Look For The Light
Prologue.---
Her eyes opened rather blearily, choked breath came in small gasps of shock as she tried to pull herself up on her feet. Ash shifted off of her form as she struggled, much in vain, to right herself. Before she could even blink twice, her legs shakily collapsed from underneath her as exhaustion immediately took its toll.
She... couldn't get up.
But then it was instant, pain erupted so fast in her body that her vision swam haphazardly, threatening to make her faint. She kicked her legs out involuntarily as the searing agony rocked her core, causing even more torment. Panic blossomed in her mind freely, until eventually, her logic seized hold of her frantic thoughts, forcing her to calm down and make sense of the situation. The seconds ticked by as she took a few reassuring breaths, even if her ribs burned horribly from the action.
Her side was hurting to the greatest extent, so she glanced to that part of herself first, her hands feebly examining the area to check for damage. Twilight let loose a whimper as she realised something long was jutting from her left side. It was warm where it pierced her body, so she was still bleeding. Trying to contain her resolve as she pulled her bloody fingers away, her mind told her to check her legs next, as one of them extensively throbbed with pain as well.
She managed to shift herself upward despite the daunting injury, the first thing she noticed was that she couldn't see amazingly well. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the gloomy lighting however, and she indeed saw something else was sticking out from her left calf. Not just sticking out, but piercing right through the muscle of her leg. At least she knew that was the cause for not being able to stand upright. Upon further inspection in the dull illumination she established that it was loose shards of wood that pierced her.
Other than these two grievous wounds, she was littered with small cuts and scrapes along her frame, she could feel the pulsing twinge that emanated from each new affliction. Her brain told her she needed to fix this. Her brain also told her she needed to find out what was going on and why she was now injured in such a manner.
Twilight told her brain to shut the fuck up and let her think for a few seconds.
You need to get up.
She did need to get up, yes. It really didn't help that she couldn't see her surroundings all too well. This was further enforced by her ears twitching atop her head, hearing an object crash into the ground far behind her, yet she wasn't able to turn and see what it was.
But at least she had her first task: Find a light source.
Her horn lit up in the darkness.
Not good enough, she needed to see beyond her own nose.
She must of still been disorientated from whatever had happened and not been all there quite yet, because she realised she was sitting in her library. How did that one slip by her? She dismissed the thought, looking around herself.
From what she could see, books were scattered everywhere, strewn about as if a storm had taken them. Glasses, beakers, other such equipment she kept around were smashed, in pieces all around her. A few shards had even found their way into her feet. There was a constant flickering of light over the ground, so she assumed something was aflame. A brief glimpse at the ground compelled dread to arise in her breast; dark red covered the wooden deck where she lie.
How long had she been unconscious and injured in such a state?
She leaned backward, uneasy, bumping into something hard, flat, smooth, and cold. She managed to look at it long enough to see what it was. Strangely; it was her floor... not where it should be. To be precise, a chunk of it that had been ripped from its foundation and impaled within the flooring proper. Almost like a statue.
How in the name of Celestia...?
She closed her eyes, sighing. The condition of her library was trivial in comparison to the fact she likely to bleed out shortly. It didn't stop her from widening her eyes as there was a flash of light in the sky, which lit up the library for a simple moment, revealing that the library had no canopy to it anymore. It was as if somepony had taken a giant axe to her tree-house and left it a jarred stump. The wood of the tree was horribly splintered where it had been separated. The wind howled through the open ruin, brushing light debris along before the illumination winked out and left her in darkness again, hiding the deeper destruction that had been created.
It was a substantial loss. But she didn't let herself anguish. Her library could be rebuilt in time, sweat, and magic.
If you even live that long...
She wasn't one to simply quit, though.
The glare from her horn was enough to see a lamp still limply hanging on the wall directly beyond her. She focused on it, magical energy enveloping it. It took a meagre spell to bolster the ignition, sapping her energy due to her current condition, but it burst into a modest flame that was brighter than if she'd lit it by normal means.
Acceptable.
At best, she could view a good portion of her surrounding area now. She was in the centre of her library, just about. The door was clearly to her left, so behind her should be the entrance to the basement. From where she sat, the upper alcove of the library was practically non-existent of course, so it would be a safe guess to consider everything once held within, lost.
Her next task was to rise and start walking. To do that, she vitally required sorting out her leg. All the knowledge she knew on medical aid rushed into her mind as she thought on how to go about this. She could remove the chunk embedded in her muscle, which would likely make it hemorrhage, and she had no clue as to what quantity of blood she'd lost already. But at the same time, she wouldn't be able to walk properly with it still fixed as it was. She would also have to sit here until help arrived. Twilight had no estimate as to how long that might take.
The first aid kits of the library were nowhere in sight. Normally, Twilight would keep one near the door in case of emergencies, and one upstairs near her room. Now, she certainly considered this an emergency, and from what she could see, the kit was not near the door. Only splintered remains were all that was left of said door. Of course, it was also a likely case that the medical supplies she kept upstairs were also absent. Glancing over the numerous books that covered the floor, she felt relieved to spy a lime green object under a pile.
