//------------------------------//
// 9 - City of Chaos 
// Story: Dawn of a New World 
// by KingBrony 
//------------------------------//

It was bright outside. The rains of the night before disappeared as a bright sun shone on the land. Upon looking outside, a bloodied Fluttershy had to adjust to the sudden brightness. The mountain cave she was in sat next to a lonely shore...most likely connected to the same body of water as the shore she had emerged from the day prior.

Rainbow Dash stood next to the red-yellow pony. "We're a long way north of the shore we emerged from...remember that?" She did her best to try to sooth Fluttershy as she did not look stable at all.

"Where..." Fluttershy began to stutter.

"The others? They're all safe." Rainbow Dash replied calmly. "They're waiting at the shore for you! They're all worried."

Fluttershy began to spread her wings. She still felt weak from the night before, but she was able to fly. Rainbow followed closely behind; this was probably the slowest she had flown in ages, but she had to help her friend.

Fluttershy hovered down to the shore, where she was met by all of her friends. As soon as they saw Fluttershy, they crowded her with worried expressions.

"Fluttershy, darling! ...Is that?" Rarity spoke first, noting the blood immediately.

"Are ya hurt, sugarcube?"

"I'm okay...just a few scratches." Fluttershy said coldly, waving her front and hind hooves, each hurting from a different attack.

Rarity pulled more cloth out of her saddlebag. She tried using her magic to levitate it, but quickly fell short, eventually using her mouth to wrap Fluttershy's hooves.

"There you go...it may still hurt, but it should stop bleeding soon...oh Fluttershy!" Rarity said as she gave her friend a hug. The other ponies joined in, not caring that the blood was mixing in their manes. Fluttershy felt loved.

Twilight broke the hug first. "Now, we need to find the last two pieces..."

Without further word, the element carriers grouped together. "If we could use one to find the others..." Rarity said.

"...We can combine them to find the rest!" Pinkie Pie blurted. Applejack laughed.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and concentrated. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie did the same as the elements began to glow. Each pony had one goal on her mind: to find the locations of the final two elements. Soon enough, a map of the world appeared in their minds. There were four lights all in one area - the place they were right now. There were two outlying lights...both in Equestria!

One light was on the east coast of Equestria - Manehatten. The other was farther north - The Crystal Empire!

With that, the map disappeared and the lights faded. The four ponies opened their eyes and stared at each other with smiles.

"Manehatten." Applejack said first, to the joy of her sister.

"And the Crystal Empire." Rarity continued.

Twilight smiled. "It's settled then! We're returning to Equestria!"

"How are we going to get there?" Fluttershy said quietly. The tone of her voice practically broke the mood.

Durango chipped in. "I'll try my best to fly the non-fliers over. After last night's incident, I feel like I can clear the ocean in no time at all!" This was met by a cheer from the fillies, but to Rarity's dismay.

"As long as I don't get sick, darling..." She sighed before chuckling.

"We will try it." Twilight said to the rest. "Did we lose too much of our supplies during that chase?" The ponies looked to their saddlebags and found that not much was lost - a good sign.

"Let's get going!" Was all Rainbow Dash could say. Durango picked up the non-fliers as Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash flew off first. Twilight gathered spike, leaving Fluttershy behind on the shore. Twilight looked back.

"You coming, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy knew to get going, but something was on her mind: the manticore she slaughtered and used for warmth. She was the element of kindness! Her talent was talking to animals! How could she have failed at both?

She put that behind her. Now, it was time to return to Equestria. Fluttershy jumped into the air and hovered right up to Twilight. Both continued to follow the rest.

The journey over the ocean was a rather boring one, actually. The ponies had random conversation with each other (there wasn't really any news to be told, though) and Pinkie Pie would try to get everypony laughing, as usual. When Scootaloo would grow tired, she would rest on either Rainbow Dash or Durango.

While the skies were clear, a grayish light glistened over the ocean. It seemed like hours since they had left the griffon coast. Fluttershy could feel her wings begin to tremble.

"Fluttershy," Durango began. Dragons had much more stamina and could fly long distances like this. "Do you need to rest?"

Fluttershy nodded and gently landed on the back of the green dragon. He glided over the ocean without a sound. Rarity, meanwhile, was trying to adjust herself in Durango's clutch.

Day turned to night as the ponies and Durango continued flying over the ocean. Fluttershy looked down into the abyss, looking for any signs of the sea pony kingdom of Tritona. She had no luck.

