Author's Note

No Crimson again, she'll be back soon!

Chapter 7: Heroism in the Making

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10:55 AM

Fallen Angel & Shining Star were on their way back to the scene, Angel carrying a case full of water. They had been forced to go all the way past Bridleway Square to find a shop still open, but luckily, they had more than enough. Now only a few blocks away, they had been able to give a few bottles to anyone who needed them. Their main focus, however, was the emergency workers at the scene.

As they galloped towards the burning tower, they passed a street closed off with caution tape. Angel looked down the street, and could easily see why. An unfortunate pony had been hit by a metal fragment from the debris, and although they seemed to be alive, looked badly injured. Angel looked to Star and shrugged.

"Maybe those guys need some water?" he suggested to her.

"Hey!" Star called out without any hesitation, "Do you guys need a drink?"

"I'll take one!" came a reply as a firefighter trotted up to them. Angel handed him a bottle, and the stallion took a drink from it.

"You guys staying safe?" he asked the pair.

"So far, yeah," Angel replied. "We were told to give clean water to emergency guys, though, so we may have to get a little too close for comfort to the building."

"That's alright," the firefighter responded. "As long as it's for a good cause. Just try to stay out of danger, 'kay?"

The firefighter turned and started to trot back to the others. "You're good kids! We need more ponies like you in the world!"

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11:00 AM

Shiny Cloud climbed through the window he had just busted out, trying to find his way through the debris. He and Firestorm had just seen a hoof go up, and he was now on yet another rescue operation. He weaved his way around one desk after another, trying to find the pony.

"Hello?" he called out. "Can you hear me?"

A voice to his left replied, "Over here!"

He turned to see a young mare, buried under a pile of chairs, a desk, and what he thought was caved-in ceiling. He rushed over, and started pulling the debris off of her.

"Firestorm!" he called out to his partner. "I need some help over here!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Firestorm flew in and started to help him. Soon, the mare was free, & Cloud started to look over her, trying to make out how badly hurt she was. Luckily for her, it looked like only her front left hoof was burned; other than that, only a few cuts and bruises. Even still, the burn definitely needed medical attention. Firestorm helped the mare up, gingerly touching the burned hoof to keep her in as little discomfort as possible. Shiny Cloud grabbed her other side, and the two carried her down from the tower.

"There's a medical post on the southwest side of the building," Cloud told Firestorm. "We can get her some help there."

It didn't take long for Firestorm to spot the medical post. However, there were already quite a few ponies out there. It could be a while before this mare got the care she needed. On the other hoof, there weren't many other options around. All the hospitals were either too far away, or probably filling up with patients fast.

Cloud & Firestorm set the mare down softly, and Cloud called an EMT over to take a look. Once the EMT got to work, Cloud turned to Firestorm with a smile. "Let's get back up there, shall we?" he asked.

"You can go on ahead," Firestorm told him, "I'm gonna get some water."

"Alright," he responded, "but don't be gone too long Stormy!"

With that, Cloud took off back towards the burning tower, looking to find more ponies in need. Firestorm, meanwhile, started looking for a place to get a drink. Emergency carriages were swarming all around her. Many police officers were on the ground, either organizing crowd control, or a game plan for the trip inside the tower. A pair of officers in front of her were unloading equipment from their carriage. Firestorm trotted past them and started to head towards the command post. Surely she'd find a drink there.

A large crowd of ponies ran past her as she walked, escorted by a few officers and firefighters. These must be people who worked in there, she thought. Meanwhile, her radio, which hadn't gone silent at all today, was still blaring out directions for other officers. Luckily, it told her where a closer command post was, just a block to her left. She turned down West 6th Street, and soon found the command post, inside an insurance building. She breathed a sigh of relief once she walked into the air conditioning. The summer heat had been starting to get to her, let alone the heat from the smoke & fire. The terrifying scene outside could wait a few moments. She was going to take a well-deserved break.