Prologue: Fall of Equestria
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!" I yelled to everyone as the Raptor fell from the sky, her clouds torn from the ship by the mighty blast, the ground coming up to meet us at an alarmingly fast rate. "EVERYONE, GRAB ONTO SOMETHING!!!" The raptor was falling faster and faster towards the ground. 2000 feet, 1500 feet, 1000 feet, 500 feet... "EVERYBODY HOLD ON!" ...0 feet. The raptor hit the ground nose first, the sudden stop making me lose my grip on the console I was desperately holding on to. I hit the reinforced front panels of the bridge... And everything went black.
1 hour ago: Aboard the Raptor "Lightning Dancer" parked 2 miles from Cloudsdale
Hey there. Names Midnight Star. Mare, Black Pegasus, Cobalt mane and tail with a Gold streak. One gold feather in each wing. Thats it. I'll spare you the life story. You'll probably hear it eventually. This is my story from the wasteland. I didn't do anything as crazy as the Lightbringer did, and definitely nothing like what Security faced. Regardless, this is my story. But first, I should probably tell you what the end of the world is like.
Same room, same clouds, same sky. Same boring day. I was recently promoted to General around two weeks ago. It was a great honor, and I was unbelievably to have gotten this far, but... I'll be honest, being a general ain't all it's cracked up to be. I was born to battle, to be on the frontlines, doing battle with the enemy. Now what do I do? I sit on my ass in my private quarters and wait for the next meeting, go to said meeting, watch everyone else bicker over what our next plan of attack should be. They think up stupidly overcomplex plans, and then I say something stupidly obvious. Then the meeting ends, and I'm back on my ass again. Don't get me wrong, peace is awesome. I love peace. The more peace, the better Equestrian life is as a whole. But... As I said before. I'm a fighter, not a "sit on my ass and wait for stuff to happen"-er. So sitting down in my quarters, while relaxing, was, well, boring. ...And what I wouldn't give to take it all back, boredom and all.
55 Minutes later: Aboard Raptor "Lightning Chaser" Parked 2 miles from Cloudsdale.
I was being called to the bridge. Probably for more of the same, boring debriefing from a successful mission. Regardless, it's my job as general to know these things. Still can't be half assed to remember it though. But this time I noticed something different. The comm officers, who were normally busy at the terminals, were silent and motionless. A feeling of dread began to wash over me. I looked around the bridge, seeing nothing but Somber expressions, faces full of fear and sadness, devoid of hope. I approached the captain, Feathertail, and asked him the question. "Why was I called?" The captain looked away sadly before answering.
"I have horrible news..." I could tell by the look on his face that he meant it, too. "You... Had family in Manehattan, right?" No... Dear Luna, please no! "We just received information that..." He pauses for a moment. "That Manehattan was just destroyed by an Balefire bomb." Now, in reaction to this news, I did what was perfectly normal. I freaked out. I rushed to the comms, frantically trying to get a hold of my family. I tried to contact my mother and aunt, Evening Light and Morning Light. Static. My father, Cyclone. Static. My boyfriend, Comet Blitz. Static My sister, Stardust Gleam... Static. Everyone I cared about... Everyone I loved...
Gone.
At that moment, my mind was at the tipping point. Either I suck it up and stay strong during this time if need, or I break. I'll be honest, I was sliding more towards having a pshycotic break from losing all my loved ones at once. Of course, there's nothing like another balefire bomb to snap you out of depression.
"General! Cloudsdale's been hit!" That was only two miles away. Less than a second later, I hear the explosion. Another second later, I felt the explosion. The force of the explosion ripped the clouds from the hull, and we entered freefall. I've already told you what happens next.
"Ugh, my head..." I woke up to an intense headache, and an orangey taste in my mouth. I tried to stand, but something was holding me down.
