will speak to you after class. You aren't in trouble. This problem just seems to be happening more often and I need to know what is going on."
"Yes, ma'm." The lesson continued without any more interruptions. After the Math lesson, they moved into the next topic.
"Alright, everypony. We are going onto a serious topic, so listen up." Sweetiebelle knew what this was. This was the fourth day she was discussing it with us. The used that opening quote every time she started. She pulled down a chart on the blackboard, showing a political world map with Equestria and the Fascist Griffon Republic outlined in permanent black marker. "Today, we will be continuing our lesson on the situation between us and the Fascist Griffion Republic. As you all know, we are in a nuclear standoff. We both have silos ready to fire missiles. And no, not the barn silos." She turned off the lights and pulled up a projector, aimed it at the blackboard, and turned it on. A diagram of a nuclear silo flashed into existence. Cheerilee continued.
"These are missile silos. Each of them have Minutemare-III missiles at the ready in event of a nuclear launch from the FGR. They also have silos and missiles at the ready. We both also have submarines next to their shores in international waters ready to move and launch against civilian and military targets." Everypony was listening attentively. This was a very intriguing subject. "If the FGR launches a nuclear strike against Equestria, we will retaliate with greater force." She clicked a button on the side of the projector, revealing a Minutemare-III warhead with 12 black cones inside the cross-section diagram. "These are called re-entry vehicles. They are ejected from the missile when it is near it's target. Many missiles have multiple re-entry vehicles. They are called Multiple Independently Target-able Re-entry Vehicles, or MIRVs for short." The lesson continued, explaining the concept of nuclear fallout, fallout shelters, M.A.D., and Equestrian Aerospace Defense Command.
When the end-of-the-day bell rung, ponies got up from their seats, retrieved their saddlebags, and left the door. Sweetiebelle stayed back to explain her situation to Cheerilee.
"Hey, Miss Cheerilee. You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes, Sweetiebelle. You have been screaming randomly in class lately, and it's becoming a disruption and a problem. Could you please explain to me why this is happening?"
"OK, but please don't punish me for this."
"It's OK, Sweetiebelle. Just tell me what is bothering you."
"OK, so I'm just gonna put it out there. Math is boring. Everypony knows that. But I don't get sleep at night because I stay up all night worrying about the nuclear war threat that is being thrown around town. Combine Math class with sleepless nights and you get me laying my head on my desk, taking a snooze. But every time I do, I have a nightmare. They usually involve the nuclear war concept. And I always get killed at the end, too. I can't help falling asleep and having these nightmares! I really, really need help!" Cheerilee was shocked. A filly? Having these kinds of dreams? Dear, Celestia! This is just atrocious!
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Sweetiebelle! Is there anything that helps you sleep at night?" Sweetiebelle hesitated to answer, but did anyway.
"Yeah, sleeping with stuffed dolls helps. But I don't want my sister thinking I'm a baby! So I don't do it." Her teacher was clearly in a serious mood, trying to formulate a solution.
"Sweetiebelle, do you have an alarm clock in your room?"
"Yeah, why?" Sweetiebelle was confused.
"After your sister goes to sleep, take as many stuffed dolls as you need and keep them with you at night. Set the alarm clock about fifteen minutes before your sister usually wakes up. Then, put them where you usually keep them."
"Thanks, Miss Cheerliee! That's a great idea! You are a genius! Thank you so much!"
"It's no problem at all. Go home and get some sleep. You need it. You have a test in Math tomorrow anyway."
"Will do! Thank you so much! Bye! Have a good day!"
"You too, Sweetiebelle!"
Sweetiebelle trotted out the door and to her home/boutique. After an evening of greetings from Rarity, dinner, homework and studying, she went to bed. She followed Cheerilee's advice and slept like a log. After the ringing of the alarm and placing the dolls back in their original places in the corner of her room, she happily sighed.
"Best night ever."
She trotted to the washroom and into the shower, where she washed up for the day. After brushing her teeth and mane, trotting downstairs, eating breakfast, and last-minute studying, she trotted outside and to the schoolhouse. She got there five minutes before the bell. She trotted up to Cheerilee and thanked her for the advice.
"Thank you so much, Miss Cheerilee. Your advice really helped!"
"It's no trouble at all, Sweetiebelle. I'm glad you got a good night's sleep." Sweetiebelle made her way to her desk, ready for anything. After classes of History and Russian Language class, Cheerilee began passing out the tests to the students. Sweetiebelle had a look of determination on her face. She was ready to tackle the test. She would get 100%. She studied hard. After all of the tests were out, Cheerilee announced the rules of the test.
"OK, students. You have twenty minutes to complete this test. The test is on multiplication and division. There will be no cheating, and there will be no talking. Anypony caught doing those two things will have their tests taken and failed, then punished with after-school detention. The test will begin in: Three. Two. One."
And with that, loud rumbles were heard and shaking reverberated through the schoolhouse. Then, about thirty loud whooshes were heard. Cheerilee trotted over to the entrance to the school and trotted outside, followed by a wave of students. Sweetiebelle trotted through the crowd to the front, and eerie silence befallen upon everypony in town. She trotted up next to Cheerilee, who had tear marks streaking down her face. Sweetiebelle looked up into the sky and saw slow flashes of light streaking upwards, with large, puffy, and terrifying smoke trails following them.
No. No. No! This can't be! It's OK. It's just a drill, right? Right? No. There's too many missiles for it to be a drill. This is the real thing. All of Sweetiebelle's nightmares played in a rapid succession. Her worst fears, spilled out right in front of her like orange juice when the glass shattered on the floor. Except that glass was about to be the planet.
