Fire and ash. That was all Rainbow Dash could see as she flew slowly along the devastated street. Her mane whipped from the gentle force of the breeze, a calm aftermath of the strong winds that had battered the place only minutes before. Her slate-grey body armour was torn across the back to reveal a set of deep cuts that stung her skin, weakening the power of her wings as the pain throbbed angrily across her spine. The city was like a ghost town: some of the remaining members of her flight team sat on the ground tending to injured civilians, while others hovered above her head, gazing over the damage that could have been prevented.

The attack on Manehattan had been unexpected and catastrophic. It was Rainbow’s job to lead the pegasi troop across Equestria, protecting large cities and small villages from a possible invasion. This one, however, took the city ponies by complete surprise, the creatures appearing seemingly out of nowhere to ravage their homes and tear down the landmarks with their new-found strength and power. Rainbow Dash had received word almost immediately, but the problem came from how far away she had been situated at the time.

As she observed the unrecognisable streets, her heart grew heavy with guilt. If she and her team had been closer to the area, maybe more lives could have been saved. She should have been more careful; she should have kept a close eye on everypony, not stayed in one place thinking everything was fine. The haunting sounds of sobbing and retching that came from the city’s survivors tugged painfully at something deep inside her. This was her fault.

Suddenly, her heartbeat rose significantly as another thought came to her mind: Rock Rush, the stallion who had stayed closest to her side out of her whole team; where was he? The pace of her wings quickened as she darted to and fro, her eyes searching for any sign of her right-hoof pony. Her forehead began to sweat in panic; what if the power of the destruction had overpowered him and he had been swept away? What if she couldn’t find him again? Or what if… what if the worst had happened?

No. Rainbow wouldn’t think it. Rock Rush was a strong and courageous pony; not the type to fall into disasters. Still, these reassurances didn’t stop her heart from hammering violently against her chest.

She rushed further along the street, raising herself high to get a wide view of the demolished city. When she was about to give up hope , she saw him: a storm-cloud coloured stallion with an even darker mane and tail, lying against what remained of a skyscraper. The building was now a mere stump instead of a towering fortress.

After a momentary feeling of relief, Rainbow Dash’s spirits sank as she flew closer to him. He was motionless, his body slumped clumsily against the ruins, his eyes firmly closed, and his wings sagged uselessly along the ground. She approached him with speed, her legs collapsing to the ground as she put her fore-hooves carefully around his head.

“Rock?” she asked desperately.

There was no response.

She glanced over his body, starting to feel sick as she noticed the bruises and grazes that scattered his figure. He couldn’t be… no, he just couldn’t be. Rainbow refused to admit it.

“Rock, can you hear me?” she said more loudly, shaking him to try and get a reaction. “Rock! Wake up!”

And then, to her heart’s joy, Rock stirred. He let out a weak groan through his lips, his eyes slowly blinking as he began to focus on the world around him. As soon as he recognized Rainbow Dash staring expectantly at him, he grinned feebly.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

If he hadn’t been battle-worn and exhausted, she probably would have hit him over the head, but she was far too thankful to see him alive, well, and smiling, with that cheeky glint in his eye. So instead, she settled for rolling her eyes at him. “You’re not funny.”

He replied with a mischievous smile, before his eyes turned serious, searching her face for information. “What happened?” he asked, hitching himself up with some strained effort. “Did we win?”

Rainbow Dash’s smile faltered, ears flattening against her head. “Sort of.”

She cocked her head to examine his bruised shoulders. “You’re hurt pretty bad, Rock. We should probably get one of the medics to look you over.”

He scoffed. “Rainbow, please. I’ve been through a lot worse in my life, and this is nothing compared to – ow!”

Rock made the mistake of trying to stand up, but fell back down with a pained grunt as his bruised shoulder gave way on him. Rainbow eyed him with a smirk. “Oh, sure. It’s nothing.”

He glowered at her. Rainbow Dash knew that his ego was just as big as hers, and she had learned over time that he would often hide pain or emotions behind a confident image. Now didn’t that sound familiar?