"Fluttershy..." Applejack called out from Durango's clutch. "Are ya okay, sugarcube? You haven't said much since..."

"I'm fine." Fluttershy replied quickly. Applejack lowered her head before asking another question.

"If ya want to talk about it, Ah'm sure we'll all be willing to listen."

Fluttershy said nothing. Instead, she tried remembering life before the end of the world. When all she had to do was take care of her animals...when everything was happier. She then looked up at the moon. It was a bright blue.

"Rainbow Dash?" The yellow pegasus called out calmly.

Rainbow flew over to Durango to see Fluttershy. "What do you need?"

"It's just...um..."

Rainbow Dash had a puzzled look on her face.

"When that thing...grabbed me...it actually didn't grab me, but Gilda." She said in a whisper.

The blue pegasus was silent for a moment. "It's okay." She said, remembering the ordeal at the griffon castle.

Twilight Sparkle spoke up. "Say, were you able to catch a glance at whatever that was?"

Fluttershy tensed up. "It was....it...." She stammered.

"It's okay if you don't-"

"SLEIPNIR!" Fluttershy shouted. This caught the attention of everypony else.

"What is that?" Durango asked, not knowing about the prophecy.

Twilight, meanwhile, was speechless. "They're back already? Are we too late?"

"Ah'm sure if we stop discord's chaos, it will drive those things away." Applejack offered.

"Well, we have to get back quickly!" Rarity chipped in. The others nodded.

"The chaos will bring back the ancient beings...if we stop the chaos, we stop the beings! Maybe we can use magic to fight back, just like the first ponies did." Twilight added. 

"But, the magic field..."

"It's just a disturbance. I'm sure it will clear eventually."

"How long would that take?"

Twilight thought deeply. She could feel her magic being a little stronger than before, meaning that the field was clearing. Slowly, but surely it was.

"Don't worry, girls. I think everything will be okay."

Hours passed as the group flew over the ocean. If a pony were to get tired of flying, she would land and rest on Durango. He himself grew weary as time went on, but he managed to soar a far distance in one sitting.

Before they knew it, land appeared. It seemed small at first, but Rainbow Dash could make out the tip of a tower...a building from Manehatten. It was in the dead of night and the others (except Durango, of course) were sleeping. As they got closer, Rainbow's smile faded away as she saw the destruction that lay before her.

Manehatten was one of the largest cities in all of Equestria. The streets were always packed with ponies with places to go. The bulidings loomed over the city, watching its citizens closely. The Statue of Harmony sat in the bay, a wonder to all who pass by it. Now, the city was a ghost of what it once was.

Some buildings remained, but many were knocked over and destroyed. The lights that would always be on at night were gone, and the city looked the darkest it has ever been. Rainbow Dash and Durango landed on the island surrounding the Statue of Harmony.

"I say we get some rest." Durango said to Rainbow Dash, his bright blue eyes piercing the darkness. Rainbow nodded as Durango lay the sleeping ponies carefully on the grass. Too tired to speak further, both collapsed.

*********

Fluttershy had a dream about the manticore. She replayed the event over and over in her mind, each more gruesome than the last. Afterwards, she found herself in a small cave. She was alone except for a pile of rags on the opposite corner of the room. Looking around for a moment, Fluttershy began to take a step.

The rags shuffled, scaring Fluttershy out of her wits. She huddled in the opposite corner and stared. The rags began to rise, with blue-green eyes emerging. A pony emerged, covered in blood. It looked just like...

Fluttershy stared at the image of herself from across the room. It had a blank expression, but it never broke eye contact with the scared pegasus.

"...Hello?" Fluttershy managed to whisper.

Silence.

Fluttershy noticed a door to her right, she slowly crept to the door as the apparition eyes followed, never breaking contact. The pegasus turned for a moment to open the door when she heard a noise from behind. Turning, she saw her bloodied doppelganger right in front of her. She screamed as the red pony raised a rock.

*********

"Fluttershy!"

She woke up. Her little heart was beating ever so fast, and she blinked rapidly.

Twilight was the one who woke her. She had a warm smile on her face and offered a hoof. Fluttershy jumped up and hugged her friend.

Breakfast consisted of fruits and vegetables. Durango, used to eating meat and gems, had to make do with this for now. The fillies were all ecstatic about being in Manehatten.

"Ah wonder if Babs is okay!" Apple Bloom shouted to the others, then turned to her sister. "Can we look for her?"

Applejack nodded. "Ah don't have a problem with it. Since there are only two elements we need to find - Twilight's and Fluttershy's, we can spend some of the time looking for other things as well."

