The Sun Has Fallen

The Sun has Fallen

Chapter 3: The Skies are Falling

By: Clue Tzes

Twilight kept walking, visions of the house falling apart still fresh on her mind as she blocked out her friends calling for her.

“TWILIGHTTT!” Spike screamed, finally snapping her from stunned walk.

“Wh-what Spike?” She weakly choked out, nearly on the edge of tears.

Fluttershy quickly trotted up and looked at her alicorn friend worriedly, “What’s wrong Twilight?”

“I still don’t understand any of it. No matter how hard I try to find a logical conclusion to it, I still come up with one unanswerable question… Why?” Twilight vented to them, dropping to her knees and sighing.

Fluttershy opened her saddle-satchel, letting the checkers out to quickly hop off into the distance. After giving a gentle wave goodbye she moved closer to Twilight, putting a hoof around her, “I-It’ll be ok, Twilight…”

“Once we find the others at least. Where in Equestria could they be?” Twilight asked, wiping away a tear.

“Well, let’s think about where they possibly could be…” Spike began, pacing back and forth as he wrote in the notebook. “Obviously they won’t be in Canterlot or the castle… Then there’s Ponyville or Cloudsdale, even Manehattan for all we know, unless they made their way to the Castle of the Two Sisters. There’s even Appleloosa and the Crystal Kingdom, but those should be ruled out seeing as Discord wouldn’t be careless enough to send them that far out, right?”

Twilight nodded her head in agreement, “Wow, Spike… That’s actually really good thinking. So Manehattan, Ponyville, Cloudsdale, the Everfree Forest, and the Castle of the Two Sisters are all possible and within a close distance, I don’t think we can fully rule out Appleloosa either. Maybe we should start with Cloudsdale, since only one of us doesn’t have wings, the cloud-walking spell will be a lot easier. Do you have any suggestions Fluttershy?”

“Well, I-I suppose if Rainbow would’ve gone anywhere if something like this happened, it’d be Cloudsdale for sure… If she’s not there though, I don’t know where she could be,” Fluttershy finished with a quiet whisper, beginning to tear up.

Twilight hugged her friend gently, “Look, we can find her. We can find all of them, I promise you that. We just have to stray strong for each other and for our friends…”

I suppose the same applies to me as well. Time to stop focusing on losing Celestia and to start focusing on helping those closest to me… That’s the only way to turn this all around.

“Alright Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered, giving a tight hug back as she brushed away the forming tears. “How close are we to Cloudsdale?”

        Spike jumped up excitedly, “Oh! I know this one!”

        Twilight giggled quietly and nodded her head, “Go ahead then Spike.”

        “Well, Cloudsdale sits outside Ponyville but not over the Everfree Forest, so if we go back the way we came we’re sure to find it, right? But it’ll take a few hours,” Spike asked while hopping onto Twilight’s back.

        “Right again Spike,” Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy, “Just follow me; I know which way we need to go.”

        Twilight leapt into the sky, immediately flapping her wings and moving back the way she came. Fluttershy gently flew into the air, trying to keep up with her friend’s quick speed. Spike looked back, seeing Fluttershy falling behind and poked Twilight, motioning for her to slow down. After a few moments, Fluttershy caught up and they both began flying at the same pace back towards the Everfree Forest to find Cloudsdale.

        After their long, silent trip, which took twice as long as the trip there had due to Fluttershy’s reduced flying speed, they landed down on the very edge of the forest. Ponyville was not much more than a speck on the glowing horizon, with the faintly lit city of Cloudsdale high above them.

        “How do you think they’re taking Celestia’s… change?” Spike asked, looking towards the town.

        “I hope they don’t know, but there’s no telling where she went afterwards. The whole kingdom could’ve found out by now that their leader has gone rouge and on a killing spree,” Twilight admitted reluctantly. “Who knows though, maybe she’s only striking fear into them. I doubt we’ll know anytime so-”

        “TWILIGHT LOOK OUT!” Fluttershy screamed, quickly pushing her two friends out of the way as a cloud-house came crashing into the ground where they had stood.

        Twilight sat there, looking at the red and white cloud and debris scattered among the ground, “Wh-what just happened?”

I-is that blood in the cloud?! Don’t tell me she’s up there… Damnit Celestia! You better NOT be up there causing this or I’ll… I’ll come up there and take you on now!

        Spike got to his feet, shaking his head, “Fluttershy saved us, and it looks like Cloudsdale is coming down for some reason. Thanks Fluttershy.”

