A massive pillar of fire came from the heavens and swallowed Canterlot whole. The buildings, even the stone ones, were melted to their foundations and even those were made into heaps of slag. The castle, the seat of power for the whole of Equestria, was consumed in a light from the heavens that wiped all signs of equinity from the mountaintop.The rock beneath was turned to glass which reflected the eternal sun above and the cloudless sky.

It was not the only city. Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Baltimore, all met the same fate as divine flames scorched them clean. Soon the entire world was filled with the same flames, and they burned all signs of life away until only a charred ball was left. Not even the oceans survived, they had all dried up from the sheer heat of the onslaught.

The only thing remaining on the rock was Rose Wreath. The fire that burned in her chest was just as hot and pure as the flames that cleansed the planet and had saved her from annihilation. She stood alone in the charred ashes of the world she so loved, and she felt at peace. It was odd, knowing that she was the last living thing and feeling so calm. There she was, though. Her hooves were covered in ash and the sun continued to shine overhead, but she felt happy.

Day Twenty-Seven

Rose woke up in a sweat. Not from the dream she had just occupied, but from the heat. Her fur from muzzle to flank was coated with it and she was exhausted even after rest. Her mane was clinging to her face and she used a damp wing to peel it off and slick it back. She blinked a few times and tried to stop the sweat from stinging, but it did not help.

The power was out here, unlike the Rocky Top. The little bakery was hot and putrid and offered no protection from the elements. It was still getting hotter, too. This was not a good combination. They had come to the conclusion that the altitude was not helping them at all. It was higher up, which meant a thinner atmosphere, which meant less protection from the sun. The whole mountain was baking and it was only going to get worse the longer this went on.

“Sleep well?” Tempest was in no better shape. She was likewise covered in sweat. Her usual mohawk was pinned to her head and neck with perspiration. Dark bags underlined her dull blue-green eyes and her shoulders slumped forwards.

“No.” Rose answered and brought a hoof to her head. It felt like her brain was trying to break from her skull and her whole body ached. “We have water, right?” To answer the question, Tempest pointed to a deep sink meant for dishes that was filled to the very top. “Thanks...” She stood and every part of her body protested, from her neck to her legs. It did not want to expend energy in this heat, but it needed to.

Rose didn’t bother with civility or pretense, she just dunked her entire head into the sink and began gulping down as much as she could. It was cool water too and it sent a shiver down the length of her body. It felt so good and she didn’t want to leave, but her body began to protest and her lungs began to burn as they were deprived of air. Eventually she did have to come up again and she took deep breaths of the humid air that was little better than the water that had been about to fill her lungs. Tempest was staring at her with a bemused but tired smile.

“Have fun?” The unicorn stood and took a deep breath before speaking again. “We need to leave Canterlot. Today. If we don’t…” She slouched a little more as the fatigue threatened to take her down. “...if the monsters don’t kill us, the heat will. We just can’t…do this anymore.”

“Okay. How do we do that?” Rose was all for leaving Canterlot and putting some distance between herself and the alicorns, but that was easier said than done. After the train had sped through the city, after it was clear that help was not coming, hope had died. What little they had been clinging to went out of the window.

“They’re all trying to go through the south gate, right?” Tempest began to pace once more. It seemed to help her think and it usually worked from what Rose could tell. “Okay so we make our way to the north gate. It should be less trafficked. Though, we’d need to circle the entire mountain to get to the grotto…”

“It’s worth a shot.” The effect of the refreshing water was wearing off quickly as the oppressive heat began beating down on the poor pegasus. Already she could feel the fatigue setting in and the sweat began to form on her forehead. Yeah, it was worth a shot. Not trying would end the same as a failed attempt, so what did they have to lose?

Also, Rose needed to get out of Canterlot. She needed to leave Equestria as a whole so she could return with a way to avenge this travesty. It was now a primal need, as essential as breathing or eating. This Storm King of Tempest’s was going to be a necessary evil for her life to continue and she was going to get to him.

The sun would see to that.

That had to be the reason for the rapid increase in heat, too. It was a sign, a push in the right direction. They had dawdled too long in the ivory streets of Canterlot and needed to be on their way so Equestria, and the whole planet, could be saved. They needed to follow that sign and be free from this prison of marble and gold.

“If we move through the buildings we can stay out of direct sunlight and minimize chances to get caught.” Tempest finally stopped pacing right in front of the sink and copied what Rose had done minutes ago. She buried her head beneath the surface of the water and greedily drank as much as she could until nature forced her to come back up. The dark pink mane on her head fell forward and split her face down the middle, but she threw her head back to get it out of the way. “If we do this smart and slow, we can get out.”