"Like a boutique!" Rarity chirped, clutching leftover fabric from her saddlebag.

"Or a cake shop!" Pinkie Pie added, jumping around.

"We can't really split up, though." Twilight said. "Even if there are only two left, it may take all of us together to find the one here...after all, you don't know how dangerous Equestria is now...Discord's had his fun for a while now."

"How about two groups?" Rainbow Dash offered. "Half of us go with Twilight, the other half with Fluttershy."

"Sounds good!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Applejack spoke up. "Wait! Mah family might still be around here. Ah'll take the fillies and try to find Babs...and my Aunt and Uncle Orange."

Twilight nodded. "Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and I will go together. Durango, Spike, and Rainbow Dash can go with Fluttershy....now, Fluttershy, will you be okay?"

Fluttershy lied. "I will."

Twilight nodded. "We will meet back here before sunset. Good luck, everypony!"

The group split up. Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo went off to find Babs and the Oranges. Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie went to explore the southern half of Manehatten. Fluttershy, Durango, Spike, and Rainbow Dash took the north. The plan seemed simple enough.

Fluttershy flew alongside Durango and Rainbow Dash while she carried Spike across the water and into Manehatten. Durango carried Applejack and the fillies before parting ways with them. 

"Be careful, now!" Applejack called out to her friends before disappearing behind a ruined building.

Looking around, Fluttershy found a street sign saying Broadneigh. She looked to the others before trotting north.

For the most part, things were silent. Any ponies who survived the meteors were long gone by now...in fact, Rainbow Dash was weary of anypony else, in case other tribe-like ponies came running through again. The street was covered in craters and other clutter. Rooftops met concrete as the group traveled over and under debris in search of an element.

The entire time, Rainbow Dash also kept a close eye on Fluttershy. She noticed her friend's mane still carried drops of blood and was disheveled, while her coat was lightly stained with the same substance. Her eyes, while containing the naivete of her former self, also looked empty and alone. 

After a few minutes of traveling, they made it to Stable Park and took note of the view. Rainbow Dash had only seen Stable Park a few times before. It was a large, beautiful park filled with trees and other small animals. Ponies would trot through all day to bask in its beauty. Now, the trees were gray and rotten while craters littered the once fresh grass.

...And to top it off, cotton candy clouds filled with chocolate milk sat above the shadow of a park.

Durango flew up to one cloud and managed to eat it whole before dropping down. Another one appeared right in its place. Sighing, Durango turned to the others. "I don't think eating them will solve this."

Rainbow Dash stepped up to the plate. In a flash she zoomed around the park, corralling the pink clouds into one corner of the sky. Durango used this moment to belch a green fire onto the pink mass. It went away in seconds. The sky was clear after this, although no one knew for how long. With that, they walked into the park.

Spike stood next to Durango. Ever since the green dragon joined their group, Spike didn't say much to him. His past experience with his own kind had made him hesitant to do so. 

Durango was actually the first one to speak. "Your friends...they're good ponies." He said quietly.

"Yeah, I don't know what I would do without them." Spike said back. The awkwardness could be seen by a blind pony.

"What will you do, if something happens to them?" Durango asked.

"Are you trying to imply something?"

"No...but look at where we are...you're...a little dragon still. If something comes along, are you going to expect them to protect you? Or should you be the one returning the favor?"

These words hit Spike hard. He didn't think of it that way before...in the past, the girls would always help Spike out with small problems. Now, a big problem is emerging and Spike feels he should give back. He looked up to Durango's vivid eyes and nodded.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was wandering the park. She tried looking for any animals that she could help out - the others found their elements by doing what they represented: Rarity was generous enough to bandage Pinkie's wound with a very elegant fabric, Pinkie Pie laughed at the sand worms to save her friends, Applejack asserted her honesty to Durango in order to save him, and Rainbow Dash kept loyal to her friends even if it meant her life. Fluttershy didn't know what to do to find hers...all of her recent attempts with animals have not been positive; she killed the last animal she tried talking to.

"Fluttershy?"

Rainbow Dash's voice broke Fluttershy's focus. She turned quickly to see the blue pegasus hovering above with a concerned look on her face.

"Any luck?"

"No." Fluttershy said coldly. The color in her mane and fur began to fade slightly.

"I don't think I'll ever find my element."