        Fluttershy blushed, still keeping her scared expression, “It’s nothing Spike. I’m just worried that somepony might’ve been in th-there…”

        “If there was, I don’t think they’ll have made the trip. We need to get to Cloudsdale now, because for all we know Celestia could be up there right now causing this!” Twilight began panicking, her horn lighting up as Spike was encased in her aura.

        “Wh-what are you doing Twilight?” Spike asked nervously as he began floating into the air.

        “Letting you walk on clouds, you need it because we’re going now!” Twilight hurriedly told him, putting him on her back as the spell finished.

        “Twilight,” Fluttershy whispered to her friend, setting a hoof on her shoulder, “If it were Celestia up there, we wouldn’t stand a chance and you know it. Neither would Cloudsdale… Maybe there was just an a-accident up there or something?” She tried to add with dark optimism.

        Twilight took a deep breath as she thought through what Fluttershy said, “Right… You’re right Fluttershy. Let’s just creep up there and see what we can find first. If anything beyond our abilities is happening,” Mainly Celestia… “Then we’ll come back down and look elsewhere for our friends.”

        Fluttershy nodded to Twilight, “Then let’s go to Cloudsdale and see what horrible things are or aren’t happening,” Fluttershy said with a smile before realizing what she said and clinging to Twilight, “I-I mean no! Let’s not! It’s safe here Twilight! Forget all of that, please?!?”

        Twilight looked at her confused friend, “It’ll be ok Fluttershy, Spike and I can protect you.”

She’s been trying to stay strong after Discord’s death, I see that now. She must be a mental wreck or she wouldn’t be so out of it…

“O-ok Twilight, I trust you,” Fluttershy said, letting go of her slowly. “Let’s go to C-Cloudsdale then…” She reluctantly choked out.

        Twilight nodded and began flapping her wings, beginning her ascent up towards Cloudsdale. The city was hard to spot in the dusk, but the orange glow of lights illuminated its cloudy foundations enough for it to be noticeable. The pegasus, alicorn, and baby dragon got closer to the edge of the city, coming from underneath it. The sounds of ponies shrieking reached their ears, forcing them to exchange worried glances, and causing Fluttershy to begin shaking.

        “Twilight, wh-what’s going on up there?!” Fluttershy whispered to her friend.

        “I’m not sure, but I’m hoping it’s nothing bad…” she replied with false hope.

        As they flew above the edge of the giant gathering of clouds that made up the city, a small neighborhood came into view. They saw the lights that had lit the clouds before, but also saw fires scattered about, engulfing the magical clouds and the homes alike. Ponies were running into houses, trying to salvage all they could before the fire took it. The trio rushed forward, Twilight quickly using her magic to help fight back the flames on one.

        “What happened here?!” Spike asked the family of five pegasi huddling together in-front of it.

        The oldest looking one replied first, “Things have gone chaotic here! Some vandals lit our home on fire and tried to rob us! Once word of what happened to Princess Celestia reached Cloudsdale, everypony began panicking… Then it seemed anything civil was abandoned…”

        Fluttershy leaned down to Spike and whispered, “This is anarchy, r-right?”

        He shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the pegasus with the red-coat who had just spoken, “How did you all hear so quickly?”

        “She came to us, talking about a New Equestrian World Order in a voice loud enough for the whole city to hear… After that, order was the opposite of what happened. She began blasting houses with some twisted looking magic and even convinced some ponies that if they continued her work they’d be rewarded or something. This was all just this morning too, so it has been going on for hours… We need to find somewhere to go for now, farewell,” the dad told them.

        “W-wait!” Fluttershy quietly shouted. “Where will you go? We could try to send o-others there too…”

        He thought for a moment, scratching his black mane, “There’s always the stadium down the ways I suppose… Others might be there too, so that’s probably where we’ll go now that I think about it. Thank you for your help, all three of you, our family is appreciative of it. Now we really must get out of here while we can,” he told them before turning and covering his children with his wings as they began rushing away.

        Twilight trotted over a few minutes later, “The fire is out, but the damage is extensive. Did either of you find anything out?”

        Fluttershy nodded, “The family went to take shelter at the stadium… Also, C-Celestia was here, talking a-about the New Equestrian World Order…”

        Twilight stomped her hoof into the ground, sinking in a bit, “So she did cause this! If this is what happened when Cloudsdale found out, I’m really worried about the other cities… There could be worse cases of anarchy out there than this!”

        Fluttershy looked at Spike, giving him an I-told-you-so look, “Twilight, we should probably look around some more and t-try to help. Maybe another Princess here would help calm them down?”

        She looked away, sighing and shaking her head, “If one Princess caused this, maybe another will only worsen it… Isn’t there enough chaos already?”

        Spike smacked her leg, glaring at her, “Watch what you say Twilight,” he whispered, nodding towards Fluttershy who had begun tearing up at the word chaos.