“What about the mountain road?” She wasn’t convinced they could take any unicorn in a fight, not anymore. At the beginning of all of this it had been easy, but since Rose had lost a wing and since Tempest had been bitten by Picket it had been a different story. “It’s narrow and long. If we get caught or cornered…”

“Yeah, well if we stay here we’ll meet the same fate.” Tempest grumbled. “I’d rather die from a monster attack than a heat stroke.” That was a noble goal at least, and one Rose could get behind. Though getting off of the mountain did not guarantee any safety from heat stroke. The sun would still be in the sky and they would be in the open.

“Alright.” Rose nodded. “Let’s go out the back. Probably safer.” She nodded to the door at the back wall. They were lucky the kitchen had been completely unoccupied, by either a unicorn or some unfortunate soul who had been inside when their end had come. There was no corpse smell or anything out of place, just an ordinary kitchen. They plodded through the ordinary kitchen to the backdoor and hesitated.

Going outside wasn’t something they had done, not since the brief forays on top of the little pillbox that acted as a headquarters for smuggling. Before then the amount of time they had spent outside of the confines of buildings had been near zero, the ballista tower being the one exception. Thinking about going willingly into the wide world beyond at street level made their hearts race.

Rose pushed the door open and the heat washed in from outside. If it was bad indoors, it was twice as bad in direct sunlight. Even from their shaded spot they could feel the rocky ground radiate heat. The sunlight was blinding, and not even in the way that Rose was used to. Its corrupted and toxic light spilled forth and made the white buildings blinding to even look at. The whole world hurt to exist in outside of any building and they were supposed to make it all the way to the north gate?

They stepped out into the alley and immediately regretted it. The pavement below burned against their hooves and they wilted beneath the direct sunlight instantly. They kept moving though. They went across the alley, which was covered in hot and rotting garbage that would never be picked up, and into the backdoor of another shop. They could not be described as moving quickly, even as dire as the situation outside happened to be. Their odd gaits and limps prevented any kind of gallop and the exhaustion from the unrelenting heat made the act of moving hurt.

The next shop was some kind of novelty soda shop with bottles of all kinds lining the shelves. Some were from brands Rose recognized, but others were in strange languages and fonts she couldn’t place. There were definitely some griffon sodas she had seen in the castle, but beyond that it was all nonsense to her. It wasn’t nonsense to Tempest, who picked up an empty glass bottle and held it out to Rose.

“Take it. In case we need to cause a distraction.” The mare grumbled and huffed for a moment. “I wish I still had my suit…” That was still back in the smugglers’ HQ and that was where it would remain. It was sure to have at least one more trick in one pouch somewhere, but they would never know now.

Rose took the bottle with her wing and kept it tucked close to her side. She was used to being the pony who could actually manipulate things without using up a hoof these days that she hadn’t even thought to object. Both of them needed all of the hooves they had and those rarely seemed to be enough in recent days.

Tempest was the one to creep towards the front of the store and look out of the windows that took up most of the front wall. The mare looked both ways, and then did a double take just to be sure. When the coast was confirmed to be clear, she waved Rose forward with a hoof. The door was just about to be pushed open when the pegasus pointed to a bell right above the door. Both mares let out a deep sigh but were thankful that it had at least been caught before it had caused trouble. The door was pushed open slowly, inch by inch, so the little mechanism that would’ve caused the bell to jingle was circumvented.

When they had exited the same procedure had to be followed while Rose kept her head on a swivel. The streets were clear, with only the distant sound of growls coming from somewhere beyond the street they were on. The only threat to them were the ones produced by the sun, at least for now.

Just as Tempest shut the door a faint sound echoed through the city. It was very quiet and almost fell into the background, but it sounded like a bell of some sort being rang. It wasn’t in Canterlot and it wasn’t the one above the soda shop’s door. It had to be from one of the villages that surrounded the mountain. At least it meant other ponies were still out there, or that their town bells were all automated. She hoped for the former.

The two mares ran across the street once more and Rose directed them towards a set of stairs that led to a door just below street level. A faded and now dead neon sign above the door read ‘LP’s Records’. While Rose didn’t know if it had a rear entrance, she did know that it was underground and probably was somewhere to rest.

It also probably, hopefully, had water. The small stint outside and moving in the harsh light had left her drenched in sweat again and her muscles ached. She could feel her stomach turn and roil from a mix of very little food and overexertion in the melting heat.

