Heavy rain poured down on Canterlot Castle in an unrelenting torrent. It splashed off of the golden spires, rapped against the stained windows, and ran in streams down the hard walls. The castle shone in silhouettes with each lightning flash, and the city nestled around it, sleeping tightly under the weather. The Equestrian flags, blue with the symbols of two Great Alicorns, snapped in the gale.
Two royal guards huddled in the corners of the grand entrance as they stood watch over the moaning doors in the wind. The rain pinged off of their golden armor in a violent, rhythmic melody.
"Cursed storm," one of the guard growled. "We being out here’s useless. Can’t see a thing in the dark." He turned to his companion standing on the opposite end of the doors, "Hey, Aegis, can you see anythin'?"
Aegis grunted, blinking rain from his eyes. "No, nothing. Not much of use, at least."
"Everypony else has probably gone inside, I bet you. We're the only two still at our posts."
"Something could try and take advantage of this storm, Durendal,” Aegis said reproachfully. "We're doing our duty."
"Pft, not even the foulest of criminals would want to work in a storm like this. I didn’t think the life of a guard was standing around in a storm sent from the depths of Tartarus," the other pony complained. "It’s like the Great Alicorns are angry about somethin'."
Aegis sighed. He was an old horse, having served the Royal Guard his entire life. Durendal, however, was a new recruit, and as Aegis knew, they were all lazy, entitled, and wimpy. That was possibly destined during peace times, though. Nopony signed up for glory or honor. Being a guard was always a last resort career option. He was one of the few guards with a cutie mark actually related to the field at all.
Aegis squinted, gazing towards the horizon. A flickering green glow emanated in the distance. Had it not been for the hue, he’d have thought it a fire. Worried, he brought it up with Durendal, but the younger guard just laughed, joking that maybe Ponyville finally burned itself down. For a while, he thought it a legitimate concern, but the light was barely there, so he paid it little heed.
“Joking aside, if you’re truly concerned of a fire in this storm, you should be retiring. ‘Specially if it’s glowing green. The fish are more likely to drown,” the guard paused. "Hey, why don’t we ditch this—” He cut off abruptly, straightening. "Whoa, something’s coming!"
Aegis followed his gaze to the white road that paved the main street through Canterlot to the castle. Indeed, somepony was coming. His dark cloak flew behind him, revealing his royal armor. The pony skidded to a stop before them, "Open the doors! I have news from the South!"
"Identify yourself!" Durendal called back.
"Officer Shining Armor of the Everfree City patrol!"
Aegis and Durendal exchanged a look before quickly opening the doors. Hurriedly, they escorted the officer into the castle. Armor flung off his tattered cape as they entered.
"What's going on?"
"I must speak with the king," Armor panted, sounding exhausted. "It's not good news."
Windows rattled as the storm roared from outside. Puddles stained the carpets of the central corridors as they approached the throne room. The king likely wouldn’t be awake at this hour, but if that came to be, they could request the guards to summon him.
"Is the king inside?" Aegis asked as they approached two guards and huge doors.
"Yes, sir," one replied. "He's in there with the Princess."
"I must speak with him immediately," Armor said, his blue mane hanging wet against his face. "There's been an incident."
The guards opened the door and Armor trotted in, forcing Aegis to hurry after him. It was customary for a guardspony to escort guests through Canterlot Castle, especially when meeting the royal family. And since this might become a job for the Royal Guard, Aegis thought it best he listened in so he could inform the Captain later.
The throne room was long and tall, but most of its grandeur was bathed in shadows of the night. Torches scattered around the room provided minimal lighting. The king sat with his foal, a delicate Unicorn filly of four years.
Noticing their hurried movement, King Bullion stood, flicking his cape. His mane was thin but dark, with a beard covering his face. He was a tall and bulky, with a deep voice. "Yes?"
"Your Majesty," Armor sighed. "I have . . . horrible news."
The king frowned. "What is it?"
Durendal removed his helmet, his long mane hugging his fur as he glanced over at the officer.
“Everfree City, there was a fire… There’s nothing left," Armor replied.
It took all of the soldier’s training not to show his surprise, but he glanced at the officer with wide eyes. Everfree City destroyed? Was that the strange light in the distance? But how could a fire have survived through the rain so long?
King Bullion glanced down at the little filly who huddled close to his legs, wary of strangers. "Celestia, my dear, go to your room. Daddy has some business to attend to and it’s getting late.”
She nodded. "Night, daddy." They shared a brief hug before she padded out the room, leaving the king and his guards alone.
The king massaged his temples, sitting back on his large throne. "How many survivors?"
Armor shrugged helplessly. "Little to none, I believe. It was too sudden."
"How did this happen? Who attacked?" Durendal asked.
Armor glanced at him. "That's the biggest problem. We don't know. Everfree is small with a tight-knit community; strangers are instantly noticed. We didn't see anypony foreign. Of course, that’s not to say it’d be impossible for a single pony to go unnoticed if they tried."
"So this must have been the work of a single individual?" the king asked, looking tired and worried, thunder sounding in the distance.
"The fires… they started all at once. Within a minute, there was fire from all corners of the city. None of my guards saw anypony running or flying around with the material necessary to start a fire like this. That is, if anypony could ever move that fast around the city."
King Bullion frowned. "So what do you suggest happened?"
Aegis was stunned by the story he was hearing, but he listened intently.
Armor shook his head. "Honestly, Your Majesty? An entire city just burned to ashes. The fire survived through the raging storm, and the city was completely incapable of affecting the fire. Pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, none of them showed any power over the blaze. Not to mention it was green. We have no idea who might’ve done it; there were no attacks on the guard or anything. I believe it must have been a master unicorn. Except we haven’t had one of those in this century, have we? And even if we knew who did it, we don't know why they did it."
Deep in thought, the king hummed. He echoed, "Yes, yes. Why would anyone destroy Everfree?”
"It wasn't a terrorist group, we’d have known immediately if that was it," Armor continued. "I see only two possibilities. There must have been something in Everfree they wanted buried, or," he shrugged, "they wanted somepony dead."