        “R-right, I didn’t mean… Nevermind. Let’s go guys; Rainbow Dash should be here somewhere. Would you be willing to lead us around a bit Fluttershy? You know this place more than we do.”

        She nodded, blinking away tears, “Sure Twilight…”

        They began moving farther into the city, passing a good number of houses either on fire or in ruins, with the occasional one left alone.

By the end of this night I doubt there will be anywhere safe left to sleep here… Where will all the families go? A lot of the fillies and colts can’t even fly yet…

They continued onward, past more hurrying pegasi, as Twilight pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. Signs of destruction and chaos littered either side of them, no matter where they went, causing Fluttershy to go slower than usual as she hoped to avoid anypony she saw.

Twilight walked next to the frightened pegasus, Spike now on her back, “Shouldn’t the Wonderbolts have helped calm this place down?”

Fluttershy nodded her head, “Yes, they should’ve. They’re the closest Cloudsdale has to leaders aside from Celestia and Luna… Maybe they got caught up in the anarchy too…”

Twilight looked down, watching the clouds in the firelight as she moved across them. She could hear the screaming and shouting of ponies somewhere in the distance and did her best to block it out. Fluttershy was doing the same, but managing to keep her head up and nerves calm as she continued leading them towards the center of her once beloved and beautiful home.

How could they do this to our home of all places…? D-don’t cry Fluttershy, just stay strong and maybe you can find a way to fix it! M-maybe Rainbow Dash will know a way, Fluttershy thought to herself, tears welling up in her eyes as she began walking the last few feet to the 4-way intersection of paths that doubled as the center of the town. Even here wasn’t safe from the ruin devastating the rest of the town. Splatters and trails of blood could be seen on the cloudy walkways, fires had been started on a few of the surrounding buildings, and the other buildings had been looted and sported broken windows and doors now.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered to her friend.

Twilight raised her head up, looking around them at the mess, “Yes Fluttershy?”

“We’ve got a few ways to go from here… If we keep going straight, we’ll get to the stadium where the Best Young Flyers c-competition was. If we go left, we’ll go into the busier part of town, where shops and other places are, like the Wonderbolts m-main building! If we turn around, we’ll go back into the Residential District… If we go right we’ll reach the Weather Factory…Which way would you prefer Twilight?”

“Well, we’ve already gone through the Residential District so we don’t need to go back through there,” Nor do I think I could… All those ruined homes and misplaced families… Thank Ce… Luna… we’re in the early stages or else we wouldn’t see the families fleeing… “We could try to check out the stadium first to see if any other ponies were evacuating to there. If not, then we’ll make our way to the Weather Factory to check on things. We’ll go to the Wonderbolts last… I’d like to calm myself a bit before meeting them since they haven’t done anything!”

Fluttershy nodded, sharing in Twilight’s anger but keeping it to herself as she began moving forward again, stepping around blood and debris as she did. She looked around at the houses, remembering what they once looked like. She remembered the happy families and beautiful homes as she looked at the fleeing and the looting ponies in the ruined homes. She closed her eyes as she walked, trying to stay calm and suppress her anger. After a few minutes, Twilight put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“It’s ok Fluttershy. I promise you everything will go back one day, even if we have to fix it all ourselves, alright?” Twilight tried to reassure her.

Fluttershy nodded, “I know Twilight, b-but the pain is setting in now, making the wounds fresh and painful… Over time I’ll get used to it, just like with Discord’s d-d-death, all I need is time. It doesn’t mean it won’t still hurt, it just means it will hurt less…”

Twilight stopped, stunned by what Fluttershy had said. Wow, she’s really grown since we first met… Maybe a few adventures were what she needed to finally be a bit braver…

She looked ahead, seeing the Cloudiseum only a little bit farther away. From behind them they heard more screams, both mares and stallions shouting for reasons unknown to the trio.

“Sh-should we try to help?” Fluttershy asked Twilight as they walked.

“I want to, but by the time we got there it’d be too late. Even if we did get there in time, what are we going to do? There’s no telling what could be happening to them right now, and it’s not like that’s the only place someone’s screaming… Listen closer, they’re coming from all different directions Fluttershy…” Twilight lowered her head, reluctantly telling Fluttershy the grim truth. “There’s no way we can help them.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement as they walked the rest of the way into the stadium. When they came to the seating sections, they looked around in surprise at the amount of ponies there. All around them, the seats were filled by huddling families, and other mares and stallions without children. There were enough ponies there that there was flying room only at that point as they saw from numerous airborne pegasi comforting anyone they could.

