Author's Note

Based on Ralph Vaughan Williams's inspiration for his third symphony.

Prompt: syrupy sweet

Ascending Line

Sombra’s soldiers had retreated. They didn’t want the town, only to sow fear.

The explosion still reverberated in my skull. Somewhere behind me, I recognized General Rainbow Dash’s voice as she helped pull survivors from the rubble.

She’d get to me. In the dusk, they might overlook me unless I shouted. Or I’d dig myself out. Nothing too heavy confined me, just one roofing timber and some crumbled masonry. As the first few stars winked a greeting, an odd silence grew.

A sound.

From one of the nearby farm fields, a voice rang out. A beautiful voice. A song, but no words, pleading to the heavens, a simple melody. Everypony paused to listen.

In that one moment, with the syrupy trickle of blood inching down my face, that sweet sound froze the world. I believed that Equestria could be beautiful, too, peaceful, someday.

But like everything does, the singing ended.