Dark Skies

“Where the hell is every pony? I just wanna know the story of what happened right before I became so alone.”

-TheLivingTombStone

My eyes open to a grey sky and the smell of soot and charcoal. My body was sore and I could barely move my legs. I struggled to get up on my hooves, each movement making it increasingly difficult to stand the pain. I try to look at my surroundings, and all I can see is homes destroyed and bodies of my fellow ponies. It seems that my whole city has been wiped out by some mysterious force. I knew magic could do something like this, but not to this scale; not to a full city. I feel something warm over my right eye, so I place my hoof over it; trying to swipe it away. What I find is my hoof is now covered in a red liquid that had a light copper smell to it. I concluded that I was hit, but I did not panic; I was just a scratch…I hope. I try to fly to one of the skyscrapers that are still standing, but I felt a sharp sting behind my shoulder. I look to my wings and find that one is bent at an unnatural angle, stained red with blood, bits of bone sticking out of the flesh and fur, and some feathers were missing to it as well. Guess I better start walking, don’t know how long it will take before the blood loss catches up to me. I trotted down the main street of what was left of Mane Diego, a fairly large city south of Las Angels the movie capital of Equestria; and with each passing step, I grew more depressed. My thoughts drifted off in memory of the world I used to live in.

“Hey dude, wake up!! It’s time!!!”
I open one eye to see an impatient pony, standing with a fitful expression. The unicorn had a dark green coat of fur, silver hair and tail with streaks of blond mixed in and a pair of glasses that sat on his snout, sides gripping his head under his ears and finally a collared maroon vest he was wearing.

“Ugh…what you want Silver Shore? Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?” I respond, turning the covers over my head. Suddenly the sheets were ripped off of me, “Yes, I know. That’s why I am trying to wake you. The 26th annual music fest is today and if we don’t leave now, we won’t make it.”
I leap out of bed, “The festival is TODAY?!?! Why didn’t you say that in the first place?! Let’s go!" I ruffle my feathers and canter down the stairs, Silver following suit. We grab a quick breakfast with Ms. Pastry at the Wheat & Tea café before we take the taxi carriage to downtown.

“Hey Lightning Chaser...”

“Silver, we’ve been best bros since filly school; I told you to call me Chase.”

“Right, sorry, I keep forgetting that. Anyway, I was going to ask why you’re taking the taxi when you could fly all the way to the fest.”

“I was built for speed, not endurance. I can only fly for so long. Besides, I could ask why you can’t teleport us to the festival instead.”

“Touché.” Silver replied with a light chuckle.

I must have walked for hours, once I snapped to reality, I found myself in the middle of the festival stage; at least what has become of it. The stadium at Horseshoe Park had most of its cement columns standing, but few of the seats that spread horizontally were seen. The field itself was riddled with rubble, random pieces of hay fries, daisy shake cups and some carrot chili chips. On top of that, the corpses of the music singers, bands and adoring fans lay in chunks like a detonated minefield. Grass stained with blood and other fluids, patches of fur painted the concrete and I even saw a few ponies sticking out of some of them…well, half of them that is. The smell was almost unbearable; I haven’t encountered a sent this strong other than my Uncle Cloud’s Rose-Tulip casserole.
*Crack* I step on something brittle and look to find a pair of indigo glasses. I know those glasses; I’ve seen them every day since I could remember. I knelt down to pick it up, staring blankly into one of the cracked lenses. As I sat there, losing all sense of surroundings and my vision became watery, so much that I didn’t notice the rain.

“Hey Chase, we’re almost there!” Silver chirped with great enthusiasm.
The taxi came to stop in front of the West Saddle Mall near the center of the city. We paid the driver and were off to screw around until the festival officially started.

“I’ll go find spots for us to sit when the music starts.” Silver said to me, it was hard to argue with a pony this happy on a day like this.

“Sure, I’ll go get some souvenirs from the shops and snack packages for the event. If you want or need anything, send me a letter.”

“Got it. See ya!” Silver stated and galloped through the mall, blending into the crowd.
About an hour passed and I was carrying enough food for us to last at least a week, too bad it will gone in a minute. I look around for any sign of the festival, but I resorted to flying up and following the music. I made out the stadium by the fact of the thousands of ponies surrounding the outside, eager to get in and party.
*Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…POW!!!!* The fireworks started the official opening ceremony of the Music Fest. I sat on top of the stadium, figured it would be the best seat I could find. I was eventually able to find Silver amidst the crowd and carry him to the same spot. It was a blast; bands such as Seven Horse Army, Shoestone Tails and even none other than the famous DJ, Vinyl Scratch were there. All seemed right in the world, and then the closing light show came around, the brilliant and vibrant colors danced around us, the fireworks boomed and the night could not be any sweeter…or so I thought. Near the grand finale, a bright white light appeared over the horizon with a loud *BOOM* following a few seconds later. The stadium went nuts, saying that this year was the best festival up to date. But I also noticed a large cloud of dust, dirt and smoke rolling towards us. Silver was quick enough to conjure a magic shield to protect us, but the full force of the shockwave knocked me off the roof. I tried to fly back against the roaring winds; a chunk of cement flew out of nowhere and nailed me over the right side of my forehead, and then everything when black.

I don’t know what was worse; the event that engulfed the city or the fact that I lost my best friend that I’ve known since I was a filly. I just sat there, crying; the rain hiding my tears and the crack of thunder every so often. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t move, I could do nothing but cry until there was nothing left to cry about. I felt something on my shoulder, I look to see what it was but it was too dark from the black clouds to make out. A bolt of lightning struck and the brief moment of light revealed a light blue pony, almost sky blue, and a multitude of color on her head.

“Hey! I found another survivor!” Over here!” The figure hollered to a phantom, and I felt lightheaded. The blood loss must’ve finally taken effect. *THUD!*

“Oh no…Hurry up! He’s passed out!” The voices faded as I was engulfed in pure darkness.
Silver…I just wish I could see you once more. I’m…sorry.