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October 7, 1010 A.B.

7:15 PM

The last few days had been a blur for Fallen Angel and Shining Star. Their guardians, Cloud Sweeper and Comet Trail, had caught the first train out of Canterlot to meet them in Manehattan, but the railway lines could only make it to Fort Riverhill on the mainland's coastline. They had to get into Manehattan over the Almanor Bridge on the western side the next day, and finally found Angel & Star on the 3rd. Once they had reunited, tears could not stop being shed by either party.

Star had ended up going home with them once the Maneway stations had opened back up on the 4th, but Angel had decided to stay in Manehattan to look after his new friend, Crimson Moon, much to the anxiety of the others. Not only was he dedicated to helping her until her injuries healed, but he also had a way to get a look at Manehattan University. At this point, however, he didn't care what it was like; he was already set in his mind to apply for a spot in the spring semester. He already had a friend with which he could go to class.

As they had sat in the hospital room day after day, Crimson and Angel had listened to the radio in the room as the world reacted around them. As it turned out, the party responsible for the bombings in Manehattan and Canterlot had been a team of Saddle Arabian rebels that Saddle Arabia themselves had been fighting for years. Once the facts became known, Celestia had issued a rare declaration of war on the rebels, and sent troops from the Royal Guard into Saddle Arabia. At the same time, the Elements of Harmony had been called in, and were stationed in Canterlot in the case of another attack. So far, however, the only report was a scare in Fillydelphia that turned out to be false.

Angel unlocked the door to Crimson's dorm room and pushed it open as he backed in, holding Crimson's wheelchair with his front hooves. He was starting to get used to this, but he was still glad it wouldn't be long until Crimson was able to move around on her own. He picked the grocery bag that he'd sat outside back up, then closed the door and carried it to the table in her kitchen.

"You all good?" he asked her once he set it down.

"Yep," came the reply. "Thanks for helping!"

"My pleasure," Angel responded, showing off the newspaper on the kitchen counter. "Check that out!" he exclaimed.

On the front cover of the newspaper was a picture that an amateur photographer had gotten in the aftermath. It showed a group of rescuers carrying a young mare out of the rubble on a backboard. Although none of them were identified, Crimson and Angel knew exactly who they were; Crimson was the mare on the backboard, and Angel and the fire crew were the rescuers.

"Wow!" Crimson yelled. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah," Angel replied, quickly flipping through the paper for any interesting new details on the attack. "Good grief, look at this!" he spoke up again. "15 fireponies from one unit got killed. They're saying the whole squad was wiped out."

"Oh my gosh!" Crimson exclaimed. "Which unit?"

"Um, Squad 5," he replied.

Crimson froze. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope. Know somebody from there?"

"No, but I filmed all of them!" Crimson shouted. "They all walked by me while I was on a corner. Quick, grab the camera for me!"

Angel obliged, and Crimson scrolled through her footage until she found what she was looking for. The camera was the first digital model in Equestria, and therefore, could play footage without the hassle of having to pull film out and develop it. Sure enough, she had gotten film of the whole squad marching past her, headed for the tower. More likely than not, Crimson had the last known pictures of the crew alive.

"Wow," was all that Angel could say. Chills were running up his spine. Trying to get the frightening thought out of his mind, he asked Crimson, "Need anything else?"

"Can you open that sliding door for me?" Crimson asked, pointing to her balcony door, and Angel trotted over to it, sliding it open for her to wheel out onto the balcony. This was the first time Crimson had even dared to go out there since she got home on the 5th. As sad as it was, she didn't want to see her favorite sight anymore, now that it had been drastically altered. She rolled her wheelchair to the railing, where she took her first glimpse at the "new" Manehattan skyline, minus her beloved Crystaller Building. All of the lights in every still-standing building were lit up, as well as a spotlight pointed into the sky at the southern tip of the island, a tribute by Manehattan in memory of the fallen tower. All that could be seen from where it once stood, however, were emergency lights from the numerous rescue crews that were still on the site. It had been 6 days since the attack, but it still felt like the day had never ended to Crimson.

It was only when Angel wrapped one of his forelegs around her in a hug that she realized she had started to cry. If anything, the hug had only made it worse. It was finally sinking in that she had gone through, and survived, the worst attack in recent Equestrian history. It seemed as if the world had lost its innocence, exposed to the harsh realities offered by a cruel foe. She returned the hug to Angel, burying her face into his shoulder, and the two sat for what seemed like forever, as Crimson tried to wish away the attacks, and cling to whatever hope she had left that it still wasn't real.

Suddenly, they heard a knock at the front door, and Angel hopped up to answer it. When he opened it, he was surprised to find Firestorm, the officer that had let him and his sister stay in her home after the attacks.

"Hey!" Angel exclaimed. "Good to see ya!"

