The Day Everything Changed

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12:05 PM

Crimson got up with a groan from her spot as she obeyed the police officer's orders. She knew one way or another she wouldn't have been able to stay. As she trotted up the dust-covered street, however, a low rumble started to echo. She looked back, and saw a shadow creeping over the building behind her. As the rumble turned into a loud roar, the ground started to shake, and Crimson looked up. The Crystaller Building, her favorite tower in the world, was coming down!

Her 10 second clock started ticking. She had to find a place to hide from the debris. As she looked around in a panic, she found a relatively-unscathed fire carriage sitting about 20 feet away from her. Better than nothing, she thought. Crimson darted towards it as the roaring only grew louder. She got down on her belly and tried to climb under the carriage. As she did, however, a huge metal bar hit her hard on her right side, causing Crimson to scream in pain as she rolled underneath. She could barely hear herself, however, as the roar of the collapse drowned it out, and the cloud of dust and metal flowed around her....

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Fallen Angel heard the filly on his back scream first. He turned around to see what she was screaming at, and found himself staring at the top of the Crystaller Building imploding on itself.

"Hold on tight!" he yelled to her as he turned back around, sprinting up the street as the building came down completely behind him. The ponies up the street began to stampede in the same direction he was going. However, one didn't; she stood still, clutching her face with her hooves as she watched the building fall. It was Shining Star!

"STAR!" Angel yelled to her. Her ears perked up, and her eyes met his. He could see them light up with joy, thankful that he was okay.

"RUN!" Angel screamed, and Star took off, the pair galloping side by side as the huge cloud of dust followed, hot on their trail. Star said nothing as they ran, only wondering to herself who the filly on his back was. She didn't exactly care, though; as long as Angel was okay, she was happy.

After a few minutes of running, Angel had to slow down and catch his breath. Luckily for him, the cloud seemed to have slowed, and wasn't an immediate threat. Angel set the filly down next to him as he sat down on a bench.

"That was fun, huh?" Angel asked the filly, who didn't respond, only shaking with fear.

"Who is that?" Star asked him.

"No idea," Angel replied. "An officer was going to take her to the medical post, but needed to get back to work, so I offered to get her there for her." Angel would've said more, but he trailed off as he realized that there was a great chance that the officer was dead. Nobody that was in the building could've survived the collapse. A chill went up his spine as he realized that this deed might've been the last thing anyone did for them. He needed to finish it. However, there was a new task at hand.

"I need you to do me a favor, Star," Angel told his sister, hugging her. "But before you do, I just want to say I'm sorry for what I said. I really should've thought twice before I said it."

Angel pulled away and picked the still-shaking filly up from the bench beside him.

"I need you to get her to a police station. I'll come back and find you, I promise."

"You're going back, aren't you?" Star asked coldly, blue eyes locked in a death glare.

"I have to, Star," he told her. "I know there are still ponies trapped in there. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna die. The danger's gone now."

Angel hugged Star as tightly as he could. "I love you, Star," he said, before turning away and starting the long trot back to the fallen tower. For the first time today, a tear ran down his face, but he wiped it away and kept going. He could save his emotions for later.
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Firestorm didn't know how, but she'd made it inside the Maneway station just in time before the dust cloud had poured over the entrance. Now, she was inside the tunnel, wondering what she was going to do. There was no going back out; the dust would choke her to death. At the same time, she didn't know which way the tunnel went. She turned her flashlight on, and began to walk as her walkie-talkie went crazy. So many officers, firefighters, and EMTs were calling in, saying they were okay, trying to find colleagues, or just figuring out what the new plan was.

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie went silent. Firestorm figured she'd lost the signal, before she remembered that the devices even worked underground. They needed to, anyway, since a lot of call-outs came in Maneway stations. As Firestorm stopped to listen, a voice came onto the radio: "Attention all emergency services: Role Call is now in effect. Only radio back when your callsign is called. We will begin with the Fire Department."

Firestorm felt her stomach tighten. Role call only went into effect in the case of a collapse when there were still first responders inside. She suddenly remembered her squad that she'd gone inside with. As far as she knew, she'd left them behind. Firestorm had to lean against the tunnel wall to keep from collapsing altogether as the tears started to fall. She'd left them behind. Had she stayed with her squad, she'd probably have still been inside the building. She'd probably be dead. They were probably dead. Firestorm had cried at a few call-outs, and she was proud in admitting that, but never like this. She felt absolutely horrible, like the whole world had crumbled around her.

"Squad 1-Alpha," the dispatcher on the radio called out. That was Third Alarm's callsign. Firestorm shivered as she heard it. It would probably be the last time she'd ever hear it.

"Squad 1-Alpha, copy."

Firestorm's head shot up. He'd responded! He was alive! Firestorm jumped for joy, covering her face with her hooves as the tears of sorrow turned to tears of relief. Somehow, some way, Third Alarm was alive. And from the callbacks on the radio, it seemed his whole squad was as well! Firestorm took a moment to catch her breath, before she grabbed her flashlight and kept walking. If she were heading north, the next station would be in close proximity to the Midtown Police Station, where she started her day. She'd rest and call back from there, and figure out what the new plan for search & rescue was. For now, she was thankful that her squad was okay. And hoping she was going the right way.