Twilight looked around in wonderment as she thought.Yet this isn’t even half of the Cloudsdale population… Are all the others on her side, or are they being kept away by others on her side?

She took a few steps through the stands, moving around foals and mares alike as she looked at all the ponies, searching for Rainbow Dash. After a few moments of searching, she realized everypony she walked past stopped anything they were doing and simply stared at her blankly. She looked back towards Fluttershy, beginning to get very uncomfortable from the stares, and whispered as quietly as she could manage.

“Why are they all staring at me?”

“I-I don’t know… Let’s just find Rainbow and get away from h-here. They’re worrying me,” Fluttershy told her.

“I don’t see her anywhere though, so she must not be here. She would’ve stuck out like a… uh… Where’s Applejack with a metaphor when you need her,” Twilight grumbled.

Spike leaned forward and whispered, “Like an alicorn among pegasi?”

Twilight and Fluttershy’s eyes widened as they remembered that fact, “Is that why they’re staring at me?”

“Odds are; I m-mean, you do have a horn and wings… You should say something to try to calm them, if you want,” Fluttershy quickly told her back.

Twilight nodded and levitated Spike off of her back and onto Fluttershy’s, “Wait here, both of you. If anything goes wrong, prepare to fly somewhere safe. It doesn’t matter where… I’ll find you if I need to.”

Twilight spread her wings and flew out to the center of the arena in the sky, the setting sun illuminating her enough for the crowd to see, causing a wave of silence to close over the crowd as every eye turned towards her. She looked around, giving one last sweep for Rainbow Dash. Twilight sighed in disappointment as she focused her magic, working to amplify her voice.

“Um, e-excuse me, could I have everypony’s attention?” She shouted twice as loud as normal. Once she realized she already did, she continued in the same tone. “A lot of you may not know who I am, but my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I understand Princess Celestia was here today causing chaos and destruction in your beautiful city, and I am deeply sorry for that. I’m currently doing everything in my power to track her down and stop her, I just ask that you all stay calm and stay here where it’s safe. If the stadium becomes unreliable, please make your way t-”

“She’s Celestia’s closest pupil!” She heard a mare shout. “She’s probably working with her and trying to get us all under their control!”

“Wh-what?! No I’m not!” Twilight shouted back.

“I bet we can’t trust any of the Princesses!” A stallion shouted from the other side, more of the crowd mumbling and talking.

“Celestia’s the only one who has anything wro-” Twilight began to try to reason with the crowd.

“Down with the Princesses! We’ll have our own new order! To hell with your envisioned evil!” Another stallion shouted, the crowd now in an uproar of agreement.

“EVERYONE STOP!” Twilight screamed as loud as her amplified voice would allow, rivaling Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice. Everypony stopped, staring in silence at the enraged Twilight Sparkle. “Good. Now that we’re all cal-”

Twilight stopped mid-sentence as a horseshoe thrown by one of the angry crowd members nailed her in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. Her body immediately went limp, her wings following suit as she began to fall. A few pegasi gasped as they watched her begin her plummet to the ground far below.

“TWILIGHT!!” Fluttershy wailed as she watched her friend fall, glimpses of Rarity flashing through her mind as she remembered the last time.

Fluttershy leapt over the crowd, flying as fast as she could manage towards her falling friend in an effort to save her. She flew with as much power as she could muster, Spike gripping her mane tightly as he tried to hold on, but she quickly realized it wouldn’t be enough to save Twilight.

Rainbow Dash… Where are you? Fluttershy wondered, tears flying from her eyes in upward streams as she flew. You could save Twilight, I know you would…

As the ground grew closer, Fluttershy abandoned all hopes of saving her friend and began panicking and wishing Twilight to survive the fall. Out of nowhere a blurred rainbow flew into Twilight and then up towards her, letting her watch as the ground flew farther away.

Fluttershy looked up at her savior Rainbow Dash and smiled as all four of them made their way back up towards the stadium, “R-Rainbow… Thank you…” Fluttershy whispered.

She smirked and gave a small chuckle, “Anything for a friend… Isn’t the first time I’ve done this either.”

Fluttershy giggled and held on tight to Rainbow Dash, Spike doing the same as he stared at Twilight who remained unconscious. Once they came within view of the Cloudsdale citizens, there was a collective gasp of astonishment. Rainbow Dash dropped Fluttershy and Spike off near a set of stairs, everypony nearby backing away from them. Rainbow Dash flew to the center where Twilight had been originally, holding her unconscious friend in her hooves.

“WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?!” Rainbow Dash screamed angrily at the crowd as she looked around, “YOU DARE CALL YOURSELVES CITIZENS OF CLOUDSDALE WHEN YOU TREAT A PONY, WHO GOES OUT OF HER WAY TO HELP YOU, LIKE THIS?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!?” Rainbow Dash went on, her body heaving in rage as tears began forming in her eyes. “THIS ISN’T WHAT CLOUDSDALE USED TO BE LIKE! WE ALL KNOW THAT, AND JUST BECAUSE ONE PONY CAUSES CHAOS AMONG US DOESN’T MEAN WE FREAK OUT ON EVERYPONY ELSE! I DON’T CARE IF IT’S NIGHTMARE MOON OR EVEN DISCORD WHO DID THIS! YOU’RE ALL A DISGRACE TO THIS CITY AND DON’T DESERVE ANYTHING WE COULD’VE DONE FOR YOU…”

Rainbow Dash gave off a soft chuckle, slight signs of insanity showing through it as she spoke loud but calmly, “But you know what… We’ll still do all we can because we’re not like the rest of you… We’re better than that… I hope you’re all happy with what you’ve done, because at the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror and not see a monster… I can’t say the same for a single damn one of you… Let’s go Fluttershy, we’re getting away from these ponies. I’d rather face the looters and murderers than these things.”

Rainbow Dash flew off, back towards the center of the city as Fluttershy followed, carrying Spike with her. The entire crowd remained silent, everypony lowering their heads in the realization of what they’d done. The group stayed silent as they flew, tears of anger and sadness running down Rainbow Dash’s cheeks as she set Twilight down, waiting for her to wake up.

Ahh, my head… What happened?

Twilight peeked her eyes open slowly, seeing Rainbow Dash looking down at her.

Was it all just a dream?

She slowly raised up, rubbing her head as she looked around, seeing destruction and ruin around her, a bit of blood occasionally scattered amongst the wreckage of the moonlit city.

Right… It’s real… Wasn’t I giving a speech about a mile off the ground though…?

“Take it easy there, sleepy head,” Rainbow Dash mused, “You took one hell of a spill there.”

“I-I did?” Twilight tried to remember what happened, only to have her memory fail her again. “What happened?”

“You flew too close to the sun and your wings burned up, remember?”

“I’m not Rarity… And I wouldn’t be that dumb, haven’t you read the myth of Pegarus?” Twilight mused back, recovering more and more as the seconds ticked by.

“If it’s not Daring Do, then no I haven’t. How’re ya feeling?” Rainbow Dash asked as she motioned Fluttershy and Spike over.

“Better, what happened though?”

“Some idiot in the crowd threw a horseshoe at you. Nailed you pretty hard,” Spike told her as he looked at the back of her head, “Doesn’t look like anything’s there though. It’ll probably just be a bump.”

“Alright good, now to fill you in Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, sitting on the clouds at the center of Cloudsdale.

“Fluttershy already did while you were out. Long-story short, all of our friends are missing, except for us three now, Celestia has gone evil, Discord is d-dead…” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. “And it’s up to us to stop all of this.”

“And we have to find Princess Luna too, if she’s out there…” Twilight added in.

“I did say all of our friends didn’t I?” Dash smirked at Twilight.

She nodded her head in surprise, “Yeah, you did…”

Glad to see we’ve well gotten over our fear of Luna after everything that happened… Rainbow Dash seemed over it at Nightmare Night, so I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised.

“So where are we heading next?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around the dimly lit area.

“There’s the Weather Factory or we can head farther into town and look for the Wonderbolts. Speaking of the Wonderbolts, why aren’t they trying to help Cloudsdale in some way?!”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. Follow me,” Rainbow Dash demanded, moving briskly in the direction of the Wonderbolts’ Headquarters.

Twilight and Fluttershy walked as quickly as they could to keep up with their steaming friend, taking quick glances at the looted and ruined shops and businesses on either side of them. All around them ponies ran, some ran from others who pursued them far down the street and out of sight, others ran into shops, finding all they could amidst the unorganized chaos that was Cloudsdale. The group remained unbothered by anypony though as they made their way to the large, untouched building at the end of the street that housed the Wonderbolts.

Two pegasi guards stood outside the front doors of the Wonderbolts Main Headquarters, watching Rainbow Dash as she made their way towards the doors. A green pegasus stepped in front of her, blocking her off.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He said, giving his friend a smug look, “Because you aren’t going anywhere in here, that’s for sure.”

Rainbow growled, looking up at the stallion, “And who’s gonna stop me?”

The other guard, a red-orange pegasus, walked up next to his friend, “Obviously us. You blind or something?”

Dash growled even more, “You’ll let me the hell through right now…”

“Come on Rainbow, it isn’t worth it,” Twilight told her, Fluttershy and Spike standing a few feet away just in case..