"You have to try, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash said with a smile. Deep inside, she was scared of what Fluttershy was becoming...everything that happened to her..."I'm sure there's a way to-"

"No!" Fluttershy snapped back. "My element is kindness...and I have no kindness left! I KILLED the last animal I interacted with! Ever since the world ended I've been attacked, hurt, and beaten, and you girls are always pulling me along saying everything will be okay! Well, you know what? IT WON'T BE OKAY! We can NEVER go back to normal! ...Rainbow Dash, you don't know what it's like for me! I felt worthless ever since we started this journey, yet everyone is telling me I'm not and that I need to keep positive! But the truth is that I AM worthless! This world doesn't have a need for kindness, because it died along with most of the ponies!"

"Fluttershy, you don't know what you're saying!" Rainbow yelled back. Durango and Spike stood behind the two in silence.

"Remember when I told you I didn't want to die? Well...I changed my mind. I think dying would be the best thing for me...for all of us. You all won't be burdened by me anymore, and I won't have to worry about anything anymore!" The yellow pegasus burst into tears as Rainbow Dash comforted her.

"None of us are going to die." Rainbow Dash said quietly. "We will find your element, and Twilight's...and we will stop Discord and restore Equestria to what it was! There's no way we can't lose!"

"Besides...no matter what happens to you, we will never leave your side. Stay strong, because we will always stay strong right alongside you."

Fluttershy closed her eyes. A vision of her bloodied self appeared, causing the yellow pony to shriek. Upon opening them, Fluttershy saw her doppelganger standing right behind Rainbow Dash, with a rock in one hoof. Fluttershy jumped out of Rainbow's hooves.

"Fluttershy?"

The pegasus flew off, away from the puzzled Rainbow Dash and the equally confused dragons. Rainbow Dash groaned and was about to chase after her friend, but Durango stopped her.

"Let Fluttershy have some alone time..." The dragon spoke.

The pegasus groaned again. "Fine!" She spat as she lay on the grass. "If she doesn't want me to help, then I won't help!" She said as a cotton candy cloud floated by. She took it and kicked the thing away.

Fluttershy cried as she flew past the ruined buildings and destruction. Nothing else mattered anymore - she did not like this new world and did not want to be a part of it any longer. She eventually landed on the roof of a building. It was fairly unscathed amidst the destruction of the buildings and craters around her.

The pegasus's cries were convulsing at this point as she seriously contemplated ending it all right there and then. She looked off the edge of the building to the ground. If she held her wings back and fell...

Suddenly, her life flashed before her eyes. She remembered living in Cloudsdale, falling from the sky and earning her cutie mark, meeting Twilight and her other friends, and all of the adventures she had been in. It felt very beautiful, making Fluttershy love the life she lived.

Then, she saw the end of the world, the death of her pet Angel, and everything she had been through. The ponies that chased her down, Gilda, the sand worms, the dark figure in the sky...she knew that her life from before would never come back. She decided to do it.

The sound of a screaming filly reached her ears as she motioned to jump. It caused her to stumble off the ledge and hover in the air as a result. She looked around for the source of the screams. Immediately, the nurturing and caring side of Fluttershy flew down gently to get a better view. The shrieks led Fluttershy to a ruined building a few blocks down. It was an apartment building, about four floors high. The floors collapsed on each other, leaving a giant pile of rubble at the bottom. 

Submerged in that rubble was a pink and purple filly. Her head and left hoof were the only things free as the stone crushed the rest of her body. Fluttershy soon found the pony and immediately began trying to help her.

"Are you okay? How long have you been trapped in here?"

The filly cried. "A few days now...I've been calling out every day, but nopony answers. Can you please get me out?"

"I will. What is you name? I am Fluttershy"

"Berry Bunches."

Fluttershy smiled. "I will get you out, Berry. Don't you worry!"

The yellow pegasus lifted one rock off of the rubble and threw it a good two feet away. The second rock didn't budge. When Fluttershy tried moving it, Berry Bunches screamed again.

"Ow!! That hurts!"

"I'm sorry!" Fluttershy squeaked. Tears poured out of Berry Bunches's tiny eyes. Her mane was a light pink with her coat a dark purple. The filly's eyes were pink and round.

Fluttershy was beginning to panic. Should I get Rainbow Dash? she thought to herself. Oh, what's the use? I am too weak to move these stones...I should have ended it while I had the chance...

The filly broke her concentration. "You know..." she started. "I was just about to give up. I just wanted to go to sleep and stay asleep forever. I didn't think I would ever get out of here...but, you showed up! You gave me hope, and I know you can help me get out! Please don't give up either! You never know what could happen!"

