A Deerling's Downside

Fauna leaf woke up, all too quickly realizing where he was. He was back home. Glancing outside the window, he could see two fawns playing soccer, while a young buck played defense. Was Ponyville all just some dream? Putting on his saddle bags and sweater, he trotted outside. It was just a regular day, well, almost regular. Something was wrong, he could literally smell it in the air. Looking up, he saw several birds fleeing from something. Odd. He noticed something else weird. While yes, during work hours there'd be very few buck on the street, it seemed almost barren besides the occasional buck or fawn. Then, he heard it, he heard them. His mind told him to run, but his feet were glued to the street as several bucks and does rushed around him, trying their best to escape from something. Fauna could hear trees collapse in the distance as he silently prayed that this was all a nightmare.

"What are you doing, moron? Run!" Yelled a buck as he forced Fauna from his paralysis.

Fauna could see it now, the smoke. The smoke from fire blotted out the sky as more screaming voices broke through the wind. The forest was alight, and soon many homes were too. A monstrous roar was enough to get Fauna running, but deer were herd animals, and he all too soon found himself caught in a herd that bee-lined down the street. In this herd, he stuck out like a sore thumb, he was a target, he wouldn't last a night if they had to charge into the woods. Looking to his left and right, he noticed something that made his heart drop. He saw several lead buck kick out the deer who stuck out, which only meant some predator was amidst the smoke and ash. Fauna tried his best to hide in the crowd but was all too soon kicked out, but he couldn't give up. He took off running, now alone. While his sweater hid most of his markings, he still stuck out, he needed to cover himself in something, and fast. The 'outcast' deer followed Fauna as he covered himself in ash.

"To the gates!" An out-casted doe called.

The herd of soot covered deer took off running, and that's when Fauna caught sight of it. His heart pounded like drums as he continued running, although his eyes transfixed on the creature. It was like a large winged lizard, and he watched as it snared and ate to bucks. The gate was close and Fauna could've sworn he heard someone calling his name, but that didn't matter, he was so close to escape. In the corners of his blurred vision, he could see many of the huts now were either caked in ash or ash itself. Thankfully, their now ash-covered coats helped them blend in with this new environment of ash and smoke. The only thing standing in their way now was a stone wall that circled town. The metal gate stood open, and the deer quickly darted out, but they weren't safe yet.

Charging into the woods blindly, Fauna found himself jumping over several fallen trees, doing his best to avoid the rubble and fire. He could once again hear someone calling his name but did his best to ignore it. The group of outcasts, now split, did their best to make it out of the dense forest. A buck from the original herd seemed to be helping clear the way for several doe to make their escape. Fauna just kept running, it was all he could do. Smoke coated his lungs and he found himself occasionally coughing, but he didn't stop running. A doe infront of him was plucked off the ground by an unseen force, and he listened to her screams fade away. Grass stained his ash covered coat as he stumbled and fell, but he got back up as soon as he fell.

"Over here!" He heard a buck cry.

"No this way!" Another yelled.

Light pierced through the branches of a tree, and Fauna made his way there. However he quickly panicked when he realized it was just the flame from one of the winged lizards. Unfortunately, while Fauna stopped in time, a couple other deer weren't as lucky. He took off running the other way, making several sharp turns to avoid other winged lizards. He eventually found himself cornered, not by the beasts, but by dead fall. He was stuck in a death trap, he tried to call out but his lungs were full of smoke, Fauna eventually collapsing. Another buck appeared, his fur black as night while his eyes a pure white. He bent down and

"Fauna, wake up!"