She floated it out, visibly sullen to see it wasn't a medical kit, but a codex on biology.
Perseverance would eventually lead her to find it under the statute previously stood in the middle of the library. She was brought down as she discovered that this medical kit had been crushed by the heavy wooden head. She still opened the box, hoping something inside had remained useful. Twilight smiled upon her luck, seeing there was morphine within. Only a single syrette wasn't cracked, but it was still something. There were two packs of dressing, a few remaining pins, clamps, a single sterile wipe, and a bent pair of scissors.
In the end she decided on a gamble. She braced herself, took out the syrette, and tore off the metal wire, jabbing it just above the damaged portion of her muscle. The initial spike of pain from the needle immediately left, the burn in her calf lessening somewhat due to the magically potent drug. Then she focused on the shard. This certainly wasn't ideal, but she needed to get herself moving so she could properly assess the situation. Twilight closed her eyes, and sharply pulled on the invading object. She wasn't proud to say her scream was that of a little filly, but thanks to the morphine, the pang was much less fierce. The tears started to fall down her face, just as blood now freely oozed even more from the wound. She ripped the sterile wipe open, cleaning the blood away as her magic started unpeeling dressing simultaneously.
She cried out as the clamps pinned the flesh together, and she quickly wrapped her leg with the dressing as best she could. She didn't have time to remove all the tiny splinters and Celestia knew what else, they would have to be beared. Pinning the dressing together, her magic let the equipment drop. This all left her shaking considerably. The morphine was helping her calm down, as was the adrenaline rush, but she'd never dreamed ever having to do such a thing.
Get up.
Concurring with her thoughts, she let out an anguished shout as she forced herself onto her feet once again, keeping her weight on her good leg. Her side was screaming at her, she tried ignoring it, compressing a hand around the jagged piece of wood and the wound itself. She tripped slightly upon taking a step forward on her other leg, even using the embedded piece of flooring as support.
Warmth spread down her leg, which meant the calf was still bleeding despite the clamps and bandaging.
If there was one single trait Twilight Sparkle prided herself on, it was determination. She succeeded in trudging to the doorway before needing to take a breather. Her magic was just barely strong enough to float a snapped branch over that she now used as a crutch of sorts.
She was seldom two steps out of her destroyed home before halting and wishing she'd never left. Ponyville was in ashes. Every building she saw was burst wide apart like a fruit, or crushed completely. The lighting revealed to her gaze, debris haphazardly scattered everywhere, fires spread around, burning what was left of the town, and several prone forms laying limply in the dirt.
The bodies of fallen ponies, eyes staring lifelessly or closed in mock peace.
Twilight must of stood there for minutes on end simply staring at a small foal that had fallen just metres from herself. The body was perforated somehow, she could make out as much from here. The foals face was one of shock. Twilight did all she could to stop herself from beginning hyperventilating.
Why... why would anypony do this?
It was downright disturbing for her. She couldn't move.
Not until she saw Spike, a fair distance away.
The lithe dragon was on his front, clearly wounded, but in what way she couldn't discern properly from here. She made to rush over to his side as fast her feet would allow, being stopped abruptly as a shout, followed by distinguishable force, tore into her shoulder, ripping through her and causing untold agony.
Screaming out in horrific pain, she fell to the ground in a heap after being taken so off balance. Her eyes darted about in abject horror, she had no clue what was happening around her. She was now frantically gawking into the sky, panicking so much that she thought she might have a heart attack. She could still just see Spike from the corners of her vision, his eyes were closed. Twilight prayed to Celestia he was just unconscious.
Fear was playing havoc on her brain. Surprise also mixed in upon blearily eyeing what she believed she saw was a Griffon, through her rapidly fading vision.
No, it was a Griffon.
"We got a survivor. Unicorn. Orders?"
Twilight couldn't speak, it burned too much. All that escaped her was a sob. Everything burned too much.
"No, Ma'am, I neutralised her. Clean shot through the shoulder." He paused, examining her for a second, his voice was like gravel. "She's already wounded though, looks like shrapnel damage from the bombing run. ...Description? Of course, Ma'am."
She tried to move toward Spike, but she was forced back in place by the Griffon's heavy foot, causing a lance of pain through her chest, although the feeling jolted her from drowsiness a tad. He shined a torch in her face, talking again to the air. Twilight concluded he must be speaking into a radio. Even in her delirious state she knew he'd been the attacker, if the strange instrument he held within his claws was anything to go by. She snapped out of her thoughts when he shifted his weight and sent more stabs running through her system.
"...And a... Starburst Cutie Mark." He finished his summary of her, clicking the torch off. He raised an eyebrow after a few seconds. "What? Yes. Yes. No, of course. Understood, Ma'am." The Griffon's stern look focused on her face, he didn't look like the friendly sort. "...Looks like it's your lucky day, girl. Apparently you're someone important."
The world disappeared in an agonising instant as that object he clutched, smashed into her face.