Those words got to Fluttershy. A sudden fire emerged in her eyes as she went back to work on the rocks. She pushed some off, bucked others, and eventually got the Filly's other front hoof out. Soon enough, the filly could wiggle herself out of the rubble. She was free! Upon emerging, Fluttershy realized Berry Bunches was a pegasus....or, rather, half a pegasus. Her right wing flapped fine, but the left was damaged badly from the rubble...so badly that Berry couldn't move it at all. She realized this and started to sob.

Fluttershy comforted the crying pegasus. "It's okay..." she said, and this time she could actually feel meaning behind her words. The filly soon stopped and looked up at her savior. "Thank you. Thank you! You saved me!"

Fluttershy said one thing in response: "You saved me too."

With that, a bright pink light emerged from the rubble. Fluttershy knew what this was and gently removed her grip from the filly. Walking to the light, Fluttershy peered inside.

It had a warm feeling and made the pegasus think of flowers and a sunny meadow. Butterflies flew all around, and the birds chirped in harmony. Everything felt right.

When the light faded, Fluttersy saw the element of kindness around her neck. It sparkled in the light as Berry Bunches gasped in amazement.

"Wow! How pretty!" The filly said. Fluttershy smiled as she turned to the Berry Bunches.

"Let's get away from here."

The two ponies began to walk south, away from the rubble. Berry Bunches had a little difficulty walking because of how long she spent trapped under the rubble, but she eventually made her way. Her bad wing started to fall down. If they were bigger, the wing would have dragged along the ground.

Fluttershy spoke up. "Do you know where your parents are?"

The little filly looked down. "I live with my dad. When this all happened, he wasn't home. I hid under a table, but the ceiling..."

"I could help you find him if you want." Fluttershy offered.

Berry Bunches frowned. "No!" She quickly replied. "My dad...Will you take care of me now instead?"

Fluttershy had tears in her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

Berry looked right into Fluttershy's eyes. "My dad is a bad pony...I used to live with my mom too, but my dad would always hit her. She ran away and left me with him. He...he..." The pony started sobbing.

The brash, animal-killing Fluttershy was completely gone by now and replaced with the kind, gentle Fluttershy. She knew that she cannot give up on this poor filly, with only one wing and no family to protect her.

The two walked along and talked about anything that came to mind. Berry Bunches did not have her cutie mark, but she liked playing sports and cooking. She was one of the smartest in her class and she even helped out her classmates when they had trouble. She was a shy filly, much like Fluttershy, and didn't have many friends.

Fluttershy saw much of herself in the filly...well, beyond the sports part. She knew that she couldn't leave the filly alone. The yellow pegasus didn't even remember what brought her to that ledge in the first place...

Suddenly, a boom echoed in the air. Fluttershy and Berry Bunches both ducked down and covered their heads. A bright, red light shot into the clouds. Fluttershy saw it and immediately knew it to be Twilight's magic. Afterwards, she saw two figures in the sky heading toward the light, one big and one small. The small one left a rainbow trail behind it - Rainbow Dash and Durango!

Something must be happening! Fluttershy thought to herself. "Berry Bunches, we have to go." she eventually said to the scared filly. Berry nodded.

*********

Applejack led the fillies through a ruined building before entering a familiar area. "This looks like where Aunt and Uncle Orange lived." she said out loud, not expecting a reply. The Cutie Mark Crusaders followed Applejack closely.

The building in question was not harmed by the meteors at all besides looking rather discolored. Applejack quickly entered, followed by each of the fillies. Knowing where to go, AJ entered the apartment occupied by the Oranges. Nopony was inside.

Even though the outside was unharmed, inside was a disaster. Everything was thrown around and shattered. Beyond that, nopony was inside. Applejack frowned before turning to her sister.

"Anything?"

Applejack shook her head. Apple Bloom frowned before walking to the stairway leading to the exit. As she took her first step, the stairs creaked loudly and buckled under her hoof. Apple Bloom paid no attention to this as she continued along. Scootaloo, however, was wary and proceeded to fly down the stairs.

Sweetie Belle didn't pay attention and walked down the stairs. They creaked loudly and eventually broke apart, sending a screaming filly to fall straight down. Applejack heard this and made her way to the stairwell. Apple Bloom had gotten off safely as this happened, but Sweetie Belle was trapped under a pile of wood and metal.

"Sweetie Belle!" Applejack called out. She could hear a muffled voice respond. The muffled voice then began to sound panicked and scared. Applejack thought of a good way to head down the stairs.