The inside of the shop was surprisingly cool compared to other places, most likely due to the fact it was entirely underground and the lack of windows. The stench of stale cigar smoke flooded the small space and made Rose reflexively scrunch her nose in disgust. Rows and rows of boxes and racks littered the floor and every single inch of them were filled with records. There was a hallway behind the counter that stretched on into darkness.

“Sweet Celestia, it feels so good in here…” Tempest grunted and leaned against one of the racks.It wasn’t even that cool, it just wasn’t as hot as other places. In a normal and sane world it would still be considered too hot to live in and stuffy, but they were not in that world. This was as close to an oasis that they would find in the city, and they would gladly take a spell.

“I don’t think we’re making it out today…” Rose had to get that feeling out there. They had been outside for less than five minutes total and she felt almost completely spent already. This would be a multi-day affair to be certain. The mix of the condition outdoors and of the two ponies was one that slowed them down to a crawl it felt like. That wasn’t a recipe for getting it done today.

“Yeah…” Tempest ruefully agreed with the sentiment. “Maybe not today…whatever ‘today’ means anymore.” To them it meant one full sleep rotation where both mares could get a little rest in before moving again, but Rose understood the sentiment. Days were abstract concepts when the night never came. “For now lets see if we can get a drink and if there’s any food.”

They went about that business. Tempest opted to look around the front room while Rose chose to go back into the hallway. There were three doors down there; one on the left, one on the right and one dead ahead. She randomly picked a door and opened it.

The one on the left led to a small cramped office that was dominated by a large wooden desk overloaded with paperwork and overdue bills and accompanied by a backdrop of countless pictures of a once happy family of unicorns and one pegasus, all now surely turned or dead. It was a somber scene, one that reminded Rose that the unicorns outside had once had normal lives and families. It hurt to think about, it hurt to be confronted with the equinity of those things.

The door on the right was a bathroom. It was dark and dingy, but it had a functioning sink. Rose stopped the rain and ran the faucet until the porcelain bowl was full. She did the muzzle-first dive into the cool liquid and guzzled as much of it as she could until her body demanded air. The law of diminishing returns was paid its due and it just didn’t feel as refreshing as it had once been.

Once that was taken care of, Rose opened the last door. Beyond it was not a back entrance to the shop, but a simple storage room filled with boxes of records and old cardboard cutouts. If they were going to rest, back here would be the safest. The front room was too exposed and the office was far too cramped.

“Rose!” Tempest hissed her name as loud as she could without yelling. The pegasus limped as fast as she could into the main room, where Tempest was leaning halfway out of the door with her eyes on the sky. As she got closer to the door she heard a chorus of howls rise up from the pack of monsters on the other side of town. Rose joined her and tried to get a good view of what was happening. “The Wonderbolts are back.”

“What?” Rose pushed the unicorn out of the way and looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, two ponies were flying through the sky above Canterlot. The signature blue and gold uniforms of the Wonderbolts covered most of their bodies, but their manes were at least visible. One had a poofy yellow mane while the other had a mane that looked almost identical to Spitfire’s, it was just missing a color and was solid orange. They zipped around the skies and peered down into the streets. Lances of magic shot around them but none came particularly close to hitting their mark.

“Hey!” One of the Wonderbolts spotted the two mares leaning out of the door and they zipped down to the ground. Their partner was not far behind. As they landed their coat colors became clear from their exposed muzzles and the fur around their eyes. The yellow maned one had a bright white coat while not-Spitfire had a yellow coat…just like Spitfire. It also became obvious as they came closer that they were both mares. “I can’t believe anypony is still alive here!” Not-Spitfire beamed at the two.

“You need to get out of here or hide!” Tempest glared at the two and pointed up at the sky. “Seriously! It’s not safe here, even for you! If the princesses see you, you’re dead!” All Rose could do was nod eagerly along with her companion’s advice.

“Listen, we just need to know if there’s any food around here.” The white and yellow one spoke next. A hopeful but sad smile was on her face. That’s all Rose needed to see that the mare was a fool. She came here looking for hope? For salvation? Then she deserved the fate she was going to get.

“There’s nothing here!” Tempest reiterated. “There’s death and monsters, so if you’re looking for one of those then you’re in the right place” Rose could feel Tempest’s fur bristle as her frustration and desperation grew. “I’m being serious! Leave!” She was trying her best not to yell despite the need to scream at the two Wonderbolts.

“You should listen to her.” Rose nodded and motioned with a hoof to the sky. “I’m pretty sure one of your team already died here, don’t make that number grow.”