"Don't move General. Not an inch." It's not like I have a choice. I looked up to see why I couldn't move. Half the bridge had collapsed after the crash, and had me pinned. Somehow, I hadn't been crushed. "We're gonna get you out of there. Don't move." Slowly, I felt the weight on my legs lessen until a grunting voice said, "General, quickly, can't... Hold it!" As quickly as I could, I got out from under the wreckage, and with one last grunt, the stallion dropped the wreckage. Around me, I saw three other ponies. Gale Force. White coat, grey mane and tail. Strong, and unstoppable when flying, with a big heart. Comes from Trottingham. I always did like his accent. He's my second in command and the one who got me out of the wreckage. Another stallion, Night Wing, the only Bat Pony in the military outside of Luna's Royal Guard. Sneaky as hell, doesn't speak much either. He could be standing right in front of you and you wouldn't even notice. Would've done well as an MoA Black Ops operative. Finally, the recruit, Cloudtop Pirouette. Cloudy for short. Golden mane and tail, orange coat. Made her look a bit like the sun. Good kid, joined the war effort a couple weeks ago. Far as I'm concerned, she's too good for this. She's smart. She could've bern a teacher, a scientist, anything she wanted... Now she's here, one of the survivors of a downed raptor. That reminds me...
"Anyone else? Are we the only ones?" Night Wing nodded solemnly. Then Gale spoke.
"I'm just happy you're safe, General."
"Don't call me General anymore." He looked confused at that.
"Why not?"
"Cause Cloudsdale and Manehattan just blew up. Who knows how long we were out for? The rest of Equestria could have done the same, and if thats the case, being a General doesn't mean shit. From now on, you can call me Midnight." But after what I said, it hit us. Equestria could be gone... We all looked down at the ground. It didn't feel real. Did we lose the war? Is there still fighting happening? We don't know. What we did know is that sitting on our asses wasn't gonna do shit. "Cloudy, is there a way out of here?" The young mare looked around for a moment before turning back to me. She also had the best damn sight I'd ever seen, so I knew she'd see a way out if there was one.
"General- I mean... Midnight. There's an exit near the top where the bridge collapsed." She pointed at the entrance, and I could see it, but I never would've if she hadn't pointed it out.
"Good eye Cloudy. Everyone, lets get out of here!" We flew to the opening, exiting one by one, slowly and carefully. Cloudy may have found us an exit, but it wasn't safe by any means. Sharp metal lined the opening, torn and twisted when the bridge collapsed. Once everyone got through, it was my turn. And just my luck, the rest of the bridge started to creak and groan. Gale yelled down to me.
"General! Get out of there!" Normally, this is when I'd say my name's Midnight, but now really wasn't the time. I flew out as quickly as I coukd, but... Not before my leg caught the sharp end of some twisted metal. I let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain as I tore myself off of the twisted metal and out of the bridge, which collapsed shortly after. Gale ran over to me, worry in his eyes. "General! Are you okay?!"
"M-My names... Midnight." Gale took a stern face.
"Bloody hell! Now's not the time General." He takes a look at the gash on my leg, and recoils at the sight. "General... Don't move." Okay, now I need to see this, no matter how bad it is. I took a look at the wound. It was deep, and long, from just below my cutie mark to my knee. Wait. Is that bone? Now, I'm not a bitch, but something about seeing your own bone... It sets something off in your head. Something that says 'you don't have to deal with this right now'. In other words, I passed out. "General!"
I woke up... Later... I can't really tell how long it'd been. I'd woken up in some kind of capsule thing. The front was made of glass, but covered in so much dust that I couldn't see shit through it. It was on a hinge, like a door, and when
I pushed on it, and it opened. I stepped out and immediately noticed something. My leg had healed. I must've been there for a while, a couple weeks, at least. There were a few other capsules in the room, but only three of them were lit. I checked them, and to my relief, it contained the other survivors of the Lightning Chacer's crash. I was relieved to see the heart monitors on each capsule were showing a steady, calm beat. Good, they're okay. I went to look out a nearby window, and couldn't believe my eyes. Everything was gone. In ruins, or simply leveled. ...What the hell happened while I was sleeping?
Author's Note
Hello everyone, it's me, Comet Blitz, here to say I'M NOT DEAD! I've just been living life, realized I was heavily unsatisfied with the original version of this story, and have decided to rewrite it from nearly the ground up. I hope you all enjoy.