"M-Miss Cheerilee? T-this is a drill... Right?" She knew the answer already. It was a big fat "no". Cheerliee didn't answer her. "This is a drill, right?" This time, Cheerilee answered her.
"S-Sweetiebelle..." She somehow said, fear choking her like a rope around her neck. "G-go down to the shelter. On the side of the schoolhouse. Remember when you were in the Foal Free Press and were making copies of the newspaper? You were in that room underground. We will use that as a bunker."
"B-bunker? Under the school? No! I need my sister!" Sweetiebelle began to run off. She wanted to be with her sister.
"No! You won't make it to your home! It's too far away! We only have a few minutes before the missiles arrive!" Cheerilee dashed to Sweetiebelle and took her tail in her mouth. It took some doing, but she was able to stop her from getting away. She pulled Sweetiebelle to the shelter and led her inside. "Sweetiebelle. This is the only way to survive. It's too late to go home. The missiles could come at any moment. You know they will. Remember the M.A.D. principle? Well... It's real now..." She told her, sadness clear in her voice. Sweetiebelle stopped struggling.
"OK," Sweetiebelle surrendered. Cheerilee returned to her other students on the surface, still watching the now heavily clouded sky. It began to rain with occasional cracks of lightning. The missiles have gone over the clouds now and the smoke trails were connecting the clouds to the ground.
"OK, students. We need to get down into the shelter right now..." She began crying again, as the fillies and colts slowly made their way into the bunker. They were terrified, but could only walk slow. They were too scared to run. Once everypony was down in the shelter, Cheerilee closed the bunker doors and lit a few lanterns and hung them on the ceiling across the room. That gave them light.
"OK, everypony. We need to turn on the radio now so we know what's going on. It's obvious that there are..." She gulped and got choked up again. She sat down on a nearby crate and began bawling her eyes out. This was not going to be easy. Everypony needed to pitch in if they wanted to survive. Soon, a few other fillies and colts began crying. Sweetiebelle was one of them, but she found a radio and activated it. There was only static as of yet. "Thank you, Sweetiebelle." Cheerilee sniveled. Nopony had ever seen Cheerilee cry before. Soon, a signal was found.
"I-is this thing on? Hello? Hello, everypony. This is Thunderlane, reporting from the capital city of Canterlot."
Thunderlane? You mean... Rumble's brother? Rumble made his way to the radio, clearly more scared than when he came into the shelter.
"So... As we all know... A few minutes ago, Equestrian Aerospace Defense Command got several thousand launch detections from within FGR's territory, as well as international waters. So we retaliated with greater force. We only have about a minute before the missile arrives in Canterlot..." Ponies everywhere in Canterlot were screaming in fear, along with the occasional gunshot or explosion caused by the Canterlot Peacekeeper Guards. "Everypony is destroying the streets here in Canterlot. Nothing is going to be the same again all over the pl-" The sirens began to blare in Canterlot, heard by everypony over the radio. "The sirens! They've all gone off. The missiles will hit in a few seconds..." He began breathing loudly, clearly scared that he was about to die. "...Rumble."
Rumble's ears perked up and trotted closer to the radio.
"Y-yes, brother?" It was like he was having a conversation with him. The last conversation he would ever have with his brother.
"I-I want you to survive. Do whatever it takes. Just survive. Stay in shelter..." He began crying. "...Be good, Rumble... I love you..."
"I love you too, brother..." Rumble's tears began to come.
"Goodbye, Rumble."
The radio then gave a loud, ear-piercing ring for a few seconds, and then, quiet static. Canterlot just got hit. Then, the blast wave came. Canterlot was about twenty kilometers away from Ponyville, so it took a few seconds for the shockwave travelling at the speed of sound to hit. The bunker of the schoolhouse began to shake violently, while objects stacked up were getting toppled over and then breaking. Fillies and colts were screaming and crying. After the shaking stopped, there were only two ponies left crying. Rumble, because his brother just died. Diamond Tiara was crying as well, but from an injury. The blast wave had knocked her into the printing press.
"Oh my gosh! Diamond Tiara, are you OK?" Cheerilee asked, full of fear that Diamond Tiara impacted the printer with her head and didn't make it. Between gasps and loud sobs, Diamond Tiara answered.
"No... Not... OK. I'm b-bleeding from my head." It was clear that she was seriously hurt.
"Oh my gosh! Somepony get the first aid kit! Now!" Sweetiebelle was the one to bring it over because it landed on her. "Thank you, Sweetiebelle. Now if you will just give it to me..." Cheerilee saw Sweetiebelle working away at sewing the wound in Diamond Tiara's head back up. She wasn't screaming anymore, so she must have used the anesthetic correctly. Then, she bandaged it up, just like a real doctor would do. She apparently had a knack for medical work...
Maybe I'll get my Cute Mark for this... Sweetiebelle giggled to herself, but nothing came. Oh well. Not exactly the highest priority in this situation...
"Wow... Thanks, Sweetiebelle. If it weren't for you..." Diamond Tiara was actually thanking Sweetiebelle for once.
"Hey, It's really no problem. I don't want to see anypony dea-" She was thanked again with a hug from Diamond Tiara. A hug? From my "Greatest Enemy in the World?" Weird. She began blushing. She didn't know why. Maybe because she liked helping? Stop blushing, Sweetiebelle! Why are you blushing! Just stop! She couldn't stop blushing though. Radiation does some crazy things...