“Tease me all you want, Dash,” Rock replied, sneaking a gaze to the incision in the mare’s armour, “but it looks like you need medical attention just as much as me. And don’t try and deny it,” he added as she opened her mouth to protest.

He then moved his eyes off her to stare at the surrounding area, and his expression fell in shock. When he was last awake, Manehattan had at least been recognizable as the magnificent city it was, but now the only things visible were debris, smoke, and collapsed buildings that reminded him of ugly mounds you would find at a rubbish dump.

“No,” Rock croaked, his eyes unable to move from the horrible sight. “Dash…” Rainbow lifted her head in response to her name, looking somewhat nervous. “What happened?” he stammered.

“A lot happened,” Rainbow replied bluntly. “But, Rock, we saved nearly everypony.”

“But this…” Rock Rush murmured with a disbelieving shake of his head. “This is just awful. Why did it have to be this bad?”

Rainbow Dash didn’t reply. She was never sure on how to reassure ponies in situations like these. Worst of all, she knew Rock Rush had a good heart and could be quite sensitive. How was she supposed to make him feel better when there was hardly any nice news to give?
After a moment of awkward silence, with Rock staring sadly at the ground, Rainbow exhaled the breath she had been holding with a helpless sigh. “Hey. We tried our best while you were out, and we managed to hold the army off in the end. There are survivors – quite a lot of them actually, so that’s something to be happy about.”

She wasn’t sure how comforting her words were. Thankfully, Rock nodded his head, albeit forlornly, and returned her stare with a small smile. “I believe you, Rainbow. You always try your hardest – toughest pegasus I know, and definitely the best team captain.”

Rainbow wanted to smile at the compliment, but the events of the day held her back. Being the captain of a patrol team of fighters was honourable, but she had hoped for something better before the war started. Sadly, that dream was no longer in her sights.

“Rainbow Dash, you’re bleeding.”

Rock’s worried voice turned Rainbow’s attention to the wound on her back. She was indeed bleeding; a sizeable trail seeping out of the longest cut, staining her armour like a little red stream.

“I’ll get it looked at.”

“But what happened to you?”

“One of them grabbed hold of me while I was flying and got its teeth into me,” she said nonchalantly, moving her eyes straight back to Rock Rush. “But it doesn’t matter. You need to be checked first. You’ve been out the longest and you don’t even have the strength to get up yet.”

Ignoring his petulant grimace, she reached into her pocket and passed him the small bottle of water she had been carrying. “Drink some of this, it’ll do you good. And stay right here.” She rose off her hooves with a flap of her wings. “I’m going to get some help so they can see to you.”

Rock took a long-needed swig of water before releasing a satisfied breath and meeting her eyes again. His expression slowly turned to one of concern as he examined his friend. “Are you all right, Dash?”

She shrugged with a frown. “Sure, why wouldn't I be? I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Rainbow, wait a second.” The mare paused in her flight and turned back to Rock, realising she was afraid of hearing what he was going to say. The stallion appeared to muster some effort to get his words out. “How many?”

She stared at him with a raised eyebrow, puzzled, though in her heart, she knew exactly what he was asking. “How many what?”

“How many… did we lose?”
Rainbow's voice unexpectedly caught in her throat. She avoided his questioning gaze for a moment or two, her eyes fixed guiltily on the ground. Eventually, she found her voice, though it was fragile. “I don’t know.”

Rock Rush stared at her without emotion, processing her words, and then nodded solemnly. Feeling pain tug at her heart, Rainbow Dash quickly turned away from him and continued her flight back the way she came, trying to ignore the building tears in her eyes and the sound of a crying filly in the distance.

Author's Note

Hi, everyone! Wow, this is the first fanfiction I've posted here for at least a year.

To be honest, I have no idea where this story came from. One day the plotline just came to my head, and it was originally just going to be a one-shot, but once I started writing it, I couldn't stop.

So now it's just sort of... taken off.

I'm really excited about the future of this fic, since it's the first multi-chapter story I've attempted in months, and I hope it pays off. Most importantly, I hope YOU guys like it.

Please leave me your comments! They mean the world to me. :)