The second guard chuckled, “Listen to your friend there, pretty princess says it ain’t worth it, so you better listen!”

His friend stepped forward, looking down at Rainbow Dash, “We don’t want things to get violent do we? We know you’re just some punk mare who wants to see how much she can steal from the Wonderbolts, right?”

Dash closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “You’re wrong on both accounts. I’m not here to steal, I’m here to pay them back for what they stole from US! And as for violence…”

Rainbow Dash reeled her head up, head-butting the throat of the first guard, knocking him to the ground as he clutched it and gasped for breath. Fluttershy quickly tried to hide behind Spike as they watched the other guard go for Rainbow Dash.

“You screwed up big pal. He may be a prissy lil’ colt, but I’m not,” the other guard said, his wings spread wide as he moved towards Dash.

She cowered back, her head still groggy from the head-butt on the first guard. She closed her eyes, expecting the blow, but after a few moments nothing came. She peeked her eyes open to see the guard encased in Twilight’s magical aura, his eyes slowly shutting.

“Shh,” Twilight whispered, “It’s just a sleeping spell. You’ll be back up in a few hours. It’s best not to fight it…”

Dash looked at Twilight in wonderment, her head now clear, “What was that?”

“A self-defense spell I learned a few months back. It puts pressure on a few points around their neck and uses that, along with a few magical impulses and shocks, to help knock them out.”

“Remind me not to mess with you,” Rainbow mused, looking at Twilight. “C’mon, let’s go see what’s going on with the Wonderbolts and hopefully knock some sense into them.”

“Remind me not to mess with you either,” Twilight whispered back, looking at the still gasping guard as she followed Rainbow Dash through the doors.

Fluttershy and Spike made their way to the doors, Fluttershy giving the guard a second glance, “If you f-follow us, you’ll r-regret it you meanie!” She walked inside the doors and looked at Spike, “Was th-that good?”

He nodded in approving amusement, patting her head, “Yea, pretty good, coulda been a bit more assertive though.”

She lowered her head and sighed disappointingly as she followed her friends to the front desk where Rainbow Dash was already trying to get answers. As she made her way up, she looked around and took in the room around her. Wonderbolt memorabilia, consisting of statues, posters, awards, and numerous other things were scattered about the lobby of the building. At the back was a desk where her friends were standing, angrily talking to a mare who showed little signs of care at what they were saying.

"You're going to tell me where Spitfire, Soarin’, Fleetfoot, and all the other damn Wonderbolts are!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

The yellow pegasus secretary looked up from her computer and shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't have to, and how you even got in here is a mystery to me."

"You're going to give her the info she wants or I'll see to it myself that Celestia comes back and personally hunts you down..." Twilight told the mare, giving her a glare.

She gulped softly and waved her hoof to an elevator behind her, "F-fifteenth floor, just please spare me Princess Twilight."

As the group got on, Twilight looked at the secretary and smiled, "Look, we're not going to hurt you. We're trying to stop Celestia actually, so you have nothing to fear. Do you have any idea as to why the Wonderbolts aren't helping?"

She sighed in relief and relaxed in her chair, running a hoof through her purple mane, "Honestly, they didn't tell me a thing... Sorry for being a bit of a nuisance, they just told me no one was to bother them no matter what it was for... I wish you luck in dealing with them."

Twilight nodded her head in thanks and pushed the button for the fifteenth floor. As the elevator went up they all exchanged glances in the silence.

"So what's the plan?" Spike asked, shattering the silence.

"We go up and kick some Wonderplot," Rainbow Dash growled.

"Dash, let's at least try to talk to them," Twilight told her.

She turned and began moving towards Twilight, her eyes beginning to tear up, "Just TALK to them? I want to beat their fucking muzzles in for how much they've let their home, OUR home, go to hell because they're up here doing Luna knows what instead of helping the very ponies right outside their door! How would you feel if you saw your home in ruins and your idols weren't doing a thing?!" Dash was now panting, her cheeks now glistening from the teary fury she was in.

Twilight glared deep into Rainbow Dash's eyes and forced her away with her magic, pinning her to the opposite wall as she moved towards her, "I DO KNOW HOW IT FEELS. Have you not once considered that her castle might be the first place she ruins, where I used to live? Even then my idol, no, my MENTOR is causing all of this! I get that you're going through a lot Rainbow but that doesn't give you any right to take it out on anypony else!" Twilight huffed as Fluttershy and Spike huddled in the corner of the now open elevator.

All eyes turned outwards towards Spitfire who was staring in at them, "We done here? I've got a few questions, starting with what are the four of you doing here, yelling at one another in an elevator?" Spitfire asked, a look that was void of amusement on her face.

