What Happened in September...

Hydro Gen sighed as he trotted up the front steps of the massive Canterlot Castle, guards and other robed officials running this way and that, trying to meet the demands of their superiors and mobilizing for deployment. The Relief Efforts were putting more and more strain on Canterlot, Hydro knew that, but this was just ridiculous. It was like someone had stomped on an ant pile and simply stepped back to watch the chaos. Hydro galloped up the massive front steps that rested inside the great hall and took a left, running down a long hallway and trying his best not to bump into pissed off looking ponies that were carrying piles upon piles of documents with their magic or saddlebags.

Hydro grunted as he moved through the tight crowds "Sorry, excuse me! OUCH! Watch it there! OH I beg your par- oh sorry! Excuse me!!!"

After five minutes of weaving in and out of the castle's labyrinth of hallways, Hydro finally reared up on his hind legs, pushing his two front hooves against the throne room door and shoving them open. The throne room was an utter mess, a long rectangular table resting in the middle of the room. Papers and maps and official documents were strewn about the place, many scribes and red-robed archivists trying their best to file everything and clean the clutter. Hearing the door open, a dark-blue mare with a solid blue mane peered upwards, her horn aglow with ethereal magic and her wings rustling with angst at her sides. A cutie-mark of a crescent moon adorned her flank, as well as a small blue tiara that rested on her head.

Princess Luna smiled as she exclaimed "Hydro! You made it! Tia's on the balcony." Hydro nodded and looked across the table, seeing the massive clutter that they still had to go through.

He sighed, looking up at her and muttering "Things are worse by the looks of it...what's all this?" Luna frowned, looking down at the mess and shaking her head.

She looked up and said "We're losing the drug-war in Manehatten...and more and more cries of help are coming to us from across Equestria. Tia's doing everything she can but...it's staring to bring her down." Hydro nodded, pointing a hoof to the door on the left and raising an eyebrow. Luna nodded and went back to the paperwork, leaving Hydro to head for the balcony.

~~~

Princess Celestia sighed, shuddering as her purple and blue mane whipped about in the chilly wind of the afternoon. Her pink coat was doing little to keep her warm, and her crown-like tiara felt like it was frozen to her head. Her ears perked as she heard the door open, turning her head and letting a soft, sad smile cross her lips.

She held out a hoof out and said quietly "Hydro Gen...my star pupil. You came." Hydro trotted up to her and bowed politely.

He looked up and said with concern "Princess I heard you needed me as soon as possible. What's wrong? Is something amiss?" Celestia merely sighed and shook her head, looking out over the lands of Equestria. From here she could see everything, Ponyville, her and Luna's castle-estate in the Everfree Forest, and even the lower levels of Cloudsdale.

She held out a hoof towards the sky and quietly spoke "Look Hydro...look at our world. I wish I could say everything is calm and peaceful in Equestria, but it's not. We're losing Manehatten to the Drug Cartels, PhillyDelphia's cries of help continue to ring in my ears, and there are even whispers of a potential Civil War in the future."

Hydro's jaw dropped in surprise, his voice coming out in a slight stutter "C...Celestia, you don't honestly think it'll come to war do you?!" Celestia dipped her head and sniffed, shaking her head and letting out a low whine. Hydro's eyes widened as he whispered "Princess...are you crying?"

Celestia turned her head to him, tears spilling from her eyes as she sobbed "I don't know! I don't have enough guards to meet the demand and I can't open the draft! I promised myself after Stalliongrad I would, not, open, the, draft!" She stomped her hoof at each word, Hydro nodding sadly as he remembered the cold bloody war in the north, all those Griffons and Ponies...

He looked up and muttered "Celestia...things will be ok, Equestria's gone through dips like this before, it'll be ok I promise!" Celestia sniffed, wiping her eyes with her hooves and nodding, looking out across the world.

She sighed, "Sometimes I wonder Hydro...I just don't feel like things are getting better, no matter what we do to help. I wanted to ask you...how is the Agri-spell coming?" Hydro sighed, walking up to the railing of the balcony and propping his front hooves up, looking down towards Old Ponyville and shaking his head.

He turned his head and said "Progress...but not enough. We've figured out a way to increase the effects of the spell, so that the crops will grow faster, but we STILL have yet to find a way to minimize magic usage. It's still too strenuous of a spell to perform. I'm afraid Hoofington's going to have to hold out a little longer..." Celestia sighed and nodded, sitting on her haunches next to Hydro.

She muttered "Thank you Hydro...for coming to see me. Things have been so stressful and I barely have time to spend with you anymore...how are your studies?" Hydro smiled a little as he thought about the work in the labs, wondering if Alexi was working on some of their notes...or secretly going out to lunch with Angel again.

He smiled despite this, and turned his head to Celestia "Well..." he muttered, "It's a slow process but we're working on it. We're narrowing down the possibilities of what could split an atom but...we're not quite there yet. I've got an idea of what I could do though." Celestia nodded, smiling as the rays of the sun broke through the cloud barrier and illuminated a good portion of Canterlot. Her pink coat shone brightly in the sun as she stared up into the sky, smiling and taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

She sighed "Thank you Hydro...I'm glad you stopped by. How's Angel doing by the way? Oh, do tell her that she doesn't need to apologize for last Tuesday. Your presentation on Atomic Fission was something nopony should have missed. I must apologize myself for scheduling the luncheon on the same day, you know would have-" She was cut off by the sound of Hydro's voice, a low, confused tone in his words

He looked up towards her slowly "What...about last Tuesday?" Celestia blinked in confusion and narrowed her eyes.

"Last Tuesday..." she said, muttering quietly, "Angel said she was attending your seminar on Atomic Fission...it's why she couldn't make it to the luncheon." Hydro narrowed his eyes as he stared down towards Old Ponyville, spotting his apartment building on Mane Street.

He breathed venomously "She told me she couldn't make it to my seminar because she was at your luncheon..." Celestia blinked in surprise as Hydro muttered "If that's all...Celestia...I must be off" Celestia nodded, waving him off gently with her hoof

She smiled a little and whispered "Of course...have a good-" Hydro's loud teleportation spell cut her off as he dissapeared in a spasm of white magic. She sighed sadly and looked out across the land again, muttering to herself

"-day..."