Quickly, Applejack jumped down and landed on the part of the stairs that did not get destroyed. She then used her mouth to pick up bits and pieces of wood and metal. Sweetie Belle was freed soon enough.

"Are you okay, sugarcube?" Applejack asked the filly.

Sweetie Belle wasn't harmed too much; she had a few scrapes at most. "I'll be fine...thank you."

As the four walked outside, Applejack noted a bright pink light in the distance. She wondered what it was for a moment before realizing that it was probably Fluttershy.

"Ah guess she found her element." Applejack said. "Come on, let's see if we can find Babs and get outta here."

*********

Upon reaching the southern district of Manehatten, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity immediately found themselves staring face to face with none other than Discord.

"I see you've managed to find most of them already...how boring." He said.

Twilight shot him a look. "I don't know what your plan is, but we will stop you!"

Discord laughed. "That's what I'm afraid of." He replied in a cryptic tone.

"You see...There's a reason I'm doing all this, you know."

"Yeah, because you can!" Twilight said, cutting him off.

"You would never understand...none of you ponies would! But, it doesn't matter. The only thing that does is that your magic is gone and I can do what I want."

Twilight's horn fired up. "Try me." It took a lot of her energy to just keep the magic ready, but she was in no mood for logic right now - she wanted to stop Discord, and she would do her best to do so.

Rarity stepped up. "Twilight, remember what Princess-"

"I know what she said!" Twilight yelled back. Discord laughed and snapped his fingers. A cloud of smoke emerged around him. When it cleared, a rather large bulls-eye appeared on Discord's chest.

"Strike me! I'd love to see how this turns out!"

Twilight Sparkle did her best to aim a good magical shot at Discord, however, the spell backfired and launched the princess backwards. Landing made the magical beam shoot upwards into the sky. This drained Twilight's power and she collapsed to the ground. Discord laughed.

"I must say, that was rather interesting!" He chuckled before teleporting to the fallen pony. He began to pet her as Rarity approached the draconequus.

"Would you like to try using your magic too?" Discord said without looking up. Rarity did nothing except glare at him.

Soon, Rainbow Dash, Durango, and Spike appeared in the sky. Discord knew this as his time to leave.

Rainbow tried tackling Discord again, but he teleported, leaving the pegasus to crash into the street. Discord reappeared behind the group. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay for long, but it is time for us to go. Yes, I do mean you all as well. Word on the street is that there's a group of ponies forming, and they're not exactly the most cheerful group out there. If I were you, I'd get going. Quickly."

And with that, Discord teleported once again, leaving the ponies and Durango surrounding an unconscious Twilight.

"What did he mean by that?" Durango asked the others.

Pinkie Pie responded. "Maybe they're coming to have a party!"

"I don't think so, Pinkie dear." Rarity responded, looking rather worried at what could happen. "We need to get out! You heard him!"

"No way!" Rainbow Dash said, finally getting up from the small crater she made. "I don't trust Discord at all! Either way, Applejack and Fluttershy aren't with us. We can't leave them behind! I can take on these ponies if I have to anyway!"

A commotion could be heard from the west. The ponies all turned to see another group of ponies walking the streets. There were only a few at first, but more and more appeared. They looked ragged and scared, but they were led by menacing stallions. They all had a red bandanna wrapped around their necks. Without thinking, Durango scooped up Twilight and led the group inside a nearby building. The ponies walked past.

"The beam came from over here! You sure it was magic?"

"It definitely was. I don't know who they think they are, but magic doesn't belong in this new world. Magic is what brought this about in the first place! Why do you think the end of the world ended the magic?"

"But-"

"But nothing! Do you have the 'fireworks' ready?"

"I have Bolt's group on it. The bridge, the biggest buildings, and the streets are all ready. Why are we doing this again?"

"Because I like watching this go boom. We are here to cleanse the trash of the old Equestria. It is our duty."

The group walked past and soon their voices faded away. Rainbow Dash looked to the others. "I'll go find Fluttershy and Applejack."

Durango nodded and spoke up. "I'll get Rarity and Pinkie Pie out safely. We will meet north of here?"

"Yes."

*********

Fluttershy emerged with Berry Bunches from the ruins of a house. She continued running to the source of that light when she ran into a pony. Both fell to the ground. Fluttershy immediately hovered up and apologized.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" 

"Ah'm fine...wait, Fluttershy?"

It was Applejack! The other fillies were not far behind her, and they all gathered around Fluttershy. Berry Bunches stood off behind the group, looking shy.

