The Raid

The night was dark and still. A light snow fell, accumulating a few inches on the cobblestone streets outside the old brownstone. Tall black Victorian style gas lamps cast a dim orange glow onto the streets in front of the building's entrance.

Through the snow staggered three menacing looking dragons. The dragons were tall, at least 7 feet, and they wore long black trench coats that hung down to just above their ankles. Armed with crowbars, the group approached the door.

Inside the old building it was warm, but very dark. On the upper most floor, two young pegasus ponies sat by a dimming fireplace looking at each other with concern - as if something had gone astray in their lives. The young female pegasus suddenly jumped to her hooves as a muffled crash emanated from the ground floor.

The dragons broke down the main door. Pushing past the splintered debris the group barged into the building. The angry beasts clamored up the dark staircase as snow and cold air drifted into the broken doorway behind them.

Upstairs, the frightened couple fluttered to an adjoining room. They looked down at their sleeping daughter.

"What should we do!?" whimpered the female pegasus to her husband.

"W-We shouldn't worry," reassured the husband, "it's not her they want."

The couple took one last look at their sleeping daughter before hurrying back to the main room.

The gangsters clamored up the spiraling stairway. They reached the top floor and spotting the correct door, knocked it down.

The frightened couple fluttered in panic to the ceiling as the gangsters barged in toward them.

"Come down here!" shouted a big red-scaled dragon as he removed his coat.

"N-No!" shouted the husband, "Leave us alone!"

"So you want to play this the hard way then," said the red dragon with a smirk, "where's the kid!?"

Terrified, the quivering couple glided down to the floor.

"No, don't!" screamed the female pegasus falling to the floor at the red dragon's feet.

"Com'ere," demanded the red dragon grabbing the female Pegasus by her wings.

"Pathetic."

The red dragon released the female to her spouse. Horrified the wife sobbed over her husband's shoulder.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way, it wasn't supposed to be this way!" she cried. The two pegasi embraced one another as the dragons ransacked the room throwing furniture and paperwork everywhere.

In the next room the couple's daughter, a purple maned orange filly had been awakened from the noise. Jumping out of bed the filly peered into the next room. As she glanced at her parents cowering over each other her eyes locked with those of the red dragon. Terrified she stood stiff by the door in dreaded anticipation for the impending assault. As the dragons began their approach the small filly dashed to the opposite wall of her room.

Barging into the darkened room the gangsters quickly approached the frightened little Pegasus. The tiny pony scampered across the floor trying to find a way past the monsters invading her room.

"Get over here!" shouted a tall blue dragon lunging forward.

The dragon reached out with his claws. Striking the tiny pony's legs he knocked her over. The pony tumbled - striking the wall head first. The girl was knocked unconscious from the blow. A small pool of blood slowly began forming under her nose. Pleased, the blue dragon lifted the pony by the tail, dragging her behind him as he and the other dragons left the room. A thin trail of blood followed the dragons from the filly's face as they entered the main room.

"Have the work done by tomorrow or you will never see her again!" shouted the red dragon to the couple.

"Oh please Mr. Ember sir, we cannot complete the task you ask of us," whimpered the female pegasus. "I couldn't betray Princess Celestial or the Wonderbolts even if my life depended on it."

"Then your daughter dies!" shouted the red dragon.

"No! Please kill me instead!" screamed the father pegasus.

"You shall all die!"

The red dragon grabbed the unconscious Pegasus filly from his partner. Holding the bleeding body by the neck he thrust it in the couple's face.

"No!" shouted the horrified mother.

Dropping the body, the red dragon snapped his fingers. The dragon gang began to tie the couples hooves and wings with rope.

"No, you can't do this, I can't believe you are doing this!" shouted the mother pony as her husband tried in vein to push the dragons away.

"Oh Scootaloo! Shouted the husband.

Finally the thugs gagged the pony's mouths with a pair of rags, leaving the bloody baby pony untouched on the ground by their side. The couple's muffled screams went unheard as the three dragons began to flee from the home. The last dragon to leave was the red-scaled Mr. Ember. He reached into the fireplace and scattered the searing coals across the ransacked room.

"You know you could have prevented all of this." he said.

Mr. Ember then removed a glass jar from his coat. He opened the jar and tossed its contents onto the couple.

The two pegasi felt a strange sensation. Their eyes burned and their skin felt like fire.