~~~

Hydro shoved the balcony door open with a loud bang, storming inside and looking around, a furious look in his eyes. He lifted his head up and shouted "ANGEL!? are you home?!" Nopony answered him and he let out an aggravated sigh, heading into his bedroom. He fell back on his bed, letting out a deep sigh and burying his face in his hooves. What was going on? Why had Angel lied to him AND to Celestia of all ponies! He sat up, staring at the mirror across from the bed, situated on top of the dresser. He looked miserable, physically as well as emotionally. He knew it was only a matter of time before Celestia started to pull their funding, allocating it to one of the relief efforts. This whole business with Angel lying wasn't helping either. Just as he was getting up to go back into the kitchen, he heard his front door fly open with a loud bang.

He jumped a little at the sound and listened as he heard loud rustling coming straight towards the bedroom. He gasped and looked around the room for a place to hide, fearing that he was being robbed. He dove under the bed as his bedroom door crashed open, hearing some sort of...giggling. He settled down on his side, pressing his ear to the bottom of the bed and trying to listen. The bed suddenly shifted downwards however, the mattress hitting him in the face so hard he had to shove his own hoof in his mouth to muffle his cry of pain. He was just about to crawl out from under the bed and find out what exactly was going on...when a voice spoke. His eyes widened and his pupils contracted to the size of needles as he heard her voice, his mind screaming in anguish, praying that what he wasn't hearing was real.

Angel's voice whispered, a guilty tone in her voice "I...I don't know if we can keep doing this...this isn't fair to Hydro...it's not right!" If that didn't rack Hydro's body with pain, then it was definitely the colt's voice that accompanied Angel's

He spoke "Vhy haven't you told him? It'll hurt him less to just tell them rather then him catching us...ve'll be in big trouble if he finds out...I don't vant to lost my best friend!" Hydro curled up into the fetal position, listening as the two of them talked for a moment...and the first sensual moan of the afternoon echoed out.

He laid there, his hoof in his mouth and tears spilling out of his eyes, staring towards the far wall. His bed creaked and he let out a tiny sniffle, trying his best to stay quiet has his best friend Alexi gave it to his marefriend. Every moan, every whimper, every shout of his name, made Hydro wince and whine with despair. After what seemed hours, Angel gave her final cry of release and her panting moans filled the air. Hydro stayed perfectly still, his eyes wide and vacant as he heard the two of them slip off of his bed and head into the bathroom. Once the water started running he quietly slipped out from under his bed, standing on shaky hooves and his eyes settling on the bathroom door. He wanted to be angry...he wanted to be miserable...but no matter how hard he tried, no emotion could accurately match the situation he was in right now. He felt like the walls were closing in on him, and his shattered heart began to beat rapidly. It was just too much, he could barely even breathe!!! He turned his head toward the glass sliding door that led out to the balcony and pointed his horn downward, tears streaming down his face and his eyes shut tight.

A white aura of magic covered his horn and in the next second, a ball of white-hot energy shot outwards and smashed into the door, making it explode with such thunderous force that a part of the wall had been blown away in the process. He heard a cry of fright from in the bathroom and he galloped forward, putting his front hooves up on the railing and leaping over it, his eyes catching sight of the fields north of town. He let out a furious cry of anguish as he poured a massive amount of magic into his horn, teleporting with such force that the magic explosion he left behind shattered most of the windows nearby.

He appeared immediately on top of the hill to the north, lifting his head up to the sky and screaming as a depressing wave of sadness crashed over him, his broken heart throbbing. He fell to his belly, covering his head with his hooves and sobbing.

First Equestria...

Then his teacher...

Soon enough, his funding for his work...

And now...his Marefriend fucking his best friend.

Hydro had refused to believe it before, but now...his pessimism outweighed his optimism. There was no denying it now in his opinion. Equestria was a mess, probably too far gone to save now. And now...he too was a victim of the shitty world he was born into. All he could scream at this moment, was "WHY!!!!!!!!!!??!"