Fluttershy popped her head up. "Oh, there's somepony I'd like you to meet!" She said before turning to the filly she rescued. Berry Bunches used her good wing to cover her face. Suddenly she turned from the active filly Fluttershy rescued to a very shy and quiet one.

"This is Berry Bunches."

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all gathered around the filly, all carrying smiles.

"Ah'm Apple Bloom! And this is Sweetie Belle, and over there is Scootaloo!"

Berry Bunches moved her wing. "Nice to meet you..."

"You don't have a cutie mark! How would you like to become one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Apple Bloom then said, noticing Berry's blank flank.

Applejack noticed the injured wing and made her way over to the filly. "You poor thing, your wing is...Ah've got something that can bandage that up." She said as she removed a cloth from her saddlebag. Carefully, she wrapped the injured wing. Berry Bunches felt a little better.

"Thank you." She said lightly. "And...I would like to join your group, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is! You can be one of us now!" Apple Bloom said as the others cheered.

Fluttershy couldn't help but smile.

"How did ya find her?" Applejack asked the pegasus.

"She was trapped in rubble, and I helped her out. I got the element of kindness after I did." Fluttershy said happily. "Did you find Babs? Or the Oranges?"

Applejack bowed her head. "None of them..." She said as to not let the fillies hear.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Fluttershy responded.

"Berry Bunches?"

It was the voice of a stallion. He appeared from around a corner and saw the mares and the fillies. He spotted Berry Bunches. He had a purple coat just like her, but his mane was more orange and he had no wings. It was her father. He had a bottle in his mouth and a knife on a sheath around his neck.

He staggered around, tossing the bottle to the side. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Let's go."

Berry Bunches cowered behind Fluttershy.

The stallion's voice became more stern. "Berry Bunches, do as I tell you!" He barked.

Applejack stepped forward. "Ah'm sure there's a way to-"

The stallion swung his hoof right across Applejack's face. She fell down hard on the street. The fillies and Fluttershy gasped. Apple Bloom immediately stepped up.

"Hey! Why did you do that to my sister!?"

The stallion ignored her, instead pushing Fluttershy aside and grabbing the scared Berry Bunches in his mouth. He gripped the back of her mane and lifted her right off of the ground, stumbling as he did so. Berry tried using her wings to fly away, but they didn't work. Fluttershy followed him from behind.

"Um, excuse me...I-"

The stallion bucked. Fluttershy fell back. Applejack got back up at this point. "Get back inside that building." She ordered her sister and her friends. They did so.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!? Ah ain't through with you yet!"

The stallion stopped and dropped Berry Bunches right on the ground. "Don't move!" He barked at his daughter, and she sat. He turned to the orange pony with a glare in his eye.

Fluttershy was the one who continued, flying over Applejack and looking right into the face of the stallion. "Where were you when your daughter was trapped in your house? Huh!?" The pegasus gave her trademark stare at the stallion.

"Who told you to do anything to my daughter? I would have been there soon enough!" The stallion said, stumbling once again. "Besides, we're going with a group of ponies. We don't need you, unless you want to join them." That last part didn't sound sincere at all - more like he wanted to get rid of Fluttershy.

The pegasus thought of the group of ponies they encountered in Las Pegasus and immediately cowered.

"Don't worry...we'll take good care of little Berry Bunches." He shouted, stumbling once again. Applejack tried approaching the stallion, but he turned to pick up his daughter. She was gone.

"Berry! Where are you!? Oh, when I find you..." He shouted in a fit of rage. He turned to Fluttershy. "What did you do to her!?" He pulled out his knife and stumbled.

Fluttershy didn't know where the filly went. "I...I"

"What!!!!"

Right then, the stallion fell, dropping the knife. A small rock dropped to the street as well. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it knocked him down easily. Fluttershy turned and saw that Berry Bunches was the one who threw it. She had a scared look in her eyes as the stallion turned to her.

"Berry?" He said weakly. Berry ran to him and picked the knife up.

"You made mom go away...you left me behind..."

"Berry, I-" The stallion slurred.

Berry raised the knife, but her hoof was held in place by Fluttershy, who was hovering above the two. "Please don't do this." She said quietly, trying to calm the filly down. Applejack went back to keep the other fillies from witnessing what was happening. A cotton candy cloud drifted into the area, drenching a small portion of the street in chocolate rain.

The filly lowered the knife, but the stallion tackled her. He tried to wrestle the knife out of the filly's grip. The sudden force knocked Fluttershy back. Before she could get up, she heard Berry Bunches scream.

