Colors

The shout was loud and frantic. The sound of rushing ponies followed soon after by the order's from the Hallows guard's to subdue the fire. Scarlet jumped up from her seat and rushed to the tent flap to see what was on fire in the town. She popped her head out then immediately looked back at me with a look of fear that I didn't think I would ever see.

"What's wrong?" I asked getting up from my seat heart thumping hard to the smell of smoke beginning to creep its way into the tent.

"Aurora, pack everything and get everyone out to safety," she paused to wipe a tear away.

"Why? what's going on?!"

"The forest is on fire and the guard's need everyone to lend a hoof for evacuation." Before I could make a response, Scarlet ran out of the tent leaving me to get all the patients to safety. Franticly, I woke up everyone that was sleeping and gathered them to the center of the tent while I pack all our medical supplies.

All the patients lent me a hoof without a word. Even little Emerald Heart who dawned a strong expression that must have come from her mother. She tried her best with packing the gauze in my saddle bags, even though halfway filled I had to help with my magic.

Trying to keep my calm. I directed all the patient's but Emerald Heart to go help with the fire. Emerald tried to leave with them, but I stopped her and placed her on my back then covered both of us with a gray cloak. She struggled and whined, begging me to let her go, but I silently told her not to.

Emerald deflated, and got comfortable on my saddle as I began to move to the exit of the clinic while listening to the screams of nearby ponies begin to boom throughout the Hallow. Before I opened the tent to leave my life's work behind. I cast a spell over Emerald's ears so that she wouldn't have to hear the unmuffled screams of burning ponies. Not looking back I opened the flap's and saw Scarlet running towards me from the tree line only to be stopped halfway by a dragon.

The beast's tail cut her off as it slammed down on top of a pony killing the poor sod instantly, leaving only a red mess of flesh and gore behind. Scarlet froze staring at the bloody mess horrified. I rush towards her, telling myself not to look at the blaze that was engulfing the Hallow created by the dragon.

But it was impossible. Looking to my left, I saw the dragon, big and red. The beast had a sadistic grin plastered on its face as it viewed its work only to me distracted by two ponies flying towards it weapons drawn. I knew almost instantly who those two were. The ruby gleam of Roses golden armor shining to the fire below. Ruby Rose charged as fast as she could towards the dragon with her spear. The speed she was flying at was blinding. Like a golden bolt, she jerked to the left, dodging a fireball blasted from the dragon. A silver stream shot through the fire straight into the dragon's chest. The dragon screamed from the pain and slashed wildly hoping to catch his attacker, which he did.

Time slowed as I watched Emerald's mother split into three chunks. Three bloody chunks that crashed into different area's of the Hallow. Black Opal, in his midnight blue armor, didn't falter to his dead wife as he launched his spear into the throat of the dragon. In response, the dragon swiped at him with its tail. Black Opal, didn't see the tail barreling towards him. The dragon's tail hit its target, sending Black into the forest like a meteor, dead as his wife.

"Oh Celestia," I cried not knowing that I just ran past Scarlet fixated on the dragon.

All I could think about as I ran blindly away from the horror caused by the dragon was how Emerald would react when she learned that her parent's were dead. Even though she was clinging to my back. She didn't see through the cloak or hear the sound of the pain around me. How I prayed that Emerald didn't see them perish in the defence of the Hallow, but I know that sooner or later, she will need to know the truth.

Scarlet caught up to me as I veered towards my house. There was a stream just wide enough to protect anyone from the fire behind the house. Cloud always followed it to go to the old well outside the Hallow and I know my brother. He is hiding in the well from the fire and dragon.

I stopped in the back yard of my house to catch my breath. Scarlet, the quiet stallion from the ticket office and Boxy stopped with me. I looked at Boxy confused, then again. I didn't hear the train leave either. Maybe the fire and dragon was preventing the train from leaving?

"You alright?" I asked the three.

"No, I'm not ALRIGHT!" Boxy cried stopping her matted hoof down.

"You Scarlet?" She looked at me with an uncertain gaze, clouded with grief. "Y-yea-s-sure," she choked looking away towards the burning clinic then to her home.

"You ...um?" I asked the silent stallion from the ticket office.

"I'ma Silent Knight miss," Silent said with a; strong, western accent.

"You okay?"

"Eeyup," he responded.

We ran down the bank of the stream with a raging fire all around us to the old well outside Hallow Shade. My brother and I figured out that there was an underground cave there when we followed the stream to the end when we were foals. The hidden aquifer will be ideal for survival as we wait for the dragon to leave and stop its rampage.

Boxy put a bit of a fuss leaving the house, complaining as to why they should follow me, but when Scarlet exploded on her, she stayed quiet and followed suit. I understand why Boxy would question me or anyone for that matter in this kind of situation. Our home; our friends and family are all dead. Looking back down the stream, I could see the entrance blocked by a fallen tree that caught fire. It was the same tree that Scarlet and I used to hide in and pretend we were griffins. The plank of wood that we managed to secure in the tree was still there but like the tree. It too was burning with our happy memories.

Why is this happening? I asked myself through choking sob's. Why us of all ponies? Why my home? Why did it have to be attacked? We were just a little hamlet. The more I thought about to more sorrow I felt clouding my thought. I had to force myself to put those feelings aside for later.

We all made a turn away from the stream to the meadow where the well was, but when we got there. We found that it was also a fire, but the well was open.

"I knew it!" I cheered out loud to the good news that my brother was alive. The other's looked at me confused, but when they saw the well, they quickly figured out that I was right!

I didn't notice that I left the other's as I snaked my way through the blaze without getting burned, but I heard them following. Halfway to the well, I saw in the corner of my eye a streak red fly by. I thought it was just an ember floating in front of me vision, but the wind that gusted the meadow free of the fire told me otherwise.

Realizing the danger, I bolted to the well through the hot embers only to look back to the dragon landing behind my companions, angry.

"RUN!" I shouted at them while waiting by the lip of the old stone well. They looked back and saw what I was staring at. The wounded dragon didn't like that several of his prey almost ran away from his wrath.

Scarlet was the first to run beside me, she gave me a frightened look of absolute terror, then jumped into the well, followed by Silent Knight soon after, while Boxy was still sprinting for her life with an angry dragon chasing after her. The look of, "Don't leave me," In her eyes shot an arrow in my stomach. Regretting my next decision, I ran after her to give her some time.

I bolted after her while grabbing hold of a moss-covered brick still wet from the moister from the well and threw it as hard as I could with my magic at the face of the dragon. The brick landed on the spear that was lodged in its throat causing it to fully go through. The dragon tripped from the pain onto its chest causing the spear that was lodged there to puncture through.

I grabbed Boxy and threw he over my shoulder and ran back to the well not wanting to fight the dragon anymore, but it sure did. I looked back on last time to see the maw of the dragon open up and begin to glow. I sprinted faster using a spell that I taught myself that allowed me to run as fast as the faster pegasi feeling the torrent of fire from the dragon catch up with ease.

I jumped hoping to land in the well, but the torrent of flame wrapped around all three of us.