Rainbow Dash turned her magically pinned head towards the captain of the Wonderbolts, "You have a pretty good number of questions to answer too Spitfire. So how about you and your fire-mane sit down?"

She chuckled softly and turned away, starting to walk, "Why would I expect anything different from you Rainbow Dash. Get in here then so you can see what's going on since you're so adamant about it. I heard you screaming ten floors down about the stuff."

"I have a right to!"

"Do you Rainbow Dash? Tell me why!"

"Cloudsdale is your home and you've done nothing at all to help it! There's a stadium of ponies trying to steer clear of everything that was happening since this started. I began getting people there all by myself before I found these three looking for me! What have any of you done!? Nopony has seen plot or muzzle of you at all! Cloudsdale is your home!" Rainbow Dash ranted loudly, drawing the attention of Soarin' and a few others who were sitting by a few screens and radios.

"We know! We know it's our home and it's our job to help it! All of Equestria is being infected with this anarchy! And who do they look to? The Princess that's been taken over? The Princess who was once corrupted herself and can't be found?! The Princess who has her own empire to look after? Or the Princess who might as well be new to the job, that they don't even know they can trust because of how close she was to Celestia?! Do tell me Dash, because I wouldn't know anyone else the public would trust."

"Hey!" Twilight chimed in, stepping forward, "I haven't done anything to make anypony suspicious of me!”

“Who was closest to Celestia, almost closer to her than her own sister? You Miss Sparkle,” Spitfire reminded her.

Flashes of what happened in the Cloudiseum flew through her mind, reminding her what the angry mob had shouted. That’s right… They really are suspicious because of my connection to her… Sorry I worked hard to be the best I can be I guess?

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Twilight glumly admitted in defeat.

“Now, if you’re ready to stop dashing to conclusions, Rainbow, I’ll show you what we’ve been so swamped up here doing.” Spitfire said, turning towards the numerous Wonderbolts scattered about the room. “And Soarin’ here is going to help me.”

"I-I am?" He asked, turning away from the radio he was at.

"Yeah, get to it. I've neglected my duties long enough pal. You explain this to Miss Hothead here while I go see what else I can do." Spitfire said before walking away and sitting in an empty chair.

"Well, uhm, hi again Rainbow Dash," Soarin’ weakly began.

"Hey to you too kid, glad to see they're treating you better here," Dash said with slight sarcasm. "Now tell us what's going on!"

"Alright, alright,  ever since a little before Celestia made her appearance here, we've been getting radioed from places all over Equestria. Everyone's calling in for help, saying they can't trust the Princesses anymore and that Celestia is going crazy and attacking them. Princess Cadence radioed in even, saying she's managed to keep her citizens safe with a shield she and her husband put up, but they said it won’t last forever."

Thank Luna they're ok...

"But other than that, things are all over fucked. We're doing our best to keep in touch and try to help the best we can, but apparently Spitfire decided Cloudsdale would manage on its own. It pisses me off too Dash, don't worry, but even then I'm not sure what we could do for them that you haven't already. The fact you managed to get something of an evacuation going is amazing, but it doesn't seem like anyone gives a damn. If you'd like, we could probably give you a spot up here with us, or you could stay in charge of the citizens... Up to you."

Rainbow Dash smiled, her anger relieving a bit, "Thanks but no thanks, I kinda soured things over with the citizens when they attacked Twilight here and nearly killed her. Radio isn't my thing either; besides, we're off to stop Celestia."

"Well, good luck with tha-"

"Hello?!" Soarin's radio frantically shouted.

He quickly moved over and grabbed it, the group of four moving to where they could hear, "This is Soarin' in Cloudsdale, is everything ok?"

"No, it's not... We're in Manehattan and well, it's all fallen apart... My wife and I were attacked and it doesn't seem like she's gonna make it... If she leaves, I will too..." The fancy voice replied.

"Sir, please don't do anything drastic... We're doing all we can to keep things in order. Who is this?" Soarin' told them, looking over at Rainbow Dash and her friends with panic as he mouthed: This hasn't happened before!

"We're the Oranges," he replied from the other side, "And I'm radioing in because we have a last request."

"Aren't they A-Applejack's family?" Fluttershy asked the others in a whisper.

"Yeah, they are..." Twilight responded sadly.

"Just tell our family that we're gone and that we'll be watching from above now..." Mr. Orange began. "Shoot, we only made it this far thanks to some kind mare... She was so nice and generous, even in this time..."

Twilight perked up quick, "Girls, what if it's Rarity?"

Rainbow Dash snatched the chair and radio from Soarin' who didn't protest it, "What did the mare that helped you look like?!"