The stallion had fallen on the blade. It stabbed him right through his heart. He fell to his side, leaving his daughter crying and covered in her father's blood. Fluttershy gasped and flew to comfort the filly.

"I had to...I had to..." The filly repeated to herself.

"It's okay." Fluttershy tried to calm the shaking girl. As she did, she heard gruff voices from behind.

"Blitzberry, you find yer daughter? I heard screamin..." A group of ponies entered the scene. There lay Blitzberry, dead in his own pool of blood. Surrounded by a filly and a mare. Both looked scared to death. Fluttershy was able to get a better look at these ponies: they were stallions, each wearing a bandana and carrying either a bottle or a knife. None of them looked friendly. There were about five or six of them, all staring at the two.

"Look here, Bolt." A gray stallion said. "These two here killed that new recruit."

"It was an accident!" The filly yelled. The stallions laughed.

The pony known as Bolt spoke up. "Think yer all that, killin' and stuff...ah think we found some new playthings." He scoffed and laughed. The ponies all drew their knives. In an act of pure instinct, Fluttershy scooped up Berry Bunches and flew back to Applejack.

The orange pony was busy comforting the fillies when she saw Fluttershy fly by. They all knew something was up and didn't hesitate for a second; they ran after Fluttershy. The group of ponies screamed and shouted from behind, which scared the fillies into running even faster. Scootaloo began to fly as well.

They ran down a wide street. The five ponies were chasing them, throwing the bottles when they could. One barely missed Applejack's head. The glass shattered up into the faces of the running ponies, but only Apple Bloom was hurt by a shard. She screamed, but kept on running.

"Yew can't keep runnin' forever!" Bolt yelled to the running ponies. He managed to catch up to Sweetie Belle and was about to tackle the poor filly when a blur crashed right into him, leaving a rainbow trail behind.

Fluttershy looked back at the commotion and saw Rainbow Dash! She tackled Bolt right through the window of a shop before coming back out and tackling another pony. She was too fast for them. After doing this, she doubled back and flew after Fluttershy and the others.

The ponies soon reached a bridge on the western side of Manehatten. It was littered with carriages, wagons, and other junk. The bridge was surprisingly intact as the ponies all crossed it. Applejack looked back; they were not being chased anymore. As they reached the middle of the bridge, Applejack looked once again. She saw the ponies there, just standing on the side of the bridge they had run from.

"Bolt, should I?"

"Stop asking me if we should and do it!"

A button was pressed. A boom could be heard. 

CRACK

The bottom of the bridge blew up and the structure buckled. Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash were fine, but the running ponies tripped and fell.

"Keep running!" Applejack yelled to the scared fillies. She picked Apple Bloom up in her mouth as Rainbow Dash scooped Sweetie Belle up. The blue pegasus followed closely behind Applejack.

Behind them, the bridge fell into the river below them. It fell by chunks; the sound of tearing metal pierced the air. The side supports for the bridge snapped and flung all over the place. One almost hit Fluttershy, but she ducked at the last minute.

A part of the bridge fell right under Applejack's hooves. In one motion, Applejack flung her sister into the air. Rainbow Dash came up from behind and grabbed the filly through instinct. Apple Bloom looked back to her falling sister and screamed. Applejack just had a smile on her face.

Big Mac woulda' done the same...Family.

Applejack disappeared into the river below. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the fillies all made it across the bridge in one piece. The last of the bridge collapsed into the river, leaving a sea of metal and stone.

"Applejack!!!!" Apple Bloom called out to her sister before sobbing. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hugged her and cried soft tears as well. Fluttershy and Berry cried as well. 

Even Rainbow Dash had a tear. "You can't leave me like this..." She said under her breath as she closed her eyes.

"It's mah fault...just like with Big Mac..." Apple Bloom said quietly as she drooped her head. The explosions that came soon after did not startle the filly. 

The Manehatten skyline lit up in an explosive display before crashing down. Most of the city was destroyed. Fluttershy could see the members of that pony group in the river to the south, safe from the destruction.

"Where are the others?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash.

"Up north...Come on, we have to keep going. I don't trust those ponies over there." Rainbow noticed the group as well. She tried to pick up Apple Bloom, who pushed her away. The filly ran to the edge where the bridge stood and cried.

"Apple Bloom."

"Why? Why did she do that???" Was all the filly said. Rainbow Dash picked her up and made her way north. The others followed.

Fluttershy cried. She didn't think she'd ever see her friends die. She wanted to look back, but she didn't. She wouldn't.