"Good to know I have the right address," Firestorm responded, holding up her notecard with a smile. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Angel answered, letting Firestorm inside. Crimson came inside from the balcony, and Angel shut the sliding door before taking a seat with Firestorm in the living room.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here," Firestorm started.

"A little, yeah," Angel replied.

"Well," Firestorm continued, "I got a chance to talk with my superiors about you, and what you did to help out at the attack. To make a long story short, they want you to come into the main headquarters tomorrow. A little birdie told me there might be a new award being made, and you're to be the first recipient!"

Angel's eyes lit up, and his face broke out in a smile. "Really?" he exclaimed. "That's amazing!"

Firestorm reached into her uniform's pocket and pulled out a small box. She opened it to reveal a medal, with a design of a pony on it, carrying another pony on its shoulders. It also had an engraving on the bottom that read, "Shiny Cloud Medal of Heroism".

"This is what it's supposed to look like," she told Angel. "I designed it myself, and I named it after my partner. It's the first ever civilian-rank medal for our police department, for regular ponies who go above and beyond, even risking their own lives, to save others."

"Wow," Angel stammered as he studied the medal. "I honestly don't know what to say. Thank you."

"The pleasure's mine," Firestorm responded as she got up. "I wish I could stay longer, but my shift technically isn't over. I just got a break between calls, and decided to stop by. Like I said, the official ceremony's tomorrow. I'll see you guys then!"

"For sure!" Angel responded.

Firestorm turned to leave, but stopped when she spotted Crimson's camera, lying on the counter.

"Whose camera is that?" Firestorm asked.

"Mine," was Crimson's reply. "I used it to film the attack."

This further interested Firestorm.

"Do you mind if I take a look at it?" Firestorm requested.

"Go ahead," Crimson answered.

Firestorm sat back down on the couch, holding the camera up and looking through the footage. "How much footage did you get, exactly?" she asked Crimson.

"All the way from the start," Crimson responded. "I usually film videos to send to my parents of stuff that I do on days off from school. I was supposed to meet a friend in Altasano Park, but while I was talking about it, I saw the explosion."

As Crimson was talking, Firestorm started to watch the first clip on the camera with the view of the skyline.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad!" Crimson's voice started from the video, "it's Crimson! Today I'm going to meet Morning Shadow, and I'm really excited! We have so much to talk about, like my studies, and her new job. Plus, I've planned a whole list of activities for us to do together, like ice skating at Rockhoof Plaza, going to the top of the Crystaller Building," -- The camera turned to the aforementioned tower, then back to Crimson -- "and of course, a picnic in Altasano Park! I can't wait to get the day started. I'm so excited I can barely--"

Crimson's smile suddenly turned into wide, frightened eyes.

"OH DEAR CELESTIA!" Crimson cried, and the camera turned back to the tower, which now had the first fireball erupting from it. Firestorm stopped the footage, and turned to Crimson.

"I can't believe it;" she exclaimed. "You might just have the only footage of the attack from start to finish! It was rolling when the tower came down, correct?"

"Yeah," Crimson replied, "And when the 2nd blast happened. I couldn't turn it off after I got hurt, though. I don't know when it died, but I ended up having to get new batteries for it when I came home."

Firestorm studied the camera for a moment, then asked, "Do you mind if I take this in to headquarters? I think the sergeant would want to see it."

"Go ahead," Crimson responded. "I'm sure they'd be happy to watch it."

Firestorm got up and put the camera in a spare bag that Angel offered.

"I'll be sure to return it as soon as I can," Firestorm assured Crimson.

"It's okay," Crimson replied, pointing out her wheelchair with a laugh, "I don't think I'll be needing it for a while."

"Thanks for coming by," Angel said as he got up. "Before you go, you don't have a map on you, do ya? I need to learn how to get around this place before I actually live here."

This got a chuckle out of Firestorm, who answered, "If I find one by tomorrow, I'll be sure to give it to you."

"Okay," Angel replied. "Thanks again!"

"See you at the ceremony!" Firestorm retorted as she shut the door behind her.

Angel sat back down on the couch, admiring the medal as Crimson rolled over to him. He went to place it back in the box when he noticed a paper underneath what should have been the bottom of the box. He pulled it out, and found that it was a note. He started to read it aloud for Crimson:

"To Fallen Angel, the best friend an officer could ask for. I think you'd make a great partner! Hope to see you on the force soon! With lots of love, your friend, Firestorm."

************************************ THE END **************************************

Author's Note

If you've made it to the end, I'd like to thank you for reading. I almost didn't finish this for multiple reasons. One was that I was scared of how people would react to it, as this is no doubt a sensitive topic. The other was horrible timing, through no fault of my own, as a few real-life bomb scares in New York happened right as I was finishing up the last chapters. But I'm glad to have finished it, and glad that you've taken the time to read it. I hope you enjoyed the story, and any constructive feedback is appreciated! Who knows, maybe more stories of Crimson, Angel, Star, and Firestorm are in the foreseeable future? Thanks again for reading!

--Replach