"Who is this now?" Mr. Orange asked in confusion.

"Rainbow Dash, a close friend of Applejack sir," she responded.

"Is she d-doing ok?" Mrs. Orange's weak voice came in reply.

"Yeah, she's great... She's even talked about you guys some," Rainbow Dash replied, feeling sadness begin to wash over her.

"Is she there right now? C-can we hear her voice before we go?" Mrs. Orange asked.

Rainbow gave the others a terrified look, unsure what to do, "Uhh, well..."

Twilight snatched the microphone from Dash, "Applejack is... busy helping a few ponies get to safety, but we'll pass along your message... Don't worry..."

"Just like her to t-try to help," Mrs. Orange began before stopping to cough, "Are you another one of her friends?"

"Yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle," she whispered.

"Friends with a Princess... She's really done well for herself. Thank Celestia she's in good hooves," Mrs. Orange told her.

"About the pony we saw... She had a white coat and a beautiful purple mane, " Mr. Orange began, "Absolutely a joy to be aro-"

He was cut off by the sound of crumbling, then a loud crash and a cut off scream as the radio suddenly went dead, they soon following.

I-it couldn’t mean they’re… Applejack, I’m so sorry…

The group was stunned, as were Soarin' and the rest of the Wonderbolts who had gathered around when Rainbow Dash had taken the radio. After a few seconds Twilight moved out of Soarin's commandeered chair and simply stood there, silent.

Finally Soarin' snapped, "I can't do this anymore... I can't let things like this happen to the ponies right out those doors! I-I'm going to help them. We can't do anything for these ponies over the radio, but we can for the others here, in Cloudsdale, our home. Rainbow Dash was right Spitfire, we need to get our own city in check before helping all these others. We should keep a few Wonderbolts here for the radios, but the rest need to try to corral the mess Cloudsdale has become!" He began moving towards the elevator as he finished.

"We're staying in here Soarin' and that is final. I gave my order, so if you walk out that door, you walk out on the Wonderbolts!" Spitfire told him as she walked towards the elevator.

"Like you walked out on Cloudsdale?" Soarin' said before pushing a button in the elevator, sending him to the ground floor.

Spitfire slammed her hoof into the closed metal doors where Soarin' had stood moments before, "I fucking hate it when he's right! Wonderbolts move! Fleetfoot, take a team and help out Soarin'. I'll get things settled here and meet you there with the portable radio!"

The second she finished, Wonderbolts began scattering, following Fleetfoot out of the nearest window towards the Cloudiseum. Spitfire came back with a medium sized radio on her back.

"Spitfire, you wouldn't have another one of those by chance would you?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, but the range isn't much, so if you leave Cloudsdale it won't reach us."

"I know an amplification spell for the range, so I can manage," Twilight told her, encasing Spitfire's radio in her magic for a few seconds. "That's how quick it's done. Where's the other?"

"It's in the corner but you'll need a strong flyer for this thing," she said, bringing it over to them.

"I'll carry it," Rainbow said, picking it up on her back.

"Here, Dash, before I forget," Twilight said before pulling Rainbow's saddle-satchel out of hers and tossing it to her. "Might be easier to carry it in that."

"Oh sweet! Thanks Twilight," Rainbow said, putting it on and slipping the radio in as Twilight enchanted it. "We'll give you updates as things go on, and vice versa. Got it?"

"Didn't know you were calling the shots now Dash, but alright."

"C-could you tell us where in Manehattan the Oranges radioed from? J-just in case?" Fluttershy asked.

"I can get somepony on that real quick, it might take a bit though," Spitfire told her, moving towards a window. "You're all headed there next, right?"

"Yeah, seems logical since we know one of our friends are there somewhere. We're checking out the Weather Factory first though," Twilight told her.

Spitfire shook her head and spoke quietly, "I wouldn't do that. It was a damn mess there... She attacked there herself and sent a blast in through the roof. It caused a literal meltdown of the factory. Nopony survived any of it. It'll be at least two weeks before we get a new one built, so we're going to start recycling the weather we have if this ends anytime soon. Good luck to you all, I hope you can save us..." Spitfire leapt out the window, making her way towards the stadium where Soarin' and the others were.

The group exchanged stunned and horrified glances before calling up the elevator. As they got on, they took a last look at the radio room before heading to the ground floor.

Spike climbed onto Twilight's back as they walked out of the Wonderbolt's Headquarters and back into the hellish city they knew as Cloudsdale.

Spike looked at the trio and asked, "To Manehattan?"

They exchanged glances and nodded, "To Manehattan," they said in unison before taking off into the skies.

End Chapter 3