Let Loose the Dogs of War

A loud explosion rocked Trebass off of his seat as he fell onto the floor. The room started flashing red as a loud alarm went off.

A voice spoke from the intercom, "Mayday! Mayday! We have been hit! Please prepare for impact!"

"Get in your seat pardner!" Braeburn pulled Trebass from the floor into his seat.

Trebass fastened the safety belt around his body and put his head between his legs, with his hooves sheltering the back of his head.

A volley of explosions filled Trebass' head as the plane began to twist and turn.

*KABOOM*

Another explosion had created a large hole in the side of the plane! Three soldier ponies were dragged into the hole and flew out of the plane, theirs screams sent shivers up Trebass'. The hole was two seats to the left of his seat.

"Why do all bad things happen two seats away from me?" Was what Trebass would have been thinking if he weren't faced with mortal danger. He could feel the bolts that held his seat to the floor giving away. He looked towards Braeburn and tried to reach out to him. But the bolts on his chair snapped, and he was dragged out into the open sky.

Braeburn removed his safety belt and grabbed a parachute from underneath his seat, and he dove through the hole in the plane after Trebass.

Besides the words "Oh Crap, Oh Crap, Oh Crap." Being repeated in his head, Trebass tried to regain his balance in mid-air. He centered himself so that the ground was below him, and the clouds above him. The wind shot through his mane as he spread his arms and legs apart to slow his fall. He looked up and saw Braeburn with his arms and legs snapped together, diving straight towards him. The collision caused Trebass to lose his sense of direction as he spun around and around.

Braeburn grabbed Trebass by wrapping his arm around his body, then he pulled the ring on his parachute. A white cloth flew out of the bag on Braeburn's back. Four strings were tied the cloth to the bag and the two began to slowly descend onto the sandy sidewalks of Los Pegasus.

They landed. The wind blew dust into Trebass' eyes. He covered his eyes with his hoof and tried to look around. Rubble was falling from the rotting structures. It was clear that no one had lived in the tall towers and and buildings for a long time.

Braeburn crawled from underneath the deflated parachute on the ground. He removed the parachute bag from his back and threw it on the ground.

The two looked up and saw the "Equestrian Cloud" engulfed in flames. It was heading towards the east. They could hear the impact from a mile away, but the crash site was on the other side of the city.

"All those soldiers and civilians..." Trebass fell to his knees. They had to see if anyone had survived the crash, but how?

"We have to get a good view of the city to find the crash site. Better hurry, the bandits come out at night." Braeburn walked over to the revolving door of a nearby building. He tried to push it forward, but a pile of debris prevented it from moving.

"Can't we climb on the overgrown vines to the top?" Trebass tugged on one of the vines to test it's reliability. It felt stable enough to climb. The two began to scale the giant structure. About halfway to the top a vine snapped underneath Trebass, Braeburn caught him by the hoof just in the nick of time. It was a dangerous climb, but eventually they made it in time for nightfall. They collected some twigs from the overgrown trees that were scattered on the roof of the building. Luckily, Braeburn's military vest was equipped with an emergency lighter. They started a fire that lasted them the entire night. The sparks crackled below the stars, the crickets chirped in the night, and the warmth of the fire pressed up against Trebass' chest.

"You said you had a mare waiting for you back at the base, who is she?" Trebass asked.

"Her name's Deviree, she's the most beautiful thing you'll ever lay your eyes on. But be sure not to lay a hoof on her, understand?" Braeburn loaded a sixth (6th) bullet into his revolver.

"Wouldn't dream of it, I kinda... have a mare back at home too." Trebass examined the gun that Braeburn had given him earlier, since his suit was equipped with two sidearms.

"Kinda? Oh no... Was she on the carrier that crashed?" Braeburn asked.

"No, she's not from... Here. Exactly." Trebass replied.

Braeburn didn't quite understand what Trebass meant, but he simply shrugged it off his mind. They both sat by the fire, admiring the stars in the sky. The fire started to go out, until nothing was left except a dead black crisp. Trebass' eyelids became heavy, and eventually left him in the dark. The howling wolves from the hills sent a chill up his spine as he tossed and turned in the night. What unbearable thoughts haunted his dreams? Only Trebass and Bable knew.

The white unicorn mumbled to himself, "Bable... No..." As he drifted off to sleep.