The Wonderbolts looked at each other and a realization flashed across their life, then their countenances paled. Had they not known about Soarin’s death? Or at least where it occurred? Why had Spitfire not warned them about this place?

Not-Spitfire was about to say something else, but the pounding of hooves on pavement mixed with a sky-shattering howl stopped the thought before it could be spoken. Both of the pegasi took to the air and looked around, alarmed. The two ponies in the door of the record shop resisted the urge to duck back inside to give one final warning to the mares.

“Fly! Get away from here!” Tempest ordered them. That seemed to stick and the mares launched into the sky without another thought. “We need to hunker down, now.”

Tempest and Rose shut and locked the door, not that it would stop any monster that truly wanted in, and hurried back to the storage room. They then shut that door and huddled in separate corners beside old boxes. The sound of violence followed as the two turned alicorns barreled through the skies overhead and let loose another set of blood curdling howls directly over the record shop.

The danger of sitting in silence in a darkened room was not the threat of monsters breaking down the door, it’s of the monsters your mind conjures for itself. It was the shadows of doubt and fear that crawled from the ether and wrapped their arms around you in an attempt to snuff out the light. The most perverse and damning thoughts came about in dark and quiet rooms, the kind that would not leave you alone until you broke.

Rose was stronger than the darkness, though. The fire in her chest burned bright enough to beat back the shadows and banish the thoughts to where they belonged. The light shone even in the pitch black and the fire roared in the silence. It was her eternal flame and it would keep her safe.

Tempest had no such flame, and if she did then it was dwindling rapidly.

“I…I don’t think I’ve ever felt so small.” Tempest whispered into the darkness of the storage room. “You know, I’ve spent my entire life acting bigger than I actually am. After I lost my horn I became a bully, I became mean. Then as a mare I learned how to fight, how to defend myself without magic. Finally I joined an army. I helped conquer cities.” A bitter chuckle escaped her lips. “I’ve never felt scared, not since that Ursa Minor…not until now. I mean…I’m shaking.” There was real tangible fear in the usually stalwart mare’s voice that sent chills up Rose’s spine. “Me! I’m shaking in fear.” That bitter chuckle morphed into a very erratic laugh that echoed around the small storage space. “What do we even do? What hope do we even have? Why…why fight it? We’re two crippled mares trying to sneak through a massive city full of literal monsters.”

This is where Tempest chose to finally have her breakdown. Not in the bunker, not in the hotel, not even in the bakery. It was here, in the dark recesses where the light could not find her. It was so that Rose could not connect her sadness and her pain with the image of a strong fierce mare that she projected to the world around her. It was an attempt to circumvent appearance by retreating where she could not be seen. Rose saw it though, and now it would stick in her mind.

“Should we give up?” Rose asked, now it was her time to be the calm one for once. Sure, she had thought about it once or twice in a dark moment a long time ago. By now those thoughts had all been burned away. “Should we just march out there and demand to be killed?”

“I don’t know…” Tempest’s voice sounded so small and unsure. It was a painful thing to hear from the usually strong and reliable mare. “But this? It’s just us. There’s nopony else. Even those two Wonderbolts, they’re probably dead by now.”

“It’s always been just us.” Rose countered. “As soon as me and the guards entered the dungeon, it was just us. Nopony else understood, nopony else got it. We did, though.” It was hindsight, but it was the truth. Everypony else had been so incredibly wrong at every turn, and that’s why they were dead. “We’re still alive because we got it. Because we understood that nopony else had our backs. We’re still alive because we know what needs to be done.” There was a beat of silence, punctuated only by slight sniffles from Tempest. “What we need to do now is get out of Canterlot.”

“We have each other's backs.” Tempest responded quietly.

They did in a sort of way. Rose had viewed it as ‘alone together’ for quite a while rather than any meaningful friendship. Maybe that was because of her penchant for keeping ponies at a distance, but Tempest had proclaimed to have that same habit once upon a time. Is that all it took to destroy walls built over decades of lived experience, just the end of the world?

Rose felt herself suddenly embraced by the other pony in the room. She felt hooves wrap around her back and press painfully against her missing wing. She felt tears or sweat drip from Tempest’s face onto her shoulder. She felt the other mare squeeze her appreciatively. She did not feel the fire she had so hoped was still in Tempest’s chest, there was just a scared little filly instead.

She felt alone.

Author's Note

This damn story is gonna be longer than And Hell Followed.

'Side story' my ass. Thanks for nothing, Rem.