"Feel the burn of the Hell Fire Gents!" screamed Mr. Ember as he fled the room.

The two pegasus ponies writhed in pain as their bodies succumbed to the powerful substance. The burning feeling grew in intensity with every passing moment. The liquid must have been some sort of acid as it began to hiss and smoke upon the pony's skin.

As the chemical began to eat into their flesh the rope binding the two ponies began to wither away. In a matter of seconds the ropes burned through, but it was to no benefit. Despite being free from bondage the ponies could not move. Instead, their severally burned bodies lay strewn out upon the floor in a pool of fizzing blood, melted skin, and feathers.

As the two ponies lay dieing, the coals on the floor began to ignite the furniture and the loose materials scattered throughout the room. The young filly, stirred awake as the acidic liquid crept under her back and wings. The baby pony pulled herself up, and screamed in pain from the acid that burned her.

"Run…run my baby," said a faint voice.

The tiny pegasus turned around to face a horrifying sight. Her parents, their faces now just sizzling globs of torn flesh and bone. The baby pegasus's heart raced, her eyes dilated, she couldn't scream, this wasn't real, this wasn't happening. The flames from the fire intensified eventually surrounding the dying pegasus couple and their frightened baby. The baby pony stood stiff, her parents now just skeletons lying before her.

"Mommy!?" called the baby pegasus.

The baby nudged the skeletonized head by her side, being quick to avoid the acid around it. The one intact eye opened and the skull let out one final gasp.

The tiny pony, still bleeding from her nose, ran terrified to her room. The fire had engulfed the main door and was quickly spreading to the entire building. The baby coughed from the smoke which was now rapidly filling the air. She jumped onto the radiator under the window. The filly scratched at the window desperately trying to open it, but it had been locked by her parents.

The pony turned back and grabbed her mechanical alarm clock in her mouth. She jumped upon the radiator once more and struck the window with the brass clock. The glass wouldn't break, but the desperate pony wouldn't quit. She struck the glass again and again. Her mouth began to bleed from the continued stress of the metal against her gums.

As the flames crept up behind her the pony took one last swing. Finally the glass shattered. The pegasus crawled trough the jagged hole which tore into her already burned back and wings.

Dropping the clock the pony spat out several broken baby teeth along with it. The clock and teeth fell three stories to the snow covered cobblestone street below. Clinging to the windowsill the pony cried. Her freezing breath and tears clouded her vision.

With black smoke now pouring from the window behind her, the little filly knew she couldn't stay. She spread her wings and jumped. She fluttered her underdeveloped wings; but it was to no avail, she couldn't fly. She landed hard against the cobblestone street.

The little filly lay sprawled across the cold snow covered ground. She couldn't feel her back legs, were they broken? Was her back broken? She didn't know, she didn't want to know. With no home, no parents, and no hope she prepared herself for the inevitable. The filly dragged herself across the street into the doorway of a local shop. The air was freezing and the little filly shivered.

Impeded by the snow and ice fire crew finally began to arrive on the scene. The fire brigade was comprised entirely of dragons. The ones that could fly immediately began to douse the building with water from large buckets and heaps of snow. Noticing a pink blood trail in the snow a flightless purple-scaled dragon firefighter quickly found the injured filly.

"Oh my gosh!" shouted the purple-scaled dragon, "You need a doctor!"

The dragon quickly turned away to call his superiors.

"No!" shouted the injured Philly, "don't leave me!"

The purple scaled dragon quickly turned back.

"Where are you hurt!?" he asked as he removed his fire coat.

"Don't leave me!" shouted the filly.

"I won't leave you."

The purple dragon wrapped the filly in his coat being sure not to injure her more.

"Quick, I have a survivor!" called the purple dragon as he raced toward a gigantic winged black-scaled dragon. The black dragon was massive; at least ten times the size of the purple-scaled dragon.

"Oh my goodness!" roared the black dragon in a deep resonating voice, "quick climb aboard!"

The purple dragon climbed up upon the black dragon's back holding the injured Pegasus in his arms.

"We're heading out captain," called the black dragon addressing to a small blue-scaled dragon with a golden cap.

"Go, go, go!" shouted the captain.

The black dragon spread his wings and took to the air with a massive thrust of air.

"To Draconia Central!" shouted the purple dragon.